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December
2012
features
14
departments Editor’s Note I 11 Bon Appétit I 51 ON THE MENU RESTAURANT GUIDE
The Best of the Best
Presenting the 19th annual People’s Choice Best of the Best. And the winners are...
AL MAGA AL AGG 31 KID CCALA
Medical Journal I 61 DOC SEARCH
Diversions I 65 CALENDAR ENTERTAINMENT PAPARAZZI
Kidnapped! OCALA MAGAZINE –
In this kid-made feature at how Ocala Magazine we take a look would look and read if kids ran the magazine. CAUTION: Content is May cause extreme super-cute. cheerfulness.
2012
Etc. I 75
PEOPLE & THINGS
VOX I 80
December I KidC A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I
1
Ocala Magazine – Kidnapped!
A look at how Ocala Magazine would look and read if it were run by kids. (Caution: Super-cute. May cause uncontrollable bouts of laughter)
40 Fishing for Answers
on the cover:
model: HEATHER JONES photographer: SARAH MILLER stylist: MAUREEN FANNON hair: SARA SOSA AND MISSY DELZOTTO OF SALON WOW makeup: SAM SIERRA gold top and pants by: JACQUELYN BROOKS DESIGNS, GAINESVILLE
Three local politicians with three different points of view discuss topical issues.
features Holiday Gift Guide
2012
I 46
December I O C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I 9
Hop on over to Polliwog and put a
sparkle in your grin! Our staff of caring and dedicated professionals will provide your child with the kind of services that will enable him/her to enjoy oral health and a beautiful smile that lasts.
Linda Marks publisher linda@ocalamagazine.com Gene McConnell vice president gene@ocalamagazine.com
Volume 33, Issue 6
EDITORIAL/DESIGN
John Sotomayor executive editor john@ocalamagazine.com Jessi Miller creative director jessi@ocalamagazine.com Chris Redd photographer chris@ocalamagazine.com Phil Dirlam II graphic designer Maureen Fannon stylist -------------------------
CONTRIBUTORS
255 SE 17th St., Ocala, FL 34471 • 352-274-9731
Manal Fakhoury contributing editor Heather Reinblatt contributing editor Vincent Alvarado new media coordinator David Moore writer Maritza Manresa writer Jessica Smith writer Robert Colen guest writer Shannon Claytor contributing photographer Samantha George contributing photographer Sarah Miller contributing photographer Conan Segrest contributing photographer Vincent Coletti intern Olivia Hendricks intern Lisandranette Rios intern -------------------------
Our goal is to become a vital element of your business. Our Services Include: Accounting & Bookkeeping Tax Compliance QuickBooks Setup, Training & Integration Remote Business Office Litigation Support Business Valuations
Berryhill, Hoffman, Getsee, Mead & DeMeola, LLC CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
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CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT (CPA) CERTIFIED VALUATION ANALYST (CVA) 10
I OCALAMAGAZINE.COM I
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2012
SALES & MARKETING
Sam Guerra director of sales & marketing sam@ocalamagazine.com -------------------------
OPERATIONS
Barbara Stanton accountant + collections barbara@ocalamagazine.com -------------------------
EDITORIAL OR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES phone 352.622.2995 fax 352.622.9200 www.ocalamagazine.com
OFFICES 743 S.E. Fort King St. Ocala, FL 34471 MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 4649, Ocala, FL 34478 PHONE 352.622.2995 FAX 352.622.9200 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR by mail or email: letters@ocalamagazine.com SUBSCRIPTION $39-one year, $70two years, $4.95-single issue. COPYRIGHT All contents copyrighted 2012 by Special Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertising content in any manner without written permission is strictly prohibited.
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and
A Kid’s View I was pondering
a kid-friendly fundraising idea recently when an idea came to me. Not for fundraising but for a feature. I asked myself the question, “What would Ocala Magazine look like if it were run by kids?” I smiled and thought, “This could be fun” and decided why not find out? And thus the idea for Kid-cala Magazine was born. That was the easy part. The challenge was to devise a practical way to do this. After giving it some considerable thought, I determined the most efficient method was to collaborate with a local school. There were many excellent schools to choose from but my decision came rather quickly. The first school that came to my mind was Dr. NH Jones Elementary. I was majorly impressed with their submissions and results in the Student Media Awards, which I both judged and presented in the past two years. I knew instantly that was the school I wanted to work with for the first-ever attempt at Kid-cala Magazine. I called the school and presented my idea. They were highly intrigued and interested, but as any educators with high standards, they wanted to know every detail of my plan. How we would implement it, and also make sure we abided by their rules of public exposure of their students. I envisioned a feature that would in-
clude the cover, an editor’s note, three features, two pages of Paparazzi (event coverage) and a VOX page (quotes from the community). The guidelines and transfer feasibility would be determined by collaboration between our creative director, Jessi Miller, and I with the administrators and teachers in charge of student media at Dr. NH Jones Elementary. The content would be completely determined by the kids. That included the editorial, photos and design. We asked for drawings and illustrations from younger grades, K – 2 and content written from older students in grades 5 – 6. We asked the teachers to relay the message back to the students on our overall concept for the feature. We wanted the children to share with us their view on life in Ocala. How they saw the world around them and share their view through drawings and stories. We asked that they model our traditional Dec. issue with a Best of the Best feature and content that would reflect the holiday season. The work submitted was as expected – astounding and adorable. All of the work done by the students was done in class. They did not receive any outside help by parents. The students were asked to submit individual work, which was then collected by the teachers and submitted to Ocala Magazine for our selection. Ocala Magazine selected all of
CORRECTION: We are very proud of our 2012–2013 Ocala Charity Register and have received a multitude of praise over its creativity and construction, particularly from those in the non-profit industry. However, as good as it was, it was not perfect and a couple of mistakes were made. First, the correct date for Taste of Ocala, sponsored by the CF Foundation, is April 6 – not April 13 as listed on page 37. Second, we mistakenly combined the Relay for Life available dates, cities/locations and websites. We listed three of their events when in fact they have six. Three of their events did not have designated dates, listed as TBD (To Be Determined) and we did not list TBD events this year. Our internal confusion occurred as Relay For Life had some with designated dates and some TBD, each with different websites but the same phone number. To fairly represent all of the Relay For Life events of the American Cancer Society, we decided to list all here including those with dates TBD. They are: 1) West Marion, Relay For Life, April 19 & 20, 2013, contact 352-629-4727, www.relayforlife.org/westmarionfl 2) North Side Relay, Relay For Life, May 3 & 4, 2013, contact 352-629-4727, www.relayforlife.org/northsidemarionfl 3) Ocala, Relay For Life, May 17 & 18, 2013, contact 352-629-4727, www.relayforlife.org/ocalafl 4) Dunnellon, Relay For Life, TBD, contact 352-629-4727, www.relayforlife.org/dunnellonfl 5) Marion Oaks Relay, Relay For Life, TBD, contact 352-629-4727, www.relayforlife.org/marionoaksfl 6) South Marion, Relay for Life, TBD, contact 352-629-4727, www.relayforlife.org/southmarionfl SPECIAL THANK YOU: Since we are correcting mistakes, I would like to take a moment to properly credit and thank the Ocala Civic Theatre Custom Shop. They have generously assisted our Editor’s Note photos by loaning us the Renaissance painter outfit in our Sept. Food & Arts issue and the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde outfit for our Oct. Tribute to Hollywood Halloween movie monsters issue.
EDITOR’SNOTE the editorial, photos and design. I selected the Editor’s Note of Kid-cala Magazine in an anonymous selection process. Students are permitted by Dr. NH Jones Elementary to be identified by their first name and last initial only. We feel that the kids at Dr. NH Jones Elementary did an outstanding job and we applaud everyone who contributed, which is too many to list. The feature ideally captures the childlike innocence of the holidays, genuinely expressed through their editorial and design of the city they live in as seen through their eyes. We sincerely hope you are as enchanted by this project as we are. We wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from all of us – your friends at Ocala Magazine. Special thanks to my Mini Me, Victor!
John Sotomayor Executive Editor
Thank you to the residents, families and medical community of Ocala for helping to make our business successful and for entrusting your clients and loved ones to us. We wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.
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2012
Q+A WITH
The New Torchbearer Q: Kevin, congratulations on your new role as President & CEO for the Ocala/ Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership. What strikes you as the opportunities for our community? I think what is most striking for Ocala and Marion County is the sheer number of opportunities! I firmly believe there are tremendous opportunities to grow the area as a logistics hub, advanced manufacturing center, and entrepreneurial center and that doesn’t even begin to touch the tremendous back office or equine strengths. I think the key to success for the CEP will be focusing all our energies in the midst of so many excellent opportunities. Q: Describe the advantages you see with the recent merger of the Chamber and the EDC. I believe one of the most important advantages will be in the focusing portion of the previous answer. The merged organization will help to ensure we are all focused in the same direction and on the same initiatives. One of my real passions is being able to assist existing businesses. They are often neglected in many economic development organizations. The merger will allow us to not only help larger employers but also to provide more assistance to smaller businesses to ensure their success in our community. Finally, the merger allows us to focus on community development. An axiom of economic development is that you cannot do economic development until you do community development. The CEP will enable to do both simultaneously and I think that is very exciting.
Q: In your immediate position as President/CEO of Northwest Kentucky Forward, what are you most proud of and how will that experience contribute to our economic improvement. Northwest Kentucky Forward is a multicounty, lead economic development organization that focuses on Business Attraction, Business Retention, Business Creation, and Workforce Development. There are very few regional economic development organizations in Kentucky and equally few lead regional groups in the Southeast. We built a great team and great partnerships with the public and private sectors to really build what is a model for a number of communities. Q: You’ve met many of our business leaders. What are you hearing as their concerns and opportunities for our community? They are ready to move forward! I really sense a significant amount of pent of enthusiasm to move Ocala/Marion County forward as a vibrant, dynamic community. Again, there are so many opportunities I think they are looking to the CEP to help craft the vision so we can all move forward with one laser like focus. Q: When is your official start date and what do you first few months look like? December 3 and BUSY! December and January in particular are going to be focused on meeting one on one and in small groups with businesses and leaders throughout the community. I want to hear their dreams and aspirations for the area as well as their concerns. In January, the Board and Staff will be
working on our 5-year Action Plan and this input will be an important part of that planning. This plan will not be my plan or just the CEP’s plan but a road map for moving Ocala-Marion County forward for years to come. Q: Describe your family and what are they most excited about moving to Ocala, Florida? In a phrase—“on the go!” The Sheilleys are very involved at school, church, and athletics. Lisa, David (12), and Rachel (9) are looking forward to joining me in Ocala early in 2013 and discovering all the wonderful things I have already learned about the area. At this time, our oldest son, Trae, will be staying in Kentucky but I hope he will be visiting often. Speaking of visitors, we have already learned that everyone we know wants to come visit us once we get settled into the area. I think we will have many more guests in Ocala, and we look forward to sharing it with them!
Jaye Baillie,
2012
December I O C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I 13
COMPILED BY JOHN SOTOMAYOR AND VINCENT ALVARADO ASSISTED BY: LISANDRANETTE RIOS, OLIVIA HENDRICKS AND VINCENT COLETTI PHOTOGRAPHY BY: SARAH MILLER ROLLS ROYCE COURTESY OF ROLANDO SOSA & SALON WOW
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2012
The people of Ocala/ Marion County have spoken in record numbers! WITH OUR GREATEST turnout for our online survey, 12,355 people voted in Ocala Magazine’s 19th Annual Best of the Best. This shattered previous results, such as 5,000 plus in 2005. By comparison, 3,027 people voted in the mayoral election of 2011 for the City of Ocala. By no means as important, the high number of voters certainly indicates support for our fun survey. This year, we decided to make our survey results even more fun. We firmly believe that everyone nominated truly represents the best Ocala/Marion County has to offer in their respective categories. So, in honor of the adage, “it is an honor just to be nominated,” we have listed all nominees in every category for the first time in 20 years. (Footnote: the Best of the Best was skipped once). This way, we can honor all for their deserving merits, not only the winners. Some categories were close; we added the runner-ups who came within five to 50 votes away, and list everyone’s percentage of votes earned. Also new, we preselected certain categories for photography to showcase all the nominees that we felt would satisfy the curiosity: what was their competition like? We are certain you would agree the competition was tough. In some cases, it could have gone either way. Did we mention one category separated first and second place by five votes? We even had a tie with the exact number of votes! This one, folks, was truly a nailbiter. Please enjoy our Hollywood-style “Academy Award” tribute to the Best of the Best of Ocala/Marion County. Editor’s Note: After the contest, we opened up a forum to you, the voter, to share your suggestions on how you would like us to improve future Best of the Best contests. Not only have we reviewed your suggestions, we applied them. Please see details at the end of the listing regarding our new system for selection of the 2013 Best of Best. 2012
December I O C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I 15
People Best Bartender Best Chef Loring Felix of Braised Onion
James Schumann of Cuvee Wine and Bistro Randal White of Ocala Hilton Matt Colangelo of Golden Ocala Rondo Fernandez of Mojo Grill & Catering Victor Luzarraga of Country Club of Ocala Patrice Perron of La Cuisine
And the winner is ...
Rondo Fernandez of Mojo Grill & Catering (38.3%)
Best Dressed Man 1. Grant MacMahon of AXA Advisors
Ben Payne at Pi on Broadway Jamie Zimbleman at Horse and Hound Tyla Kennedy at AJ’s on the Square Lindi Lee Nunziato at Platforms (OEC) Camma Jaquith at O’Malley’s Alley Travis Treesh at Ritter’s Beer Garden Chelsi Blouse at Tilted Kilt/Cody’s Roadhouse Nicole Phillips of Mark’s Prime Steakhouse Chris Harris of Tony’s Sports Bar & Grill
And the winner is ...
