Fort Myers: City of Palms—A Contemporary Portrait

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DEAN STEEL BUILDINGS,INC. ❖ Left to right, the Metallic Building Company representative, Charles and Robert Dean sign the dealership contract in 1968. Dean Steel Buildings, Inc., is the largest manufacturer of metal building systems in Florida and continually works to increase its market share by providing outstanding customer service and experience in high-wind building designs. With annual sales of $15 million and climbing, Dean Steel Buildings, Inc., employs ninety to 100 people at facilities in Fort Myers; Cedartown and Thomasville, Georgia; and San José, Costa Rica. Principal customers are contractors and metal building installers throughout the Southeast United States and the Americas as well as direct sales to government agencies and end-use customers. The genesis for all this success goes back to Robert “Bob” Dean, a welder and son of a welder, who owned and operated a welding shop on Anderson Avenue in Fort Myers. In the early 1950s, Bob began selling and erecting pre-engineered metal buildings throughout the southern half of Florida, including the Florida Keys. Originally called Bob Dean Steel Buildings, Inc., the company purchased and installed metal buildings manufactured by Stran-Steel Buildings. His youngest son, Charles, a mechanical engineer, joined his father in the business in 1967, earned a contractor’s license, and with his father continued the practice of selling and erecting pre-engineered metal buildings. The company’s growth was not without obstacles. In the late 1960s, the City of Fort Myers refused to issue permits for metal roofs to be used on commercial buildings. Charles had to convince the head city building officials that if metal roofs were good enough for the early settlers—such as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford—they should be good enough for commercial buildings of that time. By 1971, operating under the name Dean Steel Buildings, Inc., the company purchased and installed metal buildings made primarily by Metallic Building Company. The company did so well that between 1970 and 1972, Dean Steel Buildings, Inc., was the largest volume builder in the country for Metallic Building Company. In 1973, Charles purchased the business from his father and was immediately confronted with a problem: A steel shortage forced Metallic Building Company to cancel orders placed by the company and other builders it worked with. To his credit, Charles saw an opportunity rather than just a problem and began traveling the state to meet with builders and ask them if they would buy from him if he started producing his own building line. The overwhelmingly positive response he received put Dean Steel Buildings in the manufacturing business for good. In 1985 the State of Florida mandated that all Florida counties develop a land-use plan that eventually required every commercial building in the state to go through a long permitting process. This occurred at the same time the economy began slipping into a recession. To remain competitive, a major modernization of equipment and processes began in 1988, including the use of computer-aided drafting and the ability to electronically move information from drafting directly to the manufacturing machines. All work was done in-house, a process that continues to this day, allowing the company to be self-sufficient and highly efficient in its industry sector. It was about this time that Charles’ wife, Karen Dean, daughters, Nanette Dean, Julie Dean Fisher, Jeanie Dean Richards, Charlotte Dean Edwards, and sons-in-law Ken Fisher and Jeff Richards joined the organization in various roles. They joined Charles and Bob, who continued to work in a support role until Bob’s death in 2006. In 1992, while the rest of the industry went to China or India, the company started an engineering and drafting office in San José, Costa Rica. In a time when the Internet was still in its fledgling stage, Dean Steel Buildings was transmitting digital drawings and material lists through commercial servers in California. FORT MYERS: City of Palms—A Contemporary Portrait 146
Today, Dean Steel Buildings, Inc., is a member of the Metal Building Manufacturers Association, is certified ISO 9001, and accredited to AC-472. Achieving ISO 9001 certification has allowed the company to focus its operations on: • Customer satisfaction, providing products with the highest quality standards possible. • Problem-solving techniques and continuous improvement of systems, procedures, products, and people. • Teamwork, continual training, and employee support. With the company’s innovative systems, advanced computer-aided design and manufacturing technology, there is no limit to its creativity. Dean Steel Buildings, Inc., has become the modern, economical form of construction for practically every building application. From large commercial and industrial facilities to neighborhood shopping centers, office buildings, commercial banks, and even private homes. The company has four decades of hands-on experience in every component and every system it produces. Its tradition of quality and reliability, combined with design flexibility and personalized service, allows Dean Steel Buildings to enjoy an outstanding reputation among architects and contractors. The company believes competence can only be achieved if the organization is capable of managing the training needs of its staff. The company makes every employee directly involved in each step of the process because it depends on its people, their experience, abilities, and knowledge. As for the future, Dean Steel Buildings, Inc., plans to welcome the next generation into this family owned business as Charles and Karen’s grandchildren join the company. Dean Steel Buildings, Inc., will continue providing the quality service and products its customers have come to expect while evolving into a more customer-centered business using social media and Internet advertising. As a result of these efforts and more, Dean Steel Buildings, Inc., is positioned to grow its business as the communities in which it operates grow. ❖ Top, left: McArthur Farms. Top, right: Roi’s Bar-B-Que Restaurant. Above: Dollar General Store. FORT MYERS PARTNERS 147
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FORT MYERS CITY OF PALMS—A CONTEM
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CITY OF PALMS—A CONTEMPORARY PORT
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Contents Legacy Sponsors ..........
