Golf Tournament Adds Funds to Coffers of Would-Be Honorary Mayors

The start of the honorary mayor's race may be three months away, but candidates got an early start on fundraising Saturday at the eighth annual B. Lee Elam Community Roundtable of Greater Brandon Golf Tournament, held at Buckhorn Springs Golf & Country Club.

On hand for the event was a full field of 69 golfers as well as would-be honorary mayor of Brandon, Cami Gibertini.

Gibertini, a senior vice president for USAmeriBank and longtime Brandon civic activist, is the only candidate that's declared so far for this year's honorary mayor's race. Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Brandon, Gibertini's charities are the Emergency Care Help Organization and the Y.

Also on hand for the tournament was current honorary mayor, Lisa Rodriguez, and past mayor Tammy Holmberg and Billie Smith.

The annual mayor's race is a fundraiser for local charities. With the exception of the golf tournament, candidates hold fundraisers between June 1 and July 4 for their declared charities. The candidate who raises the most money is declared the winner. The winner is announced the morning of the community's annual Fourth of July parade, which this year returns to its previous route along Parsons Avenue to Robertson Street at 10 a.m. July 4.

The community has had an honorary mayor since Nat Storms was elected 52 years ago. The honorary mayor represents the community at various community events throughout the year.

A portion of the proceeds from the mayor's race goes to the Community Roundtable, an organization comprised of various Brandon civic organizations. Funds are used to host the roundtable's annual community dinner and the parade, which attracts 10,000 to 15,000 visitors annually.

"I'm really excited to be running for mayor," said Gibertini, who is in the process of organizing several fundraisers for the month of June.

Among those participating in the tournament were three longtime friends who grew up at the Buckhorn Springs Golf & Country Club. Mark Nash, Cliff Roberts and Craig Roberts played tennis and served as lifeguards at the country club as youths. They went on to play on the tennis team at Brandon High School.

Although he lives in Tampa now, Nash, a 1979 graduate of Brandon High School, said he participates in the tournament each year to support the community he still calls home.

"I have a lot of fond memories of this place and I enjoy coming here whenever possible," said Nash, who worked on County Commissioner Kevin Beckner's campaign and is now working on the mayoral campaign of Bob Buckhorn and serving on the Hillsborough County Human Rights Council.

His family settled in Hillsborough County in the 1870s and he said he feels a deep connection with the Brandon community and its charities.

Cliff Robertson, a sixth-generation Hillsborough County resident who grew up in a house on Lumsden Road, agreed as the two reminisced about their childhoods in Brandon, hanging out at Whatta Burger, Dog n' Suds and Biff Burgers on State Road 60, the community's only restaurants.

“My dad, Norm Roberts, owned the first carpet shop in Brandon, Colors and Carpets,” Roberts said, adding that it was located where Walgreens on State Road 60 is today.

"The community was a lot closer then," he said. "Everybody knew each other. It's changed a lot. There's a lot more people now. But it's still a great community."

Joining their foursome was the son of a longtime friend, Jonathan Flagg, grandson of former Brandon High School principal, Lyle Flagg. Flagg just returned from Kuwait where he served as a medic for a security convoy traveling through hostile territory.