In honor of this week, and to celebrate tourism’s impact on our community, the VisitGainesville office and the Alachua County Hospitality Council will host special events in recognition of National Travel & Tourism Week. Local attractions will offer complimentary or reduced-price admission to the public. Some of the confirmed participants include:

• Hippodrome Theatre
• Dudley Farm
• O’Leno State Park
• River Rise State Park
• Florida Museum of Natural History
• UF Gator Baseball
• Kanapaha Botanical Gardens
• Santa Fe Canoe Outpost
• Among other attractions.

If you haven’t visited these local attractions, this is your opportunity to do so while saving some money and taking advantage of the early May weather.

For more details about the area attractions offering complimentary or special admission offers, visit www.visitgainesville.com/NTTW.

Participating ACEL Members learning from Chef Ashley Green

As noted by the Gainesville Sun, Alachua County celebrated the first official Local Food Week last month. Local organizations  hosted events promoting healthy eating and highlighted opportunities for more sustainable farm practices, new entrepreneurship, and social empowerment. The activities took place at various locations, such as farmers markets, film festivals, workshops and farm tours, all totaling more than 2,000 attendees.

Inspired by the Local Food Week events, ACEL hosted an appetizer and dessert cooking class activity at Blue Oven Kitchens Incubator, north central Florida’s first kitchen incubator and newest addition to Alachua County’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The class was taught by Chef Ashley Glenn, a recent graduate of the Culinary Arts program at Florida Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach. She has spent the past four years working with a variety of local chefs in private event catering, chef’s table demonstration, and culinary education.

Chef Ashley Green

The hands-on cooking class explored how to make a delicious appetizer and dessert, ideal for the busy and hectic life of young professionals. More than 20 people attended the event and participated in each step of the preparation. On the menu were Phyllo Strudel with kale, goat cheese and cremini mushrooms and coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Check out the ACEL flicker page for all the photos.

Curious about the recipes? Chef Ashley was gracious to share them with ACEL. Click here to view the recipes from the event.

Make sure to stay tuned with Blue Oven Kitchens and Chef Ashley. Blue Oven is having a fundraising  event April 14, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. at the Jones B-Side. The name of the event is Blue Oven, Bluegrass, and Beer. Be sure to follow Chef Ashley Glenn on Twitter and Facebook.

Thank you to Blue Oven Kitchen Incubators, Chef Ashley Green, and ACEL’s Social Committee for such a successful event!

On behalf of our membership, we asked the 2013 City Election candidates questions regarding transportation, the economy, and several other important issues that impact the young professionals in Alachua County. To view these questions, please click here. For those unaware of which district they live in, please take a look at this district map to find out. Please note that only residents living in district 4 are eligible to vote for the district 4 Commissioner race.

Registered voters can vote by mail, vote early, or vote on Election Day, March 19. To vote by mail, you can make your request online at VoteAlachua.com or call (352) 374-5252. Early voting is available at the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office in the County Administration Building from Monday, March 11, through Sunday, March 17. Early voting hours are Monday – Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM, Saturday from 9 AM to 2 PM and Sunday from 11 AM to 2 PM. On Election Day, voters can vote in the precinct of their residence between 7 AM to 7 PM on March 19.

Check out the responses candidates gave us below by simply clicking on their name:

City of Gainesville Mayoral Candidates

• Craig Lowe
• Pete Johnson
• Donald Shepherd
• Ed Braddy
• Scherwin Henry

City Commission District Four

• W.E. “Mac” McEachern
• Alfredo Espinosa
• Randy Wells

ACEL wishes to thank all of the candidates for taking the time to reply to our questions. The March Downtown Happy Hour at The Backyard @ Boca Fiesta & Palomino is being held Thursday March 14, starting at 6pm. Make sure that you visit the Facebook Event page to see who else is going!

Photo Credit: Tyler Jones of Exile Photography, 2012

Team: Meow
Organization: Alachua County Emerging Leaders
Charity: Alachua County Humane Society

Team: Alachua County Fire Rescue Local 3852
Organization: Alachua County Fire Rescue
Charity: The Pink Heals Fund at the Southeast Healthcare Foundation at Shands

Team: Chemical Warfare
Organization: AllChem
Charity: Food4Kids Backpack Program of North Florida, Inc.

