2015-16 Tallahassee Business Journal

TALLAHASSEE 2015–16 BUSINESS JOURNAL

AN 850 BUSINESS MAGAZINE SPECIAL REPORT

FUTURE OF TALLAHASSEE • ANGEL INVESTORS • DEMOGRAPHICS • ENTREPRENEURSM • SYN-TECH • RESEARCH + DEVELOPMENT MADE IN TALLAHASSEE • FSU MED SCHOOL • INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT • TOURISM/ATHLETICS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

45 PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BRIAN E. ROWLAND EDITORIAL

DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL SERVICES Steve Bornhoft EDITOR Linda Kleindienst SENIOR STAFF WRITER Jason Dehart STAFF WRITER Chay D. Baxley PRODUCTION SPECIALIST Melinda Lanigan CREATIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lawrence Davidson PRODUCTION MANAGER/NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR Daniel Vitter ART DIRECTOR Jennifer Ekrut ADVERTISING DESIGNER Jillian Fry SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING McKenzie Burleigh Lohbeck DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS Daniel Parisi AD SERVICES COORDINATOR Lisa Sostre ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Bess Grasswick, Darla Harrison, Lori Magee, Rhonda Murray, Will Patrick, Dan Parker, Linda Powell, Paula Sconiers, Alice Watts, Brianna Webb SALES AND MARKETING ASSISTANT Christie Green

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6 / 2015–16 TA L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

10 The Journey

When it comes to economic development, where has Tallahassee been and where is it going? What sparked the change?

15 Angel Investors

They don’t have wings but they do have money ready to lift the dreams of enterprising entrepreneurs.

18 Growth in Numbers

A look at how Tallahassee has grown in population, jobs and buying power.

21 Entrepreneurism

The Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/ Leon County is focused on keeping and growing local businesses.

24 Syn-Tech

This local business has a yearly revenue of $36 million and produces a fuel management system serving nearly 6,000 clients.

28 Research and the Economy Research at

Florida State University attracts more than $200 million in support from federal sources, private foundations and state agencies — and often leads to development of new companies.

33 Made in Tallahassee

Celebrating home-made success stories, one company at a time.

37 FSU Medical School

Florida State University is changing the face of medical care in North Florida, an important tool in economic development.

41 Airport

With its new “international” designation, Tallahassee’s airport is open to the world’s passengers and cargo.

45 T ourism

Tallahassee has enjoyed six consecutive years of record-breaking tourism.

Artist rendering of what the Arena District will look like.

COVER RENDERING BY © 2015 SASAKI ASSOCIATES, INC.

PHOTOS BY DAVE BARFIELD (MAGLAB) AND KANSAS PITTS (FOOTBALL)

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FUTU RE OF TALL AHASSEE

WE’VE COME A LONG WAY An explosion of economic development is quickly transforming Tallahassee and Leon County

By Linda Kleindienst and Jason Dehart

10 / 2015–16 TA L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

PHOTOS BY DAVE BARFIELD (MAGLAB) AND MATT BURKE (HOMISON)

B

en Pingree was born in Tallahassee and remembers the way it used to be. Long before Gaines Street began its transformation, long before CollegeTown was a twinkling in some developer’s eye, long before anyone even considered a concept known as Cascades Park or Innovation Park or the Mag Lab. Today, he (Top) Ilya Litvak, a can’t conceal his research assistant excitement over at the National the transformaHigh Magnetic Field Laboratory, checks a tion of his town probe on a powerful and county.

Nuclear Magnetic “I have seen Resonance magnet.

(Bottom) MagLab, the changes in the largest and terms of economic highest powered development and magnet lab in the world, at night. quality of life. It’s happening!” says Pingree, who in August took over as executive vice president of the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County (EDC). “This job at this time is really thrilling. You really get the sense we’re in a great place, we’re on the verge of something in terms of private investment and private economic development that is different than anything I’ve seen in my lifetime.”

Indeed, Tallahassee and Leon County have come a long way.

Among the catalysts for economic growth have been the research and development

efforts of Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College. The Mag Lab alone has had a $250 million impact. Startup companies from Domi Station, the county’s first business incubator, have generated $3 million in revenue. The 1,000 acres surrounding Tallahassee International Airport are being evaluated for development opportunities. New economic endeavors range from small startup companies to international businesses. Plans are in the works for a new arena district.

Nearly everywhere one looks, there is development and growth. The urban core and the population are growing. The population of the Tallahassee area is 284,000, which is a 3.1 percent increase over the last four years and a more than 20 percent increase since 2000. And signs of the county’s growing economic prosperity can especially be seen spreading east and further north.

Over the past 20 years, the city’s commercial property values have increased by 118 percent to nearly $2.4 billion, and the number of commercial parcels has jumped from 2,613 to 4,067. And while Tallahassee was once known primarily as a government town, 52 percent of the area’s economy is now driven by private enterprise while government’s influence has dropped to 32 percent. The gross domestic product in the four-county region dominated by Leon County went from $13.4 billion in 2010 to $14.2 billion in 2014, with $9.3 billion of that coming from private industry.

“We’re on a long-term journey,” says Jim Murdaugh, president of Tallahassee Community College who served the past two years as chairman of the EDC. “But look at how far we’ve come. The key word is stability.

We are in the first stages of the next growth.”

Looking ahead, First Commerce Credit Union CEO Cecilia Homison, the new EDC chair for the coming two years, wants to focus on taking note of the region’s assets, finding ways to keep new FSU and FAMU graduates in town, retaining companies and helping them expand by assisting them in understanding what local help is available to them.

“The EDC will continue to elevate its game,” she told those who attended the EDC’s annual meeting. “This is a team effort.

We need to provide results.”

THE GAME CHANGER In November 2014, Leon County voters agreed to extend a penny sales tax past 2019 and set aside 12 percent of the funds for economic development projects. There is a potential for the money to result in more than 8,000 new jobs with a positive economic impact of $1.1 billion.

While the term “game changer” may have been a bit overused, Stewart Proctor, principle of Structure Commercial Real Estate and Property Management, says it’s an appropriate description of the sales tax extension vote and the community’s commitment to promoting economic development.

“It could have an extremely positive impact,” he said. “There’s no doubt it was an excellent decision the voters made to approve that. (Game changer) sums up the opportunity, for sure.”

Steve Evans was chair of the county’s 18-member sales tax committee that recommended the 12 percent of revenues raised from the tax be set aside for 20 years to foster economic development projects — a fairly new concept that is expected to result in about $90 million.

“What we’ve done is to really begin identifying the economic vitality and the opportunity we have ahead of us in a way we never had in the past,” Evans says. “The good news is (the sales tax debate) created a lot of enthusiasm in the community, focus.”

year-old company became the first startup to receive funding ($500,000) from members of the Tallahassee chapter of the Florida Angel Nexus, a statewide network of angel investors seeking to invest in high-growth ventures.

NewSci was clearly a great investment opportunity due to its seasoned management team and large market opportunity, explains Matt Johnson, a Nexus founding member.

He adds that NewSci’s successful seed round is indicative of the changing investor culture in and around Tallahassee. “This is a milestone moment for startups and angel investors in the Tallahassee community,” Johnson says. “Already we are seeing more local startups attracting local investment, which is critical to the long-term growth and vitality of the economy.”

FUTURE DIRECTION During her two-year term, Homison wants the EDC to focus on helping the area’s entrepreneurial community while fostering research and commercialization of locally produced products. When looking to recruit new companies to move to the area, she knows that many will want to locate near where research is being performed that is relevant to their products.

“We need to take inventory of our assets and maybe contract with a site selector,” she says. “We also know that new graduates are approaching the workforce differently.

“The EDC will continue to elevate its game. This is a team effort. We need to provide results.” — Cecilia Homison, New Economic Development Council Chair and First Commerce Credit Union CEO

Not only is a new economic energy in the region, there is also a new focus on bringing investment dollars into the community.

“Given we’re the third largest state, it’s not right how little money is invested here,” laments David Lawon, co-founder and CEO of NewSci, provider of Insight-as-a-Service to the education, health care and social sectors.

But that changed in August, when the two-

They’re looking for an incubator like Domi.

We need to look at what’s in place.”

