NJROTC Cadet’s Charismatic, Fun-Loving Character Touched Many

Connor Hale (left) and David Elder at the American Cancer Society’s New Tampa Relay For Life in May. “He was just such a good guy to be around,” Connor says.

Last October, when David Elder was a freshman at Wharton High and a member of the school’s National Junior Reserve Officers Training Corp (NJROTC) program, he was participating in one of his first drill meets at Central High School in Brooksville, called the Iron Bear Challenge.

It was early and still wet outside, and Elder, as his friends in Wharton’s NJROTC call him, was participating in the tire flip event. David was a little too close to another team’s tire and when he slipped, the huge tractor tire struck his leg just below the knee and slid down to the ankle, breaking both bones in his leg.

“It was loud,” recalls Senior Chief Petty Officer (Ret.) David Ingalls, who is retired from the U.S. Navy and one of David’s instructors. “We knew it was a pretty bad break.”

With his leg broken in two places, he should have been in a lot of pain. But, Elder somehow was making everyone else laugh, acting like a hero being carried off on the stretcher. As they closed the doors to the ambulance, he was waving to everyone and “dabbing.”

“That’s when we really saw his personality,” says Ingalls. “David just had a lot of charisma.”

When students arrived at Wharton for the first day of school this year, Elder’s friends were told that he had passed away.

Just the day before, Elder, Connor Hale and a bunch of their friends helped lead freshman orientation at Wharton High for new students entering NJROTC.

After, the cadets went to the movies. The theater was empty, except for them, so whenever a song played between dialogue, David and Connor would put on sunglasses, jump up, and “dance like spazzes,” says Connor. That was typical of the kid he calls Elder, who “could make anyone laugh or smile.”

David Elder’s dad says those kids were part of what David loved best, the NJROTC program. As a freshman last school year, he jumped into every activity offered.

“He excelled above and beyond anything I expected,” says Jim Elder. “He was on the rifle team, drill team, color guard, everything. He did great at everything he tried.”

David even enjoyed uniform inspections, something many cadets dread. “He’d have me come out and inspect his uniform for lint and check his brass. I showed him how to shine his shoes. He was very methodical about proper appearance with his uniform.”

A week later, more than three dozen cadets from Wharton and other area schools, who had met Elder at NJROTC events, attended his memorial service.

“He was enthusiastic about being a young leader and had a lot of potential,” says Major Michael Beale, who is retired from the U.S. Marine Corps, and was another of David’s instructors. “For a young kid to impact so many people, you know he has unique character traits. People wanted to be around him, and he touched so many lives.”

“He was a model cadet,” adds Ingalls.

Jim says his son had aspirations to join the military. He was interested in aviation, but since he wore glasses, he knew that was a long shot. He also loved the water, and really loved sailing. NJROTC gave him the opportunity to attend Sail Academy, a training academy hosted by Eckerd College in St. Petersburg.

“He’s named after my dad, who is a retired U.S. Army paratrooper,” says Jim, who also served in the military. “David just thought his grandpa was the greatest thing walking on two feet. He always liked to hear Grandpa Dave stories.”

David grew up in Pinellas County, where his mom still lives. He had been living with his dad and last summer, after outgrowing the Civil Air Patrol program for middle school students, the pair decided to move to Tampa to find a high school with a good NJROTC program.

“I wanted him to be exposed to more things and set him up for success in the future.”

Jim says Wharton, “just kind of worked out at the time,” and that he couldn’t have been any happier with their choice.

“I’m thrilled because the instructors there do amazing things for the kids,” he says. “They are top notch and I can’t say enough good things. They are solid, good people there.”

While NJROTC was David’s “main thing,” says Jim, “he was a really well-rounded kid.”

David was a huge history buff who was particularly into World War II. He collected vintage firearms and military uniforms, and even taught himself some German, using Google Translate.