Team: Too Legit to Kick
Organization: Campus USA Credit Union
Charity: Children’s Miracle Network

Team: One Kick Wonders
Organization: Campus USA Credit Union
Charity: Children’s Miracle Network

Team: SteelToes
Organization: Charles Perry Partners, Inc.
Charity: American Heart Association

Team: 99 Problems but a Pitch Ain’t One
Organization: Exactech
Charity: Arthritis Foundation

Team: Phalanges
Organization: Florida School of Massage
Charity: River Phoenix Center for Peace Building

Team: Balls & Dolls
Organization: Gainesville Health and Fitness
Charity: Public Schools Foundation

Team: Infinite Energy
Organization: Infinite Energy IMPACT Team
Charity: Relay for Life

Team: Merge
Organization: Ken Cornell – Bosshardt Realty Services
Charity: Children’s Home Society

Team: LG 39 Kickers
Organization: Leadership Gainesville
Charity: Kids Kicking Cancer

Team: Out for Blood
Organization: LifeSouth Community Blood Centers
Charity: Five Points of Life Foundation

Team: Bit Kickers
Organization: Mindtree, Ltd.
Charity: Children’s Home Society

Team: Nationwide
Organization: Nationwide
Charity: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid Florida

Team: Bagel Bashers
Organization: Panera Bread
Charity: Women’s Cancer Research Fund, UF Shands

Team: Prioria
Organization: Prioria Robotics, Inc.
Charity: Wounded Warrior Project

Team: Study Edge
Organization: Study Edge
Charity: Serious Fun Camps

Team: TOI Renegades
Organization: The Orthopaedic Institute
Charity: ACORN Clinic

Team: Tower Hill Insurance
Organization: Tower Hill Insurance
Charity: Gainesville Fisher House Foundation

Team: Trimark Properties
Organization: Trimark Properties
Charity: House of Hope

Team: UF Student Affairs
Organization: University of Florida Division of Student Affairs
Charity: Project Makeover

The competition is fierce this year! Who will champion the tournament and bring home the bacon for their designated charity? Come cheer on your favorite team at Diamond Sports Park this Saturday at 9:30am. Check out our 2013 ACEL Champions for Charity Kickball Tournament page for more info. See you this weekend!

Photo credit: Flickr CC susivihn

The ACEL Professional Development (PD) Committee is excited to announce a new event designed to offer the busy professional help in the workplace or in finding a better career. This event will occasionally coincide with PD events, but its intent is to meet the growing needs of our entire membership. Today’s topic is a two for one: career development through reading and the introduction of our new book club.

In some professions, you are required to keep current through continuing education courses. In others, you can gain a new accreditation by taking a course or attending a seminar. In both cases, the goal is the same: to continue the job of learning.

Most people think once they have graduated, their only job is the 9-5 that pays the bills. Big mistake. This assumes that all things that need to be learned are covered in textbooks and can be mastered in three to six years of diligent study. It also ignores the fact that the sum of all knowledge is constantly growing and systems get more complex. Therefore, someone could be on the top of her game at graduation and behind the curve just five years later.

Unless you are in a profession that demands currency, like teaching, or offers specialty accreditation, like medicine, your skill set can increase while your knowledge of best practices can decrease.

What are you supposed to do then? Just Read. But does this mean find the nearest comic book or graphic novel and you are on your way to a corner office? Well, actually yes. According to the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), reading in general helps, whatever the genre. ASTD does recommend more specific professional reading, but does not dismiss the value of a good book. Novels and biographies employ story development to teach context and perspective; these are translatable skills in the work force.

To kick off your path to professional development though reading, our committee would like to announce its new book club. Every two months we will discuss a new book that we hope will make you ready for the job you want – not necessarily the one you have right now.

Our first selection will be The Checklist Manifesto, by Dr. Atul Gawande. Through insightful stories the author offers a low-tech way to make complex systems work more efficiently. The first book club meeting will be Monday, February 11 at 7:15 pm at Emilianos. If you want to participate, you must read the first three chapters of the book and have your questions and thoughts ready. Please RSVP by February 10 by sending me an email at Derek@acelfl.com, and the first drink is on ACEL.

With a new focus on blogging and a book club, your Professional Development Committee is trying to expand the ways we serve ACEL. Please don’t hesitate to send any topics for a blog or book ideas to me at Derek@acelfl.com.

