The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Wilcher named southeast Medical Director of the Year

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By Kyle LoJacono

Pasco Regional Medical Center isn’t the largest or most used hospital in the Southeast, but the Dade City facility can boast one of the region’s top medical directors.

Dr. David Wilcher, Pasco Regional’s medical director of emergency services, was named Medical Director of the Year by TeamHealth Southeast. TeamHealth is a national hospital-based clinical outsourcing services provider based in Florida.

Pictured from left are Pasco Regional employees chief nursing officer Marge Keck, emergency department director Wendi Romano, CEO Phil Minden, emergency services medical director Dr. David Wilcher, Dr. Frank Ruisi, Jessie Riley, Micky Gibbs and Penny Small. (Photo courtesy of Pasco Regional)

Wilcher said it is the first award of its kind he has ever received, which made it even more special.

“I felt very honored that I was chosen for this award,” Wilcher said. “I was especially excited for the physicians, nurses and techs that made the move with me to Pasco Regional Medical Center. They’re the ones that helped make this possible.”

Wilcher and his staff joined Pasco Regional last October from Florida Hospital Zephyrhills. The other four in his group that made the move to Dade City include Drs. Frank Ruisi, Steven Land, Kaivon Madani and Venugopal Palani.

“(The award) just shows that cutting-edge medicine isn’t just in the larger cities,” Wilcher said. “I’m thankful that I’m able to bring that kind of care to the people who are a part of the community I love.”

Wilcher said he first got into healthcare because he has, “A passion for health and human science and a desire to help others,” he said. “It was a perfect fit for me.”

Phil Minden, Pasco Regional’s CEO, said Wilcher’s passion for medicine shows as he, “Is a tremendous asset to the emergency department here.”

Wilcher was recognized for his leadership abilities and commitment to creating the best possible clinical outcomes. An important part of the award was the comfort of the patient.

According to TeamHealth, physician candidates must meet the following criteria to be considered:

–Kindness and compassion in patient caregiving

–Ethical, intuitive and street-smart behavior in the politics of his/her duties

–Innovative and proactive administrative skill

–Strong advocacy for excellence in clinical care

–Team leadership and team membership

–Excellent communication and negotiation skills

–Willingness to frequently go above and beyond the call of duty

–Accountability and stewardship in his or her duties

Wilcher received the award at TeamHealth’s leadership conference this month. He also will be recognized at the American College of Emergency Physicians national meeting later this year.

For more information on TeamHealth, visit www.teamhealth.com. For additional information on Pasco Regional, call (352) 521-1100 or visit www.PascoRegionalmc.com.

Why we win top awards

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By Diane Kortus

It always feels good to be recognized by your peers and we’ve gotten a mega-dose of this feel-good medicine in the past few weeks.

At the beginning of May we received Best of Show and 11 other awards for advertising design in the Awards of Excellence contest sponsored by Community Papers of Florida.

 

Then last week the Florida Press Association notified us that our journalists won nine awards in its annual editorial competition for weekly newspapers, including the prestigious categories of best sports section and city/county coverage. We’ll learn in July how we placed.

 

What is it about our company that makes us consistent winners in these statewide competitions?

 

Three things:

 

* Employees who work together with a shared vision to produce the best newspaper they can every week with pertinent, compelling stories and ads that motivate readers to shop locally

 

* Employees who listen to the needs of customers

 

* Employees who are empowered to make decisions and a boss who does her best to stay out of their way

 

Notice the common denominator? It’s employees.

 

Ask any small business owner why he is successful and he’ll tell you it’s because of committed, engaged and motivated employees.

 

That certainly is true here at Community News Publications. We would not be an award-winning newspaper without our staff of artists, journalists, sales people and support staff who take pride in the community newspapers they produce every week.

 

It is especially rewarding to be recognized for the quality of our work while we battle the financial challenges of the depressed economy. Like most small businesses, we have adjusted to decreased sales and have learned to do more with fewer people.

