The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Zephyrhills/East Pasco News

Business Digest

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Krista Covey to lead business incubator
Krista Covey is the new economic development manager of SMARTstart, Pasco County’s first business incubator.

The incubator, at the Dade City Business Center and Dade City Office Plaza, will help small companies and startup businesses.

The Dade City location was selected because it is at an industrial park and has office space onsite. It is also near expert help from Saint Leo University, the Small Business Development Center and business leaders who are active with the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce.

Covey said she will divide her time between the Dade City location and her office at the Pasco Economic Development Council in Lutz.

The business incubator has begun accepting applications. Anyone interested in knowing more should contact Covey at (813) 926-0827, ext. 227.

 

Grow Financial set to open Wesley Chapel branch
Grow Financial is opening its 21st branch at 2579 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel. The 3,805-square-foot branch has a modern retail design and a contemporary color scheme. It is expected to debut an interactive teller machine in October at a community grand opening event.

The Wesley Chapel branch will also have an art room, which will display art by local artists and by students from area schools on a rotating basis throughout the year.

The opening exhibit is titled Within the Artists’ Eye featuring art by some of the faculty of the Pasco Arts Council, Inc.

 

WestBay opens Key Largo II model in Connerton
Homes by WestBay has opened the Key Largo II in Connerton, a 4,800-acre planned community in Land O’ Lakes.

The Key Largo II model has 3,900 square feet of space, five bedrooms, four bathrooms and a three-car garage.

It’s located in the Jasmine Abbey neighborhood of Connerton, which boasts parks, restaurants, shopping, schools and an award-winning amenity complex. Homes in Jasmine Abbey are priced from the upper $200,000 range.

Model home hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information on Homes by WestBay, call (813) 285-1444, or visit HomesbyWestBay.com.

 

Jeff Huebner new VP of construction for Avex Homes
Jeff Huebner is the new vice president of construction for Avex Homes, an Orlando-based builder that is constructing homes at Cypress Village at Avalon Park West on SR 54 in Wesley Chapel.

Huebner has more than 25 years of experience in the homebuilding industry and significant vendor relationships. He was most recently Orlando division vice president of construction for Maronda Homes.

The Avalon Park Group development will eventually accommodate as many as 4,400 homes and more than 700,000 square feet of commercial space in its Town Center.

 

PEDC board gets new member
All Children’s Hospital/Johns Hopkins Medicine has joined the Pasco Economic Development Council Inc.’s board of directors.

“All Children’s Hospital has been looking forward to an active role on Pasco EDC’s board of directors,” said Kuhns, vice president of human resources, in a news release.  “Pasco County continues to grow at a rapid pace, and we are excited to work with other business and community leaders to make Pasco a better place for both families and employers.”

All Children’s Hospital operates a 20,000-square-foot outpatient care facility on Rowan Road in New Port Richey.

Kuhns has served in his current role since 2008. Before that, he spent seven years with HCA in the Tampa Bay area. He lives in New Port Richey with his wife and family.

 

East Pasco Networking Group meetings
The East Pasco Networking Group has scheduled several future speakers. The group meets at the Village Inn, 5214 Gall Blvd. in Zephyrhills. Networking starts at 8 a.m. and the meeting begins at 8:30 a.m.

Here’s a schedule of upcoming speakers:

–Aug. 13: Jennifer Samuel-Choice, speaker coach and professional storyteller

–Aug. 27: Brian Corley, Pasco County Supervisor of Elections and Randy Stovall, PHCC, Provost Dean, East Campus

–Sept. 10: Faith Knight, chief operations officer of Apollo Group

–Sept. 24: Maureen Moore, director of communications at Saint Leo University

–Oct. 8: Danny Burgess, mayor of Zephyrhills

–Oct. 22: Paul Stonebridge, Pasco County Library System

–Nov. 12: Gary Loman, professional education manager, Rasmussen College

–Nov. 26: Tom Jackson, columnist for The Tampa Tribune

 

Christian Business Connection makes donations
Christian Business Connections donated $250 to Impact, a group of high school teens committed to saying yes to healthy relationships and saying no to premarital sex, drugs, tobacco and alcohol.

The business connections group also donated $250 to Overflow Magazine, a nonprofit Christian magazine distributed at churches, Salvation Army stores, supermarkets and other locations in Tampa Bay.

Christian Business Connections focuses on helping businesses prosper by networking and sharing ideas and business practices. The group meets at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Myrtle Lake Baptist Church, 2017 Reigler Road in Land O’ Lakes.

For more info, visit www.cbccentralpasco.com.

