Volume 25 Issue 19 September 8, 2017
Inside:
Tarek’s Café Makes Dinner Affordable!
In Neighborhood Magazine
Remember To View, Like & Share Every Episode Of WCNT-tv On YouTube & Facebook! The Direct-Mail News Magazines Serving New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Since 1993! For the complete list of the neighborhoods that receive this publication by direct mail in New Tampa (zip code 33647), see page 50!
Tampa Palms Resident Is FBLA’s New National President! By CELESTE MCLAUGHLIN
celeste@ntneighborhoodnews.com You’d probably expect the president of an international organization with more than 250,000 members to be professional, articulate and passionate about his role and vision for his organization. What you might not expect is that he would be just 17 years old, and still in high school. Max Michel is all of the above, having recently been elected as president of the national Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) organization. “I serve our 250,000 members and work with other officers to create programs for our members,” Max explains. “I also work with the national board of directors, comprised of educators, CEOs, industry representatives and other professionals, to help steer the long-term strategies for the organization as a whole.” Max has lived with his family in Tampa Palms since 2005, before he entered kindergarten at Chiles Elementary. He then attended Liberty Middle School. When it was time for high school, he chose the magnet program at Middleton High, located on N. 22nd St. in Tampa. It was through his FBLA chapter at Middleton that Max pursued the chance to lead the national organization. He was elected president during the group’s National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, CA, on July 2, and immediately began his one-year term. The National Leadership Conference comes after the District and State conferences. “FBLA gives students the opportunity to com-
Also Inside This Issue: News, Business & Sports Updates New Tampa Council Has Eyes On City’s Budget; Wharton Student Left His Mark; Audi Bringing The Future To The Chap; ‘American Idol’ Hopefulls Leave Happy; St. James Celebrating 30 Years; Pipeline Swimming Grows Into A Powerhouse; Plus, Multiple Local Business Features!
Pages 3-36
Neighborhood Magazine
Local Hair Stylist Enjoys Moment In HBO Sun; The Learning Experience Is Growing Fast; Tarek’s Cafe Expands To Dinner; Menchie’s Is A Refreshing Treat; Plus, More Neighborhood Nibbles & Business Bytes!
Pages 37-52
Middleton High senior and Tampa Palms resident Max Michel (left) was elected president of the national Future Business Leaders of America at the group’s National Leadership Conference on July 2 in Anaheim, CA . front of a much smaller crowd, he says he compete on District, State and National levels in 65 focus on campaigning for national president. First, he had to qualify on the state level, pletely forgot it. “I blanked out,” he says. “It different events that cover everything from public speaking to healthcare,” Max says. “It allows where he was chosen to be the candidate for was so embarrassing.” president from the state of Florida. He went up But, that was one of the things that students to find their niche.” He adds that every year, the national against candidates from Oregon and Arizona for spurred him to work on his public speaking and other skills. competition is “awe-inspiring. There are about the national honor. While Max only campaigned during the “I grew a lot because of the leadership 13,000 people there, and you see diverse faces and cultures and backgrounds and how hard conference itself, he did a lot to prepare, includ- skills I’ve learned through FBLA,” says Max. So ing writing the speech he would give at a general much so, that he says his school’s FBLA chapthey all work to have made it that far.” ter adviser, Tayo Akinrefon, recommended that In 2016, Max placed second in FBLA’s na- session in front of all of the attendees. As a freshman, Max had run for District Max run for national president going into his tional computer problem solving competition. This year, he didn’t compete so that he could office and, when it was time to give his speech in See “FBLA” on page 5.
Stay In Step Celebration Gala Fundraising Event Returns Sept. 30! By JOHN C. COTEY
john@ntneighborhoodnews.com Arbor Greene residents Romy and Gaby Camargo continue to turn a challenge into hope for others. The Camargos will host their second annual Stay in Step Celebration Gala fund raiser on Saturday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.-11 p.m., at the T Pepin Hospitality Center on N. 50th St. in Tampa. All proceeds from the event, which attracted more than 200 guests last year, will benefit the Romy and Gaby SCI Foundation, Inc. d/b/a the Stay in Step Foundation. The gala will include cocktails, dinner, dancing, silent auctions and more. Stay in Step is a registered 501(3)c nonprofit organization dedicated to helping both military veterans and civilians with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. Romy was on a humanitarian mission in Afghanistan in 2008 when he and his fellow soldiers in the Green Beret 7th Special Forces Group were ambushed in Zabul Province by Taliban fighters. As they fought to avoid rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire, Romy was struck in the back of the neck by a bullet.
An emergency tracheotomy kept Romy alive until he could be flown to Germany and then to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he remained for 18 months. The bullet had shattered his C3 vertebrae, paralyzing him from the shoulders down. Doctors said he would never breathe on his own, but Romy continues to prove them wrong. About two-and-half years of 4-5hour long road trips back-and-forth from New Tampa to Orlando for rehabilitation, however, took their toll. So, the Camargos raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to open the state-of-the-art Stay in Step Spinal Cord Gaby & Romy Camargo of the Stay in Step Foundation Injury Recovery Center in Tampa. For more info about the Stay in continue to dedicate their lives to helping both military vetStep Celebration Gala, visit Event- erans and civilians who have suffered spinal cord injuries. brite.com/e/2nd-annual-stay-instep-celebration-tickets-34913402928. The Stay in Step Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center is located at 10500 University Center Dr., Suite 130, near Adventure Island. Visit StayInStep.org for more info.