Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Samuel Water Surratt Jr. left his mark on Zephyrhills

By B.C. Manion

When people talk about Samuel Walter Surratt Jr., they recall a man who was a devoted civic leader, an involved father and a generally nice guy to be around.

For 21 years, you could find Sam at Zephyrhills City Hall on Monday nights, handling the duties of a city councilman. He devoted the same number of years to helping put out fires as a member of the city’s volunteer fire squad.

He was so well respected that he was named as grand marshal of the Zephyrhills’ Founder’s Day Parade three times. Most notably, he was one of 10 grand marshals selected for the Founder’s Day Parade that celebrated the East Pasco County community’s 100th birthday.

He died on Aug. 14 at age 92 after battling pneumonia, Parkinson’s and heart disease. Hundreds of people turned out on Aug. 18 for his funeral at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Zephyrhills.

Surratt is survived by his wife, Raybelle, and their son, Sam Surratt III. He was preceded in death by the couple’s daughter, Judith Ireland. Other survivors include his son’s wife, Linda, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Raybelle, his wife of 71 years, recalled her husband’s kindness and generosity. She said he thrived on helping others and knew how to have a good time.

“He was very outgoing. He enjoyed life. He was a fun person to live with and be around,” said Raybelle, who met her husband while she was selling tickets at the Crescent movie theater in Dade City, where they both lived.

“Other than his two years in the service, we were never separated,” Raybelle said. He served a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, using his welding skills to repair ships in Rouen, France.

After returning from World War II, he ran his own business, Surratt Iron & Welding Works, in downtown Dade City, across from the historic courthouse, Raybelle said.

Sam Surratt III, recalls visiting his dad’s business.

“What was so neat about the shop — it was a gathering place for politicians. It was wonderful,” he said. People interested in running for office would drop by to test the waters, he said. “That was the local chat shop.”

He shared many happy times with his dad.

“Years ago, in Zephyrhills, we would put a team together and play together in somebody’s pasture,” he said.

His dad would pile all of the kids in the back of a pickup and drive them to one of the fields. Sam and other fathers would use barrels covered with feed sacks to roll across the field, picking up sandspurs so they wouldn’t stick to the kids’ feet.

“We played bare-footed for cryin’ out loud,” he said. “We would have bases (made) out of cow pies.

“We used to hunt at the Green Swamp,” he added. They made it a point to be there on the opening day of hunting season. “I always missed that first day of school.”

Raybelle recalled that her husband was a big band booster supporting both of their kids who played instruments. He pitched in at cookouts to help raise money.

Raybelle also recounted her husband’s passion for gardening, especially for growing orchids. He enjoyed perfecting the beautiful blooms and sharing them with others, she said.

When he retired from his welding business, Sam sold the building to a law firm and used some of the proceeds to explore the world with Raybelle.

“We had a lot of nice trips together,” said Raybelle, who retired after working for years for Pasco County Schools in Zephyrhills and then for the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Dade City.

Places they visited included Switzerland, France, Italy, Africa, Spain and South America.

The two often traveled with two other couples, Jean McClain Murphy and her husband, Pat, and Christine and H.C. Douglas.

Murphy said the couples got along famously and had a fantastic time on the trips.

“Sam was always the same. He had a wonderful personality. He was always happy.”

When the couples were in their 20s and 30s, they would routinely get together with several other couples, Murphy recalled. They weren’t wealthy, but they had fun.

“We were in each other’s homes and our children were there, and Sam was always in the middle of it,” Murphy said.

He enjoyed socializing, Raybelle said, but he also got tremendous pleasure from being of service to others.

Besides being a council member and a volunteer firefighter, he was also involved with the First United Methodist Church, served on the Zephyr Haven Nursing Home Board and was a member of the Zephyrhills V.F.W. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge for more than 50 years and was an honorary member of the Zephyrhills Garden Club.

He received the Distinguished Citizenship Award in Governmental Affairs in 1975.

