After 17 years at Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC), which includes leading the Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, president Timothy L. Beard, Ph.D., will retire effective January 31, 2024, the school announced on Mar. 1.
By the time he retires, Beard will have served nearly nine years as the state collegeโs president and CEO. Prior to that, he served more than eight years as PHSCโs Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
The school announced that it is conducting a nationwide search for Beardโs successor. Myers McRae Executive Search and Consulting firm will lead the search for PHSCโs fifth president, teaming up with a presidential search committee comprised of community stakeholders and PHSC faculty, staff and students.
During Beardโs presidency, PHSC constructed the $18-million Instructional Performing Arts Center (IPAC), located on Old Pasco Rd. in front of Cypress Creek middle and high school. The facility opened in 2021, and provides instruction in music, dance, theater and multi-media design.
โServing as PHSCโs president has been the crowning achievement of my career,โ Beard said in a release. โThe College has made exceptional progress, thanks to the guidance of our trustees and the dedication of our administrators, faculty and staff. I remain in awe of the transformative power of education.โ
Beard also has been at the helm for a number of other major projects, like adding a $5 million Burn Center and Fire Academy training center at PHSCโs East Campus in Dade City, which will also be home to a future STEM Student Success and Community Engagement Center with a projected $25-million budget.
Dr. Beard earned his Bachelorโs degree from Florida A&M (FAMU) in 1984, and received his Masterโs and Ph.D. degrees from Florida State University. He worked on the staff, faculty and in the administrations at FAMU, FSU and the University of South Alabama in Mobile before accepting the vice presidentโs position at PHSC.
He succeeded former PHSC presidents Katherine M. Johnson, Ed.D., in 2015. Johnson was preceded by the late Robert W. Judson, Jr, Ed.D., and Milton O. Jones, Ph.D., the collegeโs founding president.
PHSC, which has six locations in Pasco and Hernando counties serving nearly 10,000 students annually, saw its operating budget increase by nearly 40 percent under Beard, and the PHSC Foundationโs assets increased by more than 60 percent. Beard personally raised several hundred thousand dollars to establish and fund scholarships.
PHSCโs nine-member District Board of Trustees is hoping to find and introduce Beardโs replacement in September.
A new Harley Davidson dealership will be one of the new business highlights of the growth along the soon-to-be-widened road. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Pasco County finally has the land it needs to widen Wesley Chapel Blvd. from a two-lane to a six-lane road. Now all the county needs is a final plan.
The county completed the needed right-of-way acquisition for the long-planned project in January, and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is working on the final reviews of the design plans, according to county spokeswoman Tambrey Laine.
โAs soon as those reviews are complete (likely by the end of March), weโll be able to move forward with the bidding process,โ Laine told the Neighborhood News.
Construction could begin as soon as this fall, and will take approximately three years to complete.
When the widening project has been completed, Wesley Chapel Blvd. (also known as C.R. 54) will be a six-lane roadway from north of S.R. 56 (near the Cypress Creek Town Center) to I-75, near The Grove.
The widening of Wesley Chapel Blvd. (the roadway portion in red, north of S.R. 56) should begin soon. Many of the major projects along the roadwayย are either under construction or already open. Please note that the locations of these projects are approximate & not to scale
Of course, the name Wesley Chapel Blvd. โ which has been known as much more of a country road connecting Land OโLakes to the fledgling Wesley Chapel and ultimately, to Zephyrhills prior to the opening of S.R. 56 โ is something of a misnomer, as most of the developments on both sides of the road that actually travels north and south, even though it is labeled as an east-west road, are actually located within either Lutz or Land OโLakes zip codes.
Also located off of Wesley Chapel Blvd. is the North Tampa Aero Park, the small (one-runway) private airport that used to host a popular annual air show. The more popular the air show became, the worse the traffic snarled throughout the Lutz/Wesley Chapel area. The last year the air show was held, people were stranded on Wesley Chapel Blvd. for several hours.
At a Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting on May 23, 2017, meeting, the commissioners approved a County Incentive Grant Program Agreement with FDOT for the right-of-way acquisition for the project. The estimated right of way costs were $11,718,400, with FDOT contributing half, or $5,859,200.
The construction phase of the Wesley Chapel Blvd. project is estimated to cost $36,392,250, with FDOT agreeing to fund $5,733,308 of that. Including the design costs and right-of-way acquisitions, the total estimated cost of the project is $50.8 million.
