Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance business news briefs

From the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance: www.gflalliance.org.

Alliance Announces New Jobs at Annual Meeting, Introduces J. David Armstrong, Jr. as FY 2011 Chairman

Despite the down economy, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance reported at its annual meeting Thursday that it was able to help attract seven new company relocations and expansions in our community, and currently reports that it has more business attraction prospects than it has had in seven years.

The companies include: AAJ Technologies, Fort Lauderdale; Advanced Processing and Imaging, Deerfield Beach; Blackbox GPS, Pompano Beach; BRS Aerospace, Pompano Beach; Florida Supplement LLC, Hollywood; Kaplan University, Plantation; and Mako Surgical, Davie.  All-in-all they represent over 800 new high-wage jobs and $7 million in capital investment.  They were among a group of nearly 300 companies that were provided services by the Alliance during its 2009-2010 fiscal year.   The Alliance also assisted local companies in retaining nearly 1,000 jobs.

“This year, we were focused on attracting jobs to Broward County through specialized outreach to companies in our targeted industries and an expanded and targeted approach to bringing headquarters operations to Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County,” said Peggy Nordeen, CEO of Starmark International and outgoing chair of the Alliance.   “Also, to help ensure our local businesses weathered the difficult economy to the greatest extent possible, we continued to increase our outreach efforts to retain and grow existing businesses in Broward County.”

Nordeen provided a recap of results and accomplishments before turning the gavel over to J. David Armstrong, Jr., President of Broward College, who will lead the Alliance’s Board of Directors in the year to come.  The Alliance also formally launched its new name, brand and advertising campaign at the meeting.

Bob Swindell, President and CEO of the Alliance, added, “We’re excited to get our new brand into the marketplace.  It uniquely describes our lifestyle and business friendly atmosphere.  It resonates with both our local stakeholders and business prospects for relocation.  After all, we not only have Greater Fort Lauderdale’s beautiful beaches and the best weather in the nation, we also enjoy among the lowest corporate taxes of any state in the nation.”

The annual meeting and dinner drew a crowd of more than 400 business and community leaders to the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six Resort in Fort Lauderdale, where a number of local business leaders were recognized for their commitment to economic development (please see next story).  Attendees also heard Royal Caribbean Cruises Chairman and CEO Richard Fain speak about the economy and Royal Caribbean’s commitment to Broward County and South Florida, and received copies of the Alliance’s 2011 Economic Sourcebook and Market Profile, a guide to doing business and living in Broward County.

To see photos from this year’s annual meeting and dinner, please click here.

Alliance Presents Annual Leadership Awards

During its annual meeting and dinner, the Alliance was pleased to present economic development leadership awards to six individuals who have gone above and beyond in their work in the community helping to grow jobs and strengthen the economy. Those honored, with the Council who presented the awards in parenthesis, are:   Mike Jackson, AutoNation (CEO Council); Ramon Rodriguez, Citi (Governor Council); Terry Stiles, Stiles (Leadership Council); Sandra Mayor, Bank of America (Corporate Council); Bruce Rector, The Rector Group (Entrepreneur Council); and Arline Hampton, City of Hollywood (Partner Council).  FPL was also awarded the Alliance’s Educational Excellence Builds Business Partnership Award (see story below).

Workforce and GrowFL Team Up to Offer Training to Second-Stage Companies, Bolster their Growth

As partners in improving Florida’s economy and its quality of life, leaders of Workforce Florida Inc. and the Florida Economic Gardening Institute (FEGI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) making available $250,000 in Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) Grant funds to second-stage companies participating in FEGI’s GrowFL initiative. The MOU complements Workforce Florida’s ongoing efforts to strengthen and grow Florida’s talent pool as well as GrowFL’s state-funded efforts to provide technical assistance and business resources to as many as 1,000 Florida companies. Second-stage companies have grown past the startup stage but have not yet reached maturity. An estimated 5,000 of these companies account for 8 percent of the state’s businesses and employ as many as 250,000 Floridians.

“Workforce Florida and GrowFL are collaborative partners in improving Florida’s economy and, ultimately, the quality of life for Floridians,” said Chris Hart IV, Workforce Florida President and CEO. “This new element of connectivity among workforce, economic development and education stands to strengthen growing Florida businesses and bolster the talent of the people who go to work every day for those companies.”

