ORANGE PARK – Finally Friday, a program that offers Clay County residents opportunities for networking to create, build and enhance business relationships, hosted their first meeting on Jan. 6.

The event, which is put on by the Clay County Chamber of Commerce, was held in front of a packed audience at the Haven-Custead Hospice Care Center conference room in Orange Park.

Everyone sought to further build their ties within the county’s business networking community, each individual who came hungry to learn more about tricks of the trade from their fellow entrepreneurs.

Debbie Pascoe, council chair for the event, was one of several speakers.

Everyone was asked to introduce themselves and their business in a brief, 30-second synopsis. Twenty minutes later, after everyone spoke, they learned of three modes of persuasive speech utilized in that period, including ethos, logos and pathos.

The seemingly endless effort of entrepreneurs to further build the brands of their collective businesses was followed by a raffle and plenty of rollicking laughter.

Many business leaders remained to talk after the event was concluded. Many of those conversations may have not been work-oriented, but make no mistake: more elevator pitches were heard, and additional business cards were passed along to share.

Despite the changing dynamics of the business world, Finally Friday went on to further prove that word-of-mouth marketing is still a highly effective strategy for both startups and those that have already established a strong and reliable brand.

“I am so happy to meet with my friends and associates from last year and years past and to meet new people, so we can have this amazing 2023 that we know is going to be about creation,” Pascoe said.

Finally Friday’s goal for the upcoming year is simple, according to the council chair.

“Our goal is to grow into a bigger and more cohesive group,” she said.

Pascoe said businesses want to succeed to their utmost potential, but make no mistake: it’s a friendly competition, and all involved want to help each other and share the wealth in a fast-growing and prosperous county.

“The thing that is the most beautiful about this group is that we are here, even when we are in similar industries, we are here to help each other, and grow each other, and all that does is create momentum,” Pascoe said.

To learn more about the upcoming event calendar for Finally Friday and how to become more involved, reach out to yanam@claychamber.com for additional details.