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Miami Lakes EDC sets Sept. 25 Boot Camp date, outlines deadlines and proposed budget allocations
Summary
The Miami Lakes Economic Development Committee set Friday, Sept. 25 as the target date for its annual Boot Camp, set collateral and ad deadlines, and identified three motions to request funding at the next meeting: $750 for a social media contractor, $1,000 for marketing and $1,000 for the happy hour venue.
The Miami Lakes Economic Development Committee moved forward with planning for its annual Boot Camp, targeting Friday, Sept. 25 for the in‑person event at the Town Chambers and laying out a schedule of deadlines and funding requests.
Committee members agreed that Vanessa, the contractor who handled last year’s on‑site social posting, should be rehired to produce collateral and social media content; the committee set a collateral deadline of June 1 and asked that speaker headshots, bios and logos be submitted by May 1 so communications staff can prepare materials. Members said ads should run beginning about July 15 for roughly 60 days leading up to the event.
The group discussed operational choices to improve attendee experience. Because historical attendance has been substantially lower than registration totals, members recommended keeping registration open longer (one participant suggested thresholds of 400–500 rather than earlier cutoffs) and testing a virtual question queue so the moderator can select from submitted questions rather than relying solely on live microphone questions.
Program planning focused on practical topics for small businesses. Members prioritized Business 101 and sessions on leveraging artificial intelligence for small businesses, procurement and doing business with local government, lending and grants, marketing and human resources. The committee discussed inviting local and regional speakers who can provide step‑by‑step, actionable guidance; suggested names during the meeting included Manny for procurement, Joseano for lending, Ray and Rioto Leal for scaling/inspirational presentations. The committee said it will continue active outreach to confirm presenters, and agreed to drop a topic if a qualified presenter cannot be found.
On budget, members said the EDC has $2,000 earmarked for the event and reviewed how prior expenditures were allocated. At the next EDC meeting they plan to place three motions on the agenda to fund the Boot Camp: $750 to rehire Vanessa for collateral and social content, $1,000 toward marketing, and $1,000 for the happy hour at Chelas. Committee members emphasized pursuing sponsorships where possible and said any remaining costs typically come from end‑of‑year budget balances; the motions will be formally considered and voted on at the next meeting.
Staff committed to checking whether the town’s IT office can record or live stream the event and, if so, to provide the recorded files for marketing use. Members also agreed to tie the Boot Camp promotion to the Best of Miami Lakes nominees to boost local attendance and to reserve Town Chambers for the main program and Chelas for the adjacent happy hour.
Follow‑up tasks assigned in the meeting included outreach to prospective speakers and bankers, Vanessa beginning collateral development if contracted, and adding the motions and a Boot Camp update to the next EDC agenda. The committee set its next meeting for April 15 at 5:30 p.m. and adjourned at 6:32 p.m.
