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the region.

An aside: I had (a few) worrisome thoughts of a possible sophomore jinx or sophomore slump percolating around my head as we kicked off planning for the second Big Book issue in February. It doesn’t help that the Greek translation of sophomore, or second year, is, basically, a “wise fool.” Sophos means clever or wise in Greek, while moros means foolish. Yikes. But like many other things in the pandemic era, it pays off, many businesses and organizations have learned, to find the good in what is a generally awful situation. It’s with that in mind Team Business Observer will gladly, and humbly, accept the wise part, while declining the fool part, for this year’s Big Book of Business. We hope you’ll agree. We also sincerely hope the second edition of the Big Book of Business makes you and your team, part of our growing readership base, wiser, too. Thanks, as always, for reading. And please let us know what you liked, disliked and where you think we can improve for 2023 — when we will strive to produce a bigger and better Big Book of Business for year three.

companies and

4 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST Executive Editor and COO Kat KHughes@BusinessObserverFL.comHughes Managing Editor Mark MGordon@BusinessObserverFL.comGordon Tampa Editor Brian Bhartz@BusinessObserverFL.comHartz Commercial Real Estate Editor Louis LLlovio@BusinessObserverFL.comLlovio Sarasota-Manatee Writer Amanda APostma@BusinessObserverFL.comPostma Contributors / Beth Luberecki Editorial Design / Jess Eng, Nicole Thompson Associate Publishers / Kathleen DSchaefer@BusinessObserverFL.comDianeKOHara@BusinessObserverFL.com;O’HaraSchaefer, Director of Legal Advertising / Kristen KBoothroyd@BusinessObserverFL.comBoothroyd Director of Creative Services / Caleb CStanton@YourObserver.comStanton, Chief Financial Officer / Laura LStrickland@YourObserver.comStrickland, Director of Distribution and Subscriptions Sales / Diana DEwing@BusinessObserverFL.comEwing POSTAL INFORMATION The Business 3169,BusinesschangesPOSTMASTER:atage362-4848.St.,Coastweekly(ISSN#1539-9184)ObserverispublishedonFridaysbytheGulfReviewInc.,1970MainSarasota,FL34236;941-PeriodicalspostpaidatSarasota,FL,andadditionalmailingoffices.PleasesendofaddresstoTheObserver,P.O.BoxSarasota,FL34230. To subscribe: Call 877-231-8834, or BusinessObserverFL.com.visit Special Section Published Aug. 26, 2022 Publisher and President Emily EWalsh@YourObserver.comWalsh, MARK GORDON MANAGING EDITOR The Business Observer’s team of editors, reporters and graphic designers have been especially excited to work on, and now finally deliver, the 2022 edition of the Big Book of Business. Not just because it’s filled with 72 pages of must-have, easily organized and essential information to help you be better at business.Butbecause this is our second go-around with the Big Book of Business. In early 2021, when, you likely recall, some other things were happening in the world, we decided to slide away from our traditional Top 500 issue. That issue ranked the 500 largest companies by revenue in the region. Published for more than a decade, and a Top 250 before that, the Top 500 was a robust look at companies across the region. The Big Book of Business was our answer to a glaring need we saw in the business community: a craving for more information, more data and more analysis of who is leading the region to new levels of success. Our goal? Help executives and business owners make better decisions, faster, at a time when making decisions, from whom to hire to when to fire, has taken on a heightened sense of purpose. With the 2021 Big Book, we feel confident we did that. But, as good as we think last year’s issue was, the Business Observer believes in the business principle of constant improvement. So we aimed to enhance the Big Book and improve what we did last year. We kept some key components, such as the top 50 private companies; revenue of public companies; and the top 10 real estate brokerages. We took out other charts and lists. Then we added new pieces of information, including 14 graphs comparing the nine counties of our region in myriad ways. (Hat tip to Florida TaxWatch for those.) We also added a section on what stubbornly seems to be the most painful — and far reaching — issue to solve in the region, and state: affordable housing.Likethe inaugural Big Book, this edition, after two sections of data and lists, delves into the people who are facilitating big changes in the region and with their respective organizations. This compilation of change makers is an all-star list of doers. It includes Wall Street investing superstar Cathie Wood, who is making a big investment in St. Petersburg; Johnny Crowder, a Tampa heavy metal band frontman whose company, Cope Notes, has become a nationally known mental health service; and Ben Siegel and Rick Piccolo, airport executives racing to keep up with postpandemic travel demand.

is the (Wise) Way LETTER FROM THE EDITOR TABLE OF CONTENTS THE DATA Jobs 6 Housing 8 Migration, banking 10 Hospitals 11 Business formation 11 Commercial real estate 12 Economic indicators 13 Airports, AffordableCountiesBankruptciesseaports......................141516housing24 THE LISTS Largest public companies 28 Top 50 private companies 32 Short-term rentals 34 Top residential brokerages 39 Doc stamps 39 Banks 40 Top employers by county 42 Top 50 contractors 44 THE CHANGE MAKERS Cathie Wood 48 Ben Siegel & Rick Piccolo 50 Johnny Crowder 53 Phyllis LeFlore-Calloway 54 Yvonne Fry 57 Melanie Griffin 58 Blair Bloomston 62 Mark Vengroff 64 Lakshmi Shenoy 67 Samira Beckwith 68

The Big Book of Business is back — with an even bigger, and deeper, look the data, leaders driving

This

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JOBST economic buzzword of the day is “inflation,” and surely that is putting a hurt on businesses and consumers alike. However from an employment perspective, the Gulf Coast looks to be close to a fullUnemploymentrecovery. is back down below 3% in each of the region’s major areas, after hitting double digits in spring 2020. And total jobs in the key industries of construction and hospitality are at all-time highs everywhere except Tampa Bay, which is only off by about 1,000 construction jobs. If there’s bad news, it’s that job counts are only really back to where they were in spring 2020 — put an other way, zero growth for two years. But as an example, 296,000 hospital ity jobs is better than 157,000, which is what the region had in April 2020. —Alex Walsh

DATATHE

6 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE CONSTRUCTION JOBS LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY JOBS CONTINUED CLAIMS* May20171, May20181, May20191, May20201, May20211, May20221,Nov.20171, Nov.20181, Nov.20191, Nov.20201, Nov.20211, 15%12%9%6%3% Naples-Immokalee-MarcoCapePuntaNorthTampa-St.Petersburg-ClearwaterPort-Sarasota-BradentonGordaCoral-FortMyersIsland KEY 5/1/17 1/1/181/1/191/1/20 1/1/211/1/22 10080604020 **Punta Gorda reports construction jobs on an annual basis. 5/1/17 1/1/181/1/19 1/1/201/1/211/1/22 20015010050 6/1/176/1/186/1/19 6/1/206/1/216/1/22 1,000,000800,000600,000400,000200,000 5/1/20: 1,062,593 6/1/22: 35,586 *Continued claims, also referred to as insured unemployment, is the number of people who have already filed an initial claim and who have experienced a week of unemployment and then filed a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment. Continued claims data are based on the week of unemployment, not the week when the initial claim was filed.

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8 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 PERMITS ISSUED 5/1/17 11/1/17 5/1/18 11/1/18 5/1/19 11/1/195/1/2011/1/205/1/21 5/1/2211/1/21 2,5002,0001,5001,0005003,000 MarcoNaples-Immokalee-CapePuntaNorthTampa-St.Petersburg-ClearwaterPort-Sarasota-BradentonGordaCoral-FortMyersIslandMEDIANKEY HOME PRICE INDEX 1,000,000800,000600,000400,000200,0006/1/1712/1/176/1/1812/1/186/1/1912/1/19 6/1/2012/1/206/1/21 6/1/2212/1/21 INVENTORY 5/1/17 11/1/17 5/1/18 11/1/18 5/1/19 11/1/195/1/2011/1/205/1/21 5/1/2211/1/21 20,00015,00010,0005,000 HOUSINGB reaking news: Home prices are up. It began at the start of 2021, after years of zero growth in the median list price for housing in each of the Gulf Coast’s major metro areas. And since then, the growth has been tremendous: metros.forshowingmitsatply2,500.innearly2019decreased.increasedupinmark,threeIsland,Naples-Immokalee-Marcoinafterspendingyearsatthe$500,000themedianlistpriceJunewas$825,000.Morenews:priceswentbecausedemandandsupplyAtthestartofinNaples,therewere9,000activelistings;JunetherewerejustoverAnddon’tcountonsuptorelievethepressure,leastaccordingtoper-data,whichisn’treallyasurgeinactivityanyoftheregion’sfive —Alex Walsh DATATHE

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TOTAL ASSETS NET INTEREST MARGIN (MEDIAN %) NET LOANS TO

$250,000$200,000$150,000$100,000$50,000$300,000 20202021Q12022 $274,336 3.02.52.01.51.00.5 20202021Q12022

his data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows a clear trend, albeit one that is now slightly dated: Americans who kept moving to Florida’s Gulf Coast even before COVID-19 changed our nation’s demographics.

8070605040302010 20202021Q12022 63.35 BANKINGO n

MIGRATIONT

—

Sarasota

DATATHE

Lee

Charlotte Collier Hillsborough Manatee Pinellas Polk 2009 ’19 KEY These are five-year estimates, so the 2018 data point is the estimate for 2014-2018.

10 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 NET COUNTY-TO-COUNTY MIGRATION FLOW 18,00016,00014,00012,00010,000-2,000-4,000-6,0002,0004,0006,0008,000

Pasco

Each of the nine sets of bars below depicts the domestic migration trend for a Gulf Coast county between 2009 and 2019. In other words, it shows how many people moved to that county from other places in the U.S., net of anyone that moved out for the same period. The leader here is Lee County, which receives about 14,000 new residents a year on net. Next is Polk, which draws new residents from both Tampa and Orlando, followed by Manatee. This dataset should really start to look interesting in the next few years, once the record begins to account for everyone that moved to the Sunshine State during the pandemic. —Alex Walsh ASSETS (MEDIAN %) 2.58 a statewide level, total assets for community banks continue rising — to nearly $275 billion through first quarter of 2022. But trouble is beginning to percolate in the banking industry, which faces challenges in rising interest rates, inflation, the potential economic downturn and more. One spot of trouble is in the slight decrease in net interest margin. That’s the amount of money a bank earns in interest on loans compared to what it pays in interest on deposits. Net interest margin is one sign of a bank’s profitability, so the decline, event slightly, isn’t a good sign. The median net loans to assets, another indictor of a bank’s strength, rose slight in the first quarter, a more positive development. Mark Gordon

AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 11 DATATHE354.6385.7 225.0255.4274.0276.6281.0306.4HillsboroughCharlottePinellasSarasotaPascoLeeCollierManateePolk residentsperhospital307.6Statewide:beds100,000399.3 Source: Florida Department of Health DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COS. 600,000500,000400,000300,000200,000100,000 532,137 201620172018201920202021 Source: Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations HOSPITAL BEDS PER COUNTY (RATE PER 100,000) FORMATIONBUSINESS The number of hospital beds per county, a metric health depart ments use to assess a region’s overall health, is counterintuitive to an extent in the region. One one side, it makes sense why highlypopulated Pinellas leads the way in the region. But one of the least populous counties, Charlotte is No 2, and Collier, the county with the highest incomes, is No. 7. — Mark Gordon Wondering why it’s getting harder to find employees? One rea son may well be that more and more Floridians are trying their hands at owning their own businesses. The number of people creat ing LLCs skyrocketed in 2021, jumping by more than 130,000 from 2020 and more than doubling the number of LLCs created in 2017. — Louis Llovio Learn more at synovus.com/GetThere Synovus Bank, Member FDIC. The bank that helps there.businessyourget Wherever your potential awaits, move towards it with a bank you trust. 386528-1

12 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE T

OFFICE

ON THE MARKET RETAIL S.F. ON THE MARKET INDUSTRIAL S.F. ON THE MARKET MULTIFAMILY S.F. ON THE MARKET* HillsboroughPinellasPascoPolkManateeSarasotaCharlotteLeeCollier20162021 KEY 3,500,0004,000,0003,000,0002,500,0002,000,0001,500,0001,000,00010,000,0006,000,0004,000,0002,000,0008,000,000HillsboroughPinellasPascoPolkManateeSarasotaCharlotteLeeCollier500,000 10,000,0008,0007,0006,0005,0004,0001,0002,0003,000HillsboroughPinellasPascoPolkManateeSarasotaCharlotteLeeCollierHillsboroughPinellasPascoPolkManateeSarasotaCharlotteLeeCollier2,000,0004,000,0006,000,0008,000,000*Theseunitswerephysicallyvacant.Source:CoStar DATATHE

he prediction last year was that what went up surely must come down. Across the region, despite a year of robust sales post-pandemic, available square feet were down in 2021 from five years ago. That holds true in pretty much every sector and in every county. There are a couple of exceptions, of course. In Hillsbor ough County, for instance, office is up 19% from where it was five years ago and industrial is up 5%. A less surprising find is in multifamily, especially considering the demand for housing and investors paying sky high prices for communities. Only Pasco, Polk, Lee and Collier coun ties showed an uptick in available units. Available units in Lee were up 59%; in Pasco 50%; in Collier 2% and in Polk 1% “There has been quite a bit of multifamily building activity across Florida over the past couple of years, so if you expected a larger spread between 2016 and 2021 just keep in mind that in many cases thousands of units have been deliv ered during that time,” says CoStar. “For that matter, a similar trend ex ists within the industrial sector.”

— Louis Llovio S.F.

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— Mark Gordon

STATE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT CUMULATIVE GROWTH, 2010-2020 48.08% RANK: 10 ABSOLUTE DOMESTIC MIGRATION CUMULATIVE, 1,452,028 RANK:2011-20201 NON-FARM PAYROLL UNEMPLOYMENT CUMULATIVE, 17.825 RANK:2010-201205 DATATHE-4%-2%2%4%6%8% 2011 ’12 ’13 ’14 ’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20FLUS KEY 150,000100,000200,000250,00050,000 2011 ’12 ’13 ’14 ’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20 USFL KEY-12%-10%-8%-6%-4%-2%2%4%6%2011 ’12 ’13 ’14 ’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20 Source: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index

Alot of different industries and businesses experienced growth in the year following the pandemic, and the two ports in the region were no exception.

Source: Individual Airports

—Mark Gordon

14 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 DATATHE CARGOSDEPLANINGS TEUsPASSENGERS FREIGHT CRUISE PASSENGERS Ç72.64% Ç77.65% Ç32.59% Ç46.04% Ç154.81% Southwest 35,000,00030,000,00025,000,00020,000,00015,000,00010,000,000500,0000InternationalPuntaInternationalInternationalFlorida*TampaGordaAirportSt.Pete-ClearwaterInternationalSarasota-BradentonSeaPort Manatee Port Tampa Bay Ç12.06% Ç1.66% Ç72.66% Ç76.94% Ç31.95% Ç46.01% Ç155.75% SouthwestSeaPortInternationalPuntaInternationalInternationalFloridaTampaGordaAirportSt.Pete-ClearwaterInternationalSarasota-BradentonManatee Port Tampa Bay Ç53.35% Ç28.86%200,000150,000100,00050,000 Ç13.07% È8.91% SouthwestInternationalInternationalFloridaTampa SeaPort Manatee Port Tampa Bay 600,000500,000400,000100,000200,000300,000 N/A N/A N/A SEAPORTSAIRPORTST he airport industry across the region has been on a post-pandemic tear. Many airports have been setting, then breaking, new traffic passengers records every month. But the rebound comes with some growing pains. Taken in total, the five major airports on the west coast of Florida are investing nearly $1 billion in infrastructure improvements and adding new amenities, from restaurants to parking spaces. (See page 50 for more on two of the region’s top airport officials, Ben Siegel at Southwest Florida International, and Rick Piccolo at SarasotaBradenton International, and how they are addressing the surge for more airport services — quickly.)

— Amanda Postma 20202021

*Tampa International doesn't record passenger deplaning data, which is data that reflects the number of passengersdisembarkingpassengersfromanaircraft.InsteadthenumbersabovearerecordedasinboundpassengerswhichreflectthenumberofwhoarrivedinTampaeachyear.

