Tuesday, April 7, 2009

ICI Homes to Host Second Annual Invitational Golf Tournament for Realtors on April 24 at Plantation Bay Golf and Country Club

ICI Homes to Host Second Annual Invitational Golf Tournament for Realtors on April 24 at Plantation Bay Golf & Country Club

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - ICI Homes will host the Second Annual Invitational Golf Tournament for Volusia and Flagler County Realtors April 24 at Plantation Bay Golf & Country Club, located off I-95 Exit 278 at Old Dixie Highway in Ormond Beach.


Rosemary Messina, vice president of sales and marketing at ICI Homes in Daytona Beach, said Realtors who wish to participate should contact Sally Dreisbach at Plantation Bay Golf & Country Club, 386-437-4164. Space is limited.


“Area Realtors need a break and the golf invitational is the perfect choice, including golf, tennis or lounging by the pool,” Messina said.


For more information, please contact:
Lisa A. Egle, Marketing Manager ICI Homes-Daytona Beach, 386-236-4273
Rosemary Messina, VP Sales & Marketing ICI Homes, 386-236-4231
Sally Dreisbach, Plantation Bay Golf & Country Club, 386-437-4164
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, LV Communications, 407-644-4142


About ICI Homes:
ICI homes, ranks among the top 100 Builders by Builder magazine and is one of the largest privately owned homebuilder in the US. The 30-year-old firm builds new homes and resort facilities in the Volusia-Flagler region as well as Northeast Florida, Orlando and Tampa.

University of Central Florida Business Incubator Hosts Round Table for Entrepreneurs, Small Business Principals

University of Central Florida Business Incubator Hosts Round Table for Entrepreneurs, Small Business Principals

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. - The University of Central Florida Business Incubator in Winter Springs is hosting the Entrepreneur Round Table to help entrepreneurs and small business owners learn how to respond to startup and organizational challenges with sustainable solutions.


Esther Vargas-Davis, site manager at the UCF Business Incubator in Winter Springs, said the Entrepreneur Round Table is a collaborative effort organized by Chad Eaves, president of Eaves Consulting in Oviedo.


The Entrepreneur Round Table is scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, admission is free and open to small business owners and entrepreneurs in the Winter Springs and Oviedo areas. The Round Table, which will include dinner, will be held at the Incubator’s offices at 1511 E. S.R. 434, off Hwy. 417 in Winter Springs.


“The Entrepreneur Round Table is a chance for small business entrepreneurs to engage in dialogue about their experience as small business owners, discuss challenges they are facing and gain new perspectives on developing sustainable solutions,” said Vargas-Davis. “It’s an open forum, and participants collaborate in developing solutions,” she said.


“Through the Entrepreneur Round Table, we bring together businesses that are just beginning with ones that have been operating for over ten years in different industries,” said Eaves. “This Round Table provides an open forum with diverse perspectives and experiences that support peer mentoring, targeted troubleshooting, and ultimately helps foster the entrepreneurial spirit in Oviedo and Winter Springs.


“By connecting as small businesses owners and leaders, we can help our community grow competitively and strategically,” Eaves added. “This has been a great partnering effort between Eaves Consulting, the UCF Business Incubation Program, the City of Winter Springs, the Oviedo-Winter Springs Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Seminole Community College SBDC.”


The Entrepreneur Round Table meets monthly every last Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Winter Springs Incubator. See http://entrepreneurroundtable.ning.com/ for more information.


The UCF Business Incubation Program in Winter Springs is a partnership between UCF, Seminole County Government, the City of Winter Springs and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council.


For more information, contact:
Esther Vargas-Davis, Site Manager, UCF Incubator-Seminole County, 407-278-4881
Tom O’Neal, Ph.D., Executive Director, UCF Business Incubation Program, 407-882-1102
Chad Eaves, President, Eaves Consulting, Inc., 321-244-1788
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142


About the UCF Incubation Program:
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Incubation Program has helped more than 100 emerging companies (including nearly 70 current clients) create over $500 million in annual revenue and more than 900 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With five facilities across the Greater Orlando community, the 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, and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. For more information, please visit http://www.incubator.ucf.edu/.

