- March 13, 2026
The Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Florida Institute for Political Leadership, will be hosting a virtual training for those interested in becoming elected officials or working campaigns.
The Campaign School & Community Leadership Training, a nonpartisan initiative by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, is a free two-day program, to be held from 5:30-8 p.m. on April 7 and 8. It is open to everyone in the community and recommended for elected officials, current or future candidates, campaign workers or anyone interested in serving in an appointed position, according to a news release.
This is the second year the Chamber has hosted the program.
"We decided we needed to be the organization that educates our members on 1) different issues, which we try and do, and 2) who's running for office," said Debbie Cotton, president and CEO of the Chamber. "And, I think more importantly, encourage people to run for office that want to try and be a part of this community."
The Chamber doesn't endorse candidates, so Cotton said this is a way to help candidates running for local, county or state offices with tools to be successful.
The Florida Institute for Political Leadership program was designed to recruit, train and guide people across the state with the purpose of getting better candidates overall in office. To date, FIPL has hosted 38 campaign schools and partnered with 286 chambers and 27 community partners to put on the program. According to the news release, the program has trained 2,160 people, with 1,041 graduates. Of those, 70% plan to run for office.
The first day of the training consists of learning how to prepare to run and operate your campaign. The second session is about fundraising.
For someone who is considering to run, this could help outline the pros and cons, and what it takes to run a campaign or be a part of it, Cotton said.
It's also a good catalyst, she added, to get the business community involved.
"We want the business community to be able to go in and say, 'We can help do this. We know how to run a business,'" Cotton said. "So, let's see what we can do to help make our our communities better, no matter what level you're at. ... We want the Chamber to be the business resource for doing this."
To register, visit www.fipl.org/register.
