Running Header: Vision Sarasota County 1

Visit Sarasota County Analysis

University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee

Anthony HensonMolly Moore

Sharon Litchfield

Vision Sarasota County 2

History of Sarasota County

The name Zara Zote dates back to the early 1700’s and can be traced to early

explorers who named it after the ‘blue waters’ of the area. Although there is a myth that the

name Sarasota is derived from explorer Fernando Desoto and his daughter’s name Sara, actual

documentation shows that Zara Zote name appears on maritime maps. There were several

attempts to settle Sarasota, but it wasn’t easy because of its location, but the beauty and natural

resources kept explorers and settlers coming back. The earliest settlers were of course the Native

Americans, but explorers from Spain soon came and named the region, Florida. Within time the

Cubans and Europeans followed. The Spaniards returned again, and with the sale of Florida in

1819 to the United States it became a territory and then a state in 1845. In 1842 the area of Zara

Zote was opened up to settlement as part of the Armed Occupation Act. The Scots were the most

successful settlers who came to the area in 1885; they built the first golf course in 1886 and

helped establish Zara Zote as a community in 1902. It later was re-incorporated as a township in

1913. During this time it is believed that the US Postal Service had dictated the change in the

name inasmuch they wanted the name to be ‘one’ word instead of two words, and it was

“Americanized” into Sarasota. Sarasota was first governed by Hillsborough County which was

eventually split into different counties; it then became a part of Manatee County. In 1921

business leaders in Sarasota made the move to establish its own county that would better suit the

different areas of economic growth that they were experiencing. (Wikipedia, 2010).

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Sarasota County was once a sleepy little fishing village, but through two of the city’s

foremost business leaders, John Ringling and Bertha Honore Palmer, it quickly became a mecca

for the rich and famous of the day as a “summer vacation spot” during the winter season of the

northern states. The tourism and hospitality industry was born in Sarasota. To enhance the

experience of its visitors, Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota needed to provide core

services to their residents which include community health, environmental resource

management, parks and recreation, planning and community development, public safety,

community information and education and mobility.

In addition, Sarasota County realized it needed a separate entity that would promote

Sarasota as a destination for visitors. Visit Sarasota County was established and is one of the

most important divisions of Sarasota County. It is their responsibility to keep Sarasota ‘top of

mind’ in tourism and hospitality. In 2012 they recognized they needed a strategic plan in order to

make Sarasota competitive within Florida and the United States. They hired the firm of Zeitgeist

Consulting to work with them in conducting a survey of area stakeholders and then to craft a

strategic plan to assist them in reaching their goals with a timeline of 2014-2020. The 2020

Sarasota County Tourism Strategy was developed starting in September 2012 and finalized in

January 2013. (VisitSarasota.org, 2013). Following are the results of this study and the plan that

is now in place.

Vision, Mission, and Goals

Visit Sarasota County (VSC) is the official and primary provider of visitor information

for Sarasota County where tourism is the top industry. The Visitors Center is staffed by over

fifty knowledgeable volunteers and staff who welcome approximately 100,000 visitors

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and newcomers a year to the area. VSC matches $3 million of Tourism Development Tax Funds,

funded primarily with the 5% bed tax; along with $400,000 in private dollars contributed by the

tourism industry, to create a $3.4 million marketing campaign for Sarasota County. Their goal by

2020 is to reach $10 million in funds. (VisitSarasota.org, 2013).

The VSC’s vision states: “Sarasota will be a vibrant, cutting-edge destination that offers

the finest mix of culture, art, nature, sports, entertainment and business opportunities with the

most beautiful, award-winning beaches in America.” Their mission is to “Position Sarasota

County as the must-experience destination on Florida’s Gulf Coast.” (VisitSarasota.org, 2013.).

