Ocala Magazine November 2020

$5.95

Celebrating

Ocala’s City Magazine Since 1980 Serving the Horse Capital of the World

40 Years!

OCALA MAGAZINE

NOV 2020

Danny Gaekwad lights up the square with the Hilton Garden Inn’s opening

Charity R

E

G

I

S

T

E

R

Ocala Magazine’s

2020-21

Plus:

Dream Home Makers Ocala’s Housing Boom Artificial Intelligence

Charity Register

A comprehendive resource for needs and volunteering in Ocala/Marion County

PLUS:

Charity Hall of Famer Toni James

‹ Look for our companion Charity Register this month, in its 15th year!

Development Potential

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R E A LTO R ÂŽ

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CELEBRATING OUR 40TH YEAR!

NOVEMBER • 2020 The downtown Hilton Garden Inn See page 28 photo by Ralph Demilio

FEATURES 14 22 34 44

Meet the Dreamers Boom! Goes the Houseing Market Merging Man and Machine In Memoriam: Police Chief Greg Graham

DEPARTMENTS 10 12

Publisher’s Letter From the Mayor

SPONSORED 28

Hilton Garden Inn

47 48 56

EAT Thanksgiving Costars Dining Out

61 PLAY 62 Socially Speaking 64 Anthology: Poetry in Motion 69 EQUINE 70 Everything Equine 72 The Original EquinistaTM

ON THE COVER:

$5.95

Celebrating

Ocala’s City Magazine Since 1980 Serving the Horse Capital of the World

40 Years!

Ocala's downtown square featuring the newly open Hilton Garden Inn

OCALA MAGAZINE

NOV 2020

Photography Adam Volpe Danny Gaekwad lights up the square with the Hilton Garden Inn’s opening

Charity R

E

G

I

S

T

E

R

Ocala Magazine’s

2020-21

Plus:

Dream Home Makers Ocala’s Housing Boom Artificial Intelligence

Charity Register

A comprehendive resource for needs and volunteering in Ocala/Marion County

PLUS:

6

| NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM

Charity Hall of Famer Toni James

‹ Look for our companion Charity Register this month, in its 15th year!

75 ETC 76 Charity Spotlight:

Hospice of Marion County 78 State of the City 80 State of the County 82 Kiwanis Korner 84 Rotary Circle 88 Looking Back

OM

Better

BEST T H A N

T H E

2020

Watch for voting soon on facebook and ocalamagazine.com

OM Volume 40, Issue 5

NOVEMBER 2020

OCALA’S #1 MOST AWARD-WINNING CITY MAGAZINE

CELEBRATING OUR 40TH YEAR! Philip Glassman, CCIM | Publisher philip@ocalamagazine.com

Penny Miller | VP/Corporate Development/Principal penny@ocalamagazine.com

to Listen Magazine a l a Oc WOCA n o o i m d Ra / 13703a0am m f 3 .

6 : 9 at 10 Fridays

ART

CONTRIBUTORS

Carlton Reese | Editor in Chief carlton@ocalamagazine.com

Jessi Miller | Creative Director jessi@ocalamagazine.com

Robin Fannon | Food/Lifestyle Editor

PHOTOGRAPHY

Alex AuBuchon/Marion County | Writer Louisa Barton | Writer Ashley Lopez/City of Ocala | Writer Chris Gerbasi | Writer Mayor Kent Guinn | Columnist L.A. Sokolowski | Writer Adam Volpe | Photographer

EDITORIAL

Ralph Demilio | Chief Photographer ralph@ocalamagazine.com

IVE R OF FIDA E N N I R W FLO INE 2019 A M GATZION CIA DS ASSOA WAR

ADVISORY Linda Marks | Founder & Advisor

OPERATIONS Randy Woodruff, CPA | CFO randy@ocalamagazine.com Doug Hummel | Director of I.T.

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LETTER

from the publisher

Feeling Fit to Print COULD THERE EVER BE A BETTER TIME TO BE A CITIZEN OF OCALA? Think about it, Marion County and the surrounding areas are feeling fit for growth, development and expansion like never before!

Let’s start with a few feathers in our cap, shall we? To begin with, the Ocala/Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership was recently named Chamber of the Year at the recent annual convention of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.

And why not? The local chamber’s work in helping businesses garner PPP funding during the COVID crisis in addition to ongoing initiatives such as IMPACT which helps entrepreneurs are only part of what this organization accomplishes.

So our local CEP is No.1, but our area has other top billings of which to boast: the World Equestrian Center is coming on board and will easily be the top equestrian multi-purpose facility in the world. You want Ocala and Marion County to be found on the international map, there’s no better way than the WEC, which leaves zero doubt as to where the “Horse Capital of the World” resides.

On the subject of No. 1 rankings, look no further than the phenomenon that is The Villages. As has been the case for the past 15 years, The Villages ranks the No. 1 community in the world as the top home builder in the nation by a whopping 123 percent over the next-closest builder. Of course, the charm of The Villages comes not in its volume, but in the lifestyle that exists unlike anywhere in the world.

And now we turn to the amazing re-birth of downtown Ocala. We have watched its evolution the last 20 years from quiet and underwhelming to one teeming with restaurants, bars, retail shops, music and art. Place an exclamation point on it all now with the addition of the Hilton Garden Inn with its 107 guest rooms and record-length entertainment terrace and what you have is a complete downtown square.

Located on the same spot as the famed Ocala House Hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn brings back some of the glory days of downtown Ocala.

Through all this growth and development, Ocala Magazine has been there to chronicle it all.

Thanks to the vision of Linda Marks, our founder who continues to influence the direction of the magazine, OM celebrates its 40th year in publication. We are proud to carry on this legacy as not only Ocala Magazine, but Ocala’s magazine.

It was OM that was first to publish a charity register back in 2005. The vision of Marks and Penny Miller, OM’s first charity register was something I was proud to be a part though not on the publishing side. I remember my entertainment club Posh 27 proudly partnering with the register as a sponsor and hosting the first White Party (this year’s theme as well) as 227 club members all wore white to the event which I’ll personally never forget.

Such events are testimony to the overall feeling in this community, which I am proud to have been a part in my 40-plus years. The spirit of giving has never been lacking and Marion County has always been a national leader in charitable organizations, which brings me to our spotlight charity this month: Hospice of Marion County.

The type of care Hospice gives is often unsung due to its nature, but its value is incalculable by providing comfort not just to patients in the dawn of life but also their families.The mission of providing comfort to patients at the end of their lives is a noble one and certainly worth the monetary and voluntary support of the community. It takes a special type person to provide comfort in such heartbreaking situations and to do it on a daily basis is especially remarkable.

On a personal note, as we hit the month of November and having endured most of this year with a pandemic, it was nice to celebrate my father Jerry’s 80th birthday as well as our OM colleague Jessi Miller’s 50th. We can still celebrate these moments amid all that has happened, reminding us to truly appreciate our friends and family and be thankful for our health above all else.

Until next month,

PHILIP GLASSMAN, PUBLISHER

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| NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM

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MAYOR

from the

Downtown is alive and well

BY MAYOR KENT GUINN

T

he excitement of the new downtown hotel’s opening is at a fever pitch and with good reason. The impact this hotel will have on the downtown area and the community as a whole I believe will be larger than even most people anticipate.

Historically speaking, the hotel represents another phase in not just Ocala’s downtown revitalization, but a nationwide movement of downtown revivals. It’s a comeback many years in the making.

My family came to the Ocala area in the 1850s, so we’ve obviously got a lot of roots in Ocala and downtown was very important to our family – that is where the center of commerce was and everything happened downtown. The hotels that were down here were real important; there were a lot of diners, drugstores and retail shops in the downtown area.

But around 1967, there was a thought process around the country of ‘out with the old and in with the new,’ so downtowns were dying and Ocala was no exception. Malls were coming to fruition or were about to and over time downtown areas were just not the places to do business.

In the late 1960s one of the old symbols of downtown Ocala’s heyday, the Ocala House Hotel, was torn down. I remember my father bought about 4,000 bricks from the old hotel for use in building a new house. I remember vividly my father and uncles picking up those bricks, putting them in trucks and taking them to our house.

My job was to clean all these bricks from the old mortar, chiseling one by one and creating a pile of them for later use. After a couple years, those bricks were used to build my parents’ house on Southeast Fort King Street.

The Chamber of Commerce building then stood on that spot before suffering the same fate as Ocala House over 10 years ago. What remained was a grass field and parking lots that many believed should simply remain so. Thankfully, others did not agree and I count myself among those who believed Ocala was not going to get anywhere until the right project got off the ground there.

And now a hotel is back up on that very same spot that was an Ocala landmark for 80 years.

We’ve come full circle and thanks to Danny Gaekwad’s vision, the downtown revival has taken another huge step back to and even beyond its glory days. Sure to be a win for existing downtown retail shops and restaurants, the hotel is not the final piece of the puzzle for downtown development – much more is on the way. The Hilton Garden Inn will simply accelerate the number of projects.

There were many who did not believe it was possible to turn downtown Ocala into what it has already become and what is inevitable for the future. It seemed to take forever for all the talk of building a parking garage to finally come to fruition, but it finally happened and the original master plan of four garages now does not seem so silly to the naysayers.

There’s no looking back now – there is a downtown vibe in Ocala that is new here, and it’s only going to get better.

Mayor Kent Guinn 12

| NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM

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Meet the Dreamers Tami Mansu and Keith Hayes are turning homes into dream homes

BY ROBIN FANNON PHOTOGRAPHY BY RALPH DEMILIO

NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM |

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Did

you know that Ocala has it's very own Chip and Joanna Gaines? Tami Mansu and Keith Hayes, AKA Dream Facilitators Properties, LLC are putting their mark on Ocala, just as the Fixer Upper couple have done in Waco,Texas. Married for 22 years, Tami, a nurse and Keith, a construction professional decided about 4 years ago to go into the real estate business, in search of financial independence, and a more rewarding professional experience. They found their calling in "flipping" homes in the Ocala downtown area.

They both have their own expertise; Keith is knowledgeable in all aspects of construction, power tools, machinery, and a meticulous eye for detail. Tami has CAD design experience, plumbing, electrical and a knack for finishing touches. She is comfortable with a paintbrush in hand or sitting on a

rider mower, but would prefer to avoid grout work, thank you very much!

