Assn. of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) Executive Committee chair Carlos Phillips (far left) and ACCE president & CEO Sheree Anne Kelly (far right) pose with (l.-r.) membership director Jen Tussing, president & CEO Hope Kennedy & foundation chair Michael Berthelette of the North Tampa Bay Chamber, at the ACCE awards event last month, where the NTBC was again a finalist for Chamber of the Year. (Photo provided by Hope Kennedy).
Both this year and last, the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC) has been named one of three finalists for Chamber of the Year in its category by the nationwide Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE).
Both years, the NTBC has come up short of winning the award, but thatโs not stopping this busy chamber or its leadership team. โWin or lose, itโs such an honor to be a finalist, and no other chamber in any of the four categories was named a finalist the last two years,โ says NTBC President and chief executive officer Hope Kennedy. โIt was hard for us to come home without the top prize again, but weโre still so proud of the work weโve done and the successes weโve had.โ
Kennedy says the application process, which the NTBC has gone through โfor each of the last ten years or so, is extensive and difficult,โ as the ACCE has more than 1,800 member chambers of commerce and business organizations of all sizes and locations across the country.
Kennedy also notes that the NTBC also was again the finalist with the smallest paid staff (just two โ Kennedy and membership director Jen Tussing). By comparison, the Pearland (TX) Chamber, which won this yearโs award in the NTBCโs Category 1 (for chambers with less than $500,000 in annual revenues), has a staff of six.
Neither current NTBC Board chair Justin Keeney, the VP and senior portfolio manager of Fifth Third Bank, or immediate past chair Javan Grant of Slater Grant, was able to travel to Salt Lake City for this yearโs ACCE 2023 Awards Ceremony on Aug. 1, so foundation chair and 2021 Board chair Michael Berthelette of Platinum Salon made the trip with Kennedy and Tussing.
โEven some of the larger Chambers in our area โ including the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce โ have applied to be Chamber of the Year the last two years without even being named a finalist,โ Kennedy says. โWe take a lot of pride in what we do and what we have accomplished.โ
How You Can Get Involved!
Although being a finalist for Chamber of the Year is a big honor and is based on a variety of factors โ including membership retention, advocacy, community involvement and more โ the bottom line is that the NTBC also exists to help small businesses.
The Chamber features a variety of ongoing activities, including the following:
โข Breakfast-1st Tues. of each month
โข Luncheon-2nd Tues. of each month
โข Leading Ladies Network (formerly
WOW)-1st Fri. of each Month
โข Final Friday-Last Fri. of each month
โข Coffee Social-3rd Wed. of each Month
โข Member Orientation-4th Wed. of each mo.
The NTBC also offers member businesses the opportunity to host ribbon cuttings at their locations, as well as a variety of annual events, including the upcoming Wesley Chapel Fall Festival the weekend of Oct. 28-29 (co-sponsored by Floridaโs Sports Coast and Penguin Productions).
Also upcoming is the NTBCโs Celebrating Excellence in Business awards gala (on Thursday, November 16) and nominations for the Excellence in Innovation, Collaboration, Integrity, Inclusivity and the Community Hero award are now open. The Chamber also will host its third annual 5K Honor Run in February.
For more information about joining the North Tampa Bay Chamber, visit NorthTampaBayChamber.org or call (813) 994-8534.
Although we told you in our last issue that the new Wesley Chapel Contract Postal Unit (CPU) was expected to be open at 30124 S.R. 54 in the Freedom Plaza by the end of the first week of August, the CPU is now expected to open by Sept. 6, or after this issue went to press. ย
New CPU contractors Jevon and Cindy Williams, the husband-and-wife team of Realtors based in Wesley Chapel with EXP Realty, told me that one important piece of postal equipment was holding up the opening, but that had now been received, so the CPU is ready to go.
โWe even hired a former postmaster to help us get everything in order and ready to serve the Wesley Chapel community,โ Jevon told me.
Located between Boscoโs Italian-to-Go and Great Hope Preschool in the former location of the 3D Wellness Pharmacy, the pharmacyโs sign was still above the door at our press time, but at least the door of the new location (photo) itself now says โWesley Chapel Post Office Contract Unitโ and notes that the new CPU has shipping supplies and also offers fax, copy and Notary Public services.
Although it wasnโt yet open, Jevon was happy that the last piece of equipment had finally arrived and that the CPU was now ready to open for business with its planned regular business hours โ Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday.
And yes, he says the plan is still to offer free coffee to the CPUโs customers.
Although the Wesley Chapel CPU is located several miles from parts of Wesley Chapel, it will offer an alternative to driving to the much-further away (for most) Zephyrhills Post Office and will feature regular post office pricing.
Every once in a while, a new restaurant opens that seems to attract more people than almost any other place. I happened to stop in at the new Kinkas Bakery & Cafรฉ โ located at 24020 S.R. 54, a little bit west of Oak Grove Blvd. in Lutzโ shortly after it opened a little more than a month ago and I honestly have yet to see the place be anything other than packed, no matter what time Iโve visited.