NOTE: Cruises were shut down fiscal 2021 due to pandemicTEUS are 20-foot equivalent units

SeaPort Manatee’s numbers jumped significantly, pulling off a 12% increase in cargo and a 53% jump in 20-foot equivalent containers. But when you look a little closer at the data, you’ll notice Port Tampa Bay is handling over 30 million pounds of cargo, while its neighbor is handling a third of that.

The overall growth at both ports is also representative of the rise in demand for supply that shot up after coming to a near standstill in March 2020.

Source: Individual ports

Punta Gorda, St.Pete-Clearwater and SarasotaBradenton don’t handle freight cargo.

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On the business side, other than a blip in 2019, total bankruptcies have been falling for the past five years. Between 2020 and 2021, they fell 19% with the majority of cases, 475, being Chapter 7 liquidations. Personal bankruptcies, which had been rising until 2020 when court closings, forbearances and financial help from the federal government helped slow the pace, fell 16.5% to 16,654 in 2021. Again, the majority were Chapter 7 liquidations, 13,278, a 17% decrease from 2020. With inflation still running high and the threat of recession — and the job cuts that are likely to follow — looming, it will be interesting to see how many businesses and people turn to the federal court system for protection from debtors in the coming couple of years.

The number of total bankruptcies, both business and personal, fell the fears that after more than a year of disruptions finances would crumble.

in 2021 despite

— Louis Llovio Source: The Administrative Office of the U.S.ChapterCourt. 11 Business Chapter 7 Personal Chapter 11 Personal Chapter 13 PersonalChapter 7 Business KEY 2020201920182017 2021 Chapter 11 Business Chapter 7 Personal Chapter 11 Personal Chapter 13 PersonalChapter 7 Business KEY 2020201920182017 2021

16 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 Services customized to meet your needs: • Bookkeeping • Advisory and Planning Services • Outsourced Controller/CFO • Payroll Processing • Human Resources • Time and Labor Management[ ] Schedule your free consultation today. Call (941) 263-4734 email: Nicole@AccountingHRPartners.com www.AccountingHRPartners.com AccountingComprehensiveHRPartners We manage your human resources and accounting so you can do what you do best: yourmanagebusiness. 386233-1 HillsboroughPinellasPascoManateeSarasotaPolkCollierLeeCharlotte 1,490,374 382,680411,209441,508575,891748,365782,579964,490 190,570 Source: Florida TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare Source: Florida TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare TOTAL HPOPULATIONCOUNTY illsborough County is the big leader among the nine counties in the region in population. It’s also No. 4 in Florida, according to a report from Florida TaxWatch, trailing Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. With Pinellas nearing 1 million people, and adding in Pasco and Polk, that section of the region — Greater Tampa Bay — is rapidly approaching 4 million people. That’s about 20% of the entire state population of 21. 89 million people. Pinellas County isn’t just No. 1 on the west coast of Florida in population density, it’s No. 1 in the state — and it’s not even close. The No. 2 county is Broward, with 1,597 people per square mile. Pinellas more than doubles that tally. Orange, Seminole and Miami-Dade follow Pinellas, making Hillsborough No. 6. Notably, Collier, growing significantly in new residents, is sparse compared to other counties, with less than 200 people per square mile.DATATHE Pinellas 3,595 Hillsborough 1,449.8 people per square mile Lee 956.6 Sarasota 789.4 Pasco 726.5 Manatee 536.4 Polk 397.8 Charlotte 276.2 Collier 193.9 Statewide: 402.8 COUNTY DENSITYPOPULATION

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PER PERSONALCOUNTYINCOME continues to squash nearly every other county in per sonal income, scoring more than $30,000 in per capita personal income over the No. 2 county, Sarasota. Only Monroe County, in the Florida Keys, beats out Collier, with $106,583 per capita. Char lotte and Pasco all rank in the bottom-third of Florida’s 67 counties.

DATATHE Manatee 2.6%HillsboroughSarasotaCollier 2.9% Lee 2.9% Charlotte 3.2% Pinellas 2.8%2.8%2.8% Polk 3.7% Pasco 3.2% 3.1%Statewide: Source: Florida

Cape Coral, one of the fastest-growing cities in Florida, is now No. 8 in the state. Here’s how the cities in our region compare to one another. TaxWatch: How Counties Source: Florida TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare

Tampa and St. Petersburg being on this list is little surprise, as both are top 10 cities in the state — No. 3 and No. 5 respectively.

RATEUNEMPLOYMENTBYCOUNTY Naples

Unemployment rates on a Florida statewide county-by-county glance, based on data from April 2022, shows that the region is on low end of the scale. Six counties are less than the statewide rate of 3.1%, and all those counties are in the top 25 statewide.

18 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 100%80%60%40%20% PinellasHillsborough 91.5% 90.7% 89.7% 81.2% 69.2% 62.8% 60.9% 49.3% 28.6% LeeSarasotaPasco Manatee PolkCharlotteCollier Statewide: 49.7% St. BonitaCapePetersburgTampaLakelandLargoFortMyersClearwaterNorthPortCoralBradentonSarasotaSpringsPinellasParkWinterHaven 391,800 260,778 201,554 51,12654,23954,74655,38656,44278,12983,07191,554116,421117,800 Source: Florida TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare Source: Florida TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare POPULATION OF FLORIDA’S 70 LARGEST CITIES POPULATION LIVING IN AREASUNINCORPORATEDG iven how densely populated Pinellas County is, it makes sense it’s the county with the lowest percentage of people who live in unincorporated areas. Pasco, Collier and Charlotte are all in the top 10 statewide of counties with the highest percentages.

2022

Polk,

Sarasota $103,865Collier $70,884 Pinellas $59,178 Hillsborough $51,848 Manatee $52,395 Charlotte $45,606 Lee $54,707 Polk $39,760 Pasco $45,461 Statewide: $55,675

AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 19 PrimaryPROBLEM:Homeowner and Business policies have exclusions. Umbrella policies require that primary coverage is in place. Most policies have GAPS and GRAY areas that the XINSURANCE True Umbrella solution can cover. SOLUTION: XINSURANCE True Umbrella identifies those GAPS and GRAY areas in Home, Work and Play activities and fills the gaps and exclusions with customized True Umbrella coverage for individuals and businesses. XINSURANCE is agent friendly. Ask your agent to contact us. XINSURANCE is powered by Evolution Insurance Brokers, LC (“EIB”), an excess and surplus lines insurance brokerage. XINSURANCE is a DBA of EIB, which is domiciled in and has its principal place of business in Sandy, Utah. This insurance product is offered by an unlicensed surplus lines insurer. The NPN for EIB is 5464658 and CA license number is 0H93938. Custom Insurance Solutions for Home, Work and Play Scan the QR code for a free custom insurance quote. You can also contact 877.585.2853. info@xinsurance.com / www.XINSURANCE.com 386394-1 10080604020 PascoManatee PolkPinellasCollier Lee HillsboroughCharlotteSarasota Statewide: $37.87 $81.79 $56.75 $41.53 $37.33 $31.09 $28.22 $22.26 $20.66 $18.50 Pasco Manatee Polk PinellasCollier LeeHillsborough CharlotteSarasota Statewide: $77.33$216.30 $180.92 $148.78 $143.02 $133.31 $116.95 $68.59 $64.90 $8.03 $250$200$150$100$50 Source: Florida TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare Source: Florida TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare PER CAPITA COUNTY, MUNICIPAL AND SCHOOL IMPACT FEES PER CAPITA COUNTY MUNICIPAL BUILDING PERMIT FEES Building fees vary widely in Florida. Consider Collier, which posts the highest building fees in the region by a wide margin. Yet even at $81.79 per capita, Collier, at No. 2 statewide, pales in comparison to Monroe County, which has a rate of $151.96. Out of Florida’s 67 counties, 15, mostly rural, and none on the west coast, have per capita building fees under $10. Impact fees, like building fees, also have a wide range. To wit: the gap between Collier, No. 2 in the state with $216.30 per capita, over Pinellas, No. 37 with $8.03 per capita, is $208.27. One-third of the counties — like with building fees, mostly rural ones — have no county, municipal or impact fees, Florida TaxWatch reports. DATATHE

Florida.

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20 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 Sarasota $3,081ManateePinellasCollier $1,767 Charlotte $1,868 Hillsborough $1,567 Lee $1,930$2,204$2,208 Polk $989 Pasco $1,025 Statewide: $1,810 Lee $40.09HillsboroughCharlottePinellas $30.06 Sarasota $31.01 Collier $28.88 Manatee $33.73$33.77$34.92 Pasco $22.77 Polk $25.00 $32.77Statewide: Source: TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare Source: TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare DATATHE PER CAPITA TOTAL PROPERTY TAX LEVIES TOTAL PROPERTY TAX LEVIES PER $1,000 OF PERSONAL INCOME

comparisons on tax levies,

Collier County, like in most other is one of the highest-taxed counties in On this dataset it ranks No. 3 in the state, behind Monroe, in the Florida Keys, and Walton, in the Panhandle. Polk County, at $989 per capita, is No. 43 statewide.

Charlotte County, normally one of the lower-taxed counties in Florida, leads the region in this category. It’s No. 8 in Florida and one of six counties outside of major population centers among the top 10. The top three statewide are all on the Panhandle: Franklin, Walton and Gulf counties.

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aken in total, the counties in the region do well in providing services for less. The data here, for fiscal year 2019-2020, shows that six counties, on a per capita basis, collect less revenue than the statewide average. Charlotte, at $4,160, ranks No. 12 in state, while Pinellas is No. 13 and Sarasota is No. 14. This dataset represents the amount of property taxes reduced or shifted to other taxpayers by Save Our Homes. Pinellas is No. 1 in the state, while Collier is No. 8. The data, for tax year 2021, is calculated using current average millage rates applied to Save Our Homes differential of homestead properties, according to TaxWatch.

22 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 Pasco Manatee PolkPinellasCollier LeeHillsborough Charlotte Sarasota Statewide:-2.3%27.8%30%25%20%15%10%-5%5%35% 33.9% 28.8% 28.6% 27.9% 25.1% 20.5% 14.0% 13.7% Sarasota $1,394.60CharlotteCollierPinellas $696.95 Lee $787.65 Hillsborough $519.68 Manatee $798.04$801.66 $1,132.91 Polk $381.54 Pasco $395.83 Statewide: $698.11 Source: Florida TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare Source: Florida TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare PER CAPITA SCHOOL DISTRICT PROPERTY TAX LEVIES GROWTH IN TOTAL PROPERTY TAX LEVIES 2012-2021 Lee County residents have experienced an anomaly in the past decade: a decrease in property tax levies, one of eight counties in the state to enjoy such a drop. The changes, overall, according to Florida TaxWatch, stem from when statewide property tax levies reached their all-time high in the mid-2000s, prior to the recession. School district taxes in the region, as a group, are on the high side compared to other counties in the state. The five counties that outpace the state mark, with Pinellas close behind, all rank among the top 20 in Florida. Collier is No. 2 and Sarasota is No. 4.DATATHE Pinellas $4,160CharlotteSarasotaPolk $3,456 Collier $3,590 Hillsborough $3,380 Lee $3,788$4,049$4,154 Pasco $2,248 Manatee $3,221 Statewide: $3,980 Collier $492.14HillsboroughPinellasLee $233.59 Charlotte $282.47 Manatee $218.70 Sarasota $285.73$293.57$344.96 Polk $157.95 Pasco $196.58 Statewide: $285.39 Source: Florida TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare Source: Florida TaxWatch: 2022 How Counties Compare PER CAPITA IMPACT OF SAVE OUR HOMES IN TAXES PER CAPITA TOTAL COUNTY & MUNICIPAL GOV’T REVENUE

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The data here looks at how the six metro areas in the Business Ob server’s coverage area compares on a national level in the third quarter of 2020 in terms of affordability, the most recent data available. The FHC compiled the data through three parts: n The National Association of Home Builders’ Housing Opportunity Index. The index accounts for a 10% down payment and standard underwriting criteria to determine the homes for sale percentage within affordable communities. It’s based on a family median income data.

he Florida Housing Coalition, in its Home Matters report released in March 2021, states that before the pandemic, 875,259 households state wide spent more than 50% of their income on housing (The usual standard in housing costs is to spend no more than 30% of your gross monthly income on rent or a mortgage.)Then,when COVID-19 came around, roughly 18% of renters and 12% of homeowners who had a mortgage fell behind on housing payments, the report found.

24 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 34-38% KEY 44.1-47%42.1-44%40.1-42%39.1-40%38.1-39% 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 12 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 43 21 AFFORDABLE HOUSING

n Florida

n The supply of homes for sale was taken into account as well, most notably low-income afford able housing. Transportation costs were considered, for there’s a possibility of lower-cost homes for sale that are farther from workplaces. data nuggets from the report include: 2 million low-income households in Florida use over 30% of their income to pay for housing. More than 1.13 million households in Florida use over 50% of the income for housing. These very low-income households are considered severely cost-burdened. is home to more than 27,000 homeless individuals and families. In 2017-18, there were 96,028 K-12 students who experi enced homelessness or housing instability.

DATATHE Affordability Change Rank in Rank Nationally since Q3 Met ro Area Q3 2020 2019 Lakeland-Winter Haven 110 -1 Punta Gorda 147 -6 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 147 16 Cape Coral-Fort Myers 149 14 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton 154 -1 Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island 181 -2

— Amanda Postma GROSS RENT AND AFFORDABLE RENTPERCENTAGE OF COST-BURDENED HOUSEHOLDS BY MSA, 2019 EST (COST BURDEN THRESHOLD – 30%) COST-BURDENED HOUSEHOLDS IN FLORIDA 25% $1,100$1,300$900$700$500$300$1002010’11’12’13’14’15’16’17’18’19MediangrossrentRentaffordabletomedianrenter KEY Source: Shimberg Center 2020 Source: Shimberg Center for Housing Sudies 2020 Source: Florida Housing Coalition 14%households1,132,232ofallHHs Low-income, Severely burdenedcost Low-income, costModeratelyburdened Low-income, Not cost burdened Not low-income of forstruggleFloridianstopayhousing 15%11%households853,089ofallHHs1,172,403householdsofallHHs59%households4,748,109ofallHHs 1. Pensacola, Ferry Pass, Brent 2. Ft. Walton Beach, Crestview, Destin 3. Northwest Non-metropolitan 4. Tallahassee 5. Northeast Non-metropolitan 6. Central Non-metropolitan 7. Jacksonville 8. Gainesville 9. Ocala 10. Deltona, Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, and Palm Coast 11. Orlando, Kissimmee 12. Lakeland 13. Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater 14. Palm Bay, Melbourne, Titusville 15. Sebastian, Vero Beach, Port St. Lucie, Stuart 16. South Non-metropolitan, Punta Gorda 17. Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice 18. Cape Coral, Fort Myers 19. Naples, Marco Island 20. Miami-Dade

Some

n Nearly

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386378-1 AFFORDABLE HOUSING (CONTINUED) DATATHE INCOME NECESSARY TO AFFORD A MEDIAN HOME AND THE MEDIAN INCOMES OF ESSENTIAL WORKERS $80,000$60,000$40,000$20,000 Registered necessaryAnnualFirefighternurseTeacherincometoaffordamedianpricedhomeCustomerserviceworkerPoliceandsheriffsofficers Deltona - Daytona Beach - Ormond Beach OcalaTampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater KEY Source: Florida Housing Coalition The assumptions for calculation “housing wages” for median-priced homes were as follows: 1) 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 4.5% interest, 2) FHA-insured with a 3.5% down payment, 3) Front-end ratio of 28% back-end ratio of 43%, 4) All other household debt service is 15% of annual income, 5) Assessed value is 85% of the purchase price, 6) Homestead exemption is $50,000, 7) Mill levy is $19 and, 8) Property insurance is 0.5% of the purchase price annually. Additionally, we assume that the homebuyer works 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year. FAIR MARKET RENT COMPARED TO MEDIAN WAGES BY OCCUPATION $25$20$15$10$5 Retail salesperson Customer serviceCashiersreps Waiters & waitresses Office clerks, general Stockers & order fillers Janitors & administrativestockLaborersWageWagecleaners*toafford1BRhometoafford2BRhome&freight,&materialsmovesGeneralsecretaries&assistantsSource:DEO2018,National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) 2019 *Excepts maids and housekeepers

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Raymond James Financial Inc. (RJF) 880 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg 33716 407-451-3827; raymondjames.com

