New CruiseOne franchise in Lutz
Edward Scott of Lutz is opening a CruiseOne franchise locally.
The home-based company offers cruise and land vacation packages.
Scott is now part of the World Travel Holdings family of brands, one of the leading travel retail networks in the world.
Scott is available Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., or online at CruiseOne.com/Escott.
For information, call (813) 995-0937.
Former chamber director emeritus dies
Friends and family gathered last week to remember Rebecca “Nanna” Harper, a former director emeritus for the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, who died Nov. 10. She was 79.
Harper spent 20 years with Teco, and served as the cooperative business education program contact for the utility at Pasco High School. She also was the former president of the National Management Association.
She is survived by three children, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Builders struggling to find workers
Construction employers added 12,000 jobs in October, and unemployment in that sector fell to its lowest levels since 2006, according to a new report from Associated General Contractors of America.
The construction employment gains, along with rising wages and weekly hours, are consistent with survey results from the group that more firms are having a tough time finding enough qualified workers to fill available positions.
Construction employment totaled just under 6.1 million in October, the highest since May 2009, with a 12-month gain of 231,000 jobs, or 3.9 percent. Residential building and specialty trade contractors added a combined 8,000 employees since September, and 130,600 over 12 months — a jump of 6 percent.
Non-residential contractors — building, specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering — experienced an overall gain of 2,600 employees for the month, and just under 100,000 over the past year.
“The construction industry has made an impressive contribution to the nation’s unemployment gains this year,” said Stephen Sandherr, the association’s chief executive, in a release. “But those gains are in jeopardy unless schools, colleges and training programs can refill a pool of talent that is rapidly drying up.”
Airports offer new flight destinations
Beginning next September, Tampa International Airport will begin five-day-a-week nonstop air service to Frankfurt, Germany, through Lufthansa.
It’s the first airport on Florida’s west coast to offer the service.
Frankfurt is the largest of Lufthansa’s five hubs, offering connections to more than 145 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The 11-hour flight will leave daily from Tampa at 5:20 p.m., arriving in Germany at 8:45 a.m. the following day.
The plane will offer a little less than 300 seats, including some in the business class that can transform into beds.
A little closer to home, Allegiant announced it would offer five new nonstop domestic flights to five cities out of St. Pete/Clearwater Airport. They include new routes to Pittsburgh; Indianapolis; Richmond, Virginia; Hagerstown, Maryland; and Omaha, Nebraska.
Most of those flights will begin the weekend of Feb. 11, with Hagerstown and Omaha following in late February and early March next year.
Upcoming SCORE seminars
The Pasco-Hernando Chapter of SCORE, which historically stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives, will host the following upcoming free seminar. For information, visit SCORE439.org.
- Building a Plan for a Successful Business — Nov. 25 at 5:30 p.m., at Hudson Regional Library, 8012 Library Road in Hudson. The business plan guides a company’s daily operation and activity toward the goals and objectives that have been established. Participants can learn what data is required to write their plan, review the techniques used to acquire it, and how to use this data to establish realistic goals and objectives.
Kumquat Festival selling sponsorship packages
The Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce is now accepting reservation packages for the 2015 Kumquat Festival, set to take place Jan. 31.
Packages start at $500, and include logos and links on the KumquatFestival.org website, as well as booth space at the festival. Premier packages, which run from $1,000 to $5,000, include additional features.
The event is expected to draw 45,000 people from Florida, who live here seasonally, and who are visiting.
For information, call John Moors at (352) 567-3769, or email .
East Pasco Networking Group
The East Pasco Networking Group has scheduled several speakers for the coming months. The group meets every other week at the Village Inn at 5214 Gall Blvd., in Zephyrhills. Networking begins at 8 a.m., with the meeting starting at 8:30 a.m.
Upcoming speakers include:
- Vicki Jones, manager of Palm Tree Acres, and author Madonna Wise, Nov. 25
- Scott Lindner, pastor of Atonement Lutheran Church, Dec. 9
- Michael Smith, pastor of Fair Haven Baptist Church and principal of Zephyrhills Christian Academy
Catholic Business Networking seeks members
The Catholic Business Networking group is looking for Catholic business owners, employees and supporters interested in joining it for regular meetings every Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 2348 Collier Parkway, Land O’ Lakes.
The group has annual dues of $60, and there is a minimum attendance requirement of two meetings per month.
For information, call (813) 833-4737, or visit CBNTampa.com.
Business Link available monthly
Business Link, a monthly small business gathering hosted by the San Antonio Citizens Federal Credit Union, meets the second Wednesday of each month beginning at 7:30 a.m.
The meeting is designed to provide a networking and information-sharing platform for the business community.
For locations, details and to reserve a seat, email , or call (352) 588-2732, ext. 1237.
