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Entrepreneurs, they just don’t get no respect

“It’s too bad we don’t appreciate entrepreneurs as much as we appreciate sports,” says Jim Clifton, the President and CEO of Gallup.

The nation’s motto could be “no running back left behind,” Clifton joked during the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance Annual meeting at the Signature Grand.

Clifton, who is the author of “The Coming Job Wars” and “Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder,” talked about how entrepreneurs often overcome skeptical rejection of their ideas.

Ted Turner had what many thought was a ridiculous idea for a 24/7 news channel on CNN, said Clifton, who has done consulting work for CNN. 

Raising buffalo? That may have been the worst idea of all, said Clifton. Of course, Turner now has a 55,000 head herd that supplies his 44 Ted’s Montana Grills.

He also got a laugh from the audience when he joked, “What if someone would have given Wayne Huizenga a good idea?” 

Clifton estimated that there are 500 kids in Broward County who could build a business without limits, so it’s a matter of finding a way to encourage them.

The Alliance meeting was upbeat with a report that said the public/private partnership for economic development had attracted 21 new company relocations and expansions during its 2013-14 fiscal year. This means more than 1,400 new value-added jobs, more than 5,000 retained jobs and more than $267 million in new capital investment.  

Newly announced were:

SeaLand, a worldwide shipping company headquartered in Denmark, which has a 13,000-square-foot corporate headquarters for the Americas in Miramar with 65 new jobs at more than 200 percent of the county average wage.

Kellstrom Defense Aerospace, a MEREX Group company, has relocated its South Florida operations to 90,000 square feet in Miramar, adding 20 new jobs, retaining 106 existing jobs and making a capital investment of $5.9 million.

Valley Forge Fabrics, a manufacturer and distributor of high end fabrics and textiles, is retaining 120 Pompano Beach employees and expanding to a newly remodeled 75,000-square-foot facility in Fort Lauderdale where it will create 40 new full-time jobs and invest $2.9 million.

The evening’s top award went to Colin Brown, President and CEO of JM Family Enterprises, who received the Ray Ferrero Jr. Economic Development Leadership Award. 

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Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.