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Angels Dance Their Tidings Of Joy In Bethlehem

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By BARBARA ROUTEN, Tribune correspondent

Published: December 22, 2007

Updated: 12/20/2007 04:46 pm

BRANDON - On Dec. 8, Bethlehem came to Brandon as the Nativity Catholic Church Women's Guild put on its annual Breakfast in Bethlehem.

Parish children ages 2 to 12 dropped off new toys for the Nativity Outreach Food Pantry's St. Nicholas' Toy Shop and enjoyed a free breakfast and activities. Children talked to Santa, made ornaments and built "snowpersons."

Angels - well, students dressed as angels - from Shirley's Dance Studio in Brandon, including Riverview resident Angelina Palustre and Valrico resident Amanda Brenaman, danced their tidings of great joy, while their parents, Joel Palustre and Elaine Brenaman, beamed.

Ashley Young, Isabella Olson and Avery Rogers created a candy-cane reindeer with a little help from their mothers, Christina Young, Jennifer Olson and Stephanie Bombaugh.

Ian, Aidan and Ainsley Hamilton stayed warm and dry while playing in Styrofoam snow as their mom, Noelle, kept a watchful eye. Ian and Aidan dressed up as wise men, and Ainsley as an angel, while their sister, Lauren, became Mary and Theodore Lombardi became Joseph in a makeshift stable. Frank Lombardi, Theodore's dad, was on hand to witness this touching Christmas scene.

Two-year-old twins Toby and Gabi Schlueter and their older sister and brother, Darcy and David, enjoyed all of the day's activities - especially since their dad, Air Force Lt. Col. Myron Schlueter, was back from his overseas tour and able to accompany them and their mom, Louise, to the breakfast this year. "It was really nice that all six of us were together," Louise said.

Elks Offer Seniors $1,000 Scholarships

BRANDON - The Elks Club offers two scholarship opportunities to deserving high school seniors.

The Elks National Foundation Legacy Scholarship is a $1,000, one-year award for children, grandchildren or wards of Elks. The other is the Elks National Foundation 2008 Most Valuable Student award, which is open to any high school senior who is a U.S. citizen. Two first-place awards of $60,000 are given to one male and one female student.

The Legacy Scholarship application must be mailed to the foundation office in Chicago and postmarked by Jan. 11. The Most Valuable Student application must be mailed or hand-delivered by Jan. 11 to the Brandon Elks Lodge, 800 Centennial Lodge Drive, Brandon.

Get details and applications for both scholarships at www.elks.org/enf/scholars, or e-mail scholarship@elks.org. Information and applications also are available at the Brandon Elks Lodge or by calling Kim Martinez, scholarship chairwoman, at (813) 655-7353.

Lions, Leos Deliver Luminary Kits

BRANDON - On Dec. 1, seven members of the Brandon Lions Club - Judy Brown, Bo Hurley, Michael Kirk, Bruce Molen, Robert Nixon, Kevin Rees and Arthur Schmidt - along with some of their children and three Leo Club members from Brandon High School - Yanira Sanchez, Jahlisha Dawson and Amrita Deonarain - loaded luminary kits onto two trucks loaned to them by the U-Haul Center of Brandon.

"We delivered the kits to various communities around the greater Brandon, Sun City Center and Riverview area," Schmidt said.

Marketing, selling, creating and distributing the luminary kits was a joint fundraising project of the Brandon Lions Club and the Brandon branch of the American Association of University Women.

For information about the Lions, visit www.brandonlions .org. For information about the AAUW, call Marie Gay at (813) 598-2724 or Christine Sauciunac at (813) 426-3367.

Scholarship Offered For Average Students

BRANDON - The Brandon Ladies of Elks will award four $1,000 scholarships for determined average students who have maintained a B or C grade-point average and participate in community and school activities.

The lady Elks' Determined Average Student scholarship applications are available in the game room of the Brandon Elks Lodge, 800 Centennial Lodge Drive, Brandon, and should be returned to the lodge in person or by mail by Feb. 15. For information, call Kim Martinez at (813) 655-7353.

Stagedoor Introduces New Board Members

BRANDON - Stagedoor Performing Arts introduces two new board members, Doni Holmes, secretary, and Maurice Cecchini, vice president, who have joined Wayne Otto, president, and Josie Costa, treasurer.

Cecchini "has always been a huge contributor to the community arts," Holmes said in a recent e-mail.

The performing arts group has launched a new membership drive and designated that all membership dues will go into a building fund. "It is our dream to have a performing arts center here in Brandon," Holmes said. "Your membership will go towards making that dream come true."

Membership levels range from $25 to $300, which includes tickets to shows. The membership levels are described at Stagedoor's Web site, www.stagedoorbrandon .org.

Auditions for the group's next show, "Faith Country," will take place at 7 p.m. Jan. 2 and 3 at Limona Village Chapel, 408 Limona Road, Brandon. Oliver Sprague will direct.

"Our Web site ... gives an overview of this hilarious show," Holmes said.

Arts for Life! Scholarship Deadline Approaches

BRANDON - The Arts for Life! Scholarship Program of the Foundation for Excellence in Education gives a $1,000 scholarship each year to 25 Florida high school seniors who plan to study music, visual arts, dance or theater in college. Students must meet academic and artistic criteria.

Applications must be postmarked by Jan. 11. Scholarships will be awarded in the spring. Applications can be downloaded at www.excelined .org. For information, contact Lisa Kammel Raguso, program director, at (850) 345-6284 or lisa@excelined.org.

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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