Business Buzz: News and views from the Marco Island business community

Photo by QUENTIN ROUX, Staff

The Rookery at Marco is one of the Marriott Golf facilities now offering special rates to current and former members of the military. The picture was taken at a recent "Old Hickory" tournament, hence the odd-looking clubs and bags on the cart.

Fairway furloughs

Atten-hut! You have military connections, and you like golfing ... you’re in clover.

Marriott Golf has introduced a special program designed to honor the nation’s armed forces.

Active, reserve and retired personnel will be able to enjoy rounds with discounted green/cart fees at prices ranging from $29 to $69 year round.

The offer includes the Rookery at Marco, which is affiliated with the Marco Island Marriott Resort.

The only condition is that the year-round offer must be taken up after 3 p.m.

Tee times, according to a publicity release, can be made up to three days in advance, and a valid military ID card must be presented.

For more information or to book a tee time, call the golf Shop at 389-6600.

Other participating courses include Camelback Golf Club, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Miami, Fla.; Kauai Lagoons Golf Club, Lihue, Hawaii; and Stone Mountain Golf Club, Stone Mountain, Ga.

Pulverize that paper

One good shred party leads to another.

Banking on the success of a previous document shred party, Orion Bank’s Keith Dameron has scheduled another event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., June 6.

Documents he suggests pulverizing are outdated bank statements, checks, mortgage contracts (of the inactive kind), auto leases (ditto) and any other documents that could otherwise be fair game for unscrupulous eyes.

Light munchies and coffee, as well as jazz music will be provided.

A draw prize will, appropriately, be a “personal diamond cross-cut shredder.”

Intrigue from experience

Author Karna Small Bodman, in town last year for a book signing, is up and running with a new political thriller called “Final Finesse.”

A former senior director of the National Security Council, Bodman was the highest ranking woman in the Reagan White House.

Her insider knowledge is the inspiration behind her political thrillers, first “Checkmate” and “Gambit.”

In a release, Bodman said her new book focuses on the sabotage of natural gas pipelines in America’s heartland.

A shadowy group is causing all the havoc, and the two investigators must deal with political intrigue at the highest levels, along the way breaking assorted White House rules.

Information is available at her karna@karnabodman.com Web site.

Oblique exhortation

It’s halfway through National Tourism Week, and the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau is encouraging locals to do just that — live and behave like a tourist for a while.

The CVB’s encourages locals to patronize area attractions, restaurants and shops that they may have overlooked or forgotten about.

And, if locals have no real idea of what it’s like to behave like an out-of-towner, the CVB suggests checking out the list of deals available through the bureau’s VIP (Values in Paradise) card at the Web site: paradisecoast.com/values.

The card is filled with discounts and deals at area attractions, restaurants and shops.

It is free and available for pickup at four area visitor centers — including the Marco Island Chamber of Commerce.

“The VIP card is a powerful incentive that we use to attract summer visitors, but during Tourism Week, we’d like our local residents to familiarize themselves with the excellent deals and discounts that are available on the 2009 card,” said CVB Executive Director Jack Wert.

“Then, we want them to remember to share the card with friends and family who visit this summer.”

Wert said dollars generated by vacationers in the area enable local residents to save about $650 on their local taxes.

Visitors pay sales, hotel and gas taxes and make purchases that keep local restaurants, attractions and shops in business throughout the year, for a total annual economic impact of $1.2 billion.

Market movement

Enjoying a boost from its concert initiative, Big Cypress Market Place has hired Robin Strob as food and beverage and event coordinator and Joey Escalona as general manager.

Strob has more than 15 years of experience in the industry, and Escalona previously managed the huge Festival Mall in Fort Lauderdale.

Big Cypress Market Place offers exhibit space, a 7,500 square-foot entertainment hall, and a winery among its attractions.