Business Briefs 7-22-22
Sanibel Captiva Community Bank partners with PACE to collect dresses for Love that Dress event
Sanibel Captiva Community Bank announces all eight Lee County branches are now dress donation drop-off locations to benefit PACE Center for Girls of Lee County. Through Aug. 12, new and gently loved dresses will be collected for resale at the Annual Love that Dress! Fundraiser scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 24, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Estero. Items may be donated at the following Sanibel Captiva Community Bank branches:
• McGregor Branch, 15975 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers – 239-210-7100
• Winkler Branch, 7040 Winkler Road, Fort Myers – 239-274-7400
• College Branch, 7500 College Parkway, Fort Myers – 239-274-6200
• Bridge Branch, 9311 College Parkway, Fort Myers – 239-274-6250
• Downtown Branch, 1533 Hendry St., Fort Myers – 239-274-6205
• Gateway Branch, 11691 Gateway Blvd., Fort Myers – 239-274-6210
• Main Office, 2406 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel – 239-472-6100
• Periwinkle Branch, 1037 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel – 239-472-6150
To learn more about the Love that Dress event visit lovethatdressleecounty.com.
For more information on Pace Center for Girls, Lee, call 239-425-2366 or visit www.pacecenter.org/locations/lee.
Founded in 2003, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank offers free personal and business checking, deposit accounts with competitive interest rates, instant issue debit cards and a full array of digital banking products and services. To learn more, visit www.SanCapBank.com.
Home Watch Services Plus earns accreditation
Home Watch Services Plus has earned accreditation from the National Home Watch Association. The NHWA was formed in 2009 in order to establish and maintain the highest industry standards for Home Watch and absentee homeowner services throughout the United States and Canada (www.nationalhomewatchassociation.org).
Home Watch is a visual inspection of a home or property, looking for obvious issues, which means that it is a service that “keeps an eye on things” at your vacation or primary home while you are not in residence.
Home Watch Services Plus is owned by Brian Padgett and his wife, Patricia, who moved to Cape Coral from the western suburbs of Illinois.
Home Watch Services Plus serves Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers, Matlacha, Pine Island, Bokeelia and St. James City. Contact Home Watch Services Plus at 708-860-3751 or at brian.hwsp@gmail.com.
Bella Home Concierge earns accreditation
Bella Home Concierge has earned accreditation from the National Home Watch Association. The NHWA was formed in 2009 in order to establish and maintain the highest industry standards for Home Watch and absentee homeowner services throughout the United States and Canada (www.nationalhomewatchassociation.org).
Home Watch is a visual inspection of a home or property, looking for obvious issues, which means that it is a service that “keeps an eye on things” at your vacation or primary home while you are not in residence.
Owners Robert and Kristi Iannucci moved from Arizona to Cape Coral in April of 2020. Robert has worked in the aerospace industry, building 82 launch control centers for the ground-launched cruise missiles and building the transportation containers of the Stage 1, Stage 2/3 and armored Stage 4 warhead of the MX Missile System. The next phase of Robert’s career was in the construction and building-materials industries for over 25 years. He was a general contractor in Arizona and has the skills, knowledge, and understanding to determine when to use licensed contractors and when a handyman will do.
Kristi is a healthcare executive, having held a number of senior leadership roles; she has a breadth of experience including client management, operations, IT, marketing, business, and product development, in the financial and healthcare sectors. She was a champion for telehealth in the state of Arizona and participated in an initiative that was successful in driving legislative changes regarding telehealth reimbursement. Kristie is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a master’s in Healthcare Management.
Bella Home Concierge serves Cape Coral, Matlacha, Pine Island and Burnt Store. You can reach them at 239-205-7476 or at robert@bellahomeconcierge.com. Learn more from their website, at www.bellahomeconcierge.com.
Henderson Franklin welcomes Oliveri
The law firm of Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A., has announced that attorney Nicholas Oliveri has joined the firm as an associate in the Business & Tax Department. Oliveri holds a master of laws degree in taxation. He will focus his practice on business operations and planning, mergers and acquisitions, federal and state taxation and tax-exempt organizations.
Oliveri was a member of the 2020 Summer Associate program at Henderson Franklin. He previously worked at the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and had the opportunity to help draft legislation to increase protection for the elderly against abuse and neglect in Virginia.
Oliveri obtained his B.A. in political science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and his juries doctorate from Florida State University School of Law. He continued his education at the University of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of Law to obtain his master of laws in taxation. He may be reached at nicholas.oliveri@henlaw.com or by phone at 239-344-1376.