She is also setting up a task force of entrepreneurs to help the EDC craft a pipeline of support for entrepreneurial efforts and wants to see the EDC of Tallahassee/ Leon County accredited by the International Economic Development Council, which only three other Florida counties

2015–16 TA L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

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have managed to achieve — The Beacon Council (Miami-Dade County’s Economic Development Partnership), the Economic Development Board of Palm Beach County and the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

Evans suggests that the region get better at celebrating the victories it does have but adds that community leaders are now recognizing the need to look to the future, not focus on problems of the past.

“What they’re all now recognizing is what it needs to be, and how are we going to get there,” he says. “I’m a great believer in the field of dreams. You first create a high vitality infrastructure that focuses on identifying skills and strengths, developing an economic engine that can fund where appropriate. You start creating that kind of environment, that kind of visibility within the community and the outside world will find you.”

Pingree agrees the county needs to take stock of “how we market ourselves to the world” and, along with Homison, talks of the need to provide the community and outsiders with the technical data, to be updated quarterly and publicly displayed, that shows where the county’s job market and economy is headed.

“Part of our job is marketing about economic vitality,” he says. “We do believe we are world class in certain areas. We are an All American City. We’re on the cusp of being an all American city for business, especially in research, health care and IT. And we’re going to go market the heck out of it.

“If you say to a private investor that we’ve got a great area for development, come look at it, that’s one conversation,” he adds. “If you tell the same investor we’ve also created TIF (tax increment financing) districts and put tens of millions of dollars into public improvements and we have beautiful green space, an exceptional quality of life, a highly trained workforce and low cost of doing business, now you’re really getting somebody’s attention.”

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14 / 2015–16 TA L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

ANGEL N EXUS

ANGELS WHO OPEN WALLETS Local investors work to keep Tallahassee’s economy growing

By Rosanne Dunkelberger

NEWSCI The first company

D

espite the heavenly sounding name, members of the newly created Florida Angel Nexus of Tallahassee use their checkbooks and connections instead of harps and halos to aid Florida and locally based startup companies in their quest for all-important seed money to fund their growth.

Conceived by a seasoned investor and a professor at the University of Central Florida, the original Florida Angel Nexus launched in January 2013. Since its inception, 17 companies — all based in Florida — have gotten seed funding totaling $3.6 million via a process NEXUS Director Blaire Martin calls “eHarmony meets ‘Shark Tank.’”

NEXUS isn’t a fund; any money given to a startup comes directly from accredited individual investors.

“We’re all about linking … We’re matchmakers,” Martin said. “We identify what the roadblocks are to getting the deal done (and are the) invisible hand that helps with the roadblock and connection.”

While NEXUS was getting its start in Orlando, Matt Johnson, Jason Stamm and other investors in Tallahassee were separately looking for a way to easily find and connect with entrepreneurs to fund their startup businesses.

“The problem historically is not that there’s a lack of capital in Tallahassee or in North Florida. The problem is that it hasn’t been visible to entrepreneurs who are seeking funding,” said Johnson. “We wanted to bring angel investing to Tallahassee but didn’t know how we were really going to do that. I thought (it would) be great to build on what NEXUS had already started and plug into their existing infrastructure.”

The Tallahassee group decided to become the Florida Angel Nexus’ first offshoot and held its first bimonthly meeting this past June. By August, members had fully funded $500,000 in seed money for NewSci, a locally based startup technology firm.

Since then, they have provided funds to two other

that’s seed money was fully funded by NEXUS Tallahassee wants to bring big data and cognitive computing to the education, health care and nonprofit sector with the help of IBM’s Watson.

Co-founder and Tallahassee resident David Lawson breaks down what his company, NewSci, will be doing once it’s up and running.

Organizations in all those sectors already have “all kinds of information,” in different — and often not easily accessible — places.

“Using Watson and cognitive computing we can all begin to make sense of it,” he said.

“We’re trying to help organizations make insight-driven decisions to be more efficient (and) more effective.”

NewSci will use the $500,000 invested in it to build a sales team and to expand its work with IBM Watson cognitive applications.

Lawson is also a partner in Domi Station, Tallahassee’s business incubator for entrepreneurs. He said Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College make Tallahassee a uniquely suitable home for tech startups like NewSci. “We feel Tallahassee has the talent pool and can attract the kind of talent for a knowledge company,” he said. “We definitely want to build strong relationships with the universities and colleges in town.”

— Rosanne Dunkelberger

2015–16 TA L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

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startups, one started in Tallahassee and another from St. Petersburg using technology created at Florida State University. With angel investment activity going on in other regions of Florida — including Jacksonville, Tampa/ St. Petersburg and the Space Coast — the statewide organization expects other chapters to come aboard in the nottoo-distant future.

Here’s how the process works: A founder goes to the NEXUS website and fills out a short form. If the business concept sounds promising, the entrepreneur fills out a more extensive application to complete a full profile of the company. The NEXUS board of directors vets the applications and selects the top applicants to make presentations.

Tallahassee’s NEXUS group listens to two presentations during its meetings. “They usually run about 15 minutes followed by 15 minutes of Q&A and open discussion. We like to have one home-grown Tallahassee company and then bring in one from outside Tallahassee — but always in the state of Florida. It’s critical for keeping small business and early stage startup companies in the state,” Johnson explained. “If they need funding and they can’t secure it here, they’re going to go outside of the state. So someone from California, or Boston or Texas or Atlanta, they’re going to supply the capital, they’re going to make the investment, they’re going to reap the benefits of any returns and possibly move the company out of Florida.”

While entrepreneurs and the state benefit from the funding of angels, Johnson said investors’ motives aren’t necessarily saintly. “Just like stocks, bonds, cash and real estate, early stage investing is an asset class. You want to get in early, get in often, diversify your portfolio into many different sectors and just trust that if you’re doing enough due diligence and you’re investing in the right people, something is going to take off, something is going to become big and it’s going to return a healthy profit. There are no guarantees, but you play by those rules and it increases your odds of success.”

Such investments are inherently risky and a particular type of business tends to attract seed money.

“We’re looking for that big, big, home run, grand slam return, and that only comes from highly scalable, hypergrowth companies, usually in technology software and Webbased businesses that can grow and scale very, very rapidly so that someone in their market acquires them,” Johnson said.

The idea, he explained, is to “invest early in a hyper-growth company that — sooner rather than later — is acquired or IPO’d, providing liquidity for your investment so you’re paid back a multiple on your original investment.”

WANT TO JOIN NEXUS TALLAHASSEE? Because the angel method of raising capital usually involves selling securities, NEXUS requires all members to be investors accredited by the SEC, a process that certifies a person’s net worth and/or income.

Dues are $750 annually. Potential members are invited to attend meetings before joining. For more information, visit floridaangelnexus. com/investors or email info@floridaangelnexus.com.

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DEMOGR APH ICS

TOTAL LEON COUNTY POPULATION Population Estimates and Projections

350,000 300,000 250,000

271,111

282,736

291,096

304,600 311,200

323,800

2021 PROJECTED EMPLOYMENT 335,800

All Occupations:

Management:

159,426 (in 2013)

6,564 (in 2013)

174,041

6,905

249,424

200,000 150,000 100,000

Source: UF Bureau of Economic & Business Research

50,000 0

FLORIDA’S STATE CAPITAL: DRIVEN BY BUSINESS!

2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035

n Tallahassee MSA n Unincorporated Leon County

Source: U.S. Dept of Commerce, University of Florida, Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Dept

16% FASTEST GROWING INDUSTRIES INDUSTRY Rank

EMPLOYMENT

Title

2014

2014–2022 CHANGE

2022

Total

Percent

2

Nursing and Residential Care Facilities

2,363

2,929

566

24.0

3

Ambulatory Health Care Services

6,284

7,709

1,425

22.7

8

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

10,263

11,904

1,641

16.0

52%

32%

9

Hospitals

5,581

6,391

810

14.5

n Private Enterprise n Government n Other

13

Truck Transportation

327

368

41

12.5

Source: UF Bureau of Economic & Business Research

15

Support Activities for Transportation

178

198

20

11.2

Source: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Bureau of Labor Market Statistics

Our area has added

INDUSTRY Rank

EMPLOYMENT

Title

2014–2022 CHANGE

2014

2022

Total

Percent

3

Ambulatory Health Care Services

6,284

7,709

1,425

22.7

6

Hospitals

5,581

6,391

810

14.5

9

Nursing and Residential Care Facilities

2,363

2,929

566

24.0

Source: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Bureau of Labor Market Statistics

JOBS 9,000 NEW Our unemployment rate has DECREASED

36%

Our median family income has RISEN TO

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT (LEON COUNTY, 2013)

13%

ABOVE STATE AVERAGE

$

Parcel values have 25.30% 8.70%

18.90%

19.30%

6.20% 19.60%

2%

n Less than 9th grade n 9th to 12th grade, no diploma n High school graduate n Some college, no degree n Associate’s degree n Bachelor’s degree n Graduate or professional degree Source: Tallahassee/Leon County Planning Dept; UF Bureau of Economic & Business Research

18 / 2015–16 TA L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

INCREASED

7%

TO OVER

$23B

IN TOTAL VALUE

44%

of our residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher

INFORMATION COURTESY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL OF TALLAHASSEE/LEON COUNTY

INDUSTRIES GAINING MOST NEW JOBS

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ENTREPREN EU RISM

KEEPING TALENT AT HOME

PHOTO COURTESY OF ENTREPRENEURIAL EXCELLENCE PROGRAM AND MARK POWELL

Working with startups and entrepreneurs is a focus of Economic Development Council By Linda Kleindienst

F

or two months they gather together to learn how to build a strong business, how to handle finances and legal affairs, how to best present their product to potential investors and then sell and market it.

