JetBlue initiated service at JAX June 2006 with three daily flights to its home base at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) and in 2008 launched its first direct daily service to Boston’s Logan International Airport (BOS). In May of 2011, the value airline expanded its schedule to Boston by adding a second daily flight, in addition to launching Jacksonville’s only nonstop service to the Caribbean with direct flights to Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In the third quarter of 2011, the market size to San Juan increased more than 400 percent year-over-year, while fares were cut by 37 percent over the same period.

WBENC provides and manages development, enforcement and implementation of its world-class certification. Thousands of major corporations and a select group of government entities accept this certification. By including women-owned businesses among their vendors, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier and vendor diversity programs.

“We are proud to have been identified and certified as a WBE,” said BroadBased CEO Jan Korb, who founded the company 16 years ago. “It is a prestigious collection of women-owned businesses working together.”

BroadBased Communications Inc. is one of 17 WBENC certified businesses in the Jacksonville area and 410 in the state. BroadBased is the only marketing and public relations communication agency certified as a WBE in Jacksonville.

To learn more, visit www.bbased.com or call 904-398-7279.

The winning show will be announced at the gala grand opening of Hello, Dolly on March 2, and posted on the website (www.alhambrajax.com) and Facebook (Save the Alhambra). So as to encourage voting, there will be no exit polls and leading vote getters will not be disclosed until the polls close.

The Summer Show, for now called Summer Surprise, is schedule to run June 6 through July 22.

Said Managing Partner Craig Smith, “There are so many great titles to choose from that we couldn’t make up our minds. So we narrowed it down to three shows that haven’t been at the Alhambra in a while, and are letting our patrons decide what they want to see this summer.”

The 2012 board priorities include developing Downtown Jacksonville, enhancements to the port of Jacksonville, strengthening sports and entertainment attractions, helping local businesses grow, improving education and increasing the area’s community pride.

Downtown Development – Developing Downtown Jacksonville is essential for the JAX region’s future success. The Chamber recently announced the redesign of its headquarters as Downtown’s new front door. The board supports the creation of a Downtown Development Authority to help generate interest and encourage economic development in the city’s core as well as marketing efforts to educate residents about Downtown.

The port of Jacksonville – The port of Jacksonville is an economic driver for job creation and high-wage jobs in our community. The Chamber will continue to work with JAXPORT to advocate for port investments and progress in every way possible. Leaders are also looking to develop strategic partnerships with other Florida ports for marketing and advocacy plans.

Sports and Entertainment – Sporting and entertainment events not only add to the quality of life but also provide significant economic benefits for the JAX region. These events generate hundreds of millions of dollars a year into our local economy. They also help raise awareness about the JAX region as a destination and drive business development.

Buy Chamber – The Chamber will continue to develop and expand its Buy Chamber program, helping member businesses grow by enabling their owners to more easily market to other Chamber members. Plans include the development of a corporate buying program.

Downtown development encourages greater patronage of Downtown businesses. Buy Chamber brings buyers and sellers together to increase their revenues thereby helping them grow.

Education – Education is the key to success, providing the knowledge and skills necessary to compete and prosper in a challenging marketplace. High-wage job growth relies on an educated workforce. The Chamber will work with local organizations focused on education to engage the business community and serve as the resource for information about the educational system and promote programs in our area.

Community Pride – #ilovejax is an initiative that the Chamber launched via Twitter late last year when the Innovate Northeast Florida survey indicated the need to improve local residents’ perception of our region. The report stated that economic development marketing begins at home, and a community’s ability to tell its story is paramount to its success in marketing itself to the world. The campaign uses multiple communication methods, with a focus on social media, to promote the many positive reasons that make the JAX region dynamic. The conversation continues at #ilovejax.

More than 450 small business owners and entrepreneurs attended Mayor Brown’s Business Builder and learned more from instructional sessions that featured speakers including: Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills, American Management Services’ George Cloutier and First Oklahoma Bank’s Tom Bennett.

There are more than 80,000 small businesses in the Northeast Florida region that provide a source of income for nearly 230,000 workers, managers and owners. Mayor Brown’s Business Builder is a series of events designed to help entrepreneurs start and expand business on the First Coast. There was also a mini showcase expo for the participants.

A highlight of the summit was the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Small Business Administration and the City of Jacksonville. The MOU is a partnership joining the two entities together with a common mission to helping start, maintain and expand small businesses in the area.

The MOU will help increase the resources available to entrepreneurs by increasing the city and SBA’s commitment to work together to help small businesses in Jacksonville gain access to capital and credit and better utilize SBA’s tools and services.

Mills told attendees that 23% of federal government contracts go to small businesses and that government does not create jobs—small businesses create jobs.

The JAX Chamber has a long-standing commitment to small businesses and entrepreneurship and is a strong partner with the city. The organization drives economic development and job creation by attracting, retaining, starting and growing businesses in Northeast Florida.

The next Mayor Brown’s Business Builder will take place May 17-18, 2012. More details will be announced soon.

The Blood Alliance presented checks totaling $24,496 with its community partner Comcast Business Class to Wounded Warrior Project, The Donna Foundation, Second Harvest and the Joshua Frase Foundation on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 9:30 a.m., at its Deerwood Headquarters.

