Cypress Point Continues To Diversify

Cypress Point Community Church’s Thailand Missions Team is shown beginning their journey to Thailand, where they equipped and provided moral support to local Christian ministry leaders (Photo provided by CPCC)

As Cypress Point Community Church has grown from a few families worshipping and studying the Bible together in homes in Wesley Chapel and New Tampa to a congregation of more than 700 members, meeting the diverse needs of those who consider the nondenominational Christian church their spiritual home has become a complex matter.

Over its nearly two decades of existence, Cypress Point has dealt with the physical growth in number of worshippers by moving to larger spaces — from those family living rooms to a real estate sales and visitor center, to worshipping for six years at the Muvico Starlight 20 movie theater on Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. 

Now, congregants gather in the church’s own 30,000-sq.-ft. multipurpose building on 30 acres on Morris Bridge Rd., just north of Cross Creek Blvd.

In February, Cypress Point added a 10,000-sq.-ft. building to house its youth center, with a gym, basketball court, classrooms and snack bar.

While that physical expansion has accommodated the church’s growth in size, there also has been a requirement to develop more services and programs that meet the wide variety of needs and expectations its worshippers have, according to Lead Pastor Dean Reule, who co-founded Cypress Point Community Church in 1998 with his wife Hettie, who also is the church’s Children’s Pastor.

“The church is like a Walmart Supercenter,” says Pastor Dean, who earned his Ph.D. degree in Religious Studies from Florida State University in Tallahassee. “Whatever the need, there is always a Biblically-based solution.”

A commitment to enacting such solutions for the benefit of members and the wider community has yielded a wide variety of ministries, activities and services available through Cypress Point Community Church. 

Nourishing the spirit as well as the body during times of need is one way to express the mission of Cypress Point’s Care Center, which combines a food pantry, stocked with donations of canned and packaged food from church members, with a cadre of devoted worshippers who provide spiritual support as the Prayer Team.

Whichever season of life or road Cypress Point members may be experiencing or traveling on, Pastor Dean says there is no need to make the journey alone, as there are church activities relevant to all ages and lifestyles.

Young people are the future of a church and Cypress Point serves the needs of children from birth to adulthood. There is an Adventure program that introduces Christian teachings to young children (Pre K-fourth grade) through activities, crafts, instruction and music. On Thursday nights at “The Edge,” young adults (18+) meet and discuss topics relevant to them from a Biblical perspective.  Those of the in-between ages are served by “56,” which, according to the church website, is a “Sunday morning experience for kids in 5th or 6th grade.”

The Dwelling Place, or “DP,” is where young people in grades 7-12 come together to learn Christian teachings and connect with God in ways they can appreciate, which might be through instruction, performances, or conversation over pizza. These activities are held in the DP rec center, which is equipped with air hockey and video games, as well as the basketball court. Cypress Point youth volunteer Shannon Romera says the DP is a good place for teens to bring their friends.

“There’s no other place like it in New Tampa,” Shannon says. “It’s a safe place where kids can come out and it’s more comfortable than asking someone to come to a church service.”

Support For The Military & More

At the Morris Bridge Rd. entrance to Cypress Point, there’s a large, red-white-and-blue-painted sign announcing the church’s support to the community’s military families through its Military Support Outreach, or “MSO.”

MSO Director Evangelo “Vann” Morris acknowledges Cypress Point’s commitment to the military and its veterans.

“The church is really big on supporting the military,” says Morris, who is a retired U.S. Navy officer, adding that  the Cypress Point MSO is focused on helping homeless veterans transition to more productive lifestyles by working with local agencies and programs vetted by the Veterans Administration, such as Tampa Crossroads. MSO also supports active duty troops who are away from home with care packages filled with items ranging from USB thumb drives to packages of beef jerky and more.

People who are interested in helping prepare packages, donate items or provide the name of a deployed service member can contact MSO through the Cypress Point website CPCConline.com under the “Ministries” heading.

