By: Alex Garcia
President
(Orlando Central) Florida Chapter, STC
president@stc-orlando.org
Hello and welcome to another edition of President’s Corner. The past two weeks have been long ones in the State of Florida. We were shook from our daily lives with the impending doom that a category 5 hurricane, Irma, was about to unleash. In all, 5 million Floridians took to the roads and evacuated. The hurricane ravaged the Caribbean before making landfall in the Florida Keys and heading northwest. Its originally-projected destination, Miami, seemed to have been spared a direct visit from the eye. In a normal storm, that would have meant sunny skies. However, Irma was not a normal storm. This behemoth measured 600 miles across! No, Miami was not spared. Neither was Fort Lauderdale, Naples, Fort Myers, Bradenton, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Lakeland, nor Orlando.
Today, the weather is sunny and hot in Central Florida. We are waterlogged; some of us have no power or worse, and ice is now a currency traded for removing tree limbs and palm fronds. Nevertheless, we persist. We will rebuild, and we will carry on. Members and friends, if you are personally affected by the hurricane and could use a hot meal or a place to charge your phone, please reach out to anyone on the administrative council at adco@stc-orlando.org.
Orlando is slowly coming back to life. Need a break from the heat and want to engage in some networking? Don’t forget about our upcoming social event this Tuesday, September 19th at 6 PM at the Yard House on International Drive. Please click here to RSVP! Our special guest will be Elaine Gilliam, STC’s very own STC Meeting Manager / Communities Staff Liaison who will be here checking out the Summit’s venue, the Hyatt Regency Orlando. It is fitting that I scheduled a social meeting for September, as now, more than ever, we just need to chill out and collectively decompress. Come ready to discuss the 2018 Summit in Orlando (http://summit.stc.org). Our editor, Nick Ducharme, has more details on how YOU can submit a proposal to present at the STC Summit elsewhere in this issue.
Until next time, stay cool, Florida!