850 - The Business Magazine of Northwest Florida by Rowland Publishing, Inc.

SPECIAL REPORT ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

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MARK CHARVAT Avionics Supervisor

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ANTWONN WILLIAMS Aircraft Structure Mechanic

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CINDY SARTWELL Avionics

LION

LIKE A

ST Engineering Aerospace roars into Pensacola airport RECOVERY

Corporate support helped storm-damaged Panama City hospital get back on its feet

DIVERSITY

Triumph Gulf Coast board weighs projects with goal of making area economy less vulnerable

FLEXIBILITY

Accelerating pace of global change brings business opportunities along with disruption

Is your business connected? Gulf Powerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business website includes a new Small Business Connect online tool that brings the top local resources together into one database to help start, grow and keep business in Northwest Florida. Visit GulfPower.com/business to use the free Small Business Connect tool and get connected.

GulfPower.com 850 Business Magazine

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40 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, TRUST & SUPERIOR QUALITY GENERAL CONTRACTING LOOKING FOR A QUALITY AND AFFORDABLE BUILDER FOR YOUR NEXT PROJECT?

600 GRAND PANAMA BLVD. STE. 203 PANAMA CITY BEACH, FLORIDA 32405 JMPHELPSCONSTRUCTION.COM (850) 265-1207 4

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850 Magazine Spring 2019

IN THIS ISSUE

STORM SHELTER As Hurricane Michael approached, Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center CEO Brad Griffin concluded that it would be best for his family to evacuate North Florida. They did, that is, with the exception of a pet Russian tortoise who rode out the storm at the medical center along with hundreds of hospital employees.

850 FEATURES 24

Recovering Rooms

When it went about bouncing back from damage inflicted by Hurricane Michael, Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center had a decided advantage that a stand-alone hospital wouldn’t have. As a member of a large network of HCA hospitals, it benefitted from corporate support that sped repairs and assisted employees pursuant to a plan the hospital hoped never to have to use. By Steve Bornhoft

Divvying Up BP Bucks The

Triumph Gulf Coast board is faced with a task unprecedented in scale — dispersing funds from the largest pool of money in Florida history intended to strengthen the economy of a region of the state. From now through 2033, the board will award funds to diverse applicants from Escambia to Wakulla counties who may be seeking millions for an aircraft repair facility or a few thousand dollars for a mentorship program.

By Martha J. LaGuardia-Kotite

Digital Marketing Phillip Stutts has learned that approaches he used as a political campaign strategist apply as well to privatesector businesses. In an quickly evolving digital world, Stutts has found that outpaced executives turn to marketers who often place their interests ahead of those of their clients. He advises businesses that spending lot of money with a marketing firm doesn’t guarantee success and is no substitute for focusing on what voters — or customers — want. By Steve Bornhoft

On the Cover: Public and economic development officials from Escambia County traveled halfway around the world in their efforts to attract ST Engineering to the Pensacola International Airport. Their success resulted in jobs for, from left, Antwonn Williams, an aircraft structure mechanic; Mark Charvat, an avionics supervisor; and Cindy Sartwell, an avionics technician. Photo by Matthew Coughlin

Photo by MICHAEL BOOINI

850 Business Magazine

SPRING 2019

850 Magazine Spring 2019

IN THIS ISSUE

Corridors

10 22 80 82

CAPITAL

From the Publisher News & Numbers Sound Bytes The Last Word from the Editor

Departments THE 850 LIFE 16 Chef, restaurateur, philanthropist and Pensacola native Jim Shirley strives to improve upon old recipes while maintaining their core flavors. He likes nothing better than sitting down to a dinner of fresh fish.

HUMAN ELEMENT 18 Attorney, consultant and trendspotter Bill Krizner of Tallahassee helps businesses and public entities throughout Northwest Florida stay ahead of the humanresources cure, preferring to prevent rather than solve problems.

BUSINESS SPEAK 20 Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis of Panama City speaks to the resilience of an area that he has always called home. He sounds an optimistic tone about the capacity of counties hammered by Hurricane Michael to rebound.

74 FSU’s National Magnetic Field Laboratory hosts more than 1,600 scientists from around the world each year and generates nearly $200 million in annual economic output, making Tallahassee the “Magnet Capital of the World.”

BAY 76 Bay County Economic Development Alliance President Becca Hardin has surprising news for anyone who assumed that Hurricane Michael slowed or stalled recruitment efforts. Prospect activity actually increased after the storm.

FORGOTTEN COAST 78 Employing soap-making techniques that she learned from her grandmother, Margie Raffied of Port St. Joe has turned a hobby into a business, capitalizing on the appetite of people for products that are real.

Special Section DEAL ESTATE 40 What’s trending, what’s selling and what’s hot to buy in the 850? Find out here.

Special Reports

ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL In our annual report on economic development efforts in Florida’s westernmost county, we profile a community that welcomes innovation and entrepreneurship, is home to healthy cooperation between the private and public sectors, succeeds in selling itself to prospects looking for business sites and has a close relationship with its educational institutions.

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PHOTOS BY DAVE BARFIELD (74) AND CHANDLER WILLIAMS OF MODUS PHOTOGRAPHY (16)

In This Issue

INVENTION ISN’T ANYTHING NEW.

Our Air Force (and Northwest Florida) have been doing it for years. From the hologram-like seal that prevents forgery of license plates and drivers’ licenses, to a high-strength, low-alloy steel that’s easier to manufacture and tougher than nails, the Air Force Research Laboratory invents, patents, and licenses “dual use” technologies for military and commercial markets. Now known respectively as the Galanos Process and AF96 Steel, both were invented right here on Eglin AFB.

That’s invention. Connect with the Doolittle Institute to learn how your company can benefit from 100+ years of innovation at the Air Force Research Lab and other Federal Laboratories. 1140 John Sims Pkwy E, Ste 1 • Niceville, FL 32578 // (850) 842-4393 • doolittleinstitute.org // A Member of the Defensewerx Family 850 Business Magazine

SPRING 2019

When it comes to business, it’s best to... Spring 2019

850 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA

Vol. 11, No. 3

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BRIAN E. ROWLAND EDITORIAL EDITOR Steve Bornhoft MANAGING EDITOR Jeff Price STAFF WRITER Hannah Burke CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kari C. Barlow, Martha J. LaGuardia-Kotite, Thomas J. Monigan, Rebecca Padgett, Jimmy Patronis, Pete Reinwald CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY Daniel Vitter CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jennifer Ekrut ART DIRECTOR Saige Roberts PUBLICATION DESIGNERS Sarah Burger, Lindsey Masterson, Shruti Shah GRAPHIC DESIGNER Amanda Brummet CONTRIBUTING DESIGNERS Dana Long, Brian Stromlund CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Dave Barfield, Stephen Bilenky, Michael Booini, Steve Bornhoft, Jason Conrad, Matthew Coughlin, Lawrence Davidson, Desirée Gardner Photography, Steven Gray, Hartsman Photography, Scott Holstein, Saige Roberts, Collin Thompson, Andrew Wardlow Photography, Chandler Williams

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. When people know what they’re doing. Life gets A LOT simpler. How can we make things Simple for you? Email: KeepItSimple@SimpleHR.com or call (850) 650-9935

State of Florida license #EL374

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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, David Doll, Julie Dorr, Margaret Farris, Darla Harrison, Linda Powell MARKETING MANAGER Kate Pierson SALES AND MARKETING WRITER Rebecca Padgett SALES AND EVENTS COORDINATOR Mackenzie Little SALES AND EVENTS ASSISTANT Abby Crane INTEGRATED MARKETING COORDINATOR Javis Ogden CLIENT SERVICES COORDINATOR Charles Shelton MARKETING INTERN Deja Mattis OPERATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR Melissa Spear CUSTOM PUBLISHING MANAGER Sara Goldfarb CLIENT SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE/PRODUCTION SPECIALIST Melinda Lanigan ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT Amber Dennard RECEPTIONISTS Natalie Kazmin, Kirsten Terhofter

DIGITAL SERVICES DIGITAL EDITOR Janecia Britt DIGITAL INTERN Samantha De Oliveira 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 $20. 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, 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 March 2019 850 Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Member of three Chambers of Commerce throughout the region.

850 Business Magazine

SPRING 2019

From the Publisher

Gaining ‘Traction’ Dedication to process has energized our team

I have never been one to subscribe to “management-by-bestseller” schemes. Always, they had impressed me as variations on themes easily derived from common sense.

BRIAN ROWLAND browland@rowlandpublishing.com

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PHOTO BY SCOTT HOLSTEIN

I am very pleased, however, to have slowed down long enough to digest Traction, written by Gino Wickman. I was skeptical at first, but Rowland Publishing vice president Kenzie Lohbeck convinced me to give the book a chance. I knew immediately that the book had value and that our entire organization should be exposed to it. Traction describes an Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) that serves organizations as a blueprint for maximizing profits while reducing stress for everyone involved. Putting the EOS in place involves honestly assessing an organization’s leadership, communication and provisions for accountability and then undergoing a transformational reorganization and operational process. After my management team read the book, we met to discuss how it might benefit our company. I made a commitment to invest the time and resources necessary to ensure that we could begin operating the EOS way. The first step was to engage a Traction coach to guide our team through its EOS experience during the next few years. We found our guy in Ryan Giles of Mobile, Alabama. In October of last year, he facilitated a “Focus Day” during which we took an objective look at the strengths of our business and the challenges it faces. I must say it was a daunting day. Subsequently, we have engaged in 90-minute, tightly formatted “L-10” management meetings held to identify, report and discuss issues confronting a growing and diverse publishing company like ours, in both the short and long term. Change always comes with a few bumps in the road, but the commitment of our team to the process was strong enough to easily overcome them. By week three, we were rolling, and results started to affect every aspect of our operation. Today, the leadership team is prepared to work smarter, not harder. Stress is on the wane, and productivity is increasing. After a time, “Focus Day” was followed by a day of “Vision Building” dedicated to establishing core values and clear goals for our company and solidifying plans to realize a bright and productive future. We now have a detailed roadmap, paved with excitement and dedication, which will lead us to the fulfillment of one-, three-, five- and 10-year goals. This progress we’ve made thus far has served to make us hungry for more, and we look forward to teaching our full team the EOS process this year. Ryan will be back for quarterly visits throughout 2019. I invite you to track our EOS progress, which I will document in future writings in this space. The future is bright as we move toward the light.

This is where you live, learn and play! Northwest Florida State College now offers degrees in Culinary Management and Hospitality & Tourism Management where you can train with a nationally recognized college, in a globally recognized resort area, with a leading culinary scene and hospitality industry. This is where you design your future.

A.S. in Culinary Management & A.S. in Hospitality & Tourism Management

#DesignYourFuture

State College

100 COLLEGE BOULEVARD EAST | NICEVILLE, FL 32578 | (850) 678 - 5111 | WWW.NWFSC.EDU Northwest Florida State College is committed to equal access/equal opportunity in its programs, activities, and employment. For additional information, visit www.nwfsc.edu. Materiales de la Universidad son disponibles en EspaĂąola llamando a la Oficina de Admisiones de Northwest Florida State College al 850-678-5111. 850 Business Magazine

SPRING 2019

P RO M OT I O N

850businessmagazine.com PINNACLE NOMINATIONS

Are you aware of a woman who has distinguished herself professionally and in the community? Nominate her for a Pinnacle Award at 850businessmagazine.com/ Pinnacle-Awards

SETTING IT STRAIGHT

What Applies Today May Change Tomorrow Matthews & Jones provides advice for those looking to purchase property in a development governed by a homeowner’s or condominium association. Read more online at 850businessmagazine.com/Legal-Insights

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES » Deal Estate

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

Philip N. Kabler’s column in the Winter edition of 850 Magazine about incorporating businesses included a paragraph about the writer. That paragraph ran alongside a photograph, not of Kabler, but of Bill Krizner, a Tallahassee attorney and human resources consultant. A story about Krizner and his work appears on page 18.

» Blog

Find stories and reports about local business events, happenings and gatherings. Just click on “The 850 Business Blog” on the home page or visit 850businessmagazine.com/Blog.

» Legal Insights

Stay aware of new industry issues and legal updates with these online exclusive articles, sponsored by Matthews & Jones, LLP.

» Flip Books View 850 issues and Business Journals in a digital book format. » Archived Stories Peruse our entire archive of articles at no charge.

