Pensacola Magazine, Sept. 2018 by Ballinger Publishing

Demystifying Cryptocurrency

IHMC and NASA develop the next generation of exercise equipment

Arianna Simpson and the future of money

the

STATE ofTECH also in this issue

IN COLLABORATION WITH ITEN WIRED SUMMIT

business climate on the market a real estate section

Content is King

Local content creators

ITEN WIRED

Innovation, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Networking september 2018 â€¢ pensacolamagazine.com

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Editor’s Note Happy September! Welcome to our second annual State of Tech issue of Pensacola Magazine. Each year, we create this issue in collaboration with the smart people who run the ITEN WIRED Summit. They offer a wealth of information about what’s happening locally in the worlds of technology, science and engineering. As always, I am impressed with their collective knowledge and I appreciate their contributions to this issue. It’s amazing how much growth we’ve seen in local tech activity even since last September. We’ve tried to put together articles covering a wide spectrum of tech topics—from content creation and app development to broadband, cryptocurrency and even NASA-sponsored exercise science. We hope you enjoy the issue and it inspires you to get involved with our local tech community. Be sure to attend ITEN WIRED, which takes place Sept. 28, Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 at the Hilton on Pensacola Beach. Arianna Simpson, whom we have profiled in this issue, will be giving a fascinating talk on cryptocurrencies (a topic that truly baffles my mind), and many other tech industry visionaries and leaders will be on hand to discuss the many aspects of tech innovation both locally and worldwide. Special thanks to Beth McClean, Sena Maddison, Kelly Reeser, Jim Rhodes and Elisabeth A. Doehring for their direction and contributions. Thanks as well to Dr. Eman El-Shiekh, Randy Hammer and Scott Luth for taking time out of their busy schedules to update us on the State of Tech from their various perspectives.

Just as we were sending our August issue to print, we unexpectedly lost our matriarch here at Ballinger Publishing. We didn’t have time to create a proper send off for Glenys in the magazine, so this month we’ve decided to share some of the many photos we displayed at the moving and bittersweet Celebration of Life that was held Aug. 13 at Seville Quarter. Everyone loved seeing the photos of Glenys throughout the years and we thought those of you who couldn’t make it might enjoy them as well. Bradley “Beej” Davis posted a loving tribute to Glenys on his Facebook page and I asked if we could share it with you. Thanks Beej, well said! Also, I know that Malcolm, his son Rich and all of us here at Ballinger Publishing appreciate the outpouring of love and affection the family has received from the community. This is what makes Pensacola such a wonderful place to live. When people are in grief or in need, this community really steps up to plate. For that, we are all grateful.

Kelly Oden Executive Editor

/pensacolamagazine

6 Pensacola Magazine

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Contents iten wired

Geeks on the beach

Technology Summit highlights innovation, technology, entrepreneurship and networking along the I-10 corridor. Remote tech workers call Pensacola home.

Jim Rhodes Pensacola native fosters tech growth in the region.

Developing an app In Pensacola? Challenging but worthwhile

Content is king

We talked to local app developers about what it takes to make it in the mobile industry while living on the Gulf Coast. Local social media stars share their tips for building a strong following for yourself and your business.

what can your business do with gigabit internet?

demystifying cryptocurrency

Warfighters in the information age

High-capacity broadband helps businesses maximize productivity.

Arianna Simpson talks cryptocurrency and the future of money.

CIWT keeps the Navy at the forefront of information warfare.

Pensacola ripe to be Cyber Coast, global leader in cybersecurity

Dr. Eman El-Sheikh highlights the growth of Pensacolaâ€™s cybersecurity community.

IHMC and NASA develop the next generation of exercise equipment

the tech economy

Scott Luth discusses the economic impact of technology.

In Every Issue

Editorâ€™s Letter 6 Page 10 12 Pensacola Scene 14 Play/Live/Give 51

Special Sections Business Climate On the Market 8 Pensacola Magazine

59 71

MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2018 Owners Malcolm & Glenys Ballinger Publisher Malcolm Ballinger malcolm@ballingerpublishing.com Executive Editor Kelly Oden kelly@ballingerpublishing.com Art Director Guy Stevens guy@ballingerpublishing.com Graphic Designer/Ad Coordinator Bara’ah Jaraiseh baraah@ballingerpublishing.com Editor Will Isern will@ballingerpublishing.com Assistant Editor Kaitlyn Peacock kaitlyn@ballingerpublishing.com Contributing Writers DeeDee Davis Carson Wilber Dr. Eman El-Sheik Kristi Salmon Elisabeth A. Doerhing Scott Luth Sena Maddison Nancy Grogan Holly Lovett Randy Hammer Sales & Marketing Paula Rode, Account Executive ext. 28 paula@ballingerpublishing.com Geneva Strange, Account Executive ext. 21 geneva@ballingerpublishing.com 314 N. Spring St. | Pensacola, FL 32501 850.433.1166 | fax: 850.435.9174 ballingerpublishing.com Published by Ballinger Publishing:

magazine

Proud member of the

NW Florida’s Business Climate Magazine and Pensacola Magazine is locally owned and operated. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or use of the contents herein is prohibited without written permission from the publisher. Comments and opinions expressed in this magazine represent the personal views of the individuals to whom they are attributed and/or the person identified as the author of the article, and they are not necessarily those of the publisher. This magazine accepts no responsibility for these opinions. The publisher reserves the right to edit all manuscripts. All advertising information is the responsibility of the individual advertiser. Appearance in this magazine does not necessarily reflect endorsement of any products or services by Ballinger Publishing. © 2018

In Memorium By Bradley “Beej” Davis

Glenys Erwin Ballinger was an absolute force within our community. She helped so many people with her work alongside her faithful partner, Malcolm Ballinger. As an immigrant from the UK, she immersed herself in the steadfast growth and progression of our city. She served on numerous boards to better our city. She gave everyone a fighting chance, although she didn’t stand for any BS: only one of her many endearing qualities. She could make you laugh. She told great stories. She was a lover and fighter. Out of all the cities in which she’s lived and made a difference, she chose to make Pensacola her home. She made an impact on every person she met. Glenys, you are physically no longer with us, but your legacy is strong. There should be no doubt that your incredible strength lives among us. You will always be a beacon in Pensacola. Thank you for every person you touched with your love and passion. It is with an immensely heavy heart that we sing your praises, not as a requiem, but as a celebration of bringing us together with your warm heart. I love you, Duck.

10 Pensacola Magazine

In Loving Memory Glenys Erwin Ballinger

Thank You

A Celebration of Life was held on Monday, Aug. 13 at Seville Quarter. Laughter, tears and wonderful memories filled the room as many people came to pay their respects and celebrate the life of Glenys Ballinger. There is no doubt she would have been moved by the outpouring of love and affection from friends and community members. Malcolm and his son Rich would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every person who reached out with condolences or came to send Glenys off. That outpouring is a reflection of Glenysâ€™ kind heart and nurturing spirit. She will be missed by many.

Glenys Ballinger (nee Erwin) passed away unexpectedly on July 24, 2018 in Pensacola, Florida at the age of 67. Glenys fought a long battle with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), but maintained her optimism, fun-loving nature and sense of humor through it all. Glenys is survived by her husband, Malcolm Ballinger; her son, Richard Ballinger; her grandchildren, Matthew Ballinger, Andrew Ballinger, Sydney Turner, Grace Ballinger and Sarah Ballinger; her sisters, Linda Cox, Sandra Jones and Debbie Bull; her brother, Roy Erwin; and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. She is preceded in death by her mother, Margaret Erwin; her father, William Erwin; her brother, William Erwin, Jr.; and her sons Andrew Ballinger and Peter Ballinger. Glenys was born on February 4, 1951 in Derby, England to Margaret and William Erwin. She married Malcolm Ballinger in 1970 at Saint Giles Church in Derby, England. The couple welcomed their first child, Richard Ballinger in 1971 and their second child, Peter Ballinger in 1973. Glenys and Malcolm moved to America in 1977 and the couple welcomed their third child, Andrew Ballinger in 1980. Glenys worked as a hairdresser, a devoted mother, and later, at Ballinger Publishing, a publishing company co-owned with her husband, Malcolm. Glenys was an accomplished golfer and often played in charity tournaments. She was passionate about helping people in need and was an active and dedicated member and volunteer of The ARC Gateway, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Appetite 4 Life, Gulf Coast Kids House and many other charities. She often represented Ballinger Publishing at charity events and fundraisers for a multitude of local non-profits. Glenys was also an accomplished cook and her authentic English scones and trifle will be missed by loved ones around the world. Most importantly, Glenys enjoyed spending time with family and friends both near and far. Glenys and Malcolm lived in many cities across the country over the years and Glenys made, and kept, great friends and memories everywhere she went. She made time for weekly calls to her sisters, nieces, family and friends. Maintaining these personal connections was deeply important to Glenys and she cherished these relationships immensely. Glenys will be remembered for her generous spirit, her kind heart and her quick wit.

Pensacola Magazine

PAGE 10 with DeeDee Davis

Blame it on being raised in the South or blame it on attending an SEC school. I can’t help myself. I love college football. I look forward to the first game with the same emotion I feel about New Year’s Eve. The slate is clean and the possibilities are endless. This might be the year for a national championship! Who cares if the experts say you’ve got nothing? Any fan knows that odds and opinions aren’t worth a whole lot, as absolutely anything can happen when two teams take the field. The instant my team runs through that tunnel, exploding into the light like the second coming, joy sweeps over me and the world is all-good. A great band, pom-poms shaking wildly, the smell of popcorn and Jack Daniels in the air and thunderous noise that would rival the Blue Angels set the stage for total frenzy. I could just scream with the thrill of it all. Of course, winning doesn’t hurt, either. Several years ago, someone I truly respect and admire commented on my football enthusiasm. He said that he never suspected that I was the type to “be into all of that.” I didn’t even know what to say. I know that he probably meant it as a compliment, as he feels that the sport is nothing more than commercial exploitation and downright barbaric and how could someone halfway intelligent possibly promote such insanity. I almost confessed on the spot that Gladiator is my favorite movie ever and that physical contact as sport is certainly nothing new. However, my immediate reaction was such that all I could feel was pity. The craziness 12 Pensacola Magazine

of college football can’t be replaced. Hockey and soccer are great, but football is in a league of its own. This time of the year, while the heat is still oppressive and going back to school is on our minds, you can go out early in the morning and there it is. A tiny hint of fall in the air. You can feel it and you can smell it. I grew up in a home where Saturdays were all about the games. My father had television and radio blaring in the same room so he could hear different commentary on every play. He had his favorite team, one I shall not mention because I now and always will consider them very much a bitter foe, but it really didn’t matter who was playing. There is a certain sound that comes from a game that is almost like comfort food to me. From the time they were babies, I took my children on road trips to football games. It was a fall ritual for us to pack for the tailgate party and get up early to decorate. Magnet decals, flags, you name it and we had it plastered on our car. Once we hit the game day traffic, the kids were almost uncontrollable. Seeing our brethren in the same colors making the trek to Jordan Hare Stadium created a bond amongst us motorists on I 65. One year, my son broke

his arm playing football the night before the LSU game and all we could think about was not being there. I nearly kissed the doctor who gave us his blessing to go, as long as that arm was held upright the entire time. We stuck a shaker in his cast and watched Auburn score four times in the fourth quarter to win the game. Neither weather, divorce, nor broken bones would keep us at home. No sir. We picked up the fried chicken in Montgomery and almost sprinted the last 60 miles to the Plains. Evidently, I didn’t do a good enough job on passing along the spirit of my alma mater. My daughter graduated as a Gator and my son a Seminole, but their love of the game is undiminished. I enjoy the Swamp and I think Osceola is the most awesome human mascot in the entire football kingdom. But when Auburn’s eagle swoops down before kick-off and perches on the 50-yard line, we all get unglued. I have seen plenty of grown men cry during this raw demonstration of power and beauty. So here we are, ready for a new season. Whether it is a new school year, a new calendar year, or a new anything, starting over has every advantage in the world. Set your goals. Try your hardest. Do it right this time. Hope and determination have always been a winning game plan. War Eagle! September Birthdays 2 Corbett Davis III 4 Tina Tortomase 5 Crystal Spencer 6 Logan DeVries 13 Sue Straughn 30 Todd McWaters

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This is the size of a baby’s heart.

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iten wired

the state of tech

InnovationTechnology EntrepreneurshipNetworking by Carson Wilber

ITEN WIRED is the tech event of the season on the Gulf Coast and this year’s event is happening Oct. 1-2 on Pensacola Beach. Hundreds of like-minded innovators, technology professionals and entrepreneurs gather to share their expertise, exchange ideas and network over common interests. Regional celebrities present a crash Innovation

Innovation is the act of developing a new method, idea or product. Synonyms include transformation, metamorphosis and ingenuity. Innovation isn’t exclusive to technology and enterprise, but it’s no secret that these sectors have taken massive strides in innovation over the past decade. The Gulf Coast has an insatiable desire for innovation as the population has grown and quality of life has increased. App Innovators is based in Tallahassee, but recently opened a branch in Pensacola. The company places emphasis on an innovative and creative process in its mobile software development, crafting apps that capture the unique ideas and goals of a customer in a way that connects with users.

course on the state of the tech scene, attracting business owners and leaders from lower Alabama, north Florida and beyond. While many assume ITEN stands for the stretch of Interstate running through our region, it’s actually an acronym for so much more: Innovation, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Networking along the I-10 corridor!

The University of West Florida’s Innovation Institute seeks to instill the mentality of innovation in its students. UWF alumna Michelle Ward champions innovation and technology combined with Cyber Safe Workforce LLC, her business dedicated to training businesses, academic institutions, local governments and the public to employ safe cybersecurity practices. The UWF Center for Cybersecurity also pioneers the cross-section of technology and innovation. The Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity program is the first in Florida to be designated by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. The program is rapidly graduating the next generation

of cybersecurity experts to meet the dire needs of private and public sectors utilizing technologies like the Florida Cyber Range, the Center’s virtual training environment. The Center is also a sponsor of ITEN WIRED and its Cyber Competition.

Technology

The technology field is pervasive across all industries, utilizing the newest developments of science and engineering to make processes more efficient and more effective. Technology in its many forms has the power to revolutionize any industry. In Pensacola, Dr. Ken Ford and the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition constantly surprise and inspire with their developments in technology, robotics and Pensacola Magazine

itenwired engineering. World-renowned researchers at IHMC have produced some of the topperforming humanoid robots and exoskeletons in the world, in addition to drawing important conclusions from research on human physiology. Utilizing some of this research, as well as innovations guided by NASA, the Department of Defense and National Institutes of Health, the firm Cobalt Intelligence in downtown Pensacola is commercializing technology by the best and brightest innovators in the world. Cognitive Big Data Systems LLC, the brain child of Lloyd and Robin Reshard, has taken regional headlines in the past year for AVAE, an incredible automated security camera reporting system. Mr. Reshard has also previously presented at ITEN WIRED, to the UWF AI Research Group and to Innovation Coast – a consortium of tech industry leaders in northwest Florida – exhibiting as a finalist for the Innovation Awards in 2017. ITEN WIRED speakers tend to be tech community leaders: DeDe Sanogo, a valuable contributor to the Women in Tech panel last year, founded Panoptic-PM, a project management software company based in Mobile; Glenda R. Snodgrass has served as president of The Net Effect, a cybersecurity training and compliance company, since its inception in 1996 and Christine York cofounded Vivid Bridge Studios, the largest women-owned film studio on the Coast. Larger tech industry players such as General Dynamics, AppRiver and TEKsystems also play crucial roles in the economy, as do other

community tech partners like Navy Federal Credit Union, Gulf Power, and Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. Their immense support and motivated employees have brought about meaningful change and ITEN WIRED is made that much more powerful thanks to their rich cultures of community and economic investment.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of economic development, fueling the development of startups and the expansion of existing businesses. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Northwest Florida. Leading this subset of the community are initiatives like Florida’s Great North West Entrepreneurship & Innovation Council. Kelly Reeser is the director of entrepreneurial development with the Florida West Economic Development Alliance and the director of the Co:Lab incubator. Reeser has helped advance multiple shining stars, including two of Inc. 5000’s fastest growing companies: Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems, a smart retinal diagnosis technology company and Digital Boardwalk, which provides IT services and management. Successful graduate companies include GlowRage, PaintU, Accountingfly, Engineering & Planning Resources and Clearstream. Its current tenants include Vivid Bridge Studios, Guy Harvey Magazine, Snap Soccer and Data Revolution, an enterprise IT support startup. The Cowork @nnex is a business cowork space and community located in 10,000 square

feet of the historically restored Brent building in beautiful downtown Pensacola. With a soft opening in September 2017, today it hosts over 90 members and continues to grow daily. Community manager Karen McLouth and media manager Ramsey Coates fulfill the Cowork @nnex’s great mission to connect individuals and start-ups with each other and the resources needed to grow a new idea or business within the greater Pensacola business community. With diverse members such as Tameka Allen, a Facebook ads strategist who works with service-based entrepreneurs to attract quality leads with Facebook advertising, Stephen Rainey, head of software engineering at FYI, a digital platform hub that houses all documents together in one place and Trish Taylor, a mindset coach and the author of Why Am I Scared, it’s easy to see why the Cowork @nnex has quickly become a hub of inspiration, support and collaboration in the community. Additionally, the Cowork @nnex hosts the local chapter of the Kauffman Foundation 1 Million Cups program, which brings together investors, business advisors and industry specialists to counsel startups and their founders. Throughout the year, forward thinking speakers are brought to events like CivicCon and EntreCon, both growing projects of renowned local entrepreneur Quint Studer. These engagements are designed to spark creative thinking in civically engaged members of the community, fostering relationships between key movers and shakers locally and specialists from outside of the region.

