31 January, 2018 0 Comments

12 Things We Liked About January

January 31, 2018 By Leave a Comment

A dozen things we liked in January

  1. The Delray Chamber’s installation of Rob Posillico as the new chair. Rob is a dedicated chamber volunteer and a talented young business leader who understands the importance of an effective business community to a city’s well-being.
  2. The private dining section at the Seagate Hotel is simply terrific. If you have a small group gathering and want to show some class book a room, you won’t forget it.
  3. The chicken francese at La Cigale is magnificent. It just defies description.
  4. We enjoyed an excellent cybersecurity seminar with Brad Deflin of Total Digital Security in Delray this month courtesy of JP Morgan. Great information, albeit scary. There are a lot of threats out there. Be careful.
  5. Lunch on the deck at Prime Catch overlooking the Intracoastal on a nice day is simply hard to beat.
  6. Sometimes you have to get out of Boca/Delray and try a new experience. We did with gourmet Mexican at the wonderful Eduardo De San Angel in Fort Lauderdale. It was sublime and we saw a few Delray folks dining there as well.
  7. Boca makes Livability’s 2018 Top 100 Places to Live list. Boca beat out 2,100 US cities. Very cool.
  8. It was good to see the non-profit Connected Warriors open their doors at Boca’s Innovation Campus.
  9. Kudos to the City of Boca’s Office of Economic Development on the launch of its new quarterly newsletter. Lots happening in Boca and this publication captures a lot of it (so does The Boca Newspaper).
  10. Seeing Vince Canning recognized by the DelrayCity Commission. He’s a good man and highly deserving of recognition.
  11. Congratulations to the Delray chamber for a great kickoff to 2018. The sold out “installation” luncheon at the Delray Beach Golf Club didn’t hide the fact that the chamber had a tough year in 2017. But the event boldly highlighted the importance, relevance and need for a strong chamber. Newly installed chair Mr. Posillico set out a vision for an innovative chamber that would match an innovative community. We wish the chamber well.
  12. Words can’t describe the feeling of being in a room with a true living legend. Delray’s own Benjamin Ferencz, the last living Nuremberg trials prosecutor, charmed an immense crowd at Boca West gathered to support and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Mr. Ferencz, 98, shared his experiences at Nuremberg and his lifelong work to prevent genocide and encourage “law not war.” We’ll have more in a follow-up blog post. Special thanks to Shelly and Billy Himmelrich for including us what was an unforgettable evening.
24 July, 2017 0 Comments

Things that Work Edition

July 24, 2017 By Leave a Comment

It’s time for some positivity.
Social media and conventional media are full of bad news these days.
It’s time to take a look at what’s working.
Fortunately, this is by no means a complete list. And please send me some suggestions for future posts, we’d love to spotlight the good in our community.

Delray Beach Initiative –think of this group of committed citizens as a SWAT team for good. Essentially they go where they are needed helping local schools and non profits by raising funds and awareness. Over the weekend, they hosted “Delray’s Got Talent” at the Elks Club which in addition to being a lot of fun raised funds for the Miracle League, a non-profit that works too. To get involved or learn more visit https://delraybeachinitiative.com/

The Delray Beach Historical Society–under the leadership of Winnie Edwards, the Historical Society has new energy and life with lots of activities, exhibits and projects. They have a robust social media presence and have activated their home at the historic Cason Cottage. I like how the Historical Society is conducting interviews with residents who have insights into local history. I’ve longed felt we have neglected to capture the stories of our pioneers and key contributors so future generations may learn about their hometown. To learn more and get involved visit https://www.delraybeachhistory.org/

Boca Economic Development–Jessica Del Vecchio is a force of nature promoting job growth and corporate achievement in Boca Raton. Is there are a lot to talk about? Oh yes. But there’s also a whole lot to admire about how the City of Boca is messaging its successes. The Economic Development office fosters pride by spotlighting the contributions and achievements of local companies and touting the city as a great place to invest and run a business. Here’s a link to the office https://www.myboca.us/470/Economic-Development  

