Author

Carter Gaddis

Carter Gaddis is a freelance writer and graduate of the University of South Florida (BA, mass communications). He covered sports for the Tampa Tribune for 16 years, including four years on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and eight years on the Tampa Bay Rays beat. He publishes the parenting and social commentary blog, DadScribe, and is a contributing writer for the TODAY Show. He lives in Lutz with his wife and two sons. Carter can be found on Twitter @DadScribe.

Carter Gaddis's Latest Articles

Legoland Florida To Open At Former Cypress Gardens Site

By Carter Gaddis

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General

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January 26, 2010

Winter Haven's Cypress Gardens, closed since September, will reopen in 2011 as Legoland Florida under the direction of England-based theme park giant Merlin Entertainments Group.Merlin, second globally in size to Disney among attraction companies, owns four Legoland parks, including the 10-year-old Legoland California. Legoland Florida will include 50 rides, shows and attractions, as well as a hotel resort.The site's historic, 32-acre botanical garden also will be incorporated into the park.Cypress Gardens, which opened in 1936, is considered Florida's oldest theme park and a precursor to Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and other Central Florida attractions. The most recent owner, Land South Group, sold the property to Merlin for a reported $22.3 million.Merlin reportedly will receive $5 million in incentives from Polk County, including $150,000 annually for 10 years for job creation."When you have the second-largest company in the world, at least in that sector, involved in your community, investing in your community, it does a couple of things," says Mark Jackson, Polk County's Director of Tourism and Sports Marketing. "One, it makes a statement about your market with the initial capital investment. Then, the ongoing capital investment will be significant for us."Merlin is Europe's largest attraction company. Its properties in Britain include the London Eye Ferris wheel and Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.It owns Legoland parks in Denmark, England, Germany and Carlsbad, Calif., with two more scheduled to open in Malaysia and Dubai.Merlin's parent company, the Blackstone Group, purchased controlling interest in Busch Entertainment Corp. in October. That gave Blackstone control of Busch Gardens Tampa, Sea World Orlando and other Busch properties nationwide.In addition, Blackstone owns 50 percent interest in Universal Orlando.Writer: Carter GaddisSource: Mark Jackson, Polk County

Tampa Web Content Business Thrives As It Lives By The Blog

By Carter Gaddis

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Development News

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January 26, 2010

When Deana Goldasich of Tampa was laid off in June from her job as director of account management for Web design firm Magnetic, she found herself with choices. Job offers were on the table, she said, but she wasn't inclined to jump at the first chance to rejoin the corporate world. Instead, she decided to found her own company, Well Planned Web LLC. "I've wanted to go out on my own forever, and for me this was the final push," says Goldasich, who took an interest in Web design in 1998 and whose employment past also includes Home Shopping Network. "I was climbing the corporate ladder, but I was climbing the walls." Goldasich's original vision for Well Planned Web when it launched in August involved traditional Web design and support. Quickly, she realized there was a more effective way to carve her niche in the Tampa Bay region's evolving Internet industry. Her concept: Help businesses, large or small, maximize their online potential through the use of social media, with a particular emphasis on blogging as a way to portray a company's personality and vision in order to connect with potential customers. "The real difference is I do a lot of education, coaching and training to help people understand the stuff from top to bottom, rather than build a blog and toss it in your lap," Goldasich says. "It's all focused on how to build a following online and build an audience." She landed her first client, Devine Communications, on Aug. 3. Accounts with Tampa software company ConnectWise and interior designer Barbara Krai quickly followed. This week, she coordinates the launch of Ocala author and speaker Beth Ramsey's new site focused on workplace relations. Goldasich said that in less than six months, her new business has generated as much net revenue as she made in salary during her final year with Magnetic. "I think what's next for me is constantly what's on my mind," Goldasich says. "Even when I'm doing fine and I'm really busy, you're always looking ahead at what's next." Writer: Carter Gaddis Source: Deana Goldasich, Well Planned Web

IntegraClick Eyes Expansion On Sarasota Property

By Carter Gaddis

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Development News

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January 26, 2010

IntegraClick of Sarasota, one of Inc. Magazine's five fastest-growing companies of 2009, purchased a 12-acre campus at University Professional Park with an eye toward adding jobs and new marketing and tech businesses.Ravi Ghai, IntegraClick's vice president of corporate development, credited the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota for helping to keep IntegraClick and Clickbooth.com in Sarasota. Tampa and Miami were considered as sites for the eight-year-old company's corporate headquarters."IntegraClick represents the type of business we want to see grow in Sarasota County," says EDC President and CEO Kathleen Baylis. "Their expansion here not only adds high-paying jobs in the community, but signals that high-performing technology firms, capable of further diversifying our economy, can thrive in our county."Founder and CEO John Lemp has built IntegraClick and Clickbooth.com into a leader in the performance-based online marketing industry. In addition to a top spot on Inc. Magazine's annual list of fastest-growing companies, ClickBooth.com was named Website Magazine's No. 1 affiliate network worldwide.The company has doubled its workforce during the past year to about 100 employees. The new campus, located just west of Interstate 75 on University Parkway with two Class A office buildings offering 79,000 square feet, also will accommodate ClickBooth.com's sister divisions, Calculated Creavity and Authorise.com.A new office building for the site is being planned. When completed, the campus is expected to house about 500 employees, or enough room for IntegraClick to more than quadruple its work force of tech, marketing and communications professionals.The company is expected to begin the move from its current headquarters on Cattlemen Road in April.Writer: Carter GaddisSource: IntegraClick

Hey Mom, Dad: I Wrote A Book in Tampa Bay

By Carter Gaddis

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General

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January 19, 2010

And, I didn't even get wet! Corny humor, genuinely weird characters, Florida's colorful history, numerous hard lives and extended drama mix with imagination, creativity and nose-to-the-grindstone research to make plenty of fodder for the Tampa Bay region's plethora of writers and would-be authors.

Writers Groups, Authors Proliferate In Tampa Bay

By Carter Gaddis

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General

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January 19, 2010

Would-be authors, writers and hangers-on face lots of options in the Tampa Bay region when it comes to finding meet-up spots and successful mentors. If you're looking for inspiration or are just in need of conversation, check out these lists of writers and writers groups.