In the past five years, 115 local business teams have participated in the Entrepreneurial Excellence Program run by the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County — a nine-class course designed to help the region hold on to its homegrown talent and ideas and help them have success. The program utilizes local business professionals with expertise in a wide range of needed skills and experiences in areas such as legal, marketing, sales, team building and financing.

A recent survey of EEP graduates revealed that 70 percent of the respondents said they were still actively in business, 20 percent said they had not yet started their business idea or have chosen not to start it and 10 percent said they had started their business but then decided to shut it down. Another interesting

fact: EEP companies currently have over 170 employees and anticipate having more than 500 on the payroll in three years’ time.

Recent graduates include GrassLands Brewery, which was named the Chamber Larry Lynch, who of Commerce runs the Entrepreneurial Excellence startup business of Program, works the year in 2014, with budding and HWind Scienentrepreneurs and gives them access tific Inc., a real-time to mentors and hurricane w ind startup resources in ana lysis system the community. recently acquired by Risk Management Solutions, the world leader in risk modeling.

“I am grateful to the EEP program for giving me the opportunity to learn from a community of successful business people and for providing access to a wealth of startup resources,” says Mark Powell of HWind Scientific.

Steve Evans sits on the board of directors of the Jim Moran Institute of Global Entrepreneurship at Florida State University and is a judge on the panel that listens to the final business presentations of those who participate in each EEP program, giving guidance on where

“I am grateful to the EEP program for giving me the opportunity to learn from a community of successful business people and for providing access to a wealth of startup resources.” — Mark Powell, HWind Scientific 2015–16 TA L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

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to go next. “The results have been dramatic,” he says. “You sit back and listen to these men and women and they’re from all over. The variety of companies goes all over the board.”

The program is run by Larry Lynch, a 30-year veteran of IBM who joined Florida State University to work with the Office of Intellectual Properties and Commercialization before moving to the EDC in 2010.

“By matching teams with incredible passion and great new business ideas with existing business leaders in our community who have valuable business and life experiences and a strong desire to share those gifts, EEP has created a recipe that will shape the economic business ecosystem for a stronger, more diverse economic landscape,” says Lynch.

Aaron Milner of J+M Inc. is one of the graduates who says the EEP program gave critical guidance in development of his business.

“Particularly we were able to identify what our competitive advantage in the marketplace is, as well as the importance of measuring BREAKDOWN our marketing program for effectiveOF COMPANIES ATTENDING ness. Each night (session) was relevant EEP - CLASSES 1–9 to the problems we face as entrepre(CLASS 10 KICKED neurs, and we learned a wealth of valuOFF IN OCTOBER): able information from all the speakers » Number of and staff,” he explains. “We witnessed Businesses the benefit of the program in real time Attending EEP Class: 102 as our classmates adjusted their orig» Number of inal ideas according to the insight they Businesses obtained throughout the course.” headed by White Males: 44 (43%) Whether it is working with one » Number of of the local business executives who Businesses participates in EEP, or being a part of headed by White a business incubation center like Domi Females: 23 Station, EEP graduates continue to (23%) be a part of the Tallahassee entrepre» Number of Businesses neurial family, a long-term commitheaded by Black ment by the EDC to the ultimate Males: 17 (17%) success of the newly formed business » Number of ventures that have come through the Businesses headed by Black program. This kind of a long-term Females: 11 relationship with new startup commu(11%) nity members also allows the county to » Number of more accurately judge success rates and Businesses decide what should be done to accelheaded by Asian/ Hispanic Males: erate success.

6 (6%) “We have had teams from all walks of life and backgrounds. They include many FSU/FAMU-based research professors who are working to commercialize their efforts inside the labs of their universities. They include brand new college grads who have decided they want to make Tallahassee their home and start new businesses that will allow that to happen. And it includes members of our community who for one reason or another found that their current careers were not the ones they wanted for a lifetime.”

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Jason Dehart contributed to this report.

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SYN-TECH

ON THE CUTTING EDGE Tallahassee’s Syn-Tech Systems serves clients worldwide with its fuel management technology By Rochelle Koff

W

hen you go to the gas station, chances are you pull up to the pump, push a few buttons and wait for the fuel to flow. You likely take that whole process for granted. Unless you’re Douglas Dunlap.

The 67-year-old Tallahassee native and Florida State University alumnus heads a multimillion-dollar company called SynTech Systems that provides the software that makes the pumps work at thousands of fueling stations worldwide, mostly for government agencies, the military and some private-sector businesses.

“We don’t make the gas pump itself,” said Dunlap, president and CEO of the Tallahassee engineering and manufacturing company. “We design and build specialized computers that control the gas pump.”

And those computers are “very sophisticated,” he added.

Dunlap grabs a small green computer board loaded with gizmos.

“It takes 25,000 lines of computer code for this small piece of hardware,” he said. “In every line of computer code that’s written, there is an opportunity for error. There are 25,000 potential problems. Every line has to be right.”

Syn-Tech, with a yearly revenue of about $36 million, has been getting it right for more than three decades. The company produces a fuel management system serving nearly 6,000 clients worldwide, operating 2.6 million vehicles on a daily basis.

The firm’s clients include the City of Tallahassee, Leon County and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office; private-sector companies such as The Boeing Company, Ford Motor Company and McLane Trucking; and 29 state departments of transportation, including Florida’s.

Syn-Tech also provides fueling services to the entire U.S. Department of Defense at

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650 locations around the globe for ground fuels and aircraft fueling operations at all Air Force bases. And the firm is a contractor with the Department of Homeland Security, along the nation’s southern border.

While its reach is worldwide, Syn-Tech is not a household name in Tallahassee — except to business insiders and government officials who know the importance of having a major engineering and manufacturing firm in the region.

In February, Syn-Tech was the second company featured in the new monthly “Made in Tally” campaign created by the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County. The award was designed to highlight local companies selling products globally.

“Syn-Tech is a hidden gem on the south side of Tallahassee,” said Ben Pingree, the council’s executive vice president, who also noted the firm’s “diverse talent ranges from production assembly all the way to design and engineering.”

Added Dunlap, “We have a much greater local impact than you would expect from a 185-person company.”

Syn-Tech has a multimillion-dollar contract with TeligentEMS, a Havana, Florida, circuit board supplier, for instance.

And the firm has a sizeable payroll. The average wage at Syn-Tech is about $67,000, compared to $41,111, the annual average wage in 2014 for all industries in Leon County (including the private sector and government), according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. The 2014 average annual wage for private-sector industries in Leon County was $38,175.

Of Syn-Tech’s 185 employees, 59 are engineers who work on the quiet second floor of the building, dreaming up, researching and developing new concepts and products. The company designs, manufactures, markets and

services its Fuel Master unit and hundreds of related products.

Syn-Tech has garnered local accolades from the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, which named it Technology & Innovation Business of the Year in 2014 and Manufacturing Business of the Year in 2012.

The company was also recognized as one of Florida’s Best Companies to work for in the August 2010 issue of Florida Trend magazine.

Syn-Tech’s roots stretch back to 1970, when it was the Wayne Colony Company

PHOTO BY BRUCE PALMER

Michael Boccio, an assembly technician at Syn-Tech, works on the fuel management system that serves nearly 6,000 clients around the world.

specializing in defense contracts. The firm built the ammunition loader for the Air Force’s A-10 planes.

