Plant City is my hometown; I was born here. In fact, I was born over Herring Drug Store, now known as Whistle Stop. We didn’t have a hospital, but plans were being made to build one. We needed a hospital to meet the needs of our growing community.
My wife, Pec, and I were blessed to rear our family in Plant City. Our two daughters graduated from Plant City High School. One of our greatest blessings was that they both married Plant City boys and moved back to Plant City after college. We’ve been able to be a part of our grandchildren’s lives as they grew up in Plant City as well.
There was no better place than Plant City to rear a family! But now I’m concerned.
All the people! All the traffic! Do we have the infrastructure to handle all of it? It’s hard for me to get my arms around it all.
People continue to move to Florida; that’s reality. Plant City’s location makes it a prime area in the state. What do we do? We can’t build walls to keep people out. We can’t go back to “the good ole’ days.” But we can plan ahead to control the growth, not let the growth control us. We can plan for growth with an eye towards preserving our culture.
That’s why this upcoming City Commission election is pivotal. I’ve lived here all my life, and I can’t remember a more important election. We need the best, most qualified leadership to make the hard decisions for the sake of our city that we love!
As chairman of the South Florida Baptist Hospital board of trustees, I’ve had the privilege of working with Karen Kerr for over 30 years. As president of South Florida Baptist Hospital, the largest employer in Plant City, I’ve admired her leadership as she has made hard decisions.
Our hospital suffered significant growing pains; we knew we couldn’t meet the growing healthcare needs of our community at our location. As a result of Karen’s leadership, BayCare agreed to build a $326 million state-of-the-art hospital in Plant City. I have many fond memories of the old hospital, but I’m so grateful that we have a facility that will meet our community’s healthcare needs for years to come. Yes, the hospital is bigger, we have the finest equipment available, we have a larger team of doctors, nurses, and specialists, but through Karen’s leadership our culture hasn’t changed. It’s still our hometown hospital; we want the best healthcare for our family and friends!
Karen’s leadership can make a difference in our city as well! Karen has been deeply involved in community improvement and charitable work for years. She has given back in so many ways. In 2016, she was given the YMCA Strong Leader Award. This is an annual community honor presented to someone whose service and leadership reflect caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility.
Karen started attending City Commission meetings regularly in 2013. Her focus has been to hear from the community, to understand the budgeting process, and to really build a deep understanding of the needs and priorities of our residents.
Steady, consistent leadership is important, and Karen understands that you must invest time to earn the privilege to lead.
You have a choice. We need PROVEN, strong, experienced leadership on our City Commission. Please vote for Keren Kerr, Group 3!
Sincerely,
Dub McGinnes
THE INTEGRITY OF THE WLCA ELECTION CALLED INTO QUESTION
If we do not have integrity in the WALDEN LAKE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION election process, it is not possible to have trust and integrity in the BOARD for which they serve.
The day after the WLCA election, my wife and I put in an official records request. On camera and in constant view of the property manager, we proceeded to image the ballots, the envelopes, the addresses, and signatures. After this 10-hour process, we are now moving toward the creation of a digital catalogue of this data for a much easier and more thorough inspection.
Our intent was not to perform a recount, nor to challenge the outcome. Our intent was to inspect the process and to verify election integrity. Although we are not done with this inspection, we can say today that we will most certainly be asking for both a formal independent INSPECTION of our findings and the overall election process and a RECOUNT. Although we still have many more hours to complete this examination, we can say today the procedural questions far exceed the margin between leading candidates. It is possible that the election results could change, and it is also possible that the entire election process could be called into question. When we finish, we will respectfully turn over our digitized work to the Management company of the WLCA, to the WLCA President, and Vice President. While they are doing their due diligence, we will release this work to no more than 5 resident members who have an expertise in accounting, legal, or research for further “crowd sourced” review.
Voter and election integrity matters – stay vigilant, stay involved.
Don and Susan Marshall
Walden Lake
Plant City, Florida
KERR OBVIOUS CHOICE FOR GROUP 3 VOTE
Dear Editor,
For many Plant City residents, Karen Kerr’s name is one they’ve known long before her election signs went up. That’s because Ms. Kerr has been a champion for our town for decades, not just an election cycle.
Ms. Kerr is a dedicated community advocate who brings a servant’s heart and natural leadership to every organization she touches. Her record of service is extensive: she has chaired the Plant City Daybreak Rotary Club and the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce. She has also been deeply involved with the Plant City YMCA, the Tampa Bay Organization of Nurse Executives, and is a member of First Baptist Church of Plant City. She was even recognized as the Plant City YMCA Strong Leader Award winner in 2016. Her commitment to this community is unmatched, bar none.
That’s because commitment and service are rooted in who she is. Ms. Kerr began her career as a bedside nurse and carried that same compassion into her leadership roles at St. Joseph’s Hospital and South Florida Baptist Hospital. Since becoming president of SFBH in 2014, she has expanded the hospital’s reach so residents can receive high-quality care close to home rather than traveling to Lakeland, Brandon, or Tampa. Under her leadership, the hospital relocated to its more accessible Park Road location off I-4 and nearly doubled in size compared to the original location off Alexander Street. As recently as last year, Ms. Kerr championed the opening of the hospital’s state-of-the-art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to care for our most vulnerable newborns.
As a candidate for City Commission, Group 3, Ms. Kerr brings the experience and judgment Plant City needs for our future. She has managed multimillion-dollar budgets while prioritizing safety and accessibility and understands how to allocate resources responsibly while keeping taxpayers’ concerns in mind. She has expressed her commitment to public safety, smart and sustainable growth, and maintaining the quality of life that makes Plant City special.
I have full confidence that Ms. Kerr will follow through on her promises, just as she has in every role she has held. Plant City needs leaders who serve because they genuinely want what is best for all residents. Ms. Kerr is that leader, down to the core of who she is. And what truly sets her apart is that even if she were not elected, she would continue serving this community with the same dedication she always has. That is the mark of a true leader: someone who leads by example, not for recognition, but because it’s the right thing to do, even if they are out of the spotlight.
I’m proud to vote for Karen Kerr, the only candidate in her race who has spent her life putting Plant City first. I encourage my fellow residents to join me in electing the best for Plant City on Tuesday, May 26.
Art Wood
