Special to The Laker/Lutz News

 

Land O’ Lakes coaching legend dies at 66

 

By Kyle LoJacono

 

“We lost a true legend and hero.”

Will Weatherford’s seven short words echoed those of thousands who learned of the death of Land O’ Lakes High legend John Benedetto.

The former Gators football coach, who led the program for 32 years, died in his sleep April 21, just a few days after his 66th birthday. He leaves behind his wife Vanie and son Giovanni.

John Castelamare coached against Benedetto for 23 years while at Ridgewood and Wesley Chapel.

“The county lost one of its leaders,” Castelamare said. “I’m really going to miss my old friend.”

Castelamare and Weatherford said the death comes as more of a shock because Benedetto appeared to be in good health.

The exact cause of death had not yet been determined as of April 27, the date of his funeral, but Weatherford said it was probably a good thing his former coach went peacefully in his sleep.

“As someone stated, if death had come for him during the day he probably would have found a game plan around it,” Weatherford said. “He always had a game plan.”

Weatherford, Florida’s Speaker of the House, was a linebacker for Benedetto from 1994 to 1997.

“He affected so many people,” Weatherford said. “Yeah, he was a football coach and made the program into a winner, but he developed great young men to go out and be successful in the world. There are thousands of people who he helped become the people they are today. … I bet if you ask anyone who lives in Central Pasco County, I’d say 99 percent of them have had their lives touched by coach Benedetto in some positive way. … The community lost so much more than a football coach.”

Weatherford knows from experience.

“I started hanging out with a rough bunch of friends (as a sophomore) and probably doing things I shouldn’t have been,” Weatherford said. “It was affecting my school and my ability to play. I remember coach Benedetto said he was worried about me and the choices I was making.”

Weatherford said Benedetto encouraged him to be a leader.

“That really had a profound impact on me,” Weatherford said. “I never wanted to have another teacher or coach ever think of me that way again. It really altered my priorities and was really a defining moment in my life. … I’m not sure I’d be in the position I’m in today without coach Benedetto.”

Benedetto, a Long Island Native, moved to Florida in the mid-1960s to play wide receiver for the University of Tampa (UT). He played four years at UT and was inducted into the Spartans’ athletic hall of fame.

Benedetto coached seventh- and eighth-grade football for three years at Sanders Memorial Junior High before moving to Land O’ Lakes Junior-Senior High in 1974. It became Land O’ Lakes High the next year.

He was the wide receivers coach for two years before taking over the program in 1977. The Gators’ first win with Benedetto at the helm was a 3-0 victory Sept. 9, 1977 over Zephyrhills and Dan Sikes, who coached Land O’ Lakes its first two years.

The Gators went 4-6 in Benedetto’s first season. The squad improved to 7-4 the next year, along with collecting the program’s first district championship.

Benedetto finished with a Pasco County record 196 wins to 149 losses, 18 winning seasons, 17 playoff berths, 13 district titles and two trips to the regional finals. The Gators also made the playoffs his last 12 seasons.

“He took a program from nothing and made it into something the community could be proud of,” Weatherford said. “When people think of Land O’ Lakes High School and Land O’ Lakes itself, they think of the football team, and coach Benedetto is the biggest reason for that.”

Castelamare, who now leads the program at Academy at the Lakes, said it was always a battle when playing the Gators.

“Nobody who played them thought it was going to be easy,” Castelamare said. “Didn’t matter how good your team was, Benedetto’s teams were going to play tough.”

Benedetto’s last season was 2008. It was his fifth year in the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP).

“He was such a great family man,” Castelamare said. “I know he was upset when he couldn’t come back and coach, but he really started enjoying retirement and being around his family more.”

Weatherford, Castelamare and a large group of community leaders convinced the Pasco school board to rename the arena at Land O’ Lakes John Benedetto Stadium.

“We were so happy that we were able to do the naming of the football stadium after him while he was still alive,” Weatherford said. “I remember there were a lot of conversations where people said, ‘What’s the rush?’ Nobody knew this would happen, so it was great that he got to feel the outpouring of love from so many people. I think it was the culmination of his legacy.”

The school officially dedicated the stadium Oct. 19 at the Gators home football game against cross-town rival Sunlake. The bleachers were packed that night with people paying respect to the coaching legend.

“Tonight was such a great experience for me,” Benedetto said at the dedication. “I’m just so overwhelmed, and I feel so honored. This community has made me feel very special, and not just special this evening. I’ve had 38 great years in this community, and I want to thank the entire community for giving me the opportunity to work with your kids for 38 years.”

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

 

Steinbrenner’s first principal reflects on her time as a Warrior

 

By Kyle LoJacono

 

Brenda Grasso had an interesting challenge when Steinbrenner High opened in 2009.

The Lutz school’s first principal needed to take students coming from different schools, including Gaither and Sickles, and bring them together as Steinbrenner Warriors.

