The meeting will be shortly.

Okay.

Good morning.

Good morning, everyone.

Like to call the meeting to order.

And uh God.

This is the uh meeting of the Broward County Commission, meeting of November twelfth, and this morning, um I would like to invite Renee Herman to come up and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Come right up here, Renee, right there.

Okay.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one way under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Okay.

Okay.

Um ladies and gentlemen, if you uh remain standing, um it's customary that we observe a moment of silence in honor of notable persons from our community who have recently passed.

Colleagues, do you have anyone uh that you wish to remember during this moment of silence.

Um we just want to make sure everybody continues to pray for the rich family.

Uh for hearts to be healed.

Uh it doesn't get any easier, and just let you know that we are there for you.

Thank you.

You always are thank you.

Yeah, the same thing.

It was really uh such a beautiful celebration of uh uh life.

It was unbelievable on our um I just would like to say that um um my mother was a hundred and two years old.

She had all of her faculties.

Uh she happened to get pneumonia, uh, which is very difficult at that age.

Um, but she leaves an incredible legacy um of a family that loves her.

Uh from her her children to her grandchildren to her great grandchildren, each of whom when they come into town, those who live out of town, the first thing they did was to ask my daughter Lori, did you set up lunch with Bammy?

And uh she was um she was quite a woman, was born two years before women got the right to vote.

I had hoped that her last vote she never missed a vote from the time she could vote, and uh I'd hoped that this time would be the time that she would be uh voting for our first woman president.

Didn't work out that way, but her vote was cast.

And uh she was philanthropic, she gave to people that are vulnerable in our communities, and um uh as I said, she leaves an incredible legacy of devotion uh to her family and to her community.

And she will be sorely missed.

Okay.

Um let us also honor the brave men and women, as we did, by the way, uh yesterday for Met Veterans Day, who have served and continue to serve in the armed forces, both here and abroad, and we thank them for their service and their sacrifice.

Let's pause for a moment of silence.

Uh and he selected you are the inspiration.

And I think this is the way it's written 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago.

Thank you, Commissioner Bogan.

He's consistent.

And thank you for the lovely breakfast as well.

I got it for something.

Okay, moving on.

We have two proclamations today, and uh I am, and we also have uh eight times certain at 11 30, of course.

But um the first proclamation will be recognizing Harvest Drive Appreciation Month, and it will be presented by myself to Renee Herman, who is the founder and president of Harbage Drive.

Um, and if you could join me at the podium and joining her also, I are is my daughter, Lori Rich Levinson, who has been involved with it since the beginning when it was created at Country Isles Elementary School over 30 years ago.

Okay, your attention, please.

Excuse me.

Whereas Harvest Drive Inc.

has been dedicated to reducing food insecurity in Broward County for over 31 years, inspiring Broward students, civic organizations, community and business partners to work together to assist children and families in need.

And whereas every November, more than 200 Broward County Public Schools, private schools, and Harvest Drive partners join together to provide a week's worth of groceries and a gift card to complete a Thanksgiving meal for more than 2400 families.

And whereas the motto of the Harvest Drive is children helping children, the Harvest Drive initiative involves the coordination of hundreds of students, school personnel, and community volunteers to sort inventory and package donations for distribution.

And whereas Harvest Drive operates 12 distribution sites and invites all Broward County public schools to participate, fostering a sense of community and social responsibility among students.

And whereas families receiving the Harvest Drive donations are identified by Broward County School District and other charitable organizations.

Each family receives four to eight bags of groceries along with a gift card to complete a Thanksgiving meal.

And whereas Harvest Drive continues to serve as a year-round resource for disadvantaged families in crisis, providing food and other necessities through its helping hands food bag box program and boutique referral program.

And whereas anyone interested in donating to Harvest Drive can visit the website at HarvestDrive Florida.com slash donate, and therefore be it proclaimed by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners that the board hereby designates this month of November 2024 as Harvest Drive Appreciation Month in Broward County, Florida, and encourages everyone to donate to Harvest Drive, signed by me as Mayor.

And I just can't say enough about this woman here and what she has done for 31 years in this community, starting in one little elementary school in in Weston, and then involving so many children and teaching them the value of giving to others.

So I'm so proud to honor her and uh and her team here today.

Uh this is Amy, and this is my daughter Lori.

Um first of all, we want to thank you so very much.

This is an honor that we're here again today, telling you a little bit about why we're here and the work that we continue to do.