This analysis is primarily focused one division of the VSC: the Sarasota County Sport

Commission (SCSC). As stated in its mission statement, “The goal of the SCSC is to position

Sarasota County as the must-experience sports destination on Florida's Gulf Coast through

quality events and initiatives by fully utilizing regional assets.” The Commission accomplishes

this by supporting more than 50 sporting events per year and by promoting leisure sports

products such as golf, baseball, soccer, swimming and tennis. The Sarasota County Commission

further demonstrates its support by contributing in the massive growth of Nathan Benderson

Park, which is slated to be North America’s premier rowing and aquatic facility.

(VisitSarasota.org, 2013.).

PESTE ANALYSIS

Political Analysis

VSC receives 5% local bed tax to fund the promotion of Sarasota county tourism, which

includes the arts and culture; and sports and eco-tourism among other initiatives. Although, VSC

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and Sarasota County are working in conjunction in a regional manner with Manatee and

Charlotte counties, there is a threat of external political factors to consider from the State of

Florida, in particular the State Representatives and Governor Scott, who hold the funding in

many areas, in particular transportation. In addition, upcoming state elections can change the

makeup of our state representation, which can change the direction of their support which may

affect new funding coming into Sarasota County. There are many other counties in Florida vying

for the same funding Sarasota is for tourism dollars; and each representative and of course,

governor, will do what they need to ensure their election is successful.

Recently, Ananth Prasad, the FDOT Secretary, had promised Manatee and Sarasota

county officials that his department would find the funds needed to accelerate the necessary

changes to Interstate 75 and University Parkway. This particular interchange provides entry to

key sports complexes both in Sarasota and Manatee counties, including The Benderson’s

Aquatic Park, the Polo Fields and just as important the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.

The cost would be approximately $60 million and come from his department’s $9 billion budget.

But, during the state legislature conference committee last Tuesday, they removed a source of

money Prasad had previously hoped might pay for the project. “We’re going to continue to work

to try to get this project off the ground,” said FDOT Secretary Ananth Prasad on Tuesday. “I

think the budget’s just about getting locked down, but miracles do happen,” said Prasad.

(Bradenton Herald, Kennedy, 2014)

Economic Analysis

The growth within Sarasota County has created an employment gap between the

employers that need qualified staff and those that are seeking employment. Sarasota County has

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one of the lowest unemployment rates (5.8%) as compared toin the country (6.7%), and the state

(6.3%). (Homefacts, 2013). This can be a challenge due to the lack of qualified, educated

employees entering the hospitality industry. To address this issue both VSCVSC, and USFSM,

Sarasota Chamber and other leaders in the community , i.e. Sarasota Chamber, recognize this and

are working together to address the employment needs of a burgeoning sports tourism industry

through the Tomorrow Next Initiative which began in 2013.

“Initiative III.  A Ready-for-Work Labor Force

Talent4Tomorrow: Innovative, Solutions, Through New Partnership. "Florida faces an

emerging Talent Gap - an urgent shortage of resource as basic as food, more valuable

than gold and in higher global demand than oil. This crisis in human capital represents a

vast and growing unmet need for a highly skilled and educated workforce - our state's

most important resource for driving sustainable economic development and a diversified

economy." (Florida Council of 100, Closing the Talent Gap, nd).

In this initiative they are working with the local school systems from K-12, to technical

schools, colleges and universities to develop a program, a “cradle to grave” concept. Meaning

This means that when you children start school in Sarasota County the educators are committed

to giving the best education, and readying individuals for employment by local businesses, who

are also pledging to hire local local graduateswhenever they can. Some would also call this a

stopping of the ‘brain drain’ and creating a ‘brain trust’ that will jettison Sarasota to the next

level of success. (Sarasota Chamber, 2013).

