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LEE COMMISSIONERS APPROVE AMBULANCE PURCHASES

The Lee Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to purchase seven new Sprinter ambulances for the County’s Emergency Medical Services fleet to replace older vehicles. The seven new 2019 Mercedes Sprinter Custom AEV Type III Ambulances, with customizations and extended warranties, will be purchased from ETR, LLC. They will be purchased using an existing competitive bid contract with the Florida Sheriff’s Association for a total amount of $1.26 million. The new vehicles are expected to be in service by this fall. The vehicles replaced by the newly purchased vehicles will be assigned to the reserve fleet. Reserve vehicles are fully operational and are used when other vehicles are temporarily out of service. In Fiscal year 2018/2019, the division responded to more than 87,000 emergency incidents with more than 91,000 responses. These responses were answered from 42 EMS stations across the division’s six geographic districts.
 

THE LUTGERT COS. BREAK GROUND ON NEW PROFESSIONAL CENTER

The Lutgert Cos. has recently broken ground on its new professional center, located just north of Pine Ridge Road at 4850 U.S. 41 in Naples. DeAngelis Diamond is serving as the general contractor of the three-story Class A office development, which was designed by David Corban Architects. Grady Minor is the project’s engineering firm; landscape architecture is being directed by Jeffrey S. Curl of eMerge Design. Consistent with The Lutgert Cos.’ core values, the building is slated to be a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified Gold Standard. The second-floor space may be subdivided to approximately 4,000-square-foot units for qualified users. For more information, contact leasing agent Dougall McCorkle of Premier Commercial Inc. at (239) 860-3368 or Dougall@PremierMail.net.
 

COLLIER BUILDING INDUSTRY FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

The Collier Building Industry Foundation (CBIF) announces the 2020 scholarship application is now available online here. Applicants may also contact the Collier Building Industry Association (CBIA) office at (239) 436-6100 to receive an application via email or postal service. Any graduating high school student or a student currently in college pursuing studies in construction or construction-related careers including architecture, engineering, interior design, surveying or specialty contracting (air conditioning, electrical, masonry, plumbing, etc.) may apply. To date, CBIF has provided over $75,000 in scholarships to local students seeking careers in building and construction-related industries. Completed applications are due to the CBIA by 5 p.m. on March 27 via postal mail at 3200 Bailey Lane, Suite 110, Naples, FL 34105.
 

LEE BIA BUILDERS CARE APPOINTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Lee BIA Builders Care, the nonprofit charitable arm of the Lee Building Industry Association (BIA), has announced its 2020 board of directors, led by president Dan Beiter, vice president P.J. Anzalone, treasurer Annette Nilles and secretary Justin Thibaut. Other members selected for the 2020 board include Wendi Carroll, Casey Crowther, Phillip Ford, Frank Jenkins, Steve Krystyniak, Michael Reitmann, Nathan Ritter, Ken Solmonson, Trevor Taulman and Charles Thornton. Gregg Truxton will serve as legal counsel to the board.
 

NEAL COMMUNITIES EXPANDS TWO NAPLES NEIGHBORHOODS

Neal Communities is expanding two of its Naples communities, Marquesa Isles and Richmond Park. The homebuilders’ Avalon community in Naples is nearing close-out of sales with 17 homes remaining. Marquesa Isles and Richmond Park, two of Neal’s coastal-style communities, are opening new phases with over 40 new homes each. Richmond Park achieved record sales with five carriage homes sold in December to close out 2019. Marquesa Isles has sold nine homes in the new phase since the start of 2020. For more information, visit www.nealcommunities.com.
 

CBIA ANNOUNCES ASSOCIATE, BUILDER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

The Collier Building Industry Association (CBIA) announced its 2019 Associate and Builder of the Year Awards and unveiled its 2020 Board of Directors at the organization’s annual Holiday Happenings dinner held on Dec. 18 at The Club at Olde Cypress. Christian Andrea was presented the  CBIA 2019 Associate of the Year award, recognizing more than 20 years of experience in the local business industry. The 2019 CBIA Builder of the Year honor was presented to J.P. Coleman, president of JP Coleman Construction. The Melbourne native has a bachelor’s degree in construction management from the University of Florida. The 2020 Board of Directors includes president John Williams of RWA, Inc.; Ryan Benson of A. Vernon Allen Builder as immediate past president; Leroy Christiansen of Gulfshore Insurance as past vice president; Matt Sellick of Stock Custom Homes as president-elect; Drew Kowalczyk of PulteGroup as vice president; Norm Gentry of BUILD, LLC as Secretary; and treasurer Kevin Deardorff of Waldrop Engineering, P.A. 
 

