High-End Real Estate Sellling Well Balancing Public Good and Profit
DEBBIE CALDER
Executive Vice President, Navy Federal Credit Union’s Greater Pensacola Operations
2017 Legislative Preview ‘Ranching’ Oysters to Revive an Industry
The regional economy’s private and public sectors and its financial institutions are again riding a …
GROWTH CURVE + SPECIAL REPORT: ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL
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INSIGHT It takes insight to help you win. So we show up in person. That’s how we push our technology further and take your solution from ‘good enough’ to greatness. You’ll see our competitors walk away as soon as something works. But we stay present in a way only a local leader can. Our consultation, training, and support teams collaborate with you face to face to deliver a custom technology solution designed specifically to drive your bottom line— not the average bottom line. By being customer inspired we achieve the insight necessary to take your solution from ‘works fine’ to ‘secures victory’.
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850 Magazine February – March 2017
IN THIS ISSUE LAP OF LUXURY Realtor Joe Manausa recently sealed the deal in the $3.74 million sale of WaterOak Plantation.
850 FEATURE
COURTESY JOE MANAUSA REAL ESTATE/ADAM COHEN
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High-end Real Estate When the 2016 presidential election ended, local realtors who deal in highend property sales — residential and commercial — breathed a sigh of relief. The stock market had gone up and phones were ringing again with customers looking to buy property. From thousandacre plantations to multi-million-dollar homes with frontage on the Gulf or one of the region’s many bays, Northwest Florida has a lot to offer to the well-heeled buyer. By Linda Kleindienst
SPECIAL REPORT Escambia County Business Journal 35 Pensacola’s local economy is getting a boost from a variety of sectors. New construction is providing more jobs and demand for services; downtown Pensacola continues to boom; military retirees are pouring into the area, many of them starting small businesses; and education at all levels is better preparing students and workers for the expanding job market.
On the Cover: Navy Federal Credit Union employs more than 5,000 people in its Pensacola operations, a figure that is projected to double over the next few years. It has been rated one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune magazine. NFCU’s success, say Escambia County economic development officials, has led to other growth opportunities in the region. Cover photo of NFCU executive vice president Debbie Calder taken by Scott Holstein, 2009.
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850 Magazine February – March 2017
IN THIS ISSUE
67 IT’S THE LAW 14 The Florida Legislature convenes its 2017 session on March 7, prepared to tackle a slew of issues that affect business, including worker compensation, education and water availability.
18 In This Issue 10 From the Publisher 80 Sound Bytes 82 The Last Word from the Editor
Special Section DEAL ESTATE
32 What’s trending, what’s selling and what’s hot to buy in the 850? Find out here.
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THE 850 LIFE 18 Barry Shields begins preparing the Governor’s Club early for an onslaught of business when legislators come to town.
HUMAN ELEMENT 20 Knowing the ins and outs of employment law and the needs of your workers is important when it comes to paychecks, 401Ks and insurance.
CAPITAL 70 FullScaleNANO, a Tallahassee startup, is helping to change the nanotechnology industry in its collaborations with universities, companies and government organizations.
BAY 74 Marine Wheels, a small business that works on boat propellers, is a sophisticated operation that knows how to ensure the props on your boat give the best possible performance in the water.
EMERALD COAST 76 One of eight Benefit Corporations in Florida, the Walton County-based Amavida Coffee and Tea Company represents a new breed of business — one aimed at balancing the public good with making profit.
Corridors FORGOTTEN COAST 67 Oyster “ranching” is a budding venture that locals hope will resurrect the oyster industry in Wakulla County, create hundreds of jobs, promote ecotourism and spawn sustainable economic development.
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PHOTOS BY BRUCE PALMER (18), ALICIA OSBORNE (67) AND SCOTT HOLSTEIN / ROWLAND PUBLISHING FILE PHOTO (76)
Departments
Congratulations Eastern Shipbuilding We salute you for being awarded the contract to build U.S. Coast Guard cutters.
For 40 years, Eastern Shipbuilding has been an anchor in the region. We commend the company’s commitment to growth and investment. This project will create jobs and increase economic development in Bay County and Northwest Florida for decades to come.
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850 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA
February – March 2017
Vol. 9, No. 3
PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BRIAN E. ROWLAND
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EDITORIAL DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL SERVICES Steve Bornhoft EDITOR Linda Kleindienst SENIOR STAFF WRITER Jason Dehart EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Rebecca Padgett ASSISTANT TO DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL SERVICES Kim Harris Thacker CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Lazaro Aleman, Matt Algarin, Kathleen Haughney, Tisha Crews Keller, Rochelle Koff, Karen Murphy, Ashley Kahn Salley, T.S. Strickland, Tabitha Yang EDITORIAL INTERNS Maria Knight, Alexandra Pushkin COPY EDITOR Barry Ray CREATIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lawrence Davidson DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY Daniel Vitter SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Saige Roberts ART DIRECTOR Jennifer Ekrut PUBLICATION DESIGNERS Charles Bakofsky, Shruti Shah GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Meredith Brooks, Sarah Mitchell DIGITAL PRODUCTION SPECIALIST Chelsea Moore CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Dave Barfield, Michael Booini, Matt Burke, Adam Cohen, Chas Galloway, Meredith Geddings, Scott Holstein, Ridge Leoni, Michael J. Lieberknecht, Kay Meyer, Alicia Osborne, Bruce Palmer, Bill Pearson, Peter Titmuss Photo, Brittany N. Tobin, Jose Villalobosrocha, Daniel M. Young SALES, MARKETING & EVENTS VICE PRESIDENT/CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT McKenzie Burleigh Lohbeck DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS Daniel Parisi AD SERVICES COORDINATORS Tracy Mulligan, Lisa Sostre ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Julie Door, Darla Harrison, Rhonda Lynn Murray, Dan Parker, Linda Powell, Sarah Scott, Brianna Webb, Lori Magee Yeaton INTEGRATED MARKETING SPECIALIST Jennifer Ireland INTEGRATED MARKETING COORDINATOR Bria Blossom MARKETING AND EVENTS ASSISTANT Mackenzie Ligas OPERATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES/HUMAN RESOURCE COORDINATOR Marah Rhone CORPORATE CLIENT LIAISON Sara Goldfarb CLIENT SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE/PRODUCTION SPECIALIST Melinda Lanigan ACCOUNTING Jackie Burns ACCOUNTANT ASSISTANT Lisa Cleaves ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Lisa Snell RECEPTIONIST Alyssa Cunningham
DIGITAL SERVICES 850 BUSINESS MAGAZINE 850businessmagazine.com, facebook.com/850bizmag, twitter.com/850bizmag, linkedin.com/company/850-business-magazine ROWLAND PUBLISHING rowlandpublishing.com SUBSCRIPTIONS A one-year (6 issues) subscription is $30. To purchase, call (850) 878-0554 or go online to 850businessmagazine.com. Single copies are $4.95 and may be purchased at Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million in Tallahassee, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Panama City, Pensacola and at our Tallahassee office.
850 Magazine is published bi-monthly by Rowland Publishing, Inc. 1932 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee, FL 32308. 850/878-0554. 850 Magazine and Rowland Publishing, Inc. are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. Editorial contributions are welcomed and encouraged but will not be returned. 850 Magazine reserves the right to publish any letters to the editor. Copyright February 2017 850 Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Member of three Chambers of Commerce throughout the region.
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From the Publisher
Make Time for Professional Courtesy After 25 years in the advertising and marketing business, I am never surprised when a phone call goes unreturned. Rather than becoming offended on such occasions, I let them roll off me like water. Recently, however, I found myself counseling someone who is new to my business and has a tendency to come unglued when a “professional” does not afford her the courtesy of either taking her call or returning it. In many cases, these people are business owners or senior management employees or their immediate subordinates. Curious, I contacted a psychotherapist and, in an exploratory conversation, tried to uncover the underlying reasons why certain people do not return calls. Here is what I found:
»T here are some people who have such an illusion of self-importance that they feel no professional or personal obligation — certainly no duty — to respond to anyone regarding a subject that they deem unimportant. »A nother group of individuals may not have the strength to simply say, “No, thank you,” when they do not feel that what you are selling is a good fit for their business. These folks just hope that the marketer will give up and go away. »T here are people who are so poorly organized or such lousy managers of their time that they permit phone messages and emails to pile up for weeks. Things reach the point where finally returning a call would be inconsequential or embarrassing. »A nd finally, there is the executive who legitimately receives so many calls that he cannot return them all and hope to get his essential work done. Too, the boss likely has failed to find the time to set up a team of support staff responsible for professionally taking care of the overflow. Personally, I believe that anyone in a leadership position with an organization should, as a matter of professionalism and personal respect, take steps to ensure that all inquiries are responded to in a timely fashion. Those same leaders should be mindful of the fact that their behavior reflects poorly or positively not just on themselves, but on the businesses that they are striving to maintain and advance. Rrrrring, rrrrring. Take care, if not my call,
BRIAN ROWLAND PHOTO BY SCOTT HOLSTEIN
browland@rowlandpublishing.com
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A SOUTHERN MASTERPIECE
TALLAHASSEE’S PREMIER BLACK TIE EVENT
THE GOLDEN GALA XXXIV FEATURING
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APRIL 12, 2017 – 5:30 PM DONALD L. TUCKER CIVIC CENTER
o ste d by t h e T M H Fo u n d at i o n , t h i s event supports Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare’s mission of transforming care, advancing health and improving lives. Enjoy an evening of good company, dinner and entertainment by three-time Grammy Award winner and country music superstar Brad Paisley.
Purchase your table at TMHFoundation.org
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850businessmagazine.com SIGN UP FOR BREAKING NEWS
850’S TOP 10 In 2016 we reported on business trends, provided tips to help growing companies and chatted with influential leaders. We took a look at which stories sparked the most interest with our readers through the six issues published in 2016. Our top 10 most engaging stories ranged from a Mexico Beach landmark to the growing population of Millennials and lawyers who have changed history. Get in the know with the complete list of our top trending stories.
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1. THE EL GOVERNOR 2. FOR PAUL BUSUTTIL, BAR BUSINESS WAS JUST THE BEGINNING 3. HERE COME THE MILLENNIALS 4. COSTA ENTERPRISES 5. HIGH IMPACT LAWYERS 6. PLANKING IN SOPCHOPPY 7. FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS 8. BAR POLITICS 9. BUILDING THE TEAM 10. 5 STEPS TO IMPROVING YOUR TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
LET’S GET SOCIAL!
In the Dec/Jan issue of 850, we turned to businesses, drivers and auto dealerships to discuss the pros and cons of leasing cars. Does your business have a company car fleet? If so, does the company own the vehicles or are they leased? NO
100%
CURRENT ONLINE POLL
EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE In this issue we
visit the Panacea Oyster Coop and discover what makes their oysters so plump and juicy. Go online and follow us on social media to see more from our photoshoot and to get the oyster facts.
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In this issue, high-end realtors across the 850 say that business has picked up since the presidential election was settled because buyers feel more confident about the national economy. Do you have the same sense of economic optimism for Northwest Florida in 2017? Tell us how you feel! Go online to 850businessmagazine.com/polls.
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» Flip Books: View this issue and past issues in a digital book format. » Archived Stories: Peruse our vast archive of articles. » Deal Estate: View the latest real estate deals and listings. » Blog: Read about local business events, happenings and gatherings through our up-to-date blog section.
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL BOOINI (THE EL GOVERNOR) AND ALICIA OSBORNE (OYSTERS)
ONLINE POLL RESULTS
Have all the latest business stories at your fingertips by following us on Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram. No matter what device or social medium, we want to be a resource for you. Find 850 Business Magazine in all the best spots.
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Executive Mindset
It’s the Law FUTURE FOUNDATIONS
LEGISLATURE 2017 Workers’ comp, education among issues business interests are watching
A
s the gavel calls the Florida Legislature to order on March 7 for the beginning of its 60-day 2017 regular session, businesses across Northwest Florida and the state await action on key issues that range from insurance rates to school improvement to water pollution.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION The most critical legislative issue facing business is workers’ compensation. A ruling last year by the Florida Supreme
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BY KAREN MURPHY
Court will cause workers’ compensation rates to rise by double digits this year unless action is taken. In 2003, at a time when Florida employers were paying the second-highest workers’ compensation premiums in the nation, state lawmakers passed sweeping changes to workers’ compensation laws and capped what attorneys could charge injured workers for representation. In April 2016, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in the Castellanos v. Next Door case that the caps were
Executive Mindset
PHOTOS BY SCOTT HOLSTEIN / ROWLAND PUBLISHING FILE PHOTO (CAPITOL) AND COURTESY FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES / MEREDITH GEDDINGS (CORCORAN)
POWER MOVE Members, family and guests applaud Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Lutz, as he assumed his position on the Speaker’s rostrum during Organization Session of the Legislature Nov. 22, 2016.
unconstitutional because they prevented insured workers from recovering reasonable fees when they prevailed in their efforts to secure benefits from their employers. With this ruling comes what business association representatives call “disastrous affects.” “The expected increase in 2017 on workers’ compensation will affect every single subscriber to 850 Magazine,” said Brewster B. Bevis, Associated Industries of Florida’s senior vice president for state and federal affairs. Bevis warns that rates could jump as much as 35–40 percent in the coming years if no action is taken. “It will impact hiring and slow growth,” he said.
“This is an issue that affects all taxpayers — teachers, law enforcement, EMTs, fire and all working in the public and private sector,” adds National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Florida Executive Director Bill Herrle. Rates are expected to increase 14.5 percent in 2017, which equates to a $1.5 billion increase in costs to the system, according to David Hart, executive vice president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. He said roughly $1 billion of that increase is an unfunded liability. In addition, he speculated that the Supreme Court decision could reopen all workers’ comp cases dating back to 2003. The expected increase was blocked just one week before it was scheduled to hit businesses on Dec. 1, 2016. Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers ruled in late November that the organization that files rate proposals for
the industry, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), did not comply with legal requirements to hold public meetings during its deliberations on the hike. She also determined that the organization held improper closed-door meetings with Florida Office of Insurance Regulation staff members. NCCI said it would appeal. But while Gievers’ ruling stops the increases for now, the issue is not dead — and some experts expect that it will only add fuel to the upcoming battle in the Legislature. Hart expects a hard fight. “Trial lawyers will likely advocate against any proposal by the business community,” he said. “An increase in attorneys’ fees goes right into their pocket.” Herrle explains that the lifting of the cap makes even the smallest claims highly profitable for attorneys.
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IT’S THE LAW
SPEAKING SESSION From the left, Speaker-Designate Richard Corcoran, R-Lutz, comments after a presentation on Florida's revenue projections for 2017–2019 during the Joint Legislative Budget Commission meeting Sept. 12, 2016. Right is Senate Appropriations Chair Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon.
“All money will go to the attorney fees, not the injured workers,” he said. And Bevis warns, “Small business, beware. Small shops have no idea the impact this will have.” NFIB Florida is mobilizing independent business owners to reach out to legislators and show how this affects their business. “It is up to business owners and citizens to speak up and demand it gets fixed,” Herrle said.