And, Iโve honestly already visited pretty often. The husband-and-wife team of Tomas de Jesus and Yenastrid Perera (although, he says, โSheโs the real boss here!โ) is a couple from Puerto Rico who bring their own recipes to this truly delicious place that features almost 100% house-baked pies, cakes and other decadent desserts, perfect cafรฉ con lechรฉ and what I believe is the main reason itโs always so crowded โ a different-each-day rotation of prepared hot foods.
To date, I have sampled the pernil (roast pork), boneless and bone-in ribs and my favorite so far, the beef stew. Please note that beef and cheese, chicken and a variety of other empanadas, as well as butter, chocolate, almond and other croissants are available every day.
As for the desserts, Iโve only sampled a couple, but the homemade Reeseโs peanut butter cheesecake is as good as any Iโve had anywhere, including New York.
Kinkas is busiest on the weekends โ when the line can literally be out the front door โ but I assure you that itโs worth the (usually short) wait.
Kinkas Bakery & Cafรฉ is open every day except Monday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. For more info, call (813) 333-4032 or visit KinkasBakery.com โ and please tell Yenastrid and Tomas I sent you.
Former New York City EMT Stephen Spelman is bringing the framed Ladder 18 fire truck artifact from 911 to the Zephyrhills Museum of Military History for its 911 Remembrance Event on Sept. 9. (Photo by Charmaine George)
BayCare Healthโs proposed YMCA (two black outlines at center left) and medical office building (top rectangle close to BBD).
As reported by Kelly Gilroy on her outstanding โPasco County Development and Growth Updatesโ Facebook page on Aug. 24 โ after no updates since representatives from the YMCA first started attending local meetings a couple of years ago โ BayCare Health Systems is having a pre-application meeting with Pasco County staff to proposeย 52,391-sq.-ft. YMCA and a 100,000-sq.-ft., two-story medical office building. The plan includes parking lots, a โNew Driveโ roadway and a curb-cut connection at the southwest corner of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and Eagleston Blvd., next to the new BayCare Wesley Chapel hospital. Weโll update this story once we have additional information.
Home Sense Opens Next To Bealls
BayCare Healthโs proposed YMCA (two black outlines at center left) and medical office building (top rectangle close to BBD).
On Aug. 10, a new Homesense store opened in the Shoppes at New Tampa of Wesley Chapel, between the also-still-new Bealls Outlet and Flip Flop Shops stores in the plaza on BBD Blvd. south of S.R. 56.
Homesense โ the off-price home store featuring high-quality furniture and accessories that is the newest retail banner of The TJX Companies, Inc. โ now operates 50 stores in the U.S. TJX is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. The company operates nearly 5,000 total stores in nine countries, including 1,304 T.J. Maxx, 1,189 Marshalls, 901 HomeGoods, 81 Sierra, and now 50 Homesense stores.
I visited the new store the day it opened and it was packed with not only people, but as-advertised great prices on everything from couches to wall art to Halloween knickknacks (photo above). For more information, visit us.homesense.com or call (813) 991-0249.
9/11 Remembrance In Zephyrhills
On Saturday, September 9, at 8 a.m., the Zephyrhills Museum of Military History near the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport (at 39444 South Ave.) will host a 911 Memorial Remembrance Day event.
Former New York City emergency medical technician Stephen Spelman, who arrived at World Trade Center in his vehicle as the North Tower was getting ready to fall on September 11, 2001, will be bringing the piece of the Ladder 18 fire truck that he had been given to the event.
Spelman had previously loaned the ladder truck artifact to the Tampa Premium Outlets Rotary Club for the mallโs 911 exhibit, but decided to bring it to the military museum for an event that also will feature guest speakers โ Lt. Col. Perry Blackburn from the movie โ12 Strong,โ as well as Craig Gross, a Gold Star Family member whose son, Cpl. Frank Gross was killed in Afghanistan and Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman.
โWeโre also going to have a plane full of parachuters dropping in at 8:46 a.m., the time that the first plane hit the North Tower,โ Spelman says. โMy son is going to ring a bell in remembrance of that time.โ
Spelman received the piece of the ladder from a former fire captain friend of his who also was part of Motts Military Museum in Groveport, OH, where Spelman was scheduled to speak at a 911 event in 2017 when Hurricane Irma hit Florida, so he couldnโt make the trip.
A few weeks later, Spelman received the piece of the ladder truck in his mailbox.
โIronically, I was about 30 yards from that (fire) truck when the North Tower collapsed,โ he says. โI tried to find a place where this piece of history could properly be displayed and the Simon Premium Outlets management agreed to include it as part of the outlet mallโs 911 display.โ
As soon as you step into the AdventHealth Care Pavilion New Tampa on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., just south of Cross Creek Blvd. in front of Hunterโs Green, you are greeted at the โWelcome Centerโ reception area by smiling faces who help make both walk-in patients and those with appointments feel welcome. (Photos on these pages provided by AdventHealth Care Pavilion)
When the AdventHealth Care Pavilion New Tampa opened back in 2021, it was poised to serve the community as a modern, convenient way to meet the areaโs primary healthcare needs.
Two years later, the Care Pavilion, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just south of Cross Creek Blvd. in front of Hunterโs Green, has delivered on its promise to provide a reimagined experience to make going to the doctor easier.
