Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 2-9-18

Local
University Area CDC Names New Board Chair
Tony Coleman, co- founder and president of AaSys Group, Inc., has taken over as Board Chairman at the University Area Commu- nity Development Corpora- tion (University Area CDC). Coleman follows the term completion of former Board Chair, Gene Marshall, who will continue to serve on the board as Immediate Past Chairman.
“We could not have ap- pointed a more deserving chairman,” said Sarah Combs, University Area CDC Executive Director and CEO. “Mr. Coleman brings with him a wealth of experi- ence and great knowledge of this organization, and this appointment serves as a tes- tament to his leadership...”
A native Floridian, Cole- man has been committed to University Area CDC since 2013. He most recently
TONY COLEMAN
served as Treasurer. Cole- man’s company, AaSys Group, was founded in 1992 and specializes in banking consulting and system inte- gration.
In 2011, he started an- other company, Focus Au- dits, Inc., which works with financial institutions in com- pliance, GLBA, Information Security and banking regula-
tions.
Today, AaSys and Focus
operate in more than 15 states with 500+ financial in- dustry customers.
Coleman is also a mem- ber of the Board of Overseers of the Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enter- prise of Florida Southern College, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Busi- ness Management in 1975. He is a board member for the San Antonio Citizens Federal Credit Union and sits on the boards of WEDU-TV, the Diocese of St. Petersburg Catholic Charities and Sa- cred Heart Early Childhood Center.
He is a founding member and current treasurer of the International Paso Horse Federation, and former exec- utive committee member and treasurer of the Paso Fino Horse Association.
Grant Workshops Planned For February
The Center for Non- Profit and Community De- velopment, Inc., will host two free professional grant- writing workshops this month.
Both workshops will be held at the Robert W. Saun- ders Public Library, 1505 N. Nebraska Avenue. Both will also be held from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.
The first workshop will take place on Saturday, February 10, 2018.
Those in attendance will discuss “How To Start A 501c3 Nonprofit.” The topic of the second half of
the workshop is a “Free Professional Grant Writing Workshop.”
The second workshop will take place on Saturday, February 24, 2018. The topic of the session is “How To Start A 501c3 Non- profit.”
The instructors will dis- cuss “Free Professional Grant Writing Work- shop” during the second half of the workshop.
Those in attendance will also learn about: the differ- ent federal and state forms and applications required to create a 501c3 corporation;
about developing a 5-year plan to attain funding and build your organizational ca- pacity; what funders con- sider when funding an organization; and how to prepare a grant proposal.
The same information will be covered in both work- shops.
Seating is limited, and anyone wishing to attend is asked to call (813) 857-7657; send an email to center- fornonprofitandcommu- nity@gmail.com; or visit the webpage at www.center- fornonprofitsanddevelop- ment.com to reserve a seat.
New Program Helps Adults Avoid Criminal Records
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week, several organi- zations announced a new pro- gram that affects adults and the Criminal Justice System. The program mirrors a pro- gram operating in Hillsbor- ough County that affects juveniles.
The county-wide program is known as the Adult Pre-Ar- rest Diversion (APAD) Pro- gram. It offers those who choose to participate an oppor- tunity to avoid an arrest record pertaining to certain identified misdemeanor crimes in the past two years, or more than twice in their lifetime.
In order to participate in the program the adult must agree to complete the follow- ing:
16 hours of community service; write a letter of apol- ogy to the victim (if applica- ble); have no contact with the victim (if applicable); partici- pate in an educational pro- gram such as shoplifter awareness, substance abuse awareness and anger manage- ment or conflict resolution (if applicable). These programs can be completed online at a minimal cost.
The participant will have 120 days to complete the pro- gram. If they fail to meet the conditions it could result in a warrant being issued for the original crime.
If the participant is ar- rested again while in the pro- gram, he or she will be terminated from the program and the original case will be sent to the State Attorney’s Of- fice for review of the original charges.
Attorney Rena Frazier
said there are lists of crimes that are eligible and those that
are not eligible.
In order to qualify for the
program, the adult must agree to participate; admit to the of- fense; has no prior DUI, mis- demeanor, or felony convictions (a withhold of ad- judication is considered a con- viction for the purposes of this program); has not been previ- ously arrested for any felony offense; has not been arrested for any misdemeanor offense in the past two years regards of the case disposition; and the adult has not participated in the APAD Program within the past two years, or more than twice in his or her lifetime.
If a person is charged with more than one crime that took place during the same inci- dent, he or she may still be eli- gible. However, if the person is charged with crimes that did not occur during the same in- cident, he or she will not be el- igible for the program.
Individuals who live out- side of Hillsborough County or outside of the State of Florida can still participate if he or she meets the qualification re- quirements.
Prior traffic-related convic- tions (other than DUI) or juve- nile convictions will not prevent the adult from partici- pating in the program.
She further stated the APAD Program is available for some misdemeanor offenses in Florida Statues and Hillsbor- ough County Ordinances.
However, the following crimes are not eligible: resist- ing an officer without violence; assault on a specified official; battery or domestic battery; carrying a concealed weapon; driving under the influence; exposure of sexual organs; fail- ure to ensure school atten- dance; improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon or firearm; lewd and lascivious acts; stalking or cyber-talking; traffic offenses; violation of an injunction; voyeurism and video voyeurism; disorderly intoxication; false information to law enforcement; loitering or prowling; and misuse of 9- 1-1.
The pilot program kicked off on July 1, 2017 and con- cluded on December 31, 2017. There were 215 participants and of that number 112 people successfully completed the program.
Thirty-seven cases were sent to the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office for review and 66 of the cases are still active.
PAGE 2-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2018