2012 Executive Fitness by Kat Hughes

GULF COAST

DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

Business Review

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GULF COAST BUSINESS BUZZ

+ Fort Myers hiring boom No. 1 in nation It may be hard to believe, but a recent survey by employment firm Manpower forecasts a

cuts. And in North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, 13% of employers plan to hire more people while 4% plan staff cuts.

+ The ‘greening’ of Sarasota is game on Will Sarasota be the next Greenville, S.C.? That’s the hope, in some respects, that local economic development officials and city leaders have with Norman Gol-

lub, the newly hired downtown Sarasota economic development coordinator. Gollub, who starts his new post in early 2013, was the economic development manager for the upstate South Carolina city, with a population of about 60,000, from 1998 to 2004. He secured more than $825,000 for improvement projects, according to his résumé, and he led efforts to haul in $50 million in private redevelopment funds. That résumé is the backbone

of the optimism. For instance, Steve Queior, president and CEO of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, says Gollub’s Greenville experience stood out among the 60 or so other applicants. Gollub scored high marks for several other jobs, Queior told the Sarasota Observer, sister paper of the Business Review, but the one possibly most impressive item of experience was Greenville,

See COFFEE TALK page 3

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COFFEE TALK

hiring boom in the Cape CoralFort Myers area. In fact, Manpower says the Fort Myers area has the best prospects in the nation for hiring. The employment firm says 27% of the companies it interviewed in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area plan to hire more staff in the first quarter. Just 4% plan to reduce staff. Meanwhile, in the Tampa area, 17% of employers plan to add staff while 12% plan job

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COFFEE TALK

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+ Does Collier need economic development? Until this summer, Collier County has been without an economic development organization for more than a year, and it only just announced the hiring of a new economic development chief. But judging by the job numbers, the lack of an economic development organization doesn’t seem to have hurt Collier County, at least as far as job creation is concerned. The Naples area saw more job formation in the year ending in October than any other metro area on the Gulf Coast on an annual percentage-change basis, up 2.1%. By contrast, neighbor Lee County, which has an active economic development organization to recruit businesses with cash incentives, saw employment decline 1.4% over the same period. Collier recently hired Bruce Register

Business outlook brightens at Gulfeagle In another sign that the housing market is improving, Jim Resch, the founder and CEO of Tampabased Gulfeagle Supply Inc., a building material distributor and one of the Business Review’s 2012 Gulf Coast 500, predicts that his business will grow in 2013. “We expect it to be better than 2012,” he says. His estimate is for a 6% to 8% increase in revenue. “It’s not going to go off like a rocket or anything,” says Resch. Gulfeagle, which ranked 37th on the list of the top 500 Gulf Coast companies by revenue, also plans to grow its national footprint. “We do expect an acquisition or two,” he says. “We expect [2013] from a business standpoint to be a fairly good year.” However, Resch remains reserved about the influence the government could have, saying a lot depends on what happens with the so-called fiscal cliff, and whether business taxes rise substantially. Gulfeagle distributes residential and commercial roofing and other building products. It has grown from a single location in 1973 to 60 locations nationwide today. Acquisitions, and a breadth of products from drywall to fireplaces, have helped the company grow. In 2011, Gulfeagle reported $435 million in gross revenue, a 2.2% decline from the 2010 level.

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september CONSUMER DURABLES ($ in millions)

Annual Area Durables Change Tampa-St. Petersburg $203 10% Punta Gorda $11.1 9.9% Naples $35.4 9.7% Cape Coral-Fort Myers $50.2 2.7% Sarasota-Bradenton $50.7 -3%

What it means: Except for Fort Myers and Sarasota, consumer-durable sales on the Gulf Coast exceeded the Source: Florida Legislature Office of Economic & Demographic Research statewide growth on an annual percentage-change basis (up 6.7%). The decline in Sarasota in September is likely a seasonal aberra- politicians find a solution to various economic uncertainties. Still, sales of new tion. Statewide, consumer-durable sales increases were strongest in Fort Lauder- homes on the Gulf Coast are rising and dale (up 18.4%), Palm Coast (up 16%) that’s a positive development for furnishings and home electronics. Meanwhile, and Jacksonville (up 10.8%). job creation continues in most areas and staff cutbacks have slowed. Forecast: The political and economic uncertainty after the elections has dampened spending for bigticket items, retailers report anecdotally. The spurt of spending in the fall may not carry through into the New Year until

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“which is a very progressive community,” Queior says. Queior says he doesn’t expect Gollub to “walk on water,” but expectations are still great. Indeed, the crux of the position, paid for by the chamber, the city of Sarasota and the Downtown Improvement District, is to fend off competition from other nearby retail centers. That goes from St. Armands Circle to The Mall at University Town Center in north Sarasota, scheduled to open in 2014. Gollub, a principal at an economic development and urban design firm in Portland, Ore., after he left Greenville, will certainly have his challenges in Sarasota. For starters, Downtown Improvement District Chairman Ernie Ritz points out few funds are available to Gollub, past conducting studies. There is also the overhanging dysfunction that often marks Sarasota city government. Examples include parking issues that have taken years to resolve; developers and entrepreneurs who cite non-friendly, if not downright hostileto-business city employees; and a public records law and computer fraud scandal that ultimately led to the city manager’s resignation.

12/10/12 10:01 AM

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

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GULF COAST WEEK REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS AT A GLANCE

CHARLOTTE-LEE-COLLIER Kiker is TDC chair

The Lee County Board of County Commissioners appointed Larry Kiker as the chairman of the Tourist Development Council, replacing Lee County Commissioner John Manning. Kiker, who defeated longtime incumbent Ray Judah in the fall for a seat on the county commission, was mayor of Fort Myers Beach from 2008 until he was elected commissioner. Kiker served on the Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency and was elected to the town council in 2007. The TDC is a nine-member council that oversees the use of

EXECUTIVE

DECISION Will your company give employees holiday bonuses this year? To vote in this week’s poll, visit: review.net/decision Results from last week’s poll:

Have you taken any actions to prepare for possible yearend tax changes? 57% Yes

43% No

tourism bed-tax collections and reviews the expenditures of the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau. The tax on accommodations raised $26.5 million in Lee County the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Home prices climb

The median price of existing single-family homes in Lee County rose 33% to $137,000 in November compared with the same month one year ago, according to data from Realtors. The price surge continues as cheap foreclosures and short sales slow. Traditional sales made up nearly 68% of all sales in November, according to the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach. While prices rose, sales fell. Realtors in Lee County reported the number of sales dropped to 821 in November, a 16% decline from the same month in 2011.

NeoGenomics on Nasdaq

The shares of cancer-testing firm NeoGenomics recently started trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market, boosting its exposure to institutional investors. The shares now trade under the symbol NEO and the recent share price was $3. Previously, NeoGenomics shares traded over-the-counter under the symbol NGNM. “The transition to the Nasdaq Capital Market is a significant milestone for NeoGenomics

and reflects the strong revenue and operating income growth we have achieved over the last several years,” says Douglas VanOort, the company’s chairman and CEO, in a statement.

TAMPA BAY Celestan chairs chamber

Gregory Celestan, chairman and CEO of technology firm Celestar Corp., plans to reinforce community business ties with MacDill Air Force Base in his new role as 2013 chairman of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. More than 600 people attended the installation of Celestan and other leaders at the chamber’s 127th anniversary event at the Tampa Convention Center. Robin DeLaVergne, executive director of Tampa General Hospital Foundation, was installed as 2013 chairwoman of the chamber’s executive committee. James Ferman Jr., former chairman of the chamber, received the 2012 H.L. Culbreath Jr. Profile in Leadership Award. Ferman is CEO and president of Ferman Motor Car Co., and chairman of The Bank of Tampa.

Tampa woman gets prison A woman who pleaded guilty to filing fraudulent tax returns has been sentenced to more than five years in prison. Belinda Brooks, 47, of Tampa, was sentenced to 42 months for theft of government property. U.S. Dis-

Airport traffic decreases Passenger traffic at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport fell 12% in October over October 2011. Airport officials blamed the decrease mostly on the departure of AirTran, which ceased operations at the airport in August. A subsidiary of Southwest Airlines, AirTran had been the second busiest trict Judge Mary Scriven gave Brooks an additional 24 months for aggravated identity theft. The court also ordered Brooks to repay $118,882.63, the proceeds of her criminal activity. Brooks stole the names and social security numbers of other people to file fraudulent tax returns in their names and get tax refunds for 2008 and 2009. She also filed her own false tax return.

SARASOTA-MANATEE Broker sentenced

A federal judge sentenced one-time Sarasota-area loan officer Mark Leetzow to a year and a day in prison for his role in a widespread mortgage fraud conspiracy. Leetzow previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and to making false statements to federally insured banks. Leetzow was also ordered to pay $3.4 million in restitution. Leetzow, 44, was a loan officer for Countrywide Home

carrier at the airport, which goes under the SRQ call letters. The airline represented more than 30% of total traffic, officials say. Airport executives have wooed other airlines, including United, Delta and Jet Blue, to add flights in a move to make up for the drop.

Loans and National City Bank from 2005 to 2007, according to court records. Officials say the mortgage fraud conspiracy, which includes at least 20 defendants, goes back more than a decade and covers 150 homes and $200 million in fraudulent loans.

Districts lose grants

The Manatee County School District and the Charlotte County School District were rejected for nearly $30 million in federal grants. Both of the districts applied for and were finalists for funds through the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top program. But neither district finished in the top 16 nationwide, the qualifications for receiving the awards. The Race to the Top program monitors the progress of school-reform initiatives. Miami-Dade County Public Schools was the only Florida district in the top 16. The district received $30 million in grants.

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COFFEE TALK

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

ough County’s corporate business development manager. He’ll start his new job in Collier in late January with an annual salary of $103,500. While the Tampa area’s employment growth over the past year was 1.7%, it leads the region in sheer number of jobs created over that period — 19,300 through October, or about one-third of the total of jobs created statewide.

