Ford’s Garage On The Way

Yelp! photo
Yelp! photo

Ford’s Garage, which mixes the vibe of old school service stations with burgers and craft beers, is one step closer to becoming one of Wesley Chapel’s new neighborhood hot spots.

Eric J. Hendra of Hendra and Associates, a consulting engineering and surveying firm in Tampa, officially submitted a preliminary site plan application for Ford’s Garage of Wesley Chapel in March to Donna Huber, Pasco County’s Senior Development Review Technician.

The restaurant will be located adjacent to the Pollo Tropical on the Northeast corner of S.R. 56 and Grand Cypress Drive (east of Wesley Chapel Blvd.) directly across from the Tampa Premium Outlets.

It will be owner Marc Brown’s fifth Ford’s Garage location. Brown, of South Tampa, started the chain in Fort Myers in 2012, later added locations in Estero and Cape Coral and recently opened a location in Brandon.

The project, wrote Hendra in the preliminary site plan application, will be a “local restaurant with nostalgic vehicles highlighting the Ford’s Car manufacturer products.” Brown and his ownership group has a licensing deal with Ford Motor Co., so car enthusiasts will enjoy the attention to detail if previous locations are any indication.

The Ford’s Garage menu generally focuses on a vast selection of burgers, chicken, steak and salads, and a variety of popular macaroni and cheese variations according to many reviews on Yelp!. It also boasts more than 150 different types of craft beers in bottle and on tap.

There will be 7,211-sq.ft. of indoor seating, and a 1,192-sq.ft. patio area, according to the proposed site plan. The restaurant will include “static mounted Ford Vehicles for icons located within terminal islands along with a antique non-working fuel dispenser.”

There will be 92 parking spots.

Freedom Valedictorian Maya Patel Parlays Excellence Into Bright Future

Maya Patel
Maya Patel

Maya Patel, a senior at Freedom High in Tampa Palms, has already graduated.

From college.

When she graduates again, as Freedom’s Class of 2016 valedictorian on Wednesday, June 8, 9 a.m., at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall, it will just be the icing on the cake.

Maya is one of many exceptional students in the New Tampa area, but the Tampa Palms resident makes a strong case for being at the top of that list.

She is graduating with an 8.6 weighted grade-point-average, believed to be the highest ever at Freedom.

And, she already has an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree with highest honors in Business Management from Hillsborough Community College. She also was president of five clubs at Freedom.

She even started a nonprofit organization with her best friend, Milan Shah (see below), dedicated to donating used books across the globe.

While she will attend the University of Tampa in the fall, declining opportunities to attend, among others, the prestigious University of Cambridge — the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world — and Kings College of London, England.

And, get this – Maya says she still found time to have some fun in high school. “Of course, of course,’’ she says, laughing. “High school is not just about academics; it’s also about fun. I have done Indian dance (called Bhangra) since I was five, and I did typical high school things like movies and the mall. I always made time for fun.”

And sleep, she says. Maya says that despite her many responsibilities, she always got 7-8 hours of sleep a night, even after she added a part-time job at Taco Bell to her already busy schedule.

She says it’s pretty simple, really — use a calendar, make lists and just follow them.

Cheryl Bernales, Maya’s Latin teacher and World Language Department head at Freedom, as well as an American Government honors teacher, thinks the secret might be more about math than lists.

“I don’t know how she does it, but she does seem to have found a few extra hours in a day,’’ Bernales says.

The only child of V.C. and Nila Patel, pharmacists with the Suncoast Community Health Center in Palm River, Maya says she never set out to be the class valedictorian. She did, however, want to be in the top 10 percent.

But, once she started taking dual enrollment and AP classes, “I realized my level of rigor was pretty competitive.”

Maya1Her initial goal, laid out with intricate planning, was to graduate with her A.A. degree from HCC, which she did on May 6. Then, she added Class Valedictorian to her to-do list.

Her sophomore and junior years were the toughest, she says, as the classes and assignments could pile up at times, causing a few brief moments of self-doubt.

“I felt at those times that I needed to keep going on,’’ Maya said. “Such a big thing like valedictorian doesn’t come easily. So, I would get a snack and a drink, and get back at it.”

Maya had no idea who else was close to valedictorian status. When she found out her closest competitor was good friend Junie Kim, who had gone to school with Maya at both Chiles Elementary and Liberty Middle School, she was thrilled.

“Had it been anyone else, I would have also been happy for them, but it was even sweeter that it was a friend,” Maya says.

Maya credits her parents for being “pillars of support” in her academic quests. She says they never pressured her, and only encouraged her to reach the goals that she had set for herself.

Those goals now include becoming the first dentist in her family. At the University of Tampa, which she chose in part because of its “positive vibe” and proximity to her Tampa Palms home, she will study biochemistry and work towards a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, while trying to get into a top dental school.

She also will continue to help run MSMPC (her registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit), which stands for Milan Shah Maya Patel Collaboration, in the fall of 2014.

The two fell in love with reading at a young age, and over a discussion about what to do with their old books, hatched a plan to donate them, as well as others they would collect.

The MSMPC has donated more than 4,000 books in less than two years to places ranging from local community centers to Zambia, India, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. The organization also has partnered with Books For Africa to donate more than 2,000 books.

Maya admits it all sounds like a lot for an 18-year-old to juggle. But, she loves it.

“I don’t understand where she gets all this time,’’ Bernales says, “but she’s always positive, always high energy and never comes to school like it’s a burden or a task. She goes all out and does her absolute best job on everything, and does it with a smile on her face.”

If you want to contribute books to Maya’s nonprofit, please visit MSMPC.weebly.com.

