Civic & Community Center: New year to bring lots of activity in North Fort Myers
The North Fort Myers Civic Association has been very busy, and will start the new year being busy, as follows:
The Community Holiday Tree Lighting and Caroling went fine, on Tuesday, Dec. 15 from 6 to 7 with a wonderful hour of singalong caroling to the singing of Graham and Jaine Milligan and Don Dewitt. Brenda Sizemore has agreed that we can borrow a Santa Claus costume she has next year, and hopefully if we change the day of the week we’ll get more public participation. Instead of starting the program at 6 with the tree lighting and the singing of “Oh Tannenbaum” (oh Christmas Tree) do any of you think we’ll get better attendance if we did it from 5 to 6 with the tree lighting at 6 when it gets dark, at the end of the program? Our entertainers are agreeable to doing it next year on a Friday eve, Dec. 16th – will doing it on an evening when there is no school or work the next day help? Anyone have any ideas how to boost attendance at this “feel good” project next year?
On Saturday from 9 to noon we did the Business 41 Cleanup, cleaning both sides of the road and the median strip from the bridge to Littleton. It was cold and windy but Rudy Berndlmaier saved the day by driving over to Home Depot and buying long pegs which he drove into the dirt around each leg of our tent to keep it anchored. We kept our large Civic Association sign in place by wedging it between a card table and two chairs. Thanks to Chairperson Brenda Sizemore, Rudy, Peg Crishal, Vince and Theresa Silva, Lee Cummins, Kevin Mulhearn, Stef Eller and the three Cole ladies, who are associates of Brenda’s, for their participation and community spirit.
Our NFM Marinatown Farmers Market continues to do well every Friday morning, even though it has rained two out of the three days it has been in operation. We average about 30 vendors carrying fresh seafood, meats, breads, cheeses, fruits and veggies, homemade peanut butters, flax, seeds and other health foods, honey, popcorn, flowers, barbecue and much more, with Jerry Green strumming and singing his heart out. Note: the Market was closed last Friday because of Christmas, but is open the following Friday, New Year’s Day and every Friday thereafter until the end of March. We will have crafters on Jan. 1 and Jan. 8 and then again from Feb. 26 to the end of March. If you or your organization or community want to sell your hand- made crafts, including artwork, go to www.buylocallee.com, or call 239-691-9249.
Lois Knox, Director, Florida Gulf Coast University Small Business Development Center will be our speaker at our monthly business meeting on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Rec Center. She has a host of handouts, programs, classes and other educational opportunities. Most new businesses fail because of lack of knowledge. Tell your friends. Public is always invited.
At our last business meeting our Board made several minor changes to our By-Laws, which must be voted on at our General Membership portion of the Jan. 12 meeting at 7 p.m. In order to make sense out of the changes you need to go to our website, www.northfortmyerscivicassociation.com, under Documents and see the entire By-Laws and the proposed changes.
We have two vacancies on our 12-person Board, and TAKE NOTICE that at our next business meeting on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Rec Center, nominations will be accepted and elections held to fill the unexpired one-month terms. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to serve in this capacity here’s an opportunity to find out and only deal with a one-month commitment. If you like it, this brief service might make you a frontrunner for the following month’s elections. Elections for a regular 3-year term will take place at our Feb. 9 meeting at 7 p.m. at the Rec center. The following month, March 8 at 7 p.m. at the Rec Center, the Board of Directors will elect a President, two Vice Presidents, a Secretary and a Treasurer. Spread the word. If any of you are interested in running for any of these Directorships or Officerships, contact the Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, Bill Hanners at 239-543-3510 or at (by the way we need two committee members, so please volunteer for this short-term responsibility)
Thanks to James Williamson who volunteered to take the recording of the last Business Meeting, listened to it and transcribed it. He did a very nice job and I hope that he will agree to do it in the future. An organization cannot function without accurate printed Minutes.
Discussion is underway to consider a Flapjack Fundraiser at Applebee’s on Saturday, Jan. 23 or 30, from 8 to 10 in the morning. We need to sell 150 tickets at $10 which entitles the purchaser to a plate of flapjacks, eggs, trimmings and a soft drink. We are considering having a local celebrity as a speaker and a flapjack-eating contest. But the first thing we need are another eight volunteers to work the event – no cooking or washing dishes involved, just being a server, bussing tables, or seating patrons. Easy and you still get to eat. Please contact our possible chairperson, Linda Yorde (if we get the eight more volunteers quickly and our Board then approves the project), if you will volunteer to work the event, wish to purchase tickets to help us carry out our important work of making North Fort Myers better, or have any suggestions of how to improve this fun fundraiser!
And don’t forget the Joint Meeting of the NFM Design Review Panel and the NFM Community Planning Panel on Tuesday, Jan, 5 at 6 p.m. at the Recreation Center, Room 102. On the Agenda are plans for the proposed Racetrack gas station at the fork of the two 41’s, a proposal to change the language of the North Fort Myers Land Development Code to permit electronic messaging signs on non-arterial roads for houses of worship. The panel will also further consider the issue of mansard roofs as they relate to signage and a motion tabled last month to provide a procedure for filling vacant panel seats. The public is always invited to attend these meetings and be heard.
PUBLIC APATHY IS THE PLAGUE OF THE 21ST CENTURY! VOLUNTEER – IT’S GOOD FOR THE MIND AND THE HEART.
Contact me at 239-823-3631 or mike-land@live.com if you have some event, project or idea that you would like in this column, or with any comments or questions.