Bay Biz Vol 7/ Issue 3 (July - September)

GKN AEROSPACE MAKING FINAL APPROACH TO VENTURECROSSINGS

BAY MEDICAL CENTER ANNOUNCES TAVR PROCEDURE THE PANAMA CITY FEDERAL COURTHOUSE

july - september 2017 departments 6

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

8

POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE

The Panama City Federal Courthouse

14 EDUCATION

Blocked Out

16 HEALTH

Bay Medical Center announces TAVR Procedure

20

DEFENSE INTEL The Eastern Gulf of Mexico

22

ECONOMIC PROFILE

24 TECHNOLOGY

Digital Trends in Advertising

28

WORKFORCE CONNECTION

30

BIZ LIST

36

NEW MEMBERS

37

MEMBER ANNIVERSARIES

38

OUT & ABOUT

features 10

COVER STORY GKN Aerospace: Making Final Approach to VentureCrossings

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TOURISM APPRECIATION MONTH RECAP A look back at all of the great festivities

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The Bay County Chamber is partnering with premium to promote our members and their testimonies.

PUBLISHER Carol Roberts EXECUTIVE EDITOR Taylor Smith CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kim Bodine Brandi DeRuiter Sarina DiCalogero Lynne Eldridge Dana Kerigan Tammy Newton Scarlett Phaneuf Carol Roberts Taylor Smith David Trexler LAYOUT & DESIGN

getgorgeo.us | 850-888-8GRG COVER Governor Rick Scott welcomes GKN Aerospace to Bay County.

850.890.0989

850.785.5206

Together, we are working to build a better Bay.

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS USAF, Brittany Cole, Elizabeth Smith, Taylor Smith, Brandi DeRuiter, Christine Salvador, Bay Medical Sacred Heart, GKN Aerospace, Bay District Schools, Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida, and Tourism Development Council BAY BIZ MAGAZINE c/o Bay County Chamber of Commerce 235 W. 5th Street Panama City, FL 32401 850.785.5206 information@baychamberfl.com www.panamacity.org facebook.com/baychamberfl twitter.com/baychamberfl

The Bay Biz is published quarterly by the Bay County Chamber of Commerce, 235 W. 5th Street, Panama City, FL 32401 850.785.5206 POSTMASTER send address changes to: Bay County Chamber, 235 W. 5th Street, Panama City, FL 32401 or email taylor@baychamberfl.com.

The Bay Biz welcomes story ideas from its readers. Email to taylor@baychamberfl.com. To request additional copies, contact 850.785.5206.

Stephen Harris

850.890.0989 ï‚ stephen@premiumoutdoor.com

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It's Summer time...let the fun begin!

My summer has begun with several trips on my kayak and lots of boating fun. Speaking of the great outdoors, our 2016-2017 class of Leadership Bay unveiled a new interactive Eco-Tourism map on our website, panamacity.org/ecotourism. Check it out for biking, hiking, boating, our springs and more.

This summer is especially significant to me as I’ve hit the big “60." Thank you to everyone for the well wishes, jabs and old folk’s jokes. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, I got to see my 20 year old face on billboards throughout town. Thanks Claire, Kelly, Brittany and Elizabeth. Your time is coming :).

June 5th was a day to remember for our region. We were proud to be a part of Governor Rick Scott’s signing of the Triumph Bill. This is a game changer for our region as the first payment of $300M will soon hit the bank account of Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc. under the leadership of former Speaker of the House, Allan Bense. Allan, we thank you for guiding our legislature on this crucial piece of legislation. This region is committed to being good stewards of this investment in our future.

judgeship vacancies. We’ve worked that angle too, and have submitted some impressive candidates from Bay County.

After working for many months searching high and low for building options, the idea surfaced of the Bay County Juvenile Justice Courthouse being converted to accommodate the Federal Courthouse. After many, many meetings, tours, one on one appointments with local judges, third party opinions and crunching of numbers, we were successful on June 6th when the Bay County Commission voted unanimously to support the idea. This is a big win for the community, but it’s just half of the battle. Now, we have to convince the many layers of the federal government that this is a viable option.

On a different note, it saddens me to announce that after 14 years with the Chamber, our own Elizabeth Smith, or E as we all fondly refer to her, is leaving the nest of Chamber Chicks.

She’s had an exciting opportunity present itself at Bay Credit Union, and I am extremely proud of her. I’ve watched a shy, young lady grow in her position, and grow our Events and Foundation to an all-time high. I feel like I’m losing one of my own, but I know she will make us proud. Thank you for the memories E, and best wishes from all the Chamber Chicks and Taylor too!

Since our last issue, we’ve made great strides towards saving the Panama City Federal Courthouse. There is a complete story inside this issue, but I’d like to touch on a couple other layers that we’ve uncovered. After months of research as to a variety of issues surrounding this, we discovered that there was no Bay County representation on the Federal Judicial Nominating Committee (JNC). All committee members were from either Pensacola or Tallahassee. We’ve successfully found nominations from both sides of the aisle to submit to Senators Nelson and Rubio, and we await those appointments. In addition, the Northern District has two federal

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Thank you to our members for helping us Build A Better Bay County!

Carol Roberts President/CEO

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political perspective The Panama City Federal Courthouse by: Brandi DeRuiter, Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Bay County Chamber of Commerce

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ongressional interest for the United States Court facilities in Panama City first began in 1958. Although the need was not great enough to justify construction at the time, it was periodically reviewed until 1972 when an increase of court filings by Panama City residents in U.S. Courts in Marianna and Tallahassee indicated action should be taken to provide space for U.S. Courts in Panama City. Bay County residents not only accounted for the majority of case filings in Marianna, but Panama City was also the only statutory location in the Northern District of Florida to not have its own federal court facility; the other four locations [Pensacola, Marianna, Tallahassee and Gainesville] each had a federal courthouse.

erally-owned building, officials chose to do a lease consolidation, primarily because obtaining funding to build a federally owned building would be difficult and lengthy. It was proposed that the new federal building would house 102 employees through the Social Security Administration, U.S. Courts, U.S. Attorney, U.S. Marshalls, Probation Office, Internal Revenue Service, Wage and Hour Board, Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Food and Nutrition Service, Geological Survey, and U.S. Customs (Patrol Division) agencies. The building was completed in 1977, and as a lease, was able to remain on local tax rolls, which have benefitted the community for the last 40 years.

Several years later, after sites were selected, approved, and ranked, the General Services Administration announced the selected location of what is now the federal courthouse located at 30 Government Drive. Rather than build a fed-

A comprehensive facility evaluation conducted by the Administrative Offices of the United States Courts brought to light very real security concerns and life safety issues, and as a result, the long-term lease ending December 31, 2018, was

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The Decision

not to be renewed. As the extensive list of concerns was too great to be remedied, a request for new space was made to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta; under current U.S. Courts Design Guide rules, this request was denied.

Once it was learned the lease was not going to be renewed and the new facility space request was denied, the Bay County Chamber formed a Federal Courthouse Task Force to gather true facts on employment, services offered, and other significant impacts the community would face should the courthouse close. Through research, inquiries, and conversations with federal officials, the task force determined with confidence that losing the Panama City Federal Courthouse would have greater unintended negative consequences than originally believed.

Bay County Juvenile Justice Courthouse Prospective site for new Federal courthouse

Community Impacts

A federal presence is an integral part of any vibrant and growing community’s social infrastructure. The Panama City Federal Courthouse currently houses the U.S. District Court, U.S. Probation Office, U.S. Marshall Service, U.S Public Defender’s Office, a trial preparation suite for the U.S Attorney’s Office, and Bankruptcy proceedings, creating 27 direct and over 100 indirect jobs. The Panama City docket comprises 18 percent of the District’s criminal and civil docket and the Probation Office has seen a 21-percent uptick of post-supervision cases. Upon closure, services and caseloads would be distributed between Tallahassee and Pensacola, obligating hundreds of citizens every month to travel 100 miles to fulfill their jury duty obligations. Litigants and defendants will incur their attorneys costly time and travel burdens. Bay County Government would lose $400,000 annually in housing federal inmates. Witnesses cannot be compelled to travel over 100 miles to testify, creating a potential gap in complete information that judges and jurors would require to form an accurate verdict. In addition to the direct loss and travel related strain that would be imposed on citizens, downtown area businesses and restaurants would likely see a loss in patronage as part of the ripple effect as the courts draw many people daily to the downtown area.

