Matt Griffin

39, Vortex Racing

Those sleek, speedy racing motorcycles that bank around tracks and fly through the air over muddy hills, need handlebars, sprockets, clutches, brake levers and other parts.

That’s where entrepreneur Matt Griffin, 39, comes in.

Griffin used to race motorcycles before he got injured. Griffin broke seven bones while his business partner Daniel
Geberth broke at least 20.

The two childhood friends from New Jersey eventually moved to Tampa Bay and opened Vortex Racing in 1995 to make and sell parts to motorcycle companies.

Today, using 3,000 dealers and 30 employees, they sell more than 28,000 Vortex products for adrenalin junkies who ride what are called “crotch rockets,” also known as racing or dirt bikes.

To help market Vortex, the company also sponsors pro and amateur racing teams, including the U.S. Yamaha Racing Team. Vortex has seen its name featured in two PlayStation games and in the 2004 biker movie “Torque,” starring rapper Ice Cube.

Griffin and Geberth dreamed of starting a business in the industry. After high school, Geberth left for Florida, where he got work in a machine shop.

Griffin, who knew how to program milling machines, joined him after college, three years later in Palm Harbor.

They rented part of the machine shop where Geberth worked to develop some prototypes. They called their company Gearz, because that was they wanted to make. But they changed that to Vortex as their vision grew.

Their start with Vortex was slow. They drove their own truck through the night to deliver parts to other states, such as Michigan. At first, they used their machine shop to make arrowheads for archery companies because they weren’t getting enough orders for sprockets and handlebars.

They cold called and tried to run down cycle company executives at conferences.
“There were a thousand no’s for every yes, at the beginning,” Griffin says. And there were tough lessons.

In 1996, after struggling to get one sale, Vortex got an $800,000 order and bought two new machines to handle it.
But the customer later cancelled the order.

But they believed in the popularity of the sport. Both say their youthfulness has turned out to be an asset when dealing with motorcycle parts

distributors because they expected them to be around the industry for a while and they trusted that they knew the products and the market.

But those relationships took a while to establish. After renting space, Vortex built a building in the West Pasco
Industial Park. It then built a $1.1 million office and industrial building, more than twice the size of its original building, about 2½ years later in Odessa.

The company used the profits from selling its former building in the West Pasco Industrial Park to pay off debt from its recent expansion.

Today, it operates a 22,500-square-foot facility, with computer-aided design and mails out its parts to companies around the world. New manufacturing techniques have cut down production time. A new rapid prototype machine turns out plastic replicas of newly designed products and a 3-D printer helps company engineers envision new designs.

To differentiate itself, Vortex likes to use different supplies, such as aerospace aluminum for its sprockets.
Vortex also sells a line of branded clothing, including shirts, shorts and hats, which is growing in sales. It also invents his own parts.

There are several competitors that match Vortex’s product line. But most specialize in one or two kinds of parts.

“No one does our diversity,” Griffin says. “We’re a one-stop shop.”

The biggest challenge for Vortex is keeping up with industry trends and motorcycle redesigns.

“We’re not always making 10,000 of one part,” Griffin says. “We’re looking for the latest, greatest thing. Then we need to go on to the next thing.”

Vortex has gone to Germany to one of the world’s biggest automotive trade shows because the strength of the Euro has made American-made products look like bargains overseas.
                                                                                                     
— Dave Szymanski
                                                                                                   

Suzi Marteny

37, Marteny & Toner Law Firm

Tampa intellectual property attorney Suzi Martney admits that when she was growing up, she was more interested in the social than the academic. She dropped out of high school.

“I took a different path,” says Martney, 37, founder of Martney & Toner, a Tampa law firm. “I got married young. Had a baby at 20 and divorced at 21. I just couldn’t get motivated to do anything. I thought I knew everything.”

That changed when Martney had a child. She went back to school, graduated from Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, then the University of South

Florida in Tampa and worked as an analytical chemist for companies like Shell Chemical in Lakeland.

She planned to be a doctor. But that required four more years of school and four to 10 years in a residency.

“Shell didn’t pay well and there were not a lot of opportunities for advancement,” Martney says. “I didn’t have a Ph.D in chemistry. That was a lot more school with no real payoff in the end.”

But her neighbor was a patent attorney. And after talking with him at length, Marteny felt that after 2½ years of school, that was something she could do well, enjoy and make a good career out of — a better way to support her daughters Tipper, 16, and Logan, 2.

She eventually decided to go to Stetson Law School in Gulfport. And after graduating in May 2003, she worked for a few Tampa Bay area firms, such as

Carlton Fields and Akerman Senterfitt. Martney first worked as a law clerk helping clients. Then she opened her own business law firm, Martney & Toner, in South Tampa on MacDill Avenue, about a third of a mile from her home.

Instead of the silk stocking law offices with glass conference rooms downtown, get ready for a different experience when walking in to Martney & Toner.

Don’t be surprised to find Martney in shorts, jeans or flip flops, if it’s a non-court day. There are no marble floors and fancy coffee cups and silverware.

“Some clients said don’t wear a suit,” Martney says. “It makes them nervous. At Shell Chemical, we were wearing jeans and hard hats. A lot of our clients are industrial. The clients are the motivators.”

But her work is serious business. Marteny has represented plaintiffs and defendants in litigations with claims such as patent, trademark and copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, Internet domain name disputes, advertising issues, publishing, counterfeit goods, right of publicity issues, computer fraud and abuse, state and federal unfair competition, counterfeiting, restrictive covenants and contractual matters.

Her experience includes representing clients in cancellation and opposition proceedings in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. She has also litigated various other types of disputes involving partnerships, real estate, civil theft and insurance.

She has specific experience in assisting her clients in developing internal business procedures for the protection of intellectual property rights, preparing contracts such as manufacturing and supply agreements, intellectual property licenses, software and content development agreements and distribution agreements.

Marteny also helps clients form corporations and securing funding.

“We deal with so many situations here,” Martney says. “I’m a very down-to-earth person. We want to put the focus on the product, not us. Just because you do things differently, there’s multiple ways to get a job done. It is working for us.”
                                                                                                     
— Dave Szymanski
                                                                                                 

Michael Peters

38, Spark

Michael Peters left the palm trees of Tampa for the skyscrapers of Manhattan and rose through the ranks of the advertising industry, handling national brands like

Proctor & Gamble, Jockey and Firestone for Grey Worldwide for seven years.

After a marriage and a child, Peters outgrew his fifth-story walk-up and returned to his home town in 2001, one day before 9-11. A day later, he founded his own ad firm, Spark Branding House, now known as Spark, and even some spinoff companies, like Spark Labs, which develops new products.

His story parallels others at Spark: Under 40 people who have left Tampa, gotten big agency experience, only to return and practice their craft here.

Peters’ move was not only personal. He is a fifth generation native of Tampa and graduate of Plant High School. But he also wanted to branch out professionally.

“I wanted to get more into the whole brand logo, packaging and other aspects of what we do,” Peters says.

Peters has sought to make Spark different, such as not forcing clients to pick one of the ideas the staff comes up with for an ad presentation for a client. In the past, agencies would own the presentation ideas and push clients to accept one of them for an ad campaign. Clients, with their own ideas in their heads, were expected to listen and choose one.

“We’ve gone against that, in favor of collaboration,” Peters says. “We’re not smarter than our clients. We look at their business from the customer’s point of view.

While Spark makes a recommendation to the clients on an ad, it uses the presentation as a starting point.