EDUCATION While workers’ compensation is contentious, Hart sees education as an area where business and new legislative leaders agree. “There is a great deal of common ground between the Florida Chamber’s views on higher education and with what the Senate president is looking at, and there is a great deal of synergy with the speaker of the House and his priorities (related) to K-12,” Hart said. Calling the Florida Education Association’s 2014 lawsuit to kill the state’s scholarship program for economically disadvantaged students “downright evil,” Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran has vowed to create an education system that is not afraid to innovate and take risks. “Let’s partner together to ensure all
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Water presents a challenge all over the state, both in quality and quantity. “Our foundation estimates that we’ll have approximately 6 million new residents by 2030,” Hart said. “In order to accommodate that population growth, we have to have a water supply that can take care of our agriculture needs, our environmental needs and our growth needs.” The problem is more acute in South Florida, where issues with runoff from Lake Okeechobee caused putrid algae to coat the state’s waterways and coastline last year. Negron, who represents Southeast Florida’s Treasure Coast, is particularly conchildren of all races and all incomes are cerned about the state’s water problems. afforded a world-class education,” Corcoran “There are signs in our rivers and oceans, challenged fellow lawmakers. ‘No swimming, too dangerous, bacteria,’’’ Florida Senate President Joe Negron has he said. “Is that the best we can do? I refuse said that one of his goals is to make Florida’s to accept that.” He said property values are good universities great. declining, and it’s hurting agriculture. “I have a vision that Florida’s universities Bevis said Associated Industries is lookwill be national elite destination universities,” ing for funding for infrastructure and water he said. “(We should) focus on professional projects and calls the state’s shortage of schools, such as law, medicine and business.” water “critical.” Water issues, he adds, are He called for improving the universities’ delaying development across the state. aging infrastructure, making college afford“A lack of water never should be a reason able to every student accepted, increasing to say ‘no’ to a new project,” Bevis added. four-year graduation rates and competing Northwest Florida has its own issues with for more National Merit water supply. A water-rights Scholars across the country. lawsuit between Alabama, Hart said that while much Georgia and Florida has of the effort in higher educadragged on for years with tion focuses on college, there no resolution in sight. is also a strong vocational “As a great lover of aspect. Apalachicola oysters, it is “Not every student goes to very important that we look college,” he said. “We have out for those water issues in “I have a vision that more and more tracks develthat part of the state,” Hart Florida’s universities oping to take a student and said. “It proves how conwill be national elite destination get them skills training — nected our environment universities. (We vocational, high-tech, manis to our economic health. should) focus on professional schools, ufacturing — and give them There are so many jobs at such as law, medicine pathways to a career. It’s all stake there in Apalachicola. and business.” — FLORIDA SENATE part of preparing the work It’s an important, historic PRESIDENT force of tomorrow.” industry.” JOE NEGRON
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COURTESY FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES / MEREDITH GEDDINGS (CORCORAN) AND FLORIDA SENATE (NEGRON)
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Executive Mindset
The (850) Life GOVERNING EXCELLENCE
Top-Notch Hospitality BARRY SHIELDS, TALLAHASSEE Manager, Governors Club
W
hen lawmakers, lobbyists and others descend on Florida’s capital city for the annual legislative session, the downtown bars and restaurants teem with people wheeling and dealing over happy hours and power lunches. No place sees more of that than the members-only Governors Club. Practically overnight, the club does four to five times the business it does during the summer months, said manager Barry Shields. He spends months getting
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new staff up to speed and making sure he has enough supplies, from silverware to wine glasses. Plus, he makes sure to have plenty of top-shelf beverages on hand. “Demand for the really good stuff happens toward the end of session, as folks look for something special to celebrate with,” he said. Shields, 55, launched his career in the hospitality business as a busboy at the Governors Club in the 1980s. After graduating from Florida State — he was the maître d’ by then — he began
working for a company called ClubCorp that took him to several clubs around the Southeast. After 18 years in Tampa, he decided to apply for the Governors Club manager position and moved back to Tallahassee in 2014. A lot has changed since his original time at the club — no tuxedos during dinner for one, he said. But some things still stay the same, including a high demand for service and a chaotic spring that is filled by the legislative session. — Kathleen Haughney
Photo by BRUCE PALMER
Q&A WITH BARRY SHIELDS You started here as a busboy. So were you a high school kid looking for a job? Well, a college kid looking for a job. Tallahassee is my home; it’s where I grew up. Once I got into college and decided that hospitality through the business school at FSU was the way to go, I worked various places around town. When this club opened up in ’82, I probably read the paper around that time and the club piqued my interest. With that being said, a manager at the time hired me on as a busboy. At the time though, they didn’t call them busboys. They called them “commis,” a French word for dining room assistant.
During the legislative session and committee weeks, Tallahassee can become a whole lot crazier. How do you prepare for that buildup? Literally, overnight, we will do four to five times the business that we do regularly. So you have to prepare for that in the equipment we have on board — making sure everything is up to speed and we have enough supplies: plates, silverware, glasses. And then, most importantly, we have to make sure we are properly staffed. So, committee weeks usually start in January and February, and March– April is in session. We will actually start interviewing and increasing our staffing levels in August.
Do you make sure to order anything special ahead of time for session, such as a special type of bourbon or type of cigar? There’s been a lot of request for the Van Winkle line of bourbon (Old Rip Van Winkle, Pappy Van Winkle, etc.), so we’ll make sure to try to have plenty of that on hand if possible. ... Pappy products are in high demand all over the world. Although we initiated a smoke-free happy hour in the lounge from 4:30 to 7 p.m., we’ll sell plenty of premium cigars. Our humidor will be fully stocked with top brands, including cigars from My Father, Arturo Fuente, Perdomo, Padron and our best seller, the Diamond Crown Julius Caesar.
How has the club changed since it opened? In the ’80s, the club was extremely formal. As service personnel, we would dress up at lunch in a business suit and work the dining room. For the evening, we would change into tuxedos and white gloves.
Do you miss wearing a tuxedo for dinner? Well, on some occasions, yes. But it was a chore every day, changing from your business suit to your tuxedo, and you had to keep several on hand and keep them clean. But it was worth it. It was a lot of fun back in those days.
The Company You Keep How and to whom you present yourself influences the success of your business. Our listeners are: Curious, Active, Engaged, Business Leaders, Tech Savvy, Influential, Well-travelled, Educated, Affluent, Voters, Volunteers, Professionals. As a WUWF Program Sponsor, your business can benefit from the company it keeps.
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Executive Mindset
Human Element OUTSOURCING OUTLET
VIRTUAL HR Contracting out the human resources function of your small business can be a key to faster growth — if done well. BY TISHA CREWS KELLER
F
or many small-business owners, the human resources function, which entails everything from payroll and compliance to policies, is one of the most begrudged tasks. But because this area is so infused with regulation, it is also one of the most important to get right. In the modern age, outsourcing the HR office to a professional consultancy is growing in popularity. But getting the right mix of expertise, benefits and cost savings requires careful planning. And with the growing cost of employment, staffing a company today costs considerably more than it did even 10 years ago.
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Professional employer organizations (PEOs) provide HR services to small-business clients, paying wages and taxes and ensuring compliance with state and federal laws. Many also offer employees 401(k) plans, health and dental coverage, life and accident insurance policies, and other benefits not typically available to employees of small businesses. Because of the convenience and popularity, the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) estimates that between 2 and 3 million people are covered by PEO arrangements nationwide. The statistics make a compelling
case for the practice. NAPEO reports that employment at small businesses using PEOs has grown 7 to 9 percent faster than small businesses overall. In addition, these PEO-enhanced companies have 10 to 14 percent lower employee turnover, which contributes to the fact that they are 50 percent less likely to go out of business than their HR in-sourced counterparts. The reasons for this aren’t entirely clear; but when small businesses struggle with everything from patents to building a customer base to accounts receivable, creating a good HR department is something that, while necessary, isn’t always the most immediate concern.
ONE PHOTO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Most small-business owners understand that great benefits attract great employees, and keeping them happy and productive is essential for a business to thrive. PEOs can offer the tools to let business owners focus on their core competencies. Don Rider, president of ECB Services in Pensacola, has offered PEO services since 2008. He says companies like his work well for small businesses in a variety of fields, but mainly for those that have lots of turnover — think restaurants — or professional services, such as dental or medical practices. “With a PEO, a small business can rent an entire HR company for a fraction of the cost of doing the same thing in-house,” Rider explains. “Many small businesses want to offer a great benefits package to their employees, but they simply can’t afford to do so on the open market. With a PEO, the administrative fees often pay for themselves in just the benefit-cost savings alone.” PEOs are able to offer these packages in what’s known as a “co-employment” arrangement, also known as “employee leasing.” ECB Services offers a wide array of services to its 20-plus company roster, including payroll, worker compensation insurance and group benefits that include life and accidental death policies, major health insurance, vision, disability and cancer policies. Perhaps one of the most important — and overlooked — benefits of a PEO is the HR management/expertise that comes with the arrangement. Rider points to the new federal overtime rule that, if it survives a court challenge, reclassifies a large portion of small-business employees. Understanding the intricacies of such a law and applying it to complex employee structures is not something that amateur HR practitioners — even if they are
business owners — should attempt. Having a PEO allows the small-business owner to lean on the considerable expertise of a “rented” HR department for implementation, reclassification and communication with employees.
Leasing Your Own Employees The notion of “leasing” your own employees that you hire, train and work alongside every day can sound foreign. But the co-employment model simply means that a PEO is the employer of record for your company. And the arrangement isn’t the same as a temporary staffing company, Rider says. “The PEO arrangement isn’t temporary — it’s for a long time,” he explains. It’s not the same as “renting an employee for a day.” ECB Services officially employees about 4,000 personnel across more than 20 companies, in locations spanning Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. To manage these coemployees, Rider maintains a staff of 25 HR administrators in his PEO, who provide as much or as little of the actual HR function as needed through the company’s back office in Pensacola. By combining thousands of employees who are actually working at other companies, Rider is able to create a large employer pool that allows him to provide Cadillac benefits to the entire group. For instance, a 10-person small business in his PEO is able to provide the benefits package of a Fortune 500 company to its employees, including dental and vision insurance, major medical coverage, dental and life insurance, accidental death policy, workers comp insurance, a 401(k), disability coverage and cancer policies. All of this is administered through a dedicated HR professional who takes care of the tax and workers comp payments, audits, etc., through an
electronic/paperless interface with 24/7 access for all employees. Rider’s company offers this at a fraction of the cost these small businesses would pay on their own — $75,000 per year saved for a 10-person business in Texas last year, for instance. “Because of our size through the coemployment arrangement, we can purchase dental insurance, for instance, for about 30 percent less than an individual can buy on the open market,” he says. “And our policies come with no qualifications or minimum participants for our companies.”
Making It Your Own It’s easy to see the financial and coverage benefits of a PEO, but what about the loss of an “inside person” for HR issues? PEOs offer the ability to customize an HR handbook that gives smallbusiness owners the control over traditional decisions, such as leave policies, benefits, grievance procedures, etc., but with the added benefit of expertise from a professional HR practitioner who can see across a wide range of industries and counsel these decisions. For ECB Services, the client companies are usually in the five to 300 employee size range, Rider says. To keep grievances at bay and prevent their spread, Rider advocates taking care of them quickly and efficiently. The dedicated HR contact at the PEO is the “HR person” for client companies and develops a close relationship with staff and owners alike. Like ECB Services, PEOs are at the top of their game with regard to HR trends nationwide. Government compliance and Affordable Care Act reporting, paperless payroll and work/life balance are not only buzzwords in the industry, but important topics trending for businesses of all types in 2016. And today’s workplace is segmented not just into blue- and white-collar
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HUMAN ELEMENT
these days, but also so-called “gray-collar” service and light manufacturing industries that have unique needs with regard to pay, drug testing, employee screening, training and more. Most companies in a co-employment arrangement hire their own employees but use the PEO for the on-boarding and payroll setup. This can be done onsite with the dedicated HR representative or in a completely virtual environment, based on location and the small-business owner’s preference. Day to day, the HR expert is typically available by phone, video chat or email for management and employees alike.
Buyer Beware PEOs can solve many problems for small-business owners, but there are a few precautions. A PEO may not be the best arrangement for very large companies or those that work with unions, for instance. However, Rider says even those companies can benefit by using a PEO as an HR consultant for hiring, planning and benefit programs. Experts warn that carefully negotiating
the PEO contract is the most important aspect of the deal. Ensuring that the PEO is financially sound and has a good track record is of utmost importance. Martin Summers, an insurance agent with Black Bear Insurance in Lake Mary, points out that when a PEO becomes the employer of record for tax and insurance purposes and the business leases the employees from the PEO, there are very important considerations to reflect on. PEOs are an unregulated industry, so they are able to add administrative charges to policies and even change coverages over the course of the contract. They are also under no obligation to give notice before policy cancellation, as are traditional insurance carriers. If the PEO goes bankrupt, your company could be left in a sticky situation and potentially behind on payroll and insurance payments, not to mention any claims and tax payments that aren’t up to date. For high-risk employers, it’s important to understand that the workers comp policy is in the name of the PEO and not the policyholder company. This can mean that only
leased employees are covered — not temporary labor, uninsured subcontractors, independent contractors and volunteers, for instance. Rider cautions that small-business owners should only consider working with PEOs that are voluntarily accredited by Employer Services Assurance Company, which provides a $15 million insurance policy to protect PEO clients. Only 20 percent of PEO companies are accredited nationwide, but accreditation can mean the difference between success or failure for the PEO relationship. Finding the right balance of benefits, efficiencies and access is crucial for today’s small-business owner with regard to employee relations. Always make sure your company is shielded from exposure in a PEO contract, and check the financial history of any company you consider for HR outsourcing. “Venture capitalists say business owners don’t need to worry about HR,” Rider says. “Use a PEO and focus on what you do best.” With careful selection and implementation, this may be the best HR advice yet.
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Lawnscapes, Inc. Owner Joe Littleton and Panama City Market President Jimmy Barr
FR EE
SHOVELS AND ROPE JAMES MCBRIDE JOSHILYN JACKSON KATHLEEN PARKER LISA LOEB [
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AND MANY MORE. OVER 100 AUTHORS AND MUSICIANS ON 7 STAGES
PLUS, CATCH THE SUNTRUST GARNET AND GOLD SPRING FOOTBALL GAME ON APRIL 8! Photography by Bob Howard
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HIGH-END
REAL ESTATE An uptick in sales of luxury properties is expected to continue into 2017. BY LINDA KLEINDIENST
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COURTESY SANDESTIN REAL ESTATE / WILL SULLIVAN
RECESSION. BANKING CRISIS. OIL SPILL. AND A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SEASON that left investors nervous about the country’s financial future. Northwest Florida’s housing market has faced uncertainty and hit after hit over the past decade. But the region weathered the various storms, and today home and property sales across Northwest Florida are brisk — including sales in the “high-end” market, where price tags soar into the multimillions of dollars. Nationally, the news is mixed. In some areas, such as the cities of Chicago and New York, high-end home sales are down or slowing. In others, like Northwest Florida’s Emerald Coast, sales are up. In some regions, higher interest rates are expected to cool buyer interest. In others, including the 850 region, the rates apparently are making no difference when a buyer’s sights are set on a particular prize.
This stunning Spanish-style home in Bay Estates is a Sandestin Real Estate listing.
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REAL ESTATE
LOVIN’ THE SAND Predictions from local Realtors are that 2017 will be a stellar year for high-end home and property sales along Northwest Florida’s Emerald Coast. To put it simply, “people love the beach,” says Jeff Troy of Bay County-based Counts Real Estate. His office is on Scenic Highway 30A in Seagrove, a more exclusive enclave of small communities strewn along the coast in South Walton County. “Rosemary Beach is selling well,” Troy says. “There have been a couple of $10 million sales. Those people just really want a house on the beach. They like the area, and they want it. And there are definitely investors buying in the area because the short-term rental market is so good here. It’s not uncommon to get 10 percent on your investment. You won’t always get that, but for the last couple of years, the prices have gone up by 8 to 14 percent.” At Sandestin Real Estate Sales, executive director Kitty Whitney said, “We believe good things are in
“They flock back to the beach to buy what starts out as a second home and eventually they become permanent residents.”
store for 2017. People are relieved that the election is behind us and we may see some policy changes that will encourage spending.” Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort is home to million-dollar-plus properties along the beach and in the Burnt Pines neighborhood. Buyers, Whitney said, tend to be people with a history of vacationing in Northwest Florida. “They flock back to the beach to buy what starts out as a second home and eventually they become permanent residents,” Whitney explained. She employs “Sandestin Living” magazine as a marketing tool and targets drive markets – Atlanta, Birmingham, Jacksonville and others – and fly markets that offer direct flights to the Gulf coast. Whitney singled out a $9.7 million listing at Burnt Pine as a remarkable home replete with custom art, décor and finishes. “We recognize that as the price rises, the number of prospective buyers declines, but this is the kind of house about which someone will say, ‘This is worth the money.’”