The GrowFL program supports the growth of Florida businesses by providing a free suite of economic gardening support services, as well as unique access to market research and technology.

For information regarding the GrowFL program in Broward County, which is one of the most successful programs in the state, please contact David Coddington, Vice President – Business Development of the Alliance, at

GreaterFortLauderdale.ZoomProspector.com gets National Media Coverage

The Alliance’s recently launched GreaterFortLauderdale.ZoomProspector.com has been getting national press in recent weeks.   Following is an excerpt from one story:

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance has launched a cutting-edge commercial property and business research Web site, which is designed to attract new jobs in the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County region.  Robin Ronne, Managing Director, CEO Council, Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, applauded the launch of http://GreaterFortLauderdale.ZoomProspector.com.  He states, “Site selection is a process of elimination.  We must have the necessary and most current site specific real estate and demographic data quickly and easily accessible, or Greater Fort Lauderdale will be eliminated from further consideration — and we won’t even know it!”  Research has shown that 98 percent of site selection consultants and corporate real estate executives conduct their initial screening process via the Internet.  As a result, such a user-friendly portal has become a must-have for today’s effective economic development organizations.

Florida Trend to Feature Fort Lauderdale on 100^th Anniversary

In March, Florida Trend turns the spotlight on Fort Lauderdale’s 100th Anniversary in a sponsored report featuring key social and economic news and a focus on what makes Fort Lauderdale a great place to live and work.  If you are looking for a positive way to market your business and support Fort Lauderdale, consider this special opportunity to show Florida Trend’s 153,000 influential readers (including 10,000 readers outside Florida), what your market has to offer.  In addition your ad will be part of the digital e-zine edition of this sponsored report, which you can feature on your company’s website.  Contact Christine King at 727-892-2641 or at or Maggie Caruso at 727-892-2640 or at to participate or with any questions.  The deadline to reserve space is January 17, 2011.   To download additional information, please click here.

CoreNet Global to Hold Symposium on November 10

The Southeast Florida Chapter of CoreNet Global is holding a Symposium called “Let’s Work Together Re-Energizing Corporate Real Estate in Florida.”   The event will take place at the Miami City Club, Wachovia Financial Center, 200 South Biscayne Boulevard, 55^th Floor, in Miami from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 10.  The Alliance’s Robin Ronne will be part of a panel discussion at noon called “Lunch with the Economic Development Agencies” which will also feature representatives of the Miami-Dade Beacon Council and Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.  For more information, please click here.

Richard Florida to Speak at NSU on December 2 (Save the Date!)

Bestselling author Richard Florida, one of the world’s leading public intellectuals on economic development and new trends in business and communities, will be presenting ideas from his latest book The Great Reset when he speaks at Nova Southeastern University on Thursday, December 2^nd. The Great Reset addresses opportunities to remake our economy and generate a “new era of economic growth and prosperity.”  Florida’s noon-time appearance is being arranged by the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University and a consortium of business and community development organizations including the Alliance.

Admission will be by advance reservation and will include parking and a box lunch for $15.  Lunch will be available prior to Florida’s appearance.   More details will be forthcoming.

Education & Workforce Development

FPL Recognized by Alliance with Educational Excellence Builds Business Partnership Award

Florida Power and Light has been awarded the Alliance’s Educational Excellence Builds Business Partnership Award.  The award, presented during the Alliance’s annual meeting and dinner, recognized FP&L’s “Energy Tools for Schools” conservation program, which FPL developed to help the Broward County Public School District achieve its environmental strategic goal.  FP&L believed that by involving all stakeholders in this effort, not only could the District realize substantial reductions in electrical consumption, but it could also promote the importance of energy conservation and the environment.

Each District school and center selected a staff member to be the Energy Coordinator. Energy Coordinators selected other staff members and students to form a team. The team then worked with the District’s Energy Conservation and Utility Management department to develop and implement a plan to save energy.