Don’t be surprised if interspersed in our selections you will find books like Good to Great, followed by The Great Gatsby. The one thing that will be in common for each book, if you read it, you will learn something that can help you in your professional life.

-Derek Lyons, Professional Development Committee Chair

Lindsay Krieg updates the 2012 Champions for Charity bracket | Photo credit: Tyler Jones of Exile Photography

Here’s what beneficiaries of the 2012 tournament had to say about their teams:

“Your support allows abused children served at the Child Advocacy Center to receive the comfort and support they so desperately need.” —Child Advocacy Center

“Your contribution will help further our mission to provide excellent patient care, to collaborate in improving community health, and to create an environment that supports education and research in the health sciences.” —Children’s Miracle Network at Shands Hospital for Children

“As a supporter of Tyler’s Hope, please know that we are making real, measured progress with our efforts to fund intense neurology research to prevent and cure Dystonia and to create worldwide awareness of this disorder.” —Tyler’s Hope

“You are helping our heroes at a time when they need it the most.” —Gainesville Fisher House Foundation

“Your generosity is helping the children we serve.” —Children’s Home Society of Florida

Feel the love?  Spaces are limited, so register your team today!

What was your most memorable ACEL experience of 2012? Did you lend a helping hand at Family Treasures? Hit your mark at Rolls and Arrows? Make an exceptional play at the kickball tourney? Flip through photos from our 2012 events to revisit your favorite moments!

Connected…to old and new friends at the ACEL Amazing Race!

“The social committee hosted its first Amazing Race event in April this year. It was quite a day! New friendships were made quickly and old friends were new enemies—well at least for the day!” – Jennifer Grinnan, Past Social Chair

Informed…young leaders celebrating at the ACEL Annual Dinner at the Sweetwater Branch Inn.

“It has been so exciting to see the evolution of ACEL, especially the strategic plan created this year to guide us in reaching our vision of having Alachua County recognized as a place for young professionals to thrive.” – Colleen Raccioppi, Past President

Involved…with our local community and area non-profits at the annual ACEL Champions for Charity kickball tournament.

“I’m a lucky president—2013 is going to be  a great year for us.” – Andrew Romero, President (Photo credit: Tyler Jones of Exile Photography)

This year was a great success, and we look forward to achieving even more in 2013. We hope you’ll join us as we usher in the new year and some exciting new initiatives for ACEL! Meet us for an ACEL Happy Hour, pitch in at the kickball tournament, or resolve to join a committee. Get involved and you’ll be sure to grow along with us in 2013.

Open positions

• President (2-Year Term)
• Vice President (2-Year Term)
• Secretary (2-Year Term)

Committee Chairs

• Community Relations Committee Chair (1-Year Term)
• Kickball Committee (1-Year Term)
• Marketing and Communications Committee Chair (1-Year Term)
• Membership Committee Chair (1-Year Term)
• Public Policy Committee Chair (1-Year Term)
• Social Committee Chair (1-Year Term)

Directors At-Large

• Up to 6 Director At-Large positions (1-Year Term)

All positions will begin their terms on November 1, 2012 and end on October 31 of the respective year based on the length of their term.  For a complete job description of each position, please view the 2012 Board of Directors Election Process document.

Alachua County Commission Candidates

District 1

All voters registered in Alachua County District 1 will be able to vote for one of the following candidates:

• Mike Byerly (Dem.)
• Brandon C Kutner (Rep.)
• Roberta C Lopez (Dem.)
• John Martin (Rep.)
• Kevin Riordan (Rep.)
  

District 3

All voters registered in Alachua County District 3 will be able to cast their vote for one of the following candidates:

• Bryan C “Buck” Buchanan (Write-in)
• Jean Calderwood (Rep.)
• Ken Cornell (Dem.)
• Robert “Hutch” Hutchinson (Dem.)

ACEL Amazing Race

Get your game face on! This Sunday, April 22 2012, is the inaugural ACEL Amazing Race. There has been A LOT of excitement leading up the event, and we are looking forward to an AWESOME turnout! We know you still have some lingering questions about what this event is going to be like. Trust us, the surprise will be worth the wait. Here are a few breadcrumbs that will cover the basics. Are you ready to test your skill and win it all???

Prep: What exactly do I need to bring?

During: Race Time Baby!

After: “We Are The Champions!”