Social Analysis

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The City of Sarasota is the first city of Sarasota County and according to the U.S. Census

count of 2010 has over 58,000 residents, a small portion15% of the counties’ population of

379,000. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014). The City has gone through various forms of government,

but at this time elects its city commissioners and has a city manager. The county also elects its

county commissioners and has a county manager. On average the annual income of web visitors

to VSC is $107,000 per year and once here once visiting Sarasota they stay 6.9 days and spend

on average $3019.00. (VisitSarasota.org 2013). Nicole Rissler, Sports Director, with the Sports

Commission reported that in 2013 they sold 67,549 hotel rooms in Sarasota County and they

expect that number to rise increase in 2014 to 82,444 with the additional sports events coming

into Sarasota. In 2013 they had 66,901 sports participants, which didn’t did not include

spectators. One of the 2020 Sarasota County Tourism Strategy’s is to have one million overnight

visitors by 2020. As noted in the Economic Analysis there is a need for a more educated

workforce to fill the need created by an increase in sports tourism visitors. In order to do this

they have recommended that the potential workforce, including current residents, need to

become more aware of the impact that tourism has on their community and that there are careers

available in hospitality. (VisitSarasota.org, 2013).

Per the U.S. Census Bureau, there was expected to be 390,000 people living in Sarasota

by 2013, which is a 3% increase over 2012. The average age of a Sarasota County resident is

52.6, which is interesting since most visitors and residents alike believe this is a much older city

and county, but quite the opposite is true. In addition, the data reveals that women make up

52.3% of Sarasota County’s population. You can see the biggest difference beginning at age 45-

49 where women begin the trend of outnumbering men almost 2-1 by the time they reach the age

of 80+. The median income from 2008-2012 is $48,900 which is almost 45% less than the

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average visitors median income of $107,000. The median home value is projected to be

$191,600 with 75.3% home ownership. Comparatively, 29.1% of gross monthly housing rent

ranges $750-$999 and 34.79% ranges between $1000-$1499. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014).The

cost of living in Sarasota is considered high for many residents when compared to the average

income, which is backed up by the data presented by the U.S. Census Bureau’s statistics. The

U.S. Census Bureau statistics also support the fact that Sarasota is primarily in the service sector,

which is reflected in part by the low wages being paid, because 11.6% of Sarasota cCounty

residences are officially living in the poverty level. It is recommended that Sarasota business

leaders and officials need to address this issue if they want to retain the brain trust. Many

Sarasota people in the hospitality and tourism industry are unable to support themselves and

families due to the low wages and high rent which is why many choose not to go into that

industry, or move away to find better opportunities. It is recommended that Sarasota business

leaders and officials need to address the issue of wages and high cost of living if they want to

retain the brain trust they’re working so hard to keep. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014).

Technology Analysis

Sarasota County and VSC spend a great deal of their resources keeping venues state-of-

the-art to be more competitive in the sports tourism industry and are always looking for areas to

identify as possible tourism attractions. Case in point, . Sarasota County, VSC and many of the

business leaders in the community both agreed that the “phosphate pit” in the county could be

better used as an aquatic park rather than a fishing venue. They had the vision to see that there

was an opportunity to bring sports tourism and revenue into the county via rowing. "It is

definitely going to be an attractor for us in the realm of sports tourism," said Jason Puckett,

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sports director for the Sarasota County Sports Commission. “Anyone with flat land can build a

baseball or soccer field. Not everyone has a 400-acre lake that can host these kinds of water

sports. I think it sets us apart from those other destinations." Puckett said. (VisitFlorida.orgcom,

2012).

Environmental Analysis

Sarasota’s natural beauty and surrounding environmental advantages, with its beaches,

parks, major league baseball, youth baseball and soccer fields lends itself to a sport tourism

industry. Now that Sarasota has added world recognized rowing facilities there are even more

reasons to visit Sarasota.

“Aquatic athletes from around Florida, the nation and the world will make a bigger splash

in Sarasota starting next year. The multimillion-dollar Florida World Aquatic Center built

at Nathan Benderson Park is expected to become one of the world’s top sites for such

sports as rowing, triathlons, canoe and kayak racing, paddle boarding – and the ever-

colorful dragon boat regattas, officials say.” “We will be one of the top five venues in the

world," said Blackketter, noting that the 2,000-meter rowing course will offer the only

tournament FISA venue in North America. FISA is rowing’s international governing

body. (VisitFlorida.org, 2012).

