Local Nonprofit Group Trying To Keep Puerto Rico On Everyone’s Radar

(L.-r.) Nehiel, Ivy and Ashley.

If you’re like most Floridians, you spent a lot of time glued to the Doppler Radar on your TV sets and smartphones to keep up with the paths of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria from late August through early October.

And, following the devastation that Irma and Maria both wreaked upon the Caribbean, especially Maria’s march through the American territorial island of Puerto Rico, many of us felt compelled to do something to help, especially if we had friends or family hit by those storms.

One family who lives in Land O’Lakes, off Wesley Chapel Blvd., was particularly close to the situation. In fact, Ivelisse (she goes by “Ivy” here) Hernandez was in Puerto Rico when Irma hit there, returned to be with her daughter Ashley Rivera just before Irma hit here and went back to her native home, to help with Irma relief, three days before Maria devastated the power grid and so many lives in Puerto Rico.

In fact, the first time Ivy was able to get in  touch with Ashley following Maria, all she could get through was an “SOS” message on Facebook. An ABC Action News TV crew was actually on hand when Ashley and Ivy were first able to speak with each other the next day — for ten minutes or less — and only because Ivy climbed a large hill in the decimated town of Canovanas in order to get enough cell phone “bars” to even make a phone call.

“I have been through hurricanes before, but I never saw anything like Maria,” Ivy recalls. “Away from the big cities, people there may not have power or working traffic lights for two years or more.”

In other words, Ivy says, it’s important for us, as fellow Americans, to keep Puerto Rico on our radar. “You can’t just think, ‘Well, I already donated some money or some food, so I did my part.’ The crisis in Puerto Rico is far from over.”

Taking Action

Ashley, a teacher at Denham Oaks Eelementary in Land O’Lakes, decided to do something more to help. She started a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization called “El Coqui Que Vive Aqui,” which means “The Frog that Lives Here.” El coqui is a small frog that is indigenous to Puerto Rico that has never been able to live anywhere else but on the island. “So, we are the coquis — the native Puerto Ricans — who live here  (in Florida),” Ashley says.

The name might be hard to say, but what this small group of people — most of whom had never met before joining together — have accomplished in a very short period of time is truly amazing and inspiring.

“We didn’t know what we could do,” Ashley says. “We wanted to be there to help, but we couldn’t. We all just felt like we needed to do something. I started reaching out on Facebook saying ‘We’re doing this’ and people just started offering to help.”

Among those who have been helping, she says, are Life Church on Old Pasco Rd. and local businesses like Happy Cow Frozen Yogurt on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Wesley Chapel (which held a fundraiser) and others, like the Palms Pharmacy in Tampa Palms (which donated gloves, masks, OTC medications and more. “They really opened up their hearts to help us,” Ashley says.) and Associated Construction Products in Lutz, which donated hundreds of buckets (see below). And, a company called Envolve Pharmacy Solutions has donated its cargo airplanes (which would normally cost thousands for each flight) to fly over to Puerto Rico, filled with the supplies collected by El Coqui volunteers. To date, four Envolve planes have flown more than 20,000 pounds of supplies over to the island, all of which have gotten into the hands of those who need them.

Ashley started by collecting the items Ivy said the people in Puerto Rico needed — including non-perishable food, toiletries and buckets to catch rain water, since bottled water is in such short supply. Ivy’s mother, Ashley’s grandmother, owns Premier Medical Services in Carolina, Puerto Rico, where she has organized dozens of volunteers — most of whom have no power or water themselves, but are still helping people who are even less fortunate — to make sure that the items that El Coqui volunteers collect actualy get into the hands of the people in need.

“My mom was able to develop a network of people she knows in many of the small towns in the mountainous areas away from the bigger cities, where nothing was getting through,” Ivy says. “We’re making sure we’re getting the supplies to those in the most need first.”

