On the last Saturday of each month (except in November and December) a special group of women meets at Heartfelt Quilting & Sewing in Winter Haven to use their talents for a good cause. The store was started by Tom and Pat Roberts. Pat Roberts started sewing as a child and began working at her first fabric store on her sixteenth birthday. She started Heartfelt in 2005, before that she had a business with a partner for five years. She has been selling sewing machines for 45 years and fabric for 50. With a heart for the cause, Pat welcomed the group to meet at her store, free of charge to work on their charity projects. “Pat has opened her heart and her doors to all of us,” said Crossroads Stitchers, Chapter Leader, Margaret Travis. Judy Buchner, a member of Crossroads Stitchers and Ryan’s Case for Smiles agreed. RYAN’S CASE FOR SMILES Crossroad Stitchers is a four-year-old chapter of Florida Sewing Sew-ciety (FFS) with 29 dues-paying members, according to Travis. In addition to their own charity works, the group collaborates with Ryan’s Case for Smiles to make pillowcases for children in the hospital. Crossroads Stitchers has donated over 200 pillowcases to the Orlando Chapter of Ryan’s Case for Smiles. Buchner told the story of how Ryan’s Case for Smiles got its start – with one mother making pillowcases for her son. Cindy Kerr started making pillowcases for her son Ryan during his cancer treatment. It made Ryan so happy that Cindy decided to extend that joy to all the children in the Oncology Unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. According to their website, “Case for Smiles has grown into an international movement that has 120 chapters throughout the US and Canada.” Buchner belongs to the Orlando chapter of Case for Smiles. “We deliver 750 pillowcases a month to Orlando area hospitals,” she explained. The group buys the fabric, cuts it, constructs pillowcases, washes and irons them before delivering them to hospitals around Central Florida. In September, the group did a large push for Pediatric Cancer Month and made over 4,000 pillowcases. EVERY LITTLE GIRL SHOULD HAVE A PRETTY DRESS Ryan’s Case is only one of the many ways Crossroads Stitchers and Heartfelt are using sewing to positively impact the community. The newest initiative of Crossroads Stitchers is called “Every Little Girl Should Have a Pretty Dress.” The group is sewing dresses to be donated to little girls at The Mission in Winter Haven. Roberts said she has done something similar with another group in the past with dresses that went to Romania. “We wanted to do something here, that stayed locally,” she said. Local little girls will receive a handmade dress that was sewn with love, especially for them. When we spoke with the group, a member of the FFS Chapter in Palm Beach County, Edie Townsend was there to teach the Crossroad Stitchers how to sew garments. Townsend said she tries to teach at least one garment sewing class a year. “Some of our non-garment sewers have become very prolific at making these clothes,” she said. The significance this one piece of clothing will have to an underprivileged little girl isn’t lost on the sewing group. Travis asked, “Don’t you remember your favorite dress when you were growing up?” What do they hope the little girl feels when she wears the dress? Judy Buchner said she hopes it makes them feel “twirly.” Tears welled up in Roberts’ eyes as she said, “That she knows she’s loved – that somebody thought enough of her, to give her a dress.” Townsend hopes it will boost their self-esteem and said she feels blessed to help. She said, “You feel good because you’re presenting it to someone who needs it. The person who receives it feels good because someone thought enough of them to do something for them.” In her work with Ryan’s Case for Smiles, Buchner said she recently received a note about a mother who had to take her child to the hospital in an emergency, unable to bring anything. “The child got a pillowcase and the mother was so relieved that there was something that belonged to that child. The mother had almost as much benefit from that pillowcase,” she said. “I think the same thing is true with this.” Travis said this is the first time they’re making dresses for little girls locally, but that they hope to continue and expand the project next year. DO GOOD, FEEL GOOD Additionally, the Winter Haven sewing group donates dog beds to the Humane Society of Polk County with scraps from other projects so that nothing goes to waste. Small fabric hearts that they call “Hearts of Love” are donated to Advent Health’s NICU units. Travis explained that premature infants have a tremendous sense of smell. “If the mother puts this little heart near her and rubs it on her skin, they put it in the incubator so the child has the smell and it helps with her lactation,” she said. Roberts said that once someone takes a class to learn how to use longarm quilters, they don’t recommend starting with a large, expensive project. To give them more experience, they have the students sew charity quilts that are donated to the sheriff’s office. When they have their quilt machines on display at shows for folks to try out, they use those pieces for dog blankets to be taken to the local animal shelters. The women all agreed that sewing was a source of comradery, creativity, and companionship for them. “I think most importantly, it’s a way to give back,” said Buchner. “We can teach anybody to do this and feel good about what you’re doing for your own community.” The women encourage anyone reading this to come in and help. They can teach you how to sew or you can help in other ways like ironing, folding, and bagging the items. Their next meeting at Heartfelt Quilting & Sewing is set for the last Saturday in January. Heartfelt Quilting and Sewing 365 5th St SW, Winter Haven (863) 299-3080 heartfeltquilting.com FB @heartfeltquiltingandsewing Florida Sewing Sew-ciety www.floridasewingsewciety.org If you are interested in joining, email: Margaret@EazyPeazyQuilts.com Crossroads Stitchers quiltsandtea.com/crossroads-stitchers Ryan’s Case for Smiles Caseforsmiles.org FB @CaseforSmiles

A Revolution of Agriculture and Industry in the Sunshine State Though market competition from foreign countries and the ravaging effects of citrus greening haven’t been kind to the Florida farmer, there is hope in hemp say the founding members of the Florida Hemp Growers Alliance (FHGA). To discuss this regionally emerging industry, we met with the organization’s co-founders, Bo Snively, Darrin Potter, and Justin Donalson. We were invited to conduct the interview at the Tarpon Springs home of an advisory member to the FHGA, Bob Clayton. Clayton’s home, the first hempcrete house in the state, seemed an appropriate venue for the conversation. More on the hempcrete house, later. ABOUT THE FHGA AND ITS FOUNDERS Fourth-generation Polk County farmer, Bo Snively says farming is the only thing he knows. He grew up watching foreign competition and citrus greening drive the younger generation from the farm and saw some families lose their farms altogether. Looking to keep the heritage alive and bring promise to agriculture again, he began to research hemp. “I think this crop can revitalize the agriculture industry,” said Snively. In 2017, he was the first farmer to testify in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee on behalf of industrial hemp. He advocated for Senate Bill 1020 allowing farmers to pursue industrial hemp, deeming it an agricultural commodity. It’s important to note the difference between hemp and marijuana. Hemp is required to meet the federal requirement of containing less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound present in marijuana. In other words, hemp will not get you intoxicated or “high.” Florida Senate Bill 1020, signed in late June of this year, will make it legal for hemp cultivation with a permit through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) who will devise rules for growing the crop. According to Snively, the FDACS rules for hemp are projected to be released in the first quarter of 2020. Darrin Potter comes from Pahokee, Florida – sugar cane country – where his family grew mangoes, bananas, pumpkin, papaya, grapefruit and avocados on their small farm. He obtained a degree in Biology from UCF, moving afterward to California in 2006. He worked in the medical cannabis space where he saw opportunity in the industry. Potter moved to Colorado in 2008, officially starting his company, Kind Love in 2010 before selling it in 2014. While in Colorado he helped to build another company, The Green Solution. Potter returned to Florida in 2014 where he founded GrowHealthy in Lake Wales, one of the first medical cannabis operations in the state. He sold GrowHealthy in 2018 to publicly traded, iAnthus Capital. He had already been doing consulting in the hemp industry when he met Donalson and, later, Snively. Potter said it made sense to him to move out of the cannabis space into hemp – a borderless crop and an industry with significantly fewer regulations tied to it. From the building infrastructure and cattle side of things comes Justin Donalson. His maternal grandfather was the President of the Iowa Manufacturers Association and his father started one of the first genetics programs for cattle in the state, in Winter Haven during the 90s. Donalson had been researching hemp for roughly five years when he met Darrin Potter in 2014. He described it as “kismet” that they both met Bo Snively at the same time. The three began developing the idea for the Florida Hemp Growers Alliance. Still in its infancy, starting earlier this year, the FHGA boasts over 500 members with daily growth. According to their website, “The Florida Hemp Growers Alliance is focused on improving the outlook and landscape for farmers in Florida through the burgeoning hemp industry. With educational content, access to seeds and genetics, specialized guidance, and more, the FHGA is dedicated to improving the outlook for today’s farmers and the farmers of the future.” Snively said, “I think hemp is going to be a lifeline to Florida as a whole for agriculture.” Potter agreed, emphasizing its significance to farmers. “The contention was to help farmers not step into mistakes that I’ve seen a lot of people step into in cannabis. I wanted to make sure people didn’t gamble more than they could lose,” he said. WHY HEMP? The hemp plant has a multitude of benefits to the environment, the farmer growing it, the animal eating it, the consumer using it, and as an industrial powerhouse that could reinvigorate agriculture in the state. The founders of the FHGA believe Florida could be a leader in the country for hemp cultivation, production, platelets, and seed. “We want Florida to be the golden standard for hemp,” said Snively. Florida’s climate makes it ideal for hemp cultivation. According to Snively, for every one outdoor grow cycle up north, Florida can grow three. “When you push seed north, it has a quicker germination rate. That’s why we are trying to have that industry here because of the opposite effect – when you ship seed south, it doesn’t do too well,” said Snively. Donalson agreed, adding that Florida has the potential to be the cornerstone of manufacturing for North, Central and South America because of our ports. That scale of industry translates to job creation according to Potter. “Medical cannabis has created well over 300,000 jobs in the U.S. It employs more people than the NFL right now. This is ten times greater than that,” he said. “The opportunity to create jobs in the U.S., Florida, anywhere – I think that’s profound. I think that’s something that we need in this country is the opportunity to put people back to work.” “Hemp has the opportunity to touch, benefit, and subsidize nearly