When Dunlap and David Oglesby took over the company in 1989, about 80 percent of the firm’s business stemmed from military contracts for mechanical munitions handling equipment — ammunition loaders, bomb loaders and munitions processing, primarily for the Air Force, Dunlap said.

Now, only about 5 percent of Syn-Tech’s business involves manufacturing munitions

and loading equipment. The company doesn’t manufacture bullets or explosives.

“We don’t handle those devices (weapons).

They’re not here, and we don’t want them here,” he said.

The company now devotes 95 percent of its work to computer fueling technology. Its work for the military may be a small share of the business, but it’s a lucrative one.

The company was recently awarded a $1.015 million contract to build the Air Force 25MM ammunitions processor.

Syn-Tech built the primary system “to load the A-10 with 30 millimeter rounds,” said Dunlap, pointing to one of those large brass rounds, used as a doorstop in his office on Tallahassee’s Four Points Way. Photos of the A-10, nicknamed the Warthog or Hog, hang on the wall.

The craft’s primary built-in weapon is the 30 mm GAU-8/A AvengerGatling-type cannon, considered one of the most powerful aircraft cannons ever flown. The gun is loaded

by Syn-Tech’s linked tube carrier GFU-7/E

2015–16 TA L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

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30 mm ammunition loading assembly cart.

The A-10 was used in combat during the Gulf War in 1991 and later was used during battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Syn-Tech hasn’t developed new munitions loaders in years. Building this type of equipment requires extreme vigilance.

“There are a lot of safety concerns,” Dunlap said. “It’s a long process to get that equipment qualified.”

He described one incident 20 years ago when a subcontractor built a defective brake for a bomb loader.

“It was designed to lift a 2,000-pound bomb six or seven feet in the air to be attached to the aircraft,” he said. “When the part failed, a back-up brake kept the bomb from dropping to the ground so it didn’t fall.

We had to bring in metallurgical experts to understand why it was much weaker than it should have been. The subcontractor who built that part didn’t heat treat it correctly.

“We got it fixed. I’m pretty sure he was fired.”

Syn-Tech also received a recent $10.3 million grant from U.S. Customs and Border Protection for its auto fleet, covering most of the southwest border from California to Texas.

“The Border Patrol has 20,000 vehicles

patrolling the border that have to be fueled and refueled,” Dunlap said.

Syn-Tech creates cards that allow Border Patrol officers to fill up their car at commercial and Homeland Security stations.

“It used to be that nobody made those two work together,” he said.

The company also offers software that helps agencies keep track in real time of fuel use and costs.

“We’re very rapidly becoming a sophisticated software company,” Dunlap said. “The entire field has become so complex. The Department of Defense wants real-time systems worldwide. Fueling transactions in Japan now show up in Washington instantaneously.”

Syn-Tech uses the latest technology to create several key systems. There’s the software that resides in the office; the hardware that’s inside the pump; the firmware — computer code written to go in the hardware; and the secure communications between all of the components, Dunlap said.

Syn-Tech “has done an excellent job” providing a system for refueling services, said John Pompey, director of fleet management for Leon County. The firm installed a device that automatically records mileage, type of fuel used and gallons.

“It helps us keep track,” he said. Plus, he likes the idea that the firm is locally owned.

Dunlap chose Tallahassee as a base for Syn-Tech because “I’m a native and this is where I want to be.”

His two sons and daughter work at the firm. Oglesby’s two sons also work there.

Dunlap’s background is in business, but his father and grandfather were both professional engineers.

“It’s ironic in a way that I come from a family of engineers,” he said. “And I ended up going to business school and owning a company with 59 engineers.

“My dad didn’t get to see this. I wish he could have. It’s one of those interesting twists and turns that life brings you.”

Dunlap and Oglesby have close ties with Tallahassee. They both graduated from FSU with degrees in business administration, in 1973 and 1972, respectively.

Syn-Tech donated $500,000 to the College of Business’ building, Legacy Hall, two years ago. But Syn-Tech’s support goes beyond financial contributions. Dunlap has also provided input in curriculum and insight into what’s needed in the engineering world.

“Doug is always on point in terms of what’s going on in the industry,” said Braketta

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PHOTO BY BRUCE PALMER

Ritzenthaler, assistant dean of the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering. “He provides that global perspective.

“Unlike many of the companies who recruit students and go away, Doug has given so much of his time and effort to the university,” Ritzenthaler said.

Syn-Tech has tapped graduates from the engineering college and other Florida universities, but Dunlap said finding local experienced engineers is difficult.

“Obviously with the FAMU-FSU engineering school, that is a source of engineering and technical talent. That’s definitely an asset and on the pro side” of being based in Tallahassee, Dunlap said.

“On the other hand, what we really want and what we really need are experienced engineers. For the most part, we’re looking for people with 10 or 15 years’ experience.

They need to hit the ground running.”

Dunlap said the economic base and talent base is not yet strong enough to fill all those needs.

“We have to recruit outside, definitely a con,” he said.

In his engineering staff, fewer than 20 percent are from the Tallahassee area. Of the

Douglas Dunlap, president and CEO of Syn-Tech Systems, builds locally and sells globally.

rest of the employees, about 60 percent to 70 percent are from surrounding areas in Northwest Florida.

Ritzenthaler said while there are opportunities with government, there aren’t a lot of private industries hiring skilled engineers in the area.

“That pool of talent with more than 10 years’ experience has moved away, and

Tallahassee is trying hard to attract them back,” she said.

Demand for that talent is expected to keep growing at Syn-Tech.

“We’ve vastly increased our software capabilities, making us a much stronger company technologically,” Dunlap said. “We’re right on the cutting edge.”

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RESEARCH + DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH SPURS LOCAL ECONOMY From studying cancer-fighting drugs to seeking alternative energy systems, FSU’s faculty attracts millions of dollars for a wide range of study

By Linda Kleindienst

B

eing tenured at a top-tier research institution, Florida State University’s faculty members are expected to do research. And they are, says Gary Ostrander, vice president for research.

In fact, nearly every day you can read somewhere in the world about research being done by the FSU faculty. Ostrander knows because he checks.

“Every day I look I can find something.

It may be a small article in a newspaper in Australia, but somewhere FSU research is mentioned every day. Our faculty are active across all the disciplines, the arts, the humanities, social and physical sciences, engineering and medicine,” he says. “They generate over $200 million a year in research

The brainchild of Professor Jayne Standley, the Pacifier Activated Lullaby (PAL®) device was created to help address one of the greatest difficulties premature babies experience — learning the proper muscle movements to be able to suck and feed.

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support from federal sources, private foundations, sometimes state agencies.”

To be exact, the current total is $230 million.

Most of those dollars end up getting spent on salaries, so they circulate in the local economy. Explains Ostrander: “We may have a lot of fancy equipment at the Mag Lab but we also have hundreds of people working in the Mag Lab.” The purpose of the research is to learn new things and that sometimes results in spin off companies and the commercialization of a product. In that arena, FSU is the poster child for the nation’s universities, having commercialized the cancer-fighting drug Taxol, which has so far generated $352 million for the university.

“There has never been a piece of intellectual property in the United States that has generated more revenue for a university,” Ostrander says. “Right now we’re $100 million over Gatorade. The probability that this university will experience another Taxol is probably similar to someone getting hit by lightning twice. Realistically, it’s not going to happen. We do have an Office of Commercialization that is being revamped, not to focus so much on the next Taxol, but to focus on more singles and doubles and bunts and partnerships that maybe only bring in $100,000 or $200,000 over the life of the product. And that’s okay.”

Since 1984, FSU has recorded more than 400 patents. Innovative research has

PHOTOS COURTESY FSU RESEARCH MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

FSU chemist Phong Vu monitors a large rotary evaporator as it removes solvents from an experimental Taxol analog.

Commercializing the cancer-fighting drug Taxol has generated $352 million for FSU — $100 million more than Gatorade has earned for the University of Florida.

spawned products such as a pacifier assisted lullaby device to help speed recovery of babies in hospital intensive care units and green fertilization methods for organic farming.

“We license technology related to physical sciences, biomedical, computer science, music,” adds Ostrander. “We are also about creating companies. That is not a major emphasis, but sometimes our products are conducive to spinning out a company. Some of these are in Tallahassee.”

