Category: New Tampa

Crawford’s Turnaround Sparking Wharton’s Boys Hoops Success

Josiah Crawford, a 6-foot-3 senior forward at Paul R. Wharton High in New Tampa, has improved his scoring average this season, and improved his rebounding totals as well.

Crawford’s numbers, however, while impressive, don’t tell the most important part of his story.

Coach Tommy Tonelli does.

Tonelli describes Crawford in glowing terms like “respectful, committed and determined” to describe a player he says has grown into “a great teammate.”

The long-time Wharton boys basketball coach has not only been impressed with Crawford’s turnaround as a basketball player, but moved by his turnaround as a person.

“In all my years of coaching, I have never seen a greater transformation,’’ says Tonelli, now in his 17th year of running Wharton’s successful hoops program, of his talented swingman.

Crawford, who can basically play every position on the floor, is a big part of the reason why the Wildcats ave notched their seventh straight 20-win season and head into tonight’s Class 7A, District 8 tournament at Wharton as the No. 2 seed and winners of seven straight. He is averaging team-highs in points (16.8) and rebounds (8.7) and has been a leader on the court.

Crawford says his journey to arrive at that court, however, required overcoming some self-inflicted obstacles.

As a freshman, Crawford decided he didn’t want to play basketball for the Wildcats, despite being a talented hoopster in AAU and at pick-up games at the nearby L.A. Fitness on County Line Rd.

“I was just messing around, I didn’t want to go to practices,” Crawford says. “I was just lazy. I would just go home and hang out.”

For some of the Wildcats, many of them his friends, that was unacceptable. They told him he needed to be on the court, that he was wasting his talent.

They told Tonelli, too. The coach, however, told his players that if Crawford wanted to come out for the team, he needed to stop by his office and ask.

When Crawford finally stopped by towards the end of his freshman year, Tonelli says, he still had a hint of an attitude problem. “I remember he walked in, and he was Mr. Cool,’’ Tonelli says. “He said, ‘You wanted to see me?’ I told him no.”

The message from Tonelli was simple — if you want to play, come earn your way onto the team.

That summer, Crawford did just that, competing in summer leagues with Wharton. “He was like a wild colt,’’ Tonelli says.

Crawford was a standout during the junior varsity summer league at Berkeley Prep in the Westshore area of Tampa, opening Tonelli’s eyes. While the coach had never seen him play prior to him coming out for the basketball team, his players told him that Crawford needed to be on the Wharton roster.

“He showed some real talent, and that carried right over into fall workouts,’’ Tonelli says.

However, during his freshman year, Crawford was not only not playing basketball, he wasn’t performing well in the classroom either. Tonelli described him as a “knucklehead.” As a result, he was ineligible for most of the basketball season his sophomore year, despite his super summer.

“I was disappointed in myself,’’ Crawford recalls. “If I would have played basketball my freshman year, coach would not have let my grades be the way they were.”

It was during this time, Tonelli surmises, that Crawford began changing, accepting responsibility, working hard and growing into the young man he is now. Even knowing he wasn’t going to be able to play, Crawford showed up every day to practice with the ‘Cats. He came to every game. He helped with water and the towels, and became a better student in the classroom.

In other words, Tonelli says, “He worked his butt off.”

Crawford regained his eligibility in time to play the final two games for Wharton’s JV team, and has never looked back since.

That summer, Crawford, who also stars in the 400- and 800-meter runs for the Wharton track team, took off. Playing on an AAU team with players from Wharton and Jesuit, his game improved every day. Last year, as a junior, he started every game for the ‘Cats and, for the first time, he actually made the honor roll in school.

This year, he has been one of the best players not only on the Wildcats but in District 7A-8, where he ranks third in scoring and second in rebounding.

“My jump shooting has gotten better, my rebounding is better,” Crawford says. “I’d just say that all around I think I’ve gotten better.’’

