Apostles Build brings parishioners together to share in the sponsorship of a single home.
Rev. Gray Echols, from Prince of Peace, expressed hope that other local churches will become involved to help support this project. “We’d love to see all the area churches represented on this.”
Prince of Peace has worked on eight previous Habitat projects and the Cocoa house will be Church at Viera’s third.
Mark Ragsdale, lead pastor at Church at Viera agreed. “We’re all one community,” he said.
This home will be the first the community of St. John has been involved in as a parish.
“This is our first,” said Father Brad Beaupre, “the first of many, many homes we intend to build.”
At a recent rally, St. John signed up more than 100 volunteers; Church at Viera held its rally in late May and Prince of Peace has a pool of people eager to work on another house.
Each church donates a share of the $45,000 required to build a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home with a one-car garage.
“The project is about $12,500 short of its goal,” said Joe Gassman, CEO of Habitat for Humanity.
The goal is to build a new home for Michelle Hagans. She owns property in Cocoa, but the small home situated there was inadequate for her growing family of three. She moved out of the house in April and thieves stripped it of anything they could sell, including the kitchen sink; vandals destroyed what remained.
The current structure will be demolished and by June 12, the Apostles Build volunteers will raise the first wall to her new home. Within three to four months, Hagans and her children will be able to move into their new home.
For more information about any of the specialized projects at Habitat for Humanity, to volunteer or make a donation, call the group at 321-728-4009.
Sometimes also called Baseball on the Berm, the Great American Celebration is always held on the Fourth of July. Sixteen years ago, mostly Viera residents knew about the event. Now, it draws attendees from throughout and outside of Brevard County.
Gates open at 5 p.m. for the Manatees game against the Tampa Yankees, which starts at 6:05 p.m. Parking is free, so the cost of a berm ticket is all that is required for an evening of excitement. The berm is the grassy area located behind the left field wall and gives spectators a unique view of the game as well as access to VIP treatment.
For $15, ticket-holders gain admission to Space Coast Stadium, access to an all-you-can-eat-and-drink buffet picnic and a special souvenir. The Manatee Tiki Bar will sell adult beverages.
"The great thing about this is there are no lines," VFF Vice President Judi John said.
Attendees will not have to stand in line for concessions or restrooms as they would at a typical baseball game.
"Bring bug spray," John said. She also recommends lawn chairs or blankets. "You don't have to sit on the berm if you don't want to, but that's where all the food is going to be."
Those who purchase tickets to the event will receive wristbands, allowing them complete access to all the event's activities.
Everyone who wants to enjoy the almost never-ending buffet must have a berm ticket. All ticket holders must come through the front gate, but you can't buy the tickets to the Great American Celebration at the stadium. They are available for cash only at Community Credit Union, Viera Realty Home Discovery Center and VIERA VOICE. No other means of payment will be accepted.
Weather permitting, the evening will end with an extraordinary fireworks display. The stadium will honor berm tickets in the event of a rain-out.
"Our sponsors make this happen," John said. "Without them, we simply couldn't do it."
This year, VIERA VOICE is proud to join The Viera Future Foundation, The Viera Company, The Avenue Viera and Lexus of Melbourne as a major sponsor of the Great American Celebration. Other sponsers include Walmart, Viera Hospital, Seacoast National Bank, Skip Wren Insurance, The Washington Nationals and Watersong.
Call Judi John at 321-242-1200 for more information.
Well … so much for that.
Coming off easily the best athletic year of it’s short existence, Viera High took home a special kind of prize last month. The Hawks are the winners of the Florida Today Cape Coast Conference All-Sports trophy.
“It’s a big step for our school,” said Trevor Lally, a three-sport standout for the Hawks.
Viera finished the year with 198.5 points, beating out defending champion Melbourne High with 183.5. Satellite High previously dominated the competition, winning 10 consecutive trophies -- nine solo titles and one shared title with Astronaut in 1998-99.
The Hawks were district champions or district runners-up in all but two sports this season. While that statistic might not be as impressive given the fact it was often just a three-team district with Melbourne and Palm Bay, Viera’s success hardly stopped there as several teams and a number of individuals qualified for state tournaments.
Diver Luke Zippi became the first athlete in school history to win a state title.
Lally, who played football, track and wrestled, remembered how the Hawks struggled in their first few years. But those years were merely stepping stones for what was to come.
Hawks Athletic Director Jamie Risberg cited two areas that have helped the Hawks develop so quickly -- an excellent feeder program, where kids come to school prepared to play right away, and the fact that, for the most part, the coaching staffs have remained intact.
As good as this year was for Viera, Lally sees even better things ahead for the Hawks -- even in a sport like football, where the program is still trying to get a foothold on success and is searching for a new head coach.
“I think right now, we’ve got good things coming,” Lally said. “The attitude of the whole team has changed. Instead of wanting to skip workouts, people are holding each other accountable now. That’s a big thing among all the sports. We’re starting to take pride in what we do.”
Winning the CCC championship is definitely a source of pride for Viera’s seniors.
“We finally proved that we are good at sports,” senior volleyball/soccer player Samantha Layer said. “People are actually scared of us now.”Stars were born on Friday, May 14, as the Manatee Elementary cafeteria transformed into an Oscar Award Ceremony venue. The event included a red carpet, an elaborate stage, and glamorous student writers receiving awards for their talents.
First-grade teacher Kelly Coffin, co-chair of the event with second-grade teacher Myla Bunner-Eckert, said this is the third writing celebration the school has held, but the first year the event included an Oscar theme.
“The Oscars are held at the end of the year to celebrate [the students] growth in writing. We have found this recognition is a real motivator,” Coffin said. “We plan to do it again next year, too.”
To attend the Oscars, every student at Manatee submitted a book, and each classroom teacher selected two authors per class to receive awards. Additionally, writers whom placed at Quality Literature Day were recognized, as Manatee Elementary received the most awards of any area three schools.
“All the books we submitted to the contest won an award!” Coffin said.
While all of the students expressed impressive creativity, Coffin said the books that stood out to her included a book about endangered species complete with music and a DVD, and a book about Nelson Mandela written by the help of a grandfather. The students proudly shared their work with parents after the Oscars.
“We recognize students’ writing accomplishments each week at Manatee,” Coffin said. “We feel it is important to acknowledge their work during each phase of the writing process.”
Quest Elementary classes donate to Haitian relief effort
By Dave Berman
March 2010