Internal Environment

In a recent strategic report released last year, VSC’s most recent goals include achieving

one million annual visitors per year and achieve top-of-mind awareness as an international

destination. VSC has a strong portfolio of venues to attract world class events and as noted

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above, the newest is Nathan Benderson Aquatic Center and Park, a world-class rowing facility

and home to the 2017 World Rowing Championship. It expected that this one event will bring

over 40,000 spectators, and many more visitors will be coming to the area that year and hundreds

of thousands more in the interim years.

VSC has one of the most powerful and effective tourism media relations in the State

hosting or assisting more than 250 travel writers annually from various media outlets, including

print and online.  Annually, the VSC is also responsible for generating hundreds of millions

of media impressions. In addition, the VSC has public relations and sales representation in the

United Kingdom and Germany. VSC hosts exclusive networking opportunities for the

tourism industry through Hospitality Connections and monthly Partner Coffee. They also

produce the only "Official Sarasota County Visitors Guide", distributed to 135,000 potential

visitors annually. The website of Visit Sarasota County, www.visitsarasota.org, is the official

and comprehensive visitor website for Sarasota County, serving vacationers, meeting planners,

sports event holders and travel agents. In 2011, the website had over 5 million pages viewed and

over 1 million visits. VSC does extensive research on visitor trends, tourist spending, hotel

occupancy and average daily rate numbers. (VisitSarasota.org, 2013)

Task Environment

VSC competes with other Gulf Coast counties for tourism dollars. Lee County is one of

their strongest competitors in the market. They also have a Visitor Commission as well as a

Sports Commission. Like Sarasota they have a bed tax rate of 5% and have been in the tourism

game longer than Sarasota. But, Lee County is at a disadvantage because most of their facilities

are aging and not as equipped to attract national and international events. They do, however,

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offer grants to sports tourism events to help lure them to Lee County. They also have a strong

partnership with local hotels that have their own board that meets to plan accommodations for all

large events that come to the area. They have a strong commitment to earn and retain all sporting

events that come to Lee County. It should be noted that Sarasota hotels also have their own hotel

association in which they do many of the same things that Lee County does to promote tourism

and group hotel bookings. Sarasota County will need to keep a lot of the competitive advantages

that they currently hold to stay ahead of Lee County in the future.

Competitive Advantage

VSC’s largest most important competitive advantage is the amount of support from the

local community and business support. There is a real synergy between many groups who have

the best intentions for Sarasota’s futurees. This is evident with the 2020 Sarasota County

Tourism Strategy which was done in 2012-2013, in which they enlisted received over 200

responses to their survey, and met with many local businesses and civic leaders in the

community to develop a strategy to ensure Sarasota’s success in tourism and hospitality.

(VisitSarasota.org, 2013).

The Benderson Development Corp., whose founder, Nathan Benderson, is the man for

whom the Aquatic Center is named, is one of the country’s largest developers especially in

Sarasota. They donated the land and money to create the aquatic center and promote Sarasota

County because they call Sarasota home. Nathan Benderson Aquatics Center and Park is a

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world-class aquatics and rowing facility which features a premier 2,000 meter regatta course, the

only International Rowing Federation-approved course in North America. Upon final completion

in 2015, the facility will include up to 10 race lanes, a coaching lane, a wave attenuation system

also used as a TV lane, a multi-function boathouse and athlete training center, starting huts and

finishing towers, a spectator-viewing area including a grandstand, and a 5K track around the

venue. (Worldclassrowing.com/venues, nd).

The Benderson Corporation has also partnered with the Taubman Corporation to develop

one of the newest malls in Florida and in the country nearby the aquatic center. They

areBenderson is also building some of the newest hotels, through their subsidiary Buffalo

Lodging throughout the interchange area. Their commitment to Sarasota County also went above

and beyond by extending a local road at their own expense in order to alleviate traffic congestion

at the University Pkwy and I75 interchange. Of course, it should be noted this is not all altruistic

ventures, but rather savvy business decisions that will propel Sarasota in the sports tournament

arena, which is part of the 2020 Sarasota County Tourism Strategic plan.

