2014 Bay County Business Journal by Rowland Publishing, Inc.

AN 850 BUSINESS MAGAZINE SPECIAL REPORT

2014 Bay County Business Journal

OUR SITES ARE SET ON FLORIDA’S GROWTH. Gulf Power Company has launched Florida First Sites – the first regional site certification program in Florida to develop project-ready industrial sites. Thirteen locations are now pending certification in six counties in Northwest Florida. All of the sites undergo a rigorous screening process developed by McCallum Sweeney Consulting, providing an objective, third-party analysis to ensure the sites are ready for development.

For more information, contact John L. Hutchinson, Director of Community and Economic Development for Gulf Power Company, at 850.444.6750 or JLHUTCHI@southernco.com.

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Bay County Demographics Population 2013 Estimate Percent Change, 2010–2013 Median Age Under 18 18–64 years 65 years and over Male Female

174,987 3.6% 38.5 years 21.5% 62.6% 15.9% 49.6% 50.4%

RockTenn BookIt.com GAC Contractors Gulf Coast State College

480 440 400 400

Target Industries »» Aviation, Aerospace, Defense and National Security »» Renewable Energy and Environment »» Health Sciences

EDUCATION Educational Attainment (Persons aged 25 and older) High School graduate or higher 87.1% Bachelor’s degree or higher 21% Higher Education Institutions »» Florida State University Panama City »» Gulf Coast State College »» Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University »» Troy University EMPLOYMENT Unemployment Rate (June 2014). 5.6% Average Household Income $62,548 Median Household Income $49,023 Major Employers

photo courtesy Bay County Chamber of Commerce, Cover photos courtesy Andrew Rhodes/Bay Economic Development Alliance

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Tyndall Air Force Base 7,300 Bay District Schools 4,411 Naval Support Activity 3,170 Bay Medical Center 2,000 Wal-Mart & Sam’s Club 1,500 Eastern Shipbuilding Group 1,450 Bay County Constitutional Officers 1,214 Gulf Coast Medical Center 631 Trane 575 City of Panama City 537

»» Transportation and Logistics »» Research and Engineering Services »» Manufacturing »» Corporate Headquarters GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE Total square miles 1,033.3 Land 763.7 sq. miles Inland and Territorial Waters 29.6 sq. miles Coastline 27 miles Elevation .... 13 to 23 feet above sea level Sunshine per year 320 days Average Air Temperature 67.49° Average Summer Temperature 89° Average Winter Temperature 39° Average Water Temperature 71.57° Average Yearly Rainfall 67.21 inches Distance to Major Southeastern U.S. Cities from Panama City, Florida Dothan, Alabama 80 miles Tallahassee, Florida 100 miles Pensacola, Florida 105 miles Jacksonville, Florida 270 miles Atlanta, Georgia 300 miles New Orleans, Louisiana 315 miles

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; Florida’s Great Northwest; Bay County Economic Development Alliance; Florida Legislature Office of Economic and Demographic Research

Real Estate Median Sales Price

$170,000

Average Sales Price*

4 A Long Term Economic Vision Bay

County is moving full speed ahead to chase any and all economic development potential.

6 Airport/Port A major Gulf deepwater port and a new international airport have become major economic drivers in Bay County.

10 Military Because it is home to a U.S. Air Force base and a key Navy testing facility, the military is a major contributor to the Bay County economy.

12 Medical Care given by local hospitals and

rehab centers has evolved to where it’s as good as any in the state.

14 Housing The St. Joe Company has unveiled

a 50-year development plan for West Bay, and the county’s old airport is being converted to a new mixed-use development.

16 Seafood Commercial versus recreational

fishing. What does the future hold for each?

19 Education Putting a new focus on how

schools can better train a workforce that will enhance economic development efforts.

22 Tourism The beach is big business, attract-

ing tens of thousands of visitors each year, but so is shopping at Pier Park and attractions like Miracle Strip and Grand Lagoon.

25 Sports Sports of all sorts is big business in

Bay County Single Family Homes For June 2014

Bay County, attracting tournaments from across the country.

$243,749 ( 20.7%)

Median Days on Market*

57 ( 14.9%)

Average Percent of Original List Price Received *compared to June 2013

»» Information Technology

Bay County Business Journal is published by Rowland Publishing, Inc. 1932 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee, FL 32308. 850/878-0554. Copyright October 2014 850 Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

92.8%

Source: Bay County Association of Realtors

Creative. Print. Solutions.™

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Economic Development

Neal Wade, Executive Director of the Bay Economic Development Alliance

Taking Care of Business A concerted community effort is aimed at expanding economic development in Bay County By Linda Kleindienst

ay County has a lot simmering on the front burner. “We’ve got it in the pot. Now we’ve got to get it cooked and served,” says Neal Wade, executive director of the Bay Economic Development Alliance. “We have a lot of things going on. Our whole effort is obviously to convert those projects into real announcements we can make.” Located in the heart of Northwest Florida, Bay County in 2010 was named the No. 1 metro area in the U.S. for its economic growth potential. It is surrounded by seven military bases, is home to the newest international airport in the country, sits in the middle of the southeastern U.S., aggressively seeks out new economic projects, boasts a bustling and growing seaport and has plans for the development of new retail, housing, marina and commercial projects in the works. “And, of course, our quality of life in Bay County is very attractive to companies that may be looking to move into Florida and the Southeast,” adds Wade, whose agency has

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helped create 3,500 new local jobs since he took over nearly three years ago. “Bay is on an upward trajectory. It’s not going as fast as I would like, but I think we’ll see some great things over the next three to five years.” Carol Roberts likes to compare the county’s economic development efforts to a perfect positive storm getting ready to unleash its power. “Once we get all the pieces together, it will have an amazing effect,” says Roberts, president and CEO of the Bay County Chamber of Commerce. Panama City officials are working on redevelopment of the marina, asking for proposals that will bring a “substantial economic benefit” to the downtown. The idea is to develop a location, somewhat like The Landing in Jacksonville, that will have restaurants, retail and water access that caters to residents and tourists alike. “It’s kind of a diamond in the rough right now,” Roberts says of the marina. “But there is a potential there to generate all sorts of growth and a new image.”

Meanwhile the St. Andrews Bay Land and Development Company is working on a 700-acre project at the old airport in downtown that will have plenty of parks and commercial space, along with public access to the waterfront. And The St. Joe Company has unveiled a 50-year development plan for a mixed-use housing project near the airport that everyone agrees will be “huge” for the community and likely to draw higher earning homeowners to the market. Panama City and Panama City Beach have seen some shops close, “but it isn’t long before a new one pops up,” Roberts says. Pier Park in Panama City Beach even bucked the economic downturn brought on by the Great Recession and has kept opening new stores. Now a North Pier Park has opened and appears to be thriving. “We have had 50 or 60 new stores open up,” says Lance Allison, president and CEO of the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce. “Most are in Pier Park.” Tourism-wise, the “shoulder seasons” —

Local Business Incentives

Photos By Scott Holstein (Wade) and courtesy Bay County Chamber of Commerce (airport) And Andrew Rhodes/Bay Economic Development Alliance (Business Incentives)

