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Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch

Safety, flexibility are the bywords as college students return

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With COVID-19 safety protocols in place and enrollments either declining or flat, Pasco County’s colleges and universities have welcomed back students for the fall semester.

Whether it was Saint Leo University or the campuses at Pasco-Hernando State College, most courses were offered online to keep class sizes small. Zoom video conferencing technology was utilized for full interactivity, while hybrid/in-person attendance demanded face masks, hand-sanitizing and social distancing.

Students gather with face masks at Saint Leo University. (Courtesy of Renee Gerstein/Saint Leo University)

Seat configurations were redone. Plexiglass shields were installed in high-transaction, high-touch point areas. Some student activities were abandoned, while others were offered virtually.

“The keyword for everyone these days is flexibility,’’ said Saint Leo Senior Vice President Melanie Storms. “Of course, there will be a learning curve. But we’re very comfortable with what we’re doing.’’

After a record-breaking 2019, which featured a 40% enrollment increase, Storms said Saint Leo will have the same number of new students (1,000) as last fall. There is a 30% reduction in new international students and a 10% decrease in students living on the main campus. Enrollment in Saint Leo’s online programs are up 16% over last year.

“We got out early with a plan and were very transparent with our students about what we were planning to do,’’ Storms said. “We often talk (in the administration) and wonder what our enrollment might have been had there not been COVID. We might have seen another pretty substantial increase. We believe the fact that we have held steady is a reflection of how strong our new class is and the flexibility we’re providing them.’’

Saint Leo students could choose their educational method — either hybrid (alternating in Group A and Group B between in-person and Zoom), connected (exclusive Zoom in a scheduled class period with other students) or online.

Regardless of the choice, all Saint Leo students are required to have at least one class fully online, so overall traffic at campus sites could be kept at acceptable levels (maximum 50% of the normal population, maximum of 15 students in all classes).

“It’s a lot to take in, but we have a team solely dedicated to analyzing this and manipulating the boxes,’’ Storms said. “We went through the classrooms and determined where we’d need to be for comfortable occupancy. We backed that into the scheduling software and worked to make sure students would have the right mix and be optimized in their educational experience.

Saint Leo University’s social distancing reminder.

“We’re all doing things we’ve never done before. Many students are just navigating their lives and saying, ‘Sometimes I’m on Zoom, sometimes I’m online, sometimes I’m in the classroom.’ It’s interesting that one-third of our students selected connected (Zoom), but our housing is only down 10%. So we anticipate a lot of students coming to live with us who are (solely) studying in the Zoom capacity. It’s a new world. We’re getting our feet wet and making adjustments on the fly.’’

At Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus, in Wesley Chapel, and its East Campus, in Dade City, course offerings will largely be online or Zoom. There are notable exceptions, particularly in the health sciences programs, where students need access to laboratories and specialized equipment or disciplines, such as welding or law enforcement.

Porter Campus Provost Kevin O’Farrell said his enrollment was down 24% from last fall during a recent snapshot, but he was optimistic about an upswing due to students making last-minute decisions.

“I know the word ‘unprecedented’ has probably been overused, but there’s no other way to describe the challenges faced by all levels of higher education,’’ O’Farrell said. “At the same time, I’ve been so heartened by the level of innovation and ingenuity everybody is using. I always say, ‘Don’t let a crisis go to waste,’ and by that I mean, it’s an opportunity to rethink all of our processes and problem-solving.

“We went to a virtual waiting room for students to utilize time with advisors. I think that’s going to become a standard now. When the pandemic goes away, I think people would rather wait at home to speak with an advisor instead of sitting in the lobby. We’ll go back to some things, but we’ve found better ways to do other things.’’

At the state college’s East Campus, Provost Ed Goolsby said his faculty has adapted well to working remotely, although some prefer occasionally utilizing their on-campus office.

“They can work from there, but they just won’t be teaching on campus for the most part,’’ Goolsby said. “There will always be a place for the face-to-face teaching and I know some students want that level of accountability. We’ll just have to see what the environment is moving forward to the spring semester and beyond.

“I think we have shown — and we have been forced to show — that education can adapt. We have seen the words ‘fluid’ and ‘pivot’ quite a bit, but those are words that describe what we need to do,” he said.

By Joey Johnston

Published August 26, 2020

Awareness can reduce dating violence

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Melissa Dohme Hill’s personal story should serve as a warning to the dangerous heights dating violence can reach.

She was a 20-year-old college student when she agreed to meet her abusive high school ex-boyfriend for one last embrace and goodbye, on Jan. 24. 2012.

What followed was a brutal attack that left her almost dead in front of her Clearwater home. Hill was stabbed 32 times in the neck face, arms and hands. The blood loss from the attack caused her to flatline four times and have a stroke; she underwent many surgeries to reconstruct her face and body, along with years of physical and psychological therapy.

Dating violence survivor Melissa Dohme Hill, right, was the featured guest speaker at a Pasco-Hernando State College’s (PHSC) dating violence awareness seminar last month at the Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel. Also seated is PHSC associate dean Natalie Epo. (Kevin Weiss)

Her then-boyfriend, Robert Lee Burton Jr., is serving life in prison for the crime.

Today, Hill serves as a full-time domestic violence prevention advocate for the local nonprofit organization Hands Across the Bay’s domestic violence division, working to inspire and educate others through her personal experience. She also recently started an alpaca therapy farm in San Antonio with her husband, serving local domestic violence survivors, first responders and children who’ve experienced trauma.

Hill was the featured guest speaker at Pasco-Hernando State College’s dating violence seminar last month at the Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch. The event was part of the college’s community awareness series open to the students, faculty, staff and the public.

Speaking to an audience of dozens in roundtable discussion, Hill outlined disturbing dating violence trends, red flags that signal how an abusive relationship could become deadly, and steps to safely break up from an abuser, among other related topics.

