Anne-Margaret Swary Columns
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Announcements

By Anne-Margaret Swary The Citizen

• Key West real estate brokers Melva G. Wagner Raymond J. Vazquez recently announced the merger of their offices into a new company, Sellstate Island Properties.

Sellstate Island Properties, which officially opened its doors at 829 Simonton St. on Feb. 1, will provide a range of real estate services, including commercial and residential foreclosures, short sales, traditional sales, property management and appraisals.

Wagner, formerly of Crocker Wagner & Associates, and Vazquez, formerly of Vizcaya & Co. Real Estate Services Inc., combine experience and knowledge for clients throughout the Keys under the banner of Sellstate, a nationally recognized franchise company based in Fort Myers. In just six years, Sellstate has grown to become one of North America's fastest-growing real estate franchise companies, serving offices in more than 15 states, the company said in a press release.

For more information, visit http://SellstateIslandProperties.com.

• Key West Gallery II, featuring the Bill Mack collection, has opened at 534 Duval St. The gallery is a companion to Key West Gallery, located across the intersection of Duval and Southard streets.

The gallery will exclusively carry works by artist Bill Mack, known for his wall art, reliefs, full-round sculptures and Hollywood Signs.

Call 305-293-7050 for more information

• A line of environmentally friendly products is now available in Key West through Melaleuca. This includes products for household cleaning, bath and body, beauty, dental, vitamins and supplements, and food and weight loss.

"It would not surprise me a bit if you never heard of Melaleuca," said Dave Ferry, the company's Key West marketing represenatative. "After all, we don't advertise on television or magazines. There's a good reason that we don't. When you buy a product at the grocery store, 63 percent of the cost of that product goes to advertise that product. Our customers order directly through the manufacturer."

Melaleuca sells household products that compete with grocery store and drug store brands. Ferry said the products are effective, safer for the environment with no phosphates, no fillers and super concentrated, and safe for the home with ingredients derived from nature instead of harsh chemicals.

A wholesale pricing program is available for customers who shop with the company every month.

To find out more about the products, visit http://www.melaleuca.com/deliveringwellness. Use passcode 0023dd. This code is activated from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. Contact Ferry at 305-748-4188 or dxfreno@yahoo.com.

Anne-Margaret Swary is The Citizen's business editor. Her column runs exclusively every other Sunday. She can be reached at amswary@keysnews.com.