Monday, August 29, 2011

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects Awarded Contract to Design New Shop at Orlando International Airport

ORLANDO, Fla. – Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, LLC, was recently received a contract to design a new Bag-for-Travel shop at Orlando International Airport.

Lonnie Peterson, chairman of Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, said the facility will offer 800 square feet of retail space.

World-Wide Concession is the owner and operator who awarded the design contract for the Airport shop.



Ashton Woods Homes Releases Eight Lakefront Townhome Sites for Sale at Highland Park in Westchase Area of Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. --- Ashton Woods has released eight more sites for new townhomes to be built — and all eight units are lakefront — at Highland Park, located off S. Mobley and Racetrack Rds. in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Michael Roche, vice president of sales and marketing for Ashton Woods Homes in the Tampa Bay region, said Ashton Woods Homes is building three and four bedroom townhomes at Highland Park ranging in size from 1,791 square feet of living space to 2,315 square feet with two-car garages.

Roche said the new lakefront townhomes will be priced from $219,900.

Ashton Woods Homes is one of the nation’s largest private homebuilding companies, with operations in Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, Raleigh, Dallas, Houston, Austin and Phoenix. Visit www.ashtonwoodshomes.com.

Orlando-based Business Consulting and Internet Marketing Company is Anything but Mainstream with its Diverse Workforce and Fun Atmosphere

ORLANDO, Fla. – Take one look at In Business Inc., a rapidly growing Internet-based marketing company, and you’ll know it isn’t your father’s kind of marketing company.

In Business, which recently expanded into its third office space at the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubator – Orlando on Colonial Drive, dares to be different and the company’s workforce – as well as work style – is evidence of that.

When David Wolf’s 10 employees gather in the conference room for an impromptu staff meeting, it looks more like a gathering of the United Nations with representation from numerous continents. And like Wolf, many of them opt to sit on fitness balls instead of office chairs. “It’s good for your back,” he says.

“We have people working here who are from all over the world and from all religions and beliefs,” Wolf said. “From geography to ethnicity to religion and even age, we’ve got it here. We all get along great and have fun while we work.”

The staff – which includes two employees who work off-site in Houston and in the Dominican Republic – are anything but mainstream, with roots in countries like India, Peru, the Dominican Republic and China. And, religions such as Muslim, Agnostic, Christian, and believers in non-religious spirituality also are represented at In Business.

Wolf, who co-founded the company two years ago, said he never planned to have such a diverse staff; it just happened that way. What is amazing, he says, is how well everyone works together without issue.

“I wanted to run a company where employees worked hard, but also had fun,” he said, explaining the many perks he offers employees like working from home, casual attire, and the ability to launch their own ventures with his support and guidance.

Wolf said In Business doesn’t judge employees on how many hours they work, as there are no set hours. Instead, they are judged on the quality and speed of their work. New employees are given extensive training and learn what is expected of them.

“The better their output, and more efficiently they use their time, the more I am willing to pay them,” Wolf says, “If I don’t, someone else will.”

Wolf says he wanted to build a workplace where people “looked up and saw nothing in their way.”

“Because of the culture we’ve built, I think the staff is very happy and they enjoy coming to work,” he said.

About In Business Inc.:
In Business Inc. is an Orlando-based company that specializes in building holistic marketing strategies to generate online leads for small and large businesses.

About the UCF Business Incubation Program:
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 200 emerging companies (including more than 100 current clients) create over $200 million in annual total economic output and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With nine facilities 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, Volusia County and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. Please visit www.incubator.ucf.edu and UCFBIP on Facebook.

New Web Community for Golfers is One Part Facebook, One Part Groupon, and All Parts Golf

KISSIMMEE, Fla. --- Cameron Cress may have the Next Big Idea, and golfers may be the beneficiaries.

Cress recently launched PlayGolfPlanet.com, a web community that combines some of the social features of Facebook with the special pricing opportunities available through Groupon.

“PlayGolfPlanet.com is an e-commerce marketplace that allows consumers to connect directly to their favorite golf courses and the friends they typically play golf with,” Cress explained.

“The platform helps golf courses understand their customers’ buying motives to sell more tee times that are relevant to the customers’ needs. The real-time system allows golf courses to create exclusive, personalized deals for golfers who can invite friends to join the round,” Cress said.

Already, PlayGolfPlanet.com has signed some of the top Orlando courses such as MetroWest Golf Club, Grand Cypress Golf Club, Timacuan Golf & Country Club and Windermere Country Club. Cress said more are in the offing.

