TAMPA - In a scene of timeless business theater, Deanne Roberts, small-business owner and 2003 chairwoman of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, passed the leadership baton Thursday to John Ramil, incoming 2004 chairman and TECO Energy executive before an audience of 1,100 at the Tampa Convention Center.
That, at least, is the superficial news. But what kind of headline might sit atop a business column about an intriguing time for the most dynamic of Tampa Bay's chambers of commerce?
From out-of-box gal to button-down guy. Or perhaps: Exit woman entrepreneur, enter organization man.
Both headlines hint at the bigger story. Truth is, Roberts deserves a high-five for some unconventional leadership in a year marked by a tough economy but also substantial progress in the direction Tampa - and the entire Tampa Bay area - needs to be heading.
And where exactly is that?
Toward diversifying this tourism- and real estate-dependent economy by encouraging biotech and technology industries that can develop, grow and supply better-paying 21st century jobs. Toward improving the area's infrastructure - especially transportation - to prepare for the rapid increases ahead in Tampa Bay's population.
Toward redeveloping tired and outdated area buildings, properties and neighborhoods to improve what we already have. Toward nurturing a Tampa Bay metro culture that is hip and stimulating enough to make young and creative "knowledge workers" want to relocate and live here.
None of those goals comes with a quick fix, as much as chambers of commerce love to crow about instant successes.
"I would say that the real test of a chamber, its leaders and members is to sustain hard-to-implement efforts over the years," Roberts says.
Sure, she admits, there are skeptics about the recent regional obsession with biotech. After all, every mid-sized or large metro area is beating the biotech drum. Yes, redevelopment of struggling parts of Tampa - or any city - is tough.
And what about persuading citizens to raise their own taxes to pay for better roads and other long-term transportation needs? Well, Roberts learned about that the hard way this fall when a chamber-backed plan to fund transportation improvements with a half-cent sales tax increase was rejected by Hillsborough County commissioners.
"It all takes years," a determined Roberts says. "You can't just go by quarter-to-quarter successes. Hopefully, we've learned that. I'm hoping that in five or six or eight years, we will see the real results."
Roberts is not your traditional Tampa chamber player. Divorced, with one son at Georgia Tech and another in middle school, she built up her own public relations/advertising business, Roberts Communications, over the past 25 years. The business has 16 employees, and Roberts is proud to have avoided a single layoff during the recent economic dip.
As 2003 chairwoman, she was only the fourth woman to lead the Tampa chamber (following in the steps of Stella Ferguson Thayer, Gay Culverhouse and Rhea Law). She is also the first woman entrepreneur to lead the chamber.
"I am not in Gasparilla. I am not in a yacht club. I do not have a lot of money or family lineage. I got what I have by working for it," Roberts says. "This is not your father's Tampa any more."
Let's hope so, for everybody's sake.
Most of what Roberts spearheaded in 2003, Ramil aims to build upon in 2004.
The two are very different and very much alike. Both Roberts and Ramil were born and raised in Tampa.
Roberts runs a small business. Ramil is the No. 2 executive at TECO, the parent of Tampa Electric and historically one of the most influential companies in Tampa. Though TECO is struggling to correct some serious overexpansion in the power plant business, Ramil can still throw some serious resources at chamber tasks.
Now it is Ramil's turn to make his mark at the chamber.
In his brief remarks Thursday, Ramil didn't dwell on Roberts' pet project of producing a hipper culture, and that may not prove this staid businessman's strong suit. But he added one new priority to the chamber's official list of biotech, transportation and redevelopment.
Education. As in shaping the work force of the future.
Improving education, Ramil told Thursday's audience, not only will provide businesses with better workers. It also can help differentiate the Tampa Bay area from other communities. The first step, he says, is to get more businesses to collaborate with more schools. More details on that later, presumably.
The Tampa chamber's got a few other promising projects up its sleeve next year. It recently unveiled Emerge Tampa - a leadership group for professionals 21 to 35 years old - because young adults were not getting involved in the chamber. This will open access.
The chamber also plans to restructure its memberships and how they are priced. Most chambers of commerce charge members based on their number of employees. Now the chamber plans to offer memberships priced according to how engaged people want to become in the organization.
It all sounds promising enough. Thursday's annual chamber event, more than 100 tables strong, clearly demonstrated a following. Yet the Tampa chamber's membership - like those of many chambers in the country - has been in decline for years during tough economic times.
Chamber officials expect membership will start to bounce back, if 2004 delivers the stronger economy that experts say is coming. And if it keeps pushing toward some longer-term, but worthwhile, goals.
