Space Coast Business Magazine

Indian River Media Group buys Space Coast Living Magazine

2021-04-13T20:28:43Z

Indian River Media Group, publisher of Indian River Magazine and six other publications, has purchased Space Coast Living Magazine and will relaunch it in Brevard County in June.

The asset purchase agreement between Indian River Media Group and Space Coast Magazines LLC and principals Joe Duda and Eric Wright was executed on April 8. Terms were not disclosed.

“We believe that it’s essential that Brevard readers have a glossy lifestyle magazine reflecting the county’s beauty and robust economic vitality,’’ Indian River Publisher and President Gregory Enns said. “We are glad that we could complete this agreement so that we can continue providing Brevard readers with this outstanding magazine about the community in which they live.’’

Duda and Wright announced earlier this month that they would cease publishing Space Coast Living. But the new agreement and ownership ensures the glossy magazine and its website, spacecoastliving.com, will continue publishing well into the future.

Enns said his company plans to expand Space Coast Living’s home section and to add history and other features. Besides the summer edition in June, Space Coast Living will publish every September [fall], November [holiday], January [winter] and March [spring]. The annual Discover The Space Coast, a visitor, relocation and residential resources guide, will publish every December. The publishing cycle mirrors that of Indian River Magazine, which covers the Treasure Coast counties of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin.

Tasha Macri, Director of Marketing & Operations.

Lori Reader will assist with advertising sales for the relaunched Space Coast Living. She can be reached at 321.288.3873.

The editorial and sales staffs of the two magazine groups will be separate, although the company will run its administrative functions such as billing and subscriptions, through the Fort Pierce office. Lori Reader, who left Space Coast Living last year, is returning to assist with advertising sales. Tasha Macri, who has been with the magazine for three years, will oversee marketing and operations for Space Coast Living. Enns will serve as publisher.

Enns said Indian River Media Group’s ownership of Indian River Magazine and Space Coast Living means the company will have publications serving readers in four contiguous counties along the entire section of the 156-mile Indian River Lagoon, from Ponce de Leon Inlet in Volusia County to the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County. The stretch constitutes 40 percent of Florida’s eastern coast.

Indian River Magazine was launched in 2006 by Enns and Allen Osteen, Treasure Coast natives and friends since childhood. Enns is a former newspaper editor and reporter who is vice president of the Florida Magazine Association. Osteen is president of East Coast Lumber & Supply Co., with stores and lumberyards in Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties. In 2019, he was named entrepreneur of the year by the Indian River State College Foundation.

Starting with the flagship Indian River Magazine, Enns and Osteen later expanded the company to publish Port St. Lucie Magazine, Fort Pierce Magazine, the Sunrise Theatre playbill, Emerson Center program and the St. Lucie Travel Guide.

Because of the number of different magazines and websites it produces, Indian River Magazine Inc. recently realigned itself as Indian River Media Group to reflect its broad spectrum of print and digital publishing.

Gregory Enns, right, and Allen Osteen founded the company now known as Indian River Media Group in 2006 with a single magazine, Indian River.

Indian River also publishes a variety of custom magazines. Its custom publishing partners include St. Lucie County, the City of Fort Pierce, Indian River State College, the Florida Small Business Development Center, St. Lucie County Economic Development Council and the Treasure Coast Manufacturers Association.

And in 2019, the company produced Vero Beach’s 100th anniversary magazine that was recognized as the best custom magazine in the state by the Florida Magazine Association.

“We believe in the vitality and future of print magazines,’’ Enns said. “They are one of the most credible forms of media, and our various digital platforms and websites reinforce these.’’

The roots of Indian River’s two founders run deep in Brevard County. Osteen’s great-grandfather, George F. Paddison, was a five-time mayor of Eau Gallie and co-founded East Coast Lumber & Supply Co. in Eau Gallie in 1902. Enns’ great-great grandfather, Stephen N. Gladwin, arrived in Titusville in 1891 from Melrose, Fla., and owned and operated the first ice manufacturing plant on the Indian River.

