Pet photos for Valentine’s Day

Who’s your Valentine? If you’re a pet owner, it’s sure to be a special dog or cat. Why not have their photo taken with a festive Valentine theme?

Lee County Animal Services is partnering with Any Occasion Photo & Videography to offer a special opportunity to create a Valentine’s Day memory of residents and their pets on Saturday, Feb. 14, from 9 a.m. to noon at the shelter, 5600 Banner Dr., Fort Myers. Pet owners will receive a photo CD of their pet for a $10 donation to benefit the Animal Care Trust Fund.

The Animal Care Trust Fund provides funding for veterinary care and treatment of sick and injured animals and low-cost spay/neuter programs for our community. Lee County Animal Services provides temporary housing and care for over 12,000 animals annually.

More information about Animal Services’ programs, lost pets and pets for adoption is available online at www.leelostpets.com or call (239) 533-7387 (LEE-PETS).

Florida Justice Association educational event

Attorney, Bill B. Berke, Esq., of law firm Berke & Lubell, P.A., planned a Florida Justice Association educational event that took place last week. The event was for area attorneys and highlighted recent changes in law and courtroom tactics in some of the landmark settlements and decisions of 2008.

Speakers at the event included Evan Lubell of Berke & Lubell, Will Shapiro of The James Street Group, Lee. D. Gunn IV of Tampa, and Jeffrey R. Garvin of Fort Myers. The event was held at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Estero.

The Florida Justice Asso-ciation is made up of more than 3,800 Florida lawyers dedicated upholding the rights of individuals and consumers within the state’s justice system. Berke is a board member of the FJA.

Sam Galloway & Friends announce 6th Annual Soup Kitchen Benefit

The increasing homeless statistics locally are what led local businessman Sam Galloway to hold his first Soup Kitchen Benefit six years ago. The annual event has grown to 600 guests gathering together in the Service Department of Galloway’s Ford dealership located off of Boy Scout Drive in order to raise as much money as possible for area residents in need.

“I believe in taking care of my fellow man,” said Galloway. “In these tough times everyone is hurting, but do I have a spare $2 that will feed a local family in need for a day? Yes, I do and I hope others do, too.”

Last year, the Galloway sponsored benefit raised a record $450,000 for Community Cooperative Ministries, Inc. (CCMI) the umbrella agency for the Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry, Meals on Wheels, Senior Transportation, the Montessori Preschool of Dunbar and Family and Homeless Services.

This year’s event will be held on Tuesday, March 3, at the dealership. Cocktails will be served at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:30. Maestro Andrew Kurtz will be conducting the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra with music from the silver screen.

Dress is casual. Local restaurants and patrons donate all food for the event.

The Soup Kitchen serves a noontime meal six days a week to men, women, and children in a traditional soup kitchen setting. In addition, CCMI prepares and delivers nutritious packaged meals and beverages for the homebound hungry, offers a food pantry that provides emergency groceries to families in need, bagged lunches for the local labor pool and two nutritious meals a day for the children in their childcare center.

CCMI serves Fort Myers and the greater Lee County area, including Bonita Springs, Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres. For more information, contact CCMI at 332-7687, extension 110.

Miller joins Management Group 1

Robert Miller of Cape Coral has joined the sales and marketing team at Management Group 1, according to company President Michael Aranda.

Miller brings many years of successful sales and marketing experience to the Fort Myers-based residential and investment property firm. He has successfully sold and marketed printed security products to foreign governments and venture capitalists worldwide. During his 20-plus years selling internationally, Miller says that he learned there is a great difference in lifestyles and places to live, which helped him to decide on taking up residency in Cape Coral/Naples when he moved to the area three years ago.

Management Group 1 is a full-service real estate firm specializing in the advertising, selling, leasing and management of investment and residential properties. Currently, the company manages 200 residential properties and 20,000 square feet of commercial space from Fort Myers, to Naples and Port St. Lucie to West Palm Beach, Florida.

For more information, including a listing of the complete range of residential real estate services offered by Management Group 1, visit its Web site at www.mg1fl.com

Synovus receives seven national excellence awards

Synovus, the Columbus, Georgia-based financial services company and parent company to Synovus Bank headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fla., was recently honored with seven National Awards from the 2008 Greenwich Associates Excellence in Middle Market Banking Program.

