Fast-growing startup company at UCF Funds Scholarship at Rosen College of Hospitality Management

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A 21-year old student at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management who is also a startup company CEO in UCF’s Business Incubation Program announced he has funded a scholarship that will be awarded to a deserving student next year. Julien Meyer, founder and chief executive officer of collegeTKTS LLC, which produces the popular on-campus coupon book CollegeStack.com, said the scholarship will be awarded to a current student who exemplifies excellence in entrepreneurship in the hospitality industry. Altogether, Meyer’s startup projects, including Meyer Group Enterprises, a venture firm involved in several enterprises, employ more than 20 people. “I got into businesses in the first place to give back,” Meyer said. “What better place to start than the school which has given me so much?” he added. Meyer said he launched the scholarship project to celebrate his most recent business success. “We just franchised College Stack to a New York entrepreneur,” Meyer said. “We hope to continue our expansion by offering more products and services to our clients and customers,” he added. On the UCF campus, Meyer is almost as well known for his philanthropic endeavors as his entrepreneurial ones. Meyer has donated profits to the Student Government Association’s Don't Drink and Drive program and Fruit of the Vine Ministries. He is currently establishing a program to benefit a homeless organization in Orlando. Meyer attributes his successes to God, his family, UCF, Rosen College of Hospitality Management, the UCF Business Incubation Program, LEAD scholars and his friends. To learn more about Julien Meyer visit about.me/julienmeyer or email meyer.julien@hotmail.com.

IRradiance Glass, Inc. earns Million-Dollar Boost from Angel Investor to Expand Manufacturing Facility at UCF

ORLANDO, Fla. --- IRradiance Glass, Inc., which manufactures chalcogenide glasses for applications in infrared optical components and optical systems, recently completed a $1 million agreement with a private investor. J. David Musgraves, PhD, president and chief executive officer of IRradiance Glass (“IRradiance”), said the capital infusion will fund new equipment to expand the company’s manufacturing operations at the University of Central Florida, where IRradiance Glass is a member of the UCF Business Incubation Program’s Photonics Incubator. IRradiance Glass manufactures a special glass that allows infrared light to pass through it, Musgraves explained. "Infrared technologies impact people’s lives in the areas of security and defense, medical and environmental sensing, communications and entertainment,” Musgraves stated. "All products and systems that utilize infrared light, such as night vision goggles or video game motion sensors, require infrared-transparent optics to manipulate that light. There are many materials that are used in infrared optical systems, yet only chalcogenide glasses have the flexibility to be tailored to the huge range of desired applications," said Musgraves. Irradiance Glass is currently pursuing seven separate contracts valued at more than $2.5 million. The firm, with four employees and manufacturing operations in the Physics Department at UCF, is working to secure funding from a wide variety of sources including business to business contracts, individual sales, academic subcontracts, and government small business grants, Musgraves added.

Triacinter LLC in Kissimmee and AP International form Alliance to Open Office in Bogota, Colombia

Kissimmee, Fla. -- Triacinter LLC, which manufactures and distributes automation control systems, access and visitor control systems and point of sale text and video security mixers, recently formed an alliance with AP International, Inc. to open offices in Bogota, Colombia. Emilio Sanz, chief executive officer at Triacinter LLC, said the move is part of Triacinter’s plans to expand in Central and South America. The firm already has offices in Venezuela and plans to open offices in Brazil, Ecuador and Panama. “We have led the market in Venezuela for the past 20 years and we will continue to expand throughout the rest of the South American region while reinforcing our U.S. operations and efforts,” Sanz said. Triacinter is located at the University of Central Florida Business Incubator at 111 E. Monument Ave. in Kissimmee with offices in Caracas, Venezuela and Bogota, Colombia.

RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento hosts annual Men’s Golf Association Championship tournament

SORRENTO, Fla. --- RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento hosted 36 entries in its annual Men’s Golf Association Championship tournament recently with excellent course conditions and favorable weather. Steve Downs, golf operations manager at RedTail Golf Club, said Men’s Golf Association president Kirk Hayes won the Championship Flight and the Club Champion Crown with a two-day total of 154. Randy Mason won the tournament’s First Flight with a two-day total of 133 after his nine handicap was deducted from his 75 and 76 gross scores. Houston Hill claimed the Senior Flight Championship by one stroke over Charlie Leach, posting a two-day total of 153 strokes. Rickey Batson was named Senior Net Champion with a two day total of 139.

Seven-year old at Celebration Golf Club scores hole-in-one in US Kids Golf Tournament

CELEBRATION, Fla. -- Seven-year old golfer Alyssa Calabrese scored a hole-in-one during the U.S. KIDS Golf Tournament held Sept. 21 at Celebration Golf Club in Kissimmee. Nick Lawson, director of instruction at Celebration Golf Academy, said Miss Calabrese used her 4 Hybrid club to score her most memorable tournament stroke ever on the 90-yard third hole.

NAI Realvest negotiates $1.2 Million+ sale price for Office Building on East Colonial in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. – NAI Realvest recently negotiated the $1,212,500 sale price for the 20,984 square foot office building located at 615-617 E. Colonial Drive, between Mills and Magnolia Avenues near downtown Orlando. Mary Frances West, CCIM senior broker-associate at NAI Realvest represented the seller, Osburn Henning Properties, Inc. of Orlando. NEKA, LLC purchased the property and plans to renovate the building for a law practice and other tenants. West said the building is actually three buildings that were combined into one. The oldest building was built in 1957 and the newest in 1985.

NAI Realvest Negotiates $2.6 Million Sale of Restaurant Property with operating Logan’s Roadhouse

ORLANDO, Fla. – NAI Realvest recently negotiated a $2,630,303 sale price for the 8,000 square foot restaurant property at 3060 W. Sand Lake Rd. in Southwest Orlando. Mez Birdie CCIM, director of retail and investment services at NAI Realvest and investment associate Chris Butera negotiated the sale representing the seller IA Orlando Sand Lake Outlot, LLC based in Oakbrook, Ill. The restaurant building, which is occupied by an operating Logan’s Roadhouse, was purchased by JB Income Realty Orlando, LP.

PulteGroup’s South Florida Division, suppliers, trade partners roll up their sleeves for Kitchen Makeover at Lighthouse of Southwest Florida

Fort Myers, Fla. --- PulteGroup’s South Florida Division and 12 of its supplier and trade partners took the day off Friday, Sept. 27 to roll up their sleeves, don their hard hats and remodel the instructional kitchen at Lighthouse of Southwest Florida in North Fort Myers. Scott Mairn, vice president of sales and marketing for PulteGroup’s South Florida Division, said 30 PulteGroup volunteers and 10 subcontractors joined the day-long effort installing new baseboards, setting a new tile backsplash in the kitchen, hanging new light fixtures, painting interior walls and trim work, installing appliances, and upgrading the landscaping. Lighthouse of Southwest Florida provides daily living assistance, emotional support and hope to people living with blindness and visual impairments. Their goal is to guide people to live independent lives. “The Lighthouse instructional kitchen is a very important asset where visually impaired people can learn how to manage their own kitchen at home,” Mairn explained. The PulteGroup volunteers weren’t alone, Mairn said. Smokin Pit Barbeque delivered lunch for the crew, and PulteGroup suppliers chipped in with donated materials and labor to upgrade, modernize and rehab the entire kitchen facility along with some landscape upgrades. “It was a team effort and PulteGroup has a pretty formidable team,” Mairn said. Masco provided new cabinetry throughout. Mediterranean Marble donated granite countertops. Tile-It has donated labor and materials for new VTC flooring and a tile backsplash. R.T. Moore donated labor and materials to revamp the facility’s outdated plumbing systems. Seabreeze Electric donated labor and materials to update the electrical systems and install new electrical fixtures. Rice Insulation donated insulation material for the kitchen walls. Whirlpool donated all new appliances for the facility. Prime Painting secured all the paint for the kitchen and most of the common walls throughout the Lighthouse complex. Raymond Lumber donated new baseboard and casing material. Paramount Drywall obtained free drywall from Cemex and installed and finished the walls. Waste Services donated a 30-yard dumpster for the project. And Sunnygrove Landscaping donated plant and mulch material to spruce up the exterior grounds of the facility. “This is really an exciting project, it was a major effort to coordinate, and the day-long work detail was a labor of love,” Mairn said.

