On November 6, 2024, the Leadership Tampa Class of 2025 participated in its Arts & Culture Day. Throughout the program, artistic leaders from across Tampa met with LT ’25 class members, sharing their insight about the current state of the arts, cuisine, and culture in our city.
Day Chair Jeff Chernoff, IAT Inc., and RaeAnn Boyle, ASD|SKY, the Program Day sponsor, made the experience possible through their contributions and meticulous planning. The LT ’25 class gives them both a big thank you for their substantial commitment to ensuring that LT ’25 had a meaningful experience.
Our day began at Stageworks Theatre in the Channelside neighborhood. Stageworks is the longest running independent theater in the region, hosting plays like What the Constitution Means to Me and the Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical. At Stageworks, LT ’25 heard from a panel of local theater professionals who discussed the unique difficulties facing theater in Tampa. The panel consisted of: (1) Scott Cooper, the Head of Theater at St. Pete College; (2) Clay Christopher, a respected local actor; (3) Summer Bohnenkamp, the Chief Commerce and Marketing Officer at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts; and (4) Karla Hartley, the Producing Artistic Director at Stageworks. The panel discussed the importance of theater in local communities, and its power to effect change and mold our local dialogue. However, the panel further discussed how its ability to affect change and move the community has been influenced by statewide Government budget cuts, shifts in consumer patterns, and environmental catastrophe. Karla Hartley told LT ’25 that due to Government budget cuts, Stageworks lost $60,000 of an $800,000 budget, plus $25,000 due to hurricane loss, which has a tangible impact on Stageworks’ ability to engage the community. The panel discussed that consumer trends have changed since the COVID pandemic, with consumers now looking for known quantities and entertainment as opposed to challenging plays or new offerings. The panel agreed that, today, local theaters need donors, customer support, and corporate sponsors more than ever, as well as patrons who spread the word about their offerings. The panel expressed hope though, sharing that despite their headwinds, Tampa could become a hub for testing theater and hosting world premieres, like the Boy Who Loved Batman, which premiered at the Straz Center.
After Stageworks, LT ’25 visited the Tampa Museum of Art, touring it before the doors officially opened and meeting with Dr. Michael Tomor, the museum’s Executive Director. Dr. Tomor discussed the museum’s history and current trajectory, including that it is a 104-year-old gallery space with one of the largest collections of Greek and Roman antiquities in the Southeast, but also that it houses a wide variety of modern and contemporary sculpture, photography, and painting. Dr. Tomor told LT ’25 that the museum is a committed educator with a nationally recognized art program. The museum, like Stageworks, relies on donors and customers to continue to develop its offerings and enrich the community. Currently, the museum is planning its Centennial Capital Campaign for Renovation, which will expand the museum further toward the Hillsborough River in a modern, glass construction. Once the museum earns $20M more in donations, it will break ground for what is sure to be a stunning new extension.
From the Tampa Museum of Art, LT ’25 went to the JC Newman Cigar Factory in Tampa’s historic El Reloj (“Clock”) Building. JC Newman is the last American cigar factory in the United States, responsible for producing 15 million cigars per year, with tobacco from all over the United States, including Florida, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. JC Newman’s history can be traced back to the beginning of Tampa, when it was a sleepy fishing village which was transformed by the introduction of cigar manufacturers. At one time, the American cigar industry produced over 700 million cigars per year, and was the leading employer in Tampa, but with changing demands, many factories have closed or moved overseas. JC Newman stays committed to producing quality cigars, though, with specially trained cigar makers hand-rolling around 80 cigars a day per person and making many more through vintage cigar manufacturing machines. Despite this commitment, JC Newman has expanded its offerings to include tours of its historic building, event hosting, and a community celebration in its neighborhood at which Tampanians can compete in a Cuban sandwich eating competition and smoke left-handed cigars. LT ’25 gives a big thank you to all of the JC Newman employees who made them feel welcome, including Drew Newman, an owner and general counsel of JC Newman Cigars, Kara Guagliardo, a speaker and Leadership Tampa graduate, and Holden Rasmussen, Jaelyn Moser, Dan Broweleit, and Cody Thatcher, who provided tours and engaged the LT ’25 class.
