2013 October-November Issue of 850 Business Magazine

If you want to advance your business career, you will have to earn our stripes.

Earn a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Florida State University and gain an edge in the ever-changing business world. We pride ourselves on delivering a stellar and rigorous curriculum taught by full-time, world-class faculty members.

Infused with the College of Business’ entrepreneurial spirit, our MBA program provides a flexible and affordable opportunity for working professionals.

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War paint for today’s business world.

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Military access FSU’s top-ranked MBA program from anywhere in the world

Capt. Scott Meyer, MBA ’08

U.S. Air Force 388th Fighter Wing Chief of Flight Safety, F-16 pilot, Col. James R. Douglass Graduate Scholarship Recipient

E

arning an MBA online from Florida State University gave Navy veteran Ben Bowersox an edge in his civilian career.

“It gave me the confidence and the intellectual capital to make the toughest transition I have ever made,” said Bowersox, who formerly piloted the MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter. “I felt like I had credentials in my hand that showed I knew how to manage in the outside world.”

As a Navy lieutenant, Bowersox already had experience supervising projects and people. He said his MBA courses not only bolstered his skills, but they also helped him translate his experience into business terminology.

A 2009 FSU Master of Business Administration graduate, Bowersox works as a trust wealth advisor for Capital City Bank Group Inc. based in Tallahassee. He credits the MBA program for teaching him the strategic marketing skills he uses daily in his new career.

Much of the business development he does daily involves relying on economic forecasting and indicators he studied in his MBA classes and differentiating his company’s financial services from what other firms provide.

Every day, around the world, military personnel are pursuing FSU online graduate degrees in business administration (MBA), management information systems (MS-MIS) and risk management and insurance (MSM-RMI).

t Online classes taught by the full-time, world-class faculty who teach on campus

Whether they are stationed stateside training for battle or deployed to aircraft carriers in international waters, they can actively participate anywhere there’s an Internet connection.

A rigorous MBA curriculum at a public business college ranked No. 1 for veterans by Military Times and listed among U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Online Graduate Programs” for 2013 “Our students with military experience bring a valuable perspective and set of skills into the classroom” said MBA Program Director David Orozco, who teaches the program’s Legal Environment of Business course. “Their discipline, commitment to teamwork, sound judgment and practical knowledge make these students a valuable asset to our program.”

FSU’s online MBA program offers several benefits to military personnel and their dependents, including: t A rigorous curriculum at a public business college ranked No. 1 for veterans by Military Times magazine and listed among U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Online Graduate Programs” for 2013 t A market price that every online student pays, plus applicable fees, regardless of location

t Flexible coursework that can be completed in seven semesters t The same on-campus MBA courses delivered online t No requirement to visit campus t Assurance in knowing FSU business programs are accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business When Navy Cmdr. Andrew Marshall set out to find an online program, he had three requirements: “It had to be from a respected institution, which would be recognized and valued by future employers; it had to be 100-percent online without any residency requirement; and it had to allow me the same degree afforded students who’d be a resident on campus.

FSU fit all three perfectly.”

Marshall, who graduated in 2011 with his FSU MBA, said he worked on his courses from Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Guam, Cuba, Hawaii and while afloat on the USS Kitty Hawk. As long as he could access the Internet, even sporadically, he could complete his academic work.

“It’s close to a self-paced study program, which affords maximum flexibility without sacrificing standards,” Marshall said.

For more information about FSU’s online MBA and other graduate business programs, visit graduatebusiness.fsu.edu.

– Melanie Yeager

mba.fsu.edu 850 Business Magazine

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POWER FORWARD WITH

BARBARA CORCORAN From Straight-D Student to Entrepreneurial Billionaire In celebration of Entrepreneurship Month, hear star of ABC’s reality hit, “Shark Tank,” and NBC’s “TODAY Show” real estate contributor share her entrepreneurial journey. Motivational, inspirational, and sometimes outrageous, Barbara Corcoran’s tell-it-like-it-is attitude is a refreshing approach to success.

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850businessmagazine.com

850 Magazine October – November 2013

IN THIS ISSUE

50

57

Departments

In This Issue

13 Meet Steven Reznik of Tallahassee, top Raymond James Financial Services advisor in Florida and one of top 10 nationally.

GUEST COLUMN

Corridors

THE (850) LIFE

850 FEATURES 42 He sought election to Florida’s highest Back on Track

office promising to create jobs. The state’s economy has improved — as has the nation’s — and new jobs have been added. But what kind of jobs has Rick Scott added, how has he lured them here and what is his economic vision for Northwest Florida? By Kimberley K. Yablonski

Prost! To Local Brews 50 It’s Oktoberfest time, when beer is celebrated around the world. There is plenty brewing in Northwest Florida and not just by homebrew aficionados. Take a tour of the local breweries springing up between Tallahassee and Pensacola.

PHOTOs BY scott holstein

By Lazaro Aleman and Thomas J. Monigan

On the Cover: Florida Gov. Rick Scott ready for another day of work as he leaves the Governor’s Mansion.

Photo by Scott Holstein

15 Barbara Corcoran of Shark Tank fame offers some advice for Northwest Florida entrepreneurs.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 18 Are you creating a “culture of exile”? Watch for the warning signs.

HUMAN ELEMENT 22 Learning how to resolve conflicts in your business is important for you and your workers.

LEADING HEALTHY 26 Combustible dust. It’s not just a nuisance. It can kill your workers.

IT’S THE LAW 30 Bill Gunter, Florida’s former insurance commissioner, tells small businesses how to prepare for the Affordable Care Act.

8 10 17 71 74

From the Publisher Letters to the Editor Business Arena: News & Numbers Sound Bytes The Last Word From the Editor

CAPITAL 57 Fred and Beth Tedio have turned their Tallahassee café into a hub of activity.

EMERALD COAST

60 Nestled in Seaside is a bustling little center of commerce called Ruskin Place that is inhabited by small business owners.

BAY 62 Bay County native Crook Stewart III parlayed his skills into a job working for some of the most familiar performers in the world.

FORGOTTEN COAST 66 The Dixie Theatre lives again in Apalachicola.

I-10 68 Turning local products into artisan ice creams is the specialty of Southern Craft Creamery.

Sponsored Report

Special Section

37

33 Deal Estate

O UTREACH 850 News from the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at Florida State University.

What’s trending, what’s selling and what’s hot to buy in Northwest Florida?

850 Business Magazine

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850 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA

October – November 2013

Vol. 6, No. 1

President/Publisher Brian E. Rowland EDITORIAL Director of Editorial Services Linda Kleindienst Staff Writer Jason Dehart Editorial Coordinator Chay D. Baxley Contributing Writers Lazaro Aleman, Steve Bornhoft, Laura Bradley, Tony Bridges, Shannon Clinton, Christine Comaford, Jason Dehart, Bill Gunter, Jennifer Howard, Thomas J. Monigan, John Mooshie, Kimberley K. Yablonski Proofreader Melinda Lanigan CREATIVE Creative Director Lawrence Davidson

Greater Pensacola Chamber

A competitive advantage for your business

Production Manager/Network Administrator Daniel Vitter Assistant Creative Director Saige Roberts Senior Graphic Designer Jennifer Ekrut Graphic Designers Lizzie Moore, Shruti Shah

Our programs and services are designed exclusively to help you connect with our network of more than ϭ͕ϮϬϬ ŵĞŵďĞƌ ŽƌŐĂŶŝnjĂƟŽŶƐ͘

Advertising Designers Jillian Fry, Monica Perez

WĞŶƐĂĐŽůĂ ŚĂŵďĞƌ͘ĐŽŵ ͻ ŚŽŽƐĞWĞŶƐĂĐŽůĂ͘ĐŽŵ ͻ ϴϱϬ͘ϰϯϴ͘ϰϬϴϭ

SALES, MARKETING & EVENTS Marketing and Sales Manager McKenzie Burleigh

Staff Photographer Scott Holstein

Director of New Business Daniel Parisi

COMPREHENSIVE TESTING SOLUTIONS Drug/Alcohol Pre-Employment/Random DNA/Paternity/Immigration Drug Free Workplace

Traffic Coordinator Lisa Sostre Account Executives Rhonda Chaloupka, Darla Harrison, Lori Magee, Tracy Mulligan, Linda Powell, Paula Sconiers, Chuck Simpson, Chris St. John, Drew Gregg Westling OPERATIONS Administrative Services Manager Melissa Tease Client Services Representative Caroline Conway Special Projects and events coordinator Lynda Belcher Accounting Specialists Tabby Hamilton, Josh Faulds Receptionists Tristin Kroening, Jazmeen Sule WEB Social Media/Systems Management Specialist Carlin Trammel 850 Business Magazine 850businessmagazine.com, facebook.com/850bizmag, twitter.com/850bizmag Rowland Publishing rowlandpublishing.com SUBSCRIPTIONS A one-year (6 issues) subscription is $30. To purchase, call (850) 878-0554 or go online to 850businessmagazine.com. Single copies are $4.95 and may be purchased at Barnes & Noble in Tallahassee, Destin and Pensacola and in Books-A-Million in Tallahassee, Destin, Ft. Walton Beach, Pensacola and Panama City and at our Tallahassee office.

Tallahassee 3520 N. Monroe Street (850) 201-2500 Marianna 4288 Lafayette Street (850) 526-7774 Panama City 2012 Lisenby Avenue (850) 640-0950 WWW.ARCPOINTLABS.COM/TALLAHASSEE 6

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850 Magazine is published bi-monthly by Rowland Publishing, Inc. 1932 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee, FL 32308. 850/878-0554. 850 Magazine and Rowland Publishing, Inc. are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. Editorial contributions are welcomed and encouraged but will not be returned.

850 Magazine reserves the right to publish any letters to the editor. Copyright October 2013 850 Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Member of three Chambers of Commerce throughout the region.

850 Business Magazine

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From the Publisher

Celebrating five years — and our expansion to Madison and Taylor counties What I learned during that trip is that Madison County is led by individuals who have a unique sense of pride in their home and care deeply for this place where so many are small business owners. There is the owner of a downtown Mexican restaurant who keeps a special red phone next to his register — so that members of the local Hispanic community can call home AT NO COST. Then I met David Abercrombie, CEO of Madison County Memorial Hospital, who is building a new 25-bed state-ofthe-art critical access hospital that will open in the spring. John Grosskopf, president of North Florida Community College, proudly reported his school had been ranked second among all national community colleges in a recent report released by Washington Monthly. And then there was the president of the community bank who left Tallahassee and the big box banks to work and raise his family in a more rural environment — where he could do business with people whose names he would know.

I so look forward to returning to meet many more business leaders so the report you read next spring will inform you about the diamond we have found on the eastern edge of the 850 region — and perhaps entice you to expand your business there one day.

Meanwhile, in the next issue of 850, which will be available on Dec. 15, we will present our fifth annual business profile of Tallahassee and Leon County. This Capital region is experiencing one of the greatest spurts of construction and expansion I have seen in many decades. And it is very heartening.

It is so good to see our region experiencing growing pains again … it just hurts so good!

Brian Rowland browland@rowlandpublishing.com Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

With this issue, 850 is delighted to be celebrating its fifth anniversary. We launched this magazine in October 2008, about a month before the national economy tanked, forcing our region into a recession made worse by the oil spill of 2010. It was a challenge to keep going, but we stayed the course, weathered the economic storm and have been repeatedly honored with awards declaring us the best written, best overall and best trade/special interest publication in the state.

Why? The answer is simple. The standards of our editor, Linda Kleindienst, and our entire team, are extremely high. Our editorial, design, production, sales and marketing forces strive to bring you an informative magazine with a graphic impact six times a year.

As we celebrate this anniversary we have made the decision to expand. Until now we have focused exclusively on the 16 counties that comprise Northwest Florida. In coming issues, however, we will be adding Madison and Taylor counties to our coverage area, allowing us to blanket the entire region covered by the 850 area code.

Our job has been and is to highlight trends and news of note across our region. But we also zero in on what’s happening in specific areas within the region — the Capital, Forgotten Coast, Bay, Emerald Coast and I-10 corridors. Each of these sectors has attained many economic successes, but regretfully their stories are often not well known outside that community. That’s where 850 has stepped in — to educate the different corridors about each other. Toward that end, we periodically do an in-depth economic analysis of a particular county. So far we have delivered packages on Leon, Walton, Okaloosa and Jackson counties. And we have now begun our research on Madison County for the April/May 2014 edition.

This most recent endeavor came about because of a call I received from Cindy Vees, executive director of the Madison County Chamber of Commerce, asking 850 to profile her county. During a series of back-toback meetings over two days, I met with the community leadership. And, honestly, that’s the favorite part of my job — meeting new people, listening and learning.

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Copyright © Space Center Houston

Two hours to Texas. Houston – we have no problem. Daily nonstop flights.

Economical. Convenient. Painless.

850 Business Magazine

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“

Switching to Mediacom Business was the boost our business needed. What are you waiting for?

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Not sure why it took me so long to get to your April/May issue of 850 Magazine. But it did, and so I just read your editorial (“We Need to Heal Our Wounds”). To which I can only say “Amen.”

Last fall really was a disgusting experience. But one of the things I like about what I do — chairing a couple of groups of CEOs who are out to help each other do better — is that they have social, political, economic, spiritual opinions all over the lot, yet these differences never lead to animosity. They might consider a member odd in his/ her opinions, but words like “stupid,” “hate” … never get into the conversation. And this despite the fact that an overriding requirement of belonging to one of these groups is that the members must be totally candid with each other. As Reagan and O’Neill demonstrated, it is possible (and intelligent) to be both candid and civil.

BTW, mixing and mingling with these CEOs I see the absurdity of the general opinion that CEOs are monolithic. Very far from it.

Talk about variety!

Keep up the good work with your magazines.

David R. Loveless Vistage Florida Chair/CEO Coach & Mentor

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Although I am a native Tallahassee gal, I learned more about our area from this issue than during my 65 years of living here.

Boats, cotton, rodeos, 30A — oh my!

Thank you for publishing such a wonderfully entertaining, informative and educational magazine.

I eagerly await each issue.

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CORRECTION In the August/September issue of 850, the incorrect Questions and Answers were included in the Daniel Uhlfelder professional profile that was part of a special advertising section. Within hours of discovering the error, we corrected the digital version of the ad. Mistakes happen, and we regret the error and any embarrassment this may have caused a valued client. The correct version of the advertisement is included in this issue of 850 on page 16.

We would like to thank everyone for the many congratulations we received to the news that 850 won first place in the Sunshine State Awards as Florida’s best trade/special interest magazine for 2013. The awards are sponsored by the South Florida Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Here are some of your comments.

Congratulations to the team! We are thrilled to be working with Rowland again this year on our Visitors Guide.

Marta Rose Creative Director Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce

THE RESOURCES OF A TOP FIRM. THE SERVICES OF A TRUSTED ADVISOR.

Congrats to the whole team on this! Can’t wait to win an award when you put Downtown on the cover (ha ha).

Jay Revell Executive Director Tallahassee Downtown Improvement Authority

THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO MAKE US SECOND TO NONE.

Congrats! This is great news.

Javon Anthony Lloyd Marketing Coordinator Greater Pensacola Chamber

You rock!!

Paul Watts CEO, Electronet Tallahassee

Congratulations to RPI on your award!

Kay Phelan Phelan & Lowry, Ltd. Destin

Congrats!!!

Stephen Sametz Business Director, Matthews & Jones Destin

Steven Reznik, Jason Brienen, and Jay Cicone of Raymond James Financial Services would like to thank our family of clients for keeping us among the firm’s top branches. Steven Reznik continues to rank among the firm’s top advisors by providing investors powerful resources and personal service.

• #1 producing Raymond James Advisor in the State of Florida in 2012 * • #9 producing Raymond James Advisor nationally in 2012 ** in 2012 ** • RJFS Chairman’s Council for 20 consecutive years*** • Steve is the only advisor in Tallahassee, FL to make Barron’s Top 1,000 Advisors

STEVE REZNIK, Branch Manager JASON BRIENEN, Financial Advisor

From our friends on Facebook

JAY CICONE, Financial Advisor

Congrats — keep up the good work for The 850!

Rob Hayes

Good job! Congrats Sylvia Ducote

Congratulations to everyone with Rowland Publishing!

Patricia Dehart

Wow. That is quite an honor. Couldn’t happen to a better team.

Marc Bauer

Nice!

1608 Metropolitan Circle, Suite A // Tallahassee, FL 32308 T 850.386.1939 // stevenreznik.com *Based on fiscal year gross production Oct. ‘11 - Sept. ‘12. **Based on fiscal year gross production Oct.‘11-Sept.‘12 *** Membership is based mainly on assets under management, education, credentials and fiscal year production. Re-qualification is required annually since prior membership is no assurance of future membership. ©2013 Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Raymond James is a registered trademark of Raymond James Financial, Inc. 13-BR4PS-0005 CM 9/13

Mark Wallheiser 850 Business Magazine

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Another Broken Egg of America, Inc. moves corporate office to Grand Boulevard at Sandestin® Pictured ( left to right): Ron Green – Founder/President; Nick Binnings – VP of Brand Development; Merlin Allan – VP of Real Estate, Howard Group; Dana Hahn – Leasing Manager, Howard Group

“Another Broken Egg of America, Inc. is excited to have our corporate headquarters located in Grand Boulevard. We strive to produce a superior product in our cafes and you can see that Howard Group takes the same approach in developing real estate.”

—Nick Binnings, VP of Brand Development, Another Broken Egg

The central location of Grand Boulevard’s Town Center at the entrance of Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort provides a vibrant and creative work environment, strikingly beautiful public spaces and state-of-the-art business amenities. With convenient access to fine restaurants, national retailers, exclusive boutiques, professional services, two Marriott hotels and a Publix Food & Pharmacy, Grand Boulevard is a complete destination in itself.

We invite you to contact us to assist you with your office lease.

Merlin Allan, Vice President of Real Estate 1-850-837-1886 or officeleasing@grandboulevard.com

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850businessmagazine.com

Executive Mindset

) Life The (850

s urvive and thrive Steven Reznik, Tallahassee

Branch Manager, Investment Consultant Raymond James Financial Services

S

Investment Strategist The Beginning Being a pre-med major early on in college served as a foundation for health related work, but Reznik’s interest in the business world blossomed from watching ticker tapes of the stock market. By eventually marrying those two fields, his career path was launched.

Wine In order to counter his highpressure profession, Reznik has found relaxation as a wine connoisseur. His specially designed wine cellar houses more than 1,500 bottles, primarily merlots and cabernets.

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

Work A Raymond James national Top

10 producer, Reznik is a member of the Chairman’s Council and is the only advisor in Tallahassee to make Barron’s List of Top 1,000 Advisors.

Gator Love Having attended the

University of Florida, Reznik’s loyalty and support for the university endures.

He endowed a football scholarship in honor of his parents, maintains a stadium skybox where he hosts a wounded warrior at each home game and contributes to a number of academic programs.

teven Reznik may not be a household name in the Northwest Florida area, but he certainly carries celebrity status in cancer treatment circles, with the Florida Gators and the Napa Valley elite.

The Tallahassee-based Reznik is the top Raymond James Financial Services advisor in the state of Florida.

He’s also part of the inner circle at the University of Florida. As a wine hobbyist, he’s an authority on California wineries.

His investment strategy, resulting in being a successful “growth and income” manager, is to thoroughly understand key companies within the biotech industry.

A prime example of how he tackles an investment is his involvement with Celgene, a $50 billion pharmaceutical company traded publicly on the NASDAQ. “Celgene develops AIDS and cancer drugs, and those two issues won’t take time off for anything, especially a recession,” he says. Impressed, he began to learn more about the company’s investment potential, always remembering that it’s even more important to know the management team.

At first, however, the Celgene management team wasn’t too friendly.

“At one of the stockholder meetings, they were presenting data to show the company’s strength in developing drugs to counteract and treat a number of specific cancers. But when asked about promoting their successes to the worldwide medical community, they answered that the ‘data speaks for itself,’ ” Reznik remembers. “For years I asked them to make changes that would enhance their stock value and emphatically suggested they needed to tell the world about their successes and how they would save lives and improve the quality of life.”

He even recommended the company oust its CFO. Reznik now interacts regularly with Jackie Fouse, Celgene’s new chief financial officer.

“Steven sees the long-term potential of companies,” says Fouse. “(He) anchors his analysis in fundamentals and the big picture, digs deep enough into the details to balance risk/reward and understands how the company produces its results in both the short and long term. He is patient. He isn’t just looking for the latest ‘cool’ short term trade.”

— John Mooshie

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Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and UFHealth have joined forces to expand cancer care options for patients in the Big Bend region and bring world-class cancer care to Tallahassee.

