Member News

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 4, 2018) – Entrepreneurial, business-minded teens still have time to register for Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida’s popular CEO Academy, a weeklong summer camp in which students learn the basics of starting and operating a successful business. The application deadline is Wednesday, April 18.
 
The CEO Academy is open to rising high school juniors and seniors from Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties. Under the guidance of experienced local business leaders, entrepreneurs and Florida Gulf Coast University professors, participating students work in project teams to develop a unique business concept and comprehensive business plan. Students can expect lessons in economics, entrepreneurship, ethics, finance, global economy, marketing and international trade.
 
The one-week camp runs from June 4-8 at FGCU’s Emergent Technologies Institute, located at 16301 Innovation Lane in Fort Myers. Camp hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
 
Thanks to generous supporters, Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida is pleased to announce that college scholarship money will be awarded to each student on the winning team for the business plan competition held at the camp’s conclusion. A distinguished judging panel consists of past Junior Achievement Laureates, who themselves are exceptional entrepreneurs and have been recognized for making a significant contribution to the economic development of Southwest Florida while adhering to high moral and ethical principles. This opportunity offers students invaluable knowledge and experience from successful business leaders and entrepreneurs, which provides an excellent addition to a college application and the chance to participate in future Junior Achievement events.
 
Interested students may apply by visiting Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida’s website, www.JASWFL.org, or calling the office at 239-225-2590. There is a $100 application fee, which is fully refundable if the student is not selected.
 
 

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 4, 2018) – Hammond Stadium, home of the Fort Myers Miracle, is hosting a sanctioned qualifier for the 2018 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The top male and female participants at the Saturday, April 14 competition in Fort Myers will claim a seat at the nationally televised Independence Day competition in Coney Island, N.Y.
“A trip to the ballpark isn’t complete unless you eat a hot dog – it’s a tradition,” said Chris Peters, president and general manager of the Fort Myers Miracle. “Hopefully the ambiance at Hammond Stadium helps these competitive eaters get in the mood to break some records!”
Last year, Nathan’s Famous held its inaugural Southwest Florida qualifier at Germain Arena. The top male contestant, Pablo Martinez, downed 25½ hot dogs and buns during the 10-minute competition, and the top female contestant, Mary Bowers, consumed 10 hot dogs.
Both local qualifiers finished 12^th in their respective divisions at the international championship on July 4, 2017. Joey Chestnut claimed the men’s title after consuming 72 hot dogs in 10 minutes, while Miki Sudo downed 41 hot dogs to earn the women’s championship.
Hammond Stadium’s gates will open at 4:25 p.m. on April 14, with the Hot Dog Eating Contest set to begin at 4:30 p.m. The Miracle play the Tampa Tarpons at 6 p.m.
Vouchers for free game tickets and parking will be available April 11-13 at Nathan’s Famous’ Fort Myers location, 11150 S. Cleveland Ave., Suite 100. To register for the Hot Dog Eating Contest, visit MajorLeagueEating.com.
The April 14 Miracle game also features a Brian Dozier bobblehead giveaway. For a complete schedule of games and promotions, visit MiracleBaseball.com or call 239-768-4210.
 

Fort Myers, FL) April 4, 2018- The Ronin Riding Club of Southwest Florida paid their annual visit to Ronald McDonald House Charities® twice over the weekend of March 24-25.  The Saturday visit was part of the group’s annual Poker Run – and the Sunday visit was to tour and deliver a year’s worth of fundraising proceeds.  With this year’s check for $14,921.26 and a generous donation of gas cards, the Ronin Riding Club has exceeded $50,000 in donations to RMHC.
 

FORT MYERS, FL (March 15, 2018) – The Laboratory Theater of Florida presents “Visiting Mr. Green,” opening on April 13th at The Laboratory Theater of Florida. This show is sponsored by Ella Nayor and Jeffrey Cull.
Having almost hit 86-year-old widower Mr. Green, Ross Gardiner is charged with reckless driving. He must now complete a form of community service and visit Mr. Green every week for the next six months. Though both men are quick to resent these forced visits, their conversations soon reveal family secrets and past hardships. A story of acceptance and open-mindedness, replete with charm and poignancy.
 
“…this is a two-person gem.” – Denver Post
“There is a level of intelligence and compassionate understanding here which exceeds what we expect to find in the category of sentimental comedy entertainments…“ -Talkin’ Broadway
Local favorite Michael Hennessey (The Best Man),  who plays Mr. Green, says “Visiting Mr. Green transcends the ‘gaps’ between young and old, gay and straight, parent and child by immersing us in their one unifying common thread, love. You will love this play.”
 
