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April 2024
Volume 21, Issue 4
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CELEBRATING 22 YEARS OF PUBLISHING P OSITIVE COMMUNIT Y NEWS
STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL SEES STEER USF OPENS CUTTING-EDGE DOD LAB AIMED AT PROVIDING MILITARY SOLUTIONS SALE SUCCESS AND MORE Staff Report
According to fair officials, the grand champion buyers were Enhanced Healthcare LLC, Drop the Walls Boutique and Westcoast Enterprises. MNM Construction was the reserve grand champion buyer. In reporting that 115 youth steer exhibitors earned more Photo courtesy of Linda Chion. than $1 million, fesA view from the youth steer sale at the 2024 Florida Strawberry Festival. tival officials in a The 2024 Florida Strawberry Festival Facebook post told the buyers, “We are has entered the books for at least two overwhelmed with gratitude for your impressive milestones: stellar atten- support of these outstanding young peodance and a stunning amount of support ple.” for youth steer exhibitors. Overall, the 89th Florida Strawberry That would come as a result of the Festival ended its 11-day run on March Mosaic Youth Steer Sale, held on March 10 with attendance clocking in at 9 at the Patterson Co. Livestock Arena 634,779 attendees. As Kyle Robinson, in the Charlie Grimes Family Agricultural festival president, put it, “this year’s fesCenter, located at the Florida Strawber- tival was an incredible success.” ry Festival Fairgrounds in Plant City. In Featuring in the mix of expected festisupport of their future projects and ac- val attractions, including local entertaintivities, and for their hard work raising, ment, school exhibits and blue-ribbon training and showing steer, this year’s arts and crafts standouts, this year’s youth contenders reportedly raised festival marked the 50th year volunteers more than $1.4 million. from St. Clement manned the Plant City Given the exact number reported, not Roman Catholic church’s “make your counting 21 cents, that translates into own strawberry shortcake” booth. 1,436,107 nods of approval for local “Our objective when we started in youth, which in turn sets a steer sale re- 1974 was to buy property and pay off cord, according to festival officials. the mortgage,” said Kevin McFaul, a In the arena three days earlier, the church member for some 35 years, who grand champion and reserve grand said last year’s efforts reduced the mortchampion were named, giving Kiah Swil- gage by about $500,000. ley, a member of the Durant High School This year’s St. Clement booth, one FFA chapter, and Bella Ballard, a mem- of three to offer strawberry shortcake ber of the Youth Leaders in Production at the annual event, reported sales of Agriculture Chapter, nights to remem- 79,618 shortcakes, McFaul said. ber for a lifetime. Ballard exhibited what “We have a saying in our parish,” he was to become the overall grand cham- added. “Our church is built on a founpion steer, while Swilley showed the dation of God, but paid for with strawoverall reserve grand champion steer. berries.”
The University of to quickly iterate South Florida (USF) on designs to solve recently opened a problems, invent cutting-edge lab new products and aimed at providing rapidly deliver cutquick, innovative ting-edge capabilisolutions to the difties.” ferent challenges The new facing the U.S. De8,000-square-foot partment of Defense. facility will be utiManaged by USF’s The New Rapid Experimentation Lab at USF will be lized not just by Institute of Applied managed by USF’s Institute of Applied Engineering. USF faculty and Engineering (IAE), student engineers the new Rapid Exbut also partners in perimentation Lab the Department of (REL) provides a Defense and private unique, collaborative industry, who are space to rapidly test working to support concepts. missions everywhere, As one of nation’s including the battlemost research-infield, the oceans and tensive universispace. ties, USF is helping The lab houses varto solve problems ious equipment, inthroughout society, The University of South Florida recently had a cluding electrical and and the facility is a ribbon-cutting for a state-of-the-art facility that mechanical computer key part of those ef- is part of a five-year, $85 million contract with design and analysis the Department of Defense. forts. tools, communications “Our new lab will further enhance the networks to support testing, electronics University of South Florida’s focus on devel- and circuit boards as well as manufacturing oping technologies and providing innovative technology. It will allow multiple engineers solutions that address critical global and to collaborate, test and retest an idea or national security challenges,” USF President product before presenting it to the DepartRhea Law said. “This facility will provide re- ment of Defense for consideration. search opportunities for our faculty, handsThe IAE also plans to work with the USF on learning experiences for our students and Technology Transfer Office to identify starthelp grow important partnerships with gov- up companies interested in utilizing the lab ernmental agencies and private industry.” for development of their own inventions. The state-of-the-art facility, part of a Partners who would like more informafive-year, $85 million contract with the De- tion can email info-iae@usf.edu. partment of Defense, is poised to reshape The University of South Florida has camthe engineering landscape in Tampa Bay. It puses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasoaims to streamline the prototyping process ta-Manatee. The main campus is located at by bringing together engineers from a wide 4202 E. Fowler Ave. in Tampa. Learn more range of disciplines under one roof, signifi- at www.usf.edu. cantly reducing development timelines. “The lab provides the necessary infrastructure, tools and collaborative environment to enable the curious and inspired to REBUILDING TOGETHER.................PG 3 design, build and test technologies for today FLORIDA AQUARIUM......................PG 11 and tomorrow,” said Peter Jorgensen, as- YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE ..PG 14 sociate director of engineering for the IAE. EYE ON BUSINESS.................PGS 18-19 “More than just a makerspace, the REL is a playground for mechanical, electronics, sen- SUMMER CAMP.......................PGS 23-31 sors, communications and software teams
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