PINELLAS PARK – The chairman of the board of directors of the Pinellas Park/Gateway Chamber of Commerce steps down next month after two years. He leaves behind a legacy of new programs that has done much to help local businesses in these hard economic times.
Housh Ghovaee, owner of Northside Engineering, held the seat a year longer than his predecessors. He intends to remain involved in business and city affairs.
“Pinellas Park is the center of the county,” Ghovaee said. “It and its people have so much to offer to everyone.”
The chamber kept a low profile for many years, but when Ghovaee took over things changed. He and others brought the organization to the forefront of the community by launching new and innovative programs that brought everyone together.
Today the chamber boasts educational, marketing, tourism and other projects. It works with small and large businesses to help them turn profits during a recession like no other in recent times. The chamber even works with the police department and local schools in a variety of projects.
“It’s all about the people and it’s a team effort,” Ghovaee said.
And those people Ghovaee talks about also include members of 14 different chamber committees working together on programs that include international cultural affairs, faith-based affairs, charity, economic development, government affairs, leadership, and events such as Market in the Park and others.
“We have 23 board members who are deeply committed to the business community and the city,” Ghovaee said. “Together they make a great team who have accomplished great things.”
International culture is among the latest outreach programs the chamber embraces. Ghovaee points to the many diversified cultures in Pinellas Park that include Hispanic, Asian and European.
The international cultural committee is headed by Shawn Yang who has his hand on the pulse of the Asian business community.
“We are now able to reach out to these people and help them,” Ghovaee said.
Ricky Butler, son of Councilman Rick Butler, is chairman of the education committee. He and Ghovaee have been working with the Pinellas County School Board on a business education program that involves students shadowing workers at local establishments.
“It introduces young people to the inner workings of businesses that they may wish to pursue,” Ghovaee said. “There are more than 30 fields that will be involved in the shadowing program.”
Ghovaee, who was just named to the board of directors of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, also wants children and their parents to better understand the need for water conservation. That will be accomplished by bus tours of facilities such as Pinellas County parks that play a major role in water conservation.
Tourism also is important to Pinellas Park. Many out-of-towners who visit area beaches and attractions are staying in local hotels where the rates are lower.
“Our aim is to draw tourists to Tampa Bay from Orlando and Miami,” Ghovaee said.
Pinellas Park is not a tourist destination, but the beaches are, along with the attractions of Tampa, St. Petersburg and even Sarasota. To that end the chamber has been working with Pinellas County tourism officials and others on ways to bring in more tourist dollars.
Besides professional sports and other events offered in Pinellas County, the chamber has been working to improve the horse shows that are held each month at Helen Howarth Community Park. Participating riders and enthusiasts stay at local hotels and eat at local restaurants. Some hotels also cater to corporate functions and those participants, too, add dollars to local coffers.
The newly-formed Suncoast Equestrian Association represents horse groups that together with the chamber are working to bring more shows and other events into the city. Helen Howarth Community Park offers a new riding ring, horse trails and other facilities that attract equestrians from all over the county.
Ghovaee emphasizes that the successes of the last two years are not his own.
“It is all based on teamwork and the efforts of many people, not just one person,” Ghovaee said. “We have a lot of talent that together are making changes for the better.”
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