The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

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Passing the baton to my future daughter-in-law

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When my son Andy announced his engagement recently, I had flashbacks to his childhood at the same time I was offering congratulations and best wishes.

Andy Mathes, son of Publisher Diane Kortus, and Erin Morgan became engaged in Savannah, Ga., over Labor Day weekend.
Andy Mathes, son of Publisher Diane Kortus, and Erin Morgan became engaged in Savannah, Ga., over Labor Day weekend.

When Andy was born 25 years ago, I believed no one could ever love him as much as I did. From the time he was an adorable tow-headed baby to a defiant teenager to an honorable man, I have loved Andy unconditionally. In good times and bad, no matter how angry I got when he tormented his little sister or did not call to tell me when he’d be home, and I’d stay up worrying.

But now another woman loves my son in a way I never can — as his future wife. And I find that a bit humbling, knowing there is someone else with whom Andy shares his deepest thoughts and emotions.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me first tell you the love story of Andy Mathes and Erin Morgan.

A Lake Wobegon reference stopped Andy last October as he passed by a table full of teachers in a bar in Yuma, Ariz. A first lieutenant in the U.S. Marines, Andy was out west conducting training. Erin was in Yuma as a second-year middle school teacher. The two met when Andy overheard Erin and her friends talking about Garrison Keillor and the “Prairie Home Companion” radio show.

I’m from Minnesota and my children grew up listening to Garrison most Saturday evenings. By the time they were in kindergarten they knew all about Lake Wobegon, the town where “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average.”

Growing up, Andy spent summers with his Minnesota relatives, and although a Florida native, I’ve always thought he was a Midwesterner at heart. As it turned out, Erin is from Appleton, Wis., and is a graduate of St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minn. With that Minnesota connection, Andy and Erin had enough in common to begin dating.

Andy called me after meeting Erin and told me he had that instinctive feeling that “she was the one.” While I loved that Erin had good Midwestern values and was of the same Catholic faith, I was not as sure as my idealistic son that he had truly met his future wife.

Of course, Andy proved me wrong. After three weeks in Yuma, Andy went back to his platoon in Camp Lejeune, N.C., and he and Erin continued to talk every day. They met next in the Twin Cities over New Year’s, when Andy conjured up a plan to visit his grandparents after spending Christmas in Land O’ Lakes with me and his sister, Rachel.

Andy rendezvoused with Erin in St. Paul, who got away from her family in Appleton to meet up with Andy in the snow.

And that’s how it came to be that my father and stepmother met Erin before I did, along with my many sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews.

Two months later, Rachel and I finally met Erin. We planned a weekend where we could all meet, and Andy could show Erin the Naval Academy in Annapolis where he had graduated. Not only was Erin charming, but she and Rachel also seemed to have an instant, sisterly connection. I began to think that maybe Andy’s premonition was right.

I wasn’t surprised this spring when Erin decided to apply for teaching positions in school districts close to Camp Lejeune, and was proud when she quickly got a job teaching fourth grade. She joined Andy in North Carolina this summer.

Andy and Erin’s engagement is clouded with both joy and uncertainty. Andy leaves this week for training in southern California before he deploys to Afghanistan this fall. There he will be part of a team of Marines advising the Afghan National Army.

When Andy returns next July, he and Erin will finalize their wedding plans, a celebration that will likely be in Appleton in November, in the church where Erin grew up.

While of course I worry about my son’s deployment, I am comforted knowing he is loved by a wonderful young woman who shares his dreams, and will be waiting for him when he returns home.

And that is truly all any mother wants. To pass the baton on to another woman who will embrace her son in love and share a future of happiness with him.

Butterflies soar, and spirits do, too

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Some sat in wheelchairs. Others stood with walkers. Some had canes.

Here’s a look at the mesh enclosure that held the butterflies from the time they were tiny caterpillars until the day of their release. They wasted no time claiming their freedom. (Photo by B.C. Manion)
Here’s a look at the mesh enclosure that held the butterflies from the time they were tiny caterpillars until the day of their release. They wasted no time claiming their freedom. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

But this crowd of senior citizens cheered like school children when the flock of 50-plus butterflies flew freely into a new garden at Connerton Assisted Care.