At the seminar, it was revealed the Centers for Disease Control reports nearly one in 11 females and one in 15 males have experienced physical teen dating violence in the last year.

Hill first turned her attention to break up violence, which she called “a horrifyingly rising trend, an epidemic.”

The period of time after leaving an abusive relationship, Hill said, is the most dangerous.

The speaker observed, “Think about this: In an abusive relationship, this person is your everything, and when someone loses their everything, they’re capable of anything.”

With that, Hill urged those who are leaving an abusive relationship to have a detailed plan.

Such plans include connecting immediately with a domestic violence center, such as Sunrise of Pasco County.

The plans also can include relocating, filing a restraining order, changing out phone numbers and door locks, and informing loved ones of the situation, among other measures.

Hill also urged those listening to avoid contact with someone who has been abusive in any way — whether physical, verbal or emotional.

It’s something Hill said she wished she could tell her younger self.

The speaker put it like this: “You don’t owe them an apology, you don’t owe them a hug, you don’t owe them closure, you do not owe them anything. You block their number, you do not contact them. You need to focus on your healing and your time, and give yourself some space to heal.”

In Hill’s self-described “toxic” relationship, the abuse was gradual. It started with jealousy, then morphed into verbal abuse, emotional abuse and, finally, physical abuse, she said.

“Domestic violence of dating violence doesn’t happen on the first date,” said Hill, noting her ex-boyfriend was at first “very loving and charming and amazing,” but, as time went on, he began nitpicking and criticizing, then belittling and name-calling.

When Hill tried to break up, her abuser threatened suicide.

That’s something that teenagers are dealing with “at epidemic rates,” she said.

Hill stuck by her abuser, who hurt her physically four times before the near-fatal attack.

Hill said it’s important to pay attention to “red flags” that a troubled relationship could turn dangerous.

Initially, something that seems harmless, like jokingly name-calling or drunkenly pushing or shoving a partner at a party, shouldn’t be taken lightly.

“You should not be in the habit of collecting red flags,” Hill said. “You don’t brush these under the rug, because they’re going to keep piling up to where there’s an explosion or it’s going to turn to physical violence.

“If you ignore the cycle of abuse —  the red flags —  it will turn to physical violence, almost guaranteed. …It doesn’t get better when these things are popping up.”

Hill mentioned the top five risk factors associated with homicide from an abusive relationship:  use or threat of use of weapons, threats to kill, strangling, constant jealousy, and forced sex.

Other high-risk factors include: recent job loss, violent criminal history, animal abuse, and a recent separation.

In the eight years since the attack, Hill has gone on to discover her life’s purpose, helping other domestic violence survivors, and spreading awareness and prevention tactics on dating violence.

“There’s so much power in sharing your story,” Hill said. “Sharing my story and speaking out has healed my heart, little by little, through these years.”

If you are in an abusive relationship, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1 (800) 799-3224, or text “loveis” to the National Dating Abuse Helping at 22522.

Published March 11, 2020

MOSI focusing more on community outreach

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In just a few years, the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) has gone from being millions of dollars in debt to being financially sustainable, operating in the black.

The turnaround of the North Tampa organization has come under the new leadership of Julian McKenzie, who was promoted as museum CEO in 2017, after serving less than a year as its CFO.

Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) CEO Julian McKenzie was the featured guest speaker at the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting earlier this month at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel. (Courtesy of MOSI)

The museum leader led a restructuring effort that saw the organization downsize its East Fowler Avenue campus from 300,000 square feet to about 55,000 square feet, while trimming just about 10% of overall exhibit space.

“The big issue for MOSI was it was trying to be too much for too many people,” McKenzie said, during a recent North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting.

Museum leadership had to reconfigure its “core competencies and core values,” the CEO added, during the session, at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel.

That has meant a shift toward a greater focus on community outreach — a mission of spreading more science education in schools and other youth organizations like the Boys & Girls Club, and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, McKenzie said.

It’s entailed a renovated learning center on campus to host homeschooled children and summer camps, as well as a mobile science lab that features interactive STEAM workshops and assemblies. Another new program, in partnership with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, allows youth get to build a robot with the help of a police office, “so that it kind of demystifies the role of law enforcement,” McKenzie said.

“For me, outreach is essential,” the speaker said. “There is no reason why a kid in Dade City cannot benefit from the same level of science education as a kid from Temple Terrace.”

MOSI reopened in November 2017 following a three-month renovation.

Since then, the venue has hosted about 70,000 children through school field trips, and has reached another 55,000 through its mobile outreach program, McKenzie said.

Roughly 50% of children lose interest in science by eighth grade, he said.

He believes MOSI’s outreach efforts can change that.

The museum executive detailed how one of his colleagues is a first-generation immigrant whose parents don’t speak English, but a MOSI youth summer camp sparked interest in volunteering at the museum and then going on to college.

There are “dozens of other examples” of people who caught the science bug on a MOSI field trip or visit and are now leading engineers at institutions like Georgia Tech “and some other fancy universities,” McKenzie said.

He also told those gathered at the chamber breakfast that there’s a correlation among cities with “very, very strong science centers that are very involved in the local community” to high-paying jobs and high average median salaries in those particular communities.

McKenzie also shared a story about a Temple Terrace-based school where science pass rates were just 14%. After MOSI implemented outreach programs at the school, those rates rose to 48%, he said.

“I don’t want to fault the teachers, but it’s the foundation that is missing, and what we at MOSI are good at doing is building a strong foundation in science education for those kids.”

He continued, “We have the expertise in-house, and so what we’re pushing is the expertise that we have accumulated and track record that we’ve had in doing so. The results we have at that one school are systematic of what MOSI can have.”

McKenzie outlined MOSI’s next “ambitious plan” is to host education outreach days to all schools in the following area counties — DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Hernando, Pasco and Pinellas. Put another way, he believes MOSI “can reach 221,000 kids and really make a difference.”

