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ALACHUA – For the third time this year, the University of Florida Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator, located in Alachua, received top marks as an incubator. Sweden-based research group University Business Index (UBI) ranked the Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator as the “World’s Best University Biotechnology Incubator” based on numerous criteria.

Conducted by UBI for the first time, the report was based on an extensive international study and analysis of 150 incubators across 22 countries.

“Being recognized as world’s top biotech incubator is especially gratifying because UBI’s rankings are data-driven,” said incubator director Patti Breedlove.

The assessment reviewed three general areas for each incubator including value for the “ecosystem” in which it operates, value for the client startups and attractiveness.

Within that framework, UBI assessed more than 50 performance indicators including economy enhancement, talent retention, access to funding, post-incubation relationships and internal environment.

“They asked for more information than I’ve ever been asked in a statistical ranking survey,” said Breedlove, noting how extensive the review was.

According to a University of Florida review of the full UBI assessment, the report found that European incubators perform substantially lower than U.S. programs, despite spending more on operations and client seed funding.

The report also reveals that European incubators provide their clients nine times as much seed funding but create 1.9 times fewer jobs and 2.8 times lower revenue per client per year.

Top incubators, like UF Sid Martin Biotech, create 2.8 times more jobs than the global average, according to the study.

“We couldn’t be more proud of the talented team at the Sid Martin Biotech Incubator. With their help, UF is producing an outstanding crop of bioscience companies,” said David L. Day, director of UF’s Office of Technology Licensing.

Breedlove also credits her team saying, “The group we have here is the best we’ve ever had,” said Breedlove. “They take a lot of pride in watching the companies grow and succeed.”

The Texas-based Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship was named top global incubator overall. Other top incubators by sector were Ireland’s NDR Launchpad (information technology), and New York’s UB Technology (life sciences).

The Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator was ranked by National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) as the 2013 Incubator of the Year. NBIA also ranked Sid Martin Biotech as the top technology incubator earlier this year.

In 2007, Sid Martin Biotech was first runner-up for NBIA’s Incubator of the Year award.

Built in 1995, UF Sid Martin Biotech is one of the U.S.’s first bio-business incubators. The 40,000-square-foot bioscience complex is located at Progress Corporate Park in Alachua. The incubator’s companies and graduates have attracted more than $1 billion in equity investment, contracts, grants, and merger and acquisition activity.

University of Florida News Desk Writer Nathalie McCrate contributed to this story.

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HIGH SPRINGS – High Springs City Manager Ed Booth’s revised budget for the current 2012/2013 fiscal year was unanimously approved July 18 by the city commission. Ordinance 2013-04 amended the 2012/2013 budget, which was set during a tough financial year that saw a 9.6 percent decrease in employee and commission salaries. The matter received no comment from the public or commissioners before receiving unanimous commission approval.

The 2012/2013 budget was originally was set at $3,213,660. The revised budget at $3,409,915 represents an increase of $196,255 over the original budget.

Booth credits the upturn in the city’s financial situation to additional revenues from uncollected business license fees, which so far have amounted to $24,000, Clay Electric franchise fees estimated at $35,000 for the current year plus an additional $25,000 for the past year, and additional building construction and permitting application fees of $40,000.

Budget adjustments were also necessary due to the additional cost of refunding 6.9 percent of salaries for employees and commissioners, which had been taken from last year’s budget due to a deficit. Additional expenses also came from the increased hours of one employee to accommodate the extra work in the city’s building department.

Booth said the budget adjustment “brings the city back to where it was,” and referring to the upcoming fiscal year budget said, “The next budget is expected to move the city forward a little bit more.”

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NEWBERRY – The Easton Foundations Archery Center’s local youth archery program is drawer closer to earning its designation as a Community Olympic Development Program (CODP) from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

Five department officials from the committee have already signed off. Just one more signature is needed, and Easton Newberry Sport Complex’s archery program will be part of a direct route for athletes to the archery Olympic training center just outside San Diego, said Doug Engh, national outreach director for Easton Foundations.

There are only about 10 archery CODP sites nationally, and to become one, the complex has undergone years of preparation and staff training following USOC guidelines and even earned an endorsement from archery’s national governing body, USA Archery.