Ben Payne of Pi on Broadway (17.8%) A very close second (by only 5 votes) ... Travis Treesh at Ritter’s Beer Garden (17.7%)
Best Event Planner
Action Jackson of Action Jackson Ana Soler of Golden Ocala Danielle Marciano and Phyllis Marino of You-Niquely Yours Dan Hathcock of Unforgettable Events Elgin Carelock of Diversified Events Productions Christy Cartwright of Country Club of Ocala Robin Fannon of Holiday Inn Suites & Conference Center
4
2. Mayor Kent Guinn of the City of Ocala 3. Frank DeLuca of DeLuca Toyota 4. Matt Wardell of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra 5. Ben Marciano of the Marion County YMCA 6. George Mathis of Raymond James 7. Dave Fechtman of Root Theory
And the winner is ...
Danielle Marciano and Phyllis Marino of You-Niquely Yours
And the winner is ...
(29.1%)
Frank DeLuca of DeLuca Toyota (22.6%)
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Best Hair Stylist/Barber Cosmo of Planet Cosmo Salon
Gary Mitchell of EnVe James Rich of EnVe Nicole Vizzini of Escape Salon and Spa John Steele of Sheer DramaRusty Juergens of J&H SalonsSara Sosa of Salon WOW
And the winner is ...
1
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John Steele of Sheer Drama (31.9%)
Best Motivator
Tom Ingram of Gateway Bank Dave Fechtman of Root Theory Jaye Baillie of Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership Dr. Manal Fakhoury of Ocala Regional Medical Center Chip Morris of The Sky, 97.3 FM
And the winner is ...
Dr. Manal Fakhoury of Ocala Regional Medical Center (37.3%)
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2012
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Best Dressed Woman 1. Lisa Lombardo of Creative Management Group
2. Meghan Shay of The Centers 3. Amy Mangan of Progress Energy 4. Lois Johnson of The Ocala Royal Dames 5. Felicia Prather of Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership 6. Kelli Hart of Lilli’s Flowers 7. Marie Smith of The Orthopedic Institute
5
1
And the winner is ...
Kelli Hart of Lilli’s Flowers (24.1%)
1
Busiest Man Mayor Kent Guinn of the City of Ocala
Most Photogenic 1. Alesa Blair of Buckle
2. Ivan Kelenc, fitness trainer of Brick City Fitness 3. Shane Godwin of AJ’s On the Square 4. Frank DeLuca of DeLuca Toyota 5. Amanda Tillander of AJ’s On the Square 6. Clay Parton of The Canyons Zip Line, former Versace and Dolce & Gabbana runway and print model 7. Kayla Williams of Forest High School
And the winner is ...
Kayla Williams of Forest High School (19.2%)
Most Successful Young Professional George Mathis of Raymond James Pamela Calero of College of Central Florida Melissa Bumbach of Howard Middle School Melissa Townsend of The Discovery Center Erica Olstein of A Better U Healthcare Joe Reichel of Damage Control Services Ryan Gerd of Munroe Regional Medical Center Grant McMahon of AXA Advisors
And the winner is ...
Most Popular Rondo Fernandez of Mojo Grill & Catering
Jaye Baillie of Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership (formerly the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce) Lois Johnson of The Ocala Royal Dames Matt Wardell of Ocala Symphony Orchestra Dr. Manal Fakhoury of Ocala Regional Medical Center Chip Morris of The Sky, 97.3 FM
And the winner is ...
Rondo Fernandez of Mojo Grill & Catering (35.5%)
Melissa Townsend of The Discovery Center (17.0%)
A very close second (by only 16 votes) ... Ryan Gerd of Munroe Regional Medical Center (16.6%)
Most Outgoing Pamela Calero of College of Central Florida Kelli Hart of Lilli’s Flowers Rondo Fernandez of Mojo Grill & Catering Kayla Williams of Forest High School Chad Taylor of Insomniac Theater
And the winner is ...
Rondo Fernandez of Mojo Grill & Catering (40.3%)
Frank Hennessey of Hennessey Arabians, Community Foundation Chip Morris of The Sky, 97.3 FM Dave Fechtman of Root Theory Tom Ingram of Gateway Bank Kurt Kelly, former Representative of Marion County
And the winner is ...
Mayor Kent Guinn of the City of Ocala (26.3%) A very close second (by only 37 votes) ... Chip Morris of The Sky, 97.3 FM (25.5%)
Busiest Woman Jaye Baillie of Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership (formerly the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce) Barbara Fitos of the Ocala/Marion County Community Foundation Dr. Manal Fakhoury of Ocala Regional Medical Center Beth McCall of Munroe Regional Medical Center Joan Stearns of CF Foundation Melissa Townsend of The Discovery Center
And the winner is ...
Dr. Manal Fakhoury of Ocala Regional Medical Center (37.3%)
2012
December I O C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I 17
Most Physically Fit Woman
2
1. Kerry Mac, fitness trainer of Kerry Motion Fitness 2. Traci Smith Rivera, fitness trainer of Ocala Zumba 3. Lindi Lee Nunziato of OEC 4. Lisa Hyde Jurgens of OEC 5. Raven McMillan of Starbucks 6. Dania Gargano, promotional model of TEAM Enterprises 7. Nicole Gagne of Cody’s Roadhouse 8. Brianna Kiamos of Brick City Fitness
And the winner is ...
Traci Smith Rivera, fitness trainer of Ocala Zumba (26.8%)
Best Artist
Kent Weakley of Blue Sky Advertising Mary Verrandeaux, nationally renown artist Linda Harlow of The Ocala Art Group Inc. Nancy Moskovitz of Nancy Moskovitz Portrait and Fine Art Paintings Bill Roberts of Custom Design Metal Arts Jacquelyn Schindehette of Schindehette Fine Art Studio Jack Thursby, retired art professor from CF (formerly CFCC) Margaret Watts of Margaret Watts Fine Arts
5
And the winner is ...
Linda Harlow of The Ocala Art Group Inc.
A very close second (by only 7 votes) ... Nancy Moskovitz of Nancy Moskovitz Portrait and Fine Art Paintings (14.3%)
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1
Best Musician Shane Wooten Ocalagator Mike Elliot Thad Kopec Zandra Brown Evil Monkey Stranded Selfless Within Arms Reach
And the winner is ...
Zandra Brown (24.1%)
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Most Physically Fit Man 1. David Maurer, fitness trainer and owner of Tone
1
to the Bone 2. James Hammortree, fitness trainer and owner of House of Hammortree 3. Robert McLaughlin, fitness trainer/grad student 4. Shadd Daughtery of Showcase Properties of Central FL Inc. 5. Shane Godwin of AJ’s On the Square 6. Clint Hart, former NFL player 7. Lance Beechner, fitness model and trainer
And the winner is ...
Clint Hart, former NFL player (31.7%)
7 3 2012
December I O C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I 19
y t i n u m m o C Best Art or Musical Event Best Community Improvement This Year Downtown Reconstruction Ocala’s Historic Downtown Square/Citizen’s Circle Tuscawilla Park
City of Ocala’s First Friday Art Walk on Ocala’s Historic Downtown Square City of Ocala Summer Jams Fine Arts For Ocala Annual Ocala Arts Festival Fine Arts For Ocala Mother’s Day Symphony Under the Stars Ocala Symphony Orchestra’s Symphony Under the Lights
Best Night Life
AJ’s On the Square Cloud 9 OEC - Ocala Entertainment Complex Pi on Broadway O’Malley’s Alley
And the winner is ...
Pi on Broadway (33.3%)
And the winner is ...
And the winner is ...
Ocala’s Historic Downtown Square/Citizen’s Circle (49.9%)
Hottest Ticket in Town
Dancing with the Doctors “Savages” John Travolta film premier Fine Arts For Ocala Mother’s Day Symphony Under the Stars Jaycees Annual Haunted House Ocala Civic Theatre Season Tickets Appleton Museum’s 25th Anniversary Gala 22nd Annual Golden Apple Gala Rock with the Docs Valentine Gala Live Oak Weekend Ocala’s Symphony Ball – Puttin’ on the Ritz Cattle Baron’s Ball
And the winner is ...
“Savages” John Travolta film premier (16.6%)
Fine Arts For Ocala Mother’s Day Symphony Under the Stars (21.2%)
A very close second (by only 17 votes) ... Fine Arts For Ocala Annual Ocala Arts Festival (20.8%)
Best Professional Network Appleton After-Hours
BNI - Business Networking International – Ocala Emerging Leaders Ocala Happy Hour, Lunch & Learn and Dinner & Learns Ocala Business Leaders Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership Business After Hours (formerly known as Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours) Ocala Rotary Club RPEG — Retired Professionals Educators Group
And the winner is ...
Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership Business After Hours (formerly known as Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours) (22.0%)
Best Hang Out Barnes & Noble
Paddock Mall The Shops at Heathbrook Starbucks on Ocala’s Historic Downtown Square Mochi Ocala
And the winner is ...
Starbucks on Ocala’s Historic Downtown Square (38.8%)
Best Resource to Find Work Ocala 4 Sale
ocala.com Workforce Connection Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership (Formerly known as Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce) Fast Track Staffing
And the winner is ...
Ocala 4 Sale (28.7%)
A very close second (by 46 votes) ... ocala.com (27.5%)
Best Neighborhood Historic District Chandler Hills – On Top of the World Carriage Hill Laurel Run Deerwood Village Fore Ranch Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club Country Club of Ocala Spruce Creek Golf & Country Club Ocala Palms Golf & Country Club
And the winner is ...
Historic District (32.4%)
Best High School West Port
Vanguard Forest Trinity Catholic Lake Weir Belleview Dunnellon MTI North Marion
And the winner is ...
Trinity Catholic (24.8%)
CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS at the Butterfly Rainforest with a spectacular display of multicolored poinsettias Nov. 15-Dec. 31.
352-846-2000 n 3215 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611 www.flmnh.ufl.edu/butterflies n $10.50 adults $9 Fla. residents and seniors 62+ n $6 ages 3-17 Prices subject to change.
Best Place to Propose Marriage Shalom Park Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club Country Club of Ocala Mark’s Prime Steakhouse Cuvee Wine & Bistro La Cuisine French Restaurant
And the winner is ...
Shalom Park (34.3%) 20
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TRINITY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL Thank you for voting Trinity Catholic Marion County’s Best School
Thank You! Thank you for voting Trinity Catholic Marion County’s Best School
Food
Best Breakfast Richard’s Place
Best Sports Bar and Grill The Dugout Best New Eatery Slyce Braised Onion Tony’s Sports Bar & Grill The Attic’s Cafe Tantra Indian Fusion First Watch
Most Romantic Restaurant Cuvee Wine & Bistro Ipanema La Cuisine French Restaurant Mark’s Prime Steakhouse The Melting Pot Mesa de Notte
And the winner is ...
Gator’s Dockside Miller’s Ale House Wing House Tony’s Sports Bar & Grill Tilted Kilt
Scrambles Café (21.0%)
Gator’s Dockside (25.5%)
Ale House Ocala Wine Experience O’Malley’s Alley Ritter’s Beer Garden Gator’s Dockside Gator Joe’s Tilted Kilt
And the winner is ...
And the winner is ...
Braised Onion (32.8%)
Crossroads Country Kitchen Denny’s Mimi’s Cafe Primary Oven Wolfie’s Scrambles Cafe
Best Coffee House A Cup O’ The Irish Chelsea Coffee Great American Coffee Roasters Starbucks Stella’s Modern Pantry
And the winner is ...
Starbucks (36.0%)
Best Bar AJ’s On the Square
And the winner is ...
A TIE! AJ’s On the Square and O’Malley’s Alley (15.1% and exactly the same number of votes)
And the winner is ...
The Melting Pot (25.9%)
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December I O C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I 21
Best Lunch
Best Ethnic The nominees are …
The Lunch Box of Ocala Cody’s Original Roadhouse Sushi Bistro of Ocala Mesa de Notte Brooklyn ‘s Original Pizza Stella’s Modern Pantry Mojo Grill & Catering The Dugout Blakeley House Braised Onion Slyce
Cafe Havana Sky Ipanema Latinos y Mas Kotobuki Tony’s Sushi and Japanese Steak House Taco N Madre Ayuttaya Thai Cuisine Mesa de Notte
And the winner is ...
And the winner is ...
Mojo Grill & Catering (29.6%)
Latinos y Mas (24.2%)
Best Gourmet Cuvee Wine & Bistro
Best Buffet Golden Corral And the winner is ...
And the winner is ...
Mark’s Prime Steakhouse (35.1%)
Artisinal Dish Crispers Magnolia Farmer’s Market Mother Earth Market Ocala’s Historic Downtown Square Farmers Market
And the winner is ...
Ocala’s Historic Downtown Square Farmers Market (27.9%)
A very close second (by only 45 votes) ... Mother Earth Market (26.8%)
Best Dessert Peach Wave
Ocean Buffet SteviB’s Pizza Buffet
Mesa de Notte La Cuisine Mark’s Prime Steakhouse
Healthiest
SteviB’s Pizza Buffet (34.8%)
Betty Cakes Blakely House Bruster’s Real Ice Cream Cold Stone Creamery Kupcake Diva in Seredipity Boutique Mochi Ocala Ocala’s Chocolate and Confections Scoops Ice Cream Parlor Stella’s Modern Pantry Sweet Shop Bakery
And the winner is ...
Betty Cakes (22.3%)
THE MOJO’S GRILL AND CATERING
Thank You!
Thank you Marion county for supporting The Mojo grill. It really means a lot to us to be a part of this great community. By letting us feed your families you are helping us feed ours. Please let us know if we can do anything for you and we will try our best to make it happen. thank you and god bless.
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Mark’s Prime Steakhouse
Best Happy Hour
Mark’s Prime Steakhouse Harry’s Seafood Bar & Grille Mojo Grill Ale House Cody’s Roadhouse AJ’s On the Square Pi on Broadway Charlie Horse
Lilli’s Flowers & Gifts
Business
And the winner is ...
Pi on Broadway (16.4%)
Best Bargain Brother’s Keeper
A very close second (by only 22 votes) ... Harry’s Seafood Bar & Grille (15.9%)
Best Caterer Brick City Catering
Felix’s Catering Inc. Mojo Grill and Catering
And the winner is ...
