Our hearty congratulations go out to all of the winners of the 2022 North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC) Excellence in Business awards, who were presented with their trophies at the NTBC’s annual “Celebrating Excellence” awards banquet on Nov. 10, at Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant in The Grove at Wesley Chapel.
Hosted by NTBC Chairman Javan Grant and the Chamber’s president and CEO Hope Kennedy, the Excellence in Business awards event was a super-fun evening of delicious food, beverages, music and festivities, as several Wesley Chapel- and New Tampa-based businesses were finalists for the four awards which, as Kennedy explained, are the four guiding principles of the Chamber — Integrity, Collaboration, Inclusivity and Innovation.
Two businesses located in Wesley Chapel — Junkluggers, which won the Innovation Award, and RADDSports, which won the Integrity Award (and also was nominated for the Collaboration Award), ended up taking home top honors, while Wesley Chapel-based Innovation Preparatory School (Innovation), Blue Heron Senior Living (Integrity) and RAW Space Collaborative (Inclusivity) and New Tampa-based Shred 360 (Integrity) all made it to the top-three vote-getters among the NTBC’s Board member judges, but didn’t end up winning their respective awards.
The other award winners, which aren’t located in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel were AmSkills, Inc. (based in Holiday), which won the Collaboration Award, and the Pace Center for Girls in New Port Richey, which took home this year’s Inclusivity Award.
Also honored at the event was Rotary District 6950 (of which the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Noon is a member club), which took home the Community Hero Award for the District’s efforts to help Hurricane Ian victims in Ft. Myers.
District 6950 Governor Troy Willingham accepted the award on behalf of the District, and he was joined on stage by numerous members of the Wesley Chapel club, which helped spearhead the collection of truckloads of much-needed supplies that were brought to Ft. Myers.
Congratulations again to all of the winners, finalists and 93 total nominees!
For membership and other information about the North Tampa Bay Chamber (1868 Highland Oaks Blvd., Suite A, Lutz), call (813) 994-8534, or visit NorthTampaBayChamber.com.
Newly sworn-in District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman has taken over for Mike Moore in the district that includes much of Wesley Chapel. (Photo by Charmaine George).
For the first time in eight years, Wesley Chapel’s District 2 has a new Pasco County Commissioner.
While Ron Oakley remains on the Pasco Board of Commissioners (BOC) for District 1, which covers the northern part of Wesley Chapel, newcomer Seth Weightman takes over for Mike Moore in District 2, which includes the rest of Wesley Chapel (and parts of Land O’Lakes).
Weightman was sworn in on Nov. 20 at the Dade City Courthouse.
“I’m looking forward to getting started,” he says. “I have big shoes to fill.”
Married to Jessica and the father of two children, Weightman may be a first-time commissioner but he has deep roots and connections in the county.
“I’m a born-and-bred Pasco guy,” says Weightman, whose great uncle Thomas is the former Pasco Superintendent of Schools for whom Weightman Middle School was named. “My family has been here a long time. I’ve seen all the changes over the years. Knowing the county’s history and being involved in the community for so long, I think I have a really good understanding of the identity of Pasco County.”
Moore, who recently announced he was joining The Southern Group, Florida’s largest lobbying firm, served two terms in District 2, during a time when Wesley Chapel experienced unprecedented growth and change. He spearheaded efforts to speed up construction of the diverging diamond interchange at S.R. 56 and I-75 and the Overpass Rd. interchange, championed parks and recreation projects (including a new indoor recreation center and a universal abilities park at Wesley Chapel District Park), put a focus on public safety, worked to make this area the crown jewel of the county’s sports tourism efforts and took a pro-business stance when it came to development.
Weightman says he plans to pick up where Moore left off.
“I hope to kind of follow Mike’s same path,” Weightman says. “We think very similarly, and have very similar values. We’re both business-minded and family men. Mike’s done a terrific job in representing Pasco County the last eight years. He set the bar high. I’m competitive, and I know I have work to do, and want to do it as well as he did, if not better.”
Weightman says he has been receiving a crash course in being a county commissioner the past few months, and is eager to start working on some of the goals for his first term.