Other activities and programs at Cypress Point Community Church include its Firefighters Ministry, which demonstrates support for the community’s fire stations by bringing cards and letters of support, as well as light snacks to local station houses; MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) & More, a monthly meet-up that provides a network of support for mothers of young children; and Man Up, a fellowship of Godly masculinity in which men are motivated toward loving acts of devotion in the name of Jesus Christ.

Couples who have taken on the responsibilities of marriage and family may benefit from Cypress Point’s Love Walk ministry, which provides opportunities for fellowship and tip-sharing with other couples from all stages of marriage.

Promoting not only Christianity as a religion, but advocating and acting on behalf of its basic tenets, whether locally, nationally or internationally, is part of the motivation behind Cypress Point’s Compassion & Justice ministries, whose mission it is to, “Fight local and global poverty and injustice,” according to the Ministries page on the church’s website.

Participants in these mission projects often travel to impoverished communities in the U.S. to lend a helping hand, or to Southeast Asia to assist Christians there and to combat human exploitation.

Sunday services (at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.) also attract crowds to the worship hall, for energetic sermons from Pastor Dean, who connects diverse philosophical and spiritual points, from Plato to Jesus, into basic principles to embrace.

One recent Sunday message from Pastor Dean explored the Power of the Golden Rule (or Matthew 7:12) which, according to The World English Bible, reads as, “Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.”

It is a principle that guides much of the work that is performed at Cypress Point and Pastor Dean summed up the reason why to those who were gathered: “We can change our small part of the world.”

One person attending the service who says attending Cypress Point has made his part of the world better is New Tampa resident Neal Hamlett, who plays guitar in the church band and has been a member for eight years.

“It’s a big family that takes care of each other,” Neal says.

Cypress Point Community Church is located at 15820 Morris Bridge Rd. Sunday services are at 9:30 and 11 a.m. and the Dwelling Place (DP) has main services for young people in grades 7-12 on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., with doors to the rec center opening at 6 p.m. For more information, visit CPCConline.com online or call (813) 986-9100.

The Goddard School Wesley Chapel Makes Learning Fun For Preschoolers

Education director Melissa Jablonski (left) and owner Dinesh Patel run The Goddard School Wesley Chapel, which serves children 6 months to 6 years of age and focuses on teaching through play. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

Jessica Tyrone spent years working in pre-schools, so when the time came for her to find one for her 4-year-old daughter, she knew what she wanted: warmth, friendliness and a curriculum that would best prepare her daughter for pre-K.

She says she found all those things, and even a little more, at The Goddard School Wesley Chapel, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. directly across from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel. The preschool chain serves children ages 6 weeks to 6 years.

“They were so welcoming and friendly and so into getting to know my child instead of just sucking up to me,’’ Jessica says. “And the programs were just tremendous when it came to getting kids ready for school. They make everything fun.”

That fun even includes when parents drop off their kids. Jessica says that every morning, owner Dinesh Patel greets the students and the parents with a happy-go-lucky smile, and seems to know everyone’s name.

“I could probably gush about 10 billion things I love about the place,’’ Jessica says.

Prospective parents and children are welcome to stop by anytime during the week, 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m., to check it out.

The local Goddard School is owned and managed by Patel, with Melissa Jablonski running the education side.

Patel opened the early childhood education school in May, after buying into the franchise with some hearty recommendations from a close family friend in Houston who owns a Goddard School. The Wesley Chapel location is one of more than 400 franchises in 35 states across the country for the company, which is headquartered in King of Prussia, PA.

Although Patel, who graduated from college in his native India with a degree in engineering, doesn’t have a background in education (other than raising his two academically gifted children), he says his 30-year career managing multiple businesses in the Fort Pierce and Punta Gorda areas — including a convenience store and a motel — serve him well at The Goddard School.

“They (the company’s corporate office) want someone with good management skills,’’ Patel said. “As the owner, I manage the facility, control the finances and marketing, and I leave the education side to the education director.”

