About Us

About the TBDA

The Tampa Bay Defense Alliance (TBDA or The Alliance) was formed on January 6, 2012 upon the filing of the Articles of Incorporation with the State of Florida. John Schueler was elected President of the TBDA, and Chip Diehl, Rhea Law and Rich McClain were all appointed as Officers and Board Members of the Alliance, classified as a Florida not for profit 501 (c)-3 corporation. Our Bylaws were adopted in May of 2014 by the Board of Directors.Currently, the Board of Directors consists of 10 members, three of whom are officers. A key strength of the TBDA is a unique group of Advisors, volunteering their time and sharing their experience and expertise in addressing plans, issues or initiatives presented to the Alliance. This Advisory Board purposely includes members from the EDCs, Community Partner Companies, Community leaders, Retired General Officers and Senior Enlisted leaders. The Advisory Board members regularly attend board meetings and participate with committee activities.

To insure sustainability of the Alliance through the quality of its Board, Advisors and Partners, the TBDA is attempting to institutionalize participation with select positions rather than specific people. A major objective of the TBDA is continuity of leadership. We expect at a minimum to have the Mayors of Tampa and St. Petersburg participate on an ongoing basis with the Alliance. After the current office holders retire or leave office, their replacements will be invited to “fill their slots.” Other Mayors from the Tampa Bay Region will be encouraged to participate as partners over the upcoming months.

The Tampa Bay Defense Alliance identified four important audience segments that we serve on an ongoing basis, active military and their familes, retired military and their families, defense community employees and defense contractors,While many of our efforts benefit all of our audience segments, each individual segment has their own specific needs and to that end, require specific services and efforts to be expended on their behalf as part of our Mission: To Champion the Defense Community.

The TBDA has identified a number of strategic initiatives that require immediate and ongoing attention and focus as well as many longer term strategic initiatives that require sustained attention and effort in collaboration and cooperation with our community partners.

We are proud to have an ever growing team of Community Partners throughout our eight county region. Speaking as One Team with One Voice, we collaborate and cooperate with our Community Partners on issues of importance to the defense and military communities in our region.

The Alliance applies for and obtains grants from Enterprise Florida and/or the Florida Defense Support Task Force. We also apply for grants in collaboration and cooperation with our Community Partners:

The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce
The Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation
The Tampa Bay Partnership
The Pinellas County Economic Development Council

We are always interested in speaking with companies and individuals who would like to become part of the TBDA family. We have different membership levels for companies, non-profits and individuals. Please fill out our contact form and we will contact you at our earliest opportunity to speak with you about membership.