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Sponsored content 365 days can teach you a lot

MEGAN FARRELL

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Birthdays are a time of reflection and rightfully so. Let’s be honest, 365 days can teach you a lot. Yesterday was my birthday. The last 365 have done that for me.

I had the opportunity to live through a full year of motherhood. To grow into the experience and learn to love myself while doing so. I’m not going to lie, this time last year was one of the most challenging weeks of my life.

I had to unexpectedly return early from my birthday trip, which was the first time Brady and I got to spend one-on-one time together post baby. I also had lost my Nana three days prior. My Nana had lived with us since I was 16 and is truly my kindred spirit.

Between those two major letdowns and my severe postpartum depres sion, my birthday was something that, instead of bringing me forward into a new year of joy and light, sent me into a downward spiral that took almost two months to come out of.

When I look back on that time, however, I don’t look back with anger or pain. I instead have made the choice to look back with grat itude. To explore the good that came from the loss I perceived I had experienced. Of course, I did lose my grandmother, and she is someone I miss every single day.

By making the decision to focus on the good in the “negative,” it has truly changed the outlook I have on life. As I reflect on the past 365 days, I know I am in a better place today, not in spite of, but because I started in a place of “negativity” or pain. As I continued to have experiences of loss or pain over the rest of the year, I was able to reflect with love and grace - for myself and the others in the situations.

When a seed is planted, it’s covered with dirt and put in a place of darkness. Without the proper watering, it cannot grow to the light. I encourage you to take a look at the situations you find dark and ask yourself, “Am I allowing the water to hit me? To focus on gratitude and see where I need to grow?”

I promise you’ll grow taller than you ever thought you could and be even more beautiful!

So here’s to another 365 days filled with learning, laughter and gratitude. I am looking forward to stepping into this year embracing the life lessons it will bring me and celebrating the wins I will receive.

ME AND MY LITTLE, THEN AND NOW.

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YOUR TOWN

JEWISH FEDERATION DISTRIBUTES 7,400 BACKPACKS

In 25 years, the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties has put 124,761 backpacks in the hands of children.

Despite the difficulties of running a nonprofit during a pandemic, the Jewish Federation’s supplier was able to distribute 7,400 backpacks full of school supplies to local schools. It was an endeavor that Executive Director Gloria Max said she was nervous about.

A month ago, the Jewish Federation was $36,000 short of its fundraising goal needed for Operation Backpack. Instead of giving up, Max got to work. She made phone calls and spoke on the radio, and the donations came in just in time.

“To me it’s very important that kids have the tools to do well in school,” Max said. “It’s so important, because if you don’t have them, you can’t do it.”

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Max said the number of families in need of food has multiplied as people were furloughed or lost their jobs entirely.

At the end of March and early April, the Jewish Federation’s Jerry Doliner Food Bank was one of the few that remained open in the community, Max said. Many of the packing volunteers had compromised immune systems and couldn’t come in to help, so she spent around 16 hours a day packing food. Her son would come in after his job to help, and they wouldn’t leave until 11 p.m.

Send a check to the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties, located at 470 Adalusia Ave., Ormond Beach, 32174.

HAYFIRE TO PERFORM OUTDOORS AT AUDITORIUM

Flagler Auditorium, in support of the arts in Flagler County, is spearheading a return to live performances with a spectacular outdoor concert on Sept. 13.

The high-energy country/rock band Hayfire will appear on a special stage with state-of-theart sound and light next to Flagler Palm Coast High School on State Road 100. Ticket are $20 each at www.flaglerauditorium.org.

Only one ticket is required per vehicle, and concertgoers are asked to bring their own chairs. Cars will be welcomed to the parking lot’s specially marked spaces beginning at 5 p.m., with the concert starting at 6.

The concert is a focus for the Palm Coast community’s celebration of National Arts in Education Week in September, supporting the transformative power of the arts in education.

Masks and temperature checks are required for all automobile drivers and passengers upon entering the venue.

FREE CONCERT AT LONESOME DOVE

Lonesome Dove Country Church will be hosting a free inspirational gospel concert at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, the Florida Agricultural Museum, 7900 N. Old Kings Road. The venue is 5,000-squarefoot dairy barn, and it will feature Mike and Denise Holms. Also featured will be the Dennis Judy Family Blue Grass Gospel Band from Sumter County.

Bring lawn chairs; rain or shine. Call 234-1400 or email Lonesomedovecountrychurch@gmail.com.

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Former Flagler County Veterans Service Officer Sal Rutigliano, 75, dies at home

JULIE MURPHY

FLAGLER COUNTY PIO

Former Veterans Service Officer, Salvatore “Sal” A. Rutigliano, who served local veterans for 16 years, reportedly died at home on Aug. 17. He was 75.

“Sal was a great and respected veteran,” said current Veterans Service Officer David Lydon. “He made a lasting impact on the county’s veteran community in so many ways, and was still serving veterans as the American Legion Post 115 Service Officer. I had huge shoes to fill when I was hired after Sal’s retirement. He is already missed.”

Rutigliano, a retired sergeant major with the Connecticut Army National Guard, moved to Palm Coast and was hired by Flagler County in June 2000 to head Veterans Services. He retired in November 2016.

“He was instrumental in getting the Veterans Memorial installed in front of the Government Services Building,” said American Legion Cmdr. David Hammond, noting that Rutigliano was a 26-year member of the organization. “He along with Billy Jones created a program called Veterans in the Classroom where they would go into classrooms and talk about what it means to be a veteran. He did that until he retired.”

Commissioner Charlie Ericksen spoke fondly of his friend.

“Ask him a question and if he didn’t know the answer, he’d get you the answer — even if it meant

File photo Sal Rutigliano was instrumental in having the Veterans Memorial installed at the Government Services Building.

calling all the way to the Pentagon,” Ericksen said.

He was people-oriented and keen on preserving military history.

“Often the family wouldn’t know what to do with the artifacts when a veteran would die, and he would recommend that they donate them to the Flagler County Historical Society,” said local historian Sisco Deen.

Rutigliano received a Certificate of Excellence in November 2006 from the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs District IV for his work and assistance with the Blue Star Memorial Marker program. The National Garden Clubs in affiliation garden clubs across the country erects memorial plaques surrounded by attractive planting material along designated highways in honor of the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

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