Fears Felt Miles Away From Parkland

Students at Wiregrass Ranch (above) were some of many in Wesley Chapel who took part in a national walkout to honor those slain at Stoneman Douglas High. (WTSP)

As students across the country react to the Valentine’s Day school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, Florida, about 13,000 people participated in Tampa’s “March For Our Lives” on March 24.

Students at schools in Wesley Chapel came out to the event, after many also attended candlelight vigils on February 19 and walk-outs on February 21, remembering and honoring the victims, while showing solidarity with those affected by the shooting and calling for changes to make schools safer.

At Cypress Creek Middle High School, a lockdown caused by an announced “active threat on campus” on March 13 inspired sophomore Brina Gutierrez to write this opinion piece for the school’s newspaper, the Cypress Creek Howler. As it turns out, there was no threat to the campus, but police responded after a student reported seeing a suspicious person walking near the school with what might be a firearm.

Here’s how one student reacted to what might have been a routine procedure just a month before (this piece has not been edited):

The way I thought I was going to react was not how I reacted.

March 13, 2018, almost exactly a month after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre occurred when 17 precious lives were lost. I was working on a memorial for the lives lost for a commemoration event our school had plans for the next day when on the intercom I heard the bone-chilling words:

Brina Gutierrez

“Teachers, we have an active threat on campus.”

My mind went blank. Panic began to overwhelm me. I wasn’t in my normal classroom, so the teacher whose room I was in rushed to make sure the door was locked, and cover the windows with paper we had just gotten twenty minutes earlier for the use of the memorial project we were working on, unaware, this was about to happen.

I could feel tears begin to rush down my face and didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t react. I didn’t know where to start or what to do. Everyone seemed to be moving sluggishly as if it were a drill. It just didn’t seem as if we were acting quickly enough. I was both mentally and physically unprepared for this such event.

The day had been normal, besides the slight chill that the air held, which was unusual from Florida’s normal weather. I had recently become more comfortable with the idea of school being safe again and suddenly, that idea shattered into a million pieces for me.

There was nothing I could do to be emotionally or physically ready for this. Time slowed down, seconds felt like minutes. My mind became slightly more coherent as I snapped into action, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I was flipping a table over to act as a barricade and shoving the usually heavy desks with such force that I’ve never had before.

After blockading the room, I immediately began texting my sister, who was in the other building. The fear I felt for her was so immensely palpable I could almost taste it. I didn’t know what was going on or if she was even alive. I didn’t know what was happening. I quickly texted her to see if she was okay and you can not imagine the relief I felt when she texted me back she was alright.

I was quickly ushered into a supply closet and in an attempt to make more room for people, I squeezed myself into a cabinet that was barely a foot high. In that room, I felt every emotion go through my body, but the most dominant was the absolute terror I felt. That terror gripped my soul. It dawned on me at that moment, I wasn’t ready to die.

I had no certainty of what the threat was, but I knew this wasn’t the way or day I wanted to go.

The moment I found out there was no active shooter, I felt like a million pounds lighter. From there, slowly the terror began to let up. Though people were returning to their normal attitudes and actions from before the lockdown, I still couldn’t fathom the idea there was even a potential threat at my school. I still can’t.

The moment I was reunited with my sister and family was a euphoric experience.

Whether or not the threat had merit or not, we need to be proactive with school safety. I can’t continue to have the fear that the place I go to ensure a good future, could also so easily end my future.

This isn’t about whether or not we should have more strict gun control laws. Take the politics out of it for a minute, what all of this is really about is us as students, and you as parents ensuring we are safe at school.

I just want to feel like I can go to school without the threat that I may not go home that same afternoon. I’m supposed to feel safe at school and somewhere along the line, someone failed us. Never again.

We got lucky this time, but what if next time we aren’t as lucky? 

Local Sharp Shooter Still Setting Records

New Tampa resident and hoops hotshot Justin Dargahi, the New Tampa Neighborhood News cover boy from June 2016 after a Guinness Book of World Records-worthy performance shooting 3-pointers, has been at it again.

Justin, who lives in Grand Hampton, is awaiting confirmation from the folks at the  Guinness Book for what would officially be his third entry into their records, this time for making the most 3-pointers in one minute, with 10.

While that number may not sound like a lot, Justin’s latest long-range conquest was a one-man, single-ball show — he had to shoot his 3-pointers, retrieve the ball himself, run back to the NBA range line, which is 23-feet, 9-inches from the hoop, and shoot it again, over and over as quickly and making as many threes as he could, for one minute.

Justin made 10 of the 11 attempts he was able to get off, tying Harlem Globetrotters Cheese Chisholm and Ant Atkinson for the single-ball record.

Both Globetrotters got off 12 shots in 60 seconds, making 10.

“What stinks is the five times I tried it, I was able to get off 12 shots (but didn’t make 10),” Justin says. “But the last time, I only got off 11.”

