by: Rich Swier
The HuB, Sarasota

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way.”

When I read this famous quote from Charles Dickens, I think of where we are today as a community and as an economy. Our tale of two cities is a little different, but the choices ahead are quite similar. Today, we are standing at the crossroads of fear and ambition. The path of fear keeps us from taking the first step toward prosperity and the path of ambition is riddled with difficult choices, more sacrifices and unknown consequences.

This is the tale of many cities around America, and it is certainly the tale of Sarasota.

Our city over the past few years has struggled to evolve from a tourist destination into a economic destination. Like many communities our dream of a diversified economy that promises job growth and new opportunity is stifled by fear, uncertainty and the comfort of old thinking. Instead of taking big steps forward, we continue to admire the steps we have taken in the past. Our tale of two cities is one divided by those who reach into the future, while others hold desperately to the past.

Recently, a plan was presented by the city to renovate our downtown. The plan was ambitious. The plan was far-reaching into the future. As the plan was shared with residents, merchants and property owners the feedback was clearly divided. Those against the plan debated the construction would disrupt their business during these tough economic times, and those in support of the plan saw the long term reward of repairing and improving our city. The debate continues today, as we look to find a compromise.

This project is one of many ideas that have become the center of debate. And each time, it is almost certain there will be a divided city – those for the idea and those against. In most cases, both sides can agree on the outcome, but just can’t find a way to compromise on the path.

As we move forward in this debate and others, I hope that our two cities can come together and agree that we have to find common ground to build a new city. A new city that embraces the ideas of all generations – both young and old. A new city that demands progress in order to build a new economy to support our amazing assets like our beaches, arts organizations and local merchants. A new city that can embrace the past, but allowing for one hand to reach toward the future. A new city that can overcome the fear of change, and embrace change as the absolute path toward prosperity and rebuilding our economy.

At the meeting held at City Hall yesterday, I witnessed glimpses of this new city. There were moments where you heard compromise and excitement in the voices of those who fear change. There was a sense of unity as we worked through the proposed plan and dismissed those aspects that most thought were unreasonable, and embraced changes that we all agreed would improve our city.

Perhaps it takes a city to be in the worse of times and best of times to finally see what has to be done to build the future. I believe our time has come to build this new city, and I hope yesterday was a glimpse of that shiny city on the hill.

by: Gracie Stemmer
Tampa Bay WaVE

Tampa Bay WaVE is dedicated to supporting & enabling the founders of tech startups and the supporting technology innovation community throughout Tampa Bay. We are a non-profit organization intended to bring tech venture entrepreneurs together and fuel one another’s creativity. We recently got a coworking space we have named the “WaVE Pool” to enable this very concept.

At the “WaVE Pool” our members have the best & brightest minds around. Members come to build and grow their very own web and tech ventures in a space with like-minded individuals. Big things happen at Tampa Bay WaVE! The experience level of our members range from those with just an idea and a passion to those who are working on their 4th or 5th venture. At WaVE there is a “pool of knowledge” up for grabs  for anyone who is interested. Because a large benefit of being a member of Tampa Bay WaVE is access to the collective expertise we share, we are always looking to expand the “pool of knowledge” by adding new members.

Having a strong tech innovation community inevitably means boosting the economy by creating jobs, generating wealth, inspiring more entrepreneurs, creating demand for more local talent & professional services, as well as attracting more talent & capital to the region.

Though we have made a lot of progress with our shared space, we still need more basic furnishings, necessities to keep the space opened nights and weekends and would like to get the cool things our members have been requesting for the space.

But we’re sure that in no time, Tampa Bay WaVE’s “WaVE Pool” will become the ‘Collaborative Innovation Hub’ of Tampa Bay for developers, designers, consultants, inventors, and entrepreneurs

by: Olga Bof
Founding Board Member, Keep Saint Petersburg Local

Think about Saint Petersburg for a moment.  Think about all those places that make it vibrant and dynamic, especially those Downtown.  What brought a smile to your face?  I’ll bet it’s a local business.  Nothing beats the human connection that comes from walking into a local shop, being warmly greeted by the owner and turning around to find other locals who you know there – it’s often magnified if it’s your local coffee shop, restaurant or bar.  The feeling of community that gets fostered in that space could never be recreated at a big-box or chain.

Independent locally-owned businesses are essential to a vital local economy and community character. They use the goods and services of other local businesses.  They’re owned by our friends and neighbors, or maybe even you (they employ our friends and neighbors too).  Community-serving businesses are the backbone of local economies, civic life, local charities and wealth creation for millions of citizens, as well as a training ground for future generations of entrepreneurs.

