We continue to be very busy at FEDC. Thank you to those who are supporting our advocacy fundraising efforts and a special thank you to Bob Swindell and Cathy Chambers for leading the effort from the Board. There are many projects in the works and we truly appreciate the efforts of the FEDC Board and others.
We would like to announce a Save the Date for the 2015 Winter Symposium. We expect to announce the opening of registration and hotel in the next 10 days. In the meantime, mark your calendars for Thursday and Friday January 15th and 16th. The Winter Symposium will be held in Fort Lauderdale at the beautiful Lago Mar Resort and Spa. The symposium will convene Thursday January 15th at 1PM and end on Friday the 16th at 11:30 AM. We will be inviting Site Selectors to give you an in-depth opportunity for their insights and to make this a great educational opportunity. Space will be limited so be sure to register as soon as we announce registration is open!
2014 Florida Rural Economic Development Summit – Nov 5-7
Florida’s Statewide Rural Economic Development Summit is back and we want you to be a part of Florida’s largest and highest quality professional development event focused specifically on rural economic development issues! Highlighting the Summit will be an Opening Session Keynote address from Enterprise Florida President/CEO and Florida Secretary of Commerce Gray Swoope and the Rural Economic Development Champions Legislative Awards Luncheon. 2014_Rural_SummiThe Summit will provide a diverse range of high-quality, practical professional development sessions presented by state, regional and local economic development professionals, national site location consultants and marketing firms, private utility service providers, and project financial experts, among others. Registration deadline is Friday, October 5, 2014.
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REMINDER: North Florida Economic Development Academy – Sept 15 & 16 + Oct 9 & 10
The North Florida Economic Development Academy (EDA) is a comprehensive, four (4) day program designed to provide a basic understanding of the concepts and methods of Economic Development, and to help local communities build stronger community sales teams who are better able to recognize, prepare for, and respond to opportunities. Participants will walk away with an understanding of the rules and roles that guide the development process, ethical considerations, and critical best practices. Scholarships are made available through the NFEDP’s Regional Rural Development Grant provided by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and the generous investments from our Corporate and Public Agency partners! The conference will be held September 15-16 and October 6-7, 2014 at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites in Tallahassee. Florida Registration is limited to thirty participants. Priority will be given to economic development professionals and elected officials. Registration Deadline is September 2
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Florida Chamber Outlines Economic Strategies
At a Monday morning seminar in Marianna, the Florida Chamber Foundation talked about strategies that the organization believes are necessary to make this region of the state a hot spot for manufacturing and other job-creating businesses that could "stop the bleeding" as North Florida watches its young people take their talents elsewhere in search of lucrative jobs. They’re trying to make the region a formidable contender on a global economic scale. The group is taking its message across this sector of the state in a number of seminars like the one held in Marianna. Highlighting some of the observations put forth in "Florida: Made for Trade," the organization’s Northwest Florida Trade and Logistics Plan, Foundation Executive Vice President Tony Carajal moderated the event. The goal, Carajal said, is to get North Florida ready to be a key player in the global marketplace, right along with California, Texas, New York, South Florida and other places that more often draw the attention of the auto industry and other job-rich businesses. Trade, logistics and export-oriented manufacturing concerns are some of the target-types the Foundation is after. The organization wants to develop a Florida Trade and Logistics Institute to continue the state’s quest to move into a stronger position in the global economy. Such a group might help keep track of infrastructure needs as they develop, work out strategies in specific industry-seeing situations, and help keep an overall eye on the many facets that play into the state’s economic goals.
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One-on-One with Gray Swoope
Gray Swoope, CEO of Enterprise Florida, Inc., shares his thoughts on the state's future and what he'd be doing if he wasn't in economic development
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GrowFL Announces 2014 Florida Companies to Watch Winners
Florida Companies to Watch is an awards program that celebrates privately held second-stage companies headquartered in the state. To be eligible, applicants must employ between 6 and 99 full-time equivalent employees and have between $750,000 and $50 million in annual revenue or working capital in place. Awardees are selected for demonstrating the intent and capacity to grow based on employee or sales growth, exceptional entrepreneurial leadership, sustainable competitive advantage, outstanding corporate culture, inspired community giving and other notable strengths. "This event promotes the entrepreneurial spirit in Florida and highlights the incredible economic impact these companies have made," says Mark Williams, Chairman of the GrowFL Advisory Board and Vice President, Wells Fargo. "We are honored to bestow these second stage companies across Florida this award on October 23rd. We thank all of the organizations that are committed to creating the entrepreneurial environment for these companies to continue to grow." The companies selected for the Florida Companies to Watch award will be celebrated at a special awards dinner on Thursday, October 23 at Hard Rock Live, CityWalk in Orlando, Florida.