The butterfly release was timed to celebrate the grand opening of a new garden at the assisted care center, located at 21021 Betel Palm Lane in Land O’ Lakes. The event was mostly a joyous occasion, marked by the flight of the butterflies and residents enjoying slices from a big decorated cake.

But the event had a sense of solemnity, too, as Jen Chianella of Gulfside Regional Hospice read names of former Connerton residents who have passed away during a moment of remembrance.

Gulfside and Connerton joined together to provide the garden for residents.

“We felt it was a nice way to honor those that have passed at Connerton Court,” Chianella said. “The garden came about as a way to honor those who have passed and a nice way to have a reflection area.”

Karen Birbeck, life enrichment director at Connerton, said the Monarch butterflies were donated by Gulfside and were grown from caterpillar state at the assisted care center.

“We literally started from scratch and raised them here,” Birbeck said.

Dolores Allende, 83, helped feed the caterpillars. Initially, they weren’t much to look at, she said. “They looked like worms.”

Watching them transform into butterflies was magical, however.

“It was exciting. After they opened their wings, they flapped,” said Allende, who lived in the Orlando area before moving to Connerton.

The garden has butterfly host and nectar plants, said Birbeck, who did most of the planting. She did get some help from Felix Blais, a 95-year-old who lives at Connerton.

Blais said he enjoyed helping.

“It was nothing,” he said. “I was a hard worker all of my life. It was a pleasure to work again.”

Besides the passion vine, the garden has Allamanda, and other flowering plants and herbs.

The herbs are in waist-high planters, chosen because they allow people in wheelchairs to wheel right up to them and get a close view of nature.

“I have rosemary and peppermint, spearmint, chives. I have oregano and sage,” Birbeck said.

She wants residents to have the chance to smell the fragrance of the plants, and she hopes the kitchen staff will be able to use some of the herbs in future meals at the center.

Birbeck said her dad Al Birbeck, a Zephyrhills retiree, helped by building the trellis for the passion vine and built bird feeders, too.

Chianella thinks having the garden will provide balm for residents who want a place to grieve losses, to reflect and meditate.

“Because our residents, they don’t have the opportunity to always go to the cemetery,” Birbeck said. “A lot of people really need a spot to grieve, where it’s pretty and it’s therapeutic.”

Big hair leads to big dreams in Las Vegas for artistic family

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The 1960s may have been the era of big hair, but one local stylist team is ready to bring it into the 21st century.

Portia De Cordova and her father Ben De Cordova pose with their winning hair design during a June competition in Orlando.
Portia De Cordova and her father Ben De Cordova pose with their winning hair design during a June competition in Orlando.

And that team is family — like father and daughter family.

Ben De Cordova and his daughter Portia will be on their way to Las Vegas in October to compete in the Battle of the Strands. The career hairstylist and the young up-and-coming makeup artist will join another daughter, Chris, to compete against some of the best artists in this hemisphere.

And all of them will vie for more than $100,000 in prizes.

“It’s in the avant-garde realm, but it goes a little bit beyond that,” Ben De Cordova said. “All of this takes you out of your element, out of your comfort zone, and more into a different artist mode. You have to be ready for anything.”

De Cordova comes from a long line of those involved in hair. In fact, he’s fourth generation, and many of his siblings and relatives are also involved in the industry.

“We were all raised doing hair,” he said, noting that his mother was a hairstylist. “There were a lot of things that were instilled in us from the beginning of our lives.”

De Cordova has been doing hair for more than 30 years, originally working with famous names in Hollywood, by his account, and then moving to Florida nearly two decades ago.

Right now, De Cordova can be found at Hair, a salon located on North Dale Mabry Highway near the intersection of Van Dyke Road. But soon, he hopes to open a new salon, which he’ll call Art of Hair by De Cordova. And he’ll hopefully enlist the help of his 22-year-old daughter, Portia, as well.

“Everyone would love to pick up a huge job, but I’m not reaching for that right away,” Portia De Cordova said. “I want as much schooling and as many different opportunities as I can find to help build my resume. Once I do that, then I know I’m ready to go after those huge jobs.”

Winning the Battle of the Strands would be a great addition to anyone’s resume, she said. And they’ll have to do it by working quickly, strongly, and creatively.

The De Cordovas earned the spot in the Las Vegas competition by winning a qualifying round in Orlando in June. Using a wire framework, they were able to create hair that resembled waves of an ocean, and even the mast of a ship. It took the both of them to place the work of art on top of their model’s head, and both held their breath as the model moved slowly down the runway.

