850 Business Magazine- Summer 2018

TAXING QUESTION Reforms’ long-term impact remains to be seen

SHORING UP JOBS

Rx: TECHNOLOGY

Advances alter healthcare delivery models in region

NET PROFITS Raffield Fisheries tacks into the winds of change

Fabbro Marine illustrates coastal counties’ economic diversification efforts

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SPECIAL REPORTS

SANTA ROSA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL OKALOOSA/WALTON COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL www.850businessmagazine.com

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850 Magazine Summer 2018

IN THIS ISSUE

850 FEATURES 35

Hospital Technologies Three HCA hospitals in North Florida install smart boards for patients as part of the corporation’s “Hospital of the Future” campaign. Tallahassee Memorial Health Care deploys telemedicine to deliver real care via virtual visits, saving time spent traveling and saving minutes during remote emergencies.

By Steve Bornhoft

Tax Reform 40 The most far-reaching overhaul

of the federal tax system in 30 years was signed into law in 2017. Many applaud the cut, citing tax savings for businesses and the potential for trickle-down increases in wages. Others decry it, citing evidence it will deepen national debt, may necessitate future budget cuts in popular services, and favors the wealthy. Experts, lobbyists and taxpayers unpack what it means for North Florida.

46

Farmers of the Sea

For generations, the men and women of Raffield Fisheries have harvested their livings from the Gulf of Mexico while dealing with the vagaries of weather, winds and currents. Recent decades have introduced additional variables to contend with, ranging from regulations to politics and pollution.

By Steve Bornhoft

By Rochelle Koff Ward On the Cover: Fabbro Marine, maker of Cape Horn custom fishing boats, outgrew its manufacturing facility in Santa Rosa County and faced a challenge about where to go next. It found that there’s no place like home.. Photo by Todd Douglas

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850 Magazine Summer 2018

IN THIS ISSUE

30 76

Sponsored Reports SANTA ROSA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

21

Growing at a healthy 2 percent, Santa Rosa’s economy is built on skilled manufacturing, military-related industry, varied retail and an attractive package of affordable living and high quality of life. While some large employers are happily expanding, the county’s economic-development leaders are looking for additional ways to attract employers and keep more workers, now commuting, employed at home.

In This Issue 10 From the Publisher 80 Sound Bytes 82 The Last Word from the Editor

Departments 850 LIFE

14 Gulf Power CEO/President Stan Connally says smart money is and always has been on good customer service, but satisfying customers who want options that are clean, green, safe, reliable and affordable is making the grid more complicated.

60 OKALOOSA AND WALTON COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

53

Eyeing Huntsville’s success in landing two automobile manufacturing plants, Okaloosa County sets the stage for economic development by moving to secure 1,700 acres for industrial development. South Walton digs into the details of its tourism success, seeking more opportunities, while Walton County’s Industrial Park upland at Mossy Head continues to recruit new tenants with ideal conditions for distributors.

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HUMAN ELEMENT

16 Workplaces are changing in the presence of the #MeToo movement, bringing to light the scope of underreported sexual harassment.

Employees and employers are more keen than ever to understand the rules of the road.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

18 Career mentors help talent develop, help prospects take form and grow in their own right as a result of mentoring. Craig Petrus, executive director of career services at UF, explains why professionals should find a mentor and be a mentor.

Corridors BAY

70 The Bay Defense Alliance appears to be victorious in its quest to land a unit of Reaper remotely piloted aircraft at Tyndall Air Force Base. If final checks go well, the squadron of 24 MQ-9 Reapers and the 1,600 personnel coming with them will start arriving in 2020.

RED HILLS

72 Clayton and Reneé Moss are working for the good life at their Farmer’s Daughter Vineyards and tasting room in the Red Hills of Southwest Georgia.

CAPITAL

76 For children who have lost limbs, prosthetics and orthotics are keys to better living. Employing a keen eye for anatomy and skills in design and 3D printing, Damon Victor is meeting their needs.

Special Section DEAL ESTATE

16 What’s trending, what’s selling and what’s hot to buy in the 850? Find out here.

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When it comes to business, it’s best to...

850 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA

Summer 2018

Vol. 10, No. 4

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BRIAN E. ROWLAND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL SERVICES Steve Bornhoft MANAGING EDITOR Laura Cassels STAFF WRITERS Hannah Burke, Erin Hoover, C.D. Davidson-Hiers DIGITAL EDITOR Janecia Britt CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kari C. Barlow, Hannah Burke, Erin Hoover, Rebecca Padgett, Rochelle Koff, Craig Petrus, David Tortorano CREATIVE CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER Lawrence Davidson DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY Daniel Vitter DESIGN DIRECTOR Chi Hang EDITORIAL DESIGNER Charles Bakofsky PUBLICATION DESIGNERS Sarah Mitchell, Sarah Notley, Shruti Shah GRAPHIC DESIGNER Meredith Brooks CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Larry Davidson,Todd Douglas, Woodland Fields, Shems Hamilton, Richard Linck, Bruce Palmer, Saige Roberts, Robert Shepherd, Isaiah Soliz

Keep It Simple Somehow That’s what we’ve been doing for 15 years!

We “keep it simple” by having subject matter experts on staff to support your business.

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SALES, MARKETING & EVENTS VICE PRESIDENT/CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT McKenzie Burleigh Lohbeck SALES MANAGER, EASTERN DIVISION Lori Magee Yeaton SALES MANAGER, WESTERN DIVISION Rhonda Lynn Murray DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, EASTERN DIVISION Daniel Parisi DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, WESTERN DIVISION Dan Parker AD SERVICES COORDINATORS Tracy Mulligan, Lisa Sostre ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Makenna Curtis, Julie Dorr, Margaret Farris, Darla Harrison, Linda Powell EVENTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR Mandy Chapman SALES AND EVENTS ASSOCIATE Mackenzie Ligas INTEGRATED MARKETING MANAGER Rachel Smith INTEGRATED MARKETING COORDINATOR Javis Ogden CLIENT SERVICES COORDINATOR Joslym Alcala OPERATIONS ADMINISTRATION AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER Melissa Spear CUSTOM PUBLISHING MANAGER Sara Goldfarb CLIENT SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE/PRODUCTION SPECIALIST Melinda Lanigan CUSTOM PUBLISHING EDITOR Jeff Price STAFF ACCOUNTANT Jackie Burns ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT Jennifer Sheffield RECEPTIONISTS Christie Valentin-Bati, Charles Shelton

DIGITAL SERVICES DIGITAL EDITOR Janecia Britt 850 BUSINESS MAGAZINE 850businessmagazine.com, facebook.com/850bizmag, twitter.com/850bizmag, linkedin.com/company/850-business-magazine ROWLAND PUBLISHING rowlandpublishing.com SUBSCRIPTIONS A one-year (4 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 and Books-A-Million in Tallahassee, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Panama City, Pensacola and at our Tallahassee office.

850 Magazine is published quarterly 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 June 2018 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.

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From the Publisher

SELF EXPRESSION: IT’S YOUR RIGHT Days after the Parkland, Florida, killings in February, thousands of young people descended on the Old Capitol in Tallahassee to demonstrate and to express their anger and disappointment about our nation’s gun laws and gun culture.

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For about a quarter-mile, I heard the “whoosh, whoosh” of the officer’s baton as he took swings at me. Fortunately, I was able to build up a lead of several steps on the officer and, approaching a dormitory, I spotted a friendly face that waved me inside to safety.

As the door closed and was locked, I could hear the long arm of the law trying to pull it back open and I — whew! — disappeared into the dorm.

Forty-five years later, two members of the Rowland Publishing family attended the February 21 demonstration at the Old Capitol, one with her daughter and the other with her son. It was a day I know they will never forget. At dinner that night, parents and children processed the events of the day and recognized how fortunate we all are to be living in a country where voices of dissent may be raised. This, versus the many countries in the world where even peaceful demonstrations may result in imprisonment or worse.

I congratulate the parents who chose to immerse their children in what may very well prove to have been a pivotal event in our state’s history. And I salute the passion and spirit that fueled the demonstrators as they challenged people in power. They do not seem willing to let go until changes are made and persistence will be required.

My sincere hope is that steps will continue to be taken to ensure that no more shootings will occur, that our schools will not be governed by fear, that they will instead be reserved for learning, self-discovery and productive meetings of minds.

BRIAN ROWLAND browland@rowlandpublishing.com

Waving an American flag, demonstrators marched toward I-75 in Tampa in May 1972 intending to disrupt traffic to draw attention to their protests against the Vietnam War. Police carrying rifles and tear gas intercepted and dispersed the crowd.

PHOTO BY SCOTT HOLSTEIN

Have a great and safe summer,

PHOTOS BRIAN ROWLAND

Rallying around a hashtag — #neveragain — and chanting in unison, students called upon our legislators to limit access to semi-automatic, military-style weapons by making substantial changes in state laws.

For most of the young people involved, this likely was the first time they had exercised their rights as Americans to engage in public protest. Horrified by the deaths of classmates, they could not stand still, no matter the resources of Second Amendment advocates and organizations including the powerful National Rifle Association. Theirs is an important point of view in a debate about a polarizing issue that presents no easy answers. And they had the courage to step up, be heard and are continuing to stay involved.

Like people across the nation, I tuned in to news reports about the peaceful and impactful rallies that took place in our backyard.

The message delivered by Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School students to legislators unwilling to strengthen the state’s gun laws was clear: “We will vote you out.”

Certainly, those students are aware enough to know that people in power are motivated by a desire to remain in power.

All of this activity brought to my mind experiences I had at the University of South Florida during the divisive Vietnam War era.

One afternoon, I joined thousands of other students in an anti-war march planned to cover the two miles between Fletcher Avenue and I-75 and then to attract attention to our cause by disrupting traffic on the interstate.

Our plan was short-circuited. A mile from I-75, law enforcement officers in riot gear intercepted us and stood their ground.

Equipped with a camera, I documented the pandemonium that developed when the officers then rushed the demonstrators. I attempted a hasty retreat, but an officer had singled me out — maybe that camera had something to do with it — and he was determined to arrest me. The race was on.

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850businessmagazine.com P RO M OT I O N

TalTech Chairman Marc F. Paul speaks to the crowd about the expo.

TALTECH ALLIANCE HOSTS 2018 TECH EXPO

Nondisclosure agreements have emerged as a trending topic in the news.

But they have long been around as a tool used by businesses to protect trade secrets and other proprietary information they may share with vendors or consultants. They are useful, too, in sealing highly personal information the disclosure of which would serve no public purpose. Learn more about NDAs at: 850businessmagazine.com/Legal-Insights

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Browse residential and commercial real estate opportunities, recently sold properties and dreamy second homes. Sponsored by Beck Properties.

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Find stories and reports about local business events, happenings and gatherings.

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SETTING IT STRAIGHT Keith Hoskins is Western District general manager at Gulf Power Co. His title was cited incorrectly in a story published in the spring edition of 850.

LET’S NETWORK!

Find 850 Business Magazine on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

You’ll also find Rowland Publishing business and 850 Business Magazine Showcase pages, as well as the 850 Business Group, on LinkedIn. LinkedIn: Rowland Publishing and 850 Business Magazine pages, and the 850 Business Magazine Group Twitter: @850BizMag

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Facebook: 850 - The Business Magazine of Northwest Florida Instagram: 850bizmag

PHOTO BY JANECIA BRITT

KEEPING PRIVATE MATTERS PRIVATE

Students, business owners and vendors alike gathered on April 18 for the Tech Expo at the Florida State Turnbull Conference Center in Tallahassee to witness the varied ways that technology is revolutionizing the way we do local business.

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4/5/18 11:35 AM

Executive Mindset

The (850) Life POWER SOURCE

BALANCING ACT Gulf Power’s Stan Connally has built a stronger, smarter energy company

by ERIN HOOVER

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Q&A WITH STAN CONNALLY 850: What drew you to this work?

Connally: When I was in fourth grade, Georgia Power — a sister company of Gulf Power — sponsored a tour of a power plant in my hometown. I was simply amazed at the scale of it. I really enjoyed seeing how big pieces of equipment work together to produce electricity. It was really the start of my interest in the power business, which in many ways is so complex. As time has gone on, I have learned a lot more about what it takes to serve our customers, and how much I enjoy working for our customers has kept me in this business.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GULF POWER COMMUNICATIONS

A

s Gulf Power joined its parent corporation, Southern Company, in sending team members to help rebuild utilities in Puerto Rico, the energy company Stan Connally leads was recognized by Edison Electric Institute for extraordinary work assisting with power restoration following Hurricane Irma. Gulf Power accepted the Emergency Assistance Award in January.

Connally said he is proud of his team for this honor. He’s also proud that in 2017, J.D. Power ranked Gulf Power among the 10 highest in satisfaction for residential customers of about 118 utilities across the country, and that the utility completed three big solar projects located on Navy and Air Force properties: approximately 1.5 million and a half solar panels, enough to power roughly 18,000 homes.

Connally became president and CEO of Gulf Power in 2012. His career with Southern Company is much longer, a 29-year path including prior leadership roles at Georgia Power, Mississippi Power and Alabama Power. He now serves on the board of directors of Capital City Bank Group, Florida Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Florida, where he is vice chair, and serves as a member of the Florida Council of 100.

In April, Connally assumed responsibilities as executive vice president of operations for Southern Company, while continuing to lead Gulf Power. Headquartered in Pensacola, Gulf Power serves almost half a million customers across Northwest Florida.

Connally will serve as chairman, president and CEO of Gulf Power through the company’s sale to NextEra Energy, which is anticipated to close in the first half of 2019. Based in Juno Beach, NextEra Energy employs approximately 14,000 people in 33 states.

850: Are there past mentors, bosses or colleagues who have influenced how you lead?

Connally: One boss taught me the power of servant leadership, and how as a leader one of your most important jobs is to find out what you can do to support those who you’re leading. Certainly, I think setting high expectations is a part of supporting people because it motivates them to do great things, but also continually asking, what can I do to support you? I had another boss that had a favorite saying: “We still haven’t invented the best mousetrap.”

850: What guiding principles do you use when making a critical decision?

Connally: First, keep the customer at the center of the decision. As you make investment decisions or service decisions, make sure that you always keep the customer in the middle of the conversation. I think that serves us really well.

Second, recognize that decisions impact your team members. This can be a very hazardous business that we work in, and whether it’s in a power plant or out on the grid or in a call center, we recognize that decisions impact not just work lives but personal lives of our team members. We want to make sure whatever we’re doing supports their livelihood.

850: You also have undertaken considerable service roles as a director for other organizations. How do you approach this work?

Connally: Service in these organizations is an opportunity to make me a better leader and is consistent with who we are at Gulf Power. It

is an opportunity for us to give back to our state, our region and local communities. Many of the organizations I’m in help me shape the future of our state, make it more competitive and make it a place where even more people want to live.

850: What do you wish more people knew about your business?

Connally: For customers, many days, we are simply a switch that turns on a light. I wish every customer could get to know the Gulf Power team behind the switch — how hard they work to make that light come on, their character and how much they care.

The other thing I wish people knew about our business is how delicate a balancing act it is to deliver safe, clean, affordable and reliable energy.

I think sometimes it’s easy for groups with a particular interest to focus on just one piece of that, but our customers want us to do it all well. They want us to deliver energy that’s safe for them, safe for all people and safe for our employees. They want clean energy too, more so today than ever before; we’re growing our renewable energy mix. Customers want reliable energy. And, they want it to be affordable. The point is making sure we keep it all in balance to ensure we’re giving our customers the best possible value.

850: What about your day do you enjoy the most?

Connally: I enjoy family time. Many of us put in way more than 9 to 5 every day, whether it’s physical or mental. Just being able to focus for a while with family is where I get my energy. Being able to enjoy Northwest Florida with my family motivates me more than anything.

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Executive Mindset

HUMAN ELEMENT WORKPLACE DYNAMICS

#MeToo

INTENSIFIES FOCUS ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT Employers, workers look more closely at prevention, response

T

he Me Too movement, or #MeToo, has directed new attention to sexual harassment, a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the landmark federal civil rights and labor law signed into law in 1964. Title VII prohibits discrimination by covered employers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 offers similar prohibitions.

Both laws apply to an employer who has 15 or more employees, and both require that the charge of discrimination be filed with the appropriate agency, federal or state, within a set period of time: 300 days at the federal level, and 365 days at the state level.

“Sexual harassment is any kind of unwelcome sexual attention in a context where the victim cannot easily walk away from it. We’re talking about work, school, prison or other institutions,” said Richard E. Johnson, who has practiced employment law in Tallahassee since 1990.

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by ERIN HOOVER

While sexual harassment is not new, recognition that it is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by law is new, Johnson continued. The definitions and standards of what constitutes sex discrimination come largely from the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of Title VII, in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986) and Harris v. Forklift Systems (1993).

Employees who wish to file a charge of discrimination go through a pre-suit administration process with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR), which will try to investigate the charge. As they share jurisdictions, the two agencies have a work-sharing agreement.

At the end of six months, if no action is taken by these agencies, the individual can file a lawsuit.

Usually a client comes to Johnson while the harassment is still in progress, he said. “I like to write the EEOC charge for them,” he continued, noting that the EEOC charge may

be used in court. Sometimes victims file the EEOC charge on their own before hiring a lawyer. “I often think that I wish they’d come to see me earlier,” Johnson said.

At the point they decide to bring a lawsuit, Johnson said, the client is typically seeking monetary compensation.

In 1991, Congress amended Title VII to permit victims of sexual harassment to recover damages, including punitive damages. Johnson explained that clients typically do not undertake a lawsuit unless the offense is serious. “This is not a lark for the client,” he said. “This is an ordeal.”

A series of allegations made last year against high-profile people in media and government has increased public awareness of sexual harassment and has brought increased attention to workplace policies.

WHAT EMPLOYERS CAN DO Employers who want to stop harassment can take several steps to educate employees. By law, employers are required to post a notice describing the federal laws that prohibit job discrimination. Many have also established a clear set of policies and procedures in their handbook; this is a good first step, but Johnson emphasized it must be available past the first day of hire, either in the break room or online.

Also, he said, employers should keep in mind when establishing policies that it may not always be possible for a victim of harassment to report it to his or her supervisor.

Someone else in the office, perhaps a Human Resources department, should be available to handle reports.

Some companies also choose to make available educational videos about sexual harassment. Johnson also suggested periodically bringing employees together for a presentation from a lawyer about the subject.

As for what else employers can do, Johnson said, “What you can do is really mean it. An employer can have mandatory classes, written materials, posters on the wall and face-to-face training, but then they wink and they nod so people know it’s fine to (harass others) anyway.

“What I’m worried about is the winking and the nodding,” he continued.

THREE IN 10 As an employee, it might be tempting to go straight to a lawyer after experiencing harassment, and that’s not a bad idea, Johnson said. But employees also must use workplace resources to fight harassment: “If they have a reporting form, fill it out. If they have a Human Resources department, go to them. You’ve got to exhaust the resources the employer has available before filing a suit. A

judge will throw a case out if the employee hasn’t tried to use the employer’s internal procedures.”

In building a case, Johnson also suggests talking to fellow and former employees. “See if others are having the same problem or have had it in the past. Usually if there is a harasser in the department, there are multiple people affected and a history.”

The volume of sex-based harassment allegations filed with the EEOC has remained constant over the last eight years, at about 12,000 per year. But there is evidence that unlawful behavior frequently goes unreported.

According to an ABC News-Washington Post poll taken in October 2017 — at the height of #MeToo on Twitter and other social media channels — three in 10 American women said they have experienced unwanted work-related sexual advances, most at the hands of someone in a position of power.

Has there been an uptick in cases? “Since #MeToo, yes,” Johnson said. “Media attention made the issue more prominent. You see (accusers) like Gretchen Carlson, where Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes (of Fox News) eventually lost their jobs.” But he also said he’s concerned that such high-profile cases can build false expectations. For most, “you won’t get Gretchen Carlson money and you won’t get that kind of protection.”

While the vast majority of victims are women, some cases are brought against women. Johnson also noted that the legal system is beginning to process cases involving people who identify as transgender.

Asked what resources victims can consult, Johnson recommended the EEOC website. He noted that some underprivileged victims may not be aware of such resources.

“The most vulnerable people,” he said, “are in blue and pink collar jobs.”

LEARN MORE: EEOC.gov 1-800-669-4000 info@eeoc.gov The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency that administers and enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. fchr.myflorida.com 1-800-342-8170 fchrinfo@fchr.myflorida.com The Florida Legislature created the Florida Commission on Human Relations to enforce the Florida Civil Rights Act and address discrimination issues.

