Fort Myers: The Art of Negotiation

The Above Board Chamber of Florida August meeting in Lee County will focus on how “Negotiation” is about building relationships and cultivating a good rapport that leads to win-win solutions for all involved. Experts at the upcoming Above Board Chamber of Florida luncheons will share valuable tips on the skills needed to be a top negotiator for your business with creativity and Flexibility! Join us at our August meeting and learn from the best how to build a relationship and get the deal done at the same time!

Thank you to our meeting sponsors:

• Carolie Burroughs, SBC Investment Management Carolie has more than 30 years of financial services experience within the insurance and investment professions. She has spent most of her career serving institutions and individuals in need of investment research and asset management services and advice. Carolie joined SBC Investment Management to help individuals and families build and preserve wealth in what is now the start of a new 40-year investing cycle. She is currently creating and developing new investment strategies for clients to succeed in this changing investment landscape. Prior to SBCIM, Carolie was an advisor with Raymond James after a long career as an equity investment manager responsible for managing over $1 billion in a portfolio of real estate-related stocks and over $800 million in a small cap mutual fund. Carolie has a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Connecticut, an M.B.A. from Duke University, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
• Audrey Colbert-Lovel, Mortgage Loan Originator – MVM Group/ Cardinal Financial Company, started her first business at the age of 22 in the SW Florida area. Owning several service-based industry businesses, including a franchise, she has the entrepreneur spirit that encompasses all endeavors that she undertakes. In the finance industry, she has years of experience helping others obtain the American Dream! As a lifelong learner, she went back to college to complete her degree in business at the University of Florida and has several industry licenses – to help clients in a multitude of facets. A mother of two wonderful young adults, Audrey enjoys family time as well as travel and spending time outdoors with family and friends

Meet our Emcee:

• Keith A. Veres, CPA, CGMA, CEPA Principal, Director of HBK Corporate Finance Financial Advisor | HBKS Wealth Advisors Certified Exit Planning Advisor;
  In extending his role beyond his responsibilities as an HBK CPAs & Consultants (HBK) accounting Principal, Keith Veres exemplifies HBK’s transition from an accounting firm to a holistic financial services provider. As director of HBK’s emerging Corporate Finance business, along with his status as an investment banking representative of a third-party investment banking broker-dealer, he helps HBK clients looking to raise capital, acquire businesses or sell their business through a coordinated succession planning process.

Our Panelists:

• Kevin Ruane was elected to the Lee Board of County Commissioners in November 2020 after serving as the Mayor of Sanibel for more than a decade. After being sworn in as District 1 Commissioner, he was unanimously voted in as Chair. The Chair The Commission Chair changes annually. Kevin is the owner of Castleton Capital Companies specializing in small business lending for mortgages, business acquisition, equipment financing, and franchise lending throughout the United States. His wife, Doreen, daughter Shannon, and son, Kevin, all work for the firm. He continues to be a member of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. Governor Scott appointed him to an initial term in 2014, and in 2019, he was re-appointed by Governor DeSantis.
• Abe Thornburg, Chief/Office Head for the State Attorney Office in Hendry County Abraham R. Thornburg– Abe Thornburg is the Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney in charge of Hendry and Glades Counties for the Twentieth Judicial Circuit of Florida. He received his B.A. and B.S. from The University of Florida in 2004 and his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School in 2007. After spending two years practicing civil litigation in Washington, D.C., he returned to his hometown of Fort Myers, Florida in 2009, where he began his career as a prosecutor with the State Attorney’s Office. He is a member of the Washington, D.C. and Florida Bars as well as the Lee County and Hendry-Glades County Bar Associations. Throughout his time at the SAO, he has been assigned to various misdemeanor and felony dockets, including dockets specializing in firearms, sex crimes, and crimes against children, and has personally handled thousands of criminal prosecutions. In his current role as Deputy Chief Assistant, he oversees the misdemeanor, juvenile, and felony divisions, as well as handling several of the jurisdiction’s more complex cases and homicides as lead prosecutor. Over the years, he has negotiated pleas and resolutions in countless criminal and civil cases.
• Carolie Burroughs, SBC Investment Management Carolie has more than 30 years of financial services experience within the insurance and investment professions. She has spent most of her career serving institutions and individuals in need of investment research and asset management services and advice. Carolie joined SBC Investment Management to help individuals and families build and preserve wealth in what is now the start of a new 40-year investing cycle. She is currently creating and developing new investment strategies for clients to succeed in this changing investment landscape. Prior to SBCIM, Carolie was an advisor with Raymond James after a long career as an equity investment manager responsible for managing over $1 billion in a portfolio of real estate-related stocks and over $800 million in a small cap mutual fund. Carolie has a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Connecticut, an M.B.A. from Duke University, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

For information on becoming an Annual Sponsor, a Meeting Sponsor, an Angel Lunch Sponsor a Member, an Ambassor or for more information please call 239-910-7426 and ask for Jeanne Sweeney, CEO/ Founder of the Above Board Chamber of FL. Together we can sail into 2022 and make it our best year yet!

Thank you to conric pr + marketing for helping with us with our press releases and website to get this important meeting out!