Two Saturdays ago, Crawford was named the game MVP in a 63-46 win against Clearwater at a tournament in Seminole. It’s been like that all year, Tonelli says. The player he describes as a one-time knucklehead continues to make every hustle play, shining both on the court and in the classroom.

“What really moves me is the way he has given appreciation and thanks for all the people who brought him along this far,’’ Tonelli says. “It’s really a nice thing to see.”

Boys Class 7A-8 District

Basketball Tourney Schedule
Feb. 2: Leto at Wharton, 7 p.m.; Gaither at Freedom, 7 p.m. (Note: Higher seed teams host first round games; the rest are played at one site.)

Feb. 3: at Wharton; District Semifinals at 6 and 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 5: at Wharton; District Championship at 7 p.m.

New Tampa Rotary To Re-Launch ‘The Taste Of New Tampa’ In 2017!

An editorial by Gary Nager

It’s official! The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) has agreed to allow the Rotary Club of New Tampa — which meets Friday mornings for breakfast at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club and which celebrated its 20th anniversary last month — to “take over” and resurrect the Taste of New Tampa, which was last held in Primrose Park in Tampa Palms in 2014.

The WCCC took over the right to put on the Taste in Feb. 2015, when the New Tampa Chamber of Commerce agreed to be absorbed by the Wesley Chapel Chamber.

Less than a year later, with the WCCC already having divested itself of its other major event — the Wesley Chapel Fall Festival (by turning it over to an event company) — WCCC CEO Hope Allen was happy to meet with New Tampa Rotary media honcho Karen Frashier earlier this month to discuss the possibility of the Rotary Club taking over what had been (for 20 years) the premier single-day event held in (and around) New Tampa.

I am proud to say that I helped facilitate and sat in on that meeting, where the two reached an agreement in principal that Frashier brought back to current New Tampa Rotary president Lesley Zajac, president-elect Brice Wolford and the rest of the club’s Board. The vote was unanimous, but while the agreement and trademark transfer still have to be finalized — “dotting all of the ‘i’s and crossing all of the ‘t’s,” as Zajac called it — the good news is that there will again be a Taste of New Tampa.

“Our Board members were very excited to move ahead with this opportunity to revive a very popular community event for our area,” Zajac said following the vote.

OK, So…When?

Zajac’s term as New Tampa Rotary president ends on July 1 of this year, when Wolford assumes the reins of the club. Sometime between now and then, after the agreement has been finalized, Wolford says it makes sense for the Rotary to host an initial meeting — that we will promote in these pages — to find out who is interested (in addition to yours truly) in being involved in what promises to be a six-to-eight-month plan to revive the event sometime in March (and no later than early April) 2017, at a site also to be determined.

That means the planning stage won’t start in earnest until Wolford takes over the presidency and the long-time New Tampa Rotarian says he’s excited to add a new spring-time event to pair with the club’s annual “Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot 5K,” the major annual fall event the club has hosted the last three years.

The Taste also will replace the New Tampa Rotary PigFest, which the New Tampa “Breakfast” Club ran for eight years, with the last one being held in 2012, as the Rotary Club’s major springtime event.

“We really appreciate the trust the Wesley Chapel Chamber has shown in us by allowing us to be the organization that revives the Taste,” Wolford said. “We see it as a tremendous complement to our fund-raising efforts for this community.”

I already promised the Rotary Board that I would be happy to once again help with attracting restaurants — which was my primary function for most of the 20 previous Tastes, although I also was the event chair or co-chair several times and a two-term president of the now-defunct New Tampa Community Council, which created the event in 1994. The Council ultimately became the New Tampa Chamber, which then put on the last few Tastes.

The bottom line? Considering the amazing work the New Tampa Rotary Club has done in not only the New Tampa community but also regionally and even internationally, I know the event I used to call “my baby” is once again destined for greatness.

Arbor Greene Couple Fights To Help The Injured Stay In Step

Romulo “Romy” Camargo rolls past Derrik Amarral, who is working hard with physical therapists to bring legs that were damaged in a car accident back to life.

