Resident: San Marco October 2024 by Resident Community News Group

Lofts at Southbank receives final approval from DDRB

By Michele Leivas

The Lofts at Southbank has cleared the final hurdle with the Downtown Development Review Board (DDRB), receiving final approval on the design of its mixed-use development.

The final approval was passed in a 6-2 vote at the Sept. 12 DDRB meeting, with Board Chair Linzee Ott and Board

Member Ennis Davis opposing. The project’s development team presented fresh renderings featuring design updates based on feedback from the board’s July meeting. These included some additional landscaping wrapped around the property and more space between the building and property lines.

Group 4 Design, Inc. Principal Karie Kovakocy confirmed that

this updated design included a slight decrease in the building’s overall footprint as well as additional greenspace through the parking lot.

“The most space we freed up was actually on Home Street,” she said.

The revised renderings gained approval not only from the board but also from some community members as well.

Scenic Jacksonville Executive Director Nancy Powell said the designs presented were an improvement – particularly the updates made to the residential floors.

“I think from a residential standpoint, it’s going to be much more pleasant to live in those units,” Powell said.

Davis said he continued to “struggle” with this project, however, and maintained concerns regarding the façade differentiation, disagreeing with the staff report’s findings on the Home Street frontage.

“Deeper scoring and reveals have been designed for the Home Street elevation, consistent with the condition placed on the conceptual review approval,” the report said.

Davis remained unconvinced.

“When I read through this [staff report], I just kind of disagree with if this project meets façade differentiation,” he said.

The Lofts at Southbank will feature a 10-story building with retail space, self-storage and residential units, including workforce housing as well as onsite parking at the corner of Hendricks Avenue and Prudential Drive in the Southbank area.

5 Star Veterans’ Loving receives Lifetime Achievement Award

For Five Star Veterans Center CEO Col. Len Loving USMC Ret., it was a night out with friends and family, enjoying an award show production and observing outstanding fellow citizens as they took home awards for their selfless acts. Unbeknownst to him, he was about to take home the Lifetime Achievement Award during the taping of the “12 Who Care” awards banquet, produced by First Coast News, Sept. 23, at Alhambra Dinner Theatre & Dining. Loving was recognized and praised for his tireless advocacy for veterans from all branches of service to have a place to call home and a reprieve from life’s difficulties. Alongside his partner and wife, Suzie, the pair has been making sure the lights stay on, and relief remains in sight for those needing their services. Upon receiving the award, Loving thanked his fellow service members and members of the leadership team, while making sure to honor his wife, Suzie. “She’s my best partner and my worst critic,” he shared, smiling from ear to ear.

Col. Len Loving, USMC (Ret.), Board Member MG Ret. Gary Beard and his wife Elaine.

Annie and Bryan Klein

Ron and Katelin Olson

Curry, Steve and Seth Pajcic in good spirits at JALA’s welcome reception; Pajcic & Pajcic was honored for its commitment to the organization.

DIA to consider ‘optimal use’ of riverfront East Landing site

Due diligence could take a year, cost up to $950,000

By Michele Leivas

The Downtown Investment Authority plans to spend up to a year conducting due diligence on the city-owned riverfront East Landing site before considering its future development.

DIA Director of Operations Guy Parola informed the board it could cost up to $950,000 and take up to a year to conduct the necessary due diligence, including market and land use analyses after private developer Cross Regions Group expressed interest in building a 720-foot skyscraper on the site. The land use analysis would include title investigation and subsurface

utility engineering reports to assess what’s underneath the site.

“We’re not going to rely on the asbuilts and what we can discover from the paperwork, we’re also going to do the physical, or soft dig utility locate information,” Parola said.

Doing this subsurface investigation, Parola said, will help identify any underground issues or utilities – such as JEA sewer pipes – that might require relocation or other attention before development could occur.

Optimal use

Another option would involve determining the parcel’s “optimal use,” which considers a larger picture that could involve multiple parcels and their impacts on one another.

“You are looking at the use of a particular parcel for the benefits to that parcel, but also for the benefits and impact to adjacent parcels on achieving your overall long-term goals as part of your plan,” Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer said.

Determining the parcel’s optimal use would require more time because it is an analysis that involves multiple parcels. The cost for this optimal use report would range from $50,000 to $100,000 and take six months to complete for one property only, or $250,000 and nine months to complete for multiple parcels, including private development.

Though it would take longer if these analyses were not done concurrently, Boyer said her preference would be to determine the parcel’s optimal use first, since that report’s findings could save the city money should it render some of those subsurface relocations unnecessary.

Vote-by-Mail ballots available for Nov. 5 presidential election

By Michele Leivas

Vote-by-Mail ballots for the upcoming Nov. 5 presidential election can now be requested via the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office by phone at (904) 255-8683 or picked up in person at the main office downtown.

Eligible registered voters must specify the election for which they’re requesting a mail-in ballot and provide their full name, date of birth, Florida driver’s license or ID number (or the last four digits of their social security number) and mailing address when submitting the request by phone.

The deadline to request a Vote-byMail ballot is by 5 p.m. on the 12th day prior to the election. Once a ballot is completed, voters must put it in the return envelope provided and sign the return envelope. If returning the ballot by mail, voters are encouraged to send them back as soon as possible. Voters can also return their ballots in person the SOE office during office hours or during early voting hours at one of the Early Voting sites.

For a Vote-by-Mail ballot to be counted, it must be received by the elections office by 7 p.m. on election day.

The deadline to register for the 2024 general election is Oct. 7.

Visit www.duvalelections.gov for more information.

The proposed Ergisi Tower is on hold while the Downtown Investment Authority conducts due diligence on the property's “optimal use.”

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Business closures cause concern

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By Michele Leivas

Local residents are expressing concern following a spate of recent business closures in the Five Points and San Marco neighborhoods.

In recent weeks, Five Points has seen the closure of the iconic Sun-Ray Cinema, Mixed Fillings Pie Shop, Alewife Bottle Shop and other businesses. Those departures follow the closing last year of the popular Black Sheep restaurant.

“What is going on here?!” resident Deborah Altman commented on Mixed Fillings’ July 24 social media announcement that it was closing. “Southern Roots, Sun-Ray, then Vegan Cafe JAX/ Thehungrycaterpillar last Saturday, and now you? I’m holding out hope that all these independents and creatives land safely, in a place and capacity that we can still support you.”

While various factors led to the closures of each of the businesses, the rapid succession of shuttered doors has led some residents to express concerns about the climate for small businesses in Jacksonville.

District 7 City Councilmember Jimmy Peluso said he has heard from residents about the recent closures and upheavals in the community – particularly when they involve storied landmarks like the Sun-Ray Cinema. Peluso added, however, that for all the closures the community has seen, it continues to see growth as new businesses fill in these empty store fronts, he pointed out.

“For everything that we’re seeing step out, we’re seeing new folks come in and take a look at those spaces and we’ll probably continue to see that over the next

several decades,” Peluso said.

Mixed Fillings and The Hungry Caterpillar have regrouped and are executing plans for their next chapter. Mixed Fillings is currently searching for a new retail location while hosting pop-ups in the community.

In addition, Bartaco is moving into Black Sheep’s spot and live entertainment venue FIVE will be moving into the Sun-Ray Cinema space.

Seth Darmata opened the Waffle Cone ice cream parlor on Post Street last year. Darmata said the recent closures represent specific scenarios that led to difficult individual business decisions, rather than a downward trend for all businesses in the Five Points area. To the contrary, Darmata said, he thinks things are beginning to pick up for the community thanks in part to the merchants association.

“We’re doing more than I think has been done in a long time, at least the past several years,” Darmata said. “You can see some of that already starting to happen. People are talking to each other.”

Five Points Merchants Association President Stephen Ezell believes the Five Points community has mastered the art of rolling with the punches.

“One of the things that I feel like is the true spirit of Five Points is the pivot,” Ezell said. “As we’re watching all these changes happen and new people move in and old people move out, the neighborhood’s got to pivot and then people have to say what they want.”

Signs of growth

Across the river in San Marco, the news

that longtime fixture Bistro X would be closing in September was tempered by the announcement that a new restaurant concept would take its place. Joel Mesa is one of the restaurant’s new owners who led Bistro X through its Sept. 28 closure. He believes these changes and shifts in the small business community represent Jacksonville’s own evolution.

“I think it’s Jacksonville sort of refreshing and catching up, even,” Mesa said. “Jacksonville is expanding rapidly, so I think as we get these new people, we’re going to have updated restaurants and people who are looking for a little bit more modernization from Jacksonville.”

District 5 City Councilmember Joe Carlucci said San Marco continues to see “good signs of growth” – from the recently opened Voodoo Brewery to the ongoing conversion of the former San Marco Theatre into a new restaurant concept. While the closure of Bistro X was disappointing for some people, Carlucci said, it didn’t necessarily trigger any cause for concern, particularly since the area continues to see new businesses come into the community.

“I think everyone understands some businesses have to make tough decisions,” Carlucci said, “and sometimes it’s just part of running a business.”

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Stellar completes Bolles’ Frank R. Sanchez & Hope and Dana E. Fender Center for Innovation

Architecture, engineering and construction firm Stellar has completed construction of The Bolles School’s new Frank R. Sanchez & Hope and Dana E. Fender Center for Innovation.

The three-story center on the school’s San Jose campus will house Bolles’ science, math and technology programs. State-of-the-art specialty science labs include an Anatomage table – a virtual dissection table used by medical schools around the world. The center will also have areas for advanced robotics, computer programming, IT, engineering and design courses. In addition, classrooms and collaboration spaces can be configured into different sizes to encourage discussion and creativity.

The center also may host special events, such as fundraisers or graduations. The Bolles Center for Innovation opened to students when the school year began on August 14.

Jacksonville prepares for state law banning sleeping on public property

By Michele Leivas

The Jacksonville City Council passed a pair of bills Sept. 24 to ensure the city is prepared for a new state law prohibiting sleeping on public property that went into effect Oct. 1.

Bill #0687 codifies the state law at the local level, prohibiting public camping, urination and defecation. It passed on a 16-1 vote, with District 14 City Councilmember Dr. Rahman Johnson opposing.

Johnson later said he still believes the new state law is an unfunded mandate from the state. Noting that some of the opponents to the recently defeated anti-hate crimes Bill #334 argued that legislation already existed to address the issue, Johnson said this was a similar situation.

“They said the reason that Johnnie Mae’s Law was not passed is because there was a redundancy of law,” Johnson said. “I believe the same thing with this; this was already on the books.”

Bill #0713 provides the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department with an additional $2.5 million in funding to implement and oversee a countywide Homelessness Strategic Plan. A portion of those funds will pay for seven additional positions with JFRD. That bill passed unanimously.

In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida HB 1365, which prohibits homeless individuals from camping in public spaces such as streets, sidewalks and parks, and requires that local government relocate individuals to temporary shelters. The law allows Department of Children and Families to designate “temporary campsites.”

Following a Sept. 16 Rules Committee meeting, District 5 City Councilmember Joe Carlucci said he felt good about the city’s preparations for the new law, including JFRD’s aid in responding to such calls, which he said will alleviate any added burden on the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

“JFRD stepped up and is taking a lead on it and they’re stepping up with additional staff,” Carlucci said. “And they’re going to have trucks to go out and respond to any of the calls that we get for public camping.”

Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, the state law also allows for county residents, business owners or the attorney general to file lawsuits alleging a failure to comply. This gives the city a 90-day window to make any necessary adjustments to ensure it is complying fully with the new law.

“After that 90-day period, we’ll have a lot of good data and insight on what additional support they need, if any,” Carlucci said.

Carlucci said there have been no worthwhile discussions about designating city property for temporary encampment.

“It’s not pragmatic to do that,” Carlucci said. “I think that would create way more problems than anything else.”

In July, Mayor Donna Deegan rolled out the city’s five-year, $14 million plan to mitigate homelessness and prepare it for the enforcement of HB 1365. The mayor’s Homelessness Work Group is comprised of both city and civic leaders. Its goal is for the city to achieve functional zero, whereby the number of people who enter homeless is the same as those who find permanent housing in the same year.

The Bolles’ School’s new Frank R. Sanchez & Hope and Dana E. Fender Center for Innovation houses its math, science and technology programs.

Hope rekindled for Laura Street Trio

By Michele Leivas

A Philadelphia law firm will be brought in as outside counsel to assist the Jacksonville City Council in crafting legislation for a redevelopment agreement for the Laura Street Trio.

The Personnel Committee voted Sept. 17 to retain Ballard Spahr at $625 an hour to help bring the redevelopment agreement across the finish line.

“My expectation is to have a bill filed and through the process by the winter break at the end of December,” City Council Vice

President Kevin Carrico said.

While the city already has law firm Gray Robinson on retainer, Carrico put forward Ballard Spahr for consideration, citing projects it has executed in other cities such as New Orleans and Washington, D.C.

“This Laura Street Trio could really transform our downtown,” Carrico said. “I think having the best firm represent us to help with legislation is paramount in getting this done.”

The city previously allocated $100,000

to acquire third-party law firms. Past Council President Ron Salem said he didn’t anticipate the council exceeding those dollars while crafting a redevelopment agreement since much of the work has already been done.

“I don’t think it’s a six-month process,” Salem said. “I think everyone’s thinking this can be done in 60 days or so.”

Carrico clarified there is no connection between the law firm and lobbying firm Ballard Partners. Jordan Elsbury is

managing partner of Ballard Partners’ Jacksonville office and has been involved with the Laura Street Trio project.

