We apply business leadership to important community issues.

Welcome to Issue 3 of our digital 2019 quarterly newsletter!  
 
We are continuing to have a very strong year at Argus and the summer was not a sleepy one!

After we took a strong position on keeping the administrative review process in the City of Sarasota, in June and detailing the issue and history with the City Commission, the City rightfully sent the issue to planning staff for a look at the code, not the process.  Now we have seen the dissolution of the organization trying to eliminate economic certainty in downtown.  The no-growth group STOP! has dissolved after the real issue for their creation, eliminating the administrative review process that revitalized downtown Sarasota, was retained by the city.  We would like to thank the majority city commission for seeing through this group and encourage them to continue to address issues with the city code.  

I am pleased that the Argus partnership effort with Sarasota City Commissioner Willie Shaw and CareerEdge from the Sarasota Chamber has seen 7 graduates from the newly created HVAC program.  Last Thursday, seven Newtown students received certificates after express training from the private sector, Cool Today, to repair and maintain HVAC systems.  This will be a generational economic game changer for these students.  They will be meeting a big employment need and their earning potential has dramatically increased.  It was an incredibly moving ceremony full of gratitude, second chances, hope, and opportunity for the future!  Congratulations to them!  
 
I would like to again thank Commissioner Shaw for reaching out to partner with us and especially Mireya Eavey at CareerEdge and the Sarasota Chamber for the immense amount of work she put into this program.  The next program will begin in the spring.
   
We had a very successful quarter of events, with 130 attending our Meet the Minds with Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee and 150 attending the Meet the Minds with Florida Education Commission Richard Corcoran.  Secretary Lee spoke about elections and security while Commissioner Corcoran spoke of accountability in education.  Commissioner Corcoran brought us a surprise guest, the Florida Teacher of the Year, Dr. Dakeyan Chá Dré Graham, or "Dr. Dre" as his students call him, who inspired us with his love for teaching.

This month we have our annual Golf Tournament, our New Member/Past President reception which leads us into our biggest event of the year, our Lifetime Achievement Awards in November.  Join us as we honor former Senate President John McKay and posthumously honor Mote Marine Laboratory scientist, Dr. Eugenie Clark!
   
We appreciate the support of our membership, and I want to thank each member for their leadership and investment in the future of Sarasota County, its municipalities, and our schools! It is your investment that allows us to apply business leadership to important community issues.

Sincerely,

Christine

Christine Robinson
Executive Director 

NEWS
Catch up on our latest news

Secretary of State Laurel Lee talks election security in Sarasota
Russian election system hacking in 2016. A messy trio of statewide recounts in 2018. A new constitutional amendment that automatically restores voting rights to a large group of formerly incarcerated individuals.
Elections are never boring in Florida, but the last few years have seen a slew of controversies and big changes to the state's electoral landscape.
Florida's new chief elections officer, Secretary of State Laurel Lee, told a Sarasota audience Friday that her team has put a lot of effort into ensuring the 2020 elections run smoothly.
"Safe and secure elections are truly the bedrock of our democracy so it is critical to us as elections officials," Lee told a group gathered at Michael's On East for The Argus Foundation event.
Click here to read more.


Florida education commissioner explains scathing letter to Lincoln charter school

Florida's education commissioner, Richard Corcoran, issued a warning to Lincoln Memorial Academy and the Manatee County School District in July, a catalyst for the district takeover of the charter school. 

"I urge you, as superintendent and school board members, to address the serious issues of Lincoln Memorial Academy aggressively and with all due haste," he said on July 16, referencing the school's troubled finances and leadership.

Corcoran shared the reasons for his letter on Wednesday afternoon, after an event hosted by the Argus Foundation. He appeared for the organization's final "Meet the Minds" event of 2019.

Read more here: https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article234962367.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article234962367.html#storylink=cpy


Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran speaks in Sarasota
 
While in Sarasota Wednesday, Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran touted the news he announced the day prior: Florida was again ranked fourth in the nation for K-12 student achievement, according to Education Week's Quality Counts 2019 report.
Corcoran spoke at a Meet the Minds Luncheon at Michael's on East, hosted by the Argus Foundation .
"We're only one of eight states in the last basically decade, who has had massive closure of the achievement gap between non-white and white kids, massive closure, including the kids with disabilities," Corcoran said.
The commissioner credited an increase in Florida's accountability measures.

