Bill Hodges hosts a local cable TV show, writes a syndicated column and runs motivational seminars.
By JAY CRIDLIN
Published May 16, 2003
The producers are calling for quiet on the set.
Bill Hodges is seated beneath the bright lights of the Tampa Bay Community Network's studio in Tampa, preparing to tape an episode of his public access talk show, East Shore Today.
It's time for a check of the microphones, so Hodges begins to speak.
"Four score and seven years ago," he says, "our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
Hodges is Canadian, but his flawless recitation of the Gettysburg Address - like his American flag necktie and uncanny resemblance to U.S. defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - are evidence that he's good at adapting to a new environment.
"I'm a very quick study, and a very inquiring mind," says Hodges, 62. "I'm the kind of person who prefers to do something new every morning when he gets up."
Hodges is the president of Hodges Seminars International, a management training company he runs out of his Apollo Beach home. He has written a book, Within Your Reach, and he also writes a newsletter and a syndicated column that appears in Ruskin's Observer News.
But locals may know Hodges best as the host of East Shore Today, a public access forum for issues of interest to southern and eastern Hillsborough County; it airs Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Florida House Speaker Johnny Byrd, school superintendent Earl Lennard and even Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms - a noted opponent of some public access shows - have appeared on East Shore Today. Guests in the coming months include Hillsborough Community College president Gwendolyn Stephenson and U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam.
"Look at all the wonderful people I'm getting to meet as a result of doing this program," he says. "I love to ask questions."
A native of Chatham, Ontario, Hodges moved with his family to Michigan, where he graduated from high school. College didn't take, so he enlisted in the Air Force and was stationed in Dayton, Ohio.
He stayed in the Air Force for a while, working odd jobs and taking night classes at the University of Dayton.
His affable personality landed him a position with the base marketing office. When he eased into civilian life, he bounced around from corporation to corporation as a salesman and spokesman.
At one public relations firm, he planned large-scale corporate events such as shareholders' meetings and company retreats.
"I was hiring speakers that were being paid more in a day than I was being paid for the whole week, and I thought, "Wait a minute, I'm a better speaker than some of these people,' " he said.
Hodges left his job and started a small seminar company. Twenty-two years later, Hodges Seminars International is still going strong. Clients range from Tampa Electric Co. to the U.S. Postal Service to the National Ice Cream Retailers Association.
His primary message: Don't focus on the negative in your workplace. Focus on the positive.
He met his wife of nearly four years, Phyllis, after speaking to her company.
"It was his enthusiasm and effervescence," she said. "He's got a lot of charisma. He listened. He is a very good listener."
Hodges has sold 25,000 copies of his book, Within Your Reach, a collection of his motivational columns.
A sample, from a piece titled One of the Crowd: Each of us has a choice. We can be a part of the crowd. We can be a follower, and allow others to make our decisions and set our standards. Or we can retain our independence and be a friend to all who seek our friendship.
Bill and Phyllis moved to Apollo Beach more than three years ago, but they haven't slowed down. Phyllis is a camera operator on East Shore Today, and they're always looking forward to the next taping.
"It's exciting to work on new things," Hodges says. "I think that's the way you stay young."
FAMILY: Wife Phyllis; two grown children, Kenneth and Heather, both of Dayton, Ohio.
ODDEST JOB: In high school in Michigan, he was a scuba diver, recovering boat parts and even dead bodies for the Michigan State Police.
HOBBY: Ballroom dancing in Sun City Center.
MOTTO FOR SUCCESS: "Believe in yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, why should anyone else?"
BEST THING ABOUT CANADA: "The people. They're open, they're gregarious and they're giving."
BEST THING ABOUT APOLLO BEACH: "It's clean, it's safe and I have neighbors who I couldn't possibly find anywhere else."
YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS: In Tampa, East Shore Today can be seen at 8 p.m. Tuesdays on Ch. 19. The rest of Hillsborough County can watch at 8 p.m. Wednesdays on Ch. 20.
