Congratulations, Hope! Chamber President Earns Prestigious Title! 

Congrats, Hope! (Photo by Matt Warticki)

As I’ve written multiple times previously, North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) president & CEO Hope Kennedy and I didn’t know each other at all when she moved here from Pensacola nearly 14 years ago to take over the reins at what was then called the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber (which later became the NTBC under her leadership). 

But since then, Jannah and I have both been proud to say that we have considered Hope to be among our closest friends. As the publisher and editor of this publication the entire time she’s had her job, I couldn’t help but interact with Hope on a regular basis and what I have always found her to be is a consummate professional who took over a floundering organization and transformed it into a true regional powerhouse. In addition to her Chamber duties, Hope has served on the Boards of Directors of local hospitals and business organizations and has been asked to speak on behalf of her Chamber and the North Tampa Bay community at the openings of too many development projects to mention them all here. 

But, as a few short weeks ago, Hope now has national credentials to go along with the ever-growing influence she has earned locally. 

At the 2025 Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) conference in Philadelphia from July 22-25, Hope was proud to be given the title of CCE — or Certified Chamber Executive — which fewer than 3% of the leaders of the 7,500+ Chambers of Commerce in the U.S. have earned. 

“CCE isn’t an honorary title or an award,” Hope says. “To earn the CCE credentials, you have to go through an extensive application process and everything about your Chamber is put under a microscope — from financials to accomplishments. You have to have held your position for at least seven years and you have to be sponsored by another CCE in order to even be considered (Hope was mentored by Tampa Bay Chamber president & CEO Bob Rohrlack). It’s a pretty big deal for both me and our Chamber.” 

Hope also had to submit multiple essays, including one about a major project she’s proud of and she wrote about helping what is now called the Greater Pasco Chamber (GPCC) — which previously had been a competitor of the NTBC — recover from nearly going out of business. Hope’s NTBC Board allowed her to also take over the GPCC leadership on an interim basis, in order to right what otherwise likely would have been a sinking ship — even though there were some GPCC Board members at the time who didn’t want Hope to be the one helping them. 

Today, the NTBC and GPCC work hand-in-hand and Hope deserves much of the credit for keeping that one-time rival afloat. 

She was one of 26 new CCEs named at the 2025 National ACCE Conference — the largest-ever group to receive those credentials at the same time — but that doesn’t diminish in any way her accomplishment. “Earning the CCE designation means that I’ve reached the absolute top of my profession,” Hope says. “It was a lot of hard work, to get here, but it was definitely well worth it!” 

So, What About WC Incorporation? 

If you remember, back in March, we reported that Hope and her NTBC Board had decided to lead a group of local business owners who wanted to look into the possibility of Wesley Chapel incorporating as its own city, with the goal of ensuring that the residents and businesses located in the area had their own local government overseeing future development and other decisions and to find out if the idea was even economically or logistically feasible. 

Through its nonprofit Foundation, the Chamber began asking for donations from individuals and businesses to fund two $75,000 studies — the first to determine the economic impact of the area known as Wesley Chapel and the other, if the results of the first study warranted moving forward, an incorporation feasibility study. 

However, the possible start of the first study was put on hold when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed ending property taxes, which would have made incorporation a lot more difficult to achieve. But, the State Legislature rejected the governor’s idea when its session ended in June. 

“That at least revived the idea of exploring Wesley Chapel incorporation,” Hope says. “We have restarted our fund-raising efforts, so anyone who wants to make a tax-deductible donation for the study (or if you have questions about it) should call the Chamber office at (813) 994-8534.” 

“We hadn’t actually started collecting any money before,” Hope says. “But, we did have commitments for about a third of the amount needed for the first study.” 

Wesley Chapel Walmart Adding Gas Station; What About Sam’s Club? 

Based on the speed with which the construction is progressing, the opening of the Wesley Chapel Walmart’s gas station should only be a few months away. 
Walmart Fuel Under Construction 

The massive banner on the construction fence couldn’t be any less subtle — “COMING SOON, YOUR NEW WALMART FUEL STATION” (photo). 

The underutilized northeast portion of the Wesley Chapel Walmart’s parking lot (directly behind Chase Bank) on S.R. 54 (east of Bruce B. Downs Blvd., or BBD) is being transformed into the next useful feature of the popular store. 

