Business Briefs
November passenger
count up at RSW
During November, 720,556 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport, an increase of 7.6 percent compared to November 2014. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is up 4.6 percent from the same period last year.
The traffic leader in November was Southwest with 144,114 passengers traveling to and from Fort Myers. Rounding out the top five airlines were Delta (134,667), JetBlue (91,462), Spirit (68,758) and US Airways (65,712).
Southwest Florida International Airport had 6,910 aircraft movements (takeoffs and landings), an increase of 3.9 percent compared to November 2014. Page Field saw 8,341 movements, a 0.2 percent decrease from November 2014. In addition, nearly 2.6 million pounds of air freight moved through Southwest Florida International Airport in November 2015, a decrease of 0.9 percent compared to November 2014.
Southwest Florida International Airport served more than 7.9 million passengers in 2014 and is one of the top 50 U.S. airports for passenger traffic. No ad valorem (property) taxes are used for airport operation or construction. For more information, visit www.flylcpa.com or Like Us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/flyRSW.
Petra joins Pavese Law Firm
Attorney Matthew Petra has joined the Pavese Law Firm. He primarily focuses his practice in the areas of real estate law and community association law. Prior to joining Pavese, Petra worked as an associate for a large, international law firm based out of Florida. He also worked as a law clerk for a large, statewide law firm based out of Orlando.
Petra earned a bachelor of science in finance (Real Estate) and a master of business administration from Indiana University, Kelley School of Business. Petra obtained his law degree from Indiana University, Maurer School of Law. He passed the Indiana Bar in 2011 (inactive) and the Florida Bar in 2012.
Petra is a member of the Lee County Executive Regulatory Oversight Committee. He was a member of the City of Fort Myers, Planning Board. He was also the Recruitment Chair of the Lee County Bar, Young Lawyers section. He is an adjunct, business law professor with Florida Gulf Coast University, an alumnus of the Culver Military Academy, and a certified, Better Business Bureau (BBB) arbitrator.
Pavese Law Firm is a full-service law firm with offices in Fort Myers, Cape Coral and West Palm Beach. The firm provides a broad range of legal services for individuals, families, small businesses and large corporations. Practice areas include agricultural, banking and finance, bankruptcy, business and taxation, civil litigation, community association, employment, environmental and water, estate planning, probate and trust, family, land use and government, and real estate law. For more information, visit www.paveselaw.com.
LeeTran’s seasonal changes include
increased service to Fort Myers Beach
Increased LeeTran service to Fort Myers Beach is among seasonal changes that will begin Jan. 7.
The Fort Myers Beach Trolley service will include two routes:
– Route 490 has three trolleys that will travel between Summerlin Square and Bowditch Park until 8:45 p.m., seven days a week.
– Route 410 has five trolleys that travel between Bowditch Park and Lovers Key until 10:20 p.m., seven days a week.
In addition, Route 150 will also start its seasonal service between Lovers Key State Park and the Center of Bonita Springs until 9:40 p.m., seven days a week.
Route 50, which operates from Summerlin Square, 11390 Summerlin Square Drive, to the Southwest Florida International Airport, will also add more frequent routes Monday through Friday.
The seasonal changes extend through April 27. Complete schedules can be found at www.rideleetran.com.
For questions, call LeeTran Customer Service at 239-533-8726 and press option 1, or email rideleetran@leegov.com.
Women in Business
networking meeting Jan. 6
The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce Women in Business will kick start the new year with a focus on health at its January networking meeting from 4 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 6, at Center Court in the Bell Tower Shops, 13499 U.S. 41 S.E., Fort Myers. The “Wellness in the Workplace” presentation will feature guest speakers Christin Collins from Lee Memorial Health Systems and Glo Cuiffi from Six Bends Harley-Davidson. Collins will discuss personal wellness in the workplace and Cuiffi will talk about maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
All business professionals are invited to attend. Admission is $10 for Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce members and $20 for future GFMCC members. To register, call (239) 332-3624 or visit www.fortmyers.org.
Global Restaurant Superstore LLC
awarded Purveyor of the Year honor
Global Restaurant Superstore LLC was awarded Purveyor of the Year at The American Culinary Federation’s SWF Chef’s Association Annual Holiday Dinner at Christof’s.
Global Restaurant Superstore is a local family owned and operated restaurant equipment dealer located in Fort Myers. The Smith family is well known in the community and had over 35 years’ experience in the restaurant business in Massachusetts, Georgia and Florida before opening the equipment store in March of 2014.
Globa Restaurant Superstore is at 12121 Crystal Condo Road in Fort Myers. For information about GRS, contact Robert Smith , 239-218-1870 or rsmith1558@aol.com
‘Mayor’s Morning Menu: A Fort Myers
Task Force Breakfast Briefing’ Jan. 8
The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce and the city of Fort Myers invite the public to the first “Mayor’s Morning Menu: A Fort Myers Task Force Breakfast Briefing,” Friday, Jan. 8, at Crowne Plaza Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops located at 13051 Bell Tower Drive.
Doors open at 7:30 a.m. with a breakfast buffet beginning at 8 a.m., compliments of Crowne Plaza and General Manager Jim Larkin.
Fort Myers Mayor Randall P. Henderson Jr., Fort Myers Interim Police Chief Dennis Eads and Lee County Sherriff Mike Scott will present the latest information on the task force’s law enforcement-related activities. Other members of the task force include Fort Myers City Manager Saeed Kazemi, the State Attorney’s Office, and senior officials from Florida Department of Law En-forcement, Federal Bureau of Investigations, and other law enforcement experts.
Seating is limited to the first 200 people who RSVP by calling (239) 332-2930 or registering online at www.fortmyers.org.