Mojo Grill & Catering (50.2%)
Best Store for Women Jezebel’s Serendipity The Marketplace on Broadway Dillard’s Greiner’s Her Kloset Va Va Chic Boutique
Goodwill Interfaith Emergency Services Thrift Store Kohl’s Plato’s Closet TJ Max My Designer’s Attic
And the winner is ...
TJ Max (28.2%)
And the winner is ...
Best Patio Dining Mark’s Prime Steakhouse
Pi on Broadway Stompknocker’s Ipanema Mimi’s Café
And the winner is ...
Pi on Broadway (31.3%)
Dillard’s (35.4%)
Harbor Freight JoS. A. Banks Dillard’s Greiner’s
A Cut Above Boutique Blakely House Jezebel’s Ocala Traditions Tallulah Tre Chic Va Va Chic Boutique Lelo’s Attic
Dillard’s (29.2%)
Jezebel’s (19.5%)
Best Store for Guys Flint Creek Outfitter’s And the winner is ...
Best Sandwich Slyce
Panera Chicken Time Crispers
And the winner is ...
Panera (55.7%)
Best Boutique
Best Furniture Store Carriage House Koontz My Designer’s Attic Rooms To Go Lime Cabinet
And the winner is ...
Koontz (27.2%)
And the winner is ...
Best Florist Bo-kay Heritage Flowers Leci’s Bouquet Lilli’s Flowers & Gifts Petal Pusher Florist
And the winner is ...
Lilli’s Flowers & Gifts (34.5%)
A very close second (by only 50 votes) ... Rooms To Go (26.0%)
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December I O C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I 23
Best Jeweler Gause & Sons Ocala Lady Jewelers Lemieux Diamonds
And the winner is ...
Gause & Sons (44.1%)
Best Salon Escape Salon and Spa Best Music Store Forte Piano & Gallery Music Factory Muzi Tronix Paramour Sound Exchange Guitar Center
Best Auto Dealership DeLuca Toyota Ford of Ocala Ocala Nissan Jenkins Auto Group
And the winner is ...
DeLuca Toyota (28.0%)
And the winner is ...
Sound Exchange (31.6%)
Best Book Store Barnes & Noble
Books a Million Gabriel’s Christian Book & Supply Rainbow Bible & Bookstore
And the winner is ...
Barnes & Noble (58.3%)
All four nominees were very close in votes
Best Sports/Camping Equipment Store Brick City Bicycles Dick’s Sporting Goods Flint Creek Outfitters Gander Mountain Pasteurs Sports Play it Again Sports Sports Authority
En.Ve Salon and Spa Sheer Drama Salon WOW Planet Cosmo Salon J&H Salons Key West Hair Salon Hello Gorgeous! Fresh Vintage Salon & Boutique Reflextions of You
And the winner is ...
Sheer Drama (31.3%)
Best Hotel Holiday Inn Suites & Convention Center Hilton Ocala Embassy Suites Marriot Courtyard Seven Sisters Historic Inn
And the winner is ...
Hilton Ocala (33.2%)
And the winner is ...
Dick’s Sporting Goods (28.7%) A very close second (by only 17 votes) ... Gander Mountain (28.3%)
LILLI'S FLOWERS
& GIFTS
Thank You!
I would li ke to pe rsonally years of thank yo continuo u, Ocala us suppo staff and ... For th rt and tr ree professio u st in my nalism. of you w services My heart ho have , is touche invested many pe d by tho in both L rsonal e se illi's Flow ndeavors me, vote ers AND ! For tho d for me m y s e who n and che ominate ered for d me, I tha nk you.
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Recreation
Most Unique Store Carriage House Custom Fabric Creations Custom Lighting Décor Group My Designer’s Attic Realms Beyond Soul Essentials Unique Lingerie White Elephant Ocala Car Audio Tattookah Lelo’s Attic
And the winner is ...
White Elephant (22.8%)
Best Spa Azulene Day Spa
En.Ve Salon and Spa Escape Spa and Salon Face The Day Spa and Salon Gemini Day Spa and Salon The Ranch Spa and Salon
And the winner is ...
The Ranch Spa and Salon (26.4%)
Best Fitness Center All Pro Fitness Anytime Fitness Brick City Fitness CrossFit Pinnacle Gym Curves Jervey Gantt Park Power Yoga Ocala Planet Fitness Too Your Heath Spa Marion County YMCA Pilates Institute of Ocala
And the winner is ...
Marion County YMCA (21.7%)
Best Tennis Court Country Club of Ocala
Fort King Municipal Tennis Center Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club Ocala Hilton
Best Place to Go Boating Juniper Springs
Best Tattoo Parlor Fat Kats Artistry Doc of Rock Monkey Business Tattoo Elaine’s Ink Tatookah Art Angels Tattoo & Body Piercing Epic Tattoo Crawling Panther Tattoo Outrageous Ink Ocala Tattoo Inc. Diamond Tattoo & Body Piercing
And the winner is ...
Fat Kats Artistry (26.5%)
Best Golf Course Baseline Golf Course
Black Diamond Golf Club Country Club of Ocala Golden Hills Golf and Turf Club Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club Juliette Falls Golf and Spa Club Lake Diamond Golf and Country Club Municipal Ocala Golf Club Stone Creek Golf Club The Links of Spruce Creek
And the winner is ...
Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club (16.9%)
Best Family Activity Chuckey Cheese Easy Street Jervey Gantt Aquatic Center Rotary Sports Complex Silver Springs Nature Park & Wild Water Splash Pad at Citizen’s Circle
Lake George Lake Kerr Lake Weir Ocklawaha River Rainbow River Silver River Silver Springs Crystal River Homosassa River
And the winner is ...
Crystal River (21.5%)
Best Place for a Healthy Walk Brick City Adventure Park
Cross Florida Greenway Jervey Gantt Health Trail Lillian Bryan Walking Trail MLK Walking Trail Paddock Mall Scott Springs Nature Trail Tuscawilla Park Walking Trail
And the winner is ...
Jervey Gantt Health Trail (37.3%)
Best Picnic Area Brick City Park Jervey Gantt Juniper Springs Rainbow Springs Salt Springs Shalom Park Silver River State Park
And the winner is ...
Shalom Park (22.7%)
And the winner is ...
Silver Springs Nature Park & Wild Water (36.3%)
Best Concert Venue Charles Dassance Fine Arts Auditorium – CF Circle Square Cultural Center Marion County Livestock Pavilion Ocala Entertainment Complex (OEC) Orange Blossom Opry in Weirsdale Silver Springs Nature Park & Wild Water
And the winner is ...
Fort King Municipal Tennis Center (37.5%)
And the winner is ...
Silver Springs Nature Park & Wild Water (36.4%)
FAT KATS ARTISTRY Gause and Sons
Thank You!
From the team at fatkats, we would like to thank the people who nominated us, voted for us, and all of our patrons who have continously supported us throughtout the years.
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Culture &tainment Enter
Next Year... And now, important instructions on how to select categories and nominees for our 2013 Best of the Best...
Best Cultural Activity Appleton Museum
College of Central Florida Performing Arts Series Insomniac Theater Marion Cultural Alliance Brick City Center for the Arts Ocala Civic Theatre Ocala Symphony Orchestra
And the winner is ...
Ocala Civic Theatre (31.5%)
Best Movie Theater Belleview Twin Cinema Cinema Six Regal Hollywood 16 Ocala Drive-In Ocala’s Historic Marion Theater Rialto Theater in the Villages
And the winner is ...
Regal Hollywood 16 (37.4%)
Best Charity Event Dancing with the Docs
Christmas Campfire Breakfast for Interfaith Power of the Purse Horse Fever Rock with the Docs Valentine Gala The Ocala Royal Dames for Cancer Research 26th Annual Tiara Snowflake Ball Ocala’s Symphony Ball – Puttin’ on the Ritz Go Red for Women Taste of Ocala Blessed Trinity Red & White Night Ocala Aquatics 4th Annual Marti Gras Casino Night “Savages” John Travolta film premier Culinary Combat Marion Culture Alliance, Saluting the Arts
And the winner is ...
Taste of Ocala (20.4%)
Best Equine Event
4-H Horse Show The Equine Extravaganza presented by the Florida Horse Park HITS - Horse Show In The Sun Live Oak International Driving Event Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company Championship Stakes OBS Week of Champions
And the winner is ...
Best Special Event Light Up Ocala
Christmas Parade St. Patrick’s Day on the Square Craftoberfest Ocala Beer Festival Feel Downtown Diversity Fest & Ocala Cultural Festival
And the winner is ...
Light Up Ocala (46.6%)
During the online survey and immediately after, we asked you, the voter, to share what you thought worked and what you thought needed improvement. The fundamental concern many had was the desire to have more input on the selection of categories and nominees. You also asked us to limit the number of categories and nominees. We have decided to grant your wishes. As of this publication date, we invite you to submit which categories you would like to see added and subtracted by contacting the editor at: john@ocalamagazine.com. We will take your suggestions under consideration. The poll closes at 5 p.m., Jan. 31, 2013. In our March issue, we will list which categories are scheduled for the 2013 Best of the Best and ask you, the voter, to nominate people, businesses and activities for the categories accepted under People, Community, Food, Shopping, Culture and Entertainment and Recreation. That poll will close 5 p.m., March 29, 2013. As before, please submit your suggestions to john@ocalamagazine.com. In addition, we plan to keep the number of categories to 50, and limit the nominees per category to five. This means we will have to be even more selective on which categories and nominees make it in. Finally, we reserve the right to select only those we deem applicable of our Best of the Best contest. All submissions will be deemed as suggestions only. Ocala Magazine is not obligated to use any suggestions and reserve the right to use any categories and nominees we believe represents Best of the Best.
HITS - Horse Show In The Sun (35.0%)
MENINGITIS OUTBREAK If you are one of 14,000 patients given a contaminated STEROID shot, contact an attorney for assistance.
COLLING GILBERT WRIGHT & CARTER 352-861-2222 OCALA • 1-866-FLA-FIRM TOLL FREE
www.thefloridafirm.com
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2012
MANAL FAKHOURY
Best Motivator AND
Busiest Woman “Live a life of gratitude and never stop learning.”
Happy Holidays from our family to yours! “With more than 34 years of service to Marion County, nothing means more to us than your confidence & support. Thank You for your vote as Ocala’s Best Dealership” ~FRANK DELUCA 2013 Camry Hybrid model #2559
TOYOTA MAKES THE CAR… DELUCA MAKES THE DIFFERENCE! 1719 SW COLLEGE ROAD IN OCALA www.delucatoyota.com
(352) 533-2208
Thank You!
SALES AND FINANCE DEPARTMENT
CUSTOMER SERVICE, ACCOUNTING, BACK OFFICE SUPPORT AND RECEPTIONIST
SERVICE, DETAIL, BODY SHOP & RENTAL DEPARTMENTS
BE A PART OF SOMETHING
GREAT
MARION COUNTY YMCA RANKED IN TOP 1% IN COUNTRY This year, according to SEER Analytics Member Experience Survey, the Marion County Y is ranked in the top 1 percent of YMCAs out of 1,100 YMCAs nationwide. Our Y has programs for the whole family with staff to help you every step of the way and ensure your success. We specialize in:
Youth Development programs that cultivate our children to become strong future leaders
Healthy Living programs that provide personalized coaching and classes for all fitness levels
Social Responsibility programs to assist people regardless of their financial circumstances
352.368.9622 3200 SE 17th St. Ocala, FL 34471 YmcaCentralFlorida.com Facebook.com/MarionCountyYMCA
CCALA AL MAGA AL AGG Kid
napped!
OCALA MAGAZINE –
In this kid-made fe ature we take a look at how Ocala Mag azine would look a nd read if kids ran the magazine. CAUTION: Con tent is super-cute. May cause extrem e cheerfulness.
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EDITOR’S NOTE Kid Friendly As a kid living in Ocala, it is different from other places. It has lots of horse farms and a city. The city of Ocala offers shopping, restaurants and entertainment like all big cities, but just drive fifteen minutes outside the city and you are surrounded by beautiful farms. Some people have also called Marion County the Horse Capital of the World. I actually live on a farm and we have horses. Horses are so enjoyable to have around. Whenever my friends come over they love to play with them. Also, Ocala has many attractions for kids like Wild Waters, Ocala Speedway, and Ocala National Forest. Wild Waters has been one of my favorite parks with the scary and thrilling water slides. I am so glad they have one in Ocala. Ocala Speedway has car racing and even had monster trucks one time when we went. The skating rink is one of my favorite weekend activities. I have been there many times with my family. They have snacks and drinks. You can win a drink if you win one of the races. Not to brag, but I’ve won a couple myself. Ocala’s weather is usually nice and sunny. Guess what that means? More playing outside. There are lots of parks so kids can enjoy nature and watching wild animals and reptiles. Our Family visits Silver River state park and we go canoeing. I always see lots of alligators and birds. It is fun and relaxing. Marion County Library has plenty activities for kids. From ages 2 to 17 all kids can come to the library. There is also other stuff for kids who like books. I recently got my library card. When I first went to check out a book, well I couldn’t decide. There are too many! There also is the YMCA, which is a place for kids to do different sports. Some sports they have there are soccer, flag football, basketball, and swimming. There are also programs where you can go to them after school and do exercise activities and crafts. In Marion County we have great schools. I go to one of the best and I learn a lot everyday that will help me do better in life. Ocala is a great place for kids like myself to grow up. My personal opinion on Ocala is it’s a bright happy place that we kids call our home.
Caitlin L. Executive Editor
Kid-cala Magazine Vol. 1, Issue 1
EDITORIAL/DESIGN Caitlin L. Editor John Sotomayor, Ocala Magazine Editor Jessi Miller, Ocala Magazine Designer CONTRIBUTORS Contributing Writers Lesley E. Leeyu A. Jerold T. Rylee T. Logan S. Sophie R. Gravyn L. Contributing Photographers Sophie R. Braxton H. Contributing Illustrators Briana B. Jacob B. Kyleigh B. Dylan M. Releigh S. Trace M. First Grader self-portraits: Campbell, Myles, Brooks, Doug and Suene First Graders: VOX Third Graders: Best of the Best Fourth Graders: Q&A with Jim Yancey
32 KI id C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I December
2012
Tid-Bits Student Makes All-State Chorus
Dr. N. H. Jones has had a student selected for the 2013 Florida All State Chorus. Olivia Haworth will attend the music teachers’ conference this January to be part of the 200-voice choral group. Congratulations, Olivia!
