Editorial: Evolution Of WCNT-tv And Kayaking Editor

I hope you’re continuing to enjoy watching our WCNT-tv — Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Television— segments on YouTube and Facebook. It at least appears that quite a few of your enjoy watching and sharing the segments, whether they’re “News Desks” with yours truly and my co-host Susanna Martinez or senior video editor Gavin Olsen’s outstanding slide videos, which continue to grow in popularity.

So, while we haven’t quite yet reached a million total views on Facebook and YouTube, we are approaching 700,000 total views and a total Facebook reach of more than 1.2 million people in a little less than two years (WCNT-tv debuted in June of 2016).

In fact, Gavin’s slide video a few weeks ago, about the “green” grocery store known as Earth Fare breaking ground at the corner of S.R. 56 and Wesley Chapel Blvd./S.R. 54, has been our most-viewed segment of 2018 to date, with a reach of nearly 30,000 people on Facebook, nearly 17,000 views and 1,100+ engagements (likes, comments and shares).

The most recent slide video Gavin put together for us (which also includes quite a bit of beautiful drone video footage shot by our friend Sergio Venegas of Eagle Fly Media) that was released on May 24 was about everything happening on S.R. 56 near and across from the Tampa Premium Outlets and had already reached nearly 6,000 people, with hundreds of engagements, as we went to press with this issue — only two hours after we released it!

The most recent WCNT-tv News Desk segment provides even more info about everything happening in and around the Tampa Premium Outlets. It was expected to be released shortly after Memorial Day, so I hope you’ll keep an eye out for it and let me know what you think.

The new News Desk segment also will include full captioning, so more people can watch it without having to have the volume on. Gavin and I believe that having the captioning of every episode will be a factor in finally getting us over the one million total views on YouTube and Facebook I’ve been hoping for since the show started.

Over the next couple of weeks, I also hope you’ll look for the return of WCNT-tv business correspondent Mollyana Ward, who held a North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting, after the Chamber’s own ribbon cutting at its new office, for Lagoon Realty, the local real estate company in Epperson, where the first Crystal Lagoons¼ amenity in the U.S. recently held its own Grand Opening celebration.

Also, over the next month or two, you’ll also see WCNT-tv segments updating the S.R. 54 and S.R. 56 areas near Wiregrass Ranch, and hopefully, an update from the new Bahama Breeze Island Grill opening this summer.

I also want to thank our webcast partner, the North Tampa Bay Chamber and CEO Hope Allen for continuing to support the show and this publication (see ad on pg. 12), even though it’s been a little while since Mollyana has gotten to host a Chamber Featured Business segment.

Please call (813) 910-2575 for email ads@WCNT-tv.com for information about promoting your business on our show.

Gary Won An Award? For Kayaking?

Although I was happy with how I fared in the first race I ever finished in my Neighborhood News/WCNT-tv “Banana Boat” surfski single kayak on April 14, I was even happier when I finished my second race on May 19 — The Florida Cup off Madeira Beach.

The planned 3-mile “open” race was reduced to 2.2 miles because of the inclement weather that was expected but never arrived that day, and I was thrilled to finish the race in 27:47 (less than 14 minutes per mile), which had me in 31st of 48 finishers in every type of paddling craft.

But, I was even more excited to have been the third 50+ male on a surfski single to finish the race, more than 5 minutes ahead of the fourth-place finisher.

Even so, Susanna makes fun of me again on the S.R. 56 WCNT-tv segment, but only because I scripted it that way. Check it out!

The Continuing Saga Of Our Own Wild Bill; Plus, A Kayaking Editor Update

Wild Bill Peterseim & Derrell Newell

A little more than three months ago, in our January 12 issue, I told you a little bit about the story of my friend, local karaoke legend Wild Bill Peterseim. The article gave a lot of information about a 70-something man who not only does a pretty good Elvis impersonation while doing pushups during the musical interludes of his (and other people’s) karaoke songs at O’Brien’s Irish Pub in the Wesley Chapel Village Market, but also of his  long business career and of him saving a man’s life at the Lexington Oaks clubhouse pool.

Lexington Oaks is the community where Bill lived with Linda, his beloved wife of 46 years, who passed away last year from an extremely rare form of melanoma and where the couple lived in the aftermath of Bill falling victim to a trusted business associate’s Ponzi scheme. Believe me, the above is the Reader’s Digest version of the story.