 

North Tampa Chamber meetings
Here’s the slate of upcoming meetings of the North Tampa Chamber of Commerce

–Aug. 8: General meeting at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, 2701 E. Fowler Ave. in Tampa. For more information, email the chamber office at , or call (813) 961-2420. Doors open at 11 a.m., with networking until a buffet lunch begins at 11:30 a.m.

–Aug. 15: Chamber networking luncheon, at Beef O’ Brady’s, 8810 N. Himes Ave., Tampa. RSVP by Aug 13 to Kelly Winterling at , or call Horizon Bay at Lutz (Brookdale Senior Living) at (813) 909-9679. Need directions? Call (813) 936-2058.

–Aug. 22: Chamber networking luncheon, 11:30 a.m., at Embassy Suites USF/near Busch Gardens, 3705 Spectrum Blvd. in Tampa. RSVP by Aug. 20 to Jenn Beaumont at , or call her at AGLA-American General Life at (813) 334-8998. Directions? Call (813) 977-7066.

–Aug. 27: Chamber “Coffee Connection,” 7:30 a.m., hosted by Horizon Bay at Lutz, 414 Chapman Road E. in Lutz. RSVP no later than Aug. 26 to Kelly at (813) 909-9679 or . Refreshments will be provided.

–Sept. 3: Grand opening and ribbon cutting from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Hair Cuttery, North Point Plaza, 15207 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa. RSVP to Shelia Jarrett at (813) 960-3871 . Light refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend these chamber events. For more information about the North Tampa Chamber, call (813) 961-2420, or send an email to: or visit northtampachamber.com.

 

Woman vs. gator: A sport and food source going mainstream

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She arrived to the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce mixer last week at the recently reopened Beef O’ Brady’s at the Village Lakes Shopping Center with long blonde hair, perfectly manicured nails and an inviting smile – to represent her family’s heating and cooling company.

The trophy table is lined with heads and skins of what were once fierce reptiles in Florida’s waters. The gators are hunted, but are then used for not only their hides, but for food as well.
The trophy table is lined with heads and skins of what were once fierce reptiles in Florida’s waters. The gators are hunted, but are then used for not only their hides, but for food as well.

But that’s just touching the surface. Charlene Ierna might help service and sell air-conditioning units during the day, but her off time is filled with a much different passion: gator hunting.

While it might not be the most common form of game hunting in Florida, alligator hunting attracts many adventure-seekers looking to come face-to-face with the state’s largest native reptile. And these hunters don’t use guns. Instead, they stalk their prey with weapons like spear guns or crossbows.

“A lot of people still do consider it a little dangerous,” said Ierna, who is vice president of Ierna’s Heating & Cooling in Lutz. “Having been around them my whole life when I would hunt them with my dad as a kid, I’m still not going to say that I’m comfortable with them. You can never be comfortable with something that is more powerful than you are.”

Ierna captured her first gator this past Easter during a professionally guided hunt just south of Bartow. Her gator measured 13 feet and 4 inches, and weighed 800 pounds. She lured it close to her with an alligator call, and then while it was still in the water, hit it with her crossbow.

A giant bobber, that was part of the arrow she shot, kept the alligator afloat. She finished it off later with a second arrow.

“They’re dinosaurs essentially,” Ierna said. “One bow and arrow is not going to do the job, unless it’s a perfect shot hit in the perfect place.”

But hunting an alligator is not just for the trophy head. Fully processed gator hides can run for as much as $100 a foot, according to Shane Smith, a Lutz resident who owns The Hungry Gator Meat Market in Plant City.

Alligator meat, while not quite ready to replace beef or chicken in most people’s diets, is still quite popular with various eateries, including Hungry Harry’s on US 41, which serves a popular gator sausage sandwich.

“Alligators, especially wild alligators, are found only in the Southeast, and there are few other alligator farms outside of there,” Smith said.

The alligator meat industry as a whole has grown 500 percent in the past year alone, Smith said. That’s due in large part to cable television shows like “Swamp People” and “Gator Boys” that have whet the nation’s taste buds to alligator steaks and alligator sausage.

“Trappers in Florida used to only sell to local restaurants. Now they’re shipping to restaurants all over the country,” Smith said. His meat processing company, open only a year, already is distributing more than 450 pounds of gator meat a week to restaurants, including Charley’s Steak House and Market Fresh Fish in Tampa.

For the uninitiated, gator meat tastes a bit like chicken, believe it or not, and has a texture probably best described as those found in certain types of fish. But it does have some significant health benefits.

“It’s a very lean meat, low in cholesterol and high in protein,” Smith said. “It has a higher protein count than in chicken or tuna.”

Ierna, in the meantime, is already gearing up for her next alligator hunt. She’s heading to St. John’s River in September with the hopes of picking up two more gators to add to her collection.