Their focus has been on homes in the Ocala downtown area and much like the Fixer Upper duo search for properties in poor condition, in a desirable neighborhood.

The work begins with a vision, skill, planning and a hefty dose of their own "sweat equity".

Both Tami and Keith have an eye for detail, and are meticulous in their choices and execution. Each of their projects take roughly 8 months to complete their vision. Keith describes their approach; "We raise the bar and base our standards as if we were renovating the home for ourselves. We focus on utilizing the best materials available with at-

NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM |

17

tention to long lasting and valued improvements". Tami adds; We love the historic district and are saddened to see these homes in a state of neglect and disrepair. Bringing these hidden gems back to life is a very rewarding experience for both of us. It's bittersweet when we finally complete a project and there is nothing left to do but turn the keys over and say goodbye".

On a personal note, in 2018 my late partner Kulbir Ghumman and I were searching for one such gem in the downtown area, and one evening God intervened and put us in front of Tami and Keith's just completed project. As soon as we walked in and laid eyes on their impeccable workmanship, attention to detail, and the obvious TLC they put into the property, it was a no-brainer.

Ocala is lucky to have visionaries like Tami and Keith aka the "Dream Facilitators" and they are definitely making a mark on our community. The only drawback is that their properties don't stay on the market long!

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NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM |

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A FULL CIRCLE OF CARE CENTERED ON YOU.

Boom!

Goes the

Housing Market Despite the pandemic, Ocala’s housing industry is on solid ground.

BY CHRIS GERBASI

W

hen Jeff and Amanda Ganswindt started thinking about buying their future retirement property, they envisioned a place with an “old Florida” feel: a slower pace of life, waterfront living and a nice community.

They found what they were looking for in a two-story home on three-quar-

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ters of an acre of land on Lake Rousseau in Dunnellon.

“There are neighbors but there’s nobody on top of us, so it gives us a certain amount of privacy and plenty of room for the family to gather and enjoy the lake,” Jeff said.

The couple, who own a condo in Miami and a house in Port St. Lucie, closed on their Dunnellon home in September. They spent their first weekend there in October and eventually will relocate there permanently in retirement.

They took advantage of low interest rates on loans which are helping home sales rebound from a spring slump due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Housing remains essential, and homebuilding trends in Ocala/ Marion County are reminiscent of the early 2000s. Builders don’t want to go as far as to use the word “boom,” but the housing industry is at least generating some thunder.

Some homebuyers, with concerns over COVID and high costs, are moving away from larger cities to areas like Marion County that have a small-town atmosphere, an affordable housing market and a lower-density population.

“A lot of people, due to what’s happened with the pandemic and maybe even some of the social unrest in the larger metropolitan areas, we have heard from some of our builders that people were wanting to get away from those areas and move to places, like Ocala, that are more desirable to live (in) and don’t have all the other issues to deal with,” said Lance Hill, sales manager at Manning Building Supplies in Ocala.

The Ganswindts purchased their home through Hook and Ladder Realty of Central Florida in Ocala. Hook and Ladder broker/owner Virginia Wright, who is also vice president of the Ocala/Marion County Association of Realtors, says that while closed sales for single-family homes in the county are down from 2019, they gradually climbed during the summer months which are typically slow anyway. She expects a big bounce-back this fall as sellers who temporarily took homes off the market during the spring shutdown begin to put them back on the market.

Realtors also have prepared for the “new norm” in the marketplace by expanding their use of technology, social media and advertising, and educating buyers about tools such as

“We’re just slammed; busy as can be.

As fast as we get a listing and the home is priced right, it’s under contract usually within a matter of days.”

—Randy Alvord

virtual tours online, she said. Open houses also require new protocols and cleaning procedures.

“As soon as we get this down pat, we’re going to make a comeback,” Wright said.

“We’re optimistic.”

Randy Alvord, broker/owner of R n B Realty, sees a large demand for housing because of a steady influx of new residents in Marion County.

“We’re just slammed; busy as can be,” he said. “As fast as we get a listing and the home is priced right, it’s under contract usually within a matter of days.”

Alvord points to several positive trends, such as high consumer confidence, rising sale prices and the continuation of low interest rates, which are making homes more affordable for everyone, especially first-time homebuyers. As of early October, the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.05 percent, according to Bankrate, a financial services company based in New York City.

The Ganswindts originally were going to pay cash for their Dunnellon house, but a volatile stock market negatively affect-

ed their investments. When lending rates dropped, they decided to get a home loan instead, said Jeff, who is retired from the beverage label printing business, while Amanda still works in that field in Miami.

“We’re confident that the (stock) market is eventually going to recover,” Jeff said.

“We feel we got a good price and we feel that the loan interest rates were very reasonable.”

Realtors also may get a boost from an influx of new homes. In August, for example, the National Association of Homebuilders reported a 4.1 percent increase in single-family housing starts. From January through August, combined single-family and multifamily starts were 5.4 percent higher in the South compared to the same period a year ago.

“This is consistent with what we’re experiencing here locally,” Hill said.

The NAHB’s Housing Market Index also showed that homebuilder confidence reached an all-time high in September. The index gauges builders’ opinions on the market for newly built single-family homes.

NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM |

23

“As soon as COVID really started, they started dropping interest rates. Obviously, it helped spike the economy, which has spurred even more sales.”

—Josh Klugger

Josh Klugger exemplifies that confidence.

“We’re as busy as we could be with new construction right now,” said Klugger, president of Center State Construction. “It reminds you of 2005, 2006.”

At that time, Marion County was adding several thousand new homes each year before the bottom fell out of the building industry around 2008. Through early September, the county had issued more than 2,200 permits for new construction of single-family residences, the Building Safety Department reported. That puts the county on pace for about 3,300 permits for the year.

The total job value for the home construction was $318.7 million.

Since the housing industry is considered an essential service, builders didn’t have to worry about layoffs for lack of work, Klugger said. And projects, which require up to a year to complete, never reached a point of being stopped and just kept on rolling.

“As soon as COVID really started, they started dropping interest rates. Obviously, it helped spike the economy, which has spurred even more sales,” he said.

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| OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020

Center State Construction is scheduling new housing starts all the way into January, and Klugger estimates that his compa-

ny’s business will increase 50 to 75 percent in 2021.

Armstrong Homes is exclusively focused on building new homes in the current market, said sales and marketing director Mike Mazzurco. Armstrong builds houses starting in the low $100,000s on up to million-dollar homes in gated communities. With the exception of a temporary slowdown in the spring in the active adult retirement market, Armstrong’s business has increased this year in all other markets and price ranges, he said. And the 55-plus market bounced back to being busier than it was before the pandemic.

The reason? Simple: shelter is a necessity. Like groceries, clothing and new technology, housing is a must for consumers, Mazzurco said. The industry also came into 2020 riding the momentum of a strong second half of 2019, he added.

“We really haven’t slowed. The way the last part of last year ended was pretty much how January and February started,” he said.

“March through August have been consistent and very robust.”

Some roadblocks for builders, Klugger said, include supply shortages and delivery delays, which, in turn, cause spikes in prices for materials and homes. For example, the supply of timber is down because lumber

Lumber prices have skyrocketed about 170 percent since mid-April, adding about $16,000 to the cost of each new single-family home.

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mills shut down at the height of the pandemic. Lumber prices have skyrocketed about 170 percent since mid-April, adding about $16,000 to the cost of each new single-family home, the NAHB reported in September. As a result, more homebuyers are moving to lower-cost markets.

Shortages and delays have also hit suppliers such as Manning Building Supplies.

Manning, which provides materials solely to building contractors, has been able to successfully navigate through the setbacks, Hill said.

“Business has actually increased as the year has gone on,” he said.

The rise in homebuilding has extended to remodeling and improvements on existing homes as well. Nationally, bigbox retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s have reported quarterly sales increases of 25-35 percent.

Locally, staff members at RoMac Building Supply expected business to drop off during the pandemic but instead were pleasantly surprised by an increase in sales, store manager Tony Smith said. RoMac serves both contractors and homeowners.

Smith believes the pandemic had an unintended benefit for some people who found themselves out of work: it became the perfect time to do that remodeling job they may have been putting off for years.

“People can’t go back to work in a lot of different businesses, and the stimulus money that came out helped,” he said. “People are stuck there in the house. I think they were bored and they had time and they were getting this money coming in.”

Smith sees customers tackling all types of projects, such as changing doors or windows, repairing roofs and building decks or other additions onto their houses.

“Whatever they had on their wish list is coming to fruition,” he said.

In an uncertain year, uncertainty remains for what’s ahead. But home sales appear to be rebounding, building is blossoming, and Hill, who was born and raised in Ocala, likes what he sees on the horizon in his hometown.

“It’s definitely good for growth. Obviously, as always, all of us together have to be responsible managing that,” he said. “We certainly welcome the growth and the business and we’re very thankful for it.”

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| OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020

Open doors and closed deals Monthly figures in 2020 for single-family homes in Marion County:

Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept

Closed sales

Median sale price

Price change from 2019

487 541 665 511 403 534 608 600 621

$175,000 $172,500 $182,000 $180,000 $170,000 $175,673 $181,500 $187,800 $185,000

+9.4% +4.5% +7.1% +5.9% -3.0% -2.4% +0.3% +9.2% +9.8%

Source: Ocala/Marion County Association of Realtors

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vision decades in the making finally came to fruition last October as the next phase in the glorious evolution of downtown Ocala was unveiled.

The new Hilton Garden Inn, located on the same piece of land where the famed Ocala House Hotel stood for 80 years until 1968, brings together a worldly concept from developer Danny Gaekwad, who aimed to build more than just a hotel for overnight guests, but a downtown centerpiece for the whole community to enjoy.

Like a proud papa showing off his beautiful newborn to the world, Gaekwad hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and soft opening at the hotel Oct. 26 for over 200 guests who enjoyed heavy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails made under the watchful eye of famed mixologist Rob Floyd. To say that guests were anything less than impressed would be an understatement.

