Beasley Broadcast Group has hired three new digital specialists to work in partnership with local sales leadership in the 11 markets where Beasley operates radio stations to develop digital strategies. Premier Sotheby's International Realty has named Finley Hair as its new chief operating officer. The 2014 Community Business Expo in Bonita Springs will be held on March 13 at The Promenade along US 41 from 4-7pm. Suncoast Credit Union has announced a name change from Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union along with a new logo, website, and Twitter account.

1. 8A Wednesday, February 19, 2014 the-banner.com
Beasley hires digital specialists
Naples-based Beasley Broadcast Group
Inc. has announced the addition of three
digital specialists to its corporate staff.
Eddie Thorpe will serve as regional digital
director in the Naples-Fort Myers and
Miami markets. The other two digital
directors are Adam Meltzer in Philadelphia
and Wilmington, Del., and Carolyn Cope
in Augusta, Ga., Fayetteville, N.C., and
eastern North Carolina. The trio will work
in partnership with local sales leadership
in the 11 markets in which Beasley — a
large- and mid-size market radio broad-
caster — operates radio stations to
develop digital strategies. Thorpe most
recently worked as the senior digital direc-
tor for the Tampa Bay Times. Information:
www.bbgi.com
Premier Sotheby’s hires COO
Finley H. Hair is Premier Sotheby’s
International Realty new chief operating
officer. Hair, who spent nearly 10 years
as regional vice president for Sotheby’s
International Realty, has more than 35
years of executive leadership experience
in the real estate industry. He will be
headquartered in the firm’s Naples office.
Hair has a theology degree from Trinity
Baptist College in Jacksonville and studied
political science and urban studies at
Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, N.C.,
and Jacksonville University. Information:
www.premiersothebysrealty.com
Bonita business expo in March
The 2014 Community Business Expo
in Bonita Springs is March 13. It’s the
largest trade show in Bonita, with displays
throughout the The Promenade, which
is along U.S. 41. The expo is from 4 to 7
p.m., is free and the public is welcome.
Credit union changes name, logo
Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union
has announced a name change to Sun-
coast Credit Union, a new logo, website
and Twitter account. In December, mem-
bers voted in favor of converting from a
federal charter to a state charter, requir-
ing the credit union to change its name.
The charter change allows all individuals
who live or work in the 15 counties — in-
cluding Collier and Lee — currently served
by the credit union to join Suncoast. Sun-
coast Credit Union is the largest financial
institution headquartered on Florida’s
west coast and the largest credit union
in the state, Suncoast serves 569,737
members, has assets of more than $5.5
billion and employs 1,098 employees. For
more information visit: suncoastcredi-
tunion.com, facebook.com/SuncoastCre-
ditUnion or on Twitter at @SuncoastCU.
Bonita EDC has new website
The Bonita Springs Estero Economic
Development Council recently launched a
complete overhaul of website content.
The effort was intended to increase
awareness of the EDC’s services and in-
crease knowledge about doing business in
Bonita Springs and Estero. The website is
www.BonitaEDC.com.
Chico’s opens child center
Chico’s FAS Inc. has announced the open-
ing of Chico’s FAS Early Education and Child
Development Center in Fort Myers. The
16,800-square-foot child care center will
be at Chico’s National Store Support Cen-
ter on Metro Parkway. It will serve infants,
toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners and
more. The center is open from 7 a.m. to 7
p.m. Monday through Friday and is available
for Chico’s FAS Inc. employees only. The
new child care center accommodates up to
132 children from 6 weeks to 5 years old
and 36 school-age children from age 6 to
10 years old. Information: 239-346-4870
or kristin.mcclement@chicos.com
Community 75 percent sold
Serata, a neighborhood of 36 single-
family lakefront estate homes at Mediter-
ra, is 75 percent sold. London Bay Homes,
which oversees sales and marketing at
the 1,700-acre luxury golf and beach
club community in North Naples, have
announced that only seven homesites re-
main. Information: www.ExperienceMedi-
terra.com or 866-954-8939.