Ivy, who says that she had never seen anything like the island after Maria, says, “Imagine no land lines, no TV, entire families waiting in line for 12 hours for gas, no ice and no way to communicate. The one radio station on the island that had a signal was collapsing as it was helping people connect for the first time. I never thought I would hear that emergency signal on the radio used for a real emergency. We were in no way prepared for this.”

Among those helping El Coqui is U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and Calvary Scout Jason Maddy, one of a group of U.S. veterans who has self-deployed to Puerto Rico. “Jason was able to get our supplies into the mountains, many of which had no roads after Maria,” Ivy says.

Although many of the supplies are loaded in boxes, Associated Construction Products donated the buckets and, rather than ship them over empty, El Coqui volunteers have filled them with supplies and called them “Buckets of Love,” which anyone can pay to fill for just $20. “Some of the buckets have food, some have tools or personal hygiene items,” Ashley says. “Some people have given us money, but some people have donated medical supplies like adult diapers. They need everything there.”

Helping Here, Too

As a teacher, Ashley notes that schools across the Bay area have accepted thousands of children who have left Puerto Rico to live with aunts or uncles, “some of whom they  had never met before. There is just so much emotional counseling that is needed, for kids and for older, sick people who waited weeks for flights to get here, too. They’re all traumatized.”

Ivy adds, “We have gotten so many messages on the El Coqui Facebook page from people who are literally crying, “Thank you so much for helping us. We thought everyone forgot about us here.”

Some local schools are even writing letters that El Coqui is shipping to the people of Puerto Rico to let them know someone cares. “Every bucket has a card and a letter in it,” says Ivy, who is going back to Puerto Rico on Christmas Day to literally play Santa Claus for these people. “My Christmas will be handing out toys to kids and families who have nothing. Even a $10 toy will be a big deal for these kids.”

I met several of El Coqui’s volunteers, all of whom have a connection to Puerto Rico, but none of whom knew each other before they got involved. They all have the same beautiful energy for heping that Ashley and Ivy do. All they need now are more donations and more voluteers to help get them to Puerto Rico.

If you’d like to help, search “El Coquî Que Vive Aqui” on Facebook and please tell Ashley and Ivy that we sent you!

Fill ‘er up: Crystal Lagoon topped off!

Metro Development Group announced on Dec. 26 that the much-anticipated Crystal Lagoon at Epperson is filled.
Yes, those are actual photos of the lagoon, not renderings.
To commemorate the first-ever Crystal Lagoons’ amenity in the U.S., Metro will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony next week, on Friday, January 5.
“Metro Development Group is excited to be the first to bring this amazing amenity to the U.S.,” said Metro president Greg Singleton in a press release. “We have celebrated many milestones with Crystal Lagoons over the past two years and we are proud to have earned the distinction of being the first developer to inaugurate a Crystal Lagoons’ amenity in the U.S.”
While filled with crystal clear water — maintained by ultra-sonic technology that uses sensors to monitor the quality of the crystal-clear water, and uses 100 times less chemicals than a traditional swimming pool and 50 times less energy than conventional pool filtration systems — work continues on the 7.5-acre lagoon at Epperson.
As you can tell by the pictures, some palm trees are in place but still to come: a waterslide, private cabanas, in-water obstacle platform, swim-up bar, tidal pool, restaurant, family beach, yoga lawn, an entertainment plaza, an area for special events and more.
Metro is planning an official grand opening celebration in early spring 2018, where Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps is scheduled to appear.

WCCC wraps up a big 2017

Hope Allen & Jen Cofini thank the Board’s longest-tenured members Dr. Micah Richeson (left) and Steve Domonkos, who have each served for seven years.

Congratulations to the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) for another truly amazing year of growth in both membership numbers and in standing within not only Wesley Chapel and New Tampa, but throughout Pasco County and beyond.

The WCCC wrapped up 2017 at its annual breakfast meeting on Dec. 5, at Pasco Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, where 2017 Board of Directors chair Jennifer Cofini of Parks Auto Group handed her gavel over to local dentist Dr. Zack Kalarickal, who will lead the Board in 2018. Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller Dr. Paula O’Neil swore in Kalarickal and his new Board.