 

These people —my 14 employees— have never worked harder or better as a team.  And the proof of this is the recent awards from our peers in the newspaper industry who have judged us to be the best in the state.

 

The Laker and the Lutz News deliver well-written stories to clue you in to important news in our community and to share interesting stories about the people who live, work and play here.

 

The advertising and design staff provide informative local ads to help our local businesses showcase the goods and services they provide to meet our readers’ needs.

 

The services we provide and the recognition they’ve received are worth celebrating and are valuable, in any economy. Please join me in congratulating my staff for their outstanding work.

 

 

 

 

 

Nikki Jessee picked to guide Saint Leo women’s basketball

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By Kyle LoJacono

Saint Leo University has selected its next women’s basketball coach, and the new leader is already a veteran of the Sunshine State Conference (SSC).

Nikki Jessee was named the Lions 11th women’s basketball coach April 11 and came a week after Lance Randall was named the leader of the men’s program. The 12-year coach and assistant last led a program at rival SSC program Lynn University in Boca Raton. Jessee has compiled 70 wins during her five years as a head coach.

“While we had a great pool of candidates for this position, coach Jessee has successfully rebuilt two programs in Martin Methodist and Lynn University,” said Saint Leo athletic director Francis Reidy. “She has proven she can do what needs to be accomplished to be successful with our women’s program.”

Jessee, who was born in Florida, has even more experience in the SSC, a Division II conference. She most recently was an assistant at the University of Tampa under coach Tom Jessee, her husband. The Spartans won a regular season SSC championship in 2009-10 and posted a 21-8 record last year.

“I’m ecstatic to have been given the opportunity by Mr. Reidy to bring a winning tradition to the Saint Leo women’s basketball program,” Jessee said. “We will immediately get to work developing the players we now have, and adding some missing pieces to move this program in the right direction.”

The new Lions leader began her coaching career in Lakeland with George Jenkins High. The Eagles reached the Class 5A state championship game during the 1999-00 season, losing 78-39 to Hollywood South Broward. Jessee became the coach at Orlando Lyman High the next year.

Jessee was later the coach at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn. There she guided the program to its first conference tournament win. Jessee has the most wins of any women’s basketball coach in Martin history. Jessee was also the recruiting coordinator from 2003-04 at Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tenn. before heading to Martin.

Jessee played basketball at Lakeland High and was an All-American before moving on to the University of Florida. She signed a professional contract with the Thames Valley Tigers in Bracknell, England.

“Nikki Jessee has been successful as a player, assistant coach and head coach in the Sunshine State Conference,” Reidy said. “For these reasons she was the best choice to lead our program going forward. We are excited to have Nicole, Tom except for two nights a year, and daughter Rudi as the newest members of our Saint Leo family.”

Jessee has big plans for the Lions program both on the court and in the community. She said her student athletes will be encouraged to volunteer with charitable groups in Pasco County.

“Saint Leo is a hidden gem with wonderful people surrounding it, and one which I hope to put on the map basketball wise,” Jessee said.

Jesse replaces Saint Leo alumnus Chanita Olds, who led the program since 2005. The Lions were 9-18 last season, 1-15 in SSC contests, and missed the conference playoffs.

Jessee graduated from Rollins College in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in English and earned her master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Campbell University in 2001.

 

 

Nicole Woodard captures two 3A medals

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Bulls and Bulldogs also impress at states

Land O’ Lakes senior Nicole Woodard competed in four events at the Class 3A track and field meet at Winter Park on May 6 and came away with a third and fifth-place finish.

Woodard took the bronze with a high jump of 5-06, matching her personal best. She also finished seventh with a long jump of 17-09. It was her third trip to the state meet.

Woodard was also part of the Gators 4×400-meter relay team with Hallie Grimes, Samantha Austin and Alyssa Lonsway that came in 12th in 4:04.73. The time was not good enough to make the finals, but set a new program record. The quartet also qualified for states in the 4×100, but also did not make the finals.