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Executive Mindset

Management Strategies GOOD COUNSEL

CAREER MENTORS The best are wise and trusted teachers

by CRAIG PETRUS

T

he concept of mentorship can mean many things to many people. Ask 10 business professionals what mentorship means to them, and you will probably get 10 different answers. However, in doing so, you will also most likely receive a few similar themes that emerge from their answers. Mentorship can be a significant part of your overall career success, both early on in your career and even late in your professional life.

A strong and trusted mentor is someone who can provide you with a solid baseline of career support, someone who will keep you grounded, and someone who will help you remain self-aware throughout your career journey.

WHY DO WE NEED A MENTOR? We do not always have the answers to every possible challenge that is thrown our way in our jobs. That is why we have mentors to help us and guide us through some of our challenging days at work. Mentors can help guide you through situations such as problems with coworkers and potential career-growth opportunities that are presented to you. They can help you improve upon your soft skills (communication, networking, decision-making), offer up ideas around strategy and provide advice around career progression and promotion.

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A mentor is someone who will keep you grounded in your professional journey and provide direction that you may not be getting from your supervisor or other coworkers. In an effort to improve upon certain skills in our lives, a mentor acts as a career coach and our career champion.

A mentor essentially fills those gaps that are missing from your career and professional development growth.

THE ROLE OF A MENTOR The definition of a mentor is “wise and trusted counselor or teacher; an influential senior sponsor or supporter.� As I read this true definition of a mentor, a few words jump off the page. Those words are trusted, influential and supporter. A strong mentor must be all three of these things: someone who you can absolutely trust during those times when you need guidance, someone who can be influential, someone who you look up to and respect their advice and feedback and someone who will support you in any way they can to further grow your career.

A mentor is someone you can share ideas with without fear of embarrassment. You should have a level of understanding with your mentor that no matter what the subject matter may be or how crazy an idea may seem, it is OK to have these types of conversations and feel comfortable

Heartsong Tallahassee doing so. An ideal mentor should be willing to invest time and support in your professional development and have a strong desire to help you succeed.

WHERE TO FIND YOUR MENTOR Your mentor should be someone within your same profession, or one who is closely aligned to what you do. You want to identify someone who you can relate to in your professional life, someone who has a perspective of the daily trials that you encounter and can offer advice or insight that is appropriately aligned to your career.

Your mentor can also come from different stages within their career. While it is highly encouraged to seek out someone who is more senior to you in experience and leadership, don’t hesitate to consider a mentor that could be your peer, one who you could potentially relate to better than someone who may be senior to you. No matter what level of career experience, leadership or management they may have, the most important factor of your mentor is that it is someone who you look up to at any stage of their career.

PHOTOS BY JIRSAK / STOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS AND COURTESY OF ADVANTAGE PUBLISHING (PETRUS)

YOUR ROLE AS A MENTEE In order for you to experience the full benefits of mentorship, be aware of your own role as a mentee. Keep in mind, this is a two-way relationship between yourself and your mentor. There are a number of important aspects of the relationship that you need to manage in order for your relationship to be effective and valuable. As a mentee, you must give back in some way to your mentor. Become a relationship driver for them by helping them grow their own professional network through you. Be open to hearing their daily challenges and offer advice as to how you think they could manage a situation. Have a strong level of belief and confidence in your mentor. Become an active listener and learner and be open and respectful of their advice, feedback and those hard conversations you may have every so often.

It is also important to invest your time into your mentor, be present when speaking with them and ensure you have regularly scheduled check-ins with your mentor in order to sustain the relationship. It is important to realize that this relationship is not just benefiting you but your mentor as well. Treat your relationship in a way that it is not one-sided with all the benefits coming to you. Do your part to inspire and educate your mentor, because one day, you too will find yourself in a situation where you become an impactful mentor to someone.

The writer is the executive director of career services at the University of Florida, Hough Graduate School of Business.

CRAIG PETRUS

NEWLY REMODELED COTTAGE HALF MILE FROM DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE AND CASCADES PARK

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Why Use a Tenant Broker?

By Stacy Taylor, CCIM and Shawn Maxey A fundamental truth in the commercial real estate industry is that everyone is looking for the best location at the best price.

Whether you’re searching for the best retail spot or somewhere to grow your law office for the next 10 years, you want to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.

It can be a little overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time going through the process. So we’ve compiled a list of the top five benefits of working with a tenant broker to help tenants relocate or renew their current leases.

1. Brokers are in the market daily. If you decide to search on your own, it’ll be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Good brokers will likely be aware of off-market opportunities and upcoming lease expirations. They should also know the pros and cons of all buildings in the market. This enables them to assist you in avoiding any pitfalls.

2. By working with professionals in the market, you’ll save valuable time for your business and yourself. They do this for a living. In terms of relocating, your broker knows the steps necessary to successfully complete a lease transaction. From the initial survey, through all lease negotiations as well as providing you access to all the necessary vendors needed to complete a deal, the broker’s value is endless.

3. Brokers are there to help clients renew and work through negotiations with a landlord while keeping your best interests in mind — again saving you valuable time and money.

Remember, the listing agent works for the landlord and therefore puts the landlord’s best interests before yours. Protect yourself with a tenant broker.

The listing agent works for the landlord and therefore puts the landlord’s best interests before yours. Protect yourself with a tenant broker.

4. Brokers enable tenants to have more power in negotiating a lease. By understanding market rents, terms and the factors that are important to a landlord, a good broker should be able to negotiate the best deal possible for you.

The last reason might be the best part of this whole process …

5. It’s free to have representation. There is a common misunderstanding that having a tenant broker costs money. While it’s true that commissions are baked into the tenant’s rental stream, the reality is that it’s already there.

Listing agents typically have a listing agreement in place with their owner for a set fee. By using a tenant broker, it just means the listing agent will be forced to co-broker with the tenant representative. So, you’re paying for it whether you have representation or not. Moral of the story: Why wouldn’t you use a broker?

The most important thing you should take away about tenant reps is that the person you pick should help you identify the best space to meet your current and future needs for your business.

So choose wisely.

For more articles like this one, get your copy of our annual magazine, Insight. This 100-page publication is packed full of business resources for the busy professional. Reach out to Maggie Whittemore at 850.477.7044 or mwhittemore@ teambeck.com to get a copy or download the digital version at goo.gl/HfEMRn.

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SANTA ROSA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL 2018

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SANTA ROSA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

AN 850 BUSINESS MAGAZINE SPECIAL REPORT

A contractor works on the turbofan engine of a TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopter at Naval Air Station Whiting Field.

The station, in Milton, is considered the busiest air station in the world.

EMPLOYMENT

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COST OF LIVING

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EDUCATION

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OUTDOOR RECREATION

2018 S A N T A R O S A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 21

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

A CHOICE LOCATION OF CHOICE Santa Rosa County capitalizes on its assets

by DAVID TORTORANO

Q

uality of life is a pivotal consideration for people when they choose where to reside. And it accounts for Santa Rosa County’s status as one of the fastest growing counties in Florida, the fourth fastest growing state in the country.

Santa Rosa County is a primarily rural area with two state parks and ample outdoor recreation opportunities. Located between Florida’s western-most county, Escambia, and military-focused Okaloosa County to the east, it is where many who

work in Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach and at Hurlburt Field and Eglin Air Force Base reside.

The reasons are clear. Santa Rosa County is home to highly rated schools and two college campuses. It is rich in affordable housing, both single- and multifamily, in the country and on the water. It has a robust and varied retail sector and plenty of dining options.

No sector of the county’s economy exceeds more than 20 percent of the total.

Both private- and public-sector employ-

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ment are key components. The county is home to unique high-tech businesses including AppRiver, a supplier of electronic communication and cybersecurity solutions, and Avalex, which produces special aviation mission equipment.

The U.S. Navy trains pilots in Santa Rosa County, and the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, favored by the world’s top athletes, is in Gulf Breeze.

And, the county is looking for more.

Last year, the Santa Rosa Economic Development Office hired a consultant to help it determine the direction the county should take to create more jobs so that residents who commute to jobs in neighboring counties will have options enabling them to work closer to home.

“We’re growing at a rapid pace, nearly 2 percent annually,” said Shannon Ogletree, executive director of Santa Rosa Economic Development. “People are starting to think of the county as a location of choice.” He said the push is on to supply the amenities and jobs required “so people can be employed here.”

PHOTO BY DEBBIE COLOMBO / ISTOCK/ GETTY IMAGES PLUS

Santa Rosa County promotes quality of life and natural beauty among its assets. Seen here, Blackwater River meanders past Milton on its 58-mile journey from the Alabama state line to Blackwater Bay.

ogistics population location distribution industry transportation electricity results certificatio workforce manufacturing red tape experience zoning connection location implementatio iason permitting aviation skill population aviation incentives development expediting water si selection access trained personnel gas acreage ownership logistics workforce red tape locatio ndustry transportation electricity results certification labor water distribution manufacturin zoning connection location experience logistics implementation telecom liason tax developme permitting skill incentives population transportation development expediting access site selectio access trained certification gas acreage owner water site selection access training pers`onnel resul ndustry owner logistics location distribution red tape acreage electricity aviation transportatio results implementation workforce manufacturing zoning connection certification indust ocation distribution electricity certification results workforce manufacturing experience zonin connection site selection red tape industry skill transportation electricity results developme access tax personnel water acreage owner logistics population location distribution skill indust workforce electricity transportation certification results manufacturing red tape experienc zoning connection location implementation liason aviation permitting skill population aviatio ncentives development expediting waterrunning access site selection personnel gas acreag Hit the ground with atrained skilled, ownership logistics workforce red tape location industry transportation results labor certificatio water distribution manufacturing electricity connection location zoning experience aviatio motivated, and ready workforce.

Let Us Work for You

Our labor force of over 74,000 puts ready-to-work people in your sights. More than anything, we’re committed to expanding our workforce through Santa Rosa County’s excellent education system and extensive Career Pathways programs. Low labor costs and a skilled, motivated workforce make Santa Rosa County an ideal partner for growing your business.

74,000 LABOR FORCE

34,000

AREA MILITARY RETIREES 2,400 MORE EVERY YEAR

52

CAREER ACADEMIES

Ready to Get Started in Northwest Florida?

Contact Shannon Ogletree today.

(850) 623-0174 • shannon@santarosa.fl.gov or visit SantaRosaEDO.com 2018 S A N T A R O S A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 23

JAY

NORTH

4

CENTRAL MILTON

ESCAM BIA BAY

PENSACOLA

GULF BREEZE

BLAC

90

KWAT ER BA Y

PACE

10

BAY EAST

NAVARRE

SOUTH

The Three Santa Rosas

A part of that effort is education. Santa Rosa Career Pathways provides information to help students choose studies that align with their desired careers and available and anticipated jobs. Santa Rosa County’s Career Academies provide skills needed to compete in a global economy in fields ranging from information technology and cybersecurity to aviation, health care and more.

FAST GROWTH Santa Rosa County, in terms of growth rate, is in the top 5 percent of counties in the United States. Part of the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, it is 1,011.61 square miles in size. Its population in 2016 was estimated at 170,497, an increase of 27,514 over the previous 10 years. That growth was more than double that of the Pensacola metro area.

The county’s population grew 44.8 percent between 2000 and 2016, from 117,743 to 170,497, according to the U.S.

Family-friendly communities and good schools are helping drive Santa Rosa County’s growth rate, which is among Florida’s highest 10-year growth rates for counties.

Census Bureau. In the six-year period between 2010 and 2016, it grew by 11.47 percent. The average annual growth rate has been 1.8 percent per year over the past five years.

The county experienced growth from 2011 to 2016 in most age groups with the fastest growth occurring in the 30-39 and 60-69 age groups.

Santa Rosa County attracted 17,688 people, or 10.5 percent of the total population in 2016. Sixty-three percent of these residents have some college or a post-secondary degree. Santa Rosa has gained more new residents as a percentage of its total population than Baldwin County, Alabama; Beaufort County, South Carolina; the Pensacola metro area, the state of Florida, and the United States as a whole.

The University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research projects Santa Rosa County will near 180,000 residents by 202t0 and 200,000 by 2025.

The largest city is the county seat of

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Milton, a former lumber town incorporated in 1844 and one of the oldest in Florida with a 2016 population of 9,839.

Milton, home of Naval Air Station Whiting Field, is located inland, north of East Bay on the Blackwater River.

The city of Gulf Breeze, which sits on the western edge of the Fairpoint Peninsula between Pensacola and Pensacola Beach, had a 2016 population of 6,466. Linked to larger Pensacola via a three-mile bridge, it’s one of the most affluent communities in Santa Rosa County. On the north side of the county, the only incorporated town is Jay, which in 2016 had 590 people.

Two of the hottest growth centers are not incorporated towns, but Census Designated Places (CDP), a term used by the U.S. Census Bureau for population concentrations. Santa Rosa County has 31 CDPs, ranging from tiny, rural Cobbtown to coastal Navarre. In 2015, Navarre had a population of 32,949, up 1.1 percent from the previous year. In 2017, Navarre’s

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SANTA ROSA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

The county has three distinct regions.

South Santa Rosa spans the coastal area between Gulf Breeze and Navarre, all tied together by U.S. 98. Navarre Beach on Santa Rosa Island, a barrier island south of the mainland, is also part of South Santa Rosa.

Central Santa Rosa lies north of the bays and includes the county seat of Milton and fast-growing Pace, north of Escambia Bay, linked by U.S. 90 and Interstate 10. The Old Spanish Trail that once linked St. Augustine and New Orleans crosses through this area. To the east of Milton is the Wildlife Management Area.

North Santa Rosa is forest and farming country with Jay the only incorporated town.

The area is traversed by State Road 4, which links Jay to the communities of Berrydale and Munson and goes through the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

county’s neighbor to the north is Escambia County, Alabama, which had a median household income of $32,330.

There are 18 Santa Rosa County population centers with median incomes higher than the county as a whole. The incorporated city with the highest median household income was Gulf Breeze at $84,423, followed

by Milton at $46,040 and Jay, at $37,917.

PROPERTY/COST OF LIVING

A technician works on a multi-channel HD recorder at Avalex Technologies, which designs and manufactures rugged surveillance equipment for aviation and ground vehicles in its plant in Gulf Breeze.

population was estimated at 42,000. In addition to Navarre, another hot growth center is Pace, to the west of Milton, with a population of 21,997.

The county has a labor force of about 75,000 people and more than 220,000 people in the workforce live within a 45-minute drive of its industrial parks, according to Ogletree.

EMPLOYMENT/INCOME

Santa Rosa County has a median household income higher than the median household income of its neighbors, Florida and the United States.

According to census data, the county in 2015 had a total of 2,585 employer establishments and 11,232 non-employer establishments.

The Santa Rosa Economic Development website reflects that the largest employers in the county are state and local governments, with more than 4,000 workers, followed by the federal government and military, with more than 3,000. The next highest

is Walmart, the county’s largest private employer, with nearly 1,300 workers.

The health care industry is also a big employer. Baptist Health Care Systems has over 600 workers and Santa Rosa Medical Center has nearly 500. Add health care consultant The Studer Group’s 166 workers, the Andrews Institute’s 150 and Lifeguard Ambulance Service’s 130 and it is clear health care is a major part of the county’s economy.

Data USA provides a snapshot that makes comparisons relatively easy. It shows that, in 2015, Santa Rosa County had a median household income of $58,932, higher than the median household income of the United States, Florida and the Pensacola-Ferry PassBrent Metropolitan Area.

In that year, it also had a higher median household income than its immediate neighbors. Escambia County to the west had a median household income of $46,001, and Okaloosa County to the east had a median household income of $55,880. The

Santa Rosa County’s median residential property value is $161,400, according to Data USA’s 2015 figures. One city, Gulf Breeze, and 13 unincorporated places had property values higher than the county’s median. A diversity of lifestyles leads to a wide difference in home values.

Navarre Beach on Santa Rosa Island just south of Navarre had a 2015 median property value of $391,900. The next highest was the incorporated city of Gulf Breeze, with a median property value of $311,900.

The Mulat Census Designated Place had a median property value of $311,400. Four other population centers had a median property value between $200,000 and $300,000.

But, within each of those CDPs, there are high-cost and lower-cost options impacting the median property value.

According to Data USA, the largest share of households pays property taxes in the $800 to $1,500 range. The homeownership rate is 72.6 percent.

The county has a relatively low cost of living compared to neighboring areas and the national average.

According to Sperling’s Best Places, where a cost-of-living index of 100 represents the U.S. average, Santa Rosa County’s index is 96.10, owing to relatively low housing costs. Grocery, health and transportation costs also are all below the national average, and utilities costs are right at the national average.

The crime rate is low. According to the 2017 County Health Rankings, Santa Rosa County, between 2012 and 2014, saw 143.6 violent crimes per 100,000 people.

Escambia County had 735.9 and Okaloosa had 435.1 during the same period.

Residents do a lot of commuting. On average, employees in Santa Rosa County have a longer commute time (26.3 minutes) versus a national average of 24.8 minutes.

In addition, 2.13 percent of the workforce has “super commutes” in excess of 90 minutes, according to Data USA.

2018 S A N T A R O S A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 25

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

MILITARY MIGHT If you ask residents to name the most familiar landmark in the county, chances are good they will point to Naval Air Station Whiting Field, one of the Navy’s two primary flight training bases. Established in 1943, the 12,000-acre complex provides training for the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force and for allied nations.

Primary flight training student aviators flying T-6 Texan II trainers use North Whiting Field. Advanced helicopter training students in TH-57 helicopters use South Whiting Field. The county also has outlying fields used for training: NOLF Choctaw and Holley, both in Navarre, and Spencer in Pace.

NAS Whiting Field is the busiest air station in the world, accounting for nearly 1.5 million annual flight operations including primary flight training of more than 1,200 students. Whiting logs more than 160,000 flight hours per year, about 14 percent of USN flight hours.

Santa Rosa County and Whiting Field are in the middle of a heavily militarized area. To the west is Naval Air Station Pensacola, the so-called “Cradle of Naval Aviation,” and to the east is Hurlburt Field, home of the Air Force Special Operations Command, and Eglin Air Force Base, one of the largest bases in the nation and the

place where the Air Force develops aerial weapons. It’s also home to the F-35 integrated training center.

All that military activity not only has an impact on the economy, but leads to future residents. Many of the military personnel, once they retire, wind up living in Santa Rosa County and other counties in the region.

The county has 204 defense contractors, that is, businesses who have won contracts to do work for the military; those contracts call for defense products or for services as common as lawn care.

The total value of the 1,685 defense contracts awarded to businesses in the county between 2000 and 2016 was $480,789,171. In 2016, alone, 124 contracts totaling $46,584,365 were awarded to contractors in Santa Rosa County.

EDUCATION SEEN AS KEY

For any company, whether it’s one already in the county or one that might be considering the county for an office or plant, the quality of the workforce and area schools is important.

The four-year graduation rate for Santa Rosa County’s class of 2016 was 85.7 percent, exceeding the rate for Florida or the United States.

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At Pace High School’s Biotech Academy, students earn science credits while training in biotechnical skills used in industrial, medical, agricultural and research facilities.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SANTA ROSA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

NAS Whiting Field is one of the Navy’s two top flight-training programs. Here, a pilot is seen with a TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopter at South Whiting Field.

The county has seven high schools, seven middle schools, 17 elementary schools and nine specialty schools, including Locklin Technical Center. The University of Florida offers two bachelor degree programs at Pensacola State College’s Milton campus.

The area surrounding Santa Rosa County has 13 colleges offering certificates and degrees up to the doctorate level.

Figures from the Census Bureau show 90.2 percent of residents in Santa Rosa County are high school graduates; 26.9 percent have one or more college degrees and 18.6 percent are veterans. Santa Rosa County has the highest concentration of former members of the military in the nation with over 35,000 in “325” zip codes, according to Ogletree.

In today’s competitive workplace, cutting-edge and relevant career and technical education is a smart investment.

Santa Rosa County’s Career Academies prepare students for college and careers by providing them with the skills needed to compete in a global economy. They can obtain specialized training in areas including information technology, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, aviation, culinary arts, health and medical and more. These rigorous curricular opportunities make students ready for highly skilled, high-wage careers, engage them with hands-on learning and reduce high school dropout rates.

ADVERTISEMENT

First Place Partners ESCAMBIA/SANTA ROSA

WHERE YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHO WE ARE

WHAT WE LOOK LIKE

We have a unique mission — the only organization dedicated to supporting economic development and promoting growth for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

We have a board of directors elected annually by the membership. We have three levels of membership — voting members, associate members and publicly funded organizations. We will be a 100 percent privately funded, 501(C)(6) organization.

