Why Do We Offer Contests? Check Out These Happy Neighborhood News Readers! 

When I first bought the Neighborhood News back in Feb. 1994, I knew I wanted to get people not only reading what we put into print, but also engaging with our content. 

One of the ways I decided to make that happen was to put contests in these pages. We started with things like labor-intensive, Gary-created crossword puzzles and Fantasy Baseball and Football contests, trivia contests (which have now been rendered obsolete with the advent of Google) and our most popular annual contest, our Reader Dining Survey & Contest, which is still going strong some 30 years since I started it. 

Over the years, I’ve added other contests, such as our “Big Game Squares,” “March Madness” and “Oscars” contests, but the timing from when either the Academy Awards nominations are announced or the teams are set for the sports contests hasn’t always worked with our every-four-week deadlines. 

This year, however, we were able to make both the “Squares” and “Oscars” (the latter with the delay in the announcement of the nominees and the televised broadcast both delayed by the California wildfires) contests work with online-only entries. 

While only about 100 people total entered this year’s “Big Game” and “Oscars” contests, that doesn’t mean that folks like (l.-r. above) Eddie Mancuso of Highwoods Preserve, who won the Grand Prize of $200 (he chose Stonewood Grill & Tavern); Lianne Kowiak of Arbor Green (with me), who won $100 (and picked Ulele); and Wharton High alum and West Meadows resident MaeLee Rich — who has been entering our contests since her teens and who won one of the two $50 prizes (to Hungry Crab Juicy Seafood) in the Squares contest — weren’t thrilled to win those Squares prizes. The fourth Squares winner, Allison Smith of Pebble Creek, hasn’t yet received her $50 gift card to Grillsmith. 

We also have three winners in our “Oscars” contests. Our Grand Prize winner — one of only two contestants to correctly pick the winners in six of the seven major Academy Awards categories, chosen at random, was Meadow Pointe resident Dawn Kidle, who wins a $200 gift card to B&B Theatres at The Grove. The other tied contestant was John Bailey of Palatine, IL, who not only doesn’t live here — he says he searched “Oscars Contests” online and entered all of them! — Illinois doesn’t even have a B&B Theatre, so I mailed him a $60 gift card to AMC Theaters. There were four contestants who correctly picked five of the seven categories and that winner, drawn at random to receive the $60 B&B gift card I bought for John, is Gail Bialk of Watergrass. I just gave Dawn her prize (4th photo above) and I plan to give Gail hers soon! 

We also now also have 25 local residents who have told us they want to be judges in our contest to pick the Wesley Chapel area’s favorite chicken restaurant. I’m still working out the details of how that contest will work, but I think we now have enough potential judges to make it happen! Look for details in our next issue (hopefully)! 

So, why do we still have contests, with prizes we almost always pay for ourselves (we occasionally have had a restaurant agree to donate prizes, but that’s pretty rare)? Since most of us will never win the Lottery or hit it big in Vegas, it’s nice to have much better odds of winning one of our contest prizes — and my pleasure to provide them. Congrats, winners! 

ATTENTION WESLEY CHAPEL NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS READERS IN ZIP CODE 33545!

The January 21 edition of Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News began hitting mailboxes in zip codes 33543 & 33544 on Saturday and everyone in those two Wesley Chapel zip codes will receive their Jan. 21 edition by tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 21).

If you live in zip code 33545, however, that portion of our bulk mailing will not hit mailboxes until this coming weekend (Jan 24 or 25). Because of all the growth in the northeastern part of Wesley Chapel, the Post Office suddenly changed many of the carrier routes in zip code 33545 —  including adding five brand new postal carrier routes in that zip code — and all of this happened as of Jan. 1. 