While he may be new to the county commission, Weightman is far from a political neophyte.
He has served on the Southwest Florida Water Management District (aka Swiftmud) Board, after being appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in November 2019, and is on the Boards of the Pasco-Hernando State College Foundation and the AdventHealth Foundation.
He also has worked as an aide to former Florida Speaker of the House Will Weatherford, and has a number of strong relationships with Republicans around the state. He says that experience will benefit the county when it comes to negotiating for state funds.
“What the county has done really well is work well with our state delegation, and it has been able to receive a significant amount of road and infrastructure funding,” Weightman says.
“That’s been a huge feather in the county’s cap. I have built strong relationships, not just with the Pasco delegation but those in the Florida House and Florida Senate. Those are genuine friendships and working relationships that will be a benefit to me as a commissioner when it comes to advocating for the county.”
Weightman will inherit some projects that are already under way. During his term, big developments like Downtown Avalon Park and the Wiregrass Ranch Town Center will unfold, while the Epperson area continues to boom.
And, while many of the major road projects that began with Moore as commissioner are winding down, the widening of Old Pasco Rd. is only in the early stages.
“When Seth comes in, that’ll be one of the things we wanna make sure that he stays on,” Moore says. “It’s definitely very important for that area, especially with the schools that are there and the new (Overpass Rd.) interchange that’s there.”
With development, however, comes displacement, and not every area resident is enthralled by the growth.
Weightman, 35, says that as a Pasco native who grew up in the area long before homes and businesses had spread, he understands there needs to be a balance.
“That’s the elephant in the room,” he says. “How do we do this? What’s the happy medium?”
Weightman says that while he is pro-business, he also is a big proponent of the county’s Environmental Lands Acquisition and Management Program (ELAMP), which was created in 2004 and is responsible for purchasing environmentally sensitive lands to protect them.
Moore was the first person to endorse Weightman when he announced his plans to run for the District 2 seat earlier this year. Weightman held off primary challenges from Christie Zimmer and Troy Stevenson, effectively winning the seat.
Now, Moore thinks his replacement is ready to be a great county commissioner.
“I have all the confidence in the world in Seth,” Moore says. “He understands constituent service. It’s what he did for Will Weatherford, and he understands government. He sat on the (Swiftmud) board so he’s already a policy maker, and he actually cut taxes while on that board. I know he will do well on the county commission.”
RADDSports chief operating officer Anthony Homer appeared at the Nov. 15 Pasco County Commission meeting to ask the commissioners to vote to overturn their previous decision to hold RADD in default. The commissioners refused without discussion. (Screenshot from Pasco Television)
Pasco County is looking to take over the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, but the company that currently runs it, RADDSports, is claiming that Pasco — primarily Florida Sports Coast director Adam Thomas — has used bogus claims to force RADD out or into a reduced role.
The two sides are at odds over how the facility, which opened in July of 2020 but officially opened in January 2021, is being run and the results of those early efforts.
The county’s Board of Commissioners (BOC) approved a Notice of Default, originally written by Thomas, as part of its Consent Agenda at the BOC’s Oct. 25th meeting, without any discussion. Included was the okay to pay Tampa law firm Carlton Fields up to $200,000 to handle the default case, as well as more than $2.8 million to cover the potential cost of the takeover plan.
Although RADDSports’ lawyers were under the impression that the two sides would be able to meet before the default notice was sent, it was delivered on Nov. 4 by attorney Dane Blunt of Carlton Fields.
“The notice claims that RADDSports is in default of a handful of sections of the contract the two sides originally signed,” said Blunt’s letter.
However, the letter stated that it is the county’s option to allow RADDSports to continue operating the sports campus and that, “RADDSports is in full control of the future” provided it undergo a ‘radical shift in (its) current operations, promotion, and marketing’ to attain compliance with the contract.”
Anthony Homer, the chief operating officer for RADDSports, told county commissioners at the Oct. 25 meeting that he and his company were eager to come to the table and work out any differences, and appeared to be blindsided by the delivery of the Nov. 4 Notice of Default letter.
