941CEO March/April 2017

941CEO.COM

MARCH / APRIL 2017

WAGES ARE GOING UP, BUT OUR WORKERS STILL MAKE LESS. DISCOVER WHY.

PLUS FIVE INNOVATORS CHANGING OUR WORLD

Become part of rowing history!

GET INVOLVED NOW!

For the first time in more than 23 years the World Rowing Championships will return to the United States on America’s Premier Course at Nathan Benderson Park.

Purchase tickets today!

September 23 - October 1, 2017 Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida, USA

www.wrch2017.com BUY TICKETS • SPONSORSHIPS • VOLUNTEER • MERCHANDISE • SEE FULL WEEK OF EVENTS

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You’re living in one of only 49 expansive, modern residences in Sarasota’s newest, most impressive downtown address. You glance out the window at your vibrant town with all its cultural offerings, trendy restaurants and boutiques, wondering what excitement today will bring. Then, you see the Bay, simply breathtaking. Add on-site dining on the first floor and a rooftop zero horizon pool – there’s nowhere else like it.

RIGHT IN THE HEART OF SARASOTA’S FAMED BOULEVARD OF THE ARTS.

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BLVDSarasota.com | 941.316.1499 Presented by Key Solutions Real Estate ORAL REPRESENTATIONS CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS CORRECTLY STATING REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DEVELOPER. FOR CORRECT REPRESENTATIONS, MAKE REFERENCE TO THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED BY SECTION 718.503, FLORIDA STATUTES,TO BE FURNISHED BY A DEVELOPER TO A BUYER OR LESSEE. NO FEDERAL AGENCY HAS JUDGED THE MERITS OR VALUE, IF ANY, OF THIS PROPERTY. ALL PRICES AND FEATURES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. ALL DRAWINGS ARE CONCEPTUAL RENDERINGS AND DEVELOPER EXPRESSLY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MAKE MODIFICATIONS.

March / April 2017

CONTENTS 24

WELCOME, DAVID HACKETT

BETTER MOUSETRAPS FIVE INNOVATORS WHO TURNED “AHA!” IDEAS INTO REAL-LIFE PRODUCTS.

18 42

BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A RAISE?

Wages are finally rising here, but the region still trails the state and nation.

BIG PLAY LEFT: EVERETT DENNISON. RIGHT: LORI SAX

Babcock Ranch developer and former NFL player Syd Kitson banks on his ambitious sustainable community.

ADVERTISING SECTION Experts in Education

30

941CEO.com Check out our website, featuring new and archived articles, and sign up for our e-newsletter, BizDaily.

MARCH / APRIL 2017

8

Talk

Stuff you need to know, including workplace marijuana updates and the best new fitness trackers.

48

Fast Track

Movers, shakers and headline makers.

50

The Seen

People and events in pictures.

52

AFTER MORE THAN 13 YEARS solo editing 941CEO, I wanted a creative collaborator to help take the magazine to new heights.

Serendipitously, David Hackett, a longtime Sarasota Herald-Tribune editor, appeared.

David started his journalism career in Illinois, Texas and Indiana before moving to Venice. When he left the Herald-Tribune, David was in charge of community and state political coverage and formerly led development of the company’s niche internet sites. I’d known David professionally for years and was always impressed with his David Hackett passion for his profession and his insistence on integrity and solid writing.

I knew he would be a great partner in everything from brainstorming ideas to shaping stories and digital coverage.

David knows the community and has raised his family here (his wife, Kim, is also a respected journalist who has contributed to this magazine). He brings energy, deep reporting and editing skills, and knowledge of the business world. In “Brother, Can You Spare a Raise?” our cover story this month, he dove deep into labor data to show how wages here compare to the state’s and nation’s. And he even persuaded a cross-section of local workers to reveal their salaries.

Who knew a tattoo artist can make $70,000 a year in Sarasota?

I’m delighted to welcome David as co-editor of 941CEO and excited that you’ll have another pair of eyes watching out for the business news and information you need.

Off the Clock

Attorney Rob McLain Jr. uses Japanese kick-boxing to knock out work stress.

3

Mariash Lowther Wealth Management Brian J. Mariash Senior Vice President – Wealth Management Wealth Management Advisor 941.364.5678 J. Barton Lowther Senior Financial Advisor Portfolio Advisor 941.364.5695 Merrill Lynch 1819 Main Street, Suite 1200 Sarasota, FL 34241 fa.ml.com/mlwm

ADVERTISING & MARKETING GROUP PUBLISHER Kelley Lavin ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Tiffani Donovan SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Kim Davis,

Dan Starostecki

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Debra Clark Maradiaga, Keith Magnuson, Sandy Moore SALES AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Amy Fitzgibbons MARKETING AND EVENTS MANAGER

Sarah Beattie EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Pam Daniel EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 941CEO Susan Burns EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 941CEO David Hackett

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management makes available products and services offered by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, a registered broker-dealer and Member SIPC, and other subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation.

Investment products:

Are Not FDIC Insured Are Not Bank Guaranteed May Lose Value © 2016 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

ARQGJ54V | AD-11-16-0322 | 470944PM-1215 | 11/2016

SENIOR EDITOR Ilene Denton SENIOR EDITOR Kay Kipling ASSOCIATE EDITORS Cooper Levey-Baker, Hannah Wallace WEB EDITOR Megan McDonald

ART CREATIVE DIRECTOR Gigi Ortwein ART DIRECTORS Pepe Nieto,

Mark Howell

DESIGNER Amy Hoffarth

PRODUCTION PRODUCTION MANAGER Guy Vilt ADVERTISING SERVICES MANAGER

Katherine Orenic BUSINESS ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Diana Clenney IT SPECIALIST Shawn Lamb DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Tim Scott ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Emma Burke

FOUNDER EMERITUS Dan Denton CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Kevin Allen, Su Byron, Isaac Eger, Kim Hackett, Jackie Rogers, Anu Varma, Abby Weingarten, Sylvia Whitman CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS & ARTISTS Barbara Banks, Salvatore Brancifort, Chad Spencer, Robert Castro, Alex Stafford, Lori Sax, Jenny Acheson, Everet Dennison, Evan Sigmund, Matthew Holler, Chris Lake, Gene Pollux, Fred Lopez, Victor Juhasz

330 S. Pineapple Ave., Suite 205 Sarasota, FL 34236 Phone: (941) 487-1100 Fax: (941) 365-7272 941CEO.com | SarasotaMagazine.com

4

941CEO

From left to right, Jennifer B. Chauvel, Jeanmarie Giambra, Fay E. Bainbridge, Joel G. Oldham, Jerry L. Bainbridge, John B. Leeming, CFP®, and Robyn E. Messer.

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Payment of our management fee is contingent on client’s complete satisfaction. Please call to schedule a no-obligation appointment with one of our portfolio managers.

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F RE E

Business Checking

GULF SHORE MEDIA, LLC A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF SAGACITY MEDIA, INC. CEO & COFOUNDER Nicole Vogel VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT & COFOUNDER Scott Vogel SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL & OPERATIONS Bill Hutfilz VICE PRESIDENT, DIGITAL CONTENT Rachel Ritchie VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING & EVENTS Emily Wyant VICE PRESIDENT, SALES OPERATIONS & CONTROLLER Simba Rusike

DIRECTOR, AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Becca Hersh DIRECTOR, DIGITAL OPERATIONS & DEVELOPMENT Dan Derozier DIRECTOR, PHOTOGRAPHY

Stuart Mullenberg DIRECTOR, PROCUREMENT

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6

& PRODUCTION Norma Machado HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER

Bonnie Barcellos NEWSSTAND ANALYST

Holly Hughes Gulf Shore Media is a member of the City and Regional Magazine Association, Florida Magazine Association, the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, Manatee Chamber of Commerce and The St. Armands Circle Association.

All contents of this magazine are copyrighted ©2017. Unsolicited photographs and manuscripts are welcome, but return cannot be guaranteed. Circulation audited by U.S. Postal Service. Advertisements in this publication do not constitute an offer for sale in states where prohibited or restricted by law.

941CEO adheres to American Society of Magazine Editors guidelines, which require a clear distinction between editorial content and paid advertising or marketing messages.

941CEO

Be Advised.

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PEOPLE, COMPANIES AND ISSUES YOU NEED TO KNOW.

TALK NEWSMAKERS

JOINT LEGISLATION A new Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick group helps employers navigate marijuana regulation.

T

he overwhelming approval of Amendment 2 by Florida voters last November marked a new chapter in the complicated legal saga surrounding marijuana regulation. Because the distribution and use of medical marijuana affect everyone from doctors to employers to growers and distributors, the law firm of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick has established a Marijuana Law and Policy Group to guide clients, especially business owners, through the myriad and ever-evolving intricacies of state and federal marijuana law.

The SL&K group comprises attorneys specializing in business, employment, agriculture, health care law 8

and more. “For instance, if you have an employee on medical marijuana, but your business has drug testing, how does that work?” says SL&K attorney Erin Smith Aebel. “We have people who figure that out.”

Smith Aebel, a Tampabased health care attorney who represents and advises Sarasota physicians, says the goal is to help clients run their businesses while staying on the right side of the law. “Even before Amendment 2, patients were asking doctors for [marijuana] care, and doctors were coming to us with questions,” she says. “Doctors want to help their patients; we keep doctors out of trouble.”

Further complicating the matter, marijuana regulations are still in flux at both the state and federal levels. Previous Florida laws legalized marijuana for a small number of medical conditions; Amendment 2 extends that access, but the Florida Department of Health has yet to disseminate specific regulations. The deadline for those specifics is June 3.

In addition to uncertainties at the state level, President Trump’s administration may shake things up even further. “Under federal law, [marijuana] is still illegal,” says Smith Aebel. “Up to this point, the government has not been taking action, but that could change at any moment.”

That combination of uncertainty and far-reaching implications leaves clientele in search of specialized legal guidance. When asked about the current state of the regulations, says Smith Aebel, “My answer is that there are a lot of questions.”—Hannah Wallace 941CEO

SHUTTERSTOCK: Y PHOTO STUDIO

10 TECH TOOLS // 12 BUSINESS CLASS // 16 YOU DO WHAT?

At Marina Jack Sarasota, Florida

APRIL 21-23, 2O17 The 35th annual Suncoast Boat Show takes place in downtown Sarasota on April 21-23, 2017, at Marina Jack’s, #2 Marina Plaza, Sarasota, FL 34236. Enjoy the great outdoors while pricing and comparing hundreds of boats from the Gulfcoast’s leading boat dealers.

See various types and styles all in one place. Cruisers, Runabouts, Bowriders, Sportfishers, Center Consoles, Motor Yachts, Inflatables and more. Shop tents full of electronics, accessories, jewelry, art and clothing all in a festive atmosphere with food, drinks, music and much more. Plenty of downtown parking.

There is no better time than right now for a new boat!.

FOR SHOW DETAILS VISIT WWW.SHOWMANAGEMENT.COM

SHOW SCHEDULE

APRIL 21-23, 2O17 Friday 10 am to 7 pm Saturday 10 am to 7 pm Sunday 10 am to 5 pm.

ADMISSIONS: Adults $14 at the gate Kids Under 15 are free.

$3 OFF

GATE ADMISSION USE COUPON CODE: 941CEO

This offer is good for Online Purchases only and cannot be combined with any other offer

TALK TECH TOOLS

Get Smart

Try these five Wi-Fi devices for a better workplace.

● BY KEVIN ALLEN

I

Tea for the Sea PLEASE JOIN US ON

Thursday, April 27, 2017 FROM

2:30 – 5 P.M.

