Kumquat Festival needs volunteers
The 16th annual Kumquat Festival is looking for volunteers for festival day.
The festival has been awarded a Southeast U.S. Top 20 Event award and the 2012 Pasco County Event of the Year, primarily because of the commitment of its volunteers, sponsors and partners, according to a release from festival organizers.
Volunteers are needed to welcome and direct vendors and sponsors coming into Dade City, from 4:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the event Jan. 26.
Those who help will receive free coffee and breakfast and will be able to attend the festival, starting at 9 a.m.
An orientation for volunteers is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 22, with food provided by the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce.
Christina Chadwick wins Trainee of the Year
Christina Chadwick, a trainee at Bauer Foundation in Odessa, has received the 2012 Trainee of the Year Award from the German American Chamber of Commerce.
The 18-year-old received the honor during the German American Business Outlook conference in New York City Dec. 3.
Chadwick was flown to New York for the presentation and will receive an all-expenses paid weeklong trip to Germany, sponsored by Lufthansa and FESTO, two German American businesses with operations in the United States.
Panelists who reviewed applications from many German subsidiaries in the United States selected Chadwick.
She was also recognized by Thomas Bauer, the worldwide president of Bauer, for her achievement at the Bauer staff Christmas party at the worldwide headquarters in Schrobenhausen, Germany.
The Bauer trainee program is called a Career Mentorship Program, because students are offered an opportunity to be mentored by both their educational and industrial mentors who help the students discover their career passions and to develop a path of success for both the student and employer.
The program is modeled after the successful German Dual of Education system used by Bauer’s parent company, Bauer AG, in Schrobenhausen. The parent company employs nearly 250 apprentices.
Community grants awarded
The Florida Medical Clinic Foundation of Caring has awarded grants to 11 local nonprofit organizations for projects aimed at improving the quality of life for local residents.
The foundation’s board of directors made these selections:
—Champions for Children, $25,000: This organization builds stronger families in the Tampa Bay region through its child abuse prevention and family education programs.
—Community Aging & Retirement Services, $15,000: This service provides patient-centered care that benefits the elderly and their families.
—Morning Star School, $10,000: The funds will provide scholarship assistance for struggling students with learning disabilities.
—Trinity Café, $10,000: The grant will be used to purchase food to be served in their free restaurant for the homeless in Tampa.
—Sunrise of Pasco Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center, $10,432: This will provide furnishings to expand the program for 16 additional women and children.
—Unsigned Preps, $7,000: These funds will assist lower income high school student athletes to obtain athletic scholarships.
—Quantum Leap Farms, $7,000: The grant will provide equine therapy for children with emotional, physical and developmental challenges.
—Brain Expansions Scholastic Training, $3,000: This organization helps under-represented and disadvantaged youth with specific attention on health related careers.
—Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, $1,500: This provides responsible environmental stewardship.
—Rotary Club of Zephyrhills, $1,500: This grant is for Z Kids. This project of The Rotary Club of Zephyrhills collects and distributes food to children in Zephyrhills who are known to lack sufficient food.
—Feeding America, $1,000: This is a partnership with Lacoochee Elementary and provides food to children and local families.
The foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for all through mentorship, scholarships, sponsorships, awards and service. To volunteer or donate, or to learn more about the foundation or the agencies funded, call (813) 783-9932, visit www.FMCFoundationofCaring.org or email .
Arthur Rutenberg’s Capri model opens
Arthur Rutenberg Homes’ 3,807-square-foot Capri model home — with a covered lanai, cabana and a master-suite wing — has opened in Ladera, a 220-acre lakefront community off Van Dyke Road in northern Hillsborough County.
The model, 1407 Merry Water Drive in Lutz, is base-priced at $639,100, said Ernie Lashlee, building company president.
Arthur Rutenberg Homes is headquartered in Clearwater, and is the nation’s largest franchisor of custom-home building companies. For more information on Arthur Rutenberg homes built by Custom Craft Homes at Ladera, call Linda Wernicke at (813) 948-7174.
M/I Homes claims 11 awards
M/I Homes’ sales staff took home 11 Million Dollar Circle awards, including one for Tony Mainridge as the Tampa Bay area’s top new-home salesperson.
The presentations were made during recent Awards of Excellence ceremonies, sponsored by the Sales and Marketing Council of the Tampa Bay Builders Association.
Others winners included:
—Patty Cafra, $5.9 million in sales at The Reserve at Hampton Lakes, Tampa
—Randee Romaguera, $5.1 million in sales at Easton Park/Connerton, New Tampa
—Mark Cutro, $4.3 million in sales at Easton Park, New Tampa
—Gary Gaal, $1.7 million at The Reserve at Hampton Lakes, Tampa
M/I Homes builds in the Tampa Bay communities of Hillsborough, Pasco and Manatee counties and will soon be building in Polk County.
North Tampa Chamber meetings
The North Tampa Chamber of Commerce will have several meetings this month:
—Jan. 8, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Chamber Chatter Connections After Hours Mixer hosted by Bennett Chiropractic Northdale, 3903 Northdale Blvd., Suite 100 W., Tampa. AAA South is co-hosting the event. RSVP to , or call (813) 341-7227.
—Jan. 10, 11:45 a.m., general meeting at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, 2701 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa. For early bird registration, RSVP to the chamber office by 5 p.m. for a discounted rate of $17. Reservations will be accepted after that date on the attendee check-in list for $22. For more information, call (813) 971-4710.
—Jan. 17, 11:30 a.m., Chamber Networking Luncheon: Relationship Building With Business Neighbors, Beef O’ Brady’s, 8810 N. Himes Ave. in Tampa. RSVP by Jan. 15 to Kelly Winterling at , or call Horizon Bay at Lutz, (813) 909-9679. For more information call (813) 936-2058.
—Jan. 24 at 11:30 a.m., Chamber Networking Luncheon – Relationship Building with Business Neighbors, Embassy Suites USF, 3705 Spectrum Blvd., Tampa. RSVP by Jan. 22 to Jenn Beaumont at , or call her at AGLA-American General Life at (813) 334-8998.
For more information about the North Tampa Chamber, visit www.northtampachamber.com, call (813) 961-2420, or email .
