Over the next month, six new businesses will open in Pompano Beach as the Chamber of Commerce continues to work on redevelopment in the city.
“We're certainly seeing people feel more confident and they're starting to understand how beneficial it can be to work with organizations like the chamber that help get the word on their business,” said Ric Green, president of the Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce. “In this day and age with Internet marketing and social media, one of the best things that the Chamber does is communicate with its members.”
The Pompano Chamber has recently celebrated the opening of Studio 410, a photography studio in Deerfield Beach; Oar House, a dockside restaurant and paddle board rental facility in Pompano Beach; PNC Bank; Your Pie, a new custom-made-to-order pizza place in Lighthouse Point; Fred Hunter's Funeral Home; and Oxygen Fitness, a women's fitness center.

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Roughly 54 large pews from a local church are making a long trip to help another congregation in Grenada, thanks in part to Food For The Poor.
Christ Church United Methodist Church Pastor Fawn Mikel wanted to stretch the church's reach beyond local borders after undergoing renovations to its Pompano campus.
A church member who also has an affiliation with Food For The Poor helped make the connection to the church in Grenada.
“We had decided that this campus should be a ministry center used for many things and we don’t use the sanctuary,” Mikel said. “We talked about what would need to be done for others to use it and it was a lot. It is such an exciting thing to see things that had been here for so many years continue to be used as intended and not stored away or thrown out.”
“Serendipitously we had received a plea from Grenada for more pews, and these are huge pews that fit 15-20 people,” said Angel Aloma, executive director of Food For The Poor. “We have no real relation, [just] the go-between. The church in Grenada let us know their need and it happened to work out. We put donor together with recipient and both are very happy.”

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Ready to beat away the boredom?

Public transit riders don’t often use words like fun and interactive in connection with bus stops. Yet, that is exactly how riders describe the drum circle included at the recently opened Northeast Transit Center in Pompano Beach.

The drum circle features five artist-designed percussion instruments that are meant to be played by riders while they are waiting for their bus. Riders can sit or stand and play the percussion instruments, which are intended to represent different parts of Pompano’s diverse culture.

“The idea was to engage people while waiting for a bus and let them entertain themselves and maybe get their musical talents flowing,” said Jody Leshinsky, interim director of the Broward Cultural Division.

Along with the drum circle, the center features canopied bus platforms, a passenger drop-off area, bench seating, a customer service information window and “live” displays.

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The way they see it, this year's grand marshals for the 50th annual Pompano Beach Boat Parade have experienced the event from all angles.

“We feel like we've come full circle, from seeing it for the first time, being enchanted and wanting to be involved, to now being grand marshals,” said Gwen Ley, who along with her husband, Richard, were chosen by the Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce. “We feel like we've experienced it in all phases.”

Ley said it was an unexpected honor to receive the designation.

“We expected to be involved in planning the 50th event and we definitely wanted to be part of that process, but now we're getting to experience it from a different perspective,” she said.

The Leys have a history with the parade dating back to just after they moved to South Florida from Philadelphia.

“We moved here in the fall of 1992 and we were wondering how the holidays here compare to up north,” she said. “My husband came across a story about the boat parade and we thought we'd check it out. It was a magical experience - all of the beautiful colored lights moving across the water.”

The Leys joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary, which has been a part of the annual boat parade since 1963, the following year. By 1994, she had convinced many of their boating friends to also participate in the parade.

Ley said the boat parade helps to make the holidays here as pretty as they were up north.

“It's just as pretty,” she said. “Plus you can go outside without five layers of clothing on and stay out as long as you like because weather is no issue. I wouldn't trade it for anything.”

The Holiday Boat Parade, which takes place Dec. 9, travels along the Intracoastal Waterway in Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point and Hillsboro Beach before ending at the Boca Raton/Deerfield Beach line.

This year the event will start at Lake Santa Barbara at 6 p.m., 30 minutes earlier than in previous years in an effort to encourage more families to come out and participate.

For information, call 954-941-2940 or visit www.PompanoBeachChamber.com.

-Michael Sasser, Special Correspondent

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After gaining grant approval, plans to upgrade one of the most heavily trafficked and troublesome boat ramps in Broward County are now moving forward.

Because of their proximity to the Hillsboro Inlet, the boat ramps at Alsdorf Park in Pompano Beach have become a popular boating spot, and accommodating larger vessels has historically been difficult.

Now, the first phase of a project to upgrade the boat ramps can begin.

“That will be starting as soon as possible,” said Mark Beaudreau, recreation programs administrator for the city of Pompano Beach. “We've got to exchange some information and get this thing going. It's pretty exciting stuff.”

Improvements to accommodate more parking and larger boats include a double-boat ramp to serve larger vessels, an additional 15 parking spaces for vehicles with oversized trailers, and a reconfiguration of the parking surface, which will create an additional seven spots for vehicles. Other repairs include adding more staging areas and dock space for boats in order to improve efficiency, as well as repairs to the seawall and dock pilings. Plans also call for more boat-washing stations and an ice machine.

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