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Need to catch up on Southwest Florida business news? No problem. Here are the top stories of the week pulled from our daily newsletter, Gulfshore Business Daily.

Friday, January 11

LEE CLERK OF COURT SERVICES EXPAND IN BONITA SPRINGS

Lee County Clerk of Court Linda Doggett has partnered with Tax Collector Larry Hart to begin providing the clerk’s recording services directly from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the 25987 S. Tamiami Trail office in Bonita Springs. Deeds, mortgages, notice of commencements and all other official records can be recorded at the new location. Couples can apply for marriage licenses as well as get married at the office. Customers can also apply for passports and have their passport photos taken. Additional clerk services may be added in the future. For more information, visit leeclerk.org.

Thursday, January 10

PGD YEAR-END PASSENGER TRAFFIC UP

The Charlotte County Airport Authority (CCAA) has announced the Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) passenger count for 2018 totaled 1.577 million. This is a 21.95 percent increase in passenger traffic for 2018 compared with 1.293 million total passengers in 2017. The total passenger count for December was 131,423. There were 62,617 boarding passengers and 68,806 arriving passengers, a 2.36 percent increase over December 2017. The total annual passenger count has continued to increase each year.

In 2019, the CCAA will continue working toward the rehabilitation and expansion of Runways 15-33 and 14-22, and will break ground on a new General Aviation Center off Challenger Road at the north end of the airport. For more information, visit www.flypgd.com.

Wednesday, January 9

CHARLOTTE COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX COLLECTIONS INCREASES FOR NOVEMBER

The Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau announced Charlotte County Tourist Development Tax (TDT) revenues collected during November 2018 totaled $198,701. This reflects a 4.8 percent increase over November 2017’s collections of $168,306. October 2018’s collections were up 6.3 percent over October 2017’s collections.

The tourism bureau supported and/or facilitated several events which brought in overnight visitors, such as the beginning of the AAU Pickleball National Championship, Big Orange Music Festival, Englewood Beach WaterFest, Mind Abair’s Punta Gorda Wine & Music Festival, and Prostyle Baseball Sunshine Classic. Overnight attendees of Englewood Beach WaterFest stayed an estimated 7.8 nights in Charlotte County and occupied 6,930 room nights in local accommodations, according to commissioned research conducted by Downs & St. German Research of Tallahassee.

During fiscal year 2017-18, TDT collections totaled more than $4.1 million. During calendar year 2017, Charlotte County welcomed an estimated 422,500 visitors, tourism generated an estimated $380,841,400 in direct expenditures, and made an estimated $580,783,200 million economic impact.

Tuesday, January 8

21ST CENTURY ONCOLOGY HIRES COO

21st Century Oncology appointed Charlie Powell as chief operating officer on Jan. 1. Powell has a background in physician practice, ambulatory facility and hospital leadership experience in health systems, as well as private practices. 

Powell joins 21st Century Oncology from KentuckyOne Health in Louisville, Kentucky, where he served as the president, physician enterprise and ambulatory for Sts. Mary and Elizabeth Hospital. In these positions, Powell improved patient satisfaction and quality measures, hospital operating performance, and achieved the top quartile CG-CAHPS access scores in the medical group, according to a press release.

Powell has also held positions at Saint Thomas Health in Nashville as CEO, physician services and CEO, Saint Thomas Heart. He also served as CEO, Northeast Georgia Heart Center in Gainesville, Georgia, and COO, Piedmont HealthCare in Statesville, North Carolina. Powell holds master’s degrees in business administration and health administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee.

He is a certified public accountant, certified medical practice executive, and fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. 

Monday, January 

ANNUAL HORIZON COUNCIL MEETING SET

The Horizon Council, Horizon Foundation and the Lee County Economic Development Office will host the 2019 Annual Meeting on Jan. 18 at The Broadway Palm Dinner Theater in Fort Myers. Networking and lunch will begin at 11 a.m. with the program starting at 11:30 a.m.

Business and community professionals are invited to recognize outgoing council officers for their contributions and welcome new 2019 officers. The keynote speaker is Joe Lacy, managing director of Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Co., LLC (BLS).

Lacy has been with BLS since 1998, serving as a project manager for large-scale and nationally based corporate clients. He specializes in structuring and implementing corporate incentive packages and financing arrangements. To register, visit www.LeeCoEDO.eventbrite.com.

In other news…

Here are some top tips for successful decision-making. 

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