Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 12-7-18

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Kindness Reigns Supreme At The Third Annual National
The actions of kind people often fail to receive the attention they deserve, but the Third An- nual National FAM Awards was a definite exception. Recogni- tion was given to people who were nominated in 1-minute videos e-mailed from the Tampa Bay area and elsewhere to ForTheFamilyTampa@gmail.co m.
Each video was judged ac- cording to the caring nature of the nominee, the positive impact, empathy and thoughtfulness of their action, and its inspirational qualities.
This event was staged by For The Family, Inc., as part of its ongoing “Kindness of the Heart” initiative, and held at the Chil- dren’s Board of Hillsborough County.
Family Flame Awards and $100 gift cards were presented by a wide range of community leaders in the following cate- gories: Parent, Spouse, Son, Daughter, Volunteer, First Re- sponder, Random Acts of Kind- ness, Praise and Gratitude, and Kind Initiatives and Programs. Other awards were given to those who earned 2nd place and Honor- able Mention Certificates.
Sixteen-year old Harsh Bagdy of Tampa is a prime ex- ample of what the Family Flame Award exemplifies. The King High School junior has estab- lished Charity Health Supplies to provide canes, walkers, wheel- chairs, and other durable med- ical supplies to people referred by Metropolitan Ministries. His nonprofit agency has a contract with MS Supplies of Brandon to obtain these items at a signifi- cant discount. Harsh earned “Son of the Year” for his deter- mined efforts.
Each video was highly signif- icant even when a Family Flame Award was not forthcoming. One example came when District 3 Deputies of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office received Honorable Mention in the First Responder category. They sprang into action after thieves stole several video games owned by Michael DeNardi of St. Pe- tersburg, an autistic youth who is able to use them to express him- self. After enlisting assistance from Game Stop, Target, and Wal-Mart, deputies presented a new collection to Michael a short time later.
It was especially heartwarm- ing when Michael had the chance to turn the tables and give the Honorable Mention Cer- tificate to Deputy Chris Culli- nan.
Ward Cox is Administrator of For The Family, and he said,
“This is what our Academy Awards of Kindness is all about. The art of recognizing good works has to be restored for us to move past our divisions and see how kindness is the most power- ful force of all.”
Individuals and groups are encouraged to perform random acts of kindness and send video descriptions to ForTheFamily- Tampa@gmail.com.
Several individuals, organi- zations, and businesses part- nered with For The Family in “Kindness of the Heart.”
Family Flame Award Winners
Random Acts of Kindness:
Markeithia Alisha Hopkins -
Presented by Abby Evering- ham – Pace Center for Girls Kind Initiatives & Programs: Richedean Hills-Ackbar - Presented by Mary Lou Wha- ley – School District of Hills-
borough County
Daughter: Jessica Chris- tenson - Presented by Paul Rebein – Rebein Brothers Law Firm
First Responder: Homeless Initiative – Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office - Presented by Ward Cox – For The Family, Inc.
Praise & Gratitude: Kionna Pitts - Presented by Mary Jo McKay – Hillsborough County Dept. of Aging Services
Volunteer: Margarette Ge- nung - Presented by Gil Singer – Marcadis Singer
Spouse: Sheila Murray - Presented by Ward Cox – For The Family, Inc.
Son: Harsh Bagdy - Pre- sented by Jada McMillon – Positive Spin
Parent: Jennifer Walker - Presented by Ward Cox – For The Family, Inc.
Other program participants were: Invocation: Reverend Prentiss Davis, Word of God Ministries; and musical enter- tainment provided by: Rick Ferriss.
Fam Awards
Michael DeNardo (r) returns the favor by presenting Deputy Chris Cullinan with a Certificate that commemorates efforts by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Of- fice to replace his stolen video games.
Elected Officials Worshipped At New Mt. Zion M. B. Church
Tampa area elected officials worshipped at New Mt. Zion M. B. Church, Rev. Larry L. Roundtree, II, Pastor, on Sunday, November, 11th (Veterans Day). Les Miller and Dianne Hart are members of the church. From left to right are: County Com- missioner Lesley “Les” Miller, Jr. (District 3); Fentrice Driskell, State Representa- tive (District 63); Dianne Hart, State Representative (District 61); Tamara Shamburger, School Board (District 5); Frank Reddick, City Council (District 5) and Darryl Rouson, State Senator (District 19). (Photograph by Julia Jackson)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9-A