Monday – October 2, 2006

HALIFAX CHAMBER ANNOUNCES NEW PRESIDENT – Larry McKinney has been named the new president of the Halifax Area Chamber of Commerce. McKinney has served as president of the Athens (Georgia) Chamber of Commerce since 2003 and has served as a chamber executive for several other chambers of commerce in Georgia. He is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organizational Management. He holds degrees from Augusta State University and Georgia State University.

SALES TAX HOLIDAY FOR NEW ENERGY-EFFICIENT PRODUCTS – The state is encouraging Florida businesses to invest in new energy-efficient products by offering a short-term sales tax holiday. From October 5 - October 11, no state or local sales tax will be collected on qualifying sales of new energy-efficient products having a sale price of $1,500 or less. For more information, visit the Florida Department of Revenue’s website at http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/dor/.

MANUFACTURER SEEKS 30,000 SQUARE FEET -- A re-manufacturer of communications equipment is seeking up to 30,000 square feet of production/distribution space in the DeBary, Deltona, Orange City or DeLand areas. The facility must be able to provide 90 parking spaces. If you know of a facility that is or will be available for this use, please contact John Kizer, Business Specialist, at 386/248-8048. All responses will be forwarded to the client for review and follow up.

IS YOUR BUSINESS SELLING TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATION? – The county’s Purchasing Assistance Center will be conducting another in a series of workshops designed to assist local companies register, identify and apply for contracts for goods and services offered by the county’s local governments and educational institutions. The next workshop is scheduled for October 3 from 5:30 - 7 p.m. at the Advanced Technology Center,1770 Technology Blvd., Daytona Beach. Another session will be conducted October 17 from 5:30 - 7 p.m. at the Deltona Library, 2150 Eustace Ave. For further information, please contact Julio Holness at 386/274-3437.

NEW MANUFACTURING PLANT NEARS CONSTRUCTION START– The county Department of Economic Development has reported that ARK Daytona, Inc. has applied for a building permit to construct a 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Daytona Beach. The new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant will be built along the Mason Avenue extension in the Gateway Business Park South. Construction should begin in early 2007. When completed, the company will provide employment for more than 35 high-skilled manufacturing workers producing automotive components for Toyota and Honda. This announcement follows more than two years of negotiations between the county and ARK Technologies, Inc., St. Charles, Illinois. The City of Daytona Beach and Consolidated Tomoka Land Development Company also participated in the project.

NEW HIGH SCHOOL TO BE BUILT IN ORANGE CITY -- The Volusia County School Board has approved the bid received from PPI/Charles Perry Construction in the amount of $95.1 million for the construction of a new high school in Orange City. According to the School Board, construction should begin soon with completion expected in August 2009.

FLORIDA MINIMUM WAGE TO INCREASE -- The Agency for Workforce Innovation has announced that Florida's minimum wage will increase to $6.67 per hour effective January 1. This represents an hourly increase of 27 cents over the current state minimum wage of $6.40 per hour. Florida's minimum wage was created through a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2004, and applies to all employees in Florida covered by the federal minimum wage.

BE CHARTER SMARTER – For detailed information on the seven proposed amendments to the Volusia County Home Rule Charter that will be on the ballot November 7, please access the website.

NEWS ITEMS WANTED! – Please send your business news items to Dave Byron, Volusia County Community Information Director, 123 W. Indiana Ave., DeLand, 32720-4612, by fax at (386) 822-5072 or by e-mail at dbyron@co.volusia.fl.us. If you wish to have your name removed from this weekly email broadcast, please let us know.