COLLIER COUNTY RESTRICTS BEACH HOURS DURING FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND
To mirror what was in place during the Memorial Day holiday, Collier County beaches will be closed 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the Independence Day holiday weekend. The county commissioners’ action was taken during a special meeting Tuesday morning after Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties announced the closing of their beaches for the upcoming weekend because of an increase of coronavirus cases. The weekend restrictions for Collier beach hours will continue as long as beaches in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are closed. The commission also encourages people to wear face masks indoors in public places during the pandemic.
SCORE CHAPTERS OFFER FREE, SIX-PART WEBINAR
For the first time, SCORE Chapters within the nonprofit’s District 480 are joining forces to offer small-business owners throughout the region critical guidance to determine whether they should stay in business with today’s challenges and the best steps for moving forward. In a special six-part webinar series, presenters from five SCORE Chapters will guide small-business owners through an easy-to-follow, four-step process for meeting today’s small-business challenges and creating a path for the future. Each webinar will take place from noon to 1 p.m. The series, held from July 16 through Aug. 20, is free. Participants are encouraged to attend each one for comprehensive guidance. Registrants will be enrolled in the entire series upon registration. Presented by Eileen Buchanan of SWFL SCORE, the first webinar, “Close, Survive or Thrive – The Small Business Challenge Today,” will take place on July 16. To register, click here.
NOMINATION CALL FOR 2021 WOMEN OF INITIATIVE
The Women’s Foundation of Collier County is now accepting nominations for the 2021 Women of Initiative. The Women’s Foundation of Collier County annually celebrates exemplary women who, through their leadership and dedication to philanthropic initiatives, are an inspiration to all women seeking to make a difference in Collier County. Over 220 women have been honored since 1998. To access the 2021 Women of Initiative nomination form and all instructions, visit wfcollier.org. Completed applications should be sent to Lindsey Touchette at the Community Foundation of Collier County at ltouchette@cfcollier.org, mailed to 1110 Pine Ridge Road Suite 200, Naples, FL 34108, or faxed to 239-649-5337. The nominating materials are reviewed by a committee of the Women’s Foundation of Collier County. Based on their recommendations, the honorees will be recognized at Women of Initiative Rock Philanthropy on March 26, 2021, at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples.
CHILD CARE OF SWFL TO REOPEN THE CHILDREN’S GARDEN OF LABELLE
Child Care of Southwest Florida will reopen a fifth early learning center as The Children’s Garden of Labelle welcomed back students on June 29. The nonprofit organization has reopened its centers in phases after implementing numerous safety procedures to protect the health and well-being of students and staff. The Children’s Garden of LaBelle, located at 88 S. Main St. in LaBelle, temporarily closed March 27 because of COVID-19. The center underwent a thorough deep cleaning and staff have sanitized all toys, books, desks and touchpoints throughout each classroom. Child Care of Southwest Florida is accepting new student registrations for all locations. For more details, visit CCSWFL.org.
EMPOWER DANCE & ATHLETIC WEAR OPENS
Empower Dance & Athletic Wear officially opens its doors at 303 NE Third Ave., Suite 3, Cape Coral, on July 7. Empower stocks brands such as Bloch, Lulli, Tough Mode, Mirella, for dance students, educators, and fitness enthusiasts. Empower is the exclusive retailer for Nikolay, Honeycut, and Jo+Jax in Southwest Florida, according to a press release. The company offers personalized pointe shoe fitting appointments with a full line of Nikolay, Russian Pointe, and Bloch pointe shoes. Ballet, character, tap, and jazz shoes are available, along with fitness accessories. For more details, visit empdancewear.com.
JKMILNE ASSET MANAGEMENT MAKES ‘LARGEST MONEY MANAGERS’ LIST
Pensions & Investments’ (P&I) has added JKMilne Asset Management to its report on the largest managers of U.S. institutional tax-exempt assets for the 12th consecutive year. Every year, P&I, an international money management newspaper, profiles hundreds of investment management firms to compile a comprehensive list of asset management companies and the work they are doing. JKMilne is now ranked No. 427 out of the 500 companies on the worldwide institutional assets under management list for this last year. This is a move up from the company’s previous ranking of No. 445. The “2020 Largest Money Managers” issue was released on June 1 and is available via subscription at PIOnline.com/ResearchCenter.
Eric Scott
IN THE KNOW
LCEC welcomes Scott to team
LCEC welcomed Eric Scott as its new director of governance risk and compliance chief risk/compliance officer. In this role, Scott will serve as a strategic partner and advisor to the CEO, senior leadership team, and the LCEC Board of Directors on matters pertaining to governance, risk, and compliance for the cooperative. Scott’s 21 years of utility experience include working for the Ameren Corp. as the director of reliability standards and compliance oversight since 2008. Prior to that, Scott worked for nine years with Associated Electric Cooperative. Scott has a Bachelor of Science degree in both finance and accounting and a Master of Business Administration degree in computer information systems from Missouri State University.
