Congrats To The Top-10 Graduating Seniors From Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation!

Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation — Graduation Ceremony: Mon., June 8, At USF Yuengling Ctr. 

1. Milla Asenov 

GPA: 4.7429 

Clubs/Activities: HOSA President, Student Government pres., AdventHealth volunteer, tutor, Student Congress representative, dual enrollment, student nurse internship 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Biochemistry 

Best thing about high school: The amazing people I’ve met & the impact they’ve had on me! 

2. Jessica Ghobryal 

GPA: 4.621 

Clubs/Activities: SGA, NHS, HOSA, Navigating Our Community 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida 

Planned major or future career: Biomedical Science – Pre-Med, Surgeon 

Best thing about high school: Making lifelong memories. 

3. Katie Franciso 

GPA: 4.5769 

Clubs/Activities: School Advisory Council (SAC) Secretary, Yoga & Meditation Club president, martial arts black belt, Communications internship, Navigator News anchor, editor & writer, NHS, Quill & Scroll HS 

College planning to attend: Florida State University 

Planned major or future career: Dual major Digital Media Production & Marketing 

Best thing about high school: Finding my interests and becoming more independent. 

4. Paisley Murphy 

GPA: 4.5308 

Clubs/Activities: Varsity wrestling, varsity swimming, Scouting America Eagle Scout & Venturing Crew president 

College planning to attend: Columbia University 

Planned major or future career: Environmental Law 

Best thing about high school: Meeting my friends. 

5. Shane McBride 

GPA: 4.4906 

Clubs/Activities: Tournament Paintball 

Planned major or future career: Entrepreneur 

Best thing about high school: Friends, activities – homecoming/prom & teachers. 

6. Katherine Traynor

GPA: 4.4828 

Clubs/Activities: Wrestling, Swimming, Scouting America 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Materials Engineering 

Best thing about high school: Getting out of my comfort zone. 

7. Patrick Durden 

GPA: 4.4811 

Clubs/Activities: NHS, CTF Cyber Team, Children’s Church Volunteer 

College planning to attend: St. Leo University 

Planned major or future career: Cybersecurity 

Best thing about high school: Friendships made along the way & memories made through school social activities. 

8. Zaid Isaac 

GPA: 4.4796 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida 

Planned major or future career: Cybersecurity & military 

Best thing about high school: The friends made along the way. 

9. Mischa Groner 

GPA: 4.4706 

Clubs/Activities: Student Government Assn., NHS, VP of HOSA, Student Congress, Nursing Assistant Internship, Volunteer at AdventHealth, Working at the Lagoon, Fully enrolled at PHSC for Dual Enrollment & receiving my Associates in Arts degree in May. 

College planning to attend: St. Leo Univ. 

Planned major or future career: Nursing with a minor in criminal justice. 

Best thing about high school: The friends I made and the patient care program.

10. Jackson Foster 

GPA: 4.4701 

Clubs/Activities: HOSA, PHS, Varsity Swim Captain, Lifeguard, Swim Instructor & Basketball Coach, YMCA 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Applied Physiology & Kinesiology, Interest in Sports Medicine 

Best thing about high school: The people. 

U-F Agriculture Students Receive $1 Million From Kirkland Ranch Property Sale

We receive a lot of press releases in our Neighborhood News inbox, but I honestly can’t remember ever having seen a press release saying that someone was donating a million dollars in a ceremony in Wesley Chapel we were invited to attend. 

So of course, when we were invited by the Community Foundation Tampa Bay to visit the Kirkland Ranch property on Curley Rd. on Dec. 8 because the Foundation was going to be presenting a $1 million grant “on behalf of the Marvin & Elizabeth Holloway Foundation to the Alpha Gamma Education Foundation,” I knew that I wanted to be on hand for it — even though I had never even heard of the Holloway or Alpha Gamma foundations before. 

And, while we never just run press releases, as it turns out, this is the best way to understand why the event was being held: “The philanthropic investment builds on the recent sale and permanent conservation of nearly 1,000 acres of Kirkland Ranch, a historic Pasco County property owned by the Kirkland family for generations. The State of Florida purchased the ranch earlier this year following a multiyear effort championed by Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson and supported by the ranch’s leadership and shareholders. The sale preserved the land in perpetuity and generated more than $20 million in philanthropic assets now stewarded by Community Foundation Tampa Bay.” 

OK, but who are Marvin and Elizabeth Holloway? Elizabeth Kirkland Holloway, who passed away at age 103 in 2024, was the sister of Cicero Kirkland, who began developing the Kirkland Ranch in 1949 with his son Raymond. 

