Area Students Pick Up Dozens of Awards At Regional STEM Fair

Clark Elementary fourth grader Harrison Shirey (left) and Chiles Elementary third grader Rohan Apte both earned Best of Fair at the February Hillsborough County Regional STEM Fair.

New Tampa’s elementary and middle schools once again had a strong showing at the 38th Annual Hillsborough County Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) Fair on March 6.

In fact, more than 50 students in New Tampa were recognized for their projects, including a pair of Best of Fair awards.

All students in Hillsborough County were allowed to submit a qualifying project in 13 major STEM subject areas. The top 27 winners advanced to the State STEM Fair, and the two best projects from Hillsborough County also will go on to compete in the International STEM Fair.

The Best of Fair winners were Chiles Elementary third-grader Rohan Apte and Clark Elementary fourth-grader Harrison Shirey.

Rohan won for his project entitled “Crash! Did it Break?: Do Seat Belts Matter?” His project involved crashing a LEGO car with eggs inside wearing (and some not wearing) rubber band seat belts.

It’s not the first Best of Fair aware for the Apte household — Rohan’s sister Ria also won the award, in 2016, also when she was in the third grade.

Harrison won his Best of Fair award for his project “What Material Does Wi-Fi Travel Through?”

Heritage Elementary (l.-r.) third grader Logan Jones, fourth grader Isabella Pappalardo and third graders Emily Lara, Isabella Santiago and Dylan Farner all earned medals.

Local elementary schools earned 15 Superior scores, including four each by Clark and Turner/Bartels K-8 and three by Chiles and Tampa Palms.

In the older division, Liberty Middle School’s Uma Panchal (“The Vitamin C Integrity Project”), Ellie and Olivia Pliska (“The Algae is Blooming: Does Synthetic or Organic Fertilizer Contribute more to Algae Growth?”) won first-place awards, while Wharton High took home seven top-3 finishes, including a first-place by Kylie Orihuela and Mackenzie Schaecher for “Copper Heals.”

The complete list of local winners are:

ELEMENTARY DIVISION GROUP PROJECTS 3rd GRADE
Superior
Magnetic Magic — Joel Madadha, Miles Shi, and Lucas Aguerreberry, Clark Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • THIRD GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/MATTER
Excellent
Time for Dissolving Fun — Jeshwitha Avula and Pranjal Kot, Pride Elementary

Excellent
Which bubble gum blows the biggest bubble: Super Bubble or Double Bubble? — Emily Lara and Isabella Santiago, Heritage Elementary

Superior
How Does the Brand of Nail Polish affect How Long it Lasts? Isabella Baez and Sophia Sauer, Turner/Bartels K-8

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
Excellent
Cookie’s Maze — Alexa Gonzalez and Luciana Guaman, Chiles Elementary

Superior
How Does Brain Dominance Affect Hand-Eye — Gal Lawrental Schori and Linney Kim, Chiles Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/ENERGY
Excellent
Lightning Magnets — Archith Gaddam and Saisharat Yenka, Pride Elementary

Superior
Energy From Garbage: How Much Methane Do Different Types of Food Scraps Produce? — Aayush Mehta and Anjali Mehta, Tampa Palms Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/MATTER
Excellent
Dissolve the Bomb! — Ana Clara DeJesus, Zeina Mughrabi, and Madison Long, Pride Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE EARTH/SPACE SCIENCE
Superior
Feeling Salty — Ethan Bahs and Morgan Aulet, Clark Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE LIFE SCIENCE
Outstanding
Fantastic Fertilizer — Logan Andress and Chase Andress, Chiles Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/ENERGY
Superior
Harnessing The Heat — Aditya Shukla and Aditi Shukla, Tampa Palms Elementary

Superior
Flying Trains — Dev Parikh and Evan Stepanek, Turner/Bartels K-8

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE PHYICAL SCIENCE/MATTER
Excellent
Fear of Water: How Do Materials Stay Dry And Clean? — Eesha Venkatesh and Harini Iyer, Tampa Palms Elementary

Superior
An Apple a Day…Keeps the Spoils Away — Danai Bernard, Anu Badiger, Jayone Heo, and Kanishka Mittal, Chiles Elementary

