Business Briefs 6-30-23 | News, Sports, Jobs
The Newz Radar
Greater Fort Myers Chamber announces Chamber Awards finalists
The Greater Fort Myers Chamber has named its finalists for the 2023 Chamber Awards, which will be held Thursday, July 27, at the Caloosa Sound Convention Center in downtown Fort Myers.
Recognizing members for their outstanding contributions to the greater Fort Myers community, the program will feature an award ceremony to honor finalists and name honorees for their impact. The finalists for each category are as follows:
• Small Business of the Year Award: Offshore Sailing School, Spada Salon and Day Spa and Spiro and Associates
• Large Business of the Year Award: Norman Love Confections, Scotlynn USA and Stevens Construction
• The Community Impact Award: Talisha Faber (SVN Commercial Partners), William Prather (Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre) and Kelly Thawley (The School District of Lee County)
• Entrepreneur of the Year: Ryan Carter (Scotlynn USA), Matthew Rebstock (Tech in a Flash Computer Services) and Rob Whyte (Fort Myers Brewing Company)
• The Nonprofit Excellence Award: Community Cooperative, The Heights Foundation and Our Mother’s Home
• Young Professional of the Year Award: Stefanie Ink-Edwards (Community Cooperative), Melissa Mitchell (Priority Marketing) and Kelly Thawley (The School District of Lee County)
The awards ceremony will also recognize honorees of the Women in Business Committee’s APEX Awards and will include an installation ceremony for the Chamber’s 2023-24 board of directors.
The Chamber Awards are presented by title sponsors Convergint and Verizon. Additional event sponsors include Fort Myers Brewing Company, Lee County Economic Development Office, M&M Multimedia, Norman Love Confections, Priority Marketing, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, Solomon & Hoover CPA and Spada Salon & Day Spa. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available ranging from $1,250 to $5,000.
Tickets for the Chamber Awards celebration and board installation are $125. To purchase tickets or learn more about sponsorship opportunities, visit FortMyers.org or call 239-332-2930.
Serving Lee County and surrounding areas since 1989, the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce, Inc. is a business organization that provides solutions and serves as a catalyst for growing the economy. The chamber represents over 725 professionals and businesses throughout Southwest Florida, empowering, connecting and uniting members through meaningful networking, educational and community- and business-focused programs and events. For additional information regarding membership opportunities or events, please call 239-332-2930 or visit www.fortmyers.org. For the latest news and updates, follow the Chamber on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gfmcc.
Southwest Florida International Airport reports May traffic
During May, 760,330 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. This was a decrease of 9% compared to May 2022. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is down 16.6%.
The traffic leader in May was Delta with 176,306 passengers. Rounding out the top five airlines were Southwest (149,410), American (125,787), United (109,110) and JetBlue (81,689).
Southwest Florida International Airport had 6,961 aircraft operations, a decrease of 6 percent compared to May 2022. Page Field saw 19,349 operations, which was a 25% increase compared to May 2022, and a new monthly record.
Southwest Florida International Airport served a record-breaking 10.3 million passengers in 2022 and is one of the top 50 U.S. airports for passenger traffic. No ad valorem (property) taxes are used for airport operation or construction. For more information, visit flylcpa.com or facebook.com/flyRSW.
Zagier joins Priority Marketing as senior PR strategist
Priority Marketing has hired seasoned journalist, storyteller and communications professional Alan Zagier as a senior public relations strategist to develop and execute strategic public relations plans that align with clients’ overall goals.
In this role, Zagier provides public relations counsel to clients and members of the firm, including crisis communications and media training. He develops key messages and talking points for clients in addition to drafting news releases, contributed articles, guest opinions, media advisories, blogs, awards submissions and other editorial content. Zagier also helps coordinate media tours, news conferences, grand openings and other media-focused events.
Prior to joining Priority Marketing, Zagier was vice president for Cooley Public Strategies, a public affairs and strategic communications firm in Nashville, Tennessee, with a focus on land use, health care and infrastructure.
He earned a master of arts degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, a master of business administration degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology, and a bachelor of arts degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland.
Founded in 1992 by Teri Hansen, APR, Priority Marketing is Southwest Florida’s largest full-service marketing, advertising, public relations, website development and digital marketing agency. The firm, named by GrowFL as a Company to Watch, has grown to include more than 55 savvy creatives and mastermind strategists whose areas of expertise include brand development, public relations, graphic design, social media and email marketing, media planning, web solutions, event planning, video production, digital advertising and more. Priority Marketing serves clients across a broad spectrum of industries, including hospitality and tourism, retail, health care, senior living, construction, legal, financial, government, education, locally owned businesses and charitable organizations. Over 30+ years, Priority Marketing has earned thousands of local, state, national and international awards for its outstanding creative work while providing nearly $5 million in discounted and pro-bono services to local nonprofits. For more information, please call 239-267-2638 or visit PriorityMarketing.com.
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