Current Status

Community support and engagement efforts have proven to be the lifeblood keeping retention efforts alive and moving forward. U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson, as well as

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio hears concerns from the Bay County Fderal Courthouse Task Force.

Congressman Neal Dunn have met with members of the task force to discuss all the working components to address and to garner active support to retain the federal courthouse in Panama City. Numerous facility options have been explored with common limiting factors of the short and looming deadline of December 2018, and the exorbitant cost of mandated requirements and functions of a federal courthouse.

The Chamber, in partnership with Bay County and the City of Panama City, now has boots on the ground in D.C. with Capitol Hill Consulting Group. With that effort, continued funding can be sought in the U.S. House Appropriations budget. The Government Services Administration, administrative offices, and district federal judges are engaging in discussions, and a local turn-key facility is under serious consideration.

The Bay County Commission passed a resolution on June 6th supporting repurposing the Juvenile Justice Courthouse as a federal courthouse and building a new Juvenile Justice Courthouse. Bay County, municipalities, numerous organizations, business leaders, and concerned citizens have all passed resolutions or sent letters of support to our federal legislators. Although this process is moving in the right direction, it is a complex and targeted process. For all decision making entities involved to invest their faith and efforts in our community we must remove all uncertainty and ensure a predictable path. It will take a continued show of organized and consistent local support in unison as discussions with federal officials continue.

The Bay County Chamber of Commerce continues its efforts to retain the federal courthouse in Panama City.

BAY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Sheriff Tommy Ford Professionalism — Service — Integrity 3421 N. Highway 77, Panama City, FL 32405 (850) 747-4700 Follow us on FaceBook @ Bay County Sheriff’s Office B AY B I Z

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GKN Aerospace

Making Final Approach to VentureCrossings BY: Scarlett Phaneuf, Vice-President Bay Economic Development Alliance

“It all started with a cake,” said Bay Economic Development Alliance (Bay EDA) President, Becca Hardin. That is how she began the story of GKN Aerospace’s decision to locate at VentureCrossings near Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. When Becca moved here to join the Bay EDA almost three years ago, she purchased a home. Shortly thereafter, one of her new neighbors knocked on her door with a cake in hand to welcome her to the neighborhood.

“As we got to talking, I asked him what he did. He said he was a retired aerospace CEO. I said, ‘oh yea? Where did you work?’

He said, ‘I was the North America CEO for GKN Aerospace,’” Becca shared with a chuckle. She then added, “So I invited him to go with me to the Paris Air Show and introduce me to his aerospace contacts.”

It was at the Paris Air Show in 2015 that Becca and the Bay County delegation including Stan Connally, CEO of Gulf Power Company, had their first meeting with GKN executives.

Once stateside, the EDA had the opportunity to follow up with more community information and facility options for the company to consider.

The next spring in April 2016, Becca was successful in convincing a leadership team from GKN to visit Bay County and learn more about why our community would be a good fit for their next manufacturing facility. During that initial site visit, 10

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the leadership of Bay County came together to demonstrate the County’s ability to provide a qualified workforce and talent pipeline, competitive incentives, a pro-active business climate, and a specialized facility constructed within their timeline.

The company was blown away by the initial impression that was made and the strong showing of support. GKN would visit several more times, on various scouting missions, before making a final decision to invest $50 million into a manufacturing facility and employ 170 workers at VentureCrossings.

Ultimately, there were many factors that gave Bay County the winning edge during the competitive process where other communities were evaluated and considered for the project. The fact that the St. Joe Company could offer a certified site at VentureCrossings was a substantial selling point.

Several years ago St. Joe made the commitment to complete the Florida First Sites Program, developed in partnership between Gulf Power Company and McCallum Sweeney Consultants, to create shovel ready sites for exactly this type of project.

Workforce and education, as in almost all economic development projects today, was a top consideration for GKN. Gulf Coast State College, FSU Panama City, Haney Technical Cen-

ter, Bay District Schools and CareerSource Gulf Coast were critical partners in the process to help ensure GKN that their need for specialized workers would be filled.

"Let me make an offer to you,” recalled Dr. John Holdnak, President of Gulf Coast State College during a recent interview with the Panama City News Herald. “If you will commit to come, I will develop a program around your industry needs, and I will help recruit students to go into this program and train your workforce."

In February, the long awaited day came and the official announcement was made that GKN Aerospace would be locating at VentureCrossings and had chosen Bay County as the home of their next facility. “This is a major win. To have the world’s largest tier one aerospace supplier decide to locate in your community is a legacy moment in the career of an economic developer,” said Becca Hardin. “Many in our profession work their entire careers and never have an opportunity like this. I am so grateful to everyone who helped make this happen.”

Construction is already under way and is expected to be complete by the end of 2017.

The company recently started the recruitment process for the new facility.

Kim Bodine, Executive Director of CareerSource Gulf Coast said, “We hosted recruiting events in the Ft. Walton Beach area and in Panama City. The Bay County event had an incredible turn-out with 240 job seekers signing in. GKN filled every interview slot they had that day for the engineering positions.”

This successful turn-out was due to their taking the time to understand the company’s goals. Kim explained, “We worked with GKN to find out exactly what they needed and tailored both events and processes to match their expectations. They have been great to work with and at both events they took the time to speak to every person who attended. We are in the process now of planning for future recruitment events.”

Those interested in learning more about the employment opportunities are encouraged to visit the CareerSource Gulf Coast website at https://www.careersourcegc.com/JobSeekers-GKN.aspx.

On May 9th, state and local leadership held a celebration to properly welcome GKN to Bay County. At the ceremony Mike Grunza, CEO GKN Aerostructures North America was presented with a plaque by Wayne Stubbs, Port Executive Director and Chairman of the Bay EDA. “It’s been a journey, but all through the journey what we found was a state and partners and friends that welcomed the idea of an industry of high-tech jobs coming to their area,” said Mike. “We’re very much looking forward to having this site in Florida. We’re going to invest more than $50 Million in the plant and equipment outside of the building. I think it’s going to change the community.”

Florida Governor Rick Scott thanked GKN and the local leaders for their support of the project, before asking Mike Crowder, GKN’s first official employee at the Florida site, to join him on stage. “It’s an exciting day. It’s always exciting to be in Bay County,” said Governor Scott. “It’s exciting to talk about the first individual, Mike Crowder, who is a Panama City native who gets the first job here. It’s going to be exciting to see this building go up and all of these jobs added.”

Mike Crowder joined GKN in January, 2017 as a facility engineer and site security manager, and will be instrumental in managing site construction, and the purchase and industrialization of key capital equipment. Mike is from the Panama City, Florida area and has lived there for more than 10 years.

When asked about how he felt being honored by the Florida Governor, Mike said, “It was exciting to meet the Governor and to be recognized. It is so great to be here! We have so few manufacturing facilities in this area and GKN will bring in great high-tech jobs to the community. I couldn’t be more excited.”

There were many state and local partners and individuals who supported the project from start to finish that were there to show the company a warm welcome. “Every now and then in the life of a community, a window opens up and you get to look a little bit into the future, and today, this morning, is one of those times,” said Wayne Stubbs.

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GK N A erospace Selects Ventur eCrossings for its fir st Flor ida facilit y.

