Sign up for Feb. 21 Miami Herald Small Business Forum

Prepare your best pitch for the Miami Herald’s Small Business Forum, Feb. 21 at the south campus of our sponsor, Florida International University.

In addition to how-to panels and inspirational stories from successful entrepreneurs, our annual small business forum will include interactive opportunities with experts to learn about financing options and polish your personal and business brands.

During our finance panel, audience volunteers will be invited to explain their financing needs to the group. During our box-lunch session, they will be invited to pitch their business or personal brand to our coaches.

Those who prefer just to listen will be treated to a keynote address by Alberto Perlman, co-founder of the global fitness craze Zumba. Panels include success stories from the local entrepreneurs who founded Sedano’s, Jennifer’s Homemade and ReStockIt.com; finance tips from experts in small business loans, venture capital, angel investments and traditional bank loans; and insiders in the burgeoning South Florida tech start-up scene.

Plus, it’s a real bargain. $25 includes the half-day seminar, continental breakfast and a box lunch.

Register here.

Program

8 a.m.

Registration and continental breakfast, provided by Bill Hansen Catering

8:30 a.m. Welcome

Host: David Suarez, president and CEO, Interactive Training Solutions, LLC

•  Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

•  Alice Horn, executive director, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE South Florida)

•  Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge Overview:

•  Nancy Dahlberg, Business Plan Challenge coordinator, The Miami Herald

8:45 a.m. Session I – Success Stories

Moderator: Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

Speakers:

•  Jennifer Behar, founder, Jennifer’s Homemade

•  Matt Kuttler, co-president of ReStockIt.com

•  Javier Herrán, chief marketing officer, Sedano’s Supermarkets

10 a.m. Session II – All about Tech

Moderator: Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Speakers

•  Susan Amat, founder, Launch Pad Tech

•  Nancy Borkowski, executive director, Health Management Programs, Chapman Graduate School of

Business, Florida International University

•  Mark Slaughter, CEO, Cohealo.com

•  Chris Fleck, vice president of mobility solutions at Citrix and a director of the South Florida Tech Alliance

11:15 a.m. Keynote

Speaker: Alberto Perlman, CEO and co-founder of Zumba® Fitness

Introduction: Jane Wooldridge, business editor, The Miami Herald

11:45 a.m. Session III – Show me the money: Financing your small business

An interactive session featuring audience volunteers who will be invited to make a short investment pitch before a panel, including experts in microlending, SBA loans, traditional bank loans, venture capital and angel investing. Audience volunteers should come prepared with a two-minute presentation that includes details about current backing, how much money they are seeking and a brief synosis of ow that money would be used.

Moderator: Melissa Krinzman, founder and managing director, Venture Architects

Panelists:

•  Marjorie Weber, chairman, SCORE of Miami-Dade

•  Cornell Crews, Jr., program director, Partners for Self Employment

•  Darius G. Nevin, co-founder, G3 Capital Partners, a mid-market and early-stage investment company

•  Boris Hirmas Said, chairman of the board, Tres Mares S.A. (Santiago, Chile) and entrepreneur in

residence at the Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center

1 p.m. Lunch session - Polish your Pitch, Brighten Your Personal Brand

An interactive session featuring audience volunteers who will be invited to make short pitches about their businesses and themselves. Audience volunteers should come prepared with a two-minute presentation.

Coaches: Melissa Krinzman of Venture Architects and Michelle Villalobos of Mivista Consulting

advise audience volunteers on how to best pitch themselves and their products.

Box lunch provided by Bill Hansen Catering

All speakers confirmed unless otherwise noted. Agenda is subject to change without notice .

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Stranded python hunters rescued from Broward Everglades

Two python hunters were rescued Thursday afternoon by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue after they became stranded and disoriented in the Everglades.

According to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles, a call came in shortly before 4 p.m. that the hunters, 22 and 25 years old and from Tennessee, were stranded 15 miles west of U.S. 27 near the Broward-Palm Beach County line.

“It doesn’t seem like they were familiar with the area,” Jachles said. “They underestimated the conditions. We had temperature in the 80s. “

The men, suffering from exhaustion and dehydration, complained of lightheadedness and weakness when air rescue located them. They were taken two miles from where they were found and treated by firefighters and paramedics.

“Fortunately our helicopter and rescue crews got to them before it would have gotten much worse,” Jachles said.

The victims, thought to be staying in their car, refused to be taken to a hospital for further treatment.

Jachles could not confirm that they were taking part in the ongoing “Python Challenge,” which began last month and offers cash prizes to hunters who kill the most, and longest, Burmese pythons, which have infested the Everglades in recent years.

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GWB leaping beauty’s sad descent into 'faux foe' rage

The fashionista who jumped to her death from the George Washington Bridge felt under siege by five frenemies she barred from her funeral via suicide note — including one who told her to overdose, The Post has learned.