The museum also has launched an outreach program to serve at-risk youth at various juvenile detention centers in the area.

“If we can light that spark and do something that they change their way of life — or they have something to focus on — then I think we have really achieved our objective,” McKenzie said.

“It kind of dawned on me, that was an area of the community that we’re not touching,” he said. “But, they are the kids that, in my opinion, are the most in need.”

Meanwhile, McKenzie said museum leadership has worked to boost visitor experience with more hands-on, functional exhibits on polymers, DNA, rockets, robots and astronomy, as well as establishing an art factory with a resident artist.

And, the museum isn’t just for kids.

The venue has introduced “Science After Dark” allowing adults to tour the facility with light appetizers, and beer and wine samplings. The next event is scheduled for April 6 at 6 p.m.

The museum also plays host to STEM networking, corporate teambuilding and events geared toward seniors. “We’re trying to have that balance,” McKenzie said of serving various community segments.

As for other plans, McKenzie pitched the possibility of changing the name to “Museum of Science and Innovation,” and developing an exhibit to showcase the region’s most innovative technology companies. “It’s part of our strategic review we’re going through,” he said of the name change proposal.

McKenzie, too, addressed rumors of MOSI getting moved to downtown Tampa, so Hillsborough County can redevelop the present site: “As you all know, anything to do with government takes decades, so I’m not too worried about it. We’re doing well, we’re thriving where we’re at, and that’s where I want us to stay, moving forward and impacting kids as we’re there.”

He also said this: “Before I joined (MOSI), I thought, ‘What the heck am I getting myself into?,’ and I look at it today, and I’m very happy to say it has completely turned around and the institution is very, very strong right now.”

Published March 11, 2020

Seminar focuses on youth drug use, suicide

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When Heather Sefton, of Wesley Chapel, began losing close friends to suicide, she didn’t know how to cope with the trauma.

The untimely demise of one in the Bay Area was preceded by six others in Sefton’s native New Hampshire.

From front left to back right: Yahkaira Borbosa, Imam Hassan Sultan, Teresa Daniels, Eddie Williams, Jesse Varnadoe, Al Hernandez and Emery Ailes were participants at a Feb. 17 health seminar. The program was hosted by Pasco-Hernando State College to address the issues of mental health and substance abuse. (Brian Fernandes)

“I really didn’t understand what was going on,” the 19-year-old said. “They all just kind of kept hitting me.”

She too, began having suicidal thoughts as a result of her own family issues and having struggled with her self-identity, she recalled.

Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) has been active in providing resources for those like Sefton, seeking help.

One of its programs — Linking in Faith and Education (LIFE) — seeks to help improve mental and behavioral health by encouraging communication with group support.

The college also hosted a recent seminar – LIFE, Spirit, Wellness: Combating Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues in Youth.

The Feb. 17 event, at PHSC’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, focused on the issues of mental health and substance abuse.

Panelist Teresa Daniels, a volunteer for the Tampa Bay branch of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, spoke about her son, Tristen, who took his life over five years ago.

“We had no idea that he was having any thoughts, or that anything other than what we believed to be normal high school stressors, [were] going on,” she said.

Daniels said she thought her son might be having issues coping with the loss of his  grandmother, as well as working odd hours and lack of sleep.

But, there were no serious signs of depression, she said, adding that Tristen was the class clown.

He may have been “masking” his true feelings, Daniels said.

In other words, he may have been hiding his personal issues, while in the company of others.

Likewise, Sefton said there were no obvious signs that her friends were suffering.

Panelist Eddie Williams, a PHSC mental health counselor, provided some advice.

“One of the things I would say the youth is missing usually [is] socialization,” he said. “Having a peer-to-peer support group, or another youth there to talk with, could break the mold. Talking is healing.”

Williams is trying to implement these kind of groups across PHSC’s five campuses.

When it is apparent that someone is doing the opposite of their usual routines, or interests, it’s best to consult them to find out if there’s underlying issues, Williams advised.

The college’s LIFE program also encourages a religious component to be used in offering help, as well.

It aims to educate faith leaders on how to rally around and support those within their community who have mental concerns.

It was Sefton’s growing attendance at Wesley Chapel’s Life Church that helped change things for the better, she said.

“I was found by Jesus,” Sefton said. “That’s really what got me through – my relationship with him.”

And, with finding therapy, she has begun to offer it, as well.

“I’m very vulnerable and open about my story now,” Sefton noted. “I feel like that’s led a lot of people to talk to me about how they feel.”

Johnny Crowder was present at the seminar to offer to those in need, another outlet – with Cope Notes.

This texting service sends multiple messages a day, to its users, consisting of inspirational words and questions.

Cope Notes asks questions for recipients to voluntarily respond to, or just to reflect upon.

The intent is to help others consistently focus on the positive, as their mood may change throughout the day.

Crowder founded the service as a result of his own background.

“I’m a suicide and abuse survivor,” he said. “I spent 10 years in treatment for mental illness.”

He said there wasn’t a specific catalyst that led him to suicidal tendencies.

Besides experiencing domestic violence at home, Crowder said he did not find a sense of community in school and felt isolated.

“It was a childhood full of trauma and neglect that eventually snowballed,” he explained.

Crowder said that he began to find solace in singing, painting, writing and playing the guitar.

This, coupled with socializing and gradually building trust, is what helped him through his pain, he added.

Another speaker, Rachel Starostin, provided a presentation on substance abuse, an issue in which she has struggled with.

She had lived an independent life as a nurse, raising three children before she was hit by a drunk driver.

As a result, she was placed on pain medication to cope with her injuries.

However, Starostin became hooked on her prescription medicine and found it difficult to maintain her daily life.

“I functioned for a long time — until I didn’t,” she said, adding that she gradually transitioned to crystal methamphetamine.

