{"id":485421,"date":"2026-01-01T19:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T19:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/485421\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T19:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T19:42:11","slug":"a-year-in-review-clay-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/485421\/","title":{"rendered":"A year in review | Clay Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

October<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Soul Food Festival attracts 4,000 despite soggy weather<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Despite the cloudy, overcast, and rainy weather, the annual Soul Food and Music Festival went on without a hitch on Oct. 4 with more than 4,000 people in attendance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 24th installment of the free event began at noon with a parade along Palmetto Avenue and west on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parade Grand Marshall Tony Battle, a retired Clay County District Schools coach and physical education instructor, led a variety of floats and cars through the streets as onlookers watched. Parade participants included the National Guard, Clay County Fire Rescue, Green Cove Springs City Council, Lake Asbury Junior High cheerleaders, Duval Kountry\u00a0Stepperz\u00a0and the Bucket List Travelers of America, who came from Orlando to join the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following the parade, the crowd gathered at Vera Francis Hall Park to enjoy a variety of booths and vendors, food trucks, a dance contest, a barbecue rib cook-off and a horseshoe toss. Live music was performed throughout the event by\u00a0numerous\u00a0artists, including the Special Formula Band, Soulful Roots Band, Jimmy Brown and Curtis Reynolds. Brown is from the iconic ’70s funk and jazz band Brick, while Reynolds is known for his time in\u00a0Kalmozoo’s\u00a0Ripple.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chamber Awards highlight top businesses,\u00a0nonprofits\u00a0and business\u00a0leaders<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

ORANGE PARK – A plethora of local business owners took home plenty of bragging rights at the Clay County Chamber of Commerce’s Awards Gala on Oct. 9.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Held at Center Court in the Orange Park Mall,\u00a0five businesses across Clay County earned the Small Business of the Year title: Orange Park’s\u00a0SouthState\u00a0Bank, Keystone Heights’ Air Innovations, Middleburg\/Oakleaf’s Healthy is Beautiful, Fleming Island’s Event Divas and Green Cove Springs’ Premier Gas and Grills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nonprofit of the Year went to the Father’s Heart, while\u00a0Orange Park Woman’s Club President Constance Higginbotham took home Ambassador of the Year. Community Service Member of the Year went to Cheryl Kennedy,\u00a0a Green Cove Springs-based business that offers professional video, film and media content transfer, as well as video production and post-production services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Achieve Fitness’s Mike Glickman, also Chamber Treasurer, won the Chair Award. WGI’s Walter Kloss became the chamber’s new Board Chair. Past Chair and Orange Park Mall General Manager Randy Bowman passed the baton to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Owner and CEO of the Rolling Stoves,\u00a0Sheena\u00a0McLevy,\u00a0took home the President’s Award, while Business Excellence of the Year went to Assisted Living Local’s Janet Peterson.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The last award of the night was the Louis L. Huntly Pacesetter Award, which recognizes community leaders who demonstrate the highest level of integrity, visionary leadership, the ability to turn visions into realities and a commitment to their community. It went to newly retired Orange Park Furniture owner Elmer James.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

GCS City Manager Steve Kennedy\u00a0to tackle new challenges\u00a0in\u00a0retirement<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

GREEN COVE SPRINGS \u2013\u00a0It’s\u00a0time for Steve Kennedy to focus on more meaningful numbers, like the ages and birthdays of his grandchildren, his golf\u00a0handicap\u00a0and the things on his honey-do list.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

No more annual budgets. No more city council meetings. No more planning and zoning meetings.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At 72, Kennedy is ready to travel, sit in a deer blind, help more often at\u00a0church\u00a0and do things\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0put off for half a lifetime.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 72, for one reason, and I\u2019ve been doing this for 48 years,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cMy wife and I, when we came to Green Cove, were potentially planning to retire in this area anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There were 72 applicants\u00a0for the Green Cove Springs job\u00a0in 2018. That number dwindled to 40, then to 20, then to\u00a012\u00a0and then to 10. The city council then announced its final five candidates, and Kennedy was among them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although Kennedy only served as city manager for seven years, he left an indelible mark. During his short tenure, he has created a team that has achieved unparalleled growth while preserving Green Cove Springs\u2019 small-town atmosphere.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had to point to one thing, it would be creating a very solid management team that is ready for the growth that’s coming,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cThey’re very qualified. They have a high degree of passion for the city. If they work together, topical engagement is one thing. The knowledge of the job, the experience and building a cohesive team, to me, are\u00a0big things\u00a0to work on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