Henderson Franklin is one of the largest, locally-based law firms between Tampa and Miami, with over 55 attorneys dedicated to providing a wide range of legal services in the areas of business and tax planning, estate planning, family law, business and civil litigation, eminent domain, intellectual property, workers’ compensation, employment law, real estate, and land use and environmental law. Since 1924, Henderson Franklin has been assisting clients in building their homes, businesses, and communities in Southwest Florida. Henderson Franklin operates offices in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples, and Sarasota (by appointment). For more information on Oliveri or Henderson Franklin, please visit www.henlaw.com.
LeFlore-Calloway promoted to director of Southwest Florida Enterprise Center
Dr. Phyllis R. LeFlore-Calloway, J.D. has been promoted to director of the Southwest Florida Enterprise Center.
Since October 2021, LeFlore-Calloway had served as assistant director for the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency and was splitting her time between duties at the CRA and directing the Southwest Florida Enterprise Center. She will now be solely responsible for overseeing the SWFEC.
SWFEC is a light industrial business incubator dedicated to assisting start-up or early state businesses. Its programs, workshops and seminars help to educate business owners in a wide range of subjects. The center also provides businesses a physical location from which to operate with added technical assistance to owners to help them build a strong and long-lasting business. It serves all types of business owners; anyone who can produce a product or deliver a service needed by the growing Southwest Florida market.
SWFEC offers collaborative office space, dedicated teams, mentors, professional advisors, best practices methodologies, with the goal of assisting new businesses the opportunity to launch their dreams in the market without having to expend and over-stretch personal resources.
The center is managed by the CRA.
LeFlore-Calloway has more than three decades of successful experience in legal, employee, project management and operations with focus on restructuring and sustainability. She specializes in legal analysis, contract negotiations, and professional development and has traveled to present topics in legal and organizational management during training sessions around the United States.
LeFlore-Calloway holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a double major in sociology from Delta State University and a juries doctorate degree from Novus University. S
MrineMax’s West promoted to vice president
MarineMax recently announced the promotion of Ryan West to the role of vice president. West will continue to lead the company’s best in class Fort Myers operations.
Ryan joined MarineMax in 2004 and has over 20 years of retail experience, including leading MarineMax locations throughout West Florida and Texas. Since returning to Florida in 2014, West and his family enjoy the close-knit community of Fort Myers and are happy to call it home.
MarineMax’s philosophy is to offer customers unparalleled resources to connect with people and places on the water. The Fort Myers location spans 25 acres and offers everything a boater could dream of. The newly constructed, onsite waterfront restaurant, Deep Lagoon Seafood and Oyster House, is a premium dining experience seating up to 270 guests.
Sun Watch SWFL has earns NHWA accreditation
Sun Watch SWFL has earned accreditation from the National Home Watch Association for the third year. The NHWA was formed in 2009 in order to establish and maintain the highest industry standards for Home Watch and absentee homeowner services throughout the United States and Canada (www.nationalhomewatchassociation.org). Home Watch is a visual inspection of a home or property, looking for obvious issues, which means that it is a service that “keeps an eye on things” at your vacation or primary home while you are not in residence.
Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Greg and Sue Peters have called Fort Myers their home since 2014. This husband-and-wife team have been business partners for over 15 years and actively managed their own investment properties together as friendly and reliable landlords.
Prior to starting Sun Watch SWFL, Greg worked in the auto-body industry for 30 years, starting as a shop porter and working his way up to managing 25 employees at certified dealerships for high-end cars.
Sue attended the University of Findlay in Ohio and obtained a double major in pre-veterinary medicine and biology, with a chemistry minor. She then obtained her veterinary medicine associate’s degree as well as her doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of Illinois. She began her professional career 20 years ago as a small-animal veterinary practitioner.
Sun Watch SWFL serves Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Sanibel Island, and Captiva Island. Call 630-885-5132 or email info@sunwatchswfl.com. Learn more from www.sunwatchswfl.com.
Antoni joins Priority Marketing as junior web developer
Priority Marketing has added Tyler Antoni to the firm’s web development team, which develops creative and optimized websites that are adaptable to the latest technology and devices and designed to meet client goals.
In his role as junior web developer, Antoni creates solutions that enhance performance, usability and scalability of websites while ensuring the codebase is clean and well-documented. Antoni collaborates with the firm’s marketing and editorial teams on website design and development, search engine optimization (SEO), server and domain management, website security and troubleshooting.
Priority Marketing manages websites for clients representing a broad spectrum of industries, including hospitality and tourism, retail, health care, senior living, construction, legal, financial, education and locally owned businesses, as well as nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations.
