TALLAHASSEE BUSINESS JOURNAL A N
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Tallahassee-based Black News Channel seeks to elevate disenfranchised voices
| URBAN REDEVELOPMENT | SBDC AT FAMU | HEALTH CARE | TALLAHASSEE AIRPORT U.S. ATTORNEY LARRY KEEFE | DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY | THE MITCHELLS AGENCY
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
2019–20 T A L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 1
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Tallahassee Business Journal
CONTENTS
6 DEVELOPMENT
The TallahasseeLeon County Office of Economic Development is working to identify areas in which the capital region can compete on a global scale.
10 URBAN
REDEVELOPMENT
Transformative projects are changing the landscape at Cascades Park, in the South Monroe neighborhood and at Washington Square.
12 SBDC AT FAMU
Regional Small Business Development Center director Keith Bowers helps beginning business owners understand and realize their potential.
16 HEALTH CARE
Technological advances are changing the ways in which medical care is being delivered at Tallahasse hospitals.
22 BLACK NEWS CHANNEL
A new nationwide network promises to undo stereotypes and amplify the voices of an often disenfranchised community.
24 TALLAHASSEE AIRPORT
Officials have identified 14 uses appropriate to parcels that surround Tallahassee International Airport and are available for development.
26 U.S. ATTORNEY LARRY KEEFE
Moved by a desire to engage in public service,
12 Larry Keefe approached a congressman/friend with a wild notion: Was there a chance that he might become a U.S. Attorney?
32 DOWNTOWN
IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY
New CEO Elizabeth Emmanuel is leading
people to discover all that downtown Tallahassee has to offer.
36 THE MITCHELLS Award-winning agency succeeds by immersing itself in the lives and experiences of the clients it markets.
ON THE COVER: In establishing the Black News Channel, J.C. Watts and Bob Brillante have embarked on much more than a niche product. They intend to change the national conversation. PHOTO BY ALEX WORKMAN
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PHOTO BY DAVE BARFIELD (6) AND BRUCE PALMER (12)
6 ECONOMIC
in the field of PR
2019
Top Statewide PR Campaign of the Year Top Statewide Campaigns for Integrated Marketing, Public Affairs & Public Service Florida Public Relations Association
2018
PR News National PR Firm of the Year
sachsmedia.com
2019–20 T A L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 5
Tallahassee Business Journal
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
GAINING MOMENTUM The outlook on Tallahassee is evolving By Steve Bornhoft
I
n her efforts to foster economic development, Cristina Paredes, the director of the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, favors a ball-control offense: one that is deliberate, intentional, targeted and designed to capitalize on her community’s strengths. Paredes became OEV director in October 2018, a week before a Category 5 storm battered much of North Florida and dictated that she focus initially on resiliency issues and capacity. But she soon immersed herself in an ongoing OEV inquiry: In what areas is the Tallahassee/ Leon County region most capable of competing on a global scale? What do we do best? Or, in marketing terms, what is our unique selling proposition and to whom should it be directed?
POWERFUL ATTRACTANT The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at FSU gives economic developers in Tallahassee a unique asset that appeals to researchbased companies.
Several developments, Paredes explained, have occurred as a result of that pursuit. “We had a great champion in Ricardo Schneider, the president and CEO of Danfoss Turbocor Compressors, who stepped up and said we excel at magnetic technologies and should focus our energy there,” Paredes said. “So under his leadership, we started a Magnetic Technology Taskforce made up of private and public partners.” The group meets every six weeks to work on strategies for promoting business development. The goal, ultimately, is to create a cluster of magnetic technology businesses in southwest Tallahassee. For Paredes, recent moves made by Danfoss bolster her confidence in Tallahassee/Leon County as a place ripe for business development. Danfoss, she noted, expanded in Tallahassee with the addition of a research-and-development facility, then embarked upon an expansion of its production capacity that will add 120 jobs paying 200 percent of the prevailing local salary. Danfoss, a designer and manufacturer of centrifugal, highly efficient compressors for commercial air conditioning systems, has close, strategically important relationships with two of Tallahassee’s key, highly attractive assets: the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at FSU and the FAMU/ FSU School of Engineering. Those assets, Paredes said, have the capacity to attract businesses from around the world. In October 2018, the OEV hired a specialist who is tasked with pursuing business development opportunities exclusively in the areas of applied sciences
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and advanced manufacturing, a duty that applies to companies engaged in both research and production. Further, the OEV contracted with a consultant, Research on Investment, to help with business attraction by generating project leads. The firm, whose U.S. headquarters is in Chicago, “is hyperfocused on our targeted industries,” Paredes said. The investment in the staff specialist and a consultant are generating an impressive ROI. “It’s been a great year of discovery,” Paredes said, one in which the number of projects in the OEV pipeline grew from eight to 38. “The buzz is building about the Magnetic Capital of the World.” That growth in the pipeline mirrors growth in private-sector employment and productivity that already was underway. Paredes said that the private sector accounted for 61 percent of GDP in Tallahassee/Leon County in 2001, a figure that grew to 69 percent in 2017. “In the last five years, we have added
It’s been a year of discovery. The buzz is building about the Magnetic Capital of the World.” Cristina Paredes, director, TallahasseeLeon County Office of Economic Vitality
Capital City Scorecard Tallahassee is climbing lists
PHOTOS BY DAVE BARFIELD (MAGLAB) AND COURTESY OF DANFOSS TURBOCOR COMPRESSORS
Danfoss Turbocor Compressors, a designer and manufacturer of components for commercial air conditioning systems, recently added a research and development facility, above. Rendering depicts an office expansion scheduled for completion in January 2020.
15,300 private-sector jobs while, in the same period, public-sector employment declined slightly,” Paredes said. “Go back six years and private-sector growth has been close to 17,000 jobs.” From March through August, four companies visited with the OEV, and Paredes was preparing in September for another three or four. That number of visits is unprecedented, Paredes said, noting that most visitors ask first about research opportunities. “And that’s great,” she said. “But we want to grow those relationships so that they turn into business activities and people staying here.” The discovery phase that Paredes alluded to will yield over the next two to three years to what she called “years of attraction.” (As befits the Magnetic Capital of the World.) Meanwhile, infrastructure projects affecting southwest Tallahassee, including the widening of Capital
»N o. 9, “Best Cities in the South,” Southern Living magazine
» T op 10, “Great Circle SW and the airport gateway project will be advancing toward completion. “The airport has come through a master planning process and is building an international arrivals facility,” Paredes added. “They have submitted a Foreign Trade Zone application, and that’s important to companies engaged in importing and exporting products and materials. Right now, there is no FTZ between Panama City and Jacksonville. “To see all these activities and projects moving forward at the same time is pretty neat,” Paredes said. Visitation has a $1 billion annual economic impact on Tallahassee/Leon County, and Paredes applauded the work of Visit Tallahassee and its director, Kerri Post. “Leisure and hospitality is one of our fastest growing industries, both in employment and in infrastructure,” Paredes said, “especially in the areas of sports tourism and outdoor adventure.”
