The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville’s 2016 Spark Grant Program, with sponsorship from Florida Blue, is seeking applications for arts and cultural projects in the Downtown Spark District.
Proposals to activate the Spark District with arts and cultural activities and temporary installations are being sought for funding. Examples include festivals, performances, tours, concerts, events and community engagement projects.
Florida Blue will sponsor “Florida Blue Flame” special project category grants in addition to the general Spark grants that will be awarded, specifically geared towards art and culture projects focusing on seniors as well as children, teens and families in order to promote a healthy community.
Artists and nonprofits in Duval, Nassau, St. Johns, Clay and Baker counties are eligible to apply. Awards will range from $10,000-$30,000.
Deadline for applications is Aug. 6. For details, visit culturalcouncil.org.
Ganger to retire as CEO of food bank in October
Bruce Ganger, Feeding Northeast Florida’s first president and CEO, will retire Oct. 31.
He helped found the nonprofit that distributes food for people in 17 Northeast Florida counties. It’s part of a network of 176 nonprofit, faith-based and charitable organizations.
Ganger and his wife, Peg, will retire and move to their North Carolina home to spend more time with their children and grandchildren. Ganger put those plans on hold to help the organization get started.
Under his leadership, the food bank distributed almost 20 million pounds of food and raised nearly $3 million last year, its first in operation.
The board of directors already has started to identify candidates in its search for Ganger’s successor.
JTA to host meetings about upcoming service changes
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority will have a series of public meetings and hearings to share service enhancements, while seeking public input about proposed changes to the bus system.
Those routes include those affected by the First Coast Flyer Bus Rapid Transit system in December. It also includes the elimination of Route 2, changes to Route 12 and a reduction in service for Routes 203 and 301.
The BRT system will take customers longer distances more quickly with fewer stops, while offering 10-minute peak and 15-minute off-peak frequency.
The meetings will be:
• 4:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Downtown Campus, Room 1058.
• 4:30-7 p.m. July 30, Gateway Town Center, 5000 Norwood Ave.
• 4:30-7 p.m. Aug. 4, Argyle Branch Library multipurpose room.
• 4:30-7 p.m., Aug. 11, Highlands Branch Library auditorium.
The public hearings are 10 a.m.-noon and 4:30-6:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at FSCJ Downtown Campus, Room 1058.
Call (904) 630-3100 or visit jtafla.com for more information.
Visit Jacksonville receives accreditation
Destination Marketing Association International has approved Visit Jacksonville for accreditation as part of its Destination Marketing Accreditation Program.
The honor recognizes convention and visitors bureaus and destination marketing organizations that meet “the highest level of quality and performance standards within the industry,” according to a news release. More than 2,000 bureaus and organizations exist worldwide, but only 208 are Destination Marketing accredited.
The program started in 2007 and requires organizations to comply with mandatory and voluntary standards related to management and marketing a destination. That includes governance, finance, human resources, sales, communications, destination development and research components.
“This accreditation is validation that we have one of the best qualified organizations in the world to accomplish our mission,” said Paul Astleford, Visit Jacksonville president and CEO.
Visit Jacksonville is the nonprofit marketing organization contracted by the Duval County Tourist Development Council to grow business and leisure tourism in Northeast Florida.
Local bill deadline next month
State Rep. Janet Adkins, Duval County Legislative Delegation chair, has set noon Aug. 14 as the deadline for filing local bills that need to be heard in Tallahassee.
Also known as J-Bills, the deadline for filing was bumped up to accommodate the January start for the next legislative session. A date for a public hearing on the proposed local bills will be announced later.
Anyone needing forms or information should contact Paula Shoup, delegation coordinator, at (904) 630-1680 or [email protected].
Edward Waters College named one of most affordable
Great Value Colleges, a website that matches students and their degrees with lowest prices, named Edward Waters College as one of the most affordable small colleges east of the Mississippi River.
The historically black college placed 25th among the top 100.
Edward Waters offers degrees in eight programs, including mass communications, music, psychology, business administration and biology.
Greene to replace retiring Zimmer as Episcopal head of school
Adam Greene was named Episcopal School of Jacksonville’s head of school by the school’s Board of Trustees. The decision becomes effective July 1.
Greene previously served as the dean of spiritual life at Episcopal High School in Houston. There he led one of the school’s four core “pillars” of emphasis. In Jacksonville, he replaces Charley Zimmer, who retires next July.
Greene is a graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall and has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Vanderbilt University.
Crowley Maritime promotes Brown to VP of information technology
Crowley Maritime Corp. promoted Brad Brown to vice president of information technology.
In the role, he’ll be responsible for teams managing network infrastructure and operations; end-user support, voice and data communications, technology sourcing and delivery and more.
Brown joined Crowley in 2001 and has worked for multiple lines of business and information technology roles during his tenure. His most recent was leading the business solutions group. He graduated from East Tennessee State with a degree in accounting and earned an MBA and a degree in information systems from the University of North Florida.
He’ll continue to be based in Jacksonville and report to Carl Fox, senior vice president of corporate services.