68 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE
Rob Klingel, Sr. and his wife Diane enjoyed the surprise retirement
celebration that was held for Rob at the Vinoy Hotel in St. Petersburg’s
Tea Garden. At the party, Rob’s sons, who are now operating the
family’s TSE Industries, presented their father with a Breitling Bentley
watch to match his car.
| MAY/JUNE 2016
Ken Gibson, the director
of marketing and public
relations at The Crisis Center
of Tampa Bay, reported that
over 450 people attended the
Crisis Center’s annual Cup of
Compassion breakfast that was
emceed by TV anchor Brendan
McLaughlin. The mission of the
Center is to ensure that no one
in our community has to face
a crisis alone. They respond to
over 160,000 requests for help
each year through their various
programs.
Bob Seymour, WUSFFM
jazz director ’s retirement was
celebrated at The Palladium in
St. Petersburg with a jazz performance
by sax master Harry Allen and vocalist
Rebecca Kilgore that was entitled Get
Happy - The Songs of Judy Garland.
Sophia Wisniewska, the St. Petersburg
Regional Chancellor of the University
of South Florida, has appointed
Sridhar Sundaram as the new dean of
the school’s College of Business.
Michael Clayton, the former Tampa
Bay Buccaneer and now a host on Channel
10’s Studio 10 Live!, had a walk-on role
in the musical Bullets Over Broadway by
Woody Allen, when it played at Ruth
Eckerd Hall in Clearwater.
Maestro Victor DeRenzi, the artistic
director of the Sarasota Opera, achieved
his goal to stage productions of every
opera written by the Italian composer
Guiseppe Verdi. This project took 27 years
to complete and concluded with The Battle
of Legnano and Aida. Verdi died at the age of
87 and was very prolific, making this quite
an accomplishment for Maestro DeRenzi
and the Sarasota Opera.
Jill Kelly, the wife of Dr. Scott Kelly,
has written a book entitled Collateral Damage
about her family’s ordeal surrounding the
events that led up to the resignation of
General David Petraeus as the director of
the CIA. The story began when
the family sought assistance from
the FBI after receiving a series of
threatening emails.
Elizabeth Brincklow, the
former cultural affairs manager
for the City of St. Petersburg,
has joined Creative Pinellas
as its director of community
engagement, where she will
initiate and manage a grants
program for artists and nonprofit
organizations.
Wayne Collier of Florida
Jean Company at the Sundial
in downtown St. Petersburg held
a trunk show of the 2016 Robert
Graham Spring Collection.
Florida Jean carries the largest
collection of Robert Graham
merchandise in Tampa Bay.
General Joseph Votel has
been promoted from the U.S.
Special Operations Command
at MacDill Air Force Base to
the head of the U.S. Central
Command. He is being replaced at
SOCOM by General Raymond
“Tony” Thomas, who was in
charge of the Joint Special Operations
Command. Both of these men are highly
regarded individuals with long histories
of leadership. We are indeed fortunate to
have them here in the Tampa Bay area.
Judy Lisi, the president and CEO of
the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the
Performing Arts in Tampa, held an event
for the Center’s Ovation Society, the
individuals who have left the Center
a legacy in their wills. The dinner at
Maestro’s Restaurant at the Center
featured performances by students of
the Straz’s Patel Conservatory and Opera
Tampa singers.
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