MacDill Happenings

Come out the the Bay Palms Golf Complex at MacDill AFB for free golf lessons from PGA tour winner Gary Woodland. He is a up and coming player who won the 2011 Transitions Championship.  The 2012 Transitions Championship will take place at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor from 12 to 18 March. There will be a Military Appreciation special from 15 to 18 March. More details on the special will be coming out soon. But don’t forget about playing on MacDill! On Mondays and Wednesdays after 1pm, you can golf for only $15. For E-1 to E-4, the cost is only $11.25. During October, 3 guests and 1 military member can play for $100 including cart. On Saturdays and Sundays, the special is available after 11am. There is a twilight special after 2:30pm that includes green fees and a cart where E1-E4 pay $11, E5-O3 pay $15, O4 and up pay $16 and guests pay $18 for 18 holes of golf. There is a kids clinic on Saturday mornings from 8:30am to 9:30am that only costs $3. The Pro Shop is having a golf club liquidation sale on all in stock clubs. The Pro Shop is stocked with all the latest clubs, bags, ball, gloves, shoes and clothing. Of course you don’t pay tax so you save even more than you would out in town! There is a golf club liquidation sale going this month on all the in stock clubs, so stop by for the best prices and deals around! The Bay Palms Golf Complex was named ‘Best Golf Program in the Air Force’ for 2002. There are two 18-hole, par 72 courses. The challenging South Course runs along the bay. The North Course offers a prefect opportunity to work on your game. The complex has a lighted practice putting green, a 24-hour-a-day lighted driving range where a bucket of balls is only $1, a practice chipping green and sand trap areas. The clubhouse has an excellent pro shop with a great friendly staff ready to help you. During the month of June, there is a golf club liquidation sale going on all in stock clubs. The snack bar serves a great variety of food and has an especially nice breakfast menu!

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Merry Christmas! One year is almost over and another is about to start. If you have a child in school, then it’s not too early to think about schools options for the next school year! The Hillsborough County Public School District’s Choice Options application period for magnet programs, School Choice, and Career & Technical Education programs for the 2011-2012 school year is open through January 11 for high school and middle school, and through February 29 for elementry school. Under Hillsborough Choice Options, students can apply for a magnet school, a Career & Technical Education program, or another public school with available space within Hillsborough County. Students who wish to remain at their current magnet or choice school, or prefer to attend their attendance area school, do not need to complete an application. Normally, students attend a school based on their home address. However, HCPS has more options available for students who wish to attend other schools. The Magnet School program allows students to attend schools that are in line with their academic interests. The School Choice program allows students to chose up to 3 other schools not in their normal school assignment area but acceptance is dependent on space availability. The Career and Technical program allows students to attend specialized technical schools. Applications can be completed on line by current students. New students who will be in the Hillsborough County Public School system for the first time will need to complete a paper application. Bus transportation is currently provided, but you can expect some long travel time to and from school depending on the school your child will attend.

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If you are thinking of starting your own business during the upcoming year, then you need to have a business plan to map your road to success. The St. Petersburg Business Assistance Center at 440 Second Ave. N St. Pete is offering free help this Wednesday starting at 5:30pm. This 2-part workshop will provide insight and access to business databases available through the City library services, including premium business databases for industry, market and demographic information critical to your business plan. You will then discover the importance of a business plan, including fundamental concepts and the process of writing your business plan. This is a free help presented by SCORE Counselors to America’s Small Business. SCORE is a national non-profit organization comprised of working and retired business executives who donate their time to assisting people in the U.S. in starting up a new business or by providing business counseling for existing businesses. The St. Petersburg Business Assistance Center (BAC) is your one-stop facility for starting or growing your existing small business. It’s wonderful resource that can help assess your goals and plan your future. The BAC provides business counseling, training and access to capital and credit for startups as well as established businesses seeking growth or specialized assistance. The Business Assistance Center (BAC) provides case management and follow-up services for the creation, retention and expansion of small businesses. To register or for further information, call (727) 893-714 or go online.

