The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

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Boundaries set for Starkey Ranch K-8

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The Pasco County School Board has set boundaries for the new Starkey Ranch K-8 school under construction in the Starkey Ranch development.

The school — part of a complex that includes a theater, library and cultural center — is scheduled to open in the 2021-2022 school year.

The board adopted the boundaries during it Dec. 1 board meeting.

Starkey Ranch K-8 will have a capacity for 1,500 students, and initially will open for kindergarten through seventh grade, allowing students entering eighth grade to remain at their current school.

The new school will draw students from Longleaf and Odessa elementary schools, as well as River Ridge Middle.

The school also will be a magnet school, attracting students from beyond its assigned boundaries.

In addition to adopting boundaries for Starkey Ranch K-8, the board made some minor adjustments involving the boundaries of Watergrass and Wesley Chapel elementary schools.

That change is being made as a result of the Epperson Ranch subdivision, Williams said.

No one from the public spoke for or against the boundary changes during the board’s meeting.

Published December 23, 2020

Vintage market delights holiday shoppers

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Those looking to do their holiday shopping while enjoying the fresh country air, all while supporting local artisans and businesses, were in luck.

Three-year-old Kaiden Hay, of New Tampa, left, and his 4-year-old sister, Kaiya, pose behind a wooden cutout depicting Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. The children were at the Country Christmas & Vintage Market event with their parents, Eugene and Kara, and grandparents, Scott and Jennifer Cook, of Dade City. (Christine Holtzman)

The Country Christmas & Vintage Market, a family friendly event, was held at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village, 15602 Pioneer Museum Road in Dade City.

Dozens of vendors were on hand for the Dec. 5 event, selling various vintage items and antiques, as well as handcrafted goods. Items for sale included Christmas decorations, quilts, toys, jewelry, clothing and crafts.

A children’s area was set up inside the Mabel Jordan Barn, where many activities and craft stations were being offered. Games and crafts in this area included Ring Toss the Bulls, Snowball Throw, Santa Limbo, Ornament Bowling, Pin the Nose on the Reindeer, and make-your-own Christmas ornament.

Four-year-old Alice Scarborough, of Dade City, plays a ring toss game inside the Mabel Jordan Barn at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village in Dade City. The young girl, along with her mother, Morgan, and, 1-year-old brother Raylen, stopped by the barn to play games and to take part in the children’s crafts being offered during the Country Christmas & Vintage Market on Dec. 5.

Live entertainment was provided by Gypsy Wind, a Pinellas County-based acoustic band, that played a blend of jazz, swing and acoustic music.

In addition to the main building, visitors could explore the many historic buildings on the grounds, like the Trilby Depot, the Old Lacoochee School, the John Overstreet House and the C.C. Smith General Store. Each building, and the surrounding grounds, were expertly decorated by the Dade City Garden Club in its annual effort to help beautify the grounds during the holiday season.

According to the club’s Facebook page, all circles of the club contribute to the project by donating the materials needed to create the historically authentic decorations. The Facebook page also noted that members of the Echebucsassa Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution joined the garden club in decorating the Overstreet House.

Visitors touring the buildings were encouraged to vote for the best decorated building for a chance to win a family membership to the museum.

A cutest Elf contest, blacksmith demonstrations, and complimentary holiday photos rounded out the event.

Admission to the event was $5, and free for children under 5.

Wearing his Santa hat, 2-year-old Elikai Wingo, of Zephyrhills, has a seat on the steps of the Old Lacoochee School while visiting the Country Christmas & Vintage Market at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village in Dade City, on Dec. 5. His mother, Samantha, said that he asked Santa Claus for a hamster this Christmas.
Ten-year-old Jillian Sereno, of Dade City, left, and her siblings, 7-year-old Elizabeth and 6-year-old Grady, enjoy a silly moment while sitting in front of the 1913 Porter Steam Engine that is on display outside of the Trilby Depot. The children were at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village on Dec. 5 enjoying the Country Christmas & Vintage Market event with their father, James.
Joel Prater, of Dade City, sits with his smiling 2-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, as she tickles the ivories on a vintage piano inside the Blanton Packing House building at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village in Dade City. Prater, who was born and raised in Dade City, said that his daughter enjoys playing with a toy piano at home and this is her first time playing a real one.
Gypsy Wind, a Pinellas County-based acoustic band, entertains the crowd with their new take on an old blend of jazz, swing, bluegrass and folk music.

