Posted by Bob Gernert on September 1, 2010 at 8:43 am
Join us on Tuesday evening, September 28 as we celebrate the Centennial Annual Meeting of the Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce. It will be a special evening of entertainment, awards, reflection, recognition, installation of officers and a look to the our second century!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 – Nora Mayo Hall
6:30 p.m. Reception – 7:15 p.m. Dinner
Black-tie optional
$75 per person / $650 reserved corporate or group table of eight
Watch your mail for formal invitation or make your reservations with MasterCard/Visa here.
| See other entries filed in: Chamber Centennial Celebration, Chamber Events 
Posted by Bob Gernert on August 30, 2010 at 8:46 am
BARTOW, Fla. (August 27, 2010) – The Central Florida Development Council is encouraging all small and minority-owned business in Polk County interested in working with the Florida High Speed Rail project to attend a meeting hosted by the Florida Rail Enterprise division of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm at The Lakeland Center, 701 West Lime Street in Lakeland.
The purpose of this meeting is to provide small and minority-owned businesses an opportunity to learn about the FDOT’s business enterprise goals and certifications required for working on the $1.25 billion (first phase) rail project which will connect Tampa to Orlando with a stop on Interstate 4 in Polk County.
“The FDOT meeting on September 1 is an excellent opportunity for Polk County businesses to learn how they may participate in this major capital project,” said the CFDC’s Executive Director Tom Patton. “There are literally thousands of jobs and millions of dollars at stake during the planning, engineering and construction phases of the High Speed Rail project. Polk County companies need to be at the table to take advantage of this huge opportunity.”
Patton said any potential contractor, vendor or supplier with an interest in the rail project, regardless of size, should attend the afternoon session at The Lakeland Center.
A meeting to inform the general public about the status of the High Speed Rail will follow the small business meeting at 6:30 pm.
| See other entries filed in: Commercial Developments, Transportation, Uncategorized
Posted by Bob Gernert on August 23, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Join your business associates and friends and visit dozens of booths promoting environmentally green products and services for a sustainable Winter Haven at Thursday’s Green Works Expo. Presenting Sponsor is Central Florida Gas with support from QuickBeam Energy. Enjoy refreshments from Red Lobster and Publix and the music of Hunter Smith on guitar. Chuck Roberts with Chastain Skillman will present a special session on Sustainability during the Showcase.
It all takes place at the Orange Dome on Cypress Gardens Boulevard and doors open at 5:30 p.m. There will be door prize drawings, Name Droppers Prize and a $25 handshake award.
You could win a propane powered outdoor fire pit courtesy of Central Florida Gas!
Visit booths by these fine businesses …
Central FL Gas, Presenting Sponsor
QuickBeam Energy, Supporting Sponsor
Blue Lake Citrus (Noble Juice)
Chastain – Skillman
City of Winter Haven
Collman & Karsky Architects
Florida Refuse
Furr & Wegman
Greenovative Design & Engineering
Hill Nissan
Jarrett-Gordon Ford
Keller Komfort Radiant Systems
Konica Minolta
The Ledger Media Group
Magnify Credit Union
McGee Tire
Polk County Waste Resource Management
Polk State College
Reno Power
Sherwin-Williams
Stewart Auto Repair
State Farm
Tampa Electric Company
The Lawn Crew
Tucker Construction
Wallis Murphey Boyington
Wal-Mart
Winter Haven Honda
Wyndsor Lighting
The Winter Haven Hospital Blood Mobile will be on site accepting bright red donations.
RSVP HERE!
The Green Works Expo is a project of the City of Winter Haven and the
Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce
| See other entries filed in: Chamber Events, City of Winter Haven, Technology
Posted by Bob Gernert on August 21, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Community National Bank At Bartow, Bartow, Florida, and Independent National Bank, Ocala, Florida, were closed Friday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which then appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver for the two banks. To protect depositors, the FDIC entered into purchase and assumption agreements with CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association, Winter Haven, Florida, to assume all the deposits and essentially all the assets of the two failed banks, which were not affiliated with one another.
Collectively, the failed banks operated five branches, which will reopen as branches of CenterState Bank of Florida, N.A. under their normal business hours, including those offices with Saturday hours. Community National Bank At Bartow has one branch, and Independent National Bank has four branches. Depositors will automatically become depositors of CenterState Bank of Florida, N.A. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage.
Customers of the two failed banks should continue to use their former branches until they receive notice from CenterState Bank of Florida, N.A. that it has completed systems changes to allow other CenterState Bank of Florida, N.A. branches to process their accounts as well. Over the weekend, depositors can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
As of June 30, 2010, Community National Bank At Bartow had total assets of $67.9 million and total deposits of $63.7 million; and Independent National Bank had total assets of $156.2 million and total deposits of $141.9 million. CenterState Bank of Florida, N.A. did not pay the FDIC a premium for the deposits of the two failed banks.