November<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Food pantry resources stretched by holidays, government shutdown<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0CLAY COUNTY \u2013 The line stretched across the parking lot at the Clothes Closet and Food Pantry of Orange Park.\u00a0Nobody\u00a0complained, because\u00a0patience came easy with growling bellies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The holiday season, economic strife and government shutdown created a record demand for every food pantry in Clay County. All reported\u00a0additional\u00a0signups and pickups. Local charities worked to fill holiday boxes to feed families for Thanksgiving.\u00a0As the need grew, so did the response.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning of the year, we were averaging 39 clients a day,\u201d said Dan Stevens, who tracks donations at the Food Pantry of Green Cove Springs. \u201cIn the middle of October (when the shutdown started), we averaged 50 clients a day. In the first two weeks of November, we averaged 63 individuals a day visiting for food. So\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0how the numbers have progressed. It spiked during the shutdown.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thousands of turkeys were donated, including 1,100 by the First\u00a0Baptist Church of Middleburg. The Clothes Closet gave away 300; another 120 went to the Food Pantry in Green Cove Springs\u00a0and 150 were handed out at the Springs Church in Orange Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 1.4 million government employees\u00a0weren\u2019t\u00a0paid during the shutdown and another 42 million\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0receive their Supplemental\u00a0Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Oakleaf, Middleburg ousted in football regional games<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Middleburg High\u00a0traveled to Larry Kelly Field at Daytona Stadium on Nov.\u00a014 and lost to Daytona Beach Mainland, 34-13 in the 5A Region\u00a0Quarterfinals, while Oakleaf\u00a0lost on the road at Nease, 45-7, in\u00a0a 6A playoff game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both teams finished 8-3.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get in the playoffs in Florida, we\u2019re getting the best players around,\u201d said Middleburg coach Ryan Wolfe. \u201cWe had a good plan. We held a lead and we were close. They had a great quarterback, a gigantic offensive line that was the best\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0ever seen.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0why they are the two-seed and a state champion team (2023).\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oakleaf had\u00a0numerous\u00a0errors \u2013 interceptions, blocked kicks, sacks, dropped passes, penalties\u00a0and\u00a0allowed breakaway touchdowns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe played about as bad as we could play all in one game,\u201d said Knights coach Chris Foy. \u201cThey were physical, and they executed. That was it. We got beat in all phases of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Fleming Island\u2019s band to march in Madrid’s 2027 King\u2019s Day parade<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

FLEMING ISLAND \u2013 Having appeared in parades in London\u00a0and\u00a0Rome, and playing at Carnegie Hall, bands at Fleming Island High have become\u00a0accustomed to accolades.<\/p>\n

They loudly accepted another offer to play an international gig.<\/p>\n

Bob Bone is the President of the Youth Music of the World and Destination Events. He was at the school to formally invite the Golden Eagles Marching Band to Spain\u2019s grandest national events, the Cabalgata de Reyes, a street show celebrating the arrival of the Three Kings on Epiphany, on Jan. 5, 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bone said parades are staged throughout Spain, but the biggest is in Madrid, where the three-mile route will attract more than two million spectators.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mayor of Madrid, Jos\u00e9 Luis Mart\u00ednez-Almeida, and the parade organizers also shared\u00a0an invitation to\u00a0Fleming Island, Bone said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fleming Island was one of two bands from the United States \u2013 and there are more than 5,500 marching bands in the country \u2013 that were invited to perform at the Cabalgata de Reyes. In all, Bone said only six bands will participate from around the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The band will depart on Dec. 30, 2026, and arrive the following day. They will tour Madrid, Toledo, Segovia and El Escorial. They will be treated to a variety of Spanish cuisine, including a selection of tapas, as well as an evening of traditional flamenco dancing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Band director Alexander Buck said the band will fundraise\u00a0during the next 14 months to cover the trip costs. He estimated the cost to be $650,000.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

December<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Volunteers, community, relatives breathe life into Pleasant Point Cemetery<\/strong><\/p>\n

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Former Green Cove Springs Mayor Connie Butler had tears in her eyes as she roamed around Pleasant Point Cemetery.<\/p>\n

There was a connection that she couldn’t shake. A joy that she couldn’t help but feel.<\/p>\n

After years of abandonment, the place where her great-great-great-grandmother, Maggie Andrews Lewis, was laid to rest had finally been restored. She could see very clearly where her roots came from.<\/p>\n

Everyone’s spirits were high as community members gathered on Dec. 20 to honor Lewis and others buried in the historic Black cemetery. More than a year ago, amateur archaeologist and former U.S. History teacher Steve Griffith began his quest to restore the abandoned space.<\/p>\n