Chances are, they will have to create something similar in Las Vegas. But with so much prize money and prestige at stake, there’s no telling what the judges will ask for once they arrive.

“You are working with a bunch of talented people,” Portia De Cordova said. “These are not the average hairdressers. These are not your average makeup artists or wardrobe creators, either. This is a completely new level.”

Competing teams will come from New York, California, Panama, Puerto Rico and more. They will face judges that include the editor-in-chief of the beauty magazine American Salon, Kelley Donahue, as well as popular YouTube stylist Kandee Johnson, who has racked up nearly 200 million page views in her time online.

“It’s not just building something,” Ben De Cordova said, “it’s creating something. You have to make it stand out. You have to make it form something extraordinary. You have to make a big difference.”

To follow the De Cordovas’ journey to and at the Battle of the Strands in Las Vegas, visit them at www.SalonDeCordova.com.

Tea, murder highlight Women-n-Charge fundraiser

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The ladies of Women-n-Charge want to take you on a cruise, but this is one with a twist.

Can you find a killer in this group? You’ll need your detective skills for the upcoming Women-n-Charge tea Sept. 28, taking place at the Groves Golf & Country Club. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Wright)
Can you find a killer in this group? You’ll need your detective skills for the upcoming Women-n-Charge tea Sept. 28, taking place at the Groves Golf & Country Club. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Wright)

Someone has been murdered, and it will be up to those booking passage to figure to whom among the Red Feather Ladies did it. And it’s all done with some of the best teas available in the area.

It’s part of the annual fundraiser for the professional women group taking place Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. at the Groves Golf & Country Club, 7924 Melogold Circle in Land O’ Lakes. For the second straight year, Women-n-Charge will entertain at its annual tea party with a murder mystery. In fact, this voyage — set on the S.S. Titanica — is a direct sequel of last year’s event.

“This is all a spoof that centers on a group of wealthy ladies, known as the Red Feather Ladies Investment Club,” said Anne Childers, a member of Women-n-Charge’s board of directors, and one of the organizers of the event. “There was this roving Romeo who was dating all of them under the radar under different names. He fleeced every one of them, and took their money and their morale. So one of the ladies shot him dead.”

That murder was solved last year. And now the Red Feather Ladies want to earn their money back, so they embark on this cruise that features an appearance from financial guru B.S. Sutton. Except, Sutton is no stranger to these ladies, and it isn’t long before he ends up dead, too.

Last year’s murder mystery tea, with many of the Women-n-Charge members in the cast, raised more than $4,000, which allowed the group to pay its annual expenses, and still have enough left over to fund two $1,000 scholarships to local businesswomen.

“We do it so they can further enrich the community,” Childers said. “They can use it for education, or for their business. Whatever will help them grow even stronger.”

Professional women apply for the scholarships in advance, and there are no requirements for membership with Women-n-Charge.

The mystery teas are a huge departure from how Women-n-Charge raised money when Childers first joined in 2005. Then it was a business expo, with the group earning money from booth rentals. But the economic recession changed that, and the tea parties were born.

First, the parties celebrated themes like fashion. But last year, the decision was made to go murder mystery, and it was a smashing success.

There is room for about 120 guests, and everyone is encouraged to wear a hat and dress as if they’re attending an old-fashioned summer tea. Tickets are $15 for individuals, and $25 for two.

Table sponsorships are also available, starting at $59. That package allows the sponsor to decorate the table, provide their own settings, and even their own tea. Women-n-Charge will provide the linen, cream, sugar and lemon.

“It’s hard work for those of us on the board, but in the end, it’s just a lot of fun,” Childers said. “Watching everyone enjoy it and try to figure out who did it makes it all worth it.”

For more information on the event, call Anne Childers at (813) 948-7484, or visit women-n-charge.com.

Church provides personal touch with concierge ministry

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It’s a mammoth church — with a 143-acre campus, a 444,000-square-foot building and 12,000 members.

Rich Walker, manager of campus safety at Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, leads the concierge ministry at the church. The idea is to provide ‘an unexpected personal touch,’ he said. (Photo by B.C. Manion)
Rich Walker, manager of campus safety at Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, leads the concierge ministry at the church. The idea is to provide ‘an unexpected personal touch,’ he said. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

It’s so big that it uses five entrances on Sundays to allow members to stream into its 5,000-seat auditorium.