TBA donated $1 each to The Donna Foundation (in October), Second Harvest (in November) and the Joshua Frase Foundation (in December) for every blood donation made at any of its donor centers (the promotions did not include bloodmobiles or special events). TBA also donated $5 for every 50 online accumulated ePoints donated back by donors in its Hero Rewards Store online. Additionally, special Veteran’s Day blood drives held in SE Georgia and NE Florida also raised money for Wounded Warrior Project on Nov. 11, 2011. To top it off, Comcast Business Class partnered with TBA to contribute $1,500 to each of these causes, for a total of $6,000.

Checks were presented to:

•Wounded Warrior Project (WWP): Veterans Day dedicated blood drive on 11-11-11 to benefit WWP, 113 Donors donated their points back to TBA, 368 donations were made at the drive. Total presented to WWP: $3,905.

•The Donna Foundation: 303 donors donated their points back to TBA, with 3,076 Donor Center Blood Donations. Total presented to the Donna Foundation: $6,091.

•Second Harvest: 503 Donors donated their points back to TBA, with 2,961 Donor Center Blood Donations. Total presented to Second Harvest: $6,976.

•Joshua Frase Foundation: 577 donors donated their points back to TBA, with 3,139 Donor Center Blood Donations. Total presented to Joshua Frase Foundation: $7,524.

The Blood Alliance and its community partner, Comcast Business Class, gives back a total of $24,496!

For more information, visit www.igiveblood.com or call 888.99.TBA.HERO.

In the Company section, visitors will find information about Stellar’s history, commitment to corporate responsibility, office locations, outstanding safety record, relationships with clients, the Stellar Foundation, industry events, and awards and rankings. On the About Us page, visitors can sign up for the company’s e-newsletter.

In the Markets area, visitors can learn about Stellar’s work in five markets—Commercial, Distribution & Logistics, Food & Beverage, Refrigeration Services, and Thermal. Visitors can learn about the company’s Energy division by clicking the Stellar Energy link in the top menu.

The Services section features information on seven key offerings: Design, Pre-Construction, Construction, Refrigeration Services, Thermal, Safety Consulting, and Sustainability.

The site also includes a comprehensive photo gallery of completed projects across all of Stellar’s markets as well as client testimonials.

In addition to the new website, the company has established Stellar pages on Facebook and LinkedIn to share news and updates on a regular basis. Soon it will launch Stellar Town, an interactive, digital tool to further demonstrate how the company’s various services come together to create the places where people live, work and play.

For more information, visit www.stellar.net.

As part of the nonprofit project, Leadership Jacksonville will work with Kent and Pepper Lindsey of Lindsey Films to create the video legacy series. The first video will be made possible by an initial $20,000 grant from The Schultz Foundation and will feature its founder and legendary Jacksonville leader Fredrick H. Schultz.

Throughout his life and career, Schultz was dedicated to improving the quality of life inNortheast Florida and positively impacting the lives of those who lived in it. Schultz’s career includes working for the CIA, Barnett Bank and later founding several companies including Florida Wire and Cable, Platt Pontiac, Florida Trend magazine, and The Schultz Center among others. His public service included serving as a member of the Florida House of Representatives and Speaker of the House for the Florida Legislature, where he sponsored legislation to create the University of North Florida and Florida State College, as well as serving as Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board under President Jimmy Carter. Schultz is perhaps best known for his work and dedication to improving education. He served on the Citizen’s Committee on Education, chaired the Florida Council on Education, served as a member of the National Council on Educational Research and chaired the Florida Institute of Education. He also created the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership, founded Leadership Jacksonville and created the Jacksonville Community Council Inc. (JCCI).

With proper funding, Leadership Jacksonville hopes to create several videos a year and showcase them throughout the community, including broadcasts on WJCT, on its website, and on the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership website.

For more information, call Isabelle Owen Spence at 904-396-6263 or visit www.leadershipjax.org.

BoeFly announced its first-annual Lender of the Year Award competition in December 2011 and accepted nominations for lenders who exemplified qualities of the Ideal BoeFly Lender, including innovation, responsiveness, diligence, serving clients’ needs, embracing technology and executing well.

“I feel extremely honored and touched to have been named BoeFly’s 2011 Lender of Year,” said Kevin Ellis, Vice President of Small Business Lending at Atlantic Coast Bank and recipient of the first-annual BoeFly Lender of the Year Award. “As part of a community bank, I am dedicated to doing all I can to source small business and franchise borrowers and fund their loans so they can efficiently move forward with their entrepreneurial endeavors without dwelling on the issue of financing. BoeFly’s streamlined platform has proven to be instrumental in helping me source these borrowers quickly and easily, and close some very promising deals.”

The award will be presented to Ellis at the Franchise Finance Conference, sponsored by Franchise Times, on March 7 in Las Vegas. As the winner, Ellis will receive complimentary conference registration, airfare and hotel accommodation, and will be included as an expert panelist at the conference.

BoeFly connects small business borrowers, franchisors, and lenders online to facilitate the process of small business lending. For more information, visit www.boefly.com.