The two-story, 837 retail and office property on Fifth Avenue South in Naples has been reimagined and renamed to #ArtAveto5th. The transformation includes an outdoor art gallery, green walls and modern aesthetics. Building owners Jim and Christopher Shucart of JCS Realty Group assembled a team of professionals led by the combined efforts of Matthew Kragh, founder of MHK Architecture & Planning, designer Heather Serrano of Heather Serrano Designs and Bonita Springs landscape architect Scott Windham. The 14,000-square-foot building is home to the award-winning Chops City Grill restaurant and Engel & Volkers Real Estate Co. on the first floor with fine art consultant Emillions Art showroom and the corporate headquarters for Culinary Concepts on the second floor. To date, JCS Realty has developed and/or owned over 960 residential and condominium units.

 

 

The Imperial River Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) presents Lois Margolin on Self-Esteem, held on Jan. 8 at the Holiday Inn Fort Myers Airport at Town Center. Networking begins at 5:30 PM, followed by the dinner and speaker. Margolin is a CPA who recently sold her international reservation software company, Chelsea Information Systems. She now offers concierge accounting services through Lois Margolin LLC. Admission is $35 and includes networking, dinner, and the presentation. Tickets are available at ABWAImperialRiver.Eventbrite.com.

The Naples Fort Myers Chapter of CREW will hold a Lunch & Learn from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 22 at Shula’s Naples in the Coaches Room located at 5111 Tamiami Trail North. The featured speaker will be Diane Carr, the director of the Southern School of Etiquette, who will discuss the do’s and don’ts of networking in the business world. This event is open to the public but pre-registration is required online at crewswfl.com/events on or before Jan. 15. Cost for the luncheon is $25 for members and $40 for non-members. CREW is a national organization for business networking for women in the commercial real estate industry. For more information about joining CREW, visit crewswfl.com.  

Entech has added new members to its team. Steve Long, service team lead; Matthew Anderson, support engineer; and Curtis Johnson, systems engineer; will be working directly with clients on the service department. Gus Tortosa joined the development team as the new client success manager. Long has over 15 years of experience as a systems administrator and has worked for Equian and Sim2k. Anderson brings extensive experience from U.S. Air Force, where he served as a security forces/military police officer for four years. Johnson’s experience includes network environments and disaster recovery solutions for clients. His last job was as a network technician for Pure Dental Brands. Tortosa brings experience in computer programming and has worked for Walgreens and Lee County School District.

Elizabeth Lombardo, founder of The Firm Advertising Agency in Punta Gorda, received the Young Building Professional Award at the Charlotte DeSoto Building Industry Association (CDBIA) Installation Banquet and Annual Awards ceremony. More than 300 people attended the evening’s festivities, held on Dec. 7 at the Four Points by Sheraton. The Young Building Professional Award acknowledges a young professional in Charlotte County who is blazing a path to success and making a notable impact on the community. Lombardo joined the CDBIA in 2019 and chaired the organization’s newly created Homes of the Holiday-Babcock Ranch Parade of Homes. She has been active in sponsoring new members and supporting many CDBIA events and was cited for her client management, creative work and budgeting on behalf of her firm’s clients. Judges also considered her professional accomplishments, volunteer work and other plaudits from their nominators.

Naples Therapeutic Riding Center (NTRC) has installed the following new board members: Kristin Carolan, a licensed marriage and family therapist who currently provides therapy services for children for the Collier County Public Schools; Mackindy Dieu, acute care administrative supervisor at David Lawrence Center (DLC); and Lee Pinto, a retired nurse who formerly raised thoroughbred horses. She will also chair the NTRC’s 2020 Kentucky Derby Party. NTRC is a nonprofit organization providing therapeutic horseback riding and other equine-facilitated group services to children and adults with physical, social and mental health needs. For more information on programs or volunteer opportunities, visit NaplesTherapeuticRidingCenter.org.