Since then, Bill has had the home in Lexington Oaks taken away from him by the bank in the aftermath of the Ponzi scheme (another really long, hard-to-explain story) and it was possible he would have to move to Winter Haven to live with one of his two daughters and her family.

Shortly after my article came out, Derrell Newell, another O’Brien’s karaoke regular who actually is a professional Elvis impersonator, informed Wild Bill that he was planning to perform a benefit concert at O’Brien’s to (at the time) try to keep Bill in his home.

That benefit was held in February and, more than 60 songs later — including about a dozen duets by Bill and Derrell — a total of $700 was raised, all of which was donated to help Wild Bill pay some bills.

About $160 of that total came from Bill’s new friend, local photographer and DJ Chuck Amstone, who read about the benefit in the Neighborhood News and contacted me to get involved in the fundraiser, even though he had only met Wild Bill once or twice before (Bill does have that effect on people).

Chuck brought his photo booth to the benefit and raised his money by asking people for donations for Bill when they took pictures in the booth during the show.

I give major props to both the charismatic Costco employee who prefers to be called “Elvis D” and to Chuck for stepping up big time for a friend.

Around the same time, Wild Bill’s financial picture became a little bit brighter when yours truly hired him as an office assistant. Even though I knew that Bill was overqualified for the job I hired him to do — organize my shambles of an office and the storage area next to our conference room — I also knew that this vibrant guy who is back to doing pushups on stage after a little bit of a health scare of his own would sink his teeth into it and do a spectacular job. And, he has exceeded my expectations. My only regret is not taking before-and-after pictures because no one who has spent any time at our “palatial” office would believe how organized the place is now.

So, the saga of Wild Bill continues. Come meet Bill, Derrell my fiancĂ© Jannah and all of the other karaoke regulars at O’Brien’s on almost any Wednesday night. Gary Carmichael of Heart & Soul Karaoke is back and he has the greatest song list in creation, so whether you end up singing or not, I know you’ll feel like another member of our karaoke family.

If you’re looking to hire a Vegas-quality Elvis impersonator for your next event, Wild Bill and I both urge you to contact Derrell at (617) 909-0168. And, for all of your DJ/photography needs, call or text Chuck at (727) 215-4487.

This Guy…Is Still Kayaking?

So, if you haven’t watched the recent episode of WCNT-tv, where Susanna Martinez and I tell you how I did in the Sharkbite Challenge & Paddlefest off Honeymoon Island on April 14, I hope you’ll access our Neighborhood News Facebook page and watch it.

Here’s why: Two years ago, when I first entered this four-mile (more on that below) race, I did so in a kayak I borrowed from a friend and it just so happened that the Gulf of Mexico was extremely angry following a big storm that day. It was so bad that the organizers rescheduled the Saturday races for Sunday, where the winds were still 25-30 knots and the seas were 3-5 feet. I ended up flipping the kayak and swimming it to shore.

This time around, I went to check out Honeymoon Island a few days before the Challenge, and it was like deja vu. Even though I now have my own 18-foot-long surfski single kayak (I call it the “Neighborhood News/WCNT-tv Banana Boat”), the winds were whipping up to about 25 knots and I just couldn’t stay in the boat. Oh…and I recorded it all on a GoPro-style camera and showed a smidgen of it during the WCNT video. Pretty funny stuff.

Undaunted, I still returned to Honeymoon on the 14th and, with only 10-15 mph winds and much calmer seas, I finished the 3.5-mile (they did shorten the course because of the wind) Open Division race 61st of 92 finishers, in 58:14. It may not be the feel-good story of the year, but it did make me feel pretty good about myself, despite the fact that others in my age group beat me by more than 20 minutes.

My Personal Take On Gun Violence; Plus, The Taste Returns  March 25!

As a parent, I’m happy that both of my sons have graduated from both high school and college, because the threat of continuing gun violence, especially towards young people, seems to loom ever larger in this country.

I can’t imagine how the families of the murdered students and staff at Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland are feeling. I don’t want to imagine it. But, I also can’t hide my head in the sand and pray that it somehow all goes away.

Children shouldn’t have to be afraid to go to school. Schools shouldn’t have to have metal detectors and beefed-up security, but they do.

I’ve never been a gun owner and the few times I’ve shot a gun of any kind, I could feel the death — whether accidental or intended — in my hands…and wanted no part of it.

Even so, I’ve also always had an open mind about both hunting and the need some people I have been close to have felt to have a gun (or guns) in their home in order to feel safe.

