DREW WINCHESTER Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral President Mike Qaintance, back right, RE/MAX Realty Team Recruitment Specialist Yoselyn Hollow and Bob Knickman, chamber event director, listen Thursday to the announcement of RE/MAX as the new title sponsor of Red, White and BOOM.

The BOOM is back.
That was how Elmer Tabor, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral, announced the return of one of Southwest Florida’s most popular events — Red, White and BOOM — held annually July 4.
After the BOOM’s previous title sponsor, Saturn of Cape Coral, shut its doors, it appeared the celebration would go quiet in 2010.
Then RE/MAX Realty Team stepped in as the new title sponsor, ensuring the Cape Coral sky would once again fill with fireworks on Independence Day.
“The citizens of Cape Coral will definitely enjoy it,” Tabor said. “And the RE/MAX Realty Team will get the most bang for their buck.”
Red, White and BOOM has been around in varying degrees since 1969, according to Tabor, moving to the foot of the Cape Coral Bridge six years ago from Tarpon Point.
When the prospect of a new title sponsor was still up in the air, and it appeared that the celebration would break from its 41-year tradition, it left Tabor with a pit in his stomach.
He added that the city needs these kinds of celebrations now more than ever.
“Everyone has had a tough year. We all need to put our arms around each other as a community,” Tabor said.
RE/MAX officials said they plan on making a long-term commitment as the title sponsor of Red, White and BOOM, but they did not know exactly how long their sponsorship would last.
Yoselyn Hollow of the RE/MAX Realty Team said the decision to be the title sponsor was an easy one, and that they plan to make it the best BOOM the Cape has ever seen.
“We thought about it a whole 10 minutes,” she said. “We decided to take full control of this event.”
A new title sponsor could mean that Red, White and BOOM will offer new features, though organizers admitted that it is too soon to know what those might be.
Tabor said the new sponsor will give the chamber the opportunity to reinvent BOOM.
“This is going to be different and it’s going to be better,” he said. “After the first of the year we’re going to roll up our sleeves and go to work.”
Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral President Mike Quaintance said the new relationship between the chamber and the RE/MAX Realty Team is so fresh that he is still not clear on what type of exciting changes it will bring to next year’s celebration.
“This is a great gift to the Cape … they (RE/MAX Realty Team) bring other things to the table we didn’t have,” he said.