From left to right: Kenzie Fitzpatrick, 1 Million Cups organizer Jim Rhodes, ITEN Wired director, AppRiver David Taylor, CMO GlowRage Michael Silver, CEO GlowRage Ramsey Coates, Media Manager, Cowork @nnex Beth McClean, ITEN Wired Marketing Chair Christian Um Kaman, Computer Science Student, App Developer, Community Organizer at 1 Million Cups Kelly Reeser, FLWest LLoyd Reshard, CEO of Cognitive Big Data Systems Carson Wilbur, WF Center for Cybersecurity ambassador

18 Pensacola Magazine

Featured Startup

GlowRage goes Global

From left to right: Beth McClean, ITEN Wired marketing chair Jim Rhodes, ITEN Wired director, AppRiver Kelly Reeser, FLWest

Networking

Networking is an important act of outreach that is fundamental in driving the success and development of business and community initiatives. The Florida Small Businesses Development Center at UWF encourages students to find and grow their ventures. Combined with UWF’s Military Veterans Resource Center, led by the venerable Bob Foster, veteran students are specially trained and connected to resources that encourage them to pursue their own businesses. Between entrepreneurship and networking, the TechFarms and Venture Hive programs, located in Panama City and Mobile respectively, provide a burgeoning capital resource for new businesses. Capital is critical, and these programs are pipelines for it. Beth McClean, web analytics specialist for AppRiver and marketing chair of ITEN WIRED, started a series of digital marketing meetups two years ago to bring together the worlds of marketing and technology in one place. Through the eyes of experienced speakers and Mrs. McClean’s own vast knowledge of the field, these Meetups have helped show why digital marketing is so important in today’s connected world. Finally, the bedrock of ITEN WIRED is ITGulfCoast, a consortium of professionals serving as the core Programming Committee of ITEN WIRED, awarding scholarships to students from New Orleans to Tallahassee and planning other IT events for the region’s network.

Chris Hendricks, the current programming & education committee lead, has dedicated immense time and effort into piecing together the components for this year’s Summit. Jim Rhodes, director of ITEN WIRED and longtime member, board advisor and chairman of ITGulfCoast, spends time throughout the year advancing the organization’s core values and marketing the Summit to its target audience. ITEN WIRED Radio is one facet of his efforts and has had wide-reaching impact outside of simply advertising the event, having sparked many thought provoking conversations about these four pillars of the Summit. The list of notable individuals and companies in Northwest Florida extends much longer than any one article could cover, and ITEN WIRED is a perfect vehicle to feed off of their energy and carry all of them to success. ITEN WIRED Radio, Geeks on the Beach, the Career Fair, VIT Dinner and the Summit itself all culminate in a week that hoists the tech community high. About the Author: Carson Wilber is a senior undergraduate student in Computer Science, Cybersecurity and Mathematics at the University of West Florida, president of the AI Research Group, a member of the Cybersecurity Club and a UWF Center for Cybersecurity ambassador. Carson volunteers for community initiatives across the panhandle, represents various academic nonprofits, and co-founded INERTIA Education Programs, Inc. to bring high-quality afterschool STEM programs to underserved schools in Escambia County. He attended ITEN WIRED in 2017 and spoke on ITEN WIRED Radio about the Summit’s value for a student and the outlook of cybersecurity on the Emerald Coast.

For more information on the ITEN WIRED technology summit hosted on Pensacola Beach October 1-2, please visit www.itenwired.com

Pictured: Michael Silver, chief operating officer and David Taylor, chief marketing officer

lowRage began in Pensacola, Fla. as a small, one-off event company. It has grown into one of the largest entertainment companies in the U.S. GlowRage and its members additionally operate Paint University, FoamDrop and Colorburst 5k. Combined, these companies host nearly 300 events every year across the United States. The members of GlowRage also operate MineWare, a cryptocurrency mining endeavor based in Pensacola, and Panhandle Print Studio, which is a full service branding shop specializing in custom printed t-shirts, banners and other branding products. GlowRage has had deep ties to Pensacola, as all of its members are from the area. The growth of GlowRage can be attributed to their time spent in the Co:Lab Pensacola. GlowRage became a tenant in Co:Lab in 2014 and in 2017 graduated from the incubator. GlowRage then purchased their own facility and once renovations were complete, the entire family of companies moved into the Englewood Heights district on the edge of downtown Pensacola. This nearly 10,000 square foot facility has allowed them to expand rapidly. The environment at Co:Lab Pensacola provided instant access to reliable advice, networking opportunities and team development. The overall accountability measures that helped incubate GlowRage also provided a horizontal line of scalability. Using the tools available, GlowRage was able to land a one-of-a-kind entertainment contract with the United States government. This launched GlowRage on an international tour entertaining service members across multiple military bases including Guantanamo Bay, Africa, Japan, and Guam. GlowRage now shares a common focus of making new connections within the community by attending 1Million Cups and looking for ways to pay it forward and support the endeavors of Co:Lab and its partners.

Pensacola Magazine

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GEEKS ON THE BEACH

Geek on the Beach, Erik Peterson with Appriver

Telecommuting From Paradise by Sena Maddison, Director of Communications, FloridaWest

emote work, or telecommuting, is rapidly gaining in popularity. According to The State of the Remote Job Marketplace report from FlexJobs, there are now 3.9 million Americans, or 2.9 percent of the total U.S. workforce, who work from home at least half the time. Remote work gives employees the option to work anywhere in the world and many tech professionals are seeing that Pensacola and the “Cyber Coast” offer remote workers a like minded tech community as well as an excellent quality of life and the affordable, laid back lifestyle that many remote workers desire.

Jonathan Arneault, director of North America SaaS with IBM could have worked anywhere in the world. When he asked his boss 10 years ago if the company minded where he lived, his boss said, “As long as you have an airport and the Internet, I don’t care. Your job doesn’t require you to be in a physical locale. Since that’s the case, pick where you live!” Arneault chose Pensacola. Besides the obvious draw of sugar white sands, there are many advantages for telecommuting employees to select Pensacola. “I’ve worked remotely since 1999,” Arneault said. “I started working remotely in New York and the job carried with me when I moved to Florida. When I came here, there was zero change in the work except that I had no state income tax which is a tremendous advantage. If you are from New York and you move here, it is an

instant six percent pay raise just for moving. Plus, my little 1,400 square foot house in New York cost nearly the same price as my 3,000 square foot house here that is three blocks from the bay.” Travel time is another consideration. “Let me tell you something about the Pensacola area – this is a fabulous commuter city,” Arneault said. “I can be in downtown Atlanta faster than people who live in Atlanta, and I do it often. I can be there for a morning meeting and back in Pensacola at lunch. From 2009 to 2010, I did 400,000 miles out of Pensacola running a worldwide business. Living here, I reach anywhere in the world in the same amount of time as I would if I lived in Prague or Dubai or Istanbul. Plus, the cost of living is lower and there are great schools here. My family is happy here and it’s a very easy commute for me and those like me.“ Pensacola Magazine

photo by Guy Stevens

geeks on the beach

Brenda Harris at the Cowork @nnex

IBM already has 27 midto-senior level employees in Pensacola, and only two of those have any direct responsibility locally. All these employees have selfselected the Pensacola area as the place they wanted to be. The word is getting out that Pensacola is a perfect spot for tech careers and Arneault takes every chance he can to show the area to colleagues. “In February we had a team meeting here,” Arneault said. “We had to have it someplace – and my team all said, ‘Well, we’ve never been to Pensacola, but we have heard so much about it.’ We had a very productive team meeting while we just happened to be staring at the Gulf of Mexico. My colleagues said, ‘You really live here?’ I’d point over the sound and say, ‘My house is right there.’ Two of them are looking at moving here because the cost of living is lower and had a wonderful experience and met nice people.” Arneault sees opportunities increasing every day. “I anticipate we will see a

significant amount of high tech immigration in this area,” he said. “They will come because they can start by telecommuting and then what you will likely see is startups and move-ins around those startups that are known companies. I anticipate that in five years this will happen organically because the pieces are in place and word is getting out.”

Another tech executive drawn here by the lifestyle is Brenda Harris, global sales enablement manager at Oracle. Harris was also able to bring her job with her to Pensacola. “My role is teaching salespeople globally how to sell our products,” Harris said. “We have made a large shift to the cloud and I create the messaging and the content that supports it. So they can take that content and make it their own.”

the world on their boat for two years before weighing anchor on Pensacola Beach. “We found this area because we had a boat,” Harris explained. “We were looking at coastal areas near Atlanta where we could keep it. We stopped in Pensacola to see what it was like and said ‘Wow, it’s really quite affordable here!’ I just fell in love and we ended up buying a place, and I’ve been here ever since.” The beach is only one of Harris’s reasons for landing here, “I also like that it is a community,” Harris said. “In a big city where there are a lot of companies, you don’t always connect with people. There are a lot of ways to connect with people here – like having meet-ups and joining IT Gulf Coast.”

Harris has worked with Oracle for 10 years, six of those years in Jonathan Arneault, director of North America SaaS with IBM Pensacola, and she loves working from home. “It’s just about being While Pensacola is a draw able to have that work-life for telecommuters, the balance,” she said. “It’s lifestyle, the ease of travel important to have that and the growing tech conducive work space community are also assets that makes you happy. I to existing tech companies can’t say enough about and their office-based how fantastic Oracle has employees. The workbeen about allowing their life balance offered by employees to have the Pensacola area’s leading independence to be able to employer, Navy Federal work from home.” Credit Union, is a huge draw Her stay on the beach for tech professionals when started with a boat. She and considering job offers. Bill her husband Jeff traveled Hills, Navy Federal’s chief

information officer, says Navy Federal’s employees really enjoy living in the Pensacola community. “At our Navy Federal Pensacola campus, we are rapidly expanding our career opportunities for IT professionals,” Hills said. “Our Pensacola employees love that they have the benefits of working for a large organization but are able to serve our members while experiencing the more laid-back lifestyle of living in a Florida beach town.”

Geek Spotlight

Erik Peterson, customer care specialist at AppRiver, has helped to promote ITEN Wired by serving as an official ‘Geek on the Beach’ ambassador for the last three years. Originally from Massachusetts, Erik traveled the world with the U.S. Navy before making the Pensacola area his home. “I found myself sitting on a sugar white beach with a summer breeze listening to the warm waves from the gulf run ashore,” Peterson said. “Traveling across the world, I’ve seen many places and people. Nothing has impressed me more than Pensacola. The community and natural beauty here are great. Pensacola has the best people, downtown culture, and beaches. I can see myself living here for a while.”

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the state of tech

Jim Rhodes Pensacola native fosters tech growth in the region

By Elisabeth A. Doehring

hen the cedars turn red and oaks hue brown, you will find Jim Rhodes on the Blackwater River. Paddle in hand, Rhodes likes to spend time on the famed river in late October. Maneuvering past other kayaks, canoes and small craft, the Pensacola native plows through the tannic water past a wide expanse of white sandbars and beaches. This is Rhodes’ fall downtime and you’ll usually find him on the Blackwater, in Pensacola Bay or out along the Gulf of Mexico. The AppRiver veteran’s primary loves are his family and kayaking, but he does have one other passion — the ITEN WIRED Summit. How did you become involved in ITEN WIRED? When I returned home from Charlotte in 2007, I wanted to continue my career and passion for high tech. Enter ITEN WIRED, which began as a small quarterly meet up initiated by the Greater Pensacola Chamber in 2008. Two years later, Maria Weisnicht, one of the founders of IT Gulf Coast, convinced the Chamber to allow her organization to take over the programming and bring the summit to the next level. That year the format changed to a half-day event held at the University of West Florida. She did a fantastic job of evolving

Photo by Guy Stevens

the event. The 2011 summit included a keynote and a few breakouts, with about 50 people in attendance. The summit kicked off in full force in 2012 and moved out to the Hilton on Pensacola Beach. At the conclusion of the 2012 summit, I was approached to be director the following year. Since then, we have put together a spectacular group of people that plan ITEN WIRED and the industry and community have really embraced the event. The growth we have seen over the last five years has been phenomenal. The spirit of the summit is to showcase the local tech community, bring in subject matter experts to talk about the latest trends in the field and to get those with an interest in the sector in one room for a few days to spark conversations that will propel the sector forward. In order to be a player in the global economy, you have to know who the players are and that is why we focus on drawing speakers and attendees

from outside of our area. We have seen attendance growth of 800 percent since 2011. It gets bigger and better every year. It is truly amazing to me to see what this team has accomplished. I am honored to be able to work with this group each year and see how they will push the envelope. What geographic area does ITEN WIRED cover? Beth McClean, marketing director for the summit, and I have worked hard to expand our reach. To hit this level of growth, we’ve attended tech and digital conferences in Atlanta and New Orleans and employed strategic networking tactics with key audiences including the startup sectors to raise brand awareness of the summit. Combined with the Pensacola metropolitan area, focus this year continues to include the Gulf Coast’s 1-10 corridor and we’ve seen newly expanding interest from Tallahassee, Fla., Birmingham, Ala. and Washington D.C. Pensacola Magazine

the state of tech

Jim Rhodes Why Pensacola? There is a growing appreciation for this area from the tech community. To come back home from Charlotte and see the growth invigorates me. We have a beautiful location and an excellent quality of life here. Places like Austin and San Francisco aren’t necessarily the places you have to live in order to be successful. As tech professionals, we can do our jobs and then step back and enjoy our beaches and all of the other great attractions this area has to offer. Who are you looking forward to hearing speak at the summit this year? This year’s lineup is fantastic. Kelly Reeser, director of CO:Lab Pensacola, and ITEN WIRED programming chair along with Denielle Ly with TEK Systems have done a phenomenal job of keeping up the summit’s tradition of having a great slate of presenters. I think keynote speaker Arianna Simpson, founder of Autonomous Partners, and her discussion on digital currency and blockchain will be a big draw. We also have Dr. Stephen Dunnivant (Tallahassee Community College), Bill Hills (Navy Federal Credit Union) and Tony Lawrence (VOR Technology) lined up as keynote presenters over the summit’s two days. They have all participated in past summits and the fact that they are willing to come back and share their knowledge and expertise again speaks to their belief in the value of this event. What other programming does the summit offer? The summit also offers opportunities for career advancement. On Sept. 28, our career fair at the Holiday Inn on Pensacola Beach is open to local area tech students as well as the public. The event is sponsored by Career Source Escarosa and it is a great career and networking opportunity for the community. It is well attended, so if you are a job seeker, plan on getting there early to allow enough time to visit with all the employers. We have also expanded our programming this year to include our first Industry Day. It is an opportunity for state/federal and Department of Defense Program Management Offices to present the plans for current and future IT procurement to representatives from the industry. Government entities are a huge component of the local tech scene, and it is important that we include them in the discussion on how to move things forward. Now in its third year, the Cyber Competition is a hot draw. Set for Oct. 1, it features teams from UWF Cybersecurity competing with other

educational entities like Pensacola State College and Gulf Coast Community College. This is a great catalyst for conversation and interaction. It’s easy to be isolated in tech. Here is a program and competition to get everyone talking and sharing—one of the trademarks of ITEN WIRED. We also offer a reduced ticket price of $100 for students. This is an aspiring tech professional’s best opportunity to meet the movers and shakers in our area and speakers from throughout the United States. As a student you’ll be exposed to subject matter experts and future employers. We’ve formed a great partnership with Pensacola Business Radio as well. We have been able to leverage the platform to provide both a live broadcast from the summit and to produce shows throughout the year to keep the conversation going. It is also a great promotional tool for our mission.

Jim Rhodes is a native of Pensacola and a graduate of Tate High School and the University of West Florida, where he received his degree in finance. He moved to Charlotte, N.C. in 1997 with a goal of furthering his career in banking, but later developed a passion for information technology. Upon graduating ECPI College of Technology, he officially entered into the world of IT in 2001. After working several years as a network engineer, he and his family relocated back to Pensacola in 2007. Jim has been employed by AppRiver since 2008 and specializes in supporting its services on mobile technology platforms, which provides mobile device support for a global customer base of almost 300,000 users. He also serves as an advisor to the board of directors for IT Gulf Coast and as a board member for Innovation Coast.

ITEN WIRED Summit • September 28 • October 1 • October 2 • itenwired.com

26 Pensacola Magazine

the state of tech

these local developers include App Innovators, Hail Studio, Janusz Chudzynski and the husband and wife team of Marcus and Maria Vlahovic.

Developiinng an App ola? Pensac t

When it comes to developing apps in Pensacola, they say the actual work is no different than it would be anywhere, but that being in a smaller market does limit job and networking opportunities.

bu g n i g n e l l a h C worthwhile

e of the Since the ris artphone, modern sm e cations hav mobile appli way we live changed the , munication m o C . s e v li r ou and nt, banking entertainme had ce can all be even roman of a screen. at the touch - by Will Isern

At just 10 years old, the mobile app industry has grown to be one of the world’s largest. Total app downloads topped 175 billion worldwide in 2017 and consumer spending on those apps exceeded $86 billion, according to a January report by App Annie. Development of these apps has typically been associated with the high-tech meccas in which they were born, especially San Francisco. With the right set of skills, however, app developers can and do work anywhere, including Pensacola. From professional development studios to small do-it-yourself teams, local app developers create apps for small businesses, large corporations and universities and the public. Some of

28 Pensacola Magazine

“The market is definitely very small,” Chudzynski said. “I think a few years ago when apps were new, everyone wanted an app for this or that even though most of them didn’t make any sense. It was like if you were a business you needed to have an app. That was kind of the golden age for app developers, but it’s not like that anymore. So when you have a small business you have to do everything because the market for apps is just so small here.”

