Congrats to FSC Franchise Co. CEO Chris Elliott & Brass Tap GM Kate Tsan and their entire crew at the former Beef O’Brady’s on S.R. 54 in the Sunlake area of Lutz, which was officially rebranded on Aug 29 as a new Brass Tap.
FSC is the parent company of both Beef O’Brady’s & The Brass Tap, which hosted a North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event to commemorate the change.
According to admin Kelly Gilroy’s personal Facebook profile, the Facebook page called “Pasco County Development & Growth Updates” (PCDGU) was first created and started posting in July of 2023, and there’s no doubt that it has quickly become the most trusted online source for new information about new residential and commercial developments — not just in Wesley Chapel but for all of Pasco County — in a very short time.
And, for good reason. As the editor of the most trusted print source of news and information about Wesley Chapel and New Tampa for the last 30 years, all I can say is that page administrators David Hutsell and Kelly Gilroy have done — and continue to do — an amazing job of releasing information supplied to the county, usually the same day these development applications are filed.
Rather than express any kind of professional jealousy about how they’ve captured the imagination of local residents, I have found that PCDGU and the Neighborhood News have developed a kind of synergy — they make the announcements and we (myself and editorial researcher/correspondent Joel Provenzano) follow up to try to give additional information about them. A few times, we’ve been the first to note that a previously announced development was scrubbed or its application was withdrawn, but most of the time, the information, site maps and other graphics in PCDGU are truly spot-on.
One of the things that makes the volume of information they put out on an ongoing basis so impressive is that Kelly and David both apparently have full-time jobs. We found this out when we exchanged private Facebook messages with Kelly — once — and have tried a few times to get an actual interview with her and/or David (which she said they were amenable to do, but that they’re both super-busy; she also said that it was probably best for us to interview David, since PCDGU is his page), but as of the day I am writing this column, no such interview has yet been set up.
A few local news reporters, including yours truly, have tried to find out from our county commissioners and county staff if perhaps either David or Kelly or both currently or previously worked for the county, but several months ago, one Pasco commissioner told me, “No one in Pasco County government even knows who they are or how they keep such close tabs on everything that comes before us. Some of our staffers have even said they think their profiles are fake or that the administrators don’t use their real names on their page.”
Whoa. This mythology about them has grown in part because Kelly has only one photo on her personal profile page and, according to many people I’ve spoken with about it — and it seems that everyone I talk to about it wants to know — “it looks more like an illustration or AI-generated than a photo.” Her profile also says her work is “AVP – Risk Analytics at Banking Industry” and that she is married and lives in Lutz. Whenever she is asked in the comments of a post what her actual job is, she says “I work in commercial banking” (the same thing she told me on the phone).
Meanwhile, David’s personal profile says that he works at St. George Capital Partners, LLC, which is based in Palm Beach Gardens.
Considering the amount of valuable information Kelly and David put out, and the fact that (it seems) everyone wants more information about them, it’s probably a good idea that they have remained mostly anonymous doing what I assure you is not easy to do.
Back in the “good old days,” before everything submitted to a county or city government was available online, in order to get information about new developments, I’d have to go to the New Port Richey Government Center (for Wesley Chapel) or to downtown Tampa (for New Tampa), pull the files and take film pictures of the maps, charts and development info. Easy, right?
Nowadays, however, all of that info, once it’s been filed, is available online — if you know where to look. We have usually waited until a development review has been put on an agenda of the county’s Planning Commission or Board of County Commissioners (BOC) before putting that information in front of our readers. But, even though some of what PCDGU puts out is preliminary and subject to change — and Kelly and David always mention when it is — there’s no doubt that they continue to do an amazing job of providing that information.
And, this is true despite the fact that whenever someone asks on their page, “What’s coming to…,” too many people are still making the same tired jokes about car washes and self-storage facilities, while others try to turn every post into a political argument (usually) condemning the BOC and county staff. It’s a lot for them to put up with, considering that this isn’t either of their full-time jobs. Kelly, in particular, continues to try to shut down such unnecessary nonsense, but I’m sure it isn’t easy.