“We bring our clients into the creative process,” Peters says. “We want the client talking. We create that environment.”

Another differentiator for Spark is its in-house production work, which allows it to turn around video work faster for clients. It has done still photos, television commercials and online videos.

That idea was a carryover from his days working at New York agencies.

“There were amazing editing studios, lofts and great meeting areas,” Peters says. “They were young and hungry people.”

So at Spark you’ll find some of that. There’s a hipness to the office, including a ping pong table for the staff, teambuilding exercises, 17-foot ceilings, a warehouse-like building, flat screen televisions and staff lunches. White
Macintoshes sit on glass top desks. The video on the company Website features Peters slightly unshaved and talking about including clients in

advertising decisions. There’s a dry eraser board in the men’s bathroom.

The biggest challenges at Spark are hiring the right people and finding the right clients, Peters says. He likes the team he has assembled at Spark and would like to possibly get a larger office space. Spark is now at Swann and
Armenia avenues in Tampa.

Peters started out wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps. His dad owned eight restaurants and Peters went to the University of Alabama to study business. But the emphasis on numbers turned him off, so he switched majors to advertising and saw his grades and interest soar.

When he started Spark, Peters’ mother taught him how to use the Quickbooks software and worked at Spark for four years as its comptroller.

Peters has also turned into a crusader for bringing more young professionals to Tampa. Taking a page from his days in New York, he founded Design

Tampa, an organization to attract young professionals. Working with the city, Peters was trying to show outdoor movies beamed on a downtown building and helping promote and finish the Riverwalk downtown.
                                                                                               
— Dave Szymanski
                                                                                                 

Braden Chandler

24, MVP Sports Arena

Braden Chandler has big business dreams for soccer, a global sport that has struggled commercially in the United States.

So in Chandler’s battle to score a soccer success — indoors and in Florida, no less — he’s leaning on one particular ally: Tenacity.

Chandler, after all, strolled onto the grounds of the IMG Academies in Bradenton when he was 18 years old to meet with the directors of the U.S. Under-17 Men’s national soccer team that trained there. Chandler, a Manatee County native who began working as early as first grade by selling school supplies to other students, went all entrepreneur on the soccer executives.

“I went out there and asked them what I can do,” says Chandler. “I was willing to work for free.”

That initiative led to a job as an assistant equipment manager with the team. And that led to a series of bigger jobs, including moving to Salt Lake City in 2005 to work as the head equipment man for Real Salt Lake, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team. That job that actually paid Chandler, both in money and in experience.

Now Chandler is back in his hometown, selling soccer. He is the co-owner of MVP Arena Sports, an indoor sports facility inside the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex in northern Manatee County. Chandler leases the space from the arena’s owners, Sarasota businessman Marvin Kaplan and state Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton.

It’s a move that brings Chandler back to the sport’s core challenge: Taking it mainstream and turning it into a thriving business. “I’ve always had the entrepreneurial mindset,” says Chandler, who doubles as the boy’s varsity soccer coach at Braden River High School in east Manatee County.

“I’ve always had the drive and desire to run my own business.”

Chandler bills the indoor soccer field as the largest in Florida. He has set up a series of leagues, games and training clinics there, including adult competitions and games for toddlers. Chandler says about 500 adults and 200 children and teenagers use the field each week.

But Chandler realizes other potential customers might not share his soccer passion. So he recently opened up MVP to other sports, including flag football, dodgeball and cheerleading. He even has been using the field and space for indoor paintball games and competitions.

“It’s not your typical soccer facility,” says Chandler. “It’s a lot of sports rolled into one.”

Chandler declined to release revenue figures, only to say that the business is breaking even. He says adult soccer league enrollment, where he makes a majority of his revenues, has been holding steady during the recession.

In the meantime, he’s hoping to grow the business during the downturn through an aggressive marketing campaign that includes buying ads for radio, TV and newspapers.

“The biggest thing right now is getting our name established,” says Chandler. “There are still a lot of people who don’t know we’re here.”

— Mark Gordon                                                                                                     

Joe Disanti

39, Wachovia/Wells Fargo Bank

Joe Disanti has a white-collar resume trapped in a blue-collar body.

His thick thumbs and fingernails hold the dirt and grime of a guy who worked his way through college as a factory mechanic. His accent and demeanor is straight out of central casting for an Italian New Yorker, down to how he sprinkles “yous guys” into conversation and the picture hanging on his office wall of him chatting it up with Rudy Giuliani. 

But Disanti’s professional career belies that proletarian picture. He currently runs the Sarasota-Manatee business banking division for

Wachovia/Wells Fargo, where he supervises a team of 12 loan officers spread across the bank’s 45 area branches.

The position is a culmination of a 15-year climb that began with a job on the assembly line of American Home Products, a Long Island, N.Y., based manufacturer. Disanti rose from a local manager there to opening and then running the company’s Costa Rica plant.

Disanti made several stops in between that job and his current gig: He ran his own sporting goods manufacturer that made roller blade parts and accessories; he earned an MBA in international business and began studying for a doctorate in business administration; he worked as a commercial loan officer for Bank of America in New York City; and, most recently, he held several senior loan officer positions with Wachovia offices on Florida’s east coast.

His current job, which he landed in late 2007, could be his biggest challenge yet: Finding clients to loan money to — who will pay it back — in the midst of the recession. “Florida will be in a tough position for a year or two,” says Disanti. “The bailout and recovery projects haven’t yet trickled down to us.”

Nonetheless, Disanti has hit some early successes. For example, he led a turnaround in the rankings among other Wachovia branches in metrics that include new customers and increasing the amount of non-interest bearing accounts. He says the local division was one of the highest ranked units in 2008 after being near the bottom last year, before he got there. 

He pegs the turnaround to several factors. First, his position had been one of high turnover prior to his arrival, with three or four bosses in a short period of time. Disanti says he brings stability to the office.

Second, Disanti says he has preached a mindset of finances over flash. So instead of signing up clients in a rash of exuberance, he requires his loan agents to be more like CFOs, going through a potential customer’s books with precision. “Risk management is the bank’s primary focus,” says Disanti.

And finally, Disanti says his management style, which he considers blunt and decisive, has set up the team to perform in a clear, efficient manner.

Disanti says he bases his leadership approach on his three business idols: Sam Walton, Donald Trump and, of course, Rudy Giuliani.

Disanti has a picture of himself with Giuliani taken on Sept. 10, 2001, at a dinner on leadership styles. 
                                                                                                     
— Mark Gordon
                                                                                                           

Patricia Entsminger, 39; Belinda Holmes, 37; Jennifer Glassmoyer, 36; Chris Chiaro, 32

Kerkering Barberio

One aspect stood out a few years ago when John Nicholas and Robert Lane glanced at the employee roster of the $15 million accounting and consulting firm they oversee: The 110-employee firm, according to Nicholas, was Baby Boomer heavy and light on young stars.

Not that there was anything wrong with a business full of experienced professionals, but Nicholas wanted to mold a company for the future, not only the present. So the firm, Sarasota-based Kerkering Barberio, “went on a hiring boom to try and grow leaders,” Nicholas says. “We are trying to create an atmosphere in the firm that is casual yet professional.”

The move seems to have worked. Now, says Nicholas, the firm, which is broken down into a CPA unit, a wealth management entity and a retirement plan consulting company, has about 40 employees under 40. To mesh the two cultures, the company combines number crunching with the occasional indoor golf-putting tournament and summer ice cream social.