 

Family Of Christ Student Wins $2,000 Writing Award!

Bree Cleveland.
Bree Cleveland

By Christen Caporali

Bree Cleveland, a seventh grade student at Family of Christ Christian School in Tampa Palms, has been named the First Place scholarship winner in the “Why I Want to Go to College” writing contest. She was one of 1,133 entries from across the country, and won $2,000 in scholarship money to go toward any college or university in the U.S.

The “Why I Want to Go to College” essay-writing contest is sponsored by the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office and the Omaha Storm Chasers baseball team, which is the AAA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The contest is open to 7th and 8th graders across the U.S., and judged by the students and faculty in the College of Education at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, as well as by Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg.

Applicants were tasked with writing a 750-word essay about their educational goals and dreams for the future, and had the opportunity to win up to $2,000 in scholarship money toward the Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST), a state-sponsored college savings program. Three winners were chosen from each of Nebraska’s three U.S. Congressional districts; the other three winners, including Bree, were all from outside of Nebraska.

Bree learned about the contest from her language arts teacher, who has her students enter it every year, telling them that, “they never know, they might actually win!”

Bree’s educational goals and dreams for the future involve children with special needs. She has been a volunteer at St. James United Methodist Church in Tampa Palms since she was 8 years old, and has had the opportunity to work closely with special needs children during a program called FriendZone, which was the inspiration for her essay.

She wrote, “Most people look down on those with special needs as if they can’t do anything, or that they were a mistake, but I see them as a gift that is full of potential and love. That’s why I want to be a sign language teacher. If I can help special needs kids express their full potential, then I believe the world could see them the way I do!”

In addition to working with special needs children, Bree also has dreams of becoming a professional dancer. She has been taking dance classes at the Jansen Dance Project in Tampa Palms since she was 4 years old, and plans to potentially attend Howard W. Blake High in Tampa for its performing arts program. She says her ultimate goal is to dance for the New York City Ballet.

“Dance is a way for me to take my emotions or whatever may be bothering me and leave it at the door,” she wrote. “Once I step in the dance studio, I feel like I can be an all new me.”

As a victim of bullying herself, Bree has been able to take the negative emotions she felt when she was bullied and throw them into her dancing, turning them into something positive. Because of this drive, she has been able to excel in her dance classes.

“College is about growing and perfecting what I love so that one day I can share it with the world,” she wrote in her $2,000 scholarship-winning essay.

With Bree’s heart and positive spirit, she is sure to have a bright future ahead of her.

For more information about the Why I Want to Go to College scholarship, please visit: treasurer.nebraska.gov/csp/scholarships/essay/college/2016/contest-announcement.

 

Coming Soon: WCNT-TV!

WCNT-TV, a new multimedia project from Neighborhood News and Full Throttle Intermedia, in conjunction with the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, will debut next month from the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Studios.

The bi-weekly show will feature news and events in and around New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, a feature on a WCCC member business and editor Gary Nager’s Neighborhood Dining News. Look for more updates soon.

Here’s a sample of what you can expect:

Wiregrass Ranch Drops Pasco 40-6

WIregrass
Shamaur McDowell

By Nick Ketchum

It won’t count in the official record book, but don’t tell that to Wiregrass Ranch, which dominated play and defeated Pasco in Friday’s spring football game 40-6, the first time the Bulls have ever beaten the Pirates.

Top Players

Dada McGee was stellar tonight for the Bulls, carrying the ball 19 times for a total of 144 yards to go along with three touchdowns from 2, 10 and 18 yards out, respectively. McGee had seven runs of 10+ yards.

Justin Mosley was very stout on defense as he had a nose for the football, recovering three fumbles.

Although Jordan Miner didn’t see much action at cornerback, he did return a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown to close out the first quarter.

Chase Oliver
Chase Oliver

Chris Faddoul tallied a rushing touchdown and made kicks of 20 yards and 45 yards to extend the Bulls lead.

Wiregrass Ranch’s offensive and defensive lines won the line of scrimmage battle all night, leading to the Bulls offense rushing for 266 yards, while holding Pasco to only 202 yards.

Wiregrass Ranch RB Chase Oliver had a nice return after missing all of last year with an injury. He rushed for 69 yards on 8 carries, including a big run of 28-yards.

Top Plays

Jordan Miner
Jordan Miner

Miner’s 92 yard kickoff return was a game breaker for the Bulls offense and defense as Pasco didn’t score again after it.

Faddoul, who also stars on the Wiregrass Ranch soccer team, was on fire, as he booted most of his kickoffs into the end zone, as well as converting a long 45-yard field goal that energized the Bulls offense.

The only passing completion of the game was a 53-yard pass from Faddoul to Cameron Leonard, but Leonard was caught from behind by a Pasco defender who forced a fumble and grabbed it for a takeaway.

Top Position Battles

For Pasco, both Chris Debyah and Javion Hanner split snaps, although Debyah took the majority of snaps. Neither completed a pass.

Top Quote

Wiregrass Ranch coach Mark Kantor was most impressed tonight with his team’s physicality. “I thought defensively we were flying around, and just making tackles.”

He credited his teams success to his coaches: “[They] do such a bang up job for six months in the weight room, and then come out in the spring game and get physical. It’s the coaches who did a whole lot of work with these kids, and I’m proud of them.”

Top Takeaways

Wiregrass Ranch’s offensive and defensive lines proved their worth tonight as they dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. This is a step in the right direction for the Bulls as they look to be a playoff contender in district 7A-8.

Miner and Shamaur McDowell both received recent offers from multiple FBS college programs, and both showed why they are top athletes in Pasco County for the Class of 2018.