Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 5-27-16 Online Edition

Features
Saunders Library Foundation
Downtown Fitness Center Comes With Plenty Of Amenities
To Honor Clarence Fort
The Robert W. Saunders Library Foundation, Inc. will present its Lamp Of Knowl- edge Award to retired Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Clarence Fort on Monday, June 6, 2016. The program, a part of the foundation’s “Black His- tory Experience” series, will be held 5:30-7:30 p. m. at the library, 1505 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa.
Fort, a native of Hawthorne, Florida, was the courageous youth leader of the sit-ins in downtown Tampa in February 1960. He led students from Blake and Middleton High Schools and from Booker T. Washington Junior High School as they sat-in at the lunch counter at F. W. Woolworth Depart- ment Store and at other busi- nesses along Franklin St. This was in the middle of Tampa’s shopping district.
Working with Mayor Ju- lian Lane, Rev. A. Leon Lowry, Bob Saunders, students Arthenia Joyner, Shafter Scott, Terecia Vann and others, Fort
CLARENCE FORT
helped desegregate Tampa’s downtown businesses with little physical violence.
Fort went on to open doors as a bus driver for Trailways Bus Company and with the Sheriff’s Office.
He and his wife, Yvonne, are members of New Mt. Zion Baptist Church.
The June 6th program is free and open to the public. The program is co-sponsored by the R. W. Saunders Public Library. Fred Hearns is president of the RWS Library Foundation, Inc., and Car- rie Hurst is Principal Li- brarian at RWS.
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
After graduating from the University of Florida, Trina Glenn (also known as Kay) pursued a career with corpo- rate America and also as a real estate agent.
When the real estate mar- ket crashed, Glenn devel- oped other interests, and since she’s always had a pas- sion for fitness and beauty, she said she wanted to pro- vide that for women of color.
In 2008, Studio K opened as a mostly nail and waxing salon on Channel- side. However, after putting in countless hours of re- search, in 2013, Glenn opened Studio Kay in the heart of downtown Tampa, and it was an instant success.
Glenn said although they are a predominately female driven spa and fitness center, they do cater some services to men.
“My aunt opened one of the first beauty schools in Philadelphia, and that got my attention. That’s when I decided to operate a business that not only provided a great atmosphere for women to relax and train, but was also conveniently located.
“The majority of my
Behind this door is Studio K.
clients work or live in the downtown area, and there’s always room for growth. I do plan to open more facilities, and give more people in the community an opportunity for employment.”
Studio Kay has two sides, one of them is a full nail salon, and the other side is a spa. There are no hair styling services available.
“We have a regimented training program for those who need that, and we also have a regular training pro- gram that includes Yoga.
“It’s my belief that people
can take 30 minutes a day to work out.”
Glenn said the fitness part of her business evolved from family members who could benefit from a training and fitness program.
“I wanted to deal with obe- sity, because I had family members struggling with that problem.
“Although, anyone 18 or older can come and be a part of Studio Kay, my actual age demographic is 27-to-40. We’re in the process now of trying to develop a program for seniors. You can also have your own private class.”
Glenn said they have an orientation program every- one goes through before they start with anything.
“We can create alternative workouts for people with medical issues as well as po- diatrists. We do so much here, it’s hard to list it all.
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016