โAdventHealth Care Pavilion New Tampa is committed to meeting the growing healthcare needs of the community,โ says Victor Odoh, the market director for Advent Health Care Pavilion New Tampa. โWith a comprehensive range of services under one roof, including primary and specialty care, pediatrics, imaging, an on-site lab and more, our purpose is to provide convenient and accessible healthcare to those we serve.โ
The 50,000-sq.-ft. building is home to primary care physicians and providers, on-site labs and imaging, and an expanding list of specialties. Patients sign in one time at the concierge Welcome Center and donโt need to go anywhere else. An in-house pharmacy means patients can even leave with their prescriptions already in hand.
With its Care Pavilions, AdventHealth has reduced or eliminated altogether many of the frustrations that are typical of a visit to the doctorโs office โ such as having to schedule way in advance, dealing with crowded waiting rooms with long waits to see the doctor, and having to fill out pages and pages of forms.
The New Tampa Care Pavilion is open for early morning appointments, evening hours, and even all day (8 a.m.-5 p.m.) on Saturday, for flexibility and convenience.
โ(Local) families need access to high-quality medical care,โ says Odoh. โAdvent Health strives to make health care easier and more convenient for our patients, reducing the need for additional trips elsewhere. That is why the AdventHealth Care Pavilion New Tampa offers same-day appointment availability, weekend hours and convenient registration, along with in-house labs, imaging, and an in-house pharmacy.โ
AdventHealth is adding advanced practitioners and physicians to the location, to be sure they can accommodate the number of people who visit.
In addition to its primary care services and various subspecialties, including cardiology, dermatology and pediatrics, the on-site Imaging Center offers services such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRIs), computed tomography (CT scans), dual X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA scans), X-rays, Ultrasound imaging and 3D Mammography, with a separate womenโs suite to provide a private, comfortable area for women to receive breast care.
Odoh explains that the Hunterโs Green location offers a short-bore MRI unit (photo left) for enhanced patient comfort.ย
โDepending on the exam,โ he says, โwe can scan head first or feet first to allow positioning closer to the entrance of the machine. We provide headphones with music of (the patientโs) choice, positioning supports, sheets and blankets to provide a relaxing environment during the exam. The imaging technicians always aim to make patients as comfortable as possible.โ
And, while the Care Pavilion is not an urgent care center, it is structured in such a way that patients can receive all of the care โ and convenience โ they would receive at an urgent care facility.
โWeโve added additional primary care physicians within the Care Pavilion over the last year to care for our growing community,โ says Odoh. โWe are also excited to share that the New Tampa Imaging Center now performs daily pediatric and adult scoliosis studies on an outpatient basis. Scoliosis studies are a series of X-rays used to (properly) identify curvatures of the spine. Appointments are not necessary, and walk-ins are welcome.โ
Appointments are available for patients who prefer them, but if you donโt have an appointment, you can still walk right in and expect to be seen in a reasonable amount of time. You may not get to see your favorite doctor โ whose schedule might be already filled for the day โ but there will be someone available to see you in a timely manner.
Another perk of the AdventHealth Care Pavilion is that patients wonโt be asked to fill out forms over and over again. Online registration and communication through a patient portal and app mean communication with the office and its services are available at your fingertips.
Entering The โKids Zoneโ
For parents, another inconvenience of going to the doctor themselves can be having to bring their children along and keep them entertained. But, the AdventHealth Care Pavilion has a solution for that, too.
โFor families with young children, the Care Pavilion has a โKids Clubโ โ (with) complimentary care for children ages three months to 12 years โ so parents can enjoy stress-free appointments,โ explains Odoh.ย
Parents who are being treated or seen at the Care Pavilion can have their kids watched at the facilityโs on-site, secure โKids Club.โ
The Kids Club can host up to eight children at a time, while their parents are seeing a doctor in the building.
Odoh emphasizes that the Care Pavilion does not charge any fee for the Kids Club, which follows strict safety measures, such as procedures for registering and releasing children, and doors are kept locked for security.
The Care Pavilion still has room to grow, and AdventHealth is committed to delivering convenient and accessible care to meet the communityโs healthcare needs.
A recent Google review gives the facility five out of five stars.
โWe have been with AdventHealth for three years, (and) at the Pavilion since it opened,โ says Colleen Scherer in her review. โThey are always helpful and accommodating, but today was above and beyond. We have multiple family moves coming up soon, as well as a child going off to college. With everything happening simultaneously, I had questions to clarify what was needed to complete paperwork for the college. I went in person to ask my questions and the staff jumped into action not only to answer my questions but get everything needed done TODAY, which was completely unexpected… Everyone was so kind and helpful!โ
Odoh summarizes the bottom line for the facility, โWe want (people) to know that AdventHealth Care Pavilion is dedicated to providing high-quality healthcare and supporting the well-being of our patients.โ
The AdventHealth Care Pavilion New Tampa (8702 Hunters Lake Dr.) is open Mon.-Fri., 7 a.m.-7 p.m., and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sat. For more info, call (813) 467-4700 or visit AdventHealthCarePavilion.com.
