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Super Bowl Work Draws Diverse Crowd

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By BAIRD HELGESON

bhelgeson@tampatrib.com

Published: December 12, 2008

TAMPA Faye Dowdell looks for any edge she can find in today's gloomy economy.

As the head of Juneteenth in St. Petersburg, she has watched sponsors cut donations to the event, which celebrates freedom from slavery.

"I am just trying to do anything I can," she said.

Dowdell joined about 80 people Thursday morning at the Tampa Port Authority office for the first installment of the NFL's Super Bowl XLIII Playbook for Small Business Workshop Series. The free workshops help local small and minority businesses.

The Tampa workshops are so popular that organizers added sessions. That means nearly 900 small business owners will participate, about twice as many as during last season's Super Bowl in Phoenix.

"Certainly the economic situation has made people look for every opportunity," said Tisha Ford, who heads the NFL's Emerging Business Program. "People are participating to build relationships to get them through these difficult times."

Air Force Master Sgt. Marshall Lewis, who attended the seminar, just started a graphics business called Bawl Hogs. He takes photographs of young athletes and affixes them to footballs, basketballs and hockey pucks as mementos.

"I love sports and thought this would be a good opportunity to meet people with similar interests," he said.

The next seminars are Jan. 15 and 22. For information, visit www.superbowlbiz.com.

Reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at (813) 259-7668.

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