Additional venues in Sarasota include The Longboat Key Club which not only offers a

marina, a beachfront resort, and golf course, it also has USTA award winning facility with 20

Har-tru tennis courts and stadium seating which hosts up to 3,500 spectators. The Sarasota Polo

Club covers 130 acres with nine meticulously groomed and irrigated polo fields and a regulation-

sized arena which hosts a regular Polo season; and two stick and ball fields. The Sarasota Polo

Club is one of the largest clubs in the country.

Sarasota has been home to baseball for over 50 years, and during that time many teams

had called Sarasota home. In 2009, the Cincinnati Reds moved to Arizona leaving Sarasota

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without a team for the first time in its long tenured baseball history. The Sarasota Tomorrow

Initiative was started by the Sarasota Chamber, in partnership with the City of Sarasota, Sarasota

County, and with VSC to address this issue and many others affecting the growth of Sarasota

County. They joined forces to lobby the Baltimore Orioles to come to Sarasota. Between local

partnerships, Sarasota County taxpayers and the Orioles, more than $30 million was spent in

redesigning and renovating Ed Smith Stadium and the adjoining Buck O’Neil Complex. It is now

the Florida home of the Baltimore Orioles, which features an 8,000-seat stadium, club rooms,

four additional onsite training fields with one practice half-field, five offsite training fields, a

clubhouse. (Greater Sarasota Chamber, nd)

The YMCA also has a long history with four different locations throughout Sarasota

County. The YMCA’s Selby Aquatic Center features both indoor and outdoor swimming

aquatics facilities; which features a 50 meter competition pool and additional warm-up area. In

2013 they hosted the annual Pan American Masters Championship which brought over 2000

competitors and almost 5,000 spectators to Sarasota, many first time visitors to the area. They are

scheduled to host many more swimming tournaments in part because of the Pan American

Masters and the spread of goodwill through those who participated and the spectators. Once they

come to Sarasota they look for reasons to come back, another VSC goal.

Challenges Ahead

The biggest challenges ahead lie in the transportation infrastructure which needs to be

developed to support the expected influx of visitors to the area, over one million, which is almost

three times the current population.. Sarasota and Manatee officials and along with FDOT

representatives from Jacksonville met to discuss their commitments for the I-75 University

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Parkway project. At the core of their discussion was the traffic gridlock at the University

Parkway and I-75 Interchange which is expected to worsen when the new Mall at University

Town Center opens in October 2014. In addition, the popularity of the Aquatic Center as a sports

venue continues to grow with many events already booked for the remainder of the year,

including dragon races, triathlons, and a national breast cancer rowing tournament. FDOT

pledged to raise about approximately $60 million for the accelerated construction of the new

interchange, (five to seven years ahead of schedule) with the goal to fund it within the next two

years. This would mean that local county officials and developers would have to fully commit

their resources to fortify the road network around it if the resolution gets funded and passed.

Sarasota and Manatee County officials agree that they want to build a “double-diverging

diamond” style interchange, which would be the first of its kind in Florida and would be

symbolic, stating that “two counties are standing together”. The goal would be to get it into

construction with completion well before the World Class Rowing event of 2017. (Kennedy &

Moschella, 2014). As noted in the Economic Analysis earlier, Governor Scott and the legislature

has recently rescinded the funds promised for this construction therefore the interchange will be

put on hold for the near foreseeable future. This presents a problem for VSC and Sarasota

County. They will have to petition and apply pressure to find the funds within the FDOT budget

so they can continue to develop the area and meet the 1,000,000 visitors expected by 2020 and

most likely over 500,000 by 2017.

Plans were also discussed to extend Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and Lorraine Road

south to Fruitville Road, and build an overpass from Lakewood Ranch Boulevard to Cattleman

Road. “These commitments and improvements will offer additional alternatives to move traffic

through additional means, and relieve pressure on the I-75/University Parkway Interchange,”

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said Todd J. Pokrywa, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch’s visitor Co-president for strategic affairs, in

an email to the Sarasota-Herald Tribune. Benderson has already spent in excess of $20 million

improving roads and infrastructure in the vicinity of the mall and at Benderson Park on

Cattleman Road which extends form Fruitville Road to University Parkway. Another local

developer, SMR, has already committed to help fund existing and future road improvements in

the Lakewood Ranch area by contributing $7.5 million (Kennedy & Moschella, 2014).