Air, Land & Sea. United.

venturecrossings.com • Commercial and industrial land for sale, lease or development • Prime Location for high tech manufacturers

• Pad Ready sites and build to suit construction available • Offering business flexibility and capacity to grow

© The St. Joe Company 2017. All Rights Reserved. “VentureCrossings®” “St. Joe®”, “JOE®”, “St. Joe and the “Taking Flight” design and the “VentureCrossings®” design are registered service marks of The St. Joe Company. This does not constitute an offer to sell real property in any jurisdiction where prior registration is required. Access to this property is prohibited without the express consent of St. Joe or its agent. St. Joe makes no representation, warranty or guarantee as to any particular use or development allowed on any particular property. All properties are subject to federal, state and local governmental rules and regulations governing land use, permitting, building and zoning requirements and applicable restrictions. Maps shown may not be to scale. Certain amenities described herein including future roads and taxiways are proposed and need not be built. Illustrations are artists’ depictions only and may differ from completed improvements. Void where prohibited by law.

ER PP NA ON S S D RE SEAE 1ST H 9T N JU LY 1 JU

education Blocked Out by: Sarina Di Calogero, Community Campaign Specialist, United Way of Northwest Florida

E

ach year, Junior Leadership Bay class members must complete a project that benefits the community as part of the program commitment. Being inspired by previous JLB projects, like the successful effort to reinstate driver’s education in Bay District Schools, the 2016-2017 Junior Leadership Bay class chose to work on re-implementing block schedule into Bay District high schools.

Soon after deciding on the project, the class realized the complexity of block scheduling. Research showed the block scheduling, previously used in schools offered students the ability to take more classes per year as part of a more collegiate style schedule. However, there was always one major drawback - cost. Block scheduling cost approximately two-million dollars more than the traditional seven-period schedule that a majority of high schools use today. With this in mind, the class decided to craft a cost-reduced block schedule. While the class’s proposed schedule options were cost-effective, they did not adhere to two articles in the teacher’s union contract:

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Article 6.3 of the Master Contract Between the Bay District School Board and the Association of Bay County Educators 2014-2017 “Beginning with 2015-2016 school year, all teachers shall have an instructional load not to exceed three hundred minutes.

The student school day shall be no longer than six hours thirty (30) minutes. The instructional loads of secondary teachers on block scheduling will not exceed 105 students per day.”

Article 6.4 of the Master Contract Between the Bay District School Board and the Association of Bay County Educators 2014-2017 “Secondary teachers shall not have more than three (3) different course preparations per day except with mutual consent of the teacher and principal. A regularly scheduled study hall shall not be considered a part of the three (3) different preparations per day. Principals will make every effort to ensure that high school teachers on block scheduling do not have more than two (2) preparations per term/semester. Second-

ary teachers will have one (1) preparation period during the student class day for planning and conferences. The preparation period shall not be preempted for any required student supervisory duties.” *Option X and Option Y are excerpts from their project.

OPTION X PERIODS

TIME

D U R AT I O N

1/5

8:30 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.

80 minutes

2/6

9:55 a.m. – 11:05 a.m.

80 minutes

Lunch 1

11:05 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.

35 minutes

Study Hall 1

11:05 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.

35 minutes

Lunch 2

11:40 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

35 minutes

Study Hall2

11:40 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

35 minutes

3/7

12:15 p.m. – 1:35 p.m.

80 minutes

4/8

1:40 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

80 minutes

• • • • • •

8 periods 400 minutes of instruction per class every two weeks Same schedule every day, classes 1-4 on A days and 5-8 on B days 6 hour 30 minute school days Week 1 – ABABA Week 2 – BABAB

In order to understand the advantages and disadvantages of block scheduling, students surveyed Bay District school teachers.

OPTION Y PERIODS

TIME

D U R AT I O N

1/5

8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

90 minutes

2/6

10:05 a.m. – 11:35 a.m.

90 minutes

3/7

11:40 a.m. – 1:10 p.m.

90 minutes

Lunch for All

1:10 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

35 minutes

4/8

1:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

90 minutes

• • • • • •

Option X and Option Y also require teachers to teach 240 total minutes every day. They do not have an official planning period, and 320 total minutes every day they do. While this option technically violates Article 6.3 of the Master Contract between the Bay District School Board and the Association of Bay County Educators 2014-2017, it is not enough to negatively affect teachers in the way this article is trying to prevent. On the days it does violate, it is only by twenty minutes, and the days it does not violate, it is sixty minutes away from it. Over a two-week period, with Option X, teachers only have a total of 100 minutes more of instruction time than the current seven-period schedule, which is also an initially intimidating number. However, that means only a theoretical ten minutes more of instruction time every day (if each day had an equal amount of instruction time). This also does not negatively affect teachers in the way this article intends to prevent.

8 periods 450 minutes of instruction per class every two weeks Same schedule every day, classes 1-4 on A days and 5-8 on B days 6 hour 45 minute school days Week 1 – ABABA Week 2 – BABAB

With Option X – the optimal choice — teachers would only have a planning period every other day, either on an A day or a B day. The planning time is distributed over a two-week period in order to logically align with the schedule and reduce the overwhelming cost. With the current seven-period system, teachers have 450 minutes of planning every two weeks. With Option X, teachers have an official 400 minutes of planning time every two weeks. However, this does not include the additional 350 minutes of unofficial planning time teachers would receive with the 35-minute study hall period every day.

Advantages include:

• • • •

More time per class leads to better quality instruction More class options More realistic college schedule Fewer subjects for teachers and students to juggle per day

Disadvantages include:

• •

Longer class periods may negatively impact student engagement, creating additional disciplinary issues Makes it difficult for students to catch up when they miss school

Throughout the course of the project, the class met with key figures such as Superintendent Bill Husfelt who provided the reasoning behind cutting the block schedule back in 2008.

He outlined the complexity of the district budget as well as the difficulty involved in coordinating class times into the idyllic schedule.

Through in-depth research and meetings with Superintendent Husfelt and district officials, the class realized that, with the time they had available, they would be unable to change high school schedules back to a block format. Instead, they crafted a report detailing their research and proposals, with the hopes that a future class may pick up where they left off.

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health Bay Medical Center announces TAVR Procedure by: Tammy Newton, Vice President Strategic Planning and Marketing, Bay Medical Sacred Heart

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he area’s first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures were performed at Bay Medical Sacred Heart by a team of cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons earlier this year. TAVR is a minimally invasive, life-saving procedure for patients with aortic stenosis who are considered too high-risk for traditional open heart surgery.

causing the heart to contract or squeeze harder to pump blood to the rest of the body. This is due to the calcification of the valve, excessive wear and tear, or a congenital defect, and typically affects adults 60 years of age or older. Eventually, the heart weakens, increasing the patient’s risk of heart failure and death.

Aortic stenosis occurs when the aortic valve, a valve in the human heart between the left ventricle and the aorta, becomes narrow and restricts blood flow through the valve,

One of the first patients to undergo the procedure, Morris Denman, said his long-time cardiologist, Dr. Amir Haghighat, told him his aortic valve would only keep getting worse. The

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and Cardiac Catheterization. Echocardiography evaluates certain heart murmurs for lesions, hemodynamics, chamber size and function. Cardiac Catheterization provides additional information beyond the initial echocardiograph and clinical findings. It evaluates the severity of regurgitation and non-invasive disease suspicions.

Vandenberg weighed her options: traditional open-heart surgery or this new TAVR procedure. She also considered going out of town but in the end, opted to stay and have the procedure at Bay Medical Sacred Heart.

74-year-old semi-retired pastor said, “Over time as it started to happen, I realized it was not a good quality of life.”

When Denman was told he wasn’t the most ideal candidate for an invasive open-heart valve replacement procedure, he decided to educate himself on the TAVR procedure Bay Medical Sacred Heart was bringing to the Panhandle. Eager for a better quality of life, Denman became one of the first patients to undergo the surgery on March 15th with cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Greg England and interventional cardiologist Dr. Haghighat as co-surgeons.

The procedure is performed through a small incision in the femoral (groin) artery. A catheter is inserted to replace the failing valve, without the need for major open surgery. Patients typically spend two to four days in the hospital.