See the most recent issue of Space Coast Living
www.spacecoastliving.com/current-issue/

To subscribe to Space Coast Living
www.spacecoastliving.com/subscribe/

To advertise in Space Coast Living
www.spacecoastliving.com/to-advertise

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THE ETHICAL CAPITALIST: Zig Zagging Forward

2021-03-30T01:27:11Z

Both my father and brother were avid sailors. Dad kept it local, cruising the mild waters of the Banana and Indian Rivers. My brother, on the other hand, set his sights a little higher and was able to complete two circumnavigations of the globe.

The sailing bug never bit me, but because of proximity I learned the basics of seamanship. It was like growing up in a home filled with college football enthusiasts — whether or not you share in the almost-sacred devotion, you cannot help but be aware of how the season is going and what the outlook is for the next season.

One aspect of sailing that always intrigued me, and is also a great analogy for life and culture, is how a sailboat is able to move up-wind. When going “off the wind” in the direction the wind is blowing, you can unfurl the balloon like spinnaker and speed along.

Moving into the wind, however, requires a maneuver called “tacking.” When tacking, one sails up wind at a 45-degree angle, moving back and forth. Which, over time, gets you to your desired destination. This is where power boat enthusiasts check out, as they can hit the throttles and go right into the wind. But as my father would say, “If I wanted to get there fast, I could drive in my car.”

As I said, this sort of back-and-forth pattern to get to a desired destination is one I have experienced over and over again in life. For instance, as a Christian, I was confronted with the certainty that there was a spiritual reality and a physical or natural reality coexisting together. However, if my sole focus was on that spiritual reality and I didn’t thoughtfully and diligently mind the opportunities, responsibilities and relationships in the physical realm, I could quickly find myself off course or, worse, shipwrecked. Similarly, thinking the physical world is all that exists akin to thinking Newtonian physicists as good an explanation as we will ever hear.

I have found life is full of this sort of “tacky” (pardon the pun) balance.

When tacking, the challenge is when you “come about,” or begin moving in the opposite direction up wind. To do this, the boat must reach a maximum speed and then turn back directly into the wind. The momentum, when executed correctly, will take the boat far enough around for the wind to then catch the sail and off you go at a 90-degree angle from the direction you were going.

If you are not prepared for this maneuver or if you are experiencing it for the first time, it can be unnerving. As you make the turn, the sails begin to flap in the breeze like a large flag on a windy day, all momentum seems to be lost and then the boom — which holds the sail perpendicular to the mast — comes whipping across the deck and can easily knock someone overboard or unconscious.

Leaders have to be visionary risk takers, but they also have to be practical and process oriented. Managing people, like raising children, is based on motivation and direction that comes in the form of both patience and understanding, along with a demand for performance and goal attainment. It is not either/or. It is both/and.

This is especially helpful to me in understanding our political processes. Totalitarian regimes prefer the efficiency of rule without opposition, which soon becomes rule without consent. Our system, on the other hand, is designed to tack back and forth, avoiding extremes, but making steady progress, even if it isn’t in a straight line.

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THIS KID’S ALRIGHT | Jessica and Luke Marzano & the Global Sustainability Group

2021-03-30T01:08:49Z

For many teenage siblings, affinity and interest in each other’s lives waxes and wanes similarly to the moon’s pull on ocean tides. For Jessica and Luke Marzano, both students at West Shore Junior/Senior High School in Melbourne, it is – perhaps – those very tides that keep them connected.

In 2018, the two launched Global Sustainability Group (www.globalsustainabilitygroup.com), a nonprofit aimed at raising awareness about the sustainability of the planet.

The idea to create the charitable organization started after Jess and Luke started to see disturbing trends at local outdoor recreation areas.

“We love it here,” said Jess, noting that the two spend countless hours at local beaches and on local waterways. When they started to see increasing amounts of pollution and litter in these spaces, they felt a need to start a movement.

