Plant City : Innovation + Job News

The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), which draws together corporate executives to address worldwide societal challenges, presented its 2013 Excellence Award in Corporate Philanthropy to Mosiac for providing sustainable farming education and assistance to developing countries.

The Mosaic Villages Project began in 2008 when concerned employees noticed how the global rise in food prices was affecting small-holder farmers.

"We felt that with our expertise and market presence, we could do something to help them," says Chris Lambe, director of social responsibility for Mosaic, a Minneapolis-based corporation that produces fertilizer from phosphate mined east and south of Tampa.

The project assists farmers in Guatemala, India and eight African countries break the cycle of poverty through skill development and sustainable farming practices. Mosaic’s agronomists and soil scientists visit villages to analyze the soil, build the nutrient base and teach simple modern farming techniques.  

The result is improved livelihood. Because the efforts are so concentrated, results literally occur within one planning season -- five to six months after the program begins.

"It's a difference between them not having enough food to eat, to actually having a food surplus," says Lambe. "They can not only feed their families, but also sell the food and have some income."

The program has had a tremendous success rate, with 90 percent of the farmers graduating from the 3-year program. Perhaps the most notable success is long-term societal change. The African villages have seen a 40 percent reduction in stunting (young kids not growing the correct height and weight because of malnutrition).

The program has also become self-replicable, with farmers in surrounding villages experiencing similar successes by observing.   

"Social change is occurring,'' says Lambe. "It's not just about the program anymore.''

Mosaic's employees in the Tampa Bay region are involved in the program in areas such as product production and quality, inventory management, shipping, logistics and the transportation of fertilizer from Florida to the African villages.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Chris Lambe, Mosaic

Alpha House of Tampa is expanding its staff and seeking residential assistants to provide residential care, vocational preparation and childcare assistance to Alpha House residents. Alpha House is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving homeless pregnant women and mothers with young children in crisis by providing safe housing and professional skills. Residential assistants will help Alpha House create safe, sustainable and effective futures for individuals in crisis.

The organization provides parenting classes, counseling, vocational training, spiritual support and other tools necessary for residents to become self-sufficient. They are now adding additional residential assistants to their roster and are also hiring a senior case manager to support their growing initiatives. Residential assistants will provide planning, scheduling and 24-hour residential support and care for 23 maternity residents.

Residential assistants play a core role in providing care and developmental assistance to Alpha House residents. "They are with the residents and help with maternity care, appointments, and transportation needs,'' says Rachel Luis, communications director.

Residential assistants should have experience working in human services and will be required to complete DCF background clearance and fingerprinting as well as receive and maintain CPR and Basic First Aid certification.

Several positions are available to help Alpha House achieve its goal of providing around-the-clock residential support: Thursdays and Fridays from 4pm to midnight and 3 pm to 11 pm; Saturdays and Sundays from 4 pm to midnight and 11 pm to 7 am.

Candidates may apply at the agency or may send resumes via email, via fax to 813.876.0657 or via regular mail to: Alpha House of Tampa, Inc., Attn: Barbara McCormick, Program Director, 201 S. Tampania Avenue, Tampa, FL 33609.

Writer: Kaye Brown
Source: Rachel Luis, Alpha House of Tampa

Hillsborough County is opening up data from several of its departments to the Tampa Bay technology community to see who can build the best app on top of the data. The Hack-a-thon is first event of its kind for the county government.

Tampa-based Citizinvestor is being used to collect funds that will go toward prizes for the competition. Citizinvestor is an online service that allows municipalities to submit projects that have already been approved but are in need of funding in order to come to fruition. The crowd-funding idea is to encourage citizens to invest their own money in the projects they care most about, letting local governments know where they most want to see funds spent. Credit cards are not charged until 100 percent of the funds are received for each project. 

Past funded initiatives include a project in Boston that put iPads into the hands of blind students who were able to control them by voice.

The Hack-a-thon is the first project in Tampa Bay to be funded through Citizinvestor. The county is seeking $2,700 in total funding. 

"Anything the community can be doing to promote civic innovation is a good thing,'' says Jordan Raynor, co-founder of Citizinvestor. "This particular project is exciting for transparency sake, making government more open. It's also another way to showcase Tampa’s technology talent.'' Raynor is also happy to see the county using a homegrown business to help others in the technology community.

