Former teacher, and her student, has passion for telling stories

I would never have imagined that my fourth grade teacher at Seminole Elementary School would be a good friend of mine in my adult years or would I think I would be writing an article about her.  The teacher I’m talking about is Sue Kotchman, for those of you who had her at Seminole Elementary you may remember her from her maiden name Cusmano. She was my favorite teacher as I was growing up, and one that influenced me in my life. 


Fourth grade class of Sue Kotchman, then Sue Cusmano, during 1979-1980.
 I am in the second row from the back, fourth from the left.

I remember being in her class and always being motivated to do the best I could. I did well in school, and she would challenge me to do even better.  At that point in my life, I actually wanted to be a teacher because I loved her class and going to school.  She made learning fun.

I am probably just one of many that she has made a difference in their lives.  Now that I am a mom, I understand how important teachers are in our children’s lives.

Kotchman was in the Pinellas County School system for more than 32 years. I think my class was one of her first classes she taught.  She was a teacher, curriculum specialist and principal focusing on elementary education.

 About 4 years ago, she suffered a brain aneurysm and almost didn’t make it. She will tell you she’s a walking miracle.  After her health issues, she decided it was time to retire from Madeira Beach Elementary School as their principal.  After retiring, she started writing children’s books.  She published one last year and just recently published another in a series of books.  The books are called “With Love, from Grandma” and “With Love, from Grandpa.” Kotchman told me she always wanted to write books, a dream she has had since teaching.  She writes for fun, and her books help kids learn lessons about life.  Her “With Love” series books deal with the importance of relationships, spending time together and realistic situations. Her first book deals with the relationship of a little girl and her grandma and how she copes when her grandma dies.  How many kids have someone or something die in their life? We all do. It’s the cycle of life.  Kotchman uses her two kid’s names as the main characters in her books.  Her daughter Christal is in the “With Love, from Grandma.” And her son Casey is in the “With Love, from Grandma”.  After she wrote her first book with her daughter in it, when she would read in to students at schools, they would always say you need a book about your son.  You see her son was the first baseman of the Tampa Bay Rays, and kids knew he was her son. Kotchman says the books are realist fiction.  They have some things in them that are true, but the story may not be totally true.  Her latest book has a lot of Florida beach scenery, which helps students relate to the story.

Kotchman goes a step further than just writing the book, she visits classrooms around Pinellas County and reads her books to students.  She says her books are designed to help students with their writing skills. She says very often kids don’t know what to write about and they need to draw from an experience.  Her book “With Love, From Grandpa” does this. The main character has a writing assignment from school and doesn’t know what to write about until he finishes his day of fishing with his grandpa.

Kotchman’s motto is everyone has a story.  She wants to help students develop their writing skills by finding stories in their lives to write about. I guess she’s been instilling this for years.  Now her story is my story for you today.  I’m so thankful for teachers like Sue Kotchman, who make a positive difference in young children’s lives and help promote literacy.

***If you would like Sue Kotchman to read to your students at your school, you can email her at SueKotch11@gmail.com

The Joy of Giving

During the holidays there are so many opportunities out there to help others.  It seems like everywhere you go, you see bell ringers, toy drives and organizations collecting money to help feed the homeless. All of these are great ways to help those less fortunate. Not only can you give monetary donations, but you can also give your time to help with these events.

As a mom, I know how busy our lives get during the holidays. We are decorating the house, buying gifts, wrapping gifts, sending out cards, attending parties and going to school winter concerts. It can all be exhausting.

As a parent I think it is important to help our kids realize see that there is more to Christmas than getting presents. It’s about giving. Have you ever been a Salvation Army bell ringer? Have you ever fed the homeless a holiday meal, or organized a toy drive to help kids who wouldn’t be getting anything for Christmas? The joy of doing these things is not only rewarding to the people you are doing them for, but also for you personally. You’ve probably heard the saying “It’s better to give than receive.”  It’s true. Try it and you will see.

There is a community church project in Seminole called “Faith Café”. It is at Faith Community and was started by a church member’s passion to help those that are struggling right now to make ends meet because of the economy. Once a week on Thursday evenings, church members get together and make “hot” cooked meals for about 60-70 people from the community.  For some this is the only “hot” meal they will have all week.

New movie theater has long been anticipated by kids

It’s always a treat to go to the movies, but going to the VIP grand opening of our local movie theater Studio Movie Grill in Seminole was even more exciting. My two girls Randi (13) and Graci (11) have been waiting for something fun to go into the new Seminole City Center for the past few years. Since the rebuilding of our mall, they have been asking when are we going to get something fun for kids to do at the new mall? The mall has quite a few stores and restaurants, but for kids a movie theater is something special.