AT THE

Sarasota Yacht Club 1100 John Ringling Blvd.

Sarasota, FL TICKETS $150 MOTE.ORG/TEA

Hats Encouraged!

Celebrating Women and Philanthropy in the Pursuit of Science

10

t’s simple to start making small choices that will make your office smarter and more connected. Here are a few tools you can incorporate today that will set you on the path to innovation.

1. August Smart Lock. Keys are such a hassle in the Digital Era. The August Smart Lock allows you to unlock the door to your building with your smartphone. You can create virtual keys for your employees, as well, allowing you to monitor who’s coming and going. Price: $229. See more: August.com 2. Ecobee3 Smart Thermostat. Connected homes have Nest for a smarter, energy-efficient thermostat option.

Smart offices go with the Ecobee3. The Ecobee3 and Nest thermostats are similar in that they’re controllable with your smartphone, but the Ecobee3 sets itself apart with the ability to add sensors to rooms that adjust for cold and hot zones, solving the problem of that freezing conference room. Price: $249. See more: Shop.Ecobee.com 3. Nest Cam Outdoor. Where Nest exceeds most other products in price and quality is in its camera options. The weatherproof Nest Cam Outdoor was made for homes, but will work just as well at the office.

Get alerts on your phone when there’s activity, and if you miss something, the camera can store up to 30 days of footage in the cloud (at an extra cost). The twoway audio feature lets you communicate with someone on the other end. Also check out the non-weatherproof Nest Cam Indoor for your office interior. Price: $199 for one or $348 for two. (Cloud storage subscriptions range from $100-$300 per year.) See more: Nest.com 4. Philips Hue. Several lighting systems connect to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but none are as impressive and easy to manage as the Philips Hue system. It’s easy to set up and allows you to control your office lights via your smartphone. The money-saving LED lights, with thousands of colors to choose from, also enhance your office branding or offer accents in certain areas. Price: Starter kits range from $69.99 to $199.99. See more: Meethue.com 5. Logitech Harmony Elite. Once you upgrade your office smart devices, you’re going to want an easy way to control them. The Logitech Harmony Elite offers one remote to rule them all. It works with more than 270,000 connected devices, including lights, locks, cameras and thermostats. Price: $349. See more: Logitech.com 941CEO

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Become a member today / Contact Kim Miele / kim@gulfcoastceoforum.com MARCH / APRIL 2017

11

TALK BUSINESS CLASS â—? BY JACKIE ROGERS

Get Moving Fitness trackers measure sleep patterns, calories consumed and just about all daily activity.

HEALTH TRACKING ELEGANCE Modern and stylish, the Moonbeam tracking device records your daily activity and sleep cycles, plus alerts you to incoming calls and notifications. The polished ceramic core is a featherweight 0.5 ounces, hypoallergenic and scratch resistant. With design details of premium leather and rose gold-plated metal, the Moonbeam is one of the most elegant fitness trackers. | 10-day battery life, waterresistant. $79.99 Amazfit.com

MARRIED TO FITNESS Enjoy fashion and function in this fitness tracker ring by Ringly. The ring records steps taken, distance traveled and calories burned. Then you manage activity goals and review your progress using the Ringly app. Ringly also offers a bracelet that manages all activity, alerts you to calls and emails, and sends you notifications from more than 100 apps. With many stones to choose from, you’ll want more than one. Both include a charging box and micro USB cable.

Water-resistant. | Into The Woods Emerald Ring $195 and Lapis Bracelet, $245, Ringly.com

FIT TO IMPRESS The AsusZen3 SmartWatch, with its diamond cut bezel, premium stainless steel, Italian leather band and 50 customizable watch faces, wants to impress. A three-button operating system also makes it simple to use. The watch connects to the ASUS ZenFit app for a complete picture of your daily activity. Switches to EcoMode to preserve battery life plus alerts you to emails, breaking news and much more. | Waterresistant, fast charging and rugged. $229 at Asus.com

12

941CEO

SET THE PACE Lighten up your run with the Amazfit Pace. This GPSenabled smartwatch with internal music storage allows for phone-free running. The watch connects to Bluetooth ear buds so no more pesky wires swinging in the breeze.

Trim and lightweight, this device tracks your pace, cadence, distance, time, heart rate and elevation. It even alerts you to incoming calls and emails. | $159.99 at Amazfit.com

GARMIN V�VOFIT ACTIVITY TRACKER Need a little extra boost to start you on the path to better health? The Garmin Vivofit smartwatch greets you with a personalized daily goal, tracks your progress and reminds you when it’s time to get up and move. Not only does it display steps, calories, distance and sleep activity, but it also has a plan and share feature to which you can connect to see a complete picture of your progress, join online challenges and earn virtual badges for those days when you need a little extra motivation. | One-year battery life, water-resistant, $99.99 at Garmin.com

COURTESY OF AMAZFIT; ASUS; RINGLY; SKULPT; GARMIN

BODY FAT SCANNER Accurately measure and analyze your overall body fat percentage to better target your weekly workouts. The Skulpt scanner (about the size of a smart phone) identifies the relative strength of your muscles and muscle quality through weak electrical currents passing through your muscles, sends the information to an app on your smart phone for analysis, then suggests an exercise regime and nutritional plan to reach your goals. Skulpt Scanner, charging cradle, spray water bottle and access to workout and dietary advice via Skulpt App. | $99 from Skulpt.me

MARCH / APRIL 2017

13

Smiles mask it.

Laughter muffles it.

But the HUNGER is still there.

METRIC

2-3

HOURS A DAY

Donate now to end summer hunger.

Visit allfaithsfoodbank.org or contact Denise Cotler at 941-315-7671

Amount of time workers spend reading social political media posts at work since the presidential election.

SOURCE: BETTERWORKS.COM SURVEY REPORTED

BY AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA’S MARKETPLACE

OVERHEARD all faiths food bank

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14

“SARASOTA WITH ALL ITS LAND-USE PLANNING AND DISCIPLINE, TO PUT IT MILDLY, IS BENEFITING MANATEE COUNTY TREMENDOUSLY. MANATEE COUNTY IS DOING SPECTACULARLY WELL, AMONG THE BEST IN THE STATE. AND I EXPECT THE GROWTH HERE TO ACCELERATE OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.” – Florida economist H A N K F I S H K I N D speaking at the Bradenton Area EDC’s 2017 Economic Forecast Breakfast in January

941CEO

|

ONE MISSION, ONE TEAM: Capturing the Boston Bombers

Breakfast served by Mattison's Keynote Presentation DesLauriers shares his experience and the importance of collaboration in leadership, teamwork, decision-making, empathy and seamless communication used to capture the Boston Bombers.

Exclusive Tour South Florida Museum and Bishop Planetarium, Inc. Richard DesLauriers served in the FBI for over 25 years, retiring from the bureau as Special Agent of the Boston Division. There, he led a variety of high profile cases, including the arrest and prosecution of a Russian spy network operating covertly in the United States in 2010, the successful capture of James “Whitey” Bulger,” an FBI Top Ten Fugitive; and, in April 2013, the manhunt for the Boston Marathon Bombers.

He was portrayed by Kevin Bacon in the 2016 film Patriots Day.

The Gulf Coast CEO Forum is a network providing relationships, ideas and solutions for CEOs through speakers, small groups, special events and dynamic programming. For membership, visit GulfCoastCEOForum.com or email Kim@GulfCoastCEOForum.com

Explore the universe and planet Earth through the lens of Florida’s history at the South Florida Museum and Bishop Planetarium! Meet the world's oldest known manatee, enjoy engaging exhibits and educational programs and marvel at the wonders of the universe at the Bishop Planetarium. SouthFloridaMuseum.org

TALK

REALLY BIG SHOW

YOU DO WHAT? ● BY ILENE DENTON

DAWNA OAK

director of costumes for Feld Entertainment,

oversees a costume shop that custom-makes some 2,000 brilliantly blinged-out costumes used each season in seven live shows as diverse as Marvel Universe Live!, Disney on Ice and—until the recent historic announcement that it will be closing in May after 146 years—the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The costume shop is housed within Feld Entertainment’s 590,000-square-foot global production headquarters in Ellenton. A Los Angeles native, Oak previously designed costumes for film, TV, theater, videos and concerts. “Feld is the world’s largest family entertainment company,” she says. “It’s exciting to still provide wholesome entertainment.”

“We have two [Ringling Bros.] circuses on the road and each has on average 400 costumes, with easily a million rhinestones on all of them.

Every one of our costumes is made for each entertainer’s measurements. We’re not pulling them off the rack at the circus costume store. Of course I am heartbroken [about the circus closing], as are we all. My career at Feld Entertainment started with RBBB in 1997 as the associate designer of the 128th Blue Unit. I have many close friendships who are like family. But I completely understand that this decision would not have been made if there were any alternative.

I can only imagine how difficult this decision must be for the Feld family. I believe Ringling will never truly be gone, because what we learned from Ringling is seen in all of the shows Feld Entertainment produces.”

COSTUME COUTURE

“Our costume department has 12 people, including myself. So much of our work is still made by hand, which I’m really proud of. Every person has an amazing skill set. We can’t do it all; we hire an extended team when we’re in build-up of new shows, and we also hire the best costume houses from New York, Los Angeles and Orlando.”

JAMMING

“Two people here oversee the day-to-day. My role is managing all the new productions, whether designing in-house or with a guest designer, to set the palettes and color schemes, selecting every single fabric. It’s a collaborative process. Right now I’m doing fire suits and building mascots for Monster Jam, which isn’t as big a stretch as you’d think because my father was a race-boat builder and racer. [And] we’re going to be producing the first Sesame Street Live this fall.”

MAKING HISTORY

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Oak, at right, during a fitting with the final Ringling Bros. Circus ringmaster, Kristen Michelle Wilson.

16

“Though we support all of our shows, the circus is definitely the most self-contained. So though we will miss building the clown costumes and the other things we do for the circus, that was only a small part of our annual work load. Our department is as busy as ever supporting all of our tours and building costumes for our upcoming new shows this year.”

941CEO

COURTESY OF FELD ENTERTAINMENT, INC. 2016

“Our [costume] warehouse has 10,000 costumes, including Ringmaster Row, with all of the ringmasters’ and featured performers’ coats and pants, and historical and archival costumes like the costumes Gunther Gebel-Williams wore on his farewell tour.”

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BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A RAISE?

Wages are finally rising here, but the region still trails the state and nation.

SHUTTERSTOCK: VCHAL

D

18

ave Stauffer has made quite a comeback since the Great Recession.

After losing his screening business during the economic collapse, Stauffer turned to detailing cars, cleaning houses and “any work I could find,” he says. In 2010, he landed a job at Leland Plumbing in Osprey. Working 45- to 65-hour weeks, Stauffer, now 43, has seen his pay increase from around $40,000 to more than $70,000 during the past six years, the most he’s made in his life.

“I’m fortunate to work for a great boss who recognizes and rewards hard work,” Stauffer says of Jay Leland, who has owned the plumbing business for 42 years.

But while Stauffer is grateful for his own success, he sees himself as an exception. Many people he knows are still struggling, he says, often working two part-time jobs. “Things are still out of whack,” he says. “You have a few people making a whole lot, and many people struggling to get by.”

The numbers back Stauffer up, particularly on the Gulf Coast.

As part of our look at what people earn, we analyzed income data from the federal Department of Labor for scores of occupations across the nation, in Florida and in our metropolitan area of North Port-

BY

DAVID HACKETT

941CEO

WHAT WE EARN $1,949,021 Gregory Yull SOURCES: Most salaries are selfreported and include some estimates. Public company CEO salaries come from Yahoofinance. com, SEC filings and media reports.