Only one week after having his heart valve replaced, Denman said he was not only feeling better, but that he was back in the pulpit. “I am doing not just what I was doing before, but more,” he said.

Dr. Haghighat said, “Bay Medical has made an investment in continuing to provide local patients with the best heart care available. All of the physicians and staff involved with the TAVR team have been so pleased to be able to help our patients here, without the need to travel out of town to university centers. Patients who have had the procedure have been grateful to receive treatment and recover close to home where they have family support.”

Dr. England said it is a team effort. “Our success is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the folks on our team. We are excited to have this option for our patients here at Bay Medical Sacred Heart. In the past, there wasn’t a lot we could do for patients like Mr. Denman because there was just too much risk with traditional open surgery. But with this new technology, we can really make a difference in their quality of life,” Dr. England said.

Nancy Vandenberg also had the procedure in late February.

The 89-year-old has had an ongoing heart condition and had two stents placed over the years. Late last year, her cardiologist, Dr. Michael Morrow, identified a defective aortic valve.

Aortic Stenosis can be diagnosed using Echocardiography

“I didn’t want to go out of town at my age, and I didn’t want to travel for appointments,” said Vandenberg. “When I considered the alternative of open-heart surgery and a long recovery, going into a rehab center for three or four weeks, the choice was easy. I didn’t feel at my age I could go through open heart surgery. After the procedure, I was up the next two days and went home. I feel better than I have in a long time. This new procedure is just miraculous, and so are the doctors.”

Over 100,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis each year. Without intervention like TAVR, the survival rate for these patients is approximately 50 percent at two years from the onset of the symptoms. Because TAVR is an invasive surgical procedure, some patients are at high risk for surgery or are not appropriate candidates.

Thanks to this new TAVR procedure, patients are able to get the care they need without undergoing the surgical risks associated with open-heart surgery. They also have higher survival rates, lower major stroke rates, lower rates of valve leakage and higher hemodynamic performance compared to Surgical Valve Replacement Patients.

Currently, Bay Medical Sacred Heart in Panama City, Fla. is the only hospital offering the procedure in the Panhandle. Hospital officials say they are proud to be the area leader with this procedure, and are looking forward to treating more patients using this state-of-the-art technology.

Staff local with your Panama City experts

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Meet our team, view our work or request a proposal online at kerigan.com or get in touch at 850-648-4560.

Our local team is here to lend you our expertise.

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WELCOME, GKN AEROSPACE! GKN Aerospace, one of the world’s largest suppliers to the international aviation industry, has chosen Bay County for the location of its first Florida manufacturing facility. The move will create 170 new jobs and bring more than $50 million to the local area.

Embry-Riddle’s Panama City Campus welcomes GKN Aerospace to the Community.

Visit GKN Aerospace online at www.gkngroup.com/aerospace/Pages/default.aspx

Tyndall AFB/Panama City Campus 850.283.4557 | tyndall@erau.edu

defense intel The Eastern Gulf of Mexico by: Brandi DeRuiter, Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Bay County Chamber of Commerce

L

ocated in the pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico is positioned a little known line stretching from Pensacola extending south to the Florida Keys. Located at 86° 41’, this line is known as the Military Mission Line and delineates everything east as the Gulf Training Range, or Gulf Range Complex. Created by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, this range is unique in that it is larger than all other military training and testing ranges combined and supports joint live fire weapons and operational testing for Air Force, Navy and Marine units from around the world. Locally for Northwest Florida, the Gulf Range Complex supports NAS Pensacola, NAS Whiting Field, Hurlburt AFB, Duke Field, Eglin AFB, NSA Panama City, and Tyndall AFB. This significance of this line is that it is also located within the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) which encompasses 1.76 billion acres of submerged, taxpayer-owned lands. Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, the Secretary of the Interior is charged with the administration of mineral exploration and development, empowering the Secretary to grant leases to the highest qualified responsible bidder and to regulate as necessary.

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As oil and gas leasing activities pushed farther eastward [from Texas and Louisiana] and new military technologies were advancing, the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior struck a Memorandum of Agreement in 1983. In this agreement, the DOI recognized the critical nature of national defense and security and aimed to ensure that the armed forces achieve and maintain an optimum state of readiness. In turn, the DOD recognized that the OCS leasing program is an integral part of the nation’s energy security. The memorandum further clarified that in such cases of conflicting missions, procedures shall be followed to reach mutually accepted solutions.

Establishing the Military Mission line in 2006 was the mutually accepted solution to these incompatible activities around the outer continental shelf.

Although the Military Mission Line wasn’t formally established until 2006 as encroachment became an issue, the military has been using the training and testing range for over 60 years. What began as a place for numerous coastal Florida installations to practice air-to-air engagements, air-to-surface

Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) Areas (Pub. Law 109-432) GA

AL

MS

LA

see Inset below

Military Mission Line

FL 125 mile line

C

Central Planning Area

A

Incompatible Activities

Eastern Planning Area

B

Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

µ

bombing, and strafing has developed into the nation’s only Current Moratoria Inset Areas Can Become Shareable under Moratoria Note: No range to accommodate the military’s advanced and evolving GOMESA Other than the Striped Areas technology requirements.

Emerging technologies such as GOMESA Not Shareable under Note: These blocks do not fall within the 2002-2007 Planning Area nd thereafter)

by GOMESA. or the 181 Area as definedautonomous hypersonics, systems, and advanced surface Planning Area Limits nning Area (CPA) and2007-2012 subsurface warfare systems require enlarged testing and atoria) training zones and reliance on the Gulf Training Range. The 200 Statute Miles 100 50 0 Scale: 1:5800000 Projection: Albers Gulf range is the only range large enough to accommodate the speed and distance demands of new technologies. Additionally, this area of the Gulf of Mexico closely resembles the Persian Gulf making it a vital training and testing ground for the US Navy.

016)

nning Area

atoria)

100 mile line

181 Area in the CPA not Under Moratoria (DeSoto Canyon partial blocks 89, 90, 91)

The Gulf of Mexico is comprised of three planning areas for oil and gas leasing activities - the Western, Central, and Eastern Gulf. Currently most of the Eastern Gulf planning area (east of the Military Mission Line) is closed under Congressional moratorium to all oil and gas leasing activities until 2022, which is the end of the 2017-2022 leasing program cycle. Oil and gas production in the Eastern Gulf would put Florida installations at serious risk for closure recommendations during the next commissioned round of BRAC.

U.S. Department of the Interior

The maritime boundaries and limits shown hereon, as well as the division between planning areas, are for descriptive purposes only and do not prejudice or affect United States jurisdiction in any way.

Many military operations are not compatible with activities resulting from the DOI’s submerged land leasing program.

Oil platforms and floating production systems would be exposed to unacceptable safety risks in areas where live weapons testing and naval subsurface magnetic and acoustics testing are performed. Military missions require unlimited access to the airspace for high speed flying and maneuvering as well as the sea surface and subsurface areas for use by ships and submarines.

Live munitions including longbow missiles are used to counter small maneuvering hostile surface vessels (small boat targets). Bombs, missiles, rockets, and gunnery rounds from aircraft are fired toward targets and may detonate above, at, or slightly below the water surface. A Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile is launched more than 200 nautical miles from its target and missiles launched from Apache helicopters detonate at just a few feet above the water. Tyndall AFB uses the range heavily with 250 training days a year and access to Gulf Training Range allows them realistic aerial target practice against unmanned QF-16 drone jets. The range contours and water depths replicate more than 80 percent of the world’s littoral regions allowing tenants at Naval Support Activity Panama City to develop, test and train in littoral warfare missions.

BOEM - Mapping and Boundary Branch 11/1/2012

Threat of BRAC Base realignment and closure (BRAC) is near and imminent.

The BRAC Commission uses a series of criteria to determine a recommendation for a military installation’s closure.