every industry in Florida,” said Donalson. “From timber, manufacturing, citrus, specialty crops, processing, international shipping, logistics within the state and out of state, banking, commodities, brokering – pretty much everything you can think of is going to be touched by hemp.” Snively broke down the main three hemp crops – cannabidiol or CBD, fiber which can be used in construction, bioplastics, textiles, and manufacturing, and grain used as cattle feedstock and in food products. From the hemp fiber crop, two components are harvested – hemp hurd and fiber. “Two products from the fiber plant crop, turn into thousands,” Snively said. Industrial hemp is not meant to replace crops, say the FHGA, but rather to run parallel. “It’s a rotation crop. You grow it to drive the weeds out of the land. Its roots go down deep and suck up nutrients that go into the leaves. We can leave leaves for compost, so you’ve got fertilizer in the next round,” explained Snively. With many growers and consumers looking toward organic commodities, Potter pointed out the importance of soil health. “A lot of these organic crops are high in heavy metals due to the precursor, the inputs that they use in organic farming which can be anything from fish emulsions to different guano.” The accumulation of heavy metals in the earth builds up and can find its way into products on store shelves. “Hemp is great for remediation of the soil. It is an accumulator of heavy metals and will strip the soil of heavy metals. You could then plant a cover crop such as legumes, pull your beans, and then till the remainder of the plant into your soil putting nutrients back in,” said Potter. The environmental impact of hemp should not be understated either, he says. Carbon emissions are pulled from the air simply through plant respiration. He described leafy plants as similar to solar panels – they pull in light, produce energy, and convert carbon into oxygen. Hemp also holds promise for the Florida cattle industry. “Florida is a cow-calf operation. We ship our cattle out west for feedstocks. It’s cheaper to send the cows out there than to send the grain down here,” said Snively. “If we have an active feedstock for our cattle. We could harvest our cows, slaughter our cows, and market our cows here in Florida.” According to Snively, there is already a group of Florida cattlemen raising their cattle and marketing their meat in Florida. Potter explained that hemp can produce six to eight tons of feed per acre – fields of hemp could be planted for grazing. “Hemp would be a great food supplement for beef production,” said Potter. “You could see “Hemp Fed Beef” in the stores soon.” “When you get down to it – this is another industrial revolution. It’s here, it’s right around the corner,” added Snively. OLD FLORIDA MEETS NEW FLORIDA: PLANTING THE SEED One focus of the FHGA is tailoring education and services to the next generation of farmers. “Farming is a heritage and we stand for that. We are in it for the long haul. We want to bring that pride back to citrus growers in Polk County. We want to shed some light back into the agriculture industry,” said Snively. “I think this crop has the potential to last another 4 generations and have that heritage brought back.” Kids who have grown up on farms whether that be anything from citrus to blueberry to cattle have been deterred from staying on the farm because of issues like foreign competition and citrus greening explained Potter. He said, “Hemp has invigorated a younger generation to get back into growing and being a part of that culture.” That invigoration from hemp has invited not only the younger generation but also folks who have never farmed before to grow the crop. This is why one of the cornerstones of the FHGA is education. They want to be a resource for information about everything from buying the right seed for the right purpose to understanding the logistics of the supply chain from seed to product. “That’s what the FHGA is about – we’re trying to navigate through the newness of it and trying to line up everything so that everyone succeeds,” said Snively. Assuring success means providing the tools and Snively says the FHGA aims to “provide a toolbox to the agriculture industry.” The FHGA is presently in the process of securing a large shipment, somewhere in the realm of one thousand acres worth of seed, to “help jumpstart the industry in fiber production.” The shipment is an international variety of fiber and grain seed due to come into the states early this month. In this first year, they hope to find which varieties do well in Florida. “Everyone’s not going to learn in the first year. What we’ve been recommending to people is to plant only as much as you can lose because it is new. It’s a new environment and a new crop for Florida and Florida has a unique environment. With working with universities and knowing how it grows, we’re going to be relaying that to the industry,” said Snively. He especially thanked FDACS and all the universities participating in navigating the hemp industry. “That’s what is going to drive the industry – education,” he said. Three varieties of hemp were planted on 34 acres of land in Polk County as a pilot project through Florida A&M University and Green Earth Cannaceuticals. The purpose of the project is to find out what varieties are viable to be harvested in Florida, and that they meet the federal requirement of containing less than 0.3% THC. The FHGA hopes that hemp will be a cover crop, a commodity, and an industry in Florida, providing opportunity for the state. Motivation, education, and longevity were words exchanged by the three founders of FHGA. “Build for longevity via altruism,” is their motto says, Donalson.” “We’re here for the long haul.” THE FIRST HEMPCRETE HOUSE IN FLORIDA There are eleven tons of hempcrete in Bob Clayton’s Tarpon Springs home. It was the first in Florida and the fourth in the nation at the time he built the house. Clayton first stumbled upon hemp due to serious health problems. When he started adding hemp powder protein to his diet, he began to lose weight, exercise became easier, and he felt better. He lost 35 pounds and 8 inches off his waist. Clayton was invested in the crop. He began looking into other uses for it and followed leads about carbonnegative, completely recyclable hempcrete online. Why did he build the house? “I felt it was the one thing that we could do that could help hemp. It was the only legal hemp that you could get. It was never illegal to work with stalk,” he said. Clayton imported a shipping container of hemp from England to use in the home’s construction. Hemp core, made by breaking up the center of the stalk of the hemp plant, is what Clayton’s home is made of. He described using hempcrete as a “different way of building houses.” The home was slip cast with forms, stuffing core between the forms and moving up the walls. The house had to dry for roughly 90 days before the stucco and plaster were able to be applied. European lime was used combined with the hemp. He explained that lime is desirable as it is a “low carbon tool” which “binds uniquely with the silica in the hemp.” “These walls are technically getting harder and harder as time passes. It will just gradually complete that mineralization process,” he said. The walls in Clayton’s home are permeable, not trapping water vapor that could cause mold and mildew. The home’s permeability also makes it breathable. Clayton doesn’t use heat during the winter and boasts an enviable $60 electric bill in August. Clayton built the home in 2012 and received the certificate of occupancy in January of 2014. January of 2015 is when he went to Tallahassee for the first time – the first of five years spent traveling to the state capitol to advocate for industrial hemp. This is how Clayton met Snively, after finishing his house and being asked to testify in front of the Agricultural Committee. Clayton believes in hemp. He would like to see it become plentiful enough here for developers to build entire hempcrete neighborhoods. “To do hempcrete well, you’ve got to have critical mass. You’ve got to do a quantity of houses you can’t just do one. You’ve got to have a regular supply coming in,” said Clayton. To build hempcrete homes more efficiently, expediently, and cost-effectively relies heavily on the success of the FHGA’s mission to give hemp a presence in Florida. If you are interested in what the Florida Hemp Growers Alliance intends to accomplish, would like more information, or want to become a member, visit their website listed below. Florida Hemp Growers Alliance www.fhga.org Photo by Amy Sexson

The Florida Brewery, established in the 70s, is the second oldest brewery still in operation in the state. Primarily a manufacturing facility, the brewery opened its doors to the public a year and a half ago introducing their Beer Garden and Taproom at 202 Gandy Road in Auburndale. The community grew fond of the beer and atmosphere at the Florida Brewery and voiced that they wanted to enjoy them on more than just Friday and Saturday. When the opportunity came up to open an eatery downtown, the brewery partnered with restaurant industry veterans to be sure their cuisine mirrored their “crave-able” beer. Operating partners for Crave & Copper Justin Leo and Matt Oakley both have executive chef backgrounds. Leo has stepped into a front of house role as Director of Operations and Oakley as Executive Chef. The two are in partnership with Leo’s sister and Oakley’s wife, CFO of the Florida Brewery, Stacey Oakley as well as COO of the brewery Julie Williams. THE ATMOSPHERE “The atmosphere is all about community,” said Leo. Stacey Oakley agreed, saying that they want Crave & Copper to be an experience, something they have already created through the Florida Brewery. “When we did the Beer Garden we specifically put no TVs there. We wanted everybody to talk. We wanted a gathering place,” she said. Leo described their décor as rustic, modern-industrial. They wanted to keep the historic elements of the building complemented by modern finishes he said. Railroad imagery and large sliding barn doors, which can be closed to partition the restaurant, fit well within their rustic vibe. Focus is immediately drawn to the large rustic community table as you walk into Crave & Copper. “It creates the opportunity for people to get together and talk,” said Leo. Though the concept centers around pub fare and Florida Brewery beer, the atmosphere is family-friendly. Crave & Copper sits in the former Hudson Hotel, built in the 1920s. The hotel’s rooms were upstairs, now office space, and Crave & Copper is in place of its original restaurant. Stacey Oakley explained that Auburndale was a stop along the railroad back in the day. As a significant part of the town’s history, they wanted to pay homage. “It ties into the brewery because the copper kettle that sits at the beer garden was also brought down by the railroad in the 1970s,” she said. Many of the hotel’s original details have been left intact, but modernized – like the ceiling which was painted copper to suit their color scheme, the rehabbed bar and the exposed brick on one of the walls. Spanning an entire wall of the restaurant just beyond the barn doors is a mural by Central Florida based muralist, Joe Starks. According to Stacey and Julie, Starks worked off a photo of the building from the 1920s. The image peers into a scene straight from Lake Ave. in the roaring 20s, the only detail bringing it back to the present is the ‘Crave & Copper’ sign. Images of Prohibition, their brewery roots, and Auburndale’s iconic water tower make an appearance in the piece as well. Starks finished the entire monochromatic mural with spray paint in just one weekend, finishing it with copper accents. Stacey Oakley said the Hudson Hotel