winners & losers winners losers

GULF WINDS CREDIT UNION Gulf Winds and the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) presented the Studer Family Children's Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart with a donation of $10,752 earlier this month. This gift was made possible by the culmination of weekly donations from Gulf Winds staff that participated in the casual day jeans program Denim with a Purpose. Since 2013, Gulf Winds staff have raised almost $100,000 as a part of the jeans day program. These donations are initially provided to NAFCU, which matches the gift.

PACE HIGH NJROTC For the third consecutive year, Pace High School's Naval Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps team claimed the national title at the annual Navy JROTC academic, athletic and drill championship. NJROTC teams from across the nation competed in a series of events that included a written academic exam, a physical fitness challenge and drill competitions, which required the cadets to perform precision military drills in front of a panel of judges.

RICHARD "STEVE" BODE Escambia County Fire Rescue (ECFR) announced the retirement of Lt. Richard "Steve" Bode after 32 years of service to the citizens of Escambia County. He began his career with Escambia County in November 1989 as a part-time paramedic with Emergency Medical Services and became a full-time paramedic in March 1990. Lt. Bode transitioned to Escambia County Fire Rescue in 2000 as a fire lieutenant, where he served most of his tenure. During his time with ECFR, he remained a part-time paramedic for EMS for an additional 15 years.

ARGO BOND FUND The University of West Florida's student-managed Argo Bond Fund won first place among the nation's student-managed bond funds at the Quinnipiac University Global Asset Management Education's (Q.G.A.M.E.) annual conference global portfolio competition in New York City. The winning Argo Bond Fund portfolio was managed by the Argo Investments Program Class of 2022 and led by students Tuynh Minh Trung, Sam Vaughn, Fernando Gomez and Nick Osting. UWF's Argo Bond Fund outperformed submitted portfolios from different student-managed fund programs across the nation.

JOSEPH LADAPO Florida's surgeon general got caught letting his politics and Gov. Ron DeSantis' agenda interfere with his medical guidance. Against the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ladapo announced in October that males ages 18-39 should not get the COVID-19 vaccine, based on a state analysis that he said showed the risk of cardiac-related deaths after receiving the shot increased significantly. The Tampa Bay Times reviewed early drafts of the state report and found the state also had data indicating that catching COVID-19 raised the risk of cardiac-related deaths for 18-24 more than 10 times from the virus than from the vaccine and by at least five times higher for ages 25-39. Ladapo never mentioned that. Will someone please stop this clown car before it crashes into another dumpster fire?

RON DESANTIS Florida's governor called the state's biggest tourist attraction and largest single-site employer a "joke" during a speech at his favorite institution of higher learning, Hillsdale College in Michigan. Furious that Disney outmaneuvered him before he took over the Reedy Creek board, DeSantis said he would have the state legislature void the development agreement, start taxing the hotels and place tolls on the roads. Democrats have pointed out that such charges would be passed on to the consumers, but there's nothing like a governor scorned. He doesn't seem to care who gets hurt by his policies as long as he can declare victory. It's all about winning; ask Donald Trump.

NAVY POINT OYSTER REEF

The living shoreline oyster reef along Navy Point Park was installed in 2017 to prevent beach erosion and improve water quality and marine habitat. Unfortunately, the wrong material was used, and the oyster bags didn't withstand the wave action, impacting the reef's structural integrity as the bags filled with oyster shells deteriorated. The bags burst open and scattered razorsharp shells along the shoreline. The county is paying Contractor Perdido Services $113,000 to remove the more than 35,000 bags and 87 reef structures.