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RESIDENTN EWS. N ET | NOVEMB ER 2019
R E SID E NT C OM M UNI TY N EWS
Real Men Wear Pink Raises $13,000 at First Charity Golf Tournament
Howl-O-Ween event celebrates anniversaries, fall Groomingdales celebrated its fifth anniversary and Dogtopia celebrated its first at the end of October with a free community Halloween event for pets and their owners. The Howl-o-Ween Block Party was hosted Oct. 26 at Dogtopia, 1075 Hendricks Avenue. Activities included a pup costume contest, “puppacinos,” fall-themed festivities, raffles, community vendors, free food and free pup daycare. Groomingdales is in the Miramar Center on Hendricks Avenue and serves up to 22 pooches a day in the Miramar, Lakewood and San Marco areas as well as Ponte Vedra, Palm Coast, Pensacola, and South Georgia, said owner and dog stylist Morgan Murphy. The business is a true family affair, with Murphy running the business and her little brother Matthew assisting. “I believe we have been so successful because we provide quality and knowledgeable breed grooming using top-of-the-line products and procedures,” she said. “We have grown by being loyal and building client relations, outstanding grooming services, educating clients on the specific needs for their unique pet, and happy clients referring their friends and neighbors,” Murphy said. Dogtopia, meanwhile, is a “high-end beautiful doggie daycare,” said Addie Kasraeian, who owns the business with husband Ali, a urologic surgeon. She said
Nick the Yorkie
about 45 to 50 dogs come there each weekday to play and socialize. The couple opened the franchise not too long after their son Alik, now 21 months, was born. They decided to host a block party to celebrate Dogtopia’s anniversary because they wanted to include their neighbors, and neighboring businesses. “We are all entrepreneurs and we are all in it together, so it is a nice community that we have,” she said. “We knew the neighborhood, it’s our neighborhood,” Ali added. “I think that has allowed us some successes we may not have enjoyed if we chose to do this somewhere else.” And, Addie said, “We can see Dogtopia from our window.”
Schmidt joins JCDS board Jacksonville Country Day School has welcomed San Marco resident and business owner Michael Schmidt to its board of trustees. Schmidt, a JCDS alum, is the co-owner of The Bearded Pig restaurant in San Marco and also Tomo Development, a company that is involved with real estate development. He will serve on the buildings and grounds committee for the private school, which is located on the Southside.
Michael Schmidt
The first golf tournament staged by the local Real Men Wear Pink (RMWP) fundraising campaign for breast cancer brought home more than $13,000 on Oct. 7, when 21 foursomes played the 18-hole course at Blue Sky Golf Club. Each foursome competed to see who could take first prize on the Arnold Palmer Signature Designed course after trick golf pro Rocky “Rockstar” Shipes kicked off the tournament. The foursomes included company teams from the Jacksonville Icemen, North Florida Medical Center, Suddath, Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Sleiman Enterprises and Rainbow Shades, among others. Shipes opened play with a trick shot par 4 hole-in-one challenge. Tournament winners were: First: RMWP participant Todd Frankman, Joe Harvey, Chris Seely, and Rob Bydlick. Second: Former Jacksonville Jaguars players and RMWP alumni David Garrard and Adam Podlesh, Chandler Coto, and Zach Tucker. Third: Executive Director of Community Development for the American Cancer Society Mel Toran, former Jacksonville
Winning foursome, from left: Chris Seely, Joe Harvey, Todd Frankman, Rob Bydlick.
Jaguars player Drayton Florence, Ramone George and Montrel Wells. Andre Green was closest to the pin; Adam Podlesh got longest carry and Drayton Florence achieved the longest drive. "A huge thanks needs to go out to all our sponsors and all those who participated in the tournament,” said 2019 RMWP CoChair Victor Patel. “Without their support, we wouldn't be able to continue doing such amazing things like this event. This was our inaugural tournament and I am so proud of the work our entire team put in to make it such a success.”
New insurance agency opens in Riverside David Hodges, Jr. of San Jose, an entrepreneur known for his work at Hodges Motor Company, is partnering with Blake Rhodes, a local independent insurance agency owner, to launch a new insurance agency, 925 Partners Insurance in Riverside. The new agency offers personal and commercial insurance, including employee benefits, to serve the growing industries and families of Jacksonville. The company name originates from the biblical verse, Luke 9:25, “For what is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose himself?” “We saw a need in Jacksonville for an insurance agency that focuses on small to mid-size businesses,” said Hodges. “Most
David Hodges, Jr. and Blake Rhodes
commercially focused agencies pour all their resources into big business accounts, and many personal-line driven agencies are not equipped to fully meet the needs of mid-size companies. That leaves a significant segment of the middle market underserved for their risk management needs,” Rhode added. The new insurance agency plans to contribute financially to the Jacksonville community that fostered the partners’ success. The men also plan to make donations to nonprofits, ministries and local sponsorships during the 2020 fiscal year.
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