was a gathering space. They would broadcast fights on their radio outside and people would gather around to listen. The hotel’s restaurant would host $1 Thanksgiving dinner nights for the community. “The whole basis for what they did is similar to why we wanted to do this here. It was all focused around having a community destination,” she said. “We wanted something that was going to put Auburndale on the map,” said Executive Chef Matt Oakley. In the same way that Winter Haven and Lakeland have built up their downtown with exceptional dining, shopping, and recreation – the Crave & Copper owners want to see the same thing for downtown Auburndale. Folks shouldn’t have to drive out of town for a good meal and good beer he explained. TO EAT Describing their cuisine as upscale pub fare, Matt Oakley said, “We wanted to keep it traditional bar food, but we wanted to elevate it by using super fresh ingredients, sourcing as much local produce and proteins as possible.” For the proteins on their menu, Craft & Copper is working directly with Buckhead Beef, a mere three-minute walk from the establishment. For fresh produce, C & C is partnering with Farmer Jack in Winter Haven. Oakley said they are working on “fun, funky” flavors for the menu. You can’t have a pub without wings – that would be sacrilege. They have an assortment of flavors like Nashville Hot Honey and Thai Chili Peanut Sauce. We tried Crave & Copper’s delectable wings seasoned with their proprietary Copper Dust. Made with a spice blend from a chef-owned and operated company out of Spokane, Washington, Matt Oakley wanted to highlight the quality of the spices. He created a dry rub using garlic powder, onion powder, chili lime powder, white pepper, kosher salt, and honey granules. They have an assortment of other brilliant bar food like burgers, handhelds, and shareable apps along with seasonal salads and hearty vegetarian options like their grain bowl featuring a substantive variety of brussels and grains. A must-try is their smoked fish dip, ideally served with a frosty glass of Polar Pilsner. Made with locally caught Lane Snapper smoked in-house with pecan wood, Chef Matt says, “It’s a traditional Florida fish dip, but with my twist on it.” There were no frills, it was just plain good – like, really really good. It was served with a homemade hot sauce and crackers. A work of culinary art that Chef Matt brought to the table was his Beer Cheese Burger, which along with the Steak N’ Cheese made with local shaved ribeye, proved to be guest favorites within the first week of opening. The burger is made with a custom beef blend of chuck short rib and ribeye. Chef Matt makes beer cheese using the Florida Brewery Polar Pilsner incorporated into a mix of cream cheese, white cheddar, and chives. He makes a spicy tomato jam and accompanies it with hydroponic leaf bib lettuce. The beercheese-laden succulent burger is topped with “swine candy” – a helping of generously thick-cut candied bacon, all served on a brioche bun. Everything about the burger was remarkable from the first glance to the last bite. You might get messy, but it’s worth it. Matt had a food truck before opening the restaurant and one of his flagship menu items was the beer cheese burger. The burger was so beloved that it is part of the reason for their name. Patrons would come into the brewery and say how much they craved the burger or his chicken sandwich. “It wasn’t just good – people craved it,” said Stacey. “We wanted our beer to be the same – not just good, but crave-able.” The Crave & Copper kitchen is staffed mainly with culinary students from local schools. Matt Oakley reached out to Traviss Technical College to ask if they had any recent culinary graduates or soon to graduate students looking to work. The applications flooded in. The chef says he is glad to have them in his kitchen, remarking, “My goal as a chef is to teach and share my craft. I’m not one of those chefs that like to hold all my secrets in. I’m open with my recipes, I’ll tell anyone what they are. I want people to cook and to learn how to do it right so that we have more chefs and great food in town.” TO DRINK Florida Brewery COO Julie Williams discussed their five-barrel brew system at Crave & Copper. Three fermenters turn yeast into alcohol and one bright beer tank holds finished product ready to be kegged. “This is what we consider our research and development. The big brewery down the street, one batch is 300 barrels,” she said. “This gives us the chance to use a little more creativity on a small batch.” Crave & Copper has twenty rotating beers on tap including a cider. Stacey Oakley said that their beers cater to the traditional lager style and are made intentionally drinkable for Florida – whether you’re boating, fishing or backyard barbequing. They recently added 863 Light, their version of an American Standard Lager, and 863 Ultra, which she described as a more “calorie-conscious American lager” to the menu. Their best-selling beer by far, Beach Me Up, started as a seasonal brew. The crisp grapefruit shandy earned a fixed spot on the menu due to demand. Wine is also available along with a cocktail menu offering six craft cocktails. “We’re focusing on small-batch producers,” said Matt Oakley of their craft cocktail offerings. “We partnered with Florida Cane Distillery in Ybor. We use them exclusively for our liquors.” YES, I’M CRAVING IT “We’re not a brewery that decided to do a restaurant and we’re not a restaurant that decided to be a brewery,” said Stacey Oakley – a sentiment that resonated throughout my experience at the Auburndale restaurant and taproom. “We partnered with people who have a restaurant background. We handle the beer because that’s what we’re good at and they handle the restaurant. It’s been such a perfect pairing because there is a huge focus on both sides,” she said. I live over an hour away from Crave & Copper and have no qualms saying their food and drink menu are worth the drive. Neither the food or the beer is an afterthought. Each dish seemed thoughtful, hitting just the right spot between bar food staple and rave-worthy (or should I say, crave-worthy) cuisine. You HAVE to try this place. Crave & Copper 117 E Lake Ave, Auburndale, FL Craveandcopper.com FB @craveandcopper IG @craveandcopper Hours: Sunday 11AM - 9PM Monday 11AM - 9PM Tuesday - CLOSED Wednesday 11AM - 9PM Thursday 11AM - 9PM Fri. & Sat. 11AM - 11PM

I can’t take credit for that title – that’s all Kaley Aldridge. It’s what she makes with her creative business, Moonebird. It is scary and brave to walk away from the security of a job that doesn’t make you happy to follow your passions – and that’s exactly what the creative mind behind Moonebird did. Twenty-seven-year-old Kaley Aldridge is from St. Augustine originally. After college, she and her husband Russell, a Lakeland native, moved back. That was about five years ago. Though Kaley describes herself as a bit of an introvert, she always seemed to find a job in sales — which she didn’t exactly love. “I’ve always been an artist so I wanted to try to delve into that somehow. For me, jewelry making was something that I did on the side,” said Aldridge. She knew if she was ever going to quit working in sales, there was no time to act, like the present. In January of this year, she made the nerve-wracking decision to quit her job, finding encouragement in her husband and in the fact that Lakeland seemed like a community conducive to small business. “I got tired of working jobs I hated,” she said. “I wanted to do something creative and fun.” She now works part-time at a jewelry design studio downtown and making magic with her small business, Moonebird. The name was inspired in part by her love of birdwatching and by the family name of her Great Great Grandma Mooney who Kaley described as a badass. She too was a female business owner, running a bar in Rome, Georgia during a time when female entrepreneurship wasn’t so supported. Moonebird started off selling prints and jewelry. It evolved into more jewelry and continues to evolve based on Kaley’s interests and what her customers gravitate towards. More recently, Kaley has delved into pottery which she’ll have available for sale at the Holiday Haus Mrkt on Dec. 13 at Haus 820. She doesn’t see many creators in the area making ceramics, so she would like to bring them to the table – quite literally – in the form of pieces that people can be inspired by and find use in. “There’s nothing better than a special mug or a plate that you use every night because you love it,” she said. CREATIVE PROCESS “I’ve always been inspired by nature,” said Aldridge. She half-joked that her aesthetic is suited best to picking something up and rubbing the dirt off of it to use. She enjoys the earthy tones and textures of natural gemstones, shells, pearls, and botanicals. Moonebird jewelry tends to be minimalistic and powerful in style – full of good vibrations that you can’t help but feel that Kaley has put a little piece of herself into each item she creates. She makes brilliant use of natural beauty, including asymmetry in some pieces. Kaley’s creative approach to her art is much like that which inspires her – natural. “The creation process is me sitting with all the beads I have and adding one, subtracting one, until I like the design of it,” she said. Depending on how inspired she feels, a design could take her anywhere from ten seconds to an hour to get just right. To make her Botanical Essence Necklaces, Kaley collects flowers, wildflowers, and roses that have already fallen (she may or may not trespass to pick up a pretty flower or two). She takes them home and dries them out on a window screen for a few weeks until they’ve dried out completely. She makes a “ floral confetti” out of them and casts that in resin to live a second life as a special piece of jewelry for someone. Her crystal statement necklaces or “Warrior Necklaces” she described as power pieces. She uses natural elements like Labradorite, Halite, shell, Quartz, Pyrite, and Natural Moonstone – looking for color palettes that complement each other. INSPIRATION AND SUPPORT It isn’t just nature that inspires Aldridge, it’s the abounding creativity of the people she surrounds herself with. “I have some really creative friends. It’s good to have people that you can sit with, in silence, and create,” she said, naming Chad Loving of Loving Studios and WNDER Co photographer and fellow jewelry maker, Brea Marie. She is also inspired by makers she meets at markets like Lyndsey Venrick of Pin + Needle as well as Evan Neidich of Fox & Crow Paper Co. “Finding a little artistic community that you can exist with and create with is really fun,” she said. And of course, she couldn’t do it without her adorable pups – pit mix, Luna and boxer rescue, Kawaii. Her number one fan throughout her Moonebird journey has been her husband, Russell. Any idea that Kaley thinks might be crazy or out-of-the-box, Russell is there to root her on. “He’s pretty great,” she smiled. “I’ll keep him.” MOONEBIRD ASCENDING Her first year with Moonebird has been a fulfilling one says, Aldridge. “I like the freedom,” she said. “I like the space and freedom to create.” She remembers the first time someone purchased one of her pieces at a market, thinking, “That’s so wild that someone would spend their hard-earned money on something that I made and I love. That was inspiring to me.” That creative momentum and freedom that Moonebird has allowed Aldridge is a big part of the reason she is going back to school in January to study Marine Biology. Aldridge has been interested in the subject since she was young. She said, “You know when you grow up and sometimes forget what you always wanted to do?” Though life had taken her elsewhere, Kaley is course correcting toward her dreams in art and academics. Aside from her academic pursuits, Aldridge is an avid birdwatcher and artist of many mediums. She enjoys painting, poetry, ceramics, jewelry-making, and anything else that intrigues her. You can find her “tiny pieces of tangible magic” on Instagram, Facebook, Etsy and the many markets she attends. Follow Moonebird on social media to find out where she will be next! Moonebird Moonebird.etsy.com FB @shopmoonebird IG @moonebird Photos by Amy Sexson

