2013 August-September Issue of 850 Business Magazine

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ECHOES OF ‘KING COTTON’ IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA CAN BRINGING FIDO TO WORK EASE STRESS? EARNHARDT JR. TALKS CARS AND SALES JAY ODOM: RISE AND STUMBLE OF A LOCAL WUNDERKIND

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AUG-SEP 2013

A product of Rowland Publishing, Inc.

BACK ON THE WATER Our boating industry is on the rebound as more enthusiasts head back to the water

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LONG LIVE LOCAL Business Growth “We’ve excelled in commercial installation of plumbing, medical gas, and air conditioning systems in healthcare and laboratory facilities,” says Heath Miller, President of Miller’s Plumbing & Mechanical Inc./MPM Air. “Our newest venture, MPM Air, will be aimed at providing reliable and affordable air conditioning services to the residential market.”

NOW THAT’S

LOCAL STRONG No matter what type of business you own, you’re in the people business.

That’s why at First Commerce we’re committed to providing you a business partner, not just business banking.

“First Commerce has seen the potential in our business and works as a partner instead of a road block.”

HEATH MILLER, PRESIDENT MILLER’S PLUMBING & MECHANICAL INC./MPM AIR

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850 Magazine August – September 2013

IN THIS ISSUE

38

850 FEATURES Boating is Back 30 Northwest Florida’s recreational boating industry took it on the chin during the recession and the 2010 Gulf oil spill. But boating enthusiasts are returning to the water again, keeping docks, marinas and boat sales offices busy this summer.

By Jeanne Craig

62

In This Issue

Corridors

8 From the Publisher 11 Letters to the Editor 14 Business Arena: News & Numbers 72 Sound Bytes 74 The Last Word From the Editor

agriculture, cotton today is undergoing a slight rebirth. Jackson and Santa Rosa counties account for two-thirds of the state’s cotton production these days.

But how long will it last? Depends on the market for it.

By Jason Dehart

10 Dale Earnhardt Jr. embarks on a second car career in Tallahassee.

62 Wood’s Fisheries in Port St. Joe has been sending boats to sea for 150 years to get that fresh catch. Now they’ve added shrimp farming — 20 miles inland.

THE (850) LIFE

I-10

13 Thom Gossom Jr. shares the secrets of success in his busy life.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

66 The Bonifay rodeo each October brings about 25,000 people to town — and gives this rural community a welcomed economic boost.

16 How to properly store and/or dispose of documents used in your business.

capitAl

Leading Healthy

PHOTOs BY Scott Holstein, Photo by Tommy Crow (the Pearl)

On the Cover: Heather and Chris Thomas, owners of Destin Vacation Boat Rentals. Photo by Jacqueline Ward Images

45

50 Jay Odom depended on good politicking to help his development company. But one foray into the political world led to a federal prison sentence.

Forgotten COAST

Departments GUEST COLUMN

The Economics of Cotton 38 Once the mainstay of Northwest Florida

EMERALD COAST

22 New research shows that having pets in the office can help reduce stress for you and relax your customers.

68 More whole food stores are coming to Tallahassee, giving consumers plenty of options. To survive, each store is carving out its own niche.

Special Department

Sponsored Report

Special Report

19 Deal Estate

25

45

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

O UTREACH 850 The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at Florida State University is extending its programs to help businesses find success.

850 Business Magazine

W alton County Tourism There’s a burst of energy along the coastline of Walton County, where a new hotel and several businesses are opening and boosting the local economy.

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August – September 2013

850 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA

President/Publisher Brian E. Rowland EDITORIAL Director of Editorial Services Linda Kleindienst Staff Writer Jason Dehart Editorial Coordinators Chay D. Baxley, Laura Bradley Contributing Writers Lazaro Aleman, Chay D. Baxley, Laura Bradley, Jeanne Craig, Jason Dehart, Rosanne Dunkelberger, Jennifer Howard, Zandra Wolfgram Proofreader Melinda Lanigan CREATIVE Creative Director Lawrence Davidson Assistant Creative Director Saige Roberts Graphic Designers Jennifer Ekrut, Lizzie Moore, Shruti Shah Production Manager/Network Administrator Daniel Vitter Staff Photographer Scott Holstein SALES, MARKETING & EVENTS Marketing and Sales Manager McKenzie Burleigh Director of New Business Daniel Parisi Traffic Coordinator Lisa Sostre Account Executives Rhonda Chaloupka, Jon Fistel, Darla Harrison, Lori Magee, Tracy Mulligan, Linda Powell, Chuck Simpson, Chris St. John, Drew Gregg Westling Special Projects and Events Special Projects and events Manager Caroline Conway Special Projects and events coordinator Lynda Belcher OPERATIONS Administrative Services Manager Melissa Tease Accounting Specialists Tabby Hamilton, Josh Faulds Receptionists Chay D. Baxley, Jazmeen Sule WEB Social Media/Systems Management Specialist Carlin Trammel 850 Business Magazine 850businessmagazine.com, facebook.com/850bizmag, twitter.com/850bizmag Rowland Publishing rowlandpublishing.com SUBSCRIPTIONS A one-year (6 issues) subscription is $30. To purchase, call (850) 878-0554 or go online to 850businessmagazine.com.

Single copies are $4.95 and may be purchased at Barnes & Noble in Tallahassee, Destin and Pensacola and in Books-AMillion in Tallahassee, Destin, Ft. Walton Beach, Pensacola and Panama City and at our Tallahassee office.

850 Magazine is published bi-monthly by Rowland Publishing, Inc. 1932 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee, FL 32308. 850/878-0554. 850 Magazine and Rowland Publishing, Inc. are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. Editorial contributions are welcomed and encouraged but will not be returned. 850 Magazine reserves the right to publish any letters to the editor. Copyright August 2013 850 Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Member, Florida Magazine Association and three Chambers of Commerce throughout the region.

Awards4U is the official provider of mounted features for Rowland Publishing titles. For more information contact Sam Varn 850.878.7187.

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Vol. 5, No. 6

Proud member Florida Magazine Association

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

Earn your master’s degree online or on campus from the Florida State University College of Business and gain an edge in the ever-changing business world.

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Dr. Allen Blay Associate Professor, Accounting FSU Graduate Teaching Award Nominee 850 Business Magazine

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From the Publisher

According to Webster, the word “leader” can take on three distinct meanings: 1. The position of being a leader. 2. The ability and capacity to lead. 3. The act or instance of leading others.

In our world there are people who lead and those who follow. Both groups are valuable and needed to create maximum results. In a wellrun business, strong leadership with a strong team of individuals who follow and execute the requests of leadership can result in an accomplished company that enjoys success. A strong leader and a team of managers working in unison is a beautiful thing to watch and to be a part of.

Sure, one can learn the principals of leadership from books and mentoring, but nothing compares to experience, learning by trial and error and listening and learning from others who have amassed major accomplishments.

Tallahassee Community College recently invested in becoming a sponsor site for Chickfil-A’s annual Leadercast program. This is a oneday event that brings together some of the most successful leaders and brilliant minds on one stage so they can share their thoughts on and experience with leadership.

When I heard about this, I didn’t hesitate to have 850 — the Business Magazine of Northwest Florida become a media sponsor. I purchased two tickets so that I could attend along with McKenzie Burleigh, Rowland Publishing’s manager of sales. We blocked off the day and became note-taking students.

Chick-fil-A filled the Georgia Dome that Friday in May with amazing corporate horsepower. The event was simulcast to 750 sponsored locations around the world (including Tallahassee), reaching more than 120,000 individuals who were seeking the knowledge, inspiration and motivation to become smarter, well-rounded leaders.

I honestly arrived that morning with few expectations other than the knowledge I would be listening to great leaders like Duke Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski, corporate icon and author Jack Welch, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and others I didn’t know.

Krzyzewski related how he accomplished the major feat of taking the individual talents and egos of a group of NBA stars and molding them into a gold medal-winning U.S Olympic basketball team. Welch spent 70 percent of his corporate CEO life as a mentor to his management team and spoke of how and why leaders need to constantly prune their corporate rose bush of employees. Rice explained how she personally managed her time and mind doing one of the most difficult and demanding jobs in the world today.

Greeting guests that day were TCC’s President Jim Murdaugh, Robin Johnston, vice president for Institutional Advancement and TCC’s Foundation director, and Kimberly Moore, vice president of Workforce Development — the driving forces behind bringing this

day to Tallahassee. They are strong, visionary leaders for Tallahassee Community College and are committed to bringing this type of ongoing learning resource to our area for those seeking to learn about or finetune their leadership skill sets.

To have an opportunity to hear any one of these leaders would cost a considerable amount of time and expense. Yet on this day, for around a hundred dollars, one could sit back and listen to eight interviews/presentations from accomplished, high profile leaders.

But it wasn’t all classroom work. The emcee, Tripp Crosby, had a quick and self-deprecating wit and provided several short and light-hearted entertaining breaks in the action. There was also a three-course catered lunch, snacks and gift portfolio.

To top it all off, everyone’s car was meticulously washed while they attended the event.

Yes, all this for around a hundred dollars. That was the best hundred dollars I’ve spent in the past year, hands down.

In this letter, it is difficult to express exactly all I learned. I wrote about 10 pages of notes and a week later took an afternoon to condense them into four categories of learning. This summer I plan to share what I learned with my management team and then break the staff into teams so each individual can learn the principles I took away from this event. I want to take these lessons full circle to help my most valued asset, my staff.

Sadly, one observation I made that day was that just a relatively small group of Tallahassee senior leadership attended. Were they too busy? Do they feel there is no room for them to learn from people who will likely forget more about leadership than most will ever know?

When a leader feels there is nothing else to learn, or is unwilling to pause to learn more about leadership, you, your staff and your company will suffer.

As Tallahassee embarks on its journey to the next level, through Imagine Tallahassee, I can only urge the community’s leadership in the private, public and political sectors to never forget to seek more knowledge. It will bring you, your staff and whatever you lead closer to success.

Count me in for six tickets next year, plus the sponsorship of Tallahassee Magazine and 850. If you are interested in being notified of next year’s Chick-fil-A Leadercast date, just send me an email (browland@rowlandpublishing.com), and it will be done.

This will be the best investment you make in yourself and your company in 2014.

Brian Rowland browland@rowlandpublishing.com

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Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

Leaders Can and Should Still Learn

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850 Business Magazine

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Executive Mindset

Business Speak

Economic Development in Northwest Florida

S

850: Why Tallahassee?

DE: Rick owns quite a few dealerships in

the country and had a ton of success in that field. We had talked on several occasions about partnering up and getting involved in dealerships together, we were just waiting on the right opportunity.

Obviously we wanted to be partnered up in the Chevy brands, (and) Rick thought this was a good opportunity for both of us, so we jumped in with both feet and made a lot of progress. The last several months have been really, really good and we’ve got a lot of great ideas (and) renovations

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(and) knows all the buttons to push. I’m trying to learn everything I can while I can, because I want to be around here for a very long time.

850: How much longer do you think you’ll be racing?

DE: I really don’t know how much further

I’m going to drive. As long as I’m having fun, I’ll keep doing it.

850: Is owning a dealership something you’d like to continue when your racing career is over?

DE: Absolutely! Once I move away from

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

>> Born Oct. 10, 1974, in Kannapolis,

N.C. >> 6 feet tall >> Third-generation stock-car racing

driver >> 14 seasons in NASCAR Sprint

Cup Series competition >> 19 career victories, including the

2004 Daytona 500 >> Winner of NASCAR’s Most

Popular Driver Award 10 consecutive times >> No. 7 in the 2012 Forbes magazine list of “Most Influential Athletes” >> One of America’s Top 10 Favorite Athletes in a Harris Interactive survey >> Ended the 2013 season ranked 12th in the championship standings with a 10.9 average finishing position

to make in the future. We’re excited. It’s a good fit for me. The store was already a success before we got here.

850: You and Rick Hendrick seem to make a good team.

DE: It’s just great to be able to partner with

Rick. He’s had some success in the field

the driving aspect of my career I can see myself getting more and more heavily involved in the dealerships. I worked at dealerships when I was younger. I was in the back changing oil and pulling transmissions and motors — doing all the fun work — and I enjoyed it. I really thought that was what I was going to do for a living; that was my plan. Driving a race car wasn’t guaranteed. I think now, being on the owner side of it, having that experience helps me appreciate what the guys back there in the service department are trying to accomplish. I feel like there’s a connection and a bond there, and appreciation of what they’re doing every day and the work they’re putting in.

850: Are you planning to build a dealership empire?

DE: I’m not particularly looking. I’m really

enjoying the opportunity we have here in Tallahassee. The ownership side of it is something that’s very new to me so I think I’m going to enjoy it, but I’ve got a lot to learn. I’m excited about this opportunity and couldn’t be paired with a better guy.

photo by Kylene and Ryan Studios, Tallahassee

cion of one of the most famous families in NASCAR racing, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s name is front-and-center in Tallahassee since the 38-year-old driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet SS purchased two of the region’s largest car dealerships and rebranded them as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Buick GMC Cadillac.

While it’s his first foray into owning a dealership, Earnhardt has partnered up with Rick Hendrick who, in addition to owning the team Earnhardt drives for, is also owner of the second largest privately held automotive dealership in the U.S. Hendrick Automotive Group owns 87 dealerships representing 29 nameplates in 13 states. In 2012, the company reported revenue of $5.9 billion and retail sales of more than 150,000 vehicles, with more than 1.5 million serviced by technicians.

About 400 fans — who had either bought a car or won a contest — lined up to meet their racing idol in March on Dale Jr. Day, held at the two dealerships.

In between appearances, he spoke to 850 reporter Rosanne Dunkelberger about his new business endeavor.

FROM THE MAI LBAG Just a quick note to comment on the newest edition of

For the past three years, BP has worked with

850 (June/July 2013). The article on (Steve) Evans is outstanding.

Further, the emphasis on Northwest Florida really brings to light the wonderful assets we have in Florida for potential businesses, visitors and residents alike.

Great issue!

the people of the Gulf to help restore the region’s environment and economy. It’s been a big job, and we’ve tried to do the right thing and honor our commitments.

So far, we’ve paid $14 billion in response and cleanup costs and more than 300,000 claims totaling $11 billion for spill-related losses. And we’re not done yet. Last year, we signed an agreement to compensate the vast majority of remaining individuals and businesses with legitimate claims related to the Gulf spill.

Unfortunately, that settlement has been misinterpreted.

We respectfully disagree with that interpretation, which is allowing trial lawyers to file fictitious or inflated claims that could ultimately cost billions of dollars.

The prospect of such awards has ignited a feeding frenzy among plaintiffs’ lawyers. Brazen ads assure potential claimants that BP will be forced to pay them “even if your revenue increase[d]” or “even if losses are unrelated to the oil spill.”

Whatever you may think about BP, we can all agree that it’s wrong for anyone to take money they don’t deserve.

We should also be able to agree that the process for paying claims must be conducted with integrity. Anything less is a disservice to the people of the Gulf playing by the rules — commercial fishermen, restaurant and hotel owners, and other hard-working people who’ve filed legitimate claims for real losses. They deserve to know that the process for administering claims is fair and honest.

We are equally concerned about a troubling allegation of unethical and potentially criminal behavior within the claims facility. We strongly believe that an independent investigation and a comprehensive and public audit of the facility by a reputable national accounting firm are needed.

A claims system that does not have assurances of integrity does a disservice to our employees and contractors, who depend on BP to support their families, and to our shareholders, who enable us to provide energy and create jobs in America. Every dollar paid for a fictitious claim is a dollar BP will no longer have available to invest in America, where we currently support nearly 250,000 jobs. BP is pursuing legal remedies to restore fairness to the claims process. We have appealed the misinterpretation of the settlement agreement to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, where oral argument is scheduled for early July.

Some may say we’re backing away from our commitments. That is simply not true. As our actions over the past three years demonstrate, BP remains committed to paying legitimate claims. All we ask is that compensation go to people who actually suffered losses and that the process for paying claims be conducted with integrity. That’s what’s called for under the law and our settlement.

Cindy Vees Executive Director Madison County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism

I don’t know what to say. I just read your article (“The Mentor” by Rosanne Dunkelberger, June/July 2013) and rather than jump off the end of the dock, I stepped back to humbly say, “Thank you.” I’m not sure if anyone will read it, but you gave me something to give to Linda and the kids and grandkids that might counter-balance what they sometimes think about me (Ha!).

The only item that may get some attention is on the point of “ ... create a new plan for IBM.” What I meant to say was for “a Division of IBM,” not the entire corporation.

My head says to get out of town, but my heart says, “Thank you.”

Steve Evans Tallahassee

Your commentary “Mentoring is an Art – and a Gift” (Publisher’s Letter, June/July 2013) was inspiring. You yourself are doing great things for Northwest Florida. We (Phoenix), like everyone else, are still pulling out of this economic mess … but will succeed as a company and a community — our best days are still ahead of us.

Take care, my friend and keep up the good work!!!!

George B. Atchison Jr. President, Phoenix Coatings Pensacola

I really appreciate your great publications … I read 850 cover to cover last night, another great issue.

Benson T. Green President, Benson’s Heating and Air-Conditioning Tallahassee

John C. Ming Chairman and President of BP America Inc.

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Executive Mindset

) Life The (850

s urvive and thrive

The Multi-Tasker Thom Gossom Jr., Fort Walton Beach Owner JTG Public Relations

S College: In 1970, the Birmingham native arrived at Auburn without a scholarship or a place on the team. The wide receiver played well enough to earn an athletic scholarship and lettered for three years.

He has chronicled this time in his life, and what it meant to be one of very few black athletes in a largely segregated world, in his coming-of-age memoir, “Walk-On: My Reluctant Journey to Integration.”

HBO film, Gossom’s commute stretched to four-hour plane rides when he agreed to start working out of the L.A. market while his family continued to live in Birmingham. “Our son, Dixson, was in high school so we didn’t want to move.”

Big Breaks: From 1988 to

Credits: Gossom went on to play the title role of Israel in the Emmy-award winning episode of “NYPD Blue,” titled “Lost Israel.” He has been featured in small screen hits such as “The West Wing,” “Touched by an Angel,” “ER,” “Chicago Hope,” “Cold Case,” “Jack and Bobby” and as a recurring role as a judge on “Boston Legal.”

