general membership meeting august 22, 2014 8:00...

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING August 22, 2014

8:00 a.m.

AGENDA

I. SPECIAL CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

8:00 a.m. courtesy of – Culinary Solutions at LeeSar

II. CALL TO ORDER – 8:30 a.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Introductions of Horizon Council Members

III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

July 25, 2014

IV. OLD BUSINESS

Horizon Foundation Report – B. Pat O’Rourke o Industry Appreciation Update – B. Pat O’Rourke

Outreach Task Force Update – Chris Spiro

Workforce Task Force Update – Janet Watermeier

Business Issues Task Force Update – Russell Schropp & Mike Quaintance o 3rd Quarter Horizon Council Survey – Dr. Gary Jackson, FGCU

V. PRESENTATIONS

State of the County – Larry Kiker, Lee County Commissioner & Roger Desjarlais, Lee County Manager, with introductory remarks by Cecil Pendergrass, Lee County Commissioner

VI. HORIZON COUNCIL VOTING MEMBER INPUT VIII. ADJOURN

Next Meeting: Industry Appreciation Luncheon Next H/C Gen. Membership Meeting: September 19, 2014, October 24, 2014, 8:30 a.m. Networking at 10:30 a.m., Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Harborside Event Center Harborside Event Center 1375 Monroe Street 1375 Monroe Street Fort Myers, FL 33901 Fort Myers, FL 33901 **Reservations required** Contact: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Horizon Council General Membership Meeting Minutes July 25, 2014 1

HORIZON COUNCIL GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

MINUTES July 25, 2014

I. CALL TO ORDER Chair, Mr. Hamilton called meeting to order at 8:32 a.m. Pledge of Allegiance and introductions of the Horizon Council members followed.

II. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

A motion to approve the minutes of the April 25, 2014 meeting was made by Mr. Schropp, seconded by Mr. Spiro, and unanimously carried.

III. OLD BUSINESS

Horizon Foundation Report – Bob Koenig Mr. Koenig reported that the 2014 Horizon Foundation Fund-Raising Campaign has received pledges to date totaling $388,545 of the overall goal of $400,000.

Industry Appreciation Update – B. Pat O’Rourke The 23rd Industry Appreciation luncheon will be held at Harborside on September 19

and invitations will go out in a few weeks. The lifetime achievement honoree will be announced at the luncheon. Six Hall of Fame judges have made decisions from the following categories: General-

Large Business, General-Small Business, Information Technology, Manufacturing and Tourism.

Mr. O’Rourke reminded everyone to take a Sponsorship flyer with them to encourage participation in the event.

Regional Initiative Task Force Update – Mei-Mei Chan The SWFLEDA have contracted a Bonita Based web development firm, called iPartner,

to improve and enhance their current website to be more responsive with a completion target date of this fall.

The SWFLEDA have completed the Business Plan and it is available for viewing. The Alliance Marketing Outreach secured an exhibitor booth for the Medical Device

Manufacturing (MDM) Trade Show that took place in New York, June 9-12. The SWFLEDA will be participating in the 2014 CoreNet Global North American Summit

in Washington, D.C. October 26-29, 2014. The Alliance’s 2014 marketing effort includes an $80,000 budget to support regional

marketing events on behalf of the region’s economic development organizations. Ms. Chan encouraged members to think about stepping in to be a founding investor of

which there are two levels: $10,000 for each of 3 years or $5,000 for each of 3 years. The Alliance currently has a three-year annual commitment of $720,000.


Workforce Task Force Update – Janet Watermeier Ms. Watermeier gave an overview of the two primary events the Workforce Task Force is currently focused on: Coordinating all young professional organizations across the county. Developing a curriculum for soft skills training.

Ms. Watermeier also reported the Workforce Task Force is wrapping up the Workforce Resource Guide which shows how to implement programs that are available. The Guide is scheduled to be available later in the year.

Business Issues Task Force Update – Russell Schropp and Mike Quaintance Mr. Quaintance gave an overview of what the Task Force will be doing in conjunction with Barriers to Small Business Growth Survey that was presented by Dr. Gary Jackson: Recruit financial expert(s). Through a strategic partnership with South West Florida Alliance of Chambers a

regional job fair will be hosted sometime in 2015. Research activities both internally in the Horizon Council and externally in the

community to see what organizations are doing to lessen the barriers to success to avoid duplication of service, enhance existing services or create new services.