Built in 1932 as a winter retreat by Charles Austin Buck, the estate was acquired by Bok Tower Gardens in 1970. The 20-room Meditarranean-style mansion is decorated for the Holidays and is celebrating its 25th year of the home tour. The entrance hall shimmers in silver to celebrate the 25th Anniversary. For this year’s decorations, they’ve brought the beauty of the outside, in. Spectacular trees are decorated with birds, forest creatures and of course, citrus. Peacocks that used to roam the gardens were an inspiration, too. Original paintings by local artist Blair Peterson Updike are hung throughout the house, inspired by the beauty surrounding the gardens. New this year is The Secret Garden featuring fairy houses and trees for the birds. I sat down with Ginny Dunson and Patti Bostick while they were putting the finishing touches on the estate one afternoon. This was a collaborative effort between Dunson, Bostick and Bok Tower that has been going on all year. Dunson and Bostick have been involved with decorating Pinewood Estate for five years. “It’s such a privilege to be here, it’s an honor,” Bostick said. “I’m an interior designer and have been in business for 34 years. This is so fun and special that I can be so creative every year,” Dunson said. “I think the most unique thing is the pineapple tree. That’s a nod to our Southern roots and hospitality,” Bostick explained. They hope the guests will feel the warmth and coziness of the house and be inspired by something they’ve seen. Erica Smith, Director of Marketing & Public Relations added, “What makes this year unique is that they extended beyond the walls of the estate. We’ve never done a secret garden before and it was their vision to say christmas exists outside of these walls. Porches are decorated, there’s something on the inside and outside.” She continued, “They work tirelessly, without them, there would be no home tour.” Tours are Nov. 29 - Jan. 5. Adults $25, Children 5-12 $12. Bok Tower Gardens 1151 Tower Boulevard Lake Wales, Florida 33853 boktowergardens.org 863-676-1408

Growing Macadamia in Central Florida Lake Alfred macadamia farmer and owner of the Florida Macadamia Growers Cooperative, Glenn Reynolds’ first taste of farming was spicy. As a kid, he would grow hot peppers to eat. It wouldn’t be until years later, that a failing citrus grove and parrot food would lead Reynolds to set out on a nearly 15-year journey to crack the secret to growing macadamia nuts in Florida. Reynolds was born in Wilmington, North Carolina. His family moved when he was three, just south of Washington D.C. where he spent 43 years. He moved to Florida for a job opportunity in 2002. When he and his wife bought the Lake Alfred property, about six of its seven and a half acres were citrus. In 2005, when citrus greening hit, Reynolds, an avid researcher, read up on the disease and how it had ravaged other parts of the world from Asia to Brazil – and now it was in Florida. He began to look toward the future of his farm. Reynolds raised and bred parrots for a long time. A common diet staple for larger parrots are macadamia nuts. “I was standing out in the driveway one day and I had a macadamia nut in my hand that I’d bought to feed my parrots and I looked at my wife and said, ‘I wonder if these would grow here.’” Everyone told him no, they wouldn’t grow – especially not in Central Florida. Many farmers have tried and failed to grow the nut. He began looking into the commonality of their failures. He found cases dating back into the mid-50s where people had tried to grow them here with a few successful years and then they would die. “The common thread that I found was everybody was buying macadamia trees that were developed in other parts of the world and trying to grow them here. That was the one thing I said I was not going to do. I started developing my own varieties specifically for Central Florida,” said Reynolds. His research into growing the plant began with the survival of the fittest he said. He bought a thousand fresh nuts to germinate. “They don’t grow true to the parent tree. I basically ended up with somewhere around a thousand different varieties of macadamia nuts,” he said. Some of the trees were lost to freeze, others didn’t survive due to unfavorable soil or weather conditions. Reynolds slowly weeded out varieties unsuitable to grow in the sunshine state and narrowed in on varieties that could thrive. Finding those varieties from seed takes years. “I have some trees out there that are pushing 14 years old that still have never produced a nut,” he said. He found that though some trees grow well and survive freezes, it doesn’t mean they will produce viable nuts. Through his experimentation with the trees he found that though they all seem to start blooming in December, nuts become mature at different times. Most nuts drop to the ground once they have matured, but not all nuts do. Some in his field began dropping as early as the middle of August with others as late as February the following year. This staggered dropping creates an efficiency issue during harvesting. To solve this, Reynolds set out a plot of trees that were seed grown. He took notes and observed. From his driveway going east, he is applying everything he learned with the other plot. He does this by developing his own methods of cloning good trees. He set up the new plot based on when they will drop nuts. Reynolds noted that his macadamia trees had not been fertilized for two years. Once a good portion of his citrus was gone and he pulled up what was left of the grove, he stopped fertilizing to get a baseline. “All of this was getting the same treatment as the citrus, so how do I know what the macadamia’s need?” he said. Presently, Reynolds has about 300 trees in the ground with room for another 400. His best yield was pre-Hurricane Irma. He had about 60 trees producing nuts with only about ten or twelve of them mature. That year he came close to two tons of macadamia nuts. He projected in the future if all 700 trees are planted and when they are mature, he thinks his seven-and-a-half-acre farm could yield 15 tons a year. Not only did Irma obliterate his harvest that year, he said, “I lost what I really thought was ‘the tree.’ I hadn’t cloned it yet so I had no viable tissue.” He hustled to try and keep it alive, even trying to find help with micropropagation, but to no avail – ‘the tree’ was lost. Reynolds says that he learns from his failures. He even keeps a bowl of nuts from that tree in his bedroom as a reminder to never miss an opportunity like that again. Does he want to make money on his macadamias? Certainly, but that’s not the ultimate goal. “I also looked it as not just creating something here for me but trying to create a new agricultural industry in Florida,” said Reynolds. “To me, the important thing is to find trees that grow here. Making money from the beginning can’t be that motivation.” This is the first time Reynolds has opened up to any media about his operation. He felt that after almost 15 years into it, the timing was right, and he wouldn’t be projecting false hope into the agriculture community. “It can be done,” he said. “It will work, it can be sold, there is a market here.” Reynolds gave us a tour of the property. We discussed everything from the trouble with stink bugs to training tree trunks, phytophthora also known as “Root Rot” or “Foot Rot,” to a tree that had split down the middle which Reynolds cleverly ran bolts through. You can even see the scar where the split healed, saving the tree. Everything is a learning process he said. “This is all [information] that I can pass on to other growers.” We admired his perennial peanut ground cover with his sweet rescue pup, Jenny by our side as he explained, “We’re trying to also make our entire property either Florida-friendly plants or Florida native plants.” The environmentally conscious farmer said his property is about 75% solar powered. “We try to be as green as possible,” he continued, “I was one of the first citrus farmers to go to fertigation where you’re fertilizing through the water so you’re not spreading it all over the place and it’s not running off.” “We have to protect our environment,” said Reynolds. “Preserving this piece of property and preserving this lake behind us because it gives us so much peacefulness, it’s worth the extra time and expense.” A multitude of plants fascinate the Lake Alfred farmer. On his property, Reynolds grows olives, bananas, peaches, avocados, mangoes, sugar cane, turmeric, figs, lavender, ginger and an entire neat little jungle of other plants. “I love growing things. It’s all so very interesting to me,” he said. A TOUGH NUT TO CRACK … AND SORT “I’m driven by challenges,” said Reynolds. “To me, it was one of the biggest challenges, particularly when the agricultural community was saying you can’t do it, people have tried to do it here before.” He takes pride not only in his macadamia nuts but, based on industry standards says, “I think Florida can grow far superior macadamia nuts to anywhere in the country.” His trees produce some nuts that are bigger than a half-dollar. Size isn’t the only thing to do with quality, he says. He explained the industry term “crack out,” saying that if you were to take a pound of nuts that had already been dried and cracked out of their shell and then weighed the amount of kernel compared to the whole pound, that number is your “crack out.” The minimum industry standard is about 28% crack out and 35% is considered to be exceptional. “I’ve got some trees out here that are giving me about 50%,” he said. The farmer says he is trying to expedite processing his harvest as well as build a co-op to benefit small farmers who can’t or may not want to shell out (pun intended) the money to buy the equipment to process them. As soon as nuts are harvested, they must be husked, dried, cracked and sorted – each step requiring either time-consuming labor or expensive equipment. His husker/ cracker machine, which he imported from New Zealand, cost almost $5K, an investment many small farmers can’t make. Once the nut is cracked, he’s left with more shell than nut and this is where the labor and time are, in separating the kernels from the shell. Currently, Reynolds uses 5-gallon buckets with different-sized holes in the bottom that he shakes the nuts through. There are electronic sorters available, but he said they are an investment of about a half million dollars. “I’m designing and building a mechanical sorter that I’m hoping will get me 80% there,” he said. The farmer has already built a dryer complete with electronic controls to dry the nuts. With a background in mechanics and fabrication, Reynolds opted to build a sorter himself. If his sorter is a success, he has discussed eventually manufacturing them. Ideally, Reynolds says he would be the one to front the equipment cost to process nuts for smaller operations. He added, “I hope within a couple of years to be selling some of my good varieties of trees.” WHERE TO FIND THEM In addition to his work growing macadamias, Reynolds sells his products online at flmgc.com and the Grove Roots Moonlight Market each month. Because he is a cottage industry operation, anything that has been processed such as his roasted and salted nuts or macadamia nut cookies can be purchased online, but cannot be shipped – they must be hand to hand. Unprocessed nuts are able to be shipped, however. The Grove Roots Moonlight Market is the only local market at which you’ll find his Lake Alfred macadamia nuts. “I love the people at Grove Roots. They’re great people,” he said. A big hit at the market are his macadamia nut cookies, a recipe he’s perfected over ten years. “I can sell 400 cookies in a matter of minutes on the right night,” he said. A new addition to his market offerings will be large bags of shells. He uses them for compost around trees, for mixing with sand to grow seedlings, and even as an aggregate for his driveway. His favorite use for them is in the smoker. “It’s fantastic for smoking meats,” he said. “There is a purpose for every part of the tree.” Florida Macadamia Growers Cooperative Flmgc.com FB @FLMGC