****INDIVIDUALS****

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • THIRD GRADE EARTH/SPACE SCIENCE
Superior
Looking to Kill an Oil Spill? — Ani Marsland-Pettit, Clark Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • THIRD GRADE
Superior
Which Truss to Trust? — Nathaniel Bostic Jr., Turner/Bartels K-8

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • THIRD GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/ENERGY
Excellent
Dear Dad, Don’t Drive Distracted! — Rex Knuckles, Chiles Elementary

Superior
Crash! Did it Break? : Do Seatbelts Matter? — Rohan Apte, Chiles Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • THIRD GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/MATTER
Outstanding
Spoiler Alert — Logan Jones, Heritage Elementary

Excellent
The Race To The Fizz Line: How Does The Temperature Of Water Affect How Fast A Bathbomb Dissolves? — Maanini Kuruganti, Tampa Palms Elementary

Excellent
Stain, Stain, Go Away! — Dylan Farner, Heritage Elementary

Superior
Absorbing Socks — Advay Joshi, Pride Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
Superior
Right Vs Left — Rhea Varma, Tampa Palms Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE EARTH/SPACE SCIENCE
Excellent
Which is Better: Tap Vs Fountain Water? — Madison Fang, Chiles Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE PHYSICAL
Outstanding
Tooth Decay — Isabella Pappalardo, Heritage Elementary

Outstanding
Chocolate Geodes — Jared Creel, Hunters Green Elementary

Superior
Which Substance Will Cause Soap Bubbles to Last Longer? — Jhanvi Anand, Turner/Bartels K-8

Superior
What Material Does Wi-Fi Travel Through? — Harrison Shirey, Clark Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE EARTH/SPACE SCIENCE

Outstanding
Oil Clean Up — Sofia Rojas, Tampa Palms Elementary

Excellent
Slowing the Landslide — Radha Panchal, Clark Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE

Superior
London Bridge is Falling Down! — Aryan Sriram, Pride Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/ENERGY

Outstanding
Does a magnet’s shape affect the height it levitates? — Mohnish Satheesh Kumar, Chiles Elementary

Excellent
There’s No Debate, Properly Inflate: How the Amount of Air in Tires Affects Bike Riding — Allison Wells, Chiles Elementary

Superior
Solar Powered Car (Next Generation Car) — Raj Guntuku, Tampa Palms Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/MATTER

Outstanding
Alka-Seltzer Action — Frances McKoen, Hunters Green Elementary

Excellent
Nail Nonsense! How Does the Brand of Nail Polish Affect How Long the Paint Takes to Dry? — Kacy Hauck, Turner/Bartels K-8

Superior
Don’t Underestimate the Insulate — Andrew Feaster, Clark Elementary

3rd Grade Best of Fair
Crash! Did it Break? : Do Seatbelts Matter? — Rohan Apte, Chiles Elementary

4th Grade Best of Fair
What Material Does Wi-Fi Travel Through? Harrison Shirey, Clark Elementary

SECONDARY AWARDS

Elaine Feaster, Liberty Middle
Title: Naturally Cool
Memorial Award: Helen Johnson’s Award

Sarrah Abdulai & Olivia Giraldo, Wharton High
Title: How Effectively Oysters Filter Different Types of Water
Award(s): Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration

Alisha Bhatia, Freedom High
Title: Similarities Between Humans and Animals in The Huntingtin (HTT) Gene
Award(s): Big Cat Rescue

Elaine Feaster Liberty
Title: Naturally Cool
Award(s): Cardinal Roofing Broadcom

Zion Flavien, Wharton
Title: Global Warming: The relation between chlorophyll production and a healthy Earth
Award(s): American Meteorological Society

Uma Patel, Liberty
Title: The Vitamin C Integrity Project.
Award(s): Broadcom

Ellie & Olivia Pliska, Liberty
Title: The Algae is Blooming: Does Synthetic or Organic Fertilizer Contribute more to
Award(s): Broadcom

Junior Animal Sciences Awards
3rd: Lisa Maeda, Benito: Which Length of Electromagnetic Waves Repels Mosquitoes the Most?

Junior Biomedical and Health Sciences Awards
1st: Uma Panchal, Liberty: The Vitamin C Integrity Project

Junior Earth and Environmental Sciences Awards
1st: Ellie and Olivia Pliska, Liberty: The Algae is Blooming: Does Synthetic or Organic Fertilizer Contribute more to Algae Growth?