Premier adds dental clinic space

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Premier Community Health Care Group Inc., will share clinic space with the Florida Department of Health in New Port Richey, and will provide dental services to insured and uninsured children throughout Pasco County.

The Pasco County Commission approved a lease agreement between the county and the health care agency at its Nov. 17 meeting.

In lieu of rent, commissioners will require an annual report each Oct. 1 detailing the number of children served. Premier Community Health Care also will pay $421 a month as its share of utilities.

The lease expires on Dec. 31, 2021. However, there are three one-year options to extend the lease.

The clinic is located in Building A, 10841 Little Road, in New Port Richey.

County commissioners agreed to the lease at the request of health department officials “to ensure dental services continue for school-age children throughout the county,” according to agenda documents.

Published December 23, 2020

Food advisory council members named

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The Pasco County Commission has appointed four new members to the Food Policy Advisory Council.

The action came during the board’s Nov. 17 meeting.

New members are Caitlyn Peacock and Dan Mitchell, both at-large; Sanithpriya Pedamella, a certified nutritionist; and Andrea Figart, a Farmers’ Market representative.

The advisory board, created in 2015, promotes nutrition and affordable food options for county residents. Members make recommendations regarding food policies, including ordinances governing food truck operations and community gardens.

The board consists of 11 members and one non-voting member who is employed by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food/Agriculture/Science Program and who works at the Pasco Cooperative Extension Program.

No one applied for a fifth open position reserved for a Pasco County attorney with experience in food systems. Council officials reached out to Welbilt Inc., but no response has been received to date.

Published December 23, 2020

As challenges mount, an EQ coach offers advice

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If ever there was a year when suggestions from an emotional intelligence coach might come in handy, 2020 would be it.

It’s not every year, after all, that a global pandemic causes a public health crisis that triggers an economic meltdown — resulting in millions out of work and long food lines.

Marisa Massone is a life coach from Wesley Chapel who specializes in helping people build their emotional intelligence skills. (Courtesy of Marisa Massone)

Add to that the changes required for regular routines of life, such as school and church. Plus, the weddings, graduations, milestone events, funerals and even birthday parties that have been postponed, or scaled back.

On top of all that, the 2020 presidential election came at a time when the country is arguably experiencing the most bitter partisan divide in its history.

The pressures are enormous.

So, The Laker/Lutz News turned to Marisa Massone, a life coach based in Wesley Chapel, to ask for her guidance to help people navigate the holidays, to keep hope alive in a job search and look forward to new possibilities in 2021.

We asked her advice on some specific topics, and offer her responses, which have been condensed:

How can people who are socially isolating during the holidays make the best of the situation?
Write some old-fashioned letters to family and friends.

Share what  you’re going through, how you are dealing with the situation and how you feel about it.

Mail the letters out, with your holiday cards.

Expressing your feelings will help release your frustrations and anxiety, and sharing those with loved ones will help decrease the pain. And, the responses you receive will help, too.

Some people will have gatherings, can you offer some approaches to calm a conversation heading toward a shouting match?
First things first, try to make sure such conversations aren’t fueled by alcohol.

When emotions begin to heighten, try shifting the conversation to a mutually beneficial, or mutually engaging topic.

If that approach doesn’t work, suggest that you agree to disagree and move on to another topic.

What are some strategies for dealing with the stress of being out of work?
Accept the now.

Ask yourself:  What exactly can I be doing to be of purpose to other people.

Embrace the time you have: More time to be with family; more time to be more creative.

Also, as you search for jobs on the internet, don’t sit there all day. Search for a few hours a day, then get away from the computer — go for a walk or do some kind of exercise.

Take a break.

What if you’re struggling financially?
Ask for help.

Check Florida’s unemployment site and you’ll find links to a variety of sources for all sorts of help.

Check with local charitable organizations to find out about food pantries, clothes closets and other resources. (Local governments also are providing assistance, so it’s worth checking that out, too).

Any strategies for making New Year resolutions?
If you plan to make them, be realistic. Make the resolutions achievable.

