A capacity crowd of invited business, government, non-profit and community leaders gathered at the Oak Harbor Clubhouse last week for the annual Community Leader’s Breakfast and Spirit of Indian River County Awards Program, recognizing their contributions of support to the community.
“We are here to share our expertise and our vision for facilitating real change in community conditions here in Indian River County,” said Michael Kint, CEO of United Way of Indian River County. “United Way and our many partners focus on the building blocks for a solid community, assuring that people have access to a good education, financial stability and quality healthcare.”
With the goal of engaging the community in each of those areas and collectively determine solutions to the problems faced, Kint noted that the organization has established the first Vision Council with a focus on education, setting program outcomes based on community needs.
“We believe education is a building block for a good quality of life,” said Kint. “That makes education everyone’s business.”
The keynote speaker was David Lawrence, Jr., president of The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation, who retired as publisher of the Miami Herald at the request of then Governor Lawton Child to seek ways to advance early childhood development and readiness. Lawrence was instrumental in getting a statewide constitutional amendment passed to provide pre-K schooling for all 4-year olds.
“It is in this country’s best interest to give every child a chance to succeed in school and in life,” said Lawrence, stressing the importance of high-quality education.
Despite most people considering Indian River County “a wonderful place to grow up and a splendid place to stay,” he said there are significant areas of concern. One in six people are food insecure, one in five high school students don’t graduate, one in three isn’t ready for kindergarten, and 44 percent of third-graders cannot read at minimally proficient levels.
Reiterating the significance of investing in pre-K education, he added, “It’s very, very hard to catch children up once they’re behind.”
He reiterated that children should be made the No. 1 investment in the state; giving them the opportunity to not only dream but to also fulfil those dreams.
“I don’t think any of us can ever be satisfied that we’ve done enough,” said Lawrence.
United Way board chairman Randy Riley, and Fellsmere Mayor Susan Adams, chair-elect, presided over the award presentations. They began with three Richardson Spirit Awards, named in honor of Dan K. Richardson, a founder of the local United Way more than 50 years ago.
The first award, honoring “excellence in community contributions,” was presented to Seacoast National Bank, which has underwritten the Community Breakfast since its inception more than 20 years ago. The next award, honoring a company which fosters “excellence in volunteerism,” was presented to the office of the Indian River County Supervisor of Elections. The final Richardson award, “excellence in a company-wide United Way campaign,” was presented to Piper Aircraft.
The Spirit of Indian River County Awards, recognizing a “comprehensive commitment to strengthening the community,” were presented to Brown and Brown Insurance, Vero Division; and to Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, in the categories of under and over 50 employees respectively.
The Agency Excellence Award, accompanied by a check for $2,500, was presented to the Youth Guidance Mentoring and Activities Program for demonstrated excellence in achieving measurable results through its impact on the community.
The Ralph T. King Award, inspired in his honor in 2000, recognizes the long-term commitment and outstanding achievement by a United Way volunteer. This year’s recipient was Scott Lambeth, owner of Golden River Fruit. Lambeth has served for many years on United Way committees, including the Campaign Cabinet, Citrus Sale Golf Tournament, and Holiday Citrus Sale.
In closing out the luncheon, Riley introduced 2014-15 United Way Campaign co-chairs Leslie and Mike Swan, who are leading the effort to meet a lofty $2.63 million goal.