(Feature films to his credit include “Fight Club,” “Jeepers Creepers 2” and “XXX 2.”)

Two-Coast Family: After the

Marriage: The role of husband and father came relatively late, when Gossom

1994, Gossom played Ted Marcus on “In the Heat of the Night,” acting alongside Carroll O’Connor. The next big part he landed was in 1996 in “Ms. Evers’ Boy,” one of the first major films made for HBO and in which he played a lead.

Hollywood premiere of the

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

was in his mid-40s. “As a gentleman once told me, ‘You took the scenic route to life.’

Frankly, with all this coming and going, I probably would not have been as good at it or persevered without a good home base — them being in my corner and backing me.”

Business: Gossom and his wife joined their separate public relations firms and made the move to Fort Walton Beach where she also joined the University of West Florida. Today, their company has evolved into a broader ranged communications firm, an umbrella under which Gossom is involved in everything from writing to giving motivational speeches to entertainment projects, including working with their son, Dixson, a hip hop artist.

“It all works together: It’s all communications to me.”

uccessful athlete, TV and stage actor, writer and business professional, Thomas “Thom” Gossom Jr. radiates the potent combination of confidence and perseverance, complemented by finely honed communication skills. His earliest brush with fame was as the first African-American athlete to graduate from Auburn University. He traded a successful football career for a flourishing business career then added a thriving acting career. Now 61, he lives in Fort Walton Beach with his wife of 15 years, City Councilperson Joyce Gillie Gossom.

After college, Gossom bounced around to a couple of pro football teams then took a job at a Birmingham TV station as a newscaster and shortened his name. He soon moved on to public relations work for BellSouth and earned his master’s degree in communications from the University of Montevallo. In 1987, he founded Thom Gossom Communications, retaining BellSouth as one of his clients.

Gossom broke into the film business when a producer of “Rebel Love” saw him do a presentation and then wrote a part into the film for him. “There were two good things about that part,” Gossom says. “Number one: I kept all my clothes on. And number two: It got me my SAG [Screen Actors Guild] card.”

— Jennifer Howard

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Executive Mindset

Business Arena

n ews + numbers statewide

Worker Shortage Looms

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the U.S. economy will create 120,000 jobs a year in computer science through 2020. However, U.S. institutions of higher learning only produce 40,000 bachelor’s degrees annually in that field, leaving a detrimental shortage of qualified workers to fill critical positions with American companies.

“Our schools are constantly handing out diplomas to graduating doctoral candidates who have earned degrees in the sciences, only to see them have to leave the U.S. soon after graduation. They go home to their country of origin to work for business and industry in competition with the U.S.” Ed Moore, president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida

36% (up from 32% in December 2012)

42% 55% 61%

are reporting higher sales

believe the economy will improve over the next year

expect the economy to improve during the next three years

32%

of employers plan to hire employees during the next six months (up from 29% in December 2012)

In Florida, the number of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) jobs are projected to increase by 19 percent from 2008–2018, compared to 12.2 percent job growth for Florida’s economy as a whole. The unemployment rate in Florida’s STEM industries stands at 5 percent, compared to 11 percent in nonSTEM industries.

Source: Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida

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Economic optimism is growing among Florida’s small businesses, according to a Florida Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index Survey released in May.

of small businesses believe they are better off today than six months ago

job growth and unemployment

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Improving Mood of Business

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Nationally, just 24,782 U.S. students took the AP Computer Science exam in 2012, which is less than 0.7 percent of all AP exams taken last year. In 2000, that percentage was 1.6. This achievement rate in American classrooms is not supporting the rapid growth of STEM jobs in the American economy.

52% were able to obtain capital

(up from 17% in December 2012)

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Rough Seas? Keep Your Eyes On The Horizon.

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Executive Mindset

Management Strategies

h andling documents

Operation Disposal Low tech yet effective shredding options

By Chay D. Baxley

T

wo decades of unparalleled technological expansion have done more than change the way we do business — they’ve altered the way thieves conduct theirs.

White-collar crimes like corporate espionage, identity theft, insurance fraud and even dumpster diving have gone high tech.

And you don’t have to be a genius to join the game. Experts say almost anyone equipped with bad intentions and Internet access can gain entry into our private and professional lives with just the click of a button.

“Identity theft is a huge, multi-billion dollar business, and it doesn’t take a whole lot of information to pull it off once they get hold of a driver’s license, a date of birth or a Social Security number,” said Tom Bartlett, general manager of Shred-It Tallahassee, an on-site document disposal company servicing the 850 region from Perry to Pensacola.

Bartlett said as far as the physical counterparts of sensitive documents are concerned, there’s a rather intuitive solution to this technologically based tale of woe: shredding. But not just any kind of shredding will do. It’s all about technique.

“If you have nothing but time and can work 24 hours a day, seven

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days a week, you can take strip-shredded paper and put that back together,” said Bartlett. “If it’s cross-cut, that’s cut both ways, it’s seemingly impossible to do.”

The idea behind document destruction is quite simple. In short, if you don’t use it, you really need to lose it.

In business, the “it” can refer to a variety of documents, some of which may be flying under your radar.

According to Jim Beran, director of sales at Gilmore Services, a document disposal company operating out of Pensacola and Marianna, when faced with the task of determining which documents should be handled with care and scrutiny, it’s best to err on the side of caution.

“Any piece of information that you process is considered a document,” shared Beran. “And that can range from a Post-it note to a message slip, from a correspondence to a contract. The question you really need to ask yourself is, ‘Does the person who will be affected by this document expect that I will be shredding and properly disposing of it?’ If the answer is yes, it’s confidential. If the individual who’s providing the information assumes that you’ll be destroying it, then you should be.”

At home, anything that has a signature, account number, Social Security number, or contains medical or legal information is primed for shredding. Those guidelines translate seamlessly into the world of business, but they aren’t the only areas for concern. It’s important that each institution identifies their own sensitive materials, becomes familiar with the legal jargon surrounding their industry and reiterates their findings to all levels of employees.

Of course, exactly what documents need to be destroyed is entirely industry specific, though a certain degree of overall legality and consistency remains throughout.

For example, a bank has financial and client-based documents, such as Social Security numbers, home addresses, signatures and billing transactions that are to be considered sensitive and should be treated thus. Likewise, a doctor’s office or home healthcare agency should focus their disposal efforts on medical records, as well as insurance policies, prescriptions, drug screenings, X-rays, photographs and other confidential client information.

Beyond the legal, think strategically.

When shredding, consider incorporating a document phenomenon Beran has labeled “competitive, sensitive information,” or items you wouldn’t want the competition to get their hands on, into the mix.

“One of the key things that I think a lot of companies forget about is something I call ‘competitive, sensitive information’,” said Beran. “Not necessarily Social Security numbers or addresses, but proposals, client lists and new marketing campaigns with brochures and literature. If that information is discarded without thought or care, think of the advantage a competitor could have if they somehow got access to a bid or proposal.”

For the average consumer opting to outsource their information destruction, finding a reputable services provider is key. Avoid agencies that seem to spring up over night, have little community recognition and don’t offer information on their certifications.

Before picking a company, decide if you would rather have your documents destroyed on or off site. There are many local vendors who cater to both preferences, and weighing your options will ensure all your company’s needs are met.

“Shredding services, provided by local, respectable document destruction vendors, can make the daunting task (of shredding)

a lot easier,” said Amy Lynne Aldredge, president of Confidential Shredding & Recycling Inc. in Tallahassee. “Our equipment is designed to shred a much larger quantity of materials than the typical under-the-desk office shredder. The expense of contracting such a service far outweighs the time lost in maintaining and running your own equipment.”

When it comes to digital document destruction, things can get a little tricky. While shredding in-house may be the right move for some smaller companies, getting rid of sensitive digital information should always be outsourced.

According to computer guru Randall Garner, founder, president and senior engineer of Garner IT, an outsourced information technology company serving Bay County, proper file deletion is a safety precaution that usually requires an expert’s touch.

“If you select a file on your computer and click ‘delete,’ you aren’t quite achieving your goal,” said Garner. “It’s gone from your view … but it’s still recoverable. If you were trying to dispose of digital documents, simply putting them in your computer’s trash-bin and emptying the trash isn’t quite doing it. You really need a true file deletion program to make sure that data is gone from your hard drive.”

Whether digital or physical, when it comes to protecting your business with proper document disposal, consistency is crucial. Lawmakers are paying attention to the public’s growing concern regarding privacy (ever heard of a little thing called HIPAA?), and recent legislation has driven home the importance of proper information destruction. In the next few years, requirements and restrictions are only expected to tighten. And for violators, hefty fines will be close behind. As a result, organizations like NAID, or the National Association of Information Destruction, are popping up to help ensure the new regulations are being met.

Bob Johnson, CEO and founder of Phoenix-based NAID, said his now international business venture began 20 years ago in response to market-based need that just wasn’t being met.

“It’s a growing area of concern,” said Johnson on proper document disposal. “And it’s one where there is a lot of misinformation and confusing information in the marketplace. It can be hard for a customer to tell if they’re dealing with a reputable service provider.

That’s one of the things we’re most concerned about. ”

“If you select a file on your computer and click ‘delete,’ you aren’t quite achieving your goal. It’s gone from your view … but it’s still recoverable.”

Randall Garner, founder, president and senior engineer of Garner IT

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With the beautiful vistas, generous amenities and over 300 acres, Pinnacle Place Outdoors in Alford, Florida offers a truly unforgettable wedding venue — only one hour’s drive from Tallahassee. Not only are catering and bartending services available, but Pinnacle Place offers a variety of activities for the whole family to enjoy. The property features a country store, rustic cabin and lodge all suitable for accommodating numerous guests.

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Deal Estate That Second Home

WaterSound Beach

Relax in the ultimate condo in The Crossings along gorgeous 30A

By Laura Bradley

The appeal of the location is obvious; located in The Crossings at

WaterSound Beach, this condo sits on a slice of white-sanded paradise.

Its position on the top floor gives this second home the highest ceilings and best views in the building. But there’s more to this condo than just its location … the design is fabulous, too.

With 2,164 square feet, high ceilings and towering windows, this condo is far from claustrophobic. The superb floor plan distributes the generous living space well, with loads of natural light streaming in from a wall of windows. The split floor plan gives the master bedroom privacy on the opposite side of the home from the other bedrooms, and the open plan in the living area faces onto the top floor terrace, with its exquisite views of the Gulf of Mexico.

Chic designer décor exudes the feel of a custom home, and the condo lifestyle pairs that beauty with hassle-free happiness. High-end, custom fabrics and furnishings fill each square foot with quality and comfort.

In addition to the full furnishing and designer details, all but one room

enjoy gorgeous views of the Gulf.

The Crossings, a private gated community at WaterSound Beach, offers the perfect resort amenities to complement the luxurious atmosphere of the condo’s interior.

Nature lovers will love the stretch of exclusive beach, in addition to the copious boardwalk and nature trail paths. For additional entertainment, there are multiple pools, restaurants, a mini golf park, a tennis court and more, making this a perfect beach getaway for anyone in need of some good, oldfashioned rest and relaxation.

Quick Look List Price: $1,695,000 ($783.27/sq. ft.)

Year Built: 2004 Square feet: 2,164 Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3.5 Contact: Hilary Farnum, Beachy Beach Real Estate, (850) 685-0171, hilary@ beachybeach.com

it's Just Business Pensacola >> Global Business Solutions Inc., an

innovator in information technology services and technical training, has unveiled a five-year plan that includes expanding the Pensacola corporate headquarters and hiring up to 120 full-time employees.

Details of the jobs plan include hiring a mix of government contract support, commercial IT, training and corporate support positions in Greater Pensacola. >> Trending: The push to make Pensacola a site of fast-paced economic development has led to the Greater Pensacola Chamber’s launch of ChooseGreaterPensacola.com, a best-in-class interactive portal designed to show off Greater Pensacola’s workforce and real estate assets.

Destin >> The much-anticipated Destin Commons expansion is well underway, with four

buildings totaling more than 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. General Manager Robert Perry predicts about five restaurants will be moving in. The newly expanded mall is expected to open in the summer of 2014. The project will create an estimated 300 construction jobs and 200-300 permanent restaurant and retail positions. >> City Market will be expanding from its original location, City Market Beachside, with the addition of City Market Bayside — a lifestyle center in the same style and spirit as the original. The new site will be between 20,000 and 30,000 square feet and will be open by summer of 2014. “We are considering our City Market expansion a game changer, in that this project, at an estimated $10 million, will be a mixed-use lifestyle complex with unique, seasoned retailers, a top notch restaurant concept, medical offices, medical recovery suites and space for offices,” says Ryan Jumonville, founder of 44

Investments, the company that is developing the City Market brand. “Our goal is to provide local residents with the option to enjoy the convenience of a park and shop experience without having to walk a significant distance to reach their destination. Locals and tourists alike are looking for unique places to shop and dine that they can’t find in their hometown. They want to experience the best of the best in Destin — and City Market Beachside, and now City Market Bayside, will offer both.” >> Bryan Deane, vice president of Legendary Realty Inc. has completed a series of major office lease transactions: Regatta Commons — Dubose and Sturdivant Capital Group LLC, Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. and renewal for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney; Destin Commons — MetLife, Broad & Cassel and South Walton Medical Group; HarborWalk Village — The Fudgery Stores Inc., scheduled for a spring 2014 opening,

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and Fish Heads Bar LLC; U.S. Gold Gymnastics Academy, Inc., which has leased 10,388 square feet on Business Center Drive, expanding their Destin operation that is currently located at 12432 Emerald Coast Pkwy. >> Commercial sale transactions completed by Deane include the 28,000-square-foot showroom/warehouse facility at 106 Geronimo in Miramar Beach. Community Bancshares of Mississippi was the seller and Bart Manning of Tuskers Home Stores was the buyer. >> Trending: Deane currently sees a high demand for prime retail properties and says to expect several major announcements in the near future. The market for office space has picked up in recent months but is still light compared to several years ago. The Destin office market was absorbing 7,000 to 10,000 feet per quarter in 2005, ’06 and ’07 compared to minimal absorption in 2012 and 2013. The office lease transactions taking place at this time are predominately relocations within the Destin market as leases expire and tenants relocate to take advantage of the low rental rates that are a result of over building in the middle of the last decade.

Panama City Beach >> The Village of Grand Panama is undergoing a re-tenanting process.

With Bonefish Grill and Another Broken Egg as anchors, JPB Commercial Real Estate is seeking tenants for spaces from 1,214 to 4,560 square feet — spaces that can also combine for larger requirements. >> Laketown Wharf, currently offering short- and long-term vacation rentals in the heart of Panama City Beach, will undergo a $10 million renovation, adding new amenities that include a grocery store and deli,

leasing center, redecorated hotel lobby, conference/meeting rooms, business center, new pool and boardwalk furniture, family zone, owners’ lounge and arcade. Additional renovations will involve expanding the deck, adding new fountains and landscaping, opening the lake to the public and more. Plus, area residents and visitors should be on the lookout for Laketown Wharf turtles that will be coming to town soon. The project is expected to be completed this summer.

Tallahassee >> Completed during summer, the Midtown Centre is a Class A retail center in the heart of Midtown seeking tenants, with up to 7,750 square feet available; the building is 9,000 square feet total. Its central urban zoning allows for a wide variety of uses, with lease rates between $21 and $25 per square foot. The building’s architecture is in keeping with the charming, historic style that everyone loves in Midtown. >> In addition to the Whole Foods, the newly revitalized Miracle Plaza hosts many new-to-market offerings. Zoe’s Kitchen has added another Florida location in the shopping center, offering Mediterranean-inspired recipes made fresh daily. The project’s value is estimated at roughly $300,000. A retail store, Fab’rik, is another new-to-market addition in the Plaza — a retailer that offers limited quantities of each item to ensure that even in smaller cities, you never see someone else wearing your clothes!

Improvements for this project are valued at $50,000. Alumni Hall, another new-to-market retailer, will be the Tennessee-based collegiate apparel company’s first foray into the Florida market, with tenant improvements valued at around $150,000.

From Pensacola to Tallahassee, NAI Halford and NAI TALCOR have commercial real

John Griffing CRE, SIOR

jgriffing@naihalford.com 719 South Palafox Street Pensacola, FL 32502 850.433.0577 naihalford.com

Connect with us!

Pensacola

Destin

Panama City

Deal Estate Just Listed

Large Retail or Office Space Available in the Heart of Niceville It is rare to find large retail spaces available in the heart of Niceville, and that is precisely

what this 6,560-square-foot commercial building offers. Built in 1997, and previously home to a Blockbuster store, the space combines square footage, location and convenient parking to provide an ideal home for a variety of businesses.

“While it is not unusual to have large industrial or even office buildings on the market, it is rare to find retail properties for lease that exceed 6,000 square feet, as this former Blockbuster building does,” said listing agent Melodee Skipper. The space on the right has a lease in place for a banking institution.

“With a national tenant already signed to lease one third of this former Blockbuster building, the landlord is looking forward to leasing the remaining 4,400 square feet for retail or professional office use,” explained Skipper, adding that the landlord is seeking a few other prospects to lease the remaining space as a whole, or even to divide the building into two other units.

The space remaining is on the left side of the building and contains a spacious storage room in addition to an employee restroom and one public restroom. Front and rear entry doors offer convenience, as does the large parking area, which is accessible from both John Sims Parkway and 30th Street.

The building’s location, Skipper pointed out, is not to be overlooked, as it offers great potential for any retail enterprise or office. “Located in the heart of Niceville, the tenants in Willow Oaks enjoy a Class ‘A’ setting and great visibility,” she said. The building enjoys close proximity to shopping centers, schools, the Eglin Air Force Base and the 7th Special Forces Group facility.

Quick Look Address: 1075 John Sims Pkwy., Niceville List Price: $5,687/month Square Feet: 4,400 Contact: Melodee Skipper, Keller Williams Realty, Emerald Coast, (850) 865-9888, melodee@nwfproperties.com

estate covered across the Panhandle of Florida.

