Tampa Bay user groups: research for Ben
Method: WebSearch + WebFetch on 2026-09-29. "?" = not verifiable from public pages. The Snowflake event detail pages do carry dates.
1. Snowflake
| Group | City | Organizers (public) | Last event | Next event | Members | Status | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snowflake Florida chapter (covers Tampa kickoff) | Listed Tallahassee, FL; statewide | Jason Merenda (Snowflake Sr SE, Senior Solutions Engineer), Jennifer Schembri (Snowflake Solutions Architect) | Tampa kickoff 2026-01-27; later dates ? | none found | 611 on chapter page (search snippet said 572, older) | Sporadic: 11 events (10 from 2021-01 to 2023-08, then a 29-month gap, then the kickoff on 2026-01-27); none since, none upcoming. | https://usergroups.snowflake.com/florida/ |
| Tampa Snowflake User Group kickoff (an event of the Florida chapter, not its own chapter) | Tampa (COhatch West Tampa) | Same two Snowflake employees; partner Tredence Inc. | 2026-01-27, 4:00-6:30 PM, Snowflake Intelligence hands-on lab | none found | ? | Kickoff happened; no follow-up found = dormant or unlisted ? | https://usergroups.snowflake.com/events/details/snowflake-florida-presents-tampa-snowflake-user-group-kickoff-amp-hands-on-lab-event/ |
| Snowflake Users Group (Meetup, Tampa) | Tampa | ? | 2018 per search snippet | none | ~120 (snippet) | Dormant | https://www.meetup.com/snowflake-users-group-fastest-cloud-data-warehouse/ |
| Miami chapter (nearest other FL chapter) | Miami | Jason Merenda, Kirk Thorburn, Ryan Mogren | Last event 2026-06-16 | ? | 149 | Active-ish | https://usergroups.snowflake.com/miami/ |
| Orlando | - | - | - | - | - | No Orlando chapter found | (search only) |
Answer: a Tampa Snowflake presence exists (yes), but it is run by two Snowflake employees under the Florida chapter, not by community leaders. No St. Pete, Clearwater, Sarasota, Lakeland, or Orlando group found. I found no Luma or LinkedIn Snowflake listing for Tampa (LinkedIn is not reachable by these tools ?).
2. Anthropic / Claude
Official program: YES. Claude Community Ambassadors, ambassador-led meetups posted to the Claude Community Luma calendar. Source: https://claude.com/community/ambassadors and https://luma.com/claudecommunity/map (33 countries, 67 cities, per claude.com/community).
| Group / event | City | Organizer | Date | Official? | Status | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Community chapter, Tampa Bay | - | - | - | - | None found | - |
| Claude Community, Orlando | - | - | - | - | None found | - |
| Claude Community event, Florida Keys ocean conservation (Miami) | Miami | ? | ? | Yes (Claude Community calendar) | Miami is active: 15 past events since 2025-12-10 and 2 upcoming (Oct 3, Oct 20). No Tampa Bay or Orlando events (0 of 606 past and 69 upcoming located events, Luma calendar, 2026-09-29). | https://luma.com/claudecommunity/map |
| Claude + Codex Workshop, AI Salon St. Pete/Tampa (Tampa Bay Tech Week) | St. Petersburg | AI Salon chapter; speakers from CodeBoxx | Apr 2026 (exact date ?) | No, third-party | One-off, recurrence ? | https://luma.com/AI-Salon-St.Pete-Tampa-April-2026 |
| Tampa Bay AI Meetup | Tampa | Joey DeVilla + 5 | Last: 2026-09-24 (30 attendees), "Known and Unknowns: Testing AI-Generated Code" | Next: 2026-11-19 TECHAPALOOZA at SOFWERX | 2,427 | Active, AI-general, not Claude-specific |
| Tampa AI Applications | Tampa | ? | Oct 2026 series | Oct 1, Oct 19, Oct 21 ("Hermes Agent Use Cases"), Nov 17 | 5 on tampa.dev (Meetup count ?) | Active, no-code/agents, no Claude focus |
A Luma "Community Meetup: Tampa" hit was a PreSales Collective event, not Claude-related.