Beside many state incentives that are available to new, expanding and relocating businesses, Bay County offers a handful of local incentives for businesses to consider when deciding on a location:

basically spring and fall — are gaining more traction with beach visitors. “Businesses don’t even shut down any more like they used to,” Allison says. “In the fall we now have lots of events and concerts. Spring break keeps getting bigger. And this year we had our biggest July ever.” Wade holds monthly meetings with the EDA’s investors (members) to update them on projects. While the individual projects are given code names for the sake of confidentiality, Wade discusses what targeted industry sector each one would touch and how many new jobs it might entail. For instance, at the meeting in June it was revealed that there were 13 active projects in the works — two involved the retention and expansion of existing businesses and 11 were new location projects. Project Curve involved a manufacturing business. Project Second Base was aerospacerelated. Project Apple Blossom was a tech project. The bad news came when Wade announced that Bay was eliminated from consideration for Project Blue Sky because of its time zone, the potential for hurricanes and the relatively small size of the metro area. But that doesn’t dampen his spirit. Wade says the county has four facilities already built that would be perfect for a call center. Meanwhile, state officials say aviation/aerospace is the fastest growing industry sector in Florida — and Northwest Florida is perfectly positioned to attract related companies. Wade has let no grass grow under his feet there, actively reaching out to aviation and aerospace companies to relocate to or set up branches in Bay County. But as part of that drive he says, “We’ve got to make sure we have the workforce. We’re trying to put together a plan to make sure we can train the workers. One of our focuses when we went to Hamburg was to meet with the people who do the training in Germany. I’m hoping we’re going to see an internship program begin to emerge in Bay County and do more training even in high school.” And, of course, there is the new airport, with 1,000 acres available for commercial development, much of it with direct runway access. “The airport remains a magnet for us,” says Roberts. “There is a lot of potential, and companies have been looking at it. We haven’t literally landed one yet, but there is no way a 10,000-foot runway is going to sit there and not be recognized by the aviation industry.”

Bay County Economic Partnership The Bay County Board of County Commissioners, in partnership with the EDA, offers a discretionary, negotiated, performance-based cash incentive to new and expanding businesses that meet minimum job creation and wage criteria. Qualified companies may be awarded from $500 to $5,000 for each full-time equivalent, permanent job created. The award amount is based on many factors, including number of jobs, wage levels, employee benefit packages, capital investment, financial history, economic impact and amount of incentive awards from competing communities. To be considered for a Bay County economic incentive award, an applicant must: ▪O perate within a sector that the EDA or State of Florida has designated as a target industry. ▪C reate at least 150 new full-time equivalent, permanent Bay County jobs paying an average wage of at least 115% of the Bay County average annual wage excluding benefits. ▪D erive at least 50% of its sales or revenues from exporting goods or services out of the region. ▪ Make a cumulative capital investment within Bay County over the life of the project that is greater than the amount awarded through the incentive program. Economic Development Ad Valorem Property Tax Exemption The Bay County Board of Commissioners, the City of Panama City and the City of Lynn Haven offer an abatement of the local property tax at the

business location on tangible personal property and improvements to real property for a period up to 10 years. In order to qualify, a company must first meet the definitions of a new or expanding business as stated in s. 196.012 (15) and (16), F.S. CareerSource Gulf Coast Board and Center Services The CareerSource Gulf Coast Board is one of 24 regional workforce boards around the State of Florida. It is chartered to address the workforce and training needs of Bay, Gulf and Franklin counties. The vehicle for providing employer and job seeker services is the CareerSource Workforce Center. Streamlined Permitting The Bay County Board of County Commissioners works together with the State of Florida’s regulatory agencies to provide quicker, less costly and more predictable permitting processes for significant economic development projects without reducing environmental standards. Special Regional Incentive — Oil Spill Recovery Incentive The University of West Florida’s Office of Economic Development and Engagement was tasked with managing and administering $30 million over three years (2012–2014) to aid in job creation and economic diversification within the eight Northwest Florida counties disproportionally affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Bay County is one of the eight designated counties. The grant program was intended to support new job creation, not to be a substitute for oil spill damage claims.

Source: Bay County Economic Development Alliance 2014 B ay C o u n t y B U S I N E S S J OU R NA L

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Airport/Port

Bay County’s international airport has 1,000 acres available for industrial development, much of it with direct runway access.

Air and Sea Connections Bay County’s airport and seaport stand ready to earn business By Jason Dehart

t has a long name, but officials are hoping the economic reach of Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport is even longer. Since the airport opened in May 2010, nearly three times more passengers have shuttled through its concourse than did at the old airport, Panama City-Bay County International Airport, which was located near North Bay. This makes the “new” airport a blossoming economic power. It’s also been designed to be the first LEED-certified terminal facility in the nation. “I think we have become a regional asset as compared to a downtown Panama City asset, and we’re continuing to enhance our product

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with the addition of new airlines, increased passenger and improved air carrier service as well as being a greenfield for development,” said Parker W. McClellan Jr., airport executive director. “We have land available to those who want close proximity to the airport. I think the airport and the community are poised and set and ready for growth. The airport is excited about being a part of the region’s economic development.” Beaches became the first international airport built from scratch in the United States in more than 10 years. Located in West Bay, near Panama City and Panama City Beach, the airport serves Delta and Southwest Airlines, which provide a host of daily domestic flights,

some to U.S. cities that serve as international gateways. Delta offers daily nonstop flights to and from Atlanta with connecting service to international destinations and, due to strong passenger growth, Delta now considers Beaches a Mainline Station. Southwest continues to provide nonstop service to Nashville, Houston and Baltimore as well as seasonal nonstop flights to St. Louis, and connections to the expanding Southwest’s international destinations. Recently, Southwest announced non-stop service to Dallas Love Field beginning in early 2015, after a federal law restricting direct flights out of Dallas Love Field, known as the Wright Amendment, expires. Southern Airways

NWFl BEaches International By the Numbers ▪1 0,000-foot runway expandable to 12,000 feet ▪1 20,000-square-foot state-of-the-art terminal ▪1 ,400 acres industrial land ▪O n-demand Customs and Immigration Services ▪U nencumbered air space ▪ F ree Trade Zone ready ▪O pened May 23, 2010 ▪P lans call for a 5,000-foot crosswind runway ▪ 100-ton gantry crane ▪ 300-ton fixed crane ▪ Six berths ▪ 4,200 feet of deep-water berthing ▪ Six acres of onsite storage ▪ Mean water depth of 36 feet ▪ 80,000-square-foot multi-bulk terminal ▪2 50,000 square feet of protected space for bulk

and break-bulk commodities

Photos By Scott Holstein (Interior) and Courtesy Panama City Beach CVB

Source: Bay County Economic Development Alliance

Express, operating from the airport’s Fixed Base Operator, offers nonstop flights to cities throughout the South. The airport works closely with the local municipalities, the Bay County Economic Development Alliance, the Bay County Tourist Development Council and the Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau to encourage the growth of both tourism and business, McClelland said. “That’s one of the things that we as a community are looking at, is ways to improve education and to train so that we have a workforce that is prepared and ready to go to work,” McClellan said. The airport is a great way for tourists and business travelers to go to and fro, but that’s only part of the economic engine in this part of Bay County. West Bay, a regional economic center and master planned community by The St. Joe Company,

surrounds the airport with millions of square feet standing ready to accommodate industrial, commercial and retail uses as well as homes and 900 marina slips. Additionally, there are more than 1,000 acres of “through the fence” land that will give access to the airport runway. Appropriately enough, the first tenant to set up shop here will be The St. Joe Company itself, which is moving its headquarters from Jacksonville to VentureCrossings Enterprise Centre at West Bay, a 1,000-acre development. The new four-story, 72,000-square foot multi-tenant office building has additional office space for lease right in the heart of an important aerospace and defense corridor. Tyndall Air Force Base and Eglin Air Force base are nearby, making this an excellent location for defense-related businesses to set up shop.

