Best of ORL 2025: Media & People Winner Spotlights
Take a closer look at this year's first place winners in the media and people categories.
: Christina Thomas shares her mission to celebrate life with great food, wine and friends, and inspire others to “make someday happen,” at GoEpicurista. ©Lisa Wilk (TasteCookSip)
Winner: Social Media Influencer | Christina Thomas
Christina Thomas loves being a cheerleader for Orlando’s vibrant culinary scene.
After a rewarding 12-year career in management with Rosen Hotels & Resorts, Thomas was inspired by Harris Rosen’s entrepreneurial spirit to open her own marketing agency and embark on new adventures that would give her the flexibility to pursue multiple passions.
“Sadly, the catalyst was losing my sister Carolyn,” says Thomas, “It made me realize there were so many experiences we never got the chance to have together—trips we wanted to take, restaurants we wanted to try, all because we kept putting them off to ‘someday soon’ when our schedules opened up.”
So in 2013, with the mission to celebrate life with great food, wine and friends, and inspire others to “make someday happen,” Thomas launched GoEpicurista in 2013.
“Whether it’s around Orlando or on the road, I seek local experiences with stories to tell,” says Thomas. “I want to know why that dish is the chef’s favorite or what inspired them to open their restaurant. That’s what makes it truly memorable. I’ve been snapping pictures of my plate long before Instagram!”
“I made being an epicurista an active verb,” she adds. “Don’t just save the Instagram post, put dinner with friends on the calendar and get that girls’ trip out of the group chat!”
Winner: Local Podcast | Are We There Yet?
Central Florida Public Media’s (CFPM) mission is to empower the community through trustworthy, independent journalism and fact-based content and discussions.
“Independent journalism is a requirement for a healthy civil society,” says Judith Smelser, president and general manager of CFPM. “Individuals and communities really need information they can trust, and the context to understand that information to make smart decisions about how to live their lives.”
Every member of her team is a trained journalist working out in the field to obtain such information.
One component of that is CFPM’s podcast, “Are We There Yet?”
Every Tuesday, space reporter Brendan Byrne delves into the topic of space exploration—everything from launching humans into deep space to the ins and outs of our solar system.
Given that Orlando is so close to the Space Coast, it’s a topic of great fascination for our readers, as supported by its first-place finish in this category.
Byrne is also CFPM’s assistant news director, managing the newsroom’s day-to-day operations, editing daily news stories and managing the organization’s internship program, a program he himself took part in when he started at the station a decade ago.
Recent topics on Byrne’s show include death in space, the implications of NASA’s slashed budget, Varda Space’s autonomous research and the fate of Artemis II.
Apple Podcasts says that “Are We There Yet?” is probably “the most underrated space exploration podcast on the air today.” If you haven’t listened, now’s a good time to give it a try.
The Orlando Magic on its home court at the Kia Center. ©Orlando Magic
Winner: Local Sports Team | Orlando Magic
It’s no surprise that the Orlando Magic wins top honors on this list every year—they were Orlando’s first professional sports franchise, joining the NBA as an expansion team in 1989. They’ve been to the playoffs 18 times in 36 seasons and played in the NBA Finals twice. In the 2024-25 season, the Magic won the Southeast Division for the second consecutive year but lost to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
The Magic are the fourth-youngest team in the NBA, with an average player age of 24.3 years. The youthful roster, which contains fan-favorite players Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, is considered a boon to their success.
The team is also dedicated to excellence off the court and actively engages with the community through various outreach programs. One of those is the Pick, Read and Roll program, which offers fourth and fifth graders from low income, Title 1 schools in Orange County who improve their reading skills a kid’s-only courtside seat at a recognition event. Since 2019, 16,000 youth have been impacted, with a 30 percent increase in reading scores.
The team is also involved in efforts that support Central Florida programs that reduce the risk of childhood obesity, support homelessness prevention and transitional housing programs and get underserved youth involved in the arts
Humanitarian photographer Juan David Tena was the first Colombian artist to have a solo exhibition at the Orlando Museum of Art. ©Juan David Tena
Winner: Photographer | Juan David Tena
A humanitarian photographer, photojournalist and former diplomat, Juan David Tena has documented indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities along Colombia’s Pacific Coast. He began his career as a photographer for prominent Colombian newspapers, honing his craft in documentary and political photography. A defining moment of his career was serving as the official photographer for the presidency of Colombia during the administration of Juan Manuel Santos, where he documented historic events, including the Colombian Peace Process and the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway.
After Tena made the move to freelance photography, he moved to Orlando; he now focuses on cultural and social narratives in Central Florida.
Earlier this year, Tena made history when he became the first Colombian artist to have a solo exhibition at the Orlando Museum of Art. His exhibition, “Portraits of FusionFest,” celebrated the diversity of cultures through compelling photographic storytelling, reinforcing his reputation as a pioneer in humanitarian and cultural photography. In 2023, he won the grand prize in FusionFest’s visual arts category, for his photo “Stories of My People.” That same year, his solo exhibition, “We Know Who We Are,” was staged at the Mills Gallery.
Tena has been honored as one of the Top 100 photographers who have made substantial contributions to the visual narrative of Colombia. He continues to use his lens as a tool for social impact, cultural preservation and visual storytelling on a global scale.
Winner: Radio Show | The Curtis Earth Show
It was during one day as a disc jockey that Curtis Earth accidentally began his career as a quizmaster. While at a happy hour stint in 1993, he picked up some Trivial Pursuit cards that had been left behind in a lounge. When he started asking the questions later that evening, people screamed out the answers enthusiastically. He knew he was on to something.
Curtis soon started writing questions and formatting a quiz game. Word spread, and each week, the lounge was filled with more and more trivia fans. Within a year, he was hosting quiz games five nights a week at various restaurants and pubs. In 2002, he moved his show to Orlando from Lancaster, Penn., and soon was once again hosting trivia five nights a week. There was so much demand, Curtis began training new hosts to assist him on stage.
In 2003, Curtis was chosen to provide a trivia database for Disney Cruise Lines, to be used in a computer quiz game for families to play together. In 2004, Clear Channel Radio tapped him for an hour-long segment on 104.1 FM’s Shannon Burke Show, which ran until the show ended. And on and on it progressed.
Curtis has also been the official quiz master for the Orlando Sentinel, an ambassador to the Orange County Library system and has contributed numerous additional segments to radio stations and print publications. Curtis Earth Trivia is now performed at venues in three states with 15 quiz hosts. Find his radio segments on WPRK 91.5 FM.