We will work closely with Florida West and the Santa Rosa Economic Development Department to provide resources — both financial and intellectual — to support existing business creation and expansion, to attract new business to the area and to be a voice for economic growth.

We will work to coordinate efforts and collaborate engagement of government, education and the business community to promote economic growth.

BENEFITS OF JOINING

Our 2018 board of directors: Keith Hoskins, President Donnie McMahon, Vice President Ed Carson, Secretary David Bear, Treasurer Kara Cardona Fred Donovan, Jr. Mark Faulkner Donna Tucker Carleton Ulmer

Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are one Metropolitan Statistical Area — one economy. They have one interstate, one university, one state college, one commercial airport. They have common medical facilities, workforce development organizations and one population that crosses county lines tens of thousands of times a day. Having one economic development support organization not only makes sense, but it also means a much more efficient use of financial resources, talent, site inventory, etc.

Bottom line — it means we will be more competitive in growing jobs for the regions.

HOW TO JOIN When you get right down to it, Economic Development is up to us — the people who live, work and play in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Working with government and education, the private business sector has a vital role to play in job attraction, retention and expansion. Now is the time to join First Place Partners, the private sector economic development organization for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Learn more about membership by contacting John Hutchinson at johnlucashutchinson@gmail.com or call (850) 324-0099.

2018 S A N T A R O S A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 27

SANTA ROSA COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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Go to 850businessmagazine.com/newsletter and sign up today!

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The Santa Rosa Economic Development Office visits with site selectors and targeted companies and works with existing companies to target potential suppliers.

Santa Rosa EDO won several Excellence in Economic Development Awards from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The honors were presented at an awards ceremony during the IEDC Annual Conference in Toronto, Canada.

Santa Rosa EDO in 2017 won a bronze award for the santarosaaviation.com website, which promotes the county’s benefits for the aviation industry and a silver award for santarosacareerpathways.com website, which showcases local career opportunities and the educational pathways to them. It won a gold Excellence in Economic Development Award for its 2017 Aviation Industry Brochure project.

The county has three certified sites. A site that is certified through a program conducted by Gulf Power is deemed shovel-ready. Certification helps eliminate risk when a company is looking for property. Archeological studies, an examination of topography and title searches help ensure that properties are appropriate for development.

One certified site of about 90 acres is located within a half-mile of Interstate 10 and is visible from the interstate. Another certified site is located directly on the interstate. The county is creating new brochures showcasing its certified sites.

Early last year, the Santa Rosa County EDO began a push to attract more aerospace and aviation operations by leveraging NAS Whiting Field, several aerospace companies and its location between two aerospace-focused neighboring counties. It’s also part of the much broader Gulf Coast aerospace corridor, which spans the area between Southeast Louisiana and Northwest Florida and includes a diverse range of aerospace activities, from space to aircraft construction.

It created a special aerospace/aviation section on the Santa Rosa Economic Development website (santarosaaviation.com), and launched an email campaign to site selectors and aerospace/aviation companies. It also carried out a postcard campaign targeting site selectors and aerospace/aviation companies.

One project the county is developing is Whiting Aviation Park adjacent to NAS Whiting Field. A key amenity is that tenants may use the runways at the Navy base. Ogletree said the county is seeking Triumph Gulf Coast funds — designed to mitigate losses from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill — for the project.

Signs are good in the county. Boat builder Fabbro Marine recently expanded, doubling its plant in Milton to more than 75,000 square feet in size. In Gulf Breeze, Avalex has added employees, and so has Gulf Cable in the industrial park near Milton. Another new development is Pace Crossroads, a new retail center. Dick’s Sporting Goods is an anchor tenant.

The target industries for Santta Rosa County are aerospace, logistics and distribution, medicine and medical devices. It’s also interested in more agricultural activities, including more research opportunities. Ogletree said he’s also interested in landing a “white table cloth” restaurant.

David Tortorano is a writer with the Gulf Coast Reporters League. His story was commissioned by the Santa Rosa Economic Development Office.

PUBLIC LANDS INVITE RECREATION

With two state parks and other public lands to explore, Santa Rosa County is rich in outdoor recreational opportunities, including paddling, biking, camping, hunting and fishing.

COURTESY OF SANTA ROSA COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

by DAVID TORTORANO

Blackwater River State Forest is named for the 58-mile long river that begins in Alabama and meanders through the forest and Milton, then into Blackwater Bay. SANTA ROSA COUNTY, with seven miles of Gulf front on Santa Within the forest is the 600-acre Blackwater River State Park, Rosa Island, has two of Florida’s 164 state parks: the 590-acre about 15 miles northeast of Milton, near the small town of Harold.

Blackwater River State Park, established in 1967, and the 11,000The forest, with a topography best described as rolling, is known acre Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park, established in 2000 for its longleaf pine/wiregrass ecosystem. When combined with the — one of the state’s last remaining tracts of wet prairie.

Conecuh National Forest to the north and Eglin Air Force Base to The Blackwater Wildlife Management Area, the Blackwater the south, it’s the largest contiguous ecological community of its Carr Unit and the Blackwater Hutton Unit comprise more than type in the world.

200,000 acres in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties, adding up Longleaf pines once covered more than 60 million acres in the to one of the largest state forests in Florida. The Blackwater Carr Southeast coastal plain area, according to the park service. Today, Unit is a 600-acre section of the Blackwater State less than five percent of that ecosystem remains.

Forest, four miles northwest of Holt and Highway Blackwater River, with an average flow rate of 2 90. The Blackwater Hutton Unit is 7,600 acres north to 3 mph and average depth of 2.5 feet, is one of the of Highway 90, five miles east of Milton. few shifting sand-bottom streams that remains in its The state forest’s natural stands of longleaf pine SANTA natural state for nearly the entire length of the river.

ROSA are among the best remaining examples of the longIt’s a popular place for canoeing, kayaking and tubing.

COUNTY leaf pine/wiregrass ecosystem that once covered Coldwater Creek, which eventually meets up much of the Southeast. The forest is a critical habitat with the Blackwater River, is spring-fed and is cold, for plants and animals, and its water resources offer clear and shallow, with a swift current. That makes opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, paddling upstream a rigorous workout, while the hiking, biking, camping, swimming, horseback downstream trek is fast-paced. riding and paddling.

Although there are some private homes and docks, The Yellow River Wildlife Management area the area is generally rural. The river flows past pine Blackwater River WMA includes more than 28,000 acres between Milton and hardwood forest, hammock, sandhill and scrub.

Blackwater River WMA - Hutton Unit and Crestview. The river from which it gets its name Wildlife includes deer, woodpeckers and other birds.

Yellow River WMA Escambia River WMA is 92 miles long and runs through Alabama and Along the way there are sand bars for picnicking or Eglin AFB (Cooperative) camping.

Florida, emptying at Blackwater Bay. 2018 S A N T A R O S A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 29

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

FABBRO MARINE EXPANDS FOOTPRINT IN MILTON

Builder of Cape Horn boats expects major growth in new manufacturing facility

“ANY COMPANY IS PEOPLE, AND WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK AT THIS COMPANY.” TYLER CESAR, VICE PRESIDENT, FABBRO MARINE GROUP INC.

S

ix months ago, in December 2017, Fabbro Marine Group Inc. marked the end of three decades in business with a huge move.

Literally.

The company, which designs and builds the world-renowned Cape Horn fishing boat, vacated its location on Industrial Boulevard and settled into a sprawling new home on Jeff Ates Road at Santa Rosa County Industrial Park East.

With Fabbro Marine’s success, it could land most anywhere in the world, but the family-owned boat builder chose to remain in Milton.

“Santa Rosa County is receptive to manufacturing,” Vice President Tyler Cesar says. “It’s very close to the inter-

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state, and everything we make, we have to ship. … And this place is awesome.

This is why we are here.”

But the driving force behind Fabbro Marine’s decision to stay local was its employees.

“Any company is people, and we would be nothing without all of the people who work at this company,” Cesar says. “And if we were to move, you take a huge risk of losing a lot of people.

Like having a limb amputated — you would never intentionally do that.

When we thought about it, there was no thought. We had to stay here.”

Fabbro Marine was the first company to build on one of Gulf Power’s Florida First Sites, an initiative that offers

PHOTOS BY TODD DOUGLAS

by KARI C. BARLOW

When Fabbro Marine, designer and builder of Cape Horn fishing boats (above), outgrew its former facility, it chose to stay within Santa Rosa County. The new facility (at left) is in Santa Rosa County Industrial Park East.

project-ready industrial sites through third-party screening and certification.

Shannon Ogletree, director of the Santa Rosa County Economic Development Office, praised the company’s decision to stay local.

“It shows the county commissioners are committed to our existing companies,” he said. “They are just as appreciative of them as these new companies we are pursuing. … And we have a highly trained workforce with a military spin on it. Companies are able to take advantage of their training and their work ethic.”

For Fabbro Marine, upgrading to a larger facility was a necessity because it had simply outgrown its previous “hodgepodge” of buildings in the original Santa Rosa Industrial Park, Cesar says.

“We were sitting on top of each other,” he recalls. “It was just insane. Remember those, I think it’s called a Chinese puzzle? Where you move all the squares around? We had to do that to get to something. It was always this strategy of, OK, if we move this back, then that can go over because we’re trying to get to this mold over here to build a boat.

It was an extreme waste of energy!”

In the new 78,000-square-foot facility, there’s more than enough room for its roughly 42 employees, equipment and the quality and innovation that have become the hallmarks of Fabbro Marine’s product.

With its opening — and an investment of more than $5 million in the 20-acre property — the company is poised for major expansion.

“We could triple in size, and that’s our plan,” Cesar says. “Every year, keep growing and keep growing. That’s what we’ve done for 30 years.”

‘HARD-CORE FISHING BOATS’

Chris Fabbro formed Fabbro Marine in 1987 in Pensacola, but his deep connection to boat building stretches back to his childhood in Akron, Ohio.

“I have had a lifelong passion for boats,” he says, having grown up exploring the Portage Lakes, a network of eight glacial kettle lakes and reservoirs just south of Akron. “I lived on the water my whole childhood, and I built wooden race boats starting at age 11. My father’s family boated,

and my father, Robert, built his own race boat as a kid.”

Escaping the harsh Midwest winters, the Fabbro family moved south and fell in love with the Emerald Coast. With Chris Fabbro as the main designer, they began perfecting their idea of a reliable fishing boat that could accommodate family outings and also withstand the rigors of a tournament.

“It’s all about creating,” Fabbro says.

“Making a boat is like being an artist.

You’re creating a brand-new product, something that is completely unique.”

He named the brand Cape Horn.

“The name Cape Horn was probably the hardest challenge,” he says. “A name will make or break you. Since we wanted to build an indestructible boat capable of any sea condition, Cape Horn just came to mind. It’s the tip of South America. It’s the roughest, most unpredictable water in the world.”

Fabbro spent years refining the lines and curves of the boats because he wanted a Cape Horn to be recognizable from a mile away when out on the water.

“They’re handmade, completely handmade,” says Cesar, a Wisconsin transplant and lifelong fisherman who joined the company in 1989. “Very few things are still like that anymore today. And completely unsinkable. … In reality, there’s only a handful of boats made today that are unsinkable.”

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SANTA ROSA COUNTY

“IT’S ALL ABOUT CREATING … MAKING A BOAT IS LIKE BEING AN ARTIST. YOU’RE CREATING A BRANDNEW PRODUCT, SOMETHING THAT IS COMPLETELY UNIQUE.” CHRIS FABBRO, FOUNDER, FABBRO MARINE GROUP INC.

In a Cape Horn boat, the entire vessel is pressure-filled with foam, and every square inch underneath the floor is solid foam.

“We would never go off shore in a boat that could sink,” Cesar adds. “Our boats are hard-core fishing boats, and that’s what they are designed for.”

LOOKING FOR FREEDOM

Today, the company also includes Greg Fabbro, vice president of production and Chris’ brother, and Scott Davis, chief financial officer. They are gearing up the company for increased demand, and that means growing its workforce. While the team loves to hire workers with experience, the majority of its employees are trained on the job.

“Boat building is pretty much done the

way it was 50 years ago,” Chris Fabbro says. “Processes have been automated, but boat building is a hands-on type of manufacturing.”

That attention to detail is why Fabbro Marine has customers across the globe, sending its boats far and wide.

“They go everywhere — Australia, Turkey, the Middle East, New Caledonia, South America, Hawaii, Japan,” Cesar says.

“The core customers are fishermen … but we are finding all these new people who are coming in.”

An increasing number of casual boaters, newer to the activity and with discretionary income to spend, are buying Cape Horns. Cesar’s theory is that more people are looking for ways to experience freedom.

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“When you go offshore, it’s the last great frontier,” he says. “There are no speed limits.

There are no fences. It’s a great feeling!”

Although new Cape Horn models appear each year, Fabbro Marine does not spend time chasing trends.

Instead, Chris Fabbro says, the company focuses its attention on what it believes are the key characteristics of a good fishing boat — rough-water capability, huge live wells, huge fish boxes and lots of fishing room.

“Our success is sticking to a base philosophy from day one, preserving a unique look and not trying to compete head-tohead with the high-volume manufacturers,” he says. “These things are just core to what we are.”

PHOTOS BY TODD DOUGLAS

Fabbro Marine co-owners (top of page, from left) are CFO Scott Davis; Tyler Cesar, VP for sales and marketing; President Chris Fabbro and VP for production Greg Fabbro. The company employs more than 40 people, including (above, from left) lamination crew manager Jeff Russell, assembly crew supervisor Joe Griffis and laminate technician Chris Hyman.

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More than video. Strategy.

Play to your strengths.

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HOSPITAL OF THE FUTURE HCA PIONEERS ADVANCES AIMED AT IMPROVING EFFICIENCY, OUTCOMES

BY STEVE BORNHOFT

PHOTO BY BRUCE PALMER

A

man is hospitalized with serious health concerns.

But, his condition is stable and caregiving staff convince his wife, who has spent long hours at his bedside, to go home and get some much needed rest.

A day later, she returns to her husband’s room only to find that he is not there. Immediately, she assumes the worst: He has died and she never had the chance to say goodbye.

Then, as if to confirm her worst suspicion, the patient’s wife consults a large, white electronic board in the room.

Her husband is not dead, she learns. He is in radiology.

Three hospitals in HCA’s North Florida Division, including Capital Regional

Medical Center in Tallahassee and Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center in Panama City, have been designated “Hospitals of the Future.” They and other hospitals in the division are equipped with integrated MyCare boards, electronic dashboards that pull from patient records and display information pertaining to diet, tests and caregivers. The Hospitals of the Future additionally are employing “Real Time Locating” software.

The MyCare boards have been installed in in-patient rooms and in ER intake rooms.

They have produced anecdotes including the one involving a patient and his momentarily distressed wife.

For Mark Robinson, until recently the CEO at Capital Regional, the boards are “communication devices that relieve

↑ Erica Williams, director of operations for HCA's North Florida division, finds that MyCare boards are a valuable communication tool; the boards display data including the names of the last three persons to have visited a patient room.

anxiety for patients” because they are kept better informed.

“The less you know about your situation, the more your attitude is likely to suffer,” Robinson said. “Conversely, the more you know, the better you are likely to feel about the care you are receiving.”

In March, Robinson departed Tallahassee to become the CEO at HCA’s hospital in Salt Lake City. There, MyCare boards have yet to be installed, meaning that conventional dry-erase boards remain in place.

Touring the hospital in Salt Lake, Robinson found himself saying about the

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The InSites Locate App displays the location of pieces of tagged equipment, saving time that might otherwise be lost to finding a crash cart or a wheelchair.

MyCare boards’ primitive predecessors, “I sure don’t miss those things.”

In Tallahassee, Robinson appreciated being able to walk into a room and, at a glance, satisfy himself that a patient had been seen at prescribed intervals and that his pain was being assessed properly. The board displays names of the three hospital employees who last visited a given room and when.

Indeed, when a hospital employee wearing an interactive Smart Badge stops by a room, his or her name and title are displayed on the MyCare board. Some patients may have been flattered or surprised to look up and find that the CEO was taking an interest in their case.

The boards are sophisticated enough that patients are introduced to them via an orientation session upon admission.

“The boards connect directly to our charting system so that when a nurse begins her shift and logs into a patient record, we don’t have to manually populate anything,” Robinson said.

In emergency rooms, Robinson said, the boards “revolve around what all is going on with the patient and how long it is taking. It has the effect of assuring the patient that he has not been forgotten about. Information is in their face in real time.”

From time to time, a nurse used to the

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way things were before the future arrived may turn to a patient and say, “Let me go see about the results of your CT scan.” It is the patient who then may remind her that the update she is seeking is on display on the MyCare board.

“Clipboards are vanishing,” Robinson said. “You are not going to find doctors pencil whipping a piece of paper like they used to. A lot of time is saved.”

Robinson summarized the “Hospital of the Future” effort as one aimed at better

the mission of the company: ‘Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life.’”

Robinson said the Florida hospitals involved in trying on the technologies were not merely commanded to implement the new developments. Rather, he said, HCA wanted feedback from users in live settings so that they could better decide whether to install MyCare Boards and other products of the “Hospital of the Future” campaign in its 178 hospitals across the country.

The advancements, Robinson stressed, were substantially pioneered within HCA’s IT departments.

“It’s not like we simply purchased proprietary software from others,” he said.

Erica Williams, the director of operations for HCA’s North Florida Division, said real-time locating capabilities are central to the Hospital of the Future program.

Documentation equals delays, she said, adding “anytime we can make the workflows or our clinicians more efficient, we are helping them spend more time with their patients and contributing to better patient outcomes.

“Data is useless without context,” Williams said, “so we have developed applications that make the data meaningful.” Raw, real-time locating data is then

“DATA IS USELESS WITHOUT CONTEXT ...

SO WE HAVE DEVELOPED APPLICATIONS THAT MAKE THE DATA MEANINGFUL.” ERICA WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS FOR HCA NORTH FLORIDA DIVISION care, more efficient care, timely communication, improved asset management and inventory control and, as a byproduct, cost savings.

“At Capital Regional, we were pleased to be selected to help pilot of all this,” Robinson said. “And we are grateful that HCA has had the foresight and the bandwidth to focus these improvements. The new technologies fall directly in line with

employed, for example, in the management of crash carts and other assets.

Why were Capital Regional and Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center among the test sites?

Proximity to one of HCA’s two group presidents was surely a factor, Robinson allowed. Chuck Hall, who oversees roughly half of HCA’s hospitals, lives in Tallahassee.

PHOTOS BY BRUCE PALMER

The MyCare boards — Williams called them a “huge patient satisfier” — are but one of a few advancements that Robinson said have proved welcome and successful, “but, of course, we are continuing to tweak them a little as we experience them.” iMobile is a clinical communication platform driven by smartphone technology. It provides for secure texting and Wi-Fi calling and displays information including nurse assignments, patient demographics and the results of lab tests.

Advanced Nurse Call employs iMobile wireless integration to route and speed up patient calls, which are received by the nurse assigned to a patient versus being routed through an intermediary central nursing station.

An InSites Locate App, also designed for use on iMobile devices, displays the location of tagged pieces of equipment including wheelchairs and IV pumps so that they can be swiftly found by the caregivers needing them.

Robinson detailed a few of the applications of the iMobile platform.

“If I’m a patient and I hit the button because I need help, maybe I need to go to the bathroom, the call doesn’t go to the desk anymore; it’s going to the nurse’s phone,” Robinson said. “You are getting that nurse immediately.

“As the CEO, I had iMobile on my phone and, in the event of an emergency, I could broadcast a message to everyone who was logged into the platform. We had a Code White — an unruly person was inside the hospital — and we wanted to secure all of our entrances and exits. There was a report that the person might be armed with a gun. We sent a code message to the staff on their phones so that they could get it immediately. We didn’t run the risk that they wouldn’t hear the message on speakers and we got the word out without alarming the patients.”

(The situation was defused without incident, and there had been no gun.)

The locater app works this way …

“We have tagged all assets valued at $700 or more: wheelchairs, beds, stretchers, IV pumps,” Robinson began. “If I’m a

caregiver and I need a wheelchair, I can perception that it equates to Big Brother get on the computer or my iMobile phone, invasiveness. click on a tab and see a map that displays In a hospital setting, “improved outcomes” may, of course, mean saved lives. where every wheelchair is. This allows for Williams noted an incident involving a two things. People don’t have to spend a nurse who passed by a room and noticed ton of time looking for things. And it also that a patient not assigned to her was pomake it less likely that one of these items sitioned at an unnatural angle in his bed. is going to walk out the door.”

