The Laker/Lutz News

Take Stock in Children

Award recipient provides food for thought

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Alex Sink’s resume is lengthy.

She was Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, ran for governor in a tightly contested race with Rick Scott and was Bank of America’s Florida president for seven years.

That just scratches the surface of Sink’s life in the private sector, government, education and nonprofits.

She has extensive involvement on boards for such organizations as United Way Suncoast, Leadership Florida, Take Stock in Children, Hillsborough Education Foundation and the Nature Conservancy Florida Chapter.

Alex Sink is widely known for her work as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, for her role as a banking executive and for her work on myriad nonprofit boards. Recently, she added to her list of accolades when she received the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Distinguished Leadership Award. (Courtesy of North Tampa Bay Chamber)

She served for 25 years as a trustee at Wake Forest University and is now a life trustee, and she serves as board chair of Tampa Bay Wave, a tech startup accelerator.

The wide-ranging list of organizations she’s helped to shape, or guide or lead goes on and on.

Her list of accolades for her contributions is lengthy, too, and recently, she added another one.

The North Tampa Bay Chamber honored Sink with its Women’s Distinguished Leadership Award for 2021.

The chamber had planned to honor Sink as the 2020 recipient of the award, but those plans were thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of having a big celebration, as planned, the event was called off and the chamber shifted gears.

The organization still is holding its breakfast meetings remotely, via Zoom, but it wanted to honor Sink, just the same.

So, the award was delivered to Sink, and she showed it off to chamber members via Zoom.

“Haven’t we all had quite a year behind us?” Sink said, via Zoom.

She went on to talk about the importance of chambers to their communities, explaining her involvement in chamber work goes back four decades — with experiences in Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville and Tallahassee.

“Florida is a state of small businesses. We’re not a big Fortune 500-state,” said Sink, who served on the board of Enterprise Florida twice, once as a banking executive, and again as the CFO of the state.

“I let my voice be heard, especially when I was the CFO. We were going through the Great Recession,” she said.

Historically, Enterprise Florida had been set up to recruit large corporations to move to Florida, she said.

But, she said what was missing was how Florida would support the growth of existing small businesses.

“Florida is a state of entrepreneurs.

“Just look around you, in North Tampa, the many, many small business owners that have struggled to survive in this past year,” Sink said.

“I’m sure the rest of you, like me, sat down and pivoted and said: ‘How can I support my small businesses?’ I learned how to do takeout and order on the internet,” she said.

She even switched over to workout sessions with her personal trainer, via Zoom, to keep them both safe. It’s worked out so well, she plans to keep it that way.

“We all have had to reinvent ourselves,” Sink said.

She also noted that government has been responding through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

Without that kind of help, she said, “many, many, many of our small businesses and people would not have survived through the last year.

Chamber work is important
The chamber plays an important role, in representing and advocating for businesses, and their communities, Sink said.

For instance, infrastructure in a growing area is essential.

“You’ve got to keep advocating for roads,” she said, noting that traffic is already busy on Interstate 75, going north and south — and the pandemic hasn’t yet ended.

Good schools are essential, too.

“People are not going to move to your community unless you have a strong, good, public school system.

“I believe in charter schools. I believe in private schools. I believe in choice. But, at the end of the day, 85% to 90% of our kids are going to public schools and that’s what people are going to think about.”

Parks and green spaces are other important ingredients, when it comes to quality of life, she said.

“I hope that is a piece of what you’ve been working on,” she said, noting that the pandemic has attracted people to hiking trails and parks.

“I have never seen so many families outside, in my whole life,” she said, noting she recently spent time hiking a trail.

She also touched on the reason for her recognition, using it to talk about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Women have been more severely impacted by this pandemic than any other group of people because we’re the caretakers,” Sink said, noting many have had to drop out of the workplace to take care of children.

She encouraged those listening to do what they can to support women in the workplace.

“Many of you know that I’m a third generation Asian American,” Sink continued.

“The thing that happened in Atlanta really brought to the fore, issues around Asian Americans. “Also, obviously, we’re in a big trial this week, so we’re thinking about issues around Black Americans,” she said, referring to the trial of Derek Chauvin, relating to the death of George Floyd.

With those as a backdrop, Sink encouraged the chamber crowd to do their part to become more aware of how they can be involved in what they can do to build better connections in the community.