FAU Research Park–Park leader Andrew Duffel is an economic development rock star who was recently recognized for his stellar work. The Park has become a job engine for the region and the home of a lot of innovation. Bravo! The Research Park’s website is a cornucopia of great information that will get you informed and excited about the future of tech innovation in our backyard.

https://www.research-park.org/

The Arts Garage–since taking the helm, Marjorie Waldo has steadied the ship, engaged the community and continued the great programming. Yes! If you haven’t been to the Arts Garage, make sure to catch a show, you won’t regret it. The venue is intimate and easily accessible.  There’s a lot of ways to get involved visit https://artsgarage.org/ to learn how.

Old School Square–President Rob Steele and Board Chair Bill Branning have gotten the tour of political dysfunction in Delray but through it all have managed to stay positive and focused on the big picture which is and has always been serving as a cultural catalyst and community gathering spot. Rob’s ability to reach out to key community partners is refreshing. Bill’s strength as a leader is inspiring. https://oldschoolsquare.org/

Anthony’s Cold Fire Pizza–you can always count on Pedro Andrade, Anthony’s manager in Delray to step up to help the community. Aside from serving amazing wings and ridiculously good pizza, Anthony’s is a great corporate citizen.
There’s more. A whole lot more.
So much to be thankful for in your Delray Boca.

26 October, 2016 0 Comments

Order Those Shades Because the Future is Bright

October 26, 2016 By Leave a Comment

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Just when you are ready to write off the future—the universe provides you inspiration.

I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to have a visceral reaction to the 2016 election. By visceral, I mean nausea. It’s triggered by TV ads, debates and cable “news”—so am I doing my best to avoid all three and commercial radio too.

Thank goodness for books (I’m reading the superb Bruce Springsteen autobiography “Born to Run”), magazines (a steady dose ranging from Sports Illustrated and Inc., to Fast Company and Entrepreneur) and SiriusXM Radio (E Street Radio, Tom Petty’s Buried Treasures and the 70s on 7).

With a little mercy, I will make it through Nov. 8.

But occasionally reality slips through my carefully constructed cocoon and I will accidentally see CNN or another Randy Perkins/Brian Mast ad. So I was grateful when I read Time magazine’s “Millennials” issue and Fortune magazine’s list of 40 under 40 standouts last week.

There is hope, my friends. There are good people out there working on big challenges and getting results.

Time’s list had an international flavor with social entrepreneurs in Rwanda, jazz musicians from Indonesia and a visionary architect from Finland.

It is well worth the read to see what’s coming down the pike.

Fortune’s list was decidedly more business oriented but no less exciting. There are incredible minds at work in areas ranging from artificial intelligence and virtual reality to curing hearing loss through medications versus costly and sometimes uncomfortable hearing aids.

But this is a hyperlocal blog and as such I started to think about what we have to look forward to right here at home.

It’s a good exercise because—believe it or not—there’s a world beyond endless arguments over festivals and budget concerns real or imagined.

Such as:

FAU’s Research Park—I had a chance to have lunch with Park President Andrew Duffel recently and it was enlightening. The park is 90 percent full and there’s interest in the rest of the developable property. The Park is packed with great companies that are creating jobs and influencing industries.

Boca’s Office of Economic Development—If you want to feel good, follow their Facebook feed and learn about all the companies coming to Boca. Jobs too.

Team Delray—It’s a simple idea but oh it can be so very elusive. We are referring to collaboration and team work of course. Team Delray, which consists of a variety of agencies and organizations, has come together to communicate and cooperate. Refreshing.

Impact 100 for Men—Spearheaded by Chuck Halberg, Impact 100 plans to raise at least $100,000 to benefit local non-profits dedicated to children. If you haven’t joined, please consider it. Another great effort by Chuck.

I can go on, but you get the picture.

There is much to be thankful for in Boca and Delray these days. If we look.