Closer examination revealed that he may Surely, there is a way that the locator have sustained a stroke. technology could be applied to luggage In addressing such a case, knowledge of carts in hotels. the time of the last known “well” can be The technology also lends itself to infection control. critical in determining which protocols to “If a patient is admitted,” Robinson said, observe and medications to administer. At “and tests later reveal that he has shingles Capital Regional, arriving at that datum or hepatitis, say, we can use a contact traccouldn’t have been much simpler. ing feature of the software and go back It was right there on the MyCare board. and identify every piece of equipment the “We know that there are all kinds of patient has come into contact with and potential applications of this technology,” ensure that it is properly cleaned, along Griffin said. “We have only scratched the with making sure that staff members resurface.” ceive any treatment they might need.”

A hand hygiene monitoring application has been piloted exclusively at Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center in Panama City.

Gulf Coast CEO Brad Griffin explained that interaction between the smart badges worn by staff and monitors in patient rooms and on hand sanitizer dispensers enable the system to know whether hand sanitizing is occurring when a particular staffer enters a room and again when he or she exits.

“We use the tool as a way to emphasize the importance of hand sanitation in promoting patient safety and better outcomes and preventing the spread of illness among patients and staff at the hospital,” Griffin said. In such a way, he said, the hospital enHospital physicians and staff are united through the use of courages a positive outlook iMobile phones. They have all but eliminated announcements on the technology versus a made over loudspeakers.

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THE RETURN OF HOUSE CALLS TMH’S TELEMEDICINE PROGRAM CONNECTS PATIENTS AND DOCTORS IN NEW WAYS

BY STEVE BORNHOFT

T

he doctor’s black bag is not on its way back, but house calls, virtually, are.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare has begun to employ telemedicine, finding that it facilitates the efficient delivery of services to patients spread throughout its 19-county service area.

“Simple technologies that we use every day in our personal lives absolutely ought to be embedded in health care,” said Lauren Faison, a TMH service line administrator whose responsibilities include regional development and telemedicine. “Our goal at TMH in using telemedicine is all about being more patient centered and using our physician resources in a more efficient way.”

Through recent decades, health care has revolved around providers. Patients have been expected to go to see their doctor and the next doctor and the next one, in the event that referrals to specialists are made.

“The use of technology,” Faison enthused, “spins the situation back to where we can deliver services to the patient when and where he needs it.”

In Tallahassee and other cities that serve as regional medical centers, a “tremendous amount” of money, time and effort is devoted to moving people from provider to provider within a five-mile radius. The expense is compounded by the risks associated with

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transporting patients who may be recovering from surgeries or other acute health episodes.

Stops along routes traveled by ubiquitous vans and buses include nursing homes, rehab hospitals, specialists’ offices and the offices of primary care physicians.

“Everyone has had the experience of waiting in a doctor’s office for a follow-up appointment that may require only a couple of minutes once the doctor enters the examining room,” Faison said. “The doctor sees you, everything is looking good and you’re sent on your way.

“Now, we can carry out those visits virtually. If I’m at work, I can close my office door, and I can see my doctor without having to leave the office. If that weren’t an option, I might skip the appointment due to the inconvenience involved.”

TMH embraced telemedicine in the first place with high-risk patients in mind, people who may lack health insurance or transportation.

“We have patients who are in and out of the hospital quite often,” Faison said. “It may be that they don’t know how to manage their health, or they have other challenges.

Now, when we have patients who need extra support, we can send them home with a Blue Tooth blood pressure cuff or a Blue Tooth scale and every morning when they

“OUR GOAL AT TMH IN USING TELEMEDICINE IS ALL ABOUT BEING MORE PATIENT CENTERED AND USING OUR PHYSICIAN RESOURCES IN A MORE EFFICIENT WAY.” LAUREN FAISON, TMH SERVICE LINE ADMINISTRATOR get up, the nurse can see that information and react accordingly.”

If the nurse finds that Mr. Smith’s blood pressure is climbing, she will alert a doctor who may decide to intervene by scheduling an outpatient visit versus waiting to the point where the patient winds up in the hospital.

Telemedicine provides for a hub-andspoke model whereby providers are connected to any number of patients.

Faison explained …

“It used to be that you had to have very expensive equipment and you had to have T-1 lines to allow for video connections, but now with any kind of Wi-Fi signal and a secure software system and a camera, you can provide health care virtually. If I’m at home

PHOTO COURTESY THE ZIMMERMAN PHOTOS OF

BY BRUCE PALMER AGENCY

+ and I think my daughter has pink eye, I can log in, see a physician, and satisfy my copay with my credit card, and I don’t have to leave the house.”

Telemedicine can be especially valuable in cases involving specialty care.

“I’m in Apalachicola and I fear that I may be having a stroke. Instead of waiting for Life Flight to bring me to a neurologist so an assessment can be performed, telemedicine means that assessment can be performed virtually and drugs can be prescribed immediately. Critical minutes are saved. ” While the advantages of telemedicine may be clear, the question of who will pay for it remains unresolved in Florida.

“Unfortunately, we’re way behind,” Faison said. “Twenty miles north of us in Georgia, they have what is called parity legislation for telemedicine. If a commercial health insurance provider will pay for you to see your doctor face to face, and you choose instead to see one virtually, they must also pay for that. We do not have that in Florida.”

By Faison’s count, bills related to telemedicine had been introduced in six legislative sessions in Tallahassee through

2017, but none had passed. Sen. Aaron Bean (R-Fernandina Beach) filed a bill discussed during the 2018 session that provided a framework and definitions for “telehealth,” but did not provide for the kind of reimbursement established in Georgia and other states. The bill survived the Senate but died in the House.

Insurance providers are concerned that telemedicine may open the floodgates to more patient-doctor encounters, but TMH is collecting case studies that it believes will demonstrate that telemedicine, because it stands to make preventive care more available, will mean fewer and less costly insurance claims. The Florida State University School of Medicine also is conducting a study in that vein.

In any event, telemedicine is happening in Tallahassee and throughout Florida.

Patients may elect to pay cash for services delivered via telemedicine. Or telemedicine may be used pursuant to cooperative arrangements between a hospital and clinics.

For example, a surgeon with the Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic may perform a knee replacement surgery. Following the

↖ Lauren Faison, TMH’s administrator of population health and telemedicine, touts the efficiency and convenience of telecommunication. ↑ A doctor converses with a nurse in a demonstration of telecommunication capabilities; the technology helps provide for an uninterrupted continuum of care.

operation, the patient may be admitted to TMH’s rehab facility located across the street from the hospital.

“Historically when it was time for your follow-up visit, we would load you up in a wheelchair, put you in a van, drive you across the street and escort you to the seventh floor so that you could see your surgeon,” Faison said, describing what could be an ordeal for a recovering patient.

“With an i-Pad and a $50 web cam, the doctor can inspect sutures, check leg extension, and everyone who is involved in that patient’s rehab can participate: the nurse, a physical therapist, a family member and others.”

Indeed, over time, telemedicine may obviate the need for some kinds of appointments.

“We are hearing that in other states, some of the busiest clinical practices have empty waiting rooms,” Faison said.

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TAX REFORM

SINCE the United States Congress passed the sweeping Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December, it’s left many taxpayers feeling concerned, confused or cautiously optimistic. The questions persist. Is it a boon or a bust for the economy? For consumers? For business?

The answers? They’re complicated as well. The changes — the most far-reaching overhaul of the country’s tax system in 30 years — hinge on many factors, including the size and composition of an individual’s family (consider the number and age of children), salary, source of income, and state. Sorting through the new provisions for businesses is enough to make an accountant’s head spin.

“In general, everyone is going to save money,” said Abby Dupree, managing partner of Tallahassee’s Carroll and Company, certified public accountants.

“Anyone getting a regular paycheck has already seen an increase in what they’re bringing home because of the change in the tax tables.”

Much of the business world is celebrating the new tax law, which slashes the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, changes some provisions for companies abroad and lowers taxes for many small businesses known as “pass-through” entities.

“It’s great news for American businesses in general, particularly manufacturing and technology,” said Tom Feeney, president and CEO, Associated Industries of Florida. “Reducing the corporate tax rate enables companies to grow more quickly, to hire more people and expand. Businesses also have more incentive to put their plant in the United States instead of overseas.”

Amid all the cheers for the legislation, there are concerns about certain aspects of this mammoth

tax act, particularly its tab — adding an estimated $1.5 trillion to the deficit — and its uncertain ramifications.

“I’m wondering about cuts,” said Roy Lee Carter Sr., 66, of Wewahitchka, retired director of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension service in Gulf County. “The money will have to come from somewhere.”

In its economic outlook, the Congressional Budget Office projected that benefits from the tax overhaul would include an expected increase in jobs and wages, but also noted that “such high and rising debt would have serious negative consequences for the budget and the nation.”

Spending without cutting worries Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch.

“In the long term, it’s a very serious issue,” he said.

“We don’t need to be adding to the debt. It’s high time to improve long-term economic stability.”

Concerns about adding to the debt, which could result in pressure to make budget cuts, are among the reasons the AARP opposed the legislation, said Florida AARP Director Jeff Johnson.

“We were concerned that a $1.5 trillion deficit would put pressure on programs that people 65-plus really rely on for their financial and health security: Medicare and Social Security,” said Johnson.

The AARP also objected to the measure in the law that eliminates in 2019 the Affordable Care Act individual mandate. “People in their 50s and early 60s not qualified for Medicare could see more significant premium increases to health insurance,” Johnson said.

A possible conundrum for future politicians: The corporate tax change is a permanent rate cut, but tax breaks for pass-through businesses and individuals are set to expire after 2025 unless Congress decides to make them stick.

It may take “a year or two of this tax package under our belt” to get a better idea of the economic impact, said Mark Wilson, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. “There will likely be a second package to fix what’s not working.”

If you’ve saved money from these changes, returning to the old rates — and a possible tax hike — in 2026 would be a letdown. There could be a push to keep the cuts, which could worsen debt.

“Stay tuned for developments,” said Steve R. Johnson, Dunbar Family professor of law at Florida State University’s College of Law. Here’s a look at the expected impact of key provisions of the new tax law.

’

JEFF JOHNSON AARP Florida State Director

We were concerned that a $1.5 trillion dollar deficit would put pressure on programs that people 65-plus really rely on for their financial and health security: Medicare and Social Security.

’

850 Business Magazine

DOMINIC CALABRO

President and CEO, Florida TaxWatch

In the long term, it’s a very serious issue.

We don’t need to be adding to the debt. It’s high time to improve longterm economic stability.

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A WINDFALL FOR CORPORATIONS

“Year-end bonuses were more prevalent,” said the Chamber’s Wilson, noting that several businesses, including JPMorgan Chase & Company, Florida Power & Light and AT&T issued bonuses or raises or increased investments as a result of the cuts.

“For our part, we are committed to increase our investment this year by an additional $1 billion. Research tells us every $1 billion in capital invested in telecom creates about 7,000 good jobs for the middle class,” said Rosie Montalvo, AT&T spokesperson.

“We also invested more than $1 billion

The massive corporate tax cut, to 21 percent from 35, is at the heart of the federal tax bill.

While he’s concerned about adding to the debt, Calabro called the changes “a very pro-competitive, pro-American initiative. It encourages countries to bring their tens of billions of dollars back to the U.S.” And that’s the refrain from the bill’s backers: The tax changes will improve the economy and boost employment and salaries.

TAX BRACKETS USED IN 2018 TO FILE 2017 TAX RETURNS 2017 Tax Brackets for Individuals

2017 Tax Brackets for Married Couples

SINGLE FILERS

MARRIED, FILED JOINTLY

10%

Up to $9,325

Up to $18,650

15%

$9,326 to $37,950

$18,651 to $75,900

25%

$37,951 to $91,900

$75,901 to $153,000

28%

$91,901 to $191,650

$153,001 to $233,350

33%

$191,651 to $416,700

$233,351 to $416,700

35%

$416,701 to $418,400

$416,701 to $470,700

Over $418,400

Over $470,000

Standard deduction: $6,350 Personal exemption: $4,050

Standard deduction: $12,700 Exemption for two: $8,100

TAX RATE

39.6%

Source: IRS

TO USE IN 2019 TO FILE 2018 TAX RETURNS 2018 Tax Brackets for Individuals

2018 Tax Brackets for Married Couples

SINGLE FILERS

MARRIED, FILED JOINTLY

10%

Up to $9,525

Up to $19,050

12%

$9,526 to $38,700

$19,051 to $77,400

22%

38,701 to $82,500

$77,401 to $165,000

24%

$82,501 to $157,500

$165,001 to $315,000

32%

$157,501 to $200,000

$315,001 to $400,000

35%

$200,001 to $500,000

$400,001 to $600,000

37%

Over $500,000

Over $600,000

TAX RATE

Standard deduction: $12,000

Standard deduction: $24,000 Source: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Conference Report

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’

MARK WILSON

President, Florida Chamber of Commerce

It may take a year or two of this tax package under our belt to get a better idea of the economic impact.

in our people following tax reform — $800 million to fund health care benefits and more than $200 million in special bonuses to more than 200,000 frontline U.S. employees,” she said.

FPL announced in January that customers will not pay a surcharge for Hurricane Irma restoration as previously expected.

Instead, FPL plans to apply federal tax savings toward the $1.3 billion cost of Hurricane Irma restoration, which the utility stated will save each of FPL’s 4.9 million customers an average of approximately $250.

AARP’s Johnson noted it’s important that consumers be alert in examining how the tax changes “affect the bottom line” for FPL. Some of the country’s biggest unions are pressing companies for more disclosure about how companies are spending tax-cut savings.

In April, four unions filed formal information requests with 11 companies, including American Airlines Group Inc., AT&T Inc. and PepsiCo subsidiary FritoLay, requesting disclosure of the firms’ plans for the extra cash freed up by the tax cuts.

A Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysis found that fewer than 45 of the 500 large companies that make up the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index had paid out cash bonuses to their workers in the four months after the new tax law took effect. By the bank’s count, about 150 — roughly a third — of S&P 500 companies have publicly announced their tax-cut spending plans, citing data through March 27.

Only 13 percent of companies’ tax-cut savings will go to pay raises, bonuses and employee SPENCER INGRAM benefits, accord- Managing Member, ing to a survey of Spencer Ingram Accounting & Morgan Stanley Consulting analysts released Feb. 8. The anaBig business lysts predicted really got the that 43 percent home run, and will go to investhe rest of us tors in the form are dealing with of stock buybacks the crumbs ... and dividends.

“The bulk of What impact savings and tax will this have cuts seem to go on our nation? toward high- Hopefully, the income and cor- trickle-down porations versus effect works, but middle-class it’s been known families,” said Jeff Johnson, at AARP. not to.

“I’m not implying that middle class families won’t save money. In most cases, they will. Short term, there are a number of changes that will lead to most people being able to save a few dollars and in some cases, the savings may be significant.

“But they won’t be doing as well compared to high-income folks and corporations,” he said.

Spencer Ingram, managing member of Spencer Ingram Accounting & Consulting in Tallahassee, shares that concern.

“Big business really got the home run, and the rest of us are dealing with the crumbs,” he said. “What impact will this have on our nation? Hopefully, the trickle-down effect works, but it’s been known not to.”

While tax experts agree that the tax rates paid by U.S. corporations were exceptionally high on paper, some companies are so skilled at using special provisions, “they paid little or no

’

income tax” in the past, said Steve Johnson, law professor at Florida State University and a recognized scholar on tax litigation and procedure.

Yet, for the economy, the cuts are a “shot in the arm,” said Feeney, at Associated Industries.

A BREAK FOR MANY SMALL BUSINESSES Among those who’d like to see the tax changes remain are certain pass-through businesses that got a break through the new law. Passthroughs are organized as sole proprietorships, LLCs and partnerships, and instead of paying corporate income tax rates, the owners pay individual income taxes on their share of business income.

The rates for pass-through businesses are the same as individual tax rates, but under the new law, some business owners can take a 20 percent deduction on their passthrough business income with limits for those earning above $157,000 (single) and $315,000 (married, filing jointly).

“Business owners can use these tax advantages to advance what they’ve been wanting to do,” said Sue Dick, president and CEO, Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce.

“It can enable them to hire that extra person, get equipment, do a renovation. It builds momentum to move forward.”

Michael Clarke, co-founder of Hanto & Clarke General Contractors in Pensacola, said the tax changes will enable his company to “build and retain as much equity as possible. This will allow us to put more money into our company, to purchase more assets and it increases our bonding capacity. It’s a big break for us.”

Clarke pointed to another bonus: Businesses buying equipment will

Key Changes •• The tax legislation slashes the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent.

•• Owners of many small businesses can take a 20 percent deduction on their pass-through business income with limits for those earning above $157,000 (single) and $315,000 (married, filing jointly).

•• Companies can write off the entire cost of hardware, off-the-shelf software and other equipment during the year they make their purchases, rather than spread out the deduction over a normal depreciation schedule.

•• Businesses will not be able to deduct most entertainment and recreation costs such as tickets for sporting and concert events and membership fees.

•• The individual health care mandate penalty that was part of the Affordable Care Act is repealed effective Dec. 31, 2018.

•• Standard deductions have nearly doubled, from $6,350 to $12,000 for single people, $9,350 to $18,000 for head-of-household filers and $12,700 to $24,000 for married couples filing jointly.

•• The seven federal income tax brackets reflect somewhat lower rates and adjusted income ranges.

•• The personal exemption is eliminated.

•• The tax bill doubles the former child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child under age 17.

•• A $500 tax credit is available for each dependent over the age of 17, considered a boon for caregivers of elderly relatives.

•• Boosters will not be able to take a tax deduction on donations related to season tickets.

•• Homeowners who deduct mortgage interest are limited to the amount they pay on $750,000 worth of debt, down from $1 million on homes purchased after Dec. 31, 2017.

•• ●Alimony payments won’t be tax deductible for couples divorced or separated after 2018.

Alimony recipients won’t have to claim the sum as income.

•• The new tax law increases the amount of money that’s automatically exempt from the federal estate tax to $11.2 million of an estate for someone who was unmarried or $22.4 million if married. (Applies after Dec. 31, 2017, and before Jan. 1, 2026. )

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have the ability to deduct the entire cost of their purchases in the first year instead of deducting them over several years according to depreciation schedules.

The pass-through deduction “is one of the biggest benefits I’ve seen for the real estate business,” said Joe Naumann, broker/owner of The Naumann Group Real Estate. “We’ll see the greater effect next season.”

The new tax structure allowed Phil Swartz, co-owner of Holiday Cruises & Tours, “to give significant bonuses to our employees. It’s up in the air whether the 20 percent deduction for pass-through businesses will continue, but it’s absolutely a good thing.”

But the changes “may not benefit every situation,” said Johnny Branch, business consultant, at the Small Business Development Center in Panama City.

Businesses such as lawyers, doctors and accountants are likely not eligible, but tax experts said it will likely take time and more clarification to work out the kinks.

In another measure, “companies lost the ability to write off business entertainment expenses,” said Ingram. Those expenses include sky boxes, sporting events, golf and hunting excursions, tickets and membership dues. The change could impact entertainment and sports industries as well as university sports programs.

Wilson, at the Florida Chamber, said he expects firms will continue to offer those perks even if they’re not deductible: “It’s a necessary part of doing business.”

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FAVORABLE FOR FLORIDA?

SUE DICK

’

President and CEO, Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce

Business owners can use these tax advantages to advance what they’ve been wanting to do.

It can enable them to hire that extra person, get equipment, do a renovation.

It builds momentum to move forward.

JOY WATKINS

’

President and CEO, The Community Foundation of North Florida

I’m optimistic that a tax deduction is not the primary reason that people give to charity. They give because they care and they want to give back.

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“Florida is a clear winner compared to other states,” Wilson has concluded. “It’s almost like an economic development package for Florida.”

The new law caps state and local tax deductions at $10,000 (this ends in 2025), dealing a blow to high-tax places like New York, New Jersey, Illinois and California. Previously, these deductions were unlimited.

Florida does not have a state income tax or a personal income tax.

Corporations that do business in and earn income in Florida must file a corporate income tax return (unless they are exempt).

“The big losers are the high-tax states,” said Ray McGovern, managing director and wealth management advisor with Merrill Lynch in Fort Walton Beach.

