NAPLES MARKET ENDS 2018 WITH RECORD-HIGH INVENTORY
The Naples area housing market ended 2018 with an 11 percent increase in total closed sales and a 14 percent increase in inventory compared with 2017. Sales of homes above $1 million continued to drive the market in 2018, especially in the condominium market, where closed sales of condominiums more than $1 million increased 37 percent.
Inventory at the end of 2018 was the highest on record in six years, according to the Year End 2018 Market Report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS, (NABOR), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island). To view the entire report, visit www.NaplesArea.com.
NCH HOSPITAL RANKED AMONG BEST
NCH Healthcare System has been recognized for its excellence in delivering quality care by U.S. News & World Report, which this year named NCH Downtown Naples Hospital a Best Regional Hospital in southern Florida and the 11th best hospital in Florida.
NCH Downtown Naples Hospital also received the highest rating possible in seven different procedures or conditions: abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), colon cancer surgery, heart bypass surgery, heart failure, hip replacement, and knee replacement. For more information, visit nchmd.org.
WINTRUST EXPANDS TO NAPLES
Wintrust will open a new bank location at 3401 Tamiami Trail N., Naples in early 2019. This new branch, Wintrust Banking Center, marks the first Wintrust Community Bank outside of the company’s Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin footprint.
The expansion will allow current customers who travel to or live in Florida during the winter season to access their finances and the banking services Wintrust offers year-round. Two veteran Wintrust employees, Tara Fedorko and Wendy Aguilera, will be branch manager and assistant branch manager at the Wintrust Banking Center.
Customers will have access to banking services offered at all Wintrust Community Banks. Wintrust Banking Center will operate under Lake Forest Bank & Trust Co., N.A., one of Wintrust’s charter banks.
NEW CYPRESS COVE STAFF SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED
Cypress Cove at HealthPark Florida’s employee educational scholarship program recently added two named scholarships—the Lyle and Audrey Olson scholarship and the Marcia Goldberg/Judy Papier scholarship—to a growing list of scholar fund offerings.
The Goldberg/Papier scholarship fund is a dedicated award to be given twice annually to selected student(s) who work for the community’s dining services team.
The Olson scholarship will provide financial scholar awards twice annually to an employee at Cypress Cove enrolled in an advanced educational program.
The Cypress Cove employee scholarship program has already helped send 22 staff to college, yielding eight graduates. Program gifts, including endowed and named scholarship funds, have exceeded $230,000. Scholarship awards—$2,000 to first-time recipients and $1,000 awards to previous awardees—were announced this past November for the spring 2019 academic term scholars.
BOLTREK TO PRESENT AT MIAMI CONFERENCE
Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A. attorney William Boltrek will be speaking to brokers, funders and professionals from the Merchants Cash Advance and small-business lending industries at the deBanked CONNECT conference, held on Jan. 24 in Miami.
He will facilitate a panel discussion on “Tackling the Bloomberg Articles and the Negative Media Attention,” with panelists Dan Gans, Polaris Consulting; Steve Denis, Small Business Finance Association; and Deidre Krause, The PR Co. Boltrek assists Merchant Cash Advance companies throughout Florida in all aspects of their business.
He also has an active insurance litigation practice and represents healthcare professionals in medical malpractice and licensure matters. Boltrek is a member of the Florida Association of Police Attorneys, Lee County Bar Association, Florida Defense Lawyers Association, and Defense Research Institute. He graduated from the 2013 Greater Fort Myers Chamber Leadership Program, received his undergraduate degree from the University at Buffalo; and his law degree from Quinnipiac University.
COLGATE-TAMBLYN JOINS FIFTH THIRD PRIVATE BANK
Heidi Colgate-Tamblyn has been named senior vice president, director of Fifth Third Private Bank – Florida. Colgate-Tamblyn is responsible for managing Wealth Management Advisors and Private Bankers in the bank’s Southwest and Southeast Florida markets to help drive revenue growth and integrate all facets of the Private Bank experience. Colgate-Tamblyn has led wealth teams in markets in Southwest Florida and along the west coast of Florida for Synovus Bank, SunTrust, and Bank of America (formerly NationsBank).
Colgate-Tamblyn is also a former Fifth Third employee. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California and has attended numerous industry institutes, including Cannon, Omega, Florida Trust School and Florida Graduate Trust School. She is a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Trust and Financial Analyst, and she holds multiple Financial Industry Regularity Authority securities licenses, as well as the Florida Life, Health and Variable Annuity insurance license.
MIROMAR OUTLETS CELEBRATES 20 YEARS
Miromar Outlets celebrated its 20-year anniversary with a two-day event beginning at 11 a.m. each day on Jan. 19 and 20. The event featured live entertainment, family activities and more than $20,000 in gift card giveaways. A 20-Year Anniversary Sidewalk Sale, beginning Jan. 18, will continue through today. Expect additional savings of up to 70 percent off regular retail prices, according to a press release.
Voted Best Shopping Experience and Best Factory Outlet Mall in Southwest Florida for 20 consecutive years, Miromar Outlets welcomed its first shoppers two decades ago. Today, the shopping, dining and entertainment center has tripled its original size and welcomes 8 million visitors annually, even being named TripAdvisor’s top Estero attraction.
CHARITABLE NOTES
The Immokalee Foundation seeks more mentors during National Mentor Month
January is National Mentoring Month, and The Immokalee Foundation is seeking more adults to take part in relationships with its students. A foundation mentor is matched with a student in seventh or higher grades and commits to meeting with that student at least once a week for an hour. The student may have questions about homework, a career, friends or another topic.
The mentor shares their knowledge and experience—and sometimes help with school work. Some of the students come from homes in which little or no English is spoken, so having an adult English speaker to talk with is valuable, a press release states. To learn more about The Immokalee Foundation, call (239) 430-9122 or visit https://immokaleefoundation.org.
Publix Supermarkets Charities Inc. supports Habitat for Humanity of Collier County homebuilding
Publix Supermarkets Charities Inc. has donated $52,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Collier County to underwrite the cost of materials to build a home in Immokalee. Publix has been a longtime partner of the nonprofit for more than 20 years, with more than $1 million in donations during that time.
In honor of Publix’s commitment to supporting the construction of affordable homes in Collier County, Habitat will install a commemorative bench in their Immokalee community, Faith Landing.
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