ORMOND BEACH
Observer
TEACHERS OF THE YEAR PAGE 1B
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 13, NO. 18
FREE ON NEWSSTANDS | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025
STANDING O AWARDS Meet seven people who are making our community a better place. PAGES 2A-6A
Ormond Beach Fire Department Driver Engineer Nicholas Nates has obtained nearly all of his Urban Search and Rescue Technician courses and is also one of the department’s Hazmat technicians. Photo by Jarleene Almenas PAGE 3A
KATHLEEN TRUTSCHEL
BELINDA DAVIS
AVERY RANDOLPH
HAILEY NOLIN
KIRSTEN GLAENZER
KAJUAN CURRY
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Defining who we are as a community Standing O’s and Teachers of the Year are doing the important work in our community.
BRIAN MCMILLAN PUBLISHER
Imagine standing on the red carpet. You just won a Grammy. All eyes on
you. Take a deep breath of gratitude. You made it. At the December meeting of the Flagler Tiger Bay Club, guest speaker Jeff Hoffman related his experience on the red carpet after winning a Grammy. He said it changed his life. He said he became dedicated to helping other people to feel the same way. He said: “Every human being deserves a red carpet moment, to say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this is my life,’ because it’s going the way you
want it to go.” I’ve always seen the Observer’s Standing O edition as accomplishing the same goal. One of the most special things about a newspaper is helping people to feel seen, recognized, celebrated. To get a standing ovation. The Standing O honorees in this edition aren’t chosen because they are “the most important” people in the community through political power or social influence. They are chosen by last year’s Standing
O honorees for making a special impact on sometimes just a few lives. But isn’t that what really makes a community? It’s not just about the few who are seen every day. It’s also about the many who are quietly lifting others. Thank you to all the unsung heroes in our community. And thank you to the Teachers of the Year. You have the biggest impact on young people’s lives — bigger sometimes than parents’ influence. To learn about what makes you inspired to do your job
well makes me feel reassured that my own children are in good hands. Hopefully, seeing your name in a headline will serve for now as a community newspaper version of your red carpet moment. To the readers, thank you for your attention. We hope you enjoy learning about some of the people who make the community special. And thank you to all our advertisers for making it possible. Who should we write our next stories about? Email Brian McMillan at brian@observerlocalnews.com.