Dunedin

Dunedin cherishes its heritage through regular wine, arts, antiques and holiday gatherings, and hosts the hugely popular Scottish Highland Games. The quaint downtown district features pedestrian-friendly wide sidewalks and diagonal parking lined by gift shops, clothing boutiques, homemade ice cream and candy stores, and some of the region’s best eats. A weekly green market rocks, too. The popular Pinellas Trail runs through the heart of downtown, attracting a steady stream of bicyclists, walkers, joggers and skaters – even on weekdays. Redevelopment efforts are targeting high-tech and health care-related employers to create new high-quality jobs.

Koala Tee In Sarasota Adds New Account Manager For Florida Suncoast

Koala Tee, an apparel manufacturer specializing in embroidered items, promotional products and company gift items has added new Account Manager Rob Harman, for the Florida Suncoast region. Harmon brings 17 years of experience in the imprinted sportswear industry and is a 30-year resident of Sarasota.   Harman will be responsible for new business development for Koala Tee's products in a territory that ranges from Tampa to Fort Myers.   "We have a great base of long-time customers; however, we know our core concentration should be bringing small businesses who need help increasing their marketing/branding efforts," says Carmen Manley, VP of business development. Adding an additional experienced account manager will help this business focus, and, if increased outside sales efforts prove successful, Koala Tee plans to expand more outside sales force to further penetrate existing territory, she says.    Koala Tee, Inc, was started in 1983 in Sarasota as a trophy shop doing mainly team uniforms. The organization has since expanded and now occupies a nearly 11,000-square-foot facility in downtown Sarasota where a team of embroiderers does all made-to-order work in-house. Manley says quality control is one advantage of doing much of their production work in-house.   Koala Tee also owns and operates Life Safety International, a company that sells men's clothing to retail stores on military bases throughout the world. Koala creates catalogs that include military fashion designs that mirror current fashions. The company also started selling the Red Shirt Fridays " I support our troops" line of apparel and products.   Writer: Lisa Clementi Source: Carmen Manley, Koala Tee

Tampa Bay Trane Begins 2010 By Adding Jobs, Now Hiring

Tampa Bay Trane, the exclusive representative of Trane Commercial Air Conditioning Products and Services on Florida's West Coast, is currently seeking to fill three positions: commercial A/C technician, service estimator and outside sales representative. "Trane has a good, solid business because of its service and preventative work in the commercial business sector,'' says Sarah Davis, HR manager. "As the commercial sector improves, Trane will plan to continue to hire staff at a moderate level of growth." Tampa Bay Trane's workforce is a team of highly skilled project managers, sales and engineering professionals, and technicians, Davis says. Trane has already hired nine people this year, four in new sales and skilled technician positions. The company also transitioned one current part-time employee into a fulltime staff member. TBT's current workforce is at 150 employees; a vast majority are full timers. Davis forecasts future hiring in 2010 to possibly include more skilled experienced techs with solid commercial experience as well as another addition to the sales team. Tampa Bay Trane was established in 1969 and has franchises in 13 counties in Florida. Over the years, Trane's service offerings have increased from primarily supporting the sale of Trane equipment to many expanded services including operator training, system energy analysis, replacements, retrofits and repair contracting, emergency services, rental equipment, performance contracting and HVAC system on-site operations. Writer: Lisa Clementi  Source: Sarah Davis, Tampa Bay Trane

Q&A: Michael Via And Stan Lifsey, Frantzen Tampa Bay Property Fund, LP

The newly formed Frantzen Tampa Bay Property Fund aims to buy, rent and sell distressed residential property in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties in Florida. The limited partnership was created by Frantzen Capital Management and Lifsey Real Estate & Holdings to take advantage of the subprime mortgage crisis and tight credit markets to put foreclosed homes back in circulation as rentals while returning a profit for investors.

UCF Study Predicts Gains For Tampa Bay Region
Ben Chmura: A Cut Above The Rest

Familiar to Floridians who keep up on fashion and design, Tampa Bay fashion designer Ben Chmura will attract a worldwide audience with his international debut January 14 on Project Runway. Chmura says that doing the Project Runway show was a great learning experience and validated what he had thought all along: that he can handle just about anything.

Pinellas County Makes Job Growth Top Priority
Best Bets For Vegan Foodies in Tampa Bay

Today's trend toward more healthy eating and an apparent increase in the Tampa Bay region's pro-animal rights, vegetarian and vegan populations have helped restaurants that serve primarily vegan fare – or at least offer multiple options that are sans-animal products – become increasingly common and increasingly profitable.

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