Crossman & Company Earns Regions Top CoStar Power Broker Awards

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Crossman & Company, the Orlando based commercial real estate company that ranks as one of the largest retail property management, leasing and development companies in the Southeast, recently earned seven of the top CoStar Power Broker awards.

John Crossman, president of Crossman & Company, said CoStar named Crossman & Company one of the Central Florida region’s top leasing firm and the region’s top retail leasing brokers.

Six associates at Crossman & Company also earned CoStar Power Broker awards: Ashley Thornburg; Courtney Kowalchuk, vice president of leasing; Daniel Germano, senior associate; Katherine Rush; Justin Greider, vice president and director of leasing; and Whitaker Leonhardt.

About Crossman & Company:

Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Crossman & Company is a commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in the retail industry. Currently their portfolio under leasing and/or management exceeds 150 shopping centers throughout the Southeast US. Founded in 1990, Crossman & Company focuses solely on landlord representation and serves clients including Publix, PREIT, and GE. Please visit www.crossmanco.com, or call 407-423-5400 for more information.

Manatee Chamber and Sarasota County EDCs with CEO Nexus and GrowFL to co-host CEO Nexus Forum June 7 at the Hoveround Corporation in Sarasota

SARASOTA, Fla. --- The Economic Development Council of the Manatee County Chamber of Commerce and The EDC of Sarasota County in conjunction with CEO Nexus and GrowFL will co-host a CEO Nexus Forum Tuesday, June 7 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Hoveround Corporation, 2151 Whitfield Industrial Way in Sarasota.

Steve Quello, president of CEO Nexus– a firm that works with public and private organizations to serve growing businesses – said Hoveround Corporation Chief Executive Officer Tom Kruse will be the featured speaker for the program.

Kruse, who began his career 30 years ago, today heads the largest direct-to-consumer manufacturer of maneuverable and compact power chairs in the U.S. He will tell the unique story of how he built a thriving company based on a need he identified.

The CEO Forum is open to business owners and CEOs who are leaders of established second-stage businesses, Quello said. Admission is free.

The program will begin with networking opportunities from at 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Kruse will take the stage from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. for a presentation and Q&A, followed by a post-forum networking session until 7:30 p.m.

For more information, to qualify and RSVP contact Joan McGill 941-309-1200 ext. 107 or Jmcgill@edcsarasotacounty.com by June 2.

About CEO Nexus

CEO Nexus is an organization that works in concert with public and private organizations interested in providing business leaders—owners, CEOs and presidents—with practical tools and techniques designed specifically for growing second-stage companies. Sponsors include the Edward Lowe Foundation, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, the University of Central Florida Office of Research & Commercialization, Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship, Economic Development Council of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, and GrowFL.

Therigy Partners with Schnucks and Kerr Health to Develop Therapy Management Protocol for HIV

ORLANDO, Fla, – Therigy recently announced the release of its specialty therapy management (STM) protocol for HIV. The new HIV program is available to pharmacies using therigySTM.com™ ¬ – a HIPAA compliant specialty therapy management Web application.

Therigy’s HIV STM protocol covers over 60 medications and is designed to support certified HIV clinical specialists in managing their patients. The protocol was created with the assistance of certified HIV clinical specialists on staff at St. Louis-based Schnuck Pharmacy, a division of Schnuck Markets, Inc. and North Carolina-based Kerr Health.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to work with Schnucks and Kerr in developing the content for the HIV protocol,” commented Bill Bailey, Therigy’s VP of Pharmacy Services. “It was a valiant effort by all parties to put together this in-depth clinical model. As always, Therigy is dedicated to bringing our clients the best-in-class specialty therapy management programs, and always willing to work with clients to achieve that goal.”

“We are excited about the opportunity to enhance our patient adherence offering, “said Jerry Lamb, Kerr Health vice president of operations. “HIV providers appreciate the close interaction and extraordinary lengths we go to in maintaining a clear channel of communications with our diverse HIV patient base. The integration and customization afforded by Therigy’s STM protocol will permit Kerr Health to apply an even greater degree of patient monitoring and data recording capabilities—resulting in higher compliance rates and better patient health outcomes.”