If you would like to know more about Massone’s services, email her at , call 813-690-1759, or visit her website at MarisaMassone.com.

Tips for building emotional intelligence skills

  • Accept your emotions, embrace your emotions. Don’t try to squash them. Acknowledge the way you feel.
  • Once you assess how you are feeling, you can move forward with solutions — if something is bothering you.
  • Do some reality testing. Ask yourself: What is true? Write it down. It’s easy to start imagining things that could go wrong in a situation that hasn’t started yet. Avoid making yourself crazy, emotionally. Don’t project into the future. When you do that, you’re asking for fear and anxiety.
  • Emotional intelligence means being able to find solutions to problems, when emotions are involved. One example, for instance, is moving. It’s a transitional time that’s often stressful and emotional. To help reduce the stress, do some research to take care of the logistics, such as researching costs for new housing, lining up a truck and taking care of other details.
  • Curb impulsive behavior. Pause. Resist or delay acting on impulses.

Excerpts from a talk by Marisa Massone during a Women of Wesley Chapel Trinity and Odessa (WOW-TOO) ZOOM meeting in October. WOW-TOO is affiliated with the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.

Flying Eight-Balls member survived 30 missions

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At 6 feet and weighing less than 140 pounds, Jim Rossman was 20 years old in 1944, when he nearly lost his life over the English Channel in World War II.

A copilot of a B-24 heavy bomber, Rossman would fly 30 missions — and survive daylight attacks from Adolf Hitler’s German Luftwaffe.

Jim Rossman’s ‘Heaven Can Wait’ crew in World War II. Rossman was cross-trained to fly the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber. (Courtesy of Jim Rossman/Ted Johnson)

“I don’t know how we did it,” Rossman told The St. Petersburg Times in 2005. “I guess we were young.”

As the future owner of Pasco County Insurance Agency in Dade City, Rossman had his part in the “Greatest Generation,” a time in our nation’s history described by Tom Brokaw’s best-selling novel about the sacrifices and struggles made by veterans in World War II.

Rossman’s journey with history began with as many bananas and milkshakes as he could consume to put on enough weight to make the cut with the Army Air Forces.

He was a teenager living in Tampa when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Soon after that fateful event, Jim Rossman joined up at MacDill Field in Tampa.

His group, known as the Flying Eight-Balls, would later set sail for the United Kingdom aboard the Queen Mary on Sep. 4, 1942.

Decorated on one side with a winged bomb cartoon of a pool hall 8-Ball, Rossman’s B-24 Liberator had a thin metal skin that offered little protection against German strafing in the air, or antiaircraft fire from below.

“You’d see that plane coming in at you, firing those guns, you knew you were in for it,” Rossman said in his interview with The St. Petersburg Times.

Jim Rossman and his crew survived this crash landing despite having a full load of bombs and 164,700 pounds of fuel, approximately 2,700 gallons, onboard. (Courtesy of Jim Rossman/Ted Johnson)

A full account of the American Air Offensive against Nazi Germany is archived at the American Air Museum in Britain.

Located north of London, visitors can read a document that details the story behind the formation of the 44th Bombardment Group at Shipdam, England, and you can learn the heroic story behind Rossman and the Flying Eight-Balls.

On March 12, 1944, Rossman and his men were scheduled for a sixth mission deep into Germany when bad weather forced them to take an alternate target, the museum records show.

A closer target meant more fuel reserves. But, when flying over France, they were suddenly attacked by enemy fire.

“We (received) some antiaircraft or flak damage and lost one engine over the target,” Rossman recounted.

Since Rossman’s crew was part of the Flying Eight-Balls that day with worsening weather, the pilots returning with the most aircraft damage dropped through the clouds first and then attempted a landing.

“Unfortunately, there was more damage to (our) fuel tanks and after flying around for 3 ½-hours it came our turn to let down. We did this and flew into the clear at some 600 feet and quickly spotted a small English Fighter Base with a grass landing strip,” Rossman said, according to the museum’s records.

Rossman’s navigator did the best he could heading the B-24 Liberator in a general direction that took them out over the English Channel.

At its peak strength in 1944, the U.S. Army Air Forces employed 450,000 Americans in Britain. That included operating the first U.S. heavy bomber airfield pictured here in England at Shipdam. Nearly 30,000 of these Americans never made it back home. (Courtesy of American Air Museum)

It was then they lost another engine.