L. Neil Hunn, President and CEO $5,777,800,000 $4,854,200,00019.03% Technology software and engineered products and solutions

Paul C. ChairmanReilly,and CEO $9,760,000,000 $7,990,000,00022.15% mentfinance/invest-Banking/ wealth management

Stephen M. Scherr, CEO $7,336,000,000 $5,258,000,00039.52% sumerBusiness/con-services leases vehicles and equipment

Howard C. Heckes, President, CEO and Director $2,596,920,00 $2,257,075,00015.06% Manufacturing door manufacturer Primo Water Corp. (PRMW) 4221 West Boy Scout Blvd., Suite 400, Tampa 33607 813-313-1732; primowater.com

Manufacturing global manufacturing, engineering and supply chain solutions provider The Mosaic Co. (MOS) 101 E. Kennedy Blvd. #2500, Tampa 33602 800-918-8270; mosaicco.com

28 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 WITH SCOTLYNN Scotlynn USA is one of the fastest growing asset-based logistics companies in North America. Part of a larger international trucking and farming company, the Florida-based logistics company operates a state-of-the-art fleet of refrigerated tractor trailers along with freight brokerage services to assist clients ship time-sensitive products across North America. Additionally, Scotlynn manages LTL refrigerated shipments for clients within the state of Florida. Our passion, integrity, and commitment to superior service drives us to accelerate your business. 239-210-3000 | SCOTLYNN.COM | INFO@SCOTLYNN.COM | 9597 GULF RESEARCH LANE | FORT MYERS, FL 33912 GroupTransportCommoditiesUSADivision Signature Logos ACCELERATE ACCELERATE SOLUTIONS DELIVERED BY DRIVE. Delivering Excellence Since 2010 It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, you have to take care of the people who take care of you — Ryan Carter, Co-Founder Scotlynn USA “ 386443-1 LISTSTHE PUBLIC COMPANIES PhoneAddressCompanyNumber; Website Top Executive 2021 revenue 2020%revenuegrowth Industry Line of Business TD Synnex (SNX) 16202 Bay Vista Dr., Bay Vista Business Park, Clearwater 33760 510-656-3333; tdsynnex.com Rich Hume, CEO $31,614,169,000 $19,977,150,00058.25% Technology leading distributor and solutions aggregator for IT Jabil Inc. (JBL) 10560 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr St. N., St. Petersburg 33716 727-577-9749; jabil.com

Lawrence H. Silber, President, CEO and Director $2,073,100,00 $1,781,300,000016.38% sumerBusiness/con-services equipment rental supplier

Thomas Harrington, CEO $2,073,300,000 $1,953,500,0006.13% Manufacturing beverage products, packages and distribution Herc Holdings (HRI) 27500 Riverview Center Blvd., Suite 100, Bonita Springs 34134 239-301-1000; hercrentals.com

Mark T. Mondello, CEO $29,285,000,000 $27,266,438,0007.4%

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ) 8501 Williams Road, Estero 33928 239-301-7000; hertz.com

David Deno, CEO $4,122,385,000 $3,170,561,00030.02% restaurantHospitality/ casual dining restaurant chain owner Masonite International Corp. (DOOR) 1205 E. 5th Ave, Tampa 33605 813-877-2726; masonite.com

Bloomin’ Brands Inc. (BLMN) 2202 N. West Shore Blvd., Suite 500, Tampa 33607 813-282-1225; bloominbrands.com

Joc O’Rourke, CEO, President and Director $12,400,000,000 $8,681,700,00042.83% Agriculture concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrient mining

Roper Technologies Inc. (ROP) 6901 Professional Parkway, Suite 200, Sarasota 34240 941-556-2601; ropertech.com

AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 29 377760-1 TOP PUBLIC COMPANIES BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS LISTSTHE

Robert DeVincenzi, Interim CEO $1,235,048,000 $817,110,00051.15%

Retailers specialty women’s clothing, accessories and gifts retailer Kforce Inc. (KFRC) 1001 E. Palm Ave., Tampa 33605 877-453-6723; kforce.com

William Brett McGill, CEO, President and Director $2,063,257,000 $1,509,713,00036.67% Retailers boat retailer Chico’s FAS Inc. (CHS) 11215 Metro Parkway, Fort Myers 33966 239-277-6200; chicos.com

Welbilt Inc. (WBT) 2227 Welbilt Blvd., New Port Richey 34655 727-375-7010; welbilt.com

Joseph J. Liberatore, President and CEO $1,579,922,000 $1,297,7,00013.04% sumerBusiness/con-services professional staffing and solutions firm providing strategic partnership in technology and finance and accounting services

Lazydays (LAZY) 4042 Park Oaks Blvd., Suite 350, Tampa 33610 813-246-4999; lazydays.com

R. Daniel ChairmanPeed,andCEO $634,527,000 $846,656,000-25.05%

Gregory A.C. Yull, President and CEO $1,531,500,000 $1,213,500,00026.26%

Manufacturing manufacturer and seller of paper- and film-based tapes, films, coated fabrics and packaging sys tems

Josef DirectorPresident,Matosevic,CEOand $869,200,000 $523,040,00066.18% designer and manufacturer of

Manufacturing

mentfinance/invest-Banking/ property and casualty insurance

Retailers RV sales, service, parts, accessories financing and insurance and RV campground PGT Innovations (PGTO) 1070 Technology Drive, North Venice 34275 941-480-1600; pgtinnovations.com

Top Executive 2021 revenue 2020%revenuegrowth Industry Line of Business MarineMax Inc. (HZO) 2600 McCormick Drive, Clearwater 33759 727-531-1700; marinemax.com

Molly Langenstein, CEO, President and Director $1,809,927,000 $1,324,051,00036.70%

Odilon PresidentAlmeida,andCEO $1,370,598,000 $1,294,322,0005.89% Technology payment software for banks and merchants

Manufacturing manufactures and supplies premium windows and doors Helios Technologies (HLIO) 7456 16th St. E., Sarasota 34243 941-362-1200; heliostechnologies.com

William C. Johnson, President and CEO $1,546,900,000 $1,153,400,00034.12% Manufacturing manufactures and supplies commercial foodser vice equipment

Jeff Jackson, President and CEO $1,161,464,000 $882,6214,00031.59%

hydraulic-cartridge valve UPC Insurance (UIHC) 800 Second Ave. S., St. Petersburg 33701 727-895-7737; upcinsurance.com

PhoneAddressCompanyNumber; Website

ACI Worldwide Inc. (ACIW) 2811 Ponce de Leon Blvd., PH 1, Coral Gables 239-403-4660; aciworldwide.com

Intertape Polymer Group (ITP.TO) (Dually headquartered in Montreal) 100 Paramount Drive, Suite 300, Sarasota 34232 877-318-5752; itape.com

Samuel H. Norton, President and CEO $359,100,000 $418,692,000-14.23% Shipping energy transportation services company, deliver ing crude oil and petroleum products worldwide KnowBe4 (KNBE) 33 N. Garden Ave., Clearwater 33755 855-566-9234; knowbe4.com

TOP PUBLIC COMPANIES BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS LISTSTHE 386635-1

Top Executive revenue 2020%revenuegrowth Industry Line of Business Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. (HRTG) 2600 McCormick Drive, Suite 300, Clearwater 33759 727-362-7200; heritagepci.com

Trevor Baldwin, CEO $567,290,000 $240,919,,000135.47% Insurance private risk management, personal insurance, Medicare, family office, commercial risk management, employee benefits, asset and income protection

Caroline Beasley, CEO and Director $241,426,308 $206,143,86117.12% ingmedia/publish-Entertainment/ radio broadcasting group

First Watch (FWRG) 8725 Pendery Place, Suite 201, Bradenton 34201 941-907-9800; firstwatch.com

$592,343,,000 $337,433,00075.54% restaurantHospitality/ daytime cafe serving breakfast and brunch

HCI Group Inc. (HCI) 3802 Coconut Palm Drive, Tampa 33619 813- 849-9500; hcigroup.com

InsurTech company with operations in insurance, software development and real estate

Michael Benstock, CEO $536,986,000 $526,697,0001.95% Manufacturing designs, manufactures and sells uniforms and apparel NeoGenomics Inc. (NEO) 9490 NeoGenomics Way, Fort Myers 33912 239-768-0600; neogenomics.com

Christopher A. Tomasso, President, CEO and Director

30 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 PhoneAddressCompanyNumber; Website

Ernesto Garateix, CEO $631,561,000 $593,385,0006.43% mentfinance/invest-Banking/ provides home, condominium, rental and com mercial residential insurance

2021

Paresh Patel, CEO and Chairman $577,000,000 $415,918,00038.73% sumerBusiness/con-services

Sjoerd Sjouwerman, CEO $246,298000 $174,886,00040.83% Technology data and IT security Beasley Media Group Inc. (BBGI) 3033 Riviera Drive, Suite 200, Naples 34103 239-263-5000; bbgi.com

BRP Group Inc. (BRP) 4211 W. Boy Scout Blvd., Tampa 33607 813-984-3200; baldwinriskpartners.com

Technology adtech company leveraging innovative, perfor mance-driven brand and marketplace solutions to connect consumers and advertisers Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG) 302 Knights Run Ave., Suite 1200, Tampa 33602 813-209-0600; osg.com

Chris Smith, CEO $484,329,000 $444,448,0008.97% Health carecancer genetic testing laboratory Digital Media Solutions, Inc. (DMS) 4800 140th Ave. N., Suite 101, Clearwater 33762 727-287-0426; digitalmediasolutions.com

Joe Marinucci, CEO $427,935,000 $332,856,00028.56%

Superior Group of Cos. (SGC) 10055 Seminole Blvd., Seminole 33772 727-397-9611; superioruniformgroup.com

Howard ChairmanCurd,and CEO $71,704,995 $60,218,355 19.07% Manufacturing manufactures and sells vinyl-coated fabrics and gate safety sensors

Top Executive 2021 revenue 2020

Nicholas Financial Inc. (NICK) 2454 McMullen Booth Road, Bldg. C, Clearwater 33759 727-726-0763; nicholasfinancial.com

David ChairmanPortnoy,and Co-CEO $28,884,902 $31,147,593-7.26% Health carestem cell blood bank and related research

of Business

Doug PresidentMarohn,and CEO $48,231,000 $53,580,000-9.98% mentfinance/invest-Banking/ consumer loan provider and auto loan consolida tor Cryo-Cell International Inc. (CCEL) 700 Brooker Creek Road, Suite 1800, Oldsmar 34677 813-749-2100; cryo-cell.com

Steve Shum, CEO $4,160,116 $1,037,286301.06%

Uniroyal Global Engineered Products LLC (UNIR) 1800 Second St., Suite 970, Sarasota 34236 941-906-8580; uniroyalglobal.com

Naples Soap Co. (NASO) 17041 Alico Commerce Court, Suite 1, Fort Myers, 33967 239-325-8263; naplessoap.com

John E. PresidentKiernan,andCEO $108,564,000 $92,597,00017.36% Agriculture land management, agriculture, mining and devel opment

Apyx Medical Corp. (APYX) 5115 Ulmerton Road, Clearwater 33760 727-384-2323; apyxmedical.com

Procyon Corp. (PCYN) 164 Douglas Road, Oldsmar 34677 727-447-2998; procyoncorp.com

Justice W. Anderson, President and CEO $4,719,672 $4,334,0888.90% Health caremanufactures and markets skin and wound care supplies Invo Bioscience (INVO) 5582 Broadcast Court, Sarasota 34240 978-878-9505; invobioscience.com

Deanna Wallin, founder and CEO $10,884,000 $7,407,00046.94% Retailers producer of more than 300 bath, body and per sonal care products sold at the company’s 11 Florida retail locations

Industry

Health care medical device company focused on creating simplified, lower cost treatments for patients diag nosed with infertility OriginClear (OCLN) 13575 58th St. N., Suite 200, Clearwater 33760 727-440-4603; originclear.com Riggs ChairmanPresident,Eckelberry,CEOand $4,143,744 $4,101,1311.04% waterTechnology, self-reliant water revolution, connecting investors with water projects TOP PUBLIC COMPANIES BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS LISTSTHE SELL PROPERTYINVESTMENT TAX FREE JEFFERSON F. RIDDELL President jriddell@rlglawfirm.com RYAN H. STULMAN Vice President rstulman@us1031.com Learn about 1031 exchanges VISIT OUR WEBSITE www. US1031 .com 3400 S. Tamiami Tr. | Sarasota, FL 34239 | P: 941.366 .1300 | F: 941.366 .6973 U.S. 1031 EXCHANGE SERVICES, INC. Learn how a 1031 exchange may help you defer taxes, save money and maximize your investment dollars. Visit our website or call for a FREE consultation. 386392-1 LM Funding America had $1.26 million in revenue in 2021; ACI was based in Naples for some of 2021; Sykes Enterprises Inc. was acquired in 2021

Innovative Food Holdings (IVFH) 28411 Race Track Road, Bonita Springs 34135 239-596-0204; ivfh.com

Sam ChairmanKlepfish,and CEO $62,212,148 $51,676,02820.39% wholesalersDistributor/ wholesaler and retailer of perishables and spe cialty food products

Charles President,Goodwin,CEO $48,517,000 $27,711,00068.96% healthTechnology,care Helium plasma technology

PhoneAddressCompanyNumber; Website %revenuegrowth Line Alico (ALCO) 10070 Daniels Interstate Court, Suite 100, Fort Myers 33913 239-226-2000; alicoinc.com

AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 31

32 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 Phone;AddressCompanyWebsite 2021 Revenue 2020%Revenuechange Staff FoundedYear Top Executive Industry Line of Business 1 Publix Super Markets Inc. 3300 Publix Corporate Pkwy., Lakeland 33802 863-688-7407; publix.com $48,000,000,000 $44,900,000,0006.90% 230,0001930 Todd Jones CEO Retailers retail grocery 2 Morgan Automotive Group 3031 N. Rocky Point Dr., Ste. 770, Tampa 33607 813-434-1982; morganautogroup.com $5,410,000,000 $3,220,000,00068.00% 4,5932005 Brett Morgan CEO Retailers automotive sales and service 3 FrankCrum 100 S. Missouri Ave., Clearwater 33756 727-799-1229; frankcrum.com $2,504,000,000 $2,160,000,0005.92% 4051981 Frank FounderCrumand CEO servicesBusiness professional employer organization (PEO) that offers human re-sources services, including payroll, employee benefits, con sulting services and workers’ compensation insurance 4 Beall’s Inc. 1806 38th Ave. E., Bradenton 34208 941-744-4309; beallsflorida.com $1,470,000,000 $1,240,000,00018.54% 13,1101915 Robert Matthews Beall III CEO Retailers retail apparel, home goods and gifts 5 Gettel Automotive Inc. 5959 E. SR 64, Bradenton 34208 941-417-5003; gettel.com $1,386,000,000 $1,025,000,00035.21% 1,1541998 James presidentGettel Retailers automotive dealer 6 Manhattan Construction Group 3705-1 Westview Dr., Naples 34104 239-435-3827; manhattanconstructiongroup.com $1,150,000,000 $1,410,000,000-18.35% 1,3751896 Larry presidentRooney Contractors construction management, general building, design-build, pre construction, concrete, road and bridge, specialty construction 7 Ferman Automotive Group 1306 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa 33606 813-251-2765; ferman.com $1,102,000,000 $940,000,000 17.10% 1,3701895 James presidentFerman Retailers automobile and motorcycle dealerships 8 Automated Petroleum & Energy Co. Inc. 1201 Oakfield Drive, Brandon 33511 813-681-4279; automatedpetroleum.com $1,041,000,000 $725,630,00043.46% 481981 Bill presidentMcKnight Retailers petroleum distributor 9 FCCI Insurance Group 6300 University Pkwy., Sarasota 34240 941-907-3224; fcci-group.com $961,000,000 $883,000,0008.83% 8071959 president“Cina”ChristinaWelchand CEO servicesconsumerBusiness/ property and casualty insurance 10 Power Design Inc. 11600 Ninth St. N., St. Petersburg 33716 727-210-0492; powerdesigninc.us $875,000,000 $757,000,00015.51% 2,5481989 Frank Musolino CEO Contractors electrical contractor 11 Gulfeagle Supply Inc. 2900 E. Seventh Ave., Tampa 33605 813-636-9808; gulfeaglesupply.com $826,530,000 $683,770,00020.87% 9981973 Brad presidentResch wholesalersDistributor/ distributor of roofing and building material products 12 BlueGrace Logistics LLC 2846 S. Falkenburg Road, Riverview 33578 800-697-4477; mybluegrace.com $749,000,000 $461,700,00062.22% 5222009 Bobby presidentHarrisand CEO Shipping third-party logistics provider 13 Stock Development 2639 Professional Cir., Suite 101, Naples 34119 239-292-2721; stockdevelopment.com $736,050,000 $722,670,0001.86%% 4502001 Brian Stock CEO buildersHome- developer and homebuilder 14 Dental Care Alliance 6240 Lake Osprey Drive, Sarasota 34240 941-955-3150; dentalcarealliance.com $700,000,000 $653,000,0007.19% 4,8821991 Jerry Rhodes CEO Health care dental support organization with more than 300 affiliated den tal practices in 20 states 15 Scotlynn USA Division 15671 San Carlos Blvd., Fort Myers 33908 239-210-3000; scotlynn.com $685,000,000 $342,000,000100.29% 3182010 Ryan presidentexecutiveCartervice Shippinglogistics 16 PSCU 560 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg 33716 844-367-7728; pscu.com $649,800,000 $582,500,000 11.50% 3,0001977 Charles “Chuck” Fagan presidentIII and CEO investmentfinance/Banking/ credit union service organization 17 Bankers Financial Corp. 11101 Roosevelt Blvd. N., St. Petersburg 33716 727-823-4000; bankersfinancialcorp.com $559,000,000 $505,000,00010.69% 4501976 John Strong CEO and chiair man servicesconsumerBusiness/ private, diversified financial services company 18 Sunz Holdings LLC 1301 Sixth Ave. W., Bradenton 34205 941-306-3077; sunzinsurance.com, nextleveladmin.com $555,100,000 $451,500,000 22.94% 3712013 Steven Herrig CEO servicesconsumerBusiness/ workers’ compensation insurance 19 Neal Communities of Southwest Florida LLC 5800 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Lakewood Ranch 34240; 941-328-1111; nealcommunities.com $528,290,000 $432,700,00022.10% 2701970 Patrick Chairman,Nealfounder buildersHome- land developer and homebuilder 20 Discovery Senior Living 3461 Bonita Bay Blvd., Ste. 100, Bonita Springs 34134; 239-908-2921; discoveryseniorliving.com $445,660,000 $351,000,00026.61% 6,9001998 CEOHutchinsonRichard Other developer and operators of senior living communities across the country 21 HIT Promotional Products Inc. 7150 Bryan Dairy Road, Largo 33777 727-541-5561; hitpromo.net $433,780,000 $450,950,000-3.80% 3,1031981 C.J. presidentSchmidtand CEO servicesconsumerBusiness/ promotional products wholesale supplier 22 Homes by WestBay 4065 Crescent Park Drive, Riverview 33578 813-938-1250; homesbywestbay.com $391,000,000 $347,7000,00012.45% 1702009 Willy presidentNunn Real brokersmortgageestate/ new home builder 23 DeAngelis Diamond 6635 Willow Park Drive, Naples 34109 239-594-1994; deangelisdiamond.com $365,000,000 $297,000,00022.90% 1851996 John presidentDeAngelis Contractors construction management 24 Ripa & Associates LLC 1409 Tech Blvd., Suite 1, Tampa 33619 813-623-6777; ripatampa.com $365,000,000 $292,200,000 24.92% 9001998 Chris presidentLaFaceand CEO Contractors civil and utility construction services in central Florida 25 Medallion Home 1651 Whitfield Ave., Suite 200, Sarasota 34243 941-359-9000; medallionhome.com $353,000,000 $230,000,00053.47% 751984 Carlos Beruff owner buildersHome- home builder with new communities in Manatee and Sarasota counties TOP PRIVATE COMPANIES LISTSTHE

KHSS.com $113,050,000 $101,450,00011.39% 3041984 Michael CEO/chairmanCannon Construction Interior/exterior construction, themed construction, specialty finishes, rockwork, lean construction, design-assist, BIM and prefabrication 50 FineMark National Bank & Trust 8695 College Parkway, Suite 100, Fort Myers 33919;239-323-5515; finemarkbank.com $108,550,000 $99,270,0009.34% 2292007 Joeseph CEO/ChairmanCatti Banking banking, investment and trust offerings TOP PRIVATE COMPANIES BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS LISTSTHE

$160,800,000

841974 Alan Bomstein CEO Contractors commercial construction 47 Connor & Gaskins Unlimited 1998 Trade Center Way, Suite 2, Naples 34109 239-260-5068; cgunlimited.com $147,00,000 $103,200,00042.55% 702010 Barry Connor CEO Contractors developer and general contractor 48 Michael Saunders & Co. 100

Washington Blvd. 34236

John presidentMcCaugherty Contractors commercial construction Sun State International Trucks LLC 6020 E. Adamo Drive, Tampa 33619 813-621-1331; sunstateintl.com $146,100,00010.06%

michaelsaunders.com $135,310,000 $96,130,00040.75% 1251976 Michael CEO/founderSaunders Real estatereal estate brokerage 49 KHS&S Contractors 5422 Bay Center

AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 33 Phone;AddressCompanyWebsite 2021 Revenue 2020%Revenuechange Staff FoundedYear Top Executive Industry Line of Business 26 Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. 11941 Fairway Lakes Dr., Fort Myers 33913 239-561-4141; owen-ames-kimball.com $319,000,000 $310,000,0002.90% 1711891 Matthew presidentZwack Contractors construction management, general contracting and designbuild 27 Florida Medical Clinic PA 38135 Market Square, Zephyrhills 33542 813-780-8440; floridamedicalclinic.com $315,460,000 $298,110,0005.81% 1,8191993 Joe CEODelatorre Health caremultispecialty physician group 28 OMS Group Inc. 26 Lake Wire Drive, Lakeland 33815 863-688-1751; omsgroup.com $308,300,000 $276,000,00011.60% 441997 Jeffrey presidentMiles servicesconsumerBusiness/ insurance, payroll, human resources and staffing services 29 Premier Sotheby’s International Realty 4001 Tamiami Trail, Ste. 350, Naples 34103 239-262-4242; premiersothebysrealty.com $293,9800,000 $185,300,00050.52% 1391983 Budge presidentHuskeyandCEO Real brokersmortgageestate/ real estate brokerage 30 J.H. Williams Oil Co. Inc. 423 S. Hyde Park Ave., Tampa 33606 813-228-7776; jhwoil.com $291,320,000 $177,930,00063.72% 141945 J. Hulon Williams presidentIII Retailers petroleum management 31 McNichols Co. 2502 N. Rocky Point Dr., Ste. 750, Tampa 33607 813-282-3828; mcnichols.com $275,000,000 $211,000,00030.33% 3101952 Eugene McNichols CEO wholesalersDistributor/ metal service centers supplying and fabricating perforated and expanded metal, wire mesh and gratings products 32 RNR Tire Express 13922 Monroes Business Park. Tampa 33635 813-977-9800; rnrtires.com $243,800,000 $210,600,00015.76% 1,1502000 Larry founderSuttonand CEO Retailers tire dealer franchisor 33 Caspers Co. (McDonald’s restaurants) 4908 W. Nassau St., Tampa 33607 813-287-2231; casperscompany.com $243,300,000 $205,460,00018.40% 3,9141958 Blake chairmanCasperand CEO restaurantHospitality/ quick-service restaurant chain 33 Tibbetts Lumber Co. LLC 3300 Fairfield Ave. S., St. Petersburg 33712 727-322-1403; tibbettslumber.com $243,000,000 $131,000,00085.49% 4242009 Russ Hallenbeck CEO Retailers lumber and building materials 35 Gold Coast Eagle Distributing 7051 Wireless Court, Sarasota 34240 941-650-3139; gceagle.com $222,000,000 $206,000,0007.76% 3401996 John ownerpresidentSaputoand wholesalersDistributor/ beer distribution 36 Brooks and Freund LLC 5661 Independence Cir., Ste. 1, Fort Myers 33912; 239-939-5251; brooksandfreund.com $218,000,000 $220,000,000-0.91% 532000 Richard managerFreund Contractors general contractor and construction management 37 Ajax Building Corp. 425 Commercial Court, Suite J, Venice 34292 813-792-3900; ajaxbuilding.com $217,1800,000 $235,000,000-7.59% 1901958 William presidentByrne Contractors construction management 38 College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving 4411 W. Tampa Bay Blvd., Tampa 33614 813-523-9003; collegehunkshaulingjunk.com $215,720,000 $145,970,00047.78% 2252005 Nick presidentFriedman servicesconsumerBusiness/ franchisor of moving and junk removal services 39 Centauri Insurance 4081 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Ste. 200, Sarasota 34240; 941-870-0204; centauriinsurance.com $215,600,000 $181,900,00018.52% 522011 Rick presidentEspinoand CEO servicesBusiness property and casualty insurance 40 Pepin Distributing Co. 4121 N. 50th St., Tampa 33610 813-626-6176; pepindistributing.com $205,300,000 $201,400,0001.93% 3801967 Greg PresidentMcLeod wholesalersDistributor/ beer and beverage distributor 41 Amscot Financial Inc. 600 N. Westshore Blvd., Suite 1200, Tampa 33609; 813-637-6205; amscot.com $177,950,000 $193,190,000-7.80% 1,4671989 Ian CEOMacKechnie investmentfinance/Banking/ financial services 42 S-One Holdings Corp. 1605 Main St., Suite 300, Sarasota 34236 800-453-9538; sone.com $176,800,000 $146,800,00020.43% 1921994 Ron presidentSimkinsand CEO facturingManu- provides materials, equipment, technical support in the print ing industry 43 B&I Contractors Inc. 2701 Prince St., Fort Myers 33916 239-332-4646; bandiflorida.com $166,580,000 $141,230,00017.95% 7491960 Gary presidentGriffin Contractors mechanical, plumbing and electrical contractors and service provider 44 Hawkins Construction Inc. 1430 L&R Industrial Blvd., Tarpon Springs 34689; 727-938-9719; hawkinsnet.com $163,000,000 $163,330,000-0.20% 951975

2021982

Oscar presidentHortonand CEO servicesconsumerBusiness/ commercial transportation equipment sales, service, parts Creative Contractors Inc. 620 Drew St., Clearwater 33755 727-461-5522; creativecontractors.com $120,000,00029.17% S. 941-953-7900; Drive, Suite 200, 813-628-9330;

$155,000,000

Tampa 33609

The demand for short-term als that spiked during spring break hasn’t slowed down. Since April, for example, the Sarasota market has added over 1,000 active listings, as determined by AirDNA, a vacation rental research firm. Comparably, Tampa added over 800 active rentals. The data collected from AirDNA reflects markets ranging from ones with a large focus on short-term rentals to areas like Parrish, in north Manatee County, which only had 14 active rentals when the data was collected in early July 2022. Per the AirDNA website, rentals are considered active if there was at least one reserved or available day in the last month. Occupancy rates reflect the number of days booked divided by how many days were available to rent over the past 12 months. Rates are representative of the median of that time frame. Owners of short-term rentals generally make more in monthly revenue, which takes into account nightly rate and cleaning fees. The revenue data doesn’t include taxes, service fees or additional guest fees, but like the occupancy rate, is the median over the past 12 months.

rental

rent-

34 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 SUNSTATE BUSINESS BROKERS Professional Business Brokerage Tony Dempsey, Broker, CEPA Certified Exit Planning Advisor For a confidential review Please Call Tony Dempsey tony@sbbrokers.com941.932.5512 SUNSTATE BUSINESS BROKERS Merger & Acquisition Services Specializing in: • Exit Strategies • Succession Planning • Business Valuations • Monetizing Business Value • Consultative Services • 40+ Years Experience 386435-1 LISTSTHE SHORT-TERM RENTALS City Active rentals (through July 2022) Occupancy rate (through July 2022) (MonthlyRevenuemedianover12months) Sarasota 6,023 80% $3,830 Naples 4,224 74% $3,750 Seminole 327 77% $3,700 Cape Coral 4,586 77% $3,582 Largo 632 80% $3,317 St. Petersburg 7,007 80% $3,197 Bradenton 1,675 75% $3,174 Clearwater 1,001 80% $2,709 Port Charlotte 628 77% $2,660 Palmetto 108 80% $2,650 Fort Myers 1,579 75% $2,461 Venice 792 80% $2,435 Tampa 5,330 74% $2,383 Punta Gorda 519 71% $2,326 Pinellas Park 95 76% $2,254 Parrish 14 80% $2,235 North Fort Myers 138 73% $1,885 North Port 280 78% $1,721

Source:airdna.coAirDna

20Grapevine Goes Platinum 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 ISGRAPEVINEFOUNDED NEW OFFICE IS BUILT IN LAKEWOOD RANCH 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 ALLISON IMRE BEGINS ROLE AS OWNER/PRESIDENT FINALIST FOR GROWFL TOP COMPANIES TO WATCH LIST 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 WINS SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD (SARASOTA CHAMBER) NAMED AMONG “TOP 500 COMPANIES ON THE GULF COAST OF FLORIDA” - 3RD CONSECUTIVE YEAR 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 WINS SMALL BUSINESS AWARD (MANATEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE) REACHED $1.2 MILLION IN SERVICES DONATED TO LOCAL NONPROFITS 2022 GRAPEVINE GOES PLATINUM We’re celebrating 20 years of bringing record-shattering success to our clients... and the party’s just getting started! In fact, our 2022 has been filled with so many new number-one hits, we ran out of room in this ad to show them to you. See how we’re still topping the charts at Grapevine20.com!ADVERTISING | MARKETING | PUBLIC RELATIONS | DIGITAL | SOCIAL MEDIA 386429-1

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AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 39 RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGES Company name and headquarters 2021 Closed Sales Volume Gain/(Loss)vs.2020 Total Number of Sides 2021 Gain/(Loss)vs.2020 Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Naples $10,174,453,903 48% 10,608 27.20% John R. Wood Properties, Naples $5,564,298,390 63.70% 7.080 34.80% Michael Saunders & Co., Sarasota $4,630,979,588 35.30% 6,993 13.30% Premiere Plus Realty, Naples $4,020,792,247 61% 8,846 66% Keller Williams Impact Group, St. Petersburg $3,790,342,372 21.60% 9,421 0.20% Charles Rutenberg Realty, Clearwater $3,140,536,000 33% 9,806 5.20% Re/Max Alliance Group, Sarasota $2,581,164,506 59.50% 6,496 31.80% Downing-Frye Realty, Naples $2,400,839,269 36% 3,750 25.60% Keller Williams Realty of Central Florida, Lakeland $2,201,262,758 28.30% 7,246 10.30% Keller Williams Realty Ubaldini Group, Palm Harbor $2,109,560,755 23% 6,051 3.85% Source: RealTrendsSides are transactions County 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021 five-year growth Collier $65,870,400 $65,886,924 $71,626,005$73,122,674.80$133,546,880.10 102.74% Charlotte $14,233,960 $14,756,013 $16,437,947$16,361,587.12$28,355,489.40 99.22% Polk $27,838,985 $31,796,334 $38,708,843$41,899,885.85$55,324,856.88 98.73% Sarasota $47,322,721 $51,890,716 $50,190,666$54,475,772.90$89,153,332.40 88.39% Manatee $32,959,633 $38,553,416 $38,575,436$39,095,157.00$61,205,987.50 85.70% Lee $68,397,149 $71,414,773 $77,362,792$75,408,548.60$126,666,170.40 85.19% Pasco $29,809,016 $33,420,872 $33,546,938$36,744,859.20$53,642,234.81 79.95% State of Florida $1,497,427,834$1,579,600,602$1,714,821,832$1,679,140,145$2,444,726,007 63.25% Pinellas $71,065,208 $70,299,205 $88,372,574$79,046,613.70$108,431,674.20 52.58% Hillsborough $93,322,222 $93,019,161$114,929,926$106,542,266.60$134,046,489.85 43.63% DOC STAMPS BY COUNTY LISTSTHE Source: Florida Department of Revenue 386372-1

16 Edison National Bank 13000 South Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers,

Greg Littleton, President and CEO $40,671,000 $36,419,00011.68% Sanibel, FL 33957