Its 220-foot long second floor terrace, aptly named Terrace on the Square, is boasted by Gaekwad as among the longest hotel terraces in Florida. Its tremendous size along with its full-service bar (with bartenders under the tutelage of Floyd himself ) and 193-inch retractable viewing screen create a leisure space unparalleled in Ocala and perhaps anywhere else.

“The reason I did not put (the terrace) on the sixth floor is because you cannot connect with the people on the downtown square,” Gaekwad says while pointing to the vistas

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| OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020

and action just beyond. “We came up with a different idea – instead of putting it on the top of the hotel, we put it on the second floor where you can connect with the people.

“This hotel is for downtown people, not just for the person coming from out of town to stay. I wanted to build a unique product that connects the people – if you put glass here you cannot be connected.”

The theme of “connecting” with the surrounding space is prevalent. In addition to the large second floor terrace, which can be roped off as private areas with adjacent rooms when the need calls for it, there is another large terrace on the east side which can be used for dining or other leisure activities, a third-floor terrace with adjoining rooms and even a side terrace adjacent to the fitness center overlooking Silver Springs Boulevard.

With 107 rooms all built and decorated to the high standard of Hilton hotels, Gaekwad projects his new downtown jewel will bring nearly 60,000 unique visitors per year to downtown Ocala. This influx of new visitors means a rising tide for all the businesses downtown and not just the hotel.

Gaekwad is also proud to pointing out details that set his hotel apart from most others: USB ports near just about every imbibing station, a huge bar that services both inside and outside patrons, the opportunity to eat breakfast on the west terrace without a glaring sun,

a 24-hour market place. All this residing above a first floor that will house a high-end food court, a craft brewery and two restaurants.

Making this project so special for Gaekwad is that it exists in an historic downtown location: a rare opportunity for developers but one in which the time was right.

“This project gives me goosebumps, because if you are lucky in your one life you can get a chance to rebuild a downtown in ANY town,” Gaekwad said. “This is the largest thing in my life; God gave me the good fortune to be in this city and allotted me with this project. I think I’ve done more than I dreamed of, with a lot of people helping.”

As opposed to hotel that simply overlooks and dominates the area, Gaekwad has developed something that enhances downtown. The viewing screen on the second floor is so large that people can watch from the square if they so desire. Whatever is happening at the hotel will be happening for people

Photos by Ralph Demilio

Photo by Adam Volpe

Danny Gaekwad

on the square and vice versa. That’s where Gaekwad sees great potential with activity on the square – especially music.

“The most important thing is music on the square,” Gaekwad said. “We don’t need two-day (a week) music – it should be 365 (days) rain or shine; the music should be on.

Music is a bonding; it speaks every language.”

The notion of eating dinner outside on the terrace during a crisp fall evening while live music emanates from the square presents an attraction pleasant to all the senses and an experience rather unique to Ocala.

On the professional side are not just large meeting rooms, replete with luxurious chandeliers and all the amenities to accom-

modate audio, visual and technological requirements, there are also pre-function with close access to . . . you guessed it, the bar. No stone was left unturned.

“We thought of everything,” Gaekwad said. “I’ve been to 60-plus countries and I’ve seen what is lacking, and what is good I put to memory.”

The trajectory of Ocala’s downtown has been steady with the growing number of restaurants, cafes and bars, the burgeoning arts scene and rising young professional class. This trajectory has now been shot exponentially skyward with Gaekwad’s Hilton Garden Inn, not just another hotel to serve overnight visitors, but a social and profes-

sional gathering place certain to make an evening downtown that much more special.

“It’s like a gathering place we never had.

I’ve lived here 30-plus years and I always go out of town and get amazed. So when the time came to build downtown, I wanted to put every ingredient in it.”

Mission accomplished.

FOR MORE INFORMATION please call (352) 581-6060.

NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM |

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This information is from sources deemed to be reliable. We are not responsible for misstatements of facts, errors or omissions, prior sale, change of price, and/or terms or withdrawal from the market without notice. Buyer should verify all information with its own representatives as well as state and local agencies. Brokers please note that a variable rate commission may exist on this offering that might result in a lower commission cost to the Seller if a Buyer’s broker is not involved in the transaction. ©2019 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.

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MERGING MANAND MACHINE RESEARCHERS EXPLORE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, CYBERSECURITY AND MORE AT THE INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN & MACHINE COGNITION.

BY CHRIS GERBASI or most people over a certain age, the phrase “artificial intelligence” always had an otherworldly, futuristic connotation to it, along with a sinister implication that computers and robots would one day take over the world.

With the volume of smartphones, automation and seemingly unlimited surveillance, many people today likely feel that this vision has already come true. Artificial intelligence (AI) is utilized to help devices and systems perform tasks, such as visual perception, speech recognition and problem-solving, that normally would require human intelligence.

“Technology developed in AI research is found in every router, in all modern automobiles, smartphones, search engines and elsewhere,” said Ken Ford, co-founder and CEO of the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition, which has headquarters in Pensacola and a branch research facility in downtown Ocala.

“In the near future, automobiles, buses and trucks will operate with in-

F

NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM |

35

“IN THE NEAR FUTURE, AUTOMOBILES, BUSES AND TRUCKS WILL OPERATE WITH INCREASING AUTOMATION, OFTEN IN A MODE AKIN TO AN AUTOPILOT IN AN AIRCRAFT.”

Ken Ford

creasing automation, often in a mode akin to an autopilot in an aircraft,” he added. “Medical diagnostic systems will increasingly rely on AI as well as much else. Most applications of AI are not standalone intelligence systems, but rather AI is increasingly embedded in nearly everything.”

These days, Ford is focused on an app more serious than a selfie. He serves on the 15-member National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, an independent federal panel that makes recommendations to integrate AI into national security programs. The commission is broadly looking

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| OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020

at how global AI developments might affect national security aspects, including competitiveness, the military and ethical considerations of the applications of AI, he said.

“Just as AI is all around us in everyday life, we anticipate the same widespread application of AI in military affairs,” he said. “The countries that ‘win’ the AI competition will be strongly advantaged in both war and peace.”

The commission expects to release a final report in spring 2021. In October, commissioners released a 268-page interim report to the president and Congress that urged the immediate implementation of 66 recommenda-

tions in three areas, briefly summarized here: Competition: Create a Technology Competitiveness Council to develop and implement a national technology leadership strategy and integrate relevant technological, economic and security policies; enhance collaboration with industry partners on AI research and development and enable faster transition of successful technologies; and develop holistic strategies across a variety of sectors to sustain U.S. competitiveness.

Innovation and talent: Provide AI researchers with resources and space to pursue innovative ideas that will push the frontiers of technology; expand the national pool of AI and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) talent to improve both the economy and national security by creating new career paths for military and civilian government employees; improve STEM and AI education; and develop an AI-proficient workforce.

International cooperation: Expedite the responsible development of AI by NATO and member states and shape defense cooperation agreements with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific; build a multilateral effort to advance the use of AI and ensure new emerging technology standards are based on technical considerations and best practices, not political manipulation, and address national security needs; and form a tech alliance between the U.S. and India, and a strategic dialogue between the U.S. and the European Union, to address the challenges and opportunities presented by AI. In short, the commission states that the United States must build on the strength of its allies and partners to win the global technology competition and preserve free and open societies.

It’s no surprise that Ford was named

THE UNITED STATES MUST BUILD ON THE STRENGTH OF ITS ALLIES AND PARTNERS TO WIN THE GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY COMPETITION AND PRESERVE FREE AND OPEN SOCIETIES.

to the commission. He’s considered one of the world’s leading AI researchers, and his impressive résumé includes several other national board appointments along with the directorship of NASA’s Center of Excellence in Information Technology.

Ford, Alberto Cañas and Bruce Dunn co-founded IHMC in 1990 when they were colleagues at the University of West Florida, and the 501(3)(c) not-for-profit organization is part of the State University System.

The Ocala facility, in the former public library building, opened in 2010.

The bulk of IHMC research is done for the U.S. government, which funds projects through contracts. The institute works with NASA, the departments of Defense and Energy, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), the Intelligence Advanced Research Project Agency (IARPA), private foundations as well as commer-

cial partners. IHMC also receives funding from grants, donors and the state, said Laurie Zink, development and community outreach director.

Research of artificial intelligence, along with robotics, cybersecurity, language processing, health and many more fields, supports IHMC’s mission to optimize the physical and mental capabilities of humans. The work has resulted in stunning achievements with humanoid robots, exoskeletons to improve mobility for paraplegics and exercise machines for NASA astronauts in space, to name a few.

“For those of us working at IHMC, AI is less about ‘artificial’ intelligence and more about ‘amplified’ or ‘augmented’ intelligence,” Ford said. “We are interested in cognitive orthotics, that is, technological systems that leverage and extend human cognition.”

CYBER BATTLES

IHMC research in the areas of security and information assurance also includes the protection of the nation’s critical infrastructure and cyberinfrastructures. Teams are not contracted to protect specific data but rather to create frameworks and research paradigms and theories about how data should be protected, research scientist Adam Dalton said.

Dalton and colleagues Bonnie Dorr and Larry Bunch form a team working on several cybersecurity projects at the Ocala branch.

Dalton, who also specializes in natural language processing, said his current research is focused on how to use human language technology to improve cybersecurity and information security, especially in large online communities. This type of work strives to thwart cyberattacks that may try to create remote network connections, delete all files in a system or access sensitive data like gov-

NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM |

37

Computer Science

ernment personnel records, medical office health records or company salaries. Or, the defense technology might track the source of bogus emails asking an office worker to buy gift cards for the boss.

For example, in the Moving Target Command and Control project, Dalton and other researchers designed moving target defenses designed to fight off an adversary.

He explained that an adversary spends a lot of time and effort to compromise a secure network: discovering the vulnerabilities in the network, developing the exploitive tactics that could compromise those vulnerabilities, weaponizing them and gaining a “posture” inside the network that allows the adversary to send commands back and forth.

The moving target defenses were designed to make sure that the network posture was constantly changing, so that all the time, energy and resources the adversary invested into compromising one configuration of the network would then be wiped out when that posture changed. The approach was designed to prevent the attack and then, by making that change, the adversary would need to respond, making them “noisier” and easier to detect.