Mike Juergensmeyer, Schnucks vice president of Pharmacy, says Schnucks Pharmacy has specialized in HIV care for nearly three years. The company now operates a centralized specialty facility and four satellite specialty pharmacies dedicated to HIV care. Most recently, they established an office in Food Outreach, a local non-profit organization that focuses on the care and treatment of HIV and Cancer patients.

“Research proves there is a strong correlation between healthy diet and successful treatment of disease. Over the past few years Schnucks Pharmacy has looked for ways in which we can marry the two in the treatment of our chronically ill pharmacy patients,” Juergensmeyer said.

“We’ve worked with Therigy to design clinical programs that will enable us to more closely monitor our chronically ill cancer and HIV patients. Tracking their medication, diet and overall progress, we are able to partner with physicians to deliver a higher level of care and provide for better patient outcomes,” Juergensmeyer explained. “TherigySTM.com will take our services to the next level by helping us to more efficiently assess each patient’s progress and manage drug therapy, allowing us to provide a high level of care, more targeted counseling and better outcomes for our chronically ill patients.”

These assessments are deployed within the application and are available for use to therigySTM.com subscribers. If you would like to schedule a demonstration of therigySTM.com™ or to learn more about Therigy products and services, please contact Bill Bailey, vice president of Pharmacy Services, at 407-992-8753.

About Therigy Corporation

Therigy is the healthcare industry’s leading source of specialty pharmaceutical consulting, web products, and data analytics. Therigy, which has far-reaching knowledge in implementing specialty pharmacy solutions in the market, is now in the process of building a network of high performing pharmacies that use TherigySTM.com™ as the industry standard for improving therapy and enhancing lives. Therigy's seasoned experts provide hands on engagement and consulting services to assist organizations in operational evaluation, optimization, planning, and deployment of programs and processes for clinical and economic success.

TherigySTM.comTM is a HIPAA compliant specialty therapy management Web application that integrates with pharmacy systems to enable pharmacies to consistently support patients and collect, manage and report data to all stakeholders. To learn more visit: www.therigy.com

About Kerr Health

Kerr Health is a leading regional health care services provider focused on delivering exceptional value and clinical leadership through its three primary service lines: Specialty Pharmacy, Long-Term Care Pharmacy Services, and Care Management. As a subsidiary of Kerr Drug, Inc., one of the nation's leading and most respected names in the chain drug industry (2010 Drug Topics Chain of the Year), Kerr Health provides a broad and customizable offering of value-driven products and services to medical practices, patients, employer groups, long-term care facilities, and municipalities.

For information on Kerr Health, please contact Jerry Lamb, vice president of Operations, at 919-534-1385

About Schnuck Markets, Inc.

Founded in St. Louis in 1939, Schnuck Markets, Inc. operates 105 stores (including five Logli stores) and 101 in-store pharmacies in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Tennessee and Mississippi.For information on Schnucks Specialty Pharmacy Division, please contact Dave Chism, supervisor of Specialty Pharmacy/PBM Services, at 314-344-9636.

University Club of Orlando Foundation Golf Tournament Raises More than $8,000 for College Scholarships

ORLANDO, Fla. --- The University Club of Orlando Foundation raised more than $8,000 for college and university scholarships for deserving Central Florida students at its recent golf tournament, held at Stoneybrook West in Winter Garden.

Justin Wright, events manager at The University Club of Orlando said 128 golfers participated in the 18-hole tournament which was won by foursome Mike Wright, Jay McGirt, Tim Jackson and Jay Brennan.

The University Club of Orlando Foundation raises more than $50,000 annually to provide scholarships for deserving students at the University of Central Florida, Rollins College, Seminole State College in Lake Mary and Valencia College in Orlando, Wright said.

Ryland Homes Opens Two Story Tryon Model Home at Hucks Landing in Northeast Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Ryland Homes has opened the two-story Tryon model home at Hucks Landing, located on Elementary View Drive in Northeast Charlotte east of I-77.

Krista Long, vice president of sales and marketing at Ryland Homes in Charlotte, said the Tryon model home offers 3,038 square feet of living space priced from $206,990.

The two-story, four-bedroom Tryon model home offers two-and-a-half baths with a living room, dining room and study on the first floor and a loft/bonus room on the second floor that can be converted to a fifth bedroom, Long said. The home can expand to six bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Nine three and four bedroom floor plans are available at Hucks Landing ranging in size from 1,408 square feet of living space to 3,601 square feet and a two-car garage.