LET’S NETWORK! Find 850 Business Magazine on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You’ll also find Rowland Publishing on LinkedIn, where you can join the 850 Business Group for conversations with fellow readers. LinkedIn: Rowland Publishing and 850 Business Magazine pages, and the 850 Business Magazine Group

WEBSITE WORK UNDERWAY At Rowland Publishing, we’re at work renovating the

850businessmagazine.com website and look forward to unveiling

new design and content enhancements. The refreshed site will feature more breaking stories, highlight upcoming events and include extra helpings of information that will enable you to succeed in business and life.

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

PHOTOS BY LAWRENCE DAVIDSON (PINNACLE AWARDS) AND INGRID_HENDRIKSEN / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS (M&J) AND COURTESY OF KABLER

COVENANTS AND RESTRICTIONS

A headline over a story profiling Marcia Hull in the Winter edition of 850 Magazine mistakenly placed the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation in Niceville. The foundation, which Hull serves as chief executive officer, is located in Destin. The Mattie Kelly Arts Center in located in Niceville.

LOCAL

MEETS

GLOBAL

The team, values, and service you know. Now with expanded offerings, trusted worldwide.

Rogers, Gunter, Vaughn Insurance, a HUB International company 1117 Thomasville Road | Tallahassee,FL 32303 | 850-386-1111 850 Business Magazine

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THE NUMBER ONE EVENT ON THE EMERALD COAST

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ENJOY DISCOUNTED RATES & DELUXE ACCOMMODATIONS AT SANDESTIN VISIT SANDESTINWINEFESTIVAL.COM OR CALL 877.463.7314. CODE: WINE19

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P R O M OT I O N

SPRING CALENDAR BEST BETS From festivals and tours to sports and the arts, the event and entertainment choices are endless. For more events in the 850 area, visit 850Tix.com.

MARCH 7 | GRAYTON BEACH

CONTRACTORS CONNECT Make connections with other contractors, subcontractors and specialists in the Emerald Coast construction industry at AJ’s in Grayton Beach.

MARCH 8 | TALLAHASSEE

BRIDGING THE MULTI-GENERATIONAL GAP

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY SCOTT HOLSTEIN (RED HILLS), ZKRUGER (MAC & CHEESE) AND ISMODE (PURPLE HAT) / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS AND COURTESY OF INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

Learn about specific strategies to attract, motivate and retain your talent featuring nationally recognized speaker Alicia Rainwater at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee.

MARCH 8–10 | TALLAHASSEE

RED HILLS INTERNATIONAL HORSE TRIALS Witness the world-renowned equestrian event bringing the best competition to our area for over 20 years at Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park in Tallahassee.

APRIL 27 | TALLAHASSEE

PURPLE CRAZE Join the Alzheimer’s Project Inc. for the 7th Annual Purple Craze benefit at The Moon in Tallahassee. In addition to a silent auction, the fabulous Southern Satisfaction band will be performing throughout the night.

MAY 19 | DESTIN

MAC & CHEESE FESTIVAL Thought macaroni and cheese was just for kids? Think again. This family-friendly event at Destin Commons will feature gourmet, chef-inspired twists on the South’s favorite comfort food.

LOCAL TICKETS. ONE PLACE. Get tickets to these events now at 850Tix.com. 850 Business Magazine

SPRING 2019

Executive Mindset

The (850) Life WHAT’S COOKIN’

FULL PLATE Chef Jim Shirley always has something new on the front burner BY HANNAH BURKE

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Jim Shirley is an award-winning chef, philanthropist and owner of the Great Southern Café, 45 Central and The Meltdown on 30A in Seaside; The Bay in Santa Rosa Beach; and Baytowne Provisions in Destin. He is co-owner of the Great Southern Restaurants company of Pensacola and currently resides in Santa Rosa Beach.

Q&A WITH JIM SHIRLEY 

850: You’re hailed as a master of modern Southern cuisine. How do you go about putting a contemporary twist on traditional flavors? JS: At its heart, Southern cuisine is an amalgamation of

influences from all the different groups — be it the West Africans or French Acadians — that settled in the South. I was born in Pensacola. Both of my parents’ families are from Georgia, so I have a rock-solid, Southern foundation. But, growing up, my father was in the Navy. Our diet was dictated by wherever we were stationed, whether

it was German cuisine in Frankfurt, or Asian dishes from Vietnam and the Pacific realms. I still have a militaryissue cookbook that dates to the 1960s, where soldiers stationed from all over compiled these little hidden gems. I do the same thing and like to think of it as improving upon an old presentation without losing the core of its flavor.

850: Your own cookbook, Good Grits! Southern Boy Cooks, features many heartwarming, country classics. What’s your go-to comfort food? JS: I can always go for a nice piece of fish. Whatever’s in season, served with a big helping of greens, is always going to ground me. It’s a plate-licker.

PHOTOS BY CHANDLER WILLIAMS OF MODUS PHOTOGRAPHY (FOOD) AND COLLIN THOMPSON OF MELLOW MEDIA (SHIRLEY)

850: And, there must be a guilty pleasure that you, a renowned chef, may be ashamed of … JS: Okay, I have a weakness for pig skins. At the Bay, we fry ’em up fresh and serve them with some of my homemade Hog Island sauce and Asian chili sauce. It’s always good to top them off with a sprinkle of sea salt and cayenne. 850: The Bay is just one of numerous restaurants you have along the Emerald Coast. What’s a typical work day like for you? JS: First thing in the morning, I like to do a quick tour of the restaurants in Seaside and Santa Rosa Beach. I’ll meet with my chefs and give them a rundown of what’s going on that day, but they don’t need much direction. The reason I’m able to keep up with several restaurants is because I have great, capable talent working for me. We’re very projectdriven. This morning, we have a smoker rollin’ at The Bay just for kicks. We like to play around and keep things interesting, but we also cater to many events, which take months of preparation. It all just depends on the day.

850: Some days you even find yourself at the James Beard House in New York City. JS: My chefs from Pensacola and I have been invited to cook there five times. It’s always a lot of pressure but a terrific experience. You have the facility for one day: At 8 in the morning, they open the door, you unload all your equipment and get cooking. By 5 o’clock, the cameras turn on, and we remember we’re in James Beard’s old brownstone, not the 100-year-old cracker cottage we’re used to cooking in at the Fish House. There are a lot of eyes — powerful eyes — on you, but it’s so special to be able to bring everyone a little slice of the Panhandle. 850: You’ve also served Spanish royalty and numerous other celebrities. What occasions do you consider to be the most memorable of your career? JS: Oh, teaming up with all the great chefs of Pensacola to prepare dinner for the king and queen of Spain was a lot of fun. We were celebrating the 450th anniversary of the founding of Pensacola, so it was a huge occasion. I’ve also had the honor of representing Florida in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off, but as far as recent events go, last year’s Seeing Red Wine Festival in Seaside comes to mind. Between all the wonderful wine, wagyu beef and crazy hams from Iberia, we used an 8-foot pan to prepare

CRAB CAKES

paella for 1,600 people. Maneuvering 700 pounds of seafood and rice was a workout, but the pan remains really efficient. 850: There are other uses for the 8-foot pan? JS: After Hurricane Michael, we used it to prepare food for people in Port St. Joe. We thought it would be best to move some catering tools over there and establish a mobile kitchen that local restaurants could take turns using. That way, we could keep the hot meals coming throughout the week. I had restaurants get knocked out by Ivan. When Katrina happened, we would wheel spaghetti into Biloxi every day and feed thousands. After Michael, I knew it would take a while for the big organizations to arrive, so we wanted to help as soon as possible. 850: You also give back through the Children’s Home Society of Florida. JS: The future of our community is going to be the product of what we’ve done with our children — I don’t think that’s optional. The Children’s Home Society has always done a

great job of providing the support that, unfortunately, some people need in this region. My role on the board of directors is to use food to promote and sponsor our events, such as the annual Sunday of Soundside Splendor for the Seaside School Half Marathon. Whether it’s seeing children get adopted into new families and taken out of harm’s way, or knowing that our school systems are working just that much better, it’s all very rewarding. 850: Your website mentions you have two other projects on the burner. Can you give us a little taste of what’s to come? JS: Just a taste. Seaside now has its boardwalk license, which means you can walk around freely with cocktails. At the Great Southern Café, we have a new B.F.F. (an addition that makes bushwhackers, frosés and frozen cocktails) that you’ll be able to get from the street. As for the other project, all I can say is it’s very new, very exciting stuff. I’ll keep you apprised.

850 Business Magazine

SPRING 2019

Executive Mindset

Human Element YOUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE

SAFEGUARDING ASSETS Consultant helps clients avoid HR landmines BY STEVE BORNHOFT

business owner learns that two of his employees have posted on their Facebook pages photos of themselves participating in a rally conducted by organizations that promote a belief in white supremacy. May the businessman terminate the employees for what he considers to be hateful, racist behavior? After conducting interviews with candidates for a job opening, a business routinely checks the digital/social media profiles of applicants. Recently, it interviewed three applicants for a position and eliminated one after visiting his Facebook page and learning that he was fired recently from a high-profile job. The rejected applicant is convinced he was passed over because his page included a photo of him with his boyfriend. He has retained an attorney and is contemplating a lawsuit. Should employers refrain from checking online profiles? The Supreme Court in Colorado has held that an employer may lawfully prohibit the possession or use of any kind of marijuana on the premises of a business. But a court in New England has found that a business cannot refuse to allow an employee with a prescription to possess or use medical marijuana while on the job. What is the best course for an employer to take with regard to what appears to be unsettled law?

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The rise of the #metoo movement has led an employer to consider the behavior of some of his employees from a new point of view. He has one senior manager who uses what the manager thinks of as “Southernisms” when addressing female co-workers and subordinates — words like “Honey” or “Sugar” or “Sweetie.” The employee has been doing so all of his adult life and means no offense. But, in the current climate, should the employer takes steps to discourage that behavior, even at the risk of insulting a key member of his team?

Bill Krizner is in the business of answering questions like those posed above. His firm, BILL KRIZNER, The Krizner Group, of The Krizner Group is equipped, certainly, to defend clients versus actions brought by litigants in matters of labor and employment law, but its emphasis is on preventing such filings in the first place. Krizner, who graduated law school at FSU, began his career at the MiamiFort Lauderdale office of an Atlantabased megafirm. Soon, he was over it. He returned to Tallahassee with a business concept in mind. It should be possible, he reasoned, to establish a small firm that would extend to small

businesses the same kind of advice and counsel that the giant firm was delivering to Fortune 500 companies. While working for a Tallahassee attorney for whom he had clerked as a law student, Krizner breathed life into his idea and then struck out on his own. His business model has more than proved itself. Today, The Krizner Group represents over 1,000 clients, chiefly in Florida, California, South Carolina, Maryland, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Included are clients from diverse industry sectors. Together, Krizner clients employ upward of 200,000 people. Krizner launched his business at a point in time when a prominent Tallahassee plaintiff's lawyer was, he said, “hitting small- and mediumsized businesses left and right and having a huge impact by filing oodles and oodles of harassment lawsuits.” Sometimes, timing is everything. Krizner charges a flat fee for his services, which comprise three components: n On-site reviews/audits. Krizner and

his team inspect applications, annual evaluations, corrective action plans, employee manuals and other documents related to human resources, and then issue a report (that is covered by attorneyclient privilege.) They might, for example, find that a business is

ILLUSTRATION BY AEYA / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS AND PHOTO COURTESY OF THE KRIZNER GROUP

Executive Mindset

failing to pay overtime wages to employees who are entitled to time-and-a-half. Reviews are performed as soon as a client relationship is established and annually thereafter. nT raining for supervisors. Sexual

harassment is a focus of the inperson training, which also looks at areas including the evolution of federal Title VII language that now prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

nH otline. Krizner is committed to

returning calls or emailed questions within the same half-day in which they are received. “And the clock does not run when you reach out to us,” he said. “It’s not like you’re going to get billed for a tenth of an hour after speaking to us for six minutes.” The reviews and training are designed to enable clients to mount an affirmative defense in the event that a lawsuit is filed. “We have a litigator on staff, but we

go to court only in cases involving our established clients,” Krizner explained. “In those cases, we know that the defense is going to be strong.” The Krizner Group is in some ways similar to an emergency boat-towing service. The client has Krizner on retainer and calls him when it needs him. “The difference,” Krizner said, “is that I’m going to check your engine” before you head out on the HR sea. A part of Krizner’s job is getting employers past commonly held misconceptions. Many, he has found, believed that a wrongful termination is impossible in a right-to-work state. “At-will, in essence, died in 1964 with the arrival of Title VII, which is part of the Civil Rights Act,” Krizner said. “That was the beginning of all the protected classes: race, gender, age, disability. Even given that, an employer may think that he has nothing to worry about if he terminates a young, white male.” That’s not necessarily true. “That employee is a member of two protected classes: He is white and he is a male,” Krizner explained. “If you replace him with a female of color, you may have a problem. If he is a reporter that you are firing because his writing is substandard, you better have evidence of excessive editing.” Krizner has encountered those entrepreneurs who resist making an investment in an HR director or consultant because they see it as getting in the way of what they want to accomplish. “I understand that,” Krizner said. “I am an entrepreneur, myself. But especially in a litigious town like Tallahassee, I can usually satisfy business owners without too much difficulty that I am here to protect their assets. “I give them options, and they don’t have to pick the most conservative one. They are the decision-makers.”

