Community Reaches Out To One Of Its Own
Update: It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Narda from her cancer on the evening of Tuesday, March 31. Read more
Rock N Pineapple Gets Big Votes In Shop Local
Since the day it opened, Rock N Pineapple in Plaza Bella on the corner of Bloomingdale and Bell Shoals, has embraced the Shop Local campaign. Servers make sure to give every diner at the new restaurant a Shop Local postcard and to ask them to go online and vote for them as the best restaurant. And, the effort has paid off as Rock N Pineapple joins Bella Garden and Peterbrooke Chocolatier as Shop Local Businesses of the Month.
Rock N Pineapple received a certificate, flowers and a video on www.ospreyobserver.com recognizing them as the Shop Local Business of the Month for March.
“We come from up north where everything was about shopping locally,” said Rock N Pineapple owner Sergio Arce who owns the new concept along with wife Maribeth Hernandez. Rock N Pineapple Restaurant and Bar is located at 1022 Bloomingdale Ave. Phone 321-4900.
Hundreds of local residents are reaping the rewards of the campaign as well and receiving $10 gift cards to local retailers just for entering online. Participating businesses can be identified with a Shop Local banner and window cling in their business.
To see a full lising of current Shop Local participants, go online to www.ospreyobserver.com and click on Shop Local. See the listing of local retailers, restaurants and service businesses who are currently signed up to be recognised as a Shop Local business. Entrys are accepted for any local business but Shopping Local is encourage.
Chick-fil-A Lake Brandon Village owner and Honorary Mayor of Brandon Tammy Holmberg is a big supporter of the Shop Local campaign and identifies it at all her events. “It’s all about Shopping Local and keeping our local businesses open,” she said. To get involved, call 657-2418, or shannon@ospreyobserver.com.
Osprey Observer Inc. Purchases Christian Voice Monthly
In February, Osprey Observer, Inc. the parent company of the Osprey Observer Community Newspapers completed the purchase of the 11-year-old East Hillsborough Christian Voice. The Christian Voice, published locally by Matt and Tammie Seifter, has been covering local Christian news for 11 years. Read more
Center Places Seeks Wild Dames
The men may have rotary night, but the ladies have Wild Dame Night. This evening for adult ladies only will be held on Saturday, February 21, at Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association located at 619 Vonderburg Dr. Ste. B, adjacent to the Brandon Library. This year’s event is not only a night of social time, dinner and entertainment, but also a fundraiser, with the proceeds going towards children’s programming. With sponsors CMB Creations, Platinum Bank, TECO, Dynamic Printing, the Center for Radiation Oncology, Wachovia Bank, Durkin & Mason, C.P.A.’s, P.A., Valrico State Bank, Chick-fil-A at Lake Brandon Village, Stages Productions and Music Showcase, monetary funding for Center Place is expected to be generous despite the downturn in the economy.
Dawn Galia, art director, participated in her first Wild Dame Night last year. “It is really a lot of fun…the event is very popular, and we do sell out,” said Galia. The fun begins at 6 p.m. with social time and wine. A sit-down dinner will be catered by Affairs to Remember, along with decadent desserts. These include chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate-dipped fruit, chocolate-covered pretzels, key lime tarts, pecan tarts, mousse parfaits, rum bourbon balls, cheesecake, and many others. Stages Productions will host Sleeping Beauty – Pajama Party whereat ladies can wear their pajamas. Said Galia, “Sleeping Beauty is actually one of our children’s shows for this season, but it will be changed from a children’s version to an adult version with funny anecdotes added.”
In addition to the above activities, a 50/50 raffle and 20 door prizes will be given out by the end of the night. Last year, the raffle was approximately $800, and the event raised $11,088 after expenses for the children’s programming. Also, the funding will go towards the Saturday, April 25, Art Gala held at the Pepin Hospitality Center. After all, this event is one of the major fundraisers.
Tickets are $50 per person. There are 180 spots, along with sponsored tickets, which sell for $800 for a table of eight. Galia emphasized how quick the event sells out, so she urges those interested to purchase tickets as soon as possible. “If you have never attended a Wild Dame Night, I would highly recommend it. It is a great event and the proceeds benefit Center Place’s children’s programming. It is a fun ladies night out,” commented Galia. Please call Center Place at 685-8888 for ticket sales. Contact Galia at cpbrandon@verizon.net or at cpfinearts@verizon.net. Visit www.centerplacebrandon.com for additional information and upcoming events.