9 First Citrus Bank 10824 N. Dale Mabry Highway,

Robert B. McGivney, CEO and Vice Chairman $12,982,000 $9,400,00038.11% Bank of Pasco City, FL

Craig Albert, President and CEO $30,767,000 $28,252,0008.90% Tampa, FL 33637

icbabancard.org800-242-4770

12 Englewood Bank & Trust 1111 South McCall Road, Englewood,

18 Century

Joseph R. Catti, Chairman and CEO $108,557,000 $99,265,0009.36%

charlottestatebankandtrust.com888-624-5454

5 TCM

memberstrust.com888-727-9191

40 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 LISTSTHE LARGEST BANKS Rank Top Executive 2021 revenue 2020 revenue Change 1 Raymond James Bank, National Association 710 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg, FL 33716 raymondjamesbank.com727-567-8000

11 Charlotte State Bank & Trust 1100 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte,

Downs Blvd.,

3 FineMark

finemarkbank.com877-461-5901

2 BayFirst

33525 fnbpasco.com352-521-0141

Ave.,

T. Corey PresidentNeil,and CEO $90,166,000 $82,174,0009.73% Bank, National Association 3501 E. Frontage Road, Tampa, FL 33607

14 Flagship Bank 29750 US Highway

gulfsidebank.com941-303-4200

7 Sanibel Captiva Community Bank 2406 Periwinkle Way,

John M. PresidentLargent,andCEO $28,559,000 $24,920,00014.60% Tampa, FL 33618

716 West

firstcitrus.com813-926-2848

Jake Crews, CEO $14,924,000 $14,667,0001.75% B. Tampa, FL 33647

John PresidentThompson,andCEO $13,859,000 $12,713,0009.01% 19 N., Clearwater, FL 33761

John M. PresidentBarrett,andCEO $26,957,000 $22,027,00022.38% FL 33813

centurybk.com813-961-3300

centralbankfl.com813-929-4477

firsthomebank.com727-440-6848

englewoodbankandtrust.com941-475-6771

E. Wall St., Frostproof, FL 33843 citizens-bank.com863-635-2244

Steven D. Hickman, President and CEO $11,378,000 $9,801,00016.09% FL

Paul J. ChairmanNoris,and CEO $23,545,000 $23,003,0002.36% FL 33953

David DuVall, Chairman $10,697,000 $11,443,000-6.52% Sarasota, FL 34236

8 Members Trust Co. 14055 Riveredge Drive, Suite 525,

15 First National

Jose ChairmanVivero,and CEO $4,064,000 $4,010,0001.35%

10 Bank of Central Florida 5015 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland,

sancapbank.com239-472-6100

Citizens Bank and Trust 2

Jake Crews, CEO $21,818,000 $21,927,000-0.50% FL 34223

FlagshipBank.com727-451-2020

Anthony N. Leo, CEO $165,096,000 $141,426,00016.74% National Bank & Trust 8695 College Parkway, Fort Myers, FL 33919

bankoftampa.com813-872-1200

bankofcentralflorida.com863-701-2685

Damon Moorer, President and CEO $51,700,000 $48,326,0006.98%

Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.First Florida Integrity Bank, Pilot Bank, Sabal Palm and Hillsboro Bank were acquired in 2021.

Dennis B. Murphy Jr., President and CEO $5,737,000 $4,723,00021.47% Bank Florida Fletcher Tampa, FL 33612

17 Gulfside Bank 333 North Orange Ave.,

Steve Raney, CEO $728,791,000 $765,707,000-4.82% National Bank (formerly First Home Bank) 700 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, FL 33701

33907 edisonnationalbank.com239-466-1800

The Bank of Tampa 601 Bayshore Blvd., Suite 100, Tampa, FL 33606

13315 US Highway 301 S., Dade

13 Central Bank 20701 Bruce

makers

Hope

For

continuum

care agencies and

care serving people of all ages and their families as they navigate the challenges of aging, serious illness, and grief.

Under the leadership of President and CEO Samira K. Beckwith, evolved from a small volunteer-based hospice program to a of

This comprehensive model of care, including many innovative programs community has garnered the attention of health policy throughout the country. more than forty

years, Hope’s unique style of comfort and compassion has touched hundreds of thousands of people in Southwest Florida, providing a vital safety net for the most frail and vulnerable members of the community. HONORING HOPE HEALTHCARE PRESIDENT AND CEO SAMIRA K. BECKWITH 9470 HealthPark Circle, Fort Myers FL 33908 239.482.4673 | 800.835.1673 | HopeHCS.org Congratulations to Samira K. Beckwith on being named a Top Changemaker for 2022 386371-1

services,

and

42 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 TOP EMPLOYERS BY COUNTY LISTSTHE CHARLOTTE COUNTY COLLIER COUNTY HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY LEE COUNTY PASCO COUNTYMANATEE COUNTY Employer Employees 1 Charlotte County School Board 2,227 2 Walmart 1,395 3 Publix 1,321 4 Charlotte County Government 1,301 5 Fawcett Memorial Hospital 1,000 6 Bayfront Health Port Charlotte 900 7 Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office 688 8 Home Depot 600 9 Cheney Brothers 590 10 Bayfront Health Punta Gorda 450 Employer Employees 1 Collier County Public Schools 5,785 2 NCH Health Care System 4,315 3 Publix 3,041 4 Arthrex Inc. 2,856 5 Collier County Government (excluding Sheriff) 2,477 6 Collier County Sheriff 1,440 7 Ritz-Carlton 1,100 8 Seminole Casino 900 9 JW Marriot 862 10 City of Naples 488 Employer Employees 1 Hillsborough County School Board 24,866 2 University of South Florida 15,678 3 MacDill Air Force Base 15,000 4 Tampa International Airport 10,500 5 Hillsborough County Government 10,394 6 Publix 8,909 7 Tampa General Hospital 8,047 8 Baycare Health System 8,025 9 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center 8,000 10 James A. Haley VA Hospital 4,700 Employer Employees 1 Lee Health 14,028 2 Lee County School District 11,003 3 Publix 4,624 4 Walmart 3,467 5 Lee County Government 2,696 6 City of Cape Coral 1,858 7 Gartner Inc. 1,819 8 Lee County Sheriff’s Office 1,564 9 Chico’s FAS Inc. 1,532 10 McDonald’s 1,522 Employer Employees 1 Manatee County School Board 5,632 2 Publix 3,200 3 Beall’s 2,336 4 Manatee County Government 2,032 5 Manatee Memorial Hospital 1,651 6 Blake Medical Center 1,471 7 Manatee County Sheriff’s Department 1,237 8 Tropicana Products 1,000 9 IMG Academies 1,000 10 State College of Manatee-SarasotaFlorida, 900 Employer Employees 1 Pasco County School District 10,075 2 Pasco County Government 3,220 3 HCA Healthcare (five locations) 2,952 4 State of Florida 1,916 5 Advent Health Dade City & Zephyrhills 1,413 6 Pasco County Sheriff 1,362 7 Advent Health Wesley Chapel 1,325 8 Medical Center of Trinity 1,296 9 Morton Plant North Bay Hospital/Recovery Center 1,260 10 Florida Medical Clinic (22 locations) 1,176 Source: Charlotte County Clerk of Courts Source: Collier County Clerk of Courts Source: Hillsborough County Clerk of Courts Source: Lee County Clerk of Courts Source: Manatee County Clerk of Courts Source: Pasco County Clerk of Courts

AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 43 POLK COUNTYPINELLAS COUNTY SARASOTA COUNTY TOP EMPLOYERS BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS Employer Employees 1 Pinellas County School District 13,000 2 Pinellas County Government 6,200 3 Publix 6,000 4 Bay Pines VA Medical Center 4,500 5 Raymond James 3,800 6 City of St. Petersburg 3,500 7 John Hopkins All Children’s 3,000 8 Walmart 3,000 9 Morton Plant Hospital 2,900 10 St. Petersburg College 2,500 Employer Employees 1 Publix 13,701 2 Polk County School Board 13,363 3 Lakeland Regional Medical Center 5,888 4 Walmart 5,523 5 Amazon 5,000 6 Polk County Government 4,638 7 Geico 3,700 8 City of Lakeland 2,800 9 Baycare 2,614 10 Advent Health 2,466 Employer Employees 1 Sarasota Memorial Hospital 7,704 2 School Board of Sarasota County 5,811 3 Publix 3,999 4 Sarasota County Government 3,583 5 PGT Innovations 2,228 6 Venice Regional Bayfront Health 1,305 7 City of Sarasota 785 8 Helios Technologies Inc. 678 9 Doctors Hospital of Sarasota 589 10 FCCI Insurance Group 403 Source: Pinellas County Clerk of Courts Source: Polk County Clerk of Courts Source: Sarasota County Clerk of Courts 941-351-6565 ext. Sarasota,4400meredithb@andrickandassociates.com102IndependenceCourtFlorida34234-4727 • AndrickAndAssociates.com DESIGN PRINT MAIL DIGITAL Your Dependable ONE-STOP-SHOP for Printing and Mailing. Proudly Serving Satisfied Clients for 40 years! Hi Shawna, your mailing scheduled for today has been delivered to the post office. You should expect pieces to hit within 2-3 business days. If you have any questions, or need anything else, please don’t hesitate to ask. We look forward to helping you on your next project! “Our company had worked with printers in the past that just did not meet our expectations for quality, cost and turn around time. Then we found Andrick and Associates and are thrilled. The entire process went smoothly from start to finish. They exceeded our expectations on quality, cost and turn around time! We will be using them for our next project. Truly a reputable company.” – Ann Davis Google Review 372626-1 LISTSTHE

44 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 LISTSTHE TOP 50 CONTRACTORS Company, headquarters Top executives 2021 revenue2020 revenue Change 1 Manhattan Construction Group Naples Larry Rooney $1.15 billion $1.41 billion -18.35% 2 Power Design St. Petersburg Mitch Permuy; Dana Permuy; Frank Musolino $8.75 million $757.5 million 15.51% 3 DeAngelis Diamond Naples John DeAngelis, David Diamond, Reggie Morgan, Brett Diamond, Robert Lewis $365 million $297 million 22.90% 4 Ripa & Associates Tampa Chris LaFace $365 million $292.2 million 24.92% 5 O-A-K/Florida Inc. DBA Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. Fort Myers Matthew Zwack; Jan Conrad; Abel Natali; John LaBarge; Frank Stanek $319 million $310 million 2.90% 6 Brooks & Freund LLC Fort Myers Richard Freund $218 million $220 million -0.91% 7 Ajax Building Co. LLC Oldsmar William Byrne $217.18 million $235 million -7.59% 8 B&I Contractors Inc. Fort Myers Gary Griffin; Jason Grabowski; Brian Kelly $166.58 million $141.23 million 17.95% 9 Hawkins Construction Inc. Tarpon Springs Miguel Leyva; Michael Beausir; Josh Spooner; Aaron Leech; Todd Mullins $163 million $163.33 million -0.20% 10 Creative Contractors Inc. Clearwater Alan Bomstein; Joshua Bomstein; Alan Holderith; Jerry Siminski; Jim Cacini $155 million $120 million 29.17% 11 Connor & Gaskins Unlimited LLC Naples Barry Connor; Craig Gaskins $147 million $103.12 million 42.55% 12 KHS&S Contractors Tampa Michael Cannon; Erik Santiago; Jess Robinson $113 million $101.45 million 11.39% 13 Willis A. Smith Construction Sarasota David Sessions; F. John LaCivita $101 million $94 million 7.45% 14 APG Clearwater Michael Henley; Chris Johnson $89.02 million $97.15 million -8.36% 15 iConstructors LLC Tampa Robert Healy; Michael Montecalvo; Kevin Murphy; Edward Smith; Tracy Pritchard; David Smith $85 million $64.12 million 32.55% 16 Bay to Bay Properties LLC Safety Harbor Joe Faw; Jerome Ciliento $85 million $55 million 54.55% 17 McIntyre Elwell & Strammer General Contractors Inc. Sarasota John McIntyre, Mark Freeman, Ryan McIntyre, Rich Fredd, Josh Tomlinson, Greg Elwell, Frederick Strammer Jr. $82 million $59 million 38.98% 18 TDS Construction Inc. Bradenton

-10.95% 22 Woodruff & Sons Inc. Bradenton Donald

million 30.20% 26 Precise Construction Tampa Donnie Holland, Greg Johnson, Scott Johnson

-8.78%

-5.00% 32 R.E. Crawford Construction LLC Sarasota Jeffrey Smith; Utahna Smith

34.62% 21 Crowther Roofing & Sheet Metal Fort Myers

2.37% 23 Conditioned Air Naples Greg

-7.27% 26 Sutter Roofing Sarasota Doug Sutter; Brad Sutter

million 2.05% 28 Superior Pools Port Charlotte Jon Krawczyk

5.80% 24 Envirostruct LLC Bonita Springs Neil

Christina Scherer Bock; Terri Scherer; Chris Paynter $78.5 million $41.5 million 89.16% Robert Bandes $75 million $70 million 7.14% Mark Stevens; Dan Adams; Terri Sobeck $73.5 million $54.6 million Lee J. Crowther; Lee S. Crowther; Kevin Callans $73 million $82.2 million Woodruff; Bruce Woodruff; Linda Wakeman $69 million $67.4 million Johnson; Diane Matty $58.53 million $55.33 million Simon; Stephen McKenna Jr. $53 million $60 million Park; Forrest Eleazer $52.77 million $40.53 $51 million $55 million $44.7 million $43.8 $42.8 million $29.88 $41.44 million $27.07 million $43 $38 million $40 million $36.96 million $26 million $34 million $21.3 million $33.5 million $33.5 million $32.2 million $35.3 million

20 Stevens Construction Inc. Fort Myers

59.62% 34 Roofing by Curry Sarasota Gary Curry; Jesse Curry

-11.67% 25 Park & Eleazer Construction LLC Clearwater Andrew

42.14% 33 Matcon Construction Services Tampa Derek Mateos

19 Bandes Construction Co. Dunedin

million -9.30% 31 Jon F. Swift Construction Sarasota Jason Swift; Jon Swift; Ross Russo; Justin Williams

million 43.25% 29 Burgess Civil LLC Tampa Ben Burgess

million 53.12% 30 TLC Diversified Palmetto DalasLamberson $39

0.00% 35 Gator Grading & Paving LLC Palmetto Kevin Hicks

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46 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 TOP CONTRACTORS BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS Company, headquarters Top executive 2021 revenue2020 revenue Change 36 Heatherwood Construction Co. Bonita Springs Walter Crawford $31.9 million $18.8 million 69.68% 37 Florida Asphalt & Concrete Tampa Chris LaFace $31 million $17.07 million 81.61% 38 Diaz Fritz Group General Contractors Temple Terrace Delvis (Del) Diaz $31 million $38 million -18.42% 39 Frederick Derr & Co. Sarasota Frederick Derr; Keith Ravazzoli $31 million $20.87 million 48.50% 40 J2 Solutions Inc. Venice Jess Fronckowiak; David Fouche $30.74 million $29.43 million 4.45% 41 CFS Roofing Services Fort Myers David Crowther $30 million $23 million 30.43% 42 Franklin Development Corp. Tampa Ken Franklin $29 million $11 million 163.64% 43 The Sinclair Group Tampa Burk Clark; Graham Clark; Cameron Clark $27 million $20 million 35.00% 44 MY Shower Door/D3 Glass Fort Myers Bill Daubmann $25.76 million $18.82 million 36.90% 45 ArtisTree Landscape Maintenance & Design Venice Joseph Gonzalez; Frank Fistner $25.11 million $22.83 million 10.02% 46 Westfall Roofing Sarasota Kirk Westfall $24.28 million $18.93 million 28.25% 47 Adams Group North Port Ethan Adams $22.6 million $20.9 million 8.13% 48 Stellar Development Inc. Sarasota Maurice Opstal; Brian Ellis; Trey Arias $22 million $22 million 0.00% 49 Springer Construction Lakeland Jeremy Voss, Cole Springer $20.9 million $11.9 million 75.56% 50 Masonry Builders Inc. Tampa Thomas Bradley $20 million $20.3 million -1.48% Source: Individual companies LISTSTHE 361787-1 386377-1

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See WILL CROOK

48 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022

“We didn’t know much about the Tampa Bay Innova tion Center when we chose St. Pete,” Wood said at the facil ity’s groundbreaking ceremo ny in February. “We’d heard of it and thought, ‘That’s inter esting.’ I see here an openness to the idea of convergence, not silos, but working together. We’re talking about publicprivate partnerships.”