850 Business Magazine

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Executive Mindset

Business Speak STATE PERSPECTIVE

#850Strong Building a stronger, better future after Hurricane Michael BY JIMMY PATRONIS, Florida Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal

ay County is my home, where my roots are planted and where my family business has operated for 50 years. Hurricane Michael swept through the Panhandle just shy of a Category 5 storm, but we’ve emerged unbreakable. Four billion dollars in insured losses, 129,876 insurance claims, countless people impacted, homes and businesses destroyed. But, Florida is resilient. We have a AAA credit rating from all three credit rating agencies and we have paid down more than $10 billion in debt in the past eight years. Our solid fiscal health has put us in a good position to not only recover from this storm but come back stronger than ever. In fact, Moody’s Investors Service came out and said Florida will not only weather Hurricane Michael, but our response and resiliency is viewed as a credit positive. It’s important we continue the work that has led us here. After the storm passed, we quickly started the process of rebuilding. From deploying our Urban Search and Rescue Teams, highly trained first responders who conduct doorto-door searches, to getting boots on the ground to ward off post-storm fraud, we worked every day to protect

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WHAT MICHAEL WROUGHT State of Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis surveyed hurricane damage from a Bay County Sheriff’s Office helicopter.

PHOTO COURTESY OF OFFICE OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER JIMMY PATRONIS

communities. We can’t thank our first responders enough for the sacrifices they made to help our neighbors. Fraud costs Florida families and businesses millions every year, and we saw post-storm fraud immediately. I deployed my Disaster Fraud Assistance Strike Teams to look for anyone taking advantage of our business owners and residents. My investigators have already dealt with cases of unlicensed activity and contractors operating without proper insurance. As a business owner, I know the importance of being licensed and insured. Those who operate under the table, without proper coverage, put everyone in harm’s way, and it takes business away from honest, legitimate establishments that follow the law. Fraud is more than unlicensed and uninsured activity. High pressure tactics

by a few bad actors can lead Floridians to sign over insurance rights. This puts the contractor between you and your insurance benefits. Overinflated repair costs are submitted and lawsuits can be filed in your name without you even knowing it. We’ve seen a significant increase across all insurers in assignment-of-benefits lawsuits from approximately 400 in 2006 to more than 28,000 10 years later. This type of fraud drives up the cost of insurance for all Floridians. This is exactly why I pleaded with everyone to not sign anything in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael until they contacted my office. It’s also why I called on the insurance industry to step up and process claims quickly for businesses and residents in the areas impacted. When insurance carriers don’t do their jobs, it leaves a wide opening for fraud.

Businesses are the lifeblood of any community. It was important to me to do all we could to get these storefronts back open as soon as possible to serve their customers. I’m encouraged by the progress we’ve made, and the many businesses who have rebuilt and reopened so quickly after the storm. I know there is still work to be done and I’m in this for the long haul, but the Panhandle is open for business. I have the opportunity to serve as your chief financial officer for the next four years. I’m the business manager and financial watchdog for the state, and I don’t take this role lightly. We will continue to work hard every day to ensure government works better and more efficiently for you. That includes helping the 850 community come back stronger than ever. Together we will make a better, stronger Florida.

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Executive Mindset

Business Arena NEWS AND NUMBERS

STORM DATA

Hurricane Michael made landfall on Oct. 10, 2018, as a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour.

20 600,000 9,379

Percentage of people who left prescribed evacuation zone in Bay County

MEALS SERVED BY RED CROSS in four weeks following storm

JOB LOSSES attributable to the storm as of Nov. 26, 2018

919 2,500 129,876 Measure in millibars of the central pressure of the storm

NUMBER OF RED CROSS PERSONNEL DEPLOYED TO AFFECTED COUNTIES

Storm-related commercial and residential property insurance claims filed as of Nov. 26, 2018

Sources: National Hurricane Center, American Red Cross, UWF Haas Center

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Photo by MICHAEL BOOINI

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STORM TESTED Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center CEO Brad Griffin worked at a hospital in South Carolina when Hurricane Matthew threatened that state in 2016. But Matthew was no Michael.

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A Hospital

Recovers HURRICANE MICHAEL SPAWNED LOYALTY TO PLACE STORY BY STEVE BORNHOFT // PHOTO BY MICHAEL BOOINI

urricane Michael traumatically injured Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center, whose mending would test the mettle of the Hospital Corporation of America, solidify relationships among its Panama City employees and yield a welcome byproduct — newly intense loyalty to community and employer. Remarkably, less than a month after the storm struck on Wednesday, Oct. 10, Gulf Coast was able to restore inpatient services. Operating rooms and cardiac catheterization labs were back in operation. Beds, including critical care beds, were ready for patients. Pediatric and neonatal intensive care units were back online. And the hospital was delivering babies again. How that comeback was accomplished is a story involving interagency cooperation, the marshaling of resources from around the region and country, the benefits of planning and even, as it happens, a cameo appearance by a Russian tortoise.

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STORM’S AFTERMATH Clockwise from top: Hurricane Michael littered roads near Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center and roughed up signage; a combination of wind and water damage resulted in collapsed ceiling tiles; and the storm peeled back a section of the hospital’s roof.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF GULF COAST REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

Two days prior to the storm’s landfall, hospital leadership met to discuss whether to begin cancelling surgeries. There was a reluctance to do so. “People plan and prepare for surgeries,” said Gulf Coast CEO Brad Griffin. “We couldn’t make the decision lightly. We knew we were in for a storm, but we didn’t know how intense it would be. But, for me, there was something about this one. We wound up making the right call.” Griffin was not a total hurricane novice. He was a hospital CEO in South Carolina when Hurricane Matthew buzzed that state’s coast in 2016. His hunch about Michael led Griffin to insist that his wife evacuate with his sister to Birmingham, Alabama. While hesitant, she agreed and left town with the couple’s two children and a dog, leaving two other critters behind. As Michael neared landfall, Gulf Coast’s patient census stood at 140. In addition, the hospital’s staff, family members, physicians, first responders and 28 pets would shelter in place at the hospital. Just shy of 600 people waited at the hospital for the storm to check in. It would do so rudely. “When the storm came through, we had some roof failures and water came in,” Griffin said. “Coated flat roofs don’t do very well in high winds. They didn’t separate from the building, but air handlers on the roof were shifted. Caps and fans blew away and that allowed water to intrude. “The exterior of the hospital was penetrated by debris slamming into walls, and windows were shattered. The wind got into the building on our third floor and pushed the walls around. You could look down the corridor and see walls moving due to the force of the wind.”

“YOU HAD A THREESTORY BUILDING FULL OF CLOGGED TOILETS. YOU CAN’T JUST GO FLUSH EVERYTHING BECAUSE IT WILL ALL BACK UP. WE HAD TO HAVE A MEETING TO TALK ABOUT IT. WE HAD TO HAVE A FLUSH PLAN. IT’S INSANE, BUT YOU DID.” — BRAD GRIFFIN, GULF COAST CEO LOSS OF PRESSURE Gulf Coast is licensed for 223 beds. Of that total, 76 are on the third floor, which sustained the heaviest damage. After the windows blew out, the pressure inside the building changed discernibly in the way that a jet might lose cabin pressure. Immediately, hospital leadership reacted by relocating third-floor patients to other areas of the hospital, wherever there was room. “We had spent a lot of our time Wednesday morning on contingency planning and determining where people would go if one wing of the building or another were compromised,” Griffin said. “We had a plan so that leadership could react without having to wait and be told what to do. Nobody was harmed, and having plans mapped out contributed to that success.” With the storm hundreds of miles off in the Gulf of Mexico, HCA had prepositioned two 2-megawatt generators on tractortrailers at the hospital. Further, Gulf Coast anticipated that the City of Panama City’s water system might go down and was prepared to flip a switch and resort to onpremises water tanks. Those contingencies proved essential. Power and water were lost. The hospital is equipped with a chilledwater air-conditioning system. It went down when the water went out, and a plan to revert to well water was thwarted because the storm had ripped away the above-ground plumbing tied to that alternative. The loss of sewerage occurred when a lift station near the hospital failed — the stuff doesn’t roll sideways. “We had a mini-Super Dome for a time,” Griffin said, recalling post-Katrina New

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Orleans. “It was hot, you couldn’t use the water because we didn’t want the drains backing up and you couldn’t flush the toilet. Thankfully, our plan-ops guys got the well restored (before sunrise Thursday) and we got our air back. That was a big, welcome development” — one that signaled that a return to some semblance of normalcy might be coming. Gulf Coast knew that it would have to begin evacuating patients Thursday. Griffin and key managers devoted Wednesday night to working on details, marking out on a site map, for example, areas for use as temporary helipads. Determinations had to be made as to where patients would be going. Road closures might dictate the routes that “trucks,” as Griffin calls ambulances, would have to take. Ultimately, evacuated patients were transported Thursday and Friday to sister HCA hospitals in Tallahassee, Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach and Niceville. When, after three days, toilets were ready for action, the hospital had to take steps to ensure their restoration was orderly. “You had a three-story building full of clogged toilets,” Griffin grimaced. “You can’t just go flush everything because it will all back up. We had to have a meeting to talk about it. We had to have a flush plan. It’s insane, but you did.”

THE RUMOR MILL Meanwhile, the hospital and the community at large were dealing with a communication crisis. Among cell service providers in Bay County, Verizon had an 80 percent market share and its towers and lines lay in ruins. Under the circumstances, exaggerated rumors became communication currency. “We heard at one point that the county’s emergency operations center had burned down,” Griffin said. “We were getting crazy reports of 25 people injured in a hotel by flying glass. Another story had it that a nursing home roof had collapsed, and 120 patients were coming our way. Days after the storm, we were told to expect 75 patients from Mexico Beach.” None of those stories proved true, but the possibility of large influxes of patients

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Hurricane Michael destroyed the Wound Care building on the Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center campus and necessitated the creation of a temporary fuel depot in the form of a tanker truck. Patients (opposite page) were evacuated to other HCA hospitals in the region.

had been the subject of discussions among HCA, state and federal officials. As a result, FEMA and the National Guard established a Disaster Medical Assistance Team outpost in a parking lot outside the Gulf Coast emergency room, which remained open after the storm passed. Staffed with medical professionals, the mobile hospital looked just like a M.A.S.H. unit, minus Alan Alda. The hospital and the DMAT arrived at triage protocols that dictated where incoming ER patients would be seen. At the time, about 100 were arriving each day. Presence of the DMAT helped Gulf Coast reduce the number of people working in the hospital and pave the way for reconstruction work. So, too, did a FEMA base camp that was set up in another part of the parking lot. It provided living quarters for first responders and included a cafeteria that served three meals a day. Griffin isn’t sure how — there was no cable service in the hospital building — but somehow the campers got reception and tuned in to Monday Night Football. Corporate support was timely and intelligent and essential to the hospital’s recovery phase. “HCA stepped up in a number of ways in addition to the prepositioning of assets,” Griffin said. “They sent teams of contractors from mediation crews to industrial hygienists. First, there is an initial

clean including water extraction. Before you start tearing things apart, you have to have a plan. The industrial hygienists do moisture mapping, identifying which walls need to go or how much of a wall needs to go. Remediation crews come behind them and execute the plan, cutting out drywall. Containment steps are taken to protect areas of the hospital unaffected by the storm. Contractors come in and build things back. “Finally, we cleaned the hospital with bleach four times before hygienists and infection control professionals performed air-quality tests and did inspections. The risk of infection after a storm is higher, so you have to be very careful about how you put your hospital back together.” Equipment loss due to the storm had been slight apart from the loss of a CT scanner, but the hospital was surrounded by a community that had been torn to shreds. Employees, especially some who had ridden out the storm at home, were rattled to the point of experiencing PTSDtype symptoms. A hot meal, apart from those distributed by the Red Cross and other relief agencies, was hard to come by. Corporate extended a hand. “HCA has an internal Hope Fund funded by the company and donations from employees across the country,” Griffin explained. “It’s specifically for helping out HCA staff during disasters. People who