Sink put it this way: “I have a little teacher in me, and I always like to lay down the gauntlet and give everybody an assignment, so my assignment for this audience would be: Look around your community. I’m sure you have Asian-owned businesses. I’m sure you have Black-owned businesses. Go talk to the people who own those businesses and kind of understand more of what they face, each and every day, and figure out how you can support your minority-owned businesses, and really practice diversity, equity and inclusion in all that you do.”

Published April 21, 2021

Summit addresses mental health challenges

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Overcoming mental health and substance abuse issues in local communities seems a daunting undertaking — but offering a helping hand and a shoulder to lean on may be a good place to start.

At least that’s what a group of educators and faith-based leaders asserted at a recent mental health summit at Pasco-Hernando State College’s (PHSC) Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, in Wesley Chapel.

Pasco-Hernando State College hosted a mental health summit on Feb. 18 at its Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel. It featured a panel discussion between educators and faith leaders in the community. (Kevin Weiss)

The state college’s Bridging Faith and Mental Health Communities Summit brought together dozens of faith-based leaders, public and private clinical agencies, students, educators and community members. They discussed ongoing problems and solutions on topics such as depression, suicide and substance abuse, wellness and recovery.

A plenary panel discussion addressed those topics head-on.

University of South Florida philosophy and religious studies professor Garrett Potts tried to pinpoint the root of mental health issues.

He suggested that depression and addiction have been exacerbated because there’s “a crisis of meaning” and “a loss of hope” in society and culture today.

And, as a result, he said, people have turned to drugs and alcohol, as a coping mechanism.

The panelist advised that if you think someone may be suffering from substance abuse or a mental health crisis, empathy and guidance without judgement can go a long way.

“We have to be able to sort of lay our cards on the table and say, ‘Hey, I’m with you,’” Potts said.

“Try at all costs to avoid the shame cycle that our fellow addicts and sufferers are already stuck in. They don’t need any more shame than they’re already placing on themselves.”

He added, “A lot of times, what you hear with individuals who are struggling with suicide, is they’ve found themselves in a place where they’re isolated. Either something they’re struggling with is stigmatized to the point that they don’t feel loved, or they feel like no one around them cares about them or can help them.”

Another panelist, Dr. Eddie Williams, director of PHSC’s behavioral health department, pointed out those dealing with depression and suicide “often disengage from everybody” in their personal and social life, and in the workplace.

Williams underscored the importance of reaching out before a particular mental illness worsens.

A decreased functioning in everyday life and a general feeling of sadness are some warning signs to watch out for, he said.

“We need to make sure that person gets reconnected,” Williams said, “to let them know that they’re loved and understood.”

He added: “Don’t take no for an answer, if you start to see someone disengaging from life. Sometimes, it just takes that one act of courage and that could save someone’s life.”

Williams also observed those who’ve successfully recovered from substance abuse or mental illness must “give it back and try to help someone else reach that level of recovery.”

Williams added: “You’ve got to have that support from people who’ve been in similar situations.”

Pastor Doug Zipperer, of Shady Hills’ United Methodist Church, called for more fellowship and outreach groups.

He mentioned organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous do a good job of bringing people together and helping each other, so they’re not fighting mental health and addiction battles alone.

Zipperer put it like this: “The words and encouragement and counsel of a real close friend is probably more lasting than hours of clinical counseling or the professional help of somebody they don’t trust.”

Another panelist, Taiwan Simmons, the co-founder of Inside Reach Ministries in Wesley Chapel, suggested there’s not a one-size-fits-all answer to people struggling with mental health issues and substance abuse.

Offering care and affection to loved ones may not be enough, Simmons said.

Still, the panelist said there’s a responsibility to reach out to those dealing with those troubles — even in the face of getting rejected by that person.

“We have people who are hurting,” he said. “They need our prayer, they need our support, they need our attention, they need our encouragement.

“You have to be engaged and you have to empower not just yourself, but the people around you,” he said.

The panel also included Imam Hassan Sultan, CEO of the Muslim Connection; Ryan Morris, PHSC student government president; and, John Mitten, Hernando County commissioner and PHSC board trustee.

Along with the panel discussion, the event also included breakout sessions focused on suicide, and substance abuse awareness and prevention.

In addition to the state college, community partners involved in the summit included the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Pasco Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention, BayCare Behavioral Health – Community Health Activation Team (CHAT), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Take Stock in Children, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center and Pasco Aware.

Published February 27, 2019