+ Flat lending market defies banking improvements The amount of institutions on federal regulators’ troubled bank watch list is at a three-year low, yet the national bank lending scene, at least in commercial real estate, remains flat. That’s the analysis from CoStar Group, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate data firm. CoStar, in a new report, says multifamily lending nationwide increased 1% in the third quarter, while investment property lending was up about one-quarter of a percent. Multifamily lending is close to its previous pace, of year-over-year increase of 5%, the report also shows. But investment property lending “is way off its 9% a year growth over the last four quarters.” The data falls further in construction and development loans. Loans in that area, CoStar says, decreased 3.3% in the third quarter over the second quarter, and are down 17.3% year-over-year. CoStar notes that the flat report defies some of the rosier news coming out of the national banking industry. For example, the Federal Reserve Board says construction and commercial real estate, especially office and industrial space, were generally improving, though “gains were modest in most cases.” The Fed, in its most recent credit conditions survey, added that some businesses re-

A native of Norway, Squires trained in ballet with the Royal Academy of Dancing starting when she was 12. She later danced with the Royal Norwegian Opera Ballet Evelyn Squires and, after she moved to the U.S., in several performance groups in Utah and Seattle. She relocated with her family to Sarasota five years ago and decided to open the studio. Revelle AcadeHeather Squires my now serves up to 235 students a year, more than double since it opened. Squires, with the help of her Score mentor, Charlie Sax, also developed a long-range business plan for a retail component. She now sells dance and fitness wear, both out of the studio and online. The online component, actually, is where Squires sees the biggest potential for growth in 2013. Sax, says Squires, has additionally taught her a valuable lesson that doesn’t always show up in a business plan. That would be the value of getting to know other entrepreneurs, in any field. Says Squires: “He’s helped me understand how important networking is in business.” ported “holding back on expansions due to uncertainty.” The bank failure rate, moreover, continued to fall. There were 12 FDIC bank failures in the third quarter — the lowest amount of quarterly failures since the 2008 fourth quarter. The third quarter failures include The Royal Palm Bank of Florida, a Naples-based lender. First National Bank of the Gulf Coast, also based in Naples, acquired Royal Palm’s $85.1 million in deposits and most of its $87 million in assets. The FDIC’s highly watched problem bank list, further, also continues to shrink. It’s now at 694 banks, the first time it dropped to fewer than 700 in 11 consecutive quarters, or the second quarter of 2009.

+ Arthrex wins recognition for innovation Naples-based medical device manufacturer Arthrex is getting some welldeserved recognition. For years, the company has grown in Collier County without many people being fully aware of its global scale. Arthrex has 1,500 employees in Collier and Lee counties and revenues in 2011 reached $1.1 billion. Gov. Rick Scott recently presented Arthrex with the 2012 Governor’s Innovators Business Award, recognizing the company’s efforts. Its founder, Reinhold Schmieding, pulled into Naples in the summer of 1991 with all the company’s assets in a U-Haul truck. In addition to its Southwest Florida work force, Arthrex has 700 employees throughout the U.S. and overseas as well as 2,000 commissioned salespeople. It is building a new manufacturing facility in eastern Collier County near the towns of Ave Maria and Immokalee.

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When Evelyn Squires launched her dance studio five years ago in partnership with her mother-in-law, Heather Squires, she made one crucial, yet common, misstep. She focused too much on the passion, and not enough on the business basics. “I was a dancer,” Evelyn Squires tells Coffee Talk. “I thought as long as I offered dance lessons, the studio would thrive.” That led to some early struggles. But the studio, after five years of trial and error, in addition to significant assistance from nonprofit business counseling service Manasota Score, is now flourishing. In fact Sam’s Club recently named the studio, Sarasota-based Revelle Academy, one of the top 100 small businesses in a nationwide contest. Squires, who also runs La Pointe Dance and Fitness Wear, won a $1,000 Sam’s Club gift card, which she used for supplies and business software. Plus, there were two other prizes: A trip to Texas for a two-day Score High Speed Growth Seminar, and a professional video produced by Sam’s Club for YouTube on how the business works. (View the video by searching youtube.com for “Revelle Academy” or visit the following link: http://ow.ly/ge2zQ) Sam’s Club, through its Holiday Cheer for Small Business Program, analyzed every angle of the studio for the contest. Says Squires: “They want to know you will stay in business and continue to grow.”

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Executive

Fitness

In the thick of the busy holiday season, what with the cookies and cocktails, many of you are probably not quite ready to think about New Year’s resolutions. To help you get off the couch and onto the treadmill, we found inspiring examples of executives who manage to kick butt in athletics and business. The following stories give a window into some of the fittest business leaders on the Gulf Coast, what keeps them motivated, and how they fit crazy workouts into even crazier schedules. One thing’s for sure — their routines make just getting to the gym look a whole lot more manageable.

Executive

Fitness

by Denise Kalette | Editor/Tampa Bay

Testing his Mettle Workout history: A

workout fanatic, Marazzi did mixed martial arts (MMA) for five years before starting to do CrossFit, a workout that uses weightlifting, kettle bells, rowing and other equipment for intense training that is scored to increase competition. “It’s a combination of endurance, strength, and will,” says Marazzi. He says he was a great athlete when he was young, playing football, baseball and basketball. “Anything with hand-eye coordination,” he says. Now his goal is to reach the next level of endurance. His latest method is Orangetheory Fitness, which uses intervals of cardiovascular and strength training to energize the body.

Pushing his limits: A typical

VIDEO:

To hear more about CrossFit from John Marazzi, visit review.net.

CrossFit gym is not air-conditioned, Marazzi says, although he uses other locations, as well. After a warmup, he launches into a skill. “It might be deadlifts (raising a barbell), or it might be walking on your hands,” he says. A CrossFit workout of the day might include 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and hundreds of other exercises. “The timer starts, and it’s a race to see who can finish that workout first,” he says. “When you get done, people fall on the floor, some people vomit. People pass out.” The workouts can be extreme, to be sure. Marazzi says: “To each his own.”

Workout dangers: There’s always a risk of injury, Marazzi says, especially with martial arts. “I got kicked in the jaw and de-

After gaining and then losing 60 pounds, car dealer John Marazzi’s workout regimen has become serious business.

veloped TMJ from it. I could literally not eat, not drink, and not talk. It took four to six months to heal.” The injury happened in 2005. “No matter how tough you are, how well trained you are, there could be one time when you don’t see a punch or kick.” Those hits to the face led Marazzi to reconsider MMA fighting.

Finding a coach: He has worked with a personal trainer for about eight months. “We do elements of CrossFit, we’ll do sick exhausting work with kettle bells and stairs and running and flipping tires, and sledgehammers. You’re swinging it onto a gigantic tire. We actually are up to using 50-pound sledgehammers.” Marazzi says he likes the intense workouts because they relieve anger and stress, and they’re part of his multi-discipline approach to fitness. The proper fuel: He drinks plenty

of water before training, takes supplements, and orders meals from Fitlife Foods in Tampa. He prefers organic foods, with menus that may include tilapia, salmon, or chicken and vegetables.

Warm Up Executive: John Marazzi, 48 Fitness Passion: CrossFit training Career: Co-owner and managing partner of Brandon Honda Fitness-business connection:

Marazzi says he prefers to hire former athletes. “I like competitive people. I gravitate to athletes, because they tend to fit into our goals —grabbing market share and dominating the market.”

Wake-up call: He weighed 185

pounds in high school, but in the business world, as he worked his way up, he ballooned to 245 pounds. “I’m coming home late at night, I’m under stress,” he says. That was 18 years ago, when he was 30. His wake-up call came when he got heart palpitations coming home from a trip. “I actually thought I was having a heart attack. When I got home, I dove into getting my health right,” he says. He read about vitamins, amino acids, herbs, supplements and physical training. “I read everything I could about what I needed to do to get myself back in shape. And I took that journey from 245 pounds back down to 185.”

Philosophy: Willpower is the key

Mark Wemple

For John Marazzi, there’s nothing like flipping a tractor tire to build strength and relieve stress.

to success. “Whether you miss a workout or eat a pepperoni pizza, it doesn't matter, we’re all human beings,” says Marazzi. “Get back in the game. Schedule your workout, get to the gym. Take action. Find a CrossFit gym, or a fitness group. You’ve just got to put in the work.”

Gulf coast Business Review DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

Executive

s s e n t i F

www.review.net

by Jean Gruss | Editor/Lee-Collier

Reaching a Klymaxxx When it comes to competition, this entrepreneur doesn’t play nice. Warm Up Executive: Caroline Semerjian, 42 Fitness passion: Roller derby Career: President of Effective Marketing & Creative Concepts and Velmaxxx Enterprises, maker of No No-See-Um insect repellent, Sanibel.

ways been a skater,” Semerjian says. “I started skating when I was about 7.” So when a friend suggested she join roller derby a few years ago, the athletic Semerjian readily agreed. “I was a pretty easy recruit,” she says. Semerjian doesn’t mind the fact that roller derby is a contact sport, and she enjoys the camaraderie. She competed in Ironman triathlons, but found the sport to be lonely. Still, roller derby isn’t for the faint of heart because hitting between the knees and shoulders is permitted. “It’s a no B.S. attitude,” she says. “You don’t get too many mousy women coming out.” Her roller derby name is Klymaxxx.

How she balances work and training:

“

videos at home.

Why she does it: “Exercise and sports are

so important to a positive attitude,” Semerjian says. “It helps with my confidence.” Her colleagues do it, too. Assistant Melissa Robinson (derby name: Rebel Hell Yeah) and social media colleague Kimberly Chaffin (derby name: Flirtin’ with Disaster) also compete with her.

Taking the pain: “I’ve had some injuries but nothing spectacular,” Semerjian says. Injuries included a bruised tailbone and a black eye after a memorable fall. “I could barely sit down for a couple of weeks,” she says. “There’s a lot of falling down, and getting up takes a lot of energy.” At 42, Semerjian says she’s one of the older competitors. “I rolled my ankle last year. That took five months to get better.”

“

How she got into roller derby: “I’ve al-

Caroline Semerjian: “You don’t get too many mousy women coming out.”

“Derby is a subculture and it’s really easy to get caught up in it, so it’s a second job,” Semerjian says. “I’ve been playing with Tampa for the last few years,” she says. “Tampa is a nationally ranked team.” Semerjian rents an apartment in St. Petersburg where she spends weekends. “I work insane hours,” she says, regularly putting in 12-hour days and adding hours of skating practice. Semerjian says she’s been forced to curtail some of the competitions because her insectrepellent business is booming. “I was planning my entire life around derby,” she says. “People were asking me out to do stuff, but I had to do derby. It’s a huge sacrifice.”

Additional training: In addition to practices in Fort Myers and Tampa that can run late into the night every other day, Semerjian also stays fit by using the Insanity workout

What it costs: A good pair of skates costs $500. “Anything under $150 is garbage,” Semerjian says. Club dues run about $25 to $35 a month. Equipment includes knee and elbow pads, wrist guards, a mouth guard and a helmet. Travel can get expensive. “I know people who maxed out on credit cards.” Mixing business: Semerjian says roller

derby is more of a social opportunity. Roller derby participants come from all walks of life. “Everyone is missing a little something in their life. I was bored on Sanibel,” she says. “It got me out doing things. There’s always a birthday party or a fundraiser; they give back to the community.”

VIDEO:

To hear more about Semerjian’s roller derby adventures, visit review. net.

Caroline Semerjian competes in roller derby, a full-contact skating sport.