This time, Ierna will be without a professional guide. She’ll be hunting an animal with heightened senses of smell and sight that could turn the tables on a hunter in an instant.

“My personal opinion, and I even tell my kids this,” Ierna said. “They are far more intimidated by you than what you think. They don’t want anything to do with us.”

But still: “You have to be wise and be alert, and you certainly can’t be relaxed. You can’t just sit and look and just hope everything goes well. You have to be attentive to what’s going on.”

Building homes for the poor abroad

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Since the buses and trucks couldn’t carry them up the goat path on the mountainous outskirts of Tegucigalpa, Crystal McDaniel and 55 other volunteers trudged up the cliff-like slope — lugging hammers, chainsaws, belts and other construction tools.

They were on a mission to build three wooden houses on the hill, but first had to negotiate large rocks to get there.

Matthew McDaniel, (from left) Marisa Jaroch, Eric Lake and Haydn Manuel work on building a wall for a Honduran home during a mission trip.
Matthew McDaniel, (from left) Marisa Jaroch, Eric Lake and Haydn Manuel work on building a wall for a Honduran home during a mission trip.

One home was for a disabled woman who had never been off the mountain.

Dark clouds formed over the building site and the nearby lush terrain, and heavy showers soaked the volunteers. But the downpour didn’t dampen their enthusiasm.

They donned ponchos and worked through the wet weather — working in three teams and finishing three houses by the end of the day.

“It’s the hardest I ever worked in my life,” McDaniel said of her stay in Honduras.

Besides making it more difficult to build, the rainstorm caused water to stream down the goat path making the rocks slippery as the construction crew headed down the mountain at the end of the day.

McDaniel and her teenage son Matthew made the trip as part of an outreach organized by Northwest Tampa Church of Christ. The Lutz residents are parishioners of the church and spent two weeks toward the end of June building houses for the poor in Honduras. The volunteers built 37 one-room homes, which measure 14-by-14. Each home is valued at about $1,200.

There’s very little to no public assistance in Honduras, which is the second poorest country in Central America, according to the CIA’s website.

About one-third of the 8.5 million people living in Honduras are underemployed, and more than half of the residents live in poverty. Impoverished conditions are especially great in rural and indigenous areas, like the three villages where the volunteers helped.

The nation also has the highest murder rate in the world.

“Up in the mountains is where we worked,” said Keith Boyer, a leading organizer on this trip. “It’s just the poorest of the poor. They squat on the land, and then they get ownership. And then we’ll build as many houses as we can.”

Crystal was motivated by a desire to help those less fortunate.

“We’re here to serve others — seriously,” she said. “I was born and raised with a family that — you (live) a life of service.”

Matthew said he went to Honduras because it was a new and different experience.

“I do it to grow closer to the youth group that goes down there,” he said. “And then it’s nice to go help people who don’t have anything. Even though it’s hard work, building the houses is actually kind of fun, and you get to see another country.”

The nondenominational Northwest Tampa Church of Christ, located at Sheldon Road in Tampa, gets parishioners from all over the Tampa Bay area. Church organizers have been planning annual trips to Honduras for the last 13 years.

It costs $1,650 per adult and $400 per teen to go on the trip, and parishioners had to pay the full or partial amount depending on how actively they donated and participated in church fundraisers and other activities.

Crystal paid more than $1,000 for herself and $400 for Matthew to go.

The mission trip also received funds raised through food sales, car washes and other church events. All of the money went toward food, lodging, plane tickets, lumber and other materials needed to build the homes.

The houses built by the volunteers consisted of four wooden walls, a floor and a tin roof. Residents who want smaller rooms can use clotheslines and blankets to create separate spaces.

The houses have no plumbing or electricity. Meals are cooked outside with a makeshift stove.

Matthew said residents who want electricity have to buy their own wires and connect them from their homes to the main source of electricity set up in these villages by the government.

Each home has a family with up to nine people living in it.

“They have nothing – absolutely nothing but the clothes on their back,” Crystal said. “And they’re the happiest people you ever saw.”

She observed an abundance of affection, communication and interdependency within families that led to joy and satisfaction in life. The villagers were very friendly with each other and the volunteers, Matthew said.

Besides receiving new housing, each family also received an adult and children’s Bible in Spanish from the mission.

On their three flights from Miami to Honduras, the church group took 37 large duffel bags full of shoes, small toys, shampoos, 150 dresses and many other small items to give out in Honduras.

The volunteers also managed to buy and assemble 300 bags of staple foods like rice, beans, sugar, lard, coffee and pasta. They gave one bag per family that moved into the new houses and their neighbors.

McDaniel and her son said they found the trip so rewarding they plan to go back again.