Florida is capitalizing on its lower taxes to lure companies and residents of big cities, said Wilson. The Florida Chamber and Enterprise Florida launched advertising in New York City with the headline: “We don’t like cold weather or high taxes. That’s why we live in Florida.”

“Taxpayers in New York have about twice the tax burden as the average person in Florida. The tax advantages in Florida are even greater than they were,” Wilson said.

But Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis isn’t celebrating yet. He cautions that, with the new changes, Texas may have an advantage over Florida because of the state corporate income tax.

“With the way the tax cuts are written, it’s created a larger pot of money from which corporations can be taxed,” said Anna Farrar, the CFO communications director.

Businesses are expected to pay an estimated 13 percent more in Florida in taxes over the next 10

years, which equates to an estimated $313 million increase over a decade, she said.

Patronis pointed to a March study by Andrew Phillips and Steve Wlodychak on the effects of the Trump tax cut. “While Florida businesses would pay 13 percent more, our No.1 competitor for jobs — Texas — would have no similar increase in business taxes,” Patronis stated in a release.

“The CFO staff is in the process of diving deeper into how we can strategically roll back the corporate income tax to keep Florida at a competitive advantage,” said Farrar. The office is expected to come up with a plan by the fall, she said.

INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS: Winners and Losers Many taxpayers have been winners under the new tax law, at least in the short term, happy to find a spike in their take-home pay after the passage of the legislation. But there’s still uncertainty — and concern that many taxpayers could eventually wind up losers.

The new law lowered tax rates and nearly doubled the standard deduction. But the tax cuts for individuals will slowly diminish — and are slated to end in 2025.

Deductions have increased from $6,350 to $12,000 for single people, $9,350 to $18,000 for headof-household filers and $12,700 to $24,000 for married couples filing jointly.

There are still seven tax brackets but the threshold for income has changed. (See chart on page 42).

With the new law, individuals with taxable income between $9,526 to $38,700 are now in the 12 percent bracket, $38,701 to $82,500

are in the 22 percent bracket, and $82,501 to $157,500 are in the 24 percent bracket.

Couples being taxed on income between $19,051 to $77,400 are now in the 12 percent bracket, those with taxable income from $77,401 to $165,000 are in the 22 percent bracket, and $165,001 to $315,000 are taxed in the 24 percent bracket.

The tax plan eliminates personal exemptions, so you can no longer claim dependents. Under the previous law, the personal exemption was $4,050 per person; this exemption is slated to return after 2025, when the tax cuts are set to expire.

“Where the changes get sticky is where you have dependents,” said CPA Nadia Batey, a senior manager with James Moore & Co. in Tallahassee. “Exemptions have completely gone away. The standard deduction has increased, so it depends if that increase makes up for the loss of exemptions.

“If you have 10 kids, it doesn’t come close to making it up,” Batey said.

To help offset some of the loss, the child tax credit has increased from $1,000 to $2,000 per child under the age of 17 for married couples earning under $400,000.

There is a cost-saving benefit for those caring for their parents or relatives, said Fred Bates, the volunteer regional coordinator of the extensive AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program, which serves more than 300,000 people in the Gulf region of Florida and Georgia.

“A $500 tax credit is available for each dependent over the age of 17 living with the taxpayer,” said Bates.

According to AARP research, “there are more than 2.67 million family caregivers in Florida, hundreds of thousands of whom are adult children who are helping to provide for a frail parent or another older loved one.”

If a single caregiver’s relatives qualify as a dependent, the taxpayer is eligible for head-of-household status, which is preferable to single status filing due to an increased standard deduction and more

favorable income tax tables.

There is a long list of itemized deductions that may be limited or totally phased out under the new law. Among them: Moving expenses (there’s a military exemption) will be eliminated, and boosters will not be able to take a tax deduction on the donation related to their season tickets. Alimony is no longer deductible or taxable (after 2018), and there are lower limits on mortgage interest deductions (for homes purchased after Dec. 31, 2017).

About 30 percent of Americans had been itemizing their expenses for deductions. With all the changes, tax experts estimate that 10 percent or less will still itemize.

?

UNCERTAINTY FOR NONPROFITS

There’s a concern that the reduction in deductions could drastically affect charitable giving, Batey said.

Roy Lee Carter, the retiree in Gulf County, is among the many taxpayers who have deducted donations to charities. He is concerned about whether people will have to cut back.

“I donate $12,000 each year to my church, and I was able to deduct it all,” said Carter, who now runs a cattle business. “We’ll continue to give the same amount, but I guarantee there will be people who may not be able to give as much.”

Donor motivations will be tested.

“I’m optimistic that a tax deduction is not the primary reason that people give to charity,” said Joy Watkins, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of North Florida. “They give because they care and they want to give back.”

WHAT’S NEXT? “The law is subject to change based on guidance from IRS and court interpretations,” said Michael Kalifeh, director of tax services for Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. in Tallahassee. “There’s a lack of clarification and guidance because the law is so new.”

Expiring

2025

THESE ARE SOME OF THE PROVISIONS SET TO EXPIRE AFTER 2025: •• Pass-through business income deduction •• Increased levels for the estate tax exemption •• New tax brackets •• Increased standard deduction •• Repeal of personal exemption •• Doubled child tax credit •• Mortgage deduction change

At FSU, Steve Johnson said that “some of these provisions are horrendously complicated.”

“This measure was put together pretty rapidly and there are places that are not particularly well-drafted,” he said. “What happens next depends upon the U.S. Treasury and the IRS. All of this is complicated by the fact that the IRS workload has gone up. Some provisions will need just a few regulations and others will need an unbelievable amount of regulations.”

Whatever the future, taxpayers are likely going to need guidance — as soon as possible.

“People will want to seek help to be sure they’re doing things right,” said AARP’s Jeff Johnson. “We all need to pretend that this is a brand new ballgame.”

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T

There is something oddly aromatic — feminine, really — on or about Eugene Raffield, but not wholly inconsistent with the conversation, which, for the moment, is centered on a globular critter that has remained unchanged for countless millennia, the cannonball jellyfish.

Cannonballs, known variously as cabbageheads and jellyballs, run about the circumference of a 20-pound kettle ball. They are equipped with a collection of appendages at the base of the globe that give the jellyfish limited mobility and help it capture prey, primarily miniature animals called zooplankton.

For about 40 years, Raffield Fisheries in Port St. Joe has been harvesting, processing and exporting cannonballs primarily to China, Japan and Vietnam, while also shipping them to domestic markets — New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and selected cities in California, all with large populations of Asian people.

Raffield, who is the vice president for sales and marketing at the fisheries, is convinced that the market for jellyfish in the U.S. will grow as a product of the ever more widespread pursuit of healthy lifestyles.

retard arthritis — and calciumbuilding proteins that help keep memories sharp.

(At the mention of the skinsoftening properties of collagen, Raffield interjects, “Remind me to tell you what my wife has been working on lately.”)

Served as appetizers, cannonballs have become increasingly important to Raffield Fisheries, especially since 1994 when Florida’s constitutional net ban was passed, forcing the business to look for new products and markets. That measure outlawed the use in Florida waters of any gill net or other entangling net of more than 500 square feet in size. (A hand-tossed cast net of 12 feet in diameter totals 113 square feet.)

“People in Asia have been into jellyfish for thousands of years because of the benefits,” Raffield said.

“I’m sure you’ve seen the commercials for Prevogen that talk about how substances (originally) found in jellyfish can enhance memory. It’s amazing that jellyfish haven’t really caught on in our culture before now.”

The international demand notwithstanding, the cannonball jellyfish processing operation, on a bluebird day in March, has come to a halt at Raffield Fisheries. Crews had processed about 15,000

PHOTO COURTESY STATE ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA, FLORIDA MEMORY (RAFFIELD) AND GREG MCFALL/NOAA (JELLYFISH)

We make our livings at sea and every day is different, “ and with it comes an opportunity to learn something new if you have your eyes and mind open.”

— Eugene Raffield, Raffield Fisheries “If somebody eats something that’s good for them, their body is going to know and their mind is gonna tell ’em to keep buying it,” he said.

While not a jellyfish consumer himself, Raffield has changed his personal diet, getting away from fried foods and favoring now fish that is broiled, grilled or smoked.

“You can learn a lot of the best ways to prepare food on the Food Network instead of getting all bogged down with a plate of fried this or that,” Raffield said.

Where popular, jellyfish are valued, Raffield said, because they contain concentrations of three types of collagen — which promotes skin health and can

pounds of cannonballs harvested off Georgia when a nor’easter, usually thought of as a New England phenomenon, created currents that pushed jellyfish in the Southeast offshore. It will be a few days before the operation resumes.

Raffield’s total jellyfish harvest will vary from year to year due to factors, including water temperature — warmer water produces bigger plankton blooms.

Cannonball jellyfish are often abundant close to home in the Gulf of Mexico.

“There are years when we catch five container loads of jellyfish and years when we catch 20 Opening page, cannonball jellyfish; top, fishing pioneer Capt. Carl Jackson Raffield at Raffield Fisheries, 1974.

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— you have to be honest, you have to treat people fairly and you have to stay close to the politicians.

They’re like a revolving door … just because they won an election doesn’t mean they know a thing about fish or fishing or running a business.”

— Eugene Raffield, Raffield Fisheries Fishing operations in the early 1900s (upper left) included net boats such as the Hypnotist, seen in the foreground, cleaning stations, sailing vessels that carried catches to distant ports, and a pig that wolfed down entrails. Today’s Raffield employees (upper right) sorted a catch made in March that included red mullet (goatfish) and northern mackerel.

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containers of them,” Raffield said, noting that each container holds about 40,000 pounds of the invertebrates.

The jellyfish are harvested using nets designed to remain near the water’s surface, resulting in little or no bycatch. Beachgoers like to see Raffield boats skimming jellyfish, which sting swimmers and host spider crabs.

For Raffield, the jellyfish season gives way to more elusive targets as the water warms in the spring.

“We’re bait people,” he said. “Most of our business is selling bait for use by recreational anglers and also commercial fishermen — longliners and bandit fishermen. We provide a lot of different types of bait — sardines, cigar minnows, thread herring, bait shrimp — to bait and tackle shops from Islip, New York, down the Atlantic seaboard to the Gulf of Mexico and all the way to California and up to Seattle. We’ve even sold bait to the Navy base at Guantanamo Bay.” A lot of the familiar pint-sized blue tubs containing shrimp or squid and found in freezers at

area convenience stores originate at Raffield’s. Wildlife rehabilitators are among its customers. So are Sea World and marine specimen collector Jack Rudloe, whose operations include an aquarium in Panacea.

It can be an inexact science. For example, knowing how many cigar minnows, favored by snapper fishermen, to catch is difficult when the federal and state snapper seasons vary in length as dramatically as they have in recent years.

Raffield Fisheries employs 40 people full time and about 150 seasonally. Jellyfish processing requires a lot of extra hands in the spring, baitfish keep the workforce busy in the summer and fall is dedicated to mullet, obtained from harvesters in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. It takes a lot of cast netters to produce the kind of volume Raffield needs to fill orders for both roe and meat; economies of scale are important and it costs no more to put a full truck on the road than one that is half-full.

Eugene’s father, Gene, emphasized throughout his working years that the business relies for its success on balance and continuing education.

“We make our livings at sea and every day is different, and with it comes an opportunity to learn Raffield Fisheries targets cannonball jellyfish off the coast of Georgia early in the year and in the Gulf of Mexico in the fall. The collagenrich invertebrates are prized in the Orient as appetizers.

PHOTOS BY STEVE BORNHOFT (FISH SORTING) PHOTOS COURTESY STATE ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA, FLORIDA MEMORY (1900s) AND STRAWBERRYMOCHI / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

We’ve been in “this since 1898

PHOTOS BY STEVE BORNHOFT

Raffield Fisheries employee Anthony Robinson repairs a purse seine in March in preparation for the warm-weather fishing season ahead. The business employs 40 people full time and as many as 150 seasonally.

something new if you have your eyes and mind open,” Raffield said. “And one of the lessons you learn again and again is that the natural world is like a set of scales.

People can have the effect of putting a thumb on the scales. Overprotect redfish and you will find yourself running out of blue crabs.”

Finding a peaceable balance between commercial and recreational catch quotas is a continuing contest, but Raffield likes to remind himself that his business benefits countless non-fishermen.

“We provide the bait that catches the grouper and snapper that wind up on plates in the restaurants,” Raffield said.

Over the past 10 years or so, Raffield has detected climatic changes — warmer weather, warmer water — that have altered the timing and duration of fishing seasons and the migratory patterns of fish.

“It’s hard to quantify and I’m no scientist, but something is going on,” Raffield has concluded. “And we have yet to get

past the effects of the BP (Deepwater Horizon) oil spill.”

Raffield believes that the dispersant used to break up and sink oil in the wake of the explosion, largely for cosmetic reasons, has been more harmful than the oil, itself, would have been.

The dispersant, he said, sterilized some fish or killed their eggs, and Raffield’s production fell way off. The spill and the response to it were the only variables that Raffield could identify as possible causes.

The weather and pollution are just two variables that Raffield cannot control. Others, significantly, include regulations and regulators.

“In this business — and I’m sixth generation, we’ve been in this since 1898 — you have to be honest, you have to treat people fairly and you have to stay close to the politicians. They’re like a revolving door, changing all the time. And just because they won an election doesn’t mean they know a thing about fish or fishing or running a business. You constantly have to educate them, or at least try to.”

What fries Raffield is the politicized nature of fisheries management versus what could be: scientific management based on stock assessments obtained using the best technologies available. Political management invariably upsets balances.

Left alone, Raffield said, populations of fish and other species vary according to predictable seven-year cycles.

“Native Americans understood that,” he said. “Those cycles were the basis for planning for abundance or anticipating lean years.

“Now, everything has been disrupted.

We have overdeveloped our coastlines.

We have destroyed estuaries. Runoff has created huge dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. We have got to figure out a way to get nitrates out of the water. And, as an

ocean Indian, I am very concerned by the accumulations of plastic we see offshore.”

Inescapably, Raffield turned in conversation to the net ban, imposed in 1995. For years, Raffield has worked to overcome his bitterness about that pivotal development in Florida history, which reduced fisheries management to a popular vote on a constitutional amendment. The fight wasn’t fair.

Well-heeled recreational fishing interests whose numbers were legion easily overwhelmed the relatively tiny number of commercial fishermen.

Raffield still seethes when he recalls pro-net ban TV commercials, more numerous at the time than commercials for law firms are today, that featured footage of drift nets from the Pacific Ocean containing ensnared sea turtles.

“It dawned on me that I was selling baitfish to men with Rolex watches who were telling me to find another job,” Raffield recalled. “It was political bullying, and it wasn’t right. It caused problems. Speed limits are arrived at on the basis of study, not politics.”

These days, Raffield is monitoring closely efforts to modify the federal Magnuson Act, which regulates fisheries.

He fears that sportfishing interests will try to reserve snapper and grouper quotas exclusively for recreational charter boats and private boats.

But, he said, resentment is sure to grow among non-boaters if they are no longer able to enjoy a red snapper for supper.

“You try to tell these folks that you need a 34-foot Yellowfin if want a red snapper, or otherwise you can settle for a catfish from Vietnam — that’s not the American way.

At the end of the day, we’re all Americans and we should be able to fairly and reasonably consider one another’s interests.”

Such reasonable consideration, he said, might limit the areas in which artificial reefs can be located.

“We’re farmers of the sea, but imagine if you were farming corn and you got up one morning and someone had dumped five school buses in the middle of your corn field,” Raffield painted a picture. “Now, you’re going to have to plow around them.

It’s the same for us with all the stuff on the bottom. You’ve taken something natural and turned it into something artificial.”

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Countless recreational snapper fishermen rely on cigar minnows from Raffield Fisheries as bait; the business’s management team includes, from left, Eugene Raffield, his cousin, Joey, and his brother, Randy; Eugene and Randy’s father, Gene, left big shoes to fill when he died in 2000.

onions, a horseradish sauce and au jus.

“Now, that’s a good sandwich,” Raffield assures me and, really, who am I to argue? Raffields run large and love to eat.

Between bites, Raffield recalls the death of his father at age 62 in the year 2000. Before he fell victim to the ravages of pancreatic cancer, Gene, at 6-2, weighed 320 pounds.

“When he died, everyone assumed that would be the end of the business,” Raffield said. “He was the big cheese. Well, Daddy had two pair of serious shoes that he wore to important meetings or special occasions. I took one pair and had it gold plated, and I gathered up all the employees and I had those shoes in front of me and I said, ‘I hope to fill one of these shoes.’”

Left unsaid was the hope that everyone else would combine to fill the other one.

So it has come to pass.

Raffield and his wife, Margie, have a daughter, who works as a registered nurse in Panama City, and two sons. One became in May the first student in the history of Gulf Coast State College to graduate as a certified drone pilot. The other works at the fisheries, where he is learning the business from the entry level up.

“Now, have I told you what Margie is up to? Follow me.”

We head off on foot down Reid Street, chat up the former owner of the Port St. Joe Star, and a couple of blocks later, arrive at a boutique, Anchors South. Raffield leads me to a display of handmade soaps, his wife’s handiwork.

Margie is temporarily indisposed, as it happens.

She is in the back of the store getting a spray tan.

“Are you here to get your tan, Mr. Eugene?” the boutique’s proprietor wants to know.

“Well,” he said, “I’m afraid you’d lose money on me. You’d need a 55-gallon drum of the stuff.”

Raffield returns our focus to the soaps.

“This is the one I like,” he says. “The Spa Bar. I used to have rough heels. But this soap is a moisturizer. I’ve learned that the Irish Spring I used to use just dried me out. Now my heels are smooth as glass.”

The Spa Bar label lists ingredients including organic saponified olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter, activated charcoal, French rose clay and essential oils.

“Take a whiff of that,” Raffield encourages me.

I had been smelling it all day.

However literal, there is a softer side to big ol’ Eugene.

PHOTOS BY STEVE BORNHOFT

But still and all, Raffield is a survivor.

His father, who as a boy drew up plans for a houseboat he would build later in life, taught his sons to be frugal, accountable and resourceful.

Eugene Raffield was a fifth-grader when he was told to report to the office of his elementary school principal, Harry Harrington. His brother, Randy, and his cousin, Joey, also received a summons and, united in the principal’s office, the little angels couldn’t figure out why they were there. Then, the boys’ fathers, Gene Raffield and his brother, Harold, arrived.

“We’re here to take you out of school,” Gene announced, and the boys didn’t know whether to celebrate or continue trembling.

Fathers and sons traveled to the thenFlorida National Bank and proceeded to the president’s office. There, three chairs waited to receive the boys and before each was a checkbook. The boys had each been entrusted with a hundred bucks.

Next stop, Raffield Fisheries.

There, all the employees had gathered around three 24-foot mullet skiffs equipped with 25-horsepower Evinrude outboard engines, one for each boy.

The dads laid down the rules: “Y’all can fish on the weekends, but if your grades suffer, these boats will tie up and y’all will be off to tutoring.”

A seed had been planted, and it germinated and took root. Today, the three boys, ages 54–56, remain Raffield employees.

It’s lunchtime.

The conversation moves via Raffield’s outsized pickup truck to the Provisions restaurant on Reid Avenue in downtown Port St. Joe. In the truck, that aromatic something seems all the more concentrated.

Raffield does me the favor of ordering for me. We both, then, throw down prime rib sandwiches served with caramelized

OFFICE PROPERTY FOR LEASE

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$16.00 SF/yr (MG)

By Rachel Smith New Ownership and Management, with major upgrades and improvements in OFFICE PROPERTY FOR LEASE progress! University Office Park contains seventeen (17), reliable, well-maintained This Pensacola office center is office buildings on 4.5 acres of land. The buildings are strategically located next to under University Town Plaza with easy access to Interstate Highways I-10 and I-110.

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University Office Park For Lease

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17 reliable, well-maintained office buildings on 4.5 acres of land. The buildings are strategically located next to University Town Plaza, with easy access to I-10 and I-110.

The office park provides ample parking divided into three lots that surround the complex on the north, south and east sides. This allows close proximity access for each tenant. The office park also enjoys multiple access points to North Davis Highway and Creighton Road.