Small Towns for Big Vacations,” Travel Channel
»N o. 10, “Best Places to Get a Fresh Start,” Livability.com
»N o. 8, “Best Cities for Career Opportunities,” SmartAsset.com
»N o. 54, “100 Best Places to Live,” Livability.com
»H ome to three of Florida Trend magazine’s “Top 25 Companies to Work For”
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
GOV-TECH A Municode employee’s attention is divided only by multiple screens. Tallahassee’s Office of Economic Development plans to build on the city’s status as a center of businesses like Municode that provide software solutions to local units of government.
THE GOV-TECH SECTOR
In assessing Tallahassee’s strengths, the OEV discovered that the city is home to a number of businesses that specialize in providing software solutions to government entities — businesses such as Municode, Marquis Software Development, Ruvos, VR Systems, Diverse Computing and Inspired Technologies. “In the same way we did with applied sciences and advanced manufacturing, we are pulling people together and putting them around a table to talk about how we can raise Tallahassee’s profile as a gov-tech center,” Paredes said. “It’s not the kind of activity that most people are aware of.” Paredes is cognizant that, in a lowunemployment environment, it can be hard for businesses to find employees. Accordingly, the OEV works with institutions of higher learning and organizations, including the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce and CareerSource Capital Region, to enlarge the talent
pool. In particular, the OEV hosts the Leon Works Expo, which unites students, employers and schools in an event designed to make young people aware of skills training and careers. Formerly held at the Lively Technical Center, the Expo moved this year to the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, where
it attracted a record 37 vendors and 450 students. Collaboration, Paredes stressed, is a key component of the OEV’s game plan. “Business development is a team sport,” said her colleague Susan Emmanuel, the public information officer at Leon County’s Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency.
The Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality is your concierge for business resources: small business assistance, relocation, and expansion; economic data and analytics; grants and incentives.
850.219.1060 OEVFORBUSINESS.ORG 8 / 2019–20 TA L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L
PHOTO BY SAIGE ROBERTS
Tallahassee Business Journal
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Tallahassee Business Journal
URBAN REDEVELOPMENT
URBAN TRANSFORMATION Developers overcome obstacles and forge ahead By Audrey Post
T
he face of downtown Tallahassee continues to evolve, with work progressing on Cascades Park, the South Monroe revitalization and the Orange-Meridian Placemaking Project. Easement issues related to the Loews Hotel in Washington Square appeared to have been resolved as of September, and work on the project was set to resume, assuming other legal challenges could be resolved.
CASCADES PARK
Cascades Park developer North American Properties announced in late summer that Marriott International AC Hotels will bring AC Hotel Tallahassee to Cascades Park, ending speculation about which chain’s flag would fly at an upscale boutique hotel at the project. In a press release, NAP managing partner Shawn McIntyre said the downtown area’s dynamic, eclectic amenities would attract visitors to downtown businesses and the city’s universities. Marriott’s AC Hotel line
Proof Brewing’s burgeoning beer-making operation and tasting room occupy what used to be a soft-drink bottling plant. Proof has made a significant contribution to the invigoration of the South Monroe neighborhood.
Marriott International AC Hotels is bringing AC Hotel Tallahassee to the Cascades Park development. The hotel is part of a development that encompasses two city blocks and also includes retail and residential components.
blends European charm with a modern feel. The hotel will have 154 rooms, and the project will also include townhomes, apartments, retail space and parking. Several changes have been made to the plan over the past year. The original seven-story design for residential space was scaled back to four stories, in order to blend better with buildings in the surrounding area. And, after considerable public outcry over the removal of most of the trees on the site, developers decided to spare the legacy live oak tree at the corner of Gaines and Calhoun Streets. The two city blocks that encompass the Cascades Park hotel/residential/retail project were sold to North American
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Properties and border Cascades Park, a reclaimed former Superfund cleanup site that is now a 24-acre greenspace and park in Tallahassee’s downtown center.
SOUTH MONROE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT
SoMo continues its transformation, as planned projects continue to see reality. Businesses continue to move into the South Monroe area, such as Proof Brewing, which occupies the old Coca-Cola Bottling Plant. Blueprint’s Monroe-Adams Placemaking project is making progress. The developers of Cascade Gardens, a combination residential, retail, entertainment venue just south of Cascades Park on South
Monroe, continue to fine-tune their proposal as they weigh community and market needs, according to planning officials. And then there’s the Junction at Monroe, a venue that supports local musicians with a performance space, retail space for their products, and a food space that sells sloppy Joes to patrons. Local planning officials tout this as independent investment in the area not tied to or funded by tax dollars, but something that is bringing people and consumer dollars into the area. Near the South Monroe developments, the Orange Avenue-Meridian Street Placemaking Project continues to be a driver in the entire South Tallahassee revitalization project. One of the key components is the new South City Transit Stop/Transfer Station at the corner of Orange Avenue and South Meridian Street. The area had been home to a group of people who held informal flea markets and food distributions in a vacant lot, which often left it trash-strewn and inhospitable. The city’s bus system, StarMetro, identified it as a key driver for ridership and targeted it as an area for improvement and a potential bus transfer station. The area has been cleaned up and landscaped as a temporary park, with sabal palm trees planted and debris removed. According to City Commissioner Curtis Richardson, who lives in South City with his family, Leon County Judge Nina Ashenafi-Richardson and their two daughters, the facility will have a bus transfer station on the ground floor and retail space on the second floor. But the StarMetro facility is just the beginning. Long-term plans call for converting the stormwater holding pond across Orange Avenue into a Lake Ella-style park. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get a fountain for it,” said Richardson, who also serves as chair of the Southside-Frenchtown Community Redevelopment Agency through November 2019.
PHOTOS BY JANECIA BRITT (PROOF) AND RENDERING COURTESY OF NORTH AMERICAN PROPERTIES (CASCADES PARK)
LOEW’S HOTEL PROJECT IN WASHINGTON SQUARE:
The developer of the hotel — part of a mixed-use hotel, office space and garage complex between Calhoun and Gadsden streets behind the county courthouse — and the city came to terms Aug. 20 over a lawsuit regarding an easement involving the ground floor of a city parking garage adjacent to the property. The sticking point appeared to be an understanding of what the easement actually meant. The city believed the easement covered the garage, which was built on land the city leased. The developer believed the easement was tied to the land on which the garage sits. The agreement calls for the developer to drop its lawsuit against the city and to buy the easement to the first floor of the garage in a noncompetitive bid. Fairmont Tallahassee, the developer, also agreed to buy no-build air rights on the hotel property’s southern border, which gives it control over what can be built over the easement. What was not resolved in the settlement were several liens filed against the developer for nonpayment of contractors and subcontractors. Work had halted and no explanation had been given as to how the easement conflict prevented payment to construction contractors. 2019–20 T A L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 11
Tallahassee Business Journal
SBDC AT FAMU
A HAND UP SBDC helps businesses flourish By Steve Bornhoft
S
unny Ilyas had no experience running a business, but he had what he confidently thought was a winning idea. Florida State University students, he believed, would be willing to subscribe to a meal plan supplying healthy food as an alternative to on-campus fare. For advice on how to launch his intended business, Ilyas turned to Keith Bowers, the regional director of the Small Business Development Center at FAMU. “I could never repay Keith for all the time and energy he invested in me,” Ilyas said. “He helped me get my business going. He taught me how to correspond with banks and prepare the kind of documents
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they require so I could obtain financing. He brought clarity to my business model and showed me where the opportunities and the pitfalls were.” Bowers recalls the inception of Vale Food Co. six years ago and Ilyas’s days as a kitchen surfer. “He didn’t have a commercial kitchen when he started,” Bowers said. “He borrowed kitchen time and equipment from restaurants who could accommodate him.” But, as his subscription rolls grew, Ilyas recognized that he was going to require his own place. He found a location in CollegeTown and, in addition to his meal plan business, started a dine-in restaurant. Today, Ilyas has seven locations — three
PHOTOS BY BRUCE PALMER (BOWERS) AND COURTESY VALE FOOD CO. (ILYAS)
Keith Bowers, the regional director of the Small Business Development Center at FAMU, finds that leadership in Tallahassee and Leon County has become increasingly supportive of entrepreneurial interests.
