Rod Irwin, Assistant City Manager with the City of Clearwater and Executive Director of the City’s Community Redevelopment Agency said that, “The CRA is happy to be able to support the expansion of GreatCircle Studios in our Technology District, which was created in part to nurture the growth of small businesses in the IT/Software industry. The company’s commitment to participate in the City’s new Virtual Incubator Program – a partnership with the Tampa Bay Innovation Center to provide business incubator and accelerator services to early- and mid-stage IT/Software companies located in the Technology District – is further evidence of the company’s commitment to strategic growth in the City of Clearwater. We look forward to working with GreatCircle Studios as they grow and prosper as a member of our IT/Software Technology District community.”

Speaking on behalf of GreatCircle Studios, Co-Founder and President Jason Stanard said, “As a long time business owner in downtown Clearwater – and one with a rapidly expanding business – we engaged the City of Clearwater to help us expand both our company as well as the downtown tech corridor. Without the help of the City of Clearwater and the CRA, with particular mention to Rod Irwin and Denise Sanderson [Assistant Director, City of Clearwater, Economic Development & Housing Department], GreatCircle Studios would not have been able to remain in the downtown area as we continue to grow as a company. I would like to personally thank them and look forward to a long and productiverelationship that helps grow the downtown Clearwater tech corridor.”

The move, completed on May 6th 2013, saw GreatCircle Studios move to new offices at 600 Cleveland Street in the heart of downtown Clearwater. The move also heralds the launch of GCS’s new business arm, Web Concierge, for which the company has recently added new staff, and is expected to continue to create new positions as this innovative web marketing service comes on line. “I would lastly like to say that we are very proud to be creating new jobs within the Clearwater region,” said Stanard, “Which we hope benefits the City, our company, and of course the people of Clearwater themselves.”

About GreatCircle Studios in 15 seconds:

GreatCircle Studios is a full service web design, SEO, web marketing and managed hosting service provider. Specializing in audience-driven methodologies, GCS helps its partners optimize their online visibility, drive targeted traffic to websites, generate measurable results and maximize revenue streams. GCS’ corporate offices are located in Clearwater, Florida, with additional offices in Washington, D.C. and NYC, New York. www.greatcirclestudios.com

About Jason Stanard in 20 seconds:

Jason founded GreatCircle Studios in 2007 having previously held key positions at EarthLink.com, CU Shopper, Webworld Technologies, and InsureSuite.com. A recognized industry expert in such fields as website development, SEO and online marketing programs, Jason has been nominated for the 2011 and 2012 Tampa Bay Technology Forums’ Rising Star Awards, and 2011 and 2012 Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Up-and-Comers Awards. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Clearwater Downtown Partnership and the Clearwater IT Initiative, and sits on the International Academy of Design & Technology (Tampa) Advisory Board. Jason is a regular guest on talk radio shows and online podcasts.

For more information or to interview Jason Stanard please contact Melissa Simonds at 727-216-8758 or email msimonds@greatcirclestudios.com

Assistant City Manager Rod Irwin:
rod.irwin@MyClearwater.com

Rod Irwin was selected in July 2005 to serve as Assistant City Manager for Economic Development and oversee the City’s economic and community redevelopment activities. He also serves as Executive Director of the Community Redevelopment Agency and has responsibility for oversight of the City’s primary enterprise operations.

Rod has extensive public sector experience, including 18 years as chief executive officer of municipalities throughout the country. Rod has also served as Assistant County Manager in Arlington County, Virginia and Strategic Development Project Manager for Arlington Economic Development, the County’s economic development agency. In both of these capacities he successfully led negotiations of major, mixed-use projects of critical importance to the County’s development plans.

Rod holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Tennessee and a M.P.A. from City University of New York. He is a graduate of the Program for Senior Executives in State/Local Government at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He also holds a Certificate in Real Estate Development and a Certificate in Real Estate Development Finance from the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C.

Assistant Director of Economic Development Denise Sanderson:
denise.sanderson@myclearwater.com

President of Clearwater downtown partnership Bill Sturtevant: billsturtevant49@gmail.com

CRA www.clearwater-fl.com/gov/depts/econ_devel/cra/

City of Clearwater www.myclearwater.com/gov/

Bank of America Tower Clearwater

This prominent 11-story, 134,306-square-foot professional office building is located in the heart of downtown Clearwater. Renovations to the entire building are well underway. Offering outstanding water views, the Bank of America Tower offers very competitive rates, nearby beachfront hotel accommodations, maintenance staff on-site, lobby banking, and ample parking.

Its central location is just a short walk from numerous restaurants, specialty shops, retail services, Clearwater’s Main Public Library, a historic U.S. Post Office, and City and County offices.

Available Office Space – Downtown

These properties are located in the City’s Enterprise Zone and Brownfields area which offers an assortment of tax incentives to businesses that create employment.