More Physicians

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Clinical Trials

Collaborative Medical Care

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More Research

|

More Treatment Options |

Close to Home

For more information on our world-class cancer care, visit TMH.org.

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Executive Mindset

Business Speak

Hard-earned advice for entrepreneurs

B

arbara Corcoran’s parlay of a Biggest Entrepreneurial Mistake “They fail to ask, will someone buy it? Is $1,000 short-term loan into a there is a need for it? You know who they $5 billion real estate business ask? Their family and friends, who love wasn’t really planned. them. The best thing you could do is run (the She’d already had 22 jobs when her new idea) by your mother-in-law or find the kid boyfriend suggested her personality would that hated you most in school. People who be a perfect fit for a job in real estate. Having love you never give you the truth. tried her hand at a series of jobs (mostly “Most bad entrepreneurial ideas are born menial) starting at age 11, she thought, out of wild ass enthusiasm, in a vacuum.

“Yeah, I’ll give it a whirl.”

A fine place to start, but you really want to Pretty soon she was wheeling and dealknow the population’s reaction before you ing New York City real estate. Now, she start investing your time, your money. It’s a reflects, “The minute I was in it, I was in marriage, and you better be sure the makings love with it. It didn’t seem like a job.” She are there to make it a long-term marriage.” loved it because of the freedom and the Barbara Corcoran fact she wasn’t at a desk, or selling hot dogs Star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” Important Entrepreneurial Traits from a cart or behind the counter at a diner.

“After salesmanship and enthusiasm, the “I was free to roam in New York. I could hop ability to bounce back up. It’s very hard to determine on the front a cab, meet people, take them in and out of apartments. It was like side but quickly shows itself when you’re working with someone. playing more than working. It was also the first time in my life I My most powerful entrepreneurs really have the inability to feel sordidn’t have a boss.” ry for themselves. And that’s a wonderful trait for an entrepreneur.

Today, Corcoran is a star of ABC’s entrepreneurial reality hit ‘Hit me again, I’m okay!’ ” “Shark Tank” — where she has invested in 31 entrepreneurs over four seasons — and real estate contributor for NBC’s “TODAY” Writing a Business Plan show. Her best-selling books include “If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, “I have seen the worst entrepreneurs with the best business plans.

Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails” — real advice from her mother, I’m not a fan of business plans. They’re a reason for getting funding, which she literally took to heart and then started getting bigger because it’s the norm today and taught in all business schools. But tips at her waitress job. the minute the ink is dry, it doesn’t apply anymore because most On Nov. 6, Corcoran will be featured speaker at the first Power of what business is is reacting to what you find along the way. It’s Forward event in Tallahassee. She recently spoke with 850 Editor more (about) how you navigate the waters, how well you react to Linda Kleindienst to pass along some hard-earned advice. the obstacles, how you navigate around them. Can you reinvent On Being Your Own Boss yourself or your product to quickly meet demand? You can’t put “I didn’t realize how motivating that would be, to be responsible that in a business plan.” for everything yourself, no one telling you what to do. It certainly Growth of Entrepreneurship agreed with me.” “ ‘Shark Tank’ has made a lot of average, typical families think, ‘Hey, Recipe for Success what idea do I have?’ or ‘Why didn’t I think about that?’

Corcoran pointed to two reasons for her success: “The insecurity in the job market, the idea that you could pick 1. Fear of failure. “I was a horrific student, constantly bad in a company and become a company man and have a secure career a class setting, ashamed of my inability to read or speak properly. is out the window. Who really takes care of their employees any And so I was out to prove that I could be successful … I think my more? Nobody. insecurity drove me. I was always in fear of being embarrassed, “I can’t tell you how many young kids I meet in airports who so I over prepared, I worked extra hard, I did everything I could to tell me, I’m going to be an entrepreneur, I’ve got a product. There is avoid what was a painful situation for me.” definitely a trend away from big business.”

2. A positive attitude backed with boundless energy. “I Sponsors of the Power Forward Event include First Commerce Credit Union think I would credit my success to the attitude given to me by my and the Florida State University College of Business along with The Jim mother, because she was a hugely positive person. She pushed 150 Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, Proctor University, Summit percent for every hour she worked. She raised 10 children … and East, Dale Earnhardt Jr. GMC/Buick/Cadillac/Chevrolet, the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County, Mainline Information she never ran out of gas. I never ran out of gas, ever.”

Systems, 850 Business Magazine, the Tallahassee Democrat, ABC 27 WTXL and 100.7 WFLA. For more information, visit FirstCommerceCU.org.

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PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

ADVERTORIAL

DANIEL W. UHLFELDER, P.A. Attorney at Law

Areas of specialty: Real Estate, Divorce, Litigation, Foreclosures, Condo/Association, Business Law and Estate Planning/Asset Protection Why did you enter this profession?

I have always wanted to be an attorney, because it allows me to channel my curiosity, competitive passion for solving problems and fighting for fairness.

Why do you choose to base your practice on the Emerald Coast?

I was raised in North Florida. After attending Stanford University, Georgetown University Law Center, University of Florida College of Law and working and practicing in Washington D.C., California and Miami, I decided 12 years ago to return to my roots. In this growing and exciting region I have been able to run a thriving practice by using my unique set of skills, background and education to provide high-quality, personalized legal counsel and services.

My clients are not “just a case” at my office because I am truly invested in their legal success.

What is your approach to business?

We strive to fully understand our client’s objectives and aggressively, creatively and honestly aim to achieve those targets. Our strategy is to work within the bounds of the system to make sure all viable options are pursued whether they involve negotiation, mediation or litigation in federal or state trial or appellate court. Because of my experience working all over the country, I am very good at looking at a case from a variety of angles and coming up with successful solutions that another attorney might not attempt.

“The practice of law requires attention to detail, determination, patience and good listening skills. My firm’s goal is to provide our clients with all the legal services they need to address their problems, whatever they may entail.

I enjoy the challenges involved in taking on complex cases, which other attorneys may shy away from. The bigger the challenge, or the bigger the opponent, the better, has often been my philosophy.”

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124 E. County Highway 30A, Santa Rosa Beach I 850.534.0246 I daniel@dwulaw.com I DWULaw.com october – November 2013

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Executive Mindset

Business Arena n ews + numbers statewide

Lack of Sales Training =

Missed Revenue Goals One-in-six

sales managers in firms that have missed

revenue goals in the last year cited a lack of sales training as a cause.

75%

of sales leaders While said they offer formal training to their staffs, one in five of these leaders (22%) rarely offer it or only offer it once a year. Twentyfive percent of sales leaders don’t provide formal sales training at all.

Of sales leaders who offer formal sales training to their staff, 64% reported that training at their firms is only somewhat effective.

CareerBuilder and Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business have partnered to create a comprehensive, cloud-based solution for sales training and development called Moneyball. Like the popular book and 2011 film, Moneyball takes a statistical approach to building a successful sales force. The program first assesses strengths and weaknesses of each salesperson then produces a customized development plan based on their current abilities.

Thirty-five percent of employers report their companies missed revenue goals in the last 12 months. A study* from CareerBuilder found a drastic lack of formal sales training may be to blame, and there is a serious disconnect between the demand for sales jobs and the training available — both through academic institutions and within companies themselves.

Sales-related fields account for 15 million U.S. jobs, but only 274 colleges offer sales degrees. To put that into perspective, 559 colleges offer geology degrees at a time when only 94,000 geology-related jobs exist in the U.S. Perhaps not surprisingly, another study released by CareerBuilder in July reported that the position of “sales representative” is one of the hardest positions for hiring managers to fill. From 2010 through mid-2013, more than 580,000 new sales jobs were added to the economy — a 3.8 percent jump.

50%

of sales leaders said candidates for entrylevel sales jobs are only somewhat prepared or not prepared at all.

55%

of sales leaders said their companies spend $10,000 or less on sales training annually.

* – Findings are based on dual CareerBuilder surveys of 2,184 employers interviewed between Feb. 11 and March 6, 2013 and sales force members (301 sales leaders and 600 sales representatives) interviewed between Nov. 20 and Dec. 12, 2012.

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17

Executive Mindset

Management Strategies

p romoting office harmony

Culture of Exile?

Five warning signs your employees may lack a sense of belonging

By Christine Comaford

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W

hen employees feel they belong, they’ll give you their all. When they don’t, well, you’ll get only crumbs.

Consider the power of belonging.

Adolescents will change their speech, dress and behavior to “fit in” with their peer groups. Inner city teens will commit crimes — including murder — for the privilege of wearing gang colors.

Adults, too, gain much of their identity from the neighborhoods they live in, the churches they attend, the political parties they align with. Yes, belonging to “the tribe” is a human need we never grow out of — yet most leaders neglect it in the workplace.

Many companies have fostered cultures of exile. No one is

purposely making people feel they don’t belong, but they’re also not proactively making them feel they do — and that’s a huge, huge mistake.

Belonging, along with safety and mattering, is a basic human drive. After food-water-shelter needs have been met, we must feel that we’re safe, that we matter and that we belong. If not, we can’t seek self-actualization, meaning we can’t perform, innovate, collaborate or do any of the other things it takes to survive in our global economy.

Exile is a deep-rooted, primal fear. The way our critter brain sees it is: “If I’m not part of the tribe, then I must not matter, and I’m surely not safe. A lion is going to eat me. My only goal right now is survival, so I am going to do and say whatever will keep me safe.”

When employees feel this way, they hide out, procrastinate or say what the boss wants to hear instead of what needs to be heard.

When that occurs chronically, not only will your company be unable to move forward and grow, it may flounder and fail.

People will never speak up and say they feel they don’t belong. It’s up to you as the leader to diagnose the problem and take steps to fix it.

Start at the Top: A Leadership Code of Conduct Exceptional teams create exceptional companies. Exceptional companies make a difference for the world.

A leadership code of conduct could look like this: We treat all employees fairly, respectfully and equally. We strive to avoid preferential treatment, reward on merit and hold everyone (including ourselves) accountable to the same set of standards.

We deal with issues directly with the person in question. No complaining about others behind their back, passive aggressive behavior or backstabbing of any type will be accepted or tolerated.

We value the privilege to serve on the leadership team. Monthly management meetings must be a priority, along with weekly leadership meetings and huddles. Coming prepared is a must.

We debate in the room, execute out of the room. We are accountable to each other for timely and quality results.

Once we debate and decide, there is no more debate.

We are powerful creators. We are outcome creators, insight creators, action creators.

We promise only if we have the authority and ability to execute. We commit to anything we can deliver upon to clients or employees, but not until we get needed approval or resources lined up first. We underpromise and over-deliver.

We are the model of accountability and leadership.

We provide the example of accountability and leadership that everyone can follow to success.

– Christine Comaford

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management strategies

Here are five red flags that indicate you may be fostering a culture of exile: 1. Certain people get preferential treatment. Maybe there are different sets of rules for different employees. (Many companies harbor “Untouchables” — people who were hired and most likely over-promoted because they are related to or friends with someone in power.) Or maybe the CEO always plays golf with Drew and Tom, but not Greg and Alan.

Preferential treatment is a leadership behavior and … it’s a major culprit in making people feel exiled.

2. Cliques and inside jokes flourish.

If you notice some employees seem to be regularly excluding others — maybe members of a certain department socialize after work but one or two people are not invited — take it seriously.

Those who are left out know it … and it doesn’t feel good.

It’s amazing how little difference there can be between high school dynamics and workplace

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dynamics. And while leaders can’t (and shouldn’t) interfere with friendships between employees, they can set an example of inclusion. They can have frank discussions on the hurtfulness of making someone feel exiled. They can hold fun workplace events and celebrations to strengthen bonds between all coworkers.

When you focus on belonging, everyone will.

3. There are obvious and visible signs of hierarchy. At some companies there’s a stark division — maybe even a chasm — between, say, the executive suite and the hourly workers. The white-collar guys are on a higher floor with nicer furniture, while the blue-collar guys are lucky if the bathroom is maintained. To many people this may seem like the natural order of things, but this attitude is precisely the problem.

Is it really a good idea for the physical workplace to say, “We’re in the gated community while you’re in the trailer park?”

Getting rid of some of the symbols of divisiveness would be a good start.

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4. Entrenched silos lead to information withholding and turf wars.

Departments are, by definition, different from each other. Still, they needn’t be alienated from each other. It’s possible for departments to be “different” in a healthy way — IT is a band of cool pirates, while salespeople are wild and crazy cowboys and cowgirls out there on the range — while still marching forward together.

It’s okay for groups to have their own identity, yet they must still be able to link arms and help each other toward that end goal. When they have that reassuring sense that they belong to the company overall, they don’t have to close ranks and play power games.

5. There is no path for personal development or advancement. True belonging is knowing you’re not just a cog in the machine; it’s knowing employers care about your future and want you to live up to your potential. That’s why Individual Development Plans are good to have for every employee at every level.

When people see their IDP, it tells them, “You’re safe here; we’re planning on you being here for a long time.�

Making employees feel that strong sense of belonging can send performance into hyperdrive.

When people feel they truly belong, they will open up their minds and do everything in their power to make sure the tribe is successful. They’ll come to work jazzed, engaged, 100 percent on.

You cannot inspire this kind of presence, this deep involvement, in employees with coercion or bribery or even logic. It happens on a primal, subterranean level. When it does, the transformation is amazing to witness.

“So ‌ What’s Next for Me?â€?

Individual and Leadership Development Plans Most employees won’t ask about the future, so you need to be proactive about putting it in front of them.

Individual Development Plans can be planned with a one- to three-year time horizon. What’s essential is that they are monitored, and the individual’s development is actually happening.

Here are some components of an Individual Development Plan:

Professional Development: > Two or more possible career evolutions that can occur in the coming one to three years > Job skills that need to be gained for each

Christine Comaford helps mid-sized and Fortune 1000 companies navigate growth and change, is an expert in human behavior and applied neuroscience and the bestselling author of “Rules for Renegades.� Her latest book, New York Times best seller “SmartTribes: How Teams Become Brilliant Together,� was released in June 2013. Her coaching, consulting and strategies center on increased accountability, communication and execution. To learn more, visit ChristineComaford.com.

> Leadership skills that need to be gained for each > A timeline for acquiring these skills > A plan, budget, leadership commitment to support the plan > Next steps and monthly or quarterly checkin on plan progress

> Agreement that the plan will be driven by the individual, not by their leader

Personal Development: > Personal growth that the individual wishes to undertake (weight loss, fitness goals, learning new language, stop smoking, etc.) > Mapping of how this personal growth will benefit the company > A timeline for acquiring these skills/creating this growth > A plan, budget, leadership commitment to support the plan > Next steps and monthly or quarterly checkin on plan progress > Agreement that the plan will be driven by the individual, not by their leader If the individual is in a leadership role or will be in the next year or so, consider a Leadership Development Program. This is where you cultivate your bright stars with vice president-plus potential.

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Executive Mindset

Human Element

s ettling workplace disputes

Keep Your Business Well-Oiled Work to eliminate the friction between your workers

By Tony Bridges

W

hen something runs like a “well-oiled machine,” it means that there is no friction. All the pieces mesh smoothly, their motion unrestricted, with no rough edges to catch and no unimpeded abrading to generate excessive heat.

Why is that important? Because friction in a machine is generally destructive — it wears away the moving parts and eventually causes a breakdown.

Conflicts between employees in your business are the same way. The emotional heat generated when co-workers bicker damages the working relationships not just between those involved in the situation, but spreads to everyone else around them. Left unaddressed, it will lead to a broken workplace.

Unfortunately, conflicts are going to happen. Probably already are happening.

That’s just a normal part of people working together.

As the boss, it’s your job to implement policies to help prevent those conflicts, identify them when they occur and act immediately to fix the problem so that your machine continues to run smoothly.

You have to be the oil.

It’s not simple, it can be uncomfortable and it takes time. But you may find that

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the successful resolution of a conflict actually improves the way your business runs.

“It is a part of any work environment,” said Melvina MacDonald, director of the Employee Assistance Program at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. “If we can work this through, there is going to be a benefit to all of us.”

What Is the Real problem?

MacDonald oversees conflict resolution for the 3,700 employees at TMH, as well as for the small businesses in Leon and surrounding counties that hire the hospital to provide employee assistance services.

She said that disagreements between employees build up over time, leading them to dislike and distrust each other to a point that each begins to “demonize” the other side. To them, the problem is all about how the other person’s personality conflicts with their own.

But they’re wrong.

MacDonald said that employee conflicts always come down to unfulfilled needs, not personalities. Each person involved has a need and feels it is not being met, whether that need is for a specific resource — computer equipment, for example — or for something less than tangential, such as personal space or respect.

A recent situation she handled involved

Melvina MacDonald

two co-workers who shared a small cubicle space. The proximity meant that one often overheard the personal phone calls of the other, leading to arguments. They thought their problem was a dislike of each other.

The reality, MacDonald said, was not a personality issue, but that one employee felt she was being asked to carry more of the workload because the other was often on the telephone.

In other words, she did not feel she was receiving enough help with daily tasks.

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

Her need for support from a co-worker was not being met.

And that, MacDonald said, is where conflict resolution begins.

“It’s about resources and needs, not personalities,” she said.

Letting It Go Is Not an Option Dealing with workplace conflicts involves dealing with plenty of drama, and, while drama might be great on television, who needs more of it in real life?

The temptation might be to ignore employee infighting because, as MacDonald says, “it gets real ugly.”

But the problem with that is that conflicts have unexpected and far-reaching effects.

“There are a lot of costs to not addressing conflict,” said Terry Sutter, a professional mediator who earned her master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational psychology from the University of West Florida.

According to a paper she’s written, unresolved employee conflicts can lead to: Poor work performance — as much as 60 percent of deficiencies are tied to poor employee relationships.

Increased turnover — unresolved conflicts play a part in nearly half of voluntary terminations and the majority of firings.

Lower productivity — researchers believe there is a link between an employee’s perception of how fairly they are treated and their productivity.

Employee retaliatory behavior such as theft and vandalism — often caused by a perception of being treated unfairly.

There are other concerns too, according to Sutter, including an increased risk of litigation, high absenteeism and a problem attracting high-quality recruits as the workplace develops a reputation for being acrimonious.

How does this happen? Simple human nature.

“When you’re having a conflict, you want support, so you start bringing in

other people,” Sutter said. The fight spreads beyond the original parties, distrust grows, communication and cooperation cease and “morale goes bad.”

Setting Yourself Up for Success The consensus seems to be that proper conflict resolution begins before there is a problem.

Positive attitudes are a must … and not just from employees.

Managers are expected to set the tone.

Melvina MacDonald, director of the Employee Assistance Program at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Laurie Olshefski owns Shimmering Seas Jewelry & Gifts and three other retail stores in Seaside and Panama City Beach.

Depending on the season, she averages between 22 and 30 employees, ranging in age from 20 up to 67.

In a small business, bickering can spread quickly and affect the morale of the whole team, cutting into performance.

“And in retail, we can’t afford to have an off day,” she said.

So, she sets policies about the way co-workers should interact — “we don’t

throw team members under the bus in front of customers or each other” — and makes those expectations clear to new hires. Those who can’t meet those expectations are weeded out quickly.

“I don’t tolerate drama, and I lay that out to people when they come to work with us,” said Olshefski, who was named 2011 Retailer of the Year by the Florida Retail Federation.

Positive attitudes are a must, she said, and not just from employees. Managers are expected to set the tone.

“It comes from the top down,” she said.

Meanwhile, she and her managers keep an eye out for behavioral changes that could signal a problem. When something comes up, a manager will sit down with those involved and let them air their grievances. Often, that in itself is enough.

“Sometimes, people just like to have their side be heard,” she said.

MacDonald, from TMH, also takes a preventive approach.

She said she often coaches small businesses to start by emphasizing an atmosphere of open communication, not just between bosses and employees, but also employee to employee. She recommends regular meetings to see how everyone is communicating, what needs they have and to clarify roles and expectations.

That helps to identify any potential problems early on. It also helps build trust in the workplace when employees feel someone is willing to listen.

Still, you can’t completely avoid the inevitable.

“Conflict is to be expected, and it’s normal,” MacDonald said. “But it’s how we handle it. We all get upset, we all get angry, but the expectation in the workplace is that you manage that anger, manage that emotion.’’

The Wrong Way — and Right Way — to Settle Workplace Disputes In one episode of “The Office,” bumbling

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Human element paper company manager Michael Scott decides to take over conflict resolution duties from his human resource manager. His idea for settling disputes: a “cage match” in which the employees are forced to confront each other and argue out their problems.

As you can imagine, it didn’t quite work out.

MacDonald said that managers often think they can just order conflicts to be resolved.

“Managers believe that if they tell them how to behave, they’re going to do it,” she said. “But just telling them how is not a solution.”