Justin, who coaches the girls basketball team at Gaither High in Carrollwood, shot his threes from the corner, which he thought gave him a better chance to get off more shots. He tied the record six weeks ago, and is waiting for the official certification from the Guinness Book of World Records.

His first entry, which we profiled in 2016, was for making 26 three-pointers from NBA range in one minute (where unlike his latest feat, the balls were fed to him).

A year later, Justin teamed up with former Florida Gator guard Teddy Dupay to set the Guinness Book of World Records mark for the most 3-pointers made in a minute by a tandem, with 23.

Dupay was the head coach of Cambridge Christian in Tampa, Justin’s alma mater (he says he still shows up every Saturday morning for alumni pick-up basketball games), when the two met. He and Dupay struck up a conversation about shooting and decided to try for the record, which requires the tandem to alternate three-point shots.

It took only five minutes to break the record.

The previous record holders were Chisholm and Atkinson with 22. And before that? NBA superstars Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant, who set the record of 15 at the NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles on February 19, 2011. — JCC

Edward Jones Financial Services Wants To Help You Get Retirement-Ready

Financial advisor William Morales, AAMS (Accredited Asset Management Specialist), and branch office administrator Beth Ramirez make up the Edward Jones Financial Services team in the Windfair Professional Center, located across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC).

Morales has been serving clients in this location since 2012, when he closed his Tampa Palms office and moved it to Wesley Chapel. He joined Edward Jones in 2008.

“I always wanted a Wesley Chapel branch,” says Morales, who has lived in Meadow Pointe with his wife for 20 years, where they raised two daughters, and where he now serves his neighbors.

“We are a full-service agency, and I wear many different hats,” he explains. “When I work with clients, I may serve as their stock broker, their insurance agent and their bond dealer. At its core, my work is as a financial planner.”

He explains that he helps his clients in any of five different core areas, depending upon each client’s stage of life and their individual needs:

• Planning for a comfortable retirement (for those who are currently working)

• Enjoying retirement (for those who have already retired)

• Paying for education

• Preparing for the unexpected

• Saving money on taxes

A Little History

Founded in 1922, Edward Jones has grown to be the largest financial services firm in the industry, with 16,000 financial advisors and 14,000 branches, serving more than 7 million households.

Morales explains that Edward Jones, which is headquartered in St. Louis, MO, is different than other financial firms, as it is not a publicly traded company itself, and has no Board of Directors and no shareholders. Therefore, Morales says, his singular focus can be on serving his clients. All 14,000 Edward Jones branches throughout the U.S. and Canada are small offices located in the communities where the financial advisors live and serve.

Morales works with his clients through a five-step process, starting with “Where am I today?” and “Where would I like to be?” Then, he says, the next steps — “Can I get there?” and “How do I get there?” — are his job. Once he’s worked with you through those steps, Morales says he continues to advise each client to determine, “How can I stay on track?”

“I take care of financial affairs for a select group of families in our area,” he says, “with about half of my clients working families, and the other half being already retired.”

He says this “select” group of both working families and retirees is limited not by any particular criteria, but because he limits himself to maintaining a small group of clients so that he can manage all of their needs well.

“If we try to be everything to everyone, we lose that personal touch,” Morales says. “It makes it tough to deliver the same level of service.”

He says the most important thing to do when you’re looking for a financial advisor is to find someone you feel confident in that you hopefully will want to work with for the rest of your life.

“(Your financial advisor) has to be someone you like, someone who makes you feel comfortable and someone you can trust,” he says.

Satisfied Customers

John and Debbie Engel are Wesley Chapel residents who have been working with Morales for about four years.

“Our experience has been fabulous,” says Debbie. “He’s always available. He’s extremely smart, very passionate, very caring, and he’s always there (for us).”

She adds that Morales never makes her feel rushed, and always spends time answering all of her questions. “Every question my husband and I have ever had has been answered,” Debbie says. “There were issues we didn’t understand, so we asked questions, and he gave us a very explicit explanation. I feel very safe and at-home there, like I could ask him anything.”

Debbie also explains that, “Our entire portfolio for retirement is with Edward Jones, including our investments, assets, bonds, annuities, 401ks, IRAs…our whole life, and I feel very comfortable with that.”

Morales says the way he approaches his clients is known as the Edward Jones “value proposition.”

He says, “There’s nothing more important to us than understanding what’s important to you, using an established process to help you build personalized strategies to achieve your goals, and partnering together with you throughout your life to keep you on track.”

Morales explains that a first-time appointment with him is similar to visiting a new doctor. “I’m going to ask you a lot of personal questions, so I can really understand what’s going on with you financially,” he says, adding that he also uses financial questionnaires and conversation to help determine his clients’ needs.

Payment Options

Once someone becomes Morales’ customer, they can choose to pay a flat annual fee for Edward Jones to manage all of their assets. The more traditional method is where Morales receives his payment from the mutual funds, insurance policies and other investments he sells.

