December Unemployment hits 8.1 percentTALLAHASSEE – Florida’s unemployment rate hit 8.1 percent in December, the highest since 1992 and higher than the national rate of 7.2 percent.The numbers mean one in 12 Florida workers – or 752,000 out of a…
Leadership Pensacola Seeks Nominations PENSACOLA — Leadership Pensacola, a program of the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, is now accepting nominations to the Leadership Pensacola (LeaP) Class of 2010. The 2010 class year begins in August and the deadline…
Study: Northwest Florida's Job Losses Will Be Relatively Low Linda Kleindienst Northwest Florida’s major metro areas are expected to lose 15,500 jobs by the end of this year, with Pensacola and Panama City reaching an unemployment rate of 8 percent,…
Tourism Officials Warn Cuts Will Make Budget WorseThe News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE - The Legislature's $9.9 million cut to the marketing budget of Visit Florida, the state's tourism development agency, will only put Florida deeper in the hole, tourism officials…
As American shoppers tighten their belts and storefronts increasingly compete with Web sites for attention, treating customers like kings and queens could mean the difference between holding an anniversary or a going-out-of-business sale. By Michael Peltier Customer Service, Often…
For all its high-tech bells and Information Age whistles, the Internet serves an age-old business function. It’s all about marketing. But the key is clicking with your consumers – meeting your clientele’s needs is still job one. By Jason Dehart…
Sound BusinessBlountstown’s Matt and Dara Layfield, owners of the nationally recognized store Sound Off Audio, make waves in the world of small business.By Jennifer Ewing Between managing their company, Sound Off Audio, and its offshoot, Redneck Archery, handcrafting approximately…
Country Crossings Resort Planned for Jackson County Country Crossings, an entertainment resort and facility being developed by Ronnie Gillie that is being compared to the country music mecca of Branson, Mo., is being planned in Alabama just north…
Smart Gadgets, Smarter MindsPensacola-Based Research Center Develops Cutting-Edge Technologies to Improve Human PerformanceBy Tim Collie Think of the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition as the place James Bond might turn for help if his tech support, Q, is…
Banking on SuccessWhether at Work or in the Community, Buzz Ritchie Brings Passion to Everything He DoesBy Linda Kleindienst Buzz Ritchie began honing his business skills at a young age, grabbing a shovel and knocking on doors in his…
Lori Kelley Proves You Can Have It All – With a Little MultitaskingBy Tabitha Yang For a while, Lori Kelley thought she wanted to go into a health-related field such as nursing. She was on her way to completing…
Dragonfly Design Wins National AwardThe 2008 Oasis Award for Outdoor Kitchen Design goes to Richard De Angelis and Mifflin Hollyday, landscape designers with Dragonfly Design & Detail in Santa Rosa Beach, for their “Living Green at Blue Mountain Beach” design.…
Experts say that while some cutting is probably necessary, this is actually the time to take advantage of a marketing environment that is less cluttered, less expensive, and ripe with opportunity for smart businesses. By Tisha Crews Keller Strike While…
The Performing-Arts-Center ConundrumBy Tabitha Yang The soaring crescendos and dramatic decrescendos of Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto rise and fall in the concert hall. Each note reverberates perfectly in the acoustically flawless venue, leaving the audience spellbound. This is the…
Bobby Bowden Practices What He Preaches“You’ve got to set standards and have credibility,” says FSU coaching legend Bobby Bowden is in his 33rd season as head football coach at Florida State University and, while times have changed since Bowden…
Daring to CareBenjamin L. Crump’s Crusade Against GoliathBy Caroline Brewster Benjamin L. Crump is no stranger to adversity. Raised by his mother and grandmother, the self-proclaimed “little black boy from the projects of North Carolina” has grown from his…
News & Notes from around Tallahassee Hotel Duval has signed Shula’s Steak House as its anchor restaurant. Named in honor of Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history, Shula’s 347 will open in March with…
Whether revamping a business plan, cutting staff or swallowing hard and drawing down even further on an existing line of credit, the economy these days is not for the faint of heart. By John Kennedy ‘You Have to Get Real’Area…
Meticulous MarketingSpartacus Marketing Consultants Offers Clients a Focused Message and a Penny-Pinching ApproachBy Bill Hirschman Tammy Saylor-Ramey chose the name Spartacus Marketing Consultants for her Panama City firm partly because it’s a bold title that communicates strength “and cuts…
Drill or No Drill: Could Offshore Platforms Affect National Security?By Scott Jackson Beyond the wondrous vista of the shimmering and pristine coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico reside two of our nation’s most precious resources – the oil…
Niki Tudge’s Passion for Animals Leads Her to Find Love and Money By Stephanie Castellano In spite of the nation’s financial turmoil, the pet industry these days is thriving. With experts projecting an annual growth rate of between 10…
New Airport Gets New Web Site The Panama City-Bay County International Airport has launched a new Web site – newpcairport.com – to help educate the public on the progress of the new, $318.5 million airport. The user-friendly…
Adaptive Apalachicola Looks to Reinvent Itself – AgainBy Jason Dehart Living and breathing with the ebb and flow of tide and wind, Apalachicola is seeking to re-create itself – once again. Cotton, lumber, seafood – even World War II –…
Al Lawson didn’t have much time for football games or family outings this fall, instead spending an average of three to five days a week on the road trying to get Democrats elected to the state Senate. By Linda Kleindienst…
Getting Northwest Florida MovingBusy Ports, A Giant New Airport and Plans for More Roads Are Helping Open Up the Panhandle to the Wider WorldBy Linda Kleindienst It began with foot trails – narrow paths winding through the grassy savannahs,…
Power PlayerGulf Power CEO Susan Story Has Emerged as a Statewide Leader on Economic Development, Education, Energy and Taxation Issues By Gary Fineout For the past two years, Susan Story has been building her retirement home on a sliver…