Altogether, Ryland Homes plans to build 36 new homes at Hucks Landing.

Visit www.ryland.com.

About Ryland Homes

With headquarters in Southern California, Ryland is one of the nation’s largest homebuilders and a leading mortgage-finance company. The company currently operates in 28 markets across the country and has built more than 275,000 homes and financed more than 230,000 mortgages since its founding in 1967. Ryland is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “RYL.”

National Entrepreneur Center at Orlando Fashion Square to Celebrate Grand Opening Tuesday May 17 at 9 a.m.

ORLANDO, FLA. – If you think a major regional shopping mall isn’t the first place you’d go for help on launching your new business, think again. On Tuesday, May 17, the National Entrepreneur Center at Orlando Fashion Square Mall on East Colonial Drive near downtown Orlando will celebrate its grand opening starting at 9 a.m.

John Crossman, president of Crossman & Company, the local leasing agent for Orlando Fashion Square, said the 20,000 square foot National Entrepreneur Center (formerly Disney Entrepreneur Center on Robinson St. downtown) opening at Orlando Fashion Square is one of the most creative ideas he has seen in a long time.

“The nation’s economy is built on small business entrepreneurs, and small business entrepreneurs aren’t usually located in downtown office skyscrapers, they’re in the neighborhoods in the community,” Crossman said.

The opportunity to seek advice and assistance for an entrepreneurial idea at a regional mall is just brilliant, and my hat’s off to the National Entrepreneur Center for thinking outside of the box,” Crossman said.

Crossman said he is optimistic the opening of the National Entrepreneur Center will generate new traffic at Orlando Fashion Square, the Central Florida area’s first regional mall. “Retailing patterns are changing,” Crossman said. “The economy is part of the reason, but there are others — the wave of baby boom retirements, the emergence of online retail sales, and a new generation of young people for whom the recession will mark a major milestone,” he said.

“People are thinking differently about their retail purchases and their retailing habits,” Crossman said. “Retail locations are changing to meet new demands, and the National Entrepreneur Center’s Orlando Fashion Square Mall location is an outstanding example of the trend,” he said.

Leasing agent for the mall, Whitaker Leonhardt said “There are many more opportunities for community groups, business service tenants, and non-profit organizations to lease space at Orlando Fashion Square Mall. The National Entrepreneur Center sets the precedent for the mall to continue to add more community-minded tenants to the mall’s existing retail line up.

About The National Entrepreneur Center

The National Entrepreneur Center is a public/private partnership established in 2003 to support and assist small business development in Central Florida. The center houses a variety of non-profit business support organizations and is funded by Orange County, Walt Disney World Resort, The University of Central Florida, The City of Orlando, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, Regions Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Banco Popular, The Orlando Magic, Bank First, Orlando Utilities Commission, and Bright House Business Solutions.

Organizations affiliated with the National Entrepreneur Center are: The African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida, The UCF Small Business Development Center, The Central Florida Disability Chamber, The National Assn. of Women business Owners, The UCF Business Incubation Program, The British American Chamber of Commerce, The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida, The Hispanic Business Initiative Fund, SCORE, The Urban League of Central Florida, The Black MBA Assn, and the US Dept. of Commerce.

About Orlando Fashion Square/PREIT

Orlando Fashion Square is owned and operated by Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust. Founded in 1960 and one of the first equity REITs in the U.S., PREIT has a primary investment focus on retail shopping malls and power centers. Currently, the company’s retail portfolio is approximately 34 million square feet and consists of 56 properties, including 38 shopping malls, 14 strip and power centers, and four properties under development. The company’s properties are located in 13 states in the eastern half of the United States, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region. PREIT is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa. The company’s Web site can be found at www.preit.com. PREIT is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol PEI.

About Crossman & Company

Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Crossman & Company is a commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in the retail industry. Currently their portfolio under leasing and/or management exceeds 150 shopping centers throughout the Southeast US. Founded in 1990, Crossman & Company focuses solely on landlord representation and serves clients including Publix, PREIT, and GE. Please visit www.crossmanco.com, or call 407-423-5400 for more information.

