Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 9-10-21

Feature
Young Black Man Opens First Shop Offering Zero Gravity Massage Chair
MICHAEL KERR ... Owner of 3 businesses
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Staff Writer
Market Place North is a bustling plaza in the heart of Lakeland. One young man, Michael Kerr, has opened 3 separate businesses in the plaza in the last 3 years.
Kerr owns Island Style Barbershop, Smack City Smoke Shop, and the newest shop, the Relax Room, just opened on Au- gust 30, 2021.
While the barber shop
and the smoke shop are known entities, the Relax Room is different than most other businesses.
The Relax Room is the first of its kind in the nation, a zero-gravity massage chair lounge.
The chairs give clients a full body massage without having to remove your clothing. The clients’ knees are placed above their hearts, so it feels like they are floating. It increases blood flow and leaves people recharged.
A product of the Lake- land school system, Kerr has always wanted to be an entrepreneur. He had a pre-
vious business venture that didn’t work out, but he was determined to keep trying. At age 29, his entrepreneur- ial dreams have come true.
Although COVID and opening businesses during COVID has been difficult, he says that it taught him a lot about business. “It wasn’t easy, but we gained so much knowledge.”
As the shops became available, Kerr knew that the opportunity to own three business adjacent to one another was rare and he leaped at the chance. For the latest store, he wasn’t sure what type of business this latest venture would be. He just knew that he had to take advantage of the chance to expand his busi- ness portfolio.
Kerr says that “staying hungry, commitment, and patience all play a part in a successful business. I would tell young people starting out that absolutely commit- ting to a project or idea is the key. For better or worse, committing to a project is essential.”
Kerr also encourages people to update your goals as the world changes. He also advocates keeping your crew close. All three of his businesses were built from the ground up by him, his wife, and his crew.
Kerr is married to Juli- mar Rivera Perez, and they have one child.
Religious Leaders To Host Forum On One- Year Anniversary Of Resolution Declaring Racism A Public Health Crisis
REV. ANTHONY C. WHITE ...Senior Pastor, Bible-Based Fellowship Church
Bible-Based Fellowship Church will host a public forum on the one-year an- niversary of the passage of a Hillsborough County resolu- tion that recognized racism as a public health crisis. The forum, Envision Resolution: Moving from Intent to Im- pact, will take place virtually on Thursday, September 16, 2021 from 6:30 to 8:30 p. m.
Registration for the event, which will take place on Zoom, is open now. To sign up, visit: www.bible- based.org/envision-resolu- tion/.
Last year, Hillsborough County Commissioners passed Resolution R20-085, which makes a direct connec- tion between racism and citi-
zens’ quality of life and health.
The resolution drew at- tention to several disparities in quality-of-life indicators between Hillsborough County’s minority and major- ity populations. Of note, the unemployment rate for the county’s Black residents is more than double that of its White residents. The poverty rate among Hispanics is two times higher than Whites. Similar outcomes were found for annual median incomes.
“The Commission’s reso- lution was an important recognition of the disparities that exist in our community,” said the Rev. Anthony C. White, senior pastor of Bible-Based Fellowship Church, a member of the re- ligious collective that advo- cated for the resolution. “Now, we must move from recognition to action. That starts with ensuring our com- munities have a voice in cul- tivating solutions to close the gaps.”
The September 16th forum is the first of a three- part series, Our Community Our Voice, intended to foster a community conversation on improving health and qual- ity-of-life issues for marginal- ized populations.
FYI
Hillsborough County Legislative Delegation To Meet
On Friday, Sept. 10, 2021 at 9:30 a. m., the Hillsborough County Legislative Delegation will meet to discuss legislative pri- orities for the upcoming session, as well as hear from the public about what they would like to see the legislature act on this year.
Those who wish to speak, attend, or simply have questions can find all necessary information at https://www.hillsborough- county.org.
Representative Hart (District 61) said of the meeting, “This is our final meeting before the start of the Legislative Session and it is important that citizens make it a point to attend. We want to hear from you as to what you feel is important as we get ready to go to Tallahassee to represent your interests.”
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