No New Taxes in Special Session By Michael Peltier | The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE – Higher taxes on cigarettes, alcohol or just about anything else will be off the table next week when lawmakers return to battle the state’s $2.3…
FREEPORT — Landowner Jolly Bay LLC has sued Walton County seeking to reverse the county commission’s decision to deny its project. The planned development, which would include a recreational vehicle park, a bed & breakfast, a 73-unit condominium, a…
TALLAHASSEE — Service-disabled veterans are being added to the groups of minority business the state assists through the Department of Management Services’ Office of Supplier Diversity. Gov. Charlie Crist signed House Bill 687 in June to create the Florida Service-Disabled…
TALLAHASSEE — Army veteran Andrew Wyatt credits Florida State University’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities with jump-starting his career after he was wounded in Iraq. “I am sitting in front of an ocean of business cards from some of…
ATLANTA — The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced that certain private, non-profit organizations (PNPs) that do not provide critical services of a governmental nature may be eligible to apply for low interest rate disaster loans. These loans are available…
JACKSONVILLE — The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) today announced a net loss for the third quarter 2008 of $(19.2) million, or $(0.21) per share, compared to a Net Loss of $(6.8) million, or $(0.09) per share, for the third…
For the first time in almost three years, Florida’s existing home sales rose in September, a 24 percent increase in activity in the year-to-year comparison; last month’s sales of existing condos statewide increased 11 percent in the year-to-year comparison, according…
DESTIN — Florida’s Great Northwest Inc. is ready to pump $1.75 million into programs that will help develop a high-paid, skilled workforce for the region. The private, non-profit organization is comprised of county and local economic development groups, workforce development…
PENSACOLA – Using information technology to bring down the cost of health care – and improve the delivery of medical services – will be the focus of the second annual Strategic Health Intelligence Summit hosted by the Pensacola Bay Area…
TALLAHASSEE — Homes & Land announced on Wednesday that it will begin to offer its Realtor® advertisers featured listings on Yahoo! Real Estate. With this new ad package, Homes & Land Realtors are able to promote specific homes as featured…
St. Joe Cancels Sale of Conservation Land JACKSONVILLE — The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) early Tuesday announced that a contract for the sale of 67,365 acres of non-strategic rural conservation land in Liberty, Jefferson, Gulf and Franklin Counties has…
GARY FINEOUT Fineout has lived in North Florida for 25 years. He has worked for various newspapers, including The Miami Herald, Tallahassee Democrat, The News-Journal of Daytona Beach and the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group. His work has also…
Regional Economic Development OrganizationsFlorida’s Great Northwest Economic development organization serving 16 counties from Pensacola to Tallahassee. Provides leadership in workforce and economic development with goal of creating high-wage, high-skill jobs, branding and marketing and supporting local economic development organizations. floridasgreatnorthwest.com…
850: By the Numbers Population 1.3 million people in 2007 – about 7.3 percent of the state – an increase of more than 11,000 from 2006. Almost half of the population’s age is less than 35. More than two-thirds are…
Do you have business news to share? Send us an e-mail at editor@850businessmagazine.com or fax your letter, press release or other news to (850) 656-1871. We also accept your business news for our corridor SoundBytes sections. Information on mergers, acquisitions,…
Want to Ask Charlie Crist a Question? 850 editor Linda Kleindienst meets quarterly with Governor Crist to ask the questions at the top of your list. E-mail your inquiries for the governor to editor@850businessmagazine.com and look in our upcoming issues…
Media Communication Savvy Provide only your information. Know what is yours to share. That doesn’t mean you’re withholding information. You’re just telling the story you own. If you’re asked a question and your only source of information to provide an…
Passion, dedication, and creativity. Those are just a few words that describe the C2U (Committed to You) philosophy at Florida Commerce Credit Union. Blended with the national credit union credo of “people helping people,” this philosophy led to FCCU’s Commit-a-thon…
Notable business news in the Emerald Coast Corridor. Focus on the Economy DESTIN – A regional leadership conference on how to stimulate economic activity in the Northwest Florida market will be held at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in…
Having an emergency plan in place is essential to getting back on track following a natural disaster. By Jason Dehart Preparing Your Business for SurvivalPlan Ahead When Storms are NearBy Jason Dehart According to the Insurance Information Institute, more…
Lino Maldonado, vice president of ResortQuest, has lived in Northwest Florida for more than 25 years, and he still can’t get enough. By David Demarest The Serious Business of VacationingLino Maldonado works to bring visitors to the Gulf CoastBy David…
Business owners throughout the Gulf Coast, have not only survived – they have rebuilt and thrived, despite the destruction of recent hurricanes. The question is, how? By Catherine McNaught Weathering the StormPanhandle business owners bounce back quickly from nature’s worstBy…
Florida’s Panhandle is poised for substantial growth – but will there be enough trained workers to make it happen? Helping solve that problem is H. Britt Landrum Jr. By Sheryl Grace Grimes People HunterH. Britt Landrum has made a…
Notable business news in the Bay Corridor. Help for Chipley Kids and Business CHIPLEY – The engineering management firm of PBS&J, with funding through The PBSJ Foundation Inc., recently presented a $5,000 donation to the North Central Panhandle Education Foundation…
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