Florida News
DR. JAY AND KAVITA MULANEY OF LAKELAND RECOGNIZED 2014 INDIVIDUAL PHILANTHROPISTS OF THE YEAR
Dr. Jay Mulaney, left, and his wife, Kavita, right,
with their daughters, Bianca and Annika.
Lakeland Regional Medical Center Foundation recognized its 2014 Individual Philanthropists of the Year, Dr. Jay and Kavita Mulaney, at a celebration on Oct. 2. They were honored for philanthropic and advocacy efforts performed on behalf of Lakeland Regional Health System. Also recognized were Corporate Philanthropist of the Year, The Reitzel Foundation; and Advocates of the Year, Dr. Eileen Holden and Dr. Anne Kerr.
The Individual Philanthropist of the Year recognizes individuals and families that make an exceptional commitment to the vision and values of Lakeland Regional by making a significant personal contribution of time, talent and resources to the development of superior healthcare.
The Mulaneys have been longtime supporters of the hospital. They have provided resources for foundation initiatives, including capital and programmatic initiatives.
“We are honored that the Mulaneys proudly proclaim that the LRMC Foundation is their charity of choice. Dr. Mulaney has given of himself generously in his service to the LRMC Board of Directors and to patients in need of his professional services,” said Elaine C. Thompson, Lakeland Regional Health System president and CEO.
President of Central Florida Eye Associates, the board-certified Dr. Jay Mulaney has been in practice in Lakeland for 24 years. Specializing in eye surgery, Dr. Mulaney has performed thousands of small incision cataract surgeries with lens implants. He is on the staff at Lakeland Regional Medical Center and Lakeland Surgical and Diagnostic Center.
Dr. Mulaney lives in Lakeland with his wife Kavita who is a physical therapy graduate of the University of Florida. Kavita is active in the school system in Lakeland where she has served as President of the PTA and Chairman of the School Advisory Council. They have two daughters Bianca, who is a student at Harvard University, and Annika, a senior at the International Baccalaureate School in Bartow.
JIMMY’S SEASIDE FRIES LOOKING TO EXPAND
Seaside fries of 14 varieties? Tater tots? Funnel cakes? Churros? Fried Oreos? Shakes? Get your mouth-watering attention? These and several other unique food items are available at Jimmy’s Seaside Fries, which operates kiosk-style eateries in shopping malls. The Tampa-based company recently opened two stores in Westfield Countryside mall in Clearwater and Westfield Brandon.
Founders and friends Jimmy Mayberrie, Brad Bridges (both with vast experience at operating Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, Tijuana Flats and You Say when Yogurt) and Indian American Shyam Mundra (Tijuana Flats multi-unit partner) wanted to convey a “North East sort of feel” to the fries/tater tots concept and now are selling franchises throughout the United States. With 10 kiosks to open by year end in such states as Illinois, Nevada, South Dakota, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Texas, the entrepreneurs look to open 35 units next year in places with “lots of food traffic – boardwalks, college campuses, malls, stadiums. Our food is an impulse buy, a sort of comfort purchase.”
For $135,000 investment, you can have a turnkey operation and an annual sales range of $300,000 to over $1,000,000, they say. “We help franchisees with real estate, lease negotiation,” said Bridges. “Our completed and delivered kiosks require one or two employees. So food and labor costs are low for a great product, which has no spoilage.”
The trio is looking at malls across the country, said Mundra. “You get restaurant-quality food in a kiosk concept – a taste of the boardwalk, is our tagline.”
For information, call Shyam Mundra at (813) 391-3990 or visit http://www.seasidefries.com
WAHH! WORLD FUSION BAND TO PERFORM IN TAMPA, ST. PETERSBURG, SARASOTA
WAHH! World Fusion Band will perform at four venues in the Tampa Bay area and Sarasota this month. The band, blending ‘East meets West’ in true fusion-music style, will be at Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa (910 Skipper Road) on Nov. 14; The Hideaway Café in St. Petersburg (1756 Central Ave.) on Nov. 15; Independent Bar and Café (5016 N. Florida Ave.) in Tampa on Nov. 16; and Fogartyville Community Media & Arts Center in Sarasota (Kumquat Court) on Nov. 21.
Tabla maestro, vocalist, multi-percussionist and composer Shankh Lahiri formed WAHH! World Fusion Band to combine his traditional musical origins from India with his current and contemporary musical explorations from the West. It is rooted in India’s rich traditional musical culture and enveloped in an artful weave of jazz, rock and funk. WAHH! also features Peter Mongaya on guitar, Michael Washington on drums and percussion, Ray Villadonga on bass, Rajib Karmakar on ‘E- Sitar’ with guest artists - sitar maestro Abhik Mukherjee and Jay Gandhi on bansuri flute.
The band recently released its first CD, which is available for download at iTunes and CDBaby or at www.wahhmusic.com The band also is available for weddings, corporate events and private events.
For information, call Shank Lahiri at (813) 549-9252.
Florida All Stars win American Cricket National CHAMPIONSHIP
By Matt Becker
Legendary cricketer Alvin Kallicharan presents the
championship trophy to Aurangzaib Baig, captain of
Florida All Stars, as American Cricket Federation
Commission Avinash Varma looks on.
The Cricket Gods smiled on the Oct. 10-12 third annual American Cricket Championship tournament in Orlando, and blessed the event with picture-perfect weather. From the first ball to the final catch of the final match, everything about the tournament spoke well for the future of the game in America. Gutsy, hard-nosed bowling, match winning knocks, great atmospheres and knowledgeable and energetic crowds – all making for a fabulous weekend in Florida.