Later this month at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, Miss Florida, Michaela McLean will join 49 women from around the country to vie for the 2020 Miss America 2.0 crown. McLean took some time to talk with us about her journey to Miss America, people who have inspired her along the way, and to share her message to young women. Hailing from Clermont, Florida, 22-year-old Michaela McLean is an 8th generation Floridian, part of a family spanning 6 generations of organic citrus growers. She attended the University of Alabama where she graduated with a Double Major in Dance and Public Relations with a Specialization in Sport and Entertainment Communication Management. McLean started competing in pageants at 16 years old through the Miss Florida’s Outstanding Teen program. “I saw that there was an incredible opportunity to further my education [...]” she said of the scholarships awarded to winners through the program. “I wanted to make it a priority to grow from Miss Florida so that I could graduate debt-free from college one day.” Even at 16 years old, the pageant circuit and all the young women who participated had a profound impact on the future Miss Florida. “I saw that it challenged the young woman competing to sharpen her interview skills, sharpen her interpersonal skills, her communication skills,” she said. McLean knew if she wanted to go after her dreams in the public relations field, as a performer, or any other facet of her life, pageants were a way to prepare her and propel her forward. McLean described her teenage foray into pageantry. “At first, it can be an uncomfortable experience because it is sharpening you and strengthening you in your weaknesses,” she said. “I knew that once I came out of it on the other side I would be more of a well-rounded individual and gain so many life experiences that I would take with me forever.” REPPING THE CITRUS INDUSTRY McLean’s family has been growing organic citrus across Central Florida for generations. This made participating in and going on to win the Miss Florida Citrus pageant held in Winter Haven, that much more special. She put the spotlight on her grandfather, Benny McLean, and father, Ben McLean as two important influences who encouraged her to go after every one of her goals and dreams. Her Miss Florida Citrus title was a way to acknowledge them. “I’m so thankful that I was able to represent such an important part of my history and my family heritage on the Miss Florida stage,” she said. “When I competed for Miss Florida Citrus, I wanted to acknowledge and recognize how special that part of my life was.” BRAVE AND BEAUTIFUL: BREAKING FREE FROM BEHIND THE SCREEN McLean’s most memorable pageant memory thus far came the second after she won Miss Florida. She turned around to her local competitors and they all gave her a huge hug. “They were so encouraging, supporting, and so motivating,” she said. “To have other people excited for me was extremely encouraging.” That encouragement is fueling McLean as she heads to the Miss America 2.0 stage later this month. The women competing in the pageant have undeniable outward beauty, but McLean explained that Miss America 2.0 goes beyond looks, delving into the core of each woman. She said, “Miss America is now called Miss America 2.0 which focuses on the intellect, the substance, the worth, and the ambition of each candidate.” “I made it a priority and a goal to showcase who I am at my core in every phase of competition whether I’m speaking interpersonally to the judges or performing a lyrical contemporary dance on stage,” said McLean. She expressed that she wants to convey herself honestly to the judges and to the audience – “My dreams, my desires, my fears, my struggles,” she said. “This organization has shown me there is so much power and so much influence in using your voice for the greater good,” said McLean, who is doing just that with her social impact initiative, Brave and Beautiful. “Brave and Beautiful empowers women to break free from behind the screen. The addictive misuse of social media by today’s young women is escalating a mental health crisis that breeds anxiety, depression, social isolation, and body dysphoria,” McLean said. “My hope is to come up with a female-centric curriculum that educates young women on how they can properly use social media, manage social media messages, and know that their worth and their identity is not found in their comments, likes, or followers on their social media profiles.” To develop this female-centric curriculum by the Spring of 2020, McLean has partnered with advocacy groups such as Media Literacy Now as well as the University of Florida Department of Educational Technology. In addition to lobbying for social media education, McLean says, “My hope is as Miss America, I can speak to over a hundred thousand young women all across the nation, showing them that their worth and identity is found in who they are at their core.” Brave and Beautiful was an issue close to McLean. With a pre-teen introduction to social media, and as the oldest of four sisters, a former sorority member, and friend to many women – Miss Florida has become all too acquainted with the pressures and struggles of social media. “We feel like we have to live up to these expectations and these standards that social media puts on our lives, whether it’s an area of beauty or success or accomplishments,” said McLean who admitted that she has personally struggled with these issues. “This has become a mental health crisis among a lot of young women today, unfortunately. Two hundred and ten million people are expected to be suffering with a social media anxiety disorder,” she said. “This is something that I’ve taken up as my personal initiative as Miss Florida and I know that this is going to go beyond the crowd as well and be something that I’ll be passionate about for years to come.” PREPARING FOR THE JOB McLean said she is working every day to be sure she is emotionally, mentally, and spiritually prepared for the job. One person who prepared her to step into her job as Miss Florida and potentially Miss America 2020, lives across the globe in Nairobi, Kenya. McLean met Pastor Dennis Tamba of Nairobi International Church while on a mission trip. “He has taught me so much about what it means to be a servant leader and to serve others with every fiber of your being,” she said. He imparted on her the ideals of leading with humility and integrity and became a role model to McLean. “He showed me that a job or a moment in the spotlight is not about you – it’s about the people that you’re serving,” she said. Miss Florida has a message for young women watching her on the Miss America stage. It is advice given to her by her grandma that has helped her through times of doubting her own abilities – a phrase she lives by – “Go for it.” “That’s what I would tell those girls is, any dream whether you want to be a doctor or a lawyer or performer, just go for it,” she said. On her way to the Miss America stage, the biggest lesson that McLean has learned is that “It takes a village.” Preparing for this massive moment in her life, McLean says many have come alongside her to support, encourage, and motivate. She named her mom, Ann Marie McLean, along with Jennifer McKenna of the Miss Florida Organization, and Allison Krieger Walsh. “It’s those people who have made me the young woman I am today,” she said. She hopes to take every chance she gets in the future to come alongside others to support their dreams in the same way. “Miss America has always been a dream and to know that it is just around the corner makes me feel so giddy and excited and anxious and nervous and so ecstatic all at the same time,” said McLean. “I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be among 50 of America’s brightest, most intelligent, driven young women.” Good luck, Michaela! We’ll be tuning in to cheer you on from the sunshine state. Miss America 2.0 Airing live on NBC Thursday, December 19, 2019, at 8 PM EST IG @missamericafl IG @bebraveandbeautiful www.missamerica.org

What started as a garden on family land to grow their own food, has turned into a labor of love and a small business for Lakeland couple Luke Smith and Olivia Mines. With a focus on holistic farming and regenerative agriculture, the couple is doing their part to produce good food and be good to the environment. Both Smith’s and Mines’ families are generational to Lakeland. Happy’s Place belonged to Olivia’s grandfather, Harold “Happy” Lehman. “My grandpa bought Happy’s Place in the 80s if I’m not mistaken,” she said. According to Olivia, he would plant ornamentals, the occasional garden and built a barn and large structure with the help of his friends, for entertaining on the property where friends and family would gather on holidays. The couple enjoyed spending time on the property. Luke, who has grown vegetables with his grandfather his whole life, saw untapped potential and suggested they try planting a garden and food forest. He explained the food forest concept as planting a variety of edible plants that all grow together and benefit each other. “You create a story with large trees, like mangoes, and that’s your cover – your overstory,” he said. “Then you have your smaller trees like guavas, papayas, pawpaws, or citrus and you put those underneath. Then you put your miracle berries and your blackberries underneath those and you grow it all together.” HAPPILY HOLISTIC The roughly 38-acre property is breath-taking old Florida beauty. A dirt driveway in north Lakeland opens into a large clearing of land – a natural sanctuary. The property is speckled with wild blackberries, deep purple beauty berries and brilliant bursts of the Zinnias that Olivia planted. This organic splendor is sustained through the couple’s farming practices. Of the property’s 38 acres, only a portion of it is currently being used for farming. They have chicken and turkey coops, a few gardens, a shade house and a plethora of flowers and plants. Eventually, they would like to spread out. Luke said, “We want to tie everything in, keep it natural and give it a nice flow, yet make it productive.” Smith explained their holistic farming approach. The young farmers, in their twenties, want to do everything with the intention of benefiting the land – for every action to have an equally positive outcome. For example, “With the chickens, we don’t want to use any chemicals with them that would make their manure any less beneficial to the bacteria in the soil. With the garden, we always want to think about ‘If we spray this on the plant, is that going to kill the bees too?’” he said. They are minimal with what they spray. When they do, they opt for OMRI, a certified organic spray. “We want to keep it safe for the environment. We don’t want there to be any negative effects at all,” said Smith. The aspect of regenerative agriculture revolves around the same mutually beneficial principal. Smith said, “All the farming practices you want to be beneficial to the land and not