Good afternoon, East of Tampa family.
Ten local teams kick off at 7:30 tonight. Nobody has a record yet. Everybody is undefeated for about three and a half more hours.
Before we get to any of that, a few of you have asked lately who actually writes this thing. Fair question. So here is the short version.
I am John Plumstead. I live in FishHawk.
I graduated from West Point in 2009 and commissioned into the Army. Afghanistan, 2010 to 2011. After that it was assignment after assignment until I got out in 2022 as a major. Danielle and I moved ten times in ten years and our four sons were born in different states. That sounds like a fun fact. It was mostly my wife doing the hard part. Any military spouse reading this already knows.
I was building businesses the whole time I was in uniform. In 2022 it became the only thing I do. Real estate first, over a hundred residential flips plus commercial deals. Then marketing, then offshore staffing placement, and now this newsletter. What I actually love is the work itself. Sales and marketing, running projects, and building teams.
Football is the other half of me. I walked onto the Army football team at West Point and finished as a starting linebacker and a team captain. GO ARMY BEAT nAVY. These days I am the Athletic Director for the FishHawk Spartans, and Danielle is the president of the program, which tells you who is actually in charge.
One fair warning if we ever meet. I am pretty mild-mannered most of the time. Put me on a football field and I get loud and I get competitive. That is all it is, and there is nothing to read into it 😬.
That is the whole thing. Local guy, four boys, a wife who has earned all of it, and football. I started East of Tampa because I love where we live and I wanted to be more connected to it. Running a local media company turns out to be a great excuse to dig into your own community. Thanks for reading.
Adam Key started this company in Lithia on May 5, 2005. Twenty-one years later it is still run out of the east side, with a Brandon office on Broadway Center Boulevard.
What they do is the part of a water problem nobody wants to think about. Mold and mycotoxin removal, water damage, leak detection, odor removal, crawl space encapsulation, and then the repair work to put the house back together afterward. Adam is a certified mold remediator, and the mold remediation work carries a one year warranty.
August in Florida is the month a slow leak turns into a smell. If something in your house smells like a wet towel and you cannot find the towel, that is the call to make. They run a 24/7 emergency line.
Call (813) 438-5937 or go to environmentalprotectivesolutions.com.
Photo: Environmental Protective Solutions
☀️ Friday: 93, 30%. Heat index near 104. Storms want the mid afternoon, so by a 7:30 kickoff you are looking at warm, muggy and mostly dry.
🌤️ Saturday: 92, 20%. The best day of the three. Get the outdoor thing done Saturday.
⛈️ Sunday: 91, 40%. Rain chances start climbing by mid morning. Early or not at all.
No heat advisory is in effect as of this afternoon, but Friday and Saturday sit right at the line, so one could get issued. (Source: National Weather Service Tampa Bay.)
Week 1 football, tonight, 7:30 across the board. Ten local kickoffs and all of them go at the same time. Riverview at East Bay is the one to pick if you only pick one. That is the Cherry Cup, Riverview holds it, and East Bay wants it back. Also tonight: Bloomingdale hosts Hillsborough, Durant hosts King, Spoto hosts Chamberlain, Strawberry Crest hosts Sumner, Lennard is at Armwood, Newsome is at Land O' Lakes, and Brandon is at Wharton. Plant City is on an open week and opens Aug. 28 at Fletcher. Tickets are through GoFan at the gate.
One local note worth knowing before you sit down: Newsome receiver Max Urbanec is 6 foot 5 and committed to West Point. I have a small personal interest in that one.
Queen of Hearts drawing. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at Bullfrog Creek Brewing, 3632 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. in Valrico. Tickets are $2 each or 12 for $20. Family friendly, and the pot rolls until somebody finds the queen.
Zootopia 2 screening. Saturday, 2 to 4 p.m. at the Riverview Public Library, 9951 Balm Riverview Rd. Free, aimed at ages 6 to 12, and it does require registration, so grab a seat before Saturday. Air conditioning and a movie for zero dollars is a hard combination to beat in August.
Write Now, the writers' group. This afternoon, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Bruton Memorial Library in Plant City, 302 McLendon St. Free, no registration, teens and adults. If you have been saying you are going to write the thing, this is a room where people actually do it.