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While he sees some buyers come from Northern states, Ed Smith, who owns ReMax Coastal Properties in Destin with his wife, says the majority of those seeking homes are from an hour or less drive away from the region. “A lot of people say their parents used to bring them here as kids,” says Smith, who specializes in waterfront properties. “Many are buying as second homes or rental properties or for investment. Most buyers are boomers whose parents accumulated money that these people inherited, and now they tend to buy what they want. We don’t see a lot of foreign investment, although there are some Canadians in the market.” Smith adds, with a laugh, “In this area, we consider a foreign investor to be from Alabama.” Recent sales in the area include a 10,000-square-foot home sitting on 2 acres with 200 feet of frontage on the
COURTESY SANDESTIN REAL ESTATE / WILL SULLIVAN
— Kitty Whitney, executive director at Sandestin Real Estate Sales
With pristine pools and breathtaking beach views, it should be no surprise that the Emerald Coast is selling homes swiftly.
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bay and a tennis court. That went for $3.75 million. A similar home located on 1 acre sold for $2.5 million. “We’re hearing from sellers and buyers who say they have not felt this optimistic about the economy in a long, long time,” Smith says. “If that’s any indication, I’d say 2017 is going to be a good year.”
“We’re hearing from sellers and buyers who say they have not felt this optimistic about the economy in a long, long time. If that’s any indication, I’d say 2017 is going to be a good year.” — Ed Smith, who owns ReMax Coastal Properties in Destin
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AN ELECTION BOUNCE Justin Beck of Beck Partners, who specializes in commercial properties and has offices in Pensacola and Tallahassee, expects his team’s final sales numbers for 2016 to be higher than 2015 — and he firmly believes that trend will continue through 2017. While sales did lag a little in the early fall of 2016, they picked back up immediately after the November presidential election was settled. He sees a high demand for upscale office and retail space throughout the region. “Retail at the Cordova Mall (in Pensacola) has a ton of demand, and the Destin market is also fantastic for retail,” Beck points out. “In Tallahassee, they want Class A office space and retail. The higher-end stuff is what we’re having the most success with, but it’s limited in its availability. Those great sites can be hard to come by.”
HIGH-END
REAL ESTATE
Over the past two years, he has seen a 30 percent increase in the cost of prime space, which is being taken up through the expansion and/or upgrading by existing local businesses and the growth in new retail and food establishments, the latter being part of a national trend. “I am as bullish on Northwest Florida as I have ever been in my career,” he says. “There are a lot of really good markets out there. And the people I talk to are firmly convinced they’re going to have more money in their pockets within a year.” While boomers are looking for coastal properties, Troy said that in the 30A area, he also sees more young, new money.
The 2,410-acre Chemonie Plantation, featuring a 7,000-squarefoot main house in northeastern Leon County, was sold by Jon Kohler & Associates in 2016. The acreage, seeded with quail, is a gentrified shotgunner’s paradise.
COURTESY JON KOHLER & ASSOCIATES
TOP HOUSING TRENDS FOR 2017, AS FORECAST BY REALTOR.COM Millennials and boomers will dominate the market: The housing market will be in the middle of two massive demographic waves — millennials and baby boomers — that will power demand for at least the next 10 years. Although increasing interest rates prompted Realtor.com to lower its prediction of millennial market share to 33 percent of the buyer pool, millennials and baby boomers will still comprise the majority of the market. Baby boomers are expected to make up 30 percent of buyers in 2017. Midwestern cities will continue to be hotbeds for millennials: Midwestern cities are expected to continue
beating the national average in millennial purchase market share in 2017. This year, average millennial market share in five of these markets is 42 percent — far higher than the U.S. average of 38 percent. Slowing price appreciation: Nationally, home prices are forecast to slow to 3.9 percent growth year-to-year from an estimated 4.9 percent in 2016. Of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country, 26 markets are expected to see price acceleration of 1 percent. Likewise, 46 markets are expected to see a slowdown in price growth of 1 percent or more, with LakelandWinter Haven, Florida; Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Jackson,
Mississippi, undergoing the biggest shift to slower price appreciation. Fewer homes on the market and fast-moving markets: Inventory is currently down an average 11 percent in the top 100 metropolitan areas in the United States. The conditions limiting home supply are not expected to change in 2017. Median age of inventory is currently 68 days in the top 100 metros, which is 14 percent — 11 days — faster than nation overall. Western cities will continue to lead the nation in prices and sales: Western metros are forecast to see a price increase of 5.8 percent and sales increase of 4.7 percent.
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TOP 2017
HOUSING MARKETS Despite a more moderate housing market overall in 2017, strong local economies and population growth will continue to fuel the nation’s top markets. The Realtor.com 2017 top 10 metropolitanarea housing markets, based on price and sales gains, are: 1. Arizona: Phoenix Mesa–Scottsdale 2. California: Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim 3. Massachusetts– New Hampshire: Boston– Cambridge– Newton 4. California: SacramentoRoseville-ArdenArcade 5. California: Riverside–Ontario– San Bernardino 6. Florida: Jacksonville 7. Florida: Orlando– Kissimmee–Sanford 8. North Carolina: Raleigh 9. Arizona: Tucson 10. Oregon Washington: Portland Vancouver– Hillsboro
“I know a guy in his mid-40s, an orthodontist,” he recalls. “He bought a $6.5 million house in Rosemary Beach that is now on the market for $7.5 million.” Jon Kohler, whose Jefferson County-based Jon Kohler and Associates specializes in high-end plantations and high-quality land sales throughout the Southeast, says his customer base until recently was primarily a segment of the populace more commonly referred to as the 1 percent — very high net worth individuals and investment groups. “It’s an interesting dynamic,” he says. “Since the election, people are calling us more. There is a little more euphoria in the public. We’re now getting more calls from the middle class — doctors, lawyers, small-business owners. They’re lighting up the phones. Most of the people in my market are of a conservative bent . . . and they seem to feel there are going to be good times.” Kohler, who has been called the “Plantation Broker” by Garden and Gun magazine and “The Plantation King” by Deep South, represents the seven plantation belts strewn across four Southern states — Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama.
These top 10 markets are forecast to see average price gains of 5.8 percent and sales growth of 6.3 percent, which exceeds next year’s anticipated national growth of 3.9 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. But when compared to last year, prices in eight of the top 10 markets are expected to decelerate, with only the Los Angeles and Tucson metropolitan areas showing stronger growth than last year. © 2016 Florida Realtors
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“From 2011 to 2015, the bottom 90 percent of the market fell 15 percent while the higher end went up 1,024 percent. We had a highend market that exploded.” — Joe Manausa, owner of Tallahassee-based Joe Manausa Real Estate
COURTESY JOE MANAUSA REAL ESTATE / ADAM COHEN
“If you like hunting, the outdoors and conservation, you’ll buy land in one of these belts,” he says. Prices range from up to $5,500 an acre in the Red Hills region between Tallahassee and Thomasville, Georgia, to maybe $3,500 an acre in South Carolina (depending on access to the Atlantic Ocean). These lands, he adds, are among the best recession-proof assets in an investment portfolio. “Before, people were buying them like gold, but now people are calling us more because they’re interested in the recreation and appreciation (of the land) aspect.” FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY? With historically low interest rates over the past decade, the sales action in Tallahassee’s high-end homes (that’s over $650,000 — the top 1 percent of the market) went up by more than 1,000 percent, says Joe Manausa, owner of Tallahassee-based Joe Manausa Real Estate. “From 2011 to 2015, the bottom 90 percent of the market fell 15 percent while the higher end went up 1,024 percent. We had a high-end market
that exploded,” he says, attributing more than 60 percent of the growth to low interest rates. And, he predicts, “Tallahassee is going to have a pretty exciting year” in 2017. In a recent blog post, Manausa even wrote, “If you have a home priced above $650,000 and have been told the market is slow, you need to speak with somebody who actually studies the Tallahassee market.” While homes sales along Northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast get a boost from non-locals and, in some cases, international investors, Manausa says the Tallahassee region doesn’t get much buyer interest from outside the area. “There is no reason to be here unless you are here,” he reasons. And while sales are brisk now, he cautions that higher interest rates could quickly dampen the fervor of buyers, especially since the region hasn’t had much growth in high-salary non-government jobs. He attributes about two-thirds of the current highend home sales to low interest rates. “We’re purely in an interest rate market. Everyone is paying a fraction of the traditional payment for their houses,” he says. “We have a year-and-a-half inventory of high-end homes. But if interest rates go up to 6 percent, half of those buyers would go away.” On the coast, where the supply of high-end homes is much tighter, Troy reflects on the cyclical nature of the real estate business. “30A’s east end seems to be a little more protected from the ebbs and flows of the economy. We seem to rebound,” he says. “Since the election, the market has topped out. It’s really hard to say what people are going to be doing. “It’s hard to imagine all these $2 million houses lined up in a row and people are buying them. I don’t know how long that’s going to last, but we all have a good feeling about the next year.”
Southern-style homes and wideopen land are selling right now in Tallahassee. An example, Joe Manausa’s recent sale of the $3.47 million WaterOak Plantation.
Director of Editorial Services Steve Bornhoft contributed to this article.
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DEAL ESTATE Just Sold
Schoolhouse Rocks Sale
School will soon be back in session after the recent sale of this Pensacola property. This 46,826-square-foot structure was originally constructed in 1986 and was used as a school, Newpoint School of Pensacola, to be exact. With an abundance of rooms, plenty of parking and 5 acres of land, the building would have served well as a medical center or office space, but it returned to its origins. “We had several of our institutional and government clients bid on it, but the school was able to complete the deal,” explained investment associate of NBI Properties Inc. Dustin Parkman. The 200 rooms will now house the students of New Road Learning, a charter school.
COURTESY NBI PROPERTIES, INC.
School building becomes new school By Rebecca Padgett
Address: 8190 Pensacola Blvd. / List Price: $3.5 million / Sale Price: $2.95 million Square Feet: 46,826 / Contact: Dustin Parkman, NBI Properties, Inc., (850) 243-0007, dustin@nbiproperties.com
For details, contact:
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pinedovefarm.com
On Highway 98, Anchoring The East End of 30A.
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NOW LEASING EXECUTIVE OFFICES, RETAIL, RESTAURANT & EVENT SPACE, 850-231-1127. 12805 US Highway 98 East, Inlet Beach, Florida 32461 850 Business Magazine
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DEAL ESTATE Just Listed
Wonderful Warehouses Two warehouses for sale offer desirable amenities
If you’re in the market for plenty of warehouse space, there is much to be said about the promise of an unoccupied building ready to be filled. The deal becomes even sweeter when there are two warehouses equipped for operation. Located minutes from I-10 and just down the road from the Tallahassee International Airport, are two 15,000-square-foot warehouses on over 3.5 acres of land. While the location is ideal in proximity to popular Tallahassee attractions and businesses, it is set far enough back that your business
NBI PROPERTIES, INC.
By Rebecca Padgett
would receive a fair amount of privacy while still being noticed. The fence surrounding also ensures security. The warehouses feature high eave heights, multiple loading docks, grade level loading, a large paved parking lot and 1,800 square feet of air-conditioned office space. The fenced-in yard would be ideal for storage and circulation space. “The opportunity to purchase a warehouse
of this size with a paved, fenced and secured yard area is rare in our market,” said listing broker John McNeil. “Being able to do so at a fraction of replacement cost is unheard of!” List Price: $849,000 Address: 4453 Entrepot Blvd. Tallahassee Contact: John McNeil, NAITALCOR, (850) 251-5504
17th Annual
Chain of Parks Art Festival APRIL 15 & 16, 2017 Saturday 10am - 7pm Sunday 10am - 5pm Tallahassee, Florida
Park Avenue Chain of Parks
Four Faces by Debo Groover
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2017 ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL AN 850 BUSINESS MAGAZINE SPECIAL REPORT
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT VISIT PENSACOLA INNOVATION COAST NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION NORTHWEST FLORIDA’S NAVY ACHIEVE ESCAMBIA GEORGE STONE TECHNICAL CENTER UWF NEW PRESIDENT
A D V E RTO R I A L
COX BUSINESS PROMOTES THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT IN PENSACOLA
Congratulations to Cognitive Big Data Systems, the winner of Get Started Pensacola, presented by Cox Business! Cognitive Big Data Systems competed against four other startups at the “Shark Tank” style competition, presenting their big idea in front of a panel of business experts and a crowd of over 100 attendees. Lloyd Reshard presented on behalf of Cognitive Big Data Systems and shared the company’s artificial intelligence-based computer vision app. The software can improve current surveillance systems by learning pixel patterns from each camera’s video stream to understand potential threats and gain business intelligence. As the winner of Get Started Pensacola, Cognitive Big Data Systems received a prize package worth over $20,000 including a cash prize and business services from Cox Business along with other business development tools. Reshard states, “Cox Business internet has already proven to be a valuable service, allowing us to further our progress while continuing to invest in future work.” They also plan to use the Cox Media production prize to create a company promotional video to share with potential investors. Reshard has already noticed an increased interest in the business since winning the competition, and he hopes to keep up the momentum by entering more startup
competitions locally and regionally. “We entrepreneurs, we spin our wheels quite a bit doing things, but it’s better if you can work within a framework knowing you’re not spending your time doing the wrong thing, or you don’t know if somebody wants it. This event is just what Pensacola needed to stir up some entrepreneurship ... and give folks a chance.” He also encourages other startups or entrepreneurs looking to start their own business to enter in local startup competitions and enlist the support of the local governments to invest in the local entrepreneur community, something Cox is committed to reinforcing. Cox Gulf Coast Vice President David Deliman believes Get Started Pensacola is a step toward that cultivation. “Entrepreneurs and local businesses are the lifeblood of a community’s job growth. Cox is committed to assisting local entrepreneurs expand their business along the Gulf Coast, to provide jobs and services to the communities we serve. At our recent Get Started event in Pensacola, it was exciting to see the types of ideas generated by entrepreneurs in this area. Cox looks forward to working with these groups to help their businesses grow.”
Started | 866.701.8737 2 /Get 2017 E S C A MPensacola B I A C O U N |T Ycoxblue.com/getstartedpensacola BUSINESS JOURNAL
“This event is just what Pensacola needed to stir up some entrepreneurship ... and give folks a chance.” Lloyd Reshard, Cognitive Big Data Systems
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Services not available everywhere. © 2017 CenturyLink. All Rights Reserved. The CenturyLink mark, pathways logo and certain CenturyLink product names are the property of CenturyLink. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. 4 / 2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L
CONTENTS
PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BRIAN E. ROWLAND
SALES & MARKETING VICE PRESIDENT/ CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT McKenzie Burleigh Lohbeck DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS Daniel Parisi AD SERVICES COORDINATORS Tracy Mulligan, Lisa Sostre ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Julie Dorr, Darla Harrison, Rhonda Lynn Murray, Dan Parker, Linda Powell, Sarah Scott, Brianna Webb, Lori Magee Yeaton INTEGRATED MARKETING SPECIALIST Jennifer Ireland INTEGRATED MARKETING COORDINATOR Bria Blossom MARKETING AND EVENTS ASSISTANT Mackenzie Ligas OPERATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES/ HUMAN RESOURCE COORDINATOR Marah Rhone CORPORATE CLIENT LIAISON Sara Goldfarb CLIENT SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE/ PRODUCTION SPECIALIST Melinda Lanigan STAFF ACCOUNTANT Jackie Burns ACCOUNTANT ASSISTANT Lisa Cleaves ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Lisa Snell RECEPTIONIST Alyssa Cunningham
10 6 E CONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
New construction is the backbone of economic growth.
10 V ISIT PENSACOLA Growing
numbers of tourists pump millions into the local economy.
12 I NNOVATION COAST
Competition bolsters business growth.
14 N AVY FEDERAL
World’s largest credit union continues to grow its footprint in Escambia.
18 M ILITARY Contributions of
retired military are an economic boon for the region.
24 A CHIEVE ESCAMBIA
Community leaders from all walks of life join forces to improve education.