Tallahassee

E. Edward Murray, Jr. CCIM murray@talcor.com Frank L. Langston CCIM frank@talcor.com 1018 Thomasville Road Suite 200 A Tallahassee, FL 32303 850.224.2300 talcor.com

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Executive Mindset

Leading Healthy JOIN THE WELLNESS INITIATIVE

Going to the Dogs Many Northwest Florida businesses are bringing pets into the office

By Laura Bradley

T

he numbers are in, and there’s little argument: When done correctly, a pet-friendly workplace is home to happier employees.

A 2012 study from the Virginia Commonwealth University found that employees who bring their dogs to work produced lower levels of cortisol, a hormone that causes stress.

This morale boost increases productivity and can affect workplace culture for the better.

The university’s study examined a retail business called Replacements Ltd., which employs approximately 450 people, with 20 or 30 dogs on the company premises each day. During one week in the company setting, participants provided surveys and saliva samples to measure their stress levels throughout the workday.

Although in the morning (based on results from saliva samples) stress levels were all even, “during the course of the workday, selfreported stress declined for employees with their dogs present and increased for non-pet owners and dog owners who did not bring their dogs to work. The team noted that stress significantly rose during the day when owners left their dogs at home compared to days they brought them to work.”

In addition to stress relief, dogs can facilitate camaraderie and communication in office settings. This is the case at Moore Communications Group in Tallahassee, where Fridays are not only “casual Friday” and “flex Friday,” but also a pet-friendly office day. Two or three dogs come in every week, but the highest in one week was seven. The company’s president, Terrie Ard, explained that having dogs in the office was a natural step.

“We understand that dogs are often an extension of the family.

For some people, they are the kids. As part of being a family-friendly business we find it important to allow our team members to bring their pets in, and we see that there are benefits widespread throughout the company. It creates conversation, camaraderie, and I know that it reduces stress.”

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For as long as she can remember, the office has been pet-friendly.

It started with an office cat named Moorey, then another named Baxter, and about seven years ago the company opened its doors to dogs. Director Liz Shawen explained that the company’s petfriendly policies allowed her to get a puppy upon moving out to her own place — a decision she is not sure she could have made otherwise. When her puppy was young, Shawen greatly valued being able to bring him in every day. Holding her now-five-pound Chihuahua, Oliver, in her lap, she explained: “I don’t know that I would have gotten Oliver if it hadn’t been so easy for me to bring him in because he was only eight weeks old.

He was so little. I would bring him in and it would make me feel better; if I had to work a little late with a meeting he was already there with me, and I could just let him out. So it certainly made potty training and socializing and all of those things much easier.”

Of course, not everyone in the office is a dog lover, and with dogs come certain hesitations. Skeptics will point to hygiene concerns and liabilities. But Moore Vice President Jim Hunt pointed out that, on both ends, it’s all about being responsible.

“Everyone’s been very respectful — both of people that bring their dogs and respectful of other employees who might not be that enamored with dogs,” he said. Everyone makes sure to take the dogs out regularly, which prevents accidents inside, and in the case of bigger dogs — like his large (albeit incredibly docile) mixed-breed pooch Maddie, it’s all about being conscientious; whenever she is outside his office, Maddie is on a leash to make sure anyone skittish around larger dogs is comfortable. Mindfulness of both the dog and the goings-on at work are crucial.

“If the dog’s anxious or something’s going on, you’re not going to bring them to work. If I knew there was something big going on at the office — an event or a group of people — I’m not going to complicate the issue whether it’s dog day or not. Bottom line, it’s a place of business, and you want everyone to be comfortable,” he explained.

Dog Day Liz Shawen, a director at Moore Communications Group, gets help from Oliver.

Along the Emerald Coast, many businesses are pet-friendly, including Davis Properties of Northwest Florida in Santa Rosa Beach. In addition to allowing employees to bring in their pets, owner and broker Larry Davis explained that the company has also tried to “become the pit stop along the bike path at 30A” for dogs and their owners; they’ve even installed a dog-friendly water fountain to refresh both owner and pet on those hot summer days.

Davis said the pet-friendly policy was well-received at the office, where about three employees now bring their pets. He emphasized that the policy’s success is largely assisted by how well behaved the dogs are. But in that area, pet-friendly is no new concept. “[The businesses] are all pet-friendly here,” he said. “The area’s all pretty laid back — it’s a reflection of that.”

As for the dogs, Davis added that of course they “absolutely

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

love it,” and have a great effect on customer relations. Just as they relieve stress for employees, the dogs at Davis Properties put customers at ease from the beginning.

“It’s disarming,” said Davis. “It makes them feel comfortable.”

Crystal Roberts, owner of Endzone Apparel in Destin, sees a similar effect on customers in the store when they meet Layla, her four-year-old Great Pyrenees mix.

“It just makes people happy to come in,” she said, adding that Layla is a great ice-breaker with customers, allowing her to talk to them in a way that feels natural. “It doesn’t feel like I am being pushy.”

Like many dog owners, Roberts found that it is much easier to work longer hours with her dog at work; owners worry about dogs left alone at home — both their loneliness and the possibility of accidents inside should they stay late at work. With Layla at work,

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Leading Healthy

When it’s time to sell the business... “ S E L L I N G B U S I N E S S E S I S O U R B U S I N E S S”

Mike Goleno has specialized in selling NW Florida businesses since 1994 with over 250 businesses sold.

Confidentiality is always a priority.

Contact Mike: 850.864.2727 CONFIDENTIAL EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL Mike Goleno, Broker Certified Business Intermediary phone: 850.864.2727 email: broker@bizbro.com 201-E Miracle Strip Pkwy, SE | Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 Member Sunbelt Business Brokers worldwide broker network.

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however, Roberts says she does not feel rushed to get home, allowing her to stay open a little later when the need arises.

“It’s all attention for her, and she loves it,” explained Roberts. “Dogs are happy when they make people happy.”

Although Layla is no small pup, Roberts noted that customers do not find her frightening. While she suggested it might be because of her dog’s “puppy face,” she believes it is more likely thanks to Layla’s good behavior.

The 110-pound bear of a dog is great with children. On the rare occasion things get hectic or uncomfortable, she goes straight to her bed when sent.

“You can’t just bring any dog into a retail store,” Roberts pointed out.

Good behavior and a laid back attitude are key traits for a dog at any workplace — office or retail.

At Party, Party, Party Event Rentals in Tallahassee, the canine mascot Lady Bear is the paragon of both these traits. At 12 years old, the medium-sized black mixed breed is very mellow. In addition to her daily job boosting morale at the company’s headquarters, Lady Bear also comes along on all the deliveries — boarding the truck with her own custom ramp.

Owner Kelly Roberts found that Lady Bear provides invaluable help on-site at event deliveries, doing what dogs do best: putting people at ease.

“When we’re on sites and they see her with us … she’s a stress reliever,” she explained. She added that in addition to relieving customers’ stress, Lady Bear also keeps morale high at headquarters by relieving employee stress.

Rescued from an abusive situation, Lady Bear was not a fan of being left alone at home while the family went to work, and so her position at the warehouse was a natural once the family determined she was calm enough to come along.

“She’s so well behaved; she’s not too mischievous,” Roberts explained.

The main objective was to make sure the place was ready for a dog. Normal precautions had to be made, similar to those for small children — making sure there was nothing loose or dangerous for her to get into. Now, Lady Bear even has her own doggie tent at the warehouse, so when she isn’t greeting customers at the door everyone knows just where to find her. Wherever she is, everyone at Party, Party, Party Rentals agrees that having a dog at work makes a huge difference.

“We’re family-run, so it just adds another kind of family member,” Roberts explained. “It makes it like a little family here at the warehouse. A home.”

Lisa Peters, who owns Destin Jewelers, says the store has had a pet-friendly policy since she first got involved 16 years ago. The former owner’s dog, Budrow, became fast friends with Peters’ dog, a chocolate lab named Bailey.

Having pets in the jewelry store, Peters pointed out, can help dispel any discomfort customers feel when entering a jewelry store for fear of an overly formal environment.

“We just really try to show people something fun and beautiful every time they come in, and I think pets help to lighten up the atmosphere,” she explained.

More recently, the store has become host to cats. Since Budrow’s departure and Bailey’s passing, Destin Jewelers has become frequent host to Peters’ ragdoll cats, Louis and Lola.

“They’re very social,” said Peters. “They almost act like a dog instead of a cat. When they’re not here, people ask, ‘Where are the cats?’ They look forward to seeing them.”

Like each office pet owner we spoke to, Peters finds that the cats offer a great morale boost, relaxing customers and employees alike. Something about having furry friends around really does put people at ease — and makes for a better connection with customers.

“It gives us something to talk about,” Peters explained. “People are more at ease, and they’re more able to ask questions.”

SPONSORED REPORT

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

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

Peer groups offer CEOs safe place to vet key decisions

B

ill Oliver used to pay a business coach to help him navigate the decisions that come with leading a team of employees.

Now, once a month, he benefits from a think tank of proven business leaders at no cost.

Oliver, president of Oliver Renovation & Construction, is participating in a CEO Peer2Peer Group, a new service established by The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship in Florida State University’s College of Business.

Each group of eight to 12 CEOs provides participants a confidential forum for sharing best business practices gleaned from the group’s combined years of experience.

“They take an issue and say, ‘Here’s what worked for me. Here’s what I did, and here’s what I learned from it, good or bad,’” Oliver said. Only those who have experienced similar issues are permitted to offer suggestions or personal examples.

With a partner, Oliver began his general commercial contracting business in 2007. Since then, he said, the Tallahassee firm specializing in renovating existing commercial buildings has grown to 12 full-time employees and $5 million in annual revenue with profit. But as his team expanded, Oliver realized new differences of opinion in his company’s mission and vision.

So, Oliver asked his Peer2Peer Group members for their advice on team buy-in and agreement. He came away with several possibilities to consider. With the counsel comes built-in accountability, because Oliver knows he will be asked at next month’s Peer2Peer meeting what he decided to do.

Chris Risalvato, president and CEO of C&A Landscape, remains impressed with insights he receives from his Peer2Peer Group. He recently gained valuable guidance on best ways to move an employee from salary to hourly pay and determine the new pay rate. Risalvato said the advice alerted him to angles he needed to consider and helped him avoid a knee-jerk reaction to a new business challenge.

“The strength of a CEO Peer2Peer Group depends upon members’ participation,” said Mike Campbell, director of North Florida Outreach for The Jim Moran Institute. All members must commit to regular attendance, complete confidentiality and professional improvement. Sales presentations are prohibited, and each of the peer groups must be free of representatives from competing companies or those in vendor/client relationships.

For more information go to www.nfl.jmi. fsu.edu

CEO Peer2Peer Groups discuss challenges and ideas with other business leaders in confidential, small-group settings.

“It’s almost like an advisory board.

You’re shoulder to shoulder with other business owners who are not in the same industry but going through the same struggles and issues. You’re able to bounce ideas off them and seek their wisdom.”

– Chris Risalvato, president and CEO of C&A Landscape

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“Perfect

Climate for Success”

www.ChooseGreaterPensacola.com

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SPONSORED REPORT

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DIRECTOR’S NOTE

scott holstein

Our experts answer business owners’ questions

Are we a match?

I

A

Man With a Truck, or AMWAT as it is known, was founded by Dean Pugh in 1997. In 2005, Gloria Pugh became CEO, with Dean Pugh assuming the role of COO. The company has grown to include 20 employees and has diversified its business to include worldwide household goods relocations, commercial moving, storage, warehousing and logistics management.

Q: What is the value of obtaining Facebook “Likes”?

A: Facebook Likes are a form of social proof, a powerful tool that can influence buying decisions. The more Facebook Likes you have, especially from people in your prospects’ social circles, the more they feel they can trust your brand and do business with you. Every Like may not result in a customer, but it may influence someone who could become one.

Q: What steps are essential to develop a brand?

A: The first step is to define who and what you are as a company.

Your brand is not just a logo. It is your company culture, your reputation and how you interact with your customers and the communities you impact. With social media, email and other online marketing tools, you have even more opportunities

to demonstrate your brand and build authentic relationships.

Q: How does one terminate a client without ruining a relationship?

A: The customer is not always right, but the customer is always the customer and, therefore, worthy of respect. A termination conversation with a customer should focus on the business issues leading to the termination and be completely devoid of personality/behavioral issues.

Q: How does a service provider avoid becoming a commodity?

A: A customer’s real or perceived differences in the quality and/ or quantity of your services is the secret to avoiding becoming a commodity. Ideally, these differences convey an in-depth appreciation and understanding of the customer and each one’s specific needs.

am often asked, “Who does The Jim Moran Institute serve?” The answer is relatively simple. For outreach, we serve established companies with three or more employees. We do this primarily by providing business owners and executives the programs to help them grow and prosper — CEO Peer2Peer Groups, Entrepreneurship Support Organizations Network, Small Business Executive Program, the Fellows Program and lectures by individuals with proven track records. We offer our services at no cost, and we are committed to ensuring that our clients have the sophisticated know-how to compete in this economy.

We also understand there are many businesses that don’t fit into our outreach mission, and that is why we collaborate with other entrepreneur support organizations to get them the help they need.

If you are looking for assistance and are not sure whether your business fits our criteria, please reach out to me. If we can’t help you, we most likely know of an organization that can. I can be reached at mscampbell@fsu.edu or (850) 296-2564.

Mike Campbell Director, North Florida Outreach

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SPONSORED REPORT

OUTREACH 850 UPCOMING EVENTS

a program of the jim moran institute for global entrepreneurship

Education

Sept. 4, 18 Tallahassee Chamber One-on-One Confidential, no-cost consultations with Mike Campbell, director of North Florida Outreach, through the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce

Sept. 27 FSU Student Incubator Roundtable, 11 a.m.–noon

Oct. 2, 16 Tallahassee Chamber One-on-One Confidential, no-cost consultations with Mike Campbell, director of North Florida Outreach, through the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce

Oct. 18 FSU InNOLEvation Challenge student initial abstracts due FSU InNOLEvation Challenge (Stage 1 Business Abstract/ Ideation Workshop)

Oct. 25 FSU Student Incubator Roundtable, 11 a.m.–noon

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

Students vie for venture capital in FSU’s InNOLEvation Challenge

O

ne of goals of The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship is to instill in Florida State University students a sense of entrepreneurship and give them opportunities to start and run their own businesses. Our annual collegiate business plan competition, called InNOLEvation Challenge — one of the largest of its kind in the nation, gives them that experience. The spring competition culminated with the shark tank — the third and final round.

Vying for $45,000 in prizes plus in-kind services were 10 student startups, culled from an initial 100 fledgling ventures that submitted business plans last October. The finalists made their funding pitches before a panel of five judges from the investment community. Rankings and scores of the teams reflected the judges’ willingness to

invest in the company, their evaluation of the students’ written business plans, oral presentations and business viability.

Moolaguides.com, an online platform that facilitates the buying and selling of student-generated study guides, emerged in first place, and company CEO Tom Brady, an entrepreneurship major, walked away with a check for $15,000.

In second place was War Paint LLC, a face-and-body paint applicator developed by psychology major Bryan Deering, who won $10,000. Third place went to business major Dylan Shaver, whose company FinAddix uses smart-phone technology to snap photos of its customers’ fishing trips and quickly processes an order that converts images to high-quality, re-positional vinyl prints. FinAddix received $5,000.

The Jim Moran Institute supporters include:

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recreational boating

oating B is Back 30

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Calm economic waters see boaters return to the water

By Jeanne Craig

Boaters are again returning to the water. Boat sales are high — with many new buyers opting for smaller vessels — and marinas are busy. Pictured is the Bluewater Bay Marina in Niceville.

Photo by Scott Holstein.

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L

egendary Marine was founded in 2001 in a singlewide trailer based in Destin and staffed with just three employees. By 2006, sales had become so robust at $70 million that the company, which sells and services new and used powerboats, had grown to encompass four locations and 121 full-time workers.

Getting a start-up business off the ground is never an easy task, but Legendary’s success was fueled in part by the fact its locations were in tourist-friendly areas of Florida’s Northwest Gulf Coast that were growing quickly.

Thus, a good number of prospective customers were making regular pilgrimages to Legendary’s pristine slips and showrooms. And then things changed.

In the wake of the Great Recession, as the nation went about the grim business of tightening its belt, people in this area stopped building homes and condominiums, and more consumers put the kibosh on travel plans to Florida’s Panhandle. At Legendary, those behaviors forced a steep drop in business, the likes of which had not been seen before. Like most seasoned veterans in the marine industry, Fred Pace, Legendary’s managing partner, had already been through the ups and downs of what is a highly cyclical business, but this downturn was different. It forced his team to rethink how they did business and to quickly adapt to meet new realities in the marketplace.

The BP oil spill in 2010 didn’t make this challenge any easier. Yet Legendary managed to survive and now seems poised to thrive as, today, the recreational marine industry is powering up and leaving tough times in its wake.

“Business has come back significantly, and we’re optimistic we’ll get close to where we

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were in 2006,” says Pace. “I think consumer sentiment is more positive, and there are more people entering the industry. That’s something we weren’t seeing a few years ago. Then, people were worried about their jobs and their homes, so they weren’t going to buy a boat.”

Navigating Rough Seas The story of Legendary Marine is, in many ways, the story of how the savviest companies have navigated a smart course through some of roughest financial seas ever seen in the marine industry, on a state and national level. How bad did it get? In the five-year period from 2007 to 2011, sales of new boats nationally dropped 55 percent, from 280,000 boats to 135,000. “Because of the drop in retail sales, it’s estimated that 40 percent of new boat dealers went out of business,” says Thom Damrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). “That’s an even greater testament to people like Fred Pace.”

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Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

The boat storage facility at Legendary Marine in Destin stays busy taking boats out and putting them away. During the recession, the company ramped up service to offset sale losses.

