Executive named 2019 Distinguished Innovator of the Year

FORT MYERS — Storm Smart Executive Chairman Brian Rist has been named by the Florida Small Business Development Center at Florida Gulf Coast University as its 2019 Distinguished Innovator of the Year. The designation is awarded to a local business owner who has, “Adopted or created their own technologies or cutting-edge approaches resulting in accelerated business growth and profits.”

Rist pioneered the use of fabric-based storm protection with the Fort Myers-based company's line of Storm Catcher wind abatement screens. He was met initially by a skeptical public. “When we started selling screens as storm protection, most people thought we were something of snake oil salesmen,” says Rist in a statement.