Enter Jablonski, who Patel says helped create “the perfect team” to run the new preschool. Jablonski says she has 22 years of experience in early childhood education and social work, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services & Applied Behavior Science from Ashford University, an online for-profit university headquartered in San Diego, CA, as well as an Associate’s degree from Hillsborough Community College in Childcare Center Management. She also is a certified professional life coach.

Jablonski says that, like Patel, it was a friend’s referral that led her to look at the The Goddard School. She sent her resume to Patel, who decided she was the perfect fit.

“I kind of fell into his lap,’’ Jablonski says.

Jablonski adds that she was intrigued by the curriculum and the way The Goddard School is run. Two managers must be on-site at all times, and after years of juggling the business and education side of her job, she says she is happy to worry only about the teaching part. “There is usually so much paperwork that it takes up 90 percent of your time, but with Dinesh handling all of that now, I get to be the educator, look at lesson plans, be in the classrooms and help the teachers.”

The local Goddard School has 14 full-time teachers, and every lead teacher is required to have at least their Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential. A handful of the teachers at the local Goddard School also have a Bachelor’s degrees in Education or a Master’s degree. Jablonski, who says she is certified to teach the CDA course, notes that her teachers also take part in Goddard Systems University, which provides ongoing training through webinars.

The F.L.E.X. Program

The focus at The Goddard School is on the play-based F.L.E.X. Learning Program, short for Fun Learning Experience. The Goddard School curriculum is based on research that claims that children learn best while having fun, better forming the building blocks to future learning.

“It’s a fun learning experience,’’ Patel says. “Our teachers find out what a child likes and creates a lesson plan around their skills. The children seem to pick up very fast like that.”

Jablonski says that there is very little worksheet education performed, with more emphasis on a hands-on approach dictated by each child’s interests.

The F.L.E.X. Program also could stand for flexible, as Goddard School teachers are trained to adjust lessons at a moment’s notice if the situation arises. One example given on the school’s website states that if a lesson on the solar system is planned, but the children are captivated by the rain outside, the teacher can instead change that lesson to weather.

Teachers at the school develop their own plans, which are required to lead the children to certain goals and standards set by Goddard. There are monthly themes they must incorporate, but otherwise, teachers are given leeway to reach those goals.

For example, a standard goal for a 3-year-old child might be to cut paper in a straight line. The teacher is responsible for creating activities to teach those children to do so.

When the classes carved pumpkins for Halloween, Jessica, who volunteers at the school, said she was impressed by the process. “The children were included and involved, not just watching,’’ she says. “There’s an undertone of learning in everything fun that they do.”

It’s an approach that keeps learning fresh for everyone, says Jablonski.

“I love that the teachers plan and do all that stuff, as opposed to a box that says on day one you do this, on day two you do this…,” she says. “Every part of what they do is a stepping stone to make sure when the children get to pre-kindergarten, they have all those prerequisites to get to where they need to be.”

The Goddard School plan strives to have its children achieve certain milestones across seven learning domains derived from S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math) and P21 (Partnership for 21st Century Learning, which focuses on complex problem solving and teamwork).

The Goddard School Wesley Chapel also offers four enrichment programs, which are included in the tuition — Spanish, sign language, yoga and base fitness.

Jablonski says the focus on the learning process can be more beneficial than the product. “It’s not that your green frog looks like the green frog that’s in the book, it’s that you understood the color was green, that it has two eyes, it has four legs and it’s got webbed feet,’’ Jablonski says. “Whatever process you come up with to develop that, at the end, when you say it’s a frog, (the children know) it’s a frog.”

The school also encourages parental involvement. One way it does that is through a “Tadpoles” app, which allows parents to see what their child did all day, in the hopes they can reinforce some of those lessons at home.

They also hold a number of events for the children and their families. There was a trunk or treat event on Halloween that was well-attended, and the school hosted a food drive in November and is having an “angel tree” this month.

Corporate Oversight

The Goddard School Quality Assurance (QA) program is in contact with each Goddard School on a weekly basis, and sometimes more, helping Patel through each step of the way, from building the facility to staffing it. Representatives also stop in unannounced to ensure The Goddard School’s standards are being met, and as a way of providing guidance.