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Business owners like Pace are critical to the health of the industry as a whole since Florida plays a key role in its success. Florida consistently ranks among the top states for recreational boat sales in the country. In 2010, for instance, it ranked first with total new powerboat, motor, trailer and accessory sales reaching nearly $1.5 billion. That same year, it led all states in boat registrations, with a total of $12.4 million. While registrations are typically highest in South Florida, the Northwest corner of the state draws its fair share of boating enthusiasts, too. In 2012, there were 115,080 boats registered in the counties covered by 850 Magazine, compared with 901,969 for the entire state.

Fortunately, things are now looking up in the recreational boat business as it appears the industry has turned a corner. According to the NMMA, boat sales were up 3 percent in 2011 over 2010, and estimates show an increase of 10 percent in 2012 over 2011. The future is looking brighter for marina operators as well. Although some contend these businesses were not hit as hard as the dealerships, the recession and subsequent oil spill took their toll as vacancy rates for slips increased dramatically. Forecasts are looking sunny, though. NMMA statistics show that boat owners spent 14 percent more on operating costs (which includes docking and marina fees) in 2011 as compared with 2010, climbing from $8.5 billion to $9.9 billion, and that number may well improve.

“We’re gradually clawing our way back,” says Damrich. “Many of the companies that survived had to reduce their cost structures to break even at levels they did not think possible pre-recession. Yet they’ve found a way to make money.”

The national rebound is being reflected in Northwest Florida, a welcome sign for an industry that supports more than 8,300 jobs in the region.

Recreational boating had a more than $1 billion economic impact on the area in 2012, according to Todd Sumner, president of the Northwest Florida Marine Industries Association.

“Our members are seeing a steady uptick in their businesses,” Sumner says. “Some are busier now than they ever have been. I think there is a lot of pent-up frustration for those who have been weathering the recession. They are now ready to get back out on water, and many needed a new boat to do that.”

mentality to a more balanced approach. They ramped up marketing efforts around Legendary’s service arm to capture a greater market share of those people that they had and had not sold boats to. Providing more parts and service generated a revenue stream when sales were down. And when the economy began to pick back up, Legendary had in its portfolio a topnotch service division that made the dip in sales during the typical off-season much less severe.

And there were other initiatives. Legendary launched a marina management arm, which proved to be a steady income stream as some local marinas were taken over by banks when the recession really took a grip.

Legendary continues to explore new ideas and think out of the box, practices that Pace says have been possible because of the excellent

Joe Galati, president of Galati Yachts in Destin, says boating companies had to adapt to survive the recession, but sales are booming again.

team of professionals he has on his staff. Among those initiatives is a boat rental operation designed to lure more people to the sport. In addition, Legendary coordinates a number of cruising events for customers it has sold boats to. These events, in which representatives from the dealership travel with a fleet of owners to locations they may not be comfortable visiting on their own, go a long way toward keeping customers engaged in the sport.

“We’ve learned we have to adapt,” says Pace.

“In business, it’s easy to get set in your ways, but the recession taught me how little I knew.

This is a changing marketplace, but if we can embrace that fact and be willing to change, I think we’ll be okay.”

Bracing for a Sea Change Change is a constant in any industry, and the recreational marine marketplace is no different. Thus, the companies that are quick to adapt and evolve often succeed. That much is true for Galati Yachts, a family-owned dealership in

Survival Strategies At Legendary Marine, a number of strategies were employed to drive revenue. Immediately following the recession, for instance, the company changed its focus from an aggressive sales

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Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

business since 1970 with multiple locations spanning the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas, including a showroom and service facility in Destin. “As a child, I remember my father dealing with fuel rationing and high interest rates in the Carter days,” says Joe Galati, the company president. “As anyone in our business understands, we deal with cyclical issues, so you have to be prepared to react quickly to what the economy is doing.”

Galati learned that lesson the hard way following the oil spill in April of 2010. Fortunately for this dealership, the early days of the recession didn’t hurt business as severely as it impacted other local companies, in part because Galati sells large (32 to 160 feet) premium-brand yachts to wealthy customers with deeper pockets. Even so, sales of new boats did slide, so this dealership ramped up its efforts to sell used yachts and repossessed models, the inventory for which was more robust than ever at the time. In addition, Galati was able to take a larger piece of the available pie as a number of other dealers had to shut their doors in these troubled times.

But the oil spill was another story. “It was quite

devastating,” says Galati. “Even though we didn’t deal with oil of any significance on the beaches in Destin, business really slowed down. People just weren’t using their boats in this area. Inlets were closed or were threatening to close. Some people chose to move their yachts out of the region.” Prior to the spill, sales at Galati were going very well.

But afterward, there were dramatic declines in the Destin and Orange Beach locations. “We saw a 50 to 60 percent decline in business at these locations as compared to where we should have been based on what our other locations were doing,” says Galati.

To weather the storm, Galati did things like increase efforts to sell outside the region. For instance, they had a strong presence at the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale boat shows. And they made efforts to help those Destin-based customers who wanted to sell their yachts do so by finding customers in other parts of the state and country.

And for those local owners who wanted to keep their boats but cruise elsewhere, Galati utilized its reputable service arm to offer boat-prep services to get those models ready to cruise in other waters, such as the Bahamas and the Keys.

The tide has turned, though. “Business has picked up considerably,” says Galati. “Since February 2013, we’ve seen the biggest increase in sales.” He attributes this growth to last summer’s strong tourist season. “Business for hotels and restaurants was stimulated. So this year, it seems people are starting to talk about having fun again and getting back out onto the water.” To satisfy that growing desire, Galati will continue to grow its rendezvous program, which makes it possible for its customers to cruise together as a group, to see new places and make the most of the boating lifestyle. Says Galati, “A boat owner will justify the expense of this hobby by how much he uses his yacht and how much fun he’s having.”

Lure of the Sea “I see people coming back to the water,” says Ryan Hinely, of Bluewater Bay Marina in Nice­ville and the executive director of the Northwest Florida Marine Industries Association (NWFMIA). “At our marina, we see foot traffic increasing. Not everyone is here to run a boat. Some people are just coming down to the restaurant to enjoy a meal and the view, or to watch a sunset. But in general, when we see that start to happen, boating typically picks up.

I’m cautiously optimistic about the future.”

As operations manager at Bluewater Bay, a fullservice marina with 120 wet slips and 120 racks for dry stowage, Hinely has witnessed first-hand the ebbs and flows in business in recent years.

“The consensus among marine industry professionals in this area is that we’ll never see a year

Northwest Florida Total Annual Economic Value of Recreational Boating

$1.04 Billion Total of Recreational Boats

115,080 Total number of Recreational Boating Industry Businesses

469

Total number of Jobs

8,305

Total Annual Recreational BoatingRelated Spending

$443.1 million

like 2007.” Good riddance to that, is the general feeling among marina operators here, who saw vacancy rates for slips at some facilities hit all-time highs. At Bluewater Bay, for instance, vacancy hit 75 percent; and this occurred after the marina had enjoyed a waiting list for slips that averaged two to four years. It had always been easy for this marina to keep its slips full as it’s located in one of the finest cruising areas in the country. “Things were going so well, but then business just fell off the table,” says Hinely.

“People with larger boats berthed in wet slips moved them out of the area following the oil spill. Those with smaller boats took them out of dry stowage and put them on trailers. Boat owners were looking to save a few hundred bucks a month any way they could. “ Bluewater also has a brokerage arm that specializes in the sale of used boats (primarily sail), yet revenues for that arm of the business dropped, too. Currently, sales are more brisk, although there is a shift in the market. Sellers are getting more realistic about pricing and lowering their sale price. In addition, there’s a trend among buyers to seek out smaller boats.

This trade-down mentality is particularly prevalent in the powerboat market.

Many dealers in Northwest Florida report an increased demand in boats under 30 feet and powered with fuel-efficient outboard engines.

This preference is playing out among consumers along the Northwest Florida coast, and to

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meet the demand more dealers have added boat lines from builders of models in this category. Center console fish boats, day boats, deck boats and pontoon boats are very hot commodities in the region today.

“We’re gradually clawing our way back. But many of the companies that survived had to reduce their cost structures to break even at levels they did not think possible prerecession. Yet they’ve found a way to make money.”

Thom Damrich, president of the NMMA Interestingly, the small-boat craze has hit the local charter fishing industry, too. This is according to Hinely, who often connects with captains in the local fleet in his role with the NWFMIA, a nonprofit created in 1986 to

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advance the growth of the recreational boating industry and to promote the protection of the local inland and coastal waterways. Following the oil spill, the charter fleet was fortunate to see a good volume of customers pay for its services. “But the dynamic changed,” says Hinely.

“People weren’t lining up to fish from the large 50-foot convertible fishing boats for full-day trips in deep water. They were more interested in paying for time aboard smaller boats that did shorter trips and charged less money.”

That preference hasn’t changed in recent years, which is why there seem to be more small- to midsized fishing boats available for charter in the area today. “These customers are content to spend a few hours on a smaller boat casting lines in the bay rather than going offshore on a big yacht and targeting larger species of fish,” says Hinely.

And there are other trends afloat in the Northwest Florida market. Some dealers, including Legendary, report the return of the entrylevel buyer, the consumer who is buying his first boat. That’s good news for the marine industry, as this type of buyer practically disappeared in the dark days of 2008. And the increase of entrylevel buyers is fueling that demand for boats in the 20-foot class, particularly day boats and pontoons that are built to be multi-purpose craft for families who want to cruise, fish, ski and enjoy a full day on the water.

And then there are the people who love the boating lifestyle but aren’t quite ready to make

Brian Gwinnup, owner of Freedom Boat Club in Destin, says a growing number of boaters are interested in clubs where they pay a monthly fee to boat without worrying about maintenance or insurance.

the commitment to boat ownership. There seem to be more of them on the horizon as boat clubs in the region are getting more traffic.

At Freedom Boat Club in Destin, owner Brian Gwinnup says more people are getting into the club scene. His company, which is one of 65 franchises located throughout the U.S., owns a fleet of boats sized from 20 to 25 feet that are available for members to use at any time. Members pay $249 per month for access to the boats, but they don’t have to worry about maintenance, insurance or upkeep. They take the keys and cruise for a few hours, then return the boat back to Freedom. “Clubs are great options for people who don’t’ want the hassles of ownership; they want simplicity,” says Gwinnup.

That trend is playing out over in Pensacola, too, where membership is up at Harbor View Boat Club. The club is one revenue stream for parent company Harbor View Marine, a 30-year-old company with a full-service marina and a sales operation for new and used boats. In the course of three decades, owners Hellon and Darrell Robinson have grown their business from a simple service center to what it is today. In the past, boat club memberships

were sold and managed through Harbor View Marine’s boat sales staff, but the Robinsons recently dedicated their time and creativity to the marketing of club memberships. “The club is a small part of what we do, but it does generate a good deal of income for us and it’s another way to expand our business,” says Hellon. “The club appeals to people who are looking for a fixed amount of money to spend on boating each month. They want to know exactly how much they’ll have to spend.” By comparison, a boat owner has to plan for expenses associated with service, storage, fuel and the like, in addition to the cost of the actual boat.

Business at the Robinson’s boat club is in full swing, and so are sales for boats and services offered across the board. “Our boat sales have been tremendous this year,” says Hellon, whose company carries a few types of boats, including pontoons and fishing boats. There’s been a gradual increase in customer demand for new and used boats, as well as for slips, parts and service at Harbor View Marine, “but this year seems to be a little bit beyond our expectations,” says Hellon. “I think people are feeling some relief from the recession and are ready to spend money on the things they enjoy.”

Those who relish the boating lifestyle do seem to be more willing to open their wallets these days. At least that’s what retailer West Marine is banking on. The company, which is the largest specialty retailer of

Photos by SCOTT HOLSTEIN (GWINNUP); Others COURTESY Legendary Marine

boating supplies and accessories with nearly 300 stores, recently opened a new location in Tallahassee, which is double the size of its previous store in that city. This new store, the largest West Marine location in the Panhandle, contains a much larger selection of boating, fishing and water sports gear and accessories.

“This is a one-stop shop that can cover all the needs of our customers,” says Tim Winget, the store manager. “We offer a huge selection for customers in Tallahassee and the surrounding areas. Customers will come from as far as 170 miles away. They’ll drive the distance to our store because they know we have the best selection. And the trip is worth it because we bill the store as a destination location.”

Industry veterans say operations like West Marine, and boat clubs such as Harbor View and Freedom, will succeed in large part for the high level of customer service that’s offered.

In fact, good customer service appears to be a trademark of most marine companies that are now positioned for growth in the future.

“I can’t reiterate enough what courtesy can do for a marine business,” says Hinely. “People don’t always understand that. Customer service goes a long way in this industry. Boats are bought with disposable income. No one needs a boat. But owners want the experience to be enjoyable and to be fun. They want to know that the old adage is true: A bad day on the water beats a good day at the office.”

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cotton Feature

In High The fluffy white commodity is still a big business in Jackson and Santa Rosa counties

By Jason Dehart

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Cotton I t’s the second week of April and Sonny Davis’ cotton fields are empty while the big John Deere farming equipment sits idle in the shade of a barn. Purple martins flit over the dry, open fields. They’re the only things moving in the early spring heat. It’s quiet, but in a couple of weeks farmhands across Jackson County and other parts of Northwest Florida will be busily prepping the soil as cotton-planting season begins.

Cotton was a significant “power” crop in the early history of Florida. In Leon County, the seat of antebellum political power, no less than 79 plantations were listed in an 1860 agricultural census. The larger plantations were owned by Edward Bradford, the Chaires brothers (Benjamin,

Cash Crop Santa Rosa and Jackson counties in Northwest Florida produce about two-thirds of the state’s cotton crop. Pictured here is a Santa Rosa cotton field in 1929.

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The Way It Was The Queen City plied the waters of the Apalachicola River in the early 1900s, bringing cotton bales from plantations to ports on the Gulf.

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Council. He has four brothers who have their own operations. Davis works with his son, three nephews and his youngest brother on his own farm.

“My grandfather’s old house is right here, so I’ve been here all my life, raised on this place here and been farming 41 years on my own,” he said.

“We’ve grown peanuts and cotton primarily (and) a few beans, probably for the last 28 years. Prior to that, it was peanuts, soybeans and corn.”

In Jackson County, a large producer of Florida cotton, there’s a wide range of agricultural products being grown, including beef cattle, Satsuma oranges and olives, and there’s even some international aquaculture taking place in the form of a caviar farm. But the biggest effort is in cotton and peanuts, which go hand in hand.

“If you look at the total acreage devoted to agriculture, far and away the driving number of business and dollars and land devoted to commodity agriculture in our case is primarily three crops: cotton, peanuts and beef cattle,” said Doug Mayo, director of the Jackson County Extension office.

Resurgence of Cotton Cotton has been grown in Jackson County since the Civil War. It was grown along the Chipola River but became less significant for a while because the market was better for other crops, and then the boll weevil came along.

“When we were having all the trouble with the boll weevils … one old man said, ‘You have to plant enough, son, for you and the boll weevil,’ ” Davis said.

That pest was the bane of growers everywhere. By the ’70s and ’80s there were more corn, soybeans and peanuts being grown, because they were more profitable.

All of the cotton acreage in Florida is in the Panhandle area. Jackson and Santa Rosa counties together account for two-thirds of the state’s cotton production, while six others — Calhoun, Escambia, Holmes, Okaloosa, Walton and Washington — provide most of the rest.

Cotton has played a big role in Santa Rosa County since at least the early 1900s, according to Michael Donahoe, Santa Rosa County extension director. While Santa Rosa was getting into cotton, the old estates around Tallahassee, at one time considered the capital of the Cotton Belt, were transforming their cotton fields into pine plantations and recreational hunting lands. There was a period of change around the turn of the century which marked a steady decline in the total acres of cotton statewide. By 1975, there were only 4,000 acres in the state devoted to cotton production due to a host of factors, including pests like the boll weevil and bollworm.

The pests made it too costly to raise cotton, but even as other counties were getting out of the business, Santa Rosa clung to it.

“In the mid-70s, Santa Rosa was the only county in the state to have any cotton,” Donahoe said. At the time, there were only two cotton gins in Florida and both of those were in Santa Rosa County.

But then, new technology and new insecticides came on the market and caused a shift once again. In the late 1980s the boll weevil eradication program basically eliminated the pest. This opened the market back up. By 1995 the state was up to 110,000 acres of cotton.

When acreage increased, two other gins were put in, in Escambia and Jackson counties. When cotton acreage really took off, Jackson County got back big into cotton — and for some years it has had more acres than Santa Rosa.

Cotton has pretty much thrived in the open and arid fields of Santa Rosa and Jackson counties. The two main crops in Santa Rosa County today are cotton and peanuts, ranking it second in the state behind Jackson County for those major crops.

Naturally, the number of acres devoted to each changes yearly depending on the markets. Peanut acreage went up and cotton went down in

photo from State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory

Green and Thomas Peter) and governors John Branch and Richard Keith Call. St. Marks, Port Leon, Newport and Apalachicola were, for a time, important cotton ports with dockside warehouses. In 1828 alone, the port of Apalachicola shipped 55,000 bales, and by 1840 “Middle Florida” yielded 80 percent of Florida’s cotton crop.

The years of “King Cotton” are gone. In some parts of Florida it’s still a big business venture, by all means. But Davis and others know farming is all market-driven, and the market is always prone to change. It’s cotton now, but it could be something else down the line. For example, if the Midwest drought persists, or if the price is right, Florida farmers might end up planting more corn than usual.

“Personally, I don’t see cotton as being king anymore as it was thought of during the ’40s and ’50s. Today I think growers look at their options,” he said. “They figure out the best option whether it’s corn, soybeans, peanuts or cotton. It’s just one more crop alternative now.” Still, he adds, “I will say that cotton has been very good to our operation over the years.”

The Davis family has been farming Jackson County and surrounding areas for 150 years. Today, Sonny Davis is chairman of Chickasha of Georgia, Davis Farms, Clover Leaf Gin and Quality Peanut. He’s also the 2013 Florida chairman of the American Cotton Producers board of the National Cotton

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

A Time To Sow Sonny Davis is pictured this spring next to his John Deere tractor, which pulls the planter that spreads the cotton seeds on his Jackson County farm. Harvest comes in the fall.

