Tour riders enjoy local neighborhood of San Marco.

Leigh Burdett, owner and founder, of e2ride bike tours, hosted their first tour in San Marco on Saturday, September 7^th.  Leigh guided a group of 10 riders through the wonderful neighborhoods of San Marco.  San Marco is just one of the featured neighborhoods that e2Ride Bike Tours host.  The guided tours explore the local flavor and history of Jacksonville’s great neighborhoods.  Riders enjoy the tales and local lore of the city while enjoying the seasonal fauna and flora, native bird life, rivers, lakes and oceans.

Leigh emphasizes that, “our rides are guided, yet allow flexibility for riders of all distances and skill levels to ride at their pace.”  All e2ride tours include new hybrid bikes and everything you need to have a great ride. “These are great bicycles, very comfortable and easy to ride,” commented Bonnie Davis. Bonnie and her husband Dan are avid bike riders and enjoyed spending time with fellow enthusiasts.  Each tour can accommodate parties of up to 15 people and cost varies by tour location.  All riders are provided maps that highlight stops along the route.

Hybrid bikes are provided.

“We will plan tours for parties of up to 15 people and can alter our routes based on group’s interests, explains Leigh. “Out of town guests can be enjoy door service from area hotels.  “Convention and event planners are always looking for unique ways to entertain out of town guests, and this is a great activity for convention groups.”

Leigh and tour group stop at Preservation Hall for a history lesson.

Contact e2ride Bike tours at  904-945-1571 or info@e2ride.com to schedule a ride and visit the website for more details at www.e2ride.com for more information about Jacksonville Tours.

Online investing firm moves office to San Marco Boulevard to be more convenient for customers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Scottrade, a leading branch-supported online investing firm, is relocating its South Laura Street Branch Office across the St. Johns River to 1950 San Marco Blvd. The office opened March 1.

“Investors who live and work in this area will find this office more convenient to visit,” said Branch Manager Tony Capitano. “The new office will still offer the same one-on-one customer service, as well as branch seminars, to help customers make better-informed investing decisions.”

Scottrade offers free local branch seminars and user summits to give customers an opportunity to learn about a wide range of topics, including basic order types and the features and functionality of Scottrade’s trading platforms. More information about investment education and how to register for local seminars is available at Scottrade’s online Knowledge Center.

Scottrade is the online investing firm with the largest branch network in the country. The firm offers a full line of investment products and market research tools to help self-directed investors make their own investing decisions. Though Scottrade does not provide advice, brokers are available at branch offices to answer account-related questions, provide customer service and give tutorials on Scottrade’s online trading services.

The Jacksonville Branch Office will be open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and can be reached at 904-398-9725. After-hours support is available 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

About Scottrade

As a leading online investing firm, Scottrade offers a full line of investment products, online trading services and market research tools to help investors take control of their financial future. Scottrade is dedicated to personalized customer service and value, providing customers the convenience of buying many stocks online at just $7 per trade and the support of the largest branch network among online investment firms, with more than 425 nationwide branch offices. Scottrade has been named one of FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America for three consecutive years. For more information, visit www.scottrade.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

Marty Scheffler captures the spirit of the pets that she draws in her exquisitely rendered pet portraits.  What began as a fundraiser for the Humane Society Animal Care and Control has turned into a passion for Marty.  She enjoys capturing the fine details of the animal’s facial expression in her pencil portraits. These detailed pieces reveal the essence of the animal through her use of shadow and texture.

Marty has an innate artistic talent and throughout her career she has explored a variety of art mediums for creative expression.  She is drawn to nature and the beauty of flowers as reflected in her floral compositions.  “I like to experiment with color and texture in my paintings.”  She says that, “nature provides a wonderful backdrop for my art.”

I also find that art is a way for me to convey all aspects of my personality. I found that using an ordinary door was the  perfect canvas for my surfboard renditions,” she says. 

“ Her stylized surfboard paintings on doors are very popular”, says Lori Taylor of Trends Home Decor where Marty’s work is displayed.   Marty is continuely exploring artistic methods and mediums to express her visual imagery. 

Marty is  available for commissions and will capture the personality of your favorite pet for a lifetime. Marty can be reached at 904-880-3864 and her art can be seen on her website at www.mycustomart.info and at Trends Home Décor at 3919 Hendricks Avenue.

Michael Saylor, former President of Bessent, Hammack and Ruckman, Inc., one of Jacksonville’s oldest and largest planning and engineering firms, and former City Planner under Mayor John Peyton, has emerged out of “retirement”.  After two years of self-imposed hunting, fishing, and adventure travel, Mike has formed Black Dog Planning, Incorporated.

He describes his new venture as, “catering to owners of unique and exceptional real estate properties, worldwide”.  He has merged his expertise in land planning and project management with his passion for the outdoor sporting lifestyle and is now working with clients who own and manage mega-sites for hunting, fishing, eco-tourism, and trekking concessions.

While Mike still works with a small local clientele of former business associates on a variety of conventional development projects, the focus of Black Dog Planning is the western states of the US and the international market for high-end lifestyle destinations.  His game preserve work will take him to Argentina and New Zealand later this year during the southern hemisphere’s “off-season”.

As Saylor put it, “I saw a niche that suits me and went for it.  The best part of what  Black Dog is all about is marketing for new clients”.

Located in The Lofts, Black Dog Planning can be reached at 635.9940.

Black Dog Planning is located in the historic South Jacksonville Grammar School. Known as The Lofts, the adaptive reuse of the old schoolhouse accommodates 35 live-work spaces in what were classrooms, administrative offices and gymnasium.