Shop Local Day Declared By Mayor
Each week, 10 local residents will be pleasantly surprised to receive gift certificates for local businesses, restaurants and retailers in their mailboxes. Each Monday, entries are drawn from newspaper and online submissions to the Shop Local campaign and it is easy to win! Read more
YMCAs’ Corporate Challenge Benefits More Than The Children
By Michelle Colesanti
The Brandon area YMCAs’ sponsored their 2008 Corporate Challenge-Survivor in early November, benefiting the YMCA’s Building Strong Kids Campaign. The idea of going back to camp after all of these years seemed a bit intimidating, but I was ready for the challenge. Our team, FishHawk Area Networking Group (FANG), was one of five teams that participated. In the end, it turned out to be a fantastic learning experience – except maybe for the worms. Each of the teams rotated between seven events throughout the day. The events included archery, an obstacle course, Fear Factor, a climbing wall/zip line, Leap of Faith, Spiderweb and a boat race. Every event depended on teamwork to earn points. Some of the events such as the Leap of Faith, which involved climbing a 50-foot high telephone pole, balancing on the top and then jumping off, proved that you need both mental and physical determination to do more than you might have thought possible. Having my team’s encouragement down below was the only thing preventing me from still being up on that pole. Back to the worms: Fear Factor involved eating foods that were not so enticing. I was not planning to participate, but our whole team decided to go for the highest amount of bonus points by indulging in the worms. Since letting down my team was not an option, I ate the worms. I can tell you that I will not be adding them to my meal planning anytime soon. We all broke for a great lunch that was graciously donated by Chick-fil-A on Lumsden Rd. in Brandon, Beef ‘O’Brady’s and East Coast Pizza, both located in Riverview. After lunch, we participated in one more activity, which involved more mental prowess than physical. We had to construct a boat out of cardboard boxes and duct tape and then have one of our team members get the boat across the pool, a futile attempt on our part as we came in fourth in this event. I personally learned that through team encouragement, it’s easy to work just a little harder and go that extra mile when everybody is cheering you on. In the end, our team came in last place, but we were definitely not losers. I highly recommend this experience for everyone. If you are interested in serving on the planning committee for next year’s event, contact Bryan Beckham or Cindy Sofarelli at 684-1371.
Help Send Cards To Deployed Troops
Honorary Mayor Tammy Holmberg is teaming up with Stampin’ Up! demonstrator Jeri Fontana to send cards to troops overseas. The pair is holding a card making event on World Card Making Day, Saturday, October 4 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Buckhorn Springs Golf and Country club, located at 2721 S. Miller Rd in Valrico. Read more
Community Embraces Events For Victim
There has been a recent outpouring of support from the community for the East Bay High School student who was attacked at Bloomingdale Library in April.
Recently, a benefit was held at the Ruskin VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), Read more
Win Prizes On New OspreyObserver.com
The Osprey Observer has merged its community online, on demand television My Osprey TV and its Website www.ospreyobserver.com and to celebrate the merge, is giving away more than $1,000 in gift certificates to local restaurants. The campaign kicked-off at the 50th Annual Fourth of July Parade in Brandon when Osprey staff handed out more than 5,000 postcards with Harley’s Home cooking’ recipes for Mom’s Apple Pie on one side and a Website announcement on the other.
“The postcards are promoting our www.ospreyobserver.com campaign,” explained Managing Editor Marie Gilmore. “We partnered with Chick-fil-A on Lumsden Rd., Jaymer-Que BBQ and Honey Baked Ham to offer more than $1,000 in gift certificates to residents who subscribe to our twice monthly informative updates on the site.”
The first sets of prizes are the in the mail so sign-up today to win!
In addition to the contest, the Osprey Observer is launching its weekly news broadcast of community news and events on its site. The show called, This Week’s Edition, is a weekly broadcast update available on demand, online at any time.
“We have guest hosts and Osprey staff who will come in each week and go live with an informative news show each week that highlights things going on in our community,” describes Gilmore. “In addition, we encourage community members who have a passion for their industry to contact us about having a segment on our weekly show.”
Current Brandon Honorary Mayor Tammy Holmberg will feature Coffee with the Mayor several times per month where she will invite local charities to come in for an in-person, sit down interview in the Valrico studios of MyOspreyTV. This week, the charity interviewed is The Dream Factory of Florida.
For more information, visit www.ospreyobserver.com or e-mail editor@ospreyobserver.com with show ideas.
