Retired land use & zoning attorney Ron Weaver (with mic in above photo), formerly with the Tampa-based firm of Stearns Weaver Miller, was the featured speaker at the Aug. 5 North Tampa Bay Chamber Business Breakfast held at Pasco Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.
Weaver, showed off his encyclopedic knowledge of how both Hillsborough and Pasco counties developed. He began his presentation with an attention-grabbing look at some of the famous Tampa Bay-area “nudists,” because, he said, “Since 1941, we have been the nudist capital of the world.” He mentioned actress Lauren Hutton, actor Channing Tatum and pro wrestler/ actor John Cena, all of whom have done nude scenes on film, as among our area’s nudists.
Weaver also talked about how both Hillsborough and Pasco counties were named for British citizens. Wills Hill, the 1st Earl of (or “Lord”) Hillsborough, who was the Secretary of State for the Colonies prior to the American Revolution, which Weaver said Lord Hillsborough caused by ignoring the protests of the Colonists.
More than 100 years later, Samuel Pasco, who also was born in London but attended Harvard University across the pond, was recruited to help expand education opportunities in north Florida and ended up having a county spun off from Hernando County named for him after he served as Florida’s Speaker of the House. — GN
As I’ve written multiple times previously, North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) president & CEO Hope Kennedy and I didn’t know each other at all when she moved here from Pensacola nearly 14 years ago to take over the reins at what was then called the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber (which later became the NTBC under her leadership).
But since then, Jannah and I have both been proud to say that we have considered Hope to be among our closest friends. As the publisher and editor of this publication the entire time she’s had her job, I couldn’t help but interact with Hope on a regular basis and what I have always found her to be is a consummate professional who took over a floundering organization and transformed it into a true regional powerhouse. In addition to her Chamber duties, Hope has served on the Boards of Directors of local hospitals and business organizations and has been asked to speak on behalf of her Chamber and the North Tampa Bay community at the openings of too many development projects to mention them all here.
But, as a few short weeks ago, Hope now has national credentials to go along with the ever-growing influence she has earned locally.
At the 2025 Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) conference in Philadelphia from July 22-25, Hope was proud to be given the title of CCE — or Certified Chamber Executive — which fewer than 3% of the leaders of the 7,500+ Chambers of Commerce in the U.S. have earned.
“CCE isn’t an honorary title or an award,” Hope says. “To earn the CCE credentials, you have to go through an extensive application process and everything about your Chamber is put under a microscope — from financials to accomplishments. You have to have held your position for at least seven years and you have to be sponsored by another CCE in order to even be considered (Hope was mentored by Tampa Bay Chamber president & CEO Bob Rohrlack). It’s a pretty big deal for both me and our Chamber.”
Hope also had to submit multiple essays, including one about a major project she’s proud of and she wrote about helping what is now called the Greater Pasco Chamber (GPCC) — which previously had been a competitor of the NTBC — recover from nearly going out of business. Hope’s NTBC Board allowed her to also take over the GPCC leadership on an interim basis, in order to right what otherwise likely would have been a sinking ship — even though there were some GPCC Board members at the time who didn’t want Hope to be the one helping them.
Today, the NTBC and GPCC work hand-in-hand and Hope deserves much of the credit for keeping that one-time rival afloat.
She was one of 26 new CCEs named at the 2025 National ACCE Conference — the largest-ever group to receive those credentials at the same time — but that doesn’t diminish in any way her accomplishment. “Earning the CCE designation means that I’ve reached the absolute top of my profession,” Hope says. “It was a lot of hard work, to get here, but it was definitely well worth it!”
So, What About WC Incorporation?
If you remember, back in March, we reported that Hope and her NTBC Board had decided to lead a group of local business owners who wanted to look into the possibility of Wesley Chapel incorporating as its own city, with the goal of ensuring that the residents and businesses located in the area had their own local government overseeing future development and other decisions and to find out if the idea was even economically or logistically feasible.
Through its nonprofit Foundation, the Chamber began asking for donations from individuals and businesses to fund two $75,000 studies — the first to determine the economic impact of the area known as Wesley Chapel and the other, if the results of the first study warranted moving forward, an incorporation feasibility study.
However, the possible start of the first study was put on hold when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed ending property taxes, which would have made incorporation a lot more difficult to achieve. But, the State Legislature rejected the governor’s idea when its session ended in June.
“That at least revived the idea of exploring Wesley Chapel incorporation,” Hope says. “We have restarted our fund-raising efforts, so anyone who wants to make a tax-deductible donation for the study (or if you have questions about it) should call the Chamber office at (813) 994-8534.”
“We hadn’t actually started collecting any money before,” Hope says. “But, we did have commitments for about a third of the amount needed for the first study.”
The North Tampa Bay Chamber continues to provide unique opportunities for its member businesses — and even the NTBC’s nonprofit business members also get their respective moments in the sun.
