Community Bulletin and Business Briefs

Community Bulletin

The Winter Park Police Department will be joining state and local law enforcement agencies and highway safety groups in supporting an aggressive national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign. Stepped-up law enforcement activities will be conducted during the 2010 Click It or Ticket mobilization period Nov. 21-30.

The Edgewater High School Crew Team is having their annual Poinsettia sale through Wednesday, Nov. 24. Prices range from $4-$20. The Poinsettias will be delivered the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Order forms are available at www.EdgewaterCrew.org or by contacting Elaine Galloway at [email protected]

Orange County Animal Services, 2769 Conroy Road, is offering free adoption of senior pets ages 6 and older for citizens ages 55 and older through Tuesday, Nov. 30 in recognition of Senior Pet Month. Call 407-254-9140 or visit www.ocnetpets.com for more information.

Valencia Community College professors Dr. Linda Speranza and Dr. Diane Reed have authored “Heads Up: Successful Strategies for Planning a Career in Health Care.” The 77-page pocket sized book serves as a resource for middle school and high school students (and their parents) who are interested in pursuing careers in the health care field. Visit www.tatepublishing.com or www.amazon.com

America’s top chefs are teaming up to fight childhood obesity in Orange County public schools. Working through Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), the chefs will turn up the heat in school kitchens to make cafeteria food look and taste better but with fewer calories and fat. Dommerich Elementary in Maitland is one of the 15 pilot schools.

The Central Florida Chapter of Sons of the American Revolution gave the following awards recently. The Heroism Commendation Medal to Orlando Police Master Sgt. Thomas H. Woodall and Orange County Fire Rescue members Patrick Husic and Eric Siena. The Fire Safety Medal to Orange County Fire Marshal Supevisor Delores Miranda. And the Law Enforcement Commendation Medal to Detective Errol Colon of the Winter Park Police Department.

An Orlando family is raising money for a bone marrow transplant for their dog Potter, who was recently diagnosed with canine lymphoma. The operation costs $20,000 and Potter would be the 34th canine recipient ever. To learn more or to donate, visit https://sites.google.com/site/pottershope51505/

Park Maitland School’s “Healthy 100 Kids” visited stroke rehabilitation patients at Winter Park Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, Oct. 26. “Healthy 100 Kids” aims to teach children healthy ways to improve their minds, bodies, and spirits through eating right, exercising, and giving back to their community.

Maitland screenwriter/filmmaker Art D’Alessandro’s TV movie “She Drives Me Crazy” just won the Gemini Award, Canada’s equivalent of the Emmy Award, for Best TV Movie. Visit Nightfirefilms.weebly.com for more information.

Winter Park resident Andrew Weinstock collected more than 3,700 pounds of Halloween candy in support of “Operation Gratitude.” His goal for this year was to one ton but he collected almost two! For more information, call 407-733-7033 or visit www.operationgratitude.com

The median sales price of a home in the Orlando area held steady at $105,000 for the second month in a row, reports the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. The median price for October 2010 is a 5.11 percent increase from the $99,900 overall median price recorded in August. Compared to the October 2009 median price of $130,000, the October 2010 median price of $105,000 represents a decrease of 19.23 percent.

Ongoing holiday donation drives

During November and December, Whole Foods Market Winter Park, 1989 Aloma Ave., will be accepting food donations for HOPE and their Sonshine Food Pantry.

Seniors First recently began its annual Holiday Shoebox Drive to collect gifts for senior citizens. To donate, or for more information, call Michelle Lowe at 407-615-8962 or e-mail [email protected]

Second Harvest Food Bank is partnering with the Give Back Central Florida Fund to announce the “Give Back Central Florida Challenge.” When you donate between $1,000 and $50,000 to Second Harvest before Dec. 31, the fund will double you donation. To learn more, visit www.foodbankcentralflorida.org.

Business Briefs

Peter Gilgan, founder and chief executive officer of Mattamy Homes, recently awarded a gift totaling $10 million to Oakville Hospital Ontario for the hospital’s capital campaign. Mattamy Homes U.S. Group is headquartered in Winter Park.

In June 2010, CTH+A completed the $197 million renovation and rehabilitation of Orlando International Airport’s (OIA) Airsides 1 and 3 to complement the newer Airsides 2 and 4.

RLF, a Winter Park-based architecture, engineering and interior design firm, served as architect-engineer for the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center that recently opened in North Chicago, Ill. The RLF team designed the facility’s centerpiece, a $130 million, 209,945-square-foot ambulatory care center that includes both primary and specialty care outpatient clinics as well as ancillary services.

NAI Realvest recently negotiated the sale of the 10,523-square-foot Buffet City restaurant and its 2.02± acre site at 4551 13th St. in St. Cloud for $1.5 million.

Emerson International recently negotiated a new lease agreement for 1,405 square feet of office space at Louisiana Office Park in Winter Park.

Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A., has launched its new website at www.lowndes-law.com. The dramatically redesigned site embodies the firm’s forward–thinking vision and commitment to the growing needs of its clients and visitors.

CFE Federal Credit Union was voted the Best credit union in Central Florida by members, friends and readers responding to the Orlando Business Journal Readers’ Choice Awards annual survey. To celebrate, members and visitors to CFE’s website will be able to score 10 chances to win 10 prizes totaling $3,000, plus they’ll have a chance to win a $1,000 grand prize. The sweepstakes runs through Dec. 31. For official rules and to learn more, visit mycfe.com/best.