WOW Center and Chick-fil-A Kendall make a great team

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South Florida is fortunate to have our share of corporate citizens with big hearts. One such example is Justin Lindsey, franchise owner of Chick-fil-A Kendall.

Justin, former owner of the Dadeland location, took over as owner of the Kendall store and soon after formed a great relationship with the WOW Center and its executive director Natalia Wong.

For those not in the know, the WOW Center is a non-profit that provides quality programs and support for individuals with developmental disabilities with the goal of helping them lead meaningful and productive lives. They explore each person’s potential, help them develop a sense of community and pursue independence and jobs if able.

In that alone, Chick-fil-A has been outstanding, having hired over the years 8-10 individuals, often inviting others to come and try out specific tasks for fun, like making milkshakes. This relationship included an art project that resulted in the creation of beautiful centerpieces that included colorful ceramic flowers handmade by folks from the center and delivered to the store on June 7, during a breakfast celebration hosted by Justin.

To learn more about the center and this amazing partnership, check out the June 13 Gloria’s Gab LIVE Show featuring my fellow Florida Gator Justin Lindsey as my guest at
CN Website: https://communitynewspapers.com/videos-2/glorias-gab-host-gloria-burns-talks-with-justin-lindsey-owner-of-chick-fil-a-kendall/.

In other good news, the Greater Miami Festivals & Events Association Conference attracted festival organizers, event planners, vendors and more to the Hyatt Regency Miami. This year’s theme, “Decadence, 10 years of taking events to the next level,” delivered with spectacular entertainment from bands to transformers with dancing and lots of new technology.

Attentees enjoyed a fun-filled, informative and captivating day that included a keynote address by Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, lauded as “Office Whisperer” by The New York Times for helping leaders make the best decisions in the future of work. Dr. Tsipursky’s presentation on AI spoke to its incredible advantages and potential threat. His book, ChatGPT for Thought Leaders and Content Creators, was gifted to all the guests. This timely gift is a great resource and one that everyone was anxious to read and share.

In other news, the University of Miami tennis great and 1993 UM Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Jodi Steinbauer, celebrated her retirement as the Jr. Orange Bowl Tennis Tournament director with a party at Doral Park Country Club on June 3. Aside from family including, of course her husband, J.R., and father-in-law, John, were Miami-Dade County Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez with wife, Vivian; Jr. Orange Bowl president, Lisa Albizu-Vazquez; Jr. OB past president and basketball chair, Chuck Little, with his wife, Nancy; Jr. OB past president Samantha Jones; Connie Milone with lots of other Jr. OB members and friends.

During the evening, many photos were shared including several from Jodi and J.R.’s recent Alaskan cruise.

Speaking of the Jr. Orange Bowl, Jr. OB president Lisa Albizu-Vazquez recently was presented a $15,700 check from the Miami Kiwanis Foundation. The club has been an ongoing supporter of Jr. OB Basketball for decades.

Finally, kudos to our Florida Panthers and Miami Heat for making it the finals. What a run!
Until next time, share your talents, count your blessings, be kind and make a difference.

 

 

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A graduate of the University of Florida with a major in Spanish, Burns has an extensive background in advertising, marketing and reciprocal trade, travel , non profit consulting and management. Before joining Miami's Community Newspapers as a columnist and marketing specialist, Gloria was the Executive Director of the Jr. Orange Bowl Committee (6 yrs.) and first Executive Director of the Coral Gables Community Foundation (14 yrs.) and the Pinecrest Community Foundation (1 ½ yrs) . Burns' volunteer activities led her to become a columnist for Community Newspapers writing Gloria’s Gab, that focuses on the non-profit activity, and a host of an online show, Gloria's Gab LIVE. Gloria serves the board of the Rotary Club of Coral Gables as Civic and Charity Chair, and is involved in the club's International Committee. She is an active Life Member of the Jr. Orange Bowl Committee and is Secretary of the Merrick Festival. She serves on the board of directors of the Coral Gables Woman' Club as Publicity Chair and also coordinates the club's monthly fundraiser for various charities with Gringo Bingo at Clutch Burger. In addition, Gloria participates in numerous other charitable events and is a member of the Business Forum Group, Profit Inc., the Greater Miami Festival & Events Association and the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce. In other volunteer activity, Gloria helps Miami Christian School with fund-raising and PR; is an Ambassador and volunteers for events for A Safe Haven for Newborns. She is an active member of the Music Ministry at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church where she enjoys singing in the choir every weekend.