Port Panama City International commerce is the watchword at Port Panama City, a small but bustling harbor that annually handles some 1.7 million tons of cargo that’s valued at $3.34 billion. In fact, a recent report indicates that Port Panama City is in the top five Florida ports for cargo value. The port’s warehouses are full of imported aluminum ingots, copper plates and wire, steel and pipe. Meanwhile, tons of wood pellets milled by Green Circle Bio Energy’s plant in Cottondale await export every week to European ports. The Panama City Port Authority is focused on two priorities: supporting industrial development in Bay County and developing modern seaport facilities to promote trade. A number of key investments were made to meet those purposes, and in 2003 the port was dredged four feet to a depth of 36 feet — which makes it more attractive to new customers, particularly in the copper trade. But it also opened the door for the wood pellet export business. Over the last 10 years the port authority invested $75 million in facilities, and that’s paid off in terms of helping attract and retain key customers. For example, a container operator moved to Port Panama City from Katrina-stricken New Orleans. In fact, since 2005, Port Panama City has developed the most active container trade business with Mexico of any U.S. port. It doesn’t end there; the 2014 B ay C o u n t y B U S I N E S S J OU R NA L

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Port Panama City Success Through Diversity ▪P ort Panama City includes the

core 138-acre port located on Dyers Point, just off U.S. Highway 98 at the southwestern boundary of Panama City, and the 250-acre Intermodal Distribution Center on U.S. Highway 231. ▪O n-site rail is provided by the

Bay Line Railroad, which connects to the port’s Intermodal Distribution Center. This 250acre pad-ready inland industrial park features a 150,000-squarefoot distribution warehouse. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, a 1,050-mile inland navigable waterway from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas, is located nearby and provides access to the Mississippi River and many southeastern ports. ▪P ort Panama City is situated on

the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which bisects St. Andrew Bay. The Port accesses the Gulf of Mexico via an 8.9-mile channel that runs from St. Andrew Pass (known as the West Pass) to the port. ▪1 0,863 jobs in Florida and the

Panhandle area are in some way related to the cargo activity at Port Panama City. ▪A pproximately $467.8 million in

wages and salaries were generated by Port Panama City’s cargo activity in 2012. ▪T he 2012 cargo activity at Port

Panama City generated $1.4 billion in economic value to the State of Florida and the U.S. ▪ L ocal businesses and suppliers to

the marine cargo industry at Port Panama City made $51.7 million worth of local purchases. ▪$ 43.0 million of state and local

taxes were generated by activity at the cargo terminals, including $24.0 million generated by the related users throughout the state and U.S. Source: Port Panama City; “The Local and Regional Economic Impacts of Port Panama City Final Report,” April 5, 2013.

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copper import business was something Port Panama City really focused on winning from places like New Orleans and Mobile. The container trade tonnage has also steadily increased over time. In 2001, the port handled 400,000 tons, and in 2013 it was looking at 1.7 million tons. Port officials say that over the next five years cargo tonnage will increase to an annual level of approximately 2.1 to 2.4 million tons, and the port has committed to another $35 million in improvements. The investments in the port were made possible as the state of Florida became more aggressive in offering significant financial aid through matching grants over the past decade. Despite some economic slowdowns in years past, the port has the vision to ensure longevity. Port Authority officials say the facility has worked very hard over the past 10 or 12 years to diversify and grow its cargo base because cargo activity shrank in the 1990s — a combination of the shifting of cargo from break bulk ports on the Gulf Coast to East Coast container ports and a decline in export markets for forest products.

But for any port you see, ships are only one part of a larger equation. The other half of that formula involves trucks and railways, getting goods to market faster and more efficiently. With this purpose in mind came the development of the Port Panama City Intermodal Distribution Center about 15 miles north of town. A 150,000-square-foot warehouse was recently built for transferring dry and liquid bulk products between rail and trucks. Rail sidings have been added, and work continues to improve the 250-acre site with the hope that new manufacturing can be brought to the area. Actually, it’s larger than that, because an additional 50-acre site is being prepared for use. Gov. Rick Scott last year announced that the $1.9 million distribution center project would get a $900,000 grant from the Florida Department of Transportation. At the time of the announcement, Florida DOT Secretary Ananth Prasad said, “The Intermodal Logistics Center Infrastructure Support Program is an important part of the department’s commitment to support freight growth in Florida. By enhancing

MORE POWER TO YOU

Phots By Scott Holstein (Worker) and Courtesy of the Bay County Chamber of Commerece (exterior)

Copper Capital — 50 percent of the copper that comes into the U.S. arrives through Port Panama City.

our trade and logistics infrastructure we will create job opportunities and strengthen Florida’s economy.” Port of Panama City Executive Port Director Wayne Stubbs said, “The bulk transfer facility is a key component of the Port’s Intermodal Distribution Center. The ability to transfer dry and liquid bulk products between rail and truck provides additional transportation efficiency for the Port and for the region.” Meanwhile, the port itself continues to support the industries that exist on site, which include long-time tenants like Berg Steel Pipe (a major employer in Bay County that makes large-diameter steel pipe) and newcomer Oceaneering International Inc., which arrived at the port in 2004. Oceaneering invested about $50 million in facilities when it first set up business and just committed to spend another $15 million on more capital projects. Oceaneering makes large-scale underwater cable systems called umbilicals. Port Panama City might be one of Florida’s smaller ports, but Florida DOT officials say it has certainly made a mark for itself and is improving itself all the time to broaden its ability to handle goods and services. “When you look at the Panhandle area, in Panama City for example, you have a port that brings in 50 percent of the copper that comes in through the U.S.,” said DOT district spokesman Ian Satter. “We’re improving these ports so they become more attractive to people bringing in these goods.”

Charging stations and free Wi-Fi available at ECP.

IFlyBeaches.com

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M ilitary

Economic Force Multiplier

Air Force and Navy join forces to drive a regional economy By Steve Bornhoft

n undeniable aspect of Bay County commerce is the significant U.S. military presence here, which puts more than 27,000 people to work and helps America stay strong in the face of growing terror threats abroad. Here, the U.S. Air Force and Navy have found a happy home, and the local community isn’t about to let them go. Their combined presence attracts and supports a sizeable cluster of research centers, defense contractors and related companies. This means a lot of money flows through the local economy. The University of West Florida Haas Center crunches the numbers on a regular basis and provides the data in the Florida Defense Fact Book. The most recent publication suggests that, as a whole, Florida’s defense industry provides an estimated $73.4 billion statewide impact. Closer to home, Northwest Florida contributes $18.86 billion or 32 percent of the Gross Regional Product. According to a 2013 Haas Center study, Tyndall Air Force Base and Naval Support Activity Panama City (along with the Coast Guard and National 10 / 2014 B ay C o u n t y B U S I N E S S J OU R NA L

Guard) generate more than $1.16 billion in military spending and about $2.6 billion in total gross regional product; i.e., the total value of all goods and services produced in the region. Meanwhile, the average military job offers annual earnings of $77,241 — significantly above the state average earnings per worker, according to Tom Neubauer, president of the Bay Defense Alliance. “While the economic multiplier is certainly important, the socioeconomic implications are far more significant,” Neubauer said. “Our bases provide a stable economic environment for all types of business and provide the strong foundation necessary for the growth and development of our medical centers, schools, colleges and civic and charitable organizations.” Tyndall Air Force Base, located in the southeastern part of the county, teaches the art of aerial warfare and is home to the 325th Fighter Wing, which trains F-22 Raptor fighter pilots and support crew. The 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group also calls

Tyndall home and conducts air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons testing and evaluation. Tyndall got a boost in 2014 when 1,000 new jobs were added due to the arrival of a combat-coded F-22 squadron. Neubauer said there are few, if any, installations in the nation that actually grew last year because of cutbacks, so Bay County is fortunate in that regard. “There is tremendous economic pressure on military as leadership is required to find ways to complete the assigned mission with significantly reduced resources,” he said. “This trend continues to place emphasis on the need for a 20-25 percent reduction in infrastructure.” But Bay County bases remain open, and the reason for that is simple. They are significant contributors to national defense and operate productively in an efficient environment. “While much of this is the result of geography and the Gulf Range Complex, the significant support of defense communities and outstanding support by the Florida Legislature, governor’s office and

By the Numbers Combined Economic Impacts – Bay County Military Cluster ▪ 27,338 direct and

indirect jobs ▪$ 2.1 billion in total sales ▪$ 2.578 billion economic

impact ▪3 2 percent of Total Gross On land, sea and in the air, the military is part of everyday life in Bay County.

