MELBOURNE, Fla. — The year of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve is about to take center stage on Florida’s Space Coast. The president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta will talk with regional leaders and give public remarks.

Dr. Raphael Bostic began this leadership role in June 2017, becoming the 15th president of the Atlanta branch of the Fed. He was also the central bank’s first African American to lead a regional bank.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is considered the head of the Sixth Federal Reserve District — covering Alabama, Florida and Georgia, along with parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Before Bostic gives his public remarks at the Melbourne campus of Eastern Florida State College on Thursday evening, he will host a roundtable of community and regional leaders. Among those in attendance will be Keith Donald, the founder of the nonprofit Steadytown.

“I was invited, given my record of service to do whatever I can to help folks who are struggling with the high cost of housing and other goods here in the county who are low-income, who may be on the verge of homelessness,” Donald said.

Donald said his nonprofit, Steadytown, came about as he was looking at the state of the country in the wake of the 2008 housing crisis. He said it was at that point that he sold his business and turned his attention to addressing what he describes as a critical need.

“I want to represent folks from those situations on that roundtable and try to just be a voice to help understand what the issues are and how we’ve got to keep the focus here on solving some of these tough problems,” Donald said. “We need more affordable housing. We need good-paying jobs, and we need to control the cost of living, so folks who are on the lower side of our median income level, whatever you want to call it, can have quality of life as well.”

Many in the business community are also paying attention to the opportunity to put Central Florida concerns on the radar of the central bank.

Mike and Angie Sullivan opened up Stumpy’s Hatchet House in Cocoa Village just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. They’ve worked hard to keep their prices the same as when they opened,but said it’s difficult when the rate increases make life more financially stressful for their customers.

“I wouldn’t like to see any more rate hikes as we continue to go because it just puts that much more discretionary funds not available for our customers to be able to come in, even with us holding our prices,” Mike said.

The Sullivans also had their own brush with insurance rate increases. They said their previous insurance company was trying to drastically raise their rate by $10,000 or $11,000 in February. Mike said they were able to work with other axe-throwing businesses and find a way to only get an increase of $2,000, but it was a nerve-wracking ordeal.

“It’s almost like a given in today’s world. You know your insurance is going to go up, your healthcare is going to go up,” Mike said. “You’re just hoping that it doesn’t go up and break the bank.”

Donald said he hopes Thursday’s meeting is a productive one at which there is not only a quality exchange of ideas but also some local collaborations formed to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing middle- and low-income residents.

“I’m looking forward to hearing his perspective. I understand that he’s a great man, he’s highly respected and is even in consideration to be the Fed chair at the national level,” Donald said. “So, I consider it an honor to serve on the roundtable and to be participating in this event. So, I’m very excited to hear and listen to his perspective.

“I certainly want to share what I see and what more needs to be happening here.”

Donald pointed to housing as one example where he said “most of the new construction is market rate” with rents in the ballpark of $2,000 per month.

“Most of our community can’t afford to live in these developments," Donald said. "We’ve got to find ways to be more balanced in our growth, and I want to make that clear and hear from him — his ideas of how we can do a better job on that.”

For those interested in attending “An Evening with the Federal Reserve,” tickets are still available. The event begins at 5 p.m. with a “presentation and armchair chat” between Bostic and Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast President and Chief Executive Officer Lynda Weatherman, followed by a networking reception.