This is the latest development in the ongoing saga of the three historic buildings following a tumultuous summer that saw the city file – and then drop – a foreclosure lawsuit against property owner and developer Steve Atkins. Filed in August, the lawsuit alleged administrative fines in excess of $800,000 for code violations accruing since 2015. On Sept. 16, the city moved to dismiss the lawsuit.

“SouthEast Development Group, (Downtown Investment Authority) and the Mayor’s Office continue negotiations to determine the best path forward in completing renovations of the Laura Street Trio project,” a statement from the mayor’s office read. “Current plans are to move forward without the lawsuit as agreed to by both parties.”

Jacksonville-based Live Oak Contracting issued a press release the same day the lawsuit was dropped announcing its partnership with SouthEast Development Group on the adaptive reuse project.

“Together, Live Oak and SouthEast Development Group will collaborate to present a visionary proposal that promises to breathe new life into these historic assets,” said the release.

When completed, the mixed-use development will feature 169 multifamily apartments, a an Autograph Collection Hotel by Marriott and retail and entertainment spaces.

“As a company that has proudly called Jacksonville home for the past decade, Live Oak is deeply invested in the future of this city,” CEO Paul Bertozzi said. “Our headquarters is right across the street from the Laura Street Trio, making this project incredibly personal. We’re excited to be part of revitalizing a piece of Jacksonville’s history and to create a space that will serve generations to come.”

Southbank’s Prudential Club receives DIA incentives

By Michele Leivas

The Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) has approved an incentive package for The Prudential Club: Garden, Lounge and Liquors, an upscale restaurant and lounge planned for the Southbank.

In its capacity as the Community Redevelopment Agency at its Sept. 18 board meeting, the DIA Board approved a $345,314, Core Retail Enhancement Program (REP) Grant.

Formerly home to WE Insure, Inc. and the American Cancer Society, the existing structure at 1430 Prudential Drive will be transformed into a 9,000-square-foot lounge and dining area, with an additional 7,000 square feet of outdoor seating, including a full-service, 15-seat outdoor

bar and dining and lounge space to accommodate more than 75 guests.

Property owner Phil Visali noted that the American Cancer Society’s “Survivor’s Patio” with memorial pavers will be preserved during the outdoor renovations.

“We really believe the selling point to The Prudential Club is going to be the outdoor garden area, which is almost as big as the inside and that is a 12,000-square-footbuilding,” Visali said.

The property also offers its own parking area in the rear. The boutique liquor shop – Prudential Liquors – was not considered as part of this DIA incentives package.

At the DIA’s Sept. 12 Real Estate and Property Disposition Committee meeting, Visali said the high-end lounges and restaurants he has frequented when visiting

the Tampa Bay area inspired him to bring a similar upscale concept to Jacksonville.

Visali later said he’s grateful to be part of the development that will help put Jacksonville on par with its sister cities. “We’ve got the river, we’ve got the beaches, we’ve got downtown and we have the Jaguars,” he said. “We should be a top destination city, no doubt.”

Visali is also co-owner of the Players Grille in Mandarin as well as a new Players location coming to Brooklyn in the Home2 Suites Downtown Jacksonville.

An artistic rendering depicts the outdoor garden area of The Prudential Club. The Prudential Club

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kathleen thomas* V. geico insurance company

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Planned Giving Council of Northeast Florida

love of the arts inspires estate planning

By Jennifer Logue

When Eli and Martha Bekkum first met in 1974 volunteering on shows at Players By The Sea, they never envisioned being in a position one day to become patrons of the arts.

“Nobody ‘cultivated’ me – I was a school teacher, I didn’t have funds,” Martha Bekkum told attendees at the Planned Giving Council of Northeast Florida’s Sept. 12 member luncheon at Fogo de Chao. “But because we contributed to our 401ks every month, after 38 years, it adds up.”

After decades of faithfully saving for retirement, the Bekkums found themselves in a position to start supporting the local arts organizations that brought them so much joy over the years. As part of their estate planning, the couple has established an endowed fund through the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida that will benefit the performing arts as well as other nonprofits close to their hearts. What’s more, they have also started giving to organizations and nonprofits now instead of waiting for their estate to begin contributing.

“We just thought, ‘we don’t want to do something for an

individual,” Martha said. “We want to do something for the greater good.”

A love for giving

Lifelong community volunteers, the Bekkums can still be found lending a hand at local community theater productions. They first became involved in philanthropic giving, however, through Eli’s job with Boeing at Cecil Field.

“My job was to deal with community relations, and I found money within Boeing that was available (for philanthropic giving),” Eli said.

He soon began securing donations from Boeing to local schools and nonprofits. “That’s how we met some of the people we were donating to – there’s some wonderful people out there and good organizations.”

When the couple, who have no children, retired, they began thinking about estate planning and philanthropic giving. Inspired by articles they had read about local philanthropists Wayne and Delores Weaver, the Bekkums contacted the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.

“I thought, ‘My goodness, if the Weavers trust (the Community Foundation) with their amount of money, we can

certainly trust them with ours,’” Martha said.

Working with the foundation, the Bekkums created a customized estate plan that will fund in perpetuity causes close to their heart.

“We’ve got it set up where upon our deaths, our funds will fund performing arts to Northeast Florida,” Martha said. “That’s what we've been connected to our entire lives.”

John Zell, vice president for development for The Community Foundation, said that when donors like the Bekkums take the time to participate in estate planning, they can rest easy knowing that future stewards will respect their wishes.

“Twenty or 30 years from now, whoever is sitting in my chair will be able to pull your file and say, ‘What did they really mean? And they’re going to read your story and know.”

Tonnie Alliance, director of philanthropy at Westminster Communities of Florida, agreed. Alliance recounted helping a donor prepare an estate plan for 30 years in the future.

“I sat down with a donor and we went over word for word what he wanted,” she said. “At the end of our conversation, when he signed to finalize the documentation, he said to me, ‘Now, my wishes are concluded.’”

Eli and Martha Bekkum share their estate planning journey with John Zell of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida at the Planned Giving Council of Northeast Florida’s September luncheon.

Deegan signs $94 million Community Benefits Agreement with Jaguars

By Michele Leivas

The City of Jacksonville formally executed a Community Benefits Agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars Sept. 13.

Jaguars President Mark Lamping and District 7 City Councilmember Jimmy Peluso joined Mayor Donna Deegan at signing ceremony for the $94 million agreement related to Jaguars’ $1.4 billion stadium renovation. The City Council approved the agreement Sept. 10 in a 13-2 vote, with Councilmembers Rory Diamond and Mike Gay voting against the agreement. Councilmembers Kevin Carrico, Ju’Coby Pittman and Reggie Gaffney, Jr. abstained from voting.

“No matter what else we accomplish in this city, this is a day that will go down in history,” Deegan said at the signing ceremony, held at In the Word International Church on Jacksonville’s Eastside. “It really will be a moment where we really delivered for all of Jacksonville an investment that will transform our community for generations, and especially the community that we’re standing in right now.”

Of that funding, $40 million will go specifically to the city’s Out East area. In addition, each of Jacksonville’s 14 city council districts will receive $1 million, which Peluso explained could go toward a variety of area-specific projects or nonprofit organizations, including some neighborhood associations.

“I think RAP [Riverside Avondale Preservation], SPAR [Springfield Preservation and Revitalization], Murray Hill [Preservation Association], and other neighborhood associations will probably get a couple bucks to be able to run some operations that are important to the community,” Peluso said.

A future City Council vote will help determine the specific allocation of those dollars. Peluso said he hopes the city will start disbursing dollars sooner than later.

“We hope that the mayor’s office, especially this mayor, will put more dollars in early so that we’re really kind of making a direct impact on people’s lives.”

A final farewell to Halloween Doors and More

By Michele Leivas

The doors may be closing for the Halloween Doors and More fundraising event, but its impact and memories for families will live on.

On Oct. 26, the Jacksonville Fairgrounds Exhibition Hall will be transformed by this beloved community event, this time with a circus-themed extravaganza as it welcomes friends and families into the wonder of Halloween Doors and More one last time.

This year marks both the 20th anniversary and final year of the cherished tradition and as a community bids farewell to the time-honored event, people are looking back to the events leading its debut year and the people behind it.

The event was founded by Betty Petway, Susan Dubow and Brooke Acosta-Rua to support Community Hospice and Palliative Care’s Community PedsCare, not just with dollars but by providing a day of hope, joy and magic for its pediatric patients and their families. Every year, at Halloween Doors and More, these families were transported to a world of enchantment and were reminded that they are not alone in their journeys.

Halloween Doors and More has raised more than $10 million over its two decades and every dollar raised has directly supported Community PedsCare.

More information, including tickets, can be found at www.communityhospice.com/events/20th-annualhalloween-doors-more

THE VALUE OF LIFE’S SIMPLE PLEASURES

Members enjoy time-honored traditions throughout the seasons and cultivate meaningful friendships. We look forward to welcoming you into our Club family soon.

Contact Kimberly Patterson for more information. 904.421.2236

kyounkin@gatehospitality.com

Seagrass

City councilmembers join Mayor Donna Deegan at the Sept. 13 signing ceremony for the $94 million Community Benefits Agreement.

Brooke Acosta-Rua, Susan Dubow and Jill McGriff, event chairs for the inaugural Halloween Doors and More event in 2001.

Photo/Instagram: @cityofjax

“Sip, Savor and Support: A Coastal Speakeasy” was the theme for the 22nd annual Delicious Destinations to benefit Ascension St. Vincent’s.

Held Sept. 6-7 at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, the two-day gourmet gathering included a three-course luncheon with wine pairings and a gala tasting event featuring dishes prepared by celebrated chefs. The

Delicious Destinations luncheon benefits Ascension St. Vincent’s

event kicked off with a three-course luncheon that featured cooking demonstrations of each course by Chef Colin McClimans of Washington, DC restaurant Nina May.

Ascension Florida Chief Mission Integration Officer Ann Varner noted that Sept. 27 is the feast day of Ascension St. Vincent’s namesake, St. Vincent De Paul, who founded the Daughters of Charity in 1633.

After more than 46 years of proudly serving Historic Avondale and the greater Jacksonville area, Hooshang Oriental Rug Gallery, a cherished family-owned business, will be closing its doors.

To celebrate Mr. Hooshang’s legacy and express gratitude to our community, we're offering substantial discounts on our rugs from October 8th to 20th, from 10am to 5pm. Come choose a timeless piece of art that can be passed down through generations.

We invite you to take advantage of these special savings, as a way of honoring the deep connections we’ve built with our extended family—our valued customers.

“The Daughters were a community of women who saw hope and possibility despite the challenges they faced,” Varner said. “All these years later, I don’t think much has changed. Ascension St. Vincent’s ministry is only possible because of the faithful – people like our associates, our physicians, our providers, leaders, volunteers, donors and partners; faithful

See more photos from the Sept. 7 Delicious Destinations evening gala on page 24.

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Lou Walsh, IV, CFA President

Monica Batista, Bill Remley and Coleen Rickey

Beverly Flanagan and Amy Swartz

Mary Anne Thomas and Kelly Barrera Ascension St. Vincent’s CEO Scott Kashman and Carrie Miller-Kafrouni

Jean Grimsley, Kristina Abbassi and Pam Johnson

Sofia Muenyi and Karin Stottman

Sara Coryell and Jenn Kjellman

people like each of you gathered here, uniquely called by God to the work placed before us: Take care for the people in our community, most in need.”

MOCA

MOCA Executive Director Caitlỉn Doherty with Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville Executive Director Diana Donovan, University of North Florida President Moez Limayem and City Council Vice President, Kevin Carrico (District 4).

Steve Williams with Peggy Ezell and Leland Wykoff

Tara Roa and Britt Morgan-Saks

Lance Vickery with Emil Alzamora and Annie Walker

MOCA Board Vice Chairman Scott Brown with Benedicte Brown and Sally Anne Brown

UNSUNG HEROES

A passion for preservation

Volunteer: Logan Cross

Organization: San Marco Preservation

Society

Involved Since: 2022

By Michele Leivas

Logan Cross has called San Marco home for many years. While he has always embraced his community, his involvement with the San Marco Preservation Society has given him a deeper appreciation for his neighborhood and its residents.

An active volunteer through other organizations – he is the chair for the Sierra Club of Northeast Florida – Cross got involved with SMPS three years ago. Since then, he has become deeply immersed in the organization and the community it strives to preserve.

“I’ve enjoyed meeting the people, but also getting the feeling that I am, in certain ways, giving something back to the community,” he said.

Cross is the chairman for two SMPS committees: Resiliency and Sustainability; and Traffic, Pedestrian and Bicycle. As Resiliency and Sustainability chairman, Cross is using his voice and platform to help raise community awareness about those two concepts – especially, he said,

because of San Marco’s susceptibility to flooding.

“[The committee] will provide a vehicle for people to get more engaged in the community in a lot of ways,” he said. While he is passionate about the projects and causes he champions for SMPS, he said his favorite thing about volunteering with the organization is seeing and meeting fellow neighbors who are equally passionate about the neighborhood they call home.

“It’s always encouraging to see people who just volunteer their time and their expertise and experience for a cause that they believe in,” he said. “…I feel more part of the community than all the other years I have lived here.”

Logan Cross is chair of the Sierra Club of Northeast Florida.

JALA honors Pajcic & Pajcic at Equal Justice Awards

The Pajcic & Pajcic law firm received the Robert J. Beckham Equal Justice Award Sept. 18 at the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s (JALA) 22nd Equal Justice Awards at the Marriott Jacksonville Downtown. Pajcic & Pajcic was recognized for its support for JALA and the community. In addition to donating $2 million to Edward Waters University and $1 million to the University of North Florida endowment, the firm has raised more than $1 million for JALA through its annual Yard Golf and Lawn Party event.