“Come on, Derrik,’’ Romy encourages Amarral. “Let’s go!”

Across the room, 69-year-old Vietnam War veteran William Stevens is lifting a weighted bar, screaming loudly as his personal trainers urge him on.

Meanwhile, Gabriella (“Gaby”) Camargo, Romy’s wife, smiles as she looks out from her office.

At the Stay in Step Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Recovery Center in Tampa, a 5,000-sq.-ft. haven for paraplegics, quadriplegics and those who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, it is not uncommon to see Romy trying to fire up those fighting through a workout.

Conveniently located in the University Center Drive Business Park off N. 30th St. (near both the University of South Florida and the James A. Haley Veteran’s Hospital), Romy and Gaby are reaching beyond just service to wounded war veterans. So Amarral, a civilian who drives from Spring Hill, works side-by-side with Stevens, a military vet. “It’s very important people know that this is for military and civilians,” Gaby says.

Romy — who is serving as the 2016 Gasparilla Parade of Pirates Grand Marshall this weekend — and Gaby have devoted their lives to helping wounded warriors, many who battle daily to remain viable and healthy despite having lost the use of their legs, their arms and, in many cases, both.

On Valentine’s Day (Sunday, February 14), 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m., All American Music Productions is hosting the “Valentines For Veterans” benefit dinner at the Stone Chef Events facility in Ybor City. All proceeds go to support Romy and Gaby’s Stay in Step Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

“We can’t do what we do without the support of the community,’’ Gaby says.

Continuing To Serve…

While on a humanitarian mission in Afghanistan in 2008, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Romy Camargo and his fellow soldiers in the Green Beret 7th Special Forces Group were ambushed in Zabul Province by Taliban fighters.

As they scrambled to dodge a hailstorm of rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire, a bullet smashed into the back of Romy’s neck.

Bullets continued to fly as an emergency tracheotomy was performed on Romy, saving his life. The soldiers managed to repel the attack and get to safety, and Romy was flown to Germany and then to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C. It was on Gaby’s birthday — September 19, 2008 — when he arrived at Walter Reed.

Romy was hooked up to countless wires and machines, a ventilator so he could breathe, and he was lucky to be alive. The bullet had shattered his C3 vertebrae. He was paralyzed from the shoulders down. Doctors said he would never breathe on his own, but Romy is always proud to say he proved them wrong.

Doctors also told him he would never walk again. Romy told Gaby the doctors were wrong on that claim as well, as he continues to strive towards his goal of one day getting out of his wheelchair forever.

Thus began the toughest mission of the Green Beret’s life.

He spent 18 months at Walter Reed before he could leave. Shortly thereafter, he petitioned the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army for permission to try an aggressive treatment to help him recover. In May of 2011 in Lisbon, Portugal, he became the first active duty service member to receive Olfactory Mucosa Autografts, where stem cells from the base of his nose were used to stimulate the recovery of his injured spine.

Romy couldn’t distinguish temperatures and tell if the weather was hot or cold before the surgery, but he could after the treatment. It was a big moment. Since that surgery four-plus years ago, he says he has had no setbacks and he has seen great improvement. The surgery, however, required intensive rehabilitation. For two-and-a-half years, Romy drove to Longwood, FL, to work out at Project Walk Orlando. He says the twice-a-week commute sometimes felt as gruelling as the workouts, taking as long as 4-5 hours round trip, but it was worth it.

”It was a great place, it was awesome,’’ Romy says. “And it made me stronger.”

Gaby, however, had an idea to start their own facility, to do the same great work here in the Tampa Bay area. They began raising money. As they approached the grand opening date of the Stay In Step SCI Recovery Center in June of 2015, Toyota contributed $300,000 to give the Camargos the $1.2 million total they needed to launch.

The center currently services roughly 20-30 clients with its action-based therapy and family- and team-oriented treatment, and the Camargos hope to have 50 patients and even more someday.

