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Throughout the year, employees with DWM are actively involved with multiple nonprofits and organizations within the St. Petersburg, FL community.
“Doyle Wealth Management is a locally grown firm who embraces our responsibility to contribute to the future of the community,” said Anne Drake McMullen, Chief Development Officer at DWM. “The firm is active with many non-profits and most staff members are leaders in local civic, religious and / or leadership organizations.”
Contributing to the future and growth of a community often means looking beyond the city of St. Pete.
Serving as the Chamber Chair of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, Anne recently attended “Thinking Outside the ‘Burg,” in Kansas City, MO. The visit to Kansas City was part of an annual Chamber event called “benchmarking” trips, which take place in cities outside St. Pete each year. This year in Kansas City, most of the meetings took place at the World War I museum, as pictured below.
Thinking Outside the ‘Burg, Literally.
The title alone, “Thinking Outside the ‘Burg,” encourages participants to look beyond county, city and state lines for new ideas of how to improve and grow St. Pete. Participants visit cities that are of a similar size to St. Pete and which might have solutions to similar challenges that are faced here.
The purpose of the these trips with the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce (and in this case, the visit to Kansas City), is two-fold. First, it helps solidify relationships with participants including the Mayor, city staff, small business owners, non-profit leaders, and corporate executives. Second, it brings back innovative solutions to challenges we face regarding transportation, education and workforce housing.
“Each of these groups bear responsibility for the future economic growth and community vitality of St. Petersburg,” said Anne.
“We visited the site of a new apartment / commercial complex that endeavors to knit together the corridor that is part of the historic racial divide in Kansas City, as a way to provide workforce housing for all and to bring economic development to a blighted community. This succeeded because of the public / private partnership and the inclusion of historic neighbors,” said Anne.
“It was also exciting to learn about the public Wi-Fi that covered 50 blocks of its downtown district and interactive kiosks that delivered information about attractions and bus schedules.”
Additionally, the trips provide an opportunity to share the St. Pete story with business leaders to discuss its destination as an Arts community, as well as informing others of its innovation district and technology hub.
This is Anne’s third time attending on behalf of DWM, the first being a trip to Raleigh-Durham (a twin city similar to St. Petersburg) and last year to Columbus, Ohio.
Thinking Ahead
“My year serving as the Chamber’s Chair is an opportunity to be visionary and put into place plans for many generations beyond our lifetime. That is a responsibility that has been passed down to us from historic Chamber business leaders who created our downtown waterfront and Beach Drive decades ago for us to enjoy today,” said Anne.
Learn about more ways Doyle Wealth Management is involved in the St. Pete community on our website.