“We’d be at the gun shop and he’d give the guy behind the counter a quick history lesson,” Jim recalls. They enjoyed shooting together, too, he says. “We would go shooting all the time. He shot better than I did, which drove me crazy.”

Connor says he already misses the kid he considered one of his best friends. “This is my first time experiencing something like this,” he says. “It’s tough. I already miss his good nature. He was just such a good guy to be around.”

When he recalls his many fun times with David, he calls those times “shenanigans. He was a goofball and we would just laugh at everything dumb,” Connor says, like watching YouTube videos or repeating a phrase endlessly to drive other people crazy. “There’s a lot of stuff I thought we’d (still) do together, like going back to Sail Academy and doing (the American Cancer Society’s New Tampa) Relay for Life” again.

Jim says he and his son had a special relationship, especially since just the two of them lived together. “We called each other ‘bro,’ and I would tell him, ‘You’re my best bro.’”

Jim has met with Hailey Acierno’s parents, who started the foundation called Hailey’s Voice of Hope. “We’re going to try to collaborate and work together so that for her daughter and my son, neither of their names are forgotten,” he says. “We want to get the word out about suicide prevention so no other kid or parent has to go through this.”

Tampa Palms Resident Is FBLA’s New National President!

You’d probably expect the president of an international organization with more than 250,000 members to be professional, articulate and passionate about his role and vision for his organization.

What you might not expect is that he would be just 17 years old, and still in high school.

Max Michel is all of the above, having recently been elected as president of the national Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) organization.

“I serve our 250,000 members and work with other officers to create programs for our members,” Max explains. “I also work with the national board of directors, comprised of educators, CEOs, industry representatives and other professionals, to help steer the long-term strategies for the organization as a whole.”

Max has lived with his family in Tampa Palms since 2005, before he entered kindergarten at Chiles Elementary. He then attended Liberty Middle School. When it was time for high school, he chose the magnet program at Middleton High, located on N. 22nd St. in Tampa.

It was through his FBLA chapter at Middleton that Max pursued the chance to lead the national organization. He was elected president during the group’s National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, CA, on July 2, and immediately began his one-year term.

The National Leadership Conference comes after the District and State conferences. “FBLA gives students the opportunity to compete on District, State and National levels in 65 different events that cover everything from public speaking to healthcare,” Max says. “It allows students to find their niche.”

He adds that every year, the national competition is “awe-inspiring. There are about 13,000 people there, and you see diverse faces and cultures and backgrounds and how hard they all work to have made it that far.”

In 2016, Max placed second in FBLA’s national computer problem solving competition. This year, he didn’t compete so that he could focus on campaigning for national president.

First, he had to qualify on the state level, where he was chosen to be the candidate for president from the state of Florida. He went up against candidates from Oregon and Arizona for the national honor.

While Max only campaigned during the conference itself, he did a lot to prepare, including writing the speech he would give at a general session in front of all of the attendees.

As a freshman, Max had run for District office and, when it was time to give his speech in front of a much smaller crowd, he says he completely forgot it. “I blanked out,” he says. “It was so embarrassing.”

But, that was one of the things that spurred him to work on his public speaking and other skills.

“I grew a lot because of the leadership skills I’ve learned through FBLA,” says Max. So much so, that he says his school’s FBLA chapter adviser, Tayo Akinrefon, recommended that Max run for national president going into his senior year. “I thought he was joking, but he was super serious,” Max says. “That inspired me.”

“I worked on my public speaking a lot,” he adds. “Despite me not being the best speaker, I can connect with people on a genuine and authentic level, and I definitely have that desire to connect, regardless of culture or race or background.”

So, Max worked to make those connections with people at the conference, and this time, he was able to give the speech he had prepared without freezing or forgetting it.

When the voting was over, Max had won.

He says that has a specific goal for his time in office.