The release also said, “With the initial gift of the land to Community Foundation Tampa Bay, the Community Foundation was able to ensure the Kirkland and Holloway families’ legacy by converting a complex donation into lasting charitable impact that benefits agriculture, youth services, health care, and environmental education.” 

“The Holloway Foundation’s $1 million grant is a powerful example of how charitable giving can create meaningful, long-term impact,” said Marlene Spalten, president & CEO of Community Foundation Tampa Bay. “We are honored to carry forward the Kirkland and Holloway families’ philanthropic legacy and grateful that this gift will support the next generation of Florida’s agricultural leaders.” 

But, what is the Alpha Gamma Education Foundation? “This grant to the Alpha Gamma Education Foundation (Alpha Gamma Rho, or AGR, is the agricultural fraternity at the University of Florida in Gainesville) will support students in the [U-F] agriculture program, including scholarships that will help prepare them for careers in agriculture and related fields — an enduring priority for the Kirkland and Holloway families.” 

At any rate, on hand for the check presentation were (l.-r. in the top photo) Alpha Gamma Foundation pres. Steven Hall, Kirkland family & Holloway Foundation trustees Caesar Rinalvi and Bob Sharp, Dist. 54 State Rep. Randy Maggard, Spalten and Comm. Simpson. At right is a photo of Elizabeth “Betsy” Holloway and far right is the plaque presented in her honor to Rinalvi and Sharp by AGR, “in grateful appreciation of the generous gift remembering (Betsy’s father) Cicero, Jack & Raymond Kirkland (Betsy’s brothers) to create a lasting legacy for Alpha Gamma Rho and the future of Florida Agriculture.” 

How will the grant help AGR and its Education Foundation? 

Hall said, “Some of the money will be used to pay off the mortgage on the AGR frat house (in Gainesville). But, the bulk of the money will fund $20,000-$40,000 per year in scholarships for agriculture students at the University of Florida in perpetuity.” 

Congratulations to all! — GN, photos by Charmaine George 

All Of Kirkland Ranch Being Purchased By The State For Conservation!

The area in red is the 938-acre Kirkland Ranch, also known as “Village K” in the Villages of Pasadena Hills. 
The property being preserved extends from north of the Watergrass community to Kiefer Rd. & east from where Curley Rd. meets Elam Rd. to the Kirkland Ranch property line. (Pasco County map modified by Joel Provenzano) 

Residents wanting to see land and the environment protected in eastern Pasco County are getting their wish, as one local family intends to sell their almost 1,000- acre ranch to the state for natural preservation, instead of to developers for homes or apartments — and the state just approved the funds to do exactly that. 

How much?…. $30.8 million. 

Days after our article went to print last month, entitled “Where Are The Villages of Pasadena Hills (VOPH) & Why Should You Care?,” a surprise press release came from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD, aka “Swiftmud”) on Aug. 26, explaining that the Kirkland Ranch portion of the land in VOPH — immediately between the Kirkland Ranch school complex and the community of Watergrass — was approved to be purchased by Swiftmud’s board, with funds being provided by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). 

“We appreciate Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature’s commitment to preserving this conservation land in one of the fastest-growing areas in Pasco County,” said Swiftmud’s executive director Brian Armstrong. “This important purchase will help preserve the region’s lands and water resources for future generations.” 

Deemed to be a critical watershed for the state of Florida, and specifically Pasco County, the six contiguous cattle farming parcels owned by Kirkland Ranch since 1956 (938 acres total, of which 41% is wetlands), would have made up almost all of the residential area of “Village K” in VOPH, directly along the burgeoning Curley Rd. corridor (see attached map for location). But now, that land will remain fully undisturbed. 

“This acquisition meets all four of the District’s ‘Areas of Responsibility,’ which are water supply, water quality, flood protection and natural systems,” the Swiftmud news release from Aug. 26 says, “and is consistent with the District’s ‘Florida Forever’ workplan.” 

For those not familiar, VOPH is the 20,000+ acre special development district making up the area directly between Wesley Chapel, Dade City and Zephyrhills. 

This purchase will presumably affect two of Pasco’s so-called “vision roads,” the first being the northern Watergrass Pkwy. extension that was supposed to cut diagonally through Kirkland Ranch, serving as an important north/south corridor. The other is the eastern Elam Rd. extension, which would have run behind the Kirkland school complex (which includes the Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation and the Kirkland Ranch K-8 school) — all of which was shown in the “Pasadena Hills Land Use Vision Plan” and transportation maps, but now that it’s no longer being developed, these road extensions are likely off the table. But, we’ll keep you posted.