The partnership is about more than money and nam ing rights, though: Elmore says Wood has joined TBIC’s board and she might bring her annual Big Ideas Summit and other high-profile events to St. Pete. “That will bring even more economic impact to our region,” Elmore says, “and we’re working on several other projects with ARK. One is a project in the metaverse.”

Not to mention Wood her self is high-profile: She’s de veloped something of a cultlike following on Wall Street, growing a fund that at one point had some $60 billion in assets under management. She uses Twitter and social media videos to send out her investment philosophy to the masses, mainly that Wall Street has been too slow to embrace companies with innovative technologies in areas such as genomics and autonomous vehicles. Wood is also widely known as one of the biggest backers of Tesla, predicting the electric vehicle giant will eventually hit a $3 trillionWood,valuation.No.53 on Forbes magazine’s 2021 list of the world’s most powerful wom en, studied economics at USC under famed economist

WOOD page 52

CATHIE WOOD has brought her tech investment clout and influence to St. Pete.

“You have to have collabo ration between and among disciplines,” Wood says. “In talking to community lead ers, talking to companies, I feel that collaboration is part of [St. Pete’s] DNA — and I feel that even more so than I do about Silicon Valley.”

BE THE CHANGE

Wood turned heads when she moved her investment firm from Manhattan to St. Pete last year. Her clout and influence will be key to the success of the Tampa Bay Innova tion Center’s new head quarters, which, thanks to a $2 million donation, will be called ARK Innovation Center.

The ARK Innovation Cen ter will provide space for the companies that take part in TBIC’s accelerator programs, as well as local startups and firms that are new to the area and need a temporary place to call home. Wood sees it as a potential epicenter of “explo sive growth” in the region’s tech sector and all the indus tries tech touches.

Cathie Wood CEO, ARK INVEST

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

BRIAN HARTZ TAMPA BAY EDITOR Tampa has Jeff Vinik. Now St. Petersburg has Cathie Wood. The national profile of the Tampa Bay area’s twin cities has risen dramatically over the past decade thanks to Vinik, the Tampa Bay Light ning owner who has also spearheaded the $3.5 billion Water Street Tampa devel opment that’s transforming downtown Tampa. Wood, the widely admired and influen tial tech investor who moved her company, ARK Investment Management, from Manhat tan to St. Pete last year, is now set to become one of the Sun shine City’s most prominent champions.“Cathieis just one of those very smart individuals who know what they want and how to get things done,” says Tonya Elmore, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Inno vation Center, a St. Pete-based business accelerator and coworking space. “Very inno vative, as you would gather, very forward thinking, future thinking.”Elmore would know. She and her TBIC team have been working with Wood and ARK on a major project — the con struction of a $15.8 million innovation center — that will bring much-needed jobs and economic development to South St. Petersburg. ARK contributed $2 mil lion to what will be called the ARK Innovation Center when the 45,000-square-foot facil ity opens next summer at the intersection of Fourth Street South and 11th Avenue South. That’s in an area of the city dubbed the Innovation Dis trict because of the growing presence of science, tech and health companies and orga nizations, including USF St. Petersburg, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and the U.S. Coastal and Marine Science Center, to name a few.

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BEN SIEGEL, RSW Air passenger traffic through June at Southwest Florida In ternational Airport, under the call letters RSW, is up 17.6% year to date over last year. To handle this growth, the airport announced an update to its master plan, along with

50 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022

LEE COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; SARASOTA-BRADENTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PRESIDENT & CEO

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Ben Siegel, Rick Piccolo

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

AMANDA POSTMA SARASOTA-MANATEE WRITER Airport executives from Tampa south to Fort Myers are well-aware of the big changes in their in dustry post-pandemic, from a dearth of workers to rapidly increasing passenger numbers — a shortage and a surge that’s upended many airlines’ oper ating models. These officials, individually, are approaching the changes with vigor.

BE THE CHANGE Pair of top airport officials proceed in uncharted territory, with AirportdentonandInternationalSouthwestthoseTheynitiesmandvolumeaveragehigher-than-passengerandabigdeformoreameandservices.aretacklingchallengesatFloridaAirportSarasotaBraInternationalaggressively.

RICK PICCOLO expects SRQ will be able to handle the rush of passengers better in two years, once construction on a $72 million project is complete. several new improvement projects. The biggest chunk is a new 16-lane layout of Trans portation Security Admin istration checkpoints. The project will also include extra seating, concession spaces and a business lounge. Over all, the $331 million project is expected to remodel 164,000 square feet of existing space and add 117,000 square feet for walkways and concession space. Construction started lastIt’sOctober.expected to “improve the efficiency of the overall operations of the airport,” Lee County Port Authority Execu tive Director Ben Siegel says. While COVID-19 delayed the project, Siegel says the airport never considered canceling it. And with the current passen ger numbers the airport is see

LORI SAX

AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 51

ing, it’s a good thing the proj ect, expected to be completed in 2024, remains ongoing. “We’ve recovered so quickly,” he says. “Expectations in trav el and growth are unpredict able. We’ve definitely seen a spike during the pandemic. “I don’t think the double digit growth we’re seeing now is sustainable,” he adds. “Things will normalize, but I think it will be a new normal.”

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RICK PICCOLO, SRQ RSW isn’t the only one that can’t fit in its facilities anymore.Theredoesn’t seem to be a month that goes by where the Sarasota-Bradenton In ternational Airport, SRQ, isn’t breaking a passenger record.

SRQ reported 1.8 million pas sengers this year through May. Enter a $72 million project expected to provide enough stretch to support about 5 million annual passengers. The project will add a groundbased boarding facility ca pable of serving upward of 2.5 million passengers a year through five new gates being built behind the current air line ticketing area.

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

Siegel was named executive director of the organization in January 2021, after being interim leader for a little over a year. He is in charge of ad ministration, operations and development at Southwest Florida International Airport and Page Field, the regional reliever airport in Fort Myers. But Siegel isn’t a newcomer with the port authority. He’s been there since 1992. A CPA, Siegel started his career at Cooper & Lybrand in 1990, which eventually merged to form Pricewater houseCoopers. He soon set his sights on the port authority, being named deputy executive director of administration in 1992. He then led the finance team for more than 27 years. That stint eventually led to a big win for the RSW Midfield Terminal Complex — $327 million worth of a win. That turned out to be one of the biggest financing issuances in the county’s history. Now Siegel’s overseeing more seis mic changes. “These projects, from an economic standpoint, create thousands of jobs,” he says. “These are game chang ers for us. Those three primary projects are going to drive the future of SWFL airport and de mand to come.”

“We’re about three times as big as we were in 2018,” SRQ See AIRPORT 52 REAGAN RULE Amid construction at RSW, BEN SIEGEL says the toughest challenge has been navigating rising material costs and a shortage of workers.

page

The month of May alone was up 15.21% over last year in passenger traffic, while yearto-date the airport is up 57.3%.

Art Laffer. While her main ARK Investment Fund has shed some gains recently, partially due to the market slide, and the firm, in late July, shuttered one fund, she remains a big draw at in vestment events and a noted voice in picking stocks.

52 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022

“It’s certainly not the old SRQ where you could show up 30 minutes before your flight,” he says. “I think we’re well-positioned, but it takes a while to build. We cannot build fast enough. “Once (we’re through the) next two years, we’ll be in very good shape for the next fivePiccolo,years.”70, has been with SRQ since 1995, when he was hired for his current position. At the time, SRQ’s terminal was only 6 years old, but, thanks to renovations, was $115 million in debt. Un der Piccolo’s leadership, the airport paid off that debt in 2014 to become one of few debt-free airports in the U.S. It remains debt-free today. Before his nearly 50-year career could takeoff, Pic colo had a humble start as a janitor in 1970 at what is now the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. But the grind didn’t stop for Pic colo, who attended school at night. With a bachelor’s in business administration, he moved through the ranks as the building superinten dent, property manager, as sistant to the airport man ager and assistant director of Piccolooperations.later held leader ship posts at both Tampa International and St. Peters burg-Clearwater Interna tional Airport. He’s won mul tiple industry awards, and has become a leading voice in Sarasota-Bradenton tour ism and education circles. But even without the awards and notoriety, Pic colo would still get up and choose to lead the airport every day. “I enjoy the work I do,” he says. Being able to offer service and opportuni ties, while keeping the facil ity clean and updated, is his everyday motivation.

Having Wood as a cham pion and evangelist for St. Pete, the way Vinik is for Tampa, meanwhile, will create a ripple effect for the city, Elmore says, in terms of talent and capital — the two most critical ingredients for the success of startups. The presence of Wood and the ARK team, she says, “will build on our ability to at tract talent and capital and bring best-of-breed start ups to the region, and put a global spotlight on what we’reElmoredoing.”isquick to point out Wood’s decision to put down roots in St. Pete in volved much more than just throwing a dart at a map. It’s the culmination of “de cades” of work to rev up the city’s tech heartbeat.

BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS WOOD from 48

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

President and CEO Rick Pic colo says, “and two times as big as we were in 2019.” Piccolo says there’s a num ber of parking lot improve ments coming, as well as more restaurant spaces. Despite feeling the pres sure of a growing number of passengers, Piccolo says, “we’re in good shape. Those capital improvement proj ects are a big part of how we’ll handle that growth.”

“We’ve been at this for a long time,” she says. “I’ve been at it a long time, almost two decades, setting the groundwork and the grass roots, having people believe this community can be big ger and more innovative. It’s been a long time com ing. With Cathie Wood and ARK putting their stamp of approval on that, and what Vinik has done across the bridge, it makes it more of a reality for people to say, ‘Oh, this vision has come true.’ Yeah, it’s happened.”

The biggest challenge, much like at RSW, is the time it takes to construct these projects and a worker short age. Piccolo says the airport added 60 positions to take care of operations, including traffic control to help ease the burden of construction.

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American gymnast Sim one Biles and Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, in par ticular, were upfront about their mental health problems, and their vulnerability was an inspiration for millions of people — 52.9 million in the United States alone, accord ing to the National Institutes of Health— who’ve suffered in silence, afraid of being labeled weak, lazy, antisocial, etc. With his tech company Cope Notes and heavy metal band Prison, Tampa entre preneur Johnny Crowder, who describes himself as a “suicide and abuse survivor,” has be come a leading advocate and voice for people worldwide who need to know they’re not alone in their mental health journey. Cope Notes, in par ticular, has turned into a sig nificant success story, leading Crowder, 30, to become an in-demand public speaker, delivering TED Talks with ti tles such as, “How to Grow as a Person (and Why It Sucks)” and “Why I Don’t Want to Die Anymore.”Crowder was a rocker first and still thinks of himself that way — “I call myself an acci dental entrepreneur,” he says — but his work as the ultraintense, gravelly voiced front man of Prison nicely comple ments Cope Notes, which delivers positive, supportive thoughts in the form of SMS text messages. “I was attracted to heavy metal because of the honesty, which I still value today,” he says. The metal bands he was into were “talking about loss, frustration and self-doubt, and I’m like, ‘Yo, this is real; I can absolutely relate to this.’”

Crowder says of the shutdown. “I grew up touring, even before I was old enough to get into the venues we were playing. I didn’t realize how much of a cornerstone of my personal ity and identity it had become until it was stripped from me.” The loss of his creative outlet plunged Crowder into despair, but he did right by himself by going back into therapy. “I was not going to try to power through it on my own,” he says. “I was talking to my guitarist,

With Prison, Crowder sings — or screams, in some cases — about mental health top ics. Featuring songs such as “I Don’t Want to be Afraid Anymore,” “Mental Illness,” “Hurt” and “Losing My Mind,” the band has released a studio album, a live album and an EP, and it’s gearing up for its first tour since the pandemic made live shows impossible. “It was devastating,”

Prison.heavyleadCopecompanyNotesandsingerofmetalband

WEMPLE

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE See CROWDER page 56

CrowderJohnny

AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 53

MARK

CROWDERJOHNNY is the founder and CEO of health tech

BRIAN HARTZ TAMPA BAY EDITOR Mental health has shed its stigma over the past few years, as high-profile athletes and per formers have come forward with honesty and candor about struggles with anxiety, depression, panic attacks, ad diction and other emotional and psychological difficulties.

To date, Cope Notes, which has just four full-time em ployees, has sent more than 1.5 million messages to nearly 25,000 customers in 97 coun tries. The service costs about $8.99 per month — a fraction of traditional talk therapy pricing — but it’s not intended to completely supplant other mental health services.

“It’s an easier and more appropriate first step, espe cially for people who aren’t diagnosed with anything,” Crowder says. “There’s a big group of people who either don’t have the money or don’t have the time or other resourc es, or, quite frankly, don’t see themselves as having severe enough depression or anxiety to use something like therapy.”

FOUNDER AND CEO, COPE NOTES

BE THE CHANGE Johnny Crowder, 30, has fronted the heavy metal band Prison since he was too young to buy booze in the clubs the band would play. Struggles with mental health, however, prompted him to launch Cope Notes, a service that sends supportive SMS text messages to subscribers in an attempt to “rewire” the brain, eliminating negative thought patterns through positive stimulus.

DIRECTOR, SOUTHWEST FLORIDA ENTERPRISE CENTER

“I am someone who tries to make a difference in the envi ronment I’m in, whether it be professionally or personally,” she says. “I identity myself as a nurturer; I identify myself as a communicator. I love to net work and get new ideas from other folks. I’m not a resister. I want to do whatever it is I pos siblyShecan.”plans to embrace her inquisitive and open-minded nature as she works to expand the Southwest Florida Enter prise Center and keep up with the ever-changing Fort Myers area. “We have all types of businesses out there looking to grow and graduate out of our two-year program, so they can become successful busi nesses in the community and provide more future growth,” says LeFlore-Calloway. “The

Phyllis

“My future goals are to con tinue to assist business own ers to master their specific in dustries and achieve the skills that they need to grow and develop strong professional networking opportunities,” she says. She began working for the city of Fort Myers in 2018, as the legal administrator and advisor in the city attorney’s office. She then took on the role of interim city manager in April 2021. Throughout her career, she’s often served as a sounding board for cowork ers and business associates.

“I think I’ve created a reputa tion of being a good listener,” she says. “They know I’m go ing to be honest first and fore most. I never have an ulterior motive.”During her time working for the city, she’s taken on tasks related to issues like efficiency and restructuring, initiatives that required people to get OK with changes — both big and small.

LeFlore-Calloway CHANGE-MAKERSTHE BE CHANGETHE

54 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 Construction Management | General Contracting | Design-Build Fort Myers • Naples • 239-561-4141 • www.owen-ames-kimball.com • facebook.com/OwenAmesKimball.FL FGCU (Florida GulfCoast University) Lucas Hall / Daveler & Kauanui School of Entrepreneurship OWEN-AMES-KIMBALL COMPANY EXCEPTIONAL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FOR 40 YEARS CGC1528725 386380-1 BETH LUBERECKI CONTRIBUTING WRITER Phyllis LeFlore-Callo way had been holding down a dual role since October 2021, splitting her time between being assistant director of the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and director of the Southwest Florida Enter priseButCenter.whenshe realized the arrangement wasn’t ideal, she wasn’t afraid to speak up. Both were demanding, full-time positions, and she felt she couldn’t give her all to either role. So she presented her concerns to the CRA com missioners and was recently promoted to full-time direc tor of the Southwest Florida EnterpriseLeFlore-Calloway,Center. 63, now looks forward to focusing on the light industrial business incubator that works with startup and early-stage busi nesses. The center offers pro grams, workshops and semi nars for entrepreneurs and business owners to educate them on a variety of topics and provides a physical loca tion from which young busi nesses can work.

Phyllis success.communityhelphermakebeenCallowayLeFlore-hasn’tafraidtochangesinowncareertoothersintheachieve

FLCEO Director Roy Messing (440)567-1060 • rmessing@eoxnetwork.org

PHYLLIS CALLOWAYLEFLOREwas named and director of the Southwest Florida Enterprise Center in October. If you want to get from A to C, you’ve got to either go past B, over B, or around B to get there. But change puts people in a fearful mindset.