The work allowed mission-critical elements of the system to be retained while getting the adversary out of the system, Dalton said.

Another project, Active Social Engineering Defenses, involved actively engaging an adversary in a “game” of cat and mouse.

Researchers developed a chat bot that monitored the inboxes of personnel within an organization and detected any “social engi-

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| OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020

Adam Dalton

“BY STUDYING THE ATTACKER’S TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES, WE CAN THEN TURN THOSE AGAINST THEM, WHICH MADE IT A LOT OF FUN.” neering” attacks or queries of personnel to perform tasks with social or language cues.

In their attempts to run scams, cybercriminals look at company or university websites to find out who’s in charge – CEOs, deans, chairmen – and who reports to them, Dalton said.

“From there, it’s super-easy,” he said.

“You just put that person’s name in (an email), and say, ‘Hey, can you do something real quick for me? I need you to buy gift cards,’ for whatever reason, ‘and send me those gift cards.’ And it’s a simple attack, a simple premise and it is easy to tailor from one organization to the next, and because of that, the criminal can scale it up to a huge amount. Then, even if they get an extremely low success rate, they can still make a lot of money from it. But the counter of that is it’s also very easy for computers to detect.”

The defense requires understanding the social network of an individual’s computer: who do they usually talk to, what do they usually talk about, what kind of tasks are

they asked to do? Then it’s easier to see when they receive an attack email.

The vulnerability in this case was at the social level, not the technical level, Dalton said, and that’s where language processing research came in handy. The researchers developed new natural language technology that focused on the “ask” and the “framing” of the emails: what are they asking you to do, and why would you do what they’re asking?

The chat bot also could extract information that might lead to identifying the source of the attacks and whether national defense officials or law enforcement needed to be alerted.

“By studying the attacker’s tools and techniques, we can then turn those against them, which made it a lot of fun,” Dalton said.

Social engineering defenses are useful for companies like Microsoft, Google and others that manage large email platforms, he said. Those companies would be interested in knowing how attacks are being carried out and whether their own technology is being

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THERE ARE ABOUT 100 PROJECTS GOING ON AT IHMC AT ANY GIVEN TIME.

used to conduct the attacks.

In cybersecurity, it’s helpful to understand the human elements as well as the technical elements, Dalton said.

“You need to have that social science, that linguistic and the technical acumen to do this research,” he said. “So, having the people who have both the knowledge to perform the individual area of (expertise) and also the willingness to branch out beyond what they’re expert in and work with other people who have different expertise, I think that’s one of the things that has been so great and allowed us to be successful.”

Seeing the practical applications of his research is what drew Dalton to cybersecurity.

“Cybersecurity’s a funny discipline because in an ideal world, you wouldn’t need it. The best way to succeed in cybersecurity is for nobody to know that you’re doing anything,” he said. “By being successful in cybersecurity, you allow other people to be successful in other ways, and I think that’s the rewarding part.”

THE IHMC CULTURE Humans interact with machines all day long, but that connection means a little more to the researchers at the institute.

“IHMC really does focus on that space where humans and computers and robots intersect,” Dalton said.

The staff consists of professors, scientists, doctors, astronauts, engineers, philosophers and guest researchers from around the world. Up to 150 people work at the Pensacola site, while about 15 staff members work in Ocala, a location chosen for its proximity to universities and sites such as the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.

IHMC’s approach to attracting talent is not typical for a research organization, Ford said.

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| OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020

“Our primary recruiting method is that we talk amongst ourselves and identify someone who we think would be a wonderful colleague and then we pursue that person,” he said. “We look for passionate, intellectual risk-takers who have an entrepreneurial bent and need little management or supervision.”

Those risk-takers have paid off with big rewards. Robotics work led by senior research scientist Jerry Pratt became the focus of a Time magazine story in June 2015.

IHMC was provided with a robot chassis made by Boston Dynamics and Carnegie Robotics. The IHMC team developed a control system for the robot, nicknamed Atlas, which was designed to aid rescue operations in disaster zones. Atlas won a competition for humanoid robots sponsored by DARPA, a government agency that funds tech projects. In the contest, the robots were programmed to drive a vehicle, climb a ladder, turn off valves and perform other tasks.

IHMC also developed a powered exoskeleton device that provides paraplegics with increased mobility and independence.

In 2019, a team led by senior research scientist Peter Neuhaus received a $500,000 grant as part of a $4 million program sponsored by the Toyota Mobility Foundation, allowing the team to further develop the prototype, according to an IHMC newsletter.

Another team formed by Neuhaus worked with NASA on an exercise machine for astronauts during long-term flights and stays at the International Space Station.

“In developing this piece of equipment for them, it became very obvious that this would work very well with older populations,” said Zink, explaining that the machine is now moving from the research stage to development and marketing for use in everyday life.

Zink said there are about 100 projects going on at IHMC at any given time. The larger Pensacola site houses the robotics lab, as well as a giant blue sphere that rotates people inside to evaluate how movement affects vision and balance, she said. Cybersecurity and natural language processing (NLP) are the central research fields studied at the Ocala facility.

For example, research scientist Archna Bhatia explores NLP in the medical domain. She has been working on developing

noninvasive techniques for detection and monitoring of physiological, psychological and neurological conditions. She developed a noninvasive, speech-based method for detection and monitoring of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) based on divergence from the asymptomatic speech, the IHMC website states.

Bonnie Door is an associate director and senior research scientist at the Ocala facility. Together with colleagues, Dorr established the new field of Cyber-NLP, bringing together expertise at the intersection of cyber, social computing, AI and NLP. She focuses on cyber-event extraction and natural language understanding for detecting attacks, discerning intentions of attackers and thwarting social engineering attacks.

While the institute is part of the university system, it is not a university itself, so researchers feel more autonomy in their work and are able to collaborate more, Zink said. The areas of study often intertwine. The institute promotes a collegial atmosphere and a “cross-pollination” of expertise in which researchers of one project may lend a hand to another project.

“A lot of people here really enjoy the outreach aspects of research and education, and other people really like being able to spend all day, head down, working on advanced technology projects,” Dalton said. “I think that’s one of the things that draws academics to IHMC … if you have a good idea and you’re able to convince somebody it’s a good idea worth funding, then you’ll probably be able to find a home for it here and find some of the most incredibly well-educated people around to work on that with you.”

Ford said he is particularly proud of the culture that team members have built together. Dalton, who joined IHMC in 2012, caught a glimpse of that culture several years earlier when he toured the Pensacola facility. He walked right up to people who were building robots and recognized how the researchers combined elements of man and machine to excel.

“That was obvious to me early on, and it was just one of those things that you see it, you talk to the people, you see how excited they are and you see how knowledgeable they are, and it just became a place that I wanted to work,” he said.

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PHOTOS AND TEXT BY ROBIN FANNON OF RSVP ROBIN

W

hile the turkey is the star attraction of the Thanksgiving meal, it would not be a smash hit if it did not include some great supporting players. This is a good year to stick with the tried and true comforting classics. My motto this holiday is “keep it simple and execute it impeccably”. Creamy buttermilk mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts with pink lady apples and bacon, and cranberry/orange sauce are some of the side items we will be enjoying with the bird. Other family members will be contributing their favorite classic sides. My sister is making our Mom’s sweet potato, applesauce and marshmallow casserole. Yum! As for decor, I tend to lean toward earth tones with punches of white, but this year I am excited to scatter richer fall colors like saffron, ochre, oranges and greens. We can all use some earthy, soul soothing colors this year! There are no rules and it’s not about perfection. Mix your family heirlooms with some new purchases. Get the family involved, and most of all have some fun!

However, as your family gathers to give thanks this year, please do it safely and responsibly. Above all, we need to be grateful for the good in the world, the love we have for each other and the beauty of the season. A very happy and blessed Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Instagram @RSVP_ROBIN

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Bacon INGREDIENTS » » » » » »

50

1 pound brussels sprouts washed, tops removed and cut in half 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt to taste for roasting 1 medium pink lady apple 4-6 slices bacon 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped additional salt and pepper to taste

| OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020

INSTRUCTIONS

• For this recipe you will roast your brussels sprouts while cooking the bacon and apples in a skillet on the stovetop.

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss them with the olive oil and salt and spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast them in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until they’re browning and fork tender.

• Core the apple and chop into half/1-inch cubes and set aside.

• Heat a medium heavy skillet over medium-high heat and cut your bacon into 1-inch pieces.

• Add the bacon to the skillet and cook, stirring until about three quarters of the way done (according to your own preference). At this point, add the apples and chopped rosemary and continue to cook and stir until the apples have softened and the bacon is fully cooked.

• Combine all ingredients and toss.

Maple Glazed Carrots

CranberryOrange Sauce

INGREDIENTS

INGREDIENTS

» 4½ cups water » 4 pounds carrots, peeled, cut on sharp diagonal into ¼ inch-thick ovals (about 11 cups) » 10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter » 3 tablespoons sugar » 1½ teaspoons coarse salt » 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup » 3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar » 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

• Combine 4½ cups water, carrots, 4 tablespoons butter, sugar, and coarse salt in heavy large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until carrots are just tender when pierced with knife, about 10 minutes. Drain. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

• Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add maple syrup and brown sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Add carrots and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

» » » »

¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice Zest of 1 orange ½ cup sugar, or more, to taste 1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a medium saucepan, combine orange juice, orange zest, sugar and ¾ cup water over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.

• Stir in cranberries and bring to a boil; reduce heat and let simmer until sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes.

• Let cool completely before serving.

Classic Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes INGREDIENTS » » » » » »

Kosher salt 3 pounds boiling potatoes, such as Yukon Gold ½ cup whole milk ¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter ¾ to 1 cup buttermilk, shaken ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1) In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons salt to boil.

• 2) Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1½-inch cubes. Add them to the boiling water and bring the water back to a boil.

Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes fall apart easily when pierced with a fork.

• 3) Heat the whole milk and butter in a small saucepan, making sure it doesn’t boil. Set aside until the potatoes are done.

• 4) When the potatoes are tender, drain them in a colander.

Drain and mash. As soon as the potatoes are mashed, stir in the hot milk-and-butter mixture with a rubber spatula. Add enough buttermilk to make the potatoes creamy. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and the pepper, or more to taste, and serve hot. To keep the potatoes warm, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water for up to 30 minutes. You can add a little extra hot milk to keep them creamy.

NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM |

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inspiration Thanksgiving

A curated array of savory stylings to inspire your Thanksgiving table.

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Call Today

To Plan Your

Holiday Parties!

C a t e r i n g • H o l i d a y p a rt i e s • s p e c i a l e v e n t s • B o u t i q u e

Gift Card

Special

Ocala 352-622-5550 | Williston 352-528-5410

ivyhousee.com

EAT

dining out

Milano Pizzeria and Ristorante NOW OPEN! Milano Ristorante Italiano — a pizzaria bringing authentic cuisine to the Ocala area. Enjoy made-from-scratch Italian cuisine every day, including freshly baked bread.

• Wednesdays— Buy One, Take One Home - select pasta dishes with purchase of an entree. Valid with entrees of $16.99 or more.

• Thursdays— Buy One, Get One Half Off any Takeout Pizza • Sundays— 2 for 1 chicken parmesan every Sunday all day (with purchase of 2 beverages)

Now Delivering!

OFFERING TAKEOUT & CURBSIDE ORDERS!

For curbside service including wine, beer and full menu, call 352-304-8549 We’ll bring it out to you!

Open Daily 11am-9pm 5400 SW College Road, Unit 106 | Ocala, FL 34474 | (352) 304-8549 www.milanotogo.com

Legacy Restaurant At The Nancy Lopez Country Club Join us at The Villages‘ Best Country Club for lunch and dinner. Serving steaks and seafood with various wine selections.

Monday - Prime Rib Night Tuesday - Three Course Dinner starting at 14.99 Tuesday - Lobster Night Friday - $1 oysters all day (raw, broiled, rockafeller(+.25) Saturday - Legacy BOGO 1/2 off anything on the menu (with purchase of two beverages. Must show coupon.)

Sunday Evening - Special Filet Oscar $19.99 Weekends - Weekend Brunch! 11am-3pm Live outdoor entertainment! See website for schedule!

17135 Buena Vista Blvd | The Villages, FL 32162 | (352) 753-1475 SuleimanLegacyInc@gmail.com | Follow us on Facebook www.legacyrestaurant.com Open Fri-Sat 11 am-8:30pm | Sun-Thurs 11 am-8:00pm

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| NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM

Now Open For Dine In! TAKEOUT & CURBSIDE

For curbside service including wine, beer and full menu, call 352-753-1475 We’ll bring it out to you!

dining out

EAT

Tony’s Sushi Sushi Me! At Tony’s Sushi you can select your favorite sushi to include made-to-order specialty rolls by creating your own! Enjoy being entertained at the grill, watching your food being prepared while having some fun. For a more intimate setting, Tony’s offers private tables – perfect for special moments. Tony’s full bar includes sakes, imported draft beer and more. Like Tony’s on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TonySushiOcala

Ask about our daily, not on the menu items!

We offer gift cards, catering and entertaining.

Mon-Thur 11a-10p, Fri & Sat 11a - 11p, Sun 12p - 10p 3405 SW College Rd. #103 Ocala, FL 34474 | 352-237-3151 www.tonyssushi.com

Ivy On The Square It’s the most wonderful time of the year! A perfect time to celebrate with your family and friends. We love this time of the year and have decorated our restaurant and boutique so you can enjoy the beauty of the season while you shop and dine. We offer many services to help make your holidays easier. Catering is one of our specialties. We can serve at your event or you can preorder and pick up. We also have a private dining area for your holiday parties and our brand new event venue “Brick 9 Social” is now open. Call today and one of our event coordinators will be happy to explain all we have to offer and find what fits your needs best. Don’t forget also we have a wonderful boutique full of unique gifts for everyone.

Taking Reservations Now. Stop by and enjoy cocktails on our beautiful patio or at the bar.

Gift cards available.

53 S. Magnolia Ave., Ocala | 352-622-5550 Tues-Sat 11am-9pm | Dining | Thurs-Sat 9pm-Til... | Tapas & Cocktails 106 NW Main St., Williston | 352-528-5410 Sun-Wed 11am-2pm, Thurs-Sat 11am-8pm | ivyhousefl.com

Havana Country Club We offer an extensive variety of cuisines—these include superior hand-cut steaks, freshly caught seafood, and authentic Italian fare. A Suleiman Family Restaurant.

Tuesday - Italian Night Wendesday - $1 oysters all day (raw, broiled, Rockefeller (+.25) Thursday - Prime rib night Saturday - New Orleans Night! Featuring Louisiana Style Seafood Boil Sunday - Southern Fried Chicken Outdoor entertainment Tues, Weds, Thurs, Sat, Sun 5-8

Now Open For Dine In! OFFERING TAKEOUT & CURBSIDE ORDERS! For curbside service including wine, beer and full menu, call 352-430-3200

We’ll bring it out to you!

2484 Odell Circle | The Villages, FL 32162 | (352) 430-3200 Suleimanrestaurants@gmail.com | Follow us on Facebook www.havanacc.com Open Every Day 11am–8:30pm OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020 |

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EAT

dining out

Sky Fine Dining Sky Fine Dining is located on the 6th floor of the Holiday Inn Suites. The eclectic gourmet cuisine and steak house concept is inspired from current trends and classic dishes like fresh cut steaks, live Maine lobster, rack of lamb and fresh seafood such as sea bass, salmon and shrimp. Golden Spoon Award Winner 9 consecutive years–2010 to 2018. Sky is the place to be for a unique fine dining experience.

Golden Spoon Award Winner 9 consecutive years!

2010 to 2018

Special menu Wednesday through Saturday.

FRIDAY SEAFOOD NIGHT AND SATURDAY STEAK NIGHT

Mon-Thurs 5pm-10pm, Fri & Sat 5p-11p 3600 SW 38th Ave., Ocala, FL 34474 | (352)291-0000 www.skyfinedining.com

Fine Dining

West 82° Bar and Grill Come and enjoy the best Sunday plated brunch in town at the Plantation on Crystal River!

All brunches include a choice of freshly baked danish, cinnamon roll, bagel or biscuit with cinnamon honey butter and shrimp Cocktail Platter. Shrimp cocktail platter includes cocktail shrimp, cocktail sauce, lemon, smoked fish dip, chicken pate, scallop cheese spread, strawberry cream cheese spread and gourmet crackers)

9301 West Fort Island Trail Crystal River, FL 34429 (352) 795-4211 plantationoncrystalriver.com

Choose from entrees like Eggs Benedict, Seafood Crepes, Prime Benedict, Seafood Platter and more!

Finish your meal with a Chef’s choice dessert.

Brunch Price is $26.00 PP, Sundays 11:30 am to 2:00 pm

Call for reservations, hours and weekly specials.

9301 West Fort Island Trail, Crystal River, FL 34429 | (352) 795-4211 www.plantationoncrystalriver.com

Cafe Crisp Faith. Fitness. Food.

Conveniently located in the Frank DeLuca YMCA, Cafe Crisp makes clean eating easy with fresh, healthy meals—to enjoy at the cafe or to take home—and they offer weekly meal prep packages that make it easy to stay on track with meals and snacks. Cafe Crisp also caters events large or small! Stop in for a smoothie before your workout and come back for delicious sandwiches, soups, and salad bar.

Mon-Fri 7am–6pm 3200 SE 17th St (in the YMCA), Ocala, FL 34471 | 352-694-3100 www.facebook.com/cafecrispocala

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Ask about our weekly meal prep specials!

dining out

EAT

Ipanema Brazilian Steakhouse Experience an authentic taste of Brazil featuring roaming gauchos slice and serve fire-roasted meats from skewers in continual fashion. Ipanema Brazilian Steakhouse boasts 12 of the finest cuts of meat complemented by an opulent salad-vegetable bar, decadent desserts, wines, beer and cocktails. Book your private party and catering today! Our Sunday Brunch from 11a to 3p includes the salad bar plus crepe, waffle and omelet station. For $32.95 you’ll receive all of the above plus a free mimosa or bloody Mary and five different cuts of meat and our grilled pineapple.

♥

We are open for Thanksgiving from 11:00 am - 6:30 pm.

Our keto, paleo, gluten friendly buffet menu will allow you to stick to your dietary needs.

Our NEW 3’s Catering Company brought to you buy our family of restaurants Ipanema, Latinos Y Mas and Craft Cuisine.

3sCateringCompany.com

We are extremely grateful to our Marion County community for their continued support during these difficult and unprecedented times.

2023 S Pine Avenue, Ocala | (352) 622-1741 | ipanemaocala.com Closed for lunch › Brunch Sunday 11am-2:30pm › Dinner 4-7:30pm Dinner Tue-Thu 5pm-8:30pm › Fri-Sat 5pm-9pm

Craft Cuisine We will see you soon!

Craft Cuisine World-Inspired Culinary Creations We are closed.

We hope to see you soon and miss you, our wonderful patrons.

Follow us on social media for updates.

Golden Spoon Award Winner!

2237 SW 19th Avenue Rd., # 102, Ocala | (352) 237-7300 craftcuisineocala.com Mon-Thur 4-9pm | Fri-Sat 4-10pm

Latinos Y Mas Our restaurant is the perfect atmosphere for business lunches, family lunches or romantic dinners. Since 1991, Latinos y Mas restaurant has been serving our valued customers in Ocala and surroundings. Try the exquisite fusion of Latin food, such as one of our entrées, including Pargo Rojo, Paella, Ceviches, homemade Tres Leches and our amazing passion fruit Mojitos. Enjoy in house or order from the takeaway menu. Our friendly staff is more than happy to help plan an extraordinary dining experience.

Our keto, paleo, gluten friendly menu options will allow you to stick to your dietary needs. Happy Hour Mon-Thur 3-7pm.

Curbside pick up and family meals available to go.

♥

• Open Now To The Public and To Go Orders • New Favorite Bowls • Family Meals To Go and Pick Up • Online Gift Cards Our NEW 3’s Catering Company brought to you buy our family of restaurants Ipanema, Latinos Y Mas and Craft Cuisine.

3sCateringCompany.com

We are extremely grateful to our Marion County community for their continued support during these difficult and unprecedented times.