Jess and Luke’s parents got involved by helping them establish the non-profit and develop the website. The rest has been managed by the siblings, who’ve coordinated multiple beach clean-ups, planted numerous trees and worked with 81 student and community volunteers for a total of 501 hours to cleanup more than 200 pounds of trash from area beaches and community access areas.

“It has been exciting for me and my husband Peter to watch Luke and Jess work together on a common goal and to take pride in their achievements.

They have learned so much about ecology, stewardship, marketing, communication, public speaking, managing a group of volunteers, and hopefully have made the world a slightly better place in the process” said mom Linda Marzano.

Luke and Jess both have dreams to become medical professionals but also plan to continue running the organization as they work their way through college with the help of their parents.

Both have received recognition from the Town Council of Melbourne Beach and the Melbourne Beach Advisory Board for their environmental efforts.

For Jess, a sophomore who serves on student government and plays volleyball and lacrosse for the Lady Wildcats, it’s about “getting the community involved in reducing waste and thinking about our environment more.” She spearheads these wishes with activism and activities aimed at solving the problem.

For Luke, who’s a senior and a tennis player who loves surfing, hiking and fishing, it goes a little deeper. “Managing Global Sustainability Group has not only provided me with leadership and organizational skills but also shown me the extent of interconnection between humans and their environment. At the end of the day, humans are just animals that make things; we still are still governed by the same environmental principles that govern nature.”

These kids are alright.

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TRADE UP® Opening Windows of Opportunity at Port Canaveral

2021-03-30T01:10:15Z

Teens can only imagine the life, the opportunities, the potential that they glimpse at through some window, but even the slightest glimpse of possibility can change a young person’s entire perspective. One recruiter can offer a vision of an esteemed military career and purpose, serving their country. One apprenticeship can pave the road for a career in a skilled trade.

Remarkably, only a small fraction of Brevard’s teens has ever been to Port Canaveral, one of the largest economic engines in the region.

Port Canaveral serves multiple sectors of Central Florida’s economy and supports thousands of jobs directly at the port and indirectly throughout the area, bringing fuel to our cars and food to our tables. Port Canaveral welcomes millions of travelers from around the world, while also rescuing sea turtles who have travelled from oceans and seas far from here.

Thousands of individuals make up the day-to-day safe operations of our seaport. Some of the more well-known seaport occupations at Port Canaveral include harbor master, lock master, harbor pilots, United States Coast Guard, United States Navy, and our logistics workers such as stevedores. Each of these requires unique and dedicated training. Each also enjoys precious moments on Florida’s waterways and occasionally watching history being made on Florida’s Space Coast.

Port Canaveral is known worldwide as one of the world’s busiest cruise ports. However, not everyone knows that Port Canaveral is also a key partner in the space industry, commercial fishing, and the United States military. Each one of these areas is growing and will need skilled labor.

Nationally, US seaports recognize that their workforce is aging. More and more seaports are working with local high schools to develop programs and scholarships to reach high school students and recruit them.

Locally, the Propeller Club of Port Canaveral raises money all year to support the HELM program at Rockledge High. HELM, or “Helping Educate Leaders in Maritime” offers studies in Maritime Technology and apprenticeship opportunities. Students learn maritime skills including knot tying, rope handling, navigation, maritime rules and laws, and port operations. Students are also given the opportunity to take the Maritime Transportation Associate exam.

The HELM program is one path to a career at the port, but there are others. Port Canaveral has paths for students in any number of the Brevard Schools certifications or skills, such as HVAC, Refrigeration and Heating Technology; Building Construction Technologies, Emergency Medical Responder, and Hospitality and Tourism, to name a few.

Port Canaveral’s Junior Port Ambassador programs seeks to change that. While Port Canaveral has had an Ambassador program for many years seeking to connect with the community, this is the first program of its kind seeking to connect high school students and their peers with the Port.