The grand opening was a lot of fun. The girls were able to walk down the red carpet. There were characters from Star Wars there including Darth Vader and Princess Leia. They were there to promote the new movie coming out December 15, 2017, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. They alas had fun meeting the professional wrestler Brian Knobbs, who is best known as part of the tag team The Nasty Boys with Jerry Sags. There was also a ribbon cutting with the Seminole Mayor Leslie Waters and City Council.

The ambiance of this building is beautiful with the wonderful outdoor seating and view. We were able to sit on the patio having appetizers and drinks in the fall Florida weather overlooking the entrance lined with palm trees and beautiful landscape and lighting. There is also a huge covered lounge area with lots of televisions. This area is open to the public and you don’t have to see a movie if you just want to eat and have drinks.

We really didn’t know what to expect of the movie theater. When we got in we were pleasantly surprised. Everyone has their own set and each seat has a number on it and a tray table with a drink holder. There’s also a button you can push so you can order food when you want it during the movie. The seats are reclining and so comfortable.

This was truly a treat, I don’t think we have been to the movies as a family for years. Usually I take the girls to see the $1 movies during the summer, so going with my husband and the girls together was awesome!

My girls' favorite part was probably being able to order the food right at their chair. We tried several appetizers including the pretzel bites and potato skins which were great! We also tried the burger and chicken tenders, which were also fantastic. I know your probably wondering what the prices are. You can find all the prices online and all the specials before you go.

They do have kid’s meals for $6 like chicken tenders, pizza, mac and cheese, cheeseburger or chicken quesadilla. There’s also a special for $25 for adults which includes an appetizer and two entrees.

Right now, is the time to try out the new theater. The tickets for movies are $3 until November 29. The movies regularly are $9 adult, $7 matinee and $6 for a child. You need to go online at www.studiomoviegrill.com/seminole and use the code SMGSEMINOLE for the $3 tickets and there is no booking fee. It is only good at the Seminole location.  

I look forward to enjoying many more nights like this with my family and friends! And my kids don’t have to ask me any more when is the movie theater going to open.

Post Hurricane Irma in Seminole, FL

On September 10, 2017 Hurricane Irma hit Florida. I was interviewed by a television news station in the Philippines ABS-CBN about how it impacted the area I live in Seminole, FL. I was so grateful our area didn't have as much damage as we were suppose to have. Here's are the links to the interview:

Twitter 

Facebook  

Kids Appreciation Day in Seminole Today at 3pm

It's the last day of school for Pinellas County students. The Seminole Chamber of Commerce and the City of Seminole presents the 35th Annual Kids Appreciation Day!

When: Today, June 4th
Where: Seminole City Park, 7464 Ridge Road in Seminole
Time: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

This is a free event for the community!
It is for local elementary age kids. There will be free food, drinks, games, contest, prizes, entertainment and more!

Making a difference in your community

Recently, my husband made a comment to me about how I seem to be able to get things done at our daughter’s school and in the community that most people wouldn’t know they could do. I thought about what he said and decided that maybe I could give some of you a little inspiration to make a difference in your child’s school and in the community.

City of Seminole Citizens Academy

It’s all too often we see things and complain, but don’t take action to try and do something about it.

Like most of you, I am your every day citizen. I try to be active in my kid’s school and in the community. I volunteer at the school and am on the PTA.  I am also  involved in the chamber of commerce for my work and recently have taken part in the city’s citizen academy.  I want our schools and community to be a great place to live, work and play for me and my family.

My instinct is when I see something that I think can be improved or needs to be fixed, I call whoever is in charge and try to get something done. Maybe it’s the reporter in me or that I worked for city government and know basically how things work. I know usually, I can at least get a response.

I’ll give you a few examples. When I moved to my house several years ago, there weren’t sidewalks on one of the main roads that I would take my kids for a wagon ride. It was very dangerous because part of the road had sidewalks and part of it didn’t. I decided to take some pictures and write our city officials about why I thought there needed to be sidewalks. The city looked at what I showed them and said they had money in their sidewalk improvement fund and put in the sidewalks. I was delighted.

Recently there was a lot of rain the fields where my daughter’s play their softball games and they were covered with mosquitoes. After playing two games and having the kids eaten by mosquitoes, I looked up mosquito control and emailed them about the problem. The officials emailed me back and had the fields sprayed within a day. Thank you mosquito control!

Another example is the school my girls go to. Like most schools in Pinellas County there are lots of portables that are used as classrooms. Last year, my daughter who was in third grade at the time lost almost a month of learning because of being in a portable. When it rains, the kids are doubled up with classes in the regular buildings. When this happens, teachers can’t teach and the children aren’t learning. A big problem especially when your school goes down a letter grade because of lower test scores. I was able to bring this to the attention of our school superintendent at an education forum and now school officials are looking into this.