The internationally-loved play also stars Brandon Somers (Burn This) and is directed by artistic director Annette Trossbach, who selected the play for this season because of its honest, hopeful, poignant portrayal of two men who have found themselves marginalized for different reasons and eventually find common ground and friendship. “Conservative Jewish Mr Green doesn’t want anything to do, at first, with energetic and modern Ross Gardiner. But tolerance leads to acceptance and then leads to their embracing of one another and a revaluation of who each of them are. The show is a gentle reminder that, through openness, peace and kindness are possible.”
 
Visiting Mr. Green plays from April 13th to April 29th at the Laboratory Theater of Florida. Performance dates are as follows:
April 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 8pm
April 22, 28, 29 at 2pm
Tickets are available to purchase on Brownpapertickets.com or by calling the box office at 239-218-0481. For additional savings, guests may purchase a 2017-2018 Season Pass.
 
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FORT MYERS, FLA., April 3, 2018 – Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon Dr. Stephen A. Prendiville has been named one of the nation’s “Top Doctors” by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. in New York.
It is the fourth consecutive year that Dr. Prendiville has been recognized for the honor in the Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery specialty, which includes surgery of the ear, nose, throat, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, and related structures of the head and neck.
Dr. Prendiville, who also is the Medical Director of the Assuage Luxury Spa in Fort Myers and Naples, is the only Fellowship-trained facial plastic surgeon in Fort Myers who is certified by both the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.  He has performed more than 5,000 surgical procedures during his 17 years of practice in Fort Myers.
Selections are made through a national survey of physicians and hospital administrators conducted by Castle Connolly, an independent research and information company that is the nation’s leading provider of information on top physicians.  After the votes are tallied, Castle Connolly ensures that the physicians meet the company’s criteria, which include board certification, years of experience in their specialties, and a clean disciplinary record.
He is the first surgeon in Southwest Florida to be honored with the “RealCare Promise Badge” for excellent patient service.  The award is presented by RealSelf, the leading online community that helps people make confident choices about elective cosmetic procedures.  Dr. Prendiville is a consistent reviewer of questions posed online by RealSelf visitors and has achieved Distinguished Member status as well as recognition with the RealSelf 500 award honoring physicians who have an outstanding record of consumer feedback and providing valuable insights to questions asked online by consumers.
Dr. Prendiville is recognized nationally as a facelift expert with more than 20 articles published in medical journals and he has served as guest editor for Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America.
He is the past president and secretary/treasurer of the Florida Society of Facial Plastic Surgery, an association consisting of 250 facial plastic surgeons in the state.
Dr. Prendiville graduated with his M.D. degree with high honors from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and served his residency at Georgetown University.
He was awarded a Fellowship in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at St. Louis University in Missouri, where he was a clinical instructor in the St. Louis University Department of Otolaryngology.
All surgeries are performed at Dr. Prendiville’s state-of-the-art Surgical Center adjacent to his office in South Fort Myers at 9407 Cypress Lake Drive, Suite A.  The Surgical Center is accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities (AAAASF), which is the largest accrediting body for outpatient surgical facilities in the United States. For more information about Dr. Prendiville, please visit his website at www.drprendiville.com.
 
 
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FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 3, 2018) — On April 8 from 2-4 p.m., Edison & Ford Winter Estates will host the opening reception for the 10th annual Art in the Gardens. The outdoor exhibit features handmade sculptures made by school children from a dozen Lee County schools. The sculptures are made from recycled materials and will be displayed in the gardens around the museum through May 6.
Each year, teachers and Edison Ford staff develop a different theme. This year’s theme is “Star Spangled Gardens” so each sculpture will have a patriotic look and feel, incorporating stars, stripes and red, white and blue colors.
The opening reception and exhibit are free (does not include tours of the homes, lab or museum). For more information, visit EdisonFordWinterEstates.org or call 239-334-7419.