Ed Clement

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

www.review.net

Executive

Fitness

by Jean Gruss | Editor/Lee-Collier

Swimming to Kona Larry Black has competed in the Ironman triathlon every year since 2007, even beating kidney cancer one year to race.The surgeon’s key to training is to have a plan. Warm Up Executive: Larry Black, 54 Fitness passion: Ironman triathlons Career: Owner of Lawrence R. Black, General Surgery, Fort Myers How he got into Ironman triathlons: Black has been a competitive

swimmer since his youth and through college into his adult years, but a shoulder injury sidelined him in 2001. So he shifted to running and biking and competed in his first full triathlon in 2002. “I really enjoyed it,” he says. He enjoyed it so much that he qualified for his first Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, in 2007. He’s qualified and competed in the grueling race every year since. It’s a test of endurance that calls for a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run. He completed Kona in 10 hours, 29 minutes earlier this year.

“

Larry Black: “If you don’t plan, you don’t get up in the morning.”

His training regimen: As an older

competitor, Black says he’s shifted the emphasis of his training to the bike and the swim. He used to run 40 miles a week, but now he runs 15 to 20 miles a week and does very little speed work. “It works better,” he says. “It keeps me uninjured.” Because he boosted his bike and swim training, Black maintains enough fitness to get through the triathlon’s marathon run. He doesn’t take a rest day. “The more you do, the more you can do,” he reasons. Black saves his toughest workouts for the weekend, when he might ride 110 miles to Marco Island and back to Fort Myers in a morning.

Make a plan: “If you don’t plan, you

don’t get up in the morning,” Black says. He assembles his gear the night before and lays it out so he’s ready to go when he rises at 4:45 a.m. That includes mixing Gatorade or Gu Brew to stay hydrated. Black keeps logs of all his training regimens. “I like to look back at logs from previous years,” he says. “It gives you a feel for what worked and what didn’t.”

How he balances family, work and training: “Being my own boss is criti-

cal,” says Black, a general surgeon. “I own my own practice.” That means he can alter his schedule for competition and has better control over when he operates on patients. Plus, his wife Debra is a family doctor who works the medical tent during the Ironman Championship. “You’ve got to have a supportive family,” Black says. “She actually follows it more than I do. A lot of what I know is through her.”

How he manages pain: “You have

to enjoy suffering to some extent,” Black says. “The pain associated with athletics, we like.” The only time he takes some ibuprofen is before and during an Ironman competition. “You’ve got to go hard.” Running fewer miles means he has fewer leg-related injuries such as the stress fractures he endured earlier in his triathlon career.

Managing setbacks: Black had kid-

ney cancer in 2010, but he still competed in Kona that year despite the surgery that left a scar halfway around his torso. He limped across the finish line and couldn’t get up the next day. “I had to prove I was recovered. It renewed me,” he says. He adds with a grin: “I got the T-shirt.”

Managing weight: Black weighs 155

pounds on a 6-foot-1-inch frame, but he gains a little more weight for the Ironman Championship because of the energy he burns. “Weight is critical,” he says. “I like to be heavier for Ironman. You burn more fat.”

How he fuels: Black says he doesn’t restrict his diet and prefers high-caloric foods because he needs to consume about 5,000 calories to compensate for his intense workouts. “You can’t eat an apple or a banana,” he says. Black has a fondness for anything with chocolate. “My diet is horrible,” he chuckles. If he’s

tired, he’ll have a cup of coffee after lunch. During a race, he’ll consume Gu gels or chomps. “I like to drink flat Coke during the run. It settles your stomach.”

Motivation: “Ironman is not for your

health,” Black says. “You do it to race and win.” He’s ranked as high as the ninth best American in his age group and 21st overall at Kona. Black says the electric atmosphere at the Ironman Championship in Kona keeps him coming back. “You realize you’re not the only crazy person,” he laughs. Because he’s a superior swimmer, he usually finishes the swim portion at Kona in the top 7% to 8% of all competitors. Black says he remembers to smile during a race to root out negative thoughts. “It’s a defense mechanism. Smile for the crowds and you’re having fun.”

Technology: Black listens to music on his iPhone while riding his bike, and he listens to classic rock like ZZ Top on Pandora. He also owns a Garmin 910 GPS watch to track his workouts in and out of the water.

Brian Tietz

Larry Black logs his workouts so he can look back over them to see what training regimen worked best.

Gulf coast Business Review DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

www.review.net

Executive

s s e n t i F

by Mark Gordon | Deputy Managing Editor

A Nice Racket Tennis wasn’t Eric Eriksen’s first love. But at middle age he says he’s ‘totally obsessed.’

Lap time: Eriksen was born in Denmark and grew up mostly in Norway. The three sports he played the most while a child were swimming, soccer and karate. Swimming was his best sport and he ultimately earned a scholarship to Florida State University. He only stayed on the swim team for one year, however, because he struggled with the balance between practice, studies and adapting to American culture, college style. “It was difficult,” says Eriksen. “I had to learn how to speak American English. The English I learned was British English.”

Mark Wemple

Keep going: Eriksen picked up tennis seven years ago. He began with a few lessons at the Athletic Club at Lakewood Ranch, not far from his east Manatee County home. He has since joined several local leagues and plays in tournaments from Tampa to Naples. He plays at the 5.5 level in a K-Swiss league and at the 4.5 level in one overseen by the United States Tennis Association. Eriksen will get up

at 6 a.m. and play for an hour or 90 minutes, and he will sometimes play for three hours after work. He also takes rackets with him on trips whenever he can. “I got addicted to it,” he says, “It’s to the point where if I can play three times a day, I will. I’m totally obsessed.”

Ground strokes: Eriksen says his game was clunky and inconsistent at first. “I started at the bottom of the hopeless-case league,” he quips. But he uses his speed to make up for mistakes, and he practices relentlessly. He says serving and volleying are his biggest weaknesses, while his strengths are his forehand and his ability to “wear out people.”

So close: The most recent tournament Er-

iksen competed in was a three-day weekend event at East Lake Woodlands Country Club in Oldsmar. Eriksen made it to the finals, where he lost in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. Eriksen has also competed in the past two U.S. Open qualifying events, though he didn’t make it out of the Florida region.

Play hard: Eriksen has virtually made ten-

nis his only exercise time, save for the days when he’s traveling and can’t make it to a court. He says his all-out style makes playing tennis a stellar cardio workout. “It’s not like being on a treadmill or biking 100 miles,” he says, “but it’s exercise.”

Share your experience with the next generation of business leaders.

Warm Up Executive: Eric Eriksen, 47 Fitness passion: Tennis Career: Global chief architect for IT at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a consulting firm. He works from his east Manatee County home, though he travels for work up to 50 weeks a year. Get away: Tennis courts are one of the few places Eriksen doesn’t think about work. It’s so much of a stress release that Eriksen’s colleagues can tell when he hasn’t played in a few days. The signs: He admittedly gets cranky, impatient and inflexible. “Tennis is my escape from work,” he says. “This is my time away.” Product placement: Eriksen’s favorite

rackets are Babolat Pure Storm rackets. The rackets cost around $175 each. Eriksen says he likes to keep his rackets uniform, so he can’t use gear for an excuse if he plays poorly. “Once you find something that works,” he says, “you stick with it.”

Stay focused: One of Eriksen’s favorites

aspects of tennis is its emphasis on mental control. It’s not like a race or a swim meet, he says, where speed rules. Instead, says Eriksen, tennis is “controlled anger” that’s forced him to use patience he never thought he had. “It’s a very frustrating game,” he says, “and you can very easily lose to someone not as good if you don’t keep it together.”

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

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Executive

Fitness

by Jean Gruss | Editor/Lee-Collier

Iron Man

After collapsing with three miles to go at Ironman Kona in 2009, Jason Gunter remains resolved to finish the 140.6-mile race, despite his physical disadvantage. earned the opportunity to compete in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, by lottery in 2009. But he collapsed three miles from the finish line. “My dream is to get back to Kona,” says the Fort Myers lawyer. “It’s a chapter that’s got to be closed.” The obstacle is that no physically challenged athlete has been able to qualify against ablebodied people for a spot at Ironman Kona — yet.

How he got started: Gunter’s right arm

and left leg were amputated in a boating accident in 1992, but he bought a prosthetic running leg to regain his fitness in 2009. On a whim, Gunter entered the lottery for the Ironman World Championship and earned a rare spot with just five months to train for the grueling event that combines a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run.

“

How he trains: It’s been three years since

Gunter collapsed at Kona and he’s been building strength over those years, completing other Ironman qualifying races. He has four prosthetic legs: one for the gym, another for the bike, one for running and one for everyday walking. “I live not even a mile from the office,” he says. Gunter saves his heavy workouts for the weekend, when he might ride 75 miles on Saturday and run 12 to 18 miles on Sunday. “You pack everything into the weekend,” he says. In addition, Gunter started doing core and strength exercises at the Omni gym at lunch in Fort Myers.

Warm Up Executive: Jason Gunter, 47 Fitness passion: Ironman triathlons Career: Owner of Jason L. Gunter, PA, Fort Myers people and you get referrals,” he says. Having his own practice means Gunter can turn down business. “I take certain cases and certain clients,” he says. “I want to keep it what it is, a niche practice.” Gunter also talks to charitable organizations about his accident and subsequent achievements. “My training has become my marketing,” he says. “My wife [Loree Gunter] is my handler,” he adds.

Diet is important: Gunter focuses on eating proteins and vegetables, avoiding carbohydrates and sugars. “My biggest weakness is my diet,” he says. “Pizza is a major weakness.” So are French fries, potato chips, chocolate, yogurt and ice cream. “When you turn 40 it starts making a difference,” he says. “You’ll never out-train a bad diet. It’s not gonna happen.” Gunter tries to avoid soda and isn’t a big coffee drinker. He’s 6 feet tall and weighs 165 pounds.

“

Why he does it: A double amputee, Gunter

Jason Gunter: “You pack everything into the weekend.”

Balancing work and training: Gunter

trains early in the morning or late at night. A couch in his office is there in case he needs a quick nap. If he misses a workout because of work, he doesn’t get upset. “I used to have a real hard time doing that,” he says. “You have to take it one week at a time.” Gunter trains with groups of athletes, who can be a benefit to his law practice because many of them are hard-charging business owners. “You meet

Legs are expensive: Besides the $10,000

Trek Speed Concept bike equipped with an electronic gear shifter and travel expenses to Ironman competitions, Gunter spent about $15,000 on a prosthetic running leg made by Procare Prosthetics. It’s got a pump that creates a vacuum between the prosthetic and his leg. The prosthetic leg has good suspension and fits tightly, a crucial detail for such a long event as an Ironman. It’s custom made by the Georgia-based company. “I go to a track and they film me,” he says. Specialty skate and bike shoemaker Simmons Racing in Cape Coral made him an aerodynamic cycling leg at no cost. Newton is a sponsor and provides Gunter with shoes. “This sport is expensive,” he says.

Jason Gunter competes in Ironman triathlons despite being a double amputee.