“A B-24 doesn’t fly well on two engines and we certainly couldn’t climb,” the historic document says.

Rossman and his crew cleared the White Cliffs of Dover.

Then, they flew under a high-tension power line that was 200 feet high.

With a landing in sight, Rossman’s crew lost the third engine.

“By the grace of God and nothing else, I looked out my right window and there in perfect position for landing was the fighter strip. With no time to prepare or make decisions we turned to line up with the strip. (We) made a picture-perfect belly landing, sliding in on the grass, each moment expecting the plane to disintegrate and kill us all,” Rossman said, as recorded in the museum’s archives.

The crew members of Rossman’s B-24 boosted each other out of the aircraft when it started to burst into flames.

Black smoke quickly engulfed the crash site.

“After we were taken to the hospital on this English base to be checked out, something unusual happened. Hospital attendants came bearing a man on a stretcher. He had been cleaning the windshield on an English fighter parked there. He looked up at the last moment to see (our aircraft) pass over his head. With all engines dead we made no noise and the shock almost caused him to have a heart attack,” Rossman recounted.

The crew of 10 men made it back to flying duty at Shipdam.

“I was always real careful, real conservative,” Rossman said in his interview sixteen years ago.

He made his final bombing run on May 30, 1944.

A week later, the Allied forces began the D-Day invasion along the beaches of France.

Jim Rossman found out the airlines did not want to hire such a youthful-looking pilot like him when the war was over.

The American Air Museum in Britain has exhibits and archives on the men and women of the U.S. Army Air Forces who served in England during the Second World War. (Courtesy of American Air Museum)

That is when he decided to get into the insurance business.

He hired Scott Black, another youthful-looking man who later became a commissioner and mayor of Dade City.

“Jim was a fine gentleman and a very good friend,” recalled Ted Johnson at the time of Rossman’s death in October 2014.

Johnson visited the American Air Museum in Britain years later, where he was able to take updated photographs to bring back to Jim Rossman in Dade City.

Much of Ted’s research overseas was used as a reference for this column and is a part of the story behind the formation of the 44th Bombardment Group at Shipdam, England.

“He is a real hero in my book,” said Johnson, who also is vice president of the Zephyrhills Military Museum in East Pasco County.

Rossman’s story is so special, Johnson said, it should be preserved and shared.

Doug Sanders has a penchant for unearthing interesting stories about local history. His sleuthing skills have been developed through his experiences in newspaper and government work. If you have an idea for a future history column, contact Doug at ">.

Published December 16, 2020

Santander will bring 875 jobs to Pasco

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Pasco County scored two big wins last week.

First, it sealed a deal with Santander Consumer USA to set up shop in the county, and to create 875 new job opportunities in Pasco.

Second, it found a way to give new life to a vacant building, at a prominent spot.

“Since about 2016, we’ve had a very difficult time in explaining why we have this (vacant) big box building, right at the entrance of our county, at Suncoast and State Road 54,” Bill Cronin, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council, Inc., said in remarks to the Pasco County Commission.

Pasco County officials and representatives from Pasco Economic Development Council Inc., and Santander Consumer USA celebrate the agreement expected to attract 875 jobs to Pasco County. (Courtesy of Pasco Economic Development Council)

“Super Target has remained empty for four years, despite our healthy growth.

“I’m happy to say that because of the specialized need of that building and the specialized use, we do have a special company that is taking that building,” Cronin said.

Cronin and David Engel, manager of the county’s office of economic growth, explained the details of the incentive package that’s being extended to Santander to persuade it to choose Pasco County.

Efforts to land the company began several months ago, when Santander Consumer USA came to the county during a national search conducted by Newmark Knight Frank.

“The goal was to locate a modern and efficient site that could accommodate future expansions,” Cronin said.

The search went beyond finding a site, he said.

It “was also a search for sustainable talent pipeline in a community with great livability.

Santander Consumer USA will be investing $22 million in Pasco County, Cronin said.

“The company will be paying over 115% of our current county average wage,” Cronin added.