Class A Office Space Clearwater Garden – Bank of America Tower Building 600 Cleveland Street, Clearwater 33755

Building Facts: Total Building Area: 147,914 sq.ft Rentable Sq.Ft: 135,150 sq. ft Total Space Available: 39,764 sq. ft. Number of Floors: 11 Minimum Available: 799 sq. ft. Maximum Contiguous: 12,758 sq. ft. Minimum/Maximum Rent: $17.00-$20.00 psf Parking Space: 252 Parking Ratio: 4:1 incl garage Year Built: 1975

Stanard told 83 Degrees that “We are not an order taking, one-size-fits-all web design firm.” He went on to say that “We take a consultative approach with our clients, evaluating their business needs and offering them a website that fits those needs. At least 50 percent of my clients have had a bad experience with a design firm, so we try to be as responsive as possible answering the phones directly and getting things done on time and within budget. Caring for the client’s business and doing what is right for the client is our number one priority.”

Click here to read the full text of the interview.

About 83 Degrees Media

From their website: 83 Degrees Media tells the story of what’s new and what’s next in the Tampa Bay region — a new narrative for a new economy. We write for and about the creative, innovative, and influential people in and around Tampa Bay who are doing their part to move the region forward. Each week we report on the people, places, ideas and investments that make the Tampa Bay region attractive locally and competitive globally.

GreatCircle has entered into an agreement with the New York-based marketing and branding company NavisInk to form a New York area branch office for GreatCircle Studios. The agreement will allow New York area clients to personally meet with GreatCircle staff and work on their Web projects with a local representative.

GreatCircle president Jason Stanard said, “We have seen significant growth over the first part of this year and felt we had to expand our business locally as well as nationally. We specifically targeted the New York area where we already have an existing client base. We have found that clients sometimes prefer to work with a company that has a local presence where they can physically meet and discuss their projects. We have been working with NavisInk over the past two years so the move to expand our physical presence to New York just made sense.”

John DiFolco, GreatCircle rep for the New York area and owner of Navesink Group said, “Partnering with the premier Web design firm, GreatCircle Studios in Florida provides our clients new services while maintaining a personal local relationship that is desired when working on digital media projects. We are extremely excited to grow with GreatCircle Studios and build a strong digital marketing presence in the North East.”

GreatCircle Studios is currently expanding their technology staff and developing new services including Facebook Business marketing, Mobile Website creation and advanced Search Engine Optimization packages for small businesses.

Mr. Stanard commented on the company’s expansion saying, “We have been able to acquire top talent within the Clearwater/Tampa Bay area at competitive rates. This allows us to further expand within Florida as well as other geo-targeted areas around the U.S. I believe that a key element to our growth is our audience-driven approach to Web design and SEO. In today’s highly competitive marketplace I feel our client’s appreciate the type of personal service we deliver,” Stanard concluded.

For more info: http://www.greatcirclestudios.com/about-greatcircle-studios/new-york-city-office

GreatCircle Studios Contact Information

New York Office
John DiFolco
188 East Bergen Place
Suite 204
Red Bank, NJ 07701
Tel: (732) 637-9774
Email: nyc@greatcirclestudios.com

Main Office
Jason Stanard
33 N. Garden Ave., Ste 120
Clearwater, FL 33755
Tel: (877) 247-0452
Email: info@greatcirclestudios.com
Web: www.greatcirclestudios.com
Blog: seoblog.greatcirclestudios.com

GreatCircle Studios Management Bio’s

Jason Stanard, president. Jason’s experience includes working as a sales manager at EarthLink, Inc. (ELNK) and holding various sales and marketing positions with such successful Internet companies as NeoPets.com and InsureSuite.com. His industry experience has included selling almost every type of Web solution including Web site design and development as well as hosting, hardware and complex Web software solutions. Jason has also been featured on many radio talk shows speaking about Online Marketing and Search Engine Optimization. The past two years, 2010 and 2011, Jason has been nominated for the Tampa Bay Technology Forums’ Rising Star Award. This year he was also nominated for the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Up & Comers Award 2011.

John D. Stanard III, chief technology officer. In his diverse technology career he has been both a hands-on software developer and technology executive in the commercial and government IT sectors. With his first Internet firm, Webworld Technologies, Inc., John developed complex Web applications for public, private, non-profit and government organizations. John has worked with organizations such as CareerBuilder.com, the Navy Seabees, the Federal Aviation Administration, N.A.S.A., Goodwill Industries International and the U.S. State Department. A published technology author, his credits include co-authorship of two books Reality ColdFusion: Intranets and Content Management, Peachpit Press and Spectra e-Business Construction Kit, QUE Publishing, in addition to authoring numerous technology articles. He has twice been a finalist for the Arlington County, Virginia, E-Council Tech-E Technology Executive of the Year award (2002 and 2004).

About The Navesink Group

The Navesink Group is a marketing and advertising company located in Red Bank, New Jersey serving the greater tri-state area helping small to medium sized companies compete in the digital marketplace. The Navesink Group specializes in providing companies with well rounded strategies for social media marketing, creative print and digital design, investor and consumer awareness programs and email marketing.