Local Talent Profile

Local Talent: Tuned into his passion

Local man hasn’t let an illness stop him from finding his voice. Each day, aspiring singers arrive in Nashville hoping to make it in the country music business. Tyler Haney, a singer/songwriter from Leesburg, joined those dreamers when he moved…

Local Talent: Dead on his feet

Charlie ‘Mack’ McGowan follows the sentiment: ‘Stay busy, live longer.’ Photos: Nicole Hamel “Dead on My Feet” is the first song Charlie “Mack” McGowan produced, but his recording career is very much alive. “The song is about me. I just…

Local Talent: Cassie Dandridge Selleck

Leesburg native’s first novel has been optioned into a movie by BCDF Pictures. Photo: Anthony Rao Author Cassie Dandridge Selleck is living a writer’s dream: to pen a popular book that comes to life on the big screen. BCDF Pictures…

Local Talent: Nicki Forde

Designing woman rediscovers love of art. Photos: Nicole Hamel Nicki Forde has loved art since a very young age, when she first started drawing horses, her favorite animal at the time. Today, she works as an artist in her home…

Local Talent: Acting chops

Drama class, performing on stage boosted Alan Hickey’s self-esteem as a teen. Acting is in Alan Hickey’s blood. Performing on stage has been the Ocala mental health counselor’s lifeblood in high school, college, and community theater groups where he has…

Local Talent: Re-purposed

Clermont-based singer/songwriter Patrick Gibson finds new calling through music he hopes will inspire the world. Photos: Douglas Tyler Making music is nothing new for Patrick Gibson, but the heart behind his songs is newly inspired. “I like that God gave…

Local Talent: Coloring their world

Clermont teacher creates personalized chalk drawings to make students feel special. Photos: Nicole Hamel In the early phases of distance learning from COVID-19, teacher Amy Nichols connected with her Pine Ridge Elementary kindergarten students in a fun, artistic way: she…