Northwest Florida's Business Climate - November-December

Cordova Commons Finds New Life and Revitalizes Area Businesses

Growing Our Local Economy BEST Competition Showcases Students’ Best Talents

www.nwflbusinessclimate.com

from the

publisher’ s pen Malcolm Ballinger Publisher

As the end of the year approaches, Northwest Florida is celebrating growth that will surely be a boon to the local economy throughout the holidays and beyond. The greatly anticipated retail redevelopments at Cordova Commons have come to fruition, giving the area some brand new options for specific retail areas in the Fresh Market, Ulta, Marshalls and DSW. These developments will bolster an already successful and busy shopping area, and add tax revenue to the local economy. Take a look at our story on this bustling shopping center and its likely effect on the area on page 55.

Also in this issue of Business Climate, we’re reporting on the area BEST competition. BEST stands for Boosting Engineering, Science & Technology, and the annual contest pits students from different area schools against one another in a robotics competition where winners go on the regional and national levels.

BEST encourages interest in STEM-related disciplines and other skills, which gives local young people the opportunity to lay the groundwork for a career in these growing fields. Look for more on page 52.

Additionally, this issue features information on GrowFL, a program through the University of Central Florida that is currently working with the Greater Pensacola Chamber to offer opportunities for the local business sector through “economic gardening.” The program helps grow businesses that have been established and are moving to the next level of business through CEO round tables and other means. We look forward to seeing what this entrepreneurcentered economic growth strategy can do for our local economy.

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November/December 2012

November/December 2012

C ontents >

f e a t u re s

in every issue 60. around the region 62. business scene

55.

55. Cordova Commons Finds New Life and Revitalizes Area Businesses

> departments 50. economic development

Growing Our Local Economy Greater Pensacola Chamber partners with GrowFL to create greener economic pastures

50.

52. technology

52.

BEST Competition Showcases Students’ Best Talents 61. IT Tips

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>economic development

By Scott Luth

Growing Our Local Economy Greater Pensacola Chamber partners with GrowFL to create greener economic pastures

The Greater Pensacola Chamber is earning its green thumb as an economic gardener.

In September, GrowFL: The Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida, selected the Greater Pensacola Chamber as a partner for this year’s program to cultivate entrepreneurial growth.

The basic philosophy for programs at GrowFL, “economic gardening,” is much like gardening of the organic variety. Just as farmers research and strategize for the success of their crops, gardeners of the economy embrace strategies to grow existing businesses in a community, region or state.

"The Greater Pensacola Chamber is pleased to partner with the GrowFL program to provide strategic market research assistance and CEO roundtable opportunities to companies in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties,” said Kelly Reeser, existing business and workforce manager for the Greater Pensacola Chamber.

"Supporting second stage, high growth companies is a core element of our economic development strategy.”

With funding in part by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the guiding principle by which the GrowFL program maintains its success is to keep the entrepreneur at the center of the support matrix.

Through this special partnership, the Chamber interacts with companies at the local level and provides resources and referrals to complement GrowFL strategic research and roundtable activities.

Founded as a pilot program in 2009, GrowFL has helped more than 400 companies create upwards of 1,400 new jobs in our state. By focusing its efforts on initiatives to strengthen services of entrepreneurial support organizations like the Chamber, GrowFL is growing business and assisting to accelerate the success of second stage companies throughout Florida.

GrowFL provides CEO roundtables, events and seminars to businesses who have surpassed the startup phase and need additional tools and technologies to grow. Throughout the program, participating executives are given the opportunity to network and adopt best

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practices from CEOs who have successfully moved their businesses beyond the second stage of development.

"The GrowFL Roundtable program allows the CEOs the opportunity to step back from the day-to-day operations of working in their business and allows them to work on their business,” Reeser stated.

The structure of the CEO roundtable session is a collaborative one, intended to address issues important to business owners. Participants are encouraged to openly discuss their current obstacles to growth in areas such as finance, employee relations, legal compliance and marketing. The goal is to learn from both the achievements and mistakes of other companies.

As part of the GrowFL program in the Pensacola area, the Greater Pensacola Chamber is supporting nine companies which represent 175 jobs and more than $35 million in annual revenue for the region. Participation in the program is by invitation only, and this year’s group of select local businesses is reaping the fruits of the economic gardening philosophy.

