HCBA Lawyer Magazine No. 34, Issue 6 | Page 20

BliclaSSlearningaBouttamPaBaYcommunitY
Bar leadership Institute Chairs : ­Hillary­Thornton­ – ­Shumaker , ­Loop­ & ­Kendrick­LLP , ­Paige­Tucker­ – ­Office­of­the­Attorney­General­ & ­Idalis­Vento­ – ­Sammis­Law­Firm
This year ’ s BLI Class has had a very busy Spring !
On January 23 , the Class toured J . C . Newman ’ s Cigar Factory , the last operating family-owned cigar factory in the country . The Class was even taken down into the archives , where J . C . Newman keeps cigar-related artifacts , like the last bag of tobacco that entered the U . S . from Cuba before the embargo was imposed . Additionally , the
Class learned the various ways in which J . C . Newman gives back to the community , including by contributing portions of its proceeds from certain cigars to support arts education in public schools .
On February 23 , the Class met with Don Bly , EVP / General Counsel of Strategic Property
Partners , the developers of Water Street . Not only was the Class given insight into the intention behind Water Street , it was also given hints about upcoming openings through a 3-D interactive rendering of the Channelside District that showed both the changes that have occurred in the last 10 years as well as new attractions set to open soon .
On March 6 , the Tampa Police Department and Tampa Fire Rescue hosted the Class at its training facility . The Class was able to participate in training simulations to experience making difficult split-second decisions , a front row seat to a ( fake ) police chase , the ability to test out the thermal cameras used to help locate victims in a fire , and the opportunity to meet a K-9 officer and the police horses !
On April 5 , the Class got a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of Amalie Arena and the Tampa Bay Lightning , including a meeting with Senior Counsel for Vinik Sports Group , Chris Brandon . The tour occurred the day after Madonna performed at Amalie Arena , so the Class got to see
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