The Hack-a-thon will take place April 12 -- 14, 2013 at Hillsborough Community College’s Brandon campus.

"This is a really big moment for Hillsborough County," says Raynor. "A lot of places talk about innovation. Hillsborough County is actually doing something about it.''

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Jordan Raynor, Citizinvestor

In a continuing effort to develop local artists and integrate arts into the community, the Arts Council of Hillsborough County is offering seven grants of up to $2,000 each to individual artists.

"The arts are what give us a quality of life,'' says Teri Simons, director of program services for the Arts Council of Hillsborough County. "They bring us together as individuals. Creativity of a community is a pretty good measure of the quality of the community.''

Since 1989, the Council has awarded $600,000 in grants to individual artists through this program. Last year's winners included Erin Cardinal Wright, who choreographed and directed a dance film called "The Enormity of Two,'' which explores the common threads that bring two people together.  

"The goal is to enable the artists to pursue a project that will help them take their career to the next level,'' says Simons. "That might be through education, a specific medium or technique, or maybe equipment.''

The council is also looking for ways people can bring the arts back into the local community to benefit the citizens. For example, last year's grant winner Crystal Haralambou used the funding for education and support of Shakespeare Behind Bars, a nonprofit program that uses theater to help juvenile justice offenders develop life skills and successfully reintegrate back into society.

Funds for this year's grants are provided by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners and the Council's FIVE by FIVE art event.

The Council also funds a grant program for arts groups and cultural organizations, which typically opens in August.

Requirements and an application for the individual artist grants can be found on the Arts Council website. The deadline to submit an application is Friday, January 18, 2013.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Teri Simons, Hillsborough Arts Council

The David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa offers high quality arts instruction to K-12 schools through a new Conservatory-To-Go initiative. Instructors from the Center offer on-site curriculum on a fee basis, allowing for a custom package designed to meet the needs of each individual school.

"They're getting a fully catered ongoing palate of arts education,'' says Wendy Leigh, VP of education for the Straz Center.

Subjects offered through the program include music classes such as string, percussion and woodwind instruments, theater and musical theater, and dance classes such as ballet and hip-hop. Most classes that are taught on site at the Center are also taught though the traveling program, which is meant to supplement arts programs currently in place in schools.

"In Hillsborough County in particular, the arts are very well served,'' says Leigh. But, most schools don't offer programs in dance or musical theater, allowing Straz to fill the gaps and provide additional enrichment for the students.

The pilot program at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic School provides theater and/or music classes to students in kindergarten through eighth-grade, serving more than 230 students since it began in September.

The program is in Tampa initially, but the goal is to eventually expand regionally.

"Not everyone can get downtown [for our onsite courses], so the more we can get these models to work the more we can serve the community all over the Tampa Bay region,'' says Leigh.
 
The Straz Center is participating in the Great American Teach-in on November 15. Schools interested in getting a sampling of this program can contact: (813) 229-7827.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Wendy Leigh, Straz Center

Young professionals in Tampa Bay recognize that regional cooperation helps advance the strength of our communities and future opportunities for everyone.

In an effort to promote this cooperation and further the conversation, several young professionals groups are coming together for the second annual Tampa Bay Young Professionals Summit on Friday, October 12, from 1 to 5 pm at Hillsborough Community College's Ybor City campus, room 204 in the Ybor Building.

The event is presented by Emerge Tampa Bay and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, with Clearwater Young Professionals and St. Petersburg Chamber Young Professionals.

The interactive Summit will feature a slate of local guest speakers and presenters as well as breakout sessions to energize participants about the future of Tampa Bay.

Presenters and participants will answer questions like:
-- How can we improve the current business climate and encourage rapid growth?
-- How can young professionals take an active role to improve the region?
-- What would be a game changer for Tampa Bay?

The focus will be on five industry sectors: urban growth/environment, medical tech and healthcare research, entrepreneurship and high tech, cultural impact and education.

"The main goal of the Summit is to educate, engage and gather ideas from Tampa Bay's young professionals for improving the regional economy,'' says Brian Seel, public policy chair for Emerge Tampa Bay and chief organizer of the event. "This is a unique collaborative opportunity to advance the priorities of our generation.''

The Summit will produce a 10-item Economic Action List which will serve as a guiding framework for young professionals to continue to contribute to the regional economy in a meaningful way.

