Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 176 - 200 of 233
Yes, it's true! It was at "Dark Sky Party," an annual event at our very own Bok Tower Gardens! In addition, it was an amazing day including attending mind-expanding lectures on Black Holes, the future of Space Exploration, & Life on The Space Station! Oh, and the telescopes! So much to see! I met Story Musgrave, M.D. He is 83. He is an American physician and a retired NASA astronaut. He is a public speaker and consultant to both Disney's Imagineering group and Applied Minds...
The Central Florida Media Group will host the Central Florida Job Fair for area job seekers on Friday, Aug. 30 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The job fair will be held at the Winter Haven Recreation and Cultural Center at 801 MLK Blvd NE in Winter Haven. Top area employers are looking to fill a wide variety of full, part-time, and summer positions for call center, warehouse, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing settings. Employers will be looking to fill both entry-level...
THE LODGE, Winter Haven "Right now we have two levels of office space-private office, and there's 10 of those-or you're a general coworker, and you can use any of the common areas that aren't being used at the time," relates Meghan D. Young, special projects manager with SixTen LLC, the real estate developer who has recently opened The Lodge, www.thelodgewinterhaven.com, at the former Elks Lodge site, hence the name, to join the many new coworking businesses cropping up in com...
With a combined 60 years experience 1st Quality/Ramsgate Insurance mogul Tom Rumfelt and INC Inc. entrepreneur Drew Truitt have teamed up to open Park Avenue Executive Suites to help businesses, organizations and startups grow and thrive in a relatively new concept: office share or coworking facilities. Rumfelt and Truitt are not without their share of adversity. Tom Rumfelt once employed hundreds of insurance agents in the same two buildings that will be home to new,...
Leaders who use data often lead companies that excel, making it one of the most critical pieces of information for those in the top spots of companies around the world. The "Global Leadership Forecast 2018" found that leaders who use data to run their companies are: • Nine times more likely to have closely integrated talent and business strategies. • Seven times more likely to have a strong workforce that includes future leaders. • Two times more likely to have grown aggre...
A significant agreement was forged in July between Polk State College and Florida Polytechnic University. The arrangement establishes the first academic pathway for students to go from Polk State to the state's only STEM-dedicated institution. This is the type of proactive, forward momentum that advances Polk education and builds our profile as a region with competitive, adaptable graduates and a workforce trained for the latest trends in employment. When companies consider...
The last person on planet earth who was disciplined enough to be self-employed was, well, me. I can be easily distracted and a little undisciplined. But I learned something when I left my career as a reporter and editor two decades ago: Self-employment is a privilege that must be earned. You don't have to be the most focused Type A person to be successful. You just have to make the commitment and hold yourself accountable. Every day, you earn the right to be your own boss. The...
The Triple Canopy Ranch concert venue 20 miles east of Lake Wales will take on new life in 2020 as a resort with over 1,000 sites for manufactured homes and RVs and a full range of resort style amenities. The developers say the Resort at Canopy Oaks should be built out with a grand entrance on CR 630 within a year and ready for its first full season in the fall of 2020. "It's going to be a big, big project – a multiyear deal," said Tristan Farrell, president of the Resort a...
Thirteen area residents completed their 9-month program June 6 and became graduates of Leadership Lake Wales Class 23. After enjoying a pasta dinner at the American Legion at Eagle Ridge Mall, the classmates talked about learning many new things about Lake Wales and forming bonds that will last well into the future. The Leadership Lake Wales group held an opening retreat in September and a closing retreat in May and met monthly for a daylong session devoted to a particular top...
A recent article in Business Facilities called Florida an "economic super-state," praising the way our state "excels at getting people, products and services anywhere." The article went on to mention Polk County in particular the Intermodal Logistics Center in Winter Haven and the miles of railroad that far outnumber those in any other county throughout the state. We are certainly proud of those distinctions, but we would be remiss to overlook how success and growth have...
LakeWalesNews.net Executive Editor and Publisher Chevon Baccus has been accepted for membership in LION Publishers, a national professional organization for publishers of local independent online news sites. According to the organization's membership criteria: "LION Publishers are innovative news leaders in business, technology, communication and storytelling who are creating the future of local journalism. LION Publishers encompass a rich diversity of business models,...
Last year, Florida Law was amended to provide that documentary taxes do not apply to a deed that conveys homestead property between spouses, if the only consideration for the conveyance is the amount of a mortgage and if the deed was recorded within one (1) year after the date of the marriage. The Law applied to conveyances from one spouse to the other, from one spouse to both spouses, or from both spouses to one spouse. The 2019 legislative change further amended the statute...
