Northwest Florida's Business Climate - November-December

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Cordova Commons Finds New Life and Revitalizes Area Businesses

Growing Our Local Economy

BEST CompetitionShowcases Students’Best Talents

46 > nwflbusinessclimate.com November/December 2012

As the end of the year approaches, Northwest Florida iscelebrating growth that will surely be a boon to the local economythroughout the holidays and beyond. The greatly anticipated retailredevelopments at Cordova Commons have come to fruition,giving the area some brand new options for specific retail areas inthe Fresh Market, Ulta, Marshalls and DSW.

These developments will bolster an already successful and busyshopping area, and add tax revenue to the local economy. Take alook at our story on this bustling shopping center and its likelyeffect on the area on page 55.

Also in this issue of Business Climate, we’re reporting on thearea BEST competition. BEST stands for Boosting Engineering,Science & Technology, and the annual contest pits students fromdifferent area schools against one another in a roboticscompetition where winners go on the regional and national levels.BEST encourages interest in STEM-related disciplines and otherskills, which gives local young people the opportunity to lay thegroundwork for a career in these growing fields. Look for more onpage 52.

Additionally, this issue features information on GrowFL, aprogram through the University of Central Florida that is currentlyworking with the Greater Pensacola Chamber to offer opportunitiesfor the local business sector through “economic gardening.” Theprogram helps grow businesses that have been established and aremoving to the next level of business through CEO round tables andother means. We look forward to seeing what this entrepreneur-centered economic growth strategy can do for our local economy.

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50. economic development

Growing Our Local EconomyGreater Pensacola Chamber partners with

GrowFL to create greener economicpastures

52. technology

BEST Competition Showcases

Students’ Best Talents

61. IT Tips

>f e a t u r e s 55.

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Businesses

November/December 2012

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>economic development

Growing Our Local EconomyBy Scott Luth

The Greater Pensacola Chamber is earning its greenthumb as an economic gardener.

In September, GrowFL: The Florida EconomicGardening Institute at the University of Central Florida,selected the Greater Pensacola Chamber as a partner forthis year’s program to cultivate entrepreneurial growth.

The basic philosophy for programs at GrowFL,“economic gardening,” is much like gardening of theorganic variety. Just as farmers research and strategizefor the success of their crops, gardeners of the economyembrace strategies to grow existing businesses in acommunity, region or state.

"The Greater Pensacola Chamber is pleased to partnerwith the GrowFL program to provide strategic marketresearch assistance and CEO roundtable opportunities tocompanies in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosacounties,” said Kelly Reeser, existing business andworkforce manager for the Greater Pensacola Chamber."Supporting second stage, high growth companies is acore element of our economic development strategy.”

With funding in part by the Florida Department ofEconomic Opportunity, the guiding principle by whichthe GrowFL program maintains its success is to keep theentrepreneur at the center of the support matrix.Through this special partnership, the Chamber interactswith companies at the local level and provides resourcesand referrals to complement GrowFL strategic researchand roundtable activities.

Founded as a pilot program in 2009, GrowFL hashelped more than 400 companies create upwards of1,400 new jobs in our state. By focusing its efforts oninitiatives to strengthen services of entrepreneurialsupport organizations like the Chamber, GrowFL isgrowing business and assisting to accelerate the successof second stage companies throughout Florida.

GrowFL provides CEO roundtables, events andseminars to businesses who have surpassed the startupphase and need additional tools and technologies togrow. Throughout the program, participating executivesare given the opportunity to network and adopt best

practices from CEOs who have successfully moved theirbusinesses beyond the second stage of development.

"The GrowFL Roundtable program allows the CEOsthe opportunity to step back from the day-to-dayoperations of working in their business and allows themto work on their business,” Reeser stated.

The structure of the CEO roundtable session is acollaborative one, intended to address issues importantto business owners. Participants are encouraged toopenly discuss their current obstacles to growth in areassuch as finance, employee relations, legal complianceand marketing. The goal is to learn from both theachievements and mistakes of other companies.

As part of the GrowFL program in the Pensacola area,the Greater Pensacola Chamber is supporting ninecompanies which represent 175 jobs and more than $35million in annual revenue for the region. Participation inthe program is by invitation only, and this year’s groupof select local businesses is reaping the fruits of theeconomic gardening philosophy.

Businesses slated to participate in the 2012 GrowFLprogram include H2 Performance ConsultingCorporation; Overgroup Consulting, LLC; Custom ControlSolutions, Inc.; Collector Solutions, Inc.; Compass SolarEnergy; Hixardt Technologies, Inc.; Gulf CoastArchitectural Group, Inc.; Pensacola ResearchConsultants, Inc.; and Bit-Wizards Information TechnologySolutions, Inc.