Pink coming to
Coastland Center in Naples
Pink is coming soon to Coastland
Center in Naples. No, not the singer.
The Victoria’s Secret brand store plans
to open by June 1 in the former Disney
Store. Men’s Palace is in that location
now, but the men’s clothing store is plan-
ning to relocate by March 1 to the for-
mer location of the 579 clothing store.
The 579 store recently closed between
F.Y.E. and Radio Shack in the Sears wing
of the mall. Construction is set to begin
in March for the new Pink store and the
present Victoria’s Secret store, and the
stores eventually will connect, said Me-
lissa Wolf, Coastland regional marketing
manager. The Victoria’s Secret store
will temporarily relocate to a former
wig store in the Macy’s wing of the mall,
Wolf said. Victoria’s Secret will move
back to its present space after a few
months. Victoria’s Secret launched Pink
in 2002, targeting teenage girls with a
line of lingerie, underwear, sleepwear,
loungewear, beauty products and more.
Pink already has an NCAA line that
focuses brand recognition through public
university athletics. Pink also plans to
launch a line of Major League Baseball
clothing this spring and a life of National
Football League wear in the fall.
Premier Sotheby’s open
new Fifth Ave. office
Premier Sotheby’s International Realty
has opened a new office at 500 Fifth Ave.
S. Managing broker Chris Harrington will
head the office. He studied at the College
of Charleston in Charleston, S.C., and
Winthrop College in Rock Hill, S.C.
Frantz speaks at conference
Dr. Jonathan M. Frantz recently spoke
at a national conference. Frantz joined
other ophthalmologists in the U.S. who
spoke at “Cataract Surgery: Telling It
Like It Is” in Sarasota last month. More
than 500 physicians attended the three-
day conference, educating and informing
surgeons on the latest technologies in
bladeless laser cataract surgery. Frantz
EyeCare has five offices in Southwest
Florida, including Naples and Fort My-
ers. Information: 239-430-3939 or
www.bettervision.net.
Neal Boortz to speak in SW Fla.
Neal Boortz, a nationally syndicated
talk show veteran and a North Naples
resident, will speak in Southwest Florida
next month. Boortz will speak March
21 at The Speakers Assembly of South-
west Florida luncheon, held at the Hyatt
Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in
Estero from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The
event begins with member networking at
11 a.m., and the program and lunch begin
at 11:45 a.m., followed by a 30-minute
question-and-answer session with Boortz.
Boortz will discuss why he wants to over-
haul the U.S. tax system and implement a
“fairtax,” a variant of a national retail sales
tax in lieu of most other taxes. To register,
visit www.SpeakersAssembly.com or call
239-948-7909.
Fifth Avenue South
a No. 1 destination
TripAdvisor recently recognized Fifth
Avenue South in Naples as the No. 1 shop-
ping and dining destination on its list of 71
Naples-area attractions. The world’s larg-
est travel site, TripAdvisor-branded sites
feature more than 125 million reviews and
opinions covering more than 3.1 million ac-
commodations, restaurants, and attrac-
tions. The new TripAdvisor review called
Fifth Avenue South’s business district “a
solid and cohesive cooperation among
businesses of all sizes which results in a
much better experience for the visitor.”
Information: www.FifthAvenueSouth.com
Port joins Naples Trust
David F. Port has joined the Naples Trust
Co. as executive vice president for trust
administration. Port has 30 years of expe-
rience in estate planning, trust and estate
administration, estate and gift taxation
and real estate. An 18-year Naples resi-
dent, he most recently spent five years as
a senior vice president at The Northern
Trust Co. He received his law degree from
Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. Infor-
mation: www.naplestrustcompany.com
Kopp named to bank boards
Bradford B. Kopp has been named direc-
tor for the boards of TGR Financial Inc. and
its subsidiary, First National Bank of the
Gulf Coast. Kopp, who replaces Chris C.
