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Parks Ford

Woman’s club forming in Wesley Chapel

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When Marie Ambrosino moved to Wesley Chapel last year, she wanted to join a woman’s club for her surrounding community.

After all, she had been involved with GFWC (General Federation of Women’s Clubs) organizations for nearly four decades — most recently with the GFWC Woman’s Club of West Broward in South Florida.

The new GFWC Wesley Chapel Woman’s Club was established last month. From left: parliamentarian Marie Ambrosino, secretary Andrea Edwards, treasurer Kim Hanscel, president Cindi Nalon, vice president Shantel Meyers and GFWC Florida District 8 director Kay Taylor. (Courtesy of Shantal Meyers)

With the help of social media, word-of-mouth and some other GFWC connections, the GFWC Woman’s Club of Wesley Chapel came to life.

And, it happened in a mere matter of months.

The club was established in February with 12 charter members. That came less than a month after a group of six GFWC-minded women met for dinner with the idea of forming a new club that puts its focus on the burgeoning Wesley Chapel community. Many of the members had past affiliations with other GFWC clubs, such as the GFWC Pasco Junior Women’s Club.

The group is now in the process of seeking its 510c3 status, and is being sponsored by the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club.

The new club is actively looking for new members — women over 18 years old. There is no requirement to live in Wesley Chapel.

Though most members are Wesley Chapel residents, the club’s vice president, Shantel Meyers is a Lutz resident, for instance. “I could’ve joined (other) clubs, but I wanted to be a part of joining a whole new group,” Meyers said.

The group welcomes anyone who is interested, said Kim Hanscel, club treasurer.

“If somebody lives in Zephyrhills and wants to come here (to our club) because they travel here all the time, or whatever’s convenient for them, absolutely they’re welcome to come,” Hanscel said.

Kindness and helping others is the group’s purpose, club leaders say.

Ambrosino, the club’s parliamentarian, said the common thread among the ladies is this: “We are women who care about our communities, and that’s our mission.”

She added: “We share the same bond, and that’s just to make our world better.”

The GFWC Wesley Chapel Woman’s Club is dedicated to community improvement and helping those in need through volunteer service and fundraising events. The organization is likely to focus much of its efforts on domestic violence and awareness, homelessness, hospice, and foster care, among other community issues.

The GFWC Wesley Chapel Woman’s Club is seeking new members over 18 years old. The group focuses its volunteer efforts on arts, conservation, domestic violence and awareness, education, home life, internal outreach and public issues.

The group is currently brainstorming various club projects for those purposes, as well as fundraisers and events for other local charities, in the way of bingo nights, bunco nights, casino nights, golf tournaments, murder mystery games and so on.

“Everyone in the group is very energetic and looking forward,” club president Cindi Nalon said. “We all just want to jump in and get busy, and do things.”

She added, “I think we’re going to grow quick. We’ve started off quick with 12 members off the bat, and with everything we’ve got going, I think we’re really going to grow.”

Besides working to better the Wesley Chapel community, the group will be mixing in some social activities to build camaraderie — whether it’s seeing a movie, shopping or having dinner together. “We do have fun, as well,” Nalon quipped.

In her short time with the upstart club, Ambrosino has come away ecstatic with her new peer group.

Not only are they “very warm and welcoming,” she said, but they’re also go-getters ready to make a difference.

“This group of women are absolute doers,” Ambrosino said gleefully. “I’ve been thoroughly impressed with them, being in club work for a while and seeing how things go, these girls have jumped right on board.

“I keep telling my friends down south, ‘You’ve gotta meet these girls.’”

In Florida, there are over 9,000 members in over 230 GWFC-affiliated clubs, according to the state chapter’s website.

It’s the many lifelong friendships forged that make each club special, Ambrosino said.

“We help each other, we’re supportive of each other,” she said. “We’re there for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, deaths — the good times and the bad times, and that’s really what life is about.”

The GFWC Wesley Chapel Woman’s Club meets the first Wednesday of every month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Parks Ford of Wesley Chapel, 28739 State Road 54, Wesley Chapel. The next meeting is April 1, which will feature guest speaker and member Amanda Markiewicz, director of outreach for Sunrise of Pasco County Inc. — Domestic & Sexual Violence Center.

Attendees are asked to wear teal as a symbol of sexual assault awareness.