The one thing I could never understand was why anyone would own a military-style automatic weapon, other than maybe as a keepsake of someone’s time in the military. If you hunters out there are using AR-15s or AK-47s or even bump stocks to shoot deer, wild boar or even gators, I’m guessing that’s against the rules. But, if it’s not, shouldn’t it be? Even though these weapons can get off multiple shots in seconds, are they really the weapon of choice for home protection? Aren’t they, when legally kept, supposed to be unloaded and locked up when not in use and therefore harder to load and fire quickly at an intruder?

But, I certainly agree that the guns themselves are not the problem. People are. I therefore think that, in addition to trying to ban these types of weapons, anyone who wants to buy one should have to be evaluated by a licensed mental health professional before they can do so. I also think that the penalties for not only using, but possessing, these types of weapons would also need to be tougher.

And finally, I honestly think that in order to get the most people to be willing to give up these guns of mass destruction, they should be paid to give them back. Pennies on the dollar, but it’s better than having them confiscated or having to illegally hide them if they ever are banned. Even if our government had to buy back every military-style weapon and bump stock in this country, wouldn’t the monetary cost alone, much less the cost in human life and suffering be less than what we’ve seen in mass shooting after mass shooting?

I honestly believe that if anyone is going to finally bring about change with regards to guns in this country, those surviving students and families from Parkland have the best chance of finally getting it done.  I truly hope they succeed because, sadly, we never know whose children (or parents or siblings) could be next.

 Check Out Our Taste 2018 Preview Section!

At our press time on March 2, it was still three weeks out before the Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel was set to return to the (surprisingly) warm and friendly confines of Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI) and I know it’s going to be bigger and better than last year.

The Taste, presented by the Rotary Club of New Tampa, in conjunction with the North Tampa Bay (formerly the Greater Wesley Chapel) Chamber of Commerce, will return to FHCI on Sunday, March 25, noon-4 p.m., or two weeks and two days after you received this issue in your mailbox.

As the restaurant coordinator for the event both years, I will say that we had a few (5 or 6) more restaurants secured with paperwork at the same time last year, but close to half of the 32 confirmed eateries and beverage providers we hdid have at our press time this year are newcomers to the event — and most of those that participated last year who don’t appear in our Taste preview section on pages 38-41 said they were going to return, we just hadn’t received their paperwork by Mar. 2. Since those pages were laid out for the issue, in fact, we have had two more providers — the Zephyrhills Brewing Co. and The Main Ingredient Catering Co. — send in their paperwork as I was writing the final page of our latest Wesley Chapel edition.

In short, I will be stunned if we don’t at least match last year’s 46 food and beverage providers and I won’t be surprised at all if the number ends up at 50 or more.

In fact, there are at least 40 additional restaurants that have expressed serious interest in being at the Taste, so keep visiting TasteofNewTampa.org every day to see what new culinary delights are expected to be added to an already impressive roster.

Please note that this year’s “People’s Choice” winners will have to keep selling tickets past 3 p.m., because the total weight of each food/beverage vendors’ tickets will…um…carry a lot of weight.

The New Tampa Players will return with new performances and guitar afficionado Shaun Hopper (right) will be the day’s entertainment headliner, known for his “fingerstyle” and percussive technique.

I give big kudos to FHCI owners Gordie Zimmermann and George Mitchell for being so happy to welcome the Taste back to the largest skating complex south of New York state, with an amazing floor covering one of the complex’s 17,000-sq.-ft., NHL-sized rinks. Gametime indoor temp? Right around 72 degrees (F.). Seriously.

I also congratulate New Tampa Rotary president Karen Frashier, her awesome team of “JCs” — James Carner and Jason Contino — who already have brought in more sponsors and sponsorship dollars for the event this year than last, logistics guru Matt Palmer, our beer & wine license expert (and Private Chef) Peter Gambacorta, entertainment chair Bob Thompson, volunteer coordinator Dr. Colin Beach, marketing whiz Craig Miller, the always-helpful Lesley Zajac and Debby Amon,  and new Taste committee member Nikki Smith, who has made sure that any food that isn’t sold during the event this year will be donated to local food banks immediately following the Taste.

For more info about the 2018 Taste, including how to pre-buy tickets or volunteer, visit TasteofNewTampa.org. And, check out our Taste Preview Section on pages 38-41 in our latest issue and look for exclusive WCNT-tv Taste preview segments on Facebook, too.

Rotary Club Updates On A Unique Exchange Student & The Taste!

