On a warm and sunny Saturday, August 28, the Sun City Center Area Chamber of Commerce held its “Out-of-the-Ordinary” Annual Fall Business Expo Drive Thru in the parking lot of the Prince of Peace Catholic Church, promoting 40 Chamber members and greeting a continuous line of people in their cars and golf carts.

Executive Director Lynne Conlon estimates that as many as 800 residents drove by the tables and picked up “Goodie Bags” containing promotional material. A random selection of the bags contained surprises including gift cards. In keeping with the times we live in, no one had to leave their vehicles.

“For years,” Conlon stated in an email, “We have had two expos each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Our spring event went off in March at Community Hall. Then COVID-19 hit and Community Hall was closed. So, we had to pivot to reimagine how this event would be done. One-to-one contact between our members and residents became a drive-thru. We are looking at the rest of the year to see how we reimagine the rest of our events.”

Conlon thanked participating members as well as the Prince of Peace Catholic Church for its generosity in providing a great location for the event, which the Chamber has traditionally held in Community Hall. Also she thanked the Sunset Social Club for providing live music. “But above all, we thank the residents who drove through” in support of local businesses. “We are better together,” she concluded.