Most of the Kerkering Barberio employees under 40 say the company has become a destination employer — not the type of firm people work at for a few years and then jump to another company. The core of those employees say one big plus they have found is the ability to make decisions on their own without having to run it through meetings and multiple chains of command.

“We have the flexibility to make our own mistakes,” says Ben Jones, 26, a portfolio manager for Kerkering Barberio Financial Services.

Kerkering Barberio has been recognized locally and nationwide for its workplace ideals and environment. In 2007, it
won the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Excellence in Workplace Flexibility; it’s a national award co-sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for companies that have high job satisfaction and retention rates.

The workplace environment fostered by Kerkering Barberio has also produced some under-40 stars. Belinda Holmes, for instance, is one of the leading local experts in assisting health care businesses and medical providers with complicated Medicare laws and regulations.

Holmes, who speaks and writes nationally on the topic, considers her job similar to that of a white-collar crime defense lawyer whose responsibility is to protect a client from ever even being indicted or arrested. Holmes protects Kerkering Barberio clients from being audited by the federal government.

“It’s really fascinating,” Holmes says. “I love what I do.”

That sentiment is shared by many of the younger set of Kerkering Barberio employees, who work out of the company’s downtown Sarasota headquarters.

Revenues at the firm grew slightly last year, from $14.98 million in 2007 to $15.38 million in 2008.

Another integral aspect of Kerkering Barberio’s young workplace philosophy is its commitment to an entrepreneurial spirit. Several employees own small businesses on the side, which they say helps them incorporate real-life experiences into their day-to-day work.

Jennifer Glassmoyer, an auditor with the firm, is one of those entrepreneurs, as she owns a candle company with her husband.

The couple has a prominent booth at the Sarasota Downtown Farmer’s Market.

And Patricia Entsminger, a CPA and shareholder in the firm, co-owns Garden Creations, a family business that sells silk flowers and other interior design accessories from a Sarasota storefront. She says working at the store on nights and weekends has given her a front-row seat to the recession.

“It’s easy to read about,” Entsminger says. “But when you are living it, it hits hard.” 

— Mark Gordon                                                                                                   

Michel Briers

39, Briers CPA

As controller of Asian operations for South Carolina-based textile firm Springs Industries, Michael Briers oversaw the shipments of $500 million worth of product to the United States.

Briers, now 39, was promoted to the Shanghai posting in 2005 and he was well on his way up the global corporate ladder in his accounting profession.

Armed with a master’s degree in tax accounting, Briers became an expert in international accounting. “The opportunity to go to Asia was huge,” he says.

But as the global economy slowed and the American textile industry faltered, Briers returned to the United States. in 2007 like many other expatriates and wondered what was next. He turned down an offer from Caterpillar in part because of the manufacturing slowdown and because he’d be based in Peoria, Ill.

So Briers moved to Bonita Springs instead, where his parents and sister already lived. Together with his father, Thomas Briers, the younger Briers opened his own accounting firm called BriersCPA in August 2007. The elder Briers is an accountant and financial planner.

Today, the firm has four employees and $200,000 in annual billings with over 150 clients. “Finding clients has been easier than I thought,” says Briers. “I underestimated the number of clients who needed more sophisticated work.”

Briers has built his client list by networking at business events and getting referrals from existing clients. He presents himself as the less expensive alternative to hiring someone. “It’s cheaper to hire me than a controller,” he says. Tax returns generally cost $500 to $750, though complex returns can be more costly. And other accounting functions can cost $6,000 to $20,000.

Of course the clients Briers has today aren’t near the size of the company he used to work for. About 70% of people in Lee County work for companies with fewer than 10 employees, Briers says. “I like these guys a lot more than the corporate world,” he says. “They’re the bread and butter of the economy.”

As an accountant, Briers has special insight into the economic health of businesses in the Lee County area. His verdict: “Those who are still around are going to get through it.” About 10% of his clients are struggling, in particular restaurants and other businesses in the hospitality industry.

Surprisingly, auto-repair shops are also having a rough time because drivers are putting off repairs.

Meanwhile, Briers says service companies are doing relatively well, in part because many competitors went out of business in 2008. Title companies are busy with the increase in residential real estate transactions and so are pest-control companies and other home-service businesses.

Despite spending most of his career in the corporate world, Briers has had an entrepreneurial spirit since childhood.

As a young man growing up in West Virginia, he operated a profitable car-washing business for 20 neighbors in the summertime. For $125 per car, he promised to wash and wax cars every other week for the entire summer. He collected half the money up front and the other half when summer ended. In

college, he bought pepper spray bottles for $1 a bottle and resold them to sorority sisters for $10 each.

Despite the downturn, Briers says there’s less competition from large accounting firms in Lee County because it’s not home to many large companies.

If they want to make a good living, most people have to start their own company. “Everyone is so entrepreneurially driven down here,” Briers says.

Briers has expansion plans of his own. “I would love to go to Lauderdale,” he says. In the meantime, he plans to grow the Bonita Springs business and enjoy golf and the beach.

— Jean Gruss                                                                                                     

Mitzi Maggio

38, Salt Shaker Marine Custom Yachts

When Mitzi Maggio shows off her company’s custom yachts at the annual Miami boat show, prospective buyers sometimes mistake her for one of the models.

But after chatting a bit, buyers quickly realize they’re talking to the owner and president of Salt Shaker Marine
Custom Yachts, a Punta Gorda-based company whose sport-fishing boats cost as much as $250,000.
“If we had a model, she’d have big boobs with blond hair,” she laughs.

Being a young woman in a male-dominated industry has been the toughest part of the job since she took over the business from her father, Joseph Maggio, in 1999. She says it took about five years to gain the respect from peers and customers. “I needed to know the business inside and out,” she explains.

Maggio, 38, never imagined herself running the business until her father wrote her a 10-page proposal 15 years ago urging her to come home from a corporate-event job in Boston. “I loved working in Boston,” says Maggio, who today is also the mother of a 10-month-old boy. “I’ll give you two years,” she told her father at the time.

So Maggio fille came back to Punta Gorda 1995, where Maggio pére had moved the business from Fort Lauderdale in 1989. While Joseph Maggio is still involved in the business, his daughter owns and runs the company.

Clearly this is a tough time for custom-boat builders. Buyers of Salt Shaker boats are typically wealthy entrepreneurs and many of them have seen their personal finances and businesses shrink in the last two years. “It’s the first to feel the recession and the last to feel the recovery because

it’s a luxury item,” Maggio says. “If you can survive this, you’re going to be on top.”

Part of the challenge is that the market for existing boats is saturated and boats are selling for half of what it costs to build them new. Maggio forecasts it could take as long as five years for the custom-boat market to recover.

In the meantime, Maggio is turning to retrofitting existing boats with new engines. “The repower business is huge,” she says. “We’ve broadened our expertise.” For example, an owner who spent $300,000 for a sport-fishing boat may prefer to spend $40,000 for new engines than splurging on a new boat.

And Maggio’s trimmed some of the marketing expenses, forgoing boat shows in distant places such as Annapolis, Md. It can cost as much as $30,000 to set up at a boat show, though Maggio won’t miss the Fort Lauderdale and Miami boat fests. “If you’re not there, you’re dead in the water,” she says. While Maggio doesn’t ink deals at the boat shows, it’s important to be in front of buyers who typically take a couple years to make up their minds about buying a boat.

Boat shows are tests of endurance and Maggio stays in shape by teaching aerobics and Pilates three times a week at a local gym. Since she’s moved to Punta Gorda, Maggio has become involved in local community projects. For example, she’s currently the president of Main Street Punta Gorda, a downtown redevelopment organization. “If you want to get things done, ask the busy person,” she laughs.

