Welcome to the Catalyst’s Community Voices platform. We’ve curated community leaders and thinkers from all parts of our great city to speak on issues that affect us all. Visit our Community Voices page for more details.

As we enter the holiday season, it’s easy to envision a table surrounded by family and an abundance of food. Yet, for thousands of Pinellas County youth, this is simply out of reach. According to the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB), nearly 32,000 youth in Pinellas County experience food insecurity. This means, one in five children may battle hunger this season.

This Thanksgiving, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast has partnered with United Way Suncoast and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to share 200 turkeys with Club families. Additionally, each turkey will come with healthy sides for the entire family, ensuring our kids can have the holiday they deserve. But what happens after the holidays?  How do we ensure this service, that is so vital to our community is available year-round? How do we rally against childhood hunger here in our own community? 

With inflation, and hourly wages failing to meet the financial needs of many of the families that we serve, purchasing groceries for a home with growing children is becoming increasingly more difficult. For many of the youth who attend our programs, the meals and snacks provided at our Club locations are the most secure and nutritionally balanced foods they receive each day.

There are many feeding programs across the Tampa Bay region, and many are doing great work. However, very few programs focus specifically on the critical nutritional needs of youth. This year, in partnership with JWB, Pinellas County Schools, and key strategic partners, we have served over 200,000 hot, nutritious meals and snacks to children at no cost. Yet, we know there are still youth we need to reach. This is a hurdle that we are diligently working to overcome as we strive to serve additional kids in 2023 and continue to expand our feeding program, leaving no kid hungry.

Young people need food to grow and thrive. When kids are hungry, multiple aspects of their lives suffer. Community collaboration is vital in ensuring families get the food they need. Many of our partners have been a key factor in supporting our feeding program expansion over the years, giving us much to be thankful for, not only this holiday, but every day of the year.

This holiday season, as you reflect on the things you are thankful for, remember the impact that just one secure meal a day can make in the life of a growing child. To learn more about how to support the food security of a young person in your community, please visit BGCSun.org.

Freddy Williams is President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast.

Read the article originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/community-voices-collaboration-can-knock-out-hunger/

Stacy Myers thought the video call with the CEO and president of Hope Villages of America was to thank her and other volunteers.

They had successfully organized a charity luncheon and raised $72,000 for The Haven, a women’s shelter run by Hope Villages of America.

But instead of praise, the Clearwater nonprofit’s chief executive officerjoined the Zoom call on Oct. 19 andwent on what some attendees described as a “20-minute rant.”

Kirk RaySmith said he should be treated like the “president of a billion dollar company or the sheriff,” Myers said, and he repeatedly demanded the committee respect him. Those on the call were baffled and asked him why he was upset. But he ignored them, said Myers, who spoke about the incident with the Tampa Bay Times on Friday.

The call prompted all six members of the volunteer committee to resign. The Clearwater nonprofit’s board of directors planned an emergency meeting for Monday night to discuss what happened.

“I’ve never been spoken to like that,” Myers said. “Ever. I was in shock.”

In a statement sent Monday from Hope Villages’ public relations firm,Smith accused committee members of verbally assaulting the nonprofit’s employees and body shaming a woman staffer. He also said the nonprofit has increased its volunteer pool, which has left long-time helpers feeling “unneeded and left grasping for power.”

“We were experiencing long-time volunteers pushing boundaries that were out of line,” he said in the statement. “There was frustration that we had to hold this group of volunteers responsible since their behavior was unfit.”

The issues Smith raised in his statement were not mentioned during the hour-long video call in October with the committee, according to Myers and Devin Pappas, who has served as chair of the Haven advisory committee for the past four years.

Myers said she received an apology from Seema Ramroop, chair of Hope Villages’ governing board. Ramroop confirmed that the board planned to meet but declined to comment otherwise.

The nonprofit group’s operations include a food bank and a center for women at risk of domestic abuse. It reported raising $11.1 million in contributions and grants in 2018, the most recent tax return available. Smith’s salary that year was roughly $117,000.

This isn’t the first controversial incident regarding Smith’s leadership and management style since he was hired by the nonprofit in late 2016.

In 2019, three former employees sued him and the nonprofit, which was then called Religious Community Services, alleging he made inappropriate comments, verbally abused female staffers and retaliated against them when they complained.

The two sides agreed to a confidential settlement this year, court records show.

In December 2020, the nonprofit lost $400,000 in annual funding for Grace House, the county’s largest homeless shelter for families, when the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County voted to terminate its contract over concerns about finance and management.

The Welfare Board awards property tax revenues to local social service programs. It had previously put Hope Villages on a corrective action plan after a review found the nonprofit did not have background screenings filed for all staff and volunteers, according to a 2020 memo. The review also found high staff turnover, a lack of sound financial practices and two deaths of occupants from suspected overdoses.

