Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 12-11-15 Edition

Local
11th Annual Cotillion Debutante Ball Planned
Council Chair Makes Sure There’s Inclusion In Stadium Makeover Project
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Sunday, December 13th, members of the community will assemble at the Hampton Inn & Suites for the 11th Annual Cotillion Debutante Ball.
The theme for the event this year is “Debutantes & Poinsettas.” The event will begin at 3 p.m. Ms. Mattilon DuBose Rock, retired educa- tor, will serve as the Mistress of Ceremonies.
This year, Mrs. Helen Neal Ali will serve as th4e guest speaker. Her topic is the “Importance of a Positive Family Unit and Ways To Achieve Such.”
Others slated to appear on program are Ms. Kela Mc- Caskill, Realtor and Entre- preneur, Ms. Voncile Dry, Mrs. Maureen Anderson, and Ms. Shenell Cooper.
Roland “DJ Rolo” Williams, will provide enter- tainment. Student participants will demonstrate their special talents in the delivery of mono- logues, through song, liturgical dance, and the reciting of poems.
Family members, friends, students, parents, and mem-
MATTILON DeBOSE ROCK
HELEN NEAL ALI
bers of the community will gather to encourage the hon- orees during the program. The honorees will be recognized for their contributions and achievements throughout the year.
The Tampa Cotillion- Debutante is a community-
SHENELL COOPER
KELA McCASKILL
MAUREEN ANDERSON
based organization designed to foster the educational and character-based needs of stu- dents of all backgrounds.
Contact Ms. Sherrie Collins at (386) 290-6836, or by email at sherrie_collins@yahoo.com for additional information.
In this rendering, the white area indicates the size of the existing scoreboard, and the black area represents the size of the new score- board.
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
With so much news being reported about Raymond James Stadium getting a $100 million makeover, it didn’t take long for some African Ameri- can businessmen to realize that there was no minority partici- pation included in the project.
City Council Chair Frank Reddick, who also sits on the Tampa Sports Authority (TSA) Board said, he’s made sure there will be minority partici- pation on this project.
“I asked that the policy of minority participation ob- served on other projects, be done so on this one. They (the Buccaneers) agreed to abide by the county’s MBE policy.
“Of the $100 million appro- priated for the makeover, the majority of it will be coming from the Tampa Bay Bucca- neers. The rest will come from the Hillsborough County Tourist Development Fund.”
Council Chair Reddick
said the project has to be rati-
fied by the Council and TSA. “The Council will vote on December 17th, and TSA will
vote on the 15th.
“There are two phases to
the project. The first phase n 2016 will consist of a new scoreboard and better club seats.”
The deal would require Hillsborough County to con- tribute $29 million, including $3 million for jumbo video boards that would be the third largest in the NFL.
In the new agreement, tax- payers stand to keep margin- ally more revenue from other events at Raymond James Sta- dium, such as concerts and expos. Currently, the Bucs keep the first $2 million in profits, and the rest is split evenly with the Sports Authority. Under the new terms, the team still would reap the first $2 million, but the Authority would get 67 percent of the next $1.5 mil- lion. That equates to about $250,000 more going to public coffers than under the old agreement.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015