2012. Donahoe said that about 25,000 acres in peanuts and 15,700 acres in cotton were planted that year. But this year, peanut prices have been down and farmers may plant fewer peanuts as a result. Cotton prices have gone up a little bit, he said in May, but the number of acres in cotton may stay about the same.

“I don’t think we’ll see a big change in acreage this year,” he said. “We’re seeing a little increase in corn acreage and maybe a little increase in soybean acreage, because more people planted wheat last fall and they’ll double-crop wheat with soybeans.”

Meanwhile, Doug Mayo said Jackson County, which has more than 200,000 acres of land devoted to some kind of agricultural endeavor, had 43,098 acres of cotton and 34,726 acres of peanuts in 2012. According to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, that’s enough cotton to make 18 million pairs of jeans and enough peanuts for one billion sandwiches. Peanut production, while smaller in acreage, grew 10 percent over its 2011 numbers while cotton actually went down 4 percent from 2011.

Peanuts are an integral part of the cotton-growing system because farmers have to rotate crops to prevent pests from taking over.

“You can’t just grow one crop on the same ground every year, or you’ll build up soil-bound roundworms and fungal diseases. You get populations of insects, and you’ll start to get weeds that outcompete the herbicides you have. So (farmers will) grow peanuts in some kind of a rotation,” Mayo said.

A typical rotation might involve growing peanuts one year, then cotton for the next two years. Long-term studies by UF have helped develop what Mayo calls an ideal rotation.

“The ideal rotation that we’ve been studying at UF is to raise cattle on Bahia grass, and then follow the grass with a year of peanuts and a year of cotton,” he said. This system seems to promote better pest suppression and an increase in crop yields. “The ideal situation is perennial grass for two years and a year of each crop, then start over with grass. That’s the ideal, but that’s not the real world.”

There are roughly 100 cotton farmers and 200 peanut farmers in Santa Rosa County, but that number changes, and most of them farm both crops.

Cotton is preferred because of the diseases that peanuts are prone to, Donahoe said. The rotation is two years of cotton, followed every third year by peanuts planted in the same field.

When it comes to cotton yields, Davis said that new hybrids and varieties have the ability to produce.

“Yield-wise, in our part of the world, being conservative, we’d love to be able to pick 1,100 pounds of lint per acre,” he said. “We gained a lot in new hybrids.”

Farming Economics The United States consumes the equivalent of about 28 million bales of cotton a year. But there’s a problem, Davis said, because we’re only going

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to produce around 16 million bales this year. In other words, we don’t grow enough cotton for what we consume.

Adding to that is the fact that a majority of our cotton is exported. And for the last three years alone, he said, we’ve probably sent some 60 percent of our cotton to China.

“Everybody needs to understand we are truly a world market,” Davis said. “And it comes down to lowest cost. Right now you know the dollar is depressed so that gives cotton a little advantage in the world. U.S. cotton is a little cheaper.”

And the U.S. textile industry isn’t exactly what it once was. That pair of jeans you’re wearing now? “Made in Mexico.”

“In my life you’ve had textile mills in the Southeast and sewing factories in every little town, in the Panhandle and the South. All of those no longer exist,” Davis said. “All the cutting and sewing of garments have moved out of the country. Cheaper labor.”

A decade ago, domestic mill consumption was around 11 million bales a year.

That’s the textile mills processing that many bales into yarns, cloths, denims.

He used to tour a lot of denim plants, and they were as close as Columbus, Ga. But all those are gone now, Davis said. The mill capacity now is about three million bales.

Meanwhile, the one constant in farming — and any business for that matter — is change. But it takes a lot of time and effort to change to new markets, Mayo said, especially with farming.

“You got to know how to grow the crop, and you got to have the processing power, the buyers, the infrastructure, and that’s a big part of it,” he said. “We can’t just switch to corn, because we don’t have enough infrastructure to handle that. That’s one of my concerns. If we increase corn, where are we going to sell it? That’s going to be a challenge.”

Even when the local farmers switched from peanuts to cotton, it took no small amount of effort and cooperation among farmers to grow and market it once the boll weevil was gone, Davis said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture started eradication efforts in the late 1970s, and by the late ’80s the pest was on the wane. Davis said that in Florida, these efforts were a joint venture between IFAS, USDA and the growers.

“It took probably four years to eradicate the boll weevil — and I say that lightly, but I’ve not seen a boll weevil in over 20 years,” he said.

By that time, though, there wasn’t much cotton infrastructure left to work with. The only cotton gin available to local growers was in Dothan.

“The first year we ginned in Dothan, on what was probably a gin that was built in the 1950s,” Davis said. “In 1985 it was a group of farmers, mostly southwest Georgia and a few down here, like my brother and I, that were growing cotton at the time, and we became partners. There were 13 of us. In order to continue growing, we had to have somewhere to process. We built a

modern cotton gin in Donaldsonville, Ga. That was the first modern cotton gin built in the Southeast.”

As its popularity grew, and more cotton was planted, Davis and his partners in 1991 built another gin in Jackson County, just west of Greenwood, and called it Clover Leaf Gin. “In the early ’90s, we just had an explosion in cotton acreage in the Southeast. Georgia, Alabama, Florida, the Carolinas. It was a more desirable crop from an economic standpoint, compared to grains or corn or soybeans.

And it was a good rotation of peanuts,” he said.

Even then, cotton farming isn’t for everyone. It takes a massive amount of capital and land to make it work. One piece of equipment alone can cost upwards of $400,000.

“There are several challenges … not the least of which is the machinery involved,” Mayo said. “You’ve got a $300,000–$400,000 piece of machinery that picks cotton and does nothing else.

And these pickers have been known to catch fire occasionally, because the heavy, dry material comes in contact with the heat of the machine, and one little spark can set it off. Add an oil leak to it, and you’ve got a pile of rubble in no time, no single fire extinguisher can put it out.

That’s why you don’t see 10-acre cotton patches. You need be a larger farm operation to grow cotton. It takes (a farmer) with the means and the money.”

Being larger means you also have more clout with the buyer. Cotton is a commodity crop, and Mayo said the disadvantage of a commodity is the grower has little control over the price he receives.

“The only thing he can do is forward contracts so they can get a contract for a set price for what they’re going to produce this year,” he said. However, if he’s big enough, a farmer might still be able to exert some leverage when it comes to contracts and what gets produced.

“Sonny Davis might say he’s not going to grow any corn until he has a contract in hand, but you got to be pretty good-sized and have the acreage and the history to do that, to have that kind of marketing clout.

A lot of smaller farmers don’t have that,” Mayo said.

However, the cotton contracts are set up in such a way that the farmer “owes” a buyer cotton — even if his crop fails to completely deliver the goods, for one reason or another.

Crop insurance is one area that Davis keeps advocating for. He knows that it can make a difference for farmers faced with debilitating crop losses.

Because, he said, there are going to be drought years, hurricane years and other bad weather-related years that can devastate crops and farming families.

“We, as growers, really need the farm bill addressed, or a new farm bill,” he said. “Probably one of the more important things, particularly for cotton, is crop insurance. These are safety nets that government does, and should do, to insure our ability to produce food and fiber for our consumers.”

“Personally, I don’t see cotton as being king anymore as it was thought of during the ’40s and ’50s. Today I think growers look at their options.”

Sonny Davis, Jackson County Cotton Farmer

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The American Farm Bureau Federation sent a farm bill proposal to Capitol Hill in early April. According to the AFBF, the proposal offers a wide mix of risk management and safety net tools to benefit a wide range of farms.

“There is far less money this year than last with which to secure an adequate safety net for the many family-owned farms that make up the bulk of America’s agricultural system,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. “Last year, Congress merely extended the old 2008 farm bill until Sept. 30 of this year. Now, while unfortunately we have less money to work with, it is vital that Congress complete a new five-year farm bill this year. Doing so is in the economic interest of our entire nation.”

Davis said it’s vital for the farmers to have that protection.

“In production agriculture, it’s one business where you put it all on the line, every year. And it’s hard — and next to impossible — if you have a hurricane and a complete loss to have the ability to come back from that,” Davis said. “The margins are just not there to overcome it. There are things beyond your control, huge losses. And you do have them. 1980 was a terrible year for me. Drought. Had no crop insurance. It was tough, tough coming back with interest rates at 18 percent. But we did. We were blessed. Had 10 good years.”

But crop insurance isn’t the only thing dogging cotton producers in particular. Through the World Trade Organization, Brazil challenged the U.S. farm bill as it applies to cotton and said government price supports were distorting the price and therefore hurting Brazilian cotton growers, Davis said. Brazil won a court case giving it the authority to take retaliatory trade measures, including levying millions of dollars worth of high tariffs on an array of U.S. consumer goods.

“By virtue of that, we’ve got to change the price support program for cotton. If we don’t, the Brazilians do have the authority to retaliate against other commodities, or cars or trucks or whatever is going into their country.

Not just cotton,” Davis said.

The cotton industry is proposing a supplemental insurance program, called the “Stacked Income Protection Plan,” that would allow a grower to insure a bigger percentage of his historic yield.

“Normally we insure 65 percent of our historic production. The STAX program might allow us to insure 75 percent,” he said.

dispersed where needed. All these advances save time, eliminate waste and redundancy and, most importantly, save money.

“A tanker load of diesel fuel is $25,000, and it’s amazing how quick you run through it,” Davis remarked.

Most of these strides have taken place in the last 40 years. But it’s not just the hardware that’s improved to make cotton farming more successful now than ever.

“Think of how hybrids and varieties have improved,” Davis said. “We continue to strive to get bigger and more efficient.”

All these new methods and technologies have led to the resurgence of cotton in Florida as soil conservation efforts, new herbicides, new strains of bug-resistant plants, all contributed to save or reduce equipment cost, fuel, labor and production costs.

Push-Button Farming and Engineered Cotton Farming in general has come a long way since Cyrus McCormick demonstrated his mechanical harvester in the 1830s. Today, tilling the soil has become a computerized, automated business that is more efficient than ever before. In the mid-90s, “Bt” cotton (named for the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis) was made available to farmers. This genetically engineered cottonseed resistant to the bollworm helped farmers dramatically reduce insecticide applications.

“Up to then, with the worm and weevil, farms had to spray 15 times a year on average for insects, sometimes as much as 20 times per season,” Santa Rosa County’s Donahoe said. As pest eradication programs enjoyed success, and with the adoption of Bt cotton, insecticide sprays dropped to about two or three per season.

Soil analysis and conservation have also played a key role. Instead of conventional tillage, where a field might lie empty and prone to losing topsoil from strong winds and rain, conservation tillage involves planting a “cover crop” to lock the soil in place until needed. Then, a special herbicide is sprayed on the cover crop, and farmers till a very precise corridor where they want to plant the seed.

Meanwhile, grid sampling and soil analysis tell how much fertilizer is needed in a given area. A farmer can plug the information into a tractor, push a button and the correct amount of chemical is automatically

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

Cotton Resurgence New technology — including bug resistant plants — and planting methods have led to cotton being a more successful crop in Northwest Florida.

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Special Report: Walton County Tourism

The Miracle of 30A

By Linda Kleindienst and Zandra Wolfgram

photo by Lori Saczynski; photo by Colleen Duffley (earles)

T

ake a drive down Scenic Highway 30A in South Walton County, and you’re transported back to the world of yesteryear. Here you’ll find no big box stores, no high-rise hotels or condominiums, no four-lane highways.

Instead, you can walk into a restaurant or a small market where the owner knows your name. Inhale the salty breeze coming off the Gulf of Mexico, and enjoy the sound of silence. Watch the sun set into the Gulf while you walk along one of the most famous beaches in the world.

But make no mistake. When it comes to business, this is no sleepy Southern town. There’s a heavy dose of entrepreneurism found along 30A, and there are growing signs of vigorous business development that has been spurred on by the state and the nation’s economic recovery from the Great Recession.

Businesses along this coastal slice of Northwest Florida were hit hard by the recession and by the bottoming out of the real estate market. Then came the 2010 BP oil spill to put the nail in the region’s economic coffin as tourists avoided the beach for (unfounded) fears of

Growing Business Above: Andy Saczynski, 2012 artist of the year, at his Santa Rosa Beach Studio. Below: Celebrated Chef Johnny Earles returned to 30A with his Grayton Bar & Grill.

finding tar balls in the surf. Some businesses closed, others scaled back. Very little in the way of new business came to town.

A New Era But times have changed. After two years of phenomenal growth in tourist numbers (attributable, at least in part, to the billions of advertising dollars BP has pumped into promoting the Gulf

Coast) and a turnaround in real estate, business is good. The proof is in the opening of new retail outlets, restaurants and a boutique hotel along the quiet streets of 30A — and the fact that some businesses are moving into larger quarters to handle their volume.

Scott Russell, a partner with Russell & Russell, a hospitality management consulting firm based in Miramar Beach, said South Walton has seen

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Special Report: Walton County Tourism

enjoyed “over the top” business that saw sales double, said Lori Leath Smith, of Seaside Community Development Corp.

“People’s perception is that the economy is definitely better,” she said. “Combine that with the fact people are tired of not spending money on vacations, and they are ripe and ready.”

Bringing in the Crowds Upscale art and wine festivals, charity marathons, high-end fashion shows and an array of other special events held throughout the year are part of the area’s formula for success. These events are helping to bring in cash-flush clientele who eagerly bolster the cash registers of local entrepreneurs, from artists and retailers to restaurateurs and vacation homeowners.

Digital Graffiti marked its fifth year in June.

Touted as the world’s first outdoor projection art festival, it has become the “must-do” event of the summer. Meanwhile, the ArtsQuest Fine Arts Festival produced by the Cultural Arts Alliance for 25 years has not only become a Mother’s Day tradition with locals and visitors, it is becoming a lucrative art show for local artists.

The 30A Songwriter’s Festival, now in its third year, continues to add performances, venues and attract more attendees each year.

Boutique Elegance The Pearl, a 55-room boutique hotel on Rosemary Beach, is the newest lodging offering on 30A.

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The 30A Wine Festival was held for the first time this past spring and looks to return as an annual event, along with the charity road race 30A 10K. And another first — South Walton Fashion Week, a new multi-day event designed to showcase the fashions of local boutiques and the talent of emerging local designers, is slated to debut Oct. 11–15.

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Business Growth Beyond traveling the art show circuit, a number of local artists are growing their names and talents into successful brands. In just the past year or so, five local Emerald Coast-based artists have either opened local galleries or expanded their studios: glass artist Mary Hong recently opened her first studio in Grayton Beach; Andy Sacynzki, voted artist of the year for 2012, recently celebrated a one-year anniversary at his studio in Santa Rosa Beach; Allison Wickey, artist of the year for 2011, expanded from her studio in Rosemary Beach to a 2,000 squarefoot gallery in the Village of South Walton in Seacrest Beach; and both Laura Granberry, who owns The Art of Simple, and Justin Gaffrey expanded their presence in Seaside.

Meanwhile, retail and restaurants are among the fastest growing business segments on 30A. Megan Trent, director of retail for Alys Beach, opened The Alys Shoppe on July 4th weekend. The 2,200-square foot upscale boutique shop is the first commercial offering in the Town Center and the first ever stand-alone retail endeavor for Alys Beach.

On the culinary scene, celebrated Chef Johnny Earles has returned to 30A with Grayton Bar & Grill. The atmosphere is rustic and casual, but the food is just as memorable as the fare he served at his iconic Criolla’s. Other restaurant operators are expanding as well. Kevin Neel, who owns La Crema in Rosemary Beach, opened Aqua Sushi, also in Rosemary, earlier this year.

Nick’s Seafood Restaurant, a third-generation Freeport landmark known for its fresh crabs, reopened Nick’s on the Beach in Blue Mountain Beach. And Marie’s Bistro in Santa Rosa Beach has been jammin’ as well — literally. In addition to restaurant service, a full-bar and catering, they just added the sounds of Tim Jackson & Ike Bartley on Friday nights.

All types of service businesses are also being established in the 30A area.

Delys Dearmon, a licensed Texas attorney and a Florida licensed title agent who has lived on the Emerald Coast for 40 years, has expanded Emerald Coast Title Services Inc. to a second office

photo by Tommy Crow

double-digit growth in bed tax collection (from visitors) for the past 22 months.

“A lot of that is as a result from 30A. There are a couple of prongs to this: First, real estate on 30A has definitely recovered,” he explained. “Second … 30A is becoming a more year-round destination, more so than other areas along the coast.”

And with that growth comes growth for the restaurant and retail businesses that also are able to enjoy a year-round model.

Jon Ervin, director of marketing and communications for the South Walton Tourist Development Council, said 30A enjoys a loyal customer base that has kept repeat business high. Meanwhile the area is attracting more yearround interest from new regions of the country because of the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport and air service that has changed a lengthy drive into a short flight for visitors seeking a quick getaway to the beach.

“When you see two years of double digit growth month-to-month, as a business owner or entrepreneur that gives you confidence, which we’ve been missing for a number of years,” Ervin said. “That’s sparked a lot of great new efforts.”

And those efforts made by local businesses are being rewarded.

During spring break, retail stores in Seaside

ida Fllorid off F es o hivvve Arcchi e Ar attte a t syy Stta te urte our otto cco o ho Ph Ph

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Special Report: Walton County Tourism

in Redfish Village on 30A. Wells Eye Center, based in Destin, is a full-service vision care provider that has now opened a new location in Seacrest Beach.

One of Russell & Russell’s clients is The Pearl, a newly opened 55-room boutique hotel in Rosemary Beach. The aim is to provide a luxury resort experience, and bookings have already exceeded expectations. And Scott Russell predicts The Pearl is just the beginning to growth in lodging offerings.

With balanced development, he sees the growth of 30A as a long-term proposition that will have a trickle-down effect. “You will see an upgrading of businesses as 30A continues to reach the affluent traveler. You’ll see growth in the culinary scene and elevated service — it has to. You get a stronger pool of employees because they have year-round jobs. You can retain and train employees and with that comes consistent service.”

Art Haven Left: Mixed media artist Allison Wickey was named 2011 South Walton Artist of the Year.