Homer also attended the Nov. 15 BOC meeting and delivered RADDSports’ refutation of the Notice of Default in person. Commissioners voted unanimously to allow it into record, but again, with no discussion
He told the commissioners they had been misled and that some data had been misrepresented at the Oct. 25 meeting, and that they approved a Notice of Default “for which the county had no support.”
Homer said he was told by the county’s attorneys after the Oct. 25 meeting that the notice of default would not be issued and, instead, discussions would be held to settle the matter.
“Since then, the county has refused to engage in any substantive discussion,” Homer said. “It has not provided any data upon which it based its claims to put RADDSports in default and, despite saying otherwise, on Nov. 4, the county’s attorneys issued (RADD) a Notice of Default.”
The Nov. 4 notice, says Homer, was different than the one the commissioners voted on at the Oct. 25 meeting, as specific data was removed after RADD supplied the correct data. And, in RADD’s letter of refutation given to the BOC, more data was provided to prove the county had been using incorrect information to make its case.
In fact, Homer said, when it comes to the county’s claims that RADDSports has focused on local residents and events and hasn’t appealed to tourists, the county paid $30,000 to Zartico, a data intelligence company that focuses on the visitor economy, to do a custom analysis of the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus visitor-to-resident ratio.
“(Zartico’s report) actually confirmed the data we had previously provided,” Homer said. “So, it’s now obvious that the county has no support for its claim that RADDSports is in default and is asserting its claims in bad faith.”
The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus has hosted dozens of sports events involving teams from all over the country.
Homer said the claims made by the county were unfairly damaging the reputation of RADDSports and were making it harder to book events. He asked that the BOC vote to immediately revoke the Notice of Default.
He didn’t get the vote he requested, but Homer and RADDSports will still be getting a chance to make their case.
In the Nov. 4 default letter, Blunt wrote that, “At this time, the County believes it is in the best interest of both parties’ to mediate their disputes pursuant to the Agreement.”
A mediation with retired Judge Gregory Holder has been scheduled for Monday, Nov. 28, and Blunt said the county plans to participate.
“We ask that RADDSports come to mediation prepared to share with the county its detailed, written plan for future compliance with the Agreement,” Blunt said.
RADD will make its defense that most of the claims in the Notice of Default are false, as it already has in multiple letters to the county and to Carlton Fields.
If the contract between the county and RADDSports, which has 18 years remaining on it, is terminated by Pasco, it likely will result in an expensive legal battle.
RADD president & CEO Richard Blalock said he hopes it doesn’t come to that.
“RADDSports remains willing to work with the County and all stakeholders,” Blalock wrote. “The cloud of a bogus Notice of Default will not help those discussions, but will lead to litigation that will be expensive to both parties and hinder the mutually beneficial resolution of the County’s perceived issues.”
And, in his Nov. 14 letter to the commissioners, Homer said, “That the county would allocate $2.8M to take over operations of a facility RADDSports operates at no cost (to the county) is simply mind boggling. We can only imagine there are areas in the County which would be delighted to see that invested in additional parks and recreation offerings.”
Here are the portions of the contract between RADDSports & Pasco County that the county claims RADDSports has defaulted on & RADD’s responses to each claim:
Claim #1 — RADD has not continuously operated the Sports Park Property to ensure that 90% of the 80% annual average of participants and non-participants….are non-County residents. RADD’s Response — RADD President and CEO Richard Blalock said in his company’s refutation letter that the county has no supporting data for this claim, and that RADDSports has provided data from a “credible, billion dollar, national 3rd party data provider” to Thomas that shows RADDSports has exceeded those targets and is not in default.
Claim #2 — RADDSports’ events have resulted in hotel stays that are “well short” of what is needed. RADD’s Response — RADDSports says it is not to blame for Covid restrictions (as well as the number of people not ready to return to traveling) in 2020 and 2021, but regardless, had 74,400 non-county visits in 2021 (3.7 times more than required) and 59,000 non-county visits through three quarters of 2022 (2.8 times more than required). Blalock calls this claim “particularly egregious” considering the data Pasco received from Zartico (which it also says Florida Sports Coast never told them about) shows the number of out-of-county visitors has increased every year and 83 percent of those visitors required overnight stays.
