As I looked out over the 2012 Taste of New Tampa@, I made a promise to myself to be more involved with the event next year. With fewer than 20 restaurants participating and fewer than 2,000 attendees for the first time in recent memory (probably ever), I realized that without plenty of restaurants — and yes, beer and wine always helps, too — there is no Taste.

So, the day after the 2012 Taste, which was moved from the Shops at Wiregrass mall to Paul R. Wharton High in New Tampa about a month before the event, I called my good friend and New Tampa Chamber of Commerce president Rachel Haviland and told her that I wanted to make an offer to take control of the 2013 Taste, which just happens to be its big 20thyear milestone anniversary! I will keep you posted!

A Video Taste & More?

For those who don’t know, my B.S. degree from the University of Florida isn’t actually in print, but in broadcast journalism. I have written everything from radio and TV commercials to a TV pilot based on the renowned world boxer rankings of The Ring boxing magazine, so transitioning the Neighborhood News into a multimedia production company, while imposing from a technology standpoint for me, is actually a dream that I would like to make a reality...soon. To that end, my crew and I filmed much of this year’s Taste and now have a four-minute recap of the event — and shorter video packages on some of the participating businesses — available for viewing now on our website (NTNeighborhoodNews.com).

I hope you’ll check out our first foray into video production and call our office manager Nikki Bennett at 910-2575 to set up an appointment to discuss affordable videos and multimedia promotion packages for your business or upcoming event.