— Jean Gruss
                                                                                                               

Marcy Shaw

35, Wright & Shaw

Marcy Shaw sometimes drives her friends crazy.

When she’s at the wheel, Shaw comes to a complete stop at intersections and never goes over the speed limit. But she has good reason to be an extra-careful driver: Shaw is a part-time traffic-court judge.

Shaw, 35, harbors a desire to return to public service. “I would love, at the end of the day, to be a county court judge,” she says. For now, though, she runs a thriving law practice.

Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Shaw moved to Fort Myers in 1998 to work in the state attorney’s office. She specialized in prosecuting crimes against children. “I loved being a prosecutor,” she says.

Shaw enjoyed working for the state, though like most she cast enviable glances at the much-higher salaries of her colleagues in private practice.

Still, there are advantages to working for the government. “When you work for the state, you just show up,” she says.

But Shaw says the right opportunity to be in private practice arose when Christine Wright, her law partner, asked her to join her one-person firm because she had so much real-estate work. Her timing was perfect because the real estate boom was just starting. “Our practice was exploding,” Shaw says looking back. “It was a great time to go into private practice.”

Still, the transition to civil litigation from criminal prosecution was challenging because laws constantly change. And the $250 an hour that Shaw charges has to pay for everything from the power bill to the staff salaries. “That’s not $250 in my pocket,” she chuckles.

Business is good today in part because the practice has seen an increase in litigation and foreclosure work. “Our accounts receivable are higher than they’ve ever been,” Shaw says. But collections are tougher, too. “We turn a profit, but there’s a lot more time spent trying to track down clients.”

Encouraging clients to pay their bills on time is necessary but unpleasant. “I’m not enamored with being a bill collector,” Shaw quips.

Shaw says neither her age nor her gender has been a problem in building her business. “I have youthful energy on my side,” she says. One of the useful organizations that have helped her business is called Seek Counsel of Professional Experience (SCOPE), a group of attorneys who volunteer to

help lawyers in various areas of the law.

Shaw also has been active with the Lee County Bar, becoming its president last year. “Last year was almost a blur,” she says. She’s also on the board of governors of the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division, visiting a different part of the state every two months for board meetings.

Both organizations have been helpful in generating referrals to Wright & Shaw. “That’s the only way you can justify the travel,” Shaw says. “It is absolutely word of mouth.”
                                                                                                                                — Jean Gruss
               
                                                                                                     

Jamie Cerra

38, Persystent Technologies

Position: Senior Systems Engineer

Education: B.S./B.A. in Management Information Systems and Business Administration, University of West Florida

Years on the Gulf Coast: 26

First job: My very first jobs have determined my future hobbies. Working as a caddy at the golf club and a dishwasher at the Italian restaurant made me fall in love with golf and cooking Italian food.

Marital status: Married with two children

Business person you admire most: Richard Branson

Favorite movie: The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Best place to network: Business functions, local networking events and trade shows

I can’t live without: My family. I have to add cooking too as I love to cook.

Best way to relax and let off steam: Playing sports. A round of golf or an hour of beach volleyball can help anybody to let off steam.

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Google.com, Bing.com and Salesforce.com

Type of cell phone: Verizon XV 6800

The community group you’re most involved with: I am involved with YMCA because my son is on the local YMCA soccer team.

Favorite business lunch spot: Pei Wei restaurant

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 168

If I had a magic wand I’d: Add more hours to the day, so I could spend more time with my kids and catch a few rounds of golf.

Scott Edinger

39, Zenger Folkman

Position: Executive Vice President

Education: B.S. Rhetoric/Communication Studies, Florida State University

Years on the Gulf Coast: Nine

First job: Coopers & Lybrand (Now PricewaterhouseCoopers), Human Resource Management Associate

Marital status: Married for 15 years

Business person you admire most: Steve Jobs because he is a terrific strategist.

Favorite movie: Star Wars Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back

Best place to network: Anywhere. It happens more often when you are not trying or don’t expect it.

I can’t live without: Football season

Best way to relax and let off steam: A beach sunset and glass of good wine

Three Web sites that make your job easier:  David Allen Company, www.DavidCo.com; Wall Street Journal, www.wsj.com; Zenger Folkman Leadership Resource Center, www.zfco.com

Type of cell phone: Apple iPhone

The community group you’re most involved with: Sigma Phi Epsilon, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing leaders on college campuses

Favorite business lunch spot:  Datz

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 40 or 50

If I had a magic wand I’d:  I’d keep my daughter five years old for the next 10 years.  But I said that at age three and four, too.

Steve Hasselbach

35, Bayshore Solutions

Position: Chief Technology Officer

Education: B.S. in Management Information Systems from Florida State University

Years on the Gulf Coast: 30

First job: Document Management Consultant in Sydney, Australia

Marital status: Married to my fantastic wife Holly

Business person you admire most: My Dad. He knew how to build relationships. I strive to live up to his example.

Favorite movie: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Best place to network: On the Driving Range

I can’t live without: My wife and two girls (ages 4 and 7)

Best way to relax and let off steam: A round of golf

Three Web sites that make your job easier: dnsstuff.com, stumbleupon.com, blue.popurls.com

Type of cell phone: Windows Smartphone and iPhone

The community group you’re most involved with: Van Dyke Methodist Church

Favorite business lunch spot: Maggiano’s

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Only a small number of close friends. I don’t need another rat race.

If I had a magic wand I’d: Fix our health-care and education systems.  It will have to be a big wand.

Terry Hedden

34, Infinity Business Systems

Position: Chief Executive Officer

Education: B.S.B.A. from the University of Florida 1996, M.B.A. from the University of Florida 2005

Years on the Gulf Coast: 34

First job: Ernst & Young Management consulting (after undergrad), Club Cutters Lawn Care (my first business, freshman in high school)

Marital status: Happily married

Business person you admire most: David Dunkel, chairman and chief executive officer of KForce

Favorite movie: Top Gun.

Best place to network: Centre Club

I can’t live without: God or my family

Best way to relax and let off steam: Fishing on my dock with my sons

Three Web sites that make your job easier: cnbc.com (economy/business information), infinityBsystems.com (brings in leads), allprodad.com/ (ensures my priorities are in the right place)

Type of cell phone: Blackberry

The community group you’re most involved with: The C12 Group (http://www.c12group.com/)

Favorite business lunch spot: Centre Club

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Zero, I don’t use it.

If I had a magic wand I’d: I’d use the wand on myself to allow me to better serve others daily. This would ensure the gift that was bestowed on me was perpetuated. I would make sure everyday mattered and I’d make sure that wand never allowed me to miss one opportunity to show others the reason for my servant attitude. It would allow me to walk my walk and be the example for others to follow.

Russell Hess

39, Self Employed Producer/Distributor

Position: Producer/Distributor

Education: Trained as an actor in Los Angeles, Florida and Chicago in movement, stage, stunt work and film acting.

Years on the Gulf Coast: 22  

First job: Landscaping Business in my neighborhood before age 17.

Marital status: Happily married

Business person you admire most: Tim Ferris

Favorite movie: Back to the Future I, II and III

Best place to network: LinkedIn

I can’t live without: My wife.

Best way to relax and let off steam: Swim, workout on my Bowflex or have a beer with friends.