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Why Consider Selling to Your employees? 386423-1 incubator program right now is just what this city needs, and I’m trying to do collabo rations with some other exist ing programs so we can reach more people and broaden our scope of resources and infor mation we can provide.” She knows change can sometimes be hard — and some resistance is to be expected.“People want better, but they don’t want to change to make things better,” she says. “I’ve found that most change efforts fail because of a lack of understanding of the need for the immediate change. Providing good information is the only way to get the buyin from the people the change will include.” “I can’t spend a lot of time focusing on what people think as long as I know my why,” adds LeFlore-Calloway. “I’m the fixer. I must be able to identify the tasks required to implement change and es timate the effort needed to complete those tasks. If you want to get from A to C, you’ve got to either go past B, over B, or around B to get there. But change puts people in a fear fulShemindset.”considers herself a people person, but she’s also learned to trust her own in stincts and abilities. “I feel I’m very resourceful in the way I approach people,” she says. “And I approach everything I do now in my late life with no expectations. I find that af ter doing that I’m not disap pointed. Sometimes I’m very pleased at the outcome of any given situation by going into it with no Affectingexpectations.”change,she says, also requires taking things one step at a time and never being afraid to fail. “If you come to that obstacle in the road or that person or what ever it may be, don’t be afraid of failure,” says LeFlore-Cal loway. “You won’t know un less you try…And you can’t 56

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Potential tax benefits for the owner, the company, and the Maintainemployees.some control of the business operations and legacy after the Employee-ownedsale. businesses outperform their conventionally owned counterparts.

AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 55

See CALLOWAY

REAGAN RULE

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

Phyllis LeFlore-Calloway

CROWDER from 53

56 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 be afraid of ‘no.’ You’re going to get a lot of ‘no’s. I get ‘no’s everyAnotherday.”key to her success? Leading by example. “I don’t care about the accolades or the pats on the back as long as the work gets done,” she says. “My motivation comes from overcoming challenges, lead ing a team, and being part of a team.”Soit’snot surprising she ad vises aspiring change makers to stay humble. “No matter how successful you become, you’re only as good as the last person you’ve helped,” she says. “You always have to have an open mind of integ rity and honesty and speak up for what’s right. You never go along with wrong just to get along with people. Sometimes you’ve got to stand alone.” BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS CALLOWAY from 55 CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

Several of the company’s enterprise clients put their Cope Notes account on hold because of spending freezes. “Cope Notes got caught up in that initial panic,” Crowder re calls. “We very well could have gone out of business.” But in a counterintuitive move, Crowder started of fering free subscriptions to friends and family of current Cope Notes subscribers. “So many people found out about Cope Notes through that initiative that we started getting more paid subscrib ers,” he says, “and then our enterprise clients came back and brought their friends once they realized that behavioral health was something that they should be doubling down on instead of pulling back from.”Crowder declines to disclose Cope Notes’ revenue but says sales can vary wildly because of the company’s deals with enterprise and government clients. “Their budgets are absolutely massive,” he says. “So, it’s not unreasonable for us to have one month that has more revenue than the entire year combined. I will say that our revenue has increased year-over-year, every year. The chart is moving up and to the right.”With Prison back up and running and Cope Notes transitioned to a fully remote company, Crowder says he can run the firm while he’s on tour with the band — a “blessing,” he says. “I only have to turn on the ‘band version’ of myself af ter the venue doors open. I’ll work all day in the van or at the venue if we get there early. It’s not much of a stretch for me to work on tour.”

There’s a big group of people who thedon’teitherhavemoney or don’t have the time or therapy.somethinganxietydepressionsevereasthemselvesdon’tquiteresources,otheror,frankly,seehavingenoughortouselike

Insurance. Bonding. Employee Benefits. Serving our Community since 1953. 7120 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL 34238 (941)atlasinsuranceagency.com366-8424 386393-1 and he was like, ‘You know what the weirdest part of be ing home all the time is?’ And I was like, ‘What?’ And he goes, ‘Nobody ever claps for you.’ Yes, it’s silly to frame it that way, but you get to used to that sense of community — hun dreds of people in one room, all there for one purpose. And a new city every day.” He adds, “To go from that to waking up in the same room every day, spending all day in the same room, in silence, that’s why I started going to therapyFinancially,again.”the pandemic was also nearly catastrophic for Crowder and Cope Notes. “Our business slowed to almost a halt,” he says. “You would think that when that happened, everyone would focus on their mental health. But, in fact, everyone was fo cused on saving money.”

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Yvonne Fry

YVONNE FRY, 50, was born and raised in Plant City.

BE THE CHANGE

“What’s their pathway for ward once they graduate, if they’re not going to college?”

Fry further describes FCA as a synthesis, maybe even the culmination, of the many facets of her professional life. In her marketing work, she frequently deals with busi ness owners and CEOs and has found that, invariably, “the No. 1 thing that keeps them up at night is workforce,” she says. “Having a broad spec trum of understanding of dif ferent types of businesses, and being able to feel their ‘heart beat,’ has helped me prepare for what I’m doing with this nonprofit.”Evenasa busy profession al and single parent, Fry has made time over the year to volunteer in her kids’ schools. That experience led her to question how students are being prepared for successful, productive careers and lives, even if they don’t plan to pur sue higher education.

AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 57 BRIAN HARTZ TAMPA BAY EDITOR If cities and towns could hand out MVP awards for economic development, Yvonne Fry would have a strong case to receive such an honor from Plant City. The founder of Fryed Egg Productions — she uses the title “chief fry cook” — Fry is a jack-of-all trades when it comes to branding, market ing, public relations, event management and many other business development func tions. And, in addition to being a single mom, the 50-year-old is an unabashed evangelist for Plant City, where she was born and“I’mraised.ina fierce competi tion, but I want to be the head cheerleader for my commu nity,” she says. “I love it. I am so grateful for a place to call home, a special place that has a sense of community, where people care about each other and care about our place.” That sense of caring is evi dent in Future Career Acade my, a workforce development initiative Fry helped devel op in her role as CEO of Work force Development Partners, a nonprofit that also created the Best Florida Jobs program for adults. Now in its seventh year, FCA has been a big hit with non-college-bound high school students in Plant City, East Tampa and southern Hill sborough County, who, prior to graduation, receive class room instruction on topics that will set them up for suc cess, such as resume writing, how to dress for work, inter personal communication and other soft skills they’ll need to not only interview for and land a job, but set themselves up for a productive career. Then, as the students pre pare to matriculate, they take part in a “Future Fair” — de signed to be much more than just a standard job fair, it fea tures food, fun and energetic talks from local leaders such as Plant City Mayor Rick Lott — that connects them with dozens of local employers. Future Fairs are followed by signing days — celebrations of FCA participants who’ve been hired by local compa nies or are entering training and apprenticeship programs. During the 2021-22 school year, FCA reached some 7,000 students, and it partnered with employers such as TECO, Mosaic Co., Publix, BayCare, Coca-Cola, Stingray Chevro let, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Ace Hardware and others. Several sponsoring companies paid for career training opportunities for students, ensuring the gradu ates will enter the workforce as debt-free as possible. Next year, Fry says, FCA will expand to all high schools in Hillsborough County, and it could quickly grow even fur ther. “We’ve had queries from counties all over the state,” Fry says, adding that businesses, too, want to help the program branch out to more commu nities. “The demand on both sides is there.”

FOUNDER, FRYED PRODUCTIONS

A 1989 graduate of Plant City High School, Fry saw little future in her hometown and left as quickly as she could. Now, she’s Plant City’s ‘head cheerleader’ and is creating bright futures for its young people. One big goal? Expand her workforce development program, Future Career Academy, beyond Hills borough County.

MARK WEMPLE You put the right people at the table with the right pro cess, mean ing happen.magicdialogue,andrelationshipsbuildingyou’reopeningandwill Yvonne Fry

EGG

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE See FRY page 60

Griffin, with her power house career in the making, has proved her own fears to beInunfounded.Griffin’sstate role, her main priority now, she is the face of one of the most integral, yet unheralded departments in state government. The de partment of professional regu lation oversees licensing and regulating of businesses and professionals statewide. If you order a beer at a bar, go to a barbershop or call your Real tor, the department had a hand in making that happen.

SECRETARY, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION

BE THE CHANGE

Melanie Griffin MARK WEMPLE MELANIE GRIFFIN, balances a law career with a state-level post overseeing licensing and regulations. innately important it is for her to give back and why her inter est in business is so ingrained.

LOUIS LLOVIO COMMERCIAL R.E. EDITOR Melanie Griffin knew she wanted to be an attorney when she was 8 years old. It wasn’t one moment of inspiration or a mentor who guided her. It was just some thing that happened, that even at that early age felt right. She has a picture from a career day project at that time and a drawing where she talks about her“Ibriefcase.amnotquite sure other than I dressed up as a lawyer for Halloween. That year I lit erally wore fake glasses, had a briefcase, the whole nine,” says Griffin, now 41. “I don’t know what got into my head at such an early age, but I was sure set on it.” The decision has served her well.Today, she is a corporate lawyer at Shumaker in Tampa and is also Secretary of the Florida Department of Busi ness and Professional Regu lation — a position Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed her to in late 2021. Griffin also owns the company Spread Your Sun shine, which offers speakers and training and sells inspira tional gifts and products. The company was born out of her fear of failure and of not being good enough, a common fear she helps others overcome.

“Which means that people can’t pay for rent or food or gas,” Griffin says. “And, so, you really see that daily impact and get the satisfaction of not only helping people in their day-to-day lives, and how they multiply that and impact oth ers through their businesses.”

GRIFFIN page

But here’s the thing. Remem ber how Griffin wasn’t sure what led her to the law? Well, if she had thought about it way back then, none of this may have happened. She wouldn’t be a lawyer at a prestigious firm. She wouldn’t be running a state agency. And who knows what else would be different. So that part of her story is as important as the one about her choice of profession because it’s this part that shows how

GriffinMelanie

Thanks to her mother’s influence, Melanie Griffin has focused her life on do ing good and helping oth ers. A corporate lawyer by trade, she now heads Florida’s Department of Business and Profes sional Regulation. That job, she says, allows her to make a difference in the daily lives of business owners and their employ ees and customers.

“Looking back, I think if I had really critically done an analysis on where my skill set would best be used in terms of possibly impacting the world, I don’t know that I would have picked (the law). I can almost guarantee you I would not have picked that profession.”

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

I had so many people payaffordedtiesthegratefulthatisthatdifference.ameinvestedwhoinandmadesignificantSocertainlyonereasonIamsoforopportuniI’vebeentoitback.

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Griffin says when she was growing up there were no centers for entrepreneurship or mentorships. These weren’t topics that were discussed. Most of the time, you got an undergraduate degree and went to graduate school. Some See 60

Because of that, Griffin feels responsible to businesses in Florida and the customers those businesses take care of. She doesn’t use the word ob ligation. But she feels a duty to make sure those business owners, already facing daily obstacles that threaten their survival, can do what they need to do without the gov ernment getting in their way or not solving problems. The reality, she says, is most businesses in Florida are small and often run paycheck to paycheck. If the department is unable to license efficiently, and solve problems or answer questions quickly, “that af fects their ability to actually transact business and make payroll.”

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And, really, when that is your motivation, does it mat ter what you wanted to be when you grew up?

It didn’t take long for Fry to make friends at Southern Miss. One of them invited Fry to her family’s home for the weekend — a memory that has stuck with her de cades later. “I get there, and her house has dirt floors,” she recalls. “The whole weekend, we ate red beans and rice because it’s a nutritious meal that’s cheap to fix. Those things were just the realities of what people around me were dealing with.” That experience, so ear ly on in her college years, awakened Fry, who spent some of her childhood years on the family farm but didn’t struggle with dirt floors and lack of food. After graduating from Southern Miss, she returned to Plant City.“It’s ironic that I came back pretty quickly,” she says. “At the time, a lot of us wanted to get out of (Plant City)— we thought there’s nothing here; there’s no opportunity.”WithFCAand Best Flori da Jobs, Fry has created an abundance of opportuni ties for subsequent genera tions of Plant City and Tam pa residents. But there’s work yet to be done. She’s looking for more compa nies to join FCA’s business advisory boards, which meet a few times per year to assess needs and plan events in the communities the organization serves and plans to serve. “You put the right people at the table with the right process, meaning you’re building relationships and opening dialogue,” she says, “and magic will happen.”

GRIFFIN from 58 she says. “How are we truly preparing them for that next step? I look at what I’m doing with this nonprofit, and I tell people, ‘No mat ter where you find yourself, everything in your life has uniquely prepared you for today.’”Thatstatement could eas ily apply to Fry’s personal journey. Graduating from high school in 1989, she was determined to leave small-town life behind and enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. “I followed a boy there,” she says. “Obviously, that didn’t work out. But being in that place, the poorest state in the union, was one of the greatest gifts.”

FRY from 57

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

60 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 381925-1 BIG BOOK OF BUSINESS

people decided to become doctors, others lawyers with out questioning their pur pose in life or if they’d leave a legacy.“Alot of the buzzwords, and I mean that in a positive way, that you hear today, and I see a lot of our younger gen eration talking about, which is Butawesome.”evenwith that, busi ness has played a big role in her life. She graduated from Florida State University in 2003 with a degree in business and finance and then earned an MBA and a law degree in 2006. As an attorney, her focus has been corporate law. But Griffin, whose mother was a social worker, says what drives her is helping others. Whether that’s working with a client who’s facing difficul ties, helping an entrepreneur whose license has expired and may not be able to open for business the next morn ing or talking with someone whose fears of not being good enough is impeding their growth, it’s all about giving back.“Ihad so many people who invested in me and made a significant difference. So that certainly is one reason that I am so grateful for the oppor tunities I’ve been afforded to pay it back,” she says. “It brings me a lot of joy. I know a lot of people say that, and that it sounds cliché, but it’s not, you get more joy out of giving than receiving. It really is just a great feeling when you know that you have empow ered someone else.”

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BE THE CHANGE Named CEO in Septem ber 2021, Blair Bloomston is leading a major change at Game On Nation in business strategy and the sizes and types of clients it seeks to attract. The Game On curriculum, focusing on teamwork and communication, also helps companies and organizations facilitate internal change.

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

Blair Bloomston

MARK WEMPLE

MARK GORDON MANAGING EDITOR Steve Shenbaum and Blair Bloomston were having coffee in the kitchen of the Game On Nation office last summer when Shen baum blurted out a substantial suggestion: The founder of the leadership, communication and teamwork consulting firm, Shenbaum asked Bloomston, “Hey, you want to be CEO?” Bloomston had been work ing side-by-side with Shen baum since 2004, starting as an intern. By that day in the office kitchen, she’d worked her way up to partner and senior vice president. While not there from day one, in 1997, she’d been involved in nearly every big decision at the company. “Yes,” Bloomston responded simply to the want-to-be CEO query. “That sounds good.”

Bloomston, 41, took over as CEO of Game On in Sep tember 2021. Nearly a year later, it’s clear job title isn’t the only thing Bloomston plans to change. While the core of what Bradenton-based Game On does will remain the same, one of her big goals as CEO of the 12-employee firm is to of fer its services to smaller and mid-size businesses. That core is an innovative training technique and cur riculum based on something Bloomston and Shenbaum cre ated called the MILE process: Mystery, Incentive, Laughter and Empowerment. The firm guides clients on how to “har nesses the power of MILE to create immediate improve ment that businesses can see, feel and measure,” according to its Shenbaumwebsite. and Bloomston, both with acting backgrounds — Shenbaum has more than a dozen credits to his name, mostly 1990s and early 2000s movies and TV shows — built a star-studded client list. To gether and individually they’ve worked with pro athletes from every major sport; the U.S. House of Representatives; all branches of the military; Nas car; NASA; and more. Corpo rations include Deloitte and Hilton.Bloomston now seeks to bring the Game On curriculum to both smaller entities and or

Internal budgets for those two segments of clients are vastly different, Bloomston recognizes. That’s why find ing new ways of delivering the Game On curriculum is one of her main change objectives as CEO. One way she will do that is through streamlining the curriculum to play to Game On’s strengths, prioritizing teamwork and communica tion for clients. Going directto-consumer also requires a mindset shift and different marketing and messaging. “I’m excited to simplify our focus and then scale the hell out of it,” Bloomston says.

