Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

The young women stood in a circle, outside in the parking lot, tossing soft, colorful balls at one another.

They called out each other’s names as part of an icebreaker aimed at helping them learn each other’s names during the first of 10 sessions this summer at the Sunrise Domestic and Sexual Violence Center’s administrative office in Dade City.

The teenagers are taking part in a Summer Youth Leadership Initiative aimed at helping them to develop skills to combat sexual violence, domestic violence, gender discrimination and other forms of abuse.

The group will meet weekly in three-hour sessions to devise a campaign to help raise community awareness about these social problems and to try to enlist others in a quest to create a community where all people are valued, honored and respected.

Jackie Bavin, the primary prevention coordinator for the center, is leading the sessions. She said one hour will be devoted to teaching leadership skills, an hour will go to education and the third hour will be devoted to creating a community project to raise awareness about these issues.

Bavin said she’s trying to help these youths develop leadership skills so they can be “active bystanders.”

“One of the things that we know is that when we stand up for other people, when people know how to handle situations — violent situations, bullying, — it tends to stop them.

“Youths don’t have those skills. A lot of adults don’t have those skills,” Bavin said.

By educating these youths about violence, domestic violence and other forms of abuse and by helping them to develop leadership skills, the hope is that they know how to respond when any of these issues touch their lives, or the lives of people they know.

“Leaders naturally know when to step in, or how to handle situations,” Bavin said.

They have the skills to assess situations and to know where to turn if a situation is beyond their control, she said.

The program will cover a number of topics, Bavin said. It will cover healthy relationships and discuss the topic of sexual abuse within relationships, she said.

Statistics show that one in three teenagers will experience dating violence in some form, physical, emotional, sexual or emotional, Bavin said.

“We’re covering sexual harassment. We’re covering gender issues,” she said. And the class includes learning how to discern the messages that often are conveyed through the media, such as what roles men and women “are supposed to play,” she said.

Schools have a limited time to deal with these kinds of issues because they’re focused on academics, said Bavin, who has given talks at schools about preventing bullying and other types of violence.

It’s impossible to deliver a comprehensive message, though.

“Some of the schools, we get 30 minutes. Some of the schools, we get 50 minutes,” she said. There also are issues with scheduling and transportation conflicts.

This program gives students a much better opportunity to learn about the issues and be involved in raising community awareness to combat the problems. The youths taking part chose to do so, Bavin said.

Besides her presentations, Bavin will bring in community leaders to share their knowledge with the youths.

She thinks it is important for both the youths and adults in leadership roles to learn to work with each other and develop mutual respect.

Araceli Tijerina, of Dade City, is pleased that her daughter, Tati, has the opportunity to attend the program.

“I think it is a good idea for them to have a program like this,” she said. “It helps them to distinguish if they are ever in a violent relationship. It’s good education.”

Another parent, Janet Acevedo, of Lacoochee, agreed: “I think it’s a great thing.”

Janice Acevedo, 14, said she’s glad to be able to earn community service hours for participating in the leadership training.

“I wanted to do something over the summer, rather than staying at home,” she said.

Tati Tijerina, 12, said she thinks the program will give her better skills to tackle issues if they arise. “If I ever have a problem, I would know what to do.”

In addition to Bavin, others from the Sunrise Center who are involved in the project are Laura Farley, a program assistant and Christina Bates, social change community coordinator.

Dade City teens Nia Henderson and Christina Williams, both 17, and Michele Cruz, 15, also are glad to be part of the program, they said.

They tossed out plenty of ideas when Bavin quizzed the group about the types of violence and talked about potential causes.

Dakota Yonkey, 17, of San Antonio, said she hopes one day to make a true difference.

“I want to incorporate horses with the rehabilitation of children who have been abused,” she said.

 

 

By B.C. Manion

What do autoharps, solar-powered water heaters, pet caskets and gate openers have in common?

At least one thing: They are among the products sold by an Odessa-based online retailer called Web Direct Brands Inc.

The company specializes in consumer goods that aren’t typically found in a local store.

They’re the kind of things that people tend to search for on the Internet, which turns out to be exactly the audience this company is after. That’s because beyond selling a vast array of items, the company has a dedicated website for each of its product lines.

For instance, say you want to buy an auto harp, but you’re not really sure where to get it or what kind to buy. Chances are you’ll turn to Google and find an ad from AutoHarpStore.com at the top of the list.

“We’ve been the largest autoharp dealer for probably about four or five years running now,” said Matt Raab, vice president of Web Direct, located at 13100 SR 54, in a stand-alone building set back from the highway.

“We probably sell about 15 percent of all autoharps sold worldwide,” added Anthony Gaeto, the company’s president and founder.