“The generosity and commitment the Pajcics have shown JALA over more than a decade is positively extraordinary,” said JALA CEO Jim Kowalski. “They have created and grown an event that is not only highly successful as a fundraiser but also a lot of fun and a chance to rub shoulders with sports celebrities.”

The Pajcic firm was founded 50 years ago by brothers Steve and the late Gary Pajcic. Steve’s son Michael and Gary’s sons Curt, Curry and Seth are partners in the firm today.

Murina Buncome Jerome with Melina Buncome

Jim Kowalski with Lois V. Ragsdale, Aaron J. Irving, Esq., Carol Miller, Kathy Para and Nancy Kinnally

Curry Pajcic with Steve Pajcic and Seth Pajcic

Brad Waldrop with Katie Blonski, Clyde Taylor and Darby Taylor

Nicholas McNamara with Bryan Gowdy and Jeff Witt

Mark Sieron with Curry and Seth Pajcic, Duke Regan and Bill Burns

Heidi Kemph, Esq., Donna MacRae and Angela Campbell

Lois V. Ragsdale with Aaron J. Irving, Esq., Carol Miller and Kathy Para

Ronnie and Joslyn Graham Dennis Harrison with Nancy Kinnally City Councilman Michael Boylan with Michael Korn

Attorney James Cummings launches Cummings Mediation

Longtime Jacksonville attorney James Cummings has founded Cummings Mediation, a full-service mediation firm handling all types of disputes, including both state and federal civil cases in all jurisdictions. Drawing on his nearly 20 years of experience as an attorney, Cummings helps parties work together to resolve their differences quickly and amicably.

“I always wanted to focus my energy and my talents on helping people solve problems, rather than just fighting,” Cummings said. “I am passionate about helping people settle cases.”

Cummings noted that by law, every civil lawsuit in Florida must go to mediation before going to trial. “Our judiciary recognized that 99 percent of lawsuits get settled before they ever get to trial,” he said. “Our court system is overloaded and backlogged; mediators serve as neutral, impartial and unbiased facilitators, helping attorneys and their clients resolve their differences and settle their claims without expensive, frustrating and protracted litigation.”

Office Environments & Services rebrands as Office Images

Office Environment & Services in San Marco is rebranding to become Office Images.

Founded in 1955 by Edward J. Boulos, OE&S became a subsidiary of Office Images in 2022. The San Marco location will continue to be led by Market President Madelen Salter

“Office Images is the leading industry authority on the future of the workplace, and we are proud to bring our brand, which is known for creating dynamic spaces that build connection and community, to the North Florida market,” said CEO Bryan Roberts. “Madelen is a visionary thought leader who has been instrumental in our growth and success, and we are grateful to have her leadership guiding us into the future.”

With locations in Atlanta, Nashville and Jacksonville, Office Images is one of the largest Haworth dealerships in the country, providing furniture and architectural solutions nationwide to clients in commercial, government, education and healthcare industries.

While lawsuits can drag on for years, with multiple trials and appeals – racking up thousands of dollars in legal fees – mediation can provide an early resolution to a case, with many mediations being completed in less than a day.

“In just a few hours,” Cummings said, “you can reach an agreement that could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.”

Mediation also gives the parties involved control over the outcome of their dispute, he added. “Mediation is the one time parties have any control – they can be the architects of their settlement instead of putting it in the hands of six strangers on a jury.”

Best of all, Cummings said, mediation brings finality to a case.

“There is no such thing as an appeal to a mediation settlement,” he said. “Once the parties reach agreement, the case is over.

“I absolutely love what I do,” Cummings continued. “I am passionate about finding solutions to problems, and I never give up.”

Donald Smith Jr. appointed to Electrical Contractors Licensing Board

Donald Smith Jr. was recently appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Electrical Contractors Licensing Board.

The chief commercial officer of Miller Electric Company, Smith is active in the community, serving as a member of the American Heart Association Heart Ball Executive Committee. He also serves on the River Club of Jacksonville Board of Directors, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees, and the Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors. Smith attended Florida State College at Jacksonville.

Smith is one of six appointments DeSantis made to the board. Also appointed were Douglas Bassett, Rafael Echarri, Robert Lombardo, Kevin McElroy and Clarence Tibbs.

Madelen Salter

Donald Smith Jr.

James Cummings

ULI North Florida to honor Aundra Wallace as 2024 Visionary Leader

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) North Florida District Council will honor Aundra Wallace as its 2024 Visionary Leader Award at its Oct. 22 Awards for Excellence Gala at Deerwood Castle. The award recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution within the real estate industry and the community.

“Aundra is an exemplary leader and the true embodiment of professionalism, knowledge and passion,” said GreenPointe Holdings CEO Ed Burr, the District Council’s 2021 Visionary Leader. “He is a driving force behind attracting investment and supporting economic development and job creation throughout Northeast Florida. Aundra’s commitment and contributions to our community are an inspiration to all. I cannot think of anyone more deserving to receive this award.”

Wallace is the president of JAXUSA Partnership, the regional economic development arm of JAX Chamber. He directs a staff of 16 in the areas of business development, international, workforce development, research and marketing. JAXUSA’s mission is to be a catalyst for economic growth and maximize the region’s unique resources to aggressively recruit jobs and capital investment in Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties.

Prior to joining JAXUSA, Wallace served as CEO of the City of Jacksonville’s Downtown Investment Authority, where he has directed economic development efforts in the city’s downtown, facilitating more than $150 million in public investment dollars that created more than $800 million in private capital investments during his tenure.

OneJax adds new board members, staff

OneJax recently added three new board members to support the interfaith organization’s efforts to promote respect and understanding among people of different religions, races and cultures.

Susan Schantz is a community trustee who has invested her time, talent and treasure in several local nonprofits, including the Women’s Giving Alliance and the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville.

Pastor John Newman is the senior pastor at The Sanctuary @ Mt. Calvary. Known for his strong communications skills, Newman provides pastoral care to 60 churches in Kenya and Uganda and serves as a counselor and advisor to business and political leaders locally and nationally.

Wanda Willis is vice president for civic leadership at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, where she oversees key strategic community engagement efforts.

“These three individuals bring a tremendous amount of experience and reach to our board,” said OneJax Board Chair Jerry Mallot. “As we go through the process of reimagining our agency, their diverse perspectives and real-world experience will be invaluable to our commitment to eliminate hate in – and unite – our community.”

In other OneJax news, Kierra “Kay” McCray has joined the organization as program and event coordinator. McCray is the founder of Kultivate Strategies, a company that empowers businesses and nonprofits to create meaningful, measurable and sustainable impact globally. In 2019, McCray was the recipient of the Cares Humanitarian Award for her transformative work with young girls through her former nonprofit, Purpose and PowHER. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Bethune Cookman University and a Master of Science in Higher Education Administration from the University of North Florida.

HYDE GROVE

Aundra Wallace

Susan Schantz John Newman

Wanda Willis Kay McCray

Lennar donates $25,000 to Women’s Center of Jacksonville

Lennar Homes recently donated $25,000 to the Women’s Center of Jacksonville to support the organization’s programs and services for survivors of sexual assault.

“We are so grateful to Lennar Homes and President Melanie Raub for their support,” Director of Development Maria AlfonsoJohnson said.

Created in 1989, the Lennar Foundation partners with organizations that aid those less fortunate and make positive contributions to the community.

Emma Richards joins First Coast American Heart Association

Emma Richards has joined the First Coast American Heart Association as marketing and communications director.

In her new role, Richards will raise awareness of heart disease and stroke, which are the number one and number five causes of death in the United States, respectively.

“I am extremely passionate about improving the health of our community, especially because heart disease and stroke impact so many lives on the First Coast,” Richards said. “I know the work we are doing is making a difference, and I am thrilled to join the American Heart Association in creating a world of longer, healthier lives for all.”

Richards previously worked at the American Council of Learned Societies, Sage Publications and the University of Florida Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations and a master’s degree in public relations and communications management from the University of Florida.

Camille Harrison to chair First Coast Heart Challenge

Camille Harrison will serve as the 2024-2025 chair of the First Coast Heart Challenge™, working to engage local companies and employees in joining the fight against heart disease and stroke.

As chair of the Heart Challenge™, Harrison will lead a team of 22 First Coast executives to recruit companies and organizations to take part in various Heart Challenge™ initiatives to raise funds for the American Heart Association while leading actionoriented conversations about employee health, corporate engagement, community health and community transformation.

“Heart disease claims far too many lives on the First Coast and beyond, and like most people, I have seen its impacts within my own family,” said Harrison, executive vice president, Medicare and chief innovation and experience officer for GuideWell. “I am passionate about enhancing health outcomes, education and awareness in our community, and I am honored to lead these efforts alongside the American Heart Association.”

Camille Harrison

Bridgett Snyder of Lennar Homes presents Alejandra Santiago with a $25,000 donation to the Women’s Center of Jacksonville.

Emma Richards

Baptist MD Anderson earns global honor for use of digital tools

Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center has become the first organization in the world to earn top recognition for using digital tools to improve patient engagement and outcomes outside of hospital settings by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

HIMSS’s Community Care Outcomes Maturity Model (C-COMM) measures how health care organizations leverage information and technology to better engage with patients, families and caregivers across community-based service environments such as primary care, home health and telehealth. Baptist MD Anderson received C-COMM Stage 7 validation – the highest level of accreditation awarded by HIMSS, a non-profit body dedicated to improving the quality, safety, cost effectiveness and access to health care through information and technology systems.

The elite recognition signifies the full integration of well-known digital tools like MyChart that allows health information to be shared effectively between patients and their clinical teams, with others such as the Baptist Access app, which features interactive maps, “Find a Doctor” and “Parking Reminder” tools to help patients find where they parked and how to navigate to a specific location inside our health care facilities. The integration and optimization of these tools enhances patient engagement, experience, quality of care and safety and ultimately leads to improved patient outcomes.

“Today, the majority of treatments, care and services take place outside the confines of hospitals or acute care settings,” said Bill Putnam, MD, FACS, medical director of Baptist MD Anderson. “Digital tools help patients navigate their health care journey and help us connect with them and meet them where they are. They allow us to manage and adjust treatments to ensure patients receive the top quality, patient-centered cancer care they have come to expect from us.”

Book a slip for the weekend, voucher for food and beverages included! Reserve your slip today by calling!

Port 32

Have a tiny water vessel? Want to support a great cause for service members and veterans? Come participate in PORT 32’s tiny vessel poker run to win some prizes and support Warrior Sailing a nonprofit helping injured, wounded, and ill service members and veterans by teaching them to sail! Food and drink options included with ticket purchase. No vessel, no problem! **Land Lubbers option available as well!**

If you have a slip at a neighboring marina such as Huckins, Lambs, or Sadlers please reach out to Celina at cheindl@port32marinas.com or 904-717-3577 for a $5 discount.

For more info on Warrior Sailing visit: https://warriorsailing.org/ 4234 Lakeside Dr., Jacksonville, FL 32210

Second Wind Cigars expands offerings to patrons

Second Wind Cigars expands offerings to patrons Luxury lounge

adds libations to a relaxing smoke

Luxury lounge adds libations to a relaxing smoke

There’s a sense of community growing, it’s been fostered by Peter Jaghab, the owner of Second Wind Cigars on Hendricks Avenue. At the local cigar lounge –camaraderie, friendship and passions intertwine – as smokers of fine cigars have discovered a new place to relax, unwind and enjoy a quality smoke with other likeminded connoisseurs.

The boutique lounge has grown in popularity over the last 10 months, so much so, that it has already acquired a beer and wine license to enhance its amenities. With time at a premium, nothing compares quite like embarking on a fine cigar and good company, and now, one can further imbibe with a craft beer or wine. With the recent addition of seven red and white wines, domestics, imported and craft beer from the local favorites Aardwolf, Intuition, Veterans United; Second Wind now has a nice variety of options to offer.

For Peter Jaghab, it’s been a great journey growing the customer base and he’s excited for the future. “We’re seeing a lot more people sit down,” he said. “We’re building more of a sense of community in the lounge, more groups are coming in and people are getting to know one another.”

With 15 plush, high-quality leather chairs in the lounge and four flatscreen TVs hung perfectly for viewing, there’s a high degree of comfort that’s been incorporated. When it comes to entertainment, there’s never a dull moment and showcasing Major League Baseball, the Olympics, and our hometown Jacksonville Jaguars; a game is always on.

There’s a comfortable home-away-from-home feel in the lounge, exhaust systems have been thoughtfully installed to reduce the smoke in the room. The mood is relaxed, the conversation is light, and the choices filling the humidor are outstanding and choices can now be paired with cold beverages.

With over 100 carefully curated brands displayed in the humidor, handrolled cigars are the focal point. Unique to the lounge are lockers and an annual membership for $300/yr., which affords the investor a gratis monthly cigar, and an additional five percent off [already reduced 10%] box pricing. The knowledgeable staff are sure to help customers make a great first choice, or recommend the next box for the seasoned smoker, either way, advice is offered if requested.

Cigars offer unique stories; from germinating the seed to growing and tending to the crops, picking, and sorting leaves, drying, fermenting, aging, rolling, aging again, branding, packaging and distributing, then, finally, the retail shop gets a hold of the product. Each stick has a personality all its own. Come in, hear a story, learn about tobacco and where it is grown, or how it’s procured uniquely from brand to brand.

There’s always someone having a smoke, and now, a smoke and something cold to sip on.

secondwindcigars.com | 904-516-4712 Mon-Tues: 10am-8pm | Wed-Sat: 10am-9pm | Sunday: 12pm-5pm

NAI Hallmark welcomes Tiffany Wein

Commercial real estate and property management firm NAI Hallmark has welcomed Tiffany Wein as a senior associate.

