Listeners enjoyed hearing about Home Base Pensacola and today’s Human Trafficking Conference. They also enjoyed listening to our entire shows while driving or working out.
1. Home Base Pensacola
Home Base is a national non-profit started by the Boston Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital in 2009. Its mission is to heal the invisible wounds of war by providing service members and their families with first-class physical and emotional support, all at no cost to the patient/participant. Betsy Hart, a military spouse and Northwest Florida native, is bringing this program to Pensacola with Lakeview’s help. She shared the details.
“We have clinicians that we’ve partnered with through the Lakeview Center,” Hart said. “We brought our team down from Massachusetts and trained them in the same evidence-based care that we use in Boston. And so, we’re not only expanding access, but we’re also increasing the quality of care that military folks can access here locally.”
2. Human Trafficking Conference
Magdalene’s is hosting a free Human Trafficking Conference to open dialogue about sexual exploitation and to equip teens and the people who love them on how to spot it, stop it and break free. Angie Ishee shared the details.
Register now as seating is limited: https://magdalenes.org
What: Magdalene’s Human Trafficking Conference
Why: Magdalene’s is committed to Education & Awareness because sexual exploitation happens right here in our own backyard.
When: Oct. 26, 4 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Where: Rex Theatre on Palafox Street
Note: Because of the sensitive nature of the topics and documentary (rated 13+), adults and teens 13 and older are invited.
During the busiest show of the week, I talked with Will Kennedy (UWF Argo football), Robert Bender (voting update), Rick Byars (UWF Haas Center study on OLF-8), Angie Ishee (Human Trafficking Conference, Mark Diana (Allin the Journey exhibit at UWF), Tom Dahlbrog (CivicCon talk – Stop bullying) and Ed Meadows (A&P aviation mechanics program).
“There are three certifications that students can get, and it certainly is going to boost the emerging aviation maintenance industry in Northwest Florida,” said PSC president Ed Meadows. “It’s a big deal for our community and certainly some well-paid jobs down the line for not only adults that want a changing career but exiting military people that are getting out of the military that already have a background in aviation maintenance, as well as dual enrollment students.”
4. Monday, Oct. 21 show
I talked with Sena Maddison, Robert Bender (Start of Early Voting), Nicholas Groghan (PMA 70th Gala), Ryan Wiggins (Plea to Vote Now), Holly Benson (2024 Pensacola Mural Fest), and Karen Travers (on the Harris campaign).
“I’m not this concerned about Escambia County. Robert Bender is doing a great job as supervisor of elections, but there are concerns about voting nationwide,” Wiggins said. “There’s already been a terrorist plot that has been thwarted; ISIS and Iran that attempted to cause some issues on election day. There are other countries right now that are very, very invested in our elections and want to make sure that they go in a very chaotic way.”
She added, “It’s important that people get out and vote because it also lets the campaigns know where to spend their money in the final days and for the final push. Regardless of which campaign you are pulling for, it tells them when the votes are starting to come in, they know where they still need to work. And so it’s better across the board that we’re all involved to get those votes counted and counted early.”
City administrator Tim Kinsella discussed his first three weeks on the job. “I’ve worked in a lot of big organizations. I did two tours in the Pentagon. I know what bureaucracies work like. There are a lot of really good people working in city hall on hard problems, trying to do the best that they can for the people of Pensacola, and it’s good to see it.”
Photo by Maximilian Hofer on Unsplash