Courtesy

Gulf coast Business Review DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

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Executive

Fitness

by Jean Gruss | Editor/Lee-Collier

Star dancer

Teri Hansen didn’t start dancing until she was 38. Her natural athleticism and intense focus help her beat dancers half her age. Warm Up dancing until August 2000. I was 38 years old,” says Hansen. A friend, Lynn Schneider, vice president of marketing at Shell Point in Fort Myers, urged Hansen to join her for dance lessons at a studio in town. Initially, Hansen thought it would be a good idea for fitness because she’s always been athletic. When Hansen found out about competitions, she was hooked. “I love competing and the pursuit of improvement. If you’re going to do it, then be the best.” Hansen says you can start at any age. “The older you get, the harder it is to find things to do,” she says. “I’ve seen people transformed through dancing.”

Vanessa Rogers

Teri Hansen and her dance partner Alec Lazo practice in West Palm Beach on weekends for as long as six hours at a time.

The competition: Hansen’s goal is to be the national amateur champion in American 9-dance, a grueling event that takes place in September in Orlando. She’s already taken second place and has won about 100 medals and trophies since she started competing since late 2001. “I’ve beaten 25-year-olds before, and that’s an awesome feeling,” she says. “I’m very strong, and very fast and I’m a very good spinner.” Mental preparation: Focus is key to

winning dance competitions. “Dancing is as much mental as physical,” Hansen says. “You have got to have your head right.” She avoids learning who her competitors will be until the event itself. “I found that would psych me out,” she says.

How she balances work and dance:

“I’ll schedule my vacation time around competition,” Hansen says. She also schedules practices with her dance partner, Alec Lazo, a professional dancer in West Palm Beach, on the weekends. “We’re training six hours at a pop,” she says. Hansen says her dancing consists of training for competition, not socializing. “My personal life is so busy I wasn’t looking for a social component,” she says. To build strength, Hansen lifts weights

Executive: Teri Hansen, 50 Fitness passion: Competitive ballroom dancing Career: President and creative director of Priority Marketing, Fort Myers and rides the elliptical machine at a wellness center before work. “It is a creative expression, so it’s just another outlet for creativity,” Hansen says. Dancing doesn’t intrude into her work life. “I am so focused on a daily basis that I don’t feel distracted,” she says. “It’s a hobby. It’s in its appropriate place.”

Diet: A vegetarian, Hansen starts her day by drinking a plant-based chocolate shake made by a company called Vega. Hansen says she has no sweet tooth, but eats lots of nuts. “I drink almond milk and put in blueberries,” she says. How she manages pain: “I’m a big

proponent of massage,” Hansen says. Hydration is key for recovery too, but Hansen doesn’t consume sports drinks, just water. Practice shoes help soften foot pain, but hard floors can take their toll. “Your feet are on fire,” she says.

How she handles setbacks: Hansen suffered a bulging disk in her upper back in 2007 and stopped competing for two years. “I didn’t rush going back in,” she says, but worried she would lose all the dancing skills she had gained. To her surprise, taking time off helped and rejuvenated her passion for dancing. “You have time to regroup and refresh,” she says. Also, after her first competition in October 2001, Hansen was diagnosed with breast cancer. Dancing helped her through those tough days. “When I danced, I danced from a whole different perspective,” she says. “It was a celebration of life.” Like any sport, there are peaks and valleys. “If anyone tells you they don’t get mad, they’re lying,” she says. “I don’t know who wants to do something mediocre. I want to excel at whatever I do. You just keep pressing through.” What it costs: Hansen won’t say how much she spends on dance, but she says a dress can cost as much as $4,000, for example. Lessons, practices and travel expenses add up. “I work to support my habit,” she laughs.

“

How she started: “I didn’t start

Teri Hansen: “Dancing is as much mental as physical.”

Gulf coast Business Review DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

www.review.net

Executive

Fitness

by Mark Gordon | Deputy Managing Editor

Competing Couple

Gulf Coast attorney Will Robinson considered himself a pretty good athlete in his non-work time. Then he met his future wife. First date: The Robinsons met during

a bike training session at the Legacy Trail in Sarasota in 2010. Katie Robinson was already an accomplished athlete when they met. She had competed in triathlons and at least five marathons, and was on the track and field team at the University of Rhode Island, where she was a pole-vaulter. Says Will Robinson: “I figured if I was going to get to know her more, I had to get into training.”

Gym rat: Will Robinson says he was

more of a gym rat before he met his future wife. He lifted weights a few times a week. “I was in good shape,” he says, “but not in that kind of riding or running shape.” Robinson nonetheless brought some of his own long-distance bona fides to the relationship. For instance, he had already completed two 50-mile ultramarathons, albeit when he was a decade younger.

Bragging rights: The Robinsons each

ran the Boston Marathon in April 2011. Katie Robinson beat her husband by six minutes. “I haven’t beaten him (in a race) since,” says Katie Robinson. “But I will always have that.” More than a year

Warm Up

and he made it, wearily, to the finish line.

Executive: Will Robinson, 37, and Katie Robinson, 31, newlyweds

Tough girl: Katie Robinson has her

share of wild competition stories, too. She once ran in a five-person overnight relay race from Miami to Key West, a 207-mile jaunt called the Ragnar Race. She was responsible for a 38-mile leg of the run. She also competed in two Ironman 70.3 half-triathlons this year. One was a qualifying event in Augusta, Ga., and after that, she did the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas. She plans to compete in an Ironman 70.3 event in St. Croix next May.

Fitness passion: Long distance races, marathons, triathlons Career: Will Robinson is a principal with Blalock Walters in Bradenton. Katie Robinson is a personal trainer and a nanny. later the couple remains driven by competition. “I’m always telling myself it’s just for fun,” Katie Robinson says. “But when the gun goes off, I can’t control myself.”

Tough guy: Will Robinson ran in

the Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon in April — a week before the couple’s wedding day. The race was going fine, recalls Robinson, until mile 20. That’s when cramps came. “I was actually close to dropping out of the race,” Robinson says. He took some salt tablets

Different strokes: Will Robinson

uses training runs and rides to think through cases he’s working on. He sometimes even brings a pen so he can write down the theme of an oral argument on his hand while he runs so he doesn’t forget the idea. Katie Robinson’s training runs and rides, however, are more social. “I don’t go out to lunch with my friends,” she says. “I go for runs. That’s how we catch up.”

Something sweet: Both Robinsons

Mark Wemple

eschew fad diets and instead try to eat in moderation. They also avoid carbs and sugars whenever possible. Will Robinson’s weakness is specific: a vanilla milkshake from the Shake Pit on Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton. Katie Robinson’s weakness, on the other hand, is general: anything sweet. “I could eat the icing off three pieces of cake,” she says. “I love sweets. And I don’t have very good self control.”

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Research on Parkinson’s disease was discussed at a meeting in Lakewood Ranch Saturday attended by 260 Parkinson’s patients and their caregivers, and sponsored by the Parkinson Research Foundation. Among information shared by medical professionals was a detailed description of the new Parkinson Place in Sarasota, where patients can participate in programs to improve their lives. Audience participation events included “Dance for Parkinson’s” and “Voice Aerobics,” plus “Eating Well” and “How to Keep Your Body, Mind, and Spirit Up and Moving.”

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

www.review.net

Executive

Fitness

by Mark Gordon | Deputy Managing Editor

Radical Rod Window company CEO Rod Hershberger considers his passion for surfing an addiction. But the obsession has some work-related benefits.

“

Rod Hershberger: “It’s an opportunity to not be interrupted by anybody else.”

Get Wet: When Hershberger’s two

sons were young boys, about 25 years ago, they came home from a swimming outing with some friends with a surfboard. The three Hershbergers thought it seemed like fun, so they decided to figure out how to surf. “We had no idea what to do,” Hershberger says. “But we loved it.”

Go global: Hershberger has since

traveled to multiple surfing hotspots worldwide, with his sons whenever he can. “It’s an addiction,” he says. He’s been to Hawaii for surfing six times and he’s surfed at Witch’s Rock and Ollie’s Point, two famous spots in Costa Rica, where there is world-renowned surfing. He even took each son on a high school graduation trip to Costa Rica. On one trip, recalls Hershberger, they surfed three times a day and the entire party, including 10 kids, went everywhere in one van. “It was hilarious,” says Hershberger. “It was great fun.”

Stay local: While globetrotting for surfing is certainly thrilling, Hershberger says he also likes to catch some waves in his home state. In Florida, though, the East Coast tends to have significantly better surf conditions than the Gulf Coast. Hershberger will sometimes check the weather on the East Coast at night, and, if it’s ripe, start driving across the state before dawn. Closer to home, Hershberger and his sons have surfed at Siesta Key Beach on Christmas morning — before presents.

Warm Up Executive: Rod Hershberger, 55 Fitness passion: Surfing Career: President and CEO, PGT Inc., Venice Relax, dude: Time on the water, especially paddling and waiting for waves, is when Hershberger often comes up with his best ideas for work. He says after surfing he will frequently come back to his car and grab his cell phone to send himself an email, so he doesn’t forget the thought. Surfing, says Hershberger, “is one of the few times you can totally unplug. It’s an opportunity to not be interrupted by anybody else.” Little fear: Hershberger says the

excitement of going to a new surfing locale motivates him, however he still has limits to what he will try. “It’s scary,” he says, “when you look back and see a high sea wall.” He hasn’t surfed North Point in Hawaii, for example, where the waves break hard. “I don’t know if I’d be capable of it,” says Hershberger, “or have the guts.”

Work it out: Hershberger keeps

in shape in other ways, in addition to surfing. Last year, for instance, he completed the 60-day Insanity workout with his wife. This past June, moreover, he swam in the Escape from Alcatraz race in San Francisco Bay. Hershberger likes to exercise in the morning, before work whenever possible, but he will also go for a lunchtime workout occasionally.

Kim Bright

Mark Wemple

Rod Hershberger, president and CEO of Venice-based PGT Inc., tries to find time to surf regularly throughout the year.

Gulf coast Business Review DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

www.review.net

Executive

s s e n t i F

by Denise Kalette | Editor/Tampa Bay

On a roll Current challenge: Albritton has his sight set on a two-day, 100-mile-per-day ride next April. It will require preparing intensely for 10 to 12 weeks in advance, cycling to improve his endurance, and working out in the gym.

How he prepared: He started training in October 2011. He worked out at a gym three days a week with a trainer, and rode intense, four- to five-hour rides four days a week. “By the end, I was training seven days a week.” Challenge: He goes on 100-mile bicycle

rides, called century rides. In November, he rode the Horrible Hundred near Clermont. Though the route is hilly and hard to climb, the event is popular, drawing hundreds of riders. At times, he does quick, two-hour rides. Recently, he rode 70 miles over a weekend, “which is not very much,” he says.

