Pinellas County Business News
April, 2017
How Do You Want to Build a Better Pinellas? Penny for Pinellas Survey

From bridges that span our waterways, to neighborhood parks,  
the Penny for Pinellas supports investments in areas that matter most to our citizens. The Penny funds projects aimed at providing you with  improved roads, bridges and trailswater quality and flood prevention, a   safe, secure community,   preservation of parks and our environment and other projects that build up our local area.   

On Nov. 7, 2017,  voters will consider renewal of the Penny for Pinellas 1-percent sales tax. How should the County invest its portion of future Penny funds?  Click here to participate in a brief survey.

May 8 - 9: Florida Medical Device Symposium
 
On May 8-9, 2017, Florida's medical device industry will convene in St. Petersburg, Florida for the annual Florida Medical Device Symposium - Florida's premier event for medical device manufacturing firms, featuring nationally recognized speakers, expert panels on regulatory issues and industry trends, company exhibits, legislative updates and quality networking opportunities. Registration is now open for attendees, and sponsorship and exhibit packages are available. Learn more at http://www.floridamedtech.com/?page=Symposium2017.

May 18: Trends in Raising Capital Workshop, sponsored by the Florida SBDC at Pinellas County Economic Development
 
The   Florida Venture Forum and the Angel Resource Institute   are collaborating to bring you   "Trends in Raising Capital"  Workshop, taught by the Angel Resource Institute's lead instructor, Troy Knauss on   May 18, 2017 from 2:30 P.M.- 5:30 P.M. at the Omni ChampionsGate Resort (National C Ballroom) in Orlando, Florida. Whether you are an early stage investor or an entrepreneur, having a strong understanding of the latest trends in the world of early stage equity investing can help ensure that your next deal is a good one. The Angel Resource Institute has developed a fact-driven workshop, Trends in Raising Capital, that strips away the opinions and anecdotes and gets straight to the point.
 
Fees: In combination with the following full day event:   2017 Early Stage Capital Conference  the registration fee is  $25.00 per person for registered attendees. The standalone registration fee is  $55.00 for non registered Early Stage Conference attendees. Click here to register.
Tampa Bay STEM Business Summit 2017, April 11
 
Featuring panels on internships  and skills with recruiters from Tech Data, Citi, Raymond James, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and Jabil Circuit, the Business STEM Summit at USF St. Petersburg is an interactive dialogue on 21st Century Workforce STEM Skills, Florida's business environment and the seamless transition of college graduates into the workforce. Registration is required: https://usfweb.usf.edu/ucm/events/stemsummit.
Grow FL Accepting Applications:
2017 FL Companies to Watch Awards 
 
Applications are open for the seventh annual Florida Companies to Watch® awards program. The event will honors 50 select second-stage companies from throughout the state for developing valuable products and services, creating quality jobs, enriching communities, and creating new industries throughout Florida.
 
Eligible applicants must be privately held, second-stage commercial enterprises. Qualifying companies must also be headquartered in the state of Florida, employ between 6 and 150 employees, and earn between $750,000 and $100 million in annual revenue. A selection panel of judges representing areas of finance, technology, entrepreneurship and small business select honorees that have demonstrated past and future growth opportunities, entrepreneurial leadership, product innovation, community responsibility and competitive business practices. Applications are open through May 5, 2017.

Pinellas offers Stormwater Manual Workshops, April 4 and May 3
  
Pinellas County is offering one-day workshops to introduce the manual and instruct participants in its use during the development, design and permitting processes. The workshops include an overview and introduction to an industry program known as BMPTRAINS, which is the current Florida standard for modeling best management practices. The workshops will be held in the Magnolia Room of Pinellas County Extension, located at 12520 Ulmerton Road in Largo, on the following dates:
  • Tuesday, April 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Wednesday, May 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Participants are advised to bring a laptop with the BMPTRAINS Analysis Model program already installed for live workshop training. Participants can download the program for free by visiting https://stormwater.ucf.edu/computer-programs . Registration for each workshop session closes the Monday prior to each class. To register, call (727) 464-5659 or email [email protected] .

May 23: Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) & Automated Export System (AES) Seminar
 
If you ship internationally, or are interested in exporting, the Federal Trade Regulations require you to classify your products and file your shipments with the U.S. Census Bureau through the Automated Export System (AES).  And now, the AES has transitioned to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) platform.  Do you understand how to classify your products?  Do you fully understand AES? Do you know what it will take to transition to the ACE platform for filing your shipments? Find out the answers to these questions and more by attending this seminar.

Learn more and register at http://2016.export.gov/florida/aes/.

Trust in Pinellas County continues to rank above national average
Nine out of 10 Pinellas County residents say they have trust and confidence in their local government, a number which far surpasses the national average for trust in government. This and other insights are the result of Pinellas County government's 2017 Citizen Values Survey, which was recently conducted as part of the County's ongoing efforts to engage the public and obtain feedback to guide future services.

"Our residents continue to recommend Pinellas County as a place to live, work, raise children and retire, and that speaks volumes about the things we are doing to serve the public every day," said Pinellas County Administrator Mark S. Woodard.

Future optimism also prevailed, with 85 percent of residents projecting the next five years to be better or just as good as the present.

To view the 2017 Citizen Survey results, visit www.pinellascounty.org/surveys .
Pinellas News
 
In latest milestone, Raymond James Financial joining S&P 500 index group of companies
(Tampa Bay Times)

(Tampa Bay Times)

How Tech Data Corp. went all in to mastermind a deal to go global - and stay local
(Tampa Bay Times)

What 4 Tampa Bay hospitals did to make it to the top of this LGBTQ equality list
(Tampa Bay Business Journal)

St. Pete entrepreneurs turn their 'big idea' into a business that's shaking up the fintech industry
(Tampa Bay Business Journal)

In This Issue
Quick Links
Business Workshops
The Florida Small Business Development Center at Pinellas County Economic Development hosts a number of business workshops each month. Find a full schedule of upcoming workshops at pced.org/workshops.

Pinellas County Economic Development | 727-464-7332 | [email protected] | http://www.pced.org
13805 58th Street N.
Suite 1-200
Clearwater, FL 33760