Nonprofit executive director salaries are from GuideStar. The salaries and photos of Marcos Aviles, Curtis Shively, Devin McKinnon, Nicole Mendez, Brian Sands, Malcolm Blanc and Casey Kent are courtesy of Maura Howl at Manatee Technical College.

CEO, PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR INTERTAPE POLYMER GROUP (SARASOTA)

$206,669

$392,579

$515,000

$1,382,267

Stephen E. Demarsh

Robert Rosinsky

Wolfgang Dangel

Rod Hershberger

SARASOTA COUNTY GOVERNMENT ATTORNEY

PRESIDENT AND CEO OF GOODWILL INDUSTRIES, MANASOTA, INC. (BRADENTON)

CEO AND PRESIDENT SUN HYDRAULICS (MANATEE)

CEO AND CHAIRMAN, PGT INDUSTRIES (VENICE)

$100,000

$146,778

$154,104

$189,955

$197,373

Patti Hudson

Bernadette DiPino

Tom Knight

Diana Greene

Richard Russell

SARASOTA COUNTY SHERIFF

SUPERINTENDENT, MANATEE COUNTY SCHOOLS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SARASOTA OPERA ASSOCIATION

REAL ESTATE AGENT CENTURY 21 (VENICE)

CITY OF SARASOTA POLICE CHIEF

$60,000

$60,000

$65,000

$70,000

$82,721

$93,400

CASEY KENT

SCOTT RHUDE

CRAIG FAULKNER

APPRENTICE FOR INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF BOILERMAKERS (TAMPA)

OWNER, SCOTT’S COMPUTER WORLD (VENICE)

HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, BASEBALL COACH (VENICE)

JEREMY McCUNE

NANCY DETERT

KRISTI DORMAN

TATTOO ARTIST. THE TATTOO STUDIO (SARASOTA)

SARASOTA COUNTY COMMISSIONER

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HUMANE SOCIETY OF SARASOTA COUNTY

$ 45,000

$ 45,000

$50,000

$53,000

$54,000

$58,000

Rebecca Freihaut

Skyler McCool

Scott Stewart

Curtis Shively

SARASOTA COUNTY LIBRARIAN

AUTO MECHANIC, THE TIRE CHOICE (VENICE)

WELLNESS DIRECTOR, SOUTH COUNTY FAMILY YMCA (VENICE)

GM & ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE TECHNICIAN SUNSET CADILLAC (SARASOTA)

Devin McKinnon, LPN

Elliot Washington

HEALTHCARE COORDINATOR WINDSOR OF LAKEWOOD RANCH

MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH, STATE COLLEGE OF FLORIDA

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Marcos G. Avilés

John Colon

Malcolm Blanc

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Greg Steube

Brian Sands

Marcus Fahrney

FLORIDA SENATOR (SENATOR’S SALARY ONLY)

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER, MANAGER OF GRAPHIC DESIGN DEPARTMENT COVOCUP (BRADENTON)

MANATEE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER

WELDER, MULLETS ALUMINUM (SARASOTA)

POLICE OFFICER, BRADENTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

PLUMBER, LELAND PLUMBING (OSPREY)

MARCH / APRIL 2017

$39,000

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percent higher than in 2015, according to the latest Census data.

It is so hard to put a positive spin on the data that Christopher McCarty, the director of the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, begins his analysis with, “Well, Florida is not Mississippi, but …”

Mississippi? Historically, the poorest state in the nation?

“We really want to compare ourselves with Texas, which, like Florida, is one of the biggest states,” McCarty continues. “But the economy in Texas is more diverse and incomes are

Sarasota-Bradenton. Data shows the median wage for American workers is $48,320. Florida workers made significantly less, at $42,860. And North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton fared even worse, at $40,600, ranking 268th among 387 metropolitan areas, trailing even Rust Belt areas such as Bay City, Michigan, and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Although some occupations do pay more here (see the chart at right), the majority of jobs pay less, sometimes significantly less. For example, human resource managers make $117,080 on average nationally, but $113,210 in Florida and $108,500 in our metro area. Legal secretaries here make on average $40,200, around 15 percent less than the national average. The pay gap is immune even to higher powers: Clergy make about 10 percent less here than the national average of $48,150.

Undeniably, economic conditions have improved since the Great Recession. Stock indexes are at record highs. Home prices have rebounded. The state’s unemployment rate has fallen from over 11 percent during the Top unfulfilled height of the recession to under 5 tech jobs in Sarasota percent by the end of 2016. And and Manatee incomes are starting to pick up.

• Plumbers Nationally, wages rose 2.9 percent • Auto service technicians in 2016, the highest rate since • Carpenters (and most 2009. Data for Florida is not yet construction jobs) available, but economists say they • Masons expect the state’s wage growth • Health care workers to keep pace, at least, with the (pharmacy technicians, nation’s. But Floridians are still surgical technicians and making a lot less than they did in nurses) 2007, when household income SOURCE: MANATEE TECHNICAL COLLEGE peaked at $54,646, nearly 10 20

High Five

North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton salaries above state and national averages.

1. Waiters, waitresses: $28,460 in the metro area; $24,640, Florida; $23,020, nation.

2. Morticians, funeral directors: $66,270, metro area; $54,360, Florida; $52,990, nation.

3. Recreational vehicle service technicians: $45,350, metro area; $39,400, state; $37,380, nation.

4. Commercial pilots: $100,850, metro area; $84,220, state; $84,510, nation.

5. Mental health and substance abuse social workers: $58,280, metro area; $41,020, state; $47,190, nation.

Low Five

North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton salaries below state and national averages.

1. Nurse anesthetists: $104,090, metro area; $145,740, state; $160,250, nation.

2. Bus drivers, transit and inner city: $26,780, metro area; $33,320, state; $40,160, nation.

3. Real estate brokers: $47,200, metro area; $87,460, state; $80,210, nation.

4. Brick and block masons: $28,210, metro area; $35,090, state; $51,750, nation.

5. Athletic trainers: $29,960, metro area; $44,130, state; $46,940, nation.

SOURCE: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S 2016 OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS

941CEO

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“We are doing a better job with technical education in this area, but it needs to get even better because there is a skills gap,” says Shawn Merriman, president and CEO of Gateway Bank.

higher.” (The median income in Texas, according to the latest data, was $46,560, nearly $6,000 more than our region.)

PNC’s Florida economist Mekael Teshome agrees, calling the lack of wage growth in Florida “the Achilles heel” of the state’s economic recovery.

Economists cite a number of explanations, including that the state’s real employment is not as strong as the unemployment rate implies. In tabulating the unemployment rate, the government focuses on what is called the U3, which calculates the total unemployed as a percent of the civilian labor force. That’s the headline number, the one trumpeted in newspapers and TV broadcasts and in speeches by presidents and governors, and it looks good, in Florida, at below 5 percent.

But McCarty says another rate, the so-called U6, may be more revealing because it tracks not only unemployed, but the marginally employed, including workers barely getting by stringing together part-time jobs. Florida’s U6 rate at the end of 2016 was 10.3 percent, well above the national U6 average of 9.8 and much higher than the state’s U6 rate of just 6.2 percent in 2006.

The bottom line is that with more than 10 percent of the labor force jobless or underemployed, companies have not felt the pressure to significantly raise pay, McCarty says.

“There’s still a lot of slack in the labor force,” adds Teshome, the PNC economist. “The good news is that the numbers are improving, the job market is growing and a lot of money is flowing into Florida. So we expect wages to increase.”

Shaun Merriman, president/CEO of Gateway Bank of Southwest Florida, cites another factor for the region’s slow wage growth—a lack of trained workers who can command higher wages.

“I hear from manufacturers and employers in the trades that they are having a hard time finding workers with the skills needed to fill open jobs,” Merriman says. “We are doing a better job with technical education in this area, but it needs to get even better because there is a skills gap. Young people need to know that they don’t need to go to a four-year college to get a good job. They need to get trained in the right skills.”

Economist Hank Fishkind of Orlando notes that the skills gap is a state and national issue, as well. Fishkind says the spread between advertised job openings and hires is widening, signaling employers are having trouble filling positions.

Still, with the local economy projected to grow this year at a faster rate than the nation’s, MARCH / APRIL 2017

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employers know that keeping a productive, reliable workforce is crucial. And some say they intend The Gulf Coast is to pay more to get it.

“We’re looking at 3 percent such an attractive raises this year,” says Merriman, place to live that whose bank employs 45 workers. workers are willing “That’s above what we have done in to take less. recent years. But we had 15 percent loan growth last year. We’re doing very well and we want to keep our team in place.”

Pat Neal, whose Neal Communities has been booming during the housing recovery and who employs around 400 workers directly and another 400 to 500 indirectly through his construction projects, also plans salary hikes. “We are now in the eighth year since the depth of the Great Recession,” Neal says. “Wage gains are finally catching up to inflation. We expect to provide good compensation increases reflecting the strength—and our prediction of ongoing strength—in the housing economy.”

Still, those increases come from a lower base. Wages in Florida historically have been below the national average because of the state’s lack of manufacturing and its reliance on tourism and

hospitality jobs that typically pay less than many other professions, McCarty says.

Neal cites another factor: Florida, particularly the Gulf Coast, is such an attractive place to live that workers are willing to take less.

“People just want to be here,” Neal says. “They like our climate, the atmosphere, the fact that there is no state income tax. I have little doubt that we have employees who would make more in other states.

But they have self-selected to be here.”

McCarty says Florida’s leaders recognize that adding more high-paying jobs to the state’s economy is a priority. Efforts to dredge the state’s ports to take advantage of the widening of the Panama Canal and allow bigger vessels to operate from here is one example of the state’s strategic initiatives. That is expected to provide numerous jobs in transportation and shipping. The state also has focused on medical research, health care and medical tourism.

“These efforts don’t happen overnight,” McCarty says. “But they hold a lot of promise. The better we can diversify our economy, the more we can increase incomes.” ■

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A D VER TI SEMENT

Thomas E. Anderson

> PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INVESTMENTS.

“I’M AS MUCH A BUSINESS ADVISER AS I AM AN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWYER.”

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For more than 25

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He also works closely with clients to protect intellectual property, seeking federal registration where appropriate and pursuing legal action in the courts and at U.S. borders with the goal of preventing unauthorized copying, reproduction and other acts

Michigan, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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of infringement.

“Providing IP counsel involves a healthy amount of consideration and restraint,” he says. “The investment associated with filing and

TEL.: (941) 346-1530

enforcement has to be part of an overall commercial strategy. I’m as MARCH / APRIL 2017

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BET TER MOUSETR APS

Five innovators who turned “Aha!” ideas into real-life products.

B Y SYLVIA W HIT M A N | P H OTO S B Y E V ER E T T D E N NIS O N

DRINK ABLE ENERGY FOR THE MILITARY IN V E N TIO N: Strike Force Energy Drink

Bruce Schlee

About six years ago, as a sideline to his main job CEO, Strike Force of manufacturing robots that probe inside pipes, Bruce Schlee and his uncle, a Vietnam vet, began developing an energy drink for the military. The men took over one of Schlee’s vacant buildings, tinkered with flavorings, learned what Schlee calls “the intricacies of FDA certification,” and came up with a liquid concentrate packaged like restaurant ketchup packets. “It’s hard to ship cans of Red Bull or Monster to Afghanistan,” Schlee explains. Doctoring water was fun, but Schlee figured “we’re only going to sell so much Kool-Aid,” and the energy drink mostly sat on the shelf.

