Y Lakeland Blog

Even through the torrential downpour the hard core fans came out for a great night on the Promenade. Around 7:30 the rain really lightened up and fun was had by all. It was a disappointing year due to the low turnout because of the rain, but nonetheless a great time. To check out all the pictures click to go to my flickr album!

The Lakeland Center has unveiled a new logo.  The Ledger did a story on the logo in Saturday’s paper.  Anyone have thoughts on the new logo?

Week 40…

Today I read in The Insider, from the Ledger, that if the Rays win you can get a free donut the next day at Dunkin’ Donuts. Of course you knew I would go and take advantage of such a wonderful offer. This afternoon I ordered a chocolate covered donut and it was !!!FREE!!! Yay for me and my friend who came along. It’s not too late to cash in today or any day after the Rays win a game. Go Tampa Bay!!

Sorry for such fuzzy pictures. My phone has taken too many hits to it!

(OK, that is a little gross.)

After lunch at Black & Brew my friend and I walked around downtown. Occasionally I do this to see what is happening and going on. We strolled by the vacant buildings next to B & B and we peaked in through the windows. Such potential there.

We looked in at Linksters so my friend could see inside and then rounded the corner so we could peruse through the J. Rowan Gallery. The art is so awesome in the gallery. In the back we kept being amazed by how low the prices were on the vintage wear. We tried on a jacket that was $9.99 but it was a wee bit tight on both of us…lame.

After leaving the Gallery we stopped outside at SugaRush, next to Fresh Choice.

People were crazy working inside. Probably because they are opening TODAY, at least according to the sign on the door. Welcome to the neighborhood! I can’t wait to get my SugaRush!

Note: To tide my self over today I bought a Bit-O-Honey from The General Store and then ended up buying The Wedding Party CD…a local band I hadn’t heard of before. Good times. Good times.

The Lakeland Downtown Development Authority has hired a company from St. Louis to help them create a brand for downtown. The LDDA is looking for people from all walks of life to assist them by filling out the following survey. Please fill the Word Document out and return it to Becky.Abel@lakelandgov.net. The official e-mail is below!

The Lakeland Downtown Development Authority is embarking on a Downtown Branding and Marketing campaign with Kiku Obata & Company.

“Branding” is more than the creation of a logo and a slogan. Fundamentally, we will be creating a positioning statement that will encompass both a “voice” (“What is Downtown Lakeland?” or “What do you want Downtown to be?”) and a “look” (develop the look, a logo, objectives, color standards and ultimately a book of standards that will affect all communications).

The purpose of this project is to establish Lakeland with a sense of place that will continue to attract and increase our exposure to new businesses, residents and visitors in Downtown Lakeland.

We need your help! For the company to get started with our branding, we need the input from people who care about Downtown Lakeland. A survey of your first impressions begins on the back of this letter. Please answer these questions briefly – either online or print out - and email or fax it back to us as soon as possible.

The deadline is very quick! In order for your response to be counted, please make sure your survey is sent to us by first thing Monday, July 7, 2008 Friday, July 18, 2008.

Please take the time right now or later today to answer these questions so you can share your thoughts about Downtown for this branding project. We thank you in advance for your participation. If you have any questions, please give Becky or Anne a call at 863-687-8910.

When you complete the survey online, please save it in your documents and send it back to Becky as an attachment. Becky.Abel@lakelandgov.net.

To take the survey click on the link below: http://www.ldda.org/files/5492F4F01A4C418FA07FB0C01D3CA6D1.doc

Beyond the calendar coming out tomorrow I wanted to highlight some events happening this weekend.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

• Red, White & Kaboom - This year the name has changed to Central Florida Eurocars Red, White & Kaboom. If you are not from Lakeland this is the BIG Lakeland Independence Day event around Lake Mirror. There will be vendors and live music from 6-9pm of course with the evening ending in a fireworks show. Rumor has it this year the show will even be better thanks to community support…ie Central Florida Eurocars. Helpful advice would be to tell you that it all happens tomorrow, Thursday, July 3. Why we love to celebrate early has always baffled me, but maybe it has to do with the next event.

Friday, July 4, 2008

• Flying Tigers - On July 4 the Flying Tigers are playing at home, Joke Marchant Stadium. Tickets for adults are $5 and parking is free. Around 9pm, or after the game, there will be a fireworks display. It just so happens there will be fireworks displays on Friday, Saturday and Sunday out at Tigertown. Take me out to the BallGame!
• Cypress Gardens Celebration - Enjoy a day at the park and stay until the evening where there will be live music, an evening ski show and fireworks display.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

• WaterPalooza! - I have no idea what a WaterPalooza is, but I received a postcard on the event and it looks like a great time. It all starts at 11:45am, worship at 10am, at George Jenkins High School. There will be giant water inflatables, kiddie areas, free food and prizes. The event is completely free.

Each quarter Manpower publishes the results of their Employment Outlook Survey. The Quarter 3 2008 results were just sent out and I thought the results for Lakeland might be of benefit to people…maybe even cause a few smiles. This is good news for job seekers in our market.

Below I put the blurb Manpower has written “About the Survey.” To see the results for Lakeland click to download the .pdf. To see the complete results check out Manpower’s Pressroom.

Please find the results of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for Quarter 3 2008. The survey has been running for more than 45 years and is conducted quarterly as a public service to help businesses, consumers, government officials and agencies, trade associations and academic institutions understand the hiring plans of employers for the quarter to come. Based on interviews with more than 14,000 U.S. employers in 460 markets, it is one of the most trusted surveys of employment activity in the world.

It’s that time of year again. The time in which everyone starts predicting this will be, by far, the worst Hurricane Season ever. I think I have heard that ever since I moved to Florida and out of all those years the one year it was REALLY REALLY bad, 4 major hurricanes in a few weeks, well it was REALLY REALLY bad.

The major problem I observe with weather is how unpredictable it truly is. For the past few years we, in Lakeland, Florida, have had comparatively mild hurricane seasons. This is a blessing but also something to make us weary. As people we easily forget the potential devastation these massive storms can produce. I urge you not to be complacent but to be prepared for what might hit us.

Both The Ledger and Bright House Networks have produced two great guides to Preparing your home for Hurricane Season. The Ledger Supplement ran on June 1, 2008, but copies are all around town. Bright House has packets with the Ledger Special Section and their own Bay News 9 Preparedness DVD.

Ultimately I would suggest getting your hands on these publications and/or checking out more extensive websites on this subject. I have provided a bit of a summary below, but by no means is this exhaustive!

Hurricane Season:
June 1 - November 30

Websites:
www.theledger.com/hurricane
www.redcross.org
www.polksheriff.org
www.baynews9.com
www.fema.gov
www.floridadisaster.org
www.nhc.noaa.gov
www.polk-county.net

Suggestions:

• Create a plan. (Make a list of important phone numbers including relatives, friends, organizations, etc. Know your evacuation route, where flashlights & batteries/candles are in your home, etc.)
• Clean up the area outside of your house by removing movable objects when you know a storm is coming.
• Stock up on bottled water, canned food, and other non-perishable goods.
• Keep a first aid kit readily assessable w/ any medications that are necessary.
• Team up with neighbors.