Consisting of 16 state chapters, the Sarasota-based organization Florida Swimming Pool Association (FSPA) provides government relations representation on behalf of its members, including the Florida Building Commission, the Construction Industry Licensing Board, as well as other legislative bodies that regulate the swimming pool industry in Florida, i.e. the Department of Health. Every year, the FSPA hosts an annual awards competition, giving its members an opportunity to enter their latest, and most spectacular work. The Design Awards committee—made up of decorated professionals in the pool industry—judged, and selected, the projects based on workmanship, soundness of design, beauty, practicality and safety. 

The 2019 Design winners were recently announced, with nine companies across Florida taking home awards of pool building excellence this year at Everything Under the Sun Expo in Orlando. Seventeen awards were handed out during the event, based on the judges’ panel review. “The FSPA Design Awards recognizes some of the best pools being built in Florida by FSPA members,” says Executive Director Wendy Parker Barsell. “The craftsmanship, excellence and quality seen in these pools, spas and water features are a true testament to the builders.”

Categories customized for Florida pool construction divide the entries by size, type of construction and features. While ‘Best in Show’ was awarded to Almar Jackson Pools of Jupiter, FL, a number of local builders included Coast to Coast Pools of Sarasota, Superior Pools of Southwest Florida in Port Charlotte, AquaTech Pools GC of Nokomis and Tampa Bay Pools in Brandon. AquaTech represented the Gulf Coast, earning a Silver in the ‘Vanishing Edge’ infinity pool category. Superior Pools earned a Bronze in the ‘Pool/Spa Combination 701+ sq. ft.’ category, while both AquaTech and Coast to Coast captured awards in the ‘Residential Pool 701+ sq. ft.’ category. Award-winning pools are being submitted to national industry magazines for publication. 

Throughout the year, FSPA remains a beneficial online resource for recreational and commercial pools alike. Providing industry expertise and access to maintenance education and information on current trends and issues, pool owners can use its to help with the following: 

• Weather and hurricane preparations/precautions (storm drainage, sufficient water levels, removing debris, reactivation, etc.)
• Chemical care to prevent colonies of algae spores with appropriate chlorine concentration and pH scales
• Finding a licensed contractor/builder, and hiring a pool professional
• Basic sun safety
• Energy-efficiency and new energy requirements for pool pumps
• “Winterizing” pools in Florida
• Helpful FAQ’s (how to keep pools running, pool finishes and lights, vacuuming and skimming the pool, dealing with evaporations or leaks, etc.)

Photo of AquaTech's 'Vanishing Edge' pool, courtesy of Florida Swimming Pool Association.

In an intimate media tasting that took place in their brightly lit third-floor event space, Sage staff unveiled a tantalizing array of Chef Chris Covelli’s prototypes of dishes from new, far-flung places that will add even more variety to Sage’s global repertoire. From Spain, an Andalusian gazpacho with a tomato tang and a light, garlicky aftertaste—a refreshing dish for sweaty days to come. Sweden enters the Sage experiment by way of Swedish meatballs that can be ordered a la carte or added to a salad. An Asian-inspired sea bass, cooked and served in clear parchment paper, features a delicate cut of fish submerged in Covelli’s expertly prepared miso broth that shows off his culinary experience in Japan. “We want to touch every country,” he says.

The pursuit of elevated dining also makes its way up the elevator to the rooftop bar, where spirits alchemist Connor Bert has devised inspired cocktails like the Ciel de Lavande, a refined gin cocktail topped with lavender and rose that satisfies as much as an aromatherapy potion as it does as a smile-inducing beverage. Bert also showed off his titular flair with The Deadline, featuring a house-infused butterfly pea flower gin medley, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice and rhubarb bitters. 

Pictured: The Deadline, a new summer cocktail at Sage restaurant. Photo by Andrew Fabian.

Sage, 1216 1st St., Sarasota, 941-445-5660.

Bavaro's Pizza Napoletana & Pastaria has officially opened at 27 Fletcher Avenue in Downtown Sarasota. Set in a beautifully restored historic building off of Main Street, East of 301, this 150-seat restaurant serves lunch and dinner seven days a week. The restaurant will also have live music on the outside patio, catering options and private room availability.

Bavaro’s opened the original restaurant in March 2009 as the first traditional Neapolitan Pizzeria in the state of Florida. From a restaurant in downtown Tampa that seats 50 guests to a global brand, Bavaro’s can be found in St. Petersburg, the Tampa International Airport, and now Sarasota.

Bavaro’s Sarasota is open daily from 11am to 10pm and Friday and Saturdays until 11pm. 

Bavaro's Pizza Napoletana & Pastaria

On Earth Day, April 22, JMX Brands, the niche online retailer with the flagship Amish furniture brand DutchCrafters, applied to join the Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC). JMX Brands also runs the eco-friendly and sustainable furniture and home décor website Eco Friendly Digs. The application was accepted on April 24, making DutchCrafters the first Amish furniture retailer accepted to the organization that helps companies reduce their environmental footprints and connect consumers with healthy furnishings.

This year DutchCrafters has committed to taking the following steps toward fulfilling its pledge: have an energy audit conducted at its Sarasota office to identify ways to reduce consumption, implement best practices and continually monitor; internally audit vendors’ sourcing practices to begin to develop plans to improve sustainability; identify areas the company is already making a difference with ecological sustainability and where improvement can occur; and begin development of a multi-year plan to reduce environmental footprint. 

JMX Brands

At this year’s State of Talent Conference, which invites speakers from all over the world to discuss the latest trends in human resources, with recruitment, employee development and retention being key topics, SouthTech was named Workforce Excellence Business Partner of the Year.

The award is given to organizations that invest time and resources to workforce and community development, and recipients are chosen by a panel of judges. SouthTech employs nearly 50 full-time employees, and many of those roles are held by individuals that first started at SouthTech as apprentices working through a 90-day program developed by senior engineers to prepare them for a full-time position. Apprentices are typically students fulfilling a credit requirement from a local institution, but this is not always the case.

The SOTC is presented by Career Source Suncoast, a nonprofit to help businesses grow by providing workforce solutions for talent recruitment and development and helping job seekers and workers manage their careers. 

SouthTech

The Historic Circus Museum at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art will be receiving a facelift this summer. Plans to update the galleries, reinstall exhibits and give the museum a new coat of paint will begin June 1, when the building closes with a reopening planned for Fall 2019.

The renovation will provide the opportunity to showcase items from the Circus Collection that have not been displayed in many years and to update the presentation of historic wagons and other historic artifacts from the history of the circus, including the 1905 Wisconsin Pullman Car. The lavish Wisconsin served as the personal train car for John and Mable Ringling as they traveled across North America. And a new installation of many of the museum’s wagons will include additional information about Sarasota’s role as the historic Winter Quarters for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

In the meantime, visitors can still enjoy the Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center at The Ringling, home to the Howard Bros. Circus Model, the world’s largest miniature circus, and The Greatest Show on Earth Mural painted by William Woodward as well the family-friendly interactive exhibits exploring the history of the circus arts. 

The Historic Circus Museum