If I ever open a store, I hope I can do as good a job as Academy Sports + Outdoors, a nearly 300-store chain which opened its newest location next to PopStroke on the north side of S.R. 56, in front of Total Wine & More.
From Fri.-Sun, Nov. 17-19, the first 150 people to visit received a free Academy Sports + Outdoors gift card valued anywhere from $20 to a whopping $500. According to Academy’s regional marketing specialist for Florida Michael Reynolds, a total of more than $14,000 in gift cards were given away and just the prospect of winning one of the two big $500 cards given away each day certainly had everyone in attendance excited about the Wesley Chapel area’s newest sporting goods store.
In fact, Jannah, photographer Charmaine George and I were on hand to witness the two $500 winners on Friday, including Kalyn Saliba (top left photo), who said that although she’s not particularly “sporty” herself, her husband and sons had shopped at the Academy store in Louisiana, where they lived for several years before moving back to Florida.
“But, I’m a big fan of Academy now,” Kalyn said after she posed with her giant gift card and called her husband, who didn’t believe she had really won. “No, really,” she said. “Let’s definitely go shopping here soon!”
We also heard several $75 and $100 gift cards being given to some of the other early attendees, none of whom won less than $20, and most were quick to make purchases — including yours truly, who scooped a new pair of New Balance running shoes that were already 25% off before taking my $20 gift card into consideration. The athletic shoe department has lots of other options, including Asics, Brooks, Nike and more.
I don’t know how long the opening 25% off prices will remain in effect, but there’s no doubt that Academy Sports + Outdoors has pretty much everything you need to be outfitted for everything from baseball to volleyball and brand names from Adidas to Yeti — all at outstanding prices.
The outdoor department is huge and does include camping, fishing, hunting and hiking gear and even grills and turkey fryers.
Academy Sports + Outdoors (25415 Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz) is open every day except Thur. For more information, call (813) 953-4410 or visit Academy.com.
The North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) stayed busy in November, with its annual Excellence in Business awards gala at Treble Makers on Nov. 17 (which we featured in our Nov 28 Wesley Chapel issue), as well as three ribbon-cutting events that didn’t make it into our print editions.
On Nov. 2, the Wesley Chapel Contract Postal Unit (CPU) on S.R. 54, which has been open for a few months now, celebrated with an NTBC ribbon cutting. Owner Jevon Willians provided free food and beverages for about 40 guests and introduced attendees to the CPU’s many services, all of which are available at regular U.S. Post Office prices. For more information, call (813) 994-7522.
On Nov. 8, the StoreRightSelf Storage facility, located on Crystal Grove Blvd. (near the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 41 and Sunset Lane) in Lutz, introduced attendees to its 749 storage units, most of which are climate-controlled. Store Right also is opening a similar-sized storage facility the second week in December next to the new El Dorado furniture store near the intersection of S.R. 54, Wesley Chapel Blvd. and S.R. 56 in Land O’Lakes. For more info, call (813) 567-8100 or visit StoreRight.com.
And, on Nov. 14, owner Gail Sickler’s Sustain M.E. on S.R. 56 (in the same plaza as Capital Tacos & Touch Nail Spa) officially finalized its re-branding of the store that previously was a location of Lüfka Refillables Zero Waste Store with its own NTBC ribbon-cutting event. The revamped refillables and health & beauty products store features a similar variety of all-natural products as did Lüfka, but with new products that are all locally sourced. For more info, call (8130 812-8219 or visit SustainMotherEarth.com.
Even though he’s previously run for three local offices and been involved in multiple citizen’s groups advocating on behalf of New Tampa, you still may or may not know long-time Hunter’s Green resident Dr. Jim Davison.
Davison, the recently retired emergency room physician whose first run was more than 20 years ago — in the 2002 Republican primary for the District 2 seat on the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) held by current Commission chair (and Dist. 2 Commissioner) Ken Hagan — is now a candidate for the countywide (also known as “at large)” District 6 County Commission seat, a race that will be decided on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the same day as the nationwide General Election for U.S. President.
But, there is a lot for the New Tampa resident to accomplish between now and then in order to make it onto that General Election ballot for the seat currently occupied by Comm. Pat Kemp, who can not run for the seat again, due to term limits.
