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October 04, 2022

‘We Were Severely Impacted’: Promo Firms in Southwest Florida Reel After Ian’s Wrath

Further north up the coast, many industry companies were breathing sighs of relief that the impacts were not as bad as feared.

By  Christopher Ruvo

Angie Becker is an entrepreneurial success story.

She and her business partner started their business, Turtle Shirts, in a Fort Myers, FL, garage in 2009, then built it into in one that now operates in an industrial-sized space. They offer embroidery, screen printing and the manufacture of custom dye sublimation garments.

Hurricane Ian didn’t care about any of that.

The Category 4 hurricane bulldozed into Fort Myers on Wednesday, Sept. 28, with punishing winds and reportedly fatal flooding. And now, Turtle Shirts is trying to pick up the pieces.

“We were severely impacted,” Becker tells ASI Media. “We have no power and no internet.” She’s not sure when the business might be up and running again.

Turtle Shirts is one of the many promotional products/apparel decorating industry companies in Florida that are reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. The hardest-hit areas are in Southwest Florida, with locales in and near Fort Myers and Naples sustaining the worst of the damage from wind, rain and storm surge.

Cell service and internet are down in areas, something ASI Media learned firsthand in attempting to contact dozens of industry firms on Thursday, Sept. 29, for word on how promo pros are faring. In the most affected locales, business is at a standstill.

“It’s been crazy,” says Nate Sallee, owner of Fort Myers-based Sallee Promotions (asi/201716).

Sallee and his family evacuated to West Palm Beach, FL, which is on the state’s eastern coast. They are planning to return home to Fort Myers on Friday, Sept. 30. Sallee isn’t sure exactly what lies ahead – for his community or his business.

“According to neighbors, my house is okay but there is a lot of exterior damage,” he tells ASI Media.

After Ian moved off, Sallee got in contact with T-Shirt Express, an apparel decorator with whom he often partners. The Naples, FL-based firm is dealing with repercussions from the storm. 

“The parking lot behind their shop was completely flooded out,” says Sallee.

flooded parking lot

The parking lot behind T-Shirt Express in Naples, FL, after Ian moved out.

Tim Holliday, owner of Sarasota, FL-based Children’s World Uniform Supply (asi/161711), rode the storm out in his shop with his family – wife, daughter, dog and two lizards. They were staying in the shop after evacuating a rental unit and waiting to move into their new condo, which was being renovated.

Ian didn’t thrash Sarasota as hard as areas to the south, but it was still a harrowing experience for the Hollidays.

“The building two doors down had its roof torn off,” Holliday shares. “A tree that fell came within inches of hitting my car, as well as a window that almost blew out in the shop and had to be MacGyvered in the middle of the night to hold. We have no power, so we don't know when we’ll be able to reopen. Thankfully, (our family) is fine.”

Chris Lovell, senior vice president of sales at ASI, is a Florida resident. She was safe and out of state when Ian struck, but received word from friends about storm impacts to places with sentimental value for her.

“The Inn where I got married was totally underwater yesterday and the Shamrock, an Irish pub in Fort Myers Beach where we celebrated many a Saint Patrick’s Day, had water up to the second story,” Lovell shares. “Our friends also told us that Captiva and Sanibel were underwater.”

Shamrock pub in Ft. Myer's Florida flooded

The Shamrock, a pub in Fort Myers, FL, that ASI’s Chris Lovell enjoys, had water up to the second floor.

‘Dodged a Bullet’

As Hurricane Ian neared, Kelly Moore hunkered down with family and friends, bracing for the worst. It never came. In a twist of fate, Moore didn’t even lose power.

“St. Petersburg, where I live, dodged a bullet again,” says Moore, the solo-operating owner of independent distributorship Moore Promotions (asi/601617). “We were so lucky. I know others have not been and I truly feel for them. My best friend lost her two surf shops in Fort Myers.”

As Moore’s anecdote illustrates, there are more than a few promo pros further north on Florida’s Gulf Coast in places like Tampa, Clearwater and elsewhere that are breathing sighs of relief. Earlier forecasts had Ian slamming their area hardest. While the storm certainly made its presence felt, the impacts are not as bad as they are farther south.

How to Help

Want to help communities impacted by Hurricane Ian? Consider donating to these organizations.

• Florida Disaster Fund
• American Red Cross
• Feeding Florida
• Convoy of Hope

Find more information on where to donate.

“While we were very fortunate to make it through this, many of our neighboring areas were not,” says C.J. Schmidt, CEO of Largo, FL-based Top 40 supplier Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125) and a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people. “Our hearts go out to them, and we pray everyone comes together to help those in need recover and rebuild.”

Hit’s website was down for a time on Thursday, reportedly due to an offsite server sustaining a power outage. Still, the company escaped largely unscathed. Operations were resuming to a degree on Thursday afternoon, according to a company statement, though 24-hour service remained suspended until further notice and Hit was asking customers to be prepared for an additional two-to-three business days of production time for standard service.

“Our buildings have no structural damage, have power, and we expect to be fully operational on Friday, Sept. 30,” says Schmidt. “We were extremely fortunate that we were able get through this hurricane with minimal impact to our local area. We are very thankful our employees are safe, and that we have made it through this storm.” 

Suppliers, including Hit, noted that carrier providers like UPS and FedEx may be experiencing disruptions in the area. Customers should be aware there could be delays because of that.

Meanwhile, Clearwater, FL-based Koozie Group (asi/40480), a Top 40 supplier, says that its facilities were not damaged and that it will reopen Friday, working through the weekend to try to catch up. “Our employees prepared their homes, and our teams prepped our facilities,” shares CEO David Klatt, a member of Counselor’s Power 50. “We’re continuing to check in with our employees, as there are reports of minor damage and some still without power.”

Koozie Group expects to have accurate ship dates for orders by Monday, Oct. 3. “Our prayers,” says Klatt, “are with our neighbors to our south.”

As Florida begins its recovery, communities further north are preparing to brace for Ian’s arrival. A potential landfall is forecast Friday in South Carolina, where meteorologists are worried the storm could again reach hurricane force.