“He believed in giving back,” Raybelle said. “He didn’t do things for any recognition. He just enjoyed doing them. He was a humble man.”

He also got a big kick from gathering with a group of men at Scratch, a coffee club where members enjoy good-natured ribbing and talking politics, she said.

Sam’s son said if there is anything people remember about his father, he hopes it is this: “He was so passionate about this community and the people who lived here. He was always approachable. He would talk to anyone. He was never too busy to help people out of a problem.”

Odessa company aims to help make things work

By B.C. Manion

You may not know what they’re called, but you take advantage of them every day.

They’re the tiny devices that make the microwave go on when you want to heat up your frozen dinner, or fire up the oven when you want to bake a pie.

The devices are called embedded controls, and there’s a company in Odessa that makes it its business to come up with ways to make all kinds of technology work.

Ray Carr and his team design these controls for clients that provide equipment used by defense contractors, medical providers, restaurants and industrial companies, to name a few.

In essence, the embedded controls they design are tiny devices that combine hardware and software to make things work, said Carr, whose company, called Occam Medical Designs, has adopted the slogan “simplicity by design.”

He started his business in 1999 in the garage of his home in Lutz, and when the company outgrew that space, he moved to a business park in Odessa. Now, Occam Medical is getting ready to move again and plans to relocate to Land O’ Lakes.

Carr’s interest in technology began more than three decades ago. The 46-year-old said his introduction to the marvels of what computers can do happened when he was 12.

He had traveled to Pennsylvania with his family to visit relatives. His uncle was a university professor and Carr recalls seeing computer-generated images of Abraham Lincoln and the Starship Enterprise.

The printouts captured his imagination.

When Carr returned to Florida, he began delving into the world of computer programming. He spent summers at the Science Center of Pinellas learning whatever he could.

“I was writing (computer programs) on teletype terminals,” Carr said. “I finally talked my dad into getting me a computer when I was in ninth grade.”

Carr attended Vanderbilt University, where he discovered a love of electronics as well as programming.

Since then, he has used those skills to develop 23 domestic and international patents on 14 different products, including an endoscopic shaver blade window positioning system, a blood product delivery system, a conveyerized oven and method for uniform cooking, a multi-purpose irrigation/aspiration pump system and a foot switch.

Carr’s company has been involved in designing embedded controls for all sorts of restaurant equipment, such as french fryers, smoothie makers and walk-in coolers.

Despite the recession, his company has grown from a $200,000 a year operation to one topping $3 million annually.

Carr credits the subcontractors he works with.

“We have some really excellent designers,” said Carr, noting many had been laid off by their companies. “We pulled them into our group.”

These designers have handled technologies for a wide range of uses. They’ve created for defense contractors including Honeywell, ATK, Burtek, Raytheon and E-Systems.

In the medical arena, they’ve done work for Baxter, GE Medical, Bristol Myers Squibb and MELA Sciences. And, general industry clients have included Manitowoc Food Service Group, Hobart and Polaris.

Carr didn’t start out his career expecting to launch his own company that now handles work for business across the country.

Initially, Carr pictured himself climbing the corporate ladder, he said.

“I actually advanced pretty quickly. I was a director when I was 27 years old,” Carr said.

He discovered it wasn’t the life for him.

“I didn’t like what it was,” Carr said, so he and his wife, Tami, decided he should set up his own consulting company and see where that led.

Carr said creating his own business has allowed him to put his priorities in their proper place.

He and Tami, have two children, 13-year-old Sean and 6-year-old Olivia. The children are homeschooled.

“Family is so important,” said Carr, who has set aside one-on-one time with his children on his calendar each week.

“It’s so important to schedule business around your family, instead of family around your business,” Carr said.

He also relies heavily on his faith.

“As the business was growing, I joined a group called the C12,” Carr said. “It’s a group of Christian CEOs in the area.”