26 G EORGE STONE Technical Center helps meet the growing demand for trained workers.
MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 1ST CLASS DANIEL M. YOUNG/RELEASED
CREATIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lawrence Davidson DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY Daniel Vitter SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Saige Roberts ART DIRECTOR Jennifer Ekrut PUBLICATION DESIGNERS Charles Bakofsky, Shruti Shah GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Meredith Brooks, Sarah Mitchell DIGITAL PRODUCTION SPECIALIST Chelsea Moore
COURTESY VISIT PENSACOLA
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL SERVICES Steve Bornhoft EDITOR Linda Kleindienst SENIOR STAFF WRITER Jason Dehart EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Rebecca Padgett ASSISTANT TO DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL SERVICES Kim Harris Thacker COPY EDITOR Barry Ray
18 28 N EW PRESIDENT
Martha Saunders takes the helm at the University of West Florida.
ON THE COVER: Education, transportation and a robust military presence are critical arteries contributing to the health of the Escambia County economy and all serve as bridges to the county’s future. Construction projects abound in and around Pensacola as the national economy rebounds. PHOTOS COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA, PENSACOLA BAY BRIDGE RENDERINGS COURTESY SKANSKA USA AND U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 2ND CLASS RIDGE LEONI/RELEASED
rowlandpublishing.com | 850BusinessMagazine.com
2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 5
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
IMPROVED ECONOMY BOOSTS CONSTRUCTION, JOBS Public and private projects abound. PENSACOLA BY THE NUMBERS » Greater Pensacola’s October 2016 unemployment rate was 4.9 percent, the state of Florida’s was 4.7 percent and the U.S. unemployment rate was 5 percent (not seasonally adjusted). » The population of the greater metropolitan area is projected to increase 12 percent from 2012 to 2020 (518,830). » The average age in Greater Pensacola is 38.3 years, in comparison to the state of Florida’s average age of 41.
A
by LINDA KLEINDIENST
sked how economic development in Escambia County and Pensacola has fared over the past year, Scott Luth pauses a moment before emphatically answering: construction. “If I was to put a theme on it, it would be that it has been a year of construction,” says the president and CEO of FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance. “There are projects already under construction, projects approved for construction and projects starting to break ground. There are big projects and little projects, a new hotel, more office buildings, a new half-billion-dollar bridge from Pensacola to Gulf Breeze that’s been approved, more student housing
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, ESCAMBIA COUNTY (PERCENT OF PERSONS AGE 25 YEARS AND OLDER, 2010-2014) » High school graduate or higher — 88.5 percent » Bachelor’s degree or higher — 23.9 percent
6 / 2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L
being constructed at the University of West Florida. Escambia is doing very well.” Expansion of facilities and the creation of new jobs crosses a wide variety of industry sectors, from real estate and aviation to education and retail. An improved economy has helped drop the county’s unemployment rate below 5 percent. That is attracting more people to the region and increasing the demand for services and housing. Two private co-working spaces have opened, and the focus on entrepreneurship is growing. And The Bluffs — Northwest Florida’s Industrial Campus, a 6,000-plus-acre masterplanned development — was designed to lure more industrial/manufacturing north of the city.
These renderings depict the predicted half-billion dollar Pensacola Bay bridge that will connect Pensacola to Gulf Breeze.
PHOTO BY MATT BURKE / ROWLAND PUBLISHING FILE PHOTO (LUTH) AND PENSACOLA BAY BRIDGE RENDERINGS COURTESY SKANSKA USA
With support from local government, some resources from Tallahassee and private sector leadership, “we’re hitting on all cylinders,” says John Peacock, chairman of the Pensacola Downtown Improvement Board. He points out that downtown Pensacola, where redevelopment has been spurred by private investors such as Quint Studer and Bobbie Switzer, has become increasingly popular for residents and visitors. Few vacant storefronts are located along the city’s major thoroughfares, which now offer a variety of entertainment, dining and shopping options. “If a visitor comes for a week, you can only do so many beach days,” explains Peacock, who lives and works downtown. “In the past, people used to go west to Alabama or east to Destin looking for something to do. Now they’re coming downtown, so we’re keeping more of the money here. We’re improving the aesthetic appeal for downtown and promoting historical and cultural tourism. We haven’t done a good job in the past of leveraging that.” Now there is also a focus on providing more residential options in the heart of Pensacola. Studer is building a 268-unit apartment complex that will provide affordable housing, and Switzer spent $7.5 million to purchase One Palafox, a 4.5-acre site that is the largest block in downtown and will be turned into an urban village with luxury apartments, retail and co-working space. “Having grown up in the area, there was a time when I was younger when there was nothing in downtown,” recalls Clay Ingram, president of the Greater Pensacola Chamber. “It was a dead area. No
retail activity, a place you didn’t want to be after dark. Now there has been an incredible renaissance.” Peacock agrees, adding, “There is something for everybody here. People were moving out, but now they’re moving back.” Some economic development projects that have been on the drawing board for up to a couple of years are now coming to fruition. They include VT Aerospace’s project at Pensacola International Airport. Nearly five years in the planning, ground was recently broken for a 173,000-square-foot facility for VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering. The planned major-aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility, which will sit on a 19-acre site at Pensacola International Airport, will create 400 new jobs. Design and construction of the $46 million project is being made possible through a combination of funds from the Florida Department of Transportation, the city of Pensacola, Escambia County, the University of West Florida’s Haas Center Industry Recruitment, Retention and Expansion Fund and VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering. Expected to open in early 2018, the facility will accommodate two Boeing 777s, or four Boeing 757s, or six Airbus A-320-sized aircraft. “After all the bumps and bruises, we finally broke ground,” says Ingram, who used his position as a state legislator to work with city and county officials to get the project moving. “It’s been on the radar screen for so long, people were wondering if it was ever going to happen. There’s a pretty tangible feeling of progress.”
“
If I was to put a theme on it, it would be that it has been a year of construction. There are projects already under construction, projects approved for construction and projects starting to break ground. There are big projects and little projects, a new hotel, more office buildings, a new halfbillion-dollar bridge from Pensacola to Gulf Breeze that’s been approved, more student housing being constructed at the University of West Florida. Escambia is doing very well.”
• SCOTT LUTH
PRESIDENT AND CEO OF FLORIDAWEST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE
2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 7
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Economic developers have targeted companies that fit in well with what is already in Pensacola, such as financial and business services companies, including Navy Federal Credit Union, information technology companies, and aviation manufacturing and portrelated businesses. They also look TEN LARGEST to expand homeland and defense EMPLOYERS* security work, especially in the 1 Baptist Health Care area of cybersecurity. 5,571 “Cybersecurity and IT develHealth Care opment, that’s a new target for us 2 Navy Federal Credit Union and we’ve been working on that 5,325 initiative for a while,” Luth says. Financial Service Center 3 Sacred Heart Health Considering the number of miliSystems tary bases and defense contrac4,820 Health Care tors in the region, and the push 4 Gulf Power Company to teach cybersecurity at local 1,774 colleges, it has become a natural Electric Provider 5 West Florida target industry. Healthcare The UWF Center for Cyber1,200 Health Care security has become the regional 6 Ascend Performance hub for cybersecurity education Materials and research, including multidis830 Manufacturing ciplinary programs and certifi7 West Corporation cates, research opportunities, 800 Business, Processing, outreach activities and industry Outsourcing partnerships. And it has been 8 Innisfree Hotels designated a National Center of 750 Hospitality Academic Excellence in cyber9 Medical Center Clinic defense education by the National 500 Health Care Security Agency and the Depart10 International Paper ment of Defense. Pensacola State 475 College has also formed a cyberManufacturing *Source: FloridaWest Economic security center that offers help to Development Alliance. Employment figures current as of May 2016. local businesses. 8 / 2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L SB0156 850 Mag half pg_Commercial Lending.indd 1
1/4/17 3:09 PM
COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA
The University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity is regionally and nationally recognized for its achievements in research and academia.
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2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 9
VISIT PENSACOLA
GROWING TOURISM NUMBERS BOOST LOCAL ECONOMY ESCAMBIA TOURISM BY THE NUMBERS » One additional dollar in hotel/ lodging sales will generate $7.60 in total taxable spending in the local area. » More than 16,000 jobs are related to the visitor industry (hotels, restaurants, attractions, transportation, retail). » For every dollar invested in Visit Pensacola marketing, $3.55 in tax revenue is generated. » For every dollar Visit Pensacola invests in marketing, $82 is returned to Pensacola businesses.
P
by LINDA KLEINDIENST
ensacola obviously has something that visitors like. Coming off a record summer tourist season in 2016, the numbers show that visitors are staying longer, spending more and beefing up tourist tax collections. “Everyone looks at summer as being the key factor,” says Steve Hayes, president of Visit Pensacola. “If summer went well, the rest of the year went well. The bed tax is up, and that’s one benchmark to look at. Length of stay and spending were also up.” Hayes credits the wide variety of events, activities and attractions in the Escambia County/Greater Pensacola area with the increased interest. Cultural offerings abound and include a local opera, theater, ballet and symphony. The region, occupied by Native Americans for thousands of years and then visited by Spanish explorer Tristan de Luna, who attempted to colonize the area in 1559, is rich in history. (A third shipwreck from de Luna’s fleet, hit by a hurricane a month after it arrived in
Historic Village Open House (right); Visitors to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola walk past Fat Albert, formerly a support plane for the Blue Angels (top far right); Palafox Street Celebration Downtown (bottom far right)
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Escambia Bay, was discovered in October.) Festivals are held throughout the year. The nearby beaches are among the world’s best. Naval Air Station Pensacola, the cradle of naval aviation, is home to the National Naval Aviation Museum, which attracts 800,000 visitors a year. And the famed Blue Angels precision flight team, which calls Naval Air Station Pensacola home and does two major performances a year (July and November) at home base, draws plenty of visitors on its own. “I think the number of things you can do in Pensacola is what brings people here. And look at where the spending is — 48 percent is in lodging, where you’re staying, but the remaining 52 percent is in the community,” Hayes explains of visitors’ economic impact on the region. “People are going shopping, visiting venues, buying gas, going to restaurants. Our big selling point for Pensacola is that Northwest Florida is blessed with great beaches, but we’ve got great history, great culture and a vibrant downtown.” Visitors come from the mid-Atlantic and Midwestern states, including from places such as Washington, D.C. and Chicago, as well as the Southeast. In 2015, Pensacola International Airport served 1.6 million passengers, making it the busiest airport in Northwest Florida. A decade ago, downtown Pensacola had an overabundance of vacant and neglected buildings. Today, it is a bustling center of commerce with restaurants, entertainment and small shops that bring locals and visitors downtown into the evening. One of the major attractions is the Community Maritime Park, which includes the Blue Wahoos baseball stadium, home to a minor league team affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. “For a city of our size to have what we do is unheard of,” Hayes says.
PHOTOS BY PETER TITMUSS / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC. (BLUE ANGELS) AND COURTESY VISIT PENSACOLA
Pensacola proves to be gaining popularity.
CY 2015
% CHANGE FROM CY 2014
2016 (AS OF NOV., INCREASE FROM 2015)
Tax Collections
$9.4 million
+ 9%
+7.3%
Occupancy
64%
+2%
+3.7%
Average Daily Rate
$118
+6%
+3.4%
Length of Overnight Stay
8.5
+8%
+2.1%
Average Total Spent
$2,035
+40%
+3.5%
Average Spent Per Day
$172
+10%
+19.2%
Est. Unique Visitors
1.68 million
-7%
Not Available
Est. Direct Spending
$849 million
+26%
Not Available
TOURIST DEVELOPMENT
2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 11
INNOVATION COAST
INNOVATION AWARDS BACK AND BIGGER THAN EVER
• JIM MCCLELLAN
CHAIRMAN OF INNOVATION COAST’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
T
he Innovation Awards are back and bigger than ever. The business competition, billed as the most lucrative in the state, will return to Pensacola in April, offering more than $250,000 in cash and in-kind services to startups from throughout the region. The competition, to be held April 12-13 at the Hilton Pensacola Beach, is being organized by Innovation Coast, a Pensacola nonprofit dedicated to growing the region’s technology sector. Jim McClellan is chairman of the group’s board of directors. “Taking an idea from concept to market requires more than just an influx of capital,” McClellan said. “To succeed, entrepreneurs also need an extensive network of trusted advisers and mentors. This network
Colton Black, co-founder and CTO of Pensacola firm Robotics Unlimited, and CEO Sebastian Cotton placed third in the 2014 Innovation Awards, receiving a check for further research.
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of support is what distinguishes the Innovation Awards from other business plan competitions. Individuals emerge from our competition with a comprehensive and integrated business plan that enables them to thrive in a competitive business market.” Colton Black, co-founder and CTO of Pensacola firm Robotics Unlimited, knows firsthand the impact that advantage can have. Black’s company, which spun off from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, designs robotic toys and placed third in the 2014 Innovation Awards. Black credited the competition with helping him and CEO Sebastian Cotton muster the confidence, connections and capital they needed to take their business to the next level. “It kind of put us on the map,” Black said. In the same way, event organizers hope this year’s competition can put Northwest Florida on the global map as a center for innovation in the technology sector. “We want to establish Northwest Florida as a technology hub,” said McClellan, who daylights as marketing director for AppRiver, an email and web security firm based in Gulf Breeze. The region, he said, is well-positioned for growth — particularly in the cyber security industry. The proximity of the Navy’s Center for Information Dominance and other military installations offers a competitive advantage, as does the area’s quality of life. Still, he said, much work remains to be done if the region is to realize its potential. “We need capital,” McClellan said. “We need investors looking at companies here. We need companies looking to move here, and we need to attract talented students who will come to the universities and colleges here and remain.” The awards, he said, offer a great opportunity to raise the profile of the region and bring together all
PHOTOS BY DAVE BARFIELD (TOP RIGHT) AND COURTESY OF APPRIVER
“
Taking an idea from concept to market requires more than just an influx of capital. To succeed, entrepreneurs also need an extensive network of trusted advisers and mentors.”
Innovation Coast looks to expand signature business competition in 2017. by T.S. STRICKLAND
Black went from selling homemade games on a website he built to building his own circuit boards to starting his own company.
the stakeholders who will be needed to make this vision a reality. Tiffany Sullivan, who joined Innovation Coast as executive director late last year, said she hoped future competitions could serve as a platform not just for supporting local entrepreneurs — like Black and Cotton — but also for bringing in talent from outside the region. “One of the requirements of the winners is that if they’re not already located and participating in business within one of the eight major Gulf Coast counties, they have to commit to do that within 90 days to get their prize money,” she said. “So the ultimate goal is to grow this area.” Businesses in this year’s competition will be divided into four categories — post-revenue, prerevenue, veteran-owned and student-owned — where they will compete for cash prizes ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. A panel of expert judges will score all applicants before inviting the best three in each category to present their business plan live at the competition — á la “Shark Tank.” The latter experience, in particular, was important to Black.
“Doing the Innovation Awards definitely gave us the first dose of proving we knew what we were doing,” he said. “I think, because of that, we were able to raise money a lot more easily.” In the two years since the competition, Robotics Unlimited has amassed a small team of engineers and moved out of the Gulf Coast Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship into larger digs in downtown Pensacola. They’ve also been hard at work designing new products. In January, the duo was traveling to Los Angeles to meet with four different manufacturers about licensing one of their toys. Meanwhile, they were also talking with retailers about putting another of their products on store shelves. Black said the awards offer an important leg up for businesses trying to get a foothold in the region. “When you’re starting a company, you need to get your name out there,” he said. “You need to build your reputation, and you need to raise money. The Innovation Awards offers a road to all of that in an area that doesn’t have much of an ecosystem otherwise.”
“
One of the requirements of the winners is that if they’re not already located and participating in business within one of the eight major Gulf Coast counties, they have to commit to do that within 90 days to get their prize money. So the ultimate goal is to grow this area.”