Customers who have questions about today’s transactions can call the FDIC toll free: for Community National Bank At Bartow customers, 1-800-450-5668; and for Independent National Bank customers, 1-800-913-3058. The phone numbers will be operational on today from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT; on Sunday from noon until 6:00 p.m. EDT; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EDT.
| See other entries filed in: Commercial Developments, Financial Industry
Posted by Bob Gernert on at 1:20 pm
Sunset on Lake Shipp as photographed from the Lulu/Shipp canal on the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes – August 18, 2010
Photo by Nick Gernert
| See other entries filed in: Chain of Lakes, Perspective
Posted by Bob Gernert on August 5, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Winter Haven, FL (Aug. 5, 2010) – LEGOLAND Florida has chosen PCL Construction Services, Inc. (PCL) as the builders for Florida’s newest family theme park. LEGOLAND® Florida opens in fall 2011 and will be a 145-acre interactive theme park dedicated to families with children between the ages of 2 and 12. With more than 50 rides, shows and attractions, LEGOLAND is geared towards family fun.
Note to area contractors: Due to the high-volume of interested sub-contractors, PCL has created a specific email address to collect proposals. All sub-contracting queries should be sent to PCL via legolandinfo@pcl.com
“Merlin Entertainments Group is confident that PCL is the right company for this enormous job,” said John Ussher, LEGOLAND General Manager of Development. “PCL’s quality standards, along with their attention to detail and incredible safety record make them our company of choice.”
PCL is one of the top entertainment builders in the country according to Engineering News Record Magazine. With over 200 entertainment projects completed by the Orlando district, PCL has a diverse and extensive design build and fast track entertainment background that includes rides, roller coasters, simulators, aquariums, restaurants, retail and support facilities for numerous major Orlando theme parks. PCL is a 104-year-old firm with 27 office locations throughout North America and an annual construction volume exceeding $6 billion.
PCL’s design-build partner for LEGOLAND Florida is Morris Architects, a leader in entertainment design. PCL and Morris have a long and successful history of working together on entertainment projects throughout Central Florida. Founded in 1938, Morris Architects has established itself as an award-winning, planning, and full-service architectural design practice with offices in Orlando, Houston, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Hong Kong.
| See other entries filed in: LEGOLAND® Florida, Merlin Entertainments, Tourism
Posted by Bob Gernert on August 2, 2010 at 10:06 am
GENERAL MANAGER ANNOUNCED FOR LEGOLAND® FLORIDA
Merlin Entertainments today announced Adrian Jones has been appointed as General Manager for the planned new LEGOLAND Florida theme park scheduled to open in Autumn 2011. His duties beginning immediately.
Jones has had a long career within Merlin, most recently as Divisional Director of Midway Attractions in the Western United States, responsible for the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Schaumburg, Illinois, Madame Tussauds Las Vegas and Madame Tussauds Hollywood — the first Madame Tussauds attraction ever to be built from the ground up in 200 years. Jones has worked in leisure attractions for more than 20 years and has done everything from selling ice cream to General Manager, experience which will be very important in opening this very important new attraction for the company.
During the construction phase of LEGOLAND Florida, Jones will work closely with John Ussher, Merlin Entertainments’ General Manager of Global Development for LEGOLAND. “Adrian is a talented manager and we are thrilled that he has accepted the opportunity to run Florida’s newest full-day theme park, and Merlin’s first new LEGOLAND.” said Ussher.
“Having worked for Merlin all over the world, I know the high quality and service standards expected of all our attractions, and I am particularly excited to bring a LEGOLAND park to Florida, the biggest family entertainment centre in the world. I can’t wait to see the expressions on visitors’ faces when they see what we have in store for them,” said Jones. “Merlin is a major global attraction operator with proven expertise in running theme parks and LEGOLAND is a unique and compelling brand for families with young children. Merlin places huge emphasis on guest satisfaction that is unparalleled in this day and age and this is particularly important in this sector.”
Opening in fall 2011, LEGOLAND Florida will be a 145-acre family theme park geared specifically for children ages 2 to 12. There will be more than 50 interactive rides, shows and attractions including amazing LEGO models making it unlike any other attraction in Florida.
Jones is a graduate of Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom and is moving to Florida, with his wife Sarah who is a certified nurse and midwife.
| See other entries filed in: LEGOLAND® Florida, Merlin Entertainments, Tourism
Posted by Bob Gernert on July 13, 2010 at 11:59 am
The Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce will conduct a “LEGOLAND® Florida Host City Forum” for our members on Tuesday, July 20 from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Chamber’s Coleman Auditorium. We have seating for 60. City, County and Polk Tourism representatives will participate.
Topics for discussion will include:
- How can Winter Haven become the best LEGOLAND® host city in the world.
- How do we best prepare to serve families with children 2 to 12 years old.
- How do we preserve and enhance our entryways and prevent “visual chaos.”
- How do we enhance our ability to make the Chain of Lakes a part of the visitor experience.
- How we can be an effective marketing partner of the Central Florida visiting experience.