— Marie Abramov

Collecting memories to preserve history

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The interviewing techniques used by National Public Radio’s StoryCorps project will be used locally to create a special collection tracing the history of African-American life in Hillsborough County.

Millions of NPR listeners are familiar with stories collected through StoryCorps.org and broadcast on NPR’s “Morning Edition” program.

StoryCorps’ mission “is to provide people of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share and preserve the stories of our lives,” according to the organization’s website.

Some of the recorded stories are played on the radio. The taped interviews are also archived in the Library of Congress.

Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 45,000 interviews, involving approximately 90,000 participants.

With the special grant it received, the Tampa-Hillsborough library system plans to invite people to share their recollections about the history of the African-American community in Hillsborough County, said Renelda Sellf, chief librarian for the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative.

Specifically, the library system wants to hear from people who can share their insights, memories and knowledge about Central Avenue, the former center of commerce for the African-American community; Robert W. Saunders Sr., a civil rights activist; the history of local black nurses; the Jackson House, a boarding house where many high-profile African-Americans stayed in the days before blacks could stay in hotels; and, Negro League baseball players.

“There is a lot of rich history that we want to collect,” Sellf said.

Saunders played a key role in the civil rights movement in Florida and served as the Florida NAACP field secretary. He endured death threats from the Ku Klux Klan; worked statewide to desegregate public schools, beaches and housing; won raises for black teachers; brought affirmative action to government contracting and college admissions; stopped police brutality; and registered voters, according to a report published in The Tampa Bay Times after Saunders’ death.

The taped interviews will be kept in a special collection at the Robert W. Saunders Sr. Branch Library, 1505 N. Nebraska Ave. The existing library is slated for demolition and a new one will be built on the same site.

Most of the interviews will be conducted at the Saunders branch, but the project will also travel to other locations to collect stories, Sellf said. Those details are not yet final, but will be posted on the library system’s website when the information is available.

Staff members and volunteers for the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System will receive training to lay the groundwork for collecting the personal stories, Sellf said.

After this local effort to create a special collection of recordings involving African-American history wraps up, the library system will be allowed to keep the equipment, and its staff will continue to benefit from the training provided through the project, Sellf said.

The library system was one of the 10 systems selected nationwide to participate in the StoryCorps “@ your library” pilot program.

The American Library Association Public Programs Office, in partnership with StoryCorps, selected the grant winners.

“There were more than 200 applications,” Sellf said.

For additional information about the project, call (813) 273-3652, or visit hcplc.org.

Shoppers can benefit during state’s sales tax holiday

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Officials at The Shops at Wiregrass expect the mall to attract more traffic as shoppers take advantage of the state’s sales tax holiday, Aug. 2-4. (Photo courtesy of The Shops at Wiregrass.
Officials at The Shops at Wiregrass expect the mall to attract more traffic as shoppers take advantage of the state’s sales tax holiday, Aug. 2-4. (Photo courtesy of The Shops at Wiregrass.

It’s that time of year again, when families start gearing up for a new academic year by shopping for new school clothes, shoes, supplies and backpacks.

Just in time for those back-to-school purchases, Florida is having its sales tax holiday.

This time – for the first time – personal computers and accessories, valued up to $750, are also exempt from sales taxes during the sales tax holiday, which begins at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 2 and goes through 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 4.

Retailers are staffing up as families take advantage of tax savings and markdowns, Rick McAllister, president and CEO of the Florida Retail Federation, said in a news release.

Retailers expect the introduction of the computer sales exemption to give the popular tax holiday a significant boost, McAllister said.

Clothing items and shoes priced at up to $75 are exempt, and so are school supply items, sold at no more than $15.

McAllister thinks the new computer exemption will drive purchases.

“Most families in Florida own a computer of one type or another, and we expect that many will take advantage of the tax savings to purchase computers for their kids or upgrade their own,” McAllister said. “And you’ll see great deals on clothes, shoes and school supplies. It’s a winning proposition for Florida’s families and for our retailers, because we’ll see a good boost in commerce over the weekend.

“Stores are actively competing with each other for customers, and that usually means plenty of markdowns to attract shoppers,” he added.

Retailers in Florida are expected to boost staffing by about 20 percent during the tax holiday weekend to accommodate shoppers. In general, retailers expect an average increase of between 30 and 40 percent in store traffic over the weekend because of the sales tax holiday, McAllister said.

A National Retail Federation survey predicts that families with school-aged children will spend an average of $634.78 on apparel, shoes, supplies and electronics in 2013, down from $688.62 last year.

McAllister noted, however, that “because of the tax holiday, retail stores generally perform a little better in Florida than in states without a sales tax holiday.”

The Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel historically sees more shoppers at its stores during August because of back-to-school sales and an uptick in activity during the sales tax holiday, said Debbie Detweiler, director of marketing.

