Miami Lakes subcommittee sets Sept. 26 boot camp date, ties event to Best of Miami Lakes finalists

The Miami Lakes Economic Development subcommittee set Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, as the date for its annual small-business boot camp and agreed to invite nominees for the town’s Best of Miami Lakes awards, with finalists to be announced live at the event.

The decision followed a detailed logistics discussion during the committee’s meeting, in which members weighed three venue options — BankUnited, a local auditorium often described as “Town Hall,” and Najim Mendez (a previously used wide-layout venue) — and raised audiovisual and sightline concerns. Committee members said Town Hall is preferred for location and familiarity if the AV and projection setup can be made to work for an auditorium-style layout.

Why it matters: The boot camp is a recurring local economic-development event that offers workshops and panels for small-business owners; combining it with Best of Miami Lakes finalist announcements is intended to boost attendance and provide added value to nominees and the wider business community.

Key decisions and deadlines - Event date: Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. The committee confirmed the date for the boot camp and agreed the program will include speaker presentations, a Q&A/networking period and a happy hour. - Speaker materials: Final speaker presentations are due by the last Friday in August (Aug. 29, 2025). - Marketing collateral: The group set internal deadlines to produce marketing collateral in time to begin promotion in May; headshots, speaker titles and logos were targeted for delivery around May 1 to allow design work in April, and a draft marketing packet was slated for approval by May 30. - Program length and format: Committee members discussed keeping presentations short (about 15 minutes per speaker) but recommended building in additional time for audience Q&A, even if that means reducing the number of sessions from five to four to allow deeper interaction.

Speakers, sponsors and program ideas The subcommittee reviewed formats and topics from prior years and from comparable events hosted in Doral and Coral Gables. Speakers and organizations discussed or recommended during the meeting included representatives from the Miami-Dade Office of Innovation and Economic Development (the STRIVE 305 program was mentioned), local credit unions and nonprofit lenders, Platinum Business Solutions (which has offered donated business valuations at other events), and panels on accounting basics, operational efficiency and tax/HR compliance. The committee discussed offering a limited number of donated business valuations as raffle/prizes for either boot-camp attendees or Best of Miami Lakes winners; reported valuation estimates ranged from about $2,000 to $5,000 per valuation, and an earlier, larger donation program in another city had supplied roughly 100 valuations, though the committee said Miami Lakes would request a much smaller number.

Best of Miami Lakes integration Committee members agreed to invite all nominees for Best of Miami Lakes to the boot camp so nominees and finalists can attend. The committee discussed moving key elements of the Best of Miami Lakes timeline earlier so finalists can be announced at the boot camp: according to the discussion, finalists are usually publicly announced around Oct. 30 and winners around Dec. 2; the committee proposed announcing finalists live at the Sept. 26 boot camp (or notifying finalists in advance and publicizing the live announcement) to increase attendance and community engagement.

Venue, AV and logistics Members flagged sightline and AV constraints at several venues. Past issues cited included TVs positioned to the side (forcing attendees to turn their heads), rooms that were wide but not deep (making distant attendees hard to see speakers), and the need for a robust AV plan for happy-hour networking and table displays. The committee assigned a site visit to BankUnited before the next subcommittee meeting to confirm the room configuration and AV options; a committee member volunteered to contact BankUnited on availability and to gather photos or a walk-through report.

Program structure and timing The committee discussed starting registration and networking earlier, holding a welcome at about 9:45 a.m., and beginning presentations at 10 a.m., while aiming to finish mid-day and move into a happy hour. Members debated whether a later start time would improve on-time attendance but agreed most late starts reflect audience behavior rather than start-time choice; the committee prioritized giving attendees time for direct Q&A with presenters during the event or at sponsor tables during a networking break.

Next steps and assignments The subcommittee scheduled a follow-up meeting for early April to finalize venue selection, firm up speakers and confirm the program. Assigned tasks included: a site check at BankUnited, outreach to potential presenters and sponsors (including the business that offered donated valuations), and coordination with town marketing and finance staff to lock deadlines and confirm budget items. The meeting closed after a motion to adjourn.

Ending note: The arrangement to pair the boot camp with Best of Miami Lakes finalist announcements is intended to boost turnout and add tangible benefits for local businesses; the subcommittee established concrete deadlines to allow two to three months of active promotion before the September event.