Trends Chamber
The Official Publication of The Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral
JOIN US EVERY TUESDAY AT THE SHOPS AT SURFSIDE FOR THE SURFSIDE SUNSET MARKET, 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM CAPE CORAL FARMERS’ MARKET EVERY SATURDAY AT CLUB SQUARE 8:00 AM
January 2016
JOIN US IN 2016 FOR NETWORKING BUSINESS CARD EXCHANGE JANUARY 5TH 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM REHABILITATION & HEALTHCARE CENTER
BUSINESS AFTER HOURS JANUARY 21ST ACHIEVA CREDIT UNION 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
NETWORKING AT NOON JANUARY 22ND COMPLETE NUTRITION 12:00 PM - 1:00PM
CHAIRMANS GALA FRIDAY, JANUARY 29TH 6:00 PM CAPE CORAL YACHT CLUB
To Promote and Serve Business and Community
JANUARY 2016 Publisher & Editor Stephanie Roberson Technology Director stephanie@capecoralchamber.com Contributing Editors Donna S. Germain President/CEO donna@capecoralchamber.com Claudia St. Onge Business Manager cso@capecoralchamber.com Matt Lamb Membership Director matt@capecoralchamber.com Annette Siner Membership Sales annette@capecoralchamber.com Melanie Lempke Administrative Generalist melanie@capecoralchamber.com Lyz Crouthamel Special Events Director lyz@capecoralchamber.com Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral P.O. Box 100747, Cape Coral, FL 33910 2051 Cape Coral Parkway, Cape Coral, FL 339044 Phone (239) 549-6900 Fax (239) 549-9609
JANUARY 5 BUSINESS CARD EXCHANGE REHABILITATION & HEALTHCARE CENTER OF CAPE CORAL 2629 DEL PRADO BLVD, CAPE CORAL, FL 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM JANUARY 21 BUSINESS AFTER HOURS ACHIEVA CREDIT UNION 1616 CAPE CORAL PKWY W, CAPE CORAL, FL 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM JANUARY 22 NETWORKING AT NOON COMPLETE NUTRITION 1860 NE PINE ISLAND RD, STE 215, CAPE CORAL, FL 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM JANUARY 29 CHAIRMANS GALA CAPE CORAL YACHT CLUB 5819 DRIFTWOOD PKWY, CAPE CORAL, FL 6:00 PM TUESDAYS YEAR ROUND SURFSIDE SUNSET MARKET THE SHOPS AT SURFSIDE VETERANS PARKWAY AND SURFSIDE BOULEVARD 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM EVERY SATURDAY CAPE CORAL FARMERS’ MARKET CLUB SQUARE 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM TO REGISTER FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE EVENTS ONLINE VISIT WWW.CAPECORALCHAMBER.COM
CHAMBER TRENDS Coming in 2016
Donna S. Germain President
Happy New Year! 2015 was definitely a year of change for our chamber. After 18 years, our president Mike Quaintance retired to pursue his new endeavor as a college professor, Lyz Crouthamel joined our team as the new Special Events Director and I had the honor of being named the new president of our organization. Throughout this year of transition, we achieved growth in our membership reaching 765 members to date and saw an increase in our percentage of retained members to 78 percent. Events like the Cape Coral Farmers’ Market, Surfside Sunset Market, Priority Business Solutions Freedom 5K, Women’s Leadership Conference and the CenturyLink Holiday Festival of Lights reached record numbers this year. Our Education
Committee had another successful Taste of the Cape event and awarded more than $7,000 in scholarships to local high school graduates. We graduated our 12th Junior Leadership Class and our 22nd Leadership Cape Coral Class. Our website member directory received more than 2.3 million referrals this year, a 27 percent increase over last year and we welcomed 30,000 visitors to our south and north welcome centers. None of this however, would be possible without the hard work of our chamber staff and our membership who continually support us. As an organization with a staff of 7, we truly appreciate the time, talent and treasure that our members put forth for the chamber. You are the driving force behind our success as an organization and we cannot thank you enough. On behalf of the Chamber Staff : Claudia St. Onge, Stephanie Roberson, Melanie Lempke, Annette Siner, Matt Lamb, Lyz Crouthamel and myself, we would like to wish you all a happy and health New Year and thank you all for your continued support and hard work in making the Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral a great organization. Here’s to an even better 2016!
