BuzzWorthy I T E M S O F N O T E
Nick Dukas performed
some of the songs on his new
CD, One and Forever Love,
at the Wesley Chapel Jazz
Festival.
Susan Weymouth, the
executive director of the
Tampa Bay Businesses for
Culture and the Arts, has
been busy launching new
initiatives for the organization,
including Tampa’s
Chef Alon Hershkowitz at the Vinoy Renaissance Resort in downtown
St. Petersburg has introduced a new sushi menu with sake recommendations
to the Resort’s Marchand’s Restaurant. The Vinoy Roll of spicy tuna, fresh
guacamole and roasted garlic slivers was one of our favorites, as was a Mio
Sparkling Sake.
Stageworks Theatre. She is
building pARTnerships with
a number of arts and cultural
organizations throughout
the Tampa Bay area.
Danielle McDonald has been named
assistant vice president and dean of
students at the University of South
Florida. She began at USF in 2011 as
associate dean of students.
Katee Tully and Helen Levine were
honored for their generous support of
educational programs at the Morean
Arts Center, when the Center named
May 29th as their day at the Museum.
Eric Ward has been selected by Mayor
Bob Buckhorn and confirmed by the
City Council to be the City of Tampa’s
new police chief. Ward is a 26-year
veteran of the police force and was most
recently deputy chief of operations.
Ray Weaver, a Clearwater author, has
released his sixth novel, Three Courageous
Women, which tells about the lives of a
trio of women who overcame obstacles
and their own circumstances to emerge
like butterflies into beautiful human
beings.
Karla Hartley, the producing artistic
director of Stageworks Theatre in
Tampa, is enthusiastic about Stageworks’
new partnership with the Gorilla Theatre’s
nationally acclaimed Young Dramatists
Project that showcases new plays by
students and original plays about Tampa
Bay. Stageworks’ annual Tampa Works
Festival celebrates places, people and
experiences that are unique to Tampa Bay,
as they help to define our culture and
identity. One of those plays this year is
Paul Wilborn’s Eight Miles High, which
is about a plane ride over Bayshore
Boulevard. Paul, in addition to being
the executive director of the
Palladium Theatre in St. Petersburg,
is also an award-winning journalist.
Juan and Marcela Garza of the MJ
Gift Basket Store on Cleveland
Street were nominated as the
“Outstanding New Business
of the Year” and the “Most
Improved Property” by the
Clearwater Downtown
Partnership at its Momentum
Awards.
Tim Gallivan, general
manager of Gigi’s Italian
Restaurant on 4th Street
in St. Petersburg, keeps
expanding his T.J. Morgan’s
Seasonings line with creative
flavors such as Honey Bourbon
Molasses. His rubs and
seasonings are all natural
GRAM
and contain no MSG.
John Collins, the executive director of
the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, revealed
that a new economic study has found
that the city of St. Petersburg’s nonprofit
arts and cultural organizations have an
economic impact of over $212 million
and that they provide more than 800
jobs.
Judy and Luis Colon, partners in MGE
Management Experts, held a benefit event
at their company’s headquarters in
St. Petersburg to raise funds for the
Improving Youth Literacy campaign that
supplies books and audio books to the
Boys and Girls Clubs and youth programs
across America. Their partner, Dr. Gregory
Winteregg, who was the evening’s
auctioneer, raised an incredible sum of
money at this charity Casino Night with a
Las Vegas theme, which was catered by
Cafe Ponte.
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68 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2015