The widening will include a six-lane โurban typical section,โ with a sidewalk, bicycle lanes, a multi-use path, lighting, and new signals at the intersections at Stagecoach Village Blvd. (the entrance to the Stagecoach Village subdivision, which become an active traffic signal a few months ago), at Compark Dr. and Grand Oaks Blvd. (the latter of which has been in existence for several years).
The project will be constructed in two parts. One part will widen Wesley Chapel Blvd. from north of S.R. 56 to Magnolia Blvd., which is just south of Amiciโs Pizza (see map above).
The second phase will widen from just north of Magnolia Blvd. to north of Old Pasco Rd. That portion will include the addition of two new lanes in a 48โ median to tie into the existing six lanes to the east and proposed six lanes to the south.
A Look Back…
The idea of widening Wesley Chapel Blvd. was considered as far back as 2003, when there was an initial study to widen it to four lanes. But, later studies showed that would not be enough to accommodate the growth in the area on both side of the road.
There are three major multi-family projects already under construction on WC Blvd., including the Maeva apartments, located just north of PopStroke.
Business on both ends of Wesley Chapel Blvd. has exploded in recent years, with the development of the Cypress Creek Town Center to the south and The Grove to the north. But, in between, new businesses and apartment and townhome communities continue to sprout.
There continues to be additional expansion at the Cypress Creek Town Center development north of S.R. 56. PopStroke opened last month, Academy Sports + Outdoors is being built next to PopStroke and a 260-unit luxury apartment complex, Maeva, is under construction just north of those two large businesses, as well as Total Wine & More. Maeva is expected to open around September.
On the west side of Wesley Chapel Blvd. north of S.R. 56, a 42,000-sq.-ft. Harley-Davidson dealership is nearing completion,and there also are plans for a 5,000-sq.-ft. restaurant on the same site.
North of Harley-Davidson, the Cypress Bend Professional Park also is under construction. While none of the tenants have been named, the complex is being built on nine acres and will include 23 buildings ranging in size from 2,612 sq. ft. to 5,868 sq. ft. The entire Cypress Bend Prof. Park project will be 74,172 sq. ft.
Other projects โ including a storage unit, Valvoline oil change facility, small businesses in the plazas that dot the boulevard on the drive from I-75 to S.R. 56 โ continue to pop up.
And, if Wesley Chapel has proven anything over the last few years, development along Wesley Chapel Blvd. isnโt likely to slow down.
Jerry Reed, the owner of Peak TRT & Wellness in the Westbrook Professional Park on S.R. 54, in Wesley Chapel says low testosterone doesnโt have to keep you down. (Photo: Charmaine George)
For many men, it starts with lethargy, low energy levels and an overall sense that they just donโt have the same โjuiceโ they used to have.
That juice, in most cases, is testosterone, a hormone important to menโs health that the body stops producing in excess after the age of 30.
Reduced testosterone levels can lead to a variety of health issues, from loss of muscle mass and strength to sleep apnea to low sex drive and erectile dysfunction. At Peak TRT and Wellness, owner and Master of Science Nursing (MSN) Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Jerry Reed and his staff seek to reverse those problems.
Open since October 2022 in the Westbrook Professional Park on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel, Peak TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) specializes in hormone replacement and other treatments related to menโs health, including diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.
โWe look at the whole health picture,โ says Reed. โTestosterone is what we focus on here, but we donโt ignore anything else we see in the lab tests.โ
Reed likens a visit to Peak TRT to visiting your primary care physician for your yearly physical. Except, he jokes, that many men who walk into his business havenโt been to a doctor in years because men are, in general, less likely than women to go to the doctor.
โCertain things will drive men to get health care and one of them is sexual function,โ Reed says. โIf thereโs something wrong there they usually want to find out pretty quick whatโs going on.โ
Your visit starts with a complete health assessment, and Reed will provide a comprehensive review of the lab results with you. Those include metabolic panels, which measure 14 different substances in your blood that help assess your physical health, cholesterol panels and a PSA test that screens for prostate cancer.
The medical staff at Peak TRT and Wellness will then prepare a personalized menโs wellness plan. Those include treatments for low testosterone, erectile dysfunction, hypertension and high cholesterol.
