The 2014 Week of Valor to celebrate will be Nov. 4-12, the third annual weeklong celebration of military veterans in Jacksonville.
“This third annual Week of Valor is an opportunity for Jacksonville to demonstrate its strong patriotic spirit and honor the service of our veterans and active-duty service members,” said Mayor Alvin Brown. “The Week of Valor supersizes our traditional observance of Veterans Day by expanding it into a full week of events to show our support for our veterans and military.”
The events are:
• Nov. 4: The 12th Annual JAX Chamber Military Appreciation Luncheon starting at 11:30 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.
• Nov. 5: Military and Veterans Job and Resource Fair, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in Kingdom Plaza at Normandy Mall.
• Nov. 6: Veterans Affairs Mental Health Summit, 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Bob Hayes Sports Complex and Legends Center.
• Nov. 7: Missing in America Project — Florida, from 1-2 p.m. at the Jacksonville National Cemetery.
• Nov. 7: K9 Service Corps. Documentary, part of the University of North Florida Film Series. A reception is at 6:30 p.m., with screening at 7 p.m. at UNF.
• Nov. 9: Salute to Military Race 5K Run starting at 8 a.m. Downtown.
• Nov. 10: American Legion Re-dedication of Eternal Flame, 1-2 p.m. at Evergreen Cemetery.
• Nov. 10: USMC ceremony for fallen hospital corpsmen, 4:30-5 p.m. at Evergreen Cemetery.
• Nov. 10: Memorial Park Salute to Veterans Concert, 6-8 p.m. at Memorial Park.
• Nov. 11: Jacksonville Veterans Day Parade, 11:01 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Downtown.
• Nov. 11: Community Salute to Veterans Past, Present and Future, 2-4 p.m., 1127 Atlantic Blvd.
• Nov. 12: Red Cross Centennial Luncheon, noon-1:30 p.m. at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens.
Armada signs first player
The Jacksonville Armada FC announced Tuesday it has signed Miguel Gallardo as its first player.
The team begins play in the North American Soccer League in the spring. Gallardo, 29, comes from the Orlando City Soccer Club of Major League Soccer, where he was the starting goalkeeper for four years while the club played in the United Soccer Leagues Professional Division.
“Today is an incredible moment in the history of the Armada FC and a key building block as we assemble a team that Jacksonville will be proud to call its own,” said Mark Frisch, owner, Armada FC, in a news release.
JAX Chamber opposes Amendment 2
The JAX Chamber board of directors voiced its opposition to Amendment 2, a proposal to legalize the use of medical marijuana.
“The ambiguity of the amendment could open up Florida businesses to uncertainty in areas such as health insurance costs, human resources policies and standard hiring practices,” according to the chamber’s Tuesday news release.
Ed Burr, the chamber’s chair of government affairs, said in the release that passage of the amendment produces uncertainty “at a time when we are coming out of one of the biggest recessions in decades.”
“Businesses, especially small businesses, need a climate that increases productivity and limits risks and Amendment 2 does the opposite,” Burr said.
The “poor wording and lack of clear definition” would cause issues within law enforcement and medical communities, the chamber went on to say in the release.
Chesney, Urban, Zac Brown Band headline Superfest
Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban are among the artists playing at the Florida Country Superfest on June 13-14 at EverBank Field. Saturday’s lineup is Urban, Zac Brown Band, Cole Swindell, David Nail and Danielle Bradbery. Sunday’s artists are Chesney, Brantley Gilbert, Tyler Farr, Colt Ford and The Swon Brothers.Tickets go on sale at noon Dec. 10.
JTA program receives national award
“Making Moves,” the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s monthly TV program, received a national first place award during the 2014 American Public Transportation Association’s annual Adwheel competition for electronic media.
The winning episode featured a story on two bus operators who came upon a car stuck on railroad tracks on Jacksonville’s Southbank. One operator successfully rescued the car driver, while the other raced down the tracks to flag down the train.
The authority was recognized during the organization’s annual meeting this month in Houston.
It’s JTA’s second Adwheel Award in the past four years and sixth overall. “Making Moves” airs weekly on WJXX TV-25 and monthly on WJXT TV-4.
JTA to provide shuttle for Georgia-Florida game
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority will be rolling shuttles to and from Downtown to accommodate partygoers and attendees of the annual Georgia-Florida football game Nov. 1.
The park-and-ride service will be operating to and from three areas:
• Downtown at the Convention Center Lot at 1005 Forsyth St.; Kings Avenue parking garage at 1003 Kings Ave.; and the Jacksonville Landing at 2 Independent Drive. Cost is $7.
• The Beaches at Wingate Park, 277 Penman Road S. Cost is $12.
• Butler Boulevard and Philips Highway at 7020 Philips Highway. Cost is $12.
Shuttle services begin at 11:30 a.m. and will continue until one hour after the game.
In addition, the Skyway will be operational from 9 a.m. until midnight on game day and will have extended hours until 1 a.m. Friday.
FSCJ awarded $3M grant for IT program
The U.S. Department of Labor has named Florida State College at Jacksonville a recipient of its H-1B Ready to Work Partnership grants program.
The college was awarded a grant in excess of $3 million for its Information Technology Rapid Re-Employment program, commonly called I-Tech.
The program will target entry, middle- and high-skilled occupations in the high-demand Computer Information Technology industry of Northeast Florida. Participants prepare for work in jobs like computer programming, database administration and network support specialist.
There are career opportunities as network and computer systems architects and administrators, analysts and managers.
I-Tech will reconnect the worker populations to careers through needs assessments throughout the area and work with the CareerSource Northeast Florida Workforce Board.
Recruitment will focus on those who have been unemployed at least 27 consecutive weeks or those who have been underemployed. Unemployed veterans also will be a target of recruiting. Participants will learn those IT skills and placed into paid-work experiences and paid internships.
FSCJ was one of 23 partnerships in 20 states and Puerto Rico awarded a Ready to Work Partnership Grant by the Department of Labor. Those grants were between $3 million and $10 million.