just sustaining what you have – you want to always be adding to. Out here it has always been beautiful, and the land looks great and healthy and there weren’t ever any chemicals, to begin with. In some circumstances, you don’t want to be just sustainable because then you’re sustaining poor land. You always want to be regenerating and adding to.” Luke said that not only is this type of farming better for the land but better for your pockets as well. “You’re spending less money, less inputs,” he said. Olivia smiled, “Less inputs, more outputs.” STEWARDS OF THE LAND “I’ve always had a really deep connection to the land – with trees, nature, all of it. I could go out to the middle of the woods and just sit there all day,” said Luke. “I would never want to do anything to negatively affect it. She’s the same way,” he added, nodding toward Olivia. Smith and Mines’ original vegetable garden expanded into flowers, then chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese. They sell their flowers, herbs, and produce at the Lakeland Downtown Farmers Curb Market each Saturday. Olivia even arranges beautiful herb bouquets to sell. When they aren’t tending to the farm or at the market, Luke and Olivia tend to a few herb gardens they planted around town. Behind Good Thyme they have a bed with a variety of thyme, sage, rosemary, and basil. They also tend to their community garden at Honeycomb with peppers, ginger, and turmeric. “I love herb gardens,” said Olivia. “We like to take care of plants, so it works out.” We made our way to the chicken coops for the first stop of our tour of Happy’s Place Farm. They started with just four chickens last year, some of which will be turning a year old this month. They’ve surpassed that number, to now over one hundred chickens and counting. They built the chicken coops themselves using wood from trees on the property. Olivia says she gets at least two dozen eggs a day from their chickens. For now, she gives the eggs away to family and friends. Next year, when they are laying enough, the pair will offer eggs at the Farmers Market. To give the chickens new grass and plenty of bugs to eat, Luke and Olivia move the coops every day or so. “They get their non-GMO soy-free grain in the morning and water and snacks the rest of the day,” said Olivia. She gives them treats like pumpkin and beauty berries. Next, we moved to the garden. The pair said that they are finally getting their gardens back together following the wet summer this year which flooded out the farm. Now, they are growing everything from radishes and carrots to broccoli, mustard greens, tomatoes, peppers, and squash. Some of what they know about farming comes from Luke’s experience growing with his grandfather. Part of it comes by way of YouTube videos and reading. “My grandpa had books out here going back into the 40s,” said Mines. The simple, oldschool advice from those books have been some of the most useful. Another part of it comes from the farming community. Olivia said that their exchanges with other farmers are always helpful, exchanging tips and ideas. She mentioned Aqua Organics, whom they know from the market, as well as Eco Farm. “They are so giving! We barter – we give them flowers and they give us seeds,” she said. A lot of their knowledge sprouts from good old-fashioned trial and error. They have been growing food for themselves for five or six years now. “Every season is different. You try to compare it to last year, but it doesn’t always work that way,” said Olivia. Dragon fruit, orange and red turmeric, mint, and cranberry hibiscus – Happy’s Place was an herbaceous wonderland. We stepped into the shade house at the far end of the farm which Olivia’s grandfather built with his friends. “During the Spring all this –– tomatoes, eggplant, herbs –– we can grow out there in the garden. But right now, this is how we make due,” said Olivia. She pointed out a vanilla orchid in the shade house. She explained that they were a part of the Orchid Society for quite a while. She playfully teased Luke, calling him an “orchid nerd.” Making our way to the barn, Luke stopped and kneeled down to show us a plant. “These are legumes,” he said. “Having enough well-growing legumes is equivalent to adding nitrogen to the soil. You’re doing it naturally. It’s another way to get around chemicals.” Luke and Olivia care about the holistic wellbeing of their farm –– every plant, every chicken, every flower. They plan to be good stewards of the land, continuing to grow in a way that is environmentally and ecologically thoughtful. “The main goal is to turn this place into a huge food forest,” said Smith. “That’s what we want to do is produce really good, healthy food.” Happy’s Place Farm IG @happysplacefarm

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” —Audre Lorde Inspired by movements like that of Femme Fatale DC, a “By womyn, for womyn” collective supporting women-owned creative entrepreneurs through retail pop-ups in Washington D.C., and in search of connections and opportunities exclusive to women – Ileah Green teamed up with co-founding members Alison Foley-Rothrock, Jessica Rios, Sunny Balliette, and Stephanie Gregg to form the Lakeland Women’s Collective – a space for women to be free. Free from harassment, free from discrimination, free to create, free to start a business, free to be women. Ileah Green grew up in Lakeland and moved away for college, settling in Washington D.C. in the ten years before moving home. In D.C., Green took notice of womenonly spaces popping up around the city like that of Femme Fatale DC. “It was about empowering women to be themselves and to celebrate their uniqueness, and also to grow female relationships,” said Green. When she relocated to Lakeland, Green sought out opportunities to support women in freelancing, creative, artistic, and entrepreneurial endeavors. Her first thought was to check out the women’s business center. The only trouble was finding one. Six months of asking just about everyone she knew where she could find one, it became clear that it simply didn’t exist in Lakeland. Where was the place exclusively investing in women entrepreneurs? Where was the money for women-owned businesses? Where could women come together to connect and share in their badassery? “I started the Women’s Collective out of looking for connections – around business, around being a mom, around being a woman,” said Green. THE BEGINNING OF LWC Green met Sunny Balliette at a LKLD Creative Makers meeting. The two shared their frustrations with and vision for the state of women in Lakeland. The two began meeting to brainstorm ways to create opportunities for women locally. In efforts to bring together interesting, powerful women in the community, they began holding women’s meetings or “focus groups” as Green called them. She looked at these focus groups as a way to gauge whether other women felt similarly about the plights of women in Lakeland and lack of opportunity for them here. She wasn’t alone. Balliette, a creative entrepreneur herself, started the VOLUME Art Collective and began organizing classes at ART/ifact. These classes caught the attention of artist, Jessica Rios. The two connected and Balliette invited Rios to the women’s group meeting. Green met attorney and founder of the Red Tent Initiative, Alison Foley-Rothrock in the summer of 2018 after someone suggested she reach out to the anti-domestic violence organization if she was looking for an impactful way to support women. After meeting Foley-Rothrock, Green started working with her as an advisory board member for Red Tent and as an assistant at Foley-Rothrock’s law firm. Their first event as a collective, a joint effort with the Red Tent Initiative, was a presentation of data from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research called “The Status of Women.” The response to the event was exceedingly positive and the founding members began to think about, “how do we make Lakeland and Polk County a safer and more equitable, more even playing field for women and people of color,” said Green. The growth has continued, as have the events. The second was a Women’s March Meetup at the Poor Porker, and they’ve continued hosting events for activism, art, entrepreneurship, and femaleempowerment. THE MISSION The LWC wanted to get the message across loud and clear to women that they are important, deserve to be treated with respect, and have a job that pays well and doesn’t expose them to harassment. “You have options, but it’s easy to feel like there are no options if you’re in a community that is stifling,” said Green. “I think in a lot of ways, Lakeland can be stifling to women and people of color.” The collective wanted to seek out a co-working environment that was a safe space in which women, femme-identifying, and non-binary artists, makers, and entrepreneurs could exist and work free of harassment and discrimination. After a few potential locations fell through, the group found the Lemon Street space just outside of downtown that would become the Lakeland Women’s Collective. The co-working space is home to brilliant and creative women from lawyers, nail artists, writers, artists and more. Lakeland Women’s Collective is an inclusive, pro-equality, pro-equity, non-denominational, non-partisan, pro-woman, and pro-human rights space. “We want social, economic, and political equality for everybody,” said Jessica Rios. “Glass ceilings are a real thing – and we want to shatter those. […] Anything that is holding women back, we want to get rid of.” Rios said, “Somehow women end up here and we heal each other.” In addition to the healing she has received and given to her sisters at the LWC, Rios finds it inspirational to be surrounded by women doing what they want to do. “Women are coming here and making their dreams come true,” she said. “I love that we can come here and engage in a powerful way and become powerful in business without participating in the toxic masculinity and environments that we find in other workspaces,” said Foley-Rothrock. “We’ve created our own space for each other, for ourselves. This is a safe space where we can be ourselves, but also be doing powerful things and making decisions and making impacts around us – without compromise.” Without compromise is right. Everything they’ve done as a collective has been engineered to give women opportunities without compromising other areas of their life – like motherhood. The LWC’s position is that motherhood and business are not mutually exclusive. A woman can be both an attentive, caring mother and powerful, successful entrepreneur. They even provide a kid’s room at their coworking space. Members are welcome and encouraged to bring their children. Foley-Rothrock said, “That’s one of those systemic things that seems to still be ingrained here in Lakeland and in more conservative communities around the country – that you have to choose either being a mother or being a business owner and a powerful business person.” “How do you make the transition between being a stay at home mother and wanting to work on becoming an entrepreneur? The gap from one to the other where you’re making enough money to leave your child in childcare or make other arrangements is a pretty big leap,” said FoleyRothrock. “That not being recognized and not acknowledged is part of the whole patriarchal system where it’s clear that men, and people who have wealth, and people who have traditional family structures are still very much in charge of making those decisions.” Green said that her goal for the LWC is to ensure that women understand resources are available to them and that, “there are very smart women in this town, who want women to be successful.” “That’s my goal, is to remove as many barriers as possible to women supporting themselves, making names for