November 2014 Business Briefs / Member News Part 4

CBA Publishes Fall Newsletter
Read the 2014 Fall Issue of the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance's newsletter.

Kiwanis of Niceville-Valparaiso Help Children in Crisis Members of the Kiwanis Club of Niceville-Valparaiso donated their time, talents, and hard work during a recent workday to help make theChildren in Crisis (CIC) Neighborhood look great for the Annual CIC Open House. The volunteers completed normal grounds maintenance and a variety of other tasks. In this photo, Ken Hair, CIC president and CEO, thanks the volunteers for their hard work.

Jackson Named Chairman of PKF North America
Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund is pleased to announce that Ronald Jackson has been named chairman of the Board of Directors of PKF North America for 2015.

“'We rely on the talented leaders on our board for direction and vision as we strive to capitalize on our association's strong national and global position,” said Terry Snyder, president and CEO of PKF North America. “Ron is a former board member and has served on several committees within PKF, including the Nominating Committee, which he chaired from 2010 to 2012, Strategic Planning Committee, and Firm Management Review Committee. The depth and breadth of Ron’s experience within PKF will provide a strong foundation as he and the board continue enhance our impact worldwide.” 

Life’s A Beach Publications Announces 2014 Cover Art Contest Winners After another successful artistic competition, Life’s A Beach Publications is proud to announce its 2014 Cover Art Contest winners. The Arts and Design Society (ADSO) of Fort Walton Beach hosted the annual Life’s A Beach Cover Art Show and Competition Nov. 4 – 6. Out of more than 20 competitive entries, three winners and three honorable mentions were chosen. The first place ribbon was awarded to Deb Chilcote for her piece titled “Mosaic Palms.” The second place winner was Kay Lancaster with “Florida Fun,” and third place went to Jean Armbruster for “Crazy Sun.” Honorable mentions were awarded to Vonnie Peters, Patricia Farwell, and Pat Z. Roberts.

Twin Cities Hospital Awarded an “A” in Fall 2014 Hospital Safety Score
Twin Cities Hospital was honored with an “A” grade in the Fall 2014 Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from errors, injuries, and infections. The Hospital Safety Score is compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety and is administered by The Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog), an independent industry watchdog. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay. 

Win a BMW...Just in Time for the Holidays
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast is raffling off a 2004 BMW Z4 Convertible. It has a black exterior and gray interior with 148,000 miles. Tickets may be purchased at https://donate.emeraldcoastbgc.org/raffle/. Cost is 1 ticket for $25, 3 tickets for $50, 8 tickets for $100, and 25 tickets for $250. The drawing is Dec. 4, and you do not have to be present to win.

Great Futures Breakfast on Dec. 4
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast is hosting a Great Futures Breakfast on Thursday, Dec. 4, at theEmerald Grande, along the Destin Harbor. For details, click here.

The Great Futures Breakfast is a free event. Guests are asked to consider making a one-time or monthly re-occurring contribution to impact our community’s young people and help them along their way to a Great Future. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to jdavis@bgcec.com no later than Wednesday, Nov. 26. 

Students Visit Heritage Museum Hundreds of Okaloosa County School District students, teachers, and chaperones visited the Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida last week from Destin and Edge Elementary Schools. The museum satisfies educator needs for Florida education based on the Sunshine State Standards for learning. Through fun and interactive activities, 1st grade students compared their daily living with those of the early Native Americans and 19th century pioneers of our region. Seen here, Crystal Brown, museum education coordinator, instructs students from Destin Elementary proper museum etiquette. To plan a unique tour and cultural experience for your group, call (850) 678-2615 orinfo@heritage-museum.org.

Coast 93.3 Donates PJs to Children in Crisis Thanks to the generous donations from listeners of Cumulus Broadcasting, Coast 93.3, and the Pajama Patrol, all the kids living at the Children in Crisis (CIC) Neighborhood received new pajamas just in time for the holidays. The pajamas were collected by Lisa from the “Logan & Logan Morning Show.” In this photo, Ken Hair, CIC president and CEO, receives the donation from Lisa and the Pajama Patrol.

Sumlin Joins Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund 
Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund is pleased to announce that Wayne Sumlin, CPA, will be merging with the firm effective Jan. 1. Sumlin will be joining the Pensacola office as a shareholder, along with five of his current employees. Sumlin opened his own practice in September of 1981 in Pensacola. He has more than 40 years of experience in accounting with an extensive background in trust and estate work. This merger will broaden and deepen existing industry specializations, while increasing the annual revenue of the Pensacola office by nearly 10 percent. 