• TIFFANY SULLIVAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF INNOVATION COAST
2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 13
NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
JUMP-STARTING THE JOB MARKET Navy Federal’s expansion is a boon for Escambia County. by TABITHA YANG
Federal’s growth has benefited Florida and the Pensacola area in particular, as many of its operations are based in Escambia County, where it is in the midst of a twophase expansion process that will lead to the creation of thousands of new jobs.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY: THE PERFECT PLACE TO EXPAND In the early 2000s, Navy Federal was looking for places to expand beyond its headquarters in Vienna, Virginia. The company looked at several different sites but eventually settled on Pensacola. Navy Federal opened a call center in the area in 2003 that employed about 300 people, and has continued to expand its operations in Escambia County since then. “The talent pool has exceeded our expectations and is the main reason for the growth, along with the growth of our membership,” notes Debbie Calder, the credit union’s executive vice president. Currently, Navy Federal employs more than 5,000 people in Escambia County, most of whom work on a 308-acre campus in the Beulah community. In addition to being home to a call center, the campus also features several other business units, including the credit union’s IT department, savings and membership, branch operations support, consumer lending and mortgage processing. Prior to Phase 1 of the current expansion
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COURTESY NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
T
he clean-cut, athletic Marine begins his story: “For years I’ve trained dogs for the Marines. And like me, some of these dogs have seen many tours of duty.” The Marine’s deep voice and solid build make you think of someone who is disciplined, competent and knows how to lead. He continues: “And for the past 15 years, I’ve been a Navy Federal member. Thanks to their fast approval process, when it came time to buy a new car, we got everything we needed to transport my wife’s little bundle of joy.” The camera pans out to reveal his shiny silver truck, then zooms back in to show a panting, fluffy Pomeranian sitting next to him in the front seat. The Marine and dog exchange wry glances, then he looks back at the camera and adds, completely deadpan, “Who I just adore.” This recent Navy Federal Credit Union commercial hits on all the credit union’s strong points: its commitment to serving members of the armed forces and Department of Defense employees and their families, as well as the benefits the credit union is able to offer its members, such as a fast approval process for car loans. The credit union’s popularity has led to a lot of growth in recent years, and although it started in 1933 with only seven members, it now has 292 branches and more than 6 million members around the world. Navy
The Navy Federal Heritage Oaks Building 3 is one of the four buildings that comprises the 600,000 square feet of office space on the new campus.
project, there were four buildings on the campus, for a total of 600,000 square feet of office space. According to Navy Federal public relations specialist Bill Pearson, Phase 1, a $245 million endeavor, is scheduled to be completed in January 2017 and will add two more buildings to the campus (for an additional 400,000 square feet of space.) Phase 2 of the expansion, which involves constructing another two office buildings that will add another 1 million square feet of space, began this past summer and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019 or beginning of 2020, depending on how quickly the project progresses, Pearson said. The project appears to be continuing as planned despite the fact that Navy Federal had to pay $28.5 million in penalties in the fall of 2016 to affected customers and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency due to alleged deceptive debt collection practices.
“
The talent pool has exceeded our expectations and is the main reason for the growth, along with the growth of our membership.”
• DEBBIE CALDER
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION’S GREATER PENSACOLA OPERATIONS
2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 15
COURTESY NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
The construction on Navy Heritage Oaks Phase Two is expected to reach completion by early 2020, at the latest.
THE BREAKDOWN OF JOBS CREATED IN PENSACOLA BY NAVY FEDERAL AS OF NOVEMBER 2016: » Construction (261) » Retail (448) » Finance and Insurance (5,446 — which includes Navy Federal and other industry jobs) » Professional Services (268) » Administrative, Support and Waste Management (371) » Health Care (452) » Accommodation and Food Service (533) » Other Services (302)
Asked about the incident, Calder referred to a statement that Navy Federal issued, which states, “Where our Collections practices have come up short in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s estimation, we have made all the necessary changes. We have cooperated with the CFPB throughout the process.” The statement also reiterates the credit union’s commitment to “upholding our standards of service excellence.” Despite this setback, Navy Federal was rated No. 44 in 2016 on the list of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.” The company is poised to become one of the biggest employers in Escambia County, as once the expansion process is complete, the Pensacola campus will employ about 10,000 people. The campus will include some amenities for its employees, such as a fitness center, training center, café and coffee shop.
AN ECONOMIC HEAVY HITTER For a city of just over 50,000, Navy Federal’s expansion in Pensacola represents major growth in the number of jobs available. Data from the University of West Florida’s Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development indicates that as of November 2016, more than 8,800 jobs had
16 / 2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L
been created in the Pensacola area thanks to Navy Federal. (This includes jobs in other sectors, such as construction and retail, which have been created as a result of the company’s presence in the area.) The total earnings impact (the aggregate earnings of all jobs) amounts to slightly more than $444 million. “Just overall, they are probably the largest attraction and expansion project in Northwest Florida,” said Scott Luth, the executive director of Florida West, which advocates for economic development in Northwest Florida. “And having a company such as Navy Federal in the area continues to lead to more opportunity for growth.” Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward agrees, saying he thinks more companies will want to make Pensacola their home knowing that a large and wellrespected company such as Navy Federal has based a large share of its operations there. He also thinks Navy Federal’s expansion will help Pensacola grow as a city. “This is going to be a huge draw for obviously the folks that are in the pipeline at our universities,” he said. “Our talent that’s here in Pensacola (will benefit), but also folks that are looking to move to Florida and work for a tremendous company like Navy Federal.”
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2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 17
NORTHWEST FLORIDA NAVY
NORTHWEST FLORIDA’S NAVY Ensign Matthew Bray is pinned by his daughter during a ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum on board Naval Air Station Pensacola. The ceremony marked the graduation of the newest aviators from Training Air Wing Six (TRAWING SIX). Bray has been selected to fly the P-8A Poseidon.
T
he “Cradle of Naval Aviation” is also a fine place to rest. According to the U.S. Department of Actuary, Pensacola’s 325-- ZIP codes are home to the highest concentration of military retirees in the nation — totaling 33,560 as of September 2015. Retired Navy Rear Adm. Donald P. Quinn has traveled far and wide with the military. Although he reports that there are many bases with fine community relations, he believes Pensacola’s relationship with its military is among the best in the country. After serving more than 30 years in the Navy,
culminating with his command of the Naval Education and Training Command at Naval Air Station Pensacola, today Quinn works as a consultant to the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce — alongside Vice President of Armed Services Debi Graham, who he largely credits for the strong military-civilian relationship in the area. “Debi is known throughout the East Coast because of her participation in defense forums and the success she has generated here,” Quinn said. “Other civilian communities around the country come to our chamber to ask how we do it. We lead the way.”
A UNIQUE CONNECTION Quinn says the number of retirees can be chalked up to the state’s pursuit of military contracts and the sheer number of bases in the area. It’s also where many members of the armed services first earn their “wings.” Because NAS Pensacola is a training base, people have fond memories of their time there. “It’s warm. The climate is good. The quality of life is good,” Quinn said. “So many Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marine folks have come through here for training and remember it with a special place in their hearts.” Pensacola treats the military well with regard to schools and jobs, including the hiring of spouses. It’s also a smart place to start your own business. “Because of the cost of living, it’s easier to open your own business because conditions are good and you don’t have to make as much money to maintain a good quality of life,” Quinn said. “There is less risk involved than in other places in the country.”
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PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST SEAMAN BRITTANY N. TOBIN/RELEASED (LEFT) AND MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 1ST CLASS DANIEL M. YOUNG/RELEASED (RIGHT)
Pensacola and the military enjoy ties 100 years strong. by ASHLEY KAHN SALLEY
U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, Diamond pilots perform the Low Break Cross over the Gulf of Mexico during the Pensacola Beach Air Show 2016. In 2016, Blue Angels celebrated their 70th show season.
NEW AT NAS PENSACOLA The base is seeing an increase in training, largely due to funding, but first and foremost in an effort to enhance its quality and effectiveness, according to Rear Adm. Quinn. Among those upgrades: » Corry Station’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center is expected to double in size over the next several years, both in square footage and in people. This will bring in top talent and further solidify Pensacola’s growing reputation as “Capital of the Cyber Coast.” » Training Wing Six has leapt forward about three generations in the use of technology to train Naval Flight Officers. Live, virtual and constructive (LVC) principles and technology are now extensively used, including virtual airto-air engagements in the actual T-45 aircraft. » One of the three wing squadrons, VT-4, is now 100 percent simulation, yet is producing some of the best-trained naval flight officers the P-3, E-2 and E-6 communities have ever seen. Many of the lessons learned in this training are being exported to other training squadrons and organizations throughout naval aviation, including the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center in Fallon, Nevada.
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2017 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 19
NORTHWEST FLORIDA NAVY
Sailors and Marines currently enrolled in the Naval Aircrew Candidate School (NACCS) at Naval Air Station Pensacola, hold a modified plank position as a part of physical training (PT). PT is essential to the NACCS three-week regimen, since sailors and Marines are required to pass a physical screening test before graduation.
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» On the Air Force side, the 479th Flying Training Group will ramp up from 260 pilots to 330 per year. Although electronic warfare had lain dormant for some time, the Pensacola unit has become a center for it. » Coast Guard aviation is expected to increase from 55 to 70 pilots per year. A Coast Guard tender may potentially be assigned to NAS Pensacola, beginning in summer 2017, bringing as many as five additional 210foot cutters to the base. Meetings and planning are ongoing. » The VA and Navy Hospital Pensacola are working together to optimize use of the hospital and the clinics to support active-duty personnel, retired military, veterans and their dependents. Recent advances now make it possible for Navy doctors to view a patient’s VA medical records.
A CENTURY OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT Long before retirement, young service members — enlisted and officers — complete extensive training at NAS Pensacola. From naval aviators to cybersecurity professionals, its training commands graduate more than 59,000 students annually — representing every branch of service and foreign allies. In 2014, NAS Pensacola celebrated its 100th anniversary as the Navy’s first Naval Air Station. For more than 100 years, the city of Pensacola, Escambia County and surrounding areas have continuously supported both the base and its mission “to efficiently deliver the very best readiness from the shore.” One of only four installations in the continental United States with an active airfield and a deepwater port, NAS Pensacola is home to 126 Department of Defense and non-DoD tenant commands, according to public affairs officer Patrick Nichols. Composed of four geographically separate locations, the base’s major tenant commands include the Naval Education and Training Command, the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, the Naval Aviation Schools Command, the Center for Information Warfare Training, Marine Aviation Support Groups 21 and 23, the Naval Medicine Operation Training Center, the Naval Survival Training Institute, the Navy Orientation Recruiting Unit and the Air Force 479th Flying Training Group. To assist the community in its support of the military, Escambia County and the Pensacola Chamber have received funds via grant programs from the Office of Gov. Rick Scott, administered by Enterprise Florida and funded by the state Legislature.
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LOOKING TO THE FUTURE The chamber’s Graham points to a call to action by the Association of Defense Communities to foster increased collaborations between military bases and their host communities. According to a new paper released by the association, “States and communities have a significant role to play in helping military installations adapt to a variety of challenges — including budget constraints, aging infrastructure, evolving missions and weapons systems and generational changes in social attitudes.” That’s where Graham’s work comes in, and Quinn says there’s no one better suited to the task. “She can connect you with the city, the county, the state, the businesses,” he said. “She’s a connector. I don’t know if you can put a value on that.”
PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 2ND CLASS RIDGE LEONI/RELEASE
NEW AT NAS PENSACOLA
The Defense Infrastructure Grant provides support for local infrastructure projects that have a positive effect on NAS Pensacola’s military value, while the Defense Reinvestment Grant provides funds to the community to support military relations. “The funds received by the county and the chamber have been integral in land acquisition projects to prevent encroachment, provided transportation and base access upgrades, and assisted in the Cyber Warfare Battle Lab acquisition and surface restoration,” Nichols said. The community’s dedication is reciprocated. NAS Pensacola fosters community service from within its Outreach Department — providing an average of 8,000 volunteer hours by sailors each year. Command staff also serve as integral and active members of the chamber’s Military Affairs Council, promoting face-to-face interaction with Pensacola leaders, business owners and residents. “With more than 23,000 people attached or working at NASP, the installation enjoys an incredible relationship with the community,” Nichols said. “All of the civilian employees and many of the military members live in and support the local area.” The annual economic impact of NAS Pensacola is more than $1.3 billion, around 40 percent of the local economy — even greater than tourism.
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Students at Naval Survival Training Institute (NSTI) learn to properly use a MK124 signal flare. NSTI aims to provide safe, effective, and relevant aviation survival and human performance training to enhance the operational readiness of the joint warfighter.
Quinn and Graham work together within the Military Affairs Department of the chamber to enhance current commands and missions, ensuring stability and quality of life for Pensacola’s military members and their families. This includes helping the base become more proactive in utilizing alternative fuel sources such as solar energy, fostering public-private partnerships and assisting with changes in base security. Few military bases have a tourist attraction on-site, Quinn notes. NAS Pensacola has three: the National Naval Aviation Museum, Barrancas National Cemetery and Pensacola Lighthouse and Museum. When base security tightened at the main gate, Graham was instrumental in securing grant funding to increase signage on Interstate 10 and feeder roads, directing visitors to the back gate in an effort to maintain the level of security while still giving the community access to on-base attractions. The chamber is also raising awareness. Each year, Graham and her team coordinate a five-county Washington, D.C., fly-in to ensure that elected officials know the issues facing the defense community in Northwest Florida, from Escambia to Walton County. “That’s the role that we at the chamber are taking,” Graham said. “We are looking at how the community can support the installation as a ‘base of the future,’ including hardening of infrastructure and making sure there are no encroachment or security issues.”
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A U.S. Marine with Marine Aviation Training Support Group (MATSG) 23, conducts practical application training using an air traffic control tower simulator at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Flaorida, April 20, 2016. MATSG-23 is a formal school responsible for providing students entry-level and intermediate training in aviation logistics.
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ACHIEVE ESCAMBIA
COMING TOGETHER FOR KIDS How we can do more to help children achieve more by ASHLEY KAHN SALLEY
I
n Escambia County, only 67 percent of children are prepared for kindergarten. Just 72 percent of high school students will graduate on time. And among the working-age population, 63 percent hold a high school diploma or less. The people of Pensacola want better for their children, and they’re coming together to do something about it. It all started two years ago, when Gulf Power CEO Stan Connally took stock of the company’s volunteer forces. He quickly recognized they were doing a lot of good — as were many other community partners. Connally wondered, “How can we align our resources to help kids succeed?” From this question would develop Achieve Escambia, an initiative bringing together leaders in education, faith, public safety, health care, government and business to address social challenges by aligning efforts. In addition to Gulf Power, Navy Federal Credit Union, Baptist Health Care and Sacred Heart Health System were integral to the establishment of Achieve Escambia, operating within the United Way of Escambia County. For counsel and direction, the team engaged with Strive Together, a national organization dedicated to the improvement of education through collective impact. Achieve Escambia is the first Strive Together network in Florida and the only one in the nation to have sprung up from a business community.
LEADING THE WAY After numerous community summits, the next step was to hire an executive director. With more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit management, Greg Voss took on the role in October 2016.
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The 2016 Achieve “I know we are underachieving … everyone Escambia knows it,” Voss said. “The idea now is to put a community plan in place — to inch those statistics up and summit brought local leaders and continue to see improvement.” activists together Upon moving to Northwest Florida from to discuss area Wisconsin, Voss was immediately impressed challenges. by the dedication of the Pensacola community. “The staff from these corporations devoted so much of their time that would otherwise have been spent doing their jobs,” he said. “It’s amazing, the level of commitment. I have not seen such intensity and focus and loyal dedication.” Voss echoes the sentiments of those who worked to shepherd Achieve Escambia from the start. “The school districts can’t do it alone … the corporate folks can’t do it alone, but when we bring in experts, take a disciplined approach and measure results, we’ll move the needle,” he said. “That’s the benefit of collective impact.” To begin, Voss is working hard to build trust, meeting eye-to-eye with people throughout the community. “In the end, isn’t that what gets things done?” he said. “If you’re a police chief, a priest or a principal, it all comes down to building trust.” Pensacola Chief of Police David Alexander couldn’t agree more. “Our goal is to increase cultural understanding and build trust between organizations within our community by engaging in Achieve Escambia’s collective impact effort, so that our community’s resources can be utilized more effectively,” said Alexander, who serves on the initiative’s Leadership Council. “I hope to help build trust between law enforcement and citizens and, in turn, direct members of the community to available resources.”
