Pasco ​Businesses Come Together To Replace Band's Stolen Golf Cart

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — In a show of community spirit, two local businesses — Blackjack Media Group of Hudson and West Florida Battery of Port Richey — came together to donate a new golf cart to the Gulf High School band program after the Buccaneer Band's golf cart was stolen earlier this year.

During a special gathering at Gulf High School at 5355 School Road in New Port Richey Friday, representatives from both businesses handed over the keys to a new golf cart as members of the school band applauded.

The band's golf cart was stolen Aug. 17 between 6:30 and 9:45 p.m. during a Parent-Student-Teacher Association meeting at the school. Video cameras at the school caught a shirtless man stealing the golf cart on video but the New Port Richey police have yet to catch the thief.

Both companies that donated to replace the golf cart have deep roots in the area and have been longtime supporters of the high school, according to Pasco County Schools.

"We heard about the golf cart that got stolen so we stepped up with the Blackjack Media Group and got a golf cart for them and wrapped it, and it's better than the one they had," said Kirkland Jack, whose family has owned West Florida Battery since 1978.

"This is incredibly generous. Losing our other golf cart was really a big incident for us," said William Rutherford, who has been director of bands at the high school for 30 years. "We used that golf cart a lot. We move a lot of our equipment with it. We get water for our kids when it's hot. We move a lot of our percussion instruments with it, some of our color guard equipment, so to lose our golf cart was a huge thing."

He called the gesture by the two businesses one of those "moments that truly define a community's character."

"To have Blackjack Media and West Florida Battery step up like this, we just can't say enough," he said. "This is gonna make life a lot easier for us."

"This is beautiful," Gulf High School Principal Jeff Morgenstein told the business owners. "To make this happen for us is beyond anything we could have expected."