Awards & Recognition

Congratulations to our 20-21 Distinguished Entrepreneur Award winners: Advocate of the Year: Ryan Young, Rising Tide Explorers Innovator of the Year: Reema Bhatia, Stickboy Creative Entrepreneur of the Year: Bill Daubmann, My Shower Door /D3 Glass Visit the Distinguished Entrepreneur page for information about 2022 nominations and to watch the live-stream recording.

Fort Myers, FL, May 20, 2021 – The Lee County Library System has been selected as the 2021 recipient of two Florida Library Association awards:  Excellence in Marketing and Public Relations and Outstanding Business or Media Partner. The Excellence in Marketing and Public Relations award recognizes outstanding strategic marketing, public relations projects or campaigns that show results.…

A few of your region’s lawmakers have been awarded the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Distinguished Advocate Award following another successful legislative session. The Florida Chamber’s Distinguished Advocate Award recognizes lawmakers who ensured consideration of the business community’s legislative priorities and fought tirelessly for the passage of a Chamber-backed policy or a priority piece of pro-jobs legislation. Your region’s 2021 Distinguished Advocate Award Recipients: Senator Joe…

The Immokalee Foundation has once again received the highest rating – four stars – for its financial health, transparency and accountability from Charity Navigator, the foremost independent charity watchdog in the United States. After examining the foundation’s income tax documents, its website, and other data, Charity Navigator awarded the foundation its third consecutive four-star rating.…

FORT MYERS, Fla.  – Chris Spiro’s devotion to the community and his desire to give back drive him each day in business and in his daily life. These qualities that make him such a good steward to Southwest Florida are also noticed by his peers and colleagues alike. Chris, the founder and chief creative officer…

Naples, Fla. (May 3, 2021) – Healthcare Network, the only Federally Qualified Health Center in Collier County, has earned the 2021 Platinum Seal of Transparency, the highest level of recognition offered by GuideStar, a service of Candid. GuideStar is the world’s largest source of nonprofit information and serves as an online charity profile platform. Philanthropists,…

Fort Myers FL – April 26, 2021 – The Southwest Florida Council of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) met in-person for the first time in over a year on Saturday April 17th. The event was socially-distanced and  included speaker, elections, and luncheon at Holiday Inn Fort Myers Airport. The event also included the announcement of…

Shell Point Retirement Community, one of Lee County’s top 100 employers, has been certified as a Great Place to Work (GPTW) by the Great Place to Work Institute. According to Karen Anderson, vice president of human resources and corporate compliance for Shell Point, Shell Point employs 1,145 people in a wide variety of positions including…