Wein will work with both tenants and landlords, representing industrial, medical office and retail clients. She brings more than seven years of commercial real estate experience to her new role, including work in leasing, capital markets and development.

Prior to NAI Hallmark, Wein worked as a development associate at Scannell Properties, a national industrial real estate developer, leading prospecting efforts for new development sites in the greater Atlanta area. She also worked at Voya on the commercial mortgage loan team, where she closed more than $1.4 billion in commercial real estate loans.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tiffany to our team as we continue our commitment to attracting top talent in our industry,” NAI Hallmark Co-CEO Keith Goldfaden said. “Tiffany’s expertise and passion perfectly align with our core values, and we are confident that she will be a key asset in advancing our mission to be the leading commercial real estate services firm in Northeast Florida.”

Jacksonville author Ron Whittington releases new novel

Jacksonville author Ron Whittington has published a new book in his Parker Glynn thriller series. In Disguise of the Storm follows an undercover investigation into a possible human trafficker with ties to al-Qaeda, set against the backdrop of a recent hurricane. When a U.S. intelligence agency fears there’s a connection between Pakistani “Risky” Bhakta’s suspected prostitution ring and al-Qaeda, Glynn is assigned to find a missing father in search of his runaway daughter while he infiltrates Bhakta’s operations.

Glynn soon discovers Bhakta has total control over the women he employs – and is confronted with a twisted terrorist plot of genocide planned for Western civilization.

To write the novel, Whittington drew on his personal experiences as a first responder after 2008’s Hurricane Ike hit the Texas Gulf Coast, where most of the action in his new book takes place.

In Disguise of the Storm is the fourth book in the Parker Glynn series, which includes Second Strike, Dopplegänged and Free Surface Effect. Glynn also appears in short stories in The Devil You Don’t and Seized Desires. The books are available online at amazon.com and www.ronwhittington.com

Moore, Morris join Berkshire Hathaway

“We

Hathaway’s Metropolitan office, with offices in Avondale and San Marco.

Alicia Moore

Ron Whittington

Tiffany Wein

Punch Morris

‘Every man’s architect’

JAA Architecture offers capability, versatility

John Allmand recalls accepting a small architectural job for a local resort. So small, in fact, that most architectural firms would have turned it down.

“It was just putting a small addition on the back of the hotel’s cart barn,” said Allmand, the founder and principal architect of JAA Architecture.

While working on that project, however, Allmand received a call from the client. The

“My grandmother was a world-famous calligrapher who lived in a small farmhouse in South Miami,” he said. “She taught me to draw in one-point and two-point perspective. That began my fascination with design.”

But home computers were becoming popular then, and Allmand began focusing more on computers than design as a possible career option. He entered the University of Florida as a computer engineering major – but

180 miles per hour.”

While the practice was licensed in 2005, Allmand continued to work for several years for other architectural firms, using his own firm to handle side work. Then in 2008, the financial crash had a tremendous impact on the architecture industry. Allmand was laid off.

“Thankfully, I had my own firm waiting there: ‘Just add water,’” he quipped. “It was

Jacksonville has a project there and wants us to work on it.”

That sort of responsiveness and flexibility has won the firm both commercial and residential projects of all sizes. Allmand said he enjoys the unique challenges of both.

“I’d say that commercial is the mind, while residential is the heart,” he said. “Residential offers an opportunity to develop real, deep, meaningful relationships with

resort was about to be sold, and during the fire marshal’s inspection it was discovered the hotel lacked a life safety plan. The sale was in jeopardy.

Could he help?

Allmand put his entire team on the project, producing the required comprehensive report in record time. The resort sale went through, and shortly thereafter, the new owners hired JAA to renovate the entire hotel – a major assignment that lasted over a year.

“That project transformed how our firm understood what we were capable of,” Allmand said. “It revolutionized our practice.”

Drawn to design

Tackling architectural projects big and small has become a hallmark of JAA, a Jacksonville-based firm that handles both commercial and residential assignments. A Stanton Prep graduate, Allmand credits the summers he spent with his grandmother with cultivating his love for drawing and design.

soon found himself searching for something more fulfilling. After leaving an evening calculus exam certain he had failed, Allmand looked across the street and saw the school of architecture, its windows illuminated and students studying inside.

“In that one moment, the entirety of that experience with my grandmother teaching me to draw and think spatially came rushing back,” he recalled. “I thought, ‘I want to be an architect. That wouldn’t even be work, that would be fun.’ It was the closest thing to an epiphany I ever had.”

The next day, he changed his major. To catch up with the course work, Allmand took a full course load over the summer. After earning his bachelor’s, he went on to get his master’s in architecture from Florida International University while working full time.

“In two years, I had only had five days off,” he said. “So, when I graduated, I suddenly found myself with evenings and weekends free. I hit the ground running at

the perfect time for me to build my firm because the only place to go was up.”

He vividly recalls his first job as a professional architect for a local dentist’s practice.

“I did a floor plan and a rendering for them, and they cut me a check on the spot,” he said. “I was a very young architect, and that money changed my life.”

But the significance of that assignment went far beyond money, he stressed.

“For the first time, I truly felt the pride of having someone else recognize the beauty in my design, and that validation was incredibly meaningful,” he said. “It was a transformative, life-changing event.”

‘Fantastically versatile’

Since then, JAA has grown to a firm of 20 that is licensed in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Idaho.

“We just recently got licensed in Idaho,” Allmand noted, “because a former client from

clients. Commercial is more business-focused – it can be beautiful, but it’s more fast-paced and all about getting it done.

“A lot of firms specialize – they only do commercial projects, or just residential, or they reject projects for being too small or too big,” he continued. “We’re not that smart. We haven’t learned to say no yet.”

That commitment to being “fantastically versatile,” Allmand said, keeps the work interesting.

“I kind of see us as ‘every man’s architect,’” he said. “We’ll help somebody who’s put a sunroom on the back of their house without a permit and now needs an architect while we’re also building midrise buildings in Orlando. We have a very broad area of capabilities, and it keeps things interesting.”

Being versatile also leads to more work.

“We may design a house and then the client hires us for their business. I enjoy that part of my practice.”

John Allmand (bottom center) and the JAA team in front of their office, a historic building in Riverside designed by Henry J. Klutho.

The Law Firm of Pajcic & Pajcic was established in 1974 and has handled more than 12,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases, recovering more than $1.5 billion for our clients. From the beginning, outstanding service was the signature of our firm and remains so today.

Our 17 attorneys have amassed more than 550 years of combined legal experience and zealously represent clients in their time of need. Some of the firm’s practice areas include car, motorcycle, and truck crashes, medical malpractice, as well as litigation concerning dangerous consumer products and unsafe motor vehicles.

Martindale-Hubbell's list of Top Ranked Law Firms

Coastal Speakeasy theme highlights Delicious Destinations

Florida Theatre Blues, Brews, & BBQ

Sip, Savor and Support: A Coastal Speakeasy” was the theme for the 22nd annual Delicious Destinations to benefit Ascension St. Vincent’s.

Held Sept. 6-7 at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, the two-day gourmet gathering included a three-course luncheon with wine pairings and a gala tasting event featuring dishes prepared by celebrated chefs.

This year’s event raised a record-breaking $374,000 for Ascension St. Vincent’s community outreach programs. See more Delicious Destinations photos on page 12.

Numa Saisaelin, Scott and Angela Merritt, Lesley Roberts, Bobby Martin

Bekah and Jason Granstrom Quincy and Jymia Griffith Brisket, wings, pulled pork and more were on the menu Sept. Bourbon & BBQ fundraiser at Bowing Oaks. In addition to barbecue music featuring the Snacks Blues Band and Henry Jones.

Daniel Brown with Heather and Alan Creel

Phil and Rebecca Vogelsang with Jodie Miller and Sarah and Brian Small Ari Jolly with Martha Barrett and John Jolly

Drs Nina & SamerGaras

Dr . Abdi & Kristina Abbassi

Cowboy boots and Stetson hats were on full display at the Cowford Ball Sept. 21, as more than 350 attendees kicked up their heels at Deerwood Castle to benefit the American Cancer Society.

The evening began with a VIP reception at the Jacksonville Sports Car Museum, followed by dinner, live and silent auctions and even a chance to ride a mechanical bull. Live music was provided by The Band Be Easy.

Modeled after the American Cancer Society’s nationwide Cattle Baron’s Ball, the Cowford Ball takes its name from the moniker given to the downtown spot where cattle and horses would cross the St. Johns River. Since its inception, the event has raised more than $10 million for cancer research.

Windisch and Sean Thibodaux

Leigh Walker and Scott Gibbs

David and Sara Graham Jessica and Ben Webster

Matt and Kate Rasnick Sept. 12, when the Florida Theatre hosted its annual Blues, Brews, barbecue favorites, the event featured bourbons, craft beer, spirits

Rance Adams

Nickand Katie Lorimer

Stacy and Thad Gilder

Shawn Spencer with Shawn and Brittany Agee Kelly Louis, Tara Sanborn and Jaime Spencer

‘Fresh, local, affordable’ Local Fare Jax delivers on its mission to make healthy, local foods available to all

Chris Curry was serving as executive chef at a St. Augustine restaurant when he first realized how challenging it was to find fresh, clean, local produce at area supermarkets.

“I’m super passionate about using farm-fresh ingredients,” Curry said. “I’d stop at farmer’s markets and pick up produce on my way to work.”

That passion and those trips to the farmer’s markets would eventually blossom into Local Fare Jax. Founded by Chris and his wife, Cora, in 2011, Local Fare Jax delivers fresh, affordable organic produce, meats and other local products across Northeast Florida. From pasture-raised organic beef and blue eggs to seasonal clean produce, Local Fare provides only the freshest products sourced from farms in Northeast Florida and South Georgia.

“Everything is seasonal,” Marketing Director Justin Bordeaux said. “Just because a (supermarket) product says it’s organic doesn’t mean it’s good – it may have been shipped from 3,000 miles away. The nutritional value isn’t going to be the same as fresh, local, seasonal produce.

Emphasis on ‘local’

“We live and breathe local,” Bordeaux continued. “All the produce that comes through here is handpicked. We could roboticize and automate some of it, but ‘quality’ is that number one word we keep coming back to.”

But “local,” it seems, isn’t always local.

That was something Chef Curry discovered after making friends with some area farmers, who would call him when they had large quantities of extra produce to sell.

“I asked them why they didn’t just sell it at the farmer’s market,” Curry said. “That’s when they told me that a lot of the produce being sold at the markets as ‘local’ was actually coming from places like Mexico, and the local farmers couldn’t compete with those prices.”

He began trying to think of a way he could help local farmers share their fresh, local produce with a wider customer base.

At the same time, Curry’s own family was discovering the benefits of eating fresh, local, clean, organic foods.

“My son has psoriasis, and his doctors were saying he would have it his whole life and there was nothing you could do about it,” Curry said.

After his son suffered a particularly painful outbreak, Cora Curry came across an article linking eczema to gluten. While their son’s doctor was skeptical, they had their son tested and found he did in fact have a gluten intolerance. After making changes to his diet, the psoriasis began clearing up.

Everybody in our city deserves fresh, affordable, local food and it’s our mission to help make that happen.

– Chris Curry Founder

“So, we understand the need to eat clean, fresh, local food,” he said.

Bordeaux agreed, noting that consuming organic local honey can help with seasonal allergies. “By eating local foods, you become part of the ecosystem in some way,” he said.

Growing organically

When Local Fare Jax began, Chef Curry said, it was more of a part-time hobby, with him and his wife sharing extra bags of fresh produce with family and friends.

“Once people started tasting the difference between the fresh produce and store bought,” he said, “word started getting around, and it really just started to grow organically.”

Today, Local Fare Jax has 5,000 active subscribers who can select to receive weekly, biweekly or monthly deliveries of fresh produce, baked goods and other products in varying quantities for different size families. They also offer monthly delivery of fresh, local meats. Delivery is provided across Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties as well as to Yulee and Fernandina Beach at no extra cost.

“I used to pull up to a farm in my Honda CRV and say, ‘Could I have 15 cantaloupes?’” Curry recalled. “Now, we’re pulling up in refrigerated trucks.”

The company website –www.localfarejax.com – also features an online store with a wide range of fresh, locally sourced products.

“We’ve become a hub for any local producers of everything from organic skin care to jams, jellies and sauces to other local products,” he said.

To see Local Fare Jax flourish and thrive is gratifying, Curry said, because it means the company is achieving its mission.

“Everybody in our city deserves fresh, affordable, local food and it’s our mission to help make that happen.”

Luxury consignment store The Snob is a San Marco staple

As you walk through the door, you will immediately know this is no ordinary consignment shop. The windows are decorated with Louis Vuitton and Louboutin. The shelves are lined with Ferragamo, Dior and more.

The walls are covered in an assortment of handbags from vintage to current Gucci. The mannequins are dressed in Balmain and Zimmerman.

The Snob Luxury Consignment Boutique is a San Marco staple, providing luxury fashion to Jacksonville for 30 years. Since its doors opened in 1994, The Snob has become a premier consignment destination for consignors and customers all over the world. The boutique was the first consignment store to advertise in Town and Country, allowing it to market and create wonderful relationships with multi-generational consignors.

Nowadays, with constantly rising price points and concerns for environmental sustainability, purchasing a designer item can be a big financial decision. Luckily, the Snob is a local gem for finding great vintage and authenticated designer goods. While luxury items are a signature offering, the boutique offers many preloved fashion and accessory items at a wide range of price points for women and men.