ICI Homes to Donate Trees to Elementary Schools in Volusia, Flagler and Jacksonville April 22 to Honor Earth Day

ICI Homes to Donate Trees to Elementary Schools in Volusia, Flagler and Jacksonville April 22 to Honor Earth Day

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Elementary schools in the Volusia-Flagler and Jacksonville areas will get a boost when ICI Homes and Land Care Management, Inc. donate trees on April 22 to honor Earth Day.


Rosemary Messina, vice president of sales and marketing at ICI Homes, said the home builder plans to deliver more than 15 young oak trees to 15 elementary schools in Volusia, Flagler and Jacksonville school districts that surround the homebuilder’s communities.


Messina said students will be invited to help plant the trees around the schools.


“We learned that due to budget cutbacks, schools have few dollars left to pay for trees on elementary school campuses,” Messina said. “Earth Day seems like a perfect time for us to help solve that problem and to just give more back to the communities where we build EFACTOR homes with high energy efficiency and environmental quality standards.”


For more information, please contact:
Lisa A. Egle, Marketing Manager ICI Homes-Daytona Beach, 386-236-4273
Rosemary Messina, VP Sales & Marketing ICI Homes, 386-236-4231
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, LV Communications, 407-644-4142


About ICI Homes:
ICI homes, ranks among the top 100 Builders by Builder magazine and is one of the largest privately owned homebuilder in the US. The 30-year-old firm builds new homes and resort facilities in the Volusia-Flagler region as well as Northeast Florida, Orlando and Tampa.

MENTOR ABI to Host Grand Opening of CCS ORLANDO AT AVALON PARK facility for Brain and Spinal Cord Patients April 22

MENTOR ABI to Host Grand Opening of CCS ORLANDO AT AVALON PARK facility for Brain and Spinal Cord Patients April 22 at Keith A. Ewing Medical Office Building in Downtown Avalon Park


ORLANDO, Fla. - MENTOR ABI will host the grand opening of their new rehabilitation and treatment facility, CCS ORLANDO AT AVALON PARK, for brain and spinal cord patients on April 22 in the Keith A. Ewing Medical Office Building in downtown Avalon Park.


Stephanie Hodson, marketing coordinator at Avalon Park Group, said the grand opening event is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. on April 22, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m.


MENTOR ABI leased 16,881 square feet of medical office space on the first floor of the Keith A. Ewing Medical Office Building in downtown Avalon Park.


For more information about this release, contact:
Stephanie Hodson, Marketing Coordinator, Avalon Park Group, 407-658-6565
Beat Kahli, Owner/Founder, Avalon Park Group, 407-658-6565
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

Monday, April 6, 2009

Three Brokers at Crossman and Company Lauded Among Top Ten Retail Producers in Nine-County Central Florida Region

Three Brokers at Crossman & Company Lauded Among Top Ten Retail Producers in Nine-County Central Florida Region



ORLANDO, Fla. - Three commercial real estate brokers at Crossman & Company, which ranks as one of region’s top retail leasing and property management firms, were named among the Top Ten producers in the nine-county Central Florida region in 2008.



John Crossman, CCIM, president of Crossman & Company, said retail brokers Courtney Potter-Kowalchuk, Scott Renick and Geno Jarquin were recognized among the Top Ten retail brokers in Central Florida during the Central Florida Commercial Association of Realtors (CFCAR) Hallmark Awards banquet recently.



Kowalchuk, who joined Crossman & Company in 2006, logged retail lease transactions that totaled nearly 172,000 square feet valued at more than $16,305,800.00 in 2008.



Renick, who has been with Crossman & Company for eight years and serves as principal leasing agent at The Villages in Sumter, Lake and Marion counties, reported lease agreements that totaled 125,859 square feet and valued at $17,815,817.00 in 2008.



Jarquin, who joined Crossman & Company in 2006, last year reported retail lease agreements that totaled more than 57,640 square feet, worth more than $8,426,757.00.



“Courtney Potter-Kowalchuk, Scott Renick and Geno Jarquin are three of the brightest and most energetic commercial leasing agents in Florida and I’m delighted they were recognized for their talents,” said Crossman.



