Celebrating 10 Years
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA’S B2B MARKETPLACE • 239-573-9732 Vol. 11 No. 8 / JUNE 2018 www.swfloridabusinesstoday.com
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IN THE NEWS
Naples Chamber honors Woolley, Munro at meeting
The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce held its 2018 Annual Meeting, “Celebrating 70,” on May 17 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort. The evening included recognitions, executive summaries and entertainment with more than 400 members of the Southwest Florida business community in attendance. The Chamber announced outgoing and incoming members of the Board of Directors and honored the recipients of several awards. The recipient of the Chairman’s Award was Cyndee Woolley, owner of C2 Communications, who is strongly involved with the Chamber and the Leadership Collier Foundation. The recipient of the Outstanding Collier County Citizen of the Year Award was Dick Munro, the former chairman and CEO of Time Inc.
Business Building Symposium details announced
The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce announced its Business Building Symposium V. This year’s theme is “Unleash the Spirit of your Organization.” The program plans to include a series of informative, interactive workshops led by local business leaders, including sessions covering social media and talent management, and a keynote address by Next Level Church Founder Matt Keller. The symposium, now in its fifth year, runs from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 19 at the Sanibel Harbour Marriott in Fort Myers. BUILDING See page 3
Abby David of Naples competes in the Minto US Open Picklesball Championship.
Photo by Bob Szanto
U.S. Open boosts Naples sports industry Special to SWFBT Jacob Ogles, Editor The pound of solid rackets and the whizzing rush of perforated plastic balls sounded through East Naples Community Park in April as the Minto US Open Pickleball Championship took over the venue. In less than three years, the event has grown from a promising gathering of enthusiasts to the largest competition in the nation for America’s fastest growing sport. “Somebody said this week it feels like a Pickleball Woodstock,” said event co-founder Chris Evon. She launched the US Open event two years ago with Terri Graham, drawing some 800 into the Naples area to play at
a still-young sports complex. This year, some 2,000 athletes signed up to play, flying in from 48 states and 20 countries. “We opened registration on Jan. 10,” Evon said, “and it closed within three hours.” That’s affirmation to Jim Ludwig, dubbed locally as “Mayor of Pickleball.” Ludwig worked with Collier County and local hospitality leaders for years to turn the East Naples park into a premiere attraction. The venue today sports 48 designated pickleball courts and six tennis courts that can be converted for pickleball play during major events. That’s the largest concentration of courts anywhere in the world. “You’ll find in The Villages, they have 180 pickleball courts but they are spread over 120 square miles,” he said. PICKLEBALL See page 13
SWFL economy rebounds post-Irma Special to SWFBT Karen Moore, Publisher
It was the first time Southwest Florida economic development leaders were in the same place at the same time since Hurricane Irma. Guests came to the Chamber of Southwest Florida’s “State of Southwest Florida” panel discussion to hear about the region’s economic status eight months after the storm’s catastrophic impact on the region. Panelists included Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais, Fort Myers City Manager Saeed Kazemi, Collier County Manager Leo E. Ochs, Jr., Bonita Springs City Manager Carl Schwing and Cape Coral
City Manager John Szerlag. The rest of the country considers Hurricane Irma “over” and Florida “back to normal.” Schwing pointed out this is far from the reality. “While Bonita Springs is the smallest jurisdiction represented on this panel,” he said, “it is also the local jurisdiction most affected by Hurricane Irma.” He added, “It will take Bonita 15 years to recover due to Irma’s impact on the city’s people, water system and infrastructure.” Ochs shared: “In Collier County, we are also still dealing with displacement and unemployment issues in the wake of Hurricane Irma.” He indicated the reimbursement process has been challenging,
resulting in the use of county contingency funds, which defers moving ahead with capital projects. He pointed out Collier’s economic health is supported by the “threelegged stool” of tourism, agriculture and health care. “These are all very susceptible to factors outside of our local control,” he said. He continues to work with economic development agencies to retain and attract business to diversify the economy with advanced manufacturing, technology and health care businesses. Desjarlais stated: “Lee County’s future challenges include: 1) securing additional road funding; 2) building another incinerator site for the Solid PANEL See page 5
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