Even so, Hail Studios and Chudzynski have worked with 2K Sports, a nationwide video game publisher, to develop an app that allowed players to use a photo of themselves to create an in-game character. These kinds of jobs are few and far between, the developers said. “We got a lot of requests for apps, but it seems to be only a small percentage of people who follow through with it,” said Ralph Haynes, owner and lead developer at Hail Studio. “I think with budgets being a concern people choose not to do them because there’s a bit more involved with apps than there is with web.” More often, these developers work on smaller projects for a targeted audience. App Innovators, based in Tallahassee with an office in Pensacola, worked with the multi-national engineering firm

Danfoss to create that company’s “Turbo Tool” app, which they use in the field to show potential customers the benefits of their products in real time. They also created the web app EventOwl, used by a number of large companies including Gulf Power to manage events such as conferences and seminars. The company’s founder Dustin Rivest said he’s seen the industry shift from companies seeking public-facing to more internal tools. “I think the landscape has changed more towards businesses and organizations trying to figure out ways to use tech for a variety of data points,” Rivest said. “We have a lot of businesses come to us saying, ‘We have a problem, can you fix it?’” Finding success for many of these developers has meant diversifying to offer a range of related services. In addition to app development, Hail Studio focuses on web development, hosting, branding and design, where demand is more robust. Likewise, Chudzynski does most of his development on the side through his company Izotx LLC while teaching app development to students at the University of West Florida. On the other hand, it is possible to make it on the back of one great app if your target audience is almost anyone. The Vlahovics’ have found success among individual users who have adopted their nutrition-tracking app, Nutritrack, for its slick design and deep set of features. Nutritrack lets users track their diet and can suggest foods to provide nutrients that the user may be lacking. The app can be tailored to meet the specific dietary needs of an individual user whether they be on a high-protein athletic diet or have certain dietary restrictions, like Marcus, who is glutenintolerant. As the Vlahovics developed the app throughout 2017, they envisioned California as the place to be to make it in the app world. So in August 2017, the couple moved to Los Angeles and began taking meetings with industry insiders and venture capitalists in hopes of generating backing ahead of their launch.

“Developing an app is one thing, getting it out there and getting recognition and getting downloads is another thing. You could easily spend twice as much in marketing your app as in developing it.” But they quickly became disillusioned with California and, after launching the app in March, realized they didn’t need the industry support to see success. The Vlahovics’ big break came just weeks after launching the app when Apple featured Nutritrack on a curated list of “Apps We Love.” Downloads skyrocketed and the Vlahovics became profitable for the first time in their young development careers. The Vlahovics recognize that they were very fortunate. Recognition by Apple is the dream of many aspiring developers. Rivest said many successful developers might spend more time and resources marketing their app than they did developing it. “Developing an app is one thing,” he said. “Getting it out there and getting recognition and getting downloads is another thing. You could easily spend twice as much in marketing your app as in developing it.” Without the need for venture capitalist backing, the Vlahovics decided to return to Pensacola. Today more than 50,000 people have downloaded Nutritrack, Maria said learning to build and manage the app on their own in Pensacola was difficult but worthwhile in the end.

“Somewhere like here there aren’t many resources to go out to if you’re looking to develop an app,” she said. “You have the internet and that’s about it. So if you’re looking for that, you’re going to have to learn and fail on your own. You can get to the same answers, but it might take you twice as long. So that’s one of the downsides, but the upside is that once you go through that trial and error you can be self sufficient.” While there may be greater opportunities and resources elsewhere, there are benefits to being in Pensacola as well, the developers said. Rivest said his company has been contacted by clients in larger markets who have been deterred by the high cost of development by firms in those markets. “We have people out west contact us because the prices are so high out there,” he said. “And the reason prices are so high is because the cost of living is so high.” Haynes also cited the lower cost of living as a benefit of being in Pensacola, and said the barriers to connecting with out-of-market clients are less imposing in the age of social media. “Pensacola is a great place to live,” said Haynes. “We’ve got beautiful beaches and

Marcus + Maria Vlahovic the cost of living is a lot lower than a lot of places. Also, we don’t necessarily need to be in a bigger city to work with some of these clients in bigger cities. There’s other ways to make those connections, through social media like following companies that might be potential clients and making those connections virtually. Looking ahead, the app market is only going to grow larger as the populations in emerging countries like China, India and Brazil gain wider access to smartphones. Consumer spending on apps in 2018 is expected to top $110 billion, according to another App Annie report. It’s unlikely that those consumers are going to care much whether an app was created in San Francisco or Pensacola.

Student Spotlight

Christian Um Kaman, 2enovate LLC Christian UM Kaman is a computer science student, app developer, community organizer at 1 Million Cups and an intern at the IHMC. Kaman founded 2enovate LLC in 2016. The company has produced a subsidiary business, the “Where In That City” brand. To date, the “Where In Newport” and “Where In Annapolis” apps are operational, providing residents and visitors with information and recommendations for events, dining spots and attractions. Christian created the brand to help local pop-up shops, small businesses and startups in smaller-sized cities. He is adding the Decoovr ™ app to the portfolio which will be released soon. Pensacola Magazine

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the state of tech

Content is King How locals use social media to turn content into money

by Kaitlyn Peacock

How much time each day do you spend on Facebook? Twitter? YouTube? Instagram? Dare I ask, all four?

Social media has rapidly become an integral part of everyday life. It seems like every business, every person, even every person’s dog has a social media page somewhere. Some people have found a way to run a business off of their social media presence, including some on our own beautiful beaches. You don’t have to be a Hollywood star to become famous on YouTube and you don’t have to be a model to gain followers on Instagram. All you need is a cellphone. As technology becomes more readily available, so does communication between people from all across the world. This idea of wide-spread communication is what social media

was originally conceived for, but as the years go on, its role has changed. Social media has become a business with a large number of investors: everyday people who want to share the special and mundane moments of their life with friends, family and strangers alike. Also unique to social media users is that every single one of them can be called “content creators,” or those who design and post to the Internet. Everything from your bedroom mirror selfie on Instagram to the extravagant, professional quality videos on YouTube can be considered content, and those behind both these projects are creators. Pensacola Magazine got a chance to speak with some local content creators who garnered impressive followings on their social media from the comforts of their own Pensacola homes. Pensacola Magazine

photo by Guy Stevens

Brant PreacherAnglerUp

the state of tech

Content is King

32k YouTube Subscribers 99.8k Facebook Likes 143k Instagram Followers

photo by Guy Stevens

Jack MotleyYak Motley

Angler Up with Brant Peacher features, not surprisingly, Brant Peacher, a local businessman and fisherman who creates content mostly for YouTube and Instagram. After growing a large base on Instagram, he switched his focus to his YouTube channel, where he runs a fishing vlog in conjunction with his charter business. While he has fun with his social media pages, Peacher

59k YouTube Subscribers 178k Facebook Likes 13.3k Instagram Followers

Jack Motley, AKA Yak Motley, creates his content for his YouTube channel, Facebook page and Instagram where he is most comfortable, out in the Gulf Coast waters. His content revolves around a vlog of fishing adventures and misadventures,

32 Pensacola Magazine

shared his thoughts on how he runs them as part of his business. “Businesses are missing the biggest thing of all with YouTube and social media and self-branding,” he said. “If I was just an up-and-coming business person, before I even thought about creating that business, I would create a platform online in that niche market. Because it’s never been easier to monetize something in that specific niche than it is nowadays by creating a following or creating a fan base or something like that. If you start a business nowadays, without a fan base, the old ways of advertising no longer work, so these people are trying to start businesses that are failing because they don’t have a fan base, they don’t have a following.” Creating this brand and connecting with a niche community is all part of being a YouTuber, Peacher explained. He also said that this type of entertainment will become the lasting entertainment go-to for current and future generations, who have started to turn away

from huge Hollywood stars in favor of smaller, more relatable people. “It’s people ages ten to twentyfive, it’s what they grew up knowing,” Peacher said. “People in that age didn’t know anything

daily life around Pensacola and anything else exciting that might happen in the day. “I like to think of Yak Motley as an online character,” he said. “Kind of like how Hulk Hogan and Terry Hogan are the same but on camera, while you are not necessarily different, you take it up a notch versus how you are in your own home on the couch.” Motley understands that social media has changed the way people consume content, specifically how people see and react to advertisement. A YouTube channel may not make a lot off of the ad revenue run by YouTube itself, but through sponsors and businesses looking to market with new influencers, anyone can make a good living off their content. “What we are seeing is really a transition of influencers into the marketing field, where companies aren’t just blasting out ads indiscriminately,” he said. “They are actually taking people, kind of

like how Michael Jordan was with shoes, they are taking influencers that harness a crowd and a niche, they are taking their product to them or they are doing deals with them and saying ‘Hey, put this in front of eyeballs.’ We think that is going to be the future of advertising on the YouTube and Facebook platforms.” The flow of content and how people consume it also varies from platform to platform, with Facebook being a site for more viral-like short videos, YouTube being a place for longer, more in-depth videos and Instagram for a quick picture of the day. The audience of each platform, and the expectations of the platforms, helps to dictate what content belongs where and how creators structure their content for which audience. “A lot of it has to do with how people consume the content,” Motley said. “(The mindset of ) Instagram is ‘I took a break from work, I have a fifteen minute

“It’s never been easier

to monetize something in that specific niche than it is nowadays by creating a following or creating a fan base.” but YouTube. YouTube is what they do. So these YouTube stars, they really get treated like stars. You can see videos of people actually meeting their fans and their fans treat them like they are a Hollywood celebrity, and it’s because that age group, that’s what they grew up knowing. YouTube, It’s like cable television to them.” The viral nature of the Internet also means that

although Peacher’s channel is based in Pensacola, a lot of people from out of town, and even out of the country, see his content. For people outside of Pensacola, the allure of his content is what every Pensacolian is used to – the sugar-white sand, the beautiful Bay and the good fishing. When asked about reaching out to people from outside the area, Peacher said it happens almost automatically. “Someone is going to be like, ‘Dude check this channel out, check this out, check that out, check this video out,’ and all of a sudden, it kind of spreads,” he said. “Then everybody sees what you’re doing and they want to come do it with you.” In this regard, Peacher says he acts almost like a tour guide, someone to bring people into Pensacola who otherwise might have vacationed in Destin, Panama City or even in another state.

lunch break, I’m going to look through, see what I can find.’ While YouTube is kind of like people get up, they check their e-mail, they drink their coffee, they want to watch a 10, 15 minute video, check in, see how the vlog’s going, see whatever is happening.” While it may seem like the audience and community dictate a lot of how creators make their content, Motley said the process was a lot less restrictive than it would be for a television show, or something with more guidelines and rules. “What I really love about the platform is nobody can tell me you can’t do that,” he said. “I can make a video however I want, within the guidelines of YouTube. I can not follow the rules of photography and videography. A cable television would not put half the junk we do on television. But the market has said ‘Hey I want to see that.’ ”

Nobody can deny that Pensacola has some of the most beautiful scenery on the Gulf Coast. Sean Mullins, who runs the Pensacola Vibes Instagram and Facebook pages, has made it his job to show off every nook and cranny of our part of the Gulf Coast that even lifetime locals may not have seen. He said he’s not Indiana Jones, but he does aim for his photos to provide a picture of Pensacola for locals and tourists, a sort of tour from

Creating your own Brand Choose your Platform Every social media platform has its specific audience. YouTube features longer videos, while Instagram works best for quick snap shots. Choose a platform that works best for your style and your way of life, but don’t be afraid to branch out into other platforms as well. Know the differences between them, and make sure to take advantage of the ones that work best for you. Have a Theme Creating a central theme can help pull together your content from many platforms into one idea. Your theme can simply be

position from many other people on social media, as while he runs the pages, he keeps himself out of the spotlight. While many people focus on themselves as the subject of their social media, Mullins has let Pensacola take the lead.

“Whether it’s on the

nature trail in the Live Oaks or if it’s on a nature trail in Perdido or Big Lagoon. That’s all I’m trying to do. I’m trying to evoke emotion whenever I take a photo. That’s a product as well.” “It’s just a matter of taking photos of places people can associate with,” he said. “Whether it’s on the nature trail in the Live Oaks or if it’s on a nature trail in Perdido or Big

Lagoon. That’s all I’m trying to do. I’m trying to evoke emotion whenever I take a photo. That’s a product as well.” To promote his social media, Mullins is active with other content creators and social media users. By commenting and interacting with others, someone can enter into a community, which may bleed into another community, and from there get passed on to others. This is how something can go viral on the Internet, simply through interaction and getting more people to see what you are putting out into the community. “I know a lot of my friends and people I follow will say they’ve been tagged in something on Pensacola Vibes just to go check out,” Mullins said. “If someone is in town, they’ll say, ‘Oh you should go check out Pensacola Vibes if you want to go somewhere or do something. Go check that account and you can plan your day out around that.’ ”

Sean MullinsPensacola Vibes

42.7k Facebook Likes 13.6k Instagram Followers

the comfort of your computer screen. “It’s more of just showing Pensacola and the beauty that is within Pensacola,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve put up a photo from the nature trail and someone that’s lived in Pensacola their entire life had no idea about it.” Although running a social media page can take a lot of time, energy and planning, Mullins happened into it when he realized he had just about everything he needed to start something different. “I realized that prior to this (Pensacola Vibes), I had all these photos and I have them all on a Google Drive in categories of the locations and I thought, well I can just do this,” he said. “Everyone has been trying to start a lifestyle brand like this so, I was like I already have everything.” Along with his Instagram, Mullins runs a clothing line business, but he stressed that his real product is the photos and the emotions evoked from the photos. He also is in a different

Ever thought about creating a YouTube channel or want to have more of a presence on social media? Here are some tips on how to start and grow your brand on any platform. “my life,” but have something to structure your content around. This is where your “brand” develops, through your style, your personality, and your theme.

schedules differ from platform to platform, but your audience will expect a schedule and keeping to one will help grow your community.

Be Engaged There is an unavoidable “social” aspect of social media. The more engaged you are with your audience, and other content creators, the more you will get your name out into the world. Don’t be afraid to chat with people in the community.

Have Fun Whether you are on social media for business or pleasure, people want to see you having fun, because that’s fun for everyone in the community. So enjoy your time! Do something a little off the wall or sit back and relax, just make sure you are having the time of your life with whatever you do.

Be Consistent Most social media platforms reward consistent uploads. These

Pensacola Magazine

the state of tech

What Can Businesses Do with

Gigabit Internet? by Kristi Salmon – Mediacom Business

CRMs, video collaboration and streaming, cloud computing and analytic programs – these are some of the daily applications businesses are using to meet the demands of the connected economy. As technology continues to open new doors to innovation, these programs get more sophisticated and require more bandwidth. And the need to do more and do it faster is a priority for all businesses. Accessing and moving data in a matter of seconds is not a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity. Faster bandwidth determines how a business can consume these applications. Without high-capacity broadband a business cannot reap the benefits all that technology was intended for. Your business’ broadband delivery method matters. Antiquated technologies will leave you waiting for files to upload or download and there is a definite cap on the speed you can achieve. A broadband infrastructure capable of delivering speeds of 1 gigabit and beyond is ideal in supporting the tasks that will be required for businesses of all sizes to compete in the future business economy. With reliable, fast business internet, bandwidth is never a bottleneck to productivity. Nielsen’s “Law of Internet Bandwidth” states that a high-end users’ connection speed grows by 50 percent per year. This observation has held true for over 30 years and continues to drive innovation and investment for business. Well-connected companies should begin to assume that this law will hold true for them and that HD video conferencing, virtual reality tools, cloud computing and data capabilities will increase their bandwidth needs 50 percent per year. With the movement towards remote employees, businesses need

34 Pensacola Magazine

to support their infrastructure with fast internet, so collaboration can flourish. Technology can make us feel like we are in a room together and build a highly relational experience in the same manner as if we were face-to-face. Connectivity is instrumental in promoting that type of work environment. High-capacity bandwidth promotes workplace collaboration. Colleagues can work for hours a day on the same piece of data while in different states. • The Need for Speed Bandwidth speed is a crucial part of your network. When your internet speeds are slow, you lose more than just load time: • Reduced productivity A study by Sandisk from 2013 showed users lost a full working week every year because of slow internet connections. When time is taken out of an employee’s day waiting for files to upload or download, that’s time they are unable to be productive. This reduction can lead to decreased morale and worse, disengagement.