“Another thing that makes us unique from our competition is that there are no Edward Jones investments to sell,” says Morales. “We sell the products of all the other companies, such as Fidelity, for the same cost to you as if you bought directly from them.”

Morales recommends working with a large firm, such as Edward Jones, “because the big firms have oversight. Unlike independent financial planners who don’t work for a larger company, Edward Jones has measures in place to watch what I do.”

He adds, “My job is relationship-driven. I have to do the ‘nerd work’ and crunch the numbers, but most of what I do is serve my clients, and there’s no cost for my advice.”

Before joining Edward Jones, Morales was president of a mortgage company in New Tampa and served six years in the U.S. Army Ordinance Corps, spending four years stationed in and around Kuwait. Originally from New York City, he and his family moved to Tampa, where he graduated from Chamberlain High.

For more info, call Wesley Chapel Edward Jones branch office administrator Beth Ramirez at (813) 991-7034, and she’ll schedule your appointment with Morales at the office located at 2748 Windguard Cir., Suite 101 (in the office plaza behind The Hungry Greek) in Wesley Chapel. Or, see the ad on page 26, or visit EdwardJones.com/William-Morales.

‘Trading Spaces’ TV At Tampa Premium Outlets Saturday!

The cast of the newly rebooted “Trading Spaces” on TLC includes former stars Ty Pennington (far left) and Hildi Santo Tomas (with her arm around Pennington).

“Trading Spaces,” the hit TLC (The Learning Channel) TV show that launched innumerable copycat design shows, has been off the air for 10 years.

But now, it’s coming back.

Not only can you watch “Trading Spaces” on Saturday, April 7, at 9 p.m., but you can gear up for the big premiere right here in Wesley Chapel by taking pictures by the show’s iconic “Trading Spaces” truck or hanging out in the show’s lounge because, that same day, from noon to 6 p.m., the “Trading Spaces Experience” will be held at the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO, 2300 Grand Cypress Dr.), near the mall’s children’s play area.

Celebrity designer Hildi Santo Tomas and carpenter Ty Pennington — who both appeared on the original show and will be back on the reboot — also will be appearing live at TPO for the “Trading Spaces Experience.”

The event at TPO will be held from noon to 6 p.m. It’s part of a three-city tour, with similar events happening simultaneously in Atlanta and Charlotte (with different cast and crew members on hand), as well.

At TPO, the day’s events will include:

• Design Live — fans can design a room live and see which “Trading Spaces” talent they are most like

• DIY Lab — attendees will be involved in mini workshops where they will learn some of the best how-to secrets for designing from the show’s designers and carpenters

• Do It Yourselfie — an interactive photo station where fans can recreate iconic “Trading Spaces” designs to share with their friends

• Kid Zone — where kids can participate in a fun design.

“This is so exciting for us to have them here,” says North Tampa Bay Chamber CEO Hope Allen. “Another first for Wesley Chapel!”

To get in on the fun, follow the show’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/TradingSpaces.

New Tampa YMCA Picks Top Volunteer

Coach Brigid Merenda is congratulated for being named the New Tampa Family YMCA Volunteer of the Year.

Volunteer youth basketball coach Brigid Merenda has been named the New Tampa Family YMCA Volunteer of the Year.

At the New Tampa Y in Tampa Palms, Brigid uses her skills and experience as a college basketball player for the University of South Florida (1993-97) to teach the next generation of players the sport she loves.

“I have the ability and the skills to coach, and I had a lot of volunteer coaches in my life, so I want to give back,” says Brigid, who — in addition to her “day job” as a lawyer — also is a color commentator for radio broadcasts of the USF women’s basketball home games. (Our congratulations go out to the team, which is making its fifth NCAA tournament appearance in the last six seasons, all under the leadership of head coach and New Tampa resident José Fernandez.)

Among the many volunteers at the Y, Brigid stands out.

“Brigid has been heavily involved in growing the girls’ basketball program with a unique talent to teach a group of young girls in a fun, but competitive way,” explains Michael Cosentino, executive director of the New Tampa Y. “Brigid is always on the court, active and involved in teaching the game. Coach Brigid realizes that if you teach skills in a fun way, your team will learn about the game and be successful, even at a young age.”

Brigid says she and her husband, Jason, have been members of the New Tampa Y since about 2003. She began coaching at the Y about three years ago, when her daughter, Sophia, who was five at the time, wanted to play basketball. Now, Brigid’s son, Charlie, is five, and will start playing basketball this summer.

“If you see a coach running around high-fiving everyone,” Cosentino says, “then you are probably watching Brigid coach. She has as much fun as the kids!”

Brigid received the award at the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA’s Community Impact Dinner on Feb. 27, at TPepin’s Hospitality Centre on N. 50th St. in Tampa, where more than 500 guests were in attendance.