Small Business Of The Year Winners Announced
The Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce announced the winners of the 2008 Small Business of the Year Awards. The annual recognition gala, featuring a red carpet theme, was held in October at The Palmetto Club at FishHawk Ranch. Fifteen area businesses were recognized as finalists at the Chamber’s annual event, sponsored by Bank of Tampa – Brandon Division. Supporting sponsors include Alday Donalson Title, Hanna, Lemar & Morris, P.A., State Farm- Melissa Snively Agent, and The Brandon News & Tribune/ The Tampa Tribune. Dave Mishkin, radio voice of the Tampa Bay Lightning, was the celebrity emcee for the 2008 event. One winner from each of the five categories was announced. Each finalist and past recipients of this prestigious Chamber award were also honored and featured in a video presentation. Nominations were received from the 1,800-plus members of the Chamber and divided into categories based on the number of employees or type of business. Judges reviewed the applications and interviewed the candidates to determine the finalists. The judges made personal visits to the finalists’ places of business, to conclude the judging process and determine the five winners. Award categories include home based businesses, minority and woman owned businesses, businesses with one-five employees, six-15 employees and 16 or more employees. This year’s winners include: Home Based Business Black Diamond Associates, LLC Minority or Women Owned Business Brandon Montessori School at River Hills 1 to 5 Employees Huth & Booth – The Portrait Gallery 6 to 15 Employees i9 Sports Corporation 16 Plus Employees ServiceMaster 24 Hour For more information on this event, visit the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce’s Website at www.brandonchamber.com or call Jamie Reid at 689-1221, ext. 43.
Lithia Pinecrest Road Widening Public Meeting Draws Crowds
Hundreds attended a recent public meeting concerning the proposed widening of approximately an 11 mile section of Lithia Pinecrest Rd. from its current two travel lane roadway to a six travel lane roadway, affecting the Brandon, Bloomingdale and Lithia communities from S.R. 60 in Brandon to C.R. 39. Read more
Local Moms Roll For A Cure
“An estimated 138,530 people in the United States will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma in 2008,” reads the Website of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, inspiring the MOMS Club of Lithia to continue the fight, hosting the Fourth Annual Roll for a Cure.
Taking place on Thursday, November 20, at the Palmetto Club, located at 17004 Dorman Rd. in FishHawk Ranch, Roll for a Cure will be “a night of fun, food, prizes and bunko,” according to Terri Fischer, president of the MOMS Club of Lithia-Bevis, which is working in conjunction with the MOMS Club of Lithia-FishHawk Creek to host the event. The two groups were once one, having dispersed into two due to growth, and both felt the effects of lymphoma first-hand as they watched one of their own pass away from the disease, forging the conception of Roll for a Cure.
Residents will wine and dine on appetizers, desserts and a cash bar with a DJ on-hand to dole out the tunes and $2 and $5 raffle tickets will be available for purchase to win prizes. With last year’s event welcoming 130 residents and raising $8,500, the group is hoping for a turnout of 100 this year. “Our goal is to beat our amount raised last year, but we will be excited about any amount raised since all the proceeds from the evening go directly to benefit the amazing charity,” says Committee Chair Danielle Triplett of the MOMS Club of Lithia-FishHawk Creek.
Doors will open at 7 p.m. for Roll for a Cure, with games beginning at 7:30 p.m. Those interested in donating to a good cause can play bunko for $20. Sponsors of the event include: www.mountaincabinbythelake.com, Family Medical Care of Riverview, Superior Autobody in St. Petersburg, It’s Personal-Seriously Adorable Personalized Artwork, the Bank of Tampa as well as donations from sponsors such as Alycia Alverez Photography, RobZFitness, Studio 1 to1, Lowery Park Zoo, Stonewood Grill and Tavern and many more.
If you are a business owner and would like to make a donation to be incorporated within the prize baskets, need more information or would like to find out more about the MOMS Club of Lithia-FishHawk Creek, please contact Triplett at 294-0405 or visit www.rollforacure.info. To learn more MOMS Club of Lithia-Bevis, call Fischer at 654-9988. To inquire about The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, visit www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.
No Increase in CDD Fees for FH
When is zero a good number? When it is the amount of dollars your Community Development District (CDD) fees are going up the next fiscal year, if you live in FishHawk Ranch. Originally, it was thought that the charge could go up as much as $67 per household with the proposed district’s combined multimillion dollar budget. Right now each resident pays $1,242 in CDD fees and that will stay the same when it shows up on your Hillsborough County tax bill. CDD District Manager Debby Bayne with Rizzetta and Company, an agent for FishHawk Ranch Developer Newland Communities, says, “Both boards have worked hard to decrease costs and it has paid off.” Bayne sent letters to each homeowner in FishHawk explaining the originally proposed increase and inviting them to the workshop and public hearing. Only a handful of people showed up at the workshop which Bayne took as a good sign, saying, “I guess people are happy with the way things are.” It was at the workshop that Bayne explained the numbers and how she was able to whittle the increase down to zero, even keeping in resident’s requests for aquatic plants to be installed in ponds, to include pond bank repairs because of low water levels this year and maintain some small capital improvements. Bayne also says, “These workshops allow me to get feedback from the residents and present it to the board before the final decision on the budget is made.” Each CDD board went over its own budget, line by line, before it was finally adopted by both Districts l and ll at the public hearings. Although there are two different districts in FishHawk Ranch, there is an interlocal agreement between the two where operations and maintenance costs are shared at a flat rate, meaning all residents in FishHawk Ranch pay the same assessment and it lets them use all the facilities in each district. Each CDD meets the third Monday of each month beginning at 2 p.m. at the Palmetto Club in FishHawk Ranch and both are open to all residents. For more information about what is going on in the community, you can go to www.fishhawkconnect.com and to learn more about the Community Development District, click on “CDD”.