That’s when employees simply walk away from managers and go “underground” with their conflict where it can fester and infect others.

Managers also sometimes make the mistake of sending the message to employees that, if they have problems, they can just bring them to the manager, who will solve them. The problem with that is that the employees end up not feeling as if they have an ownership in the solution … meaning it isn’t likely to last.

Conflict resolution is best handled in a structured way, according to the experts.

Trying to solve the problem while emotions are running hot is not productive, MacDonald said, so it’s best to give everyone time to cool down. Schedule a time for the employees and the mediator to sit down and talk.

Frame it as simply a problem that needs to be solved — not as a conflict that will have a winner and loser. Try to move the employees away from “demonizing” each other and get them to at least acknowledge each other’s positive contributions to the workplace.

Then, get to the root of the problem: what the employees need from each other. Together, come up with possible solutions. And, “don’t let anybody leave without a commitment to a plan,” MacDonald said.

But whose responsibility is it to do all that?

That depends on the business.

Generally, it’s best handled by those who have the training and experience, such as your human resources department or employee assistance program. Smaller businesses may choose to have managers do it, or to go outside the company to a contract program like the one at TMH or to a private mediator.

Sutter, the professional mediator, said it often depends on existing relationships. If the employees involved trust their manager, potentially big problems can easily be handled at that level. But if there is distrust, even small issues can become big ones.

“It’s really going to come down to that trust,” she said.

If managers aren’t in the best position to deal with the conflict, then going outside the company can make employees feel more comfortable, especially since many times they don’t believe that HR is on their side, she said.

Of course, not all conflicts can be resolved. The possibility of settling the dispute has to be measured against the impact it is having on the workplace, the product and the customers.

“Then you’ve got to let your business decision drive it,” MacDonald said.

The upside to all of this, the experts agree, is that successfully resolving a conflict has a wider impact than just helping two employees get along better.

It helps reveal potential problems, such as how resources could be allocated better, leads to smarter and more defined company policies and helps managers and employees gain experience in dealing with people.

In the end, your machine may end up running smoother than ever.

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25

Executive Mindset

Leading Healthy Providing a safe workplace

Dangerous Dust Under the right conditions, industrial dust by-products can pose a deadly danger

By Jason Dehart

I

t’s no joke. Dust is dangerous and not to be taken lightly. In fact, it can be downright deadly under certain conditions and circumstances, according to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA).

Many industries that produce combustible dust involve the processing of food (candy, sugar, spice, starch, flour, feed), grain, tobacco, plastics, wood, paper, pulp, rubber, furniture, textiles, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, coal, metals (aluminum, chromium, iron, magnesium, titanium and zinc) and fossil fuel power generation. And some of them can be found in Northwest Florida.

So far, there have been no cataclysmic events here. But it pays to learn from past incidents involving “combustible dust,” the factors involved in dust-related explosions and what OSHA is doing to prevent these kinds of accidents from happening.

According to OSHA, dust explosions in Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky and Indiana caused 25 deaths, many injuries and substantial property loss between 1999 and 2003.

A natural gas explosion followed by a secondary explosion of disturbed coal dust killed six and seriously injured 14 at a Michigan power plant in 1999.

In May 2002, highly combustible rubber dust ignited at a rubber manufacturing plant in Vicksburg, Miss. The resulting explosion injured 11 employees, five of whom later died from severe burns.

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In January 2003, an explosion and fire destroyed the West Pharmaceutical Services plant in Kinston, N.C., killing six and injuring dozens of others. The plant produced rubber stoppers and other medical supplies. The culprit in this case was the ignition of fine plastic powder, which had built up above a suspended ceiling over a work area.

An explosion and fire at CTA Acoustics in Corbin, Ky., in February 2003 killed seven people. The plant produced automotive fiberglass insulation, and the resin involved was a phenolic binder used in producing fiberglass mats.

Another 2003 explosion led to three employees being severely burned (one fatally) during a series of explosions at the Hayes Lemmerz manufacturing plant in Huntington, Ind. Cast aluminum automotive wheels are made here, and the explosions were fueled by accumulated aluminum dust — a combustible by-product of the production process.

More recently, in 2008, the Imperial Sugar plant in Port Wentworth, Ga., blew up and burned when sugar dust ignited, killing 14 and leaving many other employees seriously injured.

In 2010, three workers were killed in a titanium dust explosion in West Virginia.

Those are just a part of the casualty list caused by combustible dust accidents. In an attempt to determine the extent of the

problem, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board did some research. In dust fires and explosions between 1980 and 2005, it found 281 major combustible dust incidents that killed 119 workers, injured 718 others and caused major property damage. This survey, coupled with the 2003 injuries and damage, led the CSB to conclude that combustible dust accidents are a significant safety problem.

The CSB report says there were three combustible dust accidents in Florida between 1980 and 2005. The incidents happened in 1980, 1994 and 1996. One fatality was recorded in the 1996 incident, which involved “inorganic material” at an unspecified transportation equipment manufacturer. A quick Internet search also shows that later, in 2009, a dust explosion at a tenant building at Port Panama City sent four people to the hospital — one with burns requiring an airlift to a burn center in Georgia. Authorities said the explosion happened in two dust collectors.

In a 2009 OSHA report, federal compliance officers inspected 37 Florida companies over a 16-month period, issuing 157 citations for workplace safety and health violations. The visits were a part of the agency’s National Emphasis Program designed to reduce employees’ exposure to this kind of hazard. Since the NEP was created in 2007, OSHA has conducted more than 3,700 inspections nationwide. The program’s purpose is to inspect manufacturing plants that generate or handle combustible dust. So far, OSHA found more than 14,000 violations.

The Dusty Facts “Combustible dust” is defined as a solid material made up of many distinct particles that, when suspended in the air, can become a fire or “deflagration” hazard over a range of concentrations. Sometimes material that is too large at the beginning of a manufacturing process gets whittled down to a dust form that is combustible.

In other cases, combustible dust is a byproduct of a process, either intentionally or unintentionally.

Familiar materials that we take for

granted every day can burn rapidly in what OSHA calls a “finely divided form.” This includes wood, paper, plastic, rubber and flour. Even fertilizers, bio-solids, coffee, vitamins, pharmaceuticals and some things that do not burn in larger pieces (such as aluminum or iron) can be combustible. If this dust is suspended in air in the right concentration, a sufficiently strong ignition source can start a flash fire or explosion.

Combustible dust that stacks up on any surface when it’s released and not captured is called “fugitive dust” and can accumulate either over a period of time or by a sudden event or malfunction. An initial event — whether it’s a dust explosion, conventional explosion or sudden leak — can make the dust disperse. And if an ignition source is added to the dusty cloud, a secondary explosion or event happens. These can lead to a dangerous chain reaction throughout a facility and can cause more damage than the original event. OSHA says that secondary explosions have occurred in many of the catastrophic fatal dust explosion incidents throughout history.

At Gulf Power, a major Northwest Florida energy supplier, combustible coal dust is not really a problem, because 70 percent of the company’s fuel today is natural gas, thanks to the low cost it offers.

Spokesman Jeff Rogers says what little coal is used is a type that doesn’t produce the excess dust that can pose a hazard.

“It’s not an issue for us here,” Rogers said.

At Port Panama City, work crews at that busy seaport are constantly working to reduce the possibility of an accident in one particular warehouse that can store up to 30,000 tons of wood pellets from the Green Circle Bio Energy plant in Cottondale. That much product creates a mountain that’s 50 feet high at its peak, and heat sensors all along the pile are used to measure the mound’s temperature at three different levels. Port Panama City Executive Director Wayne Stubbs said too much heat is a bad thing, but the openness of the warehouse and continual housekeeping ensures safety.

“You have to constantly keep working to prevent dust from building up on the various structural steel that makes up a

Combustible dust In dust fires and explosions between 1980 and 2005

281

major combustible dust incidents that

119

killed workers,

718

injured others and caused major property damage.

This survey, coupled with the 2003 injuries and damage, led the CSB to conclude that combustible dust accidents are a significant safety problem. steel building like this,” Stubbs said. “After every ship we have to bring a crew in and try and blow it down and sweep it down and keep the dust from building up. The key to that is that you can’t have a situation where the dust becomes so dense that you could have an explosion.”

Stubbs said the density of the dust has been tested, and officials learned that it doesn’t approach dangerous levels. The pellet warehouse has another advantage in its size and space.

“The most dangerous situation is an enclosed area, a confined area, and one of the advantages of a big open warehouse like this is you got a lot of space for expansion,” he said. “You don’t have a confined area. But it is a danger that we have to guard against. So we constantly clean it.”

Setting Standards and Penalties In ordinary circumstances, fire is a product of three things: oxygen, heat and fuel. But in a combustible dust explosion, two

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Leading Healthy

more factors are added. This “dust explosion pentagon” consists of oxygen, an ignition source such as heat or an electrical spark, fuel (i.e., the dust), dispersion of the dust and confinement. According to OSHA, an explosion can’t happen if any one of these is missing or removed from the equation.

After the deadly explosions in 2003, OSHA decided to crack down on eliminating this potential killer. It published the Safety and Health Information Bulletin, “Combustible Dust in Industry: Preventing and Mitigating the Effects of Fire and Explosions” in 2005, then implemented the Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program after the U.S. Chemical Safety Board finished a study of combustible dust hazards in late 2006.

In 2009, OSHA developed standards for general industry after hosting six public stakeholder meetings throughout the country, convening an expert forum, conducting site visits and reviewing information collected through the agency’s National Emphasis Program. Currently, OSHA is analyzing the economic impacts of several regulatory alternatives in preparation for the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act review, which is scheduled to begin this November.

Meanwhile, OSHA has written guidelines for analyzing and reducing the problem of combustible dust. Essentially, facilities need to carefully survey and identify material that has the potential for combustion when finely divided. They should analyze the processes that use, consume or produce such dusts and check hidden (and open) areas where dust can settle and accumulate. Methods of dispersion should also be considered as well as potential ignition sources.

OSHA also has standards for dust control and ignition control.

A comprehensive guide for controlling dust and preventing explosions can be found in NFPA 654, Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids.

The OSHA Standards section on the agency’s Combustible Dust Web page (osha.gov/dsg/combustibledust/index.html) provides a complete list and links to combustible dust standards. The Web page also links to some related national consensus standards and several other helpful publications, including a fact sheet, a poster, guidance for hazard communications and a manual on firefighting precautions at facilities with combustible dust.

According to OSHA, 25 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have their own state plans that are OSHA-approved. The state of Florida, however, goes by the federal OSHA standards.

State plans are required to adopt standards that are at least as effective as federal OSHA standards, and many adopt standards identical to OSHA. All OSHA penalties are established by the Occupational Safety and Health Act. A single serious violation will cost you $7,000, but willful and repeated violations can ding your company up to $70,000. Penalty amounts are determined on a case-by-case basis.

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The following are some safety recommendations from osha: >> Minimize the escape of dust from process equipment or ventilation systems >> Use dust collection systems and filters >> U tilize surfaces that minimize dust accumulation and facilitate cleaning >> Provide access to all hidden areas to permit inspection >> Inspect for dust residues in open and hidden areas, at regular intervals >> C lean dust residues at regular intervals >> U se cleaning methods that do not generate dust clouds, if ignition sources are present >> Only use vacuum cleaners approved for dust collection >> Locate relief valves away from dust hazard areas >> Develop and implement a hazardous dust inspection, testing, housekeeping and control program (preferably in writing with established frequency and methods) how to prevent dust from igniting: >> Use appropriate electrical equipment and wiring methods >> Control static electricity (including bonding of equipment to ground) >> C ontrol smoking, open flames and sparks >> C ontrol mechanical sparks and friction >> Use separator devices to remove foreign materials capable of igniting combustibles from process materials >> Separate heated surfaces from dusts >> Separate heating systems from dusts >> P roper use and type of industrial trucks >> P roper use of cartridge-activated tools >> A dequately maintain all the above equipment

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Executive Mindset

It’s the Law

p reparing for the aca

A New Health Insurance Era What small businesses need to know as deadlines loom

By Bill Gunter

T

he Affordable Care Act (ACA) will change the way small businesses and their employees purchase and manage health insurance. Dramatic changes to a complex and personal product such as health insurance present challenges and opportunities for those affected. Implementation of the ACA will affect everyone to some degree.

Thus, we need to move expeditiously to ensure that accurate information is communicated to business owners and employee families so that Northwest Florida can make a smooth transition into the new health insurance era.

Our region of Florida includes thousands of small businesses that employ thousands of people. This is the foundation of our economy. Both employers and employees will have to make decisions about how to conform to the new law while keeping their best interests in perspective. The following information will be useful to help businesses and employees begin planning now for the implementation of the health insurance law, and help them understand how it will change the way employee health plans are purchased and managed in 2014 and beyond.

The new health insurance law includes a number of provisions that reform the insurance marketplace and encourage small businesses, defined as those with 50 or fewer full-time employees, to offer

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their staff health insurance. Effective Jan. 1, 2015, businesses with 51 or more full-time employees will be required to provide insurance coverage, or face a tax penalty.

Essential small business health benefit standards under the Affordable Care Act include: >> Ambulatory patient services, such as

doctor’s visits and outpatient services >> Emergency services >> Hospitalization >> Maternity and newborn care >> Mental health and substance use

disorder services, including behavioral health treatment >> Prescription drugs >> Rehabilitative and habilitative services

and devices >> Laboratory services >> Preventive and wellness services and

chronic disease management >> Pediatric services, including oral and

vision care Health plans offered by companies must meet the essential benefit standards, unless the plans are “grandfathered.” Businesses with grandfathered plans are those that offered health benefits to their employees before March 23, 2010, the date the new health reform law was enacted by Congress.

They are subject to some of the new rules but exempt from others. For example, in September 2010 grandfathered plans were required to eliminate any lifetime limits on coverage; if the plan provided dependent coverage, that coverage was extended to adult children up to age 26, in addition to several other requirements.

However, grandfathered plans will not be required to alter their benefits to meet the new essential benefit standards in 2015.

In order to maintain grandfathered status, a plan cannot reduce or eliminate benefits to treat particular conditions, increase employee cost-sharing above certain thresholds, reduce the employer share of the premium cost or change insurers. Once a plan loses its grandfathered status, it will have to comply with all of the new rules.

There are two different types of competitive online Insurance Exchanges being created by the federal government for the Florida market — the Individual Exchange (for individual policyholders) and the Small Business Health Option Program (SHOP) — so that individuals and small businesses can purchase affordable insurance. The latter is the exchange that each state must have to assist qualified small businesses with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees to enroll in qualified small group health plans. If businesses have 25 or fewer employees, they may qualify for a Small Business Tax

Credit. Initially, SHOP will be available for small employers to choose one benefit plan for all of their employees. In the future, an employer will be able to choose multiple plans for their workforce.

In an effort to improve the overall health of America and reduce health care costs, the ACA supports and incentivizes companies to implement workplace wellness programs. These can include provisions for reimbursing the cost of a fitness center membership, allowing employees a certain amount of time during the work day to exercise in the company’s fitness center or providing a reward to employees for attending health education seminars.

As an example, Rogers, Gunter, Vaughn Insurance has initiated an employee wellness program and seen its health care premiums basically flatline in the last several years, a dramatic turnaround from annual increases in prior years.

Small business owners should meet with their employee benefits advisors now to ensure their businesses are prepared for a successful transition from the current health insurance environment to the new one. There is an abundance of information available to businesses and individuals concerning the Affordable Care Act. Be sure you are confident of your information sources and are working closely with experienced experts on the new landmark law.

Final implementation of the ACA will be here before we know it.

Five Terms Small Businesses Need to Know Concerning the Affordable Care Act Insurance Exchange — aka the health insurance marketplace. The exchanges are transparent, competitive online portals from which individuals and small businesses can purchase affordable, qualified health benefit plans. The marketplace for small employers, known as the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), and the individual Marketplace for consumers and self-employed persons, will open in all states on Jan. 1, 2014.

Enrollment begins on Oct.1, 2013.

Employer Shared Responsibility — This provision applies to businesses with 51 or more full-time or full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. A full-time employee generally works an average of 30 or more hours per week. This provision says business owners with 51 or more fulltime employees who do not offer health care coverage to their full-time employees

by Jan. 1, 2015, may be subject to a $2,000 penalty per employee under the new law.

Essential Health Benefits — The ACA requires businesses that offer their employees health insurance as a benefit to include essential health benefits within at least 10 core categories, including emergency services, maternity and newborn care, prescription drugs, and preventive and wellness services. Health plans offered in the marketplace are also required to include essential health benefits.

small businesses that choose to provide insurance to their employees for the first time, or maintain the coverage they already have. If employers have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees and meet other conditions, their businesses may qualify for up to 35 percent of this tax credit.

Wellness Program — This is a program offered to the workforce for the purpose of improving the health and fitness of employees. Common wellness program employee participation incentives include cash rewards, gym memberships and additional vacation days. The ACA creates new incentives to promote employer-instituted wellness programs.

Bill Gunter served as Florida’s Insurance Commissioner, State Treasurer and Fire Marshall from 1976 to 1989.

He is now chairman of the board at Rogers, Gunter, Vaughn Insurance Inc., an independent multi-line insurance agency in Tallahassee. Gunter was recently

Small Business Health Care Tax Credits — The ACA offers tax credits for eligible

named to the 2013 Class of Great Floridians by Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet.

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Reliability It’s What You Deserve 16 yrs. of 99% On-Time Reliability Don't Risk Your Investment

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Deal Estate That Second Home

Beech Mountain, North Carolina Retreat to the quiet, cozy mountains

Built in 2007, this second home in the gorgeous mountain setting of North Carolina is perfect for any Florida native looking for a change of pace. The views are incomparable with rolling hills leading into majestic mountains. And the house is almost just as gorgeous.

The best feature of this custom home is, of course, the views.

According to listing agent Marty Rice, the mountain views are almost 180 degrees around the house. Additionally, the window wall in the large great room area provides plenty of light, bringing the gorgeous sights and boulder landscapes in.

“When you walk in and you have a window wall of the wrap-around layered views … It’s List Price: $599,000 incredible,” she said, ($209.44/sqft) adding, “It’s all custom, high-end details.”

Year Built: 2007 The house comes fully Square Feet: 2,860 furnished and features such luxurious touches Bedrooms: 3 as a stacked stone, wood burning fireplace upstairs Bathrooms: 3.5 and stacked stone, gas log fireplace downstairs; Contact: Marty Rice, custom cabinets and Coldwell Banker Blair and stainless steel Kitchen Associates, (828) 262-1836, Aid appliances; vaulted martyrice47@gmail.com

Coldwell Banker Blair and Associates

By Laura Bradley

Quick Look:

ceilings; and two master suites (one upstairs and the other downstairs with the third bedroom). All three bedrooms have attached bathrooms, and the two master suites feature walk-in closets in addition to their large attached baths. The third bedroom has its own attached bonus room. The house also features a two-car garage and warm, beautiful woodwork throughout. Both floors open to extra-wide open, covered decks.

There are also plenty of fun activities to enjoy the gorgeous outdoor environment, including a jogging and biking path, skiing nearby, hiking and fishing, making this home a must-see.

it's Just Business Destin >> The Market Shops at Sandestin is get-

ting a major facelift. Owner OBP Partners of Miami has begun a revitalization effort, transforming the resort shopping area into a dining, shopping and entertainment center with an intimate neighborhood atmosphere. Renovations are slated to begin in October, and the project should be complete in January 2014, according to Ian Schenkman, principal of OBP.

“There won’t be too many structural changes, but we will renovate the facade, create additional storefronts that face Highway 98, add stone elements and a new color palate to update the look. We will also improve the inner courtyard areas to create a nice dining atmosphere that’s also conducive for events and gatherings,” he explains.

Tenants will be neighborhood-oriented, with no outlets or big box stores,

Schenkman adds. There are also plans for a farmer’s market on days that alternate with other area markets.

Nearby Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort and Sandestin Real Estate, which has been a tenant in the Market Shops since the mid-1980s, are looking forward to the project’s completion with great anticipation.

“We are very excited about the planned renovations, and look forward to working

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Deal Estate It’s Just Business

with OBP as they develop quality options for our community,” says Kitty Whitney, executive director of Sandestin Real Estate. >> Trending: In the first half of 2013 compared to the last half of 2012, the ratio of the sales price versus the list price has narrowed in commercial sales, according to Gordon MacLean, managing broker for NWF Realty Inc. MacLean points out that while the ratio was approximately 71 percent in the latter half of 2012, meaning properties were selling for roughly 71 percent of their list price, that gap narrowed to roughly 89 percent in the first half of 2013.

