About 80 business leaders in the Pine Hills area gathered on Monday evening, to commit to working together to help revitalize a community plagued by too high crime levels, limited investment and other ills.
Hosted by the Pine Hills Neighborhood Improvement District (NID), the purpose of the business association is to provide a venue for businesses to come together, network and connect to resources, as well as assist NID in tailoring its resources to better meet the needs of the community.
“This [Pine Hills] is a community that has struggled over the last several years, as many businesses have left the area and we want to start just by strengthening the existing businesses we have and hopefully grow them,” said Pine Hills NID Executive Director, Jerry Presley, at the business inaugural event.
Meetings of Pine Hills business leaders will be held bi-monthly, with the view to encouraging businesses in the area to get to know one another and do business with each other. “It is about growing and strengthening this community and if our businesses aren’t using services that could be provided locally, we are hurting ourselves,” Presley added.
Presley also reminded the group of the Pine Hills Pillar Initiative, which challenges local business leaders to rise up and be counted as the new voices of leadership within the community. Launched in May earlier this year, the Initiative urges businesses or individuals to sign a pledge and make a personal commitment to support the efforts of the community, Orange County Government and PHNID, in the stabilization and revitalization of the Pine Hills area.
Tim Haberkamp, long-time Hardee’s business owner and a pillar of the Pine Hills community, believes one of the challenges is the lack of unified voices of leadership, largely due to the multiplicity of cultures in the area, though he remains optimistic.
“My hope is that we will be able to get the various ethnic groups and leaders working together,” he said. “Business owners have to take hold and contribute a little bit to make the area better than everyone else’s.” He believes a turnaround in Pine Hills could serve as a model for businesses, citizens and government working together.
“I am very pleased with the turnout today of Pine Hills business leaders,” said Haberkamp, who serves as chair of the Advisory Council-PHNID. “It’s really the first opportunity to get business owners together and to work on a long-term plan to redevelop the Pine Hills area.”
He referenced recent major developments, such as the construction of the almost $70 million Evans High School and new housing developments like Emerald Villas apartments and the Stag Horn multi-family community, expected to spur new investment in the area.
Eunice Choi, Regional Director, Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida, who served as the keynote speaker, discussed the resources the Center provides to help business grow and prosper. Particularly, she highlighted the special programs and business consulting services provided by SBDC, including strategic marketing research; feasibility analysis and start-up assistance; and financial analysis and assessment.
Choi challenged business owners to take advantage of the resources of SBDC, to help grow their businesses and get to the next level.
“The reason I am here is to challenge you to utilize available resources before you experience problems,” she said. “Sometimes business owners approach us late, making the turnaround much more difficult.”