The program’s preparation has been focused around becoming a funnel for the junior Olympics. Lesson plans are being worked under USA Archery standards, and there have been discussions regarding athletes’ transportation and understanding the USOC high performance system.

“We are ready to unveil the banners,” Engh said, who works with head coach Robert Turner to make the Olympian concept a reality at the complex.

The staff is currently looking at whether the certification will change the archery program’s class structure and curriculum, Turner said.

The weekly classes scale five skill levels from beginner to advanced.

“There has been a lot of success coming from our structure,” Turner said.

Just last Friday at the National Target Championships in Ohio, one of the program’s students came away with a gold medal.

The CODP certification may mean that the complex’s program could be changed to more resemble USA Archery’s national elite program, Junior Dream Team. Two local graduate archers are already in this traveling program.

The idea behind streamlining the archery program is not to weed out players who won’t reach Olympic caliber, but to have the option available for the community’s youth.

“That’s why the designation has come our way,” Turner said            

“We have already shown that we have a great series of classes and have produced champions.

This year, about 60 state champions came from the local archery program, and last year there were about 45.

“We are so proud of what our archers have done, and we look forward to being more formalized under the CODP,” Turner said.

There will be an unveiling and rebranding ceremony for the complex in August if all goes well, and invites will include committee members, national coaches and some gold medalists, Engh said.

“And the logo does include the Olympic rings,” Engh said.

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Hawthorne – The City of Hawthorne lost not only a former mayor and city commissioner, but also one of the most influential members of the community when Eleanor “Kit” Randall passed away last Wednesday.

Randall’s tenure with the city started in 2004 when she was first elected as a Hawthorne city commissioner. She later served as the mayor of Hawthorne from 2009-2011 and she remained on the city commission until the time of her death. Through her work with the commission and involvement in various other groups Randall had a far-reaching impact on her community.

“Commissioner Eleanor ‘Kit’ Randall was a genuinely kind and caring person dedicated to family, church and city,” said Ellen Vause, Hawthorne’s city manager.

Randall was sometimes a quiet leader, but no one questioned that selective silence for weakness. She garnered the utmost respect from those she worked with and demonstrated to her colleagues the poise a leader should possess.

“She was very special in that she always had a positive approach and was committed to improving the quality of life for her community,” said Scott Koons, executive director of the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council. “She was engaged with the community and the council and she was a true pleasure to work with.”

Hawthorne Mayor Matthew Surrency looks back on his time serving with Randall as an honor and an incredible opportunity as he initially learned from her how to lead.

“When I first became a commissioner she was the mayor, and to learn from her directly was remarkable,” Surrency said.

Eleanor Randall was a second-generation commissioner in Hawthorne, following her father, Joe Williams, who sat on the commission from 1984-1997. Randall was deeply rooted in Hawthorne; she also served as the city’s representative to the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council since 2007, where she looked for ways to make a difference for her home community.

“I was privileged enough to work with both ‘Kit’ and her father and it was just a great family,” said John Martin, former Hawthorne mayor and commissioner and a long-time friend. “I was impressed by her confidence, as well as her passion and commitment, but also that she still stayed humble and sought counsel often, which is truly rare.”

Vause said that Randall was also a huge influence on her as the presiding mayor when Vause first took the position as interim city manager.

“She cared deeply about the city and was a great help and mentor while we worked to improve the City of Hawthorne,” Vause said.

As mandated by the city charter, the city is required to fill her seat for the period of time until the next election, which is scheduled for June 2014. However, they are in no hurry to make that decision.

“The discussions will begin soon I’m sure, but there’s no rush,” said Surrnecy. “With the way the council is voting so similarly right now and working together very well we shouldn’t have any trouble.”

Randall’s legacy will surely remain through the impact she had on her community and the city she was so proud to call home.

“She was a joy to work with, and her spirit for community and making people feel genuinely good about being from Hawthorne are what will be missed the most,” Martin said.