But, they also understand the trouble some have in paying for treatment, and that everyone does not have the support and connections they had. One of Gaby’s goals this year is to begin a supplemental program, to help pay for an hour or two of time for clients who can’t afford to pay.

The money they hope to raise at the Valentines for Veterans event will go towards that cause, and they also recently received a $300,000 donation from the U.S. Special Forces Charitable Foundation.

“This is such important work,” Gaby says, “that we want to take off some of the financial burden.”

Because of the seriousness of many of the injuries they see, Romy and Gaby know how important it is for their patients to remain as active as possible despite their physical limitations. The long-term process, they say, is as much mental as it is physical. While Romy, who retired from the service after 20 years in October, doesn’t promise anyone they will ever walk again, he does promise to make them feel better and stronger, which will improve their quality of life.

“It’s attitude,’’ he says. “Never give up. These guys are happy to be here. They come and work out and they want to come more. That’s why we’re so thankful for the donations we receive, so they can help with the financial burden. This is a family issue for most of them.”

To that end, the Stay in Step facility doesn’t just boast top-of-the-line equipment — like the $115,000 RT600 that provides electrical stimulation to patients working out in the standing position, or the $30,000 RT300 that does the same for those in a sitting position — it also has a playroom stocked with books, art supplies and video games for children. For adults, there is a home-like waiting area, designed like a living room with comfortable furniture, computers with internet connections and warm surroundings.

“Everything is state of the art,’’ Romy says, proudly.

That includes the people who work there, he says. The employees include lead trainer Steven Hill, the Special Forces medic who performed the emergency tracheotomy that saved Romy’s life, and certified trainers who are invested and passionate, Romy says. The center’s medical advisor is Dr. John Merritt, MD, one of Romy’s doctors at Walter Reed and the retired chief of the Spinal Cord Injury Center at the Haley’s Veteran’s Hospital.

Romy, who directs his hi-tech motorized wheelchair (equipped with an iPad and iPhone that he operates with a mouth stick) that operates on sensors he can trigger via his headrest, couldn’t be happier to give back. He takes the greatest pleasure in seeing the same fight he has in those trying to recover, — and pushing them even further.

Having circled the facility to give a tour, Romy looks back at Amarral and Stevens, whose progress continues to be marked by decibels as he achieves a personal best in the weight he is hoisting. Romy motions his head towards them, offering more words of encouragement to both of them.

Amarral looks over and smiles.

“These guys are awesome,’’ he says, loudly. “This place is awesome.”

The Stay in Step Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center is located at 10500 University Center Dr., Suite 130, in Tampa. Visit StayInStep.org for more info. For about the “Valentines For Veterans” gala, visit AllAmericanMusicEvents.com.

Rep. Shawn Harrison expands fundraising lead with big December

In what is expected to be a hotly-contested race for the Florida House District 63 seat currently held by Republican Shawn Harrison, the incumbent has jumped out to a sizable lead – at least in terms of raising funds.

According to fund-raising totals reported on Jan. 11, Harrison pulled in $31,700 from donors in December, pushing him to just above $100,000 for the 2016 race. After the Dec. figures were released, Harrison said (in an email to his supporters), “Thank you all for your help in my December fund-raising surge, now it’s time for the 2016 session!”

And, those figures surely received a boost from Harrison’s last pre-legislative session fund raiser on Jan. 7 at The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve assisted living facility in New Tampa (see story on pg. 20). He said roughly 70 people attended that event.

“There were a lot of folks from New Tampa there,’’ Harrison said. “I’ve been in elected office for many years and built up quite a good network of friends and co-workers who would like to see that service continue.”

District 63 includes much of Northern Hillsborough County, including New Tampa and the University of South Florida. Harrison will be opposed by whichever Democrat emerges from the looming August 30 Primary Election battle between current District 7 Tampa City Council member Lisa Montelione and Mike Reedy, a state organizer for Equality Florida, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)-advocacy group.