Port Canaveral is currently taking applications from high school students to participate in this one-year program. The program is designed to introduce Space Coast high school students to the different sectors of Port Canaveral. The students then work together to create a collaborative multi-media presentation that is shared back with their classmates.

The ambassador meet four to six times per academic year at the Port, where they connect with leaders from the maritime industry, space, commercial fishing, construction, the US Coast Guard and the Brevard County Sheriff’s department, to name a few. In its first year, students went on to enter the US Navy, the US Army, and local welding programs. At least one student also applied for a commercial fishing license.

Applications can be found at www.portcanaveral.com/careeers/Junior-Port-Ambassador-Program in the Spring of 2021. The next class will begin in the Fall of 2021.

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After nearly two decades, Space Coast Magazines is closing its doors

2021-03-26T21:23:42Z

After nearly two decades serving the Space Coast community, Space Coast Magazines is closing its doors and no longer will produce Space Coast Living or Space Coast Business magazines. Our last issue was printed in March and has been distributed into the community. We will not produce an issue for April/May 2021.

Over the past year, our team has fought hard to retain and grow our business, but due to COVID and a number of other factors outside our control, we are forced to face the hard financial truth of the matter and will cease operations effective March 31.

We do have an interested party that wishes to continue producing the award-winning brand, but that is a future conversation.

As expected, we are working on all matters related to the dissolution of the company. If you have any questions pertaining to this matter, please contact Eric Wright at eric@spacecoastmagazines.com.

We would like to thank you for your participation and support of our organization over the years. The magazines have afforded us a unique perspective into the lives of families, businesses, organizations, faiths, and the struggles and triumphs of our friends and neighbors. It has been our absolute pleasure to tell and show the stories of the people and businesses that are a part of the fabric of our dynamic community.

We wish you the very best as you navigate your businesses and lives through these uncertain times.

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Q&A Keenun Barley, EGAD Main Street’s New Executive Director

2021-03-18T18:22:34Z

The eclectic, vibrant Eau Gallie Arts District (EGAD) recently welcomed Keenun Barley as its new executive director of EGAD Main Street. The Southern Virginia native relocated her family to the Space Coast in 2014 and immediately immersed herself in the local art, music, and plant-based food scene. Last year, amidst the pandemic, Keenun and business partner Kali Bernardo opened their own indie shop in EGAD called Co/Create, a highly curated collection of home goods, art, and more from 32 Florida artisans. Keenun is also the co-organizer of FLEAGAD Market and Space Coast Music Festival, as well as Space Coast Fresh Fest, a vegan festival. Keenun is the founder of Plant-Based Brevard and on the Board of Directors for Warriors 4 Kids.

Keenun admits that sleep is low on her list of priorities, starting every day at 4:30 am without an alarm clock and winding into the late hours of the evening, pouring her heart and soul into every item on her long lists of tasks. Right now, she is focusing on her new leadership role.

I was able to slot into her busy schedule at Co/Create where we discussed her plans for EGAD Main Street over a refreshing cup of local booch (aka kombucha) served on tap by Farm Boy Kombucha.

Q: Where did your interest in EGAD come from?

A: Our youngest [daughter] is an artist and she needed art supplies, so I googled it and Ralph’s Art Supply came up in my search. It was my first time [visiting] EGAD. We had a great conversation with Ralph, got to play with his cat and her kittens, and then took a walk through the neighborhood. EGAD won me over right off the bat. This is where I’m supposed to be.

Q: What do you love most about EGAD?

A: The people, without a doubt. It’s hard to explain how amazing it feels to be surrounded by people who support your ideas and never accuse you of thinking “too big.” It’s so fun and freeing! EGAD is filled with people working together to bring everyone else’s visions to fruition. It’s such a cool community.

Q: How has the pandemic impacted EGAD businesses?

