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Friday, January 27, 2012
DON'T FORGET THE FARMS! FRAM this Saturday at RAM
Thursday, January 19, 2012
mayor's business builder
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Angela Spears, (904) 630-1977, aspears@coj.net
MAYOR BROWN ANNOUNCES BUSINESS BUILDER
Initiative will help entrepreneurs expand business in Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Jan. 18, 2012 — Mayor Alvin Brown has announced Mayor Brown's Business Builder, a program designed to help small businesses gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to succeed and to help connect entrepreneurs with capital and credit. It will be held Tuesday, Feb. 7 at noon at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center.
"Small businesses are a vital part of Jacksonville's economic future", said Mayor Brown. "They supply jobs as well as unique products and services that improve our quality of life. Helping small businesses grow is a critical task as we work together to boost the economy."
The event will feature instructional speeches from U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Karen G. Mills and Tom and Sue Bennett, the board chairman and senior vice president of First Oklahoma Bank.
Mayor Brown's Business Builder will have useful information and networking opportunities for everyone from start-up entrepreneurs to more established small business people who are looking for avenues of growth.
Registration is free. To enroll, small business owners can fill out the registration form on coj.net.
SBA Administrator Mills, who received unanimous U.S. Senate confirmation and took office on April 6, 2009, said proper guidance is important for anyone entering the small business market.
"Jacksonville's small businesses need to have all the tools at their disposal to start or grow a business and create jobs," said Mills. She also added that Mayor Brown's office "is committed to making sure that business owners have the access to capital, the access to contracting opportunities, and the help, advice and mentoring that they need to go out and be successful. As the economy continues to recover, we must make sure that small businesses have the wind at their backs."
First Oklahoma Bank Board Chairman and CEO Tom Bennett said financing can be just as important as ideas in the small business world. First Oklahoma Bank started in 2009 and already is the fastest growing new bank in Oklahoma history. Mr. Bennett will bring 39 years of financial experience to Mayor Brown's Business Builder.
"Great ideas and innovation are at the root of America's small businesses," said Bennett. "Having access to capital and credit is critical to being able to turn those ideas into businesses that create jobs, serve people and make money."
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January is National Mentoring Month! Sign up to be a Mayor's Mentor today by visiting the website www.nefl211.org or calling United Way's 2-1-1.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Mayor's Mentors Celebrates National Mentoring Month
Contact:
Meredith O'Malley Johnson, public communications officer, (904) 322-9233 (c)
City of Jacksonville mjohnson@coj.net
Jerri Franz, vice president of marketing and communications, (904) 390-3242 (o)
United Way of Northeast Florida (904) 610-1440 (c)
Connie Hodges, president, United Way of Northeast Florida (904) 390-3218 (o)
mayor's mentors
celebrates national mentoring month
JACKSONVILLE, FL, Jan. 18, 2012 – Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown and his Mayor Mentor's initiative will be celebrating National Mentoring Month in January by ramping up efforts to recruit mentors. Mayor's Mentors Rallies will be held at local businesses to recruit mentors and public service announcements will be airing on TV and radio.
Since the Dec. 7, 2012 kickoff luncheon, 524 volunteers have signed up to be Mayor's Mentors. Of those, 376 have been placed with one of the five in-school mentoring partner organizations for training and pairing with mentees. Mayor Brown set an initial goal of 500 new school-based mentors in place by April 1. This goal will be expanded as more organizations are trained and brought under the umbrella of Mayor's Mentors, as there are thousands of students in Jacksonville that would benefit from mentorship.
Mayor Brown recorded Mayor's Mentors public service announcements to air starting in January. The public service announcements are being played on WJCT, Renda Broadcasting, Clear Channel and Cox radio stations and First Coast News, CBS47/FOX30 Action News and WJXT Channel 4 television stations.
Mayor's Mentors Rallies will be scheduled in January for Brightway Insurance, VyStar, JEA, the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, Wells Fargo, EverBank, Duval Teachers United Retired Teachers, the Jacksonville Giants, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, UPS, NorthgateArinso, St. Vincent's Healthcare, CitiGroup, Gateway Community Services, Everest University, McCall's Service, the Jacksonville Alliance of Black School Educators, the Duval County Health Department and the Greater Harvest Christian Fellowship of Jacksonville.
"Mentoring only takes one hour a week and the reward is helping a child reach their full potential," said Mayor Brown. "In honor of National Mentoring Month, I encourage businesses to host a Mayor's Mentors Rally and citizens to sign up to help give a child a brighter future."
Mayor's Mentors is a public-private partnership to train and place 500 new school-based mentors with Duval County Public School students by April 1 at no cost to taxpayers. The mayor's goal is to recruit, train and match mentors with Duval County Public School students to increase on-time, next grade promotion and graduation rates. For more information on becoming a Mayor's Mentor, the public may call United Way's 2-1-1 or visit www.nefl211.org.