One day, a Navy SEAL buddy Schlee had met through his robotics venture stopped by the drink plant, and Schlee handed him some of his concentrate stick packs to pass out in the special forces community. They were a hit.

Schlee, his friend and another SEAL launched Strike Force. “The beverage industry is an incredibly competitive and costly place to go play in, with thousands of startups,” says Schlee. The company decided to focus on a narrow demographic—the military—and the SEALS opened doors. They also committed to controlled growth—no huge orders they couldn’t fill. Now Strike Force is the fastest-growing energy drink brand on Amazon, says Schlee.

With a limited budget, Strike Force relies on TA R G E T M A R K E T: Military, first responders, outdoorspeople grassroots marketing and social media and benefits START-UP INVESTMENT: About $40,000 in personal funds from unsolicited photos and testimonials, which give N O. OF E M PL OY EES: Fluctuates up to 25 the product credibility. If a customer posts, someone S A L ES: $503,000 gross, with 77 percent month-over-month at Strike Force usually responds within an hour. growth; sales into 25 countries and all 50 states Schlee wants to become “a worldwide player in the BIG G EST C H A L L E N G E: “It’s easy to come up with the beverage space” by continued overseas expansion of whiz-bang something,” says Schlee. “It’s harder to get it in front of manufacturing and distribution. people, get them to try it, and turn it into a repeatable sale.”

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941CEO

Alexey Gusev

co-founder and president, US Nano

RE VOLUTIONIZING SEMICONDUCTORS

IN V E N TIO N: Patented ink-based nanowires, incredibly tiny electric wires, and production methods associated with them

Most electronic circuits are thick and rigid. Nanowires shrink the technology. However, nano-anything is expensive to produce. Gusev’s company has figured out an affordable way to lay down nanomaterials (semiconductors essential to circuits) with a souped-up inkjet printer.

The ink-based nanowires can cover a large, thin and flexible surface, making possible printed electronics, “a whole new industry,” he says.

US Nano has created a platform technology on which others can build. Ink-based nanowires promise breakthroughs in making biological sensors to diagnose disease quickly and easily, for instance, or to detect toxic chemicals in water. For example, by sensing hormones, one early application of printed nanowires determined the sex of sturgeons at age 1 instead of the usual age 4, allowing caviar raisers to cull the males and save money. But the FDA regulation gauntlet for human health products requires a “big partner,” says Gusev, “and large companies are slow to move, like an aircraft carrier.”

Gusev says US Nano will continue R&D—he’s currently in year two of five or more—to fine-tune the printed circuits and license the proprietary technology to scientists at major universities across the globe. Scientists, he says, are eager for affordable nanomaterials for their own research.

MARCH / APRIL 2017

TA R G E T M A R K E T: Companies that will use or adapt the technology to make products (middlemen, rather than end consumers) STA R T-U P IN V EST M E N T: $1 million NSF grant; $2.5 million in private capital N O. OF E M PL OY EES: 8, a Ph.D.-loaded team that includes Gusev and vice president Dr. Louise Sinks S A L ES: None to date. However, Gusev has a revenue-generating venture, UltraFast Systems, which manufactures optical spectrometers (instruments that show the intensity of light) for research ranging from nanoscience to solar energy conversion and storage.

BIG G EST C H A L L E N G E: “The pro of developing a platform technology is that it can be used in many areas, but the con is that it’s not obvious where to apply it,” says Gusev. “Customers have to know that they want this. We need to find the first application that will get us to revenue.”

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BET TER MOUSETR APS

MAKING FURNITURE WITH COMPUTER CODE IN V E N TIO N: Terraform chair, Sporelamp, Orbitalis table and other furnishings

Nick O’Donnell Nick O’Donnell, the 23-yearfounder and head designer old founder of Terraform Designs, Terraform Designs turns math into furniture and light fixtures with the help of Rhinoceros, a computer-aided design software.

He plays with the geometry found in nature to create curved and angular forms. For instance, the mineral aragonite inspired a multifaceted lamp of the same name.

After college, O’Donnell found affordable access to high-tech woodworking machines at the Sarasota Suncoast Science Center’s Faulhaber Fab Lab. He designs his form, loads the Fab Lab’s laser cutter with birch plywood, and the computer code directs the cut with minimal waste. O’Donnell sands, stains, sears and assembles the panels. His innovative approach earned him a prestigious 2016 Governor’s Young Entrepreneur Award.

Next up for O’Donnell is to relocate from the Fab Lab into his own office and work space, buy his own laser cutter and hire three full-time employees to handle the workload.

Investors would be nice, too, he says.

TA R G E T M A R K E T: Homeowners, interior designers, wholesale light stores, developers STA R T-U P IN V EST M E N T: $3,000 in prize money from a second place finish in Florida State University’s InNOLEvation Challenge business competition in his senior year N O. OF E M PL OY EES: None, except occasional helpers S A L ES: $35,000 in the first year, which has been enough to move out of his parents’ Lakewood Ranch house and “keep from having to get another job,” he says.

BIG G EST C H A L L E N G E: “In my head, I see who I need to be as a triangle: artist, engineer, businessperson. My strength is the first two, the designing and making.

I need to pair myself with a mentor who’s good at outreach and sales.”

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941CEO

USING FRIENDLY BACTERIA TO FIGHT DISE ASE

IN V E N TIO N: A patented method for extracting and isolating beneficial human microbes, which can enable drug discovery and ways to treat chronic medical conditions; launch of the over-the-counter BioEsse probiotic skincare line

Drs. Eva Berkes and Our bodies are teeming with bacteria, trillions of microorNicholas Monsul ganisms that make up the human microbiome. Some are pathoCEO and chief scientific gens that cause illness, but most coexist with human cells, and officer respectively, Quorum research has confirmed that these bacteria are essential partners Innovations (QI) in controlling inflammation and fighting disease.

Sarasota allergist and immunologist Eva Berkes and her husband, oculofacial surgeon Nicholas Monsul, wanted to harness the TA R G E T M A R K E T: Consumers for the benefits of these bacteria when they formed Quorum Innovations in cosmetics; pharmaceutical companies for the drug 2010. In November 2016, QI received its first patent for drug develdevelopment platform opment technology for skin and digestive inflammatory and metaSTA R T-U P IN V EST M E N T: Personal funds bolic disorders. It’s a milestone in a long journey.

N O. OF E M PL OY EES: 8 The couple is in talks with potential corporate investors and S A L ES: Online sales of BioEsse cosmetics have licensees, including pharmaceutical companies with experience grown 15 percent per month; products include a meeting stringent FDA guidelines. In the meantime, QI launched facial cleanser ($34) and eye cream ($72). its over-the-counter skincare line, BioEsse.

BIG G EST C H A L L E N G E: “It’s difficult to They foresee more personal care products with therapeutic benstart a biotech company,” says Monsul. “We’re efits, such as a body wash for hospital patients that helps prevent trained as physicians. We had to learn about methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. And intellectual property, regulatory pathways and they continue to work on licensing technology and developing new funding. Sarasota is not a hotbed—yet—of drugs and treatments that herald “a new era in immunology.” biomedical research.”

MARCH / APRIL 2017

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BET TER MOUSETR APS

Joe Granato

project lead/programmer/filmmaker, The New 8-Bit Heroes

RESURRECTING THE 8-BIT ER A IN V E N TIO N: An 8-bit video game, Mystic Searches, and the documentary it spawned As a kid, Granato loved playing Super Mario Bros. on his Nintendo so much that in 1988 he and a grade-school pal designed their own game, Mystic Searches. Granato drew scenes, recorded music and sent Nintendo a pitch, which the company politely refused. A quarter century later—after graduating from film school, touring with his rock band and teaching interactive media development at an inner-city Baltimore school—Granato unearthed his Mystic Searches box in his parents’ garage and entered a “nostalgic warp zone.”

Why not make the game now? Never mind that Nintendo of America discontinued the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console in 1995. As Granato discovered from the success of his crowd-sourcing ask, a large and welcoming subculture of retro gamers share his sensory pleasure in 8-bit NES games: the smooth black plastic cartridges, the pixelated images, the synthesized chiptunes. Unfortunately, today’s game-making programs don’t work for the old, constrained environment of 8 bits (units of data) since video games have blasted to 128 bits and beyond.

That meant Granato and team had to build new hardware and software, “accidentally creating a sort of middleware” and a potentially marketable NESmaker tool.

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Another byproduct of this years-long journey into retrogame reconstruction is a documentary, which has received positive reviews at screenings in Baltimore and Sarasota. Granato edited thousands of hours of video interviews into The New 8-bit Heroes, which champions “the value of ambitions we have as kids.” While he finishes and markets Mystic Searches and the NESmaker, Granato is arranging screenings of The New 8-bit Heroes documentary, which may include the Sarasota Film Festival, and he hopes to land a distributor.

TA R G E T M A R K E T: Retro gamers for the 8-bit game and NESmaker STA R T-U P IN V EST M E N T: $54,000 raised on Kickstarter N O. OF C O L L A B O R ATO R S: Many, including concept artist Austin McKinley, narrative developer E.A.A. Wilson, pixel artists, hardware and tool developers, and a chiptune composer S A L ES: TBD. Granato is taking preorders for Mystic Searches ($40 for the standard edition) and The New 8-bit Heroes ($14.99 on Blu-ray).

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EVERGLADES UNIVERSITY

BLAISE COVELLI DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS

CAROLINE KING, MBA-HRM VICE PRESIDENT, SARASOTA CAMPUS

Q. What awards and distinctions have you earned?

Q. What innovative programs

A. The Argosy University Sarasota Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree program is accredited by The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Pro­grams (CACREP), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Our graduates consistently achieve above-average pass rates on licensing examinations. Approximately 92 percent of graduates passed the NCE licensure exam on their first attempt.

A. Everglades Sarasota offers innovative Bachelor’s and Master’s programs in today’s most progressive fields of study. Our innovative undergraduate degree programs include Alternative Medicine, Aviation/ Aerospace, Construction Management, Alternative and Renewable Energy Management and Crisis & Disaster Management. In addition, we offer graduate degrees in Public Health Administration and Business Administration with a concentration in Project Management and Construction Management.

5250 17TH ST. SARASOTA, FL 34235 (941) 554-3856 ARGOSY.EDU

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and degrees do you offer?

Q. What special partnerships/

relationships do you have with the local business community?

A. In partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, Everglades University prepares students to take the USGBC LEED Green Associate and LEED AP credentialing examinations. Designated as a Sarasota County Green Business Partner and awarded the 2016 “Outstanding Green Community Leader” by the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, Everglades Sarasota is recognized for its commitment to sustainability and community partnerships. EU Sarasota shares its expertise and solar teaching lab with local schools and community groups and hosts seminars demonstrating green building, clean energy production and green career pathways.

Q. Tell us a little bit about

your faculty.

A. Our small class sizes provide students with an optimal setting for individualized attention in a caring and

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Manatee Technical College is a fully accredited technical training center that delivers adult, career and technical education programs that benefit a broad spectrum of people in Manatee County.

Our career certificate programs fill the pipeline with skilled and motivated workers in construction, hospitality, healthcare, public service, cosmetology, manufacturing, IT, transportation and business. Many students find a new career in a year or less.

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Most classes take just a few months to complete and are offered in the evening or weekend to fit busy schedules.

for over 50 years!

We also offer Adult Basic Education (ABE), GEDÂŽ preparation, English for speakers of other languages, plus non-credit enrichment classes for the lifelong learner.

