Important News

Santa Rosa County is one step closer to expanding its industrial footprint with a $36 million industrial park intended to target distribution companies needing interstate access.

The Triumph Gulf Coast board, which decides how to distribute settlement money garnered after the BP oil spill, on Monday sent the Milton Interchange Industrial Park project to its second of three stages, which is a negotiation on funding that will then end in a final contract for roughly half of the project’s cost.

Shannon Ogletree, director of the Santa Rosa Economic Development Office, said Tuesday that the $15.9 million Triumph has agreed to fund is a huge success for the future of the county.

Read the full article at https://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/santa-rosa/2021/09/15/santa-rosa-county-industrial-park-gets-16-m-triumph-funding-commitment/8331580002/

CRESTVIEW, FL – On a day of celebration and commitment, Triumph Gulf Coast Board members joined Okaloosa County and Florida Department of Transportation officials at the groundbreaking of the Southwest Crestview Bypass Project. Triumph awarded Okaloosa $64.1 million of the $199 million project in exchange for no less than 1300 new high wage jobs in the county.

Following the groundbreaking, Triumph held a regular meeting at the Northwest Florida State College Center for Aviation Excellence at Bob Sikes Airport. The Center for Excellence is funded in part by a $7 million grant from Triumph for airframe and powerplant (A&P) and pilot training to support the region’s growing aviation and aerospace cluster. Dr. Devin Stephenson, President of Northwest Florida State College, has noted that the grant is the single largest grant ever bestowed on the college.

Triumph Board Chair Don Gaetz introduced the newest members of the Board, Mr. David Bear and Mr. Collier Merrill of Escambia County and Mr. Reynolds Henderson of Walton County. All three new members are successful business owners bringing many years of business decision making expertise to the board.

A $11.5 million cybersecurity and new technologies grant was unanimously awarded to Florida State University at Panama City for the Advancing Science and Career Education in New Technologies (ASCENT) program. The grant will result in at least 3,280 industry certifications and credentials for students and residents of the Northwest Florida region.

Additionally, the new Interdisciplinary Cybersecurity Hub will support local industry cyber and new technology training needs as well as partner with the region’s K-12 school districts to recruit, hire, and train teachers to teach technical fields.

“We’re very excited about the ability to work with other education institutions and industry across the region to meet workforce needs in cyber security and technology” said Dean Randy Hanna, Florida State University – Panama City.

The Triumph Board moved forward staff recommendations to negotiate a $15.9 million grant with Santa Rosa County to assist with the development of the new Milton Interchange Industrial Park, resulting in an additional 454 new high wage jobs, and to negotiate a $15 million grant with the Port Authority of Port St. Joe to dredge the channel and reopen the port to commercial activity in rural Gulf County. Reopening the port is expected to bring up to 400 new jobs to Gulf and Franklin counties. 

Finally, the Triumph Gulf Coast Board voted to create the “Triumph Horizon Award” to be given to Triumph funded projects that exceed performance goals and expectations. 

The Triumph Gulf Coast Board of Directors is appointed by the Governor, Chief Financial Officer, Attorney General and presiding officers of the Legislature. The appointees to the Triumph Board are David Bear, Allan Bense, Chair Don Gaetz, Reynolds Henderson, Ben Lee, Collier Merrill and Matt Terry. All meetings of the Board are public.

Please take notice that on September 13, 2021, at its regular meeting, the Board of Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc., will take up for consideration and intends to approve the following amendment to an existing funding and the following proposal for award of funding pursuant to s. 288.8017, Florida Statutes (2017):

Proposal #185:
Applicant: City of Panama City and Eastern Shipbuilding, Inc.
Additional Funding Request: $0
Amendment: Re-Allocation of Matching Funds Among Matching Fund Contributors
Summary of Proposed Second Amendment to Grant Award Agreement

Proposal #246:
Applicant: Florida State University – Panama City, Florida #246
Funding Request: $11,500,702
Summary of Proposed Grant Award Agreement

Any person interested in being heard on these matters may attend and address the Board prior to a vote on approval of any award. Information regarding the time and place for the September 13, 2021, Board Meeting may be found by clicking here.

Any questions or inquiries regarding this notice or the award may be directed to:
Cori Henderson, Program Administrator at [email protected]

Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of David Bear to the Triumph Gulf Coast Board of Directors.

David Bear
Bear, of Pensacola, is Vice President of The Lewis Bear Company. He is the current Chairman of the Escambia County Tourist Development Council and Vice Chair of the FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance. Bear is also Vice Chair of the Florida Beer Wholesaler Association, Founder and Trustee Emeritus of Art, Culture and Entertainment, Inc., and a past President of the Creative Learning Academy. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Belhaven College.

Originally published at https://www.flgov.com/2021/08/13/governor-ron-desantis-appoints-david-bear-to-the-triumph-gulf-coast-board-of-directors/

At today’s Triumph Gulf Coast Board meeting in DeFuniak Springs, Triumph Gulf Coast welcomed Mr. Reynolds Henderson of Walton County and Mr. Collier Merrill of Escambia County to the Triumph Board. The Board also approved over $14 million dollars for industry certifications in Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence and new technologies at Florida State University – Panama City and Okaloosa County School District.

Okaloosa

Okaloosa County School District (OCSD) was awarded a $2,840,000 grant for 1,100 industry-recognized credentials in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and unmanned systems. The Artificial Intelligence Learning Institutes will implement an industry certification program in Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning for K-12 students developed with the University of Florida. 

The program will be able to be replicated across Northwest Florida and will showcase to companies seeking to expand or relocate to Northwest Florida that the region’s schools can serve as national model for Career Technical Education. 

Bay 

The Board gave its support to Florida State University Panama City for a $11,500,702 grant that will result in 3,280 industry certifications and credentials. The grant will be used to establish the Advancing Science and Career Education in New Technologies (ASCENT) project which will develop and integrate education and training resources to produce industry-specific certifications for students and citizens of the Northwest Florida region.

The project focuses on education and training in new technologies, with an emphasis in cybersecurity, to support multiple industry sectors in the Northwest Florida region. A new Interdisciplinary Cybersecurity Hub will support local industry cyber and new technology training needs as well as partner with the region’s K-12 school districts to recruit, hire, and train teachers to teach technical fields.

Through the ASCENT project, FSU PC will provide ongoing professional development and support for teachers including engaging FSU students and faculty to assist teachers with classes and teacher workshops. ASECNT will also provide support to career academies and summer camps building a robust pipeline of interest in new technologies among the region’s youth.

The Triumph Gulf Coast Board of Directors is appointed by the Governor, Chief Financial Officer, Attorney General and presiding officers of the Legislature. The appointees to the Triumph Board are Allan Bense, Chair Don Gaetz, Reynolds Henderson, Ben Lee, Collier Merrill and Matt Terry. All meetings of the Board are public.