Grasso’s solution was somewhat unorthodox, but also a powerful representation of the birth of the new school community.

“It was October and homecoming week the first year when I challenged students to bring in their old school T-shirts for a homecoming bonfire,” Grasso said. “I gave the students new Steinbrenner shirts when they traded in the one from their old school. We had a fire at homecoming to burn the old shirts. It was all in fun, and it created the start of some school spirit.”

Grasso led the school until April 26. She was promoted to the district level for Hillsborough County Schools. She took over as leadership director for Area 3, which includes Gaither, Freedom, Wharton, King and all the lower level schools that feed into those high schools.

Grasso started her career with Hillsborough County Schools in 1982 when she was hired as a substitute teacher at Eisenhower Junior High, now a middle school.

She became an administrator in 1997 when she was appointed assistant principal at Gaither. Grasso became the high school’s third principal in 2003 and led the Cowboys until she moved to Steinbrenner in April 2009.

Grasso said leading an established school helped prepare her for starting Steinbrenner.

“Six years as a principal of a large, thriving high school helped me learn the leadership responsibilities I would need to open a school,” Grasso said.

Grasso said she is excited about the new challenges in front of her, but said she will always remember her time with the Warriors.

“So many good memories,” Grasso said. “Athletic competitions, including girls soccer state championship (in 2011) and boys soccer state runner-up (in 2013), thriving arts programs and an A grade the last two years.

“It has been a wonderful experience to open and serve as principal at Steinbrenner,” she added. “The team there is a dedicated one, focused on student achievement and on contributing to the community. It’s a very special place.”

Kelly King, who has been the school’s assistant principal of curriculum since Steinbrenner opened, will serve as principal until a permanent replacement is found.

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

 

 

 

By B.C. Manion

 

An energy conservation company is proposing a five-year contract with Pasco County Schools that could reap millions in savings for the cash-strapped district.

Cenergistic has presented an 83-page proposal to the Pasco School Board, and Gary Clark, regional president for the company, appeared at a board workshop April 16 to cover the high points.

The company has been in business for 27 years and has saved its clients $3 billion. Its client list includes 20,000 school buildings, Clark said.

The potential for reducing costs is not as great in Pasco as it is in some places because the district already has instituted practices aimed at efficiencies, Clark said.

But there is room for savings, because the energy bill is a big-ticket item on the board’s budget, Clark said. He noted, “You’re spending about $13 million here.”

He told school board members his company would do for Pasco what it did for Sarasota: “we’d take a really good program and make it great.”

St. John’s County saved 45 percent of its energy costs, Clark said.

“We aren’t going to save Pasco County 45 percent,” he said.

But Cenergistic has estimated it can save the district more than 20 percent in its energy costs.

“We don’t sell any equipment. We change the habits and behaviors of staff,” Clark said.

The company doesn’t believe in making people uncomfortable to achieve its results, he added. Most savings come from making changes for how things operate when buildings are unoccupied.

The company’s plan calls for employing four energy specialists who would be expected to do audits of buildings in the early mornings, late at night, on weekends and holidays.

During the initial five years of the plan, the company pays the salaries of those specialists, who would be selected from current district staff.

The most important skill these specialists need is the ability to communicate, Clark said.

“We can take someone who is good with people and train them,” he said.

Teachers are generally a very good fit for the position: “Probably 80 percent of the specialists come out of the classroom.”

During the first five years, the district has the choice of keeping those employees on its payroll and being reimbursed for their costs, or having Cenergistic hire them.

After the fifth year, the district would pay the salaries if they choose to continue in the program, Clark said.

The district also must agree to purchase software called EnergyCAP Energy Management Software, which tracks energy use, meter by meter, building by building and campus by campus, Clark said.

Signing a contract with Cenergistic is, at worst, budget neutral, Clark said, because the company is paid a percentage of the district’s savings.

If the cost for operating the energy-savings program exceeds the district’s savings, the company will write the district a check to cover the difference, Clark said.

“We’ve only written eight checks in 27 years,” Clark said.

He also noted that it takes about six months to get the program up and running, so the company doesn’t charge anything for its services during that time.

At the end of the first 18 months, Clark said the company expects to save the district more than $2 million. During 10 years, the savings would be about $28.9 million.

Indirect benefits included increasing the comfort when buildings are occupied and extending the life of equipment by ensuring it is properly used, Clark said.

When the district starts paying for the program, it would cost about $278,000 a year, but at that point the estimated savings would be more than $3 million, Clark said.

Cenergistic was founded in 1986 as Energy Education Company and was rebranded in 2012 as Cenergistic. It has more than 1,250 clients across the nation, serving school districts, higher education campuses, health care facilities and large churches.

The company’s energy saving program has been implemented in more than 20,000 buildings.

