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Local
‘Bucified And Ole Is Alive’ Visit All
Children’s Hospital
The Team visited with a patient. From left to right: Michaela Abelgas (National American Miss, 2015-2016); Simona Rivero (Miss Winter Park, 2016-2017); Keisha Abelgas (Miss Sunshine State, 2015-2016), and she just won (USA National Teen 2016- 2017); and Bucified Bert.
BY MARISSA WEAVER (FAMU Senior)
As the summer comes to a close, Albert Owens, aka Bucified Bert is very excited for football season to start in Tampa Bay. Even more so, he was excited about returning to the Johns Hopkins All Chil- dren’s Hospital.
His dream came true in May, when he and his team visited the new Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Pe- tersburg. The visit was in line with his initiative: Bucified & OLE is Alive Mission, (OLE - Operation Legacy Emma Lee), which is in memory of his late mother and started in 2004.
Bucified Bert, who started out as a character that showed his fandom for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is now a move- ment for the next generation. Team Bucified & OLE is Alive includes his niece Tierra Carpenter, Javaris Good- ing Butts, saxophonist and a recipient of the 2011 “Bucified & OLE is Alive” Scholarship, who provided music for the kids. Several queens were in attendance: Keisha Abel- gas, Miss Sunshine State 2015-2016; Simona Rivero, Miss Winter Park; and Michaela Abelgas, the reigning National American Miss 2015-2016.
Also on hand to capture this moment on video was the
Hillsborough Community Col- lege Hawk Television crew. These students were able to make a classroom project out of the event.
Michaela Abelgas, the reigning National American Miss 2015-2016 expressed that “this entire experience was incredibly rewarding, being able to give back to my community, and make pa- tients feel better is an awe- some gift. I can’t imagine what they are going through right now, and not just the children, but the parents as well.”
Roy Adams, the media co- ordinator at All Children’s Hospital, assisted so Buci- fied Bert and his team were able to visit the children and present them with gifts.
“We had a chance to raise millions of dollars over 2 decades, because of the part- nership between WFLA-TV and the All Children’s Hospi- tal, through the annual telethon fundraiser,” said Bu- cified.
Owens expressed how his mother always wanted him to be a positive role model for others which inspired his name of “Bucified” to be- come the acronym, “Be Un- derstanding Citizens, Identify Friendly Individuals Each Day.”
He later went on to add “be- cause a stranger can be dan- ger.” He subscribes to the old cliché, that an ounce of pre- vention, is worth more than a pound of cure.
PAGE 4 FLORIDA SENTINEL-BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2016