The Snob offers high-end brands that are not easily accessible in the local market, such as Burberry, Missoni, vintage Pucci and St. John. With a wide range from vintage to current styles, there is a vast collection of day and cocktail wear. It is common for shoppers to find limited-edition fashion accessories like wallets, shoes, and even luggage.

Still can’t find what you’re looking for in store? Luxury sourcing services are their specialty. So, if you are shopping for that incredibly special piece, do not hesitate to reach out. The Snob is your source.

*The Snob Inc, is not affiliated with the brands we sell. Trademarks are owned by their respective brands

The Snob | 1981 San Marco Blvd. Jacksonville FL 32207 | (904) 396-2249 Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

United Way names Stein Fellowship Class of 2025

Class of 2025 includes:

• Allyssa Petersen, manager, grid research, JEA

• Benjamin Cummins, development coordinator, Nassau County Council on Aging

• Catherine Kendall, associate account executive, Dobility, Inc.

• Christopher Toms, coordinator, events and NextUp JAX, JAX Chamber

• Claire Ross, program manager of talent development and recruiting, Miller Electric Company

• Deanna Ellison, chief operating officer, MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation

• Gabrielle Williams, director, student inclusion, Jacksonville University Holden Scyster, chief information officer, READ USA

• Kendra Cash, corporate/enterprise strategist, JEA

• Kiara Ampuero-Cerdan, assistant supervisor, Mayo Clinic LaMiriam Johnson, leadership development solutions specialist, JEA

• Margaux Burton, customer experience specialist, JEA

• Mayanna Perez, consultant product design and new market solutions, Florida Blue

• Sheronda Holzendorf, certified behavioral health case manager supervisor, Quality Life Center

• Tori Foster, director, JAXUSA Partnership

Founded in 2007 by philanthropists Linda and the late David Stein, the Stein Fellowship is a yearlong immersive leadership and mentorship experience for young professionals ages 21 to 40 living in Northeast Florida. The fellowship is designed to build leadership capacity, hone core professional development competencies and create strong relationships with a network of peers and mentors.

“I am thrilled with this year’s class and excited to see the fellows grow in their passion for serving others,” Linda Stein said. “When David and I founded the Stein Fellowship, it was with the hope of building a multi-generational program of leadership and mentorship. In partnership with United Way, our fellowship continues to make a difference in Northeast Florida and improve the lives of others. David would be so happy to hear the news of our next class, and I know he will be guiding us as this impactful year unfolds.”

David Duval, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen are among the PGA TOUR Champions golfers who will participate in the 2024 Constellation Furyk & Friends golf tournament, which returns to Timuquana Country Club Sept. 30 through Oct. 6. This year’s tournament will once again feature some of the top golfers on the Champions tour, along with a variety of fan activities and refreshments. Among the new offerings will be the Cigar Lounge (6th green) and Kendall-Jackson Tasting Room at Hole 16, where fans can enjoy daily specials and exclusive wine tastings. Additional refreshment options will include the Circle K ParTee Porch near the 7th green, North Florida Sales Beer

Garden and Tailgate Village: Located at Holes 17 and 18, the village will feature craft cocktails, food trucks and a craft beer truck as well as live football broadcasts.

Tournament schedule

Pre-tournament festivities begin Sept. 29 with several private pro-am and charity events. The Furyk Foundation Concert featuring the Brothers Osborne and Phillip Phillips happens Oct. 1 at Daily’s Place, followed by the official Pro-Am Oct. 2, during which the golf course will be closed to the public.

Round 1 of tournament play begins Friday, Oct. 4, with Round 2 on Saturday, Oct. 5. The final tournament round happens Sunday, Oct. 6.

Community impact

Since its inception, the Constellation Furyk & Friends tournament has raised more than $3.5 million for local charities.

Among the charities that will benefit from the 2024 tournament are Community Hospice & Palliative Care and Operation Shower. The tournament has also joined with Beaches Habitat for Humanity to build a new home for a local veteran.

“We are grateful for the commitment of Constellation Furyk & Friends and Jim and Tabitha Furyk,” Beaches Habitat for Humanity CEO Steve Gilbert said. “Thanks to their support, we are able to provide a new home for a deserving veteran, helping him achieve strength, stability and self-reliance.”

Tournament tickets are available at www.constellationfurykandfriends.com

THE PLAYERS to mark 50th anniversary by awarding $50,000 grants to local nonprofits

THE PLAYERS Championship will mark its 50th anniversary by awarding $50,000 grants to local nonprofits.

“As THE PLAYERS looks back on five decades in Northeast Florida, it’s only right that we find a special way to give back to the community that has given so much to us,” Executive Director Lee Smith said. “These grants are our way of honoring this milestone and demonstrating our ongoing commitment to supporting the organizations that make a real difference in our hometown.”

Since THE PLAYERS began in 1974, the tournament has generated more than $100 million for Northeast Florida charities.

THE PLAYERS Grant Program is open to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that operate within Baker, Clay,

Steve Stricker tees off at the first hole of the 2022 Furyk & Friends tournament.

By Peggy Harrell Jennings

Folks hopped over puddles as if channeling their inner Gene Kelly, dancing in the rain, during September Artwalk. Those stormy clouds didn’t chase everyone from the place; downtown was buzzing as art enthusiasts hip hopped from Southlight Gallery where photographer Zachary Duke was the featured artist, to The No Name Gallery for the wild and wonderful artwork of Shaun Thurston. A walk down the lane to Leigh Fogle’s Creative Exchange CX904 Gallery 50 N. Laura Street Gallery brought folks to see artists Tiffany Manning and David Engdahl. Manning’s intriguing, colorful, abstract paintings are perfect complements to Engdahl’s elegant, smooth sculptures.

People were chasing the clouds away with dance lessons at the Children’s Chorus

THE CIVIC ORCHESTRA OF JACKSONVILLE*

COMPOSERS OF COURAGE

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13 AT 4 P.M.

JAZZ IN THE GARDEN NORTH FLORIDA JAZZ QUARTET FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18 FROM 5:30 P.M. TO 7 P.M.

Through the heartbeat of our sacred worship, we bring together people of profound difference to serve God, to love and learn from one another.

BURWELL COURT & THE BISHOP’S GARDEN $10 PER PERSON WINE AND CHARCUTERIE

BEACHES FINE ARTS SERIES*

CAMERON CARPENTER

JAMES D. JOHNSON

MEMORIAL ORGAN CONCERT

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 AT 4 P.M.

*FREE CONCERTS WITH A RECEPTION FOLLOWING.

Chasing the clouds away

and creating cartoons at ZINESTER meet up at the Downtown Library.

Despite stormy weather, there was a glorious feeling at The 100th Anniversary Celebration for MOCA. Members and guests marveled at the sculptures of Emil Alzamora and the diversity of “Fill My Heart with Hope” works from the Gordon W. Baily Collection. Frank Stella’s “Project Atrium” continues to inspire awe. Jacksonville Artists Guild member Helen Moody’s paintings at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church are lovely to behold. The church hosts exhibits of local artists on a regular basis and embraces the concept of “Art that praises- art that teaches.”

Larry Wilson’s exhibit “Symbiosis” up through Oct. 10 at FSCJ South Campus, examines and captures the dynamics of harmony and discord as nature and humans interact for bold, thought-provoking paintings.

The Jessie was buzzing at the reception for the “Un-American Gods” exhibit (through Feb. 12) by Jacksonville native Marcus Williams, whose work has been described as “powerful.” Also at the Jessie are Annelies Dykgraaf and Marsha Hatcher’s bold and innovative paintings and woodcut prints. Check out The Florida

Mining Gallery’s sculptures by Jonathan McCree and the exhibit of Edward Walton Wilcox works at Touche’ Gallery on Herschel through Nov. 15 and Dawn Montgomery and Michael Cenci at Happy Medium Books Café on Park Street.

Jacksonville’s newest sculpture, the beautiful and poignant piece “On Allison’s Wings” at Stockton Park by artist David Main, is a personal symbol for the many people who knew and loved this young woman. Its beauty captures the heartbeat of the Angels for Allison organization named in her honor.

Shining brightly: Anna Miller won the poster design competition for the San Marco Art Festival coming up in November, and Erin Kendrick was named Art Educator of the Year by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville.

FSCJ Gallery is hosting an interesting and vibrant exhibit. “Express Yourself” features 54 images by 30 participating JAG artists (including yours truly) juried by Lynn Lewis, FSCJ director of programming and operations. Don’t miss this one! And if you are beating the heat out of town via JIA, check out Cliff Buckley’s exhibit “Ebb and Flow” at the airport gallery.

Play on! Play on!

The inaugural RAP and Jacksonville Historical Society Music Tour is coming up on Saturday, Oct. 12. The main stage is at Willowbranch Park. Get tickets for pop-up exhibits, mini-concerts, guided tours and so much more! Featured band: Curt Towne. For more information, visit riveresideavondale. org. You can’t beat this!

To paraphrase Miro: You can immerse yourself in art for a week and then never think of it again, or be exposed to it for a second and think of it all your life.

Saturday, Oct. 5

Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens Citifree 1st Saturday. FREE entry to the museum.

Thursday, Oct. 10

Lufrano Gallery – UNF Reception for “The Art of Hope” 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. | 25th Anniversary celebration for Operation New Hope. “Hope and Healing for clients building lives after incarceration.”

Friday, Oct. 11 - Sunday, Oct. 13

Tactile Art Exhibit. National Federation of the Blind State Convention. Curated by artist Vickie Lennon Southbank Hotel, 1515 Prudential Dr.

Friday, Oct. 11

Friday Musicale

Candlelight: A Tribute to Queen 645 Oak St. | feverup.com

Saturday, Oct. 12

Riverside Avendale Preservation Music Tour Willowbranch Park | 1 to 6 p.m.

Sponsored by RAP and the Jacksonville Historical Society

Sunday, Oct. 13

Opening reception for “View from My Window” 2 to 4 p.m. | TAC Gallery | 301 E. Admas St.

Tuesday, Oct. 15

Florida Ballet presents “Dracula” Florida Theatre| floridaballet.org

(904)356-5507 • JaxCathedral.org

Do you know of an upcoming event or accolade that helps pump the rhythmic Artbeat of Jacksonville? Send the announcement to us at editor@residentnews.net for consideration in TheBeatGoesOn

Zachary Duke

Tiffany Manning Shaun Thurston

David Engdahl and Dean Scott

Diantha York-Ripley and Helen Moody

Florida Humanities marks 60th anniversary of Beatles’ landmark Jacksonville concert

First integrated concert in the Southeast hailed as milestone in civil rights movement

By Jennifer Logue

Florida Humanities marked the 60th anniversary of The Beatles’ concert in Jacksonville last month with a special lecture and musical performance.

Held Sept. 12 at the Ritz Theatre, “1964: When The Beatles Rocked Florida” was equal parts education and entertainment: Attendees not only relived the heady days of Beatlemania through a performance by The Beatles tribute band Liverpool Live, but also gained insight into the historical context and significance of the Jacksonville concert – the first integrated concert in the Southeast.

Bob Kealing, author of Good Day Sunshine State, set the stage for the evening’s presentation, noting that in 1964, the First Coast was a focal point for clashes and confrontations in the civil rights movement. Just a few months before the concert, in fact, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been arrested in St. Augustine for attempting to dine at Monson’s Motor Lodge. Two weeks later, the murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi made headlines across the nation.

It was amid this simmering racial tension and violence that the Fab Four were touring America. But The Beatles’ contract stipulated that the band would only perform before integrated audiences. And Jacksonville was going to be the first test to see who would fold: The Beatles or the South.

“The Beatles unwittingly inserted themselves into a historic and violent struggle over racial equality,” Kealing said. “Jacksonville proved to the first opportunity in America for The Beatles to advance their developing worldview, as agents of social change.”

Winds of change

For a few days, it appeared that confrontation wouldn’t happen at all, as Hurricane Dora stole the Fab Four’s thunder, forcing their flight to divert to Key West to avoid the devastating storm, which hit the River City as a category 2 hurricane on Sept. 10. Two days later, however, The Beatles went ahead with their Gator Bowl concert –and to an integrated audience.

Among the attendees was Dr. Kitty Oliver, then a 16-year-old Black girl who had grown up in a segregated Jacksonville, drinking from separate water fountains and attending segregated performances. Oliver had heard The Beatles on local AM radio station WAPE and was determined to see them when they played Jacksonville.

“I think that what struck me most

about The Beatles was how they freely acknowledged the influence of Black musicians on their music,” said Oliver, now an author with an MFA in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in Comparative Studies.

While many of Oliver’s Black friends also liked the group, the controversy over the integrated performance had them concerned. She resolved to attend the concert alone.

“I didn’t know the backstory of The Beatles’ decision not to perform to a segregated audience – I was 16,” she said.

“But I knew that in the summer of 1964, my world was already changing. I had participated in a voter registration drive, I picketed in front of Morrison’s cafeteria, protesting segregation there…so maybe the times had a lot to do with putting some starch in my backbone.”

Oliver earned the money for her concert ticket by doing housekeeping chores and made the trek alone across hurricane-battered Jacksonville to the Gator Bowl.

“I walked into that concert, and I was surrounded by a sea of whiteness,” she recalled. “My antennae were up: Was there any danger that might be present? I remember sitting and waiting for the concert to start, holding myself close so that I wouldn’t bump anyone by accident.”

But there were no confrontations or altercations at the concert, Oliver said, “because our eyes were trained on that stage, and The Beatles were about to come on. And when they did, we all rose together as soon as the music started.

“Music became the window to a bigger world.”

SATURDAY

OCTOBER 26, 2024

2 P.M. - 7 P.M. Jacksonville Fairgrounds exhibition hall

A Magical Evening!