In a nutshell, this company combines the power of the Internet and deep product knowledge to sell its goods.

“The key is to become an expert on what you are selling,” Gaeto said, and then to share that information with customers. “We focus on bringing quality content to somebody who is interested in buying one of the products that we sell,” he said.

“If your website is focused enough and it becomes an authority on that very focused item, you can have a very successful website,” Gaeto said.

The website has an online selector, Raab said. This allows customers with specific needs to select the features of the autoharp they desire. For instance, perhaps a musician wants a particular type of wood because of its specific resonance and maybe they want a different number of chords because of the kind of music they play. They can use an online selector to design the autoharp they desire, Raab said.

The company has numerous websites. They include: DIYGateopeners.com, DIYPoolFence.com, DIYHurricaneSupply.com, DIYReverseOsmosis.com, DIYPatioDeck.com, TomatoMilling.com, ArtisticGateConcepts.com, WaterTechSolar.com, PetsinRemembrance.com, YouthChairStore.com and others.

The company operates in an open warehouse-type building, where employees work at desks in small open areas, interspersed with inventory for online customers.

Stepping through the warehouse offers a peak of the company’s niche markets.

There’s fitness equipment, child-sized chairs, pet caskets, reverse osmosis water filtration systems, solar water heaters, computer server racks, meat slicers and youth chairs, which Raab described as a step between a high-chair and a regular chair.

And that’s just a smattering of what’s available today.

“We always have in the pipeline anywhere from 50 to 100 ideas,” said Gaeto, whose company has grown every year since it began operations in 2002.

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, Gaeto said.

“There was a big blip there, when the economy went bad,” he said. However, the company has grown every year and some years by quite a bit.

“In normal times, we’re growing 30 percent,” Gaeto said. And, the economy is improving, he said. “We’re starting to see good growth.”

He expects the company to do $7 million in sales this year.

The company got a boost recently when it was awarded a $250,000 loan through the state’s Economic Gardening Loan administered by The Black Business Investment Fund for the state of Florida.

The loan was granted to increase the company’s manufacturing capacity and expand its marketing and IT departments.

Gaeto said the loan was at least partially responsible for the company’s hiring of 10 employees, bringing its total work force to 35. Without the loan, Gaeto said, he probably would have expanded his work force by just three employees.

“The problem we have in this business is that we have all of these great ideas, we’re just not able to act on them. The loan was purely giving us the opportunity to act on more product lines that we had ideas about,” he said.

“It’s a good loan program. It certainly gets you moving. The first year is the only year that you’re interest only. Then you’re paying back principal over a three-year period. You have to know that you can get that money.

“It’s a pretty aggressive payback. If you’re not able to generate the additional business, it could be crippling,” Gaeto added.

The company has an optimistic outlook.

Gaeto is predicting “significant, steady growth.”

It is so confident about its potential that it has purchased the property next door in December. “We knew that we were growing fast enough that we were going to outgrow this building,” Gaeto said.

On its website, company officials explain Web Direct Brands’ philosophy: “Our stores are built around the premise that a well-informed buyer makes the best customer for a mutually beneficial relationship.”

“We feel that we’re there to give the information and let the customer make an informed decision,” Raab said.

 

By Zack Peterson

Last year, Michael Davis had a vision of a place where the community could have something active to do. His vision culminated in X-treme Indoors, the newest activities center in Wesley Chapel.

Along with two others, fellow neighborhood friends Glen Samuels and Jermaine Perkins, Davis opened X-treme Indoors on May 9.

“It took us about a month and a half to build,” Davis said. “But we’d been thinking about the concept for about a year.”

Davis explained that he, Samuels, and Perkins all live in the neighborhood and have little ones.

“There’s typically nothing to do in the area but go to the movies or travel elsewhere to do something,” Davis said. “We built what we think is something good for the community.”

Now that it’s completed and open for business, X-treme Indoors offers a variety of activities.

Upon first entering the building, adventure seekers will see the batting cages that allow both baseball and softball players to practice their hitting.

“The speeds go as low as 20 miles an hour and as high as 85 to 90 miles an hour,” Davis said. “It accommodates for all skill levels starting with Little League and traveling all the way up to semi-pro ball.”

Where X-treme Indoors takes a turn is with its state-of-the-art racing simulators.

“We were looking to do a different venture with our project, saw a racing simulator at a trade show and thought it would go over well,” Davis said.

The racing simulators are single seating race cars that plant the driver in a virtual setting where they can race other opponents or friends.

But according to Davis, they can offer another dimension of game play.

“The race simulators allow you to race against someone with you or with others elsewhere across the country,” Davis said.