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The Pinellas Youth Symphony will present a Holiday Chamber Ensemble Concert at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. The performance starts at 7pm on Friday 9 December. This is a great way to hear wonderful holiday music and support local youth music education at a very reasonable price. Admission for adults is $10 and $5 for students. String, Woodwind and Brass Chamber Ensembles will perform in the Murray Studio at Ruth Eckerd Hall. The Pinellas Youth Symphony Chamber Ensembles are composed of advanced level string, brass, woodwind, and percussion students, who enjoy the experience of working together in small groups to learn and perform ensemble music. PYS Chamber Ensembles meet weekly on Sunday afternoons at Ruth Eckerd Hall and rehearse under the direction of the PYS artistic staff. The ensembles perform in a variety of settings throughout the season. From time to time chamber ensembles are invited to perform at community/charity functions and on occasion prior to concerts and programs in local halls. Each season PYS chamber ensembles play in several chamber concerts as part of the “Evening At The Murray” series at Ruth Eckerd Hall. They also perform in an end-of-the-year Finale Chamber Concert. In order to participate in a chamber ensemble, a student must be a member of the PYS, the senior level orchestra. Ensemble rehearsals are scheduled on Sundays to allow students time to practice with their chamber groups prior to participating in the 5pm PYS rehearsals. Placement in a chamber ensemble is determined by audition as well as appropriate instrumentation to warrant forming a group. Ruth Eckerd Hall is a 73,000-square-foot performing arts venue, located in Clearwater, Florida, in the Tampa Bay area and is part of the Richard B. Baumgardner Center for the Performing Arts. Each year, over 350,000 adult and young audience members visit Ruth Eckerd Hall for performances ranging from world renowned classical artists and dance companies to Broadway musicals and pop stars. Through its many arts education programs, the education department of Ruth Eckerd Hall serves over 130,000 students and adults annually.

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On Saturday 22 October, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus will host the 19th Annual St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading. From 10am to 5pm, more than 50 authors including some Pulitzer Prize winners will present and sign their books. Admission is free. This year’s book festival is all about fiction and non-fiction set in the South. Headliners include crime writer Ace Atkins, Pulitzer Prize winner and FSU professor Robert Olen Butler and bestselling novelist Connie May Fowler. USF St. Petersburg is a premier graduate urban institution, recognized for its vibrant community of scholars who engage and improve its community and the world. USF St. Petersburg offers its students a one-of-a-kind university experience. The university is ideally suited to students who seek a small college atmosphere but also desire an extraordinary academic experience. Students wanting a close-knit community that fosters superior learning and personal growth look to USF St. Petersburg. Professors in USF St. Petersburg’s community of scholars conduct wide-ranging, collaborative research to meet society’s needs and engage students in service projects and partnerships to enhance the university and community’s social, economic and intellectual life. Diverse co-curricular activities promote individual development and life-long friendships. Students living on campus can have the best of both worlds– a world-class education and a fulfilling social life. Intramural sports, student organizations, clubs and water activities on the harbor are popular activities. USF St. Petersburg’s beautiful waterfront campus is located just blocks from downtown St. Petersburg featuring parks, shops, restaurants, art galleries, museums and sports venues, including Tropicana Field, home to American League East Division Champions, the Tampa Bay Rays.

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It’s not too early for high school seniors and juniors to start thinking about college! College Night for Hillsborough County Public Schools has been set up from 19-22 Sept at 4 different high schools within the district to try to allow as many people as possible to attend.  The nights and high schools are: 19 Sept-Sickles, 20 Sept-Plant, 21 Sept-Chamberlain and 22 Sept-Brandon.  College Night will have a large number of college admission representatives who can answer questions about their schools, what you need to do to apply and a competitive applicant, provide info on financial aid and other contact information.  College Night will have in state colleges and community colleges and out of state colleges like University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Vassar College attending.  Being able to visit every college that your student is interested in is difficult for most families, but College Night may provide the next best thing to doing an actual campus visit by talking to a representative from that college.  Students can go to their guidance counselors at any high school to get a complete list of college representatives scheduled to attend.  Remember that their are changes here and more to come to Florida Bright Futures scholarship program. Because of the economy, college students and their parents will continue to get less money from the Bright Futures program. Parents make sure that you attend to get your questions answered!

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MacDill AFB is hosting an Education Fair on 15 September from 10am to 2pm. The Fair is free and open to everyone with access to MacDill AFB. The location will the Bayshore Club on Bayshore Dr. Presented by the MacDill AFB Base Education and Training Office, the Fair will have more than 50 colleges and universities attending. Learn about the GI Bill and make sure you bring your children who are interested on attending college. Tampa Bay is home to a respected medical school, top-ranked law school, private national liberal arts college and several graduate schools. Within minutes of MacDill AFB right near downtime Tampa is the University of Tampa. UT is a small private school with about 5600 students. There is an Evening College that allows students to work during the day and attend class in the evening. The University of South Florida is a large public school with about 45000 students in several campuses throughout the Tampa Bay area. The largest USF campus in the northern part of Tampa and about a 40 minute drive from MacDill AFB. The Stetson University College of Law has about 1000 students, full-time and part-time, working on their law degrees. Located in Gulfport, Stetson is nationally recognized for its excellence. There are 16 other colleges and universities in the Tampa Bay area: Argosy University/Tampa, Eckerd College, Florida College, Florida Metropolitan University, Hillsborough Community College, TT Technical Institutes, Keller Graduate School of Management, National-Louis University, Nova Southeastern University, Saint Leo University, Southwest Florida College, The Art Institute of Tampa, The International Academy of Design and Technology, Troy University, University of Phoenix and Webster University. There is a wide variety of educational opportunities that can meet almost everyone’s needs.