The top two criteria that determine an installation’s, and its community’s, future are: 1) The current and future mission capabilities including impact on operational readiness, joint war fighting and training; and 2) Availability and condition of land, facilities, water, and airspace to maintain a diversity of climate and terrain among training areas. Since 1988, five rounds of BRAC have closed numerous installations. Efforts to obtain congressional authorization for another BRAC have been requested annually by the Department of Defense in it’s budget request for the last several years.

Economic Value Defense economic impact estimates for the State of Florida conclude that defense spending accounts for about 10% ($80 billion) of Florida’s gross state product creating about 775,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs. Defense activities in NW Florida alone generate over 180,000 jobs and account for 35% ($20.4 billion) of the region’s gross domestic product.

By contrast, offshore oil and natural gas development estimates for the State of Florida show that if the Eastern Gulf were to be opened up to leasing activity this year, that by 2035, about 66,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs would be created with $6.5 billion expected contribution to the state’s GDP.

These military activities offer only a glimpse into the numerous types of munitions used during testing and training. But by and large, they may result in large debris fields from impact zones.

Given World events today, we know that our forces and our weapons technologies must be more diverse and flexible than ever before. Lifting or allowing the moratorium to expire restricts the DOD’s primary mission of maintaining our Nation’s military readiness by limiting the realistic training preparations for combat. In this age of modern warfare, there is no time to get ready; we must be prepared to defend our nation wherever and whenever necessary.

The Bay County Chamber maintains the position to support and extend or make permanent the Congressional Moratorium prohibiting oil and gas leasing activities in the Eastern Planning Area of the Gulf of Mexico east of the Military Mission Line.

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economic profile

EDA INSIGHTS

an update from Bay EDA

by Becca Hardin, President

current labor statistics for Bay County

LABOR FORCE

EMPLOYED

UNEMPLOYED

UNEMPLOYED RATE

FEB 17

-

-

-

-

MAR 17

89,593

86,005

3,588

4.0%

APR 17

89,715

85,750

3,965

4.4%

FEB 16

-

-

-

-

MAR 16

88,151

83,965

4,186

4.7%

APR 16

87,467

83,426

4,041

4.6%

real estate sales EXISTING SINGLE FAMILY HOMES

REALTOR SALES

MEDIAN PRICE

REALTOR SALES

MEDIAN PRICE

FEB 17

252

$193,625

18,033

$225,000

MAR 17

325

$204,250

25,921

$231,900

APR 17

282

$213,500

23,829

$234,900

FEB 16

218

$175,000

18,159

$200,000

MAR 16

278

$173,294

23,758

$209,500

APR 16

269

$185,000

24,109

$213,000

CONDO - TOWNHOME SALES FEB 17

123

$222,000

7,794

$162,000

MAR 17

169

$237,900

8,673

$166,900

APR 17

162

$231,000

7,209

$161,000

FEB 16

100

$213,500

7,658

$150,000

MAR 16

122

$215,900

10,076

$155,000

APR 16

121

$210,000

6,791

$151,000

Bay County building permits

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL

FEB 17

23

1

MAR 17

44

15

APR 17

37

0

FEB 16

52

1

MAR 16

43

0

APR 16

45

0

Bay County sales tax collections

22

GROSS SALES

TAXABLE SALES

TAX COLLECTIONS

FEB 17

$650,602,427

$247,977,335

$15,433,093

MAR 17

$478,286,279

$270,304,917

$16,919,073

APR 17

$461,554,597

$359,693,958

$21,894,353

FEB 16

$449,668,082

$232,977,484

$14,443,187

MAR 16

$491,205,833

$268,078,167

$17,054,501

APR 16

$616,168,371

$339,595,305

$20,738,451

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Greetings Partners, Thank you to all that helped us celebrate and officially welcome GKN Aerospace to Bay County on May 9th. It was a great day, and we are seeing a lot of momentum in our business developments efforts from this big news. Success breeds success, and this project is receiving international attention.

This is a great lead in to our delegation’s efforts at the Paris Air Show at the end of June. While it may sound glamorous, your team will be hosting back-to-back meetings touting the assets of Bay County to aerospace executives in an effort to secure another win for our community. We will be worn out by the end of the show!

While we work to successfully integrate GKN into our community, we also have several other projects in the pipeline. We are still working the large aircraft painting project that is interested in locating at the Airport proper at one of our runway access sites. We are in the final phases of discussion with this company and hope to be able to report the outcome soon. Also, we are working with a Mexican automotive supplier that is attracted to our community due to our international Port. There are many other projects in the earlier stages of the process that we are focusing on as well.

There are many wonderful things happening in our community right now. With Triumph Gulf Coast’s recent incorporation and being stood up to receive a legacy amount of funds to support economic diversification, infrastructure, education and workforce development, we will only see more transformation in our local and regional economy.

THe air in Bay County is electric and we hope it lasts for a very long time.

April - June 2017 Demographic Snapshot Bay County Population: 181,635 Median Age: 38.57 Labor Force: 87,311 Average Wage: $35,948

Households: 67,922 Household Income: $49,545 Per Capita Income: $25,246

Bay County bed tax collections

PANAMA CITY BEACH

MEXICO BEACH

PANAMA CITY

JAN 17

$495,113

$70,339

$24,127

JAN 16

$475,340

$92,804

$22,657

% CHANGE

4.16

-10.00

6.49

FEB 17

$728,369

$85,637

$33,783

FEB 16

$662,056

$92,804

$25,982

% CHANGE

10.02

-7.72

30.02

MAR 17

$1,421,784

$155,229

$57,568

MAR 16

$1,192,962

$159,731

$48,109

% CHANGE

19.18

-2.82

19.66

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport passenger traffic

TOTAL PASSENGERS

COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS

FEB 17

49,917

742

MAR 17

83,585

1,263

APR 17

-

-

FEB 16

52,848

911

MAR 16

81,006

3,123

APR 16

-

-

National, state & local unemployment rate (Jan 1990 to Jan 2016) 16.0

14.0

12.0

10.0

Florida

8.0

US Bay County

6.0

4.0

2.0

0.0 Jan-90

Jan-92

Jan-94

Jan-96

Jan-98

Jan-00

Jan-02

Jan-04

Jan-06

Jan-08

Jan-10

Jan-12

Jan-14

Jan-16

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technology Digital Trends in Advertising by: Dana Kerigan, VP Media, Kerigan Marketing Associates

W

ith marketing methods changing rapidly, it is important for forward-thinking business owners to understand innovations and patterns needed to help their company stand out in the digital future.

From the evolving expectation of instant communications to the needs of cord-never millennials, Dana Kerigan, principal and media guru at Kerigan Marketing Associates, shares her top five trends impacting advertising based on her work with over 100 Bay County and regional businesses.

Words Are Overrated: The Year When Images and Videos Rule Videos have surged over the past year, particularly with millennials and their rising Generation Z cohorts, which have embraced pictures and videos as a way to gather and share information. While Baby Boomers “Google it” and read about how to do something, Millennials (currently aged 21-37) start their search with YouTube for a visual how-to. Why is that important? Millennials surpassed Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest living generation, according to population estimates released in 2016 by the U.S. Census Bureau. YouTube is now the second largest search engine, behind Google (who owns YouTube). Businesses should consider connecting with consumers by placing spots on YouTube.

The New Front Door: Your Most Important Store A joint study between the National Association of Realtors and Google concluded that over 90% of real estate searchers relied heavily on websites during the home buying process.

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In 2016, 55% of people in the U.S. started their online shopping trips on Amazon.com. And, recently, retail giant Unilever spent a reported $1 billion to snap up five-year-old Dollar Shave Club.

But, given this obvious trend, many small businesses still have a set-it-and-forget-it mentality for their websites. While they would never ignore a prospect who walked into their door, they could unintentionally be doing this with their online first impression. Brick and mortar sales remain as relevant as ever, but the online-to-onsite connection is accelerating. Recommendation: Get Google Analytics on your website. It is a free tool for measuring traffic and trends, how long visitors stay on your site and determine your most popular pages. Next, audit your website to determine if improvements need to be made. HubSpot’s free tool www.websitegrader.com is an easy way to insert your website name and get a quick website score.

