Category: New Tampa

Editorial: We’ll Show You Ours (Distribution Numbers) If They Show You Theirs

By Gary Nager

In recent issues we have run a 1/4-page advertisement that tells our readers (many of whom own businesses that want to get the most for their money in our only two distribution markets, New Tampa & Wesley Chapel) that “We’ll Show You Ours If They Show You Theirs.” Although the ad makes a light-hearted joke about it, we are deadly serious when it comes to distribution figures.

Because both of our publications are distributed by direct mail through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), we can’t “audit” our circulation figures through an independent agency (none of the accredited circulation auditors will audit direct-mail publications, and we don’t really need them to because, in order to receive the special Bulk Mail rate publications like ours receive, we have to give the Post Office enough copies to put one in at least 95 percent of every mailbox in every postal carrier route we serve or the Post Office will not deliver any of them!).

But, we think our postal receipts are an even better proof of how many households (not people; more on this below) receive our publications in their mailboxes (not thrown on their driveways in the rain) and therefore offer the most possible people in both zip code 33647 (New Tampa) and zips 33543, 33544 & 33545 (Wesley Chapel) the opportunity to read them.

As most of our readers in both markets already know (because you tell us so every day), when you have the best, most informative content of any local media outlet as well as the largest circulation, our advertisers can rest easy that there will be more eyeballs reading our words and checking out their ads than any other local medium.

And, the number of those eyeballs keeps on growing, especially in Wesley Chapel, where we have added more than 5,000 additional direct-mail households since the economic bubble hit in 2008, all at our own expense and without any significant rise in our advertising rates!

But, my primary reason for writing this piece today is to tell you that, thanks to input from readers in New Tampa (specifically living in one carrier route in Cross Creek and one in Heritage Isles) who suddenly didn’t receive one or both of our last two issues in their mailboxes, we have recently added two routes and more than 1,000 additional households in zip code 33647, bringing our all-direct-mail circulation to 26,200+ households in New Tampa.

With an average of just about three people living in every household in our area (yes, many have both more and less than three, but that is the average), that means we have nearly 80,000 potential readers in New Tampa (including one carrier route in Lake Forest, which is a Lutz address, but located along Bruce B. Downs Blvd., just south of Tampa Palms) alone! When you add the nearly 21,000 households (also unmatched in the marketplace) we direct mail to in our three Wesley Chapel zip codes, the total number of people who have ongoing direct-mail access to our publications is nearly 150,000 every four weeks (we publish 26 issues, 13 in New Tampa and 13 in Wesley Chapel, every year).

Here’s an explanation you can check with the Post Office as to why we felt we had to add two more carrier routes in New Tampa. Whenever new communities, like K-Bar Ranch, begin building in an already-established area, the Post Office will wait until there are enough households in that new development or subdivision before adding another route. That means the new households in those just-developing areas will simply be added to existing carrier routes located near that new neighborhood until there are enough households in the new community itself to warrant a new route.

All ongoing direct-mail businesses are required by the Post Office to get updated carrier route numbers, but only every 90 days (three months), so until we get our updated counts again, some of the households along those now-larger existing routes may not receive their Neighborhood News until we get our next route count update.

The Post Office has even been known to change existing routes to make it easier for the postal carriers to make sure everyone they serve receives all of their mail — and, as a federal government-funded entity, the USPS isn’t required to tell anyone about those changes (go figure).

Therefore, it’s up to you, faithful readers, to tell us if you suddenly aren’t receiving your Neighborhood News in your mailbox, so I’m always grateful when you do. I can (and I’m always happy to) prove exactly how many copies we print and distribute in each of our two markets, but I can assure you (because I always know how much we spend to mail our publications to you), that if any other local medium claims to have higher numbers of homes, apartments, businesses or readers in either market than we do, all you have to do is ask them to prove it and they’ll likely back off their claim.

Wesley Chapel student killed in car accident, two others injured

Wesley Chapel High (WCH) sophomore Jaret Michael Harshman was killed and two other Wesley Chapel teenagers were injured Wednesday night in a horrific car accident in Brooksville.

