The greatest demand for jobs statewide is for registered nurses, according to the Department of Economic Opportunity, which says throughout Florida there are 16,770 advertised job opportunities in the state. The metropolitan area encompassing Bradenton, Sarasota and North Port has many different job demands than the state as a whole, but like most areas of Florida, the need for nurses is greater than that for any other job. 

Mark Pritchett spent his formative years in Kentucky, but he was still surprised when he arrived in Louisville last week with a group of Sarasota business, government and civid leaders. “I remembered Louisville as sort of this industrial and blue-collar city,” he said, “but they are really advancing more into innovation, particularly around sectors like healthcare. It’s really amazing.”

Pritchett, Gulf Coast Community Foundation senior vice president of Community Investment, was just one of the leaders participating in this year’s intercity visit. Organized by the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, past trips have included such locales as Asheville, N.C. and Nashville, Tenn. This year, the group headed to Louisville, Ky. to see how the city has handled waterfront connectivity, tech sector growth and any number of other issues.

Jim Kuhlman, Stonegate Bank executive vice president and EDC incoming chair, was struck by programs like Code Louisville, an effort to train people in programming languages. By both responding to a local workforce need and bringing in figures from tech giants to participate, it has led to boosts in the high-tech sector in a city rich with colleges. As economic leaders look for better ways to involve graduates from three Sarasota universities in the job market, Kuhlman said this Louisville effort might be an important model. “Sarasota needs to do something like that as well,” he said.

Pritchett noted incubators in the city like XLerateHealth have further established Louisville as an important city in healthcare. With Humana headquartered there, programs have encouraged startups in the health field by connecting them with the best available workforce. Pritchett saw parallels with Sarasota efforts, including CareerEdge Funders and Gulf Coast’s BIG!. He also got a feel for the sort of three- to five-year timeline needed to train a workforce here.

Sarasota City Manager Tom Barwin felt there were lessons on a variety of areas, whether it’s continuity in leadership or better inter-organization collaboration. “We as a community have to do some strategic thinking and planning,” Barwin said, “but at the same time be nimble and respond to individuals with passions and insights.” 

Of course, some leaders noted that regardless of what lessons were found in Kentucky, the journey as a group provided a benefit in itself. Lisa Krause, executive vice president at FCCI Insurance Group and the incoming Chamber of Commerce chair, said having an informed group from a variety of interests and sectors visiting Louisville together led to an education in a variety of fields, something that should create a synergy in visions later on. “We had a great group of leaders from totally diverse backgrounds with focuses that were diverse as well,” she said, “but in an environment where we were all learning what we could take away to make Sarasota better. It helped us recognize everybody is committed to Sarasota and making it better, and that’s an essential part of this.”  

State Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, formally filed on Friday as a candidate for Sarasota County Commission for District 3. The office is currently held by Christine Robinson, whose term expires in November 2016 and who cannot seek re-election because of term limits. Detert's announcement, long rumoured, formally sets into motion what will be one of the most anticipated state Senate races in Florida as high-profile leaders line up to replace her. 

Read more at SRQMagazine.com

The message on jobs from Florida’s top economic official when he spoke at a recent SRQ event was basic and positive. “The recession is in the past,” said Jesse Panuccio, executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, during a keynote at the recent panel, SB2: Financial Forecast. The business leader spoke to SRQ Daily afterward about keeping the Gulf Coast infrastructure ready for more jobs in coming years.

Florida is situated in the corner of the United States, which presents some challenges in shipping around the country. As we diversify our economy past tourism and seek manufacturing, how do we overcome that challenge?  What Florida has better than any state, we are actually a global logistic center if you think at proximity to Latin America and South America. We have one of the best roadway infrastructures. We have good freight and rail lines. We have great airports and many of them, and 15 seaports that have had record investments in the last 15 years. What we tell manufacturers is, don’t just think about in-state business or U.S. business. You should be thinking about worldwide business. If that is your market, then Florida is actually a great place and better positioned than a lot of competitor states. And those manufacturers who do engage in overseas trade tend to have both higher revenues and higher wages because they are accessing bigger markets.

One of those ports in Port Manatee. How important will that port and others be as Florida continues to grow?  Our ports are a major resource for the State of Florida. If you think about what makes for a growing and sustainable and prosperous economy, it’s overall economic policy, tax policy and regulatory policy, but it’s also investing in the right places. Transportation infrastructure is how we move goods and people around. We are at a critical moment in terms of sea trade. The Panama Canal expansion is going to be completed soon. They are expecting a 25-percent increase in traffic over the next 10 years. Those business relationships, where they do trade, that is going to establish very quickly, and if our ports aren’t ready, we are going to miss out on that for years to come. So the dredging of our ports, getting Miami to 50 feet, getting that tunnel built, getting Jacksonville dredged, getting Port Everglades ready, and over here Port Manatee and Port of Tampa, all of that is important. What you’ve seen from Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature over the past five years is record investments. We’ve never invested as much in our ports as we have now. We’ve done the right things. Part of the problem is federal. The Army Corps can be slow with some of the permits that we need. But luckily in last year’s water bill, we were able to get a provision in there that allows us to front the money and get repaid later.This is something where you see bipartisan agreement if you look at our Congressional delegation. We are, wherever possible, trying to position ourselves to be ready. 

Picture by Wyatt Kostygen: Jessu Panuccio speaks with other panelists at a Sept. 24 SB2 event at The Francis.

Superintendent Lori White has named longtime principal Karen Rose as the next executive director of middle schools for the Sarasota County School District. Rose has led Sarasota Middle School since 2007 and has worked for the district since 1989. She is scheduled to begin her new job Oct. 5. She will succeed Page Dettmann, who has served as executive director of middle schools since 2007. Dettmann is leaving the district for another career opportunity in the private sector. 

Sarasota County School District

Drs. Jill and Beau Smith announced the opening of a new chiropractic clinic in Sarasota. Mainstay Chiropractic is a modern high-tech family wellness center. At Mainstay Chiropractic, the doctors will focus on neuro-structural Integration, using esearch grade diagnostic equipment to evaluate nervous systems and spines. 

Mainstay Chiropractic

Barbara Ford-Coates, Sarasota County Tax Collector, has earned the Legacy Award from the Florida Tax Collectors Association, a special designation for excellence in the field of financial operations. A judging panel performed a detailed review of the Tax Collector’s financial records, practices and use of technology in considering Ford-Coates for the honor. 

Florida Tax Collectors Association