Celebration Golf Management Hosting Kids Play Free Program starting June 4 at Nine Central Florida Golf Courses

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Celebration Golf Management will host its fourth annual Kids Play Free program starting June 4 at nine Central Florida golf courses. Kenny Nairn, chief operating officer at Celebration Golf Management, said youngsters aged five to 16 can play for free all day if accompanied by an adult golfer beginning Wednesday June 4 through Saturday Oct. 4. Nairn said the Celebration golf courses participating in this year’s Kids Play Free include Celebration Golf Club at Celebration, The Golden Bear Club in Windermere, Kings Ridge Golf Club and Legends Golf Club in Clermont, Stoneybrook West Golf Club in Winter Garden, Eagle Creek Golf Club in southeast Orlando, Stonegate Golf Club at Solivita in Kissimmee, RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento, and Orange County National Golf Center in Winter Garden. Visit www.kidsplayfreeprogram.com

Orlando Executive Coach to Conduct Seminar on Life and Career Coaching at Annual Conference of Florida City and County Managers Association

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Regina Fasold, founder and principal of Fasold Global Coaching, will conduct a seminar entitled “Benefits of Coaching for Greater Personal and Professional Success” on Friday, May 30, at the annual conference of the Florida City and County Management Association in Orlando. Fasold, a professional and accredited International Coaching Federation Member, said she plans to take a unique approach in the seminar: with the help of two members from the audience of city and county managers she will demonstrate the benefits of professional life, career and executive coaching. “Professional coaching can help a manager and his team significantly increase productivity,” Fasold said. “The benefits become obvious in faster career promotions, more efficient operations and, in the private sector, bigger profits,” she explained. But benefits also accrue that extend beyond the workplace, Fasold said. “Professional life and career coaching helps people gain a deeper understanding of themselves, how they are perceived and where they can improve. Professional life, career and executive coaches help clients make bigger and better choices for their lives and careers,” Fasold said. “Coaching provides a safe environment that allows clients to reset and focus, to define and take inventory of opportunities and goals, and to set an active direction towards achieving them,” she said. Fasold Global Coaching, a client company of the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Program in Apopka, provides executive-level life-, career and performance coaching, leadership development, and transition and change management services to leaders and corporations throughout the United States and 25 countries around the world.

CENTEX TO START CONSTRUCTION OF 110 NEW SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES AT NEW COMMUNITY BAYRIDGE

TAMPA, Fla. --- Centex plans to start construction of 110 new single-family homes before the end of this year at Bayridge, located at 18th St. NE and 19th Ave. NE in Ruskin. Sean Strickler, vice president of sales for Centex in the North Florida region, said new three, four and five-bedroom single-family homes at Bayridge will range in size from 1,500 square feet of living space to 3,000+ square feet with two-car garages. Home designs include open, functional spaces, open kitchens with an island, tray ceilings, and industry-leading energy efficiency. Options include first or second floor owner’s suite, one and two-story designs, game room, and special features only found in a Centex home like the Drop Zone at the owner’s entry. The community opening is scheduled for late 2014, Strickler added. Strickler said Bayridge will feature gated access, a swimming pool, cabana and children’s playground.

Eagle Creek Golf Club to Celebrate 10th Anniversary with 10 Days of Special Offers, Golf Incentives

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Eagle Creek Golf Club in southeast Orlando is celebrating its 10th anniversary with 10 days of special offers and incentives for area golfers starting Friday, May 16. Kenny Nairn, co-owner and chief operating officer of Celebration Golf Management which leases and manages the club, said Eagle Creek will kick off its 10-day anniversary celebration May 16 with a with a Glow Golf Skills Challenge from 7 to 10 p.m. with a live DJ. Daily specials during the 10-day celebration will include a $10 discount for every golfer during selected times as well as a merchandise tent sale and a Product Demo Day from one of the leading manufactures in the golf industry. Golfers who “like” Eagle Creek Golf Club on Facebook during the 10-day celebration will receive a small gift, said Jay Scruggs, general manager at Eagle Creek. The Grand Finale--a 10th Anniversary Golf Tournament on Monday, May 26--will help benefit the Fairways for Warriors charity that helps injured military veterans learn to play golf, Nairn said. Leaderboard Radio on 740 The Team will broadcast its show live from Eagle Creek on May 19th and some special guests will be joining the show that night, according to Scruggs. For more information or to register for the tournament, contact Eagle Creek Golf Club or visit www.eaglecreekgolf.info.

