PLANT CITY TIMES & OBSERVER | 2014
WONDER
WOMEN
RUBY JEAN REDMAN • MARY THOMAS MATHIS • VERNA MCKELVIN • ERICCA GARRISON • DI LOTT • YVONNE FRY • COURTNEY PAAT • KIM SHOUSE • SILVIA DODSON • ANNA GENCO • PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE HUMPHREY
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WONDERWOMEN
Anna Genco T
he lights of two dart machines glow in the corner of Silver Dollar Saloon in Historic Downtown Plant City. The purple hues play off owner Anna Genco’s blond hair. The bar is smoky but charming, tucked away in a slot between other store fronts. ROAD TO It’s because of Genco that SUCCESS loyal patrons FIRST JOB: Main come back Street Ice Cream time and time Parlor again. The ADVICE: Just folspace has low everything you seen many believe in, your dreams. I know it owners come takes money, but and go. I surprised myself But Genco when I did. I never brought it thought I could do it. back to life. ROLE MODEL: My The barflies mother, Minerva know her as Genco. a big-hearted HARDEST LESSON: woman. CharThis is going to ity event after make me look like a charity event, bad person. I was a Genco can’t drug addict at one stop hosting point, but that’s them. Every what I did. I overcame it. June, she picks a cause and throws a huge party complete with raffles, auctions and drinks. The stage hidden in the corner is usually stacked high with prizes. The United Food Bank of Plant City is her biggest beneficiary. But, her favorite crusade was for a little boy who was blind. Genco helped raise $2,000 so the family could get a house in St. Augustine. There, the little boy could attend Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. “That one was probably the most memorable thing ever,” Genco says, sitting at one of the high tops. “When (his mother) got him there, he was starting to learn things and do things.” Her bartender brings her a
crumpled picture of the little boy from the back office. She sets it on the table, tapping it. His eye bulge out of his head, severely deformed. “It’s the closest to my heart,” Genco says. Genco intermixes her work and play. But it’s been a long road for the successful business owner to get where she is today.
LEARNING THE BAR BIZ
Genco was born in Tampa to a big Italian family of six siblings. She barely met one of her brothers last year. At 19, Genco’s life took a turn. She became pregnant with her daughter, Jennifer. When the father disappeared, she was even more responsible for her child. Luckily, her mother was there to help. Genco’s mother had been a bar manager since Genco was young. So, she started to work in bars as a way to support her and her daughter. After working at the Hawaiian Village off Dale Mabry, she made the switch to Culpepper’s. But, again, she ran into a roadblock. She became addicted to drugs for two years. The owner gave her a break. He was married to the owner of Silver Dollar Saloon, in Tampa. If she got clean, she would hire her. Genco went to three months of rehab. “I’ve never touched drugs in my life again,” Genco says proudly, sitting up straighter in her chair. The dart machines behind her make an excited shrill. She was hired at Silver Dollar Saloon, saving up all her pennies until the time was right
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for her to fulfill her dream. She wanted to own her own bar.
RENOVATING LIFE
Looking around the Silver Dollar Saloon in Plant City, no one would guess it was once a dilapidated mess. Genco has turned the bar around since she’s owned it. Just like she turned around her own life. It was an ad in the newspaper that caught Genco’s eye when she was looking to buy her own place in the early 2000s. Walking in, she was met by the 72-year-old owner, Peggy Joyce. Cane in hand and wig on head, Joyce was anything but tiny. The 6-foot-2 woman towered over her customers. “I fell in love with the town; I fell in love with the bar,” Genco said. “The feeling of it was there. It felt homey unlike the busy bars I had been in. It was more free.” Genco purchased the bar on April Fool’s Day in 2002, and although she thought it was homey, it needed a lot of work. The roof had caved in; the red carpeted floors were torn up. In addition to her charity work, Genco is also responsible for preserving the history of the building. The property had operated as a bar since the 1940s. Back then it was a stag bar. In the 1960s, it became Red Fred’s. This year, the building turned 100. Genco still has kept part of the original horseshoe-shaped bar. She also keeps her eyes and ears open to all her patrons that come through the doors. “They tell you a lot of stories …” Genco says. “Everyone tells stories, and you learn a lot.” — Amber Jurgensen
SUPERPOWER OF CHOICE: MINE WOULD BE TO FLY OVER CARS, SO I WON’T HAVE ROAD RAGE.
