USF Hospitality School Changes Name to Incorporate Tech Program

The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee (www.usfsm.edu) has given the new name of College of Hospitality and Technology Leadership to the former School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. The name change reflects the addition of an information technology program to the college. Dr. Cihan Cobanoglu, who has been serving as the dean of the school, will serve in the role of dean for the college.

Original article published July 16, 2012, by BIZ941 (www.biz941.com).

Calling all professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs and creative minds!!!

The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee announced the name change of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management to College of Hospitality and Technology Leadership. The name change reflects the addition of the Information Technology program to the college. Share:

Original article published July 13, 2012, by SRQ Daily (www.srqmagazine.com).

Infinite Therapies of Sarasota Opens

 New College of Hospitality and Technology Leadership announced at USF Sarasota-Manatee

The change reflects the joining of the Information Technology program to the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management

New College of Florida (www.ncf.edu) has begun a $700,000 renovation of the plaza in front of the Jane Bancroft Cook Library. The project includes construction of a bell tower, underwritten by Beverly Koski and named for her and her late husband, Robert, co-founder of Sun Hydraulics. The project is slated for an October completion; construction manager is Sarasota-based Willis Smith Construction.

Original article published July 11, 2012, by BIZ 941 (www.biz941.com).

New College of Florida has begun renovation of the plaza in front of the Jane Bancroft Library. Construction will include a new bell tower named after Beverly Koski, a Sarasota philanthropists, and her late husband Robert. Koski has been involved with New College for several years, serving as a leader of the New College Library Association. 

Original article published July 11, 2012, by SRQ Daily (www.srqmagazine.com).

Dear EDC Investors:

As you may have already heard, Rick Piccolo, President and CEO of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), has launched a community support initiative to help the airport replace traffic lost by the decision of Southwest/AirTran to no longer serve our airport. If you have not already done so, please take the following two steps to support this tremendous community asset.

SCORE Shares Best Practices
Jacob Ogles, jacob.Ogles@srqmediagroup.com

Running a business can be challenging, but nobody has to do it without help. In fact, organizations like SCORE have helped hundreds of businesses launch or simply through the recession. "We mentor small businesses, which I would say is very much like coaching," says Greg Hoffman, the owner of Hoffman Mediation and one of the central organizers for the Manasota SCORE chapter. This chapter, which helps businesses in Sarasota and Manatee counties, assisted in the development of 144 new businesses between the beginning of 2011 and now. It also worked with 98 existing businesses to add 344 full-time equivalent employees to the local workforce. The organization provides classes for company executives at locations in Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch, helping to provide nuanced business advice and inform budding entrepreneurs of some basic principals of operating a company. Too often, Hoffman said, people begin a business with a vision but no true plan. He sees many business owners practice what he calls "cookie jar accounting," putting all money gained in the business into a single pot and pulling from that account for any frivolous purpose. Often, SCORE helps businesses find ways to connect their services with new sources of revenue. He noted the Bradenton company Lost In Translation, which was providing translation services in local courthouses but now has expanded to provide marketing services for companies targeting Latino customers and latin companies trying to reach a mainstream audience. The company now provides marketing for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Bradenton Marauders. Another of Hoffman's favorite success stories is The Hive Creations, an art studio which found international success through innovative uses of social media. "We counseled them on the best ways to market, and then they cooperatively applied their own knowledge and used these social media tools in extremely efficient ways," Hoffman said. Of course, Hoffman stresses in both these cases, and all of the SCORE success stories, that it was the entrepreneurs themselves who took lessons and magnified them in ways that were extraordinarily successful. The hope, he said, is that SCORE can help businesses focus on the best way to move forward, and then the owners will find success and come back to offer their own advice as mentors. 

Lexy Khella, Lexyk@srqmediagroup.com

A racket of noise soars above. It isn’t a bird, or superman, but a plane returning to home base: Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ). To many, planes are just transportation. On June 27, Fredrick Piccolo, president and CEO of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, announced their new campaign to change this view of airports: “DO YOU SRQ?” Piccolo stressed the connection between our local economy and the airport. He described the airport as a “local economic engine” that fuels the local economy by generating new jobs, business incentives and taxes. SRQ generates almost $1 billion in economic activity and provides more than 11,400 jobs. In a time of economic recovery, this activity is important and must be maintained by local support because, as Piccolo stated, “when the airport thrives, the community thrives.” Quickly responding to the impending departure of Air Tran on August 12, SRQ has recovered about 95 percent of the seats lost by acquiring new nonstop and direct flights from Jet Blue, Delta and United. The biggest challenge to maintaining the economic fuel SRQ provides is lost traffic, or “leakage.” An estimated 70 percent of Sarasota-Manatee flyers, more than 1.5 million people, choose another airport (usually TPA) over SRQ. SRQ generates an estimated $2.5 million in local sales taxes, but the leakage evaporates an estimated $4.5 million. Leakage costs local jobs, business revenue and taxes, transferring them to the benefit of another community. “Time is money, and it’s time to say enough,” said Piccolo. The solution involves the entire community. “Look at us first,” proclaimed Piccolo. “Part of the way to recover is supporting the local airport services.” The goal is to decrease leakage by 3-8 percent annually over the next five years. The “DO YOU SRQ?” campaign asks the community to pledge their support by checking SRQ flights first, supporting airlines that support Sarasota, even in another airport when necessary, having a corporate travel executive approve travel outside of SRQ and passing on the word to fellow community members. Being able to show airlines that SRQ has thousands of advocates will provide potential companies the evidence of a market they need to invest in. Become a SRQ advocate by downloading the Pledge at http://www.srq-airport.com/do-you-srq.aspx