Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis will give his prediction on the state’s economic future this week at Focus on 2018: A Tampa Bay Economic Forecast. It takes place Thursday, Jan. 25 from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort, 1160 Gulf Blvd., Clearwater. Mr. Patronis is a native Floridian born and raised in Panama City. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014, representing his hometown region in the Florida Panhandle. He was appointed to serve on Florida’s Public Service Commission, as well as the Constitution Revision Commission, which meets once every twenty years to propose changes to the state constitution.
Joining Patronis will be Visit Florida CEO Ken Lawson who will provide a forecast on tourism in the state. He’s responsible for leading the state’s official tourism marketing corporation, which serves as Florida’s official source for travel planning to visitors across the globe. VISIT FLORIDA has 136 full- and part-time positions in Florida and an international team of contracted staff covering Canada, China, India, Germany, Latin America and the United Kingdom.