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Stacy Taylor, CCIM

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staylor@teambeck.com 850.477.7044

jbeck@teambeck.com 850.477.7044

List Price: $16 SF/yr (MG)

This information has been secured by Beck Partners CRE. LLC. from sources believed to be reliable. It is not guaranteed, however, and should be verified prior to consummating any transaction.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BECK PARTNERS

Address: 600 University Office Blvd., Pensacola Square Footage: 41,302 SF/ 4.58 Acres Year Built: 1981

Stacy Taylor, CCIM

Stacy Taylor, CCIM

Justin Beck, CCIM, CPM

staylor@teambeck.com 850.477.7044

850.477.7044

Justin Beck, CCIM, CPM jbeck@teambeck.com

Associate Contact: StacySenior Taylor, CCIM, Senior Associate,CEO Beck Partners, staylor@teambeck.com, (404) 936-8936 850.477.7044 850.477.7044 This information has been secured by Beck Partners CRE. LLC. from sources believed to be reliable. It is not guaranteed, however, and should be verified prior to consummating any transaction.

404.936.8936 C 850.529.7499 Justin CBeck, CCIM, CPM, CEO, Beck Partners, jbeck@teambeck.com, (850) 529-7499 This information has been secured by Beck Partners CRE, LLC. staylor@teambeck.com jbeck@teambeck.com from sources believed to be reliable. It is not guaranteed, however, and should be verified prior to consummating any transaction.

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DEAL ESTATE Second Home

Riverfront Departure

Updated nature lover’s paradise on St. Marks River By Rachel Smith What a view of the beautiful St. Marks River from this wonderfully updated home that sits right on the river bank. Guest cottage is one bedroom with one bath (316 square feet) while the main house has two bedrooms with 1.5 baths (1,328 square feet). Second bedroom is currently used as the dining area/second TV area. Lovely circle drive with fruit trees and nice landscaping. Large windows throughout the home make this property a nature lover’s paradise.

List Price: $365,000 Address: 233 Old Magnolia Road, Crawfordville Square Footage: 1,636 Year Built: 1994 Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2.5

Realtor says: “Truly a beautiful property, and one you must see to believe.”

Contact: Deborah Thompson, Realtor, (850) 933-1349 and Erin Sexton, Realtor, (850) 320-2465, coldwellbankertallahassee.com

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SUMMER 2018

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850businessmagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF COLDWELL BANKER

Features: Wood floors, granite counters, black appliances, updated baths, roof 2008, HVAC 2007–08, appliances 2007–08.

Screened gazebo, screened outside sitting area, walkway to dock at river’s edge for manatee watching. Square feet from tax rolls but includes screened porch conversion.

SPONSORED REPORT

COURTESY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL OF OKALOOSA COUNTY

OKALOOSA / WALTON COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Military installations play enormous roles in economies of the Emerald Coast.

Here, a Bell Boeing CV-22 Osprey with the 8th Special Operations Squadron out of Hurlburt Field in Okaloosa County flies along the coast.

MANUFACTURING

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TOURISM

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TECHNOLOGY

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DEFENSE

2018 O K A L O O S A / W A LT O N C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 53

OKALOOSA COUNTY

AN OPTION ON THE FUTURE Okaloosa touts features of industrial megasite

F

or Okaloosa County, the past year has been a stage-setting one on the economic development front.

Central to that effort was a vote by county commissioners to secure a purchase option on 1,700 acres located on Interstate 10. The parcel is part of the 11,000-acre Shoal River Ranch and also offers frontage on U.S. 90 and a CSX railroad line.

With site selection consultants and others, the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County, headed by executive director Nathan Sparks, has been talking up the site for about four years. The purchase option makes things more real.

Prospective tenants are likely to be encouraged, too, by the county’s successful application for Triumph Gulf Coast dollars — money recovered by the Florida attorney general for economic damages that resulted from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill — for extending sewer and water lines along U.S. 90 to the site. The amount of the award was $1.4 million.

“We have received great feedback on the site from consultants and business decision makers who are all very bullish on what it offers,” Sparks said. “They recognize that the Shoal River site is a special piece of property, and they have encouraged us to do everything we can

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to get the right sets of development eyes to look at it and to make sure the community is in a position to make things happen there.”

That positive feedback led the council to strongly encourage the county to take steps to tie up the property.

Too, the council has made it a point to study what went right in Alabama leading up to the decision by Toyota and Mazda to locate a plant in Huntsville.

The planned $1.4 billion plant, called Project New World, will represent a joint venture between the two automakers.

The plant is expected to employ 4,000 workers at an average salary of $50,000 and to produce about 300,000 vehicles

COURTESY OF VENTURE HIVE / ISTOCK / GETTYIMAGES PLUS

BY STEVE BORNHOFT

OKALOSSA COUNTY

Map illustrates the Shoal River industrial park site, with frontage on both U.S. Highway 90 and Interstate I-10 and along the CSX Railroad. The site boasts many of the same features that characterize a Huntsville, Alabama, site that attracted an auto manufacturing plant.

An American Elite Molding employee operates machinery that produces zip ties. The Crestview-based company has been recognized by the state as a Florida Manufacturer of the Year.

a year. Already, Huntsville is home to a Toyota engine plant. Toyota president Akio Toyoda cited his company’s experience with Huntsville’s highquality workforce as a key factor in the decision to build an assembly plant there.

“The Huntsville site,” Sparks said, “in terms of size and scale and amenities, is similar to our Shoal River site.”

Economic development officials in Alabama first started promoting the Huntsville property 10 years ago when Volkswagen was shopping sites for a plant that ultimately went to Chattanooga, Tennessee. That plant, which commenced production in April 2011, employs more than 2,000 workers and churns out about 150,000 Passats a year.

“The consultants who were managing the Volkswagen site search really implored the community in Huntsville to make the property there as competitive as possible and to position it for future opportunities,” Sparks said. “They did just that and, a decade later, they are

celebrating a monumental economic development victory.”

Sparks views the Alabama success as an example of what can happen when local officials heed the advice of people like site selection consultants in positions of influence who believe that a particular property can be made competitive with the right strategic approach and investment.

“Because we already have been focusing on this site for three or four years, it’s not going to be a 10-year effort for us,” Sparks predicted. “We’re a good ways down the road, and certainly the option that the county has on the property and the application for Triumph funds for water and sewer improvements helps solidify the case for this property. Plus, Enterprise Florida is very much a partner in this effort.

“It is going to be a true transformative site. There are not many sites like it in North Florida or throughout the whole state. There are few properties that can be classified as megasites. Anything which lands at Shoal River Ranch will be of a scale that will affect all of Northwest Florida in a favorable way.”

Sparks and his team have brought the Shoal River site to the attention of heavy equipment manufacturers, in addition to automakers and to tire companies who may wish to build research and development facilities including a test track along with a manufacturing plant.

In conversation, however, Sparks continued to return to auto plants.

“Twenty years ago, Alabama was not a player in the auto sector,” he said. “But the

state and community worked diligently to become competitive and to identify the right real estate options, and they have grown a tremendous cluster of auto-sector businesses.

“We believe that our proximity to a growing supply chain that continues to move south and our proximity to ports in Panama City, Pensacola and Mobile means that we can be competitive. We have a workforce component that some of our neighboring states cannot necessarily match. We have access to a U.S. highway, an interstate and rail and the topography at our site is favorable to a host of activities. This is one of those catalytic opportunities much like we have seen in other states in the Southeast.”

Plus, Sparks has the advantage of selling an attractive county where people genuinely want to live.

So attractive is the county and so robust is its economy that, at this writing, Oklaloosa’s unemployment rate, at just 3 percent, is the lowest in the state. That, from Sparks’ standpoint, can be problematic when courting employers looking for a readily available workforce.

To combat that problem, Sparks and the EDC have embarked on “talent-recruitment strategies” that involve emphasizing Okaloosa County’s quality of life, its outstanding schools and natural features and amenities that make the area desirable.

Too, the EDC is trying to capitalize on what it sees as a hidden workforce, the 1,500 or so skilled and experienced men and women who conclude their military

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OKALOOSA COUNTY

“WE ARE SERVING AS A CONNECTING POINT FOR BUSINESSES, AND TECMEN SERVES TO UNITE COMPANIES AS A TEAM CAPABLE OF MEETING ALL OF THE ASPECTS OF AN OPPORTUNITY.” NATHAN SPARKS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL OF OKALOOSA COUNTY

The University of West Florida is seeking Triumph Gulf Coast funds with which to develop an innovation center that would include a campus in Fort Walton Beach. Here UWF personnel demonstrate a 3D printer.

committee meets monthly and brings together representatives of contractors big (Boeing and Lockheed) and not so big.

“We are serving,” Sparks said, “as a connecting point for businesses with complementary abilities, and it’s been a lucrative and fruitful effort. A business may have the ability to satisfy some of the requirements of a contract, but not all of them. TeCMEN serves to unite companies as a team capable of meeting all of the aspects of an opportunity.”

In the past year, the EDC conducted its first TeCMEN Industry Day, which included 45 exhibitors, some from as far away as Washington State and California and others from the northern Gulf Coast — Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City and Airbus from Mobile, Alabama, to name a couple.

“We hosted major OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), the companies that drive supplier activity in the Gulf Coast region,” Sparks said. “We are planning our second TeCMEN Industry Day for August and expect it to be even bigger and better.”

Academic and workforce development partners are joining with the EDC in pursuing Triumph funds.

Northwest Florida State College is

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seeking funds for aviation technology and hospitality programs and a simulated city that would be built near DeFuniak Springs.

All three proposals have cleared the preapplication phase.

The aviation technology program would supply airframe and power plant mechanic training. Sparks notes that some 200 aircraft mechanics separate from Hurlburt Field each year but don’t have A&P [airplane and powerplant] credentials because they are not required by the military. The new program would supply them with the certifications they need to work in commercial aviation.

The simulated city would accommodate utility company employees, first responders and emergency management personnel engaged in studying disaster scenarios.

The contemplated hospitality program would offer both associate’s and bachelor’s degrees.

“Our one-two punch in Okaloosa County is defense and hospitality,” Sparks stressed.

The University of West Florida is seeking Triumph funds for an innovation center that would include a campus in Fort Walton Beach. The proposal

COURTESY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL OF OKALOOSA COUNTY

careers each year at the Hurlburt and Eglin Air Force bases. (Add personnel separating from bases in Panama City and Pensacola and the number grows to 6,000.)

“We’ve been digging deeper to discover how many of these people stay here after retiring or separating from the Air Force and cataloging the skill sets they possess,” Sparks explained.

Via survey work, Sparks and the EDC learned that many of the people in that population perceived that there were no job opportunities for them upon separation.

“But,” said Sparks, “the truth is that we have 300 military contractors in Okaloosa County. There is a natural marriage there.”

Improving the retention of the “hidden workforce,” then, has been largely a matter of education.

So it is that the EDC conducts an Early Bird Job Fair intended for people who will be leaving the military in a year or so. The fair enables them to position themselves for post-military career employment well before their separations occur.

The effort is paying off. In three years, the percentage of new veterans in Okaloosa County sticking around has jumped 10 points to 41 percent.

Even as it works to tap into the military community, the EDC is working to foster a sense of community and identity among Okaloosa County’s defense contractors.

The EDC’s TeCMEN (Technology Coast Manufacturing and Engineering Network)

COURTESY OF OKALOOSA COUNTY AIRPORTS

anticipates prototyping labs and steps to increase the availability of 3D printing.

In February, the hospitality industry got a boost in the form of an announcement made by Allegiant Travel Company, which is establishing a new, two-aircraft base with year-round routes at DestinFort Walton Beach Airport (VPS).

The base will create 65 new jobs and bring an anticipated $418 million in tourism revenue to the area over the next five years. Allegiant is investing more than $49 million to establish the year-round base, which will house two Airbus aircraft. The new Destin base will also allow Allegiant to offer new routes to five cities.

In May, Allegiant will permanently locate two Airbus A320 aircraft at VPS and hire permanent local employees. One of the unique focuses of Allegiant is to bring customers from previously underserved destinations, not to compete for existing market share.

Allegiant’s service in Destin-Fort Walton Beach began with six routes in 2016 and expanded to 16 cities in 2017. The new Destin base will become the airline’s 14th year-round aircraft base. Allegiant planned to immediately begin hiring pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians and ground personnel to

support operations. Positions are expected to offer average salaries more than double the area’s average wage.

Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., Allegiant’s chairman and CEO, said, “We are excited to continue our growth in Florida’s Emerald Coast by establishing a full-time base at Destin-Fort Walton Beach. The base will not only afford many more options when it comes to adding routes and expanding service, but will also give us the opportunity to contribute even more to the community and the state’s economy. We have a terrific partnership across many state and local agencies, without which today would not be possible. We can’t thank them enough for their support.”

Ken Lawson, CEO of Visit Florida, reacted to the announcement, saying, “Allegiant’s decision to make Destin a base of their operations and create new routes to the Emerald Coast is great news for Florida’s tourism industry. By opening new airline routes to our state, we’re able to share sunshine with more people around the world. Visit Florida was proud to play a small part in Allegiant’s decision, and we look forward to working with them to welcome more visitors and continue to set visitation records to our state.”

Overall, Sparks said, the economic outlook in Okaloosa County is positive.

Allegiant Travel Company announced in February that it was establishing a new base in Destin.

Allegiant planned to immediately start hiring pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians and ground personnel to support the operation.

“The new federal budget includes considerable additional money for defense,” Sparks pointed out. “We have been in a sequestration posture for the past few years. Defense contractors were circling the wagons and doing the best they could given difficult funding cycles. Now, the level of optimism is very high. We live in an uncertain world, and the best offense is a good defense. Lately, at TeCMEN meetings, it’s not unusual for six or eight companies to report new hiring — additions of 10 or 20 employees in high-wage jobs.”

Sparks sings the praises of the county’s Tourist Development Council, citing a string of years that have seen records for visitation.

And he gave a shout-out to American Elite Molding, newly recognized by the state as a Florida Manufacturer of the Year.

“They could be located anywhere,” Sparks said, “but they have invested tens of millions and hired dozens of people right here in Okaloosa County. They demonstrate that we can do high-volume, low-cost production right here in the United States.”

2018 O K A L O O S A / W A LT O N C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 57

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2018 O K A L O O S A / W A LT O N C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 59

OKALOOSA COUNTY

HOLDING THINGS TOGETHER

AMERICAN ELITE MOLDING IN CRESTVIEW IS A LEADING MANUFACTURER OF CABLE TIES IN THE UNITED STATES

T

he manufacturing floor at American Elite Molding is one busy place.

From bustling workers to the steady hum of 14 custom injection molding machines spitting out the company’s signature cable ties, the 24-hour operation is rarely quiet or still.

And if CEO Bob Sires has his way, the floor will only get busier.

“We currently manufacture more than 1.5 billion cable ties annually and are on track to double in size within the next five years, reaching $50 million in sales,” said Sires, who founded the company as Bay State Cable Ties in 1998 in Massachusetts and moved it to Crestview in 2004. “Right now, we sell in all of North America. Our goal is to be worldwide.”

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PHOTOS BY TODD DOUGLAS

by KARI C. BARLOW

“I THINK OTHERS GIVE UP ON IT TOO EASILY, AND I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN CONVINCED THAT WE, IN THE UNITED STATES, CAN COMPETE WITH ANYONE.” BOB SIRES, CEO OF AMERICAN ELITE MOLDING

PHOTOS BY TODD DOUGLAS

LEADING THE WAY Sires’ predictions are difficult to dispute when you consider AEM’s numbers. In a little more than a decade after relocating to Crestview, the company expanded from 4,000 to 75,000 square feet, adding critical space for production and warehousing.

With current sales at $25 million, AEM — whose customers include 3M, Home Depot, Fastenal, Thomas and Betts and Grote — has enjoyed 12 consecutive years of double-digit growth and currently employs 130 people.

“Hard work is what got us here,” Sires says. “Challenging ourselves every day, never being satisfied and remembering customers and employees.”

Though some friends and family thought he was a little crazy for banking on cable ties all those years ago, Sires had a good feeling about the tiny strips of nylon.

“I had just sold a company … and I was looking at commodity products,” he recalled.

An experienced manager, Sires had previously served as vice president of operations and finance at Leeds and Northrup, an international manufacturing enterprise, and as president of Leach Holding, overseeing operations in the United States, Europe and Mexico. When he began scrutinizing the cable ties market, Sires found a sector with the potential for major growth.

“It was just an industry that was underserved,” he added. “There was no real market leader.”

Today it’s a much different story, and Sires attributes AEM’s increasing command of the market to several key decisions. At the top of that list is moving his operation to Florida, particularly Crestview, which sits an hour away from AEM’s main supplier, Ascend Performance Materials. On an annual basis, AEM purchases roughly 6 million pounds of nylon from Ascend to produce its extensive line of cable ties in a variety

American Elite Molding was named 2017 Florida Manufacturer of the Year. Presenting the award to CEO Robert Sires and VP Barbara Mitchell is (at left) Amanda Bowen, executive director of the Manufacturers Association of Florida. Below, State Rep. Mel Ponder of Destin spoke at the award ceremony.

of colors, lengths and tensile strengths.

Another of those decisions was remaining in Florida when he decided to expand AEM in 2015. Though courted by several states including Alabama and Georgia, Sires stayed put after Crestview city officials, the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County, Gov. Rick Scott and Enterprise Florida worked as a team to offer up generous performance-based

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OKALOOSA COUNTY

incentives. That expansion — estimated to have a capital investment of $17 million in the local community — included 25,000 square feet of manufacturing space and a target of 40 new jobs within three years.

A staunch champion of American manufacturing, Sires also was committed to keeping his operations in the United States.

“I think others give up on it too easily, and I have always been convinced that we, in the United States, can compete with anyone,” he said. “It is important because it helps provide jobs, makes people feel good and shows others it can be done.”

To better reflect that overall mission, a few months after the expansion, Sires officially changed the company’s original name of Bay State Cable Ties to American Elite Molding.

“We are an American manufacturing success story, and we wanted our corporate name to reflect that,” he said.

‘BELIEVING IN PEOPLE’ Most critical to that success are AEM’s workers — a belief Sires and his team repeated with gusto when the company was named the medium-sized 2017 Florida Manufacturer of the Year by the

Manufacturers Association of Florida.

“It is validation for all the hard work,” he said of the honor, which is based on several criteria including leadership and strategic goals. “We would not be where we are without our employees. It’s certainly not me alone, not us alone. It’s a group effort.”

AEM officially celebrated the award in February with a luncheon and open house that drew business and community leaders as well as state dignitaries.

Speaking at the event, State Rep. Mel Ponder, R-Destin, told the crowd Sires had managed to fashion far more than a company that sells cable ties.

“When you step through the threshold, you quickly realize it’s not just a company, it’s a family,” Ponder said.

That culture does not exist by accident.

It’s a direct result of “treating people with respect and paying people a good wage with full benefits,” Sires said.

At AEM, full-time workers are brought in at $10 an hour and receive benefits that include fully paid health insurance and 401k matching.

“I don’t believe in minimum wage,” Sires said. “I believe in a working wage. …

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It’s about believing in people.”

He also believes in training employees on the job and promoting from within.

“It all comes down to positive attitude,” Sires said. “Everything else can be learned. … All of our supervisors on the floor started out at the base level and worked their way up.”

The benefit of that practice is cohesion and institutional knowledge.

“Once you find good people, you want to keep them, train them and help them progress,” Sires adds. “We are constantly building better and stronger assets. … We have a common goal, which is to make our company the best it can be.”

PHOTOS BY TODD DOUGLAS

The leadership team includes (from left) Expedito Serrano, chief operating officer; Barbara Mitchell, VP for corporate development; and Don Vargo, customer service manager. At right, machine operator Andre Johnson and hot stamp operator Debra Shoun help generate products worth $25 million in annual sales.

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2018 O K A L O O S A / W A LT O N C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 63

WALTON COUNTY More than 4 million visitors annually spend time and money vacationing in South Walton. Here, sand, surf and beachfront accommodations attract a crowd at Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa.

WALTON COUNTY’S TOURISM REACH EXTENDS BEYOND THE SOUTHEAST

A

tlanta may be the single most important market to Walton County’s tourism industry, according to findings compiled by Downs & St. Germain Research and made part of Visit South Walton’s annual report for 2017.

Throughout the year, Atlanta is seen to be a “Tier 1 Market,” meaning that the county’s tourism promotion efforts reach a high percentage of people there and that the market is relatively rich in potential visitors.

In the fall and winter months, Nashville joins Atlanta in that Tier 1 category. Dallas and Houston are Tier 1 markets in the summer, along with Atlanta.

Tier 2 markets — those where the promotional efforts result in a high penetration rate, but the number of potential visitors is not as great — include, at various times of the year, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Birmingham, New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The typical stay for a visitor exceeds five days throughout the year and peaks at 6.4 nights in the winter, based on 2017 data.