Bonita Springs-based J. Lee Salon Suites is expanding its business by opening a second location on 8965 Tamiami Trail N. in Naples. The new location is at The Pavilion on (US 41 and Vanderbilt Beach Rd) and will take over the 10,700 square feet from the previous tenant, Paradise Wine. Beauty professionals will have the opportunity to grow and develop their business through a facility with 54 suites with amenities such as a full-time receptionist, complimentary advertising and walk-in program, dispensary on-site, 24/7 support, and break room and waiting area. Founders and husband and wife team Justin and Jacey Lee started J. Lee Salon Suites in 2018 in Bonita Springs. The general manager is Katicia Baker and the business strategist is Tabatha Swihart. J. Lee Salon Suites has created a special promotion: The first 10 beauty professionals will receive $100 off per week for the first 10 weeks of their occupancy. The targeted opening date is anticipated to be July 1, 2020. 

Home Base SWFL will now extend the health, education and wellness services provided through the Warrior Health and Fitness program to military spouses residing in the Southwest Florida five-county region Home Base SWFL operates. At a Veteran’s Day press conference held in November with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Home Base SWFL also announced its expansion and clinical partnership with Lee Health, the largest healthcare system in Southwest Florida, to now offer outpatient mental health services for veterans as well as adult military family members. Home Base SWFL services now include the Warrior Health and Fitness program, Adventure Series, the new Outpatient Clinical Care at Lee Health and an Intensive Clinical Program in Boston. All are provided at no cost through philanthropic support and collaborations with Florida Gulf Coast University, Lee Health and the YMCA. To support Home Base SWFL’s expansion efforts, the community is invited to participate in their signature event, the Run to Home Base. To register, visit RuntoHomeBaseFlorida.org.

Child Care of Southwest Florida received a $25,000 from Lee County Port Authority and Dan Creighton. At this fall’s Law and Order Ball, hosted by the Rotary Club of Fort Myers South, Creighton Construction & Development Founder and CEO Dan Creighton pledged a $125,000 donation to be split equally among five local law enforcement agencies: police departments in Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Sanibel, as well as the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Lee County Port Authority. The only caveat was that the donation must be spent on charitable causes within the community. The Lee County Port Authority has an established relationship with the Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center, one of six early learning centers operated by Child Care of Southwest Florida. Child Care of Southwest Florida CEO Chris Hansen said the $25,000 grant will be used to enhance security at the Messina Children’s Center, as well as provide scholarship assistance for hardworking families. For more information, visit ccswfl.org.

Cape Coral-based country music band NEON SUMMER will perform a benefit concert called “Angela Strong: Music for a Miracle” on Jan. 18 at the Four Points by Sheraton Punta Gorda Harborside. Doors open at 3 p.m. with a $20 cash donation collected at the gate. The benefit concert is planned as an annual event with 30% of the profits donated to NEON SUMMER’s foundation, Angela Strong Music for a Miracle. The profits will help pay for NEON SUMMER lead singer Marty Short’s wife Angela’s reverse stroke procedure. Angela suffered a stroke on Feb. 3, 2019. For more information or sponsorship about NEON SUMMER benefit concert and foundation, contact Marty Short at (540) 246-7765; neonsummermarty@gmail.com or visit https://www.neonsummer.com/angela-strong-music-for-a-miracle.

The Suncoast Schools Credit Union Foundation is partnering with Champions For Learning to offer five of $2,000 scholarship awards to high school graduates in the Class of 2020. Class of 2020 high school graduates in Suncoast Credit Union’s 21-county service territory have the opportunity to apply for financial support to continue their education, thanks to a $116,000 investment in scholarships by the Tampa-based credit union’s Foundation. Applications are now open at www.ChampionsForLearning.org/apply. All applications must be received by 5 p.m. on Jan. 10 at the Champions For Learning office, 3606 Enterprise Ave., No. 150, Naples. Since its inception in 1990, the Foundation has contributed more than $22 million including more than 600 student scholarships valued at nearly $1 million.