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WONDERWOMEN
Ruby Jean
Redman R uby Jean Redman and her family have played a significant role in Plant City’s history, and throughout the decades, she has seen the town grow up right along with her. As a child, Redman lived just three blocks from her would-be husband: lawyer and state legislator Jim Redman. They started dating when she was a junior in high school and married ROAD TO in 1957. Throughout SUCCESS the second FIRST JOB: My half of the dad used to own a 20th century, little dry goods store the Redmans downtown in Plant rose to leaderCity. I worked there in high school. I ship through also sold tickets at civic organizathe movie theater. tions such as the Auxiliary ADVICE: Being honest and doing the Club. They best you can with were longtime your God-given abilimembers of ties. Plant City’s ROLE MODEL: My First Bapmother. tist Church, HARDEST LESSON: where RedLife isn’t always fair. man taught You get knocked Sunday school down, you get back and still atup. tends. Jim died in 2006, after a long struggle with cancer, but Redman continued to stay involved in the community.
PRUNE PLATOON
Although it was hard for Redman to watch her husband battle cancer for 28 years, she turned the struggle into an opportunity to serve Plant City in ways that promoted health and
cancer research. Redman brought the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life to Plant City shortly after Jim had started his cancer battle. She served on the society’s board for about eight years and still leads a team at Relay each year. “Our team is all old people, and we’re called the Prune Platoon,” she says. “But, we’ve managed to raise a good bit of money.” She also has served on the board of directors at Florida Southern Baptist Hospital for a number of years. “I like keeping up with the new technologies, new treatment,” Redman says. “Every year, they’re coming up with new things.” The emergency wing at the hospital is named after the Redmans, who made the original donation for its expansion and modernization in the early 2000s. For other women who have family members battling cancer, Redman’s her advice is to stay positive. “I learned a lot from (Jim) — perseverance was one of his great traits,” she says. Today, Redman’s family carries on her legacy in leadership roles similar to some of those she has held.
FUTURE GENERATIONS
Before she started a family, Redman taught for one year at a school in Gainesville and another year at Bryan Elementary. Now, two of her daughters are principals at local schools:
Pam Bowden, at Durant High School, and Susan Sullivan, at Tomlin Middle School. Redman’s third daughter, Jeanne Knotts, is a guidance counselor at Plant City High School. Continuing into the next generation, Redman’s granddaughter, Chelsea Bowden, was crowned Florida Strawberry Festival queen when she was in high school. Redman herself earned the title in 1953 — four years after Chelsea’s other grandmother, Barbara Bowden. Jim was a longtime board member for the festival, and Redman also has volunteered at the festival for about 50 years. She welcomes visitors as they step off of their tour buses, serving refreshments at an area reserved for the bus drivers. “What makes our festival so unique — there are close to 2,000 volunteers that do it just because it’s fun,” she says. “We just have a good time out there and get to meet a lot of nice people.”
HOMETOWN GIRL
Having lived and led in Plant City for so many years, Redman has seen big changes come through the town. “In many ways, it’s changed for the better,” she says. “In some ways, I wish it had not gotten as large as it has. We used to walk home at night, walk home from the movies. It was just a different world. We felt safe.” As the town continues to change, Redman hopes the next generation of Plant City leaders will reflect some of the same qualities as her husband. “I want them to be honest,” she says. “My husband was known for being honest. ... A lot of people in the Legislature didn’t agree with him on some things, but they knew that he believed in what he was saying and he was an honest person, and that was more important in the long run.” — Catherine Sinclair
^ SUPERPOWER OF CHOICE: TO END HATRED IN THE WORLD.
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WONDERWOMEN
Di Lott A
lthough she’s not originally from Plant City, it didn’t take long for Di Lott to fall in love with the place. After 14 years of volunteering in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, Lott couldn’t be happier with the experiences. “I love it,” she says. “Love the hometown feel, and everyone’s so nice. You see people ROAD TO you know everywhere. SUCCESS Great place FIRST JOB: to live, and a Babysitting. Also, I great place to worked in a concession shop at the raise a family. Floriland Mall. I That’s why I made $1 an hour want to get inbabysitting, and $2 volved.” an hour in concesShe’s ready sions. for something ADVICE: Three new, though, quotes: “If you don’t and is about stand for something, to dip into two you’ll fall for everyof the city’s thing;” “Everybody most storied is a somebody;” and “Nothing is wrong traditions for with a mistake. Just the first time. take ownership and learn from it.”
