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Last Wednesday, a milestone was reached when the delegation met in Tallahassee and adopted rules and procedures -- major steps in helping this region begin to get more clout in Tallahassee. They also elected Rep. Bill Galvano as Chair and Sen. Mike Fasano as Vice Chair for the group. Sen. Jim Sebesta was recognized as the founding chair and leader of the group.

"We have to work together if our voices are going to be heard at the level they deserve," said Rep. Galvano during the meeting.

Rep. Galvano also thanked the Tampa Bay Partnership and Legislative Advocacy Chair Tom Pepin for our support in helping the delegation move to this next level. Tom Pepin, Pepin Distributing Company, worked tirelessly in championing this effort for the Partnership, meeting with county delegations to stress how important a stronger, more united BALD is to the business community.

"As an economic development organization, this effort to organize our state legislators was an obvious strategic initiative," said Pepin. "Now we have coalesced 25 percent of the elected officials in the House and Senate to think regionally which should greatly benefit us in the area of transportation and other issues impacting our region economically."

The Tampa Bay Partnership is committed to active support of the Bay Area Legislative Delegation to ensure success going forward. For more information on the Partnership's Public Policy efforts, contact Karen Raihill at (813) 878-2208 or kraihill@tampabay.org.

Sincerely,

Stuart L. Rogel

Partnership Hosting Foreign Direct Investment Business Roundtable

As part of the Tampa Bay Partnership's ongoing strategy to attract foreign direct investment into the Tampa Bay region, we will be hosting a Foreign Direct Investment Business Roundtable on Monday, April 3, 2006. The panel will consist of three global site selection consultants who have worked projects which have resulted in foreign direct investment in Florida or the U.S. In addition, we've invited several international journalists to provide their perspectives on trends in international investments. The panel, which will be moderated by A. Bronson Thayer, Chair, World Trade Center Tampa Bay, will discuss trends, deal makers and breakers, the decision process and what we need to be doing to be more competitive in attracting foreign direct investment to Tampa Bay. Registration forms are available here.

Sponsors for the event include Fifth Third Bank, Tampa International Airport, Cushman & Wakefield and World Trade Center Tampa Bay. For information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Elisa DeGregorio, (813) 872-2810, edegregorio@tampabay.org.

Be A Regional Ambassador on Race Weekend

We are seeking business leaders who would like to join us in hosting a group of global site selection consultants and international media at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, April 1 - 3, 2006. Our goal is to influence perceptions regarding the region as an investment destination. A limited number of $1000 sponsorships are available which include a Welcome Reception on Saturday evening, brunch with the Mayor and a community business briefing on Sunday morning, a ticket to our hospitality suite located above pit lane to watch the race, and tickets to the Foreign Direct Investment Business Roundtable on Monday morning. For more information and to reserve your ticket in the suite, contact Elisa DeGregorio at (813) 872-2810, edegregorio@tampabay.org.

The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is the IRL IndyCar^® Series only street-circuit event and one of the premier motorsport events attracting thousands from around the world to the Tampa Bay region. With live national coverage on ESPN, the City of St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay region have the opportunity to showcase the region.

2006 Regional Leadership Conference -
"This Way Forward"

In recent years, the communities of Tampa Bay have been blessed with unprecedented good fortune and quality growth. Our continued success, however, will be shaped by the decisions that we make today.

The Tampa Bay Partnership's 8th Annual Regional Leadership Conference will be held May 17-18, 2006 at the Don CeSar Beach Resort in St. Petersburg. This year's theme, "This Way Forward", offers a platform to engage in thoughtful dialogue on the long-term effects of our current growth and to address the critical issues that impact the livability of our region's future.

This year's Conference Chair, Dr. Judy Genshaft, invites you to be part of the dialog.

Register online today. We have special conference rates for Tampa Bay Partnership investors. Check out our Web site for information about the agenda, speakers, hotel accommodations, sponsors and more.

Sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact Elisa DeGregorio at (813) 872-2810 or edegregorio@tampabay.org.

Courting Consultants in Chicago

To keep the communities of Tampa Bay competitive for business attraction, the Tampa Bay Partnership led a group of local economic development partners on a Business Meeting Mission to Chicago. ED professionals from Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, City of St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Polk and Progress Energy attended pre-scheduled meetings with prominent site selection consultants during a one-day market blitz to the Windy City. The meetings were intended to familiarize consultants with the economic development professionals in Tampa Bay and educate them on current market news in the region. The group attended meetings at the Chicago area offices of KPMG, Cushman Wakefield, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Pollina Corporate Real Estate, Grubb-Ellis and the U.S. Trade Office of the Embassy of France.

For information about business expansion and relocation in the Tampa Bay region, contact Jennifer Taylor, Business Development Manager at (813) 872-2809, jtaylor@tampabay.org.

Regional Economic Scorecard Featured on WUSF-FM "Florida Matters"

One of the Tampa Bay Partnership's strategic initiatives was to develop a Regional Economic Scorecard to measure "how we are doing as a region." Our first scorecard rolled out in January.

Last week, Tampa Bay Partnership Chair Dewey Mitchell was part of a panel who discussed how our region competes with other metropolitan areas as a place to do business and the value of having a scorecard to measure how we're doing.

You can access the "Florida Matters" broadcast here. You can also download a podcast of the program from the WUSF Web site at www.wusf.org.

Community Media Corporation is working with a number of organizations within the Tampa Bay region, including the Tampa Bay Partnership, to develop a "coffee table" style book about Tampa Bay. The book, which is being written by Tampa Tribune columnist Steve Otto, will showcase organizations throughout the region and looks to capture the unique diversity our communities offer. There are still spaces for organizations who wish to participate. For more information, contact Sally Kamman at (800) 510-9596 ext. 109 or sallykamman@gmail.com.

News Around the Region

Tampa Has Nation’s First IB Middle School

Williams Middle School, a Tampa international studies magnet school, has been selected to house the nation's first standalone International Baccalaureate program for middle school. Tampa Bay now boasts eight IB schools. The rigorous global education program, sanctioned by the International Baccalaureate Organization, teaches children about world societies, politics, languages, sciences and the arts and is offered in 1,722 schools in 122 countries. To learn more about the educational assets of Tampa Bay, order a copy of the education brochure from the "Resource Center" on our Web site at www.TampaBay.org.

Gov. Jeb Bush Awarded BIO Governor of the Year

Florida Governor Jeb Bush was presented with the “BIO Governor of the Year” Award at the Eighth Annual BioFlorida Conference in February. The Biotectechnology Industry Organization (BIO) presents the award annually to a governor who stands out in his/her efforts to improve the business and regulatory climates for biotechnology companies. Among his initiatives, Gov. Bush signed into law the Technology Development Act, which established the Emerging Technology Commission and dedicated $30 million to create the Centers for Excellence which will research and commercialize new medicines and technology to improve healthcare. Gov. Bush's 2006 initiatives can be viewed online at http://www.govfloridaforum.com/.