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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 28, 2007

One of the best days in the office of The Tampa Tribune's Editorial Board is the day we call people who've applied to be community columnists and tell them they've been selected.

After getting the news last year, Fernando Figueroa of Riverview started dancing in the middle of his kitchen. Next thing he knew, his wife was dancing, too. When he looked around, there was his one-year-old, dancing along with them.

We hope more people danced this week after learning they were chosen to be a member of the 2007-08 Tribune Board of Community Columnists.

The columnist program, in its third year, taps interesting local people to write a monthly column for the Trib's op-ed page, right next to the likes of George Will and Tom Friedman. Some faithful readers tell us they'd rather read only national columns, but a surprising number tell us they find the community columnists fresh and interesting. We ask that they focus on local matters, commentary you won't find anywhere else.

The competition seemed tougher this year. We received more than 200 applications, including a good number from counties across the region. Members of last year's board read all the submissions and threatened to reject them all so that we'd have to extend their year. After a year of getting edited, they're still willing to work for nothing more than the dinners we serve at our regular gatherings.

Eventually, they narrowed the field to 51 finalists. I made the final calls, looking not just for people with talent and depth, but for people who would offer a range of interesting perspectives.

By far and away, this year's biggest category of applicants was middle-aged white women. This is somewhat surprising, given the paucity of female opinion writers in the nation's newspapers. Media experts say women shy away from putting their opinions out there. But you should be pleased to know that there are dozens of women in Tampa Bay who have something to say and can say it well.

Still, we had to draw the line somewhere. So if you applied and don't see your face here today, please know that the choices were extremely difficult. And consider trying again next year.

Meet the 22 Community Columnists you'll see appearing on our pages over the next year or so. Each clip contains their name, age, city of residence and a brief biography taken from their own applications.

Emily Matras

17, Tampa

A Tampa native and a senior at Hillsborough High School, Emily is editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, The Red & Black. She made news last year when a story she wrote was cut from an already-printed paper.

Chionoyerem Onwunli

25, Tampa

Born in America to Nigerian immigrants, Chinonye left Tulane University after Hurricane Katrina to finish a master's degree in public health at the University of South Florida. She has a one-year-old Boston terrier named Bradley, named for the late newsman Ed Bradley.

Frank Morsani

76, Tampa

A cattle rancher and owner of two auto dealerships, Frank is probably best known for his generous philanthropic spirit. He worked his way up from humble beginnings, having grown up in a house without electricity or indoor plumbing. His wife Carol worked, too. 'That's the kind of dues you have to pay for whatever success you have in life.'

Camille Beredjick

16, Tampa

A junior at Chamberlain High school, Camille describes herself as a writer, a singer, a photographer, an actress, a journalist, a tutor, a pianist and a world traveler. 'I have something to say about where our world is going, how I intend to start looking for colleges, what happened to good music, why 75 percent of my school's junior class didn't pass the FCAT and all the other things that Trib readers and I care about.'

Alice Delgardo

56, Holiday

A mother of three children and four grandchildren, she's a volunteer with the Girl Scouts of Suncoast Council Inc. and the community advisory board for the New Port Richey Public Library. She and her retired husband moved to Pasco County from Boston five years ago.

Art McNeil

Age unavailable, Tampa

Chairman of TEC, an executive group that coaches CEOs, Art has written four books on leadership. A former vice president of marketing for The Times Mirror Corp., he has also been a consultant to major corporations reinventing themselves.

Sandra Webber

43, Clearwater

Sandra has taught pre-school, catered, tended bar, worked in a shrink's office, recruited doctors, spied on folks as a private investigator, sold shoes, been paid to be a test subject at a polygraph school and most recently, directed the activities of an assisted-living community. 'I failed to read the part of my job description that said, 'We do not want your opinion on how to run things.' '

Hernando Caicedo

21, Riverview

A student at the University of South Florida, Hernando is studying finance and mass communications. He lives at home with a father who was disabled in an accident. Originally from Colombia, his hobbies are poetry, short fiction and art and film festivals.

Christine Kegel

16, Tampa

A junior in King High's international baccalaureate program, Christine is the business manager for the school yearbook. She took took her first journalism class last fall and fell in love with it.

Melissa Marie Martin

27, Gibsonton

A former soldier who met her husband during basic training, Melissa is now a stay-at-home mother of two with another baby due in November. She plans to pursue a master's degree in English and hopes to teach at a community college.

Eric Hill

48, Tampa

A resident of Tampa since 1991, Eric's vocation is transportation planning. He works mostly in the Orlando area and hopes his column will help him connect better with people here. When he was growing up, his father was a mentor to many boys in the neighborhood, a memory he holds proud.

Christie Gold

41, Wesley Chapel

An English and journalism teacher at Freedom High School, Chrstie is an accomplished educator who believes turnabout is fair play. 'I can only imagine how my students will react when I'm stressed over impending deadlines or editors who dare cut a word of my sacred copy.'

Louis Artalona

65, Plant City

A retired electronic technician, writing has become his second career. His first novel, 'Comeuppance,' was favorably reviewed in the Tribune.

Kris DiGiovanni

59, Tampa

After successfully raising three children to self-sustaining adulthood, Kris is pursuing her passion to teach. 'I've been a Girl Scout troop leader, hospice worker, 501c3 board member, PTA officer, Guardian ad Litem and a volunteer for many different causes.' Her oldest daughter has MS.

Buzz Kelly

63, Tampa

Buzz is a former ad executive and freelance writer who paid his way through college as a drummer in bands. Since retiring, he has done some freelance work as a speechwriter. 'It's fun putting your words into someone else's mouth.'

Rod Reder

51, Lutz

Rod's family moved to Tampa in 1963 because his father was transferred to MacDill AFB. Rod retired last year after 29 years with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. He co-owns a training company that specializes in domestic and sexual crime prevention.

William Scruggs

53, Tampa

After living and working in Tampa for more than 20 years, William believes 'I have now lived long enough to believe I have something to say. ... I might add, I often like what I say.'

John Silvera,

18, Tampa

A recent high school graduate, John aspires to be a general contractor and run his own firm. 'There is a difference between being rich but poor, and being wealthy but broke,' he says.

James Dyal

49, Tampa

James is a vice president for American Realty Development, based in Lake Mary, which develops affordable housing. He also serves on the board of the Florida Housing Coalition.

Jackie Papandrew

43, Largo

The mother of teenagers, Jackie also is an award-winning writer who pens a weekly humor column called Airing My Dirty Laundry, which appears in several newspapers and on a variety of Web sites.

Divya Kumar

15, Tampa

Born in Indiana, her family moved to Tampa a year and a half ago. A sophomore at King High School, she hopes someday to make a difference in the world.

Sandy Lankford

54, Sebring

A former music teacher, she had a stroke in the classroom at age 41. Today she is disabled because of lupus. Sadly, her husband has become disabled, too. They have three children and three grandchildren.

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