21 Intriguing Floridians

PERFORMANCE—Seven-year-old Gina Marie Incandela has a remarkable talent. The booming vocals that come out of her petite frame have brought audiences to their feet across the country. She has sung the national anthem in stadiums and appeared on national television. Her success is even more amazing considering she was diagnosed with autism at an early age.

When Gina still was not speaking at age 2, her parents sought medical advice. Doctors diagnosed her with autistic spectrum disorder, which explained her lack of speech and poor social skills. Incandela rarely made eye contact or played with other children. She soon was enrolled in a full-time program where professionals helped her develop basic skills. During musical therapy, her natural talent was discovered.

The Central Florida prodigy has sung the “Star-Spangled Banner” for professional athletic events like Tampa Bay Lightning and Houston Astros games, as well as a U.S. Open tennis match. She has performed on the Today Show and preceded speaker Newt Gingrich at a Washington, D.C. United Cerebral Palsy event.

“My favorite part about singing is it makes people so happy and it makes my heart feel good. I love when people clap for me. I also like to be on stage in front of everybody,” Incandela said.

As for future ambitions, she is keeping her options open. “I want to be a rock star like Hanna Montana. I also want to dance and be a movie star and make balloon animals,” she said. For more information, visit www.ginachildperformer.com.

FILM—The Twilight book series has captured thousands of loyal teen and adult readers, as well as the attention of Hollywood producers. As the novels are being adapted into major motion pictures, a cast of bright young actors has been assembled to bring the characters to life, including Jacksonville native Ashley Greene.

The successful fantasy novels tell a story of young love among warring vampires and werewolves. The first movie, released November 2008, made more than $100 million at American box offices. The second Twilight saga film, in which Green has a more significant role, is scheduled for release November 20, 2009.

Before she played vampire Alice Cullen, 22-year-old Greene grew up in Jacksonville, where her family still lives. “I definitely remember spending countless days at Jacksonville Beach with friends,” she said. “Going to the Florida Keys every year with my family will always be something I remember, and a tradition I’ll try to keep alive.”

When she was 17, she graduated early from Samuel W. Wolfson High School and moved to Hollywood. Throughout the next few years, she appeared on television shows like Crossing Jordan and Shark. Greene also has a role in four upcoming films, including the lead in a horror movie.

“Right now, my future is just me trying to stay focused and build a career,” Greene said. “I have a platform to jump from with the Twilight Saga, and I am taking advantage of it. I’ve got lots of reading, coaching and working to do!”

CIVIL SERVICE—How do authors make crime thrillers so realistic? Novelist James O. Born develops the characters in his novels from his firsthand experiences as a law enforcement officer and reallife hero.

In December 2008, Governor Charlie Crist gave Born and Special Agent Thomas Bacon the Life Saving Medal. The agents rescued a family from a car submerged in a canal and a young girl who had been ejected from the vehicle.

A special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Born deals with cases ranging from drug cartels and violent crimes to public corruption. His career began in 1986 as a deputy for the U.S. Marshals Service in the West Palm Beach and Miami offices. When transferred to the Drug Enforcement Administration, he concentrated on Colombian drug cartels. Among many assignments, Born once volunteered to assist the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives by going undercover with the Ku Klux Klan.

“In terms of an agent, he’s very capable and has a lot of experience because, as an FDLE agent, we get exposed to everything,” said Mike Driscoll, FDLE resident agent in charge.

During his many stakeouts, Born picked up books to pass the time. The more he read, the more Born realized his everyday experiences and interactions with various criminals and officers could fill more than one book. He is now published with the same company as Tom Clancy and W.E.B. Griffin, two of his favorite authors.

SPORTS—Carl Joseph is an inspiration, not only for his athletic abilities, but for his unfailing determination. Born without his left leg, Joseph played several sports throughout high school and college, and he was recently inducted into the Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Growing up, Joseph was one of 10 children raised by a single mother on a North Florida tobacco farm. Instead of relying on crutches or a prosthesis, he kept up with other kids by hopping on his right leg. As a student at Madison High School, he was a tall, muscular athlete who earned a place on several teams by amazing coaches with his agility. Joseph made football tackles, dunked on the basketball team, and competed in the high jump during track and field season.

“In the mid-1970s, Madison was not known for winning. We went through three coaches in my four years there, and each new guy was skeptical,” Joseph said. “He’d put me on second-string for a while until he realized I was one of the best players on the team. The challenge was good. It kept me positive.”

He attended Bethune-Cookman College, where he played football and earned a physical education degree. Today, most of his time is spent giving motivational speeches.

His singing also draws crowds. Carl Joseph & the Spiritual Tru-Tones tour the South, inspiring audiences with gospel tunes. “I love traveling, playing and meeting new people. I’ve just been blessed,” he said.

To see a video of Carl Joseph in action, click here.

FOOD—Pizza may be referred to as a guilty pleasure, but not by the staff and diners at Pizza Fusion, where the pies are organic and the business is eco-friendly. Co-founders Vaughan Lazar and Michael Gordon believe what goes around comes around, so customers receive the healthiest, best-tasting meals possible without the carbon footprint.

Their ecological practices include using hybrid delivery cars, working out of LEED-certified buildings, recycling and cooking with organic ingredients.

The idea for “saving the earth, one pizza at a time” began when Lazar and Gordon, former classmates at Florida Atlantic University, found the business world wanting. “We decided, why don’t we start a community-based business that we can feel good about and actually contribute to society instead of taking from it all the time,” Lazar explained.

While brainstorming in 2006, the friends realized anyone trying to live an organic lifestyle, like Lazar, had almost no fast food options. They decided if stores like Whole Foods were so successful, a casual organic restaurant should do just as well. The partners’ flagship Deerfield Beach location caught the attention of Randy Romano, whose extensive franchising background helped expand the business to 20 sites in nine states, with more under construction.

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