About Us

e5solutions, Inc. and "Team Sumter"

On November 10, 2009, in a bold, competitive step forward, the Sumter County Commission voted to adopt a new, private sector partner, e5solutions, Inc., to create and implement a shared economic development and business marketing program for the county and its citizens. As the only one of Florida’s 67 counties to retain a commercial firm to energize its economy, Sumter County and e5solutions have formed a unique Florida partnership, merging Sumter’s exceptional business advantages with e5solutions’s creative and successful track record of achievements. E5solutions is a business development company with six partners who, combined, bring more that 100 years of award-winning business leadership to the needs and economic future of Sumter County.

Team Bios

Rick Dodge, President & CEO

Rick Dodge has led major business and public agencies in Tampa Bay over the past twenty-five years. His strategic skills and broad based consensus building have resulted in such diverse successes as bringing the Dali Museum and Tampa Bay Devil Rays to the area. As City Administrator for St. Petersburg, FL, he helped lead a one mill reduction in property tax while setting in motion comprehensive plans that produced a new and vibrant downtown.

As an educator, Rick has taught at the elementary, high school and college levels. He served as an adjunct professor for the University of Delaware and Texas A&M University. He also served as an Instructor, Regent and Chairman of the Board of Regent's for North Carolina State University's School of Arts Management and School of Revenue Management. In 2001, he received the President's Award from St. Petersburg College for his innovative partnership in developing the University Partnership Center Program.

As the Assistant County Manager for Economic Development, he brought synergistic approaches and innovative public-private partnerships that made Pinellas County the # 1 new job producer in the Country. Included in these approaches were the introduction of a TV-radio combination called "Good Business Pinellas" that set a national standard for outreach and market share. A winner of over 75 awards for leadership and contribution, he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Virginia, and has completed advanced business training at the University of Indiana and Harvard University.

Doug Smiley, COO & VP, Business Development

For over 20 years, Doug has been providing local and national clients a variety of marketing communications and digital media production services including video production & post, web design & software development, CD & DVD production, graphic design, animation, and more. Doug also has years of experience in live event production and large-scale audio-visual technologies, producing live events for many of his clients.

Doug’s own small business, tangent media! is a full service marketing communications company specializing in the technologies inherent in producing today's digital media, with an emphasis on business-to-business marketing communications. Doug is well versed in all aspects of marketing communications and media production, as well as having experince in a wide variety of technologies such as video broadcasting, IT systems and live event production.

Clients include Lucent Technologies, Perot Systems, Raymond James Financial, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Transitions Optical, Certegy/Equifax, and many others. As a small business owner himself, Doug's business philosophy is to build long-term relationships based on trust, competence and years of experience.

Richard Hickman, VP, Marketing

Richard Hickman brings more than thirty years of award winning success in marketing and public relations on a national and local level. His expertise is developed from a wide range of responsibilities such as coordinating the tourism promotions of all 50 state travel promotion offices; creating a national travel development educational institute in the nation's capitol; director of travel and tourism marketing for the City of Washington, D.C.; managing and marketing a major 860 room convention hotel; building and directing a full-service marketing and information system for the City of St. Petersburg, Florida, which included creation of a 24/7 government TV station; and most recently designing and directing a business marketing program for Pinellas County, Florida, based largely on an interactive, cross-promotion communications system of television, radio and the internet.

Rich’s college education was from LaSierra University, Arlington, California, during which he was called into the U.S. Army, serving three years in the Far East. His continuing marketing career includes establishment and program development of the educational training system for tourism marketing professionals at University of Notre Dame; lecturing on marketing at Cornell University; and advanced training and executive presentations in Economic Development at the University of South Florida. Rich has also served as a doctoral thesis judge in marketing for George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and was the author’s assistant in production of a widely praised book on Washington, D.C., titled “Washington for Children.”

Rich has been named “Outstanding Public Relations Professional” by the Florida Public Relations Association, plus has received 39 additional Golden Image Awards from FPRA and the American Advertising Federation. Recently, the Good Business Pinellas TV, radio and Siliconbay.org website gained “superior” national recognition from the American Economic Development Council and were selected by the Florida Economic Development Council as “Best in Florida” for promoting and retaining businesses.

Christy Smiley, VP, Project Management & Creative Director

Christy brings over 20 years experience managing large projects, ranging from e-commerce websites to building a multi-million dollar communications technology company. As Co-Founder/Partner of Mediacentric Group Inc., she participated in a wide variety of the company's operations, overseeing the growth of the company from its inception with 5 employees to its status as a world leader in IP based communications technology with over 100 employees. Christy has strong leadership, client management, and organizational skills, combined with a unique blend of creative/technical expertise.

Christy's Account Management and Project Management skills are world class. She has spearheaded numerous multi-million dollar projects for many Fortune 500 clients, including Lucent Technologies, Honeywell, Ford, Bell South, Disney, Baxter Pharmaceuticals, Peoplesoft, and others. Projects included the landmark portal "Lucent Direct Online" which became the sixth largest e-commerce site in the country within six months of its launch date.

Christy's design capabilities are also well documented. As Raymond James Financial's Creative Director for over 10 years she managed the creative department's production. She was also responsible for modernizing in-house systems from traditional print & layout methodology to digital desktop design & layout technology. 

John Joseph, Esquire, General Counsel

John Joseph has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1986 and owns the Pinellas Legal Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. John received his Bachelors Degree in History from Stetson University and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky, College of Law. He also holds a certificate in Risk Management from Cambridge University, England. John currently serves as a Hearing Officer for the City of St. Petersburg and volunteers as a Hearing Master for Pinellas County, Florida. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Southeastern University where he teaches Business Ethics.

John was highly honored to be the inaugural recipient of the Golden Hammer Award honoring his knowledge in Not-For-Profit law. John is an ordained minister and an active speaker in Peninsular Florida District Council and contributing author for Enrichment Magazine.

John is admitted to practice in every state court in the State of Florida. He is a member of the St. Petersburg Bar Association. John practices law in Pinellas County and was appointed in 2008 to be Vice Chairman of the Florida Bar's Committee on Pre-Paid Legal Plans. He is also a member of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and the Grand Central District Association.