Focusing on Greater Fort Myers

When marti van veen is away from her post at Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center and Gulf Coast Hospital, you'll probably find her on the volunteer circuit. She's on the board of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Lee County and is also involved with local chapters of the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society.

"I think it's helpful to be involved in every aspect of the community, especially when it comes to organizations like United Way," says Van Veen, administrative director of business development for the medical center and hospital.

Van Veen has lived in the area for 27 years and appreciates the benefits of lending a helping hand. "I believe so strongly in what United Way does," she says. "They are part of the very fabric of our community, providing services to so many individuals."

United Way, now helping to support 65 local agencies, has had Van Veen's support for as long as she can remember. "Anyone sitting on the allocations team of an organization like this would realize how important it is," she says. "They do great work."

christopher fous, 25, is a dynamo. This past August, he joined forces with business partner, Leon Stamatis, 24, and opened Devious Design Studio, an advertising agency specializing in corporate image, advertising and Web design. In short order, the two found that pro bono work pays when a corporate logo design they had created for Women In Business, a networking group affiliated with the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce, won a Gold ADDY from the Advertising Federation of Southwest Florida.

At the award show, they were recognized with nine Gold and four Silver ADDY awards. The awards, which recognize excellence in marketing and advertising, were significant considering the firm had just opened its doors.

From their downtown Fort Myers studio, the two project an uptown image. They plan to continue networking through the chamber, and are having a good time creating what they describe as "edgy, out-of-the-box and deviously creative" work for clients including the Bamboo Dance Club, Palm Point Riverfront Towers and the Boston Red Sox.

"We're just a couple of young guys doing our thing," says Fous. "Starting a business has been the best move I've ever made, and I do not regret a single second."

Just reading about sandra stilwell's routine is enough to make one feel bushed. She owns the Captiva Island Inn and five restaurants, including Keylime Bistro and Sunshine Seafood Café, which she tends every day. "I love it," she says. "The restaurant business is a little crazy, but it's fun."

Stilwell has lived in Lee County since she was two years old, and she has been in the hotel business for most of her working life. After selling a hotel on Fort Myers Beach, she was taken with the Captiva Island Inn and bought it in 1999. "I just fell in love with this little place and all of its brightly colored, quaint cottages," she says. She's since bought another inn across the street, taking the establishment from six cottages to 18 rooms.

Beyond her professional life in the food service and resort industries, Stilwell serves on the boards of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce and International College, among others. She is president of the Salvation Army of Lee County and is also involved with the American Heart Association.

"I'm doing my share now, because I won't be doing it when I'm 70," she says with a laugh. "I'm one of those people that loves to volunteer. I grew up here, and this is my home."

Tom Hoolihan makes connections. Since moving to Southwest Florida in 1973, he has been a founder and past president of Lee County's Horizon Council, a chairman of the county's Industrial Development Authority, past president and 14-year board member of the North Fort Myers Chamber, board member and current treasurer of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber, and president of the Uncommon Friends Foundation.

On the business side, he's known for real estate and development ventures, including five real estate firms (including HRG Realty and Vision One Realty), a construction company and a development project, Riverbend Golf Course in North Fort Myers.

These days he's enthused by Tommy Hoolihan Real Estate & Lifestyle Centers. Using GIS software and the MLS, a comprehensive program layers every new project or real estate offering over Lee County aerial views.

The first of several planned centers is opening in The Shell Factory, with three 53-inch plasma screens and six smaller screens. Hoolihan is also considered one of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber's strongest advocates.

"When you get involved in organizations like the chamber, you meet people you would normally not meet in your own business," he says. "The diversity of these associations is so valuable."

-Mary Lou Smart