themselves, having their own businesses, being artists, having their own creative business,” said Green. Some of the many resources the collective provides to women through education. Women like Sylvia Blackmon-Roberts, president and CEO of a management consulting firm out of Lakeland and Financial Professional, Tari Kezele, invest their time with LWC to help women become more informed in matters of business and finance. “I want women to be as armed in terms of information as possible,” said Green. She encourages women in the community to feel empowered to do anything, saying, “Come here, let’s talk about it. We can brainstorm ways to get you moving and if you need connections to people to figure out how to get it going, we’ll find them. And if we don’t know them, we’ll ask somebody who may.” Green said she believes that some in positions of wealth and power in the city have an ingrained idea of scarcity. “They believe that there is not enough. There’s not enough to go around, you can only have one important place, you can only put your money in one place, you can only invest in one organization. Only one, only one, only one. That’s bullshit,” she said. “There is enough. There is enough money, there is enough investment, there is enough opportunity.” Foley-Rothrock agreed with Green, adding, “It creates the ‘us versus them’ and we’re refusing to buy into the idea that in order to lift myself up, in order to get ahead, I have to step on somebody else. No, we can work together, and we can make it happen for ourselves and each other.” The Christian community has a strong presence in Lakeland. The women expressed that they are not at all anti-church and respect the religious beliefs or lack thereof of other people but don’t think women should have to subscribe to a certain church or religion to receive resources like affordable housing and childcare. Foley-Rothrock expressed the importance of building connections and community beyond those traditional power structures, saying, “Resources like affordable childcare and housing – all of those are also concentrated in the Christian community. Ninety percent of the resources for lowincome individuals and homeless individuals and survivors are all attached to religious services – ninety percent,” she said. The community has reacted in a big way to the LWC. Rios expressed that from the overwhelming response of a 350 people turnout to “Pink Moon,” their all-female artist showcase at ART/ifact, to petition signings, and the grand opening of their space – many have shown support or at least taken notice of their movement. She smiled, held up her Rosie the Riveter mug and said, “We can do it!” GIRL POWER In addition to arming women with information, the collective believes it is important to level the playing field. “We are pro-equality and we are pro-equity,” said Green. She explained it through a graphic she’d recently seen. In the graphic, three people of differing heights stand at a fence, unable to see over it. Equality, she explained, is giving them all the same size box to stand on – though they still won’t all be able to see. “Equity is when you give them the appropriate-size box so they can all see over the fence,” said Green. A large part of making Lakeland a more equitable community is an increased minimum wage say the LWC founding members. “We think that minimum wage should be a living wage,” said Green. At the barebones minimum, they believe it should be $15 an hour, but Green says she would like to see it closer to $20. The collective urges people to call the person who represents them on the city commission about the importance of raising the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour. Foley-Rothrock suggested constituents vet candidates running for office about their stance on minimum wage and vote accordingly. An act of empowerment is also, simply listening to one another. “There are a lot of women here who have experienced trauma in their lives and they need someone who will listen to them, who is not going to have a response,” said Green. “Just listen, tell them that they’re awesome and that you’re sad for them that they’re struggling, but that you want the best for them and that you want to help as much as you can, and then shut up and listen.” Women can empower themselves and each other by spending time together, being resources for each other, and brainstorming together said, Jessica Rios. “We’re all doing such different things, and everyone has something different to offer.” SUPPORT WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN All women, femme-identifying, and non-binary folks across the county and beyond are welcome to join the Lakeland Women’s Collective. The LWC board members said many of their events are open to everyone and that they are appreciative of their male allies. Check out their website for a full list of paid membership options. “One of the major perks, other than the space, of being a paid member of the Women’s Collective is that we have partnered with a bunch of women-owned businesses locally that offer our members discounts,” said Green. Find events like dance parties, art shows, workshops, candidate forums, and a monthly happy hour at Revival, as well as other classes and resources on their website where you can also donate to their registry. For its founders and members, the Lakeland Women’s Collective has become a space to feel safe, supported, and empowered. Do you hear that, Polk County? That’s the sound of glass shattering. Lakeland Women’s Collective 818 E Lemon St, Lakeland (By appointment only) www.lakelandwomenscollective.com FB @LakelandWomensCollective IG @lakelandwomenscollective Photos by Amy Sexson

The United States was coming out of the Second World War. The troops came home with many physical and psychological wounds. Many had suffered horrendous experiences beyond our present understanding. Yet, life had to go on. Families reunited, rebuilt lives and carried on. I had the honor of talking to Randall Stokes Edwards, a 102-year-old who was a Prisoner of War in Manchuria for over three years. He shared stories with me of his very challenging life. Randall began, “We were in the Philippines on a ship that supplied twenty submarines. We had the spare torpedoes. USS Canopus was a 1918 banana boat that had 600 sailors. There were no sleeping quarters for the enlisted men. I slept behind a big radio transmitter on a cot. I was a radioman first class. When the Japanese came, the ship was bombed and that supposedly put her out of commission. We weren’t really, of course, but we made it look that way. We made it look like it was only good to scuttle.” He continued, “The Japanese attacked the Philippines and so we were ordered to go to a port at the very bottom tip of the Bataan peninsula. We serviced our last submarines there but then the Japanese pinned us down. I went with the 220 Signal Corps with the army. We did anything we could with the material we had. We had no supplies at this time and we ate everything we could find while at Bataan. We ate the last Army mule in March and we were completely surrounded by the Japanese.” “In April, a Japanese general came back to kill all the Americans on Bataan,” Randall added, “We weren’t going anywhere, we were dying anyway. We were starving to death. We had beriberi, malaria and dysentery. We didn’t have much ammunition and the clip I put in my 1898 enfield rifle when I fired it, would travel about twenty feet and we’d see it drop. We would get a whole case of ammo and out of that very little was any good. It was all so corroded. So we didn’t have much to shoot with.” Randall remembers when the Japanese general brought his army back to Bataan, they folded. “The last order I got from the Army was you are on your own. I had a choice, try to go through the jungle and escape or I could join the Navy. Well hell, I didn’t like that jungle thing so I went back to join the Navy. My old ship was nose down and the Navy crew was gone. Me and my friend decided to get to Corregidor. We picked up junk, floated on it, and the tide helped us get there. We found the Marine battalion there. We were bombed daily. We watched and counted 900 guns landing on Corregidor. It was just a mile from us. They were the big guns, 240 millimeter! General Wainwright, commander of the Allied Forces in the Philippines, surrendered to the Japanese in May, 1942.” Randall tells how he was deathly ill and somehow survived and for a time ended up cooking for Japanese engineers while still on the island of Corregidor. “At that time we ate pretty darn good.” Then he was transferred to another prisoner camp where he was put on the burial detail. The grave was a huge trench. “We would take the dog tags off the bodies and slide them in. It was a horrible job.” Randall recalls 1500 Americans and 1500 Japanese were put on a troop ship. “We were in the hold of the ship but half of us would be on deck as there was no room. We got one cup of water and a tiny rations per day.” In transit Randall had many close calls. He was moved with other prisoners many times. “We dodged a submarine attack. We were on deck and saw a big splash about a quarter of a mile away. We screamed torpedo and even more came at us. Now we knew that those American torpedoes would bump into us, but we also knew they wouldn’t explode. What happened was the firing pin, which was supposed to go straight back in, would bend on contact instead and not explode. You could hear a thud when they hit a ship… but they wouldn’t explode! The Navy eventually fixed that!” After many months The prisoners ended up in China. “We were not POWS now, we were slave labor. The Japanese sold us to the MKK corporation to build factories in Manchuria. We got there in November. The camp, well, it was like the way Americans raise hogs in. One cast iron stove was at the end of each building. It was 40 below zero there. I froze my feet, I froze my hands and everybody else did too. I wasn’t unique. We did not have any clothes! And we were dying! That first winter we had a cup of cabbage soup each day. The doctors recommended soy beans in the soup! That’s what we ate until we finally were released, more protein.” When asked about how he could get up every day he said “We had no choice. We knew the Americans were coming. But we also knew we would all be executed if they came. So we did what we could to sabotage. You know how I survived? Every morning when I woke up I would say these little bastards aren’t going to kill me today! “ How Did you finally get released? “That’s pretty interesting. One morning we were all sent out to the parade field.There were no guards! An American said the war is over! You woulda thought you’d hear whoops and yelling. But not a sound. (He choked up here). You could hear a pin drop. After three years thinking we could die any day, we were speechless. After that we bailed out of that camp like you wouldn’t believe! Eventually we were shipped out to hospitals to recover.” Back home, Randall did a five year Electrical Engineering program in three years. He wasted no time in getting back to life. He spent 25 years working for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. He later moved to Lakeland to be near his only son, Dr. J. Randall Edwards. Edwards became a National Service Officer for American Ex Prisoners of War Organization and American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor. He has served many over the years. He has given many speeches to the Service Academies . For now, he is taking it easy as he is legally blind but still can walk without a cane! When referring to the Greatest Generation, I think Randall Edwards stands out . He did what he had to do. He came back, worked hard, made no excuses (though he sure could have), preservered, and has lived a full and rich life.