QA &
Q&A with Jim Yancey, retired Marion County School Superintendent ns from 4th graders stio Que
What is your lifelong career? Teaching and educating children.
Jim Harbin State Media Festival Awards Dr. NH Jones students were among many media production students from all over the state of Florida when they received their awards for their videos on November 3rd in Orlando during the Florida Association of Media Educators conference. Students created videos last school year for our local Marion County Media Festival and those that earned 1st place here then moved on to the state competition. State winners from Dr. NH Jones Elementary included: 1st Place K-2 PSV (Public Service Video) Recycle! 1st Place K-2 News Feature Flutterby Days 1st Place K-2 Music If You Really Like to Read 2nd Place K-2 Comedy Kinder Joke Factory 1st Place 3-5 Instructional How to Make a Danish Cinnamon Roll 2nd Place 3-5 News Feature FCAT Tips 2nd Place 3-5 Music Read and Shout Recycle!, FCAT Tips and How to Make Danish Cinnamon Rolls also received recognition from the International Student Media Festival for Excellence in Media Production.
How did you start serving the schools? ents By providing more technology for stud t. nden and teachers when I became superinte ion Have you enjoyed working for the Mar County School System? 5 have Yes, all 33 years, although the last been tough. ga What will you miss the most about bein superintendent? with Visiting schools and interacting students. What do you plan on doing from now on? y my I will spend time with my family and enjo shing. hobbies, golfing, reading, hunting and fi
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Bestof the Best
KID PICKS!
Illustrations: Briana B., Jacob B., Kyleigh B., Dylan M., Rileigh S., Trace M.
Greenway ry Cold Stone Creame
Hollywood 16
Petsmart
Walmart
cie n a r F Mrs.
Peachwave
34 KI id C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I December
2012
5K
Dr. N.H. Jones Race to the Holidays is coming around the finish line!
Great day for a STORY: LESLEY E., LEEYU A., JEROLD T. RYLEE T., AND LOGAN S.
A COOL MORNING in December, you are running along the trail. As you look around you see beautiful scenery with family and friends. As you finish the course, the sound of cheering fills your ears as you race to the finish line, your heart is beating fast, so fast that your chest feels numb. Live music keeps you jamming along as you stride to the finish line. Finally you reach the finish line in joy and are awarded a medal. You have just finished a 5k Run. Last year, Dr. N.H. Jones held their first 5K and fun run. This year, they are holding the great event for the second time. The holiday annual event is a fundraiser for our school to raise money to replace old computers and purchase more computers. The event is fun for the whole family and a healthy way to spend a Saturday morning. Assortments of delicious healthy foods are waiting for runners, such as bagels, oranges, bananas, water, and coffee for the adults. “I don’t like to run at all but with water, and bagels, man...I felt like a Cheetah,” said Rylee T. Come join the excitement by participating in a fun event benefiting a local
school in Ocala. The event is kicked off with an art contest in the school to design the t-shirt that will be worn by all the runners. Students in every grade level from Kindergarten through fifth grade are encouraged to participate. The winning design picked by the committee will appear on every runners t-shirt. The theme of the race is “Race into the Holidays” and wearing crazy socks is promoted. Last year crazy socks decorated the legs of many runners. Since the race is a holiday theme a Gingerbread man starts the fun run for all the kids. The race is staggered so older students run together and younger students can run together. Last year we had runners
Ready, Set,
“I don’t like to run at all but with water and bagels, man...I felt like a Cheetah!” ~Rylee T.
from ages 2 to 72. The schools runs a contest for the class with the most people participating and last year they won a Gingerbread house making party. Medals are awarded to the top three finishers in each age category. Plus they have a raffle of prizes at the end where every run is entered for a chance to win. Bring your friends and family and as many people as possible. The proceeds go towards Dr. N.H. Jones School. Trust me, this is an event to put on your calendar.
Run!
Here comes the second annual Dr. N.H. Jones race to the Holidays. This is a 5k and 1-mile fun run held at Greenway Park. Mark your calendar for December 1st at 8:00 A.M. The pre-registration fee for the 5K is $20. The cost for the Fun Run is $10. The T-shirt designed by a student is included in the cost.
2012
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Fire Safety Lessons with the Ocala Firemen STORY & PICTURES BY: SOPHIE R. The city of Ocala firemen visited our school during fire safety month. We learned if there is a fire you should call 911. They have a kind of camera that can see through smoke. The clothes they wear weigh around 50 pounds. They wear helmets over their masks to keep them safe from fire. Remember, if your clothes ever catch on fire you STOP, DROP and ROLL. Make sure you all have smoke detectors in your house. They should be located on a wall or on the ceiling. We learned a lot of good information. Maybe they can come visit your school.
36 KI id C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I December
2012
B.E.S.M.A.R.T. Kids Presentation STORY BY GAVYN L.
PICTURES BY BRAXTON H.
Ann Burnett and Dr. Don Bovell visited Dr. N.H. Jones to talk about exercise and eating healthy foods. They taught us the Tabata 4 minute workout for kids. We learned to do air squats for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds, then repeat 6 times. That is the Tabata workout for kids. Anybody can do this even adults, so try it! They also told us about smart nutrition. Kids should eat healthy foods not junk food like candy. Drinking sugar filled drinks is bad for kids too. Check them out at besmart. com and maybe they can come visit your school. It was lots of fun!
2012
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VOX
KID
Out of the mouths of babes. First-graders sound-off about what matters to them most.
ILLUSTRATIONS: Self portraits done by authors
ing h t t s e The b rst grade is i n f t u o ab to go play ond I get playrgou g the bi r recebellss. fo ~Camp
The hardest part about being at a new school is I don’t know where the office is. ~Myles
My favorite animal is the gazelle. It is pretty and can run really fast. ~Brooks
My favorite lunch is ‘ravinoli’ from the can. ~Suene
38 KI id C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I December
2012
The most important thing about me is that I can ride my bike fast. ~Doug
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Montessori House Parents Say...
First off, we want to say what a blessing the Montessori House of Ocala is to our family. Mrs. Jill, and her amazing staff make us feel like family. Hannah started in August of this year. She has learned so much in a short amount of time. The first thing Nick and I noticed were improved discipline and manners. While at a store, she picked out some books to look at and, without us saying anything to her, she put them away all by herself. They teach the whole child. She is reading, writing, speaking Spanish, sign language and much more. Hannah shares all the wonderful things that Mrs. Janny, Mrs. Jamie and Ms. Wanda teach her. We couldn’t ask for better teachers. I am so impressed, I am personally interested in learning more about the Montessori way. We will not put Hannah in any other school. We are also amazed at the community within the school. Parents and grandparents participate at events and needs when asked. For instance, the turnout for St. Jude trike-a-thon was amazing. We drove from Crystal River and it is well worth the drive. For our family the Montessori way is the ONLY WAY!!! Thank you all for being a blessing!
~The Bloom Family Nick, Kerri & Hannah
CALL TODAY FOR YOUR TOUR:
9880 SW 84th Court, Suite D, Ocala, FL 34481 • 352.237.3281 montessorihouseofocala.com
2012
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Using the book, “A Guiding Life: Living, Fishing and Hunting the American Dream” by Mark Shepard with Phil Fragasso as inspiration, Ocala Magazine conducted a socio-political experiment. What would we discover if we took three men from Marion County with three different political points of view and placed them together to discuss the top election issues of 2012? The debate was at times argumentative and at times highly comical. The results are fascinating and insightful. Here is a close look at what we found while fishing for answers.
Fishing FOR ANSWERS STORY: JOHN SOTOMAYOR PHOTOS: SHANNON CLAYTOR INSPIRED BY, “A GUIDING LIFE: LIVING, FISHING AND HUNTING THE AMERICAN DREAM” BY MARK SHEPARD WITH PHIL FRAGASSO.
2012
December I O C A L A M A G A Z I N E . C O M I 41
MY FIRST CONCERN when I concocted this socio-political experiment was safety. I invited three highly opinionated men representing the conservative, liberal and constitutional points of view to have a spirited debate aboard a boat. Would someone really get tossed overboard? How bad could it get? That concern was realized, and the question answered, when the discussion turned to unemployment. The conversation grew dicey when Mike Sizemore, who represented a liberal point of view, presented a recently denied bill on the US Senate to create jobs for veterans. “We have 30 percent of the veteran community unemployed. That is higher than all the other sectors – by race, gender and demographics. So the bill was designed to create jobs in forestry and three other government areas. Five republicans voted it down. Stopped it.” “Good,” shouted Butch Verrando, a retired local former manufacturing business owner with ties to New York. He repre-
sented the Constitutional viewpoint, otherwise known as the Tea Party. “The government is not a jobs program!” Verrando continued. “What we should be doing is clearing a path, so that business can grow and flourish and create the jobs that those soldiers can come back and be a part of.” “I can understand the ‘get out of the way’ stuff, but what I am saying is that sometimes you need to target certain sectors of our society to help pull them up,” answered Sizemore. “Did you ever think that when you target those people what you do is you chain them to a lifetime of tyranny?” Verrando said this time raising his voice and stand-
“But that is what the federal government created jobs in forestry is doing – that is what it is – it is sucking off a teat.” -BUTCH VERRANDO
ing. “Did you ever think that maybe those people did not want to be a Park Ranger?” Later within the same discussion Sizemore shot back, “They are not sucking off Big Government forever.” To which Verrando shot back, “But that is what the federal government created jobs in forestry is doing – that is what it is – it is sucking off a teat.”
What if?
BUTCH VERRANDO
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KURT KELLY
While it sounds completely confrontational, it really wasn’t. Not entirely. There were insightful moments, moments of agreement and even welcomed comedic jabs at one another that lightened the mood. So how did this come about? The idea came to me when I received the request of a book review of “A Guiding Life: Living, Fishing and Hunting the American Dream” by Mark Shepard with Phil Fragasso. What caught my attention was the accompanying write up
by a Daily News columnist Chris Bergeron. Bergeron wrote, “Heading to Lake Okeechobee to fish with his son, local author Phil Fragasso reeled in an unlikely friend along with a boatload of bass. The self-described liberal atheist from leafy Wellesley Hills spent two days in May 2011 fishing in Florida with deerhunting, Tea Party-supporting, evangelical Christian fishing and hunting guide Mark Shepard. And together they discovered what “real Americans’’ - from blue or red states - can learn if they listen to each other.” The memoir about “polar opposites who found common ground neither knew existed” fascinated me. Bergeron continued, “Despite his initial image of ‘rednecks as crass,’ he found Shepard to be ‘a really sweet guy who’d do anything for someone in need.’ A high school dropout ‘educated by life and hard
“If we are ever really going to deal with serious political divides, as a people, as a nation, recommit ourselves to our Founding Father’s standard – ‘We the People’ – the Constitution” -KURT KELLY work,’ Shepard now considers Fragasso ‘a wonderful friend, like a brother.’” Bergeron described a portion of the book to make his point. “Of all their considerable differences, he has been most successful changing Fragasso’s mind about hunting. Though still a strong believer in gun control, Fragasso said he’s come to largely accept Shepard’s logic that hunting helps manage the soaring population of wild boars and deer, which face painful deaths from starvation if their numbers aren’t controlled,” wrote Bergeron. Ultimately, Bergeron wrote that Fragasso hoped the readers would find, “in the mutual respect he and Shepard developed, a way for ‘Americans to come together as a nation.’’” Based on this, I thought, “What would happen if we applied this same concept to three men in our local area?”
A Book Led
Kurt Kelly joined Sizemore and Verrando. He is a former House Representative for District 24 in Marion County and currently Marion County State Committee Man for the Republican Party of Florida. In this experiment, he represented the conservative point of view. Sticking to the hunting and fishing aspects of the book, I decided it would be safer to put all three men on a boat instead of a hunting trip, so I chartered Captain John of Singing River Boat Tours on the Withlacoochee River, invited the three men and off we went on a two hour tour. We set sail on calm water in the clear sky on October 12, 2012 – a beautiful Friday afternoon. The major difference from the book was that all three men knew each other
very well. Like Shepard, Kelly is a local native. Unlike Shepard, he is not a “redneck.” Like Fragasso, Verrando is from up north. That is where the similarity ends. In fact, the two men could not be further apart. Sizemore is more like Fragasso, but he originated from Virginia, from coalminers. When we arrived at the Marina by the Blue Gator, all three men greeted each other cordially. Still, the experiment was relevant. All three were senior members in their respective parties and were very active in local politics. I knew I had to be prepared. So I acquired a detailed playbook of the top 12 issues of 2012 that covered the federal deficit, state budgets, employment, pensions, Medicaid, voter ID, health reform, corrections and juvenile justice, educational funding, transportation infrastructure, environmental regulations and natural gas resources. All of that went out the window – or in this case over the side – almost immediately after the first question. It was pretty clear these guys were ready to engage in a philosophical battle. I just needed to sit back and observe.