Claim #3 — RADDSports has failed to promote and market the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus as it relates to promoting tourism, based on a review of RADDSports’ Facebook and Instagram posts and newsletters. RADD’s Response — RADDSports claims that the county is misreading the contract, which states that it is Pasco County’s responsibility to market the facility, and other than obligating RADDSports to “provide marketing information and material to the Pasco County Office of Tourism,” does not place any obligations on RADDSports. In fact, RADDSports argues that it is Florida Sports Coast that was in default of that part of the contract. As of September 12 of this year, the Florida Sports Coast website still referred to the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus as a “proposed 8 court indoor sports facility.” Even after asking Thomas to update it, it took more than a month for the changes to be made.
Claim #4 — RADDSports is not cooperating with the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel when it comes to marketing opportunities, claiming that the hotel operator also has expressed concern about the way RADDSports is operating and has asked the County to step in. RADD’s Response — In their response to the county, RADDSports insists the operator of the Residence Inn has not made such claims, and that the county’s lawyers “affirmatively asked the (Residence Inn) operator to make such claims, and even went so far as to draft a letter for him they asked him to sign making (those) claims….The operator refused to sign the letter drafted by the County’s Lawyers.”
Claim #5 — That RADDSports also has heard from “multiple sources” that they were rudely rebuffed when trying to book events, and failed to timely respond to inquiries while prioritizing local events. RADD’s Response — According to data from RADDSports, in 2021, the facility hosted 52 events, when it was projected to host only 38, and brought in 30 organizations, 26,000 athletes and 60,000 spectators. So far this year, the campus has hosted 44 events and will host 62 by year’s end, bringing in 15,000 athletes, 38,000 spectators and $5.5 million in economic impact, and already has 48 events booked for 2023, and 86% are returning events. “We believe this speaks to the professionalism and support (we give to) all event organizers that we are privileged to host at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County,” Blalock wrote.
Claim #6 — That RADDSports is in default of Section 9.03 because it has failed to provide the required annual financial audit for the year ending December 31, 2021. RADD’s Response — RADD claims it cannot control the timing of the audit, and due to “significant personal issues” it had been delayed. Regardless, the contract doesn’t state a deadline for delivery and, last week, RADD said the audit was completed and delivered to Thomas.
The game of golf received a boost during the pandemic, as more people took up the game, especially at places like Heritage Isles and Hunter’s Green Country Clubs.
So, it makes perfect sense that a golf store & hi-tech training facility would open nearby.
According to City of Tampa permitting records, GOLFTEC will be moving into part of the space formerly occupied by Pier 1 Imports in Highwoods Preserve off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.
GOLFTEC, founded in 1995, will be taking over a portion of former home goods store, on the end closest to Westshore Pizza.
GOLFTEC offers golf lessons, golf instruction and custom club fittings in what it calls a state-of-the-art Training Center. It uses certified coaches and technology to help improve your golf game. For $125, locations offer 60-minute swing evaluations, where motion measurement sensors are attached to the student’s shoulders, arms and hips. The results are evaluated by coaches using hi-def video and other tech and if desired, a lesson plan is formed.
GOLFTEC has 15 locations in the U.S., as well as locations in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. Nearby, there are locations in Carrollwood and on Boy Scout Rd. in the Westshore business district.
NEW RESIDENCES: Cross Creek Blvd. is getting some of its first building projects in years, as dirt is being moved in two different spots for new townhomes.
We reported in February of last year that both projects had been approved after some debate. Combined, the two townhome projects, towards the eastern end of Cross Creek Blvd., will bring 95 total new residences to the area.
One parcel is located at 10801 Cross Creek Blvd, east of the New Tampa Dance Theatre, and directly across the street from the entrance to the Heritage Isles community. It will have nine buildings and 60 attached single-family residences.
Further east, a second parcel will consist of six buildings and 35 single-family residences.