Before joining Priority Marketing, Antoni was a software engineer for a company in the casual sports entertainment industry, where he maintained software programs, led troubleshooting initiatives and optimized existing code. He also has experience as a reporting analyst for a company focusing on digital customer experiences, monitoring key performance indicators to identify inefficiencies and risks.
For more information, please call 239-267-2638 or visit PriorityMarketing.com.
Air Pros USA kicks off A/C unit giveaway for Fort Myers teachers
As students, teachers and school staffs prepare to head back to school, Air Pros USA will give a free air conditioning unit to the coolest teacher living in Fort Myers. The Florida company has begun accepting nominations for the Air Pros USA Teachers Giveaway to surprise one lucky teacher with a new A/C unit with installation, valued at $10,000.
In addition, all nominated Fort Myers teachers will receive a free summer season A/C tune up as a way to honor them for their continued support of students in the South Florida area.
Anyone can nominate a deserving teacher for the Air Pros USA Teacher’s Giveaway by filling out a short application at AirProsUSA.com/teachers. The deadline to submit nominations is Monday, July 25. The contest is open to teachers living in Fort Myers, who will be educating students during the 2022/2023 school year.
For more information and a complete list of official rules for the Teacher’s Giveaway, visit https://airprosusa.com/teachers.
Air Pros USA was founded in South Florida and has expanded to many metro areas within Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Colorado, Georgia, Texas and Washington, with more locations expected to be introduced soon. Air Pros USA currently employs more than 600 experienced professionals in more than a dozen metro Service locations including Miami, Orlando, Dallas, Atlanta, Colorado Springs, Mobile and Spokane. For more information visit www.airprosusa.com.
Fort Myers Brewing to host Christmas in July
Fort Myers Brewing Company is getting into the holiday spirit with Christmas in July festivities from 5 to 11 p.m., Friday, July 22.
The event will feature craft brews, food trucks, live music and holiday fun with a special tapping of Fort Myers Brewing’s popular holiday brew, KegNog.
Guests can get a head start on their holiday shopping lists at Fort Myers Brewing’s popular Night Market, which opens at 5 p.m. Sip, shop and support small local businesses with unique, handcrafted items from local vendors offering everything from soaps to candles to jewelry and even hot sauce.
Local eats will be served up from Farmer’s Corn and Wicked Streatery throughout the evening, and a live performance by Matt Walden begins at 7 p.m.
Christmas in July will take place at Fort Myers Brewing Company, 12811 Commerce Lakes Drive, Suite 28, in Fort Myers. For more information, visit Facebook.com/FMBrew or call 239-313-6576.
‘Kids Eat Free’ at Jason’s Deli from Aug. 5-7
Jason’s Deli of Southwest Florida, a leading family-owned deli restaurant, is hosting its 13th annual “Kids Eat Free” event from Friday, Aug. 5 through Sunday, Aug. 7, offering complimentary meals to children aged 12 and under at four Southwest Florida restaurant locations.
According to a recent survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $864 on school items, approximately $15 more than last year. Back-to-school spending has increased dramatically since the onset of the pandemic, as families adjusted to changes from virtual and hybrid learning. Compared to 2019, back-to-school shoppers are expected to spend $168 more on average, and total spending is up $11 billion.
From Friday, Aug. 5 through Sunday, Aug. 7, diners will receive up to two complimentary kid’s meals with each adult entree and drink purchase. Children must be present, and the “Kids Eat Free” special may not be combined with other offers. The offer is valid for dine-in, to-go and curbside pickup, and not valid for deliveries.
In Southwest Florida, participating Jason’s Deli locations include Fort Myers: 13550 Reflections Parkway at Cypress Lake Drive and 16441 Corporate Commerce Way at Alico Road; Naples: 2700 Immokalee Road at Airport Pulling Road; and Cape Coral: 2311 Santa Barbara Blvd. near Veterans Parkway.
A family-owned deli restaurant chain, Jason’s Deli was founded in Beaumont, Texas, in 1976 by Joe Tortorice Jr. and now has 240+ locations in 28 states. In 2005, Jason’s Deli was the first major restaurant concept to ban artificial trans fats in the U.S. and later became the first to eliminate high-fructose corn syrup. At Jason’s Deli, whether you want gluten-sensitive menu items or vegetarian options, healthy kids’ meals or if you would like to build your own salad at their famous salad bar, you will be delighted by the bigger choices of better food, from healthy to indulgent. For more information, please visit jasonsdeli.com.