Medicare & Health Care Insurance Help From Bleu Sky’s Insurance Solutions 

Chris Assefa, the founder of Bleu Sky’s Insurance Solutions, has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry and helps her clients (right) navigate the complexities of Medicare & health insurance. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

Chris Assefa has been in the insurance industry for more than 20 years, and one thing she knows for sure is that insurance — especially when it comes to health insurance and Medicare — can be very confusing for those without her experience. 

“Our mantra is helping, resolving and relieving one person at a time,” she says. 

Chris, a former Wesley Chapel resident, founded Bleu Sky’s Insurance Solutions in 2019. 

She is an insurance broker whose license, regulated by the Florida Department of Finance, allows her to sell life insurance, health insurance and variable annuities anywhere in the state. She also is licensed in Georgia and New York. 

While her license allows her to do many things, she chooses to focus on Medicare and private health care plans. 

Chris says she currently spends most of her time educating people about Medicare. 

“What does it mean to have Medicare?,” she asks. “What are the different parts, what do they cover and what do they not cover? And, what are your options if you don’t stay on just original Medicare?” 

She says sometimes people think they can figure all of this out on their own, but she says it’s really too confusing and things change too often for someone to try to navigate the Medicare system without objective, professional help. 

In fact, she says that some of the confusion comes from the abundant commercials and other marketing tactics that try to convince people to choose one Medicare plan over another. 

Chris’s advice is to go to an insurance broker who is unbiased and knowledgeable in helping you choose the plan that will be best for you. 

“You need someone familiar with the territory and the landscape,” she says. 

She would love for you to consider picking up the phone to give her a call. 

“It doesn’t matter to me which carrier or plan you go with,” Chris explains. “I’m a consultant who can help you figure out which of the carriers and products can best meet your needs.” 

She works to build long-term relationships with her clients so that, year after year, when the open enrollment period comes along, she can help each person choose the exact product that’s best for them at that time, too. 

At each point, people have different needs, and the plans from carriers such as Florida Blue, Humana, Cigna, United Healthcare and others will change, as well. 

Getting Started Here 

When Chris first moved to Florida from New York, she moved to Wesley Chapel and lived in Lexington Oaks. She’s still close with several neighbors there, who are friends and also refer their friends to her. 

That’s how Wesley Chapel resident Laura Margoli first met Chris. 

“When I retired from banking last year, I called Chris to help me with my Medicare,” says Laura. “It’s very confusing, even for an educated person, because there’s so much going on, so many options and so many things to consider.” 

Laura says she has been impressed with Chris’s expertise and how well she explains information. 

“She also calls back to make sure you understand and see if you need anything else,” Laura says. “It’s old school-style customer service. And, she’s friendly and has a great personality.” 

Laura also says that Chris is very accommodating and is happy to come to you for appointments. 

Chris says that’s her typical way of meeting with clients. She’ll meet you in your home or wherever is most convenient for you, although she’s happy to have you come to her office in West Tampa, if that’s what you prefer. 

Chris says that giving back to the West Tampa community, which has a lot of needs, is very important to her. 

“I do a monthly food pantry here,” she says. She also is registered as an “access partner” through the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), so that members of the community can make an appointment for her to help them apply for food stamps and Medicaid. 

Understanding Medicare 

Medicare is typically for those ages 65 years old or older, as well as for those who have a disability. 

Chris says that you shouldn’t wait until you turn 65 to really learn about how Medicare works. 

“You want to be educated before, when you’re about 63,” she says. “Many people believe they’re going to have comprehensive coverage, but that’s not (always) the truth.” 

The open enrollment period for Medicare ended Dec. 7, and the policies become effective in January. At that time, there is another period where changes can be made under the “Medicare Advantage” open enrollment period. 

Chris says that you can call her anytime, not just during open enrollment. 

“Maybe I can help you, maybe I can’t,” she says, “but I’m still happy to give you advice.” 

Then, whenever it is time to make a change, she’ll know what you need and will be able to get you in the right plan with the right carrier. 

Health Care 

There are many people who don’t qualify for Medicare but who still need health insurance. While some receive insurance through their employers, anyone who is self-employed or needs to purchase their own insurance can do so with the help of Bleu Sky’s Insurance Solutions. 

Chris says these plans go by many names, including Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans, Obamacare, or Health Insurance Marketplace. 