Mercantile Capital Corporation Best First Quarter Ever is Lead-in to Projected Major Loans in May

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. --- Mercantile Capital Corporation, which earlier reported its best first quarter ever in 2011 with 15 commercial property loans to finance projects that total more than $54.8 million — a 44.6 percent increase over the same period in 2010 — projects record or near record transactions scheduled for May.

Chris Hurn, chief executive officer of Mercantile Capital Corporation said seven commercial loans scheduled to close in May will finance real estate projects valued at more than $11.7 million in three states. Mercantile Capital Corporation closed two loans in April for projects that total more than $1.7 million in Massachusetts and Illinois.

Mercantile Capital Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Old Florida National Bank, is one of the nation’s leading providers of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans for small business owners who want to acquire or develop their own facilities. Additional information about Mercantile can be found at www.504Experts.com and www.504blog.com.

ICI Homes Earns first place Parade of Homes Award for Islander Luxury Model Home at Avilla in Kissimmee

ORLANDO, Fla. --- ICI Homes, which ranks as one of the nation’s top 100 luxury home builders and developers, earned a first place award in the recent Central Florida Parade of Homes, for its Islander II luxury model home at Avilla, a gated community in Kissimmee.

Rosemary Messina, vice president of sales and marketing at ICI Homes, said the Islander II model home won a first place award for luxury homes priced from $300,000 to $350,000.

ICI Homes is building 81 estate homes at Avilla that range in size from 2,500 square feet of living space to 3,500 square feet in upscale California contemporary design that includes 18 inch ceramic tile floors, tiled roofs, brick pavers, and lush landscaping, with decorative mailboxes and streetlamps throughout the community.

Avilla features a community swimming pool with a large covered lanai, tot lot, tennis and basketball courts. New estate homes at Avilla are priced from $300,000 to $498,000.

Avilla is located on Swoop Circle in Kissimmee south of Osceola Parkway and west of John Young Parkway.

Crossman & Company Executives to Play Starring Role at Upcoming ICSC Convention in Las Vegas

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Crossman & Company, the Orlando-based commercial property firm that ranks as one of the largest retail property specialists in the Southeast, will play a big role at the upcoming International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Recon Convention in Las Vegas starting May 22.

John Crossman, president of Crossman & Company, said top executives at Crossman & Company have earned speaker spots at the convention.

Crossman, associate Whitaker Leonhardt, and Justin Greider, vice president and director of leasing, will speak on the First Timer’s Orientation Panel, May 22, Crossman said.

Courtney Kowalchuk, vice president of leasing will head a breakfast roundtable on May 23 with an interesting topic: “Finding Tenant’s Where None Exist — Creative Ways to Lease Retail Space.”

Kowalchuk said the panel’s discussion will cover finding temporary and short term tenants, working with the public sector and using social media.

Senior associate Daniel Germano will head a breakfast roundtable May 23 for college students: “How to Make the Most of ICSC and Recon.”

“We’re going to focus on how to find contacts at Recon that will lead to a job in the industry,” Germano said.

About Crossman & Company:

Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Crossman & Company is a commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in the retail industry. Currently their portfolio under leasing and/or management exceeds 150 shopping centers throughout the Southeast US. Founded in 1990, Crossman & Company focuses solely on landlord representation and serves clients including Publix, PREIT, and GE. Please visit www.crossmanco.com, or call 407-423-5400 for more information.

Lennar’s “May Short Sale” – pricing on Move-In Ready Homes from the Low $100s – going on at Communities in Orlando Region

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Lennar’s Central Florida division is offering below market “short sale” pricing through May at select communities in the Clermont, Orlando and Space Coast areas on brand new move-in ready single-family homes and town homes from the low $100s.

David Parker, director of sales and marketing for Lennar in the Orlando region, said a limited number of homes are available, but every one of them is priced to sell quickly.

There’s no reason for homebuyers to settle for a used outdated home, Parker said. Lennar’s list of select homes in Central Florida that are available now at below market prices include luxury features and upgrades at no additional charge, he said.

Savings range from $42,000 to $66,000 on move-in ready homes at communities such as Independence in Winter Garden, Nona Terrace in East Orlando, Stoneybrook Hills in Mount Dora, Legacy and Heritage Hills in Clermont and Cortland Woods at Providence in Davenport.

“We plan to sell every one of these homes before the end of the month,” Parker said.