Harrison won the Dist. 63 seat in 2014, defeating Democrat Mark Danish, who had beaten Harrison for the same seat in 2012.

While December isn’t considered a great month for political fund raising, because of the holidays, it is an important one for House members like Harrison, who are prohibited from raising money during the state legislative session, which convened again on Jan. 12 and runs through Mar 11.

“It’s obviously a pretty big number, $30,000 in one month, and it was a quite a successful month for fund raising,’’ Harrison told the Neighborhood News. “It was a nice little push before session to get some money into the account.”

Harrison, who will be pushing a number of important items related to the University of South Florida during the session and who has already pushed a bill forward to move the Second District Court of Appeals from Lakeland to Tampa, said he was just as pleased to break the six-figure mark for his campaign, a personal goal of his.

Montelione raised $5,020 in December. She said she is not surprised by Harrison’s fund-raising numbers nor the timing. “If you look at them, I think there’s (45) contributions, mostly all $1,000, which is the maximum and mostly from companies that will want something from him this upcoming season.”

Of Harrison’s 45 December contributions, 25 were for the maximum $1,000 allowed.

Montelione was pleased with the amount she raised. “I think that’s pretty decent,’’ she said.

Since entering the race in November, Montelione has raised $14,313.

“Considering I only got in the race a few months ago, I feel fabulous about where I am,’’ she said. “That’s in only about three weeks of fund raising.”

Reedy had his slowest fund-raising month since filing on Jan. 26, 2015, to challenge Harrison. In December, Reedy raised $130.64 to bring his campaign total to $16,478.32.

Reedy has picked up some key endorsements since entering the race, however, including one from former Rep. Danish himself.

The Legacy At Highwoods Preserve Redefines Assisted Living!

By Anu Panchal

When Penny Kauffman was 4 years old, a new, soon-to-be-adored person entered her life. Her 15-year-old half-brother, who had been in boarding school in England, moved in with his mother and step-father in Tampa. Kauffman was immediately captivated, and the sibling bond blossomed, with Anthony Hamilton (her brother) even allowing his kid sister to tag along on his dates with him to the roller skating rink in Tampa.

Three quarters of a century later, Hamilton, a former reporter and photographer for Tampa’s WFLA-TV (Ch. 8), suffers from age-related dementia, and when it became impossible for the 79-year-old to stay in his Seven Oaks home, Kauffman and her husband, Ken, had to find a better alternative that would allow them peace of mind and proximity to Penny’s beloved brother. After stays in three different facilities, they finally struck gold close to home: the brand new Legacy at Highwoods Preserve, on Highwoods Preserve Pkwy., less than two miles from Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

“We’ve hit out of the ball park with this one,” says Kauffman. “We’re very pleased with The Legacy.”

The Legacy (owned by Houston-based PinPoint Commercial ) opened its doors last summer and boasts spacious rooms, an extensive array of facilities and amenities, expansive views over a nature preserve outside and even a putting green at the center of one of the facility’s courtyards.

TheLegacyPiano — ***Editor’s note: The version in the Jan. 29 edition of the New Tampa Neighborhood News ran with a picture of a ballroom from one of The Legacy’s sister properties. This is the correct picture. We apologize for the error.

The Legacy has the capacity to house 88 seniors in 82 private, self-furnished suites, and community relations director Aarene Alessi says, “we are on target with projected occupancy goals.”

Five floor plans range from 330-sq.-ft studios to 525-sq.-ft. deluxe suites. There are 60 suites for assisted living, as well as room for 22 residents in the secured memory care wing of the impressive building.

As part of The Legacy’s all-inclusive package, residents are served three meals a day at the Palm Pavilion (think fine linens and menus). They also can grab a snack from the Key Lime Bistro any time of the day or night, meet for a drink at the Hurricane Sports Bar, or book the Coconut Grove private dining room for a meal with visiting family members.

