January 2015 Business Briefs / Member News Part 2

Senior Wednesdays Begin at Gulfarium
Starting Jan. 7, Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park will offer a fantastic deal to our senior community, snowbirds and locals alike. Every Wednesday, park admission for visitors age 62+ is only $5. This deal continues through March 4, and is a great opportunity for seniors to enjoy marine animals shows and exhibits for a fraction of the regular park admission, which is regularly $18.95 for seniors.

City of Destin Announces 2014 Employee of the Year The City of Destin recently awarded Henry Portorreal the 2014 Employee of the Year Award. This is the 24th year of the award, and it is the city’s most prestigious of all staff recognitions. Portorreal is a maintenance technician in the Public Services Department. He began working for the city in the Recreation Department in 2012, before assuming his current role in March 2014.

Museum Newsletter Now Available
Find out what’s happening at the Destin History and Fishing Museum in its latest newsletter.

Theatre Company Offers Children’s Programs Centered on “The Jungle Book”
Emerald Coast Theatre Company (ECTC) will focus on the "simple bare necessities" this spring with the launch of three children’s musical theater programs centered around Walt Disney’s 1967 animated kids’ adventure film, “The Jungle Book.” Specially adapted from the classic film, this musical includes favorite Disney tunes, such as “The Bare Necessities,” “That’s What Friends Are For,” and “I Wan’na Be Like You.” For more information on the musical productions, call (850) 687-1637, email info@emeraldcoasttheatre.org, or visit EmeraldCoastTheatre.org. 

Blue Marlin Realty Group Announces New Realtors  Blue Marlin Realty Group expanded its team once again with new realtors Rick Moore and Shaun Gaiser. Born and raised in the World’s Luckiest Fishing Village and the great grandson of Destin’s Founder William T. Marler, Moore truly knows Destin. He served in the US Army as a Military Policeman for six years and is an elected Destin Fire Control District Commissioner. He is also the co-owner of Paddle Destin. Originally from Panama City Beach, Gaiser ran track for the University of Alabama, where he graduated with a degree in Human Environmental Science. No stranger to the business, Gaiser sold real estate for more than 3 years throughout the Panama City Beach area, where he was also a personal trainer and the owner/operator of a jet ski rental and dolphin tour business.

Sacred Heart Announces Additions to Fleet of Emergency Transport Vehicles
Sacred Heart Health System has increased its fleet of emergency-transport vehicles. Additions include the following:
- A custom-designed Neonatal Critical Care Transport Unit, which will be stationed at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast (SHHEC) in Miramar Beach and will cover an area within a three-hour radius of SHHEC. This vehicle is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and patient-comfort features and staffed by neonatal medical experts. It can transport up to two newborns at a time along with one parent or guardian.
- A Pediatric Critical Care Transport Unit, which covers a three-hour radius from Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. This vehicle also is equipped with lifesaving technology and pediatric-trained staff to transport children needing emergency or intensive care. 
- An AIRHeart Bell 407 air ambulance, which covers up to a 250-mile radius of its base in Crestview. The aircraft is equipped to transport both adults and critically ill newborns. A specially trained flight nurse and EMS professional are on board during each transport.

Landrum CEO Commends Enactment of the Small Business Efficiency Act
Landrum Human Resources’ CEO H. Britt Landrum, Jr., applauded the recent enactment of the Small Business Efficiency Act, a new federal law which codifies the authority of Certified Professional Employer Organizations (CPEOs) to pay wages to worksite employees and to collect and remit payroll taxes for those wages. The Act also provides protection for those employers who utilize the services of a CPEO. Certification will be granted by the IRS and not all PEOs are expected to qualify. 

Do You Know an Exceptional, Ethical Business?
Your Better Business Bureau® Foundation serving Northwest Florida is looking for businesses and charities to participate in its 10th annual Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics program. Businesses may self-nominate or be nominated by others. The Torch Award publicly recognizes businesses and charities that maintain a solid commitment to conducting their business practices in an ethical manner. For entry forms and guidelines, please visit BBB.org/NWFL/TorchAward/ or call (850) 429-0002 or (800) 729-9226. The application deadline for all awards is March 27, 2015.

BIA and ECAR Hold Joint Economic and Housing Forecast Jan. 14 
Get the inside scoop on what to expect in 2015, during the annual Economic and Housing Forecast on Jan. 14, hosted by the Building Industry Association of Okaloosa and Walton Counties (BIA) and the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors (ECAR). The event, which will be held at the Ramada Plaza Beach Resort, will include predictions and explanations about what present indicators are foretelling by three economic experts, including Jessica Dill, senior research analyst with the Center for Real Estate Analytics at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; Gail Psilos, public information manager and economic and financial education specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; and Chris Burkart, senior research economist with the Office of Economic Development and Engagement and economics professor at the University of West Florida. For details and registration, contact the BIA at (850) 863-5107 or ECAR at (850) 243-6145. 

Landrum III Now President of Landrum Human Resources
H. Britt Landrum, III, was recently named president of Landrum Human Resource Companies, Inc. Landrum III began working for the company after graduating from college in 1992 and has taken on increasingly more technical and managerial responsibility over the last 22 years, most recently serving as Landrum’s executive vice-president. He is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. He has broad experience with the company including sales, technology, operations and management.

Newman-Dailey Real Estate Sales Division Awards Top Producers for 2014 Sales associates Jerry Bielawski (left) and Mark DeSalvo (center) were recently awarded 2014 Top Producer status inNewman-Dailey’s Real Estate Division. Bielawski was recognized as Top Sales Agent, and DeSalvo as Top Listing Agent for calendar year 2014. Shannyn Stevenson achieved Top Listing Agent and Top Sales Agent status for the fourth quarter of 2014, as well as for the month of December.

Kiwanis Club of Destin Helps Children in Crisis The Kiwanis Club of Destin recently presented Children in Crisis, Inc., (CIC) a donation of $1,000 to help feed, clothe, and care for the children living at the CIC Children’s Neighborhood. Seen here, Don David, president of the Destin Kiwanis, presents a check for $1,000 to Ken Hair, CIC president and CEO, accompanied by Allie Noah, CIC development director.