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MTC offers training for careers in 25 of the 50 fastest growing occupations in Manatee County.

No employee, student, applicant for admission or applicant for employment, volunteer, vendor, or member of the public, shall, on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender orientation, disability, marital status, age, religion, or any other basis prohibited by law, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination or harassment under any educational programs, activities, services, or in any employment conditions, policies or practices conducted by the School District of Manatee County. MTC is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education

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M A N AT E E T E C H N I C A L COLLEGE MARTHA MEYERS INDUSTRY SERVICES SPECIALIST

Q. What kinds of programs does

MTC offer?

A. We offer 50 career prep programs that train our students for skilled careers in the fields of manufacturing, construction, communication and information technology, hospitality, medical and health-related occupations, public service, salon services, business administration, and automotive and marine service technologies. Many can be completed in a year or less. We also offer a number of evening and Saturday classes.

Q. How would you describe

MTC’s instructor-student dynamics?

A. All of our instructors come from industry. They are typically experts in their respective fields who have a desire to give back. Full-time students attend classes six hours a day, five days a week with the same instructor. This schedule creates a strong teacher-student bond, and enables instructors to successfully

32

interact and respond to the unique needs of each of their students.

Q. What special partnerships do you have within the local business community?

A. Our relationships with the various business entities in Sarasota and Bradenton are important as we develop both our short- and long-term plans. We are active, participating partners with the Chambers of Commerce, the economic development councils and the workforce boards and also rely on our 300-person workforce advisory committee to ensure that our programs meet the ever-evolving needs of our community.

6305 STATE ROAD 70 E. BRADENTON, FL 34203 (941) 751-7900 EXT. 1022 MANATEETECH.EDU

that comes from participating in thoughtful and engaging discussions during class and often after class; cognitive stimulation, that has been proven scientifically to help prevent memory deterioration and improve decision making and critical thinking skills; and social stimulation, which is vital to preventing isolation, which can lead to depression and feelings of worthlessness.

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Q. Tell us a little bit about

RINGLING COLLEGE-LIFELONG LEARNING ACADEMY

Ringling School of Continuing Studies students.

A. Lifelong learning allows students to enjoy learning in an environment that is fun, free of judgment, and without any required assignments or protocols.

Students with like-minded passions, interests and curiosities can meet and learn about any number of subjects ranging from arts to physics!

A. The Ringling School of Continuing Studies offers multigenerational community audiences innovative learning experiences in a broad spectrum of traditional and contemporary studio arts, writing, and entrepreneurial studies. Designed to introduce, advance and inspire intellectual growth and creative camaraderie, our public programs deliver immersive studies for pre-college students, intensives with renowned visiting artists, and classes for everyone from the beginning learner to the advanced practitioner.

Q. How do Ringling College

Q. What’s happening on the

JANNA OVERSTREET EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Q. What is the purpose of

lifelong learning?

Lifelong Learning programs benefit seniors?

A. Our programs benefit mature learners by offering intellectual stimulation

Ringling College campus?

A. Every day, new technologies are invented and traditional work and social (Continues on page 36)

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Sustainable Careers BACHELOR • • • • • • • • • • •

Alternative Medicine Alternative and Renewable Energy Environmental Policy Land and Energy Surveying Management [for Construction & Roadway] Hospitality Management International Business Construction Crisis and Disaster Business Administration Aviation/Aerospace *

MASTER • • • • *

Public Health Administration Business Administration Entrepreneurship Aviation Science

*

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Degree Concentrations and Online Shifts are Available

THEBEST SCHOOLS

BEST ONLINE COLLEGES

2015-2016 www.thebestschools.org

Sarasota Campus 866.907.2262 6001 Lake Osprey Drive, Suite #110, Sarasota, FL 34240

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EDUCATION INNOVATORS

EVERGLADES UNIVERSITY INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS, QUALITY EDUCATION, PERSONALIZED ATTENTION. Everglades University Sarasota Campus, located in Lakewood Ranch, is an accredited, private, not-for-profit university offering innovative bachelor’s and master’s degree programs that prepare students to advance in their chosen careers.

Everglades University provides relevant degree programs to meet the demands of the evolving job market, which is a result of partnerships with industry leaders in the community.

Recipient of a 2016 Green Arrow Award and designated a Green Business Partner in Sarasota County, Everglades Sarasota is recognized for its outstanding commitment to sustainability. In order to meet the increasing demand for graduates in green careers, EU Sarasota has installed a number of energy-saving devices including a rooftop solar array, two solar trees, a wind turbine, a weather station, and a solar teaching lab. EU Sarasota’s dedication to green initiatives has earned the campus the “Outstanding Business” award and the 2016 "Outstanding Green Community Leader" award from

the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Everglades Universit y offers bachelor's degrees in Alternative Medicine, Aviation/Aerospace, Construction Management, Surveying Management, Alternative and Renewable Energy Management, Environmental Policy and Management, Crisis and Disaster Management, Hospitality Management, and International Business. In addition, EU offers master's degrees in Public Health Administration, Aviation Science, Entrepreneurship and Business Administration concentrations in Project Management and Construction Management. In partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, EU prepares students in specific majors to take the USGBC LEED Green Associate and LEED AP credentialing examinations.

Everglades University is rated No. 3 for America’s Best Colleges in Florida Women’s Choice Award 2015 – 2016. Everglades University is proud to serve the military community and is ranked by GI Jobs as a top military-friendly university.

CAMPUS SPOTLIGHT Everglades University offers

Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in a number of innovative, careerfocused programs including alternative and renewable energy, environmental policy and land and energy management. To learn more, about the energy teaching lab, visit the website at EvergladesUniversity.edu.

BY THE NUMBERS Established: 1990 Accredited by: Southern

Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS) Member: Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF) Supporter: Florida Resident Access Grant (FRAG) Current enrollment: 1,380 Average class size: 7.8 Undergraduate tuition: 6001 LAKE OSPREY DRIVE, SUITE 110 | SARASOTA, FL 34240 (941) 907-2262 • EVERGLADESUNIVERSITY.EDU

MARCH / APRIL 2017

$650 per credit hour Graduate tuition:

$700 per credit

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BUSINESS

IQ (Continued from page 32) practices are changing. Ringling College will always be growing with new discoveries. We are creating new spaces for growth, creativity, and dialogue, including our newly opened Alfred R. Goldstein Library. And opening soon, The Richard & Barbara Basch Visual Arts Center and the Ringling College Soundstage and Post Production Complex.

RINGLING COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN 2700 N. TAMIAMI TRAIL SARASOTA, FL (941) 955-8866 RINGLING.EDU/CONTINUINGSTUDIES

S TAT E C O L L E G E O F F L O R I D A Q. What does SCF offer the

first-time-in-college students?

A. SCF’s smaller class sizes and its relationship with students allow them to adapt to college life and learn what they need to succeed. SCF is convenient with flexible classes close to home, saving students money on housing. With an SCF degree, students can easily transfer their credits to a four-year university better prepared and with less debt than most third-year students. Tuition and fees are among the most affordable in the state.

Q. What are the benefits

of earning a professional certificate as part of an A.A. degree?

A. Getting a certificate as part of an A.A. degree offers students an

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advantage in the job market, potentially helping them get immediate employment. Employers are looking for that extra edge in hiring, and a certificate shows that a student has proven knowledge in a specific field.

continuing education that includes training for those currently employed, acquiring or extending professional licenses. In August 2017, we will open a branch campus in North Port.

Q. What does SCF offer in the

faculty.

way of continuing education?

A. SCF meets the community’s workforce needs by partnering with local businesses such as Digital Blue Dog, Fowler Law Group, Telemundo, Marriott, Manatee County Library System, Troy Built Models, Oliphant Financial LLC, Bridget Lopez Photography, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Osprey Biotechnics and Freedom Boat Club. These partnerships afford our students internships, mentors and hands-on experience that can lead to full-time employment.

BRADENTON, LAKEWOOD RANCH AND VENICE (941) 752-5000 SCF.EDU

SUNCOAST TECHNICAL COLLEGE DR. RON DIPILLO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Q. What innovative programs

and degrees do you offer?

A. Suncoast Technical College, formerly SCTI, first opened its doors in September 1967. Today, Suncoast serves more than 22,000 high school and adult students in over 40 technical programs, Adult General Education, and Adult and Community Enrichment. We provide extensive

Q. Tell us a little bit about your A. Our faculty provide rigorous and challenging state-of-the-art, highquality technical academic programs that successfully prepare our students with the knowledge and skills to meet the requirements and demands of the workforce and colleges. Seventy-nine percent of our teachers have earned bachelor’s degrees with 44 percent holding master’s degrees or higher.

Suncoast teachers are required to have a minimum of six years’ experience in their field.

Q. What relationships do you have with the local business community?

A. Our career and technical programs have established partnerships with local businesses. Our training program offerings are based on local workforce needs. Several hundred local employers participate in program advisory committees to share their expertise and to ensure Suncoast programs maintain current industry trends. This collaboration fosters numerous internships, cooperative agreements and apprenticeships that provide a valuable resource for our graduates.

4748 BENEVA ROAD SARASOTA, FL 34233 (941) 924-1365 EXT. 62283 SUNCOAST.EDU

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EDUCATION INNOVATORS

USF SARASOTA-MANATEE YOUR FUTURE IS HERE. USF Sarasota-Manatee is wrapping up another academic year and anticipating an exhilarating new year with increased focus on science and technology, community outreach and an exciting new effort to create the region’s first NCAA Division I women’s rowing team.

Just this past year, USFSM unveiled a new College of Science & Mathematics, opened a $1.6 million student commons with a gym and gaming center and introduced an exciting new academic program called the “Bridge to Engineering” that partners with USF’s College of Engineering in Tampa.

USFSM has also launched online M.B.A. classes to help students better manage their busy schedules, created an Office of Community Engagement to strengthen community outreach and formed a new advisory structure to help students jumpstart their careers once their education here is completed.

Additionally, USFSM last year became

the official home of the Florida Center for Partnerships for Arts-Integrated Teaching.

This new state-sanctioned office is tasked with bringing arts-integrated instruction to public and private schools statewide, not just locally.

Also intriguing, USFSM is now in the midst of a major fund-raising drive to establish an NCAA Division I women’s rowing team. Recently approved by the NCAA, this USFSM-based team will consist of 40 student-athletes competing in the American Athletic Conference—bringing Division I collegiate athletics to Southwest Florida for the first time.

USFSM currently hosts more than 40 academic and certificate programs— undergraduate and graduate—in four colleges. These programs hold classes online and in-person at the North Tamiami Trail campus, with biology and chemistry classes at the USFSM Teaching Labs at Mote Marine Laboratory and select hospitality courses at the USFSM Culinary Innovation Lab in Lakewood Ranch.

COLLEGE SPOTLIGHT USF Sarasota-Manatee’s new

College of Science & Mathematics is looking to keep pace with workforce trends by focusing on fields related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Interest in STEM fields continues to grow as evidenced by the campus’ popular biology program launched in partnership with Mote Marine Laboratory in 2014.

BY THE NUMBERS Established: 1975 Student-to-faculty ratio: 13:1 Academic and certificate programs: 40-plus Total Enrollment: 2,000-plus Alumni in the area:

17,000-plus Colleges: 4 Student Clubs & Organizations: 30-plus National Accreditation: 8350 N. TAMIAMI TRAIL SARASOTA, FL 34243 (941) 359-4200 • USFSM.EDU

MARCH / APRIL 2017

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)

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EDUCATION INNOVATORS

RINGLING COLLEGE LIFELONG LEARNING ACADEMY LEARNING FOR THE JOY OF LEARNING. The mission of Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy

RCLLLA offers affordable, engaging educational programs for adults in the area.