Businesses slated to participate in the 2012 GrowFL program include H2 Performance Consulting Corporation; Overgroup Consulting, LLC; Custom Control Solutions, Inc.; Collector Solutions, Inc.; Compass Solar Energy; Hixardt Technologies, Inc.; Gulf Coast Architectural Group, Inc.; Pensacola Research Consultants, Inc.; and Bit-Wizards Information Technology Solutions, Inc. “GrowFL is just one more step the Greater Pensacola Chamber has taken to show their commitment to the economic development of growing small businesses,” said Hazel Wiggington, managing partner and CEO of H2 Performance Consulting. “The roundtable event is a powerful tool for Florida’s small businesses and a critical success factor of the Chamber’s Vision 2015 plan.”

The GrowFL program kicked off for the Greater Pensacola Chamber this fall, with the first CEO roundtable event in October. For more information on GrowFL, please visit www.growfl.com.

>technology

Photos by John Blackie

BEST Competition Showcases Students’ Best Talents

By Josh Newby

Screaming fans, pep bands and feverish competition, oh my!

The best and brightest students from 22 area schools came together on October 20 at the University of West Florida Field House to compete for top prizes and a chance to advance to regional competitions later this year.

This is no football, basketball or baseball game, though. The clashing challengers and rival schools competed in the sixth annual Emerald Coast BEST Robotics competition.

The Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) games are meant to demystify students who are intimidated by STEM (Science, Technology, Math and Science) studies. By showing students that these subjects can be fun and relevant, BEST’s vision is to excite the nation's youngsters about these studies to unlock their imagination and discover their potential.

“The mission of BEST is to inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, science, and technology through participation in a sports-like, science and engineering-based robotics competition each fall,” said Gretchen Vanvalkenburg, BEST Steering Committee member for the Emerald Coast hub.

Students are the sole participants and primary decisionmakers, designers and builders in the program, though university officials help plan and coordinate the event. Programs like these tend to have a higher rate of students who end up going into STEM-related fields than those who do not participate. Studies also show that participating students have a better understanding of math and physics.

The program was started in 1993 with 14 schools and 221 students. Since then, BEST has grown explosively. The middle and high school robotics program now captivates more than 11,000 students from 750 schools across the nation for 42 riveting days a year. Students and schools can participate at no cost, and popularity of the program has been expanding ever since it began.

“The Northwest Florida region has steadily increased its support of the Emerald Coast BEST hub over the past six years,” said Vanvalkenburg. “Our longest standing partner is Gulf Power who, along with UWF, established the hub six years ago.”

At the start of each program, the teams and their mentors

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meet with BEST officials to discuss the year’s themes, playing field and other game information. Students build their robots from a materials kit provided by the hub, using only the components found within. The robot must also fit in a two-foot cube box and weigh less than 24 pounds.

The students then have just over a month to design and build a robot that meets the program’s specifications before a practice day.

One week after the practice day, just a month and a half after learning about the competition and parameters for the first time, the teams come together to see who is the best of the BEST. “Gulf Power believes the competition teaches students practical engineering, science and math skills, which are critical for their future,” said Jeff Rogers, corporate communications manager at Gulf Power. “But the event also teaches the students to work together as a team, to organize projects, to market their work and to creatively solve problems.”

This year’s theme involved the design and construction of a prototype robot capable of scaling a 10-foot pole on a playing field designed to resemble a space elevator situated on an island and extending 62,000 feet into the air. Teams tested their robots during three-minute matches, completing mock tasks such as transporting cargo and waste, refueling the station, and installing habitation modules and solar panels. The competition was broken down into semifinal and final rounds to determine the winning teams, which will then go on to the regional competition.

This year’s theme was dubbed “Warp XX.” Previous names include “Total Recall,” “Just Plane Fun,” “2021: A Robot Odyssey,” and “Dynamite Duel,” highlighting the fun nature of the games.

“Each BEST project is designed to teach teamwork, problem solving, project management, and pride in task completion within the constraints of a short time period and limited material resources,” said Vanvalkenburg.

As with all of the past competitions, this year featured deafening screams of support from fellow students, sportslike drama as teams were slowly eliminated and rivalries were created, and tears of joy from the ultimate victors.

Each team is judged on its robot’s performance, oral presentation, table display, project notebook, spirit, and sportsmanship. They must also design a website and give an interview, allowing students to explore a full spectrum of subjects and abilities beyond science and engineering.