It’s also a fun time, Detweiler said. “We enjoy seeing parents shopping with their kids for back-to-school.”

For more details on items that are exempt under the tax-free holiday, go to the Florida Department of Revenue’s website at http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/ and click on “Sales Tax Holiday, Aug. 2-4, 2013.”

Inspired to help others

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Nine-year-old Jack Buttafuoco and his mom, Melissa, recently were at a Dunkin’ Donuts when they saw an advertisement in The Laker/Lutz News for a summer food drive to help fight hunger locally. The Seven Oaks youngster was inspired to get involved to help stock the pantry at Feeding America Tampa Bay-Suncoast Branch.

Jack Buttafuoco sits behind just some of the groceries he collected in a personal food drive to feed the hungry. (Photo by B.C. Manion)
Jack Buttafuoco sits behind just some of the groceries he collected in a personal food drive to feed the hungry. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

The elementary school student collected canned foods, pasta, peanut butter and other items from friends, neighbors and family members.

He even pitched in $26 of his allowance to buy soup and other items to help stock the food bank, which provides items for various food pantries.

He said he feels sad when he thinks about the hungry people who need the food, but is glad that he can help. He encourages others to do the same.

Anyone else who would like to help can bring their contributions to The Laker/Lutz News, 3632 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Suite 102, in Land O’ Lakes. The items that are needed most are canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, pasta and rice.

Startups will have a place to call home

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The Dade City Business Center and Dade City Office Plaza was once the site of one of the largest juice processing plants in the world, teeming with more than 2,000 employees.

It fell into disrepair through the decades, but, in recent years, it has been roaring back to life with myriad companies setting up shop.

Now, plans call for launching Pasco County’s first business incubator at the site.

Businesses taking part in a new business incubator at the Dade City Business Center and Dade City Office Plaza will be able to use this conference room, said Bobby Van Allen, the site’s general manager. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

The incubator will help small companies and startup businesses by providing expert assistance in tackling the various challenges that entrepreneurs face, said John Walsh, vice president of the Pasco Economic Development Council, a key player in the initiative.

Locating the incubator at the Dade City industrial park and office plaza is ideal because of its proximity to expert help from Saint Leo University, the Small Business Development Center and to veteran business people who belong to the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, Walsh said.

When companies are getting off the ground, they often need help on issues ranging from tax law to exports to personnel matters, Walsh said. A business incubator provides technical assistance and a way to connect businesses with people who can offer the kind of expertise they need.

In the long-run, the aim of a business incubator is to create jobs, encourage growth of innovative companies and help Pasco County and Dade City enhance their reputation as a place that can make these kinds of things happen, said John Moors, executive director of the chamber.

The owners of the business center and office plaza — JDR Properties of Pasco — offered attractive rates to help make the incubator affordable to small businesses, Walsh said.

The initiative fits in with the office and industrial park owners’ visionary thinking, said Bobby Van Allen, general manager of the 355-acre site.

The incubator is a combined effort of the PEDC, Saint Leo University, the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Development Center, Pasco County and the Dade City Business Center. It is funded with $50,000 from the PEDC, $50,000 from the city of Dade City and $100,000 from the county.

“This is a great collaboration,” Moors said. Everyone involved in the effort wants the incubator to be successful, he said.

Walsh said the hope is the incubator becomes a model for a couple others in Pasco.

Moors said the industrial park and office plaza was selected to house the business incubator because it has available office space, a common lobby, a common boardroom and ample parking.

Having office and industrial space available is a plus because it allows the incubator to serve a mixture of companies, Walsh said.

It also offers an opportunity for synergy as new companies can benefit from the experience of other tenants at the office and industrial park, Moors added.

“It’s already a major employment center for the county,” Moors said.

The site has a diverse list of tenants, including specialty recyclers, fuel production, decorative and specialty concrete business, furniture refinishing, beverage production and distribution, heavy equipment repair, accounting professionals, financial consultants, freight brokerage, logistical companies, a screen printer and embroiderer, marketing firms and a wheel manufacturer among others.

The park has heavy industrial zoning, a CSX main rail line flowing through it and daily water rights of 3.5 million gallons, Van Allen said. It also has its own wastewater treatment plant and access to six-lane US 301, as well as a central location in relation to Tampa, Orlando and Lakeland, Van Allen said.

Other benefits of the site include easy access to Florida’s major highways, regional and international airports and deepwater ports.

A selection committee will choose the companies that will be allowed to participate in the incubator, Van Allen said. It will be looking at a number of factors, including the company’s business plan and its exit strategy, he said.

Van Allen, who grew up in Dade City, said the site he manages has undergone a systematic rehabilitation with its current ownership.

