Rachel Wein, Founder of WeinPlus Real Estate Advisory Services in St. Petersburg Appointed To University of Florida Conference Planning Committee

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. --- Rachel Elias Wein AIA, founder and principal of WeinPlus Real Estate Advisory Services, LLC in St. Petersburg, has been appointed to the planning committee that will coordinate the University of Florida’s Real Estate Trends and Strategies Conference to be held in Orlando early next year.

Wein, who graduated from the University of Florida and then earned postgraduate degrees there in Architecture and Real Estate, said she expects the 2012 Real Estate Trends and Strategies Conference to be one of the most important in a decade.

“We are emerging from a major economic recession that centers on real estate values, and residential and commercial real estate will play a pivotal role in our economy at the national level and most importantly here in Florida,” Wein said.

The annual conference, hosted by the Department of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business Administration, relocated to Orlando last year to provide expanded meeting facilities to its growing audience.

VOLUSIA LAW FIRM HELPS RAISE MORE THAN $125,000 AT 5TH ANNUAL TOYOTA SKINNER ROUND-UP FOR CHARITY

DAYTONA BEACH – The Port Orange-based law firm of Rue & Ziffra P.A. recently helped raise more than $125,000 for local charities when it presented the 5th Annual Toyota Skinner Round-Up, a two-day event that featured golf and poker tournaments and a live concert featuring Nashville recording artists.

The annual event – the brainchild of NASCAR truck driver Mike Skinner and his wife Angie – also included silent and live auctions, a Taste of Daytona food sampling, and other entertainment and activities.

Allan L. Ziffra, president of the personal-injury law firm, said the event, which was held March 16-17, is one that he and his staff look forward to each year.

“The Skinner Round-Up not only is a fun event for our employees and the community, but it raises a significant amount of money each year for several local charities,” he said. “To date, the annual Skinner Round-Ups have raised well over half a million dollars.”

This year’s local benefactors are the Volusia County Council on Aging, Concerned Citizens for Animal Welfare, Second Harvest Food Bank, Halifax Health Speediatrics Unit and Greyhound Pets of America.

Pulte Homes has Only Four Town Homes Remaining for sale at Ventura Bay in Riverview

TAMPA, Fla. --- Pulte Homes has only four town homes remaining for sale at Ventura Bay, located off Bloomingdale Avenue and Highway 301 South in Riverview.

Sean Strickler, vice president of sales and marketing for Pulte Homes in Central Florida, said new three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath town homes at Ventura Bay range in size from 1,580 square feet of living space to 1,715 square feet. Town homes are priced from $139,990 to $159,990. Residents of Ventura Bay enjoy onsite amenities including a gated entry, resort pool and cabana, and a maintenance-free lifestyle.

Visit www.pulte.com/tampa or call 813-627-9333.

About Pulte Homes

Award-winning Pulte Homes communities are designed to deliver the best quality of life for home owners. By combining innovative life-enhancing designs, an unwavering commitment to quality and attention to detail, Pulte Homes is the nation’s premier home brand for upwardly mobile home buyers in 26 states and the District of Columbia. As the most awarded homebuilder in customer satisfaction, Pulte Homes has ranked tops in the annual JD Power and Associates® New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Studysm more than 75 times since 2000. For more information about Pulte Homes, visit www.pultehomes.com.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., is America’s premier home building company with operations in 67 markets, 29 states and the District of Columbia. Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2010, the Company has an unmatched capacity to meet the needs of all buyer segments through its brand portfolio that includes Pulte Homes, Centex Homes and Del Webb. As the most awarded homebuilder in customer satisfaction, the brands of PulteGroup have consistently ranked among the nation’s top homebuilders as surveyed by third-party, independent national customer satisfaction studies.

For more information about PulteGroup, Inc. and PulteGroup brands, see www.pultegroup.com; www.pulte.com; www.centex.com; www.delwebb.com

NR Electronics receives ITAR Certification to Permit International Sales of Military Technologies

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla., - NR Electronics LLC, based in Winter Springs, and specializes in obsolete and hard-to-find electronic components, recently received its ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) Registration from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Liza Ordonez, Managing Director of NR Electronics, said the ITAR Registration certifies that NR Electronics complies with regulations designed to control the manufacture, export and transfer of defense articles, information and services to ensure that military technologies are shared solely with U.S. persons unless the Department of State grants special approval to do otherwise.