A: EGAD lost one business because of COVID-19. Personally, I paid rent starting in January expecting to be open in three months, but actually opened on October 1, 2020. I had to eat that cost. Many of the businesses did a great job of adapting to the circumstances. Intracoastal Brewing Company produced their own hand sanitizer and created a drive-through for food and beer. FM Pizza added lunch shifts to make up for the limited occupancy at dinner. The Standard Collective closed for a few weeks and started producing custom masks. The EGAD Main Street program was able to secure some funds and used it to create maps of all businesses, storefront window signs that read “shop small” and provided masks to all businesses.

Q: What are your short term and long term goals as the new executive director?

A: After reading several years’ worth of the minutes from EGAD Main Street and city council meetings, and researching similar main streets, I think we have to start from scratch and go back to fully focusing on the four pillars of the main street organization. We need to come together. We need to do the work. I plan to be more one-on-one with each merchant. We need a working board, not just board members with titles. I want to work on building our membership and we need to do lots of fundraising. I definitely want a stronger social media presence and I’m ready to get started on all of this. One immediate goal would be to landscape Highland and Eau Gallie so that it looks fresh, safe, and inviting. I’d like to increase activity at the square and I’d like to see more events happening in the area. We currently have the Space Coast Music Fest, FLEAGAD, Space Coast Pride Fest, Rocky Water Brew Fest, and Whiskey in the District. I’d like to add some official holiday events and I want event planners to know that we’re open to having events here.

Q: Tell me about Co/Create.

A: Co/Create has 32 local “makers” – mostly from Brevard, one from Orlando and [one from] Miami. It’s a launch pad for local businesses. Fun workshops are held here: candle making, smudge sticks, bath scrubs, makeup class, wine tasting. We will start offering plant-based grab ‘n go, soups, and fresh juices, hopefully by March/April.

Q: Anything you'd like to tell us to know?

A: EGAD Main Street is a nonprofit and we need paying members, active members, and donations. I want to leave this community more connected and community oriented. Communication is key in all relationships.

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Maslow Named Hotel Melby Artist-In-Residence

2021-03-11T21:39:09Z

Melbourne, Fla.— On March 8, 2021, Hotel Melby, a Hilton-affiliated new lifestyle boutique hotel located in the heart of Downtown Melbourne opening on March 31st, announced a collaboration with renowned local artist Christopher Maslow.

After receiving numerous entries from local artists, Hotel Melby took to social media to announce the winner of their mural competition, who will create three murals in high-profile areas of the hotel and its expansive rooftop terrace lounge So impressed was the leadership of Hotel Melby with Maslow’s work, it appointed him artist-in-residence, indicating the start of future ongoing collaborations. While Maslow won the overall competition, Ian Soden, Nicholas Martinez, and Chrisitan Martinez earned honorable mentions for the extraordinary concepts they submitted.

“I am beyond thrilled to be joining Hotel Melby as their artist-in-residence,” Maslow said. “As a Melbourne native, I have dreamed about the possibilities of collaborating with Melby since its groundbreaking, and now that dream has come true.” He added, “I can’t wait for the public to see the creative direction I’m taking with this project. I’ve created something truly unique and special. Something original all its own.”

“Adding Chris’ exceptional creative mark to Hotel Melby will be an exciting complement to the hotel’s experiential design; it will provide our guests more memorable moments of beauty in unexpected places,” said Carlos Cerda, general manager of Hotel Melby.

Among Maslow’s previous notable business collaborations, he has worked with Starbucks, the Florida Institute of Technology, and Salesforce.

Most recognized for his multistory public works and fine art paintings, Maslow expresses art through a deep artistic narrative amongst today’s modern art movement. He blends various mediums and styles into his work, including abstract, realism, graffiti, and ethereal surrealism.

Hotel Melby welcomes residents and visitors to enjoy Maslow’s creations at its opening, slated for late March/early April 2021. The hotel launch includes 11th-floor dining & lounging destination, The Landing Rooftop, which provides catering, company events, and a stunning view of the river and city around it.