The agreement details that Pasco’s average annual wage paid to workers in all industries is $38,338, as reported by Enterprise Florida Inc., and compiled by the State of Florida, Agency for Workforce Innovation, Labor Market Statistics.

Santander has agreed to create the 875 jobs within five years, and to pay at least $46,283 in average annual income for those jobs. To qualify for the incentive, a job must be staffed for at least one year.

Santander plans to renovate and occupy 115,425 square feet of the former Target store building, at 16400 State Road 54, in Odessa. The big box store has been vacant since 2016. (File)

Santander also will be offering career opportunities for the county’s bilingual workforce, which is expected to help the county’s Hispanic population — which makes up the county’s largest ethnic population, Cronin said.

“The economic impact to gross county product to Pasco is $129 million over the next five years,” Cronin added.

Their parent company, Banco Santander, is located in Spain, Cronin said, describing it as one of the world’s largest banks.

“If you have an automobile loan in Latin America, it’s probably from Santander,” he said.

In fact, Cronin added, “Banco Santander was named, just last week, Bank of the Year in the Americas, Brazil, Spain and Argentina, by The Banker, which is a global financial intelligence organization in London.”

Engel spelled out the terms of the economic incentive package.

“For the 875 jobs, the Pasco EDC recommends a $1,750,000 to be paid out over a 10-year period, and a 10-year tangible tax reimbursement, totaling up to $342,000,” Engel said.

Years one through five the incentive will be 50% of Santander’s tangible tax and years six through 10 will be 25% of their tangible tax, he added.

“This, in fact, is the most cost-effective job creation incentive that we’ve offered a company. It’s equivalent to $391 a job,” Engel said.

The incentive agreement notes that Santander intends to make interior and exterior renovations of 115,425 square feet of the old Target store, at 16400 State Road 54, in Odessa.

Backup materials for the board’s agenda item note: “The staff recommendation to

approve the tangible tax reimbursement in this case is based on the unique aspects of this project since it involves the redevelopment and occupancy of a former “big box” retail building by a qualified target industry, at significant expense, in one of the county’s most important high visibility economic growth and job creation corridors.”

It adds: “The recommended tax reimbursement incentive in this case should not be considered a precedent for reimbursement for interior improvements that may be made by other companies in the future, even if such companies qualify for a job creation incentive or are a qualified target industry.”

Background materials in the agreement note that Santander qualifies as a targeted industry, in the financial services sector.

A table in the agreement lays out the company’s plans to gradually add the 875 employees, beginning with 400 in 2021, with a total of 875 by 2025.

Ernie Ocasio, a senior vice president of Santander Consumer USA, told county officials that the company is eager to come to Pasco, and praised the county’s rich resources.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey remarked that she had been so upset about news of the Super Target’s closing that she had appealed to company officials to try to keep it open. It turns out that this new use is better for the county than having a big retailer at that location, the commissioner said.

Commissioners unanimously approved Santander’s incentive package.

What: Santander Consumer USA is setting up shop in Pasco County
Where: On State Road 54, near the Suncoast Parkway, in the old Super Target location
Detail: The company plans to hire 875 workers in the next five years.
When: The company plans to begin hiring in 2021.

Published December 16, 2020

Pasco lifts restriction on Sunday morning alcohol sales

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The Pasco County Commission has removed the county’s ban on the Sunday morning sales of alcoholic beverages.

Now, alcohol sales on Sunday will be treated like alcohol sales on any other day of the week in the county, said County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder. Previously, the sales weren’t allowed on Sundays before 11 a.m.

No one spoke during the public hearing and commissioners voted 5-0 to amend the ordinance, during the board’s Dec. 8 meeting. The change will take effect within 10 days of the board’s action.

The change was prompted by Commissioner Kathryn Starkey, who raised the issue at a board meeting in September.

“A lot of counties in the state and around the country have kind of moved away from this old-fashioned law,” Starkey said, at the time.

She said constituents had told her they’d like to get rid of the restriction, and said she’d previously witnessed people milling around in the grocery store, waiting so they could purchase alcohol to take with them when they were headed out to go boating, scalloping or to another activity.

She also said people who shop for groceries on Sunday morning shouldn’t be prevented from buying alcohol.

