Page 31 - 2-13-15 Friday's Edition

Polk County
Lakeland Branch NAACP Installs New Officers
On January 8, 2015, the Lakeland Branch-NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peo- ple) installed its newly elected officers during a ceremony held at St. Mark United Methodist Church in Lake- land.
Jack Johnson, a retired educator, served as Master of Ceremony. The opening greeting was extended by Keith Ward. Pastor E. T. Pickett, of Word Alive Min- istries, rendered the invoca- tion which was followed by a beautiful song selection by Arica Ardis. Judge Timo- thy Coon, retired judge of the Polk County Court con- ducted the Oath of Office and Installation of Officers.
The new officers are: Reginald L. Ardis, Presi- dent; Keith V. Ward, Sr., 1st Vice President; Christel Graham, 2nd Vice President; Rashelle Jones, Esquire, Secretary; and Don Brown, Treasurer. Pastor Delano Messer McIntosh encour- aged the new officers with words of inspiration. The cer- emony concluded with closing remarks of President Ardis and benediction by Pastor McIntosh.
New Polk County Hotel Expected To Hire 150
It is reported that Legoland
Hotel at Legoland Florida Re-
sort, in Winter Haven, will open on May 15, 2015 and that 150 employees will be hired. For further informa- tion, visit the Legoland web- site at: www.legoland.com
Happy Birthday To You!
Shaw-Nuf Talk extends belated Happy Birthday wishes to: Margaret Faison (Jan. 30th), Denise Spann (Feb. 3rdDerrick Brath- waite and Irvin Gant (Feb. 5th), and Maxine Smith (Feb. 6th).
Happy Birthday wishes are extended to: Church of God by Faith District Father Elder Thomas Faison, Jr., the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin’s C. Blythe Andrews, III, Auburndale High School’s Dean Paul Green and Polk City gentleman Roy Calhoun, as they all cele- brate another year of life on February 10th.
Special Happy Birthday wishes also go out to Lakeland lady Lakeshia Gatlin, who will celebrate another natal day on Feb. 13th! May the Lord bless each of you with many, many more birthdays!
About Love...
GOD is LOVE, the breath of life for PEACE, the breath of life for JOY, the breath of life for HOPE, the breath of life for UNITY, the breath of life for POWER, the breath of life for CHANGE. God is LOVE. May you share and re-
ceive the love of God, every day of the year. His love is THE REAL THING!
Shaw-Nuf Shout-Out This week’s Shaw-Nuf Shout-Out goes out to Mar- quinia Butts-Fisher, Pro- gram Manager and the staff, members, and supporters of the Healthy Start Coalition of Hardee, Highlands and Polk Counties Inc. Teen Pregnancy Prevention Alliance (TPPA) Programs for their efforts to reduce teen pregnancy by way of education in the aforemen-
tioned counties and abroad. On February 5, 2015, the agency hosted its annual Faith Leaders Breakfast at the Branscomb Auditorium’s Honeyman Pavilion at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. The purpose of the annual breakfast is to educate the faith community on the cur- rent teen pregnancy preven- tion statistics and to encourage Faith Leaders to commit to communicate with their congregations about the church’s morals and values
addressing teen pregnancy.
Talk To Shaw-Nuf Shaw-Nuf Talk wants to hear from you. Share news and/or photos of your Super Bowl, Black History Month, and Valentine’s Day celebra- tions, special events, birth- days, anniversaries, weddings, family reunions, civic groups, social clubs, reli- gious organizations, and com- munity news etc., with the readership of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin by send- ing an e-mail to: shawnuftalk@yahoo.com or
calling (863) 513-8437.
First African-American Sworn-In As Polk County Sheriff Office’s Chief
Of Law Enforcement
BY CYNTHIA E. ZORN-SHAW Polk County Columnist
On Thursday, January 15, 2015, Polk County Sheriff Office’s Major Joe Hal- man, Jr. was sworn-in as Chief of the PCSO’s Depart- ment of Law Enforcement. In the history of the PCSO, no other African-American has ever held this office. This promotion places Chief Halman in the third highest ranking office of the PCSO. He is outranked by Sheriff Grady Judd and Chief of Staff, Steve Lester.
Chief Halman’s first experience in law enforce- ment was as an Explorer Scout with the Winter Haven Police Department. At the age of 15, he worked at K- Mart in the loss prevention department.
He began his career with the sheriff’s office in 1985. After serving in the United States Army National Guard, Chief Halman received an honorable discharge in 1990. In 2003, Chief Halman re- ceived his bachelor’s degree from Warner Southern Col- lege and his master’s degree from Southeastern Univer- sity in 2008.
CHIEF JOE HALMAN, JR. Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Chief Halman and his wife, Debra, have been married for more than 23 years. They are the proud parents of four children and two grandchildren.
Humbled and excited, Chief Halman shares that he believes in serving, pro- tecting and treating people as you want to be treated. And that he hopes to en- hance the relationship be- tween the community and PCSO, making Polk County a great place to live and con- tinue to provide great cus- tomer service.
Chief Halman also serves as Senior Pastor of Greater Works Ministry in Winter Haven.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 19-B