Despite my best efforts to keep our readers informed about all of the wonderful things New Tampa’s two Rotary Clubs do to help people both here and internationally, there’s no doubt that both clubs do many amazing things to live by Rotary International’s motto of “Service Above Self.”

Rotary International (RI) is the world’s largest service organization, with more than 1.2 million members in thousands of clubs worldwide. RI is the organization that has now all but eradicated polio, once a dreaded scourge afflicting millions without discriminating for race, color, creed or national origin. Today, there literally are only two countries in the world — Pakistan and Afghanistan — that still have new cases of polio being reported, with only eight such new cases in those two war-torn nations because they won’t allow Rotary and the World Health Organization vaccinate everyone in certain areas where those new cases still pop up.

But, RI and the thousands of Rotary Clubs across the globe are about so much more than just eliminating polio. Rotary Clubs — including the 20+-year-old Rotary Club of New Tampa (which still meets Fridays at 7 a.m., at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club) and the 15-year-old New Tampa Noon Rotary (which meets Wednesdays at noon at Pebble Creek Golf Club) — provide service to their local communities, the Tampa Bay region and the world.

One way clubs get involved globally is by exchanging outstanding students in their communities with students from foreign countries to live for a year (there are shorter programs, too), where they get to travel, spread the word about Rotary and immerse themselves in other cultures.

The New Tampa Noon club, of which I am a member, has never really been big enough to sponsor a Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) Scholarship student before; but even though our club still has fewer than 20 active members, we recently jumped on the RYE bandwagon in a big way.

Wharton High graduating senior M’Kya Gonzalez-Richardson is the president of the school’s French club and French Honor Society, and is already fluent in “la langue” (the French language), so the fact she was interested in traveling to France was no big surprise.

What was surprising to learn was that M’Kya and her mom, Thelsuice Gonzalez (who was disabled from an accident at work when M’Kya was only 9) were actually homeless a few years ago. Although they live in a home in the Wharton attendance district today, their situation isn’t typical of most RYE exchange students — and that’s another reason this very well spoken, excellent student was selected by the New Tampa Noon club to receive the prestigious RYE Scholarship.

“It costs $5,500 for room, board, tuition and a small monthly stipend to spend one academic year overseas,” says Helen Chan (with me and M’Kya in the photo), the RYE coordinator for Rotary District 6890, which includes both New Tampa Rotary Cubs and 43 others in Hillsborough, Highlands, Hardee and Polk counties. “So, most RYE students are somewhat affluent themselves, so they can pay those costs. But, the goal is to select high-level students, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds, to be RYE Scholarship recipients and M’Kya is exactly the type of student — and ambassador for our District — who deserves this type of honor.”

Despite their time living on the street (and moving from one relative’s home to another), and her mom’s disability (“I had to grow up faster than most kids because I had to be the one doing the shopping and cleaning for us at a young age,” she says),M’Kya has always thrived at school, whether in Thel’s tough hometown of Gary, IN, or from her time attending Benito Middle School and Wharton here.

And, she’s not afraid of having to do some fund-raising of her own to help pay for her year  in the northern French city of Normandy.

M’Kya and Thel have created and sold hand-made holiday cards and blank thank-you note cards, and sold some homemade cakes to raise money. And, while she will be representing all of District 6890  during her visit, she also is now receiving the proceeds of the New Tampa Noon Club’s weekly “Brag Bucks.” In addition, she plans to compete in next month’s Rotary District 6890 club speech contest. If she wins at the “club” ($100 for first place) and “group” levels ($250), she will advance to the District Finals in March, where the prize is $1,000. 

“That would really help me out a lot,” says M’Kya, who will likely do at least some portion of her speech en Français. “But, I’m prepared to do even more to raise all of the money before I leave for France.”

A “Tasty” Connection?

I’m also proud to announce that the New Tampa “Breakfast” Rotary Club, which is again the organization putting on the Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel — on Sunday, March 25, noon-4 p.m., at Florida Hospital Center Ice (in conjunction with the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce)  — has agreed to give $1,000 of this year’s Taste proceeds as a thank-you to my Noon Rotary Club, for the efforts of not only yours truly as the restaurant coordinator for the event again, but also for our club’s assistance with day-of registrations for the 2018 Taste.

I was able to secure nearly 50 restaurants and beverage providers for last year’s Taste and hope to surpass that number this year. I also hope my club will donate at least a portion of those proceeds for M’Kya’s trip.