Her gallery was named Best of the Emerald Coast in 2012 and this year she won the Award of Excellence at ArtsQuest.

photos by Shelly Swanger

Below: The A. Wickey Studio Gallery in the Villages of South Walton in Seacrest Beach features 2,000 square feet of space that highlights the work of 10 different artists as well as Wickey’s working artist studio.

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Coastal Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa + Walton Counties

Odom’s Destiny Reflections on life, business and politics

By Linda Kleindienst

I

n the fall of 2012, developer and local wunderkind Jay Odom sat in his Destin office, talking about his life, his business, the pitfalls he has successfully negotiated and the others that have thrown him off course. He paused, stared at a wall of project drawings and declared, “Politics is an ugly business.”

At the time, he was referring to the political and legal miasma he managed to survive after facing state criminal charges in 2009 that stemmed from an alleged conspiracy involving state budget dollars and a building Odom owned. The grand theft charges were dropped in 2011 but the fallout had far reaching impact.

“I was out $1 million. It was a bad two years. I was getting divorced. At the same time the economy went to hell, so I was going broke and I was being pursued for something I didn’t do. It was not a pleasant time in my life,” he said.

Little did Odom know that six months after that October interview he would be sentenced to six months in a federal prison and ordered to pay a $46,000 fine after pleading guilty to skirting federal election campaign limits in 2007 by getting family and friends to donate $23,000 to Republican Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign and then personally reimbursing them.

At his April sentencing in a Pensacola federal courtroom, Odom, 57, said, “I pled guilty because I am guilty. I’m deeply sorry for what I have done and the pain it has caused my friends, family and employees. I hope one day to regain the trust of my friends, family and community that I once had.”

Odom has often been a lightning rod for

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controversy. He is fully aware of it, saying, “It wasn’t my intention. There is a lot of envy.”

An ambitious and shrewd entrepreneur, Odom learned to doggedly work the political system as he forged ahead with development projects from the coast up into the interior of Walton County. Along the way he made friends and enemies, survived economic ups and downs, made money and lost it, befriended charities and politicians.

His Crystal Beach Development company has had high profile projects in Walton and Okaloosa counties, including Water’s Edge and Destiny By The Sea. He worked 15 years to rehab Uptown Station in Fort Walton Beach, built Destin Jet and embarked on a giant development called Hammock Bay in Freeport.

In many ways, Odom has been a private person, but in October 2012, he agreed to sit down with 850 to talk about his life and his work.

The Beginnings Born in Japan while his father served in the U.S. Air Force — he was born on Good Friday 1956 and delivered by a doctor whose last name was Easter — Odom arrived on the Emerald Coast when he was six weeks old. He went to Florida Atlantic University to become an ocean engineer, and after graduation worked in the Gulf oil fields for five years. Then he decided he had enough of that.

“I looked around and I saw people seemed to be doing pretty good in real estate,” he recalled. “I moved to Austin, because at the time it seemed to be the hotbed of real estate. I went from a good

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paying job in the oil field to a $4-an-hour internship at Henry S. Miller, making Xerox copies and learning the business.”

Eventually he moved into sales for Miller, then the third largest commercial real estate operation in the nation. But it was on a oneweek trip back home to Florida that Odom embarked on what would become his lucrative Northwest Florida development business.

He met the Henderson family from Pensacola and made a deal to buy a package of undeveloped lots along a five-mile stretch of beach the family had purchased in the 1930s. It was 1987 and the 200 lots were platted but there were no roads, sewer or water. Odom made the deal with no money in his pocket and, at the time, no ready prospect for being able to pay for the lots.

“I had NO money,” Odom said. “But the stars were aligned and (the Hendersons) agreed to owner finance, and some other things took place that allowed me to pre-sell a bunch of lots before I had to close on them. It was about a $1.7 million transaction, and I had a hundred dollars to my name.”

But getting those plots ready for sale marked the first time that Odom butted heads with the Destin establishment, and the experience taught him the value of having political prowess.

“I had to pull down trees and put in water and sewer. But basically, their attitude was, ‘We’re gonna kick your ass around a little bit, but you need to get your trick book in Texas. We don’t really need you here.’ And, I was saying, I need to put these roads in so people can get to these lots,” Odom remembered.

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

In Better Times Developer Jay Odom pictured in 2008, a year before he faced criminal charges involving a legislative budget deal — charges that were dropped in 2011 but caused him personal and professional damage.

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Odom went ahead and built his terminal facility to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and said bluntly, “If anyone is looking to get out of the wind, don’t come to me.”

Hammock Bay

Building A Legacy Hammock Bay in Freeport is Odom’s largest development yet and where he has poured money and time into helping local government build a regional sports complex.

“I learned a whole lot about politics in a hurry.

If you’re going to be in the development business, you need to understand the political system or die. It’s been quite an education over the years.”

His sister bought the first Crystal Beach lot for $12,000. His office was a “big, ugly” blue Ford pickup with a stick shift and a cardboard box that the front passenger seat belt kept in place. His mother was his secretary and bookkeeper. Eventually he moved into an abandoned house on a 50-acre site with 1,000 feet of Gulf front, renting it for $100 a month from the Hendersons for 10 years.

Mixing Business and Politics Another political head-butting came with “Odom’s Curve” in the early 1990s, when Odom fought to move U.S. 98 away from the coast to provide more beachfront property for development in Destiny By The Sea. He won the battle.

One of his supporters was Ray Sansom, chairman of the Okaloosa County Commission who would later be elected to the state House and then become House speaker.

Yet another politically volatile project involved a facility at the Destin airport, where Odom planned to sell gas and rent cars. A $6 million plan (funded

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by the Legislature) to give up some of his airport space to the Northwest Florida State College for use as a hurricane-safe facility led to criminal charges and cost Sansom his job as House speaker and Bob Richburg his post as college president. Sansom also lost his job at the college.

Odom and Sansom were charged with grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft.

The project was axed and the money stayed safe in the state treasury — but in 2011, two years after they were filed, the charges against Odom and Sansom were dropped in mid-trial for lack of evidence of an alleged conspiracy.

“It tarnished me for awhile and financially beat me up, but I’m able to recover,” Odom said last October. He characterized it as “all that mess that took place a few years ago,” but he remained bitter about the charges, saying, “I’ve been collateral damage on some bad political things. I got indicted for nothing. The state had to pay Bob and Ray’s legal fees. The college had to pay Bob a big check for wrongful termination. But the person the state didn’t have to pay anything to for anything was me.

“Destin has no hurricane center still in the city, to this day. Statistics show most people die after the hurricane because they can’t get help,” he said.

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It’s Odom’s most ambitious project yet, and it’s what he originally wanted his interview with 850 to focus on.

“I’m not promoting a feature story on Jay Odom. If that’s where it gets to, I’m okay with that.

But my goal was (to discuss) a huge project up in Freeport called Hammock Bay,” he said.

It is large — 3,000 acres with the potential for 5,000 homeowners. But Odom said his proudest achievement there is the development of a world-class sports complex that involved his company, the city, the county and the state “all coming together to create something that any one of those groups by themselves wouldn’t or couldn’t have done.”

His vision was for a “top notch” sports park that everyone in the county could use, an economic generator that would attract traveling teams. The maintenance would be paid for

by Hammock Bay homeowners at the rate of $5 a month for each home. He calls it a model public/private partnership.

“Eventually there will be thousands of people paying that $5,” he said. “I gave the land to the city.”

When it came time for the city to put construction of the 60-acre park out to bid, Odom said he placed a bid to build it.

“I couldn’t afford for the park not to be nice,” he said. “It was a sealed bid — our bid was over $1 million lower than the next closest. We upgraded everything, spent double the amount of money required on landscaping. If I had to eat a little to get the park done, it was an asset for Hammock Bay.”

No Apologies “People say I got preferential treatment. Well, I worked my (expletive deleted) ass off,” Odom said. “On most of my projects I had to work two or three times as hard as a normal person would because of the scrutiny. I worked hard and I worked long and I worked smart and I did more work than other people. It was never my goal to have a name that people knew. Doing that makes everything you do harder, not easier,” Odom said.

On reflection, he added, “I got into politics heavily. I’m just not a politician.”

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

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PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

It’s all about trust. Every day you make choices to consult professionals on matters as varied as real estate, legal representation and health care.

In this special advertising section of 850 Magazine, meet some Northwest Florida professionals dedicated to earning your trust and providing you with their specialized services.

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PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

Photo by Scott Holstein

special advertising section

Kimberly J. Syfrett

Clayton Syfrett

What services do you provide?

Our firm represents injured/disabled workers or veterans who have been wrongly denied benefits by insurance companies, the Social Security Administration or the Veteran’s Administration.

What services do you provide?

Personal Injury Law (automobile; 18-wheeler; motorcycle accidents; uninsured driver and drunk driver accidents; wrongful death cases; slip-and-fall accidents; and product liability claims)

How long have you been in practice?

I moved to Bay County after law school,14 years ago, because this is my husband’s hometown. We stayed here because our businesses have flourished. We love the closeness to the Gulf and have family and good friends here. It’s also a wonderful place to raise our children.

How long have you been in practice?

In addition to obtaining my law degree from Cumberland, I earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida in civil engineering.

My father was an attorney, and I greatly admired his talent and work ethic. Our firm has been in the same Panama City location for 35 years. Our senior partner (my father) Raymond Syfrett (who passed away in 2005), opened the practice in 1975, and I’ve been in practice here for the past 18 years.

Sr. Attorney, Syfrett & Furr

How would you describe your business philosophy or strategy?

Our firm strives to provide top quality legal services to our clients while also being understanding, respectful and supportive of their circumstances. Our clients are often very financially challenged while also dealing with devastating medical issues. The attorneys and staff of our firm are not only trained to meet the specific needs of our clients, but also to consider other ways we can assist in any given situation or point our clients in the direction of other help that may be available in our community.

What’s the secret of your success?

Although knowing the laws and regulations are important, our secret to success is that we listen, and do our best to understand what our clients are going through.

Attorney, Syfrett & Dykes

Describe your business strategy: We provide three very personal GUARANTEES: 1) Client phone calls do not obligate them to anything – Guaranteed!

2) Clients will speak directly to an attorney – Guaranteed!

3) Clients will never pay any attorney’s fees unless our firm makes a recovery on their behalf – Guaranteed!

What’s the secret of your success?

Compassion for clients combined with aggressive representation. We take great pride in achieving the goals of our clients … if not exceeding them.

SEPARATE, YET TOGETHER!

(Law Practices are only blocks apart.)

Kimberly J. Syfrett, senior attorney 25 West Oak Ave, Panama City I 850.785.4442 I Toll Free 866.495.7448 I fightingforthedisabled.com Clayton Syfrett, attorney 311 Magnolia Avenue I 850.785.3400 I Fax 850.872.8234 I csyfrett@syfrett-dykes.com

PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

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Rodolfo Jose Oviedo, M.D.

What services do you provide?

General, minimally invasive and emergency surgery.

How long have you been working in your field/profession?

Six years; this year as an independent surgeon.

Why did you choose Tallahassee as a place to work?

It is a wonderful community with Southern hospitality and ideal to raise a family and grow as a professional.

“ General surgery is a fascinating and exciting profession. It’s the mother of all surgical subspecialties; a means to cure cancer, save lives from traumatic experiences, remove organs that suffer from overwhelming infections, reconstruct the body’s organ system and offer relief to those who are ill.”

2626 Care Drive, Suite 206, Tallahassee I 850.219.2306 I Fax 850.219.2348 I rodolfo.oviedo@hcahealthcare.com

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PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

DaVita Inc.

Photo by Scott Holstein

Independent Kidney Dialysis Service

Awards, honors, recognitions: Fortune magazine — “World’s Most Admired Companies” in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. (DaVita also ranked No.1 in the field of health care medical facilities for innovation, longterm investment and quality.)

Our Services DaVita is the largest independent provider of dialysis services in the United States. We provide administrative services at 1,530 outpatient dialysis facilities, 720 acute units and serve approximately 118,000 patients (about one out of three dialysis patients in the United States).

Our Clients DaVita provides dialysis services and education for patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease.

Modern Healthcare — “Top 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare” in 2008 (DaVita is the only nationwide healthcare services company on the list.)

How do you measure success in your profession?

DaVita has consistently demonstrated clinical outcomes that are among the best or are the best in virtually every category when compared to national averages. The company’s clinical outcomes for dialysis have improved for the past 10 years in a row. Recently, DaVita outperformed other providers by as much as 40 percent on four key clinical performance outcomes.

Coastal Kidney Center I 510 N. MacArthur Ave., Panama City Panama City Dialysis I 615 Hwy. 231, Panama City West Beach Dialysis I 16201 Panama City Beach Hwy., Ste. 102, Panama City Beach 800.400.8331 I DaVita.com

PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

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Hutt Insurance Agency

Photo by Scott Holstein

The Third Generation Family Tradition Continues

Trey Hutt (L) and John Hutt (R).

Our Focus We sell insurance and provide business advice and consulting.

While insuring clients like banks, manufacturers and condos, we also put a focus on small businesses and families. This makes what we do enjoyable, because small businesses and families are the foundation of our community.

We’re Local My grandfather, John Hutt Sr., came to Bay County when property on the Gulf was $50 an acre. He opened the agency in 1961. My dad returned here in 1970 and was the real key to our additional business success. I’ve been back in the area for about 20 years now. I went to Mosley High School, Gulf Coast and FSU. I truly love Bay County and can’t imagine ever leaving.

Advice for New Businesses Watch your expenses. Treat your clients and employees well. Be a good, active member of your community. So many young people opening businesses today forget they owe something back to the community where they live. They forget they have a serious responsibility to make our community better. With so many service clubs, professional organizations and charities in need of assistance, there’s no shortage of opportunities to give back.

The Future We’re watching the economy recover. Seeing new businesses opening and our contractors getting back to work really feels good.

We’ll do a lot of the same things we’ve been doing for 50 years, although the way we do things may change slightly. We believe the future is bright for Northwest Florida, and we are proud to be a part of that excitement.

“Our business philosophy?

Operate in accord with the Rotary Creed: Service Above Self” 3106 W. 23rd Street, Panama City I 850.769.4888 I huttinsurance.com 816 Ohio Ave, Lynn Haven I 850.271.4888

PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

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Hulon E. Crayton, M.D.

Photo by Scott Holstein

The Arthritis and Infusion Center

What is your area of specialty?

Rheumatology, which is the diagnosis and treatment of more than 150 arthritic and connective-tissue disorders. I treat patients with arthritis, certain autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis and related disorders.

Why did you choose Bay County as a place in which to work?

I moved here from Racine, Wis., where the winters are quite harsh.

So, I just started driving south until I found a city where no one sold snow shovels.

How long have you been working in your field?

I’ve been practicing Rheumatology since 1986, 15 years of which have been in Bay County.

What is your educational background?

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, I became a diplomat of the American Board of Rheumatology, and I have a master’s degree in Hospital Administration. I also served in the U.S. Army as well as the Army Reserve, attaining the rank of captain.

What is the “secret” of your professional success?

Listening … really listening to my patients and then giving back more than I take in life. I’m a firm believer in giving back to the community in which you live. With that in mind, my wife (Dinah) and I created the Crayton Health Sciences Endowed Scholarship to assist in providing minorities with a feasible way to attain the funding needed to attend college.

What services do you provide?

We have a fully staffed, comfortable on-site infusion center and offer ultrasound, laboratory, bone-density and nerve conduction studies.

What are your hobbies?

I’m an entrepreneur by day… and sax player by night. I have released two CDs, “After Hours” and “First Impressions” under the brand: HULON, both of which made a rapid climb on the smooth jazz charts.

It is expected that my first video for public viewing will be released in July on VH1 (currently on YouTube), and my third CD will be released next spring.

“Never forget where you come from. What you attain in life is not as important as what you give back.”

2917 Hwy. 77, Panama City I 850.873.6748 I DrCrayton.net

PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

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

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

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

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

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

What is your approach to business?

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

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

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

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

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PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

John Paul Somers John Paul Somers & Company Real Estate Broker

Tell us about the services your company provides.

Somers & Company is a boutique real estate brokerage specializing in premier residential and commercial properties along the Emerald Coast of Florida.

What attracted you to the field of real estate?

My father was a patent attorney who always kept me immersed in his sideline passion of real estate. At the age of 16, I was fortunate enough to procure a job as a real estate broker’s assistant at the Country Club of the South in Alpharetta, Ga. I realized then my future livelihood would revolve around the real estate industry.

What is your educational background?

I majored in business at the University of Georgia and minored in real estate at Georgia State University.

What is your business philosophy?

It’s quite simple ... it utilizes three basic elements: common business sense, thoughtful interpersonal skills and focused work ethics.

What is the secret to your success?

Tenacity, diligence, obsession, overproductivity and never losing touch with the relationship-driven aspects of my business have been my focus for 25 years.

What are your interests outside of work?

I am a wildlife and nature enthusiast.

Why did you base your business here?

I chose to establish a business on the Emerald Coast simply because the lifestyle and location make it one of the finest places to live and work in our country.

“ I’m interested in real estate sales and development that promote a quality lifestyle and positively influence our community.”

36164 Emerald Coast Parkway, Suite 8, Destin I 850.654.7777 I john@somerscompany.com I SomersCompany.com

forgotten coast Corridor

Gulf, Franklin + Wakulla Counties

Shrimp Nursery Young shrimp are checked to determine uniformity of growth and decide if the feeding regimen should be adjusted.

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Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

Farming Seafood Florida’s only commercial shrimp farm is 20 miles from the Gulf

By Lazaro Aleman

M

ark Godwin is servicing a harvester at the metal Quonset hut that serves as office/ storage barn for Gulf American Shrimp, an aquaculture farm he part owns and manages 20 miles inland of Port St. Joe in Gulf County. Tall, fit and wearing a coat against the cold of a gray November morning, he talks about the operations between production cycles, a time dedicated to equipment upkeep and readying the ponds for refilling and restocking come spring.

Nearby, the open ponds are visible, their clay bottoms exposed and showing many of the computer-driven paddlewheel aerators used to oxygenate and cool the water. As in agriculture, the ponds’ soil requires tilling and treating between harvests. And, like in agriculture, shrimp farming is seasonal, with the growing months typically running April through October.

