The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Mort Elementary School

Meals On Wheels for Kids expands

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The Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger (TBNEH), a tri-county leader in hunger relief, research and program development, will expand Meals On Wheels for Kids (MOW4Kids) into Lutz (zip codes 33548, 33549) and Safety Harbor (zip codes 33759, 34695, 33761), in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties, respectively.

The program will begin delivering food to children attending school from home the week of Nov. 30. Deliveries will take place out of Mort Elementary School in Tampa and Mattie Williams Neighborhood Family Center in Safety Harbor, in partnership with the Nutrition Services and Transportation Departments at Pinellas County Schools and Hillsborough County Schools.

The Network’s innovative MOW4Kids program launched this past March, and was developed in response to COVID-19 school closures, to serve children (18 years or younger) with meals delivered to their homes by volunteers.

The program presents an alternative option for kids that are not able to access meal distribution sites throughout the county and/or kids that have difficulty accessing open food pantries.

Currently, MOW4KIDS serves Clearwater, Gulfport, Lealman, and St. Petersburg in Pinellas County; Tampa (33612 and 33613) and Wimauma in Hillsborough County; Dade City in Pasco County, and will continue to expand the program, to include Safety Harbor and Lutz.

Volunteers with level 2 background checks will help deliver Meals On Wheels for Kids on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays starting at 10 a.m., and will board public school buses, along with the bus driver, to then go out and deliver shelf-stable boxes of food and cold meal packs to children and families.

At the core of this program is nutritious food delivered to the homes of children and their families, and it will provide meals and shelf-stable groceries, including produce, as resources allow.

Children may experience an increase in overall nutrition, food security, and feelings of social connectedness from volunteers stopping by.
To receive meals delivered to your home, visit NetworkToEndHunger.org/mow4kids/, or call (813) 344-5837.

Volunteers are needed each week to help pack boxes and deliver meals on various days throughout the week out of Mort Elementary School in Tampa and Mattie Williams Neighborhood Family Center in Safety Harbor. Routes take about an hour to complete. To sign up, visit NetworkToEndHunger.org/volunteer/.

The Network also is currently accepting donations at NetworkToEndHunger.org, to help support the MOW4Kids program. A donation of $20 will provide a week of Meals On Wheels for Kids deliveries to children in need.

Published November 25, 2020

CEO discusses resilience, giving back

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When Brian Butler moved to Lutz roughly 14 years ago, he figured he would have plenty of time to assume a meaningful role at a Tampa Bay company, play golf and go fishing.

It didn’t quite work out that way.

The opportunities the decorated retired U.S. Army officer had envisioned didn’t materialize.

“I thought I had a lot to offer this community. And, I was humbled in a way that I just couldn’t believe,” Butler said.

So, when he couldn’t find the right fit, he created his own company.

Brian Butler started his business as the sole employee, working out of his Lutz home. Now, he has 100 members on his team. He recently was the featured speaker on a Zoom virtual meeting hosted by the North Tampa Bay Chamber. (Courtesy of Vistra Communications, LLC)

Vistra Communications, LLC started small, with Butler as its sole employee, working out of his Lutz home. Over time, the president and CEO has led a company that has grown to include 100 team members.

The company provides marketing, communications and consulting services to corporations, small businesses, nonprofits, and federal, state and local governments.

Butler recently shared some of his expertise and experiences through a virtual Zoom meeting with members of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.

“You know, starting and running a small business is a challenge. You all know that,” Butler said.

It’s particularly challenging now, he said.

“This is a tough environment. This hasn’t been seen in our country in a long, long time,” Butler said. “Not just the COVID, but you look at the civil unrest. You look at the political  unrest. You add all of those things in, it just adds to a very, very tough business environment.”

Companies were caught off-guard by the economic meltdown caused by COVID-19.

“It came fast. I think it caught us by surprise that we’d be put in a situation that three months later, we’d still be in a position where a lot of businesses haven’t reopened yet.

