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PLANT CITY
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
EXCLUSIVE
Plant City High crowns new Calendar Girls. PAGE 13
OUR TOWN
FREE • thursday, OCTOBER 4, 2012
IN FOCUS
SPORTS
Hospital foundation shines at gala.
Plant City kids hit gridiron for NFL contest.
PAGE 10
PAGE 19
end of an era
in-depth By Michael Eng | Managing Editor
MAKING
by Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
Knotts Hardware closing after 75-plus years
THE MOVE + Rescued kittens need loving homes
Oct. 12 will be the last day the store will be open to customers.
Plant City Observer advertising executive Veronica Prostko recently rescued five orphaned kittens. They currently are being hand-fed and will be available in about five weeks. If interested, please call Prostko at our office, (813) 704-6850.
+ Chamber seeks Plant City pin busters The Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce will host its second annual Bowling Tournament from 2 to 6 p.m. Oct. 25, at Family Bowl, 2250 U.S. 92, Plant City. Thirty-two teams of four will compete to see which company has the best skills on the lanes. For more details or to participate, email amy@ plantcity.org.
+ KidsPACK raises $3,480 for school A Lakeland-based nonprofit raised $3,480 through a recent Groupon campaign to assist children in need at Dover Elementary School. The money will allow the organization to feed 15 Dover school children for a year or 25 kids for seven months. “There are more than 100 registered homeless and hungry children that attend Dover Elementary — kids classified as ‘food insecure’ — not knowing where their next meal will come from,” said kidPACK’s Denny Fraser. “When school is not in session where they have access to subsidized school meals, they often go without.” Each kidsPACK, which utilizes a traditional backpack, includes two breakfasts, two lunches and three dinners. The organization will present its first food deliveries to Dover Elementary in October. For more information, visit kidspack.org.
Michael Eng
Highland Packaging Solutions CEO Steve Maxwell is excited for his company’s move to Plant City.
Five months ago, Highland Packaging Solutions announced plans to move its operations from Polk County to Plant City, in one of the Tampa region’s largest industrial lease agreements of the last two decades. Highland will begin operating in its new home next month. MULBERRY — Years ago, Highland Packaging Solutions CEO Steve Maxwell wrote down a list of goals for his life, should he ever own a company. He stuck it in his wallet and carries it around to this day. This list doesn’t include any charts, graphs, numbers or dollar signs. It isn’t a strategy for dominating the competition or winning the lion’s share of the market. In fact, it doesn’t even include what kind of business Maxwell hoped to run. The list, quite simply: Love God. Love my wife. Love and provide for my children. Be successful in business and
use it as a platform to extend God’s kingdom. And yet, despite the list’s lack of facts, figures and quotations from Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” Maxwell’s back-pocket inspiration has led him to build a major player in the region’s fruit-packing industry. Today, Highland boasts more than 200 employees, and its products are used to ship fresh fruits both locally and as far away as Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe and New Zealand. The company has enjoyed 20% to 25% growth annually since Maxwell took over in 2005. And now, in perhaps the company’s boldest move under Maxwell’s watch, it is mov-
ONE-STOP SHOP CEO Steve Maxwell has designed Highland Packaging Solutions to be able to offer a farmer everything he or she needs to get the harvest to a retail store. The company’s manufacturing division can provide a myriad of plastic clamshell containers, mesh baskets and corrugated boxes. Its labeling division can design custom labels for the containers. Finally, its agricultural chemical branch can provide assistance to help customers meet safety and sanitation requirements.
SEE HIGHLAND / PAGE 8
INDEX Crossword.......... 19
It’s been more than 75 years since Ben Knotts left North Carolina with nothing and started an iconic business on Collins Street in Historic Downtown Plant City, Knotts Hardware. Originally called Knotts Trading and Supply, the store, which opened its doors in the 1930s, will be closing its doors Oct. 12. “My grandfather helped develop this city,” the current third-generation owner, Johnny Knotts, said. “I feel like he helped a lot of people go into business in this town. We were there not only to sell goods and products but (also) to help our customers.” Ben Knotts came to Plant City more than a half-century ago to work for his cousin, who owned a general store. He saved up to buy the property on which Knotts Hardware sits today. The store was one of the first in the area to hire African American employees. To this day, Knotts Hardware still has in-house accounts, which has helped the business stay successful. Ben Knotts passed the store onto his his son, Billy. Johnny Knotts has played a role in the shop since 1987. His brother, Andy, also has been involved in the store. “I know I can speak for my grandpa and dad just how appreciative we have been for our loyal customers,” he said. “This store has given us a good life.”
SEE KNOTTS / PAGE 9
Amber Jurgensen
Knotts Hardware has been a fixture in Historic Downtown Plant City for more than 75 years.
Vol. 1, No. 14 | One section
Obituaries.......... 15
Opinion.................8
Sports................ 16
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