PHDermatology Offers Skin Cancer Treatments, Skin Care & More!

The skin care professionals of PHDermatology are ready to provide a range of medical and aesthetic dermatological services.

Keeping your skin healthy or enhancing its appearance can be challenging, but the medical and aesthetic professionals of PHDermatology (formerly known as Palm Harbor Dermatology) provide state-of-the-art skin care at four locations, all within a reasonably short drive from New Tampa: Westchase, Brandon, South Tampa and Palm Harbor.

PHDermatology’s Board-certified doctors treat skin diseases and disorders, including skin cancers, and its State-licensed aestheticians provide personalized skin guidance and permanent cosmetic procedures to help you look your best.

Visitors to the South Tampa office, located on S. MacDill Ave. (at the intersection of Azeele St.), may recognize Margaret Rinker, M.D., who treated patients at Tampa Palms Dermatology from 2004 until 2014. Dr. Rinker earned her Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. Her dermatology residency was through the University of South Florida (USF)’s College of Medicine in Tampa and she is Board-certified in dermatology.

According to Dr. Rinker, treating skin diseases, particularly cancers, is the primary focus of PHDermatology.

“Skin cancer is the biggest thing we do here,” says Dr. Rinker. “Being in Florida it is extremely prevalent, especially in our elderly population.”

She adds that there are many other conditions that warrant dermatological attention, such as acne, rashes, eczema and psoriasis.

When it comes to treating skin cancer, PHDermatology offers screenings, biopsies and treatments. The medical professionals at all four offices use Mohs Micrographic surgery to treat patients with both basal and squamous cell cancers, the most common forms of skin cancer. Dr. Rinker says it is the most thorough and convenient way available to treat skin cancer patients. “It’s all done in the office, under local anesthesia.”

In Mohs surgery, the tumor is removed, frozen, sliced and systematically examined under a microscope, while the patient is waiting to see if all of the cancer has been removed.

If cancer cells exist too close to the margins of the excised material, more skin is removed from the patient to be sure all cancer is removed.

Dr. Rinker says the procedure is rarely useful for melanoma cancer, as it does not work effectively with those kinds of tumors, and melanoma has a greater tendency to metastasize, or spread quickly.

Mohs surgery differs from usual skin cancer surgery in that a doctor can determine if all the cancer has been removed while a patient is still in the office. The alternative is to send the removed specimen out to a lab for analysis and, if it is determined that not all of the cancer was removed, another surgical procedure would need to be scheduled and performed. “This allows you to wait until you know it is clear before you close it up,” Dr. Rinker says. “It also offers a cosmetically better outcome and a smaller scar.”

All four of PHDermatology’s offices are set up to perform Mohs surgery. The determination of whether or not to use Mohs surgery is decided on an individual basis, depending upon the size and location of the cancer.

Patients with melanomas can be treated in the office, if it is caught early enough. If not, patients are referred to the Moffitt Cancer Center, which is located on the USF Tampa campus.

Precancerous lesions, such as actinic keratoses, can be treated with photodynamic therapy (PDT). A photo-sensitizing solution is applied to the affected area, which is then exposed to light. Patients need to completely avoid the sun for two days after treatment. PDT also is used to treat acne and sun damage.

Other Available Treatments

In addition to treating skin diseases and disorders, PHDermatology offers a variety of treatments, services and products that can enhance an individual’s appearance. Dr. Rinker says there is nothing superficial about the benefits these options offer.

“Skin conditions, because they’re visible to everyone else, can cause a lot of stress, anxiety and even social isolation,” she says.

M22 IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) Rejuvenation is used to treat blemishes like freckles, uneven pigmentation, birthmarks, age and sun spots, as well as rosacea. The pulsing light penetrates the skin tissue of the targeted area, creating heat. The body’s healing process removes the treated skin while collagen and elastic fiber are produced. Sessions typically last less than one hour and depending upon the need, the treatment may be administered from one to six times over a period of a few weeks. Patients can resume their normal activities immediately after the treatment in most cases, although it is recommended to stay out of the sun for a few days and apply sunscreen as well.

Dr. Rinker also notes that loose skin, such as around the waist, under the chin and on the arms, is often the result of fatty deposits. CoolSculpting is a method that eliminates that fat by freezing it with a device that applies targeted cooling. The fat is then reabsorbed and eliminated by the body.

Also available at PHDermatology is the Silhouette InstaLift, which is an alternative to traditional face lifts, whereby sutures are inserted into the cheek area to reposition and elevate facial skin, contour the face and give a more youthful appearance. As the body absorbs the sutures, collagen is produced as part of the healing process. Most activities can be resumed following the treatment, with benefits generally lasting about 18 months.

