I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the Executive Director of the Brevard Heart Foundation, Stacy Cartechine. The Brevard Health Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and recognizing those in the healthcare field. Although they are involved with multiple programs, Cartechine and I spoke mostly about their upcoming Heart of a Hero Gala, which will be held on April 6, 2024, at the Hilton Melbourne. That may sound like a long way off, however the nominating process for this event is now underway.
Believe it or not, I recently took a ride into space! Well, maybe not, but it sure felt like it. I was fortunate to be given a tour of Blue Origin’s first permanent exhibit, which is located at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. This virtual reality simulator features the New Shepard crew capsule, with actual data and imagery, that makes your “flight experience” special.
The Merritt Island Holiday Illumination Celebration will be held Saturday, December 9, 2023, at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center, 400 S. Sykes Creek Pkwy., Merritt Island, Florida, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. This very special event is produced by Community Advocacy for Merritt Island (CAMI). According to their website (ca4mi.com), CAMI is a “non-partisan volunteer organization committing to contributing to an environment where Merritt Island residents and businesses can live and achieve their best island life.”
Family Promise of Brevard, Inc. will be celebrating 10 years of community service on Saturday, December 2, 2023, 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Their “Big Brunch” will take place at The Firehouse, 114 1st Street in Cocoa, FL. There will be food, drink, live music, and much more at the celebration.
The Thanksgiving week did not slow down NASA. They had a busy and active week. NASA’s new sky-mapping space telescope SPHEREx takes shape, their PACE mission to monitor Earth's climate and oceans gets ready for launch, and the Artemis II astronauts get a look at their Moon rocket's core stage. This and more at This Week @NASA.
My broadcasting partner, Orville Susong, and I were at the Sharing Center of Central Brevard in Cocoa on Thanksgiving morning. We witnessed what we see every year, volunteers and the community coming together to help those in need.
American Legion Post 344 in Merritt Island is raising funds for National Wreaths Across America Day, which will be held on December 16, 2023. The organization’s goal is to place wreaths on Veterans’ graves at four local cemeteries - St. Luke’s Cemetery, Georgiana Cemetery, Indianola Cemetery, and White Lily Cemetery.
Recently, I attended The Astronauts Memorial Foundation Inaugural Space Luncheon Series -1 (SLS-1) at The Center for Space Education located at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Kennedy Space Center Chief of Staff, Trey Carlson, was the Keynote Speaker. I spoke with multiple individuals after the program, and they were all in agreement that it was a resounding success!
The Rockledge Department of Public Safety will be holding its annual Stuff-a-Cruiser on Saturday, November 18, 2023, at Publix, 3820 Murrell Rd., Rockledge, FL, 7:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Police and Fire personnel, along with City officials, will be in front of Publix collecting food donations of any kind. Food collected will be donated to the Sharing Center of Central Brevard.
Brittany’s Wish, a local non-profit that supports children battling cancer and their families, is holding its 15th Annual Toy Drive. According to their website, “The purpose of Brittany’s Wish is to provide financial support and other acts of kindness to families in Central Florida with children receiving treatment for all types of cancer.”