Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 1-15-16 Edition

Features
Deadline Set For Teen Business Competition
Larmon’s Furniture Store Merging With Happy Home
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Friday, February 19th, through Sunday, February 21st, Computer Mentors, Inc., will host the Third Annual Teen Business Competition. The event, which is spon- sored by Connectwise, will be held at the Ybor City Campus of Hillsborough Community College.
Ms. Ebone Cruz, local radio personality, will serve as the Mistress of Ceremony for the final competition match on Sunday.
Ralph Smith, founder and CEO of Computer Men- tors said, “We are still signing up teenagers to participate in the competition. This year, will give away $8,000 in cash and prizes. Each teenager chosen to participate in the competition will receive a iPad mini. There will also be cash awards for the winners and other prizes as well.
“However, we are quickly approaching our deadline for the teenagers to register. All youth are encouraged to sign up no later than February, 7th,” Smith said.
Smith further said, “The Teen Competition offers
RALPH SMITH Founder, CEO of Computer Mentors, Inc.
teenagers an opportunity to explore entrepreneurship in an atmosphere filled with learning, exploring, excite- ment, fun, and yes, hard work.
“We will select 20 teenagers who will be placed into four teams of five for the competition. The challenges will begin on Friday and con- clude on Sunday afternoon.”
The competition allows high school youngsters be- tween the ages of 14 and 18 a chance to create businesses, and acquire the skills needed to be successful. The compe- tition focuses on three areas of core competencies: collab- oration, creative thinking, and communication.
The competition is broken down in five stages: (1) The Big Idea, creative problem- solving; (2) Treasure Map,
Concept Modeling; (3) Show Me The Money, Marketing and Creating Value; (4) MVP, Getting Feedback and learning from mistakes; and (5) The Pitch, organizing ideas and communicating clearly.
To participate in the com- petition, the teens must live in Hillsborough County, meet the age requirement; and be enrolled in high school.
“The competition also plants the seed in their minds that they can be successful, whether they choose tradi- tional employment or entre- preneurship. We encourage all of the teens interested to participate,” Smith said.
In addition to the contest- ants, the competition is also in need of volunteers to assist with the program.
These experts will kick off each challenge motivating the competitors. The challenge also needs coaches. Each coach will be assigned to a team for one of the five chal- lenges.
Anyone interested in vol- unteering can contact Com- puter Mentors at (813) 236-1191; or register on the website at www.computer- mentors.org.
LARMON’S FURNITURE STORE
Since 1931, Larmon’s Furniture Store has been serving the citizens of Tampa, mostly from their store on 7th Avenue in Ybor City.
With all the new redevelopment projects going on in Ybor City, one of them a five-star hotel, Larmon’s will be leaving their 7th Avenue Store and merging with Happy Home Care on Columbus Drive and 50th Street. The store on 7th Avenue will be converted to an office building.
Also joining Happy Home Care will be Larmon co-owner, Jimmy Kalamaras, who has been with the company for more than 30 years.
City of Tampa Solid Waste Department Collection For
The King Holiday
City of Tampa offices will be closed on January 18, 2016 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. As a result, customers scheduled for collection service or, needing access to the McKay Bay Transfer Station on Monday, January 18, 2016 will be affected. The revised holiday collection schedule is as follows:
Residential Accounts
There will be no collection on Monday, January 18, 2016. Normal garbage service will resume on the next scheduled service day, which is Thursday, Janu- ary 21, 2016, and recycling and yard waste collection will re- sume on Monday, January 25, 2016.
Commercial Accounts
There will be no collection on Monday, January 18, 2016. A make-up collection for roll-off, compactor and dumpster customers with service normally scheduled for Monday will occur one day later on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 and run through Saturday, January 23, 2016. Normal service schedules will resume on Monday, January 25, 2016.
McKay Bay Transfer Station And Scale House
McKay Bay Transfer Station and Scale House will resume service on Tuesday, January 19, 2016.
For additional questions or concerns, please call the City of Tampa Utilities Consolidated Call Center at (813) 274- 8811, or visit our website at www.tampagov.net/solidwaste.
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