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GULF COAST REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

need help with insurance deductibles or temporary housing can apply and get immediate cash help. HR professionals came to town to help out with that assistance.” HCA sent employees from its hospitals elsewhere to spell Panama City employees and give them a chance to assess their personal situations. For example, Carlton Ulmer, the CEO at West Florida Hospital in Pensacola and formerly the CEO at Gulf Coast, arrived to give Griffin a break. “Corporate committed to keeping employees whole financially, and that came as a great relief,” Griffin said. “They gave employees gasoline from fuel tanks here at the hospital and handed out cash. They brought in laundry facilities on trailers so the employees who remained in the building could freshen their underwear. We had employees working outside who needed sunscreen, and HCA sent some with the next supply truck.” The storm experience, Griffin said, “strengthened bonds among doctors and staff and between the hospital and the community. Our people are resolved to rebuild. They appreciate the way HCA handled things and treated them.” Griffin said he spoke with a doctor who

was angry about the storm, but said it made it clear to him that Panama City is where he wants to be. “He wants to see us recover from this, and he is committed to the community to help make sure that happens,” Griffin said. “That’s awesome because we are concerned about people leaving the community, especially medical professionals, because they may have better offers to go somewhere else.” Doctors struggled personally and professionally after the storm. Michael destroyed a medical office building that adjoined Gulf Coast. HCA extended credentials to doctors who had been practicing exclusively at Bay Medical Sacred Heart hospital, located near the historic center of town. Many took advantage.

THE HIGH COST OF AMBULANCES For months after the storm, Bay Medical Sacred Heart was limited to ER operations. In November, it laid off some 800 employees. Panama City Mayor Greg Brudnicki was instrumental in seeing to it that Bay Medical didn’t have to shut down altogether. Briefly, FEMA covered the cost for ambulances to transport patients out of Panama City. Then, the state assumed

that expense but informed Bay Medical and Gulf Coast that funding would be suspended after 30 days. “When it comes to the feds, things very quickly become a matter of ‘We’re not paying for this,’ ” Griffin said. “That’s an ugly side of the recovery effort that a lot of people don’t see, and it is not a good side to see at all.” The cost for ambulances provided by private services was “ridiculous,” Griffin said. Brudnicki calculated that it was running $9 million a month. “One service was charging $150,000 a week for one truck.” Griffin said. “I don’t know who negotiated the rates, but they were non-negotiable and had been established prior to the storm.” City, county and hospital officials met with state officials to discuss the planned funding cutoff. Brudnicki, according to Griffin, insisted that “we’re not having this conversation. We’re talking about lives here.” “He did that, and the respect for him went right through the roof,” he said. “I like that guy.” As a product of the meeting, the state agreed to extend funding on a week-toweek basis. Eventually, a utility crew from Mississippi restored power to the hospital. The crew announced on arrival that it would not be leaving until they got that job done. Medical offices in close proximity to the hospital benefitted; the same crew got their lights back on. The communication crisis was eased when Jimmy Patronis, the state’s chief financial officer and a Panama City Beach resident, supplied Gulf Coast with 100 burner phones he obtained from a contact with Motorola. Upon finally discharging himself from the hospital, Griffin headed to his home in Bay County's beaches area. Nodding toward a member of his staff, Griffin said, “Everybody here bonded with the tortoise.” The staffer replied with a look that said, “Not so much.” No collusion with Russia was involved in obtaining the tortoise, Griffin said. “There is no Russian connection at all, unless the tortoise is really a mole.”

850 Business Magazine

SPRING 2019

NEW HORIZONS Triumph Gulf Coast board is on a diversification mission BY MARTHA J. LAGUARDIA-KOTITE

ADDING CAPACITY

Construction and reconstruction projects are underway at Port Panama City. A warehouse reduced to its steel framework by Hurricane Michael is being rebuilt with insurance proceeds. At the same time, work is progressing on a new warehouse (slab near the water). Triumph Gulf Coast funds are being used for the new construction, which also will include a bulkhead and dock. A Tampa firm, I-Icon, has been awarded a $10.8 million contract for the dock and bulkhead work.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF CULPEPPER CONSTRUCTION

FOR EIGHT NORTHWEST FLORIDA COUNTIES, $1.5 billion in Triumph Gulf Coast funds will make realities of projects that might otherwise never have come to fruition. Florida recovered $2 billon in economic damages from BP owing to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Of that total, $500 million was reserved for use by Florida’s state legislature; the remainder will be disbursed to affected counties. 850 Business Magazine | SPRING 2019 | 31

NEW HORIZONS

“This is the single largest pool of money in Florida’s history designed to diversify and strengthen the economy of a particular region,” said Don Gaetz, chairman of the Triumph Gulf Coast board and a former state senator. Until 2033, the board will oversee distribution of funds to counties that extend nearly 240 miles along the Gulf of Mexico from Escambia in the west to Wakulla in the east. Pre-applications represent diverse goals. One such vision for Whiting Aviation Park was in place before the spill occurred. Santa Rosa County Commissioner W.D. “Don” Salter recalled that he received a call in 2003 from Commodore Terrance “Rufus” G. Jones, Naval Air Station Whiting Field’s training air wing commander. The two men discussed the need to advance the county’s economic development objectives while providing a buffer between the NAS and activity that could “My heart’s still hinder missions. The fluttering. I had job of training Coast spent 15 years Guard, Navy and Marine working on that Corps aviators requires project. It was a an understanding project of passion. p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h the county and local The community communities — and it is very excited, involves a lot of takeoffs especially the and landings. men and women exiting the “Last year’s 1.1 million military. They now have a flight operations exceeded chance to walk next door and t h o s e o f A t l a n t a ’ s use the skills gained during Hartsfield Airport, which came in at 870,000,” said their service.” Julie Ziegenhorn, NAS — W.D. “DON” SALTER, SANTA ROSA COUNTY Whiting Field’s public COMMISSIONER affairs officer. “It’s the crown jewel of our county,” said Erica Grancagnolo, grants and special programs manager for Santa Rosa County. Indeed, it delivers more than $1 billion in annual economic impacts, according to Shannon Ogletree, director of the county’s economic development office. Salter became convinced that the maintenance and repair needs of the NAS merited an aircraft repair facility just outside the fence, one that would create highpaying jobs for Santa Rosa County residents. Studies had demonstrated that commuters increasingly were accepting jobs outside the county. Salter believed that a jobs-generating repair facility might also help prevent a base closure. The project was conceived as Whiting Aviation Park. Salter’s experiences in Vietnam as a combat platoon sergeant and Army paratrooper from 1965 to 1968 32

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helped him deal with a prolonged battle. Conversations and negotiations among the county, Navy and Pentagon consumed six years. In 2009, the U.S. Navy granted shared use of the NAS Whiting Field’s south runways to enable access to a 288-acre county-owned property zoned for aviation industry. With the limited-access use agreement in hand, the county developed a master plan and economic strategies to bring jobs and related aviation industry entities to Santa Rosa County. But the plan relied upon funding from the state. “Every time the proposal reached the governor, it was vetoed,” Salter said. Then came the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the damages award. “If given a lemon, make lemonade,” Salter said. “That’s what we try to do.” Fast forward to November 2017. Salter et al submitted a Whiting Aviation Park project pre-application to Triumph Gulf Coast Inc. In 2018, funding in the amount of $8.52 million was approved, and the project was in a position to take wing. The awarded money will help pay for Phase I infrastructure, roads and utilities. “My heart’s still fluttering,” Salter said. “I had spent 15 years working on that project. It was a project of passion. The community is very excited, especially the men and women exiting the military. They now have a chance to walk next door and use the skills gained during their service.” “We have a tremendous partnership with the county and surrounding communities,” said Ziegenhorn. “It’s a little too early to say what types of benefits will come from the aviation park, but we look forward to seeing how the project progresses.”

PHOTOS BY HARTMAN PHOTOGRAPHY (SALTER) AND COURTESY OF FLORIDA GENERAL ASSEMBLY / FLORIDA STATE SENATE (GAETZ) AND RENDERINGS COURTESY OF THE ATKINS GROUP

ON THE DRAWING BOARD The availability of Triumph Gulf Coast dollars is moving long talked about plans for an aircraft repair facility at Naval Air Station Whiting Field toward reality. The board overseeing Triumph funds has allocated $8.52 million to the project.

Triumph Gulf Coast Inc. administers the distribution of funds to Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin and Wakulla counties. Its seven-member board created a pre-application process, which provides for the initial consideration of projects capable of diversifying the regional economy and adding attractive jobs. Before funding is approved, the board must be satisfied that a proposal complies with its objectives and lends itself to provable measures of success. The board also ensures that a proposed project is not one that ordinarily would be funded entirely by local units of government. “Ideally, we want to be the junior partner. We want to provide less than half the money, and then only if necessary,” Gaetz said. The board also concerns itself with return on investment. “I don’t believe in faith-based economic development,” Gaetz said. “I don’t believe in giving people money and having faith that it will all work out. We need to know how much it is going to cost to get X jobs, paying X money, over X years. And who’s responsible and accountable to pay back the money if a claw back is necessary?” Gaetz described the board’s decision-making process

as first, conceptual approval, followed by specification of terms for the award of the money. Then, a legally binding contract is developed between a responsible party and Triumph Gulf Coast. It includes a performance schedule enforceable in court. “The money is not public money, but we believe it is a public trust,” Gaetz said. “We’re operating almost like a venture capital enterprise. It’s business, not a charity.” If an application is denied, the board may help applicants make their proposal better fit Triumph Gulf Coast criteria or it may refer them to other sources of funding. Pre-applications began arriving in October 2017. Of 166 pre-applications received as of December 2018, five had been awarded funding:  Wakulla County Career and Technical Education Center, $3.92 million  Panama City Port Authority East Terminal Development, $10 million  Haney Technical Center HVAC Program (Bay County), $614,000  U.S. 90 East Water and Sewer Expansion (Okaloosa County), $1.5 million  Whiting Aviation Park (Santa Rosa County), $8.52 million

“I don’t believe in faith-based economic development. I don’t believe in giving people money and having faith that it will all work out. We need to know how much it is going to cost to get X jobs, paying X money, over X years. And who’s responsible and accountable to pay back the money if a claw back is necessary?” — DON GAETZ, CHAIRMAN OF THE TRIUMPH GULF COAST BOARD AND A FORMER STATE SENATOR 850 Business Magazine

SPRING 2019

NEW HORIZONS The foundation’s goal, Pollard said, “is to create partnerships between youth and local businesses. Kids face really tough years. I want to partner with businesses to put students in a positive environment. …”

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Willie Pollard’s Bay Youth Summer Work Foundation helps students further their education and improve their prospects for employment. Students enroll in certificate programs at Gulf Coast State College as part of the program.