Read more here: https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article234962367.html#storylink=cpy


Argus event to feature John Stossel  
Currently a Fox News and Business personality, Stossel will address "the many hidden surprises" of the minimum wage and the impact it is already having on cities across the country, the foundation announced this week.
The March 12, 2020, luncheon will take place at The Grove in Lakewood Ranch.  \

Read more here: https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article234962367.html#storylink=cpy


Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran speaks in Sarasota
 
While in Sarasota Wednesday, Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran touted the news he announced the day prior: Florida was again ranked fourth in the nation for K-12 student achievement, according to Education Week's Quality Counts 2019 report.
Corcoran spoke at a Meet the Minds Luncheon at Michael's on East, hosted by the Argus Foundation .
"We're only one of eight states in the last basically decade, who has had massive closure of the achievement gap between non-white and white kids, massive closure, including the kids with disabilities," Corcoran said.
The commissioner credited an increase in Florida's accountability measures.

Read more here: https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article234962367.html#storylink=cpy


WWSB ABC 7 Roundtable Video:  Newtown Workforce Training HVAC Express program
 
Watch this great interview about the Newtown HVAC Workforce training program that Argus partnered in. City of Sarasota Commissioner Willie Shaw approached our executive director to partner with him to get this started. They approached CareerEdge Funders and partnered with the Boys and Girls Club Roy Mcbean Center and Cool Today!


Read more here: https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article234962367.html#storylink=cpy

Sarasota HVAC workforce development training program graduates seven
 
This was the free program's first year. It was formed after Sarasota City Commissioner Willie Shaw and Argus Foundation Executive Director Christine Robinson discussed the need for more technical training in the Newtown area. They decided to focus the first training program on HVAC, because it's a growing industry and there's a lot of local interest in the field, Mireya C. Eavey, executive vice president of CareerEdge, wrote in an email. Since May, the class has met three times a week at night.

Read more here: https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article234962367.html#storylink=cpy


COLUMNS AND GUEST EDITORIALS
Published opinions from our Executive Director
Planning Board Politicking Must End

The City of Sarasota has an identity problem. It's not the entire city; the problem lies in its appointed city 
planning board. 

This advisory board has decided it wants to become a second city commission. Ignoring the advice of staff and the advice of the City Attorney's office, it has decided it will use the comprehensive plan as a reason to dive into anything and everything they can vaguely associate with it.

This is a problem that is political. With former city commission candidates within its body, including one that was voted out of office, it is easy to understand why this is happening. The feigned offense that anyone would say it out loud doesn't make it not so.


Click here to read more.

Robinson: Sarasota County leaders merit praise for financial stability


This year has been a significant one for Sarasota County in terms of debt, refinancing, and interest rates. It isn't a sexy topic; in fact, the news rarely highlights it. But it is a year of achievement and savings, which is a big reason why our millage rate remains steady.
Our county administration, the commission, and the Clerk of the Court and Comptroller deserve high praise for saving significant taxpayer money and keeping our credit in a premium status.
When the county sold the bonds on the Legacy Trail for the extension last month, the bond rating was an unbelievable AAA rating with an interest rate so low it was almost free money. A bond rating of AAA is the highest possible rating that can be assigned because of the high degree of credit worthiness of the bonds due to the county's outstanding financial situation. The remarkable true interest cost of 2.42% was obtained through a competitive bidding process.

Click here to read more.

We Must Be Prepared For Next Recession

The need for economic development and opportunity is great here in Sarasota County. While business may be booming, the next recession is always right around the corner. Are we prepared for it? The answer is no, we aren't even taking good care of our economic development in the good times.

Case in point is the unemployment of young people in Sarasota County. According to the Tampa Bay Partnership 2019 Economic Competitiveness report, 14.67% of the population of 16-24 year-olds in Sarasota County are neither employed nor enrolled in school. The report refers to this rate as "disconnected youths"

Think about that for a minute. During the Great Recession, in 2010, when Sarasota County walked into the proverbial brick wall and had an astronomical unemployment of 12.2 percent, we had economic chaos around us.
 

STOP! Reveals What It Was Really All About

We all knew it was a ruse.  It was pretty clear from their name alone that STOP! was not about making development better, but rather creating economic uncertainty to throw up the proverbial gate after they passed through it to end economic progress in Sarasota.  