Junior Environmental Engineering Awards
2nd: Elaine Feaster, Liberty: Naturally Cool

Junior Mathematics and Computational Sciences Awards
3rd: Osman Eksioglu, Liberty: Machine Learning and how it adapts

Senior Behavioral and Social Sciences Awards
2nd: Nicole Carlin, Genesis Dalcourt, & Maria Pinilla-Baquero, Freedom: How Does Music Impact Test Taking?

Senior Chemistry Awards
3rd: Yash Patel, Wharton: Using Banana Peels as Eco-friendly Supplements to Livestock feed

Senior Cellular/Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Awards
1st: Kylie Orihuela & Mackenzie Schaecher, Wharton: Copper Heals
2nd: Aaron Ha & Clyddyll Uyan, Wharton: Chlorophyll Extraction/Chromatography

Senior Earth and Environmental Sciences Awards
2nd: Sarrah Abdulai & Olivia Giraldo, Wharton: How Effectively Oysters Filter Different Types of Water
3rd: Meghna Desai & Neelam Patel, Wharton: Is it Worth Paying for Water Bottles?

Senior Engineering and Materials Sciences Awards
2nd: Jaclyn Saldana, Wharton: Bridge Breaking

Senior Physics and Astronomy Awards
2nd: Laura Deloso, Wharton: Proving Acceleration Due to Gravity

Senior Plant Sciences Awards
2nd: Crystal Castro & Isabella Kim, Wharton: The Effects of Different Concentrations of IAA on Root Initiation
3rd: Sarah McInvale, Wharton: Radiation on Germination

Interactive ‘Herstory’ Museum Opens At AdventHealth Center Ice!

Jeff Novotny shows hockey players Danielle DiPasquale (center) and Tristina Doyle how to access the information at the Herstory Museum at AdventHealth Center Ice. (Photos by John C. Cotey)

As Marnie McClain looked around the new Herstory Museum at AdventHealth Center Ice (AHCI) in Wesley Chapel, she was grinning broadly.

An eighth-grader from Fort Myers, McClain was at the facility competing with her Florida Alliance U-14 team in the Southeast Regional Girls Hockey Championships on March 9, but the Grand Opening of the interactive Herstory Museum on the same day was an added bonus.

“I saw it on Digit Murphy’s Instagram, that it was going to be here, and I was so happy to come and see something like this,” McClain said. “It is really cool.”

Margaret “Digit” Murphy is a women’s hockey pioneer and legend, as well as a champion for Title IX, the federal law prohibiting anyone, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participating or denied the benefits of sports, or being discriminated against under any education program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance.

The interactive Herstory Museum is Murphy’s brainchild, inspired by a visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH, that left her disappointed over the lack of exhibits honoring women’s accomplishments in the NFL.

She and Wesley Chapel engineer Jeff Novotny created it for girls just like McClain, to bring to them the stories they would otherwise never get to hear. The walls are covered with portraits of the gold-medal winning 2018 U.S. Women’s Olympic ice hockey team that trained at Center Ice, as well as large vinyl displays for each featured female hockey pioneer. Visitors can access a QR Code, which takes you to a webpage featuring a biography and video, or you can send a text to a certain number to receive that pioneer’s website link. 

All of the information is available online at GetHerStory.org.

The museum is located on the second floor of AHCI, next to the skating facility’s Top Shelf Restaurant & Sports Bar. While only occupying about 100 square feet or so, plenty of women’s hockey history is crammed into the space, which also overlooks two of the ice rinks at the facility.

Parents and players lined up against the glass to watch the action in the ice, strolling over to the exhibits on the wall during breaks in the games.

“It’s pretty inspiring to see what women have accomplished in hockey,” said Tristina Doyle, a teammate of McClain’s on the Florida Alliance U-14 team. “Usually, it’s only the men you can read about, but really not much about women.” 

The first display features Murphy, a former Ivy League Player of the Year at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. She also produced seven Olympians while becoming the all-time winningest women’s hockey coach in NCAA Division I history — with 318 wins at Brown (she is still currently 13th on that all-time wins list).

Everyone Has HerStory

New Tampa resident Marisa Martin, 55, thinks stories like Murphy’s should be shared with as many young female athletes as possible. 