After JC Newman, LT ’25 went to the Columbia Restaurant for lunch and a panel discussion relating to Tampa’s culinary offerings from: (1) Jeff Houck, the VP of Marketing for the 1905 Restaurant Group; (2) Santiago Corrada, the President of Visit Tampa Bay; and (3) Nate Siegel, a co-founder of Willa’s Restaurant. Santiago Corrada told the LT ’25 class that years ago, market research showed that, when asked, people around the country struggled to identify a word or concept when thinking about Tampa. Based on that result, he and his team set out to market Tampa and shape its identity. His team focused on food, publishing a cookbook of unique Tampa meals called “Tampa’s Table” and focused on developing its reputation for dining and nightlife. Over the past years, Tampa has been added to the Michelin Guide, and our local talent has been celebrated, with several of our restaurants earning Michelin stars in our dynamic restaurant environment. Despite these positive developments, the panel discussed, as with Stageworks, the Museum, and JC Newman, that consumer changes and environmental dynamics are making it harder than ever for restaurants to survive. Faced with rising insurance, declining profit margins, rising wages, and the costs of rebuilding after hurricanes, the panel advised that if you want your favorite restaurants to survive, you need to visit them. In the meantime, their advice to local restaurants was, “when the going gets good, put away some money,” so they can provide for staff and continue to provide quality offerings to the community.
After Columbia Restaurant, LT ’25 visited the Straz Center for Performing Arts, where Bill Rolon and Julie Britton discussed the various offerings that the “Straz” has to offer. Located along the Hillsborough River, the Straz houses multiple theaters within its campus at which Tampanians can see a wide-variety of shows – from Broadway mega-hits like Moulin Rouge, to classic theater like Much Ado About Nothing, world premieres like the “Boy Who Loved Batman,” and smaller offerings like Gorey Stories. The Straz is committed to theater and theater education, offering classes to young people at the Patel Performing Arts Conservatory, and, like the Tampa Museum of Art, plans to expand further toward the Hillsborough River and expand its offerings in the coming years.
Our next stop was the Tampa Theatre, where Jill Witecki provided a dynamic and interesting verbal history of our local theater icon. Built in 1926 and designed by renowned theater developer John Eberson, the Tampa Theater is one of the original “atmospheric theaters,” designed to emulate the feel and appearance of the open stadiums of antiquity. Similar to the other cultural centers we visited, the Tampa Theater faced headwinds, but decades ago in the 1960s and 70s, when many American movie palaces were demolished because the land beneath them became more valuable than the theaters that were housed on them. In 1973, the Tampa Theater faced ruin, but local city leaders and citizens and the Tampa government rallied together to save the theater and keep it operational. Now, the Tampa Theatre is one of Tampa’s most unique environments, showing culturally important films to local residents, and ghosts, alike.
The last stop on our tour was the Henry B. Plant Museum. Located within the University of Tampa, the Henry B. Plant Museum is a National Historic Landmark that used to be the Tampa Bay Hotel. The museum contains the furnishings enjoyed by guests at the hotel, including the opulent furniture from its era as well as a gift shop. Dr. Charles McGraw Groh discussed the museum and its offerings with LT ’25 and we appreciate his insights.
As the day closed, LT ’25 was asked to reflect on what it saw during Arts & Culture Day. We were left with a distinct impression that: (1) arts & culture in Tampa needs our continued financial support, now more than ever; (2) we in Tampa are lucky to be surrounded by artists and business people who are committed to providing quality offerings; and (3) it is incumbent on all of us, as the next generation of citizens and leaders, to keep this tradition alive and make sure it has the tools to meet all the challenges to come in the future.