• Lost profits When your employees aren’t productive, your business loses revenue for that period of time. But this can also happen on the customer facing side as well – if your business offers services to customers that rely on your internet connection, your customer’s perception of your ability will not fare well if that connection keeps them from reaching a destination. • Unreachable cloud Many businesses have turned to cloud services and resources to better optimize their organizations; in fact, according to a report by Verizon, at least 87 percent of businesses use the cloud. CRMs, backup and recovery services, collaboration sites, POS systems and more are now accessible via the cloud. However, with a slow connection, trying to connect to these services can be difficult. • Consider your cloud environment Employees view, download and upload files for collaboration, review, edit, etc. The cloud can be a great avenue to foster innovation within a business, making it easier to retrieve, save and backup files. But the path to the cloud requires speed to access data, especially when multiple users are working within this method. What can your business do with gigabit level internet speeds? We already know slow internet speed is a game stopper for businesses. But what type of boost does your business need? Is 1 gigabit capacity too much speed? Not at all. Small businesses benefit from faster and more reliable internet

speeds. Instead of long wait times, users can easily retrieve any file or video needed in a matter of seconds. When a business has higher levels of broadband, there are fewer restrictions on applications or online programs they can venture into. Have you found a program that can better push productivity or manage your accounts receivable? Those require bandwidth and when businesses have adequate speed levels it doesn’t stifle the normal every day operations of hosting your website e-commerce, or employees accessing their email. No one likes hiccups or buffering – and when these interruptions happen it’s time to revisit your bandwidth speed. The demands of employees and customers are changing. Businesses both large and small need to examine their daily operations and stay up with technology to meet those needs. We are inundated with information, and all businesses need the ability to handle a growing influx of communication tools and programs. It’s important to consider the roadmap for the future. Broadband technology should meet a business’ current bandwidth needs, but it should be positioned to meet tomorrow’s needs, as well. With Cable highspeed internet with tiers up to 1 gigabit, businesses get a network built for the next century – not built around the last one. References: Nielsen, Jakob. “Nielsen’s Law of Internet Bandwidth”. Nielsen Norman Group (April 5, 1998) Tyson, Mark. “Users Lose a Full Working Week Every Year Due to Slow Computers”. Hexus.net (Oct 8, 2013) Forrest, Conner. “Verizon Report Shows New Levels of Trust Between Enterprise and the Cloud”. The Tech Republic (Nov 20, 2015)

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the state of tech

Demystifying

Cryptocurrency

By Elisabeth A. Doehring

Arianna Simpson Talks Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and the Future of Money

Customer-Driven and Growing

Got a craving for a warm, frothy, triple venti latte this fall? Want to pay with cryptocurrency? Starbucks is ready and banking on your business. The coffee giant recently announced that they will use an exchange to convert digital currency to dollars for your purchase. Consumer-based applications for digital currency are on the rise. At Subway you can pull out your digital wallet and convert Bitcoin to digital dollars at the register. Overstock, Microsoft and PayPal are accepting digital currency. In addition, Blockchain has expanded to other areas like construction, education and legal. Nasdaq.com reports that the big four of accounting are taking a close look at Bitcoin and Blockchain technology. Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and KPMG are investing in research for this rapidly growing market.

Overall numbers for this year show increased growth. In January, Business Insider reported that the global cryptocurrency market hit a new record high above $700 billion. At the same time, Forbes reported that the prices of Bitcoin rose almost 2,000 percent, from $1,000 in January to over $19,000 at its peak in December, making 2017 a monumental year for cryptocurrencies and the blockchain. Digital currency entrepreneurs believe there is still room to grow. Peter Smith, chief executive officer of digital wallet platform Blockchain Ltd., told CNBC that “the total value of all cryptocurrencies in the world will hit $1 trillion in 2018.” Digital currency also has its detractors. Wall Street Journal recently reported that, “A broad investor retreat has pushed the market for digital currencies down 70 percent from its January high, reflecting user frustration over their modest inroads into commerce and a general shakeout in speculative investments.” Warren Buffett is also bearish on

cryptocurrency. “’In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say almost with certainty that they will come to a bad ending,” Buffett said on CNBC. For proponents, digital is known as the currency of the Internet. For many opponents, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are still viewed as more stable currencies.

Arianna Simpson

Behind the flurry of Bitcoin and Blockchain are some major movers and shakers – one of these leaders is Arianna Simpson, a digital currency expert and managing director of Autonomous Partners, an investment fund focused on cryptocurrencies. Arianna Simpson spent her formative years in Italy. An American father and Italian mother watched their inquisitive daughter expand her horizons with global travels. Simpson caught Pensacola Magazine

the state of tech

Demystifying Cryptocurrency the digital bug on a trip to Africa and Zimbabwe, observing that Zimbabwe’s economy experienced the second worst hyperinflation in the history of money, which at its peak had the currency devaluing by 50 percent each day. Political instability ensued, and the country adopted the U.S. dollar to restabilize the economy. Since then, Zimbabwe has seen an increasing demand for cryptocurrency as an alternative to a state-run currency. When her family relocated to the United States, Simpson attended Penn State and graduated with dual degrees in International Politics and Spanish. After a year in global marketing with Facebook in New York, Simpson went west to San Francisco, where she has worked within the fields of venture capital investments and digital currency. An expert in digital currency, including blockchain and cryptocurrency, Simpson founded and now serves as managing director of Autonomous Partners. The Fund focuses on cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and block chain-based companies. A subject matter expert in digital currency, Simpson has been featured in Fortune as well as the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Forbes and Business Insider. Simpson, an avid skier and distance runner, is also in training for her next ultramarathon. In advance of her ITEN WIRED keynote on Blockchain/Cryptocurrencies, Arianna spoke with us about blockchain, digital currency and ITEN WIRED. What is the difference between cryptocurrency (digital currency) and a blockchain? A blockchain is an encrypted distributed ledger in which transactions are recorded and stored chronologically and publicly. Blockchains form networks for transacting and enable transfers of value and information. Cryptocurrencies are the digital assets used within these networks and are a part of the ecosystem, while blockchains serve as a platform on which they are used. Is there any progress on governments and central banks formally adopting digital currencies? If so, how will they apply monetary policies? A number of governments are exploring launching a state-run cryptocurrency. The Marshall Islands were the first to decide they would do so formally, earlier this year. Mark Cuban is accepting Bitcoin at his Dallas Mavericks NBA games. How would a small business today add a digital currency to current payment methods, like cash, check, Visa, Amex? If the business is a brick and mortar store, they can set up a crypto wallet (can be a custodial wallet like Coinbase, which is also a merchant payment processor) and then print the QR code of their

38 Pensacola Magazine

The reason there’s a difficulty in the narrative is that this is truly innovative technology. It is bringing together software and money in a way that we haven’t seen before. wallet address and put it at the register, or even integrate it in a POS system. Customers can then pay by scanning the QR code and sending crypto to the business’s wallet. In what economic sectors is blockchain being used now? Music, cybersecurity, food safety, pharmaceuticals, supply chain and finance, just to name a few. An IT person just entered the wrong transaction on the blockchain. How do they delete it? Basically, they can’t delete it. Immutability is a core feature (not a bug!) of blockchains. What are the most secure ways for a tech person to save digital currency and blockchain information? Is there a way to have a backup version? The most secure method of storing digital currency is offline, in cold storage. I recommend using a hardware wallet (like a Ledger Nano S). You can create a backup of your wallet as well, which can be used for disaster recovery. How does the SEC look at digital currencies? From a regulatory perspective, there are still many gray areas, but two large questions dominated the discourse related to ICOs. The first was whether a cryptocurrency could start out as a security and later become a non-security, and the second being under what conditions that might be possible. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton’s declaration that Ether is not a security answers the first question in the affirmative, but the second question remains open. How did you get the crypto bug? (Laughter) It’s an endless playground! More and more talent is entering the field and brilliant people from all industries are now

moving into the crypto field. For someone who is intellectually curious and likes exploring new rabbit holes, this is basically as good as it gets! Why is the crypto community struggling with the narrative right now? Some are saying it’s too hard to pin down. What are your thoughts? The reason there’s a difficulty in the narrative is that this is truly innovative technology. It is bringing together software and money in a way that we haven’t seen before. The result is that many people are having a hard time fitting it into one bucket. Is it software? Is it money? Or is it both? I think eventually we will look back and view this development as just as important as the internet, but we’re still in the first inning of that cycle. What are the growth trends for digital currency and blockchain? With the influx of engineering and tech in these areas, I see a major shift happening in the next three to five years. What have you heard about ITEN WIRED? And why are you looking forward to coming to the Pensacola area in October? The excitement and synergy of bringing together major tech individuals based on the assets of Northwest Florida is fantastic! I am looking forward to the geographic beauty of the area and especially getting in some great sunrise runs on the beach. For more information on Arianna Simpson, a featured speaker at ITEN WIRED, please visit www.itenwired.com.

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the state of tech

Ens. Eric Skadson takes the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) test at the Navy Foreign Language Testing Office onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola. The DLAB measures the aptitude for foreign language learning by the typical native English speaker. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Taylor L. Jackson

Warfighters in the age of

information I n an age of information, knowledge is certainly power and the need for and direction of knowledge is critical to operate in the world. At NAS Pensacola Corry Station, the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) is focused on updating and refining curriculum and training given to the best and brightest information warfare professionals. These professionals include service members who work in cyber, intelligence, communication and cryptologic fields. From the ships out at sea to men and women stationed across the world, the curriculum developed at CIWT keeps U.S. Sailors and other service members prepared to operate in a rapidly evolving world.

40 Pensacola Magazine

by Kaitlyn Peacock

“Information warfare has always existed,” CIWT Commanding Officer Capt. Nick Andrews said. “If you are a student of history and you look at how critical intelligence was to us winning in World War II, you can start piecing together the path that put us on to the whole concept of information warfare as it exists right now. Information has always been a critical enabler for other realms of warfare.” While most people may think being in the Navy is just about being able to steer a ship in the correct direction, there is a lot more that goes into keeping that ship on its course. Being able to effectively communicate to other ships and to people on shore as well as staying in the know of enemy and ally locations and movements are all crucial to a successful mission. “The Navy’s job in a great power competition is in the maritime domain, which fundamentally means ships, and all the things

that come with ships,” Andrews said. “You can take aircraft on ships, you can take personnel on ships, you can move logistics, you can move things across the world on ships, you can take tanks that have to go to another country on a ship. But when we send ships out, what we don’t do is string a long set of cords behind them to connect them back to land. We have to know how to keep in contact with ships. We also have to know how to do that when those ships are under threat of anything from a terrorist attack to if we actually were in active hostilities. Information to ships is a critical thing. So the Navy has always been in the world of getting information to ships at sea without having them be at some sort of tactical disadvantage for having to get that information.” The Navy’s role in information warfare is particularly historic, as ships have always been a central hub of needing and gathering information to perform critical missions. As technology has changed, so has the Navy’s way of communicating. “The Navy has always been at the leading edge,” Andrews said. “Even if you go back to the days of sailing ships. Then, you had to give as much information to the captain of a ship as you could prior to sailing, because when they went forward, we couldn’t get it to them. Now if you fast forward to the World War II era, it was about getting information to

Cryptologic Technician (Technical) 1st Class Morgan Selders, center, operates an AN/SLQ-32(V)6 electronic warfare system during a new course at Information Warfare Training Command Corry Station. The course is designed to train technicians on the latest version of the system. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Taylor L. Jackson Seaman Ryan Brewer, a student at the Information Systems Technician (IT) “A” School at Information Warfare Training Command, Corry Station, practices installing a processing unit cooling system. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Taylor L. Jackson

the afloat commanders so they could maneuver forces appropriately to intercept and/or take advantage of where they thought other enemy forces were. Fast forward to where we are now, that information moves at light speed.” As that information moves at light speed, and technology evolves at nearly as rapid a pace, CIWT is continuously updating its training, Andrews said. The focus is to be at the forefront of change, with anticipation of what the next evolution in technology will be, so students and instructors are prepared for the change that is on the horizon. With the advent of artificial intelligence, the massive increases in storage capabilities, among other advances, CIWT must develop classes for new and returning students in mind, as Sailors often come back for updated lessons. Training never completely ends, according to Andrews. “There is a never-ending cycle of curriculum development that we do,” he said. “And even in that, we are challenged to keep up with it. One of the things we have to get right, especially with the evolution of information warfare and the increasing pace of information warfare, is that we know what the fleet commanders and the operational commanders need, and so in order to know that, we have to make sure that feedback is making it to us and we are able then to take that and implement it in the training we do here. “But what we can’t do is have a group of folks go out in 2018 that are trained one way and a group of folks who go out in 2019 that are trained an entirely different way,” Andrews continued. “They have to compliment each other. Instead of just chasing after everything that comes through, you have to thoughtfully keep adding that to the curriculum, which means you have an ever-changing goal line.” As the capabilities and uses of said technology

changes, it is not the only concern the Navy has to contend with. Threats from outside sources discovering new ways of using both old and changing technology weighs heavily on Andrews. “Somebody, somewhere is going to figure out a novel way to use information technology to gain an advantage, which is then going to lead to a readjustment to how everybody does business, if you will, to try to react to that new threat or to take advantage of that new capability,” he said. “We have to remain engaged enough to do that, while not being the end of a whip.” As concerns over cyber threats increase, so do the capabilities of the Navy and the other U.S. military branches, thanks to efforts in advanced training by CIWT schools and other military information and technology-based schools. Andrews, who took command of CIWT in May of this year, stressed how hard the people at CIWT and other schools work, and how

they are committed to staying the forefront of information warfare. When asked about his personal goals as the new commander of CIWT, Andrews joked that all he gets to do is be interviewed, and that the real work is done by the outstanding professionals behind the scenes at CIWT. “As a Commanding Officer, in my mind, your driving force should not be about what your personal goal is,” he said. “It should be about making sure you are doing the right thing for the people who work for you and for the mission of the command. That’s my one goal. I just want to make sure we continually stay engaged, that we remain aligned with the changing nature of information warfare and that I take care of the people who actually do the work.”

Pensacola Magazine

42 Pensacola Magazine

the state of tech

Pensacola ripe to be Cyber Coast, global leader in cybersecurity By Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, director of the University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity photos by John Blackie

We as a community showcased our collaborative spirit and commitment to cybersecurity last October in a cybersecurity roundtable at the University of West Florida. That buy-in set a precedent in the mind of distinguished guest and roundtable participant Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at the Department of Homeland Security. “I don’t think I’ve seen something quite like Pensacola’s effort to come together as a community across military, government, industry, (academia) and build a strategic plan and really think about how they can be a leader in cybersecurity across the country,” Manfra said. The Cybersecurity Strategic Plan that Manfra references consists of short-term and long-term goals and strategies for building a thriving cybersecurity workforce, strengthening partnerships to enhance innovation and economic development, enhance technology infrastructure and market the Pensacola region as “Live Coastal. Work Cyber.” Pensacola is ripe to be a global cybersecurity leader with its tremendous military assets, growing industry and educational pathways, cyber-conscious government, a nationally-designated academic institution in the University of West Florida and its groundbreaking Center for Cybersecurity. That is what motivated us to collaborate with FloridaWest as well as industry and community partners on the strategic plan. Now is the time to strike and establish ourselves as the cybersecurity capital, not just for our state or region but for the nation and world.

The foundation is in place, and with further communitywide investment, Pensacola will reap the benefits of investing in a lucrative profession that is one of the fastest growing globally. The average annual salary for a cybersecurity professional with a bachelor’s degree is $85,000, and experts predict there will be 2.5 million job openings globally by 2020. The number of current cybersecurity job openings tops 13,000 in Florida alone, according to cyberseek.org. We at the University of West Florida embrace the opportunity to be at the forefront of the cybersecurity movement. We graduate talented cybersecurity professionals to fill that growing demand. Our Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity Degree is the first Center of Academic Excellence designated program in Florida as designated by the National Security Agency

Dr. Eman El-Sheikh speaks with Dr. Leonard Reinsfelder, Commandant, National Cryptologic School, NSA, on March 8 at the announcement of a partnership between UWF and NSA to accelerate completion of the undergraduate cybersecurity degree program for Joint Cyber Analysis Course graduates.

and Department of Homeland Security. In addition, we offer a variety of undergraduate and graduate programs and certificates that cater to our students’ diverse interests and make them highly employable in the field of cybersecurity. The NSA and Homeland Security designated the UWF Center for Cybersecurity as the Cybersecurity Center of Academic Excellence Regional Resource Center for the Southeast. We serve as one of nine hubs across the nation and provide leadership to advance cyber defense education among colleges and universities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and South Carolina. Our efforts to support and enhance cybersecurity innovation extend beyond higher education. We devote resources to K-12 Pensacola Magazine

the state of tech

guidelines and delivers knowledge and hands-on skills via customizable modules and range-based exercises. We partnered last year with Metova CyberCENTS to launch the Florida Cyber Range, a state-of-the-art platform that provides advanced training and testing solutions for academic, government, military and industry use. The Florida Cyber Range is revolutionizing cybersecurity education, training, research and operations within the state. We utilized the range in partnerships earlier this year with the Florida Agency of State Technology and the Florida Department of State and elections officials. We trained state agency personnel in March, then in June we provided training for elections personnel to enhance cybersecurity resiliency ahead of the elections.

“There’s no reason (Pensacola) couldn’t claim it’s the cybersecurity capital of the county or the South or the East Coast or even the World.” Alex Davis National Science Foundation in Florida. High school students and middle and high school teachers learned about Cybersecurity First Principles, cyber hygiene, cybersecurity careers, the Linux operating system, coding, password protection and defending against cyberattacks, among other skills, through a series of hands-on activities. students and teachers, workforce development and research. Last January, the UWF Center for Cybersecurity launched the Cybersecurity Ambassadors program. Our passionate cybersecurity students visit area K-12 schools, with the mission to generate cybersecurity interest and awareness and build a cyber-secure community. For the past two summers, we hosted the only GenCyber camps funded by the NSA and

44 Pensacola Magazine

Our involvement in CyberPatriot, a national youth cyber defense competition, is another example of how we invest in K-12 education. Our faculty and students mentor area high school teams in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties to grow their interest in cybersecurity. Our Center for Cybersecurity prioritizes workforce development through our Cybersecurity for All program. We provide partners innovation education and training that aligns with national cybersecurity workforce

Those types of partnerships demonstrate to the rest of the state that Pensacola is an authority in cybersecurity. Another example of our prowess is ITEN WIRED, a conference that brings together executives, technologists, educators and community leaders to fuel innovation, technology and entrepreneurship in cybersecurity and other fields. In April, 2019, we will showcase our cybersecurity leadership on a national stage. The UWF Center for Cybersecurity will partner with the NSA and Homeland Security to host the Centers of Academic Excellence Executive Leadership Forum at the Hilton Pensacola Beach. Executive leadership from academia, industry and government will converge on Pensacola to discuss cybersecurity challenges, initiatives and opportunities regionally and nationally. All of this is happening right here in Pensacola, and we are just scratching the surface on our potential. Alex Davis, a keynote speaker and bestselling author, visited Pensacola in July and spoke at CivicCon. His presentation, “The Laws of Attraction” focused on ways for communities to market themselves. One of his recommendations for Pensacola? Cybersecurity. “There’s no reason (Pensacola) couldn’t claim it’s the cybersecurity capital of the county or the South or the East Coast or even the World,” Davis said. He’s right. There is no reason Pensacola can’t be the Cyber Coast headquarters and a global leader in cybersecurity.

