Friday, December 8, 2017

FREE Holiday Shuttle Service for Light The Heights!

Support the Seminole Heights community on Sunday!
The holidays are a special time of the year, where magic exists in the hope of the new year, and the compassion and selflessness of the giving season.

The last few months have been quite difficult for the Seminole Heights area. However, with the help of the Tampa Bay community, we can help the Heights come back even stronger!

The Heights Urban Core Chamber is teaming up with local businesses and HART to Light the Heights on December 10th!
 

The event kicks off Sunday, with a motorcycle ride coordinated by Members of Monica Hoffa's family. The ride will roar through Seminole Heights, into Southeast Seminole Heights, to visit the four memorial sites. It will start in Lutz and will regroup at the Tampa Greyhound Track, before rolling down Nebraska Avenue.

Local restaurants, bars, stores, etc. will offer specials throughout the day. Once the sun goes to rest, you can enjoy the lights of Seminole Heights!

HART Holiday Shuttle Route
To show our support for the Seminole Heights community, we will be operating a FREE Holiday-themed Shuttle (with Santa) on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m, with service every 30 minutes. The holiday-themed In-Tower will circulate along a route with 18 stops at participating Seminole Heights' businesses.

Light the Heights is a great opportunity to Shop Local!

With the FREE shuttle in place, event officials highly recommend parking in designated lots and taking the shuttle between businesses throughout the day. Help reduce congestion in the area, and your stress level!

Join us on Sunday, as we come together to Light The Heights!


Thursday, December 7, 2017

HART and Rumba 106.5 Team Up to "Stuff-a-Bus"

Help us Stuff-a-Bus December 11-15!
HART and local radio station Rumba 106.5 are partnering to Stuff-a-Bus for families that have relocated to Hillsborough County from Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.

A holiday-themed In-Towner will be staged for donations at the iHeart Media radio station next week (December 11-15).

Donations will be collected Monday - Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. We are looking for new, unwrapped, clothing, non-perishable foods, small household items, and toys.

This year, we hope to “Stuff” several buses with items that will benefit the people of Puerto Rico, who have been displaced by Hurricane Maria and have resettled in the Tampa Bay area. We are working with the Missions of Miracles Foundation, an organization "dedicated to assisting families and their pets when tragedy, emergency, or natural disaster occur." Missions of Miracles will help distribute the collected donations throughout the county.

There will be a live broadcast from the donation site with Rumba on-air personality Angel Johnny on December 15, from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

'Tis the season! Stop by iHeart Media (4002 W. Gandy Blvd. Tampa, FL, 33611) next week to help us Stuff-a-Bus for new members of our community!


Monday, December 4, 2017

HART Announces Selection of Jeffrey Seward as Interim CEO

Today the HART Board of Directors appointed Jeffrey Seward to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective December 4, while the Board conducts a national search for a permanent replacement.

The Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve Seward, a 6-year HART employee who currently serves as Chief Financial Officer, to succeed Katharine Eagan who recently announced her departure after nearly eight years of service, to be CEO of the Port Authority of Allegheny County, Pa. Her last day at HART will be January 5.

A graduate of Columbia College, Seward also holds a Master of Public Administration degree from California Lutheran University. Prior to joining HART, he made valuable contributions while working as the Chief Financial Planning Officer for Sarasota County. As Chief Financial Planning Officer, he was responsible for the management and execution of the County's billion dollar annual budget, managing to build reserves to the point where very few services were required to be cut during the height of the recession. He also was instrumental in the financing strategy and planning for a $32 million major league baseball facility, which led to the Baltimore Orioles' making Sarasota its new spring training home.

"Jeff is a highly respected individual with the experience necessary to manage an agency as complex as HART," said HART Board Chair Commissioner Lesley "Les" Miller. "His 31 years of  experience in local government, private-sector and military experience makes him the perfect fit, and his already strong knowledge of HART and plans for the future of the agency will help ensure a smooth transition period for the agency. We are grateful for Jeff's strong commitment to HART."

Seward originally joined HART in 2011 as Chief Financial Officer, where he is responsible for account & financial reporting, budget, cash management, internal audit, procurement, contracts administration, grants & planning, environmental management sustainability and project management.   

Seward has distinguished himself as a dynamic and results-driven CFO who has consistently developed balanced budgets, developed strong financial policies,  ISO 14001:2004 certification for its Environmental Sustainability and Management System (ESMS), established project management, joint procurements with PSTA, negotiated deals with MegaBus and Red Coach. Also, spearheaded the Regional Fare Collection System which will allow riders to travel throughout the greater Tampa Bay area using a single fare processing system.   

Driven by a profound commitment to public service, Seward was named 2014 CFO of the Year in the Tampa Bay Business Journal's government agency category. Seward speaks nationally and internationally on the agency's sustainability and carbon reduction initiatives to reduce the agency's impact on global warming. He was recently a guest speaker at the Annual Climate Change: Impacts and Responses conference at Anglia-Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.

He and his wife Theresa have four children; Noah 17, Tyler 23, Jordan 24, and Zachary 27.