Hold-Thyssen Negotiates Three New Leases with Private Counseling Practices at Albors Building in Winter Park

WINTER PARK, Fla. --- Hold-Thyssen Real Estate Services, recently negotiated three new lease agreements with three private counseling practices for executive office suites in the Albors Building at 5971 Brick Ct.,Winter Park. Darby Hold, lease consultant for Hold-Thyssen, Inc. negotiated all three transactions on behalf of the local landlord, Albors Properties. The three new tenants are Integrative Counseling & Wellness, LLC, KOI Counseling, LLC, and Noetic Art Therapy & Counseling, LLC. Other major tenants in the building, which is now 65 percent leased, include Albors & Alnet Languages and Transportation and the Wayne Leland CPA firm. Hold-Thyssen, Inc. provides commercial property and leasing and management services to institutional and private investor clients nationwide. The 40-year old firm’s current portfolio includes more that 100 commercial properties throughout the United States.

Amelia National Golf & Country Club Renovating Tennis Courts, To Build Five More Courts in the Fall

Jacksonville, Fla. --- Amelia National Golf & Country Club is renovating its existing three tennis courts and plans to begin construction on five additional tennis courts this year. The new Amelia National Tennis Center will include a pro shop that will be staffed with tennis professionals and will offer merchandise and restringing services. Greg Brousse, managing director at Amelia National, said all three of the existing courts will be renovated and that the upgrades will come at no cost to Amelia National residents. ICI Homes, which is developing Amelia National Golf & Country Club, is ranked by Builder magazine as a “Top 100 Homebuilder” in the nation. The 33+ year-old firm builds new homes and resort facilities in the Volusia-Flagler region as well as in Jacksonville, Orlando, Melbourne and Tampa.

Veterans Group Shows Appreciation to Local Law Firm for its Support of “Those Who’ve Served”

PORT ORANGE – Two members of the Veterans Assistance Coalition Inc. of Daytona Beach visited the Port Orange office of Rue, Ziffra & Caldwell recently to present the company with a plaque in appreciation of the annual Rue, Ziffra & Caldwell Heroes Gala. Veterans Gary Benson and Jim Kreinest, treasurer and director respectively of the non-profit veterans’ organization, presented the plaque to Attorney Luis Gracia and Marketing Director Jessica Eckelbarger for the firm’s recognition of veterans throughout the year. Eckelbarger said the firm is honored to help support veterans in any way they can. “Veteran’s Day remembers those who have and are currently serving our country, but these annual events also are fundraisers for non-profit agencies that help provide for hungry, disabled and homeless veterans.” This year’s Heroes Gala is set for Nov. 7th. For more information, visit Heroes Gala on Facebook or the Rue, Ziffra & Caldwell event calendar at www.rueziffra.com. About Rue, Ziffra & Caldwell: Founded by John D. Rue and Allan L. Ziffra, the personal-injury law firm of Rue, Ziffra & Caldwell has served the Central Florida community for more than 25 years. The firm’s commitment to its profession and its clients has earned it a reputation as one of the top personal-injury law firms in Central Florida. Known for handling everything from automobile and motorcycle accidents to medical malpractice, wrongful death, and social security and disability cases, Rue, Ziffra & Caldwell has recovered millions of dollars for injured clients and their families. With a staff of nine attorneys, the firm maintains offices in Port Orange, DeLand and Palm Coast. For more information, visit www.rueziffra.com.

Brian Davis Inks Multi-Year Deal to Represent Windermere’s Golden Bear Golf Club on PGA Tour

Windermere, Fla. --- The Golden Bear Golf Club at Keene’s Pointe in Windermere may be home to more PGA Tour players than any other Central Florida neighborhood, so it seems fitting that the luxury community should have its own official PGA Tour Ambassador. This year two-time European Tour winner Brian Davis will do the honors at PGA Tour events as well as internationally. Last year Davis played 28 tournaments, made the cut in 17 and finished in the Top 10 four times. Kenny Nairn, chief operating officer at Celebration Golf Management, said Davis is perhaps best known for his work with the Arnold Palmer Medical Center. A skin cancer survivor, Davis is an ambassador of The Skin Cancer Foundation and works to make others aware of how to prevent this deadly disease. “Brian Davis is a true gentleman and an excellent golfer who will well represent the Golden Bear Club on tour,” Nairn said. “We are all proud of him and we look forward to seeing Brian win his first PGA tour event." Golden Bear Club members watched fellow members and neighbors Bart Bryant, D.A. Points and Brian Gay win tournaments last year.