Despite the scale, Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz wants to extend a personal touch to its members, said Rich Walker.

He’s a church staff member who also leads Idlewild Concierge, a ministry with 30 volunteers. And more than eight years ago, when Idlewild was moving into its larger quarters off North Dale Mabry Highway and Van Dyke Road, Walker came up the idea of creating a concierge ministry.

“We’re still the only one that I know of, anywhere,” said Walker, a retired law enforcement officer who oversees campus safety.

The ministry helps visitors and church newcomers tend to details that are important to them. The idea came to Walker when a hotel concierge service helped him and his wife. They were traveling and wanted to go for dinner, but they didn’t want to have to drive to get there.

Walker’s wife suggested he ask the concierge for some recommendations. He did, and within 15 minutes they had a list of restaurant options, with different specialties and price points, along with directions for getting to them.

Idlewild’s concierge ministry strives to create a sense of hospitality, with the motto of “Providing the unexpected personal touch,” Walker said.

Ministry volunteers work at the church’s welcome center to greet people who are visiting the campus. Sometimes they help people find their way around campus. Other times they provide individual tours to help potential members learn about the church’s ministries and ways to meet their specific needs.

“There’s not a line out the door, but every week, somebody will come and they want to look at the church,” Walker said. “They’ll just show up on their own.”

The concierge will get a bit of information about the visitor and will let them know about various ministries that may suit their interests, Walker said. The idea is to help them plug in and feel at home, he said.

“There are some people on a real fact-finding tour, is this the church for me? That can take a couple of hours,” Walker said.

That’s what happened when Margery Cordova recently visited the church, Walker recalled.

“She told me right up front, ‘I am looking for a church home.’ That told me, ‘We kind of want to dive deep here and see if this is a good fit,’” he said.

Cordova was impressed.

“I got the deluxe grand tour of the whole facility,” said the woman who moved to Lutz in late July from Sacramento, Calif., after her husband’s death.

Besides discussing ministries that may be of interest and showing off the facilities, Walker enjoys giving visitors a look at “backstage” Idlewild.

The walk-through involves traveling through corridors decked with framed photographs taken through the years during big church events. Visitors can duck into the choir and orchestra rooms and check out the staging area where props are kept for church productions.

They can even walk down a passageway that leads from the orchestra room to the raised stage in the worship center.

Besides helping newcomers and visitors, the ministry also pitches in on special events. Team members drive trams at the church’s Fourth of July event, for instance, and give airport shuttle rides to special guests.

The team once arranged airport pickups for 65 missionaries visiting Idlewild. They met the missionaries at the airport, took them to their hotels, transported them to the church each day and ferried them around on errands.

One volunteer helped organize the logistics by creating an Excel spreadsheet detailing the airline and arrival time of each missionary.

The concierge ministry at Idlewild pays attention to details. And that makes a difference for both members and visitors alike.

“Everyone there is just super welcoming and genuine,” Cordova said. “It’s not a phony thing. You really feel it’s sincere. I feel like I was led there.”

PEDC honors Shops at Wiregrass, Wesley Chapel hospital

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One hosts community events, supports charity causes and offers a wide selection of shopping and eating choices.

Another created 600 new jobs during its first year of operation and offers leading-edge health care.

Both — The Shops at Wiregrass and Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel — are among eight recipients of honor during the Pasco Economic Development Council’s 27th annual Industry of the Year awards celebration.

The Shops at Wiregrass received this year’s Special Recognition Award, while Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel received the council’s Special Contribution Award.

“It is such an honor to be recognized by the PEDC for our continuous efforts and dedication to establish The Shops at Wiregrass as an effective and successful centerpiece to our local community as well as Pasco County,” Greg Lenners, general manager for the shopping center, said in a release.

“The Shops at Wiregrass have had a major impact on the growth of the Wesley Chapel area,” Skip Miller, senior vice president of SunTrust Bank and chair of the Pasco EDC Banquet Award Committee, said in a release. “It has become a gathering place for Pasco County and the Tampa Bay region and has served as a catalyst for continued growth in the area.”

Hospital officials were delighted by their recognition, too.