IV. PRESENTATIONS

Barriers to Small Business Growth Survey – Dr. Gary Jackson, FGCU A presentation on the Barriers to Small Business Growth Survey was given by Dr. Jackson from FGCU. Please see attached.

Tourism – Fran Belasco, Office Manager, VCB A presentation on Tourism was given by Office Manager, Ms. Belasco from the Visitor and Convention Bureau. Please see attached.

Sports Development – Jeff Mielke, Director A presentation on Sports Development was given by Director, Mr. Mielke. Please see attached.

Parks & Recreation – Dana Kasler, Deputy Director A presentation on Parks & Recreation was given by Deputy Director, Mr. Kasler. Please see attached.

Summary – Roger Desjarlais, County Manager County Manager, Mr. Desjarlais spoke about how all of these departments partner and work together to help make the local economy stronger. The following are additional points offer by Mr. Desjarlais: Property values have increased by 7%. Sports Tourism is the fastest growing segment of our local government economic

drivers. A shortage of infrastructure is being experienced, which will need to be addressed in

the near future. Both Lee County Government and the County Commission are stable. By 2015 we could see a reduction in the property tax rate.


V. HORIZON COUNCIL VOTING MEMBER INPUT

Mr. Barton commended all speakers on the presentations and complimented Lee County on the enterprising approach for the sports facilities that are offered here. Mr. Mandel thanked the Visitor and Convention Bureau on bringing the Song Writers Festival here in September. Mr. Farron gave a quick overview of the Small Business Development Center at FGCU and made the board aware of now being affiliated with the SBDC. Mr. Lapi thanked the Visitor and Convention Bureau for all that has been done to develop the hospitality industry. Mr. Jones wanted to point out that without the partnership and leadership of Lee County the long-standing relationship with collegiate baseball would not have been possible.

VII. ADJOURN With no further business, motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Spiro, seconded by Mr. Noah, and unanimously approved. Meeting adjourned at 9:35a.m.

Lee County Business

Climate Survey Report

Third Quarter, 2014

Prepared by:

Regional Economic Research Institute

Center for Leadership & Innovation

Lutgert College of Business

Florida Gulf Coast University

August 22, 2014

Lee County Business Climate Survey Report

Third Quarter, 2014 Page 2

Introduction

The Horizon Council FGCU Business Climate Survey continues to take the “pulse” of

our local business community and the economy. The survey is completed quarterly

adding to understanding of the economy and key business issues and concerns. It is

designed to provide information and feedback on key issues and concerns to the

business community, elected officials, and citizens.

One of the key features of this survey is the calculation of an Executive Business

Climate Index (EBCI). This index provides a single summary number allowing one to

quickly gauge the current and future business climate in Lee County.

This survey would not have been possible without the assistance of Rick Michael and

Brent Kettler, of the Lee County Economic Development Office; Robert Beatty, Dean of

Lutgert College of Business at FGCU, and Russell Schropp, Chair of the Business

Issues Taskforce for the Horizon Council.

In addition, Dr. Ron Coccari, a staff economist for the Regional Economic Research

Institute (RERI), helped manage the project and the survey process. Allison Richey, an

FGCU student research analyst, was instrumental in analyzing the survey information

and drafting the report.

The results from the third quarter survey continue to bring an encouraging outlook for

the overall economy and insights into the importance, use, and speed of business

Internet connections.

Gary Jackson

Dr. Gary Jackson Director, Regional Economic Research Institute Lutgert College of Business Florida Gulf Coast University 10501 FGCU Boulevard South Fort Myers, Florida 33965-6565 239 590-7319 [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Executive Summary

The Executive Business Climate Survey provides a view of the local economy that is

based on responses from senior executives from a range of industries across the

county. An invitation to complete the Internet survey was sent to 560 executives in Lee

County. Seventy-one executives completed the survey from July 21, 2014 to August 4,

2014. Two reminders were sent during the survey period.

This survey provides a key economic indicator for Lee County, the Executive Business

Climate Index. This index value is computed each quarter and released to the public as

a way to provide an established economic indicator on the state of the local economy.