2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman Brett Bisbe, B2 Technology Solutions, Inc Chair-Elect Trish Lassiter, Lee County Electric Cooperative Treasurer Ed Bolter, Lamar Advertising Past Chair Ed Ramos, Ramos Builders, Inc Barb Adams, LeeSar Beverly Black, Black Business Solutions, LLC Dana Brunett, City of Cape Coral Matthew Connar, Boost Creative Tony Constantino, Kevin M. Burns & Assoc. P.A. Angela Davis, Merrill Lynch Diane Everhart, Blue Chip Financial Joseph Francioni, The Smart Companies Cynthia Gallagher, The Breeze Newspapers Sandra Griener, Sun Splash Family Waterpark Tom Hansen, Boat House of Cape Coral Tim Hauck, Fuller Metz Cremation and Funeral Services Jay Johnson, Bubba’s Roadhouse and Saloon Laura Koehn, CapeCoral.com Mike Quaintance, Keiser University Christopher Spiro, Spiro & Associates Michelle Whitlock, Siesta Pebble Pool Interiors Zachary Zeis, Storm Smart
CHAIRMAN EMERITUS Annette Carrasquillo, LAI Design Associates, LLC Wayne Kirkwood, Kirkwood Electric, Inc. Thomas Giles, Avalon Engineering Michelle Lewis, B-2 Solutions Joseph Mazurkiewicz, BJM Consulting, Inc. Donna Meola, Priority Payments of South Florida Don Schnell, Regions Bank Thomas Shipp Jr, Attorney Elmer Tabor, Wonderland Realty/Cape Coral Town Center
TRUSTEES Kevin Ahmadi, Gulf Coast Village Keith Banasiak, Waste Pro of Florida Nancy Dunning, Cape Coral Association of Realtors Rana Erbrick, City of Cape Coral Bill Jacob, CenturyLink Mike Noone, Goldberg, Racilla, D’Alessandro & Noone, LLC David Owen, BB & T - Oswald, Trippe & Co. Larry Wier, Premier Insurance Corporation
CHAMBER STAFF Donna S. Germain, President Claudia St. Onge, Business Manager & Farmers’ Market Director Stephanie Roberson, Technology Director Matt Lamb, Membership Director Annette Siner, Membership Sales Melanie Lempke, Administrative Generalist Lyz Crouthamel, Special Events Director
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GOVERNEMENT AFFAIRS Government Affects You
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Annette M Carrasquillo, Chairperson Government Affairs Committee
As we launch into 2016, the Government Affairs Committee has compiled our business plan for 2016. With the hard work of the committee volunteers and participation of our members and business leaders, we believe that we can be a strong voice for the business community and the citizens of our community. The Government Affairs Committee has committed to the following objectives in order to better communicate and involve our members in our local government: • • • •
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Utilize and promote the CapeCoralVoice.com website as an information distribution center to our members on political and government issues. Future events: Candidate Hobnob; Candidate Forum.
There are many issues that the committee will be following over the next year, such as, the Bimini Basin project, the Seven Islands project and the LCEC Franchise Agreement. Through the committee we will seek our membership’s opinion on issues that face the business community so we can represent our Chamber membership. The Government Affairs Committee understands the need for the Create a “Speed Networking” Chamber Luncheon event for business community and citizens to have their opinions heard and to Chamber members with the entire council. get representation. We hope that you will take the opportunity to let Continue the Committee Liaison meetings with elected officials. us know your opinion, through our surveys or by calling the Chamber Engage our Council members to attend Chamber events. office, so that we can represent your voice to our local and state elected Continue attendance at Council meetings and review of Lee officials. County Commission meeting and CRA meetings and provide Together the voice of our strong Chamber membership can make a weekly updates for E-Newsletter. difference! Partner with Council for Progress on Economic Development issues in conjunction with working with the City of Cape Coral to Remember: Government Affects You! provide assistance with new and existing businesses.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY EVENTS
NOVEMBER NEW MEMBERS & RENEWALS NEW MEMBERS
RENEWALS
Auto Sound Keith Morgan
Adirondack Chocolatier Member Since: 10/31/2014
Bonefish Grill Chen Lee
Andre & Janel Aho w/ Remax Trend Member Since: 12/23/2013
