THE PLAYERS Championship business reception announced

St Johns County Industrial Development Authority chair Peter Apol announced to local Historic City News reporters in St Augustine that they will collaborate with other county agencies to host a business reception with Governor Rick Scott and invited international business leaders on May 10th.

The event will capitalize on the influx of more than 130,000 people attending THE PLAYERS Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach during the week of May 7-13; according to the public relations agency for the Authority.

“It is critical that we use this tournament to target key business leaders and showcase to them the benefits of doing business in St Johns County,” Apol said. “Not doing so would be a tremendous missed opportunity to promote future job growth and business development.”

Spokesperson Kerri Stewart with Infinity Global Solutions, LLC, a consultant to the Authority, described THE PLAYERS Championship as an annual, week-long golf tournament held each May that draws thousands of people from around the world to St Johns County.

The business reception will be by invitation only for 350 guests on Thursday, May 10 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Stadium Village adjacent to the TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse.

The agencies hosting this reception include:

St Johns County Industrial Development Authority
St Augustine – St Johns County Airport Authority
St Johns County Visitors and Convention Bureau
St Johns County Chamber of Commerce

“More than 300 businesses invest in hospitality and sponsorship programs at the golf tournament, which has an annual economic impact of more than $150 million,” Stewart said. Corporate sponsors also contribute to the cost of producing this event for the invited dignitaries.

While St Johns County is already a well-known tourism and recreation destination, the St Johns County Industrial Development Authority promotes the area as a center of business; offering a well-educated workforce, an excellent quality of life, direct access by highway, waterway and airport that offers great opportunities for new and expanding businesses.

Members of the St Johns County Industrial Development Authority serve without pay and are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. The Authority operates without receiving any funding from county or ad valorem taxes. Over the past 30 years, the Authority has issued industrial revenue bonds totaling more than $500 million dollars and keeps a small percentage of the bonds written to cover its cost of operations. The Authority targets businesses typically considering capital projects of $2 million, or more.