Corporate Report

GTE Financial wins two marketing awards
Tampa's GTE Financial was recently awarded two marketing MAC Awards from the Marketing Association of Credit Unions, including a silver award for image enhancement and a bronze award for logo design.

GTE was awarded the silver award in image enhancement for its free-gas giveaway on International Credit Union Day. For more than two hours on Oct. 17, GTE had lines of cars waiting for free gas at two local gas stations. Not only was the giveaway broadcast on all four local affiliate broadcast stations, but GTE also enrolled more members than anticipated during the event.

In the logo category, GTE was awarded a bronze award for its GTE Get Fit logo, which features a running shoe. GTE's Get Fit program is an incentive for members to stay active, track their movement and earn rewards from GTE.

Small PC launches new display designed for water, vehicles
Small PC of Clearwater has introduced its new SunVu-85 LCD display. The new multitouch display is designed for marine and vehicle uses with a water-resistant chassis and a screen that uses polarization matching and anti-reflective treatments to improve clarity and contrast for excellent readability in direct sunlight. The touchscreen was designed to also work properly with gloved hands.

In addtion to watercraft, the new display is positioned to be used for transportation, public safety, utility, military and industrial automation. Installation examples include boats, police vehicles, helicopters, ambulances, fire trucks and outdoor kiosks.

Formed in 1993 as a division of ICI Controls Inc., Small PC designs and manufactures computers with a focus on rugged computer products.

Doctors Hospital of Sarasota hires new chief operating officer
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota has appointed Steve Young to be its new chief operating officer. In his new position Young will oversee all of the day-to-day operations at the hospital.

Young is coming to Doctors Hospital from Osceola Regional Medical Center, where he has served as the associate chief operating officer since 2012. During his time there he served as the facility lead and construction project manager for several renovation and expansion projects, in addition to leading nine ancillary departments.

“Steve's experience within HCA and exposure to diverse markets in healthcare, position him well for his new role here,” hospital President and CEO Robert Meade says in a press release.

Doctors Hospital of Sarasota is an 155-bed, acute care facility.

Carnival Cruise Lines agrees to offer two Cigar City beers
Carnival Cruise Lines has entered into an exclusive agreement to offer Tampa-based Cigar City Brewing's craft beers on all of its Florida-based cruise ships.

Cigar City's Florida Cracker Belgian-Style White Ale and Invasion Pale Ale are being offered on 13 Carnival ships sailing from five Florida ports. Combined, the ships carry more than 2 million guests each year.

“Carnival continues to seek high-quality brands to enhance our guests' experience, and Cigar City Brewing has been rated among the top craft breweries in the world,” Eddie Allen, Carnival's vice president of beverage operations for Carnival Cruise Lines, says in a press release.

HCI Group ends purchase plans for Prepared Holdings
Tampa-based HCI Group Inc. says its negotiations to acquire Prepared Holdings LLC and its subsidiaries, including Florida insurer Prepared Insurance Co., have ended. The company's letter of intent has expired. It says the parties were unable to reach agreement on the terms of the proposed acquisition.

HCI Group had offered to pay about $27 million for Prepared Holdings.

Prepared Insurance Company provides homeowners' insurance to about 21,500 Florida policyholders representing $48 million in annual premiums.

Town & Country Hospital changes name to Tampa Community Hospital
Town & Country Hospital, an HCA West Florida hospital ,has changed its name to Tampa Community Hospital. The 201-bed hospital has served northwest Hillsborough and northeast Pinellas counties for more than 34 years.

HCA West Florida purchased the facility from IASIS Healthcare in October 2013.

“Since Tampa Community Hospital joined the HCA West Florida family last year, we have placed a renewed focus on operational effectiveness and transparency,” said Jake Fisher, CEO.

All Children's Hospital plans new outpatient center
All Children's Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine announced plans to open an outpatient care center in South Tampa later this year. The 7,300-square-foot facility will be located at 1202 S. Church Ave., Tampa.

Pediatric services at the new facility will include occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech language therapy, cardiology testing as well as pediatric specialty physician visits. The facility will also feature walk-in laboratory services for collecting blood work and other samples.

The new South Tampa center will be one of 11 All Children's Outpatient Care locations in eight counties in west central Florida.