Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 1-12-16 Edition

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Hillsborough County Office And Facility Closings For Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Financial Seminar Will Kick Off 2016 Events Of The Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival
WILLIAM ‘BILL’ TROTMAN ...Chairman, TBBHF Entrepreneurs’ Advisory Committee
... Financial Services Representative/Licensed Banker, TD Bank
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
The Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival along with the Entrepreneur Collabora- tive Center (ECC) will kick- off the 2016 festival season with a workshop entitled, “The Investment Series.” The financial seminar will be held on Thursday, January 14, 2016, from 6 P. M. to 9 P. M. at the ECC, 2101 East Palm Ave., Tampa FL 33605. (Parking is across the street in the Sheriff’s Office park- ing lot).
The guest speakers will include members of The Tampa Black Heritage En- trepreneurial Advisory Com- mittee along with special guests Keyur Patel of Syn- ergistic Funding, who spe- cializes in alternative funding for businesses; and Ken Russell, Registered Representative of Principal Financial Group.
Discussion topics will in- clude: Social Media Invest- ment, Access to Capital Investment and others.
According to William “Bill” Trotman, this is the 8th year that the financial seminar has been held dur- ing the festival. Trotman has a passion for entrepre- neurial success and financial security. He is entrenched because of his parents, Alma Trotman and the late John Trotman, both
KEN RUSSELL ...Special Guest
SEAN JOSEPHS ...Committee member, VP, Blue Lynx Market
SHAUNETTE STOKES ...Committee member
EBONE CRUZ ...Committee member, Marketing Guru
LIONEL SHIPMAN ...Committee mem- ber, Business Con- sultant, Shipman Consulting
LEIGHTON KYLER ...Committee member
KEYUR PATEL ...Special Guest
HENRY HARLAND ...Committee mem- ber, President, SunBiz Showcase Alliance, LLC.
ROLANDA MCDUFFIE ...Committee member, CPA
of whom were businessper- sons. They owned Trotman Trucking and Davison-Trot- man Assisted Living Facility, both in Tampa.
“My parents instilled in me the spirit of entrepre- neurship. During the down- turn of the economy, I saw so many people hurting. At the time I was with Washington Mutual and they asked me if I would hold a seminar. I did it for business owners be- cause I wanted people to save their businesses during this time,” Trotman ex- plained.
Since joining the festival,
he has coordinated the fi- nancial seminar with a group of committee members and a panel of guest speakers. This past year, he hosted 5 sepa- rate financial seminars and expects to do the same for 2016. “During the summer, we expect to get deeper in- volved in the session topics,” Trotman said.
To register for the Thurs- day (1-14) event, go to www.tampablackheritage. org.
For additional informa- tion, contact Bill Trotman (813) 507-1014 or Leighton Kyler (813) 489-3828.
The majority of Hillsbor- ough County offices and facil- ities will be closed on Monday, Jan. 18, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday.
Closed facilities include the administrative offices of County government, all li- braries, recreation centers, Head Start/Early Head Start centers, and senior centers
and nutrition sites.
Collection of garbage, recy-
clables, and yard waste will continue on a normal Monday schedule in the unincorpo- rated Hillsborough County Solid Waste Service Area.
The service area includes Tampa Palms, Hunter’s Green, and New Tampa. All disposal facilities will also be open.
Community Leaders Talk About Mayor’s Efforts To Raise Funds For Riverfront Park
DESMOND KEY Grant Park
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
As Mayor Bob Buck- horn continues to solicit funds for the renovation of the Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park, the cost keeps going up. What was originally an- nounced as a $20 million proj- ect is now projected to cost in excess of $30 million. City Council Chair Frank Red- dick said the longer it takes to raise the funds for the project, the higher the cost will be.
Community leaders were asked what they think about the efforts of the Mayor to raise the funds for the park.
Desmond Key, Grant Park Community Leader: “I’ve been successful in getting things done in Grant Park. But, you have to focus on the economic points of any rede- velopment project and make sure everyone will benefit from it.
“What’s needed is a strate- gic plan for growth. When you look at the economic impact of what the Mayor wants to do with the Riverfront Park, it’s good for the whole city. You have to think of your commu- nity separately from the needs of the city. That park will at-
BETTY BELL Highland Pines
tract a lot of economic interest and add to the tax base. We all love Grant Park and are con- cerned about it’s well being.”
Betty Bell, Highland Pines Community Leader: “I’d like for Mayor Buckhorn to visit us and listen to our needs. We want a senior center a he promised, and we want to be patient.
“It seems the city has dif- ferent priorities and what makes the Mayor look good is what they go for. He wants the Riverfront Park to reflect the redevelopment of downtown and what’s supposed to be happening in West Tampa in the near future.”
“I can’t speak for the West Riverfront Neighborhood As- sociation, but as far as the West Tampa Alliance is con- cerned, we think putting $30 million into redesigning a park is wasteful and a poor use of funds,” said Heem Baisden, President of the West Tampa Alliance.
“Before there is any ap- proval for Mayor Buckhorn to either use the BP dollars or apply for the Amendment 1 funds, we need to know that the people of West Tampa are a bigger priority than the façade change for the park.”
PAGE 10 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2016