Local Buzz

The St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corp. celebrated five years of impact, at the Don Cesar, last week. Since the organization’s founding in 2016, it has announced nearly 2,000 jobs, opened 267 job creation projects and assisted 45 companies with relocations, expansions or openings, according to a statement. Here is a recap of the five

The South Tampa Chamber announced its 2022 Board of Directors. The board will be led by Rebekah Nault, account manager and community relations representative for PBX-Change. She has been involved with the Chamber since 2015. Nault also serves as an Honorary Commander for the 6th Air Refueling Wing, at MacDill Air Force Base, is a

Big Storm Brewing Co., based in Clearwater, has teamed up with Feeding Tampa Bay to help end hunger by creating a new specialty beer. The brewing company is launching “Hops for Hunger,” a honey wheat orange ale. A percentage of every beer sold will be donated to Feeding Tampa Bay. “Hops for Hunger” will make

Dugout Mugs, the Winter Haven-based maker of mugs made from baseball bats, and now stainless-steel mugs, is kicking off 2022 with a number of large-scale retail deals, including Fanatics, Pro Image Sports and Dick’s Sporting Goods. “One of my main goals this year was to go hard into retail because we’re getting to a point

Former St. Petersburg Mayor, Rick Kriseman, will join Shumaker Advisors Florida as managing principal of the United States Cities Practice, where he will focus on sustainable economic development and urban planning, while working with clients locally and nationally. He will also join the Shumaker law firm, as Of Council, in the Public Policy and Government

Cuba is a fascinating place with deep ties to the Tampa Bay area community. And a new exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center seeks to portray that. “What do you imagine when you think about today’s Cuba? Or the Cuba visited by pastel-wearing tourists in the 1950s? The island nation is the largest in

Brian Butler, chief executive officer of Tampa-based Vistra Communications, joined Encore Bank’s board of directors. Butler is a combat decorated, retired career military officer. Prior to founding Vistra in 2007, he provided strategic communications counsel to senior leaders at U.S. Central Command and served as a policy director on the Homeland Security Council in the

Every Tampa resident anticipates the arrival of this time of the year in the city. There’s something special about Gasparilla, the third-largest parade in the United States also known as the “Parade of Pirates.” The annual celebration is attended by more than 300,000 onlookers, often dressed in pirate costumes. Gasparilla is an exciting event that

Rumbo, a cultural advertising agency in Tampa, has acquired Three Chairs Productions, a video production company that has operated in Tampa since 2013. “The decision was made to unite the two companies into a fully integrated powerhouse advertising agency offering creative, branding, media, strategy, digital and content production,” said George Zwierko, founder and chief executive

HealthAxis, a Tampa-based administrative processing services company for health care payers and organizations, received a growth investment from Revelstoke Capital Partners. McGuireWoods acted as legal counsel to Revelstoke. Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick acted as legal advisors to HealthAxis. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “HealthAxis and Revelstoke understand there is an urgent need

Marketopia, a marketing and lead generation company based in Pinellas Park, has acquired Continuity Marketing, a London-based marketing firm that serves managed service providers, vendors and technology companies. The acquisition will help Marketopia expand its presence in London and better serve clients in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company opened an office in

Home Safety Solutions has named R. Troy Atlas president and chief executive officer. Home Safety Solutions is a provider of hurricane and storm protection products and has served the Tampa Bay and West Florida regions since 1986. With the arrival of Atlas, the Oldsmar-based company is poised to expand and innovate its operations in Florida,