LifeSouth Community Foundation BOD meeting

Posted on November 4th, 2022 by

LifeSouth Community Foundation BOD meeting

Last year our high school blood donors saved 64,500 lives.

Yesterday I traveled to Gainesville to attend the LifeSouth Community Foundation board of directors meeting. I am honored to serve on this Foundation Board which was created in 2011 to raise awareness about the need for blood donation in the communities LifeSouth Community Blood Centers serves.

My family are blood donators (thanks to my wife) and have been for over 30 years.  Last year LifeSouth collected more than 290,000 donors and provided more than 406,000 blood components to LifeSouth hospitals. This resulted in saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

I am also so proud of the work of our student donators do saving lives. Last year our high school blood donors saved 64,500 lives.

One of the areas of focus of the LifeSouth Foundation is its educational opportunities for schools and students. From High School Student Scholarships, School Grant Programs, HOSA Partnerships and Donations, classroom presentations, and much more.

What I am most excited about is a new LifeSouth Internship Program which is getting ready to be piloted locally. Senior high school students will have the opportunity to become a volunteer interns with LifeSouth, giving students the opportunity to work alongside LifeSouth employees learning the skills of phlebotomy. LifeSouth trainers will provide an education-based program designed to the student’s learning plan including online and hands-on training. Once students successfully complete the program and “graduate,” they may be offered a full-time donor services position with LifeSouth.  We will be sharing more details about eligibility and how to apply for this amazing opportunity in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

If you are a blood donator now, thank you for saving lives- If you would like to become a donator please come by any LifeSouth bus or center today!

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NJROTC at NAS JAX Air Show

Posted on October 22nd, 2022 by

NJROTC at NAS JAX Air Show

The Crystal River High School Navy Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (NJROTC) unit traveled today to the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville to attend the NAS Jax Air Show. The NJROTC cadets got to get up close with the Legendary Blue Angels. NAS Jax Air is the birthplace of the Blue Angels. These Cadets witnessed thrills like never before from a variety of military and civilian demonstrations. But the grand finale was the Navy’s Blue Angels.

Thank you to Warrant Liz Rivera and all for making these outstanding opportunities possible! God Bless America!!

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Parents praise LPS SAC

Posted on October 20th, 2022 by

Parents praise LPS SAC

Yesterday afternoon I participated in a School Advisory Council meeting at Lecanto Primary School. It was another excellent meeting of parents, students, community members, staff and administrators meeting and working in partnership for the school’s improvement. The meeting was Chaired well by parent Kim Jackson. The school administrator was there to assist and support the SAC and its leaders. The district SAC representative, Jen Greco was in attendance and contributed to aspects of the meeting especially those that pertained to her area of expertise. Parents, staff, and students all participated throughout the meeting. Principal Lofton, Vice-Principal Chandler, and Title 1 teacher Ms. Hayes all gave vital and important presentations that were well received, and then important and collaborative conversation followed.  During the meeting Principal, Lofton shared the important role each SAC member has in helping make decisions and share information to help advance the school. Before the meeting was over some of the parents shared out about how grateful there were to have their students in Citrus County and LPS. One spoke about how they recently moved to Citrus County and how much they appreciated the collaborative partnership they have with the school in educating their students.

I left the meeting so proud and excited about the important work and representation SACs are doing in our schools!

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CCSB Resolution Supporting Military Families

Posted on October 12th, 2022 by

CCSB Resolution Supporting Military Families

During yesterday’s Citrus County School board meeting it was an honor for the board to unanimously approve a Resolution Supporting Military Families. (please read the resolution below)  This act coincides with Citrus County School Board becoming a “Purple Star” distinction school district.

Supporting military families and honoring our great Veterans is not new in Cirus County Schools. Citrus (per capita) has one of the largest Veteran in the Classroom programs in the country. This program brings our country’s Veterans into our classrooms to directly share with students and teachers. Further, in May 2014, Citrus County Schools became the first “Purple Heart School District” in the nation. Our school district strongly supports and fosters pride in our nation and our veterans. (CLICK HERE to Read the blog from May 5, 2014 on Dedication of School District’s Purple Heart Wall of Fallen Heroes.)

Thank you to Commander Richard Hunt, Aaron A. Weaver Chapter 776 Military Order of the Purple Heart, for speaking in support of the school district, Purple Star distinction, Purple Heart School District and the Veteran in the Classroom program. Commander Hunt also shared about the recent loss of a great Patriot of former MOPH Commander Richard “Bud” Allen who was so supportive of all of these great programs.

Thank you to all our schools, teachers, volunteers, and administrators for supporting this work so that we may continue to serve our military families. Special thanks to Al Balk, District Specialist for Social Studies K-12 for all his personal work on Veteran in the Classroom and Purple Star distinction.

Citrus County School Board Resolution Supporting Military Families

Whereas, there are currently more than 1.4 million Americans currently serving the United States and its interests at home and abroad in one of the United States Armed Services. More than 76,000 Floridians are currently serving on active duty and almost 60,000 are in the National Guard and reserves; and

Whereas, there are approximately 60,000 school aged children of active-duty service members and 40,000 school aged children of National Guard and reservist members in the state of Florida; and

Whereas, students that have parents that serve in the armed\ forces may be enrolled in many different schools during the course of their K-12 educational experience; and

Whereas, frequent moves, family separations because of deployments and reintegration issues present obstacles that are unique to military families; and

Whereas, Citrus County Schools is committed to supporting the needs of all students, but especially those unique needs of students from military families, be it

Resolved, Citrus County Schools is grateful for the service and sacrifices of all our veterans, and current military personnel and the sacrifices made by them and their families;

Resolved, Citrus County Schools will establish a point of contact at each school site to help support military families and ease in their transition into our school district;

Resolved, Citrus County Schools will make a concerted effort to connect military families with the resources that they require.