Final site plan revisions for the gas station addition were submitted to the county back in January of 2024, but nothing transpired for almost a year and a half, so it was unclear when, or even if, the station would ever come to fruition. 

That question has been answered, as the construction is now happening at breakneck speed. Walmart hadn’t even fenced the area off just a few months ago, but now, the massive fuel tanks are getting ready to be buried, the station’s canopy is about half done, and the convenience store is pretty much finished. At this pace, it appears that the new gas station, with 18 fueling positions (making it the largest such station in Wesley Chapel), will be done in a few months. 

In addition to the gas pumps, the station will feature a very tiny and interesting 440-sq.-ft. convenience store. From what we can tell from the building plan and this photo, the tiny store will have two exterior restrooms to the rear of the building, with roll-up doors on the side of the building that will protect what appears to be display doors that will open outward which will likely contain drinks and snacks. It’s unclear, however, if you will even be able to go inside the store to make your purchases or if everything will be done from the outside. We’ve never seen anything quite like it before. It’s certainly nothing like the full convenience store at the New Tampa Walmart on BBD. 

In addition to these features, the plan also proposes to add a new right turn lane into the Walmart’s northern driveway on southbound Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., which should hopefully reduce conflicts for motorists who only want to access the new gas station. 

Sam’s Club Expansion Not Happening? 

Considering that the two stores are run by the same company, is the Sam’s Club on S.R. 56 getting its desperately needed fuel expansion next? Unfortunately, it seems that it’s not likely to be happening anytime soon, as the plans for that expansion were withdrawn from the county by the developer in January of this year. 

We had previously reported — back in the summer of 2023 — that Sam’s Club representatives had met with the county to expand the store’s existing gas station from 12 fueling positions to 16, which would include adding two more fueling lanes and a redesign to make things run smoother, as the existing location and design of the station causes backups on the access roadway (which sometimes extend out onto S.R. 56) in front of the main Sam’s Club parking lot. 

Engineering plans were submitted the following year, and the county gave comments, but it appears that the plan is off the table for now. 

OddFellows Ice Cream To Open!

It had been a while since I had been to the twice-monthly Fresh Market at Wiregrass, but I decided to visit again when I saw the announcement that the not-yet-open OddFellows Ice Cream was going to be on hand at the July 19 Fresh Market, serving samples of ice cream that I had never heard of before. What do you expect from a true ice cream lover?
Well, OddFellows — which currently has four locations in New York City, where brand founder and co-owner Mohan Kumar lives, plus one in Pittsburgh, one in Woodlands, TX, four in South Korea and one in Tampa’s Hyde Park Village — definitely offers a unique and creamy twist on traditional ice cream. 


There are nine “Classic” flavors (like cookies & cream and the option I can’t wait to try, peanut butter s’mores), plus “Limited Time” flavors, like vanilla blackberry blondie, matcha strawberry, banoffee pie, miso peanut butter brownie and the Brooklyn blackout and mango sticky rice flavors Charmaine and I sampled that day — and they both had delightfully different tastes. There’s also vegan options for those of you who insist.


OddFellows’ Ian Heim (at right in photo above) didn’t know exactly when the shop will open in Wiregrass, but he said it’s expected to be by the end of this month. Keep checking our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page for updates. 
When it opens in Wiregrass, OddFellows will be located at 2001 Piazza Ave., Suite 125, next to The Living Room. For more info, visit OddFellowsIceCream.com

‘Homes For Our Troops’ Volunteer Day At Injured Marine’s Future Home 

Sgt. Christopher Lawrence & his daughter DeliaMarie (both in red) pose with several of the 100+ volunteers who helped landscape (bottom pics) their future home in Wesley Chapel. 

“We don’t have a lot of family or friends here in Florida,” said retired Marine Sgt. Christopher Lawrence during the super-hot “Volunteer Day” (July 26) at his family’s future “Homes for our Troops” (HFOT) home in Wesley Chapel, where about 10,000 sq. ft. (25 pallets) of sod was unloaded and dozens of plants were used to landscape the front and side yards at the home on Steeplechase Rd. “But today, we feel like we have a lot of new family members.” 

You could see the appreciation and joy Sgt. Lawrence, his wife Michelle (Chelley) and daughters DeliaMarie and Cristiana felt as they helped more than 100 volunteers beautify the outside of the Kent Custom Home the family expects to move into by around the end of this month. 