Regional Product Naval Support Activity Panama City ▪$ 498 million annual

photo courtesy Bay County Chamber of Commerce

economic impact other defense communities who share base practices, add to the value proposition,” Neubauer said. “Additionally, communities are doing a great job of telling the story, pre-empting potential encroachment or security issues through the JLUS (Joint Land Use Study) process, maintaining close contact with our congressional delegation, visiting defense leadership in Washington both as individual communities and as members of the Northwest Florida Defense Coalition.” Neubauer said that each community, together with their military partners, is searching for new ways to make each installation more efficient. They’re also using community and base resources for mutual benefit. “There are already many successes with public-private partnership opportunities, and we’re just getting started,” he said. As Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) processes started to hit close to home some 20 years ago, the communities of Bay County faced a pretty big economic hit if its military industry disappeared. Community leaders realized early on, though, that Northwest Florida makes significant contributions to national defense. Fortunately, the Department of Defense came to the same conclusion — thanks in no small part to the efforts of the Bay Defense Alliance, a coalition of local economic leaders. “There are several key attributes that make Northwest Florida unique. One obvious

asset is the Gulf Range Complex,” Neubauer said. “The Gulf of Mexico military ranges are essential for surface, subsurface and air operations by multiple commands for R&D, test and training purposes.” Another positive factor is Northwest Florida’s long military training tradition and its reputation as a “defense-friendly military culture.” The physical environment is a great asset as well. After all, who doesn’t want to be assigned to sunny Florida? “It would be difficult to imagine Northwest Florida without the 192,000-plus defense jobs and these outstanding Americans in our communities,” Neubauer said. In Tallahassee, state officials want these efforts to continue and be successful. Earlier this year, Gov. Rick Scott announced that defense partners in Bay County were awarded $100,000 through Florida’s Defense Reinvestment Grant. The money will go toward enhancing the missions of Naval Support Activity Panama City and Tyndall Air Force Base, and to attract and retain industries that complement the military installations. The grant has been used for 15 years and helps sustain Florida’s reputation as a militaryfriendly state. Last year, the Economic Development Alliance of Bay County was awarded a $500,000 grant from the Florida Defense Support Task Force to enable construction of LambdaRail, a high-capacity data link which will connect with Naval Support Activity Panama City. This data link will allow the base to benefit from increased information technology connectivity.

▪2 ,872 military and civilian

labor force ▪$ 150 million annual

payroll ▪6 57 acres and 234 buildings Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division ▪$ 450 million annual

economic impact ▪2 ,292 military and civilian

workforce ▪8 40 scientists and

engineers, 290 of which have advanced degrees ▪7 4 buildings Tyndall Air Force Base ▪E ncompasses more than

29,000 acres ▪A pproximately 7,300

military, civilian and contract personnel are employed at Tyndall, making it the largest employer in Bay County. The base provices support facilities for more than 9,000 military retirees and had a local economic impact that exceeded $642 million in the fiscal year 2009. // Compiled by Steve Bornhoft

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M edical

Keeping Bay County Healthy Medical care has evolved with upgraded facilities and specialized care

ay County has undergone a multitude of changes over the past decade. The population has grown, industry has blossomed, tourists are arriving in everincreasing numbers and local medical care provided by the region’s hospitals and rehabilitation facilities has evolved to where it is as good as anywhere in the state. Brick-and-mortar expansion, along with innovative and improved technology — with a focus on patient care and quality service sparked by a strong sense of competition — are the hallmarks of change in the region. Not only has growth in the industry brought higher-wage jobs to the area, but the quality of medical care — and its availability — has aided with economic development. And patients who once traveled hours to get specialized services now have more of it available in their own backyard. The non-profit Bay Medical Center (part of the Sacred Heart Health System) and its competitor, the privately owned Gulf Coast 12 / 2014 B ay C o u n t y B U S I N E S S J OU R NA L

Regional Medical Center (owned by the Healthcare Corporation of America), both located in Panama City, have each tried to carve out a special service niche in the community, that special area where they can provide an extra measure of care that no one else can. As a result, Bay County residents are benefitting from centers focused on the treatment of cancer and cardiac patients and improved obstetrics care for women and high-risk newborns. A third specialty hospital, HealthSouth Emerald Coast Rehabilitation Hospital, is the only in-patient rehab facility in the county. Bay Medical Center went through a major $70 million expansion four years ago that included building a five-story patient care tower. The now 323-bed hospital cares for more than 80 percent of the area’s heart cases, is ranked among the top 5 percent nationally for cardiac services and is the only area hospital offering open heart surgery. As of December 2013, it also became one

of Florida’s 44 trauma centers, ensuring trauma surgeons, neurosurgeons and surgical specialists will be available within 30 minutes or less, 24 hours a day. “The major benefit is to injured patients — residents of Bay County, this area of Florida and our many tourists and visitors that come here,” said Dr. Glenn Summers, Bay Med’s trauma medical director. In addition to the main hospital, Bay Medical has diagnostic and rehab facilities in Panama City Beach and Lynn Haven, along with HealthPlex Fitness, a wellness facility. The hospital recently joined Sacred Heart Health System as part of a joint venture agreement between Sacred Heart and LHP Hospital Group. Sacred Heart already has facilities located east and west of Bay County, in Pensacola, Miramar Beach and Port St. Joe. Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center, a 218-bed acute care hospital, cares for the lion’s share of pediatric and obstetrics

Photos courtesy of Bay Medical Center-Sacred Heart Health System

By Linda Kleindienst and Zandra Wolfgram

Bay Medical Center is now part of the Sacred Heart Health System.

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cases. It was named a Top 100 Hospital by Truven Health Analytics, and as of this past spring has the region’s only Level III Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit — 18 beds for children who previously had to be transferred to Pensacola, Gainesville or Birmingham for their care. Last fall the hospital opened a 42-bed critical care wing that included a 20-bed adult-level ICU and the region’s only four-bed pediatric ICU. “Having the first and only PICU here in Bay County offers a place where critically ill children can receive medical care from highly trained doctors and staff using advanced medical equipment without having to drive long distances,” said Dr. Reynaldo dela Rosa, medical director of the PICU. “It also gives the community peace of mind knowing that in the event something bad will happen to their kids, they can always receive the appropriate care they need in a short period of time.” Gulf Coast has received national accreditation for its Chest Pain Center as well as its work on total joint replacement, peripheral vascular disease, spine, stroke and wound care. It is also an affiliate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer Care Network and has earned advanced accreditation for oncology care. Although its focus is on rehabilitation, HealthSouth Emerald Coast is licensed by the state as a hospital. It opened in 1997 with 40 beds but has undergone three expansions and now can care for 75 patients. “Because we’re licensed as a hospital, our patients see a doctor (or physiatrist) every day,” said Cindy Carpenter, the hospital’s director of marketing. And, unlike in nursing homes, there is a requirement that each patient receive a minimum of three hours of therapy at least five days a week. Also, RN oversight is provided 24 hours a day. “If we weren’t here, our patients would have to go out of the area, to a nursing home or back home,” Carpenter said. HealthSouth Emerald Coast has been recognized as a stroke rehabilitation center of excellence — one of only 12 in HealthSouth’s nationwide network of 100 hospitals to gain the honor. And it has been accredited by The Joint Commission for its rehabilitation procedures for patients who have suffered a stroke or hip fracture.

