What? Three competitive ports in Tampa Bay? Not so, at least insofar as it takes cooperation to market the bay as a destination for goods. But the competition is cut-throat as soon as the ship passes under the Skyway Bridge. The dot-com generation has taken the torch to light the way to the future, says BrainBuzz.com president Tom Wallace. In Sarasota, two ex-automobile ad agency types are driving the venerable Baskerville/Swirles/Ward Advertising and Marketing down the highways of the 21st century.

Leads & Deals
A digest of bay area business news.

Veteran Realtor Bob Dikman of The Dikman Company, Tampa, has been elected president of the Florida chapter of The Realtor's Land Institute. Ann Sutton has been named director of internal controls at the Saddlebrook Resort-Tampa. Diana Carnahan has been named property manager at Rubin Management Inc., Clearwater. And Lou Tangorra has joined the staff of Cardinal, Carlson + Parks Architects Inc., Sarasota.

Growth Strategies for Small Business
A monthly feature that allows our readers to take lessons from the best.

Precise Power Corporation in Palmetto may be sitting on a world-beating energy invention. Its "written-pole" technology allows electric motors to provide a constant, uninterruptible power supply, and the world is interested.

Company Profile
Its innovative energy technology could boost Palmetto's Precise Power Corporation to world eminence.
by Melissa Wells

Resource Center

Ask the Experts
Corporate Meetings, Travel & Getaways Renaissance Vinoy Resort raises the ceiling for convention business.

St. Petersburg's elegantly restored Renaissance Vinoy Resort now offers 11,340 new square feet of meeting and conference space, a $9.5-million addition that blends state-of- the-art so well with tradition that visitors can hardly tell where one leaves off and the other begins.
by David J. Wilson

Staffing, Education & Training
Contractors laugh and learn at this continuing education school.

Carmen Ciricillo's Construction Comedy School may not be featured on Comedy Central, but David Chitester of Chitester Management Systems Inc. liked it so much that his firm features the one-time general contractor as an instructor for the continuing education Florida contractors are required to undergo.
by Melissa Wells

Cover Story
The Business of the Arts Corporate decision-makers see the benefits of cultivating arts to attract employees, entertain customers.

Any doubt that business support for the arts means far more than merely supporting community efforts has been put to rest by new research. Improving the quality of life in the bay area helps stimulate the economy, aids in recruiting high-paid employees and pleases potential customers. What's on stage is a direct benefit to the bottom line.
by David J. Wilson

Buyer's Guide
Staffing and Professional Employee Organizations, A Maddux Report listing of where to find them, who to call.

Office Space Guides
Real Estate Analysis
Hillsborough 47 Pinellas 49 Manatee 49 Sarasota 53 Pasco 53 Polk
by Laurel S. McQueen