ROLE MODEL: My mother and my husband.
THE NEWCOMER
Born in Philadelphia, HARDEST LESSON: Lott grew up Never think that in Tampa and you can do it all by graduated yourself. from Tampa Bay Tech at age 17. She began working full-time right out of high school and, after moving on from aspirations of becoming a nurse, got a degree in interior design from St. Petersburg Junior College. She met her husband, Mayor Rick Lott, while living in Tampa and working at an interior-design firm. In 2000, the family of
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three decided to move to Plant City. It was then that they had Rex, their youngest son. Almost as soon as she got into town, Lott began helping with the Rainbow Ball, raising money for the Child Abuse Council. “It was a great thing to get involved in,” she says. “Plant City raised a lot of money for the Child Abuse Council through the Rainbow Ball, and the town was always very supportive of it.” Lott also volunteered at Plant City’s First Baptist Church, teaching Sunday school. But, as her children grew older and more involved in school and sports, volunteering had to take a back seat. It did, however, open some new doors.
THE UP-AND-COMER
Last year brought Lott and her daughter, Ericka, into unfamiliar territory: the Florida Strawberry Festival Queen’s Pageant. Or, one could say, the pageant scene, in general. “She wasn’t a pageant girl, and I didn’t know anything about pageants, so that was a whole new world to us,” Lott says. “You hear things about pageants — rumors, you know, all different things.” Although Ericka didn’t win the ultimate title, she was named First Maid — a tremendous honor, especially for a first-timer. “I saw a lot of benefit from that,” Lott says. “It totally rounded her out and gave her some experience that she didn’t have, which carries you forward through life.” Ericka is away at college now, and she might not be entering another pageant anytime soon.
SUPERPOWER OF CHOICE: TO FLY. I WOULD TRAVEL THE WORLD, GO EVERYWHERE.
But, her mother was so pleased with the experience that she decided to help out in any way that she could. Next year, when a new queen and court is elected, Lott will have that opportunity. “Donna Keel and I are taking over what Sandee Sytsma’s been doing the past 12 or 13 years with the girls,” Lott says. “We start with the next court. Donna’s really the go-to person, but she keeps calling me her co-chair. So, we’ll go with that.” Chaperoning the girls will be a big departure from Lott’s previous volunteering job at the Florida Strawberry Festival: helping out in the bus lot. That’s all in the future. Now, she’s helping with something more immediate.
KEEPING THE SPIRIT ALIVE
Lott is actively involved with local PTA groups, currently serving on the boards for both Tomlin Middle School and Plant City High School. She also is president at Tomlin and is currently vice president of Plant City’s Ways to Earn fundraising committee. At the high school, she’s a part of the new movement to bring athletic support back to its glory days. Members of the PTA recently created the school’s Orange Crush club, dedicated to supporting the Raiders in all of their ventures — not just football. “We want to revive the goodold spirit of Plant City High School,” Lott says. “I hear a lot of good things from Rick, because he grew up here, and he tells such great stories about Plant City High School.” That involves spreading school spirit throughout the community, even beyond the student body. The club has been successful so far, according to Lott, but getting people to attend games without football is no easy task. Still, if it’s been done before, then Lott and the rest of the Orange Crush believe it can happen again. — Justin Klein
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WONDERWOMEN
Kim Shouse C
hildren frolic and dance in the courtyard of Plant City’s First Baptist Church Learning Center. Their excited shrills can be heard radiating through the main office door, bouncing between the colorful walls of the building. ROAD TO Kim Shouse SUCCESS happily greets FIRST JOB: Lad and late-comers Lassie, which was at the desk, downtown and was checking a children’s cloththem into the ing store. It was my school. The senior year of high director truly school. has a passion ADVICE: For me, I for what she pray about everydoes. thing. Every decision “I feel like I make. my heart reROLE MODEL: ally is for preReally, my family. s c h o o l e r s ,” My parents, I guess. They showed me how Shouse says. to put my priorities in “You get to order. You know, God lay down the and family. And be foundation. nice to everyone. And since HARDEST LESSON: we’re a ChrisFor me, now that I tian-based have a high schooler, organization, jut how fast time we get to lay goes. Your kids grow the foundaup so fast, Make the tion for havmost of every day and don’t put things ing God in off … you can’t take their lives.” back time.
