2. We welcome a new Silver Sponsor.

Gregory, Sharer & Stuart is one of the largest independent public accounting firms in the Tampa Bay area. Founded in 1984, they have earned clients’ trust through years of delivering a consistently high level of client service and professional expertise. They have a strong commitment to community service and to education and we look forward to furthering with their vision of a prosperous and inclusive Central West Florida.

3. There are two changes in the bi-national events schedule:

21 February 2012 (Tuesday): FRAMCO (French Chamber) and FRAMCO Young Professional Group. Pelagia Trattoria – Renaissance Hotel – International Plaza. Click here to see invitation. 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. cash bar, drink specials- light appetizers. Complimentary for Members- $10 for Prospective Members when paid by Feb.20. Please RSVP at President.framco@gmail.com.

23 February, 2012 (Thursday):  British American (BABC) and Scandinavian Trade Association Networking.  www.scandbalt.org and www.babctampabay.org. February 23,  Time adjustment: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Location change: Location is now: Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., Regions Bank Bldg.  100 Tampa Street, Suite 3600. Tampa, FL 33602. $15  per person includes open bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and parking. There will be Absolut Vodka Testing and Scandinavian Appertizers. The parking garage access is off of Tampa Street, the next right after Jackson Street (in between Regions and Bank of America Parking garages).  For free parking, please bring your parking ticket with you to be validated. Please contact Joanne Cornell at 813.221.7250 for additional inquires. RSVP before February 22, 2012 to: joanne.cornell@ogletreedeakins.com.

4. Entrepreneurship:
The Tampa Bay International Business Council webmaster will be the Conductor on the Startup Bus to South By SouthWest (SXSW) this year. In 2012 the StartupBus is the Florida Startup Bus, (not the Miami Bus). It departs from Tampa Bay (not Miami) this year.  Please enjoy the Stock Exchange and other Startup Bus games. At a time when USF is under threat of enormous budget cuts, it is worth remembering that the USF Entrepreneurship program remains in the top twenty programs in the nation. As usual.

5. Please don’t forget other events on the TBIBC Calendar:

17 – 19 February 2012 (Friday – Sunday): Indo US Chamber and Indo Cultural Event. The Indian International Film Festival Tampa Bay. Venue: Channelside Cinemas. Details: www.iifftampa.com. Independent films, film makers, discussions on film, Indian food, music and festivities.

21 Feb 2012 (Tuesday): Tampa Hispanic Chamber Group Night with Tampa Bay Lightning – Tailgating (networking) : 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Game starts: 7:30 p.m.  Event ends 10 p.m. Tickets include Catering and Drinks.  $76 for Plaza Corner Tickets, including food and beverage. $46 for Terrace Endzone Seats, including food and beverage.  For ticket info, please contact Jarrod Cole E: jcole@sptimesforum.com  T: 813-301-6637 www.tampahispanicchamber.com

28 February, 2012 (Tuesday).  Tampa Hispanic Chamber. Café con Leche from 8:00-9:30 a.m. Hosted by Dr Carlos Aquino, Argosy University, 1403 N Howard Ave, Tampa, Fl 33607.

March 2012
7 March (Wednesday), FRAMCO St Petersburg Coffee and Croissant Networking: Kahwa Cafe, 204 2nd Avenue South, St. Petersburg, T : 727-821-1942. Any time from 8.45 a.m. Questions: M. Jean-Charles Faust, President of FRAMCO and Honorary Consul, (727) 459-0720.

8 March 2012 (Thursday): Hispanic Chamber Luncheon. 11:30-1.00 p.m. Guzman Law Group. www.tampahispanicchamber.com. Queries Leonela Cole, LCole[@]HBIFFlorida.org. Members that Prepay – $20.00. Members and Members Guests that do not prepay – $25.00. Non-Members $30.00

29 March 2012 (Thursday): All Chambers. Sixth International Business Summit. Tampa Bay International Business Council. 8.00 a.m. to 2.15 p.m. The Sixth International Business Summit. On-line Registration at Ticketleap. Morning tickets: $20. Full event tickets: $35.  Tickets can also be obtained through your Chamber President or TBIBC Board Representative.

Venue: A la Carte Pavillion, Tampa Bay’s premiere event venue. 4050 Dana Shores Drive  Tampa, FL 33634. (813) 831-5390. www.alacarteevents.com. The summit will run from registration at 8.00 a.m. to 2.15 p.m.

Sponsorship Director, Hilton Ross-Munro (Hilton@c-psolutions.com).
Vice-President,  Glynis Ross-Munro, (glynis@c-psolutions.com).
The Chairman, Dr Hj Yang, may be contacted at hj0yang[@]gmail.com, but is traveling in China at the moment.
The President, Mr Bill Flynn, may be contacted through his executive PA, Ms Robin Todd (rtodd@fowlerwhite.com) or Ms Todd’s secretary, Ms Wendy Westphal (wwestphal@fowlerwhite.com).
There are no fees to be a member of the TBIBC. All members of any member bi-national Chamber or Trade Association are members of TBIBC. We thank our generous sponsors and volunteer Board for this excellent situation.