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the state of tech

IHMC + NASA develop the next generation of exercise equipment By Randy Hammer

photos by Guy Stevens

Picture yourself at the gym. Now think about stepping up to a barbell and lifting 200 pounds over your head. For many of us, just lifting 200 pounds off the floor takes quite a bit of effort. But in space, where you don’t have to worry about the tug of Earth’s gravity, lifting 200 pounds is a piece of cake. So the question becomes: How do you exercise in space, in microgravity? How do you maintain your muscles and bone density in microgravity? And why is that even important? A team of Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) engineers and scientists are working with NASA to help address these issues. The project came about because the NASA has long known that astronauts on long-duration spaceflights lose muscle strength and bone density because their bodies spend so much time floating in microgravity. One study out of the University of California, Irvine, found that some astronauts lost so much bone density after six months on the International Space Station that it put them on par with older women who suffer from osteoporosis. That’s a serious problem because it puts astronauts at an increased risk of hip and other age-related bone fractures decades after their time in space. This is where IHMC comes into the picture. Senior Research Scientist Peter Neuhaus has put together an IHMC team to work with NASA on an exercise machine for longduration, deep-space missions. Now that NASA is seriously considering a manned mission to Mars, the agency is working hard to figure out how to help astronauts maintain their bone density and prevent muscle loss. “It’s important to understand that astronauts currently exercise in space,” Neuhaus said. “But they have to spend two and a half hours a day on fitness. Part of the issue is that the machine

46 Pensacola Magazine

that NASA currently uses in space is massive and difficult to use. It also can’t meet the needs of a long-duration space flight to Mars.” Neuhaus has been to Johnson’s Space Center to try out the device that astronauts use on the Space Station. It’s called ARED, and it’s a huge piece of hardware with lots of pins, gears and pulleys. It takes a lot of adjustments to switch it from one exercise to the next, which contributes to the more than two and half hours a day on fitness that astronauts have to spend on fitness in space. “The device we’re devising requires very little time to set up and adjust for various exercises, users and weights. I believe the various exercise routines that are developed and tested with our device might also be more effective and time efficient. But that will only be determined once we do some studies with the device,” Neuhaus said. “We’ve known for quite a while that astronauts who spend extended time in space show signs of accelerated aging,” Ken Ford,

“We’ve known for quite a while that astronauts who spend extended time in space show signs of accelerated aging. But what’s really exciting is that if we find more efficient exercise methods for astronauts in space, these methods are also likely to be helpful to an aging population here on Earth.” - Ken Ford

IHMC’s director and co-founder said. “But what’s really exciting is that if we find more efficient exercise methods for astronauts in space, these methods are also likely to be helpful to an aging population here on Earth.” As Neuhaus spent more time working with NASA on an exercise machine for space, he indeed began to realize that such a device could also have important applications on Earth. “I began to see that this device could also provide a whole new way to perform resistance training on Earth,” Neuhaus said. “Since the force is controlled by a computer and updated hundreds of times per second, we really have a new possibility for exercise scientists to develop new exercises.” The team Neuhaus originally put together to work on the device consisted of engineers. He explains that his team was developing a tool, but didn’t really have the expertise to know how to use the tool. That led IHMC to hire Joe Gomes, the former strength and conditioning coach for the Oakland Raiders. Gomes has spent his career working with elite athletes from around the world as well the Department of Defense. “Joe’s experience and understanding of the science and practice of strength training and conditioning and how to improve a person’s fitness is helping us give our device the proper orientation. Joe is helping us write algorithms and interfaces to ensure our device can be fully utilized by people,” Neuhaus said. Cobalt Intelligence, a Pensacola-based company dedicated to accelerating and developing emerging technologies into commercially viable applications, is now helping fund the development of such a device that Neuhaus says could indeed be used on Earth to provide a whole new way of performing resistance training. “IHMC is excited about working with local investors like Cobalt,” Julie Sheppard, IHMC’s executive vice president and chief legal counsel said. “We share with Cobalt and others a common goal of growing small business opportunities and creating new high-tech jobs in the region.” Researchers at IHMC have for the past three decades been pioneers in the development of science and technology aimed at leveraging and extending human cognition, perception, locomotion and resilience. IHMC’s research during this time has been particularly focused on artificial intelligence and robotics as the primary means of extending human capabilities. More recently, Ford has been putting together a team with a biological orientation to search for ways to extend the capabilities and resilience of high-performing humans such as astronauts who operate in extreme environments. In April Pensacola philanthropist and developer Quint Studer donated $1 million toward IHMC’s research in this field. Another

“

I began to see that this device could also provide a whole new way to perform resistance training on Earth. Since the force is controlled by a computer and updated hundreds of times per second, we really have a new possibility for exercise scientists to develop new exercises.” - Peter Neuhaus

important gift from Pensacola attorney Fred Levin helped fund the 30,000-square-foot Fred Levin Center for Research on the IHMC campus, where the institute’s faculty and staff have been able to expand their collaborations with industry and government to develop new technologies. Recent collaborations with local connections include an artificial reef project that Cobalt also helped fund as well as a partnership with the City of Pensacola Police Department to develop a comprehensive police drone program. The program will incorporate specialized drones in police operations such as search and rescue, disaster response, fugitive evasion, threat situations and monitoring outdoor events.

“I have no doubt that Peter and Joe and the rest of the team they’re working with will come up with a more efficient way for astronauts to exercise in microgravity,” Ford said. “But it’s also very exciting to think that because of a partnership with a local company like Cobalt that we might also be able to develop a more effective way for people to do resistance training. People talk a lot about the technology of tomorrow. Well, this project is a great example of how we’re focused on technology for today.”

Pensacola Magazine

The Tech Economy is continuing to grow, adding

By Scott Luth, CEO FloridaWest additional square footage by the Economic Development Alliance end of 2018.

ITEN WIRED has come a great distance in the last ten years, and so has the tech and entrepreneurial communities in the Pensacola area. ITEN WIRED launched in 2008 as part of a technology-led economic development initiative spanning the five counties from Mobile, Ala., to Okaloosa, Fla. What began as an educational event that rotated throughout the region has become the premier tech conference in NWFL anchored on Pensacola Beach. ITEN WIRED has grown tremendously in the ten years since its inception and so has the broader tech community. When the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce launched Vision 2015 in 2009, it identified tech-led entrepreneurship as key component of a detailed strategic plan for economic development. With that impetus, the incubator now known as Co:Lab Pensacola was created in 2008. Co:Lab is a project of FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance in partnership with Pensacola State College. It serves as a catalyst, helping innovative companies reach their potential and ultimately create high-wage jobs that will sustain long-term economic growth for Pensacola. The programs and initiatives generated by Co:Lab encourage the growth of our entrepreneurial ecosystem. In 2017, Co:Lab supported 21 member companies, employing 80 professionals amounting to more than $9.5 million in gross sales and creating 38 jobs in the Pensacola Metro Area. With 15,000 square feet of space, Co:Lab provides emerging entrepreneurial ventures access to coaching, community and plenty of coffee. And the program

48 Pensacola Magazine

With the growth of this entrepreneurial community, our region has also seen great strides in the development of the Pensacola area as a hub for the tech and cyber industries. The Cyber Coast The Pensacola area is the nation’s oldest trusted source for cybersecurity training. With our many resources, ranging from commands at Naval Air Station Pensacola Corry Station and the many innovative private companies, Pensacola is naturally poised to become the “Cyber Coast.” Recognizing that Pensacola has a unique opportunity to become a regional and national leader in cybersecurity, FloridaWest joined forces with the University of West Florida last year to develop a cybersecurity strategic plan. The plan focuses on building a strong workforce, identifying education and career pathways, and enhancing the economic and community impact of cybersecurity in the Pensacola area. FloridaWest is also bringing on a full-time staff member to implement the plan and ensure we are well positioned to grow in this emerging industry. With that in mind, FloridaWest is particularly excited about the great things happening in cyber education. The University of West Florida Center of Cybersecurity has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The Florida Cyber Range, a collaboration between the UWF Center for Cybersecurity and Metova CyberCENTS, provides a state-of-the-art training and research platform. This year, Pensacola State College was awarded more than $1.8 million through Florida

Department of Economic Opportunity’s Job Growth Grant. This will create new opportunities for Pensacola area students in the cybersecurity and information technology sphere. The Escambia School District’s Career Academies, including the Cyber Security Career Academy at Pine Forest High School and the Gaming, Simulation and Animation Academy at J.M. Tate High School, are also going strong. For local tech industries, one of the most important things they can do is grow talent. That is why FloridaWest works with education partners every day to help create a well-trained, diverse tech workforce that will attract new employers to the community and support our existing industry. To that end, FloridaWest is hiring a Workforce Development Specialist – in partnership with CareerSource Escarosa and Achieve Escambia – to work with employers in the region to understand their human resource needs and connect them with available training, education and employment programs. Quality of Life Quality of life is especially important where tech industries are considered. Highly skilled tech professionals can live anywhere they want. The quality of life in the Pensacola area is great and keeps getting better. Pensacola is building the kind of community that talented people want to join. Employees cite a vibrant downtown area, flexibility and the opportunity to connect as important reasons to be in Pensacola. The city is definitely becoming a place where the best and most creative entrepreneurs can join forces, and FloridaWest and Co:Lab are driving that. Through Co:Lab, FloridaWest encourages entrepreneurship and creates new start-up businesses. Co:Lab, cowork @nnex and IT Gulf Coast offer many opportunities to for entrepreneurs and tech professionals to connect such as ITEN WIRED, 1 Million Cups, as well as regular

“lunch and earns.” The Studer Community Institute launched Entre Con, which will draw local entrepreneurs, professionals and thought leaders together Nov. 14 and 15 with the intent to build better workplaces. The Studer Community Institute is continually working to improve quality of life in Pensacola by providing excellent training opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs. ITEN Wired, hosted by IT Gulf Coast and FloridaWest, has become the Gulf Coast’s premier conference for executives, entrepreneurs, professionals and educators working in technology. The conference has grown in ten years from a one day event attended by 75 individuals to include a career expo and industry day and is expected to bring together over 400 attendees, speakers and sponsors. The Plan FloridaWest and PEDC have recently launched a Five-Year Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan begins where Vision 2015 left off and will direct FloridaWest’s efforts in the future. FloridaWest will continue to work to increase capital investment and high-wage jobs by attracting new businesses, retaining and expanding existing businesses, and helping new startups grow. But it is a community effort. Only by working together can the community be successful. FloridaWest encourages you to see what they are doing. Download the Strategic Plan at floridawesteda.com and find out more about how you can play a part of Pensacola’s future. Support local businesses and let FloridaWest know what they can do to support your efforts. Working together, Pensacolians can build a thriving tech community and a great quality of life in the area.

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play/live/give Pensacola Seafood Festival

September 28 through 30 Sample a variety of mouth-watering seafood dishes and enjoy continuous entertainment in Fountain Park Sept. 28 through 30 at the annual Pensacola Seafood Festival. Arts and crafts vendors will be displaying their unique wares, many items reflective of our area’s unique Gulf Coast lifestyle. A children’s area is filled with activities for all ages. The Fiesta Seafood Grille offers cooking demonstrations where you can watch area chefs prepare regional delicacies. For more information, visit www. pensacola seafoodfestival.com.

The End of Jack Cruz September 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8

Pensacola Little Theater will continue to host “The End of Jack Cruz” throughout September. This is a Studio 400 Production, directed by Billy Buff. The show features a post-apocalyptic memoir about the last two survivors on Earth locked in a deadly struggle for survival. This show is considered dark drama and contains strong adult language and depicted graphic violence. For a full list of dates, times or to buy tickets, visit www.pensacolalittletheatre.com.

The U.S. Navy Country and Bluegrass Band September 2

The United States Navy Band Country Current is the Navy’s premier country-bluegrass ensemble. The group is nationally renowned for its versatility and “eye-popping” musicianship, performing a blend of modern country music and cutting-edge bluegrass. This seven-member ensemble employs musicians from diverse backgrounds with extensive high-profile recording and touring experience in the music scenes of Nashville, Tenn., New York, New Orleans and more. In the tradition of country music, each member is a skilled performer on multiple instruments. All seats are general admission. This event is free and open to the public, but free ticket must be picked up from the Saenger box office prior to event. For more information, visit www.pensacolasaenger.com.

Blue Angels Practices September 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 18 and 25

The Blue Angels are still soaring over Pensacola as fall comes to Florida. The Blues will be hosting practice sessions open to the viewing public throughout September. Wheels up at 11:30 am on most practice days. Sept. 7 and 25 will feature special practice times, with wheels up at 9 am Sept. 7 and 11:30 am Sept. 25. Admission to view the practice is free. Following most Wednesday practices, members of the Blue Angels visit the Museum to meet fans and sign autographs in the Atrium. For more information, visit www. navalaviationmuseum.org. For show weather updates, visit the Blue Angels Facebook or Twitter before show time.

Emerald Coast Beer FEstival

SEPTEMBER 6 AND 7 Once again, the Emerald Coast Beer Festival returns to the world-famous Rosie O’ Grady’s Good Time Emporium entertainment complex in Seville Quarter. This is the best street party in Pensacola. The party starts Sept. 6 with the beer pairing dinner to be held in the Apple Annie’s Room and Sept. 7, the beer tasting will take place throughout the entire complex and Government Street. For more information, visit www.emeraldcoastbeerfest.com.

Bulls on the Beach September 7 and 8

Flora-Bama Lounge and Oyster Bar will host the Bulls on the Beach, the biggest rodeo on the beach featuring cowboys riding live bulls as they try to hold on for the longest eight seconds of their lives. Doors open at 6 pm and the rodeo begins at 8 pm. Meet the cowboys Sept. 6 at the Ole River Grill, then the festivities will begin Sept. 7 and 8 with face painting, kettle korn and good old fashioned fun. For more information, visit www. florabama.com.

Vettes at the Beach Show September 7 and 8

Join Corvette lovers for a welcome dinner and a weekend of fun in the sun on Pensacola Beach at the Miracle Strip Corvette Club’s 16th annual “Vettes at the Beach” Corvette car show, Sept. 7 through 8. A pre-registration and welcome dinner will be held Sept. 7, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Hemingway’s Bimini Bar. The welcome dinner is included in the registration. Registration will be Sept. 8 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Pre-registration is $50 and includes Friday’s welcome dinner for two, a dash plaque and entry into the car show. The form and registration information can be found at miraclestripcorvette.com/ vettes-at-the-beach-2018.

Pensacola Magazine

play/live/give Pensacola Dragon Boat Festival September 8

Led by the rhythmic beat of a drum, teams of 20 synchronized paddlers, one drummer and one steersperson race 300 meters across Bayou Texar in 40-foot canoes rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails Sept. 8. The sport brings social groups and businesses alike down to the water to bond and compete, building a stronger sense of “team” with every stroke. From vets to newbies, anyone can have a good time – they’ve made sure there’s plenty of time to kick back between races. For more information, visit www.pensacoladragonboatfestival.com.

Little River Band September 8

Saenger Theater will host the Little River Band Sept. 8 at 7:30 pm. Little River Band is best known for performing the hits the way you remember them but with more feeling, vibe and energy than ever before. You can’t help but move to the music and sing along with the Little River Band. For the protec-

tion of our patrons, the Saenger Theatre has implemented added security measures for admittance to the Theatre. To accommodate for the additional time needed for the new measures, please plan your arrival accordingly. Ticket prices are $89.50 for pit rows one through four and orchestra rows A through G and $45.50 for orchestra rows H through DD and balcony rows A through V. For more information, visit www.pensacolasaenger.com or contact the Saenger Theatre Box office at 595-3880.

Will Mr. Merriwether Return from Memphis? September 13 and 14

Pensacola Little Theater has been invited to perform this obscure play for the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival Sept. 27 through 28. Before they perform it for the festival, see the show here in Pensacola. Written in 1969, unperformed until 1980 and not published until 2008, Will Mr. Merriwether Return from Memphis? is a Tennessee Williams play with a vision of the world as mythic and mundane. In Bethesda, Miss., as the 19th cen-

tury turns into the 20th, the widowed landlady Louise McBride pines for her former flame and star boarder, Mr. Merriwether. The Three Fates make a ghoulish guest appearance. Directed by Jeff Glickman. For more information or to buy tickets, visit www.pensacolalittletheatre.com.

Movies in the Park Series September 14

Once a month during the summer, catch a movie at Community Maritime Park. The next movie will be Sherlock Gnomes, scheduled for Sept. 14 beginning at sunset, 7:40 p.m. Bring blankets and lawn chairs for an evening of family fun underneath the stars. Local food trucks will be at the event, so make sure to come ready to enjoy dinner and a show. Pets and glass containers are not allowed in the park. For more information, visit www. cityofpensacola.com.