“I think it’s very important,” Martin said. “The sad part is, a lot of times, these younger women don’t know the history and that’s a problem. I think it’s a shame, because they’ve been given so much privilege, they don’t realize what was required to get here. I think it’s important to remember the women who came before.”

Martin has her own story. When she was 9 years old, she had to take her 6-year-old brother Lonnie Jr. to sign him up for Little League because their mother was sick that day. With a check made out to Atlantic Little League (in Jacksonville), she and Lonne walked a half-mile to sign up. A woman sitting behind a table jotted down her brother’s name, and then looked up at Marisa and asked if she wanted to play, too.

“I was like, ‘Are you talking to me?,’” Marisa said. And, with a little help from the woman, Marisa signed up for Little League baseball for the first time.

“That woman changed my life,” she said. Marisa ended up playing Little League (and every other sport available to her) as a kid, and played basketball and softball in high school, where in 1981, she helped lead Fletcher High to the Class 4A state softball championship — 13 years before the sport converted from slow to past pitch, thanks in part to Title IX. As an adult, Marisa says she took up tennis and hockey as well.

How It Happened

After Novotny presented the idea to AHCI general manager Gordie Zimmermann, a three-year agreement was signed to bring the museum — which will be developed by Murphy’s Play It Forward Sport Foundation — to Wesley Chapel.

Murphy, a whirling dervish of energy and a fountain of hockey knowledge, was the star of the Grand Opening. But, she shared the space with interactive displays featuring Katey Stone, the winningest women’s coach in NCAA hockey history; gold medal winners Sara DeCosta-Hayes (1998; photo) and Amanda Pelkey (2018); and Kitty Guay, the first woman to ever officiate an NCAA Division I men’s game in 2015.

Another wall in the Herstory Museum will one day feature a local hero, which could be anyone, says Novotny, but will likely be someone with a relationship with hockey. That person hasn’t been selected yet, but visitors were allowed to nominate someone at the grand opening. Novotny says they will choose someone over the next few months.

Admission to the museum is free. For more information, visit GetHerStory.org and PlayItForwardSport.org.

Nibble & Bytes

The New Las Palmas Is Open!

For those who have been waiting to find out where and when everyone’s favorite Latin restaurant in New Tampa was going to reopen, Ramses Garcia, the owner/chef of Las Palmas Latin Grill, says that you should come check him at his new location, in the same plaza as Five Guys Burgers & Fries off County Line Rd. at Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

Ramses and his wife Ana promise that the new menu includes all of your old favorites from his former location in the Pebble Creek Collection, with even more authentic Cuban recipes for you to sample.

Of course, I had to try Ramses’ mojo roast pork the day before he opened and I loved the new red beans served with his always moist, but with a crispy edge, roast pork.

Please tell Ramses and Ana that Gary at the New Tampa Neighborhood News sent you and please tell them how hard you’ve been trying to find out about their new location.

The new Las Palmas Latin Grill is located at 6431 County Line Rd., Tampa. For more info, call (813) 907-1333 or search Las Palmas Cafe on Facebook.

 Hummingbird Jerk House is open!!

We told you months ago a new Jamaican restaurant was coming to the space formerly occupied by Dairy Queen, and it’s now officially open and you can’t miss the giant sign that says only “Jamaican Cuisine,” but is actually for the Hummingbird Jerk House.

Located in North Palms Village on BBD (next to Oakley’s Grille), the Hummingbird Jerk House offers a variety of authentic Jamaican delights. 

There are daily lunch specials, jerk and curry chicken, oxtail and beef stew, curry goat and cow foot and butter beans, as well as seafood dishes, including Jamaica’s national dish of ackee and saltfish. A wide-ranging menu also includes deserts like Jamaican fruit cake and sweet potato pudding, as well as Jamaican beers and coffee.

Coming Soon: Smallcakes!

Do you have a sweet tooth? Doesn’t everyone? The good news is that Smallcakes is coming to the Shoppes at The Pointe plaza in Tampa Palms, next to our friends at the Palms Pharmacy, between Koizi and Ciccio Cali.

The bad news is that this cupcakery (is that a word?), which has an existing location in Oldsmar, looks to still be more than a month from opening. We’ll keep you posted.

Checking Out Saltgrass Steakhouse & Main Event…In Orlando!!