SETTING GOALS TO ACHIEVE Escambia County is growing, with 5,000 new employees expected to join Navy Federal’s already vast employee base there. Corporate leadership wants what is best for its employees. “I am proud to support Achieve Escambia’s mission to align our community resources so that everyone is empowered to achieve success,” said Debbie Calder, executive vice president at Navy Federal and a member of the Achieve Escambia Leadership Council. “Navy Federal hopes to help create a sustainable work force of future employees by engaging with Achieve Escambia, and we hope to see prosperity in our community as a result for generations to come.” Like Navy Federal, business leaders throughout Escambia County have a strong desire to improve quality of life. They’re looking to attract skilled talent. They want to attract families. What attracts families? Good schools. To improve education in Escambia County, Achieve Escambia has established five CANs, or Collective Action Networks, in the following areas: » Kindergarten Readiness » Third Grade Reading » Middle School Math
»H igh School
Graduation Rates » Career Readiness
Along with the community, the board of Achieve Escambia weighed in on these goals and their progression. For each CAN, experts in the specific areas will help identify gaps and determine measurable outcomes. Kindergarten Readiness kicked off in November 2016 — a natural beginning to this noble journey.
Jennifer Grove, community development manager with Gulf Power and Achieve Escambia operational support team member, and David Alexander III, Pensacola police chief speak to the ongoing efforts and commitment of Achieve Escambia members. TO LEARN MORE OR TO GET INVOLVED, VISIT UNITEDWAYESCAMBIA.ORG/ACHIEVE-ESCAMBIA.
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STRIKE UP THE BAND Voss is careful to keep the perspective of helping one child at a time. Reflecting on being a father of four, he has a poem stuck in his head these days — “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” by Robert Fulghum. “Wouldn’t the day be nice when the most significant challenge for kids would be remembering to hold hands while walking across the street?” Voss said. “It just seemed so innocent and simple back then.” Today, there are many other issues children face. That’s why Doug Brown, executive director of the Community Action Program Committee, decided to join the Achieve Escambia Leadership Council. “Achieve Escambia will benefit students and families greatly, allowing us to align resources,” Brown said. “Children often need someone to step up and to stand in the gaps they are facing, and that Good Samaritan is in all of us. It can be exhausting if everyone tries to help but ends up pulling in different directions, but it is energizing when we all pull in the same direction.” Voss hopes to harness the energy of the community’s loyal supporters to significantly improve all outcomes, from cradle to career. “I’m the maestro of the orchestra,” he said. “I’m just leading the band.”
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Sparks fly at the George Stone Technical Center, which specializes in training for technical careers.
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GEORGE STONE TECHNICAL CENTER
TRAINING FOR SUCCESS George Stone Technical Center helps meet growing demand for highly skilled workers. by MATT ALGARIN
PHOTOS COURTESY GEORGE STONE TECHNICAL CENTER
T
he George Stone Technical Center has been training the local workforce in high-skill, technical careers since the first classes were offered in September 1968. Located in Pensacola, the school is part of the Escambia County School District and is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education. Principal Thomas Rollins has been with the school for five years and has been an educator for almost 30 years. George Stone Technical Center partners with local businesses and industries to ensure that its training programs are preparing students for high-skill, highwage and high-demand occupations. “We really try and adapt our programs to what is needed in the community,” Rollins said. “We work very closely with the local chambers of commerce, Career Source Florida and Career Source Escarosa.” For example, Rollins says welding is seeing tremendous growth. To meet the demand for skilled welders, classes are offered day and night. There has also been an increased need for manufacturing-based trades and IT, so programs are offered in aviation maintenance, marine service technology, electrical work, network support services (CISCO), network systems administration and cybersecurity. The need for skilled workers will only increase as the local and regional economy becomes more and more diverse. But as Rollins sees it, right now there are not enough skilled technical workers to fill the positions that are expected to be available soon. “We have a very large workforce of skilled laborers that’s aging,” he said. “People just don’t build things and work with their hands to fix things like they used to. Now everything is on the computer or a TV screen — it’s just a different time.”
In fact, research shows that baby boomers are retiring in large numbers — as many as 10,000 a day nationwide. But these are services and skills that will be needed, especially as the region sees an increase in manufacturing-type jobs, whether directly related to the Airbus facility in neighboring Alabama or the numerous military-related contractors and shipyards along the Gulf coast. “There is a real opportunity in these fields,” Rollins said. “These are going to be highly technical careers that will offer good wages and opportunities to grow in a career.” According to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, manufacturing contributes more than $40 billion to the state’s economy and provides more than 90 percent of Florida’s exports. It is also noted that for every 10 jobs created in the state’s export-oriented
manufacturing, 12 more jobs are created in transportation, warehousing and retail. Most programs at George Stone tend to be about a year in length, which gives students the opportunity to learn a skill and join the workforce much quicker than if they were to attend a traditional fouryear institution. George Stone also offers adult basic education and adult general education (GED) courses. Financial aid is offered for students who have earned a high school diploma or GED. “We can help you no matter your level of education,” Rollins said. “Our students can get most, if not all, of their education paid for (through various funding options).” To learn more about the programs offered at the George Stone Technical Center, visit georgestonecenter.com or call (850) 941-6200.
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UWF NEW PRESIDENT
SAUNDERS TAKES HELM AT UWF University’s sixth president takes reins at critical time. by T.S. STRICKLAND
M
COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA
artha Saunders became the sixth president of the University of West Florida on Jan. 1, stepping into the job at a critical juncture in the school’s history. UWF will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, and the institution — long regarded as among the sleepiest of Florida’s public universities — has been making a lot of noise. Saunders’ predecessor, Judith Bense, oversaw a remarkable string of successes during her eight years at the school’s helm. Enrollment topped 13,000 this year — up from just 10,000 in 2008. A spate of new construction, begun during the height of the Great Recession, has reshaped UWF’s campus and helped improve student retention. The university’s newly minted Division II football team sold out each of its home games during its inaugural season, and Bense announced the discovery in downtown Pensacola of the country’s oldest, multi-year, European settlement — a crowning moment for the career archeologist. These successes and others have catapulted the school into the center of public life in Northwest Florida like never before. Saunders — Bense’s successor — is the beneficiary of all this positive momentum. That said, she will also inherit the unenviable task of improving the school’s performance against state funding metrics. Right now, the university ranks at the bottom of the state’s Performance Funding Model, costing UWF millions each year.
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With 30 years of academic experience and two prior stints as a university president, Martha Saunders established herself as the most worthy candidate to step into Judith Bense’s previous role.
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UWF NEW PRESIDENT
Goals for her presidency include a focus on enhancing and building upon the university’s strengths. The nursing program and the IHMC Robotics lab will receive particular attention.
working for Amazon while in college, then move into careers with Amazon after graduation,” Saunders said. “It’s a great program that builds a career path to a great company.” Saunders said UWF would be the first university in the state to partner with the company in this way. Likewise, Saunders said she plans to work more closely with Pensacola State College and other institutions of higher learning to improve workforce readiness in targeted industries. “I’m particularly interested in developing intellectual infrastructure — hubs — for the support of manufacturing, innovation and commercialization,” she said. “Here, we can partner with our strong state colleges
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and career academies to really make things happen. I know from experience that investors like organized, ready-to-go entities. We can do that for our region.” Saunders’ other priorities include investing more in university research and expanding UWF’s distance learning offerings. Saunders said she is excited about what the new year will bring. In November, UWF announced the launch of its 50th anniversary capital campaign — the largest in the university’s history. By the start of 2017, UWF already had raised more than $48 million of the $50 million goal. “I expect to see that goal extended early in the year,” Saunders said. “People are recognizing our potential, and we’re on a roll.”
COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA
Saunders, however, seems up to the task. The administrator, who began her academic career teaching undergraduates at UWF more than 30 years ago, has built a reputation as a bold, capable and collaborative leader, and she has no plans to slow down. “I expect to focus on partnerships, innovation and programming on which we can build a national and global reputation,” Saunders said in December, in the midst of transitioning into her new role. This is not the first time Saunders has led a university. After leaving UWF in 2002, she went on to serve as chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2005 to 2007 and president of the University of Southern Mississippi from 2007 to 2012. She returned to UWF as a provost in 2013, at Bense’s request. The faculty senate that year had returned a vote of no confidence in Bense, an event that threatened to topple her administration. The president, who had heard of Saunders’ departure from USM, asked if she would be willing to return to Pensacola and oversee the university’s operations and budget for the following year. Saunders jumped at the opportunity and ended up leading a reorganization of the university’s colleges and helping to mend relationships with faculty — both Herculean tasks. Looking ahead, Saunders said she planned to build on those successes. A key priority will be establishing “programs of excellence” in fields where the university has a strategic advantage, including robotics, cybersecurity, health and supply chain logistics. Saunders said she planned also to continue her predecessors’ efforts to encourage more community engagement at the university. Part of that effort, she said, will be interfacing more with the region’s business community. “The possibility of industry partnerships excites me,” Saunders said, “and can pair the expertise of our faculty with economic need.” For example, Saunders pointed to a fledgling work-study partnership with ecommerce giant Amazon. “They will be recruiting on campus after the holidays for students who will begin
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FORGOTTEN COAST CORRIDOR
Gulf, Franklin + Wakulla Counties
BIVALVE BOUNTY Robert Seidler and Rob Olin have a heart for harvesting oysters and restoring business to the Panacea area.
Oyster Ranching A Resurrecting a dying industry in Wakulla County’s waters By Lazaro Aleman s the tide recedes, the cylindrical metal cages become visible, row upon row of them. They comprise a system that altogether takes up 1.5 acres — about the size of a football field — in Oyster Bay near Panacea. Partners Rob Olin and Robert Seidler pull their boat alongside the outer row of upright PVC pipes that mark the system’s western boundary and act as posts to support lines where the cages hang. Leaning over the boat’s side, Olin lifts two of the cages, revealing their oysterfilled interiors. This particular lease, he says, gesturing toward the 1.5-acre area, contains 250,000 oysters, soon to be a million.
Photos by ALICIA OSBORNE
“This is the only lease built out so far, but eventually all 38 will be built out,” Olin says, referring to contiguous leases of similar size comprising 56 acres in Oyster Bay. Periodically at low tides, Olin or his workers will inspect the oysters; clean them and the cages of algae, barnacles and other fouling organisms; sort the oysters into cages according to size; collect the mature ones; and replenish the oysters and cages as necessary. It’s hard work and all part of a budding venture that, when fully realized, the two say will not only resurrect the oyster industry in Wakulla County but also create hundreds of jobs, revitalize the bay, bring back
a culture, promote ecotourism and spawn sustainable economic development. “Ideally, we’re shooting for 500 million oysters a year in 10 years,” Seidler says. “We don’t know how close we’ll get, but that’s the vision.” “And the best thing about what we’re doing is it’s repeatable throughout the Gulf,” Olin says. “Our state’s got more farmable water than any other in the Union. Florida can become the sea basket for the world.” Olin and Seidler are nothing if not enthusiastic about their project, which has been three years in the making and is still developing. Already, the enterprise boasts a marina,
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which will eventually include an oyster hatchery/nursery; a cooperative that will grow the oysters, along with a branding, marketing and selling component; and wholesale customers that include restaurants Table 23 and the Governor’s Club in Tallahassee. The enterprise also has the blessing of the overseeing state and federal agencies and is partnering or planning to partner to one degree or another with various learning institutions, including Tallahassee Community College, Auburn University, Florida A&M University and Florida State University. The uniqueness of their method, Olin and Seidler say, resides in the floating cages, which the waves and currents rock and low tides expose twice daily. “These oysters never stop moving,” Seidler says. “That’s a big difference between wild oysters that settle on the bottom and our tumbling oysters. Because they’re rolling in the cages their whole lives, they grow faster, healthier and firmer.” That’s because, Seidler explains, floating near the top, the oysters are less susceptible to seafloor predators; the continuous water flow brings them more nutrients; the rocking motion knocks off fouling organisms and chips away at their shells, forcing the oysters to grow round and thick rather than long and thin; and the tidal exposures cause them to contract, creating firmness and texture in the meat. “This method in the upper water column is relatively new, and completely new to North Florida,” Seidler says. As the two describe the plan, it’s both bold and ambitious. Their aim is to produce oysters for national and international distribution, using a pasteurization process that will not only render the oysters bacteriafree but also give them a longer shelf life. They also plan to spawn spats, or oyster larvae, for their own use and for sale. “It’s one of the most important parts,” Olin says. “We’re going to control our seed. Think if a corn farmer couldn’t get corn seed. It would be tough staying a corn farmer. That’s been one of our biggest challenges.” Another way to frame it, Seidler says, is that the culture has traditionally harvested but not replenished oysters, which has contributed to their decline. Their model, he says, puts back more oysters than are taken, adding to the wild population.
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SHUCKS! The briny beauty of a freshly shucked oyster can now be experienced from Tallahassee to Pensacola thanks to the crop found in Wakulla waters. After a long day of working with the cages, Seidler, Olin and Irv Miller, executive chef of Jackson’s Steakhouse in Pensacola, enjoy the benefits.
“Instead of being negative in terms of taking, we’re positive in giving back,” Seidler says. “It’s never been done before.” In a paean to oysters, Olin calls them the original eco-engineers, a keystone species that sets the foundation for other species and acts as a filtering system for estuaries. “When you wipe out the oysters, you wipe out that structure as well as the ultimate filtering system,” Olin says. “They’re like the canary in the cave. And we get to help put back that cornerstone block.” “You’re witnessing the largest resurrection project in Wakulla County history,” Olin continues. “This will help this water come back to support other aquatic species in decline. It will bring back a community that was built on fishing. And it will reinvigorate a culture that’s been here for generations, because we’re going to generate millions of oysters that will generate hundreds of jobs.” And it’s more than doable, Seidler says, citing a community in southern France whose oyster aquaculture dates from the 1860s and that he visited as part of his research.
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“They produce three-fourths of what our Gulf produces, but they also have oyster tourism,” he says. “And it’s the area’s single biggest revenue source.” Who’s to say Wakulla can’t likewise become a destination point? Olin asks. He cites the several freshwater springs bubbling into Oyster Bay, its pristine water quality, the 1 million acres of natural wildlife refuge surrounding it and the oyster industry that will be. “It’s going to be Florida’s grand ecotourism
destination location,” he says. “Panacea and Spring Creek will start to build up as this wonderful Galapagos.” The two admit their project has a ways to go. They’re still learning, experimenting and refining, even as they move forward. When challenges arise, however, they return to their vision. “We go back to the inspiration that we’re part of this resurrection that will be the catalyst for the change that future generations will need,” Olin says.
Photos by ALICIA OSBORNE
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CAPITAL CORRIDOR
Gadsden, Jefferson + Leon Counties
TECH TALK The brains behind the business: Jodi Chase, CEO and Jeffrey Whalen founder of FullScaleNANO.
NANO: From Sci-Fi to the Marketplace N FullScaleNANO aids businesses in getting their products to consumers. anos, tiny bits of matter so small they are invisible to the unaided eye, have long been fodder for sci-fi fantasies. Consider the nanobots in Michael Crichton’s “Prey,” or the nanoprobes of the assimilating Borg in “Star Trek: Enterprise.” And then there’s the 2008 remake of the film, ”The Day the Earth Stood Still,” with the alien robot “GORT” composed of a swarm of nanobots shaped like bugs.
