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Team Volusia reports leads from major conferences; Chamber’s Nancy Kiefer to retire, Kristen Weiss to take over
Summary
Frank Jones said Team Volusia generated business leads at recent national and regional conferences and welcomed new staffer Monty Fletcher. Chamber representative Nancy Kiefer announced her retirement after 38 years and introduced Kristen Weiss as her successor; she also listed business legislative priorities including coastal resiliency and insurance affordability.
Frank Jones, speaking for Team Volusia, summarized recent outreach efforts, noting participation at the National Business Aviation Convention in Las Vegas and an Advanced Economic Development Leadership Summit in Kansas City. Jones said the outreach produced promising leads for Daytona Beach and welcomed Monty Fletcher, a new team member from Lake County, who was introduced to the board.
Nancy Kiefer, representing the chamber, announced the MarketWatch economic forecast breakfast set for Friday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 a.m. at the Shores Community Center in Daytona Beach Shores and said Bank of America economist Dwayne Carroll will speak. Kiefer summarized the chamber’s 2026 legislative priorities as reported by the local business community: coastal resiliency and stormwater/flooding (ranked first), insurance affordability, infrastructure and road improvements, workforce availability and training, and property tax issues. She said staff will monitor committee work and provide updates to inform voters.
Kiefer also announced she is retiring after 38 years in the chamber industry and introduced Kristen Weiss, recruited from Texas, who will assume Kiefer’s seat. "I'm gonna decompress after 38 years in the chamber industry," Kiefer said, adding that she plans to remain engaged in the community in a volunteer capacity.
Board members asked questions about how a potential elimination of property tax on homesteaded properties would proceed; Kiefer said such a change would require a constitutional referendum and would typically need a supermajority to pass, urging the community to stay informed as proposals develop.
Next steps: chamber staff will share materials on legislative proposals and the tax collector’s information on impacts when available; the board will be updated as committee work progresses.