A Happy Hour will also be hosted immediately following the event at New World Brewery in Ybor City.

Cost is $25 per person. Pre-registration at this link is encouraged.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Brian Seel, Emerge Tampa Bay

Polk State College in Winter Haven is increasing the number of degrees awarded, as motivated by the Graduate Tampa Bay initiative.

The Lakeland-Winter Haven MSA is one of three in Tampa Bay competing with over 50 other metropolitan areas in the national Talent Dividend Competition. A $1 million prize will be awarded to the area that sees the largest increase in college degrees by the year 2013.

Led by the Tampa Bay Partnership, Graduate Tampa Bay focuses on people who have started college but haven't finished their degree. 

"Getting their foot back in the door is a scary thing,'' says Naomi Boyer, associate VP for strategic initiatives at Polk State College. The College is making it less scary with some innovative ways to help former students finish school.

For example, they are removing barriers by graduating students who received enough credits but have not completed certain administrative steps required to graduate. They are also creating a "fast track'' online option for general education courses to help those who have completed some courses.

Another possibility being considered is reverse degree completion. Some students take courses at the College and then transfer to a four-year institution for the additional classes. These courses can be reversed back to Polk State College's system to show that the degrees were completed, providing students with the credential they earned.

The College is also reaching out to local businesses to provide services tailored to their employees, such as on-site advising. College reps  recently participated in a community event hosted by Polk Vision, where this idea, among other things, was explored with local businesses and other universities.

"We're dialoging with the businesses to help them conceptualize what's even possible within their scope of reference,'' says Boyer. The group plans to continue meeting on a monthly basis to explore other creative ways to increase college attainment.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Naomi Boyer, Polk State College

LED Source, a national franchise that distributes professional LED lighting products has come to the Tampa Bay region. Scott Weber, CEO of the Florida West coast franchise, known as Nitor Solutions, co-founded the operation with his friends and business partners Haitham Charles and Marc Soudijn.

“The LED lighting franchise is a great concept, in a great industry,” Weber says. “LED lighting the next big thing, with tremendous opportunity. There is a huge need with less than 2 percent of commercial lighting currently LED right now there is room for growth.”

Nitor Solutions, which is located at 402 Knights Run Avenue in Tampa, has plans to service Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties. The company supplies energy-efficient LED lighting to commercial buildings and developments, including office spaces, parks, schools, theaters, churches and art galleries.

With plans to cover such a vast territory and a market that is undeserved, Weber plans to hire 20-plus employees.

“Four sales people have been hired in Tampa, and by the end of the year we will have eight to ten more hires here,” Weber says. “By end of next year, we should have 10 sales people in St. Petersburg, and 18 months from now we hope to have at least five new hires in Sarasota.”

Due to the fact that LED lighting is so new, Weber says he doesn't expect sales people to have any LED sales experience.

“We are looking for bright, personable people with sales skills,” Weber says. “Once hired, they will get trained on everything they need to know about lighting, which shouldn't take more than a month. The most important thing is that they can sell customers solutions, because that is what we are all about.”

Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Scott Weber, Nitor Solutions, LLC/Florida West coast LED Source Franchise

MosierData, a web design firm in Lakeland, is offering a complete identity website and social media branding package to one Tampa Bay area nonprofit organization. The 2012 Pro Bono Outreach Award, which is valued at up to $6,400, is open to nonprofit organizations in Polk, Hillsborough and Orange counties.

Jim Mosier, CEO of MosierData says interested nonprofit organizations need to submit a consideration package, which can be a letter, a short video or slideshow.

“Obviously, the organization needs to be a 501(c)3 organization, and we're restricting the contest to Hillsborough, Polk and Orange counties because we want them to be here in Central Florida,” Mosier says. “Other than that, we're looking for an organization that submits a consideration package to us that really inspires us to get behind their cause. If they can do that, we can help them take their message and spread it online at a whole new level.”

Giving back to the community is not new for Mosier, who founded MosierData in 2005. A few years back, his company partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lakeland Mulberry to start a program called “Computers for Kids.” Mosier's company went out into the business community collecting used computers and then refurbished them for the Boys & Girls Club.

“It's good to support your community,” Mosier says. “I have a passion for what I do, just as the folks that lead nonprofits have a passion for their causes.”

