Jacksonville named partner for 'Any Given Child'
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has named Jacksonville as a partner city for its "Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child" program. The program creates a long-range arts education plan for students in grade K-8. It will use resources of Duval County Public Schools and local arts organizations for those plans, which are tailored for school districts and the community. Jacksonville is the 14th city to be named as a partner, and Mayor Alvin Brown (pictured above) took part in the announcement with Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti (not pictured) and students. The program accepts applications Jan.1-March 30 for its fall program. For more information, visit kennedycenter.org/education/anygivenchild.
Hispanic leadership award nominations open
The Mayor's Hispanic American Advisory Board will present the 2013 Hispanic Leadership Awards on Sept. 30 as part of its "Es Mi Vida" Hispanic Heritage Month. Awards will recognize leaders in government, business, education, health, faith-based, nonprofit, music, art and culture. Additionally, there will be categories for visionary leaders — those age 21-40 — and a lifetime achievement award. Nominations are being accepted through Sept. 18 for Northeast Florida residents. For more information, visit coj.net.
Main Library to host community, career fair
The Jacksonville Public Library will partner with local organizations to host a community resource and career fair from 9 a.m.-noon Sept. 10 at the Main Library, 303 N. Laura St. The event will feature 17 companies seeking potential employees and 10 agencies with resources to help job seekers. It also will offer free workshops to help job seekers write better resumes, brand themselves better and stand out from a crowd of applicants. For more information, call Mark Honadel at (904) 630-2954.
JAX Chamber Industry Weeks at the port
JAX Chamber continued its Industry Weeks program with a tour Tuesday of the Jacksonville Port Authority facilities. The tour was attended by chamber CEO Daniel Davis, Logistics Advisory Group Chairman George Gabel and JaxPort CEO Brian Taylor, who offered a behind-the-scenes look at the port's operations.
Scott appoints Glavich to committee
Gov. Rick Scott has reappointed Jamie Glavich to the state Alzheimer's Disease Advisory Committee. Glavich is owner of Almost Home Senior Services Inc. and was reappointed to a term that ends Feb. 13, 2015. The 10-member panel advises the state Department of Elder Affairs about legislative, programmatic and administrative matters related to Alzheimer's patients and caretakers.
MLK Jr. Parkway resurfacing begins
The Florida Department of Transportation this week begins a 3.6-mile road resurfacing project of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway from Boulevard to Duval streets. Work will be on the service roads and intersections include improvements to drainage systems, sidewalks and traffic signals. It also will feature off-ramp expansions, with several ramps closed for one to two weeks for repairs. Lane closings will be at night and during off-peak hours. The $6.4 million project should be finished by summer 2014. For more information, visit nflroads.com.
DIA Redevelopment Plan Committee meets today
The Redevelopment Plan Committee of the Downtown Investment Authority will host a workshop at 5 p.m. today in the Lynwood Roberts Room at City Hall. The original 3 p.m. start time was changed because of time uncertainty in the City Council Finance Committee budget hearings. The committee is scheduled to review the authority's budget in the afternoon portion of its meeting.
'iStart Jax' announces leadership changes
As part of its leadership restructuring, "iStart Jax" has named Yash Nath as president and CEO. Nath is a former director and has more than 18 years of information technology experience. He currently works as a senior manager of projects at Acosta Sales and Marketing. He replaces Kevin Riley, an entrepreneur and health care executive, who will continue to serve as an honorary board member and adviser. Founder MJ Charmani remains chairman of the board. Jason Jull, Marice Hague, Sheena Koshy and Daniel Fanger will continue to be board members. "iStart Jax" is a nonprofit business accelerator for technology-based startups. For more information, visit istartjax.org.
Trolley night Sept. 14
Riverside Avondale Preservation, neighborhood restaurants, bars and sponsors will have the Riverside Avondale Night Trolley from 6-midnight Sept. 14. The initiative is intended to show the Jacksonville Transportation Authority that a nighttime trolley service will work in the neighborhood. The event will have stops at 17 locations including Five Points, Park and King streets, the Shoppes of Avondale, the Brewery District, Stockton and College streets and St. Johns Village. Printed route maps will be available. Tickets will be given away at participating sponsors or can be purchased for $5 for unlimited rides. A portion of the proceeds will benefit continued transportation and parking efforts in Riverside and Avondale. For more information, visit riversideavondale.org.
Gator Bowl tickets available
Tickets to the 69th annual Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl are now available for sale, according to the association. The game is Jan. 1 at EverBank Field and will match teams from the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten Conference. Tickets are $60 for stadium seats and $80 for VIP seats. For more information, visit gatorbowl.com
Jacksonville public relations firms snag awards
Several members of the Jacksonville Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association received honors at this year's Golden Image Awards, the organization's annual statewide awards program. Trish Kapustka, former chapter and state president and owner of TLK Communications, was named association "Member of the Year." The award is given by the association president to an individual who supports the public relations industry. BroadBased Communications, Coppola Public Relations and TLK Communications each won two awards for the work done for JAX2025, the community-visioning exercise.
Bake sale raises money for MDA
The staff at the Omni Downtown had a bake sale Monday in the hotel lobby to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Donors for the sale were bb's restaurant, On the Fly Food Truck, Peterbrooke Chocolatier, The Pink Cupcake, Southern Gourmet Sweets, Sweet by Holly, Sweet Pete's and Winn-Dixie. After the last of the chocolate, cookies and other baked goods were purchased, $812.25 was raised, enough to send a child to MDA Camp, said Omni Sales Manager Julie Fischer.