Three Web sites that make your job easier: LinkedIn, Yahoo, Dictionary.com

Type of cell phone: Motorola Krave ZN4

The community group you’re most involved with: Gasparilla International Film Festival

Favorite business lunch spot: Mise en Place or Evos

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 247

If I had a magic wand I’d: Wave it a few times to eliminate greed from the world.

Andrew Ignash

31, Entrix Inc.

Position: Business Operations Manager

Education: Master’s degree in human relations from University of Oklahoma; bachelor’s degree in management from USAF Academy

Years on the Gulf Coast: Two years

First job: I worked for my parents at their service station.

Marital status: Married

Business person you admire most: My father

Favorite movie: Of Mice and Men

Best place to network: At work


I can’t live without: My wife

Best way to relax and let off steam: Relax with friends

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Google.com, Entrix.com, Wikimedia.org

Type of cell phone: Blackberry

The community group you’re most involved with: Keep Hillsborough County Clean and the Fisher House

Favorite business lunch spot: The Columbia

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 250

If I had a magic wand I’d: Clean up the environment.

David W. Jolly

37, Van Scoyoc Associates, Inc.

Position: Vice President

Education: B.A., Emory University; J.D., George Mason University

Years on the Gulf Coast: About 20

First job: Working double shifts researching and clipping political articles from newspapers from across the country before the Internet era.

Marital status: Married to Carrie Jolly of Yardley, PA.

Business person you admire most: I have learned invaluable business lessons from observing U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young – deliberation, consensus building, reason, principled decision-making, and that a true leader knows how and when to lead from behind.

Favorite movie: Anything that profiles personal mettle and determination – Forrest Gump, October Sky, Rudy.

Best place to network: Infield seats at the Tampa Bay Rays games.

I can’t live without: My Blackberry and a Diet Coke.

Best way to relax and let off steam: Waverunning in the Gulf, preferably during a very strong storm.

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Within the Federal Affairs industry, recently enhanced public disclosure rules have made Congressional Web sites an excellent source for industry information (www.house.gov and www.senate.gov are great jumping-off points). For the best in timely, accurate and in-depth reporting on policy and political developments in Washington, www.nationaljournal.com.

Type of cell phone: Blackberry.

The community group you’re most involved with: Several veterans service organizations within the greater Pinellas County area.

Favorite business lunch spot: Parkshore Grill in St. Petersburg.

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Zero. My entire career has been within the very guarded and scrutinized fields of government and government affairs, so I generally forgo any social networking or similar sites. 
But I do confess to occasionally checking in on friends through my wife’s Facebook page.

If I had a magic wand I’d: One of my most rewarding pro-bono advocacy projects is working with surviving parents to secure adequate funding for law enforcement to track and apprehend child predators.  If I had a magic wand, I would provide the U.S. Marshals Service with $250 million to identify and capture criminal absconders from the sex-offender registry.

Kristopher Maronpot

31, MVP holdings, Lee Roy Selmon's Restaurants

Position: Managing Partner

Education: B.A., University of Central Florida

Years on the Gulf Coast: 23

First job: Breakfast, lunch and dinner server/cook at Safety Harbor Resort and Spa and busboy at Outback Steakhouse in Palm Harbor (started both at same time)

Marital status: Married, 5 years

Business person you admire most: Billy Beane

Favorite movie: Field of Dreams

Best place to network: Golf course

I can’t live without: my kids, Keegan and Avery

Best way to relax and let off steam: Fishing or reading

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Google, Mapquest, Restaurant News

Type of cell phone: Blackberry Curve

The community group you’re most involved with: Local schools surrounding my restaurant

Favorite business lunch spot: Panera Bread

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Zero, don’t use it

If I had a magic wand I’d: Make Stadium Lee Roy Selmon’s the only restaurant in town

Lisa Michelle Pagano

34, Plan Ahead Events of South Tampa

Position: Owner

Education: Bachelor of Arts in communication from University of South Florida

Years on the Gulf Coast: 34

First job: When I was 14 I was “bag girl” at Publix and was promoted to cashier and front-office manager. I worked for the company for over six years and received a college scholarship.

Marital status: Single

Business person you admire most: Dana Perino, former press secretary to President George Bush. I’ve always admired seeing Dana on daily press briefings and observe how calm, collective and put together she is. She is knowledgeable and educated in her responses to very intense and controversial topics in the media.

Favorite movie: Shawshank Redemption. This film is a true character depiction of patience and perseverance in an unfortunate and challenging situation. In the end, it is rewarded.

Best place to network: I continue to meet and strike up conversation with folks at nearly any Starbucks I go to. There are so many interesting and diverse people that either appreciate the atmosphere or just love coffee. Otherwise, as vague as it sounds, really anywhere in South Tampa that hosts a networking event draws a great crowd.

I can’t live without: A flash drive.  I have them in my purse, car, laptop bag, office…everywhere. Being onsite for meetings and events there are always large files and pictures that need to be transferred or printed and it’s the most portable convenience ever. Another personal item would be L’Occitane shea butter lip balm stick. It was an amenity on a flight to Paris several years ago and I haven’t been without it since.

Best way to relax and let off steam: I was always involved in voice lessons, theatre, choirs and ensembles throughout life and find a great release in singing. It continues to be a favorite hobby. My “wish” career would be a Broadway singer. I also love to hit golf balls. Who can deny that taking a good whack at a ball and seeing it fly is so liberating?

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Specific to the meeting and event industry I use Meeting Professionals International for the latest

industry news, trends and tips; Constant Contacts for marketing and BizBash for their awesome database of vendors and service providers.

Type of cell phone: Palm Centro

The community group you’re most involved with: Tampa Bay & Company and more recently joined the committee for the Glazer Children’s Museum.

Favorite business lunch spot: Oh so many, but the Cheesecake Factory at International Plaza if I had to name one.

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 532

If I had magic wand I’d: Waive it around and make three more magic wands appear. On a more serious note, I would insert a daily reminder in everyone’s head to do something good for the earth. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Do something good for your community and volunteer.

Ginger Reichl

38, Pinstripe Marketing

Position: President

Education: B.S. Advertising, Florida State University

Years on the Gulf Coast: All my life.

First job: Sears Service Parts Department

Marital status: Married

Business person you admire most: Mary Wells Lawrence, founder of Wells Rich Greene ad agency and first woman chief executive officer of a NYSE-traded company

Favorite movie: My Fair Lady

Best place to network: Tampa Bay Tech Forum events

I can’t live without: My laptop

Best way to relax and let off steam: A trip to the spa

Three Web sites that make your job easier:  Google, secondwindonline.com and raintoday.com

Type of cell phone: Palm Treo

The community group you’re most involved with: American Marketing Association.

Favorite business lunch spot: Bowled Restaurant

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 496

If I had a magic wand I’d: Make sure all charities had the quality marketing tools they need to communicate their important messages.

Doug Schaedler

37, UTEK Corporation

Position: President

Education: B.A. in economics from Tufts University and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business

Years on the Gulf Coast: Five

First job: Financial analyst

Marital status: Married

Business person you admire most: Sam Walton

Favorite movie: Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo

Best place to network: University Club

I can’t live without: My wife and daughter

Best way to relax and let off steam: Reading

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Pharmalicensing.com, KnowledgeExpress.com, TechEx.com

Type of cell phone: Blackberry

The community group you’re most involved with: Ybor Chamber of Commerce

Favorite business lunch spot: Tony’s Restaurant

Michelle Accardi-Petersen

33, CA Software

Position: Vice President, Global Marketing Shared Services

Education: B.A. in Political Science, University of Southern Florida. M.B.A., American Intercontinental University

Years on the Gulf Coast: 22 years

First job: My first job was when I was 12 years old, busing tables at Ping’s Chinese restaurant in Venice. My first job for a major corporation was at age 17, when I played Mickey Mouse at Disney.