Hot, hot, hot. That's what experts are calling the Polk County real-estate market, where inventory of existing houses remains low and homebuilders are busy. Various reports rank the local real-estate market in the Top 5 among major metropolitan areas, continuing a trend that started in 2018. Realtor.com places the Lakeland-Winter Haven MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in this case is Polk County) as the No. 1 hottest market in the country, followed by Grand Rapids, Mi...
Mike Mahalak, president of the Mahalak Auto Group recently announced that the four central Florida dealerships had raised $6,395 for the American Heart Association during the month of May. During the "Stroke Month" Campaign the MAHALAK AUTO GROUP made a donation for each New/Used Car sold and every tire sold. Each customer received a "Heart Sticker" to proudly show their support and an AHA bookmark providing heart disease prevention tips with a link to the AHA website for a FR...
As a business and estate planning lawyer, I have represented Lake Wales and Polk County residents and businesses for nearly 30 years. I find that local residents have a misperception that identity theft only hits individuals. Thieves are targeting businesses like yours for quick and easy profit, with devastating consequences. With consistent survey estimates of 8 to 12 million identity theft victims annually, there is no question that criminals have found consumer identity...
When work is working for you, it isn't really work. It may be a job and it may be time-consuming, but it is also a joy and a passion. I would hate for the people who hire me as a leadership keynote speaker to realize that I love my work so much, I'd probably do it for free. Caveat here: I am really glad I don't have to. Book me now. 🙂 But there may well be a time in your career when your work does not make you happy and you don't know what to do about it. The solution is to...
SunTrust in Lake Wales is taking on a new name as it merged June 12 with BB&T to become Truist, the name for the combined company. Truist will be the sixth-largest U.S. bank holding company serving more than 10 million households in the U.S., with a leading presence in many of the most attractive, high-growth markets in the country. Building on 275 years of combined history and culture, Truist's additional size and scale will redefine the client experience through innovative...
I like to think of myself as an optimist. This is especially true in this column space, where I share the progress and victories of the Lake Wales Area Economic Development Council. And while the drive for success and forward momentum are important, I'm also a firm believer in the basics. Revisiting the fundamentals that have helped shape our growth can remind us how far we've come and how we've done it. The EDC considers many factors when determining what will lift the...
The Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council is hosting a power breakfast Wednesday, June 19 to share information on the U.S. 27 Mobility Study currently underway by the Florida Department of Transportation. Lake Wales Medical Center is sponsoring the breakfast, which will start at 8 a.m. at Christ's Church on the Move, 2039 SR 60. Project Manager Sara Catala will provide an update on the project, which encompasses 32 miles of U.S. 27 from SR 60 in Lake...
FCA US LLC recently announced that Lake Wales Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM and Posner Park Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, Ram, FIAT has earned the Customer First Award for Excellence designation in 2019. Posner Park and Lake Wales achieved the highest level of customer experience recognition in the program's five core areas: People, Facility, Processes, Customer Performance Metrics and Training Certification. FCA US created the Customer First Award for Excellence with its dealer...
The Polk County Legislative Delegation earned straight A grades this year from the Florida Chamber of Commerce for being pro-business with their votes. Each year the Florida Chamber develops its Florida Business Agenda to organize and unite Florida employers. The Chamber uses the Agenda to provides state legislators with the clear, unified legislative priorities of employers across the state. Prior to this year's session legislators received Where We Stand, a report detailing...
The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship and the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, the state's principal provider of small business assistance, will host the 2019 Small Business Leadership Conference. Held June 26-28, 2019 at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes, the Small Business Leadership Conference is the premier professional development and networking opportunity for small business owners, managers, executives, economic and community...
A familiar face at Long's Dry Cleaners, a virtual Lake Wales landmark, is counter attendant Maria Garcia. Back in 2001 Garcia was walking along Central Avenue when she happened upon owner Jim Brow standing inside the door at his dry cleaning business. After a brief conversation she was instructed to return the next day at 9:30 a.m. Assuming she was meeting Brow for a follow-up interview, Garcia was pleasantly surprised to find she was hired and would begin her new job right...
The Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council at its annual awards gala May 9 presented two local companies with Carl F. Durso Excellence in Business Awards. The small business winner was Capo Security and the larger business award went to Grow Healthy. Durso was a longtime Lake Wales supporter and Chamber executive director. Criteria for the award includes length of time in the community, number of employees, growth or expansion of the business...
I've said it often and focused on it previously in this column space, but it bears repeating: Economic development - successful and robust economic development - really is a team effort. It's a fact borne out weekly. Though the EDC arm of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council is tasked with primary responsibility for local economic development efforts, our work has the help and support of dozens of government agencies, utilities, business...