Wired to the Internet, the simulators allow for global game play. Someone may just be sitting in X-treme Indoors, but in the simulator they’re the driver of an Indy car, a stock car or Rally Racing, a form of auto racing that spawns over a large course with multiple checkpoints instead of a traditional circuit-style race.

Someday, Davis and his business partners also want to see X-treme Indoors serving as something more than just game play, something inspiring even.

“Honestly, most business people will tell you that they want to make a lot of money. We’d like to do the same and survive the economic crisis,” Davis said. “But it’d be real nice if one day we hear someone say to a camera, ‘ the time I spent in the cages at X-treme Indoors really helped my career.’ With the racing simulators I’d like it to be an activity where people get other people to do virtual racing as a big friendly, family activity.”

“In a way, I’d like to give back to the community through this.”

For those interested in the activities at X-treme Indoors, prices are set according to the blocks of time that can be spent on either virtual racing or in the batting cages. The batting cages are measured in 15-, 30- and 60-minute time blocks starting at $15 and ranging up to $50. Virtual racing is measured in the same increments at $8 to $29.

Discounts are available for customers who become members of the organization.

For more information, call X-treme Indoors at (813) 929-7254.

 

X-treme Indoors

27233 SR 56, Wesley Chapel

Monday through Thursday 2-10 p.m.

Friday 2-11 p.m.

Saturday 8 a.m.-11 p.m.

Sunday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

 

By Kyle LoJacono

Even though only $950,000 of the $615 million vetoed from Florida’s budget by Gov. Rick Scott was from Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA), it came as a shock to the organization.

The portion of the budget cuts could be crushing for the regional board, which has had an annual budget of $1.75 million since it was established in 2007 by the state Legislature. It was created to plan transportation strategies for the seven counties that make up the Tampa Bay area, which includes both Pasco and Hillsborough.

“The transportation needs of the region have not changed; traffic congestion has not diminished,” TBARTA officials said in a statement responding to the cut. “We need a vision for the long term and solutions for the short term.”

TBARTA spokeswoman Amy Ellis added, “Our funding and revenue vary year to year and some are multi-year contracts. Other dollars may make up the shortfall. It’s too early to know. We are still reviewing and will budget accordingly.”

TBARTA has yet to release its own budget, but one would have to be in place by the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1.

Ellis said TBARTA members are using information gathered during six recent telephone town hall meetings, which drew involvement from 60,000 people.

Pasco Commission Chairwoman Ann Hildebrand is her county’s representative on TBARTA’s board and was disappointed with the cut.

“I think we’ve done a lot with the small budget we had,” Hildebrand said. “We’ll continue to do everything we can with the money we have for the growing region.”

TBARTA estimations show traffic congestion is expected to double by 2035 in its region and triple by 2050.

TBARTA currently has a staff of 13. Of those positions, three are vacant. It oversee the planning and operations of the Bay Area Commuter Services, a ride matching program including car and van-pooling alternatives in TBARTA’s five northern counties.

For more information on TBARTA or to read its entire response to the budget cut, visit www.tbarta.com.

By Kyle LoJacono

Pasco County Commissioner Ted Schrader is seeking his fourth term on the board after filing the necessary paperwork earlier this month.

Schrader, 55, said it will be the last time he runs for the post. He filed to end rumors he would seek another political office, such as the Florida House seat currently occupied by Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, which will be open in two years.

“I wanted to dispel any notion that I’d be running for another political office,” Schrader said. “It’s not my desire to go to Tallahassee. My focus is to continue to provide quality representation to the citizens of Pasco County.”

Schrader is the representative for Pasco District 1, which represents all or portions of Zephyrhills, Dade City, Wesley Chapel, San Antonio, Saint Leo and Lacoochee. It is the biggest of the county’s five districts in terms of landmass.

Fellow county Commissioner Pat Mulieri, who represents most of central Pasco and portions of Wesley Chapel within District 2, is pleased Schrader decided to run again.

“Ted is a thoughtful hard working commissioner,” Mulieri said. “I believe we have a good board now with him on it.”

Mulieri has been on the commission the last 17 years, which includes all three of Schrader’s terms.

Schrader, a Republican, is also a citrus grower and Realtor. He first ran for the District 1 spot in 2000. No one ran against him when he was elected. He defeated San Antonio developer John Nicolette in the 2008 Republican primary en route to earning his third term.

His family has a long history in Pasco’s politics as his grandfather, Arthur Schrader, served as the District 1 commissioner for more than 20 years.

Schrader said he won’t serve as long as his grandfather, promising that his fourth term would be his last.

“I’ve always thought that politicians shouldn’t have everlasting careers,” Schrader said. “If I win, that will be enough for me. There are other things I want to do and it will give someone else the opportunity.”

By B.C. Manion

When Lorraine Dabney joined the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club about four decades ago, she had two goals.