STEVENS CONSTRUCTION COMPLETES BIG ARTS

Stevens Construction has completed construction of a new, two-story complex for BIG ARTS located at 900 Dunlop Road on Sanibel Island, announced Mark Stevens, company president. Stevens Construction provided construction management services for a new 27,000-square-foot facility, which houses a 3,800-square-foot performing arts center with a 414-seat theater. Stevens Construction constructed BIG ARTS with energy-efficient elements. Stevens Construction demolished the existing approximately 18,000-square-foot building, which housed the auditorium, gallery and offices, within four days. The company also provided pre-construction services for a year offering recommendations and constructability reviews to ensure that the project could be achieved within their budget and tight schedule. The Stevens Construction team includes Mike Waskiewicz, project manager; Jim Ruby, superintendent; Tate Hernly, project engineer; and Sue Ziegenfus, project administrator. The project was designed by Amy Nowacki Architect, LLC. For information, visit www.stevensconstructioninc.com and www.BIGARTS.org.
 

PUBLIC FORUMS ON HEALTH COMING SOON

Longevity Solutions, Inc. will host “How Healthy Are You?” public forums on Feb. 10 in the Community Room at Naples Daily News. The first session will take place at 10 a.m. and the second will be held at 2 p.m. The complimentary 90-minute forums will focus on preventive, proactive and personalized medical approaches that extend the healthy human lifespan. The events will feature a presentation by Longevity’s Founder and CEO Dr. William Kapp. The presentations will unveil cutting-edge diagnostic assessments and therapies offered by Longevity to help individuals achieve a blueprint of their past, present, and future health and wellbeing. Discussions will focus on state-of-the-art whole genome sequencing, brain and body imaging, and advanced bloodwork analysis with machine learning algorithms. Discussions will also center on lifestyle adjustments and regenerative therapies that can detect and prevent diseases and extend the healthy lifespan. To register for the forums, look for How Healthy Are You on Eventbrite.com or click here.
 

Superintendent for The School District of Lee County Gregory K. Adkins

CHARITABLE NOTES

The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools 5K benefits Take Stock in Children program

The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools held its ninth annual Strides for Education 5K Run on Feb. 1. at Florida SouthWestern State College’s Lee Campus. The event raised money for The Foundation’s Take Stock in Children program. A total of 1,200 business leaders, community partners, teachers, and runners participated in the race this year. More than $43,000 was raised during the event, breaking all previous records. All proceeds will go towards college tuition scholarships for students who graduate from The Take Stock in Children Program. Schools and businesses throughout Lee County were challenged to create the largest team. This year’s winners were: School Challenge—Team Heights (Heights Elementary School), Corporate Challenge—Edison National Bank/Bank of the Islands; and Community Partner—Miles in Memory of Erik Babatz. Suncoast Credit Union served as the title sponsor.
 

Chef Brian Roland, CHEF Showdown Winner Chef Asif Syed, CHEF Board President Taryn Cafiero, CHEF Challenger Chef Jason Goddard

CHEF raises $120,000 for student scholarships

The Culinary & Hospitality Education Foundation of Southwest Florida (CHEF)’s signature fundraising event, held on Jan. 6, raised $120,000 for student scholarships, doubling the amount raised in 2019. The event featured a “Culinary CHEF Showdown” between CHEF’s 2020 honoree 21 Spices by Chef Asif owner Asif Syed and challenger Jason Goddard, Aielli Restaurant Group’s corporate chef. Over 120 guests attended the competition at Grey Oaks Country Club in Naples, which Asif won. Bleu Provence co-owner and sommelier Jacques Cariot hosted the pre-event VIP Wine Tasting that evening. Chef Brian Roland of Crave Culinaire/Venue Naples served as emcee and assisted auctioneer Scott Robertson with the live auction. CHEF Scholarship Applications are open now and the form is available here. The deadline to submit applications is Feb. 29. The 2021 Culinary CHEF Showdown will be held on Jan. 11 at Grey Oaks Country Club. For more information, visit ChefSWFL.org.
 

FFCF receives $40,000 grant from Naples Auto Donation Center

Friends of Foster Children Forever (FFCF) is receiving a $40,000 grant from Naples Auto Donation Center (NADC). FFCF provides foster children with academic support, enrichment and extracurricular opportunities, and emergency supplies that the government foster care system does not provide. In 2019, Friends of Foster Children Forever served a record 1,200 children. These children, through no fault of their own, have been neglected or abused and face horrendous challenges as they are placed in foster homes or with relatives and non-relative caregivers, a press release states. Their academic performance is one of the first areas to suffer. This donation will support the educational programs at Friends of Foster Children Forever. NADC has provided $571,000 in support to local nonprofits since 2013.
 
 
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