CLEARWATER: Labor shortages. Political strife. International conflicts. Election 2020.  What will it mean for our economy in the year to come? Get some perspectives at Focus on 2020: A Tampa Bay Economic Forecast on Thursday, Jan. 23 at the Sheraton Sand Key, 1160 Gulf Boulevard, Clearwater. Coffee and registration’s at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and program from 8 to 9:30 a.m.

               Cost to attend, which includes breakfast, is $57 a person with reserved tables of eight for $415. Reservations can be made online atwww.CentralChamber.biz or by calling that chamber at 727-584-2321.

               This is the 14th year of Focus, a signature program of the Central Pinellas Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Sheraton Sand Key Resort, Regions Bank and Duke Energy. It features a panel of business experts who will share predictions and provide insight on significant global, national and regional issues destined to impact the Tampa Bay economy.  This year’s panelists include:

State of the Economy Forecast – Dr. Jerry Parrish

• Jerry Parrish, Ph.D. is the Chief Economist and the Director of Research for the Florida Chamber Foundation.  He is responsible for conducting in-depth analyses on economic trends, Florida’s industry clusters and on solutions to help secure Florida’s future. Dr. Parrish previously was the Chief Economist and Director of the Center for Competitive Florida at Florida TaxWatch. He also served as the Associate Director of the Center for Economic Forecasting & Analysis (CEFA) at Florida State and has many years of experience in the private sector in management roles.

Energy Forecast – Catherine Stempien

• Catherine Stempien is Duke Energy’s State President in Florida, serving approximately 1.8 million electric retail customers. She is responsible for the financial performance of Duke Energy’s regulated utility in Florida and for managing state and local regulatory and government relations and community affairs. She was most previously senior vice president of corporate development overseeing Duke Energy’s corporate development activities, including external growth strategy and mergers and acquisitions.

Tourism Forecast – Jay Saylar

• Jay Saylar is Sr. Vice President of Special Projects at Miles Partnership and he has worked in tourism and hospitality marketing for more than 18 years.  Miles Partnership markets destinations and hospitality businesses by working with state tourism offices, convention and visitors’ bureaus, hotels and other organizations in the tourism industry to create forward-thinking digital and print content marketing solutions. Jay leads a division that delivers roughly $30 million of top line net revenue to the company.

Healthcare Forecast – Mary Lou Brunell

• Mary Lou Brunell is Executive Director for the Florida Center for Nursing since 2002. She administers the Center’s goals as set forth in Florida Statute to address issues of nursing manpower in the state.  In partnership with the Florida Blue Foundation, she co-leads the Florida Action Coalition in their effort to assure that all Floridians have access to high quality, patient-centered care. She has worked as a critical care nurse, administrator, and educator prior to her current commitment to nurse workforce and health policy issues. 

The event will also feature the presentation of the Focus on 2019 Tampa Bay Economist of the Year Award and the distribution of surveys to compete for that honor in 2020.

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