Three Men in a Boat
We covered an extensive number of topics in exhaustive detail, which included same-sex marriage, health care, gun control, environment, the economy and unemployment; too many to list here. Here are some of the highlights on criminal justice and unemployment. On criminal justice the men said the following: “I don’t think privatization of prisons are appropriate,” said Sizemore. “I think faith-based initiatives are very productive
and necessary. But I think it needs to be coupled with economic outcome – training skills and job preparation. We are
MIKE SIZEMORE
incarcerating many people who do not need to go to prison.” “I served on the House Juvenile Justice Committee as Vice-Chair,” said Kelly. “Many of the discussions were centered around the concept of ‘what do you do when a young child does something very heinous?’ This is where my Christian values come into play. I believe there is an opportunity to engage that person ... I sit on the board of director of Kid’s Central. If we are going to try them and throw away the key, we are going to train them how
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to become better criminals. Get them tied to a faith-based group. Into mentoring; and the state gets out of the way. Requires a little investment there. It changes lives. And produces citizens out of it.” On unemployment and job creation, the following was said: “Does government create job? No.” said Verrando. “The government does not. If you take a government job, tax dollars that pays you so you are not contributing dollars to society. In Marion County, we have a problem right now. We have a very large number of government jobs. The largest employers are MRMC – a government agency, the school system, the county administration, and municipalities. There is no income contributed to the area. Meaning government jobs do not add new money. On the other hand, manufacturing takes raw material adds a bit of labor and sells it outside of the county. Bringing money into the county and redistributing it around the county.” On healthcare, and other issues, Verrando stressed, “The government should step back and be the referee. They should set the rules then step away.” There were many playful jabs as well. At one point, Verrando said, “Let’s ask Kurt [Kelly] a question because he might actually be able to answer this one...” To which Kelly quipped back without missing a beat, “Compared to the other ones.” Towards the end, Kelly said, “Butch [Verrando] and I sit in my office some-
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times and go at it. We really do. We disagree on a few things...” “More than a few...” quipped Verrando. “And it is just because he is so wrong – on so many levels,” joked Kelly. “But the truth is, at the end of the day, he is a dear friend. I consider Mike [Sizemore] a friend.” “But not a dear friend,” quipped Sizemore. Everyone laughed.
Toward a Solution
While the debate experiment was conducted pre-election, the write up was done post-election. So while none of the men who participated, nor I, would know who would win the national election, incumbent President Barack Obama, or his opponent, Republican nominee Governor Mitt Romney, the decision was cast before the conclusions would be drawn. Aside from the sug-
“What I am saying is that sometimes you need to target certain sectors of our society to help pull them up” -MIKE SIZEMORE
A Guiding Life gested answers given to the issues we discussed, I thought the bigger question here was, is our divisiveness between liberal and conservative too great and if so, could we as a nation ever be united again before we lose everything? “These are the exact questions that were being asked in the formation of our nation,” said Kelly. “They started with, ‘We the People of the United States of America,’ recognizing that we would be united … The reality is there is only one way, if we are ever really going to deal with serious political divides, as a people, as a nation, recommit ourselves to our Founding Father’s standard – ‘We the People’ – the Constitution. If it is outside the bounds of the Constitution, we should universally say this is not what we wanted to be.” Interestingly, Bergeron addressed these exact same issues in his review of “A Guiding Life.” “Asked what he’d do if, by chance, presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney rented his boat at the same time to fish for bass, Shepard quickly answered, ‘I would tell them to
shut the hell up, have a good time fishing and enjoy what the day has given us,’’’ wrote Bergeron. He continued. “Pausing a moment, Shepard added in a quieter voice, ‘I’d tell them if we don’t stop this stuff and stand together we won’t be able to build a strong nation for our children. It’s important Americans, whether on the left or right, come together and work out our major issues.’” At one point of our boat ride Verrando asked, “Is it possible we expect too much from our federal government?” To which Kelly answered, “Perhaps we also expect too little – like civility.” All three men agreed. When we arrived at the dock at the end of the day, the answer to my biggest question – can we all live together in civility – was answered. Not by what these men said, but by what they did. They shook hands and talked about their day-to-day affairs, listened and laughed at Sizemore’s gripes about a dispute with a neighbor. When it was time to depart, they bid each other farewell.
Part Ernest Hemingway, part Grizzly Adams, and part down-home philosopher, Mark Shepard of Clewiston, MA is 100% American. A professional bass fisherman and avid hunter, his story of neardeath experiences, hunting adventures, tournament fishing competitions, family bonds, and an overarching love for the outdoors will entertain, inform and inspire everyone from like-minded outdoorsmen to urban homebodies. Visit www. aguidinglife.com for a copy of his book, “A Guiding Life: Living, Fishing and Hunting the American Dream.” The book is also available on Amazon and Barnes& Noble bookstores. Back cover description printed with permission by Phil Fragasso of Erewhon Press.
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Gift Guide It's for life. Choose the right artist.
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801 N. Magnolia Ave 8 Blocks North of the Historic Square www.MyDesignersAttic.com Mon thru Sat 10am - 5:30pm
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BONAPPE BONAPPE APPETIT APPETI TIT TIT FOOD, RESTAURANTS & EXPERIENCE
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BON APPÉTIT
ONTHEMENU
Classic Greek Opa! Ocala’s newest Mediterranean restaurant featuring authentic Greek and Italian cuisine offers much to cheer about. STORY: DAVID MOORE PHOTOS: CHRIS REDD
FETA, THE NEW GREEK restaurant in downtown Ocala, will initially draw you in with all the buzz surrounding its recent opening. But once you dine there and enjoy its wonderful food, great service and fun atmosphere, you’re sure to return time and time again. Feta Mediterranean Cuisine is located at 306 SW Broadway St., in the twostory limestone building, the historic Moses Building. The inside has just as much character as the outside with its beautiful dark wood staircase at center, leading to the upstairs dining area. Diners are offered view of both floors giving it a large open feeling. In fact it was this unique building that drew business partners Kevin Molduene and Dimitri Pomakis to Ocala. “This building charmed us,” Kevin said. “It has a charm that we could not find
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anywhere else in Central Florida.’’ With its white walls and dark wood inside and the stone outside, Dimitri said the building is reminiscent of those you’d find in the mountains of Greece, so it really was the perfect spot. Upstairs, you’re sure to appreciate the great wood flooring as well as the many beautiful, large photographs of Greece and the Mediterranean that adorn the walls. These images will help put you in the right frame of mind and ready you for the cuisine you’re about to experience. We started with the saganaki, the popular flaming cheese dish, from the mezedes or appetizer selections. Why not have a little show with your dinner? As the flames shoot up from your dish, your server shouts “Opa” and all the other servers join in, making you feel part of the “big fat Greek” family. As much as you enjoy the fire show,
you’ll love this cheesy concoction served with warmed pita triangles even more. It was a great introduction to this restaurant and made us excited about the rest of our meal to come. You’ll also want to try some of Feta’s signature items like the kolokythia, which are fried zucchini chips, and the bouyourdi, oven baked feta cheese with herbs, olive oil and tomatoes, served with a side of pita bread. And then there are the keftedes, pan-fried meatballs just like Dimitri’s mama makes. Actually, you’ll want to try all of the appetizers at some point. They start at $5 and all look so enticing. Jared, our server, was very helpful, explaining everything to us and offering suggestions. He has worked at the famous Hellas Greek Restaurant in Tarpon Springs so he was down with all the correct pronunciations of the dishes.
Dimitri said the building is reminiscent of those you’d
find in the mountains of Greece Service was great on this night and the restaurant was busy with customers, a good sign for a Monday night. Next came our Greek salads and they were delicious served with the house vinaigrette. You know we just had to try the salad. We ordered the Greek Sampler Platter and the Greek Pizza. The Greek Pizza features feta, mozzarella and white cheddar cheeses, gyros meat, Greek peppers, sliced black olives and tomatoes. It was delicious! You can tell the dough is baked fresh daily and I loved the big tomatoes. It’s one of five pizzas they offer, but you also can create your own. The Greek Sampler is also a must
for newcomers, offering an introduction to some of the most popular Greek cuisine. It includes mousaka, pastichio, spanakopita, tyropita, chicken souvlaki, a side of tzatziki sauce and a small greek salad. The mousaka is eggplant, potato, zucchini and ground beef sauce topped with Bechamel, a rich, white custardtype topping. The pastichio is pastichio noodles and ground beef sauce topped with Bechamel. Both were excellent. I love spanakopita, the spinach and feta cheese pastry, and tyropita, the feta cheese pastry. Both of these were oh, so good with the flaky outside and delicious filling. The chicken souvlaki, grilled chicken on skewers, was also
great served with the tzatziki sauce, a freshly made yogurt and dill sauce. Friends of ours, also dining this night for the first time, raved about the gyros and the souvlaki, the large portions and the fun atmosphere that had them already planning their next visit. You’ll also want to try the Aegean Pasta served with shrimp, the Greek Stir Fry, and the Gigantes Hirino, which are gigantic Greek beans in tomatoes, onions and herbs, served with marinated grilled pork medallions. All three are signature Feta entree items. If Greek is not your thing, try the Italian dishes like baked spaghetti, homemade lasagna or the fettuccine alfredo. Entrees start at only $9.
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ONTHEMENU If you’re looking for authentic Greek and mediterranean cuisine, you’ve come to the right place. Dimitri was born and raised in Greece and the recipes are his own and those of his family. He came to America to work in his uncle’s Greek restaurant down in The Villages, where he eventually became head chef. Kevin also worked there and recognized Dimitri’s talent in the kitchen. The two started dreaming together about opening their own restaurant and that is how Feta came to be. Be sure to check out the wine list as the owners selected each wine to match the taste palettes of their unique menu. They’ve chosen wines from smaller wineries that are not offered elsewhere. Kevin said the local community has welcomed them with open arms. They rave about Stacey Atsides, owner of Stellas Modern Pantry just up the street, for offering them solid business advice and support. All of their desserts come from Stellas, with the exception of the Greek baklava, which they import every other day from the famous Hellas. Our baklava on this night was delightful. In the future, Kevin said they would like to expand with an outdoor seating area upstairs. Now serving beer and wine, the restaurant hopes to also get a full liquor license. And while everything on the menu is available for takeout, the owners also hope to offer delivery service. Also, in February they plan to offer some dinner theater upstairs with a one-woman show. Kevin said they love Ocala and the downtown area and are excited about being here. “This is a wonderful place and we’re looking forward to being active in the community, hosting great events and serving amazing food.”
If You Go: Feta Mediterranean Cuisine 306 SW Broadway St. (352)433-4328 www.fetacuisine.com
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recipe
Feta’s Aegean Pasta Ingredients Directions 2 oz. Extra Virgin Olive Oil Pinch of sautéed garlic 2 oz. Sautéed onions 2 oz. Sautéed tomatoes 3 Head of sautéed broccoli cut off stem 4 U-7Jumbo shrimp 3 oz. Reduced with Ouzo 7 oz. Tomato sauce 4 Leaves of fresh basil 2 1/2 oz. Feta cheese Pinch of Salt Pinch of Pepperoncini Pinch of Sugar Served with medium bowl of pasta noodles
Have pasta noodles ready. Add a pinch of sugar to the tomatoes to get the acidity out, and then dice. In a large skillet coat with olive oil then place garlic, chopped onions, diced tomatoes and a little pepperoncini for spice and peppery taste. Boil jumbo shrimp in water with some salt and oil. As soon as it is ready, take out and peel. Put jumbo shrimp in vegetables and add 3 oz. of Ouzo. Reduce. Add tomato sauce. Chop fresh basil and add with 2 oz. of feta cheese. Put pasta noodles in skillet and sauce it, then plate. Enjoy!
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Showtimes
Cox Cable Channel 21, Ocala Sat & Sun afternoons, 12:30 PM Weekdays at Midnight Sponsored by Condello Provisions Authorized Distributor for
BONAPPÉTIT Pi on Broadway It’s A Way of Life - Located in historic downtown Ocala, Pi on Broadway offers one of the most unique experiences in the area with a roof-top-terrace, two full liquor bars, fantastic food, and great live entertainment. Our passion is craft beer and after sampling from a wide variety of mirco brews and craft selections we recommend you pair your favorite with one of our gourmet pizzas, tapas, sandwiches or salads. Take a break from the daily grind and enjoy lunch with colleagues or join friends after hours on the terrace in the beautiful Florida weather. We love to party so if you’re looking for your next event venue come check us out. We can host wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, birthday parties, holiday parties, corporate events, beer fests, luau’s and much more. Give us a call today or visit our “Book a party” page on our website to get started. It’s our goal to offer great atmosphere, quality beer and food and of course a great experience. With glasses raised we say “Cheers!” and hope to see you soon. HOURS Mon. - closed • Tue. - 4 - 12 PM • Wed. & Thurs. - 11 AM - 2 PM, 4 - 12 PM Fri. & Sat. - 11 AM - 2 PM, 4 PM - 2 AM • Sun. - 5 - 10 PM
110 SW Broadway Street Ocala, FL 34471 352-369-5100 • www.pionbroadway.com
The Attic’s Cafe Let’s talk about great food! Let’s talk about unique and fun! Let’s talk about the Attic’s Café! The Attic’s Café is located inside My Designer’s Attic. (You know, the “Not Your Average Furniture Consignment Store” located downtown.) Chef Andrew uses his culinary skills to create some of the best-tasting food around! Specializing in scrumptious galettes (savory crepes) and incredible dessert crepes, Chef Andrew also does a super job with his distinguished sandwiches, fresh salads and soups. Whether it’s his signature Roasted Veggi Galette with goat cheese, the Hot Night Club Sandwich or a fantastic lemon crepe, you can’t go wrong!
Located inside of My Designer’s Attic. Don’t forget to explore the 8,000 sq ft of consigned furniture and estate pieces. You’ll never know what you’ll find at My Designer’s Attic. HOURS Serving Lunch, Mon-Sat: 11a.m.–3 p.m.
Located Inside of My Designer’s Attic, 801 N. Magnolia Ave, Ocala In the heart of the old business district, 8 blocks north of the Historic Square 352-369-9300
Tony’s Sushi & Japanese Steak House Sushi Me! No one offers sensational sushi with a
New York-Miami vibe in Ocala like Tony’s Sushi. Select your sushi from made-to-order specialty rolls or create your own. Enjoy exquisite chicken, steak and seafood prepared on a hot grill as well as a full liquor bar. Domo arigato! Ask about our daily not–on–the menu items! We also offer: Gift Cards, Catering and Entertaining for Hosting Holiday Parties
HOURS Mon– Thur 11 am – 10 pm. Fri – Sat 11 am – 11 pm, Sun. 12 pm – 10pm
3405 S.W. College Road, #103, Ocala, FL 34474 352.237.3151 www.tonysushi.com
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BONAPPÉTIT Cuvée Wine & Bistro Cuvée Wine & Bistro is an elegant and approachable environment where you can embrace the age-old relationship between food and wine. In an inspiring and intimate atmosphere, Cuvée brings together the taste of upscale cuisine with the freshest ingredients, combined with a wide array of wines from around the world. We guarantee your senses will be delighted and your palate overwhelmed. Feed your mind, your spirit and your curiosity at Cuvée. HAPPY HOUR 5-7 PM DAILY CALL FOR RESERVATIONS Private Parties and Off-Premise Catering Available. HOURS: Mon–Thur 5:00pm–10:00pm; Fri & Sat 5:00pm–2:00am
2237 S.W. 19th Ave. Rd., Suite 102, Ocala, FL 352.351.1816 www.cuveewineocala.com
Sky Asian Fusion
Golden Spoon
Award Winner
2010, 2011 2012
Features delectable Asian Fusion menu with a beautiful view of Ocala for a casual but elegant dining experience. Sky menu is a passport to Asia with items across cultural boundaries. Dishes that inspire from China, Japan, Thailand and Korea. Even American-inspired items like beef and salmon. FULL BAR. Ocala’s most sensational dining experience! Enjoy all American inspired favorites like hand cut Steaks, Fresh Lobster and Sea Bass and the best of SKY! Reservations suggested for parties of 8 or more.