Unbeknownst to us, these new carrier routes were created by the Post Office by taking away portions of several existing routes that we’ve been mailing to in zip code 33545  â€” and these new routes do not even show up yet on the Post Office’s Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) system. All I knew was that after a year of unprecedented growth of new homes in Wesley Chapel (more than 5,000 new addresses since Jan. 1, 2024, and one month with more than 1,000 new addresses!), our original direct mail count for the Jan. 21 edition somehow actually went down by more than 3,000 pieces — so I knew something was wrong.

In order for those of you who live in zip code 33545 who have been reading our issues every four weeks to still receive the Jan. 21 edition, I had to do a second printing and mailing to add all five of these new carrier routes and not mail any copies to zip code 33545 until we had the total count correct for this issue.

I apologize for any inconvenience, but this was the only way for me to ensure that everyone in zip code 33545 who is supposed to receive the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News receives their Jan. 21 edition.

Gary Nager 

Publisher & Editor

Tell Me Why You Want To ‘Leap Into The Next 30 Years!’ 

As I told you last issue, my 30th anniversary of owning and being the editor of the Neighborhood News is February 25 and we will be celebrating with a big, by-invitation-only party on “Leap Day” — Thursday, February 29 — at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. 

The event will be called “Leaping Into Gary’s Next 30 Years Of Neighborhood News” and will feature “A Taste of the Neighborhood News,” which means that several of my Favorite Restaurants from our last issue will be providing samples that will show everyone in attendance why I actually do love all of them. 

Another really cool thing about the upcoming anniversary party is that the 325-350 theater seats (right photo) used for performances of “Grease,” “Shrek the Musical” and “Dreamgirls” will magically disappear and be replaced with cabaret-style table seating for about 150 people (left photo), which means that seating for this event will be extremely limited, considering how many people in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel I’ve gotten to know and have come to consider to be friends over the past 30 years. And, that’s not to mention so many of my amazing advertisers who have kept — and continue to keep — me in business where too many other publications, including daily newspapers, have gone the way of the dinosaur. 

And, if you attended my 25th anniversary party at Bayscape Bistro at the Heritage Isles Golf Club five years ago, you know that there will be entertainment again for this year’s bash — and yes, that entertainment will again be karaoke, this time provided by mine and Jannah’s friend Tabitha Pollard of Luna Tunes, LLC. Tabitha not only has most, if not all of the songs that Jannah and I like to sing, she also is a bit of a Broadway buff who will surely be providing lots of opportunity for those who want to belt out a hit from anything from “Grease” to “Sweeney Todd.” 

The only thing that will cost anyone any money at the party is the alcohol, which will be a cash bar because of the PAC’s rules. The good news, however, is that we get to select the premium adult beverages that will be offered for sale. 

In other words, it’s going to be a blast! 

Here’s How You Can Attend! 

Despite the fact that there will be plenty of invited guests, one of the things that isn’t lost on me is that I wouldn’t still be doing what I do 30 years later if not for all of you — our loyal readers! 

To that end, if you’re interested in getting your name on the guest list for the “Leaping Into Gary’s Next 30 Years” party, send me an email to ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com with 50 words or less (and yes, that is a hard limit) as to why you want to or should be included, by no later than Friday, February 23. Please include your name, the community you live in (Tampa Palms, Pebble Creek, etc.) and your daytime phone number from your valid email address. I will read all of the emails and choose as many people as I have seats left for, whether that’s two or 22, by no later than Monday, February 26. Please put “I Want To Leap!” in the subject line! 

And here’s the thing — you Gary haters out there are invited to send me an email, too. If I get any good hater emails, I will likely invite those folks to attend because I prefer to meet my haters in person than to allow them to remain anonymous. See (some of) you on the 29th! 

Celebrating My 30 Years Of Neighborhood News! 

On February 25, I will be celebrating my 30th anniversary of owning the Neighborhood News. I bought (with a former partner) an 11-month old monthly publication that had little more than stories about advertisers written by those advertisers themselves. 

I published the 12th monthly issue in April 1994 (photo), which we considered to be the first issue of the publication’s second year in business. That’s why this issue is Issue 1 of Volume 32 of the Neighborhood News, rather than Issue 1 of Volume 31. 