He also wants to use the assets of FSU to encourage more companies to move to Tallahassee, trying to match them with what all the local institutions of higher learning (including Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College) can offer.

For example, one strategy would be to specifically look at companies whose technology may be specific to the Mag Lab and encourage them to co-locate at the world’s premier facility for magnetic resonance imaging research.

“I’m going to advocate for securing more partners for the university. The students benefit, the researchers benefit and, when possible, if we can get them to pitch a tent here in Tallahassee, that’s economic development,” Ostrander says. “In the community a lot of folks are resonating with the idea that the universities can be nucleating points for economic development. It makes sense to tie into the research, creativity, the new things the universities are doing.”

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Research projects at FSU tackle a wide variety of issues, from how to deal with the challenges of aging and developing new fuel sources to forecasting hurricanes and engineering more agile robots.

SOME EXAMPLES:  The Center for Advanced Power Systems researches, develops and tests smart energy systems for the nation’s power and defense needs. Researcher Sastry Pimidi not only focuses on researching superconductivity, but is collaborating with local businesses like Energy-to-Power Solutions to help develop and test new materials and products. Energy-to-Power Solutions primarily develops medical, military, space and commercial applications of low and high temperature superconducting materials and cryogenic systems.

“Partnering with local businesses is a win-win scenario for us,” Pamidi says. “On the one hand, we get access to grants that we would have never been able to compete for. On the other, we get to help the local economy by helping businesses get a foothold and grow.”  Lou Cattafesta, co-director of the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion, is leading a team of FSU and Ohio State University researchers working with aerospace companies and government agencies to study the effect of airflow on fuel efficiency. “If you can reduce problems with airflow, you can make the planes much more efficient, improve fuel efficiency and reduce the cost of travel,” Cattafesta says.

PHOTO BY MATT BURKE (FLORIDA CENTER FOR ADVANCED AERO-PROPULSION) AND COURTESY FSU RESEARCH MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

 The Coastal and Marine Laboratory’s Dean Grubbs recently received a $293,960 RESTORE Act grant to study the long-term effects of the 2010 oil spill on deep water fish in the Gulf of Mexico. The health of fish in the Gulf is critical to Florida’s fishing and tourism industries.  Mei Zhang, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering at the High Performance Materials Institute, continues work on a lightweight, elastic, nanocarbon foam that can also conduct electricity and could have commercial potential. Among the possible applications — use as an electrode for a battery.  The Antarctic Research Facility is a national repository for geological materials collected in polar regions. Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, it houses more than 20,000 meters of deep-sea core sediment and has the largest Southern Ocean collection in the world open to researchers.  A team from the Florida Center for Reading Research, School of Communication Science & Disorders and the College of Education has received a $1 million award to seek ways to improve the quality of education in preschool classrooms by investigating key characteristics of children’s language development. The threeyear study will involve 100 preschools throughout the Southeast to investigate the crucial role of teachers in developing children’s language skills.

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M ADE I N TALL AHASSEE

MADE IN TALLAHASSEE Showcasing local manufacturers operating globally

By Nicholas Farrell

PHOTO COURTESY FULL PRESS APPAREL

I

n 2015, the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County Inc. (EDC) launched a campaign aimed at showcasing high-tech manufacturing centers located in and around Leon County.

The “Made in Tallahassee: Produced Regionally, Sold Globally” initiative features Tallahassee businesses that produce goods for sale in the Southeast and beyond.

“Our MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) is home to a rich and diverse network of visionaries, suppliers and component manufacturers and a tremendously productive workforce,” says Ben Pingree, the EDC’s executive vice president. “We are highlighting these visionary businesses to statewide, national and global audiences, as well as bringing awareness among our local community and drawing attention to those high-tech and high-wage industry sectors that are key to our community’s future success.”

A different local business is showcased each month, ranging from clothing producers to high-tech systems and software manufacturing. Businesses eligible to participate in the program must meet the following criteria: » Be located, founded or headquartered within the Tallahassee MSA (which includes Leon, Gadsden, Jefferson and Wakulla counties), or have a local economic footprint; » Have operated in the region for at least three years; » Produce products or services with a regional, national or international impact.

The “Made in Tallahassee” initiative is meant to show that Tallahassee is home to not only the state capital and one of the state’s largest public research universities but also to a booming industry of manufacturers and suppliers. From electronics and computer systems to clothing and fashion, Tallahassee businesses span the industrial gamut.

Here are some of the high-tech manufacturing centers located in the region.

FULL PRESS APPAREL “If it has mass, we can brand it” is the mantra of one of the more creative manufacturers spotlighted by the “Made in Tallahassee” initiative. Full Press Apparel, Tallahassee’s premier “visual brander” since 1997, manufactures screen-printed T-shirts, embroidery and promotional items for individuals, Florida State University, Greek organizations, student groups, businesses and more.

Until recently, Full Press — owned by Tracey and Dan Shrine — had been selling, designing and manufacturing branded items at its Gaines Street location. Now, there are two offices. The original Gaines Street location serves as the sales headquarters, and the new Garber Drive facility on the city’s northwest side is the corporate headquarters as well as the manufacturing and production center.

“We have the best of both worlds,” says Tracey Shrine. “Our (Garber Drive) production facility allows large truck deliveries and pick ups for nationwide shipping. There really aren’t any limitations any more. We’re able to

Full Press Apparel has more than 40 full-time employees working in design, sales, production and marketing.

keep a campus presence down in the college hub and work with local businesses from our Gaines Street location, and we also have an expanded production facility. We’ve grown leaps and bounds since then.”

Between the two locations, Full Press now has more than 40 full-time employees working in design, sales, production and marketing. It’s also dedicated to its community.

“One of the big things we do as a business is philanthropy,” says Tracey Shrine.

“We give 10 percent of our net sales back to nonprofit associations. An event we do every year is Dance Marathon at FSU. For every sorority and fraternity that gets their shirts printed with us, Full Press gives a percentage to the Children’s Miracle Network. We have children ourselves, so it’s important for us to celebrate children’s networks.”

While Full Press is focused on the local community, that doesn’t mean the Shrines

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don’t do business all over the United States.

Their company designs and manufactures branded products for sale to colleges, businesses, state agencies and nonprofits across the nation. Full Press is a licensed Greek vendor, meaning it is authorized to print for more than 47 different Greek organizations, allowing it to do business with fraternities and sororities at universities across the country.

Full Press Apparel was selected as a “Florida Company to Watch” by GrowFL, an organization focused on growing and promoting second-stage businesses (those that have grown past the start-up stage).

MCCI The first company to be featured by the “Made in Tallahassee” initiative, MCCi is the top reseller of Laserfiche software in the world and has been operating in Tallahassee for over a decade.

Laserfiche software is a set of programs designed to provide “enterprise content management.” It’s meant to improve efficiency, reduce waste, improve organization and create automated business practices, freeing up employees from performing tasks on paper that the software is able to do automatically.

A Tallahassee native, MCCi’s founder and

CEO, Danny Barstow, started the business as an arm of the Municipal Code Corporation in 2003. Since then, MCCi has branched off and developed its own business culture with an emphasis on sales and growth under the leadership of Barstow.

Initially, MCCi had only four employees.

Now there are around 50. From its new 11,000-square-foot corporate headquarters, MCCi provides business solutions software to more than 700 clients, including state agencies, higher education institutions, K-12 schools, professional licensing boards and private businesses. Solution-based software is provided to any business or organization looking to improve efficiency and decrease waste by changing from paper-based to computer-based systems.

The Laserfiche software provides “a way to move into a paperless environment so that they can archive their records electronically, access them electronically and be mobile-ready,” says Barstow. MCCi provides the software, the training and the technical installation that allows organizations to go digital.

The benefits of doing business in Tallahassee? “The way of life,” says Barstow.

“Economically we would be better to be located in a major hub, but we choose to be

here just because we like it here. Most of our staff travels all over the country, but when we come home, we’re reminded that we really like it here.”

MCCi was also selected to be a part of GrowFL’s “Florida Companies to Watch” campaign in 2014, highlighting the business’ efforts at growth and expansion in the hightech industry.

“The leaders here are also more pro-growth than they have been in the past,” says Barstow.

“Programs like the ‘Made in Tallahassee’ campaign and GrowFL’s ‘Florida Companies to Watch’ show that, as a city, Tallahassee is making a concentrated effort to grow its manufacturing presence and to bring more business to the local area.”