Translation: It was all about administrative review process and their control of private property rights off others.
 

Robinson: Accountability is leadership in government

Local elected officials need to convey, through action, that accountability is their "why". Empty promises of future action some day or statements that everything is fine, conveys that their "why" is complacency, and the business community sees it.
 


SARASOTA COUNTY 
MONTHLY ECONOMIC REPORT

Sarasota County published a monthly economic report.   Data includes information on the labor force, unemployment, wages, industry, home and condo sales, permitting, hotel and motel sales, SRQ passenger counts, population, and taxable values.
EVENTS
Register now for our events!


***One team spot left***
The Willis Smith Construction 
30th  Annual Stakeholder 
Golf Tournament & Dinner

Monday October 21, 2019,
11:00am Registration
11:30 Lunch
12:30 Tournament Begins

Laurel Oak Golf & Country Club
2700 Gary Player Boulevard
Sarasota

***Sponsorships Available***


Pre-purchase your raffle ticket package and individual tickets for mulligans, door prize tickets, and 50/50 raffle for the faster check-in!!!  Click here to purchase them!





2019 New Member/Past President Reception

Presented by:



Get an update on our activites! 

Tuesday, October 28, 2019,
5:30-7:30PM

Signature Events & Catering at The Landings
4870 S. Tamiami Trail






2019 Lifetime Achievement Awards
presented by


Honoring 
Senate President John McKay


&

Dr. Eugenie Clark
Mote Marine Laboratory
Posthumous Honoree



Thursday, November 14, 2019
Sarasota Hyatt Regency Ballroom

 
Click here for event info and tickets!

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Sponsorships Available for events!
Contact Sharlene at Sharlene@argusfoundation.org


2020 Special Event Luncheon
with John Stossel



Join The Argus Foundation as we hear from the former longtime ABC 20/20 co-anchor and current Fox Business News and Fox News analyst about the push to pass $15 minimum wage laws.

Thursday, March 12, 2020
The Grove
10670 Boardwalk Loop
Lakewood Ranch, Fl 34202

 Sponsorship tickets available now! Any Individual tickets left over will go on sale November 15th.


Contact Sharlene at Sharlene@argusfoundation.org 
for more information


Annual Sporting Clays Tournament

Friday, January 24, 2020
Sarasota Gun Club



****************************

Sponsorships Available for events!
Contact Sharlene at Sharlene@argusfoundation.org

ARGUS IMPACT
The Argus Foundation's members are an integral part of our community.
Dolphin Aviation gives back to Sarasota Students


Ron Ciaravella never thought he would be in a place where he could award scholarships, but on Aug. 1 he handed out six $1,000 scholarships to rising college freshmen from the Sarasota area.

Owner of Dolphin Aviation, an aviation services company, Ciaravella began the scholarship program 18 years ago to "support collegiate efforts and encourage tomorrow's innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders."

The $1,000 scholarship had 74 applicants from which six students received a one-time award to the students during their freshman year.

Click here to read more.
PGT Innovations' Team Donates More Than 1,900 Pounds of Food to Nonprofits

  PGT Innovations  (NYSE: PGTI), a national leader in the premium window and door category, recently completed its "Storm Out Summer Hunger" initiative and donated more than 1,900 pounds of food to community food banks located near the company's five manufacturing facilities.
During the inaugural month-long drive in June, more than 1,700 non-perishable snacks and meal items were collected for local food banks, including   All Faiths Food Bank  in Sarasota, Fla.,   Desert Mission Food Bank  in Phoenix, Ariz.,   Feeding South Florida  in Pembroke Park, Fla., and   Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida  in Orlando, Fla. The total amount of food donated from the company's team members equated to approximately 1,617 meals which will help combat hunger in children across the country.

Click here to read more 

Attention Argus Members!!!
Send us your good deeds and community work to feature on our website and newsletters!
Send your stories to christine@argusfoundation.org
OUT AND ABOUT
Take a look at some of these great pictures from our most recent event!

Click here to see more photos from our Meet the Minds with Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee

Click here to see more photos from Mee the Minds with Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran
The Argus Foundation | 941-365-4886 |  http://argusfoundation.org
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