Wednesday, May 13, 2015

May 2015 Business Briefs / Member News Part 2


Hilton Sandestin Win 2015 Internet Advertising Competition and AdFed Suncoast ADDY Award
Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa and its Sarasota-based advertising agency, Miles, are the proud recipients of two awards for excelling in online advertising – a 2015 Internet Advertising Competition ‘Best of Industry’ award in the Best Hotel and Lodging Email Message category and a ‘SilverADDY’ award from the adFed Suncoast in the Digital Advertising category. Miles submitted the redesigned hotel eNewsletter to the Internet Advertising Competition, which used a new color palette utilized in all digital and print creative, used new imagery taken after the 2014 hotel-wide transformation, and incorporated the “That Place” creative campaign. Since the new eNewsletter has been in place, the hotel has seen an increase in click-through rates from four to 12 percent and continues to outperform previous emails by more than double with higher open rates and an average of 8.10% of the email’s opened delivering website visitors.

CBA Beneficiary of Nick’s Redfish Tournament
Nick’s Seafood Restaurant & Treylermade Tournaments of Freeport will hold the 10th Annual Old Nick’s Redfish Round-Up on Saturday, May 16, with a total payout of $12,000. In light of the tournament’s 10th anniversary, the Nick family wants raise awareness for the health and sustainability of Choctawhatchee Bay and the species that inhabit those waters, such as the redfish, by donating proceeds from its 2015 tournament series to the ‘Stewards of Choctawhatchee Bay’, the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance. For more information about the 10th Annual Old Nick’s Redfish Round-Up and the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance’s involvement, please contact Sarah Davis at (850) 585-7926 or daviss26@nwfsc.edu.

Lamar Dean & Associates Insurance Services Joins Acentria Insurance Group
Acentria Insurance proudly announces its partnership with Lamar Dean & Associates Insurance Services. Lamar Dean & Associates has been serving the Panhandle of Florida since 2003 and offers both personal and commercial insurance. It will continue to operate from its current location at 10427 Sorrento Road in Pensacola, and may be reached at (850) 497-6510.

4th Annual Community Health & Fitness Fair
Fort Walton Beach Medical Center and Twin Cities Hospital will host the 4th Annual Community Health & Fitness Fair Wednesday, May 20, at Santa Rosa Mall, from 8:30 a.m. until noon. This health and fitness fair is FREE and open to the public, and it offers a complimentary continental breakfast until 9 a.m. More than 30 vendors and multiple healthcare professionals will provide health information, educational materials, and basic health screenings for blood glucose, blood pressure, and body mass index, as well as vein screenings by the team from Fort Walton Beach Medical Center. For details, please call (855) 614-7274 or visit TCHospital.com.

ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Donates $5K to Fisher House
ABC Fine Wine & Spirits officially opened its first Destin location, the second west of Tallahassee, on Thursday, April 30. A crowd of more than 500 attendees enjoyed hors d'oeuvres by Jackacudas Seafood & Sushi, Brotula's Seafood House & Steamer, Marlin Grill, andLenny's Sub Shop, and sipped on a variety of wines and spirits, including local beverages Chaste's 850 and Grayton Beer. ABC Fine Wine & Spirits also presented a check for $5,000 to Fisher House of the Emerald Coast.

Lewallen Joins World Impact Real Estate
Real estate agent Donna Lewallen was born in Atlanta, raised in Mississippi, and moved from Louisiana to the Emerald Coast in 2003 with her son Shane. She has always been in the public service industry, from food and beverage, marketing and sales to massage therapist and business owner. In the 1980s, she moved to Chicago to help design, open, and operate four smoothie stores. In 2000, she opened a Spa in Baton Rouge, and, in 2004, she opened a spa in Miramar Beach. Lewallen has had extensive education and passion in working with cancer patients. She excels in listening to clients and helping them. Contact her at (850) 217-7477 or yeshua6000@gmail.com.

Sinfonia "Linked Up" with Okaloosa & Walton County 3rd-5th Graders
More than 2,200 Okaloosa and Walton County 3rd-5th graders filled Destiny Worship Center to capacity during two performances on Thursday, April 30, for Sinfonia Gulf Coast's annual Link Up performances, in partnership with Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI). As one of 70 orchestras world-wide invited to participate in WMI's Link Up program during the 2014-2015 season, Sinfonia Education & Link Up coordinator Liz Aylor worked with teachers in both districts during the 9-month curriculum, which culminated in students' live performance on voice, recorders, and instruments with Sinfonia Gulf Coast. The performance included stunning visuals for the students to follow and perform along with the orchestra, on-stage teacher soloists, and host and vocal/piano pedagogue Ms. Phyllis Hasty.

ECAR to Treat Wounded Warriors to Day of Fishing
The Emerald Coast Association of Realtors (ECAR) is hosting its third annual Soldiers on the Water event on Sept. 19, and registration is now open for any interested Wounded Warriors. The event provides a day of world-class fishing in Destin to Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsman injured during their military service. Gold Star children are also invited to attend. The all-day event will begin with registration at 7 a.m. and will conclude at 5 p.m. Last year the event hosted 65 wounded veterans for a day of fishing, followed by a fish dinner. This year, organizers hope to have 100 Wounded Warriors participate.

Soldiers on the Water will offer both deep-sea and inshore fishing as part of the experience. All food, equipment and licensing will be provided by ECAR and other event sponsors. Sponsors to date include Keller Williams Realty, Waterstone Mortgage, Prime Lending, CCB Community Bank, University Lending Group,ERA American Real Estate, Eglin Federal Credit Union and Old South Land Title. To register, veterans may visit http://bitly.com/2015SoldiersontheWater or contact Amanda Creel at amanda@ecaor.com or (850) 243-6145.

Blue Marlin Realty Group Welcomes Four New Team Members
Blue Marlin Realty Group continues to grow with the addition of new realtors Adam Miller, Kim Moore, and Lynn Patacca, and guest services & reservations manager Kristin Bondi.

Miller (top) has a highly decorated military career. Hailing from Otway, Ohio, Miller joined the Marine Corps after graduating high school. In 2011, he received orders to report to Pensacola, to serve as the Navigator for the C-130 transport aircraft for the US Navy Flight Demonstration Team, the Blue Angels. While new to the real estate industry, Miller’s impressive military background includes two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals and two Humanitarian Service Medals.

Originally from Mobile, Moore (center) moved to Destin in 1999, when she married her husband, Rick, fellow Blue Marlin Realty Group Realtor. Her extensive background in banking and job recruiting lends well to Moore’s style of real estate. She and her husband are the founders of Paddle Destin, a local Paddle Board group that hosts paddle events throughout the Emerald Coast and state of Florida.

Atlanta real estate professional Patacca (bottom) is originally from Maine. She and her husband Mike have owned an investment property in Sandestin for years. After living in Marietta, Ga., for the last 25 years, the opportunity presented itself for the family to relocate to Florida’s Emerald Coast. Patacca’s career in real estate began in 2006, but she had years of prior experience at various corporate law firms as a legal secretary.

Bondi received her degree from the University of Kentucky. Most recently managing a bed and breakfast for two years in New Orleans, Kristen moved back to Destin, where she lived for a summer.

“Doctors With A Heart” Donate to Children in Crisis
Dr. April Lee, D.C. (center), and Dr. Doug Sterban, D.C., with Bluewater Chiropractic Wellness Center presented a donation of $750 to Children in Crisis President and CEO Ken Hair.

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