Skin Care From A Familiar Face

People interested in a personalized skincare program using selected products from manufacturers such as SkinCeuticals, ClearChoice, Obagi and Avene, among others, can get guidance from onsite, licensed aestheticians. One of them is Leanne Carter, who joined PHDermatology’s South Tampa office six months ago, after working in New Tampa for 20 years, first at the old Bostonian Hair Salon in Tampa Palms and then at her own business, Facial Accents by Leanne. Carter says being part of the PHDermatology team gives her the opportunity to better serve people’s needs.

“The level of skin care I can offer clients is highly elevated working in a dermatology practice,” she says.

Carter also provides permanent eyebrow and eyeliner cosmetic solutions, as well as postsurgical skin care, chemical peels and dermaplaning treatments. She is also trained in reconstructive techniques, such as areola restoration following a mastectomy.

Some of the other aesthetic services available at PHDermatology include Botox and filler injections, a variety of facials and hair removal.

Dr. Rinker notes that providing aesthetic care, as well as medical treatments, enables PHDermatology to accommodate a greater range of needs. “My number one priority is medical care,” she says. “We are the experts in skin care, so we want to make it (aesthetic care) available for people who want it.”

PHDermatology patient Ethel Murphy says that Dr. Rinker has been her skin care specialist for the last 15 years. “Anything from Botox to laser skin treatments, skin cancer treatments, PDTs and photodynamic therapies/blue light treatments,” Ethel says. “I have also had two types of skin cancers, basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. Her treatment is customized, specialized, and very individual to each patient. Dr. Rinker knows my skin sensitivities.  My outdoor lifestyle needs (which include playing tennis and boating regularly) have to be met in conjunction with my skin cancer.”

She adds, “My treatments go beyond what happens at her office. She will send me the latest research about the treatments from medical journals that she subscribes to.  I do not have to do the research on my own and I always trust her medical judgment.  The treatment and care I received at the office is wonderful.  It’s all about preventive measures in the fight against skin cancer.”

Another PHDermatology physician who might be familiar to Neighborhood News readers is Isabel Valencia, M.D., who worked at Tampa Palms Dermatology from 2008 until 2013. She treats patients at the Westchase PHDermatology office on Sheldon Rd., one mile north of Linebaugh Ave.

Dr. Valencia also is Board-certified in dermatology, earning her Medical Degree from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia. She completed her dermatology residency at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, FL.

PHDermatology was founded in 2008 by Dr. Amy Ross, who earned her M.D. degree at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA, where she also completed her dermatology residency, followed by a dermatologic surgery fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. She, too, is Board-certified in dermatology. Dr. Ross opened her practice in 2008 as Palm Harbor Dermatology, reflecting the office’s Pinellas County location. As the practice grew to four offices, it was renamed PHDermatology.

To learn more about PHDermatology, visit PHDermatology.com or call toll-free, (855) 743-4968. PHDermatology’s offices are located at: 310 S. MacDill Ave., Tampa; 4197 Woodlands Pkwy., Palm Harbor; 11601 Sheldon Rd., Westchase; and 621 Medical Care Dr., Brandon. 

‘Keys With Eeeze’ Inventor Has A Wesley Chapel Connection

When you bring your car to the dealership or an independent auto service center for service, from an oil change to a new transmission, have you ever worried about putting your costly key “fob” in the service center’s after-hours “dropbox?”

I sure have. When one of my electronic keys broke a few years back, leaving me with only one, I remember bringing my car for service at my dealership shortly after it had closed and was left wondering, “What happens if they somehow lose my one remaining key? And, how much will it cost me to replace it?”

Well, thanks to the brother of a friend of mine, worrying about leaving today’s expensive, computerized car keys will soon be a thing of the past, because of a new smartphone app and key drop terminal called “Keys with Eeeze.”

That’s the good news. The even better news is that Keys with Eeeze will one day do more for auto service centers and even rental car companies than just make it more convenient to leave your keys. With everyone in our technologically-driven world begging for speed and convenience, Keys with Eeeze will allow you to step up to a machine that looks very similar to a bank ATM, and with a few touch-screen commands, secure your valuable keys, order whatever services you need, and every time your key or your car moves — from the parking area outside the service center to onto the lift to completion, etc. — you’ll receive a Facebook Instant Message (IM).