Early Triumph support had been given to seven applications, meaning that they had advanced beyond the pre-application phase, but contracts had not been finalized:  B ay Youth Summer Work Foundation (Bay County), $40,000  C ity of Pensacola Commercial Aircraft Maintenance Campus, $56 million  E scambia County Schools Workforce Education, $3.01 million  P ort of Apalachicola Improvements, $1.1 million  F ranklin District Schools Environmental Career and Technical Training, $2.32 million  P ort of Port St. Joe Project, $28.42 million  G ulf District Schools Unmanned Systems Project, $750,000 Other projects remain in the pre-application phase. Some are expected to be withdrawn or significantly modified due to the impacts of Hurricane Michael. Willie Pollard’s initiative in Bay County was suspended after the hurricane. An insurance agent and president of the Bay Youth Summer Work Foundation, Pollard sought 34

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$40,000 and cleared the pre-application phase. But, by his own request, the review process was put on pause by the Triumph board while Pollard focused on his business, the Willard Pollard Insurance Agency, and helped clients recover. The foundation’s summer work program was designed for high school students, ages 16 to 18, who are in good standing academically and in the community. The project helps students continue their education, find work and ultimately improve their future prospects for employment. “In Bay County, 59 percent of students receive free or reduced lunch, and approximately 61 percent of households with a family size of four live below the national poverty level in earned annual income,” Pollard said. The foundation’s goal, he said, “is to create partnerships between youth and local businesses. Kids face really tough years. I want to partner with businesses to put students in a positive environment. Our schools are great. They are doing the best they can. The homes and churches are doing the best they can. For the students’ career skills development, it’s the business community that can make a difference. This is something I’ve done all along. I hired students and taught them basic skills. I thought if we can expand this and add community and business partnerships, it will be a win-win situation.” The foundation’s eight- to 10-week summer work program enables students to select an industry certification and take Gulf Coast State College classes online, while gaining work experience and making money. Students have worked jobs in areas including the insurance industry, law offices, church administration, and maintenance and real estate. Students pick a certification program from a list of more than four dozen and then complete internet-based classes on computers at the college. “Certifications allow them to go to work for big-name companies,” Pollard said. “We finally resolved the issue of, ‘Oh, I don’t have a computer.’ They don’t have to have their own computer.” The Triumph Gulf Coast board continues to accept applications. “Probably the best ideas for diversifying Northwest Florida’s economy haven’t even been proposed yet,” Gaetz said. “We are out prospecting for good ideas. We have decades to get this job done. Our mission here is about lasting, transformational economic diversification. It’s not about shoveling money out as quick as we can to the people who show up with a deposit ticket.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIE POLLARD

— WILLIE POLLARD, OWNER OF WILLARD POLLARD INSURANCE AGENCY

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SPRING 2019

The CEO who operates from his gut and wants to continue doing the same things that made him successful in the first place years ago — the world doesn’t work that way today. — Phillip Stutts, Author, Fire Them Now

Phillip Stutts — an author, consultant and pundit — makes frequent cable news channel appearances, making the acquaintance of the likes of Tucker Carlson of FOX News, at left, and CNN’s Kaitlin Collins.

DISRUPTIONS

ARE COMING So keep your head up and be prepared to change course

ix years ago, Phillip Stutts was diagnosed with achalasia, a rare and degenerative autoimmune disease that disables the esophagus, eventually making eating impossible. For years, he took doctors at their word when they said the disease was incurable, that it could be slowed, perhaps, but not stopped. He took prescription medicines as recommended despite knowing that they have been linked to dementia as a side effect. He was, as he writes in Fire Them Now, a “bystander to his own disease,” paralyzed by fear. That is, until he was told that a feeding tube was an inevitability that he should plan for. Life as he knew it was on the line, and Stutts would be passive no longer. Today, he is confident that “we will find a cure. I am going to cure my incurable disease.”

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BY STEVE BORNHOFT

As a product of relentless online networking, Stutts was introduced to an achalasia researcher at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and he is now poised to become a “clinical trial of one.” The treatment involves an injection of stem cells into the esophagus in hopes that it will regenerate muscles and nerves. For Stutts, a business and political marketer who lives in South Walton County, achalasia is to him as change is to many CEOs around the country. “They know that disruptions are coming, and they don’t know how the marketing world works anymore, but they are choosing to bury their heads in the sand,” Stutts said in an interview conducted at The Henderson Beach Resort in Destin where he hosted a book signing. “The CEO who operates from his gut and wants to continue doing the same things that made him successful in the first place years ago

— the world doesn’t work that way today,” Stutts said. With his book, Stutts is trying to rattle executives much as he was shaken by the prospect of a feeding tube. “They need to know that they can win in a world of disruptions by reversing their fears and taking charge,” he said. A key step can be hiring the right marketing firm. Stutts finds that too many businesses enter into long-term contracts with marketers who place their own interests above those of their clients. Customers recognize that they need help navigating today’s digital marketing environment and, “all of a sudden you have an unbreakable long-term contract. The agency’s campaign may not work, but the customer is left holding the bag.” Fire Them Now (Lioncrest Publishing, 2018) is largely about avoiding such pitfalls. Stutts lists “You Must Sign a Long-term Contract” as Lie #1 among several he says marketers often tell and sell. “Some agencies even demand an upfront signing bonus for the ‘privilege’ of hiring them,” he writes. “That’s bulls---.” There are other lies, Stutts has found, namely:

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WIN BIG MEDIA

 Y ou have to spend big to discover what works.  Paying your marketing firm by the hour saves you money.  Campaigns should be built around the confidence that your product or service is amazing.  Your firm will work hard to make you stand out from the crowd.  Your outcome takes priority over the agency’s payday.  If you brand it, they will come. Many businesses fundamentally need to change their outlook if they are to avoid traps laid by self-serving marketers. “It’s about switching your primary question from, ‘Why don’t my customers want my amazing product or service?’ to, ‘What do my customers want?’” Stutts writes. Agencies find it far easier to stroke business leaders’ egos than to do the more difficult work of exploring customer

Stutts is often consulted regarding his outlook on politics. He predicted that Rick Scott would unseat Bill Nelson and foresaw a tight race between Ron DeSantis and Andrew Gillum.

outlooks and desires. And, they are perfectly content to take the easy route whenever their clients will let them, cautions Stutts, adding that businesses are vulnerable to flattering approaches and willing to pay for what they want to hear — validation. To illustrate his point, Stutts writes about a company that his business approached, impressed that the potential client had a great story to tell, an outstanding product, the capacity to market itself well and a more than ample marketing budget. “Some marketing firm had talked the company into creating an app for their product,” Stutts recalls. “The company spent $65,000 on developing the app. It was a free download, and it had been downloaded a measly 1,200 times.” The company’s first question of Stutts’s firm: “How can we get more people to use the app?” They were uninterested in any other strategy, so consumed were they by making their app investment pay off. Writes Stutts: “Finally we got real with them. ‘No one wants to use the app,’ we told them. ‘Meanwhile, you have a hugely marketable, high-profile business. Forget the app. Your audience voted on the app and the app lost. Focus on what your customers want.’ “They replied by again telling us that they had spent $65,000 on the app. They were so

If you’re hoping to accomplish anything of substance in this world, you will experience failure. It’s unavoidable, and it’s a good thing. — Phillip Stutts

850 Business Magazine

SPRING 2019

LEFT Stutts takes a turn in the hot seat on the set of Fox & Friends in moments leading up to a presidential candidates’ debate.

hung up on their investment and the idea of having a cool app that they were completely deaf and blind to the fact that their customers didn’t want what they were selling.” The company that changes its mindset as Stutts suggests moves from a hang-up on validation to exploration, outlined as a five-step process in Stutts’s book.  R esearch. Assess customer wants and determine if they line up with what your company is passionate about.  Data. Establish which customer subsets will consume your message and act upon it.  Testing. Identify which media/ communication channels can most effectively be used to reach the target consumers.  Launch. Disseminate your message via multiple channels to maximize chances for hitting the target.  Convert. Win over customers by positively distinguishing yourself from your competitors.

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The process flows from start to finish with a consistent message and an unwavering focus on customers. Is it foolproof? No. “If you’re hoping to accomplish anything of substance in this world, you will experience failure,” Stutts writes. “It’s unavoidable, and it’s a good thing.” Quoting author and public speaker Tim Ferriss, Stutts stresses, “Failure is feedback,” or, as everyone’s mom always said, “Learn from your mistakes.” The people who never succeed tend to be those who gave up early, Stutts writes, noting that Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all lost major elections before becoming president. Clinton, for example, lost his bid for a seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1974. Four years later, he became the youngest governor in history. Two years after that, he became the youngest ex-governor in history upon failing to win re-election.

“Get up off the mat and innovate,” Stutts advises. “Success is born out of being on the bottom and wanting nothing more than to claw your way to the top.” As to politics, how did a man with more than 20 years of election campaign experience handicap Florida’s marquee races? “Had Gwen Graham won on the Democratic side, she easily would have defeated (Ron) DeSantis,” Stutts said just after primary elections were concluded. “But now in (Andrew) Gillum and DeSantis, you have two candidates for governor operating at the poles, and DeSantis has a chance.” In the race for a U.S. Senate seat, Stutts expected Rick Scott to prevail over incumbent Bill Nelson. “Practically speaking, Scott has unlimited money,” Stutts said, “and Nelson is having a hard time getting out of his own way.” Given the way the elections played out, Stutts appears to have been rather prescient. He’s not an ego guy, but there is some validation there.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VAYNER MEDIA (LEFT) AND VAYNER MEDIA (ABOVE)

ABOVE Stutts with Gary Vaynerchuk, the chairman of VaynerX, a media and communications holding company, and the CEO of an advertising agency servicing Fortune 100 clients.

NO ROADBLOCKS IN ‘SITE’ OPPORTUNITY PARK

WAKULLA COUNTY CAN BECOME HOME FOR YOUR BUSINESS, NOW. READY TO BREAK GROUND FOR INDUSTRIAL OPERATIONS? THE NECESSITIES ARE IN PLACE HERE. OPPORTUNITY PARK IS LOCATED IN AN OPPORTUNITY ZONE. ALL INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN PLACE — WATER, SEWER, POWER, FIBER, ROADS.

wakullaedc.com/sites

JOHN SHUFF, PRESIDENT WAKULLA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL 850.567.3989 | JWSHUFF3@YAHOO.COM

St. Marks Innovation Park

RICHARD EXLINE, VICE PRESIDENT NG WADE INVESTMENT COMPANY 904.588.6773 | REXLINE@NGWADE.COM

FOR LEASE

COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES St. Marks Municipal Dock

ST. MARKS INNOVATION PARK Located 16 miles south of the Capitol and offering a bevy of amenities, St. Marks Innovation Park and the adjoining St. Marks Municipal Dock offer the perfect spot for your commercial property. Address: 627 Port Leon Drive, St. Marks, FL 32355 ST. MARKS INNOVATION PARK Availability: For Lease | Size: 56 acres | Type: Office Building

Office Building

ST. MARKS MUNICIPAL DOCK Availability: For Lease | Size: 3 acres | Type: Land

FIND YOUR PLACE IN WAKULLA CONTACT INFO City of St. Marks | Zoe Mansfield | (850) 925-6224 cityofst.marks@comcast.net | cityofstmarks.com | PO Box 296, St. Marks, FL 32355 850 Business Magazine

SPRING 2019

DEAL ESTATE Just Listed

Commercial Property Space Offers Multi-Purpose Functionality UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO OWN A FREESTANDING, retail

property that offers three different business uses. The current owner operates the Shell gas station and the Wish Wash Car Wash. Siam Thai Cuisine, a proven Thai concept in Pensacola, leases their space from the owner. There is the potential for a long-term lease with the tenant, which would provide more value to this already incredible opportunity. The building itself is approximately 15,000 square feet and sits on 2.91 acres, which could make it viable for a complete redevelopment. The best use would likely be to upgrade the existing facilities and continue operating the current businesses. The property also has tremendous visibility along 9th Avenue, which boasts over 30,000 cars per day.

List Price: $3,500,000 Address: 6403 N. 9th Ave., Pensacola Square Footage: 15,713 Year Built: 1986 Acreage: 2.91 Contact Information: Stacy Taylor Beck Partners, (850) 477-7044 staylor@teambeck.com

SPRING 2019

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF BECK PARTNERS

Property Type: Commercial

2019 is the year to make the coast Home

Spectacular views greet you when you walk in the front door of Dunescape. This St. George Island gulf-front home on one acre takes advantage of the views with a large great room with vaulted ceiling. Two bedrooms are on each side of the great room area with a convenient bath in between. $899,900.

2.49 acres with 107 feet of frontage on Scipio Creek offering easy access to the Apalachicola Bay. Beautiful wooded lot with mature trees, and a gentle slope to Scipio Creek. Conveniently located just minutes to downtown Apalachicola, yet on a secluded tree lined road. $169,000.

THINKING OF SELLING? Call us! We want to include your property in our marketing program:

A sweet St. George Island interior home with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, large open and sunny great room with decks front and back and a peak at the bay from both decks. Home was remodeled in 2016 and is on pilings. It is steps to the bay and 3 blocks to the beach. $320,000.