Woodard also recently decided to sign with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, an NAIA program in Daytona Beach, to continue competing in track and field. Her older sister Reta, a 2009 Gators graduate, also attends and competes at Embry-Riddle.

Grimes, a freshman, was not intimidated by her first trip to the state meet and ran a 58.30 in the 400-meter race, good enough for fifth place.

The Gators 17th place finish as a team was better than any other Pasco County girls squad in the event, earning 12 points. Pine Forest won the team championship with 59 points, while Miami Jackson had 51.

The Wiregrass Ranch girls did not post any team points, but several athletes reached their respective finals.

The Bulls 4×800-meter relay team of Elise Cedre, Alex Diepholz, Ariel Grey and Marissa Ginn-Davis came in ninth by posting a 9:50.45. The program’s 4×400 team of Kayla Deloach, Makayla Strickland, Kelsey Sturman and Marissa Tomei finished 11th in 4:04.35.

Wiregrass Ranch sophomore Nikita Shah ran a personal best time of 11:34.52 in the 3,200. The state champion in the event was Chiles’ Lily Williams in 11:00.56.

The Zephyrhills girls earned three team points to tie for 45th place. Tallies came from the 4×100 team of Aaliyah McKenzie, Jamieshia Parker, Alexandria Viera and Kara Young that finished in sixth by running a 48.80.

The Wiregrass Ranch boys posted seven team points to finish 31. No other area boys squad was even represented in the event.

Bulls senior Alex Kazanski was going for his second straight pole vault title, but had to settle for the silver medal. He posted a vault of 14-03 behind Mitchell senior Andrew Bales’ 14-09. His teammate Travis Manecke, a sophomore, was 12th in the discus throw with a toss of 130-04.

The Wiregrass Ranch boys 4×800 relay quartet of Ian Cassette, Josh Reilly, Logan Selzer and Tyler Mattera ran an 8:15.67, good enough for 14th place.

Bulls senior Ryan Pulsifer posted a 10th place finish in the 3,200 with a time of 9:47.44, while Selzer, a senior, finished in 16th in the 1,600 in 4:37.89.

–All results as recorded by the Florida High School Athletic Association. Compiled by Sports Editor Kyle LoJacono.

No time for a rebuilding year for Sunlake football

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By Kyle LoJacono

The 2010 Sunlake football team set a program record by winning eight games and the current Seahawks have no interest in taking a step back in 2011.

“We expect to be in the thick of things in the fall,” said Sunlake coach Bill Browning. “The only way we know how to do that is work our tails off. It was a good year in 2010, but we need to only look at 2011.”

Cameron Stoltz

The Seahawks will have to work through losing some key players while moving into a new district if they are to make the first playoff appearance in program history.

One of the biggest losses is quarterback Jacob Jackson, who had 1,258 passing yards and 18 touchdowns while adding 1,058 rushing yards and another 12 scores last year. His 2,316 total yards and 30 touchdowns are both season records for the fourth-year program.

Browning said no starting quarterback has been named for 2011, but the likely successor is junior Cameron Stoltz.

“Right now I’m the only unknown quarterback in Pasco,” Stoltz said. “In a way that’s good because no one will know what to expect, but it means I need to work very hard to take us to higher levels. I have big shoes to fill.”

Stoltz completed four of nine passes in 2011 for 86 yards and one touchdown. He hasn’t ever led a varsity offense before, but he has most of his top weapons returning for the fall.

Sophomore Eddie Burgos had 270 passing yards and three scores last year, while junior Jamal Jones had 685 total yards and eight touchdowns.

Rashaud Daniels

Also returning is junior Rashaud Daniels, who led the squad with 24 catches for 426 yards and five touchdowns, while adding another 543 rushing yards and 11 scores.

