• Speaking of Council, member Daniel Davis is imploring his fellow Council members to volunteer at the Youth Crisis Center Touchstone Village on behalf of the Northeast Florida Builders Association Charitable Foundation. Overall, Davis needs 120 volunteers in teams of four to hang drywall.
• Capt. Wayne Watts of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department is the recipient of the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association’s 2008 Florida Fire Service Instructor of the Year award. Wayne, a 20-year JFRD veteran, will get the award next Thursday in Daytona Beach at the annual Fire Rescue EAST Expo.
• The annual Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation Wine Tasting Gala is set for March 6 at Independent Square. It’s from 6-9 p.m. and tickets are $89 in advance and $99 a the door. For more, log on to tcjayfund.org or call 543-2599.
• Speaking of the Jay Fund, it is about $800,000 short of its 2008-09 fundraising goal of $5 million for its “Now and Forever Endowment Campaign.” The campaign’s chair, Gary Chartrand has asked Mayor John Peyton to considering a gift of $25,000 over the course of the next five years. The Jay Fund helps families with children diagnosed with pediatric cancer.
• The group that would like to put a motorsports complex at Cecil Commerce Center has gotten the official veto from Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Executive Director Ron Barton. According to Barton, the JEDC is seeking a master developer for Cecil and would like to assure that adequate land is available for all those who reply to the request for proposal. Barton did say the group has “strong vision and dedication” to the speedway proposal.
• The Jacksonville Port Authority is seeking financial help for improvements to its Talleyrand and Blount Island terminals and some of that help may come from the feds. Through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), $14.905 million in grants is available through its Rail Line Relocation and Improvements grant program. In late November, the Port Authority applied for its share of that grant. According to FRA Acting Administrator Clifford Eby, those first awards could come soon.
• The board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Florida recently announced Shannon Perry as the organization’s new president and chief professional officer. Perry held a position with the Jacksonville Children’s Commission before taking the new position. Former club president Debbie Verges is the director of the Jacksonville Journey.
• Correction: A Jan. 20 City Note regarding the Justice Coalition’s “Together We Can” campaign breakfast noted the event is Feb. 9. The date is actually Feb. 19.
• Maria Taylor, Dennis Wade, Cindy Watson, Alvin White and Dottie Wilson were all reappointed to the Human Rights Commission by the City Council recently. The Commission meets on the second Tuesday of the month at noon in the mayor’s office. Commissioners are appointed for a term of three years and can be reappointed for a second term.
• The law firm of Terrell Hogan was well represented at Tuesday’s presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. Wayne Hogan, Leslie Goller and Chris Hand all attended the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
• The Seaport and Airport Special Committee will meet Tuesday in the Lynwood Roberts Room at 4 p.m. The committee has been working with the Jacksonville Port Authority to secure funding for dredging projects and with the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and Jacksonville Economic Development Commission to help facilitate the development of Cecil Commerce Center.