Growing a business locally takes more than great products or services - it takes connection. For small business owners asking how to promote your business locally or looking for proven small business growth strategies, collaboration and networking are often the missing link.
At The Osceola Chamber, we bring businesses together to grow smarter, stronger, and more connected. Through intentional networking, advocacy, and local partnerships, we help business owners turn relationships into results and build long-term success across Osceola County.
Small business growth rarely happens in isolation. One of the most effective small business growth strategies is collaboration—building relationships with other business owners, community leaders, and local advocates who understand the value of working together. For businesses with limited resources or new to the local arena, collaboration creates meaningful momentum.
Some benefits of networking include:
It also ensures business owners have a small business advocate, a network that supports growth, problem-solving, and long-term success.
At The Osceola Chamber, collaboration is intentional. By connecting businesses through networking events, Leads Groups, Councils, and Coalitions, the Chamber helps members build relationships that translate into real growth. This approach reflects the Chamber’s mission of building a thriving and connected business community in Osceola County while providing practical help for small business owners.
When businesses collaborate, growth becomes shared and the entire local economy benefits.
With The Osceola Chamber, there are ample opportunities to collaborate with your fellow local business owners across a variety of industries to promote your business. From traditional networking events to leadership groups to gatherings designed to nurture budding relationships, there’s no shortage of ways to find your next business partner.
Local networking events are one of the most effective ways to build relationships and promote your business. The Osceola Chamber hosts several kinds of networking events, designed to connect business owners with peers, community leaders, and decision-makers who are actively invested in Osceola County’s growth.
One such example is Business After Hours, a monthly networking event hosted by different businesses across Osceola County connecting individuals from a variety of industries. We also host First Friday Luncheons, where you can connect with a network of mentors, peers, and advisors capable of helping you achieve your goals. For small businesses looking for practical, relationship-driven growth, Chamber networking turns connections into opportunities.
For businesses focused on consistent, relationship-driven growth, joining a Chamber Leads Group offers a proven path forward. These structured, referral-based groups bring together non-competing professionals who are committed to helping one another grow. Through weekly meetings, members share qualified leads, build trust, and develop a deeper understanding of each other’s businesses. With millions in closed business and thousands of leads passed, The Osceola Chamber’s Leads Groups turn networking into measurable results. It’s an intentional way to promote your business locally while gaining a team of advocates invested in your success.
Councils and Coalitions provide a powerful way for businesses to collaborate around shared priorities while strengthening their local presence. For those looking for a deeper commitment to their community, businesses can apply to join an area-based Council (such as Poinciana, Downtown Kissimmee, and Celebration). Joining the board for these councils helps businesses connect with peers, civic leaders, and stakeholders focused on local economic vitality.
Coalitions bring together diverse voices across industries and communities to address workforce needs, advocacy, and inclusion. Participating allows business owners to contribute to solutions, stay informed on local issues, and build trusted relationships beyond traditional networking. It’s a strategic way to promote your business locally while helping shape a stronger Osceola County business environment.
Sustainable growth is easier when small businesses have the right advocates and resources behind them. The Osceola Chamber serves as a dedicated small business advocate, connecting members to tools, expertise, and programs that support long-term success.
Through partnerships with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and other regional resource providers, businesses gain access to professional consulting, business planning support, and growth-focused education. These resources help owners make informed decisions, refine strategies, and implement practical small business growth strategies.
Growing a business locally is easier and more impactful when it’s done together. If you’re exploring how to promote your business locally or seeking meaningful help for small business owners, collaboration is the advantage that drives lasting results. The Osceola Chamber connects businesses to the people, programs, and partnerships that fuel real growth.
From networking and Leads Groups to Councils, Coalitions, and advocacy, we serve as a trusted small business advocate for Osceola County. When businesses collaborate, opportunity multiplies.
Join the movement and grow your business as part of a thriving, connected local community!
Our community thrives on the foundations of civics, and The Osceola Chamber is excited to once again bring the National Civics Bee® to Central Florida. This initiative encourages middle schoolers to learn about American democracy, engage constructively in their communities, and build trust in their fellow citizens and institutions. In partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Rosen Hotels and Resorts, The Osceola Chamber hosted a regional final of the National Civics Bee on Friday,April 17.
Last November, The Osceola Chamber worked with the Osceola County School District and other local districts to invite middle schoolers in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades from public, private, charter, and home schools to submit essays as part of the first round of competition. Community leaders from across the country reviewed the essays and the top 20 highest-scoring students from the area were then invited to participate in a regional, live round.