“There is someone to answer any question we might have,’’ Patel says. “They have been very supportive.”

Since opening in May, The Goddard School Wesley Chapel has slowly expanded to roughly 80 students; almost half of those are registered in two pre-K classes. Patel had originally planned to have just one pre-K class, but had to add another, due to heavy interest. The school is considering adding a third pre-K class next year, and there are plans to add a kindergarten class sometime in the near future.

Patel also plans to add an after-school program as well, and is currently looking into buying a bus in time for the start of the next school year.

Patel, who is 58, worked in textile engineering in India before coming to the U.S. in 1986, and has run his businesses in Florida since 1988. He says running The Goddard School has been some of his most fulfilling work. “I think this is a very good thing we are doing, providing a good foundation for the children to help make them successful in life,’’ he says. “I love it.”

The Goddard School is located at 2539 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.. The Wesley Chapel location’s hours are Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. For more information, call (813) 603-6100, visit GoddardSchool.com/Tampa/Wesley-Chapel-Bruce-B-Downs-Boulevard-Fl, or see the ad on page 18 of this issue.

SPOTLIGHT ON…Heartwood Preserve Cemetery

In the old Florida woods where she grew up, in what is now the Trinity area of New Port Richey (just a short drive west of Wesley Chapel), Laura Starkey has set 41 acres of land aside as the Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery, adjacent to the 18,000-acre Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Preserve.

On Nov. 4, Heartwood Preserve celebrated its one-year anniversary in business with refreshments and cake, an artist providing temporary henna tattoos and activities for the family.

In the year since it opened — as the first conservation cemetery in the Tampa Bay region, and one of just a handful in the state — Heartwood Preserve has offered environmentally-friendly options for people looking for a more natural burial.

“The word ‘Conservation’ in our name means that not only are we are providing a natural burial option for those who don’t want all the fancy bells and whistles of a modern burial with an expensive casket and vault, but we’re also really contributing to the permanent conservation of this ecosystem,” explains Laura, who is the cemetery’s founder and executive director. “We are both literally and figuratively becoming part of this land.”

Laura and Heartwood Preserve manager Diana Sayegh explain that, first and foremost, the cemetery is about conserving the precious longleaf pine flatwoods and cypress dome wetlands ecosystems of the preserve.

“We invite people to come and take a walk, hike and get some fresh air,” Diana says. “You can park for free, use our picnic benches, and experience nature. There are woodpeckers, owls and butterflies, and we have free events, such as silent meditation walks, yoga and even frog-listening events. This place is gorgeous, and we want the community to experience it.”

Diana says the fact that Heartwood Preserve allows pre-planning sets it apart from other conservation cemeteries.

“Like making a will, pre-planning for your cremation or burial is a gift to your family,” says Diana. “Your family is not left with the burden of the cost or the decision making. They have peace of mind for when that time comes.”

She continues, “It is a cemetery, and it’s sad, but it’s not typical. It’s natural and beautiful and serene and peaceful.”

Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery is located at 4100 Starkey Blvd. Visitors are always welcome when the gates are open — Mon.-Sat., 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., and 11 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on Sun. Events that are open to the public, including yoga, educational activities and more, are listed on the events page of Heartwood Preserve’s website at HeartwoodPreserve.com. For more info, call (727) 376-5111.

Nibbles and Bytes: Woof!

Pet Paradise Is A Great Reason To Get A Dog!

I’m currently between dogs in my life, but after attending both the VIP pre-opening and the Grand Opening and Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) ribbon cutting of the new Pet Paradise Wesley Chapel, located off S.R. 56 behind the Gate gas station, I’m almost tempted to go out and get me a new puppy, just so I can watch him or her play at the coolest pet resort ever.