“But, I think our team will tell you as soon as we made the decision that we were going to work from home, we became very aggressive with growing our presence,” he said. They did that online and through telephone calls — speaking with current clients and with potential clients, who had told them ‘no’ before.

“We just started calling them, emailing them that we’re here, we haven’t closed down. We have services that may be helpful for them at this time,” he said.

“We lost some clients in this period. We knew we would. But, we won some clients, too,” he said. “I’m convinced it’s just because we’ve been present. We’ve been vocal.”

As COVID-19 flattened the economy, some companies shut down completely, while others experienced precipitous drops in business.

It has been a time when companies have been forced to take a close look at their operations and to try to find ways to pivot.

This is a good time to not only work in your business, but to work on it, Butler said.

“I’m a person who believes everything starts out with a plan. We can’t just wake up and haphazardly do it, and expect the success that we want to achieve,” he said.

“Pause. Really focus on and develop your plan. Find some mentors that will be good sounding boards, as you work toward that plan,” he said.

Follow the golden rule
There are some fundamentals, too.

“We have to treat people the way we want to be treated. By treating people the way you want to be treated, I think you’ll often find that business will come back. People will tell others about your business. And, they’ll share your successes and things you’re trying to accomplish, and business will come through the door in that manner.

“You have to develop great relationships, and those relationships won’t often come if you’re sitting in your office,” he said.

“You have to find the time to get out of your office and go build great relationships with people that become a great part of your business success because they often refer business to you.

Seek out ways to learn from others, he added.

“If you’re a business owner, and you’re not hanging out and having intimate conversations with other business leaders, other business owners, you’re probably missing something.

“And, you need to have those conversations with those who don’t necessarily look like you, because they may bring some things to the table that you’re not necessarily thinking about, to help you grow your business,” he said.

Find ways to give back
Ever since Vistra started, it was committed to giving back to the community, Butler said.

“I will tell you that from Day 1, every nickel, every dime, every hour that we spent giving back — it’s almost like tithing, it just comes back to us, over and over again.”

One of his company’s give-back initiatives is called CEOs in Schools.

It stemmed from an experience Butler had six year ago, when he was asked to mentor the principal at Mort Elementary School.

He said that experience opened his eyes to the many ways small businesses could give back to schools and become part of the education fabric of the community.

He figured CEOs had a lot to offer schools, so he set off to involve more.

Last year, a CEO spent the day at each of Hillsborough County’s 170 elementary schools.

There are plans to do that again this October.

“They need you in there,” he told the business leaders at the chamber’s Zoom meeting.

“You bring a perspective that teachers — who grew up to be principals — often don’t have,” Butler said. “You think about resources in a different way. You think about logistics in a different way. You think about management and hiring and firing, in a different way.”

At this particular time, there are so many people in need.

More than 40 million people are unemployed and cars line up in long lines for food — and that’s just the people who have cars, Butler said.

With so much need, there are many, many ways to give back, he noted. He encouraged those listening to do what they can.

“I think we have to make a difference in the lives of others,” Butler said.

Published June 17, 2020

Public schools to go back in session — remotely

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Florida students in kindergarten through 12th grades will remain off school campuses until at least April 15 because of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

While students will remain off campus, they will receive some type of online or remote instruction beginning at the end of March, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Superintendent Kurt Browning provided a March 22 update on the situation in Pasco County Schools, in via a video posted on the district’s website (Pasco.k12.fl.us).

“At this time, our campuses are closed until Wednesday, April 15. However, starting on Tuesday March 31, learning will resume — even through the time our schools are closed. That’s when we’ll transition to distance learning.“

Browning then explained the chain of events that will occur.

The district already has sent a newsletter to parents, providing how-to instructions to help them and their children navigate distance learning, Browning said.

On March 27, the district’s instructional staff will return to school, virtually, to receive a four-hour training, relating to distance learning.

Then, on March 30, the district will distribute devices to parents who do not have a computer at home.

