For Immediate Release
Contact: J.P. DuBuque, President
St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation
jpdubuque@becomestpete.com
727-460-6611
Team Tampa Bay rolls out Amazon Proposal Videos
St. Petersburg, FL – (Oct. 19, 2017) – The St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation, Pinellas County Economic Development, and Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation – the team that put together the Tampa Bay region’s response for Amazon’s HQ2 – is rolling out the videos created in support of the proposal to the public.
The videos, which will be rolled out over the next two weeks on the organizations’ social media sites, were submitted as part of the online version of Tampa Bay’s proposal to Amazon for HQ2.
“The videos were created to help us introduce our community to Amazon in a way that text alone cannot do,” said Mike Meidel, Director of Pinellas County Economic Development. “Amazon can experience the personalities of our leaders, hear what they have to say about why Tampa Bay would be a great fit for HQ2, and take a visual tour of our region. Our goal is to have Amazon imagine what it would be like for their people to live and work here and engage with our community leadership.”
Each video speaks to a specific decision driver Amazon outlined in their request for proposals (RFP). The first video, rolled out today, features City of St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and City of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn welcoming Amazon to our region and their respective cities and talking about why Tampa Bay would be a perfect fit for HQ2.
Another six videos will be rolled out over the course of the next two weeks, with testimonials from the following business, government, and community leaders:
- Tampa Bay Rowdies midfielders Justin Chavez and Marcel Schäfer
- Tom James, Chairman Emeritus of Raymond James
- Nadine Smith, Executive Director of Equality Florida
- Joe Lopano, CEO of Tampa International Airport
- Dr. Judy Genshaft, President of USF
- Dr. Ken Atwater, President of HCC
- Janet Long, Chair, Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners
- Stacy White, Chair, Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.
- Bob Dutkowsky, CEO, Tech Data
- Lee Evans, Site Executive & GM, Head of North America Capability Center, Head of Global Strategic Operations
- Ken Jones, Chairman and CEO, Third Lake Capital
“We’re extremely proud of our ability to present our best collective regional assets to Amazon,” said J.P. DuBuque, President of the St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation. “Our message to Amazon is that they can expect our local government and community leadership to be collaborative, easy to work with, and ready to help them stand up HQ2 as quickly as possible.”
The two sites proposed in the RFP in downtown Tampa and downtown St. Petersburg offer Amazon the chance to build HQ2 in two of the most exciting and growing downtowns in America.
“Tampa Bay has the talent, quality of life, lower business costs and affordability that would make it an ideal place for Amazon’s HQ2,” said Craig J. Richard, President and CEO of Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation. “As these videos show, we tick all the boxes Amazon requires for its new HQ2 home: pro-business public sector leadership, a rich supply of talent and the ability to attract more of it, a diverse, welcoming, and tolerant community, excellent airport, and unbeatable quality of life. The best part about it is that all of these assets are found in a place that is much more affordable than other major markets Amazon may be looking at.”
The videos can be found on the social media pages of the respective economic development organizations’ Facebook and Twitter accounts:
St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation: Facebook, Twitter
Pinellas County Economic Development: Facebook, Twitter
Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation: Facebook, Twitter
#AMZNHQ2TampaBay
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About the St. Petersburg Economic Development Corporation
The St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation is a partner in the Grow Smarter Strategy to create awareness of the business climate in St. Petersburg and to invigorate the growth of jobs in the target sectors of marine and life sciences, data analytics, financial and business services, specialized manufacturing and creative arts and design.