For those who wonder if their dog or cat will be comfortable at a “resort” with indoor-outdoor “condos,” a dog bone-shaped pool, 24-7 video monitoring and lots of other dogs (and yes, cats, too), all I can tell you is that, while I’ve never owned a cat, I’ve yet to see a dog unhappy, sitting off by itself or not engaging in the seemingly-all-day, all-out play sessions with other dogs of all breeds and sizes at this amazing new boarding and doggie daycare facility. I mean, I haven’t seen even one snarl or “warning snap,” even from multiple “alpha” dogs.

When I’ve had dogs, boarding them did sometimes make me a little anxious, but Pet Paradise WC manager Zandra Straple, who has a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Animal Science from the University of Florida in Gainesville, and her awesome staff definitely have a winner on their hands here in “The Chap.”

And more great news, my friends at Seven Oaks Pet Hospital, located less than a half-mile from Pet Paradise on 56, provide on-call veterinarian services for the resort.

Don’t forget to mention to Zandra and assistant manager Brianna Bermudez that you read about Pet Paradise in the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News! Pet Paradise is located at 2270 Cypress Ridge Blvd.

For more info, visit PetParadiseResort.com or call (813) 778-0337.

The Drs. Ambay Open Their Transformations Center!

Congratulations to Dr. Aparna Ambay of 360 Dermatology and her husband, Dr. Raj Ambay of Ambay Plastic Surgery, on the opening on Oct. 19 of their amazing, new Transformation Aesthetics & Surgery Center (located a 1/4-mile north on Cypress Ridge Blvd. in Wesley Chapel from Pet Paradise).

The state-of-the-art, free-standing building offers not only the dermatology and skin care services of 360 Dermatology, but also the cosmetic plastic surgery of Ambay Plastic Surgery. Best of all, Dr. Raj can perform his plastic surgery magic and Dr. Aparna (both have been named among “America’s Top Doctors” by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.) can do skin cancer surgeries in the Transformations Aesthetics Center’s on-site surgery center.

The opening and WCCC ribbon cutting on Oct. 19 attracted hundreds of locals, including several other local health care professionals, as well as WCCC members and many of the current and former patients of these Top Docs.

Dr. Raj, who has served as a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army and Special Operations (Green Beret) in both Afghanistan and Iraq, also is trained in trauma surgery, oral surgery and dentistry. During the Grand Opening event, you could see the joy on his face and hear it in his voice as he called the ribbon-cutting at this unique medical and aesthetic facility, “the fulfillment of a long-time dream.”

For info about the Transformations Center (2441 Oak Myrtle Ln.), visit TampaBayTransformations.com, call (813) 563-1144 or see the ad on pg. 15.

True Inspiration!

A $2.8-million dollar women’s health center, called “Inspiration Place,” opened in the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Wellness Plaza on Oct. 23, offering comprehensive care for women at every stage of life.

The next day, FHWC hosted a VIP event attended by hundreds of locals at Inspiration Place. The hospital’s president & CEO Denyse Bales-Chubb (photo below) was excited to unveil this unique, 12,000-sq.-ft. center created, she said, “To do something truly special for the women of Wesley Chapel.”

Services available for women at the beautiful new Inspiration Place include gynecology, obstetrics and prenatal care, along with primary medical care and wellness services and more.

Inspiration Place also includes a spa, for services such as massages and skin care treatments. There’s even a coffee bar.

All I can tell you is that I heard lots of “oohs” and “aahs” during the VIP event tours of Inspiration Place, and quite a few women who were booking appointments.

Appointments can be booked now at FHInspirationPlace.org. — GN

Culver’s Is So Delicious, You Probably Shouldn’t Call It ‘Fast Food!’

OK, SO WHEN YOU read the headline above, did you think to yourself, “Culver’s? I thought Gary doesn’t like fast food?”

And of course, you’d be correct. I’m not a chain restaurant guy, much less someone who eats any kind of fast food more than once a month (or less), so how is it that I’m about to rave about Culver’s, the 500+-unit, Wisconsin-based chain that has an extremely popular location right here off S.R. 56?