Desai Dental Studio Dr. Sudhanshu “Sam” Desai Edison & Ford Winter Estates Lisa Wilson Experimac Kevin Lynn Family Health Center of SW Florida, Inc. Robert Pallusek First Mate and Bait Danielle Tabone Lee Podiatry Group Dr. Sandra Desai Matthews Landscaping Matthew Bucci Paychex Sinclair Realty, Inc. Veronika Rice The Guardian Angels for Special Populations Vince Marcucci
BB&T - Oswald, Trippe & Co. Member Since: 04/01/1989 Bubba’s Roadhouse & Saloon Member Since: 07/11/2013
FOS Furniture Member Since: 11/01/1994
SC Custom Homes, LLC Member Since: 11/18/2014
Fuller Metz Cremation and Funeral Services Member Since: 12/01/2002
Taylor-Pansing, Inc. Member Since: 12/29/1999
J.M. Todd, Inc Member Since: 12/01/2002 JCI Graphics and Promos Member Since: 11/25/2013 Kelly Air Systems, LLC. Member Since: 11/27/2012
Burandt, Adamski & Feichthaler, PL Member Since: 12/01/2001
Lee County Sheriff ’s Office Member Since: 12/01/2001
Cabinet Genies Member Since: 12/04/2014
Liberty Tax Service Member Since: 12/28/2004
Cape Chorale Barbershop Chorus Member Since: 12/05/2010
Miceli’s Restaurant Member Since: 10/31/2012
Cape Coral Housing Development Corp. Member Since: 11/09/2000
Palmetto Pine Country Club Member Since: 11/19/2008 Paul Homes of Florida, LLC Member Since: 11/01/1995
Downtowner Car Wash Southeast Member Since: 11/17/2006
Planet Fitness Member Since: 12/04/2013
Edison Beach House Member Since: 12/01/2001
The Red Headed Witches Member Since: 12/19/2014
Wade’s Heating and Cooling Member Since: 07/19/2015
THANK YOU FOR YOUR MEMBERSHIP!
RIBBON CUTTINGS
Backstreets Sports Bar 915 SE 47th Terrace | Cape Coral, 33904 (239) 945-7555 | www.backstreetssportsbar.com
Hair FX Studio & Spa 4706 Chiquita Blvd. S. | Cape Coral, 33914 (239) 549-1139 | www.hairfxcape.com
Holiday and More 447 Cape Coral Parkway E. | Cape Coral, 33904 (239) 541-2400 | www.capecoral-florida-immobilien.com
Sovereign Health Group 3331 E. Riverside Dr. | Ft. Myers, 33916 (866) 269-2493 | www.sovhealth.com
Whether You Just Joined or Just Renewed Your Membership, Schedule Your Ribbon Cutting Today! Call Matt Lamb, Membership Director (239) 549-6900 ext 103
HEALTHY TRENDS
“HEALTH REQUIRES BEING INTENTIONAL”
Salvatore Lacagnina, D.O. Vice President of Health & Wellness, Lee Memorial Health System
When it comes to getting and staying healthy, intentionality rules! Being intentional requires lots of forethought and focus. It requires planning and deliberation; and, then tweaking and refining the plan until you get it just right. Sounds like a lot of work, right? Well, yes it is. Is there anything better than good health? Yes, great health! That’s the goal. Optimal health, great fitness and over the top functionality lets you not give in to aging. Let’s be intentional in our efforts to stay well. Picture a day in the life of a person who lives health intentionally. He/she wakes up at a certain time each day to start planning the day with health as the number one priority. He focuses on doing things that improve health, thereby enabling him to do all the things necessary plus other activities he wants to do in the next 24 hours. Meals are intentionally planned. A lot of thought goes into deciding what to eat starting with breakfast which might be a bowl of oatmeal with berries and cinnamon along with a cup of green tea or a large glass of water. A second choice may be a veggie stir fry with wheat toast. Sounds yummy! On the other hand, when she gets up in the morning, she focuses on getting her exercise done. She arrives at the gym by 5:30 am, works out doing 30 minutes of strength training and then aerobic exercise for another 30 minutes before going home to a healthy breakfast in order to be ready for the day. If she prefers not to have a gym membership, she does an exercise video tape at home and then uses some hand weights, resistance bands or some other method of strength training. Both individuals understand the importance of healthy nutrition and regular exercise. Both are intentionally focused on each part of life. They prioritize these two behaviors understanding they are the foundation for healthy living. Throughout the day they ask themselves if what they are doing/eating promotes or detracts from good health. They are keenly aware that the decisions they make each day affect present and future health; and, they are not willing to take chances on losing health. Intentionality requires planning--planning meals, scheduling exercise in the calendar, knowing the time to get to bed rather than leaving it up to chance. These are the day-to-day plans; in addition, these folks also plan social time, vacations, quiet time to reflect and think. They do not forget to do their wellness checks in order to be sure there