She wanted to meet new friends and she wanted to volunteer.

She had just moved to Florida from Tennessee, her children were grown and she had extra time on her hands.

“One of my neighbors invited me to come to a club meeting and I was hooked,” said the 79-year-old Land O’ Lakes woman who is the club’s longest active member.

Through four decades, Dabney has served the club in a multitude of roles, including president. This year, as the club celebrates its 50^th anniversary, she received its coveted honor of Woman of the Year.

“I was kind of surprised,” said Dabney, who has a warm and humble way about her.

“I knew I had been nominated,” she said. But she didn’t think she would win.

“I’m still active in the club, but nowhere near where I used to be because of physical limitations,” she said.

Typically, the award goes to someone who has been extremely active in the immediate past year, Dabney said.

She should know. She’s seen lots of club members come and go. The honor is awarded just once a year and a member can win it just one time.

After she won, Dabney said, “Several people said, “Well, I thought you’d already been the Woman of the Year,” Dabney said.

Dabney deserves the distinction, said club president Edwina Kraemer.

“Lorraine was selected for her years of faithful duty. She was a chair on almost every committee. She has been so active,” Kraemer said.

To even qualify for consideration, members must exhibit extensive leadership and longevity in the club, Kraemer said.

Dabney, who was born in Alabama, exudes grace and goodwill, Kraemer said.

“She’s just a genteel Southern lady. With that charisma, she has increased our membership. She’s increased cooperation. She is the epitome of what a leader should be,” Kraemer said.

She is also outgoing and fun, Kraemer said.

Dabney said she subscribes to a philosophy that she believes is shared by fellow club members: “We know that beating people over the head doesn’t work. You almost have to love people into doing things. I think when people know that you really care about them and what is happening in their lives, then they recognize you as a good force, not something to fight against,” Dabney said.

The group enjoys a sterling reputation for its long history of community service.

It’s a reputation that the club has earned, Dabney said. “I think we’re proud of it, but we’re not resting on our laurels.”

Every summer the group has a planning meeting to evaluate what it is doing and to decide if they want to continue specific efforts or let them go, Dabney said.

During her time with the club, Dabney said the total number of members hasn’t changed, but its outreach efforts have expanded enormously.

In the beginning, the club helped a few community groups. Now, it helps numerous community organizations and causes beyond the communities of Lutz and Land O’ Lakes.

Helping others goes beyond pitching in at events. The club also must raise money so it can provide financial help to the groups it supports.

“I think one of the coolest things that we do is we sponsor the big art show that we do in December in Lake Park. That is one of our biggest fundraisers,” Dabney said.

Another cause, one of Dabney’s favorites, is providing canine companions for people who need service dogs.

The club began buying puppies for that program about a quarter-century ago, when Dabney was the chairwoman of the club’s Home Life committee.

“I ran into a young man at Kash n’ Karry who had his service dog. Being a nosy person, I went up to him and I said, ‘Our state (organization) has canine companions as one of our projects. Tell me a little about it.’

“He was a quadriplegic. He’d broken his neck on his honeymoon. We became friends. He came to our club and had his dog demonstrate his skills and the woman’s club became totally enamored of canine companions.”

Ever since then, the club has provided money to purchase a puppy each year. The dogs are then trained by an organization that provides them to people in need.

“Another thing we do is scholarships. These are not only for high school seniors but also women who are returning to the workforce,” she said.

The club also works to raise awareness to prevent spouse abuse, Dabney said, noting that such abuse is on the rise during these difficult economic times.

Dabney said helping others has helped her, too.

“I feel like I’ve grown as a person. I think that I’ve touched lives,” she said.

Club members also provide a huge support network for one another, during their times of need.

“I had the experience of losing my son (Kennon Dabney) last year and if it had not been for the members of this club and Women of Faith at my church, I don’t know what I would have done,” Dabney said.

“They hosted a marvelous reception at his memorial and there must have been 150 people there. My son didn’t even live in Tampa. He lived in Bradenton. So I think that’s testimony to their heart.”

Her son died of lung cancer. He was just 54.

“The one good thing that came of his death is that everyone in my family who were smokers, quit. So good did come of it. I’m a firm believer that God brings good out of tragedy.”

Dabney said the woman’s club gives women a chance to work together collectively for the good of the community.

“I think the most important thing that anybody can think is: ‘What kind of an imprint am I going to leave when I’m gone?”

“Will I really make a difference, not only in my family’s life, but in my neighbor’s, my community, my state? So many tend to think, Well, I’m only one person. I can’t do anything.

The woman’s club offers individual women a venue for coming together to become an incredible force for good, Dabney said.

“We’re part of the largest international women’s club in the world. So we wield a lot of power. We can bring about change.”