1050 S. TUTTLE AVE., BUILDING 1 SARASOTA, FL 34237 (941) 309-5111 | RCLLA.ORG

(RCLLA) is to enrich the lives of mature adults in Sarasota and Manatee counties by providing affordable and outstanding educational programs that cover a broad spectrum of topics rich in intellectual stimulation, often interactive in scope and worthy of academic consideration.

RCLLA courses are non-credit and based on a liberal arts curriculum.

There are no grades and no tests; courses are offered purely for the joy of learning. Students may attend classes at any of the locations, participate in Academy Talks, Einstein’s Circle and attend lectures

BY THE NUMBERS and special events. RCLLA Classes offered: 4 times a year invites you to become part Length of courses: 2-8 weeks of a community of lifelong Special events: 20 per year learners united by intellectual Lectures: 12 per year curiosity and committed to creating a circle of friends.

Course sites: 4 Course subject areas: 15-20

WINTER/SPRING ART 2017

RINGLING SCHOOL OF CONTINUING STUDIES CLASSES & WORKSHOPS FOR THE COMMUNITY

EXPLORE + CREATE + DISCOVER Class Starts Are Ongoing Throughout the Year • Dabble or Dive into Traditional Studio and Digital Arts Give energy to your drawings, flow to your painting, structure to your designs, and finesse your software savvy in classes and workshops that meet your schedule Choose from a broad spectrum of traditional and contemporary studio arts, writing, and entrepreneurial studies.

Designed to introduce, advance and inspire intellectual growth and creative camaraderie, our programs deliver immersive studies for PreCollege students, intensives with renowned visiting artists, and classes for adults, teens and pre-teens, from the beginning learner to the advanced practitioner. See you on campus!

CATALOGS & REGISTRATION ONLINE: www.ringling.edu/continuingstudies PHONE: 941.955.8866

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Invest in your staff...

SCF is your partner in educational training and offers a full spectrum of continuing workforce education -- short term certificates, Associate in Science degrees and customized training delivered on-site, on-campus or online. Let SCF work with you and your staff to create a career path, educational and training opportunities that will lead to increased skills and productivity.

CERTIFICATES Answer your workforce needs

Accounting Applications Alternative Energy Business Management Computer Aided Design and Drafting Computer Programmer Database Administrator Early Childhood Education and Early Intervention Electronics Engineering Technology Support Specialist Entrepreneurship Graphic Design Support Information Technology Analysis Interactive Media Production Live Event Media Production Marketing Network Server Administration Paralegal/Legal Assisting Teacher Certification Program Web Development Specialist

A.S. DEGREES Keep you competitive

Accounting Technology Biotechnology Business Administration and Management Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Risk Management and Insurance Services Computer Information Technology Computer Programming and Analysis Construction Management Technology Criminal Justice Technology Dental Hygiene Digital Cinema Digital Photography Early Childhood Education Engineering Technology Graphic Design Technology Health Services Management Network Systems Technology Nursing Occupational Therapy Assistant Paralegal/Legal Assisting Physical Therapist Assistant Radiography Studio Art Technology Project Management

Call 941-363-7216 or 941-752-5290 SCF.edu/CTE

Invest in your bottom line.

State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. An equal access/equal opportunity institution. Paid for by the Carl D. Perkins funding for Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Programs for the purpose of providing information about SCF’s career and technical education.

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BUSINESS

IQ

U S F S A R A S O TA - M A N AT E E Q. How long has USFSM been

a part of this community?

A. USF Sarasota-Manatee recently concluded a year-long celebration marking the campus’ 40th anniversary serving Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Founded in 1975, USFSM has touched so many people and places, whether through community projects and events, by assisting local businesses or by providing convenient access to higher education. But its influence doesn’t stop there—USFSM graduates have made a dramatic impact on the area’s growth and continue to influence local businesses and organizations.

Q. What changes occurred this

past year?

n e ss i s u b p o T e 941 h t in s e i r s to delivered to ! aily your inbox d RIB SUBSC TO

E

BIZ

Y L I A D FREE ER SLETT E-N E W

A. To better serve the higher education needs of the community, this past fall USF Sarasota-Manatee introduced its new College of Science & Mathematics, debuted a program called the “Bridge to Engineering” in partnership with USF’s College of Engineering in Tampa and opened a $1.6 million student commons with a gym and gaming center.

The campus also reorganized its advisory structure to better serve students as they consider their career options.

Q. What’s next for the campus?

A. USFSM is embarking on a fundraising effort to develop its new NCAA Division I women’s rowing team. This comes as the campus advances new academic programs, including STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and looks to conduct more community outreach. To learn about ways to support these and other initiatives, please contact University Advancement at (941) 359-4603.

8350 N. TAMIAMI TRAIL SARASOTA, FL 34243 (941) 359-4603 USFSM.EDU

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WOULD LIKE TO THANK PRESENTING PARTNERS

For their sponsorship of AHA

BIG

idea

A celebration of innovation within the community AN ADDITIONAL THANK YOU TO DINSMORE & SHOHL LLP HOSTED BY

BABCOCK RANCH DEVELOPER AND FORMER NFL PLAYER Syd Kitson BANKS ON HIS AMBITIOUS SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY.

BIG PLAY It’s

game on for developer Syd Kitson’s sprawling Babcock Ranch, an ambitious bet on a huge, high-tech new town east of I-75 built on sustainability, solar energy and access to nature.

The ranch is located about 75 miles south of downtown Sarasota and east of I-75 on State Road 31. Babcock’s modest entrance is followed by a drive of more than a mile to Babcock’s base of operations, where an army of bulldozers and cement trucks is installing the infrastructure of what’s planned to be a community of 40,000 people on 17,000 acres straddling the Lee/Charlotte county line.

Kitson, chairman and CEO of Palm Beach Gardens-based Kitson & Partners—and a guard for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys Photography by Gene Pollux in the 1980s—purchased the ranch in 2006 for $350 million. After a 10-year hiatus because of the recession, he is full speed ahead. Babcock’s four preferred builders are scheduled to start opening models this month.

The first homes, being built around a lake, were set to be completed in February with prices starting at $469,000.

Kitson says the project will span homes from $250,000 to the multimillions.

Work has also begun on the town square, which will include a general store, restaurants, a boardwalk and a band shell. The charter Babcock Ranch Neighborhood School is scheduled to open next fall and a community wellness center next year.

But what really makes the project unique, Kitson says, is its scale of sustainability designed infrastructure, from the solar panels that will power the community to an electric vehicle autonomous transportation system accessed through an app that will take residents anywhere in the community. Agricultural areas are also planned to provide farm-to-table food.

The project’s novelty, size and remote location raise some eyebrows about its viability, at least in the short term. Top on the list of concerns among real estate agents is the project’s isolation.

“I just don’t get it,” says longtime Naples commercial broker Ross McIntosh, who says the market isn’t yet ripe for home sales in the largely empty stretch of eastern Lee and Charlotte counties

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by DICK HOGAN

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MARCH / APRIL 2017

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The first houses are beginning to rise at Babcock Ranch.

WHO’S BUILDING? Florida Lifestyle Homes of Fort Myers Fox Premier Builders of Naples

north of the Caloosahatchee River. “It might be 11 years too early or 22 years too early.”

Babcock’s sustainability theme likely won’t be a strong enough draw to overcome its distance issues, he says.

Still, he admits, Kitson’s reputation for seeing opportunities means that few in the real estate community are writing off his prospects at Babcock. Appointed chair of the Florida Chamber of Commerce board of directors last fall, Kitson is well-connected and respected for his business savvy. “I wouldn’t want to second-guess Syd Kitson,” McIntosh says. “He worked magic on Talis Park. It would surprise me not in the least if he were to do the same thing at Babcock.”

Kitson bought Talis Park, an unfinished former WCI Communities golf course community in Collier County, for $31 million in 2011 at the bottom of the real estate market.

WCI had spent $220 million in planning and infrastructure. Kitson’s timing turned out to be perfect. He’s sold most of the 620 homes at high prices.

His company has developed three other residential communities in Florida: Bay Pines in Pinellas County; Ibis Golf & Country Club in West Palm Beach; and Mitchell Ranch in Pasco County. The company also owns 1.5 million square feet of shopping centers around the state.

Babcock is Kitson’s most unconventional venture to date. It’s meant to be more than a cookie-cutter development for active baby 44

Homes by Towne of Sarasota Stock Development of Naples

Timeline

Late 1800s: Successful gold miner Perry McAdow relocates from Montana to Southwest Florida and buys land that would eventually be known as the Babcock Ranch. McAdow calls it the Crescent B Ranch.

1911: Pittsburgh lumber baron Edward Vose Babcock visits Southwest Florida on a hunting trip and is struck by the potential for timber harvesting.

1914: Babcock purchases the land and starts to develop it for logging and farming. His son, Fred Babcock, continues that work, branching out into limestone mining, ecotourism and hunting leases. Fred manages the ranch until his death.

1990s: The Babcock family is approached by numerous developers and by the state, which wants the land for preservation.

But a sale remains

boomers. Babcock was conceived as a place unto itself, not just another place to live in an existing metropolitan area. “This is a new town, not a community,” Kitson says. “It’s about as close as you can get to an urban center and build a new town.” So far the project has attracted inquiries from a mix of retirees, pre-retirees and younger families drawn to the sustainability theme, says Rick Severance, president of Babcock Ranch.

One of the major selling points, Kitson thinks, is Babcock’s solar plan. All daytime electricity will be provided by a 75-megawatt FPL array of solar panels, now under construction. Residents will be customers of FPL which, when the sun isn’t shining, will supplement the solar array with electricity from a natural gas power plant in Fort Myers.

Also planned is 1-gigabit internet speed available for $62 a month when the first home buyers start moving in. Kitson hopes that will attract work-at-home professionals not wedded to a particular location.

Babcock also plans to have driverless cars chauffeuring residents and visitors around the community, with more wide-ranging services as that technology becomes more advanced, although details of that program haven’t been released.

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Manatee and Sarasota residents might see a parallel with Lakewood Ranch, a masterplanned community that faced similar skepticism when it broke ground 22 years ago in an area that was home to cattle and scrub. Lakewood Ranch has grown steadily since then and now has more than 15,000 residents and 4 million square feet of commercial development. “Lakewood Ranch has done a good job,” Kitson says, but it was a traditional community built with enough space that new residents who were contemplating coastal living were willing to drive a bit farther to live there.

MARCH / APRIL 2017

elusive, in part because the Babcocks want to transfer the property by selling the stock of the company that owns the land—thus avoiding being taxed on a sale of the land itself. Florida can’t meet that requirement because of a provision in the state constitution forbidding state acquisition of land through a private company’s stock.

2005: Syd Kitson, chairman and CEO of Kitson & Partners, presents the Babcocks with an offer: Kitson will buy the company’s stock and then sell the state 80 percent of it for preservation. In July the Babcocks go under contract with Kitson and negotiations with the state commence.

July 31, 2006: Kitson buys the company that owns the 91,000-acre property and, on the same day, sells 73,000 acres to the state for preservation for $350 million. Lee County pays $40 million of that amount.

June 2007: The Florida Legislature establishes the Babcock Ranch Community Independent Special District, giving Kitson broad leeway in developing the ranch. Kitson hopes to get started immediately, but a massive implosion of Southwest Florida real estate prices stalls the project for almost 10 years.

2016: With home prices on the rise, Kitson begins work in earnest on the ranch and announces detailed plans April 22.

