• Heather Corey, previously with Learn to Read, is now the development coordinator for the Vision is Priceless Council. The non-profit organization is dedicated to keeping First Coast eyes healthy through early detection and treatment of eye problems.
• Speaking of VIP, its Council has elected its new officers and board of directors for 2007-08. Dr. Terence McGee of NAS Hospital is the chair. The rest of the officers and board members are: Patricia Davalt, Davalt Optical, secretary; Roger Gibson, GHG Insurance, treasurer; Dr. Robert Hered, Nemour’s Children’s Clinic, medical advisor; Warren Chandler, immediate past president; Dr. William Knauer III, member at-large; Ronald Roberts, Miller Electric Company, member at-large; and Thomas Treece, Treece & Treece, P.A., member at-large.
• The Southside Business Men’s Club is mounting a fundraising effort to help preserve the St. Johns River. The club has pledged $5,000 in matching donations for a total of up to $10,000 to assist the St. Johns River Alliance (SJRA) in establishing a new Florida specialty license plate. The total statewide cost to create the new plate is $70,000. When funded, the SJRA predicts yearly revenues of nearly $400,000 in specialty license plate sales. Founded in 1932, the Southside Business Men’s Club is Florida’s oldest business and civic organization. The membership selected the St. Johns River as its primary fundraising focus for the next year.
• According to figures from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Florida’s state parks contributed more than $936 million to local communities during FY 2006-07. Direct economic impact is calculated as the amount of new dollars spent in the local economy by non-local park visitors and park operations. During that time, the parks also generated more than 18,700 jobs and a record 19.5 million visitors went through the gates. The Florida Park Service is one of the largest in the country with 161 public facilities spanning 700,000 acres and 100 miles of beaches.
• Sunrise Surf Shop in Jacksonville Beach reopened late last week after being closed for renovations.
• Brown Dog Creative was recently tabbed by the American Culinary Federation and Main Recycling to redesign their respective Web sites. Look for Brown Dog Creative, a Jacksonville Web design and development firm, to finish the projects by the end of the year.
• Grammy Award winner Melissa Manchester will perform with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. on Nov. 2 and 3 at the T-U Center. The show, “An Evening with Melissa Manchester,” will include some of her most famous songs including “Through the Eyes of Love” and “Don’t Cry Out Loud.” For tickets call the Symphony’s box office at 354-5547 or visit www.jaxsymphony.org.
“Admire a small ship, but put your freight in a large one; for the larger the load, the greater will be the profit upon profit.”
– Hesiod (c. 8th century B.C.), Greek didactic poet