For more information, email , or search GFWC Wesley Chapel Woman’s Club, Inc., on Facebook.

Published March 18, 2020

Parks Ford Unveils New Dealership Building

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There’s been a lot of speculation about what is going on at Parks Ford in Wesley Chapel, with its main building behind a curtain of construction since last summer, and large modular buildings put in place next door.

“We’ve gutted our old building and are completely rebuilding all major customer touch points, so that we can better accommodate our customers and employees,” said Ron Parks at his dealership on State Road 54, located just east of I-75.

When Parks Ford unveils its new building later this spring, it will feature a larger showroom to display its broad line of vehicles, an expanded and fully covered customer delivery center, and much larger service write-up and customer waiting areas.

“The design of our new building is very progressive, and will enhance the comfort and convenience of our customers and staff,” said Parks.

To limit the inconvenience created by such a major project, Parks Ford put in place modular buildings before construction began last July.

“We had the modular buildings ready to go before we started to make sure our customers and staff would not be inconvenienced by the construction,” said Parks.

This major expansion is just one example of Parks’ commitment to the Wesley Chapel community, his customers and staff. His dealership employs over 100 people, most of whom are long-time employees that live locally and are involved in area schools, youth groups, churches and service groups.

“The culture here is very employee-focused. We know that happy employees provide the best customer service, and I’m very proud that many of our people have worked here for many years,” said Parks.

Heading up the operations team at Parks Ford is Vice President Terry Mullane, who has worked with the Parks family for 25 years and is a partner in the business.

“Terry is the driving force behind our culture at Parks Ford — the person who leads our ship and keeps us on track,” said Parks.

Mullane oversees employee development programs to educate and grow his people so they can flourish in their jobs. This includes employee outreach programs, and hosting team building events, such as bowling parties and family picnics.

“Our employees are the focal point of our operation and paramount to our success,” said Parks. “We empower our people to make decisions, so they can do what’s necessary to accommodate our customers.”

Community Responsibility
Parks takes ‘community’ very seriously, and has a full-time employee whose primary responsibility is community relations. Jennifer Cofini has served in this role for the past eight years, and heads up Parks Ford’s involvement in community organizations and events.

Cofini is the past chairperson of North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, and has been on the chamber’s board for the last six years. She also is involved in Rotary International.

“We are very proud of our partnership with Wesley Chapel High School’s Automotive Academy, which train students for well-paying technical jobs,” said Cofini. “Ellis Adams, our service manager, is on the school’s advisory council, and we’ve hired several academy graduates.”

Parks Ford hosts several Drive 4 UR Community events for area schools and service groups, including Sunlake, Wiregrass and Wesley Chapel high schools, and Double Branch Elementary.

Other organizations the dealership supports are March of Dimes, Helping Hands Food Pantry, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, OneBlood, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.

“We give back to the local community because our customers are primarily from Pasco and north Hillsborough counties,” said Parks. “We give back because the community supports us!”

Dealership History
Ron Parks’ father, Jack Parks, spent his entire career in the automotive industry. He opened his first dealership in 1975 in Tampa — a Lincoln Mercury dealership on Florida Avenue, which the family still owns today.

In 1978, Ron joined his father in the family business after careers in banking and real estate. In 1984, they opened their first dealership in Pasco County — Heritage Ford in Zephyrhills, which was seven miles east on State Road 54. In 1999, the Parks moved Heritage Ford to their 15-acre site in Wesley Chapel, and renamed the business Parks Ford.

The Parks wanted to be closer to I-75 so their location would be more convenient for customers. Plus, they believed that central Pasco area was about to explode with new homes and businesses.

“We were the first automobile dealership to recognize the potential in Wesley Chapel and central Pasco,” said Parks. “We are proud to have been the very first dealership in the community, and proud to still be here today under the same family ownership.”

In 2013, Parks expanded again in Wesley Chapel when he opened a Fiat and Alfa Romeo dealership next door to his Ford operation.

In addition to Parks Ford, the Parks family owns Parks Lincoln of Tampa at 10505 N. Florida Ave., and Stadium Toyota at 5088 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. in Tampa.

“We have a courteous and committed sales staff, as well as professional, expert service technicians, all with many years of experience satisfying our customers’ needs,” said Parks. “They are the reason we give the best service possible to every customer. Please stop by and find out how we can help you with your automotive needs!”

Published February 20, 2019