2017: Home sales by Kitson’s six preferred builders are expected to begin.

Residents will be able to step out their doors and have easy walking access to the 74,000 adjacent acres of state conservation land that border Babcock on three sides.

But will that be enough?

Wayne Daltry, who was executive director of the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council when Lakewood Ranch opened 22 year ago, says Kitson’s project will test whether the market is ready for sustainable development on such a major scale. Another factor, outside Kitson’s control, is whether the housing market remains strong and the economy continues to strengthen, he says, particularly in the initial stages when the developer faces significant borrowing costs.

“It depends on a prosperous nation,” Daltry says. “It depends whether there’s a housing bubble and it pops. It’s tied to population growth, and that depends on in-migration.”

For Kitson, he says, that means, “If he gets five good years he can probably sell off enough to pay the debt.” Otherwise he’ll need deep pockets to ride through the downturn. It’s also important to be flexible, Daltry says, and be ready to tweak plans to meet the market’s changing demands for homes and commercial space.

Babcock’s success or failure can’t be determined in advance, says Randy Thibaut, president and CEO of Fort Myers-based real estate brokerage Land Solutions Inc., which specializes in large land sales. “We can’t critique Babcock Ranch until we’re three to five years into it and they’ve had a chance to get all this rolling,” he says.

In the long run, time is on Babcock’s side as development moves north and east from Lee and Collier counties, Thibaut says. But Babcock will have to deliver value.

The question is whether “buyers will pay a premium to be in Babcock” compared to nearby, less expensive developments such as Portico and River Hall in east Lee County.

The mix of sustainability and access to nature can definitely succeed, says Ed McMahon, senior resident fellow for sustainable development at the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit Washington, D.C.-based research group that promotes responsible land use.

Big, comprehensively designed developments such as Babcock thrive when they reinvent the basics of how people, 45

BABCOCK BY THE NUMBERS 17,000 acres 74,000 adjacent acres are preserved as state conservation land 19,500 homes 50 miles of trails 6 million square feet of commercial space 75 megawatts from an array of on-site FPL solar panels will provide daytime power to the community 20-25 years to build-out

given the choice, would prefer to live and work, he says. “There is a market for this kind of community,” says McMahon, who also studies the economic value of uniqueness in real estate. “If you can’t differentiate your community or project or city from anywhere else, you have no competitive advantage.”

Still, says McMahon, “Sustainability is about more than technology, energy efficiency, wind turbines.” Successful sustainable communities also incorporate ideas from the New Urbanism school of planning: building communities around public spaces and using architecture that makes it easy for people to explore their surroundings on foot and get to know their neighbors.

Babcock will be a viable standalone community from the start, Babcock Ranch President Rick Severance says. “We’re putting in the town square from Day 1” with a general store and other retail. Also, he says, a K-8 charter school will open next fall—a key element in Babcock’s plans to broaden its appeal to include young families.

John Hillman, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Kitson & Partners, says it’s important to create those values from the beginning at Babcock. All the homes in the first neighborhood, Lake Timber, will be within a quarter-mile of downtown, for example. “Downtown is actually accessible again instead of having to get in your car,” he says. “The furthest walk will be five minutes.”

The community’s architectural standards will require features such as front porches to encourage a sense of community, Hillman says. He points to the popular sustainable communities Seaside, in the Panhandle near Panama City, and Celebration, near Orlando, which were also considered remote and too futuristic when they were proposed and now are viable communities. “It’s nothing new; it actually goes back to the old Florida Cracker traditions you can still see in towns like Wauchula and Arcadia,” he says.

As model homes start to open this month, Kitson knows it’s a big, long-term, high-stakes real estate project. He often has a dream that takes him back to his days as a 260-pound NFL offensive lineman, about 60 pounds more than he now carries on his lanky 6-foot-5 frame.

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“What they did at Lakewood Ranch that was smart was putting in a lot of the infrastructure and the commercial in at the time they were starting the residences,” says Jack McCabe, a Deerfield Beach-based real estate consultant. “People could see there would be a school and places where they could do their shopping and hairdressing and so on.”

“I go to Green Bay’s summer camp. I show up and I’m 200 pounds and I’m putting my uniform on and nobody’s looking at me like it’s odd,” he says.

“And I’m going, ‘What the heck do I do here? I’ve got to figure this out quick. I don’t even know the plays anymore.’”

In the dream, Kitson retools his fear. “I’m thinking: ‘I know what I’m doing. I know more than these kids. I can figure this out.’”

Stepping back from the dream, he thinks about Babcock and how far it’s already come. “For all those folks who still didn’t think we could do it, that’s a horse that’s left the barn.” π 941CEO

BIZ BITES TALK ● BY ABBY WEINGARTEN

Five Bright Business Breakfast Spots

Start the morning right at this eateries.

The Breakfast House

A Key West-style eatery with brightly painted tables and servers in floral button-down shirts, The Breakfast House is a breezy little cottage with a fun breakfast menu. If you’re not in a rush and want to charm a prospective out-of-town client, sit outside on the patio for an alfresco meeting.

Inside, the whimsical décor offers friendly warmth to start the workday.

Downtown Sarasota executives from the adjacent banks and law offices make this a regular hotspot for Guinnessinfused corned beef hash and crab cake eggs Benedict. Expect a bit of a wait, especially on weekends.

PRICE RANGE: $7 to $13. The Breakfast House, 1817 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, (941) 366-6860, facebook.com/pg/ thebreakfasthouse.net.

The Toasted Mango Café

SALVATORE BRANCIFORT

Diner style and down to earth, the two locations of The Toasted Mango Café offer memorable menu musts from mango mimosas to mango French toast. The no-frills atmosphere (simple wooden tables and chairs and beach décor) makes it easy for executives and potential clients to let their guard down. Just want to meet for coffee and sign off on some business paperwork?

Expedient in-and-out service means you can exchange signatures and handshakes and head back to the office in time for the 9 a.m. meeting.

PRICE RANGE: $6 to $14. The Toasted Mango Café, 430 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, (941) 388-7728, and 6621 Midnight Pass Road, Sarasota, (941) 552-6485, toastedmangocafe.com.

railroad depot theme) than the sleeker Lakewood Ranch spot, but both boast made-to-order morning fare. Executives from both downtowns indulge in the bananas Foster French toast, the Nutella waffles and the fried green tomato eggs Benedict. Tip: If it’s going to be a short workday, try the seasonal mimosas that should help smooth over even the toughest business negotiation.

PRICE RANGE: $7 to $13. Station 400, 400 N. Lemon Ave., Sarasota, (941) 9061400, and 8215 Lakewood Main St., Suite P103, Bradenton, (941) 907-0648, station400.com.

Sage Biscuit Café

Dietary restrictions at the table? No problem. Bring your vegans, vegetarians and gluten-free diners to either one of Sage Biscuit Café locations. The specials at this Bradenton locale include healthful

fare such as tofu scramble, as well as traditional favorites like homemade sage biscuits and gravy. The downtown locale is more executive-centric than the Cortez location, catering to those who work in the high-rise building (the café is on the bottom floor).

PRICE RANGE: $6 to $11. Sage Biscuit Café, 6656 Cortez Road W., Bradenton, (941) 792-3970, and 1401 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, (941) 405-4744, sagebiscuitcafebradenton.com.

Mocha Joe’s

A modest strip mall coffee shop/café, Mocha Joe’s inviting vibe is accented with antique kitchen tools and light wood flooring, but the hearty fare is the real attraction. Try the countryfried steak, corned beef hash and eggs, and Belgian waffles. Good coffee, too. Execs in the West Bradenton area congregate here for a hospitality that rubs off no matter how stressful the day or high-strung the client.

PRICE RANGE: $5 to $9. Mocha Joe’s, 3633 Cortez Road W., Bradenton, (941) 753-7094, mocha-joes.com. π

Station 400

Station 400

With gourmet spins on breakfast standards, Station 400 wows the most fickle of foodies. The Sarasota location has a quainter vibe (with a MARCH / APRIL 2017

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FAST TRACK TALK MOVERS, SHAKERS & HEADLINE MAKERS ▶▶

POSITIONS TAKEN ▶ ▶ A N DY G U Z , chief executive officer, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. ▶ ▶ C H R I S L A N E Y, director of education and community investment, CareerSource Suncoast. ▶▶

JEFF PODOBNIK,

HEIDI BROWN

senior director of Florida and Dominican Republic operations, Pittsburgh Pirates. ▶ ▶ M A S O N AY R E S , president, Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation.

▶ ▶ H E I D I B R O W N , CEO, Jewish Family and Children’s Service of the Suncoast. ▶▶

D R . S T E P H E N P.

chief medical officer, Community AIDS Network.

NICHOL AS,

▶▶

▶▶

and systems

S C O T T H A M I LT O N

R A M O N AYA L A ,

engineers; D A N I E L K U R T Z , senior systems engineer; J A M I E S A N N A , service coordinator; and A N D R E A C A R R E R O , marketing manager, Entech. ▶ ▶ P E T E R K I N G S LY, senior adviser, SVN Commercial Advisory Group. ▶ ▶ O L I V E R H U F F, project engineer; and S T E V E N F R A N K S , assistant superintendent, J.E. Charlotte Construction Corp. ▶ ▶ J E F F G E R H A R D, promoted to principal, CS&L CPAs. ▶ ▶ T O M D A N A H Y, division president of land and development advisory services; and G E O R G E K R U S E , sales associate, Ian Black Real Estate. ▶ ▶ C O R E Y L E A R N , licensed optician; and H O L LY H A S S L E R , promoted to general manager, Ioptics Eyewear.

D R . G A B R I E L L U G O,

▶▶

D A N I E L P. VA N E T T E N ,

attorney, law firm of Blalock Walters. ▶▶

W. A N D R E W C L AY T O N J R .

and W O R T H S . G R A H A M , attorneys, law firm of Icard Merrill. ▶▶

N I C O L E A . B E H A R , R YA N

and D A N I E L attorneys, law firm of Williams Parker. ▶ ▶ R A FA E L R O B L E S , chief development officer, Loveland Center.

P. P O R T U G A L L . TULLIDGE,

48

LEWIS DEAN

psychiatrist, Comprehensive MedPsych Systems. ▶ ▶ M I C H A E L D O O L E Y and R A L P H L A D D, contractors, Atlas Building Company.

▶▶

LEWIS DEAN,

commercial realtor, RoseBay International. ▶▶

G A I L PA L A Z Z O L A ,

promoted to vice president of accounting, NDC Construction Company and Riverside Real Estate & Management Company. ▶▶

J E R A M Y B U R K I N S H AW,

general manager, The Mall at University Town Center.

D E B R A F LY N T- G A R R E T T,

development director, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. ▶ ▶ T O M T O L L E T T E , senior relationship manager, SRQ Wealth Management. ▶▶

CR AIG BADINGER,

development director; H O L LY P I S AT U R O, office manager; and J A C O B I N A T R U M P, facilities manager, Hermitage Artist Retreat.

▶ ▶ B Y R O N S H I N N of Shinn & Co. received the Rick Fawley 2016 Economic Development Award of Distinction from the Bradenton Area EDC. ▶ ▶ D R . J A M E S F I O R I C A was appointed associate chief medical officer of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. ▶▶

PAT R I C K D E L M E D I C O,

and G R E G joined the board of directors of Girls ▶ ▶ B L A L O C K WA LT E R S , P. A .

