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Bar leadership Institute Chairs : Alberto “ Tito ” Gonzalez – ImlerLaw ; HaneenKantar – Ferrentino + Brotz ; ZaneW . Katz – Trenam , etal . & Kimberly – PorterWrightMorris & ArthurLLP
Sofar , BLIhasbeen incredible , andwehave manyexcitingmodulesin thenextfewmonths .
The Hillsborough County Bar Association ’ s Bar Leadership Institute ( BLI ) Class of 2024- 2025 had a fantastic Fall ! The Class kicked off the year with a reception where we met and found out what BLI had in store for us . our first two Modules involved what I now consider “ must do ” tours for anyone in Tampa . First , the BLI Class visited J . C . Newman
Cigar Company . Located in Ybor City in “ El Reloj ,” J . C . Newman has operated for well over a century and is the last of Tampa ’ s original cigar factories still in operation . We met with drew Newman , who told us about his background ( he ’ s the first in his family to attend law school ) and his family ’ s history in the cigar industry . Then came the tour where we got to see and hear about the Company ’ s history and current operations . We saw the factory ’ s Master Hand Rollers and the antique , hand-operated cigar machines at work , providing a peek into a unique and important part of Tampa ’ s history .
In November , we went to the historic Tampa Theatre for another walk through Tampa history . We learned about the movie palace
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The Bar leadership Institute class visiting the port of Tampa in January .
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