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Come out to downtown Tampa to the Glazer’s Children Museum to get ready and excited for school! Today starting at 9am and ending at 4pm, the Museum will host a Back to School Fair. Get tips on health, wellness and safety while enjoying live entertainment, games, arts and crafts, face painting, balloon artists, informative speakers, karaoke and workshops. The first 150 kids get a free back to school goodie bag filled with school supplies. Admission to the fair and to the museum is $5. Located in downtown Tampa at Curtis Hixon Park along the Hillsborough River, the museum will be a highlight of Tampa. The museum is geared for kids up to 10 years old where they will have the opportunity learn about the world around them including Tampa Bay. Everything is hands-on learning! There are more than 170 interactive exhibits from a crane to a cruise ship to a mini-theater to a giant telephone in 12 themed areas. Normal admission for children is $9.50, adults $15, and military/seniors $12.50 The museum is open 7 days a week on Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm, Saturdays 10am to 6pm and Sundays 1pm to 6pm. Make a trip to the museum and take advantage of all the opportunities downtown Tampa has to offer. Curtis Hixom park is one of nicest parks in Tampa with a fenced animal park along the water. With an interactive playground, wide open flat grass play area, a view of the University of Tampa, and cooling water fountains, the is a great place play or to relax on during a Tampa evening. Food is available at nearby restaurants including Five Guys Hamburger across the street from the Park and a new nearby Mexican restaurant Urban Cantina located at the corner of Madison and South Tampa. Parking is available at the Curtis Hixon parking garage or at nearby public parking lots. If you’re lucky, you can get a parking spot in front of Five Guys Hamburgers right across the street from the Park at the corner of Ashley and Polk.

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School starts the 23rd of August for Hillsborough County Public Schools! It is already around the corner, especially if you need to arrange for immunizations, back to school physicals or sports physicals. If you new to the area or just getting ready to enrolled your child in Kindergarten, then the best source of information is the Hillsborough County Public School (HCPS) website. Hillsborough County Public Schools is the 8th largest district in the nation and very military family friendly. One thing you will need if you are new to the area, is a copy of your student’s transcripts from their last school. Another possible time consuming requirement will be immunizations and back to school physicals. If your child is entering a Florida school, then they will need a back to school physical. You will also need a copy of your child’s shot record.  Your neighbor school should have the day listed in a sign in front of the school when you can start registering up your child for school. If there is not, then the school office will be open and you can stop in and ask. Parents and students always want to have all their school supplies before the first day of school. School supplies vary from teacher to teacher. Some local stores have lists located at their stores or parents may need to contact the individual schools. Some schools may list a supply list on their websites also.

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The University of South Florida Botanical Gardens continues their Tropical Plant Fair today. Find some inexpensive options for your gardens and get some free expert advice!  Hours today are 10 am to 3 pm. Admission is $5 for adults and free for children under 12 years old.   There will be a pepper beauty contest. If you bring a decorated pepper, you get in for free!   There will be experts on hand to answer questions and lectures on growing tropical plants in your backyard.  There will be vendors selling tropical and exotic plants and plant-related items. Vendors at this event include local plant clubs and societies, as well as, commercial growers from throughout the state.  Vistors will be able to see Gardens’ natural areas and explore collections and displays that include: orchids, begonias, mallows, bromeliads, gingers, ferns, aroids, fruit trees, palms, cycads, carnivorous plants, butterfly garden, herb and scent gardens, and much more. The Gardens maintain a living collection of over 3,000 taxa of plants and natural habitats that emphasize the rich botanical diversity of our area. The University of South Florida is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. USF was awarded more than $360 million in research contracts and grants in fiscal year 2007/2008. The university offers 219 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral levels, including the doctor of medicine. The university has a $1.8 billion annual budget, an annual economic impact of $3.2 billion, and serves more than 46,000 students on campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland.

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