Local business owners, one more thing. East of Tampa Local Sports runs game cards, final scores, Athlete of the Week and school calendar posts across Hillsborough high schools, and some of those posts land between 10,000 and 50,000 impressions. One school, football and volleyball plus school posts. It is $250 a month for about 6 posts or $500 for about 12, three month minimum. Details at eot-advertise.netlify.app.
Here is what one of those looks like. Newsome has a 6 foot 5 receiver named Max Urbanec who is committed to West Point. When he goes off tonight at Land O' Lakes, an Athlete of the Week card with his name, his numbers and a local business logo on it goes out to the people who actually live here. That is the whole product. A local kid gets recognized, and a local business gets credit for doing it.
Construction started this week at the FishHawk Sports Complex. Crews began building a roughly 900 foot construction access road running west from the sports complex entry road at 16112 FishHawk Blvd., inside the TECO power line easement. Work started Wednesday, Aug. 19.
What that means for you if your kid practices out there: heavy equipment and construction vehicles are using the same entry and exit you are, tree and vegetation clearing north of the easement comes next, and flaggers are controlling the sidewalk crossing for anyone walking or riding through. The access road itself is a restricted zone. Give yourself an extra few minutes at drop off. (Source: South Hillsborough Pipeline alerts.)
Presented by WeWed.
Meet Yolonda Young. Around here she is Coach Lovey.
Twenty years of prevention and wellness work, a research background in Marriage and Family Studies, and one clear position: most couples wait until the damage is done to ask for help. She is not a therapist and she tells you that first. Sessions run on Zoom, and in person when she is available. Couples sessions are $150.
Start with her free guide and see if the way she thinks fits how you think. The 10-Minute Check-In is here.
Photo: WeWed
Where to go this weekend.
Apollo's Bistro, 6520 Richies Way in Apollo Beach. This is the sit down one. Open until 9 Friday and Saturday, and it is the only pick this week that takes real reservations, which their own site recommends you use. Order the seafood risotto at $22 or the grouper at $24. They do not publish an owner name, so I am not going to invent one for you.
Photo: Apollo's Bistro
Smokin' Aces BBQ & Steakhouse, 2509 N. Park Rd. in Plant City. The Jordan family started it in 2012 out of a trailer, moved into a permanent home at Keel & Curley in 2014, opened the steakhouse in 2015, and consolidated everything into Plant City in 2018. Twelve ounce ribeye is $29.49, sixteen ounce New York strip is $31.99, and both come with two sides. No reservation system yet, so it is walk in. Open until 9.
Photo: Smokin' Aces BBQ & Steakhouse
The Landing Bar & Grill, 4351 Lynx Paw Trail in Valrico. Kitchen runs to midnight Friday and Saturday, which makes it the after the game answer. Salmon cakes are $17 and the grouper dinner is $25. The menu has a "716 Stinger Hoagie" and pierogies on it, so somebody in that building is from Buffalo.
Photo: The Landing Bar & Grill
Wright's Gourmet House is coming to Brandon. The South Tampa institution, open since 1963, is taking about 15,000 square feet at 328 Brandon Town Center Dr., the old Abby Iron Doors and Peltz Shoes building. The plan is a cafe, bakery, espresso bar, gourmet market and catering hub, with roughly 100 jobs. Opening is slated for summer 2027, per the Osprey Observer. Long wait, but that sandwich counter coming this side of the bridge is a real event.
The new playground at Edward Medard Conservation Park is open. It is part of a $900,000 project at 6140 Turkey Creek Rd. in Plant City: soft synthetic turf, multilevel ADA inclusive structures, climbing elements, slides, and a rope style merry go round, plus renovated bathrooms and upgraded volleyball courts. A musical walkway is due later this year. Park hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Plant City Observer)
Primary turnout was 25.6%. Of 807,259 registered voters in Hillsborough County, 206,324 cast a ballot. County Commission District 5 went to Stacy Hahn over Donna Cameron Cepeda, 54.9% to 45.1%. Results are unofficial until certification on Aug. 25. (Plant City Observer) One in four decided it for the other three.
The businesses that keep this free.
Fix It Today Plumbing is the sister company to this issue's sponsor, same family, same people. Leaks, drains, water heaters, sewer lines, repiping and water filtration, with flat rate pricing and financing available across Brandon, Riverview, Valrico and Plant City. The people who stop the leak are the people who dry the house out. (813) 743-7793.