Inc. ▶ ▶ Asolo Repertory Theatre’s was ranked as a 2017 “Best Law Firm” by U.S. News – Best 2016-17 board officers Lawyers in the areas of real are D R . L A R R Y H A S P E L , estate law, litigation, and trusts president, A N N C H A R T E R S , and estates law. vice president/president ▶ ▶ I C A R D M E R R I L L was ranked elect, C A R O L E C R O S B Y, vice as a 2017 “Best Law Firm” president, S Y G O L D B L AT T,

by U.S. News – Best Lawyers vice president, M E L A N I E in the areas of construction N ATA R A J A N , treasurer, and law, construction litigation, K I M B L E A C H , secretary. land use and zoning law, and New board members are real estate law (Tier 1); and D I A N A A R M B R U S T, J U D I T H commercial litigation, family HOFMANN, AUDRE Y law, real estate litigation, land R O B B I N S , J I M R O Q U E and use and zoning litigation, and G E R I YO N O V E R . ▶ ▶ D E B R A P I T E L L- H A U G E personal injury litigation– plaintiffs (Tier 2). and M . C AT H E R I N E ▶ ▶ W I L L I A M S PA R K E R was V E R N O N have joined the named to U.S. News – Best board of Selah Freedom. ▶ ▶ Icard Merrill attorney Lawyers “Best Law Firms;” and eight Williams Parkers A LY S S A M . N O H R E N was attorneys were included named Volunteer of the in the 23rd Edition of The Year by the Conservation Best Lawyers in America Foundation of the Gulf 2017: C H A R L E S D . B A I L E Y Coast. ▶ ▶ The Lakewood Ranch J R . , J O H N T. B E R T E A U , RIC GREGORIA , MICHELE Business Alliance awarded B. GRIMES, J. MICHAEL its annual Sandies Members’ HARTENS TINE , WILLIAM M. Choice Awards to: K I M SEIDER, JAMES L . TURNER F R E N C H , Willis Smith and E . J O H N WA G N E R I I .

Construction, One-of-a▶ ▶ The Argus Foundation Kind Award; J O N AT H A N honored M I C H A E L S A U N D E R S M A R S H , Home Helpers and, posthumously, W I L L I A M of Bradenton, Rising Star M E R R I L L S R . with its 15th Award; P E G G Y K R O N U S , annual Lifetime Achievement Willis Smith Construction, Awards.

Ray of Sunshine Award;

ACCOLADES

S H E B A M AT H E U T WA R O W S K I

941CEO

G R E G O W E N S , presidentelect; A M Y W O R T H , treasurer; K R I S T I N T R I O L O, secretary; L I N D A F O R M E L L A , immediate past president. ▶▶

H A L FA C R E

C O N S T R U C T I O N C O M PA N Y

received the Office of Supplier Diversity Award of Distinction from Hillsborough County Public Schools. ▶▶

DANIEL MCCLUNG

received the 2016 service team Circle of Excellence Winners from MarineMax. ▶ ▶ Williams Parker attorney E R I N H O P E C H R I S T Y was named Teen Court Alumni of the Month for December 2016.

FAST TRACKER

K E N B U R K E , Hometown News USA, Networking King Award; M O R G A N G E R H A R T, Goodwill Manasota, Networking Queen Award; J O H N B A R N O T T, Manatee County government, Bull by the Horns Award; R YA N M C I N T Y R E , McIntyre, Elwell and Strammer General Contractors, Young Professional of the Year Award; F E L I C I A S E E D O R F, Chapman & Associates Real Estate Appraisers, Best Rancher Award; and S A L LY U L L M A N , Sally Ullman Photography, Volunteer of the Year Award. ▶ ▶ J A M E S A L L E N of NDC Construction Company and Riverside Real Estate &

MOVING AND OPENING Nikki Taylor has launched a strategic health care marketing company, TAY L O R & C O M PA N Y, in Sarasota.

JAMES ALLEN

▶▶

▶▶

Management Company has joined the board of directors for Foundation for Dreams. ▶▶

T H E R E V. D E M E T R I U S

vice president of the Sarasota branch of the NAACP, has joined the board of directors of Community AIDS Network (CAN). ▶ ▶ J O H N S TA F F O R D was elected 2017 chairman of the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority.

JIFUNZA ,

▶▶

J A M I E C O F F E Y, G .

ROBERT MCL AIN JR.

and

MIKE CHERRY MARR ACCINI

have joined the board of Sarasota Contemporary Dance. ▶▶

WOODRUFF AND SONS

C O N S T R U C T I O N C O M PA N Y

recently celebrated its 70th anniversary in business. ▶ ▶ The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee’s 2017 officers are X E N A VA L L O N E , president; MARCH / APRIL 2017

S A R A B AY R E A L E S TAT E

has opened a second office at 417 12th St. W., Suite 209, in Bradenton. ▶ ▶ Animal Specialty Hospital of Florida’s Neurology service in Naples and Sarasota Companion Animal Neurology have combined their practices as S P E C I A L I S T S I N C O M PA N I O N A N I M A L N E U R O L O G Y; D R . C H R I S

will treat patients at 7005 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota.

LEVINE

▶ ▶ PA R A D I S E F O U N D A M I , a bookstore, has opened at 505 Pine Ave. in Anna Maria. ▶ ▶ Dr. Steven Reichbach has opened the G U L F C O A S T K E TA M I N E C E N T E R at 2415 University Parkway, Building 3, Suite 215, in Sarasota. ▶▶

CALIFORNIA PIZZ A

has opened at 192 N. Cattlemen Road, Unit 1, in the District at University Town Center. ■ KITCHEN

Steve Dawson is

the new CEO of Sarasotabased Harmar, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of auto lifts, stair lifts and platform lifts for people with disabilities.

JUNIOR SALAZAR is

the 2017 president and chairman of the Gulf Coast Latin Chamber of Commerce. With nearly 500 member businesses and individuals in Sarasota and Manatee counties, the chamber continues to grow, “particularly with a lot of individuals in the medical and legal industry,” says Salazar, who is an account representative with One Blood in Bradenton.

The chamber hosts monthly evening networking events called Conexiones and lunch-and-learn seminars, and it produces an annual Cinco de Mayo festival that attracts thousands. The group may create a businesswomen’s empowerment group, and is rebranding and relaunching its website.

Salazar estimates there are a couple of hundred Hispanic-owned businesses in Sarasota and Manatee.

“Latinos have huge buying power in America,” he says.

“Often people assume that you must be Spanish to be a member of the Latin chamber,” he says. “The goal is to bring Hispanic-owned and American-owned businesses together so we can prosper as one.”—Ilene Denton 49

THE SEEN TALK

3 1

GCBX 54TH ANNUAL DINNER

2

1 Patrick Wright, Mercier & Wright Risk Consultants; Jessica Forristall, Forristall Enterprises; Mike Allen, Suncoast Metals Recycling LLC 2 Michael Carlson, Carlson Studio Architecture; Jerry Sparkman, Sweet Sparkman Architects 3 Mike Bennett, Manatee County Supervisor of Elections; Mary Dougherty-Slapp, GCBX; Nancy Detert, Sarasota County Commissioner 4 Chelsea Gruber, Fawley Bryant; Tracy Dawson, Kellogg & Kimsey; Aaron V. Smith, Karins Engineering Group; Amanda Parrish, Fawley Bryant

4 PHOTOGRAPHY: LORI SAX

2 1

2

3

LAKEWOOD RANCH BUSINESS ALLIANCE LUNCHEON

4 50

1 Joanna Ginder-Ashley, Ian Black Real Estate; Shawna Hicks-Cranston, PostNet; Michelle Cross, Modern-Wealth LLC 2 Morgan Gerhart, Goodwill Manasota; Dan Sidler, Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance 3 Larry Bowman, Purmort & Martin Insurance; Brent Dykstra, Synovus Bank; Jaqueline Mazur, Berlin Patten Ebling 4 Heather Kasten, Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance; Amy McKenna, Synovus Bank; Darren Inverso, Norton Hammersley and Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance; John Balestrieri, Synovus Bank 941CEO

MORE SEEN PHOTOS AT 941CEO.COM

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2

4

941CEO 2017 UNITY AWARDS CELEBRATION

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1 Christine Crawford, Rachel Palmer, Sierra Ebersole, Debbie Zeiger, The Haven 2 Vincent Foderingham, Manatee Community Federal Credit Union; Travis Ray, Julie Leach, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe; Steven Krause, Northern Trust 3 American Paralympian Jacqui Kapinowski, Unity Awards speaker 4 Sarah Kupiec, Nathan Benderson Park; Mark Ansley, Snap Foods; Shelley Taniguchi, 2017 World Rowing Championships 5 Max Winitz, 2017 World Rowing Championships 6 Lana Bruce, Sarasota County; Lisa Chittaro, Twelfth Judicial Circuit 7 Allyson Jenks, Moseley Investment Management 8 Frankie Soriano, Luz Corcuera, UnidosNow; Esperanza Gamboa, Manatee Technical College

5 6

7

8 PHOTOGRAPHY: LORI SAX

Volume 14/Number 2, March/April 2017, 941CEO (ISSN 1936-7538) is published in January, March, May, July, September and November by Gulf Shore Media, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of SagaCity Media, Inc., 330 S. Pineapple Ave., Suite 205, Sarasota, FL 34236.

Subscriptions are free to qualified individuals. For customer service inquiries, subscription inquiries or to change your address by providing both the old and new addresses, contact: 941CEO, Subscriber Services, PO Box 433217, Palm Coast, FL 32143. Phone: 1-800-331-8848, Email: 941CEO@emailcustomerservice.com. Periodicals postage paid at Sarasota, Florida, and at additional mailing offices. Copyright 2017 by Gulf Shore Media, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Unsolicited manuscripts without return postage will not be returned. DISCLAIMER: Advertisements in the publication do not constitute an offer for sale in states where prohibited or restricted by law.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 941CEO, Subscriber Services, PO Box 433217, Palm Coast, FL 32143.

MARCH / APRIL 2017

51

OFF THE CLOCK TALK

LAWYER WARRIOR

Attorney Rob McLain practices Japanese kick-boxing.

● BY ILENE DENTON

S

arasota attorney Rob McLain Jr. directs the frustrations of his civil litigation and criminal defense practice not at clients and adversaries, but in the ancient Japanese martial art of jujitsu, which he does five or six hours a week at the West Coast Martial Arts Academy.

“It’s rarely beneficial to be overly aggressive; you’ll never see me advertise myself as a pit bull or any other violent animal,” says McLain, who works with his father at the law firm of Metcalfe & McLain. “I believe in dealing with people calmly and courteously, which in my business can be hard. So to be able to go hit things three times a week is a tremendous outlet for everything you feel but can’t express.”

McLain enrolled in Muay Thai classes (essentially kick-boxing, but with the use of knees and elbows) at the academy after watching his young son’s karate class from the sidelines—a class he now helps teach.

“It’s intense; at the end of the first class I thought I was going to throw up,” he says.

Now he works at perfecting the art of Japanese jujitsu, a mix of judo throws, hitting, kicking, elbowing, kneeing and grappling.

“It’s more fun than it sounds,” he says.

“Nobody’s trying to kill each other. You learn very quickly you will win and lose on a regular basis.”

McLain says jujitsu is a great equalizer. “We have all kinds of people—at least one doctor, a tattoo artist, a general contractor, high school kids, people with blue-collar jobs. It’s a reminder not to judge people on their circumstances in life.”

And he appreciates, in his late 30s, the challenge of learning something completely new. “In law, I have to look at everything with a critical eye. In martial arts, on the other hand, for your own safety and the safety of the people you train with, there’s a time when you have to shut up and listen.” ■

52

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