June was a month of change all throughout Plant City as Grace Manor broke ground on their second facility and Phil Waldron took the reins as Florida Strawberry Festival Chairman after over 30 years of work with the festival, including stints as volunteer, treasurer, secretary, associate director, director and vice chairman.
The Sadye Gibbs Martin Community Center played host to a community picnic, acting as a meet-and-greet between local residents and the first responders that serve the city. Hosted by a partnership between I Impact PC and the City of Plant City, the meet-and-greet offered entertainment, free food, family friendly activities and a chance for the community to get to know their first responders.
Camp Invention made its return to Plant City for the seventh year as 133 students ,ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade and representing 37 different schools, flocked to the Arthur Boric Civic Center on the Strawberry Festival Grounds for the week-long, STEM-focused summer camp.
Crowds gathered — along with their furry friends — for two ribbon cuttings in Plant City. At McIntosh Preserve, tours were given along several of the new trails and the preserve’s new observation tower. At Gilchrist Heights Dog Park, several renovations to the existing park, along with a name change, were unveiled as the first installment in a series of improvement projects that will progressively improve a number of local parks for Plant City residents.
In their second an final seven-on-seven tournament of the summer, the Plant City Raiders were crowned champions at the King of Kings tournament. And in his second professional fight, local boxer Jose Rodriguez moved to 2-0 with a knockout victory at 49-years-old.