Clearwater, FL, June 8, 2007—UT’s Entrepreneur and Family Business Center (EFBC) Internship Program is a fledgling pioneer course in college and Tampa Bay history. While some colleges have programs dedicated to either a family business program or an entrepreneurship program, finding a college that has excelled at both is difficult. Indeed, the closest to Tampa Bay is DePaul University in Chicago. With the help of Tampa Bay business men and women, such as PostcardMania’s CEO, Joy Gendusa, the program will integrate both, for the purpose of creating entrepreneurs and helping the Tampa Bay economy and business world.
This program should establish a more steady business community base and reduce demographics that show students leaving the Tampa Bay area due to meager demands in the workforce. It’s a win-win situation for students and business owners. Businesses will be able to expand at a faster clip by inviting students to get some hands-on training, and the students benefit by doing so.
As one of the key businesses in this plan, PostcardMania’s CEO, Gendusa, has stepped onboard as EFBC’s Marketing Committee Chairman, as well as opening up her company as a resource. Her Vice President of Public Relations, Karla Jo Helms, will mentor young interns writing press releases and other promotions to be distributed for events and media.
The mastermind behind the program is Dr. Dianne Welsh. Dr. Welsh is the James W. Walter Distinguished Chair of Entrepreneurship at University of Tampa's John H. Sykes College of Business. She is a professor in Management at the University and is a recognized scholar in international franchising and international entrepreneurship. "Our program is experiential, so that (students are) learning from real business people in the community," said Welsh.
Welsh is also the Director of the Florida Entrepreneur & Family Business Center. The center won the Family Firm Institute Interdisciplinary Award for programs and service to family businesses in 2006 – the third university recipient in the Family Firm Institute’s 20 year history. Welsh said that her purpose for the Center is to create a base that serves the Tampa Bay area and becomes a major economic development asset within Florida and the entire Southeast United States.
“My intention is to help young people become successful entrepreneurs and help with the economic development of Tampa Bay. As a local business owner, I feel it’s my responsibility to help when I can,” says Gendusa.
The other successful entrepreneurs and corporate executives that are contributing their time and business acumen on Gendusa’s marketing committee are:
Joe Bourdow, President of Valpak; Geoffrey Dyer, CEO of Lifestyle Fitness; Jean McNally, President of EconoOffice; Marc Mandy, Founder of Classified Technologies; Dr. Jody Thompson, Director of Naimoli Institute for Business Strategy at UT; JB Siegel, CEO of Mind Inventions and John Barrett, CEO of First Citrus Bank.
About PostcardMania:
PostcardMania is a full service postcard direct mail marketing company which includes graphic design, printing, mailing list acquisition and mailing services with free marketing advice. PostcardMania employs over 140 people, has seen positive expansion every year since its inception and is currently on a 23 million-dollar-revenue run rate for 2007. They have won many awards for their creativity and marketing farsightedness, such as the MarCom International Awards, the Stevie Awards, the Inc 500 List, the Creativity Annual Awards and the Webmaster awards – all of which the underlying theme contributing to their accomplishments is helping companies all over the nation expand. They print 4 million and mail 2 million postcards representing over 350 business, finance and industrial clients each week. Visit www.postcardmania.com
About Dr. Dianne Welsh:
Not only is Dr. Welsh is the James W. Walter Distinguished Chair of Entrepreneurship and a professor in Management at the University of Tampa, she is the co-editor of comprehensive volumes on global franchising, including two volumes on international franchising in emerging markets and two on industrialized markets. From 2000-05, Dr. Welsh founded and directed the programs in entrepreneurship at John Carroll University in Cleveland while fostering partnerships with local business and outreach efforts. She is also the owner of Family Business First International, a strategic planning firm specializing in entrepreneurial leadership and employee reward systems. She can be reached at dwelsh@ut.edu.
About University of Tampa's John H Sykes College of Business:
The John H. Sykes College of Business combines a strong liberal arts foundation with a broad-based business core. Through practical experiences and an advanced business curriculum, students receive a comprehensive education. Specialized areas of study include business undergraduate majors and minors; graduate degrees; and certificate programs. Students can interact with the business community through internships, consulting projects, international programs, and the Centers and Institutes. UT’s relationship with more than 700 Tampa Bay area leaders provides opportunities for professional networking. Visit www.ut.edu/
