Across Pasco

LAND O' LAKES

PACA to host T. Rowe Price

Two vice presidents from T. Rowe Price will discuss the company's plans to expand in Pasco County when they address the Pasco Alliance of Community Associations on Thursday.

The company purchased 72 acres at State Road 54 and Sunlake Boulevard in Land O' Lakes and is expected eventually to employ at the site about 1,600 workers with an average annual salary of nearly $50,000.

The public is invited to attend the PACA meeting. It will begin at 7 p.m. at Land O' Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O' Lakes Blvd. (U.S. 41), three miles north of S.R. 54.

Speakers will include John Townsend, vice president of T. Rowe Price Group Inc. and T. Rowe Price Services Inc. He is the general manager of the Tampa Financial Center and has responsibility for retail account management and retirement client services.

He will be joined by Mark Ruhe, vice president of T. Rowe Price Group Inc. He is responsible for all strategic real estate transactions within the company's global real estate portfolio.

Their presentation will provide an introduction to T. Rowe Price, including its operations in the Tampa area and its role in the community. They also will discuss what factors led T. Rowe Price to select Pasco County for future expansion.

PACA President Jim Flateau said, "PACA members are looking forward to hearing from T. Rowe Price and learning about what attracted the company to our community. T. Rowe Price immediately accepted PACA's invitation to meet with us and answer questions from our membership. That shows how willing the company is to establish itself as a 'good neighbor' within the Pasco County community. Its eagerness to meet with and discuss their operations and plans with average citizens shows what a class operation we will be welcoming into our midst."

PACA is a nonprofit organization whose members include 76 of Pasco County's homeowner associations, community development districts and condominium associations.

PACA assists members by educating them on common issues and finding solutions to shared problems. It also represents the interests of members before all levels of government.

For information about PACA, contact vice president-membership director David Quinones at (813) 991-1505 or visit www.MyPACA.org. To suggest topics or speakers for PACA meetings, share your ideas with program director Wayne Mooney at (352) 467-9808.

NEW PORT RICHEY

PHCC foundation gets grant

The Pasco-Hernando Community College Foundation has received a $50,000 grant that will be used to provide scholarships to students this fall, the college announced.

The grant came from the Edward K. Roberts Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Roberts, who died in 2009, established the fund to contribute to underfunded community colleges and other charitable and emerging needs.

In awarding scholarships from the grant money, preference will be given to part-time students who may not qualify for other financial aid, the college says.

Students interested in being considered for PHCC Foundation scholarships in the fall may submit applications online at http://scholarships.phcc.edu.

WEST PASCO

Bilirakis commends troops

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, issued a statement Monday upon hearing that U.S. troops had killed Osama bin Laden:

"Our U.S. military and intelligence agencies have displayed extraordinary persistence and courage in methodically pursuing the evil mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks," Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, said in a release. "The global war on terror continues and we must remain as vigilant as ever against those who still seek to harm us.

"Right now, however, we remember the victims of 9/11, their families and the thousands of heroes who have given their lives fighting for liberty and justice."

Bilirakis is a member of the House Homeland Security Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee's Middle East and South Asia subcommittee.

From staff reports