SCHOOL’S IN SESSION
Shouse has been director of the facility ever since she had three kids in preschool — 15
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years ago. Her daughter, Ellie, and twins, Emmy and Easton, all attended the school. Shouse, like her children, was raised in Plant City. She lived near Gilchrist Park and attended Jackson Elementary. In high school, she cheered for the Plant City Raiders. She went on to attend the University of Florida before marrying her husband, Steve. They moved away for several years to Panama City, but, it was always a goal to come back home. After they returned, Shouse scored the job as director. “I felt like it was a calling to ministry,” Shouse says. “I’ve had a heart for this school.” Shouse had two goals when she came to the school. One was to get it accredited, which she accomplished in 2007. Her second was to reach out to the families, as well, by praying for them or offering them assistance. “It’s really hard to have a pre-schooler,” Shouse says. “It’s the happiest days, but it’s the toughest times, too.” And, although Shouse pours her heart and soul into the school, she’s made it a point to have her employees put family first, as well as herself. In fact, Shouse doesn’t just spend the entire day with kids at the school. She is still taking care of a growing brood.
In addition to her biological children, the couple has taken in two foster infants.
FAMILY DYNAMIC
It’s been about a year since the family has opened their home to two babies. One was 17 months when they got her. The other was just 5 days old. This has been something the Shouses have wanted to do since before they were married. While they were dating, they discussed having three children of their own and adopting a special-needs child. “We had our big plan,” Shouse says. But, after attending a Florida Baptist Children’s Home presentation on adoption versus fostering, they changed their minds about adoption. “There really is a need for good, Christian homes,” Shouse says. With the help of her older children, Shouse says the babies have really brought the family closer. And they’ve also made an imprint on their lives. She hopes to one day make them part of her permanent family. “The entire family embraced their lives,” Shouse says. “We’re supposed to make their lives better, but they’ve made our lives better.” — Amber Jurgensen
SUPERPOWER OF CHOICE: I LOVE TO EAVESDROP AND PEOPLE WATCH, SO I THINK I’D WANT REALLY GOOD HEARING. SO, I CAN HEAR THE CONVERSATIONS AT THE RESTAURANT.
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WONDERWOMEN
Mary Thomas
Mathis M
ary Thomas Mathis leads Plant City as an educator and public official, and she gladly accepts the challenge of finding just the right place for each puzzle piece of her busy schedule. Mathis grew up in Plant City and graduated in 1975, from Plant City High School. She graduated in 1980, from ROAD TO Clark College — now known SUCCESS as Clark AtFIRST JOB: I worked lanta Univerat my father’s catersity — with a ing business, and I worked at Felton’s on history degree U.S. 92 in the deli. and a minor in educaADVICE: Write your success plan on tion. But, she paper. Make sure you had no plans take it to the Lord in to stay away prayer, and once you from Plant hear from Him, that’s City. the direction you “I left to go should go. to college, but ROLE MODEL: Jesus I always wantChrist, and that was ed to come shown to me by my back to make parents at an early my city betage, to make sure I follow his teachings. ter, and there’s no place HARDEST LESSON: like home,” When I’ve started a project or a goal, and Mathis says. I’ve gotten discouraged and I stopped, eventually I’ll get back to it. But, the lesson that I’ve learned is, it takes me a little bit longer. So, if it’s something that’s really burning inside of you, don’t stop.
MADAME MAYOR
Mathis has held a spot on the Plant City Commission since 2000. Just last year, her fellow commissioners selected her to serve as mayor for the June 2013 to May 2014 term. She was just the second woman to hold the position — the first being Sadye
Gibbs Martin, who was mayor for five terms in the 1980s. The commonality between Mathis and Martin does not stop at gender, race and serving as mayor. Martin was also an educator. In fact, she was Mathis’ first-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School. “She was who she was as an educator, commissioner and mayor,” Mathis says. “I wanted to stand in my own shoes.” Current Mayor Rick Lott had nominated Mathis for the position in 2013. “One of the great qualities about Mary is that she always wants to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to speak their mind,” Lott said in a 2013 interview with the Tampa Bay Times. “She’s very, very patient.” Mathis says one of her biggest challenges as a commissioner has been staying up to date on all of the city’s laws and ordinances. At times throughout the years, disagreements have arisen among commissioners, but she has appreciated each commissioner with whom she has served. “Each commission I’ve been on, we’ve been able to work well together, even though we have different opinions,” Mathis says. “We definitely respect each other.”