“I want to reach out to urban communities, which are currently underserved by FBLA,” he says. “Our end goal is to reach as many students as possible. We partner with other leadership programs and we want to offer resources for schools that are harder hit by issues such as poverty.” In the long-term, he says, that would mean allocating funds to charter chapters in those currently underserved areas.

He says that across the nation, there are some large cities that only have one or two FBLA chapters. Even his own school has room to grow in that area. “Most of our membership comes from the magnet program, and we want to diversify,” he says.

A Born Leader

Max comes from a large family, one of seven siblings, and he and his older brother are close enough in age that they both will graduate from high school this year. Alejandro, whom Max calls Alex, is currently a senior at Freedom High. Max says he and Alex are hoping to both attend Florida State University in Tallahassee next year. The two high school boys have two older sisters and an older brother, as well as two younger brothers, ages three and five.

He says being one of seven siblings has helped his leadership skills, whether it’s dividing up chores for the week or taking turns babysitting. “Being part of a big family, I’ve learned things like how to speak up for myself and being ready to help when needed,” he adds.

While he doesn’t yet know what career he’ll pursue after college, he’s sure of one thing. “Whatever job I have,” he says. “I want to make a lasting influence on people’s lives and do whatever I can to help others.”

Fast Track Urgent Care Center — Doctor-Owned, Patient-Driven Urgent Care

Fast Track Urgent Care Center opened 18 months ago in Wesley Chapel on S.R. 54, west of I-75, but has since expanded to include a location in Riverview.

Fast Track Urgent Care Center, located just off of S.R. 54 west of I-75, is part of a growing company that added one new location in the Tampa Bay area in the past year.

Paul Nanda, M.D., is the medical director for the company, whose newest location is in Riverview. In addition to its center in Wesley Chapel, which opened about 18 months ago, Fast Track also is in South Tampa, Westchase and Carrollwood, with a new location coming soon to Tampa Heights.

“We started in 2005 with one location and a couple of patients a day,” says Dr. Nanda. “Now, with five centers and more than 60,000 patient visits this year, we are really starting to impact the health and well being of the (Tampa Bay) community.”

Dr. Nanda says that matters to Fast Track, which is owned by Tampa native Daron G. Diecidue, M.D.

“Being locally owned and operated, we truly care about our patients, because they are our friends and neighbors,” says Dr. Nanda. “And, because doctors run the facility, not business people, we are focused on patients, not dollar signs.”

Dr. Nanda also explains that Fast Track Urgent Care Center operates in the space between a primary care doctor and the emergency room. So, if you’re sick or injured, you should know that a visit to an urgent care facility is much less expensive than a visit to the emergency room, and with expanded hours when compared with a typical primary care doctor’s office.

Top-Notch Medical Providers

The staff at Fast Track includes more than a dozen Board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. This team of experienced medical professionals rotates among the company’s five locations.

Fast Track Urgent Care Center is owned by Dr. Daron G. Diecidue, M.D.

Fast Track Urgent Care Center’s founder and owner, Dr. Diecidue, is Board-certified in Family Medicine. He holds Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees in both Biology and Psychology from Florida State University in Tallahassee, and a degree in Chemistry from the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa. He received his M.D. degree from the USF School of Medicine and performed his residency in family medicine at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. He is an active member of the American Academy of Family Practice, the Florida Medical Association and the Urgent Care Association of America.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nanda has served as medical director of Fast Track Urgent Care since 2013. He also is Board-certified in Family Medicine and earned a B.S. degree in Biology from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1996, and a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Immunology from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in 1999. He received his M.D. degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in St. Maarten in 2003 and completed his residency at Ohio State University in Columbus in 2007.

Dr. Nanda was hired by Fast Track in 2013 and was quickly promoted to medical director. He says he is, “responsible for ensuring the practice consistently offers patient-oriented, evidence-based, cost-effective care” at Fast Track’s five locations, including the Wesley Chapel center.

