September 2007

Pinellas Technology & Business Innovation Exchange, September 14. STAR Technology Enterprise Center (STAR TEC), in conjunction with Pinellas County Economic Development, presents this reverse trade fair that will match U.S. Department of Defense contractors with potential subcontractors, vendors and suppliers located in Pinellas County. The Exchange will feature local companies, with displays promoting their products and services within a tradeshow configuration. Prime defense contractors will tour the displays to meet new subcontractors and suppliers located in Pinellas County. Representative C.W. Bill Young will present a keynote address at lunch and will tour the event, to speak with local companies. For more information, visit www.pinellastechnology.com.

Business of Biotech, September 25, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Life science companies, scientists, venture capitalists, bankers, attorneys and those interested in learning more about the future of biotechnology are invited to the second annual Business of Biotech, presented by the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. The event will feature keynote speaker Lewis T. “Rusty” Williams, M.D., Ph.D., founder and executive chairman of FivePrime Therapeutics, a discovery and development company specializing in protein therapeutics. Breakout sessions include Life Sciences 101, The Mystery of Clinical Trials Unraveled, and Inside the Licensing Process – How to Move Research from the Bench to the Bedside. Business of Biotech will be held at the Vincent A. Stabile Research Building, 12902 Magnolia Dr., Tampa, FL 33612. For more information and reservations, email PeggyHill@moffitt.org.

Disaster Planning - Pinellas County's Emergency News Service Will Keep You Up-to-Date. Pinellas County's Emergency Information Subscription Service provides emails with the latest official information, including news releases, shelter openings, declarations of emergency, road closures and status reports. Click here to subscribe.

Team Florida Mission to Brazil. Join Florida Governor Charlie Crist as he leads Enterprise Florida's trade mission to Sao Paulo, Brazil, November 3-8, 2007. With over $11 billion in total trade last year, Brazil is Florida's number one trading partner. Opportunities include those in the areas of Telecommunications; Aviation and Aerospace; Hardware and Software Equipment; Medical Equipment; Oil and Gas/Biofuels; Pharmaceuticals; and Pollution Control Equipment. Click here to learn more about the mission and how to register.

Kathleen Good – Finalist, TBBJ's BusinessWoman of the Year. Congratulations to Pinellas County Economic Development's Kathleen Good, International Business Development Manager. Kathleen was a finalist for Tampa Bay Business Journal's 2007 BusinessWoman of the Year. Winners of the event were named at a formal dinner August 17. Click here for full details.

Workshop: Hazardous Materials Management and Business Recovery in a Disaster, September 20. Participants of this workshop will learn how to prepare a hazard/risk evaluation of their facilities with the assistance of experts in the areas of chemicals, petroleum products and other hazardous materials. The event will take place at the Manatee County Convention Center (Terra Ceia Room), 1 Haben Boulevard, Palmetto, FL 34221. For more information, call (727) 570-5151, extension 33, or email bill@tbrpc.org. A future workshop is also being planned for a Pinellas location.

Lean/Six Sigma Practitioner Program, October 1-2. St. Petersburg College's Corporate Training center offers this program to address the overall training needs of an organization, focusing on the individual contributors in the manufacturing and service industries who have just started their training in Lean/Six Sigma Concepts and Tools. The class will be held at the EpiCenter, 13805 58^th Street N., Clearwater, 33760, from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For more information, call (727) 341-4445, or click here.

September 2007 Pinellas County Success Story

Alaka'i - Expansion in the Defense and Security Sector. Alaka'i Consulting & Engineering, Inc., a provider of next generation sensor and technology solutions to challenges facing the Defense and Security market, found the solution to its growth challenges in Pinellas County, Florida. An expansion for the company includes plans to add ten new jobs in the targeted defense electro-optics field. The new jobs, paying 200% of Pinellas' average annual wage, enable Alaka'i to take advantage of Florida's Qualified Target Industry tax refund program, and the company will receive an additional Brownfield Bonus due to their location within a designated Brownfield area.

Click here to read more of this story.

Visit www.alakai.us to learn more about the company.