MATHIS THE EDUCATOR
Although she sees herself as a public representative for all people of Plant City, Mathis’ most prominent allegiance is
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to the city’s youth. She followed her mother’s footsteps by taking up a career in education. “I love seeing (students’) growth, especially from the beginning of the year to the end of the year,” Mathis says. “And being able to impart a little wisdom and knowledge.” Mathis also strives to encourage and motivate other educators in the community. “I don’t think teachers get enough accolades for what they do,” she says. After 30 years in education, Mathis does not show signs of stopping. She is currently the assistant principal for curriculum at Marshall Middle School. One of her many responsibilities is to create the school’s master schedule of classes. “I have about one month to get that done, so it’s very intense. ... But it’s almost like the Rubik’s Cube puzzle,” Mathis says. “And I love puzzles.” She and Principal Daphne Blanton have been working on an initiative to help Marshall become an International Baccalaureate magnet school. Plant City students can go through the IB program at Lincoln Elementary School and Plant City High School, but inbetween, they currently have to go to an IB school in Tampa. Mathis and Blanton will be lobbying at county offices in hopes of getting Marshall on the IB track. When she gets overwhelmed, Mathis has two go-to methods for relaxation: meditating and traveling with her husband, Tony Mathis, on cruises. Holding true to Plant City family values, Mathis said her biggest supporters have been her husband, parents and son. “My husband, he’s always telling me, ‘Thank you,’” Mathis says. “He appreciates me, he loves me, he encourages me. He prays for me daily, and he always tells me that he’s praying for me.” — Catherine Sinclair
SUPERPOWER OF CHOICE: THE ABILITY TO MAKE EVERYONE FIT AND HEALTHY.
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WONDERWOMEN
Courtney Paat I
t’s tough to become successful as an entrepreneur. That’s especially true when diving into a field — insurance sales — that has historically been dominated by the opposite sex. But, no matter how high the odds were stacked against her, Courtney Paat made it work. And, she made ROAD TO it work here in SUCCESS Plant City — a FIRST JOB: In high place where school, I worked at a just over 15 veterinary clinic and years ago, she was a waitress. was a stranger ADVICE: Find in town. something you are “It can be passionate about tough, movand be steadfastly ing to a small determined to make town where it happen. Listen to you don’t those who are where you want to be, but know anyone always follow your and openown intuition. ing a busiROLE MODEL: ness,” Paat My Mom — she is says. “Many independent, honest, of the people disciplined and selfI met that first sacrificing. Plus, she year are still is a marathon runner friends today, at 70 years old. and I treasure HARDEST LESSON: their friendThe only person you ship.” can rely on 100% is It can be yourself. chalked up to Paat’s business acumen and an unwillingness to give up when the going gets tough.
BIG THINGS, SMALL TOWNS
A native of Orlando, Paat originally had dreams of becoming a veterinarian. In high school, she even spent time working at a veterinary clinic. College took her to Tallahassee, where she majored in risk management and insurance at Florida State University. Paat was hired by State Farm after graduation. She got her start as an underwriter, which took her to nearby
Winter Haven for some time. Having just left FSU, Paat was the youngest of her co-workers — many of whom were around her mother’s age. “It was a great place for me to grow up,” she says. “It was a professional atmosphere. I had my own cubicle and was able to take on leadership responsibilities as I matured.” Paat worked in the Winter Haven office for six years but felt she wasn’t in her proper career path. “I knew within a couple of years that I was not meant to be there a lifetime,” she says. “When the agency opportunity came up, I transitioned from the corporate culture to being an entrepreneur.” That’s what brought her to Plant City — and to the most challenging and rewarding years of her career.
FITTING IN
The Winter Strawberry Capital of the World was a completely new venture for Paat and her husband, Angel, a 30-year veteran of the Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World. Paat opened up shop in Plant City July 1, 1999, and jumped right in. In fact, because so many business owners in the insurance world were men, this led to some confusion. “The first few years we were in business, everyone thought my husband was the agent,” Paat says. “He was always respectful when correcting them and introducing me as the agent.” Angel is now a stay-at-home dad for the couple’s two daughters.
