Horses 4 Warriors focus on equine therapy for veterans with PTSD in the Ocala area. Ocala, has the community spirit, all while making a meaningful difference in the lives of our beloved Veterans and Equine Residents in Central Florida. They are a non-profit group that’s purpose is helping Veterans with PTSD and to raise awareness about mental health.
The event started with the Color Guard and Judith Larrence singing the National Anthem. What a great voice singing a great song! Thank You Judith. The event was held at the Ocala Downtown Market. Rick Stevens started the nonprofit just a few months ago, to focus on equine therapy for veterans with PTSD. He said this was the organization’s first major event in Ocala. Rick dedicated the event to Billy Rowe. Rick said they may try to have the next event at Veteran park. Veteran form a bond with the horses and it’s a traumatic experience. I would say in some cases life saving connection they may not have ever felt in their life,”. Rick says the issue is close to his heart because he said he deals with it himself. Rick sats “I’ve got PTSD and had some stuff happen in my life and a horse saved my life,” said Stevens. “I bonded with the horse, the horse bonded with me and he kept me alive.”
At the event people were split up into teams and played corn hole. The winners were given a custom set of boards, hand-painted by artist.
One team drove from Dunnellon to help the cause. “I never put an amount on it, if we make a dollar I’m okay with that, it’s about getting the awareness out and a lot of people have really stepped up,” Stevens thank all that came and showed support. Watch for the next event in this newspaper.
Photos by CKJ-13 Kay Johnson
Lady Lake Chamber business luncheon was a success. It is a success any time you get a group of business people together to discuss business. This luncheon was held at Eaton Beach right on the lake front. Janet Fraley was running around making everything ready and of course Jeannie was there helping. Leslie was at her Fall Conference. I had a window seat the best of two worlds. Look out at the lake, enjoy business people and taking pictures. Lot’s of door prizes were given out. It was a perfect day. The Chamber has a luncheon’s almost every month so watch for them and attend.
We want to extend a huge thank you to all the businesses that participated in our 8th annual business-to-business expo! We appreciate your support and dedication to making this event a success. We strive to make each event we host valuable to those who participate, and we are delighted to hear that you found it valuable as well.
We understand that some businesses were disappointed not to win a door prize, even though they provided one. To minimize this, we are implementing a new rule for next year’s event. Only one representative from each business that provides a door prize will be eligible to win a door prize. We hope this new rule will help ensure that everyone has a fair chance to win.
We also want to express our gratitude to all of the volunteers who generously donated their time and energy to make this event possible. Without your help, we could not have achieved such a successful event.
Once again, thank you for participating in our expo. We look forward to seeing you all again next year and making the event even better!
Photos by CKJ-13 Kay Johnson
Bidenomic’s has put America in Decline. Biden is not in control he is being used and does not always follow directions. Some times he act’s unaware and other times he seems sharp, Hypnosis? He has a story for everything and if he does not, he will make one up. I believe Obama / Nancy Pelosi / Chuck Shumer and the Green squad are controlling him because they know what he has been doing and he is compromised. He has to go along or go to jail. He has made no effort to find out who or how the COVID started . But he can control the masses if they have to wear mask and work at home. He will say mask for the children at school’s. Then the people will vote by mail in ballots and that is what they need to win the election. Just the same way they stoled the last election. Now we have prosecution or persecution? It is easy to see the political move on Trump is TRUMPED UP! Continue reading
I’ve often heard people say that the FAIRtax is unfair to the poor and the wealthy won’t pay their fair share. That is NOT true. I’ve also heard that it is unfair that the wealthy get the same prebate as everyone else. Again, NOT true. Let’s also remember that the “net” tax rate differs greatly from your “effective” tax rate (the rate you actually pay).
Let’s look at a billionaire under the FAIRtax and assume he is married with no children. If he spends $10,000,000 he is paying $2,300,000 in taxes and gets a prebate of $4,697 then his effective tax rate as a percentage of spending is 22.95 percent.