Golf courses need a better way to connect with their most loyal customers, Cress said.

“PlayGolfPlanet.com takes a non-conventional approach to the online tee time landscape by creating an environment that facilitates a golfer and golf course relationship without a middleman,” Cress said.

Cress expects PlayGolfPlanet.com to expand. He projects 30 golf courses in the Central Florida area will join before the end of this year.

“We anticipate that we will be active nationwide within the next three years,” Cress said.

PlayGolfPlanet.com recently joined the University of Central Florida Business Incubator in Kissimmee at 111 E. Monument Avenue.

About the UCF Business Incubation Program:
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 200 emerging companies (including more than 100 current clients) create over $200 million in annual total economic output and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With nine facilities 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, Volusia County and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. Please visit www.incubator.ucf.edu and UCFBIP on Facebook.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Hendricks & Partners Promotes Mary Beale to Broker Assistant

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Hendricks & Partners has promoted Mary Beale to broker assistant.

Cole Whitaker, partner at Hendricks & Partners, who heads the firm’s Southeast region, said Beale will assist Whitaker and associate director Hal Warren to focus on sales of multi-family properties.

Whitaker said Beale, a graduate of Florida State University, most recently served as an intern at Hendricks & Partners.

First Green Bank headquarters facility in Mount Dora LED parking lot lighting provides 80 percent energy savings

EUSTIS, Fla. – When First Green Bank opens its new headquarters facility on U.S. 441 in Mount Dora in October, LED parking lot lights will light up the parking lot while minimizing energy usage and ecological interference and leaving the stars in the night sky visible.

Ken LaRoe, chairman and chief executive officer of First Green Bank, said the new lighting employs quality LED chips with high performance reflectors that provide up to 14,000 lumens of light and are a feature of the energy efficient and environmentally sustainable design of the facility overall.

The parking lot and perimeter of our headquarters is designed to minimize light pollution in an effort to reduce light trespass from the building and the site, reduce sky glow, increase night sky access and reduce the development’s impact on local nocturnal creatures, LaRoe said. Manufactured by LSI Industries in Cincinnati, the lighting system will save a projected 80 percent in energy expenditure over conventional floodlights.

“Our new lighting system will pay for itself in just three years,” LaRoe said.

The lighting system is one of many features in the new bank facility that will earn First Green Bank Lake County’s first commercial construction LEED Platinum designation from the U.S. Green Building Council for energy efficiency, environmental and safety security.

Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation to Benefit from Clermont Book Signing during Wine Walk, Sept. 9

CLERMONT, Fla. --- Here’s your chance to see historic Clermont and get involved in a book signing for an important book and aid the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation.

Mark your calendar for Sept. 9.

The book signing — “Escape from East Berlin” by Annemarie Cronin will take place at 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and will be held at De Ja Vu Vintage Clothing store at 732-B W. Montrose St. Forty percent of the proceeds from the book signing will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

As an added incentive, there will also be a wine walk starting at 6:30 p.m. that will give you a chance to visit historic Clermont.

For more details please contact Ann Villante at 321-263-7053.

Green World Products Names Amazing Products Master Distributor for Revolutionary DE-OIL-IT® Product

ST. CLOUD, Fla. --- St. Cloud manufacturer Green World Products, LLC has named Amazing Products, LLC of Longwood its Master Distributor for DE-OIL-IT®, a revolutionary product that completely eliminates grease, oil and fuel spills leaving behind harmless, inert forms of air, water and carbon. Basically it’s dirt, which is then reintroduced safely back into the ecosystem.

DE-OIL-IT®, is the perfect solution for anything from driveway stains to oil spills on land or offshore, said Michael Fitzgerald, CEO of Green World Products.

DE-OIL-IT®, has been successfully marketed to boat owners and vehicle maintenance professionals and general uses for homeowners. It is the best solution to petroleum buildup, grime, spills and leaks, Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said Amazing Products offered Green World Products a national distribution system already in place that serves all of the markets Green World Products targets.

“Their sales of DE-OIL-IT®, on a limited distribution basis have been phenomenal so far,” Fitzgerald explained. “Our products complement their products in a way that builds synergy for rapid growth. We are looking forward to a long and profitable relationship,” he said.

Shannon Hutto, president of Amazing Products, LLC, said DE-OIL-IT®, is a perfect match for the international sales powerhouse that markets INOX products and national brand Fuel Medic.