Peak TRT also offers Peptide Therapy. Peptides are building blocks of proteins that are composed of amino acids and generally signal other cells and molecules as to what functions to perform. They are crucial to your healing process, as well as other physical and mental functions.
โIt starts with testosterone,โ he says, โbut we cover everything else, too, from your A1C number (diabetes) to cholesterol. Then, weโll focus on what plan would be best for you.โ
Reed says the biggest difference between Peak TRT and your primary care doctor, however, might be how low testosterone is treated. If you are within the acceptable range of having enough testosterone, even on the very low end, Reed says it will likely go untreated. At Peak TRT, the goal is to raise that number to the middle or higher range of what is considered to be okay.
โTypically, a primary care physician doesnโt really specialize in testosterone,โ he says. โTherefore, most of them donโt treat it very aggressively. If you are one point within the normal range, your primary doctor is typically not going to treat it, whereas we look at it as each individual is different. You can technically be normal on your testosterone level, barely normal, but still have all of the side effects.โ
Those side effects include decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction, decreased energy, weight gain, lack of focus and even depression.
Many of those symptoms also are related to underlying conditions like obesity and diabetes, but if the problem is determined to be low testosterone (also known as male hypogonadism), Reed says Peak TRT will treat it aggressively. Those who decide to take part in the plan pay a monthly fee and get weekly injections tailored to their needs and, every three months, new tests are taken to measure the progress.
โWhat works for one person may not work for another,โ Reed says, โPrimary care takes a more cookie-cutter approach.โ
Reed opened his business last year but had been involved in treating โLow-Tโ previously. He received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN, and his MSN degree from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City.
He says he was an ICU nurse before working for the Low T Center national chain (47 centers in 11 different states) in Dallas, TX. After leaving that job to move back to Florida, he took a job at Advent Health Wesley Chapel as a hospitalist before deciding to get back into the menโs health field with his Peak TRT & Wellness.
Reed says that unlike some of the bigger low-testosterone companies, he has created a place where men can get easy, personalized care with real people.
โWe want everyone to be comfortable coming here,โ he says, even though discussing your sexual decline can be an uncomfortable topic. โOnce you broach that first subject, get that out of the way, everything else is gravy after that.โ
A patient named Larry says the personal touch is what drew him to Peak TRT.
Now that he is in his upper 40s, Larry says he had noticed a decrease in his energy levels that concerned him.
โI felt like I had a lost a little zeal for life,โ he says. โI was laying around and eating and just kind of doing nothing, and Iโve never been that person before.โ
He tried some of the larger, more corporate Low T places, but said, โIt was a lot of press 3 for that, press 4 to talk to this personโฆI just wanted to go somewhere where I would be able to know somebody.โ
The price was right ($99 for his initial visit and tests), and Larry has now been a client at Peak TRT for roughly five months. And, best of all, he says he has noticed significant results.
โIโm definitely less cranky, and when I wake up Iโm ready to go,โ he says. โI donโt feel lethargic anymore.โ
The ease of just stopping into a real office with real people that he now knows for his weekly injection keeps Larry coming back.
โItโs all very straightforward and simple,โ he says.
Peak TRT and Wellness doesnโt accept insurance, but Reed says he tries to make it as affordable for everyone as he can.
Peak TRT & Wellness is located at 28593 S.R. 54. It is open Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call (813) 973-5206.
Spa On S.R. 54 In Wesley Chapel To Highlight Its Services At Its FREE Health & Wellness Fair On Sunday, March 19!
The friendly staff at Radiant Wellness Spa wants to help you look and feel better, too. (Photos: Courtesy of Yuhanna Alahmary)
Willie Williams has played basketball most of his life at a very high level (including the NBAโs โDโ League) , and that grind produced a few injuries along the way that he can still feel today. He was recently in a car accident that has made his body creak and groan more than it should for a man only in his mid-30s.
However, Willie says his body only creaks and groans these days until Yuhanna Alahmary, LMT, MLD-C, CCT, CMT, gets her hands on him.
Radiant Wellness Spa owner Yuhanna Alahmary
The owner of Radiant Wellness Spa in the Brookfield Professional Park on S.R. 54 just west of Eiland Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, Alahmary has learned plenty of skills over the years related to massage therapy, and Williams says those massages are the only thing, including physical therapy, that can make him feel better.