In the first year, 92 percent of schools and centers reduced electrical consumption when compared to the two previous years of data. Forty-five percent had reductions of 10 percent or more and total reduction for the District averaged 7.10 percent. The team approach helped the District reduce electrical usage by 42,216,361 kilowatt hours, which, in turn, allowed the District to reach the goal of saving $4,500,000 in electrical costs.

Broward County Public School District Awarded Over $8 Million in Grants

The Broward County Public School District received notification that it has been awarded three new competitive grant awards totaling over $14 million.  The Magnet Schools Assistance Program was awarded approximately $8.6 million over three years to create academically rigorous Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) magnet programs at Apollo, Lauderhill, Margate and Silver Lakes middle schools, and to revise current magnet programs at McNicol and Parkway middle schools.

The High School Graduation Initiative was awarded approximately $5.2 million over five years to support effective, sustainable and coordinated dropout prevention and re-entry programs at Boyd Anderson and Plantation high schools. The Prevention Practices in Schools program awarded approximately $482,000 over five years to implement the Good Behavior Game program, an evidence-based behavioral classroom management strategy at Lauderdale Manors, Dillard, Rock Island, and Dr. Martin Luther King elementary schools.

Business Briefs and Alliance Member News
(Alliance members in bold)

Congratulations to Alliance members Phil Allen, Port Everglades; Roy Krause, SFN Group; James Rasmussen, SunTrust Bank; Raymond Southern, Balfour Beatty Construction; and William Stanton, LXR Resorts and Hotels, who were recognized at the recent South Florida Business Journal’s Ultimate CEO Awards.  Also, congratulations to Alliance members Baptist Health South Florida and Memorial Healthcare System who were honored at the South Florida Business Journal’s 2010 Excellence in Health Care Awards.

Broward County has named longtime marine environmental manager Bob Musser to oversee all ecological functions and procedures associated with operations and planning at Port Everglades.  Formerly from Port Canaveral and the Port of Tampa, Musser has been named the new Environmental Projects Manager at Port Everglades, according to John Foglesong, Director of Broward County’s Seaport Engineering and Construction Division. He has 10 years of maritime experience and more than 20 years combined in the environmental, marine science, engineering and hazardous waste fields.

CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has announced that Patricia A. Nooney has been named Senior Managing Director-Institutional Services for Florida, a new position. In this role, Ms. Nooney will oversee the delivery of Brokerage, Project Management, Asset Services and other services to CBRE’s property owner clients, including its 37 million square foot portfolio throughout the state. She will also coordinate with CBRE’s Capital Markets professionals in delivering debt and equity solutions to these clients.  Ms. Nooney currently serves as Managing Director and Market Leader for CBRE in Las Vegas.  A graduate of the University of Miami, Ms. Nooney will relocate to South Florida by year end.

CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has announced the sale of Cypress Creek Industrial Park (CCIP) located at 6500 and 6600 NW 12th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. The two-building property comprises the leasehold interest in an 8.7-acre site developed in 1989 with 131,791 square feet of highly functional office/warehouse space. The land lease with the City of Fort Lauderdale expires in April 2069. Tenants of CCIP include Men’s Warehouse, US Remodeler’s, Professional Services Industries, Inc. (PSI), and Alcatel-Lucent.

Nova Southeastern University (NSU) has announced a major gift by businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist H. Wayne Huizenga to the new Sales Institute, which now will be called the Huizenga Sales Institute. The Institute is opening this semester at NSU’s H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship.  The announcement was made by the university’s President, George Hanbury, Ph.D., during the October 13 grand opening celebration to unveil the nation’s foremost, university-based sales training center in support of NSU’s newly launched Sales Program.

Spirit Airlines became Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s (FLL) “hometown” airline and moved its offices to Broward County in May 1999. They carried over 4 million passengers in 2009 and are the largest carrier at FLL with 47 daily departures and 39 percent of the airport’s international capacity.  They fly non-stop to 15 domestic and 21 international destinations. Congratulations Spirit Airlines for celebrating 20 years of service!

Related posts:

1. Greater Ft. Lauderdale Alliance launches new campaign to lure new headquarters to area
2. New CEO of Fort Lauderdale/Broward Economic Development Alliance
3. Business briefs from Broward Alliance
4. Broward Alliance unanimously opposes Amendment 4
5. Broward County News briefs

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