C12 members lead companies doing anywhere from a couple of hundred thousand to more than a billion dollars worth of business, Carr said.

“We meet once a month,” Carr said. “You get one-on-one training and you also meet once a month with your core group, which has a dozen people from the area. That has been really, really helpful.

“These are guys who can mentor,” Carr continued. “They are extremely well-versed in business and what to do.”

As he makes his business decisions, Carr pays attention to how those decisions fit into his values.

“My goal is to listen and to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented and to filter them out from the ones that may be not right for us, or not a good fit,” Carr said. He added, “It’s important to just sit and kind of be peaceful. I don’t call it meditation. To me, it’s prayer. You feel if you should flow some place and you feel if you shouldn’t.”

Ultimately, Carr said, “It’s God’s company, not my company.”

To reach Carr, email him at .

 

By B.C. Manion

Students who began classes at Saint Leo University this fall have a new option for those looking to educate the nation’s youth after the addition of a secondary education major.

That program joins the university’s elementary and middle grades majors. Saint Leo has a long tradition of preparing elementary education teachers — a major it began offering in 1967. More recently, in 2005, it added a field of study for middle school educators.

Saint Leo officials decided to expand its teacher preparation program into high school grades after becoming aware of an interest from its students and also noticing an increasing national demand, said Nancy Cerezo, associate professor of education middle grades/secondary education coordinator.

An increasing number of students have been identifying secondary education as their projected major on their SAT tests, Cerezo said.

Once the university recognized the interest and need, it conducted an internal study to see if it would be viable to add a major in secondary education. After concluding it was, Saint Leo began preparing to meet the standards necessary for program graduates to meet state requirements.

Establishing the framework for the major has taken a good deal of coordination, Cerezo said. She is grateful for the supportive efforts from the university community.

“Our secondary program and our middle grades program have the support of our arts and science faculty, and that’s huge,” Cerezo said. “We could not do our middle/secondary program without their support. They truly have been wonderful.”

It took close to 12 months to realign the courses, she said. The university also made some changes to its middle grades program.

“We were able to develop the English, the math, the social science,” Cerezo said. The university is still working on science, which they expect to finish this year.

The university has state approval on its middle grades courses, but doesn’t have it yet on its secondary program.

“It’s unclear how long it will take,” Cerezo said.

However, she noted the university is committed: “We don’t want our students to graduate without the (state) approval. … If we don’t have state approval when they enter their junior year, they could do middle grades (program). They can start the middle grades and then switch.

“The difference between the middle grades and secondary program is the certification,” Cerezo continued. Middle certification is for teaching grades five through nine and secondary certification is for grades six through 12.

The goal is to recruit freshmen into the program and to have the state approval by the time they enter their junior year, she said.

For the secondary grades program, the university hopes to start with 20 students and to gradually grow. The middle grades program typically has 15 to 20 students and the elementary usually has 35 freshmen each year.

Cerezo said she expects the employment market for teachers to be good for the foreseeable future based on demographics. On one hand, the population is growing. On the other, many educators are reaching retirement age.

Cerezo is an ardent advocate of teaching as a career. She sees it as having a value that goes well beyond the classroom walls.

“Working with students and helping them learn to be who they are is so important,” Cerezo said. “We provide content for them to become knowledgeable and successful in life, but what we really do is we develop the future.”

The university began classes on Aug. 21 with more than 650 freshmen and about 170 transfer students. Overall, undergraduate enrollment on campus this fall is about 2,100.

Total enrollment at the university this fall, including those in online programs and studying at continuing education centers in seven states, will surpass 16,000.

 

By Kyle LoJacono

Gulfside Regional Hospice’s sixth annual Hike for Hospice has a new home.

The annual fundraiser for hospice care had been at Wesley Chapel District Park, but Gulfside spokeswoman Ashley Juno said organizers wanted a more centralized location.

Rasmussen College, 18600 Fernview Street in Land O’ Lakes, will now host the hike, which brought out 500 runners for the 5-kilometer race last year.