Angela Brown is escorted into the Liberty Middle School media center by principal Frank Diaz, where she is surprised by a band and Hillsborough Superintendent of Schools Addison Davis (photo on next page), who announced that she has been named the Hillsborough County Assistant Principal of the Year for 2022-23. (Photos: Hillsborough Schools)
It began as just another ordinary day for Angela Brown.
The Liberty Middle School assistant principal showed up for work in the morning, helped make sure all of the students were off to class and, after that was done, she headed to the testing room to get things ready for her day.
But then, the day took an extraordinary and unexpected turn. She got a call from Liberty principal Frank Diaz asking her to report to the media center with literacy coach Corissa Russell, who was with her.
When they had just about reached the media center, Russell handed Brown off to Diaz, who led her inside. A band started playing.
“The first person I noticed was (Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent of Schools) Addison Davis, then I saw my boyfriend (Ben Gainer),” Brown said. “Imagine a person who doesn’t like surprises, and likes being in full control all the time. I turned to Mr. Diaz and asked, “What’s going on here?”
What was going on was this: Davis was there to congratulate Brown for being named Hillsborough’s Assistant Principal of the Year for 2022-23.
“It was definitely a surprise,” she says. “A nice surprise.”
Brown has been at Liberty since the school opened in 2002, and the award is a testament to her skills as assistant principal of curriculum.
The school district’s Assistant Principal of the Year Angela Brown receives a gift basket from Hillsborough’s Superintendent of Schools Addison Davis.
Diaz has only been at Liberty for three months, but it was apparent from his first day that Brown was a gem.
“She’s been a rock here for quite some time,” Diaz says. “Her attention to detail is spectacular. She assures that students are placed in the right classes with the right teachers. She really looks at the students as individuals and on the basis of what they need.”
Brown’s responsibilities include student safety, overseeing the curriculum for the school, student schedules, assessments and testing, to name a few.
“A lot of it is just making sure that instruction is happening and our teachers are equipped with the tools they need to deliver excellent instruction to the students,” Brown says.
And, it often goes beyond that. While being an innovative scheduler, it’s the extra things not in her job description that makes Brown special. That includes sometimes driving kids home, visiting family homes to make that needed connection and mentoring other assistant principals who are just starting out.
“The one thing I pride myself on is building relationships,” she says. “It’s all about navigating the world of school every day and keeping a smile on my face, because it definitely is hard work. But every day, I find something to laugh and smile about, and I try to instill that to everyone on campus.”
Brown, who recently turned 52, is a graduate of Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD, which she attended on a track scholarship.
She got her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Education degree, with a concentration in sports administration, but thought she would some day be working for a sports organization.
But, her old principal at East Bay High talked Brown into filling in as a substitute teacher for someone out on maternity leave.
“I was so in love with teaching, from that point on I did everything necessary to be a certified teacher,” Brown said, which included earning her Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale.
Brown started her teaching career at Greco Middle School in 1996, and moved to Liberty in 2002 as a Success Coach, which back then was called Student Intervention Specialist. In 2013, she became an assistant principal.
“I’m so blessed to be able to stay and see all the different families come, all of the siblings of siblings, students who are now parents and have kids at Liberty,” Brown says. “It’s definitely been amazing.”
Diaz says students continuously come back to the school to talk to her.
“She remembers the names of students from 10-12 years ago,” an impressed Diaz says. “That’s nice.”
Brown says it’s all about changing lives and providing direction. She recalls one of her students, back in 2006, having a tough time of it. Brown had to continually suspend him, and told him, “If I have to keep suspending you for you to get it, that’s what I’m going to do.”
He got it. In 2008, that student, Nelson Agholor, was named Hillsborough County’s Turnaround Student of the Year and went on to earn a football scholarship to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles and is currently a wide receiver with the New England Patriots who still visits Liberty and “Auntie Angela” each year.
“It’s very rewarding when you see certain kids (who) always seem to find me or always seem to reach out to me and stop by the school,” Brown says. “One of the good things about being at same school is they always know how to find you 15 years later, just to say thank you and tell you how grateful they are. Honestly, that’s what keeps me going from year to year, knowing that somehow I made a difference with someone.”
Judging by her recent accolades, Brown’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.