Synovus was recognized for Overall Customer Satisfaction, Personal Banking, Relationship Manager Performance, Treasury Management and Product Capabilities, Accuracy of Operations and Customer Service. In addition to the seven national awards, Synovus was also honored with two regional awards for Overall Customer Satisfaction (banking relationships) and Treasury Management Satisfaction. More than 750 banks across the country were evaluated and eligible for recognition.

See Synovus on the web at www.synovus.com.

Lehigh Chamber to hold Art Auction

The Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce will hold an Art Auction Friday, Feb. 20, at Pelican Preserve located at 10561 Veneto Drive in Fort Myers. The auction, presented by AJ Ross Auctions of Manchester Center, Vt., will include fine art, sports, and music and entertainment memorabilia. Those purchasing tickets can indicate the type of items they would like to see up for bid.

Items will be reasonably priced and come with a buyback guarantee.

This evening will begin at 6 p.m. with a preview of the auction items. Bidding will commence at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 and include hors d’oeuvres and a wine bar. There will also be door prizes and raffles. To purchase tickets contact the chamber office at 239-369-3322.

For more information on this or other events, contact Joe Whalen, president and chief executive officer at 239-369-3322; jwhalen.lehighchamber@comcast.net.

Nominations being accepted for Business Ethics Award

Nominations for the fourth annual Business Ethics Award of the Uncommon Friends Foun-dation are being accepted until Feb. 28. The award will be presented in recognition of the critical importance of ethical leadership in today’s businesses and organizations during the Uncom-mon Evening event on Thursday, June 4, at Harborside Events Center, Fort Myers.

The award will be presented to a Southwest Florida business that exemplifies the highest standards of ethical behavior.

Business, political, community and religious leaders from the five-county Southwest Florida area may nominate companies and organizations that consistently demonstrate a system-wide commitment to business ethics. Companies and organizations may also self nominate. The applications will be reviewed by an independent panel of ethics experts from across the country. This panel will also decide the winner.

Applications and nomination forms for the award are currently available at www.uncommonfriends.org.

The Uncommon Friends Foundation, established in 1993, is a character education foundation whose mission is to instill ethics, moral values and a sense of purpose in tomorrow’s leaders.

Additional information about the foundation may be obtained by calling 239-337-9505 or checking the Web site at www.uncommonfriends.org.

Gora/McGahey begins work on Alliance for the Arts

Gora/McGahey Architects has completed the first phase of a master planning process that will enhance the Lee County Alliance for the Arts campus in Fort Myers.

Since the completion of the exterior painting of the Frizzell Cultural Arts Center at the Alliance, the organization’s staff and board members have received many favorable comments from the community regarding the new color scheme. Since its completion in 1992, the building has always been white.

“Soft yellows, blue, green and grey bring a vision of artistic vitality to the Lee County Alliance for the Arts,” said project manager Fabian Behague, who worked on the project with interior designer Ella Materska, and Bruce Gora, who passed away in December.

The painting of the building is the first phase of a campus master planning and overall facility improvement plan, to be implemented in phases. GMA will serve as the architect and master planner for the project. A study will determine the maximum development allowed on the 10.35-acre site and suggest ways to improve usage of existing buildings and grounds.

Ringland Construction starts work on schools

Ringland Construction Inc. has started construction of three charter schools for Community Education Partners. The three permanent sites are located in the Orange County School District. While the permanent locations are under construction, classes can go on as planned since Ringland Construction Inc. recently completed the three temporary sites in Apopka, Winter Park and Orange Blossom Trail.

Ringland Construction’s Ken Meekins is the project manager for all the schools. The project superintendent for the Sunshine High School North Campus in Apopka is Joe Staiger. Frank Laino is the project superintendent for the Sunshine High School Central Campus in Winter Park. For the Sunshine High School South Campus in Orlando, the project superintendent is John Bolt.

Additional information is available by calling (239) 945-7000 or online at www.ringlandconstruction.com.