How to endure: “You have to have saddle

time, which means in part that your bottom has to adjust to it,” says Albritton. “But it’s

It took a weight-loss goal to get Brian Albritton back on a bike. Now multiday scenic cycling tours continue to keep him fit. were absorbed with education, work, and family.

Warm Up

Turning point: In 2005, he realized he

Executive: A. Brian Albritton, 55 Fitness passion: Road cycling

Major feat: In September, Albritton

completed the nine-day, approximately 970-mile Deloitte Ride Across Britain, on the End-to-End bike trek from Land’s End, England, to John O’Groats in Scotland. His shortest daily ride was 99 miles, and the longest, 134 miles. Long stretches of the ride, which raises funds for charity, were mountainous and difficult.

Career: Partner at Phelps Dunbar LLP law firm,Tampa really about your heart. Can you go a long way and not flame out? When you ride a long distance, your body is kind of like a book of matches. If you go real fast, with a high heart rate, intensely, it’s like you’re striking and burning those matches. When you burn all the matches, you’re done. You usually can’t go on.” That’s why he paces himself in training and group rides.

Favorite equipment: He rides a 2006 carbon Roubaix, named for the arduous Paris-Roubaix race, and a 2004 Litespeed Tuscany titanium road bike. A good bike can cost several thousand dollars, he says. “I don’t know that I would get anything under $1,000, unless it’s used.” How he got started: When he was a

teenager, his father bought him a beautiful Italian road bike, a Bottecchia, which he loved. But after his teen years, his interests

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needed to lose weight. “I was heavy and unhealthy. I lost around 35 pounds, and I realized I would not be able to keep it off on diet alone.” He needed to exercise, so he dusted off the Bottecchia. “That bike was 30 years old.” And he had forgotten a key point. “It is so aggressive in its geometry, my head is so bent down, I’m all the way bent over—that I literally said to myself, how could I ever have ridden this thing?” So he bought a new bike, a thick hybrid, and promised himself that if he endured for a year, he’d get a road bike.

Sweatin’ it out: He trains in Florida’s summer heat, but it’s not easy. “It’s terrible. You go out early. You wear lots of sunscreen. I wear arm covers, drink lots of fluid.” To escape the heat, at times he rides in the early morning, but though evenings may be cooler than midday, it’s dangerous because of the cars, he says. Work or cycling? Asked which he likes

better, practicing law or cycling, the former U.S. attorney is taken aback. “That’s hard. I love the law, I do. But I love cycling. I don’t view it lightly—there’s just something about it, that’s really the activity for me.”

S EL

Mark Wemple

Brian Albritton is training for a two-day, 200mile ride in April.

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

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Executive

Fitness

by Denise Kalette | Editor/Tampa Bay

Going the Distance Setting new personal records is addicting. Techie Ryan Dorrell, a former track athlete at FSU, sets smaller goals to keep himself on pace to beat his best time.

Fitness goal: Dorrell ran competitively in high school and was on the track team at Florida State University. His goal is to set a new personal record at the St. Petersburg Rock ‘n Roll Half-Marathon Feb. 10. His current half-marathon record is 1:42:33.

26.2: Dorrell completed the Chicago Marathon in early October, in three hours and 39 minutes. It is the only full marathon in which he has competed.

Warm Up Executive: Ryan Dorrell, 38 Fitness passion: Running Career: Co-founder and chief technology officer of custom software company AgileThought Inc., Tampa

Trimming down: He lost about 50

pounds over four years, whipping himself back into shape after an unhealthy weight gain. In the first year, he took off 30 pounds. The next 10 pounds trickled off as he kept running, and the final 10 extra pounds fell away last summer as he prepared for the Chicago Marathon.

Gadget: He wears a Garmin GPS watch

to track his speed, and gauge his pace. The watch also helps him set goals. In the Chicago Marathon, he checked his position at nearly every mile. “I set very specific time goals,” says Dorrell, a software engineer by trade. He knew when he had to hit the half-marathon mark in order to finish in three-and-a-half hours. “I knew where I needed to be at each checkpoint.”

Parallels to work: “My running person-

ality is very goal-oriented. I’ll set these very specific goals, like for the St. Pete halfmarathon, to run it in under 1:40. Then I go back from there, and say, what do I need to do to get myself to that?” Similarly, at work, he has revenue targets, and executives calculate the steps needed to achieve each target. “If you don’t have any kind of action plan for achieving it, it’s a dream. A goal has action,” he says. “We set specific corporate goals.”

Zen of competition: Running with oth-

ers at his skill level helps him become a better athlete, Dorrell says. Nobody wants to be the first to drop out. When he and three friends recently ran about 12 miles, for the first half they chatted. “Then, mile eight or so, the talking died down, and we were picking the pace up a little bit. One guy dropped out at about nine-and-a-half miles, and then somebody else dropped out, and by the last mile it was just me and one other guy. We tore up the last mile, really running hard. We really didn’t have to say anything to each other, it was just kind of gradually faster, and I think we were both thinking, I’m not going to let this guy beat me.” They finished in a tie. “We high-fived and said ‘great job.’ It was kind of a great feeling. It’s a lot easier when you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with somebody.”

Mark Wemple

Competing in a marathon has its similarities to meeting targets at work, says Ryan Dorrell.

“

Running solo: If he were given a threehour block of time, how would he use it? “I’d do a long trail run to clear my mind, a long solo run.You get a lot of good training out of that. It strengthens your ankles and leg muscles that you aren’t normally using.” Flatwoods Park in Tampa, with its miles of trails, is a favorite destination.

Ryan Dorrell: “I set very specific time goals.”

How long will he run? “Till I die.”

Gulf coast Business Review DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

Executive

Fitness

www.review.net

by Mark Gordon | Deputy Managing Editor

Practice Makes Practice

Christie Lewis says her passion for yoga, honed over a decade, has changed her life. It also redefined her business focus. Warm Up Executive: Christie Lewis, 37 Fitness passion: Yoga instructor. She earned her teaching certification in November. Career: Founder and owner, Mission Matters Consulting and Coaching, Sarasota and Washington, D.C. Former vice president with the Community Foundation of Sarasota. Personal growth: Lewis partially set out to achieve certification simply to challenge herself. “I’m always thinking about what’s next for me,” she says. But she also wants to include it in her business. “My vision is to integrate health and wellness into my business,” she says. “That’s what I love.” Slow start: Lewis took her first yoga class 12 years ago at a gym. She was put off by the difficulty. “I thought I would never go back,” Lewis says. “I thought I would never get this.” Now it’s her non-work passion, where she aims to take “yoga off the mat” and incorporate it into her life. Says Lewis: “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

Yoga Yoda:

Lewis’s yoga instructor for the certification process was Michelle Roy-Braden, with Bhakti Healing in Sarasota. RoyBraden was tough on Lewis at first. “She reprimanded me the first day,” says Lewis. “But I wanted to study with her. There was just something about her energy.”

Cost-risk analysis: Most yoga in-

structor classes, for all the sessions, cost between $2,200 and $3,000. Lewis’s certification process was 10 months, one weekend a month, Friday nights through Sunday. Lewis says the cost, in money and time, was well worth it. “I would do it again in a heartbeat,” she says. “I would even pay more. It transformed me.”

Big benefits: Lewis says the certifica-

tion process wasn’t only good for her work, but it was helpful personally. For example, she embraced the popular yoga slogan, “Practice makes practice,” which focuses her on the process, not merely the result. “I always say yoga heals what ails you, whether it’s mind or body,” says Lewis. “Yoga is all about going inward. It’s the science of the mind.”

Training regimen: Lewis does some form of yoga every day, and she tries to attend classes at least three times a week. “When I’m standing and talking to someone,” she says, “I find I can’t sit still, so I do small yoga moves.” She will even take 5-10 minutes to do a headstand, right next to her desk. “It’s very grounding to be inverted,” says Lewis, “believe it or not.” Lewis also spends time gardening, kayaking and paddle boarding for exercise. See food: In 2009 Lewis became a pescatarian, which is a vegetarian who eats fish. In 2010 she saw the documentary “Sick, Fat and Nearly Dead,” which led her to eat even healthier than she already was. She especially got into juicing, with ingredients like kale and spinach. “That made a huge difference with my energy level,” Lewis says. Weakness: Lewis’s willpower, other-

wise strong, can crumble in the face of Hershey’s chocolate-covered almonds. “Oh my God,” she says. “I can sit there and eat the whole bag. That’s how sweet my indulgence is.”

VIDEO:

Watch Lewis’s tips on workplace posture at review.net.

Beginner’s tips: Lewis says being

Mark Wemple

Christie Lewis recently became a certified yoga instructor. The training process took about a year.

nervous is part of the first-time yoga experience. “It takes courage to simply show up,” Lewis says. “As a beginner, be curious. There are things I learned after years of practice because a ‘beginner’ asked. Remember to always honor your limits and as we say in yoga, ‘Don’t forget to breathe ... it’s just yoga.’”

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

www.review.net

CORPORATE REPORT by Sean Roth | Research Editor

Valpak and app startup offer in-car coupons Lutz publishing company selling Miranda ability tool kits

Largo-based Valpak Direct Marketing Systems Inc. has partnered with ROXIMITY to bring its offers right into the car. Valpak coupons and offers are now available to be downloaded in any of the 4.5 million Ford and Lincoln automobiles with SYNC AppLink. Valpak plans to expand the offer to another 2 million Honda and Subaru vehicles soon. The hands-free system allows consumers to find coupons and other deals that are nearby. Offers are delivered based on a user’s preferences and proximity to various retail locations. “The system delivers deals as you’re driving by, from merchants that are interesting to you,” Danny Newman, the CEO of ROXIMITY, says in a press release. ROXIMITY, a startup company founded in 2011, won Ford’s SYNC app developer challenge in mid-2011.

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Lutz-based PAR Inc. has released a new psychological tool to help forensic psychologists evaluate a defendant’s understanding of his or her Miranda rights. Called the Standardized Assessment of Miranda Abilities (SAMA), the evaluation was developed to create a systematic framework for assessing individuals’ capacity to understand their rights. Developed by Richard Rogers, one of the top experts on Miranda law, the SAMA includes five measures that assess vocabulary and comprehension of the wording typically used in Miranda warnings as well as an individual’s knowledge, beliefs, misconceptions and reasoning skills. Miranda warnings are required to address an individual’s right to remain silent and to have an attorney present when he or she is in custody during police questioning. Founded in 1978, PAR is a publisher of assessment instruments, software and other related materials.

