Gear for Women will present a car care clinic for women at its monthly meeting on Sept. 13. The meeting and networking event will be at Car-Tech USA, 11672 Philips Highway, Jacksonville. For information or to RSVP, contact donna@car-techusa.com.  

Refreshments and light appetizers will be served.

The Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce is launching a new organization, the Health Council.  The Health Council is open to everyone within the healthcare industry and to those who want to understand more about health issues. 

The council’s first meeting will be at Brighton Bay Retirement Resort, 10061 Sweetwater Parkway, Jacksonville, on Sept. 2, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. A. Hugh Greene, president and CEO of Baptists Health System will make a presentation.

For more information call 904-366-6626.

Aspiring business owners who want to learn more about franchising opportunities will be able to do so at a “Meet the Franchisors” event, Oct. 5, at UNF University Center.

Organizer Marshall Reddy, FranNet Principal/Florida, is teaming up with UNF’s Small Business Development Center to bring in seven to 10 franchisors, who will talk about franchising opportunities. Advantage is the media sponsor for the event.

Two workshop sessions will be held. The first will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; the second, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

To RSVP contact Reddy at mreddy@frannet.com or go to www.frannetflorida.eventbrite.com.

The Small Business Resource Network (SBRN) at UNF will hold a bowling tournament open to all interested parties, to benefit the “Friends of SBRN/SBDC” Program. The tournament will be an opportunity for local small business men and women to network.

The first annual tournament will be held August 31 at Bowl America on Beach Boulevard. Registration and networking will begin at 4:30 p.m. with bowling starting at 5 p.m. There is a $50 fee per bowler, half of which is tax deductible, and a $500 presenting sponsor and several lane sponsorships are still available for $150.

“We hold monthly networking luncheons open to members and guests, but the highest quality networking that we offer is at after-hours events,” says SBRN Director Nancy Boyle. “Attendance is always high and great relationships are strengthened in a more laid-back business setting.”

The “Friends of the SBRN/SBDC” Program was created several years ago in to provide additional funding to the two city-funded small business enhancement programs at UNF. Each is funded through city and federal funds, but prefer to gather private funds to ensure the organizations don’t run the risk of suffering from budget cuts.

Stellers Gallery of Ponte Vedra will exhibit the work of nationally-recognized painters Laura Lacambra Shubert and Jennifer J.L. Jones, during the upcoming exhibit, Two Women, to be held October 1 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. The opening will be at Stellers Gallery at Ponte Vedra, 240 A1A North, Ste. 13 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. According to gallery owner Hillary Tuttle, the exhibit will be dedicated to National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

Growing second-stage businesses statewide have the opportunity to join an elite group of nationally recognized companies as part of Florida Companies to Watch, an awards program that celebrates second-stage companies throughout the state of Florida. The deadline for nominations is Sept. 17.

Florida Companies to Watch is presented by GrowFL and the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida, in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation.  Sponsors for the event include the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, Florida Business Incubation Association, and the University of Central Florida.   

Companies to Watch is a unique awards program developed by the Edward Lowe Foundation to honor second-stage companies that demonstrate high performance in the marketplace, exhibit innovative products or processes, or otherwise make those companies “worth watching.”  Companies to Watch operates statewide in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and the northeastern region of California.

“We encourage second-stage companies to apply for this outstanding program,” said Dr. Tom O’Neal, executive director of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute and associate vice president for the University of Central Florida’s Office of Research and Commercialization.  “Being selected for the Florida Companies to Watch awards program provides growing businesses the credibility and recognition that distinguish them among their competitors.”

To be eligible for the award, a company must be a privately held, commercial enterprise that is currently in a stage of growth and past the start-up phase.  Qualifying companies must also be headquartered in the state of Florida, employ between six and 99 employees, and have between $750,000 and $50 million in annual revenue.  Companies in all industries are invited to apply.

A selection panel of judges representing areas of economic development, banking, entrepreneurship and small business look for evidence of fast and/or high growth in employment rates and revenue.  In addition, Florida Companies to Watch award recipients also demonstrate special strengths and traits that stand out from the competition including entrepreneurial leadership, product innovation, social/community responsibility and competitive business practices.

Companies may apply directly to the program, and professionals who work with qualifying companies such as attorneys, accountants, bankers, public relations representatives and economic development professionals are also encouraged to nominate businesses they believe should be recognized.  The deadline to nominate a second-stage company is September 17, 2010.  All companies vying for the award must submit an application, which will be accepted until October 8, 2010.

The companies selected as 2011 Florida Companies to Watch will be recognized at a special ceremony set for Thursday, February 17, 2011 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Fla. 