The index is computed using the two questions concerning the current and future

economic conditions and a third question concerning the expected industry economic

conditions. The index is an average of the responses, with substantially better equal to

100, moderately better equal to 75, same equal to 50, moderately worse equal to 25

and substantially worse equal to zero. The index value can range from 0 to 100.

The key findings of the Executive Climate Survey for the first quarter of 2014 are:

The Lee County Business Climate Index was 72 for the third quarter survey

(August 2014), which is a decline from 74 in the second quarter (April 2014);

83 percent of executives stated that the current economic conditions have

improved over last year;

76 percent of the executives expect the economy to improve over the next year;

69 percent of the executives stated that the current economic conditions for their

industry have improved over last year, but 26 percent stated that economic

conditions remained approximately the same;

67 percent of executives expect economic conditions for their industry to improve

over the next year;

55 percent of executives had increased employment over the last year, while

three percent had reduced employment;

55 percent of executives expect to increase employment at their companies

during the next year and only three percent of executives expect to reduce

employment;

62 percent of companies expect to increase investment next year and none

expect to reduce their investment levels;

99 percent of executives indicated that Internet connectivity is important;

87 percent of executives believe their Internet connectivity is reliable or very

reliable and 74 percent indicated that their Internet speed was fast or very fast;



39 percent of executives indicated that they had adequate bandwidth for large

file/record transfers and an additional 38 percent of executives indicated that they

had adequate bandwidth most of the time;

Only 44 percent of executives indicated that social media was important to their

business; and

Businesses’ top uses for the Internet include: email, websites, marketing,

banking, research, recruiting, and training for employees, video

collaboration/conferencing, Internet sales, and web-based phone services;



Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................... 2

Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... 3

I. Current Economic Conditions................................................................................... 6

II. Future Economic Conditions ................................................................................... 7

III. Current Industry Economic Conditions ................................................................. 8

IV. Future Industry Economic Conditions ................................................................... 9

V. Hiring Over Last Year ............................................................................................. 10

VI. Hiring Over Next Year ............................................................................................ 11

VII. Investment Levels Expected Next Year .............................................................. 12

VIII. Internet Connectivity Importance ....................................................................... 13

IX. Internet Connectivity Reliability ........................................................................... 14

XI. Internet Speed ........................................................................................................ 15

XII. Bandwidth Services .............................................................................................. 16

XIII. Social Media Importance ..................................................................................... 17

XIV. Business Uses of Internet .................................................................................. 18

XV. Social Media .......................................................................................................... 20

XVI. Internet Connectivity Comments/Recommendations/Suggestions ................ 21

XVII. Other Comments, Suggestions, or Recommendations? ................................ 21

XVIII. Company Characteristics ................................................................................. 22

Appendix A .................................................................................................................. 25

Appendix B .................................................................................................................. 25



I. Current Economic Conditions How are the current Lee County economic conditions compared to one year ago?

As shown in Figure 1 and Table 1, 10 percent of the executives indicated that there

were substantial improvements in the overall economic conditions, 73 percent reported

that they experienced moderately better economic conditions, and 17 percent indicated

that conditions were unchanged from a year ago. None of the executives indicated that

economic conditions were worse.

Figure 1: Current Economic Conditions

Table 1: Current Economic Conditions

Number Current Economic Conditions Compared to One Year Ago

of Responses Percent

Substantially better 7 10%

Moderately better 52 73%

Same 12 17%

Moderately worse 0 0%

Substantially worse 0 0%

Total 71 100%



II. Future Economic Conditions What are your expectations for the Lee County economy one year ahead?

As shown in Figure 2 and Table 2, 14 percent of surveyed executives indicated that

they expect substantial improvement in the Lee County economy, 62 percent expect

moderately better economic conditions, 24 percent expect economic conditions to

remain unchanged, and none of the executives indicated that they expect economic

conditions to be worse.

Figure 2: Future Economic Conditions

Table 2: Future Economic Conditions

Next Year Economic Conditions

Number of Responses Percent



Same 17 24%



Total 71 100%



III. Current Industry Economic Conditions What are your current conditions in your industry in Lee County compared to one

year ago?

As shown in Figure 3 and Table 3, 14 percent of executives indicated that current

conditions were substantially better for their industry, 55 percent felt conditions were

moderately better, 26 percent felt conditions were the same as last year, 4 percent felt

conditions were moderately worse, and no executives felt that current conditions were

substantially worse than one year ago.