“The main goal is to get this team to our first playoffs in the fall,” Daniels said. “A lot of us older players want to play in college too, but the most important thing is getting us to the playoffs.”

Daniels said hard work, especially in the weight room, is what will help get the team to that goal. The Seahawks know something about hitting the iron in the gym as Sunlake had three lifters place in the top six of their weight division in the Class 1A state weightlifting meet this year.

Dean Bui, who missed last football season with a broken arm, came in second in the 129-pound class, while heavyweight Nate McCoole and 154-pounder Kyle Fraser came in fourth and sixth respectively.

“We know we’re the strongest team in Pasco County,” Stoltz said. “We’re working every single day in the weight room and our linemen; I wouldn’t want to go against them.”

Browning said Fraser will be one of the leaders on the defense at linebacker, but will also see time on offense. He had 41 tackles, five sacks and one interception while playing linebacker in 2010.

“I’m working to improve on all the fundamentals here in the spring,” Fraser said. “That will let me do more complicated things and make me better as a whole.”

Sunlake went 8-2 in 2011, good enough to make the postseason in most districts. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, it put them third in Class 3A-District 7 behind Pasco (11-1) and Land O’ Lakes (9-2).

Sunlake moves into 6A-6 with Land O’ Lakes, Mitchell, River Ridge, Central, Hernando, Nature Coast and Springstead. The Seahawks have yet to play any of those Hernando County schools, but Browning said he is going to focus on his team before looking at those unknowns.

“We just want to find some football players,” Browning said. “Basically the spring is all about finding who the football players are and what works best.”

Sunlake plays its spring game at Mitchell on Thursday, May 26 at 7 p.m.

–All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.

 

Pirates take first step toward state glory

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By Kyle LoJacono

The Pasco football team took its first major steps toward the program’s second state championship when the Pirates hit the field for their first spring football practice on May 2.

Pasco went 11-1 last year and won the program’s fourth straight district championship. The squad’s only loss was in the Class 3A regional semifinals 41-14 to eventual state champion Jefferson.

Pirates coach Tom McHugh will need to find replacements for the large number of graduating seniors, including nine scholarship players, if the program is to take that next step.

Jacon Guy

“We have a lot of things to figure out,” McHugh said. “We had 26 kids graduate, so we have a lot of places we need to fill in. There are big shoes to fill at a lot of positions. Right now we’re just trying to figure out what we have.”

Two big losses for the Pirates are Jamie Byrd and Hakeeme Ishmar, who signed with Texas Christian and Florida Atlantic universities respectively. Byrd had a team-high 73 tackles and added two interceptions playing defensive back in 2010. Ishmar made contributions as a defensive end, running back and receiver.

Junior Trey Dudley-Giles started at defensive back and wide receiver last year and will need to take on an even bigger load in 2011.

“I have to fill Jamie’s shoes,” Dudley-Giles said. “He always sparked our defense by hitting somebody and making a big play. I need to step up and help fill that hole.”

One position that is set is quarterback. Junior Jacob Guy was under center for Pasco last season, where he racked up 2,014 passing yards and 25 touchdowns.

“Coming in last year there was a big jump between varsity and junior varsity,” Guy said. “It was the first time I was a full-time starter at varsity. I was able to find some holes in defenses in the secondary and see what the linebackers do in situations. This year I hope to continue that and find more holes in the secondary to beat the defense.”

Janarion Grant

Running back is another position with key returners, including sophomores David Emmanuel and Janarion Grant. The duo combined to score 30 total touchdowns and gain 1,480 rushing yards in 2010.

“My goal is to get stronger and faster,” Grant said. “Last year was tough getting used to playing a lot. Now I’m just working to make myself a better athlete, because I know a lot of the plays.”

Grant was as much of a threat as a receiver as he was a runner last year. He caught 29 passes for 523 yards in 2011 and hopes that will only improve in his second full year in the offense.