The problem is that today, independent businesses face unprecedented competition from larger chain competitors, internet merchants and franchises that enjoy national or international branding power and major economies of scale. As a result, community-based businesses comprise a smaller portion of our economy than ever before.  We’ll lose much more than places to shop, dine or do business if we allow current trends to continue.

Many cities and towns have discovered a model, pioneered by the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), to counter these trends successfully and help local entrepreneurs thrive.  More than 80 communities in the US now boast Independent Business Alliances (IBAs) to unite independent businesses across all sectors, along with concerned citizens to build vibrant, durable local economies.

Saint Petersburg will be launching its own IBA, Keep Saint Petersburg Local, on Saturday, November 19^th, America Unchained! Day; when AMIBA affiliates across the country highlight holiday spending’s local impact if everyone “unchains” for a day.  The numbers are staggering.  If all taxable sales were in local independents and none with national chains on just one average November day last year, it would have kept an additional $36 million in the local economy of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties combined.

The Alliance’s founding members will be manning a table on the 500 Block of Central Avenue from 10 am to 5 pm during CraftArt.  They will be distributing informational literature, stickers of the organization’s logo and a list of offers available from local businesses November 25-27.  They look forward to meeting as many members of the community as possible and urge everyone to also visit Localshops1.com’s Shopapalooza event at the Pier.  Remember, the locals love you more!

For more information on Keep Saint Petersburg Local please visit us online at www.keepsaintpetersburglocal.org or contact Olga Bof on 813-500-7708.

by: Eddie Shumard
Tampa Urban Food Forum

Imagine a Tampa Bay where there was a farmers’ market in every neighborhood, filled with locally grown produce. Farms tucked on the roofs of small businesses downtown, gardens along sidewalks and in the parks and affordable, healthy and locally produced food available to all residents–in every neighborhood. This is just part of TUFF’s (Tampa Urban Food Forum) vision of a secure local-food system. Through events like the October 24th First National Annual Food Day celebration at The Roosevelt 2.0 and the ongoing TUFF Crop Mobs at places like Dancing Goat Farms in Oldsmar where Pam Lunn, raises award-winning goats, chickens and quail and Eco Farm on the east side of Tampa in Plant City, where Jon and Debbie Butts grow acres and acres of fresh, organic veggies and fruits, TUFF seeks to engage the Tampa community with their food system, through events and education that places them right smack in the middle of it.

TUFF aims to exceedingly educate consumers about how to get involved with their food, by promoting home gardening, community garden projects, small farms and sustainable small businesses/organizations throughout Tampa. Connecting the ‘doers’ throughout Hillsborough County, and strengthening the local-food community and revealing the rock stars growing food out of empty lots, local urban farms and gardens.  There are too many individuals, organizations and small businesses in the Tampa Bay area working on projects that don’t know about each other and TUFF intends to change that. If we can help these people connect, along with showcasing and promoting their projects and products to an educated consumer, a real tangible change in our local food system can happen.  Find out more about the Tampa Urban Food Forum on our Facebook page and find a project, event or business you can get started with. Together, we’ll change Tampa Bay–one bite at a time.  Get activated.  Get educated.  Get TUFF.

By: Mary McKenzie, tampafreeskool.com

We are all teachers; we are all students.  Herein lies our greatest strength on our journey toward community cultivation in Tampa Bay: the ability and willingness to share our skill sets and knowledge with our neighbors.

Free Skools exist in cities across the world, and each skool has a unique perspective on how to grow community. In Tampa Free Skool, we believe that true community power resides in the peoples’ unconstrained access to knowledge — any and all knowledge. As such, we are striving to create a decentralized network of community citizens of all ages in the Tampa Bay area who want to both teach and receive teaching by freely sharing our combined skill sets, knowledge, and information. Our intention is to encourage self-reliance in the local community, develop a consciousness of alternative methods of education, and create a non-authoritarian learning environment outside of the widely-accepted monetary economic education system. We do this for the greater good of creating stronger and deeper community roots and enlightenment.

Our classes range from hula hooping to feminism. From vegan pumpkin pie baking to public art walking tours. From ethnobotany to sonnet writing. From guitar lessons to discussions on banned books.  All classes are taught for free, and all classes are taken for free.  But it is important to note that our idea of “free” refers not only to freedom from financial payment for knowledge, but also to the freedom to participate in mindful speech, peaceful assembly, and the birth of new ideas.