Florida’s Premier Biomedical reports successful cancer testing St. Petersburg-based Premier Biomedical Inc. announced the company reached a milestone in cancer-focused research. Researchers successfully killed a cancer tumor in a test tube by removing

molecular compounds necessary for the cancer’s development. The researchers removed a specific cancer-related protein signaling molecule (Interleukin). The company says it eventually may be possible to destroy cancer tissue without medication and/or surgery and the resulting negative side effects. Further testing has reportedly resulted in the successful removal of additional critical cancer-related antigens, which cause the production of antibodies and are important in the development, growth and metastasis of cancer tissue. Leukemia and lymphoma cancers were the focus of the recent tests. Premier Biomedical Inc. is a medical research company focused on discovering treatments for a number of diseases, including Alzheimer’s, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and cancer.

QualaWash Holdings buys Utah and West Virginia businesses

Tampa-based portable bulk container commercial cleaning and maintenance services company QualaWash Holdings LLC purchased Stallion Tank LLC of Salt Lake City and Sparkle Klean LLC of Charleston, W.Va. Troy Taylor, president of Stallion Tank, has joined QualaWash as its regional manager overseeing operations in the mountain region (including Salt Lake City) and Joseph Taylor has assumed the role of facility manager at the new Salt Lake City QualaWash location. “The purchase of both locations is a strong strategic move for us at this time as we continue to expand our footprint,” Mike Bauer, CEO of QualaWash, says in a press release. “Both facilities have solid reputations in their markets and will al-

Little Greek Restaurant adds Westshore location Tampa’s Little Greek Restaurant chain has announced plans to open its 11th location in Westshore Plaza’s food court in Tampa. “Opening a location inside a mall will not only be a first for our company, but also for me,” Nick Vojnovic, past president of Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, says in a press release. Vojnovic formed a partnership with Little Greek founder Sigrid Bratic in May, to become president of Little Greek Franchise Development LLC. Nine of the locations are in the Tampa Bay area and another two locations are in Texas. An additional New Tampa location is slotted to open by the end of the year, with two more locations under negotiation. The restaurant group recently reduced a number of the nonGreek i t e m s f r o m the menu and changed the look of the restaurants. Little Greek is now projecting eight restaurant openings in 2013. low QualaWash to offer better service and expand our reach to all customers doing business in the mountain states and Appalachian regions.”

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Gulf coast Business Review DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

MARKET WATCH

www.review.net

by George Rauch | Contributor

Curb your appetite for high returns 14 AAA Stocks

STOCK Abbot Labs Chevron Coca Cola Exxon General Dynamics General Electric Johnson & Johnson 3M McDonalds Pepsico Proctor & Gamble Sysco Target Wells Fargo TOTAL

PRICE $66 $110 $37 $91 $68 $21 $71 $88 $87 $69 $69 $31 $64 $34 819.00

redeem dollars held by France for gold in 1971, all government spending discipline was severed. A commodity no longer backed our money. Inflation and government debt soared, and gold is now priced at $1,750 an ounce. With the above background, the current question is whether an investment in commodities such as gold and silver remains a viable option. Scott Minerd, an analyst with Investment Rarities Inc., states that the ratio of gold to our total money supply is at an all-time low of 17%. He further states gold would sell at $12,000 an ounce. This is incorrect. He is using M1 (dollars in circulation), and he should be using M3, the total money supply*. The U.S. total gold supply is 8,200 tons. The U.S. total money supply (M3) is now a big secret of the Federal Reserve System, but reliable estimates put M3 at $15 trillion. In 1949, every single bit of the M3 money supply could be redeemed at $38.50 an ounce — 100% of our M3 money supply was covered by gold at $38.50. Today, dividing 8,200 tons of gold into the money supply (M3 of $15 trillion divided by 289 million ounces of gold) means that gold would be revalued to $53,000 an ounce to redeem our entire money supply. And that is what paper money will do when politicians are not faced with the discipline of spending restraints. There are other additional mitigating reasons to purchase gold. Four years ago, governments were net sellers of gold, and now they are net purchasers of gold. China and India have been leading the way, and China holds more foreign currency than any other country. So, if China and other governments are now accumulating gold, that means there will be another huge purchaser in the market, creating demand. In addition to governments now accumulating gold, many funds investing in gold and silver, and big investors such as George Sorros and John Paulson, are in the market. They have hundreds of tonnes of investments

% DIVIDEND 3.1% 3.3% 2.8% 2.5% 3.0% 3.2% 3.5% 2.7% 3.6% 3.1% 3.3% 3.5% 2.3% 2.6% 3.0%

PE RATIO 16x 8x 19x 10x 10x 17x 23x 14x 16x 18x 19x 16x 15x 11x 14.9x=Average

in gold. Demand continues to grow. The growing demand for goods and services causes prices to increase unless the supply can be increased commensurately. It cannot. Mining strikes all over the world are inhibiting production increases and causing production in many areas to decrease. With the above in mind, it is easy to understand how further investments in gold and silver will be profitable and will act as a hedge toward the government’s continued assault on the dollar through inflation.

Basket of stocks

This is not a market in which one should speculate in stocks. An examination of the least-expensive AAA stocks available right now shows the basket yields 3%, about double the return on bonds. These stocks are companies with the most outstanding performances of increasing earnings and dividends annually, and maintaining that record throughout the last 12 years. They are also selling at an average price earnings ratio that approximates the long-term average price earnings ratio on the Dow Jones Industrials.

Conclusion

Market Watch does not recommend anything. It is our job to provide ideas. The “idea” of the day is as follows: This is not a healthy market in which to speculate. Bonds pay nothing and eat up your principal through inflation. Gold and silver are mathematically our best hedge against pending economic catastrophe. Finally, if one must invest in the stock market, do so with solid companies that have proven records and huge market shares in their own businesses, which businesses concentrate upon world markets and dominate those markets. Investors should concentrate upon safety. We may need to curb our appetite for high returns in favor of ensuring our money that’s invested is returned. Caveat Emptor.

UPCOMING

Calendar of Events January 15 Economic outlook: Brian Beaulieu, CEO of economic-forecasting firm ITR, will be the keynote speaker at a Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce meeting. The event will run from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 Beaulieu

a.m. at The Westin Tampa Harbour Island, 725 S. Harbour Island Blvd., Tampa. Cost is $45 for members and $55 for others. For more information visit tampachamber.com.

February 15

Fed president: Sandra Pianalto, Federal Reserve Bank president and CEO for the fourth district, will be the keynote speaker at the Bonita Estero Market Pulse event. The meeting will also feature Bradley Hunter, director of Metrostudy’s South Florida Division, and Pianalto

Gary Jackson, director of the Regional Economic and Research Institute at Florida Gulf Coast University. The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Blvd. S., student union ballroom, Fort Myers. For information, call 239-992-2943 or visit BonitaSpringsChamber.com.

June 6 and 7

Real estate summit: Jeb Bush will be the keynote speaker at the Urban Land Institute’s statewide real estate summit at The Ritz-Carlton, 280 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples. For more information visit uliFloridaSummit.org.

*One of Alan Greenspan’s last acts as Fed chairman was to eliminate M3 statistics, the total money supply. This was more government deception like the CPI. M3 included government debt in the money supply. Government debt is an obligation, like cash, that is owed to whoever holds it, and it is therefore the most significant part of our money supply. George Rauch, Longboat Key, is chief executive officer of Bradenton-based General Propeller and a former Wall Street investment banker. Paid Advertisement

Lindell Capital Increases Lending Portfolio With loans on Rental Homes and Brandon Medical Center Carl Lindell Jr., founder of LINDELL CAPITAL, LLC, has announced the expansion of its loan portfolio to include a local entrepreneur with 51 rental homes and another with a fully leased medical center in Brandon. Lindell said “The demand for a lender with over 40 years of local business experience continues to increase and presents us with unique lending opportunities.” “With our longtime presence in the Tampa Bay area, Lindell Capital has become a natural addition to the Lindell Family group of companies, which include Lindell Investments and Lindell Properties.” Dennis Slater, Executive Vice President and CFO for Lindell, said “We expect continued economic growth in the Southwest Florida area. There is increasing opportunity to restart local area projects, creating an affordable end use, in both the commercial and residential markets.” “These two new loan requests were presented to us by local business entrepreneurs, with a sound business plan and a history of success, but were unable to secure traditional credit facilities. We approved and funded the loans within thirty days.” Slater added, “Our ability to close loans is attracting many local business owners, their CPAs and Advisors, with solid acquisition and business plans for review.” Lindell ended his announcement with the simple statement, “If the request makes good business sense, we’ll consider the loan.”

LINDELL CAPITAL Email requests to: slater@lindellproperties.com 813.286.3807

74955

Returns from the stock and bond markets aren’t what they used to be. Today, we are mired in an economy going nowhere, which provides limited investment opportunities because of the twin government sins of excess spending and overhanging future tax increases. Forty percent of taxpayers pay 90% of all income taxes, and the top 5% of taxpayers pay 40% of all income GEORGE taxes. What is the “fair share” to be paid that RAUCH government asserts the taxpayers are not already paying? Two huge pieces of misinformation cloud our view of what is really happening: 1. Should the government confiscate 100% of the income of the top 5% of taxpayers, there would only be another $350 billion to $400 billion of taxes. The government deficit is $1.3 trillion annually. Taxing 100% of the income of the wealthiest taxpayers would provide less than one-third of the funds necessary to close the deficit. Further, all of that $350 billion to $400 billion gets reinstated in the economy, and there would be no capital to re-invest in our economy for growth. 2. The fiscal cliff. We are told that if the problems with the “fiscal cliff ” are not resolved, spending cuts and tax increases of $675 billion will occur. As mentioned above, deficits of $1.3 trillion will not be resolved with only $675 billion of spending cuts and tax increases, half of what we need to close the gap. How do we invest in an economy with upside-down numbers of this magnitude? Bonds. The 10-year Treasury bond pays less than 2%, much less than inflation. The government says the CPI is increasing at about 3% annually. Private economists who measure the “everyday” price index say that price increases in our economy are close to 10% annually. Who is right? For purposes of buying bonds, it does not matter who is right. The interest rate on bonds is going to be less than inflation using any price index. Therefore, owning bonds is only going to depreciate one’s purchasing power as long as they hold the bonds, so bonds are not good investments. Gold and silver. Both are in a 12-year bull market, the largest gold bull market since the 1920s. At the end of the last bull market, the Roosevelt administration confiscated the nation’s gold, which was priced at $20 an ounce, by redeeming it for $20.67 an ounce in 1933. In 1934, the government arbitrarily increased the price of gold to $38.50 an ounce, providing a huge windfall for the government, not for the people from whom the gold was confiscated. When Nixon refused to

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

www.review.net

commercial real estate LEE-COLLIER-CHARLOTTE by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

California investors buy Verizon store for $2.2 million Etc…

BUYER: VZ NN Cape Coral LLC (Studio Homes

#1 LP), Hillsborough, Calif. SELLER: BW Pine Island LLC PROPERTY: 1803 N.E. Pine Island Road, Cape

Coral PRICE: $2.2 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $10 million, April 2011 LAW FIRM ON DEED: Gardner Brewer Martinez-

Monfort PA, Tampa PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The California investment group Studio Homes #1 LP purchased a 4,000-square-foot retail freestanding building for $2.2 million. The price equated to $549 per square foot. Tampa-based Brightwork Real Estate, the seller, purchased the 0.91-acre vacant outparcel site in mid-2011. It then developed a new store for Verizon Wireless that it opened in late October. Marketing materials say Verizon has eight years remaining on its lease. The building was sold as passive income. Austin Simmons, a principal with Brightwork Real Estate, says credit worthy tenant-leased properties are in high demand right now, because of a dwindling supply.

