The film industry nationwide is abuzz with news of the State of Florida's recently passed Film and Entertainment Incentive which goes into effect on July 1.

To promote use and significance of this fund, the EDC's Metro Orlando Film & Entertainment Commission teamed with Women in Film & Television Florida (WIFT) to co-host a "Business of Entertainment" symposium this past week at The Plaza Theater in downtown Orlando. The day-long event attracted close to 100 film and entertainment industry representatives.

The EDC's own Suzy Spang, vice president of entertainment and technology, served on a panel discussing the Florida tax incentive. Panel members agreed that this revamped incentive program is great news, allowing Florida to compete on a more level playing field with states offering higher incentives.

Watch Suzy describe below how the new incentive is a "game changer" for film and entertainment in the State of Florida.

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Incentive Program Materials Available Online

Florida Entertainment Industry Financial Incentive Program materials are now available at: http://www.filminflorida.com/ifi/incentives.asp.

For more information, a teleconference will be hosted by the Governor's Office of Film & Entertainment as follows:

Incentive Teleconference Call Information
Date: June 2, 2010
Time: 1:00pm EST - 2:30pm EST

Call in number: 1.888.808.6959
Conference code: 4104765

The purpose of the call is to provide an overview of the program, point out differences from the previous program, provide information about the application process, and respond to pre-submitted questions.

High caller volume is anticipated. We recommend that you review online materials prior to the call and submit questions by close of business on Tuesday, June 1st via email to: film.incentive@myflorida.com.

Note: Incentive applications will be accepted no earlier than 12:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, June 9th.

Orlando's own Waymon Armstrong, president and CEO of Engineering & Computer Simulations, Inc. (ECS), was recognized by President Barack Obama as the National Small Business Person of the Year in Washington, D.C. this week. Armstrong received the top award given during the U.S. Small Business Administration's annual celebration of National Small Business Week on Thursday. He was then invited to the White House for additional recognition from the President.

"Waymon's commitment to his employees and to his business demonstrates the qualities that make small businesses such a powerful force for job creation in the American economy and in their local communities," said Karen Mills, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. "It's the same qualities that will lead us to economic recovery."

ECS is a software development and solutions company that uses cutting edge technology to help government and private clients prepare for natural disasters, medical emergencies, and times of war. Armstrong started the company in 1997 through the University of Central Florida (UCF) Incubation Program. Today ECS employs close to 50 and has been recognized for corporate growth and innovation by Inc. 500, Deloitte Fast 500 and Washington Technology Fast 50, as well as receiving Florida's IT Florida award in 2008. CEO Armstrong was also recently named Florida's Small Business Person of the Year and was a finalist for Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2007 and 2009.

Sincere congrats to Waymon Armstrong, who is also an involved and dedicated EDC supporter. Below, watch him explain why he chooses to do business in Metro Orlando.

Several local companies working with the EDC have announced expansion plans that are expected to generate new Central Florida jobs.

Sanford-based Roses Southeast Papers will add 65,000-square-feet to their existing facility in Seminole County. This will allow the manufacturer, which specializes in tissue paper and napkin production, to add converting operations, enabling them to complete the finishing process locally rather than shipping rolls to their New Mexico headquarters for processing. The expansion will cost nearly $7.2 million and company executives indicate that they plan to add 50 jobs over the next two years. The EDC worked closely with the company to facilitate their Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) application process and approvals with the city and county.

The DiSTI Corporation, a defense simulation and training company located just outside Orange County's Central Florida Research Park near the University of Central Florida, has announced that they will remain in Central Florida and that they plan to add 30 new jobs within the next 36 months. Though courted by communities in other states, the EDC recently helped the tech company secure a Qualified Targeted Industry (QTI) incentive that will assist with their expansion here in our market. According to Joe Swinski, DISTI President: "Central Florida is a great location for our business. We're able to leverage our close vicinity to US Army PEO STRI and NAVAIR Orlando to gain a competitive advantage, and to draw from resources and talent at Kennedy Space Center."

Last week, the EDC was hard at work promoting Metro Orlando as a life science and medical destination at two conferences - the BIO International Convention in Chicago, Illinois and the Medical Technology, Training and Treatment (MT3) Conference here in Orlando.

In Chicago, EDC bioOrlando representatives, Eric Ushkowitz and Suzy Spang, worked the exhibit hall, sharing space in the Florida Pavillion with the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, Sanford-Burnham Institute and Lake Nona 'Medical City'. Meetings with biotech and life science companies from around the world provided an opportunity to promote our region as a location for future expansion or relocation.

Here in Orlando, the EDC also represented our region at the MT3 Conference, which focuses on the convergence of medical training and simulation. Companies from Metro Orlando were well represented as exhibitors and speakers, including CAE, Engineering and Computer Simulations (ECS), Florida Hospital - Sanford-Burnham Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes (TRI), Global Robotics Institute at Florida Hospital, Lockheed Martin, NeoMetrix Technologies, Inc., SAIC, and the University of Central Florida's College of Medicine.

When Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced a list of companies selected to receive awards from the U.S. Department of Energy for ambitious research projects that could fundamentally change the way the country uses and produces energy last week, it was good news for Central Florida. Among those receiving grants is Orlando-headquartered Planar Energy Devices, Inc., which will use the award for further development of their solid state lithium battery. They are the only award recipient in Florida.

Through a partnership between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the University of Central Florida, the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, the University of Colorado, and the University of California San Diego, Planar is seeking to develop an ultra high energy, long cycle life, all solid-state lithium battery that can be manufactured using low cost techniques. The Florida High Tech Corridor Council also played an integral role in assisting Planar establish a 3-way partnership between the participating Florida universities.

The potential of this local company's innovations is far-reaching. For example, Planar's battery technology could one day soon revolutionize the auto industry by providing a lighter weight, longer lasting battery designed to reduce automobile reliance on fossil fuels. The Department of Defense is also interested in applications as a power source on the battlefield and numerous other industries are interested in the ramifications of the technology.

Funded through DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the grants are awarded to projects that could produce advanced biofuels more efficiently from renewable electricity instead of sunlight; design completely new types of batteries to make electric vehicles more affordable; and remove the carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants in a more cost-effective way.