Nonprofit organizations that are interested in the 2012 Pro Bono Outreach Award need to register by May 31^st. The winner will be announced June 8^th.

Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Jim Mosier, MosierData

YMCA of the Suncoast has launched a new website designed to build communities of like-minded people.

The website, launched in March 2011, provides easy access to residents interested in the Suncoast Ys mission and programs. An interactive find-a-program feature helps visitors find classes and activities, a blog offers access to Y news and an Ask-the-Y feature allows visitors to ask questions about anything from summer camps to nutrition. The site also interfaces with Facebook and Twitter.

"Connecting with the community is critical to the Y's mission," says Alisa Jenkins of Springboard Marketing and Communications, who helped with the website. "This  site offers more ways to do this than before. The social media features allow people to choose how they connect. They can interact with their favorites or the entire Suncoast community."

The site was recently recognized by YMCA of the USA as an exceptional example of brand integration and, as a result, the Suncoast association has been invited to present the website to other YMCAs at a national event in Chicago. The Suncoast Y's primary Facebook page grew from 1,200 to over 2,000 fans within the first 30 days of the new launch.

Mandy Griffith, Suncoast Y's marketing and communications director, is excited about the results the site has produced. "This website helps us achieve our mission by making our programs more accessible and by providing more resources to our community."

Sources: Alisa Jenkins, Springboard Marketing and Communications; Mandy Griffith, YMCA of the Suncoast
Writer: Missy Kavanaugh

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The Moving Hillsborough Forward Campaign launched its first video Monday, July 12, aimed at persuading voters to support a referendum on the November ballot calling for an additional sales tax to help fund transit and other transportation needs.

Click here to view the video.

The updated "Tampa Bay Your Way!" Multicultural Visitor Guide has received a certificate of nomination from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and was a finalist in the 2010 Diversity and Inclusion Awards hosted by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

First published in 2007, the Visitor Guide is designed to show visitors and residents the diversity of people, places and cultures that thrive in Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City and the greater Tampa Bay region. Featuring an enhanced history section, the guide highlights the county's diverse American Indian, African-, Asian- and Hispanic-American heritage, as well as landmarks to visit in the area. Information regarding ethnic restaurants, arts and entertainment and various local services are also available in the guide.

The 29-page guide was funded by the Hillsborough County Tourist Development Council (TDC), the Tampa Bay History Center and the Hillsborough County Arts Council. The guide will be used as a tool to attract diversity conventions, conferences and meetings, and it will provide a range of local events, activities and venues that will encourage visitors to stay for extended periods of time.

Tampa Bay & Company coordinated the design and printing for the guide, which is available at the county's Visitor Information Centers and online.

Writer: Nancy Vaughn
Source: Marilyn Hett, Hillsborough County

The 2010 Super Regional Leadership Conference, a collaboration between the Tampa Bay Partnership and the Central Florida Partnership, will be held on May 26-27 near Orlando.

The event will be at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee and sessions will include: Connecting for Global Competitiveness presented by Professor Jonathan Barnett and members of his Urban Design Studio class, and Global Space Activity: A Florida High Tech Opportunity. Keynote speaker Secretary Ray Lahood with the U.S. Department of Transportation will discuss the high-speed rail planned to connect Tampa and Orlando, and how good transportation leads to sustainable communities.

Ever since President Obama came to Tampa for a town hall meeting at the University of Tampa on Jan. 28 to announce Florida's award of $1.25 billion for a high speed rail, the Super Region is said to be the envy of the nation as we obtain opportunities for job creation and global competitiveness. The conference will serve as an opportunity for businesses to discover how to take advantage of the merging of two regions.

This year's conference will have a Pecha Kucha challenge, making use of the rapid fire presentation style of 20 images for 20 seconds, which makes for a 6 minute and 40 second presentation. Applications for presenters will be accepted until Friday, May 14, from anyone who has "an initiative that leaders in the 14-county super region should be aware of as far as economic and/business excellence, coordination of assets, innovation or job creation."

Brief proposals may be emailed to Chris Steinocher, COO-SVP marketing & business development, at the Tampa Bay Partnership. His email address: csteinocher@tampabay.org

Conference participants who register before Saturday, May 15, will save $20. For more information on the 2010 Super Regional Leadership Conference, click here.

Writer: Nancy Vaughn
Source: Chris Steinocher, Tampa Bay Partnership