Harshman, who was 15 years old, was taken by helicopter to Bayonet Point Hospital where he died, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Harshman’s father, Mike, posted the news to Facebook.
“This evening on his way to church with friends, our oldest son Jaret was killed in a fatal car accident,’’ he wrote. “He was just shy of his 16th birthday on December 28th. Kristi & I are numb & distraught – it seems surreal to us. We love Jaret, and are so proud of him – a terrible hole will be felt in our family forever, and we are still in shock over this.”

WCH graduate Ryan Scott Miller, 18, and his brother Michael Miller, 17 and a current student at the school, were in the car with listed by the FHP with minor injuries.

According to the Facebook page of the Brooksville Christian Church, where the boys headed, Ryan Miller sustained abdominal injuries and Michael Miller had to undergo surgery for his injuries.

Ryan Scott Miller was driving a blue 2006 Chevrolet Aveo northbound on Culbreath Road, and drove through a stop sign at the intersection of County Rd. 572 (Powell Road) according to the FHP. Christopher Russell of Spring Hill was heading westbound on County Rd. 572 in a 2014 Dodge Ram, and slammed into the right side of the Chevy Aero, which spun counter-clockwise before settling into the north grass shoulder. The Dodge Ram rotated clockwise into a utility pole in the grass shoulder.

Everyone was wearing their seatbelts.

Russell did not suffer any injuries.

“Thanks to all for your prayers and thoughts,’’ Jaret’s mother Kristi wrote on Facebook. “We find comfort in knowing where Jaret is and it’s so much better for him than it is for us. I don’t want to say we’ve “lost” him…someone is not lost when you know where they are. We will meet again. But we miss him with a sorrow that can’t be explained. It is so deep. I love him and miss him so, so much.”

Kristi added that Jaret was hoping to attend Florida Christian College and become a youth minister.

The students, faculty and staff of WCH (30651 Wells Road) will remember Jaret, an honor roll student at the school, on the school track Friday night at 5 p.m.

Jaret ran on the Wildcats cross country team last season, and those attending, led by the cross country team, will walk a lap around the track while holding a banner signed by the students and staff.

Edward Jones Financial Services Can Help You Get Retirement-Ready

By Celeste McLaughlin

William Morales of Edward Jones Financial Services, located across Bruce B. Downs Blvd. from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel can help you with your retirement and other financial planning needs…and much more.

Morales and office administrator Nancy Carazo previously worked together at the Edward Jones office in Tampa Palms before moving to their current Wesley Chapel location.

Financial advisor William Morales, AAMS (Accredited Asset Management Specialist), and longtime branch office administrator Nancy Carazo make up the Edward Jones Financial Services team in the Windfair Professional Center, located across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC).

Morales and Carazo have been serving clients in this location since 2012, when they closed their Tampa Palms office and moved it to Wesley Chapel. Morales had joined the company in 2009, while Carazo celebrated her 21st anniversary with Edward Jones this fall.

“I always wanted a Wesley Chapel branch,” says Morales, who lives in Meadow Pointe with his wife and two daughters, both of whom attend the Pasco-Hernando State College Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch. Carazo also lives in Meadow Pointe, making the Wesley Chapel office a convenient locale for the pair to serve their neighbors and community.

“We are a full-service agency, and I wear many different hats,” explains Morales. “When I work with clients, I may serve as their stock broker, insurance agent and bond dealer. At its core, my work is as a financial planner.”

He explains that he helps his clients in any of five different core areas, depending upon each client’s stage of life and their individual needs:

Planning for a comfortable retirement (for those who are currently working)
Enjoying retirement (for those who have already retired)
Paying for education
Preparing for the unexpected
Saving money on taxes

“In 1922, Edward Jones, Sr., founded the firm, which he passed on to his son, Ted,” explains Morales. “When Ted passed, he left the company to the employees, making it the only financial services firm of its size that is held privately.”

Morales explains that this means Edward Jones is unique in the industry, as it is not a publicly traded company itself, and has no Board of Directors and no shareholders, so his singular focus can be on pleasing his clients. Edward Jones branches are independently owned and small, but they are not franchises. All 11,500 branches throughout the U.S. and Canada are held by Edward Jones, which is headquartered in St. Louis, MO.