“Of course we’re humbled, but very excited to be chosen,” said Tracy Clouser, director of marketing for Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel. “The community has really embraced us, and we’re really excited being part and really affecting the health and wellness of the people who live here.”

The shopping mall and hospital received their awards on Sept. 4 at a banquet and trade show that drew more than 600 people to Wesley Chapel’s Saddlebrook Resort Tampa.

The trade show, which preceded the banquet, attracted 48 companies and organizations from across Tampa Bay.

Other 2013 Industry Award winners were:

• Technology Award: Caresync, a Wesley Chapel company that can aggregate all of a patient’s data into a single record

• Service/Distribution, Category 1: Goin’ Postal Franchise Corp., a franchise shipping service in Zephyrhills

• Service/Distribution, Category 2: Meares Plumbing, a commercial and residential plumbing business based in Hudson

• Manufacturer of the Year, Category 1: Sign-A-Rama of New Tampa, a sign company in Wesley Chapel

• Manufacturer of the Year, Category 2: Adams Arms Inc., a firearms manufacturing company in Odessa

• New Business Award: J.T.D. Enterprises Inc., a flagpole company in Lutz.

Those attending the event also heard an update on Pasco County’s economic development progress.

Trey Starkey, chairman of the economic development’s board, reported that 583 new jobs had been created in Pasco County, according to a news release issued by the PEDC.

The organization also helped in efforts to achieve $40.2 million capital investment, 287,000 square feet occupied and $22.5 million in annual payroll, Starkey said.

The economic development seeks nominations each year for companies that exhibit exemplary growth in technology, innovation, job creation, capital investment and community service.

An awards committee then interviews the nominees to select the winners.

Swiftmud promotes Beltran to executive director

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Robert Beltran has been promoted to executive director of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, more commonly known as Swiftmud.

Beltran replaces Blake Guillory, who will take on the executive director role at the South Florida Water Management District.

Robert Beltran
Robert Beltran

“The board is confident in Robert’s abilities to lead this organization as we continue to focus on our core mission of managing water and related natural resources throughout our 16-county region,” said Carlos Beruff, Swiftmud’s governing board chairman, in a statement.

Beltran moves up from the assistant executive director position, which he has held since March 2012. There he oversaw several divisions including regulation, resource management, operations, maintenance and construction. Beltran also led the solutions team for the Central Florida Water Initiative, a multi-jurisdictional effort to ensure an adequate water supply in a five-county region.

Beltran is a professional engineer with nearly two decades of experience in helping clients design and permit services for their water and wastewater needs. He has worked throughout Florida helping municipalities and private companies on water-related initiatives including stormwater, wastewater, reclaimed water, drinking water and alternative water supply projects.

Beltran holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Tulane University in New Orleans. He is a member of various professional associations, and is a past president of the Florida Engineering Society’s Ridge chapter.

This barber prefers straight razors, clippers over perms

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Pamela DeHaven didn’t set out to become a female barber. But after doing thousands of haircuts and giving straight-razor shaves, the 51-year-old can’t picture herself in any other role.

Pamela DeHaven didn’t set out to become a female barber, but enjoys being able to express her artistic creativity with clippers. Here DeHaven is giving customer Chris Berger a haircut. It’s his first visit to DeHaven’s shop, and she’s determined it won’t be his last. (Photo by B.C. Manion)
Pamela DeHaven didn’t set out to become a female barber, but enjoys being able to express her artistic creativity with clippers. Here DeHaven is giving customer Chris Berger a haircut. It’s his first visit to DeHaven’s shop, and she’s determined it won’t be his last. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

Initially, she thought she’d be a cosmetologist, a more traditional path for a woman. But a trip to the emergency room changed that plan.

“When I was going to (cosmetology) school, I had an allergic reaction to a perm,” DeHaven said. “It closed up my airways. I was heartbroken. I didn’t know what I was going to do because I’d been cutting hair since I was 14 years old.”

But the emergency room doctor had a suggestion: Become a barber, adding, “I don’t know a barber that does perms.”

So DeHaven started barber school. However, it wasn’t the easiest road to take.

“It wasn’t something women did back then,” she said. “It was difficult because the guys all made fun of me.”

They told her she was going into the wrong field and wouldn’t be able to make a living.

But she persisted.

“I didn’t have a choice. I wanted to do hair but I didn’t want to do chemicals,” DeHaven said. “You have to believe in yourself. So, I just kept on going.”