We also appreciate it whenever Kelly or David post Neighborhood News stories in response to comments on their page. Keep up the great work, you two! Let’s make that interview happen!
Above is a list of new developments from PCDGU since Aug. 1 that we plan to update.
The Pasco Education Foundation (PEF) has raised more than $15,000 in school supplies for its Wise Supplies program in three separate “Stuff the Bus” events held in and near Wesley Chapel (similar events are held throughout the county) in July and August. Wise Supplies program manager Sierra Johnson says that all told, the “Stuff the Bus” events held at the Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills Walmart stores (almost $5,000), at Bubba’s 33 (in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, which raised nearly $6,000) and the most recent event hosted jointly by Rock & Brews and Main Event on S.R. 56 on Aug. 25 together (about $5,000) were “hugely successful and will help many teachers provide school supplies for their students who need them throughout the school year.”
According to PEF’s website, “Wise Supplies is a Free Teacher Resource Store founded by the Pasco Education Foundation to help alleviate the financial burden for families and teachers. Many times teachers spend their own funds before letting their students go without. We want every student to have the basic supplies they need for academic success.” Johnson says that even though the Main Event/Rock & Brews event (which ended up being held the same day as a previously scheduled car show on the 25th), had to be rescheduled from Aug. 4 and wasn’t held until after the 2024-25 school year had started, “Pasco teachers need these supplies throughout the year for their students. The need doesn’t go away just because school starts.”
To help PEF’s Wise Supplies program, which provided more than $154,000 in supplies for more than 1,300 teachers in 83 Pasco schools during the 2023-24 school year and will accept donations throughout this school year, visit PascoEducationFoundation.org.
Congratulations to Brendan Norgaard, the 2024 Wharton High graduate who, on Aug. 7, received the José Alvarez Memorial Award as the top Male Soccer Player of the Year in Hillsborough County for the 2023-24 season, after breaking five high school records and scoring 32 goals in 18 games for the Wildcats last season.
Brendan received his award from Steven Alvarez, the son of the late José Alvarez, at a surprise (at least for Brendan) dinner meeting at Florida Ave. Brewing Co. on S.R. 56.
“Yes, Brendan is a great soccer player, but not everyone who has received this award the last 40 years has been a great scorer,” Steven Alvarez told the Neighborhood News. “The award considers everything — leadership, academics, volunteer work and soccer ability and Brendan was nominated by his coaches (Wharton head soccer coach Scott Ware and his assistant coach Jason Doughlin) and a committee of local high school coaches votes for one male and one female Player of the Year each year (since 1985).”
Brendan’s mother, Ann Pereira (who invited us to the dinner), says her son completed Cambridge Assessment International Education qualifications and four Advanced Placement classes while at Wharton and also played club soccer locally for the Florida Premier FC.
“We’re just so proud of Brendan,” Ann said, with her husband Edward by her side. “I’ve never had to ask him ‘Are you practicing?’ or ‘Are you doing your homework?,’ he’s just always excelled at everything and soccer is definitely his passion.”
“He has wanted to be a professional soccer player since he was four years old,” Edward added. “He’s done nothing but eat, sleep and play soccer since we moved down here in 2013.”
Brendan said that the award “ceremony” at Florida Ave. Brewing Co. completely took him by surprise. “I thought we were just coming here for a family dinner,” he said, “but I am very honored and excited to have received this award. I have a lot of friends that I think were very deserving, too, so this is pretty cool.”
Ann added that after being named All-County and All-State and taking Wharton to the 6A Regional Tournament (where they lost 1-0 to Ft. Myers High in the Regional Quarterfinals in Feb.), “We thought he was all done receiving honors, so we were so excited to hear that he had won this award as well.”
She added that Brendan leaves Sept. 2 for England, where he will play for Macclesfield FC in Macclesfield, Cheshire, where he has participated in the club’s summer residency program the last two years. He played in Spain with the club for 10 days, where he played for Macclesfield’s first team in two international tournaments.