Morales works with his clients through a five-step process, starting with “Where am I today?” and “Where would I like to be?” Then, he says, the next steps — “Can I get there?” and “How do I get there?” — are his job. Once he’s worked with his clients through those steps, Morales says he continues to advise them to determine, “How can I stay on track?”

“I take care of financial affairs for a select group of families in our area,” he says, “with about half of my clients working families, and the other half already retired.”

He says this “select group” of both working families and retirees is limited not by any particular criteria, but because he limits himself to maintaining a small group of clients so that he can manage all of their needs well.

“If we get too big, we lose that personal touch,” he says. “(It makes it) tough to deliver the same level of service.”

Morales says the most important thing to do when you’re looking for a financial advisor is to find someone you can trust and can hopefully work with for the rest of your life.

“The person has to be someone you like, someone who makes you feel comfortable,” he says.

Another piece of advice he gives is this: “Don’t let your emotions drive your financial decisions. For example, if your favorite store has a 50 percent off sale, you’d probably run to go shopping. Yet, with stocks, many people get scared when the price drops, so they want to sell, rather than buy.” In other words, he adds, “to meet your long-term goals, don’t let your emotions get you off track.”

Morales also says that many people see the stock market in their daily lives but don’t know what it actually is or how it affects them. For example, you may hear a change in the Dow Jones Industrial Average reported on the nightly news. But, the Dow only tracks the price of 30 large companies, he explains. If you don’t own any stock in those companies, what happens with the Dow is less relevant to you. “It’s much more important to understand what financial products you’re invested in,” he says.

And, educating his clients about those companies (and financial products) is a big part of what Morales does every day. In addition to equity investments, such as stocks, Morales also offers his expertise regarding annuities, retirement plans, estate considerations, education savings, fixed-income investments such as bonds and certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, life insurance, mutual funds, as well as saving, spending and borrowing solutions.

Satisfied Customers…

Roy and Jane Spencer first encountered Morales when they moved two years ago to the Wesley Chapel subdivision of Watergrass from Arizona. They were working with a financial planner there, but say they weren’t happy with the service they were getting. They had a life insurance policy managed by Edward Jones, so Morales reached out to them, asked them a few questions about the policy, and invited them in to talk.

The Spencers agreed to meet with him, but thought they might be setting themselves up for little more than a sales pitch. They were soon thrilled to find out that they were completely wrong.

“William isn’t a sales guy,” says Spencer. “I’m in sales, so I know when someone’s trying to sell me something. Sitting with him really feels like chatting in someone’s living room. He knows his stuff, and he really cares. ”

Spencer says he left that initial meeting saying to his wife, “This is the type of (customer) service we’ve been missing.” He continues, “The stuff William knows is crazy. I try to do some research on my own, but after I spend an hour with him, I feel smarter and a lot more confident about the future.”

He says his entire experience with Morales has been positive, and unlike anything he’s had experienced in the past.

“I used to think I needed to have millions of dollars to get this kind of advice,” he says. “To have access to this level of service with a more middle income is amazing. And it’s important, because my future is in his hands.”

Morales concurs. “My job is relationship driven. I have to do the ‘nerd work’ and crunch the numbers, but most of what I do is serve my clients, and there’s no cost for advice.”

Morales explains a first-time appointment with him is similar to visiting a new doctor. “I’m going to ask you a lot of personal questions, so I can really understand what’s going on with you financially,” adding that he uses financial questionnaires and conversation to help determine his clients’ needs.

Once someone becomes Morales’ customer, they can choose to pay a flat annual fee for Edward Jones to manage all their assets or the more traditional method, where Morales receives his payment from the mutual funds, insurance policies and other investments he sells.

“One thing that makes us unique from our competition is that there are no Edward Jones investments to sell,” says Morales. “We sell the products of all the other companies, such as Fidelity, for the same cost to you as if you bought directly from them.”

Morales recommends working with a large firm, such as Edward Jones, “because the big firms have oversight. Unlike independent financial planners who don’t work for a larger company, Edward Jones has measures in place to watch what I do.”

Before joining Edward Jones, Morales was president of a mortgage company in New Tampa and served six years in the U.S. Army Ordinance Corps, spending four years stationed in and around Kuwait. Originally from New York City, Morales and his family moved to Tampa, where he graduated from Chamberlain High.