OptiGrate Named Finalist for International Award

ATHENS, Ohio – OptiGrate, a graduate of the UCF Business Incubation Program of Orlando, has been named a finalist for the National Business Incubation Association’s 2014 Outstanding Incubator Graduate award in the technology category. The winner of the prestigious award will be announced May 20 at NBIA’s 28th International Conference on Business Incubation in New Orleans. OptiGrate pioneered and successfully brought to market a breakthrough method to produce unique volume Bragg grating based optical filters. Starting with the raw material of sand (silica), OptiGrate’s proprietary method produces a piece of glass in which the molecules are aligned to create a volume Bragg grating filter for a laser beam. The silica, with a mixture of additives formed in a special process, creates an image in the glass like a hologram which filters the laser light. The result is better optical filters, better beam direction and better lasers that perform with complete stability, pure frequency or color at any temperature and in any environment with absolute diffraction efficiency exceeding 99 percent. Established in 1999, OptiGrate entered the UCF Business Incubator in 2000. Incubator staff guided the founder - Dr. Leon Glebov, a UCF faculty member and Russian émigré, through the technology transfer and licensing process with the University and provided assistance with market analysis, identification and pursuit of funding opportunities, contract negotiation guidance and introduction to key industry experts. Resolution of ownership and management team issues, as well as other legal issues, were addressed through introductions to highly qualified intellectual property and corporate attorneys. Very importantly, the incubator provided non-university, dedicated space for R&D and early manufacturing that enabled OptiGrate staff to carry out their groundbreaking research and critical production. Business incubation programs like the UCF Business Incubation Program catalyze the process of starting and growing companies by providing entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful. NBIA estimates that in 2011 alone, North American incubators assisted about 49,000 start-up companies that provided full-time employment for nearly 200,000 workers and generated annual revenue of almost $15 billion. Approximately 7,000 business incubators operate worldwide. The National Business Incubation Association is the world's leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. Each year, the NBIA Incubation Awards honor the business incubation programs, graduates and client companies that exemplify the best of the industry.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects names two veteran designers

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Cuhaci & Peterson Architects Engineers Planners, based in Orlando’s Baldwin Park, recently appointed two veteran architectural designers. Lonnie Peterson, chairman at Cuhaci & Peterson, appointed Paul Williams electrical designer. Williams, who attended St. Claire College in Windsor Ontario, Canada has more than 27 years of experience in the industry, according to Peterson. Cuhaci & Peterson also named Patrick Kreusch, senior mechanical engineering designer. Kreusch has more than 20 years of experience and his focus is on electronics technology. The Baldwin Park architectural firm also hired Jenny Szilagyi as a graduate architect. Szilagyi, who holds a Masters of Architecture from the University of Florida has three years of experience with a strong knowledge of REVIT, Peterson said.

Cuhaci & Peterson awarded contract for new Gordon Food Service store in West Palm Beach

ORLANDO, Fla. — Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, Engineers, Planners, based in Baldwin Park, was recently awarded a contract to design a new Gordon Food Service store in West Palm Beach. Lonnie Peterson, chairman at Cuhaci & Peterson said the facility will offer 20,000 square feet of space. Cuhaci & Peterson Architects is one of the nation’s leading designers of retail space with projects that total more than two million square feet annually. The firm designed two other Gordon Food Service facilities within the past year in Miami and Orlando.

M/I HOMES OPENS NEW MODEL AT MAGNOLIA PARK ESTATES IN APOPKA

APOPKA, Fla. – M/I Homes has a new model ready for viewing at Magnolia Park Estates its gated single-family home community in Apopka located off Ocoee-Apopka Rd. and Parkstone Blvd. David Byrnes, area president for M/I Homes in the Orlando region, said the new Sonoma model is a two-story design offering five bedrooms, three baths in 3,642 square feet of living space, priced from $307,000 with a three-car garage. Byrnes said M/I Homes has 35 home sites at Magnolia Park Estates for new four and five bedroom homes in eight distinctive floor plans that range from 2,311 square feet to 4,800 square feet of living area, priced from $248,000 to $450,000. Amenities at Magnolia Park Estates include a children’s playground, basketball court and pavilion. Visit www.MIHomes.com

Hold-Thyssen Negotiates New Long Term Lease with Cellular Store at Woodland Crossings in DeLand

DELAND, Fla. --- Hold-Thyssen Real Estate Services recently negotiated a five-year lease agreement for 1,750 square feet of retail space at Woodland Crossings, 1702 N. Woodland Blvd. in DeLand. Martin Forster CCIM, of Hold-Thyssen in Winter Park, negotiated the transaction representing the landlord of Woodland Crossings. The Tenant, AIO Wireless, leased Suite 100, the southern end cap of the highly visible retail strip shopping center, with Chili’s restaurant on an outparcel and other national tenants that include a UPS Store and Advance America, Forster said. The tenant was represented by Vincent Wolle of Results Realty. Hold-Thyssen provides commercial property brokerage, leasing and management services to institutional and private investor clients nationwide. The 40-year old firm’s current management portfolio includes more that 100 commercial properties throughout the United States.