in Tallahassee, plus one each in Gainesville, Jacksonville, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale — and employs a total of 150 people. He has pivoted, he said, away from meal plans but has maintained his focus on healthy food as a restaurateur and caterer. His Tallahassee and Gainesville locations target students, while the others operate from downtown locations and focus on people seeking a fast-casual but nutritious place for lunch. “Every time Sunny was looking to expand, we helped him analyze the market, looked at his own capacity, performed a financial analysis, and helped with projections and finding funding sources,” Bowers said. Critically, Ilyas said, “Keith kept me from making bonehead moves and steered me toward making good ones. He was my support system.” Bowers has been on the job at the SBDC for nine years. The agency receives funding from the state and federal governments and from FAMU in support of its efforts to supply start-ups and growth-minded enterprises with business development services. Bowers finds that entrepreneurship has gained momentum in the Tallahassee area in recent years. “The landscape in Tallahassee, Leon County and the region has changed and has become a lot more receptive to entrepreneurial interests,” Bower said. “And we are seeing a lot more engagement from people who want to start a business or grow a business and expand their market share. “A lot of our (approximately 600) clients feel that now is a great time to be in business.” Bowers noted that Tallahassee historically has been associated with public-sector activity. “But we’ve seen a seismic shift,” he said. “There’s been a wave for the last seven years toward locally owned and supported businesses — and businesses have done a great job of leveraging the resources available. The City of Tallahassee and Leon County are focused on economic development and job growth and the private sector is a lot more nimble than the public sector. It reacts quickly to opportunities.” Bowers pointed to Reamonn Soto, the founder of Sensatek Propulsion Technology Inc. in Daytona Beach, as an entrepreneur who took advantage of resources, some of them uniquely available in Tallahassee. “He made the rounds,” Bowers said of Soto. “The Jim Moran Institute, the SBDC, the
Entrepreneurial Excellence Program — and he worked with Innovation Park and received a Small Business Innovation Research grant.” Sensatek has developed wireless sensors that measure firing temperatures in gas turbine engines, enabling operators to extend maintenance intervals and avoid the substantial costs associated with incidents of overheating. “Industrial gas turbine production is expected to increase over the next 14 years, and these turbines will operate at much higher temperatures to achieve higher efficiencies, thereby being prone to more incidents that involve overheating,” Sensatek notes on its website. Unlike alternatives, Sensatek sensors may be placed inside gas turbine engines and thus do a superior job of detecting hotspots. In 2016, Sensatek won the $50,000 first prize in the Megawatt Ventures Competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Megawatt Ventures supports the commercialization and success of cleantech innovations developed by university students. Soto attended FAMU and EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University. “We helped Raemonn with his business model and customer discovery,” Bowers said. “His research has implications for the energy industry and large commercial operations.” Bowers said in September that Soto was involved in a second capital raise, seeking $2 million. His research has attracted the interest of Seimens, which manufactures turbines, and aerospace giants NorthropGrumman and Boeing. Any entrepreneur or any small business with 100 or fewer employees and whose revenues do not exceed $20 million is eligible for SBDC services. “We’ve worked with most industries in the Tallahassee area,” Bowers said. “We sit down with you, understand who you are as an entrepreneur and understand more about your business. Our approach is not one-size-fits-all.” Often, MBA students at FAMU get involved. A capstone course at the School of Business and Industry tasks students with producing specific deliverables for SBDC clients. “Students may work on market research, social media, financial analysis, campaigns, supply chains and logistics and more,” Bowers said. “Our engagements with businesses usually last two to three years. We’re with you from conception to completion.”
Keith kept me from making bonehead moves and steered me toward making good ones. He was my support system.” Sunny Ilyas, owner Vale Food Co.
Making an Impact
SBDC at FAMU delivers return on investment ROI since 2011
JOBS IMPACTED
10,290
SALES GENERATED
$1.2 BILLION
CAPITAL ACCESSED
$32.1 MILLION
GOV’T CONTRACTS ACQUIRED
$167.2 MILLION BUSINESSES STARTED
154
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Tallahassee Business Journal
HEALTH CARE
DELIVERY SYSTEMS Technology advances patient care at Tallahassee’s hospitals
A
round the world, technology is changing how health care is delivered. In Tallahassee, Capital Regional Medical Center and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare are using cutting-edge techniques to improve patient care in a variety of ways. One of the biggest changes is heightened convenience, with more options for patients to receive care without having to travel to the hospital. Satellite medical facilities have been game-changers for both patients and health care providers, and telemedicine, while not appropriate in every instance, can help health care providers expand geographical reach to treat many illnesses and injuries. What follows is an overview of what each of Tallahassee’s hospitals is doing to take advantage of technological advances to improve patient care and outcomes.
CAPITAL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER EXPANDING ITS FOOTPRINT
Capital Regional Medical Center is opening two new freestanding emergency rooms in late 2019 and in 2020. The SouthWood ER, at the intersection of Capital Circle SE and Orange Avenue, will offer emergency medical care 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and will be staffed with board-certified emergency physicians and emergency nurses, CEO Alan Keesee said. Early next year, the Lake Jackson ER will open on North Monroe Street.
“Northwest Tallahassee is growing quickly,” he said. “We are bringing resources and access to quality medical services to support this growth.” Together, the two new ERs represent a $30 million investment and 62 new full-time jobs, including nine emergency physicians being recruited to Tallahassee. This is in addition to the freestanding emergency room it has operated in Gadsden County for the past 10 years. Capital Regional also offers primary care and specialty services in Crawfordville and Quincy. Primary care services are available in Chattahoochee. Earlier this year, CRMC opened a clinic in Thomasville, Georgia. There, cardiology services are available one day a week; additional specialties were due to be added by the end of 2019. Other new ventures opening in 2019 include an outpatient burn center, which Keesee said will give Florida Panhandle residents within the Big Bend access to burn care, and a behavioral health clinic near Florida State University, open to all university students in Tallahassee. All of these services include exciting technological advances in conjunction with telemedicine and telestroke services.
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New ventures at Capital Regional Medical Center include an outpatient burn center, above, and a behavioral health unit near the FSU campus, which will be available to all area university students.