Pleasant Point Cemetery, located on County Road 209, is a burial ground for some of the county’s most significant Black figures. U.S. Navy Veteran George Elias Forrester, along with some of his family members, is buried at Pleasant Point. He served with the Union in the Civil War. The son of Cyrus and Dorcas Forrester, his family was the first free Black family in the county.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not too far from them also lies Pizel and Mary Ambrose Robinson, the great-grandparents of R&B singer Patti LaBelle and local educator Thomas Hogans. Since beginning the restoration process, a total of 41 individuals have been identified.<\/p>\n

Clay County firefighters reunited with Baby Vianca 16 months after rescue<\/strong><\/p>\n

ORANGE PARK \u2013\u00a0Firefighters who were more accustomed to pulling victims from wrecked cars and burning buildings,\u00a0gently clinched Baby Vianca with the kind of\u00a0attachment\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0taught to resist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The little girl will always be the department\u2019s miracle. Every member of Clay County Fire Rescue\u00a0is\u00a0an\u00a0honorary uncle\u00a0to the tiny girl who was pulled from the brackish waters of Black Creek on Aug. 25, 2024, after being trapped under an overturned pontoon boat for more than 13 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In\u00a0an incredible twist of fate, Baby Vianca was brought back from death, defied odds during\u00a0a two-month stay at Wolfson Children\u2019s Hospital and returned home to continue her improbable recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All were reunited on Dec. 19 at Kids Care of Orange Park for a Christmas party. Hardened rescuers who played a role in the unexplained recovery\u00a0trembled as they\u00a0each took turns to hold her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Baby Vianca is now 2 and a half years old. Her rehabilitation will continue for years, but the connection between her family and CCFR will last forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santa arrived at the school\/day care in one of the agency\u2019s fire trucks. He handed toys to each, and everyone enjoyed meals provided by\u00a0Sal\u00a0Luliano\u2019s\u00a0Cucina and Vianca\u2019s family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lt. Thomas Gill jumped into the black water and spent minutes reaching under the vessel before he finally grabbed a leg. When she was taken to the surface, she was gray with no pulse or blood pressure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gill had to be resuscitated as well\u00a0because he had\u00a0ingested\u00a0so much water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lt. Joe Hutchins\u00a0immediately\u00a0started CPR as a father and son pulled Gill on board. When they got to shore, other CCFR firefighters instantly continued CPR and quickly transported her to Baptist Medical Center Clay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then her hand twitched. Baby Vianca\u00a0suddenly\u00a0found\u00a0new\u00a0life. Her recovery since has been nothing short of a miracle.<\/p>\n

Rotarians break ground on Echo Lake Farms for foster children<\/strong><\/p>\n

MELROSE \u2014 With tears in his eyes, Rotarians for the Development of Youth (RDY) nonprofit President Larry Klaybor looked on at the stretches of land surrounding him.<\/p>\n

Klaybor and others with the RDY broke ground on their inaugural project, Echo Lake Farms, on Dec. 12.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a place soon to be scattered with hope, joy and community. More than 220 acres of farmland in Clay and Putnam counties will soon host mini-farms for foster parents and children to live on.\u00a0The mission: to encourage well-rounded young people through exposure to agriculture and the local community.<\/p>\n

And help them find their forever family and home.<\/p>\n

Currently, there are 99 children in licensed foster care in Clay County, while Putnam has 72. There is also a shortage of foster homes in both areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each mini farm will host a foster couple willing to accept children adjudicated by the court. They will live on about five-acre plots with about 2,500 square feet of living space, surrounded by animals and hands-on farming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each home will feature four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and a social room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"October\u00a0 \u00a0 Soul Food Festival attracts 4,000 despite soggy weather\u00a0 \u00a0GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Despite the cloudy, overcast,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":485422,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,15024,15015,15023,15026,3188,15016,723,15021,7310,15020,15022,7648,15018,15017,15025,15019,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-485421","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-argyle","10":"tag-clay-county","11":"tag-doctors-inlet","12":"tag-eagle-harbor","13":"tag-fl","14":"tag-fleming-island","15":"tag-florida","16":"tag-green-cove-springs","17":"tag-jacksonville","18":"tag-keystone-heights","19":"tag-lake-asbury","20":"tag-margaret","21":"tag-middleburg","22":"tag-orange-park","23":"tag-pace-island","24":"tag-penney-farms","25":"tag-united-states","26":"tag-united-states-of-america","27":"tag-unitedstates","28":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","29":"tag-us","30":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115821552895778721","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}