For one thing, he will have to defeat South Tampa resident and U.S. Air Force Reserve staff sergeant Rico Smith (who is the lead field engineer for StemRad, an Israeli-American start-up company that develops and manufactures personal protective equipment against ionizing radiation) in the primary election that will be held on Tuesday, August 20.
As of the date of this story, there also are three Democratic candidates who also will face a closed primary in August, with the winner facing the winner of the Republican primary between Davison and Smith — although other candidates could still qualify to run in either primary between now and July 2024.
The Democratic candidates for Dist. 6 include former countywide Dist. 5 Commissioner Mariella Smith (who served from 2018-22); former citywide Dist. 1 Tampa City Council candidate Sonja Brookins (who lost a runoff against current Dist. 1 commissioner Alan Clendenin earlier this year); and former countywide Dist. 7 candidate Mark Nash.
Although Dr. Davison also lost the 2004 Republican primary for the at-large Dist. 7 County Commission seat won by former Commissioner Mark Sharpe, as well as the 2016 run-off election for New Tampa’s Dist. 7 Tampa City Council seat won (by 65 votes) by Councilman (and fellow New Tampa resident) Luis Viera, he says that he believes his fourth run for public office will prove to be the charm.
“I feel I can win the primary and the general election because I am now able to campaign 24/7 since retiring from medicine,” Davison says. “With my involvement in local politics and multiple county issues, like the (failed) sales tax, I feel that I can project what a majority of the electorate are feeling. I also will have and have committed greater resources to this (election).”
Davison promises that he is a true fiscal conservative who will have New Tampa’s back if he is elected.
“Back in 2002, New Tampa was struggling under rapid growth, just like many other areas of the county are struggling today,” he says. “County government was growing by leaps and bounds. I had seen politicians wrapping themselves in conservative ideals and patriotic symbols, only to see them forget those principles after being elected. New Tampa needed solutions then and it needs them now.”
He says that he also will be the candidate who will work hard to make good on his promises if he is elected. A big part of that, he says, is restoring the public’s trust in their local elected officials.
“Although there has always been a degree of mistrust between government and the people, it has reached new heights,” Davison says. “Covid and the recent sales tax issue are only the latest examples of complete lying and misrepresentation on the part of the county. As a member of the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee (TPO CAC), I know the county (currently) has no intention of changing course. I run to not only present valid solutions, but to try and repair people’s distrust of local government by telling the truth and meeting their concerns.”
As For New Tampa…
Although Davison says it will be his responsibility to represent the entire county on the Commission, he won’t forget about the issues that are important to New Tampa with regards to the county.
For example, “The East-West Road connecting New Tampa directly to I-275 north of Bearss Ave. is no longer on the county’s Long Range Transportation plan,” he says. “New Tampa may have missed the best opportunity in 20 years when the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority was going to build it and run express bus transit from New Tampa to downtown Tampa, starting about 2025. When the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT) removed the express lanes from the I-275 improvements north of Hillsborough Ave to north of Bearss Ave., the Expressway Authority couldn’t justify dumping more traffic onto a failed roadway. However, the possibility of an East-West Connector for New Tampa still exists. In addition, we need to look at what is going to happen with Morris Bridge Rd., County Line Road and road, bridge and sidewalk maintenance (see story on pg. 10) in the New Tampa area. We also need to look at local transit circulators and bus rapid transit to USF and beyond.”
He also believes that even though most of the communities in New Tampa are located within the city limits of the City of Tampa, the County Commission still has a lot of say about the future of our area.
“Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. is a county road, as is Morris Bridge Rd.,” he says. “New recreation areas and sports fields will be needed in New Tampa. Maintaining all county property in good repair is another. The property north of Cross Creek Blvd to the county line, and between Kinnan St. and BBD, is all unincorporated Hillsborough County. Keeping the residents of that area safe has to be the number one priority and the responsibility of the Board of County Commissioners.”
