Orlando Film Commissioner Sheena Carlisle Fowler was recently profiled in the Orlando Business Journal.

Click here to read the executive profile.

The State of Florida was recognized by P3 Update Magazine's annual ranking of top states for film production. Florida ranked as the 3rd best state for the "most attractive combination of tax incentives, crew base, talent pool, infrastructure, accessibility, significant production revenue and overall popularity among filmmakers."

Florida has historically been recognized as a top ten state for filmmakers but had fallen off the list in recent years. Thanks to the recently revamped Florida film incentive program, the state is back on top.

In addition to the incentive program offered by the state, Metro Orlando has always been a major hub for production thanks to strong film infrastructure, experienced crew, large talent pool base, weather and variety of locations.

In just the last year, a few of the productions that have filmed in Metro Orlando include: Feature films - Tooth Fairy 2, Renee, Transformers 3 and Cassadega; Television pilots - MTV's The Inbetweeners, Big Mike and Bad Mom; and Television commercials - Massey Services, Minute Maid, PepBoys, New York Life and HH Gregg.

For more about filming in Orlando, visit www.filmorlando.com.

by Rick L. Weddle, President and CEO, Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission

This year, people from around the world faced challenging economic times, the likes of which were bigger than almost anything we've ever faced before. No one was exempt. Jobs were lost and too few new jobs were created. Entire sectors of the economy were seriously damaged.

This is much more than a cyclical recession and much bigger than Central Florida. Worldwide, we've all relied too much on credit and leverage; depended too much on population driven growth and development; and got accustomed to taking orders and managing growth. We must now shift our thinking from managing growth to making growth happen.

A 'new normal' began to emerge, replacing 'business as usual.'

This has given rise to new opportunity. As a region, we need to develop a clear long-term version of what we want to become. Our region is already blessed with all the right ingredients for long-term success - a strong higher education system, fantastic international airports, Central Florida Research Park, Lake Nona Medical City, a skilled and talented workforce, strong regional collaboration and advantages at intersections of key industries.

Over this year, the EDC has reorganized both our organization and our regional partnerships so as to create a more effective and better-focused economic development delivery system.

We've tightly focused our efforts on primary business sectors that will generate quality jobs, an expanded tax base and enhanced business opportunities. Over the next few months, you'll begin to see a more streamlined approach to our key industry sectors, focusing on both where our strengths currently are and where our strengths will be.

During fiscal year 2010-11, EDC clients projected to create or retain 4,033 jobs over the next three years with an average wage of $43,330, impacting $43.6 million in capital investment and 524,583 square feet of real estate.

Of these projects, nearly two-thirds were local retention and expansion projects and just over one-third were companies that were recruited to the region. The bulk of these projects were from the manufacturing and distribution industry (32%), aerospace and defense (21%), business services (16%) and information technology (16%) sectors.

Companies we worked with this year included: AcAe; Advanced Solar Photonics, LLC; afni, inc.; Amcor PET Packaging; Connextions, Inc.; Customed; DSCI; Industrial Lighting Products; Millenium Luxury Coaches; MYMIC LLC; Parker Software Ltd.; Raptor Technology Group; Row Sham Bow, Inc.; SAIC; Team Cymru, Inc.; Tecport Optics, Inc.; TravelCLICK; Wheeled Coach Industries, Inc.

We also had a very busy film and television production year with 434 days of production, including production of feature film Tooth Fairy 2, MTV's The Inbetweeners and plenty of television commercial work - our region's bread and butter for filming.

We've set our goals for 2012 to be more aggressive. We are aiming to work with companies who will create or retain 4,050 jobs over a three year time period, creating a capital investment of $120.8 million and for 500 days of film and television production.

During this next year, we will work with our partners at all levels - state, regional and local - to improve our competitiveness now and in the future as a profitable location for new and expanding businesses. This includes making sure we have a favorable tax and regulatory climate as well as strategic investments in needed physical infrastructure to support a company's top line growth such as transportation and education.

Overall, both the EDC and the Metro Orlando region are extremely well positioned to face the challenges ahead and, importantly, capitalize on the opportunities they present.

If we as a region and as an organization make the right choices, do the right things and sustain the needed investments, the path ahead looks very bright.

I look forward to working with you collectively and individually in support of this end - and encourage each of you to become even more involved with the EDC in the year going forward.

Here's to a prosperous 2012!

On Thursday, December 8, the EDC will officially re-launch bioOrlando as a strategic advisory committee to the EDC. Operating autonomously for the last four years, bioOrlando will become the "Central Chapter" of BioFlorida, the statewide trade association for the bioscience industry.

While the two organizations have frequently partnered together over the years for events or to push support on legislative items, membership in one did not equate to membership in the other. This new structure works to connect the dots so that members of bioOrlando experience a broader statewide impact as members of BioFlorida.

Join us this Thursday, December 8, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., in the auditorium at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute at Lake Nona for an evening of networking and learning as we reconnect. You will hear from Orlando's life sciences leaders, including Leslie Molony, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute; William Warren, Ph.D., Sanofi-Pasteur VaxDesign Campus; Dom Meffe, Triad Isotopes; and Philip Arlen, Ph.D, Pandora Genomics.

The cost for EDC investors and bioOrlando members is $15 and $40 for non-members. Click here to register today.

Each year during this time, the eyes of the world's simulation and training industry turn to Metro Orlando for the annual Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), the world's largest modeling, simulation and training conference. Nearly 20,000 attendees from over 57 countries come to Orlando to see and learn about the most recent advances in this important industry sector.

Orlando is widely known as the "national center for simulation" for several reasons:

- home to the nation's military procurement simulation commands;
- over 150 simulation companies;
- employing more than 12,500 Central Floridians; and
- a Gross Regional Product of $3 billion.

The significance of this industry to our local economy cannot be overstated, and the EDC works closely with community partners to ensure a strong presence at the annual I/ITSEC trade show, which is held at the Orange County Convention Center.

Once again, the EDC partnered with the Orlando-headquartered National Center for Simulation, The University of Central Florida's Institute for Simulation & Training (IST), Florida High Tech Corridor Council and others to feature Metro Orlando's assets through a booth on the trade show floor. Demonstrations included hands-on experiences from Florida Hospital's DaVinci Robot and the latest research from IST featuring distracted driving simulators and new uses for mobile apps.

In addition, the EDC's business development team conducted several meetings each day with companies considering expansion opportunities.