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Housing

New Direction For West Bay St. Joe sets sights on retirees for long-term expansion By Kimberley K. Yablonski

aying out a 50-year plan may seem impossibly ambitious for most companies operating in today’s economic realities. But for a company that has nearly 80 years of history and success in Florida, it’s just another day at the office. The latest endeavor for The St. Joe Company, the historic timber and paper company turned developer and manager, is an expanded West Bay Sector Plan which, upon approval, will include residential communities for active retirees. St. Joe plans to expand the original decadeold West Bay Sector Plan to hit a market they view as a perfect fit for the Northwest Florida beach area. Similar to The Villages, the hugely successful retirement community in Central Florida, the revised West Bay plan will include a number of retirement communities. The development will be called

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Watersound (not to be confused with St. Joe’s WaterSound Beach developments) and will cater to retirees with easy access by foot, bike or golf cart to restaurants, shops and convenience stores. St. Joe also plans to incorporate more than 100 miles of trails with a complete trail network linked with existing trail systems. Residents will have access to beachfront clubs and be able to access the Gulf of Mexico by boat through intracoastal waterways. The original West Bay Sector Plan was approved by the Bay County Board of County Commissioners in 2002. The revised plan will expand the western boundary into Walton County and add an additional 53,000 acres to the original 75,000-acre land use project. All the property is contiguous to West Bay and will be one unified project. “If you look at the original West Bay Sector

Plan, it was done pre-financial crisis of 2008,” said Park Brady, chief executive officer of The St. Joe Company. “That crisis really affected the economic growth from an industrial factor and is still affecting us today. We sat and looked at the large retirement communities. They have been the least affected by economic downturns, and the numbers are very large. We also did a lot of studies looking at the retirement demographics, and we know over 15 million people will retire in the next 15 years and a lot of them want to come to Florida. We thought, ‘We have a piece of land that really fits well in a plan to make that happen.’ It made a lot more sense for us to focus on this market.” Two primary financial drivers in the Northwest Florida area are military and tourism. The military sector looks pretty stable, but there is never a 100 percent guarantee it will stay that way, Brady explained. And tourism is seasonal, so it can be difficult to operate, he added. “This would provide a third strong economic leg for the stool. These people don’t put big demands on the communities’ infrastructure,” Brady said. “At The Villages, people say they ‘stay on campus.’ We felt this was a great fit. This is a 50-year plan, and very few communities can offer the continuity of one owner.” The original plan, which included the creation of the Northwest Florida Beaches International airport, focused on developing business diversity around the airport. St. Joe

Renderings courtesy St. Joe/Hart Howerton Partners, LTD

Several town centers will be scattered through the development.

wanted to generate economic activity through commercial and industrial business sectors. “The original idea was to use the land around the airport for economic development, and we are still doing that,” said Jorge Gonzalez, senior vice president of development. “We have a commerce park with infrastructure in place to accommodate business. We have one tenant who has been there a couple of years. We have pad-ready sites. We are not changing any of that.” What has changed is the acreage that will be used for development from 75,000 acres to 128,000 acres within one unified project. The West Bay Preservation Area aspect of the plan was designed to protect 33 miles of undeveloped shoreline and 44 miles of creeks and tributaries. Under the new plan, the amount of land set aside for protection will also increase, from about 40,000 acres to 53,000 acres for conservation. “We spent two-and-a-half years and millions of dollars planning this project — a process that included a very detailed inventory of all of our land from an environmental input,” Brady added. “It is very important for us to know every square foot of our property.” As far as the comparison to The Villages goes, Brady notes that development’s success. “We admired The Villages for what they have done on 25,000 acres. We think we can provide a better venue,” he said. “Almost 50 percent of our acreage won’t be developed. We will offer access to the Gulf of Mexico, lakes, the bay and 15 miles of intracoastal waterways as well as preservation land. Retirees want a healthy lifestyle as well as an environmentally conscious lifestyle. We want the residents to take ownership in the well-being of the land.” Added Gonzalez, “The Villages started their development in the 1960s. They have their time and place, and we have our time and place. The

land here is quite different. We are taking a different approach.” Watersound Origins will be the first development offered within Watersound. As St. Joe brings other communities on board over time, they will have other names besides Origins, but the common thread will be Watersound. The company anticipates the majority of the Watersound project will be age restricted and the rest age targeted. The expectation is that some buyers will use their homes as second homes for vacations until they actually retire. However, they also expect to have a lot of traditional residential for support that will not be age restricted or targeted. Prior to submitting any formal application to the state, St. Joe held numerous public forums to explain the project and receive input from the community. St. Joe also hired planners to overlay plans that would have minimal impact on the land and met zoning and regulatory requirements. Now, the formal application has been submitted to the state. St. Joe will work with Bay and Walton counties as well as the state to move the planning process forward. The goal is to gain approval on the master plan from all parties sometime in mid to late 2015. Once the long-term master plan is approved St. Joe will incrementally do Detailed Specific Area Plans (DSAPs). These very specific plans deal with smaller geographic areas, and the counties get to review them. “It is a 50-year plan. That is very ambitious. It is important to remember that the build-out will be a very gradual implementation based on how the public responds,” Gonzalez said. Founded in 1936 as The St. Joe Paper Company, JOE, as the now public company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has certainly morphed along the way. Remnants of its roots as the single largest landowner in Florida still remain although they are waning.

Earlier this year, the company sold 380,000 acres of timberland and rural land in Northwest Florida to subsidiaries of Utah-based AgReserves Inc. for $562 million. AgReserves, an affiliate of the Mormon Church, reportedly intends to continue agriculture and timber uses of the land. The sale included the majority of St. Joe’s timberlands in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty and Wakulla counties. With this sale, St. Joe’s land ownership was reduced to 185,000 acres. The company will continue its forestry operations but on a limited basis. St. Joe does, however, still have rural land and forestry programs in place with sustainable forest management, timber management, land management and conservation programs in place.

How Sweet It Is

SweetWater to provide homes, businesses and green space at old airport site By Linda Kleindienst Bay County’s abandoned airport is being transformed into the largest master planned development in the history of Panama City. The airport authority sold the 700-acre site to Leucadia National Corporation in February of 2011 for $51.4 million. This spring, the developer broke ground, predicting a 10–20 year build out that will provide homes for more than 3,000 residents and 700,000 square feet of commercial space. Leucadia, represented locally by the St. Andrew Bay Land Company, developed Rosemary Beach in nearby Walton County, and is expected to incorporate some of the same features, including open green space and parks for community use. Homes will be built for permanent residents, not for vacationers. The project also includes an elementary charter school run by Florida State University.

St. Joe’s development plans provide lots of green space and homes with easy access to shopping and restaurants. For more information, visit bay-waltonsectorplan.com.