The regional competition, hosted at Rosen Centre Hotel Orlando, featured two rounds of multiple-choice civics quiz questions emceed by Chamber President/CEO John Newstreet, providing a platform for students to showcase their civics knowledge. The five top-scoring students from the first two rounds then moved on to a Q & A round of questions posed by a panel of judges. Judges for the local competition were Tameara Crespo, City Clerk, City of Kissimmee; Sandie Martinez, Director,Community Engagement Osceola Region, Valencia College; and Judge Christine Arendas, Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit.
At the end of the Q & A round, the winners were Georgia Whittemore of Julia Landon College Preparatory School in Jacksonville in first place, Avi Jutla of Abraham Lincoln Middle School in Gainesville in second place, and Ara Afolabi of Voyager K-8 School in St. Cloud in third place.
All participants took home the tablet they used in competition, as well as a National Civics Bee t-shirt, and a goody bag. The first-place winner received $500 cash, with $250 for second place, and $100 for first place. These top three will now go on to compete in the National Civics Bee® Florida State Finals at Florida State University in Tallahassee on June 30. At the state competition they will have the opportunity to win additional cash prizes, and the first-place winner of the State Finals will earn a trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the National Championship in the Fall of 2026. Prizes at the National Championship include a grand prize of$100,000 for first place, $25,000 for second place, and $15,000 for third place. All participating students and their families enjoyed a post-event party catered by Rosen Centre.
Said Newstreet, “Our great country and every community within the United States is built on the foundation of civics. Middle schoolers are at the perfect age to become better informed about American democracy as well as learn to respectfully and constructively engage in our community. The National Civics Bee provides a great platform for our young Americans to build greater trust in others and in our institutions. Kissimmee, St. Cloud, and Osceola County will benefit in the short term and long term when citizens are knowledgeable about how government works, lessons learned from our past, and constructive ways to engage in the process – a process which affects each and every one of us each and every day.”
The regional round of the National Civics Bee is brought to Central Florida by grants from The Civic Trust and the Duke Energy Foundation, and support from Rosen Hotels and Resorts.
Said Rosen Hotels & Resorts President & CEO Frank Santos, “It was an honor to host middle school students from all over Florida in the regional round of this year’s National Civics Bee, held at Rosen Centre. With this year being our nation’s 250th anniversary, their commitment to understanding our civic foundations is special. These students certainly reflect the very best of our community andwe are proud to support their dreams.”
For eighteen years our Poinciana Council has offered an annual scholarship to graduating high school seniors who live in the Poinciana area. This year, the Poinciana Council Board of Directors once again offered this scholarship opportunity to worthy seniors as well as students already enrolled in post-secondary institutions to help them continue with their degree or certification program.
The Poinciana Council Scholarship is funded by contributions made to the Poinciana Council Scholarship Fund and proceeds from events produced by the Poinciana Council Board of Directors. Thanks to an Osceola County Community Betterment Grant from District 3 Commissioner Brandon Arrington, the Board was able to match their collected funds in order to award four $1000 scholarships. New this year, a business forward scholarship in the amount of $1000 sponsored by HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital was also presented. The Board also presented each student with a $100 Visa gift card.
After an application review process, the Poinciana Council Board chose four remarkable high school seniors from four different Osceola County School District schools and one student enrolled at Osceola Technical College. The decision was based on extracurricular and volunteer activity, recommendation from the students’ teachers and advisors, and, most importantly,the students’ essay response to the prompt “As a young adult/professional inthe Poinciana Community, please address the biggest challenges facing thecommunity and ways that you can address those challenges considering youreducational goals, life experiences, and any obstacles or hardships that youhave overcome.”
This year’s Poinciana Council Scholarship Award winners were Angelina Angervil of New Dimensions, Lorenzo Mag-aso of Osceola County School for the Arts, Eman Fatima of Celebration High School, Jade Sewram of Poinciana High School, and Melina Delgado of Osceola Technical College.
A lunch including favorites from around the world – from pulled pork to Swedish meatballs - was catered, as it is every year, by the Poinciana High School culinary students under the instruction of Chef Juan Alamo. Poinciana Council Board Chair Biance Belabre, owner of A Creative Station, served as emcee.
Guest speaker, and Osceola County School District Assistant Superintendent, High School Division , Dr. Chundra Evens, Spoke directly to the students and urged them to take the support they have received to get to this point and choose to become that support to someone else as they go forward. She also reminded them that they are the future of Poinciana and beyond. Community advocate and recent Osceola School District graduate Gabriella Brocal reminded them to accept the aid and advice of mentors and learn from them when the opportunity presents itself, and to not take the earned wisdom of their parents and others in their lives for granted.
What amazing students will be recognized next year? We can't wait to find out. The Poinciana Council scholarship fund is significantly supported by proceeds from the Poinciana Council's annual events like PoincianaFest, which this year will be held on November 14. Anyone can also contribute to the scholarship fund in any amount at any time.
Contributions to the Poinciana Council's scholarship fund may be made HERE.
