Tina Brunsman of Sweet Soap Confections was awarded a $1000 Business Builder Grant in honor of Josephine Mason

On April 19, 2018, at Fulfill Your Destiny’s Annual Spring Chari-Tea Event, Tina Brunsman of Sweet Soap Confections was awarded a $1000 Business Builder Grant in honor of Josephine Mason, a Personal Banker at American Momentum Bank.

Tina’s venture into business began back in 2015, when her youngest daughter brought home a soap making kit on a weekend visit from college. What started out as a fun mother/daughter project, grew into a passion. With the encouragement of her friends, Tina and her daughter decided to take some of their soaps to sell at a local holiday market. To their surprise, they sold over 80 bars of soap within 2 hours! This was the start of Sweet Soap Confections. As the recipient of this grant, Tina was able to pursue her business goals of creating her website and offering her products online.  They now offer luxury soaps, bath products, and hand poured candles, which are all a labor of love for this mom and her daughters. In addition to offering signature soap scents, that smell so yummy you may want to bite (but don’t please!), Tina also offers the option of customizing an order to your desired scent.  In more recent years, Tina’s business has continued to grow as she participates in vendor fairs and events locally. She has also impacted her community by participating in the Great American Teach IN, where she was able to teach some young minds the fun of making soaps; as well as partnering with another local company to donate over 100lbs of soap to victims of Hurricane Ian. We love to see how much Tina has accomplished and grown these past years, and are proud that we were able to help her on her mission of expansion with our Business Builder Grant. We wish continued success to her! 

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Clemmie Perry, Founder of Women in Color Golf was awarded a $1000 Business Builder Grant

At Fulfill Your Destiny’s 2018 Spring Chari-Tea Event, Clemmie Perry, founder of Women in Color Golf was awarded a $1000 Business Builder Grant, sponsored by Independent Financial Services. 

Women of Color Golf, began back in 2014, when Mrs. Perry was inspired to create an organization that would spark some interest into the game of golf. Her mission was to use the game of golf to help young minority women, from challenging environments, improve their business awareness, health and wellbeing, and opportunities in the world of commerce.  Her inspiration quickly grew to include golf clinics, recreational golf events, as well as business networking and mentoring opportunities. She has successfully implemented a mentoring program for elementary children primarily at two local Hillsborough County schools, Clemmie Ross James Elementary and Doris Ross Reddick Elementary, appropriately named after her mother and grandmother, who both were influential in the Hillsborough County School system. With this grant, Mrs. Perry was able to continue expanding her business as well as her community outreach. Through her organization, she has successfully introduced over 600 minority women and girls to the fundamentals of golf. Women of Color Golf has been featured in numerous television segments, has been the recipient of the Tampa Bay Lightning Community Hero Award, and was most recently nationally recognized by President Barack Obama as a U.S. White House Champion of Change for After School Programs for Marginalized Girls. We are honored to have presented this grant to Mrs. Perry, and we continue to be proud of her achievements with her organization!  

A sobbing Perry told the guests: “Just as the business was growing, I ended up losing about 50 percent of my hearing.”

Check out the beautiful write-up by Tampa Bay Times: https://www.tampabay.com/news/Fulfill-Your-Destiny-s-annual-tea-serves-up-inspiration-charitable-giving_166769743

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Fulfill Your Destiny Awards Grant to Gerene Keesler

Gerene Keesler of Admissions Untangled, has earned the Fulfill Your Destiny Business Builder Grant. Fulfill Your Destiny founder Karen Mertes developed this grant to help small businesses grow and achieve what they may not have been able to do without the grant money. The grant enabled Gerene to attend the 3 day IECA (Independent Educational Consultants Association)  Fall Conference in San Diego. The conference would enable her to elevate her business by meeting like minded professionals to share expertise.

Gerene Keesler is a Tampa native with over 25 years of invaluable experience in higher education and admissions offices. As an independent college counselor, she established Admissions Untangled which offers assistance gaining admission, graduate planning, and helping to streamline the college experience. Her background includes working in both undergraduate and graduate admissions offices, conducting countless mock interviews, refining essays, facilitating scholarship searches, and guiding students through the intricacies of college admissions. 

What sets Admissions Untangled apart is the wealth of experience and a personal connection to the challenges many students face. As stated by Gerene, “ As a high school student, I navigated the education landscape feeling lost and undiagnosed for decades. It was only later that I discovered I am on the spectrum with various comorbidities, including epilepsy. This personal journey has given me unique insights into the struggles of doing poorly in school, not knowing how to study, and searching for the proper support.” Gerene now works to help make the college experience for students a much easier and enjoyable process. 

As a testament to her dedication to the field, she is a member of NACAC and SACAC, as well as an associate member of IECA. These affiliations underscore her commitment to staying abreast of industry trends and best practices, ensuring that Admissions Untangled remains at the forefront of college counseling.

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Congratulations to Palm Harbor Phish Smokehouse Company

Recently, Palm Harbor Phish Smokehouse Company received the Fulfill Your Destiny Buisness Builder Grant. The grant was founded by Karen Mertes. It enables local entrepreneurs the opportunity to expand and grow their businesses.

Phish is a family owned and operated shop specializing in Willie T’s mouthwatering smoked salmon dip and spread, along with a tantalizing Mahi spread. At Phish, they take pride in their hand crafted fish spreads. Frozen fillets are NEVER used, only fresh! “We make it fresh every week, following a 3 day process of marinating, smoking and blending to provide the freshest, most flavorful fish spread-choked full of fish too! All of our products are gluten free. Our Salmon spread is dairy free as well.”  Phish has been selling their products for the last 3 years at the local markets. Being awarded this grant has made it possible for Phish to open a commercial production kitchen and retail storefront in Palm Harbor. Stop by and check them out.

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