“GrowFL is just one more step the Greater PensacolaChamber has taken to show their commitment to theeconomic development of growing small businesses,”said Hazel Wiggington, managing partner and CEO of H2Performance Consulting. “The roundtable event is apowerful tool for Florida’s small businesses and a criticalsuccess factor of the Chamber’s Vision 2015 plan.”

The GrowFL program kicked off for the GreaterPensacola Chamber this fall, with the first CEOroundtable event in October. For more information onGrowFL, please visit www.growfl.com.

Greater Pensacola Chamber partners withGrowFL to create greener economic pastures


> technology

BEST CompetitionShowcases Students’

Best TalentsBy Josh Newby

Screaming fans, pep bands and feverish competition, oh my!The best and brightest students from 22 area schools cametogether on October 20 at the University of West Florida FieldHouse to compete for top prizes and a chance to advance toregional competitions later this year.

This is no football, basketball or baseball game, though. Theclashing challengers and rival schools competed in the sixthannual Emerald Coast BEST Robotics competition.

The Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST)games are meant to demystify students who are intimidated bySTEM (Science, Technology, Math and Science) studies. Byshowing students that these subjects can be fun and relevant,BEST’s vision is to excite the nation's youngsters about thesestudies to unlock their imagination and discover their potential.

“The mission of BEST is to inspire students to pursue careersin engineering, science, and technology through participation in asports-like, science and engineering-based robotics competitioneach fall,” said Gretchen Vanvalkenburg, BEST SteeringCommittee member for the Emerald Coast hub.

Students are the sole participants and primary decision-makers, designers and builders in the program, though universityofficials help plan and coordinate the event. Programs like thesetend to have a higher rate of students who end up going intoSTEM-related fields than those who do not participate. Studiesalso show that participating students have a better understandingof math and physics.

The program was started in 1993 with 14 schools and 221students. Since then, BEST has grown explosively. The middleand high school robotics program now captivates more than11,000 students from 750 schools across the nation for 42riveting days a year. Students and schools can participate at nocost, and popularity of the program has been expanding eversince it began.

“The Northwest Florida region has steadily increased itssupport of the Emerald Coast BEST hub over the past six years,”said Vanvalkenburg. “Our longest standing partner is Gulf Powerwho, along with UWF, established the hub six years ago.”

At the start of each program, the teams and their mentors

Photos by John Blackie


meet with BEST officials to discuss the year’s themes,playing field and other game information. Students buildtheir robots from a materials kit provided by the hub, usingonly the components found within. The robot must also fitin a two-foot cube box and weigh less than 24 pounds.

The students then have just over a month to design andbuild a robot that meets the program’s specifications beforea practice day.

One week after the practice day, just a month and a halfafter learning about the competition and parameters for thefirst time, the teams come together to see who is the bestof the BEST.

“Gulf Power believes the competition teaches studentspractical engineering, science and math skills, which arecritical for their future,” said Jeff Rogers, corporatecommunications manager at Gulf Power. “But the event alsoteaches the students to work together as a team, toorganize projects, to market their work and to creativelysolve problems.”

This year’s theme involved the design and construction ofa prototype robot capable of scaling a 10-foot pole on aplaying field designed to resemble a space elevator situatedon an island and extending 62,000 feet into the air. Teamstested their robots during three-minute matches, completingmock tasks such as transporting cargo and waste, refuelingthe station, and installing habitation modules and solarpanels. The competition was broken down into semifinaland final rounds to determine the winning teams, which willthen go on to the regional competition.

This year’s theme was dubbed “Warp XX.” Previousnames include “Total Recall,” “Just Plane Fun,” “2021: ARobot Odyssey,” and “Dynamite Duel,” highlighting the funnature of the games.

“Each BEST project is designed to teach teamwork,problem solving, project management, and pride in taskcompletion within the constraints of a short time period andlimited material resources,” said Vanvalkenburg.

As with all of the past competitions, this year featureddeafening screams of support from fellow students, sports-like drama as teams were slowly eliminated and rivalrieswere created, and tears of joy from the ultimate victors.

Each team is judged on its robot’s performance, oralpresentation, table display, project notebook, spirit, andsportsmanship. They must also design a website and give aninterview, allowing students to explore a full spectrum ofsubjects and abilities beyond science and engineering.

The winners this year that will be continuing to theregional competition in Auburn, Alabama are NewpointPensacola High School, Woodham Middle School, andSeaside Neighborhood Middle School.