“Oct. 31 was the last day of our harvest,” Godwin says, explaining that the month-long process entailed daily 1 a.m. to noon shifts to drain each of the 12 ponds, harvest the shrimp live with a hydraulic pump and harvester, then ice them down and haul them to the processing plant for sorting, grading, de-heading, deveining and packaging.

“The harvest is a choreographed effort,” he explains.

“Once you start, you can’t stop.”

A University of Florida graduate with a degree in business administration and a minor in landscape architecture, Godwin speaks in a measured and precise manner. A tour of the operation reveals a massive configuration that he himself designed, consisting of two parallel rows of six rectangular ponds each, totaling a combined 55 acres or about five acres per pond. A network of levees/roads interconnects the ponds, and a system of canals allows water to enter and leave each pond independently. Surrounding the entire configuration is a grand levee that ensures containment of the operation’s low-salinity water, accounting for the facility’s bio-secure, zero-discharge designation.

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Godwin points out a marshy area just west of the existing ponds, where he plans to add another eight ponds totaling 45 acres. He has already started clearing what formerly were catfish ponds and stockpiling materials for the expansion. Altogether, the property is 300 acres.

“This was a catfish farm in the 1980s,” he says, adding that catfish ponds are typically around 10 acres and flat bottomed, whereas shrimp ponds are smaller, deeper and sloped, to allow for draining.

On average, the 12 ponds hold some nine million shrimp, which translate into annual harvests of about 220,000 pounds once the growth and survival rates are factored. The goal is 500,000 pounds.

The only commercial shrimp farm in Florida, and one of fewer than 10 in the United States, Gulf American Shrimp is a component of the 5th generation family-owned-and-operated Wood’s Fisheries — a Port St. Joe business that dates from the 1860s and that Godwin’s father-in-law, Edward “Buddy” Wood Sr., presides over, with Godwin as vice president.

The farm produces Pacific White Shrimp, which Wood’s Fisheries processes and primarily wholesales frozen to stores, restaurants and chains across the country. The shrimp are marketed as “all natural,” meaning they are chemical free. They are also rated “Green” by the Monterrey Bay Aquarium and FishWise, national organizations that inform consumers of seafood products’ sustainability.

Growing shrimp, Godwin relates, is equal parts guesswork, experience, intuition and flying by the seat of one’s pants — with a lot of hard work thrown in.

“If you have shrimp in the water, they don’t know the difference between 8 a.m. and 2 a.m. or between Wednesday and Sunday,” he says. “It’s pretty much 24/7.”

The shrimp require three feedings a day.

Additionally, each pond must be monitored daily for such parameters as water temperature, salinity, pH, turbidity and oxygen, the latter a most critical measurement. Should the oxygen level drop sufficiently, it could spell disaster.

“You can lose a pond and $50,000 worth of shrimp in one night if the oxygen fails,” Godwin says.

Typically, the computer system automatically adjusts the aerators to compensate for oxygen deficiencies. Additionally, Godwin can log into the system from anywhere and diagnose or

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correct most problems. If the computer sends an alarm, however, it requires him driving immediately to the farm — no matter the time of day or night — and aerating the pond with the use of a diesel powered aerator.

Which explains his diligence in the upkeep of equipment.

“When you’re dealing with a live animal, you can’t afford unnecessary delays,” Godwin says. “You have to keep equipment serviced and in working order. There’s no forgiveness for dead shrimp.”

Generally speaking, the lower the stocking density is, the higher the growth rate. The goal is to maximize pounds per acre by finding the

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sweet spot, in terms of the stocking numbers and net survival and growth rates.

“We’re close,” Godwin says.

His average survival rate currently is 40 to 42 percent, a percentage he would like to increase to 50 or 55 percent. Toward that end, Godwin is constantly tweaking the operation to achieve maximum efficiency. When dealing with live animals, however, it’s impossible to control all the variables, or even know sometimes which controllable ones need adjusting.

Take the challenge of achieving the correct feed rate to assure uniformity of growth for practically invisible stock. When Godwin purchases the post-larval shrimp from the

Liquid Life Mark Godwin stands next to a pump that brings quality saltwater to the shrimp ponds from 1,200 feet below the surface — even though the farm is 20 miles inland.

Islamorada hatchery, they are mosquito or love bug size and virtually disappear once in the ponds’ opaque waters. Underfeed and it risks loss of shrimp and variations in quality and sizes; overfeed and it wastes food, one of the costlier operational expenses, and propagates the growth of algae, which consume oxygen.

Godwin takes weekly samplings to gauge the size and health of each pond’s shrimp population and adjusts the feeding accordingly to achieve the desired growth rate. But at best the samplings are random estimates.

“We’re growing a commodity we can’t see,” he says. “A farmer can walk in the field and touch his products. With shrimp, it’s trial and error. You’re feeding blind because the feed sinks to the bottom and you don’t know what gets consumed.”

Godwin concedes that were the farm not part of Wood’s Fisheries, its survival and viability might be in question. As it is, the farm has a ready-made outlet for its product via the parent company, which markets the shrimp under its Premium Farm Raised brand. Wood’s Fisheries additionally buys boatloads of wild-caught Gulf shrimp, which it processes, cold stores, markets, sells and distributes under its Wood’s Wild Premium brand.

“We’re a facilitator from boat to table,” Godwin says.

The farm, in fact, was an outgrowth of a major upgrade of Wood’s Fisheries that Godwin and the senior Wood undertook about 1996, and that ultimately resulted in the complete modernization and tripling of the operation.

“My father-in-law has a work ethic like you wouldn’t believe,” Godwin says. “We’re both workaholics. When the two of us get together, it’s like pouring fuel on fire. We didn’t have a plan. We just went to work. It was one project after another. And when we ran out of projects, my father-in-law said: ‘What’s next?’ ” Godwin had, in his words, been “poking and stabbing” at the idea of a shrimp farm for a while.

He suggested the two travel to Texas and further study the industry.

“Long story short, I didn’t see anything I thought was rocket science,” Godwin says. “A lot of it was just hard work and attention to details, traits I have anyway.”

A feasibility study on the former catfish farm at Howard Creek showed the property, which was on the market, had ideal soil that wouldn’t percolate and that quality saltwater could be accessed at 1,200 feet deep. It then took some

doing to get the water management district to issue the necessary water consumptive permit, but in 2006 — three years after its purchase — the farm produced its first shrimp crop. Ever since, it’s been a learning curve, with increased production every year.

Godwin reflects on his decision to give up his plan of moving to Atlanta and pursuing landscape architecture and instead returning to his hometown and shrugs philosophically.

He remembers a UF professor telling him at the time that even if he ended up selling clay pots by the roadside, he would feel fulfilled so long as he satisfied his basic passion, which was to be productive and efficient.

“I guess I’ve found my clay pots,” Godwin says.

Generational Effort Chandler Godwin, the third generation working the farm, checks the oxygen level in a pond. Careful notes are kept of pond conditions.

Photos by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

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i-10 Corridor

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

Ride ’Em Cowboy Annual rodeo turns small town into a boom town

By Lazaro Aleman

A

mble about the small community of Bonifay in Northwest Florida and a Western motif readily suggests itself, owing undoubtedly to its agricultural base and several Western-style shops and farm/feed stores in the central part of town. Or possibly it’s an impression born of its reputation as home to the Northwest Florida Championship Rodeo — a premier event that annually draws thousands of visitors and puts the town squarely on the national rodeo map.

Like many rural communities across the Florida Panhandle, Bonifay struggles to maintain economic viability, a situation exacerbated by the Great Recession and 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Once a year, however, this community of nearly 2,800 residents in Holmes County can count on the rodeo to give it an economic boost. A Kiwanis Club-sponsored affair that celebrates its 69th anniversary this Oct. 3–5, the rodeo by all accounts is going strong, if not growing.

Organizers claim the event draws between 20,000 and 30,000 folks during its three-day run, a population uptick that intensifies pedestrian and vehicular traffic, picks up the town’s overall tempo and sets cash registers ringing, or better said, digitally alighting.

Call it the town’s once-a-year economic booster shot.

“It’s a biggy for this little town,” enthuses Julia Bullington, coordinator for both the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce and Tourist Development Council.

Bonifay Mayor Lawrence Cloud concurs.

“It has a significant impact,” Cloud says. “It brings in people who never come to Bonifay otherwise and who spend their money here.”

Ditto the sentiment, per longtime Bonifay Councilman Roger Brooks, himself a Kiwanian.

“It makes a major impact financially,” Brooks says. “People bring their money and spend it on food, fuel and lodgings. Economically, you can’t put a dollar value on it, but it’s a tremendous impact.”

It’s not only Bonifay’s coffers and its motels, restaurants and retail shops that benefit from the three-day economic bonanza. Organizers say that hospitality and other service-oriented businesses in outlying areas of Holmes

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County and in adjacent counties also realize a ripple effect from the overflow of visitors. Not to mention the hundreds of horses and other animals that accompany the rodeo and that require feed and upkeep. Or the 300 or so registered vendors who set up temporary stations in the town, plus the countless others who simply take advantage of the occasion for entrepreneurial or fundraising purposes.

“For the churches and like organizations, it’s their biggest fundraiser of the year,” avers Bill Bullington, immediate past president of the Kiwanis Club.

As it is for the Kiwanis Club, which, according to Bullington, fundraises in the three days what other Kiwanis Clubs take a year to do. Noteworthy also, the club donates much of its rodeo proceeds to the community in the form of college scholarships and contributions to such worthy causes as literacy education, library services and breast cancer awareness and research.

“We give thousands away every year,” Bullington says.

What about the rodeo makes it such a big deal? For starters, it’s a Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association-sanctioned competition, which gives it national prestige and assures that it attracts topnotch rodeo competitors from the nine states comprising the southeast circuit, as well as points beyond.

“We draw participants from everywhere,” says Herb Peel Jr., rodeo chairman since 1975. “We’ve even had them come from as far as Canada.”

He points out that for many contestants, the Bonifay Rodeo is their last chance to qualify for the Southeastern Circuit Finals, itself a pathway to the

“It has a significant impact.

It brings in people who never come to Bonifay otherwise and who spend their money here.”

Bonifay Mayor Lawrence Cloud National Circuit Finals and ultimately the National Rodeo Finals. It doesn’t hurt that the rodeo pays out $24,000 in total winning purses to the top performers in such categories as team roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling and barrel racing.

As for the audiences, Peel says, they get their money’s worth of clean, family entertainment, complete with pageantry, parades, specialty acts and an array of memorable rodeo performances.

By all accounts, the rodeo draws diehard fans as well as first timers, with the

cowboy as an archetypical American hero, i.e., the quintessential righter of wrongs and rescuer of damsels in distress, not unlike the knights of old.

Fast forward to today’s allegedly more sophisticated Age of Irony, as the modern era is often called, and the notion of the iconic cowboy hero seems quaint, if not downright laughable. Yet for all the cynicism, the cowboy endures as a romantic figure in the popular culture, if only as an aspiration and symbol of rugged individualism, self-sufficiency and uncompromising independence. Which again goes to explain the popularity of the Bonifay rodeo. Call rodeo performers one of today’s more authentic embodiments of the breed. At the least, these individuals put life and limb on the line, performing feats of horsemanship and physical agility — and yes, with a degree of courage and showmanship — that may astonish. If you doubt it, the Bonifay rodeo will convince you differently.

Don’t expect to sit on hay bales and cinder blocks, however. Although still held on the original Memorial Field site, the rodeo today is staged in an enclosed arena that boasts all the modern amenities.

“The club has easily spent half a million or more over the years improving the field,” avers Bullington.

What hasn’t changed, however, is the spirit of community and volunteerism that imbues the event.

“It’s a big deal for a town our size,” Bullington says. “And if it wasn’t for volunteers, we couldn’t do it.”

For tickets, directions and other information, call (850) 547-5363 or visit bonifaykiwanisrodeo.com.

photos Provided by Bonifay Kiwanis Club

overwhelming majority coming from an area loosely defined by Pensacola on the west, Tallahassee on the east, Panama City on the south and Dothan, Ala., on the north. Most come for the day, but a significant number bring tents, trailers and RVs and stay the three days or longer.

“A lot of people can’t afford to take a boat trip, but they can afford to come here camping,” says Peel, referring to the 100 campsites that the Kiwanis Club makes available near the rodeo grounds. “For some, this is their vacation week.”

It all started humbly enough in 1944, when the late Paul Bowyer, then club secretary/treasurer, suggested the idea of a rodeo as a simple fundraiser.

Bowyer’s reasoning, according to club lore, was that given the plentitude of cowboys and livestock in the area, a rodeo was bound to be a hit.

And so it was, although that first affair was plain enough, with hay bales and cinder blocks serving for seating, makeshift structures making do for ticket booths and concession stands, and Kiwanis members and their spouses running the show. Even so, the organizers sensed they were on to a good thing and decided to make the rodeo an annual happening.

Bullington, whose father served on the original Kiwanis board that initiated the event, remembers the excitement of the rodeo in those early days.

“The rodeo coming to town was second only to Santa Claus, the anticipation was so great,” recalls Bullington, noting that like most boys then he was enamored of playing “cowboys and Indians” and dreamed of being a cowboy.

The 1950s, of course, were the heyday of television Westerns, which did much to popularize the myths of the American West and establish the

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Capital Corridor

Gadsden, Jefferson + Leon Counties

Eating Local The New Leaf Market’s produce department offers local farm offerings for its customers. The food co-op has been in business since 1974.

Natural Abundance Tallahassee’s expanding natural food selection

By Laura Bradley

W

ith Whole Foods Market moving in, Tallahassee now has four distinct options for fresh, natural groceries — a surprising selection for a city its size. On the surface, it might appear that the competition would be too stiff to allow all four to coexist.

But on closer inspection it becomes clear that these businesses each bring something unique to the table, establishing their own niche markets with different approaches and selections that will combine to serve Tallahassee a hefty, healthful grocery selection.

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The New Kid on the Block With a much-anticipated debut on Oct. 15, the 40,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market promises to be Tallahassee’s largest source for natural grocery options. While the chain’s size might seem intimidating to some, executive marketing coordinator Russ Benblatt stressed that Whole Foods has very clear priorities — and foremost among them are the customers.

“We never want to get so big that we lose connection with our customers,” he said, explaining that their business model is somewhat decentralized. Stores are grouped into regions and

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authority is decentralized across them. Florida is actually the only state with its own region, with 18 open stores and five more in development.

Benblatt added that Whole Foods makes serious efforts to listen to customers — all feedback they receive gets read and answered.

Whole Foods operates with seven core values, the first of which is to provide the highest quality natural and organic products available. On a local level, this means doing some homework and linking up with local sources. “We try to source our products as locally as possible … we actually know the farmers that grow the

Photos by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

products that we sell,” said Benblatt. If a product cannot be found locally, the store turns to regional sources and finally national sources as a last resort if the product cannot be found nearby.

When the Miracle 5 space on Thomasville Road opened up, Whole Foods saw an opportunity in the location, close to both the Capitol and campus.

“We’ve been wanting to open a store in Tallahassee for such a long time,” Benblatt added, although he would not discuss the research that led the chain to set up a Tallahassee location.

The details of the store are still in the works, but Benblatt said that there would be a hot bar with more than 100 options and a salad bar with over 50. Like all Whole Foods stores, the Tallahassee location will stock only unprocessed, organic and natural foods in their most natural state possible.

Foods with artificial preservatives, colors and flavors do not make it onto the shelves. Additionally, the store will partner with local farmers and CSAs, functioning as a drop point free of charge. (A CSA is a Community Supported Agriculture program.

People buy “shares” up front, sign up to take a certain amount of produce and can pick it up at the established intervals, such as weekly or monthly.)

Ultimately, Benblatt said, their efforts up until opening will be focused on getting to know Tallahassee’s community. Selections are tailored store-to-store to suit community need. “What the community in Tallahassee is asking for is, I imagine, light years away from what South Beach is asking for,” he explained with a laugh. In addition to retail selection, the store promises to bring its other usual programs, including cooking classes and demonstrations, community events and donations to local food banks and charities.

Four years ago, the store added a certified kitchen to prepare vegetables, and now the little lunch spot comprises about 40 percent of Tomatoland’s business, particularly in the winter months when people are less inclined to shop outside.

With Whole Foods moving in next door, Reagan knows things are going to change but also feels confident that everything will resettle after a while. According to Reagan, every local grocery source — even Publix — will probably feel the new competitor’s impact for a time.

“In Tallahassee, you’ve got three colleges.

You’ve got state government. You’ve got a lot of people coming and going; it’s growing, and has been growing for as long as I can remember.

There’s a lot of people here; it’s a big market.”

This big market, Reagan believes, is going to be able to support all grocery sources, once the dust settles and everyone gets used to having a Whole Foods. And while Whole Foods is

certainly a bigger enterprise than Tomato Land, he believes that each store has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages.

“Whole Foods has got a lot more bells and whistles, but my thought is that people can’t get it any fresher,” he said, adding, “A lot of people are concerned about the economy, and I can be a lot cheaper.”

A National Chain With an Emphasis on Local Founded in 1974 as Dinner for the Earth, Earth Fare is one of the largest natural and organic food retailers in the country, with more than 28 stores across the Southeast and Midwest.

The chain is driven by a food philosophy that guides what hits the shelves and what stays off of them. Their “Boot List” outlines ingredients that will not be stocked.

“We do not allow anything in the store to contain high-fructose corn syrup, artificial fats

A Homegrown Open Air Market Opened in the ’60s, Tomato Land is Tallahassee’s oldest source of fresh produce. Butch Reagan, its current owner, bought the store from his fatherin-law in 1987. All possible produce is locally sourced, with a few stand-ins from California for products that cannot be grown nearby.

“We try to sell everything that is pretty much local to this area,” said Reagan. “Fruits and vegetables, and things like mayhaw jellies — obviously Southern things.”

Homegrown Market Tomato Land is the smallest of the local natural food enterprises, which owner Butch Reagan says allows him to be fresher and cheaper.