Rodney Carrington September 14

Saenger Theater will host Rodney Carrington Sept. 14 at 7 pm. Rodney Carrington is a multi-talented comedian, actor, and writer who has recorded eight major record label comedy albums selling more than three million copies. For mature audiences only. Ticket prices are $179.75 for VIP pit rows one through four and $44.75 for orchestra rows A through DD and balcony rows A through V. For more information, visit www.pensacolasaenger.com or contact the Saenger Theatre Box office at 595-3880.

Pensacola Cycling Classic September 15 and 16

The 2018 Pensacola Cycling Classic will be held Sept. 15 and 16 and will feature three stages, including a time trial on Pensacola Beach. Other venues include a road race in Milton through Blackwater River State Forest and a criterium held in downtown Pensacola. Registration will be available Sept. 14, 4 pm to 8 pm at the Holiday Inn Resort on Pensacola Beach. There will be no race day registration. Proceeds will go to the Paralyzed Veterans of American, many of whom will be racing as well. For more information, visit www.pensacolacyclingclassic.com.

52 Pensacola Magazine

play/live/give Perdido Key Coastal Cleanup Day September 15

Gallery Night September 21

During International Coastal Cleanup Day, join the staff of Perdido Key State Park, Perdido Key Association and friends of Pensacola State Parks at Perdido Key State Park’s West Use Area to help keep our beaches clean and beautiful. For more information, visit www. friendsofpensacolastateparks.org/ 2018/08/07/ international-coastal-cleanup.

With the summer finally cooling down (hopefully!) be sure to enjoy a cool fall night during Gallery Night, Sept. 21 starting at 5 pm. Take the “Arts to the Streets” where visitors can connect with the unique culture of Pensacola. Palafox Street will be closed for traffic between Garden and Main Street during the event. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ pg/Gallery-Night-Pensacola.

Taste of the Beach

Brian Regan

Pensacola Beach chefs will spice up the food and crowds Sept. 15 at Pensacola Beach’s biggest culinary event of the year, and you’re invited. The day is filled with chef ’s challenges, cook-offs, tastings, live music, restaurants’ signature dishes, crab racing, beer tasting and more starting at 11 am. For more information and full schedule of events, visit www.tasteofpensacolabeach.com/event-info.

Saenger Theater will host Brian Regan Sept. 22 at 8 pm. Vanity Fair calls Brian, “The funniest stand-up alive,” and Entertainment Weekly calling him, “Your favorite comedian’s favorite comedian.” Having built his 30-plus year career on the strength of his material alone, Brian’s non-stop theater tour continuously fills the most beautiful venues across North America, visiting close to 100 cities each year. Ticket prices are $49.50. For more information, visit www.pensacolasaenger.com or contact the Saenger Theatre Box office at 595-3880.

September 15

Blues on the Bay Concert Series

September 22

ReptiDay Pensacola Reptile and Exotic Animal Show September 22

ReptiDay Pensacola is a one-day only reptile event Sept. 22, featuring vendors offering reptile pets, supplies, feeders, cages and merchandise as well as live animal seminars and frequent free raffles for coveted prizes. Exciting, educational, family-oriented fun for everyone. The event will be 10 am to 5 pm with early entry for VIP guests at 9:30 am. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 5 to 12 and free for children under 5 years old. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.repticon.com/florida/reptiday-pensacola.

September 16 and 23

The Blues on the Bay Concert Series will feature two concerts this month at the Hunter Amphitheater at Community Maritime Park. Pack your coolers, bring your lawn chairs, and enjoy a cool breeze off the bay while some of the region’s best musical talents hit the stage. The next concert will be Sept. 16, beginning at 6 pm and will include The Mulligans. There will be another concert Sept. 23 at 6 pm and will feature the Modern Eldorados. Every concert in the series is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www. cityofpensacola.com.

Into the Woods

September 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29 and 30 and October 4, 5, 6 and 7 Pensacola Little Theater will host productions of Into the Woods throughout September and into October. Musical directed by Carla Rhodes with music direction by Tina Buran. The Sondheim favorite about what happens after “happily ever after.” Stories will include Cinderella, Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, Jack and the beans, Prince Charming and a wicked and beautiful witch. For more information or to buy tickets, visit www.pensacolalittletheatre.com. Pensacola Magazine

play/live/give St. Rose of Lima International Fall Festival

September 28 through 30 The annual St. Rose of Lima International Fall Festival will be held Sept. 28 through 30 at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. Come sample international food including Polish, Filipino, Italian, American and Cajun cuisines, among many others. There will be live entertainment all weekend, raffles, games, vendors and much more. For more information, visit the St. Rose of Lima Facebook page.

5210 Day of Play September 29

Come check out the many ways families get moving. On Sept. 29 from 10 am to 2 pm, families will shut off their computers, tablets, and TVs and head outdoors for some fun during the 5210 Day of Play. Join the community for a day of exciting activities, games, sports, contests and physical challenges for the entire family. For more information, visit www.cityofpensacola.com/2519/5210-Day-of-Play.

White Tie Ensemble Presents: Americana September 29

The White Tie Rock Ensemble presents an evening of Americana Rock! with a tribute to The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Petty and The Eagles at the Saenger Theater Sept. 29 starting at 8 pm. Featuring the unparalleled White Tie Sound, this full rock band, along with the Tied Up String Quartet will recreate all your favorites from this classic era of rock and roll. In a rock theater environment, with an expanded and enhanced Light and Sound Experience, these timeless bands will live again, passed from one generation to the next and enjoyed by all. Ticket prices are $38 for orchestra rows A through DD and balcony rows A through H, $33 for balcony rows J through N and $28 for balcony rows P through V. For more information, visit www.pensacolasaenger. com or contact the Saenger Theatre Box office at 595-3880.

54 Pensacola Magazine

Pumpkin Patch Preview Party Oct. 5

The First City Art Center’s Pumpkin Patch Preview Party will be held Oct. 5, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The night will include complimentary hors d’oeuvres, drinks, live music, art demonstrations, raffles and more. This year, attendees will have over 4,500 hand-blown glass and hand-thrown clay pumpkins to choose from. The unique pumpkins come in all shapes, colors and sizes. Prices for pumpkins begin at $20. First City Art Center members get in one hour early, at 5 p.m., on the Preview Party night. Become a member for early admission. Ticket prices are $20 for members and $25 for non-members. After the party, pumpkins will go on sale Oct. 6, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information or to buy tickets, visit www. firstcityart.org.

A Smoking Venue

Vinyl Music Hall Schedule The historic Vinyl Music Hall is opening back to the public in September for a new lineup of musicians and performers. Come check out the newly renovated hall and enjoy some great performances. Below are all currently scheduled shows. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.vinylmusichall.com. • Sept. 6, 7 pm: Chris Robinson Brotherhood • Sept. 7, 6 pm: Blessthefall, with The Word Alive, DED, Thousand Below and a War Within • Sept. 8, 8 pm: The Crystal Method, with 1Ton and D.U.Ivan • Sept. 9, 7 pm: Lil Debbie, with Whitney Peyton and Cutthroat • Sept. 11, 7 pm: Mayday! • Sept. 13, 7 pm: Shock Illusionist: Dan Sperry, with Nathan Nickerson • Sept. 14, 7 pm: Eric Lindell, with Tyler Mac Band, Southern Heartburn and Sam Ravenna • Sept. 15, 7 pm: Rage Against the Machine and Deftones Tributes • Sept. 16, 7 pm: Eve to Adam, with Chemtrail, Storm Within and Paracosm • Sept. 18, 7 pm: Ace Hood, with Cutthroat • Sept. 20, 7 pm: Here Comes the Mummies • Sept. 21, 7 pm and Sept. 22, 7 pm: The Mad Violinist • Sept. 23, 7 pm: Cane Hill, with Sharptooth, Afterlife and Outlast the End • Sept. 25, 7 pm: SuicideGirls: Blackheart Burlesque • Sept. 27, 7 pm: Paula Cole • Sept. 28, 8 pm: Big Deal Burlesque

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Pensacola Magazine

We’re baCk!

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SPECIAL SECTION

SPECIAL SECTION September 2018

VS.

48. Pensacola’s next mayor

The race to become Pensacola’s next mayor is down to two. We asked the candidates to answer some of the most pressing questions the next mayor will face.

· OTHER STORIES ·

61. Patti Marine Shipyard awarded nearly $450k grant The shipyard plans to use grant to buy equipment, create new jobs and increase productivity.

64. Andrews Institute Awarded $1 Million Grant to Study Regenerative Medicine

The Andrews Institute is on the forefront of regenerative medicine research thanks to a grant from the state. Business Climate

WSRE AND A BODACIOUS FAMILY OF SHOPS PRESENT

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photo courtesy of Patti Marine

Patti Marine Shipyard awarded nearly $450K grant by Kaitlyn Peacock

ne of Pensacola’s proudest and most iconic companies Patti Marine Enterprises was recently award a $449,231 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MarAd). This grant was given as part of $20 million given to support small shipyards throughout the United States. Patti Marine was one of 29 awarded the grant. During a press conference in August, President of Patti Marine Enterprises Frank Patti Jr., Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward and other community leaders gathered to announce the news. The grant is expected to lead to more maritime economic opportunities and eventually will help to expand operations at the Port of Pensacola. “Small businesses are what make America great,” Hayward said. “The ship building business contributes to 400,000 jobs in America and $37 billion to the GDP. And we’re doing it right here, in America’s first settlement.” To be eligible for the grant, the shipyard had to have less than 1,200 production employees and had to file for grant based on their needs. The grant was awarded to help pay for a plasma cutting machine and an iron worker. Previously, the shipyard has applied for other grants and has been turned down. “It’s a very competitive grant process, so for them to be selected and chosen also goes back into the federal government’s comfort level that

“One of the things that we as a community must be very supportive of is diversifying our economy.” they are investing into a good company, and a good operation with expansion potential,” CEO of FloridaWest Economic Development alliance Scott Luth said. FloridaWest worked with the shipyard to send support letters and reach out to congressional representatives to promote their request for the grant. Luth said that supporting the shipyard helps to encourage economic growth in different sectors of Pensacola. “One of the things that we as a community must be very supportive of is diversifying our economy,” he said. “And so when we look at the different industry sectors that we have, our historic maritime presence in the community is obviously something we want to continue to see invested in. That’s what’s going to continue to make us a more healthy economy.”

While the grant money will go toward the new equipment for the shipyard, it will also lead to increased productivity and jobs. With the winter season typically busy for the shipyard, the grant comes at a good time, and Patti is hoping it will lead to an even busier season. “This is about production,” he said. “This is so we can be more competitive. This is so we can bring more jobs to the area.” Currently, the shipyard can build and repair 10,000-ton vessels, but Patti is hopeful that the money will allow them to expand their facility to build even larger ships, and to work on them at an increased pace.

Business Climate

Pensacola’s Next Mayor: by Will Isern

he race to become Pensacola’s next mayor is down to two. Pensacola City Councilman Brian Spencer and Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson will head to a November runoff after neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the Aug, 28 primary. Robinson finished with 34 percent of the vote while Spencer garnered 20 percent. David Mayo finished in third with 17 percent. Political newcomers Drew Buchanan, Lawrence Powell and Jonathan Garrett Green split the remainder of the vote. Spencer is an architect and has represented Distrct 6 on the Pensacola City Council since 2010. Robinson is a real estate broker and has represented District 4 on the Escambia

County Commission since 2006. Both have stressed public safety, economic development and increased neighborhood involvement in the city’s decision-making process as initiatives they would pursue as mayor. Whichever of them wins will become just the second strong mayor in Pensacola’s history and will be charged with maintaining the momentum the city has seen under Ashton Hayward. Northwest Florida’s Business Climate Magazine asked the candidates to answer four questions that we feel are among the most pressing for Pensacola’s next mayor. Their answers and biographical information are presented as submitted by the candidates.

Brian Spencer

Brian Spencer has served as the District 6, Pensacola City Councilman since January 2011 and was elected president of the City Council in 2016. He has the background, knowledge and experience to lead Pensacola forward, building upon the successes Pensacola has achieved over the past eight years. Brian has the depth of experience, vision and leadership skills to build a better Pensacola for all citizens. Brian attended Duke University where he received his undergraduate degree, Magna Cum Laude. Upon graduation, Brian attended Tulane University where he received his master’s degree in Architecture. While at Tulane, Brian was recognized with the coveted John William Lawrence Memorial Medal for Design Excellence. Following graduation, Brian returned to Pensacola to begin his architecture career. While serving on the city council for the past eight years, Brian also served, or continues to serve, on the Tourist Development Council, Florida-Alabama Transportation and Planning Organization, Community Redevelopment Agency, Eastside Redevelopment Board, Community Maritime Park Board of Trustees and Downtown Improvement Board, each of which have sharpened his knowledge of important issues facing our city.

62 Business Climate

What is your vision for the city’s waterfront, including the Port of Pensacola? Pensacola’s waterfront is a valuable, citizenowned asset that contributes to the uniqueness of our historic bayfront city. My vision for our waterfront is one that can be enjoyed and accessed by all residents and visitors. It should provide diverse amenities while protecting our shoreline habitat. Connecting our waterfront to Pensacola’s inland neighborhoods with safe bike and pedestrian routes is essential. Most importantly, it should be a waterfront that attracts people with programming and funding for family-friendly activities. The Port of Pensacola should be transitioned from accommodating heavy industry users to a mix of employment sectors that are compatible with its neighboring historic assets and our downtown renaissance. I envision optimizing the 52-acre waterfront peninsula with the introduction of education based marine-underwater and research centers and private sector marine sciences and technology businesses. Such uses will attract employers and entrepreneurs that generate a variety of quality jobs. The Center for Dynamic Ocean Technologies, as proposed by the City of Pensacola and Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, is a prime example of this compatible use. The transformation of the port property will end the cycle of an underperforming city enterprise that deprives Pensacolians of needed economic resources and will increase access to our unique waterfront. What is your plan to foster the ongoing development of downtown? Few civic projects transform a city like a vibrant downtown. As mayor, I will take action to provide a safe, clean, parking-friendly, mixed-use destination downtown with an emphasis on investing in the highest quality infrastructure. I will foster higher density housing solutions within the core of downtown to ensure that business owners and employees

are supported by nearby residents and visitors during weekdays, evenings and weekends. I will work with City Council regarding infill and redevelopment incentives to ensure the delivery of a wide range of affordable housing options. I will leverage my background and experience to incorporate simple, inexpensive traffic calming features that invite cyclists and pedestrians and create walkable links from nearby neighborhoods throughout the city. What, if anything, should city hall do to balance redevelopment and preservation efforts in historic neighborhoods? Pensacola is comprised of unique and diverse districts and neighborhoods. Preservation of these historic neighborhoods has proven to have a positive economic and environmental impact on our community. We need to develop a streamlined design approval process for these historic neighborhoods. Input from the residents and property owners, the stakeholders of these neighborhoods, must be included in the process of defining this balance. As mayor, I will bring my education in architecture, historic preservation and redevelopment experience to support smartgrowth and city planning principles that value authenticity while promoting adaptive reuse of historic buildings. What steps can be taken to make city government more open and accountable to the public? It is important for the mayor to have a respectful, collaborative relationship with City Council as well as members of the public. As mayor, I will meet regularly with individual council members and participate in City Council meetings. I will work with City Council to schedule District Town Hall meetings, which I will attend. I will ensure citizens receive timely communications from me and will adopt a plan that includes traditional media, social media, electronic newsletters and website updates.

VS.

Spencer robinson grover robinson heavily impacted by the BP oil spill to pass the RESTORE Act and bring over $300 million to Northwest Florida and nearly $100 million to Escambia County. He obtained $2 million for Pensacola and Perdido Bay estuary restoration as Chair of the Bay Area Resource Council. He’s forged connections and represented our areas interest in many state and regional organizations. He has served as Florida Association of Counties President, Florida Gulf Consortium Chair and regional Transportation Planning Organization Chair.