Marital status: Married

Business person you admire most: Jack Welch for his direct hard-hitting approach, and my boss George Fischer, who is the best negotiator and personal motivator as a manager I have ever met.

Favorite movie: It’s a Wonderful Life

Best place to network: Too many to list, but I tend to target my customers at events and at organizations they are members of. Sometimes, a simple round of golf or a Devil Rays game is the best place for me to sync up with my customers. 

I can’t live without: My husband and my iPhone

Best way to relax and let off steam:  Get out on my boat with my husband and head to Marina Jack’s for a cocktail.

Three Web sites that make your job easier: 1. Linkedin. 2. www.adventures-in-it.com (my creative outlet for telling the world what my company does.) 3. www.marketingpower.com

Type of cell phone: iPhone

The community group you’re most involved with: American Marketing Association

Favorite business lunch spot: Marina Jack’s

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Over 200

If I had a magic wand I’d: Create a ton more jobs here on the Gulf Coast that needed my company’s software so I wouldn’t have to travel so much.

Susie Bowie

33, The Community Foundation of Sarasota County

Position: Communications Associate

Education:  B.S. in environmental science, University of Florida; Certificate in Nonprofit Management, USF

Years on the Gulf Coast: 16 years

First job: Urban Planner

Marital status: Married

Business person you admire most:  My father. He achieved business success in all the right ways, with persistent dedication, care for the wellbeing and achievement of his team members and integrity as the guide for all decisions. His calm demeanor always provides greater voice to both traditional and out-of-the-box approaches.

Favorite movie: The Princess Bride

Best place to network: Florida Public Relations Association monthly luncheons. You can’t beat the talent, friendliness and connections.

I can’t live without:  My pit bull mix Flanders
Best way to relax and let off steam:  Hit the trail—any trail—as long as there’s quietude and a winding path through woods, mangroves or wetlands

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media (http://beth.typepad.com); Network for Good

(http://www.networkforgood.org); Chronicle of Philanthropy (http://philanthropy.com)

Type of cell phone: Samsung Messenger R450

The community group you’re most involved with: Sarasota Audubon Society. They really get the connections between environment, the business

community, young leaders and engaged citizenry

Favorite business lunch spot: Sierra Station

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 197

If I had a magic wand I’d: Create the space for everyone to see themselves as part of the larger community. For some, it would mean finding that passion (whether it’s the arts, environment, children, literacy, animal welfare or whatever) and making the time to contribute to the cause. For others, it means not having to invest so much energy in the next meal, health care expenses or worries about basic necessities so they can live up to their fullest potential as human beings.

Scott Bush

39, Sucoast Communities Blood Bank

Position: Chief of Technical Operations

Education: Bachelor’s degree in science

Years on the Gulf Coast: Four

First job: Cook at Kentucky Fried Chicken while in high school

Marital status: Married

Business person you admire most: John Taylor, AVP of American Red Cross

Favorite movie: Jaws

Best place to network: Statewide industry conferences such as the Florida Association of Blood Banks

I can’t live without: My animals

Best way to relax and let off steam: Work out and play with my dogs

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Google, America’s blood.org, weather underground

Type of cell phone: Blackberry

The community group you’re most involved with: Appalachia Service Project

Favorite business lunch spot:  Marina Jacks

How many friends do you have on Facebook:  63

If I had a magic wand I’d:  Put an end to violence, cruelty and indifference

Rob Butcher

36, U.S. Masters Swimming

Position: Executive Director

Education: BBA, Marketing (1994), Masters of Science (1995), both from Georgia Southern University

Years on the Gulf Coast: I’ve visited Sarasota for a number of years and looking forward to being a full-time resident

First job: Started a lawn care business when I was a sophomore in high school

Marital status: Engaged

Business person you admire most: Warren Buffett

Favorite movie: It’s a Wonderful Life

Best place to network: Swimming pool

I can’t live without: My USMS team. They have great passion for our cause and allow me to best do my job

Best way to relax and let off steam: Go for a swim

Three Web sites that make your job easier: USMS.org, Sportsbusinessjournal.com, Google.com

Type of cell phone: AT&T Blackberry

The community group you’re most involved with: Local Masters adult swim programs

Favorite Book: Good to Great

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 500+

If I had a magic wand I’d: cure Alzheimer’s Disease

Dorothy L. Carlin

33, Simply Strategy

Position: President and Founder

Education: Drake University, B.A. Journalism, Marketing

Years on the Gulf Coast: Four

First job: An intense summer internship with Sayles Graphic Design in Des Moines, Iowa.

Marital status: Married with two precocious pugs

Business person you admire most: Michelle Obama. Hospital administrator. Devoted to her community.
Mom. Now, the First Lady. She has figured out how to manage and she does it calmly with intelligence and grace.

Favorite movie: Pride and Prejudice. I’m a sucker for anything Jane Austen.

Best place to network: There’s a tie in my mind between the Sarasota Young Professional Group’s Annual Conference and the International

Design Summit hosted by the Ringling College of Art & Design. Statewide attendees of the YPG Annual Conference learn how to grow and advance as professionals. The Design Summit pushes creative people from around the world to think even more innovatively as they solve business problems.

I can’t live without: My family, both those relatives out-of-state and my Gulf Coast friends that I’ve come to call family.

Best way to relax and let off steam: Entertaining friends at home with my husband and dogs to take advantage of the tremendous Gulf Coast weather and our beautiful indoor-outdoor home.

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Sarasotaarts.org, the source for events, programs and cultural happenings in Sarasota; Dictionary.com – saves so much time for someone like me; Google.com for one-stop searching.

Type of cell phone: Now that I have an iPhone, I don’t know why I waited so long to get one. It makes reviewing work from designers, colleagues and contractors so easy while on the road. 

The community group you’re most involved with: The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, which also includes Sarasota Young Professional Group.

Favorite business lunch spot: Cafe Epicure.

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Who’s counting?

If I had a magic wand: Sarasota County would be recognized as the destination for creativity and business problem solving by incubating and accelerating innovative, creative firms.

Malaka Hilton

Admiral Travel International Inc.

Position: Chief Executive Officer

Education: Bachelor’s Degree from Florida State University in hospitality administration (1993)

Years on the Gulf Coast: 34 years (less five years in Tallahassee for college)

First job: Summer camp counselor at the Boys and Girls Club of Sarasota

Marital status: Married to Ryan Hilton (Feb 14, 1998)

Business person you admire most: Matthew Upchurch, chief executive officer, Virtuoso

Favorite movie: Shawshank Redemption

Best place to network: Anywhere I have someone to talk to

I can’t live without: My Blackberry

Best way to relax and let off steam: The gym or the spa, depends on the mood

Three Web sites that make your job easier: www.xe.com, www.expedia.com, www.weather.com

Type of cell phone: TMobile Blackberry 8100

The community group you’re most involved with: Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance (We are coming up on our first year of travel services in this area so we have been very involved in LWR )

Favorite business lunch spot: Michaels on East

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 453

If I had a magic wand I’d: Get rid of all the retail travel agencies that rebate their commissions just to make a sale

Kevin D. Micale

34, Self-Employed In Latitude Moving and Storage

Position: President              

Education: Undergrad: Auburn University (Health Systems Administration); Graduate: University of Alabama at Birmingham (M.B.A)

Years on the Gulf Coast: Four years

First job: Unofficially: Cutting grass and weed eating during the summer at age 14 in Alabama; Officially: busboy, dishwasher, gopher extraordinaire at The Fisherman Restaurant in Gadsden, AL; age 15

Marital status: Married on May 30

Business person you admire most: Vincent Edward “Bo” Jackson and Bill Gates

Favorite movie: True Romance

Best place to network: The golf course. I didn’t realize this until the past five years. I know of no other place where you could possibly spend four straight hours of personal face-to-face time getting to know your client or potential client.

