Business Briefs

+ Goodwill Manasota earns state kudos
Goodwill Manasota was recently recognized with the “Market Dominance by Share of Used Goods” award for having one of the highest market penetration scores at the Goodwill Industries International Summer Conference, in Orlando. 

Market penetration is determined by the number of people who shop at and donate to a particular Goodwill region, divided by the size of the relevant market population.

Goodwill Manasota received this award last year and continued to hold the top spot again this year in the medium-sized agency category, which includes Goodwill agencies with revenues between $19 million and $41 million.

“We are extremely proud of our organization and the great things that we are able to do because of the leadership from our board of directors and through the generosity of our community,” said Bob Rosinsky, president and CEO of Goodwill Manasota.

+ Bright House Networks to add 155 Manatee jobs
Bright House Networks, the second-largest cable operator in Florida, plans to expand its Manatee County customer call center and add 155 jobs over the next three years.

Bright House, according to a release from the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp., serves around 2.5 million customers in five states, including Florida, Alabama, California, Indiana and Michigan. Services include video, voice, high-speed data, home security and automation. Bright House, with residential and business clients, also owns and operates local news and sports channels in its Florida markets.

Local governments will aid the Bright House expansion. Manatee County commissioners approved $155,000 in performance-based incentives for the expected jobs based on a salary 15% higher than the average annual county wage. Bradenton city officials, according to the EDC release, have also offered to expedite permitting when Bright House renovates its current facility.