Ask Lake Wales residents where to go for an extraordinary meal and they’ll likely point you to a quaint, done-up dining space off of Highway 60. L’incontro Italian Restaurant opened on January 14, 2011, bringing old-world, traditional Italian cuisine to The Ridge. We sat with the owner and general manager, Alex Barrera at lunch one afternoon to discuss the secret to their success. The lighting was dim and dreamy, tables were fully set with a carnation resting in a freshly filled vase of chilled water. The wait staff were dressed immaculately and tended to guests in the same fashion. Beyond the ambient main dining area is enclosed outdoor seating for a more private, scenic dining experience. Hungry patrons began filing into the upscale-casual eatery for a mid-afternoon meal. THE FAMILY L’incontro is family owned and operated by Barrera and his uncle, Chef Jose Uzhca. Barrera’s family, including his four uncles, are all culinaryminded. “Our family has been in the food industry for a very long time,” said Barrera. Immigrating from Ecuador in the mid 60s, his four uncles went on to lead accomplished careers within the food space, either working as Italian cuisine chefs or owning restaurants of their own. One of Chef Jose’s brothers established his restaurant in Lake Alfred, Luigi’s, and another retired from a restaurant of the same appellation, Trattoria L’incontro in Astoria, New York. Chef Jose, the youngest of four brothers, began cooking at just 17 years old. His resumé boasts some 25 years of perfecting the craft at restaurants Jardino, Novanta, Vivolo, IL Sogno, La Pergola di Taormina, Cafe Fiorello and the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. Chef Jose has had the opportunity to present dishes to some of the most high-profile people in the world, including the President of France, Oprah Winfrey and more. Barrera himself is no rookie on the culinary scene – always working in one form or another in the restaurant industry. Around 14 years old, Alex began washing dishes in restaurants, eventually working his way up to busboy, runner, server, manager and expediter. His background specializes in Japanese restaurants. He started at the renown Nobu Japanese restaurant as a busser, eventually becoming an expediter. THE FOOD Made to order, using traditional recipes and cooking methods, the dishes on L’incontro’s menu span regions and generations of the old country. “Our menu is a very old menu,” he said. The restaurant pays homage to old-world tradition with dishes from puttanesca to piccata. There is no gimmick, no spin – just Italian cuisine as it was intended, according to Barrera. What is any good Italian eatery without its marinara? As an anchor to many menu items, having the perfect sauce is paramount, and L’incontro has perfected it. “Everybody says it’s in the sauce,” said Barrera. Other popular menu items include mussels and clams served with garlic oil, as well as mozzarella caprese, and their famous spaghetti bolognese. “It’s a little twist on spaghetti meat sauce, we just add a little cream. Some people aren’t aware, but that’s what ‘bolognese’ means – it’s from Bologna in Italy and you add cream. It makes a huge difference,” said Barrera. Even more special is what you won’t find on the menu. Every night, L’incontro presents Chef Recommendations. Lake Wales residents are addicted to the String Bean Salad – a simple dish made with string beans, red onions, homemade mozzarella cubes, tossed in a homemade Italian vinaigrette. Their Chef Recommendation Stuffed Pork Chop Barrera described as a Frenched, bone-in pork chop elevated in flavor by prosciutto, goat cheese, raisins, cranberries, candied apples, wrapped in bacon and finished with a truffle mushroom Marsala sauce. This dish is in such demand that it makes the special menu at least once a week. Fancy a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon with your spaghetti bolognese? The restaurant offers a selection of wine and beer along with the addition of a full bar in January earlier this year. You can enjoy lunch or dinner service at L’incontro seven days a week. Dinner reservations are recommended. Stay tuned to their social media or join their newsletter to be in the loop for special events like wine pairings and live music. Maybe it’s the food or the service that has won over the community, or perhaps the secret sauce is in the name “L’incontro.” A date night, business meeting, or a family gathering are all done best at “The Meeting Place.” L’incontro Italian Restaurant 35 FL-60, Lake Wales (863) 676-7400 Lincontrofl.com FB @LincontroItalianRestaurant Photo by Amy Sexson

Florida native, JC Anderson lived the first few years of his life in Norway where his dad is from. His family made the move to Lakeland in the late 80s when he was five, where he lived until moving to Nashville in 2004. Growing up, his goal was to be a doctor. In fact, he had earned a full ride scholarship to college after graduating Bartow High School in 2003. The thing was, he had already been playing music on the side, for fun, and it was getting pretty serious. I met up with JC on a September day after he finished his set at the Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville to talk. JC’s been living in Tennessee for fifteen years, and remembers the day he told his parents he didn’t want to go to college. “I started getting to open for shows like Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Trace Atkins and a bunch of big artists in Florida. I was playing music on the side, for fun and one day I thought, I can’t go to college now,” he smiled. He told his parents he wasn’t going to school and he wanted to move to Nashville. “I worked that summer at Crispers to save up money for an apartment.” Photo by Annette McNamara After moving to Nashville, he got a production deal within six months, which is unheard of. JC had a fellow Norwegian friend who plays guitar, give JC’s music to a producer friend named Ted Hewitt. “Ted liked what I was doing, asked me to come meet with him and he produced a few songs,” he said. At the same time, he was working at a restaurant in Hermitage, TN, a block from his house. “I was a horrible server, I was awful. I was too clumsy and couldn’t memorize stuff well,” he laughed. He needed to make money and he also happened to meet his future wife, Kristi there. So it wasn’t all bad. When he wasn’t at the restaurant, he was keeping the dream alive. “My producer tells me the next step now, is putting a band together and getting some guys you can go out on the road and start touring with. I lucked into doing shows with really big artists before, but I needed road experience.” At age 19, he came back to Florida and teamed up with his mom, Mary Anne to start auditioning for band mates. Bill Boyce was the first person he heard play. JC told him, “You’re in, I don’t need to look any further!” When Bill asked where the rest of the band was? “I laughed and said, you’re it so far!” The drummer was Jimmy Smith, one of his best friends in Lakeland. “One of the best drummers I’ve ever known,” JC said. “He was out in Hollywood at the time. I called him and he said he’d been waiting for this call for a long time.” Everything was falling into place. They got a great group of guys together and started playing gigs in Lakeland. At that point, JC was ready to move back to Tennessee and he was bringing his band. They got a house in the country where they all hunkered down and started making and recording more music. That’s when his mom told him about a new show coming out called The Next GAC Star. (on the Great American Country Channel.) After a little convincing from her, he sent in his music video. “I had just finished a music video before I came back up here for the first song I’ve ever wrote. A week later I got a phone call from GAC and was told I was the Judges Choice for this week’s show.” After being on the live finale show, they won 2nd runner up. That brought opportunities with record labels which were great, however the country’s recession didn’t help. “They all told me the same thing. We love ya but we can’t do anything right now. If we sign you, we’re going to have to shelf you. I felt like the iron was still hot so I didn’t want that,” he explained. He wanted something now, but it just wasn’t happening. Needing to make a living and you know, pay bills and everything. He had to figure out his next move. That’s where the Wildhorse Saloon comes in. They were having a contest, and long story short, after 800 submissions from hopeful musicians, they narrowed it down to 36 to compete live. JC not only made it to the finale, but he eventually went on to win. That meant he won a year contract with them. After that, it was more recording and more touring. At that point, he had been married to Kristi for two years. They began talking about kids. “I felt like, I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don’t know where my life is going. I’m working hard but we’re at this plateau of not knowing what’s next. I don’t have a manager and I don’t know how the business works in that aspect.” He did whatever it took to make things work and to have a family. “We had our first baby, little Sophia, and I did whatever I had to do to get by at that point. I played shows, I worked in warehouses and then I got a job working in the auto industry. It was supposed to be temporary, something to get by.” However, they wanted him full time, so he took it. “I went in at entry-level working at an auto auction place, then got a full time job but was trying to hustle the whole time, too,” he said. They gave him a promotion after promotion, “I worked my tail off. I was working and working at this job, moving up fast. “One day I came to this realization, what am I doing? I’ve been in this business for four years now, was still playing shows, still taking promotions at work but had even less time to play music. That’s when Clay Ryan, the owner of the dealership and still one of his best friends, told him to quit music because he was wasting all of his time at work. “Clay told me, why don’t you leave here and go out there and do what you came here to do. I called my wife and asked her what she thought about me quitting the corporate job and going back at music full time and giving it everything I’ve got while I still can.” Kristi supported him. “ I told her it’s going to be hard. Money will be tight. I basically had to start over and I had to go bigger and better this time around. I worked hard, toured hard, booked more shows, played every hole in the wall in front of 5 people.” Wherever they could get there foot in the door, and started making a new fan base. He said sometimes it was fun, but mostly they were burned out, it was becoming difficult. They started booking less shows focusing on more quality shows. One night playing a show at Puckett’s in downtown Nashville, Len Besinger saw them play. “He’s from Glacier Entertainment Artist Management.” The company had been sitting dormant since the recession. JC explained that Besinger played his music for a friend at CMT, and was inspired to get back into the industry. They’ve been working together since. They’ve been playing bigger stages, making more money, and playing songs that he wrote. “It’s amazing to have other people like what you’re doing so much that they help you with the next step.” “This is the best year we’ve ever had, we’re on pace to have over 200 shows. I’m not starving to death like I was before,” he laughed. They will be coming out with a new single this fall. “Now with a bigger appreciation of what I’m doing and the gift that I was so lucky for God to give me, it is my responsibility to do it,” he said. “As long as I try hard enough, I will find a way. If I don’t give up, I will find a way.” I asked if he had any advice for budding musicians trying to make it big. “The music business is very deep and dark and heartbreaking. You go out every day and wear your heart on your sleeve. You don’t know where it’s going to go. I’ve had so many big things happen to me, with the show, record companies, I’ve gotten so far, so many times and at the last second everything just doesn’t work out. Over and over again. I’m doing everything I can to be the best and be better than the other guy, but nothing happens. You get bitter, jaded and angry. This is not for the faint of heart,” he said thoughtfully. “I don’t do this for me anymore. I love it and I can’t see myself doing anything else but I don’t do it to be a star. I know what I’m best at. So it’s my responsibility to do that and put my kids through college and to support my family, you know?” After sitting for a bit, he added, “Get out and perform in front of people, not your family and not your friends. Perform for people you don’t know and then see if you want to take it further. “ As for his family, “They’re my motivation to keep trying. I don’t want to let them down.” www.jcandersen.com FB@jcandersonband