Join us for New Years Eve Dinner!
HOURS Mon-Thurs 5-10 pm, Fri-Sat 5-11 pm
3600 SW 38th Ave., Ocala, FL 34474 Located on the 6th floor of the Holiday Inn & Suites 352.291.0000 www.ocalasky.com
The Mojo’s Grill and Catering With the sweet sounds of the Blues in the air, and décor straight from a Mississippi delta eatery, Mojo’s Grill brings soul into Ocala and Belleview. Satisfy just about any craving you have, particularly if you’re hankering for food with a Cuban slant. Mojo’s is also a full service catering company that can handle all of your event needs. Mon - All U can Eat Wings 5-Close Tues - Open Aucoustic Jam 7-10 Weds - Kids Night w Kids Kareoke Fri and Sat evenings - LIVE MUSIC Sun - NFL Ticket w 20 wings and Bucket of Beer $19.99 All You Can Eat Crawfish
506 S Pine Ave, Ocala 352.369.6656 Now Reserving Ocala Ballroom for Special Events. Call for more info 352-369-6656.
HOURS Sun: 11am-9pm, Mon.-Thurs.: 11am-12am, Fri.-Sat.: 11am-12am
5710 SE Abshier Blvd., Belleview 352.307.6656
HOURS Sun: 11am-9pm, Mon.-Thurs.: 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat.: 11am-12am
www.mojogrillandcatering.com
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BONAPPÉTIT Feta Mediterranean Cuisine A Taste Of Something Different In Ocala. Historians note the Mediterranean region for being the starting point for math, science, philosophy, and democracy. This region of the world is also home to some of the most exquisite taste. At Feta we strive to import that sense of joy, wonder, and community to our new restaurant in downtown Ocala. Your experience at Feta should be more than one of just eating out, we wish to emulate the feel of the Mediterranean and her peoples by offering a rich dining experience filled with sights, sounds, smells, and good spirits. ENTERTAINMENT COMING IN 2013! HOURS Lunch Dinner Take-out Delivery Mon-Fri 11am-9pm • Sat Sun 12pm to 9pm
306 sw Broadway Street, Ocala FL (Pine (US 441) & Broadway, Downtown) LIKE US ON FACEBOOK • FOLLOW US ON TWITTER 352.433.4328
Ayuttaya Thai Cuisine With specialties like seafood, curries, vegetarian and non-spicy dishes, Ayuttaya Thai Cuisine offers only the finest Thai food in Marion County. Be sure not to miss this gem of a restaurant tucked away in Ocala. MENU HIGHLIGHTS Spring Rolls, Beef or Chicken Satay, Nam Sod, Steamed Dumpling, Chicken Red Curry, Whole Red Snapper with Sweet Chili Sauce, Pad Thai, Ayuttaya Duck with Ginger Sauce, Pompano with Basil Sauce, Salmon with Red Garlic Sauce, Softshell Crab with Garlic Sauce, Chicken Bang Bang. New Management to Our Friends in Ocala Early Bird Special: Sat. - Sun. 12pm - 5pm Soup or salad & dessert with any entree purchased HOURS LUNCH: Mon – Fri 11am– 3pm DINNER: Mon– Thur 4:30pm– 9:30pm; Fri 4:30pm–10pm Sat 12 pm– 10pm; Sun 12 pm– 9pm
2437 S.W. 27th Ave., Ocala, FL 352.237.3433 www.OcalaThai.com
Ocala Wine Experience HOME OF HORSE’S ASS WINE, ACCESSORIES AND APPAREL Exquisite wine selections from around the world. English bistro with daily wine tastings, exotic beers, gourmet cheeses, fondues, pizzas, salads, desserts and coffee. Unique gifts, personalized wine labels and gift baskets. Live music Friday & Saturday nights. Entertainment space for private parties & meetings. Mediterranean courtyard with fruit tobacco hookah and cigars. BISTRO OPEN DAILY
en The most intedrreinstkinwginme at in the worlde Experience! Ocala Win 58
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HOURS Mon - Thurs 1 p.m. - 8 p.m., Fri 1 p.m. - Midnight., Sat 2 p.m. - Midnight.
36 S.W. 1st Ave., Ocala, FL 352.369.9858 www.ocalawineexperience.com | www.wineexperience.cc
BONAPPÉTIT Braised Onion Restaurant & Catering Come celebrate the holiday season with Braised Onion! The restaurant will be decked out for the holiday season, so come see what we’re all about! You can have your event here, or we can cater it at your place. We take care of every detail, so leave the planning to us. Call Marge Newsom-Felix to begin planning your event today. Our award-winning Chef Felix will be serving our holiday menu on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, so make your reservations now for a very special evening at Braised Onion. Chef Felix was recently the winner of Culinary Combat Iron Chef! Open Christmas Eve for dinner, 4p-9p. Closed Christmas Day. Open New Year’s Eve for dinner, 4p-11p. Closed New Year’s Day. Happy Holidays from our family to yours. HOURS Tue-Thu: 11:00am-9:00pm; Fri-Sat: 11:00am-10:00pm; Sun: 11:00am-8:00pm; Closed Mon • Reservations Welcomed
754 NE 25th Avenue Ocala, FL 34470 352-620-9255
Tony’s Sports Bar & Grill Ocala’s newest and hippest sports bar and grill has it all – a great location and 32 high-definition televisions, all 47 inches or larger, including an incredible 133-inch screen and 70-inch 3D screen, all offering every game that is televised, plus a tasty menu, friendly and attentive servers and 40 different selections of beer on draft. Yes, 40 different beers, all on tap. Tony’s offers the full sports bar and grill experience. Watch the game with family or friends; the high tables and comfy chairs will make you want to stay awhile. There is also a pool table, dart boards and video games. You’re sure to find your favorite tunes on the large iPod-like touch-screen jukebox, too. Customers who enjoy both this restaurant and Tony’s Sushi can receive a free domestic beer when they show their receipt from one within 48 hours at the other. What a great way to encourage brand loyalty. HOURS Mon - Thu: 4:00 pm - 2:00 am, Fri - Sun: 11:00 am - 2:00 am
HAPPY HOUR: 2 for 1 from 4-7 pm and 10 to close, Mon-Fri
2711 S.W. 27th Ave Ocala, FL 352-390-8188
Kotobuki Japanese Restaurant Kotobuki in Ocala has served its patrons the finest in Japanese cuisine since 1986. Kotobuki offers hibachi-style cooking at your table, freshly made sushi from the sushi bar and authentic Japanese cuisine from the Washoku room. MENU ITEMS INCLUDE Steak, Chicken, Scallops, Lobster Tail, Filet Mignon, Grouper and Salmon, many choices of Sushi and Sashimi from Sushi Bar. HOURS Sun & Mon 4:30–9pm; Lunch: Tues–Thurs 11:30am–2 pm; Dinner 4:30pm–9:30pm; Fri 11:30am–2pm, Dinner 4:30–10:30pm; Sat 4:30–10:30pm
2463 S.W. 27th Ave., Ocala, FL Shady Oaks Plaza next to Best Buy 352.237.3900 www.KotobukiOcala.com 2012
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13th Annual
Celebration of Reading Friday, February 15, 2013 Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa, Bonita Springs
Join former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the Bush Family along with national best-selling authors and a host of VIPs for an extraordinary evening supporting The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. We’re helping parents and children discover the joys of reading – together – while breaking the cycle of generational illiteracy.
J O I N T H E C E L E B R AT I O N N O W Harlan Coben With 50 million books in print worldwide, Coben’s last five consecutive novels all debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list
Arthur Agatston, M.D.
Tickets are $250 each and include the Celebration of Reading Program and Dinner. For sponsorship and reservation information, please call 239-277-6295.
6:00 p.m. | Reading Program 7:30 p.m. | Dinner and Dessert 8:30 p.m. | Author Book Signings
Renowned cardiologist and creator and author of the perennial best-seller, The South Beach Diet
Artwork courtesy of Romero Britto
Visit www.CelebrationofReading.org and find us on Facebook. The Celebration of Reading is managed by The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. A copy of the official registration (CH23705) and financial information may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free 1.800.435.7352. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by the State. The Barbara Bush Foundation may use a percentage of your contribution to support required administrative activities and/or direct costs.
JOURNAL
Medical
MEDICAL ADVANCES IN OCALA
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Doc
Search
Finding a primary care family doctor should be taken as seriously, if not more, than finding a good financial consultant. Just think, without good health you can’t enjoy your wealth! STORY: MARITZA MANRESA
SELECTING YOUR primary care family doctor is something that should not be taken lightly – after all, you are literally putting your life in their hands. Think of it as one of the most important decisions you have to make in your life. Your family doctor should be someone you feel comfortable with and at total ease discussing even the most uncomfortable medical issues you can imagine. He or she should be someone you feel understands you, is caring, patient, and available (within reason) when you need to be seen. You should also think of your doctor as a health coach, monitoring your progress, staying on top of what preventive tests and treatments would be good for you, encouraging you to make healthy lifestyle changes when needed, and being there for you helping you through when you are ill.
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All that sounds almost too perfect to be attainable and you may think of it as impossible, but the truth is that if you take the time and make the effort it takes to do your homework in selecting your doctor, you will reap the benefits. There are many wonderful doctors out there who are more than qualified to be family doctors. So, you may ask yourself, how do I even start looking for a doctor? Well, the first thing you need to do is make a list of doctors and work from there. If you have health insurance, first check the insurance plan’s list of doctors as you will pretty much be restricted to use one of the doctors in the list. If you do not have any restrictions as to what doctor you may see, then you can generate a list of doctors from many other sources. For instance, call the local hospitals and ask for
the doctor referral service. You can also check the “Physician Select” service at the American Medical Association website at http://www.ama-assn.org/aps/amahg. This site will provide you with a list that breaks down the doctors, by specialty, in your area. And, of course, ask family and friends for recommendations. However, finding the one that best fits your situation and needs, it is completely up to you. Before you go out in search of a doctor, make a list of things that are important to you when it comes to your primary family doctor – what do you want and need in a doctor. There are so many factors you should consider, such as location, office hours/ appointment availability, hospital care, language barriers, health insurance, and other general concerns.
Location
Is the location of the office important to you? Depending on your lifestyle, you may want or need your doctor’s office to be located close to your home or place of work. For instance, maybe due to health reasons, you normally do not like to drive very far from home. It may be that you depend on somebody else to take you to your doctor’s appointment and do not want to impose asking somebody to drive long distances to take you. On the other hand, if you work, proximity to your work place may be critical so that you can get to your appointments right after work or even during a lunch break.
Office hours and appointment availability
Your doctor’s office hours and easy access to see the doctor are often times critical concerns. Make sure the office hours are going to work for you. If you can only go to the doctor after work, but the doctor’s office hours coincide with your work hours, that situation may not work for you. If you have multiple heath issues and are constantly having to see your doctor on short notice, appointment availability is very important. What is the office’s policy on short notice appointments? Are they willing to work with patients “squeezing them in” when necessary?
Hospital care and coordination
Find out what the doctor’s policy is on hospital care and coordination. You want to make sure that once hospitalized, your doctor is able to keep close tabs on your condition from beginning to end, even providing necessary guidance when you are discharged such as referring you to specialists, if necessary. For instance, although many doctors are no longer making multiple physical visits to their patients while in the hospital, they are able to stay updated on the patient’s conditions through the services of hospitalists. Hospitalists are either part of your doctor’s office staff or part of the hospital where you are hospitalized who take care of you while in the hospital while
keeping your doctor updated every step of the way. In addition, being part of a network enhances even more your health care while in the hospital. For example, according to Dr. Juan V. Crespo, Family Care Specialists in Ocala, being part of the Ocala Health System allows him to connect electronically to the hospital to be able to have immediate and up to date access to his patient’s information while hospitalized.
Language carriers
With such shifts in demographics, the cultural diversity in any one community sometimes requires the availability of doctors who speak other languages. For some people being able to communicate with their doctor in their native language is crucial to avoid any misunderstanding. Thus, if you have a language preference when it comes to your health issues, make sure the doctor or someone in the staff can speak your language to allow for effective communication.
Health insurance
Finding a doctor that meets your medical needs is sometimes not enough to be a deciding factor. Sometimes finding a doctor who accept your health insurance or is part of your health insurance network, should be one of the main factors that should influence your decision, as it will play a key role in the cost of your medical care. Normally going to doctors within your health insurance network is more cost effective than going outside the network. For instance, if you chose a doctor that is not part of the network, you need to consider how much more it will cost you to see this doctor and whether what you pay will be credited toward your deductible.
General concerns
Make time to think of things that in the surface may seem trivial but deep down inside are important to you. For instance, will you feel comfortable seeing a doctor who is a different gender than you? Do you prefer a doctor who is very formal or would you feel more com-
Your family doctor should be someone you feel comfortable with and at total ease discussing even the most uncomfortable medical issues you can imagine. fortable with a doctor who is casual and friendly? According to Dr. Crespo, when considering a doctor you might need to take into consideration other issues such as whether this prospective doctor will be able to treat your entire family? Does the doctor treat children? What about wellwoman check-ups? All these things are important. It is good to establish a relationship with a primary care doctor who will have your health history on file and will be familiar with any health issues you may have. Most importantly, you need to feel comfortable with your doctor and be able to develop a long term and trusting doctorpatient relationship.