For more information about the 2018 Taste, including how to pre-buy tickets at a discount before February 1, visit TasteofNewTampa.org!

Florida Orthopaedic Institute Is Our 2017 ‘Advertiser Of The Year!’

We have so many wonderful advertisers who continue to support the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News that I decided a couple of years ago we should name an “Advertiser of the Year” each year.

Last year’s winner, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, is still throwing lots of support behind both WCNT-tv (more on that below) and our publications, especially our Wesley Chapel edition, and the Florida Hospital Physician Group has taken full-page ads in both editions since 2016. My friend Kristy Darragh of Florida Executive Realty hasn’t been off our back page in New Tampa for about 20 years (and Kristy also takes the two-page center spread in New Tampa a couple of times each year) and GL Homes has been promoting its The Ridge at Wiregrass Ranch community in full-page ads in these pages since the community began pre-selling homes in 2015.

The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC)’s Board Member of the Year, Karen Tillman-Gosselin of Smith & Associates Realty has been on pg. 2 of every New Tampa issue since March. The Dimmitt Automotive Group has promoted its new Audi Wesley Chapel dealership in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel for several months before the dealership opened…and the list goes on and on. 

And, while it’s been hard to pick an Advertiser of the Year who hasn’t been buying full-page ads with us, we are thrilled that most of the assisted living facilities in our area are all buying half-pages — including Discovery Village at Tampa Palms, The Beach House at Wiregrass Ranch, Promise Pointe at Tampa Oaks and The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve.

To state the obvious, we have a lot of amazing advertising advertisers, including one who has been advertising in the Neighborhood News since before I took over in 1994 — dentist Dr. Michael Green —and another, pediatric dentist Dr. Paul Duga who has been with us for more than 20 years.

We’re also always appreciative of our newest advertisers, including Snowrolls Ice Cream, Jane Crabtree of Coldwell Banker Real Estate. North Tampa Law Group, and John S. Wood, CPA; and for returning advertisers who have been out of the publications for a while, like Jersey Mike’s Subs, The Dade City Chamber of Commerce’s annual Kumquat Festival, the Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival and Panda Hugs Learning Center.

But this year, I am thrilled to say that the Florida Orthopaedic Institute (FOI) is our 2017 Advertiser of the Year! In addition to running full-page ads in 13 issues every year since 2014 (switching off between our New Tampa and Wesley Chapel issues), FOI (in 2017) added half-page ads in the issues that the full-page ads haven’t run in to promote the amazing orthopaedic surgeons at the practice’s Wesley Chapel office. We wrote another feature story about those doctors that appeared in our last issue (photo above). And, FOI just renewed its commitment to us for 2018!

  For more information about Florida Orthopaedic Institute (2653 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Suite 201 (upstairs), visit FloridaOrtho.com, call (813) 305-7775 or see the ad on page 4 and please tell them that you read about them in the New Tampa Neighborhood News!

WCNT-tv Surpasses 500,000 Views & 1 Million Reach!

Fresh off the heels of our recent News Desk segments about a volunteer group helping provide supplies to Puerto Rico (see story on pg. 12), WCNT-tv — Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Television — has surpassed a total Facebook reach of 1 million people and has now surpassed 500,000 total views on Facebook and YouTube combined.

And, to build on that success, we now have a new Rate Card for not only WCNT-tv, but for combining WCNT-tv and advertising in the Neighborhood News (and on NTNeighborhoodNews.com).

In other words, if you’d like to promote your business to the most New Tampa & Wesley Chapel residents, call our sales rep, Tom Damico, at 813.910.2575 or email Tom@ NTNeighborhoodNews.com and ask for our 2018 Neighborhood News & WCNT-tv Media Kit and Rate Card.

And, please remember to View, Like & Share every episode of WCNT-tv on YouTube and Facebook and to check out our daily news updates on our “Neighborhood News” page on Facebook!

I Miss You, Doug!

I was so saddened to learn of the passing of my long-time friend and New Tampa Players (NTP) theatre troupe co-founder Doug Wall, who lost his nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer on November 25.

I met Doug for lunch shortly after he learned he contracted the disease, but he was so positive and happy about the possibility of his long-awaited New Tampa Cultural Center finally coming to fruition (see pg. 8) and about NTP’s recent successes that I was certain he was going to beat his illness.

I’m heartbroken for his family, and for myself, to have to say I was wrong.

Rest in Peace, Doug.