Classes in Tampa Free Skool do not take place in one centralized location; we utilize any space that is available.  Community members can open their homes to host discussion groups or workshops. Parks and other open spaces can be used to conduct courses such as running, dancing, or environmental classes. Community rooms in libraries across the Bay Area are used to hold writing courses. And many Tampa Free Skool participants are local business owners who gladly offer their space to facilitate Tampa Free Skool classes.

We in the Free Skool truly believe that Tampa Bay possesses an amazing potential to be a leader by example in our nation. We believe that our city, with us taking an active part in it, can become a national example of a fair, just, and conscious political system, of real community, and of green and sustainable growth. Our hope is to manifest these things in any way we can, and we believe that our city’s Free Skool will facilitate the growth of these already-existent ideals.

We are all teachers, we are all students; we all have something to share! Won’t you join us on our journey toward community? Find us at tampafreeskool.com, or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TampaFreeSkool.

By:  Suzanne Williamson, photographic artist collaborating on:
Shadow and Reflection exhibition and the Florida Mounds Project

Florida is looking toward a future where thoughtful development and conservation of both cultural and environmental resources hold the key to smart growth. If we understand the richness of our past, we can build fulfilling and sustainable lives going forward.

For the last three years, writer and UT professor John Capouya and I have been exploring our state’s Native American heritage – historic and prehistoric sites known as Indian mounds. We’re taking pictures of and researching ancient ceremonial and burial mounds made of earth, shells and sand, built by Florida’s first peoples. Mounds and mound-making built community. They were common ground, something we seek to build today.

Our goal is to do creative work that will increase awareness and appreciation of—and ultimately, to help preserve—this irreplaceable cultural legacy. The mounds are living history. We see our photographs and words as reflections in the mirror of that history. Through our exhibition at the Morean Arts Center and our website, The Florida Mounds Project: www.flmoundsproject.org, we are working with archaeologists, historians, preservationists and businesses which depend on Florida’s unique assets, to increase public awareness about the significance of the mounds.

On October 27 from 6 – 7:30 pm, the Morean Arts Center and the Florida Humanities Council will sponsor a panel discussion open to the public:  Meaning, History and Legacy.

Local archaeologists and historians along with the artists, will explore the meaning of the mounds, and how these mirrors of the past reflect our culture and communities today. Other topics will include the role of art in illuminating history and the conservation of Florida’s cultural heritage.

For more information, visit:

http://www.moreanartscenter.org/news.php?id=2945

by: Misann Ellmaker
Director, Sustainable Business Coalition

“There has been a realization that we live in a world that is not disposable,” states Jan Roberts, Founder of Earth Charter U.S. That realization has resulted in businesses becoming more focused on the Triple Bottom Line, which is People- community and employees, Planet- green initiatives and responsible use of natural resources, and Profit- sustainable long term growth.

The Earth Charter is a global agreement, which was drafted by individuals from 78 countries over a period of 10 years and launched at The Hague Peace Palace in 2000. It is a declaration of 16 principles that foster growth of sustainable communities and economies, and has been endorsed by over 4,500 organizations, including many governments and international organizations.

Tampa-based Earth Charter U.S. is a not-for-profit organization, whose initiatives include the Sustainable Business Coalition (SBC). In partnership with the University of Tampa, Earth Charter U.S. recognizes Tampa Bay’s most successful Triple Bottom Line businesses at the annual Earth Charter U.S. Sustainable Business Awards Luncheon. The 4th annual Sustainable Business Awards will be held on February 24, 2012 at University of Tampa. A list of notable Tampa Bay award winners include MJ Electric, Walker Brands, Sweetbay Supermarket, Clark Environmental, Skanska, and EVOS.

“Recognition associated with winning the award is not only gratifying, but SBC provides an excellent network of like-minded businesses interested in Triple Bottom Line business practices,” expresses Andrew McIntosh, Shareholder, Fowler White Boggs. Award winners are invited to become members of the Sustainable Business Coalition, whose mission is to support the development of a sustainable economy in Tampa Bay, foster business-to-business education regarding sustainable business practices and to promote those businesses. SBC offers the experience of award-winning professionals, sustainable business development, opportunities for businesses to share ideas and the latest news and information about achieving Triple Bottom Line success.