For more information, call branch office administrator Nancy Carazo at 991-7034, and she’ll schedule your appointment with Morales at the Edward Jones office in Wesley Chapel. You can also stop by the office at 2748 Windguard Circle, Suite 101 (in the office plaza behind The Hungry Greek).

A ‘Chaotic Symphony’ & A ‘Wobble’ At The Shops At Wiregrass

wiregrasslights4 — Max, the lead singer in the New Tampa-based kid band ‘Beyond Chaotic,’ sings ‘Radioactive’ by the Imagine Dragons.By Gary Nager

I was on hand for the “Symphony in Lights” Presented by Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel — the every-hour-on-the-hour (between 6 p.m.-9 p.m.) tree-lighting-set-to-music” event at Wiregrass — on Nov. 25, when the Tampa based kid band (its oldest member is 11-year-old Max, the group’s lead singer) known as “Beyond Chaotic” performed three sets of — if you can believe it — alternative rock music — between each of the 10-minute tree-lighting events. I’m not the biggest fan of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but between synthetic ice skating on Piazza Ave., and music every night through December 31, the Shops is still a cool place to shop, with multiple restaurants that sell alcohol and provide additional entertainment.

I was at the Shops that night as part of an informal gathering of Rotarians from the original New Tampa (which has been meeting at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club on Friday mornings for 20 years, the oldest Rotary in either of our distribution areas; we’ll have pics from the club’s 20th anniversary, which was celebrated on Black Friday Night, the night I went to press, but we’ll have a recap in our next issue) and Wesley Chapel (our area’s largest current club, which meets Wednesdays at noon at Stage Left Bar & Kitchen in Lutz) Rotary Clubs. Fun.

While many of those same WC Rotarians were serving meals to 500 people in need at Atonement Lutheran Church on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel the following morning, a number of NT “Breakfast” Rotary members also were on hand at the Shops the following morning for the third annual “Wiregrass Wobble 5K,” of which which the New Tampa club has been a major sponsor (along with the New Tampa Family YMCA & the FitNiche store in the Shops) since the event’s inception.

I neither attended nor covered this year’s “Wobble,” an event which already has had more than 3,000 participants and raised $45,000 (combined) the previous two years. But, with perfect weather this year, I hear the 5K run was packed again this time around. Since my friend and New Tampa Rotarian (and TV/film director/producer) Craig Miller of Full Throttle Intermedia (Facebook.com/Full Throttle Intermedia) was there, I “borrowed” a couple of his great pics for this story. I hope to soon update the huge number of runners and funds raised at NTNeighborhoodNews.com and in our next issue.

Truly ‘Beyond Chaotic’

My favorite thing about the mall at this time of year is definitely the entertainment. Beyond Chaotic is made up of music students ranging in age from 8 to no older than 11, no less at Bigel Music on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. across from Paul R. Wharton High, in the plaza next to MidFlorida Credit Union.

If you haven’t seen this too-young-to-be-this-good alternative rock band that performs everything from Imagine Dragons to AC/DC, make sure you like their page at Facebook.com/Beyond Chaotic. If you’re like…well, everyone who has seen these kids sing and play guitar, bass, drums, violin and keyboards, you’re going to want to check out their upcoming gigs. And you should.

And, if you or your children want to explore your own musical talents, I think Beyond Chaotic and the Bigel Music Chorus both speak loudly (yet melodically) about owner Larry Bigel’s Bigel Music. For info, visit BigelMusic.com.

There’s lots of other great local entertainers performing every night at the Shops through December 23, too.

For more information about synthetic ice skating, Visits with Santa, or your chance to win a “Santa’s Gift Grab” $1,000 shopping spree, visit TheShopsatWiregrass.com.

Wharton’s Cross Country Success Bodes Well For 2016 Track Season

Story & Photo by Andy Warrener

(L.-r.): Bryanna Rivers, Rachel Lettiero, Mackenzie Willman, Caroline Maggi, Marin James, Alisha Deschenes and Rania Samhouri pose with their trophy after winning the Hillsborough County Cross Country Championship meet. The Wharton girls went on to finish third at States, tops in the Tampa Bay area.