“The study of science, technology, engineering and mathis a national priority, one that adds to the development ofour work force, meets the needs of our businesses andultimately fuels the economy,” said WEAR anchor SueStraughn, who presented the awards.

Additional support for the program is provided byArmstrong World Industries, AT&T, ASHRAE - NorthwestFlorida Chapter, Bit-Wizards, Cox, Florida Institute of Humanand Machine Cognition, Hopjacks, Marianna Airmotive,S.E.R.F., Tech Soft, UWF Alumni Association, and WebbElectric of Florida.


Cordova Commons, the shopping center across from Sacred HeartHospital and Pensacola State College, recently finished undergoing a redevelopment. With anew look and all-new stores, including Fresh Market, Marshalls, DSW (Designer ShoeWarehouse) and Ulta, the area is now ready to once again reign as the most sought afterlocation in the Pensacola market.

Cordova CommonsFinds New Life andRevitalizes Area

BusinessesBy Josh NewbyPhoto courtesy of DSW


The 164,139-square foot center is currently home tomany successful businesses and restaurants, such as SteinMart, Petco, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, LifeWay ChristianBookstore, Smoothie King, Blue Cross/Blue Shield’sFlorida Blue Retail Center and others.

The center neighbors the area’s largest employer,Sacred Heart Hospital, and is also close to Barnes &Noble, Lowe’s, Sports Authority, HH Gregg, Best Buy,Sam’s Club and Bed Bath & Beyond.

As many of these businesses reach differentdemographics and cater to different needs, theyhave each been able to be successful. With theaddition of four new, vastly different stores,analysts predict the area’s economy will boomeven further and attract shoppers from acrossthe city, including the 135,000 people who livewithin a five-mile radius of the complex.

“One of the great things about thisredevelopment is that consumers are gettingstores that we haven’t previously had in thearea,” said Rod Lewis, director of the HaasCenter at the University of West Florida. “Theyeach compete in a different market, so there isnot the substitution effect you would usuallyexperience if similar stores moved into the same

space. These businesses will draw new consumers, asopposed to simply robbing other stores of their currentcustomers. Retail stores in the area will also enjoy newpatronage, because they are complementary, notcompetitive.”

Lewis tracks trends and the impacts of businesses inthe area and predicts that these stores will be around fora long time to come.

Each of these new businesses has national brand

Marshalls ribbon cutting

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awareness and many already have a built-in audienceawaiting their arrival. Anticipation in the city is high asPensacola adds to its repertoire of big name businesses.

Marshalls, one of the nation’s largest off-price retailerswith more than 880 stores, opened its new Pensacolastore on October 18.

“The new Pensacola store will be stocked with a new,fresh assortment of the designer and brand namemerchandise that shoppers love, every single week,” saidRichard Sherr, president of Marshalls. “Our buyers arefashion experts with a keen sense of style and arepassionate about finding the most coveted merchandisefor our shoppers for so much less.”

Marshalls encompasses 25,990 square feet and adds60 full- and part-time jobs to thearea. In celebration of its newPensacola location, Marshallscontributed to the localcommunity by presenting a$5,000 donation to theFavorHouse of NorthwestFlorida. Its hours are 9:30 am to9:30 pm Monday throughSaturday and 11 am to 8:30 pmon Sunday.

Ulta, known nationwide as a discount beauty retailerthat focuses on all aspects of how women prefer to shopfor cosmetic products, opened its Pensacola store onOctober 19.

The store is about 10,000 square feet, which includes abeauty salon for customers to enjoy. Ulta features a“street of shops” approach, with unique areas devoted tospecific product categories, which makes it easy forcustomers to find what they need and to explore newofferings. National brands like Redken, Matrix, BareEscentuals, L’Oreal, Olay, Neutrogena, Pantene, EstéeLauder and others are available to consumers and makefor a complete beauty destination. The store is open 10am to 9 pm Monday through Saturday and 11 am to 6

pm on Sunday.

Ulta Beauty

Photo by Josh New

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The Fresh Market, an upscalenational grocer with a uniquelyneighborhood feel and more than125 stores in the southeast, bringsapproximately 80 to 90 new jobs tothe area, almost all of which arefilled locally. According to thecompany, the store focuses on awide selection of quality food, aswell as on customer service, asemployees sometimes share cookingtips. The store is about 23,000square feet.

“Our customers enjoy shopping inan environment that appeals to allthe senses,” said CEO Craig Carlockin a news release. “The smell offreshly brewed coffee and breadright out of the oven, the sound ofclassical music, soft lighting withantique décor in an intimate setting,and the ability to select and tastefresh, high-quality products all worktogether to create surroundingswhere customers are encouraged toexperience the food.”

