• The Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce is taking nominations for its Women in Business Awards until Jan. 23. The awards cover four categories: Pioneer of the Year, Corporate Woman of the Year, Franchise(ee/or) of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year. Log on to myjaxchamber.com for more.
• City Council member Reggie Brown has already submitted his excusal notice for Council business for all of next year, but there’s a good reason for the early notice. Brown is a reservist and needs specific dates off for mandatory monthly military training.
• Speaking of Council, it’s business as usual starting next week with committee meetings. Two other major City-related commissions meet next week as well. The Charter Review Commission and the Taxation, Revenue and Utilization of Expenditures Commission both meet Jan. 7.
• Local attorney/surfer Tim Ellis is one of several featured in the new issue of Florida Trend. The story is on executives who also spend plenty of time in the water. Ellis, who grew up surfing at the Beach, has also gotten into riding a stand up paddleboard.
• The next gathering of the Volunteers for Fair Tax is Jan. 9 at Village Bread Cafe at the Landing at 9:30 a.m.
• Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. and the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes have partnered to bring 20 severely wounded American veterans to Friday’s Konica Minolta Gator Bowl. This is the third consecutive year that Konica Minolta has donated game tickets to the CSAH, a nongovernmental organization providing emergency financial aid to severely wounded troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. Veterans attending the game include Sgt. Gary Boggs who lost his left eye and suffered a traumatic brain injury after his Humvee ran over a land mine in Iraq. He serves as a national spokesman for CSAH.