After that rite of passage, as her final acts as Board chair, Cofini first  named a few award winners for 2017, including Karen Tillman-Gosselin of Smith & Associates Realty, who was named the Board Member of the Year. Also honored at the event, emceed by Bob Thompson of Thompson Brand Images, was my former WCNT-tv partner Craig Miller of Full Throttle Intermedia, who won Rookie Board Member of the Year, in part for his more than 200 man-hours putting together the Chamber’s “Explore Wesley Chapel New Tampa” video. Mary Nash of the Advisor magazine won Ambassador of the Year, although the honor wasn’t announced at the event because Nash wasn’t present at the meeting.

Board Member of the Year Karen Tillman-Gosselin (center) is joined by outgoing Board president Jen Cofini (right) and Chamber CEO Hope Allen.

Also recognized were Cindy Ross of RP&G Printing, who chaired the Chamber’s Ambassador Council, and attorney Cristen Martinez of Martinez Law for chairing the Chamber’s Women of Wesley Chapel (aka WOW) group.

(Note-Although it also wasn’t announced at the meeting, WCNT-tv’s own Mollyana Ward has been named the WOW chair for 2018.)

Also recognized at the breakfast, which was provided by WCCC Ambassador Peter Gambacorta of Private Chef of Tampa, were the Board members who have had the longest tenures — Dr. Micah Richeson of Cypress Creek Chiropractic and Steve Domonkos of The Shops at Wiregrass, both of whom have served on the Board for seven years.

Cofini also reviewed some of the Chamber’s 2017 accomplishments, including the WCCC’s acquisition of the Greater Pasco Chamber, which allows Wesley Chapel to extend its reach out not only to western Pasco, but also to northern Pinellas county. Cofini also noted that the WCCC hosted more than 150 networking events during 

2017.

Dr. Kalarickal also mentioned that the Chamber has agreed to continue as a partner in WCNT-tv, which just passed a Facebook reach of 1 million and has had nearly 500,000 views on YouTube and Facebook.

Sadly, shortly after the meeting, WCCC membership director Jennifer Tussing announced she was leaving the Chamber to work at Martinez Law. You’ll be missed, Jen!

For more information about the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, visit WesleyChapelChamber.com or call (813) 994-8534.

Wesley Chapel resident led effort to place 20,000 wreaths at Florida National Cemetery

Wesley Chapel resident Randy Lewer and other volunteers placed wreaths at the graves of thousands of U.S. military veterans buried at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.

Back in December 2006, Wesley Chapel resident Randy Lewer and a couple of his buddies from the U.S. Military Vets Motorcycle Club held a small ceremony at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell to remember the veterans buried there during the holidays. Randy says just a few people gathered in the rain that day for a brief ceremony.

The group had been provided with seven ceremonial wreaths (honoring the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force, POWs {Prisoners of War}/MIA {Missing In Action}and Merchant Marines), which were donated from the organizer of an effort to lay wreaths on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. That effort has since grown into what is now called “Wreaths Across America” and helps to adorn graves at about 1,500 military cemeteries throughout the U.S.

While Wreaths Across America has grown nationwide, Randy’s efforts at Florida National Cemetery (which is located in Sumter County, northeast of Brooksville), have flourished into one of the largest in the country.

Last year, Randy estimates that 8,000-10,000 people came out to the Florida National Cemetery, where 21,600 wreaths were laid on the graves of those buried there. While there are more than 100,000 U.S. military veterans and 30,000 spouses buried at the cemetery, he says the number of graves adorned with the wreaths is determined by how much fund-raising is done.

Randy is one of the Wreaths Across America organizers who work nearly year-round to raise funds to purchase the wreaths. Many local organizations and community groups, such as the Boy and Cub Scouts, Civil Air Patrol, and even companies, ask friends, family and neighbors to sponsor the wreaths for $15 each.