For more information contact:
John Crossman CCIM, President, Crossman & Company, 407-581-6218
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142



About Crossman & Company:
Crossman & Company is one of the largest third-party retail leasing and management companies in Central Florida, based upon the total number of retail square footage. Founded in Orlando, Fla. in 1990, Crossman & Company is a full service commercial real estate firm that advises its clients in leasing, management, development and investment sales of retail and office properties. Please visit http://www.crossmanco.com/, or call 407.423.5400 for more information.

Beazer Homes Announces “Private Sale” April 17-19 in Seven Jacksonville-Area Communities

Beazer Homes Announces “Private Sale” April 17-19 with Reduced Pricing, Closing Costs Paid by Seller, Big Discounts on Select Homes in Seven Jacksonville-Area Communities


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Beazer Homes will offer home buyers substantial incentives during its “Private Sale” of select homes in seven Jacksonville-area communities April 17-19.


Theresa Tilton, vice president of sales for Beazer Homes’ Florida division, said buyer incentives, including reduced pricing, closing costs paid by seller and big discounts are worth up to $30,000 for new single-family home purchases and up to $10,000 on new patio homes and town homes.


The homes offered with these incentives will showcase Beazer’s SmartDesign features and options for more organized and functional living spaces and new eSMART features that increase energy and water efficiency and indoor air quality, Tilton added.


Beazer Homes’ “Private Sale” incentives are offered on single-family homes at Amelia Cove at Amelia View in Jacksonville; Arbor Glade in Mandarin; Durbin Crossing in St. Johns County and at Las Calinas and South Hampton in St. Augustine. Select patio homes and town homes are located at Bartram Park in Mandarin.


“Beazer Homes will pay all closing costs up to six percent of the sale price during our ‘Private Sale,’” said David Byrnes, president of Beazer’s Florida Division.


Beazer Homes is one of the country's 10 largest single-family homebuilders with operations in 17 states. Headquartered in Atlanta, Beazer Homes is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "BZH."


For more information, contact:
Theresa Tilton, Vice President of Sales Beazer Homes/Florida, 407-339-4114, ttilton@beazer.com
David Byrnes, President/Beazer Homes Florida, 407-339-4114, dbyrnes@beazer.com
Brooke Keysor-Edge, SE Regional Marketing Specialist Beazer Homes/ SE Region, 407-339-4114, bkeysor@beazer.com
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

Friday, April 3, 2009

Cuhaci and Peterson Architects completed design of Seasons 52 Restaurant in Cherry Hill, N.J.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects completed design of Seasons 52 Restaurant in Cherry Hill, N.J.


ORLANDO, Fla. - Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, based in Orlando's Baldwin Park, was recently completed a design of a new Seasons 52 Restaurant in Cherry Hill, N.J.


Lonnie Peterson, chairman of Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, LLC, said the 5,000 square foot restaurant facility opened recently.


Darden Restaurant Group awarded the design contract.


For more information, contact:
Lonnie Peterson, Chairman Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, LLC, 407-661-9100
Jed Downs, President Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, LLC, 407-661-9100
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Randall-Paulson Architects awarded design of renovations for office buildings in Cumming and Sandy Springs

Randall-Paulson Architects awarded design of renovations for office buildings in Cumming and Sandy Springs


ROSWELL, Ga. — Randall-Paulson Architects, the award winning Roswell-based planning, design and architectural firm, was awarded contracts to design interiors for an oral surgery center in Cumming and renovations for the office headquarters of Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia (ABC) in Sandy Springs.


Randall-Paulson recently completed design for 3,380 square feet of interior space at North Atlanta Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Center in Cumming. Construction is underway on the new design including custom millwork and custom-designed reception desk. The new design achieved desired maximum natural daylighting by creating a plan that locates offices, reception, waiting and treatment areas on exterior windows and by providing interior windows to allow light to flow through the rest of the space.


Construction recently started on the Randall-Paulson designed renovations to the 8,200 square foot ABC office headquarters located on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. Renovations include new office spaces, a training center, restrooms and exterior finishes.