Because Culver’s really shouldn’t be called “fast food,” other than the fact that this growing chain, which has 45 locations in Florida, does usually deliver your food to your car or their comfortable indoor seating area within 5-7 minutes or so.

In fact, Culver’s of Wesley Chapel franchise owners Ann and Marty Roeske don’t refer to their second Culver’s (they also purchased one of the first 100 or so units of the chain in 2000 in Wautoma, WI, near where they lived,; that location is now operated by their children) as fast food at all.

The famous cheese curds at Culver’s.

“It’s cooked-to-order food that is served quickly,” says Marty. “The company is always finding new ways to cook the food faster, but will never sacrifice the quality that the families who love us have come to expect.”

Ann adds, “If a family from Wisconsin comes here to visit, if their sandwiches or cheese curds or frozen custard don’t taste exactly the same to them as they do where they’re from, we’re not doing our jobs.”

That’s why Craig and Lea Culver — who opened the first Culver’s in Sauk City, WI, in 1984 (along with their parents, George & Ruth) — insist that all Culver’s franchise owners have to be on-site, hands-on owner-operators who also must be properly trained to ensure that the quality that has made Culver’s famous in 22 states (and growing), especially throughout the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions, as well as the Southeast, Texas and Arizona, always stays consistent.

More Than Just Burgers!

When I first heard Culver’s was opening in our area (the location on Nebraska Ave. at Bearss Ave. opened a year or so before the Wesley Chapel restaurant), I couldn’t figure out why so many Midwest transplants were so excited about it.

I was thinking, “OK, so it’s another burger place,” even though I’ll admit that I’m always excited about anyplace that serves authentic frozen custard — which is like your favorite ice cream, only creamier…sort of a delicious cross between soft-serve and “hard pack.”

But, while Culver’s “Butter Burgers” (no, they don’t make the burger with butter, it’s the bun that’s buttered, according to Marty) are delicious  — they’re certainly better and fresher (Ann says Culver’s 100-percent Midwestern beef is never frozen) than most fast food burgers — I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Culver’s other sandwiches and menu items.

My favorite, for sure, is the beef pot roast sandwich, which seems to be the only “brisket” served in this area that isn’t barbecued/smoked. This premium chuck roast is as tender as my mom’s brisket, slow-braised in a classic blend of herbs and spices and is served in those juices on Culver’s signature bun (which absorbs them nicely). You can enjoy this tasty “sammy” with Culver’s horseradish or BBQ sauce, although it honestly doesn’t need any sauce at all.

I also really enjoyed trying Culver’s North Atlantic Cod fish sandwich and the chicken noodle soup (both shown in the photo, right), as well as the crispy chicken sandwich and tenders. I’ve never tried Culver’s grilled chicken sandwich, but I liked the flavor of the grilled chicken on the Garden Fresco salad and the sesame ginger dressing.  I’m not the biggest chili lover, but “George’s Chili” is thick with meat and very tasty.

And of course, Culver’s recently added Wisconsin cheddar cheese dipping sauce and also is famous for its crispy, crinkle-cut fries. Plus, if you mention Culver’s crisp-outside, creamy-inside fried cheese curds to any former “Cheesehead,” they immediately start writing love sonnets set to music about them. Seriously.

All that having been said, the main reason I keep going back to Culver’s isn’t because of those items or the fact it’s a mile from where I live, it’s because of the frozen custard, a dessert I have enjoyed since the first time I visited the Boardwalk in Atlantic City in my teens. Every time I see Culver’s post a new flavor on their board on S.R. 56 mentioning Reese’s, Snickers, marshmallow or, say, the Oreo cheesecake custard on the previous page, I find myself detouring for a cup or cone, usually a cup and usually with Culver’s deep, delicious real hot fudge.

Just another fast food place? I think not!

Culver’s of Wesley Chapel is located at 2303 Sun Vista Dr., Lutz. For more info, including a great gift card special, see the ad on pg. 40, call (813) 949-1414 or visit Culvers.com. And, please tell Ann, Marty and their always-friendly, happy and courteous staff that the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News sent you!