“I was always taught that patients come first,” explains Dr. Nanda. “As providers, we are advocates who do what’s best for the patient. Sometimes that means we have to fight with insurance companies. Sometimes that means we don’t randomly prescribe antibiotics. Sometimes that means we help people navigate the healthcare system, which has become more and more confusing. We hire providers who agree with our patient-first philosophy, and we ask them to treat every patient like they would treat their own mom or child.”

For a complete list of the medical providers at the Wesley Chapel office, go to FastTrackUrgentCare.com.

Available Services

Fast Track Urgent Care Center calls itself a “boutique” urgent care facility, because it offers not only a personal touch, but also expanded services that can make it a little easier to deal with the inconvenience of a sudden illness or an unexpected injury.

Dr. Nanda

For example, the center offers what it calls “Fast Pass,” an online check-in system. Although appointments are not required at Fast Track, patients can fill out their paperwork in advance and skip the line when they arrive at the urgent care facility.

“Our goal is to get you in and out within 30-60 minutes,” says Dr. Nanda. “We know you didn’t wake up that morning with plans to go to urgent care, so we want to make you better and get you back to your life as soon as possible.”

Dr. Nanda emphasizes that you can go to Fast Track Urgent Care Center anytime you need treatment, including for injuries related to workers’ compensation and motor vehicle injuries.

“With the changing landscape of insurance and healthcare,” says Dr. Nanda, “we want to try to make it easier for patients to access good, consistent, quality healthcare.”

This time of year, the practitioners provide many school physicals, which cost just $25, and Dr. Nanda explains that the company gives back to local schools through a program that distributes coupons that provide $5 back to a student’s school when they get a physical.

On the center’s website, dozens of five-star reviews highlight what people love about Fast Track Urgent Care Center.

“The doctor had a wonderful bedside manner when addressing my eight-year-old son, whom she quickly diagnosed with swimmer’s ear,” wrote a reviewer. “We’re visiting from out of state, so it was really a welcome surprise to have such a great experience in an unfamiliar medical facility.”

Another patient wrote, “I went in and saw the nurse practitioner. She was very thorough and professional, and I would definitely go again. Far better than sitting in a doctor’s office with an appointment and still having to wait! I was in and out in far less time.”

Fast Track Urgent Care Center of Wesley Chapel is located at 5504 Gateway Blvd. and is open seven days a week, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. To make a reservation with Fast Pass or for more information (including the addresses of all five locations), go to FastTrackUrgentCare.com, call (813) 925-1903 or see the ad on page 24.

SPOTLIGHT ON…Creative Permanent Makeup By Pam!

Pam Edmonson is passionate about eyebrows. She’s been offering Creative Permanent Makeup By Pam since 2011, but moved last year into her new location at Serenity Salon & Spa Suites, located off S.R. 54 in Suite 101 of the Brookfield Professional Park, west of the Walmart at the corner of Eiland Blvd.

There, Pam offers permanent makeup and other aesthetic services, but she says that eyebrows are still her favorite.

“Eyebrows completely frame the face,” Pam says. “They are so important.”

Pam has been a licensed cosmetologist in Florida since 2009. She then studied at the Boca Ta-2 School for Permanent Makeup in Williston, FL. She treats clients of all ages, and eyebrows of all sorts, from those that need to be reconstructed to those that have faded with age and exposure to the sun.

Pam has been doing the popular “microblading” technique since she was trained in it in 2014. She uses a small blade and ink to create each individual hair. Pam’s penchant for detail serves her well, as her steady hands help draw on an eyebrow which she then microblades, with each stroke adding a more natural look to the eyebrow.

“Microblading is a big thing right now,’’ says Pam, who is licensed through the Florida Department of Health for permanent makeup (the same license as tattooing). She encourages anyone who wants permanent makeup to schedule a free consultation with her. 

“Do your homework,” she says. “Make sure the person who does your eyebrows does a consultation. They should sit down with you, show you their work before and after, and also after the skin has healed from the process.”

