Bonita Chamber earns 5-star rating

Doug Congress, the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce chairman of the board, holds a press conference to inform the public about the chamber receiving the highest honor from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce has been recognized with a 5-star accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The ranking, the highest a chamber can receive, puts Bonita in the top 10 percent of accredited chambers in the nation.

“We are honored because it shows that internally we are doing everything right and doing the best for small businesses in the area and the community,” said Doug Congress, the chamber's chairman of the board during a press conference at the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center.

The Bonita Chamber is the largest in Southwest Florida with more than 1,300 members and is the only area chamber with a 5-star rating.

Chamber members spent more than 80 hours of volunteer time filling out a 60-page application that was submitted to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The paperwork served as a way for the Bonita Chamber to show off their organizational procedures and community involvement.

"Accreditation is quite an honor for us to receive because it will help with our member loyalty and the pride they can have in us," said Joel Whittenhall, the chairman of the accreditation committee created to fill out the paperwork.

Four subcommittees were created to tackle each of the main sections in the application.

"We set out on this goal just to be able to define our excellence and we won't have to do it again for another 5 years," he said of the ranking that only 29 chambers are privileged enough to receive.

"This is the highest honor you can receive from the national chamber and it gives us the edge that we need to show our members what we are about," said Nancy Keefer, the chamber president.

Al Greenwood, a member of the chamber and owner of Buffalo Chips Restaurant in Bonita, thinks the accreditation will improve his business.

“That is great! I know they are doing a good job and we get a lot of responses just because of them,” said Greenwood after hearing the news. “I like what the chamber is doing and their recommendations always help. They deserve it.”

Postal outposts remedy for lines

The Bonita Springs Post Office on Old 41 keeps the lines down by asking locals and visitors to use the five substations located at gas stations and card shops throughout town.

The U.S. Postal Service in Bonita Springs sorts more than 7,000 letters and deals with at least 140,000 deliveries a day.

That many pieces of mail can sometimes lead to hundreds of customers in the lobby and lines nearly out the door.

Local Postmaster Richard Barber has a solution for people who just need to buy a 39-cent stamp or want to avoid the lines.
He runs branches on Old 41 and Bonita Beach Road as well as overseeing five substations.

“I strategically located them through town to serve the different communities so people wouldn’t have to trek around town to our two main locations,” said Barber, who offers the alternate sites because finding seasonal workers is difficult. “They are all full-service locations too.”

Many of the sites like the Cards Anyone store west of U.S. 41 on Bonita Beach Road allow customers to purchase stationary and mail out packages — all in one place.

“These are viable locations to ease the line especially in season. I cannot hire people for a short period of time,” Barber said.
The Chevron Cruz N’ Go and the Bonita Mail Stop are two locations that have been around about a year and have postal contractors pick up mail twice a day.

“Some of our locations have been around 5 or 6 years and sometimes it’s tough to get the population used to not going to the main post office,” said Barber who promotes the locations by sends out mailers and speaking at public engagements.
But sometimes that isn’t enough so the United States Postal Service pays to have neon signs put outside of buildings or stickers on windows of smaller shops.

“These other locations are great especially when all the people come down,” said Linda Caldwell, of Bonita Springs, who uses the post office two to three times a week. “It’s closer to my house and quicker.”

Although Bonita Springs substations have continually been successful for years, residents in Estero are letting places like the Chevron gas station near Publix on U.S. 41 and Corkscrew Road close.

The lack of use lead to the closing of the mail center in early February and left a gap in mail centers along U.S. 41.

Plans are under way to open a post office on the corner of Three Oaks Parkway and Corkscrew Road.

“Some kind of decision should be available in the next couple of weeks,” said Meg Judge, the chairwoman and CEO of the Estero Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber has worked as a mediator between post office officials and the Lee County school board who own the 5-acre parcel of land where the main post office would be located.

There has been talk of bringing a substation to Coconut Point, but Coconut Point director of marketing Diane Ganz said she didn’t know about them.

But Judge remains optimistic.