DANFOSS TURBOCOR Based out of Innovation Park in Tallahassee, Danfoss Turbocor is the industry leader in designing, manufacturing, marketing and supporting the world’s most efficient commercial refrigerant compressors. By partnering with Florida State University, Turbocor is able to utilize some of the most advanced research tools and resources to design its products.

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PHOTO BY LAWRENCE DAVIDSON (DANFOSS) AND COURTESY OF TELIGENT EMS

produces “oil-free magnetic bearing compressor technology” used in the production of commercial refrigerant compressors that utilize some high-level engineering. These “superconducting” magnetic ball bearings allow for some of the world’s most efficient air conditioning units, which are used in schools, hospitals, businesses and other large buildings that use a lot of electricity to keep cool.

Danfoss is a Danish company with subsidiaries all over the world, including Turbocor in Tallahassee.

“Danfoss company history dates back to 1933 in Nordborg, Denmark. Today, it is a privately owned company and world leader in energy-efficient and innovative solutions, employing 24,000 people in over 100 countries,” says Director of Sales Jose Alvarez.

According to Alvarez, Turbocor was started in 1993 in Australia by an international team of designers and engineers.

Turbocor then moved from Australia to Montreal for a period of time before settling in Tallahassee in 2007.

While based in Tallahassee, Danfoss Turbocor serves markets all over the world.

According to Alvarez, “Our main markets are the USA, Europe and Australia, followed

by China and India as emerging markets.”

One of the company’s biggest clients, he adds, is Daikin, “the No. 1 refrigeration and air conditioning company” in the world.

With such an international market, why did Danfoss Turbocor decide to locate itself in Tallahassee? Principally, it was because of the partnership that Turbocor was able to establish with Florida State University.

“The proximity and collaboration that Danfoss Turbocor has had with the AeroPropulsion Lab, MagLab and Material Lab has become instrumental in establishing Tallahassee as the global competence and design center for oil-free magnetic bearing technology,” says Ricardo Schneider, president and CEO of Danfoss Turbocor.

Alvarez says the Innovation Park facility and a partnership with the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab) and other research facilities at FSU have been instrumental in the success of Turbocor’s advanced coolant products.

“Tallahassee does have a unique opportunity to become a specialized technology market that no other city can claim,” says Alvarez. “This specialized market could easily be focused around magnetics, engineering and the manufacturing of energyefficient technologies.”

Alvarez says Danfoss Turbocor has high hopes for manufacturing in Leon County,

Danfoss Turbocor’s manufacturing facility is based in Tallahassee, but the company services clients worldwide.

stating that enticing magnetic technology manufacturers to the area could make Tallahassee the “Magnetic Capital,” with the MagLab, Florida State University and Danfoss Turbocor as anchors.

TELIGENT EMS Also located within the Tallahassee MSA (in Gadsden County) is Teligent EMS, a manufacturing plant that produces high-tech electronics for other companies, including Syn-Tech Systems and Danfoss Turbocor. The company provides manufacturing services — everything from designing and testing prototypes to delivering final products, including circuit boards and other electronic components — for the medical, aerospace, networking and communications industries using roboticsassisted manufacturing techniques.

Lois Kenon, lead repair solderer, works on a printed circuit board at Teligent EMS.

Teligent EMS was founded in 2002, and was home to around 80 employees. Now, the company employs more than twice that number working around-the-clock shifts at Teligent’s production facility.

According to Teligent EMS Human Resources Manager Chelsea Douglass, Teligent serves a wide range of industries located far and wide.

“Our markets include industrial, instrumentation, medical, defense, avionics, communications, transportation and computer/networking,” she says. “Nationally, we service companies such as Northrop Grumman, BAE and L3 Communications, to name a few.”

Teligent’s main production facility is located in Havana, about 20 minutes north of the state capital.

“Great schools and warm, considerate people make living in this region of the state a pleasure,” says Douglass. “In addition, the universities create a dynamic that encourages achievement and fosters entrepreneurship. And Tallahassee Community College has fully embraced local industry, specifically manufacturing, by providing much-needed industry-specific training that is helping us fill the shortage of skilled labor in the area.”

Teligent EMS has also worked extensively with the Tallahassee EDC and the Chamber of Commerce to promote business efforts in the county.

“I believe you can see the beginnings of a business renaissance in the area,” says Douglass. “It has been very exciting to see our community in support of entrepreneurship and the growth of business while providing tangible support to the manufacturing sector in particular.”

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CONSUMER CHOICE AWARD NEUROSCIENCE The Panhandle’s most advanced neurosurgery program, including stroke and aneurysm treatments without opening the skull. The region’s only Neurological Intensive Care Unit.

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WOMEN & CHILDREN'S HEALTH The only center in the region to be a designated ACR Breast Center for Excellence and accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. The region’s only Pediatric and Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

TALLAHASSEE MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE

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TRAUMA CENTER The only Level II Trauma Center in the region. Accredited Stroke Center and Chest Pain Center with the highest designation available for heart attack care.

A leader in the Southeast for advanced heart care, offering the region’s only Structural Heart program and Certified Atrial Fibrillation Center.

TMH FOR LIFE Promoting health beyond our walls by challenging our community to be active, eat healthier, know their numbers and find their happy through free events, screenings, programs, classes and educational opportunities.

CANCER CENTER STROKE CENTER The region’s first Certified Stroke Center and only state designated Brain & Spinal Cord Injury Center.

The most powerful cancer program in the Big Bend region and accredited since 1951 by the American College of Surgeon’s Commission on Cancer — making it the longest continuously accredited community cancer program in the state of Florida.

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FSU MEDICAL SCHOOL

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FSU PHOTO SERVICES/BILL LAX

FSU MEDICAL SCHOOL

WANTED: B HOMEGROWN DOCTORS FSU’s College of Medicine is reshaping North Florida’s health care — and improving economic development opportunities — by recruiting rural doctors, creating residencies and expanding opportunities By Jason Dehart

The FSU College of ack in the old days, the Medicine partnered with town doctor was an old Tallahassee Memorial sage who practiced out of HealthCare to open a new internal medicine his home and treated everything residency program in under the sun. He knew everything 2012. The program proabout everyone in town, as well as duces up to 10 graduates each year. those living on the nearby farms and homesteads. He could deliver babies, pull teeth and set broken bones. Sometimes he had an idealistic young apprentice tagging along, soaking up his wisdom, learning the trade and building relationships with the people who would come to count on him when the old man retired.

Times may change, but you always return to the classics. As health care changes and the need for doctors increases, Florida State University’s College of Medicine is hoping to provide the small towns of North Florida with modern versions of the classic town doctor.

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The first new medical school in the United States in 20 years when it was established by the Florida Legislature in 2000, FSU’s College of Medicine graduated its first class in 2005. Since then, the alumni ranks have swelled to 910. Of that number, 294 have completed their graduate medical work A 2014 report and have entered revealed that 55 practice, but 65 percent of the FSU med school percent of alums are alumni who are still in residency or practicing medifellowship programs. cine are caring for patients in Florida.

The college’s official mission statement is clearly defined. It says, “The Florida State University College of Medicine will educate and develop exemplary physicians who practice patient-centered health care, discover and advance knowledge, and are responsive to community needs, especially through service to elder, rural, minority and underserved populations.”

Medical school dean Dr. John P. Fogarty talks about that with a touch of pride. It aptly states the case that there is a real need for the college.

“It’s been described as the most focused mission statement for a medical school,” he said. “I think that was on purpose. We didn’t believe that North Florida had enough physicians, and we needed to create the ones they needed. We’ve been holding to that mission.

That’s the good news.”

Building new doctors is one thing, but it’s been an uphill battle to keep them in the third-largest state in the nation, where good the availability of health care is a key element in the state’s — and Northwest Florida’s — ability to attract new businesses and bolster economic development.

Despite a population nearing 20 million, Florida ranks 43rd in the number of available residency slots. Many fledgling doctors go out of state for post-graduate training. Some of them come back home, but Fogarty thinks more could be enticed to stay here.

Fogarty noted in the med school’s 2014 annual report that 55 percent of alumni in practice are caring for patients in Florida.

“The percentage could be much greater if there were more opportunities to retain graduating students in Florida for residency training,” he wrote.