All these names refer to the same plans, which are regulated by the federal government. 

“Especially if you’re self-employed, let’s have that conversation to give you peace of mind,” says Chris. “You just never know what you might learn.” 

She says the open enrollment period for these plans ends January 15. 

“There’s no cost to an individual to talk with me,” Chris explains. “And every conversation I have with people shows them — and me — that they need (someone like) me.” 

Laura agrees. 

“Chris is super knowledgeable,” Laura says. “She would have made a great teacher. I highly recommend her.” 

For more info about Bleu Sky’s Insurance Solutions, visit BleuSkysInsurance.com, call Chris at (813) 360-1884.

‘Holiday Baking Championship’ Finalist Opens Flamingo Donuts In The Chap 

Sarah Walker’s Flamingo Donuts are huge & come in a variety of unique flavors. (photo by Andrea Radford Photography [@andrearadfordphotography]) 

On Thursdays, when Sarah Wallace is pulling an all-nighter making donuts so they will be fresh for her customers the next morning, she sometimes hears the Food Network judges’ voices in her head. 

“The biggest thing is you have to deliver flavor,” she says. “If it’s honey lavender crĂšme brĂ»lĂ©e, for example, the judges better taste the honey and the lavender.” 

So, when she comes up with ideas for her Flamingo Donuts — a business she launched in Wesley Chapel just a couple of months ago — she’s always thinking about how to be sure the flavor is strong enough to come through on the donut itself. 

That’s just one of the lessons she has learned from her time on “Holiday Baking Championship” and other Food Network shows. 

After making it all the way to the finals of the “Holiday Baking Championship” (Season 6), which aired in 2019, she has participated in other Food Network shows, too. She served as a judge on “Buddy vs. Duff” (Season 3) and most recently was a contestant on “Guy’s Grocery Games” (Season 31). 

As a contestant on “Holiday Baking Championship,” Sarah jumped at the chance to test her skills on the show just two weeks after her wedding. At the time, she was the general manager of the Magnolia Bakery in Boston. 

She told her job she didn’t know how long she’d be gone. 

She also told her new husband she was sorry they had to postpone their honeymoon. It didn’t faze him, though. 

“It’s the Food Network,” she says Daniel told her. “If the Food Network calls, you go.” 

Sarah was a finalist on the Holiday Baking Championship in 2019. (photo courtesy of Food Network) 

So she did, and made it all the way to the final round, where she competed with two other bakers. Her plaid cake ultimately came up just shy of the big win. 

Four years later, Sarah and her husband, Daniel Belisle, have moved to Wesley Chapel to be closer to her parents and other family members. 

The couple now lives in Union Park and are parents to Jonah, age two, and four-month-old Jude. Sarah sometimes uses Belisle as her last name. 

She calls donuts “the love of her life,” even though her early career revolved around cakes. She says if she ever had a hard day at Magnolia Bakery, like if she had to fire someone, she would walk down to nearby Union Square Donuts and cheer herself up with a donut. 

“They had this brown butter hazelnut donut that was the best donut I’ve ever had in my entire life,” Sarah says. 

When Magnolia had to shut its doors during the pandemic and didn’t know if it would reopen, Sarah was thrilled to land a new job as the executive pastry chef for Union Square Donuts. 

“I made 238 different donuts during my time with them,” says Sarah. 

She calls donuts a fun challenge, where she tries to reimagine any and every kind of dessert. 

Sarah says donuts are just as versatile as a cake in that she can flavor the batter, flavor the glaze, and garnish with any topping or decoration she can imagine. 

“There are so many different ways to pack flavor into a donut,” she says. “And it’s better than a cake because it’s deep fried.” 

She says it was “excruciating” to leave what she calls her dream job with Union Square to move to Florida. 

“I loved my team,” she says, “and we made the best donuts in Boston.” 

But, Sarah and Daniel made the decision to move to Wesley Chapel to raise their family. When they arrived, they embarked on something of a donut tour, finding all the places they could, evaluating Tampa’s “donut game.” 

“We tried a lot of mini donuts, cake donuts, donuts made using a depositor, but there were no giant, yeasted artisan donuts,” she says. 

She figured, “If anyone’s going to bring those donuts here, it’s got to be me.” 

Sarah says she named her business Flamingo Donuts because she wanted a symbol that reminds people of Tampa without using the name. Her mom is something of a flamingo collector (“her whole house is bejeweled flamingoes,” she says) and when Sarah saw Phoebe, the giant flamingo at Tampa International Airport, she knew it was the perfect symbol for her new business. 

