March 30-April 5, 2015 : The Beacon Council Newsletter

March 30-April 5, 2015 NEWSLETTER Event: The Beacon Council Access Breakfast: The Underline    The Beacon Council in partnership with Friends of the Underline, invite you to an Access Breakfast regarding Miami's Next Big Idea.    When: April 22, 2015, 8 a.m. Where: The Beacon Council 80 SW 8th Street, Suite 2400 Miami, Fl 33130 Cost: Members: $20 Non-Members: $30 For more information, click here.  SOLD OUT To view the invitation, click here  The Beacon Council in the News The 13th Annual Beacon Awards salutes business achievers - Camacol blog Miami Lakes Based HeartWare Wins Prestigious Beacon Council Award - Plus Media Solutions    US Century Bank Closes Recapitalization Transaction - Menafm.com Event: Small Business Workshop for tracking financial results April 1 This one-half day training course covers financial statements and how they can be used to make better business decisions, and is offered at no charge.  Sponsored by Citi Community Foundation.  Presented by National Development Council.  Hosted at Miami Dade College.  To learn more or register - click here Event: 2015 Community Leaders Summit April 7 FIU is hosting their 2015 Community Leaders Summit on Tuesday, Apr. 7 at the Coral Gables Country Club.  Please join President Mark B. Rosenberg and Provost Kenneth G. Furton for a discussion on the future of FIU and their new Strategic Plan: Beyond Possible 2020.  To RSVP, click here Event: Stand up for transportation day April 9 Miami-Dade transit and local transportation stakeholders on Thursday, Apr. 9 invite you to call attention to the State of our transportation infrastructure. To learn more click here Event: The Beacon Council partners with World Strategic Forum April 13-14 The Beacon Council is a proud sponsor of The World Strategic Forum presented by the International Economic Forum of the Americas. Its mission is to address the major governance challenges of the new world economic order, focusing on the central role of the Americas and in the global market. For more information about this event, please visit: http://forum-americas.org/miami Event: Grow your business at the 30th Annual SFMSDC Business Expo  April 14-15 The Southern Florida Minority Supplier Development Council (SFMSDC) will have its  30th annual business expo on Apr. 14 - 15.     The featured Luncheon keynote speaker is Miguel "Mike" Fernandez.  This event offers the one-time-in-a year opportunity to meet purchasing decision makers from top corporations from throughout the country, all in one location, all looking to do business with minority suppliers.   To learn more or to register,click here Event: World Trade Month with top import-export leaders May 1 Join WorldCity and connect with top import-export leaders in South Florida's trade community as we launch World Trade Month with an exclusive release of the 15th Annual Miami TradeNumbers publication For more information and RSVP click here Event: 2015 Housing Summit May 6 The 2015 Housing Summit will bring together leaders from government, philanthropy and the business community- including housing developers, and the nonprofit sector - to take a critical look at housing affordability in our community.  For more information regarding the summit click here  The Beacon Council works with AARP on pitching opportunity for Health-IT startups  The Beacon Council is working with AARP on the upcoming Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch, which will be held at the Miami Beach convention center on Thursday, May 14. It will feature startup companies in the "50 and over" health technology and innovation sector. The powerful dual-pitch event will offer both the venture capital and angel investor communities and AARP consumers the opportunity to connect with outstanding start-ups in the health-IT field. MDX Advantage Program open enrollment deadline extended to April 30 The MDX Advantage Program is our way of showing appreciation to drivers who frequently use MDX expressways to commute in Miami-Dade County. For more information click here Miami-Dade County launches Ready to Work Program Connecting People with Jobs in Miami-Dade County moves forward with this exciting launch of the CareerSource South Florida (CSSF) Ready To Work Employment Program.  This program will assist young people in gaining an understanding about various careers, the workplace, and appropriate employment skills by linking them to employers for work experience and career advice.    For more information click here The Beacon Council participates in historical signing    Teresa Foxx, Chairperson Elect-FIBA; Patricia Hernadez, General Council- FIBA; David R. Munoz; Al Avila-Partner ARHMF LLC; Teresa Munoz; Fernando Capablanca, Former Chairman-FIBA; Liane Ventura, SVP-GMCC; Marcos Kerbel, Former Chairman-FIBA; Manny Mencia, SVP-Enterprise Florida; Larry Williams, President and CEO-The Beacon Council; David Schwartz, President and CEO-FIBA; Roberto R. Munoz, Chairman-FIBA; Barry Johnson, President and CEO-GMCC. The Beacon Council participated in a historical signing of an agreement between the Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA) and a Hong Kong Institute of Bankers on March 18. FIBA is interested to sign similar agreements with banking organizations in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Sidney and Singapore over the coming years. FIBA is going West, hand-in-hand with Enterprise Florida, The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, and The Beacon Council.  