The six finalists – in seeded order from one to six – were the Midwest Bears (defending champions), the Washington Eagles, the Massachusetts Patriots, the Arizona Scorpions, the Florida All Stars and the Midwest Chargers – and all had great stories on how they had made their way to the finals. The Bears ran ram shod over their division and sailed into Florida. The Eagles won five matches in a row after being beaten comprehensively in the first game. The Patriots did similarly, losing their first match before winning out the rest of the season. The Scorpions were hot out of the gate but had to squeak through on net run rate. The All Stars lost their last match to division rivals the Jacksonville Thunder, but still won their division, thanks to impressive form earlier in the season. And the Chargers tied their first match and won their second by just one run to narrowly win the Ohio Valley division.
The tournament was set up for each team to play two matches based on seedings, with the top point earners to play in the final on Sunday. On the opening day, the Eagles topped the Scorpions by five wickets, the All Stars walloped the Patriots by 168 runs and the Chargers stunned the defending champion Bears by 42 runs. Not a close game in the pack, but interesting results as two lower seeded teams (the All Stars and the Chargers) beat two higher seeded teams, which set up an interesting next day of the tournament.
The All Stars defeated the Bears by eight wickets – knocking the title holders out of the Tournament and advancing to the finals. While the Chargers continued to shock the world with a 171 run victory over the Eagles, setting up a final between the Chargers and the All Stars. Florida versus Ohio: winner take all. Also that day, the Patriots beat the Scorpions by 245 runs in a dead rubber match.
During the final, two brilliant centuries from the All Stars Bhim George and Krunal Bhange led the charge for Florida and helped their side amass a huge first innings total of 332. The target proved to be too much for the upstart Chargers, who collapsed all out for only 114 in 25 overs, making the Florida All Stars the 2014 American Cricket Champions.
Poetically, the final out was caught by Bhange, while his fellow centurion George fittingly took home the Outstanding Batting performance award. Rahu Desai was presented with the Outstanding Bowling performance award for his impressive marks of 5.3-0-25-5. The All Stars will represent their country at the North American Championships in Phoenix.
This article has been reprinted with permission from American Cricket Federation. For more information, visit www.americancricketfederation.org/
Navaratri Golu Festival CELEBRATED
Navaratri 2014 was uniquely celebrated in Tampa as nine families joined together with friends to celebrate the festival at the Hindu Temple of Florida Community Hall with traditional Golu display of dolls. Golu, also called Bommai Kolu, represents the divine presence of the goddess with a festival of dolls.
In South India, for the nine days of Navratri, households are decorated with an artistic display of dolls that are neatly arranged and placed on steps. Traditionally, a few steps include idols of Gods and kalash with fresh water covered with coconut and mango leaves. The next few steps have idols of saints and heroes of the country. Another step represents human activities such as marriage, temples and music. Business is represented by vendor like dolls selling groceries. It is a custom to add new dolls every year. Traditionally, a special dish called "sundal" made out of lentils is offered as prasad. Women exchange coconuts, fruits, flowers and kumkum.
This was a visual treat for all the invitees depicting the unique celebration with the display of numerous dolls, collected over the years from India organized by the local families.
DIWALI FESTIVITIES CONTINUE IN FLORIDA
ORLANDO/CASSELBERRY
The Orlando Marathi Mandal will be celebrating Deepawali Dhamaka on Nov. 8 at the Hindu Society of Central Florida community hall (1994 Lake Drive) in Casselberry. For information, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.orlandomarathi.com
TAMPA
Maayboli Melawa (Maharashtra Mandal) of Tampa Bay will celebrate Diwali on Nov. 1 at Hindu Temple, 5509 Lynn Road, Tampa. For more information, e-mail Vrushali Pendharkar at tanvidp@yahoo.com or visit www.MMTBUSA.org
PLANT CITY/BRANDON/VALRICO
The Charotar Patidar Samaj of Florida will hold its sixth annual Diwali Dinner & Dance on Nov. 8 from 6 p.m. at The Trinkle Center, 1206 N. Park Road, Plant City. Family pass is $50. For information, call Jayesh Patel at (407) 460-2020, Kamal Patel at (863) 670-1045 or visit www.patelpower.net
SARASOTA/BRADENTON
The Gujarati Association of Manasota will hold its Diwali cultural program/dinner on Sunday, Nov. 9, at Bayshore High School, 5401 34th St., W., Bradenton. Social hour will be from 4 to 5 p.m. followed by cultural program and dinner. It is free for association members; $25 per person for non-members. For information, call Vishal Doshi at (941) 914-5878, Rina Patel at (941) 518-3462 or visit www.gujaratiassociationofmanasota.com
GAINESVILLE
The Indian Student Association of University of Florida will hold its Diwali show on Nov. 9 at Curtis M. Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Road, Gainesville. Doors open at 6:30. For more information or to sign up to perform, contact Dilan Nayee at (407) 666-1046 or email [email protected]
MELBOURNE
The Indian Association of the Space Coast will hold Diwali and annual dinner Saturday, Nov. 1, at Melbourne Auditorium, 625 E. Hibiscus Blvd. For more information, call (321) 302-1870 or visit www.iascbrevard.com
JACKSONVILLE
Also, The Indian Cultural Society of Jacksonville will hold its Diwali from 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 9, at the University of North Florida Arena, 11852 University of North Florida Drive. There will be food, dance and music. For details, e-mail president@jaxics.org or visit www.jaxics.org