“This property was very blighted. To be nice, it needed a lot of renovation,” Van Allen said.

Details for the business incubator are still being worked out, but Walsh expects it to begin operating in April or May.

For more information call Walsh or Krista Hakes at the PEDC, (813) 926-0827.

Dade City Main Street: a quarter-century of change

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With its quaint shops, historic courthouse and collection of restaurants, it’s hard to picture the slice of Americana that is downtown Dade City as a place once characterized by vacant storefronts and buildings falling into disrepair.

But that’s precisely what the place was like in the mid-1980s before Dade City Main Street began the battle to revive the downtown.

The renovation of the Dade City Courthouse was a huge step in the right direction in the effort to revitalize the city’s downtown district. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

“It was right on the verge of dying,” said Pat Weaver, who led the effort to establish Dade City Main Street. “I just couldn’t bear to see it be boarded up. … Dade City was referred to as ‘dead city.’ We decided to do something about it.”

Harsh freezes and the allure of shopping malls had a crippling effect on the district’s vitality, recalled Pete Brock, a member of Dade City Main Street’s founding board.

“Our downtown was in a state of decline,” Brock said.

That organization, which was part of the Florida Main Street Program, ceased operations on March 28. Before then, it served as a catalyst for revitalization and sponsored community events for a quarter-century.

From the very beginning, Weaver was confident the Main Street program could play a pivotal role in saving her hometown community’s downtown.

It took two years to line everything up to apply to join the state’s Main Street program, Brock said.

Gaining approval for the program required local commitment, including financial and community support. It also involved establishing a board of directors, drafting articles of incorporation and having the willingness to hire a full-time manager, Brock said.

The group also had to demonstrate community backing.

“We raised about $30,000 in six weeks,” Weaver said.

Most cities applying to the state’s Main Street program had to try more than once, Brock said. The Dade City group, however, had done its homework.

“We were accepted on the first go-round,” Brock said.

Brock thinks Dade City’s downtown was a good fit for the program.

“We were fortunate that we had a lot of historic buildings. The town has a natural beauty to it,” Brock said.

Dade City Main Street defined its mission as “a commitment to revitalize and preserve the flavor of small town life and the unique heritage of Dade City, Florida.”

The state’s Main Street program was set up as a three-year program, Brock said. It provided a $10,000 grant and technical assistance.

“They came into the community in those first three years, and they kind of evaluated where we were,” Brock said. “They trained the board. They trained the executive director. We had meetings where we did visioning. We did a lot of work to look at where we were and where we thought we needed to go.”

The board was made up of a cross-section of people to ensure it represented different points of view, Weaver said. She added that it also consisted of those who agreed to play an active role, noting there were no “in-name only” board members.

Brock characterized board members as the community’s “opinion leaders” who had the ability to make things happen.

It didn’t take long to begin having a positive impact, Brock said.

“All of a sudden, some of the merchants wanted to do something about their buildings,” Brock said.

The Gandy building was the first to complete a renovation, Weaver said.

Then Tom Smith and Kevin Roberts completed a $600,000 makeover of the Centennial Building, Brock said.

That stimulated others to get involved, and, within the first 18 months, more than $3 million had been invested in downtown construction and renovation, Brock said.

Dade City’s group worked with civic and service organizations and city and county government leaders, as well as the state’s Main Street program and experts from the University of Florida, to bring about positive change, Brock said.

The restoration of the stately courthouse, which graces the center of downtown, was a huge step in the right direction, Brock said.

“The courthouse was ugly, ugly, ugly,” Weaver said. It had additions that went all of the way out of the sidewalk, she added. “That hodgepodge of additions is gone now, and the historic structure exudes its early 1900s charm.”

The district built on its strengths, Brock said.

“We have this restaurant called Lunch on Limoges. That was really the magnet,” Brock said.

Downtown also became a draw for antiques dealers and boutiques.

The creation of the Community Redevelopment Agency has also made a sizable impact, Brock said. The CRA established a mechanism for using tax proceeds to help pay for various improvements and beautification projects.

During its quarter-century tenure, Dade City Main Street initiated, played a role or was a catalyst in numerous improvements and activities, such as:

—Renovating the 1912 train depot

—Constructing downtown restrooms

—Sponsoring downtown events like the Fall Scarecrow Festival and the Country Christmas Stroll

—Promoting downtown through billboards, shopping guides, streetlight banners, commemorative postcards and bottles of private label water

—Providing grants to beautify building facades, repaint buildings and purchase decorative streetlights, benches, trash receptacles, bicycle racks and newspaper dispensers

—Improving the district’s ambiance with trees and flowering plants in planters.

Brock said the group wanted to go out on a high note when it ceased operations.

