Forward Pinellas is launching a self-guided "Bike Your City" scavenger hunt in Safety Harbor from October 16-October 31. Participants will be challenged to find 20 locations on a map and submit photos of their bikes at the landmark using an online form. To register for the event, click here.
Kahwa Coffee Roasters has joined a campaign by the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research. St. Petersburg-based Kahwa is introducing a signature coffee blend, called Hope Roast, with 43 percent of the net proceeds donated to NPCF. That's because 43 children in the United Stats are diagnosed with cancer each day, a news release said. The fundraising initiative is called Brewing Funds the Cure and involves craft breweries in more than 30 states. Those breweries will donate proceeds from a signature philanthropic beer, called Rising Hope, to the NPCF. The recipe for Rising Hope was developed by Tampa-based Cigar City Brewing and Brew Bus Brewing. National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, based in Tampa, is a nonprofit that has raised more than $27 million and partners with 26 hospitals nationwide.
The St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership was honored by the International Downtown Association for writing and publishing the 2020 Downtown Development Guide. The IDA awarded the St. Pete organization the Downtown Achievement Award of Excellence. The Downtown Development Guide, unveiled in 2019, is a comprehensive overview of the state of downtown. It "catalogues what we’re doing right now as a community and sets the stage for what we are working towards over the next 10 years,” Jason Mathis, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, said in a news release. The guide should serve as a model for other communities, said David Downey, president and CEO of the IDA, a Washington, D.C.-based organization for urban place professionals.
Spectrio, a Tampa-based customer engagement technology firm, said it has enhanced its capabilities with the acquisition of Industry Weapon, a digital signage company based in Pittsburgh. Financial terms were not disclosed in a news release announcing the deal. Industry Weapon's technology ranges from enhanced event calendars to applications such as point-of-sale, business system KPIs and emergency alert systems. Industry Weapon clients will be able to integrate their brand and messages with Spectrio’s customer engagement suite that includes interactive kiosks, on-premise messaging and music, on-hold marketing, WiFI marketing, and scent marketing
After 40 years as one of Tampa's most iconic live music venues, Skipper's Smokehouse will close permanently Sunday, Sept. 27. The 1.6 acre outdoor restaurant, oyster bar and concert hall is closing so founder Tom White "can go fishing," according to a press announcement, and a new owner is being sought to "guide Skipper's Smokehouse out of the pandemic and kick off the next 40 years of music and food."
The Pinellas County Urban League and the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa will expand their workforce development programs through a $75,000 commitment from Bank of America to each organization. The funding will allow the organizations to add virtual trainings, job placement and relief assistance for minority communities in the Tampa Bay area that were hit hardest by Covid-19. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation earlier launched a nationwide $1 billion, four-year commitment to help local nonprofits address economic and racial equality. The two new $75,000 Tampa Bay-area grants are in addition to $25,000 grants the organizations also received earlier this year to address immediate COVID-19 needs in the pandemic’s early stages.
GuideWell has chosen four West Florida organizations to receive seed money to implement their innovative ideas to address barriers to health access and health literacy. Starting Right, Now, Tampa Family Health Centers, Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative and Preeclampsia Foundation were selected from a group of 10 regional innovators across West Florida to receive $5,000 in funding. They will advance to GuideWell’s Reshaping Health Access challenge finals where they’ll have the opportunity to compete for a $40,000 state grand prize. Funds will be used to address health and racial inequities that exist in their respective local communities. GuideWell is a not-for-profit mutual holding company and the parent to a family of forward-thinking companies focused on transforming health care.
Rita Lowman, president of Pilot Bank, was named to the board of directors of the American Bankers Association. It is is the first time in over a decade that Florida has had a Florida banker serve in a leadership role with the ABA, which represents banks of all sizes around the United States. Lowman will serve as the 2021 vice chair of the ABA Government Relations Council and chair that council in 2022. Lowman is a 40-year veteran of the banking industry. She chaired the Florida Bankers Association in 2017-2018. In addition to serving as president of Pilot Bank, a community bank in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, she is chair of the Outback Bowl, the Southeastern Cabinet of the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association Go Red Campaign.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio named Beckwith Electric Co, of Largo as the U.S. Senate Small Business of the Week. Beckwith creates products for power systems worldwide, designing and manufacturing all the products at their Largo facility. The company's cutting-edge technology makes them an important part of the country's critical infrastructure industrial base, Rubio said. The family-owned company was founded in 1967 by inventor Robert Beckwith. "Like many Floridian small businesses, Beckwith Electric was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. They applied for and they received a Paycheck Protection Program Loan. As a result, they were able to keep all of their employees paid," Rubio said. Rubio, a Florida Republican, chairs the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, which has a tradition of honoring America's small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Paul DiFrancesco is no longer the chief operating officer at United Insurance Holdings Corp. His employment with the St. Petersburg-based property and casualty insurance company terminated effective Sept. 18, United Insurance (Nasdaq: UIHC) said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Effective Sept. 21, Chris Dittman was appointed chief underwriting officer and assumed underwriting responsibilities for DiFrancesco, the filing said. Dittman will continue to serve as the company’s chief risk officer. DiFrancesco is the second c-level executive to leave this month. Deepak Menon, chief revenue officer, resigned effective Sept. 30. United Insurance, which does business as UPC Insurance, is among the largest companies headquartered in St. Petersburg. The company's leadership changed earlier this year, when insurance industry veteran Daniel Peed took over as chairman and CEO.
Temporary furloughs have turned into permanent layoffs for 948 workers at Busch Gardens Tampa. Busch Gardens Tampa President Stewart Clark cited the "significant and sustained impact" of the Covid-19 pandemic for the job action, in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice sent to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Parent company SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment closed all its parks on March 16 and temporarily furloughed the vast majority of its workforce on April 1. Florida parks reopened with a reduced operating schedule and guest capacity in June, but attendance has been impacted by self-imposed limitations, consumer concerns regarding Covid and other factors, Clark said. "It is difficult to predict when business will return to pre-Covid-19 levels," Clark said. The affected employees were notified Sept. 4, the same day Clark sent the WARN to the state, but it was not made public until Thursday afternoon.
Nancy Tower, president and CEO of Tampa Electric, plans to retire in mid 2021. Tower has been head of Tampa Electric since 2017, a year after the utility company was acquired by Emera (TSX: EMA), a Canadian-based energy firm. She will continue to lead Tampa Electric until her retirement. The company will begin a search for her replacement this fall, a news release said. “Tampa Electric is a growing and dynamic utility that we believe will attract the highest caliber candidates both internally and externally. The successful candidate will work with the strong leadership team to continue to advance Tampa Electric’s strategy, as the utility works to deliver cleaner, affordable and reliable energy to its customers," Scott Balfour, president and CEO of Emera, said in the release.