Tabatha Pugh is a licensed Florida broker associate with Keller Williams Realty Smart, licensed since 2017 and based in Plant City. If you want a straight read on what your house is actually worth in this market rather than a number that flatters you, call her at 813-476-8457.
The #1 Meat Man is Shawn McCranie, and his Premium Family Meat Box is $220: 24 steak burgers at 12 pounds, 24 all natural chicken breasts at 9 pounds individually packaged, and a 10 pound box of Duroc pork tenderloins. I buy these myself. Football season is a lot of meals.
Photo: The #1 Meat Man
Glaros Law is Steve Glaros, in the Brandon office at 350 E. Robertson St. Family law, personal injury and estate planning. He is a member of The Florida Bar in good standing and a Florida Supreme Court certified family mediator. Personal injury consults are free. (813) 854-1234.
Stoner's Pizza Joint, run by Allison Hardy at 3428 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. in Bloomingdale. Pick 2 for $6.99 each covers a lot of Friday nights. Pizza, wings and calzones. (813) 436-0016.
Madison Patron sells residential real estate with Foundation Realty Group on this same east side footprint. Cell is 813-955-9092, office is 813-729-6000.
Maid Pure Cleaning is Dionne Cona, a former teacher and a mother of four, with 250 plus local customers across Brandon, Riverview and Valrico. Bonded and insured, with a 24 hour satisfaction callback, and they partner with Cleaning for a Reason. (813) 670-2004.
Photo: Maid Pure Cleaning
K&D Law is Kou Jacobo in Riverview, a licensed Florida attorney in good standing, running a general practice with a focus on immigration and asylum work. (786) 496-2918.
Roof Rejuvenate SH is veteran owned and based in Lithia, serving FishHawk, Brandon, Valrico and Plant City. Their formula is 96% bio based and USDA certified, the application carries a five year transferable warranty, and Jeff caps the business at 15 to 20 roofs a month on purpose. A full replacement runs $15,000 to $30,000. This is a fraction of that. The 21 point inspection is free. (813) 652-2777.
Team Plumstead is John and Danielle with Red Sash Realty, selling residential real estate across FishHawk, Lithia, Valrico, Brandon and Riverview. (813) 495-2136.
Brandon Crossroads Bowl and The Alley at SouthShore run together now. Brandon Crossroads has 40 lanes across 40,000 square feet at 609 Crater Ln., open since 1990, with a pub and grill. The Alley is 42,000 square feet at 10221 Big Bend Rd. in Riverview with an arcade, a grill and a sports bar, and it runs team trivia every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Bowlapalooza is $6.99 plus tax weekday afternoons, shoes included. (813) 621-2363.
Photo: The Alley at SouthShore
Journeys by Jess is Jess, a registered Florida Seller of Travel and a Certified Family Travel Advisor, planning cruises, all inclusives, Disney and group travel. She is an independent affiliate of A.S.A.P. Cruises. Email [email protected].
Running something the neighborhood should know about? Send it over and we will put it in front of about 5,000 local inboxes. Submit your event here.
Same for scores. If you have a kid playing, a photo from the sideline, or you coach and you want your team covered, send it in. High school sports in this county deserve better coverage than they get and we are trying to fix that.
See you Tuesday.
John
The East of Tampa Guy
Listen, I'm not a normal person. I'm crazy. What that means is you point it at the right things. Football. Building businesses. Anything that rewards intensity. I'm a high achiever and I like being one.
What it also means is that alcohol and my personality do not mix. The drinking culture in the military is real and I was all the way in it. Hail and farewells, officer calls, all of it. Some of the best nights of my life came out of those years and I am not going to pretend otherwise.
Then about seven years ago I saw it clearly. The person I want to be and the person I become when I am drinking were never going to be the same guy.
Tomorrow I hit seven years since my last drink. 2,557 days. It is the single decision that changed my life the most. I don't miss alcohol and I don't miss the person I was. My life is a million times better without it.
If you can have a drink or two and stop, and it doesn't run your life, more power to you. Enjoy it. But if you're crazy like me, I want you to know that you can stop, and you can live a freaking amazing life on the other side of it.
Here's to seven years 🫡.