With the name chosen, Sarah says she set out to bring “the biggest, most beautiful donuts people are ever going to see” to Wesley Chapel. 

“Every donut is an experience,” she says. “I’m taking a donut and elevating it.” 

She says everything is made from scratch, every dough and every topping, and nothing is made ahead of time. 

For now, Sarah rents a commercial kitchen and works overnight to ensure her donuts are fresh. 

Sarah sells her Flamingo Donuts at the Market Elaine at The Grove. (Photo by Andrea Radford Photography) 

Flamingo Donuts are delivered every Friday morning to The Bean Bar Co. in Tampa Palms (17018 Palm Pointe Dr., near Cali restaurant). Sarah also sells them at the Market Elaine at the Grove the first Friday of every month (the next one is Jan. 5) and at the Ybor City Saturday Market (1901 N 19th St.) every Saturday. She also recently added the Tampa Bay Markets’ Fresh Market at the Shops at Wiregrass the first Saturday of every month and the Second Sunday Harvest Market at The Grove. 

“When I show up at the market with 200 donuts, it’s kind of like putting on a show,” she says. “I want to tell people, ‘I hand made every donut here for you.’” 

She says her favorite thing is when someone takes a donut and she can see the look on their face when they realize it’s unlike any donut they’ve ever had before. 

“I had a guy recently who took a bite and his eyebrows just shot up,” she says. 

“I hadn’t slept in two days but it was totally worth it to see his face when he bit into that donut.” 

And she is constantly trying to outdo herself. “I need to step it up a notch,” she says, “just like when I was trying to beat out nine other bakers.” 

For example, everyone has to have a glazed donut, she says, but why would someone choose hers? Sarah explains that most glazed donuts are honey-based. 

“I found wildflower honey and decided to add a fondant black-eyed Susan,” she says. “Now I’m giving this big, giant brioche-y donut, covered in wildflower honey glaze, a handmade wildflower made of sugar. So, I still have the classics that people look for, but elevated in a different way.” 

Another example is her “South of Boston CrĂšme” donut, which has more of a pudding filling than just pastry crĂšme, topped with a dark chocolate glaze. 

Her holiday flavors — available at the markets in December — include chocolate peppermint brownie batter (peppermint brownie batter filling, chocolate glaze, topped with candy cane bits), brown butter pecan praline (nutty brown butter glaze covered with brown sugar pecan praline crumbles), eggnog float (a little gingerbread man in the middle with his arms behind his head who looks like he’s floating on a donut inner tube), and traditional strawberry sufganiyot for Hanukkah. 

As the holidays approach, Sarah and her family have developed a somewhat unusual twist on a Christmas tradition. 

“We watch ‘Home Alone,’ ‘Die Hard,’ and my season of ‘Holiday Baking Championship,’” she laughs. 

You can find Flamingo Donuts at the markets mentioned above or by visiting her Flamingo-Donuts.com website or on Instagram @eatflamingodonuts and Facebook @flamingodonuts. 

Metropolitan Ministries Tent At St. James Church Is A 20-Year Holiday Tradition 

The Metropolitan Ministries Donation Tent at St. James United Methodist Church on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Tampa Palms will accept food, gift, cash and other donations to help people in need between 10 a.m.-3 p.m. every day until Tuesday, December 21. 

For 20 years, St. James United Methodist Church in Tampa Palms has opened a satellite tent of Metropolitan Ministries to collect donations of food and toys for families whose struggles are magnified at this time of year. 

The tent provides a convenient way for New Tampa residents to provide donations that directly impact people in the Tampa Bay area who would otherwise not have a holiday meal or gifts. 

The tent officially opened this year on Nov. 5, in advance of Thanksgiving, with a ceremony led by St. James’ Lead Pastor, Tony Fotsch. It closed between Thanksgiving and Dec. 3, and is now open to accept donations every day, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., through Tuesday, December 21. 

“While the tent is primarily a way to give to those in our community who benefit from the donations of food and toys,” says Pastor Fotsch, “we often hear from our volunteers that it is a blessing for them to be a part of this, and we believe that those who provide the generous gifts are positively affected, as well.” 

The tent makes it easy for locals to drive through the parking lot and simply drop off any goods they would like to donate, without ever leaving their cars. 

