• A portrait unveiling for the late Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Fay will be held at 4 p.m. Jan. 22 in Courtroom 4 of the Duval County Courthouse. The portrait, by Andy Kenyon of Jacksonville, was commissioned by The Jacksonville Bar Association.
• Reservations are still available for the New Year’s Eve celebration at Bravo! Ristorante in the Adam’s Mark Hotel. There will be four gourmet selections with fine wine pairings. The Riverfront Cafe will also offer a seafood buffet. Fireworks on the St. Johns River start at midnight.
• Goodwill of North Florida president Robert Thayer has contacted Mayor John Peyton’s Chief of Staff Scott Teagle about an opening on the charity’s board.
• Vishal Chopra has been promoted from assistant front office manager to manager at the Adam’s Mark, effective Jan. 2. He oversees the staff that handles reservations, check-in, transportation, concierge and the Concorde Club.
• For more than 15 years, ICS Logistics, the parent company of TriLegacy Group, the developer of The Shipyards, gives snowflake ornaments to their staffers and good friends. The cold storage company’s logo is an ice crystal. This year, the official ICS ornament is the silver ball UNICEF ornament from Pier One. There is a display case in the company’s Westside headquarters that houses the annual ornament collection all year round.
• A “Salute to Vienna: The World’s Greatest New Year’s Concert” will be performed Jan. 3 by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra at the T-U Center. The production features the orchestra and a cast of singers and dancers showcasing the best of Johann Strauss’ waltzes, polkas and marches.
• The Christian Legal Society has named its new officers and board members for 2004. Board members are Jeanne Helton, Charlene Francis, Christopher Hazelip, Mark Hulsey, Michael Lindell, Blane McCarthy and Rose Marie Preddy. Officers are Jeanne Helton, president; Scott Schildberg, vice president; Roger Gannam, treasurer; Bruce Humphrey, secretary; and Jane Arnold, assistant secretary.
• The Budweiser Clydesdales will be in Jan. 1 for the Gator Bowl parade, and will be available for public viewing and photographs Jan. 3 and 4 from 1-3 p.m. at the Anheuser-Busch brewery.
• City Council member Kevin Hyde withdrew his request that the City take open bids for a new solid waste collection contract. Hyde urged the action after BFI announced that it was selling the City’s contract to Canadian–based Capital Environmental. Hyde withdrew the request after the General Counsel’s Office opined that no new applications need be reviewed.