PCED’s Brent Barkway joined our regional partners to host the Global Tampa Bay (GTB) booth at the annual SelectUSA Investment Summit, held May 11 - 14 in Washington, D.C. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the event historically boasts more than 5,000 participants, many of whom represent international companies considering expansion in the U.S. A strong relationship with SelectFlorida gave GTB’s business recruitment an extra boost: several times, SelectFlorida representatives took the time to personally escort event participants to the GTB booth, where Brent and his fellow hosts extolled the benefits of locating in the Tampa Bay region. A highlight of the event was a valuable meeting with Bradley McKinney, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Commercial Services Field Offices. Brent reports that this year’s attendance resulted in an outstanding number of solid leads, upon which he and our team will follow-up over the coming weeks. 

Hurricane Season Begins June 1: Is Your Business Ready?

As we enter the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season, we remind you that it’s important to know your risk, make a business continuity plan, and stay informed to protect your business. Disasters can take many forms and rebuilding after a disaster can be overwhelming. Need help preparing?

• Visit PCED.ORG/Hurricane to explore a wide range of disaster planning topics specific to the business community.
• Make an appointment with a Florida Small Business Development Consultant at PCED.ORG/Consulting to get customized planning assistance for your business.
• Review Pinellas County Emergency Management's webpages to find your evacuation zone, read the 2025 Hurricane Guide, sign up for Alert Pinellas, and more. Don't forget to share these important resources with your employees!

The Florida High Tech Corridor FAST program has launched a Q&A-style Office Hours series every two weeks. These sessions are open to any business owner/representative or innovator interested in learning about SBIR/STTR opportunities. Participants can ask general questions about the programs, available resources, or even get feedback on a specific proposal in progress.

Need more space for your growing business? Ready to make the move to our Ideal Business Climate? TampaBaySites.org uses geographic information systems (GIS) mapping technology to easily locate available commercial buildings and sites in Pinellas County. There is no charge to search the database and no charge to list commercial properties in Pinellas.