In other words, even if it’s not after hours, Keys with Eeeze will allow you to check your car in, order the services you need and pick up your car without ever having to talk to a service writer. How’s that for convenience?

The Wesley Chapel Connection

Keys with Eeeze was invented by a Dillsburg, PA, software developer named Tony Santo. If that name sounds a little familiar to you, you may know Tony’s brother Ken — the former owner of Skinny’s Sports Bar and Santo’s Pizza & Pasta on S.R, 54.

But, Ken is more than just Tony’s brother. Ken and his friend (and former owner of the Silver Ring CafĂ©, which also was located in the same Pinebrook at The Grove plaza as Santo’s and Skinny’s) Tim Booth are Tony’s point men to roll out Keys with Eeeze here in Florida. The invention is so new that Ken, Tim and Tony are revamping their existing marketing materials for Keys with Eeeze in order to better capture the attention and imagination of Wesley Chapel’s growing list of auto dealerships, chain and local independent service centers and those rental car companies.

And, Keys with Eeeze is already operational and exceeding expectations back in Dillsburg, where HC Automotive became the first auto repair shop in the world to employ Santo’s incredible, new technology.

Santo says the idea for his invention came to him as he was dropping off his car for service and looking down at the paper envelope he had to fill out by hand, drop his key into and deposit in the box at the dealership’s door. He wondered why anyone, in today’s technologically advanced age, would still be using a system that hasn’t changed much since the 1950s?

According to hard numbers given to Santo by HC Automotive owner Jon Gustafson, who only rolled out the new system at the end of April, the software is more than paying for itself. In fact, although Santo originally estimated that it could take up to a year for a service center to generate enough additional income using Keys with Eeeze to pay for the cost of the software and kiosk, Gustafson’s two-lift service shop generated enough income to justify the expense in less than 120 days!

“We knew we had something special when Tony first told me about Keys with Eeeze,” says his proud brother. “We just didn’t know it would make such a difference so quickly.”

Tony adds, “(Gustafson) says it has revolutionized his business. He tells me that when he first rolled out the kiosk and software at HC Auto, only 10 or 15 percent of the service center’s customers were using it. Just a few months later, 49 percent of his customers are using it and he’s seen a 30-percent increase in revenue, all of which, he says, is directly attributable to Keys with Eeeze.”

Santo’s invention combines an automated software system you can download to your smartphone that will allow you manage your service appointment — from dropping off the key into the kiosk to picking it up after hours. The new technology also allows your key to be coded to your phone and be delivered back to you at the kiosk any time of the day or night.

“Our Keys with Eeeze system puts you in the driver’s seat by giving you the ability to do business on your own time constraints, not the service shop’s,” Santo says. The software alone gives you carte blanche to pick a service date, order various items from a menu, communicate the issues you may be having with your vehicle electronically — concise, legible and in print — and receive instant feedback, updates and digital reports about your vehicle’s condition, all in Facebook Instant Messages to your phone.”

He adds that if necessary, customers also can receive uploaded photos and recall notices about their vehicles, receive an electronic message when their vehicle is ready for pickup and even access easy payment options, “so you can literally bypass the service desk most of the time and only talk to a service rep if there is a problem with your car that needs to be addressed.”

HC Auto has the prototype kiosk for Santo’s system, which only allowed 12 keys to be stored in the kiosk at once, but the newer model shown on the previous page allows up to 30 cars at once to be entered into the system.

“That will be perfect for these dealerships here in Wesley Chapel, some of which have ten or more lifts,” says Ken. “I can’t imagine that a more efficient system than this one for keeping track of all those keys and service orders is going to be invented anytime soon.”

Tony has a patent pending on his invention and is in the process of rolling it out to dealerships and service centers nationwide. Ken and Tim only recently began handling all of Florida for him and say that even though they are still working on the re-tooled Keys with Eeeze website and marketing materials, they’ve already had some great interest.

“Keys with Eeeze is perfect for anyone with a busy lifestyle and millennials are eating it up,” Tony says. “I’m confident that I’ve hit on the right idea at the right time. And, why are there three “eeeze” in Keys With Eeeze? Eeeze of checking in, Eeeze of doing business, Eeeze of checking out!” 

For details, pricing and leasing information, please contact Ken Santo at (813) 727-5794 or visit KeysWithEeeze.com

Wok Chi Brings Its Unique Chinese Concept To The Shops At Wiregrass

As a native New Yorker, it’s been a major challege for me to find what I would call great Chinese food anywhere in the Tampa Bay area, much less here in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel.