When we purchased the publication in February of 1994, the total direct-mail circulation of the Neighborhood News was 6,500 homes, apartments and businesses — all of which (unbeknownst to me) were located in New Tampa’s 33647 zip code and which included the existing subdivisions in Pebble Creek, Tampa Palms, Hunter’s Green and the first two communities (closest to Bruce B. Downs Blvd., or BBD) of Cross Creek. 

Although my predecessor claimed to also be mailing to Wesley Chapel, it turned out that all he was doing was dropping about 500 copies each month at the Meadow Pointe I clubhouse. So, as soon as I took over, I added about 2,500 total addresses in Meadow Pointe I, Williamsburg and, a few issues later, an additional 500-700 or so single-family homes and condominium units located in the community around Saddlebrook Resort, where I was living with my family at the time. We began mailing new issues every two weeks, to all of those households, before the end of 1994 and didn’t split into separate New Tampa and Wesley Chapel issues until 2005, when Wesley Chapel’s three zip codes had zoomed past 10,000 residential units, as New Tampa was closing in on 20,000 units of its own. 

Although I always knew how many units were approved for Wesley Chapel, I had no idea that it would catch up to, and pass, New Tampa in terms of the number of units and people living in them by sometime in 2021. 

From those first 10,000 total homes (and less than 30,000 total people) in May 1994, our all-direct-mail circulation is now 34,000+ homes, apartments and businesses (and more than 90,000 total people) in Wesley Chapel’s three zip codes (33543, 33544 & 33545) and 29,000 residences and businesses (and about 80,000 people), almost all of which is located in New Tampa’s 33647 zip code — although we do also directly mail to the 750 residential units in the Lake Forest subdivision off BBD (south of Tampa Palms), which has a Lutz zip code (33559). 

That means our total circulation has grown, with our communities, by at least 600% in 30 years — or by nearly 1,000% if you use the 6,500 units I inherited from my predecessor as our starting point. 

But for me, this is much more than just a numbers game. I have given everything I could to the communities of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, and although many outstanding people have come and gone from our ranks, I am proud to say that I have been the publication’s one constant these last 30 years. 

The growth of electronic media throughout the world — did you foresee most people getting their news and information from their mobile phones 30 years ago? — has meant that we have had to change the ways we cover the news of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, but nothing has stopped or even deterred me from continuing to provide more news and information about the communities we serve than any other local medium, print, broadcast and/or electronic. 

Although I would be lying if I said that being the big media “fish” in a relatively tiny little pond was a lifelong dream of mine — my degree from the University of Florida was in Broadcast News and I always hoped to own and program a radio and/or TV station and write and produce TV programming — serving as the editor of the Neighborhood News the last 30 years has been one of the absolute joys of my life. And, while I don’t think anyone else would hire me at my age, despite my decades of experience, if I didn’t still love what I do I would definitely try to find some other way to make a living. Although I love singing and acting, anyone who has heard me sing karaoke or seen my stand-up comedy act at the Tampa Improv or Sidesplitters will tell you that I never had a future in those fields. 

Another thing people who know me will tell you about me is that I love to throw a party — my 25th anniversary event five years ago at Bayscape Bistro on Cross Creek Blvd. was a blast, as was the “Grease” cast party I threw last year at Joe Whiskey’s on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel — and I am planning a doozy for my 30th anniversary celebration. 

And yes, there will be an opportunity for at least some of you wonderful readers to attend and share in that celebration. After all, although I owe my livelihood to the thousands of advertisers who have supported my business these last 30 years, I owe a large portion of my happiness to all of you who have been reading and responding to my work since I first took the reins at this publication. Stay tuned for more info! 

Online Ads, Story Plaques & All-Direct-Mail Print Issues Set Us Apart 

Editorial

In case you hadn’t noticed, the Neighborhood News you’ve been receiving in your mailbox has continued to grow, despite some people still believing that “print is dead.” 

