P. Jay Massey, President/CEO of Coco Design Associates (Coco), accompanied Team Florida to São Paulo, Brazil this week for a five-day trade and economic development mission. The mission, led by Governor Charlie Crist, included over 200 business and governmental leaders, as well as representatives from economic development and educational organizations from around the state of Florida.

Enterprise Florida Inc. < http://eflorida.com > organized the event with a focus on increasing Florida exports and investment in areas including agriculture, aviation accessories, biofuels, computer software, IT hardware, medical equipment and telecommunications.

Delegates also attended commercial briefings by the U.S. Embassy in São Paulo, the Federations of Industries of São Paulo (FIESP), the U.S. Consul General, Thomas J. White, the American Chamber of Commerce of São Paulo as well as business opportunity seminars for Brazilian businesses wishing to do business or invest in Florida. Other Northwest Florida delegates included Patrick & Robbie Ropella of Ropella & Associates (Milton), Naomi Melvin of Patient Practitioners (Chipley), and Mike Ross of Acredo Technologies (Panama City).

"This trip has really opened my eyes to the business opportunities in Brazil and other countries outside of our borders," said Massey. "Since this was my first trip with Enterprise Florida, I focused on fact finding and relationship building. But much to my surprise, I met with a possible investor, landed a prospective client and found a potential strategic partner within our industry.

"I knew that Florida and Brazil have been long-time trade partners," Massey continued, "however I didn't know that Brazil is Florida's number one international merchandise trade partner. The efforts of Governor Crist and the team at Enterprise Florida have made it easy for a local Pensacola company like Coco to facilitate strong and lasting relationships with international businesses looking for Florida products and services. I can't say enough about this program."

For more information about Enterprise Florida contact:
Andrea Moore at 850-595-5416 or email: amoore@eflorida.com
http://eflorida.com

For more information about Coco Design contact:
P. Jay Massey at 850-434-2626 or email: jay@cocodesign.com
http://cocodesign.com