×
×
homepage logo
STORE

Chamber gets Weed & Seed update

By Staff | Dec 1, 2009

MEL TOADVINE Accepts Award: Gayle Moreci of First National Bank of the Gulf Coast (formerly Panther Community Bank) accepts the Member of the Month Lehigh Chamber award from Joe Whalen, the Chamber’s CEO and president. Moreci accepted the award on behalf of Brenda Dolan at Fist National Bank of the Gulf Coast.

A Lehigh Acres detective with the Sheriff’s Office, recognition of employees at Kmart for the help they have extended the Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce and Bo Turbeville chairman of the Weed & Seed Committee were all featured last week at the Chamber’s monthly luncheon.

Joe Whalen, the president and CEO of the Chamber, was the official emcee. He introduced Turbeville, who was once Chamber president and who has held important positions of various boards in Lehigh, updated the group about the Weed & Seed grand application that Lehigh is hoping to get.

For those who didn’t know what Weed & Seed is, Turbeville explained that it was a project used in different areas in the county, using money from the federal Justice Department, to root out crime from neighborhoods and “seed” it with positive actions which include neighborhood watches, activities for youth and a desire to keep neighbors cleaned up from trash and litter.

He used a computerized Power Point presentation to show the wide area of Lehigh where crime is most prevalent. He noted that an area at the west end of Lehigh on Leonard Blvd. was an area that the Sheriff’s Office has declared a place where crime is higher than in most areas. However, the Weed & See map included neighborhoods right up to the core of Lehigh.

The Sheriff’s Office is able to use computers to pinpoint crime at any time and to determine the type of crime and its severity.

He said there were eight to nine people on the Steering Committee and in addition to that, several subcommittees that include such areas as cleaning up certain neighborhoods. Volunteer help residents of the various neighborhoods to pick up litter.

He said the grant was submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice in November, making the deadline. If awarded, the grant would include $15,000 the first year, $250,000 the second year in a five-year million dollar grant award.

He noted that the Lee County Sheriff’s Office with help from the Weed & Seed group would decide how the money will be used.

And he said Sheriff Mike Scott said it would mean the addition of at least two more officers for Lehigh.

“When he said that, he didn’t mean pulling two men off the county payroll, but to add two more officers to the area with their pay coming from the grant,” Turbeville said.

Much of the money would be spent on prevention efforts with the plan of neighborhood intervention and then treatment and he neighborhood restoration.

Meanwhile, the Chamber also presented an award for its Member of the Month to Brenda Dolan who was not present to accept the award. Instead, Gayle Moreci from First National Bank of the Gulf Coast accepted the way on behalf of Dolan.

Whalen said Dolan and the bank were being honored for its support of Leadership Lehigh, where Dolan was a co-chairman in leadership.

Employees of the Month were Kiley Cooper, Dee Franklin-Fleming, and Patrica Schwimmer, Walmart employees who have supported the Chamber.

The Officer of the Month was Detective Michael Milano, who was given an award for exemplary work in the Sheriff’s Office. The award was presented by Joe Whalen from the Chamber and Lt. James Loethan.

The next Chamber luncheon will be held Feb. 23, 2010 at 11 a.m. at Majestic Golf Club. There is no luncheon in December; however, the Chamber will holds its annual banquet in January where new officers will be installed and members will be honored for their work for the Chamber. It is expected to be held at the Colonial Country Club just outside Lehigh on Colonial Blvd., the same site as in previous years.

New members were also recognized. They included: AAA Realty Inc., ADS Marketing Resources, Botanica Bob Kolarde, Sunshine Savings Inc., Karen Makowski, Doug Thompson, author; Hommerich Enterprises, John Fry and REAL Men Ministries.

The luncheons was held at the Majestic Golf Club on Nov. 24.