If you missed last week’s meeting you would have heard all the great things going on at JAA from CEO Steve Grossman. JIA has recently replaced the lost Ft Lauderdale Shuttle Southwest canceled due to more planes needed in Dallas with a new one from Jet Blue. Apparently Jet Blue has a hub in Ft Lauderdale and due to the demand left by Southwest’s exit; this was a VERY easy sell to them. Additionally Mr. Grossman got the dreaded “Craig expansion” question which I had already asked prior to the meeting. While it’s in the master plan, he stated we’re years away from seeing any grand benefit to doing so and anyone needing more space is referred to our 3 other very capable airports.
We’re entering one of my favorite times of year, and one of the busiest! It’s now that we begin our community involvement through civic and charitable endeavors. The annual Youth Achiever Program culminates with the Patrols joining us for lunch on Wednesday and the BBQ at Pine Forest on Thursday. The next time you see Walter Smith or Michael Gullion, give them a pat on the back as I don’t recall the last time I saw 20-$200 sponsors! Here’s hoping the school has strong ticket sales as this is sure to be a strong year helping more patrols afford their D.C. trip. Also, since last year’s squad enjoyed it so much Jaxson-De-Ville is making another appearance (but don’t tell the kids, it’s a surprise!) Last year they attended on early release day and didn’t want to go back to school after they had the special visitor. Since he’s not much of a talker, Channel 4’s Sam Kouvaris will be our actual “Speaker” assisting in the weekly program. Now often I see this being a somewhat under-attended meeting on our part, and that really doesn’t seem right. This is what SBMC is all about, Civic FIRST and giving back to our community. What better way than to show support for hard working elementary students and set the example of this is how business people should act? I really hope to see a packed room next week, so please come join us for lunch.
Penny has been hard at work loading up the calendar, with all the controversy of late City Council Pres. Anderson is going to come help us make sense of it. Then with the GOP primary also next week, Mike Hogan will be there the following to break things down as well as set expectations for what we can expect later in the year as well…..as you know, Presidential elections are not exactly a bright spot on Florida’s record so they’re usually pretty serious about doing things well.
See you soon!
