The 72nd Atmore Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting will be held Thursday, January 25.
The speaker for the banquet and meeting is Quint Studer, a businessman, a visionary, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to many.
The following bio was submitted by the Chamber:
[Quint] has given his life to designing the building blocks for people and organizations that guide them to achieving and sustaining high performance.
Quint and his wife, Rishy moved to Pensacola in 1996 and have not been afraid to invest. He headquartered Studer Group there. Quint has now moved into the role of community volunteer and head of the Studer Community Institute, a nonprofit, research-based entity started in 2014 with the goal of improving the quality of life in the community. SCI’s efforts focus on improving education and economic development through three tracks: Research and advocacy in early childhood education, leadership training and employee development for small and medium-sized businesses and increasing civic knowledge and engagement.
Quint and Rishy have also dedicated themselves to improving the quality of life for people in the Pensacola Metro Area through their philanthropy. Quint and Rishy have donated more than millions to worthwhile causes throughout the community. Their gifts include multi-million donations for a new downtown YMCA, a new Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart, and gifts to the University of West Florida College for Entrepreneurship and the Pensacola Pledge Scholarship fund to help local students attend Pensacola State College or UWF. They also have donated to multiple non-profit organizations in the area who share the same mission.
Buildings on the historic corner of Palafox and Main Street have been renovated and opened home to the Bodacious Olive, Bodacious Brew, Brew Thru, SoGourmet, and SoChopped. Along with the Shops they own 5eleven event space in the downtown area. Quint and Rishy are the co-owners of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Bubba’s Sweet Spot alongside two-time Masters Champion and local hero Bubba Watson.
The Studers have invested time and money into many properties in the area. They renovated what is known as The Artisan, which brought five retail stores to downtown. The Maritime Office Building was built for $16 million and employees more than 220 people. In the historic district of Belmont and DeVilliers, DeVilliers Square was constructed with 33,000 square feet of occupied space next to Five Sisters Blues Cafe. Currently under construction they have the $14.3 million Urban Core Office Building that is 55,000 square feet and will house over 200 employees. To offer more residential living downtown, Southtowne is being built. Southtowne is a $52 million dollar project that will have 258 units, office and retail space and a hidden parking garage. A recent investment is the purchase of the 96,000 square feet SunTrust building that will be the future home of the Studer Community Institute and a hub of learning for entrepreneurship and small businesses.
Quint has also authored seven leadership-based books including ones that have landed on both the Wall Street Journal and Business Week’s bestsellers list. He writes a weekly employee development column that runs each Sunday in the Pensacola News Journal, and a new book, Building a Vibrant Community, that will be released in early 2018.
Quint says he has a human responsibility to act and to do so with a sense of urgency and always connect his actions back to purpose.