Figure 3: Current Industry Economic Conditions

Table 3: Current Industry Economic Conditions

Number Current Industry Economic Conditions




Same 18 26%



Total 69 100%



IV. Future Industry Economic Conditions What are your expectations for your own industry in Lee County one year ahead?

As shown in Figure 4 and Table 4, 13 percent of executives indicated that conditions

are expected to be substantially better next year, 54 percent expected that conditions

would be moderately better, 31 percent expected conditions would be approximately the

same as this year, one percent expected conditions to be moderately worse, and no

executives thought conditions would be substantially worse.

Figure 4: Future Industry Economic Conditions

Table 4: Future Industry Economic Conditions

Next Year Industry Economic Conditions

Number of Responses Percent



Same 22 31%



Total 70 100%



V. Hiring Over Last Year What has been your hiring trend over the last year? As shown in Figure 5 and Table 5, six percent of executives indicated that their companies substantially increased employment, 49 percent moderately increased employment, 42 percent had little or no change in employment, three percent had moderately reduced employment. No executives indicated that they had substantially reduced employment.

Figure 5: Employment Changes Over the Last Year

Table 5: Employment Changes Over Last Year

Number Employment Changes

Over the Last Year of

Responses Percent

Substantially increased employment 4 6%

Moderately increased employment 35 49%

Little or no change in employment 30 42%

Moderately reduced employment 2 3%

Substantially reduced employment 0 0%

Total 71 100%



VI. Hiring Over Next Year What hiring trends do you see for your business over the next year?

As shown in Figure 6 and Table 6, six percent of companies expect to substantially

increase employment over the next year, 49 percent expect to moderately increase

employment, 42 percent expect little or no change in employment, three percent expect

to moderately reduce employment, and no companies expect to substantially reduce

employment.

Figure 6: Employment Changes Over Next Year

Table 6: Employment Changes Over Next Year

Number

Hiring Over Next Year of

Responses Percent

Substantially increase employment 4 6%

Moderately increase employment 35 49%

Same or flat employment 30 42%

Moderately reduce employment 2 3%

Substantially reduced employment 0 0%

Total 71 100%



VII. Investment Levels Expected Next Year Do you plan to increase investment in your business during the next year?

As shown in Figure 7 and Table 7, 10 percent of executives indicated that their

companies expect to substantially increase investment next year, 52 percent are

planning to moderately increase investment, 38 percent expect to keep investment

levels the same, and no executives expect to reduce investment.

Figure 7: Expected Investment Changes Over Next Year

Table 7: Expected Investment Changes Over Next Year

Number Investment Expenditures During Next Year


Substantially increase investment 7 10%

Moderately increase investment 37 52%

Keep investment the same or flat 27 38%

Moderately reduce investment 0 0%

Substantially reduce investment 0 0%

Total 71 100%



VIII. Internet Connectivity Importance How important is Internet connectivity to your business?

As shown by Figure 8 and table 8, 93 percent of executives indicated that Internet

connectivity is very important to their business, 6 percent indicated that it was important,

one percent indicated that it was somewhat important and no executives indicated that

Internet connectivity was unimportant to their business.

Figure 8: Internet Connectivity Importance.

Table 8: Internet Connectivity Importance.

Number

Internet Connectivity Importance of

Responses Percent

Very important 66 93%

Important 4 6%

Somewhat important 1 1%

Not very important 0 0%

Not important 0 0%

Total 71 100%



IX. Internet Connectivity Reliability How reliable is your business Internet connectivity?

As shown by figure 9 and table 9, 38 percent of executives indicated that their business

Internet connectivity was very reliable, 49 felt their connection was reliable, 11 percent

felt their connection was somewhat reliable, no executives indicated that their Internet

connectivity was not very reliable, and two percent felt their connectivity was not

reliable.

Figure 9: Internet Connectivity Reliability.

Table 9: Internet Connectivity Reliability.

Internet Connectivity Reliability Number of Responses

Percent Increase

Very reliable 27 38%

Reliable 35 49%

Somewhat reliable 38 11%

Not very reliable 0 0%

Not reliable 1 2%

Total 71 100%



XI. Internet Speed Is the speed of your business Internet service adequate?

As shown by figure 10 and table 10, 22 percent of executives indicated that the speed

of business Internet service was very fast, 51 percent indicated the speed was fast, 23

percent indicated the speed was somewhat fast, one percent indicated the speed was

not very fast and three percent indicated that the speed was slow.