Grover C. Robinson, IV, is a seventhgeneration Pensacolian and has served as the County Commissioner from District 4 since 2006. Commissioner Robinson graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1988 and received a bachelor of science degree in Economics (Summa cum Laude) from Birmingham-Southern College in 1992. Commissioner Robinson and his wife Jill have two children, Grover V, 21, and Anna Lowrey, 17. He and his family are active parishioners at Christ Episcopal Church. Grover brings integrity, passion and determination to local government. As an Escambia County Commissioner, he worked for greater efficiency and better management. Grover fought for the largest tax rate reduction in Escambia County history. The county budget is less than one percent higher than when he was first elected Commissioner. County residents today enjoy lower taxes and improved services. He found funds for the Roger Scott Tennis Center expansion, bollards for downtown events, holiday lights and other investments that directly affect the quality of life throughout Pensacola. He worked with 4H and the other commissioners to bring home 10,000 jobs at Navy Federal. He helped with financing that led to 400 new jobs at VT-MAE. He also helped IHMC finance a new building that will keep and grow world-class jobs in Pensacola. Grover worked with the other coastal counties

What is your vision for the city’s waterfront, including the Port of Pensacola? When I think of the city’s waterfront, it includes not just downtown and Pensacola Bay but also Escambia Bay, Bayou Texar and Bayou Chico. Regardless of the waterfront, we need to promote and protect public access and water quality. Specifically downtown, we would like to see a public boardwalk style park along Bayfront with access over to CMP and Bruce Beach. Bruce Beach’s shoreline should be a beach park with paddlecraft launch and a historic display that highlights its importance within our African American community. As for the port, it should continue to operate its deep water berths for job creation, but we should focus it in a way that complements our downtown use. This means we should focus on sectors such as marine research that the county has supported with IHMC, as well as maintenance and repair operations for ships. What is your plan to foster the ongoing development of downtown? First, we need to ensure that people can easily access downtown, which means we need to continue to work on parking solutions. Second, when people are there, they need to feel safe so we will need to continue to support our police and make sure they are properly staffed and trained. Then we need to continue to encourage mixed use development that includes both residential with office and commercial. The more of this product we encourage, a symbiotic relationship

will develop between the residential and commercial uses to expand downtown. Two required changes in policy are needed. First we need a better protection for those historic settings and structures that can be saved; second a better form-based code that includes development standards. What, if anything, should city hall do to balance redevelopment and preservation efforts in historic neighborhoods? There is no doubt that if we do not preserve our local history and character we will simply become “anywhere” and lose our identity. We want to grow our community and Northwest Florida, but we want to do it in a way that retains who we are. We can do that with preservation ordinances and development standards that focus on the individual communities that make up Pensacola. Let’s face it, a one size fits all – even at the municipal level – will not work as our own neighborhoods are so varied. Here, we can and will need to be flexible with implementation within different neighborhoods of our community. However, this will require work and engaging those neighborhoods. What steps can be taken to make city government more open and accountable to the public? The city has to engage more with its public. From the beginning, our campaign has been about engaging neighborhoods and moving the city from being cloistered in city hall out to the citizens. We believe engaging in weekly press conferences, monthly town halls that rotate districts, weekly meetings with city council members, individual citizen led district plans and work days where the mayor participates in serving citizens that we can build a much more citizen integrated community. Look, delivering public records and operating social media is a minimum compliant with the law. To truly be transparent and accountable, we need a mayor who will openly engage with the public and encourages their participation. Business Climate

Andrews Institute Awarded $1 Million Grant to Study Regenerative Medicine by Will Isern he Andrews Research & Education Foundation at Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine recently received a one million dollar grant from the state of Florida to support regenerative medicine research endeavors. The state appropriation was approved in May and became available at the start of the fiscal year that began July 1.

The funding will support hiring personnel and purchasing equipment for the Andrews Institute Regenerative Medicine Center, a facility built in 2016 to pioneer regenerative medicine treatments. The grant will fund new and ongoing regenerative medicine research studies. Regenerative medicine at Andrews Institute refers to the utilization of biology-based treatments aimed at the repair and healing of injured tissues. Currently, this is limited to treatments using tissues from the patients themselves, including blood-based and bone-marrow based treatments as well as stem cells mobilized to the patients blood stream. Regenerative medicine of this kind has potential applications for aiding osteoarthritis, cartilage repair, healing optimization after surgery and more. “An analogy that works pretty well is to think about a golf bag,” Orthopaedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist Dr. Adam Anz said. “There’s going to be different things in that golf bag and some of those are going to be cell technologies – and there are many cells in our body that have stem capabilities – so stem cells are

64 Business Climate

one of the fields that we’re studying intently. Others are blood products that we can create from your blood that have the potential for helping us adapt to life’s changes. Sometimes that’s regenerating tissue, sometimes that’s just helping us adapt to change.” While industry support for research studies is critical, Anz said, the independent funding from the state of Florida will provide Andrews Institute physicians with flexibility to pursue research questions that may not have been supported otherwise. “I think that this space is very foggy and needs some beacons of light and some light houses – and that’s our goal,” Anz said. “Our goal is to shed some light in this space and to help us all know what works and what doesn’t work, and what has evidence and is proven, and what still has yet to be proven. That’s important because I think sometimes we get a little ahead of

our skis and we need to make sure everything is proven and has clear efficacy data.” Anz said there are several hundred organizations in the nation claiming to be stem cell centers, many of them in Florida, offering untested and sometimes unsafe stem cell treatments. In May, the FDA moved to shut down a Florida company that allegedly blinded three elderly women by giving them an unproven stem cell treatment. “I think the state sees the fog that exists with entities making claims in this space and the lack of real evidence behind those claims,” Anz said. “There are many places in the state that are doing that. If you think about entities that are saying we’re a stem cell clinic, I think there are 400 or some odd places in the United States that are claiming they’re stem cell clinics, but when your really nail them to the ground and say what evidence do you have behind this technology that you’re selling, you don’t get a lot of real

concrete evidence. So that’s the deficiency that exists and there’s a good number of these clinics that exist in the state of Florida. I think state has realized that that’s a problem.” The Andrews Institute scientists will publish the results of their studies in sports medicine journals, thus contributing to the body of sports medicine knowledge. Anz said part of the reason why there is a lack of evidence-based treatments around regenerative medicine is because of a lack of funding. “Pharma isn’t real interested in helping, the implant companies aren’t real interested in helping and orthopaedic surgeons normally don’t have the vehicle to do anything, so I think we’re kind of in a perfect situation in terms of having a facility and foundation whose charge is to do exactly that,” he said. “The reason the foundations exists is to carry the torch of sports medicine and advance it.”

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A.A. Cunningham Road paving notice ... Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast (NavFac SE) has awarded a con-

tract to mill and overlay A.A. Cunningham Road on NAS Pensacola. The work is scheduled to begin the week of Sept. 12 and expected to take four weeks to complete. Watch for “Road Closed” and “Detour” signs. Detour routes to facilities in the area will be Page Road to Warehouse Road and Farrar Road to Pat Bellinger Road. Drivers should observe the warning signs and proceed with caution around the work zones. The work schedule is weather dependent. For questions or more information, contact the PWD Construction Manager Bryan Moeller at 452-3131, ext. 3077.

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September 2, 2016

Fallen Special Tactics Airman honored at NASP By Capt. Katrina Cheesman Sibley’s unit. “This dedication 24th Special Operations Wing and memorial ruck is an important step for us as a brotherhood Air Force Special Tactics Air- to honor Forrest’s legacy of men dedicated a military freefall valor, and get a small bit of clotraining exercise into Pensacola sure.” Bay Aug. 26 to His teammates Staff Sgt. Forrest escorted the famSibley, a combat ily to Sibley’s controller from burial site, wearPensacola killed ing combat ruck in action Aug. 26, sacks weighing 2015, in Helmand more than 50 Pr o v i n c e , pounds to repreAfghanistan. It sent the deployed. was the first anOnce at the niversary of Sibcemetery, they ley’s death. completed a After free round of memoStaff Sgt. falling into the rial push-ups to Forrest Sibley waters of Sibley’s honor their fallen hometown, his teammates teammate. joined family members and Sibley, 31, had served in the friends to complete a memorial Air Force as a combat controller ruck march to his final resting since 2008. In his seven years of place at Barrancas National service, he received four Bronze Cemetery (BNC). Star Medals, once with valor for “When we lost Forrest, most heroism in combat, as well as a of his teammates were still de- Purple Heart for injuries susployed for another five months, tained in combat. and couldn’t attend any funeral “Forrest was one of our best or memorial event,” said Lt. Col. combat controllers, but he was Stewart Parker, commander of 21st Special Tactics Squadron, See Sibley on page 2

After parachuting into Pensacola Bay, members of the Air Force’s 21st Special Tactics Squadron make a memorial “ruck march,” a hike with full packs, from NAS Pensacola’s Bayou Grande Marina to Barrancas National Cemetery and the grave of teammate Staff Sgt. Forrest Sibley. Sibley was killed in action Aug. 26, 2015. He had served in the Air Force as a combat controller since For more photos, see page A4 2008. Photo by Mike O’Connor

CNATT: Make Labor Day weekend safety a priority Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Public Affairs

The Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT) safety manager is reminding service members, civilian employees and their families to maintain safety awareness as they prepare for what is generally viewed as the end of summer. CNATTSafety Manager Krystal Hancock said that Labor Day, a federal holi-

day designed to honor the achievements of American workers, includes an extended weekend, with service members and their families often electing to travel to see family and friends. “Whether taking a long road trip or simply jumping in the car to run a quick errand, driving is inherently risky, and traffic mishaps continue to

be a leading reason for lost time, days, and lives across our force,” she said. Hancock said the National Safety Council (NSC) predicts this could be the deadliest Labor Day weekend for drivers in eight years, estimating that more than 430 people could be killed in traffic accidents throughout the Labor Day weekend. She added that service members, often sepa-

rated from their families and travelling significant distances to visit during the long weekend, should take some simple precautions before and during their trips. “Get enough rest before heading outsleepy driving is as dangerous as impaired driving,” she said. “Alternate drivers or take frequent breaks to ensure that whoever is behind the wheel stays alert.” See Labor Day on page 2

‘Be There’ for your shipmates during Suicide Prevention Month 2016 By James Rosenfelder U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery public affairs

NAS Pensacola to host 9/11 commemoration ceremony ... In commemoration of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Naval Air Station Pensacola will present a ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum aboard the base at 10 a.m. Sept. 9. The event will include a guest speaker and a musical rendition from the NATTC Choir, a traditional “two-bell” ceremony, honors performed by the NASP Honor Guard and a 21-gun volley. The public is invited to attend.

Navy Medicine recognizes September as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, which began Sept. 1. The theme for Suicide Prevention Month 2016 is “Be There.” Throughout the month, Navy Medicine will highlight the power of peer support and personal wellness, encouraging Sailors and Marines to be there for their shipmates. “Action starts with prevention,” said Vice Adm. Forrest Faison, Navy surgeon general and chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BuMed). “When a Sailor needs assistance, easy access to support resources and mental health treatment is essential, as is validation of help-seeking behaviors.” Suicide prevention is a yearlong effort. Suicide Prevention Month serves as a reminder that building resilience and preventing suicide requires all

members of the Navy and Marine Corps community to work together. Every life lost to suicide is one too many. “Take action if you notice anything

out of the ordinary for a shipmate; reach out to them,” Faison said. “If you are having difficulties, seek help if See Prevention on page 2

FatAlbertis getting a facelift...Fat Albert, the Blue Angels’ C-130 cargo plane used for transporting crew and equipment to air shows around the country, is currently undergoing a chemical de-paint process at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma after corrosion was found. Once the de-paint process and sheetmetal checks for any other corrosion are complete, Fat Albert will fly to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, for full programmed depot maintenance and paint. Photo by Kelly White

Published by BallingerPublishing, a private firm in no way connected with the Department of the Navy. Opinions contained herein are not official expressions of the Department of the Navy nor do the advertisements constitute Department of the Navy, NAS Pensacola or Ballinger Publishing’s endorsement of products or services advertised.

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On the Market A Real Estate Section

Home Buying: Where to Start Page 74

In This Section By the Numbers: A Look at Julyâ€™s Market Highlights page 72

Lessons Learned: A Realtors journey through home ownership page 82

5 yard updates you can complete in a fall weekend page 78

Agency? What you should know before hiring a real estate agent page 86 Real Estate News page 90 Pensacola Magazine

BY The NUMBERS a look at july’s Market Highlights

850 68

Monthly Sales

Avg. Days on Market

2750 $210k

Median Sale Price

Market Highlights July sales slipped 12% from June’s, but were 3% ahead of last July.

Information courtesy of Pensacola Association of Realtors

72 Pensacola Magazine

Median sale price broke through the $200K mark for the second month in a row.

DOM edged up 3 days from June’s YTD low of 65.

Quarterly Sales

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ON THE MARKET VA Loan

Banks, credit unions and mortgage companies offer VA Home Loans to eligible veterans, those currently serving in the military, and sometimes their spouses. You may receive better terms from the lender because the Department of Veteran’s Affairs guarantees a portion of the loan.

USDA Loan

A USDA home loan is a zerodown payment (100% financing) mortgage offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to home buyers in less densely populated areas of the country. Eligibility is determined by home location, income level and other requirements.

Home Buying: Where to Start If you’re thinking about buying a home, it’s important to get started early to decide which lender and type of loan best fit your needs. Taking the time to learn about your options can ease the stress as well as save you money on your down payment, interest and fees. Probably the most important decision you will make during this process is choosing a lender. There are several types of financial institutions that offer home mortgages, including banks, credit

74 Pensacola Magazine

unions and mortgage brokers. Do your research. Pick at least three lenders that have experience dealing with borrowers in your situation and take note of your first impressions. Are they friendly and courteous? Do they return your phone calls promptly? Do they seem willing to explain things to you? When you have your list of potential lenders narrowed down, compare the loan estimates from each of them. While interest rates are important, they are just one of the variables, so be sure to compare all of the fees associated with the loan. “For the most part, interest rates are fairly comparable, so the borrower should look carefully at all of the fees that the financial institution wants to charge to differentiate one lender from another,” Lynn Ferrie, Vice President of Mortgage Lending

at Gulf Winds Federal Credit Union said. “The various fees and other costs such as origination, processing, and points can add up and can make a significant difference to the borrower.” Also, think about whether you would prefer that your mortgage is handled by a local bank or credit union or potentially by a larger, out-of-state financial institution. Some borrowers prefer the hometown touch while others have no preference either way. “Our borrowers really like the hands-on experience that credit unions offer,” Cristy Nash, mortgage loan officer with Gulf Winds said. “Payments are made locally, and if they have questions, they can come in and talk directly to us. All our servicing is done in-house.” Learning about some of the most popular types of mortgages will also be helpful to potential homebuyers:

Conventional Loan

Conventional loan rates are fixed for 15, 20 or 30 years, meaning the interest rate will not change for the life of the loan. Typically, the longer you finance your home, the higher the interest rate. If you’re a firsttime home buyer, you can usually finance up to 97% of the loan.

Land and Lot Loan

Some lenders also offer mortgages on land and lots; terms are usually 5, 8 and 12 years. These mortgages often allow 75% loan-to-value (the loan-to-value ratio is the amount of your mortgage in relation to the value of the property you want to purchase). Most lenders also offer Home Equity Loans and Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) that can help finance major expenses, such as home renovations/repairs, medical bills or college tuition. Both types of loans use the equity in the borrower’s home as collateral and offer reasonable interest rates and terms. Your financial institution can answer any specific questions you may have about these types of loans. Because each person’s circumstances are different, there is no one-loan-fits-all standard. That’s why it’s important to carefully review all your options before deciding on a lender and loan. Your loan officer can answer your questions and provide additional information for you to consider. Remember, the mortgage loan process doesn’t have to be intimidating. Start by choosing the right lender and you’re well on your way to a satisfying home buying experience.

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5 yard updates you can complete in a fall weekend If you love spending time in your yard, the end of summer can mark a period of sadness thinking about the colder temperatures and shorter days you must endure before getting back outside. One sure cure for the blues is looking forward to something fun. Get a head start on spring and use the time now to complete a project that will enhance your yard. Whether you’ve been wanting a patio, a zen garden or just some new flower beds, fall weekends are an ideal time to make it happen. By spring, they’ll be ready and waiting for your finishing touches!

stone border, and cover with a tarp. When spring comes, the foundation of your zen space will be ready and waiting for you to add plants, shrubs, gravel, lanterns and maybe a statue or two. Pond This fall, choose a sunny spot in your yard to build your pond, and then rent a tool, like a mini-excavator, to move the dirt and even carve out the terraces. When that job is done, you’ll have plenty of time to get the bulk of the project ready for spring, such as adding your sand layer, the waterproof liner and installing the pump. Finally, arrange the rocks to create a beautiful and natural-looking perimeter that’s waiting for spring and the addition of water and plants.

and they’re easier to maintain and repair. You can also add a pergola to create a beautiful space for outdoor dining and entertaining. With the help of a rented post hole digger, you can have the posts in place before the snow flies.

Fire pit Nothing’s better than sitting around the fire with friends and loved ones. Fire pits are the ideal fall project because you can start enjoying it almost right away. Whether you add to an existing patio or start new, renting a cement mixer and a paver saw for custom-fitted pieces can help you create a functional new feature in just a weekend or two.

With the help of rental equipment, you can get these jobs done in a fraction of the time and with much less of an investment than purchasing expensive tools yourself. Here are five weekend projects you can complete this fall and dream about all winter. Zen garden Building a free-standing, minimalist zen garden is a simple but powerfully effective way to add beauty and texture to a lawn or patio. To get a head start in the fall, plan where you’d like to set that rectangle of tranquility in your yard. Once that’s measured and marked off, you can rent a sod cutter to almost effortlessly remove the grass. Before the ground freezes, give that rectangle a

78 Pensacola Magazine

your home. Preparing the bed in the fall means less dirt work in the spring, so you can spend that time getting plants in the ground. The good news is, if you decide you want the bed to be bigger, you can just rent a walk-behind skid steer and get the job done quickly.

Patio and pergola When you compare a paverbrick patio with a traditional wood deck, the advantages of the patio are very evident. Patios are easy for do-it-yourselfers to complete in a weekend or two, they’re less expensive to build

Flower beds Flower beds add beauty to your yard, but they can accomplish so much more. Wide beds along property lines can create a privacy buffer between you and the rest of the world and increase the curb appeal of

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UpsideRealtyFl.com Tammy Bohannon Broker/Owner

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ON THE MARKET

Lessons learned A Realtors journey through home ownership

by Nancy Grogan

very long time ago, my husband and I were first-time home buyers. Without the aid of a realtor, we found a home that was owned by a bank. We asked how much. The realtor told us the price and we said “okay.” We figured we did something wrong because he raised his eyebrow with a surprised look and said “great!” Interest rates at that time were at 18 percent. There is so much more to the story, but we learned we paid too much and knew too little. We over-improved the house, which was not in a great location, and became “house poor” due to the mortgage and the repairs. When we decided to move, it took seven years to sell. We would have sold it sooner if we only listened to our listing realtor who told us what our house was really worth.