The winners this year that will be continuing to the regional competition in Auburn, Alabama are Newpoint Pensacola High School, Woodham Middle School, and Seaside Neighborhood Middle School.

“The study of science, technology, engineering and math is a national priority, one that adds to the development of our work force, meets the needs of our businesses and ultimately fuels the economy,” said WEAR anchor Sue Straughn, who presented the awards.

Additional support for the program is provided by Armstrong World Industries, AT&T, ASHRAE - Northwest Florida Chapter, Bit-Wizards, Cox, Florida Institute of Human and Machine Cognition, Hopjacks, Marianna Airmotive, S.E.R.F., Tech Soft, UWF Alumni Association, and Webb Electric of Florida.

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Cordova Commons

Finds New Life and

Revitalizes Area Businesses

By Josh Newby

Photo courtesy of DSW

Cordova Commons,

the shopping center across from Sacred Heart Hospital and Pensacola State College, recently finished undergoing a redevelopment. With a new look and all-new stores, including Fresh Market, Marshalls, DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) and Ulta, the area is now ready to once again reign as the most sought after location in the Pensacola market.

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Photo by Josh Newby

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space. These businesses will draw new consumers, as opposed to simply robbing other stores of their current customers. Retail stores in the area will also enjoy new patronage, because they are complementary, not competitive.”

Lewis tracks trends and the impacts of businesses in the area and predicts that these stores will be around for a long time to come.

Each of these new businesses has national brand

Photo by Josh Newby

The 164,139-square foot center is currently home to many successful businesses and restaurants, such as Stein Mart, Petco, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, LifeWay Christian Bookstore, Smoothie King, Blue Cross/Blue Shield’s Florida Blue Retail Center and others.

The center neighbors the area’s largest employer, Sacred Heart Hospital, and is also close to Barnes & Noble, Lowe’s, Sports Authority, HH Gregg, Best Buy, Sam’s Club and Bed Bath & Beyond.

As many of these businesses reach different demographics and cater to different needs, they have each been able to be successful. With the addition of four new, vastly different stores, analysts predict the area’s economy will boom even further and attract shoppers from across the city, including the 135,000 people who live within a five-mile radius of the complex.

“One of the great things about this redevelopment is that consumers are getting stores that we haven’t previously had in the area,” said Rod Lewis, director of the Haas Center at the University of West Florida. “They each compete in a different market, so there is not the substitution effect you would usually experience if similar stores moved into the same

Marshalls ribbon cutting November/December 2012

Photo by Josh Newby

Ulta, known nationwide as a discount beauty retailer that focuses on all aspects of how women prefer to shop for cosmetic products, opened its Pensacola store on October 19.

The store is about 10,000 square feet, which includes a beauty salon for customers to enjoy. Ulta features a “street of shops” approach, with unique areas devoted to specific product categories, which makes it easy for customers to find what they need and to explore new offerings. National brands like Redken, Matrix, Bare Escentuals, L’Oreal, Olay, Neutrogena, Pantene, Estée Lauder and others are available to consumers and make for a complete beauty destination. The store is open 10 am to 9 pm Monday through Saturday and 11 am to 6 pm on Sunday.

Photos courtesy of Ulta Beauty

awareness and many already have a built-in audience awaiting their arrival. Anticipation in the city is high as Pensacola adds to its repertoire of big name businesses.

Marshalls, one of the nation’s largest off-price retailers with more than 880 stores, opened its new Pensacola store on October 18.

“The new Pensacola store will be stocked with a new, fresh assortment of the designer and brand name merchandise that shoppers love, every single week,” said Richard Sherr, president of Marshalls. “Our buyers are fashion experts with a keen sense of style and are passionate about finding the most coveted merchandise for our shoppers for so much less.”

Marshalls encompasses 25,990 square feet and adds 60 full- and part-time jobs to the area. In celebration of its new Pensacola location, Marshalls contributed to the local community by presenting a $5,000 donation to the FavorHouse of Northwest Florida. Its hours are 9:30 am to 9:30 pm Monday through Saturday and 11 am to 8:30 pm on Sunday.

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The Fresh Market, an upscale national grocer with a uniquely neighborhood feel and more than 125 stores in the southeast, brings approximately 80 to 90 new jobs to the area, almost all of which are filled locally. According to the company, the store focuses on a wide selection of quality food, as well as on customer service, as employees sometimes share cooking tips. The store is about 23,000 square feet.

