Community Bulletin and Business Briefs

Community Bulletin

Thanksgiving travel in the state of Florida is projected to increase 10.9 percent this year from 2009, with more than 2.2 million Floridians taking a trip of 50 miles or more away from home between Wednesday, Nov. 24 and Sunday, Nov. 28. The complete AAA/IHS Global Insight 2010 Thanksgiving holiday travel forecast can be viewed at AAA.com/news

The 20th annual Florida Film Festival, sponsored by Full Sail University, has released its event lineup for the festival from Friday, April 8 to Sunday, April 17. To view the lineup and to purchase tickets, visit FloridaFilmFestival.com or call 407-629-1088 ext. 0.

“The Art of Hope: Commemorating the First African-American U.S. President, Barack Obama” opened on Friday, Oct. 8. Miami artist Billie Grace Lynn was awarded with Best of Show for her “President Barack Obama Kite,” and received a $1,000 prize. “For Such a Time as This,” a tapestry quilt by Winter Park-based Quilters Hope Together received $500 for second place. The two-venue exhibition is at Crealdé School of Art and the Hannibal Square Heritage Center and will be on display through Monday, Jan. 17. Visit www.crealde.org.

Rollins College and the city of Winter Park recently awarded five community members with the inaugural “Winter Park-Rollins Community Recognition Award,” honoring those who have contributed to the success between Rollins and the city. The following winners were recognized: Sgt. Jon Askins, community service division of the Winter Park Police Department; Elizabeth Brothers, former associate vice president of development at Rollins College; Hal George, founder and president of Parkland International Realty; Jana Ricci, marketing director of The Mayflower Retirement Community and Bruce Stephenson, professor of environmental studies at Rollins College.

The Florida Native Plant Society has established a grant honoring Sam Hopkins, founding member of the Society and Tarflower Chapter. To fund this grant, members of the Tarflower chapter and friends of Sam Hopkins can send donations to the Florida Native Plant Society, P.O. Box 278, Melbourne, FL 32902-0278 and designate Account# 15340 on the check. All donations must be received by Tuesday, Feb. 1 and are tax deductible.

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, unveiled the agency’s newly redesigned home page at www.socialsecurity.gov that will help visitors more quickly and easily find the information and services they need. See for yourself at www.socialsecurity.gov

Rollins College, along with the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce and Winter Park community members, collected 16,201 pounds of food for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

Insight Credit Union recently delivered more than 30 pounds of barbeque and all the trimmings to the Russell Home for Atypical Children in Orlando.

Ongoing holiday donation drives

During November and December, Whole Foods Market, 1989 Aloma Ave., will be accepting food donations for HOPE and their Sonshine Food Pantry. Drop off non-perishable food donations at the designated location near Customer Service.

Seniors First 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 Friday, Dec. 31, the Fund will double your donation. To learn more, visit www.foodbankcentralflorida.org

Give the gift of a smile by picking up a DOVE card or dropping off a new unwrapped gift for a child ages 0-17 at Starling Chevrolet, City Arts Downtown, Demetree Chiropractic, Christian HELP or any Qdoba location by Tuesday, Dec. 14. Call 407-834-4022 for additional locations or to host a drive or visit Christianhelp.org

Business Briefs

A brand new, state-of-the-art pediatric ambulance designed specifically to care for pediatric and neonatal patients was recently unveiled at Florida Hospital for Children, which received donations from community members throughout Central Florida. Their generosity is recognized through the exterior artwork of the ambulance, which incorporates their names in a colorful, playful design.

ATHENAPowerLink is pleased to announce the appointment of Christi R. Adams, Senior Counsel at Foley and Lardner, to the Governing Board of the entrepreneur advisory organization based at Rollins College.

NAI Realvest recently negotiated a renewal lease agreement for 11,034 square feet in Citadel International, a Class A office building located at 5950 Hazeltine National Drive in southeast Orlando.

Winter Park-based .Com Marketing’s CEO, Hillary Bressler, will receive an award from the Women’s Executive Council. Through successful pay-per-click management and SEO campaigns for clients, Hillary has made the company a trusted authority in the Internet marketing industry. Visit www.commarketing.com

Mez R. Birdie CCIM, CPM, SCSM, Director of Retail and Investment Services at NAI Realvest, has been appointed court receiver for the Lee Vista Plaza on South Semoran Boulevard in Orlando.

Stephen Jones has joined D&A Building Services Inc. as Government Sales Specialist.