The Walton County Tourist Develop-

ment Council and its tourism promotional arm, Visit South Walton, are funded by a 4 percent tourist occupancy tax (bed tax) and are dedicated to strengthening the position of South Walton County in the broad tourism marketplace.

Each of the four cents collected on short-term accommodations rentals has a designated purpose. The first two cents are spent on expenses related to administrative, marketing and beach maintenance expenses. The third cent is used for beach maintenance projects, including restoration and erosion control.

The fourth cent is dedicated to product development and shoulder funding, including amounts for lifeguard funding, community recognition programs and code enforcement.

More than 4 million visitors spent time in South Walton County in 2017, resulting in an economic impact of $4.4 billion. That is, one visitor to the county had an average economic impact of $1,099. Visitation grew by 8.6 percent versus 2016.

Room nights were up by 7.3 percent and, accordingly, Tourism Development Tax collections increased by 7 percent, a total of $23,754,442. Almost 22,000 people

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held tourism industry jobs in the county and made a total of $630 million in 2017.

A complement of 184 visitors translates to one job in Walton County.

The marketing efforts of Visit South Walton generate a nice return. That is, a dollar of marketing spending equates to $323 in visitor spending.

It is no exaggeration to say that Walton County government — and there are no municipalities in Walton County, south of Choctawhatchee Bay — is highly dependent on tourist dollars. Visitors in 2017 accounted for more than $99 million in revenue to the county.

Of course, there are expenses incurred by the county in connection with visitation including road maintenance, law enforcement, beach maintenance, planning and development and parks and recreation. Still, the net benefit of tourism to Walton County government in 2017 was $33.38 million, or 43.5 percent of total county government costs.

Direct spending by visitors in 2017 totaled $2.978 billion. Of that total, $806 million was spent on accommodations and $603 million in restaurants. Another $411 million was spent on entertainment

PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT SOUTH WALTON

by STEVE BORNHOFT

WALTON COUNTY TOURISM

BY THE NUMBERS

$4,408,598,800

Total Economic Impact Annually of Tourism to Walton County

$889

4,010,500 +

VISITORS

came to South Walton in 2017 (Includes day trippers and people who stayed with relatives or friends)

AVERAGE AMOUNT SPENT

BY VISITOR IN A DAY

21,900

TOURISM INDUSTRY JOBS

$2,978,783,000 DIRECT EXPENDITURES

BY VISITORS

(Accounted for $630,579,000 in wages)

$23,754,442 TOURISM DEVELOPMENT TAXES COLLECTED

184

VISITORS TO WALTON COUNTY

1

WALTON COUNTY JOB

Sources: VisitSouthWalton.com, Walton County Tourist Development Council

and some $194 million went to purchase groceries.

Travel parties visiting Walton County spent an average of $5,122 on their trips.

Visitors account for nearly three quarters of retail spending in the county. In 2017, visitors spent $2.98 billion at retail businesses versus the $1.08 billion spent by county residents.

Visitors were asked about attributes of importance to them when choosing a vacation destination.

On a scale of 1 to 10, visitors combined to rate the importance of five factors at 9.0 or higher.

They were: » Sugary white sand and turquoise blue waters. » Place where you feel comfortable. » Pleasant place to unwind. » Scenic beauty. » Good place for a family vacation.

With regard to each of those attributes, visitors rated South Walton County 9 or higher.

Further polling yielded a profile of South Walton County visitors …

» 5.3 persons: average travel party

size. » 60: percentage of parties that included people less than 20 years old. » 53 years: median age of a visitor. » $148,200: median household income. » $217,900: average household income. » 76: percentage of visitors who stayed in a condo or rental house. » 86: percentage of visitors who drove to South Walton. » 20: percentage of visitors who stayed in South Walton for the first time. » 33: percentage of visitors who have made 10 or more visits to the county. » 19: percentage of visitors who use the term, “South Walton.”

Among visitors, 95 percent said they planned to return to South Walton. On average, visitors planned their trips to the county more than six months in advance.

Some 97 percent have smartphones.

Fully 10 percent of visitors to South Walton County are from the Atlanta market. Georgians account for 13 percent of the county’s visitors. Other states of importance:

Alabama

11%

Texas

11%

Tennessee

11%

Florida

7%

Louisiana

7%

Kentucky

5%

Mississippi

4%

Ohio

4%

Missouri

4%

Indiana

3%

Illinois

3%

2018 O K A L O O S A / W A LT O N C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 65

WALTON COUNTY

MOVING FORWARD IN MOSSY HEAD INDUSTRIAL PARK SPARKS GROWTH ‘ABOVE THE BAY’

by KARI C. BARLOW

L

ess than 10 years ago, it was fairly easy to drive by Mossy Head Industrial Park without even knowing it was there. Though open for years, the roughly 315-acre property located between U.S. 90 and Interstate 10 was vacant and still awaiting its first tenant.

Today, the park is a bustling transportation and distribution hub in northwest Walton County. It’s about 75 percent developed, with seven established tenants and at least one more — a new Waffle House — on the way.

“It’s been very successful,” says Bill Imfeld, executive director of the Walton County Economic Development

Alliance. “We never expected it to develop this much this fast.”

The industrial park claimed its first tenant when Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores — along with a Subway and a McDonald’s inside — located there in 2014. In its first year, the truck stop was ranked the 18th most productive location among the company’s 300-plus stores.

“In just taxes paid to the government, in the form of gasoline taxes and sales taxes, more than a million dollars in new revenue came into Walton County from that one facility alone,” says Imfeld, a former Walton County commissioner who took over at the EDA in November 2016.

Not only was Love’s a success, its presence seemed to spur the region to sit

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up and take notice of the property and what it had to offer. By September 2016, the park had welcomed big-rig dealer Empire Truck Sales, Southern Tire Mart, I-10 Truck Center, a Sleep Inn motel, a Frito-Lay distributor, a large FedEx Ground distribution center with almost 300 employees and a Walton County Sheriff’s substation.

“Once it became shovel ready, it was a domino effect,” Imfeld says. “Love’s came in, then Empire Trucking, then Southern Tire and just one after the other saying, ‘Yeah, this is a great place to be!’”

For Imfeld, whose commission district included Mossy Head, watching the park grow has been exciting and satisfying. As a commissioner, he pushed the county to complete the park’s infrastructure and get utilities up and running because he saw great potential in its location.

“There’s a common thread of transportation and distribution out there, and there’s still some 80-plus acres to be sold and developed,” he adds. “We constantly still get people looking at it.”

For Empire Truck Sales, the second company to move into the industrial park, Walton County’s workforce has been responsive and dependable.

“Our workforce there … has probably been the most stable of any store,” says Bill Wells, vice president of customer

PHOTOS COURTESY WALTON COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE

Proximity to CSX rail service and to major highways — I-10 on the south boundary and U.S. 90 on the north — is a prime amenity at the 315-acre industrial park. One of its largest tenants is a Fed Ex Ground distribution center employing nearly 300 people.

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The western end of the industrial park hosts large operations including (from bottom to top) Empire Truck Sales and Southern Tire Mart.

“ONCE IT BECAME SHOVEL READY, IT WAS A DOMINO EFFECT.” BILL IMFELD, WALTON COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE

te R Hino oad

MOSSY HEAD INDUSTRIAL PARK 90

CSX

CSX

10

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support at Empire. “We have very little turnover.”

The park, with its proximity to I-10 and U.S. 90 and a dedicated spur track for direct CSX rail service, is a valuable asset in the ongoing effort to diversify commerce in a county where the strongest economic engine is tourism.

“Month after month, the TDC reports record bed-tax collections over the previous year,” Imfeld says. “It’s just a continuous string of increases, and that’s good for those providing lodging, those providing food and those providing entertainment. But most of that is below (Choctawhatchee Bay). Above the bay, it’s still very rural.”

Above the bay, he adds, the key is attracting businesses compatible with those already in place as well as the workforce available in that area of Walton County.

“You do not want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg,” Imfeld says. “As we start to diversify, we want to live in harmony with a good tourism industry.”

Walton County is not in the market for smokestack industries or something like a sprawling automotive assembly plant.

“We don’t have the workforce to support something of that size,” Imfeld says.

“But in the meantime, we do have the workforce to support smaller yet significant industries that … keep us from being totally reliant upon tourism.”

To make that happen, the EDA works closely with officials in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties along with Enterprise Florida, Florida’s Great Northwest and Opportunity Florida to promote the region as a whole. The county is hoping to secure $31 million from Triumph Gulf Coast oil-spill mitigation funds to finance a major water and sewer expansion along the U.S. 90 corridor to accommodate builders.

Another necessity for Walton County in the next few years is workforce housing. Many, if not the majority, of workers currently at the Mossy Head Industrial Park drive from the Crestview and Niceville areas and from Alabama.

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“We’re looking for ways to get workforce housing built — not subsidized housing but workforce housing — so that many of the people who work in Mossy Head could live there and not have to come over from adjacent areas,” he says. “We talk with local builders. We also look at what kind of economic stimulus we can give them.”

Imfeld landed Waffle House by sending out fliers to a variety of national chain restaurants with information about traffic flow around the park and the number of truckers that drive on and off I-10 and U.S. 90.

“Waffle House came in and made us a great offer,” he says, adding that he was surprised to hear that Eglin Air Force Base officials are especially excited about the new restaurant. “They conduct a lot of night military exercises on State Road 285 just a couple of miles south of that location, and they are ecstatic. … I expect when they get their doors open, they are going to have a good, round-the-clock business coming into Waffle House.”

Imfeld is optimistic that above-thebay growth will continue with increased residential building, more mom-and-pop businesses and more box stores.

“And it’s not just Mossy Head,” he says.

“All of Walton County is open for business. We want to use the successes we’ve had in Mossy Head as a spring board for successes elsewhere.”

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BAY CORRIDOR

Panama City, Panama City Beach + Bay County

PREPARING FOR LAUNCH Tyndall confident of landing new aircraft, personnel

by HANNAH BURKE

REAPER WING An integral part of the RPA Vector report called for selection of a base for MQ-9 Reapers, which are multi-armed, multimission RPAs specializing in long-haul flights. The base selection process is one in which Tom Neubauer, president of the Bay Defense Alliance, is well versed. He was involved in a similar course of action when Tyndall was awarded a squadron of 24 F-22 Raptors in 2013.

He describes the procedure as “deliberate, repeatable and standardized,” one that utilizes not only criteria-based analysis but concise, military judgment. Official basing criteria for the MQ-9 Reaper wing was announced to the

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“MAINTAINING A DEFENSE-FRIENDLY CULTURE IS IMPORTANT TO BOTH BAY COUNTY AND FLORIDA.” TOM NEUBAUER, PRESIDENT OF THE BAY DEFENSE ALLIANCE public in 2016, after being approved by the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

With capacity, environmental requirements and cost factors as the major preliminaries, Neubauer knew Tyndall would be on the radar once more.

It took another year for the base in Bay County to prevail as the preferred home for 24 MQ-9s.

Neubauer said the MQ-9 Reaper is unmanned but is not precisely a “drone.”

“Strictly speaking, a drone is an unmanned aircraft that can fly autonomously, without a human in control. The MQ-9 Reaper will always be under the command of pilots and aircrews stationed at Tyndall, which are

some of the best and most highly trained professionals in the world,” he explained.

“Because of its wide-range sensors and precision weapons, the MQ-9 has the unique capability to perform strike and reconnaissance against high-value, timesensitive targets worldwide.”

He said Reapers also perform battlefield surveillance, intelligence gathering, close air support and combat search and rescue.

Apart from military defense, MQ-9s also aided last year in the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey and Irma and devastating wildfires in California.

Neubauer believes a low volume of aircraft competing for airspace, Northwest Florida’s

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO BY AIRMAN 1ST ISAIAH J. SOLIZ/RELEASED

I

n 2014, the U.S. Air Force report “RPA Vector” outlined an ideal route for remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) over the next 25 years.

As of May, Tyndall Air Force Base in Bay County was the leading candidate to become home base for 24 of those aircraft and for an estimated 1,600 personnel (plus their families) who will come here to operate them.

A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper from Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, visits the flightline at Tyndall Air Force Base during a 2017 air show.

superior climate and the region’s culture of piloting unmanned systems solidified Tyndall as the supreme location.

Not to mention, the robust quality of life in Bay County.

U.S. AIR NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO BY SENIOR MASTER SGT. ROBERT SHEPHERD

HOME FOR PERSONNEL While visiting an RPA training and operation unit at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico and Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, Bay Defense Alliance members received genuine feedback from pilots and crew members who stressed the need for career advancement options and stations in communities that foster growth and healthy, family environments.

In turn, the Air Combat Command (ACC) created an MQ-9 Culture and Process Improvement Program, furnishing airmen and airwomen with a structure of support and an avenue in which to voice their questions and concerns in this high-stakes field.

“While advanced weapons systems provide an edge to the U.S. Air Force, no matter how technical their operations become, or how widely their global missions expand, the Air

Force and ACC leadership always emphasize the fact that people are their most treasured resource,” Neubauer stated. “Maintaining a Defense-friendly culture is important to both Bay County and Florida. Right now, more than 75 legislative initiatives can be found in the Florida Military Friendly Guide, with laws targeted to assist military members, their families and veterans.”

With more than 1,600 personnel plus their families anticipated to touch down at Tyndall by 2020, there will also be an immense impact on local commerce, school enrollment figures and housing.

Regarding the latter, Neubauer brings up the region’s numerous “pipe farms,” or major housing developments, whose construction came to a screeching halt during the 2008 recession. Today, these deserts of desolate pipes are blossoming into the communities they were designed to become, supplying ample capacity for population growth.

“We should reflect on the socio-economic contributions of military members in Bay County,” he added. “For more than seven decades, military members and Defense civilians associated with Tyndall and Naval Support Activity Panama City have supported and accepted leadership positions in volunteer organizations like Scouting, churches, colleges, hospitals and school PTOs. They add so much to our community.”

FINISH LINE IN SIGHT While Tyndall was designated the ideal location for the Reaper wing, it still must

Reapers are remotely controlled from mobile cockpits, such as this one, in the 174th Attack Wing of the New York Air National Guard. Maps of the Florida Panhandle are on a screen to the left.

undergo an extensive environmental analysis, which may not be complete for another two years. Should a challenge arise, the same survey will be performed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Reaper wing’s alternative base location.

“During this time, our community will assist by providing any information requested about our ability to accommodate the growth and provide the quality-of-life factors identified in the MQ-9 Culture and Process Improvement Program, and analyze the real estate market and the surge capacity of our school system,” Neubauer said. “The community, the state and our congressional delegation have been working as one voice to assure the Department of Defense that we are willing and able to provide strong support for missions at Florida bases and ranges.”

Once this final assessment meets approval, it’ll be time for takeoff. Tyndall is projected to receive $250 million in construction funding for the Reaper wing, mission control center, launch and recovery, and all other operations.

The first Reaper could roll in as soon as 2022.

“Defense is about 31% of our local economy. As an opportunity like this one moves closer to the finish line, all of us are reminded how fortunate we are to have military members, Defense civilians and their families as part of our community,” Neubauer said. “The economic aspect is just part of the benefit we enjoy.”

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RED HILLS CORRIDOR

Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon & Thomas Counties

GRAPE EXPECTATIONS Hopes pinned on Georgia vineyard are bearing fruit

by HANNAH BURKE

T

here’s a John Mayer song called “Why Georgia” that delineates the artist’s quarter-life crisis:

“Cause I wonder sometimes About the outcome Of a still verdictless life Am I living it right?”

The lines struck a chord with a young Reneé Moss. Having bounced around for years in the corporate realms of graphic design, marketing, creative directing and copywriting, everyone asked her when she was going to settle on something. Moss herself wondered if she was on the right track.

She had no doubts about her husband, Clayton Moss, with whom she was smitten the moment they met on Match.com.

But even he began to contemplate his current career path in sales when his father, a farmer, announced his retirement. Growing up as a farmer’s son was a privilege, and he wasn’t quite ready to turn his back on that lifestyle.

“Am I living it right?

Why, why Georgia, why?”

Turns out, Georgia would be the stomping grounds of Farmer’s Daughter Vineyards, source of the couple’s nationally distinguished, prized wines.

Upon taking the leap south to Thomasville, Clayton began apprenticing with cotton and peanuts to learn how to take over the farm. He obtained a 10-acre plot of land with rich soil but wondered how best to diversify it. Farmers like the Mosses will tell you that when one commodity goes up, another goes down, so it’s best not to place all your eggs in one basket.

“The theory is if you’re in the alcohol business, you’re up all the time,” Reneé Moss, co-owner of Farmer’s Daughter Vineyards, laughs. “Even in times when economics are depressed, people still buy booze. We knew we had good dirt, so we began considering

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high-risk, high-return crops, like olive oil, blueberries, or … wine grapes.”

Well, Clayton just happened to know about Southern wine grapes from his post-graduate, alternative crop studies at the University of Kentucky, where, ironically, he conducted a feasibility study on the very French-American hybrid grape that constitutes Farmer’s Daughter white wines. While he never obtained his master’s degree in agricultural economics due to a business opportunity that temporarily took farming off the table, his education had come full circle.

“During that study, he had determined that the Blanc DuBois grape wouldn’t reliably fly economically,” Reneé Moss explains. “There was also the question of would we pay someone else to make the wine, or would we make our own winery? I’m fairly conservative and prefer safe options and reliable outcomes. He’s not like that. He’s not afraid of anything. That’s why we’re here today.”

Though he’s brave, Moss stresses, her husband isn’t cocky and knows the keys to success are establishing what you don’t know and enlisting the help of people who do know those things. He sought counsel from a sage winemaking consultant to plan the layout and technical aspects of the winery. An expert on viticulture explained how to grow, prune and trellis their grapes. And who better to handle marketing and sales than Reneé herself?

The Mosses planted Blanc DuBois white grapes and two red varieties, Lenoir “Favorite” and Lomanto, in the spring of 2014. Theirs are the only vineyards in South Georgia that don’t grow the tough-skinned, sweet muscadine grape, which is native to the area. While other cultivators do harvest hybrid grapes as the Mosses do, they often muddle them with muscadines in their product.

“For us, it’s about quality,” states Reneé Moss.

“We want to make sure that we enjoy and stand behind whatever we manufacture, and that means getting you the full flavor profile of the hybrids.”

“WE’RE NOT TRYING TO CONQUER THE WORLD AND GO NATIONWIDE. THERE’S A LOT OF VALUE IN SOUTH GEORGIA AND NORTH FLORIDA, AND WE TAKE PRIDE IN BEING A LOCALLY GROWN AND KNOWN BUSINESS.” RENEÉ MOSS, CO-OWNER OF FARMER’S DAUGHTER VINEYARDS Farmer’s Daughter grapes are crushed, pressed, fermented, bottled and stored onsite, utilizing state-of-the-art equipment and a small but steadfast assembly of helping hands. By 2016, 1,100 cases of Bombshell vintage, Troublemaker and Hellraiser white wine (along with a sole red wine, Knockout) were distributed for the first time. In 2017, the vineyard produced 2,400 more cases and welcomed the darkly complex Heartbreaker and Daredevil reds to its group of labels.

This summer, you’ll be able to sip a crisp, new rosé, SandAngel.

Along with Bro’s Cider, made with apples from the Mosses’ sister operation, Hawthorne Farms, Farmer’s Daughter wines have has received more than 60 awards. These include Best in Show for Hellraiser in 2017’s San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the world’s largest convention of American wine. Both Heartbreaker and Bombshell snagged silver medals in 2018’s event.

Opting out of corporate career paths, Clayton and Renee Moss founded and operate Farmer’s Daughter Vineyards in Pelham, Georgia.

The tasting room is in downtown Thomasville.

Photo by Shems Hamilton

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With names that pack a punch, each label is significant, depicting the profile of a blonde woman … the farmer’s daughter.

Though Charlie Moss is only 6 right now, parents Reneé and Clayton imagine her growing into that lady, already possessing the personality of a Daredevil, Heartbreaker and Knockout.

(The Hellraiser phase took placing during her terrible 2s.)

Reneé Moss says Charlie is their inspiration behind the business. “There’s no guarantee that your kids are going to do what you want them to do or be near you, right? But we are building a legacy and we thought the wine business might be a little more interesting for her and, now, for my

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son, Cayman. We wanted to build a fun, empowering and engaging brand to reflect the strong young woman that she is.”

Those values are powerfully reflected at the Farmer’s Daughter Tasting Room in downtown Thomasville, where guests can sample flights of all seven flavors and munch on macaroons, charcuterie and gourmet chocolate to please their palate.