A great way to forecast high school spring track season success is to evaluate a school’s success during the fall cross country season. In that regard, the members of the girls cross country team at Paul R. Wharton High on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. have put themselves in a very good position for spring track following a dominant cross country season that concluded Nov. 7 in Tallahassee.

Mired in a brutal district (District 4A-6), the Wharton cross country team had to cut its teeth by battling all season with 10-time state champion Plant and county powerhouse Newsome.

Still, they came out on top in all of Hillsborough County in nearly every instance. First, it was the Hillsborough County Championships, where the Wildcats out-distanced Plant 44-65. Next, it was at the District 4A-6 meet, where the ‘Cats clipped the Panthers 32-41.

At the 4A Region 2 meet in Lakeland, the Wharton girls had an off day but still managed third place behind Newsome, 104 to 112.

“You always know Coach (Orlando) Greene is going to field a competitive team at Plant and you know you have to be ready to roll and that you can’t count them (Newsome) out,” Wharton coach Anthony Triana said.

The Wildcat girls bounced back in a big way, however, in Tallahassee at the State championships, finishing third, the best showing for any Hillsborough County girls team, and a big jump from the previous year when Wharton was 13th.

Top cross country runners Alisha Deschenes and Rania Samhouri both placed in the top 30 individually in Tallahassee.

Deschenes was the 4A-6 District champion and set a personal best this season with a run of 19 minutes, 31 seconds at the FSU Invitational, as did Samhouri (19.44 at FSU Invitational) and Bryanna Rivers (19:50.9 at the district meet). Samhouri moved up to the No. 2 runner behind Deschenes for Wharton after starting the season at No. 5.

Samhouri used a tough finish at state track last season to fuel her cross country season, and she hopes to carry that energy from cross country into the upcoming track season. “Rania had a tough leg of the 4x800m at States, where she got passed down the final stretch,’’ Triana said, “and it’s fueled her ever since.”

Rania told Triana that the ride back from the State meet counted as her break, and she was ready for the next season. “Most kids take a couple of weeks off, Triana said. “That just shows her determination and why she did so well in cross country this season.”

Deschenes didn’t even compete for Wharton in track last season, devoting her time to the soccer pitch, but after a solid cross country campaign, she’s now slated to run for the Wildcats this coming season.

The Wharton girls started spring conditioning for track on November 23.

“Anytime you go from States to the next season, it’s all about keeping the kids hungry,” Triana said. “These girls have that. We took two weeks off from cross country States and we’re already ready to go.”

According to the FHSAA record books, no Hillsborough County girls team has ever won a team track title. The best finish by any Hillsborough County school belongs to the Wildcats in 2008, when they finished third.

It will be no picnic and certainly it will be extremely difficult to unseat 10-time and back-to-back Class 4A state champs St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale, but Triana thinks cracking into the top five with eyes on the runner-up position or even better is possible.

“All last year did was give us more confidence that we can compete with anyone,” Triana said. “When that gun goes off we’re going to give it all we can and compete with those people.

“Forty or 50 points is likely to get you first or second (in Class 4A) at States. We expect to have 10-12 girls competing at the State track meet this coming season, so I’m pretty sure we can score 40 or 50 points.” Last season, the Wildcat girls finished 12th, but return most of the key contributors.

Top sprinter Aria Tate, a junior, placed sixth in the 100m hurdles at states, just missing the 200m finals by 0.08 seconds. Top middle distance runner Rivers, the school record holder in the 800m and sixth-place finisher in the event at the State meet, also is just a junior. Serena Gadson was 13th at States in the 800m and is just a sophomore. Junior Marin James returns after placing 13th in the 3200m race.

Wharton’s 4x400m relay team was dominant locally and was seventh at the 2015 State meet. The 4x800m relay was third at States, two seconds off the school record, and returns all four runners.

Field events might be the one weak spot for the 2016 Wildcats, but it’s an area of emphasis with Triana and his assistants this offseason.

“It’s part of the team that we really need to develop,” Triana said. “Long jumper Avonti Holt and high jumper Sabrena Eye will be key for us.”