School board member Steve Luikart said he’s glad superintendent Kurt Browning brought the company to the board for its consideration. He said he became aware of Cenergistic about a year-and-a-half ago, but former superintendent Heather Fiorentino was not interested in pursuing a possible contract.

Board chairwoman Cynthia Armstrong and board members Joanne Hurley and Alison Crumbley said they are interested in the potential savings, but want to be sure due diligence is done before signing a contract with any energy savings company.

At the board’s April 16 workshop, board member Allen Altman raised questions about getting tied into a contract. He noted he’s heard grumblings from members of other school board members at conferences about trying to figure out how to get out of a bad contract they were stuck in.

Clark assured Altman that boards tend to not want to cancel contracts with Cenergistic because it actually is saving money for their districts.

Altman said he just wants to make sure the district doesn’t get locked into a contract that it later regrets.

 

 

By B.C. Manion

 

Pasco County Commissioners have approved using $2 million in Tourist Development tax funds to build two lacrosse fields at Wesley Chapel District Park.

Commissioners decided April 23 to proceed on a 4-1 vote, with Jack Mariano dissenting.

The expansion is required to provide enough fields to accommodate teams competing in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions presented by Pasco County.

The county promised to provide the additional fields when it entered into a four-year agreement with KSE Lacrosse to host and sponsor the tournament.

The county had until March 2014 to expand and improve its field inventory, but because of delays in negotiating a contract for construction of the Fields at Wiregrass, county staff went ahead with plans to make improvements at the district park.

The county’s utilities branch acquired 12.2 acres immediately south of the existing parking lot. That land will be purchased, managed and operated by the Office of Tourism and Development.

The Tournament of Champions has been in Pasco since 2008, growing from 26 teams to 79 last year. The event produced more than 3,700 room nights in 2012, with an estimated economic impact approaching $3 million, according to county documents.

After the meeting, Commissioner Pat Mulieri wrote in an email that she’s glad the county proceeded with voting for the new fields.

“My issue is we keeping talking and never build,” she noted. “We are moving ahead.”

There’s a possibility the fields will be constructed in time for use in this year’s tournament, said Rick Buckman, director of Pasco Parks and Recreation, in an interview after the meeting. One reason is the board voted to use turf instead of grass, which makes construction quicker, he said.

After shifting the tax funds, the county still has sufficient money for its proposed Fields at Wiregrass project, with more than $9 million remaining.

Current negotiations regarding the Fields at Wiregrass indicate that $8.5 million will be needed for that project, according to county documents.

“The ultimate plan is a complex with multiple sports,” Buckman said.

In other action at their April 23 meeting, county commissioners:

—Banned the sale of dogs and cats at flea markets. The animals can be shown, but not sold there. Commissioner Jack Mariano dissented, claiming that the action would interfere with business operations. But Commission chairman Ted Schrader and Mulieri voiced concerns about people purchasing pets on impulse. Some speakers advocating the ban claimed that pets purchased at flea markets often wind up being abandoned at the county’s Animal Services department. County officials, however, said they had no evidence regarding how many pets purchased at flea markets are abandoned.

—Heard a quarterly report from John Hagen, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council. Hagen told commissioners, “The pipeline has slowed in the last 90 days. We have not closed any new projects.” He also told them he hopes that’s an anomaly, possibly tied to the national budget cuts due to sequestration.

 

 

 

By B.C. Manion

 

Jeanne Forsythe loves to capture images of Florida.

The Wesley Chapel woman uses photography and painting to preserve the natural beauty that she sees.

She is awestruck by the beauty that surrounds her in her community.

“At one time, it was typical for me to head to the coast for my nature shots or photo studies to bring back to my studio for reference for paintings,” she said.

However, she added, “it didn’t take long after moving here to see I wouldn’t have to go far to find inspiration for my paintings and photography. Seagulls fly overhead with the sunlight shining through their feathers, blue herons stroll along the conservation ponds and sandhill cranes come up to the yard after a rain pecking the ground for food. Lizards and palm trees are in abundance and both vary in species and color. Wesley Chapel is beautiful.”

One piece, which she calls Mossy Oak Morning, is a photograph she took of morning sunlight streaming through Spanish moss. She captured that image in a field near Wiregrass Ranch High.

Her Mossy Oak Morning, Colorful Beatles and Beach Chairs will be among the works on display at the North Tampa Arts League’s upcoming show, Artists Unleashed.

The artists, including Forsythe, will be at a reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on May 3 at the Carrollwood Cultural Arts Center, 4537 Lowell Road in Carrollwood.

The show features traditional and contemporary works, including pieces created in a multitude of mediums like sculpture, oil, acrylic, pastels, mixed media, metal, digital design and photography.

The event is free and open to the public.

Forsythe said the show’s title encouraged her to push the boundaries of her normal work.

