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Coffee Talk (Tampa)
Check swing
First State Bank and First Community Bank of America have reserved a St. Petersburg softball diamond, and it's rumored the two are going to go at each other with bats and gloves.
"My god, bad news travels fast," was the reaction of one First State employee when Coffee Talk called to confirm the game.
This employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, says the First State team isn't in what you would call tip-top shape. The average age of the First State 10 that will be taking the field April 30 is well into the 40s, this employee estimates.
"If nobody dies, it will be a good day," the First Stater says, trying to sound optimistic.
It might be good to have respirators at Woodlawn Field. Maybe an Aflac claims processor and an ambulance, too.
With bankers involved, of course, there have been a few rules set down for the co-ed encounter. Half of each team's players must be female, including infielders. The two sexes have to alternate in the batting order. If a male walks, the female on-deck does as well.
Finally, there is a 15-run "mercy" rule after the fifth inning. Whatever that means.
First State President and Chief Executive Corey J. Coughlin is talking trash. "We've kicked their ass so thoroughly in the market, I guess they want to try to get back at us on the softball field," Coughlin says of the First Community Bank of America crew.
Coughlin, who used to work with First Community Bank of America CEO Kenneth P. Cherven at SouthTrust, expressed some concern that his former colleague attended college on a baseball scholarship.
Further betraying uncertainty about the outcome, Coughlin has asked that the winner buy the post-game beers at the friendly confines of Ferg's, a sports bar near Tropicana Field.
Tell all?
That's a question Bob Mitcham, the retired Hillsborough County circuit judge, didn't answer when Coffee Talk asked him about his soon-to-be released book that he was hawking at the recent Hillsborough County Bar Association luncheon.
Mitcham says several of his colleagues are interested in whether they earned a mention in "Justice from Buttermilk Bottom." His reply: "Buy the book."
According to promotional literature, it's a "remarkable story that chronicles Bob's humble beginnings in the streets of south side Atlanta to the upper echelons of the legal profession."
Copies hit the bookstores in May.
Hat Trick
The Florida Bar doesn't want you to know it just yet, but the Clearwater Bar Association and two of its members earned the lion's share of the state's pro bono awards this year.
It's the first time the association has won the Florida Bar's Voluntary Bar Association Pro Bono Service Award, which recognizes altruistic efforts on the part of the state's volunteer bar organizations. It also comes as the Clearwater Bar celebrates its 75th anniversary.
The group recognized volunteer time expended by association members Alicen and Ted Barrett of Dunedin's Barrett & Barrett PA. They earned the Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice's Law Firm Commendation.
Indian Rocks Beach attorney and association member James "Van" Vanderplas won the top individual award for pro bono work. To qualify for the award, he also had to win the 6th Circuit nomination. Pro bono work is old hat for Vanderplas. He won the 6th Circuit award more than 20 years ago.
They'll receive the awards from Chief Justice Barbara Pariente next month in Tallahassee.
Getting your money's worth
For all the $164 million that Synovus has spent around these parts during the last two years, it's not exactly a household name.
But Synovus Financial Corp. is about to change that. The Georgia financial services company announced March 14 that it wants to collapse the charters of three banks it has bought in Pinellas and Sarasota counties into a single organization that will carry the Synovus flag.
"We will eliminate market overlap in a number of areas, creating greater efficiency and strengthening our overall brand presence in the Tampa Bay market," says Fred L. Green III, banking vice chairman at Synovus.
Subject to regulatory approval, Synovus Bank of Tampa Bay will pool together about $1 billion in assets now housed at Peoples Bank in Palm Harbor, United Bank and Trust Co. in St. Petersburg and United Bank of the Gulf Coast in Sarasota.
Synovus paid $163.7 million, including $66 million in cash, to acquire the trio of banks in 2003 and 2004.
While employee head counts may be reduced, top brass appears safe.
David W. Dunbar, president and CEO at Peoples Bank, gets to be CEO of the consolidated bank, which will be based in St. Petersburg. United Bank and Trust's Neil W. Savage and Harold J. Winner become chairman and president, respectively.
Keeping judges safe
A state court organization, with funding from the U.S. Justice Department, will hold a summit on security on April 6 in hopes of preventing violent acts such as the recent shooting deaths in an Atlanta courthouse.
The summit in Washington will produce an "action-oriented plan" for enhanced safety and security at local, state and federal courthouses, according to the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Va., which will sponsor the event.
"In the wake of the recent murders of the family members of a federal judge, the shooting inside the Atlanta courthouse and those outside a courthouse in Texas, the time is right for all entities responsible for providing judicial security to review how they perform these responsibilities," said acting U.S. Assistant Attorney General Tracy Henke.
Moment of silence
A somber moment greeted Holland & Knight LLP's partners at their recent annual meeting in Orlando. Managing Partner Howell Melton Jr. opened the conference at the Gaylord Palm Resort with a moment of silence and tribute to the late Tillie Fowler, a Jacksonville partner and the former U.S. representative. She died unexpectedly on March 2 at 62.
Those at the meeting say the firm showed a video tribute that had a measurable impact on a number of the firm's stoic. It featured some of the partners talking about Fowler's contributions to Florida's largest law firm over the years.
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