“The ratio is one indication of how correctly the market participants perceive the value of the properties that are trading hands,” explains MacLean. “As the market continues to work through the remaining distressed properties in our area, we should expect to see a more balanced market wherein the ratio of sales price to list price falls to 10 percent or below.”

Pensacola/Ft. Walton Beach >> The push to make Pensacola a site of fast-

paced economic development has gotten another shot in the arm from the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce. The chamber launched ChooseGreaterPensacola.com, a best-in-class interactive portal designed to show off Greater Pensacola’s workforce and real estate assets.

30A >> A new resort is moving into Rosemary Beach with phase one slated for completion by summer of 2014. The Inn on the Gulf promises to bring an edgy aesthetic inspired by resorts in Miami to the 30A corridor and will be the “greenest, most environmentally friendly hotel in the Panhandle,” according to Mark Humphreys, CEO of Humphreys & Partners Architects, one of the leaders of this new development. The resort will consist of three four-story buildings, with one- to threebedroom units ranging from 460 to 2,118 square feet. Each room will have a kitchen,

and the resort will house a restaurant in addition to a rooftop deck, bars and several swimming pools.

Tallahassee >> Governor’s Square Mall’s center court

renovation is well underway. The revised design will improve traffic flow between the mall’s four department stores by providing more pedestrian space. With décor updates, including sophisticated lighting and flooring, new paint and additional soft seating areas, the redesign will also improve the court’s atmosphere. Specialty retail vendors and an updated holiday décor display for the upcoming holiday season will kick off the redesign with festive flair.

“We take pride in being a great shopping destination in the market,” says Eric Litz, general manager of Governor’s Square. “We are constantly striving to enhance the shopping experience by creating a customer-friendly environment and providing the most soughtafter fashion retailers and restaurants.”

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Halford 34

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Tallahassee Panama City

President/CEO jgriffing@naihalford.com

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Pensacola 850.433.0577

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Connect with us!

Halford NAI HALFORD and NAI TALCOR can help

you meet all your commercial real estate needs. We serve Pensacola, Destin, Panama City and Tallahassee.

Deal Estate Just Sold

Manufacturing Company Purchases Major Warehouse

By Laura Bradley

Priced above what the market could support,

this former paper packaging manufacturing plant sat on the market for awhile. But a manufacturing company growing its current product line has purchased the property for $2.2 million.

Logan DeVries, a broker associate with NAI Halford who brought the buyer to the property, was “glad to be part of one of the largest industrial buildings sold in Northwest Florida in many years, which in turn will provide and retain more jobs for our local economy.” He adds that it’s “very encouraging to see our local business owners investing back in the local area and continuing to grow their business; keeping in mind there is so much pull to move out of state with other incentives.”

Sitting on 16.82 acres just 14 miles north of

Pensacola, the warehouse had plenty of room for a variety of purposes. In addition to size, what ended up selling the buyer were the rail spur access and location. “The value of this massive building with the interior systems already in place was a huge bonus for this manufacturing facility,” says DeVries.

But timing is everything, and when this property came available the market was unable to support the list price, notes DeVries. Originally priced at $5.3 million in 2009, the warehouse’s list price was dropped to $4.9 million in 2010 and again in 2012 to $3.95 million.

Although its sale price was even lower — $2.2 million — DeVries sees a positive trend in the market.

“The economy seems to be on a slow but steady trend in the right direction, and confidence is once again building with our consumers,” he said.

Quick Look Address: 101 Stone Blvd., Cantonment List Price: $5,300,000 ($33.11/sqft) Sold For: $2,200,000 ($13.75/sqft) Square Feet: 160,050

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ADVERTORIAL

MICHAEL X. ROHAN, JR. Northwest Florida Surgery Center Orthopedic Spine Surgeon

How long have you been in your profession?

Six years, practicing in Panama City for two years. I relocated from New Jersey.

Why Panama City?

I was born and raised here.

What is your educational background?

University of Florida, B.S.; Nova Southeastern University, D.O. Dean’s List.

Why did you choose this profession?

I enjoy the challenging pathology and instant gratification when solving a problem.

Describe your practice philosophy.

I exhaust non-operative treatment before considering surgery.

What is the secret of your professional success?

Treat patients like they are family.

How do you measure success?

When a patient refers a friend or a family member.

Describe new practices you provide.

Minimally invasive spine surgery and outpatient spine surgery.

Family.

Wife, daughter (6) and two sons (5 and 2).

“I exhaust non-operative treatment before considering surgery.”

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SPONSORED REPORT

OUTREACH 850 a program of the jim moran institute for global entrepreneurship

A 1995 contribution from Jim and Jan Moran and JM Family Enterprises Inc., established The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at the Florida State University College of Business. Beginning in 1998, additional contributions from Jim and Jan Moran, JM Family Enterprises Inc., and The Jim Moran Foundation, Inc. have enabled The Jim Moran Institute to enhance its programs and services.

Inspiring Entrepreneurship

S

ince the start of fall semester, Florida State University students have been preparing to showcase their “big ideas” for businesses at two major events — InNOLEvation Challenge, which kicked off in September, and eMonth in November. Both are designed to inspire a culture of entrepreneurship across campus, introduce students to the world of business ownership and reward entrepreneurship — and they are sponsored by The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship and the College of Business, which houses the Institute.

InNOLEvation Challenge is a seven-month long business plan competition in which students vie for cash, services and investors who will help them take their startups to the next level. eMonth includes activities such as a student expo and networking opportunities with business leaders.

These are two examples of opportunities made possible for students through the astute foresight and the ongoing generosity of the late Jim Moran and his wife Jan, JM Family Enterprises Inc. and The Jim Moran Foundation Inc. with the

goal of growing Florida’s economy through small business creation.

The partnership between the College of Business and Jim and Jan Moran was forged in 1995 with a $1 million donation to the college to establish The Jim Moran Institute for the purpose of program development, research, teaching and public workshops related to entrepreneurship and small business activities in the community.

In 1998, eager to enhance the promising work at The Jim Moran Institute, Jim and Jan Moran and JM Family Enterprises contributed an additional $2 million, which has allowed The Jim Moran Institute to enhance the activities set forth in the 1995 agreement and add a Youth Outreach program.

A 2008 gift of $1.8 million from Jan Moran, JM Family Enterprises and The Jim Moran Foundation enabled the college to build a world-class undergraduate entrepreneurship major and expand training programs into South Florida, with a special focus on underserved populations.

Jan Moran and The Jim Moran Foundation once again came through in 2011, this time with a $4.25 million gift, allowing The Jim Moran Institute to further

build on its mission and take a lead role in the establishment of FSU as “The Entrepreneurial University.”

The relationship between The Jim Moran Institute, Jim and Jan Moran, JM Family Enterprises and The Jim Moran Foundation has been rewarding. Over the years, thousands of students and small business owners have benefitted — as has Florida’s economy.

850 Business Magazine

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it.”

– Jim Moran

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S HAP I NG

LI FE STY LES

I N

TA LLAH ASSEE

A C T I V E LY LY P U R S U I N G A C Q U I S I T I O N A N D M A N A G E M E N T O P P O R T U N I T I E S . V I S I T H U N T E R A N D H A R P P. C O M .

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SPONSORED REPORT

OUTREACH 850 Q&A Caryn Beck-Dudley, Dean, Florida State University College of Business Q: Why does private funding matter to FSU and the College of Business?

A: Private support from individuals, foundations and corporations bridges the gap between tuition and state funding. Private gifts allow us to add new programs, enhance the quality of our existing programs, make higher education accessible to students who otherwise could not afford to attend, and it is a vote of confidence in the university. Also, alumni annual giving rates are one of the factors on which U.S. News & World Report bases its national rankings of universities.

We often say private support makes the difference between a good university and a great university, and that is true.

Q: What is an example of how private funding has enhanced student education at FSU? A: Private support allowed us to create The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at the College of Business, and that has been transformative. It is fostering the spirit of entrepreneurship across campus and empowering students to become entrepreneurs by giving them the tools to start and run their own businesses. It has also allowed us to hire entrepreneurs-in-residence, who expose students to faculty with real business world success.

Q: Can gifts be designated for a specific purpose?

A: Absolutely. While some gifts are given for use at the dean’s discretion, others are targeted to a particular activity or program. For example, Genivia Inc., the Tallahasseebased software company, pledged $150,000 over three years to benefit undergraduate and graduate students

a program of the jim moran institute for global entrepreneurship

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

M

who engage in entrepreneurial activities involving information technologies. Other private gifts have supported the InNOLEvation Challenge, our business plan competition, and the InNOLEvation Accelerator, our student-centered business incubator. Also, a gift from the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund was used to expand services to minority student entrepreneurs.

Q: What are some of the reasons why individuals and donors give?

A: The reasons are as diverse as the donors themselves. In the case of our entrepreneurial activities, our donors understand the value of not only encouraging entrepreneurship, but of providing the means to ensure future small-business owners have the nextgeneration skills and know-how to sustain a successful business and compete in the world market.

any of you are aware of The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at FSU, but you might not know who was behind its creation or how we’ve been able to achieve our important work year after year.

It all started 18 years ago, in 1995, with a gift from the late automotive legend Jim Moran, his wife Jan and JM Family Enterprises Inc. Their ongoing commitment — with additional support from The Jim Moran Foundation Inc. — allows us to cultivate entrepreneurship in Florida and train and inspire hundreds of small businesses and non-profits to prosper.

Because of their generosity, we can do groundbreaking research and provide education and outreach in North and South Florida at no cost.

Scholars and practitioners benefit from our research, which appears in top academic journals, at national and international conferences and is used inside and outside the classroom.

Our education program is second to none. We offer a major and minor in entrepreneurship, a student business incubator and business plan competitions, including one that addresses social issues. These are open to all FSU students.

Finally, our outreach efforts leverage invaluable community resources, which provide practical advice on running a successful business.

Serving small businesses is our contribution to making the economic landscape of our communities and our state more vibrant and more sustainable. We could not do this without the legacy of giving from Jim and Jan Moran, JM Family Enterprises and The Jim Moran Foundation.

Randy Blass, Ph.D. Director, The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship

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RGVI Health ACAdemy: Navigating Health Care Choices

CONTACT US FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT. The ACA is the single largest change to the U.S. health care system in our lifetimes and can be complex to navigate. At RGVI we have joined with experts in health care, business and insurance to form WellU, a health ‘academy’ where you and your company can get unbiased counsel about insurance coverage under the ACA.

RGVI’s WellU is ALL ABOUT YOU.

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SPONSORED REPORT

OUTREACH 850 UPCOMING EVENTS

Ongoing EVENTS

Nov. 6

CEO Peer2Peer Groups

Power Forward with Barbara Corcoran

Join First Commerce Credit Union and the FSU College of Business on Wednesday, Nov. 6, in their kick-off of Entrepreneurship Month with the Power Forward Speaker Series featuring Barbara Corcoran. An NBC “Today Show” contributor, Corcoran is motivational, inspirational and sometimes outrageous, with a tell-it-like-it-is attitude that is a refreshing approach to success. Enjoy refreshments and networking following the presentation. Seating is limited, so get your tickets now at firstcommercecu.org.

Nov. 4

Entreprelooza

A student business expo where student entrepreneurs showcase their own businesses. Join us for FREE food and music! Open to the public.

Nov. 6, 20

Chamber One-on-One Program

Confidential, free consultations with Director of Outreach through the Tallahassee Chamber.

Nov. 12

SBEP Class Day

Small Business Executive Program Class I

Nov. 13

7 Under 30

Features seven successful entrepreneurs who started businesses while under the age of 30. Each entrepreneur will share their individual success story in seven minutes with Q&A time at the end.

Visit jmi.fsu.edu for more information.

a program of the jim moran institute for global entrepreneurship

Education

The Jim Moran Institute facilitates very structured and strategic groups for local business owners. Exclusive to presidents and owners of established businesses, the groups provide an avenue for sharing insights about challenging situations, topical issues and solutions to problems with peers. Each group consists of like-type, non-competing businesses, and new groups are formed year round.

Small Business Executive Program

The program was designed with forprofit and non-profit businesses in mind and created to be a world-class learning experience that accommodates the busy schedule of small business owners.

It is ideal for CEOs, entrepreneurs, business owners and presidents of small businesses.

Graduates emerge as stronger leaders, ready to capitalize on business opportunities, implement best practice management and turn challenges into strategic advantage. Presented over six months, each session takes place once a month, for four hours.

Visit nfl.jmi.fsu.edu for more information.

The Jim Moran Institute Encourages Innovation Among Students

I

nnovation is considered to be a new approach to an old problem. The Florida State University College of Business carries this definition one step further and demands there also be an outcome that will enhance what currently exists.

It is around this word “innovation” that The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship has built the Entrepreneurship Program within the College of Business. Our three-year program begins with 40 sophomore students arriving the first day of fall semester class with ideas of grandeur and, certainly, full of excitement. In this class, through the guidance of our instructors, approximately 15 studentrun companies are developed each year

with funding and support from The Jim Moran Institute.

The student’s education doesn’t stop with the creation of these companies but continues throughout the entire program, culminating in the senior year with the creation of a new, finely tuned and vetted idea for a company. Working individually, students are required to develop and complete a business plan based on their proposals, giving them a start on their entrepreneurial careers.

We believe in education and learning, and the better we equip our students for the world outside of college, the better off we all will be. As the American writer and philosopher Eric Hoffer said, “In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future.”

The Jim Moran Institute supporters include:

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Governor Rick Scott

Business Booster 850 holds a conversation about jobs with Florida Gov. Rick Scott

By Kimberley K. Yablonski

G

ov. Rick Scott campaigned for office on the promise to bring more jobs to Florida, and his work over the past three years has earned him the nickname of “The Jobs Governor.” Now ready to launch a re-election bid, he says employment remains the “biggest issue facing our state.” In his way of thinking many, if not most, of Florida’s problems can be solved by more jobs and a hearty economy.

While the Florida economy has improved along with the nation, the numbers tell the story of the state’s successful economic rebound. Florida’s unemployment rate is a half point below the national average, hitting 7.1 percent in June, down from a high of 11.4 percent at the height of the recession. (Other big states in June remained above, or hovered around, the national rate of 7.6 percent — Illinois was at 9.2 percent, California was 8.5 percent and New York, 7.5 percent.)

Since taking office in January 2011, Scott’s jobs focus has helped yield 330,000 private sector jobs in Florida, halfway to his goal of 700,000 jobs for the state, a goal that Scott maintains is still obtainable. While he’s had to fend off criticism that many of those new jobs are low wage, he’s gained notoriety for making cold-calls to national companies, urging them to move to Florida. And he’s been sending open letters to states across the nation, part of his One Way campaign, urging companies in those states to “buy a one-way plane ticket to Florida” because of Florida’s business-friendly environment.

“We have to be sure we’re a state where people can get a job,” Scott said during a recent interview with 850 to talk about business in Florida, particularly Northwest Florida.

“Our budget has gone from a $4 billion deficit when I took

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office to a $1 billion projected surplus now. The reason is we’ve cut the number of people that are unemployed.

Unemployment has dropped faster than any other state but one … When you do that, you have more money to put into things you care about, whether it’s the environment, education or health care.”

More good news for Florida’s comeback is the high rating bestowed by Moody’s Investors Service. The report concluded that while Florida entered the recession earlier than many states and was one of the hardest hit, it is “back on track.” According to Moody’s Analytics, “Florida’s 2013 employment growth is expected to increase 1.9%, surpassing the national rate of 1.3%,” and remain higher than the nation through 2017. Moody’s also concluded that: “Over the long term, Florida’s pace of growth is expected to outpace the nation due to the state’s favorable climate and low cost of living, as well as strong demographics and economic fundamentals, driven by tourism, health care and education sectors.”

Scott, who has had a long business presence in the state and has an energy level that matches his nonstop schedule, attributes the growth to lots of networking. He constantly travels the state, often setting up an office for the day for any citizen to come speak with him. One of the biggest parts of his job, he says, is listening — and then trying to fix the problem.

The governor won’t name his favorite part of the state, although he and his wife of 41 years, Ann, enjoy living in Tallahassee. When asked about his favorite fishing spot, however, Northwest Florida gets the nod.

He wants generations to make Florida home — and the Scotts added to that legacy earlier this year as they welcomed their third grandson.

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

Selling Florida Elected on a promise to bring jobs to Florida, Gov. Rick Scott has targeted hundreds of corporate CEOs across the nation with sales pitches — cold-calls and letters suggesting they consider a move here.

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850: You’ve been called “The Jobs Governor.”

What is your single biggest accomplishment in the jobs arena for the Northwest Florida region?

Gov. Scott: The thing that I am most proud of is that unemployment has gone down all around the state. In this area (Northwest Florida), the unemployment rate has gone down over 2 percent. It was over 8 percent when I came into office, and now it is under 6 percent. That is below the national average. It’s one of the lowest in the state. It’s nice we have had good job growth here.

We’re also diversifying the economy. There are companies coming into the area. From an economic standpoint, that’s what’s great. We have companies coming in now, and we’ve been able to promote the area. Unemployment is really the biggest indicator.

850: I understand you actively recruit companies to relocate to Florida by “cold-calling” them so to speak. Have any companies

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been recruited in that way to Florida and, specifically, Northwest Florida?

Gov. Scott: I have been in business all my life.

Basically, what you’re doing every day is constantly telling your story. A lot of times there is not a direct connection. You just keep doing it, and people show up. I’ve sent notes to the top 500 CEOs in the country. We pick states, and I’ll send letters to the top 100 companies. Sometimes

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it’s a board member some place. Sometimes it’s a CEO. Sometimes it’s just having a conversation. A lot of times, it has to be the right time for people. Take Hertz. They were ready to have the conversation because they had just done this big merger with Dollar/Thrifty. So they were ready.

A lot of times, you do all these things and then you get an article written about what you’re doing and someone else sees it. The glamorous

Photos by Meredyth Hope Hall

Welcoming Committee Scott has held press conferences throughout the state in recent months to welcome new investment by companies large and small, including Hertz in Estero (above) and Deutsche Bank in Jacksonville (right).

ones are the big ones like Hertz or Northrop Grumman with 1,400 jobs. But the truth of it is most of the growth is 25 jobs here, 50 jobs there.

It is smaller companies too that are moving here.

Navy Federal Credit Union in Pensacola is expanding, adding 1,500 jobs to the region with plans for new building construction. That is in addition to the 640 jobs they brought to the region in 2011. They have plans to add 10,000 jobs to the region by 2020.

850: Florida was recently ranked by Chief Executive Magazine as the No. 2 state in the nation to do business. What changes have you made that earned Florida that ranking? What will it take to make Florida No. 1 and bump Texas from that spot?

Gov. Scott: I think [Texans] brag better than we do. I think we need to brag about our state a lot more and talk about what we have going for us — no personal income tax, a lower business tax than Texas. We have reduced regulations, eliminating 2,300 regulations in the last two years. We have streamlined the permitting process. We have a government that is very pro business. We have 15 seaports. We are clearly the gateway to Latin America. We have an educated workforce.

On top of that, look at our K-12 education system. Our fourth graders are No. 2 in the world in reading. According to Education Week, we are the sixth best state in the country for overall education. The National Council for Teacher Quality says we have the most effective teachers.

Of all the large states, we had the biggest student achievement gains for 4th and 8th graders. With our higher education system, you can get a degree out of our state colleges for $10,000. They’re very focused on working with companies.

Most of what we have to do is go brag about it and talk to people all the time. The second day someone is living in Texas they’re bragging about it. If I could change the mindset of Floridians so that they would learn to brag about our state. We have so many things going for us.

850: Amazon is looking to create more than 3,000 full time jobs with benefits and a more than $300 million investment in Florida. As they make location decisions is there anything Northwest Florida business leaders can do to encourage the company to set up shop in the area?

Gov. Scott: Every region of the state has to play to its strengths. The reason Amazon wants to locate in Florida is to have more distribution centers to meet the needs of their customers. They have to pick locations where they can get things to market quicker. So, absolutely, Northwest Florida can compete as a location. This region can offer a great distribution area for not only Florida but also parts of Georgia, Alabama and even Mississippi.

My experience on economic development is it is better when you have people more aggressively recruiting companies to solve that company’s needs so it can better solve its customers’ needs. When economic development realizes the whole goal is to make that company more successful, then it’s a win-win and we’re going to continue to get more business.

We’ve had dramatic success with economic development over the past two years. Gray Swoope, Florida Secretary of Commerce and president & CEO of Enterprise Florida, has brought unbelievable life to it. He has built great relationships with site selectors. There are 6,000 site selector firms in the country. Two weeks after I got elected, I met with a bunch of them.

They said they didn’t even talk to Florida, that we were not easy to deal with, that Florida didn’t care about economic development at all. Now we’ve done over 320 transactions. We have great relationships with site selectors, great working relationships between counties, cities and the state. And now, a lot come to us and say, “We want to be in Florida, tell us where you think we should go.” I tell them to speak to Gray Swoope.