Click here for more information. Miami-Dade's unemployment rate drops to pre-recession level At 5.4 percent, Miami-Dade's unemployment rate dropped to pre-recession levels in February, according to statistics released Friday. "The last time Miami-Dade's unemployment rate was this low was before the recession when it was 5.3 percent," The Beacon Council President & CEO Larry K. Williams said. "Today's numbers show growth across the board and confidence in the job market." For more click here The Beacon Council 13th Annual Beacon Awards presented by Florida Power & Light More than 500 business and community leaders are scheduled to attend the sold-out 13th Annual Beacon Awards presented by Florida Power & Light. The awards ceremony to be held at 5:30 p.m. April 2 at the University of Miami Student Activities Center honors Miami-Dade County's corporate citizens and the organizations that strengthen the business community. "This is our signature event and our yearly opportunity to honor the accomplishments of our business community's standouts," The Beacon Council Chair Donna Abood said. "This year's honorees represent people and organizations making an impact in our local economy." test The Beacon Council President addresses County Tech Retreat Larry K. Williams, President & CEO of The Beacon Council addresses Miami-Dade County's Information Technology Department. On March 26, The Beacon Council's President & CEO Larry K. Williams made a presentation at Miami-Dade County's 3rd Annual Strategic Technology Retreat in which he addressed more than 100 managers working in the Information Technology Department at Miami-Dade County. Williams spoke of the future of Miami-Dade County, the growth of the local tech sector, and how innovation is impacting companies across all industries. The retreat was an all-day event held at PortMiami and included speakers such as Frank DiGiammarino, Director of Global Public Sector, Amazon Web Services; Edward Martinez, CIO of Miami Children's Hospital; Angel Petisco, CIO, Miami-Dade County; John Bruno, CIO, Broward County; and Mary Spio, President, Next Galaxy Corp. The event highlighted the fact that as Miami continues to attract companies to the area and as more and more entrepreneurs decide to start companies here, it is important that The Beacon Council and Miami-Dade County work side-by-side to make sure that our County has the world-class infrastructure and ecosystem to support the future.  The Beacon Council welcomes Turkish Consul General Ozgur Kivanc Altan Mario Sacasa, Senior Vice President of International Economic Development, The Beacon Council F.Ipek Waheed, Specialist /Turkey Commercial office in New York, Hon. Ozgur Kivanc Altan, Consul General of Turkey in Miami, Larry K. Williams, President & CEO, The Beacon Council and Pamela Fuertes, Vice President, International Economic Development Programs, The Beacon Council pose for photo. On March 26, Ozgur Kivanc Altan, Consul General of Turkey in Miami accompanied by F.Ipek Waheed, Specialist of Turkey's Commercial office in New York visited The Beacon Council for a meeting with The Beacon Council President & CEO Larry K. Williams and International Department Executives Mario Sacasa and Pamela Fuertes.  Consul General Altan recently served as the Deputy Chief of Mission for the Turkish Embassy in Athens, Greece. Given that Turkey's economy has largely become a free-market one driven by its industry and service sectors, Consul General Altan is interested in developing stronger flows of trade and investment between Turkey and Miami Dade. Williams welcomed the recent opening of the Turkish Consulate in Miami and offered Consul General Altan the full cooperation of The Beacon Council. The Beacon Council hosts CoreNet South East Florida Chapter David Preve, Cresa South Florida; Stephen Owens, Swire Development; Robert Richter, Flagler Development; Terry Stiles, Stiles Corporation.   The Beacon Council hosted the CoreNet South East Florida Chapter Annual Meeting on March 26. The program included a discussion of the past, present, and future of South Florida Commercial real estate.   Register for eMerge Americas using The Beacon Council promo code   eMerge Americas 2014 was great but in 2015 it is going to be bigger and better! Exhilarating days packed with seminars, summits, an expo floor, a startup showcase, networking events, compelling presentations, and much more. It's eMerge Americas, and its back this May. Register for a conference pass using discount code (CBALBEA) and receive 15% off the purchase price. Interested in exhibiting? Sign up using the Beacon Council discount code (CAEXPOS) and receive a $250 discount. To register and learn more, click here.      Featured listing of the week:   3201 NW 116 Street Address:3201 NW 116 Street City: Unincorporated Miami-Dade County: Miami-Dade County Zip Code:33167 Type:Light Mfg,  Min Size: 10,000 sqft Max Size: 77,500 sqft Are you a Commercial Real Estate Broker with listings in Miami-Dade?  Market your listings at no cost through www.miamidadesites.com and reach a targeted audience including Site Selectors/Consultants, Real Estate Developers, and businesses pursuing new opportunities in Miami-Dade County. Signing up is quick and easy. Start uploading your listings today for a chance to be featured on our next newsletter (a listing is selected arbitrarily each week). For more information, contact Jennifer R. Hernandez, Director of Economic Development at The Beacon Council.   Our Mission: As Miami-Dade County's official economic development partnership, The Beacon Council is charged with bringing new, job-generating investments to the community, while assisting existing businesses in their efforts to expand. By doing this, The Beacon Council facilitates the creation of quality jobs for each and every resident of Miami-Dade County. The Beacon Council is an accredited economic development organization.  Will you join us? Call Member-Investors at (305) 579-1326