DeHaven would find jobs at barber shops on military bases in Nebraska and Alaska before coming to Tampa in the 1990s to work at MacDill Air Force Base. There she would do as many as 40 haircuts a day, at prices as low as $5 each.

When she went to work for private shops in Brandon, Apollo Beach and Land O’ Lakes, DeHaven was able to be more artistic and make better money, too. Then she opened Tops N Taper Barber Shop at 1907 Collier Parkway in Lutz.

At the moment, DeHaven is her shop’s only full-time barber. There’s also a part-time cosmetologist, who also adds some barbering services as well.

She’s looking for a full-time barber, who specializes in fades. Future plans call for adding someone to do manicures and pedicures for men, and a masseuse.

The shop specializes for services for men and boys, DeHaven said. “There won’t be any chemicals or perms.”

Chris Berger, a 35-yeaer-old Land O’ Lakes resident, recently gave the shop a try.

“I like the fact that you come from a military background,” Berger told DeHaven. “A military haircut, that’s what I’m working for.”

Afterward, taking a look at DeHaven’s handiwork, he was pleased with the results. “I’ll be back.”

Berger is not the only one who gives DeHaven high marks. A couple of customers followed her to her new shop.

Land O’ Lakes resident Harry Cooper, 70, said he prefers having a woman give him his haircuts.

“I used my wife’s hairdressers for years,” Cooper said. “They’d just come to the house. Then, I came across Pam. I’ve been dedicated to her for eight years.”

“She’s very good at what she does,” he said, adding he likes her personality, too. “The older guys, they line up for her.”

Jim Hoskins, another regular, has been seeing DeHaven for haircuts for four years.

“In my case, there’s not much to work with,” said Hoskins, who was poking fun at himself, despite having a healthy head of hair.

Apparently, Hoskins likes DeHaven’s style because he keeps coming back.

“She does a wonderful job on your hair,” Hoskins said.

Retired Dade City teacher born for Peace Corps

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Barbara Colson was a freshman in college when she first heard of the Peace Corps.

Barbara Colson joins some of the Armenian students she taught English to visit a rebuilt 10th century church. Armenia, where the Dade City women spent two years as part of the Peace Corps, was the first full country to accept Christianity in A.D. 301. (Photo courtesy of Barbara Colson)
Barbara Colson joins some of the Armenian students she taught English to visit a rebuilt 10th century church. Armenia, where the Dade City women spent two years as part of the Peace Corps, was the first full country to accept Christianity in A.D. 301. (Photo courtesy of Barbara Colson)

It was 1966, and another girl in her dorm had just received a phone call and found out she had been accepted.

“I had no idea what she was talking about, so I decided to learn more about it,” the retired Dade City teacher said. “I thought it sounded good, like something I wanted to do, but life got in the way.”

And it was a lot of life. Colson would raise her family, excel in her career with the Hillsborough County school system, and travel when she could. It wasn’t until she turned 59, after her retirement, that Colson finally applied for the Peace Corps.

“This was something I always wanted to do, and I was finally doing it,” Colson said.

She was one of thousands of people vying for just 8,000 slots that are available each year in the Peace Corps, but Colson’s education background and community service made her a perfect fit to teach English as a second language. She found out quickly that her home for the next two years would be Armenia, a former Soviet Union republic that was still struggling to get back on its feet.

“They loved the Russians,” Colson said. “Back then, everybody worked, and everybody had a house. But then the Russians just packed up everything and left, and they left these countries without the resources to continue.”

Factories closed and jobs dried up. Many Armenians now look for a better life in Russia, or even the United States. That has refocused attention on education, working to help the country become more self-sufficient, and more involved in worldwide economics.

“Many of them follow learning methods originally written by the Russians,” Colson said. “We started a Girl Scout group there, and one of the things we realized was that no one there knew how to brainstorm. That was a skill we had to teach them.”

That is what helps make the Peace Corps necessary in countries like Armenia, said Alethea Parker, public affairs specialist for Peace Corps in Atlanta.

“It’s is a large commitment to be away from your family and friends for two years,” she said. “But from our perspective, it’s very rewarding and impactful … and it is important work.”

The only requirements to become a Peace Corps volunteer is being at least 18 years old, and a U.S. citizen. But getting selected, that is a much more daunting process.