“We really do feel that most of the things that we wanted to do have been accomplished in terms of the appearance and vitality,” Brock said. “The one area that we’re a little concerned is the advocacy area. We hope somebody will pick that up.”

John Moors, executive director of the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, said the group’s decision to disband came after a lengthy run.

“Everything has a life,” Moors said. “My history has been in various hotel companies and municipal governments. So, things change. The one thing that isn’t going to change is that things change. It’s not the change that happens, it’s how you adapt.”

He’s confident the downtown district will continue to thrive.

“We have a great group of merchants in Dade City,” Moors said. “They’re engaged. They’re active. They’re really committed to the betterment of our downtown, and I think it shows when you look at our downtown.”

Plan to cut media specialists on hold

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The Pasco County School Board wants more information before they decide on superintendent Kurt Browning’s proposal to eliminate school media specialists and literacy coaches.

Browning’s package of proposed budget cuts calls for eliminating 56.5 media specialist positions and 33 literacy coaches in district elementary, middle and high schools to save more than $4.8 million.

But at an April 16 budget workshop, school board members made it clear that they want to discuss the issue in greater detail.

During its board meeting that night, members voted to discuss the issue on May 7 when Browning is expected to provide more detailed information about positions that would be assigned to serve more than one school.

The media specialists and literacy coaches are included in the 260.5 positions Browning has proposed to eliminate to help plug a $19 million budget hole.

School board member Joanne Hurley told Browning she’s not comfortable with his proposal regarding the media specialists and literacy coaches.

As the district faces tougher academic standards, it’s important to provide school-based support, Hurley said, in an interview after the workshop.

“They’re taking away two very valuable resources,” Hurley said. “Those people do have direct contact with students.”

Board member Alison Crumbley wants to hear more details of Browning’s planned approach.

“I want to know what the specific plan is and how it relates to the students and student success,” she said, after the workshop. She wants to know “what the exact impact will be on our students.”

Board chairwoman Cynthia Armstrong also wants more details.

“I’m looking forward to hearing the proposal that the superintendent’s office is going to bring to us,” she said in an interview after the workshop.

Board member Steve Luikart has a plan of his own. In an interview after the workshop, he said he’d like to see a slower transition than the one Browning has proposed.

At the workshop, Browning reminded board members that any reduction in his proposed cuts would require finding equivalent cuts elsewhere.

Browning also asked for direction in the approach he should use in balancing the district’s budget.

“Does the board want me to use nonrecurring revenue to balance the budget, or do you want me to find an additional $5 million in cuts?” Browning said.

Browning said he’d like to get away from using nonrecurring funds, which was a common practice in years past.

Board members concurred.

“I think the time has come where we really can’t do that again,” Hurley said.

Armstrong added, “At some point it’s just irresponsible to keep raiding the funds.”

Browning also informed the board that his proposed budget does not meet the state’s class size requirements. His proposal would save $4.033 million, but it would cost the district $213,000 in penalties for failing to meet the mandate.

Browning also said his team is “going to go back in and assess the number of APs (assistant principals) at our schools.”

Acknowledging that reducing the number of APs may not be popular, Browning said, “This is going to be shared pain-making.”

Luikart, a former AP, said he doesn’t see how the district can afford to make cuts in that area.

Browning said he hopes people whose positions are cut will be able to find new roles within the district as vacancies arise because of retirements or resignations.

Romo makes Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame

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Margarita Romo will be the first to tell you that she is a flawed woman and that some people simply do not like her.

But the path she’s traveled led her to advocating for farm workers, immigrants and the poor. Her work has been recognized by Gov. Rick Scott, who selected her to be inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame.

The honor goes to people who have made significant contributions to improving the lives of minorities and all Florida citizens.

Margarita Romo sits in her office on Lock Street. She will be inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame on April 24. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

Romo, 76, founded Farmworkers Self-Help in Dade City, a nonprofit organization that has focused on education, advocacy and addressing the needs of migrant farmworkers and immigrants for more than three decades.

The organization helps with immigration issues, gives bread to the poor, advocates for legislative changes and seeks to improve conditions for the impoverished. It has been particularly active in seeking improvements for Tommytown, a community northwest of downtown Dade City.

“It wasn’t anything that I purposely went out to do,” Romo said. Her involvement began when she was asked to translate church services at migrant camps.

Her commitment grew from there.

Romo said she didn’t have a strategic or systematic method for helping people. She said they came to her with a need and she explored ways to help them.

As time went on, Romo became more knowledgeable and established more relationships — making it possible for her to help more people.

“In my wildest dreams I never thought I’d be doing this, especially with the history that I had. It seemed like there was just disaster after disaster,” Romo said.