โSheโs the real deal,โ he says. โIโve had massages before, but the way hers make my body feel afterwards is something different. Iโve known her for three years and she has allowed me to get back to moving around, get out of bed and not be limping around the house all the time.โ
After a decade of working as a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) at a local spa in Wesley Chapel, Alahmary decided to branch out and open her own spa in April 2022.
She may not be new to Wesley Chapel, but her business is, which is part of the reason she is reaching out to the community by hosting a Health & Wellness Fair on Sunday, March 19, noon-4 p.m. (see ad on pg. 34) with a food truck, businesses from the KRATE at the Grove container park (including 3 Eleven candles, Mythos Gifts and Blush Wine Room) and health-related vendors like Florida Pain Medicine, Humana and Double Branch Chiropractic Rehab. Alahmary says some of the vendors will be doing free health testing, and her spa will offer complimentary 5-minute massages.
More Than Just Massages
Radiant Wellness Spa offers a wide array of spa services, from massages to facials.
The massages include the standard Swedish, therapeutic and deep tissue, as well as couples and prenatal massages.
Hot stone and bamboo massages also are available, or try the โSticks & Stonesโ massage, which is a combination of both.
Alahmary says she also has a therapist on staff who specializes in oncology massages for cancer patients looking for pain relief and relaxation.
And, cupping therapy, which decompresses the bodyโs tissues with suction cups, helps with a host of issues and is one of the spaโs more popular services. In addition to her other titles, Alahmary is a CCP (certified cupping therapist, CMMP (certified medical massage practitioner) and master post-op care provider and body contouring specialist.
The acne and microneedling program at Radiant works wonders for high-grade acne skin, producing amazing results.
When it comes to facials, there are many from which to choose. Alahmary says the enzyme and OxygenGLOW facials are the most popular among her array of offerings, and microneedling (also called collagen induction therapy) continues to be in demand for those seeking to firm and tone their skin, especially the arms and face. Alahmary says the Circadia brand products used at the spa are high-grade.
Body waxing services and sauna wraps also are available.
Alahmary says that Radiantโs staff aesthetician Tunde used to own her own spa in Budapest, Hungary, before Covid-19 forced her to close down and move to the U.S.
โShe has 20 years of experience and she helps with a lot of European techniques I wasnโt really familiar with,โ Alahmary says. Tunde has worked miracles on some of the faces that leave Radiant Wellness Spa with a big smile on them.
If you mention this story, you can receive $15 off your first visit. There are other specials, too โ $10 off on Mondays for anyone, and $10 off on Thursdays for teachers, law enforcement, first responders, healthcare and postal workers (with work ID).
โIโve always had a soft spot for vets and healthcare workers,โ Alahmary says. โMy dad was impacted by agent orange and nurses really were impacted by Covid.โ
What separates Radiant Wellness Spa from other spas, however, may be Alahmaryโs own personal specialty: post-op care.
She is certified by the Academy of Lymphatic Studies, which she says makes her a rarity in the Wesley Chapel area.
โSo many people drive to South Tampa to get their post-op care done,โ she says, โbut we have it right here.โ
Post-op MLD (or manual lymphatic drainage) care, in Alahmaryโs case, often but not exclusively deals with treating patients who have recently had cosmetic surgery like a tummy tuck or liposuction. As a result, their bodies may be inflamed and they may suffer from lymphatic fluid build up.
A certified MLD-C massage therapist uses specific massaging techniques to help transport the lymphatic fluid from the swollen area to an area that is draining properly.
โIf you want to heal right, you need some kind of post-op care,โ says Alahmary. โIt will cut down on fibrosis build up and help prevent fibrosis, which are those hardening knots in people who donโt get the proper (post-op) care.โ
Alahmary also says she has spent hundreds of hours learning and taking tests to learn as much as she can, and earn as many certifications as possible. She has even traveled to Thailand and hopes to incorporate Thai massages into her spa in the future.
Alahmaryโs commitment to her craft is something that actually helped prompt Williams to follow her to her new practice. For years at the previous spa where she worked, Williams would listen to her talk about pursuing her dream and perfecting her skills.