“It’s easier because Jacob and I have known each other for so long,” Grant said. “He knows the kind of route I’m going to run and I know where the ball is going to be.”

Pasco will play at Zephyrhills on May 26 at 7 p.m. in its spring game. Pasco County schools did not play an actual spring game for 19 years, but the school district brought back the contest last year. McHugh said the game is a carrot to keep the players going during the month of spring practice.

“You teach in the classroom and put these guys through the workouts and practices, but having that event at the end helps keep them going,” McHugh said. “You have 20 days of football practice, you need to have that activity that everyone looks forward to. It’s a test just like in school. We study and get ready to see what we have at the end of the month. We’ll have an intrasquad game on May 20, so we also have that to look forward to.”

If the season does end in a title, it will have started with that first day of sweat on May 2.

“We have players who come out here and want to work hard, and that pushes everyone to get better,” Grant said. “We all want to win a state championship and it starts with practice.”

–All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.

 

 

Familiar foe ends Pasco’s title run

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By Kyle LoJacono

The Pasco softball team’s dreams of a state championship ended the same way it has three of the last four years — with a loss to Harmony.

The Pirates (25-7) hosted the Class 4A regional finals May 3 and played the Longhorns to a 3-3 tie after seven innings, but Harmony took the lead with a run in the ninth to win the contest 4-3.

Pasco senior pitcher Courtney Brandt had a career high 21 strikeouts in the game, working all nine innings. She allowed five hits and three walks in the contest, but only two of the four runs allowed were earned.

“We couldn’t have asked for much more out of Courtney,” said Pasco second-year coach Lisa Herndon. “She did exactly what we needed her to do.”

Harmony cashed in on two Pasco errors to score an unearned run in the top of the ninth. The loss was the Pirates first at home all season.

The Longhorns scored the game’s first run the second inning when Brittany Bruns hit a solo home run.

Pasco got three runs in the fourth, starting with singles by Lizzy Burchfield and Brandt. Sophomore Jordan Lane smacked a double to bring both around to score. Lane later scored when Kaylee Britton reached on an infield error.

The Pirates had a chance to stretch their lead in the fifth inning with bases loaded and no outs. The Longhorns managed to turn a triple play to end the threat, and scored two runs of their own in the sixth to tie the contest.

Emily Pennington and Burchfield each went 2-4 in the game. Amber Caudill and Lane both hit doubles, the only extra base hits for Pasco.

The Pirates have only two seniors on the roster. Brandt started the last five games for the Pirates, going back to the 4A-7 district semifinals. During that span, she has 71 strikeouts. She ends the year with a 16-5 record, 16 complete games and 240 Ks.

Brandt not only led the team in most pitching statistics, but also had a team high .485 batting average, 50 hits, 44 runs, 36 RBI and five home runs.

“We’re going to miss her,” Herndon said.

–All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.

 

Gaither reaches 5A regional semifinals

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Cowboys ousted by Bradenton Manatee

By Kyle LoJacono

The Gaither baseball team surprised many by winning the 11th district championship in program history after losing 12 seniors from last year, but the Cowboys must wait another year for their first state title.

Gaither (16-9) dropped its Class 5A regional semifinals contest at Bradenton Manatee 13-3 on May 7. The Cowboys did reach the semis for the first time since 2009 and for the second season in five years.

Robert Johnson

Jose Gonzalez got the Cowboys on the board first with a solo home run in the second inning, but Manatee answered with a nine-run bottom of the frame. Hurricanes pitcher Scott Kelly threw a complete game four-hitter in the contest.

Gaither pulled out a 1-0 win in the regional quarterfinals at home May 3 against Venice. Senior pitcher Robert Johnson (8-0) threw a complete game seven-hitter with one strikeout without walking a batter in the victory.

“I came out of the pen and my arm felt great today,” Johnson said. “I just went out there and tried to hit my spots. Let them hit the ball and let the defense take care of it behind me.”