2030 South Pine Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471 | (352) 622-4777 www.latinosymas.com Mon-Thurs 11am - 8:30pm | Fri-Sat 11am-9pm | Sun closed OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020 |

59

HOPS CELEBRATING OUR

40th Anniversary PRESERVING THE PAST FOR THE FUTURE WATCH FOR OUR

Spring Garden Tour!

Sponsorship opportunities available, please contact 352-237-5332

Set amid the ambience of the city’s oldest historic district and through the generosity of the homeowners, H.O.P.S. is pleased to showcase some of Ocala’s distinctive architecture, history, and culture. Since 1992, these home tours have provided a rare opportunity for guests to go inside some of our community’s most beautiful private residences.

2020 Historic Ocala Preservation Society Board Members Pamela Stafford — President Brian Stoothoff — Vice President Richard Perry — Secretary Dennis Phillips — Treasurer Linda Anker Giorgio Berry Leon Geller Stephanie Howard R.J. Jenkins Lela Kerley Caryl Lucas Penny Miller Suzanne Thomas Rhoda Walkup Diana Williams Link Wilson

712 S.E. Fort King St. Ocala, FL 34471 | (352) 351-1861 | www.HistoricOcala.org Follow us on Facebook

play

Detail of “Shakespeare” by Jessi Miller 30” x 40” | Acrylic on canvas | IG: jessimillerart | FB: jessimillerart | jessimiller.com

Socially Speaking p62 | Anthology—Poetry in Motion p64

OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020 |

61

EVENTS

socially speaking

An Elite Strategic Partnership

L

ast month, the Ocala/Marion Chamber and Economic Partnership hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the recent strategic alliance partnership between Ocala Magazine and Elite Equestrian magazine.

Elite Equestrian and Ocala Magazine are sharing content and resources to expand their footprints in the equine industry and bring information and entertainment surrounding equine issues to their readers.

In this strategic alliance partnership, OM has already added content from AHP prize-winning author L.A. Sokolowski to its equestrian coverage and this takes OM's distribution national, mailing to high-end tack shops and show arenas around the United States.

Photography by Ralph Demilio

Paul Stentiford, Jenny Conly and Kevin Sheilly

Philip Glassman and Noel Vander Brink cutting the ribbon

Philip Glassman and Bill Vander Brink

Jessica Schultz and Ken Smith

62

| OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020

Noelle and Bill Vander Brink

OM0519

Contact Eric Shaw, Local Rep 352-497-9707

PLAY

anthology — poetry in motion

Values

It’s ok to work for money, luxuries, and power

A bed without sleep

As long as you remember, or don’t forget, that you can have: An abundance of food but no appetite

A beautiful woman or man with no love

Clothing but no beauty A house but not a home

Listen to your inner voice when you make a choice

Medicine but not health

VALUES MATTER!

Books but not wisdom

64

BY JERRY GLASSMAN

| OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020

You can have all the luxuries and money in the world but no happiness

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WWW.THEOCALACHIROPRACTOR.COM Reflux (also called Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD) is caused by a weak muscle in your esophagus called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES)that allows acid and bile to flow back from the stomach into the esophagus, causing damage to the lining of the esophagus, throat and lungs.

1 in 5 patients in the United States suffer from GERD and 20 million Americans are taking acid blocking medications. Around 40% of the patients on medications continue to have symptoms and 15% of those patients will develop Barrett’s esophagus, a premalignant condition that can lead to esophageal cancer. The annual costs associated with GERD are 6 billion dollars per year.

Symptoms associated with GERD include heartburn, regurgitation, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, dental erosions, asthma, chest pain, shortness of breath.

Patient’s with reflux disease often suffer poor quality of OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020 | sleep, reduced work productivity dietary, compromises to avoid symptoms and lifelong dependence on medications.

Although lifestyle modifications and acid blocking medications are able to control the symptoms at times,

67

ELITE EQUESTRIAN

®

Celebrating The Equestrian Lifestyle

We are America’s Favorite Equestrian Lifestyle Magazine, Published Since 2008.

ELITEAN EQUESTRI uestrian ing The Eq

ELITE

EQUESTRI A

ND ICr EActLivA e Riders

®

Celebratin

N

g The Eq uestria

Fo

Lifestyle

®

n Lifesty le

Kat Fuqu a

Celebrat

Foundatio

n For Su ccess

Summer

S tyle

FETY SUN SA ur Horse For Yo

4 20 Issue Volume entary Complim

ON ABINGT KEVIN B sive Interview

rs Exclu His & He

Bridles

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BITLESS

Volume 20 Issue 5 Complim entary

FALL Fashion

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anMagazin

WESTERN DRESSA GE A Look A t Tack

e.com

Elite Equestrian magazine is a proud to be a strategic media partner with Ocala Magazine and sponsor of it’s equestrian feature.

R

iding a horse is not a gentle hobby, to be picked up and laid down like a game of solitaire.

I t is a grand passion.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

ELITE EQUESTRIAN Magazine RANKED 7TH WORLD WIDE Equine Magazines to watch in 2020 -according to Feedspot Blog

www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com To request on-line subscriptions and for media kit inquiries, email info@eliteequestrian.us

equine

Gracious Living in the Horse Capital of the World Photo by Ralph Demilio Everything Equine p70 | The Original EquinistaTM p72

OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020 |

69

everything equine

Be Great Like Kate

BY LOUISA BARTON, Equine Initiative Director at the Ocala/Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership, Farm Realtor and Host of the Horse Talk Show on the Sky 97.3

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| NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM

Photos by Sarah Doran

EQUINE

In

the “The Horse Capital,” the sport of eventing is a huge part of the equestrian community. It is the triathlon of horse competition.

Ocala resident Katie Wentz shared a story with me the other day about her friend, also an equestrian, the late Kate Ryan. Katie Wentz has a daughter, Maya, who rides in the barn of Olympic medalist eventer Clayton Fredericks, who also resides in Ocala.

When I read Wentz’s post on social media that said, “Today is Little Mucker, Kate Ryan’s birthday. She was so present when Maya completed her first FEI show last week and here’s why.” I wanted to know more.

Katie shared that, very sadly, on May 14, 2019, her dear friend Kate Ryan found peace after a long and hard-fought battle with cancer at the age of 34. She left behind a wonderful family, her fiancé Todd Brien, and many dear friends. Kate took great pride in seeing her nieces perform in school events or gymnastics and loved to teach her niece Keeleigh, who has that same real passion for riding and care of horses. Kate also left behind her loving dog Pippa, who was by her side constantly through her battle offering unconditional love and comfort.

October 12, 2019, should have been Kate and Todd’s wedding day; instead, it became a memorial celebration of Kate’s life. After the celebration, Todd passed her hunting shadbelly to Maya for the purpose of international equestrian competition. A shadbelly is a type of riding coat worn in certain equestrian situations by fox hunting members, dressage riders, eventers (in the dressage phase of the higher levels) and sometimes by other hunt seat riders. It is definitely a coat worn for the most formal equestrian sports.

Kate was a tough riding instructor, an incredible equestrian and a member of the South Creek Foxhounds, where she loved to hunt and socialize with her many won-

Kate certainly had the right attitude about her disease and she was determined to live her life to the fullest. She rode horses, competed on them and even ran marathons.

derful friends. Kate loved to join the hunt at the crack of dawn, enjoying a cup of tea or a glass of cheer afterward. Kate certainly had the right attitude about her disease and she was determined to live her life to the fullest. She rode horses, competed on them and even ran marathons. She never allowed her diagnosis to stop her from living and her generosity to others was remarkable.

She loved to give and to help others even in her most difficult times and during the worst bouts with the disease.

On Oct. 3 this year, Maya wore her ‘Auntie Kate’s’ shadbelly to compete. The coat required professional adjustments which were expertly performed by Alterations Unlimited in Ocala. South Creek Foxhounds sent more fabric to re-do the collar and custom South Creek ‘points’ were added. Both Kate and Ryan were South Creek members with “Colours” and so they were proud to represent. Some fancy dressage type buttons were added and Maya and her horse trotted down

the centerline draped in Kate’s shadbelly coat.

Added as the perfect finishing touch was a “Be Great Like Kate Foundation” pin.

Katie, who says a day never passes that she does not miss or think of her dear friend, talks to Kate before each competition, asking her to ride on Maya’s shoulder as her guardian angel. She says, “Maya inherited a tailcoat with guardian angel wings.”

The Be Great Like Kate Foundation has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer patients since Kate’s passing. The foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), provides an escape for patients dealing with the dark days of cancer and treatments by providing a day on a beautiful beach or a day trip somewhere special. The foundation wants cancer patients to live and make memories with family or friends while not having to worry about the cost. This reflects the way Kate lived her life and is her legacy.

Kate Ryan lived each day caring for and loving others. So ‘Be Great Like Kate’ and live today because yesterday is a memory and tomorrow is not guaranteed and Kate’s legacy now goes far beyond the equestrian world.

You may visit BeGreatLikeKate.com online if you would like to donate to this cause.

OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | NOV 2020 |

71

EQUINE

the original equinista

TM

Sister Act X Factor Squared: Katie and Sarah Hoog of C U at X Tack

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| NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM

25-plus years of having dressage horses really gives us an edge.”

Sarah, 41, and Katie, 34, grew up in Miami sharing a palomino Arabian/Quarter Horsecross called Tequila. “We got him when Sarah was ten and he was the best teacher. We learned from him that horses will do anything for you if you know how to ask correctly and kindly.”

Sarah says she was horse-crazy from the time she could walk. “I ran around central Florida without a saddle on my first horses. I started English lessons at four and mostly jumped until I was 17, when I got my first warmblood, Twilight, a Trakehner mare by Troubadour, and truly got into dressage.”

She introduced her little sister to dressage and horse care,

Sarah Hoog

Sarah's childhood horse Tequila

Katie's childhood horse Homebred

The Hoog sisters at their C U at X Tack booth

Photos courtesy of C U at X Tack

W

hen two Florida sisters join up to share their life’s passion, wonderful things can happen; especially when it involves horses. Siblings, entrepreneurs and equestriennes, Katie and Sarah Hoog, are delivering a double dose of ‘X factor’ down the dressage world’s centerline.