Businesses may nominate themselves or be nominated by a third party to be considered for an award. Know of a business Earth Charter U.S. should consider? Nominations for 2012 award winners are due by October 21, 2011. For more information regarding criteria and a nomination form, contact Misann Ellmaker, Director of the Sustainable Business Coalition at misann@earthcharterus.org.

by: Jan Roberts
Founder, Cultural Innovations Agency

Cultural Arts are a sensational conduit for mainstreaming social change and sustainability actions. Actor and Activist Robert Redford
agrees. Before receiving The Gish Prize in 2008, Redford said: “Art can play a greater role in the transformation, in social change. We are trying to insert art more and more into the social context of how we live.” A group of inspired creative folks in Tampa plan to do just that
through their Operation Bon Appétit (OBA) Initiative.

Some of you may remember the Operation Bon Appétit Tablescape Art Installation that was held a while back at Whole Foods Market over wine and food. University of Tampa’s Art Professors Santiago Echeverry and Kendra Frorup with their students created large Tablescapes
that reflected Operation Bon Appétit themes like the New Economy That Works for All; School Reform that Includes the 3 C’s—competence, caring and creativity and Mi Casa, Su Casa: Inclusive Family Values. Over 150 people showed up, which was a thrill for the students who worked so hard on their installations. The Tablescapes are more than OBA table decorations. They set the intention of the conversations for Operation Bon Appétit Dinner Parties and often can stand alone as unique works of art.

Operation Bon Appétit (OBA) is the first initiative of the Cultural Innovations Agency (CIA), a nonprofit 501c3 corporation, and has the mission to “Change the World—One Dinner Party at a Time”. The OBA Modus Operandi is to sow the seeds of change through a network of underground dinner party cells connected and inspired by the upcoming Operation Bon Appétit television show and interactive web platform that highlight conviviality—feasting and drinking in merry company, conversations and actions for change.

An Operation Bon Appétit Rendezvous & Briefing is being held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19 in the home of Lorna Taylor at 3009 W. Villa Rosa Park in Hyde Park. For a donation of $20, you will receive a Hot Mama Culinary Spice –while the supply lasts—and enjoy great food, wine, and conversations with OBA Culinary Agents and other interesting people about what really matters. Plus—yep, there’s
more—you will have the opportunity to win a trip and stay at the charming and romantic Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Old Quebec and other surprises.

OBA Operatives include: Tracy Copes, Santiago Echeverry, Susan Edwards, Maryann Ferenc, Andrea Floyd, Judy Hayden, Jan Roberts, Judy Ryan, Genie Skypek, JoAnn Urofsky, Shannon McIntosh and Andrea Aprea.

RSVP: operationbonappetit@gmail.com or 813-872-6054.

by: Stacie Blake
Executive Diretor
Community Tampa Bay

Youth Radio is here! This partnership between WMNF in Tampa and Community Tampa Bay’s Hillsborough Youth Collaborative (HYC) is an innovative approach to promoting youth voices in our community.

HYC is a program of Community Tampa Bay™ funded by the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County to provide youth leadership and diversity education while advising the Board members on issues of importance to teens and providing youth perspective in important decision making. As part of their programming and development these young leaders are providing community service, researching local issues, participating in Children’s Week in Tallahassee advising the Governors Youth and Family Cabinet, providing guidance to local transportation boards, organizing a successful food drive and many other activities.

For the past year, HYC members have produced individual commentaries, focused on issues of their choice, to record on the radio. This year the initiative expands into a full youth radio show with music, interviews and news. HYC Radio began their new monthly, hour-long radio broadcast Sunday, September 25th currently scheduled for 5:00 pm on WMNF HD3, “The Source,” also available streaming on wmnf.org or through WMNF’s iPhone app.

The first show featureda live music session and interview with The James Lange Theory, a group of high school students at Hillsborough High School. The interview was recorded by HYC member, Ashira Pelt, who is this year’s winner of the WMNF Edward Bok Peace Youth Award.

HYC Radio is modeled after station manager Jim Bennett’s personal experience with the mission of Youth Media International in Oakland, California. Youth gain hands on experience in radio show production as well as providing their unique perspective on local issues.

The mission of Community Tampa Bay™ is to promote dialogue and respect among all cultures, religions, and races by cultivating leaders to change communities. The vision is a community free from discrimination where every individual is treated with dignity and respect.

Community Tampa Bay™ is the leading provider of diversity education and inclusion training in the Tampa Bay area including the award-winning, research proven program, ANYTOWN™ along with HYC, FLY, Youth Conferences, Summits, and community advocacy and response Teens interested in the HYC Radio project should contact Community Tampa Bay at 727.568.9333 to get involved, or visit
www.CommunityTampaBay.org for additional information on programs, support, and volunteering.