Mobile-First After years of “mobile-first” monikers, smartphones have now firmly solidified their position as our go-to device where we start our search. During recent research for an Alabama college client, we learned over 51% of searches originated on a mobile device--up 25% from the previous year. As mobile devices take over photography, replace alarm clocks, and provide on-the-go access to our email, social media platforms and even audio books, they have transformed how we communicate and share information.

Make sure your website is mobile-friendly; just because you can get to it on a smartphone does not mean it is. Use websitegrader.com for a mobile-friendly score on your website.

Also, consider how your website looks on your smartphone screen. It may be time to reorganize important information.

An Expectation of Instant: The Need for Speed Today’s consumers expect to get want they want now. Modern devices have fueled this craving for instantaneous fulfillment. A 2015 Google survey reported 40% of us will abandon a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load; that percentage is growing at an exponential rate. Mobile pages with a one second shorter load time saw conversion rates increase by 27%.

Do not expect consumers to be patient. When someone is ready to buy, make the process easy and accurate. An incorrect phone number or missing link could cost you business.

An online audit of your referral listings, and repair of links, can deliver significant increases in your website traffic.

Because You Build It: Does Not Mean They Will Come You can build the best website in the world and wait for them to come, or you can prime the pump to quicken the pace.

Remember the good ole 4 P’s from basic business classes -Product, Place, Price, Promotion? Turns out the last one is

important, at least in many cases. Here is a quick primer on organic traffic vs. paid search: Organic traffic includes all visits where a searcher got to your website by virtue of its page ranking and key words---basically how well it is built with optimization techniques, like mobile-friendly formatting, and updated content. Think of paid search as jumping to the front of the line to position your website’s listing above others. Key techniques include pay-per-click Google AdWords where you only pay when someone clicks to your website. Budgets can be capped at any level. With online banner ads, you pay per impression.

Think of these as mini-billboards in the digital space. Costs range roughly between $12-18 per thousand, and this category includes video such as YouTube and HULU, and digital radio such as Pandora and Spotify.

Cleared for landing Gulf Power is proud to be part of the regional effort alongside Bay Economic Development Alliance and others to welcome GKN Aerospace to Panama City and The St. Joe Company’s VentureCrossings™ site. This location is a Florida First Site — a program Gulf Power developed to

FloridaFirstSites.com

attract new business and jobs to the region.

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Take your next step with Regions.

Every accomplished goal starts with a first step. At Regions, we’re here to help support our Bay County community in taking those steps, through a strong leadership team, helpful guidance and friendly associates. We put our knowledge and resources to work each day, finding ways to help move you toward your financial goals. Our team is dedicated to Bay County and we will work tirelessly to help you get where you want to go.

1.800.regions | regions.com

Left to right: Steven Aase, Market President; Robin Striblin, Mortgage Production Manager; John O’Mera, Consumer Banking Manager

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© 2017 Regions Bank. Regions and the Regions logo are registered trademarks of Regions Bank. The LifeGreen color is a trademark of Regions Bank.

workforce connection The True Cost of Childcare by: Kim Bodine, Executive Director, CareerSource Gulf Coast and Lynne Eldridge, Executive Director, Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida

Y

ou have likely listened to or commiserated with someone whose family budget includes a large childcare bill. While the cost of childcare is a strain that stretches budgets to the limit, the true cost of quality childcare is a sizeable segment of the “would be” workforce who cannot work due to their inability to afford the childcare required for them to do so. Additionally, there is an intangible cost of the inability to access childcare for the sake of our most vulnerable children, and for those whom early learning programs are the first step in achieving academic success.

They are all part of our future workforce pipeline, and science tells us the first five years of development is critically important. This is something about which we should all be concerned.

While the high cost of childcare affects the working middle and lower middle class families, the financial burden of quality childcare hit the working poor class the hardest. The profile of the working poor is mostly comprised of single moms and minorities, including students and involuntary part-time employees. Most of the working poor do not qualify for public assistance (including housing and food), and making ends meet financially is a challenge. Many of these parents have to make many tough choices to keep the fragile economic balance in their lives stable.

According to a study commissioned by the United Way, 33 percent of Bay County’s families with children are living in poverty or at the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) threshold. ALICE families are the working poor.

The average monthly childcare cost for a Florida family with one preschooler and one child attending school/after-school care is $1,015 per month. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011-2015 American Community Survey, the median earnings of a person 16 years or older in Bay County for the past 12 months was $26,635 (adjusted for inflation). One can see the bind in which our working families find themselves.

We do have organizations that can help with this dilemma; however, funding is too little for the need. The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida is one of 30 coalitions through-

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out the State of Florida focused on delivering comprehensive early learning services like the School Readiness Program in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington Counties. During the 2015/2016 fiscal year, the School Readiness Program brought $5.63 million into Bay County.

Nearly 3,800 children received early care and education and 2,500 parents received assistance with childcare costs to continue employment or education in Bay County. Fully, 90 percent of children 4 to 5 years old in the School Readiness Program scored within the “meeting” and “exceeding” expectations range on research-proven and validated age-appropriate assessments. This is significant because these 4- and 5-year-old children will enter Kindergarten in the fall of 2017.

The Coalition believes the best way to have a positive impact on a child's life is by having a positive impact on their family. Organizations like CareerSource Gulf Coast work with the Coalition to assist parents with skill building and job searching. When organizations, community businesses, and parents work together, families are strengthened, communities grow, and children fulfill their purpose.

If you are interested in helping to provide access to affordable care and education for children while parents are enhancing our local workforce, consider a donation to the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida. For every dollar donated to the Coalition, $16 is matched by the grant to alleviate the waitlist. Please consider supporting the children in our community. Remember, our community is only sustainable if we help our youngest residents get a great start for their promising futures. * Information in this article was provided by the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida and the United Way of Northwest Florida ALICE report. The Alice report can be found at http://unitedwaynwfl.org.

“I have been a club member for nine years and what stands out to me the most, is the fact that the staff really care, and they have been there for me whenever I needed them.�

Jordan Woolsey

2016-2017 Youth of the Year

For 50 years, the Club has provided safe after-school and summer club experiences that assure success is within reach of every young person who enters our doors. We strive for our members to be on track to graduate from high school with a plan for the future, demonstrating good character and citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle.

For more information: visit www.BGCBAYFL.ORG or call (850) 763-2076 B AY B I Z

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If you are a member of the Bay County Chamber and would like to submit your business news to be published, email a press release, logo or photo to: taylor@baychamberfl.com.

Bay County Chamber of Commerce

Alex Baird

Kathy Bedford

Olivia Crosby

Dr. Stephanie Curley

Cynthia Fuller

Shay Hannon

Niki Kelly

Kasey Killebrew

Austin Klanjac

Jacob Mann

Eddie Navarez

Amy Pfau

Holly Pituch

John Pollman

Michael Richardson

Scott Sitkiewitz

Jerry Sowell

Michaelean Stewart

Leadership Bay graduates 34th class On May 8th, a reception was held honoring the 34th class of Leadership Bay at Majestic Beach Resort. The event was attended by the class participants, their employers and family members, the Leadership Bay Steering Committee and the Chamber Board of Directors.

The group began their nine-month curriculum with a weekend retreat at PCMI in October. Curriculum continued every other Wednesday, the class explored the various segments of Bay County’s economy (i.e. tourism, industry, military, law enforcement, local and state government, community volunteerism, communications, media, healthcare and ecology).

Each class is responsible for developing a project of benefit to the Chamber and/or the community. This year’s project was the digitization of the Chamber’s Ecotourism Map. The in30

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teractive map displays numerous destinations for individuals to enjoy outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, bird watching, boating and more. The map can be found by visiting: www.PanamaCity.org/ecotourism/.