At the Chamber’s Business Breakfast at Pasco Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch on June 2, more than 100 attendees were treated to a roundtable featuring four NTBC-member nonprofit organizations — (seated l.-r. in top photo) The Thomas Promise Foundation (TheThomasPromise.org), the PTSD Foundation of America (PTSDUSA.org), the Wesley Chapel Theater Group (WesleyChapelTheaterGroup.org) and Pepin Academies (PepinAcademies.com).
The roundtable — which gave representatives from each nonprofit the chance to introduce themselves and their respective needs to the Chamber members — was hosted by NTBC Board member Chuck Sullivan (standing in top photo) of the law firm McFarland, Gould, Lyons, Sullivan & Hogan, P.A., and was the brainchild of NTBC Board chair Angelique Lenox, who promised that the Chamber will host more such events for nonprofits in the future. For more info, call (813) 994-8534 or visit NorthTampaBayChamber.com/Events. — GN
NTBC Ribbon Cutting Opened The State-Of-The-Art, 45,000-Sq.-Ft. Cancer Center In Wiregrass Ranch On May 15!
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new 45,000-sq.-ft. Florida Cancer Specialists (FCS) building off S.R. 56 in Wiregrass Ranch on May 15 was more than just another Grand Opening event. It expands Wesley Chapel’s reputation as a health-care hub, now with two major cancer treatment centers. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Although the Angeline community in Land O’Lakes is getting what will be the largest cancer treatment and research center in Florida — the sprawling, 775-acre “Speros FL” Moffitt Cancer Center campus with 16 million square feet of lab, office, manufacturing and clinical space, the new Florida Cancer Specialists (FCS) building on the south side of S.R. 56 in Wiregrass Ranch gives the Wesley Chapel area two major cancer centers (the other is the 28,000 sq. ft. being occupied by the Moffitt Cancer Center at Wesley Chapel in the 100,000-sq.-ft. Healing Plaza building adjacent to AdventHealth Wesley Chapel).
But, the 45,000-sq.-ft. FCS building, located only 3.5 miles from the AdventHealth/ Moffitt center, is now the largest cancer treatment facility in Wesley Chapel.
Samantha (Sam) Watkins
FCS cut the ribbon (in conjunction with the North Tampa Bay Chamber, or NTBC) to officially open the new state-of-the-art treatment center on May 15, as the location’s VP of operations Samantha (Sam) Watkins introduced director of patient advocacy (and Board-certified oncologist and hematologist) Richard McDonough, M.D. (holding scissors in the photo on this page), who introduced several of his colleagues, including medical oncologist Dr. Ayman Barakat, radiation oncologist Dr. Bradford Perez and GYN (gynecologic) oncologist Dr. Jessica Stine to the crowd of more than 100 people, many of whom were FCS doctors, staff members and administrators.
Watkins mentioned that the new FCS clinic will include five medical oncologists and hematologists, two radiation oncologists, six advance practice nursing providers and a “dedicated group of clinicians and support staff.”
Watkins also provided a lot of the basic information about FCS in general, including that in 2024, FCS celebrated its 40th anniversary of cancer care in the Sunshine State, when FCS treated more than 102,000 new patients and provided more than 4.2 million clinic visits.
The new FCS facility in Wiregrass Ranch has 62 infusion chairs.
“One statistic that I find incredible,” Watkins said, “is that 67 percent of all Floridians live within 20 miles of an FCS center, which serves our mission of being in the community.”
And, although Moffitt is still the highest-rated cancer treatment center overall in Florida, FCS also ranks among the top-performing oncology practices and offers more clinical trials than any other private oncology practice in Florida. And, according to Dr. Barakat (see more from him below), the new Wiregrass Ranch location should soon be hosting clinical trials of its own.
Dr. Richard McDonough
Watkins noted, “More than 150 clinical trials are [being conducted] at our 29 locations across the state…. With our expanded capabilities to provide state-of-the-art genetic testing, our physicians are able to design treatment plans with the utmost precision and provide truly personalized medicine, which translates into better outcomes for our patients.”
Meanwhile, Dr. McDonough said, “My colleagues and I share a passion and dedication to a singular goal to provide our patients with the most advanced treatments possible that are personalized to the unique needs of what they have. We try to minimize the disruption [to their lives] by making sure we are closer to where they live and that the patient can get the care with the support people and community around them, and really to be a big part of driving the best outcomes for our patients.”
Dr. Ayman Barakat
Dr. Barakat provided some additional statistics about the new FCS facility, and the difference between the new building and the original Wesley Chapel location that opened in 2019. “We only had four exam rooms and seven infusion chairs,” he said. “But now, we have 32 exam rooms, 62 infusion chairs, and offer expert treatment for all forms of cancer and blood disorders. We have an on-site lab, our own oncology pharmacy care coordinator, services with patient assistance through our generous foundation, and, of course, access to the most advanced and promising treatment through clinical trials, which hopefully we should be planning to start in this building very shortly.”