Northwest Tallahassee is growing quickly. We are bringing resources and access to quality medical services to support this growth.” Alan Keesee, CEO of Capital Regional Medical Center
PHOTOS BY SAIGE ROBERTS (BURN CENTER) AND COURTESY OF CAPITAL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER (KEESEE)
By Audrey Post
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HEALTH CARE
Telestroke services are measured by “Door to Needle” time, that is, the time that elapses from when the patient enters the ER to when health care providers are able to administer clot-busting medication. Keesee said CRMC is well below the 60-minute standard, which has allowed it to meet this “golden threshold” for patient survival and recovery from a severe stroke. Robotics are also an exciting development in health care. Keesee said Capital Regional offers robotic-assisted knee replacement and spinal surgeries, which allows for more precise alignment, resulting in less pain and faster recovery for patients. Tallahassee Community Hospital opened in 1979, and in 2003 was replaced by the larger Capital Regional Medical Center. As leadership celebrates CRMC’s 40-year anniversary, the focus now turns to anticipating the area’s medical needs for the next 20 or 30 years. Keesee summed it up nicely: “CRMC is committed to growing alongside the health care industry in Tallahassee.”
TMH EXPANDING ITS REACH VIA TELEMEDICINE
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare serves a 17-county region in North Florida and South Georgia, and through its network of outpatient specialty practices, primary care physicians and small hospitals in rural areas, it is bringing big-city health care to small communities. “It’s much like Facetiming or Skyping with family and friends, but doctor and patient are together in a virtual room via computer,” said Lauren Faison-Clark, administrator over Regional Development, Population Health and Telemedicine. The instruments are mind-blowing. Bluetooth stethoscopes allow a doctor who is miles away to hear the heartbeat of a patient, as though they were in the same room. Digital cameras allow doctors to see into the ears and down the throats of patients from great distances. There are plenty of advantages to having a doctor diagnose through telemedicine, particularly for patients in rural areas. So many times, Faison-Clark said, rural hospitals need to send a patient to Tallahassee by ambulance to see a cardiologist or other specialist, when the expense of the ambulance ride sometimes can be avoided using telemedicine. TMH’s freestanding emergency room, near I-10 and Thomasville Road, is affiliated with
Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville. “Our board-certified ER docs can log into the computer and get an immediate consultation with a double board-certified physician at Wolfson,” she said, meaning a doctor boardcertified in both emergency medicine and pediatrics. TMH’s hybrid clinic at The Kearney Center, Tallahassee’s homeless shelter and the hub for services for the homeless and those on the verge of homelessness in the eight-county Big Bend region, is an example of various sectors of the community working together to solve a societal problem. Clients who don’t feel well or are experiencing a health crisis can visit the clinic, and the nurse or medical assistant will ring up a doctor. Most times, the client can be diagnosed and treated without a trip across town to a hospital. But perhaps more importantly, people who have been without adequate health care for a long time get an opportunity to regain good health. Bobbie Carrin is so grateful for the care she has received that she agreed to tell her story in a promotional video. A thyroid cancer survivor who also has a heart condition, Carrin lost access to her medications for three years. Depression followed, and she retreated further into herself. TMH and The Kearney Center got her back on her medication. “I’m just feeling so much better,” she said. “I have energy. And I have hope again.”
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MarySue Occhiuzzo, a registered nurse, assists a patient during a telemedicine session that originated at The Kearney Center in Tallahassee.
It’s much like Facetiming or Skyping with family and friends, but doctor and patient are together in a virtual room via computer.” Lauren Faison-Clark, administrator over Regional Development, Population Health and Telemedicine, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare
PHOTOS BY SAIGE ROBERTS (TELEMEDICINE) AND TMH.ORG (CLARK)
Tallahassee Business Journal
Congratulations
TMH
215 S Monroe St #200 Tallahassee, FL 32301 (850) 222-3533 PenningtonLaw.com
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A DV E RT I S E M E N T
When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was enacted in 2017, a piece of the legislation that promised large benefits for the real estate community was the creation of the Opportunity Zone Program. Justin Beck, CEO and President of Real Estate at Beck Partners, said the program presents an enticing opportunity for real estate investors who have done their homework. The program’s purpose is to spur economic development in low-income urban and rural communities throughout the United States. To achieve this, it provides significant tax incentives for long-term private sector investments in these areas, which have been certified by the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). “There’s an opportunity to avoid almost 100% of capital gains tax by investing in Opportunity Zones,” Justin explained.
HOW CA N I B E N E F I T ? You don’t have to live or own property in a Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) to receive tax benefits. Anyone with gains from the sale of stock or property can invest in an Opportunity Zone Fund and potentially receive tax benefits. A taxpayer can invest their gain into a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) and defer tax on any prior capital gains until at least Dec. 31, 2026.
FINDIN G O P P O RT U N I T Y ZO NES There are now designated Opportunity Zones in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Justin noted that in the state of Florida there are Opportunity Zones in every single county. That’s the case in several other states as well.
BE C K C A N A S S I S T Beck Partners has experts like Justin who are well-versed in Opportunity Zones, and we work closely with accounting firms to provide you with the resources and assistance you need to navigate the confusing terrain.
BENEFITS of INVESTING IN
OPPORTUNITY
ZONES WITH A PARTNER YOU CAN COUNT ON
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Tallahassee Business Journal
BLACK NEWS CHANNEL
REVERSING MARGINALIZATION Black News Channel seeks to empower a community
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n a couple of ways, Bob Brillante intends that his latest project, the Tallahassee-based Black News Channel, distinguish itself from other enterprises offering what passes for broadcast journalism. One, he said, the channel will be culturally specific, produced by and tailored to an African-American audience. Secondly, he said, it will deliver news. “We will not be ideologically driven at all,” Brillante said. “You will never see on our network pundits screaming at pundits. We will cover political and policy issues that have an impact on the AfricanAmerican community, but we will address every issue intending to find solutions and pull people together to solve the problems and conquer the challenges we face. We are not interested in scoring political points.” That is, the channel will adhere to a philosophy espoused by its vice president for news and programming, Gary Wordlaw, a 50-year veteran of broadcast news and the winner of eight Emmy Awards. “It’s viewer perspective journalism,” Brillante explained. “We want to cover the news by providing our audience with access directly to the newsmakers. We will interview the people involved who can make a difference and impact the lives of our viewers.” Brillante, a Tallahassee resident since 1984, brings extensive experience as an entrepreneur and television executive to his role as a Black News Channel cofounder. His father started Florida Cable, the first cable television network in the Sunshine State. Upon his graduation
from college, Brillante went to work for the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association as director of legislative and regulatory activities and later became its executive vice president. Brillante joined with a partner in launching the all-sports Sunshine Network, which eventually would become a Fox Sports Net affiliate. And he established a 24-hour cable news network, Florida’s News Channel, based in Tallahassee. Gray Television acquired FNC in 2004. Ever since, Brillante has been working toward bringing about a national news channel for the African-American community. Polling revealed that 28 percent of the audience for Florida’s News Channel was black, and additional research discovered a strong demand among African Americans for news and educational programming — and a willingness to pay for it. In one poll, 89 percent of African Americans surveyed said it was “very important” to have a news channel programmed by people of color. “I was satisfied even in 2005 that the time was right to introduce a black news channel,” Brillante said. “But today, as a result of the identity politics that we all have to endure, the need for a channel that brings people together and bridges the divide between cultures in our country is probably greater than it has ever been. Certainly, the need is greater today than it was when we started this project.” The Black News Channel is scheduled to launch on Jan. 6, 2020. Its headquarters office and Network Operations Center, where news from around the world is
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aggregated, are located in Tallahassee, from which its primary signal originates. At launch, the channel anticipated having news bureaus in place in New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and New Orleans. Plans called for the addition of bureaus in Chicago, Dallas, Jacksonville and Los Angeles, optimistically by year’s end. At one time, Brillante was looking at locating the Black News Channel on the FAMU campus. However, due to journalism program enrollment growth at the school, FAMU no longer had sufficient room to accommodate the station. Still, the relationship with FAMU will be close. “We remain committed 100% to the training of aspiring young journalists in Tallahassee,” Brillante said, “and to giving students interested in TV production, graphic arts and design hands-on training with the latest and most state-of-the-art equipment in the business. We would hope, of course, to retain the best of the best in Tallahassee as employees of our network.” Brillante said the Black News Channel would have 70 employees in Tallahassee at launch earning an average of 250 percent more than the average salaries in the Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area. Those MSA figures are $45,343 for women and $60,114 for men. “I heard that data and my first thought was, we must be overpaying folks,” Brillante said. “But the reality is that we are a national news channel and we have to bring in talent the likes of Fred Hickman and Leonard Pitts. We’re not in New York City, but we are paying New York rates to acquire the best talent.”