• Tallahassee Magazine • Emerald Coast Magazine • 850 Business Magazine • Tallahassee Democrat Limelight • The Apalachicola Bay Chamber Visitors’ Guide • Tallahassee Home and Yard • Forgotten Coast TV • Forgotten Coastline • Apalachicola Times • Large postcard mailing featuring your property • Facebook paid promotions • Professional photographs, drone shots and video

Apalachicola Bay Realty

Catherine Korfanty

Barbara Morris

850-510-8009

Licensed Real Estate Broker

Realtor

Apalachicolabayrealty.com

850-510-8009

813-514-7937

@ApalachicolaBayRealty

ckorfanty@outlook.com

850 Business flamorr@msn.com Magazine | SPRING 2019

DEAL ESTATE Just Listed

Exclusive Lakefront Estate in Moore Pond THIS EXQUISITE, THREE-STORY EXECUTIVE HOME boasts over three acres of lakefront property in the gated community of Moore

Pond. Custom built in 2002 with 7,305 square feet of luxurious living space and an oversized three-car garage, the home’s amenities also include a nicely appointed professional grade kitchen, living room with 22-foot ceilings, mahogany wood flooring and a marble-surrounded fireplace. Spacious master suite includes large his-and-her walk-in closets, and a stately office offers beautiful mahogany wall paneling and built-ins flanking a fireplace. Approximately 2,700 square feet of lower-level living space is nicely outfitted with a full kitchen, large bedroom and bath, family room and gym — combined with a bonus room and home theatre, making it ideal for use as an in-law suite or expansive entertaining space. Step outside to find a grand terrace and patio, sparkling pool with fountain and sitting area positioned under a pergola. The property is serene and peaceful, offering space and privacy to enjoy nature and the sweeping lake views.

List Price: $1,895,000 Address: 6997 Heartland Circle, Tallahassee Square Footage: 7,305 Bedrooms: 5 bedrooms Bathrooms: 5 full bathrooms, 2 half baths Year Built: 2002

Appeal: Private, lakefront executive estate in one of Tallahassee’s most exclusive neighborhoods Contact Information: Leanne Groom, Broker Associate, The Naumann Group Real Estate (850) 559-4262 Leanne@NaumannGroup.com 42

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF SUNLIGHT PHOTOS

Features: Lakefront estate home on three acres with a pool; soaring ceilings, gourmet kitchen; deluxe office with solid mahogany wall paneling and fireplace; in-law suite; home theatre; oversized three-car garage; premier gated community

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SPRING 2019

SPONSORED REPORT

TRACTION STRONG Get a Grip on Your Business

an a book change your life? Ryan Giles says it can. In fact, his business and his life were changed forever when he found a book that described the six key components to build a better business. In short, his life gained traction. Traction is also the title of the book by Gino Wickman that explains the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS®), which is rooted in the knowledge that the amount of success a company has depends on the degree to which these six key components™ are strengthened — vision, people, data, issues, process and traction. After ten years running his fifth business, Giles was tired of the same old problems with his people, processes, and profit. He wanted to run the business instead of the business running him. He sought a certified EOS® implementer to help him get his business running on EOS®. In a short amount of time, he solved his people issues, culture and process problems, and became very profitable. He eventually sold the company to become a certified EOS® implementer. “I realized that while I had been successful in the business world, my passion was being a mentor to other business leaders,” said Giles. Giles has facilitated and coached companies ranging from three employees to 1,200 and spanning Canada to Florida. His primary focus region is from Tallahassee to New Orleans because he is the only certified implementer in these areas. While anyone can read the book and glean insight, the best means to guarantee satisfaction is a certified implementer, each of whom undergoes intensive training, maintains a steady client list and posts a client satisfaction rating of no less than 8.75 out of 10. Giles is confident enough in his client success rates that he offers a money-back guarantee if a business is not pleased with the results.

TRACTIONSTRONG.COM | 504-500-1640 44

SPRING 2019

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This initial 90-minute workshop is free and acts as a way to learn how EOS® can help you get what you want from your business. Recently, Giles has progressed a Pensacola-based engineering firm through their initial sessions. At the beginning of the session, team leaders were overworked and lacked a clear plan to achieve their goals. Through a concise accountability chart, the team left with a clear vision of expectations and defined roles. They also created a leadership team scorecard and their first set of quarterly goals. The company is primed for their next meeting in which they will define focuses for the future. “I trust in the EOS® process because it’s worked in my own company and my own life,” said Giles. Are you getting everything you want from your business? If not, EOS® and Ryan Giles can help.

2019 ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL A N 8 5 0 B U S I N E S S M AG A Z I N E S P E C I A L R E P O RT

SOLID

FOUNDATIONS

Natural assets, unflagging recruitment efforts, progressive educational institutions and an embrace of new technologies have placed the Pensacola area on a solid footing.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

FLYING HIGH I

n June 2018, ST Engineering Aerospace commenced operations in its newly constructed 173,000-square-foot, $46 million Hangar 1 at the Pensacola International Airport. That development represented the culmination of a courtship that began seven years earlier when Singapore-based ST Engineering committed to exploring options for a satellite location near the established operations of its aerospace arm in Mobile, Alabama.

Successful courtship advances economic development objectives BY STEVE BORNHOFT

“Every project moves at its own pace,” said Scott Luth, CEO at the FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance. Luth, along with city and airport officials, was steadily involved in negotiations with ST Engineering Aerospace. “We built a strong relationship with the local leadership out of Mobile,” Luth said, before meeting with corporate officials from San Antonio and Washington, D.C. “Over the years, we moved up to the headquarters office in Singapore. I traveled to Singapore several times with (then) Mayor Ashton Hayward.” ST Engineering Aerospace is, according to its website, “the world’s largest commercial airframe MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) provider with Airframe and a global cuspowerplant mechanic tomer base Joseph Flint that includes services a leading airBoeing 757 at ST Engineering’s lines, airfreight Pensacola and military facility. operators.” It has facilities and affiliates in North and South America, Asia and Europe. Its suite of MRO services addresses airframe, components and engines, aviation materials and

asset management, and aircraft interiors. It offers customized engineering and design solutions, including passenger-to-freighter conversions. ST Engineering Aerospace projects that Hangar 1 will become the workplace for 400 employees. But the company will not be stopping there. In October in Singapore, ST Engineering Aerospace and Hayward signed off on a memorandum of understanding calling for the addition of a 655,000-square-foot airframe facility at the company’s Pensacola Aerospace Campus. ST Engineering Aerospace will invest $35 million in the $210 million expansion project; additional funding will come from the City of Pensacola, Escambia County, Triumph Gulf Coast Inc. and the state and federal governments. Construction of the airframe facility is projected to start in 2022. “The incredible partnership between the City of Pensacola and ST Engineering has brought forth a monumental opportunity to expand the I-10 aviation corridor and ignite transformational change to the region,” Hayward said at the MOU signing ceremony.

On the Cover: Clockwise from upper left, beaches are a primary draw for tourists visiting Escambia County; FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance CEO Scott Luth (in jacket) leads a meeting of entrepreneurs at the Co:Lab business incubator; UWF Center for Entrepreneurship Ed Ranelli tries out visual simulation glasses; ST Engineering Aerospace occupies a new hangar at the Pensacola International Airport. PHOTOS BY STEVEN GRAY (CO:LAB), MATTHEW COUGHLIN (ST ENGINEERING) AND COURTESY THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA (DR. RANELLI) AND VISIT PENSACOLA (BEACHES)

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PHOTOS BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN

For seven years, economic development officials in Escambia County worked to land ST Engineering as a Pensacola employer. In the end, the availability of an aviation-rich labor force was a winning factor. Top photo: Dallas Glover. Bottom photo: Shane Gonzalez, left, and Darrell Hicks.

Luth said the opportunity for ST Engineering Aerospace to “tap into a good, aviation-rich labor force” was a key factor leading the company to rank Pensacola ahead of the other locations it scouted in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. “Labor is the new natural resource,” Luth said. “It means a lot to have so many men and women exiting the military in our area with great skill sets. And our schools are doing a great job.” Luth noted that Booker T. Washington High School near the airport has added an aviation academy. George Stone Technical College established a program leading to airframe and power-plant certifications. “Education was a big part of our success in the ST Engineering project and accounts for the interest of many others in Pensacola,” Luth said. That interest is running strong. Interviewed in December, Luth said that FloridaWest had 48 projects in its pipeline and that 26 of them were active, meaning they had moved beyond the initial inquiry stage. Of the 26, seven were related to existing industry expansions and 19 involved companies that would be new to town. Of the 48 projects overall, Luth said, 41 percent involved manufacturing, 15 percent were related to aviation and 11 percent were

INTERVIEWED IN DECEMBER, LUTH SAID THAT FLORIDAWEST HAD 48 PROJECTS IN ITS PIPELINE AND THAT 26 OF THEM WERE ACTIVE, MEANING THEY HAD MOVED BEYOND THE INITIAL INQUIRY STAGE. OF THE 26, SEVEN WERE RELATED TO EXISTING INDUSTRY EXPANSIONS AND 19 INVOLVED COMPANIES THAT WOULD BE NEW TO TOWN.

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ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems acquired a downtown building at 2 N. Palafox St. in Pensacola and converted it into a home for its diagnostic business. Its founder, Dr. Sunil Gupta, is a graduate of the Co:Lab business incubator.

PARTNERS IN PROGRESS The FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance operates under contract to the Pensacola-Escambia Promotion and Development Commission (PEDC), a statutorily created economic development authority made up of five public officials and four private-sector appointees. The county routes all of its annual economic development appropriation to the PEDC; the City of Pensacola sends half of its economic development dollars to the PEDC and half directly to FloridaWest. City and county funds made available to FloridaWest totaled $750,000 in fiscal year 2018. The PEDC helps build and develop industrial commerce parks. It holds the title to the Pensacola Technology Campus and is working to create an industrial campus, The Bluffs. FloridaWest, Luth explained, serves as the marketing arm for economic development on behalf of the PEDC, the city and the county. Its responsibilities also include running and managing a business incubator, Co:Lab, which is housed in downtown Pensacola in a building owned by Pensacola State College. That is, FloridaWest is involved in “growing our own” in addition to recruiting businesses from afar. 4 / 2019 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

Tenant entrepreneurs at Co:Lab pay a fee and typically stay for about three years. The lab employs a full-time director, part-time business coach and office manager. Successful Co:Lab graduates include Dr. Sunil Gupta, who founded Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems (IRIS), an organization dedicated to eliminating

Scott Luth, CEO at the FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance

preventable blindness through the early detection of vision-threatening pathologies including diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. “IRIS bought a building downtown and is a great, growing company,” Luth said, adding that Co:Lab has spawned companies that in total have accounted for $9.5 million in gross sales and created 38 jobs in the Pensacola

PHOTOS BY STEVEN GRAY (LUTH) AND COURTESY OF EMBARK AGENCY

tied to information technology. Other categories included professional and business services and warehouse/distribution operations. “Career academies in cyber and information technology and programs at Pensacola State and the University of West Florida are paying dividends,” Luth said. “We are attracting a good mix, a good balance of inquiries.”

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Aerospace is our mission.

Ready to Get Started in Northwest Florida?

Contact Shannon Ogletree today. (850) 623-0174 • shannon@santarosa.fl.gov or visit SantaRosaEDO.com 2019 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 5

APRIL 25–28, 2019

Town Center of Grand Boulevard at Sandestin® Miramar Beach, FL

04 25 - 28 19

A dazzling roster of dozens of celebrity winemakers, distillers, chefs, brew masters and entertainers converge in South Walton, Florida to wine, dine, educate and entertain guests as part of the four-day celebration of wine during the South Walton Beaches Wine & Food Festival held April 25-28, 2019 throughout the Town Center of Grand Boulevard. Attendees enjoy such attractions as Spirits Row, Rosé All Day Garden, Savor South Walton Culinary Village, Nosh Pavilions, Tasting Seminars, Craft Beer & Spirits Jam, live entertainment and more than 800 wines poured by knowledgeable wine industry insiders.