Unwrapped toys for any kids, ages newborn to 18, are gratefully accepted. Items for teenagers are especially needed. For gift ideas, visit metro-min.org/holiday-central. 

Food items also are needed to make a complete “Box of Hope.” A complete box includes turkey, ham or chicken, cereal, canned yams, bagged or boxed stuffing, cranberry sauce, bagged or canned beans, soup, rice, boxed or canned potatoes, boxed macaroni & cheese, gravy packet or cans, dessert mix, canned fruit and canned vegetables. 

People can drop off any or all items on the list at the tent, where volunteers sort donations into a complete box that is prepared for a family to enjoy for Christmas (since Thanksgiving is now over). 

Volunteers also are needed to accept donations, sort them and load them up to be delivered to the main Metropolitan Ministries tent in downtown Tampa, where families who have been referred from agencies who help those in need come to pick up the food and choose gifts for their children. 

Gift cards and cash donations also are graciously accepted. 

Last year alone, the New Tampa tent at St. James Church collected a total of 507 turkeys and hams, plus an additional 19,459 pounds of food, to make 989 “Boxes of Hope.” It also received 2,171 toys and $645 in gift cards. 

“It’s a testament to our community that people give so generously,” says Pastor Fotsch. 

At the church, Melissa Ewen, who serves as director of fellowship and special connections, coordinates the New Tampa tent logistics and serves as St. James’ liaison to Metropolitan Ministries. 

“We are thrilled to continue our long-standing partnership with Metro Ministries,” says Ewen, who explains that it fits with the church’s mission to serve the spiritual, emotional and social needs of its members and the greater Tampa area, including its vulnerable populations. “We’re so grateful for this opportunity to come together to make a difference in our community during this holiday season.” 

For more information about how to donate or volunteer, please contact the church by emailing info@stjamestampa.org or visit StJamesTampa.org.state. 

Shred360 Is Great, Both For Your Business & The Community! 

U.S. Army veteran Cam Caudle has been a franchise owner of Shred360 since 2015. (All photos provided by Shred360)

When Cam Caudle joined the U.S. Army after his college graduation in 1991, he didn’t want to be just an everyday soldier. He wanted to go above and beyond, so he set his goal high and became an Army Ranger. 

Now, as the franchise owner of Shred360, based in Wesley Chapel, he has been carrying that desire to reach higher into the business world. 

“We take a lot of pride in doing a great job for people and doing more than is expected of us,” Cam says. “People are happy to see us arrive, and my guys are phenomenal, so (our customers are) happy when we’re done, too.” 

Cam started his business in 2015 when his friends and fellow military veterans wanted to expand their South Carolina-based document-shredding business into Florida. He agreed to start a franchise in Wesley Chapel, where he lives. The franchise model hasn’t expanded, but Cam’s business surely has. 

Back then, his company was just him and one truck. Now, he has five trucks and a staff of three full-time drivers, a couple of part time drivers and a sales director, and the business covers the entire Tampa Bay area and then some — north to Gainesville, south to Port Charlotte, and east to Orlando. 

Shred360 provides primarily on-site document shredding and hard drive destruction for both businesses and individuals. 

Although Shred360 does have a drop-off option, Cam says, “Most of the time, we go to wherever the material is, whether that’s a home, business, or storage unit. From a security standpoint, it’s better that people can watch their documents be destroyed right in front of them.” He adds that although the destruction happens inside the truck, “it is visible on a screen.” 

When you utilize Shred360’s shredding service, your documents are loaded into a bin and the shredding machine allows you to see them destroyed. 

He also says that the alternatives to on-site shredding are far from ideal. You can either use a home office shredder, which is cumbersome and time consuming, or drop documents off at a store, where you’re often leaving them in a bin — for who knows how long and without any idea of who will have access to them until they are destroyed. 

Karen Wallace is practice administrator for Friendly Smiles Dental Care, with four locations in the Tampa area. She says she was one of Shred360’s first customers. 

“We needed an alternative to having shredders in our office,” Wallace says. “It was so loud and disruptive, and not really sufficient for the amount of paper we have to destroy, due to HIPAA regulations.” 

She adds that she’s continued to work with Shred360 because of Cam and the way he runs the company. 

“In business, it’s so refreshing to meet someone like him,” Karen says. “I’ve always been so impressed. If one of his guys is out for some reason, he comes out, driving the truck (himself).” 