“For the last three years, anywhere from two-thirds to 70 percent have left Florida to

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go out of state for residencies,” Fogarty said recently. “The good news is they are in spectacular programs throughout the country, many of the best hospitals in the country, which makes us feel really good about the students we produce. The better news is most of them are returning.”

The med school pins its hopes on a “community-based” approach to teaching new doctors. In the past, at least 75 percent of medical teaching for third- and fourth-year students happened in hospital-based settings.

Times have changed, though, and hospital stays are much shorter. For the med student, this means a small window of learning opportunities. Time to turn the conventional model around. In FSU’s model, 75 percent of training takes place in a mentoring doctor’s office, Fogarty said. This enables the future physicians to build long-term relationships with doctors, patients and the community they train in.

“Our philosophy is train where the patients are. They’re getting a much more real view of cases that present commonly in the offices,” he said.

But while you have a “captive” audience when it comes to med students still in college, once they graduate, it’s very possible — as previously noted — that they will seek residency programs out of state.

Dr. Tanya Evers, 37, a 2008 alum and native of Brandon, Florida, is among the

FSU med-school grads who traveled out of state for her graduate education. In her case, she did her residency in obstetrics/gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee. But a deep Florida connection called her back, and she’s currently a physician and faculty member of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare’s Family Medicine Residency Program.

“My husband and I are both from the Tampa area and wanted to return to Florida to be closer to family,” Evers said. “Having lived and worked in Tallahassee previously, we were comfortable here and felt it was a nice place to raise a family. I believe that having a medical school closer to ‘home’ for many people who grew up in the Panhandle of Florida will keep them here to practice. I also know that there will be some who come to Tallahassee and love it, want more of the same and therefore will settle down in the area. I also suspect that the patients being cared for by these homegrown providers will be able to connect with them on a more meaningful level.”

In fact, as part of its mission statement, FSU actively recruits med-school students from small towns and underserved communities in hopes they will want to practice medicine in these rural areas. Sometimes, though, they don’t need a lot of encouragement. Sometimes, it fits a future doctor’s personal desire. For example, Dr. Robin Albritton, 37, is a family

PHOTO COURTESY OF FSU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE/RAY STANYARD (ALBRITON) AND FSU PHOTO SERVICES/BILL LAX (INTERNAL MEDICINE RESIDENCY PROGRAM)

doctor who grew up in Marianna, went to med school at FSU, conducted his residency at TMH and fulfilled his dream of coming back to Jackson County to practice. For him, the idea of having more doctors in more rural areas hits close to home. Most residency programs are held in urban areas because you need a high volume of patients to be able to train new doctors. That’s all well and good, but the way he sees it, places like Orlando really don’t need any more primary care doctors.

“We need them more out here,” he said.

“And quite frankly, it’s not just primary care doctors. I’d rather we put a new general surgeon in rural Marianna than another family doctor in Orlando. And so really what we have to work toward as FSU continues to expand its graduate medical education is look for opportunities to develop rural residency tracks.”

As it turns out, Marianna is becoming a popular place for FSU’s med-school students to put in clinic hours, Albritton said.

“We here in Marianna actually have four third-year medical students every year from FSU that spend their entire third year of medical school here,” he said. “And … all of us that practice here teach those students.”

This small-town experience is also making some students change their mind and their career goals.

“There are three or four people currently doing their residencies in primary care who never considered primary care and had never considered the possibility of practicing in a rural area, and now their goal is to do such because of their experience here,” Albritton said. “So, really looking forward in Robin Albritton the future, that’s graduated from FSU’s College of what I think we Medicine and the need to have a Tallahassee Memofocus on. We need rial HealthCare Family Medicine to continue to Residency Program. expand graduate Today, he’s a fammedical education ily physician and FSU med school and also try to get faculty member in more rural tracks his hometown of associated with Marianna. some of these residency programs that are based in urban areas.”

FSU’s med school is stirring things up in Florida. Founded at a time when there was general resistance to creating new medical schools, it wasn’t until after the state bit the bullet that suddenly the need was realized.

“There was actually a projection at the time that there was a surplus of doctors and that

there was no reason to create a new medical school,” Albritton said. “Not long after FSU was founded they really revised that and said, ‘Oh boy, we’re in trouble, we’re going to need more doctors,’ and therefore you saw other medical schools pop up in the state of Florida.

But what you didn’t see was a lot of new residencies pop up. And that is where the boat is being missed.”

Fortunately, FSU is taking the lead in that regard by establishing new programs across the state. The college works with more than 90 health care systems and 2,500 physicians to provide clinical training in five residency programs: pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola; internal medicine at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital; family medicine at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, and a general surgery residency

at TMH — which is currently waiting on the green light from the accreditation process. The college is also sponsoring an internal medicine residency program at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and one in dermatology at Dermatology Associates in Tallahassee, which already has a dermatology fellowship.

“That is the answer to keeping more people,” Albritton said. “I will tell you that only about 10 to 15 percent of my graduating class stayed in the state of Florida. The rest of them left. And many of those have never come back. I believe we had 59 in that class. But that’s the reality of it, if there are (not enough) residency programs in Florida, people are going to have to go outside the state to get their graduate education. Unless they have strong family ties, they’re not going to come back.”

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Tallahassee International Airport is moving on up in the world of aviation By Jason Dehart

PHOTO BY SCOTT HOLSTEIN

C

ity officials are hoping big changes at the newly minted Tallahassee International Airport will produce greater business opportunities and customer satisfaction in the years to come.

“Our new ‘international’ designation is working very well,” said Chris Curry, the airport’s aviation director. “We have been assigned a new project manager with Customs and Border Protection to assist us with the design of a new International Arrivals Facility. We’ve also seen an increase in the number of developers and vendors interested in TLH. Developers and vendors that

previously had no contact with the airport are now calling us, interested in partnering with us on future endeavors.”

Meanwhile, the city is actively campaigning to attract the attention of new carriers.

Curry said Sachs Media Group and the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce are working on a campaign called “GetBlue,” designed to encourage airline provider JetBlue to come to Tallahassee.

“To help with our case, we’re asking citizens to tell us why they would like JetBlue in Florida’s capital city,” he said.

Anyone interested in providing input can

go to GetBlueTallahassee.com to submit a plea in paragraph form or upload a short video. These stories will then be shared with JetBlue representatives. As the public makes its case, the city will continue in its talks with the carrier.

“So far, we’ve met with JetBlue and will continue to meet with them. Our goal is to obtain direct service from Tallahassee to Fort Lauderdale, which is our largest passenger market,” Curry said. “This direct service would offer access to our area’s top three destinations: South Florida, New York and Washington, D.C. One-stop connections would be provided via Fort Lauderdale.”

JetBlue’s low-cost fares would also help to reduce the overall ticket prices in the Tallahassee area, thereby creating a greater incentive for travelers to choose TLH. “It’s a win-win,” he said.

Tallahassee International Airport was also recently awarded a Small Community Air

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Service Development grant in the amount of $750,000 to help establish a United Airlines service to Houston.

As the city continues recruiting new carriers, the airport itself will take on a new look by the end of 2016. A terminal modernization project recently got underway that ultimately will make flying in and out easier and more customer-friendly. The Terminal Modernization Project, which started in September, involves reconfiguring the lobby up to the Transportation Safety Administration checkpoint. A new baggage claim system, ticket counters for airlines and rental car agencies, safety screening machines, a new TSA screening room and some aesthetic upgrades, including new terrazzo flooring and LCD monitors, are all part and parcel to the upgrades.

“This is a step toward our overall goal of improving our airport,” said City Commissioner Scott Maddox, commission liaison to the airport. “We are committed to enhancing the Tallahassee air travel experience, from our terminal improvements to adding more flights and lower fares.”

Curry said that demolition has started in areas on the “airside” of the airport and in baggage claim. The demolition phase will continue until March 2016.

Once that is complete, crews will begin working on the installation phase. The entire project is expected to be complete by October 2016. The $10.5 million construction contract has been awarded to local contractor Cook Brothers Inc. Funding came from several sources, including grants from the Florida Department of Transportation, agreements with the TSA and local funding. The concession renovation project just started, with a completion date of February 2016.

One other development is happening — outside the airport. There’s a new parking vendor that will provide technology to help make parking more efficient. In addition, three electric vehicle-charging stations are expected to be added.

All these changes are going to play a big role as the airport continues to see an increase in passengers coming and going. Between 2010 and 2014, the airport experienced a 5 percent increase in passengers.