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First US Medical Isotope Facility To Take Root In Alachua
The first medical isotope manufacturing facility of its kind in the United States will be making its home in Alachua County. Coqui RadioPharmaceuticals announced Aug. 19 that it will be moving into a to-be-built facility in Progress Park in the City of Alachua by 2020. The announcement was made at an afternoon ceremony at the Sid Martin Biotech Incubator, where public officials and UF leaders spoke to welcome the company to the area and lauded the benefits it will bring. UF’s John Carlson, who emceed the ceremony, said the upcoming facility represents millions of dollars of capital investment and more than 150 new jobs with average annual salaries of about $75,000. This facility will be significant because the U.S. currently depends on foreign isotope imports. The goal is to establish a domestic source that will make treatments more affordable.
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BDB Announces New Deal In Palm Beach County
In cooperation with Enterprise Florida and the City of Boca Raton, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County (BDB) announced that it has assisted Vicinitas Cancer Care, Cancer Treatment Centers of America® Preferred Provider Alliance, to locate its headquarters in Palm Beach County. The BDB assisted Vicintas with site selection, incentive package coordination, and workforce and training needs. The company received a $360,000 training grant from the State of Florida, as well as Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund (QTI) and Quick Action Closing Fund incentives totaling $1.45 million with $1.1 million from the State of Florida and a $350,000 contribution from the City of Boca Raton.Kelly Smallridge, President and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County said, "The addition of Vicinitas Cancer Care reinforces the value of Palm Beach County and the City of Boca Raton as a location of choice for the healthcare industry and for corporate headquarters facilities. We look forward to welcoming this company to the community."
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Expanding Your Business Beyond Jacksonville? South Africa Wants To Help!
South Africa is "ready, willing and able to do business with you." That was the message spread during a trade and investment seminar on Wednesday, when prominent government and business leaders from Jacksonville and sister city Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality discussed strengthening a trade relationship. "Our city is hitting its stride, focusing on international trade," said Theodore Carter, executive director of Jacksonville’s Office of Economic Development. "We are competing with Miami to be an international hub in Florida. We are building relationships, building new things and understanding these opportunities."There is over $220 million in bilateral trade between Florida and South Africa, said Abigail Ellary, director of the Enterprise Florida Office, Southern Africa, which helps facilitate business opportunities between Florida and Southern African countries.
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Winter Haven, Florida: City of Innovation and Creativity
According to Bruce Lyon, Executive Director of WHEDC "The Winter Haven Economic Development Council is one of the first of its kind in Central Florida to aggressively pursue sustainable economic development and domestic and international trade that will strengthen Winter Haven locally, regionally, and globally." The WHEDC stated in its 2014 marketing materials that “our Super Region is the 10th largest regional economy in the United States, and if we were our own country, we would have the 36th largest economy in the world, surpassing the nations of Singapore, Chile, and Israel.” The Winter Haven Council is not only based in Florida. It is an international organization, “exploring relationships and partnerships with people and businesses on six continents”. It is open to the world’s entrepreneurs who are seeking to expand their business in Winter Haven. "The Winter Haven Economic Development Council takes pride in bringing international business opportunities to our authentic and beautiful central Florida location. With a focus not only on growth but also on development, Winter Haven stands ready to make its mark on national and international markets as it explores new and exciting opportunities in Florida, the United States, and the world.
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Career & Professional Education Act (CAPE)
Since the Career and Professional Education Act was created in 2007, the Florida Legislature has been vigilant in building upon its successes, ensuring its growth in agility and responsiveness to the talent needs of Florida businesses. You may be aware that new measures were approved during the 2014 legislative session that further enhance this alignment to better prepare Florida students to seize career opportunities and offer more immediate value to businesses. These new measures have implications on the process by which industry certifications may be submitted to CareerSource Florida. The submission period for 2015-2016 will open August 18, 2014, and conclude October 17, 2014. I urge you to both review the FAQ, which answers high-level questions you may have about the new process, and visit the resource page CareerSource Florida has created to help guide you through the process and provide valuable information for business, education and economic development stakeholders.
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