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If people didn’t think he was the insurance agent, though, they still got their facts mixed up. “For a long time, when I told someone I worked with State Farm, they would ask me what agency I worked in,” Paat says. “When I shared with them that I had my own office, they were usually surprised but also excited and supportive. It’s been a few years since that (has) happened.
SMOOTH SAILING
Paat has since established herself as more than just a temporary presence in Plant City, which she believes helped her gain more trust around town. “My first few years in town, I think people thought I wasn’t going to stay,” Paat says. “When I had my children and started raising a family here, that changed. I felt more like I was accepted as a part of this community.” Fifteen years and almost three months later, Paat’s business is still going strong. She feels she’s proven people wrong about a woman’s ability to succeed in a male-dominated field, and, given her track record, it seems she is right. “Women excel in the insurance industry, because it’s a relationship business,” she says. “Having the brand recognition of State Farm supporting you doesn’t hurt, either.” And, of course, it really helps to have self-confidence in spades. “I am extremely independent and determined,” Paat says. “I don’t know how to quit anything, even if I should.” — Justin Klein
SUPERPOWER OF CHOICE: WAIT … I DON’T ALREADY HAVE SUPERPOWERS?
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Silvia Dodson C
lay, of all things, has always been a big part of Silvia Dodson’s life. It helped shape her childhood in Cuba and her family’s life in the United States. Now, it is part of the foundation of her service to the community. She wouldn’t have it any other way. Dodson’s commitment to success and service makes her a standout figure in this ROAD TO community, and it’s someSUCCESS thing that she FIRST JOB: I worked picked up at a at Sears Roebuck and young age. Co. at the Wabash Shopping Center in Lakeland, while I was attending Polk Community College, now known as Polk State College.
ADVICE: Being true to yourself, being honest and respectful to others and being trustworthy. ROLE MODEL: My mother. HARDEST LESSON: This is a hard question, but losing a parent — or a loved one — has got to be one of the hardest life lessons to experience. Life is short, so make every minute count.
LIFE OVERSEAS
Born in Cuba, Dodson — then Azorin — grew up in a close, Catholic family before Fidel Castro came into power. Although she has just one brother, 30 cousins were also in the picture. “We were raised like brothers and sisters — althings together,”
ways doing Dodson says. Her mother’s side of the family were farmers, and her father’s side made a living in manufacturing clay products. Business trips were combined with pleasure: Dodson’s entire immediate family often traveled to the U.S. together for extended periods of time. “My father would drive from
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Miami to New York, stopping along the way to visit with friends and business associates,” Dodson says. “They always made the trips a fun adventure for us.” It wasn’t long before Castro’s regime threw a wrench into the lives of all Cubans. The dictator’s violent revolution led to the creation of a Marxist government. This led to many Cubans’ decisions to leave. Dodson’s family left when she was 9 years old. “My mother, brother and I left Cuba abruptly on a plane to the U.S., with a few other family members,” Dodson says. “My father had to leave Cuba via Haiti, because his visa to enter the U.S. had expired.” The family took political asylum in Miami and received assistance for three months from the local Catholic charities and food bank, while Dodson’s father and uncles searched for work. Meanwhile, back in Cuba, the government seized control of all the family’s property and possessions. “Through all the hard times and any despair we may have had, we were — and continue to be — a happy and loving family, due mainly to our faith and trust in God,” Dodson says.
THIS AMERICAN LIFE
Dodson’s family eventually relocated to Georgia, after her father and uncles found work at a brick company, and lived there for two-and-one-half years. It was an adjustment for everyone, although Dodson didn’t have too much trouble picking up on things. “As a child, learning a different language or a new way of life was easier than as an adult,” she says.
The family eventually saved enough money to found a new company and relocate. Because of its proximity to Ybor City, Tampa and the nearby highways, Plant City became the headquarters for Florida Brick and Clay in 1963. That year, Dodson started seventh grade at what was then Tomlin Junior High School. Dodson has remained in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World ever since and works in the family business with her brother, Antonio, and her husband, Vice Mayor Bill Dodson. She’s proud of her work but may be most passionate about her volunteering pursuits in the community.