2014 B ay C o u n t y B U S I N E S S J OU R NA L

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Seafood

A Tale of Two Fisheries Commercial survivors OK; recreational fleet is reeling

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Catches made from commercial boats are limited by Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQs). Boats are equipped with vessel monitoring systems and monitored by National Marine Fisheries Service personnel. Offloading operations are overseen by NMFS observers and catches deducted from quotas. Abrams supports the extension of that system to the recreational charter boat fleet, but Anderson views it as too burdensome. “All the data the government needs is available dockside,” she says. “We go out and return to the same slip. We’ve got to get our customers back to their cars.” And accurate data, she is convinced, would result in a larger overall recreational quota. Abrams, meanwhile, after fervently opposing IFQs for a year and a half, has made peace with them. “Quotas became a reality, and I had to adapt,” Abrams says. “It’s not the best tool, but the government gave us a tool and we can catch our fish when we want to. The market

Photo Courtesy of Capt. Anderson’s Marina

explosion, she added, “This is their second reg Abrams walked into G. Foley’s ‘BP,’ and it’s worse than the first.” Restaurant on 23rd Street in Panama For the casual saltwater angler, the red City on a recent Wednesday aftersnapper may be the perfect fish. It’s pretty, noon, encountered owner George Husum and it tastes good and it’s easy to catch. They declared, “I know what you’ve got and I know are voracious feeders, leading Abrams to call what I’ll have.” them “saltwater piranha.” Abrams, the owner of a Panama City Curiously, both the commercial and the seafood operation and the Tarpon Dock recreational fishing sectors agree that there Seafood Market, was aware that one of his are too many red snapper in the Gulf, to the drivers had delivered an order of black grouper point where grouper populations are suffering. filets to Husum that morning. Abrams has made a point of sending photos of “Grouper sandwich, write it up,” Abrams juvenile grouper removed from snapper bellies directed Husum, and when the meal arrived, to federal authorities. Abrams would say later, “It was out of this world.” The sectors agree, too, that regulators It was a Wednesday, what Abrams calls his don’t have a good handle on recreational “good day,” when seafood house operations catches. Estimates based on telephone are slowed to allow for “getting things cleaned surveys and a small number of dockside up and reorganized.” Such respites never intercepts are crude at best, they concur. last long. Boats loaded with golden tilefish, The regulators, themselves, find that better yellow-edge grouper and Warsaw grouper accountability measures need to be put in were on their way in. place. But there is deep disagreement on Business was slow, too, at Capt. Anderson’s how to improve the system. Marina on Grand Lagoon in Panama City Beach, but not pursuant to any plan. Headboats were running at far less than their 60-angler Charter fishing fleets capacity, and most of the charter face an uncertain future. boats that operate from the marina were tied up at the dock. To blame, according to marina operations manager Pam Anderson, is this year’s severely abbreviated red snapper season, so short, at nine days, that it came to be known as Snapper Week. “Our captains looked forward to the snapper season, such as it was, so they could catch up on their fuel bills and slip rental,” Anderson said as a headboat displaying modest catches of white snapper and beeliners arrived at the dock. “Now they are hurting again.” With reference to the Deepwater Horizon oil platform

By Steve Bornhoft

doesn’t get flooded, we get top dollar for our fish and our customers get fish of high quality.” Anticipating the arrival of a quota system like that in place today, Abrams bought up lots of boats — he has a fleet of 14 vessels from which pole fishing is conducted — and collected lots of permits and assembled lots of catch data. As a result, he did well when IFQs were handed out. Equal parts fishmonger and logistics expert, Abrams runs an operation of a scale far larger than all but insiders realize. He owns eight Peterbilt tractor-trailer rigs that make regular runs to cities including Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, delivering seafood and returning (in season) with produce from New Jersey and fish bait (Boston mackerel, prized because of its oiliness) from Delaware. Twenty-eight independent boats unload their catches at Greg Abrams Seafood. Abrams employs 12 truck drivers and 37 office, warehouse and retail store employees. A total of 91 contract employees comprise the teams that man his boats. He spends $40,000 to $60,000 on diesel fuel every 10 days. Locally owned businesses supply him with his tackle and hardware. Boats leave his docks with $1,200 of groceries on board. Machines at the Panama City fish house turn out 40 tons of ice daily. He owns another fish house in Leeville, Louisiana. He handles fish delivered to Port Panama City by ships out of Progreso, Mexico, an opportunity that developed after Hurricane Katrina severely disrupted port operations in Gulfport, Mississippi. All of this is big stuff for someone who started out selling shrimp from the back of a pickup truck in 1977. Shrimp remains a mainstay of Abrams’ business along with snapper, tuna, swordfish, grouper and scamp. Tuna catches have been exceptional this year. Anderson fears that if “BP II” persists for another two or three years, charter boat fishing will have been largely extinguished. “We have options. We could sell this property to a developer and come out all right. But we are committed to perpetuating the fishing legacy of this place for as long as we can.” Abrams, too, can foresee the day when his seafood business is snapped up by a large corporation. But he hopes there always remains an opportunity for those people who “can’t stand to work on land” to make a living at sea.

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RECENT PROJECTS

BEFORE

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The Panama City Community Redevelopment Agency is investing TIF monies into four districts, improving blighted areas; building and repairing roads and infrastructure; cleaning polluted land and developing vacant and underused property for the people of Panama City. Each district offers numerous unique community assets, a full schedule of festivals and events and volunteer citizen groups who are redeveloping their communities into award-winning, dynamic urban centers. The Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s investments in these areas are repaid through improved, productive properties that become revitalized, permanent revenue generators.

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E ducation

Back to the Easel Emerging coalition strives to boost student achievement By Steve Bornhoft

photo Courtesy of Bay District Schools

eventeen years ago, Bay County undertook a “visioning process” intended to identify the community’s shared priorities, determine baselines and goals related to them and outline strategies and tactics for achieving success. A facilitator was hired, committees were established and prominent people from assorted walks of life gathered around easels in brainstorming sessions. A report was produced, sure enough, centered on priorities whose emergence could have been predicted: employment, education, environment, etc. But, alas, the visionaries soon lost sight of their work. Five years later, in 2002, the Citizen Leadership Institute at then-Gulf Coast Community College sought to revive the project. It conducted meetings aimed at discovering whether the community’s priorities had shifted since the first visioning process — they really hadn’t — and again went about listing objectives in a 15-page document titled, “Better Bay County Plan, 2002–2022.” “The citizens of Bay County have spoken,” signed off the writers of the report, but their words didn’t reverberate for long. Kim Bodine is aware of this history as she goes about spearheading a new priority-and-goal-setting exercise, this one to be patterned after Alignment Nashville, an effort trained on “public school success, children’s health and the success of our community as a whole.” It was founded in 2004 by civic leaders concerned about low graduation rates, low standardized test scores, high teen pregnancy rates and the large-scale defection of public school students to charter schools. The Nashville project was begun in 2004 and has been instrumental in bringing about dramatic, well-documented progress. Nashville’s high school graduation rate has gone from 58 percent to 82.9 percent. The teen pregnancy rate has dropped by 25.5 percent and the average age of gang members has increased from 16 to 22. In April, Bodine, the executive director of CareerSource Gulf Coast, and Ann Leonard, a career and technical education director, pulled together a meeting of some 200 people, most of them business men and women, to talk about Alignment Nashville and assess the appetite for pursuing a similar initiative in Bay County.

Education of a smart workforce needs to start early.