PHOTO BY ALEX WORKMAN
By Steve Bornhoft
Along with Brillante, former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts is a founder of the Black News Channel. Brillante first encountered his now-partner when Watts addressed the 1996 Republican national convention in San Diego. “When J.C. reminded his own party that character is best judged by what a person does when no one is watching, I
told myself, ‘One day, I am going to work with that guy.’ ” Watts would eventually call Brillante after learning of his efforts to bring about a black news channel, an aspiration that Watts shared. Brillante was working at the time with a group that included boxer Evander Holyfield, homerun hitter Cecil Fielder and Michael Jackson’s brother, Marlon.
‘”J.C. and I made arrangements to sit down together and, literally five minutes after that meeting began, we knew we were partnering,” Brillante said. In October, billionaire businessman Shad Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, announced that he was set to become the majority investor in the Black News Channel. “I believe there is an undeniable calling for everything the Black News Channel will deliver to African-American television audiences, who have historically been underserved in an era where networks have otherwise successfully targeted Former news to specific Congressman demographic groups J.C. Watts, left, and interests,” Khan and Bob Brillante, said in a press release. co-founders of “My decision to the Black News invest is an easy one, Channel, have because we get to been encouraged by the responses answer that calling.” of advertisers “We’re going to to their new create a platform for TallahasseeAfrican-American based network. leaders,” Brillante stressed. “In many areas of our country, they have to take their message to the streets to be heard. In the mainstream media, African Americans too often are marginalized. They are consulted only for sound bites related to sports, drugs and entertainment. “That we are going to change. You empower a community by providing information. Knowledge is power. And we are going to create role models for AfricanAmerican youth. We will be profiling black achievers from around the country — not just athletes, dancers and entertainers, but doctors, engineers and entrepreneurs.” Advertisers have responded, enthusiastically. Brillante said in September that the Black News Channel already had sold enough advertising to ensure that the operation will be cash-flow positive in its first year. “That’s a comfort,” Brillante said. “I didn’t have that with the Sunshine Network and Florida’s News Channel.” And, about that pledge to remain culturally specific? Watts and Brillante are sure to keep one another honest that way. “You won’t see any dilution,” Brillante said.
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Tallahassee Business Journal
TALLAHASSEE AIRPORT
STEADY AS SHE GROWS Forecast projects modest increases in Tallahassee airport’s operations
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allahassee International Airport officials took delivery of an updated master plan in June. It was prepared by Pittsburgh-based consultant Michael Baker International, Inc., whose primary objective was to “produce a 20-year development program that would maintain a safe, efficient, economical and environmentally acceptable aviation facility while also identifying recommendations for improving customer service and technology.” The consultant’s report focuses on airport operations and also identifies uses appropriate to developable parcels surrounding the airport. The complete update may be found at talgov.com/airport.
Average annual growth in enplanements projected for 2015-2035
1.00%
Average annual growth in air cargo revenue ton miles (weight in tons multiplied by mileage carried) projected for 2015-2035
943,295
17,116 791 Total airline operations projected for 2035, assuming no new operators
Total number of developable acres contained in nine parcels described by the master plan
ONE THOUSAND, SIX HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-TWO Total air cargo operations projected for 2035
Total airline passengers projected for 2035, assuming no new operators arrive at the airport
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Fourteen Activities seen as appropriate to one or more developable parcels surrounding the airport, namely aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul; air cargo freight and logistics; flight training; manufacturing; surface freight logistics; light industrial; commercial allied aviation services; solar power generation; intermodal logistics center; hotel; hospitality; restaurant; travel plaza
Source: Tallahassee International Airport Master Plan Update
PHOTO COURTESY OF TALLAHASSEE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
1.74%
T A L L A H A S S E E
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
A I R P O R T
WHERE OPPORTUNITY TAKES FLIGHT 485+ Acres of Developable Land Future Foreign Trade Zone Within Five Miles of Interstate 10
Affordable and Easily Accessible Parking Minimal Lines Including TSA PreCheck Conveniently Located Concourses
FlyTallahassee.com Whether you’re looking to grow your business on the ground or in the air, the Tallahassee International Airport offers business professionals both a convenient travel experience as well as opportunities for development.
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Tallahassee Business Journal
U.S. ATTORNEY LARRY KEEFE
NEW PROSECUTOR IN TOWN U.S. Attorney Larry Keefe establishes public corruption unit in Tallahassee
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or Larry Keefe, page 51 of Vol. 1 of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller’s “Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election” precipitated what he called a “firestorm.” That page described efforts by the intelligence team of the general staff of the Russian army (GRU) to invade the computer systems of county governments in Florida. In November 2016, the report notes, the GRU sent spearphishing (scam) emails to more than 120 county officials responsible for administering the 2016 general election. Attached to the emails was a Word document coded with malicious software. And here, then, was the report’s firestorm accelerant: “We understand the FBI believes that this operation enabled the GRU to gain access to the network of at least one Florida county government.” Keefe had been on the job as U.S. attorney for the 23-county Northern District of Florida for just three months when a redacted version of the Mueller report was made public. Speculation about which county’s system had been infiltrated developed immediately upon the report’s release. “It was a lightning bolt,” Keefe said. In response, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the intelligence community focused intense attention on Florida.