 “Wreaths Across America” was held on Saturday, December 16, Randy was expecting to place at least 21,200 wreaths.

Randy’s focus is not on the number of wreaths, though. He says every veteran in the cemetery is honored and remembered. He says his focus is on Wreaths Across America’s mission, which is to, “Remember our fallen U.S. veterans, honor those who serve and teach your children the value of freedom.”

“That’s probably the biggest thing for me,” says Randy, “teaching our kids the values of freedom, respect and patriotism.”

He says the best time to do this is when there starts to be a “lack of thought,” as he calls it, when people start to forget about the sacrifices of our country’s veterans.

“Around Christmas you get so busy, sometimes the only people who think about our fallen veterans are the families who recently lost someone,” Randy says. “This is one way to get out there and look at a grave and say, ‘Thank you for your service.’”

One of Randy’s two “brothers” from the motorcycle club who originally started the wreath ceremony at Florida National Cemetery has moved on and no longer organizes the event. The other, Jack Sellers — known as “Breakdown” — passed away a few years ago after an illness associated with exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. 

“He used to emcee the ceremony,” says Randy. “When we buried him, I asked to have him buried in the section across the street from the ceremony area. They put him in the front row, so he’s always looking at the ceremony.”

Randy hopes the event is a reminder to everyone to remember what is important in an era of disagreement.

“The way this world’s gotten, things are so divisive,” says Randy. “It’s nice to have 10,000 people come together and not be divided. We can all be behind one thing – to remember, honor and teach.”

For additional information about Wreaths Across America, visit WreathsAcrossAmerica.org.

Union Park ‘Resident’ Is A Security Robot

Patrolling the streets of Union Park (located just south of 56, off of Meadow Pointe Blvd. in Wesley Chapel) is the first “security robot” to be on duty in a residential neighborhood in the United States.

“Right now, we’re beta testing for six months at Union Park to see how a security robot would help us in a large community,” says Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations for Metro Development Group, developers of both Union Park and Epperson (see page 1), the latter of which is part of the “connected city” and which will be home to the first of two Crystal Lagoons coming soon to Wesley Chapel.

The robot has been named “Deputy Metro” and is a five-foot tall, 400-pound robot that drives itself throughout the community. It records data and provides 360-degree video.

“What we do at Metro in our heart and in our DNA is innovation,” Goyani says, so experimenting with brand new technology makes a lot of sense.

While Union Park is the first residential community to get a security robot, Goyani says it’s actually the 39th of more than 50 such robots throughout the country, created by a company called Knightscope. These robots patrol malls, hospitals, office parking lots, even the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

Goyani explains that it’s too early to tell exactly how Deputy Metro will be used in the long term, but it’s planned to be used at the soon-to-be-renamed connected city and at Metro’s developments with Crystal Lagoons. Goyani explains the current beta testing will help determine how it will be used in those larger communities. “The main goal is as a deterrent and seeing how this technology can fit into our lives,” Goyani says.

“For example, Union Park is not gated,” he says, so Metro tried stationing the robot at the entrance to the community to see how that worked. “We essentially made Deputy Metro like a virtual gate, monitoring the traffic going in and out.”

Meanwhile, he says video from the security robot has already been requested by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office (PSO).

In the future, Goyani hopes the PSO won’t have to request the footage. As part of its partnership, Metro Development expects to make streaming video available to the Sheriff, “so they don’t have to call us at all.”

Goyani says the reactions to Deputy Metro have been overwhelmingly positive, and many negative responses are due to concerns they have been able to alleviate, such as a concern that the robot could cause a resident to get a speeding ticket.

He says some of the positive response has been even more than what they expected.

“Deputy Metro is part of the community,” says Goyani. “One time when I was at Union Park, a couple of engineers from Knightscope were there, and a young girl who lives in the community came with her dad and brought her notebook and followed them around. She said (Deputy Metro) inspires her to learn more about STEM and robotics.”

For more information about Deputy Metro, visit DeputyMetro.com.