Memorial services for Al Austin to be held Saturday

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Memorial services for Al Austin, the developer and Republican philanthropist who died last week, will be held in Tampa on Saturday.

Visitation is at the University of Tampa on Friday, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. in the Vaughn Center. Services will be at 2 p.m. at the Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church, 3501 W San Jose St.

During his 60-year career, Austin was involved in a number of high-profile projects, including developing much of the West Shore business district, as well as the decision to bring the Republican National Convention to Tampa. He also was instrumental in providing millions of dollars for both the University of Tampa and GOP causes.

Phil Ammann is a St. Petersburg-based journalist and blogger. With more than three decades of writing, editing and management experience, Phil produced material for both print and online, in addition to founding HRNewsDaily.com. His broad range includes covering news, local government and culture reviews for Patch.com, technical articles and profiles for BetterRVing Magazine and advice columns for a metaphysical website, among others. Phil has served as a contributor and production manager for SaintPetersBlog since 2013. He lives in St. Pete with his wife, visual artist Margaret Juul and can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @PhilAmmann.