As a way to say thanks to all the employees who worked Friday when most offices and businesses in the city were closed, Tax Collector Mike Hogan got creative. Hogan, a lover of classical music, commissioned a violinist to play for his employees.
Wency Ecclesiastre, a first violinist from First Baptist Church, said when she received the call from Hogan, she didn’t wait long to respond.
“I said ‘sure,’ ” said Ecclesiastre of the decision to play. “I think it’s great he wanted to keep everybody’s spirits up on a day like this when no one wants to work. That’s what I call an employer.”
Ecclesiastre and her escort, Scott Amos, chief assistant in the tax collector’s office, visited each of the 10 branches in Jacksonville in just over four hours.
“But we always stayed within the speed limit,” she said.
By the end of the day, Ecclesiastre, who’s been playing violin for 12 years, said even with the hundreds of songs in her repertoire, she didn’t get any requests.
“Well, I guess I got one,” she said. “Someone shouted for an encore.”