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Up Close with Dr. T. Dwayne McCay

2021-03-18T17:50:14Z

Prior to stepping into the role as president of Florida Institute of Technology, Dr. T. Dwayne McCay had a prestigious career as a leading research scientist with over 18 patents – nearly a third of which have been commercialized. At one point, he served as vice president at the University of Tennessee, where he was responsible in obtaining more directed funding. From 2003 to 2016, he was provost and chief academic officer at Florida Tech before taking the helm as president in 2016. Under his leadership, the university’s international reputation for producing some of the most sought-after and highly-paid graduates in the nation has soared, along with its focus on cutting-edge research.

EW: Florida Tech was initially shaped by the environment it was formed in, the Space Coast in the late 50’s and 60’s. Now, how do you see Florida Tech shaping and influencing that same environment?

DM: More than anything else, we are a source of talent that is providing much of the strength to the technology-based firms that are flourishing in this area and we have been doing that for some time. When you talk to CEO’s and HR executives in the 25 plus companies in close proximity to us, they love to hire our graduates, which translates to those graduates being some of the highest paid in the Southeast. The only complaint I hear from them is that we don’t graduate enough talent, but we’re working on that. The research we do here on satellites, or the Indian River Lagoon is all remarkable, but it is overshadowed by the qualified, career-ready talent we are producing.

EW: It has been observed that research universities are always an economic driver and that Silicon Valley would not exist without Stanford. How do you see Florida Tech in that sense?

DW: That is a scenario that has been playing out for some time, thankfully. I have visited 113 countries and I posed the question, “If you were going to choose a place to put an aerospace-oriented university, where would it be?” Without exception they say, “The Space Coast of Florida.” That was part of Dr. Keuper’s foresight when he founded Florida Tech, that the future of the area would be driven by highly educated talent.

EW: One observation I have heard in this regard is that we don’t have enough engineers and Florida Tech attracts the cream of foreign students, but they can’t matriculate into careers here because of the defense orientation of our local companies?

DW: It is true, they would like to hire them, but federal controls prevent them from doing so. However, graduates who move into the private sector outside the defense industry have risen to become chief scientist or chief technical officer.

EW: One of your goals when you became president, which reflected your background and passion, was to elevate Florida Tech as a leading research institution. How is the school doing in that regard?

DW: It has been more challeng- ing than I initially thought. Our history was as a great teaching institution and to mold us into a research-oriented university is like turning a big ship…inertia is an amazing thing. One initiative that I pushed as provost without success, but with success as president, is tenure. By advertis- ing for a position that is a tenure track, I get five times as many highly-qualified applicants. Tom Folliard, one of our famous graduates who helped build CarMax, whose brother is a tenured professor at the University of Texas, wanted to come here, but we didn’t offer tenure [at that time]. Without a tenured system, we were swimming upstream. Now, it is getting easier and easier to recruit. We have 20 faculty mem- bers who are recognized around the world as being leaders in their field, out of some 350. That is a huge number and most of that progress has been made in the last 15 years.

EW: It must be an extremely competitive environment?

DM: We had one of the world’s leading experts in cybersecurity, who left and became the chief technology officer at Microsoft. How do we compete with that compensation package? But now we have the Harris Institute for Assured Information, along with other industry leaders, and we have taken cybersecurity from being a sideline to being one of our core strengths that continues to grow.

EW: Biological sciences, including marine sciences, also is emerging as a strong field at the university.

DM: It is always about people and talent. Most of the community doesn’t know that we bring in close to 100 pre-med students a year. Of the ones who graduate in that track, an astonishing 82 percent get into medical school. This track record is leading to the location of a medical school on our campus in 2024. It is a program that has grown out of our biology department and the efforts of Julia Grimwade, who leads that program.

EW: How have you been able to manage the pandemic?

