As Port Manatee’s size and reputation have grown, so have security needs. But a new $1.4 million federal investment should enhance both safety and efficiency at the Palmetto facility.

“It is very important that we keep port security updated not only to be able to help our customers but also to keep our Port safe,” said Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, Port Manatee Port Authority chair.

A federal grant of $1,425,000, matched with $475,000 in local funding, will move forward three projects at the port. A full $1 million will go toward expanding the south security gate into a full-service complex. The gate will now have four lanes and the capacity to handle a full spectrum of transactions.

This comes on top of Port Manatee working on similar upgrades to the north security gate complex. Some $1.7 million in prior federal grants supported that wave of projects.

“Since initial installation of the present port security system in 2010, Port Manatee’s gate activity has tripled, to the current annual pace of 750,000 transactions,” said David St. Pierre, public safety and security director. “These grant monies, along with federal awards in preceding years, allow Port Manatee to stay at the leading edge of port security while accommodating escalating amounts of cargo.”

Another $750,000 will go toward upgrading technology, including new video and access controls to use a common operating platform, as well as modernizing all software. The final $150,000 will go to upgrade existing emergency alarm systems. Port officials say the grant requires all those upgrades to be completed within a three-year time.

Officials say in addition to providing general security, the upgrades all help keep the port in a leadership role compared to other facilities.

“Our Port Security team travels to different ports in the Americas teaching other security teams the best techniques,” Baugh said. “We are proud to be known as having one of the best security departments in the nation.” 

Photo courtesy Port Manatee: Entry gates to Palmetto facilities will see significant upgrades.

Firmo Construction is a local, sustainable construction management firm known for their innovative build projects, such as the expansion of Rosemary Square in downtown Sarasota, the ground up build of Hampton Inn and Suites by SRQ Airport, and the build-outs for White Sands Physical Therapy and Center For Sight. With the current growth of local and surrounding areas, Firmo has been expanding its expertise towards the Southern Gulf Coast region.

Recently, the Firmo team completed the revitalization of a Cove Communities property in Camelot Village in Sarasota. The project, driven with Firmo’s design-build approach to refurbish and upgrade multiple interior and exterior spaces, has allowed their work with Cove to evolve into an ongoing partnership across more of their locations in Ruskin, Ft. Myers, and Ocala.

Firmo Construction has also announced their newest opportunity in the region with the construction of a new Avid Hotel in Ft. Myers. Avid Hotels are a new Holiday Inn franchise and Firmo will be one of the first to bring an Avid to the Southern Gulf Coast region. Groundbreaking for the 119-room, 4-story structure will begin in four months.

Photo: A before and after image of a Cove Communities property in Camelot Village. 

Firmo Construction | 205 N. Orange Ave., Ste. 301, Sarasota | 941-917-0494

Firmo Construction Website

FPRA state president Gordon Paulus recognized CWC-FPRA with the President's Award for Membership, making special note of the local chapter's new member numbers, multi-faceted retention efforts and numerous networking opportunities to keep members engaged with the chapter and one another. CWC-FPRA board member Eleni Kouvatsos was named to the 2019 Joe Curley Rising Leader Class, which recognizes and honors up-and-coming leaders in regional chapters.

For a full list of local winners, including the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, The Eclipse Agency, Wordslinger Marketing & PR, Visit Sarasota County and more, follow the website below.

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The Central West Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (CWC-FPRA) was recognized during FPRA’s 81st annual conference in Tampa. Chapter members were recognized for excellence in public relations programs and for leadership; the chapter also earned a prestigious collective honor. During the Golden Image Awards, chapter members earned 16 awards—one of its best showings at the state level in the chapter's history.

FPRA state president Gordon Paulus recognized CWC-FPRA with the President's Award for Membership, making special note of the local chapter's new member numbers, multi-faceted retention efforts and numerous networking opportunities to keep members engaged with the chapter and one another. CWC-FPRA board member Eleni Kouvatsos was named to the 2019 Joe Curley Rising Leader Class, which recognizes and honors up-and-coming leaders in regional chapters.

For a full list of local winners, including the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, The Eclipse Agency, Wordslinger Marketing & PR, Visit Sarasota County and more, follow the website below. 

CWC-FPRA Winners

Williams Parker has announced that attorney Jamie E. Koepsel has been selected as one of the FICPA 2019-2020 Emerging Leaders. Koepsel focuses on corporate and tax law. His experience includes handling federal and state tax issues for individual and business clients. Koepsel earned an LL.M in taxation and his law degree from the University of Florida and graduated with a B.B.A in Accountancy and a second major in English from the University of Notre Dame. He received an Estate Planning Certificate and multiple book awards from the University of Florida College of Law. 

Williams Parker

The Hermitage Artist Retreat will present a “Sunset Reading on the Beach,” with poet Melissa Studdard and author Michael J. Seidlinger on August 23, 7pm, on the beach at the Hermitage. Studdard will read poems from her poetry collection, “I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast,” as well as from manuscripts in progress, some of which were created during an April residency at The Hermitage and reflect her time there. Seidlinger will read from a novel-in-progress based on a road trip he took during the summer of 2017. Audience members are invited to bring their own beach chairs and blankets. In case of rain, the event will be moved indoors to the Palm House.  

Studdard is also the author of the young adult novel, Six Weeks to Yehidah, and her work has appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, Harvard Review, Psychology Today and elsewhere, and has received awards, including the The Forward National Literature Award, the International Book Award and the REEL Poetry Festival Audience Choice Award. Seidlinger is a Filipino-American author of a number of books, including My Pet Serial Killer and The Fun We’ve Had. He is an editor at large for Electric Literature and is a member of The Accomplices. In 2012, he founded Civil Coping Mechanisms, an independent press specializing in poetry, hybrid-form fiction and nonfiction. His writing has appeared in Buzzfeed, Forbes and more.

Reservations for this free series are required and can be requested at the website below. 

Hermitage Artist Retreat