850: What should the Northwest Florida business community do to seek out help from the state in ways to grow jobs in this region?

Gov. Scott: From a tourism standpoint, we dramatically increased the funding for Visit Florida to help market the state. Anyone in the tourist business ought to be working with Visit Florida.

Enterprise Florida does a great job. They’re a great group to work with. It’s sales. Find out how you can solve their needs. We have a lot to be proud of in Northwest Florida. People want to live here. Plus, we are close to shipping avenues and seaports. We have a big opportunity with the Airbus plant coming to Alabama. There are big opportunities to be suppliers to them.

“The thing that I am most proud of is that unemployment has gone down all around the state. In this area (Northwest Florida), the unemployment rate has gone down over 2 percent.”

Governor Rick Scott 850: There has been some criticism that a lot of the jobs coming to Florida are mostly minimum wage jobs. What is your response to that?

Gov. Scott: Look at Hertz. The average job, of the 700 jobs they are bringing to the state, has an average annual salary of $100,000. Look at Northrop Grumman, look at Verizon, look at Time Warner and look at AT&T — those are not minimum wage jobs. But, the truth is, every job we fill is important. Because everybody wants a job and getting a job creates your next opportunity. We are recruiting all sorts of jobs. I’m proud of anybody that’s adding jobs in our state. Right now, Universal Studios is spending more than $2 billion to expand the Harry Potter exhibit. That’s going to create a lot of jobs. Look at all the tourism that we have. We have over a million jobs in tourism now. So, all these things add up.

850: Coming from a business background, what do you see as the selling point of the Northwest Florida region?

Gov. Scott: By the way, my wife and I like living here. We spend most of our time here when

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Lowering Unemployment Three companies creating new jobs in Florida include (clockwise from top left): SteriPack in Lakeland (31 jobs), Bass Pro Shops in Tallahassee (200 jobs) and Galaxy Aviation in Palm Beach (300 jobs).

we are not on the road. We like the restaurants, and we like the parks. We hike. It’s a wonderful place to live.

From a business standpoint, on top of it being a wonderful place to live, we have FSU and FAMU and UWF. We’ve got a well-educated workforce. We have people with a lot of experience working for state government. A lot of people come to work for state government for a short period of time and then go back to industry. That broadens their experience level.

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Then, you’ve got the proximity to the rest of the United States. I’ve always thought there should be a lot more manufacturing companies in the Panhandle. That’s why I pushed to get rid of the sales tax on machinery and equipment. The nice thing about manufacturing jobs is in the economic cycle they generally don’t go down as fast as some other industries. If you think about it, there’s no reason a manufacturer should be in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee or Georgia instead of the Panhandle of Florida.

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850: Have you been able to succeed with your “Job Creation and Economic Growth Agenda?” Have you made any adjustments to that agenda?

Gov. Scott: It’s not so much adjustments as trying to do additional things to get the word out.

We are way ahead of the goal right now. But I keep thinking of ways we can continue to make our state more attractive. I travel the state a lot, almost every day. I ask people what agencies they work with. Is it a hassle? My goal with that is to get ideas from people about what problems they are having. My theory is if there is a problem in one county, it is probably a problem somewhere else. I try to keep solving problems.

It’s no different than what I did in business. In

Photos by Meredyth Hope Hall

We’ve got to put a lot of effort into manufacturing, science, technology and engineering. We need to continue to educate people in the areas where there are jobs. I think we are making progress on that all the time.

The other thing is marketing. Tell our story.

If you look at all great companies, everybody knows it is part of their job to sell. We’ve got to talk about all the great things about our state.

New Jobs For Florida From the beginning of the Scott Administration, a chronological list of companies, their location and the jobs they have promised to create.

Digital Risk, Maitland 1,000 new jobs

Parametric Solutions, Jupiter 130 new jobs

WaWa Grand Opening, Orlando 3,500 new jobs

DaVita Rx, Orange County 100 new jobs

Air Products, Manatee County 250 new jobs

TraPac Container Terminal, Jacksonville 3,500 new jobs

Navy Strategic Systems Program, Patrick Air Force Base 100 new jobs

Morgan Stanley, Hillsborough County 110 new jobs

TBC Corporation, Palm Beach County 175 new jobs StreetLinks Lender Solutions, Tampa 300 new jobs Accuform Signs, Hernando County 271 new jobs Prime Therapeutics, Orlando 213 new jobs Univision Networks, Miami 346 new jobs L-3 Crestview Aerospace Expansion, Crestview 340 new jobs Winter Haven Rail Terminal Groundbreaking, Winter Haven 8,500 jobs

Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Tampa 255 new jobs WWE Jobs Announcement, Sanford 16 new jobs iStorage, Winter Garden 36 new jobs Mobiquity, Gainesville 260 new jobs

Radiant Power Corp., Manatee County 16 new job

Anthem Education, Ft. Lauderdale 70 new jobs

Planet Hollywood, Orlando 90 new jobs

Priton, Santa Rosa County 200 new jobs

Prioria Robotics, Gainesville 40 new jobs Klausner Lumber One, Suwannee County 350 new jobs Emerson Latin America, Sunrise 20 new jobs Siemens, Orlando 50 new jobs Total Quality Logistics, Tallahassee 75 new jobs Verizon, Lake Mary 750 new jobs

Hertz, Estero 700 new jobs United Paradyne Corp., Kennedy Space Center 50 new jobs Global Business Solutions Inc., Pensacola 120 new jobs GardaWorld, Boca Raton 500 new jobs Amazon, Florida 3,000 new jobs

Mindtree Limited, Gainesville 400 new jobs

Advanced Pharma CR, Miami 60 new jobs

Pratt & Whitney, Palm Beach County 230 new jobs

Coastal Cloud, Palm Coast 100 new jobs

Pratt Whitney/ United Technologies Corporation, Jupiter 230 new jobs

Northrop Grumman, Melbourne & St. Augustine 1,000 new jobs

Navy Federal Credit Union, Pensacola 700 new jobs

TurboCombuster Technology, Stuart 200 new jobs

Bi-Lo Winn-Dixie, Jacksonville 100 new jobs

Turbine Controls Inc., Miramar 60 new jobs

Harris Corporation, Palm Bay 100 new jobs

7-Eleven, Jacksonville 800 new jobs

Deutsche Bank, Jacksonville 300 new jobs

ADT Corporation, Boca Raton 120 new jobs

Actavis, Inc., Davie 120 new jobs

Kingspan Insulated Panels Inc., DeLand 30 new jobs

Embraer Aircraft Holding Inc., Melbourne 200 new jobs

Embraer Aircraft Holding, Inc., Jacksonville 50 new jobs

Advanced Disposal, Ponte Vedra 85 new jobs

U.S. Gas and Electric, Miami 32 new jobs

Amcor Rigid Plastics, Orlando 29 new jobs

Airdyne Aerospace, Brooksville 17 new jobs

Navy Federal Credit Union, Pensacola 1,500 new jobs

MarJam, Defuniak Springs 12 new jobs

AT&T Jobs Announcement, Miami 350 new jobs

Aveo Engineering, Palm Coast 300 new jobs

CLI Solutions, Tampa 40 new jobs

Draken International Inc., Lakeland 55 new jobs

Golf Channel, Orlando 75 new jobs

Bolton Medical Solutions, Sunrise 100 new jobs

Nanotherapeutics Inc., Alachua 150 new jobs

Galaxy Aviation, Palm Beach 200 new jobs

Vision Systems, Melbourne 40 new jobs ATR North America, Miami 40 new jobs dtw Marketing Research Group Inc., Amelia Island 40 new jobs Duvasawko, Volusia County 68 new jobs

Charles Composites, Okeechobee 28 new jobs iGate/West Fraser, Pensacola 400 new jobs

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All Jobs Are Good Scott has come under heavy criticism because many of the new jobs are considered minimum wage. But he insists that, “Every job we fill is important.”

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Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

business, I focused on how can I have the best customer satisfaction, how can I have the best quality outcomes and how can I offer the lowest price. It is the same thing with this. How can we control the cost of government? How can we be most effective? For every dollar you, the taxpayer, spends you get a return. We try to measure all the programs. Are we getting the best return? Are we meeting their needs?

850: Can you explain why you think trade missions are so important for job growth?

Gov. Scott: The whole goal of trade missions is to build relationships. Let people in other countries know we want to do business with them. The more trade you have, the more jobs you have for that country and our state. You build relationships. When the governor goes, I can open doors other people can’t open. People know it’s important when the most senior level person in the state shows up.

850: Your recent trip to the Paris Air Show yielded several good business ventures for Florida. Do any prospects look promising for the Northwest Florida region?

Gov. Scott: This is the second Air Show I have been to. What people don’t realize is we are already the second biggest state for aerospace and aviation jobs in the country, second only to California. Two very big announcements came from the Air Show with two big companies moving to Florida. Commercial aviation is still doing well. The defense industry has been hit harder with sequestration. There is a big opportunity with Airbus. That will help the Panhandle a lot. I think we will get a lot of business out of Airbus as they start building up.

850: As you know, the Northwest Florida region oyster industry has been hit hard over the past several years. I know you asked the Legislature to set aside $3 million to enhance the water quality of the bay, as well $500,000 to fund an analysis for the river flows to maintain the estuarine. Did that

pass? Is there anything you are working on that may further help revive that industry?

Gov. Scott: Recently, the Cabinet passed an additional lease program. It’s not just a lease for the oysters on the bottom but for those people starting to grow oysters a little higher, which is very promising. This can be a big opportunity. It allows for growers to use the whole water column. It’s not just growing oysters on the bottom. The floating oyster cages can prevent predators.

And they’re also growing scallops in these cages, which wasn’t even the goal.

Additional funding to help oyster recovery includes $957,000 for the Apalachicola Water Project for water quality improvement, $360,000 in funds for oyster shelling and a $400,000 supplemental appropriation for shelling and research.

850: Related to that, how would the BP funds best be used in the Northwest Florida region? How would you like to see it structured?

Gov. Scott: We’ve got to be methodical.

We’ve got to look at where we’re going to get the biggest returns. One of the things I’ve tried to bring to the table is my business background, where you focus on making an investment where you get a return on that investment. In that case, I was responsible to shareholders.

As governor, I’m responsible to taxpayers. I need to make sure we spend the dollars coming to the state, whether it’s through a BP settlement or other funds.

If we get a good return on those dollars then there will be more opportunities for everybody. We want our kids to live here and our grandkids to live here. We want everyone to be gainfully employed and hopefully do well financially. And we want great education, good environment, low crime rate; all those things.

You can’t do it without jobs. I like processes and measuring. Let’s go back and see how we are doing. If we aren’t doing it right, keep fixing, keep improving.

That’s what successful businesses do.

850: You have said Florida’s natural resources are the state’s economic

engine. How does this relate to Northwest Florida?

Gov. Scott: Our state’s natural resources are unparalleled. It’s why people choose to live here, vacation here and bring their businesses here. In Florida, we don’t have to choose between a healthy environment and a healthy economy. The two are inextricably linked. I’m working to ensure our resources are dedicated to the improvement of both.

A stable regulatory environment does not mean lower environmental standards.

It means that environmental policy will be governed by sound science, not politics or one-size-fits-all solutions. It means that our permit processes will be the same for Tampa residents and businesses as they are for those in Pensacola, Jacksonville or Key West, but also take into account our state’s regional differences.

850: Where is your favorite place to fish?

Gov. Scott: I caught 26 redfish in two hours one day in St. Andrews Bay off of Panama City. Some of them were too big to keep! None of them were too small to keep. That was a pretty good day.

850: What is the most important aspect of your job as governor? Your favorite part?

Gov. Scott: The most important thing is to listen to people around the state, to their ideas; try to make sure as problems arise they are addressed; and get ideas from people. People from all walks of life all around the state have ideas. I like to go to a smaller county and open an office for four hours.

Anybody can come in and see me. Most of my job is to listen to citizens’ concerns and address them as quickly as I can.

My favorite part of the job is the people. The events that are the most fun are when I visit either an elementary school or a home for persons with disabilities. They are so excited. It’s so nice when people come up to you and say that when you turned the economy around my parents were able to get a job.

Those are the best moments. I am fortunate that I have that.

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beer

FLORIDA IS AMONG THE FASTEST-GROWING PRODUCERS OF SPECIALTY BREWS

s Florida poised to become the next big craft beer state, joining the ranks of California, Colorado and Oregon? The question’s possibly a bit premature. In 2012, Florida still ranked 44th nationwide, with a per-capita ratio of 318,666 persons per brewery. But certainly, craft-beer consumption is on the rise statewide, as it is nationally; and a significant number of its enthusiasts and brewers agree that the Sunshine State — long behind the eight ball when it came to craft beer — is quickly catching up.

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By Lazaro Aleman & Thomas J. Monigan Between 2011 and 2012 alone, Florida craft beer production climbed from an estimated 64,531 to 92,512 barrels, a 43-percent increase, putting the state among the fastest growing craft-beer producers in the country, Tallahassee on Cutting Edge according to the Brewers Association (BA), the sector’s national trade group.

Momo’s Pizza Brewpub on Market Street is one of three establishments in Taking note of the trend, Visit Florida, the state’s official tourism marketing the capital city producing quality craft beer, compliments of headbrewer corporation, recently observed that, although still relatively small players John Larsen. in the commercial beer world, craft breweries and brewpubs now inhabit “I brew a lot of classic beer styles and occasional specialties,” says Larsen, almost every corner of the state and are helping define a different kind of a brewer for more than 25 years who has been with Momo’s since mid 2011. tourist destination, which development is borne out by figures from the Momo’s tries to have four or five beers on tap at any given time, including Florida Department of Business Professional Regulation. The FDBPR listed several types of India Pale Ales (IPA), porters, stouts, honey beers, spiced ales 35 brewpubs and 43 craft-beer manufacturers in the state as of April 2013, and Kolsch. compared with 23 and 18 respectively in July 2010, when it began keeping a “We won two gold medals at the Best Florida Beer Championship,” more detailed breakdown of these enterprises.

Larsen says. “We also won first place in Best of Show and first runner-up Accounting for the growing popularity of craft beer are various and synin Best of Show for our Moose and Squirrel Nut Brown Ale and Big Papa ergistic causes. These include a notable decline in the U.S. beer market in Porter, respectively.” the last decade, accompanied by mergers of several of the major beer comLarsen sees a definite growth in the popularity of craft beer locally. panies; repeal or amendment of arcane and archaic post-Prohibition botAs for the reason, “Craft beer is just that good,” he says. tling and distribution laws; greater availability of the products due to the He also sees potential challenges for the industry, both internally import of domestic and foreign craft beers into the Southeast; developing and externally. palates among consumers as a result of exposure to the product; interest “The big brewers and their distributors may attempt to place obstacles in all things local and sustainable; and yes, the explosion of brewpubs and in the way of getting craft beer on the shelves,” Larsen says. “Within the microbreweries across the state in recent years. craft industry itself, market saturation might be the biggest issue; we might Talk to craft-beer brewers, and you get a sense of their excitement create more beer than the market can bear.” and optimism.

Proof Beer Brewery on Tennessee Street is Tallahassee’s only licensed “The Southeast is the fastest growing craft-beer area in the country,” distributing brewery. Opened as a craft beer and liquor store in 2007, Proof asserts Mike Halker, president of the Florida Brewers Guild, which repquickly morphed into a craft-beer bar with a wide and award-winning selecresents 95 percent of the state’s craft-beer brewers. “Whether you want tion of craft beers; it added its own brewery and two tasting rooms in 2012. to look at consumption or number of breweries, it’s around a 14 or 15 The plan now is to expand into a full-scale distributing percent growth … we’re reverting to where we were 100 brewery in another part of town. years ago, when there were breweries everywhere, before “We are in the process of doing that right now,” says Prohibition shut everybody down.” owner Byron Burroughs. “We should be online and distribPeople are extremely receptive to local beers as they uting locally and out of town by this fall. Our goal is to be a are to local foods, offers Byron Burroughs, owner of Proof |ˈzīˌmərjē| regional distributing brewery.”

Beer Brewery in Tallahassee. “People realize it’s something Once the new operation is up and running, the made fresh in their own market, and that helps create and noun Tennessee Street location will become a pilot brewery support jobs and the local economy. It’s been a little late in the study or where batch and experimental beers are tested. coming, but now it’s exploding.”

Proof is currently developing and perfecting its Add to that the fact that it’s trendy to drink qualpractice of core beers. Burroughs identifies among the possibiliity craft beer, says Elliot Eckland, co-owner of Pensacola fermentation ties five that have won awards in the Best Florida Beer Bay Brewery. “It’s a phenomenon happening across the in brewing, Championship, including an IPA, a pale, an amber and a rye.

Southeast, which is about 15 years or more behind the rest Like the now disproven belief that Floridians would of the country when it comes to microbreweries and craft winemaking, only consume big commercial beers, Burroughs is betbeers. But with the laws changing and craft beers getting or distilling. ting that college students will drink more than just down into the Southeast, demand has really started to take light and inexpensive beers. Not only are young people off because people are getting familiar with good beers.”

ORIGIN mid 19th extremely receptive to new styles and full-flavor beers, No question about it, whether you prefer to tap cent.: from Greek they are developing tastes and brand loyalties they will into domestic, imported, local labels or your very own zumé ‘leaven,’ carry forward, he says. brewed “basement” batch, you’re not alone in your love on the pattern of He is excited about becoming Tallahassee’s first fullof suds in Northwest Florida. Since it is Oktoberfest metallurgy. fledged brewery. season, we thought we’d fill our pages — and a stein “I think a brewery enables a neighborhood or city to or two — with a sampling of the pubs and brewers we have a sense of place,” Burroughs says. “It’s something have found in the region.

zymurgy

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County’s first gastro pub, a type of bar/restaurant that serves high-end beer and food and conceptually traces its origins to Margaret Thatcher’s 1980s England. Opened in early 2012, the Fishale features a wide variety of hand-crafted beers.

“We have 65 different beers on tap from breweries anywhere from Oregon to southern Florida,” says General Manager Sean Palamarczuk. “We also have a brewmaster on hand every Tuesday who brings one of his own beers for tasting. Every week it’s a different beer.”

Uncle Ernie’s Bayfront Grill and Brewhouse on St. Andrews Bay dates from 1993. Housed in a historic late 1800s building, the establishment offers a variety of craft beers, including three “homemade” that are actually produced by the SweetWater Brewery in Atlanta. General Manager Lee Clarke explains that SweetWater allows the restaurant to name the beers as its own. The establishment additionally offers 12 craft beers on tap, as well as a selection of other beers.

Raising the (Underground) Bar

people can be proud of; beer made locally, if well received, spreads the word about a town. There is much community that can be built around a good local beer brand, and all the peripheral things that go along with that.”

The Fermentation Lounge on All Saints Street has been around more than four years. A retro-style neighborhood bar in a quasi-residential district, the Fermentation offers a rotating selection of 12 craft beers on tap, as well as an extensive assortment of bottled beers.

“We stock craft beers from all over the country and the world,” says General Manager Andrew “Ace” Evans. “Whatever we can get our hands on we put here and rotate constantly. Our bottle menu can reach up to 100 to 200, depending on how many bottles we can fit at the time.”

The Fermentation also produces a limited amount of craft beer onsite.

“Sometimes during a month we might pop out two beers, or we might take a break, like now where we’re on a four-month hiatus,” Evans says.

“During a given year, I estimate we produce 10 to 12 craft beers.”

And demand for craft beer?

“It’s constantly increasing,” Evans says, adding that the establishment will feature German beers on tap and discounted drinks during Oktoberfest.

Panama City Up and Coming Panama City doesn’t have brewpubs or microbreweries per se, although RateBeer, a worldwide consumer website dedicated to craft beer and craftbeer culture, identifies two locations.

One is the Fishale Taphouse and Grille, which bills itself as Bay

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It really wasn’t that long ago when the term “homebrew” might have evoked images of moonshiners distilling “white lightning” in remote rural areas while remaining ever wary of federal government agents known as “revenuers.”

But for at least the past 30 years, there have been some bold homebrew innovators proudly involved in what they will tell you is “zymurgy.”

Defined as “the branch of chemistry concerned with fermentation processes in brewing,” Mike Nelson of Fort Walton Beach is quick to mention it is also the last word in the dictionary.

Nelson is president of Homebrewers Underground Emerald Coast Florida, which deliberately shares its HBU acronym with the term “Hop Bittering Units.”

This club has been around since the early 1980s. Sometimes referred to as “a drinking club with a brewing problem,” it has about 30 dues-paying members who live anywhere from Navarre to Ponce de Leon.