FILLING THOSE BOWLS
An interest in art from a young age — and easy access to clay — has always stuck with Dodson. She loves to work with her hands and found a way to use her passion for the benefit of others in 2009. That was when Kelly Klein, former executive director of the United Food Bank of Plant City, challenged Dodson and other board members to come up with an idea to benefit the food bank as a fundraiser. She, and two of her colleagues, founded the Empty Bowls Project. “Personally, the project was a good fit for me, because it involved the art of working with clay and helping others who need our help during hard times,” Dodson says. A $10 donation to the food bank will get attendees a simple lunch, and they receive a bowl made by a local student as a reminder that some people’s bowls don’t get filled every day. — Justin Kline
SUPERPOWER OF CHOICE: THIS MAY SOUND IDEALISTIC, BUT I WOULD WANT TO BE ABLE TO COMBAT INJUSTICE AND HELP PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD RESPECT EACH OTHER.
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Verna McKelvin V
erna McKelvin stands in the family room of Wells Memorial and Event Center, surrounded by pictures of her life. An array of framed cross-stitches dot the walls. Beyond her, barrel-racing trophies sit on a table. ROAD TO The manager is used SUCCESS to planning FIRST JOB: Stefano’s other people’s Pizza, which is now funerals. But Ralph Feola’s Allstate last weekend, office. she got the ADVICE: Do it afraid. idea to mock If it’s worth it, do her own. That it afraid. Because way, families you’re always woncould get an dering at that next idea of how to step, “Can I do this?” And, a lot of times, throw a celefear prevents us. So, bration of life. do it afraid. When her ROLE MODELS: daughter-inThose two (FBLA) law saw the teachers. They were decorated the only thing I had room, she lost to look to. it, sobbing. HARDEST LESSON: “If you want Coming up in the to know how house as I did, I someone realthought I knew surly feels about vival … but when I you, plan your was widowed, own funeral,” that was true survival. My heart was she says. “She ripped. must really love me.” Love. It’s something McKelvin has only become accustomed to recently. She’s risen from a long road of heartache. But, that’s what makes her so good at the job she does now. “People who come from a normal household, it’s nothing new to them,” McKelvin says. “I wasn’t brought up that way.” McKelvin made herself an icon in the Plant City community. She gives motivational speeches at Toastmasters. She greets strangers as a Greater Plant City Chamber of Com-
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merce ambassador. She helps raise funds for causes as a Plant City Lions Club member. But, the scars from her old life are never far behind her.
OLD LIFE
McKelvin’s eyes don’t tear as she recounts the many tragedies of her life. “You weren’t allowed to shed a tear; things were always in turmoil,” McKelvin says. Her alcoholic father was a truck driver with limited patience for his three children. McKelvin’s mother often asked the kids to find somewhere else to stay on the short stints he was at the house. “At 13, I found myself trying to find where to stay,” McKelvin says. “Our value was nothing. We should never speak out loud, because our ignorance would show.” When they were in his way, he’d punish them. Once, he locked her in a truck. Another time, he let out her only confidant, a nameless pony she would cry to in secret. They never found the pony. After getting into trouble on the streets, McKelvin entered high school, breaking the cycle by joining Future Business Leaders of America. At 18, she married her middle-school sweetheart, Louie Rodriguez, who became the fire chief of Springhead Fire Department. He also became the father to their two sons, Joe and Chris. McKelvin had her Leave-itto-Beaver family. But, like white-noise static on a station, it all came crashing down around her. After a happy family vacation to the mountains, Rodriguez was on his way to work when he died in a motorcycle accident.
SUPERPOWER OF CHOICE: TO HEAL. NOT NECESSARILY MEDICALLY, BUT HEARTS. HURTING HEARTS.
“The word ‘love’ couldn’t be used in my (childhood) house,” McKelvin says. “I stepped out afraid and gave my love to (Rodriguez).” Alone with her two sons, her parents willed her to move back in with them. But, like a wild horse, she had other plans. “One thing dad instilled in me was that I could do it on my own,” McKelvin says.
BREAKING HORSES
The gold trophies glitter in the corner at Wells. They are 3-foot-tall reminders of persistence. Perhaps it was that pony friend so many years ago, but McKelvin had grown up always loving the gentle beasts. After the accident, McKelvin bought a house where she boarded horses. She started barrel racing. Then, the toughas-nails mama started breaking horses. During this time, she met her second and current husband, Leon. They were married and created a blended family. But, blessings didn’t lasted long. Three of Leon’s relatives died in an intentional house fire. Then, her mother was found uptown in a parking lot, disabled from a stroke. Still, McKelvin carried on. When her youngest son graduated high school, she gave up her last two horses. Then, she saw an ad for Wells Memorial.