Adopted by the Citrus County School Board in Regular Session at Inverness, Florida on the 11th day of October, 2022.

BY:

Virginia Bryant, Chairperson

Douglas A. Dodd, Vice Hair

Thomas Kennedy, Board Member

Sandra Counts, Board Member

Linda B. Powers, Board Member

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FSBA BOD comes to Crystal River

Posted on October 11th, 2022 by

FSBA BOD comes to Crystal River

This past week Crystal River for three days was home base for the Florida School Board Association’s Board of Directors Leadership Development Training and Board of Director meeting. It is the tradition that the President of FSBA county is where this annual FSBA event is held to both support and showcase the President’s County and school district. It was such an honor and privilege to have FSBA Executive Board, BOD, Committee Leaders, Legislative Committee Representatives, and FSBA staff here in Citrus County.

On the first day following executive and standing committee meetings, the Citrus County Education Foundation hosted the FSBA delegation for dinner showcasing our Marine Science Station. During the evening some CCEF’s partners shared about our Citrus County education community and programs as they toured our MSS.  It was a very memorable time and the FSBA delegation went away expressing interest in implement some of what CCEF and MSS shared. I cannot thank enough CCEF for this event, Executive Director Shaunda Burdette and CCEF Board member Amy Barbieri along with their amazing team who have spent weeks planning and were onsite in the days leading up to the event for making the night possible. Also, a special thanks to Marine Science Station Supervisor and our resident marine biologist Capt. Earnie Olsen, Capt. Josh O’Leary and the amazing MSS team!

During the days we had several different training sessions and legislative reviews. One of my favorites was we put together a panelist group on Building Positive Relationships with Legislators. On the panel were Florida House of Representative Blaise Ingoglia, Legislative Aide for Florida House of Representative Ralph Massullo, Adele Hembree, FSBA Director of Advocacy & Legislative Services, Dr. Danielle Thomas, and me. It was a great conversation and I so appreciate Rep. Ingoglia, Adele, and Dr. Thomas, for taking the time to have an honest and fun conversation.

The last day ended with me chairing my first full FSBA Board of Directors meeting. We had several items to accomplish on the agenda including an unanticipated election of a new FSBA Treasurer/Executive Board Member. I truly appreciate all the leaders on the FSBA Board of Directors. They may not always agree with one another on every item or issue, but they work to respect each other and come to collaborative decisions that is student-centered.

The entire event was understandably shadowed by the devastation caused by hurricane Ian. Several colleagues from around the state were not able to attend due to the hurricane’s impact on their communities and homes. During the event, some FSBA Board of directors brought donations that were then brought back to the hurricane-impacted areas. We continue to pray for all those affected by hurricane Ian.

Lastly, I am so grateful for the great community of Citrus County that I live and represent. I cannot thank all of you enough in Citrus that worked to make this a success. I want to also thank the FSBA leadership and staff for all you did to make this successful.

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Eight dogs, eight cats, seven snakes, four rats, and two bearded dragons

Posted on September 28th, 2022 by

Eight dogs, eight cats, seven snakes, four rats, and two bearded dragons

Shelter Visits

Was out this afternoon visiting some of our school shelter sites. One of the shelters I stopped by was Lecanto Primary which is a shelter for evacuees with animals. At the current count, there were eight dogs, eight cats, seven snakes, four rats, and two bearded dragons. Yes, SEVEN SNAKES!

It is always so great seeing firsthand our community come together to take care of one another. Visiting these shelters you see it on many levels. Thank you to our Citrus County Government, Health Department, Citrus County Sheriffs Deputies, and our Citrus County School District staff and administrators. These people are often working 12-hour shifts (or more) away from their own families to provide a safe place for those in need within our community. Some even stay overnight. The food service workers are preparing meals and snacks, custodians are keeping the facilities continually clean, office staff are constantly checking people in and out and busy taking care of miscellaneous needs, Deputies were ensuring that everyone’s safe, and school administrators are making sure everything at the facility was running smoothly. While visiting I also saw our Assistant Superintendent Mike Mullen and his wife Marcia who was going to the sites checking on things and bringing extra supplies if needed, and Assistant Superintendent Jonny Bishop and other district leaders were out at other sites and facilities doing the same. While at Central Ridge Elementary shelter, Walmart had a team member bring out extra cases of bottled water.

We are so grateful to everyone!

CITRUS COUNTY SHELTERS

Shelters are currently available at the following locations:

  • Forest Ridge Elementary School (Special Needs) – 2927 North Forest Ridge Blvd., Hernando, FL 34442
  • Lecanto Primary (Pet Friendly) – 3790 W Educational Path, Lecanto, FL 34461
  • Central Ridge Elementary School (General Population) – 185 West Citrus Springs Blvd., Citrus Springs, FL 34434
  • Citrus High School (General Population) – 600 West Highland Blvd., Inverness, FL 34452

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