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Nanotechnology has often been pretty dark in fiction. But in reality, nanoparticles are hardly diabolical. After all, who’s afraid of Apple’s iPod nano? About 1,000 times smaller than the width of the human hair, nanoparticles are being used in myriad ways, generating a growing buzz in the worlds of science, medicine, textiles and business. Nanotechnology has a number of applications, from touch screens to monitoring
850businessmagazine.com
By Rochelle Koff
bodily functions. Nanoparticles are used to make clothing more weather and stain resistant. They can make tennis rackets, shoes and paper stronger and lighter. And the technology is being used in medicine in the fields of biological and pharmaceutical research, surgery and therapeutics. In Tallahassee, look no further than the Capital Cascades Bridge to see some benefits. According to the city’s Blueprint 2000 program, the sustainable concrete “features
a nanotechnology that is self-cleaning and removes pollution from the air.” Because nanomaterials are so tiny, it’s a challenge to measure and characterize them, a process that is crucial when creating products. They can only be viewed by taking pictures with an electron microscope that contains a built-in camera. That’s where the Tallahassee-based firm FullScaleNANO steps in. The company can help businesses by capturing these images and analyzing the data. But it has also developed software called NanoMet, which provides detailed analysis of nanomaterials in a matter of seconds. FullScale NANO received a TechConnect Innovation Award for NanoMet at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo in May. Users upload the nanoparticle imagery (captured by the electron microscope), guide the software, then run the program, according to the company. NanoMet quickly delivers histograms (bar graphs), detailed measurements and a thorough analysis of the images in a PDF report. In the past, companies and researchers have had to measure these tiny nanomaterials with a manual process, using a virtual ruler, a time-consuming, generally unreliable task. “Some of the properties of these nanomaterials, without the perfect size, shape and composition, won’t work right,” said Jeffrey Whalen, founder and director of FullScaleNANO, which “aims to measure and quantify something you can’t see.” “It’s like anything else outside of the nano world,” he said. “If the concrete’s the wrong composition, it’s not going to work right. If wood is cut along the grain incorrectly, it’s going to splinter. If dry wall is hung incorrectly, it could sag and crumble.” But in the nano world, he said, “the catch, and the difficulty, is that you can’t see the nano materials. They’re so small. It all looks like grey powder.” A member of the research faculty at the Florida State University Magnetic Field Laboratory, Whalen, who has a PhD in inorganic chemistry from FSU, laid the groundwork for FullScaleNANO in 2012. He slowly built a team, initially working with Tallahassee lawyer Richard Benham. Whalen started out using electron
Photo by BRUCE PALMER
microscopes to capture images of nanomaterials for clients but eventually sought out Chin-Hui Lee, a Georgia Tech professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, to develop NanoMet technology. “He’s a total rock star in this world,” Whalen said of Lee, now part of the FullScaleNANO team.
core paper business and began collaborating with the University of Maine at Orono on nano-fiber paper applications. Turners Falls Paper learned that when it used cellulose fiber on a nano scale “it had completely different properties,” said Ken Schelling, the company’s director of technology and innovation. “We’re trying
“JEFF FOUND AN INTERESTING NICHE. HE’S ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF A GREAT MARKET.” LUCAS LINDSEY, DOMI STATION’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR In an effort to grow the business, Whalen worked on pitches at Domi Station, a startup incubator and co-working space, to attract investors. It gave Whalen “an environment where he could meet people he otherwise wouldn’t meet,” said Lucas Lindsey, Domi Station’s executive director. “Jeff found an interesting niche. He’s on the cutting edge of a great market.” Through Domi, Whalen met lawyer and lobbyist Jodi Chase, who was looking for another venture after selling her hedge fund consulting business. Chase started out volunteering with FullScaleNANO but became such a believer in the firm that she joined the team and is now its CEO. “It’s just so cool,” she said of FullScaleNANO. “It’s a wide open field with a lot of growth potential and blue skies.” Chase said she had a “huge learning curve” when she came to the firm, but she has helped turn the company into more of a successful operation. “We were so lucky to get Jodi on our team,” Whalen said. While this writer was there for an interview, Chase excitedly got off the phone announcing FullScaleNANO had signed on another new customer, Turners Falls Paper. The Massachusetts paper mill, founded in 1839, wants to turn tiny nanomaterials into a bigger business venture. Facing a diminished demand for fine paper, the firm decided to sell much of its
to use these properties to create new and different grades of paper.” When a client told Turners Falls Paper that its new paper using cellulose nanofibrils wasn’t consistent, the company turned to FullScaleNANO. “FullScaleNANO came in as a way of helping us determine what it is we’re making,” said Schelling. “It sounds funny, but you’re talking about cellulose fibers on a measurement scale so small that you can’t see them. It’s also very, very difficult to measure them. We actually can’t measure them without a scanning electron microscope.” Turners Falls Paper has been sending batches of their nanomaterials to FullScaleNANO, which captures images of the nanomaterial using the electron microscope, processes measurements and sends back reports analyzing the data. Turners Falls Paper recently purchased FullScaleNANO’s NanoMet software and trained in its use, but the company will continue to have the Tallahassee company take images, since it doesn’t have an electron microscope. “This is an expensive, high-powered piece of equipment,” said Rick Legros, Turners Falls Papers’ safety and quality manager. Using NanoMet, “we can assure ourselves, our customers and potential customers that the batches we make will be the same each time,” said Legros, adding his company is investigating a wide variety of uses for paper and other products using cellulose nanofibrils. “There’s a whole market of people
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CAPITAL CORRIDOR looking for paper that can either prevent water, moisture, gas, oil or grease from penetrating through it,” Legros said. “So there’s a big opportunity there.” The use of nanotechnology is limited only by imagination -- and the ability to measure, Chase said. The number of nanotechnology patents has grown continuously since the early 2000s, according to a study by law firm McDermott Will & Emery, which works with nanotech patent and applications filings. Between 2007 and 2012 the total number of U.S. patent applications, U.S. granted patents and published international patent applications grew from about 14,250 to almost 18,900, the study found. In 2013, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies reported that the Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory contained 1,628 consumer products that have been introduced to the market since 2005, representing a 24 percent increase since the last update in 2010. Chase noted that while there are lots of patent applications, products using nanotechnolgy are not getting to the market
fast enough. “And so that’s the space that FullScaleNANO wants to occupy. We want to help companies get these products to
WHEN YOU GET MATTER SO SMALL, “WEIRD PHENOMENA HAPPEN.” JEFFREY WHALEN, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF FULLSCALENANO market faster. That’s what it’s all about. They’re doing the discovery. We’re helping them do the discovery better, faster.” Amanda Chown, head of FullScale NANO’S global support, demonstrated just how fast. She checked an image of nanomaterials and garnered 377 measurements in a minute. By hand, it would have taken at least an hour to do 40 measurements, she said. FullScaleNANO has also developed a
new product called Histogram on Demand, designed for smaller companies that need to measure fewer numbers of images and obtain a comprehensive report quickly. Histogram on Demand provides a payas-you-go system with a $150 charge per histogram. Whalen sees an ever-expanding realm of possibilities for nanotechnology. There are so many examples and some really get to the sci-fi part of it all,” Whalen said. “There are nanoparticles, that when made small enough, will emit light. It sounds so crazy and so Star Trek, but you can go to your favorite appliance store and find new TV technology that uses nano crystal or quantum dot technology to provide vivid colors.” When you get matter so small, he said, “weird phenomena happen.” “And that’s what makes nanotechnology such an exciting field. It’s what makes our company have so much excitement,” Whalen said. And it’s what makes so many intrigued about nanotechnology, “an entire industry that’s growing up and emerging both in the U.S. and worldwide.”
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BAY CORRIDOR
Panama City, Panama City Beach + Bay County
Pitch Perfect
Buck Holmes keeps marine wheels spinning just right. By Steve Bornhoft
T
he lives of David Marshall and Buck Holmes revolve around propulsion. Marshall is a Ford dealer whose passion is boating and, especially, billfish tournaments. Holmes — whose hobby is drag racing — repairs and balances propellers for a living. Marshall’s boats have grown in size as his family has expanded, and today he owns a 106-foot Broward yacht whose performance he intends to be efficient and smooth. Bothered by a vibration problem the vessel was exhibiting, Marshall, of Dothan, Alabama, consulted Holmes, whose stellar reputation as a prop doctor extends throughout the Southeast. “Broward yachts have aluminum hulls that are more sensitive than other hulls,” Holmes explained. “We’ve been trying out different styles of prop on Mr. Marshall’s boat, and everything seems to be getting better. We’re headed in the right direction.” It is clear, then, that trial-and-error approaches to problem-solving remain an inescapable part of what Holmes does, but not nearly so much as they used to be. Static balancers like those used to balance tires have given way to an MRI machine used to scan propeller blades and dynamic high-speed balancers used to precisely tune them. “Today’s equipment helps us zero in on the areas of the blades that we need to address,” Holmes said. “We balance props by adding or removing weight
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Photos by MICHAEL BOOINI
from the spots identified by the diagnostic equipment on a given side of the blade and a certain distance out on a radius line. The machines take a lot of the guesswork out of what we do.” Holmes discovered a market for a prop shop 37 years ago. His partner in a steel business had a boat that needed prop repair, and the two men discovered that no one in Bay County was in the business. Holmes traveled to a school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to learn the trade and opened a shop in the St. Andrews neighborhood of Panama City, across from the Smith Boat Basin, in 1980. CUTLINE Gone are the days Ten years ago, of static balancers. Holmes moved his Today, Buck Holmes employs business, Marine sophisticated Wheels, to Southport technology in truing propellers. in northern Bay Even at that, trial County, where he and error is often part of the process. shares a building with Miller Marine Yacht Service and works on hand-sized props from six-horsepower outboards to 6-foot diameter, 500-pound props from large inboards. “We’re a small, hands-on operation,” Holmes said in a tone that suggested he wouldn’t have things any other way. “It’s me and my wife, Sharon, and our employee, Mike Martin.” Martin, who has been with Holmes for 17 years, tends to specialize in outboard props, while Holmes handles the big stuff. “He’s coming along,” Holmes said, kiddingly. “Might be a keeper.” Holmes said he cannot imagine starting a prop business today with the equipment he used when his business was young. Engines have gotten bigger, boats have gotten faster and tolerances have gotten a lot closer. Imperfections that may scarcely be noticeable at 15 knots become obvious at 40. There is a sense that the new equipment has made Holmes’s job harder. “We couldn’t fix problems that we didn’t see,” Holmes said. “We used to take three radius line readings. But now we take six or eight. We see more and when we detect minor issues, we feel that we’ve got to fix them. We can really fine-tune things. “It’s like the old LORAN radio navigation systems versus the GPS of today. LORAN
would get you close and you could wander around until you found good bottom with fish on it, but now you go to the dot.” Advances in prop-tuning gear have been accompanied by changes in the props themselves. Prop blades used to have a uniform pitch — the forward movement of a prop through one revolution — from the leading to the trailing edge. Now pitches are variable. “The new blades, if you were to cut them in half, they would look like a banana,” Holmes pointed out. “They may have a pitch of 27 inches on the leading edge and 32 on the trailing edge with an average of 30. There would be no way to measure all that without today’s machines.” Holmes’ customers include bass fishermen, shrimpers, the operators of supply boats serving the oil industry and sportfishing yachtsmen like Marshall. He finds himself dealing with props made from aluminum, stainless steel, bronze and, in the case of the largest props, a nickel/bronze/ aluminum alloy. Optimally tuning props often requires knowledge not just of metallurgy but of a customer’s boating habits. “You can take two identical 60-foot Vikings,” Holmes said. “But one owner may be more interested in mid-range performance than top end. One might typically have 2,000 gallons of fuel on board, another half that. Part of the challenge is taking all of those differences into account.”
Basically, Holmes views himself as a problem solver. “If I can increase an owner’s level of satisfaction with his boat, I feel good about that,” he said. “If I can repair for a couple of thousand bucks a pair of props that might cost $40,000, that’s satisfying.” Yachts running over unseen debris at 40 knots are sure to have a problem, but Holmes finds that “99 percent of the time,” props can be fixed. Only in extreme cases — an entire blade is knocked off a prop, for example — is repair not an option. Many times, pulling a boat from the water is not practical, so Holmes has divers at his disposal who are capable of removing and reinstalling props. “I’m not gonna say I’m the best in the business, but nobody tries harder than we do,” Holmes said. “We find a way to get things done.” And, in Bay County, he enjoys a monopoly. When it comes time to relax, you may find Holmes fishing at his place on Howard’s Creek, but he is far more enthusiastic about taking on the competition in NHRA Super Speed drag-racing meets. “I go fishing and people want to talk about their prop problems,” Holmes said. “Drag racing gets me out of town (there are no speedways in Bay County) and away from work. It’s like the mailman. When he’s not working, he doesn’t feel like driving around.”
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EMERALD COAST CORRIDOR
Coastal Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa + Walton Counties
Embracing Altruism Amavida Coffee and Tea Company profits while doing good. By Lazaro Aleman
A
mavida Coffee and Tea Company represents the vanguard of a global movement of businesses that aim not only at making profits, but also doing good. The only B or benefit corporation so far in Northwest Florida, Amavida — the name combines the Spanish words for “to love” (amar) and “life” (vida) — signals an ethical shift in how businesses operate, according to its founder, president and CEO, Dan Bailey. “We basically use business as a force for good,” Bailey says of his Walton County-based company. Today, according to the B-Lab, the nonprofit certifying agency, Florida has 13 B Corporations and 18 benefit corporations. (Amavida has earned both designations.) All are part of 1,900-plus businesses worldwide, representing 130 industries and ranging from singleperson service operations to large-scale international companies, whose common goal is to redefine the meaning of business success. B Corporations and benefit corporations embrace higher standards of accountability, transparency and performance than conventional companies while also employing their business power to help solve societal problems. A key difference is that whereas B Corporations participate voluntarily, and are scored and rewarded accordingly by the B-Lab with its B-Certification seal of approval, benefit corporations are legally bound to achieve the standards. In the latter case, as one B-Lab representative puts it, the company’s morals and mission are baked into its very DNA. “The certification is the thing that differentiates us from a lot of others,” Bailey says. “We’re pretty proud of it.” A coffee roaster/retailer/distributor, Amavida buys organic coffees from around the world and operates a roasting plant in Panama City Beach and cafés in Seaside, Rosemary Beach and Panama City. It also distributes its coffees regionally and out of state. And it actively engages with its growers to promote their welfare and quality of life. That means providing the growers — most of them small, independent, struggling farmers from places like Colombia, Kenya and Honduras — with financial, technical and training assistance. A USDA-certified organic handler, as well as a Fair Trade partner,
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FRESHLY BREWED Amavida Coffee brews daily cups in their Seaside, Rosemary Beach and Panama City locations, but their bagged coffee can be found regionally in distributing stores.
PHOTOS BY SCOTT HOLSTEIN / ROWLAND PUBLISHING FILE PHOTOS
Amavida both encourages sustainable agriculture and pays fair prices for growers’ crops to help the latter improve their social and economic statuses. “We know our growers, and we know their families in many cases,” Bailey says. “We know the conditions they live in. So it’s very important that we work directly with them. And it’s very important to them, also — the direct connection with us.” One of the growers’ biggest challenges, Bailey says, is getting products to market globally. Absent Amavida, he says, the growers rely on intermediaries. Often called “coyotes” in Latin America, these are individuals whose self-interest precludes offering fair prices. “Coyotes will drive up and say, ‘I’ll buy your coffee right now,’” Bailey says. “The growers, already living in duress, sometimes make choices that favor short-term outcomes, just to survive. Oftentimes, we offer solutions that help them refinance, so they can survive
while they’re growing their crops, and they’re not tempted to sell to intermediaries for significantly lower prices.” Amavida also helps growers transitioning from conventional to organic practices by buying their crops at organic prices even as they go through the lengthy certification process. And it partners with humanitarian groups, such as On the Ground, to undertake community projects that improve the growers’ quality of life. “The growers become friends,” Bailey says. “If you look at a community of farmers and ask, how am I to improve their lives, just buying their coffee isn’t enough. You start to look at other things that are missing in terms of community health, like the need for water, education, health care and in some extreme cases, gender equity.” He cites water projects as typical of works that are relatively simple and inexpensive to accomplish by American standards, but that can have a profound impact.