Now let’s look at a middle-income married couple with no children under the FAIRtax. If they spend $50,000 they pay $6,803 net of their prebate for an effective rate of 13.6 percent. The effective rate increases as spending increases, but never exceeds 23 percent. Continue reading
What does it mean to live in a great community? I think all of us could answer this question with some similarities but also with some differences. For many, access to good schools and institutions of higher learning would be paramount. For others, a broad and diverse economy that provides opportunities for job growth and competitive wages. No doubt for some recreational activities and entertainment would be the hallmark of a great community. Housing choices, restaurants, the arts, etc. would all be components of most lists of what makes a great community. One item that would surely make every list is innovative, comprehensive healthcare. While I would argue (who would be surprised) that Ocala meets the mark on all of these aforementioned items, it is perhaps on this last one on which it excels.
We have an incredible healthcare community in the Ocala Metro. The continual investment by HCA Florida and AdventHealth in their hospitals here is truly amazing. HCA Florida has been investing something like $200,000 a day, every day for more than six years in growing and expanding their facilities and services at HCA Ocala and HCA West Marion. That equates to approximately half a billion dollars! AdventHealth is aggressively investing in their facilities with the Belleview ER and the new Heath Brook Care Pavilion. Encompass Health has expanded their hospital several times since it opened 10 years ago and UF Health’s new “neighborhood” hospital is under construction near I-75. Soon, Everest Rehab will break ground on their hospital on Hwy 200 and 27th Ave. We often joke at the CEP that every month we are doing either a ground-breaking or a ribbon cutting for one of our primary healthcare partners! Continue reading
Dear Friends,
We sincerely hope that all of you made it safely through Hurricane Idalia. As we near the end of hurricane season, we have officially made it to the beginning of committee meetings, which started on October 9th. As a reminder, The committees that I have been assigned to are Agriculture, Appropriations, Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, Children, Families, and Elder Affairs, Community Affairs, Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security, and Rules.
To better prepare for the upcoming legislative session, the Lake County Legislative Delegation held their annual legislative delegation meeting on August 22nd. This annual public meeting is an opportunity for citizens, elected officials, cities and local governments, and other civic organizations to address the delegation before the start of the next legislative session. This meeting was inspiring and fruitful. It is always encouraging to see the community come together to express their ideas and to take an active part in their government. Since Senate District 13 covers all of Lake County and West Orange County, we will also be attending the Orange County Legislative Delegation meeting on November 29th for further insight into the concerns and needs of our constituents. Continue reading
Mission BBQ (stylized as MISSION BBQ) is an American barbecue restaurant chain based in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Bill Kraus and Steve Newton opened the first location on September 11, 2011, as a way to support the military, police, firefighters, and first responders.
I must have been a sleep at the wheel. I have never been to Mission BBQ. When I try to tell people about my new experience at Mission BBQ they they have already been there. I thought it was a best kept secret. It was not! I had the best brisket on a bun than I have had in years. You could get it wet or lean. The wet had some marbling and was very moist and tender, I will do that again. I will go online and see what else they have to offer but the people were friendly, the service was out of sight and the food was over the wall.
Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) is the professional society supporting the women and men who lead local, regional, statewide and international chambers of commerce and related business and economic development organizations. Our membership includes more than 1,600 business/civic organizations worldwide. We provide our members with information resources, thought leadership, education programs, original research, benchmarking, retirement security, and access to a network of peers.
The Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership (CEP) was created to be a one-stop hub for the community’s business attraction, creation and retention efforts. The CEP’s mission is to be THE catalyst for a prosperous community. The 2020 ACCE National Chamber of the Year, the CEP has directly impacted the announced creation of nearly 11,000 new jobs and more than $1.6 billion in capital investment and is seeking an additional 5,000 jobs and $1 billion in investment by 2027. For more information, visit: www.OcalaCEP.com.
