The Real Life Adventures of Ken Wilson

Old Northeast resident, Ken Wilson, is a Vietnam veteran, pilot, world traveler, motor-scooter enthusiast, blogger, and humanitarian. Ken has been traveling the world since he was six months old when his parents crossed the Atlantic via a military transport ship with Ken in tow. His lifelong obsession with travel and adventure has taken him across oceans – by boat and plane – and North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa on a Vespa scooter! Ken also is a passionate volunteer dedicated to a number of local and international charitable causes. I sat down with Ken to learn more about his story, adventures, and how he is paying it forward.… Read More

How does an Old Northeast resident – who is an Aussie immigrant with an acclaimed tenor voice, but who only sings as a hobby – bring the United Nations to Tampa Bay? Well, Robert Kruithoff, who has only lived here for three-and-a-half years, has done all that and then some.

A Melbourne native, Kruithoff (or Robbie, pronounced Rowby, as everyone knows him) is the fundraising and events director for the United Nations Association of the United States of America, Tampa Bay (UNA-USA TB). Wow! And he’s not even a citizen yet.

Robbie spearheaded the UNIFIED event held recently at the Morean Center for Clay.… Read More

Rowdies center back Tam Mkandawire is our man! Meaning really ours… he lives in the Old Northeast! Tam and his family moved here from Tampa just a year ago. That was a small move compared to their trek across the pond – the Atlantic Ocean that is! And, there may be another leap for Tam and soccer fans in the not-too-distant future – more on that later!

The Mkandawires (pronounced makandaweary) hail from Great Britain. Tamika and his wife, Leah, met ten years ago in London. Tam was a star football player (or what Americans call a soccer player) with the Leyton Orient Club, and Leah was a commercial model for several well-known organizations, and then an assistant in the business development department at Christie’s, the well-known auction house.… Read More

In 2012, Nancy Ballard and Kelly Townshend put their worldly possessions in storage, rented out their home in Houston, Texas, got their two dogs vet-approved for sea travel, and set sail for Florida, the Caribbean, and the Chesapeake Bay on their CT-56′ sailboat. After sailing for three years, they decided their boat was too big, and it was time to downsize. This led them to downtown St. Petersburg which would turn out to be their ‘second act.’

Nancy had been sailing for 28 years, but after only two years in, Kelly said, “Let’s go cruising,” something that Nancy had always wanted to do.… Read More

A tale of three brothers

Once upon a time, there were three brothers who, like many, experienced a series of unfortunate events and found themselves part of our local foster care system. Separated from one another in different foster homes, they held onto hope that one day they would all be together in a ‘forever’ home, all one family again.

Their wish came true. A remarkable young woman by the name of Nicole Marchman began fostering Brent and Aaron when they were ages four and two, respectively, and later fostered Preston, and over the coming years, began the formal adoption process for all three boys.… Read More

Buying local takes on a whole new meaning at Brick Street Farms, St. Petersburg’s cool, new eco-friendly farm where exotic greens like Salanova escarole, Spretnak Bibb, purple kale, and tatsoi grow in an unusual, sheltered environment – shipping containers.

Like most transplanted northerners who come to Florida hoping to grow Big Boy tomatoes, green beans, and lettuce in the backyard, Shannon O’Malley was quickly frustrated at her lack of success. St. Petersburg might be proud of its reputation as the Sunshine City, but when it comes to growing produce, the sun, the heat, the humidity, and the sandy soil can be a bit too much.… Read More

There is a group of citizens who love St. Petersburg so much that they volunteer their time to approach, guide, and assist complete strangers while out strolling their beloved downtown streets. These friendly and knowledgeable residents are part of the Sunshine Street Team (SST), a program that the Downtown Business Association (DBA) launched just this past October. It is quickly growing and proving to be mutually beneficial to the visitors, local businesses, and volunteers alike.

This volunteer program is designed to help everyone have a positive experience while visiting downtown St. Petersburg. Metrics collected from reports focused on the volunteers’ encounters will also help the DBA and the City to understand why people are choosing to come to downtown and what they’re looking to do while here.… Read More

After 58 years, The Granddaddy of all Sailboat Regattas Returns

Snell Isle resident Bill Ballard was 16 and a junior in high school when he sailed into Havana, Cuba, as part of the six-man crew on the Celia, the late George Pearson’s 39-foot sailing yacht. It was 1954, during the heyday of the classic St. Petersburg Yacht Club-sponsored “St. Petersburg to Habana” Sailboat Regatta. First launched in 1930, the regatta was widely recognized as the premier “granddaddy of all sailboat races.”

“Havana was an off-the-charts good destination for a sailing race,” says Bill. “It had a wide natural harbor with a protected entrance.… Read More

In a city with an amazing number of talented artists, Ya La’ford stands out. A visionary artist with a BFA in painting from Florida State and an MFA from the Art Institute of Boston, Ya is also a professor at St. Petersburg College and the University of Tampa.

But she has a law degree, too, from the University of Florida. In fact, she practiced law for a while in Washington D.C., mostly advocating on behalf of children and education, before her husband Victor encouraged her to pursue the passion she’s had for art since childhood.

While law and art might seem like career paths that are worlds apart, for Ya, they’re not.… Read More

After 25 years of marriage, three children, a few career changes, and a wealth of marital and parental experiences, Martha Maddux was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the young age of 50. The love affair Carlen Maddux had with his wife continued to grow deeper. Maddux shares his story of the journey he and his family took over the course of the next 17 years, in his book, A Path Revealed: How Hope, Love, and Joy Found Us Deep in a Maze Called Alzheimer’s, published in October 2016. It is a story of love, faith, and growth, told through the eyes and heart of a devoted husband and father, and a most unassuming gentleman who simply wants to share his story.… Read More