“Our customers enjoy shopping in an environment that appeals to all the senses,” said CEO Craig Carlock in a news release. “The smell of freshly brewed coffee and bread right out of the oven, the sound of classical music, soft lighting with antique décor in an intimate setting, and the ability to select and taste fresh, high-quality products all work together to create surroundings where customers are encouraged to experience the food.”

The Pensacola location hours are 9 am to 9 pm Monday through Saturday and 11 am to 8 pm on Sunday.

Shoe lovers will have a new shopping mecca when DSW, a leading branded footwear and accessories retailer with more than 350 stores in 41 states, opens. The store advertises itself as the destination for savvy shoe-lovers everywhere. Customers in Pensacola experience a large assortment of designer shoes and boots at everyday value prices in a convenient assisted self-select shopping environment. Aisles are filled with the latest trends in men's and women's shoes, making DSW the ultimate destination for anyone who loves fashion and the excitement of finding the perfect shoe.

The store is open 10 am to 9 pm Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 pm on Sunday and will add about 35 jobs to the area.

Benefits for the community and the businesses are not the only positive outcomes the stores are bringing to the area. According to Lewis, the city can expect quite a bit of tax revenue as well.

The improvement of the area will

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lead to an increase in property taxes, as the economy of the area gains value.

“Typically, grocery stores only have tax-generating revenue from about 30 percent of their merchandise,” said Lewis. “But with clothing and general retail stores, that number is closer to 100 percent, leading to an increase in tax dollars for the city, which will increase the value of the land as well. It’s a very positive cycle.”

And this positive cycle is one that Lewis predicts will continue to be very attractive to other high-end, big businesses.

“Higher end retail stores will begin to believe that this area is capable of supporting them,” said Lewis.

“Anytime you have a critical mass of high-end stores coming into the area, it’s going to support development. The region is ready for this improvement, and as a result we are becoming more competitive everyday.”

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>aroundtheregion

business news bits you should know

Jump Start Marketing opens office in Ellyson Industrial Park One of the top web development and marketing companies in Pensacola, Jump Start Marketing, has opened an office to cater to the needs of its ever-growing client base.

The new office space is expected to provide room for expansion in terms of employment and growth opportunities. Hiring of new staff and interns is in the pipeline. Jump Start Marketing has earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, helping establish greater credibility among customers. The company is becoming one of the top design and online marketing firms in Florida, catering to the needs of clients who are constantly turning to the Internet to help grow their business.

Pensacola Chamber celebrates success and passes the torch The Greater Pensacola Chamber hosted the 122nd Annual Meeting recently. The meeting depicted a commemorative year in review and the passing of the gavel from outgoing chairman of the board, Donnie McMahon, to incoming chairman, Sandy Sansing. With more than 600 in attendance, a record number for an Annual Meeting, McMahon announced 1,378 qualified jobs in the region, nearly half of the anticipated 3,000 new jobs promised by the Chamber’s Vision 2015 incentive to increase jobs in the greater Pensacola region.

Economy needs to expand beyond military, tourism The military and tourism are the region’s two biggest economic drivers, and the goal of the new chairman of the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County is to preserve them while also diversifying the local economy.

Jim Heald, general manager of the defense contractor InDyne Inc., was recently appointed chairman for the

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new year. He encouraged more people to get involved with the organization, and said it was important for the EDC to receive continued support from the local school system and area colleges. The past year was a busy one for the EDC. The organization assisted in creating 610 new jobs for new and expanding businesses, activated 35 new projects and expanded its business incubator at the W.E. Combs Campus on Lovejoy Road in Fort Walton Beach.

Studer Group one of ’25 Best Small Companies to Work For’ For the fifth year in a row, Gulf Breeze-based Studer Group has landed on Fortune Magazine's national list of “25 Best Small Companies to Work For.” The health care consulting firm, founded in 2000 by Quint Studer, joins Navy Federal Credit Union, which won a spot on Fortune's "Top 100 Large Companies" list earlier this year.

Baptist Healthcare welcomes new doctor Baptist Medical Group is proud to welcome Nicole Briley, M.D., to their growing hospitalist program and extensive physician network. As a hospitalist with the Pensacola-based health care organization, Dr. Briley will be exclusively dedicated to caring for patients admitted to two hospitals: Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Fla., and Gulf Breeze Hospital in Gulf Breeze, Fla. Baptist Healthcare welcomes new family care specialist Baptist Medical Group is pleased to announce the addition of family medicine physician and Pace, Fla., resident Tammy Pruse, D.O., to their growing primary care network.

