MEDIA ADVISORY: October 20, 2004

Contact: Stacey Swank, Business Development Manager

Pinellas County Economic Development

(727) 464-7425 or sswank@co.pinellas.fl.us

Secretary of Energy to Present $ 1.5M Grant

to Pinellas County’s Young-Rainey STAR Center
on Thursday

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary, Spencer Abraham, will present a $1.5 million grant check to Congressman C.W. Bill Young and Former Pinellas County Commissioner Chuck Rainey, President of the Pinellas Plant Community Reuse Organization for capital infrastructure improvements to the Young-Rainey STAR Center on Thursday, October 21.  Congressman C.W. Bill Young, and Pinellas County Commissioner Robert Stewart are scheduled to deliver remarks at the awards ceremony, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The Young-Rainey STAR Center is a former DOE weapons manufacturing plant that has been successfully converted into a dynamic world-class center for the development of high technology research and manufacturing. The center houses the STAR Technology Enterprise Center (STAR TEC), the Tampa Bay area's first technology and manufacturing business accelerator.  STAR TEC supports the growth of early stage manufacturing and technology-based companies, enabling them to migrate their products and services to market more rapidly and effectively.

Event:  Department of Energy Grant Awards Ceremony

Date:  Thursday, October 21, 2004

Time:  3:30 p.m.    Ceremony and Remarks

          3:50 p.m.    Media Interviews

          4:00 p.m.    Tour of Constellation Technology Corp. at the Young-Rainey STAR Center

Location:  Young-Rainey STAR Center
                7887 Bryan Dairy Road, Main Building, Largo, FL 

                General Conference Room

For more information on the grant award, contact Stacey Swank with Pinellas County Economic Development at
(727) 464-7425 or sswank@pinellascounty.org.

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