Want To Be Influential? Find Out How At South Tampa Chamber Luncheon

Infomercial pioneer Kevin Harrington will discuss how to become a key person of influence July 17 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the South Tampa Chamber of Commerce's monthly luncheon.

The luncheon will take place at The Centre Club, 123 S. Westshore Blvd., Tampa. 

Harrington, chairman and founder of TVGoods Inc. and chairman of As Seen On TV Inc., is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the infomercial industry.
 
In 1984, Harrington produced one of the industry's first 30-minute infomercials. Since then, he has been involved with more than 500 product launches that resulted in sales of more than $4 billion worldwide with 20 products that reached individual sales of more than $100 million.
 
Harrington founded Quantum International Ltd. in the mid 1980s, which merged into National Media Corp. in 1991. Under his leadership as president, National Media reached $500 million in annual sales, distributing in more than 100 countries and 20 languages. This company's success has been chronicled in a case study at Harvard/MIT.
 
Harrington was also CEO of several other entrepreneurial companies including HSN Direct, a joint venture with Home Shopping Network, in 1994 and Reliant International Media in 1997. Reliant International Media was sold in 2007.
 
In 2011, Harrington's company TVGoods Inc., acquired the web property AsSeenonTV.com. AsSeenOnTV.com represents a highly trafficked catalog of direct-response products with more than two million customers, 700,000 email registrants and hundreds of thousands of unique visitors each month. Harrington is now chairman of As Seen On TV Inc.
 
Throughout his career, Harrington helped to establish two of the most important and recognized global networking associations: the Entrepreneur's Organization, or EO (formally known as the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization), and the Electronic Retailing Association, or ERA.
Today, the EO has 113 chapters in 38 countries. The ERA represents the $125 billion electronic retailing industry and is comprised of more than 450 member companies and subsidiaries that use the power of electronic retailing to sell directly to consumers via television, radio, Internet and wireless media in more than 100 countries worldwide.
 
He recently released a book titled "Act Now: How I Turn Ideas into Million-Dollar Products" that chronicles his life and experiences in the DRTV industry.

The cost of the luncheon is $25 for members and $35 for nonmembers. Advance registration is due by July 15. The luncheon includes an entree choice of Mushroom Pork Marsala or Penne Pasta with roasted tomatoes and goat cheese

The chamber also will collect goodie bag items for its annual New Teacher's Welcome Breakfast. Items needed include paper, rulers, pencils, notebooks, markers, crayons, glue sticks, scissors, hand sanitizer and gift cards.

For more information, visit the chamber's website.