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EMERALD COAST CORRIDOR
“It gives productivity back to communities,” Bailey says. “The women and children no longer have to spend large parts of their days lugging buckets of water back and forth. It allows the women to work more in the field with their husbands. It allows the kids to go to school. We figure it costs us about $200, and it affects 40 or 50 people. That’s pretty significant.” For Amavida, Bailey says, the challenges are largely logistical but also involve aligning the company’s business ethos and goals with the marketplace. “You want to pay more for the crops,” Bailey says. “But the market has to align with that. We’re basically the voice of the farmers in the United States. Our ability to improve prices for them is directly affected by what
ROASTED Amavida Coffee gathers a variety of beans from throughout the world. Here, Bailey is pictured on a trip to Veracruz, Mexico. Each bean is roasted to perfection at their roastery in Panama City Beach.
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we can achieve with our customers. My challenge is to convince a restaurant or business owner that our product is better quality, adds more value and its social impacts are stronger than a conventional, lower-quality coffee they can buy at a much lower price.” For Amavida, it means walking a fine line between advocacy and corporate viability, which, under the benefit corporation model, entails more than simply selling products. “It means paying employees a living wage or better,” Bailey says. “It means honoring women’s rights and having the right equity when it comes to women and men. It means not having a large disparity between our lowest-paid employee and me. We have an obligation to our community to make it better. Our environmental impact is also important — not only our products, but also our behavior. We use 100 percent sustainable energy, for example. I’m broad-brushing many of the areas, but it’s to show how it all connects.” When he started Amavida in 2004, it was a life-changing shift, Bailey says. Formerly a principal in a consulting firm, he had achieved corporate success by every measure but still felt unsatisfied. He wanted to do more — something with global impact. “I’d always had a goal to serve globally,” says Bailey, who grew up in Yauco, a small town in a coffee-growing region of Puerto Rico that afforded Bailey connections and also gave him an insight into poverty.
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Since its inception, he says, Amavida’s vision and values aligned perfectly with the benefit corporation model — although the B-Lab didn’t exist until 2006 and the first benefit corporation legislation wasn’t enacted until 2010 in Maryland. Florida authorized benefit corporations in June 2014, becoming the 25th state to do so. Amavida soon after attained the designation. “When benefit corporations came along, we said, ‘wow, this fits like a glove’,” Bailey says. The goal now, he says, is to continue growing the company and its social impact. “We have a lot of metrics we are targeting: everything from pounds of coffee sold to what our B Corporation score’s going to be,” he says. It’s also his goal to ensure the company’s longevity. “We’re trying to structure the company so that it has life after us,” Bailey says, quipping that at 55, he still has another 10 good years left in him. Meanwhile, he’s enjoying the ride. “Self-actualizing is hard to do,” Bailey says. “Finding it is finding a purpose. For me, I just quit asking what I wanted to do and started looking for what I was supposed to do. Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t easy. A lot of it is still hard, but it’s definitely an improvement.”
PHOTOS COURTESY AMAVIDA
CUPS RUNNETH OVER Owner Dan Bailey often makes trips to countries such as Colombia, Kenya, Mexico and Honduras to visit with the growers and producers of his beans. Above, he visits Amavida’s producing partner Maya Vinic Cooperative in Chlapas, Mexico.
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BUSINESS NEWS
SOUNDBYTES
CAPITOL LOCAL HAPPENINGS
» Tallahassee
Community College recently announced that the “TCC. We Rise.” fundraising campaign has exceeded its goal by several million dollars. The TCC Foundation launched the campaign in conjunction with the college’s 50th anniversary in 2016. The goal was $10 million, but the campaign has in fact raised $13,068,888.
» A $20,000 grant from Comcast
means Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Big Bend will continue its efforts to help Godby High School prepare students for college and career success. The grant will allow students to participate in a technology-enhanced mentoring program that focuses on college and career readiness.
»
Tallahassee’s Target Print & Mail recently acquired Modern Mailers. This expansion will integrate Modern Mailers’ expertise in direct mail campaigns and mail distribution with Target Print & Mail’s unmatched service and experience in graphic design and innovative printing services.
»
Erin Sjostrom has joined Ameris Bank’s Tallahassee location as a commercial banker. Sjostrom will be reSJOSTROM sponsible for new commercial business development and maintenance of commercial banking relationships.
» Ted Frazee has been appointed
president and Sean Githens has been appointed vice president/ chief operating officer of securitysystem supplier Redwire.
»
Joshua Brian has joined Broad and Cassel’s Tallahassee office as an associate in the law firm’s commercial BRIAN litigation practice group. Brian previously served as an assistant regional counsel in the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel in Tallahassee.
» Accounting firm Thomas How-
ell Ferguson recently welcomed
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Seth Grantham and William Groom to the firm. The firm also announced that Christopher Howell has been admitted GRANTHAM as a shareholder and will join the eight other shareholders as owners. Howell has more than 18 years of experience providing account- GROOM ing, auditing and consulting services to clients and employers, primarily in the insurance industry. In other Thomas BLACKBURN Howell Ferguson news, the firm recently welcomed back Paola Blackburn. Blackburn, now a senior in the tax services department, took a brief break from Thomas Howell Ferguson to work in the accounting department of a manufacturing company. In addition, Matt Walker has been promoted to manager in the assurance services department, and Kavisha McCranie has been promoted to manager in the tax services department.
»
Five Tallahassee businesses have been selected to participate in PowerUP’s inaugural 2017 class. PowerUP is a 12-month-long incubator program for local entrepreneurs who are ready to expand the market footprint of their existing small business by delivering new products and scaling up operations. The 2017 PowerUP class includes Nic’s Toggery, Chop Barbershop, Catalina Café, the FL Aviation Center and Secure Records Solutions. The program is made possible by a partnership between local business incubator Domi Station and First Commerce Credit Union.
NEW BEGINNINGS
» Ben Wolf is the newest Tallahas-
see team member of ISF Inc. In his new role as client partner, Wolf will focus on business development, executive management and client relations as ISF continues its commitment to helping businesses and government operate smarter, better and more efficiently.
LOCAL HONORS
» Karen B. Moore, founder and
CEO of Moore Communications
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Group, was recently recognized by two local organizations for her philanthropy efforts. She was honored as Communications Partner of the Year by the Big Bend Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In addition, Moore was inducted into the Tallahassee Community College Alumni & Friends Hall of Fame for her philanthropic work throughout the years as a community leader.
» Cascades Park, a 24-acre park in downtown Tallahassee, recently received a “Great Places in Florida” Award from the American Planning Association. The park was nominated based on its ample amenities and creative use of public land. It features multiuse trails, a large amphitheater, children’s play areas and a commemoration of the Smokey Hollow neighborhood. The park also serves as a significant stormwater management facility. » The Council on Culture & Arts recently announced the recipients of the 2017 COCA Cultural Grant Program. Twenty Leon Countyarea nonprofit arts and cultural organizations have been awarded a total of $992,440 for fiscal year 2017 programming. The recipients include 621 Gallery, $10,387.80; African Caribbean Dance Theater, $41,775; Artist Series of Tallahassee, $28,790; Challenger Learning Center, $101,593; Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, $15,000; and FSU Opera Outreach Program, $14,000. » Tallahassee-Leon Federal Credit Union was recently awarded a $1,768,000 grant from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to help revitalize the local economy in the Big Bend region. The Community Development Financial Institution Fund issued grants to 23 financial institutions in the country, three of which are in Florida.
was selected out of hundreds of communities nationwide to participate in a national health challenge. iGrow was chosen by an expert panel to be one of just 50 cities and counties across the United States to participate in a new program that will test how communities can improve the health of their populations.
» Aegis Business Technologies has been named to After Nines Inc.’s ChannelE2E Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs list and research. Aegis is a managed services provider in Tallahassee and provides technical support for organizations of any size. » FL Aviation Center has once again been honored with a spot on the 2016 Flight Training Excellence Awards Honor Roll by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. The association evaluated 789 flight schools, but of that number, fewer than 10 percent earned this recognition. The award recognizes the best pilot training schools in the industry.
BAY COUNTY LOCAL HAPPENINGS
» Jensen USA’s Lynn Haven plant is experiencing faster growth than company officials had predicted. Known as the world’s leading supplier of equipment to the heavyduty laundry industry, the company committed to creating 25 jobs over a two-year period but recently announced that 26 new jobs were created this year alone. Jensen operates a 100,000-square-foot, fully air-conditioned design, sales and manufacturing plant in Lynn Haven that has more than 200 employees.
EMERALD COAST LOCAL HAPPENINGS
the sales and marketing director for Harbor Chase of Tallahassee, recently received the Sales & Marketing Director of the Year Award from Florida Argentum. Florida Argentum is an organization representing professionally managed senior living communities in Florida.
» FBT Mortgage LLC., a fullservice mortgage company, has opened its first Northwest Florida office in Grand Boulevard at Sandestin. The 2,603-squarefoot office is located across from clothing retailer Tommy Bahama. It offers mortgage services and investment opportunities throughout the region.
» Tallahassee’s iGrow Enhancement and Expansion program
» CBRE Group Inc. recently announced the sale of Santa Rosa
» Linda England,
Plaza in Santa Rosa Beach. The 31,628-square-foot shopping center is located at 4942 U.S. Highway 98 West, near Destin. SugarOak Properties sold the property to South Coast Commercial LLC for $4,845,000.
NEW BEGINNINGS
» Bob Culkeen was recently
named the executive director of the WSRE-TV Foundation and general manager of WSRE, the PBS member station licensed to the Pensacola State College District Board of Trustees. Culkeen replaces Sandra Cesaretti Ray, who was promoted to associate vice president of community and government relations for Pensacola State College. Darrel Harrison, a 14-year employee who has served as the station’s chief engineer and director of broadcast operations and facilities, has been promoted to assistant general manager.
» P.J. Loughman is the new director of marketing for Visit South Walton. Loughman will provide leadership and strategic direction for the organization’s overall brand positioning and marketing resources. She will develop promotional efforts and maximize integration to achieve the best results possible. Loughman has more than 20 years of integrated marketing expertise, which includes executive leadership roles for both advertising agencies and tourism marketing organizations. » Curt Morse has succeeded Ron
PHOTOS PHOTOS PROVIDED PROVIDED BY BY PROFILED PROFILED INDIVIDUALS INDIVIDUALS
Butlin as executive director of the
Pensacola Downtown Improvement Board. Butlin announced his resignation in August, citing family health issues.
»
Keith Hoskins, former commanding officer at Naval Air Station Pensacola, was recently named the Western District HOSKINS general manager for Gulf Power. He succeeds Gary Sammons, who retired after nearly 40 years of service.
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Donna Godwin has joined Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida as a sales executive. Godwin, a longtime resident of Tallahassee and frequent visitor to the Emerald Coast, will concentrate on residential real estate property sales in the South Walton, Destin and Tallahassee areas.
»
Laurie Moncrieff is the new executive director of the Doolittle Institute, a nonprofit corporation in Fort Walton Beach. Moncrieff has more than 34 years of engineering, sales, operations and entrepreneurial experience in the manufacturing and nonprofit sectors.
» Dr. Reed Harned has moved his internal medicine practice to White-Wilson’s Destin Clinic to better meet the community’s needs. Harned, of Destin, has cared for White-Wilson patients for more than 15 years. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is accepting new patients.
Derek Nowell is the new executive chef at Café Thirty-A in Santa Rosa Beach. Nowell has been cooking for 21 years and previously spent four years cooking at Firefly in Panama City Beach. He started working at Cafe Thirty-A in 2013 as a line cook and was then promoted to sous chef.
» Capt. Mark Moore, a sales associate with Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, was recently named to the Escambia County Marine Advisory Board as the District 1 committee member. The board is tasked with protecting and preserving the county’s marine resources, making recommendations, and providing expertise and research to the county on marine matters. » First Bancshares of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, recently announced that it was acquiring Gulf Coast Community Bank of Pensacola, along with Iberville Bank of Plaquemines, Louisiana, for $33 million. The acquisition gives First Bancshares 48 offices and $1.6 billion in assets in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. Gulf Coast Community Bank has five locations in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. » The Walton County Board of County Commissioners has appointed Walton County Tourist Development Council Executive Director Jay Tusa to serve as the Walton County member of the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District Board. The appointment was made at the Oct. 11, 2016, regular meeting.
Keefe, Anchors & Gordon attorney Kia Johnson was sworn in as the newest member of The Florida Bar.
» The Gulf Okaloosa Island restaurant, brought to you by the same company behind The Gulf in Orange Beach, The Hangout Restaurant and Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama,
recently opened for business and is now serving up fresh, locally sourced food and drink options.
LOCAL HONORS
» Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa and the Emerald Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau recently received a 2016 ConventionSouth Readers’ Choice Award. They are among 250 convention and visitor bureaus, meeting facilities and hotels around the South to receive the award this year. » The University of West Florida Cyber Club recently placed first in the Cyber Defense Challenge at the Florida Center for Cybersecurity’s 3rd annual conference, held in Tampa. The UWF team competed in the invitation-only Cyber Defense Challenge, where they were tasked with defending their networks against pre-programmed cyber traffic and attack scenarios. » Pensacola’s Studer Institute has named TripShock owner Greg Fisher 2016’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Destin-based TripShock.com recently purchased NavarreBeach.com and PensacolaBeach.com, which adds more depth to its growing site list of high-traffic, high-value Destination Management Organizations. The company also owns OkaloosaIsland.com, OrangeBeachIslands.com and MyCrabIsland.com. —COMPILED BY JASON DEHART
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The Last Word
It’s also a time of making resolutions, most of which will likely be broken by the time spring arrives. Maybe you took time over the holidays to set some personal goals you hope to reach in 2017, but did you sit down to consider some resolutions for your company? William Schiemann, CEO of Metrus Group, is a national expert in strategic performance measurement who insists that while 92 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail before the year is out, there are some secrets to helping you achieve success in meeting your goals. After reading them, I decided some of these tips were too good to pass up and thought they could provide some insight for business owners and leaders in the 850 region as we forge our way into 2017. But before you start setting new goals, Schiemann suggests meeting with your team and reflecting on your accomplishments during 2016. (Yes, it may be February, but don’t let that deter you.) It’s easy to say you’re going to review your company’s work and celebrate successes with your staff, but how many actually take the time to do it? And, honestly, how do you know where you want to go if you don’t know where you’ve been? Next, it’s time to reaffirm your vision and mission. Says Schiemann, “Today’s workforce, especially Millennials, wants to be a part of an organization that makes a difference. Have you translated your purpose and mission into terms that employees can rally around? If not, take a day to work through this; even better is building or updating a compelling story with teams of employees from different functions, levels and locations. When done, you have a rallying cry that everyone understands and buys into.” As you think ahead, set goals but make them realistic and make sure there is a way to measure success. “Vague goals never really generate much momentum,” says Schiemann. “A long history of psychological research tells us that goals which are specific and measureable are
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the most motivating and likely to be accomplished. Nearly everything at work, even softer things like employee engagement or customer loyalty, can be measured. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth measuring.” In 2013, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal talking about the importance of establishing measurements to gauge success. “You can achieve incredible progress if you set a clear goal and find a measure that will drive progress toward that goal,” wrote Gates as he contemplated ways to help solve the world’s problems, from eradicating polio to improving public schools. “This may seem basic, but it is amazing how often it is not done and how hard it is to get right.” There is plenty of advice available to get you started. Just type “measuring success” into a Google search and within seconds you’ll have a plethora of pertinent articles at your fingertips. But whatever measurements you set up to determine success, remember that you will need buy-in from your staff. There also needs to be a way you can get feedback on how the company is meeting the goals you’ve established. And accountability is a crucial element in the equation, so find a way to reward those who meet goals. “While most of us take responsibility for actions leading to those agreed upon goals, stuff happens,” says Schiemann. “It helps to have rewards tied to the accomplishment of goals. Rewards are the last element that will provide the finishing touches to keep your resolutions on track.” Even though we’re already into February of 2017, it’s not too late to get working on your performance goals and measurements for this new year. Wishing you all a year of success. And if you have some suggestions on how others can improve their outlook for success, please send them to me at lkleindienst@rowlandpublishing.com. I’d like to share your ideas with others. KAY MEYER
A new year always brings a sense of hope and anticipation as we wonder what the coming year will be like and what successes and surprises might be in store for us.
LINDA KLEINDIENST, EDITOR lkleindienst@rowlandpublishing.com
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