Fishing for members
Medicaid HMO salesmen have limited opportunities to recruit members. So Barry Pope of St. Augustine Healthcare takes a broad marketing approach, throwing out a big net to get a handful of keepers. He canvasses new apartment complexes; asks HMO members for referrals; and leaves his business card with workers at fast-food restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores.
Buffett wants you to join him at DQ
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is offering you a chance to invest with him in the Tampa Bay area. Sort of.
Letter gives dose of bad medicine by mistake
Humana Inc. had some unpleasant news to deliver to its Medicare HMO members recently: Next year, they'll pay more for generic drugs and extended hospital stays.
Is Tampa company's future lying on the bottom of the sea?
After three years of coming up dry, a Tampa treasure-hunting company is confident it has finally located the lucrative remains of a 17th-century ship.
Target jumps into megastore fray
Tampa Bay food shoppers who have been swarming to new Wal-Mart Supercenters will finally get a chance to see another discount store chain's version of a combination store.
Compulink shifts into overdrive after attack
Technology giants such as Clearwater's Tech Data Corp. have been in the forefront of rebuilding computer networks destroyed by last month's terrorist attacks.
Company notes
ADVERTISING: Designwerks Inc., 2117 Salisbury Court, Palm Harbor, announced the following contracts: PICA Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Business calendar
"Business Counseling" sessions, by the Service Corps of Retired Executives, will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at the St. Petersburg Business Development Center, 1045 16th St. S; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Clearwater Airport Business Center, 4707 140th Ave. N, Suite 311; 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Tarpon Springs Public Library, 138 E Lemon St.; and 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Largo Public Library, 351 East Bay Drive. For an appointment or information, call the Business Development Center, (727) 893-9686; the Clearwater Airport Business Center, (727) 532-6800; the Tarpon Springs Public Library, (727) 943-4922; or the Largo Public Library, (727) 587-6715.
Climbing the ladder
BANKING: David M. Coffin has been named vice president of estate planning and investment management for AmSouth Bank in the Tampa Bay and Sarasota areas. Coffin was a vice president in estate planning and investment management for First Union National Bank.