She calls Cam the “consummate professional” and says everyone he hires follows in his footsteps. 

“When they come in, they’re quiet, they don’t interrupt any work, they say ‘hi’ politely and depart,” she says. “It’s like white glove service.” 

Medical offices such as Karen’s, along with law firms, credit unions, hospitals and other businesses with a lot of records that need to be destroyed, have ongoing service with Shred360, where documents are picked up on a regular basis, anywhere from once a week to once every twelve weeks. 

The other service is a one-time purge, although Cam says many of his clients purge again at a later date. 

Shred360 can accommodate everyone from residential customers with a few boxes to commercial customers with a full warehouse — and pretty much anything in between. 

“In the time it takes an employee to shred a box of documents at an office shredder,” Cam says, “we can do 250 pounds.” 

Before starting Shred360, Cam says he sold all kinds of things, from furniture to medical equipment, but he says none of those jobs were exactly the right fit. 

“I love what I do now,” he says. 

He appreciates the opportunity to make his customers happy — and you can’t argue with his results —of 630 Google reviews, 628 are five stars (out of five), and he insists that the two four-star reviews his business has received— from eight and five years ago, respectively — should have been five stars, too. 

Giving Back 
When Shred360 hosts a charity shredding event, you line up in your car, your documents are shredded and you make a donation to the event’s selected charity. 

Cam also sees his business as a way to both give back to the community and set an example for his children and stepchildren. He and Ines, his wife of three years, have five children between the two of them. 

Shred360 does a charitable event every month, where they set up like a drive through lane at a particular location. People pull up next to the truck, stay in their car, have their documents shredded while they wait, and then make a donation to the selected charity. 

In nine years, Cam says Shred360 has raised more than $70,000 for organizations that are doing good things in the community, including the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Community Food Pantry, and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. 

“These events are important for serving the community where I live,” he says, “We’re busy, so sometimes it’s hard to fit those in, but they’re important, so we still do them.” 

To find out about upcoming charity shredding events, visit Shred360.com/Tampa or “Shred360Tampa” on Facebook. 

Cam also has been a long-time member of the Rotary Club of New Tampa, which meets on Friday mornings at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club, and in 2021, he was one of the co-founders (and is still a Board member) of the New Tampa Rotary’s After Hours Satellite Club. He says that Rotary gives him another outlet to volunteer, support the community, and show his kids the importance of serving others. 

It goes back to those early lessons he learned in the Army. He started active duty two weeks after graduating from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, in 1991 on a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship, and stayed in active duty until 1996. 

“I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now, if not for the Army,”Cam says. Not only is that where he met the owners of Shred360, but also because of the values that have carried over from that experience to his business. 

“Doing things with integrity, doing more than what’s expected,” he says, “My motto is. ‘When you think you’ve done enough, do more./” 

He’s proud that Shred360 has won “Business of the Year” through the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce and that he has also been honored as its volunteer of the year. 

For a price quote on a one-time purge of documents for your home or business, or if you would like information about setting up ongoing service, call Shred360 at (813) 944- 2223, visit Shred360.com/Tampa. 

Tampa Fire Rescue Firefighters Teach Fire Safety To Primrose School Students 

Firefighters from Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 20 captivated Primrose School at Tampa Palms students with their fire safety presentation during National Fire Prevention Week. (All photos provided by Primrose School at Tampa Palms)

In the U.S., National Fire Prevention Week was first proclaimed by President Calvin Coolidge in 1925, and nearly 100 years later, it’s still recognized and celebrated. 

Fire Prevention Week was the backdrop for preschoolers at the Primrose School of Tampa Palms to receive some of their first lessons in fire safety. 

The firefighters from Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 20, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. just south of I-75, visited the school to teach kids important lessons. 

The preschoolers learned what the Fire Rescue department does, what equipment firefighters use and the importance of their uniforms. The firefighters also demonstrated how to “stop, drop, and roll” in case of a fire. 

And, perhaps most fun of all for the kids was that they were able to hold the fire hose and even go inside the fire truck. 

The Tampa Fire Rescue Department provides education as an important part of its community services. 

If your school or community organization wants to request a presentation or visit a fire station, start online at Tampa.gov/fire-rescue-public-education/contact-us. 

The Primrose School students and their teachers clearly enjoyed their time learning about fire safety.