Sincerely,

Glynis Ross-Munro
Vice President
Tampa Bay International Business Council
www.tbibc.org
glynis@c-psolutions.com
813.598.9184

Collaboration, Diversity, Prosperity

The TBIBC Winter Networking Event was a “sold-out” success. Many thanks to the hard-working Board members who contributed many hours of work and organization. The Westin area was very flexible, allowing people and groups to flow freely, and for the event to exceed the planned number of participants, without being cramped.

The entire TBIBC Board and members congratulate the President of FRAMCO, Jean-Charles Faust, on being made a Chevalier  of the National Order of Merit (Ordre national du Mérite). The French Ambassador, François Delattre,  came to Tampa Bay for the first time last night to knight him.  It was a very moving ceremony. A French rear-admiral became a Commander of the National Order of Merit, and two elderly American war heroes received the Legion of Honour.

The IBB (our International Student Chamber) has offered all Chambers, their members and the companies they work with/for a great opportunity to join in the 3rd Annual Florida Student Summit on Global Business on 10 February. Please see http://www.tbibc.org/archives/588 for this free recruiting and networking opportunity.

The TBIBC will be taking part in an International Town Hall Meeting on 1 February. Please remember that all members of all TBIBC Bi-national Chambers are members of the TBIBC, and membership is free. Please contact Kathy, kacevedo@tampaedc.com, if you have any queries.

I want to reach out to you to invite members of TBIBC and their Chambers to the 3rd Annual Florida Student Summit on Global Business hosted at University of South Florida, Marshall Center on Friday, February 10th.

You can use the below info to invite your chamber members, colleagues, or friends to help the students learn about the variety of opportunities Tampa has in the global business world and introduce them to networking.

Three different groups can benefit from this and you are all invited. Documents attached for download.

1. Professional- Members that are professionals are invited to attend and mingle, eat lunch and network with the students, share insights, talk about different careers, companies, industries, things they should be doing.  Anything to help the students get more comfortable with networking and learn about variety of things that exist in the professional world when they graduate and how to accomplish them.
2. Companies- Members that represent medium-larger companies that want to set up a table and share information with the students.  This is especially helpful for companies looking to hire college grads, interns, part-time, etc.
3. Chambers- The bi-national chambers themselves are also invited to attend and set up a table to promote their organization and maybe find some helpful volunteers or interns to help them build their organization.

We are also interested in sponsors. Documents attached for download.

All 3 are invited to attend the 12:30-2:30pm networking session where we will have a variety of companies and organizations with tables set up on one side and other professionals mingling and networking with hundreds of students from colleges and universities across the state.  There will be Free lunch and beverages provided and they are welcome to stay for our keynote speaker at 2:45pm Paul Donato-Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer of Nielsen.

The goal is to bring students and professionals together from across the state for a free and open forum to network, share ideas, cultivate a global mindset, and open students up to the variety of companies, organizations, industries and career paths the Tampa region and Florida have to offer.  Many students are limited in their exposure to the variety of opportunities that await them when they graduate and how to obtain them, this summit will help.

If anyone is interested in attending they should send me their: Name, Email, Phone, company, position, If they want to attend as a company (with table) or just professional (no table), along with any questions.

For more information on the summit, agenda, companies and organizations attending, etc. please check our website www.FloridaStudentSummit.com.  Note the website is constantly being updated as we confirm new people.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jamie Kenney
University of South Florida
Florida Student Summit
Founder/Director
jkenney@floridastudentsummit.com
813-758-2726

Florida Student Summit Company Invitation

Florida Student Summit Company Invitation 2

Theme: Passport to Success: Travel, Tourism and Tampa Bay.

Speaker: Joe Lopano, C.E.O. of Tampa International Airport.

Date: Wednesday, October 12.

Time:  5.30  p.m. to 8.30  p.m.

Dress: Business cocktail.

Cost: $10. Includes heavy hors d’oeuvres and cash bar.  Click for Registration.

This is a reprise on the very-successful 2010 networking event (but with fewer drums).  Please bring plenty of business cards, and enjoy making new friends, renewing old acquaintances and building connections with many people from local and global business.

You do not need to be a member of one of the bi-national Chambers of Commerce or Trade Associations to attend.

Please click for Registration.

The Sixth International Business Summit will be held on Thursday, 29th March. Please note that the Rusty Pelican has reneged on their contract and we are moving to the nearby A la Carte Pavillion, Tampa Bay’s premiere event venue. 4050 Dana Shores Drive  Tampa, FL 33634. (813) 831-5390. www.alacarteevents.com.