“We stock and supply a wide range of electronics components, hardware and parts that are hard to find and difficult to replace on older equipment,” Ordonez said. “Some of the components we stock apply to military technologies governed by the ITAR regulations,” she said.

“The ITAR Registration certifies that NR Electronics has the knowledge and understanding to comply with ITAR and to handle ITAR-protected products according to specific regulations,” Ordonez explained.

“The ITAR registration will enable us to assist our customers with extremely sensitive projects and extend our work to projects that require exceptionally high levels of security and confidentiality,” she said.

NR Electronics is a client/member of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program at the Business Incubator in Winter Springs at 1511 East State Road 434.

About the UCF Business Incubation Program

Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 160 emerging companies (including nearly 100 current clients) create over $800 million in annual revenue and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With eight – and soon nine – facilities opened across the Greater Orlando community, the Business Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, The City of Sanford, Lake County, the City of Leesburg, Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee, City of St. Cloud, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and will be adding Volusia County. For more information, please visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.

Collegiate Staffing USA President Speaks Positive Stress Management at Wonderful Women Network

ORLANDO, Fla., -- Mikaela Nix, founder and president of Collegiate Staffing USA based in Orlando, spoke to the We are Wonderful Women Networking Conference recently hosted at the Hilton Hotel in Altamonte Springs; on the topic of “Practicing Safe Stress: How to Handle Stress in the Workplace.”

Nix, a graduate of Florida A& M College of Law, has first-hand experience with the stress of wearing multiple hats- including running her employment staffing firm, working as an adjunct professor at both Seminole State and Valencia Community Colleges, and fulfilling her duties as Chair of the University of Central Florida’s Black Alumni Association.

“In today’s hectic, work-driven society, individuals find themselves spending about 70 percent of their waking hours at the actual work place, or wrapping up work at home, successful leaders must learn how to effectively deal with the accompanying stress in order to remain at the top of their mental and physical game.” Nix told the group.

“The upside of eliminating or reducing stress,” Nix counseled, “is increased productivity, sharpened memory, and better physical and emotional health.” Overall, using various techniques to manage stress can manifest powerful results,” Nix said.

Women from throughout Central Florida attended the We Are Wonderful Women Networking Conference, which was sponsored by Breakaway Moments, a Caribbean Tour and Travel Company.

Collegiate Staffing USA, is a member of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program.

About Collegiate Staffing USA:

Collegiate Staffing USA assists star students in making that sometimes difficult transition from college to career; by allowing them to gain real world experience in their field of interest. Clients can efficiently select from a wide range of fresh, eager, and talented individuals that are able to hit the ground running in a variety of positions and organizational cultures. Visit www.csusajobs.com for more information.

About the UCF Business Incubation Program:

Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 160 emerging companies (including nearly 100 current clients) create over $800 million in annual revenue and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With eight – and soon nine – facilities opened across the Greater Orlando community, the Business Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, The City of Sanford, Lake County, the City of Leesburg, Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee, City of St. Cloud, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and will be adding Volusia County. For more information, please visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.

Hal Warren Named 3rd Most Active Investment Properties Broker in Region in CFCAR Hallmark Awards

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Hal Warren, associate partner at Hendricks & Partners in Orlando, earned top honors in the Central Florida Commercial Association of Realtors (CFCAR) Hallmark Awards recently.

Cole Whitaker, partner at Hendricks & Partners, who heads the firm’s southeast region, said Warren earned Hallmark Awards as the Central Florida region’s third most active investment properties broker, eighth most active land sales broker and fourth most active broker in the overall top 10 category.

Hendricks & Partners is the nation’s largest multi-family advisory group, specializing in sales of apartment communities and development sites.

“Hal Warren, with his operations and due diligence background, is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced brokers of multi-family investment properties, apartment communities and development sites in Florida,” Whitaker said.

Warren who joined Hendricks & Partners in 2007, has more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate in Central Florida and currently serves as chairman of the City of Orlando’s Historical Preservation Board.