“Our application process is quite competitive,” Parker said. “Most of our programs do require at least a bachelor’s degree, and we are typically looking at several years of full-time professional work experience.”

Yet, being a Peace Corps volunteer has its advantages beyond just helping out overseas. Medical expenses are covered at 100 percent, and a decent stipend is offered to cover day-to-day living expenses.

Colson lived in Kapan, a small city of just 45,000 people in southern Armenia. That worked out great for Colson, who struggled to learn Armenian. Unlike more rural areas, the cities in Armenia tend to have a more international feel.

“A lot of people speak English as it’s an international language,” she said. “They want to be a part of the world, and to get along in the world. And they’re working hard to achieve those goals.”

Even if Colson was in a bind, where she couldn’t just point to something on a store shelf she wanted, it seemed there was always someone willing to help.  It’s the kind of neighborly actions she wishes existed more back home.

“The things that Americans get upset about, it’s beyond me,” Colson said. “Try really being in survivor mode, and you’ll find out there’s a lot more we can do for our own people back home, too.”

The Peace Corps currently has 36 volunteers from the Tampa Bay area serving overseas, and have joined more than 850 volunteers from the region who have participated since President John F. Kennedy founded the program in 1961.

Right now, however, the Peace Corps needs 1,000 volunteers, and are recruiting. Details can be found online at www.PeaceCorps.gov.

Residents weigh in on Pasco’s quality of life

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Pasco County residents like to express themselves at the polls, but aren’t all that interested in attending public meetings.

When they need to go to work, chances are they’ll hop in their car and drive themselves there.

And, when it comes to ranking efforts to create jobs and grow the economy — they see plenty of room for improvement.

These are just a few of the findings from the National Citizen Survey, which offers a glimpse of how Pasco residents view the quality of life in the county and provides a basic report card on government services.

The survey is a collaborative effort between the National Research Center Inc. and the International City/County Management Association.

The survey was developed by the National Research Center to provide a statistically valid survey of resident opinions about the services provided by local government.

The survey was distributed to 1,200 randomly selected addresses, and of those, 243 were returned for a return rate of 23 percent. The survey has a plus or minus 6 percent margin of error.

According to the survey, 91 percent of those responding said they are registered to vote and 81 percent said they made it to the polls on Election Day.

Far fewer seemed interested in making their opinions known at public meetings. Just 21 percent of the survey takers said they attended a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting in the last year.

When it comes to getting around, 76 percent reported that they drive alone in their car to get the work, and just 7 percent said they’d been on a bus in the county during the past year. Fewer than a third gave good or excellent marks to ease of biking or walking around the county.

Overall, 68 percent of those surveyed gave Pasco County a good or excellent mark for its quality of life. But just 34 percent gave good or excellent marks to economic development, and a whopping 85 percent said job growth is too slow.

Opportunities to attend cultural events also scored poorly, with just 30 percent giving good or excellent marks in that category.

On a brighter note, however, 79 percent gave excellent or good marks for the county’s public library services.

The survey rated a number of county services, which were compared to a benchmark database. Of the 40 services for which comparison was available, none exceeded the benchmark, 15 were similar and 25 were ranked below.

Despite that outcome, though, 81 percent of those surveyed said they would be somewhat or very likely to recommend living in Pasco County, and 83 percent said they planned to remain in Pasco for the next five years.

The county has made gains in some areas.

The availability of affordable health care, for instance, was rated as good or excellent by 60 percent of the survey takers, compared to 46 percent last year and 44 percent in 2009.

Health services, overall, also scored a higher mark — with good or excellent ratings by 64 percent, compared to 57 percent last year and 49 percent in 2009.

Parks and recreation also picked up a few points, with 50 percent of those surveyed rating recreational opportunities as good or excellent, compared to 45 percent last year.

On the public safety front, 93 percent of the respondents reported feeling safe or somewhat safe in their homes during the day.

Five percent of those surveyed said they or someone in their household had been a victim of crime — compared to 14 percent the previous year.

However, just 72 percent said they reported the crime to police, compared with 84 percent reporting it the year before.

The Pasco County Commission is expected to hear a report on the survey when they meet Sept. 4. The item had been on the commission’s Aug.  27 agenda, but was delayed because of long discussions on other issues.