Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Take a look back at this inspirational story of a local woman faced an "insurmountable task" and triumphed, garnering national attention for her efforts.
Editor's note: This story originally ran in 2012. We're putting the spotlight on it again to illustrate the accomplishments one person can make. It was early 2008 when Jenny Hodges of Land O’ Lakes decided she wanted to live. But to do that, she had a lot to lose. The weight hadn’t come on suddenly, Hodges said. When she graduated from high school, she was about 170 pounds. By the time she was 20— 250 pounds. A crash diet before her sister’s wedding got her back down to 200 pounds, a weight she maintained until she met her husband in 1999. When they married in 2000, she was back up to 250. By 2008, at age 37, she had reached 369 pounds. A stay-at-home mom of three young children and a full-time graduate student at the University of South …
Saturday, July 28, 2012
The 17-year-old is looking for businesses in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas to serve as donation collection sites.
Friday, July 20, 2012
The 17-year-old is looking for businesses in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas to serve as donation collection sites.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
The 17-year-old is looking for businesses in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas to serve as donation collection sites.
She’s 17 and on a mission. And she needs the help of individuals and businesses to get it done. Ellen Kromer, a Westchase resident who attends Steinbrenner High in Lutz, wants to reach out to people across the Bay area to help her collect items such as gently used clothing and basic toiletries for Jesus for Juveniles. The nonprofit organization supports incarcerated and newly released juvenile offenders to help them start over, she said. Her mom, Janet Kromer, began volunteering for JFJ as a mentor at the Pasco Girls Academy in January. The organization also supports the Hillsborough Girls Academy and the Riverside Academy for boys, as well as the Gulf and Lake Academy in Pinellas, which serves disabled youth. It’s a challenge, because the…
Ellen Kromer, 17, is collecting items to help youth released from incarceration get back on their feet and start over.
Ellen Kromer, 17, is collecting items to donate to Jesus for Juveniles as a senior project, and she needs your help. The donations will be used help incarcerated youth throughout the Bay area begin a new life once they are released, Kromer said. Read why she chose this project, and what she hopes will become of it. Want to support her efforts? Items can be dropped off at Walton's Ice Cream and Coffee in Land O' Lakes, as well as Century 21 BayWest, 11041 Countryway Blvd. in Westchase, and Spa Euphoria, located right next door. She also is looking for more businesses throughout the Bay area to serve as collection points. Items Needed: "Any of these items would mean so much and could help these youth as they begin their journey into a …
Monday, March 12, 2012
Once a homeless teen herself, Stephanie Roshell and her husband, Herbert, work with displaced Bay area youth, providing support, hope and gifts wrapped "with love."
At 16, she went to church a lot. But to her father’s way of thinking, that meant she must have been doing something wrong. He came home after a night of drinking and kicked her out. Her mother, fearful, did not intervene. Stephanie Roshell, now 46, was on her own from that point on, she said. “I slept in my car, under the school lights,” she said. And she promised herself something: “I vowed that if I ever got back up on my feet, I would give back.” In early 2005, she met the man who would become her partner in that promise: Herbert Roshell, a pastor and longtime Pasco County Schools employee. Their courtship revolved around planning their outreach. “We were called to work with broken people, especially youth,” Stephanie Roshell said. “It…
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Jenny Hodges of Land O' Lakes lost 212 pounds. This is part two of her story.
Reaching your goal weight after losing 212 pounds might seem like the perfect end to a hard-fought battle. But for Jenny Hodges of Land O’ Lakes, it was the start of a new adventure. Soon after she achieved lifetime status on Weight Watchers, the company put out a casting call on Facebook, Hodges said. They were looking for success stories—and she had one. Hodges sent an email and within 24 hours, she had an appointment for an interview in downtown Tampa. A week after that interview, another. From about 30,000 applicants nationwide, it was narrowed to 3,000, Hodges said. Then to 300. Then to eight. And Hodges was one of them. Hodges was flown—first-class, a first for her— to LA to film a series of commercials with Jennifer Hudson along …
Friday, January 6, 2012
PANDAbare president Paul Brenot was introduced to the naturist culture in 1998—and recently made his mark on Pasco County history.
It was a solar eclipse that introduced Paul Brenot to the naturist culture in 1998. Brenot, a now-retired commercial and private airline pilot, filed for divorce two years earlier, he said. He was looking to try new some things; check off a bucket list, of sorts. A self-described "space nut," Brenot said he found a cruise line offering a trip to view a solar eclipse, but there was a catch—it was a naturist cruise. In that single trip, Brenot could experience three things he'd never done: take a cruise, view a solar eclipse and take it all off. Three items checked off the list at one time, Brenot said. So he got on board—and "found home." "It was the people," Brenot said of that first experience. "You go beyond the physical. You meet the …
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The American Cancer Society’s Pasco Unit recognized her for her battle against cancer and her willingness to help others.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
- Sherri Lonon
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Thursday, November 17, 2011
When most people face life-threatening, traumatic experiences, they want to move on as quickly as possible without looking back. Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Laura Morello isn’t most people. The detention deputy faced down stage 4 lymphoma a few years ago and won. Rather than put that part of her life behind her entirely, Morello has dedicated herself to helping raise money for the American Cancer Society. She’s also committed to raising awareness about cancer and what people can do to prevent it, fight it and help find a cure. For those reasons and more, Morello was selected as the recipient of the 2011 Courage Award. This honor was bestowed by the American Cancer Society’s Pasco County. The award is meant to recognize people who “…
Diane Jones
2:57 pm on Monday, January 23, 2012
These are the kind of stories I love to read about. Truly inspirational! thanks for sharing more ›