New Live-Action PBS KIDS Series “Odd Squad” Premieres Nov. 26
The newest PBS KIDS series “Odd Squad” premieres with an hour-long TV special airing Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., on WSRE, PBS for the Gulf Coast. The live-action show follows two young government agents, Olive and Otto, who use math skills and collaboration to investigate weird and unusual phenomena. The complete “Odd Squad” launch includes an integrated multimedia learning package designed for children ages 5 to 8. Following the premiere, the new series will continue as part of WSRE’s PBS KIDS weekday lineup, airing Monday through Friday at 3:30 p.m. 

Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) Passengers Continue to Climb
October 2014 was the highest month for passenger activity at the Northwest Florida Regional Airport(NWFRA). Departing passengers were up 8.19% over the same month last year. Total passengers including arriving passengers yielded an astounding 8.79% increase largely due to Delta airlines adding more seating capacity.

“Our airports are a vital part of economic development in Okaloosa County, representing 8,654 jobs,” says Chairman Kelly Windes. “I am pleased to see these numbers rise and look forward to more increases during the upcoming holiday period.” 

Champagne & Sparkling Wine Tasting
McGuire’s Irish Pub of Destin will hold its first Champagne & Sparkling Wine Tasting on Wednesday, Dec. 3, from 5 – 8 p.m. It will feature 10 sparkling wines from around the world. The cost is $5 per person and includes $5 off the first bottle of featured wine purchased.

Quilts of Love Donated
Every year, the members of Silver Threads Quilt Guild (STQG) work diligently to create charitable donations to help those in need in our area. At their Nov. 13, general membership meeting, STQG donated 176 quilts, 112 pillowcases, 113 Christmas stockings, 67 tote bags, and seven bags with a Beanie Baby in each bag. Beneficiaries of the gifts, include Children in Crisis, Families First, Opportunity Place, Project Linus, Children’s Home Society, Life Inc., and Kids Comfort.

Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park Welcomes Three Juvenile Sea Lions
The animal family at Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park has expanded once again with the addition of three juvenile California sea lions. Tabitha, Ada, and Elijah, all 15 month olds, arrived at the park last week after transport from another zoological facility, diving right into their new habitat to explore with both sight and smell. A training program has begun with the three spunky sea lions and includes husbandry and medical behaviors, such as flipper presents, mouth examinations, and blood sampling in accordance with Gulfarium's high standard of animal care. Show behaviors, such as dancing and ball-balancing, will also be trained, though it will be some time before they make their show debut.

Abbott Attends Invitation-Only Event for Top Luxury Realtors Nathan Abbott of ResortQuest Real Estate was recently invited to join more than 120 top real estate professionals serving the upscale residential market for the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing’s annual Leaders in Luxury (LIL) conference in Denver. According to Abbott, the exclusive event is an annual, invitation-only educational and networking opportunity for real estate professionals who handle million and multi-million dollar homes and estates. The event offers cutting edge information, provides insights into best practices within the business, and creates networking opportunities.

Impact 100 Selects Shelter House for Grant Award
Impact 100 recently selected Shelter House as a recipient of one of the organization’s two grants in the amount of $125,000. The domestic and sexual violence center will use the grant to purchase a new building that will house its main Program Office in Fort Walton Beach. Having increased staff to meet the growing needs of the community, Shelter House outgrew its current offices and applied for the Impact 100 grant for funding to purchase a larger building. The new office building has space for each staff member to have her/his own office, eliminating the need to shuffle offices when an advocate is meeting with a participant. There will be a children’s lobby, children’s therapy room, and a group therapy room. A training/meeting room will provide space for community meetings and participant classes. In the second phase of the move, Shelter House plans to remodel one room as a medical exam room for rape kits to be collected by Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, allowing victims to have the examination performed in a calm, supportive environment.

Young Entrepreneurs Academy Seeks High School Students
The Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) is a groundbreaking, 5-month program that literally transforms local high school students into real, entrepreneurial success stories through an exciting, proven projects-based approach. Founded in 2004 at the University of Rochester with Support from the Kauffman Foundation, today the Young Entrepreneurs Academy is serving hundreds of students every year all over America as a national partner of the United States Chamber of Commerce. Offered by the Doolittle Institute and hosted by the Costa Leadership Institute at Northwest Florida State College, the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce, the Emerald Coast Chapter of YEA! will begin on Jan. 12, and ends in May. Classes meet every Monday from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m., at the Northwest Florida State College Emerald Coast Campus, Fort Walton Beach. Applications for the Class of 2015 are currently being accepted. For more information, call (850) 729-6880 or yeaec@nwfsc.edu. Followhttps://www.facebook.com/YEAFortWaltonBeachFL.