She began neglecting her responsibilities as a mother and eventually lost her home, having to move her children from one hotel to another, Starostin recalled.

A brush with the law resulted in her arrest and her children being taken in by their grandmother.

“When I got out, they didn’t want to come home,” Starostin said. “They didn’t want to look me in the eye.”

Elizabeth Statzer, of the Medical Center of Trinity, took part in Starostin’s class, noting “substance use disorders are something that effects all ages, all races, all genders.”

The Medical Center of Trinity offers selective programs to help users overcome their addiction, she said.

Services include in-patient mental health services. There also is an outpatient program at the hospital where an addict can come by for group therapy three days a week.

Family support groups and family-to-family education classes also are provided to assist loved ones.

Starostin went through a 12-step program for recovery.

She currently is a public speaker, educating others on the dangers of substance abuse.

She also plans to help open a faith-based recovery home for women.

For free treatment referrals and information, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at (800) 662-4357.

To learn more about, or to try Cope Notes for free, text COPE to 33222, or visit CopeNotes.com.

Published February 26, 2020

Initiatives aim to help veterans

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Veterans statewide could soon see a slew of new and expanded benefits and services, if the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs gets its way in the 2020 legislative session and beyond.

The agency is enrolling 17 legislative bills for the upcoming 60-day session, which begins in January, Al Carter, the department’s chief of staff, reported at the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce’s November breakfast meeting at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel.

Those priorities include greater funding and staffing for the cabinet agency, Carter said. The department of veterans affairs now has an annual budget of $150 million. It has 1,260 employees, serving Florida’s 1.5 million veterans.

Florida Department of Veterans Affairs chief of staff Al Carter was the featured guest speaker at the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce’s November breakfast meeting at Pasco- Hernando State College-Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel. (Kevin Weiss)

“The long and short of it is, we want to be a premier agency to advocate for our veterans, and receiving those benefits and services that they’ve earned as a product of their service,” Carter said.

“Billions of dollars are available for services. Let that sink in,” he said.

Some department requests include:

  • Funding to complete two new 100-plus bed veterans’ nursing homes in Port St. Lucie and Orlando
  • 104 full-time positions for the department’s Homes Division
  • Five full-time staff to expand its team of veterans’ claims examiners
  • Three positions within its Bureau of Information and Research, a new division analyzing trends in federal legislation and identifying potential voids in veterans’ benefits and services.

There’s also an effort to build upon a number of bills or laws from past legislative sessions, Carter said.

For instance, the department wants to expand funding for alternative treatment options for veterans with post-traumatic stress. It wants to go beyond counseling and prescription medications.

The veterans affairs department contracts with state colleges and universities to offer these treatments: hyperbaric oxygen treatment, physical therapy, accelerated resolution therapy, music therapy, equine therapy and service animal training therapy.

Carter, a retired Army colonel who spent 28 years in the military, noted that roughly 20 veterans commit suicide every day.

The challenges that veterans face are not “cookie-cutter in nature,” he said. As a result, “treatment for one does not necessarily reflect treatment for all.”

He added: “Whatever helps the largest number of veterans, we’re trying to do, and these alternative therapies have proven helpful in getting veterans off of those different opioids.”

The agency also is proposing an amendment to the state’s homestead tax exemption to allow the same ad valorem tax discount on homestead property for the surviving spouse of a combat-disabled veteran age 65 or older. The exemption would remain in effect for the spouse, until he or she dies.

“It’s revenue neutral to the state, so it’s a no-brainer to do this,” Carter said.

Another legislative initiative would allow medical doctors and doctor of osteopathic physicians employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and licensed in other states to also practice and treat veterans in private medical facilities in Florida. (Doctors employed by the VA and practicing in Florida do not have to have a Florida medical license.)

Carter said the measure would provide more convenient accessible care for veterans, particularly when VA clinics close due to inclement weather, or are relocated or shut down.

“Having the ability for our doctors on the VA staff to be able to go to these (private) facilities and treat our veterans is definitely huge,” he said.

Burgess seeking to boost agency services
Carter also detailed an initiative called Forward March.

That initiative began after former State Rep. Danny Burgess, of Zephyrhills, was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to become the executive director of veterans affairs.

Under Forward March, the department assesses the needs of veterans across the state, and seeks ways to eliminate redundancy and increase collaboration in veterans services offered by businesses, community and volunteer organizations — as it pertains to housing, mental health, emergency assistance and legal matters.

Carter said early observations reveal that veterans are often unaware of how to get access to services, and that organizations offering services often are “working in silos,” instead of working together.

He explained: “There may be one person, one entity over here providing housing services and they’ve got grants to provide housing services to a variety of veterans, and then there’s another one right next door that has no clue what this other one does, and oftentimes they’re doing very similar programs. If they were joined together, imagine the amount of services that they could provide. They could double, if not triple, the amount of services for our veterans, so that’s one of the things we’re trying to key on.”

Carter also touched on some more long-range goals for the agency, spearheaded under Burgess’s leadership.

One is expanding the agency’s GI LAW (Lawyers Assisting Warriors) initiative, whereby veterans affairs contracts with some of the state’s leading law firms to provide pro bono legal services to military members. The program currently applies only to sergeants (E-5) and lower ranks, but the department hopes to ultimately expand it to all veterans.

That program is particularly helpful to the state’s homeless veteran population, Carter said, noting they oftentimes are homeless because of minor legal issues they need to resolve, but often are reluctant to seek help.

“It’s a phenomenal program,” Carter said. “We’re coming out to meet (veterans), where the rubber meets the road, and help them to get back into society.”

The department also is working to expand a program that’s designed to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment, and rehabilitation pathways for veterans involved with the criminal justice system, rather than punishment.

Burgess also has pushed to enhance the department’s online communication footprint — making its mobile app more user-friendly, and, creating Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube pages, to complement its website and Facebook page.

“(Burgess) is tech-savvy. Unfortunately I’m not,” Carter joked.