Rachel Rojas, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Field Office in Jacksonville, was named to lead a task force that also included Keefe and Florida Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee. “Florida is a high-value target,” Keefe said in September. “We’re the third largest state, a state where national elections are decided. We need to have our game at its best.” So it was that Keefe has found himself spending chunks of time in classified briefings about election security along with the “best and the brightest from Homeland Security and the FBI at the national level.” “There is scant time remaining between now and the 2020 election,” Keefe said. “For me, there is no higher priority.” It was not a priority that Keefe anticipated as he moved through confirmation proceedings leading up to his swearing-in ceremony in January. Early in his 33-year career as an attorney in private practice, Keefe considered that his dream job might be that of assistant U.S. attorney. The son of an Air Force fighter pilot who grew up immersed in Okaloosa County’s defense community, he was drawn to public service. “I had encounters with people who were prosecutors, particularly federal prosecutors, incidentally, socially and occasionally professionally, and I always liked that concept,” Keefe said. “It was the DOJ, not the DOD, and it was words and paper and
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justice, not bombs and bullets, but there was a cause, there was right and wrong, there was an opportunity to serve others. But I got married and we had four sons, and life overtakes you and you keep going forward and keep going faster.” Keefe enjoyed private practice, but life eventually slowed down. His sons were out of the house, and he became willing to consider an off ramp. Among his sons, one is an attorney who, at this writing, is clerking for Judge Mark Walker, the chief U.S. District Court judge in the Northern District of Florida. The others are a Secret Service agent, an Air Force special operations pararescueman scheduled for deployment to Iraq and a student on athletic scholarship at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. The opportunity to apply for his “dream job” didn’t present itself, so Keefe sought out a congressman whom he had hired once upon a time as an attorney right out of law school. “Do you think there is any chance that I could be put in for a U.S. attorney, any plausible chance at all?” Keefe asked U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz. Keefe had no government experience and had never worked as a prosecutor or as a criminal defense lawyer, for that matter. But, as an attorney, he was accomplished. He had tried many cases in state and federal courts and had credibility as someone who had headed up a multi-office law firm. Discussions developed.
PHOTOS BY ALEX WORKMAN
By Steve Bornhoft
In August 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Larry Keefe to become U.S. attorney for the 23-county Northern District of Florida. Upon entering the job, he found out just how little he knew about the inner workings of the office.
On Aug. 16, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Lawrence A. Keefe of Shalimar to fill a job that had been occupied by an acting U.S. attorney since 2015. And at that, Keefe redoubled efforts to learn all that he could about the operations of a U.S. Attorney’s Office and the office in Florida’s Northern District, in particular. “It’s difficult at the outset to figure out what’s going on,” Keefe discovered. “A U.S. Attorney’s Office is a very opaque organization. For an outsider, there is not much to glean except for what’s on the office’s website and public filings such as indictments, pleas and sentences. It’s hard even to find out who the assistant U.S. attorneys are.” Based on the public record, Keefe assumed that a U.S. attorney deals primarily with trafficking in people, guns and drugs. And, he was aware of a pending public corruption investigation in Tallahassee involving a city commissioner, the one-time director of the Downtown Improvement Authority and a prominent developer. As a nominee, Keefe responded in writing to generic questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee. He answered questions unique to him from Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Diane Feinstein of California. He had telephone conferences with counsel to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and counsel to the ranking minority committee member and their staffs. Then U.S. Attorney General 2019–20 T A L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 25
U.S. ATTORNEY LARRY KEEFE
Jeff Sessions interviewed Keefe. So, too, did the deputy to Rod Rosenstein, who was assistant attorney general at the time. As a U.S. attorney, Keefe is a departure from form not just as to his résumé, but also his age. Typically, U.S. attorneys are in their 30s or early 40s and often view the job as a stepping stone to a judgeship or a run for elective public office. “I am able to bring a lot of energy to the job even though I am 57,” Keefe said. “I have a lot of desire, accumulated over three-plus decades, to do this. And I am able to do this as more of a sprint. I’m not looking at another 20-year career. And I am unencumbered to the point that I can move around the district pretty easily. “I’m a circuit rider.” Keefe has an apartment located just a couple of hundred feet from his office in the federal courthouse in Pensacola and a condo across Monroe Street from the federal courthouse in Tallahassee. He makes frequent trips to Panama City and to Gainesville, where he went to the University Florida School of Law after playing football for coach Charley Pell as an undergraduate. On weekends, he may go home to Shalimar or his wife Lynn, a pediatrician, may visit him in Tallahassee. Cognizant that he was in many ways green, Keefe gave himself a month to assess U.S. Attorney’s Office personnel before installing his own leadership team. “The covenant is that they are road warriors like I am,” Keefe said. “They have families and most live in Pensacola — when they are not operating out of hotels. But if you want to be an excellent leader, and they are, you have to be omnipresent in the district.” Keefe is responsible for 85-90 employees “who benefit from my authority and my ability to make decisions and make things happen, and I benefit from their knowledge and experience, but just because we’ve always done it one way doesn’t mean we can’t do it another way.” Under Keefe, the new way has come to include the establishment of a public trust unit (PTU) whose purview includes public corruption, economic espionage, intellectual property theft, election security and counterterrorism and counterintelligence operations. The PTU’s role has less to do with arresting, indicting and convicting wrongdoers than disrupting and discouraging unlawful activity before harm is done.
Located on the third floor of the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, the PTU represents a collection of skill sets, including forensic accounting and intelligence analysis. Keefe has bolstered its ranks by hiring retired FBI agents. “In sleepy old North Florida, we have military bases that are doing all sorts of cutting-edge stuff,” Keefe said. “They are not simple, low-level recruiting and training facilities. The level and extent of
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information collection by foreign actors that takes place at our universities had never occurred to me.” As to terrorism, Keefe said, efforts to root out foreign cells continue, but there is an increasing emphasis on “white nationalism and white supremacy. A lot of this activity is inherently domestic, so you don’t have elaborate networks of communication linking foreign actors engaged in radicalization to domestic folks. Instead, you have discreet
PHOTO BY ALEX WORKMAN
Tallahassee Business Journal
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U.S. ATTORNEY LARRY KEEFE
pockets of domestic terrorist groups, and they blend in rather well.” In assembling his PTU, Keefe recognized that he had at his disposal counterterrorism specialists with limited experience or background in public corruption. But the skill set required to be effective in either area is similar, he said. What is needed, Keefe said, are “people who like to get together in rooms with white boards and sticky notes creating string-art connections between people. You are dealing with complex cases that involve taking in lots of information, organizing and sharing that information, and identifying relationships among people or organizations that move money or other assets around.” Those assets can include knowledge. “The communist Chinese government has an expectation of students who attend universities in the United States that they will bring back whatever they can,” Keefe said. “Students have remarkable levels of access to million and millions of dollars of research and work product. The government’s directive to them is ‘Get whatever you can, bring it back in a pile, and we’ll sort it out and determine what’s useful.’ ” How do you disrupt that? “We’re working on that right now,” Keefe said. “Tools are being fashioned. The idea is not to pick off one student, or one professor, at a time as they leave or attempt to leave with material, but it’s getting to the enablers and the facilitators in the university environment.”