There’s also a full-service salon, game room, theatre, library, a grand piano a putting green and a fitness center. Residents’ medical needs are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) with oversight from Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs).

Both the salon and the fitness center also are open to the community at large. Alessi says that the public will also be able to book meeting space for up to 75 people in the facility. “We want to be a resource for the community,” she says.

Technological innovation is at the forefront of all of The Legacy’s offerings. The fitness center boasts state-of-the-art HUR equipment for senior exercise, which residents can activate with a touch of their radio-frequency ID wrist bands that also alert the machines to the user’s preferences and goals.

With no weights or chains to struggle with, this unique equipment minimizes falls and injuries, which is so important for active seniors. The wrist band, which they also can wear as a pendant, also functions as the resident’s room key.

For Francene Newbury, whose mother, 96-year-old Laura Augustyn, moved into The Legacy last October, that technology has made all the difference in the world. “For the first time in years, I am sleeping at night,” says Newbury. “That’s huge for me.”

In the nursing home where Augustyn lived before she moved into The Legacy, Newbury says her mother would often fall at night. Because she would have had to crawl to her bedside and pull a cord for help there, Newbury got her mother a pendant with a button that linked to Newbury’s cell phone. She says she got numerous calls from her mother for help, and by the time she would make the 15-minute drive from her Tampa Palms home to her mom, she says the staff there were often just becoming aware that there was a problem in the room.

But now, at The Legacy, Laura and all of the residents wear pendants that can alert caregivers on staff instantly.

Health care providers also use handheld mobile devices, called Point of Care Solutions, to electronically record all interactions with residents and even send electronic prescriptions to pharmacies. Cameras and 18 monitors keep a watchful eye on public areas, and residents are protected (privacy intact) inside their suites with the Quiet Care System, a motion monitor that gets to know their behaviors and patterns.

If something is out of character — such as a resident getting up unusually often at night — the system alerts the CNAs so they can monitor the resident for conditions such as a possible urinary tract infection, a common problem among both male and female residents.

Kauffman says this system helped alert the staff that her brother was waking up too many times at night, and helped them make a decision to switch the timing of his medications because they may have been keeping him up.

Anyone entering the facility, whether they are family members, third party providers or doctors, is checked out by Accushield, a digital sign-in kiosk that verifies providers’ credentials, time spent in the building, and even criminal and health backgrounds. All visitors are issued a badge with a photograph, but the ink on the badge will disappear after 24 hours.

“Technology gives us the cutting edge,” says Alessi. “But, (it’s the) people (who) take care of the residents. It’s very important to us to hire and have a team that is passionate about senior living.”

Recreation is an important part of The Legacy’s offerings, and area residents may already have seen the bright Legacy logo adorning the motor coach that takes residents to restaurants for lunch, to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa or the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.

“My mom would just sit in a chair and snooze,” says Newbury about her mother’s former assisted living facility.

Today, Newbury’s mother participates in movies, Bingo, musical events and some outings. “It makes her feel like she’s not just stuck in a place living out her remaining days,” she says.

Another attraction? Chef Fred (photo on pg. 20). Not only is the chef part of the group that sets up each resident’s “wellness plan,” he also is eager to accommodate residents’ individual tastes.

When Hamilton’s son brought his father a traditional plum pudding from England to celebrate Christmas, Hamilton said he would like to introduce such a dessert to his fellow residents. So, Chef Fred agreed to whip one up which Hamilton will share on Super Bowl Sunday.

“They’re onto something,” says Newbury of The Legacy. “This is the way of the future. As boomers get to the point where we need added care, this is the type of arrangement that makes sense. We’re finally moving away in Tampa from the nursing home concept to an engaged, safe arrangement for senior parents.”

The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve is an assisted living and memory care center located at 18600 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. For more info, call 375-9858, see the ad on pg. 33 or visit LegacyatHighwoodsPreserve.com. You can walk in or schedule a tour Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sun., 10 a.m.-2 p.m.