I can’t live without: 1. My family (new wife and dog) and 2. My technology (constant email, messaging, media, internet and GPS)

Best way to relax and let off steam: Golf, basketball, and live music (in no particular order)

Three Web sites that make your job easier: www.changesinlatitude.com; http://maps.google.com; www.weather.com (Doppler Radar)

Type of cell phone: Blackberry

The community group you’re most involved with: In Sarasota, it would have to be the Sarasota Film Festival and SPARCC.

Favorite business lunch spot: Clayton’s Siesta Grille

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 135

If I had a magic wand I’d: Update and upgrade all of my company’s equipment, tools, and machinery in one fell swoop.

Joseph Ott

35, Progressive Employment Services

Position: Vice President of Risk Management

Education: B.S. Occupational Safety and Health, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (graduated Summa Cum Laude)

Designations: Associate in Risk Management (ARM), Certified Risk Manager (CRM), Associate in Insurance Services (AIS)

Years on the Gulf Coast: 11

First job: Paper route at age 12

Marital status: Married to wife, Jean, for eleven years. We have two children, daughter Hannah, age 5, and son Caden, age 2.

Business person you admire most: Michael Dell, chief executive officer of Dell Computers

Favorite movie:“We are Marshall” 

Best place to network: Industry functions, conferences, golf course

I can’t live without: Email, Diet Coke and my family

Best way to relax and let off steam: Workout or play a round of golf

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Google, NCCI, Fl Division of WC

Type of cell phone: Palm Trio

The community group you’re most involved with: Cal Ripken Babe Ruth

Favorite business lunch spot: Firehouse Subs

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 51

If I had a magic wand I’d: I would use it to get the economy out of the current recession and to create jobs to get people back to work.

Chris Pfahler

38, Self Employed

Position: Philanthropist, Community Fundraiser

Education: Florida State University, Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences; University of Florida, Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Years on the Gulf Coast: 27 years 


First job: At age 16, server at the Belleview Biltmore country club

Marital status: Married 10 years

Business person you admire most: Veronica Brady, senior vice president, Private Wealth Management for SunTrust. She has a phenomenal work ethic and business sense while finding a way to successfully balance work, family life and philanthropy.

Favorite movie: The Matrix  

Best place to network: Starbucks  

I can’t live without: My husband, two children, my laptop, wireless Internet card, Blackberry and Kindle

Best way to relax and let off steam: CardioTennis and Sundays on the boat with my husband and two boys looking for shark’s teeth along Stump Pass.

Three Web sites that make your job easier: www.amazon.com, www.cnn.com, www.philanthropy.com

Type of cell phone: Blackberry Bold

The community group you’re most involved with: Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, Project
Manager for the Braive Fund

Favorite business lunch spot: Michael’s on East

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 355

If I had a magic wand I’d: Everyone would pursue big dreams instead of small realities.

Jaclyn Toale

29, HybridNRG

Position: Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder

Education: B.S. in Accounting – USF; Florida CPA

Years on the Gulf Coast: 29

First job: Staff Accountant – KB Group (Sarasota)

Marital status: Married

Business person you admire most: Elon Musk. He dreams big, is driven to succeed and isn’t afraid to work painfully hard to accomplish his goals

Favorite movie: Jeux D’Enfants

Best place to network: Florida Venture Forum events, Barcamp

I can’t live without: My phone.

Best way to relax and let off steam: Laugh with my kids

Three Web sites that make your job easier: www.dsireusa.org (tons of information about renewable-energy incentives and programs available across the U.S.), www.sugarsync.com (great for file back-up, file transfers and mobile access to files), www.wsj.com

Type of cell phone: iPhone

The community group you’re most involved with: My kids’ school

Favorite business lunch spot: Caragiulos

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Around 50

If I had a magic wand I’d: Fix the economy.

Scott Beatty

38, Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, PA

Position: Attorney

Education: B.A., Wake Forest University (1993); J.D., University of Miami (1996)

Years on the Gulf Coast: Nine

First job: Home-improvement department at K-Mart

Marital status: Married

Business person you admire most: S. Truett Cathy, Founder of Chick-fil-A, Inc.

Favorite movie: Shawshank Redemption

Best place to network: Christian Chamber of SW Florida

I can’t live without: My Blackberry

Best way to relax and let off steam: Kayaking
Three Web sites that make your job easier: Leeclerk.org (access to court files invaluable); www.ca.cjis20.org (access to judges’ schedules invaluable); www.leepa.org

Type of cell phone: Blackberry Curve

The community group you’re most involved with: Boy Scouts of America/Cub Scout Pack 168

Favorite business lunch spot: The Morgan House

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 117

If I had a magic wand I’d: Keep Hurricanes away from Southwest Florida.

Diana Black

38, First Community Bank of Southwest Florida

Position: Senior Vice President and Director of Branch Administration

Education: Associates degree in Administration of Justice

Years on the Gulf Coast: 18 years

First job: Engraver/Sales Associate for Things Remembered

Marital status: Married

Business person you admire the most: Dick Ackert, retired chief executive officer of SouthTrust Bank. Dick has a way of making people believe in themselves and feel important. No doubt his sincere and caring nature is a key to his success.

Favorite movie: The Green Mile

Best place to network: COMA (Condominium Owners Managers Association)

I can’t live without: Spell check, movie popcorn and my IT Department

Best way to relax and let off steam: Laying on Fort Myers Beach with a piña colada in one hand and a good book in the other.

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Leepa.org; free-great-quotes.com; googleearth.com

Type of cell phone: Blackberry

The community group you’re most involved with: The United Way of Lee County where I proudly serve on the board of directors, executive committee, allocations committee and campaign financial chair.

Favorite business lunch spot: The University Grill

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Zero. Now that my community events are winding down for the summer, my sons are anxious to get me involved on Facebook.

If I had a magic wand I’d: Answer my son Zach’s prayers and cure diabetes. If I had a wand people
would not go hungry, and child abuse would be non-existent. If I had a wand people would smile more often, remember the “good times” of our economy and know without a doubt that those “good times” will be back. Working together, our community will survive and prosper once more.

Mike Brennan

36, SeniorBridge

Position: Executive Director

Education: B.S. Texas Christian University

Years on the Gulf Coast: Five

First job: I delivered papers at age 8

Marital status: Married, one son

Business person you admire most: Jon Huntsman Sr. He authored my favorite book “Winners Never Cheat”

Favorite movie: Patton & The Big Lebowski

Best place to network: Wake up Naples Breakfast sponsored by the Greater Naples Chamber

I can’t live without: Good Music. I prefer Texas country/folk. (Robert Earl Keen, Roger Creager, Randy Rogers Band) It relaxes me in the car on my way home from work or on a long drive.

Best way to relax and let off steam: Golfing and fishing

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Google, Mapquest, SeniorBridge.com

Type of cell phone: Blackberry
The community group you’re most involved with: Alzheimer’s Support Network

Favorite business lunch spot: Alice Sweetwater’s

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Zero, I’m not a user

If I had a magic wand I’d: Make the world a more civil place where people still had good values and good manners.

