Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 10-29-21

Features
St. Peter Claver School ‘Tastes Of Tampa’ Fundraiser Is Friday
The gala will honor St. Peter Claver alum- nus, Dr. Paul Sheehy, and the late James Ur- banski.
St. Peter Claver Catholic School's Annual Fall Gala fea- turing “Tastes of Tampa” will be held on Friday, October 29th at Christ the King Catholic Church, Tampa.
Cocktails start at 6 p. m., with dinner following at 7 p. m. Attendees will enjoy “Tastes of Tampa” from local restaurateurs and live music.
The event will honor alumnus Dr. Paul Sheehy, who will receive the “Out- standing Alumni Award,” and outstanding community leader, the late James Ur- banski, who will be recog- nized with the “Community Impact Award” during the evening.
All proceeds will directly support financial aid scholar- ships for students. The goal is to raise $30,000 so that St. Peter Claver students will have the opportunity to have an academically rigorous ed-
DR. PAUL L. SHEEHY ...Outstanding Alumni Award
ucation, regardless of their fi- nancial status.
The gala will be held at Christ The King Catholic Church, 821 S. Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa, 33609 in the Outdoor Pavilion.
Committee members say tickets are still available. Sponsorships are available, too. If you’re unable to at- tend, donations are always welcome.
For additional informa- tion, please visit stpeter- clavercatholicschool.org, or call (813) 224-0865, X202.
CRA Manager Picked Up Where He Left Off – Working
With The Community
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
The City of Tampa has a new East Tampa CRA Man- ager. Although new to the po- sition, he is not new to the community, including youth and adults.
Cedric McCray has been serving in that capacity since June 2021, following the retirement December 2020, of longtime manager, Ed Johnson, who served East Tampa for 17 years.
As the Administrative Aide to City Councilman Frank Reddick (District 5), McCray is quite familiar with East Tampa. He served in that position for more than 8 years. Before that he also served youth with the Hills- borough County School Dis- trict.
Before taking on the East Tampa CRA Manager posi- tion, McCray spent the past 2+ years working for the Of- fice of Equity & Civil Rights for the City of Baltimore (Maryland), where he sup- ported and promoted the rights of at-risk communities and cities.
In announcing the new East Tampa CRA Manager, Michelle Van Loan, CRA Director, said the position needed someone who could
CEDRIC MCCRAY ...East Tampa CRA Manager
“walk into the position and hit the ground running with limited learning curve as the demands of this position re- quire the Manager to be able to engage in our activities from the first week, and take the helm in facilitating the implementation and vision of the CRA Board and East Tampa community.”
With his knowledge of East Tampa and its citizens, McCray did hit the ground being active. His first interac- tion was meeting the mem- ber of the CAC during a meet and greet at Ragan Park.
To share what the ETCRP is doing, McCray stated, “The East Tampa Commu- nity Revitalization Partner- ship (ETCRP) is currently finalizing its Strategic Action Plan for the East Tampa Community Redevelopment
Agency (CRA). The East Tampa CRA Action Plan is being created to identify the needs of both residents and businesses in East Tampa in order to create a strategy of action and investment that enhances quality of life and builds community in East Tampa.”
He added that, “On Sep- tember 14th, the East Tampa Community Revitalization Partnership (ETCRP) held its annual elections. There were 28 candidates for 7 open seats on the Community Ad- visory Committee. With so many candidates we part- nered with the Supervisor of Elections Office to assist using their Double-Click for Democracy software, laptops and voting booths. There was a record turnout of residents and business owners that cast ballots.”
And finally he said, “Cur- rently, the Community Revi- talization Partnership (ETCRP) is focusing on de- veloping grants programs de- signed to assist East Tampa residents with exterior home improvements and neighbor- hood aesthetics and beautifi- cation plans.”
Councilman Joseph Citro is CRA Chair; Or- lando Gudes, Chair, Tampa City Council.
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2021