Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on Shimberg Gardens dedication:
Monument honors Town ‘N Country founding family
By GEORGE WILKENS | The Tampa Tribune
Published: October 17, 2012 Updated: October 17, 2012 – 12:00 AM
TOWN ‘N COUNTRY —
Shimberg Gardens has unveiled its monument dedicated to the philanthropic family that launched this community of affordable homes in the late 1950s.
Mandell “Hinks” Shimberg was among family members at the Oct. 10 dedication of the 3-foot-high gray granite pillar with four polished sides. He and his late brother, James Shimberg Sr., helped develop Town ‘N Country beginning in 1959.
Speakers at the ceremony arranged by the Town ‘N Country Garden Circle said the project is not completed.
“This is a work in progress; we’re not done,” said Barbara Beauregard, president of the 50-year-old garden circle.
Rob Gamester, the circle’s community projects chairman who has spearheaded the garden’s development since 2003, said the public/private partnership raised more than $100,000 from businesses, civic groups, Hillsborough County government and Town ‘N Country Youth Council volunteers.
“We’re not going to stop with this. This is going to grow over time,” said County Commissioner Sandy Murman. “It takes these partnerships to make things happen.”
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, said Town ‘N Country was the area’s first major affordable housing community “that allowed so many families to flourish and prosper. Hinks and Jim weren’t the kind of developers who came in and left.” The Shimberg name is known for generosity to area nonprofit agencies, she said.
Jim Shimberg supported the creation of University Community Hospital and was the first chairman of its board. It opened in 1968.