• MIAJ Inc. purchased a bank-owned 2,010-square-foot retail/office condominium at 2548 Northbrooke Plaza Drive, Naples from PNC Bank NA for $235,000. Theresa Blauch-Mitchell of Boback Commercial Group handled the transaction. • SSS Real Estate LLC purchased a 36,000-square-foot industrial building and 2.23 acres of adjacent land at 2620 and 2634 N.E. Ninth Ave., Cape Coral from Robins Holdings LLC and D & V Rentals Inc. for $662,500. Jim Boback of Boback Commercial Group handled the transaction. • John Lasdowski purchased a 5,000-square-foot restaurant at 850 Lafayette St., Cape Coral from MB REOFL Retail LLC for $450,000. Richard Clarke, Chuck Smith and Carlos Acosta of Lee & Associates’ Naples-Fort Myers office represented the seller. • Mercantile Street NFM LLC purchased a 4,848-square-foot building at 7951 Mercantile St., North Fort Myers from Steven Smith for $230,000. Carlos Acosta and Chuck Smith of Lee & Associates’ Naples-Fort Myers office represented the buyer and Hal Arkin of Re/ Max Realty Group represented the seller. • Bayshore 22 LLC purchased 22.4 acres at 17201 McDowell Drive, North Fort Myers from I75 & HWY 78 LLC for $540,000. Randy Thibaut and William Rollins of Land Solutions Inc. handled the transaction. • Jami’s Young Contemporary Shop leased 2,205 square feet of retail space in the Promenade at Bonita Springs shopping center at 26795-27911 South Bay

Investor group, Illinoisan buy Donald, Coon roads land

BUYER: Enclaves Investment LLC (principal:

Randy Thibaut) (48% interest), Fort Myers and Shannon Danielle Pirron (52%), North Barrington, Ill. SELLER: YA Eagles Nest Landholdings LLC PROPERTY: intersection of Donald Road and Coon Road, North Fort Myers PRICE: $975,000 LAW FIRM ON DEED: K&L Gates LLP, Miami

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Investor group Enclaves Investment LLC and Shannon Danielle Pirron of North Barrington, Ill., purchased 57.67 acres south of Bayshore Road for $975,000. The price equated to $16,907 per acre.

Drive, Bonita Springs from RLR Investments. Karen Johnson-Crowther of Colliers International Southwest Florida represented the landlord. • Achieva Credit Union leased 2,287 square feet of retail space at Coral Pointe Shopping Center, 1631 Del Prado Blvd. S., Cape Coral. Tom Strauss and Matt Yaniglos of LandQwest Commercial repre-

Randy Thibaut and William Rollins of Land Solutions Inc. handled the transaction. Thibaut is also managing the investment for the new owners. “Right now it’s zoned for residential,” he says. “Most likely the new owner will take it through approvals to create a lowdensity residential community on the site. But this is nothing that’s going to happen for a couple of years. This was an acquisition for the long-term.” Thibaut says the site will likely be entitled for 157 single-family home sites. The transaction was done as a 1031 tax-deferred exchange in anticipation of possible higher tax rates for commercial investments starting in 2013. sented the landlord. • Global HR Research LLC leased 23,000 square feet of office space at Renaissance Center, 9530 Marketplace Road, Fort Myers. John Mounce of LandQwest Commercial and Randal Mercer, Brandon Stoneburner and Hamish Williams of CRE Consultants handled the transaction.

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Gulf coast Business Review DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

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commercial real estate TAMPA BAY by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Student-housing complex sells for $49M LAW FIRM ON DEED: Busch Ross PA, Tampa PLANS, DESCRIPTION: An affiliate

BUYER: 13702 North 42nd Street LLC, Chicago SELLER: USF 2 D/E/P LLC PROPERTY: 13702 N. 42nd St. and 4201

Woodspring Lane, Tampa PRICE: $49 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $6 million, November 2010 LAW FIRM ON DEED: Slobin & Slobin PC,

Housing Group handled the transaction. RREEF Real Estate is the real estate investment business of Deutsche Asset Management. As of Sept. 30, the company had $53.58 billion in assets under management.

Houston

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Chicago-based real estate investment manager RREEF Real Estate purchased the 206-unit Sterling North Campus development for $49 million. The price equated to $237,864 per unit and $66,757 per bed. The student-housing community was 95% occupied at the time of the sale. Built in 2010, the property features two pool plazas, an aqua lounge with several outdoor televisions, billiards, a clubhouse, cyber cafe, athletic center and computer center. The units are all fully furnished. The seller was Sterling University Housing, the student housing division of The Dinerstein Cos. CB Richard Ellis’ National Student

KAIN Limited Partnership buys Via Del Rio apartment

Costar

ML Real Estate Inc. buys Kennedy Walker Design building BUYER: 1810 Kennedy LLC, Tampa SELLER: Walker Design Group Inc. PROPERTY: 1810 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa PRICE: $1.8 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $1 million, March 2006

The 34,848-square-foot concrete complex features a laundry facility and a large courtyard with a swimming pool. All of its units have two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The property was 87.5% occupied at the time of the sale, but five of its units needed to be fully remodeled before they could be rented. According to Harsch Khandelwal, managing partner, KAIN plans to upgrade and enhance the landscaping, add modern signage and lighting and otherwise spruce up the exterior. He says vacant units will be upgraded with modern kitchens and bathrooms, appliances and flooring. “The community will offer a high standard of apartment-community living in an area that presently has a significant shortage of class B apartment space,” Khandelwal says. “We fully anticipate that we will be able to maintain full occupancy given the quality of the community and the demand for a higher standard of living from the area demographic.” The firm expects to buy more properties here over the next six months to a year. The KAIN Limited Partnership is a closely held family-based Canadian partnership formed in early 2012. It invests in a mixture of single-family homes and small and mid-sized multifamily communities in Tampa Bay, Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas. KAIN currently owns more than 100 residential units and more than 100,000 square feet of commercial (office and retail) space. Home Encounter will manage the community for the new owner.

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BUYER: The KAIN Limited Partnership (principals: Harsch and Anita Khandelwal), Kitchener, Ontario, Canada SELLER: Jotave Properties LLC PROPERTY: 2301 E. Sligh Ave., Tampa PRICE: $1.07 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.92 million, May 2005 TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Brokers Title of Tampa LLC, Tampa

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of Brandon-based ML Real Estate Inc. purchased the 8,400-square-foot Walker Brands office building for $1.8 million. The price equated to $214 per square foot. Constructed in 2008, the building was the first LEED Gold Certified building in Tampa. The facility features pine floors dredged from the bottom of the Suwannee River and a floor to ceiling doublepane glass facade. John DeLaVergne of DeLaVergne & Co. represented the seller. “The building offers operating costs that are substantially lower than a normal office building,” DeLaVergne says. A legal filing suggests that the seller, Walker Design Group, plans to continue to lease space in the building. The purchase entity 1810 Kennedy LLC mortgaged the property to Homebanc for $1 million.

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

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commercial real estate SARASOTA-MANATEE

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Miami investors buy retail buildings for $2.9M

BUYER: (principals: Lisa and Gary Koppe),

Miami SELLER: Rodney Dessberg PROPERTY: 4104 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota PRICE: $2.9 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $942,900, January 2000 LAW FIRM ON DEED: Kirk Pinkerton PA,

Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Gary and Lisa Koppe of Miami purchased an 8,181-square-foot retail building for $2.9 million. The price equated to $354 per square foot. Built in 1979 and renovated in 1990, the building houses The Vitamin Shoppe and Mattress Firm. The Vitamin Shoppe Inc. has agreed to a lease through July 2017 with several renewal options. Mattress Firm has three years remaining on its lease. The purchase entities Gary Apts Inc., Reko Apts Inc., Santillane Apts. Inc. and Marko Terrace Apts Inc. mortgaged the property to Biscayne Bank for $1.4 million.

Whitney Beach Plaza renovations begin

Construction on a new roof for Whitney Beach Plaza on Longboat Key has

begun. Rich Juliani, principal of the Bostonbased JKI Investment Capital LLC, has promised a $2 million renovation and overhaul of the entire interior and exterior of the plaza. Town Building Official Wayne Thorne says the roof permit has been approved and he is in discussions with Juliani and other partners for additional permits for renovations at the plaza. Bradenton attorney Ryan Snyder, along with Juliani and some other undisclosed investors, say they are pulling permits for up to $2 million to complete renovation of the plaza and already have plans for a liquor store and other interested tenants. Snyder, now listed as a managing member for a new limited liability corporation formed for the plaza, says the group plans “to inject about $1 million in the next three to six months.” — reporting by Kurt Schultheis, correspondent

Medlock Investments buys former Honeywell building BUYER: 1845 57th Street LLC (Medlock

Investments LLC), Sarasota SELLER: Honeywell International Inc. PROPERTY: 1845 57th St., Sarasota PRICE: $750,000 PREVIOUS PRICE: $166,700, April 1979 LAW FIRM ON DEED: Carlton Fields PA, Tampa PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Medlock Invest-

ments LLC of Sarasota purchased a 47,149-square-foot former Honeywell manufacturing facility for $750,000. The price equated to $16 per square foot.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Transactions Deeds/Mortgages

The following real estate transactions more than $1,000,000 were filed in Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota county courthouses. The information lists the seller, buyer, amount of sale, mortgage and lender, if available, address and book and page of the document.

The 40-year-old building features 35,000 square feet of manufacturing space and another 12,000 square feet of office space. The 4.39-acre property has 161 parking spaces. The building also features a fire sprinkler system, cafeteria

Etc…

• Unique Wholesale Distributors Inc. leased 7,509 square feet at 7509 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 101, Sarasota from Casey Holdings LLC. Michele Fuller of Ian Black Real Estate and Tony Veldkamp of Sperry Van Ness handled the transaction. • AlleveNet leased 6,120 square feet at 6920 Professional Parkway E., Sarasota from Lakewood Ranch Investment Partnership. Nick DeVito II and Debbie Anglin of Ian Black Real Estate handled the transaction. • Berlin Packaging LLC leased 4,152 square feet at 9021 Town Center Parkway, Bradenton from STARSTAN Inc. Nick DeVito II and Debbie Anglin of Ian Black Real Estate and Susan Goldstein with Michael Saunders & Co. handled the transaction. • Keller’s B-B-Q of Sarasota Inc. leased 2,519 square feet at River Club Plaza, Bradenton from Casto. Ian Black and Steve Horn of Ian Black Real Estate handled the transaction. • KLH Properties LLC purchased a 4,380-square-foot industrial flex building at 5310 Paylor Lane, Sarasota from Regions Bank for $210,000. Michael Gall-

One NA, nursing, Accentia Health & Rehabilitation Center of Tampa Bay, 1818 E. Fletcher Ave., Tampa, 2012427822. Safeguard Carrollwood LP sold to Tampa Storage 17 (FL) LLC, $7,473,548, Mortgage: $15,000,000, Wells Fargo Bank NA, mini warehouse, 3708 W. Bearss Ave., Tampa, 2012428817.

