Perspectives

Whether it’s responding to a house fire down the road or helping kids discovery the secrets of their neighborhood public library, volunteers form a huge part of our community’s overall response to the needs of all of us. To talk about that and the many volunteer opportunities now available in our area: Jeri Bush, director of Volunteer Leon; Ellen Piekalkiewicz, executive director of United Parners for Human Services; and Chaires-Capitola Volunteer Fire Department Chief Joe Parks.

Even though there is still no cure or prevention, the number of state and local resources to help patients of dementia and their caregivers is growing. To talk about it are: Florida Department of Elder Affairs Deputy Secretary Richard Prudom; Debbie Maroney with the Alzheimer’s Project; Demential Caregiver Dr. Regina Sofer; and Tallahassee City Commissioner Gil Ziffer.

A Tallahassee performance of Verdi’s Requiem of Resistance comes to the state of Ruby Diamon Concert Hall on March 25. It will be part of Holocaust Education Week and to speak about this community outreach is: Barbara Goldstein, executive director of the Holocaust Education Resource Council; Rabbi Jack Romberg from Temple Israel; Mandy Stringer, director of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra; and Orchestra Board Member Marjorie Turnbull.

Members of the Apalachee Beekeepers Association, Rick, Michelle, Melanie, Kate and Ryan, talk about their hobby and how eager they are to help anyone get involved in this fascinating and rewarding pastime.

Florida’s ancient cattle culture and its modern expression are the themes of a new PBS documentary, “The Great Florida Cattle Drive: Unbroken Circles”, produced by the father/son filmmaking team from Blountstown, Florida, Elam and Nic Stoltzfus. That film, to be aired on WFSU-TV and other Florida Public Television stations, will be premiered at Tallahassee’s Mission San Luis this evening (2/17) and Elam and Nic talk about the movie and its significance.

Tallahassee and Leon County may be an urban area, but it also has wooded trails, natural springs, hiking, biking, camping and many other nature-based recreational opportunities. That will form the focus of this year’s Leon County Sustainability Summit, Feb. 18 at FSU’s Turnbull Center. Providing a preview of the event are: Maggie Theriot, director of the Leon County Office of Resource Stewardship; Kerri Post, executive director of Visit Tallahassee; Meghan Mick, founder of Red Dirt Discoveries;

Lots of people are talking about “entrepreneurship” nowadays, but women and minorities have historically had far more obstacles to entering this realm. The conversation about all the local resources now available to jump-start these businesses involves: Sean Pittman, founder of the Big Bend Minority Chamber of Commerce and Board Member Gina Kinchlow along with former John G. Riley House Museum Executive Director Althamese Barnes and the new Deputy Director of the Minority, Women and Small

No matter what Smoky Bear says, periodic fires are actually essential for the well-being of woodlands. To talk about it are: Brian Wiebler, Red Hills Outreach & Education Coordinator Tall Timbers Research Station; Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Program Director Kevin Robertson; Rebecca Means, Ecologist Coastal Plains Institute; and Debbie Beard, Fire Management Officer U.S. Forest Service in Florida.

Tallahassee loves its trees. And Leon County Soil and Water Conservation District Three Supervisor Tabitha Fraziers has come up with unique initiatives involving the community’s stately icons. One will provide low-income residents in the city’s “food deserts” with excess produce from local fruit and nut trees. Another will turn the county’s oldest trees into teachers, using the latest technology so they can share the local history they’ve witnessed over the years. Visit the Leon Fruit & Nut

Human trafficking is by no means confined to third-world countries and the gritty back allies of major cities. Here in the North Florida area, sex and labor slavery is surprisingly widespread and happening under seemingly innocent cover. To talk about this scourge problem and what’s being done to combat it is: Robin Hassler Thompson from the Survive and Thrive Advocacy Center; Bethany Gilot with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice; and Frank Williams, assistant US Attorney from