Trick or treat for toys at each 14-foot-high Fantasy Door

Stroll Magical Meet and Greet Streets to see favorite costumed characters

Show off your dance moves in the Family Disco

Stop by the Grown-Up Grotto and Food Court to enjoy gourmet food and drinks

Visit the Bootiful Salon for a Spooktacular make-over

Dr. Kitty Oliver recounts attending the Beatles' only Florida performance in Jacksonville – the first integrated concert in the Southeast.

Liverpool Live performs at “1964 When The Beatles Rocked Florida”

Bolles School holds Camp College event for seniors

The Bolles School’s Department of College Counseling recently hosted Camp College, a program designed to support seniors as they navigate the college application process.

Held Sept. 6, the full-day event took place on the Bolles Upper School San Jose Campus, with many Bolles upper school faculty and staff rallying behind the initiative.

Camp College kicked off with seniors being welcomed in Cain Gym by Bolles Director of College Counseling Daphne Vagenas and assistant directors of college counseling Genna DeFalco, Danielle Leach, Dari Pedines and Matthew Wilmer. The seniors then participated in a values exercise, fostering a sense of community and shared purpose, alongside Bolles President and Head of School Tyler Hodges, Associate Head of School Andrew Forrester, Upper School Head Moya Marks, Upper School Assistant Head Piper MoyerShad, upper school teachers Daniel Ferrari, Lily Kuonen, Ashley McLeod and Devan Skapetis, and guidance

The Class of 2025 then broke into smaller groups to meet with their individual college counselors about the Common App before reconvening for a series of activities across campus. The Bulldogs enjoyed attending the Gooding Gallery art reception, coloring, playing card games, participating in rainbow meditation and more.

The seniors gathered on the River Campus for a picnic-style lunch to connect as a class and share their meaningful experiences from the morning. After lunch, the Bulldogs met with their individual college counselors for a two-hour afternoon session focused on supplemental essays, during which they received encouraging notes from Bolles lower school students.

The day concluded back in Cain Gym with a creative and heartfelt activity where students made friendship bracelets. These bracelets, adorned with encouraging words, will be exchanged among students to encourage each other throughout the school year.

Bishop Kenny earns Apple Distinguished School recognition

Bishop Kenny High School has been designated as an Apple Distinguished School, recognized for innovation, leadership and educational excellence in using technology for the 2024-2027 program term.

Schools apply and are selected for the distinction based on their commitment to continuous innovation

in education and use of Apple products to inspire and positively impact teaching and learning.

Apple Distinguished Schools are considered to be centers of educational excellence and must demonstrate a clear vision for how technology-rich environments support learning goals.

The Episcopal experience means learning extends far beyond the classroom. Our graduates Seek Understanding as lifelong learners; Develop a Sense of Self earned through challenge; Live with Honor and Purpose, choosing to lead, do good, and serve others; and Pursue a Life of Faith, in a way meaningful to them while respecting the dignity of every human being. Across our Four Pillars — Academics, Athletics, Fine Arts, and Spiritual Life — Episcopal students find their passions while shaping who, not what, they will become.

Wolfson golfer makes hole in one

counselors Katie Cussen and Lauren Genduso.

Wolfson High School sophomore Michael Rattigan made a hole in one Sept. 10 while playing in a competitive golf match with the Wolfson team at Blue Cypress Golf Course in Arlington. The first Wolfson student in more than 20 years to hit a hole in one during competitive play, Rattigan is expected to lead the Wolfpack into the district and regional championships this fall.

AT&T funds grant to elevate girls’ education

Pace Center for Girls has received a $100,000 grant from AT&T to support the nonprofit’s career and college readiness programs for girls and young women.

A formal check presentation took place at Pace’s Clay County center in celebration of National Literacy Month, highlighting the shared commitment of both organizations to the education and empowerment of young women.

“One of the greatest responsibilities we have as a society is to ensure all girls and young women have access to opportunities that set them up for success in adulthood,” said Mary Marx, president and CEO of Pace Center for Girls. “AT&T’s investment allows us to continue making a meaningful difference in the lives of girls across Florida, providing them with the critical support needed to succeed academically and in their future careers.”

The funding will be used to cover scholarships for girls in Duval, Clay, Leon, Escambia-Santa Rosa, Volusia-Flagler, Orange, Hillsborough and Miami-Dade counties. The grant will further Pace’s mission of equipping girls, who have faced adversity, with the necessary tools to obtain a high school diploma or GED, develop long-term employability skills, and pursue post-secondary education.

Military families participate in outdoor exploration program

More than 200 military youth and their family members were treated to activities in local wilderness parks and preserves through the Blue Star Outdoor Exploration program, a partnership between the National Park Service’s Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Timucuan Parks Foundation (TPF) and Blue Star Families Jacksonville.

“This year’s program introduced these military families to the amazing assets and rich history that we find in our parks and preserves through a partnership with the national nonprofit and our park partners,” said TPF Program and Outreach Director Felicia Boyd.

“We taught them the basics of ethical angling and introduced

them to the Gullah Geechee fishing heritage, connected them to the history in our city, state and national parks, and showcased the ecology that thrives in our preserved natural spaces.”

The Blue Star families participated in a Junior Ranger Angler fishing clinic held at William F. Sheffield Regional Park. Youth ages 6 to 17 and their parents were taught how to properly use angling equipment, including fishing poles, hooks, lures, and nets. Timucuan Preserve and TPF hosted the military families at the Kingsley Heritage Celebration, an annual event held to celebrate African heritage and remember the enslaved who lived at Kingsley Plantation.

Local military families participated in a variety of wilderness activities through the Blue Star Outdoor Exploration program.

PACE Center for Girls receives a $100,000 grant from AT&T to support the organization’s career and college readiness programs for girls and young women.

Episcopal School of Jacksonville dedicates Haskell Center for Science and Student Life

The Episcopal School of Jacksonville recently dedicated the new Haskell Center for Science and Student Life.

The Episcopal School of Jacksonville (ESJ) recently dedicated the Haskell Center for Science and Student Life.

The building was dedicated and blessed at a student-focused ceremony in August. Lead donors to the building were recognized with a special event in the building’s new Harden Hall dining room, followed by a thank you reception for all leadership donors on all three

campuses. The facility also includes a new STEM center.

“We can now provide exceptional opportunities for our students because all of our donors shared our collective vision for what this space could be,” said Head of School Rev. Adam Greene. “We are here because of their sacrificial generosity and their spirit of love and giving.”

The new Haskell Center for Science and Student Life was envisioned as a transformative facility that harmonizes academic rigor with student engagement, providing an environment for scientific exploration and vibrant student life. Designed to foster innovation and collaboration, the building features state-of-the-art science and STEM labs, each equipped with technology

and resources that support sustainability initiatives and real-time data collection.

“This building is not just a structure,” said Nihal Haddad Alwakeel, Haskell senior design manager, public facilities. “It is a vibrant ecosystem where students are empowered to explore their passions, develop critical skills, and prepare for the future.”

Bolles welcomes international students

Bolles welcomed a group of new international upper school students who are part of the Resident Life program this school year. Before the first day of school, these students participated in the English Language Learner Orientation (ELLO), an initiative designed to provide a fun and informative start to the student experience on the Bolles Upper School San Jose Campus.

Under the guidance of Bolles upper school teacher Danielle Jones, the students engaged in activities to help them prepare for success both inside and outside of the classroom. From English language classes covering grammar and U.S. history to class

schedule scavenger hunts, the group gained valuable insight into how to get the most out of their time at Bolles.

This year’s Resident Life students are from all corners of the globe, including Austria, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the Cayman Islands, China, Denmark, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, Panama, Russia, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Fostering Innovation, Building Futures

Bishop Kenny students named National Merit Semifinalists; school awards AP capstone diplomas

Bishop Kenny High School seniors Thomas Cratem, Jack Liuzzo and Jordin Pudpud have been named National Merit Semifinalists in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. They are among the 972 Florida students to be designated as semifinalists due to their high scores on the PSAT exam administered to more than 75,000 Florida juniors in October 2023.

In other Bishop Kenny news, 20 students earned the AP Capstone Diploma™ during the 2023-24 school year. The AP Capstone Diploma program helps students develop critical thinking, research, collaboration and presentation skills that are essential to academic success.

Five of the 20 students are currently seniors: Saoirse Comerford, Ava Farnham, Maxine Librero, Maria Vittoria Rutherford and Sachin Somnarain. The following students are currently enrolled as freshmen in college: Franco Chaluja, Clare Coyle, Mariana Cratem, Alexis Graves, Cristina Jones, Eleanor Kirsch, Alena Lee, Kaylee Mahony, Jackson Martin, Brianna McMillan, Matthew Phan, Matthew Salomone, Melanie Staples, Alejandro Vinas and Amanda Waldrep.

To receive the AP Capstone Diploma, students must earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar, AP Research and on four additional AP® Exams of their choice.

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Help shape Daniel Kids’ stories with double the impact

We all have a story – where we grew up, the people who shaped us, the challenges we faced and the dreams we chased. But too often for the children at Daniel, the start of the story is marked by pain, abuse and abandonment.

Instead of a loving, stable environment, many face uncertainty and fear at a young age. That was all too true for 14-year-old Christopher*, who grew up in an abusive household. In addition to this difficult start, he was also diagnosed with ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Even after being adopted by a loving family, Christopher continued to struggle with depression and anxiety, resulting in serious behavioral problems.

Fortunately, Christopher’s parents connected him with Daniel’s Residential Treatment Center, an in-patient treatment center for children aged 5-17 with severe mental and behavioral issues.

“After several months, our son came home with a different outlook,” said Christopher’s mom. “While he still struggles with becoming easily frustrated, our son was able to learn new techniques and skills for handling his feelings in healthier ways.”

With the right support, children like Christopher can add new, positive chapters to their stories. Through Daniel’s proven programs, they find healing and unlock

their potential. But as a nonprofit, Daniel needs the community’s help in ensuring these children’s futures are bright.

This month, Daniel is striving to raise $140,000 to celebrate 140 years of improving the odds for kids and families in crisis. Thanks to the generosity of the Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Funds, the first $50,000 in donations made during October will be matched.

In addition to helping youth at its Residential Treatment Center, Daniel connects children with foster and adoptive homes, helps homeless teens secure housing and develop independent living skills, and plays a vital role in preventing child abuse by strengthening at-risk families.

“Despite their rough beginnings, these children have the potential to turn their lives around and lead positive, fulfilling lives,” said Lesley Wells, CEO and President of Daniel. “With the generosity of donors, we can make a lasting difference for many years to come.”

Daniel supports an average of 5,000 children and families each year. To donate toward Daniel’s goal - with double the impact during October - please visit danielkids.org or call Dave Cognetta at 904-296-1055 ext. 1033.

*Name and picture changed for privacy.

Jack Liuzzo, Jordin Pudpud and Thomas Cratem have been named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists.

LOCAL FOLKS

Britt Aubley

San Marco trainer brings ‘sparkle’ to personal fitness

“Sometimes I run, sometimes I sprint, but I always sparkle,” Aubley said. “I have so much energy and leftover glitter, so I leave some sparkle all around.”

Aubley started her own personal training business, Britt Fitt, in San Marco, about nine months ago after gaining fitness and coaching experience at other gyms. Her tagline is “Spark Your Strength,” and she felt like it was a good combination of boot camp Britt and sparkle Britt.

“Jacksonville is full of so many people, and I’d like to stand out not only for my business, but also for my own personal self, and myself as an athlete,” Aubley said. “And I love the whole ‘spreading glitter’ thing.”

Her goal is to grow not only the physical strength of her clients, but also their mental and emotional strength as well.

“It takes confidence to be able to come in here, have someone tell you what to do and go through a program,” Aubley said. “For every client that comes in, they come in one person and come out a completely new and better version.”

Aubley’s fitness journey began when she started swimming at 12 years old. She joined the swim club at Bolles and got noticed, earning her a spot on Bolles’ high school team. She earned an athletic scholarship to swim at Florida Southern College, where she was an All-American athlete and earned a degree in exercise science.

After graduating in 2018, she moved to Portland, Oregon, to work as a physical therapy aide. She also helped with insurance and booking.

“I was the catch-all person,” she said. “I learned a lot.” While there, she started working out at Orange Theory

and loved it. When she moved back to Jacksonville a year later, she maintained that membership. She was at the gym so often, in fact – sometimes twice a day – that employees encouraged her to work there. She began as a sales associate and eventually became a coach. She fell in love with it and officially decided to make the switch from physical therapy to fitness.

Shortly after, Aubley was promoted and became the manager of three locations in Orlando.

“It was a fun three years of Orange Theory, but I hit my ceiling,” she said. “I learned everything that I could learn there.”

She decided it was time to take on personal training on her own.

“I have this background knowledge of college swimming to exercise science to group fitness, to a little bit of F45,” Aubley said. “I had such a great background knowledge of fitness that I wanted to run people through my own program.”

Aubley began working as a fitness instructor at San Jose Country Club. This wasn’t her first time working there. In college, she was the kid’s swim coach. As a fitness instructor, she taught group classes and personal training.

“That just exploded, because I knew some of the families from before,” Aubley said. “And all my little kids were now big kids. It was just really easy for me to connect to all these people, because I already knew a baseline of them.”

But the country club started renovating its fitness center, and in the meantime, Aubley didn’t have a space for her classes. Rather than wait for the long renovation, she decided it was time to move on, launching Britt Fitt.

In addition to previous fitness clients from her country club stint, Aubley has attracted clients from her side gig at Row House.

“It’s a perfect symbiosis of lifting weights over here and

do cardio over there,” she said.