Having your eyebrows done by Pam takes about an hour and the cost includes a touch-up after the first four weeks, to help deepen the color and make them more permanent.

Pam also offers permanent eyeliner, and is now offering permanent lip color, too.

“I used to not like to do lips, but I learned a new technique,” she says. “It’s not as painful and the color stays beautifully. I had mine done, and it looks so natural and full.”

Pam is currently charging $350 for eyeliner or eyebrows, and $450 for lips. She says she will be raising prices later this year, so anyone who wants to take advantage of her lower prices should do so before September 1.

Some of Pam’s other services include scalp therapy (for women with thinning hair) and microneedling, which improves the skin by producing a slight injury to the face, causing new collagen to grow at the “injury” site.

For a free consultation or more info, visit CreativePermanentMakeupByPam.com, or call (813) 997-6302.

Students & Teachers Across Wesley Chapel Are Back In School

The lunchrooms and the walkway and courtyard at Cypress Creek Middle High School were finally filled by students as the new school, while others across Pasco County were back in business on Aug. 14. (Photo: Pasco County Schools)

Among the thousands of students who went back to school in Pasco County on August 14, more than 1,500 of them spent their first day at Wesley Chapel’s newest school, Cypress Creek Middle High School, which is located off Old Pasco Rd.

Cypress Creek Middle High was expected to open with about 1,500 students, but actually had 1,603 students show up on the first day. The school’s capacity is 1,958 students, so it still has some room to grow.

The new school was needed to relieve crowding at not only Wiregrass Ranch High and John Long Middle schools, but also has students who previously were zoned for Sunlake and Wesley Chapel high schools, as well as Weightman and Rushe middle schools.

All students at the new school follow the same bell schedule, from 7:25 a.m. to 1:50 p.m.

“The first few days have been outstanding,” said Cypress Creek principal Carin Hetzler-Nettles. “Our students are enjoying their new environment and are learning the layout of the campus. Other than the normal situation of getting used to the routine, and watching to see where we need to change procedures with car loop or bus loop, etc., we have truly had an amazing first few days.”

Hetzler-Nettles also said that the campus was filled with Parent Teacher Student Association members helping students find their classes, and even Pasco Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning was on hand to help welcome the students and direct them to their new classes.

Cypress Creek Middle/High. (Photo: Cypress Creek Howler)

“It takes a village to open a new school,” added Hetzler-Nettles, “and our community has just been so welcoming and helpful! We couldn’t have done it without them and are excited for our future!”

Among those who helped get the teachers set up in their new digs at the school on July 26 were volunteers from the Pasco Education foundation and the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel.

At Long Middle School, one of the schools that lost students to Cypress Creek, principal Christine Wolff said, “You always miss the kids on campus that you have grown attached to, and my wish for all of our former students is to have a good adjustment and get excited for learning, and take that excitement for learning with them wherever they are.”

She says that while Long’s enrollment numbers are down slightly (1,488 students were enrolled on opening day this year, versus 1,810 last year), the school is still over capacity because of all the growth in the area.

“We did have a smooth start to the school year,” Wolff says, “And, just like all of our Pasco County schools, we’re focused on meeting our school improvement goals and making sure they (the teachers and students) are meeting the learning standards in the classroom.”

And at Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH), the 10-period schedule is a thing of the past, as many former students have new homes at either Cypress Creek Middle High or WCH.

A contentious rezoning process last year was designed to ease the overcrowding at Wiregrass Ranch while also filling the new school.

“We had a great start,’’ said WRH principal Robyn White. “We are back to the 7-period day, and while there are a lot of students on campus at the same time, it is manageable. We started day one with a little over 2,200, which was a decrease of 300 from last year.”

CORRECTION: We inadvertently omitted New River Elementary from our chart of Pasco County school grades in our last issue. We’re really sorry about that, because principal Lynn Pabst and the students and teachers at New River earned a “B” grade for the third consecutive year.