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Another aspect of change Bloomston puts a lot of time into is getting prospective, and sometimes even current, clients to be willing to change. That goes from approaches to project management to shifts in a business model to under standing and embracing diver sity in the workplace. That, Bloomston says, often comes down to communica tion — or lack thereof. “When companies fail to do well with change it’s because they don’t communicate it well,” Bloomston says, further la menting how the work-fromhome era has made face-toface communication that much more challenging. “It’s amazing how radical an idea communicating with others hasGamebecome.”Onspecifically ad dresses change through the mystery side of MILE — mak ing change an engaging part of work, not a drag. “When we incorporate play, like hide and seek, the unknown actually

See BLOOMSTON 66 CEO, GAME ON BLAIR BLOOMSTON was named CEO of Bradenton-based Game On Nation in September 2021.

ganizations in and around the Bradenton-Sarasota area. “If you’re Deloitte, this could real ly work, if you’re Lloyds of Lon don, if you’re Hilton this could really work,” Bloomston says. “But small businesses want to be able to build communica tion skills. They want to be able to learn these skills, too.”

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“We’re 40% below market,” Vengroff adds. “My father said, ‘greed kills everything good.’ If we’re making enough, we don’t have to take it out on the tenant.”When looking for a property to build a community, One Stop Housing has few limits. Vengroff says the company has acquired everything from schools to commercial and in dustrial spaces. As long as the structure, or land, is near pub lic transportation, it can work.

The average cost to live in a One Stop Housing community is $750-$800 a month, all-in clusive with utilities. The goal? For workers to live close to their jobs without spending their en tire paycheck on housing . Vengroff can charge more, especially in today’s lava-hot apartment rental environment.

Five years later, the business has grown substantially. Cur rently, there are 800 units in the queue to be built this year. That’s in addition to the 3,000 units already built, plus the eight hotels it has converted to workforce housing. The company keeps rates

“We’re for-profit, but have a philanthropic approach,” Mark Vengroff says. “Everyone de serves a place to live.”

About eight years ago, Mark Vengroff, 56, found himself as CEO of his dream job. At the time, he was working with the founder of Clearlight Partners, an advisory private equity firm that had recently purchased Walker Advertis ing. Soon enough, Vengroff was named CEO of the agency. But two years into that job, his father, the late Harvey Ven groff, a prominent Sarasota businessman known partially for his battles with local offi cials over zoning and housing regulations, called with some news. The elder Vengroff had acquired a third hotel prop erty and shortly after was di agnosed with cancer. Given a year to live, Harvey asked his son to take over managing the properties. Resisting at first, the younger Vengroff asked his father to “just sell them. I was happy doing what I was doing.” “He said, ‘I can’t sell it. Thou sands of families will be with out a place to live,’” Vengroff says. Harvey had purchased the first hotel building 20 years ago in Sarasota and rented it out to families. When he made the call to Mark, he had a sec ond hotel property in Sarasota and one in Bradenton that was under construction. So, two years into his time at Walker Advertising, Mark Vengroff flew from Califor nia to Florida to get a sense of the situation. After seeing the communities the residents had formed, he knew he couldn’t let them, or his father, down. Not wanting to leave Walker Advertising without a CEO, he stayed for six months, until a new leader was in place. Then he spent the last six months of his father’s life working “side by side” with him to grow the within the 60-80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) range, but to live within a One Stop Housing community, prospec tive residents must have a job. That’s the only requirement.

BE THE CHANGE

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

AMANDA POSTMA SARASOTA-MANATEE WRITER

While working at a dream job in California, Vengroff got a call from his father that would change his trajectory and lead him to Florida with a passion to provide affordable hous ing for an community.underserved company his father created: One Stop Housing. The Saraso ta-based company specializes in buying and converting ho tels, offices, schools and other property types into apartment buildings whose units are priced below market rates. It operates in Bradenton, Kissim mee, Orlando, Sarasota and Memphis, Tennessee. (Harvey Vengroff died Oct. 11, 2018. He was 77.)

PARTNER, ONE STOP HOUSING

See VENGROFF 66

After One Stop Housing ac quires a property, it’s time to either renovate or build. Ven groff says the company does so without cutting corners, even though construction and material costs have recently “gone through the roof.” The company cuts down on a lot of those costs by using its inhouse construction team. Since the layouts for the apartments are similar, One Stop Housing can purchase in bulk. So even though the cabinets are custom-made, the

64 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022

MANAGING

MARK WEMPLE MARK VENGROFF never imagined himself working at One Stop Housing, but now he can’t imagine doing anything different.

Mark Vengroff

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CHANGE-MAKERSTHE becomes attractive and mag netic,” she says. “When com panies don’t communicate well, that’s when the unknown goes bad.” A Bradenton native who moved to New York City for six years to attend college and chase an acting and dancing career, linking up with Game On was Bloomston’s real dream come true. “I was really lucky to get connected to this kind of unicorn: actors work ing with athletes,” Bloomston says. “Everyone can learn through these techniques. It doesn’t matter what your job title or role Bloomstonis.”

eyes other changes on the horizon, in cluding a return to more live events and conferences. She’s also watchful of the econo my, remembering in the last downturn, in 2008-2009, “peo ple-centric programs were the first line item to be cut” from organization’s budgets. With the Great Resignation and other workplace trends, Bloomston says companies have opened up leadership de velopment budgets. “It boomeranged back in a rapid way” after the pandemic she says, believing executives see the value.Shenbaum remains with Game On as president, over seeing culture, team develop ment and the vision for the curriculum.Comingon one year of being CEO, Bloomston says she was growing more comfortable in the position, which includes steering the business strategy, operations and partnerships/ growth. “Business strategy is one of my passions,” she says. “I’m enjoying the CEO role.”

BLOOMSTON from 62 company could purchase 800 at a time to reduce cost. The four apartment layouts include a studio, one bed room, two bedroom with one bathroom and two bed room with two bathrooms. The biggest motivator for the team and Vengroff to this day remains Harvey. “My father was always my hero. His spirit lives very loud and clear here,” he says, noting especially of Har vey’s philanthropic focus. “We keep that in the back of our“Hisheads.”final words to me were, ‘grow this thing to a billion,’” which was a nod to earlier in Vengroff’s career. As CEO of Vengroff, Wil liams and Associates, a debt collection agency started by Harvey, Vengroff grew the company into 19 countries with 1,100 employees and took it from managing $10 million to over $32 billion inOfassets.his own passion for providing workforce hous ing, that’s an easy question for Mark Vengroff to an swer. The tenants and their stories.“Italways seems when I have a bad day, I’ll get a phone call or letter from a tenant,” he says. One story Vengroff tells is particularly moving. A woman, who left a bad situation in Texas, moved in with her friend in Flor ida. Not long after, she found herself kicked out of the temporary housing. She was widowed, had no credit and was living on the street, even though she had a job, Vengroff says. Every housing place she tried denied her applica tion. Following a particular rough day of being turned away, she devised a plan. There was one more place on her list to apply for housing. If that place rejected her, she planned to go to the Sun shine Skyway Bridge that spans Tampa Bay between Hillsborough and Manatee counties to jump, and kill herself. That last place was One Stop Housing. After a brief interview, she was handed an application to get her set up for an apart ment. In disbelief, tears started streaming down her face. Vengroff says when asked why she was crying, she says, “You just saved my life.”“This,” Vengroff says, “is exactly why I’m doing what I’m doing.” 64

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VENGROFF from

LOUIS LLOVIO COMMERCIAL R.E. EDITOR Y

ou probably shouldn’t say that entrepreneur ship came naturally to Lakshmi Shenoy, but it kind of Growingdid. up, Shenoy was the kind of kid who was always coming up with ideas and exe cuting them. Once, she created a program to save the rainfor ests, soliciting donations for the initiative and putting out a conservation newsletter to donors, whether they had any idea it was coming or not. That was when she was 8 years“Thatold.was sort of the start of it,” she says. “Building new ventures has always been something that I am just in clined to do. And I’ve also just always been a pretty creative person.”Shenoy is now the CEO of Embarc Collective, the in novation hub in Tampa. In her position, she helps entre preneurs develop and grow their businesses, making sure they get the training and help they need to raise money and thrive. This while learning the skills necessary to optimize the value of their company and run it long term. In the years since she came to Tampa, Shenoy’s role has expanded beyond the doors of Embarc and, in a way, she’s become the voice and face of entrepreneurship in the city, winning awards and becom ing the go-to source on the top ic. She’s also become a force for helping women and working on conservation issues.

Of the “things that are re ally important to me, one is supporting other women and ensuring that we’re creating as many opportunities for wom en, especially women that are changemakers in the commu nity, and in the country and the world,” she says.

Shenoy says the nonprof it, which operates out of a 32,000-square-foot center in the city, was created to spur innovation and to help grow future business leaders. Each entrepreneur working with Embarc gets an individual ac count manager to work with them as well as coaches, all designed to provide individ ualized support. There are currently 125 companies in Embarc.Shenoy, tasked with over seeing all aspects of the orga nization and who dedicates a considerable amount of time to outside causes, manages to spend 20% of her week work ing directly with the startups.

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SHENOY page

LAKSHMI SHENOY, CEO of Embarc Collective in Tampa, joined the organization in 2019. PHOTO

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

CEO, EMBARC COLLECTIVE

Lakshmi Shenoy

FILE

BE THE CHANGE As CEO of the innovation hub Embarc Collective, Lakshmi Shenoy is taking a natural talent for cre ativity and using it to help the next generation of entrepreneurs grow their companies.

AUGUST 2022 ■ BusinessObserverFL.com BUSINESS OBSERVER 67

She does this because of a love for solving problems with startups and helping them overcome barriers they may have. Her philosophy is not to give a company founder an answer, but to ask questions. Embarc doesn’t take an equity position in any of the businesses it works with, so the work is to help the entre preneur think through the challenges and create the right frameworks for them to reason through challenges on their own, she “Entrepreneurshipsays. is incred ibly difficult. It’s incredibly lonely. And if you try to do it alone, and in a silo, you’re not setting yourself up for success,” she says, adding that “It’s really about how do we create a really effective support infrastruc ture so that we can better the chances of a startup’s success.”

68 BUSINESS OBSERVER BusinessObserverFL.com ■ AUGUST 2022 386434-1

Samira Beckwith

ver the 30-plus years Samira Beckwith has been leading Fort My ers-based Hope Healthcare, the nonprofit has expanded from a hospice serving fewer than 100 patients to an orga nization offering a full spec trum of health care services. Hope Healthcare now cares for some 3,000 people a day, providing hospice, pallia tive, cardiac and senior care; a Parkinson’s program; care for children with complex medical conditions; and grief counseling for all ages plus complementary therapies.

But Beckwith, who has been in the hospice sector for 40 years, shows no signs of stop ping or slowing the expansion of services. “We have to con tinue to be relevant for people and for the communities we serve,” she says. “Even with all the effort we’ve put in, we can’t let up in our quest to re ally assure quality of life for people. People can live bet ter or to their potential while they have a serious illness or advancingBeckwithillness.”isalso on the forefront of many advances and changes in the hospice industry, both in Florida and nationally. In Florida, Hope Healthcare is one of a handful of end-of-life care organiza tions that have significantly expanded services in recent years. Others in the region to have done that include Em path Health, parent of Tide well Hospice, and Chapters HealthEvenSystem.so,Beckwith says she’s humbled to be consid ered a change maker. “Making changes means really focus ing on what needs to be done, not just what’s easy,” she says. “And looking at the greater good. You look at what people need and then how to achieve that for the greater good of the person, their family, their friends, the community and also our entire society. That’s what I’ve dedicated my pro fessional career to, trying to make this difference for peo ple in what is the most dif ficult time of their life — the closing chapter of life.” She knows many people don’t want to dwell on this portion of life; it’s easier and more appealing to celebrate births and other joyful mile stones. But she’s passionate about “trying to convince people that we have to be as dedicated to the closing of life,” she says. While it can be a painful time for the individual and their loved ones, respecting and honoring this moment can also provide benefits for the family. Yet trying to shift

BETH LUBERECKI CONTRIBUTING WRITER O

CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

BE THE CHANGE

Samira Beckwith has spent three decades at Fort Myers-based Hope Healthcare working to inspire people to think about life’s final chapter in a different way. She’s also helped lead an industry-wide movement for end-of-life care orga nizations to offer more services.

PRESIDENT AND CEO, HOPE HEALTHCARE

It also takes

Samira Beckwith, Hope Hospice CHANGE-MAKERSTHE

Stephen W. Hall CEBS, CPBS, CSFS Market President 386234-1 societal mindset the last chapter of life, Beck with has learned, requires a constant dedication to im provement and an unwill ingness to be satisfied with the status quo. continual evaluation of the needs of the community and whether still being met, plus an understanding of the challenges of the cur rent health care system and the potential new technology brings.“Wehave sure we’re being innovators and striv ing to improve,” Beckwith says. “We have to constantly be looking at that, because people’s needs change. As our society evolves, every day is different. Technology is changing the world, so we have to be a part of that.”

She’s also continually working to make sure people know about what’s available through Hope. “The services we offer are not the services people necessarily want to think about, so that just adds to challenge,” she says. “How do we relate to the commu nity so people know about us and can access us? How do we relate to the rest of the health care system so they can help provide the access peo ple need? That is an ongoing question.”Thedesire to make a dif ference and the gratitude of the families who have been helped by Hope Healthcare inspires Beckwith’s continued work at both Hope and be Making changes means what’sbewhatfocusingreallyonneedstodone,notjusteasy.

around

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“It’s little things like that that are always in my mind, like the saying that there’s no ‘I’ in the word team,” she says. “As difficult as things might be at times, I think for the most part PHOTO SAMIRA BECKWITH has been with Fort Myers-based Hope Healthcare since 1991.

to be

yond the organization. She’s served on the board and pub lic policy and education com mittees for the National PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) Association and as chair of the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation, Na tional Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and Na tional Hospice Foundation. This kind of work with a broader scope can lead to ben eficial changes for everyone. “It’s knowing we can come together and make a differ ence,” she Beckwithsays.leans into the idea of using a team approach to help make change happen.

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“I think that’s the beauty of the community that we have. There’s no ego at all, it’s just sort of, like, ‘I see the dream that you’re pursuing. You see the dream that I’m pursuing, how do we help each other get there?’”

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SHENOY from 67

Embarc launched in 2019 with Shenoy at the helm. She moved to Tampa from Chicago for the job, after being recruit ed by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik. As of Aug. 1, Embarc businesses — includ ing Ideal Agent, BlockSpaces and TrustLayer — have raised $173.8 million in capital. Shenoy came to Tampa after working early in her career on building brands and working on “the visual and the copy writing side of building new entities.”Thatearly portion of her ca reer included a stint with Leo Burnett, the legendary Chica go advertising agency. But she was too impatient for advertis ing. She wanted to continue advancing, to find opportu nities. She considered getting a master’s in Fine Arts, but instead went to Harvard Busi ness School to get her MBA. That began a progression that eventually led her to the world of innovation and startups.HerMBA studies began in 2008 just as the economy was beginning to crumble and the world was entering a recession. Seeing the instability in the world, particularly in the fi nancial services sector where many of the class wanted to go, brought a “collective realiza tion” that a degree, even from Harvard, “wasn’t necessarily a sure“Youthing.”feltthis entrepreneur ial bug. It was like everyone caught it. It was a good type of virus to get,” Shenoy says. “So that was that. Coupled with the fact that I had a natural aptitude toward building new things, that was the start of me really starting to hone that skill around startups.”

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I find people to be good and to want the best for people, no matter what the product or service or change is.” She feels it’s vital to un derstand your motivations, goals and mission when as piring to innovate and bring about change. “I believe we’ve grown because we have fo cused on the unmet needs in the communities we serve and because of our dedica tion and commitment to our mission,” Beckwith says. “We have stayed true to our mis sion and wanted to provide the best care for people and the right care at the right time for people. Many other organizations focus more on maybe what’s best for them. We maintain that commit ment to the people.”

In 2014 she joined 1871, a Chicago innovation hub as business development direc tor. That position and other roles there got her name in front of change makers like Vinik, and since arriving in Tampa, Shenoy’s helped build Embarc from the ground up, creating the brand and de signing the $10 million hub space. That work building the nonprofit gives her a firsthand understanding of what entre preneurs face and allows her to share what’s worked and what hasn’t as they brainstorm ideas.And she learns from them as she continues to grow Embarc.

Lakshmi Shenoy

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