“Everything in the craft has gotten better,” Nelson says, “mainly because of the availability of ingredients. Any brewer can go Internet shopping for supplies at 3 a.m., and we do it. Anything you can want your beer to taste like, you can make it happen.”

Anything? “Quite a few of us have tried garlic beer,” Nelson replies with a chuckle. “It sounds like a good idea, but some things just don’t work.”

But while some homebrewers enjoy bonding and sharing, others find a certain appeal in doing things on their own, without joining a club.

Someone like Luke Girman is an example of this generation on the rise.

Girman is beer manager at Chan’s Wine World in Destin. Introduced to homebrewing by a fraternity brother at Bowling Green State University, Girman has been making his own beer for nearly four years. In that time he’s produced more than three dozen five-gallon batches, ranging from ambers to stouts to an Irish red and a vanilla porter. “But no India Pale Ales or pale ales — that’s not my style,” he says.

A five-gallon batch can cost anywhere from $20 to $60 to produce and the process can take from four weeks to two-and-a-half months. Basic ingredients are available in kits and involve grain (barley, rice, wheat or rye), yeast and hops.

Photos by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

Locals Brews Branch Out (Above) Byron Burroughs, owner of Proof Beer Brewery in Tallahassee, is ready to expand into a full-scale distilling brewery and hopes to soon be selling his award-winning brews across the region.

(Below) McGuire’s Irish Pub has locations in Destin and Pensacola.

Mainstays include Millenium Ale and Scotch Ale — and six packs of its Irish Red can be found in local stores.

First comes making the “wort,” which is what becomes beer. The grain is boiled at a temperature of about 150 degrees and then left to sit for about an hour. This helps pull the natural sugars from the grain. Then the wort is brought to a full boil, and the hops are added at three different times. First comes the bittering hop (the most pungent) at the point of boiling. With about 15 minutes left in the boil is the flavor hop. When the boil is topped comes the aroma hop. Then the wort is left to cool to about 70 degrees, and this is when the yeast is added. This begins the fermentation process that turns the wort into the finished product of beer.

“You can do different things to get the alcohol content up, but in doing so, you sacrifice flavor,” Girman says. “You can use more sugar and the stronger yeast, or you can even add table sugar or honey.”

Just before and during fermentation, a hydrometer (a calibrated flotation device) measures the amount of sugar and the density of fluid. Sugar is dense, alcohol is lighter. Then comes a second stage or fermentation, in which the liquid is transferred to another vessel. This helps to clarify the beer and get rid of the sediment. Once that process is complete the brewer has to decide whether the beer will go into kegs or bottles.

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Sampling the Brews (Above) “The Paddle” is a beer sampler of any four types of beer sold at the Fishale Taphouse and Grille in Panama City Beach.

(Below) Luke Girman, beer manager at Chan’s Wine World in Destin, has been making his own brews for four years. He gives the majority away to get feedback from friends.

“I bottle all my beer,” Girman says. “A five-gallon batch yields about 48 12-ounce bottles. The good majority I give out to people.

That way I can get feedback on what they like or dislike. It also helps to get people interested in brewing themselves.

“I had a couple batches where I was not overly thrilled,” he recalls, “but the unwritten law is, ‘You brew it, you drink it.’ So you’re not being wasteful.”

But success apparently makes up for any failure while learning.

“Vanilla Porter is by far my favorite,” Girman says. “It had just the right amount of sweetness and the right amount of bitterness. It went down very, very easy.”

Where to Belly Up to the (Micro Brew) Bar If you don’t have your very own brew in a barrel in your basement, don’t worry, there are plenty of other options to fill your mug.

While one local restaurant has patiently produced its own brew for

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Photos by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

photo by Shelly Swanger Photography

almost 25 years, several other operations have recently tapped the Emerald Coast market.

“When we started out, craft beer was 1 percent of the overall beer market,” says Tom Anderson, the brewmaster at McGuire’s Irish Pub, which has locations in Pensacola and Destin. “Now we’re at 11 percent and growing.”

McGuire’s offers six of its own beers on tap at all times, and annual rotation can mean it offers as many as 10 selections. So strong is their local identity that Anderson says of regional craft brewers such as Terrapin, SweetWater or Sierra Nevada: “We’re not chasing them, they’re chasing us.”

Mainstays for McGuire’s are beers such as Millennium Ale and Scotch Ale, and six-packs of its Irish Red can be found in many local retail stores.

Anderson is particularly proud of his Imperial Stout, the ingredients of which include cherry wood smoke, malt, ancho chilies, Hershey’s extra dark cocoa and 84 pounds of extra cherries.

“It’s the port wine of beer,” he says. “It’s 9.5 percent alcohol by volume, and it has such a depth of character.”

And, of course, Oktoberfest is always a seasonal favorite. “It’s a little different every year, but we’ve got it pretty well dialed in,” Anderson says.

“When you’ve got that Munich and Vienna malt and German hops, you can’t go wrong.”

Located just off Seville Square near downtown Pensacola is the Pensacola Bay Brewery, owned by Elliott Eckland and Mark Robertson. It is not a restaurant or a pub, but you can get chips and a cheese platter if you visit the tasting room.

“Once you get used to drinking a good craft beer, it’s very hard to go back,” Eckland says. “It’s like drinking fine wine, and then going back to MD 20-20.”

Pensacola Bay Brewery’s products are distributed throughout Florida and into Alabama, with demand continuing to increase.

“We’re brewing four batches a week, and pretty soon may be up to five or six a week,” Eckland says. “We’ve got five tanks with another coming and seven 30-barrel fermenters with two more coming. (A barrel is 31 U.S. gallons). We’re growing and expanding our capabilities.”

Raspberry Berliner Weiss was a big summertime hit, and a special Oktoberfest is being produced for this year’s festival.

“Absolutely,” Eckland says. “We make 15 different beers right now; nine we produce pretty much on a regular basis and also rotating ones like the Oktoberfest and Christmas ales.”

As far as competition is concerned, Eckland says: “There are no secrets in the brew business. We all help each other ... there’s plenty of room for everybody.”

It took five months for the first batch of beer to be produced at Props Craft Brewery — a Fort Walton Beach pub owned by Air Force pilots Nathan Vannatter and Michael Kee, which opened near the Brooks Bridge in late 2011. But the debut of Four Kings Brown Ale and Flying Coffin IPA proved extremely successful.

Props now has seven homebrew beers on tap, according to General Manager Brian O’Neill.

“About 83 percent of the beer we sell is homebrew as opposed to commercial,” O’Neill says. “The big beer distributors are saying, ‘Hey, remember us?’ We have a porter we call the Prop Oil Porter, a blond we call the Blond Bomber Ale, a French Farmhouse Ale we call the Overlord Ale and a highalcohol beer called Rye of the Tiger.”

O’Neill says the conversation now is to make beers that are a little more hop heavy.

“There are a lot of light beers and pale ales on our board, and we want to get a little more hop bite, a little bit more bitterness and kind of bigger beers,” O’Neill says. “This is the direction we’re heading.”

Jamey Price, founder and president of Grayton Beer, reports the completion of construction on a 30,000-square-foot building in the South Walton Commerce Park that will house his brewery. His expectation was to begin producing the company’s pale ale and IPA onsite by August. Until then, a third-party brewer would continue to produce the two beers, which debuted in 2011.

“We expect to make more beers as we go online,” Price says. “We’ll be making an American-styled Kolsch, a stout, a blonde and also adding seasonal beers.”

In July, Grayton announced a partnership with 30A.com to introduce 30A Beach Blonde, which should be on retail shelves and on tap locally this fall. 30A.com’s Facebook fans were asked to help design the new label.

Grayton beer is presently distributed throughout much of the Emerald Coast. The goal is eventually to distribute throughout Northwest Florida and the Southeast.

Price compares craft beer today to wine in the ’90s, when people in the Southeast were just developing a taste for it. Once people try craft beer, they don’t want to go back to the watered-down version, he says.

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850 MAGAZINE

works for me “I’ve had people tell me they’ve seen our ads, and I want to stay in front of the business decision makers of North Florida.”

When Jack Kerigan wants to learn about business trends and opportunities across North Florida, he turns to a publication he trusts, 850 Business Magazine. Because of that trust, Kerigan Marketing Associates Inc. advertises in 850 to stay in front of the region’s business leaders and offer its expertise to other small businesses ready to reach the next level. It’s working.

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Gadsden, Jefferson + Leon Counties

Capital Corridor

Celebrating 30 The Uptown Café and owners Fred and Beth Tedio are celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2014.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

The Uptown Café has offered good food and comraderie through good eonomic times and bad

By Linda Kleindienst

I

t’s the café where everybody knows your name. Think of Cheers without the beer; a friendly, neighborhood restaurant where the staff feels like family and the cooking is like something your mom … maybe … served up on her best Sunday mornings.

The Uptown Café celebrates 30 years this year — and Fred and Beth Tedio (also celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in 2014) have been owners for much of that time, catering to the tastes of Tallahassee for breakfast and lunch, on weekdays and weekends, in good economies and bad. When times got tough, they survived by learning to think outside the box.

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

And throughout it all, the Uptown customer remained their focus — an attitude that has made them legions of friends, including many of the children and grandchildren of those who have frequented the café for decades.

The couple met while at Florida State University and then moved to Atlanta, where Fred was food and beverage manager of a fivestar restaurant, working seven days, leaving work in the wee hours of each morning and returning before lunchtime. In 1989, when they got a call asking if they might be interested in coming back to Tallahassee to become a partner in the Uptown, they didn’t have to be asked

twice. And by the early 1990s they were the sole owners of the small café on College Avenue in downtown.

“It was kind of risky,” remembers Fred of the decision to purchase the café. “We weren’t savvy business people at the time. We just knew it was a good fit for us.”

Using savings and taking out a loan, although they can’t remember exactly how big that was, they bought the business “on a shoestring,” and with faith it would work out for them.

“Used restaurant equipment isn’t worth a lot,” said Beth. “Mostly what you’re paying for is the name and the good will. That’s particularly

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true with restaurants, and that’s what makes it kind of scary.”

But the new business helped them spend more time with their kids, and that was a big plus. Instead of working seven days a week, it was now five. And they were home by 5 p.m.

“It was like a normal life, it was great,” said Fred. Added Beth, “We raised our family, have a great marriage and a great life. And the restaurant’s been a part of that the whole time.”

Downtown Then Midtown Workers in downtown Tallahassee often eat lunch at their desk, and the Uptown was glad to oblige them with delivery, the first restaurant in the area to do so. Noting that the area’s notorious lack of parking quickly eliminated the idea of using cars to deliver, the Tedios instead hired runners who quickly became a familiar sight on downtown sidewalks during the lunch rush.

“They were primarily athletic jocks who loved to run,” Fred said. “They’d have competitions to see how fast they could deliver a sandwich from College Avenue to the Department of Education building and back — and we’d have stop watches. It was fun.”

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Business was brisk, with lines often going out the door. Fred would hand write the tickets, but the faster he wrote, the sloppier his handwriting got. “The kids working in the back would ask, ‘What does this order say?’ We called it Fred Font,” he said with a laugh. “But that’s what happens when you’re by yourself, and you’re trying to do as much as possible, fast.”

By the late 1990s, business was “very, very good,” and it was time to expand. The perfect spot opened up on Miccosukee Road across from Tallahassee Memorial, and a second café was opened there in April 2000.

But road construction started a short time after they moved in, and business ground nearly to a halt. Undaunted, the Tedios quickly started thinking outside the box. When other businesses left their building, they offered to fix up the rooms for the landlord if they could then use them rent-free. One office became a location for lunch meetings. A pastry shop that didn’t survive became their catering kitchen.

“We went out looking for lots of big catering jobs, and once the construction was over, we were poised for the next chapter,” Beth remembered. “When the going gets tough, you just dig

850businessmagazine.com

Tedio’s Tips For Success Don’t be afraid of work. >> K eep your humor. Life is short. >> H e who hesitates is lost. >> I f you have an idea and you think it’s absurd, at least explore it. >> T hink outside the box. >> T reat your staff well. >>

in and work harder. All small businesses are the same — you can work your own hours, any 24 hours you want to work!” The catering business continues to thrive.

During the same time period they were looking to buy the building on College Avenue, but the pre-recession prices were sky high and the cost just wasn’t worth it.

“It was the heyday of market prices and everyone downtown thought their buildings were made of gold,” said Fred. “Being in that building

for the number of years we had been, we knew every crack in the roof, every leak in the plumbing, so we were realistic about the purchase.�

So, in 2003, they made the sad decision to close the downtown location that had helped them get through the financial tough times and shifted focus from downtown to Midtown.

Planning Ahead Fred Tedio is a firm believer in keeping everything in perspective and having foresight. This, he knows, has helped his business survive — because “the tough decisions aren’t there when you’re ahead of the curve. You see them coming, and you’re prepared.�

One of the first things staffers are taught when they come to work at Uptown is Fred’s Seven P’s: Prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance. “Basically, I tell them to look at the future and plan ahead,� he said. “In our business, we don’t want to fly by the seat of our pants. And that’s a life lesson you can use everywhere. I want kids to learn.�

When the Great Recession hit in 2008, Uptown was feeling it like everyone else. How

to draw in more customers? Change breakfast from a continental affair to a full-scale menu, spearheaded by son Nic. Fred also constantly reminds his workers that Uptown is a family cafĂŠ. “I want you to call our customers by their first name. I want you to learn about them.â€?

So, no surprise then that regular customers will be greeted with a shout-out when they come in for breakfast or lunch, and the staff will know their favorite order.

The place bustles at lunch. And still among the most popular go-to Uptown sandwiches are the Greek Garden and the Ruby Diamond, named after the Ruby Diamond, who once owned the College Avenue building where the cafĂŠ was located.

The breakfast business meanwhile has blossomed. Uptown has become a popular gathering spot for the political and community elite at breakfast on the weekdays. Beth calls it “The Hub� because “you walk in and Bryan Desloge is here, Gil Ziffer is here, Jane Marks, the whole Proctor family, Laurie Dozier.�

Adds Fred, “It’s mostly old Tallahassee, businessmen who talk about politics and what’s happening

in town. They move from table to table. You can say something and get them all riled up — and the dust won’t settle for a long time!�

Both have been involved in various aspects of the community, from the Humane Society to Rotary, so it’s no surprise their restaurant has attracted that kind of clientele.

Weekends are different, however, offering more of a small town neighborhood cafĂŠ vibe.

Among the popular items is the BD omelet, which mixes the Greek Garden and Bradley’s country sausage. (It was named after Leon County Commissioner Bryan Desloge because customers were always asking, “What is he eating?�) “It’s such a great feel. People bring their dogs, they laugh and kid around. It’s such a relaxed atmosphere,� said Fred.

With a smile on his face, he paused a moment for reflection and added, “I have found my niche.

I see so many folks searching for theirs. I am fortunate.�

The Uptown will officially celebrate its 30th anniversary on Nov. 30, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, with a festival-themed street party at the Miccosukee Road cafĂŠ.

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EMERALD COAST Corridor

Coastal Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa + Walton Counties

The Art of Living in Ruskin Place Seaside neighborhood is a blended canvas

By Jennifer Howard

U

nique places often fill the roles of characters in literature and films. Think New Orleans in “A Streetcar Named Desire” or New York City in “Sex and the City.” Ruskin Place, Seaside’s artist colony, played the part of a business district in the 1998 satirical comedy “The Truman Show,” filmed in the New Urban town.

In real life, Ruskin Place’s credits include a variety of starring roles: business district, residential neighborhood, vacation destination and event venue. With frequently divergent goals, this combination does not often profitably coexist outside of densely urban places, or shopping districts with traditions that have managed to survive from days gone by. In Seaside, the multiple shades of neighborhoods blend to create a vibrantly colored canvas that attracts residents, artists, businesses and visitors.

“It sets up a pretty interesting dynamic,” says David Bailey, Seaside town manager. Residents like the quiet aura of the neighborhood, the sense that it’s a shady spot away from the hustle and bustle of beach visitors, as well as the automobile traffic they generate. Gallery owners and artists like to host events, bring in live music and raise the retail profile of the district, driven by the widely accepted belief that Ruskin shops capture about 20 percent of the shoppers that visit Seaside’s downtown and beachside stores. Homeowners who rent their upper two stories to vacationers also weigh in. “It’s an interesting mix of combinations,” says Bailey.

Ruskin Place was intended to be the town’s “hardest working” neighborhood by design. Seaside founder Robert Davis recalls, “The original idea for Ruskin Place was for a workshop district with artisans living above ground floor workspace dedicated to woodworking, potting, metalwork, etc. The central space would be used to hawk the crafts to Sunday morning

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churchgoers. The Chapel, located beyond Ruskin Place, was designed to be a beacon, clearly visible from Central Square and drawing people back into Ruskin Place.”

Ruskin Place is geographically in the center of Seaside. According to Glenn Seawell — a Ruskin Place owner, full-time resident and the self-proclaimed mayor of the New Urban town — the neighborhood is a midpoint of the town, with about 40 acres on either side of it. A line from the Seaside Post Office flagpole to the town Chapel, which sits to the north, goes directly down the center of Ruskin Place, dividing the town into equal east and west areas.

From its inception, Ruskin Place was envisioned to be a little looser, a bit more creative than the town’s other neighborhoods. Twenty reinforced concrete townhouses, each three stories and some with rooftop terraces, were built one by one, each with its own character. The lots first went on sale in 1991, priced at $50,000 for end sites and $40,000 for interior ones. Parking is in the rear, accessed by alleys on either side of the neighborhood. Roof decks offer a view of the rooftops of Seaside, with the Gulf of Mexico in the distance. “My roof terrace was featured in the New York Times’ Homes Beautiful section in 1996,” Seawell said.

The three-level townhouses that comprise the Seaside neighborhood share an architectural design known as live/work. The ground floor was envisioned as a shop of some kind, and the two floors above are residential.

The plan is based on the notion that shop owners could live above their workplace or studio. The ground floor entrance is level with the grade of the land, without steps, to encourage walk-in traffic.

For 22 years, he has leased the first-floor shop in his home to Annette Trujillo, owner of Newbill Collection by the Sea gallery. The entrance to the

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

photo by Modus Photography

A Vibrant Canvas Visitors are attracted to the varied artistic offerings at this shady spot away from the beachside hustle and bustle.

residence is tucked off to one side, with steps or an elevator to the top levels.

“It’s very private,” he said. “I can come and go as needed.”

The center of Ruskin Place is filled with a landscaped park, an event stage and the sculpture-filled Fairy Park, where many a youngster has run among the twisted scrub oaks in pursuit of imaginary creatures, friends or siblings.

The park and stage were created with money “The Truman Show” producers paid for use of the district as a setting. “Much of ‘The Truman Show’ was filmed in Ruskin Place,” said Lori Leath Smith, Seaside’s director of public relations and marketing. “The homeowners have worked hard to beautify the district. With the living space on the upper floors, they have tried to landscape so that trees are what you see when you look out of the windows.”

A stage sits where star Jim Carrey’s office was located during the filming of the movie. With what Seawall described as “surround-sound for blankets,” the event plaza cum park has an unusual broadcast system mixed for optimal sound for those seated on blankets on the ground.

Part of Seawell’s portfolio as “mayor” and self-described “town character,” is to provide the Saturday music in Fairy Park. He opens his home’s second level doors to the balcony and broadcasts Chris Botti recordings from his sound system. If he forgets or is running a bit late, he is reminded by folks tossing pine cones at his window.

It was the neighborliness of Ruskin Place that first drew in gallery owners Michael and Laura Granberry some eight years ago. “We lived in Seagrove and used to ride our bikes through Ruskin Place,” Michael Granberry said. “The people there were always sitting outside, having parties. They invited us to stop and join them a few times. We became friends, learning the oral history

of it. When the opportunity arose, we opened our art gallery there.”

With tongue firmly in cheek, he added, “We like to call it ‘The Shady Side of Seaside.’ ” Granberry said most of the galleries expanded their offerings a bit during the recent economic downturn, adding in more gift items. The shops came to depend more on events such as the monthly First Friday Art Walks and live music to encourage people to wind their way back to the neighborhood. “We even had a margarita stand to raise money for the Artist Guild,” he said, referring to the organization formed to promote the artists.

The increase in retail activity spurred the artistic entrepreneurs to expand to Seaside’s Downtown district, opening a shop called Art Is Simple that offers creative gifts and fun antiques. Meanwhile, their Ruskin Place shop, Simple Designs, will return to its earlier concept, operating along the lines of a more traditional art gallery. The Granberrys plan to rotate exhibits of regional artisans and artists on a four- to six-week schedule, showcasing a broad definition of art with everything from sculpture to chocolate and leather.