The Pensacola location hours are9 am to 9 pm Monday throughSaturday and 11 am to 8 pm onSunday.

Shoe lovers will have a newshopping mecca when DSW, aleading branded footwear andaccessories retailer with more than350 stores in 41 states, opens. Thestore advertises itself as thedestination for savvy shoe-loverseverywhere. Customers in Pensacolaexperience a large assortment ofdesigner shoes and boots ateveryday value prices in a convenientassisted self-select shoppingenvironment. Aisles are filled withthe latest trends in men's andwomen's shoes, making DSW theultimate destination for anyone wholoves fashion and the excitement offinding the perfect shoe.

The store is open 10 am to 9 pmMonday through Saturday and noonto 6 pm on Sunday and will addabout 35 jobs to the area.

Benefits for the community andthe businesses are not the onlypositive outcomes the stores arebringing to the area. According toLewis, the city can expect quite a bitof tax revenue as well.

The improvement of the area will


lead to an increase in property taxes,as the economy of the area gainsvalue.

“Typically, grocery stores onlyhave tax-generating revenue fromabout 30 percent of theirmerchandise,” said Lewis. “But withclothing and general retail stores,that number is closer to 100 percent,leading to an increase in tax dollarsfor the city, which will increase thevalue of the land as well. It’s a verypositive cycle.”

And this positive cycle is one thatLewis predicts will continue to bevery attractive to other high-end, bigbusinesses.

“Higher end retail stores will beginto believe that this area is capable ofsupporting them,” said Lewis.“Anytime you have a critical mass ofhigh-end stores coming into thearea, it’s going to supportdevelopment. The region is ready forthis improvement, and as a result weare becoming more competitiveeveryday.”


business news bits you should know

Jump Start Marketing opens officein Ellyson Industrial ParkOne of the top web developmentand marketing companies inPensacola, Jump Start Marketing, hasopened an office to cater to theneeds of its ever-growing client base.The new office space is expected toprovide room for expansion in termsof employment and growthopportunities. Hiring of new staffand interns is in the pipeline. JumpStart Marketing has earned an A+rating from the Better BusinessBureau, helping establish greatercredibility among customers. Thecompany is becoming one of the topdesign and online marketing firms inFlorida, catering to the needs ofclients who are constantly turning tothe Internet to help grow theirbusiness.

Pensacola Chamber celebratessuccess and passes the torchThe Greater Pensacola Chamberhosted the 122nd Annual Meetingrecently. The meeting depicted acommemorative year in review andthe passing of the gavel fromoutgoing chairman of the board,Donnie McMahon, to incomingchairman, Sandy Sansing. With morethan 600 in attendance, a recordnumber for an Annual Meeting,McMahon announced 1,378 qualifiedjobs in the region, nearly half of theanticipated 3,000 new jobs promisedby the Chamber’s Vision 2015incentive to increase jobs in thegreater Pensacola region.

Economy needs to expand beyondmilitary, tourismThe military and tourism are theregion’s two biggest economicdrivers, and the goal of the newchairman of the EconomicDevelopment Council of OkaloosaCounty is to preserve them whilealso diversifying the local economy.Jim Heald, general manager of thedefense contractor InDyne Inc., wasrecently appointed chairman for the

new year. He encouraged morepeople to get involved with theorganization, and said it wasimportant for the EDC to receivecontinued support from the localschool system and area colleges. Thepast year was a busy one for the EDC.The organization assisted in creating610 new jobs for new and expandingbusinesses, activated 35 new projectsand expanded its business incubatorat the W.E. Combs Campus onLovejoy Road in Fort Walton Beach.

Studer Group one of ’25 Best SmallCompanies to Work For’For the fifth year in a row, GulfBreeze-based Studer Group haslanded on Fortune Magazine's nationallist of “25 Best Small Companies toWork For.” The health care consultingfirm, founded in 2000 by Quint Studer,joins Navy Federal Credit Union,which won a spot on Fortune's "Top100 Large Companies" list earlier thisyear.

Baptist Healthcare welcomes newdoctorBaptist Medical Group is proud towelcome Nicole Briley, M.D., to theirgrowing hospitalist program andextensive physician network. As ahospitalist with the Pensacola-basedhealth care organization, Dr. Briley willbe exclusively dedicated to caring forpatients admitted to two hospitals:Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Fla.,and Gulf Breeze Hospital in GulfBreeze, Fla.

