• If you want to do a little Christmas shopping without heading to a store or the mall, the City’s Public Works Department is holding a vendor fair next Thursday in the lobby of the Ed Ball Building. It’s from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. with over 20 vendors including Hemming Plaza Jewelers, Chamblin’s Uptown Book Store, Sports Mania and many others.
• No more City awards meetings until next year. Chief of Procurement Michael Clapsaddle has canceled the meetings of the General Government Awards Committee, the Competitive Sealed Proposal Evaluation Committee and the Professional Services Evaluation Committee for the rest of the calendar year.
• WorkSource has released its annual report for the 2008-09 program year. According to the report, the agency served 97,522 people who were seeking employment. Locally, WorkSource is run by President and CEO Ronnie Ferguson. Former City Council President Lad Daniels chairs its board of directors.
• Author John Jakes has penned quite a few historical fictional novels during his career, but his latest effort has pleased Mayo Clinic officials and future patients. Along with his wife, Rachel, Jakes first visited the local organization in 1990 and will posthumously donate $2 million through an estate commitment to the clinic in honor of their physician team as an expression of their care.
• The March of Dimes Florida Chapter is seeking proposals for grant projects that will address unmet maternal health needs for high risk women. Forms and instructions for the 2010 grant program are available at www.marchofdimes.com/florida. Completed applications are due no later than Dec. 14. Contact [email protected] for more information.
• The Jacksonville Public Library Foundation will host its annual book festival, Much Ado About Books, Feb. 26-27. Events include a writer’s workshop, breakfast with an author, panel discussions, Children’s Chapter and keynote luncheon. Most events will take place at the Main Library. To purchase tickets or get more information about the schedule of events and guest authors, visit the event Web site, www.muchadoaboutbooks.com.