House number two was a real treat! Since we learned the value of location, we set our sights on a great area. We could not afford a nice house in a great location, but we did find an ugly, extremely unloved home, which was located on a cul-de-sac in a fantastic location. The location was perfect—the condition… not so much. The white carpet turned out to be brown carpet. This was attributed to the fact that two large, very hairy but sweet white-haired dogs lived in the house. The surround for the shower upstairs— inside and out—was made of wooden yard slat fencing. The shower door was on a metal gate hinge. We used single-sided razor blades to remove the grease that had accumulated on the kitchen cabinets. The house was so bad that the sub-floors had to be removed and replaced. The crawl space under the house was used as a storage place for unwanted furniture and the

82 Pensacola Magazine

back yard was nothing but dirt. At the time, there was no such thing as YouTube. We had to find books to read in order to learn how to fix everything. When my husband had finished with the complete remodel, the house was beautiful. After living in the home for four years, we sold it in one day with the help of a realtor. We learned a lot. House number three was in much better condition. It just needed a new backyard and interior paint—easy peasy! With three homes under our belt and more knowledge of the market, we were able to put those past lessons to good use thereby making good financial progress. We bought this home right before the market went up and sold it two years later with help of a realtor—earning us, once again, some great financial appreciation. There have been four more homes since then— and a move across the country—before we finally settled in Florida. I tell you these stories because the one thing I’ve learned along the way is how difficult it is to go it alone. If we had used an agent, house number one would have never happened. I have been a realtor for more than 23 years and I have always tried to pass on the knowledge I’ve gleaned from my experiences and the continuing education that keeps me up-todate. Today we live in a more litigious society and a knowledgeable partner in your real estate purchase can help you avoid a bad decision that could potentially lead to litigation. An agent can guide and help you through all the necessary paperwork. The Internet is awesome and can help you with questions you may have, but realtors have access to so much more. Realtors can and will guide you through all the timelines for all the necessary inspections that you need to have. A local realtor is going to search an area in ways you never could and they’ll have access

to properties that aren’t even listed yet. A good agent will have great negotiating skills and know how to handle bidding wars, contingencies and all those inspections. Realtors are connected to lenders, attorneys, home inspectors, handymen, painters and all the other venders you’ll need to make and update your purchase. Realtors that belong to the National Association of Realtors adhere to a strict code of ethics, which holds them to a high ethical standard. Last but not least, realtors do a lot that no one sees. They drive around checking out listings for you, conduct Facetime showings on houses so you can see them before arriving into town and spend their own money on marketing your home (if you are selling). They also research comparative sales to make sure you are getting the best deal possible. They’ll answer the phone early in the morning, through dinner time and late at night. Realtors search for all the information you may need in order for you to make a good decision. They listen to your fears and are there to discuss the huge financial decision you are making. So, choose your realtor wisely. Find one that has the extensive knowledge required to do exactly what you want. If you don’t know what you want, find a realtor that has all the accreditation that will be necessary to find you a perfect place you can call home. As I am writing this, sitting comfortably in house number seven, my husband thought it would be a good idea to build one more time—making house number eight our forever home. The new adventure begins. Nancy Grogan, ABR, CDPE, CRS, GRI, SFR Broker Associate and Branch Manager for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty NancyGrogan.com Nancy.grogan@penfedrealty.com

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ON THE MARKET

Agency? What you should know before hiring a real estate agent by Holly Lovett

In the state of Florida there are multiple ways that a real estate agent can work with, or for, a buyer or seller of residential property. Before you proceed with your next sale or purchase, you should understand what agency means to make sure that you are getting the representation that you intend. There are three distinct agency relationships in the state of Florida: single agent, transaction broker and no brokerage relationship. It is important for consumers to understand the differences between three and to also be aware that many brokerages limit their agents as to what roles they may assume. A transaction broker works with customers (not clients). As the presumed agency relationship in Florida, it is also the only one that does not have to be disclosed – a relatively recent change in our licensing law. A transaction broker has the basic duties of honesty, disclosure of material facts, accounting for all funds, skill, care and diligence, timely presentation of offers, and the added duty of limited confidentiality - and they owe these duties to ALL parties in the transaction, not just to you as the customer. A transaction broker cannot negotiate on your behalf, represent your best interests, strategize with you, or give you advice. They can provide transactional and procedural guidance, relay your instructions and requests to the other parties and facilitate the transaction to consummation. Much differently, a single agent relationship is a fiduciary relationship where the agent (and thereby the brokerage) represents a

86 Pensacola Magazine

client’s best interests above all others in the transaction, including their own. A single agent’s duties are characterized by, in addition to the duties of a transaction broker, full confidentiality, loyalty and obedience (within the confines of legal and ethical obligations). A single agent can – and should – negotiate on behalf of their client, advocate for their client, give their professional advice on anything material to the transaction, strategize with you and represent fully your interests up to and beyond the closing. A no brokerage relationship requires the duties of skill, care and diligence, accounting for all funds, honesty and disclosure of material facts, and timely presentation of offers – essentially transaction broker without the limited confidentiality. An important note: the state of Florida mandates that a given brokerage (whether via one agent or two separate agents) cannot simultaneously work with two parties as a single agent when they have competing interests (a buyer and a seller) in the same transaction. Most brokerages that allow single agency will have their agent(s) transition to a transaction broker when this occurs, and

some brokerages will have the buyer’s agent transition to a no brokerage capacity. So while the transaction and no agency relationships serve an important role in some circumstances, be an informed consumer and, if you want, need or expect your agent to represent your interests and give professional advice, don’t settle for anything less than a single agent relationship. And understand that, if your agent doesn’t have an agency conversation with you, they are most likely assuming the transaction broker role (any other agency relationship must be disclosed in writing). This transaction broker role assumption without required disclosure is, in my humble opinion, a flaw of Florida real estate license law that allows an all too important conversation to go un-had - potentially leaving an unaware customer receiving a very different level of service than what they want or expect. Expect better. Holly Lovett is broker owner of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Main Street Properties - “Best In Pensacola” 2018 winner for Best Real Estate Company | Recipient of 21 “Best of the Bay” awards since 2012 | www.bhgremainstreet.com

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Looking for a LocaL reaL estate agent?

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Making your home dreams come true in

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Michael ledwell Broker associate

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Wolfgang Hucklenbroich Broker Associate | Realtor 911 Gulf Breeze Pkwy.

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Thinking of Buying or Selling?

Living in East Hill! I am passionate about sharing the East Hill Lifestyle and real estate opportunities throughout the Pensacola area. My goal is to meet your needs and exceed your expectations.

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Call your Neighborhood Real Estate Professional today!

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READY

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Greg Grover, Realtor® Text or Call 850-450-3702 Greg@SevilleSquare.net

Cheryl Young, Realtor® Lic. Real Estate Broker Text or Call 850-712-4742

Amber Green, Realtor® Text or Call 850-572-0597 Amber@SevilleSquare.net

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me today! Tonya Toomey Realtor®

Legendary Sales, Inc.

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Rebecca Boyd, Realtor® Text or Call 850-776-4628 Becky@SevilleSquare.net

Jonathan Boyd Lic. Real Estate Agent Text or Call 850-776-1730 Jon@SevilleSquare.net

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Real Estate News RE/MAX on the Coast welcomes Joy Schulz to their team

Beck Partners Ranks No. 1,519 on the 2018 Inc. 5000 with Three-Year Revenue Growth of 310% Percent Inc. magazine recently revealed that Beck Partners is No. 1,519 on its 37th annual Inc. 5000, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment — its independent small businesses. Microsoft, Dell, Domino’s Pizza, Pandora, Timberland, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000. “Our main goal is to drive growth for our clients and communities,” Justin A. Beck, CEO of Beck Partners said. “Making this list with so many other strong leaders around the nation inspires us to develop our company and our people even more. The last three years have been the ultimate experience of expansion and advancements that have

pushed us past the status quo. We have had a taste of success, but we are definitely not stopping there. I am thankful for every one of our amazing team members that made this possible.” Not only have the companies on the 2018 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists. The 2018 Inc. 5000 achieved an astounding three-year average growth of 538.2 percent, and a median rate of 171.8 percent. The Inc. 5000’s aggregate revenue was $206.1 billion in 2017, accounting for 664,095 jobs over the past three years. Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/inc5000.

Joy is a seasoned agent with more than twenty years of experience in the real estate world. She joined the RE/MAX on the Coast team in 2011, but took a hiatus in completing and receiving a bachelor of arts degree in Education. Joy’s main focus has always stemmed around children in providing them opportunities in making a difference in their communities. A very active and connected community volunteer in the Santa Rosa schools, Joy has co-chaired and served on several committees in connecting the students to community outreach projects and area non-profit organizations. Joy has served in leadership roles and volunteered with the local Relay for Life events and Caring and Sharing in providing holiday assistance. Joy also has a heart for the homeless and launched a ministry through her church in partnering and providing meals on a monthly basis with working with volunteers and giving those opportunities to connect. Connecting people to the community is what Joy does best! With her native nature in understanding each community is an asset to any prospective client, whether buying or selling. In her free time, Joy is busy with biking, running and enjoying beach time. As a long-time Gulf Breeze resident, she, her husband David and boys enjoy the beach and great weather all year long and will forever be a fan of the Gulf Coast.

Catalyst Healthcare Real Estate Acquires Multistate Healthcare Real Estate Portfolio Catalyst Healthcare Real Estate (“Catalyst HRE”), a leader in healthcare real estate, has completed the acquisition of a 21-property healthcare portfolio with a total cost of approximately $150 million (the “Portfolio”). The Portfolio spans 8 states and is 95 percent leased, totaling 530,182 square feet. This is Catalyst HRE’s largest portfolio acquisition to date. Chad Henderson, CEO of Catalyst HRE stated, “Over the past several years we have worked hard to grow relationships and expand our geographical footprint in healthcare. This acquisition will strategically allow us to further our organization’s purpose of positively impacting healthcare by creating Better Access, promoting Quality Outcomes and building Lasting Relationships. Closing on this portfolio was a big step in our company’s growth plans. We remain extremely excited about the bright future ahead of us.” The Portfolio consists of properties in Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Indiana and North Carolina. Florida has the most significant square footage of assets at 149,824 and Tennessee has the most substantial number of buildings at six.

90 Pensacola Magazine

This acquisition will grow Catalyst HRE’s current healthcare real estate footprint by four states, having them now active in a total of 12 states throughout the Southeast and Midwest United States. The Portfolio is anchored by primary care and internal medicine practices of regional and hospital tenants, representing 33 percent of the total leased space. Regional and hospital orthopaedic, oncology, neurology and surgical practices represent 40 percent of leased space. Women’s health and gastroenterology combine for 10 percent of the portfolio and the remaining space is occupied by physical therapy, imaging, behavioral health, and pain management. “We look forward to expanding on our relationship with each of these 35 quality healthcare tenants. It is our goal to clearly understand their clinical and business strategy and proactively assist them in the planning, creating, optimizing, and managing of their healthcare real estate needs,” said Henderson. The properties include: • Plaza Medical Campus – Jacksonville, Fla. • Ewing MOB – Orlando, Fla. • Pensacola Medical Park – Pensacola, Fla.

• Medical Village at Kissimmee – Kissimmee, Fla. • Medical Village at Leesburg – Leesburg, Fla. • West TN Bone and Joint – Jackson, Tenn. • Emory Road Medical Plaza – Powell, Tenn. • The Womans Clinic – Jackson, Tenn. • Patient Partners Surgery Center – Gallatin, Tenn. • HMG Kingsport – Kingsport, Tenn. • HMG Colonial Heights – Kingsport, Tenn. • Eagles Landing I – Conyers, Ga. • Eagles Landing II – Jackson, Ga. • Eagles Landing III – McDonough, Ga. • Eagles Landing IV – McDonough, Ga. • Carle Clinic Danville – Danville, Ill. • HMG Duffield – Duffield, Va. • HMG Weber – Weber City, Va. • Physicians Medical Plaza – Indianapolis, Ind. • Monroe Medical Plaza – Monroe, N.C. • KSF Orthopaedic Center – Houston, Texas Catalyst HRE engaged Healthcare Real Estate Capital, LLC (“HRE Capital”) as its advisor to assist in closing the Portfolio. The portfolio was funded with senior debt financing from Jon Buehner and Erik Tellefson of Capital One.

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I value and appreciate your business. • Janet Moore • RealtoR, GRI, SFR

Erin Bryan, Loan Officer

cheryl henszey Pa, realtor®

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Sweet Water

Realty Inc. This Charming 3bd/3ba Beach Cottage is ready and waiting for you! Modern meets Southern in harmonious fashion! Open Floor plan, Grand Front Porch, Two Master Suites, Inground Pool with large Upper and lower decks. Over 2600sq ft of delightful living. No HOA here! MLS 537474

$379,900

Karen K Cudd broKer®

850.221.1606

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Great 4bd/2 ba with Inground Pool located in Delightful Lillian Woods! This home lives large with its spacious lot and interior features. Backyard is lush with citrus trees and Ample Patio area. Did someone say Pool Party?!

Two Acres on Deep Water, stunning views of the ICW! The Lot can be divided. Located on high Bluff, this lot has is complete with White Sandy Beach front. Build the home of your dreams. No HOA here! MLS 533330

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MICHELLE CURRY 850.221.8795

GATED COMMUNITY - POOL VACATION RENTALS ALLOWED 4/3 GULF VIEWS MLS 541508

3687 Mackey cove Dr Pensacola, Fl

5 beds | 5 baths 5,774 sqft | $850,000

Let’s talk about YOUR dream home! Karen Jurkowich | Realtor® 850.384.5767 kjurkowichrealtor@gmail.com

TANNER REALTY OF NW FLA, LLC 421 E. ZARAGOZA ST. PENSACOLA, FL 32502 “In The Heart of Old Seville Since 2003” 850-435-9007

Sandra J. Ward realty, Inc. SInce 1984

13 PORT ROYAL WAY

224 GARDEN ST #413

5805 SAINT BENEDICT AVE

3 BEDS • 2 BATHS • 1,654 SQFT MLS# 536482

STUDIO • 1 BATH • 315 SQFT MLS# 529896

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Waterfront Properties

Featured Properties

751 Pensacola Beach Blvd | $415,000

2645 San Clemente Dr. | $280,000

2 BR | 2 BA | MLS # 536801

3 BR | 2 BA | MLS # 538190

7241 Lafitte Reef | $225,000 .29 Acres | MLS # 511518

Downtown Properties

510 E Government St | $595,000

4 BR | 2 BA | MLS # 536806

428 E Government St | $450,000 3 BR | 2 BA | MLS # 516948

Monica Wetzel

Glenda Jones

Broker/Owner (850) 549-8224

Ann Davis

Realtor® (850) 384-7159

Realtor® (850) 255-7303

6556 E Bay Blvd | $225,000

3,097 Sq.Ft | MLS # 533258

Jennifer Neumann Peggy Maiorana Realtor® (850) 565-0211

Realtor® (850) 598-5650

Kimi Smith

Realtor® (850) 525-5247

5485 Soundside Dr | $495,000 2 BR | 2 BA | MLS # 488337

Sarah Mayorca Realtor® (850) 292-9489

Susan Myrick

Broker Associate (850) 982-7998

Located in Historic Downtown Pensacola | 511 E. Government Street | 850.435.3005 | GrandPoints.com

THE OPERA FASHION SHOW DECEMBER 4, 2018

Enrich your opera and date night wardrobes with a luncheon fashion show featuring celebrity models, evening gowns, and cocktail dresses with a pop-up vendor shopping area before the show. 10:00 AM | Early Entry Shopping and Silent Auction 11:00 AM | General Admission 11:30 AM | Lunch 12:00 PM | Fashion Show 1:00 PM | Raffle and Silent Auction Winners Announced Early Entry Price: $60 General Admission: $50

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“Working with her was a delight. She made the whole process of finding and buying a property very easy.” — Zillow ® Review

JUST LISTED!

7228 SHARP REEF

1218 PARASOL PLACE

5 BR | 5.5 BA | 3,200 SF | Wood Tile Floors All Custom Showers | Private Bath to Each Bedroom 100’ Lot | Boat Lift | 3,900 SF of Outdoor Porches | $995,000

5 BR | 5½ BA | 4,800 SF | 1,400 SF of Covered Porches MLS# 524103 | Gated Community Summer Kitchen Gulf Views | Elevator | Private Balconies | $2,300,000

SOLD!

7238 SHARP REEF ROAD

4 BR | 3½ BA | 2,820 SF | 1,600 SF of Covered Porches MLS# 527353 | Boat Dock + Lift | Fully Furnished Gulf, Lagoon + Old River Views | $950,000

7293 CAPTAIN KIDD REEF

13333 JOHNSON BEACH RD

3 BR | 3½ BA | 3,000 SF | 1,600 SF of Covered Porches MLS# 522648 | Chef’s Kitchen | Boatslip, Dock + Lift Gulf, Beach + Old River Views | $1,000,000

4 BR | 4½ BA | 3,293 SF | MLS# 533889 | Penthouse Fully Furnished | Vista Del Mar | Premium Amenities Gulf, Lagoon + Instacostal Waterway Views | $2,350,000

Alison Davenport, Broker Associate Licensed in FL and AL 13578 Perdido Key Dr. Pensacola, FL 32507 (850) 982-2083 alison@davprop.com www.davprop.com

SOLD!

Pensacola | 5033 N. 12th Ave., Penascola, FL 32504 850.477.6818 | Hours: Mon-Fri: 9:30am - 6pm Sat: 10am - 6pm | Sun: Closed

Gulf Breeze | 209 Gulf Breeze Pkwy, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 850.934.2688 | Hours: Mon-Fri: 9:30am - 6pm Sat: 10am - 5pm | Sun: Closed

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