Therefore, I’m not going to try to convince you that the new (it opened in February) Wok Chi, located in the Shops at Wiregrass mall, is the best Chinese food I’ve ever tasted or that it’s authentic New York style, even though this hip, young five-location chain now has two stores in the Big Apple (as well as the original, year-old location in Brandon).

What Wok Chi is, however, is delicious, fresh and with something of a Zen vibe, with philosophical (pink) fortune cookies, free tea (because it is good for your “chi” or life force, also spelled “qi”), according to the signs on the walls in this fast, casual, healthy concept eatery.

The primary focus at Wok Chi is that you get to customize your meal the way you want it. “Our wok masters craft the meal you choose from scratch,” boasts the “About” section at WokChi.com. And, it’s true. Plus, if you’re a wok-sautĂ©ed veggie lover like I am, Wok Chi is truly paradise.

Whether you choose the regular- (starting at just $8.45 for skinless chicken breast, up to $10.95 for the regular-size shrimp) or large-size ($15.95-$20.95) stir-fry, you get to choose your meat (there’s also pork loin, flank steak, organic firm tofu and veggie-only options), up to three of the amazing selection of veggies (see below), as well as anything from plain white rice to fried brown rice, quinoa, egg or wheat noodles and even kale beds for your “base,” plus your favorite of Wok Chi’s nice variety of sauces (all without artificial ingredients or MSG, which another sign on the restaurant’s wall says, “disrupts our chi”).

My favorite sauces are the spicy Szechwan and Kung Pao (the latter has peanuts), but there are several other sauces, ranging from sweet & sour and black bean to sesame ginger and “General-Not-So-Tso’s” sauces, so you can pick your own favorites.

But, the veggies are what really sold me on Wok Chi and, while they’re not all what you’d call “traditional” Chinese vegetables (for example, no Napa cabbage or water chestnuts), you can choose from zucchini, squash, green beans, snow pea pods, onions, bell peppers, carrots, celery, broccoli, kale and baby bok choy. Best of all, Wok Chi does add different veggies seasonally — for example, sugar snap peas were available on my most recent visit.

And, these veggies are so green and beautiful and they sautĂ©e up so perfectly in the hands of Wok Chi’s wok masters (like Wiregrass location general manager Jeremy Vazquez, pictured at this year’s Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel, which was held at Florida Hospital Center Ice only a month or so after Wok Chi opened here, on the next page) that once you find the sauce that suits you best, you’ll be hooked, too.

Note-I’ve mentioned many times in these pages that I have a major shellfish allergy, especially to shrimp, so I was a little concerned about the fact that Wok Chi’s chefs sautĂ©e shrimp in the same woks with the other ingredients, which can be enough for me to get my reaction without even eating any shrimp. Since the day this location opened, however, all I’ve ever had to do was mention that fact to Jeremy or whoever was cooking my food, so they always start with a thoroughly clean wok to do everything they can to prevent such contaminations. And, eight or nine visits later, I’ve yet to have my reaction to anything I’ve ever eaten at Work Chi. 

What About Dim Sum?

Considering that the woks are the stars of the show at Wok Chi, I am happy to tell you that I also love the dim sum (appetizers). My favorites are the chicken spring rolls (I’ve yet to try the duck confit spring rolls, but they sound awesome), the spicy pork & chive and chicken & chipotle pot sticker dumplings (served with an excellent sweet chile sauce) and especially, the Chi-licious pork spare ribs. They usually come with the black bean sauce, but try ‘em Gary’s way — with the spicy Szechwan sauce — and you’ll thank me.

And, if you’re up for something a little different, try the non-traditional pork sliders. I forgot to ask what the “bread” portion of the sliders is made out of (it looks a little like a soft taco shell, but it’s different), but the pork is very tasty, as is the unique, creamy sauce served on top of the sliders.

Also popular at Wok Chi, although I’ve yet to try them, are three varieties of summer rolls, — large-burrito-sized rolls that are filled with lump (real) crab, shrimp or avocado and basil. I’ve also yet to try the hot & sour soup, although it looks very good, too.

Wok Chi also features not only one of those magical Coca-Cola “freestyle” soda fountains filled with every possible soft drink flavor you can imagine mixed together, but also the aforementioned free, hot tea, with two different (and rotating) flavors always available. I’ve enjoyed the pineapple-coconut, mint basil and even jasmine green tea to date and look forward to trying other flavors soon. Other organic teas are available for sale, but taste the free stuff first.

I’m even impressed with Wok Chi’s new honey cruller dessert and creamy vanilla ice cream, a true bargain at just $1.