Published November 13, 2019

Chamber’s goal: Being there to meet members’ needs

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When the North Tampa Bay Chamber began two decades ago, it was known as the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce.

In the beginning, it had 65 members and met in a garage.

Now, it has 734 members — with some based as far away as Brooksville and St. Petersburg.

It attracts a wide range of political and business leaders to speak at, and attend its monthly breakfasts and luncheons.

Hope Allen, president and CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber, believes chambers can help businesses thrive by advocating on their behalf, and creating opportunities for connection. (B.C. Manion)

The chamber also hosts numerous networking and learning opportunities each month.

It frequently celebrates with businesses through grand openings and ribbon cuttings, too.

Beyond that, the chamber seeks to help businesses as they navigate through government bureaucracy and learn about community organizations. They also act as an advocate on issues affecting businesses.

“We’ve come a long way in 20 years,” said Hope Allen, president and CEO, during the organization’s breakfast meeting earlier this month.

The chamber was born long before the area’s widely known developments, such as The Shops at Wiregrass, AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, Tampa Premium Outlets, and Cypress Creek Town Center. And, that’s not to mention the scores of subdivisions, schools, restaurants, hotels and small businesses that now make up Wesley Chapel and nearby communities.

Over time, the North Tampa Bay Chamber has moved from the garage to an old flower shop to a storefront at The Grove, to its current home in Lutz.

It has shifted direction, too, Allen said.

“In 2013, the board of directors decided we were going to switch our focus from being ‘the parties, pageants and parades’ to the connector, the convener and the catalyst.”

“It was scary for everybody. We went from a nonprofit organization that was robbing Peter to Paul, to a membership-based business organization,” Allen said.

“We said we’ve got to stop what we’re doing with all these things, and really focus on the needs of our business community.

“So, we went on a listening tour. We went around. We visited all of our members.

“We said, ‘What is happening with your business? What is happening with Wesley Chapel? How can we help?’” Allen said.

The businesses responded: “They said we need somebody to be an advocate for our businesses, we need somebody to go to, when there’s an issue,” she said.

The chamber stepped up to accept the challenge, Allen said.

When someone broke a water line on State Road 54, for instance, the chamber set about to make sure it got fixed, Allen said.

Now, the chamber fields all sorts of calls.

“We know code enforcement now. I have his personal cellphone number now,” she said.

Creating a strong business network
“We’ve grown and evolved, and made ourselves important. We weren’t very important way back in the day, to the elected officials. We weren’t important to the region, as a whole, until everything started happening up here. Then, they were saying, ‘What is going on in Wesley Chapel?’

“We had built this amazing network of businesses and built this amazing network of community,” Allen said.

In 2015, it  combined with the New Tampa Chamber, keeping the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, but adding a tag line: Serving New Tampa.

“It was seamless,” Allen said. “We started to really grow. We started to really have the pulse on what was happening.

“Businesses were coming to us and they were saying: ‘We need this.’

“The developers would come to us, ‘We’ve got this land, we want to do something with it.’

Allen recalled that a man walked into the office, then at The Grove, seeking information about Wesley Chapel. He wanted to take a look around, so Allen took him on what she calls her first “windshield tour.”

It turns out that he represented the hotel developer who built the Fairfield Inn & Suites, in Wiregrass, which opened last year — three years after that initial visit.

The chamber often is involved in work that won’t come into fruition for years, Allen said.

She credits the chamber’s board, ambassadors and members for the progress the organization has made.

“What we have going on here is incredible. We all know it. We can feel it. This community is incredible. This business community is amazing. We support each other. We grow with each other. We cry with each other,” she said.

She and her staff are committed to serve chamber members, she said.

“We stand behind all of our members. We speak with one voice for our membership,” she said.

In 2018, the chamber rebranded itself as the North Tampa Bay Chamber.

“We didn’t leave Wesley Chapel behind, we just brought everybody into the arms of what is North Tampa Bay,” said Allen, who is passionate about the value that chambers can bring to communities.

Across the country, she said, “chambers of commerce are having the conversation now, ‘Are we relevant? Do you need a chamber of commerce in your community?’”

In her view, chambers “are here to serve a purpose, in every single community.

“If you’ve seen one chamber, you’ve seen one chamber.

“We’re all different. We’re all governed by our own board of directors. We all have our own programming that’s different.

“We’re not in competition with other chambers of commerce.

“If you can join every single chamber of commerce in the region, do it. Because you’re going to get something out of each and every one of them, “ Allen said.

Published August 28, 2019

Collaboration creates connectivity

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The opening of the State Road 56 Extension between Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills has a personal benefit for Alora Butler, a student at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.

She said the new road segment will cut her 30-minute commute to school in half.

Greg Lenners, general manager of The Shops at Wiregrass, expects to see an uptick in business, as the extension of State Road 56 over to the Zephyrhills area makes it easier for shoppers to get to the mall. (Christine Holtzman)

It also reduces the time that the Zephyrhills resident spends on the road, to get to leisure activities or do her banking in Wesley Chapel.

The new 6-mile stretch also makes life easier for her husband, too, as he makes his commute to work at a warehouse in Land O’ Lakes.

Butler is just one of the thousands who can now opt for a shorter, or less congested route, to and from the east side of Pasco County.

Kevin O’ Farrell, provost at the Porter Campus, near the intersection of State Road 56 and Mansfield Boulevard, said he thinks the new road will even help students perform better academically.

Less time in traffic means less stress, in O’ Farrell’s opinion. And, because of that, he said, students “are more mentally ready to engage in class, they’re ready to focus more on their coursework.”

Greg Lenners, general manager for The Shops at Wiregrass, 28211 Paseo Drive in Wesley Chapel, expects the mall to experience an uptick in business because of the better access for shoppers coming from the east.