PRESENTING SPONSORS

ALL PROCEEDS SUPPORT

OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR

Benefiting Children in Need in Northwest Florida

O F F I C I A L L O D G I N G PA R T N E R

F O U N D I N G PA R T N E R S

VISIT

sowalwine.com FOR

M OR E

I N FOR M ATI ON A N D TO P U RCH A S E TI C K E TS

6 / 2019 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

Key players at Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems include its founder, Dr. Sunil Gupta, top photo, and CEO Chris Belmont. The business detects vision-threatening pathologies.

metro area. Fifteen businesses in development are currently at Co:Lab. Co:Lab figures prominently in FloridaWest’s latest five-year (October 2018–September 2023) strategic plan, compiled last year with suggestions from PEDC. The plan includes six broad initiatives representing FloridaWest’s program of work: n B usiness incubator — Operate a business incubator

to encourage entrepreneurship and grow new businesses. n B usiness expansion — Encourage business retention and expansion of existing industries. n B usiness development — Attract new employers with wages higher than the state average. n W orkforce development — Provide support to help create a well-trained target industry workforce that attracts new employers to the community, meets the skills training needs of area residents and supports existing industry. n S ites and buildings — Work with PEDC, private and public entities to support and advocate for the development of high-quality business parks and sites. n Organizational support — Pursue organizational strategies to increase the needed resources and partnerships to carry out the mission.

The organizational support objective commits FloridaWest to adding four members per year for five years. “We’re not a chamber of commerce,” Luth said. “We’re not a large membership organization. “We’re looking for members who are invested in the community, businesses with large customer bases that will grow when Pensacola and Escambia County grow. Financial institutions, the health care industry, construction companies, utilities, those are our targets.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EMBARK AGENCY

Thursday • Winemakers & Shakers • 5pm–7pm Friday • VIP Wine Tasting Kick-Off • 4pm–6pm Friday • Craft Beer & Spirits Jam • 6pm–9pm Saturday & Sunday • Grand Tastings • 1pm–4pm

We Keep Industry Moving

The Port of Pensacola now has weekly cargo and container service available to Mexico. Learn more about how we can help your business import and export or to utilize our other logistics services. portofpensacola.com | 850.436.5070

PRESENTS

CYNTHIA BARNETT “Blue Revolution: A Water Ethic for Florida” Cynthia Barnett shows how one of the most water-rich states in the nation could come to face water scarcity and quality woes — and how it doesn’t have to be this way.

7pm Tuesday, April 23 WSRE Jean & Paul Amos Performance Studio Pensacola State College Admission is free! Register: wsre.org/speakers

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The Florida Humanities Council partners with community organizations around the state. Support for the Florida Humanities Speaker Series is provided by the Florida Humanities Council with funds from the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs.

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1/15/19 / 7 2019 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A2:38 L PM

PHOTO BY JASON CONRAD

ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

The Institute for Human and Machine Cognition is making it possible for the Pensacola Police Department to tactically employ drones, inside and outside. From left: IHMC research associate Daniel Duran, Pensacola police officer Robert Lindbloom, research associate John Carff and IHMC research scientist Matt Johnson. 8 / 2019 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

POLICING FROM ABOVE

IHMC helps Pensacola police develop drone program BY KARI C. BARLOW

he next time the Pensacola Police Department is faced with locating a missing child or diffusing a hostage standoff, officers will have four new hightech drones at their disposal. The drones — two indoor and two outdoor — were custom built by scientists at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in downtown Pensacola and delivered to the department in January. Four officers have already begun working with the drones and receiving FAA-certified training on the new technology. “Police work is incredibly dangerous and difficult,” Police Chief Tommi Lyter said. “You have to turn that corner, and you don’t know what is on the other side. A drone takes a lot of that unknown away.” In August 2018, scientists at IHMC teamed up with Lyter to help his department develop an ongoing drone program. The idea, he said, is to build a sustainable program that will change and expand over time along with the leading technology. Lyter, whose law enforcement experience includes SWAT and K-9 work, believes the drone program is well worth the initial price tag of $50,000. “The reason I embraced it is it makes (officers’) jobs safer,” he said. “That’s why I think it’s worth the investment.” IHMC Research Scientist Matt Johnson, who headed the drone team, said the innovative partnership is a long-term collaboration. “It’s wonderful to get to work on technology that you know has the potential to help somebody,” he said. “And this is reaching right here locally, and hopefully we’ll see the benefits really soon.” Lyter has enjoyed watching the IHMC scientists in action. “I’m kind of in awe of those guys. … I’m convinced this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “I think it’s going to expand so much more.”

‘A FORCE MULTIPLIER’ The new technology will allow officers to assess some emergency situations far more quickly, said Patrol Officer Robert Lindbloom, one of the first four officers who was selected to work with the drones. “It’s a force multiplier,” he said. “There’s nothing like a bird’s-eye view when you’re looking for something.”

“THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW WHEN YOU’RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING.” OFFICER ROBERT LINDBLOOM Lindbloom, who spent 22 years in the U.S. Air Force as a helicopter pilot, said he envisions the outdoor drones being especially helpful when the department is searching for an endangered person or suspects who have fled on foot or trying to assess an unruly crowd or mass casualty incident. “The drone just exponentially increases our ability to stay safe,” he added. “There will be some growing pains, but we’re excited.” Johnson agreed, noting that the two outdoor drones — which are hexacopters with six propellers — are also equipped with infrared cameras with the ability to pick up heat signatures. “All human beings will basically glow,” he said. The two indoor drones, which are roughly

the size of a dinner plate, will be particularly useful in close quarters, Johnson said. “One of the neat features is the payload will be flexible in what it can carry,” he said. The indoor drones could be used to deliver a cell phone into a hostage situation or barricaded suspect to establish better communication, to search a damaged building after a disaster or to search for people hiding or trapped inside a structure. Instead of sending in an officer as the first contact, an officer could remotely pilot the drone to scout out the situation. Unlike the outdoor drone, which is operated via line of sight, the smaller indoor drone has protected propellers and delivers what’s called a first-person view. “It streams video back to the goggles the pilot is wearing,” Johnson said. “The indoor (law enforcement) drone is a fairly unique concept that I haven’t heard of anyone doing nationwide.” Under the department’s initial plan, one officer per patrol shift will be proficient in drone operation while the other drone operators will be on call if needed. “Once you have it is when you really start to realize what it’s good for,” Johnson said. “We’re excited to get them into their hands. While good eyesight and spatial awareness are important, he added, sound judgment is perhaps the most important qualification for being a good drone pilot. “Safety is going to be key in developing this program,” Johnson said. “Anyone can go buy a drone on Amazon, but the question is how to use one safely for the duration of this program.” After completing initial hands-on training with the officers, Johnson and his team will be on hand for questions and consultations. “We’ll be stopping by periodically, and we’ll be making recommendations (on ongoing retraining),” he said. “We’ll get to ask them what’s missing. … That’s the exciting part for us.”

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People banking with people 536 North Monroe Street • Tallahassee, FL 32301 • 850.681.7761 www.americancommercebank.com 10 / 2019 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L

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One city. One bank. “We pride ourselves in structuring loans that match the parameters of an investment,” says Johnny Jones, Tallahassee Market President. “For example, ACB offers amortizing structures that span the life of a loan. Most banks make “balloon loans” which mature at inconvenient times and trigger a full re-underwriting of the deal. By offering rate re-sets rather than balloon structures, ACB provides confidence to the borrower that a project won’t be threatened with a mid-term refinance. It’s an important distinction that separates us from our peers.”

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ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Dr. Ed Ranelli, director of the UWF Center for Entrepreneurship, is doing his part to promote economic growth.

PROVIDING A SPARK W

ith a fully established MBA program and an expanding catalog of courses centered on entrepreneurship and small business management, the University of West Florida College of Business is shaping the future of Escambia County, one innovator at a time. And, thanks to a $1 million grant bestowed by Pensacola visionary Quint Studer in 2015, there’s now a synergistic space for students to coin, cultivate and realize their visions in the University of West Florida Center for Entrepreneurship (UWFCE). Its mission, said Dr. Ed Ranelli, director of the UWFCE, is threefold: to promote entrepreneurial spirit, provide mentorship and influence economic growth. SPARKING INNOVATION “When we opened two years ago, our first objective was to create a buzz for entrepreneurship among students on campus,” Ranelli explained. “There’s a couple of different vehicles in which we do that, but one of the

BY HANNAH BURKE

most rewarding is inviting successful, small business owners in the community to share their experiences in growing a career.” Forums, held every Wednesday evening in the UWF library’s Idea Space, may feature Studer who, in addition to founding the Studer Community Institute, doubles as the center’s “Entrepreneur in Residence.” Community leaders including Justin Beck, CEO of Beck Partners, and Birdwell Agency founder Jane Birdwell also have shared advice. Though students may turn up for the free pizza and Coca-Cola, Ranelli joked, they’re also receiving the invaluable opportunity to network with professionals in their field. The Idea Space also plays host to coaching sessions for the UWFCE’s annual Da Vinci Innovation Celebration, a competition which raises the stakes far higher than slices of pie and pop. The event, which took place last October, awarded up to $10,000 in prize money to the students who presented the most impressive, innovative concepts before a panel of judges.

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With projects ranging from ingenious software applications to off-the-wall beauty products, 63 teams delivered a two- to three-minute pitch (think Shark Tank), which demonstrated their product’s originality, marketability and effectiveness. In 2018, UWFCE also participated in a nationwide, Masters-level case competition, in which a large, NASDAQ company posed an internal problem to graduate students. Applying the management strategies taught in class, competitors formulated solutions and presented them to a board of the corporation’s employees. Though a team from an Arkansas university claimed first prize, Ranelli was over the moon when UWF snagged second place. Additionally, Ranelli said, over 50 local CEOs volunteered to participate in last year’s Job Shadow program. As its name suggests, the program affords students of any major an opportunity to experience the corporate climate of their chosen field, be it a typical day at the office or attending a significant board meeting.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA

UWF center grooms entrepreneurs

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ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

LOOKING AHEAD For Ranelli, trailblazers such as Thornton and his good friend, Studer, seem to carry entrepreneurship in their DNA. The same, he said, applies to students like Alex Hill. Hill, a retired army veteran, joined the UWF family in 2016 when, after earning an undergraduate degree in business at Pensacola State College, he elected to pursue a BS/ BA in marketing. During that time, Hill had embarked on a little vacation to the Florida Keys, where he discovered a kiosk selling not just coconuts, but an experience. There, he noticed sunburned tourists raving over a genuinely tropical treat. “Around campus, we call him the Coconut Guy,” Ranelli laughed fondly. “Basically, he started importing those coconuts from South Florida and hiring students at the height of the tourist season to sell them in Okaloosa and Baldwin counties’ resorts.”

Gabriela Silva, a senior in the UWF School of Nursing, leads Dr. Ed Ranelli on a demonstration of “virtual sim goggles.”

Just six months after Emerald Coast Coconut was established, it moved into a permanent location in the heart of the HarborWalk Village of Destin. Word of its success traveled all the way to the capital, where former Gov. Rick Scott declared Hill, 26, recipient of 2018’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year. “We’re really trying to demonstrate that UWF, through its students, is shaping the destiny of Northwest Florida,” said Ranelli. “UWF was developed to advance the educational, cultural, and economic development and quality of life for this region. As we approach around 100,000 alumni, you have to realize that a lot of them go on to live and work in Northwest Florida. They’re

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raising their families, occupying important positions on your civic boards and starting their own businesses.” Now entering its third year in operation, the UWFCE is coming into its own. As Ranelli looks toward the 2019 school year, he finds himself reflecting on that threefold mission. The first objective, he believes, is complete. The past two years can attest that the buzz is there, and the entrepreneurial spirit burns brighter than ever. Through exposing students to in-depth interactions with small business owners, offering richer opportunities for mentorship and to, eventually, extending the center’s services beyond the student population and into the community, Ranelli fully intends to fan the flames. Quint Studer addresses students during the Center for Entrepreneurship’s Idea Space Speaker Series.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA

“A key element of the UWFCE, as well as the College of Business, is to provide hands-on experiences for students,” said Ranelli. “So, we want students to participate in job shadows, and what we call real case studies — not just the ones from Harvard Business School. On a couple of occasions, participating companies have hired students right after their presentations. That lets us know we’re successfully launching our students into their careers and lives.” Recently, Ranelli, himself, had a hand in getting the ball rolling for a group of students. Upon learning of their initiative to tutor both Oakcrest and Ensley elementary school students in STEM-disciplined, after-school sessions, Ranelli, who served as dean of the College of Business from 2000 to 2013, was floored. “These students have completely written their own curriculum and projects that teach over 80 elementary students a hands-on approach to science. I was so impressed, I knew I had to help them out. “I hooked them up with an attorney to get incorporated, and to get them qualified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit so they could accept donations. I contributed some myself and introduced them to an accountant. It’s been a real joy seeing them grow.” Ranelli is joined by other experienced mentors, who make themselves readily available to provide tips and tricks of the trade. Last fall, the UWFCE was approached by Bert Thornton, retired president and COO of Waffle House. Now residing in Perdido Key, Thornton, who watched his family diner grow into a billion-dollar corporation, aims to pass along his wisdom to the next generation of business owners at UWF.

