Robotics team wins state championship and heads to world championship

Fort Myers based FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics team, Java The Hutts, has advanced to the world championship to be held in Houston, Texas, on April 17 – 20. Java The Hutts won the overall first place Inspire Award which earns the top bid  of the four allocated to Florida teams to advance to the…

Read More

Call It Closed International Realty makes list of nation’s best brokerages

An international, cloud-based real estate brokerage with Southwest Florida origins has been named one of the country’s top independent brokerages by an independent real estate research firm. Call It Closed International Realty – founded five years ago as the first and only cloud-based, 100% commission brokerage with a multi-tiered revenue sharing platform – earned a…

Read More

Baker Senior Center Naples names Heithoff its new board chair

Baker Senior Center Naples, a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive programs and social services for seniors in Collier and southern Lee counties, announced the appointment of Karen S. Heithoff as its new board chair. Heithoff is an active community leader and a strong arts advocate in Naples and Minneapolis. A seasonal resident of Minnesota, Heithoff…

Read More

Michael Wynn named chair of FGCU Board of Trustees

Michael Wynn, president of Sunshine Ace Hardware, is the new chair of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Board of Trustees. Blake Gable, the CEO of Barron Collier Companies, previously held this position and admirably led the Board of Trustees for a total of six years. In this role, Wynn leads a 13-member board that serves as…

Read More

SWFL nonprofits release study highlighting impact of water quality on economy

Captains for Clean Water (CFCW), the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF), and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida released the findings of a study executed by Greene Economics, which quantifies the economic impacts of harmful water-quality events (like Harmful Algal Blooms) and degraded water quality on the southwest Florida economy. A Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) is the proliferation of a toxic algal species that negatively…

Read More

Sunshine Ace Hardware honors associates through Core Value Award

Sunshine Ace Hardware and Crowder Bros. Ace Hardware honored 19 associates with Core Value Awards, a companywide recognition program celebrating employees whose leadership and actions exemplify guiding principles at the family-owned business. Rob Brehm, a lead B2B account executive, received the Don Q. Wynn Associate of the Year Award, which recognizes a team member who…

Read More

Capital Wealth Advisors appoints Baum as senior vice president in Naples office

Capital Wealth Advisors, an independent financial advisory firm, has announced the appointment of Jason A. Baum, as Senior Vice President, Private Wealth Management in its Naples office. In this role with the firm, Baum will assist his clients in achieving their goals through comprehensive wealth management. Baum brings more than 16 years of financial services…

Read More

DSDG Architects expands with opening of Naples office

DSDG Architects, an architectural firm based in Sarasota specializing in residential, commercial and hospitality designs, announced the official opening of its Naples office. This expansion marks a significant milestone for the company as it returns to the roots of its founder, Mark Sultana, who began his career designing some of Naples’ most iconic landmark structures.…

Read More

Southwest Florida labor force up 13,390 over the year

FloridaCommerce announced the Southwest Florida labor force increased by 13,390 over the year in January 2024. Fort Myers area unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in January 2024, unchanged from the year ago rate. The Fort Myers area had the fastest over-the-year job growth rate compared to all metro areas in the state in construction at…

Read More

Pushing the Envelope adds Paige Johnson as marketing assistant

Pushing the Envelope, a strategic marketing communication firm based in Fort Myers, announces Paige Johnson is the team’s new marketing assistant. In the marketing assistant position, Johnson is responsible for aiding in the execution of cross-channel marketing efforts, including content production, research, organization, and more. Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Florida Gulf…

Read More