Green gives St. Pete high marks, both as a business partner and a place to raise a familygreen savoree promotions
The NTT IndyCar Series kicks off this weekend with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and as KIM GREEN of Green Savoree Racing Promotions will tell you in his breezy, Australian-inflected English, it is “much more than just a race.” Just a sample: Wednesday’s charity go-kart races led into Thursday’s ride-and-drive for sponsors and media luncheon, followed by Friday night’s 5K run benefiting the local Police Athletic League. None of this happens without a massive coordinated effort between the city and Green Savoree to set up the street track, grandstands and an exclusive yacht club on private floating docks. Green, a St. Pete resident, chatted with THE DAILY earlier this week about how it all comes together on race weekend.
GETTING INTO GEAR: Earlier in the week, a lot of it is really buttoning up and attention to detail, getting everything ready for the public Friday morning. We’re a pretty small company, and my business partner (KEVIN SAVOREE) and I are very involved with the staff making sure when the gates are open, we’re effectively getting people in. Friday is a very popular day, with a lot of families coming out because it’s open seating in the grandstands.
WHEELS DOWN: During the weekend, I do a lot of walking around the site -- I don’t find a golf cart very useful -- in various areas: suites, race control, event control, hospitality areas. I’ll also swing by the yacht club, making sure all that’s in order. So I get my fair share of exercise over the three or four days. Friday-Sunday, my mornings will typically begin at about 5:00 or 5:30 at the racetrack and I'm there all day. We do a post-day debrief each day to discuss any issues we had and any that might be coming up. That’s done with all the staff, as well as any city officials or law enforcement that need to be involved.
BOTH SIDES, NOW: My satisfaction is in having the racetrack and all the infrastructure ready on time or early, and then our staff executing all the small details. It’s up to the racing series to put on a good show, and they usually can. I do sometimes miss being on a race team, though parts of that can be hard work, frustrating and not much fun. But I enjoy the promotion business. We’ve got a great team working for us in all of our venues, and that really makes my life easy. St. Pete is a great city to work with, and most of the downtown businesses tell us it’s one of the best weeks for them. Plus, the race shows well on TV.
OTHER WEEKENDS: I’m in almost my mid-sixties, but I have four fairly young children: two daughters, 10 and 9 years old, and two sons, 7 and 6. So my weekends and weeks during the school year are very busy with them. One is a gymnast, three of them do indoor rock climbing and three of them do BMX racing. We’re a very active family. If I have time, I enjoy the occasional game of golf. One day, hopefully when I sell enough race tickets, I’d like to have a small fishing boat. St. Pete has so much to offer.
