Press

Idyllic names strengthen home sales

BY DONNA BALANCIA and JAVIER MOLINARES
FLORIDA TODAY

When Del Ramage bought her house in Baytree 10 years ago, she knew from the name of the development that her home had to be set in an idyllic surrounding.

"I imagined it was called 'Baytree' because of the trees and the lakes," Ramage said. "But, really, what I found was it was a small, gated community, and that's what ended up selling me. There are people who have bought in here and built because of the name. It's the best place to live."

At the invitation of our friends at Florida Space Authority, Bill and I were able to watch as the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-114) made a breathtaking return to space this morning.

We thought you might enjoy seeing a few of the images that we captured at the event.

Linda

http://www.brc60.com/BRCNews/julySTS.htm

by Wayne T. Price
FLORIDA TODAY

The Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast named Bryan and Melinda Ridgley as its volunteers of the year.

George Mikitarian, the commission's board chairman, said the Ridgleys were recognized for "their service to the EDC, with a new type of passion, commitment, determination and a gut for knowing what's right when they see it."

The Ridgleys formally received their recognition Wednesday night at the commission's annual investors meeting in Melbourne.

The couple traveled across the country and spent a considerable amount of time reviewing the policies and practices of other economic development commissions to see what systems worked best and how to apply them locally.

They also worked on recruiting new investors to the commission and helped in retaining members.

Bryan Ridgley, 31, was born and raised in Brevard County and is the broker-owner of Ridgley Commercial Realty in Melbourne.

Melinda Ridgley, 30, is an accounts supervisor at Brandt Ronat + Co. on Merritt Island.

Brandt Ronat and Company's Linda Brandt has been recognized as one of Brevard's 100 most influential business leaders, while Melinda Ridgley was identified as an up-and-comer for the same list. The list attempts to pinpoint Brevard businesspeople with a wide sphere of local influence who facilitate change, have a successful track record, and who rally others to act, among other things.

You can read the Space Coast Business article here.

Merritt Island, FL, May 29, 2008 — Melinda McNab Ridgley has been named Vice President/Accounts at Brandt Ronat + Company, a firm specializing in Analytical Creative™—a strategic creative development process aimed at providing organizations with evidence-based actions in communications planning, advertising and decision-making.

As Vice President, Ridgley will continue to take on executive-level business functions within the firm, with a primary focus on senior level management of client relationship development.

“Melinda Ridgley is an exemplary thinker, experienced in planning and helping organizations execute strategic marketing across many types of opportunities both locally and internationally,” said Linda Brandt, CEO of Brandt Ronat + Company. “Mel’s expertise in both external and internal communications initiatives serves our current clients well and positions her to help Brandt Ronat expand into other markets, including continuing to grow our healthcare marketing segment.”

Meet Melinda Ridgley for a short question and answer session here.

Julian Bennett, a senior designer at Brandt Ronat + Company, spends a lot of time thinking about space. He has accomplished extensive work for the Space Foundation, including the design of The Space Report: the Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity (2006 and 2008). He lives on the Space Coast of Florida and some people have even accused Julian of being a little “spacey”. So it was a no-brainer for Julian to enter the contest to design the t-shirt for the Google Lunar X PRIZE, the competition that Google is sponsoring to further space exploration. But considering that entries came in from around the world, he didn’t actually expect to win. But he did.

Women on the Rise, Peñuelas Style

There are some things that go unnoticed in life, but Public Relations extraordinaire Neyssa Garcia Toucet will not be one of them. The great woman behind the great Mayor of Peñuelas, Walter Torres, is an exceptional example of excellence and a great reason to celebrate the modern woman of today.