I think sometimes we just need to take action and find out who we need to ask, so we can get things done. A lot of times people don’t know there’s a problem, unless we bring it to their attention.

Don’t be afraid to call your city, county and school officials to help you. I am not saying that every time I try and do something, it gets done. There are times when things don’t get done. To me it’s important to at least try, so you can feel at least you’ve done your part. 

Business Mamas network on a mom's schedule



At a recent meeting are on the top left Brittany Moore, Jennifer Savarese with Origami Owl, Jenni McKay with Perceptivity Studio, Dr. Laura Meyer with Partners and Pediatrics, Natasha Gwatney with Mary Kay Cosmetics, Lindsay Dicus-Harrison, Realty Executives, Bottom row, Melissa Goodnow with Barefoot Birth, Gladis Rubio with The Fourth Trimester, Jennifer Sullivan, Baby Bootcamp, and Greta Green with Green Pearl Photography.

Over the past few weeks I have talked to more and more moms who have reinforced what I have always believed: being home with my kids while they are young is important, but with today’s economy it’s hard to be a stay at home mom, most moms have to work.

The problem is it’s tough to find a job that works around children. Most jobs are not the kind that allow for you to take off when your child is sick, or go on a class field trip or go to other school events during the day. It’s difficult for moms who work full-time for a company to get off during the day. Most full-time jobs are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Because some mom’s don’t want to be constrained to a set schedule, I have noticed a lot of them are starting their own companies or working for businesses where you can be your own boss like Pampered Chef, Thirty-One, Origami Owl and Mary Kay Cosmetics. This way they can work from home or work when their husband gets home from his job.

I recently ran into a bunch of moms at a referral networking group called Business Mama’s Referral Group Pinellas County. I had heard about the group from my sister-in-law and then heard about it again through a co-worker. I wanted to find out what this group was all about. I thought I could maybe get some leads from being a part of this group. For me small businesses like this would be great for the marketing, public relations and social media that I do for small businesses.

Since my co-worker couldn’t attend, she asked me to fill in for her. You see with this group you can’t miss more than two meetings a year without someone substituting in your place at the meeting.

I think the idea to have moms gather and talk about their businesses and refer clients to each other is a wonderful idea . The Business Mama’s was started by realtor Lindsay Discus-Harrison, a mom with a young child who wanted to create leads for her business, but couldn’t get to the other referral groups and organizations because they didn’t fit her schedule or her needs. She decided to create her own group with a few other business moms about a little over a year ago and now they have about 28 members and are growing.

 They have a group in the Largo/Seminole area that meets once a month on the first Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Panera Bread in Bardmoor. The group is expanding and forming another group in the northern part of the county that will meet the second Thursday of the month.

It was fun listening to the moms give a 30-second elevator pitch about their company and giving one about the company I work for. The group does this to give each person time to introduce their business, so fellow members can get to know each company a little better. They feel that everyone in the group is a sales person for each member in the group.  

Part of the rules and regulations of the group include that they can’t have more than one person of the same business in the group. The members also have to make one referral a month to another Business Mama member or bring a potential new member to the monthly meeting. It seems to be working for these women. Some of the other businesses include moms who work as a photographer, pediatrician, hair dresser, professional organizer and fitness instructor.

I also noticed they have business play dates. A lot of the moms in this group have young kids, so this is a way for them to socialize and network at the same time. What a great way for moms to join forces and help each other so they can work and be able to be with their kids.

For more information about the Business Mamas Referral Group call Lindsay Discus-Harrison at 727-656-1584 or email them at businessmamaspinellas@gmail.com

FREE Baby Boot Camp Classes in October

You don't want to miss the October FREE Baby Boot Camp classes in Seminole and Largo.
Just what is baby boot camp? It is an innovative stroller fitness program that helps moms regain or enhance pre-pregnancy fitness levels and meet the physical challenges of parenting by emphasizing strength training in a supportive environment.

 It is a lot of fun and you don't feel like you are exercising. The other great benefit is you are with your little one.

The trainer is Jennifer Sullivan and she is having her 2 year anniversary with her baby boot camp!
Any interested mamas can join us for the month of October for FREE! That's unlimited classes at no cost to you. Anyone that joins after her first class will receive $10 off the Enrollment Kit. Please email Jennifer.sullivan@babybootcamp.com to reserve your spot in class! Tell her you saw it on the Mom 2 Mom Family Fun Blog.


For more information and the schedule click here.

Young teen making a difference in the lives of orphans

A local Seminole teen and Junior at Indian Rocks Christian School is trying to make a difference in the lives of orphans in Guatemala. Her name is Emily Speicher. She is working hard to raise money to help build a house for 15 orphans in Guatemala. Just recently Speicher turned 17 and posted on her Facebook page that all she wanted from her friends and family was for them to donate to her project Casa Santiago.

