Florida Strawberry Festival Corvette raffle open
The Florida Strawberry Festival’s annual Chevrolet Corvette raffle, a partnership with Stingray Chevrolet, is now live.
For $5 per ticket, you can get a chance to win a brand new 2021 Chevrolet C8 Corvette 1LT with 490 horsepower, a “torch red” paint job and many more features. You can buy tickets online at stingraychevrolet.com/chevrolet-charity-raffle until 3 p.m. March 12, in-person at Stingray Chevrolet through 6 p.m. March 12 or at any time on the grounds of the Florida Strawberry Festival up until 4:30 p.m. March 14. The raffle winner will be announced at 5 p.m. March 14 on the grounds. The winner does not have to be present at that day and time to be able to claim their prize.
All proceeds from the raffle, a staple of the festival for 11 years, will benefit Unity in the Community.
Discounted Florida Strawberry Festival admission tickets on sale now
If you can’t wait for the Florida Strawberry Festival to go full steam ahead, stop by Publix stores in Plant City and around Central Florida this week for a sweet deal.
Publix has discounted admission tickets for sale at each store’s customer service desk this week. The rates are $8 for adults, $4 for kids age 6-12 and kids age 5 and under get in for free with a paying adult.
Both Plant City stores have the discounted tickets available. For a full list of participating Publix stores, visit flstrawberryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Strawberry-Festival-Store-List-2021-for-website.pdf.
SFBH gets stroke certification
South Florida Baptist Hospital announced it has received Primary Stroke Certification from international accrediting body DNV GL Healthcare. This certification signifies clinical excellence through diagnosis, stabilization and treatment by the hospital’s stroke team, the hospital said in a press release.
“This certification is an outstanding indicator of the excellent stroke treatment we provide,” hospital president Karen Kerr said. “The standards for this certification are extremely high. I give credit to BayCare for aspiring our stroke centers to reach these standards. The communities we serve at South Florida Baptist Hospital can be assured of our commitment to clinical excellence when treating a stroke.”
In 2019, BayCare started the 18-month process of having all 12 of its stroke centers, including SFBH, be certified by DNV GL Healthcare. A team of DNV GL surveyors observed practices, interviewed teams and reviewed documentation. DNV GL’s survey incorporates standards from the Guidelines of the Brain Attack Coalition and recommendations from the American Stroke Association.
Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections announces scholarship opportunities for college students
College students in certain fields of study are eligible to win a $1,200 scholarship from the Florida Supervisors of Elections, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer announced Monday.
The FSE has three $1,200 scholarships available for students majoring in political science, public/business administration or journalism/mass communication. Students must be either accepted or enrolled as a full-time student in a senior college or university in Florida and must have completed two years of junior college or undergrad work.
The deadline to apply is Mach 26 and winners will be announced at the FSE Summer Conference. For the full list of requirements and for more information, applicants are encouraged to visit votehillsborough.org/Florida-Supervisors-of-Elections-Scholarship or contact Digna C. Alvarez at 813-612-7975 or dalvarez@hcsoe.org.
Optimists to host oratorical contest for youths
The Plant City Optimist Club is getting ready to host its annual Oratorical Contest and registration is now open.
Youths younger than age 19 (as of Oct. 1, 2020) who are not enrolled as degree-seeking students at a post-secondary institution can participate in the Feb. 15 contest, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. that evening and will be held at the Sadye Gibbs Martin Community Center, 302 S. Maryland Ave. All contestants will be asked to prepare a four-to-five minute speech around this year’s theme of “Healing the World with Optimism” and present it in front of an audience of family members and the Optimist Club. Judges from the Plant City Toastmasters will grade each contestant based on their poise, adherence to the topic, overall effectiveness and their delivery and presentation.
The overall first, second and third place winners will receive cash prizes of $100, $75 and $50, respectively.
The top two finishers will move on to the Zone 6 contest in Winter Haven in March. Those who continue to perform well in this year’s circuit can win anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500 in scholarships at the North Florida District Finals in April and possibly advance further to the sixth annual World Championships in St. Louis, MO in July.
Since 2001, nine Plant City-area youths have won the North Florida District Finals competition and two have competed at the World Championships.
Visit plantcityoptimistclub.org to register and get more information.