While adults socialize and enjoy live, local music, children have an area of their own to watch movies and play games.

“We’re not trying to conquer the world and go nationwide. There’s a lot of value in South Georgia and North Florida, and we take pride in being a locally grown and known business. We want people to be able to come up to shake our hands, ask us questions about the product and learn what we’re all about. It’s those relationships that matter.”

MAKE YOUR OWN

THOMASVILLE MULE What you’ll need & how to make it • Ginger beer (use 3.5 oz.)

• Cucumber or pineapple juice (just a splash) • Seltzer or LaCroix (double splash!)

• Ice-cold Bro’s Cider (4.5 oz.)

• Cucumber slices or fresh mint for garnish • Squeeze of fresh lime • Ice

PHOTOS BY WOODLAND FIELDS (VINEYARD, GRAPE CRUSHING), SOCIALLYLOVED/RICHARD LINCK (BOTTLES, CIDER) SHEMS HAMILTON

The Mosses’ vineyard and winery in South Georgia produces wines with spunky names such as Bombshell, Daredevil and Knockout. Bro’s Cider brings apples to the mix.

D E S T I N C H A R I T Y W I N E A U C T I O N F O U N D AT I O N

PRESENT S

OCTOBER 25-27

2018

WATERCOLOR, FL

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CAPITAL CORRIDOR

Gadsden, Jefferson, & Leon Counties

BENEVOLENT TECH

by ERIN HOOVER

D

amon Victor runs Victor Technologies, a lab in Tallahassee that custombuilds orthotics in collaboration with local practitioners. In March of 2014, he was days away from getting on a plane for Crimea to help an orphanage open a prosthetics laboratory.

Then Russian troops invaded the country, and Victor and the other volunteers working for Med Assist USA Foundation for Children had to pivot to working in a safer area of the world. “(Med Assist) was working in Crimea for over a decade, but the invasion thwarted our chance to make a prosthetic laboratory there,” Victor said.

Months later he traveled to Costa Rica, where, with the help of a Rotary Global Grant, he helped distribute “Matrix system” wheelchairs with custom-molded seats for children.

“The children who (use these) can’t use regular wheelchairs. It’s a life-changer for these families, for their children to have mobility,” Victor said. He has returned to the country on

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successive trips, sometimes joined by his wife, Rory Krivit.

On a 2015 trip to Ecuador, Victor met a migrant farm worker in the Andes mountains who needed help. “She worked the fields carrying her 16-year-old grandson who had some degree of mental disability and orthotic conditions. Her greatest fear was what would happen to him when she passed away.”

By the time Victor departed, the boy had been fitted with special shoes and orthotics.

As a teenager, Victor was approached by the U.S. Navy to work as an engineer. But at age 18, he met a group of wounded veterans at a party who encouraged him to use his interest in technology to help others.

He learned to fabricate prosthetics and orthotics from a master technician working in Havana. Twelve years ago, he started a shop of his own, Victor Technologies, and has a small, local client list.

“Here in America, for the most part if a child needs a leg brace or a prosthetic, he or she can

get it. That’s why I focus my charitable work internationally,” he said.

Over the past five years, Victor has taken five trips abroad to volunteer his expertise in orthotics and prosthetics. Because of Med Assist’s focus, he often works with orphans.

“If we can construct a brace that can correct club foot or feet, by the time a child is 5 or 6 years old, he’s running around, and he has a better chance of being adopted.”

USING TECHNOLOGY FOR GOOD “Damon is one of those rare individuals who gets to turn his vocation and his passion into something that makes an impact,” said Alan Hanstein, board member of Challenger Learning Center and of Making Awesome, Tallahassee’s Maker Space. “He has been able to embrace technology — including virtual reality and 3D modeling and printing — to expand that impact to both lower cost and speed delivery to those who need it the most.”

On Victor’s most recent trip, in April 2017, to Lviv Regional Children’s Hospital in Ukraine, he took children’s measurements, designed prostheses upon his return to Tallahassee, and digitally sent the files back to Lviv to be 3D printed by a technician.

PHOTOS BY SAIGE ROBERTS

Orthotics fabricator Damon Victor plans to go global with vocational training

Damon Victor begins the process of creating an orthotic device in his workshop in Tallahassee.

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At Children’s Regional Hospital of Lviv, Ukraine (top), Damon Victor measures a young patient’s disfigured hand.

Back in his lab in Tallahassee, he designed an orthotic that was 3D-printed for the boy by technicians in Lviv. (At lower left) Victor examines his 3D printer as it generates the beginning layers of a prosthesis at his research facility at Tallahassee Community College’s Center for Innovation. He stresses that strong knowledge of anatomy is critical in creating the correct forms (lower right).

Orthotics printed using 3D technology are less durable than traditional devices, but they are also less expensive: a big benefit for a pediatric population that grows out of them quickly.

“The health system (in Ukraine) is trying to catch up to the rest of the world — it’s like how for communications in some countries, they bypassed landlines and set up cell phone networks. (With this technology) it can be easier to make a prosthesis in places where it’s tough to do a traditional fabrication,” Victor said.

For the trip to Ukraine, Victor and three volunteer surgeons traveled with Med Assist and Rotary International. “Damon accompanied us, desiring to make contact with the Rotary

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Club in Lviv and to share (information about the) manufacture of prosthetics for kids missing limbs,” said Dr. Charles Moore, a retired plastic and reconstructive surgeon. “He was a hit, given his energy and intelligence.”

“Interestingly, the 3D specialist I met was using his printers to make tank parts. After our conversation, he was moved to use his machines in a more humanitarian way,” Victor said.

More than anything, the technicians Victor met in Lviv wanted to know about best practices in America.

IT’S ABOUT THE PEOPLE Victor’s trip to Ukraine has caused him to shift his focus. “(Helping people) isn’t about a

room full of machines. It’s about the people.

At every country I’ve been to, they’re hungry for training.

“I want to use the power of Rotary to apply for grants and vocational training trips to the United States for Ukrainians, Ecuadorians and Costa Ricans. Once they get the proper training, they’ll be better equipped to start labs of their own,” he said.

In April, Victor began working out of a lab at Tallahassee Community College’s Center for Innovation, space that helps him continue his research on 3-D printing, prosthetics and orthotics. He hopes to work with students on these projects and on experimental devices and equipment for people with disabilities.

Joyce Dove, the founder of Med Assist, praised Victor’s creativity and work ethic.

“We met with someone working on prosthetics in Pensacola who mentioned a helicopter company making parts using 3D technology.

Damon was absolutely fine with giving them a call and asking how they do things. He is constantly inquisitive. He gathers information very efficiently and contributes to getting things done at the very best level.”

Children worldwide have capable champion in Damon Victor — and he wants to be able to help more of them.

“Dealing with international bureaucracies and writing grants has taught me a lot about patience,” Victor said. “I have been volunteering for five years now. I dreamed about doing stuff like this. I would see pictures in trade magazines and I thought, that’s what I want to do with my vocation.”

PHOTOS COURTESY VICTORTEK

“DAMON IS ONE OF THOSE RARE INDIVIDUALS WHO GETS TO TURN HIS VOCATION AND HIS PASSION INTO SOMETHING THAT MAKES AN IMPACT.” ALAN HANSTEIN OF CHALLENGER LEARNING CENTER AND MAKING AWESOME, TALLAHASSEE’S MAKER SPACE

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BUSINESS NEWS

SOUNDBYTES

CAPITAL

LOCAL HONORS

» The Legal Aid Foundation of

Tallahassee celebrated its 50th anniversary by announcing the winners of the fourth annual Thunderdome Tallahassee awards, which recognizes outstanding members. Hunter Hendrix received the Elizabeth “Bib” Willis Outstanding Thunderdome Mentor Award, for dedication to pro bono service to the Legal Aid Foundation. Natalia Thomas received the Tallahassee Young Lawyers’ Section Outstanding Thunderdome Participant Award, for extraordinary dedication to pro bono legal service, professional growth and community leadership.

» The Mitchells Advertising

Agency won 18 awards during the AAF Tallahassee 2018 American Advertising Awards (ADDY).

The team accepted awards for their work produced for clients including Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, FMB Bank, Tin Drum Asian Kitchen and Florida State University. The Mitchells also accepted a Best of Show award for their Cover Your Cough print campaign for TMH and a Judge’s Choice Award for their UFO Crash billboard.

» Pennington, P.A. announces

its newly elected board of directors and officers for 2018: Brandice Dickson, president and CEO; Adrienne Love, chief financial officer; Gerald (Jerry) Bryant, DICKSON secretary; William Horgan, assistant chief financial officer; and Board of Directors J. Breck Brannen, Chad B. Hess, J. Wiley Horton, E. Murray Moore, Brian A. Newman and Stacy E. Yates. Pennington also announces new shareholders Ben A. Andrews and Kathryn (Kathy) L. Hood, as well as Andre Sesler and Matthew E. W. (Matt) Bryant being named partners.

» CAMPUS USA Credit Union

opened its newest location in Tallahassee at the Mahan Village

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Shopping Center. CAMPUS USA Credit Union serves over 90,000 members in Alachua, Clay, Columbia, Gadsden, Jefferson, Lake, Leon, Madison, Marion, Sumter, Suwannee and Wakulla counties.

EMERALD COAST

APPOINTED

BY THE GOVERNOR

» Sarah “Sam” Seevers of

Destin and Mayor Ashton Hayward of Pensacola are appointed to the Florida Commission on Community Service. Seevers is the owner and editor of Life’s a Beach Publication. She is reappointed for a term ending Sept. 14, 2020.

Hayward is reappointed for a term ending Sept. 14, 2020.

» Former University of West

Florida President Emeritus Dr. Judy Bense is appointed to the Florida Historical Commission. Bense, who served as UWF president from 2008 to 2016, will serve a term ending on Dec. 31, 2019.

LOCAL HAPPENINGS

» The Henderson unveiled

new family-friendly accommodations: The Lofts, one- and two-bedroom villa style counterparts to the 170room, luxury resort.

» Kathy Lamb and Rebecca

Mayeux announce the opening of GLOW Med Spa of 30A in Blue Mountain Beach. GLOW Med Spa of 30A is a boutique medical spa specializing in anti-

» The Premier Property Group announced the release of their newest building project, The Brownstones in Kelly Plantation.

The Brownstones will have 23 unique “Florida Brownstones” that are projected to be completed this summer.

LOCAL HONORS

» Matthews & Jones, LLP, has announced that S. Thomas Peavey Hoffer, managing partner of the firm’s Litigation Group, has achieved the rating of AV Preeminent from MartindaleHubbell.

The rating is HOFFER the highest given by Martindale-Hubbell.

Only approximately 10 percent of lawyers achieve the AV Preeminent rating, which is reserved for those who demonstrate the highest ethical standards and professional ability.

To qualify, a lawyer’s expertise, experience, integrity and overall professional excellence must be rated at the highest level by lawyers and members of the judiciary. Hoffer has experience in business and commercial litigation matters (including partnership and contract disputes, unfair competition and non-compete agreements), real estate litigation, and employment litigation. He has successfully represented clients in state, federal, and appellate courts and currently serves as chairman of the Florida Bar’s First Circuit Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee. Matthews & Jones, LLP, has offices in Destin, Niceville and Santa Rosa Beach. » Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation

MAYEUX & LAMB

aging and skin care services including medical-grade facials, chemical peels, Botox and dermal fillers.

» The Navarre Beach Area

Chamber of Commerce opened a new location at 2053 Fountain Professional Court.

850businessmagazine.com

welcomes its 23rd season with awards and the induction of the 2018 board. The following retiring MKAF board members were applauded: Brian Beauchamp, Melinda Bowers, Stacey Brady, Lorraine Christen, Donna Fox and Stephen Smith. The Volunteer of the Year Award recognized Dale Hull and Jim Nissley for contributing countless hours of volunteer service. The Chairman’s Sterling Award honored Stacey Brady of Grand Boulevard for her commitment to the Foundation’s vision. The gavel was passed to the 2018 chairman, Jackie Ely, who announced her fellow

executive committee members: Heather Ruiz, vice chairman, Kevin Bowyer, treasurer, Bill Lindsley, secretary, Shantelle Dedicke, Dion Moniz, Wayne Paul and Kathy Whidden. Also installed were the 2018 elected board of directors: Keri Atchley, Meagan Atwood, James Campbell, Debbie Dodge, Rand Fernandez, Teresa Halverson, Kim Holley, Meloney Howell, Denise Kendust, Pat Madden, Bill McQuillan, Misty Rae Ruthrauff, Elizabeth Spies, Alexis Tibbetts and Todd Wilkinson.

» Tom Saffelz,

a Santa Rosa Beach resident of South Walton County for the past 13 years, recently joined the Emerald Coast SAFFEL Children’s Advocacy Center’s (ECCAC) board of directors.

» Heather Ruiz received a promotion to senior director of marketing and leasing for Destin Commons.

Ruiz has RUIZ been with Destin Commons for four years. In 2016, Ruiz was the winner of the International Council of Shopping Centers Foundation’s John T. Riordan Professional Education Development Scholarship and has now completed marketing I and marketing II courses. Her involvement in the community on behalf of Destin Commons is extensive. Most recently, Ruiz was appointed by the Okaloosa County Commission to a four-year, unpaid term on the county’s Tourist Development Council (TDC). » IMPACT 100 of Northwest Florida has announced their 2018 Board of Directors: Lisa Jo Spencer, president; Amanda Gordon, vice president; Cindy McCue, co-treasurer; Wendy McAdams Dorr, co-treasurer; Pam Woodall, secretary; Teresa Bolton; Kay Crawford; Dr. Joyce Gillie Gossom; Dawn Hoffman; Cynthia Hyatt; Susan Page; Jennifer Poland; Gayle Powers; Sandy Sims; Pauline Sotiri; Jo Stewart; Kimberly Sulipeck;

Sandy Trammell; and Connie H. Yarbro. The organization empowers women to become philanthropists and leaders so they may be positive forces in their community.

FORGOTTEN COAST

LOCAL HAPPENINGS

» Carrabelle is expected

to have a new City Hall by the end of the year. City commissioners unanimously approved a construction company for the building and a $1.12 million loan to pay for it.

» Superintendent Traci Moses

has announced a partnership with Tallahassee’s Lively Technical Center as the dual enrollment provider for career and technical courses. Lively will work with the Franklin County School Board to set up articulation agreements in order to offer Post Secondary Adult Vocational programs. The partnership will build career

technical education programs that meet workforce needs in Franklin County.

Franklin, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty, Walton and Washington counties.

BAY

NEW & NOTABLE

APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR

» Dr. Merle Stringer of Panama

City is appointed to the Board of Medicine. Dr. Stringer is a neurosurgeon with the Brain and Spine Center. He received his Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. He is reappointed for a term ending Oct. 31, 2021.

LOCAL HAPPENINGS

» PanCare of Florida opened its newest clinic in Youngstown. The new $1.25 million facility employs a staff of nine including an advanced registered nurse practitioner, a dentist and a licensed clinical social worker. PanCare of Florida, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and operates federally qualified health centers in Bay, Calhoun,

LOCAL HONORS

» Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® celebrates the opening of a new store in Panama City. The store provides approximately 190 new fulland part-time jobs in the Panama City area.

I-10

LOCAL HAPPENINGS

» Lyndon Bonner was hired

as the new Jackson County Administrator. Bonner came before the Jackson County Commission after he was topranked among 29 applicants that were then narrowed to a short list of six for interviews.

» Gov. Scott presented

make significant contributions to the field of education.

Deeanna Golden of Jackson County with the Governor’s Shine Award. The Shine Award is presented to teachers and administrators in Florida who

» At its 90th annual banquet, the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce recognized individuals who completed requirements of the Leadership Jackson County Program and qualified for graduation as the Class of 2017. Those are Will Arroyo, Jeffrey Basford, Dr. David Bouvin, Candace Croft, Wilanne Daniels, Rhondan Gray, Amy Hill, Rachel Holloway, Kenny Keith, Nikki Mayberry, Nichole Mayo, Lindsy Milton, Marc Tomlinson and Nichole Ussery. The recipient of the Leadership Jackson County Excellence in Leadership Award was Rick Pettis. The Arthur L. Kimbrough Board Member of the Year award was presented by outgoing chairman Darwin Gilmore to Gene Strickland.

The Citizen of the Year Award was presented by past chair Shareta Wright to this year’s winner, Ronstance Pittman.

Sound & Substance Insightful. Respectful. Intelligent.

Uncluttered. Noncommercial.

WUWF programs with a highly desirable audience.

Find out how your company can benefit as a Program Sponsor.

850.473.7453 | wuwf.org 850 Business Magazine

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SUMMER 2018

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81

The Last Word

Today’s Powerful Media Mix Affects Us All I once knew a retired engineer who was an efficiency expert and whose not-so-nerdy son worked in the IT Department at the bank that also employed me at the time.

Nobody got hurt.

Our hang-ups with perfection have been around at least since the 4th century B.C., when Aristotle posited that all beings aim to achieve the perfection natural to their kind. This surely is more difficult for human beings, given the vast individual differences among our number, than it is for cannonball jellyfish or other organisms uniform in size and shape.

Some of our hang-ups would seem to

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be inherent (like the engineer’s) and others the products of our culture. Philosophers and marketers have influenced the latter variety forever. “You, too, can look like a Greek statue” has given way to “subscribe to Nutrisystem and you can rock a body like that of Jessie James Decker” — or Marie Osmond, worst case.

Today, social media has exaggerated tendencies toward perfectionism and competition, two elements that are already parts of our nature.

Will Storr, the author of Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It’s Doing to Us, published in March, finds that people are given to a restless desire to get along and get ahead (competition) and want to feel that they are in control of becoming the great person they imagine themselves to be (perfectionism). Add social media as an agent of addiction to that mix and what happens? Combustion.

People get hurt.

It was relatively easy to dismiss advertising claims as exaggerated or false. But now we find ourselves dealing with self-portrayals of friends, relatives, classmates and countless other associates.

People report they have a hard time dealing with the perfect pictures known as Facebook profiles, compiled by people who gush about how “I love my life.” A viewer of the profiles may wonder why his life is not as grand.

Social media has exacerbated fears of failing. Mess up and you can be widely ridiculed in an instant.

And, these new media have created hierarchies based on likes or numbers of followers. Suddenly, it has become possible to precisely quantify popularity.

Trends, substantially attributed to

social media, are these (per studies cited

by Storr): • Since 2009, the incidence of eating disorders and bodily abnormalities arising from severe dieting or the use of steroids, etc., is up 30 percent in the United States and the United Kingdom.

• Also since 2009, 51 percent more college freshmen in the United States feel overwhelmed. The number of freshman students feeling depressed has risen by 95 percent.

• Between 2008 and 2015, the number of American adolescents who received hospital treatment after attempting suicide or reporting thoughts of suicide doubled.

All of this is to say nothing of lost privacy or lost workplace productivity resulting from social media addictions.

A study summarized last year by Forbes magazine found that workers in office settings spend an average of five work hours a week plugged into social media and personal email.

Reversing this trend will not be easy because it depends upon people getting comfortable with who they are.

Or, as makeup maven Bobbi Brown, perhaps ironically, has said …

“Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.”

STEVE BORNHOFT, DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL SERVICES sbornhoft@rowlandpublishing.com

PHOTO BY SAIGE ROBERTS

The bank president and several of his direct reports, including the IT jock, were Harley riders. Occasionally, I would tail them as the beer truck driver on their outings to destinations including North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains, where they conquered a ride called The Snake (318 curves in 11 miles).

The old engineer joined the rides. He was a smallish fellow with a military background and perfectionistic tendencies, especially where economies of time and motion were concerned.

Whenever the engineer approached a task — say making a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich — he would pause before getting started (thereby wasting time, I would argue) to calculate how he could get the job done in the fewest possible moves. The sandwich ingredients were as chess pieces in his mind.

Regrettably, the engineer was unable to prevent his particular form of OCD from contaminating relationships and group experiences. Intolerant of inefficiency, he grew so frustrated with others’ plans for a side trip during a motorcycle ride to the Outer Banks that he turned his hawg around and drove 13 hours solo through the night back to Panama City Beach. His son merely let him go, knowing that there would be no reasoning with him.

Learn.

Network.

Engage.

Join us Oct. 10–12 in Sandestin, Florida to discuss the latest efforts to grow Northwest Florida and network with community and business leaders across the region.

Gulf Power’s 22nd Economic Symposium Oct. 10-12, 2018 . Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort Register Today GulfPowerSymposium.com

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