The board also approved the selection of Shawn Foster LLC, doing business as Sunrise Consulting Group, to serve as the board’s outside consultant for a maximum of $60,000 a year. The board listened to presentations by Foster and by a representative for Shumaker Advisers Florida LLC before selecting Sunrise.

At a board meeting in November, a panel of county staffers had recommended Corcoran and Associates, doing business as Corcoran Partners, be selected as the outside lobbyist.

But, commissioners rejected the process and requested presentations before making a selection. Corcoran Partners did not participate in the presentations.

In other action, commissioners:

  • Reorganized the board naming Ron Oakley as chairman and Starkey as vice chairwoman.
  • Approved numerous small changes to the county’s land development code, including a change in the process to approve permits to sell alcohol. Previously, those requests were heard by the Pasco County Planning Commission, which made a recommendation and then by Pasco County Commission, which had the final authority. Now, those requests will be considered administratively by county staff, unless some sort of exception is requested. The Pasco County Commission will decide on those cases, unless there’s an appeal.
  • Approved a unified sign plan for Krate, at the Grove at Wesley Chapel, to provide applicants with an opportunity to create attractive signage having uniform or cohesive design of color, texture, materials, or architectural features which contribute to place-making throughout the development. Krate, which is under development, is an open-air, urban-themed container park with retail shops, restaurants, outdoor seating areas, and live entertainment. The Grove is east of Oakley Boulevard and west of Interstate 75, about 650 feet north of Wesley Chapel Boulevard.

Published December 16, 2020

Design funding granted for Seven Oaks library

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Pasco County has allocated $1 million for design work for a new public library near Seven Oaks Elementary School.

Commissioners approved the allocation as part of the board’s consent agenda — meaning it was approved along with a number of other items without discussion.

Libraries play an important role in community life, Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore says. Pasco County last week allocated $1 million for design work on a new public library next to Seven Oaks Elementary School, in Wesley Chapel. (File)

During a later part of the meeting, Commissioner Mike Moore who advocated for building a public library near Seven Oaks Elementary School, thanked his colleagues for approving the funding.

“We were able to use some of those excess funds that were returned by the tax collector’s office to provide this first round of funding,” Moore said.

The county has owned the library site, next to Seven Oaks Elementary at 27633 Mystic Oaks Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, since 2004.

The area is the highest growth area in Pasco County, he said. “The citizens will be very, very happy with that addition.”

Moore recounted how important libraries were to him, during his growing up years, and the important role they play in community life.

People can come in to read, to access the internet, use Makerspaces and take advantage of various programs that libraries offer, Moore said, during a previous interview with The Laker/Lutz News.

Moore initially raised the possibility of finding funding for the library during board discussions of the budget for fiscal year 2021.

At that time, he acknowledged the county didn’t have available funding, but he wanted to get the ball rolling.

The $1 million allocation is a step in that direction.

Published December 16, 2020

Foundation serves up tennis lessons to Pasco youth

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Since its October grand opening ceremony, the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center in Zephyrhills has garnered widespread recognition for its breadth of racquet sports and other amenities.

The 10-acre athletic complex, located off Simons Road, is owned by the City of Zephyrhills, but privately managed and operated. It boasts 11 tennis courts, eight pickleball courts and four padel courts. It also offers a mix of peak performance treatments in the way of a state-of-the-art fitness center, cryotherapy, salt room therapy and sports counseling.

Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Foundation program director Nick Walton, left, with foundation ambassador Isaac Mitchell. Teen ambassadors, including Mitchell, volunteer in the afterschool programs and represent the foundation at other community events. For their efforts, ambassadors receive training and private coaching privileges at the new tennis center. (Courtesy of Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Foundation)

These features, among others, set the facility up as a regional, national and even international racquet sports destination, with potential to host world-class tournaments and professional players on-site for training.

But, beyond the scope of drawing tourism and big-money events to East Pasco, the sports facility also is serving up outreach opportunities for community youth.

That’s being done through the facility’s 501c3 nonprofit partner organization, called the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Foundation.

The foundation’s mission is “to provide tennis and education programming in Pasco County communities through character-building, physical activity, and mentoring.”

The foundation — and tennis center— is named in honor of the former Zephyrhills High School district champion who became a scholarship player on the University of South Carolina Upstate women’s tennis team.