COLLIER COUNTY

Carrollwood Crossings LLC sold to 4012-14 Gunn Hwy LLC, $4,000,000, office multi-story, 4012 Gunn Highway, Tampa, 2012415748.

Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc. sold to LB Mediterra LLC, $2,990,000, lots 5, 15-33, 36, 38 and 39, Cabreo at Mediterra, 4768818.

Taipan Property III LLC sold to Metis Property Management Inc., $3,250,000, lots 1-42. tracts A, B, C and D, Ventanas Townhomes, 2012429797.

Manatee Property Management of Southwest Florida Inc. sold to White Lakes Realty LLC, $1,050,000, Mortgage: $950,000, PNC Bank NA, warehouse or distribution terminal, 3630 Shaw Blvd., 4764066.

Walker Design Group Inc. sold to 1810 Kennedy LLC, $1,800,000, Mortgage: $1,000,000, Homebanc NA, multistory office, 1810 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, 2012422625.

CHARLOTTE COUNTY

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

Richard and Patricia Bossey sold to Safe Cove Inc., $1,644,000, Mortgage: $1,732,500 and $367,500, Englewood Bank & Trust and $100,000, Jaroslav and Kerrie Cervenka, commercial, All American Boat Storage, 10450 Winborough Drive, 2138082.

ACP Westshore LLC sold to Parkway Westshore LLC, $18,924,840, multistory office, 600 N. West Shore Blvd., Tampa, 2012428022. Health Care REIT Inc. sold to AP2012-Accentia LLC, $17,585,388, Mortgage: $590,800, Capital

BP Claims

Rhodine Road Investments LLC sold to The Ryland Group Inc., $1,660,000, pasture, 20.54 acres, 11212 Rhodine Road, Riverview, 2012424763. Beverly Lewis, individually and as trustee of the Beverly M. Lewis Trust sold to Alpha Homes Inc., $1,500,000, crops, 19.41 acres, 5235 Durant Road and single-family, 0.5 acres, 5205 Durant Road, Dover, 2012420191. Belleair Development LLC sold to Floridacentral Credit Union, $1,412,500, financial, 8620 Citrus Park Drive, Tampa, 2012425385. C. Dennis Carlton Sr. and Lee Pallardy III as tenants in common sold to Owens Road Grove LLC, $1,229,529, Mortgage: $1,200,000, Farm Credit of Central Florida ACA, orchard or citrus land, 193.64 acres, 16545 Owen Road, Wimauma, 2012425231. 14201 McCormick Drive Associates LLC sold to Guldmann Inc., $1,200,000, industrial condominium, 14401 McCormick Drive, Tampa, 2012423018.

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Island Road, Cape Coral, 2012000252754.

MANATEE COUNTY Whitney Plaza JKI LLC sold to Whitney Plaza LLC, $3,638,110.40, Mortgage Assumption: $3,550,000, Frontier Capital Group Ltd., community shopping center, 6810, 6812, 6858, 6854, 6852, 6850, 6836, 6860, 6848, 6846, 6844, 6842, 6840, 6838, 6856, 6834, 6832, 6830, 6828, 6826, 6824, 6816, 6814, 6822, 6820 and 6818 Gulf of Mexico Drive and 516, 522 and 520 Cedar St., Longboat Key, 02445-7213. PBE Cos. LLC sold to 8430 Enterprise Circle LLC, $2,860,000, Mortgage: $2,288,000, Wells Fargo Bank NA, office buildings, 2.45 acres, 8430 Enterprise Circle, Bradenton, 02446-2669.

PASCO COUNTY Haysvest LLC sold to Mo Hayes LLC, $13,000,000, shopping center community, 14851 State Road 52, Hudson, 8783-3687.

PINELLAS COUNTY MLF Housing Inc. sold to MLF 2 Ltd., $10,150,000, Mortgage: $8,700,000 and $8,205,000, Raymond James Bank NA and $2,583,080, MLF Housing Inc., apartments and vacant commercial land, 540 Second Ave. S. and a portion of Third Avenue South, St. Petersburg, 17791-2323.

SARASOTA COUNTY Fairway Crossing Apartments LLC sold to 3890 Greenway LLC, $4,000,000, Mortgage: $3,388,000, Branch Banking and Trust Co., 6.42 acres, in SEC 22-36S-18E, 2012151821. Canco LLC (3/4th interest) and Cathy Siano (1/4th) sold to ARC SessaFL001 LLC, $2,825,000, industrial light warehouse, 4400 Clark Road, Sarasota, 2012156410.

LEE COUNTY

14575 South Tamiami Trail LLC sold to Wiltshire Realty Corp. (13% interest) and Wiltshire LLC (87%), $2,250,000, Mortgage: $1,462,500 and $225,000, Busey Bank, general commercial, 14569 and 14575 S. Tamiami Trail, North Port, 2012150914.

Corkscrew Enterprises LLC sold to Estero Pooh LLC, $3,950,000, supermarkets, 10351 Corkscrew Road, Estero, 2012000257611. 97042

atin of the Sperry Van Ness Commercial Advisory Group handled the transaction. • Kevin Hohnwald purchased a 1,920-square-foot office building at 2929 Sterling Lane, Sarasota from David and Joy Bailey for $220,000. Massey & Lancaster, of the commercial division of Michael Saunders & Co., handled the transaction. • Alert Holdings Inc. purchased 11035 Gatewood Drive, Unit A-3, Bradenton from Brazos XVII LLC for $175,000. Jag Grewal and Michele Fuller of Ian Black Real Estate and Kevin Robbins of Harry E. Robbins Associates Inc. handled the transaction • Jim Lampl purchased 700 Central Ave., Sarasota from the city of Sarasota for $226,000. Ian Black and Steve Horn of Ian Black Real Estate and Renee Richardson of RKW Richardson Realty LLC handled the transaction. • Andres Thomas Inc. purchased a 9,260-square-foot industrial building at 3004 29th Ave. E., in Bradenton from GST Exempt Martial Trust. Roberta Kolton, of the commercial division of Michael Saunders & Co., represented the seller and Leslie Wells, of Leslie Wells Realty Inc., represented the buyer.

Jotave Properties LLC sold to The Kain Limited Partnership, $1,065,000, multifamily residential, 2301 E. Sligh Ave., Tampa, 2012427643.

Beachview Golf Club Inc. sold to The End Golf Management LLC, $6,657,000, Assumption of Mortgage: $5,907,580.52, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, Mortgage: $350,000, Beachview Golf Club Inc., golf course or driving range, 1100 Par View Drive, Sanibel, 2012000252981.

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and sitting area, six restrooms and two grade-level doors. Honeywell International Inc. used the building to manufacturer sensors. Calls to Medlock Investments were not returned prior to deadline.

BW Pine Island LLC sold to VZ NN Cape Coral LLC, $2,197,500, commercial, 1803 N.E. Pine

Hanlex Englewood LLC sold to Pellegrini DG#1 LLC, $1,934,300, general commercial, 410 N. Indiana Ave., Englewood, 2012156461. Minorga Partners LLC and Allan and Kay Barberio sold to River Capital LLC, $1,050,000, units 5108, 5116, 5120, 5124, 5128, 5132, 5140 and 5144, Calle Minorga condominiums, 2012154083.

Gulf coast Business Review DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2012

power lunch

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by Jean Gruss | Lee-Collier Editor

Contemporary Americans Yanos serves American food, with Asian flair. Restaurant: Yanos Address: 2262 First St., Fort Myers, 33901 Phone: 239-332-7797 Website: yanosrestaurant.com RECOMMENDED BY: Susan Bennett, Susan Bennett Marketing & Media hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday. Closed Mondays. Reservations: There were plenty of tables available for a recent lunch, but you can make reservations online at OpenTable.com. Parking: Finding a parking spot in downtown Fort Myers can be a bit challenging and will test your parallel parking skills. Also, the meter maids are aggressive if you overstay your welcome. We suggest you park at the parking garage near Main and Jackson streets. seating: The restaurant can seat 78 people with 32 outdoors. Two tables on either side of the entrance have large windows but offer more privacy than the tables further inside the restaurant. Outside seating is delightful at this cooler time of the year, though you’ll be on the sidewalk with passersby and near auto traffic.

One-hour test: The wait staff is efficient and attentive, and our lunch passed the one-hour test easily. In fact, we could have had dessert and coffee and still been in and out within one hour. Privacy: You will run into people you may know because the restaurant is near the courthouse and other government buildings. Attorneys, judges and politicians are frequent diners. Business executives lunch here, too; auto ABOUT dealer Sam Galloway reportedly Power Lunch columns dines here frequently. are occasional reviews of restaurants recomFood: If you request it, the waiter mended by executives will bring you a basket of crispy in cities on the Gulf chips with a fun dip that has a dash Coast, from Tampa to of spicy Sriracha sauce. The Asian Naples. To read reviews theme is sprinkled throughout the Ed Clement of other restaurants, Chris and Sarah Yanovich have worked in restaurants for years and menu, from the sweet and spicy visit review.net. recently opened Yanos in downtown Fort Myers. Vietnamese noodles to the Pork Udon noodles. Most of the menu so you can stroll menu contemporary American, and you’ll is American, however. The prime find both husband and wife in the kitchen burger with caramelized onions is impres- around if you’re early for your lunch appointment. The restaurant is located during mealtime. “People like a lot of sive, and the restaurant makes a macaroni across the street from the Florida Reper- different things. You can have an upscale and cheese with artichokes, spinach and tory Theatre. meal and a real casual meal,” she says. The roasted peppers. For smaller appetites, restaurant does a brisk dinner business, there are five salads from which to choose. Owners: Chris and Sarah Yanovich too. Downtown boosters have created have worked for years in the restaurant events that bring crowds to the center Ambiance: The restaurant is located business but never had an opportunity to of town. “It’s bringing a lot of attention in the heart of downtown Fort Myown one until recently when they bought downtown,” she says. ers, which is experiencing a revival the location and renamed it after Chris’ after years of reconstruction. There are nickname, Yano. Sarah Yanovich calls her Review Date: December 2012 unique shops and coffee houses nearby,

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