A Wellington resident for more than 20 years, Roxanne Stein hopes to aid and advance local businesses as the 2018 president of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.
Stein has been an active member of the chamber for almost 15 years, starting as a celebrity judge for Flavors of Wellington back in 2004.
“In 2009, I was honorary emcee of our very first Winterfest with Vanilla Ice,” she recalled. “In 2016, I was honored to be chosen as the chamber’s outstanding citizen of the year.”
Stein was a natural choice to serve as the person to represent the chamber, as well as its values and goals, Executive Director Michela Green said.
“Roxanne brings a wealth of community expertise, as well as a stellar reputation for making things happen in South Florida,” Green said, adding that her personality, charisma and years of professional experience have gained her respect and admiration from the chamber and throughout Wellington.
Green said that Stein’s new position has already helped raise the chamber’s profile.
“The response to her new position as Wellington Chamber of Commerce president has been overwhelming,” Green said. “Our members love interacting with her and presenting ideas, as well as gaining knowledge on her media background and ways they can make their own businesses a success.”
Even before taking over as president, her business acumen made her a standout board member. “Her persona brings a fun and exciting flavor to our events,” Green said of Stein. “We are so honored to have this opportunity to work with her.”
Having retired in March from her nearly 25-year career as the well-known news anchor at WPTV News Channel 5 — and after her overall 41-year career in the television news industry — Stein has recently been enjoying her new laid-back schedule, and can often be found playing tennis with her husband or riding her horse, Bamboo, around town.
Though she has retired, Stein has some new pressing goals. As president of the chamber, those goals center on helping business owners improve the productivity of their enterprises and ensuring that Wellington’s unique businesses are valued and preserved.
“[My goals are] to facilitate a business-friendly and self-sustainable climate in Wellington and to bring exposure outside of the immediate market to all that we have to offer in Wellington — as far as unique retail services and hospitality — and to bridge the gap between our seasonal equestrian population and our year-round businesses and residents,” Stein said.
Specifically, Stein aims to provide local small businesses owners with the tools they need to continue on a path of success and to help those with new businesses reach success. Stein also hopes to prove the power of networking through the chamber by making it a portal through which businesses have the ability to help each other grow and learn from one another.
“We want to continue offering small businesses learning sessions,” Stein said. “We want to continue offering our signature events that boast all the best we have to offer here in Wellington to those outside of our community. We also want to grow. We are working this summer on reaching those businesses in Wellington that are not yet members and showcasing what we can do for them.”
What she has described as one of the most fulfilling parts of her extensive career in news is what is also fulfilling to Stein now as the president of the chamber — meeting and bonding with all kinds of people throughout the community.
“It gives me a wonderful opportunity to spend quite a bit of time out in the village. I love meeting the people in this community,” she said. “Everyone has such a unique and interesting story of how they got here and why they have chosen Wellington as their home or for their business endeavors.”
Stein recognizes and embraces the link and interdependency between what makes Wellington an ideal place to live and the success of its businesses. As far as her impact and the chamber’s overall impact on Wellington, Stein hopes her efforts to support and make a difference for small businesses in Wellington are evident through their long-lasting success in the future.
“We hope to build a self-sustainable Wellington,” Stein said. “Our small businesses are the life blood of the community, and we want to give them a healthy place to be successful.”
Up next at the Wellington Chamber is a special luncheon event “Why Are We So Busy?” with guest speaker Juan Ortega on Wednesday, June 20 at 11:30 a.m. at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. Also next week, the Women of the Wellington Chamber will host a Luau Summer Mixer on Thursday, June 21 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the European Wax Center.
For more information about these and other chamber programs, call (561) 792-6525 or visit www.wellingtonchamber.com.
