Golden Citrus Scholars Sponsors

Special thank you to AAIT and TCG for the laptops

What an exciting week for Citrus High School, Lecanto High School, and Crystal River High School as they saw their 2021 Citrus County Golden Citrus Scholars honored!  The Golden Citrus Scholars Award is the Academic Oscars in Citrus Schools. Each school nominates the best academic scholar in each of eight categories. During the week leading up to the Golden Citrus Scholar Awards Day it has become a tradition to hold events similar to those held during Homecoming or Prom week. Schools recognized their respective Golden Citrus Scholars on social media and on morning shows. Schools often awarded gifts like custom Scholar shirts and mugs. Students wore special sashes that week and attended special catered meals. The week not only celebrates the Scholars at the schools but serves as an example to underclassmen of what hard academic work can achieve.

The week concluded with the Golden Citrus Awards, a special event where each nominee is specially honored, the winners of each category are announced, and at least two specialty honors, including the overall Golden Citrus Hall of Fame Scholar, are recognized.  Due to COVID, the Golden Citrus Awards once again event became mobile. From early morning until late afternoon the Golden Citrus Awards bus, filled with dignitaries from the Citrus County Education Foundation, the school district, and Chamber, brought the awards event to each of the nominee’s homes where family and friends waited to celebrate their nominee. Each nominee was awarded a $500 educational stipend, category winners each received a $1,000 stipend, and the two specialty winners received a $2,000 educational stipend.  The stipends can be used for the Scholars’ post-secondary educational needs. Many Scholars noted how these funds would help in covering the costs of textbooks, room and board, and other essential educational needs.

Laptops for Specialty Scholars

Due to the generosity of two local technology company sponsors, the specialty Scholars also received a MacBook laptop. All About IT (AAIT) and Technology Conservation Group (TCG) sponsored the MacBooks for the Scholars. Those laptops will provide significant savings to those students and their families as they will now not need to purchase those essential educational tools that contribute to our Scholars’ success in their post-secondary studies. We are so grateful to AAIT and TCG for sponsoring this unexpected and extra special award to these Scholars.

Thank You Sponsors

We want to thank the many sponsors of the 2021 Golden Citrus Awards, most especially the primary sponsors: The Citrus County Chamber of Commerce, The Chamber Young Professionals, The Rotary Club of Citrus County, Black Diamond Foundation, Kingsbridge Travel, Citrus County Coalition for College & Careers, The JJ & Jen Grow Family, Citrus County Chronicle, Citrus County School District– and most heartfully, the Citrus County Education Foundation and Shaunda Burdette who coordinate and oversee the entire event which is a year in the making.

Our students’ success is a direct result of our community!

To read more about the 2021 Golden Citrus Scholars and Awards visit https://www.chronicleonline.com/news/local/golden-citrus-scholars-celebrated-with-home-visits/article_b2399658-a470-11eb-b0dd-d380454db9a1.html

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Bless our school counselors

Every day in our schools and our district there are extraordinary and special people that give so heartfully to make our students’ lives better.

This past week there is a special group of individuals that we must lift up for the work that they are doing, it is that of our school counselors, crisis team workers, and administrative leaders, who have been on the front lines of meeting our students’ safety and mental health needs. I am not sure people really can appreciate and understand the work these people do to care for our students and their families. These people are meeting with students, their families, they are visiting students’ homes, speaking with other counselors, and working with anyone they can to ensure that our students are safe and cared for. I encourage you to reach out to these special people and let them know how much you appreciate what they do.

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Tom Brady, more than a great athlete, a great leader!

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” – Ronald Reagan, 40^th U.S. President

Tom Brady victory at the NFL Super Bowl LV

Tampa Bay Buccaneers win Super Bowl LV!!

I am a big Tom Brady a.k.a. the G.O.A.T. (“Greatest of all time”) fan, and I have been for many years. I am from New England originally and Tom Brady was a 199^th round draft pick by the New England Patriots, who went on to as a team won SIX Super Bowl Championships. Add to that last night’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl LV win, Brady now has a league record SEVEN Super Bowl wins.

A year ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished the season with 7 wins and 9 losses, and the previous two seasons they finished both with 5 wins and 11 losses.  I do not think anyone would have thought that either Tampa Bay would be Super Bowl Champions or that Tom Brady would be playing in the Super Bowl on that winning team.

What was different for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2020 season to go in one year from 7 wins and 9 losses in 2019, to in 2020 have 11 wins and 5 losses, and on to be Super Bowl Champions? With the same head coach, and largely the same team. But this year you had a G.O.A.T. named Brady and his sidekick Gronk.

Bucs tight end Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski and QG Tom Brady at the end of Super Bowl LV

While I hated to see Brady leave the Patriot’s franchise there was no other team, I would have wanted him to play for than my second favorite team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What an extra bonus to have former Patriot’s tight end Rob Gronkowski (“Gronk”) come out of retirement to join his former QB Brady in Tampa Bay.

Tom Brady before the snap at Super Bowl LV

Let set the records straight, the Tampa Bay team was already a talented group of athletes and coaches before Brady got on the team. Sure, there were some changes that were made but these were accomplished athletes. No question Tom Brady can throw the football, but those skills alone do not win a Super Bowl Championship.  What you began to hear from Bucs players (and what many of we long-term Brady fans already knew) was that Brady was not just a quarterback, he was another coach on the field. The young players were learning from him, the older players respected him. The team’s confidence grew with each game, even the losses. Brady is a great QB, perhaps the best in NFL history, but he is far more. Tom Brady is a great leader.

Bucs Head Coach Bruce Arians

Great leaders know it is not about them, it is about the team. Great leaders whether in business, military, politics, education, sports, or in life, help their teammates to believe that they can do more and go farther! They believe in their team and their team believes in themselves. That was most evident from the beginning of the 2021 Super Bowl game to the end. Tampa Bay played with confidence and with purpose. The result? They won the game by an impressive 22 points! The opposing team (don’t remember their name…) never made one touchdown.

While I have been speaking about Tom Brady, he was by far not the only leader on the Bucs team. Many other leaders contributed to the Bucs Leadership Team. Most notably this year is the Bucs Head Coach Bruce Arians, and Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.

Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles

Leaders are critical to success! What this Tampa Bay Buccaneers season has demonstrated are that great skills and talent, combined with great leadership are essential to have successful outcomes. Successful outcomes do not happen by accident.

Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers!! And thank you Tom “the G.O.A.T.” Brady!

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