Kerry A. Edwards

38, Bank of Florida Trust Company

Position: Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager

Education: Hillsdale College

Years on the Gulf Coast: 14 years

First job: Lemonade stand

Marital status: Single

Business person you admire most: Bernie Marcus

Favorite movie: Fletch and Old School

Best place to network: Capital Grille

I can’t live without: Florida sunshine and my iPod

Best way to relax and let off steam: Reading, massage and exercising

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times

Type of cell phone: Blackberry pearl

The community group you’re most involved with: Conservancy of Southwest Florida

Favorite business lunch spot: Brio

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Don’t have the commitment

If I had a magic wand I’d: I would make Southwest Florida seasonal traffic flow better; think globally act locally.

Jason Kester

38, Self/Chiropractic Physician

Position: Chiropractic Physician

Education: B.S. Marketing, University of Akron 1994; B.S. Human Biology National University of Health Sciences Chicago 1998; Doctorate of Chiropractic National University of Health Sciences Chicago 2000

Years on the Gulf Coast: Six

First job: Started a lawn service in the Akron-Cleveland area.

Marital status: Single

Business person you admire most: Dale Carnegie

Favorite movie: Gran Torino

Best place to network: Chamber of Commerce socials

I can’t live without: Coffee

Best way to relax and let off steam: Boating on our beautiful Gulf Coast

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Availity.com, PDRhealth.com, chiroweb.com

Type of cell phone: Sprint Blackberry

The community group you’re most involved with: Chamber of Commerce

Favorite business lunch spot: Blu if I have a lot of time.

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 225

If I had a magic wand I’d: Heal every health condition I was presented with by waving my wand.

Scott Loiacano

33, Wright Construction Group, Inc.

Position: Project Manager      

Education: Bachelor of Science in Building Construction from Auburn University

Years on the Gulf Coast: 10

First job: General construction labor in high school

Marital status: Married

Business person you admire most: My father

Favorite movie: Braveheart

Best place to network: The golf course

I can’t live without: My family

Best way to relax and let off steam: Hit the gym

Three Web sites that make your job easier: Google, Mapquest, & The Blue Book of Building and Construction

Type of cell phone: Blackberry

The community group you’re most involved with: Leadership Lee County

Favorite business lunch spot: Longhorn Steakhouse

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Any activity I spend on Facebook is through my wife. My wife has 160 friends.

If I had a magic wand I’d: Provide shelter and food for all the homeless

Grant Phelan

32, Pinchers Crab Shack

Position: Chief Executive Officer

Education: Cornell University School of Hotel Administration

Years on the Gulf Coast: 20

First job: Publix bag boy

Marital status: Married

Business person you admire most: My Dad

Favorite movie: Braveheart

Best place to network: Golf course

I can’t live without: My wife

Best way to relax and let off steam: Relaxing on the beach with my wife and three kids

Three Web sites that make your job easier: wsj.com, wachovia.com, foodnetwork.com

Type of cell phone: Blackberry

The community group you’re most involved with: Several different local church organizations

Favorite business lunch spot: My own of course

How many friends do you have on Facebook: Zero, I don’t do Facebook

f I had a magic wand I’d: Fix the housing crisis

Lisa Rexroat

38, Fifth Third Bank

Position: Senior Vice President/Human Resources Director, Florida Region

Education: University of Kentucky, B.B.A in Marketing, B.A. in French

Years on the Gulf Coast: Three

First job:  I sold clothes in an upscale men’s clothing store in high school.

Marital status:  Single, but in a long-term relationship

Business person you admire most: Retired Fifth Third Bancorp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer George Schaefer, Jr. George modeled the way to show the importance of getting to know and showing appreciation for all levels of employees. Sometimes the most entry-level employees can have the best ideas and spending time listening to them can benefit an organization. Secondly, he practiced the art of sending short handwritten notes when people in the organization did something well. Personal, positive reinforcement from someone at the executive level can have lasting effects on employee engagement.

Favorite movie: The Shawshank Redemption

Best place to network: Through resource groups on social networking sites and at community functions

I can’t live without: My family, my friends, sunshine and my iPhone

Best way to relax and let off steam: 18 holes of golf

Three Web sites that make your job easier: HR.com, Linkedin.com, and SHRM.org

Type of cell phone: iPhone

The community group you’re most involved with: My Leadership Collier class

Favorite business lunch spot: The Turtle Club

How many friends do you have on Facebook: 262

f I had a magic wand I’d: Make Democrats and Republicans play better together in the sand box so this country could get more done. 

Kevin Taylor

33, Advanced Communication & Maintenance LLC

Position: Founder and President
 


Education: Graduated from Fort Myers High School in 1994.  I received my education in the telecommunication industry from the manufacturers themselves. I am trained and certified in several telecommunication and technology systems including Microsoft, Toshiba, AT&T Global Business Communications Systems, NEC America Inc., Teleco, Hubbell Premise Wiring and Nelson Firestop Products. 



Years on the Gulf Coast: 33. I was born and raised in Fort Myers and have lived here my entire life. 
 


First job: I started working part time at Publix while I was in high school.

Marital status: Married to Kelly Owens Taylor, a third-generation Fort Myers resident and a Realtor at Sellstate Landmark Realty. 
 


Business person you admire most: Lido Anthony “Lee” Iacocca. He came in and saved Chrysler in the 1980s. He took the job for just $1 a year plus stocks and turned the company around. We need more hardworking, selfless individuals like him. 
 


Favorite movie: I love the Rocky series, especially Rocky 3. You watch him rise from the bottom to the top of the game.  
 


Best place to network: The best place to network is at local events, whether it is a local chamber event or a charity fundraising event. I like getting out there and meeting new people in the community. 

I can’t live without: Got to have my pizza.

Best way to relax and let off steam: There’s no better way to relax besides boating.

Three Web sites that make your job easier: www.acm-solutions.com helps me show our current and potential customers the products and services we offer; www.nec.com helps me stay updated on NEC’s new products; and www.wired.com keeps me informed of all the latest cutting edge technology news. 
 


Type of cell phone: Samsung PDA Omnia 
 


The community group you’re most involved with: The Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Group.

Favorite business lunch spot: Hemmingway’s. Great food, great atmosphere and a great place to take customers. 
 


How many friends do you have on Facebook: I have never gotten around to using Facebook. I prefer the traditional way of communicating and keeping in touch with friends face to face.  
 


If I had a magic wand I’d: Without a doubt, I would fix the economy.

Kate Wagner

33, Elmquist Eye Group

Position: Optometrist, Managing Partner

Education: B.A. Biology, University of Iowa, 1998; Doctor of Optometry, Nova Southeastern University, 2003

Years on the Gulf Coast: Three

First job: Babysitter

Marital status: Married to Aaron Judd

Business person you admire most: Gary Haugen, president and chief executive officer of International Justice Mission

Favorite movie: Shawshank Redemption

Best place to network: Brew Babies, Cape Coral

I can’t live without: Relationships

Best way to relax and let off steam: Relaxing on the beach with a good book and a Corona

Three Web sites that make your job easier: pubmed.com; rxlist.com; revoptom.com

Type of cell phone: Samsung Alias

The community group you’re most involved with: Stephen Ministry at Grace Church

Favorite business lunch spot: Café Napoli

How many friends do you have on Facebook: I finally joined Facebook two weeks ago and I currently have about 50 friends.

If I had a magic wand I’d: Put an end to corruption, violence, poverty and disease.