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ALACHUA – The city of Alachua is gearing up for a full week of softball frenzy. From Aug. 1 to Aug. 6, the Santa Fe Babe Ruth Softball organization will host the Babe Ruth Softball 12U World Series in Alachua. Hundreds of girls from around the country will be at the city’s Hal Brady Recreation Complex to compete for the title.

Regional winners, 12 years-old and under, are also coming from towns and cities in New England, the Middle Atlantic, Ohio Valley, Southeast, Southwest, Midwest Plains, Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest to join the host team, the host team’s state champions and about 10 World Series qualifiers.

Tournament players are from New Jersey, California, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Florida.

“This year we are projected to host 24 teams,” said Damon Messina, assistant recreation director for the City of Alachua.

The Babe Ruth World Series 2013 will kick off with an evening opening ceremony. The event will feature the parade of teams followed by an introduction of the teams and fireworks, said Doug Robinson, Florida softball commissioner for Babe Ruth.

All games will be played on the World Series field and three softball fields.

The championship game will be played Aug. 6.

Robinson said the World Series website lists the weeklong itinerary, the list of teams and game schedule.

“We are expecting about 1,000 to 2,000 people each day,” said Messina.

The funds needed for the tournament were donated by the City of Alachua, Gainesville Sports Commission and others, Robinson said.

Ticket prices for adults are $8 for one day and $32 for the tournament. Children 12-years-old and under tickets are $12 for one day and $24 for the tournament.

Parking is free.

General ballpark concession stands will open along with other vendors offering ice cream and snow cones.

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High Springs Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Gloria James said it was a surprise and an honor to receive the award.

HIGH SPRINGS – The High Springs Chamber of Commerce honored Gloria James as Citizen of the Year for her work in several different clubs, area groups and organizations. She is a long-time resident of the city with a long family history in the community.

James is Chair of the High Springs Planning Board, President of AARP, Assistant Election Clerk, High Springs Senior Citizen Gathering Secretary, and member of the High Springs Chamber, the Community Development Board and the Mebane Alumni Association. She is also Missionary Vice President of Allen Chapel Church and a substitute teacher for the Alachua County School Board. Her uncle, a member of the Davis family, was the first African American conductor for the railroad in High Springs and her family shared their family history as the 2012 Pioneer Family during Pioneer Days.

Other nominees were Suzie Ann Clark, Barbara Martin and Donna and Henry Mogler, all of whom have significantly contributed to the city as well, said Chamber President Sandra Webb. “It is difficult to choose just one person to be Citizen of the Year when so many people do so much for this community,” said Webb.

The award was presented during the High Springs Chamber of Commerce Banquet held Friday, July 19, 2013, at the Family Life Center, St. Madeleine Catholic Church on U.S. Hwy. 441 in High Springs.

Newly elected chamber board members were also introduced during the banquet. Members include Sandra Webb, president; Scott Thomason, vice president; Barbara Martin, treasurer; Vondla Sullivan, secretary; Eyvonne Andrews, economics; Dot Harvey, communication; Betsy Thomason, events manager; Carol Doherty, membership; Donna Mogler, past president; and Tom Weller, past-past president.

With the theme of the “Wild, Wild West,” more than 130 chamber members and their families were treated to a banquet of pulled pork, fried fish, barbecued chicken, potato salad and beans prepared on site by Scott Thomason of the Santa Fe Elks Club. Chamber member Dot Harvey prepared an amazing array of desserts including cobblers of all kinds and three different types of brownies, along with delectable cowboy beans.

The Great Outdoors Restaurant donated beverages, salad and rolls and brought along one of their professional bartenders and Head Chef Carol Doherty to make sure everyone had their perfect drink of choice and excellent food and service.

Tim and Robin True received an award for the best wild west-themed costumes of the night and Natalie Nicole Green and The Little Bit More Band entertained during the evening with perfect harmonies and great music.

Webb said she was pleased with the turnout and presented dozens of door prizes during the night with the help of Barbara Martin. “We had a great team to put on this event,” said Webb. “All our board members and volunteers helped tremendously,” she said. “I especially want to thank Barbara Martin and Jim Bryant for going above and beyond for signs, decorations, etc. and St. Madeleine’s Catholic Church for letting the chamber use their facilities for our event.”

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