Wok Chi also has a Loyalty Club, so you (and I) can earn rewards points every time you dine there. Wok Chi also offers delivery of your food through GrubHub, Mobile Meals and Uber Eats.

Fast, fun and delicious make for a really nice combination at Wok Chi!

  Wok Chi of Wesley Chapel is located at 28152 Paseo Dr., in the Shops at Wiregrass. Or, visit 2420 W. Brandon Blvd. in the Regency Square shopping center in Brandon. For info, call (813) 862-2315 or visit WokChi.com.

Hailey’s Voice of Hope Looks To Shine A Light

For Lisa Acierno, coping with the loss of her daughter is still a daily struggle.

“I’m trying every day to get through the day,” she says.

Hailey, who was a 17-year-old student at Wharton High, went missing from her Arbor Greene home on March 28.

A Facebook page was launched, called “Find Hailey Acierno,” and hundreds of people joined. They shared encouragement, ideas and tips. They offered love and support to Hailey’s family in a time of uncertainty.

They also shared information about when searches for Hailey were being organized. Many even showed up to comb Flatwoods Park to look for her.

On April 7, Lisa’s worst fears came true. After those volunteers, law enforcement and other agencies had spent days searching, Hailey’s body was found.

The Facebook group’s name was changed to “In Memory of Hailey Acierno,” and those same members again offered encouragement, support and love.

They also asked, “What can we do?”

The number of people joining the page, reaching out to the family and offering to help continued to grow.

The family of Hailey Acierno has launched a nonprofit foundation, Hailey’s Voice of Hope, online at HaileysVoice.com, where you can support awareness and services for those who struggle with mental health by purchasing items (pictured) or volunteering your time.

In her grief, Lisa began to dream of honoring Hailey by making a difference for those people who struggle with mental illness, as her daughter did.

“Let’s get rid of the stigma,” Lisa says. “During the search for Hailey, we were afraid of people’s opinions if we said what medications she was on, but that’s got to quit. People who are mentally ill didn’t do anything to choose this any more than someone with cancer or diabetes chooses those illnesses. They don’t want it.”

Lisa decided to start a foundation. She, her husband Chris, and adult sons Ryan and Josh make up the foundation’s board. They’ve applied for 501c3 status to be recognized as a registered nonprofit organization.

They reached out to the Facebook group to name the foundation, and they have changed the name once more. It’s now “Hailey’s Voice of Hope.”

Right now, Lisa says she doesn’t know exactly what her foundation intends to accomplish. She knows she wants to do something to act on the hundreds of offers of help that people continue to give her.

Lisa says changes are needed. For example, she says mental health services in our area aren’t available the way they should be.

“A perfect example was two years ago, when Hailey was being discharged from a residential program because insurance said she no longer needed to be there,” Lisa says. “They would pay for a partial outpatient program, but there isn’t one in Hillsborough County. She was basically kicked out of a residential facility and sent to something that didn’t exist.”

Volunteer Meeting Successful

Lisa organized a volunteer meeting, asking the supporters from her Facebook page — and the rest of the community — to show up for a town-hall type gathering on Saturday, August 12, at the Arbor Greene clubhouse off Cross Creek Blvd., giving everyone (even those who aren’t Arbor Greene residents) an opportunity to discuss how to raise money for the foundation, and what people can do to support needed mental health services in our community. 

She’s thinking of starting a letter-writing campaign to the Florida legislature. With 3,500 members on the Facebook page, maybe one of those volunteers could craft a letter. If Lisa posts a request to the Hailey’s Voice of Hope Facebook page, she hopes that maybe 500 or 1,000 people would copy that letter and send it, and get some attention for the cause.

Or, maybe the foundation could organize something she calls “Hailey’s Ride,” to help families get their children to available services, which is sometimes impossible for working parents who would need to take hours off from work to leave, pick up their kids, take them where they need to go, drop them off back at home or school, and go back to work.

Lisa is thinking even bigger, too.

“My ultimate dream is ‘Hailey’s House,’” Lisa says. “Somewhere kids could go after school, not to focus on their problems, but how to help them — maybe through art or music therapy — so they are learning coping skills.”

While she knows it’s a really big goal and that it ultimately might not happen, she’s not afraid to dream it.

“I keep saying that MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) was one started by one mad mother, the Susan G. Komen Foundation was started by one mad sister, and I’m a mad mom right now,” Lisa says. “It’s going to take a village to make this happen. It shouldn’t take something like this to get everyone’s attention. Hailey’s story was front page news because she was missing for so long, but there are so many families who are going through this who don’t get that kind of attention.”