Figure 10: Internet Speed.

Table 10: Internet Speed.

Internet speed Number of Responses

Percent Increase

Very fast 16 22%

Fast 36 51%

Somewhat fast 16 23%

Not very fast 1 1%

Slow 2 3%

Total 71 100%



XII. Bandwidth Services Does your current business Internet service adequately provide for bandwidth

intensive Internet tools/ services and file/record management? (An example

would be a large file transfer, Skype or other video conferencing).

As shown by Figure 11 and Table 11, when asked if their business Internet service

adequately provided intensive bandwidth services, 38 percent of executives selected

“yes”, 38 percent selected “most of the time”, 17 percent selected “sometimes”, three

percent selected “seldom”, and three percent of executives indicated that intensive

bandwidth services were not provided.

Figure 11: Provision of Adequate Bandwidth Services.

Table 11: Provision of Adequate Bandwidth Services.

Provision of Adequate Bandwidth Services Number of Responses

Percent Increase

Yes 28 39%

Most of the time 27 38%

Sometimes 12 17%

Seldom 2 3%

No 2 3%

Total 71 100%



XIII. Social Media Importance How important is social media to your business?

As shown by Figure 12 and Table 12, 17 percent of executives indicated that social

media was very important to their business, 27 percent indicated social media was

important, 22 percent indicated it was somewhat important, 28 percent indicated it was

not very important, and six percent indicated that social media was unimportant.

Figure 12: Social Media Importance.

Table 12: Social Media Importance.

Social media importance Number of Responses

Percent Increase

Very important 12 17%

Important 19 27%

Somewhat Important 16 22%

Not very important 20 28%

Not important 4 6%

Total 71 100%



XIV. Business Uses of Internet How does your business use the Internet?

As shown by Figure 13 and Table 13, out of the 71 executives who responded to this

question, 97 percent indicated that their business uses the Internet for

email/communication, 80 use the Internet for websites, 77 percent use the Internet for

marketing/advertising, 73 percent use the Internet banking/accounting, 73 use the

Internet for research, 59 percent use the Internet for recruiting, 58 percent use the

Internet for training employees, 45 percent use the Internet for conferencing services,

41 percent use the Internet for sales, 34 percent use Internet for phone-based services,

and six percent of executives use the Internet for other uses.

Figure 13: Business Uses of the Internet.



Table 13: Business Uses of the Internet.

Business Uses of the Internet Number Reporting

Percent of respondents

Email/Communication 69 97%

Website (awareness, contacts, information) 57 80%

Marketing/Advertising 55 77%

Banking/Accounting 52 73%

Research 52 73%

Recruiting 42 59%

Training for Employees 41 58%

Video Collaboration/Conferencing Services 32 45%

Internet Sales 29 41%

Web-based Phone Services 24 34%

Other 4 6%

Number of Responses 457

Number of Executives Responding to this Question 71



XV. Social Media What Types of social media does your business currently use?

As shown by Figure 14 and Table 14, out of the 65 executives who responded to this

question, 83 percent indicated that their business uses LinkedIn, 69 percent use

Facebook, 48 percent use Twitter, eight percent use Instagram, three percent use other

forms of social media, and three percent of the executives indicated that they use no

forms of social media.

Figure 14: Business Uses of the Internet.

Table 14: Business Uses of the Internet.

Forms of social media used Number Reporting

Percent of respondents

LinkedIn 54 83%

Facebook 45 69%

Twitter 31 48%

Instagram 5 8%

Other 2 3%

None 2 3%

Number of Responses 139

Number of Executives Responding to this Question 65



XVI. Internet Connectivity Comments/Recommendations/Suggestions Do you have any other comments, recommendations, or suggestions concerning

the business Internet connectivity?

The executives’ responses to this question fell into following areas:

Want more reliable service

Online services have made large emails unnecessary

Simplifying the process

More backup services

*Executive responses for this question are found in Appendix A.

XVII. Other Comments, Suggestions, or Recommendations? Other comments, suggestions, or recommendations you would like to make

regarding the regional economy or your business?