are no early warning signs of disease. They ask for advice from their health care providers on how to stay well and how to age fitfully. When they do visit with their physician or health care provider, they want to know their numbers: blood pressure, weight, body fat percent, blood test numbers for lipids, glucose to name a few. When they are asked “how many minutes per day do you exercise?” and “how many servings of vegetables per day do you eat?” they know the answers; even more importantly, they know the importance of the questions. They also know the 5-2-1-0+9 rule for their children and are intentional on following these recommendations: five servings of vegetables daily, no more than 2 hours of play screen time (computer/ TV), one hour of exercise daily, zero sugary drinks and 9 hours of sleep nightly. They know children need more sleep than most adults. They are intentionally making sure their children are growing up healthy and again, not leaving it to chance. Someone recently said to me, “failing to plan means you are planning to fail” and I believe this, especially when it comes to health. When we fail to plan to stay well, we eventually become sick. Then we will have to plan visits to the doctor/hospital, plan finances so we can pay these tremendous bills, plan for someone to help us since failing health makes us less functional, and in some cases, plan funerals when catastrophic health problems occur. Please intentionally remember that most of the health problems we hear about today are preventable including heart disease, strokes, diabetes and cancer. These are not age related illnesses; and, even when genetics puts us at risk, we must understand that genes are not our destiny. With healthy living we can keep these bad genes turned off. We do not have to succumb to genetics or unhealthy behaviors. We can do something about this every day. We can choose to be well and choose not to be sick. We can choose a life of pleasure and not pills. With each decision we make, we come closer to better health or closer to disease and disability. When we are intentional, we are in control! One of the things I do with my patients is to develop an action plan for healthy living. We intentionally write out a nutrition program, exercise schedule and sleep routine. We talk about ways to relieve stress and ways to live life with passion, dedication and commitment. We develop a plan to control life rather than having life control us. In closing, I hope that you too will develop your own intentional action plan for healthy living. Take control of your health and define your future. Have fun and live life to the fullest. Be well my friends and send comments and questions to Dr.Sal@ Leememorial.org
Diamond Member Lee Memorial Health System P.O. Box 2218 Fort Myers, FL 33902
Executive Member CenturyLink 2710 Del Prado Blvd S, Cape Coral Gulf Coast Village Retirement Community 1333 Santa Barbara Blvd. Cape Coral
Lee County Electric Coop 4980 Bayline Dr North Fort Myers, FL 33917
The News-Press - Fort Myers Office 2442 Dr. MLK Blvd. Ft. Myers
B2 Technology Solutions 1406 SE 46th Lane Cape Coral, FL 33904
Fifth Third Bank 2402 Surfside Blvd., Cape Coral, FL 33991 2724 Del Prado Blvd, Cape Coral, FL 33904 114 Hancock Bridge Pkwy, Cape Coral, FL 33991 1801 NE Pine Island Rd, Cape Coral, FL 33909 1600 Cape Coral Pkwy. E, Cape Coral, FL 33904
Bring Prospective Customers Into Your Business By Hosting a Networking Event in 2016. Schedule Your Business Card Exchange, Networking @ Noon or Business After Hours Today! Call Matt Lamb, Membership Director (239) 549-6900 ext 103
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Chamber Trends Monthly Advertising Basic Advertising Prices Full Page $337.00 1/2 Page $227.00 1/4 Page $147.00 Business Card $117.00 (All ads include a hyperlink to your company’s website or a 30-second commercial promoting your business. Non-profit organizations receive 2 free 1/2 page ads per year upon request with their membership.) Prime Advertising Pricing Full Page $367.00 1/2 Page $287.00 1/4 Page $207.00 Business Card $167.00 (All ads include a hyperlink to your company’s website or a 30-second commercial promoting your business and a banner ad in the Chamber Trends Weekly E-Newsletter) Specials Feature Your Business On The Cover Cover photo showcasing your company with a full page article, up to 3 pictures and company logo spotlighting your business. Only one per month. First come first serve basis. Your spotlight can also be linked to your company website and/or a commercial promoting your business.
