Featured Speaker for March 29th Meeting: Rob Spicker Assistant Director Rob Spicker is the Assistant Director of Media Relations and Public Information for the School District of Lee County. He serves as the primary spokesman for the School District and is involved in all District communication efforts, social media, video production, and community outreach. Prior to joining the School District, Rob was a broadcast journalist for 27 years. He spent 10 years waking up Southwest Florida as the anchor of WINK News This Morning on both WINK-TV and WXCW. Rob helped lead WINK News This Morning to unprecedented ratings success. Rob and his wife have three children and have called Fort Myers home since 2007. He is Board Vice President for the Animal Refuge Center in North Fort Myers, which is Southwest Florida’s largest no-kill shelter. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza [...]

Featured Speaker for April 12th Meeting: Bill Waichulis Managing Director Bill Waichulis is Managing Director for the Florida Resort Division of Boykin Management Company.  His career has spanned many property operations with two management companies, Interstate Hotels and Resorts for 14 years and Boykin Management Company since 2006. Bill has managed many different brands to include Westin, Sheraton, Hilton, and Holiday Inn, all within the state of Florida.  In his last position, he was Director of Operations for South Seas and the Sanibel properties.  He is currently responsible for the Florida region. Bill serves on the Board of Directors for Visit Florida, Lee County Hotel Association, and Lee County Tourist and Development Council. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops 13051 Bell Tower Drive, FL, 33907 Can't Make it? Join our [...]

Featured Speaker for April 19th Meeting: Brian DelNegro General Manager Brian DelNegro is a proud Worcester native and attended college at Westfield State University in Westfield, Massachusetts. After living in Massachusetts for most of his childhood Brain relocated to sunny Florida in 1994. He began his career in the automotive industry a couple years later where he started selling cars at Fort Myers, Toyota. Brian quickly worked his way up to management positions and transferred over to Naples Nissan after some time. He then took on the General Manager position at Jaguar Land Rover Fort Myers in the year 2010. He has been the General Manager at the dealership for over 13 years now where he works alongside his younger brother Nick DelNegro. Brian is an avid car lover and has enjoyed watching the Jaguar Land Rover brand grow to what it is today. Brian also believes in giving back to the community [...]

Featured Speaker for May 3rd Meeting: Robert Cacioppo Players Circle Theater Robert was born and raised in New York City and began his professional career in 1978 with The Passion of Alice at New York City’s famous Greenwich Mews Theatre. He directed extensively in New York City before coming to Florida 30 years ago and, since that time, has become a leader in Southwest Florida’s theater movement. He became Artistic Director of the Pirate Playhouse in 1990, turning that company, at the time, into the area’s only resident Actors’ Equity Association Company and directing over 60 productions. Robert Cacioppo, Florida Rep’s Founder, was honored by the Florida Professional Theaters Association with the Richard G. Fallon Award for Excellence in Professional Theatre for his tenacity, vision, passion, and leadership in creating professional theater in the state of Florida. Currently, Robert stays busy as the artistic director of Players Circle Theater. Players Circle Theater is [...]

Featured Speaker for May 10th Meeting: Liston Bochette III Ward 4 Council Member Liston “Lin” Bochette is a five-time Olympic Athlete, internationally recognized artist and civic leader. Councilman Bochette served on the Community Redevelopment Agency Board and in 2018 was appointed to the Fort Myers City Council by Mayor Randall P. Henderson to complete the term of a retiring councilperson. He was elected to represent Ward 4 again in November 2020. Bochette received his B.F.A from the University of Florida, then went on to complete his M.A from InterAmerican University, and Ph.D. from Pacific Western University. Councilman Bochette has been a delegate to the White House for Olympic Affairs. Over the years, he worked closely with Olympic bid and host cities around the world as a senior advisor on management, budget, transportation, housing, security, infrastructure, and programing. He has been responsible for multi-million dollar budgets and complex work forces. Bochette was elected to [...]

Featured Speaker for May 17th Meeting: Gary Tasman CEO & Principal Broker Professional Background May 2014 – Acquired 4 mm sf commercial real estate management portfolio – largest 3rd party commercial property management portfolio in Southwest Florida March 2009 – Founded Commercial Property Southwest Florida, LLC (Only Independently Owned & Operated Member of the Cushman & Wakefield Alliance in State of Florida) January 2007 – Joined Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. – Opened Southwest Florida Market Prior – Directed Largest Revenue Generating Team a Grubb & Ellis/VIP for over a decade Experience 32 Years Real Estate Industry Closed over 1,000 Transactions – $700 Million plus Office, Retail Industrial Site Analysis Market & Financial Feasibility Studies Expert Sales & Communication Authority Stonegate Bank (Southwest Capital Bank) – Founding Organizing Director National start up bank; charter from the US Governments’ office of Currency and Controller in July 2006 Certified: Florida State Certified Real Estate Broker and Appraiser [...]

Featured Speaker for May 31st Meeting: Francesco Rugiano Beckmann Product Manager Francesco Rugiano Beckmann studied at Bocconi University - School of Economics, in Milan, and has a Master of Science in industrial engineering and technology management from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU. Francesco has been with AquaFence since 2016, working out of the HQ in Norway as the product manager for the flood mitigation products FloodBarricade and FlashWall, focused on entering new markets, R&D management, supply chain optimization and IPR. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops 13051 Bell Tower Drive, FL, 33907 Can't Make it? Join our Zoom Meeting - 2 Ways to Join ONE Click on the link to our ZOOM ROOM below. With this method you can join via [...]

Featured Speaker for June 7th Meeting: Dr. Veronica Graversen Retinal Surgeon Dr. Veronica Graversen is board certified and has won numerous awards, including the Honor Award from the American Society of Retina Specialists in 2011. She has extensive training and experience in the management of uveitis and retinal disorders. She has published multiple articles in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and has lectured at several international meetings. She is co-editor of the Diagnostic Atlas of Retinal Diseases. Dr. Graversen also did a fellowship at New England Retina Associates with Dr. Peter Liggett who is on the faculty of Yale School of Medicine and the Cornell Weill College of Medicine. She completed an ophthalmology residency program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she served as Chief Resident. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops 13051 [...]