“This will take place at the school your student attends,” Browning said. “We don’t have enough devices to provide a computer to every student in our district, but we will do everything we can to provide appropriate devices to families who don’t have them. We want all of our students to have the ability to go online and continue learning.”

On March 31, the district will transition to distance learning.

“That means school is in session on March 31. Not in our physical classrooms, but online,” the superintendent said.

“Our distance learning plan is designed to keep students on track, so that learning continues, even though our schools are closed.

“This is not optional. We expect our students to be engaged and learning,” Browning said.

Hillsborough County is having its Set Up for Success week, March 23 to March 27, which will give teachers and parents a chance to get comfortable with eLearning, finalize lesson plans and get access to devices and computers, according to the district’s website.

Classwork during Set Up for Success week will not be graded. Graded work and full eLearning will begin on March 30.

For more details on Hillsborough’s plan, visit the district’s website at SDHC.k12.fl.us.

Where to find meals for children:
These school feeding sites in The Laker/Lutz News coverage area are providing meals for children under 18 years old. The children must be present to receive a meal.

Pasco sites, operating 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., through March 27, include:

  • New River Elementary School, 4710 River Glen Blvd., in Wesley Chapel
  • Pasco High School, 36850 State Road 52in Dade City
  • Zephyrhills High School, at 6335 12th St., in Zephyrhills

Hillsborough sites, which operate 9 a.m.to 1 p.m., opened on March 23. They include:

  • Wharton High School, 20150 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Tampa
  • Mort Elementary School, 1806 E. Bearss Ave., in Tampa
  • Paul R. Smith Middle School, 14303 Citrus Pointe Drive in Tampa

More area school news:

  • All Florida public and private K-12, and career and technical center campuses are closed through April 15.
  • All remaining assessments for school readiness, voluntary prekindergarten and K-12 assessments are canceled for the 2019-2020 school year.
  • Requirements for graduation and promotion, and final course grades will be evaluated as though those assessments that were canceled did not exist.
  • K-12 school grades will not be calculated for 2019-2020 and schools in turnaround may continue their current status for 2020-2021 to avoid disruption to school leadership and operations.
  • Eligibility for Florida Bright Futures scholarships shall be based on available data and results. Tests that were not available to be taken shall not be counted.
  • All Florida College System institutions are providing virtual or other remote learning to students for the remainder of the 2020 spring semester.

Published March 25, 2020

Local man is named minority business person of the year

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Brian Butler was the only employee of his company — Vistra Communications — when he launched the business out of his home in Lutz in 2007.

It wasn’t exactly the best time to launch an ambitious plan.

The real estate market crashed and the nation’s economy cratered.

Brian Butler, president and CEO of Vistra Communications, pitches in during laundry day. Vistra provides ongoing support to the Laundry Project, which helps families in need through providing laundry services, converting coin laundries into community centers of hope. (Courtesy of Vistra Communications)

“I started my business in the toughest economy we’d seen in 30 years,” he recalled.

There were days when he considered giving up.

But then, as now, the business leader said anyone starting a new venture needs to stick with it.

“You can’t afford to give up,” said Butler, who is president and chief executive officer of his company. “There are opportunities out there. You’ve just got to have a plan.”

Vistra Communications now has about 70 employees with offices in Lutz, Tampa, Miami and Washington D.C.

And, on May 4, Butler will receive the 2018 U.S. Small Business Administration’s Minority Business Person of the Year — for the state of Florida and the South Florida District.

He is one of nine recipients who will be honored at a luncheon during the 31st annual Government Small Business Conference at the Holiday Inn Tampa Westshore.

Butler began thinking like a business owner early on.

During his formative years, while growing up in Palm Beach County, he had newspaper routes — flinging newspapers onto lawns.

Even then, he flexed his organizational skills.

“I was business-oriented as an elementary school kid,” Butler said. “I hired two friends to fold, so I could deliver more newspapers.”