“Go try to kill yourself on Xanax again, you unstable loser. Go f--k yourself and never speak to me again,” Alison Tinari wrote in a Facebook exchange with troubled Ashley Riggitano, who killed herself Wednesday, her 22nd birthday.

The blond beauty left behind a multipage, handwritten note in a Louis Vuitton bag that excluded Tinari and four other women from the funeral because of their contentious relationships through the years.

HAD WORDS: Ashley (left) and biz partner Victoria Van Thunen (right) fought on Facebook.

WHY? Classmate Teresa Castaldo (left) and publicist Beth Bassil (right) are on enemy list.

FURY: Ashley ripped Alison Tinari (left) for hanging with hunk Drew Heissenbuttel (right).

A source identified the others as Teresa Castaldo, Beth Bassil, Victoria Van Thunen and Samantha Horneff.

Van Thunen was Riggitano’s business partner at Missfits, a jewelry-design business. Castaldo and Bassil were classmates at Midtown’s Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, and Horneff was a friend from New Jersey.

Riggitano placed her handbag on a walkway at about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday before leaping from a midway point in the Jersey-bound lanes of the upper level, authorities said.

Prescription drugs, including Adderall, which is used to treat ADHD, and Klonopin, an anti-panic drug, were found in her bag.

Riggitano’s suicide notes — written in girlish cursive on lined, loose-leaf paper — revealed the depths of her despair.

“To any funeral, these people should not be allowed based upon words and actions,” she wrote about the five women.

She also mentioned three others by first name only — calling them “only people I love & always there to tell sorry.”

She blasted her other pals, writing, “All my other ‘friends’ are in it for gossip, never there just 1/4 for gossip.”

Hours before the suicide, Van Thunen ripped Riggitano in a Facebook post.

“Those who incessantly blame others as the cause of their issues should perhaps take a step back and re-evaluate these situations,” Van Thunen, 21, wrote.

“The common thread may be that ‘they’ aren’t the problem, but rather that YOU are.”

About a month earlier, Riggitano initiated an ugly, two-day exchange with Tinari that led to the Xanax suicide comment.

The fight stemmed from Tinari’s ongoing friendship with Riggitano’s boyfriend, aspiring race-car driver Drew Heissenbuttel.

“It’s really horrible what happened. I feel really bad for her family. It’s crazy. I feel really bad for her. I never went after her; she went after me,” a remorseful Tinari told The Post yesterday, adding that she didn’t even know Riggitano before the exchange.

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Need a copy of your home’s deed? It’s cheaper to do it yourself

Homeowners who received letters recently from a company offering to sell them a copy of the deed on their home might want to think twice before writing a check.

The official-looking letters from Florida Certified Record Retrieval state that the government recommends having a certified copy of their home’s deed.

The letter offers to provide such a copy for a fee of $50, plus $4.50 for postage and handling.

Technically, it’s not a scam. The Davie-based company, which is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, will get the record for you.

A recorded message on the company’s answering service states that Florida Certified Record Retrieval is not affiliated with any state or government agency. It is a private company that buys lists of real estate transactions, which are public record.

The message also states the company has no access to original documents, and cannot change information — such as correcting misspelled names — on a certified copy of a deed.

Although what the company does is not illegal, homeowners can buy copies of a deed directly from their county’s clerk of courts for much less, said David Rooney, Division Chief of Recording at the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts Office.

To get a copy of your deed:

In Miami-Dade, visit www.miami-dadeclerk.com and select “official record search.” Records are searchable by name.

A scanned copy of the record can be printed from the website, or you can order certified copies of the deed from the same screen.

Copies cost $1 per page, plus a certification fee of $2 per document. The records are mailed within a week.

In Broward, visit www.broward.org, click on “Public Records Search” and then on “Deeds.”

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Two children ejected from vehicle in Miami Gardens accident

Two children were ejected from a vehicle in an accident Wednesday afternoon on their way home from school.

They and two other children were headed home from Norland Middle School in a shuttle van they take every day. When the driver, who was northbound on Northwest 12th Avenue, reached 199th Street, an eastbound Nissan Altima hit the van, throwing two children from it.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue took them to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where they were reported to be in stable condition.

The parents of a girl in the van took her to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. Neither the fourth child nor the van’s driver was injured.

The driver of the eastbound vehicle claimed he was experiencing a heart attack just before the accident, but authorities determined he did not. He was treated at Jackson North Medical Center and reported to be in stable condition.

None of the children or drivers were immediately identified.

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Justin Timberlake Reveals New Album Cover for 20 20 Experience

We're one step closer to The 20/20 Experience!

Justin Timberlake just dropped a major treat for his fans on Twitter, revealing the cover art and tracklisting to his upcoming solo album, The 20/20 Experience.

"I wanted you guys to see this first!!!," wrote Timberlake with a link to the cover (featuring the singer dressed to the nines behind a phoropter) and song titles.