Speicher fell in love with the kids in Guatemala in the summer of 2008 when she visited an orphanage there called Casa Angelina. Speicher was on a mission trip with the ministry team out of Colorado called What Matters Ministries and Missions. In June of 2012, she went back to Guatemala and actually stayed in one of the homes with 15 little girls.  Speicher says “She felt her calling at that time that she needed to help build another home for the children.” This home would be called Casa Santiago coming from the verse James 1:27 (Santiago 1:27 in Spanish) It says religion that God sees as faultless and pure is to take care of the orphaned and widowed, and to keep oneself from being conformed to the world. Casa Santiago would be a house at the Casa Angelina orphanage.

Speicher has gone to visit the orphans three times already. Most recently on her spring break this year. She will leave again in June and stay for a little over a month. Speicher says, “I can’t do it alone and need others to help make this happen.” She has a website called Casa Santiago donated to raising funds for this new home, which would give 15 more orphans a home. So far she has about $1,000 but needs to raise $78,000.

The Casa Angelina orphanage in Guatemala was founded by Ivan and Kimberly Tait form Colorado Springs, Colorado. They run a ministry in Colorado called What Matters Ministries and Missions with the mission of rescuing the widowed and orphaned and feeding the poor. Casa Angelina is about 40 miles outside of Guatemala City on the mountainside. Speicher says the orphanage is a very loving environment. “There are two house parents to each house and a maximum of 15 children in each house. It’s like a big family,” added Speicher.

 At the orphanage they have a school building, feeding center, soccer field, medical clinic, basketball court, playground and several homes, but they still need more homes built.

 For more information or to donate to Casa Santiago click here.

New Teen Class offered at Modeling & Acting

Modeling & Acting

--
Kori Hendricks
Email: korihendricks@gmail.com
Cell: 727-504-6440

WEBSITE : http://www.wix.com/korihendricks/Kori-Hendricks

w/ Kori Hendricks ~ Mrs. Florida

Invites you to join the:

NEW MODELING & ACTING TEEN CLASS!!!

Monday Nights (starting January 9th ) 7:15pm-8:00pm ~ $45.00 monthly

Gain Confidence and Self-Esteem while working on:

·         Commercial Acting

·         Runway Routines

·         Make-Up Application

·         Interviewing Skills

·         Fashion Coordination

·         Posing for the Camera

·         and much more…

Also, opportunities for students such as:

Department Store Fashion Shows and Magazine Photo Shoots!

Try it out…class starts tonight!!!

Call: 727-394-STAR or Email: korihendricks@gmail.com

WEBSITE : http://www.wix.com/korihendricks/Kori-Hendricks

Kids Theme Birthday Party Boutique offering great birthday parties!

A new birthday party boutique opens in Seminole this month. It's a fun place to have your chid's next birthday.
You can have any of the following parties: Princess, Magic, Pet Adoption, Rock Star Diva or Super Hero.
All the parties include: pizza, soda, goody bags, photo frame with group photo and dress up clothes for every child.
The party package is $200 for 10 kids.

The boutique is located at 9933 Seminole Blvd., Seminole, FL 33772

Available Days/Times:    Call 727-394-STAR

Saturdays 12:00-2:00pm                               Sundays 3:00-5:00pm

                  3:00-5:00pm

*Each additional kid is $15.00 (maximum of 20 kids per party)

*Parties must be booked 2 weeks in advance

*$50.00 deposit to hold date

*Balance must be paid prior to party date

Acting, Modeling & Martial Arts Studio Opens for Kids in Seminole

An exciting new business is in Seminole. It is an acting and modeling studio for kids. The acting and modeling classes are designed to help children ages 3-13, increase their self-esteem while learning: fashion, image, stage presence, public speaking, acting and modeling.  Students will have the opportunity to work with Mrs. Florida, Kori Hendricks during each course. There are several courses being offered inclduing: 12 week beginner, intermediate and advanced courses. Each course includes: graduation show, certificate and medal. The cost is $45 each month.  This is for a 45 minute class each week.  

Sign up now:

 Kori Hendricks
Email: korihendricks@gmail.com
Studio located at 9933 Seminole Blvd., Seminole, FL 33772
Cell: 727-504-6440
Studio: 394-STAR

WEBSITE : http://www.wix.com/korihendricks/Kori-Hendricks

The studio will also offer martial arts for kids and kickboxing for adults.  This is under the direction of 5th degree black belt Kim Jackson. Jackson has been involved in martial arts for the past 25 years.  For more information contact Kim Jackson at 727-504-7777 or go to her web site at http://www.kimjacksonmartialarts.com/