When Aubley isn’t busy with her business, she enjoys running with the PRS Running Club and participating in races. The “love of her life,” her German shepherd Rex, helps her train and even joined her for several miles of the Donna Marathon in February.

“He’s 100 pounds of love,” she said.

Aubley has also continued to swim, currently with the Duval Ocean Swimmers. She is also signing up for a triathlon: Aubley started with the sprint triathlon last year and will do the Olympic this year.

“My goal is to do an Iron Man one day,” she said.

Aubley attributes a lot of her success and dedication to a good support system, including her brother Bruce, who works for Alter Ego Running.

“I want to make sure the Aubleys are well known for fitness,” she said.

Her parents, Lisa and Bruce, have always been there for her as well.

“My family is the backbone for me being able to do everything I do,” she said. “They’re hard workers so that their kids can do whatever they need to be successful and be happy and be healthy.”

With a strong family, friends and community support, Aubley hopes to open her own gym near the Riverwalk in the next few years. She’d also like to have access to an outdoor space and incorporate a recovery area with ice baths, foam rolling, compression sleeves, massage therapists and chiropractors.

“The goal is to have that all in one room, in house,” Aubley said, “so, it’s just one big cycle.”

Years from now, she’ll be the massage therapist aiding people after she’s trained her own coaches.

“Jacksonville is going to be such a flourishing city,” Aubley said. “I want to be a part of that growth of health.”

trainer Britt Aubley with her Britt Fitt small group class

By Jennifer Jensen Sprint. Squat. Sparkle. These three words are somewhat of a mantra for fitness enthusiast and personal trainer Britt Aubley.

Britt Aubley

Britt Aubley with her brother, Bruce Aubley Britt Aubley with her mother, Lisa Aubley

Britt Aubley

ANIMAL HOUSE

Hawk rescue reveals critical rescuer shortage

By Julie Kerns Garmendia

The bird, later identified as a red-shouldered hawk, lay motionless on its side, loosely cushioned by a soft cloth lining the bottom of a cardboard box. The terrified bird held its head up just enough to stare straight at the two adults and little girl watching over it, speaking in whispered worried voices. The bird’s eyes glittered with sharp fear, and large claws with razor-tipped talons stayed tightly curled. The fact that it only seemed able to move its head was not a good sign.

“Daddy, will the bird be ok?” Brielle Thompson, 5, anxiously asked her father, Brian Thompson.

“Oh yes, honey, it will be fine,” he replied. “This lady is going to take it to get help.”

It was Mother’s Day weekend, and the Thompson family was inside that Saturday when they heard the distinct, loud sound of something hitting the side of their home fast and hard. Rushing out onto their second-story porch, the family saw a bird lying on the ground below a large window, desperately trying to move its wings and fly but unable to lift. Its head feathers were light brown, with a reddish-cream body and a black tail with narrow white bands.

“I grabbed gloves, a towel and a box to get it off the ground… found a stick for it to bite onto, which it did,” Thompson said. “Then I lifted it up and gently down onto the towel in the box. It did not try to bite or claw me, as if it knew I was only trying to help.”

Thompson called his sister, Mimi Saunders, who immediately posted a message on the neighborhood website Nextdoor. In the message, she described what happened and said her brother had found an injured hawk that was unable to fly. She asked for help from anyone online who might see her message during that holiday weekend.

“People suggested places to call, but the local wildlife rescue organizations we contacted were already full of orphaned baby birds, injured birds or said that they could not accept raptors (all birds of prey),” Saunders said. “We had no idea what to do but knew the hawk was badly hurt and needed a veterinarian.”

Here it was in black and white: what wildlife rescuers and rehabilitators already knew but the public may not fully understand. Many more trained, licensed rescuers and rehabilitators are needed for local injured, ill and orphaned wild birds and raptors.

Currently, Northeast Florida has only one wildlife rescue that can legally care for wild birds and raptors: The Ark Wildlife Rescue in St. Augustine. If The Ark is full, its founder and permitted rehabilitator, Karen Lynch, said that local wildlife rescues could only offer advice, temporarily stabilize birds or help with transport to other licensed bird rehabilitation organizations. Unfortunately, those other bird and raptor rescues are located at least two hours from Jacksonville, according to Lisa Rowell of the Wildlife Rescue Coalition of Northeast Florida (W.R.C.N.E.F.). See the Resources section at the end of this article for the nearest Florida licensed wild bird and raptor rehabilitation facilities.

Until recently, Northeast Florida did have two longtime, nationally recognized wildlife and bird expert rehabilitators whose nonprofit organizations saved the lives of countless birds and raptors of all species over at least four decades: BEAKS (Bird Emergency Aid & Kare Sanctuary ) founded by Cindy Mosling Liliskus and her husband Andy; and HAWKE (Humane Association of Wildlife Care & Education), founded by Melanie Cain Stage with her husband Sam. The loss of these two rescues has left a deadly void with no safety net for native and migratory birds and raptors that need expert rescue, specialized care or rehabilitation for eventual release back to the wild.

BEAKS and HAWKE gradually stopped accepting birds due to obstacles they could not overcome: the founders’ inevitable need to retire, exhaustion after decades of rescue work, their own or family members’ health issues, inability to find or train replacement wildlife rehabilitators, insufficient volunteer help; and inadequate donations to pay for ever-increasing food, supplies and medical care. Wildlife, bird and raptor

rehabilitators pay for their training, licensure and continuing education expenses, including animal care for rescued wildlife. They receive no local government, state or federal funding. The nonprofit rescue organizations must rely on personal funds, public donations and volunteers to continue their lifesaving efforts for birds and wildlife.

Other notable facts that distinguish those two major rescue groups were that both women founders held all federal and state licenses to care for every species of wild birds and raptors – credentials that are difficult to obtain. Federal and state laws protect more than 800 species of native and migratory birds, including raptors, making it illegal to kill, injure, harm or harass, capture or possess, sell, trade or transport protected birds, nestlings, eggs, feathers and nests. Laws also regulate the rescue, treatment, rehabilitation, release or permanent sanctuary provided to wild mammals, reptiles, birds and raptors. Endangered species have additional protections. All wildlife violations are punishable by hefty fines that can include jail time.

Citizens may rescue a bird or raptor but must transport it to a permitted facility or private wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible. The quicker birds receive proper care or rehabilitation, the better their chances for survival and successful release back to freedom.

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) issues two types of permits for rescuers: transporters, who may hold wildlife up to 24 hours before delivery to an appropriately licensed wildlife rehabilitator; or a licensed wildlife rehabilitator permit. Individuals caring for birds must hold current state and federal permits or face the closure of their facilities, extensive fines and prosecution, including permanent loss of licensure.

FWC oversees the licensure program for anyone interested in becoming a permitted wildlife rehabilitator. Northeast Florida desperately needs new rehabilitators to complete the required training and licensure. Information and applications to become a Florida licensed wildlife rehabilitator can be found by creating an online account at www.GoOutdoorsFlorida.com. Those who are already licensed rehabilitators are critically needed to volunteer at local rescue organizations inundated with bird and raptor emergency calls, rescue and transport requests.

Brian and Brielle Thompson found the injured hawk.

Karen Lynch of The Ark Wildlife Rescue holds a juvenile Osprey.

What to do if you find an ill or injured raptor Raptors’ sharp beaks and talons are extremely dangerous, even if they are ill, injured or young, orphaned birds. Use caution and wear thick, protective gloves before handling any raptor. Note the location where the bird was found for rehabilitators, who may release the rehabilitated bird back to its home site. Check trees for adult birds or a nest and return nestlings to the nest if possible. Make every attempt to reunite nestling baby birds with parents to optimize their chances of survival.

Protect downed raptors from predators, including domestic dogs and cats, which will quickly see, hear or smell the bird. Poke air holes into all sides of a box slightly larger than the bird. Place the box over the bird and slide something flat and rigid underneath to contain it safely. Or throw a towel over the bird, avoiding beak and talons, and gently but quickly place it into the box. Give no food or water to the bird, but keep it in a quiet, dark, warm space, according to Audubon Florida recommendations. Keep children and pets safely away from the bird. Transport the raptor to a permitted rehabilitator as soon as possible.

Resources

Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission 24-hour Emergency Hotline: (888) 404-3922 www.myfwc.com

Florida’s raptors: cbop.audubon.org/about/florida-raptors

The Ark Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation needs volunteer transporters, cleaning and construction help (new caging), financial donations and supplies from its website Wish List. www.thearkrescue.org | (678) 523-3754

Audubon Center for Birds of Prey (407) 644-0190 | 1101 Audubon Way, Maitland, FL 32751 www.cbop.audubon.org

Avian Reconditioning Center – raptors only (407) 461-1056 | 323 Lester Rd., Apopka, FL 32712 arc4raptors.org

Marine Science Center Bird Hospital – all species Call ahead for advice and drop-off instructions daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (386) 304-5530 | 100 Lighthouse Dr., Ponce Inlet, FL 32137 www.marinesciencecenter.com

The University of Florida Small Animal Hospital Accepts all species daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (352) 392-2235 | 2089 S.W. 16th Ave., Gainesville, FL 32608

ACPS Adoptable Pets

The following animals are available for adoption from Animal Care and Protective Services. Located at 202 Forest St., the ACPS adoption center is open noon to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.

Palm - ID #A1441912. Neutered, mixed-breed male, 3, 55 pounds, who acts like a puppy, loves attention, walks well on leash and knows his “sit.” Palm is heartworm positive, and treatment would be provided free to any foster.

Guinevere – ID # A1415533. Spayed, mixed-breed female, 6, 53 pounds of sweet sophistication. Gentle nap buddy who loves to be petted and receive ear scratches. Heartworm negative.

Palm and Guinevere can be seen in person to foster or adopt at the shelter, or on the website by choosing “adoptable pets” at www.jacksonville.gov/departments/ neighborhoods/animal-care-protective-services

Guinevere Palm

Injured red-shouldered hawk

Clay County Master Plumbing spans

generations of plumbing experience

For James Pelky, plumbing isn’t just an occupation. It’s a family tradition –one that goes back generations to his father and grandfather.

“Our roots and love for the industry run deep,” said Pelky, owner of Clay County Master Plumbing.

It was back in 1955, he said, that his father took over his great-uncle’s plumbing and heating business in Detroit. Pelky’s grandfather also joined the firm, and by the age of 10, he was tagging along on service calls.

“Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with the trade,” he said.

By age 21, Pelky was a licensed plumber, working with the family business before venturing out with his own firm. When he and his wife, Laurie, moved to Florida in 1999, Pelky established Clay County Master Plumbing. Since then, the company has expanded to cover Clay, Duval and St. Johns counties, with two dozen employees and five divisions: residential and commercial plumbing services; cast iron restoration, epoxy

coating and pipe lining; full septic tank and drain field repair/replacement; commercial new construction; and specialty hydro jetting, camera lines, leak detection, drain cleaning, sewer smell and smoke testing.

“I have never found a plumbing problem I could not solve,” he said. “We are honored that people put their trust in us to solve their plumbing problems and we do not quit.”

Today, as a third-generation plumber, Pelky has two sons who are also successful in the trade. And with 10 grandchildren,

he holds out hope that there may be future generations of Pelky plumbers to come.

“I believe my family could be looking at five or more generations of plumbers,” he said. Pelky is also passionate about motivating and teaching others the plumbing trade.

“As the years pass, I’m noticing fewer master plumber license holders and I would love to make a difference by increasing that number,” Pelky said, “not just for the employee who wants to build a successful career, but also to serve the customer and the community.”

A commercial water heater installation

Unique outdoor shower plumbed by request Residential hybrid water heater installation Septic drain field project on

Dr. Joseph Stokes Bringing light to people’s lives

By Jennifer Jensen

Dr. Joseph Stokes’ first word wasn’t the traditional “mama” or “dada.” Instead it was “light.”

When he was born in 1932, his family didn’t have electricity, but in his small town of Bronson, Florida, they had streetlights. His parents would walk the streets with him in his stroller by the light of the streetlamps. Stokes believes this moment was a premonition to what his life would entail.

“That was the harbinger of my life,” Dr. Stokes said. “To be a light in people’s lives.”

For Stokes, this came in two forms: through his spiritualty and leading people to their faith; and his career as a urologist for more than 30 years.

His desire to go into medicine started when he was 8 years old and discovered an old barn that had racks of patented medicines. He liked to explore the different medicines and it sparked his interest.

As a doctor, Stokes said he tried to shine a light on the issue, show his patients what was really wrong with them. He also endeavored to be compassionate and give them all the options.

“I felt like I needed to shed some light on what’s wrong with them,” he said. “I always tried to take time to explain to people and give them all the options.”

He graduated from Wake Forest College then attended the Bowman Gray School of Medicine. After graduating, he interned at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

During that time, his supervisor asked if he could volunteer as a medic for the elementary school safety patrol field trip to Washington, D.C. That was when he met his future wife, Daythel Rogers, who was a nurse on the trip.

“And the rest is history,” he quipped.

Stokes was drafted as a medic and served in the Navy at Okinawa, Japan, for one year.

“So, we dated by mail,” he added.

After serving in Japan, he went back to Atlanta where Daythel was a teacher in nursing school. He moved to Pensacola in 1960 to work at the Navy Hospital.

The couple married in 1961 and moved to Jacksonville, originally living in Avondale, so Stokes could work as a resident at Duval Medical Center. He then worked for the Mclver Urological Clinic for more than 30 years.

The two were married for 55 years until Daythel’s passing in 2016. The couple has two children: Joseph Stokes III and David Roger Stokes, and two grandchildren.