“Our hikers travel from all over the Tampa Bay area, with most coming from Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough,” said Carla Armstrong, Gulfside’s fundraising manager. “Located near the crossroads of several major highways, the Rasmussen College location is the perfect location for all of our hikers — whether they’re traveling near and far — to gather together in support of Gulfside Regional Hospice.”

The event is set for Nov. 11, with the run starting at 8 a.m. and registration an hour before. The 5K walk is at 9 a.m. with awards following.

“Racers and walkers of all ages and abilities — individuals, groups and families — are invited to participate in the Hike for Hospice,” said Gulfside president and CEO Linda Ward. “The goal of the Hike for Hospice is to increase awareness of hospice care in our community during National Hospice Month in November, as well as remember and honor our loved ones.”

Along with the new location, the event will have a special theme because of the date it falls on — Veterans Day. The We Honor Veterans program will be highlighted as participants run and walk the course.

All proceeds from the Hike for Hospice are designated for patients and their families facing life-limiting illnesses in Pasco County while supporting programs at Gulfside’s hospice houses and bereavement centers. The event has raised more than $250,000 since it began in 2007, according to Juno.

The event was first at New Port Richey Aquatic Center and was split between the West Pasco County location and Zephyr Park in Zephyrhills in Year 2. It moved to Wesley Chapel District Park in 2009.

To register for this year’s hike, visit www.firstgiving.com/Hikeforhospice or call (800) 561-4883. Registration is $25 for adults, $15 for students and $5 for children 10 and younger. All hikers will receive a T-shirt, snack and beverages.

For more information about Gulfside, call (727) 845-5707 or visit www.GRHospice.org.

Red, White and You

Parents are invited to an informational meeting about a Spring Break trip to Washington, D.C. for middle school students.

Parents also are invited to go on the trip, which includes visiting more than 30 sites with a District of Columbia registered tour guide.

Anyone wishing to learn more can attend an information session at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the Austin Davis Library in Odessa or on Sept. 22 at 10:30 a.m. at the Lutz Branch Library.

The program leader is Maggie Mixon, who can be reached at .

 

Which is right for you? The SAT or the ACT?

Most colleges accept either the SAT or the ACT. Find out which is best for you by taking a practice test that features a mix of questions from both the SAT and ACT.

Princeton Review will administer the test at Wesley Chapel High’s cafeteria from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sept. 29. The cost is $20 per student.

Preregistration is preferred, but walk-ins are welcome. Please arrive by 8:45 a.m. with a calculator and No. 2 pencils.

Test-takers will receive a detailed score report providing a side-by-side comparison of your projected test scores. A follow-up session is from 1 p.m. to 1:55 p.m. on Oct. 18 in the school media center to discuss the strengths and weaknesses on your score report, and to share basic test-taking techniques to raise scores on both the SAT and ACT.

For more information, call Kelly Davey at (813) 794-8833.

 

Seeking sponsors for Pumpkin Palooza

Veterans Elementary’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) will have Pumpkin Palooza in October.

The school’s fifth annual Fall Festival will be 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 12.

The fundraiser will include carnival games, inflatables, a dunk tank, photo booth, a pumpkin decorating contest, marketplace vendors and concessions. Proceeds will help the PTA provide programs and services for the school.

To keep the fall festival affordable, the PTA is seeking donations and/or sponsorships from businesses in the community. For more information, contact or visit to www.veteranspta.com.

 

Locals graduate from Savannah College of Art and Design

Zak Robinson of Lutz recently graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Robinson earned a degree in architecture. Daniel Horton of Odessa earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design.

 

Radio Disney donates books to Pasco schools

Radio Disney AM 1380 donated nearly 10,000 books for Pasco County’s public elementary and middle schools. The donation resulted from a combined effort between Radio Disney AM 1380, Trinity Rotary and the Pasco Education Foundation.