We’re All Business
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA’S BUSINESS VOICE • 239-573-9732 Vol. 9 No. 5 / MARCH 2016 www.swfloridabusinesstoday.com
Distributed in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero, Bonita Springs and Naples
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IN THE NEWS
Service King opens 2nd Fort Myers repair center
Richardson, Texas-based Service King Collision Repair Centers, in the continuation of its long-term strategic national growth initiative, has announced continued expansion in the Fort Myers market with the opening of its second facility in the area. One of the fastest growing and most trusted providers of premium automotive repair services in the United States, Service King officially opened the repair center January at 5631 8th St., Lehigh Acres.. “The Service King family of repair centers is thrilled to continue our steady growth in the Fort Myers market,” said Scott Ward, Service King’s regional VP. “The opening of our Lehigh Acres location enables Service King to extend its reach and greatly enhance our promise to provide the community superior collision repair service and a greater overall experience.”
Photography by Jim Jett
Governor Rick Scott welcomes Hertz employees and other attendees to the Hertz building unveiling.
Hertz has arrived
REPAIR See page 3
Seabreeze Behavioral part of Bayfront group Along with the New Year comes a new name and practice location for Seabreeze Behavioral Medicine. The practice is now known as Bayfront Health Medical Group and has relocated to 713 E. Marion Ave., Suite 121, Punta Gorda. The new office is conveniently located in the Medical Office Plaza on the campus of Bayfront Health Punta Gorda. Dr. Mizyl Damayo and her staff of professionals are available to help with addictions, eating disorders, mental health concerns, depression and more. Patients as young as 5 years of age are welcome to experience the benefits of therapeutic services, medication management and in-house counseling. Damayo obtained her medical degree from Mathias H.M. Aznar College of Medicine (Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines). BAYFRONT See page 3
Dunbar High tech students earn honors Denise C. Spence, IT programs manager and lead technology teacher at Dunbar High School, has announced that Team Dunbar – Marck Molina and Alex Mulvey – achieved second place in their category of the Data Analytics Challenge (Freestyle Analytics) at the Second Annual Hertz Hackathon at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. Their prize was an Apple Watch for each of them. Several alumni from Dunbar High School also achieved honorable mention in the Hackathon.
Submitted by Karen P. Moore Publisher
Above: Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman and Jim Boesch. Below: The crowd gathered at the unveiling of the new Hertz headquarters.
It was a rainy Southwest-Floridachilly and miserable Friday morning at the end of January, not fun to drive in at all, almost an hour’s drive from the office. It was the only place I felt I needed to be that day—I already had a photographer there; I could’ve hired a freelance reporter who would’ve gladly taken the assignment. But there was no way I was going to miss this event, this unveiling—not only of a sparkling new state-of-the-art global headquarters of an international brand--but of a sparkling new beginning for the Southwest Florida region, its future growth, its economy. This was a media-only tour of the facilities, followed by a few words from
Hertz executives, and oh, yes, the Governor. Considering the regional importance of such an event, it was really a pretty intimate gathering with little fanfare. The entire campus is 19.75 acres: the new headquarters encompasses 248,600 square feet. The two-story lobby is indeed impressive—with a display ramp for automobiles that are part of the company’s nearly 100-year history. Intended to accommodate up to 850 employees (there are currently approximately 625 working there), the building itself speaks volumes—a clean sophisticated design with a buzzing business feel to it, not one that is austere and unwelcoming. The atmosphere is visitor-friendly, employee-friendly, even baby-friendly. It provides an energizing open-office
HERTZ See page 7
SWFL businesses pitch their venture
The Tamiami Angel Family of Funds recently presented 1Q VenturePitch SWFL at the Nature Conservancy of SWFL in Naples. Four local early stage entrepreneurs competed for the title “Most Investible” in a “shark-tank”-style event by pitching their business plans to a panel of investment judges. The audience also participated by voting one company as the best presentation. The Pitch series is part of the Tamiami Angel Funds’ e.co initiative, Relax and Order presenters include(l-r)co-founder James Ayers; Corporate a Southwest Florida community based Market Development Manager Michael McClain and co-founder Dennis effort to build a strong entrepreneurial Hampton. ecosystem from Sarasota to Naples. This round included the following members of the patient centered care nesses collect, curate and syndicate team to proactively communicate customer testimonials; companies: Relax and Order, a web-based app Nervanix, applying breakthrough throughout the delivery of care, while advances in the field of neuroscience maintaining the continuation of com- connecting local vendors with customto improve learning models and cogni- pliance, strategic planning and quality ers who desire a resort-style experience in the comfort of their home. assurance; tive skills development; VENTURE See page 5 Testimonial Tree, helping busiKoala Home Care, allowing all