Sgt. Lawrence raised the HFOT flag during the volunteer event (above). 

Partner Nathan Pratt explained how to place the sod and plant the plants and said how proud he was to have two more Kent Custom Homes — for Sgt. Lawrence and Army Sgt. Quincy Lopez, who, like Sgt. Lawrence, lost his right leg to an improvised explosive device blast in Iraq. (Note-Sgt. Lopez’s Volunteer Day will be this Saturday, August 9, at 9 a.m.) — in Wesley Chapel, bringing the total Kent has specially adapted and built for Post-911 recipients designated by Homes for our Troops here in Central Florida up to nine. 

Homes for our Troops is a national 501(c) (3) military nonprofit that continues to spend 90 cents of every dollar the organization raises to build more than 400 custom homes (and growing) across the country since its inception in 2004. 

In addition to the landscaping on July 26, volunteers also sold HFOT hats and accepted cash donations to help HFOT continue to provide these homes at no cost to our severely injured military men and women. 

To make a donation or for more information about HFOT, visit hfotusa.org or call (866) 787-6877. — GN

The Lawrence family can’t wait to move into their new home. 
Nathan Pratt of Kent Custom Homes thanks the volunteers & gives them instructions. 

Metro Development & County Agree To Elam Rd. Entrance For Townhomes 

This construction entrance on Elam Rd. for a new townhome community in Epperson North is now expected to become a full entrance for townhome residents once the development has been completed, which is a compromise for those living on Abby Brooks Cir. (homes in the distance) in Epperson Ranch II. 

Although we hadn’t yet received, at our press time, confirmation that the deal has been finalized, it appears that Metro Development Group and Pasco County have come to an agreement that hopefully will help protect the safety of the residents of Abby Brooks Cir. (ABC), Lily Arbor Way and Swift Wind Dr. in the Epperson Ranch II Community Development District (CDD). 

As we reported back in May, a new development of 186 townhomes in the Epperson North CDD is slated to open adjacent to those single-family homes in the Epperson Ranch II CDD — on property that was originally intended to be a school, with an entrance on Elam Rd. 

When Pasco County rezoned the property for the townhomes, the entrance on Elam Rd., which currently is being used as a construction entrance (see photo), was eliminated, which meant the only entrance and exit to and from the new townhomnes would be from Epperson Blvd. through ABC, adding an estimated 400 daily trips through the quiet neighborhood by people who wouldn’t live in the neighborhood nor in Epperson II at all. 

A large group of concerned Epperson II residents attended the May 6 Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting to complain, and the commissioners, to their credit, agreed that not having an Elam Rd. entrance for the townhomes was a mistake. They also said, however, that they didn’t think anything could be done about it, but had the group meet with the county’s Planning Dept. director David Engel and Development Services Dept. director David Allen while the May 6 BCC meeting was still in session. Engel and Allen said they would talk to Metro to see if the developer would agree to at least allow the entrance on Elam Rd. to be built as a full second entrance/exit, as an alternative to ABC. 

On July 8, Metro VP of marketing & communications Lisa Gibbings sent me an email with the following update: 

• Construction of the Elam Rd. entrance will begin when the county completes final review and approval of the plan modification. 

• The entrance is expected to be completed at the same time as the completion of the overall townhome project, or by the end of 2025. 

• While it is currently an active construction zone, access is not permitted for use by the public until the entrance and overall townhome project have been completed. 

• To the best of our knowledge, there is no agreement in place nor one being discussed between Epperson Ranch II CDD and Epperson North CDD regarding the entrance. On May 13, 2025, the developer and Pasco County staff met with and shared the proposed (new) entrance plan to representatives of the Epperson Ranch II CDD and residents of the [Epperson II] neighborhood that attended. The proposed plan was well received, and the developer is currently working with the county for final construction plan review and approval. 

• It is our understanding that during the Epperson Ranch II CDD meeting on July 3, 2025, the Chair of the Board of Supervisors indicated the entrance road matter is essentially resolved. 

• “Metro is excited to partner with Pasco County to bring this entrance to the new townhome community within Epperson. We hope this adds another layer of convenience and safety for residents while reducing congestion within the [ABC] community.” 

The Epperson II residents would not comment until the agreement was finalized.