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More Than 100 Attend Ruskin United's Living Nativity Scene

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By BARBARA ROUTEN

Tribune correspondent

Published: December 31, 2008

RUSKIN - Members of the Ruskin United Methodist Church youth group gave the community an early Christmas greeting as a gesture of peace and goodwill at a Living Nativity on Dec. 20.

More than 100 people attended two presentations that featured all the familiar characters from the Christmas story.

Ana Reyes and Justin Minchew played Mary and Joseph and came to the stable leading a donkey.

"As soon as they were settled in the stable area, the baby Jesus was born," said Sandi Rupert, church secretary, who attended the first drama. "All the women there wished they could have a delivery as speedy as the one we witnessed Saturday night.

"Soon the wise men appeared with gifts for the new baby," Rupert continued, "and the shepherds came next. Angels were on hand high above the manger ... on platforms held up by scaffolding.

"The animals - three sheep, a donkey, and a goat - were thoroughly admired by the kids and parents," she said. "The goat was not too happy about being in the fenced-in area and jumped out at least three times, only to be rescued by one of the audience and brought back to his pen."

Club Forms New Sorority
SUN CITY CENTER - The education committee of the Sun City Center Women's Club has established an honorary educational sorority called Epsilon Sigma Omega. Eight club members - Cyrille Cobe, Marie Hamly, Monica McPhillips, Anne Johnson, Janet Grove, Carla Miles, Jan Landers and Jan Cardulla - attended its first meeting.

The sorority "is a home-reading plan," said McPhillips, publicity chairwoman for the club. Members track the number of books they read from a sorority book list and are recognized for their progress.

"ESO does not compete with or replace other book clubs," said McPhillips. "Books read elsewhere can be included for ESO recognition."

For information about membership, call Cobe at (813) 633-9078.
Scholarship Applications Available

BRANDON - Students who wish to pursue degrees in medicine may apply now for the Brandon Hospital Auxiliary's need-based scholarships for the 2009-2010 school year.

Applicants must live within prescribed boundaries in the greater Brandon area or attend Armwood, Bloomingdale, Brandon, Durant, Newsome, Plant City or Riverview high schools; belong to the family of a member of the auxiliary; or be an employee of Brandon Regional Hospital.

The application, accompanied by required supporting documents, must be received by the auxiliary by April 1. Applications are available at the welcome desk in the hospital's Tower A and must be picked up by the applicant.

Since its inception, the auxiliary has donated more than $750,000 in scholarships. Two gift shops at the hospital provide funding for the scholarships and the Emergency Care Help Organization.

For information, contact Mary Wozniak of the Brandon Regional Hospital marketing department at (813) 571-5105 or mary.wozniak @hcahealthcare.com.

Rotary Announces Speakers Schedule

The South Shore Rotary Club invites guests and visiting Rotarians to its meetings at noon Wednesdays at Cypress Creek Golf Club, 1011 Cypress Village Blvd. The cost is $12.

Meeting speakers and agenda for January are Christy Foster of the Tampa Bay Higher Education Alliance Jan. 7; Takia McClendon of Lennard High School Jan. 14; a club business meeting Jan. 21; and Jim Hosler, an applied demographer, Jan. 28.

For information, call David Madden, president, (813) 447-9015, or visit www.rotary.org.

Wayne Lacey Memorial Concert

GIBSONTON - The inaugural Wayne Lacey Memorial Concert will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 31 at the First Baptist Church of Gibsonton, 9912 Indiana St. The Laceys' 3 Plus 1 Gospel Quartet and the church choir will perform.

Lacey was a Gospel singer who recorded 45 albums and sang with well-known entertainers, including Art Linkletter and Pat Boone.

For information, call (813) 677-1301 or (813) 672-8528.

Need Money For College?

BRANDON - The Brandon Elks Lodge No. 2383, 800 Centennial Lodge Drive, has scholarship applications on site for high school seniors in the Brandon, Durant or Riverview areas who are hard-working, average students or high achievers.

Applicants for the Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student scholarship, worth $4,000 to $60,000, must be exemplary, community-service-minded students. The application is complex and requires much time to prepare. It must be returned to the lodge by Jan. 9.

The $4,000 Elks National Foundation Legacy Award is for children and grandchildren of living Elks in good standing. This also must be returned to the lodge by Jan. 9.

The Ladies of the Elks, for their Determined Average Student scholarship, seek high school seniors with a B to C grade-point average, perform community service and participate in extracurricular school activities. Completed applications must be received at the lodge by Feb. 15.

For details, call Kim Martinez, scholarship chairwoman, at (813) 655-7353 or visit www.elks.org. To reach the lodge, call (813) 685-6469 or (813) 654-2968.

Military Sisters Mix, Mingle

BRANDON - The Tampa Bay WAVES Unit No. 55 will meet at 11 a.m. Saturday in the AMVETS Post 44 Headquarters, 318 Pauls Drive.

Women who are in the military now or who were honorably discharged from the Navy, Navy Nurse Corps, Coast Guard, Marine Corps or Maritime Service or their reserves may attend.

"In our new location we do not have eating facilities, so it is not a luncheon meeting," said Jeannette Green, publicity coordinator. "No cost; no reservations."

For details, call Green at (813) 657-9164.

Ohioans Dine To Vintage Music
SUN CITY CENTER - The Ohio Club of Sun City Center will host a buffet dinner at 6 p.m. Jan. 18 at Community Hall, 1910 S. Pebble Beach Blvd. The Sarasota-based Renaissance Trio will perform music that spans four decades - the 1950s through the 1980s.

The cost is $22 per person. For reservations, call Marianne Turman at (813) 634-7770.

Free Writers Workshop Offered

BRANDON - Debora M. Coty of Seffner will offer a free mini-workshop for writers and aspiring writers from 1 to 2 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Brandon Family Christian Store, 2454 W. Brandon Blvd. She will autograph copies of her newly released young-adult novel "Billowing Sails," the sequel to "The Distant Shore," from 2-3 p.m.

To learn more, visit www.DeboraCoty.com.

Send news and photos of community interest to Barbara Routen at The Tampa Tribune, 505 W. Robertson St., Brandon FL 33511, e-mail neighbors@tampabay .rr.com or call (813) 657-4531.

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