Healing the soul

Aside from working as a clinical associate professor for five years, Stokes uses his teaching skills – or spiritual gifts, as he says – to teach a bible study group at Windsor Assisted Living.

“Jesus came into my life when I was 13 years old and

I guess the Lord has been sort of the foundation of my life since that time,” he added.

While in medical school, Stokes learned about psychosomatic medicine, which explores the relationships among social, psychological and behavioral factors on bodily processes and quality of life. He then read a book that addressed the spirit and the soul of the body, and he tries to incorporate that into his life and his teachings.

“We are spirit, soul and body,” he said. “We are threepart people. When you ask the Lord into your life, the holy spirit comes in and you get the third part.”

He has brought this teaching to several different groups in which he is involved.

“I felt like I needed to shine light into people’s lives on that,” he said.

He’s also been involved in more than 20 nonprofits since moving to Jacksonville, including the board at St.Vincent’s, Regent University and the Duval County Medical Society. On the spiritual side, he co-founded the Christian Coalition of North Florida, was chairman of the board of Avondale Methodist Church, and served as an advisor for Abundant Life Outreach Ministries.

Stokes was also involved with board for City Rescue Mission for 18 years as well as Rotary Club and the Boy Scouts.

An area where he has been able to combine his passion for faith and medicine was on 10 mission trips in which he has participated over the years. Six of those were medical missions. He has been to Guatemala, Romania, Ecuador and the Philippines.

One of his favorite trips was in 1975 to Palawan, Philippines, where he spent more than a month.

“I saw four miracles happen on that trip that changed my life,” he said.

Stokes has slowed down a bit since that time but keeps busy. Aside from his bible study, he also reads at least two books a week, attends bingo and enjoys other activities, such as gardening. He has been gardening for more than 60 years and at his current residence, he has a small garden in the courtyard. He had two tomato plants that grew 60 tomatoes.

“I keep it neat, and I like doing it,” he said.

Do you know an interesting senior with a story to tell?

Nominate them to be featured in The Way We Were! Submit their names, contact information and a brief description of what makes them a good candidate to editor@residentnews.net

Dr. Joseph Stokes enjoys gardening and tending to his tomato plants.

Dr. Joseph Stokes and Daythel Rogers married on March 4, 1961.

Dr. Joseph Stokes and Daythel Stokes on their wedding anniversary

ElderSource TCARE program helps prevent caregiver burnout

When Chrysandra Reynolds’ father died, the grieving Jacksonville resident was suddenly thrust into the role of caregiver for her dementia-afflicted mother – with no idea where to start.

“I had absolutely no experience as a caregiver when I started taking care of my mom,” Reynolds said. “It was a very, very difficult learning process for me.”

That’s when she discovered ElderSource’s Helpline, which connected her with various community resources that could support her with her caregiver duties. In addition, the Helpline pointed her toward a partner agency that had trained caregiving professionals who could supply respite care when needed.

Reynolds also signed up for ElderSource’s Tailored Caregiver Assessment Referral Program (TCARE). The free program allowed her to work closely with a specialist to create a care plan tailored to her specific sources of stress and individual strengths. By identifying the root causes of her burnout, the TCARE specialist developed strategies to improve Reynolds’ overall caregiving effectiveness. After the first two meetings, the specialist followed up with Reynolds every three months to

monitor her progress and offer ongoing support.

Reynolds was one of 80 local caregivers who received burnout prevention support through ElderSource in 2023. This program proved to be a lifeline, providing Reynolds with essential tools to continue her caregiving journey with renewed strength and resilience.

“We are currently accepting new participants into the TCARE program,” said ElderSource CEO Linda Levin. “We are eager to offer this free resource to more caregivers who, like Reynolds, could benefit from tools and support that help them better manage their responsibilities and avoid burnout.”

Today, Reynolds proudly considers herself a seasoned caregiver, having cared for her mother for the past eight years. But she vividly remembers the time when it all felt too overwhelming, when the weight of responsibility nearly broke her – and the relief she found in ElderSource.

“It took me a long time to get the message: take care of yourself. You got to do something to take care of yourself,” she said. “If there was no ElderSource, none of that would have happened.”

Free Care For Caregivers

Caregiver burnout not only affects you and your family, but those you serve as well. If you’re a caregiver for someone aged 60 or older who resides in Northeast Florida , you are likely eligible for FREE support through ElderSource’s Tailored Caregiver Assessment and Referral Program (TCARE).

Begin benefitting from TCARE’s: Strategies that reduce root causes of burnout

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Halloween here at home

Spooky season is one of the best times of the year in our Resident Community, and I’m grateful for the friendly spirit it brings out in everyone around here.

We live on Granada Park south of San Marco Square, and it is known far and wide as one of the places to trick-or-treat on Halloween night. Our street, in particular, is a hotspot and is typically blocked off to through traffic to make way for the throngs of families and kids enjoying their festive evening stroll.

With few exceptions, most neighbors participate in the opportunity to share candy and goodies, and a good many decorate their doorways and front yards with fall and Halloween décor. Most people are “all in,” as they say, greeting trick-or-treaters at the door and sharing sweet fall cheer.

While there are some neighbors who give out “the good stuff” – big candy bars or cool snacks or Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups in non-miniature version – we stick to the cheap stuff. Every year, I buy pounds and pounds of Dumdums and Tootsie Rolls and Sweet Tarts and the like, and every year it is never even close to being enough to meet the demands of Halloween night. I honestly don’t know how the “good stuff” givers do it; they must have a Halloween candy savings account, because even the

cheap candy is outrageously expensive and heavy and always never enough. So, we do our best with bulk selections of Winn Dixie’s on-sale candy and dispense it until it is all gone.

We are not big seasonal decorators like others in the neighborhood, but we have been known to pull off some sick Halloween entertainment on occasion. One year, our son dressed all in black, including a black mask and boots and took his hunting tree climber up into the oak tree in our front yard. He’d hang there quietly, then convulse and scream bloody murder when an unsuspecting trick-or-treater walked under him. That was pretty good, and probably scarring for some. But it certainly wasn’t as traumatizing as the night my husband removed the chain from his chainsaw and hid himself in the hedges, waiting to pop out with his roaring saw at a trick-or-treater who looked like they could handle it. They probably don’t come to our neighborhood to get candy anymore on Halloween.

But it’s all in good fun! These days, we sit on the front porch and give out all the cheap stuff until we have a big sticky, empty bowl and close the door and turn off the porch lights by 8 p.m. That’s when it’s time to finish up the chili I make in the crockpot each Halloween and head to bed. We leave

the fun Halloweening for the funner, moreinto-it, younger parents and Halloweeny folks. No one seems to mind or egg our house or scream under our bedroom window or anything. So that’s good.

I’m always amazed by and grateful for the folks who go big or go home when it comes to Halloween decorating. You see it all through San Marco, Riverside, Avondale and Ortega. For some of those homes, “go big or go home” means a big seasonal flowering plant array and check-ribboned wreath from Anita’s Garden Shop. There are a couple of houses, though, that really get into it. I think about the walled home on the S-curves with all the scary decorations and the other on Boone Park that take it to the limit each Halloween and Christmas. Are there still haunted houses? Do people do that anymore? Or are there houses that kids think are haunted and dare each other to approach? We had some of those growing up in San Antonio, but I guess there aren’t too many of those real haunted houses left now because those are real estate opportunities, not double-dog dares.

I know some churches still do Trunk or Treats in their parking lots in lieu of Halloween, and that’s nice for the right crowd – the crowd who wouldn’t appreciate some grown weirdo man coming at them

with a chainsaw. Also, the Halloween Doors & More event for the Community Hospice Foundation’s PedsCare is another popular Halloween alternative for folks in the neighborhood. Our daughter volunteered for this event during high school, and it was always very well done. I like the spirit of helping others with your Halloween spice. That’s a heck of a lot better than facilitating some Halloween road trip down to Orlando for that ridiculous Halloween Horror Nights. If you are the parent of a kid who enjoys that kind of thing, you know what I’m talking about. Gah, Orlando? When our sweet little neighborhoods have so much to offer during spooky season? When you could drive over to Granada and see my teenager suspended from a tree? I don’t get it. Of course, I had one who loved HHN and another who did not. Isn’t that how it always is with kids? Oh well, you do you but that’s a whole lot of driving and ticket-paying and avoidable shenanigans, in my opinion.

So, getting back to our Resident Community, things are simpler and more spirited here. Who needs to go anywhere when you can celebrate in style right here in the ’hood? Forget HHN, you can just send your kids to school and scratch the itch. All the schools in our neighborhoods usually let some dress code slide a little and allow students to wear something festive or costume-like on or before Halloween. I’m sure there are rules about nothing violent, dangerous, too scary or too revealing, but what a great opportunity to let kids be creative. And don’t forget the local stores and restaurants – most of them have nonspooky seasonal sales and specials and some of the employees even dress for the occasion. Our neighborhoods are long on treats during Halloween.

Whether you’re celebrating the season with a new wreath from Anita’s or a juiced-up, chainless piece of landscaping equipment, let’s get our boo on and be grateful for our neighborhood spirit!

CPhilip Voss, 76, a retired

family and friends.

Born Sept. 25, 1947. Capt. Voss was the son of Danish immigrant Axel Voss and Delphine Voss of Natchez, Mississippi. As a youth, he was very active in scouting and attained the rank of Eagle at age 14.

Remembering

Forever in Our Hearts

Capt. Philip Voss

Captain of his high school football team, he graduated from Cathedral High School in Natchez in 1965 and from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.

Upon graduation from college, he attended Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Fla., where he was commissioned an ensign and later was awarded his Navy wings. During a long and distinguished Navy career with many tours in Jacksonville, he served in seven carrier squadrons, logged 6,000 flight hours and made 750 carrier landings on 10 different aircraft carriers. He commanded two carrier squadrons: VS-30 on the Saratoga and VS-27 at Cecil Field.

During his naval career, he earned a Master of Arts degree in National Security Affairs from the U.S. Naval War College and served as a “CNO Fellow” on the Navy’s Strategic Policy Analysis Group. During his last three years in the Navy, Capt. Voss served as the commodore of Sea Control Wing, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, which was responsible for all Atlantic Fleet S-3 Sea Control squadrons. He retired as a Navy captain in 1995 after 31 years of naval service.

After retiring from the Navy, he established a defense consulting company in Jacksonville, Aviation Connections, which merged with Logistics Services International (LSI) in 1998. At LSI, he served as the vice president of marketing, corporate vice president, chief corporate development officer and chief marketing officer. He also served on the board of directors, where

he was instrumental in converting LSI to employee ownership in 2006.

Capt. Voss was a devout Roman Catholic and longtime member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where he served on the school board and as the chairman of the Building and Finance Committee. He was a 4th Degree member of the Knights of Columbus and was very active in the Jacksonville community, serving as president of the Rotary Club of West Jacksonville. He served as one of the first chairmen of the West Jacksonville Citizens Planning Advisory Committee (CPAC). His service for the Boy Scouts of America included executive board vice president for endowments for the North Florida Council, which awarded him the Silver Buffalo award. He received the “Distinguished Eagle Scout” award from the National Eagle Scout Association.

Capt. Voss was preceded in death by his parents; two older brothers, Frederick Voss and Robert Voss; and his younger sister, Elizabeth Voss.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Nancy Glenz Voss; five children, Suzanne Voss Lucy Dane Bravo (Phil) of Jacksonville, Commander Matthew Voss, USN, Kathryn Voss Kukla (Steven) of Coronado, Calif., and Erik Voss (Kelley) of Los Angeles, Calif.; six grandsons and four granddaughters; his sister, Delphine Voss Prestridge; and two brothers, Carl Voss (Glenda) of Natchez, Miss., and William Voss (Jean) of McComb, Miss.; as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. September 25, 1947 – August 4,

Cheryl “Cheri” Smallenberger O’Neill, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully on August 30, 2024, in Jacksonville. Born on June 20, 1946, in Springfield, Ohio, Cheri lived a life marked by compassion, dedication, and joy.

As a passionate and dedicated professional, Cheri’s career included roles as an LPN, staff member for Mayor Jake Godbold, deputy press aide under Tommy Hazouri’s administration and executive vice president of the Gator Bowl Association for 25 years. Her commitment to public service and community made a significant impact.

As a woman in sports, she paved the way for others. When she went to Tallahassee to invite FSU to the Gator Bowl for Bobby Bowden’s last game. When they arrived, she was told by FSU coaching staff that no woman had ever been in Coach Bowden’s tower before. She was well respected in her profession and beloved by all the press with whom she interacted.

Cheri’s compassion extended beyond her professional

capacity; she was involved in two medical missions in Honduras and would have continued if not for COVID.

Outside of her professional and charitable achievements, Cheri was known for her vibrant personality and love for life. She enjoyed playing tennis, writing, reading, traveling and boating. Her greatest joy, however, came from spending time with her family and creating cherished memories that will live on in the hearts of those she touched.

Cheri is survived by her devoted husband, Robert W. O’Neill; her loving daughters, Staci Gullman (Ted, predeceased) and Cynthia Miller (Brad); and her cherished grandchildren, Meghan Fauss (Kyle), Courtney Gullman, Kelsey Thayer (Ryan), Joshua Miller (Nicole) and Hannah Johnson (Alex). She is also survived by her greatgrandchildren, Jackson, Cameron, Sammie, Teddy and Sophia and her two cats, CeeJay and Miss Kate. Cheri was predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Gladys Heinzen; her siblings, Stephen and Richard Heinzen; and her son-in-law, Ted Gullman IV.

aptain

naval officer, defense contractor and longtime resident of Jacksonville, died peacefully Aug. 4, 2024, surrounded by

EPA