Pics: Justin & Jessica's Long Road to the Altar

Check out the full tracklisting below:

-Pusher Love Girl

-Suit & Tie

-Don't Hold The Wall

-Strawberry Bubblegum

-Tunnel Vision

-Spaceship Coupe

-That Girl
Let The Groove Get In

-Mirrors

-Blue Ocean Floor

The 20/20 Experience hits stores on March 19.

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WATCH: High-speed Los Angeles car chase ends in huge fireball

KTLA video still

A police chase in California ended in flames Wednesday night.

A Los Angeles police chase ended in a fireball Wednesday, with the high-speed pursuit caught on video.

KTLA video shows the chase - which involved a suspected drunken driver, the station reports.

The driver weaved in between cars, eluding authorities along a highway in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood on the east side of Los Angeles.

Eventually the suspect's car spun, crashing into a guardrail and bursting into flames.

As fire engulfed the wreckage, police approached the car and pulled the driver to safety.

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Greenberg Traurig shuffles leadership

Law firm Greenberg Traurig on Tuesday announced a new management lineup that includes naming Hilarie Bass as the first female president in the firm’s history.

Bass, one of the firm’s Miami shareholders, most recently had been global operating shareholder. She will share the presidency with Brian L. Duffy, a Denver shareholder who has been global litigation chair, a position previously held by Bass.

As part of the shuffle, Miami shareholders Cesar L. Alvarez and Matt Gorson move to co-chairs and Larry Hoffman becomes founding chair. Alvarez previously served as executive chair, Gorson as president and Hoffman as chair.

These were just some of the new leadership changes announced by Greenberg’s Chief Executive Richard A. Rosenbaum. The firm began a leadership transition plan in 2010 when Rosenbaum took over the helm of the firm that today includes about 1,750 attorneys in 35 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

“We are pleased to have so many talented leaders and performers, not just those with titles,” Rosenbaum said in a statement. “We have never been about titles or politics, and titles do not create leaders. We and others already in place in our regions, offices and practices form a seamless team focused on respecting and serving our clients and lawyers.”

Rosenbaum, who will remain in his post, also announced four new vice presidents:

• Ernest Greer, Managing Shareholder of the firm’s Atlanta office.

• Brad Kaufman, Co-Chair of the National Securities Litigation Practice, leader of the firm’s Associate Development Program and a Palm Beach County shareholder.

• Patricia Menendez-Cambo, Chair of the Global Practice, Co-Chair of the Infrastructure and Project Finance Practice and a Miami shareholder.

• Keith Shapiro, Chair of the Chicago office and Co-Chair of the Business Reorganization Practice.

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Miami Heat has scholarships for graduation high school seniors

The Miami Heat is offering South Florida high school seniors college scholarships for the 2013-2014 school year.

Four scholarships of $2,500 each will go to seniors who excel in academics and community service.

One of the four scholarships is reserved for a student who plays sports.

Applicants must have at least a 3.2 grade point average by their final semester in high school, attend school in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties, be accepted to an accredited four-year college or university and demonstrate financial need.

Applications are available at nba.com/heat/community/community_education_scholarships.html and must be submitted by April 6.

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Bachelor Recap: Tierra a Victim of the Elements Again

Tonight's episode marks the second time Bachelor contestant Tierra has been in need of rescue from her Prince Charming (and an EMT crew), for those keeping score.

The rugged outdoors was the theme of Tuesday's show, as the girls were split apart into two one-on-one dates and a group date involving the treacherous elements of snowy Alberta, Canada.

Pics: 'The Bachelor' Scorecard (Did the Relationships Sizzle or Fizzle?)

While Catherine's exploratory snow bus outing and Desiree's 400-ft mountain descent made for thrilling excursions, Sean's frozen swim date with the other seven ladies took the cake for the night's most exhilarating adventure.

Only six volunteered (minus Selma) to brave the icy waters and most came out of the plunge feeling a buzz from the frozen feat. That is, everyone except Tierra. The resident bad gal of the group immediately came down with a case of apparent hypothermia and was whisked away by medical crew to Sean's dismay.

He later visited the ailing Tierra back at her hotel, urging her to spend the night recovering rather than attend the party, but she ultimately ignores his advice and crashes cocktail time.

Despite the unexpected intrusion, the girls are less perturbed than would have been expected. Unfortunately, during a private moment with Sarah, Sean comes to realize that he's been forcing a connection and sends her home.

Related: 'Bachelor' Sean Questions Tierra's Motives

During the night, Sean hits new milestones with AshLee, Lesley and Selma, who finally succumbs to a smooch on national television, despite her disapproving parents.

Apparently, the kiss wasn't enough to keep her in the game. Sean sent Selma home along with Daniella during the rose ceremony.

Catherine and Desiree were safe to date another day as they were both awarded roses during their one-on-ones.

Tune in to The Bachelor next Monday on ABC as Sean and the final six slip on their bikinis and hit the sunny St Croix Virgin Islands.

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