It's a clear view from this angle

Well, this hasn’t happened in a while.

I had something all teed up Monday night and ready to go. Hit all the right notes. It said what I wanted to say.

And then…I just decided to bag it. Welcome to the blog biz.

I’ve learned that trying to do a full rewrite at 9 p.m. is never smart, so today we’re going with the tried-and-true photo page.

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First off, how about that sunset? And, yes, I literally stopped my car on the Salt River bridge to take this photo. I’m dedicated like that.

Our evening skies are spectacular. Whoever is behind that, keep up the good work.
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State Rep. JJ Grow kicked off his re-election campaign with a fundraiser Thursday night at Fenco Farms in Floral City.

Not making a political statement here, but JJ is a good guy. Family man. The crowd sang happy birthday to his 6-year-old grandson. 

I wracked my brain on Monday about people I consider true leaders, the ones who rarely have anything negative spoken about them. JJ is definitely a Citrus County leader. He has a bright future, and that’s good news for us.

By the way, Tod Cloud, JJ’s election opponent, is also a nice guy. He’s constantly hamming it up with me in public, and he doesn’t take himself too seriously. I'll be writing about him soon.
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Sen. Ralph Massullo opened his district office in Inverness a few weeks back. Ralph and I have had a much stronger relationship since Deb died. Being a widower himself only six months prior, Ralph has walked me through this grieving process with care and kindness.

Even at his office grand opening. “You OK today?” he quietly asked and meant it.

I’m OK today because of Ralph and so many others like him. Citrus Countians are the most caring people on the planet.

That's Sen. Massullo with Inverness Mayor Bob Plaisted. Even with my lousy photo skills, kinda sad I couldn't get a decent photo of Ralph at his own event.
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The Citrus Memorial Health Foundation YMCA earlier this month marked its 10th anniversary with a $2.5 million expansion announcement. Thanks, in part, to $1.5 million in state funding, they’re about $200,000 shy of meeting the goal.

It’s been 10 years since the Y opened in Lecanto. Jewel Lamb and then-Chronicle Publisher Gerry Mulligan led a community capital campaign that raised over $8 million — a record by far.

The Y was very personal to Gerry and we all knew it. We wanted to recognize him, which is impossible because Gerry avoids the spotlight at all costs.

The Chronicle had quarterly meetings that Gerry led. All the company employees would be there. Along with company updates, we gave away prizes. Deb organized the quarterly meeting.

The Chronicle was big on serving the community, so each quarter we’d have names in a bucket of employees who volunteered, and Gerry would pull a name out of the bucket for a gift card.

After the Y had its grand opening, Deb came up with a funny haha. We placed only Gerry’s name in the bucket on a dozen slips of paper. He pulled out his name, tossed it back. Pulled out his name again, tossed it back. Pulled out his name again…and figured out that there were no other names.

Gerry never sought recognition for himself, only his employees. We wanted him to know that in our hearts, no name was bigger than his. 

I hope my old boss is enjoying retirement while I work to protect the community from harm.

That’s a wrap. Have a great Tuesday, friends.

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