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Open for Business

Tuesday, July 14 from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

WGCU, along with The News-Press and Naples Daily News, will open a virtual town hall on TV, radio, online and Facebook Live.

Titled “Open for Business,” it will feature local business leaders in discussions about the Southwest Florida economy in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Watch on YouTube

Was it worth it to reopen when we did? Join in as moderators Julie Glenn, WGCU’s news director, and Mark Bickel, audience development director for The News-Press, talk with economists, business owners, and local leaders about whether the phased reopening in June paid off. Does the bottom line justify the spike in the new cases of COVID-19 that we’ve seen?

The town hall will air on WGCU-TV, WGCU-FM, news-press.com and naplesnews.com from 8 to 9 p.m. with live polling, and from 9 to 9:30 p.m., the experts will answer viewer questions on Facebook Live.

Guests include:

  • Jay Johnson – Chair of the Lee County Chapter of the Florida Restaurant Lodging Association and owner of Bubba’s Roadhouse & Saloon
  • Dr. Christopher Westley – Dean, Lutgert College of Business, FGCU
  • Rosmy Louis – Founder and Board Liaison with the United Haitian American Chamber of Commerce
  • Colleen DePasquale – President & CEO, Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce
  • Teri Ashley – Executive Director, Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce
  • Jason Teeters – Program Manager for the Southwest Florida Community Sourced Incubator (CSI), Secondmuse
  • Caleb MacPherson – Owner, Naples-based Narrative Coffee Roasters
  • Janeth Castrejon – Communications Manager, CareerSource SWFL

To connect to the town hall after show Q&A at 9 p.m. on July 14, go to www.facebook.com/wgcupublicmedia or https://www.facebook.com/TheNewsPress for residents of Fort Myers and Cape Coral or www.facebook.com/naplesnews for residents of Naples and beyond.