Baptist Healthcare welcomes newfamily care specialistBaptist Medical Group is pleased toannounce the addition of familymedicine physician and Pace, Fla.,resident Tammy Pruse, D.O., to theirgrowing primary care network.Starting November 1, Dr. Prusewelcomed new and previous patientsalike at her new office at BaptistMedical Park, where she will practicealongside family medicine physicianMark Thiele, M.D.

Donna Fassett receives LifetimeAchievement Award from Arc ofFloridaImmediately following the October24 ARC Gateway board meeting,Executive Director Donna Fassettwas surprised to see her friends andpeers from the Arc of Florida walk inthe room to present her the Arc ofFlorida Lifetime Achievement Award.This year Donna celebrates 33 yearswith ARC Gateway, having begun hercareer with the agency as a socialworker and learning every aspect ofoperations until she earned the titleof executive director.

"It is an honor to receive thisaward, especially when it is hand-delivered by my wonderful friends atthe Arc of Florida," said Fassett. "Andit has been yet even more of anhonor to have the privilege to workwith the incredible people we serveat ARC Gateway. I am very blessed."

Meineke Car Care Center ofPensacola named finalist forannual U.S. Chamber’s Hiring OurHeroes AwardThe U.S. Chamber of Commerce andits National Chamber Foundationtoday announced that Meineke CarCare Center of Pensacola is a finalistfor the Hiring Our Heroes CapitalOne Award for Small BusinessVeteran and Military SpouseEmployment. Meineke Car CareCenter of Pensacola is among the 25businesses nominated for fiveawards because of demonstratedleadership in addressing thechallenges faced by veterans,transitioning service members, andmilitary families in their search formeaningful employment. Theannouncement comes as Hiring OurHeroes crossed the 14,000 hiremilestone since the program beganin March 2011.

>aroundtheregion


The world of information technology (IT) can be a difficult one to navigate. Luckily, local professionals,such as Mike White from Your IT Solution in Pensacola, is on hand and ready to help and advise inwhatever way they can.

One of the most important issues in IT today is security and data back-up. Many people rely on purelydigital records nowadays, and it is crucial to not let them be compromised.

Did you know...• A company that experiences a computer outage lasting more than 10 days will never fully recover

financially. Fifty percent will be out of business within five years.• An estimated 25 percent of businesses do not reopen following a major disaster.• Seventy percent of small firms that experience a major data loss go out of business within a year.• Of companies experiencing catastrophic data loss:

o Forty-three percent of companies never reopenedo Fifty-one percent of companies closed within two yearso Eighty percent of companies that do not recover from a disaster within one month are likely to go

out of business.• Seventy-five percent of companies without business continuity plans fail within three years of a disaster.• Of those businesses that experience a disaster and have no emergency plan, 43 percent never reopen;

of those that do reopen, only 29 percent are still operating two years later.

Here’s some helpful tips to help ensure critical losses don’t happen to your business…Make passwords secure.An ideal password is long and has letters, punctuation, symbols, and numbers. Whenever possible, use atleast eight characters. The greater the variety of characters in your password, the better. Use the entirekeyboard, not just the letters and characters you use or see most often.

How to find your company’s external IP address.There are a number of reasons why you might need to find your Internet IP address and it only takes afew seconds to do. Go to whatsmyip.org. When you arrive on the site, your IP address will be prominentlydisplayed on the top of the page.

Educate yourself and your employees about Internet scams.Every year, many businesses become victims of online and offline scams. There is a booklet published bythe government that you are able to download for free and learn more about the scams, how they workand how you can defend against them. Visitaccc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/TheLittleBlackBookOfScams08.

Your IT Solution is a local company offering a wide range of IT services to small and medium sizedbusinesses, from network diagnostics and security auditing to server, network, and backup monitoring anddisaster preparedness and recovery.

IT TipsBy Josh Newby

Mike Papantonio, LarryMosley and Janet Holley


Bill & Betty Hudson

Cassie Swain & Tim Tolbert

>businessScene

...at the Great GulfcoastArts Festival in SevilleSquare

Don & Elizabeth SutleyFern Hopkins & Robin Grantham

Ken Shields &Mollie Morgan

Bruce and GenaRaymon

Joey and BeccaBoles

Kathleen andFlack Logan

Gay and BoCarter

...at the Council onAging Rat PackReunion

Ray & Val Russenbergerand Sandy Sansing

Chief Chip Simmons, Sean Phillips, JohnPeacock and Mayor Ashton Hayward

...at Big Brother,Big SistersReception

Northwest Florida's Business Climate - November-December

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