“I also am going to attend the University of Central Lancashire (in Preston, Lancashire) and work to get my Bachelor’s degree in Sports Business,” Brendan says. “I just wanted to give this (soccer) a shot and see how far it takes me.”
Steven Alvarez, a director of the The Alvarez Company, an Certified Public Accounting firm based in Apollo Beach — and the executive director of the José A. Alvarez Memorial Fund — says that his father, long-time soccer coach José A. Alvarez, wondered way back in the 1980s why there were Player of the Year awards for football, basketball and baseball in Hillsborough County, but no such award for soccer.
“Dad was told by the county that if he wanted to have a soccer award, he should start — and pay for — it himself,” Steven said. “So, that’s what he did. And, unlike the awards in those other sports, he decided to give his award to both a top boy and girl high school soccer player each year.”
He added, “And he didn’t just want it be about stats or scoring, that’s why it hasn’t always been forwards winning the awards. We’ve had goalkeepers and even defenders win it before. He really wanted it to be an all-around award. Brendan didn’t just win it this year because he scored a lot of goals. He won it because of his academics and leadership, too. He was the team’s captain and he was all about the team, not himself. We have followed not just the soccer careers but our past winners’ lives, who they are as people, which is what my dad wanted.”
Unfortunately, José Alvarez passed away in 2015 at the age of 66 from what is known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or CJD, a rare neurodegenerative disease that has no treatment or cure. Sporadic CJD is similar to dementia in presentation but progresses much more rapidly, with the median duration of illness being only 4-5 months. There also is a genetic form of CJD that can sometimes linger for a year or more, with the person who survived the longest living 16 years after diagnosis.
The CJD Foundation is based in Akron, OH, and, as it says on the JoseAlvarezMemorial.com website, “We would love to continue his giving and good deeds by allowing us to continue this great award, have the ability to help others who may be in need through sport, and help the CJD Foundation continue to help find a stop to this progressive, fatal disease that took José’s life much too early.”
“We started this foundation shortly after my dad passed away, to keep his name. his memory and his award alive,” Steven said. “He — and we — wanted to put the spotlight on the good kids because, hopefully, they’ll be our leaders in a few years down the road.”
Alvarez also mentioned that Brendan is the fourth winner of the award from Wharton during the school’s 25-year history. There also have been two players from Freedom High who have won the award (see chart, above).
Wharton head boys soccer coach Scott Ware and assistant coach Jason Doughlin were on hand for the dinner with Brendan, his parents, his girlfriend Kacy and his brother Grayson, and they agreed that Brendan was the right Wharton player to be nominated for — and win — the award.
“Even as a freshman, he was an immediate impact player for us,” Coach Ware said. “He started all four years for us. His stats don’t lie. He was a true striker on the field, but he also creates opportunities for other players to succeed. Plus, he improved every year and we could see the quality of his leadership develop and he held other kids accountable, but in a proper way. Great team player, great coach’s player, so for us, hands down, he was the guy. He will be missed. If there’s such a thing as a fifth-year senior, I’d take it.”
Doughlin agreed, “Brendan definitely left a legacy, some big shoes to follow. But honestly, it was a no-brainer. Even as a freshman, we could see he was going to be something special. A lot of kids with his ability venture off into the soccer academies, but he stuck around all four years and it’s just an honor for us to be here to see him receive this award. He exceeded our expectations as well.”
Based on the reaction of the families who attended “GiGi & Friends Family Fun Day” at the Shops at Wiregrass on Aug. 24, it seems that a return visit would definitely be welcome, as there was a constant flow of kids running around and waiting in line for the many activities. There was a balloon artist making animals, kids being taught how to spin plates like a circus performer, a small mini-golf course, cornhole, glitter tattoos (this was GiGi’s station), a small climbable playground area, and facepainting (with many of the kids running around as dragons, butterflies and Spider-Man). Jabz Boxing brought hula-hoops, a punching bag and giant inflatable boxing gloves for the kids to play around with. There also was a stage for karaoke, so the kids could sing their favorite songs. Even though it was insanely hot that day, all we saw were smiles from the kids and even their parents.