Laura Zimmerman, who lives on Meadow Pointe Boulevard, is happy to have another option for traveling to Zephyrhills. (Christine Holtzman)

Patrons at the mall said they’re glad to see the new road connection.

“I think it will ease the congestion and offer other alternatives,” said Laura Zimmerman, who lives on Meadow Pointe Boulevard and travels frequently to Zephyrhills.

McKenna Alkishawi, who lives in Zephyrhills, said the new route is “definitely 100 percent” beneficial.

Another Zephyrhills resident — Brenda Maass — is happy there’s a new way to get to Morris Bridge Road, where she can then head north at the new intersection.

For Zephyrhills resident John Skidmore, the new connection makes it easier for both him and his mother to get to doctor appointments.

“It’s about time. It’s going to be great,” Skidmore said.

Brenda Maass, a Zephyrhills resident and retiree, now has an alternative route in State Road 56 to visit friends and shop in the Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes region. (Christine Holtzman)

Donna Pacheco, a Wesley Chapel retiree, is pleased to have a more convenient way to get to Zephyrhills, where she goes three to four times a week to visit her brother, son and grandchildren.

“It’s really about time that they did that (extended the road),” she said.

Bill Cronin, president/CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council Inc., sees other benefits that improved connectivity will create.

“You’ve got the (State Road) 56 extension. You’ve got the potential widening of (U.S.) 301 in the north of the county, as well as the alignment of Clinton Avenue and (State Road) 39, which now starts to make us look a little more connected to Polk and some of those areas that we can access.

“We end up being much more strategically located for distribution activity,” Cronin said.

Numerous sources said the project’s success hinged on the collaboration of elected leaders and staff at the state, county and city levels; private landowners; and involved citizens.

Melonie Monson, executive director for The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce, said local efforts played a vital role in securing a four-lane road.

McKenna Alkishawi is a Zephyrhills resident who often travels into Wesley Chapel on her leisure time. The USF student said that the new State Road 56 extension will be ‘100 percent’ beneficial in cutting down her commute time. (Christine Holtzman)

“There were a lot of letters written to legislators, to city officials, to government officials — and everybody decided to work together,” Monson said.

Vonnie Mikkelsen, now president and CEO of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce in Oregon, recalls those efforts. “It didn’t come top down. It came grassroots up,” she said.

“Honestly, it was a question of: Why hasn’t this happened sooner?” Mikkelsen said.

She credited then State Rep. Danny Burgess for playing a leading role.

“He listened and he understood immediately,” she said.

But, he wasn’t the only one.

“Our local government officials, they understood the importance. Our airport manager at the time, understood the opportunity that it presented. The Pasco EDC (knew, too).

“Everybody really rallied around the idea, even in the context of the first answer being, ‘No. No way.’

“Quite honestly, we thought, ‘OK. That’s not the final answer,’” Mikkelsen said.

“What really sealed the deal were some conversations at the state level.

Kevin O’ Farrell, provost at the Pasco-Hernando State College Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, said the extension of State Road 56 will reduce commute times for students and staff traveling to the campus, near the intersection of Mansfield Boulevard and State Road 56. (Brian Fernandes)

“Lo, and behold, there was an opportunity. It required some innovative and creative thinking, and some collaborative partnerships at the local level to make it happen.”

Burgess, now executive director for the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, agreed: “The public-private partnership aspect, and the various levels of  governments that were involved in this, was really a huge success story, and an example of what can happen when everybody comes together for the common good of a community.”

The partnership resulted in a $22,750,000 loan for the third and fourth lanes of the project, with the loan to be repaid by private development partners through a mobility fee surcharge and a special assessment, if necessary.

The City of Zephyrhills agreed to reimburse the county for 10 percent of any loan shortfall paid for by the county. The contractor, Cone & Graham Inc., also agreed to include all costs associated with the design, permitting and construction, and other costs within the loan amount.

It’s a success that Burgess said he will savor.

“In the Legislature, and politics, in general, you know — in this line of work — you somewhat have to get used to defeats more than victories, if I’m going to be quite honest with you. You actually have to learn to live with that.

“But, then a victory like this happens. It’s validation. This is why you do what you do. You fight every day, because when you do something this big — this will have a profound impact on your community,” he said.

State Road 56 Extension

  • $59.7 million project
  • Runs from Meadow Pointe Boulevard in Wesley Chapel to U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills
  • Signalized intersections added at Morris Bridge Road and U.S. 301
  • Road design is curved, to minimize wetlands disruption
  • Amenities include: 10-foot multi-use path; 5-foot sidewalk; 7-foot-wide bicycle lanes on both shoulders

By B.C. Manion and Brian Fernandes

Published July 17, 2019

Construction crews busy on roadwork in Pasco County

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When it comes to construction activity on Pasco County roads, State Road 52 is a hotspot.

At least that was the message that David Gwynn, secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation’s District Seven, delivered during the North Tampa Bay Chamber’s breakfast meeting.

Gwynn briefed the audience on the state transportation department’s current and upcoming projects in Pasco, during the June 4 session at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.

Construction barrels, like these, have been a familiar sight on State Road 52, as work has been done to widen the road. (File)

“We’re trying to address some of our major issues we have in the transportation system in the region,” the transportation secretary told the crowd. “The State Road 52 Corridor is one that we’ve really put a lot of money into in the last few years, and we’re going to continue to do that in the near future.”

Among the projects, the state DOT is widening State Road 52, from the Suncoast Parkway to the east of U.S. 41.

That stretch will be expanded to six divided lanes.

It is currently under design, with construction expected to begin later this year, Gwynn said.

Heading from east of U.S. 41 to west of County Road 581 (Bellamy Brothers Boulevard), State Road 52 will be expanded to four divided lanes.

State Road 52 also will be expanded to four divided lanes from County Road 581 to Old Pasco Road, with that project expected to be completed this year.