Davison says he also has been watching the situation with the Pebble Creek golf course closely and believes, “The Pebble Creek Golf Course situation never should have gone this far. The county has the money to purchase the property, using small amounts from several revenue streams. Both recreational trails, much needed sports fields for a whole host of sports from baseball and cricket to soccer and lacrosse could be built and the whole area constructed to facilitate a wildlife corridor. All of these are sorely needed in New Tampa. This is just good fair policy and would have great economic benefits. With the growth exploding north of us in Pasco, more homes and/or apartments and their traffic are not what we need here. If the county would purchase the site, everyone would come out a winner, including the present golf course owner.”
Dr. Davison, who has been married to his wife Diane for 43 years, has lived in New Tampa since 1993. They raised their four children and were deeply involved in their schooling and sports activities. For most of the last 30 years, Davison worked as an Emergency Room Physician at multiple local hospitals and was the medical director of South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center, as well as the volunteer director of the Sun City Center Rescue Squad. The last four years he has worked as a staff physician at Med Express urgent care centers.
He was appointed by the BOCC to the county’s Emergency Medical Planning Council and Indigent Healthcare Board and has served on multiple city and county boards and committees. He was appointed by Tampa City Council to the Transportation “Committee of 99,” and to the county’s Citizens Advisory Committee and Trauma Auditing Committee. He also is proud to have to lobbied city and county government for infrastructure improvements in New Tampa. From transportation, to recreation centers and ball fields in New Tampa, Dr. Davison’s voice was a constant at city and county meetings.
He says he has spoken with all of the Republicans county commissioners elected in 2022 and they have all been encouraging.
The Hilton Garden Inn’s fifth anniversary celebration included a $1,000 donation (above) and more than 150 toys (left) donated to the Celebrate Birthdays nonprofit organization. Pictured above are (l.-r.) Lori Behrendt of Emerald Hospitality Assoc. (which owns the hotel), Celebrate Birthdays co-founder Belinda Leto and Lisa Moore and Charlie Whiteacre of the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Sometimes, the most exciting thing about a ribbon-cutting event is the food. But, while the fifth anniversary celebration for the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel did include some pretty great food — and free drinks — the hotels market director of sales Lisa Moore and area general manager Charlie Whiteacre turned their North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon cutting on Oct. 12 into something much more impressive, with more than 100 people attending.
First of all, Moore had unique set-ups in three of the Hilton’s meeting rooms — one with rows of chairs, as though for a lecture, one with a circular conference table and the third with tables and chairs with black linens and gold sashes around the chairs, as you would have for a wedding or other special event.
She also set loose the hotel’s catering staff, led by Chef Marcia, which provided a beautiful fruit display, deviled eggs, wrap sandwiches cut sushi-style, as well as pulled pork sliders, big fried shrimp, crispy egg rolls and more.
But, perhaps the best thing was that Whiteacre and Moore had the Hilton gave a $1,000 donation and asked attendees to bring unwrapped toys to donate to “Celebrate Birthdays,” a 501(c) (3) nonprofit whose mission is “to ensure that every foster child, and all children, have the opportunity to celebrate their birthday and receive a present.”
In addition to the big check, Moore says that more than 150 presents were collected and all of them were donated to Celebrate Birthdays.
“It was a great event,” Moore said afterward. “We appeciate the community’s support and hope people also saw a lot of the ways they can utilize the hotel.”
For more info about Celebrate Birthdays, visit CelebrateBirthdays.org. For info about the Hilton Garden Inn, call Moore at (813) 591-6907.
John Driskell Hopkins, the co-founder of the Zac Brown Band, was in our area with the band last weekend for two shows (Nov 3-4) at the MidFlorida Amphitheater.
Between those two concerts, Hopkins (who is suffering from a slow-progressing form of ALS), and his own four-piece band made a stop at TrebleMakers Dueling Piano Bar in The Grove for a show to benefit his “Hop On A Cure” nonprofit foundation.
The show — which included some of Hop’s original compositions, as well as the Zac Brown hit “Toes” (Hopkins has a writing credit on that song), plus popular songs by Billy Joel and Tom Petty — raised just shy of $20,000 for Hop On A Cure.
In addition to the music, the highlights of the afternoon were the buffet meal included with each show ticket donated by TrebleMakers owners Jamie & Joe Hess and Lee Bevan, and the live auctioning off of two Taylor guitars signed by the entire Zac Brown band.