The Cowboys defense committed no errors in their three games in the district tournament and they were again spotless in the field against Venice.

“It wasn’t perfect, but we got by,” Johnson said. “Not a lot of strikeouts and they hit the ball very well, but we have defense to back me up. Our defense is what won the game. We had a lot of fantastic plays in the field.”

One of the biggest defensive plays came with one out in the seventh. Indians’ third baseman Kevin Guthrie ripped what appeared to be a sure double into the gap in right center field, but senior Zach Jackson made a diving grab to help close out the inning.

“Off the bat I didn’t think I had a chance to catch it,” Jackson said. “I was just trying to keep it in front of me. My center fielder said he had my back, so I went for it. Just gave it everything I had.”

Gaither coach Frank Permuy also gave credit to his infield defense.

Oscar Mercado

“Oscar (Mercado) made some nice plays at shortstop on difficult hops early in the game and Cody (Robinson) at second made a good catch running back into the outfield,” Permuy said. “Then that play by Zach in right field was the play of the game. That was tremendous.”

Gaither had just three hits in the contest to Venice’s seven, but all three came in the third inning. Alejandro Brunet led off the third with a single, followed by another single by Gonzalez. Two batters later junior left fielder Hayden Kelley, a Cambridge Christian transfer, hit an RBI single for the game’s only run.

“I’d been swinging at bad pitches all night, but he left a ball about knee high and I hit it into left field,” Kelley said. “It feels good to get a win against a good team. They more than doubled our hits, but we got them when we needed them and Robert went out and threw a great game.”

The trip to the regional semis is even more surprising considering the youth on the Gaither squad this year. The Cowboys lost 12 seniors, five who signed athletic scholarships, from last year’s team that set a program record with 21 wins. Gaither was knocked out of the regional quarterfinals at Venice last year.

“I don’t think anyone expected us to do anything this year because we are so young,” Permuy said. “We went over there last year and Venice got us. I know the guys still had some revenge factor.”

Gaither will lose only three senior starters, but two of those are Jackson and Johnson who accounted for 12 of the 16 wins for the pitching staff.

 

PHCC graduation has double meaning for Land O’ Lakes family

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By B.C. Manion

Troy Button Jr. strode across the stage to accept his diploma from Pasco-Hernando Community College, and less than a minute later, his mother, Laura Button walked across the stage to get her diploma, too.

The mother and son took very different paths to their degrees.

The son is on a fast track. He started taking college classes as a sophomore at Sunlake High.

Laura and Troy hold their diplomas after the afternoon commencement ceremony. (Photo courtesy of the Button family)

The mother, on the other hand, completed requirements for the Associate of Arts degree that she began pursuing more than two decades ago.

Life intervened, she explained.  “You meet people,’’ she said, nodding to her husband, Troy Button Sr. “You get married, you know. You have kids.”

When her son announced that he would be taking dual enrollment courses at Sunlake, Laura got busy. She was determined that he would not get his degree ahead of her.

Her goal was to complete her requirements so that she could get her associate’s on the same day as her son.

When it came time to cross the stage during the commencement exercise on the afternoon of May 4, she told her son to go first. She wanted the event to be about him, not her, she said.

The two graduates were among 375 who received diplomas or certificates during morning and afternoon ceremonies at PHCC’s campus in New Port Richey. All together, 830 people were eligible to participate, but most chose not to take part in the day’s festivities.

For those who took part in the afternoon ceremony, the place was packed with people clutching bouquets of flowers, clinging to balloons, shooting videotape and snapping photographs.

Laura said her son not only inspired her to finish the requirements for a degree, but also spurred her to perform well in her classes.

They had some classes together, including math, photography and an online science course. “He was competition,” Laura said, adding, “We both got As.”

Both graduates said their family’s support helped them to attain their AA degree.

Laura said her husband played a huge role.

“He picked up all of the slack,” she said. He pitched in to make sure their other son, Tylor, got to school and that the 9-year-old did his homework.

