Business Briefs
Marquardt joins Finemark team
FineMark National Bank & Trust has added Megan Marquardt to the staff of the Riverwalk Office. Marquardt will serve as a relationship banker. She is a graduate of Indiana University Kelley School of Business and has worked as a trust officer and commercial banker in Ohio prior to relocating to Southwest Florida.
FineMark National Bank & Trust offers a comprehensive array of banking, trust, and investment services to clients interested in establishing long term, high touch relationships. FineMark is dedicated to providing a culture of service to clients and making a positive difference in the communities it serves.
FineMark adds Morris to staff
Susan Chicone, managing executive of the FineMark National Bank & Trust Shell Point Office, has announced the addition of Angela Morris as a Relationship Banker and Teller at Shell Point.
Morris joins FineMark following her experience serving as a closing manager and coordinator with a major national homebuilder.
FineMark has opened the Shell Point office in a temporary location adjacent to the existing banking facility. FineMark has initiated a complete renovation and expects to move into the updated space this fall.
FineMark National Bank & Trust offers a comprehensive array of banking, trust, and investment services to clients interested in establishing long term, high-touch relationships. FineMark is also dedicated to providing a culture of service to clients and making a positive difference in the communities it serves.
Wagner named in Gulf Coast Business Review
Dr. Kate Wagner, a partner with Elmquist Eye Group, has been named on Gulf Coast Business Review’s “40 Under 40” list of the brightest professionals under the age of 40 who live and work in Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties.
Wagner became a partner in Elmquist Eye Group in 2007, after just one year with the practice. Since joining the company as an optometrist in 2006, Wagner has increased the number of new patients and improved procedures throughout the organization. She also serves as managing partner of the optical department.
A Florida board certified optometrist, Wagner has a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Iowa and a doctorate in optometry from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. Wagner received training in ocular disease, cataracts, glaucoma and refractive surgeries at the Cataract and Laser Institute in Boca Raton and at Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, N.C.
Wagner was commissioned as a captain in the United States Army Medical Service Corps in 2003 and was stationed at Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg. In 2005, she was deployed to Iraq with the 261st Area Support Medical Battalion and received the Army Commendation Medal for her service. While stationed at a base near Baghdad, she provided routine and emergency care for U.S. soldiers, contract workers, and local Iraqi civilians.
Founded in 1992, Elmquist Eye Group provides comprehensive eye care to thousands of patients in Lee County. Services include routine eye exams and diagnosis and treatment of cataracts; macular degeneration; diabetic eye disease; dry eyes; glaucoma; and other eye conditions. A full optical boutique is located within the Fort Myers office with a wide range of eyeglass options. The Fort Myers office is located at 12670 New Brittany Blvd., Suite 102. A new branch office opened in January in Cape Coral at the Shops at Surfside. New patients are currently being accepted. For more information, call 936-2020 or go to www.Elmquist.com.
Liberty National Life to hold hiring event
Liberty National Life Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Torchmark Corporation, headquartered in McKinney, Texas, announced it will hold a “We’re Hiring” event on Wednesday, Aug. 19, in the Fort Myers area. Liberty National is in the most aggressive growth mode in the company’s 109-year history and plans to hire more than 50 agents in the Fort Myers area. This event is part of 125 events as Liberty National seeks to hire more than 2,500 Agents across the U.S. in one day.
Interviews will be held at 9 a.m., noon, 3 and 6 p.m. at Liberty National Life Insurance Company, Atrium, 8695 College Parkway, Suite 1188, Fort Myers.
For additional information, visit: www.lnlcareers.com or call 334-2491.
Grochowski earns plumbing contractor license
Honc Industries is proud to announce that Steve Grochowski has earned the Florida State Certified Plumbing Contractor License. Steve is the Septic Division Manager of Honc Industries and has worked with the Honc companies for eight years. He is a lifelong resident of Pine Island.
Southwest Florida business workshop
The Hispanic Institute at Hodges University, the Southwest Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Florida Gulf Coast University Small Business Development Center will sponsor a small business, bi-lingual workshop on the campus of Hodges University, 4501 Colonial Blvd. Fort Myers, Room 364, Saturday, Aug. 29, from 10 to 1 p.m.
There is no cost to attend the program, but prior reservations are requested. For further information, please contact Hodges University at 938-7793, the SWFL Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at 418-1441 or FGCU/SBDC at 239-745-3300
Pediatric cancer patients to attend ‘Kids Cooking Class’
Rumrunners Head Chef Todd Johnson will host “Cooking with Todd” a kid-friendly cooking classes, Saturday, Aug. 8, at 10 a.m. (pizza class) and 11 a.m. (gelato class). The classes, which will be held at The Joint and Run Agrounds, respectively, at Cape Harbor, will feature pizza and gelato making for children who are being treated for cancer and blood disorders at The Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.
Pollo Tropical to help needy and nonprofits
Beginning next week, 20 of Southwest Florida’s most needy nonprofit organizations will get a “wing up” as part of a locally created and locally-benefitting plan being implemented for the community by Pollo Tropical restaurants.
The first charity to participate in the “wing up” campaign will be the Cape Coral Little League. Due to city budget cuts, families may be required to pay $40 per person per sport in order to use the park facilities. This is in additional to the standard league fees.
The Cape Coral Little League will host a benefit night at the Cape Coral Pollo Tropical, 1652 N.E. Pine Island Road, Wednesday, Aug. 12, from 5-8 p.m., to help raise funds for scholarships that will cover these park fees for children who need it the most. Fifteen percent of the sales generated during the event will be donated to the league.
According to Heather Peterson, Southwest Florida spokeswoman of Pollo Tropical, Pollo Tropical will modify its existing benefit night community outreach program to be able to benefit 20 organizations over the next 20 weeks from among three destination Pollo Tropical restaurants in the region.
Each week of the campaign, one participating charitable organization will be the benefactor of each weekly Benefit Night. The Pollo Tropical restaurant hosting the particular benefit night will donate 15 percent of restaurant sales that night to the charity partner’s organization.
For more information about the Pollo Tropical “Wing Up” campaign or to nominate your charity for a Benefit Night, visit: www.pollotropical.com.
Eisenberg earns board certification
Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A., has announced that estate planning attorney Ronald A. Eisenberg has earned board certification by The Florida Bar in Wills, Trusts & Estates. Certification is the highest level of recognition by The Florida Bar of the competency and experience of attorneys in the areas of law approved for certification by the Supreme Court of Florida.
Attorneys who become board certified are also evaluated as to their character, ethics and reputation for professionalism in the practice of law. Eisenberg currently serves as chair of the firm’s Estate Planning and Administration division.
Eisenberg began his legal career over 25 years ago in Minnesota and joined Henderson Franklin in 2005. He assists clients in all aspects of estate planning and trust administration, including intergenerational wealth transfers, charitable gift planning and specialized estate planning issues related to second marriages. He is a board member of the Bonita Springs Community Foundation, a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), and a member of the Naples Estate Planning Council and the Planning Giving Advisory Committee at Florida Gulf Coast University. He is also AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell.
Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A., is one of the largest law firms between Tampa and Miami. A full-service firm, Henderson Franklin has 55 attorneys practicing in the areas of business and tax planning, estate planning, family law, commercial and civil litigation, workers’ compensation, employment law, real estate, and land use and environmental law. One of the state’s oldest firms, Henderson Franklin was founded in Fort Myers in 1924 and currently operates offices in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, and on Sanibel Island. For more information on Eisenberg or Henderson Franklin, please visit www.henlaw.com.