With all of the restaurants and stores that have opened on the north side of S.R. 56 (across from the Tampa Premium Outlets), the eatery coming to our area that I’m now most excited about is the Saltgrass Steakhouse, which recently broke ground on the south side of 56, between the outlet mall and I-75.

My son Jared and his wife Mary live in a new section of Orlando — also near a new outlet mall — which is home to many of the same restaurants we have, including Longhorn Steakhouse and others. But, the one that caught my eye was the sign for Saltgrass Steakhouse, which is the steakhouse chain under the Landry’s Seafood House umbrella.

Of all the restaurants in our area, price-wise, Saltgrass is probably closest to Stonewood Grill & Tavern in Tampa Palms, with most steaks at least $30. But, whether you choose a filet (Jannah and I split the huge 12-oz. version) or Jared’s bone-in ribeye (at least 22 oz.), the Angus steaks are truly tender, well-seasoned and delicious. There are fresh veggies galore and the salad, bread and desserts are all top-notch, too.

Jared and Mary also live near International Dr., which is home to a Main Event entertainment center — which also is coming to the same area of S.R. 56 as Saltgrass. The feel is like a big Dave & Buster’s, with video games, a bar and cafe, but with really nice bowling alleys — and the food looked pretty decent, too. Jannah and I will have to go back and visit Main Event for dinner to tell you more about it, but I’m certain it will become a major attractor for our area.

Also coming to that part of S.R. 56 is Rock & Brews, a scratch kitchen with a rock & roll theme. In addition to a nice-looking menu, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the rock group KISS make appearances at every opening. Fun stuff.

Blaze Pizza & Sweetea Café Open!

If you’ve been waiting to find out what the Sweetea Café on S.R. 56 (in the same plaza as Mellow Mushroom) is all about, wait no more. The café is all about delicious. I like hot and cold tea and I’m OK with the Boba (bubble) tea featured at the Sweetea Café, but the most pleasant surprise on my first visit was the delicious, authentic Vietnamese cuisine. 

I really enjoyed the grilled pork rice plate shown in the photo left, and, especially, the crisp, overstuffed chicken & veggie wegg rolls and sweet dipping sauce.

Meanwhile, in the same plaza as Chipotle, a little west of Mellow Mushroom, Blaze Pizza, our area’s second fast-casual pizza place, has opened  almost directly across S.R. 56 from MOD Pizza, its biggest competitor nationwide. Think: more tasty pizzas and salads, plus desserts.

For more info about the Sweetea Café, visit SweetTeaFL.com or call (813) 406-5961! For Blaze Pizza, call (813) 907-0097 or visit BlazePizza.com and tell them both I sent you! — GN

Children’s Dentistry & Dr. Greg Stepanski Still Keeping New Tampa Kids Smiling

Dr. Greg Stepanski and his team at Children’s Dentistry on Cross Creek Blvd. have a lot of fun with their patients, encouraging a family-type atmosphere in ways that include the annual Christmas party, where all patients are invited to visit and take pictures with Santa.

Greg Stepanski, D.D.S., is a pediatric dentist with more than 25 years of experience in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area. Dr. Greg’s Children’s Dentistry has been located in the Cory Lake Professional Center on Cross Creek Blvd. since he moved it there in 2004, after taking over another dentist’s practice back in 1991, when it was located on E. Fowler Ave.

While Dr. Greg — as he’s often called, both by his patients and their parents — has been in practice for more than two decades, his office continues to be a modern, updated place with new technology, where parents love to bring their children for dental care.

In fact, some parents who now bring their children to Dr. Greg were his patients when they were children themselves.

When those parents arrive, they see more familiar faces in addition to  Dr. Greg. Office manager Melanie Phillips has been with the practice since 1987.

Since this picture was taken in 1993, much has changed, but the smiling faces of some long-term employees still make children feel at ease during their dental appointments. Dr. Greg (far left), office manager Melanie (far right), dental assistant Brenda (next to Melanie) and insurance coordinator Shannon (in front of Brenda) have all been with the practice for more than two decades.

“That is such a compliment to know they had such good experiences here as a child that they want to bring their kids, too,” says Melanie. 

That’s actually what happened in her family, too, Melanie adds. “Dr. Stepanski took care of my two kids’ teeth, and now my grandkids come here.”