For more information, contact
Alex S. Paulson, AIA, Co-Founder/Principal, Randall-Paulson Architects 770-650-7558; apaulson@randallpaulson.com;
Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142; lvershelco@aol.com


About Randall-Paulson Architects
Headquartered in Roswell, Ga., Randall-Paulson Architects is a 15-year old commercial architectural design firm that specializes in the design of industrial, office, retail, mixed-use, education, religious, childcare, hospitality facilities and sustainable design.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Prospective Homebuyers Enthusiastic About Beazer Homes Smartdesign® Eco Promotion

Prospective Homebuyers Enthusiastic About Beazer Homes Smartdesign® Eco Promotion


30,000 Consumers Participate in Eco-Themed Sweepstakes Leading to 500 Net New Home Orders in February


ATLANTA -Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE: BZH), one of the nation’s top 10 homebuilders, recently announced an overwhelming response to its recent eco-themed sales promotion.


Approximately 30,000 prospective homebuyers participated in Beazer’s eco-themed sweepstakes, which launched early in the first quarter and gave participants a chance to instantly win one of 350 environmentally-friendly prizes. The grand prize of a 2009 Toyota Prius was won by Catherine Deppa of Pasadena, Md., who said the eco theme caught her attention and drove her to explore Beazer’s website for more information.


The sweepstakes culminated with a national sales event, in February, which offered buyers limited-time special incentives on new eco-friendly homes that included features aimed at reducing the cost of homeowners’ monthly energy bills.


“Even in this very challenging housing environment, the appeal of ecologically-friendly homes seemed to overcome the gloom in the economy. Our eco-promotion resonated strongly with consumers and drove more qualified traffic to our sales centers,” said Kathi James, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Beazer Homes. “This led to over 500 net new home orders in the month of February.”


As part of Beazer’s SMARTDESIGN initiative, the builder includes up to 10 eco-friendly features in every home it builds, including CFL bulbs, programmable thermostats and EnergyStar® dishwashers. Other standard features include water-saving faucets and showerheads, as well as MERV-8 air filters and low-VOC paints and carpet that contribute to healthier indoor air quality.


According to James, as more Americans look for ways to live an eco-friendly and energy efficient lifestyle, those considering the purchase of a new home are evaluating the many benefits of new construction. Indeed, research by Better Homes & Gardens* found that interest in green elements in the home is on the rise, with some 90 percent of survey respondents saying they plan to have energy-efficient heating and cooling systems in their next home.


In response to this trend, Beazer offers standard eco-friendly features in all homes plus market-specific energy-efficient options. For example, buyers in Beazer’s Indianapolis communities can select from a range of energy-saving upgrades—including low-emissivity windows, hybrid heat pumps and variable speed air handlers— to further personalize their home. Additionally, Beazer is testing LED recessed lighting, the newest generation of high-efficiency lighting, in its Las Vegas and Phoenix divisions.

“It is clear that despite the difficult economic climate, the potential homebuyer is looking long-term, and an eco-friendly home has great appeal. Beazer will continue to highlight the eco-friendly aspects of our homes,” James said. “Look for enhancements to our standard offering and the addition of new eco-friendly optional features through our design studios later this year.”


Beazer Homes is one of the country's largest single-family homebuilders with operations in 17 states. For more information on Beazer’s homes, communities and eco-friendly features visit Beazer.com.


Contact:
Mandy Brooks, 770-829-3755, mbrooks@beazer.com

* Source: Amy Hoak, At Annual Builder’s Show, Small Is In, MarketWatch, available at http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=17092507

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Datanautix, Inc. goes Global and Delivers its Intelligent Interaction Analytics Solution to One of Australia’s Largest Call Center Providers


Datanautix, Inc. goes Global and Delivers its Intelligent Interaction Analytics Solution to One of Australia’s Largest Call Center Providers


Winter Springs, Fla. – Datanautix, Inc., an innovative technology firm based in Winter Springs, was awarded a major international contract to deploy its signature Intelligent Interaction Analytics solution to improve contact center operations for Stellar Asia Pacific, one of Australia’s leading call center and business process outsourcing providers.


Stellar engaged Datanautix to work on streamlining contact center operations for one of Australia’s leading retail energy providers in South Australia and Victoria. Upon recent completion of the project, Datanautix recommended process changes that will eventually drive an overall reduction in call center expenses by 25-35 percent while improving overall customer satisfaction scores by over 20 percent.


Sanjay Patel, chief executive officer of Datanautix, Inc., said the project is the firm’s largest international contract for its Intelligent Interaction Analytics solution.