โShe is a real student of her art,โ he says. โShe used to fly out to different classes to enhance her skill set, and that is something I really admired about her. Sheโs an expert.โ
Alahmaryโs daughter Nylah is a senior at Wesley Chapel High who is working towards her Associate of Arts degree from Pasco-Hernando State College, and helps out at the front desk, making Radiant Wellness Spa a family business. Everyone else who works at the spa has at least 10 years of experience, according to Alahmary.
โIโm not just an owner, Iโm a therapist myself,โ Alahmary says. โWe donโt have memberships, so weโre not trying to sell you anything. And, having my own business lets me do what I love to do, and offer the services that I think will help people the most.โ
The spa does not accept insurance, but does accept FSA and HSA payments.
Radiant Wellness Spa is located at 33905 S.R.. 54, Suite 101. The hours are Monday & Wednesday, 3:15 p.m.-8 p.m.; Thursday & Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; and 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, call (813) 715-2099, visit Radiant-Wellness-Spa.com.
Among the new features unveiled at B&B Theatres Wesley Chapelโs ribbon-cutting event on Feb. 15 included the fully-reclining seats at B&Bโs Max Relax theater. (Photos by Charmaine George)
The New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) will hold its first event for the community on Saturday, March 25, with a performance by the New Tampa Players (NTP), following a dedication to the theatre troupeโs founder, the late Doug Wall.
The doors to the new 20,000-sq.-ft. Hillsborough County-owned facility โ located across from the entrance to the Hunterโs Green community โ will open at 6:30 p.m.. Doors to the theater open at 7, with the ceremony and a performance scheduled for 7:30.
While the grand opening for the NTPAC itself actually will come at a later date, organizers are using the dedication and NTP performance as a soft grand opening and an opportunity to honor Wall, a major driver of the arts in the New Tampa area prior to his death in 2017.
Wall founded NTP, which held its first production โTheyโre Playing Our Songโ at both Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club and at Hunterโs Green Country Club, in 2002. NTP has survived as a gypsy-like troupe, putting on performances at a number of different locations while Wall and others fought for a permanent New Tampa home for the organization, which NTPAC will be.
After the dedication, NTP will put on a cabaret-style show that will give attendees an idea of how a performance is put on by the group, as well as how the troupe plans its seasons.
Shows already scheduled for this season include:
โข โBeauty & the Beast Jr.: A Penguin Project Productionโ (Apr. 14-16)
โข โGreaseโ (July 21-30)
โข โShrekโ (Oct. 20-29) and
โข โDreamgirlsโ (Feb. 2-11, 2024).
For tickets to and more information about NTP and these upcoming performances, visit NewTampaPlayers.org.
MOVIE UPGRADES: Speaking of places to watch shows, the B&B Theatres Wesley Chapel (formerly the Cobb Theater) held a North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event on Feb. 15 to show off some of B&Bโs remodeling efforts since taking over management of the theater in 2022. Among the new options at B&B Wesley Chapel are:
โข Premium Large Format (PLF) Grand Screen, which provides a true wall-to-wall experience.
โข ScreenX, which, according to B&B Theatresโ director of communications Paul Farnsworth, is the worldโs first multi-projection platform, allowing viewers to experience select films in an expansive, 270-degree presentation, as the two sidewalls of the theater are utilized to give a more immersive experience.
โข The Lyric, a smaller (32-seat) theater designed for a more intimate and upscale theatrical experience. The Lyric will be used for showing independent and art films โ such as the poignant comedy โ80 for Bradyโ โ and offers other high- end touches, including seat-mounted tray tables and elegant waterfall curtains
โข Max Relax โ Located in another smaller (only 50+ seats) theater, Max Relax offers commercial-grade, electric, heated, fully reclining leather chaise lounge chairs that are great for movie watching….and, if the movie isnโt great, a nice little nap.
Among the new features unveiled at B&B Theatres Wesley Chapelโs ribbon-cutting event on Feb. 15 included (left) the Cycle Cinema.
โข Cycle Cinema, which is being leased to owner Pascal Collard of the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness center in Zephyrhills and three partners (Nick Walton, Andy Sorrentino and SVB co-owner Andy Green), which brings a Peloton-type shared workout experience to the big screen, with classes for everyone from total beginner to expert.
โข SideSplitters at The Grove, the comedy club which already has been operational for more than a year before the Grand Reopening event.
For more information, visit bbtheatres.com or Facebook.com/bbtheatres. For more info about Cycle Cinema, visit TheCycleCinema.com.