Sydney Rogers, Alignment Nashville’s executive director, addressed the group along with Bay County Superintendent of Schools Bill Husfelt. EDUCATION Most were flabbergasted to learn from Educational Attainment Husfelt that 57 percent of Bay County (Persons aged 25 and older) public school students qualify for free High School graduate or reduced-price lunches, and that or higher ��87.1% the district works with more than 800 Bachelor’s degree students who are homeless. or higher �� 21% Rogers acquainted the group with the Higher Education Institutions Alignment Nashville model and then ▪ F lorida State University challenged her audience, noting that Panama City “very often in communities, there is too ▪ Gulf Coast State College much planning and not enough results. ▪E mbry-Riddle And there are lots of well-intentioned Aeronautical University organizations that work in silos. They ▪ Troy University don’t interact for maximum effect.” Bodine was pleasantly surprised when meeting-goers, without exception, endorsed the idea of going forward with a local alignment project. Funding for the project will be community based. She is making appeals to local foundations. “There’s a big difference between setting goals and implementing action plans,” says Bodine. “People recognize that there are problems affecting our schools that the schools, alone, can’t solve and they want to move beyond just talking about them. “We need to be concerned about the sustainability of our community. When people are leaving town because they can’t make enough money to support their families, we are reaching a tipping point. Wages in Bay County have declined over the past 10 years, and poverty is a big factor in student performance.” In August, Bodine and Leonard were working to assemble a 25-person board of directors and anticipated that the group would meet for the first time in mid-September. Alignment Nashville comprises a governing board, an operating board and 24 tightly focused committees, including an Adolescent Sexual Responsibility 2014 B ay C o u n t y B U S I N E S S J OU R NA L

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Committee and a Refugee and Immigrant Support Committee. But it started out with just three: the Pre-K and Elementary School, Middle School and High School committees. “We’re going to start with the same three committees here,” Bodine notes. “K-12 education is universal to everything. Our schools of higher learning, employers and society as a whole all take delivery of the work product of our public schools. Additional committees will be formed based on the recommendations of the superintendent and our board of directors.” Bodine stresses that it’s the district that drives the (school) bus. “We aren’t going to tell them what to do,” she says. “District personnel are the folks who are charged by the state with educating our children. We will help the district achieve its strategic plan by removing obstacles in its path.” Nashville committees all relate to tactical plans that are remarkable for their specificity. Each includes strategies, tactics, outputs and measures. For example, the Adolescent Sexual Responsibility Committee, which has somehow managed to bring representatives of Planned

Parenthood and Catholic Charities together, is tactically committed to employing online media to facilitate continuing communication between itself and youth-serving professionals. “It’s not easy to keep volunteers engaged and on task,” Leonard points out, “but the outcomes that result from significant people who all have their oars in the water can be amazing.” Nashville identified school readiness as a serious concern and committed to seeing that all 3- and 4-year-olds in the city were exposed to a set of books deemed “essential pre-K literature.” Printing companies, trucking firms, libraries and financial contributors combined to saturate the community with books such as “Pete the Cat: I Love My New Shoes” about a black feline with white sneakers. A local college developed instruction sheets listing discussion points and detailing activities to extend the reading experience. (“What would happen if you ruined a pair of new shoes? How would you feel? How did Pete feel?”) Husfelt, Leonard and Bodine agree that the Bay County community’s support for schools is “fragmented.” People have a tendency to support their neighborhood schools or their

high school alma mater without thinking about what is good for all. “We’ve got to get the right people working together and, historically, we haven’t been very good at that,” Husfelt concedes. Bodine cautions that results will not be immediate and that the education of parents will be a key to improving student performance. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” she says. “Many parents have no real idea about what their child must do to graduate from high school. I hear people say that kids come out of high school unable to add or subtract, and I have to tell them that students are required to pass algebra and geometry to graduate. Parents don’t know that students must complete two advanced science courses to get their diplomas.” Bodine finds that the district has done a fine job providing opportunities, such as the International Baccalaureate program for advanced students, but must do more to provide paths to success for the other 70 percent of students. “There are students in Bay County who shave before driving to middle school,” she says. “We’ve got to have tracks that enable them to advance.”

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Tourism

Tourism Strong

Bay County’s tourism industry has grown from a fleeting summer fling to a year-round love affair — with millions to show for itself By Chay D. Baxley

respite during the sweltering summer months, Bay County’s impressive 27-mile stretch of crystal clear coastline has been attracting seasonal visitors for decades. A longtime summer destination for those living in the Southeastern United States, the county’s most alluring attraction has always been its breathtaking natural resources — namely, the world-renowned Panama City Beach. While vacationers gush over the county’s beautiful vistas and vibe on its classic, true 22 / 2014 B ay C o u n t y B U S I N E S S J OU R NA L

American beach-town atmosphere, when it comes to the local economy, visitors’ enduring (and profitable) presence can only mean one thing: in Bay County, tourism is king. And the king’s reign is expanding. “We do recognize that it is our No. 1 industry in Bay County,” stated Carol Roberts, the president and CEO of the Bay County Chamber of Commerce. “We certainly respect that.” To help show its support, the Chamber has successfully upgraded National Tourism Week — celebrated annually during the first week of

May — to an entire month of fun-filled festivities. Of course, their admiration has been dutifully earned, with the total amount of visitor spending reaching well over $1 billion (at an average of $3,112,676 per day) in 2013 alone. Overcoming a series of economic hardships, including the Great Recession and the infamous BP oil spill, wasn’t easy — but Bay County tourism has managed to endure. Sources say, they’re stronger than ever before. “We weathered the storm better than most,” explained Dan Rowe, president and CEO at Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau. “During the Great Recession, we saw an increase in our Tourist Development Tax collection, which is a direct reflection of an increase in lodging revenues. We were one of two communities that I’m aware of in the state of Florida that saw positive growth during 2009, the other one being the Florida Keys.” The Tourist Development Tax, commonly referred to as “bed tax,” funds the marketing activities of the Panama City Beach

photo Courtesy of Steve Beaudet/Panama City Beach CVB

Bay County’s beaches remain its top tourism draw.

Convention & Visitors Bureau; and is also used for beach cleaning and grooming, product improvement and beach re-nourishment. In 2013, nearly $16 million was collected. As of July, numbers for 2014 are up. Way up. According to Rowe, it was the loyalty of vacationers from far and wide that kept the county afloat during the darkest of days. On more than one occasion in the midst of 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Rowe says visitors took to social media to refute claims that oil was “lapping up” on Florida’s Emerald Coast. Their accolades encouraged fellow travelers to check out the beach for themselves. “People doubled down on Panama City Beach,” shared Rowe. “What we heard from our visitors was that ‘this is our beach, too.’ ” With the national economy finally gaining upward traction, so too has Bay County’s chief moneymaker. In 2013, sleeping room sales climbed to 2,306,800 — an increase from 2012 of 4.6 percent. First time visitor sales were up, too: 4.7 percent in winter, 17.2 percent for spring, 9.8 percent during the summer and a whopping 24 percent during the fall season. PCB TOURISM All this newfound By the Numbers in 2013 attention has trans▪T otal visitor spending was formed Panama $1,135126,851 — a 7.3 City Beach from the percent increase from 2012. summer destination of ▪T he average visitor’s daily yesteryear and a spring spending was $79 in the breaker’s paradise, to winter season, $86 in the a year-round hotspot. spring, $94 in the summer Ma ny Ca nad ia n and $71 in the fall. retirees have found ▪2 ,306,800 rooms were sold over-wintering in the — a 4.6 percent increase county an attractive over 2012. option for their quick ▪8 4 percent of visitors Florida-fix to the cold planned on returning within weather of the North. one calendar year. 59 percent For local business had been to PCB. owners, their continued ▪P anama City Beach Tourist patronage has made all Development Tax collected the difference. $15,734,252 , compared to “There were times, $14,526,264 in 2012. I recall, after Labor Day, people closed up shop on Panama City Beach,” reminisced Roberts, who’s been a part of the business scene in Bay County for 37 years. “You could go, and this is probably an exaggeration, for (what seemed like) hours and not have a car on Front Beach Road.” Those days appear to be long gone, though. Experts are optimistic as to where the county’s tourism industry is headed — and what the bump in revenue could potentially mean for the local economy. “We’re very excited about the future,” enthused Rowe. “There’s a lot of opportunity here for the residents. Restaurants and shopping opportunities, the bay … our best days are definitely in front of us.” 2014 B ay C o u n t y B U S I N E S S J OU R NA L