Pulte Homes and Cameratta Companies to start site work at Corkscrew Shores in Estero, First new homes due early next year

FORT MYERS, Fla. --- Pulte Homes and Cameratta Companies will start site work in October to develop Corkscrew Shores, a planned 722-acre, gated residential community located three miles east of Interstate 75 on Corkscrew Rd. in Estero near Fort Myers. Scott Mairn, vice president of sales and marketing for Pulte Homes in South Florida, said the site features a 222-acre lake as the centerpiece of the community, and several of the home sites offer spectacular lake views along with natural wooded preserves. The Pulte Homes and Cameratta Companies partnership successfully started with The Preserve at Corkscrew in Estero, which opened the summer of 2012. It’s currently one of the top selling projects in the greater Fort Myers area. “We are excited to be working with Cameratta Companies again and delivering another fantastic community in a great location,” Mairn said. “The Estero area offers so much and has become a premier destination in Southwest Florida with many established master-planned communities and a wide selection of retail, restaurant, and entertainment venues. The area has excellent primary and higher education opportunities, and Hertz Corp.’s recent announcement of a new corporate headquarters expands the many employment opportunities,” Mairn said. “Pulte Homes is a first-class organization and we are pleased to be working with them to develop a one of a kind lifestyle community,” said Nick Cameratta. The site offers easy access to I-75 and Southwest Florida International Airport, along with Germain Arena, Miromar Outlets, Gulf Coast Town Center, Coconut Point Shopping Mall, and Florida Gulf Coast University. For more information, to join the interest list and receive exclusive community updates, visit www.pulte.com/corkscrewshores/.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects completes design work on new Medical-Professional offices for Central Florida Oral Surgery in Oviedo

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, Engineers, Planners based in Orlando’s Baldwin Park completed design work on a new 4,000 square foot Central Florida Oral Surgery unit in the office building located on Red Bug Lake Road in Oviedo. Lonnie Peterson, chairman at Cuhaci & Peterson, said construction of the building was recently completed.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects hires two new professionals

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, Engineers, Planners based in Orlando’s Baldwin Park, recently hired two new professionals. Lonnie Peterson, chairman at Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, said Sean Topper was named technical manager. He has more than nine years of experience in architecture. The architectural firm also named Ken Morris, senior engineering designer for plumbing / fire protection. Morris has more than 15 years of experience in architecture and engineering.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects completes design of new LA Fitness Facility in Southeast Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, Engineers, Planners based in Orlando’s Baldwin Park, completed design a new LA Fitness on Goldenrod Road and Hoffner Avenue in Southeast Orlando. Lonnie Peterson, chairman at Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, said the LA Fitness will have 38,000 square feet of space and is currently under construction.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects awarded remodeling design project in Miami

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Cuhaci & Peterson Architects Engineers Planners based in Orlando’s Baldwin Park were recently awarded a contract to remodel facilities in Miami. Lonnie Peterson, chairman at Cuhaci & Peterson said the Miami project is a 14,500 square foot Gordon Food Service facility located off S.W. 8th Street and 22nd Avenue.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects completed designs of Two Bottom Dollar Stores in Pennsylvania

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, Engineers, Planners based in Orlando’s Baldwin Park, completed design work on two Bottom Dollar stores — one in Philadelphia and the other in Chester. Lonnie Peterson, chairman at Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, said both stores offer 12,000 square feet of grocery store space. Cuhaci & Petersen Architects is one of the nation’s leading designers of retail space with projects that total more than two million square feet annually.