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 … [Read more...]
MOSI focusing more on community outreach
March 11, 2020 By
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. The museum leader led a restructuring … [Read more...]
Seminar focuses on youth drug use, suicide
February 26, 2020 By
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. “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 … [Read more...]
Initiatives aim to help veterans
November 13, 2019 By
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 … [Read more...]
Chamber’s goal: Being there to meet members’ needs
August 28, 2019 By
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. The … [Read more...]
Collaboration creates connectivity
July 17, 2019 By
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. It also reduces the time that the Zephyrhills resident spends on the road, to get to leisure activities or do … [Read more...]
Construction crews busy on roadwork in Pasco County
June 12, 2019 By
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 … [Read more...]
USF dean shares tips for successful negotiations
April 24, 2019 By
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. 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 … [Read more...]
Browning talks school safety, other issues
March 20, 2019 By
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 … [Read more...]
Session highlights area roads
March 6, 2019 By
Pasco County residents had the chance to gain insight on three local road projects at a Feb. 26 open house presented by the Florida Department of Transportation. The state road department officials fielded questions from residents during the session at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, in Wesley Chapel. Residents could view poster boards and watch videos to … [Read more...]
