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As everyone knows, February is the shortest month of the year. However, what many people may not know is that the 28 days of February contain a plethora of celebrations and holidays, some lighthearted and some more meaningful. Many people look forward to February for the Superbowl and Valentine’s Day (not necessarily in that order or order of importance) – and this year the Superbowl and Valentine’s Day are back-to-back allowing many people to extend the festivities by co-mingling celebrations.
On the playful side, February is National Bird Feeding Month, National Grapefruit Month (an especially pro-Florida event), National Library Lover’s Month (which as a life-long bibliophile is one of my personal favorites), among others, and in honor I assume because of Valentine’s Day, National Wedding Month. For those of you out there marking anniversaries or celebrating weddings (like our own Andre Williams and his bride to be, Caterine Henao), congratulations, and for those commemorating a relationship either on Valentine’s Day or another February Day, hopefully the day(s) are filled with joy.
The Chamber’s Golf Tournament set for February 4th is being played on Bubble Gum Day, National Homemade Soup Day, National Thank a Mail Carrier Day and National Wear RED Day. Although my new favorite days may be February 5th, which is apparently National Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, and February 9th, which is National Pizza Day.
On the encouraging side, February hosts days to honor women in medicine, women in politics, women in sports and women in sciences (February 3rd, 15th, 2nd and 21st respectively). February also contains, among other things, Random Acts of Kindness Week and Make a New Friend Week, in an effort to find connections between each of us. Hopefully all of us will make an effort to reach out to someone during one of those days to honor the spirit of the occasion and possibly bring a friend to join you in a Chamber event.
On the more thoughtful side, February is home to American Heart Month and Black History Month. According to the Center for Disease Control, African Americans ages 18-49 are twice as likely to die from heart disease than other groups and African Americans ages 35-64 are 50% more likely to have high blood pressure and need heart surgery later in life. In an effort to draw needed attention to this issue, the Health and Wellness Council, co-chaired by Maia Madiavilla and Dr. Sachi, along with Cardiologist Dr. Adedapo Illuyomade of Baptist Health and representatives from the American Heart Association will be hosting a Preventive Conversation About Taking Care of Your Heart on February 10th at noon via Zoom. Please reach out to the Chamber for information on attending.
Even if it is the shortest month of the year, I trust that each of you will fill your February days and allow your Chamber friends to join in.