Her husband also helped with laundry, cleaning and dinner, Laura said. “He just did it all.”

Troy Jr. feels lucky, too.

“If I were in any other family, I probably wouldn’t get the encouragement that I do,” he said.

For his part, Laura’s husband is proud of both graduates.

“It was fun watching them both go to school together,” he said.

“When Troy was in elementary school, he was kind of the class clown,” his father recalled.

Not anymore.

“He’s very serious about what he does. He’s very focused,” Troy Sr. said.

He’s also impressed with his wife. He praised her for “sticking with it.”

Tylor is proud, too.

“It was lots of hard work. It finally paid off,” he said.

Troy Jr. is unsure of where he’ll go to college, but he is certain about his career path: “I’m an aspiring filmmaker,” he said.

The reason he took college courses during high school was so that he could finish college earlier and get started on pursuing his dream.

He has broad interests when it comes to making films.

“I want to do all different kinds of genres, cover a whole variety of films. I want to do documentaries, action, comedies, horror,” he said.

Laura also intends to pursue a bachelor’s degree, but not on her son’s timetable.

After all, she does have her husband, children and a full-time job to consider.

And the family isn’t finished celebrating, either.

As if last week’s graduation wasn’t enough excitement, the family still has another graduation on their agenda.

On May 28, they’ll be heading to Sunlake High’s commencement ceremony.

He finished his requirements in December, but wants to mark the end of his high school years with his friends in Sunlake’s Class of 2011.

At that ceremony, Laura will be playing another role. She’ll be sitting with the rest of the family when her son crosses that stage to get his diploma.

Educator uses her kitchen to impart lessons on teamwork, leadership

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By B.C. Manion

It’s 9 o’clock on a Thursday morning and students are streaming into Miriam Cohen Humphrey’s classroom.

They’re chatting as they sit down, but as Humphrey begins to talk, the students settle down to listen.

She tells them what’s on tap for the day.

Taylor Perez, Kelly Addelman and Marissa Hibel work on a recipe for macaroni and cheese.

Half the room will create a menu for a restaurant with any theme.

“Think about what we talked about this week about how menu items are described,” she reminds them.

Attention to detail is important. The menu must include three appetizers, three soups/salads, three entrees and three desserts. It must include a description of each item and its price.

Students are not allowed to copy the name of any existing restaurant or its menu items.

She tells them to give their restaurant a new name, not one that’s already in the market.

“Come up with your own unique spin on these. Think about current trends.”

While some students get busy on this assignment, the other students troop into the kitchen.

They know the drill.

They grab aprons, take out their recipe and get to work.

Today’s assignment: Make macaroni and cheese from scratch.

The chore involves locating the proper cooking pans, grating cheese, boiling whole-wheat pasta and making a creamy cheese sauce.

Once the cooked pasta and cheese sauce are combined, a member of each team spoons a portion into an individual serving tin. A sprinkling of grated cheese goes on top of the macaroni and the tins go into the oven for a quick broil. When the dish is finished, the containers are pulled out of the oven and the students sit down to eat their pasta.

All of this happens within 50 minutes during the Career Discovery Culinary 1 class at Martinez Middle School in Lutz.

In today’s cooking lab, the focus is on learning to work together as a team, which means dividing the duties to make sure everything gets done on time, said Humphrey, recently named the Outstanding Middle School Teacher of the Year by the Hillsborough Technical Career and Adult Association.

Humphrey knows about being a team player, according to a profile put together for the awards program.

Besides giving students a wide range of opportunities, she also has helped new Family and Consumer Sciences teachers and has allowed new teachers to shadow her.

She’s also written exams and exam reviews and currently is developing county curriculum for her course.

In the classroom, she runs a café for her advanced culinary students. She’s also partnered with Steinbrenner High, to give her students a chance to see “a day in the life” of a high school culinary student.