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Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt
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❖ Mayor Randall P. Henderson, Jr.
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Fort Myers City Council 2017 Fort M
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INTRODUCTION 11
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❖ THEN: The Leon Building back in
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❖ Opposite: Wreathed by bougainvi
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❖ Opposite, top: The Lee County C
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❖ Left: If those leaves could tal
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CHAPTER 2 21
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CHAPTER 2 23
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❖ Board-certified dermatologist D
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Outside of the urban centers, agric
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Florida Gulf Coast University ❖ T
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CHAPTER 2 31
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CHAPTER 2 33
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❖ Opposite: Anchored by Hammond S
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❖ With an elegant Victorian-style
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❖ Opposite, top: Concertgoers hea
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CHAPTER 3 41
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Fine arts options include symphonie
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CHAPTER 3 45
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CHAPTER 3 47
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❖ Built in 1928, Thomas Edison’
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❖ Housed in a former water plant,
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❖ Opposite: Once home to a 1930s
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❖ Opposite: Just a short stroll f
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❖ Firmly embracing the library-as
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❖ Opposite and below: Thousands c
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The great outdoors beckons with bea
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❖ Bridges slice across the Caloos
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CHAPTER 3 65
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❖ Not only has he helped power th
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❖ Opposite: Fronting historic Fir
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CHAPTER 3 71
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❖ Downtown’s Caloosahatchee inl
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CHAPTER 4 75
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❖ Opposite: Bikers pass the holid
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❖ More than just brightly lit out
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More than a century ago, this is ho
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CHAPTER 4 83
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❖ Opposite: Every year, a junior
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❖ Opposite: Kids also get their o
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❖ Young singers from one of the c
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CHAPTER 4 91
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❖ Hundreds gather along Centennia
Page 97 and 98: ❖ Opposite: A repurposed fish hou
Page 99 and 100: ❖ Opposite: Kayakers gear up to p
Page 101 and 102: CHAPTER 4 99
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Page 105 and 106: ❖ Opposite: Inspired by jazz musi
Page 107 and 108: For the last twenty-five years, For
Page 109 and 110: O LIVIA W ILLIAMS For more than thr
Page 111 and 112: D ON P AIGHT Like downtown Fort Mye
Page 113 and 114: S HARON M C A LLISTER ART DIVA One
Page 115 and 116: L YDIA B LACK As the poised ringmas
Page 117 and 118: S AM G ALLOWAY, JR . Since 1927, th
Page 119 and 120: W ILLIAM G LOVER His strength radia
Page 121 and 122: J IM G RIFFITH It is hard to imagin
Page 123 and 124: D ANIEL K EARNS Daniel Kearns and h
Page 125 and 126: J ARRETT E ADY Jarrett Eady did not
Page 127 and 128: J OE P LEDGER The tradition of rive
Page 129 and 130: M ARCUS J ANSEN As a Gulf War veter
Page 131 and 132: I SRAEL S UAREZ Social service dyna
Page 133 and 134: D AVE M OODY In a place where fifth
Page 135 and 136: FORT MYERS PARTNERS Profiles of bus
Page 137 and 138: The minutes of the April 3, 1915, h
Page 139 and 140: “The office opens into a wide cor
Page 141 and 142: To put the growth in perspective, t
Page 143 and 144: Since Simpson joined the company, L
Page 145 and 146: LeeSar provides record retention fo
Page 147: Interpretative Center, the first LE
Page 151 and 152: this day. James A. Franklin, Jr., f
Page 153 and 154: Located in the heart of Fort Myers,
Page 155 and 156: ❖ Left: Galloway Ford located at
Page 157 and 158: Words cannot do justice to what you
Page 159 and 160: of Science in Dental Hygiene progra
Page 161 and 162: and musicians are inspired to pursu
Page 163 and 164: designed to control water in the Ev
Page 165 and 166: The Chevrolet Motor Company, formed
Page 167 and 168: “Lee County Smart Growth Transit-
Page 169 and 170: number that spelled out “GIVE.”
Page 171 and 172: Programs and Services of Hope Healt
Page 173 and 174: Today, tourism is a significant eco
Page 175 and 176: Ad-Ler Roofing, Inc., was built on
Page 177 and 178: Chico’s FAS, Inc., is a leading s
Page 179 and 180: BOYLAN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS, I
Page 181 and 182: Fischler Property Company is doing
Page 183 and 184: BARBARA B. MANN PERFORMING ARTS HAL
Page 185 and 186: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., f
Page 187 and 188: In the early 1970s, Mike Joyce and
Page 189 and 190: Corbin Henderson Company is a real
Page 191 and 192: ❖ MAIN SAIL VIDEO PRODUCTIONS, IN
Page 193 and 194: About the Author A MY B ENNETT W IL
Page 195: LEADERSHIP SPONSORS ISBN: 978-1-944
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Fort Myers: City of Palms—A Contemporary Portrait

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