NEW LIFE
In her 15 years, she’s changed the culture of the funeral home from a black and mauve “Addams Family” venue to a place of peace. Wells owner, Dignity Memorial, trusted her with $150,000 to create a welcoming atmosphere two years ago. “My heart is here to take care of the families, not for a job,” McKelvin says. “I tell people this is not a job.” — Amber Jurgensen
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Yvonne Fry I
t’s astounding that in the midst of her jam-packed schedule, Yvonne Fry could carve out time for an interview with the Plant City Times & Observer. Through her positivity, determination and concern for others, she has risen ROAD TO to leadership in numerSUCCESS ous business FIRST JOB: I grew ventures and up on a farm, so I organizations, had a lot of jobs, and she is but my first job that certainly one I can quantify was of Plant City’s selling beets — the extra beets after the most notable harvest was over. ... women. I could always upsell Fry grew them. up on a farm, ADVICE: Don’t which ingive up your value, stilled in her because when you a strong sense give up your value, of responsiyou give up your bility and the power. Your value value of hard can be innovation, creativity, incredible work. In her customer service. 20s, she had But, a lot of people some health dismiss their own issues and value, and they sever went through the opportunities multiple surthey could have. geries, but ROLE MODEL: The she was forticonsistent role modfied through els that I’ve had, my the process of mom and my sister. ov e rc o m i n g I had two people to really watch through this burden. the phases of life. “Some of it was finding HARDEST LESSON: Life is short. My dad the balance of died when I was 8, life; some of and he was young, it was getting and I think it really some medical started me with that answers,” she perspective, to live says. “But, for fast and furious in me to now feel a positive way, but great, and to life is short. Today is the gift. have strength and energy and so on, is so much more valuable than maybe if I hadn’t gone through that,” she says.
Today, she is the president of Lines of Communication, a telecommunications consulting firm she started 15 years ago. She is also the owner of Fry Entertainment Inc., which encompasses a number of casting, scouting and talent-management services. In addition to her career ventures, Fry serves as a board member of numerous organizations and still makes time to care for her son and daughter. “Just like there’s strategic planning for businesses, individuals and families need a strategic plan,” she says. “A lot of people tell me that I never say, ‘No,’ but I actually do. If something doesn’t fit in the box of my priorities, my goals, my strategies, it’s a no.” At the heart of everything Fry does, there is a passion for improving the lives of others and raising up their voices — specifically youth and women.
FOR YOUTH
In addition to leading the PCHS PTSA, Fry is involved with the Tomlin Middle School PTSA. “I believe that middle school is the most critical time in a kid’s life,” she says. “Middle school is where so many kids fall off the trail.” She helped bring a program to Tomlin called Frameworks, which focuses on social and emotional learning. The program now has been invited into all middle schools in Hillsborough County. “To give them the skills to connect with each other, instead of being isolated or being bullied, or being a bully ... it will change our world, ultimately,”
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she says. “I believe that’s bigtime important stuff.” As for PCHS, Fry has introduced a number of new programs — the Reflections art competition, a cyber-bullying seminar and Orange Crush, to name a few.
FOR WOMEN
Fry is the chair of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women. “Women’s strength and women’s success often comes in a very unsung way,” she says. The commission is dedicated to empowering women and helping them reach their full potentials. Each year, the commission issues a report on various topics. When Fry became chair in April, she decided to present this report in an engaging way and connect with the citizens of Florida. The commission will host a series of conversations for women around the state to gather personal stories and perspectives for the report. One of these discussions will take place at 1 p.m. Oct. 16, at the Plant City Chamber of Commerce. Fry invites any Plant City residents who are interested in women’s issues to come out and join the conversation. Fry is also on leadership at The Spring, a shelter for victims of domestic violence that also offers on-site schooling for resident children. “The conversation has got to be about the perpetrators and changing our culture of acceptance,” Fry says. — Catherine Sinclair
SUPERPOWER OF CHOICE: TO NEVER HAVE TO SLEEP. OR TO EXPAND TIME. SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
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