“Our company has built its reputation on supplying green, next-generation technology to the marketplace,” Hutto said.

“When we tested DE-OIL-IT®, we knew this is a product that can solve many of the environmental problems caused by petroleum waste throughout the world. And DE-OIL-IT®, is the perfect replacement for all of the old, toxic products currently in use to treat oil leaks and spills,” he said.

For more information about DE-OIL-IT®, go to www. DEOILIT®.com or contact Amazing Products at 407-830-4669 or visit their web site, www.inoxlube.com.

Green World Products, LLC is a client company of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program in the St. Cloud Incubator at 3201 Budinger Ave.

About the UCF Business Incubation Program:
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 200 emerging companies (including more than 100 current clients) create over $200 million in annual total economic output and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With nine facilities 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, Volusia County and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. Please visit www.incubator.ucf.edu and UCFBIP on Facebook.

Top Pensacola Company Selected for State Economic Gardening Program

PENSACOLA, Fla. – IMS ExpertServices, an executive search/expert witness firm, was recently selected to receive free technical training from the state-funded GrowFL program, part of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute.

Founded in 1992 by Mike Wein and Bill Wein, IMS ExpertServices began as an interim executive firm focusing on the telecommunications industry. Eight years later, when a former client needed an expert witness, the company began the transition to an “expert search” company, said Mike Wein, who serves as chief executive officer.

“It is an honor to receive this recognition from GrowFL,” Wein said. “This will help us as a growing company to attract high-quality talent and coordinate with other local second-stage companies.”

The GrowFL program was created in 2009 by the Florida Legislature and is based at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. When selecting businesses to participate, members of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute look for companies that have the potential for success, according to Dr. Tom O’Neal, executive director of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute.

GrowFL will support IMS ExpertServices through a number of free services, including access to market research and technology, strategy analysis, CEO roundtables and forums, database research and website optimization.

“IMS ExpertServices is ideal for the program as it’s recognized as the premier expert provider in the legal industry,” said Dr. O’Neal, who also is associate vice president for the University of Central Florida’s Office of Research and Commercialization.

With headquarters in Pensacola, IMS has more than 45 employees, who work from offices in Pensacola, New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Denver and other areas.

IMS provides highly-qualified experts and consultants to the world’s top litigators, which include 97 of the top 100 largest law firms, Wein said. “Our unique search services allow our clients to secure the best expert for their specific needs.”

“Receiving this award is recognition that we provide a valued service to clients who are satisfied with our work,” Wein said. “We hope to continue to grow, hire great people and support our community and we owe it all to our dedicated employees, who consistently deliver on the company promise.”

About IMS ExpertServices:
Recognized as the premier expert and consultant provider in the legal industry, IMS ExpertServices has been named by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in America for five consecutive years. For more information, visit www.ims-expertservices.com.

About the Florida Economic Gardening Institute:
The Florida Economic Gardening Institute was created by the 2009 Florida Legislature as the Economic Gardening Technical Assistance Program to stimulate investment in Florida’s economy by providing technical assistance for expanding businesses in the state. Qualified companies must be engaged in the following sectors to receive no-cost technical assistance: Manufacturing; Finance & Insurance Services; Wholesale Trade; Information Industries; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Management Services; and, Administrative & Support Services. Additional information is available at www.GrowFL.com.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Beazer Homes opens eight Ready-to-move-in homes at Victoria Trails in DeLand, Releases two-story Fairfield model home for sale

DELAND, Fla. --- Beazer Homes has opened eight ready-to-move-in homes at Victoria Trails, located off Orange Camp Rd. in DeLand.

David Byrnes, president of Beazer Homes in the Orlando region, said the three, four and five bedroom homes range in size from 1,400 square feet of living space to 3,100 square feet and priced from $146,990.

Byrnes said the two-story Fairfield model home at Victoria Trails has also been released for sale. Priced at $369,990, the Fairfield model home features a media room and swimming pool.

Victoria Trails, nestled among parks, lakes and conservation areas is easily accessible to Interstate 4 and historic downtown DeLand. Amenities include a resort style pool, fitness center, tennis courts and playground.

Visit www.Beazer.com.

About Beazer Homes:
Beazer Homes is one of the country’s 10 largest single-family homebuilders with operations in 16 states. Headquartered in Atlanta, Beazer Homes is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BZH.”