The Escambia Children’s Trust board is holding a workshop tomorrow. Some hope it will reset the Trust that receives more than $10 million from Escambia County taxpayers.
The agenda is simple with no background material for the public to review and understand what discussions staff has had with individual board members. The items listed include:
- My Why
- Review of 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
- Data Discussion – What is the data telling us?
- Future Funding Priorities
We’ve heard that some on staff have been pushing for the Trust o buy sponsorship for charity events. A horrible idea that leaves the board open to choosing favorites with no benefit to children.
I’ve made my suggestions in last week’s Outtakes – Three Ideas:
1. More training for those who review proposals and adding experts to evaluate the programs.
2. More focused requests for proposals that aim to deal with a specific need.
3. More objective metrics for each funded program that can be independently verified.
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Business Leaders Unite
University of West Florida President Martha Saunders and JT Young, Vice President and General Manager, Florida Power and Light are leading a roundtable of local business leaders to discuss the resurrecting the Committee of 100 – which in 1990s and early 2000s helped with the region’s economic development.
The Pensacola Chamber is helping but I’ve been told the new group will be independent of the chamber, FloridaWest and Visit Pensacola. Stay Tuned.
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PACE Awards
The chamber held its annual Pensacola Area Commitment to Excellence (PACE) Awards last night.
Winners:
Advocate Leader: Crista Brandt, Northwest Florida Regional Director, Valerie’s House
Leader in Education: Dr. Jocelyn Evans, Director of the Kugelman Honors Program at the University of West Florida
Business Leader: Steve Moorhead, Founder and Managing Partner, Moorhead Law Group
Community Leader: Michelle Salzman, Florida State Representative, District 1
Professional Leader: Dr. Rick Fountain, Dean of the College of Business, University of West Florida
Emerging Leader: Whitney Fike, Regional Communications Manager, International Paper
Spirit of Pensacola: Margie Moore, Managing Director, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
Pioneer Award: Dr. James Andrews, Founder, Andrews Institute
Feature Photo by Heather Ford on Unsplash