PUBLIC CORRUPTION
In a case that he inherited, Keefe and members of his team negotiated plea agreements from one-time Tallahassee mayor and city commissioner Scott Maddox and his business associate Paige Carter-Smith, who was the director of the Downtown Improvement Authority when indicted. In August, each pleaded guilty to two counts of honest services fraud and one count of tax fraud conspiracy. “Public office is the highest form of public trust, and the pattern of criminal activity by these defendants violated the sacred trust of the people,” Keefe said after the pleas were accepted by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle. “When Maddox should have been looking out for the best interest of the citizens of Tallahassee, he was instead lining his own
pocket with Carter-Smith’s help. This U.S. Attorney’s Office places the utmost priority on rooting out and pursuing public corruption and will continue to do so in order to restore the public’s trust in its government and elected officials.” “Maddox admitted to having taken large sums of money in exchange for favorable actions on various issues that came before the City of Tallahassee,” Keefe’s office reported in a news release. “He participated in a scheme to defraud and deprive the City of Tallahassee and its citizens of its right to honest services through bribery. Carter-Smith admitted to participating with Maddox in these criminal acts.” A federal grand jury indicted Maddox and Carter-Smith in December 2018, and a superseding indictment in May added developer J.T. Burnette in various counts. Maddox and Carter-Smith were scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 19. Burnette’s trial was due to commence on Nov. 4.
an arrest and trial, if the victims, who had been dependent on the perpetrator, have no place to eat or sleep, they take off.” Keefe said he is working to establish relationships with social services agencies capable of transitioning victims to a new life and helping to make sure they are around when it comes time to testify.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
Keefe said the Northern District finds itself dealing with illegal immigration cases, but not nearly to the extent that jurisdictions in the Southwest do. He said his district primarily sees cases involving repeated unlawful entries associated with criminal activity, usually drug running. “Drugs used to come up to our area from the Caribbean,” Keefe said. “Now, they tend to originate in China, move through Mexico, cross the Texas border onto I-10, go from Mobile to Atlanta and then down I-75 into North Florida. Some of our largest drug-related takedowns occur in rural counties, like Gadsden, with small SEX TRAFFICKING populations and a limited law enforcement In August, Keefe announced that a Pensacola presence. They are out of the way, but still business owner, David C. Williams, had there is quick access to interstates.” been arrested on a federal warrant and Election interference, then, comes as charged with using interstate facilities while a growing concern on top of many other engaged in racketeering, money laundering moles to whack. conspiracy, and the harboring of illegal aliens “We don’t want to wait until after 2020 for financial gain. and have Mueller 2.0,” Keefe said. “The Williams was arrested in connection with PTU works to be preemptive and proactive. his operation of multiple Asian massage To protect the integrity of elections, we parlors in Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania. are concerned about cyber activity, of According to a news release, more than course. But we also have to be attuned to a dozen search warrants were executed the potential for old school interference — at massage parlors linked to Williams in fraudulent registrations, improper voter roll locations including Pensacola, Gulf Breeze purges, irregularities associated and Gainesville. with absentee balloting.” Cases like the one against Is Keefe confident about Williams are not easily tried safeguarding the 2020 election? in court, Keefe said, owing to “In terms of what we the unreliability, many times, learn and know, every day is of victims as witnesses. a different snapshot.” Keefe “If the victim is a bank said. “And there are limits to that was robbed or somewhat the federal government one who was kidnapped, My staff can do. The feds do not witnesses are available and benefits play a significant role in the stable and motivated to from my authority curating and certification of show up in court,” Keefe and my ability to an election. We can provide said. “Sex trafficking is difmake decisions the Florida secretary of state ferent. Victims are often and make things and the 67 supervisors of subject to difficult circumhappen, and I elections with information stances in life, there may be benefit from their about activity we suspect, and substance-abuse issues inknowledge and then we largely have to go volved, and a lot of victims experience.” away. We can’t intrude upon are teenage runways. In the U.S. Attorney their role.” six or nine months between Larry Keefe
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PHOTO BY ALEX WORKMAN
Tallahassee Business Journal
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Tallahassee Business Journal
DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY
YOU GOTTA HAVE HEART Tallahassee’s urban core is pulsing with activity By Steve Bornhoft
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Elizabeth Emmanuel, the CEO of the Downtown Improvement Authority, is confident that Tallahassee has all of the infrastructure and assets it needs to attract a widening circle of area residents to its downtown.
When Paige Carter-Smith resigned her post as the DIA’s director after being indicted on federal charges, three of which she pleaded guilty to in August, Emmanuel decided to apply for the position. She takes no offense at suggestions, made by persons
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with knowledge of her employment history, that she was the perfect woman to breathe new life into the organization. Emmanuel immediately began “giving talks all over town,” assuring audiences that “the bad press of the past year doesn’t
PHOTO BY SAIGE ROBERTS
lizabeth Emmanuel admits that she has never much succeeded in escaping downtown Tallahassee. Not that she’s complaining. She grew up in the capital city’s Lafayette Park neighborhood and, in March, she assumed the helm of its Downtown Improvement Authority (DIA), working to move the organization past the headlines that enveloped her predecessor in that role. Emmanuel strayed from Tallahassee just long enough to earn a degree at the MidAmerica College of Funeral Service in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Upon graduating, she found employment at a small, locally owned funeral home back where she belongs. There, she worked for 10 years, taking on roles as funeral director, embalmer — and director of community relations — before considering whether her skill set would transfer to other industries. “Of course, the embalming didn’t, but the marketing and PR part did,” Emmanuel said. She went to work for Leadership Tallahassee, a program of the Chamber of Commerce and, as an extension of that job, served on boards including that of the DIA.
Let us help you work ‘ON’ your business. SMALL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE PROGRAM (SBEP) Participants learn to think differently and become more efficient running their business. The overall goal of this program is to help particpants work “ON” their business. There is no cost to participate. For more information about the program, or the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, visit jmi.fsu.edu. CONTACT Mike Campbell (850) 644-4414 mscampbell@JimMoranInstitute.fsu.edu jmi.fsu.edu 2019–20 T A L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 31
DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY
represent who we are and what we’re doing. Give us a chance to prove that to you; attend one of our events.” All DIA events are free. They include the Sundown Concert Series at Cascades Park, yoga classes at Kleman Plaza and the long-running Downtown Marketplace happenings held at Ponce de Leon Park offering fresh produce, the works of local artists, music and more. “We’ve got the right infrastructure, the right bones,” Emmanuel said. “We have great restaurants with great operators, lots of museums, and we are rich in public amenities. We have more green spaces, more parks and more free parking than most urban communities have.” Emmanuel is always mindful of the approximately 650 urban-core property owners who pay ad valorem taxes assessed by the DIA’s special taxing district, and intends that they get a good return on their investment. Events generate foot traffic to their benefit. In addition, the DIA has undertaken beautification projects — traffic-control and utility boxes are being dressed up and murals are replacing graffiti — to promote civic pride. Thirty girls from the Oasis Center for Women and Girls transformed a blighted wall into a beautiful public art element. “They got to be part of making a lasting, positive change, and how great is that?” Emmanuel enthused. “They are growing
Downtown Improvement Authority-sponsored events, like this yoga class at Kleman Plaza, are free. They serve to attract visitors to downtown and increase the likelihood that they will return.
