Florida Monthly magazine officially crowns Vero Beach as Florida's "Friendliest Small Town"

Florida Monthly magazine names Vero Beach as the state's official "Friendliest Small Town" in its "Florida's Best Of 2011" special edition September issue. Overall, 14 Indian River County, Florida attractions and businesses received accolades which include, McKee Botanical Garden, the Environmental Learning Center, the Vero Beach High School Athletics Program, the Vero Beach Book Center, Deep Six Watersports, the Vero Beach Museum of Art and the Sebastian Inlet State Park.

More than 115,000 print subscribers of Florida Monthly magazine participated in the 16th annual competition as they nominated their Florida favorites across 139 different categories. Readers write in their choice in each category and then submit their selection via e-mail or snail mail to publisher Doug Cifers. The Altamonte Springs based magazine collates the results and announces the winners in its September edition which is out now.
"We have some people who have participated in this every year since the first year," said Cifers. "And most of the time, you can attribute that to a very aggressive marketing campaign by a local chamber of commerce."

Tourism Director Susan Hunt at the Indian River Chamber of Commerce took action and encouraged local organizations to participate in this year's contest. Hunt e-mailed all of the chamber's members and asked them to submit names for consideration.

"We asked people to support our community by sending in nominations for the 'Best of Florida' contest," said Hunt. "And then we encouraged our businesses to have their customers go on-line and vote for them."

Cifers said that many organizations and businesses ask their customers to go to the Florida Monthly magazine website to vote for them.
"The whole idea is to provide a third-party endorsement," said Cifers. "We really have a lot of fun with this contest, and it's amazing the kind of nominations we receive. For years, we had a category called 'Best Hospital Food' and you would be surprised how many hospitals were competing with one another to win."

Winners of Florida Monthly's "Best Of 2011"survey receive a certificate and are profiled in the September edition. Florida Monthly is only available for purchase by subscription or through FloridaMagazine.com and cannot be found on any newsstand.

For a complete list of winners, go to http://floridamagazine.com/bestof2011.html

Website of the week: Beach Hunter

 

Happy Labor Day everyone. If you are planning a beach weekend getaway then this weeks website BeachHunter.net is definitely an online destination you are going to want to check out. The Beach Hunter website offers a great amount of useful information from what the Gulf temperature is to what to watch out for so your day doesn't end in injury. Be safe, have fun, and we'll see you on the sand!

Previous Websites of the week:
Girls Drink Free
Streamline Hotel
Buddies Golf Getaway
Zip Orlando  
More...

Photo Friday! 9/2/2011

Welcome to St. Petersburg's most unique landmark, the St. Pete Pier. Know by locals simply as "The Pier" is a great tourist destination where you can find an aquarium, souvenir shops, fast food, upscale dining, bars, and even an observation deck on the top floor that has a 360 degree view of Tampa Bay. I always enjoy stopping by for a refreshing cold beverage and taking in the sights.

If you ask us, we think this would make a pretty nice background image on your computer. What do you say? Simply right click with your mouse and choose 'Set As Desktop Background...'

For personal use only. All rights reserved ©Dana Nichols 06/07/1987

Previous Photo Fridays:
8/26/2011
8/19/2011
8/12/2011
8/5/2011
More...

Get Your Social On

Gov. Rick Scott gets serious in St. Augustine

Gov. Rick Scott shared his thoughts early this week on how he plans on attracting hundreds more statewide jobs. Scott, appeared showed face at Markland House in St. Augustine relaxed yet upbeat as he met with two dozen local business and political leaders from St. Johns County.

"We've had a wonderful (legislative) session this year," Scott said. Some the administration's accomplishments include the elimination of tenure so Florida can keep "the best teachers," lower corporate and property taxes, cutting $700 million from water management district budgets and a continuing effort to free business from excessive regulation and "frivolous lawsuits."
"We want to stick to our core mission and eliminate those things that would be nice to have but don't need," he said. "We're very focused on jobs. We want to ensure by cuts in corporate tax rates that businesses will want to locate in this state."

Scott briefly mentioned Florida's unemployment rate had been 12.6 percent is now down to 10.6 percent. But according to the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce unemployment is about 8.2 percent. Business leaders asked Scott to come and highlight business opportunities in St. Johns County, said Norm Gregory, vice president of economic development for the Economic Development Council. "Overall he was very positive, very directed and focused on doing what is necessary to increase employment on St. Johns County," Gregory said. "He wanted business leaders to give him an idea about what is hampering or holding back growth."
Wayne Robison, a business leader for Rulon Co., a manufacturing company that sells its products internationally, said there was a "lot of (business) opportunity" in Florida. Robison told Scott he'd like to see lower taxes on new machinery purchases so he could expand production. "The state (taxes) are onerous and overbearing," Robison said. "Businesses our size would love to come here. It's a no-brainer to give them a tax incentive."

According to Scott, Florida increasing its manufacturing, shipping capacity and relationships with the military. "In 2014, Miami will be the first port (on the East Coast) ready for the new Panama Canal," he said. Scott is serious about increasing the job market and working close with business owners. "If any of you have any issues with one of our state agencies, call me. If there are mandates coming out of the state that don't make sense, call me. We're very focused on solving problems," Scott said. And without hesitation, Scott gave out his direct line in Tallahassee: (850) 488-5603.

"We're the nation's fourth biggest exporter and have the third largest number of tech companies, and nobody knows that," Scott said. "(Taxpayers) are expecting government to become more efficient, just like people's businesses are doing. Federal programs have not been successful. There's no more money left. Next year's election is going to be about jobs."

Website of the week: Girls Drink Free

We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. But now that it is time to get back to work, we thought it would be an appropriate opportunity to let you all know that you have something to look forward to. Ladies, it doesn't get any better than free drinks any day of the week. Guys, go ahead and take that special somebody out for a good time and save some scratch at the same time. Be sure to do two things. Bookmark Girls Drink Free, and tell the bartender "I found your bar on GirlsDrinkFree.com"

Enjoy responsibly.

Previous Websites of the week:
Streamline Hotel
Buddies Golf Getaway
Zip Orlando 


Help us improve our services by participating in our Social Study

Get Your Social On