Casciato of Lightyear Capital, is a senior
adviser to Lightyear Capital and a financial
services executive. Kopp graduated from
Harvard and Harvard Business School.
Information: 239-348-8000, 877-763-
0244 or www.fnbofgc.com
Lady from Haiti
relocates again in Naples
The Lady From Haiti Boutique and
Art Gallery has relocated again in down-
town Naples.
The store formerly was on Fifth Avenue
South but moved a couple of times in
recent years. The new site is 110 10th
Street N.
The new, larger location features vivid
Caribbean-colored paintings and metal
wall sculptures of palm trees, birds, sun-
bursts, sand dollars and starfish, as well
as papier mâche parrots, toucans, fish,
lobsters, monkeys, and crabs for your
pool, lanai, kids’ room and other fun areas.
Information: 239-649-8607 or email:
info@ladyfromhaiti.com
BIZBRIEFS
5Q BUSINESS
BIZ PROFILE
MIRANDA
MARTIN
DIRECTBUY
OF FORT MYERS
14241 Jetport Loop W.,
Suite 2
Fort Myers, Florida 33913
239-425-6086
www.directbuy-fortmyers.com
If you would like to nominate yourself or
someone for a business profile, please email
news@naplesnews.com. Include the business
owner’s name and title, place of business and
contact information including phone number
and email address. Or you can fill out a form
on www.naplesnews.com/participate.
DirectBuy of Fort Myers is a members only showroom which allows
our members to purchase directly from over 700 manufacturers with
over 1 million different products ranging from home furnishings and home
improvements in addition to worldwide travel and lifestyle programs. Our
members are able to purchase at the dealers cost which results in significant
money and time savings while shopping in a relaxed and helpful environment
with no commission sales people.
1
Why did you choose to start
this type of business?
I started with the company in an
entry level position when I was 17
years old in Vancouver, Canada.
My husband joined the DirectBuy
family about 10 years ago as a sales
representative in Jacksonville Florida.
We both met each other through the
company but also fell in love with the
concept and the culture of helping
families save while enjoying the bene-
fits of this unique way of buying. After
a long career with multiple positions
with the organization we worked our
way up to achieving the dream of
owning our own franchise.
2
What is the most challenging
part of your job?
We have two toddler boys (1.5
and 3 years old) so the challenging
part for us is running the business,
which has long hours, while raising
a young family. Ben and I are hands
on franchisees and with the intro-
duction tours, marketing/service
department hours and participation
in local community events our busi-
ness is in operation 7 days a week
in some capacity. To say the least,
we really appreciate our family time
when we get it.
3
What do you enjoy most
about owning the business?
The exclusivity of being a “country
club for shopping”. A lot of our mem-
bers refer to our staff as “family”
and watching the relationships built
over the years and months is really
priceless. Its extremely rewarding
to see how our concept has helped
to enhance the overall lifestyle for
our members. Its means a lot to
hear a member say that without
DirectBuy they would have never
been able to afford to complete
their project or buy at the level of
quality they have in their home. On
the backend, we spend a lot time on
recognition, training and personal
development which makes it an en-
joyable success conducive environ-
ment for us and our team.
4
What type of work experience
or training do you have to
have to run your business?
A owner/operator with strong lead-
ership skills who is not afraid to get
“elbows deep” in the daily activities.
We currently have 25 employees but
started with 6 employees less than 3
years ago. This business is impossible
to run alone since there are a lot of
moving parts. The areas range from
customer service, product knowledge
of 700 brands, accounting, market-
ing, call center and sales so the ability
to develop those around you is key.
5
What are your goals for the
future of your business?
Our goal is to earn the “Club of the
Year” award from our Corporate head
office. They base the winner of this
award from a number of notable cat-
egories including surveying our mem-
bers after placing orders and also
on random basis. Currently we are
consistently in the Top 10 in the overall
network ultimately want to be #1.
Miranda & Ben Martin, owners of DirectBuy
of Fort Myers.