Front-row seat to celebrations

Winding down the week wondering what Bunny did with my other tennis shoe…

— We are officially in the get-off-your-keister season. Big tree lighting in Inverness last weekend. This weekend is Floral City Heritage Days, Crystal River Christmas Parade, and Light Up Liberty. Next weekend is Inverness Christmas Parade. Those are just the biggies. Plenty of other holiday-themed events in our community.

A few days ago, I wrote about the ongoing growth issues in Citrus County. One place where heritage still reigns: Floral City.

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This is a town rich in old timey. If not for the big trucks rumbling along Orange Avenue (which Commissioner Rebecca Bays is trying to stop), Floral City would still resemble its quaint yesteryear.

I stopped by the Red Brick Place art gallery the other day. In this Amazon world, we need more Red Brick Place stores. Small bites of Americana in quiet neighborhoods. 

Floral City is a sigh of relief, a waystation in our increasingly complicated county. Come out Friday night or Saturday and you’ll see what proud Citrus County heritage looks like.

— OK, so this happened. I was walking out of Cattle Dog’s on Monday with my frozen hot chocolate when in walks new Superintendent of Schools Scott Hebert.

Over the next 15 seconds:

Scott: “Teacher of the Year awards are tonight.”

Me: “Really? Shoot, can’t make it.”

Scott: “Yeah, the Teacher of the Year is tonight.”

Me: “Geez, that sounds great. I have a commitment.”

Scott: “You know, Teacher of the Year is tonight.”

(Slight pause.)

Me: “See you there!”

I then had the immediate challenge of scoring a ticket to the Citrus County Education Foundation’s biggest event of the year — A Galaxy of Stars, where the top teachers and school-related employees are recognized.

I know the hard work that goes into putting this event together and the folks who do it. The last thing they needed was a last-second plea for a seat.

Fortunately, most of those people are fond of me. I decided on a straight-forward approach with a little bit of name dropping and humility.

“Here’s a shot in the dark,” I texted a CCEF friend. “Any chance I can score a seat at the teacher of the year tonight? It wasn’t on my radar at all and I just ran into Scott Hebert and he mentioned it. If the answer is no, that’s OK.”

Few minutes later, I was in.

Now. I’ve been a gate crasher before. Usually that secures me a seat in the kitchen, which I’m always happy to take because I’m literally walking up to a catered formal dinner not on the guest list.

So I wasn’t sure what to expect. The event was at CF, and attendees were greeted with little placards with their names and table numbers. I expected to find, “Just Wright Citrus, Storage Room 3,” but to my surprise, I was seated at Table 5.

The School Board table.

Look, man, I understand a reporter’s role in the pecking order of life. Sitting at the grownups’ table isn’t it. The board members all looked at me with surprised amusement.

“We’re off the record tonight!” I told ‘em, and we had a delightful evening.

The energy in that room was off the charts. I’m sensing an enormous amount of Citrus County feel-goods these days, and A Galaxy of Stars tops them all. These grownups are on the front lines of the lives of our children every day, and they really, truly care. Not only in the classroom, but many educators were also recognized for their service to the community. Leading by example.

Well-deserved congratulations to the Citrus County Teacher of the Year, Autumn Crabtree, Culinary Arts teacher at Crystal River High School; and School-Related Employee of the Year, Jamil Namey, Homosassa Elementary paraprofessional. 

— Received a heart-felt letter from an Ozello friend the other day that I’ll touch on next week, but it’s a reminder that we have numerous neighbors in the coastal communities who lost it all in Hurricane Helene. Or, lost enough to make each day an uphill challenge.

Then on Thursday, a good friend texted me after reading about Bunny. The friend is having major hours-long surgery on Friday, while grieving just days after the loss of her dog of 13 years. We prayed by text.

The point I never want to forget is that we’re not all in the same place at the same time. We are fortunate to live in a community that watches out for its own. 

Have a great weekend, friends. Enjoy!

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