DM: There are only two private schools in the country that didn’t suffer declining enrollments through the pandemic, ours and a school up in Pennsylvania. We made decisions very early, we developed a strategic plan and we stuck to it. We communicated with parents, got their support and our enrollment actually grew. This spring we had the largest undergraduate enrollment in our history. There were many tough decisions, like canceling our public commencement exercises, [which] you know isn’t popular. But we did it and within a few weeks [and eventually] 70 percent of the colleges in Florida went to virtual graduations. These decisions, I think, go back to my background in launching missiles. You do everything to make sure everything is ready and then you push the button.

EW: What do you think Florida Tech will look like in 10 years?

DM: I call it “Back to the Future.” We will look like we did 30 years ago, where we were producing leading-edge graduates that industry competes for and re- search that was second to none, only we will be doing it better and on a larger scale.

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Hero Facility Services | Jason & Tamara Duhamel

2021-03-09T18:56:57Z

Every homeowner knows from experience the labor and expenses involved in keeping even a modest 2,000 square-foot home from disrepair. Daily, monthly and annually there are repairs that have to be made, equipment that must be replaced and the routine maintenance required to sustain the operation and value of any real estate investment.

Imagine those same responsibilities for a 25,000 or 250,000 square-foot facility at a commercial or industrial level where retail foot traffic or daily manufacturing takes place.

Hero Facility Services is a management company that takes much of this burden off corporate facility managers and business owners by providing efficient, time-and cost-effective solutions without the need for an expanded facilities staff, in most cases.

Photography by Jason Hook

The husband-and-wife team of Jason and Tamara Duhamel founded the company in 2018. Building on their complimentary skill sets and experience, they believed they could offer better service and value than other competitors in the field. It was a conviction and determination that has paid off, as today their clients include some of the largest commercial, realty, aerospace and technology companies on the Space Coast, while expanding their operations to all 50 states.

In fact, Jason and Tamara Duhamel have grown the business so effectively that Hero Facility Services went from 1,027 sites serviced in 2019 with approximately 3,000 service requests to 3,100 sites and 6,700 service requests in 2020. Jason estimates the company is on track in 2021 to complete more than 12,000 service requests.

One reason for this astonishing growth is the proprietary management software that Jason wrote and continues to update. “The software enables us to track every project for every client and ensure the costs for both services and any parts or equipment we replace is competitively priced. Then, we provide all those analytics to our clients, ensuring a collaborative dialog and partnership”, he said.

Further, added Tamara, “Our clients know that when they call us they don’t have to worry about the job getting done on-time and at the most reasonable price; it creates a great relationship.”

“Similarly, when our vendors – who are [providing] the services such as plumbing, HVAC or electrical repair – know that we are committed to paying them on time, whether or not we have collected from our clients, that produces a lot of loyalty,” Jason said.

Hero Facility Services is a veteran, woman-owned and operated full-service facility maintenance firm, providing a full spectrum of services including hvac, plumbing, electrical, handyman, disaster recovery, locksmith and more. From the rooftop to the parking lot, your Heroes have you covered.

For more information, call 800-838-4376 or www.herofacilityservices.com

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Brevard Eye Center is now TRES VISION Group

2021-03-02T21:23:40Z

TRES VISION Group
Spreads the Light, Reflecting Innovative, Specialized Eye Care

Brevard Eye Center, one of Brevard’s most widely recognized providers of optometry and ophthalmology services is now TRES VISION Group

(Melbourne, FL) – Leading the way in innovative and state-of-the-art advances in eye care services, Brevard Eye Center is now TRES VISION Group. For more than five decades, Brevard county residents have been served by one of region’s most beloved and widely recognized providers of optometry and ophthalmology services. Under the leadership of Dr. Rafael Trespalacios, medical director and lead surgeon, TRES VISION Group continues to grow, providing patients of all ages throughout the region with a full spectrum of highly specialized eye care services, with three convenient locations along the Space Coast.