Stellar Asia Pacific, a leading global call center provider based in Melbourne, Australia, employs more than 6,000 workers in 19 centers across Australia, the U.K., the U.S., Canada and the Philippines, and provides call center services in South Australia and Victoria to one of Australia’s major energy retailers.


“We have been impressed with the depth and sophistication behind the Datanautix methodology as well as the overall results they delivered for us,” said John Hollingsworth, chief executive officer of Stellar Asia Pacific. “The final results were very actionable and they were able to identify process improvement opportunities very early in the process. Applying the Datanautix capabilities to our customer service calls has yielded insight and information that is driving changes well beyond the call center operation for our client. Their findings are going to help streamline their marketing campaigns, focus on ways in which they can improve their billing statements and also lead to the development of an ongoing quality assurance process that’s more customer centric.”


“We are currently in discussions with Datanautix to determine how we can bring this capability to the Australian market and help our clients reduce operational costs as well as drive long term customer loyalty and advocacy,” said John Hollingsworth. “We are confident this will give our clients a competitive advantage with a very high ROI.”


Developed over the past three years, Patel explained that Datanautix’ proprietary conversation-mapping technology is designed to leverage the science of consumer behavior and operational analysis to help companies drive breakthrough change in how they manage contact center interactions with their customers.


“Our innovative new technology has been developed at the UCF Technology Incubator,” said Patel, “and has leveraged grants from sources such as the National Science Foundation and Enterprise Florida. Having one of Australia’s largest call center providers come halfway around the world to pilot our solution is strong proof that we have a unique and innovative capability that is competitively strategic in a global environment.”


The Datanautix Intelligent Interaction Analytics technology can track more than 200 possible customer experience indicators to capture the context of agent/customer interactions in a call center. “By combining our proprietary measurement toolkit with our data analytics and predictive modeling technology, we are able to pinpoint specific areas of process change and improvement that typically yields a 20-30 percent savings with an overall improvement in customer satisfaction of 15-25 percent,” Patel said.


“In the current economic environment, it is critical for companies to ensure that they are driving a customer experience that results in loyalty and customer wallet share,” said Patel.


“The post-sales service experience is one of the most important factors consumers use to determine whether to continue to do business with a company in the future. For retail providers that have thousands of customers and many competitors, driving optimal customer service transactions are absolutely critical to survival today,” he said.


“We found several ways Stellar and their clients can transform their customer’s experience while reducing costs,” Patel said. “That quickly translates into higher customer loyalty and shareholder value, which is more critical today than it has been in the last 50 years,” he added.


Datanautix is a client company of the University of Central Florida’s Seminole County Incubator site at 1511 E. S.R. 434 in Winter Springs.


For more information please contact:
Sanjay Patel, Founder & President, Datanautix, 407-349-5330, sanjay@datanautix.com
Esther Vargas-Davis, Site Manager, UCF Incubator-Seminole County, 407-278-4881
Tom O’Neal, Ph.D., Executive Director, UCF Business Incubation Program, 407-882-1102
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142


About Datanautix:
Datanautix Inc. specializes in helping companies drive key business process improvements in the contact center/customer management market. The Datanautix Intelligent Interaction Analytics and “active listening” approach not only improves on traditional QA and CSAT measurement challenges, but goes beyond the ‘traditional’ to uncover customer expectations to help drive process changes to improve customer loyalty and operating efficiencies. Typical results from Datanautix’ business process reengineering deployment yield 20-30 percent in savings while driving overall customer satisfaction scores up by 10-20 percent. For more information, please visit http://www.datanautix.com/.


About Stellar:
Stellar is a leading global call center and business process outsourcing provider, with over 6,000 employees across 19 centers in Australia, UK, USA, Canada and the Philippines. Stellar’s innovative solutions help clients reduce operating costs, improve quality levels and increase revenue and profitability. The company serves a range of clients in the telecommunications, utilities, transport, finance, government and manufacturing industries. In addition to call center outsourcing, Stellar specializes in document management, workflow automation technology and process outsourcing solutions. For more information, visit http://www.stellarbpo.com/.


About the UCF Incubation Program:
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Incubation Program has helped more than 100 emerging companies (including nearly 70 current clients) create over $500 million in annual revenue and more than 900 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With five facilities across the Greater Orlando community, the 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, and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. For more information, please visit http://www.incubator.ucf.edu/.