She says that every day she wonders what more she could have done to help her daughter.

“Right now, we have a lot of support and so many people offering to volunteer,” Lisa says. “I just can’t sit back and do nothing.”

For more information about the foundation and its efforts, join the Facebook group, “Hailey’s Voice of Hope” or visit HaileysVoice.com.

New Tampa’s Rotary Clubs Both Step Up Their ‘Service Above Self’

New Tampa (Breakfast) Rotary president Karen Frashier, with firefighters at Station No. 20 on BBD Blvd. in Tampa Palms.

Years before I helped charter the New Tampa Noon Rotary Club — which meets every Wednesday at noon in Mulligan’s Irish Pub in the Pebble Creek Golf Club — the first Rotary Club meetings I ever attended were on Fridays at 7 a.m., in Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club (TPGCC).

I may not have been at the first meeting of the original Rotary Club of New Tampa (I may also refer to it as the NT Breakfast Rotary) which, more than 20 years later, still meets Fridays at 7 a.m. at TPGCC, but I definitely attended multiple meetings of the club that first year, when it became (and still holds the record) the largest Rotary Club ever chartered in the southeastern U.S., with more than 60 charter members.

Not only were these people tremendously energetic (e.g., they were singing songs from the Rotary Songbook, aka, “Songs From the Year of the Flood,” at 7 a.m., no less, which was not particularly appealing to me) and dedicated to Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self,” it also brought in amazing guest speakers who provided me with many of my biggest news stories back when there was a lot less news to write about that wasn’t road- or school- or development-related.

Rotary District 6890 Governor Tom Wagner (l.) and New Tampa Noon Rotary president Vinnie Kudva.

About a dozen years ago, I helped bring together a group of like-minded people who also wanted to be Rotarians — and who were more available for a lunch-time weekly meeting — at the old Circles New Tampa Bistro in Pebble Creek. It was a much smaller group — I think we chartered with 18-20 members — but we became like a new family — and quite a few of the original club members (and several who joined within the first couple of years) are still members today.

Rotary International, the parent organization which has all but eradicated polio from the world (with only eight new cases announced in 2016, all in Pakistan and Afghanistan), is the largest service organization on Earth, with tens of thousands of clubs and more than 1.2 million members worldwide.

Those numbers give local Rotary clubs, which are grouped together in districts, a lot of ability to serve not only their local communities, but to do service projects around the world.

Sophia Contino and Pasco Sheriff’s Deputies receive a donation from Frashier and New Tampa Rotary past president Brice Wolford.

Despite their differences in size, both clubs truly embody the spirit of Rotary. The Breakfast Rotary’s sheer numbers (with around 70 members today) allow the club to take on major service projects — like building a playground at Rotary’s Camp Florida in Brandon, humanitarian trips to Costa Rica and Honduras, helping to put on the Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot 5K race and taking over as the host organization for the rejuvenated Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel — and donating tens of thousands of dollars per year.

Although I mentioned in our last issue that the Breakfast Rotary honored me for helping make sure the Taste was a success this year, I neglected to tell you that on June 30 (the day I got engaged), the club donated more than $44,000 to 23 different nonprofit organizations, everything from the New Tampa Relay for Life and the March of Dimes to Sophia’s Lemonade Stand to benefit the Pasco Sheriff’s Charities, Inc. As outgoing president Brice Wolford handed the gavel over to 2017-18 president and 2017 Taste event chair Karen Frashier, New Tampa’s original Rotary Club is still vibrant and will continue to be ingrained in the fabric of the New Tampa community.

For the complete list of organizations the club helped this year and more information, please visit NewTampaRotary.org. 

But, before you make the assumption that small cannot be mighty, consider this: the NT Noon Rotary Club won the District 6890 Membership award by growing from fewer than 20 to  26 members, and has not only hosted another successful annual bike ride through Flatwoods Park, but also been able to provide international service projects in 2017-18 club president Belvai “Vinnie” Kudva’s native India, Nepal and Kenya.

Many of our club members, myself included, couldn’t understand how we could do so much good with such a small club, but current District Governor Tom Wagner explained when he visited our Aug. 2 meeting that Vinnie, “knows more about how to access Global and Local District grant money from the Rotary Foundation in order to fund important service projects than just about anyone.” Small but mighty, indeed.

For more information about the New Tampa Noon Rotary, search “New Tampa Noon Rotary” on Facebook.Â