The Sarasota Young Professionals Group in August surveyed its members about what expectations in terms of housing options for the region. The group, a program of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, released results in an extended infographic last month, including these responses on the type of housing and anticipated cost. 

To see the full graphic, click here

The Parade of Homes has become more than just a showcase for beautiful houses built by members of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association. With an 18-percent increase in the number of homes involved this year over last, leadership for the organization has come to view the two-week event as a metric on industry confidence. “The Parade of Homes specifically was designed as a marketing tool we created for our members, but the event has become a bellwether of how the economy is coming along,” said Jon Mast, CEO for the Manatee-Sarasota BIA.

There were more than 6,000 new homes contracted in Manatee and Sarasota counties, according to the BIA, creating tens of thousands of jobs in the region. “The creation of more than 6,000 new homes last year in Sarasota and Manatee counties adds millions to the existing tax base,” said Jimmy Stewart, Stock Development president and president of the BIA. “And that is before the sales, gas and other taxes are included, along with the economic impact of thousands of workers spending in the community. It’s nice to see that our market is leading the state." 

The 18-percent growth in participation, to Mast, shows a boost not just in the number of builders doing business, but who are putting out high-end product worthy or award consideration. That seems an especially important indicator when you realize there has been a 70-percent increase in the number of participating homes over 2013.

Quality of work has also gone up this year, Mast said, with plenty of builders excited to take home honors. Jon Cannon Homes won four Best Overall awards this year in the design category while Neal Communities, Lee Wetherington Homes, Medallion Homes and Homes by Towne each took two Best Overall awards each in certain price categories. Mattamy Homes, M/I Homes and Palma Sola Bay Development each won two Best Overall awards for designs of condominiums. In best pools, Coast to Coast won seven awards, ArtisTree Landscape won four and Trent Culleny Landscape Contractor won three. 

Photo Courtest BIA: Lisa Marie Burgess picks up an award for John Cannon Homes at the Parade of Homes Gala on March 3 at the Hyatt Regency.

Photographer Christie Frankenstein started making custom picture frames to stay competitive in the portrait world, but struggled at first to have a good profit margin on that service, Then she and husband Jens figured a system to use magnets for interchangeable frames, and Thistle & Poppy was born. Now the product is patent pending, and business has grown so much that Frankenstein has leased out warehouse space in Bradenton and hired three people to meet orders.

How did the idea for interchangeable photo frames first come about? My husband would always tell me how the framing side of our business was not profitable. I was hand-making and hand-painting every piece. So we were looking for a way to streamline [the process] to make money. We figured out this snap point system, got rid of the glass and backing and the framer points. Then we just stumbled upon this magnetic idea—he just had these magnets on a work bench—and realized it was much easier to take frames off and not waste time.

The company markets the customizable nature of these. How do you maintain so many options for frames? I always wanted to hold onto as many options as possible. Limiting myself to 15 color options was the biggest struggle of my business career. We have 5x7, 8x10 and 4x6 frames, and we offer 10 bases, 19 frame styles and 15 colors, which allows for 4,750 combinations. Once we developed the magnetic idea, we were able to keep all these options and allow people to switch frames as many times as they like. 

Children First hired Dr. Bob Nolan as Child and Family Services manager. Nolan brings nearly 30 years of experience working with at-risk kids and their families in the fields of mental health counseling, behavioral psychology and treatment. Nolan worked as the primary therapist at Cauffield & Associates and as regional clinical director for Family Preservation Services, both of Sarasota. Prior, he served as a counselor and clinical director at other social service organizations including First Step, Manatee Glens (now Centerstone) and Coastal Behavioral Healthcare. The newly created position enables Children First to provide on-site behavioral and mental health services at each of its 13 locations, officials said, meeting a community assessment recently identified as a critical emerging need for the 55-year-old agency. 

Children First

The School District of Manatee County named Angela Lindsey as the new principal at Johnson Middle School and Rosa Daughtry as the new principal at Sugg Middle School. Lindsey and Daughtry had been serving as interim principals at their respective schools while the district conducted a formal hiring process. Lindsey served as assistant principal at Johnson for two years before being named interim principal in 2015. Daughtry served as assistant principal at Southeast High School from 2009 to 2015. 

Manatee County School District