Chamber Trends Weekly Advertising Press Release $25.00 (Runs 1x, includes 60 words, company logo, link to your company website.) (Non-profit organizations run 2x for $25.00) Banner Advertisement $50.00 per month (runs 4x, includes link to your website) Company Spotlight $157.00 (Runs 4x, includes short story, link to website, link to additional company information, 2 pictures and Company logo.)
E-mail Blasts Company Spotlight E-mail Blast $199.00 The investment for the Business Spotlight is $199 and will run twice throughout the month of your choice. Dimensions - 6 inches wide x 8 inches tall, 300 dpi resolution. Please call Donna Germain at 549-6900 ext. 107 for more information. All Chamber Publications Are Distributed to More Than 16,000 contacts
LCEC – your cooperative
empowers you!
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* 7% Public Service Tax – Imposed by Cape Coral City Council * 3% Cape Coral Franchise fee * 4.5% Unincorporated Lee County Franchise Fee – Approved by Lee County Commissioners
www.lcec.net
REAL ESTATE TRENDS ANOTHER ONE BEHIND US Berge Aslanian (CDPE) Realtor, Island Harbor Realty
We have seen this happen before where appraisals and comps do not match well enough in a rising market. Please, please check with your lender or mortgage broker when starting the process to avoid getting caught in this trap later on.
Can we learn anything about where we are going from where And one more word of caution. Even though appraisals are supposed we have been? And if we do, what to be extremely close when done by two or more independent should we do about it? sources, sometimes they are not. Recently a home for sale was appraised independently to establish a realistic list price. Not too Looking at the most recent long after, a potential buyer wanting to make a low offer and finance numbers will give us some insight; using Veterans Benefits of 0% down paid for an appraisal that Cape Coral numbers for the three came in $30,000 (more than 10%) lower than the seller’s appraisal. month period ending 12/28/15: The offer based on the low appraisal was rejected by the sellers. One solution to this is for the sellers to wait until the market realizes their price is reasonable and the house sells. But, if they need the money now, compromise is the path to satisfying their need. There was headline on my browser page the other day that said“National Home Sales at Year End Low”. I guess that would be true for most of the Again, inventory of single family homes For Sale went up with country where the weather is getting colder and families were more a slight decrease in median price. The big news here is that sales focused on the Christmas Holidays. However, when you zoom in on our little are up both in numbers of homes sold and in median prices. slice of heaven here in Cape Coral, national averages go out the window. Prices are up 7.3% in one month and 14% from Oct through Dec. Prices are up, and sales have also begun to climb toward where they Condos For Sale stayed steady in numbers of units along with used to be. Knowing we are in the midst of trending upward in a strong prices. Condo units Sold jumped 51% while median prices yet healthy way and knowing how to buy and sell correctly, now is the went up 9.8% in one month and 18.3% from Oct through Dec. time for all good buyers and sellers to seek the assistance of a reputable realtor (ask your friends they will help you find one) so you can take It appears that demand is very strongly breaking through advantage of what you now know. Remember, our high season is just the resistance of prices. There are no more of those homes getting started; once it starts into high gear, prices will be up even more. under $100,000. For condos and single family homes the bar is To avoid “shoulda, coulda, woulda…” act now to enjoy the knowledge rising. People are buying again and builders are building again. you already have. For those of you financing your purchase, please be aware that in a rising market a trap often gets created. Lenders always require comps (comparative values) of similar homes recently sold in the same area. If the comps are lower than your purchase price, the lender may require additional down payment to meet financing requirements. If a home identical to the one being purchased sold for $10,000 less the month before, there may be a need for more money down if there was a minimal down payment initially.
And don’t forget, Happy Property Hunting or Selling! Berge Aslanian (CDPE) is a Realtor in Cape Coral with Island Harbor Realty and an active member of the Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral. For questions about residential real estate, please call his cell, (239) 989-3463 or email realtorberge@att.net or visit www.RECapeCoral.com.
NETWORKING EVENTS BUSINESS AFTER HOURS Chamber members get together for some networking fun at the final networking event in 2015. The December Business After Hours was hosted by H & R Block.
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP The Chamber welcomed our city officials to address the State of the City at the General Membership Luncheon in December. which was held at Duffy’s of Cape Coral. A BIG thank you to our table sponsors who also took part in our monthly meeting; Water City Grill, YogaFit, Experimac, Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre
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2051 Cape Coral Parkway E Cape Coral, FL 33904 (239) 549-6900 www.capecoralchamber.com