By Sandy Meyer

Ribbon Cutting for Oodles Furniture

In December the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce members were on hand to conduct a ribbon cutting ceremony to welcome Oodles Furniture to the area. Kimberly Prescott and members of her family were on hand to greet their guests and inform them about their business. Oodles Furniture is a community based furniture business that proudly offers furniture and accessories at affordable prices. The store is located at 3110 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. Ste. 103 in Valrico. Call 892-9403 or visit www.oodlesfurniture.com.

Project Safe Child Held at Campo YMCA

Campo YMCA, located at 3414 Culbreath Rd. in Valrico, sponsored Project Safe Child in December. The event offered free fingerprinting for kids from ages 5-12. Verify Network, LLC, a local company provided the Live Scan Fingerprints. The owner, Michael Levy, explained that over 800,000 kids in America go missing each year. Some are abducted by a parent and some by strangers while some are run-aways. Only a very small percentage of parents have a copy of their children’s fingerprints which could greatly enhance the identification of missing children for law enforcement agencies. Levy said he hopes that we can do more of these types of events that are crucial in identifying missing children. The December event fingerprinted 14 children and now the parents have an electronic copy for I.D. purposes just in case. In addition to Live Scan Fingerprinting, Verify Network also provides pre-employment background checks and drug and alcohol testing for the workplace and at home. Verify Network can be contacted at 352-6995 or by emailing at info@verifynetwork.com.

Walmart Hiring for Relocated Bloomingdale Walmart 

Walmart is hiring for the relocated Walmart slated to be completed this spring in Bloomingdale. This hiring process usually results in about 200 additional jobs. A hiring kiosk has opened inside the current store located at 949 E. Bloomingdale Ave. Applications will be accepted Monday through Sunday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Interested applicants may also apply online at careers.walmart.com. Through Walmart’s Veterans Welcome Home Commitment, the company will offer a job to any qualified veteran who has been honorably discharged within the past 12 months. Interested veterans may find out more at walmartcareerswithamission.com. Walmart provides a benefits program to eligible full- and part-time associates. For example, it provides a variety of affordable health and well-being benefits including health-care coverage with no lifetime maximum. The majority of new associates will begin work this winter to help prepare the store for its grand opening.

Impact Holding Volunteer Training

Non-profit organization Impact educates and equips high school students to make healthy choices. The classes held by Impact include information on avoiding sexual risks including not only teen pregnancy, but STDs and STIs. Teens learn about setting relationship boundaries, refusal skills and consequences. Summer camps also teach about other high risk behaviors such as drugs, alcohol and tobacco use. A speaker training session is coming up for interested volunteers on Friday, January 29 from 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. at 1741 S. Kings Ave. Visit www.whatisimpact.com or akagey@whatisimpact.com or 264-9368.

BC_NowHearThisNew Client Brings New Dimension to NHT

The addition of Zarrilli Training and Consulting to the client roster has brought with it a new area for Now Hear This. Zarrilli Training and Consulting is an entirely different and unique category of business adding a new dimension to NHT. With a proven track record of results for his clients for more than 25 years, Rob Zarrilli is a corporate trainer, keynote speaker, consultant, and life coach. He is the past president of the Flyer Magazine in Tampa and created The Leadership Institute, a nationally recognized university-style training program used at state, regional, and national sales and leadership conferences. Valrico-based Now Hear This is going right to work on the Zarrilli Training and Consulting website and social media, including plans to leverage already-existing digital assets. There are plans to also strategize toward branding and offers relative to Zarrilli’s new business development efforts, while continuing and expanding his keynote speaking engagements. Call 854-8000 or visit now-hear-this.net.

Holiday Charity Ball in Brandon Celebrates Four Years

The Fourth Annual Brandon Holiday Charity Ball was held at The Regent in December with an evening extravaganza of entertainment, food, live music and silent auction items benefiting Toys for Tots of Tampa Bay. Holiday Charity Ball attendees raised $5,000 and donated over 28 overflowing boxes of toys at a time when the Tampa Toys for Tots organization has seen a greater need for toys. It was a new record for the charity ball, which grows leaps and bounds each year. Visit www.holidaycharityballbrandon.com.

America’s Epidemic Workshop Offered at Fatloss Centers of Brandon

Lifetime Fat Loss Centers of Brandon will hold an America’s Epidemic Workshop at HealthSource of Brandon located at 166 E. Bloomingdale Blvd. Ste. B in Brandon on Thursday, January 14 and Wednesday, January 20. Workshops will be at 6 p.m. on all scheduled dates. Lifetime Fat Loss Centers is dedicated to educating and inspiring people to change their lives to create a true health shift in our community. Discover why Americans are overweight, depressed, out of energy, and creatinBC_PuppyPalaceg more illness than ever before. Hear the staggering statistics on the amount of deaths that are caused from obesity related diseases, and learn why genetics matter when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off. The goal of the America’s Epidemic Workshop is to educate the community on the importance of taking care of its health. We encourage all residents to come and listen, as the workshop is free. To reserve a spot for the upcoming workshop, call 654-7121. Complimentary one-on-one consultations are also being offered to see if LFLC can help you on the journey to a healthier weight and happier you.

Puppy Palace Fills Christmas Wishes for Shelter Dogs and Cats

Puppy Palace aims to improve the lives of pets as much as possible, whether it’s inside or outside their walls. So when it comes to Christmas time, Puppy Palace knows that some pets don’t have the luxury of waking up to a warm house on Christmas morning with presents in their own stocking. To bring Christmas to these pets that may need it most, Puppy Palace partnered with one of the local community animal shelters – the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center. Puppy Palace showed up in Christmas gear in December and donated over 50 pounds of treats and over 150 toys for the cats and dogs, all in the hopes they could make Christmas a special time for all animals in their community. Visit www.hillsboroughcounty.org/animalservices. The newest Puppy Palace location is currently under construction at 802. E. Lumsden Rd.in Brandon. Visit www.tampapuppypalace.com or email Stephen@tampapuppypalace.com.

 

BC_SalonsByJCSalons by JC Opens in Valrico

Salons by JC recently opened its fourth Florida location in Valrico. The Salon, located in the Lithia Crossing Shopping Center next to Stein Mart, will host a Grand Opening event and ribbon cutting ceremony with the Valrico Fishhawk Chamber on Monday, January 25 from 3–6 p.m. There will be music, food, drinks and a raffle drawing. Salons by JC offer a salon-suite business model. Owners of the Valrico location Denise Cooke and Scott Sobolewski have had a lot of interested beauty professionals and have already pre-leased many of the salon suites. Salons by JC – Valrico is over 6,500 total square-feet, with 36 suites including mirrors, shampoo bowls, chairs, cabinets for towels, hood dryers and roll carts for other tools and supplies. The average suite size is 10 ft. by 11 ft. Beauty and wellness services include hair styling, hair coloring, hair weaving, massage, nail care, cosmetics and weight loss. For more information about the suites and available leases, email dcooke@salonsbyjc.com.

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