As The City of Miami Gardens celebrates its ten year anniversary; exciting years full of growth, change, experience and evolution from a newborn crawling, to a toddler “toddling” to a young child walking, this is perhaps a fitting time to talk about how much our lives are like novels. A compilation of stories made up of characters, constantly changing experiences and moments when we turn the pages, not knowing how the story will unfold.
My name is Julia Yarbough and I am not only turning pages, but I decided to pick up an entirely new book to find out what is written in the chapters. You may remember me as one of South Florida’s news anchors/reporters; coming into your homes for years from the studios of WTVJ-NBC6. After a full and exciting 22 year career as a broadcast journalist, in the fall of 2009 I made the unconventional decision to step away from my position to simply – take a break. Sounds crazy to most folks, but I have an unshakable faith that everything works out exactly how it is supposed to.
I’ve spent the past three years travelling, exploring various career interests and dabbling in all the professional fields I always wondered about but never had the opportunity to pursue. I created a nationally recognized blog, received my certification as a personal fitness trainer, worked behind the scenes shooting commercials and movies, produced my own short documentary and most importantly, took down time for myself to enjoy my family and friends.
But like any good book, eventually the story comes to a close. The reader then has to find another novel to dive into. You might say I’m doing the same thing, except with life and the title of the new book is The City of Miami Gardens. I am excited and proud to announce I have joined the dedicated members of the family of the City as the Press Relations Specialist. As a professional story-teller I believe that everyone, every business, every organization and agency has a story; a story that can and should be told. I’m going to help The City of Miami Gardens do just that. See, I know there is so much to this city that no one ever knows about, hears about or sees. All the great educators, students, parents, business owners, environmentalists and visionaries are right here in our back yards and sharing those stories will help us take The City of Miami Gardens to the next level.
Our COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER is called community for a reason – we want to highlight and feature YOU! Let’s show South Florida and the world what we’re made of! At just ten years old, The City of Miami Gardens has made huge strides and we’re just getting started. Now you can help us and be a part of the next wave of progress! Do you have a story you think should be told? Are you an aspiring writer looking to capture the pulse of our community? Well then…we want to hear from you! Send us your ideas, your upcoming events, your thoughts and concerns of what stories and issues you want to see covered. We can’t promise we’ll focus on every item that comes in, but it’s a new start – a new chapter.
Keep turning the pages; keep reading – help me and the team here at City Hall make The City of Miami Gardens into one of the BEST novels ever written! Julia Yarbough is an Emmy-Award winning journalist starting a new chapter; partnering with The City of Miami Gardens as Press Relations Specialist. Julia will be a frequent contributor to the Community Newspapers and responsible for helping to promote The City of Miami Gardens, its citizens, businesses and success stories to a broader audience. Have ideas? Julia can be reached at jyarbough@miamigardens-fl.gov
Julia,
It's great to have you back in South Florida and Miami Gardens is extremely fortunate to have you tell their stories.
Have fun with this new chapter and/or book in your life.