Recognition comes with a price At the meeting of the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 10, I was presented with a resolution for volunteer work and contributions within the county in the area of recycling, environmental education and care for the environment. I would like to thank all Commissioners for passing the resolution and Commissioner Curt Smith, in particular, for presenting me with the resolution and for his leadership in regards to preserving and protecting the environment in general and the Indian River Lagoon specifically. The accomplishments listed in the resolution were only possible because of the support of my family and so many dear friends who have volunteer with me or have partnered with Recycle Brevard or somehow helped with our initiatives. Those individuals are not only fundamental to getting projects done; they are the inspiration to get new projects on the to-do list. As any recognition, this one also comes with a price. The price is the responsibility of doing more in and for our community in the area we are focused on: reducing waste and promoting sustainable living
BEYOND the CURB Marcia Booth
President & Founder, 3Rs and Beyond
through advocacy, action and education. What does that mean in practical terms? That means continuing to work on reducing plastic pollution, primarily focusing on polystyrene containers and single-use plastic straws; strengthening current partnerships and making new ones; expanding our educational program to offer it to more schools and assist teachers and schools in incorporating sustainable practices in the classrooms and the school environment; further investing in recycling alternatives to make recycling even more appealing, especially to businesses; building up the reuse habit to extend the life of materials that would otherwise end up in the landfills. These form the basic scope of our immediate goals. And to spark this reuse spirit, I would like to invite everyone to come check out our Reuse
WILLIAM A. JOHNSON, P.A. ELDER & ESTATE LAW OFFICE “For years I have been counseling my clients on the “Total Care” concept to address their concerns when a long term care situation arises. My “Total Care” approach means that I am able, through my close working relationships, to bring valuable professionals in the fields of accounting, tax, geriatrics, geriatric case management, long term care and finance to bear on your long term care problem. Combined with my legal expertise as a Florida Board William A. Johnson, Esquire Certified Elder Law attorney, I will provide you with a Florida Bar Board Certified Elder Law Attorney comprehensive plan for facing the future in uncertain times.”
Room at Recycle Brevard’s new facility (1535 Cogswell Street unit C-15, Rockledge from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The room is home to reusable materials — from fabric to artificial flowers to scrapbooking supplies to egg cartons — that can be used in STEM projects, art projects, open-ended play and other creative ways. I also would like to invite you to join us in our first reuse project in partnership with Lucky’s Market on Thursday, Nov. 9 for an evening of wine tasting and wine bottle art. The goal of this project is to make reuse fun! We will be repurposing wine bottles to give them a vintage look and transform them into candle holders. To register, go to UncorkedAndCreative. Eventbrite.com. With all the pressing environmental issues, reusing does not seem to solve anything but it does help in reducing waste. There always is the hope that we can do more, but there is nothing wrong in taking baby steps as long as it is in the right direction. To quote Abraham Lincoln, “I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.” VV Email Marcia Booth at Marcia@3RsAndBeyond.org.
INTERFAITH
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will host the event as part of the Suntree Viera Area Association of Churches (SVAAC). “It is our year to host,” said Jahn, explaining the churches take turns hosting a SVAAC service around Thanksgiving every year. After Advent Lutheran Church decided on the interfaith service, SVAAC, according to Jahn, was open to “making it interfaith.” “There is a level of anxiety that is unprecedented, a level of division, of losing friends because of divisiveness and disagreement,” Jahn said. “When I mention this (interfaith celebration), the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Hickman and Samarah were very positive about it. “In all the major Abrahamic faiths, Christianity, Judaism and Islamic, the vast majority of what we teach — how people ought to treat each other — those things are very similar. The place where we disagree is on what we cannot really know — the nature of God, the character of God — we diverge in terms of our teaching. For those of us who are comfortable with the fact that, compared with the vastness of the universe, we don’t know anything, and for those who are comfortable accepting the idea that there might be other ways of looking at things, this service will be affirming and not threatening.” Jahn hopes that the event can expand to include other faiths and become an annual celebration. It likely would have included other faiths this year if there had been more time to organize the celebration. The service is open to people of all faiths. VV
Stop in for a FREE COPY of our Long Term Care & Nursing Home booklet.
rida The Flo Care Long Teinrm Home g rs u & N er Book ™ Answ County Edition
Brevard 2014-15
Come see us at our new location. 140 Interlachen Rd. Ste. B, Melbourne 321-253-1667 • www.FloridaElderLaw.net
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ESTATE PLANNING • PROBATE • TRUSTS & WILLS • GUARDIANSHIPS • MEDICAID PLANNING • LONG TERM CARE • ADVANCE DIRECTIVES • NURSING HOME PLANNING
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Viera Voice | November 2017
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