All the ingredients for a parade were there: sunny skies, marching bands in formation, politicians waving from convertibles, antique cars and beads. Always beads. ...more

January 22, 2008

He struggled with words like "oppression" and "insufficient" and "promissory." ...more

January 22, 2008

ARCADIA – The Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association announces Pat Williams, senior vice president of the Orlando Magic, author and renowned public speaker as the keynote speaker of the annual membership meeting. The meeting will be held Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008 at the Hardee County Agri-Civic Center in Wauchula beginning at 6 p.m. Williams is known as one of the top motivational speakers in the country, having spoken to many Fortune 500 companies, as well as for the Billy Graham Crusades and many university campuses. He is the author of an array of inspirational books, The Warrior Within, The Magic of Teamwork, and Coaching Your Kids to be Leaders to name a few. Following seven years of Army service, Williams spent seven years with the Philadelphia Phillies organization and three years with the Minnesota Twins prior to moving to the National Basketball Association (NBA). Since 1968, he has been affiliated with teams in Chicago, Atlanta, and Philadelphia, including the 1983 World Champion 76ers. He co-founded the Orlando Magic in 1987, and in 1996 was named as one of the 50 most influential people in NBA history by a national publication. ...more

December 2, 2007

With the addition of 32 new deputies at Friday's graduation ceremony, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has added nearly 150 officers to its ranks this year. ...more

December 1, 2007

I recently served as emcee at a fundraiser for the USF Suncoast Alzheimer's & Gerontology Center. It was a challenging job because the audience was especially chatty. ...more

November 23, 2007

The United States' armed forces often have exemplified inclusion. ...more

November 15, 2007

A crowd gave a hero's welcome to a 20-year-old freed from a 10-year prison sentence imposed on him for having underage sex in a hotel room at a New Year's Eve party. ...more

November 12, 2007

This year area veterans will be able to get answers to some of their questions at the Oldsmar's annual Veterans Day Ceremony. ...more

November 3, 2007

The death of Martin Lee Anderson could have the same galvanizing effect across the country as the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, protesters said Tuesday on the steps of the capital city's federal courthouse. ...more

October 24, 2007

Toni Watts had a revelation as a 16-year-old summer intern. She liked her clerical duties at the Naval Oceanographic Office at NASA's John Stennis Space Center on Mississippi's Gulf Coast. But she set her career goal a bit higher: management. ...more

October 11, 2007