Better late than never… Here’s my take on that JAX Chamber SBLY Breakfast…

Some basic background info: every year, the JAX Chamber crowns one small business owner in Jacksonville as the “Overall JAX Chamber Small Business Leader of the Year,” or SBLY.

But, not so fast! There are 12 JAX Chamber Councils, and each of them has chosen their OWN SBLY for that Council. So, there is an IT Council SBLY, a Downtown Council SBLY, a Health Council SBLY…

You get the idea.

Once all the Councils have their own representives, a final rally is made and a winner, selected. This year’s winner was announced and recognized at a nice breakfast on February 12th, 2019.

The event was sponsored by TD Bank (the most pet-friendly bank around!)

Mike Nolan, Chamber All-Councils Chair started off the meeting by thanking the large crowd of Jacksonville business people.

Daniel Davis, President and CEO of the JAX Chamber then introduced and spoke for a few minutes with Preston Haskell, founder of Jacksonville’s Haskell Company. He has built an excellent company over the last 50+ years, and he shared a few facts about the company’s origin:

• Started in 1965, with just two employees
• Started with a single contract for an apartment building out at the beach
• His first customer had an exactly $1 million budget, and not $1 more

Very fortunate, he said, but very rarely is it a single event. He implored the audience to take care of the small to medium customers, day to day, and when the big opportunity comes, do it well and let it be an example of the work you do.

Defining credos: deliver on-time, and under budget

Preston Haskell, February 2019

Mr. Haskell credited six operational values as key to the success of the company that bears his name:

• Safety
• Quality
• Productivity
• Innovation
• Integration
• Sustainability

With one thing overriding everything: good people. Recruit and retain the best people, no matter the type of company you build.

Downtown is important to everyone, regardless of neighborhood in which you sleep at night. Downtown is “everyone’s neighborhood” and needs people working, playing, riding bikes, etc.

Next up was Mike Zaffaroni, of Liberty Landscape Supply. Mike is the 2018 SBLY after a very successful 11 years in business. He started, too, with just two employees and has grown to over 30, in 2018.

Mike brought all 12 Council representatives onto the stage, and after a few kind words, announced Antoinette ‘Tina’ Meskel of Meskel & Associates Engineering PLLC as the overall winner for 2019. She calls the Transportation & Logistics Council her ‘home’ Council.

Tina spoke for a few minutes, thanking the JAX Chamber and her employees, of which she now has 25. She said her employees give her support, friendship, and support when needed (including timely advice to ‘stay in her lane,’ when necessary)

Tina expressed her optimism about the prospects for 2019 and all the developments in progress and planned.

Overall, the 2019 SBLY breakfast was a great opportunity to meet and learn from successful business owners and people. I look forward to attending next year, and hopefully joining them on the stage, eventually!

About me: my name is Brian Tuttle, and I am a technology consultant, salesperson and enthusiast. I represent Saxon Business Systems and Xerox, and would be honored to speak with you about your copiers and other office technology. I can be reached at 904-345-0359 or brian@briantuttle.org