Business

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce has elected its officers for 2016, with a businesswoman as the new face of the organization.

With unanimous support from the nominating committee and board, Teresa Rand, president & CEO of the Volusia Flagler Family YMCA was elected chair for 2016.

As the head of the YMCA, Rand brings a great deal of community knowledge and leadership to the Chamber.

“Teresa has been an active member of the Board for several years including leadership roles in the Membership Division and the Community Development Division," current Chair Chris Bowler said. "In addition, she participated in the Strategic Planning process for the Chamber this past year.”

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 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Say it ain't so! Volusia County Councilman Joshua J. Wagner and power attorney Ted Doran have gotten a divorce of sorts. Wagner left Doran's larger law firm earlier this month to partner up with veteran personal injury attorney Steven Vasilaros.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Central Florida’s Daytona Beach International Airport will become a new destination for New York City's JFK Airport-based a year from now, the air carrier announced Friday.

The carrier will operate daily service from Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (IATA code JFK) to Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB), using Airbus A320 jets configured with 150 or 165 seats.

And nobody in Volusia County government is happier with the news than first-term County Chair Jason Davis, who put a premium on economic development and tourism as major points in his 2012 election campaign. 

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Like a used-car salesman, Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood, III, has been talking about the new wider plastic seats installed as part of the $400 million Daytona Rising. And he's turned to Facebook to put fannies in those seats, even though a sellout is iffy.

So DIS has turned to Facebook. Yes, Facebook. Imagine the ridicule the NFL would face for pushing Superbowl tickets on the the social media site. After all, the Daytona 500 is billed as the Superbowl of NASCAR.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla -- It became apparent pretty quickly to the Board of Daytona State College to seek the services of a lobbyist to compete for capital improvements and other such funding funding after DSC President Carol Eaton showed a series of statistics showing the college near the bottom compared to state colleges in South Florida.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Community Foundation of Volusia & Flagler didn't have to search long and hard to come up with a prominent business leader as its 2015 recipient of the "Herbert M. Davidson Memorial Award for Outstanding Community Service."

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Passenger traffic at Daytona Beach International Airport decreased 8 percent during October in comparison with the previous October, attributed to fewer seats offered by Delta, Volusia County officials said.

During October, 47,075 incoming and outgoing passengers traveled through the county-operated airport. This compares with 50,930 passengers in October 2013.

"The airport’s passenger traffic decline in October was the second monthly decline in 2014 and can be attributed to fewer seats offered by Delta Air Lines, the airport’s primary air carrier, combined with some increase in seats offered by U.S Airways," Rick Karl, airport director, told Headline Surfer®. "Passenger loads for both air carriers reached 95 percent during October, an increase of 1 percent from last October."

SANFORD, Fla. -- SunRail trains are operating on a normal schedule with the Columbus Day holiday on Monday, with 34 regularly-scheduled train trips per day, a DOT spokesman said.

"As usual, the first train leaves Sanford at 5:06 a.m. and the last stop of the day is in DeBary at 10:18 p.m.," Florida Department of Transportstion regional spokesman Steve Olson said.

Please check www.sunrail.com for the schedule and regular pricing options.

Speedway projects, other construction expected to generate even greater figures

Projects like the $400 million Daytona Rising renovation at Daytona International Speedway, home to signature races like the Daytona 500 and the Rolex 24 bring in tourists from around the globe. And a key ingredient is Daytona Beach International Airport.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Passenger traffic at Daytona Beach International Airport increased 11 percent in April compared to April of last year, Volusia County officials said.