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Sports

Frank Brown Park

Diamonds are Panama City Beach’s best friends By Steve Bornhoft

photo by Matt Burke

aseball officials are concerned that youths are becoming increasingly disinterested in the National Pastime. The game is too slow, they fear, for children growing up in a world built increasingly on instantaneity, not waiting on a good pitch to hit. Hall of Famer Joe Torre, Major League Baseball’s executive vice president for baseball operations, considers that finding ways to engage young people will be new baseball commissioner Rob Manfred’s greatest challenge when he relieves Bud Selig in January. Maybe he should call Larry Thompson. Thompson, the owner of Grand Slam Sports, makes his living promoting, organizing and hosting youth baseball tournaments in divisions ranging from “8-and-Under” to “18-and-Under.” He founded his business in Columbus, Georgia, 10 years ago, before moving to Panama City Beach early in 2013. Thompson didn’t yield to a hydrotropism in moving to the Gulf. Rather, it was the dirt infields and grassy outfields of Frank Brown Park that brought him to Bay County. A few years after the park, located near the intersection of U.S. 98 and Highway 79, was expanded in 1998 and 1999 to include five new ballfields, Thompson approached Panama City Beach’s Parks and Recreation Department seeking permission to hold a “Grand Slam World Series of Baseball” at the facility. First held in 2003, Thompson’s World Series attracted 62 boys’ baseball teams and was conducted in a week. This year’s series was held over four weeks and involved 500 teams from 20 states.

Larry Thompson came to Bay County for the grassy fields, not the beach.

The growing youth baseball business in the Southeast is recession proof, Thompson has found. And hurricane and oil spill proof. “We experienced no drop-off from the BP scare,” Thompson says. “It’s a priority for parents to provide their boys with a competitive baseball experience in a tournament atmosphere. And Panama City Beach gives folks an opportunity to make the baseball games part of a family vacation.” Thompson conducts 250 tournaments across the Southeast each year, eight of them at Frank Brown Park. Most serve as Grand Slam World Series qualifier events. “Frank Brown Park is a diamond in the rough,” Thompson says, unaware of his wordplay. “It’s a top-notch multi-purpose facility with fields that can accommodate softball, baseball, soccer and lacrosse.” Too, the park includes an aquatic center, tennis courts, a 20-acre festival ground and a

Miracle League plastic-turf field reserved for disabled youths, including children in wheelchairs. “The only way I know to make Frank Brown better is to make it bigger — add more fields,” Thompson says. As it happens, the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau has plans to do just that. It is actively looking for land for park expansion and has squirreled away BP money for that purpose. In addition, the CVB has banked $1 million in excess bed tax revenues the last two years. “We’ve got about $7 or $8 million in total in a capital improvements fund, and more fields is our top priority,” says Richard Sanders, the CVB’s vice president for sports and events. “Without them, we’re turning away 300 youth teams a year.” Sports will result in more than 100,000 room nights and $60 million in direct spending 2014 B ay C o u n t y B U S I N E S S J OU R NA L

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in Panama City Beach this year. Activities held at Frank Brown Park will account for 60 percent of that total, according to Sanders. Spending is calculated using a formula devised by the Florida Sports Foundation, a part of Enterprise Florida Inc. That formula assumes spending by adults of $150 per day and $75 daily by children. Girls’ fast-pitch softball is the top draw at the park followed by boys’ baseball and youth soccer. Lacrosse is on its way. The park hosted the first lacrosse tournament in its history in July. Sixteen teams traveled to Bay County from Atlanta, Pensacola and several Louisiana locales. Frank Brown for years hosted lacrosse spring training for dozens of teams from northern colleges and universities, but the activity outgrew the park and moved to West Palm Beach. “Lacrosse is what’s next,” Sanders predicts. “The —Richard Sanders, the Panama City Beach Parks and Recreation DepartCVB’s vice president ment is going to pilot a for sports and events lacrosse program this fall. Arnold High School (in Panama City Beach) is looking at adding it as a club sport.” Sanders attends annual conventions, including those held by the National Association of Sports Commissions and Travel, Events and Management in Sports (TEAM), where he meets with event right holders and may land business for Frank Brown. But he emphasizes the importance of homegrown, locally based activities whose presence can be counted on from year to year. “You go to a convention, you bid on an event and you may win the bid this year but next year it goes up for bids again,” Sanders notes. In addition to adding fields to Frank Brown, the CVB has an indoor special events center on its white board. Conceptual conversation about that project has become serious, according to Sanders. The center would be designed to accommodate basketball, gymnastics, cheerleading, dance and volleyball competitions and would include space for sports medicine practitioners. It could handle trade and boat shows. Sanders anticipates that it may result from a private/public partnership. “The center would make us a year-round sports destination,” Sanders enthuses. “Right now, we lack an appropriate venue for winter sports. A basketball tournament may require that we use five different gyms from across the county.” Sanders would much rather see bed tax dollars invested in an events center than a minor league baseball park, an idea that seemingly surfaces in Bay County every few years.

“We realized that you had to put on tournaments in places where people could make a vacation out of their trip, and Panama City Beach was the perfect model for that. We promote our events by encouraging people to make an extended stay out of them, and a lot of businesses benefit.”

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“Minor league baseball might be a good thing for the community, something we could rally around, but it’s not the best use of tourist dollars,” Sanders said. “A minor league team would play a 71-game home season and generate about 1,500 to 2,000 room nights in total. You’re looking at $30 million for a stadium and that’s a lot to spend for that kind of return. “We host numerous events that generate more room nights in a weekend, and we don’t have a dime invested in them.” Sanders says that Thompson helped him realize in 2004 or so that the softball and baseball game had changed. No longer were families devoting weekend after weekend to traveling to tournaments in locations that didn’t have much to offer beyond the action on the field. “We realized that you had to put on tournaments in places where people could make a vacation out of their trip, and Panama City Beach was the perfect model for that,” Sanders says. “We promote our events by encouraging people to make an extended stay out of them, and a lot of businesses benefit.” Sports activity provides a big boost to amusement parks, retailers, restaurants and hoteliers. Traveling teams each tend to have unique pins. Like Olympic athletes, players gather at venues including Rocket Lanes to trade them. Does Sanders share the concern of those who fear that youths aren’t embracing sports as they once did? “I’m concerned about technology,” he concedes. “We need to get our kids off the sofa and onto the grass and dirt. When I was a boy, I dragged bats for my daddy’s church league softball team. That’s where it starts.”

Who? YOU!

If you LIVE or WORK in the greater Bay, Holmes, Washington or Jackson county area,

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