POWERFUL PROMOTERS From left to right, Word of South Festival director Sara Marchessault; Betsy Couch, executive director, Knight Creative Communities Institute (KCCI); Downtown Improvement Authority CEO Elizabeth Emmanuel; and Liz Joyner, founder and CEO of the Village Square, joined in a KCCI placemaking event at the Rootstock restaurant.
up knowing what it feels like to be part of a solution.” In her first five months working for the DIA, Emmanuel had conversations with more than 100 downtown businesses and supporters from outside the taxing district about what the agency is doing right and what it could do better. In so doing, she was reminded that there is more work to be done in discouraging the impression that downtown is for white men in suits. “We want people to see downtown as the heart of our community, not just a place for business,” Emmanuel said. “We might have to clear some arteries and put in some stints, but when you get it beating again, it’s a wonderful thing. That takes a lot of buy-in, and it’s not something that any one organization can accomplish. You have to have the community on board.” Maximizing buy-in means making downtown inclusive. More attention needs to be paid to members of minority groups who live or own businesses downtown, Emmanuel said. Public spaces need to be evaluated in terms of their accessibility by persons with disabilities. “We are trying to better integrate the DIA into the community, make it less detached,” Emmanuel said. “We have been pulling together focus groups of restaurateurs, hospitality industry folks
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and representatives of cultural institutions. And we’re asking what we can do to help.” Themes emerge, including public safety, walkability and the need to tempt greater numbers of visitors downtown. “If we provide them with a good experience, people drawn to a free concert at Cascades Park are likely to revisit downtown and may attend ticketed events,” Emmanuel said. “They may frequent a restaurant on their next trip.” Downtown development and redevelopment activities are sending visitors the right message: the heart of Tallahassee’s pulse is strong. “When you start to get large-chain hotels arriving downtown, it’s a sign of a vibrant economy,” Emmanuel said. “They do market research. They’re not guessing. We should feel good about meeting their requirements.” Emmanuel was impressed by the downtown business community’s response when FSU’s football opener versus Boise State was moved due to Hurricane Dorian from Jacksonville to Tallahassee with little notice. “Our hotel operators and restaurants reacted quickly to a huge unanticipated influx of people,” Emmanuel said. “It was a real testament to how good they are. They are a big part of the reason I look forward to doing what I do every day.”
PHOTOS BY SAIGE ROBERTS
Tallahassee Business Journal
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THE MITCHELLS AGENCY
The Mitchells won Best of Broadcast recognition in the 2019 American Advertising Federation Awards for a commercial (still shots, above) that promoted awareness of children’s emergency care services available at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. The agency’s Erich and Robin Stefanovich, left, display divergent tastes in reading.
M SLIPPIN’ AND SLIDIN’ TO THE TOP The Mitchells agency succeeds by mining for insights By Steve Bornhoft
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arketers Robin and Erich Stefanovich prize unexpected insights, nuggets discovered as the product, not of data analysis, but of research that is likely to include interviews and may involve walking a mile in a client’s shoes or those of its customers. The Stefanoviches — of the two, Robin seems a lot less likely to speed through curves — have led The Mitchells, an integrated marketing and communication firm in Tallahassee, going on four years. The key customers they inherited include Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. But, rather than simply build on past efforts, Erich, the agency’s chief creative officer, wanted to understand TMH’s operations by doing his own research. “It’s really an ‘old school’ approach,” he said. “If I want to know how a trucking company works, I may go and sit in the passenger seat with the trucker while he makes deliveries. At TMH, I have actually watched heart surgeries performed. How am I going to sell heart surgery if I don’t know how they do it?”
PHOTO BY BRUCE PALMER (STEFANOVICHS AND LLAMA) AND DAVE BARFIELD (PANTONE BOOKS AND AWARDS) AND COURTESY OF THE MITCHELL AGENCY (COMMERCIAL CLIPS)
Tallahassee Business Journal
As a result of Erich’s experience as an operating room observer, he learned that the life of a heart surgeon is more chaotic than he would have thought. Inherently, doctors aren’t always sure how a case will proceed and cannot predict what tomorrow might bring. “That’s their life at work,” Erich said. “It’s war, it’s a battle. You can’t get those insights sitting here. You’ve got to get out there and see how people are actually living their lives. It’s virtually connected, but we live in a real world.” Robin, the president and CEO at The Mitchells, commented that “data-driven” is taking its turn as a big buzzword. “Yes, we look at data, but it’s really about the human contact and speaking with our client’s audience and then the client’s team to find out what they think about themselves,” Robin said. “If we are given the leeway to do those deep dives, what comes out of it is really pretty amazing. It’s fun when everything clicks.” Everything clicked when the Stefanoviches and their team at The Mitchells produced a multi-media campaign focused on the availability of children’s emergency services at TMH, a project that earned the agency its first national American Advertising Federation awards. (That’s a big deal.) “Children and trauma, it doesn’t paint a very good picture in your head for starters. It’s yucky, even gory,” Erich said. “So we went to another ladder to find other implications of those words. We did a common sense thing. Children have mommies and daddies, so we went to talk to parents.” Internally, agency team members found themselves reliving their own childhood experiences. Erich recalled tumbling down a flight of stairs in a cardboard box to the amusement of his older siblings. “That’s what kids darn do,” Erich said. “Now, how do you make that into a commercial?” In a 30-second TV spot, a little red-haired girl prepares to speed downhill on a Slip ’n’ Slide and through a hula hoop of fire. The commercial concludes with the line, “As long as kids will be kids, we’ll be ready.” Working on a budget, Erich cast the spot with actors from Atlanta and employed a Tallahassee business, Evolution Media, to shoot and edit the 30. “We took out the fear and trauma and replaced it with hope and care and reassurance,” Erich said.
“Everything came together and obviously resonated with people,” Robin said. “And we won national awards. To get national recognition for an agency our size, in a town this size, is pretty phenomenal. But that exemplifies our attitude about ourselves. We are an agency based in Tallahassee, but we are not a Tallahassee agency.” The marketing world, given the proliferation of messaging platforms, has evolved at breakneck speed. To keep pace, the Stefanoviches pay up to secure the best employees, from down the street or across the country, and embrace a “thought leader philosophy.” “I remember days in New York when a kid would come in off the street with a sketch on a napkin and say, ‘I’ve got a great idea for an ad,’ and you’d hire him,” Erich said. “Those days are gone. Today, you’ve got to be able to do those social, techy kinds of things. We look for people who are entrepreneurial, for people who are thinkers and can serve as thought leaders at the
agency. People who push the envelope and aren’t afraid to fail.” Those who catch on report to an old house with a fireplace. Erich sweeps the walk every morning. It’s humble. But that’s appropriate, Robin said, to an agency that views itself as “superstar talent without the ego.” “It’s not about creating art for art’s sake,” Robin said about her thought-leader way of thinking. “It’s about understanding what our client’s audience needs and wants and what inspires them to remain loyal to a specific brand.” Erich said art, science and gut instinct all play a part at The Mitchells. “Most agencies look at topical data. Say 500 people want vanilla and only 10 people want cherry. Let’s sell vanilla, you might say. That’s easy. “But the 10 people who want cherry, how can we make that 500 people? You start with the data, but you have to discover insights about what drives the behavior. That’s what we do.”
The Mitchells has embraced the llama as its spirit animal. The creative team at the agency recognizes the importance of elements, including color, packaging and messaging to the success of marketing efforts. 2019–20 T A L L A H A S S E E B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 35
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