Page 12 - Florida Sentinel 3-18-16 Edition

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT
RACHEL
Great weather, great times, and this week’s Spotlight feature, Rachel, just makes it all complete. As her shirts says, Rachel is built tough, and that means she ready for the rigors and sleepless nights that come with the journey to success. Just keep reading and checking the internet. You’ll see Rachel has finally arrived, and we will congratulate her on being this week’s Spotlight fea- ture.
New Coconut Water Beverage Offers Healthy Alternative
Middleton Class Of 1960
The Middleton High School Class of 1960 will have class meeting on Saturday, March 19, 2016, at 5 p. m. The meeting will be held at Betty’s Place, 2609 Chipco Street, Tampa, 33605. The purpose of the meeting is to plan for 2017 Class Reunion ac- tivities. Fish fry following the meeting. Please try to bring a classmate.
For more information, please contact the correspon- ding secretary at (813) 741-9294.
Howard W. Blake Class Of 1968
Members of the Howard W. Blake Class of 1968 will meet on Saturday, March 19, 2016, 12:30-3:30 p. m., at the West Tampa Branch Library, 2312 W. Union St.
The purpose of the meeting is to plan the 48th Class Reunion.
Great Egg Race
Spring is here and the 6th Annual “The Great Egg Race” is back again. On Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 12 p. m. on East Kay Street in Downtown Tampa/Ybor, this Free Easter Children’s Celebration begins.
This year there will be over 1500 Easter baskets for the chil- dren of the community and an afternoon of festivities – free food, games, drinks, entertain- ment, music, animals, candy, crafts, bouncy houses, slides, special community guests, and DJ Bash.
This celebration is provided by Christian Family Church and the Nick Capitano Boys and Girls Club, who partner to- gether with Everest University, twice annually for the community fest.
Last year, 2,000 participated in The Great Egg Race. This year they are prepared for even more as children of Tampa race to grab 30,000 eggs, prize eggs and goodie baskets and giveaways.
To register go to: www.tger2016.eventbrite.com.
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
In the search for healthy drinks, people are sometimes turned away because of the taste. The same is true of co- conut water.
Donn Monroe, who en- joys drinking coconut water, said he can see why some peo- ple wouldn’t appreciate the taste. Instead of just accepting that as a simple choice, Mon- roe thought about creating a job opportunity.
“Three years ago I came up with the idea of carbonating coconut water, and offering it in different flavors. I have a friend who helped finance my idea, and in January 2016, we launched Cocomazing.
“I just wanted to find some- thing fun to do with the prod- uct, and judging from our early numbers, the public is begin- ning to catch on.”
Monroe said landing a distribution deal with Amazon was great, and they just com- pleted a trade show in Califor- nia that helped them pick up 400 Albertson stores in the northwest to sell their product. They are currently in negotia- tions with Costco.
“I created cherry pome- granate, limon and blood or- ange flavors for the coconut water, and with the carbona- tion, it’s an entirely new taste.
“We are all stunned that it
DONN MONROE
took off so quickly, and I’m for- tunate to have a friend who had the capital and the con- tacts to make it happen.”
Monroe said they asked what people look for when they want a refreshing beverage, and among the responses was a remarkable taste, reliable nu- tritional benefits, and it must be enjoyable to drink.
“We decided to combine all three into one and create a one-stop-shop for consump- tion pleasure,” said Monroe.
Monroe said their pro- jected sales could reach be- tween $5 million and $10 million by the end of the year.
“Having the retailers on board is a big plus for us. We manufacture our product in Portland, Oregon and we ware- house in San Diego.
“What a lot of people don’t know is coconut water tastes different, depending on where the coconut came from. We get ours from Asia, although the West Indies and the Pacific west area has a big market.”
Monroe said carbonating and adding the flavor made Cocomazing more marketable to the masses.
Donn Monroe is the son of bay area residents and for- mer Seagram’s executive, Robert and Vicky Monroe.
PAGE 12-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016