“We’ve seen 513,244 passengers go through Tallahassee International Airport since the start of 2015,” Curry said. “Last year (2014), approximately 706,574 passengers went through our turnstiles.”

Meanwhile, officials are casting their eyes on developable land adjacent to the airport. Curry said officials anticipate issuing a request for proposal soon to solicit a company with experience in marketing aviation-related property nationwide.

“Our goal is that this company would help us market the land surrounding the airport for development,” he said. “Currently, however, we’re moving forward in our discussions with interested developers, including one developer who would like to build a solar farm on 100 acres of airport property.”

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TOU RISM/ATH LETICS

BREAKING RECORDS Sports and nature boost Tallahassee to a banner year for tourism

By Rosanne Dunkelberger

PHOTO BY KANSAS PITTS

W

hen Tallahassee takes a swing at attracting tourism to the state capital, the stats start out looking pretty dismal.

Strike One: Florida has nearly 2,000 miles of coastline, but nary an inch of it can be found in landlocked Tallahassee or Leon County.

Strike Two: It takes four hours to get to the nearest theme park. Ditto for major urban areas. And mountains? Fuggedaboutit.

“We don’t have a beach, we don’t have a theme park … we face these challenges every day, and also the perception that we’re not a destination unless you’re here for the Legislature or football,” said Lee Daniel, director of the Leon County Division of Tourism Development, more commonly known as Visit Tallahassee.

Daunting limitations, when one considers Florida’s more typical charms, but there’s no striking out for the capital city. In fact, local tourism officials have taken advantage of Tallahassee’s sweet spot and hit a home run, announcing six consecutive years of tourism growth — including a third consecutive record year in 2014 — and an annual economic impact that’s closing in on a billion-dollar industry.

“No place else in Florida looks like we do,” Daniel continued. “We’ve got worldclass nature-based opportunities, we have terrific history and heritage, we’ve got visual and performing arts, our culinary scene is improving, we’ve got shopping. We’ve got lots of things people are looking for in a destination — we’ve just got to make them aware that we have it. We have a lot going for us.

Our challenge is to continue to build awareness for Tallahassee being considered as a true leisure destination.”

On Oct. 1, Visit Florida officials announced impressive numbers during a marketing event that looked back on its accomplishments for the 2014-15 fiscal year and rolled out promotional plans for 2015-16.

Tallahassee and Leon County boasted more than 2.4 million visitors from 47 states

and 36 countries, generating an economic impact of $963 million. Tourism accounts for 11,140 local jobs.

Tourism promotion is fully funded by a 5 percent bed tax on hotels, motels and other short-term lodging facilities. During the past year, collections topped $5 million for the first time ever. Hotel occupancy was up by 2.6 percent and included a record month in March, when occupancy was 73 percent (the year-round average is 65 percent).

Even though hotel room nights are how the county’s tourism department pays for itself, “heads in beds” isn’t their only concern.

“We know if there are so many heads in beds we know there are so many butts in restaurant seats, we know there are so many people shopping in stores, we know there are so many people buying gas and everything else that goes with it,” said Brian Hickey, Visit Tallahassee’s director of sports. “That moniker is just a measurement for us, it’s not the only thing we are looking at.”

Plans to maximize expenditures during a visitor’s stay include a new, location-based marketing

TALLAHASSEE’S TOP 10 ATTRACTIONS Based on the opinions of reviewers from tripadvisor.com, here’s a listing of their favorite things to do and see when visiting Tallahassee/Leon County: » Florida State University » Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science » St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge » Mission San Luis de Apalachee » Tallahassee Antique Car Museum » Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park » Florida Historic Capitol Museum » Doak Campbell Stadium » Museum of Florida History » Goodwood Museum and Gardens

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Because it is home to Florida State University, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee Community College, as well as local schools and parks, Leon County is also blessed with an abundance and variety of facilities to offer up for tournaments and team trainings.

Last year, Visit Tallahassee’s sports division supported 97 sporting events

representing about 30 different sports.

Those events generated 38,000 room nights, 71,000 visitors and an economic impact of more than $30 million, said Hickey. Many of those events were supported by 75 grants, ranging from $250 to $9,000, that totaled $115,000.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT TALLAHASSEE

technology. When guests arrive at hotels and attractions, banner ads will appear on their smart phones and other electronic devices, offering suggestions for nearby dining entertainment and attractions. They’ll also be given a business-sized card suggesting a visit to the visittallahassee.com website.

“A lot of people who come here, especially for business, don’t appreciate what we offer as a destination,” said Daniel. “We hope when they come back they’ll stay an extra day or maybe bring their families.”

While one cannot dismiss the economic impact of visitors who come for FSU football games ($48 million) and state government (​$123 million), one burgeoning tourism development initiative has brought thousands of visitors and millions of dollars to Leon County — sports tourism.

“We’re very excited about our efforts,” said Leon County Administrator Vince Long.

“We think we have just scratched the surface in terms of the potential that exists in the area of sports tourism. It is one of the fastest growing industries in the Southeast, primarily because of the weather and the conditions and how many weeks a year you can do it.”

he said. “The economic benefit that these visitors bring to our community is astronomical.”

Hickey said one of the reasons these sports tourism events work is because of cooperation between Visit Tallahassee, other county departments and community partners such as the universities, the local school system and local sports clubs.

And nowhere is that synergy more visible than with the Apalachee Regional Park Cross Country Course.

Florida State University had been hosting cross country events around the community at golf courses and local greenways, but as the program gathered momentum, a need was expressed for a dedicated cross country course. Serendipitously, Leon County was repurposing a closed landfill into a county park, and the cross country course seemed like a good fit. With input from FSU and the local Gulf Winds Track Club, the course was designed and built, hosting its first race in 2009.

“One of the things that’s really great about that project (is), generally speaking, it was pretty organic,” said county administrator Long. “It didn’t require a consultant, it didn’t have a 36-point plan and it didn’t take years to happen.”

The course very quickly became popular with the running community, and Hickey and his team went to work filling up the calendar with race events — everything from local 5K fundraisers to state and regional cross country competitions.

“It’s a beautiful design; it took advantage of what was there.

The undulation, the hills … there’s different terrain, there’s shade, there’s sun,” said Hickey. “A lot of things athletes don’t get (in other venues) they do get here. There are a lot of different aspects they enjoy.”

One of the premier gets was a three-year contract to host the Florida State High School Athletic Association’s state cross country championships through 2014. When it was put out for bid again, the FSHAA returned it to Leon County. “Just last year, the state championship, the pre-state meet and also a regional (resulted in) $3.7 million new dollars, about 9,500 visitors to the community and almost 5,000 room nights,” said Hickey. “Next year, hopefully, we’re going to be doubling those numbers.”

In fact, we can do it better than the rest.

A HARD-WORKING BRAND IDENTITY For seven years, the Visit Tallahassee logo was a little text heavy with a star icon that didn’t really give one a sense of the locale.

As part of its 2015-16 marketing plan, Leon County’s tourism marketing division rolled out a new image aimed at giving potential visitors a preview of the area’s charms.

In research, visitors often noted two compelling qualities, in addition to the fact that Tallahassee is Florida’s capital: the area’s natural beauty and that it’s a friendly, welcoming place.

The new logo attempts to capture that story in words and pictures. In it, the script “Visit Tallahassee” is juxtaposed with an image of a majestic oak tree adorned with Spanish moss. And there’s a little Easter egg hidden in the picture — the shadow thrown by the tree is actually an outline of Florida’s Historic Capitol.

“We think it’s clever. We think it sells the destination,” said Daniel. It tested well with focus groups and also passed the test for typography (“It reverses out.”) and embroider.

“We’re really excited,” he said. “We think it will work much harder than our current brand identity and our current logo in telling the world what a special place Tallahassee/Leon County is.”

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CareerSource Capital Region offers you experienced professionals who help employers hire, train and keep the best employees and help job seekers and workers advance their careers. Providing solutions in Gadsden, Leon and Wakulla counties.

Contact CareerSource Capital Region today at (850) 413-0315 or cbes@careersourcecapitalregion.com

Allow us to meet with you and assess your business’ unique talent needs. Together, we can determine how you can best utilize our solutions at no cost.

Collaborate. Innovate. Lead.

An equal opportunity employer/program. Auxilary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. All telephone numbers on this document may be reached by person using TTY/TTD equipment vial the Florida Relay Service at 711.

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