Alachua Chamber of Commerce celebrates growth at annual gala 

The Alachua Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual gala on Wednesday at Legacy Park with nearly 550 attendees. 

The gala marked the end of Mitch Glaeser’s three years as chamber president and the start of Adam Boukari’s term as president. The event also included awards to city businesses, a routine by comedian Brad Williams and a live auction. 

The auction sold a football signed by 13 Heisman winners—including Florida legends Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow—for $5,500.  

“Alachua’s so great, they named the whole damned county after us,” Glaeser said. 

Glaeser spoke about the growth Alachua, and its chamber, have seen in the last three years, from 15-person luncheons to Wednesday’s gala. He added that the city of Alachua has seen more commercial space built in the last five years than the city of Gainesville.  

The growth, Glaeser said, will continue as more than 1,000 jobs have been announced as coming to Alachua in the past six months from different companies. Glaeser used software company Vobile as an example along with Tower Hill Insurance.  

He pointed to the fourth-lowest utility rates in the state and excellent internet as contributing factors.  

“The reason that we have almost 550 people here is because of the regional traction we create,” Glaeser said. “We have regional reach.” 

He said all community partners will need to work together to make Alachua the greatest small town in America. The chamber recently announced its Alachua 2.0 plan to guide the way. 

The chamber also recognized several awards on Wednesday.  

Thomas Stanfield earned the Officer of the Year award. He serves as the public information officer for the police department.  

Alachua Flowers and Tuxedo Rental won the Small Business of the Year award, and Waste Pro won the Big Business of the Year award.  

The chamber also had a surprise award for Shasta Schoellhorn, the volunteer of the year.