In 2017, they launched C U at X Tack, European dressage tack and apparel, offered in-house and online (at prices rarely imported to this side of the pond) through a charming brick-and-mortar shop inside the Dressage Connection in Wellington, as well as via a traveling mobile boutique. They have made a point of going directly to manufacturers: “Dressage is expensive enough. We try very hard to keep it affordable.”

As for the shop’s name, Sarah says an early trainer, Lisa El Ramey, had CUATX as a license plate. “It stuck with us for decades.

We wanted to convey to customers that we aren’t just a store. We ride and show and would love to ‘see you at X’ too.

“We’re passionate about the products we sell because we use everything. We know each product inside and out. Product knowledge is a huge part of this business. You have to know what you’re selling to horse people.”

C U at X sets up a full store at the U.S. Dressage Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park, the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions in Chicago and, closer to home, at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington; plus pop-ups at Crane Hill Farm and the Florida Horse Park in Ocala, Fox Lea Farm in Venice, and horse shows in Jacksonville and Tampa.

Every horse, Katie explains, has a different back, mouth, withers, or hind leg. “You have to know how products fit and suit the need of each horse and rider. I feel like our

Photo by Susan Stickle

BY L.A. SOKOLOWSKI, THE ORIGINAL EQUINISTA™

Photo courtesy of C U at X Tack

and in 2003, Katie moved to Wellington as a working student for USDF bronze, silver and gold medalist Lisa El-Ramey.

“The rest is history,” Sarah laughed.

“Our parents were not horse people. To this day we wonder where this insane passion came from!”

In October, the sisters (currently riding with Amy Speck-Kern of Excel Dressage) took their equestrian edge to the Florida Horse Park as vendors and competitors.

Katie, a seasoned USDF bronze and silver medalist, and Sarah, only back in the game since 2018 after a 20-year career that “didn’t include horses,” both qualified in their respective divisions – First Level for Sarah and Intermediare/Prix St Georges for Katie – to compete in the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 3 Championships presented by SmartPak. The bid to bring the prestigious championships to Ocala had been led by two Florida horsewomen: Global Dressage Visionary Award recipient and managing partner of Wellington Classic Dressage, Noreen O’Sullivan, and Fran Cross, a Level 2 FEI Dressage Steward and ‘R’ Dressage Technical Delegate.

“Qualifying for Regionals is a pretty big deal! The fact that we attended our first Regionals together, both showing our own horses, was pretty amazing!” said Sarah. “The venue was lovely, with great footing and fantastic stabling. Showing there was icing on the cake.”

They juggled five classes over four days while also running their C U at X shop.

“Thankfully, showing is a welcome distraction for me. Getting some time away from the store was nice,” said Sarah, who rode Federer.

The first colt bred in the United States (by Nancy Holowesko) sired by the Westphalian champion, Fidertanz, Sarah said, “Feddy is quirky. It took a year to become his friend but now that we’ve reached that place, he’ll do anything for me. He loves to school in the sandbox or head out on the trails. He’s trained to Prix St Georges but is happy reminding me how to do a correct leg yield or single flying change!”

For Katie, Region 3 offered a shot at three upper level titles with a new addition to the (Stal) Hoog family, a Dutch Warmblood son of Obelisk (bred by the sire’s owner), called Zhivago. She calls the gelding, a maternal brother to Olympic dressage indi-

Caleb on Gimmick, post show

vidual bronze medalist Sven Rothenberger’s horse, Cosmos 59, “A pretty cool dude. He was shown all over Europe and belonged to a good friend in Canada.

“I rode him a few times, realized he was a unicorn and made the decision to buy him.” The analogy to a rare, magical creature rings fairly true. After the death of Dark Pleasure, the Dutch breeding stallion Sarah called her sister’s “partner,” there was a hole in Katie’s heart.

“Zhivago,” Sarah said, “has been helping fill that space left behind.”

At the Region 3 Championships, Hoog hearts were filled with pride when Katie and Zhivago pinned in the top 10 after their Intermediare championship test and accepted their sixth-place ribbon.

It had been a long ride from those carefree southern Florida days on Tequila but the sisters wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“Working in white breeches was a challenge,” Sarah said, “but I enjoyed the conversations with fellow competitors. Most were surprised that I was showing since it’s usually Katie they see in the arena.”

“This was the first time we tried multitasking and it worked quite well. Now that we know we can make it work,” Katie winked, “I think we’ll be showing more often.”

Follow Katie and Sarah Hoog, horses Feddy and Zhivago, and the C U at X Tack pop-up shops at www.cuatxtack.com.

Gimmick stars after surgery The tack shop sisters have an eye for shopping – and talent – as evidenced at Region 3 by their “miracle horse,” the Dutch gelding, Gimmick, named First Level Musical Freestyle Reserve Champion and top 10 (seventh) in the Training Level Open Championships.

It was love at first sight when the Hoogs found the charismatic bay colt a few years ago in Holland. He was the son of the late, great KWPN stallion Oscar (Wolfgang x Nabur), campaigned by both Edward Gal and Emmelie Scholtens. His pedigree was full of potential and they brought him home, full of hope.

But it was a rough road after that. At age three, Gimmick was diagnosed with Kissing Spine, a condition in horses where flanges of bone sticking up along the vertebrae painfully touch or rub against each other.

Spinal surgery, the sisters said, “By the one and only Dr. Omar Maher, made everything possible again. Gimmick is a superstar.”

Omar Maher, DVM, with Atlantic Equine Services of Wellington, graduated veterinary school in Morocco in 2002, and was staff surgeon for the 2011 Pan American Games as well as an FEI veterinarian with a brilliant international reputation as a surgeon and lameness diagnostician.

Gimmick has further blossomed, as proven in Ocala, under dressage trainer Caleb Scroggins. “He loves and trusts Caleb. It’s a great partnership and has built the horse’s confidence so much. It was great to see them at the Horse Park. There were some (okay, a lot) of tears. From everyone that knows his history.”

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FEATURES

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Outside at Hospice of Marion County Photo by Ralph Demilio

Charity: Hospice of Marion County p76 | State of the City p78 State of the County p80 | Kiwanis Korner p82 | Rotary Circle p84 | Looking Back p88

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ETC

charity

Creating a brighter dawn Hospice of Marion County enables quality of life at the end of life

BY CARLTON REESE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY RALPH DEMILIO

C

indy Moody carries with her fond memories of her father and a peace of mind that his final days on earth were spent in comfort.

Having a father diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease presented Moody with a sad dilemma and an awesome burden to carry that was heavy enough even spread among others.

Working full-time while trying to care for her sick dad presented physical challenges for herself as well as the emotional stress and perpetual worry that comes with an Alzheimer patient at home. He would eat sparingly in her presence, but was he eating at all when she was absent?

“He was confused and depressed,” Moody says of those trying times. “After a long, horrific story through the hospital system, I realized he needed to be in a hospice.”

Moody placed her father in the care of Hospice of Marion County, hoping to provide some comfort to her dad and lifting a significant weight of stress and worry from her own state of mind.

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“The moment he got here, I could see glimpses of my dad as I had known him.”

Moody said the staff at HOMC informed her that her father had been in significant pain unbeknownst to her and the doctors.

“When he wasn’t in pain any longer, he began to eat. There were three weeks when I was seeing my dad as I had known him,” Moody recalls the final days of her father’s life. “I was so grateful that I wasn’t worried – has he fallen? Is he eating? Is he in pain?

They came in and did the heavy lifting.”

For a few moments near her father’s passing, Moody was able to interact with a sense of normalcy and file away memories more soothing than had HOMC never entered the picture. Such is the story at HOMC every day and Moody should know as well as anyone – not only was her father treated there, she acts as Charitable Gifts Officer for HOMC and brings an intimate viewpoint to her role.

“You can talk about something all day long, but you can’t talk about it with the

depth of understanding until you go through it,” Moody said. “After having experienced it, I have a much deeper understanding of the sacrifice our volunteers make.”

Moody’s father was also part of the “Transitions Program” which involves patients who have been diagnosed to be eventually terminal and includes volunteers who spend time with patients while offering a respite to primary caregivers. Knowing that someone was always there, fully focused on her father, gave Moody peace of mind she would not otherwise enjoy.

The care provided to Moody’s father comes at a price that often exceeds whatever HOMC receives through Medicare and that is where the need for private donations is so strong.

“The government may provide adequate things, basic things,” Moody said. “They don’t always cover all of the need. They don’t provide for everything that we do—Medicare doesn’t cover all the equipment we might need.”

Because there is government funding for HOMC, many would-be donors balk at the idea with the misunderstanding that their dollars aren’t needed. HOMC is not about “basic” care, but going beyond what

“The moment he got here, I could see glimpses of my dad as I had known him.”

—CINDY MOODY

is merely adequate so that patients and their families receive nothing but the best of care.

Much of HOMC’s service comes under the tag of “charity care” which refers to patients who have no means of covering their own costs be it through Medicare, insurance or private means. Moody says that one day of care costs $196 per patient and defraying those costs come as a result of donations. The “One Gift One Day” campaign takes place during the spring with an emphasis on this indigent care.

The compassionate attention placed on dying patients is fairly recent as many may be surprised to learn. Cicely Saunders in the 1960s became the first true advocate for terminal care in England with an emphasis on palliative care, aimed at optimizing the quality of life and mitigating pain.

Dr. David Elliott studied directly with Saunders and would become the first Volunteer Medical Director of the new Ocala Hospice in 1983. After several moves and a name change to Hospice of Marion County, the organization has expanded with several houses, six thrift stores, a child bereavement camp, the establishment of the Monarch Legacy Society and the opening of the Monarch Center for Hope and Healing.

Through the years, the mission has never wavered: Provide comfort and happiness to those in their final days as well as their loved ones.

“We can’t add days to your life, but we

can add life to your days,” Moody says.

It’s not just elderly patients and their families. “We’ve had parents as young as 30 come in and they have young children.

At our Monarch Center, they come in and help that family, their children, through that grieving process.

Moody recalls one infant not expected to live but a few weeks and the parents wanted to spend Christmas away from the hospital and “enjoy a sense of normalcy.”