In 2020, the state DOT expects to widen U.S. 41 to a four-lane road, from just south of State Road 52 to Connerton Boulevard.

The biggest project, Gwynn said, will introduce a new State Road 52 route to U.S. 301.

That project involves widening the road to four lanes, beginning at the intersection of State Road 52 and Uradco Place, extending to the Bayou Branch Canal.

East of the canal, a brand new four-lane State Road 52 will branch off (south of existing State Road 52) and eventually will merge with Clinton Avenue.

This new alignment, expected to begin this fall, will provide an additional route from Interstate 75 to U.S. 301.

When that project is completed, the existing State Road 52 will be turned over to Pasco County to become County Road 52.

U.S. 301 is scheduled for several improvements, too.

There are plans to repave U.S. 301 from Pond Avenue to the north of Long Avenue. And, another project will widen the stretch from County Road 54 (Eiland Boulevard) to north of Kossik Road into six lanes.

David Gwynn is the secretary of District Seven for the Florida Department of Transportation. On June 4, at Pasco-Hernando State College Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel, he informed an audience about Pasco County’s new road projects. (Brian Fernandes)

Another project would expand U.S. 301 to four lanes south of State Road 56 to south of State Road 39. That two-mile project is expected to include a median, as well as a bike lane, sidewalk and a shared-use path.

Another two-fold project is under evaluation on U.S. 301, Gwynn said.

That project would expand the stretch from State Road 39 to Corey Street in Downtown Zephyrhills. Then, branching out from the Corey Street intersection would be two newly built one-way roads.

Each road would hold three lanes, run parallel to U.S. 301 and end just south of County Road 54.

Gwynn also mentioned the plans to add another entrance in Wesley Chapel from Interstate 75.

The new diamond interchange would connect Overpass Road to the interstate by way of a flyover ramp.

Overpass Road would be accommodated with two additional lanes from its intersection with Old Pasco Road to the exit ramp getting off the interstate.

From the ramp, to the intersection with Boyette Road, Overpass Road would be widened to six lanes. No start date has been determined yet, Gwynn said.

The director also revealed that Wesley Chapel is one of five areas being studied as a possible public transportation hub for traveling cross-county.

It would afford commuters traveling out of Pasco County to neighboring Hillsborough County an alternative from personal transportation.

And, Gwynn informed attendees of the new Florida legislation to build three multi-use corridors, adding new toll roads as well.

“The main purpose of them is to revitalize some of the rural communities that may have been left behind as Florida has prospered – to encourage job creation in these areas,” the director said.

One local corridor will be the Northern Turnpike Connector, which will bridge the Florida Turnpike northwest to the Suncoast Parkway.

Construction on the corridors is set for late 2022.

Gwynn also mentioned that the construction of the long-awaited diverging diamond in Wesley Chapel is still progressing.

The project, which is reconfiguring the State Road 56 bridge overpassing Interstate 75, will crisscross eastbound and westbound lanes upon reaching the bridge.

Four through lanes and two left-turn lanes will make up the westbound road on the south end of the bridge, to better accommodate heavier traffic flow. The eastbound road will hold only three lanes on the north end.

The project is still set to be completed in late 2021, Gwynn said.

Published June 12, 2019

USF dean shares tips for successful negotiations        

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When it comes to negotiations, there are two basic truths.

One, everyone negotiates.

And, two, everything is negotiable.

At least that’s how Moez Limayem, dean of the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business, sees it.

Moez Limayem, dean of the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business, gave a talk about negotiations at the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce’s recent breakfast meeting. (B.C. Manion)

He shared his expertise on the art of negotiations at a recent North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting, at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch in Wesley Chapel.

“We all negotiate every single day, from the time we wake up, until we sleep. We negotiate with our kids, spouses, friends, business partners, employees, bosses, that’s what we do,” Limayem said.

Over the course of his life — in which he has lived, worked and studied on four continents — he has had the opportunity to observe “how ill-prepared most people are, for negotiation,” he said.

So, he offered the breakfast crowd a short course in effective negotiations.

He outlined 10 rules that apply in all types of negotiations — whether you’re buying a house or a car, or working out a business deal.

It’s important to remember that “negotiation is a discussion between two parties, two equals.

“Neither party has the power to get his or her way. If I can impose my way, that’s no longer a negotiation,” he said.

That being said, here are Limayem’s 10 rules for successful negotiations.

  • Rule No. 1: “Never start negotiating until you are ready.

“It’s amazing how many times a good negotiator will push you to start very, very quickly. Why? Because they want to catch you ill-prepared.”

“How do you get ready?

“There are three things to properly prepare.

“First one, do your research.

“For example, you want to negotiate a job, salary. What type of research do you do? What are other people making? Adjust for cost of living.  Go to the website; it’s amazing how much information you can find there.

“No. 2: Research. More research.

“No. 3: Research.

  • Rule No. 2: “Always be faithful to your BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement).

“Based on your research, you need to know that level at which it (the deal) is not worth it anymore. What do you need to do? Walk away.

“If you are buying a car, what would be your BATNA. The maximum price you are willing to pay.

“How do you decide on your BATNA?

“Research.

In “2008, 2009, people did not stick to their BATNA. They were buying houses, more than they could afford and that led to a disaster.

“Do your research. Decide on your BATNA and be faithful to your BATNA.

“A good negotiator will always want to know your BATNA. Resist that. Don’t disclose your BATNA. That’s your secret. And, be willing to walk away.”

  • Rule No 3: “Never make the first offer.

“A good negotiator will push you to make your offer.”

But, don’t do it, he said, because “you might be losing out.”

  • Rule No. 4: “Listen more than you speak. We’re born with two receivers and on transmitter, so we should at least listen twice as much as we talk, especially in negotiations.”
  • Rule No. 5: “Never accept the first offer. Everything is negotiable.”