DIVER DIVE IVERS RSISO SIOION ONS NS
Artists:
Send us your creations for consideration. Email submissions to jessi@ ocalamagazine.com.
PAPARAZZI • CALENDAR • ENTERTAINMENT
2012
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PAPARAZZI diversions
If you would like coverage of your event in Paparazzi, please submit your requests to John@ocalamagazine.com
STORY BY JOHN SOTOMAYOR AND MELINDA WHEELER PHOTOS BY SHANNON CLAYTOR
RECOGNIZING SOMEONE for his or her outstanding contributions always makes one feel good, don’t you agree? And double the pleasure when we double the recipients, right? It is especially gratifying when the honorees are husband and wife. This year, March of Dimes paid tribute to the extensive philanthropic contributions of Lt. Col. Frank and Naida Rasbury at the Honoring Excellence & Signature Chefs Auction on Oct. 14, 2012 at the Hilton Ocala Palm Terrace. Yes that’s right – Honoring Excellence & Signature Chefs Auction; a gamechanging name change. 2012 marked the first time the March of Dimes stepped away from their traditional In Honor of Excellence gala of the past 15 years and invited local chefs to showcase signature items as the meal of the evening. Eleven restaurants, caterers and chefs displayed their signature items beneath the sprawling 6,000 sq. ft. special event cream-colored, Arabian-style tent on the new Palm Terrace, the Hilton Ocala’s 15,000 sq. ft. outdoor venue. Ipanema presented Linguica with capers (Brazilian sausage with onions and capers) with a Brazilian chicken salad. The Melting Pot served cheese fondue and salad. The Mojo Grill and Catering Co. – the People’s Choice Award winner – offered Pepin (Mojo’s marinated pork), black beans and rice with plantains. Woodlea Gardens Catering provided layered sun-dried Tomato and Pesto Torta with Pita Crisps, sweet potato casserole with pecan brown sugar topping, and Bourbon pecan sour cream pound cake. Brick City Catering at Wenona Avenue
served Brick City Chicken and assorted hors d’oeuvres. Chef Randal of the Hilton Ocala served as the Chef Chair. He presented five decadent miniature chocolate desserts at each table. The desserts were elaborate chocolate works atop a bed of panna cotta. Latinos y Mas provided Ceviche Mixto De La Casa – a shrimp, fish and calamari marinated in fresh citrus juice with red onions, tomatoes and cilantro. The Ceviche was served with plantain chips. Horse and Hounds offered Shepherd’s Pie. Cup O The Irish presented Whiskey Tomato Soup with Cornish and Chicken Curry pasties. Fiore’s Cafe served Chicken and Spinach Ravioli topped with Pink Sauce, their signature Marinara and Meatballs, finished with a Tuscan Bruschetta. Finally, Chef Sharon’s Gourmet Catering – the other People’s Choice Award Winner – provided savory roast beef sliders, baked Rueben dip, and Black Forest brownies. Everything served was absolutely divine! In fact, the entire event could not have gone better. Through a combination of sponsorship, ticket sales, live and silent auction, and Fund the Mission donations to the March of Dimes, the event raised more than $70,000. Event organizers shared this amount was several thousand dollars more than their goal and they could not be more pleased with how the community supported such an important cause. This was good news for the presenting sponsor, Munroe Regional Medical Center Children’s Emergency Department; the platinum sponsor, Jenkins Auto
Group; and the gold sponsors – JM&A Group, College of Central Florida/CF Foundation, and DeLuca Toyota. All are highly supportive of the work done and awareness created by March of Dimes. November, for instance, is Prematurity Awareness Month. The organization sheds light on the fact that 1-in-7 babies in Florida are born too soon and too sick. Of these children, many will not see their first birthday. Through dedication of March of Dimes volunteers, they can see that every baby is given a chance at a healthy start in life. Nothing could have served as a more fitting tribute to the honorees, Lt. Col. Frank and Naida Rasbury. They were recognized for their many years of service not only to the March of Dimes, but also to the Marion County community as a whole. The assistance brought to those in need that evening was all the tribute they needed.
Susan Manges, Bob Little and Lisa Lombardo
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PAPARAZZI Scott Wheeler, Justin and Diane Green, Ashley Dalton, Chase Vickers
Cory Pool and Jim Henningsen
Jennifer McKathan
Lt. Col. Frank and Naida Rasbury
Jeremy and Jeanne Collett, Jim Bronson,
Guy and Elaine Lemieux
2012
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PAPARAZZI STORY AND PHOTOS BY JOHN SOTOMAYOR Bleu Biscuit Pet Boutique & Humane Society Adoption Center held its grand opening on Nov. 13, 2012, thanks to Russ Faber of Creative Management Group, Bob Wilson of the Humane Society of Marion County and their friends, actresses Kelly Preston and Ella Bleu Travolta. Bleu Biscuit was the idea of Ella Bleu who imagined a pet-friendly destination where the boutique sold natural and safe pet products, which allowed dogs to run freely in an enclosed, fenced back yard. Partnered with the Humane Society, Bleu Biscuit is an adoption center that allows homeless animals to find their forever home.
John Sotomayor and Kelly Preston
Joe Reichel, Adam Copenhaver, Russ Faber, Ella Bleu Travolta and Kelly Preston
Bob Wilson, CEO, Humane Society of Marion County Russ Faber, CEO, Creative Management Group
Morrey Deen, Rep. Cliff Stearns and Mayor Kent Guinn
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Ella Bleu Travolta
Kelly Preston and Felecia Prather
PAPARAZZI
STORY BY JOHN SOTOMAYOR PHOTOS BY SHANNON CLAYTOR Two brave speakers inspired the audience, sharing their stories at the second annual Dining in the Dark at the Hilton Ocala on Nov. 3, 2012. Special guest speaker, Miss Florida USA contestant Conner Boss has been legally blind since age 8. Matthew Solomon O’Leary, 28, was diagnosed at age 20 with optic neuritis and then lost his sight by age 27. All proceeds benefit the Florida Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which changed Solomon’s life, and others like him, by teaching adaptation and finding new purpose. Dinner was served in varying degrees of darkness for awareness of adaptation skills taught by the Florida Center. Maureen Hoth, Robin Whitley and Charlene Henry
Tanisha Brooks and Faylene Tyson
Miss Florida Connor Boss and Bill Boss
Michael Glucksman, Bo Partin, Amanda Keegan, Donald and Marilyn Glucksman
Solomon Oleary, Liz Broccio and Vasduvan Kidambi MD
Carol Coslett, Edward Brewer, Cindy and George Wanberg
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PAPARAZZI
Geraldine Bednarz and Rosey Moreno-Jones
IHMC presents national bestseller Dr. Davis PHOTOS BY SHANNON CLAYTOR A sold out audience turned out to welcome Dr. William Davis, author of national bestseller, “Wheat Belly” at the Institute of Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC) in downtown Ocala on Oct. 31, 2012.
Marc Miller, Mike Robertson, Mary Anne and Steve Purves
To Dine For PHOTOS BY MANAL FAKHOURY Co-founded by Michael Koontz and Manal Fakhoury, H.U.G.S. is a local organization designed to support cancer research, education, treatment and prevention. On Nov. 7, 2012 Manal Fakhoury opened her home where 12 community women enjoyed an evening of sharing and caring, raising $500 to benefit H.U.G.S. Charities Inc. The organization encourages others to follow and host their own To Dine For event, raising $500 or more per event.
Summer Best, Jaye Baillie and Kelly Moore Dr. William Davis, national bestselling author, “Wheat Belly”
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Manal Fakhoury, Lola Gonzalez, Laila Fakhoury, Tamiko Baker
Front Row: Marie LaRoco, Kathi Riggs, Nurjehan Saju, Manal Fakhoury, Tamiko Baker, Shelley Darby Back Row: Dana Daley, Lola Gonzalez, Jeanne Henningsen, Diana Holder, Rosey Moreno-Jones, Geraldine Bednarz
YOUR FAMILY DENTIST •
Please inquire about our specials for dentures, partials, crowns, and new patients
•
Our office offers an in-house denture lab
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Se habla español
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Now accepting Aetna, Cigna PPO, Delta, GEHA Connection, Guardian PPO, Metlife, as well as most other insurance carriers. Also offering up to 18 months 0% financing
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Free consult on dentures, partials and same-day repairs
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Walk-ins welcome!
F A M I L Y DENTISTRY & DENTURES
8750 SW Highway 200, Suite 101 Ocala Fl, Red Roof Building 352-840-7077
CCALENDARDECEMBER CALENDAR ALENDAR diversions
Children’s Choir, an inspirational speaker, memorial video tribute, candle lighting, and a cookie and hot chocolate social. To RSVP, submit a photograph for the memorial video, or for more information contact Community Care Director Beverly Brown at 352.671.6466.
Dec 7 -16 ➤ The Nutcracker at the OCT The Marion Ballet Theatre will be bringing the Nutcracker to the Ocala Civic Theatre. The holiday classic will be choreographed by Ms. Nicole Benson. For information or tickets please call 352.236.2274 or visit ocalacivictheatre.com. Dec 1-31 ➤ Children’s Home Society 2012 Holiday Drive Help the Children’s Home Society of Florida Mid-Florida Division to create a memorable holiday season for more than 1,000 local children who, without the community’s help, would not have any gifts to open this holiday season. New, unwrapped gifts are wanted for children ages 0—17. Gifts may include items such as books, games, toys, sporting goods, music, and gift cards. The organization can provide a child’s name, age, gender, clothing size, and holiday wishes at request. Cash donations are also accepted. The Marion County location is 226 NE Sanchez Avenue, Ocala FL 34470. Main contacts are Tracy Vance and Monica Berry; for more information call 352.732.1412. Dec 1-Jan 6 ➤ A Dickens’ Christmas: The Urban Family Holiday Collection Enjoy some of the miniature Dickens-era villages, nutcracker dolls and countless holiday decorations and ornaments that the Urbans have collected over the years in this exhibit at the Appleton Museum of Art. For more information call 352.291.4455. Dec 7 ➤ 2012 Hope Illuminates Candlelight Remembrance Share an evening of music, hope, and healing at the Highland Memorial Park (located at 1515 NE Third Street). The event is free and open to the public from 6—9 p.m. The remembrance will include performances by the Oakcrest Baptist Church Hand Bell Choir accompanied by the Memorial Baptist Church
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Dec 8 ➤ The Ocala Christmas Parade Celebrate Christmas and join over 60,000 spectators at the Ocala Christmas Parade. This year’s theme, “Light Up Christmas Spirit!” was designed by Anthony Elementary School fourth-grader Diego Rivera. The parade will begin at 5:30 p.m. For information and a map of the Parade Route visit http:// www.ocalamarionchristmasparade. com/. Dec 8 ➤ Hilton Ocala Christmas Storytelling and Jazz Dinner Storytelling 10 a.m.—12 p.m. and Jazz Dinner in Arthur’s Restaurant 7—9 p.m. For more information call 352.854.1400. Dec 8-9 ➤ Piccadilly Circus: The Christmas Circus Spectacular Exciting performances at the Ocala Equestrian Complex include white and orange tigers in the steel arena, camels accompanied by elves, the Grinch trying to steal the Christmas Circus, and Santa riding on a 9,000 pound elephant. There will also be a kid’s fun fair available with a petting zoo, games, and rides with elephants, ponies, and camels. For information, details, and ticket pricing visit thefuncircus.com. Dec 9 ➤ “North Pole Revolution” Hosted by the Ocala Cannibal Roller Derby team The OCRD’s 3rd Annual Toys for Tots Charity Scrimmage will feature skaters from teams all across Florida. There will be raffles for various items. Bring a chair or feel free to sit in Suicide Seating trackside (ages 18+). The event is all ages but OCRD advises that some content may not be suitable for children. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the first
whistle blows at 6:30 p.m. Admission is an unwrapped toy or a minimum $5 monetary donation. For more information visit ocalacannibalderby. com.
Dec 9 ➤ Hilton Ocala Winter Wonderland Brunch Brunch with a holiday ballet performance. 11 a.m.—2 p.m. For more information call 352.854.1400. Dec 9 ➤ Holiday Happening: Menorah Lighting Ceremony There will be a lighting of the Menorah to celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah in the Downtown Square from 6—7 p.m. For more information call 352.291.2218. Dec 10 ➤ SBDC Workshop: Start Smart Are you thinking of starting your own business? This workshop by the Small Business Development Center gives the aspiring entrepreneur an understanding of realistic tools and resources for business startup: Selecting an idea, testing the market, acquiring capital, writing a business plan, and more including understanding legal requirements. The workshop will take place in the Colours Plaza from 9 a.m.— 12 p.m. with advanced tickets at $40 and day-of tickets at $50. For more information or tickets call 352.622.8763 or 866.998.8332. Dec 11 ➤ Santa on the Square An Ocala holiday tradition. Visit with Santa and enjoy holiday music, snacks, and a hay ride. 6—8 p.m. at the Downtown Square. The event will also take place Dec 13, 18, and 20. Dec 14 -24 ➤ Silver Springs
Festival of Lights Don’t miss Silver Springs’ biggest special event of the year! More than a MILLION twinkling lights and neon displays throughout the park. Nightly activities include Miss Molly’s Storytelling, Dickens Carolers, the famous Lighted Boat Parade, shopping in the Silver Springs specialty stores, and of course a visit with Santa Clause (through Dec 24). The festival will continue from Dec 26—31. For more information visit www.silversprings. com or call 352.236.2121.
Dec 15 ➤ Ditchfield Family Singers Becoming known as one of America’s most versatile family ensembles, the Ditchfield Family Singers are acclaimed
Your guide to what’s happening in Ocala this month
for their close harmony, warmth, and wide variety of musical styles and presentations. Join the group for a performance of Christmas favorites. Doors open 6 p.m. and the show beings at 7 p.m. General admission is $5 with all proceeds going to Interfaith Emergency Services.
