Kelly Hayes
The Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce presented its 2020 H.L. Culbreath Jr. Profile in Leadership Award to former HD 61 Rep. Edwin Narain.
The Chamber presented the award at its 135th annual meeting last week. The award is presented annually in recognition of an individual whose leadership has made a positive impact within the Tampa Bay community.
The Chamber credits Narain for the work he’s done to help local businesses during the pandemic. Narain was the co-creator of the “Saturday to Go” initiative, a social media campaign in May launched to encourage the community to order to-go meals from local restaurants to help generate sales.
“We felt driven to do something to bring awareness to minority-owned businesses in our area during the pandemic. We set up Saturday to Go because it is important for the community to remember that the power to save the jobs of our neighbors and loved ones is in our hands,” Narain said in a news release.
The city of Tampa used its social media platforms to promote Saturday to Go as part of Tampa’s Lift Up Local Economic Recovery Plan. According to the city, restaurants reported a boost in sales since the initiative launched on April 4.
“Edwin has served as a catalyst to foster an era of cooperation between business leaders, government, and the community throughout the Tampa Bay region to look over the horizon and ensure that we have the resources to meet our destiny,” the Chamber said in a statement. “He has continued to leverage our community with his government experience after entering public service with his election to the Florida House of Representatives in 2014. He was a co-creator of the Saturday -To-Go program to help small businesses during the pandemic and continues to advocate for improved educational resources for working class families.”
Narain also works as the assistant vice president for AT&T.