Dr. Bradford Perez
Dr. Perez, a lifelong Tampa native, talked about the team approach to patient care at FCS.
“One of the things about FCS is that it does give us the opportunity to work together as part of a multidisciplinary oncology team and as a radiation oncologist you know I’m really glad to have an opportunity to work with the medical oncologists here at FCS. This location has state-of-the-art equipment, like the Varian TrueBeamTM machine, which does precise, stereotactic radiation treatments.”
Dr. Perez also noted that, “Wesley Chapel is a big growth area, so it’s great to be able to provide great care for patients, with the most advanced technology, where people are moving and living.”
Dr. Jessica Stine
Next, Dr. Stine said that when she joined FCS four years ago, “My goal was to bring GYN oncology, which is a unique specialty that doesn’t have a lot of growth outside of city centers, to areas where patients really needed to have access to high-quality care. I felt that it was really kind of a shame that patients [in suburban areas] had to essentially go to the ‘ivory tower’ to get their surgeries and the care they needed.”
She added, “We are also very excited to announce that we will be expanding the GYN oncology program within FCS with Dr. Heather Miller, who is actually joining us locally from her very thriving practice in the Brandon and Tampa Bay market. She will be caring for our patients here in Wesley Chapel and in North Tampa as well.”
Hope Kennedy
The final speaker before the ribbon cutting was NTBC president & CEO Hope Kennedy, who said, “It is an honor to be here with you today. We broke ground in 2019, right before the pandemic, on a cold, windy day. We saw the renderings of what this [facility] was going to be. We could not be more honored to be here by your side. The community is here to support you. We thank you for your investment, not only in this beautiful building, but also for the service you provide to our community.”
FCS (2895 Hueland Pond Blvd.) is open every weekday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more info, call (813) 279-7107 or visit FLCancer.com.
The Varian TrueBeamTM machine actually rotates around the patient to provide precise radiation treatments.
We continue to shine our spotlight on the local businesses who host North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) ribbon-cutting events — as a no-cost add-on to their Chamber memberships — and this issue is no different. We really hope you’ll tell these businesses that you first read about them in the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News!
Pinellas Vascular’s Tampa Office
On April 16, Board-certified vascular surgeon Avianne Bunnell, MD (at right in photo below, with NTBC president/CEO Hope Kennedy), and her staff at their new location (at 3450 E. Fletcher Ave., Ste. 330, Tampa) of Pinellas Vascular, hosted a great party for their Grand Opening, with food, a wine tasting and tours of the new office.
According to its website, Pinellas Vascular, “provides the most advanced, low-risk treatments available anywhere to help improve your quality of life.” At the ribbon cutting, Dr. Bunnell said, “We are now serving patients with vascular and arterial diseases, diabetic patients…and we also have a wonderful nurse practitioner (Chelsea Hermez, APRN) providing aesthetic services (including cosmetic injections, weight management strategies and vein ablations and sclerotherapy).”
For more info about Pinellas Vascular, visit PinellasVascular.com or call (813) 771-8346.-GN
“Just Pull It” At 54 & Collier Pkwy.
On April 30, periodontist Jeffrey Hameroff, D.D.S. (right), the founder of “Just Pull It,” a unique dental office that specializes in low-cost, same-day tooth extractions, welcomed NTBC members to the ribbon-cutting event celebrating the third anniversary of the Just Pull It location at 1942 Collier Pkwy. in Lutz (across Collier Pkwy. from Pizza Suprema).
Dr. Hameroff opened the first Just Pull It in Spring Hill in 2018 and today has four Tampa Bay-area locations, including one off U.S. Hwy. 301 in Zephyrhills, with two more offices opening soon.
“It’s simple,” Dr. Hameroff told the NTBC members in attendance. “No other dental office does what we do — especially for only $250!”
For more info about the Lutz location, call (813) 738-9490 or visit JustPullIt.dental.
Clean Freak Car Wash-Overpass Rd.
And finally, on May 1, regional director of operations Chris Laurella (left) welcomed NTBC members to the new Clean Freak Car Wash at 32359 Overpass Rd., just east of Curley Rd., behind the coming-soon Chick-fil-A. The ribbon-cutting event also included free tasty coffee beverages from Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck.
Laurella described the differences between Clean Freak — which has 30 locations, mainly in Arizona (Wesley Chapel is the company’s first in Florida) — and other “tunnel” car wash chains.
“There’s not a lot of water in Arizona,” Laurella told the NTBC members who followed him on a tour of the new Clean Freak (the tunnel wash system was turned off for the tour), “so we do everything we can to reduce our environmental footprint, like our water recycling system and using eco-friendly chemicals. Our tunnels also feature the latest car wash technology.” He even showed the tunnel’s unique soft brushes (below) “that won’t damage your vehicle’s paint job.”
Clean Freak’s parent company, True Blue Car Wash, LLC, was acquired by the parent company of Circle K. So, your $19.99 monthly membership also earns you discounts on fuel at participating Circle K locations.
