One year ago, the first issue of Tampa Bay Business & Wealth was released. Since then, the outpouring of support and interest in this media company has been humbling.
Every month, a cover subject shares their deep-dive stories with TBBW, its readers and event attendees. We’ve been invited into their homes, snuggled with their dogs and met their children.
Now, we want to take a look back and share some of the behind the scenes stories from each of our amazing encounters with these fascinating people.
May 2018
TBBW is up and running! The first month of operations took place on Bridgette’s kitchen island, while her house was still undergoing renovations, courtesy of Hurricane Irma.
August 2018
We held our first CEO Connect event, which was a little unusual considering we didn’t have an issue on the streets yet. Bridgette interviewed David Pizzo of Florida Blue.
Launch Party
In August we held our Launch Party at Rococo Steak, where Punit Shah and his family joined us to reveal our first cover. It was an evening to remember.
Punit’s father was so proud of his son, we gave him one of our large 16 x20 print outs of the cover so he could keep it.
September 2018
TBBW’s inaugural issue hits the streets!
We interviewed Punit Shah at his home on Harbor Island. His wife was seven months pregnant at the time and he was glowing with excitement over the soon-to-be arrival of his son, Dev.
October 2018
Jeff Gigante was the first person to commit to a cover story with TBBW. Thank you, Jeff!
November 2018
Our first woman on the cover. We were sad we couldn’t do a CEO Connect with Michael Saunders, who is just so lovely and has a great story, but with the Thanksgiving holiday and her travel schedule, we had to skip it.
December 2018
Brian Murphy said in the interview that his brother was “still in a leadership role” at Publix. What he didn’t say was that his brother was soon to be named president of Publix! We found out because the president and CEO, at the time, showed Kevin Murphy TBBW and we received a call to purchase additional copies of the issue.
January 2019
Ben Heldfond has some really amazing art in his home (see below). His story was when we truly knew we were making a difference. Heldfond shared with us how many people reached out to him, asking for help with their own addictions.
February 2019
We interviewed Monica Eaton-Cardone in December and had to be careful not to get any of her beautiful Christmas decorations in any of the shots. Magazine deadlines mean we’re often working months in advance of when a story will run.
March 2019
Brian Butler REALLY loves his koi pond. Maureen Butler, his wife, says that he loves to sit out there and read, and yes, talk to his koi fish. The above image was an option for the cover that we didn’t use but we all loved it. Look at his smile!
April 2019
Vick Tipnes met a girl because of his cover story – they’re now engaged! They also have matching Range Rovers. That’s love!
May 2019
JP Guilbault’s dog Omelette is fearless. At one point he was trying to jump off the boat. He did not and thankfully, being the good parents that JP and Melea are, he had a life jacket on.
June 2019
TBBW’s own Bridgette Bello helped stage the photo you see on the cover for the College Hunks. This was also our first duo to grace our cover.
July 2019
During the interview, Lisa Faller told a fantastic story about meeting Joan Jett. This didn’t make it into the story, but if you see her ask her about it!
August 2019
Crystal Morris has an impressive record collection. In addition she has multiple music instruments in her home.
