"Florida's investment in the life science industry is now paying back like our own economic stimulus package," said Dr. John Reed, president & CEO, Burnham Institute for Medical Research. Dr. Reed went on to thank the community and state leaders for making his and other life science research institutes' location in Florida possible. His remarks came during the official dedication of Burnham's Lake Nona campus this week.

(left to right) Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty; Dr. John Reed; Raesesh Thakker; Malin Burnham; Florida Governor Charlie Crist; Dr. Dan Kelly

Hundreds of business and community leaders gathered to celebrate as the first facility in the new Medical City at Lake Nona became fully operational. In addition to Reed, dedication speakers included Florida Governor Charlie Crist; Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; Orange County Mayor Richard T. Crotty; Rasesh Thakkar, senior managing partner of the Tavistock Group; Malin Burnham, philanthropist and chairman of Burnham's Board of Trustees; and Dr. Daniel Kelly, scientific director at Burnham Lake Nona.

(left to right) Burnham's George T. Lucier, Dr. John Reed, and Dr. Dan Kelly

After the dedication, attendees toured the new 175,000-square-foot scientific facility, which will ultimately house 30 head researchers plus 300 scientists and staff. The Lake Nona facility will focus, in particular, on advances in combating diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Already the state-of-the-art facility includes an ultra-high throughput screening center, one of only four NIH-funded comprehensive chemical screening centers in the country, complete with three robotic arms capable of conducting more than one million experiments per day. These sophisticated tools, along with a commitment to collaborative research, will enable Burnham scientists to move discoveries from bench to bedside more quickly than ever before.

Burnham's gratitude and commitment to this community came through loud and clear; while Central Florida's pride in this accomplishment - which, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer reminded us, had happened within a span of just three years- was evident and widespread. Perhaps Rasesh Thakker, Senior Managing Director of Tavistock Group, summed it up best: "Today we revel in what has been accomplished."

Here, Dr. John Reed explains Orlando's spirit of collaboration impressed the Burnham Institute.

No, we're not talking holidays...we're talking commercials! Fall officially kicks off the season during which companies and ad agencies from all over descend on Metro Orlando to shoot television commercials. Why, you ask? Because, unlike up north where the leaves have started to change, the leaves here in Orlando stay green year-round. That's good for commercial production since locations in Orlando can represent any season of the year!

As a result, film permit requests have been flowing into the EDC's Metro Orlando Film & Entertainment Office. Recent commercials shot here include: Bright House, Stein Mart, Orlando Health, Rooms To Go, TD Ameritrade, Gillette, Bush's Baked Beans, Cracker Barrel, Honda Boats, Snickers, BOSE, NBC Sunday Night Football Open and David Maus Toyota, to name a few.

Darden Restaurants, a Fortune 500 company, recently celebrated the opening of their new 469,000-square-foot headquarters operation in south Orange County.

Well known for its commitment to its people, the company's three-story building, situated on a 57-acre campus, is designed to maximize staff performance, interactions and efficiencies. It will house 1,300 Darden employees who provide support to nearly 1,800 Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52 restaurants throughout North America.

Joining in the ribbon cutting were (left to right): Bob Abberger, Trammell Crow Company; Jim Lawrence, Darden; Mayor Crotty, Orange County; Clarence Otis, Darden; Drew Madsen, Darden; Mayor Dyer, City of Orlando; Don Reynolds, Perkins+Will; and Steve Rivers, Hardin Construction.

The new facility is also designed to maximize energy efficiencies. Development partners Hardin Construction, Trammell Crow and Perkins+Will developed the building in accordance with Gold LEED certification for new construction from the United States Green Building Council. Upon final certification, Darden's corporate headquarters will become the largest LEED Gold NC building in Florida. Construction elements include use of high-efficiency heating and air conditioning systems; an automatic lighting system that dims or brightens according to the amount of sunlight entering the building; increased use of natural light made possible by a 114,000 square-foot glass curtainwall exterior; a highly reflective roof system that helps maintain the building's interior temperature; restrooms and irrigation systems using reclaimed water; and use of native trees, plants and grasses that require minimal water.

Orlando, Florida, is one of the fastest growing regions in the country for Hispanics according to the Pew Hispanic Center. And Hispanic Heritage Month - which runs from September 15 to October 15 - is an opportunity to remind us of the contributions Hispanics have made to our community and our nation. Throughout the month, there are several celebrations taking place, including the Orlando Hispanic Film Festival.

In addition, Orlando is opening doors for Hispanic entrepreneurs to realize their dreams. There are a multitude of organizations that directly support the Hispanic community in Central Florida, including both the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Business Initiative Fund.

Metro Orlando's diversity, combined with our region's reputation as a community that welcomes those from all backgrounds and walks of life, provides a competitive advantage in attracting minority owned and led businesses. Building on the belief that a culturally diverse community makes good business sense, the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission (EDC) established a Minority Channel initiative aimed at encouraging minority owned and led businesses in targeted industries to consider Orlando as the site of choice for relocation or expansion.

There's Mosaic, Arcadian Broad and Drew Thomas Magic. If you're not familiar with these names, they're among the folks that made it to the Top 40 in the popular America's Got Talent show. They have something else in common. They all come from a city where creative talent is building ... and in the eyes of Richard Florida (of the popular 'Creative Class' theory), that's one of the key ingredients to economic competitiveness, transformation and innovation.

Orlando, Florida, has become a place where creative talent is flowing and in multiple industries. The region, long known as an entertainment destination, has transformed into a technology hub that's entertaining company leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs, workers and young minds alike. Here are some reasons why:

This week, Orlando welcomed its inaugural class of 41 med students at the University of Central Florida's (UCF) new College of Medicine -- the first medical school in U.S. history to offer full, four-year scholarships to an entire class. The new college is one anchor in a new 'medical city' underway - one of only two such developments happening in the world right now. It's joined by the recently opened East Coast hub for The Burnham Institute for Medical Research, and forthcoming openings of the University of Florida Research Facility, Veterans Affairs Hospital, M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Institute and Nemours Children's Hospital. Economic analysts predict that by year 10 of operation, the world's newest life sciences cluster here could create 30,000 jobs and $7.6 billion economic activity.

At UCF, research and patents are on the rise. UCF, now the fifth largest university in the nation, has seen research funding (and subsequent lab space) grow exponentially in the past decade, from $37.5 million in 1999 to the new record high of $122.8 million in 2008. Additionally, UCF's patent portfolio was ranked in the top 10 of 122 universities in the U.S.

Inventors, scientists and entrepreneurs are thriving here. New drugs, therapies and vaccines are being developed ... one scientist is genetically modifying lettuce heads to produce insulin in the quest to develop a cure for diabetes. An entrepreneur has developed ultra-portable personal air-conditioners for military personnel. Another is developing advanced micro-batteries for use in medical, alternative energy and other applications. In addition, the number of incubators has grown rapidly here, opening the door to more entrepreneurs.

A new Photonics Academy was created at a local high school in partnership with Northrop Grumman to encourage student interest in the laser/photonics field. This new academy joins others already in existence, including one focusing on simulation (an industry with a top-ranked cluster in Orlando).

Nation-leading digital media schools in Orlando-- Full Sail University and UCF's Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy -- continue to see enrollment grow in this burgeoning field.

Entrepreneur Magazine recently recognized Orlando as one of best places to start a business. Forbes recently recognized Orlando one of best cities for tech jobs. And Next Generation Consulting ranked Orlando as a top hot spot for young professionals.