Published: February 10, 2009 07:28 am      

District II Florida Association for Home and Community Education holds annual meeting

By Claudia Smedley

The Florida Association for Home and Community Education held its District II Annual meeting in Live Oak, on Thurs., Jan. 15. The district consists of Alachua, Clay, Duval, Jefferson, Levy, Nassau, and Suwannee counties. There were 100 people registered and it was an all day meeting. The meeting was held in the fellowship hall of the First United Methodist Church in Live Oak. Jesse Caruthers, chairman of the County Board of Commissioners, welcomed the assembly and gave some background information about Suwannee County.

The theme of the meeting was “Healthy and Happy with HCE.” Cathy Rogers, FCS agent from Suwannee County Extension office (UF/IFAS Extension) talked in the morning about clean water and all the attributes of water on our bodies. The afternoon speaker was David Burch, the Director of Wellness at the Advent Christian Village Copeland Community Center, who talked on Exercising and Good Health.

During the business meeting, election of officers was held and were installed by Assistant Professor Dr. Eboni Baugh. Dr. Baugh is an Extension Faculty member in the Department of Family Youth and Community Sciences at the Un. of Florida. The officers elected were: President Claudia Smedley (Suwannee County), VP Miriam Hoffman (Duval County), Secretary Ann Bennett (Duval), and Treasurer Bill Smedley (Suwannee County). Unfortunately Ann Bennett was absent due to illness. There was a presentation given by the State FAHCE to Louise Clements for the 2008 Pride of HCE District II winner. The State FAHCE president Helen West from Georgetown, Fla. also made some remarks at the meeting.

Lunch was catered by the McAlpin 4-H Club with Dana and Dewayne Tidwell serving as leaders and cooks. The club members served as waiters and waitresses. The lunchtime entertainment was provided by the Suwannee Strummers who played music on the dulcimers.