Dec 15 ➤ Hilton Ocala Breakfast With Santa A festive pancake breakfast buffet, horse and carriage rides with Buddy the Clydesdale, a special treat from the Hilton, and quality time with Santa himself. Bring your camera to capture these memories. Adults $15, children (3—12) $10, and 3 and under are free. The breakfast will be 9—11 a.m. at the Hilton Ocala. Call 352.873.6494 for reservations. Dec 15 -16 ➤ “Emmanuel, God With Us!” The Light of Joy Ballet Company presents the 23rd annual production of “Emmanuel, God With Us!” Dec 15 at 1 and 7 p.m. and Dec 16 at 3 p.m at the College of Central Florida’s Dassance Fine Arts Auditorium. Admission is free with seats at a first come, first serve basis but food drive items are recommended. They will be collected at the auditorium and will go to food programs through Interfaith and Please Pass the Bread. For more information and a list of recommended food drive items call 352.629.6038 or 352.572.7556. Dec 15-16 ➤ OSO Pops! Goes the Holidays, a Mannheim Steamroller Celebration Enjoy spectacular holiday music from the Ocala Symphony Orchestra including favorites such as Sleigh Ride and a narrated version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas that will be side by side with music from the movies. The music of Chip Davis’ Mannheim Steamroller, OSO’s annual Sing-ALong, and the personality of Maestro Matthew Wardell will also be included in the night’s events. The event will take place Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 16 at 3 p.m. at the Ocala Breeders Sales Complex Auditorium. For more information or tickets visit ocalasymphony.com. Dec 15-30 ➤ Trains at the Holidays The 17th Annual exhibit will be shown at the Webber Gallery on the Ocala CF campus. The exhibit
ticketbox ticket box CONCERTS
December 9➤
93.3 FLZ’s Jingle Ball feat. Justin Bieber/ Ke$ha/Sean Kingston/One Republic @ Tampa Bay Times Forum Tampa; 6 p.m.
December 14 ➤ Stephen Lynch @ Hard Rock Live Orlando; 8 p.m.
includes exciting new layouts and models with historic and holiday themes provided by Ocala Model Railroaders, Tri-County Department 56 Collectors Club, and private collector Bruce Richardson. There will also be an opening reception Dec. 15 with light refreshments from 12—2 p.m. where Ocala Model Railroaders will conduct a workshop and demo on the art of model railroads from 2—4 p.m. There are no fees for the reception, demo or exhibit. For more information call 352.873.5809.
Dec 22 ➤ Sidewalk Astronomy Family members are invited to join the Discovery Center for a guided tour of the night sky with telescopes, hands-on activities, and educational lectures from astronomer Ken Nash. The tour will be from 5—7:30 p.m. and is free. For more information visit mydiscoverycenter.org.
December 20➤ Orlando Ballet: The Nutcracker @ Bob Carr
Performing Arts Centre Orlando; 7:30 p.m.
December 21 ➤ Wynonna’s Rockin’ Christmas @ The Mahaffey St. Petersburg; 8 p.m.
MOVIES December 7 ➤ Playing for Keeps December 14 ➤ The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey December 19 ➤ Monsters Inc. 3D, The Guilt Trip December 21 ➤ Jack Reacher, This is 40, The Impossible December 25 ➤ Les Miserables, Django Unchained, Parental Guidance
Dec 25 ➤ Hilton Ocala Christmas Dinner For reservations call 352.854.1400. Jan 4 ➤ First Friday Art Walk Come support Downtown Ocala merchants and watch local artists work on their craft! 6—8 p.m. Downtown Ocala.
at-a-glance BOOKS
DVD RELEASES
December 3 ➤ The Twilight Saga: White Collection Box Set by
December 4 ➤
December 17 ➤ Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
December 11 ➤ Ted, The Bourne Legacy, Ice Age:
Stephanie Meyer, Threat Vector by Tom Clancy
The Dark Knight Rises, Hope Springs, The Odd Life of Timothy Green Continental Drift
December 18 ➤ Total Recall, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Trouble With the Curve
December 21 ➤ Resident Evil: Retribution December 24 ➤ The Words
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ETC. PEOPLE & THINGS
2 0 1 2 December O AC LAAL M AM CM O MI I075 February 2 0 0 8 I IO C A GA AG ZAIZNI N E .EC. O 75
ETC.
BUDDY SYSTEM The men and women who have dedicated their time to serving our country do not always receive the credit they deserve. Now, however, two Florida organizations are coming together to ensure that we give back to the brave soldiers of our country. STORY BY OLIVIA HENDRICKS
The Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) located here in Ocala and the Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa have received proper funding from the Veterans Administration to work together in a groundbreaking and innovative project. With a $272,000 grant IHMC Senior Research Scientist Dr. Yorick Wilks and researchers from the hospital will collaborate to develop an interactive, talking computer system to assist and communicate injured veterans. The “Companion” or “Buddy” will interact full-time with disabled veterans and help with everyday tasks, reducing dependence upon family or caregivers. The system will be able to create an emotionally based “companionship” with the veteran, much like human interaction. The Companion will have detailed knowledge of the veteran’s life, habits, interests, and needs. The project will focus on making Companions proficient in understanding language to create a system that can converse with the veteran, utilize the Internet for information,
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and establish action and control through interdependence. Wilks said the Companion needs to be “sticky” for veterans to be interested in talking to it. For instance, if the veteran has an interest in football and favors a certain team, the Companion can initiate a conversation about a game that occurred featuring that team. The companion will inquire about the game and will respond to the veteran’s comments. The ultimate goal is to create and exploit language processing software tools to create the Companions or Buddies to encompass capabilities such as: serving effectively and flexibly even in situations that are not fixed tasks, being cooperative, collaborative, and sociable, promoting relationships and trust, and being functional in a range of conversation scenarios. Companions will not only be helpful in everyday lives of veterans, but can also help in medical situations as well. In the case of a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) veteran, the Companion can help promote daily care such as reminders or making sure it knows where the veteran was go-
ing to be at a certain time. TBI veterans will find the companion helpful because of the frequent monitoring through conversation and even providing caregivers with vital, timely information. The following dialogue shows how a Companion might function as the vet heads for the door of his care facility: COMPANION: Hey John—you haven’t checked out, remember? Why not just go back to the nurses’ station and check out? VET: Sure—it slipped my mind. COMPANION: Could you tell me where you’re off to—just in case we need to help out later? VET: Just going outside for a smoke, back in five. Later: COMPANION: How was the outing? Have a good time? VET: It was great, thanks. Needless to say, the Companions (or Buddies) will represent a major contribution to computer science, cognitive rehabilitation, and veterans’ lives if the implementation and exhibition are successful.
ETC. e-Book Christian Poems for the
Holidays
Sholom Park welcomes
“The Snow Goddess” STORY BY ROBERT COLEN
Late this autumn, Sholom Park will host its first live entertainment performance in more than 4 years. On December 8th and 9th The Damselfly Family Theater will produce Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen.” People who have visited Sholom Park, know that it is one of the most magnificent and peaceful locations in all of Marion County. Hosting an outdoor play is one way to introduce more people to the Park and at the same time entertain families from around the community. While “The Snow Queen” is not as famous as Hans Christian Andersen’s more popular stories “The Little Mermaid,” and “The Ugly Duckling” it is often considered one of Andersen’s greatest triumphs. The Snow Queen is a classic tale of love’s conquest over evil and fits in perfectly with the holiday season. The show itself will take place outdoors at the Park’s amphitheater. If you have not visited the Sholom Park before, take some time as soon as you can, to visit. Inside the park, you will find walking trails flowing through a stunningly beautiful formal garden of flowering Camelias, Crape Myrtles, and Shi Shi Gashira’s, the trail continues down through the azalea trail and out to the labyrinth. The walking trails will take you around the pond filled with Koi, then out through the enchanted forest of pines and oak trees, and finally to a wide open prairie of wild flowers, and xeric plants. The Parks was created and developed by Sidney Colen, the founder of On Top of the World Communities. Its purpose is to provide a place for each individual to find peace within themselves and in turn help make the world around them a better place. It is an absolute visual delight for the senses and is free and open to the public. The Park is located at 6840 SW 80th Avenue, just up the street from On Top of the World. For more information, visit the Sholom Park website at www.sholompark.com.
STORY BY VINCENT COLETTI
While most holidays consist of trees getting lit up with lights and the smells of apples and cinnamon crackling away by a roaring fireplace, sometimes the holidays can be the perfect time to meditate on yourself and the world around you. Reverend John Marinelli and the Fellowship of Christian poets may have a new way to do just that. Marinelli has just published his first e-book entitled Think About It. The 79 page book is a collection of poems written by Marinelli and other Christian poets; it is available online for free. Rev. Marinelli is an accomplished bible teacher, poet, songwriter and playwright. Together with his wife Marilyn they co-founded the Fellowship, which is a world wide non profit Christian ministry that has the largest Christian poetry library in the world. Think About It contains several poems that discuss major biblical topics like the second coming and the very existence of the Christian God. There are more than a dozen Christian poems dealing with that same subject matter. The e-book is filled with illustrated Christian poems and discussions that Marinelli hopes will challenge his readers’ beliefs on faith or doctrine. The book is currently available at www.christianpoets.com for free with non-commercial use.
Wise Men Still Seek Him Wise men still seek Him Who appeared so long ago. They come now by grace Through faithful hearts aglow. Wise men still seek Him For He is their “Bread of Life.” A sustaining inner strength Through times of sorrow or strife. Wise men still seek Him The Christ of Calvary. God’s only begotten Son Crucified as Sin’s penalty. Wise men still seek Him Jesus, God in human array. King of kings & Lord of lords Born to earth on Christmas Day. Written By John Marinelli
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ETC. what goal would you make for the coming year if you you knew you could
Nardin Derias
Accomplish It? COMPILED BY MANAL FAKHOURY PHOTOS: CONAN SEGREST OF FULL LINE STUDIO
Jena Woodward
Cory Pool
Jeanne Henningsen
Judi Fusco
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Al Ellatter
Be a part of our
Community Hug. HUGS Charities, Inc. of Ocala will honor
Albert Peek and the Bunco Babes of Ocala with its annual Community Hug Celebration and Fundraiser. Join us for this special night at 6:30 Jan. 24 at Gateway Bank of Central Florida, 1632 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. The event will include hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer and entertainment. Tickets are $50 per person.
HUGS, which stands for Heartfelt Unconditional Giving, is an organization of volunteers working to encompass (in a big HUG, if you will) all local volunteer groups working to benefit the elimination of cancer through research, prevention, education and treatment. With the formation of the Cancer Alliance of Marion County, HUGS aims to collaborate with other organizations in the fight against cancer.
For more information, go to www.crushcancermc.co.nf If you are interested in buying tickets or being a sponsor for this event, please call 622-3241. As HUGS is a 501-C3 organization, donations are tax deductible.
VOX voice of the people
“I THINK THAT’S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED BY AND SOMETHING WE SHOULD MAKE SURE GOING FORWARD DOESN’T HAPPEN AGAIN.” ––– Incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford explains his reasons for creating a House committee to deal with elections and ethics legislation in 2013 when he assumes office. On Nov. 13, 2012, advocacy groups called for the appointment of a task force to review Florida’s election, which was plagued with long lines and reduced early-voting days prompting a four-day delay in determining which president contender won the state’s 29 electoral votes, rendering the state’s vote irrelevant.
“JUST BECAUSE I LOST MY SIGHT DOESN’T MEAN I LOST MY VISION. I WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL. FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO GET A JOB THAT LEADS TO A CAREER. THEN I WOULD LIKE TO GET MARRIED AND START A FAMILY. SO IF THERE ARE ANY SINGLE GIRLS HERE TONIGHT, TALK TO ME LATER.”
“My [foster] mom encouraged me to always stay on course. She instilled in me that water boils at 212 degrees. It takes a small but significant extra push for water to go from hot to boiling. Few will take that extra step.”
––– Lucas Daniel Boyce, Director of Community Relations, Multicultural Insights, Cause Marketing and Government Affairs for the Orlando Magic, former White House staff in the Office of Political Affairs and the Office of Public Liaison, and author of “Living Proof: From Foster Care to the White House and the NBA”. A public speaker, Boyce spoke on Oct. 24, 2012 at the Children First Breakfast sponsored by the Marion County’s Children’s Alliance, United Way Success By 6, and the early Learning Coalition of Marion County, at the Hilton Ocala.
––– Matthew Solomon O’Leary, 28, shared his story at the second annual Dining in the Dark at the Hilton Ocala on Nov. 3, 2012, sponsored by the Florida Center for the Blind. O’Leary was diagnosed at age 20 with optic neuritis, a progressive disease of the eye, and then lost his sight by age 27. The Florida Center for the Blind changed his life by teaching him how to adapt to his blindness finding new opportunity and purpose in the process.
“Their plans are not just sketchy, but etch-a-sketchy.” ––– How Vice-President Joe Biden described GOP budget designer Paul Ryan plans, said to more than 2,500 fired up supporters in Tuscawilla Park, Ocala on Oct. 31, 2012.
“The election is over and President Obama won. I’m responsible for families in Florida … If I can get us to yes, I want to get to yes.” –––During an interview with the Associated Press, Gov. Rick Scott said that he now wants to negotiate with the federal government. He is willing to discuss adoption of the health care overhaul.
I L L U S T R AT I O N / P H O T O G R A P H Y C R E D I T I N A M E G O E S H E R E
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*Restrictions apply. See website for details. Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and all related characters and properties © 2012 DreamWorks Animation L.L.C. Merry Madagascar © 2012 DreamWorks Animation L.L.C. © 2012 The Coca-Cola Company. “Coca-Cola” is a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company. All rights reserved.
2012 Elantra
1) 2012 Elantra Named 2012 North American Car of the Year. Source: www.northamericancarof the year.org
50 Independent Journalists. 30 New Cars. 1 Winner. In 2009 it was the Genesis. Now it’s Elantra’s turn.
2012 NORTH AMERICAN CAR OF THE YEAR. 1
Elantra Named
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