3. How to start one (per vendor)
Snowflake: User Group Leader. Source: https://usergroups.snowflake.com/become-a-chapter-leader/
- Applications are not "closed" per se — the page says it is "selectively welcoming new chapters..." and "Stay tuned for updates on when applications formally re-open". No window date published. The Apply Now Google Form currently shows "no longer accepting responses" (checked 2026-09-29).
- Requirements: plan and facilitate meetings at least monthly; be the local point of contact; run in-person and virtual events; enthusiasm and commitment.
- Support: best practices/templates/workshops, marketing materials, speakers, content, peer access, swag, budget for venue and food/beverage.
- Apply: "Apply Now" button (Google Form) when open.
- Catch: Tampa already has a kickoff under the Florida chapter, so the realistic path is to volunteer as a co-leader/host with Merenda and Schembri (public Snowflake employees) rather than apply cold. Contact route ?: Snowflake community/Data Heroes pages.
Anthropic: Claude Community Ambassadors. Source: https://claude.com/community/ambassadors
- Applications OPEN now (Typeform). No deadline shown.
- Eligibility: any background/location; meaningful Claude Code or Cowork experience plus community track record; multiple ambassadors per city welcome; no developer title needed.
- Support: event sponsorship/funding, monthly API credits, content, swag, Anthropic promotion, pre-release feature access, Builders Council sessions, private Slack. No pay.
- Process: application, screening call, sign Ambassador Agreement, join Slack. Ongoing while hosting events.
- Compatible with being ambassador for other non-competing companies. Check phData conflict/disclosure first (?).
4. Adjacent groups (top 5)
| # | Group | Fit | Activity | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tampa Bay AI Meetup (2,427) | Broad AI; talk on agents/Claude fits. Organizer Joey DeVilla also runs the weekly Tampa Bay events list | Irregular: 8 events in 2026, none from May 8 to Aug 26; 7-67 attendees; the Nov 19 event is co-hosted | https://www.meetup.com/tampa-artificial-intelligence-meetup/ |
| 2 | Data Analytics & AI - Tampa Bay (2,504; USF (University of South Florida) Muma, Sommer Stablein) | Closest to Snowflake data audience; 60-person cap | last held 2026-09-09 (104 attendees); Jul and Aug cancelled; 92-132 attendees otherwise; 2026-10-14, 11-18, 12-09 scheduled | https://www.meetup.com/dataanalyticstampa/ |
| 3 | CNFL HIMSS (Central & North Florida chapter, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) Tampa networking | Healthcare IT | Scheduled 2026-09-16, 11-18, 2027-01-28, 05-13; speaker path ? | https://centralnorthflorida.himss.org/events-education/central-north-florida-chapter-himss-events |
| 4 | Tampa Bay HealthTech Meetup (Embarc Collective) | Healthcare data/privacy topics | Held 2026-04-02; cadence ? | https://embarccollective.com/events/tampa-bay-healthtech-meetup-data-management-and-privacy-in-healthcare/ |
| 5 | Tampa AI Week (Enterprise Technology Association) | Conference with open speaker application; healthcare is a named vertical | Conflict: search says 2026-10-13 to 15, site says Oct 2027 with speaker form open ? | https://www.joinaiweek.com/tampa |
Also seen: Tampa Bay Tech Week calendar (https://luma.com/tampabaytechweek), Tampa Azure Databricks and BigData Meetup (78 members, activity ?), DUG (Data User Group) Tampa AI Night (Sep 17). Synapse Florida shuttered its flagship Summit (https://stpetecatalyst.com/synapse-shutters-its-flagship-summit/); no 2026 event found. No dbt-specific Tampa group found.
5. Recommendation: first 3 moves
- Apply to Claude Community Ambassadors now (open, no deadline, funded, multiple per city allowed). Tampa Bay has no chapter, so this is a clean first-mover slot. Check the phData disclosure line first.
- Email/message Jason Merenda and Jennifer Schembri (public Snowflake organizers) offering to co-host the second Tampa Snowflake event, since leader applications are closed and Tampa has a kickoff with no found follow-up.
- Pitch one 20-minute "agents in production on Snowflake" talk to Tampa Bay AI Meetup and Data Analytics & AI - Tampa Bay (Oct 14/Nov 18/Dec 9 slots); use it as the seed audience for 1 and 2.
This serves the Nov-30 target "Talk or user-group slot booked" (0/1).