Last week’s program was presented by Rotarian Billy Keel.  Billy’s guest speaker was Paul Davis, General Manager of the Florida Strawberry Festival.  Paul spoke to the club about the upcoming Florida Strawberry Festival and the security procedures surrounding the Festival to make it one of the safest Fair’s in the country.  Security is a scary and difficult thing these days and we all need to be vigilant.  The Festival is very aware of the threat to “soft” targets where a lot of people are gathered and their vulnerabilities.  Last year there were over 600,000 guests in 11 days of the festival and there was not one arrest or ejection.  The Hillsborough County Sheriff Office and great planning made last year’s festival a success.  Last year the Festival started “wanding” at random.  Wanding is a very sensitive procedure and can only be done with the right law enforcement personal.  The officers hired to do the wanding were the right people as there was not one complaint.  Every bag was searched before entering the Festival.  The entire security came at a price tag of about $500,000.  There are security people walking the perimeter of the fair looking for anyone throwing things over the fence, etc, there are deputies on 4-wheelers, bicycle units, mounted officers and undercover officers patrolling the festival.  At any time there are 100 law enforcement officers at the festival.  People need to feel safe but it is a delicate balance between being safe and well protected and being scared.  It is important to have a police presence but not too much in order for people to have a good time.  Wanding will be in effect again this year for every 5-8^th person and for everyone on “Midnight Magic” night.  Every vehicle that enters the grounds, during open hours and during closed hours, must have a sticker that is presented after paperwork, registration is completed.  Every car/truck is accounted for at all times.  Concealed weapons are admitted on the grounds after a permit check is run by a deputy to ensure that it is valid and for law enforcement to be aware of how many weapons are on the grounds.  Security is an on-going challenge at the Festival but with great planning and help from our law enforcement community we can be proud and safe.  -submitted by Mike Arndt

Birthdays This Month

Tim Shuff - Dec 5th

James Surrency - Dec 10th

Bill Wilmeth - Dec 20th

Billy Herold - Dec 27^th

Club Anniversaries This Month