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Urban Renewal The arrival of a Whole Foods Market this fall is breathing new life into the Miracle Plaza on Thomasville Road.

This is the 20th Florida store for the Texas-based company.

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or trans-fats, flavors and preservatives, as well as antibiotics and synthetic growth hormones in any of the fresh meats or dairy,” said Kristi Kanzig, Earth Fare’s assistant director of marketing. The store’s goal is to provide a selection of great food as “close to the ground as it gets.”

Kanzig stressed the importance of community commitment in Earth Fare’s approach. Their website, she explained, is a perfect example.

“Our new EarthFare.com features three community goals that help us on our mission to connect communities and improve lives through food. These goals feature actions that bring people together around great food, and when we reach these goals we will reward the community as a whole by awarding $1,000 worth of physical education equipment to neighborhood schools,” she said.

Customers keep coming back to Earth Fare for the great food, customer service and coupons, according to Kanzig. The store has both weekly deals and freebies available online, in-store coupons and paperless text coupons.

Their commitment to ending childhood obesity has also led them to hold Family Dinner

Night every Thursday from 4–8 p.m., offering a free dinner for a child with the purchase of an adult meal.

“It’s a great family-friendly night for an easy, healthy meal for the kids,” said Kanzig.

A Local Cooperative Effort Tallahassee’s natural and organic food co-op, New Leaf, began in 1974 as the Leon County Food Co-op and changed its name to New Leaf in 1989.

As a co-op, New Leaf’s structure is different from corporate chains.

“It means that any person can become part owner of this store,” explained Cristin Burns, New Leaf’s marketing and project manager. “We are owned by the people who shop here, and that means a lot of different things. It means that as an owner, you actually have voting rights for our board of director’s elections. If we were to change something drastic about the way we function, that has to go to a vote to our owners. It also means that you get special sale prices that only our owners get.”

Additionally, New Leaf’s owners enjoy seminar discounts and a portion of profits in rebate checks. Becoming an owner costs a refundable $100, with an additional $5 administrative fee. Ownership can be fully refunded at any time, although many choose to leave their ownership fee with New Leaf even after moving away; of the 10,000 owners, only 5,500 are active, meaning the rest chose to leave their money to support the co-op.

Another part of being a co-op, says Burns, is that it gives the store a triple bottom line. Like any other commercial enterprise, making money to stay afloat is one goal, but additionally Burns emphasized New Leaf’s commitment to educating the community and also giving back — to the tune of thousands of dollars each year, volunteer hours and product donations. In fact, the store has an entire department dedicated to community outreach and giving back.

“We’re not only locally owned, but we’re also supporting local businesses,” she said. “I know a lot of places — a lot of corporate chains — talk the talk really, really well when it comes to local, but when you actually go in the store to look for local products, you have a hard time finding them.”

Supporting local businesses is important, says Burns, because for every dollar spent at a local business, 68 cents stays in that local community.

When local businesses support one another, this compounds to form huge benefits for the local economy.

New Leaf’s selection is composed of clean products only — all natural and organic. Very rarely, a conventional item from a local vendor might be allowed in, but is always clearly marked so shoppers know that it is not certified organic. As many local items (from within 200 miles of Tallahassee) as possible are stocked and displayed prominently on shelves to support these local sources. No foods at New Leaf contain artificial additives and colorings. There is also a special order program, so shoppers can access other items not readily available in the store.

Burns emphasized that New Leaf also offers plenty of opportunities for families to save money with weekly coupons (and additional owner coupons). “Our prices are very competitive,” she added. “If you’re comparing our natural and organic to natural and organic at other locations, we are right there with them; we’re as good and sometimes even better.”

This, paired with a family atmosphere and co-op business model, makes the store a welcoming and fun place to shop — for dedicated owners and newcomers alike.

Photo by SCOTT HOLSTEIN

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Capital New Beginnings >> Richard Reeves has joined the Capitol Insight government affairs firm. He was previously managing partner at SCG Governmental Affairs and had worked with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. >> Dale Brill, Michelle Dennard, Stephanie Gibbons and Nancy Leikauf have launched Thinkspot Inc., an economic-development consulting firm. Brill formerly served as president of the Florida Chamber Foundation and as director of the Governor’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development. Dennard and Gibbons most recently held positions in the state Department of Economic Opportunity, while Leikauf is a former executive vice president of the Florida Ports Council. >> Wes Strickland has opened a solo law and regulatory consulting practice in Tallahassee. He worked with Foley & Lardner LLP for more than 14 years, most recently as a partner in the Insurance Industry Group, where he focused on insurance transactional and regulatory law. >> Jim Rossica has been hired as the Tallahassee correspondent for the Tampa Tribune/TBO. com. He covered the 2013 legislative session, and two previous ones, for The Associated Press. He also is a former reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, which he left to get a law degree at Drexel University. >> Environmental and land use attorney Todd Sumner has been elected as president of the Northwest Florida Marine Industries Association for the 2013 term.

Aubuchon

>> Holland & Knight has expanded its Florida Government Advocacy Team in Tallahassee with the addition of Mark Delegal and Josh Aubuchon. Delegal, who has joined as a partner, practices in the area of government affairs and represents some of the largest insurance companies in the nation.

Aubuchon, who has specific experience in the areas of alcohol beverage law and real property and housing law, has joined as an associate. Both were previously with Pennington P.A.

Delegal

>> Frank P. Rainer has joined the Floridabased law firm Broad and Cassel’s Tallahassee office in the Commercial Litigation and Real Estate Practice Groups.

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>> Moore Communications Group has acquired White Dog Design Group. White Dog Design Group President Darren Allen will become director of Digital Design. >> Hubert “Bo” Bohannon has been selected chairman of the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists. Bohannon is principal and managing director of the Tallahassee office of The Fiorentino Group. >> Sachs Media Group has promoted veteran communications professional Jon Peck to the new position of vice president of public relations. >> Sandi Copes Poreda has joined marketing firm Taproot Creative. Copes Poreda has worked in government communications jobs for nearly a decade, including most recently as communications director at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. >> Shawn C. Kalbli has been promoted to principal at Wood+Partners Inc., a land planning and landscape architecture firm with offices in Tallahassee and Hilton Head Island, S.C. >> Former Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon has joined the ReputationChanger.com Board of Advisors. Cannon is founder of the Tallahasseebased lobbying firm Capitol Insight. >> Chris Barry has been named director of publications for Florida TaxWatch. This new position will maintain a focus on the presentation of TaxWatch research. To take over the media and taxpayer outreach responsibilities, Morgan L. McCord has joined the TaxWatch team in the role of communications coordinator. >> West Marine has opened a new store in Tallahassee that is nearly double the size of the previous location. Located at 2110 Apalachee Parkway #2 (in Governor’s Point Center), it is the largest West Marine store in the Big Bend.

Local Honors >> Joseph F. Kikta, Tallahassee auctioneer and founder of Aaron Joseph & Company, was recently appointed to the board of directors for the Florida Auctioneers Association. >> The Small Business Administration has recognized Florida First Capital Finance Corporation as the top SBA lender by dollar volume for FY 2012 in its North Florida District, which covers 43 counties and stretches from Orlando to Jacksonville and west through the Florida Panhandle.

The statewide non-profit certified development company produced 113 loans totaling $77,397,000. >> The Goodwill Industries International board of directors has elected Fred G. Shelfer Jr. from Tallahassee to serve a three-year term as a member of the Goodwill Industries International Board of Directors and Executive Board. Shelfer is the CEO/president of Goodwill Industries — Big Bend Inc. >> Elizabeth Ricci, managing partner of immigration law firm Rambana & Ricci in Tallahassee, was named 2012–2013 Zontian of the year by the Zonta Club of Tallahassee. Zonta International is a

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worldwide advocacy group for the promotion of the status of women and children. >> Communications agency Salter Mitchell won a Gold Award of Excellence from the International Academy of the Visual Arts during the 19th Annual Communicator Awards, taking home top honors in the Integrated Campaign category for its Find the Fun initiative to help the Pinellas County Health Department’s efforts to reduce obesity rates. >> Marybeth W. Colón has earned an AV Preeminent® rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating for legal ability and professional ethics.

Colón practices bankruptcy and real estate law with Smith, Thompson, Shaw, Minacci and Colón in Tallahassee. >> Ajax Building Corporation has received a SHARP award from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and USF SafetyFlorida for the fourth time. The recognition is given to small to medium-sized employers with exemplary safety and health management practices. >> Cindy Lavoie, owner/administrator of Interim Healthcare of Northwest Florida, has been elected to the Home Care Association of Florida’s Board of Directors. She Lavoie represents home care agencies located in Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Gadsden, Liberty, Franklin, Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison and Taylor counties. >> Select Specialty Hospital – Tallahassee won five awards at the 2013 Select Medical Long-Term Acute Care Hospital Division’s annual conference.

Select – Tallahassee won the Employee Engagement Award, the Quality Achievement Award, the ICare Award and the Hospital of Excellence Award.

CEO Lora Davis took home the Leadership Award. >> Tallahassee developer Hunter+Harp has been recognized for its use of digital marketing and social media, winning the 2013 S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Award at the Tallahassee Technology (TalTech) Alliance’s TechExpo. >> Taproot Creative was a Bronze winner in the 34th Annual Telly Awards for a video that delivered an internal message to employees of The Mosaic Company. >> The 2013 edition of prominent legal guide Chambers USA: A Guide to America’s Leading Business Lawyers highlights 23 Broad and Cassel attorneys as leaders in their respective fields. Tallahassee based attorneys winning recognition were Douglas L. Mannheimer and Douglas Rillstone.

Local Happenings >> Florida State University College of Medicine’s Tallahassee Regional Campus will celebrate its 10th anniversary on Aug. 29 at the Golden Eagle Country Club.

BUSINESS NEWS

Appointed by Gov. Scott >> Kathryn Ballard, 48, of Tallahassee, to the Florida State University Board of Trustees. >> Owen McCaul, 48, of Tallahassee, assistant state attorney for the second judicial circuit of Florida, to the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind Board of Trustees. >> Tammy R. McKenzie and Heidi Roeck Simmons to the Board of Occupational Therapy Practice. McKenzie, of Crawfordville, is the owner of Progressive Pediatric Therapy and Developmental Center. Roeck-Simmons, of Tallahassee, is the vice president of operations at Health Connections Rehab Services.

University of West Florida in Pensacola, has joined the Alabama-based United Bank as vice president and business banker. In Florida, United Bank serves Santa Rosa County in Jay, Milton and Pace. >> Legendary Marine, Boating Industry magazine’s No. 1 “Dealer of the Year” for North America, has made changes in its sales management team. Traci Polk, most recently sales manager of the Fort Walton Beach dealership location, is the new Consignment and Inventory manager at the Destin headquarters.

Jeff Henley has assumed sales management duties at the Fort Walton Beach dealership. >> Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa has appointed Megan Harrison as the resort’s new marketing manager.

>> Joseph D. Finnegan, of Tallahassee, a pastor of All Saints Catholic Community, to the Reemployment Assistance Appeals Commission. >> Timothy M. Cerio, 43, of Tallahassee, an attorney and shareholder with Gray Robinson P.A., to the First District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission. >> Chasity Hope O’Steen, 37, of Tallahassee, an attorney with Sniffen & Spellman P.A. to the Second Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission.

Emerald Coast New Beginnings >> Nathan Sparks is the new executive director of the Okaloosa County Economic Development Council.

A Certified Economic Developer and 15-year veteran of the economic development industry, his previous positions include exsparks ecutive director of the Brunswick and Glynn County Development Authority in Georgia and manager of economic development for The St. Joe Company. >> Tia Triplett was recently named as the new general manager of Seagar’s Prime Steaks and Seafood, the AAA Four Diamond-rated restaurant located in the Hilton resort. >> Ashley Vannoy has joined SunTrust Bank, North Florida, as vice president and commercial relationship manager, serving clients in Pensacola and surrounding markets. She is an alumni of the Leadership Walton Class of 2009, Leadership Okaloosa Class of 2006 and Leadership Santa Rosa Class of 2004.

strain

>> Larry Strain, former executive director of the Small Business Development Center at the

SoundByteS

Local Happenings >> The U.S. Army Space and Missile harrison Defense Command has awarded BAE Systems of Fort Walton Beach an $85 million, twoyear contract extension to continue its support of the agency’s Future Warfare Center. The company will provide research, engineering and technical services for developing and understanding missile defense methods and technologies. >> Global Business Solutions Inc., an innovator in information technology services and technical training, has unveiled a five-year plan that includes expanding its corporate headquarters in the Pensacola area and hiring up to 120 full-time employees with a projected annual average salary of $54,000.

Local honors >> Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast received an “A” rating in Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2013 Hospital Safety Score. Leapfrog is an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. >> WaterColor Inn & Resort in Santa Rosa Beach received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award honoring hospitality excellence. The award is earned by about 10 percent of the establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor. >> Jon Fohrer, area administrative officer with Maxim Healthcare Services, has been elected to the Home Care Association of Florida’s Board of Directors. He represents home care agencies located in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties. >> Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa has received three prestigious recognitions for its meetings and convention business. The 2013 Meetings & Conventions Gold Tee, the ninth for the resort, goes to properties with outstanding golf facilities for meetings and conventions as selected by readers of the meeting trade magazine. The “Award

of Excellence” from Corporate & Incentive Travel magazine was based on subscribers who voted for those that best served their corporate meetings and/or incentive travel programs during the past year. The Hilton was also chosen as one of Cvent’s 100 most popular resorts in North America and the Caribbean, according to meeting and event booking activity in the Cvent Supplier Network. >> Fort Walton Beach-based Edwin Watts Golf Shops, one of the world’s largest specialty golf retailers, has earned a Google Trusted Stores badge for its e-commerce website, edwinwattsgolf.com.

The program helps shoppers identify online merchants that consistently offer a positive shopping experience, while maintaining a strong track record for on-time shipping and customer service excellence. >> The Greater Pensacola Chamber recognized SpectrumIT Inc. as its June Small Business of the Month. Formerly LANformation, the company has been providing IT services along the Gulf Coast for more than 16 years.

Appointed by Gov. Scott >> Destin Mayor Sarah E. Seevers, owner of Life’s A Beach Publications, to the Florida Commission on Community Service.

Forgotten Coast Local honors >> In a boost for local tourism marketing, St. George Island State Park moved up to the No. 3 spot in the 2013 listing of the Top 10 Beaches in the U.S. The list has been prepared for 23 years by Stephen P. Leatherman, director of Florida International University’s Laboratory for Coastal Research, who is also known as Dr. Beach. St. George was listed at No. 4 in 2012.

I-10 Appointed by Gov. Scott To the Chipola College District Board of Trustees: >> Nolan Baker, 48, of Ponce de Leon, an engineer with CDG Engineers & Associates. He is a board member of the Walton County Economic Development Alliance and the Holmes County Development Commission. >> Hannah Causseaux, 28, of Bristol, former director of appointments in the Executive Office of the Governor. >> Thomas “Tommy” Lassmann, 41, of Marianna, a commercial banker with Superior Bank who has served on the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. >> Gary Clark, 45, of Chipley, vice president of West Florida Electric Cooperative. He served on the Washington County school board for 12 years. >> John Padgett, 82, of Marianna, retired. He is a former Jackson County commissioner.

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The Last Word

For those of you who like statistics, and I know a lot of business leaders do, I thought I’d throw some out at you.

LINDA KLEINDIENST, EDITOR lkleindienst@rowlandpublishing.com Photo by kay Meyer

Here’s one to consider: 58 percent.

That’s the percentage of CEOs worldwide who say a major concern they face is the lack of skill sets their employees have, according to a 2013 study by Price Water House Coopers.

The numbers are similar to a study released a year earlier where the PwC researchers noted: One in four CEOs said they were unable to pursue a market opportunity or have had to cancel or delay a strategic initiative because of talent challenges. One in three is concerned that skills shortages will impact their company’s ability to innovate effectively.

True, this is a worldwide survey. And the numbers are more dramatic in the less developed areas of the globe. But it offers some food for thought.

Take a look around your workplace and make a quick assessment of your own situation. If you’re feeling smug about the talent you have on board, here’s another interesting statistic from yet another PwC survey: 81 percent of workers aged 21 to 30 years old said they were actively looking for new jobs or open to offers; only 18 percent expect to stay with their current employer for the long term.

The upshot: As the economy continues to improve — and as Baby Boomers continue to retire, thereby shrinking the available experienced workforce — many businesses could find themselves in a lot of trouble.

So, what do you do? Today’s workforce, while of course interested in a paycheck, is also interested in professional development. Studies show this is particularly important to the millennials. If you are an employer who doesn’t want to give training to an employee for fear that worker might take the training and then leave for greener pastures, you are being shortsighted — you’re not looking out for the long-term health of your business or the best interests of your staff.

You want to be successful, that’s why you’re an entrepreneur or a business leader. You want to attract the best talent to work for you.

And you want to keep that talent. Just think of the aggravation and

time involved with having to replace a talented worker who has decided to go work for a competitor across town.

A Harvard Business Review study conducted by Monika Hamori, Jie Cao, and Burak Koyuncu and released last summer showed that younger workers, unlike their older counterparts, are constantly networking and updating their resumes. And the lack of development training has a lot to do with their readiness to change jobs: “Dissatisfaction with some employee-development efforts appears to fuel many early exits. We asked young managers what their employers do to help them grow in their jobs and what they’d like their employers to do, and found some large gaps. Workers reported that companies generally satisfy their needs for on-the-job development and that they value these opportunities, which include high-visibility positions and significant increases in responsibility. But they’re not getting much in the way of formal development, such as training, mentoring and coaching — things they also value highly.”

The same development advice can hold if you survey your workforce and realize that some of your workers need extra training to help your business succeed. Again, studies show that workers are interested in improving themselves. And that training will not only help to improve your bottom line — because they’ll end up being better at what they do — but it will also help to build their loyalty to you. When that other offer does come their way, they might hesitate a little longer before making a decision whether to accept another job.

The bottom line is that your investment in the betterment of your workers is a demonstration that you value them. And that’s going to help you have a more productive and loyal workforce.

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AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2013