BuzzWorthyitems of note
Paul Wilborn, executive director
of The Palladium at St. Petersburg
College in St. Petersburg, has
selected 11 Tampa Bay performers to
be members of the initial Palladium
Creative Class of 2021. Each receives
a stipend to be used to create a new
project for The Palladium. The class
members are BEACON (Helen
Hansen French and Lauren Ree
Sloan, dance; Damon Fowler, blues;
Elizabeth Baker, new music; James
Suggs, jazz; Jeremy Carter, jazz;
Jeremy Douglass of The Florida
Bjorkestra, pop; La Lucha (Mark
Feinman, Alejandro Arenas and
John O’Leary), jazz; and Nate
Najar, jazz. This program is designed
to help support our homegrown
talent. Their work can be seen and
enjoyed during online concerts on
Palladium Live!, a streaming series.
Tickets can be purchased through The
Palladium website, mypalladium.org.
Bonnie Strickland, a St.
Petersburg real estate agent, has
joined Coldwell Banker Commercial,
switching from residential to the
commercial real estate field. She
has also accepted a board/trustee
position with Academy Prep, the
organization that helps students
learn to see education as an avenue
to a bright future and a life of success.
In addition, she does volunteer and
support work for many charities and
arts organizations. Born and raised in
St. Petersburg by a real estate family,
Strickland appreciates Coldwell
Banker’s reputation for ethics and
integrity. She said she is excited about
Celeste Davis has been selected as the new executive director of the Tampa
Bay Businesses for Culture and the Arts. She is a graduate of Spelman
College in Atlanta, Georgia, and holds a master’s of fine arts from George
Washington University in Washington, D.C.
66 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MAY/JUNE 2021
GRAM ROSSIE NEWSON
Laura Katz, owner of Lala’s by Laura Katz Home, located in The Plaza at
100 Indian Rocks Road N. in Belleair Bluffs, held a Grand Expansion Party
to celebrate her newly doubled-in-size store, which is filled with home décor,
gifts, original art and more for elegant living. The party was catered by
Laura’s sister Betsy Byrd and her The Stuffed Mushroom of Safety Harbor.