Without that money, Grace House closed in July with the nonprofit announcing plans to convert the shelter into affordable housing.

Pappas said she was berated and belittled by Smith on a separate phone call Oct. 12. She believes Smith was angered by comments made at an Oct. 11 committee meeting to review how the charity event went. Some volunteers were unhappy that Hope Villages employees did not help them clean up and that an award normally given to volunteers went to Smith. He was not at that meeting but two of his employees attended.

Under Pappas’ leadership, the committee has raised $240,000 for the shelter over the past four years, she said. Pappas doesn’t plan to volunteer for the group again while Smith is still in charge.

“It was horrible; it was intimidating,” Pappas said of her phone call with Smith.

Read the article at https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinellas/2022/11/21/clearwater-nonprofit-volunteers-quit-ceo-zoom/

Longtime Pinellas County Commissioner Karen Seel — jokingly referred to as “the queen of U.S. 19” for longstanding efforts to improve Pinellas’ main north-south roadway — has been named the Central Pinellas Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year.

The chamber held its 69th annual meeting and awards breakfast on Oct. 18 at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort. It had been pushed back a few weeks due to Hurricane Ian.

“This year’s honoree has a history of community service that goes above and beyond in her contributions to the people of Pinellas County,” Chamber Chair Nate Cocco said. “Her work to improve U.S. 19 topped the list,” including creating a special task force and seeking funds to make the road safer, “which ultimately led to closed medians, construction on overpasses and connected sidewalks.” 

Cocco said Seel, who was appointed to the County Commission in 1999, “has also been influential in (improving) Roosevelt Boulevard, Gandy and the gateway extension that’s set to open in a couple of years.” She has served on numerous local boards and committees during her 26-year career, including the Juvenile Welfare Board, Forward Pinellas, and the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, among others. 

“It gives me much pleasure, and it is my honor, to present our 2022 Citizen of the Year to someone who has had such a positive impact on Pinellas County,” Cocco said. 

After walking from her front row table to a standing ovation, an emotional Seel reflected on her career. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she said when the applause died down. “It has really been a privilege to be able to work with many of you and service with many of you, including my colleague, Pat Gerard. I bestow unto you making sure U.S. 19 gets finished!” 

Seel said the County Commission “cannot do our jobs without very, very superior city of Largo staff as well as county staff.” She also praised the Central Pinellas Chamber, noting her dad, former Clearwater City Commissioner Don Williams, once told her, “It’s the most hospitable chamber in Pinellas County, and he is absolutely correct.”

In closing, Seel told the group to keep up the great work. “Carry on,” she said. “This is a wonderful county, a great place to live, work and play. Thank you very, very much for this honor.”

The ceremony was attended by dozens of chamber members and local officials, including Largo Mayor Woody Brown and commissioners Jamie Robinson, Eric Gerard and Donna Holck; Pinellas County Commissioner Gerard; and Belleair Bluffs Vice Mayor Taylour Shimkus, Commissioner Suzy Sofer and City Administrator Debra Sullivan. 

Earlier in the program, Cocco and chamber president Tom Morrissette kicked things off by recognizing the recipients of the annual awards, including President’s Award (Mia Cloud); Ambassador of the Year (Kay McKenzie); Chamber Director of the Year (Karen Gonzalez); and Committee Leadership of the Year (Richard Boisvert). 

Morrissette presented the Business Member of the Year award to Debbie Jones of Regions Bank and the Mac Norcross Small Business Leader of the Year award to Tracy and Debbie Jackson of Jackson and Associates CPA.

During his opening remarks, Brown spoke about working together to achieve common goals. 

“Our mission is to be the community of choice in Tampa Bay,” Brown said. “And I think we’re on the right track. But we can’t do it without a strong business community. So, thank you all for investing in our city and making it a great place. Keep up the good work.”

The awards, speeches and passing of the gavel from Cocco to chair-elect Jake Prokop, director of Pinellas Technical College, were highlights of the morning. Prokop cited an African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” in describing the mission of the chamber.

After the meeting, Seel welcomed well-wishers and addressed being recognized by the chamber.

“I had to make sure I didn’t start crying,” she said. “It’s such a wonderful organization, friendly and hospitable. So, to have them give me this award is monumental and very, very special.”

When Seel was asked what’s next after she decided not to run for reelection in November following a change to a state statute that prematurely ended her career two years earlier than expected, the Belleair resident said she and her husband “plan to travel and live part time in California.”

“I’ve had a very long and fulfilling career and I didn’t expect it to end like this,” she said. “But I feel the county is in very, very good shape, in good shape financially, the road network is being finalized. So, I am very proud of what I’ve accomplished for the people of Pinellas County.”

Read the entire article and see photos from the event at https://www.tbnweekly.com/pinellas_county/article_f8da2024-53c3-11ed-8dd4-df7e3bf05335.html