She adds, “I love Dr. Stepanski. He’s a very good dentist. He puts a lot of thought into his treatment plans and thinks about what’s best for the child.”

She says she loves coming to work because she sees the difference that the practice is making in people’s lives. While Melanie says she knows many people of her own generation who were — and still are — scared to see a dentist because of their own experiences, that’s simply not the case for Dr. Greg’s patients.

“We’re creating a whole different environment, so people take care of their teeth,” Melanie says. “It’s a big part of their overall health. If you have decay or infection in your mouth, that can affect the whole body.”

Dr. Greg earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree from the Ohio State University College of Dentistry in Columbus, and also earned a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN.

He says one of his primary goals was ensuring kids’ teeth stay healthy from a very young age. 

“We are encouraging children to have a dental home by the age of one,” he says.

Dr. Greg and Melanie

Dr. Greg explains that age one is now recommended by both the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Academy of Pediatrics for a child’s first dental appointment.

“It’s preventive,” he says. “Now we’re seeing more and more patients at age one and seeing less problems. We’re also seeing a little bit less tooth decay.”

Making Young Patients Feel Right At Home

Shelly Alt, who lives in Covington Estates in Cross Creek, is mom to four girls. She says she has been taking her daughters to Dr. Greg for the last five or six years.

Previously, she went to another dentist, but that office didn’t take her insurance. She said she would pay hundreds of dollars at each visit, so she decided to switch to Children’s Dentistry, which accepts her insurance and is much closer to her home.

“Dr. Stepanski is fabulous,” Shelly says, “but what also makes his office are the ladies. They are always happy, they have a great time and they love kids. They’re just wonderful.”

Melanie agrees that she and her staff love their jobs. “My team has experience, they love kids and they have a good time,” she says. “They are concerned about their patients, and we have fun throughout the day.”

She says the office’s friendly, happy staff creates an environment where parents are comfortable, and they hope parents will ask any and all questions at any time, even if they have to call the office after they’ve left their child’s appointment. 

“Any questions, ask us,” Melanie says. “We’re all parents and we know that these are your children and you have to be comfortable and have confidence in who is taking care of your children.”

Melanie says that starts at the top, with Dr. Greg and the way he cares for each and every child who sits in his chair.

“He creates an environment where you can’t be anything else but caring and concerned for the patients,” she says, “because that’s who he is.”

Kids visit Dr. Stepanski for cleanings, which are recommended twice a year, and X-rays. They’re taught about the importance of dental hygiene and shown how to properly brush and floss. Sealants and fluoride treatments are offered as a preventative measure against decay.

When decay happens, Dr. Stepanski does fillings and restorations. Also, he sees kids for emergencies, such as if they chip or knock out a tooth.

A Commitment To Community Outreach

Dr. Greg’s office is more than just a place to get your children’s teeth checked. He and Melanie say it’s a family, and they are intentional about building that community feeling, as well.

Every year, Dr. Greg’s patients are invited to visit Santa at the practice’s annual Christmas party.

“Our families bring their kids all dressed up and take their family Santa photos with our professional photographer,” says Dr. Greg, who adds that there also are fun activities for the kids, such as face painting, a balloon artist and crafts. “It’s become quite an event.”

Alt says the holiday party is one of her favorite things about the practice. “The most fabulous thing is not having to go to the mall to see Santa,” she says. “They have games and music and face painting. My kids look forward to that every year. It’s great.”

Dr. Greg enjoys it, too.

“We have it here so the kids can see that it’s a fun destination,” he says. “They can interact with me and the staff while we’re having fun, not trying to do a filling or fix a tooth that was knocked out.”

In addition to his office’s events, Dr. Greg reaches out to the community in many other ways. He brings “Tommy the Toothbrush” — a character who stresses good dental hygiene — to visit local schools during February, which is Dental Health Month.

“We give toothbrushes to all the kids,” Dr. Greg explains, “Some of them might not have one.”

He also has provided dental care for migrant children and does a program each fall where he donates a Thanksgiving turkey to Metropolitan Ministries in the name of any pediatrician or dentist who refers a new patient to him.

“We like to give to Metropolitan Ministries,” he says.

Dr. Greg also is a charter member and past president of the New Tampa Noon Rotary Club, an active church member at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church.