In addition to the recognition of being named a Florida Companies to Watch, winners have the opportunity to participate in a leaders retreat attended by Companies to Watch award recipients from other states and held at the Edward Lowe Foundation’s Big Rock Valley property in southwestern Michigan. 

For more information, visit www.CompaniestoWatch.org or email FloridaCTW@edwardlowe.org.

The Florida Department of Transportation is receiving $600,000 as part of $11.6 million in grants aimed at helping disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) compete for federal highway contracts. The grants are being awarded to 30 state agencies and Puerto Rico.

The grants from the Federal Highway Administration’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise/Supportive Services (DBE/SS) program provide federal aid to DBE firms to improve their ability to compete for and fulfill federal highway contracts.

Since1982, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has promoted the participation of DBEs in federal-aid highway contracts through state-managed programs. The DBE/SS grants are part of an ongoing federal effort to help state departments of transportation train certified DBE firms on a wide range of business management practices, including procurement assistance and guidance on securing bonding. The goal of the program is to help DBEs successfully compete for federal highway projects.

A DBE is a for-profit, small business owned by minorities, women, or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals or, in the case of a corporation, in which 51% of the stock is owned by one or more such individuals. The daily business operations must be controlled by at least one of the socially and economically disadvantaged owners. More information about DBE eligibility can be found on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s website.

States receiving awards include:

• Alabama, $373,950 and $384,312

• Alaska, $185,381

• Arizona, $750,000

•  Arkansas, $194,864

• California, $1,000,000

• Connecticut, $391,320

• Delaware, $262,500

• Florida, $600,000

• Idaho, $97,900

• Illinois, $912,600

• Indiana, $603,499

• Kansas, $175,000

• Kentucky, $150,500

• Maryland, $300,000

• Michigan, $475,000

• Mississippi, $485,900

• Montana, $232,190

• New Mexico, $218,500

• North Carolina, $514,900

• Ohio, $430,500

• Oklahoma, $41,166

• Pennsylvania, $455,652

• Puerto Rico, $92,500

• South Carolina, $258,383

• Tennessee, $600,000

• Vermont, $150,000

• Washington, $309,096

• Wyoming, $160,397

A free local networking event of Partner Up Jacksonville for the Bartram Park area is scheduled for Sept. 1, from 5: 30 p.m. to 7 p.m. It will take place at SunTrust Bank, 13927 Old St Augustine Rd., Jacksonville.

Several members of NetWorth, a local networking group, will offer an extension of their philosophy of “Know Me, Like Me, And Trust Me” at the event.

Partner Up meets monthly and uses an agenda to allow everyone to discuss their businesses. Refreshments and light appetizers are served.

The Jacksonville Women’s Business Center, a program of the Jacksonville Chamber Foundation, will present a

Pat Blanchard

 complimentary program for men and women who want to start their own business at the Clay County Chamber of Commerce, Aug. 31, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

 “LaunchPads: Exploring Entrepreneurial Options” will explain the many paths to business ownership.  The workshop is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is required.  Register by visiting the events calendar at www.opportunityjacksonville.com or contact Duffan.Dickert@myjaxchamber.com for more information.

“This is an outstanding opportunity to talk with an expert panel of entrepreneurs about business ownership, including the pros and cons of purchasing a franchise or existing company, and starting a business from scratch or under the protection of an established corporate umbrella,” said Pat Blanchard, director of the Jacksonville Women’s Business Center and the facilitator for the program.  “Our panelists are successful business owners and will share their experiences about what worked, what did not work so well and the lessons they learned along the way.  This program is designed so the audience can ask tough questions and come away with honest, real-life answers.”

Sponsorship provided by Prudential and a grant from the Wachovia Foundation enables the Jacksonville Women’s Business Center to extend its services to aspiring business owners residing in Clay County.

The Jacksonville Women’s Business Center provides mentoring, training, consulting and networking opportunities to advance the success of women entrepreneurs at every stage of business development.  JWBC serves primarily aspiring and existing women business owners in a seven-county area, including Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns counties.  Some of the JWBC’s programs, such as LaunchPad, are open to mixed-gender participants.  The JWBC is partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

A local motivational speaker, Brad Raney, has published a book dedicated on helping people “unlock the real you.”

Brad Raney

Improve Your Vowels, Improve Your Career uses the vowels—A, E, I, O, U—as guideposts to finding a better job.

Raney is planning to release other editions of vowel books, addressing teaching the vowels to tweens and teens; using the vowels to improve work-group efficiency; and building the sales organization using the vowels’ tenets.

For more information, go to www.improveyourvowels.com.