Community Corner

Need Some Inspiration? 6 Stories You'll Love

Need a little inspiration to conquer an obstacle in your life? Brandon Patch has you covered! Check out these stories of success in the face of adversity and then get out there and climb your own mountain!

About this sponsorship: In honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, Patch and Grape-Nuts are teaming up to highlight those who inspire people around them to climb their own mountains.Life’s a journey that’s fraught with obstacles along the way. It’s how we face down those challenges that defines who we are.

For the past few weeks, Brandon Patch and Grape-Nuts have teamed up to share some incredible stories about people in Florida who faced down the odds and won.

If you’re looking for a little inspiration to climb your own mountain, check out the stories that have been featured in the Journeys series so far

Find out what's happening in Brandonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Brewer Joey Redner Talks Crafting a Popular Brew in a Diverse Beer Market

In just four years time, Joey Redner has gone from beer enthusiast and upstart brewer to an award winning craft brewer that will produce 25,000 barrels of ale in 2013.

Son of the famous Mons Venus owner, Joe Redner, the 40-year old craft beer connoisseur has taken his sales and his connections with the beer community to the next level in recent months. Last March, he visited the nation's capital in an effort to lobby lawmakers for a tax cut for brewers that would save him around $100,000 this year, money that could be spent to expand his evergrowing workforce that is currently at 51 employees.

Find out what's happening in Brandonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jeweler Julie Weintraub Talks Making It in a Bad Economy

Few small business owners have been able to sustain, never mind grow in the economy of the past eight years. But Julie Weintraub and the Gold and Diamond Source of Clearwater have seen uninhibited growth during that period thanks to her willingness to change with the times.

Throughout good times and bad, Weintraub has remained a leader in the business community through her charity Hands Across the Bay and in her position as vice president of her Ulmerton Road jewelry business. She remains dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Tampa Bay area through efforts ranging from simple acts of kindness to raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities.

Dick Vitale Looks Back On Career and Life

With one of the most famous on screen personalities in broadcasting history, Dick Vitale is widely considered the greatest basketball commentator of all time.

The 73-year-old New Jersey native from humble roots has achieved legendary status in the world of sports broadcasting, including being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. He was the voice of ESPN's first college basketball broadcast in 1979 and has continued an illustrious career with the channel over the last four decades.

Local Leader Kevin Beckner on the Challenges of Public Office

Kevin Beckner, elected to the Hillsborough County Commission in November 2008, is a native of Michigan City, IN. Since entering office, he has been a champion for at-risk children and their families, creating the Juvenile Justice Task Force, whose mission is to help at-risk youth become productive citizens within our community.

Beckner has also been successful at passing important consumer and public safety initiatives that shut down pill mills and tackled the epidemic of insurance fraud related to staged auto accidents in Hillsborough County.

Yogesh Pathak is a walking, talking living enigma.  

In June 2004, tiredness and an excruciating pain in his leg encouraged him to seek medical attention. Yogesh was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer that had already attacked his kidney, spleen, pancreas, lungs, leg, brain and skull.

He was told to get his affairs in order, and given just months to live.

Now, nine years after a terminal diagnosis - all doctors involved believed was a death sentence - Yogesh is proof that stubborn determination, willpower, multiple surgeries, and an experimental drug can conquer a terminal diagnosis. Today, he and his daughter Jhanavi are busy creating a foundation to help others fighting cancer.

Sargent Mike Halley is a United States Marine and a Vietnam Veteran. He served as a door gunner and crew chief in a UH-34 helicopter unit during his two tours.

When he came home just days after the Tet Offensive, he, like many others, harbored more than memories of a long and devastating war; he suffered from an invisible disability – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

He spent most of his time after leaving the Marines not understanding the disorder that disrupted his life. After living in a 9x12 room for nine years, Halley's sister put a large Doberman Pincher in the room with him and instructed him to train her and take care of her.  

She became his unofficial service dog. 


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