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2019 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 17

ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

DATA DRIVEN Haas Center assists businesses, public entities BY THOMAS J. MONIGAN

atiently and carefully during the past 25 years, the Haas Center at the University of West Florida has earned a reputation for excellence when it comes to analyzing local businesses and socioeconomic and demographic trends. And as today’s information environment continues to evolve, those in charge are committed to staying one step ahead. “We intend to go big and strong into the decision support element,” said Dr. Brice Harris, director of the Haas Center. “At the end of the day, that’s how I see my job — to inform and support — and that includes university administration and the general public and it includes state and federal agencies, to the extent that we can make our capabilities available.” Recently, the center has focused on enhancing the means by which it reaches its audiences. “A lot of what we’ve spent the last year doing is reimagining our traditional methods of community engagement,” said Amy Newburn, assistant director of the center. “We’ve spent a lot of time on refreshing and promoting more effective communications. As such, we launched a new website in August with links to our very active social media profiles, as well as a blog.” But that’s not all. “We have a quarterly newsletter that includes original research and, among other things, a cost of living index that we partner with the Council for Community and Economic Research on,” Newburn said. “In the last six months, we’ve done tons of work that we think directly pertains to our partners in the business and economic development sectors.”

For assistant director Amy Newburn and the Haas Center at the University of West Florida, monitoring the impacts of Hurricane Michael and improving communication with the community will be priorities in the year ahead.

As of Oct. 10, a major storm commanded the center’s attention. “We launched and will monitor the economic impact of Hurricane Michael over the next year,” Newburn said, “because we know that kind of recovery takes time, and we want to be good partners to our friends that have been so affected by that disaster.” Harris is excited about a new “high-tech element” that is being rolled out this year. “We hope it will serve as a new asset and resource that community members will turn to, rather than just having data that the individual tries to synthesize using

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spreadsheets or whatever they’re going to do,” Harris said. “We’d like to give them opportunities to really visualize data in the context of a decision theater, and that kind of bleeds over into competitive intelligence.” Harris referred to a “three-pronged process” that involves: n C ompetitive intelligence: “That is

some of what we’ve done traditionally, but another piece involves really taking it to the next level.”

n D ecision support: “This is actually

translating that data into ways that are

useful to the client, so they can really understand where the rubber meets the road, as opposed to a slide deck full of squiggly lines and pie charts.” n E conomist speakers bureau: “That’s

PHOTOS BY STEVEN GRAY

where we try to more broadly connect, not just with the business community, but with the community at large.”

Regarding the bureau, Harris said the center plans to assemble a “large collection of subject matter experts. The number and makeup of that bureau would kind of wax and wane for the first six or nine months or so while we try to ascertain what the community is calling for.” Santa Rosa County Economic Development Director Shannon Ogletree is quite familiar with the Haas Center. He was an intern there in 2000. “The Haas Center offers quality opinion and unbiased results,” Ogletree said. “We’ve used them for a number of years now for economic impacts, demographic studies and advice on economic analysis. They’re everything I look for. They’re cost efficient. I’ve never gotten a bad product from them.” Nicole Dees, information specialist with the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Office, said assistance from the Haas Center proved invaluable in the compiling of a 2017-18 tourism impact study, so much so that work on another such study is starting this year. “The staff was an amazing team of professionals that answered our every request,” Dees said, “and they helped us daily on building the report, step by step, from the first day of the project to the last day.” Belinda Zephir, Air Service Development Manager for Pensacola International Airport, said the survey Haas did for them in 2018 would be renewed this year. “It helps build our business case with underserved routes so that when we get a sense of connecting the dots throughout the corporate community in the region, we can see where the demand levels are coming from,” Zephir said. “Their measurements speak for themselves,” Zephir added. “They did a written report and also interactively used interviews involving one certain airline and found out where people were coming from and where their final destination was. That’s something you can share with an air carrier.”

“WE’D LIKE TO GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITIES TO REALLY VISUALIZE DATA IN THE CONTEXT OF A DECISION THEATER, AND THAT KIND OF BLEEDS OVER INTO COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE.” DR. BRICE HARRIS, HAAS CENTER DIRECTOR

2019 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 19

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SPONSORED REPORT

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6 4uwf.edu/NoLimits 5 2019 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 23

ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Three fourths of visitors to the Pensacola area hit the beach, a percentage that has declined recently as tourists seek more novel experiences.

TRANSCENDING THE TRADITIONAL Visit Pensacola rolls out a multi-generational narrative

ore millennials and centennials are journeying to Pensacola, packing with them an appetite for exploration and adventure. And, with vacation priorities shifting, so, too, have Visit Pensacola’s marketing efforts. “We like to call ourselves storytellers,” said Steve Hayes, president of Visit Pensacola. “In 2018, we rebranded our visitor’s guide as the Insider’s Guide, which essentially removed all the listings. Results from our consumer focus groups revealed that today’s visitors don’t want to be told what to do: They want to hear about experiences.” Experiences, it turns out, are abundant in Pensacola, where history nuts can tour forts Pickens and Barrancas, or walk

the Maritime Heritage Trail. Ecotourists may opt for a more challenging hike through Perdido Key, or survey waters from the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier. In 2018, when millennials comprised the majority of Escambia County visitors, a perception study conducted by Visit Pensacola discovered a strong dislike for pigeonholing. “They want to branch out and see more than just the place their parents may have brought them to as a kid,” Hayes said. “They want the full experience for, say, downtown Pensacola, where you can explore the history of Belmont-DeVilliers, visit the art museum and then grab a really cool bourbon and cigar afterwards.” Majority Opinion Research revealed that, while 76 percent of

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BY HANNAH BURKE

Shopping is the second most popular activity among visitors to Pensacola, according to market research.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF VISIT PENSACOLA

visitors spent time at the beach, its popularity decreased by 15 percent over the last five years. Shopping proved to be the second most popular activity, followed by museums and fine dining venues. While there’s certainly no shortage of beachgoers, it’s evident that altered perceptions of Pensacola correlate with 33 percent growth in visitation since 2013. By doing more storytelling, Hayes is confident that he will lead people to discover the full range of vacation activities that Pensacola offers, and tourism will reach new heights. Who better to endorse the community than those who call it home? “Our local focus groups have really shown us that we’ve got people living here who think Pensacola is the greatest thing since sliced bread,” Hayes said. “Funny enough, one of the biggest critiques from our locals was our lack of promotion for the Blue Wahoos (Pensacola’s minor league baseball team). For our visitors, that hype isn’t there. So, we’d like to enlist our residents as brand ambassadors and encourage them to tell visitors about how much they adore the Wahoos, and all the other unique things there are to do.” Visit Pensacola will institute a frontline ambassador training program in 2019, ensuring that its employees are equipped with the best possible tools for making recommendations. “It’s that kind of service that’s going to maintain a high level of satisfaction and rate of return,” Hayes said. Of the 2.6 million people who visited Escambia County in 2017, 99 percent said they would recommend Pensacola as a vacation destination to

others, according to Majority Opinion Research; 94 percent said they would return, and 82 percent aspire to do so within the next year. Many will get there by air. “Our air-traffic growth has been tremendous,” Hayes stressed. “We remain a 75 to 25, drive-toflight ratio, but the tourist who flies has proven to spend far more.” Based on 2017 data, Escambia County visitor spending surpassed $800 million, an increase of 34 percent from three years earlier. More than half of visitor spending is directly attributable to marketing. While Visit Pensacola will devote around $3 million to promotion this year, it will also use a grant from Visit Florida for air service development. New, nonstop flights provided by United, Frontier and Southwest Airlines have resulted in Chicago and Boston emerging as top feeder markets. In 2019, United Airlines will feature a Saturday service flight from Denver during spring break. Nonstop service to New York City is also in the works. The average length of stay has dipped 6 percent since 2013. Visit Pensacola hopes to increase the current average length of stay of 6.3 nights by creating buzz around long-weekend getaways and weeklong vacation itineraries. Based on 2018 data, visiting parties spent an average of $234 per day. If each party extended its stay by a single night, total annual visitor spending would jump by $184.5 million. Tourism provides Escambia County with more than 24,000 Escambia County jobs or about 18 percent of the working population.

“WE LIKE TO CALL OURSELVES STORYTELLERS.” STEVE HAYES, PRESIDENT OF VISIT PENSACOLA

Pensacola residents have enthusiastically embraced the Class AA Blue Wahoos, a team newly affiliated with the Minnesota Twins. Tourism officials are asking fans to spread the word about the club and its waterfront stadium among visitors.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY VISITOR PROFILE n 44 years: Average age of visitor decision maker n 3.4 persons: Average party size n 72: Percentage of couples/adult-only parties n $89,931: Average household income n 67: Percentage of visitors who paid for lodging n 6.3 nights: Average duration of lodging stay n $1,483: Average party spend per stay n $234: Average party spend per day Source: 2018 Visitor Insight Report

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ESCAMBIA COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Pensacola International Airport

VITAL STATISTICS Taking Stock of Escambia and Other West Florida Counties

Labor Force / Employment August 2018 Escambia Okaloosa Bay Santa Rosa Walton

147,999 / 143,600 98,739 / 96,368 89,281 / 86,835 80,187 / 77,990 30,638 / 29,871

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Sales of Single Family Homes (Units) August 2018

Percentage of Adults with Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Degree or Higher

Escambia Santa Rosa Okaloosa Bay Walton

Okaloosa Santa Rosa Walton Escambia Bay

674 538 483 466 272

28.1 26.5 25.1 23.9 21.6

Percent Change in Passengers (versus same month in previous year) August 2018 + 24% Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport + 19% Destin/Fort Walton Beach Airport +18% Pensacola International Airport + 6% Mobile Regional Airport

Source: UWF Haas Center

PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT PENSACOLA

BY THE NUMBERS

Economic Development Trends in Escambia Discussing industrial sites and economic growth with Justin Beck, CEO of Beck Partners When you envision an industrial site, images of vacant land, large cargo trucks and unremarkable warehouses likely come to mind. Justin Beck, CEO of Beck Partners, states that those perceptions are changing. Industrial sites are different than they were 10 years ago, now featuring clean, professionally styled office buildings, 18 wheelers replaced by sleek delivery vans — and all of it is a taste of the ever-changing landscape of how to conduct business. With companies such as Amazon broadcasting this new industrial landscape on a large scale, Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are taking notes. Beck specifically points to ST Aerospace and The Bluffs as industrial projects being developed in Pensacola. The hope is to contribute even more industrialized sites, which Beck believes can be accomplished through proper planning and utilizing the success stories of others. “Industrial uses are typically basic employment, meaning the majority of revenue comes from outside of the community,” said Beck. “For communities to grow and thrive, they have to do more than recycle money. Look at this region’s tourism success, which is important because it generates significant money from outside of the community. Industrial jobs do the same thing.” Beck acknowledges that all new developments require time and patience, but Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are making massive strides on two fronts — improving the quality of life and investing in the downtown core. “We are creating world-class cities that attract education and high-wage jobs,” said Beck. “Despite all of the recent growth,

it’s relatively easy to do real estate projects here, making for a fantastic business climate.” Beck Partners, alongside many regional companies and the Chamber of Commerce, are intent on attracting businesses and helping them grow. A recent growth trend leans toward the holistic approach — promoting quality of life, rather than just using high wages, to attract talent. “Research shows, in a vibrant community, poverty is low and education and business levels are high,” said Beck. “We are seeing those factors right now through the businesses that are coming and growing. Helping Pensacola businesses grow brings me joy.”

We are creating world-class cities that attract education and highwage jobs.

Justin Beck CCIM, CPM, CEO, President - Real Estate Photo Credit: Steven Gray, with Move Media

Pensacola 850.477.7044 151 W Main St, Ste 200 Tallahassee 850.727.0003 306 E College Ave, Ste 106

850.477.7044 TeamBeck.com 2019 E S C A M B I A C O U N T Y B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L / 27

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