Column

These newsmakers will hold our attention for years

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published December 31, 2007

Gypsy Gallardo, 36, leads an effort to rally the Childs Park community and curb youth crime. The Harvard-educated community activist also produces her own business magazine and played a key role in the development of Tangerine Plaza. Submit your nominations: Who should be on the 2008 Watch List? So long, '07! Hello, '08! Our favorite photos of '07
	[Daniel Wallace | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT Year in Review A look back at the biggies Special report: So long, '07! Hello, '08! [Edmund D. Fountain | Times] Stuart Sternberg, the 48-year-old Rays owner, has plans to change Al Lang Stadium into a new professional stadium for the Rays. The plans would changed the scope of downtown St. Petersburg forever. [Carrie Pratt | Times] Pat Pedraja, who suffers from leukemia, set out to sign 2,007 bone marrow donors in 2007. After a 31-city crusade, he more than doubled that number and took home the Viewers Choice Award in the CNN Heroes contest. [Baynews9] Michael Hess, a 57-year-old man who had escaped from prison in 1979, was found as the kitchen manager of the Press Box in Tampa.

Look back on any year, and you will remember most of the people who left an indelible impression.

Shock, awe and inspiration can be factors, but I prefer intrigue because it best defines who captivated us over the last 12 months and who most likely will fascinate us in years to come. Who do I consider the 10 Most Intriguing Personalities of Tampa Bay for 2007? Join me now as we step into a wonder emporium of personalities.

Steve Stanton - How did he live with the secret for so long? How did he find the will to release his true self?

Susan Stanton - Susan, 49, has a new identity, but how does she move forward? Will she ever get to work in government again?

Pat Frank - At 78, the Hillsborough County Clerk of the Court could be sitting on the beach with her toes in the sand, but after decades of holding elected office, she continues to serve the people and serve them well.

Gypsy Gallardo - In conditions that might breed despair, Gallardo, 36, leads an effort to rally the Childs Park community and curb youth crime. The Harvard-educated community activist also produces her own business magazine and played a key role in the development of Tangerine Plaza. But it's not what she has done, but what she will do that leads to intrigue. The grapevine has Gallardo running for the state House in 2008. Stay tuned.

Ben and Karoline Byler - Six kids? At once? We'll be intrigued with the triumphs of this Wesley Chapel couple and their sextuplets until they turn 18 and go to college. Maybe longer.

Stuart Sternberg - Al Lang Stadium, once possibly destined to become a park, could now become a major league park for the Rays. Downtown could be changed forever and the whole plan has my colleague Howard Troxler calling the St. Petersburg government fraudulent. At the center of it all is Sternberg, the 48-year-old Rays owner. But can he field a winner? That will be as big a factor as any in getting voter approval for the plan.

Celina Okpaleke - Okpaleke, 49, transformed her physician's assistant career into Faith Home Health, a Tampa-based home health care business with more than $1-million in annual sales. She also established a nonprofit agency to help clients with basic upkeep of their homes, and a pharmacy. What intrigues me is how this mother of seven accomplished so much in 10 short years.

Pat Pedraja - Out of 7,000 entries in an international contest, viewers chose this Palm Harbor 12-year-old for the Viewers Choice Award in the CNN Heroes contest. Pedraja, who suffers from leukemia, set out to sign 2,007 bone marrow donors in 2007. After a 31-city crusade, he more than doubled that number.

Michael Hess - Folks knew the kitchen manager at the Press Box as Charles Swiger, but he really was Hess, a 57-year-old man who had escaped from prison in 1979. I'll always be intrigued with what life on the lam was like for three decades.

Monica Sierra - The 41-year-old Hillsborough circuit judge will take a leave of absence to do missionary work in Palestine. Some people talk about changing the world; others actually try to do it.

That's all I'm saying.

[Last modified December 30, 2007, 20:30:30]