Like a captain piloting a ship, L. Anthony Collins has built his career on successfully guiding major civic projects and communication efforts into port.
In his latest effort, Collins played a key role in designing a course for Greenlight Pinellas, a comprehensive transportation plan for Pinellas County. As vice president of the Florida public relations firm Tucker/Hall, Collins helped create a foundation of political, business and civic support for the transportation effort.
Collins’ work with Tucker/Hall also included steering clients through turbulent crisis management storms and crafting strategic communication paths for new businesses.
During previous stints with the cities of Newark, N.J., Miami and St. Petersburg, Florida, Collins commanded the helm for a number of critical efforts.
He headed St. Petersburg’s Department of Economic Development, launching several successful downtown redevelopment projects for Florida’s fourth-largest city, including construction of a new major league baseball stadium and a mixed-use urban retail center.
As director of economic development, Collins recruited new businesses and designed and implemented a strategy for urban revitalization and economic development. Collins’ other public-sector experience includes working on economic development projects in Tampa, including the development of the Tampa Convention Center.
Collins will tell you navigating through the challenging waters of such projects requires a vast understanding of leadership, community impact and communication strategies. At the same time, he also emphasizes establishing trust and helping the Blake Collins group gel with its clients.
Whether he’s dining with a company CEO, sitting in a boardroom full of directors or standing in an auditorium before a corporation’s most important employees, Collins’ approach always involves framing issues and creating mutual understanding among clients.
“It’s not about having all the answers,” Collins says. “It’s about working together to ensure we’re asking the right questions.”
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