The summit will run from registration at 8.00 a.m. to 2.15 p.m.

Please read about the keynote speakers:

John Doggett:  http://jndoggett.com/
Melvin Gravely:  http://www.entrethinking.com/whoweare.asp

The Entrepreneurship Panel is often a favorite event (even though the speed-networking is usually the most popular activity.)

The moderator of the panel will be Alex Sink, and the theme will be entrepreneurship with a BRICs angle. Local, successful entrepreneurs from Brazilian, Russian, Indian and Chinese backgrounds will be on the panel. There will also be representation from African-American entrepreneurship and large business entrepreneurship.

Sponsors may contact the Sponsorship Director, Hilton Ross-Munro (Hilton@c-psolutions.com).

Please see “How to Get Involved.” If you are a member of one of the organizations listed here, you are already a member of TBIBC.  Your Chamber President is already a TBIBC Board member or director. The Brazilian American Chamber is still forming but will soon be part of the organization. We are working with other binational groups too.

Please address queries to the Vice-President,  Glynis Ross-Munro, (glynis@c-psolutions.com).

The President, Mr Bill Flynn, may be contacted at Fowler White Boggs, c/o his PA, Ms Robin Todd rtodd[@]fowlerwhite.com  or through her assistant, Ms Wendy Westphal, wwestphal[@]fowlerwhite.com

The Chairman, Dr Hj Yang, may be contacted at hj0yang[@]gmail.com.

Please see the Chamber/Trade Association for the contact details of the Board members and Directors.

Summit Schedule

8.00-8.25  Registration and Continental Breakfast with the Sponsors (also refreshments in the Sponsorship Room during the day.
8.30  Bagpipes, Welcome by President of Board (Bill Flynn)
8.35 Plenary Session: Keynote Dr Melvin Gravely
9.00  Structured Networking
10.30 Workshops x 3 (Choice of one – This also allows tables in the main ballroom to be cleared and set for lunch)

• Meet the Chambers Address about the value of making relationships in Tampa Bay with bi-nationals. The Presidents introduce themselves.
• Resources for international, diverse and small businesses in Central West Florida. Panel of resources.
• International and Multi-cultural Business: from Etiquette to Business Bids. Around the World with CPS.

12.00  Lunch & Networking
12.15  Keynote: Mr John Doggett MBA
1.00 Entrepreneurial International Business Council Panel: Big and Small Business with a BRIC slant.  Moderator: Alex Sink. A panel of well-known and successful Central-West Florida Business People, from both large and small business, speak on their views, experiences and lessons-learned from business. There will be  an emphasis on advice to the audience and their needs. Questions  taken from the floor
2.08  Bright House IBS Diversity Award Presentation
2.15  Close

Register on-line here. You can also RSVP through your Chamber President or TBIBC Board Representative.

In order to provide a central location, this event will be at the Westin Hotel on the Courtney Campbell Causeway, allowing both Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough attendees to reach the venue easily. Address: 7627 W. Courtney Campbell Causeway Tampa, FL 33607.

$10-15 + cash bar. Registration through Ticketleap.

Time:  5.30 p.m. – 8.30 p.m.

Dress: Business/ Business Casual.

Cost: $10 per person. $15 for non-TBIBC members. Cash bar.

For questions, please contact any Board member of your Chamber, or Ms. Joanne Cornell (813) 221-7243 or email Glynis Ross-Munro, glynis@c-psolutions.com

TBIBC is the combined, unpaid and volunteer effort of business people, for business people, to grow the regional Central West and Central Florida economy. It is run mainly by those who are immigrants, and who know both the value of diverse international business experience, and the challenges of succeeding in business in a new homeland.

Some benefits that TBIBC offers include:

• Widely expanded networking for all Chambers and Trade Associations.
• An on-going project to fund the Chambers and Trade Associations. At present this includes $1000 sponsorship of all TBIBC Chambers and Trade Associations from Bright House. As TBIBC grows, the ability to channel funds to the member Chambers will increase.
• Recruiting, marketing and exposure for all Chambers and Trade Associations.
• Four multi-national networking events each year, to expand of the various Chambers/Trade Associations range, and provide extra organizational resources for smaller Chambers.
• Cross-chamber communication, membership rates at other chambers and global networks for chamber members.
• A powerful extra web presence for all Chambers and Trade Associations.
• On-going connections with universities, student bodies and events, foreign students, interns and young potential chamber members.
• Connections with many resources in the community and economy, including small business resources, minority business advocates, FMSDC, economic development agencies, entrepreneurship bodies etc.
• Mutually supportive relationships between leaders of bi-national Chamber and Trade Associations, the sharing of experiences, lessons learned, resources and support in the task of leading voluntary, non-profit organizations.