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January is National Mentoring Month! Sign up to be a Mayor's Mentor today by visiting the website www.nefl211.org or calling United Way's 2-1-1.
Monday, January 09, 2012
National Mentoring Month
Dear Friend,
The New Year is off to a great start here in Jacksonville! January is National Mentoring Month. If you have yet to make a New Year's resolution, Mayor's Mentors is a great option. Resolve to give back to our community this year by donating time to help a young person reach his or her full potential.
Mentored students are 52% less likely to skip school.
By giving just one hour each week after a short training period, you will be developing a meaningful relationship that will inspire a young person to work his or her hardest in academics and in life.
Mentored students are 46% less likely to use illegal drugs or abuse alcohol.
We're off to a great start with 322 mentors signed up since December 7, but thousands of Jacksonville students could still benefit from mentoring. Please consider becoming a Mayor's Mentor today.
Your choice to become a mentor could be the difference between a young person becoming a dropout or a graduate.
For more information on becoming a Mayor's Mentor, please call United Way's 2-1-1 or visit www.nefl211.org.
Best regards,
Alvin Brown
Mayor
Thursday, January 05, 2012
CoWork Jax Announces Grand Opening
CoWork Jax Announces Grand Opening
Media Contact:
Elton Rivas
P: (904) 586.8678 ext. 701
erivas@coworkjax.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2012 - CoWork Jax is pleased to announce its grand opening! CoWork Jax, a local business, located in the heart of downtown Jacksonville, features coworking options for freelancers, small businesses and entrepreneurs from around the Jacksonville area. Amenities include conference rooms, collaboration areas, and other tools designed to help local businesses grow. Jacksonville's first full-service coworking space is ready to open it's doors to the Jacksonville community.
Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown had the following to say about CoWork Jax, "Congratulations to CoWork Jax on the launch of its downtown office space. We need to do everything we can to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship and this is a great step towards that goal. CoWork Jax provides an alternative to the 9-5 work environment that will appeal to young people and entrepreneurs in a downtown location. I am confident CoWork Jax will thrive and encourage future investment in similar projects."
CoWork Jax welcomes the community to celebrate the grand opening on the evening of January 26, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Food and beverages will be provided, and several prominent community leaders will be present to speak about CoWork Jax.
Located at 5 W. Forsyth St., CoWork Jax occupies nearly 6,000 square feet in the top floor of the historic WoolWorth building, constructed in 1916. Original features of the building have been left intact, including exposed brick walls and unique clay-tiled ceilings. Thanks to the exciting partnership with downstairs neighbors, Perdue, Inc., the space is being outfitted with beautiful contemporary furniture from Turnstone and Steelcase's coworking lines. The dedication to making the space engaging and inspiring is evident in every corner, from the cozy collaboration areas to the state of the art media:scape conference room, to the coworking desks that look over downtown towards the St. Johns river.
CoWork Jax offers a variety of membership options, with prices ranging from $25 a month to $319 month, and choices of coworking desks or dedicated desks, which come with lockable storage. CoWork also offers a limited number of three-person innovation suites for $649 a month. The space offers two conference rooms, a 100mbps internet connection, a resource library, numerous collaboration areas and all of the amenities of a traditional office, like copy/print/scan services, for coworker use. With almost a dozen reservations already made for coworking desks and nearly sold out innovation suites, momentum and excitement continues to grow for the grand opening.
"We're excited to finally open the doors and allow the community to make this space their own. CoWork Jax has been nearly a year in the making, and it's an honor for us to bring this business to the local community," says Elton Rivas, co-founder and "Chief Coworker" for CoWork Jax. "We've seen a tremendously positive response to our plans and pricing, and many people have taken advantage of the ability to reserve their spot before the space even opens."
CoWork Jax also looks forward to being a stop on the First Wednesday Art Walk. People are encouraged to drop by and say hi during the evening of February 1 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
For more information about CoWork Jax and to register for a space you can visit them online at CoWorkjax.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/coworkjax, on twitter @coworkjax, or
by phone at 904.568.8678.
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CoWork Jax is a coworking venture led by Zero Confines, LLC. CoWork Jax was created to build a space where a community of inspired, independent workers can collaborate and grow their business. The space will have coworking workspaces, dedicated workspaces, collaboration rooms, web conferencing tools, a library, lounge, and innovation suites. CoWork Jax will offer daily, weekly, and monthly memberships to the coworking space. For more information on CoWork Jax, visit www.coworkjax.com.
Zero Confines is an launch agency that leads and supports the launch of products, services, businesses, and initiatives. Zero Confines, LLC has offices in Jacksonville, FL, San Francisco, CA, and Washington, DC. Additional information on Zero Confines can be found at www.zeroconfines.com.