Daily Record FINANCIAL NEWS &
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016
Vol. 104, No. 015 • Two SecTioNS
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
FRP Holdings eyes a Trump bump FRP Holdings Inc. has already watched its stock jump since Election Day and the commercial real estate developer is hoping for more of a Trump bump in the coming year. Jacksonville-based FRP develops and operates office and industrial properties mainly in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., market and no, there’s nothing obvious in the president-elect’s agenda that would benefit that business. Most analysts say the outlook for commercial real estate is uncertain as the new
deVilliers
A plot to surprise retiring judge
administration moves in. However, FRP, which was originally part of Florida Rock Industries Inc., continues to own properties that are mined for construction materials under lease agreements and the outlook for that is promising. “We remain hopeful that the
new administration in Washington will follow through on their promise to rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure,” CEO Tom Baker said during FRP’s quarterly conference call last week. FRP’s mining royalties segment is much smaller than its commercial real estate operation. While the mining business produced $7.5 million in revenue in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, FRP’s asset management business produced $28.7 million in revenue.
But the mining segment continues to be “the real performer” for the company, President David deVilliers said in the conference call. “We believe that volume increases from our locations will be the norm for the foreseeable future as construction activity in Florida and Georgia continues to improve,” deVilliers said. Operating profits in the mining royalties business jumped 63.6 percent to $6.8 million in fiscal 2016, while the operating profit of BASCH CONTINUED ON PAGE A-11
It’s not easy to catch a circuit judge with 25 years of experience by surprise, but that’s what happened Thursday at the Duval County Courthouse. It required quite a bit of planning and secrecy on the part of his colleagues on the bench, staff, family and many friends, but it all worked when Circuit Judge Henry Davis entered Courtroom 611 and discovered the room filed with people for his retirement ceremony. Chief Judge Mark Mahon said the subterfuge was necessary because Davis had made it clear he wanted to “retire quietly” and “he wouldn’t have come if he’d known what we were doing.” As Mahon welcomed the guests to the ceremony, he outlined the plot. Circuit Judge Adrian Soud invited Davis to lunch at Bono’s, but they had to stop by Soud’s courtroom where he had ostensibly left his car keys. Mahon said retirement ceremonies usually are held in the ceremonial courtroom, DAVIS CONTINUED ON PAGE A-2
A surfing trophy to go with her gavel
Photo by Bobby King
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
Mitch Stone presented Duval County Court Judge Kelly Eckley with a surfing trophy on behalf of The Jacksonville Beaches Bar Association during her investiture Wednesday. Eckley was a former chief assistant statewide prosecutor in the Florida Attorney General’s Office before being appointed to the bench in April. See more photos from her investiture on Page A-6.
Proposed Port Academy has an audience
Retiring 4th Judicial Circuit Judge Henry Davis received a plaque from the D.W. Perkins Bar Association.
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Photo by Max Marbut
Goal of finding ex-offenders jobs in port making progress By David Chapman Staff Writer One by one, area logistics and transportation company representatives around the table called out what they were looking for in entry-level employees. Time and stress management. A positive attitude. Drug free. A sense of professionalism. Being able to speak the industry lingo. Even something as simple as a consistent work ethic — showing up on time and putting in a good day’s work. So, asked moderator Lori Burns, if an
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employee had those traits and more, could those employers “do the rest” in terms of training and coaching? “Absolutely,” a couple of them replied. Sitting along the wall, Kevin Gay listened to the feedback, occasionally nodding while others took part in the discussion in the Jacksonville Port Authority boardroom. He wants to help those employers fill their needs with qualified, eager workers yearning for a chance to prove themselves. His potential pipeline isn’t traditional — many employers don’t take a risk with the population Gay is building up.
Gay is CEO of Operation New Hope, whose mission includes the Ready4Work program that assists ex-offenders with reentry into the community and workforce. He has expanded the program by launching the Jacksonville Port Academy. Gay’s goal with the academy is to work with port tenants, vendors and the port itself to help fill high-demand jobs that require training. And the group at the table Wednesday was a perfect audience. It featured companies like Crowley Maritime Corp., Suddath, CEVA Logistics, U.S. PORT CONTINUED ON PAGE A-11
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