The executives’ responses to this question fell into following areas:

Economy still fragile

The need to diversify the economy

Support corporate relocation to Southwest Florida

*Executive responses for this question are found in Appendix B.



XVIII. Company Characteristics Each executive provided information about his or her firm, including:

Business Type;

Number of Employees;

Company Location; and

Geographic Client Base.

The following figures provide an overview of general characteristics of the responding

companies.

Figure 15: Business Type



Figure 16: Employee Size of Firms Responding to the Survey

Figure 17: Geographic Location of Survey Respondents



Figure 18: Geographic Client Base



Appendix A The following list includes specific responses from the executives for the

question- Do you have any other comments, recommendations, or suggestions

concerning the business Internet connectivity?

1. Business does not use social media.

2. Local providers are only moderately reliable. Their broadband phone service is poor with unreasonable number of outages. Internet service is better with fewer outages, but bandwidth can drop without paying heavy premiums for premium speeds. No other viable options exist.

3. Local service is very poor and unreliable. The market needs additional service providers.

4. Drop box and I sq.ft. Services have made large emails unnecessary. Downloads are less of a problem.

5. Simplify the process. Our firm to achieve phone, Web and Internet Utilizes Mock Engineering, Sprint T1 lines, T3 communications, PCM Services and IGSFL web site. Whenever an issue occurs it is the other company's issue. Must be a more efficient way? With all of these companies we still host our own server!

6. We are growing as a digital marketing firm. With 22% growth over same time last year (1st 6 months), 7% growth in 2013.

7. We do not use social media.

8. We have redundant high speed optical and failover to copper T1 for Internet.

9. Would like to see more backup services in case of a disaster, i.e. hurricanes, etc.

Appendix B The following list includes specific responses from the executives for the

question- Please indicate any other comments, suggestions, or recommendations

you would like to make regarding the regional economy or your business:

1. Buyer and sellers of Real Estate are very cautious. Banks are starting to lend but clients have to almost convince the banks that they do not need the money to qualify for the loan. Tons of documentation required. Most buyers pay cash. There is still a perception out in the market the Banks are not lending. Closing real state especially vacant land deals is very complicated with all the government intrusion. Too many governmental departments must grant approval. 85% failure rate due to government permitting and regulation.

2. I am a business owner. I am very concerned about the over-building of home and condo communities by developers. We would benefit from a relative connection between new building and new sales. Otherwise face the same over-building and local eco-collapse. So how do we get our local officials to ignore the impact fees and show concern over local eco-welfare so they don't repeat recent history?

3. I still believe that the local economy is fragile and any national or international



event could scuttle good recovery. Also, the lack of national leadership is a major factor in the brittle economy that we face.

4. I support more and greater broadband services

5. Regional economic health should be viewed through the "lens" of demand for business loans. Demand is very low, and consists primarily of refinancing higher interest debt. Business loan demand for new money purposes, including inventory, equipment, expansion, and commercial real estate financing, is flat to declining despite historically low interest rates.

6. Stay positive and encourage more corporate relocation, but do not forget about industrial relocation, especially into the extensive existing Fort Myers Industrial Zone centered on Hanson and Veronica Shoemaker intersection. This is the best place to put jobs where the people that need jobs live. Vocational Tech school desperately needed on a "campus" along with industry to encourage job education and the jobs co-mingled with the residential area of the 33916 district.

7. SW Florida is considered by many only a tourist area for snowbirds. We must be more business friendly and draw more manufacturing to SWFL!

8. The attitude of a few of the existing residents, primarily retirees not interested in growing employment opportunities, affects County staff and elected officials in a very negative fashion, making the process of attracting businesses and providing supporting residential and commercial activities increasingly difficult.

9. The construction industry is heating up again and we have reached a point where the demand for skilled tradespeople has surpassed the supply. We offer a solution to this problem. It is called Jumpstart, a state certified pre-apprenticeship program for Electricians and Plumbers. We recruit unskilled individuals and pay them while they learn, there is NO cost, and we offer benefits and provide all required hand tools. This is the most effective way to bring new people into the construction industry. We are actively searching for grant money to expand our training program.

10. We are a machine shop with only a few of 1,000 customers in SWFL. However, we were very pleased to see one of the two national trade associations we belong to having their annual meeting at the Hyatt Regency Bonita Springs in October.

general membership meeting august 22, 2014 8:00...

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