• Saturday is International Women’s Day, and the Enterprising Women’s Leadership Institute will be celebrating on Wednesday with a dinner event featuring City Ethics Officer Carla Miller. Miller’s speech is entitled “Women’s Leadership and New Frontiers,” and six other prominent executive women in North Florida will be honored for work in the community. The dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine. Cost is $30 for EWLI members and $40 for nonmembers. For tickets and more information, call 461-7292 or e-mail [email protected].
• This year’s Jacksonville Symphony Guild Designer Showhouse and Gardens is set for April 19-May 11. The host committee is holding a preview party April 11 during which guests will get a tour of the Pablo Creek Reserve Showhouse home. The annual Showhouse is sponsored by Bank of America.
• City Council President Daniel Davis, church leaders and concerned citizens will be taking to the streets of Downtown April 5 for the first annual Trot for Tots. The march, announced by the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Northeast Florida, is to raise awareness about Northeast Florida’s infant mortality rate, which is one of the highest in the county at 11 deaths per 1,000 live births. The march begins at Mt. Zion AME Church and ends at Hemming Plaza.
• Consultant Bruce Barcelo is the scheduled speaker at the next National Association of Industrial and Office Properties meeting. It’s March 13 at the Marriott Southpoint and registration begins at 11:30 a.m.
• Want to be a tutor for Learn to Read? Training sessions are scheduled for volunteers to tutor in the Jacksonville Reads Adult Literacy program. Registration is required and participants must attend Class I (March 13) and Class II (March 25) for tutor certification. Cost is $20 for Learn to Read tutors and $50 if not currently tutoring a Learn to Read student. For more information, call 399-8894 or visit www.ltrjax.org.
• The new coffee shop inside the Ed Ball Building is called The Brick Coffee House. It’s at the Adams Street entrance.
• The 22nd Annual Celebrity Chefs Tasting Event and Silent Auction is scheduled for March 13 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds. Local celebrities will be cooking up their signature dishes for testing by the Women’s Auxiliary Board, caterers and staff members of The Salvation Army. Proceeds benefit multiple programs, including The Salvation Army’s homeless shelter, child development center, senior center and others. Tickets are $30 and include food and beverage, silent auction tickets and parking. For more information, call Darlene Uhler at 301-4841.
“Don’t carry a gun. It’s nice to have them close by, but don’t carry them. You might get arrested.”
– John Gotti, organized crime leader