“Hizzoner” Glenn Seawell said that Seaside homeowners who were recently surveyed cited Ruskin Place Park as their favorite spot in the holiday town. “The future of Ruskin Place Park? Leave it alone,” Seawell said.

“Just let it age gracefully.”

A bit of pentimento from Ruskin Place’s film star past still fades through into its present day neighborhood canvas. Savvy visitors to the artist colony can spot a sign on one of the homes that reads, “Rubeo Architects.” No such architectural group exists. The sign is a prop left over from the neighborhood’s more youthful days on the big screen.

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BAY Corridor

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Panama City, Panama City Beach + Bay County Counties

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Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

Touring Professional Crook Stewart keeps rockers rollin’

By Steve Bornhoft

“Art Garfunkel.”

‘Ghetto Palace’ Himself a drummer, Crook Stewart likes to gather local musicians at his home for jam sessions and, hopefully, inspiration.

It’s the name that Crook Stewart III mentions first when asked the dinner party question: You and five guests, living or dead, who would they be?

“And Keith Richards would be a heckuva character to invite. Buddy Rich, he had a short temper and there might be fisticuffs, but I’d make a place for him. We’d need to bring a pacifist in, and that would be Joan Baez. Jackson Browne is always good for fascinating conversation. And, my wife, Vickie, of course, she’d be there; I’m no dummy.”

But what causes Garfunkel to leap to mind?

“He’s a bit neurotic,” Stewart says, “and he has an intriguing, challenging persona. I’ll give you an example.”

Stewart excuses himself, retreats to a closet and emerges seconds later with a framed email message from Garfunkel. Stewart had been tabbed to manage a tour for Garfunkel and had arrangements well in hand before hearing from the performer. In the message, Garfunkel lists a string of positive developments that had occurred in his life, suggesting that he was on a roll. He then admonishes Stewart, a man he had never seen: “Don’t ruin it.”

“You know, Art doesn’t have a lot of faith in people,” Stewart says. “But because he has a reputation for being difficult, I thought it would look good to have him on my resume. I figured people would say, ‘If you can work with that guy, you can work with anybody.’ I don’t go looking for exacting bosses, but difficult people need services, too.”

Since 1989, Stewart, 56, has made his living as a tour manager, understanding and meeting the needs of artists including Baez; Garfunkel; Crosby, Stills and Nash; and, recently, the Rolling Stones. Performers at their level maintain entourages that include both production managers and tour managers.

Production managers swap trucks out of bays and ensure that lighting and sound systems and other gear is properly set up. The tour manager, Stewart says, is the interface that connects concert venues with acts.

“Basically, I make sure the artists and band members are so comfortable that the only thing they have to worry about is stepping on that stage and putting on the best show they can,” Stewart summarizes his role. He meets needs and wants, ranging from the elemental to the incidental to the idiosyncratic.

In his first media interview, Stewart confirms, for a moment, the presumption that he works with a lot of prima donnas, but then retracts that assessment. They are not prima donnas, he says, so much as they are perfectionists who care deeply about their art.

Even Keith Richards, the grizzled Stones guitarist whose narcotics consumption is the stuff of legend.

Stewart assisted the Stones’ logistics director late last year when Mick et al performed two concerts in London and three in the Greater New York City area. (They also joined in “12-12-12,” the concert for Superstorm Sandy relief.)

The septuagenarian, arthritic Richards, Stewart said, ran a mile before every performance and worked out daily in a dance studio. And the Stones “rehearse, rehearse, rehearse,” Stewart discovered.

“They are a tightly knit, tightly run organization that puts on a tremendous show.”

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Too, there is nothing sloppy about Stewart. While he looks like the Cowardly Lion and has a sweet disposition, he confronts challenges with confidence, drinks little and knows that to satisfy perfectionists, you must be one. It helps, too, that he is a drummer, accounting for his interest in Buddy Rich.

His residence, which he calls the Ghetto Palace, is a block building that housed a hurricane shutter manufacturing business in its previous life. Located in the downtrodden community of Springfield near Panama City, it is given today to contemporary living quarters upstairs and, on the ground floor, a performance space with a band stand, stripper’s pole and lighted Christmas tree suspended upside down from the ceiling yearround. As often as he is in town, Stewart gathers local musicians for jam sessions and hopes they find inspiration there.

“When I saw that show, I made the determination right then and there that I wanted to be in the music business.”

Crook Stewart III

The Beginning

A Peter Frampton concert at Panama City’s Marina Civic Center when Stewart was in high school proved to be seminal in his life.

“When I saw that show, I made the determination right then and there that I wanted to be in the music business,” Stewart recalls. “At the time, I thought I wanted to play for the rest of my life. But after 10 years on the road, I figured out that there was a better way to slay that animal.”

Stewart had plans to pursue a music degree at North Texas State University, but his mother convinced him to enroll at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City. He found, however, that the music program there was several beats behind the one he had enjoyed at Rutherford High School.

So, Stewart didn’t hesitate when a few older guys with whom he’d played in a bar band named Summerstock announced they had landed a gig in Charleston, S.C., and invited him to go along. The road was about to become his home.

Stewart would get into assembling and managing his own bands and came to play the larger clubs in the Atlanta area.

“I had a big public-address system, big lights, big sound, a truck and two guys and a girl to set it all up and tear it back down,” Stewart recalls. Then came a calamitous month in which Stewart blew a truck engine and several speakers. He looked at his books and realized he was paying to play; there had to be a better way.

Already, the sound technician for the band and Stewart had been building speaker cabinets in their spare time. Now, they went about building a reputation for high quality PA systems. Their business grew so much so that the two men set up shop in an old paint-and-body shop at Peachtree and Piedmont roads in Atlanta. They landed a contract to build speakers for the Georgia World Congress Center and were turning out 50 speakers a week for Smart Theater Systems, but a steady diet of sawdust soon grew tiresome.

Stewart missed the music, and the music came back to him.

A woman who had been his drum technician and lighting specialist was working for a local stagehand crew. She got jobs for Stewart and his partner in the speaker cabinet business working the Jackson 5’s 1984 “Victory Tour” stop at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. Stewart helped assemble steel towers at either side of the stage, demonstrated that he had no fear of heights and one job led to another. He caught on at the Omni in Atlanta, the

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Art Garfunkel of rigging jobs due to its unique ceiling structure. (If you can rig there, you can rig anywhere.)

Over the next few years, Stewart’s role with the crew evolved to include “settling the shows,” that is, paying the stage hands in a manner similar to sharing up tips at a restaurant at the end of the night. He was moving now from brawn work to brainwork. He attracted the attention of Jeff Jackson, the production manager and lighting director for the band, 38 Special, who judged Stewart to have the potential to become a good tour manager.

“He told me one time,” Stewart says, “that if he ever had the chance to put my hat in the ring for a tour manager job, he would.”

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Shifting Gears

In 1989, Jackson learned that Joan Baez needed a tour manager, and he encouraged Stewart to pursue the job. Ten days after submitting the first resume he had ever cobbled together, Stewart had heard nothing, but had the temerity to pick up the phone and talk his way into an interview with Baez’s chief handler in Manhattan.

Stewart, who had never been across the MasonDixon Line, booked a flight to Newark, N.J. — it was cheaper than flying into New York. Before departing, he checked the weather in the Northeast and decided to tuck an umbrella into his briefcase.

“I took the Port Authority bus over to the city and walked to the manager’s office in Manhattan,” Stewart recalls. “We sat down to lunch and he said something about the rain, and I pulled out my umbrella and said, ‘Always prepared.’ That stuck with him, and to this day he tells me that the umbrella was one of the main reasons he hired me.”

Stewart’s first show with Baez was in Portland, Ore., just a few days after the San Francisco earthquake. From there, Baez and company crossed the country in the course of a three-month tour. After just three shows, Baez turned to Stewart and said she wanted him to go with her to Europe a year later.

Stewart counts Baez as a good friend, but says he is careful never to embark on close relationships with the artists who employ him. Still, Baez turned sentimental when Stewart decided to move on. She presented him with a record album on which she had written a tender, if awkwardly phrased, note containing an odiferous word-choice problem.

“Crook: Is this really happening?” she wrote. “Life on the road will never be as totally together, effluent, charmed and generally killer as it will when you move on. I love you and all you’ve done for me over these last 19 years. I will see you in the future. Joan” Stewart worked for Baez for 19 years, finally departing to take up with Jackson Browne, not because anything was wrong with his relationship with her, but purely because Baez was slowing down and he needed to work more. In recent years, Crosby, Stills and Nash have provided Stewart with steady work, including 90 shows in 2012, alone.

Even when tour-managing a pacifist, there was “always something,” Stewart says, including encounters with bootlegging Berliners and Bob Dylan.

The Wall had just come down, and Baez was playing the Palace of the Republic in what had been East Berlin. Stewart’s sound tech had become uncomfortable, sensing that local crew members were up to something

photos courtesy of Crook Stewart III (top); John Russo

On Stage To Backstage Stewart started in music playing the drums and eventually became a tour manager for stars like Joan Baez and Jackson Browne.

shady. Stewart investigated and found that they were bootlegging Baez’s performance by recording it on reel-to-reel machines. Stewart summoned the show’s promoter, who was from the west and only too happy to bust the eastern offenders.

“He confronted them, and there was a lot of language that was terse that I didn’t understand, but we ended up leaving there with the tapes and they (the tapes, not the bootleggers) ended up getting thrown off a bridge,” Stewart remembers.

Stewart has encountered Dylan only once.

Baez, Dylan and Van Morrison were playing a festival in Tramore, Ireland. It had been 10 years since Dylan and Baez, at one time close, had spoken. Stewart was sitting in a dressing room with Joan and her manager when Dylan’s manager knocked on the door.

“Bob would like to say hello to Joan if that’s OK,” Dylan’s manager said and then, suddenly, Dylan was in the room.

“He gave Joan a big hug and picked her up off the floor,” Stewart recalls.

“And the first words out of his mouth after those 10 years were, ‘Boy, you’ve put on some weight.’ I’m thinking what a jerk. He’s not Rico Suave by any means.”

Stewart, polite by comparison, apologizes. His cell phone is flashing

and it’s a call he must take from a man named Buddha who works for Graham Nash.

A philanthropist had agreed to fly Nash, who would then be in the midst of a tour, from Jacksonville, Fla., to Boston so that he could make commencement remarks and receive an honorary degree at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. But the arrangement, Buddah reports, has fallen through.

“We’re gonna need somebody else with a big heart and a plane,” Stewart mutters to himself, and presently he is at work on it.

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forgotten coast Corridor

Gulf, Franklin + Wakulla Counties

Restoring a Local Landmark The Dixie Theatre is alive with arts and culture

O

pened in 1913 by ex-sponge diver Alex Fortuna, the Dixie Theatre celebrates its 100-year anniversary this year. In the old days, the theater was a vaudeville house and a roadhouse, with local attractions and talent. After closing in 1967 this local historic landmark stood vacant for about 25 years until Rex and Cleo Partington bought it in 1994.

The Partingtons had been in theater all their lives. Rex was the producing artistic director of the Barter Theatre in Virginia, and Cleo was (and still is) an actress. In 1982, they came to St. George Island on vacation and saw the theater for the first time. Their hope was to reopen the Dixie to bring arts and culture to an underserved community.

Their daughter and the current owner, Dixie Partington, recalled that her father took the theater’s name as a sign.

“They wandered into town to have dinner at the grill, and he saw this building … and he saw the sign in the building next door. Upstairs there was a window that said ‘Dixie Theatre Offices,’ and he thought that was an omen.” But they would not buy the theater until years later, after Rex had retired and daughter Dixie could come to Apalachicola to help.

When she first came to see the theater in March of 1993, Dixie Partington, then 33 years old, was admittedly not impressed.

“There were a lot of things boarded up, and I said, ‘This looks like where you come to die,’ ” she recalled.

But on her second trip to Apalachicola (after her parents begged her to think the project over

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one more time), Partington saw the town in a new light. She had been planning to move back north but realized that a small town was just the change of pace she needed; she didn’t actually want the traffic and claustrophobia of bigger cities.

In January of 1994 the Partingtons bought the Dixie Theatre for $36,000, securing a revolving loan from the city and a loan from the Gulf State Community Bank for over half a million dollars to complete the construction and renovation.

Construction began in 1997, and the theater opened the following summer.

“We bought what was left of the theater and the property from the city of Apalachicola and proceeded to do the renovation, which took about five years, before we opened in 1998.

Unfortunately, what we didn’t know … was that we could have gotten some help and funding from Historic Preservation, but you have to keep the front facade.”

Cliff Butler, the former president of Gulf State Community Bank, was the banker who handled the loan. He believed the project would be beneficial to the community, due to the highly visible downtown location.

“As a community bank … we viewed it as a way of serving the community, so we didn’t have any reservations,” he said. But he doesn’t think the Partingtons anticipated the project being as expensive as it turned out “Due to several delays they ran into, and changes in the economy, several grants were not available that had been when they started,” he recalled.

The original structure had been far from sound. While it was restored to look as close as

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possible to the original, the only remaining parts of the old theater are its back and side walls.

At first, the theater ran summer seasons. But Partington realized most people prefer to fish or do outdoor activities during a summer visit to Apalachicola. It took some experimenting, but eventually she discovered the theater’s audience niche.

“This is a town of 2,300 people, and they’re not our audience. After 10 years I realized that the snowbirds are our audience. They love it,” she said, adding that many also come from Tallahassee and Port St. Joe. The theater’s first winter season ran 2004–2005 — the year her father officially transferred the theater to her.

Interestingly, the economic downturn did not have a significant impact on business.

“People who enjoy live theater and live music and productions, they’re going to find a way,” Partington said. “We did well this past season.”

Anita Grove, executive director of the Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce, said the theater has also helped nearby businesses — particularly restaurants — by attracting customers.

“It does attract people here,” said Grove, who has known and worked with Dixie Partington for about 17 years. “Several restaurants that have been next door do benefit by it.”

She explained that the theater draws crowds that often encourage nearby eateries to stay open later, catering to theatergoers during intermission and after the performances.

In selecting shows, Partington is a fan of minimalist theater, which uses fewer props and sets and focuses more on the actors themselves. She

Photo courtesy Dixie Partington

By Laura Bradley

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

The Curtain Rises Owner Dixie Partington provides thought-provoking performances for her audiences, which include many snowbirds.

likes “to do things that are thought provoking. I don’t want to just do fluff.”

The Dixie Theatre has done an array of theatrical productions, including musicals and comedies. Actors come from a variety of places; some are local but most are national acts from places like New York, California and Ohio. (Her mother Cleo, now in her eighties, still acts in many of the productions.)

The Dixie, with its near perfect acoustics, also hosts a lot of musical performances. One longtime act is acclaimed ragtime musician and concert pianist Bob Milne.

“Bob was general admission in the beginning, and his tickets were $7. Eventually we became reserved seats for him, and then the ticket prices

went up. Now folks are paying $25 for reserved seats for this man,” Partington said.

In addition to Milne, the Dixie Theatre also hosts various tribute artists of such icons as Elvis Presley and Patsy Kline, as well as other miscellaneous genres like folk and Latin music.

In 1915, as movies gained in popularity, the theater became a cinema and remained that way until it was shuttered in 1967.

In 2004, the Partingtons began showing movies at the Dixie again, largely with a focus on family-oriented movies. The movies were not as lucrative as hoped, as people continued to make trips to Panama City, and movie studios take a good chunk of ticket profits. But Partington remembers seeing the real reward on children’s

faces, as some had seen a movie in a theater for the first time at the Dixie.

“We’ll probably try to show films again at some point,” she said after some thought. But this time they would be older movies that have stood the test of time, in keeping with the theater’s classic atmosphere.

The Dixie Theatre is also host to many local community events, including dog shows, local children’s dance productions, performances by the Panhandle Players and the Florida Humanities Council. And some couples have even chosen the local landmark as their wedding venue, saying their vows center-stage in their very own wedding production.

Running the theater can be overwhelming, Partington confessed, especially as grants and funding for nonprofits can be difficult to come by. But there are some helpful funding sources, including the local tourist development council and Visit Florida.

At the end of the day, however, money is tight. “It’s a not-for-profit. It’s a labor of love,” Partington explained, adding with a laugh that she will be about 83 when the theater’s loans are paid in full. Her father had been paying on the interest for years, and some time after he passed the theater to his daughter, the bank allowed her to begin paying on the principal.

Today Butler still considers the project a valuable one.

“I think they’ve done a wonderful job of serving the community over the years,” he said. The theater has served as an introduction to performing arts for local youth — an introduction that can later shape the direction they take in their careers. One former student usher, he recalled, now works in video production — a career Butler believes was inspired (at least in part) by his introduction to performing arts through the theater.

Grove sees the theater as one of a few local treasures that is moving Apalachicola forward on its own unique path of growth — preserving the past while still looking toward the future. “It took a dreamer like Rex Partington to make it happen,” she said. “He felt like this community was worth investing a lot of money in … he certainly saw the potential of this area early on.”

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i-10 Corridor

Northern Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa + Walton Counties and Holmes, Washington, Calhoun, Jackson + Liberty Counties

Churning Ice Cream Into Good Business Couple combines family dairy products with local produce for unique offerings

By Shannon Clinton

W

hen searching for a new direction to take the family dairy business, one Marianna family decided to think outside the milk box and delve inside the ice cream carton, with their own line of artisan ice cream and a uniquely Northwest Florida flavor.

Lauren O’Bryan had grown up alongside her sister, Meghan, helping out their parents Cindy and Dale Eade on the Marianna dairy farm they

founded in 1994, Cindale Farms. O’Bryan had entered the wine sales business years earlier, first while living in North Carolina and later Athens, Ga., while her husband, Zachary, trained as a helicopter pilot.

The couple had discussed launching a new business venture that would enable them to spend more time together — and they found it after the Eades asked them for new ideas to use the dairy’s products to promote local agriculture and forge meaningful relationships with vendors, customers and retailers.

“Ice cream made a lot of sense, because we both really like to cook,” Lauren said. “Ice cream is one of those things we knew we could make flavors you couldn’t find anywhere else and develop a passionate fan base.”

From the outset, the goal for Southern Craft Creamery was to minimize debt, so the couple pooled

Homegrown Goodness Local ingredients like peanuts, sweet corn and Satsuma oranges make this ice cream unique.

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available financial resources from family members, including the Eades, and sister and brother-in-law Meghan and Brad Austin. They considered applying for a few agricultural grants but didn’t find any suitable for their venture and its needs.

When it was time to become experts, the O’Bryans in late 2011 attended an intensive three-day course at the University of Wisconsin to learn about the processes and science behind making ice cream. In 2012, Lauren completed a weeklong ice cream making class at Penn State University.

Although she learned how to make ice cream with processes and additives for greater heat resistance during shipping, Lauren and Zachary wanted their ice cream to be non-homogenized and contain simple ingredients without artificial stabilizers. Through trial and error they experimented for a year to perfect their own recipe, with the proper taste and texture.

Meanwhile, they established their headquarters in a former peanut warehouse on Franklin Street in downtown Marianna, leasing space from family friend Rex Wimberly, who owns a construction firm and built dairy barns for Cindale Farms in the past. He handled renovations to the creamery’s work areas to meet industry specifications for drainage and sanitation and to accommodate their equipment. The space includes a small business office and separate test kitchen.

Lauren said finding the right tools for their trade took quite a bit of research as U.S.-made ice cream equipment is typically manufactured for large-batch enterprises. They wanted to start out with smaller, more quality controlled batches.

European equipment is made in smaller sizes but isn’t approved for use here. Finally, they

found a batch freezer manufacturer in Florida, Emory Thompson, and located a custom maker of pasteurizing and aging tanks equipment in Maryland that could finish the tanks in three months’ time.

While setting up the mechanics of their new business, the O’Bryans sought out and selected seasonal and locally sourced ingredients for their frozen products, including peanuts, Satsuma oranges, strawberries, sweet corn, blueberries and Tupelo honey. The aim was to ensure the flavors complement, not mask, the fresh milk flavor from the family’s own Jersey cow herd.

Mack Glass, owner of Cherokee Satsumas in Marianna, will provide oranges each November and December for Southern Craft Creamery’s Satsuma Ginger Sorbet. He’s known the Eades family for years, as he also raises cows.

“Lauren did call me about my satsumas to use in her ice cream and came out and bought a few boxes at the very end of the season last year,” he said, adding that he’s tasted and enjoyed the finished product.

He said he appreciates that the O’Bryans handwrite the farm name, geographic location and produce used in the ice cream on their labels.

“There are so many small producers who don’t get noticed,” Lauren explained.

