Issue 208, December 3, 2023
I can’t believe it’s December! This year has flown by, and we are finishing it off with a bang. First, we had 56 children attend our Christmas Kids program at Target this past Saturday. Kudos to Rene Zook for putting this together and soliciting extra sponsors so we could have more kids. The base of this donation was started with our hard work at TPC last Spring. This event was a record-breaker and of course The Grinch (thanks, Woody) and Mr. and Mrs. Claus (thanks, Adam) made a surprise visit. Each child was also gifted a Chrome Tablet donated by Aaron Enos with Sensible Recycling. We have such an awesome club.
Next up, please join us for the last program of the year, our holiday party at ALoft in Tapestry Park this Friday. It’s not too late to sign up but you must do this no later than Tuesday. AJ Richwine and Gloria Vinson has pulled out all the stops and put together a great evening of dancing, a four-course buffet, and a cash bar with the first round paid for by our sponsors: “Gold level”-Landco Properties/Gloria Vinson, and “Silver”-AJ Richwine, Angelo Volpe, Mike Ammirata, and Matt Carlucci. Thank you all for being so generous.
This past week, our speaker was Eric Mann, President/CEO of the First Coast YMCA. We learned that Eric has been with the “Y” in many capacities for over 40 years. He is very community involved, sitting on city, hospital, and business boards, and heads up the Jacksonville Civic Council. He served as co-chairman of JCC’s Race and Social Justice Task Force for two years and has been on that board since 2014.
Eric spoke on how the “Y” operates and is controlled by their board. They are a private nonprofit. They have a lot of facilities planned for the future but cannot build them until there is actually enough money raised or donated. In NW St. Johns County, three acres were donated by the Peyton’s, but the money needed for the building has not been fully raised. Currently, the First Coast has 16 locations with a $41M budget. They work closely with new immigrants coming to town, and serve the community with over 55,000 members, and 50,000 others.
This Wednesday, join us for the last meeting of 2023 when we host Daniel Davis, President of the Jacksonville Chamber. We will also hold elections for our 2024 officers. Please see this newsletter for the proposed slate.
Have a great week and a festive December.
Respectfully,
Jeanne Maron
2023 President