When someone is selling a house and they ask for $200,000, your first step, Limayem said, should be to: “Look the person in the eyes. Pause. Repeat the offer.”

Typically, just that alone will cause the seller to lower the asking price.

“Most of the time, that’s how it works. Try it.”

  • Rule No. 6: “Never make a quick deal.

“You need some time. Go back. Think about it. Analyze it. Talk to people you trust, then go back.”

  • Rule No. 7: “Do not negotiate with yourself.

“What happens when you negotiate with yourself? Bad things happen. You start negotiating with your BATNA and then you go to your emotion, and you leave a lot on the table.”

  • Rule No. 8: “Watch for the Salami effect.

“You give me a quote for renovating my house. One lump sum.

“A good negotiator (wants to know) how much for labor, how much for material, how much for this and for that,” he said.

A good negotiator would push for that because “he or she can select the things that make sense and forget about the things that don’t make sense.

“If you, as a negotiator, can do the Salami effect, that’s great. But, if you’re the other side, watch for it. Resist it.”

  • Rule No. 9: “We live in a world that is truly global.”

So, it’s important to be aware of cultural differences and norms, when doing business with international partners.

  • Rule No. 10: “Avoid the rookie’s regret. You did your research. You decided on your BATNA, you followed your rule. Move on. This will only hurt you.

“Always avoid regrets,” he said.

Published April 24, 2019

Browning talks school safety, other issues

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More than a year since the Parkland school shooting claimed the lives of 17 students and faculty members, ensuring school safety remains a forefront priority for Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning.

Browning discussed that, and a number of other school issues, as the featured guest speaker at the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce March breakfast meeting at the Pasco-Hernando State College Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel.

“Parkland kind of rocked our world,” Browning said, during the breakfast meeting. “It really shook everybody’s core about the magnitude of what our responsibility is about making sure that our kids are safe in our schools.”

Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning was the featured guest speaker at the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce March breakfast meeting. (Kevin Weiss)

Browning said Pasco Schools have made a number of sweeping changes to enhance school safety, in the wake of the February 2018 tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida.

Among the most noteworthy, Browning said, was the district hiring around 60 armed school safety guards to place in elementary schools — in addition to school resource officers at all middle and high schools — to comply with Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, also known as Senate Bill 7026. The district’s safety guards are required to have a minimum of 10 years of experience in the military or law enforcement.

Browning explained the safety guards have quickly made a positive impact on school campuses, by taking on a mentoring relationship with students, which, in turn, has led to fewer discipline referrals districtwide.

“These men and women are kicking it,” Browning said. “Just having that presence on the campus has been significant, has been incredible for this district, and also provides a sense of security, and, it does provide security.

“We’re much more tight about who’s on campus. If you don’t have a (identification) badge on, they’re going to ask you where you are from or what you’re doing on campus.”

As another safety measure, Browning said district schools are getting upgraded door locks, thanks in part to a security grant from the Florida Department of Education, whereby classroom doors can lock from the inside when they are closed.

“There’s no getting back in that room unless you have a key,” said Browning. “Whether teachers or principals like it or not, those doors are going to lock, and you better have a key on your body if you want to get back in a classroom, because your kids need to be safe and they need to be protected.”

The school district is also “installing a lot more (security) cameras,” Browning said.

Browning also mentioned there’s a districtwide policy requiring gates and classroom doors to be locked and secured during school hours.

Browning said the policy — put into effect a week after the Parkland shooting — received pushback from some teachers and administrators, who called it “inconvenient” at the time.

“I don’t want to hear about how inconvenient it is that you’ve got to wear a key on your lanyard to get back into your door,” Browning said of those complaints. “It would be inconvenient for me to have to stand before a bank of national TV cameras explaining how someone got onto our campus, and worse yet, got into your classroom. That’s what’s inconvenient to me.”

He continued, “Kids needs to be safe in our schools. Parents need to have the expectation when you drop your child off at our school that they’re going to be safe.”

Besides addressing school safety, the superintendent offered an update to some new school projects in East Pasco, including the new Cypress Creek Middle School being built next to Cypress Creek Middle High School, which opened in 2017.

“We have broken ground. We are tearing ground open. We are putting walls down at Cypress Creek Middle School,” Browning said.

The new middle school is set to open in 2020.

Once complete, the approximately 185,000-square-foot to 195,000-square-foot middle school will become Pasco’s largest middle school. It will serve more than 1,600 students in grades six through eight.

Related to that, Browning said the school district is set to undergo another redistricting either later this year or early next year, whereby students from Seven Oaks Elementary will likely be zoned to the Cypress Creek schools — a measure to reduce overcrowding at John Long Middle and Wiregrass Ranch High schools, respectively.

Browning also said moves are being made to bring a technical high school to East Pasco.

“We’re getting ready to break ground. We’re in the design stage now,” Browning said.

The superintendent explained that district officials are leaning toward having the unnamed technical school built on the recently purchased 104-acre Kirkland Ranch property, situated at the southeast corner of Curley and Kiefer roads.

The district has also considered the technical school for a 125-acre tract along Handcart and Fairview Heights roads.

Browning, however, said the Kirkland Ranch property may present a more desirable location once the new Interstate 75 interchange at Overpass Road is completed.

“It’s a good shot from Zephyrhills, a great shot from Wesley Chapel, and a great shot from Dade City,” Browning said.

Either way, Browning said a technical school would help relieve overcrowding concerns at Pasco, Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass Ranch and Zephyrhills high schools.

“It will lower the numbers again in those schools, but also give kids in this area a technical education if that’s what they want to do,” he said.

Elsewhere, the superintendent touched on teacher salaries — and finding ways to boost them.

Browning said he’s having ongoing discussions with district staff about the possibility of holding a millage election “solely for the purpose of paying our teachers more money.”

“The mission we have in Pasco is paying teachers,” Browning said. “We’ve got to make an investment in our teachers.”

Published March 20, 2019