The handwritten labels are as much about economy as to underscore the artisan nature of the business. Pint-sized ice cream cartons and printed labels are “extraordinarily expensive” to order in small quantities, Zachary said, about twice as much as the cost of the ice cream itself. With a bit of creativity and additional labor, they’ve kept costs down by handstamping labels and hand writing the flavor varieties on each.

“For startup it was great, because it was affordable and feasible,” Zachary said.

The couple also designed their own marketing materials with descriptions of their ice cream flavors and the company’s history.

The selling of the ice cream began in early spring 2013, with Zachary handling accounting, Lauren tackling sales and customer service and both sharing duties making ice cream at least five days a week, along with packaging and distribution responsibilities.

At the suggestion of a vendor, they began

Photos by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

making calls to local restaurants along 30A in South Walton County before the busy summer season kicked in. They quickly signed on with four stores and five restaurants in the 30A area of Santa Rosa Beach — and The Pearl Resort, which opened in the summer — while also penning deals with select stores in Fountain, Chipley, Marianna and Tallahassee.

They don’t want their products sold in every market or restaurant, carefully identifying, soliciting and handpicking their retail and restaurant customers to ensure they will be a good fit. During sales meetings, they offer tasting samples.

One of their product’s retailers is Modica Market in Seaside, where Manager Carmel Modica said the ice cream has become a strong seller, with samples sometimes offered at the sales counter.

“The samples were good, she was local and I wanted to help (Lauren) out,” Modica said.

“Everybody buys more than two. When they buy them, they always buy several.”

Every business day can dawn with new and unforeseen challenges, but what Lauren and Zachary really underestimated was the demand for their ice cream and how tirelessly they’d

have to work to keep pace with orders. While the couple now spends more time together, they said it’s often spent working, noting they hadn’t really had a day off in several months.

“It’s a good problem to have — the demand kind of caught us by surprise,” Zachary said. “We weren’t prepared for that.”

They aren’t drawing a paycheck yet, instead reinvesting revenues back into the business during this rapid growth period. Once income stabilizes and sustains, they plan to hire some drivers for distribution, but ideally those workers will have additional roles in the creamery, helping make the ice cream and offering fresh suggestions for new varieties.

The goal is to keep a distribution radius within 250 miles of Marianna while building and maintaining their market share, without trying to compete with or imitate big-name ice cream manufacturers.

The family purposely takes a “cheese and wine” approach to making their ice cream, by designing a high-end but accessible treat you’d want to share with friends while also sharing the story behind the ice cream and its local ingredients.

Explained Lauren, “We’re making a different ice cream and changing people’s idea of what ice cream can be.”

A Family Affair Lauren and Zach O’Bryan use milk from the family dairy herd as the base for their ice cream.

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BUSINESS NEWS

Capital

>> Dr. Chris DeRosier, a board-certified plastic surgeon, has joined Southeastern Plastic Surgery.

New Beginnings >> A new leadership team has been installed at the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/ Leon County Inc., led by Kyle Touchstone as executive vice president and Ben Pingree, the new vice president of Business Retention/Expansion and Public Policy. >> Government affairs firm Ballard Partners has added a new partner, Brad Burleson, to its Tallahassee team. >> Amanda Karioth Thompson has been named interim executive director of the Council on Culture and Arts.

Thompson

>> Tim Nungesser is the new legislative director of the National Federation of Independent Business/ Florida.

>> Matt Ham has opened the Computer Repair Doctor on E. Tennessee St. across from Leon High School, specializing in laptop and iPhone repairs. >> Charles Belvin Productions and Chucha Barber Productions have combined resources and launched a new website, impactvisualmedia.com, to promote their services. >> Nick Waller, former general manager of WCTV (Tallahassee/Thomasville) and WSWG (Moultrie/ Albany), is now the senior vice president of Gray Television and will oversee all TV stations in the South and East, including WCTV. General Sales Manager Heather Peeples has been picked to succeed him as general manager of WCTV and WSWG. >> Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A., a professional accounting, assurance and tax services firm headquartered in Tallahassee, has added Becca Gilbert as its new senior manager of marketing and business development. >> Moore Communications Group has promoted Nanette Schimpf, APR, CPRC, to vice president. >> Alex Bello has joined Über Operations as a data integeration engineer. He will be working with the Florida Department of Health to develop a new HIV/AIDS Program Data Reporting System.

>> Tyrone Brooks has joined The Tallahassee Ballet as the artistic director for the 2013– 2014 season. >> Carter DeWitt has been named chief development officer for Florida TaxWatch. Robert E. Weissert has been promoted to chief research officer and general counsel.

Derosier

>> Shawn Roberts, senior project manager with Mad Dog Construction since 2010, has been promoted to chief operating officer.

Local Happenings >> Sachs Media Group is opening a new ofRoberts fice in Washington, D.C. Media relations expert and former journalist Mark Pankowski will head the office. The firm also has offices in Tallahassee and Orlando. >> Ajax Building Corporation has completed the Leon County and City of Tallahassee Public Safety Complex. The $29.9 million, 100,000-square-foot facility is the new home to the Consolidated Dispatch Agency, Leon County Emergency Medical Services, Tallahassee Fire Department Administration, the City of Tallahassee Regional Transportation Management Center and the Leon County Emergency Operations Center. >> TeligentEMS has achieved certification to the ISO 13485 quality standard, an internationally recognized quality standard that requires an organization to demonstrate that it has the comprehensive quality management systems in place to consistently meet the specific customer and regulatory requirements applicable to medical equipment. The company’s customers are in the medical, instrumentation, military, communications and industrial markets.

Legal Affairs

Schimpf

>> Hunter+Harp Hospitality has named Randy Esponda as operating partner of Recess, the only rooftop pool lounge in Northwest Florida, opening this fall in CollegeTown.

>> Former Bankruptcy Judge Lewis M. Killian Jr. has joined Berger Singerman LLP as Of Counsel and a member of the firm’s Business Reorganization Team in the Tallahassee office. Killian served as the Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Killian Court for the Northern District of Florida for more than 25 years.

SoundByteS >> Radey Thomas Yon & Clark has launched a new name and brand — Radey Law Firm — to position it for future growth. >> Michael P. Harrell and Marnie L. George have joined the Pennington P.A. Governmental and Legislative Affairs team. Harrell has been named senior government affairs consultant and George has been named government affairs consultant. >> Robert J. Sniffen, managing partner and founder of Sniffen & Spellman P.A., is ranked in Chambers USA 2013. >> Carlton Fields has added Michael “Kip” Krieger as an associate in its Tallahassee office. >> Gregory M. Munson, an attorney and former deputy secretary for water policy with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, has joined the Gunster law firm as a shareholder in its Tallahassee office.

Munson

Local honors

>> Kay Stephenson, co-founder, president and CEO of Datamaxx Group Inc., was recently elected to the board of directors of the Integrated Justice Information Systems (IJIS) Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to uniting the private and public sectors to improve mission-critical information sharing. >> Summit East Technology Park received the 2013 Statewide ENVY Award for commercial developments from Florida Realtors as the commercial developer that has made the most significant contribution toward building in harmony with Florida’s sensitive environment. >> Über Operations is a recipient of the 2013 Florida Companies to WatchSM award, an honor presented

by GrowFL in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation. >> Integrated marketing firm Taproot Creative has been selected as an official honoree in the Law category for the 17th Annual Webby Awards for design and development of the Hopping Green & Sams website, hgslaw.com. >> The Florida Society of Association Executives recently named two Tallahassee business leaders as winners of its 2013 Leadership Awards: James R. Ayotte, CAE, executive director of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association — Executive Member of the Year, and Jim Wacksman, CEO of Association Studios — Rising Star. >> Florida mass care coordinator Michael Whitehead of Tallahassee won the Craig Irwin Memorial Award at the FEMA Region IV annual Individual Assistance Conference in Atlanta. Following a disaster, individual assistance and/or mass care programs coordinate with federal, state, local and voluntary/non-profit entities to provide recovery assistance to survivors. >> The American Red Cross Capital Area Chapter’s

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new board officers are: Chairman — Gregg Patterson, CEO Innovative Management Services; 1st Vice Chair — Sherrie Kishbaugh, senior vice president of operations, Mainline Information Systems; 2nd Vice Chair — Bob Lotane, senior consultant Hill & Knowlton Strategies; 3rd Vice Chair — Felicia Nowels, partner, Akerman Senterfitt; treasurer — Betsy Miller, audit manager, Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. New board members are: Mary Wachob, Capital City Bank; Rob Lane, BB&T; Tom Derzypolski, BowStern.

Appointed by Gov. Scott >> John B. Girdler III and Stanley T. Davis to the Board of Opticianry. Davis, 58, of Tallahassee, is an optician with National Vision Incorporated. Girdler, 48, of Tallahassee, is an optician with Luxottica, Sears Optical. >> Randy Hanna, 55, of Tallahassee, chancellor of the Florida College System, to the board of directors of Workforce Florida Inc. >> Keith Lawson II, 42, of Quincy, owner of the Keith Lawson Company Inc., to the Construction Industry Licensing Board. >> Karen B. Moore, 55, of Tallahassee, CEO of Moore Consulting Group, to the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation. >> Darrell Phillips, 60, of Tallahassee, construction planning and design manager for the Department of Education, to the Florida Building Commission. >> John “Jay” Smith, 39, of Tallahassee, a vice president at Ajax Building Corporation, to the Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure Act Guidelines Task Force. >> Steven Uhlfelder, 67, of Tallahassee, an attorney at Uhlfelder and Associates, to the Children and Youth Cabinet. >> Jonathan E. Walker, 44, of Tallahassee, a licensed massage therapist and president of Jonathan E. Walker & Associates Inc., to the Board of Massage Therapy. >> James T. Watson and Nicholas Pappas, of Tallahassee, to the Board of Athletic Training. Watson, 56, is an athletic trainer and community outreach coordinator at Tallahassee Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy. Pappas, 60, is an athletic trainer with Florida State University. >> Lloyd “Gary” Wright, 71, of Monticello, former president and CEO of Farmers and Merchants Bank, to the North Florida Community College District Board of Trustees.

Emerald Coast New Beginnings >> Former Pensacola Mayor Jerry Maygarden is serving as interim president and CEO of the Greater Pensacola Chamber Board of Directors. A former city councilman and state legislator, Maygarden was president and CEO for the Baptist Health Care Foundation and has served as a senior administrator and chief development officer for the Baptist Medical System.

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>> Jim Bagby is the new executive director of the South Walton Tourist Development Council. Bagby’s experience includes 24 years in the U. S. Army with a variety of operational and staff assignments throughout the world. Most recently, he was town manager bagby in Rosemary Beach, one of South Walton’s 16 beach neighborhoods.

Local Happenings >> The Fort Walton Beach Medical Center has opened The Vein Center at FWBMC, an outpatient service dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of Venous Disease and other vascular disorders. >> Pen Air Federal Credit Union has partnered with BALANCE® Financial Fitness Program to provide members with unbiased money management information and services. >> Ron Green, president/CEO and founder of Another Broken Egg Café, has signed a 10-store development agreement with Jake Alleman, franchisee and managing partner of Cojak Investments LLC. The first openings will be in Jacksonville (spring 2014) and Orlando (winter 2014). They are also evaluating locations in Tallahassee, Daytona Beach and Gainesville, and are confirmed to open in Fairhope, Ala., in fall 2014. Cojack Investments owns and operates Another Broken Egg Cafés in Lafayette, La., Panama City Beach and Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Local Honors >> David Whalen, CEO of Twin Cities Hospital in Niceville, and Danny Cain, emergency room director, were recently honored with the Employer Support of Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Patriot Award for their support of employees who serve in the military. >> Twin Cities Hospital, owned by the Hospital Corporation of America, was recently ranked near the top of the list of Florida hospitals for surgery performance in elderly patients, according to a national report from Consumer Reports. >> Gov. Rick Scott in August honored Stan Connally, president and CEO of Gulf Power Company, with the Florida Business Ambassador award, which recognizes economic development leadership. >> Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa has received the prestigious Pinnacle Award for the 10th time from Successful Meetings magazine as one of the 2012 Best Hotels and Resorts. The resort has also been recognized with the TripAdvisor GreenLeader Bronze title for efforts to decrease its carbon footprint and become a more eco-friendly property. >> Mary Ellen O’Hare, information specialist for the Perdido Key Area Chamber of Commerce, has received the Better Business Bureau Foundation of Northwest Florida’s 2013 Customer Service

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Excellence Award for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Local businesses honored with the BBB’s Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics include: Tires Plus, Gulf Breeze; Cronin Construction Inc.; Connell and Manziek Realty Inc.; United Way of Escambia County (nonprofit); and Doodlebuggers Service Network. >> The Greater Pensacola Chamber recently received a national communications award from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives for a newly redesigned website. >> The creative department of Edwin Watts Golf Shops has been honored for the second consecutive year by Graphic Design USA magazine’s American Inhouse Design Awards, receiving eight Certificates of Excellence for outstanding creative campaigns. >> WSRE, PBS for the Gulf Coast, has won a National Telly Award for its historical documentary “Baseball in Pensacola.” The station’s foundation recently announced its new board leadership: Sandy Sims, Gulf Power Company, serving a second term as chair; Michael Johnson, State Farm Insurance, vice-chair; and Stephen Holman, attorney, secretary.

New directors include: Gerald W. Adcox Jr., owner of luxury car dealership Adcox Imports; Tracy Andrews, Navy Federal assistant vice president for Pensacola Consumer/Credit Card Lending Operations; Rick Lambert, financial advisor with Edward Jones Investments; Peg Nickelsen, licensed mental health counselor in private practice for Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church; Mallory Studer, the Studer Group; and Tiffany Washington, certified county and commercial mediator. >> Julian MacQueen, founder of Innisfree Hotels Inc., has been elected to the Gulf Power Company board of directors.

Appointed by Gov. Scott >> Donald Brown and John Tolbert to the MacQueen Florida Building Commission. Brown, 61, of DeFuniak Springs, is former president of First National Insurance Agency. Tolbert, 50, of Navarre, is the building official with Santa Rosa County School District. >> Neil Davis, 75, of Pensacola, associate faculty at the University of West Florida, to the Department of Elder Affairs Advisory Council. >> Jennifer L. Grove, 44, Pensacola, workforce development coordinator of Gulf Power Company, to the board of directors of Workforce Florida Inc. >> Dr. Jonathan D. Miller, 43, Pensacola Beach, psychologist with the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, to the Board of Psychology. >> Timothy S. Pyle, 46, Pensacola, owner of the Gideon Group, to the Board of Dentistry.

BUSINESS NEWS

Bay

business and charities that insist on exceptionally high standards of behavior.

New Beginnings

>> Gulf Coast Medical Center in Panama City, owned by the Hospital Corporation of America, was recently ranked near the top of the list of Florida hospitals for surgery performance in elderly patients, according to a national report from Consumer Reports.

>> Marta Rose has joined Panama City Beach Harley-Davidson to oversee marketing, promotions and special events. >> Amanda W. Jowers, a private banker with Summit Bank since its opening in 2008, has joined the investment advisory team in the Panama City offices of Summit Investment Services. >> Pamela Kidwell, a marketing consultant and small business owner, has been appointed as executive director of the Business Innovation Center at Florida State University Panama City.

Local Honors >> The BBB Foundation serving Northkidwell west Florida recently honored Eurasian Garages Inc. and Roussos Air Conditioning Inc. as recipients of the eighth annual Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. The program recognizes

Appointed by Gov. Scott >> Ray Dubuque, 63, of Panama City, a retiree who previously served as the regional director of external affairs for AT&T, to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.

SoundByteS Team and Farm Credit of Northwest Florida: Miller Family Aquaponics, Escambia County; Killam Farm Inc., Santa Rosa County; Nixon Farms, Okaloosa County; R&R Ranch, Walton County; Barton Family Farm, Holmes County; Davidson Farms, Washington County; Dauphin Farms Inc., Bay County; Bar L Ranch, Jackson County; Oglesby Plants International, Calhoun County; JMAK Farms, Gadsden County; Turkey Hill Farm, Leon County; Wakulla Berries, Wakulla County; Stephen and Tracie Fulford, Jefferson County.

Forgotten Coast New Beginnings

I-10 Local Honors >> David Melvin, president of David H. Melvin Inc. Consulting Engineers, was recently honored by the Chipola Regional Workforce Development Board as the 2012-2013 Employer of the Year. Melvin was selected because of the company’s work with economic development efforts that boost regional employment. The list of projects includes Green Circle, Ice River Springs, Family Dollar and HomeSource International. >> Honored as Northwest Florida 2013 Agricultural Innovators of the Year by the University of Florida/IFAS Panhandle Agriculture Extension

>> Sara Backus has joined Kerigan Marketing Associates Inc., a Port St. Joe-based marketing and advertising agency, as senior designer. She will lead all graphic design and art direction for the company’s creative backus services, which include website design, corporate identity and multi-media advertising.

Compiled by Linda Kleindienst

Business luncheons. Celebratory dinners. Deal-making cocktails.

A sampling of the best fare the region has to offer.

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www.magnoliagrillfwb.com 850 Business Magazine

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The Last Word

We featured former Gov. Charlie Crist on the cover of that first magazine in October of 2008 and thus thought it only fitting to celebrate our fifth anniversary by featuring our current governor, Rick Scott, on the cover of this issue.

(Scott was elected on the promise to bring more jobs to Florida, and as he prepares to run for re-election next year, we decided it was time to sit down with him and talk about what he has done — especially for Northwest Florida.)

I remember being a little reticent about taking on the reins at this magazine, wondering if there were really enough interesting stories in our region to fill six issues a year. Although I’ve lived in Tallahassee since 1981, 27 of those years were spent writing for a South Florida newspaper — and I generally only went out into the Panhandle when a hurricane or some other human or natural disaster hit the area. When I drive by some areas of Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola today, I can still pick out businesses and homes where I stopped to do hurricane-related interviews. (And I’ll never forget driving back and forth over I-10, following Hurricane Elena’s crazy track in 1985.)

Despite my worries, we have found plenty to write about over the years, from the cattle ranches across our region to the banking industry. From the fishing and tourism industries scrabbling for survival after the BP oil spill to the resurgence of the real estate market; from a hardworking farmer in rural Marianna to a bank president in Tallahassee.

Northwest Florida is a vibrant region of our state, filled with a wide range of interesting and enterprising entrepreneurs that include dairy farmers, morticians, chefs, mayors, food truck vendors, realtors, hunting guides, marina

In looking back, I thought it would be fun to pick out some of our favorite covers, all shot by our staff photographer, Scott Holstein. We each had several, and we often picked the same ones. So, let’s just say these are among our favorites over the years.

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operators, airport and port directors, economic development officials … and the list goes on.

As we wrote about these people, their businesses and trends within the region, we were honored with a host of awards from the Florida Magazine Association and the Society of Professional Journalists for providing the best written and best overall magazine. This year again 850 took top honors in the Sunshine State Awards as the best trade/special interest publication in Florida. I couldn’t be prouder!

We couldn’t produce this magazine without help from you, the readers. We depend on you to help us find those special stories that need to be told, the people who are forging ahead with new business ideas or those who have been building their businesses and reputations for decades. Please keep those ideas coming. You can post them on our Facebook page, 850 — The Business Magazine of Northwest Florida, or reach out to us through LinkedIn at 850 Business Magazine Group. And you can always send me an email at lkleindienst@rowlandpublishing.com.

Here’s to the next five years!

LINDA KLEINDIENST, EDITOR lkleindienst@rowlandpublishing.com

Photo by kay Meyer

Hard to believe it’s been five years since the first issue of 850 was published. It’s been quite a trip. I’ve learned a lot about Northwest Florida in that time — and I hope you have too.

Walton Monk and Paul Watts, CEO Electronet Broadband Communications

RE AL CUSTOMERS . RE AL ISSUES . RE AL SOLUTIONS .

For many years, we have used Electronet as our Internet service provider. We were hoping to improve our telephone experience, so we inquired about their business bundle. Electronet was able to bundle our voice, long distance and Internet. It enhanced our service and saved us money at the same time. We really have enjoyed having a local telecommunications company service our business needs. They have been extremely responsive to all of our needs, and we would recommend them highly to anyone looking for a more reliable communications company.

Walton Monk

3 4 1 1 C a p i t a l M e d i c a l B l v d . Ta l l a h a s s e e , F L | 2 2 2 . 0 2 2 9 | w w w. e l e c t r o n e t . n e t

LONG LIVE LOCAL INGENUITY At First Commerce we aren’t afraid to embrace ingenuity.

That’s why we partnered with Matt Thompson and Brian McKenna, managing partners of Tallahassee’s trendy new Madison Social restaurant and bar.

They renovated a 6,000 sq. ft. industrial space using reclaimed wood, brick interiors and modern fixtures.

NOW THAT’S

LOCAL STRONG

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