“Our staff made that possible for them to bring their little girl home and have Christmas,” Moody recalls. “It was bittersweet, certainly, but they were able to make some memories with their little girl.”

There are several ways to donate to Hospice of Marion County: online at hospiceofmarion.com, by making a personal appointment set up by phoning 352-2915143, or sending a check or money order to Hospice of Marion County, P.O. Box 4860, Ocala, FL 34478-4860.

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state of the city

Trash Talk

From diesel to battery, Ocala cleaning up its act BY: ASHLEY DOBBS, MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, CITY OF OCALA

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| NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM

ment for taxpayers.

In May 2020, the City of Ocala received a $777,000 Diesel Emission Reduction Act Award grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to replace heavy-duty diesel-fueled trucks with zero-emission electric-powered refuse trucks.

The initiative to transition a segment of the diesel fleet to electric power, which will be sourced from Ocala Electric Utility (OEU), will result in fuel cost savings, reduced diesel emissions and operational efficiencies. The electric-powered refuse trucks will be used on residential routes and are 70% quieter than their diesel counterparts. The trucks have an operating range of approximately 75 miles and will be charged overnight (offpeak hours) via 40kW battery chargers.

The trucks will be assembled in the United States by the company, BYD (Build Your Dreams). Known for their innovative,

zero-emission technology, the new sanitation trucks will provide a more environmentally friendly approach to collection practices. Zero-emission vehicles contribute to the overall goal of reducing toxic diesel emissions that pose a danger to the environment.

This is particularly important in populated areas, where the health of residents could be adversely affected. An added bonus, these vehicles run smoother and quieter than their counterparts currently on the road.

As a local municipality, we want to help set the standards for how we are taking care of our residents and our environment. Not only will we maintain the fiscal responsibility that has been entrusted to us by the taxpayers, we want to do our part to reduce emissions in our city and protect our environment for future generations. We look forward to continuing the trend of a cleaner, greener tomorrow for the City of Ocala. Â

Photos courtesy of the City of Ocala

W

e often hear loud trucks rumbling through our neighborhoods. Early in the morning, they wake us from our sleep as the gears shift, the arms raise, trash cans emptied into garbage trucks, each stop creating a little symphony of noise that resonates throughout the neighborhood.

The trucks, while serving an important purpose, unfortunately create noise and pollution while picking up trash and recyclables.

What if there was a way to reduce the noise and, more importantly, the emissions that are associated with these vehicles?

Within the City of Ocala, going green isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just a motto but a commitment that has been made to our residents. The Ocala City Council recently approved the purchase of five battery-electric refuse trucks to be added to the fleet line; the city expects delivery of the three trucks in April 2021, with an additional purchase of two more vehicles scheduled for the year 2022. The new vehicles will replace current models that many people are accustomed to seeing in their neighborhoods.

The City of Ocala will be among the early adopters of the new technology in the country, and one of the first cities to implement these sanitation trucks in Florida.

While upfront costs may be more to start, the city estimates the long-term cost savings are worth the initial investment. With fewer moving parts, battery-electric trucks cost less to repair and maintain. Combined with the fuel cost savings, the electric trucks are estimated to provide a total life cycle savings of approximately $270,000. These savings translate to a significant return on invest-

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state of the county

How Marion County Responded to the Coronavirus Pandemic

BY ALEX AUBUCHON

T

he coronavirus pandemic has disrupted virtually everyone’s lives.

However, even in the height of the pandemic, Marion County never closed its doors or stopped providing services to the citizens who rely on us. In fact, nearly every department found itself innovating to ensure services were still rendered, calls still answered and the needs of the community met.

Marion County Facilities Management scrambled to find ways to keep its highest-risk environments disinfected. In some ways, they were ahead of the curve. Many of the county’s 300 buildings already had systems installed that purified the air using ultraviolet light.

Facilities experts quickly vetted and procured new sanitation solutions. One of these is the Moonbeam 3, a portable system using UV-C radiation to quickly disinfect and sanitize hard surfaces. These systems are now in use at several county locations including courtrooms, libraries and the county jail.

Marion County is continuing to innovate to reduce risk of infection in county facilities. This includes eliminating high-touch surfaces such as light switches and faucet

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handles in favor of smarter, automated solutions and placing soaps and sanitizers wherever strategically appropriate.

Marion County Information Technology had to retool to make it possible to allow employees to work from home when necessary. This didn’t just mean buying laptops and webcams; they also had to set up a new server infrastructure to support the demands of video conferencing. These tools allowed employees to put their health and families first while still providing the highest quality in service to those who call Marion County home – without skipping a beat.

Surprisingly, one of the departments most affected by the pandemic was Marion County Office of Environmental Services, specifically Solid Waste. With so many Marion County residents finding themselves unexpectedly at home, many people took on deep cleaning, remodeling or other home improvement projects. Solid waste tonnage increased 1,500 tons per month in March and April. As Solid Waste Operations Manager George White put it, “the governor told everyone to stay home, so everyone went to the dump.”

State mandates forced Marion County’s parks to close, leaving many park staffers

temporarily furloughed. Fortunately, those same employees were briefly reassigned to Solid Waste to help meet this increased demand for services.

Marion County has been allocated CARES Act funding for those who may need assistance with rent, mortgage payments or utility bills due to a loss of income due to COVID-19.

This funding assistance is for anyone behind on rent or mortgage payments from March 1 until now, or anyone 30 days past due on utility bills for electricity, natural gas, cell phone, internet or cable.

If you have experienced any lost income or reduction in pay due to COVID-19, or if you have incurred any additional expenses due to the closure of schools and day cares, you may be eligible for assistance.

Please visit uwmc.org/crf, dial 211 or call at 352-299-6307 to apply for assistance through the United Way of Marion County. For additional assistance outside of the UWMC, please contact Marion County Community Services at 352-671-8770.

Alex AuBuchon is the Public Information Officer for the Marion County Board of Commissioners.

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The Derby will benefit Rotary nonprofits and the Discovery Center.

Sponsorship opportunities include:

DRAKE—$5,000

You will be recognized as an Elite Duck Sponsor at the event with your logo prominently displayed on all marketing materials, T-shirts, event banners as well as MarionDuckDerby.com which will include a link to your company’s website. Your company name and logo will also be displayed on all “You Got Ducked” yard signs.

You will be recognized as an Elite Duck Sponsor at the event with your logo promine DUCKLING—$1,500 displayed on all marketing materials, T-shirts, event banners as well as MarionDuckDerby.c You will be recognized as a Duckling Sponsor at the event and which will include listed on all marketing materials, T-shirts, event banners as well as a link to your company’s website. Your company name and logo will also displayed on all “You Got Ducked” yard signs.

MarionDuckDerby.com which will include a link to your company’s

DRAKE—$5,000

DUCKLING—$1,500

website. You will also have the ability to put marketing literature at the sponsor table the day of the event.

You will be recognized as a Duckling Sponsor at the event and listed on all marketing mater QUACKER—$1,000 T-shirts, event banners as well as MarionDuckDerby.com which will include a link to y You will be recognized as a Quacker Duck Sponsor at the event company’s website. You will also have the ability to put marketing literature at the spon and listed on T-shirts, the sponsor board, adoption papers, and table the day of the event. social media.

PADDLER—$500

QUACKER—$1,000

Logo displayed on social media and adoption papers. Name You will be recognized as a Quacker Duck Sponsor at the event and listed on T-shirts, recognized on sponsor board. sponsor board, adoption papers, and social media.

PADDLER—$500 For more information visit MarionDuckDerby.org

Logo displayed on social media and adoption papers. Name recognized on sponsor board.

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| NOV 2020 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM

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Ocala and the Air War

Greenville Aviation School was Ocala’s contribution to the World War II effort

Harry Parker

W

BY CARLTON REESE | WITH THE HISTORIC OCALA PRESERVATION SOCIETY

hen considering the aviation industry in Ocala, one immediately turns attention to Taylor Field, the Ocala International Airport located west of town on SW 60th Avenue. But for those few who lived in Marion County before 1962, Ocala aviation meant a couple runways located at what is now an industrial park around SW 17th Street and SR 200.

The last remnants of the old airport were a couple hangars that were torn down in the 1990s to make way for industrial development. The main hangars stood approximately in the current Target store and parking lot. Today, when one is sitting at the intersection of 200 and 464, it is at the end of what used to be a 4,000-foot northwest-southeast runway.

The history of Ocala’s first airport goes back to 1927, but its glory came during World War II when it served host to Greenville Aviation School, which trained pilots who would go on to serve their country overseas.

Auto dealer Wisdom O’Neal was instrumental in helping to lure a primary flight training facility at Taylor Field and in November of 1941 the first class of West Point cadets would arrive. Local aviators David Lee Skipper, John Deen, Red Clemmons and Bill Tankersly would join the roster of instructors.

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Among the pilots making his way through Ocala and into the air war over Europe was Harry A. Parker, later assigned to the 325th Fighter Group flying P-51 Mustangs in the Mediterranean. Parker earned Ace status during the war as he shot down 13 German fighters. He went Missing in Action on April 2, 1945 and is still listed as such, but later reports claim he was killed on a strafing mission southwest of Vienna as he hit a vertical rail-

way signalization and crashed into a hill.

Skipper himself would leave Greenville to serve in the Army Air Force where he spent a year in China and received three air medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The flight school operated until 1944 as the war was coming to a close and graduated nearly 5,000 pilots.

Why Greenville? The school had originally been planned for Greenville, Miss., but when it was relocated to Ocala, the name went with it.

The land for the airport was donated in 1927 by Jim Taylor, hence the namesake. In 1933, Taylor Field opened as a municipal airport with two paved strips and a paved taxiway that led to a paved ramp on the north side of the field. Today, there is virtually no evidence that an airport, let alone a World War II flight training school, ever existed in the area.

In 1962, the new airport west of Ocala opened to supplant the original Taylor Field.

Where carriers such as Eastern Airlines, Air Florida and USAir Express used to serve at Taylor, today the airport serves mainly general aviation, but is the sole heir to the glorious legacy of Greenville Aviation, Ocala’s strongest contribution to the World War II effort.

Special thanks to Steve Hill for his contributions to this article.

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