In a quest to help the entire school, she has written articles highlighting good foods to eat before taking a test.

Before becoming an educator, Humphrey did catering and banquet work at several resort hotels.

She thinks that background has helped her to know what skills her student need to possess to get a job in the hospitality industry.

Being able to work on a team is critical, she said.

“That’s what happens in a true kitchen. You don’t have one person creating the entire meal. You have a line cook over here, making the rice. You have a line cook over here, making the meat. You have a line cook over here making the vegetables and they bring it together on one plate and send it out.’’

Learning to work as a team can be a hard lesson for middle-schoolers, Humphrey said.

Some may want to boss others around; others may want to talk with friends instead of completing their tasks.

“Even the best of friends can be the worst teammate. I tell them this all of the time,” said Humphrey, who did not picture herself as a teacher while pursuing her bachelor’s degree at the University of South Florida.

Initially, she majored in voice performance.

“My passion in life was music. My mom was involved in it, too,” said the Wesley Chapel woman, who is married to Joe Humphrey, a teacher at Hillsborough High and associate editor of The Laker/Lutz News. The couple has a 3-year-old son, Andrew.

Humphrey learned a lot about cooking from her mother.

“She was always in the kitchen, or teaching music. It was one of the two, so I always felt kind of connected to both,” she said.

Unfortunately, her mother passed away about a year and a half ago, Humphrey said. Teaching students to prepare foods from scratch is, in some ways, therapeutic, she said.

After getting her undergraduate degree in communication, Humphrey worked in the hospitality industry, doing catering and banquets. She loved the work, but not the hours.

At the same time, she’d become very interested in nutrition.

Her husband mentioned she might want to consider teaching, since schools offer nutrition and food prep courses.

“Somehow, it all fell together,” said Humphrey, who landed a job at Martinez Middle and completed the district’s Alternative Certification Program.

She’s been teaching at Martinez for six years and has had some of the same students for three of those years.

They know their way around the kitchen and operate Café 409, which makes snack items and provides goodies for school events and occasions, such as Administrative Professionals Day or Teacher Appreciation Week.

Humphrey teaches students how to make their favorite foods — such as tacos, pizza, baked ziti and cake — from scratch.

“If I brought in a box of cake mix, I’m not actually teaching them how to bake a cake,” Humphrey said.

By preparing fresh, instead of packaged food, the students can use natural ingredients and skip the preservatives. They also can make healthier versions of foods they enjoy.

For instance, her students make tacos with chicken, black beans and corn.

“A lot of the kids, when they first saw the recipe it was like, “Black beans! I’m not doing it.”

But when they tried it, they liked it.

Students said they enjoy Humphrey’s teaching style and were pleased to see her work recognized.

“She’s very patient,” said 14-year-old Taylor Perez, who has been in Humphrey’s classes for three years. “She always has something fun to do.”

“We learn a lot from her. Everyone shows a lot of respect for her,” said student Alyssa Furr.

“She helps you understand,” added Lexi Crocus, who along with her classmate, Samantha Swanson, won first place in the cookie jar baking competition at the Florida Strawberry Festival. The girls made nine different kinds of cookies for their cookie jar, and provided a recipe card for each.

Humphrey enjoys helping students feel comfortable using kitchen tools.

Some arrive at her classroom never having used a can opener, or an oven.

That’s no big deal to Humphrey. She shows them what to do.

When working with sixth-graders, she goes step-by-step. She gives her more advanced students more complex assignments and greater latitude.

But she keeps an eye on them.

“I’ll stop them if I see an error about to happen,” she said.

She’s vigilant about safety, too.

Humphrey said she’s going to miss her eighth-graders when they move on to high school.

“When you have kids for three years, they want to be here. They want to do a good job. They want to impress you and do amazing things. I don’t have to try to coax these kids to do anything. They just jump right up and go, “Yep, we’ll do it.”

“I think I’m going to cry when these kids leave.”