***

Romo was born in Texas, and at age 3, her mother died. Her father placed her in an orphanage and sent her three brothers to another orphanage. They stayed there a couple of years until he remarried.

“I went in as Margarita and I came out as Margaret,” Romo said, and she was no longer speaking Spanish.

She joined the convent when she was 15 and left two years later with the hopes of mending a strained relationship with her stepmother, which never happened.

Romo has been divorced three times, and along the way she had six children.

She believes her personal failings and the challenges she’s faced have helped her become more compassionate.

“We all have issues, and we’ll always have issues. There’s no one who is ever going to be perfect, but I think knowing your own imperfections causes you to be more understanding about others,” Romo said.

She also understands despair.

She was so despondent after her first divorce that she attempted to take her own life, she said. She’d taken some pills and someone found her — otherwise, her life would have ended then, she said.

“I’m a real miracle, walking,” Romo said.

That experience made her realize how important it is for people to seek counseling when they need it, Romo said. “I’m a real champion about mental health.”

She also understands poverty.

***

Romo needed help after one of her divorces, and a woman from a migrant camp understood that need.

“I’ll never forget — she gave me some of her food stamps,” Romo said.

While she is being honored for her work, Romo is quick to give credit to those who have helped her to help others.

“It’s not about me,” Romo said. “If it hadn’t been for those undocumented farmworkers, we wouldn’t be here. They’re the ones who walked with me. They went to Washington, D.C. They went to Tallahassee.”

She also said mentors she’s met have helped her to be more effective.

Romo views herself as an activist, but uses a different approach than many young organizers whom she sees as being more aggressive and eager to take on the world.

When she goes to Tallahassee to advocate for changes, she said she reads scripture to lawmakers and prays for God to guide them.

“We need God to go in front of us,” Romo said. “We need to do battle with the Bible in our hand. I really believe that God has to be called in, and I believe God hasn’t been called into the middle of all of the crises. God has got to be in the middle of everything we do.”

Sometimes, she feels conflicted.

“Being a pastor and being an activist organizer is just a real difficult place. You have to constantly forgive, and at the same time you’re in the middle of a battle,” said Romo, who became an ordained minister 10 years ago.

She was reaching out spiritually to children in her community even before she was ordained: “I started telling parents, if you want to bring me your children, we’re going to have children’s church on Sunday morning. You can go wash. You can go to the flea market. We’ll take care of the children.”

***

Romo is being inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame on April 24 alongside Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore and Judge James B. Sanderlin.

They were among the nominees the Florida Commission on Human Relations recommended to Scott.

“As Florida marks its 500 year anniversary, we want to honor individuals who have stood for equality in our state’s history even in the face of adversity. These champions of freedom have paved the way for equal rights among all Floridians,” Scott said, in a Feb. 27 release.

Romo said she’s not really sure what the induction means.

“If they really want to do something, then give us (Florida) KidCare (low-cost or free health insurance) for legal immigrant children,” she said.

She’d also like to have a conversation with lawmakers about the negative impacts she believes zero tolerance has on kids. She also thinks the state should allow immigrants who arrived here before age 16 and who have no criminal record to attend Florida colleges at in-state tuition rates.

“You can pick enough oranges to pay in-state tuition, but you cannot pick enough oranges to pay out-of-state tuition,” Romo said. “That’s just the bottom line.”

Romo could go on and on about injustices that need to be addressed and opportunities that need to be offered.

She tackles what she can in Tallahassee, in the community and her office, a humble white house on Lock Street.

***

Photographs on the walls of her office serve as constant reminders of the work that remains.

One photo shows a smiling girl who died before she reached age 5 because she could not get the medical care she needed quickly enough.

Another photo shows an old man standing in a dumpster. He’d rummage around wherever he could to find cans he could sell, Romo said. When he died, it cost $800 to buy his ashes so his life could be honored.

There’s also a photo of a young man who died from AIDS and another of a man who died from prostate cancer.

Romo said she remembers those people when she thinks about the work she needs to do.

She also thinks about tragic things that have happened because of dangerous working conditions. She thinks of workers who have “lost their eyesight because of pesticide” or “fallen off ladders and broke their back and got no compensation.”

Romo aims to help people help themselves.

“We need to think for ourselves,” Romo said. “If we’re really about teaching people to be free, then you’ve got to give them the tools to do that. … To help us learn to think for ourselves is where the real work comes in and the real love,” said Romo, whose organization encourages students to attain their GED, enroll in college and seek job training.

She said she feels blessed to do the work she does.

“When you’re a community organizer and you help organize your community, then that community grows and it becomes a whole different place and everybody who received the benefit of that growth takes it with them and plants it somewhere else, and it never stops growing.”

No matter how dark things can get at times, Romo hangs on.

“Thirty-three years and we’re still here.”