Participation is limited to two persons per member organization to ensure the diversity of the forum input. Our tourism-related (hotels, restaurants, attractions) industries are encouraged to participate.
RSVP is required to attend.
If you have questions or issues you feel should be discussed, please email them to chamber1@winterhavenfl.com.
| See other entries filed in: Chamber Events, City of Winter Haven, Commercial Developments, Economic Development, LEGOLAND® Florida, Tourism
Posted by Bob Gernert on July 8, 2010 at 6:04 pm
LEGOLAND Florida made a stunning preview debut to crowds of families with children as the colorful bricks were on display as both models … and more importantly, playthings. Throngs of interested area residents jammed the landmark Orange Dome to view actual models of the park, complex LEGO models that will grace the park and help to create a mural of the upcoming entrance to LEGOLAND Florida. LEGOLAND Parks CEO John Jakobsen and LEGOLAND Parks Developer John Ussher were on hand to meet and talk with the crowd.
Observations of Chamber Communications Manager Andrea Cruz:
Within 15 minutes of this open house, the place was packed; within 30-45 minutes, easily 1,000 people or more had come through the doors; an hour and a half later, easily 2,000.
The LEGOLAND community meet and greet featured life-size models of Darth Vader, Bob the Builder, Thomas the Tank and other scaled-down models, including a dinosaur and lots of LEGO people.
The centerpiece of the Orange Dome was “The Thinker” – he drew lots of attention and truly was a “model,” as many had their photos taken with him.
The White House scaled model that was on display is the original from LEGOLAND California. It came out to Florida for this event and will go back to California, AND eventually return and be a permanent fixture in the LEGOLAND Florida park.
Other fixtures in the room included before and after photos of artist’s renderings of certain areas of the former Cypress Gardens park, certain buildings, etc. Of course there was the LEGO building area where people worked on different pieces of what is to be a larger mural, and the stage and monitors with running video of the other LEGOLAND parks, showing the rides and happy people.
Managing Director of LEGOLAND Parks John Jakobsen and General Manager of LEGOLAND Development John Ussher spoke to the crowds. Ussher answered the most burning and frequent questions they receive, to quell any rumors and verify others. Those issues included: botanical gardens, ski show, access for nearby neighborhood, the Starliner and whether they are buying the land across the street.
The crowd applauded when Ussher said they were keeping the botanical gardens of the original Cypress Gardens park.
Regarding the ski show – Ussher said: “Will there be a ski show? Of course, it’s Florida! Of course there will be a ski show!” Again, applause and laughter.
He told the crowds there will be separate road(s) constructed for the neighborhood that is next to the park to ease worries about in-and-out access.
Ussher assured everyone the waterpark would open hopefully sometime in the Spring 2012. The Starliner will be preserved, although they haven’t found a home for it yet, they’ve found a safe place to store it while they find a home – Ussher said the Starliner didn’t quite fit in with the LEGOLAND parks and themes.
Finally, he assured the crowd they are not buying the land across the street (currently a shopping plaza with a K-Mart and Publix among other stores).
I asked a few children what they were more excited for — the LEGOS or the rides and it was pretty much 50/50, or I got the response of “both.”
Congratulations to LEGOLAND officials for an entertaining and informative evening. Welcome to Winter Haven! The park is scheduled to open in Fall 2011.
Obviously a good time was had by all …
| See other entries filed in: LEGOLAND® Florida, Merlin Entertainments, Tourism
Posted by Bob Gernert on July 6, 2010 at 4:09 pm
LEGOLAND officials have released more details of Thursday night’s open house …
WHAT: On Thursday, July 8, 2010 LEGOLAND® Florida is hosting a community open house to meet with area residents about Central Florida’s newest theme park. This open house-style event is intended to acquaint local residents with LEGOLAND Florida and how it will impact Central Florida. Attendees will come face to face with amazing LEGO® models, view Park concepts, ask questions and hear about job opportunities. Managing Director of LEGOLAND Parks John Jakobsen, General Manager of LEGOLAND Development John Ussher, Sales & Marketing Director Kim Isemann and Human Resources Director Kim Clark will be on hand to answer questions.
During the event, guests will have the unique opportunity to help build a giant LEGO mural depicting the front entrance of LEGOLAND Florida. When complete, the mural will be 9 feet wide and 5 feet tall created out of 35,000 LEGO bricks.
WHEN: Thursday, July 8, 2010 4 – 7 p.m.
WHERE: The Orange Dome - 150 Cypress Gardens Blvd.
VISUALS: LEGO Models of Darth VaderTM, Bob the BuilderTM, Thomas the Tank EngineTM, a miniature version of the White House – which will be the Florida park’s first permanent model – and more
Attendees building LEGO mural out of 35,000 LEGO bricks
Graphics showing the exciting plans for LEGOLAND Florida; the new family theme park opening fall 2011.
| See other entries filed in: LEGOLAND® Florida, Merlin Entertainments, Tourism
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