AI Synergy Event – My JBP Journey
I often blog about the fun things - food, activities, gardening, things to do and see. And the subjects of Review Jax blogs primarily fall in the "play" or recreational/free-time category. But I wanted to share something more business-focused. I want to talk about the Jacksonville Business Professionals Spring 2026 Educational Gathering "AI + the Human Edge: Leverage the Tech to Your Advantage." For short, let’s call it AI Synergy.
The AI Synergy event took place on April 9th at the Adam Herbert University Center at the University of North (UNF). The Jacksonville Business Professionals (JBP), put on this event. The JBP consists of accountants, attorneys, lenders, insurance providers, consultants, and other professionals. Described another way, the JBP is made up of people who advise businesses and own multiple blazers.
The Brain Trust & Blazer Battalion
Some call it the Education Committee, while others call it the Brain Trust. Dan Mayville, our faithful chairman of Education, spearheaded the planning. Dan’s our in-house Steve Jobs. He partnered with Cindy Klein, head of Sponsorships. Cindy, played Oprah the day of the event, announcing the winners with gusto. Dan and Cindy orchestrated the program to be a resource for JBP members and local businesses. This includes curating a speaker list to share AI insights from vantage points across industries. Steve Kaufman, in-house Great and Powerful Oz, worked with Dan and Cindy to bring their vision to life.
The blazer battalion spent months planning and preparing for AI Synergy. Dan, Cindy, and Steve played deux ex machina, making sure we had all the elements for a perfect afternoon of AI education. I own three blazers, am on the board of the JBP, and volunteered to check people in.
The Palpable Excitement of 100+ Attendees
On Thursday, April 9th, Mark Addington, Cate Underwood, and I checked people in. Attendees with sponsor prizes were directed towards the gift table. Once each person was name tagged and deposited business cards in the fishbowl, they could find their seats among the tables beautifully decorated with program materials.
UNF students along with AI-curious business pros wandered into the conference room to find seats. Coffee and drinks were available, and lunch was promptly served. There were 103 people registered, and the attendees quickly lined up for salad, rolls, chicken and sides. Not a single piece of chicken was left behind.
Time to Queue the PowerPoints.
Our speakers came from academia, the nonprofit sector, sales, coaching, marketing, software, technology and AI solutions providers. Doug Wilder, JBP President, welcomed the crowd and introduced JBP members and speakers.
The opening speaker, Katie Bakewell, NLP Logix, presented on “AI Fomo.” She helped define AI and how to use it. She shared insights, like try to build a tiny scale model first, that are also timeless business lessons - with or without AI. Her Indiana Jones and Fyre Festival slides were hilarious. Katie also took a moment to celebrate that Jacksonville IS a tech city, even if the rest of the world doesn’t know it yet.
David Ortiz, Advisor AI Partners, affirmed the frustration of managing client data and engagement in one place. He acknowledged the great struggle to find the perfect Customer Relationship Manager (CRM). He told us about the Follow Up Machine, CRM he built, using lessons from YouTube University. In short, CRMs can use AI to get JBP data ASAP.
Next up, Dr. Dan Richard and Dr. Karthikeyan Umapathy from Florida Data Science for Social Good shared ways the organization is helping nonprofits tackle challenges. They've worked with the Cathedral Arts Project, Nonprofit Center for Northeast Florida, and GrowFL.
Fission can Be Fun
My favorite part of the day was learning about nuclear fission. Tucker Stachitas, NLP Logix, talked about how using AI more will require more energy. He discussed the need for data centers powered by nuclear energy as a safe solution to the demand for AI energy. This academic level discussion addressed safety concerns, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) environmental risks, impact on climate, and the politics of adoption. I want to keep learning more about this!
Dr. Suzanne Ehrlich, Associate Professor for UNF Instructional Technology, Training and Development, talked about using AI in UNF's curriculum, using AI as tools for students to use in design, and ways AI is incorporated to workforce opportunities, partnerships and in mentorships. It was time to think about the future when today’s graduates become tomorrow’s workforce.
Missing My Door Prize
Between speakers, Cindy Klein, like Vanna White, announced sponsors, gifts, and winners. Attendees left with wine, books, plants, gift certificates, umbrellas and more. To my deepest chagrin, I found out that I was announced as a winner but had stepped away to the restroom, so I wasn’t there to claim it. I had my eye on that curious bottle of liqueur that Angela Campbell and Kristen Knudsen brought from the Daily Record.
Popcorn & an Optimization Panel
Ben Montgomery announced the snack break sponsored by Venture Pointe, and I grabbed some popcorn and brownie. Behind the scenes, Steve worked the room, making sure everything was on schedule and in place. Doug moved us through the program. Cindy awarded door prizes, and we moved to the optimization panel.
Joe Lemire, Elyke Innovation, gave us ideas for content, schema and competitor research to improve websites for Answer Engine Optimization. Joe Muskus, Sales Xceleration, focused on sales applications like using AI assistants and coaches to help teach teams. Manny Torres, Growth Amplifiers, focused on using AI in places that practically impact business.
Perks of Streaming Services
Finally, Shandee Bowman, Ty Boyd, Inc., got us out of our seats, literally, for an exercise demonstrating how eye contact factors into communication. She tasked the audience with providing pros and cons of streaming services to get us talking. She observed ways humans connect in-person, beyond the screen, using eyes, words, and gestures to convey messages. She brought that conversation of what could be - with the future of tech - to what it is in the present and how we interact now.
“Cocktails and Conversations” gave the JBP an opportunity to cheers to a happily completed educational event. Sponsors like Panda Technology and Cydian Group had drink tickets to spend and stories to tell. The speakers had chance to get to know the attendees better. The covered porch at UNF was a great space for viewing the water, trees and surrounding natural environment. It was a chilly late afternoon, and there were snacks aplenty to try before teleporting home.
From Jacksonville being a tech city to us being the humans inhabiting it, the program looped to a close. The algorithm was complete, and AI synergy achieved.