Thanks in no small part to the efforts of our director of ad sales & marketing, also known as my beautiful wife Jannah, we have been adding new advertisers at a near-record rate. Just a few issues ago, we were at 40 pages per issue, but last issue and this one, we’re up to 48 pages and that momentum doesn’t appear to be slowing. 

In fact, Jannah has been averaging between 3-5 new advertisers in each issue and the content I am so proud — as the publisher and editor — to present to you each issue continues to keep both readers and advertisers alike coming back for more. 

Although both of our publications are growing, there is no doubt that it’s been a lot easier for our all-direct-mail circulation to keep up with the pace of growth here in New Tampa than it has in Wesley Chapel. 

At the start of 2022, our New Tampa direct-mail distribution, which also includes the Lake Forest subdivision on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Lutz, was 28,436 residences and businesses, reaching 77,500 total people, according to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)’s estimates of the number of people per household in each postal carrier route we serve. With only the K-Bar Ranch area of New Tampa still growing, that number has risen (as of Sept. 1) to just over 29,000 residences and about 80,000 total people. 

Meanwhile, at the start of 2022, our mailing to zip codes 33543, 33544 & 33545 was less than 29,000 total pieces and less than 80,000 total people, At the start of 2023, our Wesley Chapel distribution had risen by more than 2,000 additional pieces — to 31,000 homes, apartments and businesses by direct mail. That number of pieces equalled more than 5,000 additional people (or about 85,000 total) in those same zip codes, again according to USPS. 

Now, only nine months later than that, our all-direct-mail Wesley Chapel circulation has surpassed 33,000 residences and businesses and we now reach more than 90,000 people! And, my pledge is that we will continue to add the thousands of additional residential units that are planned and actively being built to our mailing every four weeks. Based on the stories about new developments we continue to run in these pages, we could surpass 35,000 direct-mail pieces and approach 95,000 total people by the end of this year or sometime in 2024. 

Compare those numbers in Wesley Chapel “proper” with any other print publication claiming to serve our area — or any portion of it — and you’ll see that if you have a business located in or near either of our distribution areas, there is no other way to reach as many potential customers for that business than by advertising in the Neighborhood News. And, some of those other publications actually charge more to reach a tiny percentage of your potential customers than we do. We’re not just mailed to one community, no matter how nice it may be. We mail to ALL of them! 

But Wait, There’s (Much) More! 

And, in case you think we’re resting on our print laurels, you couldn’t be more wrong. 

Our online presence continues to grow at an equally rapid rate, as we post individual hyperlocal news, business and dining stories on our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page pretty much every day of every week. Those posts often reach thousands of people in our areas who don’t necessarily want to hold a print publication in their hands. And, those stories always link to our website in order to read the entire text of those stories. We also recently began selling ads on our website, which registers an average of more than 30,000 “hits” per month, with some months surpassing 100,000 hits — when one of our Facebook stories attracts enough attention — such as our breaking news stories about the Target being built at The Grove, PopStroke’s opening on S.R. 56 and even the Chicken Boss’ opening at the KRATEs. Our 2024 Media Kit, which will be available shortly, will include combination rates for print and online advertising. 

We also continue to have advertisers — and even some local residents — who have had stories in our publications also purchase what I call “Story Plaques” (photo above) from us, rather than take what we work hard to do for them to an outside company who then makes money off our efforts by creating plaques of stories they had nothing to do with writing. 

For nearly two years now, we have been able to offer equally attractive plaques for our advertisers and others to hang in their offices and homes — all at a lower cost than what those outside companies charge. 

Best of all, we can even include the cost of the plaque in the cost of your ads! 

So, whether we’ve done a story about your business or someone you love in these pages, email us at Ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com. Or, call (813) 910-2575 and Jannah will help you find out more about everything new at the Neighborhood News!