Center; Michelle Weiss, Harris Corporation; Jennifer Wolgamott, ZHA, Inc. Bay Young Professional Spotlight

Thank you to those who served on this year’s Steering Committee: Chairman Nick Beninate, Harrison Sale McCloy; Brooke Bullard, Anchorage Children’s Home; DeAnne Carlson, Summit Bank; Jacob Fish, St. Andrew Bay Land Company; Kevin Francis, Bay County Sheriff’s Office; Elizabeth Hooks, Gulf Coast State College; Jenny Howell, Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City; Amanda Jowers, Summit Bank; Rebecca Kelly, Florida State University Panama City; Brian Leebrick, Barron & Redding, P.A.; Tricia Pearce, Life Management Center of Northwest Florida; Shelley Scarborough, Gulf Power Company; Brian Upton, Gulf Coast Regional Medical

J U LY - S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7

Pamela Billing is the Catering Sales Manager for Resort Collection. A 2009 graduate of the University of Illinois, Pamela was previously employed at the Illinois Regent Ballroom and Banquet Center as a banquet coordinator for weddings and special events. She first joined Resort Collection in 2010 as a banquet captain for the food and beverage team. After

working with events in the service capacity, she joined the sales team in 2012. She now enjoys booking and planning events at Resort Collection properties, as well as off-site catering at new locations. She always welcomes the opportunity to plan something new and exciting!

Pamela is a 2013 graduate of the Leadership Bay program, and is involved with both the Bay County Chamber and Panama City Beach Chamber events and programs. Pamela loves dancing; she learned ballroom and nightclub dances at the Regent Ballroom in Illinois, and Latin dancing at the University. Pamela also enjoys time at her fitness center and yoga classes. Pamela enjoys living in Florida and being close to the beach. She likes to travel, and has visited the Cayman Islands and Hawaii for SCUBA diving vacations. She has been out diving in St. Andrews, and looks forward to more opportunities on some of the nearby wrecks this year. She is always excited to learn more about Bay County, and help spread the word about all this community has to offer!

Bay County EMS

treatment to prevent death. Blood flow must be restored as quickly as possible by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or providing clot-busting medication.

Mission: Lifeline seeks to save lives by closing the gaps separating STEMI patients from timely access to appropriate treatments, and the recognition program highlights emergency medical services demonstrating efforts in improving systems of care and improving the quality of life for patients.

“Bay County EMS is dedicated to making our service among the best in the country, and the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program is helping us accomplish that by implementing processes aimed at improving the quality of care for all acute coronary syndrome patients,” EMS Division Chief Corky Young said.

“We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in emergency medical care for all cardiac patients.”

ucators FCU and has great familiarity with the panhandle region. Ford will serve as the Member/Marketing Specialist and assist with the overall marketing and networking for the credit union. He holds a B.A. in Communication from Flagler College.

Panhandle Educators FCU provides exceptional member service and offers competitive financial products to our local and surrounding communities. If you live, work or attend school in the greater Bay, Holmes, Washington or Jackson County area, you are eligible for membership. For more information, visit pefcu.org.

Greg Wilson Law, LLC. Local Attorney Greg Wilson, 45, of Panama City, owner of Greg Wilson Law, LLC, was reappointed for a second term on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit. He is reappointed for a

Emergency Medical System providers are vital to the success of Mission: Lifeline. EMS agencies perform test to rapidly identify suspected heart attack patients, promptly notify the medical center, and trigger an early response from the awaiting hospital personnel.

Panhandle Educators Federal Credit Union Panhandle Educators Federal Credit Union is proud to announce the addition of Christopher Ford to its Marketing team. Ford brings several years of media experience to Panhandle EdThe American Heart Association awarded Bay County Emergency Medical Services with the Mission: Lifeline EMS Silver Award for its implementation of quality improvement measures for treating patients who experience severe heart attacks.

term beginning May 9, 2017 and ending July 1, 2020.

This Commission is responsible for selecting up to six applicants to fill any judicial vacancies that occur.

Greg is one of seven people in the Fourteenth Circuit who was appointed by Governor Scott to serve on this Commission.

Have a submission for the Biz List?

Annually, more than 250,000 people nationwide experience an ST elevation myocardial infarction, or, STEMI. This is the most deadly type of heart attack, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart, requiring timely

Please contact Taylor Smith at 850-215-3755 or via email taylor.smith@baycountyfl.org.

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Bay County is currently in an upward trend of record-breaking tourism success. The Bay Tourist Development Council (TDC) reported visitors spent $1.63 billion in 2016, and had a total economic impact of $2.7 billion in Bay County. The TDC has also seen its best year on taxable lodging revenue in its eight-year history.

With the first quarter of the year in the books, Panama City Beach reported a 19 percent increase in March Bed Tax numbers for 2017 when compared to March 2016.

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The recent success of Panama City Beach’s tourism attraction has caught the eye of some major hotel brands including Hilton Worldwide (HLT), Starwood (HOT), Marriott International (MAR) and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). As a result, more than a dozen building projects, with an estimated overall investment of more than $300 million, are in the works to enhance the area’s already outstanding attractions.

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The highlights of the current building and renovation projects include:

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A $30 million renovation of the Sheraton Bay Point, which unveiled back in November 2016. It is home to an award winning Nicklaus Design golf course, as well as tennis, spa, beach experiences and other family friendly amenities.

A $16 million Holiday Inn Express, consisting of 156 rooms on Front Beach Road, which recently opened.

Innisfree Hotels has a $100 million investment in building a Gulf front 182-room Hampton Inn & Suites within walking distance to Pier Park and plans to open in July 2017.

A developer is also planning a 200-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott that will offer a lazy river pool, as

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well as other amenities for its visitors and will open spring 2018. This location will be just three miles down the road from the Hampton Inn & Suites, and will be beachfront property as well.

Located toward the geographical center of Panama City Beach, the Frank Brown Park Recreation & Aquatics Center fulfilled a $4 million upgrade.

A $30 million project is moving forward with its building plans for a new sports village located on the east end of Panama City Beach. It will be a 210 acre complex that will host a wide variety of tournaments.

A new Fairfield Inn & Suites is under construction near the new sports complex, and will host many visitors who are brought to the area for sports tournaments.

A luxury boutique hotel is expected to open on the west end of Panama City Beach by winter 2018.

IHG has plans for a unique 160-unit, 220-foot tall eco-friendly development on Front Beach Road. The project is estimated to cost between $60 and $70 million.

Nearby, a new 22 story Calypso Resort & Towers III containing 250 units is expected in 2018.

Also on Front Beach Road, the Bikini Beach Resort Motel was purchased for $7.3 million by an investment group, and is currently under renovation.

By the Sea Resorts bought the Beach Tower for $5.3 million, and rebranded the new ownership as Beach Tower By The Sea. Some other projects include: building a new Best Western, a new Panama City Beach Public Works building and a new headquarters building for the Panama City Beach Police Department.

“New construction, investment in infrastructure and a wide-range of retail additions apparent on an afternoon drive in almost any direction from the heart of Panama City Beach. I am so proud that so many businesses share

Tourism Appreciation Month was a huge success! We would like to thank all of the participants and sponsors who helped us celebrate our number one industry!

The month kicked off with First Friday sponsored by United Way of Northwest Florida, program by Governor Rick Scott, and interactive projections by Public Eye SOAR. The 21st Annual Spring Classic Golf Tournament took place at the Bay Point Golf Club, where 30 teams competed for the top spot. 1st place: D.R. Horton; 2nd place: Southerland Funeral Homes; 3rd place: The winner of the Great Golf Ball Drop was Traci Rudhall of Visit Panama City Beach.

BY: DAVID TRIXLER, BAY COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE my sunny forecast for the future of Panama City Beach,” said Dan Rowe, executive director of the TDC.

“We just need to create new reason for people to keep coming back to the beach,” said Rowe. “The TDC sports park is designed to help drive that business, designed specifically to drive business in the other 10 months of the year.”

