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Dogs day afternoon

Sink your teeth into a juicy hot dog at lunch time Friday and help put the bite on muscular dystrophy.

That’s the message from Kim Escarra and Raul Medina from SunTrust Mortgage and SunTrust Bank respectively.

The twosome are raising “bail” with a cookout at the bank between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. in anticipation of being “arrested” in the upcoming annual muscular dystrophy fundraiser that sees prominent local citizens slapped behind bars until bailed out by donations from friends and associates.

Off-island venture

Branching a little further afield from the Island, Marco real estate agents Ramia Macdonald and Renee Macdonald have formed Real Estate Resources Int., based at Prime Outlets on Collier Boulevard.

The twosome are holding a grand opening Friday between 4 and 7 p.m., and invite people to stop by for refreshments and networking.

Company associates on hand as well will be Sovereign Homes, Midwest Title, Waterstone Mortgage Corp., the Southland Group, Happy Home Handyman and www.livinginnaples.com.

RSVP’s are requested by visiting the Web site or by calling 1-888-232-8092.

Touting tourism

The Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort is to play host May 14 to a luncheon marking the 6th Annual Collier County Tourism Week Celebration as well as the awarding of Tourism Star Awards.

The awards recognize local “stars of tourism,” and the celebration pays homage to the contribution local industries have made to Southwest Florida tourism in general.

The program kicks off at 11 a.m. with a press conference on the impact of tourism, followed at 11:30 a.m. by registration and networking, and finally at noon the luncheon and awards.

Keynote speaker will be Naples’ city historian Doris Reynolds, who is also the author of When Peacocks Were Roasted and Mullet was Fried.

Cost of the luncheon is $30 per person, and RSVPs are requested through the KellyGreen@CollierGov.Net e-mail address.

Earnings up

Marine Bank’s parent company, Home BancShares, Inc., has announced first quarter earnings for 2008 of $7.3 million.or $0.39 diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2008

Figures for the same period last year were $4.8 million, or $0.27 diluted earnings per share.

This represents a $2.5 million, or 52.9 percent increase in the 2008 earnings over 2007, according to a company release.

Because of acquisitions as both a growth and a capital management strategy, cash earnings (net income excluding amortization of intangibles after-tax) are useful in evaluating the Company, the release continues.

Cash diluted earnings per share were $0.40 and $0.29 for the first quarter of 2008 and 2007, respectively.

“This was a solid quarter with strong growth in our balance sheet”, said John Allison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

“The accomplishments of everyone in our family of banks resulted in loan growth of $67.2 million and deposit growth of $83.7 million, excluding the acquired balances of Centennial Bank.

We also saw our net interest margin improve 17 basis points on a linked quarter basis. As anticipated; we did see an increase in the non-performing loans; we are pleased to report this increase was on the lower end of our expected range”.

The Company’s allowance for loan losses was $37.1 million at March 31, 2008, or 1.99 percent of total loans, compared to $26.9 million, or 1.83 percent of total loans, at March 31, 2007.

As of March 31, 2008, the Company’s allowance for loan losses equaled 308 percent of its total non-performing loans compared to 436 percent as of March 31, 2007.

Stockholders’ equity was $286.4 million at March 31, 2008 compared to $236.9 million at March 31, 2007, an increase of 20.9 percent.

Book value per common share was $15.62 at March 31, 2008 compared to $13.75 at March 31, 2007, a 13.6 percent increase.

Branch Expansion

Home BancShares, Inc. is a financial holding company, headquartered in Conway, Arkansas, with six wholly owned bank subsidiaries one of which serves the Florida Keys and southwestern Florida. The bank has a branch on Marco Island.