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Features
Clerk Of Circuit Court Wins Second Statewide Award
Eight Tampa Students Recognized At Boston University
Clerk of Court and Comp- troller Pat Frank has won the ACE Award (Advanced Commitment to Excellence) from the Florida Government Finance Officers Association (FGFOA).
This is the second statewide award the Clerk's Office has won this year. The first was the Florida Excellence Best Practices Award, presented in April for a major restructuring that improved customer serv- ice, increased efficiency and enhanced communication.
The latest award, presented Monday during the opening session of the association’s an- nual conference in Orlando, was in the category of Process Improvement. The award rec- ognized new procedures that created electronic storage and signatures of County Commis- sion documents and online ac- cess of those documents for the public.
The initiative increased transparency, efficiency and accuracy. As a result of this initiative, the public can ac-
Shown in the photo from left to right are: Chief of Staff Dan Klein, Director of Board of County Commissioners Records Kim- berly Richards, Pat Frank and FGFOA President Barry Skinner.
cess important BOCC records online.
The FGFOA was founded in 1937 and serves more than 2,800 professionals from state, county and city govern- ments, school districts, col- leges and universities, special districts and private firms through education, network- ing, leadership and informa-
tion.
“I am honored to receive an
award from such a prestigious group. To be one of only two recipients of awards is gratify- ing. I am particularly proud of the leadership of Kimberly Richards, the Director Of Board Records, who played an essential role in winning this award,” Ms. Frank said.
Eight young adults with ties to Tampa were recently recog- nized as achievers at Boston University for the Spring se- mester. Five of the students earned their degrees and three others were named to the Uni- versity’s Dean’s List.
Among the students who graduated from Boston Univer- sity were Christopher R. Molten, Jennifer E. Mur- phy, Nora Nakshabendi, Nancy Weber, and Austin C. Yarnell.
Dr. Nakshabendi, who graduated Cum Laude, earned her Doctor of Dental Medicine in Dentistry.
A Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering was bestowed upon Molten while Ms. Murphy’s earned her Master of Laws in Graduate Taxation Degree.
Ms. Weber was presented a Master of Science in the field of Insurance Management and Yarnell, who also graduated Cum Laude, received his Bach- elor of Science Degree in Hos- pitality Administration.
The three students recog-
nized for their academic achievements included Juli- ahna N. Green, Stephanie G. Snow, and Joseph P. O’Sullivan were recently named to the Dean's List at Boston University.
Each school and college at Boston University has their own criterion for the Dean's List, but students generally must attain a 3.5 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), or be in the top 30 percent of their class, as well as a full course load as a full time student.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. Con- sisting of 16 schools and col- leges, BU offers students more than 250 programs of study in science and engineering, social science and humanities, health science, the arts, and other pro- fessional disciplines, along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University's research and teaching mission.
Free Swimming Classes Available, Thanks To The Children’s Board
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
The year Kelley Parris moved to Tampa to take over the Children’s Board of Hills- borough County as executive director, three children died from accidental drowning on Mother’s Day.
One life was one too many; three on the same day prompted Ms. Parris to quickly pull together commu- nity partners and come up with a solution to improve water safety education and increase the number of children who know how to swim.
The result is the creation of the Mobile Water Safety Team, which again this summer will offer free swim lessons and water safety classes at residen- tial locations throughout the county.
In the last four years, acci- dental drowning claimed the lives of 32 children in the Tampa Bay area. Statistics show that children who receive formal swimming lessons have an 88 percent decrease in the chance of accidental drowning.
Because death by accidental drowning is 100 percent acci- dental, it’s critical that families get the tools they need to learn how to keep children safe, Ms. Parris said.
“We hope that we will see
zero preventable child deaths in Hillsborough County,” she said.
Mobile Water Safety Team partners include the Tampa Metropolitan YMCA, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Brandon Sports & Aquatic Cen- ter, the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation, and the Hills- borough County Fire Rescue Foundation.
Currently, 10 properties – including HOA neighbor- hoods and apartment com- plexes – have signed on to host week-long swim lessons and CPR and water safety classes.
That number is expected soon to increase, Ms. Parris said.
Chuck Burgess, executive director of the Brandon Sports & Aquatic Center, said the pro- gram targets residential areas because accessibility to the classes is key to the program’s success.
“If you can’t come to us, we will come to you,” he said. “We want to make sure we prevent (accidental drowning) at all costs.”
Communities interested in hosting this program can con- tact Ginger Upshaw, the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA’s director of water safety and mobile swim lessons, at (813) 224-9622, ext. 1292.
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