Last weeks program was provided by Rotarian Tom Sparkman. Tom’s guest speaker was Paul Davis, General Manager of the Florida Strawberry Festival.Each spring, the Florida Strawberry Festival® rolls out the red carpet to welcome visitors from throughout the Sunshine State and the world. Guests come from near and far to enjoy exhibits of agriculture, commerce, industry, livestock, fine arts, horticulture, and crafts. The fabric of American life is woven into the Festival through social events, contests, youth developmental programs, top-name entertainment, and parades with glorious floats and high-stepping marching bands. The Florida Strawberry Festival represents a piece of Americana, a time in American history when fairs and festivals brought communities together through celebrations of their harvests. It has continued to grow in popularity year after year through the preservation of this heritage. Central to its focus, the Festival continues to preserve and enhance the agricultural and historical legacy of the Florida strawberry. Further, steeped in tradition, the Florida Strawberry Festival is alive with volunteer spirit, uniting people from all parts of Plant City, Florida and the surrounding area. The event began back in 1930 when members of the newly organized Plant City Lions Club conceived the idea of an event to celebrate the bountiful harvest of strawberries. In 1948, the American Legion Post #26 helped get the Florida Strawberry Festival reactivated following a six-year hiatus during and immediately following World War II. The Lions Club and other civic organizations have participated in the Festival ever since. This year’s festival runs from February 28 to March 10. The Strawberry Festival is the number one fair in the state of Florida, based on attendance, and is ranked #32, out of over 10,000, in the country! What makes the Festival different is the people. Southern hospitality, family friendly and the great traditional “fair” atmosphere. There is something new everyday, and every year. The special days; Senior Citizen day, Publix food and fun day, kids day, coca-cola family day, parade day, American Heroes day, farm workers appreciation day and special “ride” days makes the festival appropriate, fun and affordable for everyone. The parking lot attendants, greeters and ticket sales people are the first festival people see when they arrive and are the most important image of the Festival. Security is very important. There is a lot of technology, cameras at every gate and throughout the festival grounds, and “hidden” security everywhere. The Festival “Ambassadors” and Directors are always around to ensure everyone has a fun, safe time!-provided by Mike Arndt
Club News
Congrats Kayla
At the recent Chamber banquet, Rotarian Kayla Drawdy was presented the Chairman's Award. Thanks for all your hard work Kayla
President Jodi Stevens, Membership Chair Charles Harris,
Sponsor Nick Thurston and New member Chuck Gore
Chuck Gore recently became our newest club member. If you haven't met Chuck yet, be sure to introduce yourself and give him a warm Plant City Rotary welcome.
It is our goal to have enough sponsorship from members
of the club to make our website and these e-bulletins
self-supporting. If you enjoy these electronic updates and
appreciate our club having a presence on the website
it's time to step up. For the low fee of $50, your business
ad is not only included in each of these e-bulletins and on
the website pages, these ads are active links that take you
to your business's website. Don't have a business and
still want to help, we can include an ad thanking you for
your sponsorship. For more informationemailBill Wicker.
Opening Day of Little League - Sat. Feb.23rd 8-11 am cooking hot dogs
************************************************
Program Chair
Kayla Drawdy is the new Program Chair! Please notify Kayla of you upcoming speakers at 763-1821 or kayla@htitle.com
************************************************
************************************************
From Our Members
NO news is Good News?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Have any news you would like to share? Do you have a new position at work? Family news? Any news you would like to share with club members and bulletin subscribers? E-mail to Bill Wicker
Share the Rotary News! If you know anyone that would like to receive our E-bulletin, let
them know they can sign up for it on the home page of our
website www.PlantCityRotary.org . They just need to go to
the bottom of the left hand column, click on sign up for
newsletter and fill in their name and e-mail address. You
can also forward them this newsletter and they can use the
link at the bottom of the left column.
