Community Bulletin and Business Briefs

Community Bulletin

Greg Harrison, a Realtor at RE/MAX 200 Realty in Winter Park, was recently recognized in the national magazine Field and Stream as a ‘Hero of Conservation’ for his work on a local oyster restoration project. Harrison worked with the Nature Conservancy on a project that uses oyster “mats” to restore damaged oyster reefs in Mosquito Lagoon.

The fourth annual Harriett’s Park Avenue Fashion Week, which starts Monday, Oct. 18, is taking the excitement to the entire design community with a People’s Choice Designer Award. Designers who are not able to participate in the Emerging Designer Competition can get fabulous online exposure by visiting the homepage of the site and following the simple instructions. The winner (have friends and family vote on the website) gets a $100 visa gift card! Designers should submit their collections to www.parkavenuefashionweek.com

Dr. Phillips charities has awarded $2.2 million to YMCA building on a 30-year philanthropic legacy. The grant will provide funding to help children and teens in the community learn, grow and thrive through programs in 25 family centers that encourage making smarter life choices, sharing with friends, building character, learning good sportsmanship and, most importantly achieving their highest potential.

For more information, visit www.centralfloridaymca.org

A strong woman who battled health and financial issues and the loss of family members while earning her degree, a mother who at a late age discovered her passion for education, and a woman teaching the value of education, perseverance and dedication to the community are just some of the more than 800 inspiring graduates who received their college diploma at the University of Phoenix’s Central Florida Maitland campus on Saturday, Sept. 25 at Amway Arena. For additional information about the University of Phoenix, call 407-667-0555 or visit www.phoenix.edu.

Rosen Hotels & Resorts is recognizing Pinktober 2010 by offering a special nightly rate at each of its three award-winning convention hotels: AAA Four Diamond Rosen Shingle Creek, Rosen Centre and Rosen Plaza. The company will donate 3 percent of each room night sold to the Central Florida Chapter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The special “Sleepover for the Cure” package is available for select dates now through Dec. 31. For more information on the special rates or to book reservations, guests may call 866-996-6338 and ask for the “Sleepover for the Cure” available dates or visit www.rosensleepoverforthecure.com.

Habitat for Humanity Orlando recently held its annual fundraiser, the “Who Will Build It?” breakfast at All Saints Church in Winter Park. Nearly 250 people attended the event, raising more than $50,000 to help build homes for low-income families.

Bright House Networks customers in Orange and Seminole counties now have the opportunity to be among the first consumers in the nation to experience a next-generation cable modem technology known as wideband. Bright House Networks is officially launching the new service under the product name Road Runner Lightning.

Customers can register for Road Runner Lightning service online at www.brighthouse.com/rrlightning or by calling 1-877-892-EASY.

The locally owned Original Champs Café Orlando opened the first and only restaurant inside the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (LYNX) Terminal on Monday, Oct. 4. The Original Champs Café Orlando will offer breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday in a casual setting. To view a sample menu, please visit www.golynx.com.

More than 11,000 Greater Orlando area residents participated in the American Heart Association’s Start! Heart Walk at Loch Haven Park on Saturday, Oct. 2. The annual event set a campaign record, raising more than $1 million to fight heart disease and stroke, America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers. For more information, visit HEART.org or contact your American Heart Association at 407-481-6380.

Business Briefs

With 1 million square feet of retail projects currently under way, the Central Florida office of SIKON Construction in Maitland, announced the company currently ranks as the largest South Florida-based and second largest Florida-based retail shell contractor, according to Retail Traffic magazine’s “2010 Top Contractors” survey, published August 2010.

Altamonte Springs-based Randall Mechanical Inc. is under way on $6.5 million of campus-wide mechanical system upgrades at Orange County Public Schools’ University High School in Orlando, FL.

NAI Realvest recently negotiated three lease agreements totaling 9,140 square feet of office space at University Court, 3361 Rouse Road, off University Blvd. in East Orlando.

Olde Town Brokers, a leader in Central Florida residential real estate services, is pleased to announce that Steve Miller has joined their Thornton Park sales team.

O,R&L Facility Services, a Winter Park-based facility management and maintenance company, was recently awarded a janitorial maintenance contract from the City of Orlando for Harry P. Leu Gardens, 1920 N. Forest Ave., and the Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 E. Princeton St.

Nationally renowned and well-respected pediatric orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Raymund Woo recently joined the Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children as the medical director of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Program.

AthenaPowerLink is pleased to announce the appointment of Jean Seawright, president of Seawright & Associates, to the governing board of the entrepreneur advisory organization based at Rollins College.

Marketplace Advisors recently negotiated a lease agreement for 1,400 square feet of retail space at Shoppes at Aloma Walk, a new Publix-anchored shopping center located on Aloma Avenue at Highway 417 in Seminole County.

Mercantile Capital Corporation LLC, the 7-year-old Altamonte Springs firm that specializes in U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans for small businesses, expects to finance a total of more than $140 million in 2010 projects.