Dr. Trespalacios, better known to his patients as “Dr. Tres,” and his medical team consisting of Dr. Leslie Collins, Dr. Lauren Hansen and Dr. William Riehl, Jr., recognize that every patient that walks through their doors entrusts them with their most precious gift – the gift of sight. It is through this reflection, that TRES VISION Group provides the highest level of cutting-edge, specialized eye care, focused on a patient-centered approach as its pinnacle standard of care. This cooperative care model enhances optimal patient outcomes and experiences, as compassionate and dedicated providers guide their patients along their journey towards better vision, as well as a better vision for their lives.

This patient-centered philosophy translates into all levels of care and practice. “Love People. Love Truth. Spread the Light. Change the World,” says Dr. Tres. “When we meet with patients, we literally and symbolically enlighten them as we learn and teach about what is going on with their eyes.”

TRES VISION Group recognizes that restoring and preserving the gift of sight, gives patients their freedom back. Freedom to enjoy the things they were previously unable to do when they had vision problems. Patients are drawn to TRES VISION Group because of its excellent reputation and peer recognition as one of the best eye centers in the country.

As one of the area’s leading ophthalmologists, Dr. Tres offers many highly specialized services due to his extensive education and training. He is a graduate of the University of South Florida’s medical school and went on to become a board-certified ophthalmologist with distinctions throughout his medical and surgical training. His fellowship training included an additional year studying cataracts and consultative ophthalmology, which provides the required expertise to treat more complex conditions in certain areas of the eye. Currently, Dr. Tres also serves as an associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Central Florida (UCF)’s College of Medicine. UCF is currently the largest public university in the nation.

TRES VISION Group offers comprehensive care ranging from the most routine eye care to specialized, cutting-edge treatments. As one of the most advanced eye centers in the country, it was the first in Florida to offer LipiFlow, a non-surgical procedure for dry eyes. The treatment is quick and painless, using heat and pressure to offer patients dry eye relief. Additionally, Dr. Tres was one of the first surgeons in the world to perform a bladeless laser corneal transplant. More recently, TRES VISION Group became the first in North America to offer minimally invasive glaucoma surgery with the OMNI 2 device, a no implant alternative to the world’s smallest medical device.

TRES VISION Group is the first in the country to offer the CataLāze Refractive option including ORA with VerifEYETM, a new intraoperative test option that provides real-time measurements of the patient’s eye during cataract surgery with no additional cutting. Prior to the CataLāze option including ORA with VerifEYETM, eye surgeons were unable to assess the quality of vision during a cataract procedure and would often have to wait weeks or even months after the surgery to determine the accuracy of the procedure and the patient’s visual results. While normal cataract surgery only removes the cataract, patients who choose CataLāze can have their overall vision improved at the same time. Backed by history and science already, more than 20,000 patients in Brevard have benefitted from Dr Tres’s innovative approach to cataract surgery.

In the patient-centered care philosophy, patient education is a high priority. The team at TRES VISION Group ensures patients are well informed and understand all of the treatment plans that are available and appropriate for their eyes. They take the time to listen and learn about each individual and their lifestyles, hobbies, so they can make the best decisions for their care and treatment options.

“We believe in educating every patient about their options,” says Dr Tres. “To better serve them, we want to understand their lifestyle and what they want to improve about their eyesight. This is what we consider the next level of patient care. Let’s give to each patient what they are looking for and provide the best outcomes and results.”

With three convenient Brevard locations in Merritt Island, Suntree, and Melbourne, the team at TRES VISION Group are ready to service all aspects of eye health needs. Visit www.TRESVISION.com online for more information or call 321-984-3200.

TRES VISION Group

TRES VISION Group has three convenient locations across Brevard County including Melbourne, Suntree / Viera and Merritt Island. Our team of eye care professionals are highly trained and regarded for their world-class optometric and ophthalmic care, implementing some of the first cutting-edge techniques in surgery and treatment in the nation. TRES VISION Group covers all of your eye care needs from sophisticated surgery to routine eye exams. Our team is ready to help you see the world clearly and vividly. For more information visit us on www.TRESVISION.com.

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