In addition to road infrastructure needs the VSC determined that additional flights and

airlines that need to be added to the Sarasota Manatee International Airport in order to support

the influx of visitors expected. This was recently discussed at a SRQ Magazine sponsored event

to discuss tourism and hospitality needs to make Sarasota a successful sports tourism destination.

Cihan Cobanoglu, Dean of the College of Hospitality and Technology Leadership at University

of Florida Sarasota-Manatee, said air service would also be critical. He noted that he is hosting

international visitors at an event in Clearwater, Florida because outside visitors are able to save

$700 to $800 in travel costs by flying into the Tampa International Airport and lodging nearby

rather than flying into Sarasota. "It is hard to justify that difference in expense for the sake of

convenience," Cobanoglu said. (SB2 Symposium, 2014)

Conclusion and Recommendations

After reviewing the research and the VSC 2020 Sarasota County Tourism Strategy, it is

apparent that Sarasota is well on its way to becoming one of the premiere sports tourism

destinations in the country. Although there are many hurdles to overcome, based on survey

feedback from local business and civic leaders there is a real consensus on what will make

Sarasota continue to grow, one of which is sports tourism. They have specific goals, objectives

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and tactics, which will ensure Sarasota’s continued growth and success. But, as with any

strategic plan it must be implemented and have complete buy-in from the stakeholders. Prior to

this research Sarasota and its governing bodies seemed to follow the Learning and Emergent

Approach which is why it’s taken Sarasota so long to catch up to other counties like Lee County.

It also points to the challenge now faced with infrastructure and human capital. The old adage,

‘build it they will come’ is true, but the county is not ready. They didn’t plan on how they were

going to get the funding to accelerate the roads and airport improvements needed or how they

were going to find the staffing levels needed for the growing number of visitors expected. Now

with this recent study VSC has taken the more modern Complexity Approach in that they’ve

included all the stakeholders within the region to create a viable and unified strategic plan to

grow Sarasota into 2020.

Recommendations

In the final analysis it is believed that VSC has taken the necessary steps to ensure

Sarasota’s continued growth. But, as with all great ideas and desires to be the leader in the area,

they may have acted prematurely to attract large sporting tournament events without the proper

infrastructure already in place. In order for them to reach their goals they need to develop

formulate a plan for the roads and airports, and human capital in order to handle the influx of

1,000,000 visitors that they want by 2020. Below are recommendations to VSC to enhance their

strategic plan and reach their goals.

Hire a lobbying firm to work in Tallahassee to negotiate with the Florida State

Representatives in theto receive the funding needed to complete necessary infrastructure

projects, i.e. roads, highways and interchanges.

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VSC should also work with our US Senators and US Representatives on behalf of their

constituents to receive federal funding for infrastructure support, i.e. local airport.

It is recommended that an outside marketing firm be hired to develop a marketing plan

and campaign in order to get community buy-in to create and maintain sports tourism.

It is highly recommended that Sarasota County perform public workshops with business

leaders and local residents to gather information to get their perspectives of Sarasota

county growth and future in tourism.

Hire a consulting firm to develop alternative plans in lieu of FDOT funding to still meet

their goals of improving area roads and highways in time for the 2017 World Rowing

Championship.

Hire a consulting firm to look at privatization of local transportation entities, i.e. airport

and bus transit system.

Develop a strategic alliance with other counties in order to present a united front for

lobbying purposes.

With these added recommendations and efforts already implemented, and the current

strategic formation in place the VSC is well on their way to meeting their goals of 2020. The

synergy that is already evident within the VSC and the community along with the

recommendations noted will ensure Sarasota’s success into the future and survive any

potential external threats yet unrealized.

