Jazz Festival Spotlighted at Charity Coalition Luncheon

Each bimonthly meeting spotlights a different local charity whose representative briefs those attending on his or her organization’s purpose and activities.

The featured nonprofit this month was the Clearwater Jazz Holiday Foundation. CEO Steve Weinberger spoke of the purpose of the Foundation, the history of the annual festival and its educational, cultural and economic impact on the Tampa Bay Area.

We support local charities and nonprofit organizations. Their success is important to us all

Now in its 37th year, the four-day and four-night Clearwater Jazz Holiday is a world-class, live music festival, held the third week of every October.

It began as a series of concerts on the back of a flatbed truck and at venues around Clearwater and has grown into an annual, international music festival that draws tens of thousands of visitors each year to Clearwater’s Coachman Park. The Foundation also holds events and has educational programs year-round.

At each bimonthly Clearwater Charity Coalition meeting there is also a speaker who presents information those attending can use to expand and strengthen their nonprofits. This month’s speaker was Jewel McKeon from the P3 Agency, a marketing, brand and web development service. Ms. McKeon spoke of how to hone a company’s communication to increase funding, volunteers and visibility.

The Public Affairs Director of the Church of Scientology in Clearwater Lisa Mansell invited the nonprofits and charities attending to hold their own events in the Fort Harrison. She showed photos of the Church’s partnerships with local charities for their fundraising and special events.

“We care about what happens in the community,” she said “That’s why we support local charities and nonprofit organizations. Their success is important to us all.”

Since its construction in 1927, the Fort Harrison has been hosted many charitable events and community organizations. More than 500 community events have been held at the Fort Harrison since its top-to-bottom restoration in 2009.

The Scientology religion was founded in 1954 by humanitarian and philosopher, L. Ron Hubbard. It has since expanded to more than 11,000 churches, missions and affiliated groups in 167 nations. To learn more, visit www.scientology.org.