For appointments and more information about Children’s Dentistry (10317-B Cross Creek Blvd.), call (813) 973-3100, visit DrGreg-ChildrensDentistry.com. The office accepts most major dental insurance plans.

Wharton’s Versatile Hudson Uses Tools To Succeed On And Off The Field

Wharton baseball player Mike Hudson with one of the children who insisted he play sports with her while he was in Thailand this past summer. (Photos courtesy of Mike Hudson)


When talking about an up-and-coming baseball prospect, the chatter always comes down to the “tools” a player has in his repertoire: Is he fast? Can he hit? How’s his glove? 

Wharton High senior first baseman and designated hitter Michael Hudson has a number of the tools college coaches look for, so much so that he has been offered a chance to play baseball at the college level next year at nearby Saint Leo University near Dade City.

However, it was a whole different set of tools Hudson relied on for two weeks last October, as he and his father, Scott, joined other members of Cypress Point Community Church on a mission trip to Thailand. There, the Hudsons and other volunteers spent a week working at a local orphanage in Chiang Mai, addressing the serious building and rehabbing needs of the girl’s dormitory.

Hudson said he split his days hanging new lockers, replacing doors and windows, and sanding and repainting interior and exterior walls. But, because he was one of the few workers under 25 years of age, he often found himself being pulled away from the work by the young children of the orphanage to play sports — often finding himself challenged to foot races. 

“The smiles on the kids’ faces when they saw me, because I was with a bunch of adults, was really special,” Hudson says. “They knew I could run, so they made me run a lot. They were 12-hour days and I’d spend about six hours building, sanding or painting. The other six hours I’d spend playing with them.”

Mike Hudson and his dad, Scott.

Hudson said the trip was a great experience, both because it gave him a sense of accomplishment in providing care to the facilities at an orphanage, as well as getting to spend some quality time working beside his father, Scott, who owns and operates ServiceMaster of Tampa Bay, a contracting business that specializes in emergency rehabs of flood, fire and mold damage. 

“The thing that stood out for me was how me and my Dad connected throughout the trip,” Michael says. “He is busy at work and I have school and baseball, but this was two weeks we were able to spend together, building our relationship up.”

Although the work in Thailand was the first official building project the younger Hudson has undertaken, it’s far from his first time showing off his handy side.

At Wharton, Hudson has never shied from helping with field upkeep, being labeled as the go-to guy by baseball head coach Scott Hoffman for projects like putting up the windscreen around the baseball field fences, or replacing the tires and the netting on the batting practice roll-cage. 

“He’s our resident construction guy here at school,” Hoffman says. “He’s a big help to this team, a great student and a tremendous leader for our program.”

For Hudson, the sense of challenge and the resulting feeling of accomplishment is what he enjoys most about any creative project. 

“When you start a project, sometimes you start to think, ‘Oh wow, I’m never going to get this done,’” he says. “But you keep working super hard at it and you finish it up. I always get that tingling feeling that makes me appreciate what I was able to do.”  

On the field, Hudson was a key contributor last season as a junior, hitting .312 for the year with 15 RBI and 12 runs scored, while serving as the Wildcats 1B/DH. He began his career at Wharton aiming to play shortstop; however, a series of injuries changed those plans and led to his transition to first base. 

“We thought he was going to be our guy at shortstop for the future when he came in as a freshman, but he ended up blowing out his right knee,” Hoffman says. “He came back from that and hurt it again, then came back and dislocated his shoulder, but he never once complained. He’s been through hell and has the best attitude in the world.” 

For Hudson, the injuries were no different than any other task put in front of him to accomplish. 

“Injuries happen to all athletes, you just have to put your faith in God,” Hudson says. “You do what you have to do. You fight, you just work harder.” 

Playing baseball at the professional level is still Hudson’s dream, and he plans to study business at Saint Leo with the hope of working in athletics. He doesn’t see a career in construction or contracting in his future, but he says he hopes the desire to build and create will always be a part of his life. 

“Baseball is going to be that number one goal for me after college,” Hudson says. “But at Saint Leo, I plan on majoring in sports-related business and would look to work for some (professional) organization, so I don’t really see construction as a career path for me at this time,” Hudson said. “But I’ll never be paying anyone to do anything once I get my own house, I’ll always be doing that kind of stuff myself.”