“They are saying that opening a substation is more or less hinged on the approval of the main post office,” she said.
An additional substation at Coconut Point would alleviate lines in Estero and Bonita Springs.

Andy Ozolnieks, of Bonita Springs, likes going to the main branch but likes having the option of substations.

“I like coming to the actual post office but those places are sometimes good if I’m really in a hurry,” Ozolnieks said.

All eyes on the skies over Lovers Key

All eyes were on the nights sky recently during an Astronomy Skywatch program hosted by the Everglades Astronomical Society on the beaches of Lovers Key State Park.

The society was invited to bring their high-powered telescopes and gives locals a view and lessons on the moon, the constellations and even the rings of Saturn.

“Since the park is closed at night there are few opportunities for people to see the night sky,” said Brie Jamison, the parks spokesperson. “It’s nice to be able to host this event and have everyone come out and enjoy the park.”

The astronomical society was invited to host the program by the Friends of Lovers Key, the parks citizen support organization.

The group thought it would be a good way to support the park and educate the public.

“Every other month we have events for our members to come but we opened this one to the public so people can enjoy the park,” said Cheryl Hohmann, the Friends of Lovers Key membership chairman adding that their are currently 103 members.
And, enjoy the park they did. More than 60 came out in long pants and sweaters to enjoy a breezy walk to the beach.

“We don’t have too many constellations tonight because of light pollution but we can use the moon,” said Rick Piper, president of the astronomical society while pointing to stars using a green laser pointer.

Piper also spoke about the telescopes and how they showed images of the moon, orion nebula and saturn.

“It’s great! I did this on a camping trip once but this sky is so much nicer from here,” said Peggy Wood, of Bonita Springs. “To see the rings of saturn is really great.”

Jamison, who helped get everyone situated at the beach, said the event was a rare opportunity.

“This is the first time that we have this event at Lovers Key and it’s nice to do observations during the winter month,” Jamison said. “ ... there are less bugs.”

NEIGHBORS: Mix of seasonal, year-round residents of all ages sets new community apart

This story was written as part of a new "Friends & Neighbors" page created to keep everyone informed as to the goings-on at gated communities and smaller neighborhoods in Bonita Springs and Estero. The page includes pictures, events and announcements.


Hawthorne Realtor Gabe Mellein points out the decoration at a Centex Home development to his client Nicole Addis. Addis is looking to buy a home in the neighborhood after transferring from Michigan to Bonita Springs for work.

Hawthorne is the new kid on the gated community block in Bonita Springs and Realtors are working to make it a mainstay in the city.

During a recent Parade of Homes event, balloons lined the Centex Home development that faces Old 41 on the west and the soon-to-be Three Oaks Extension on the east.

“It’s not a golf course community. We are more about families and all ranges and ages of people,” said Robin Willis, the Hawthorne sales associate. “We will have a good mix of year-round and seasonal residents.”

And those residents will have plenty of space to roam inside the 220 acres of land that will include two community recreational centers, moderately sized homes and a nature preserve.

“We have yet to sell all of the homes here but we have about 30 percent of people closed,” said real estate agent Lola Wellman, about the property that opened about a year ago. “We are trying to appeal to all sorts of folks and we aren’t restricting that.”

Reaction to the new community has been positive, said Willis, who says the location is continually attracting potential buyers.
“Our location is our best selling feature. Once the parkway opens, you can go north to Fort Myers or south to Naples ... all on one street,” Willis said. “There aren’t many communities that are this close to the Gulf of Mexico either.”

Construction on the property is expected to last another two years as each of its three residential neighborhoods is complete.

“This will be a close-knit community with neighbors walking their dogs and we have plenty of sidewalks that meander throughout the community,” said Wellman of the 398-unit single-family and carriage homes community.

Prices range from $320,000 to $515,999 and Willis says the added security at the site makes those prices even more attractive.

There are two gated entrances that residents can use and a security guard will stand guard at the Three Oaks Parkway entrance once the street opens.

“Our residents are very diverse. We have single professionals, families and winter visitors,” Willis said. “You can see them strolling around the place.”