HENIN HOMES NAMES LINDSAY WELLER EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Winter Park, Fla. – Henin Homes has named Lindsay Weller executive administrative assistant. Jerome Henin, principal and president of Henin Homes, said Weller attended the University of Central Florida and has a background in real estate law.

Exam Plus FL wins 2013 Florida Excellence Award from U.S. Institute for Excellence in Commerce

Winter Springs, Fla. --- Exam Plus FL, which administers drug and alcohol testing programs for employers, sports, governmental and law enforcement agencies, was recently selected for the 2013 Florida Excellence Award by the U.S. Institute for Excellence in Commerce (USIEC). José Batista, president and chief executive officer of the Winter Springs-based company, said the USIEC conducts business surveys and industry research each year to identify companies that have achieved demonstrable success in their local business environment and industry category. “USIEC recognizes small businesses for their commitment to customers and contributions that enhance the consumer driven stature that Florida is renowned for,” Batista explained. “Recognition by USIEC marks a significant achievement for us as a strong sign that our effort to set benchmarks for the industry to follow is working,” Batista said. Exam Plus FL, a client company of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program located in Winter Springs, is a member of the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association and the Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association.

Demand for Industrial Space to Increase Thanks to E-commerce, New Distribution Intermodal Systems, Says Expert

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Demand for industrial space will increase by an estimated 250 million square feet in 2014 thanks largely to ecommerce expansion and new intermodal distribution systems, says an industrial development expert. There are and will be such new changes in this logistics sphere. George Livingston, longtime real estate investment developer and broker and chairman of NAI Realvest in Orlando also said third-party logistics is playing a greater role in ecommerce and the industry sector was more profitable last year than other logistics service providers. “Home Depot online sales increased fifty percent year over year for the past two quarters,” Livingston said. That points to the ways sticks-and-bricks stores are reaching out to consumers with online gateways. The key is faster, more efficient delivery, Livingston said. The cost of delivery is 50 percent of the cost of the logistics system. Experts estimate that ecommerce will create about 40 percent of the demand for new warehouse and distribution space in the region. “Domestic intermodal traffic is growing two to three times faster than America’s Gross Domestic Product, or GDP,” Livingston said. “That indicates significant planning and execution on the part of store retailers to tame the online beast,” he said. “Quick delivery really matters.” Intermodal deliveries offer a five to 20 percent price advantage over traditional long-haul trucking, Livingston said, and it will be used more and more to reduce costs, he explained. More rail intermodal facilities are likely to be built, given their cost advantage. Wide span cranes that increase intermodal efficiency are now part of the CSX Winter Haven facility and are examples of new technology being used to cut time and cost.

M/I HOMES NAMES VETERAN HOMEBUILDER KEVIN CLARK VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS

ORLANDO, Fla. – M/I Homes has named Kevin Clark, a seasoned home building executive with more than 25 years of experience in the industry, as vice president of operations. David Byrnes, area president of M/I Homes in the Orlando region, made the announcement about Clark who has served as division president of several homebuilding companies. Clark, a graduate of Purdue University and a certified building contractor, was most recently executive vice president of operations for Rausch Coleman Homes in Fayetteville, Ark. He formerly served as division president of Ashton Woods Homes, Colonial Homes and Beazer Homes in Orlando. Clark started his real estate career with Ryland Homes in the Tampa and Orlando divisions in the early 1980s. He was also project manager for Taylor Woodrow’s Alaqua Lakes – its first exclusive golf development in the Orlando area.

MERITAGE HOMES BREAKS GROUND AT BALDWIN COVE NEAR BALDWIN PARK

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Meritage Homes recently started site construction at its newest community Baldwin Cove located on Beach Blvd. overlooking Lake Baldwin near Baldwin Park. Brian Kittle, division vice president of Meritage Homes in the Orlando region, said the homebuilder plans to build new three, four and five-bedroom single-family homes priced from the $200s at Baldwin Cove. Sales of the new homes is expected to get underway in May.