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Your learning from this project: This section is more personal. You may explain what you have learned when preparing this project. Some examples may include your learning about

leadership and strategic management theories and concepts, your learning about applying these theories and concepts into practice, providing recommendations for strategic change, working in a group, time management, preparing a business report and impact of this project on your career

plans (if any). Personal Reflections

In this project we learned a great deal about the complexity of a business. You can have a

great “product” but if you have no means of delivering it or support it than the “product” will

fail. The external threats to a company can come from anyone person or entity. Even the

most prepared business cannot account for every obstacle in the future. They can only do

their best to be prepared for the future. We also learned how much goes into attracting

tourists to Sarasota. There is a lot of money spent on attracting tourist but the revenue gains

from them coming are extraordinary.  We took on a little bit more of a challenge with picking

the county but it gave us a wealth of knowledge about our local tourism industry which I

think will be useful as we move forward in this area.

Anthony Henson

In the course of doing the company analysis, I learned a lot about how many different

entities and departments have to work together within a city to achieve certain goals. The

objectives and projects that are set out for the county, a lot of people such as commissioners

and state officials need to get involved. Whereas, in a private firm, they may define a goal,

implement a strategy and accomplish it with the funds set aside specifically for that goal. A

lot more elements, including taxpayer money take a lot more time for things to get done and

approval is passed when dealing with government policies and procedures.

Molly Moore

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In tThis class, with the text and with your teaching, along with and the case, studies,

company studies and critical issues papers, I have learnedhave taught me that you have to look

beyond the surface of what you may think you know about a particular company and industry.

There are many underlying issues, challenges, opportunities, strengths and weaknesses that must

be identified, researched and ‘vetted’ before developing a strategic plan. More importantly, you

have to know where you want the organization to be within the industry and its place in the

world. Secondly, and just as important, you want to know what your place is within the

organization, because ultimately it will help you decide your career path and what you want to

accomplish. Finally, the biggest lesson was that you need to implement a plan and be open to

changing it in order to achieve your goals.

The company study was interesting in that it wasn’t just one entity making the developing the

strategic plan and making decisions. You learned it was a collaborative effort with all the

stakeholders of Sarasota County and how important it is to have community buy-in. This in turn

made you think and act more collaboratively with your team. One of the most important

takeaways was to listen, then ask questions and seek out opinions. You always need to hear what

the other ‘party’ is thinking and saying in order to act responsibly and with collaboration in

mind, which inevitably gets you closer to your goals and makes for a win/win success for

everyone.

Sharon Litchfield

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References

Bradenton Herald

(Kennedy, 2014) Retrieved from: :

http://www.bradenton.com/2014/04/22/5115756/money-for-new-i-75university-

p p arkway.html#storylink=cpy

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HomeFacts, nd

. Retrieved from:

http://www.homefacts.com/unemployment/Florida/Sarasota-County/Sarasota.html

Sarasota Chamber of Commerce (2013) Retrieved from:

Retrieved from: http://www.sarasotachamber.com/chamber_information/initiatives.aspx

SRQ Magazine, 2014. Retrieved from:

Retrieved from: http://srqinsidethebrand.com/2014/03/

2020 Sarasota County Tourism Strategy, 2013.Retrieved from:

http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/articles/2012/june/2283-sarasota-builds-a-mecca-for-

rowers-and-triathletes.html

U.S. Census Bureau

State and County QuickFacts. Data derived from Population Estimates, American

Community Survey, Census of Population and Housing, County Business Patterns,

Economic Census, Survey of Business Owners, Building Permits, Census of Governments

Last Revised: Thursday, 27-Mar-2014 Retrieved from:

http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk

Vision Sarasota County 22

Visit Sarasota, 2013. Retrieved from:

Retrieved from: http://www.visitsarasota.org/about-visit-sarasota-county,

(2020 Sarasota County Tourism Strategy, 2013)

Retrieved:

Wikipedia, Sarasota, 2010. footnote 10. Retrieved from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarasota,_Florida#Sister_cities, footnote 10. Retrieved at:

"Did You Know... City Trivia P - T".

World Class Rowing Association, nd. Retrieved from:August 2010.

http://www.worldclassrowing.com/venues/nathan-benderson-park