Sarah Vande Berg, the daughter of Zephyrhills planning director Todd Vande Berg, died in an automobile accident at the age of 21 in October 2015.

Sarah Vande Berg Foundation program director Nick Walton and Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center CEO Pascal Collard provided updates about the nonprofit’s progress during a Zephyrhills City Council meeting last month.

Earlier this fall, the foundation launched a pair of free afterschool programs at both West Zephyrhills Elementary and Raymond B. Stewart Middle Schools. Programming had been set to begin at the schools in the spring, but was delayed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the new afterschool program, foundation coaches and volunteers are on-site at the schools twice a week for two hours each day, teaching introductory tennis fundamentals, nutrition habits and character education classes, for children in grades three through eight.

The Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Foundation recently launched a pair of free afterschool programs at both West Zephyrhills Elementary and Raymond B. Stewart Middle schools. Coaches and volunteers from the foundation are on-site at the schools twice a week for two hours each day, teaching introductory tennis fundamentals, nutrition habits and character education classes, for children in grades three through eight. The program assists youth of all skill levels and backgrounds, including many low-income and minority youth with limited access to organized sports.

The program assists youth of all skill levels and backgrounds, including many low-income and minority youth who have limited access to organized sports.

Most of the approximately 30 youth players from each respective school had never picked up a racquet prior to joining the program.

In a nutshell, here’s how the afterschool initiative works: All participants are incentivized from the first day to show up to all classes, listen to their coaches, follow instructions, and try their best to improve. Students who handle these objectives diligently for four consecutive weeks are rewarded with a brand-new racquet for them to take home and practice.

“We want to break down barriers to the sport of tennis and access to equitable education services,” Walton said of the program. “Our vision is for all students to have personal growth and positive relationships through tennis.”

The foundation also has sponsored a teen ambassador program geared toward eighth grade and high school students. These ambassadors help volunteer in the afterschool programs and represent the foundation at other community events. For their efforts, ambassadors receive training and private coaching privileges at the new tennis center.

“We’re definitely more than tennis,” said Walton. “What we’re creating is a community of young people who will grow together, on and off the court.”

That happens, he said, through positive role models and mentors, a heavy emphasis on education and growth through sport and physical well-being.

The foundation also offers a college scholarship program, awarding multiple scholarships each year to graduating Zephyrhills High School student-athletes. Scholarship selection criteria include academic performance, leadership qualities, volunteerism, community engagement and sports involvement.

Athletes from all sports are encouraged to apply, not just those who play tennis.

Six scholarships have been awarded over the past three years, according to the foundation’s website. The deadline to apply is April 30 each year.

Zephyrhills City Councilman Lance Smith called the foundation’s varied efforts “a great thing for the whole community.”

“I’m just really excited because we’re in those schools where we need to reach these kids,” said Smith. “Introducing them to a sport and teaching them about what they need to do to become good people, creating good character in them, so I couldn’t be happier to be involved with them.”

The Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Foundation has methodically built up its base since design plans and construction for the multimillion dollar tennis center were en route a few years ago.
The foundation’s first major fundraiser was held in October 2018, at Arbor Green in New Tampa.

That tennis clinic and event gala was headlined by International Tennis Hall of Fame coach Nick Bolletti, renowned for grooming 10 world No. 1 players, including Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova and Dade City’s Jim Courier, among many others.

The gala helped raise more than $10,000, used to purchase tennis rackets and to subsidize tennis camps for youth.

Total donations have since reached $30,500, according to the foundation’s website. Supporting partners include the United States Tennis Foundation, Wilson Sporting Goods, Duke Energy and Zephyrhills Water.

The foundation mirrors a similar outreach program called Down The Line and Beyond, which Collard spearheaded while he was tennis director at The Merion Cricket Club, a private club in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

The Philadelphia-area nonprofit has grown to serve more than 1,600 underprivileged youths from ages 7 to 17, and facilitates positive character and education development through tennis lessons.

Some of those youths even went on to earn collegiate tennis scholarships as a result of their development in the program.

“None of them would’ve played tennis — none— without the foundation. We are going to do the same thing over here (in Zephyrhills),” Collard said in a prior interview with The Laker/Lutz News.

For more information, visit SVBTennisFoundation.com.

Published December 16, 2020