Fort Myers – Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A., is pleased to announce that Attorney Spencer Shaw has joined the firm’s Workers’ Compensation Division. Shaw is a native of Southwest Florida, graduating from Naples High School (2008), Florida Gulf Coast University (B.S., 2012) and Ave Maria School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2016).
Shaw is an attorney in the firm’s Fort Myers office and focuses her practice in workers’ compensation defense. While in law school, she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Ave Maria School of Law International Law Journal and Treasurer of Phi Alpha Delta. Shaw also served as a staff attorney’s intern for the 20th Judicial Circuit Court. She was a recipient of Ave Maria School of Law’s Dean’s Scholarship.
Shaw has volunteered with Ocean’s Conservancy beach clean-up and Empty Bowls of Naples for Women’s Law Association. She may be reached at 239-344-1132 or by email at spencer.shaw@henlaw.com.
Henderson Franklin is the largest, locally-based law firm between Tampa and Miami with over 55 attorneys dedicated to providing a wide range of legal services in the areas of business and tax planning, estate planning, family law, business and civil litigation, eminent domain, intellectual property, workers’ compensation, employment law, real estate, and land use and environmental law. Since 1924, Henderson Franklin has been assisting clients to build their homes, businesses, and communities in Southwest Florida. Henderson Franklin operates offices in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples and Sanibel Island. For more information on Shaw or Henderson Franklin, please visit www.henlaw.com.

Fort Myers, FL – Gulf Coast Harmonizer’s Annual Charity Golf Extravaganza is ready to score big for local charities on April 14, 2018.   The event will be held at Westminster Golf Club, 2199 Berkley Way, Lehigh Acres, FL 33973. Please help us support Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.  We will be helping to raise funds for their Pediatric Children’s Speech Therapy Program.  Over the past 26 years we have donated almost $35,000 in support of their program to help children.
The four-person scramble will kick off with a shotgun start at 1:00 PM and participants have the chance to win a two-year lease on a new car sponsored by Scanlon Automotive Group by sinking a hole in one on a par 3 hole, plus a putting contest, closest to the pin, longest drive and many other ways to win prizes.  All par 3s will have hole-in-one prizes.  Included also will be a dinner buffet and one ticket for a free draft beer.
“We are thrilled along with Golisano Children’s Hospital with the results from our past years and we are thankful to be able to help them again this year.  We are looking forward to having a great time and raising a lot of money for the hospital”, said John Wickes, Event Chairman.
For more information, contact John Wickes at 239-462-8444 or www.gulfcoastharmonizers.org
About Gulf Coast Harmonizers:
The Gulf Coast Harmonizers have been entertaining SW Florida since 1991 and is open to men of any age who have an interest in singing in the barbershop a cappella style of harmony.  Gulf Coast Harmonizers is a membership organization of singers who meet regularly to practice, perform, socialize, and have fun and currently has over 40 singers from all walks of life, and from all parts of Lee County and surrounding counties.  The Harmonizers are affiliated with the Barbershop Harmony Society, a 501(c)(3), a non-profit educational organization based in Nashville, TN. and supports local nonprofits and youth services.  To learn more, visit www.Gulfcoast harmonizers.org or call 855-425-3631.
 

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 30, 2018) – The Women in Business committee of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for its 13^th annual Apex Awards. Nominations must be submitted by Wednesday, April 11. For more information, or to submit a nomination, visit www.fortmyers.org/events/apex-awards.

Presented by Southwest Florida Distributing, Publishing, Web Advertising, the Women in Business’ Apex Awards event is an evening gala celebration to recognize local women with reputations for professional excellence, outstanding community service and for actively assisting others in attaining professional goals and leadership skills.

“The annual Apex Awards is a great tribute to the women of our community who are making a difference through their professionalism, philanthropy, leadership and mentoring of others,” said Jessica Walker, co-chair of the 2018 Apex Awards. “We look forward to celebrating the remarkable women of Southwest Florida during our annual awards ceremony in August, and encourage the community to nominate their outstanding leaders.”

Nominees and winners will be recognized during an awards ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 25 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Resort & Spa in Bonita Springs.

For more information on nominating an individual or about the 13^th annual Apex Awards, please contact Stephanie Davis at Stephanie@fortmyers.org or 239-332-2930 ext. 213.

About Women in Business

Part of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce, the Women in Business committee is dedicated to helping women achieve their fullest professional and personal potential. A variety of networking and educational programs are offered throughout the year, typically the first Wednesday of every month from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

About the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce:
Serving Lee County and surrounding areas since 1989, the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce, Inc. is a business organization of professionals who support and promote a progressive, sustainable community. The Chamber represents nearly 800 businesses, professionals and individuals throughout Lee County, providing opportunities for members to participate in a variety of meaningful networking, educational and community- and business-focused programs and events. The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce is located at 2310 Edwards Drive in downtown Fort Myers. For additional information regarding membership opportunities or events please call 239-332-3624 or visit www.fortmyers.org. For the latest news and updates, follow the Chamber on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gfmcc or Twitter at @FtMyersChamber.