Starting November 1, Dr. Pruse welcomed new and previous patients alike at her new office at Baptist Medical Park, where she will practice alongside family medicine physician Mark Thiele, M.D.

November/December 2012

Donna Fassett receives Lifetime Achievement Award from Arc of Florida Immediately following the October 24 ARC Gateway board meeting, Executive Director Donna Fassett was surprised to see her friends and peers from the Arc of Florida walk in the room to present her the Arc of Florida Lifetime Achievement Award.

This year Donna celebrates 33 years with ARC Gateway, having begun her career with the agency as a social worker and learning every aspect of operations until she earned the title of executive director.

"It is an honor to receive this award, especially when it is handdelivered by my wonderful friends at the Arc of Florida," said Fassett. "And it has been yet even more of an honor to have the privilege to work with the incredible people we serve at ARC Gateway. I am very blessed."

Meineke Car Care Center of Pensacola named finalist for annual U.S. Chamber’s Hiring Our Heroes Award The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its National Chamber Foundation today announced that Meineke Car Care Center of Pensacola is a finalist for the Hiring Our Heroes Capital One Award for Small Business Veteran and Military Spouse Employment. Meineke Car Care Center of Pensacola is among the 25 businesses nominated for five awards because of demonstrated leadership in addressing the challenges faced by veterans, transitioning service members, and military families in their search for meaningful employment. The announcement comes as Hiring Our Heroes crossed the 14,000 hire milestone since the program began in March 2011.

IT Tips

By Josh Newby

The world of information technology (IT) can be a difficult one to navigate. Luckily, local professionals, such as Mike White from Your IT Solution in Pensacola, is on hand and ready to help and advise in whatever way they can.

One of the most important issues in IT today is security and data back-up. Many people rely on purely digital records nowadays, and it is crucial to not let them be compromised.

Did you know...

• A company that experiences a computer outage lasting more than 10 days will never fully recover financially. Fifty percent will be out of business within five years.

• An estimated 25 percent of businesses do not reopen following a major disaster.

• Seventy percent of small firms that experience a major data loss go out of business within a year.

• Of companies experiencing catastrophic data loss: o Forty-three percent of companies never reopened o Fifty-one percent of companies closed within two years o Eighty percent of companies that do not recover from a disaster within one month are likely to go out of business.

• Seventy-five percent of companies without business continuity plans fail within three years of a disaster.

• Of those businesses that experience a disaster and have no emergency plan, 43 percent never reopen; of those that do reopen, only 29 percent are still operating two years later.

Here’s some helpful tips to help ensure critical losses don’t happen to your business…

Make passwords secure.

An ideal password is long and has letters, punctuation, symbols, and numbers. Whenever possible, use at least eight characters. The greater the variety of characters in your password, the better. Use the entire keyboard, not just the letters and characters you use or see most often.

How to find your company’s external IP address.

There are a number of reasons why you might need to find your Internet IP address and it only takes a few seconds to do. Go to whatsmyip.org. When you arrive on the site, your IP address will be prominently displayed on the top of the page.

Educate yourself and your employees about Internet scams.

Every year, many businesses become victims of online and offline scams. There is a booklet published by the government that you are able to download for free and learn more about the scams, how they work and how you can defend against them. Visit accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/TheLittleBlackBookOfScams08.

Your IT Solution is a local company offering a wide range of IT services to small and medium sized businesses, from network diagnostics and security auditing to server, network, and backup monitoring and disaster preparedness and recovery.

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>businessScene ...at the Council on Aging Rat Pack Reunion Joey and Becca Boles

Bruce and Gena Raymon

Kathleen and Flack Logan Gay and Bo Carter

Mike Papantonio, Larry Mosley and Janet Holley

...at Big Brother, Big Sisters Reception

Ray & Val Russenberger and Sandy Sansing

Chief Chip Simmons, Sean Phillips, John Peacock and Mayor Ashton Hayward

...at the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival in Seville Square

Cassie Swain & Tim Tolbert Bill & Betty Hudson

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Don & Elizabeth Sutley November/December 2012

Fern Hopkins & Robin Grantham