In a photo she calls Purple Waters, Forsythe has taken sand and shells and incorporated them into the print she had made on canvas.

“I wanted someone who loves the beach as much as I do to be able to take a part of it home with them,” Forsythe explained.

Forsythe joined North Tampa Arts League in 2008 and enjoys the inspiration she derives from the camaraderie of her fellow artists.

“It’s so much more difficult to navigate through the ins and outs of the art business on your own,” she said.

Forsythe was drawing Disney characters when she was 12 and hoped one day she would become an animator.

She was also a big fan of How to Draw books and used them to help her learn to draw animals and faces. Her parents got her one for Disney characters.

“I was totally hooked on that,” she said. “Mickey and Donald were my favorites.”

She also enjoyed doing paint by numbers, which she said was also a great way to learn about creating effects through the placement of color. For instance, when people think of trees, they typically see it as browns and greens. By doing paint by numbers, she learned that creating the desired effect required using brown, green, blue-green, tan and even purple, she said.

“It’s a good learning tool,” Forsythe said.

At 15, she picked up photography and got her first camera.

Initially, she didn’t think she was very good, but then she found out she needed contacts, she said.

When she went to college, she studied photography and art.

“I was actually going to major in art when my dad said, ‘Well, be prepared to starve.’

“I switched my major, for practical reasons, to graphic design,” she said.

Forsythe went on to have a 30-year career, beginning as a graphic artist and ending up as the art director for the Ingram Book Company in La Vergne, Tenn.

She uses what she knows about composition, the use of bold colors and the shapes of things that she gleaned from her experience in graphic arts to help her in her creative quests.

She draws inspiration from such artists such as Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh and John Singer Sargent, as well as the artists she’s met through the North Tampa Arts League.

Now, at age 51, she is devoting much of her energy to pursuing a career as an artist. She paints and takes photographs, primarily of nature. She is available, though, to do custom work for clients.

She also works part-time as a house cleaner and helping people declutter their spaces.

She and her husband, Jay, have two sons, Alex, 17, and Joshua, 14.

Forsythe said she feels certain she was meant to preserve images through her photography and paintings.

“Years ago, when I went to Disney World with my sister, my dad said, ‘Don’t take your camera. Enjoy the time that you’re there instead of worrying about the picture you’re going to get or looking through your camera at everything.’ … That entire day I thought oh, gosh, I wish I had my camera.

“If something is that beautiful, it’s a moment in time; some things you can go back and see again, and some things you just can’t. That wave is only going to be cresting that way, with the light hitting it that way, on that day at that time. It’s a way to stop time.”

 

The North Tampa Arts League’s show Artists Unleashed is presented by the Carrollwood Cultural Center in Carrollwood, 4537 Lowell Road.

The show is from April 29 through June 3. Jeanne Forsythe and other members of the art league will be there from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on May 3. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit northtampaarts.com.

For more information about Forsythe’s work, visit Jeanne-forsythe.fineartamerica.com and Yessy.com/forsythedesign.

 

 

 

By B.C. Manion

 

An organization that’s slogan is to “protect, serve, preserve” Lutz is staging a giant yard sale May 4 to raise money for its efforts.

The group, which calls itself the Lutz Citizen Coalition, began as a group of citizens concerned about the proposed location of a school for students in sixth through 12th grades.

Learning Gate Community School, a charter school in Lutz, wants to expand its brand of education by opening a second campus near the intersection of US 41 and Sunset Lane.

Area residents have banded together to fight the site, claiming that putting a school there would have too many negative impacts on the surrounding area.

That issue is now in the court system.

Sam Calco, one of the yard sale’s organizers, said the Lutz Citizens Coalition is not a single-issue group.

It also played a pivotal role in halting Hillsborough County’s plans to take out trees in the medians of US 41 running through the community.

Coalition members kicked up a storm of protest, and the county listened by putting those plans on hold until a solution can be found.

Now, the coalition has been soliciting area businesses and community residents in a quest to create what they’re billing as the Lutz Community Biggest Yard Sale.

The sale is set for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with setup beginning at 6 a.m.

The event will be in the grassy area in front of the Lutz Train Depot, which is in front of the Lutz Branch Library, at US 41 and W. Lutz Lake Fern Road.

The group is asking for people to donate whatever they don’t need so they can sell it to raise money for their efforts.

They are also renting out spaces for people who want to sell items at the yard sale.

Those spaces range in size and price, going from $25 to $100 each. They are being sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

The event will also include live entertainment, a 50/50 chance drawing, a concession stand and a farmers market.

 

Lutz Community Biggest Yard Sale

8 a.m. to 3 p.m., May 4, on the grassy area in front of the Lutz Train Depot, US 41 and W. Lutz Lake Fern Road.

To rent a booth, contact Patrice Eveld at (813) 842-9111 or email at or Sam Calco at (813) 500-0202 or email