BuzzWorthyitems of note
66 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MARCH/APRIL 2018
Ray Ferrara, the head of
Pro-Vise Management
Group, has been named “Mr.
Clearwater” by the Clearwater
Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Ray and his wife Kim are strong
advocates for education and have
sponsored many scholarships.
The award began in 1956 and is
an honor that has been given to icons
of the community such as Jack Eckerd,
Gus Stavros, Charles Rutenberg and
Brian Aungst Sr. Ray deserves this
recognition because he is the ultimate
gentleman and scholar.
Sheri and Bob Heilman were
honored to have their Bob Heilman’s
Beachcomber and Bobby’s Bistro
restaurants on Clearwater Beach receive
Clearwater’s first “Ocean Friendly
Business” certification from the
Suncoast Rise Above Plastics Coalition.
This nationally recognized designation
was created by the Surfrider Foundation
to recognize businesses who have taken
proactive steps to decrease their plastic
waste production in defense of marine
life, coasts and waterways. To earn
this certification, businesses must find
Tom James, chairman emeritus
of Raymond James Financial of
St. Petersburg, is being honored
as an “icon” at an Investment
News event in New York City
in April in recognition of his
profound contributions to the
success and advancement of the
financial advice profession.
Maria Zouves and Sherrill
Milnes, opera luminaries and cofounders
of VOICExperience, treated
Tampa Bay area music lovers to
“A Night Before Christmas” concert
at the Tarpon Springs Performing
Arts Center. The Tarpon Arts
performance included Constantine
Grame, the artistic director of New
Century Opera, and the Palm Harbor
University Men’s Chorus. Sherrill, a
world-renowned operatic baritone,
the most recorded American singer
of his time and his wife, Maria,
a soprano who made her Carnegie
Hall debut in 1997, are dedicated to
the vocal arts and operate the nonprofit
VOICExperience Foundation that
is developing new audiences for
opera.
Jerry Penacoli, co-host of News
Channel 8’s Daytime morning show,
displayed his paintings recently at
Laura Fage’s Patina store on Central
Avenue in St. Petersburg.
Richard Gonzmart, a fourthgeneration
“caretaker” of the Columbia
Restaurant Group that consists of five
concepts––The Columbia, Cha Cha
Coconuts, Ulël, Goody Goody burgers,
and Café Con Leche Ybor City––will be
inducted into the Hall of Fame of the
Distinguished Restaurants of North
America at a Chicago ceremony in May.
This annual awards program began in
1946 at Holiday Magazine and the Hall of
Fame includes some of the industry’s
most celebrated restaurateurs. Richard
says his team of 1,400 members made
this recognition possible.
NORAA
Dr. Kiran Patel has been named Floridian of the Year by
Florida Trend magazine. Dr. Patel and his wife, Dr. Pallavi
Patel, have donated millions of dollars to organizations in
Florida, such as the Straz Center for the Performing Arts,
the University of South Florida and Florida Hospital. Most
recently, they have committed more than $200 million to a
new medical campus in Clearwater for Nova University.
We believe Pallavi should have been named along with her
husband, as they are true partners in all that they do.