Brian Butler reads to children at Mort Elementary School. Butler serves as CEO Mentor for the Mort Elementary School principal through The Council for Educational Change.

He followed a straight path into a business career in marketing and communications.

After he graduated from high school, he attended Hampton University, a historically black college in Virginia that was founded in 1868 to give education to freed men.

He decided to attend the college after visiting a friend who was going to school there.

He knew immediately it was the place for him.

“The campus is just beautiful,” Butler said.

The opportunity to earn a college degree there “just resonated with me,” said Butler, who received a Bachelor of Science in marketing.

Butler received a three-year scholarship from the university’s R.O.T.C. program, and upon graduation was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. He commanded combat troops in Kuwait during Desert Storm in 1990.

There were lessons learned from the military that translated to his values in running a company later.

“I’m focused on treating people right. And, I operate (my business) with values found in the community,” he said.

He earned a master’s degree in business administration from Central Michigan University and a master’s in national security strategy from the National War College.

He stepped back into civilian life in 1988 and spent a year at the Washington D.C., powerhouse public relations and communications firm Fleishman & Hillard International Communications.

He put his uniform back on after that, and served as spokesman and chief of communications for the U.S. Army secretary. He was on the staff and communications team for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

After 22 years of military service, he retired as a colonel in 2006.

However, retirement was more like a transition to a new beginning.

The next year, he founded Vistra Communications.

In the early days, Butler frequently worked with nonprofits.

Brian Butler spends some time with students at Mort Elementary School.

One of his first accounts was the private charter school, Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School. The school was founded by former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Derrick Brooks and former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo, Jr.

Butler also won a contract with Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, providing communications and consulting services.

Vistra’s clients today include businesses in health care, information technology, transportation, airports, entertainment, sports, and local and federal government.

Over the years, Butler and Vistra have received many honors and awards.

Tampa Bay Business Journal ranked Vistra as the No. 1 public relations firm in 2016 and 2017. It was the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year in 2016, for 21-50 employees. Vistra also was singled out in 2016 as the SBA South Florida District Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year.

Last year, Vistra acquired Tampa-based Marketing Associates USA. The Tampa company is now a division of Vistra.

A shared interest in Trinity Café brought Butler together with Jeff Darrey, president of Marketing Associates.

Darrey founded Trinity Café, a nonprofit restaurant that feeds the homeless.

Butler believes that community service is a basic foundation of a successful business. To that end, he serves on several boards and committees, including Florida Hospital Tampa Foundation, Minority Enterprise Development Corporation, Mort Elementary School Cabinet and Conference of Minority Transportation Officials. He also is a founding member of USO (United Services Organization) Tampa Bay.

Butler is especially proud of the Laundry Project, an effort of the Florida nonprofit Current Initiatives.

Volunteers come to area coin laundries in Tampa Bay and pay for laundry fees, help with laundry services and create a community day.

“It’s part of my foundation and part of our company,” Butler said. “It’s exciting to make a difference right at home.”

Published May 2, 2018

Newest Walmart opening May 21

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Walmart is set to open its newest store May 21 in northern Hillsborough County that will bring 300 jobs to the area.

Located at 15302 N. Nebraska Ave., it will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will include some of the common staples found in most Walmarts now, including groceries and a pharmacy.

“The new store builds upon the partnership Walmart has enjoyed with this community for more than 20 years,” Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist said, in a release. “I am also grateful for Walmart’s commitment tog giving back to the community, as demonstrated by the grants they will be presenting to local community groups.”

The grand opening celebration includes the presentation of $5,500 in grants to local community groups like the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Metropolitan Ministries, Mort Elementary School, and the University Area Community Development Corp.

The store will be led by Arnetta Hill, who began her Walmart career in 2002 as an assistant manager trainee. She will be on hand during a family day event May 24 from noon to 3 p.m., that will include face painting, cupcake decorating, and free food samples.

Walmart has more than 11,300 stores in 27 counties with annual sales of $473 billion.