American Red Cross chapter appoints Trammell as board chair
The Florida Gulf Coast to Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross has named Jennifer Trammell as the new chair of its board of directors. Her tenure officially begins on July 1. Trammell leads the NextGen Speaker Series, presented by Benson Blackburn, as the program’s managing director. Trammell, a former news anchor, and reporter, is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and continues to work closely with the local alumni club. Prior to her role with NextGen, Trammell worked closely with the sales and marketing teams at NewsBank Inc. She is a graduate of Associate Leadership Collier.
Ken Segura
Sanibel Captiva Community Bank promotes Segura
Sanibel Captiva Community Bank had promoted Ken Segura to office manager at the bank’s new Bridge Branch center, located at 9311 College Parkway, at the corner of McGregor Boulevard and College Parkway. Segura will manage daily operations and customer relationships, including business and consumer banking. Segura has been with the bank for nearly four years, serving most recently as the office manager at the College Parkway Branch at 7500 College Parkway. He previously served as the branch’s assistant office manager and also worked in treasury management. Prior to joining Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, he graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University and worked at a national bank.
CHARITABLE NOTES
Community Cooperative adds seven locations to July mobile food pantry schedule
Community Cooperative has scheduled 16 mobile food pantries, with seven new pantry locations in July. Before the pandemic, eight mobile pantries were scheduled monthly by Community Cooperative, averaging about 140 households per pantry. Now an average of 250 to 300 households is served at each site, with 425 households as the highest amount. To see the full schedule of July food pantries, donate or volunteer, visit CommunityCooperative.com, or call 239-332-7687. Healthcare Network receives emergency grant from Direct Relief to provide mental health support for essential frontline workers.
Healthcare Network receives emergency grant from Direct Relief to provide mental health support for essential frontline workers
Healthcare Network was awarded an emergency grant fund of $50,000 from the medical aid organization Direct Relief, in partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers. Healthcare Network was among 518 federally qualified health centers to receive funding through Direct Relief’s $25 million COVID-19 Fund for Community Health. Healthcare Network will use the funds to provide up to three free visits with mental health providers for essential frontline workers including but not limited to healthcare workers, protective service and first responders, grocery store workers, agricultural workers, janitors and maintenance workers, and truck drivers in Southwest Florida. The grant will support up to a total of 500 visits before Nov. 14. For more details, visit HealthcareSWFL.org/Direct-Relief.
John P. Cordillo, Terra Cotta Golf Charities president, presents Noemi Y. Perez, The Immokalee Foundation president and CEO, with a $30,000 donation.
The Immokalee Foundation receives $30,000 donation from Terra Cotta Golf Charities
Earlier this year, The Immokalee Foundation was named the beneficiary of the Terra Cotta Invitational Golf Tournament. Even though the tournament was canceled, Terra Cotta Golf Charities made a $30,000 donation to support the foundation’s groundbreaking program, Career Pathways: Empowering Students to Succeed. Career Pathways is an innovative career-readiness program that introduces students to well-paying career opportunities in high-demand employment sectors. Additionally, Career Pathways guides students to industry-recognized certifications that provide entry into many of these careers. For more details, visit immokaleefoundation.org.
The Arts are Vital: Emergency Funding for Artists and Arts Organization grant call now open
The Alliance for the Arts, a nonprofit visual and performing arts center in the heart of Fort Myers, announces The Arts are Vital: Emergency Funding for Artists and Arts Organizations in Lee County applications are now open. The Arts are Vital Grant is an emergency relief program for Lee County’s arts organizations and individual artists formed in partnership with the Meisenberg Family Trust to ensure the sustained impact of the arts during a time when we need them most. The program provides one-time grant awards to arts organizations and professional artists with urgent financial needs who reside in Lee County. These funds are unrestricted and may be used by the organizations and artists to help with financial issues due to the impact of COVID-19 on their organizations, lives and livelihoods. Subject to the availability of funds, arts organizations may receive up to $5,000 and individual artists will receive up to $500. Applications are now open and will close at midnight on July 12. Artists residing in Lee County and eligible nonprofit organizations are encouraged to apply at ArtInLee.org/Grant. Grant recipients will be announced in August.
Midwest Food Bank continues to fulfill mission amid pandemic
Midwest Food Bank continues to fulfill its mission and serve more than 2,000 nonprofit partner organizations during the pandemic. In addition to providing food to partner agencies, Midwest Food Bank has provided disaster relief via family food boxes in partnership with Salvation Army. They have sourced, packed, and shipped more than 60,000 family food boxes to 28 different states in the past 100 days. Midwest Food Bank, heavily dependent on volunteer support, has had to dramatically reduce and restructure the role of volunteers due to COVID-19 concerns, according to a news release. Further, the demand for their services has increased, due to high unemployment and economic uncertainty. MFB partner nonprofits are experiencing about a 30% increase in traffic. The economic impact has the potential to last for several years. For more information, visit midwestfoodbank.org.