Tripadvisor.com ranked Panama City Beach #5 in the US for top 25 beaches in 2017 stating, “Best time to go: year-around.” Condenasttraveler. com says that it’s the “best place to experience Florida’s wildlife.” And SportsEvents announced that Panama City Beach made its 2017 list “Top Sports Vacation Spots,” with other locations on the list being spread out across the country.

“Bay County is a great tourism destination and great community,” said Rowe. “I look at our economy as a house. As we look to add stories on the house, grow our economy, we better make sure we spend some time building and strengthening our foundation as we grow. We want to make sure we’re building a strong foundation, and that is what tourism is.”

SPRING CLASSIC

BAY COUNTY TOURISM DEVELOPMENTS

Tourism is the number one industry in Bay County. That is why officials say it is important for the area to grow and cater to its visitors’ desires.

One of the largest current projects is the sports complex on the east end of the beach because it gives people another reason to visit our area.

The last event of the month was the Annual Volleyball Tournament/Business After Hours at Barefoot Hide A Way Grill, where 12 teams competed for the top spot. 1st place: Uncivil Servants (City of PCB); 2nd place: Booz Allen Hamilton (Booz Allen Hamilton); and 3rd place: Team Deep Sea (Naval Diving & Salvage Training Center). Best Team Name went to Bankers, Not Ballers (Trustmark Bank). Best Team Shirt went to Spikin’ Balls, Takin’ Names (Powell Broadcasting).

VOLLEYBALL

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G R E AT G O L F B A L L DROP WINNER

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NOW SERVICING PANAMA CITY!

423.677.8022 Jim Cash, Sales Jcash@dluxprinting.com 850.457.8494 Darrell Jensen, General Manager Darrell@dluxprinting.com 34

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new members

from March 15 to May 31, 2017

Advent Services 4750 Collegiate Dr. Panama City, FL 32405 (850) 441-2915

Forest Park Dental, PA. 2620 Jenks Ave. Panama City, FL 32405 (850) 785-8586

Alexander Air Conditioning, Inc. 5501 Cherry St. Panama City, FL 32404 (850) 874-2665

Gulf Coast Tree Specialists 4542 Bus. Hwy 98 Panama City, FL 32404 (850) 784-9080

AP Family Life Educational Consulting 3230 E. 15th St., Ste. C Panama City, FL 32405 (850) 763-0708 Beard Equipment Co. 4625 N. Hwy 231 Panama City, FL 32404 (850) 769-4644 Bradley's Automatic Gates Inc. 9560 CR 30A Port St. Joe, FL 32456 (850) 227-9866 Chamber Discoveries 1300 E Shaw Ave., Ste 127 Fresno, CA 93710 (559) 244-6600 Cici's Pizza 660 W. 23rd St. Panama City, FL 32405 (850) 481-8419 Cove Dental Care 406 N. Cove Blvd.

Panama City, FL 32401 (850) 769-1710 Dunn Realty 16500 PCB Parkway, Ste. B Panama City Beach, FL 32413 (850) 235-0146

Hampton Inn & Suites 15505 Front Beach Rd. Panama City Beach, FL 32413 (850) 679-2886 Hampton Inn by Hilton 2909 Thomas Dr. Panama City Beach, FL 32408 (850) 236-8988 Hot Shot Specials, LLC 123 Newport Island Centerville, GA 31028 (478) 293-8036 Hudson Management Services 42 Four Seasons Shopping Ctr #132 St. Louis, MO 63017 (314) 882-5780 Johnstone Foods, Inc. 2101 Northside Dr. #202 Panama City, FL 32405 (850) 769-1397 Lavished Ministries, Inc. 5014 Pretty Way Panama City, FL 32404 (850) 532-2235 McDonald's David Costa Enterprises 717 Harrison Ave. Panama CIty, FL 32405 (850) 897-3169

Willie Pollard Ins Agcy Inc Willie Pollard, Agent

1317 N Tyndall Parkway Panama City, FL 32404-3200 Bus 850 872 0414 Cell 850 866 1077 Fax 850 872 8770 willie.pollard.cvlw@statefarm.com The greatest compliment you can give is a referral.

Netchex (850) 387-1994 New Visions Lawn Care 3012 E. Highway 390 Panama City, FL 32405 (850) 558-5590 Seagrass Village of PCB 600 Grand Panama Blvd., Ste 304 Panama City Beach, FL 32407 (850) 238-8526 Shoreline Partners Wealth Mgmt.

408 W. Baldwin Rd. Panama City, FL 32405 (850) 403-0913 Shrimp Basket 749 W. 23rd St. Panama City, FL 32405 (850) 387-1950 Southerland Event Center 1112 Ohio Ave. Lynn Haven, FL 32444 (850) 265-2115 Southern Pipe & Supply 333 W. 14th St. Panama City, FL 32401 (850) 588-3520 Stanley Steemer 3217 W. Hwy. 390 Panama City, FL 32405 (850) 656-1777 The Panhandle Group PO Box 9081 Panama City, FL 32402 (850) 819-7599 The Public Eye PO Box 1653 Panama City, FL 32402 (850) 769-6996

Turnkey Vacation Rentals 13800 PCB Parkway, Ste. 106-D Panama City Beach, FL 32407 (850) 510-0101 Unifirst Corporation 17740 Ashley Dr., Ste 107 Panama City Beach, FL 32413 (850) 233-8586 US Lawns Panama City 3004 Minnesota Dr. Lynn Haven, FL 32444 (850) 387-7415 Water Tech Saver 949 Jenks Ave. Panama City, FL 32401 (850) 819-2057 Your Business Is My Business PO Box 15162 Panama City, FL 32402 (850) 896-6224 Zachary Van Dyke, PA. PO Box 2524 Panama City, FL 32402 (850) 215-6445

member anniversaries from March 15 to May 31, 2017

5 years ACE Home & Garden Center Bay Center Nursing & Rehab Firefly General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) Money Mizer Pawn & Jewelers Pirate Cruise Sea Screamer Dolphin Cruise Taco Bell Lynn Haven

10 years Classic Carpets Plus Color Tile David Weekley Homes Glen Cove Nursing Pavilion Noles Scapes Roussos Air Conditioning

DON ALD GI LES

15 years

MAI, SRA

Leon Walters, Sr. Sunglass World of NW FL. Inc.

20 years Capt. Tom Corley & Son Marine Surveyors Tom Gladstone Homes, LLC.

25 years

Cert. Gen. RZ356

Commercial and Residential Property Valuations

122 E 4th St Panama City, Fl, 32401 Phone: 850-769-6593 Fax: 850-872-9160 gilesappraisal@knology.net

Emplo

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Mar-K Towing, Inc.

Company Name

Employee Name Position Title

Street Address Address 2 City, ST ZIP Code Phone: 555.555.0125 Fax: 555.555.0145 E-mail address

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Employee Name Position Title

Street Address Address 2 City, ST ZIP Code Phone: 555.555.0125 Fax: 555.555.0145 E-mail address

Company Name Street Address Address 2

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out&about

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Improving Bay's Image As the Panama City Leaders works to finalize a plan for the Redevelopment of the Panama City Marina, several downtown businesses have already begun working to improve their storefronts to prepare for the change. This facelift they are providing is the next step needed to improve Bay County’s image and be a catalyst for new growth in the region. Below are some of the businesses the Bay County Chamber of Commerce commends for their efforts in building a better Bay.

1. One Thirty One Events by Trigo (131 Harrison Ave.) 2. Leitz Music (508 Harrison Ave.) 3. Planted True (310 Harrison Ave) 4. Relief Skate Supply / HUE Salon (229/231 Harrison Ave.)

5. Home of Brian and Gayle Humboldt (221 Harrison Ave.)

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October 13-15, 2017 Panama City, Florida

PA N A M A C I T Y FLORIDA

Where Life Sets Sail

Plan now to attend the Strummin’ Man International Ukulele Festival, where musicians from around the world will join our very own 200-piece Ukulele Orchestra of St. Andrews.

Learn more and register to win a trip for two at DestinationPanamaCity.com