WOMEN’S CONFERENCE COMING TO FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF BRANDON

First Baptist Church of Brandon is hosting its annual Women’s Conference on Friday, March 3 from 7-9 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and food trucks will be on-site from 5-7 p.m.

According to Anna Montes, communications director at the church, the church is expecting a full house for this event. Past events have drawn big names such as Kirk Cameron, performer Charles Billingsley as well as Jen Crider, the daughter of Christian award-winning artist Sandy Patti.

This year’s special guest speaker is Gracia Burnham, a missionary, public speaker and author of several books who made national headlines surrounding her kidnapping. For 17 years, Gracia, along with her husband, Martin Burnham, served as missionaries in the Philippines, where Martin was a jungle pilot delivering mail, supplies to other missionaries and transporting sick and injured patients to medical facilities. Gracia served in the aviation program and also homeschooled their children — all of whom were born in the Philippines. In May 2001, the Burnhams were taken captive by a Muslim militant group. In addition to the Burnhams, the group seized several more hostages. In the following months, some of the hostages were killed, but most were set free. By November 2001, only the Burnhams and one other hostage remained in captivity.

For more than a year, and under the total control of their captors, they were living in primitive conditions in the jungle, enduring gun battles and witnessing unspeakable

By Kelly Wise Valdes

atrocities.

Soon after the events of September 11, the news media took a greater interest in Gracia and Martin’s plight and kept their story in the national headlines.

On the afternoon of June 7, 2002, over a year since their abduction, the Philippine military attempted another rescue.

Tragically, Martin was killed during the gunfight. Wounded but alive, Gracia was rescued and returned home under a national spotlight.

Her unique story and the captivating way she tells it makes Gracia a popular speaker for churches, conferences and schools. Gracia travels throughout the country revealing the spiritual lessons she learned during her captivity and how God has blessed her and her family since Martin’s death. She is also the founder and director of The Martin & Gracia Burnham Foundation.

“I’ve had the honor of being Gracia Burnham’s pastor for about eight years now,” said Dr. Mark Penick, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Brandon. “When Gracia is not traveling the world telling her remarkable story, she’s rocking babies in the church nursery or singing in the choir.”

The women’s conference at First Baptist Brandon will also include guest musical artist Amy Shreve. Gracia’s books will be available for purchase.

To purchase tickets in advance, please visit www.fbcbrandon.org or call 813-6891204. Tickets may be purchased at the door. First Baptist Brandon is located at 216 N. Parsons Ave. in Brandon.

ALL HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY K-12 STUDENTS ENCOURAGED TO ENTER WATER CONSERVATION POSTER CONTEST

Hillsborough County K-12 students are encouraged to channel their inner artist, blend it with a passion for water conservation and enter the 2023 Drop Savers Water Conservation Poster Contest, which is sponsored by Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa.

All Hillsborough County students from kindergarten through 12th grade can enter the contest by creating a poster depicting water conservation. Each student who enters a poster in the contest must create an original idea that portrays water conservation in a slogan and/or drawing form. Each poster will be judged on the message, creativity, originality and artistic ability. The poster must be drawn on 8.5 by 11-inch white paper and may be drawn vertically or horizontally. Students may use crayons, paint, colored pencils or markers. No highlighters, photos or computer graphics are permitted.

There are five divisions in the contest:

• Division one: Kindergarten and first grade students.

• Division two: Second and third grade students.

• Division three: Fourth and fifth grade students.

• Division four: All middle school grades.

• Division five: All high school grades. Each school will select one winner from each division for submission to the local level. A panel of water conservation specialists from Hillsborough County Water Resources and the City of Tampa Water Department will judge all school winning posters on the message, creativity, originality and artistic ability and choose a first, second and third-place local winner for each division. The firstplace local winners will advance to the statewide level, judged by the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association (FSAWWA).

The submission deadline for the local-level judging is Wednesday, March 1. Learn more about the Drop Savers Poster Contest rules on the Drop Savers Poster Contest webpage at http://www. hcflgov.net/.

The first-place local winners for each division will win:

• A bottle-filling station installation at their school (this is only available to public schools).

• Customized reusable water bottles imprinted with their artwork to share with their classmates.

• Posters of their artwork to take home and for display in their art classroom.

• A water conservation retrofit kit (low-flow aerators and showerhead, toilet leak detection dye tablets, hose nozzle and more).

• Inclusion of their artwork on water conservation awareness posters displayed above bottle-filling stations throughout Hillsborough County (Find locations at www. hcflgov.net/waterconservation).

• Inclusion of their artwork on promotional materials for future contests.

• Advancement to the statewide-level FSAWWA Drop Savers Poster Contest for additional prizes.

In addition, first, second and thirdplace local winners from each division will get their artwork displayed on www.hcflgov.net and www.tampa. gov. All participants will receive a certificate of appreciation.

Students who enter the statewide competition can win gifts cards, a plaque with poster, a water conservation kit and more.

For information about the 2023 Drop Savers Water Conservation Poster Contest, email waterconservation@hcflgov. net or call 813-612-7705.

UNITED WAY SUNCOAST’S VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM HELPS TAXPAYERS

United Way Suncoast is sponsoring the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program to help community members with their tax returns for free.

Through the program, taxpayers in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties will be assisted by IRS-certified volunteers. VITA aims to help low and mid-income individuals get a return on their taxes without having to pay for a tax preparer.

“Our goal is to provide no-cost, accurate tax return preparation for households with an income less than $74,000 and ensure that they receive every credit they are entitled to,” said United Way Suncoast’s financial stability manager, Nichole Pena. “One in five taxpayers who is eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit does not claim it; that equates to $135 million in the Suncoast region alone in unclaimed credits each year.”

In the last two years, VITA has helped return over $20 million to the five-county area. VITA volunteers have also caught key mistakes on tax returns done by paid tax preparers to ensure a larger return to the individual. Over 400 individuals are trained to serve at over 40 locations across the area.

Electrician

By Lily Belcher

All VITA sites are currently open and accepting appointments until Tax Day on Tuesday, April 18. However, after Tax Day, at least one site in each county will reopen in June to assist individuals with filing prior year returns or resolving a letter from the IRS.

“The VITA program was started in 1971 as a partnership between the IRS and trusted community organizations such as nonprofits, colleges and universities and municipalities to provide no-cost, accurate tax preparation services,” said Pena.

Prior to attending an appointment to receive help from the volunteers, taxpayers should bring their Social Security card, ID, federal income tax return from last year and other income information.

Pena advises taxpayers to make sure all tax returns are accurate and to be wary of fraudulent tax preparers. She said some can decrease or increase your return by manipulating the information on the return, making the taxpayer liable for tax fraud.

For more information on the VITA program or to book an appointment with the IRS-certified volunteers, visit www. uwsvita.org or call 1-833-UWS-VITA (897-8482).