ORMOND BEACH
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 13, NO. 42
YOU GO, GIRLS! PACE GRADS: 1B
FREE ON NEWSSTANDS | THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2025
City focuses on maintenance, facility upgrades Ormond Beach is planning for $35 million in capital improvement projects for fiscal year 2025-2026 PAGE 4A
Time limits, new meeting format Volusia County Schools to look at restructuring board meetings.
Bracing for impact FDOT’s buried seawall projects in Flagler Beach, Ormond-by-the-Sea near completion as hurricane season begins. PAGE 3A
PAGE 4A INSIDE FEDERAL WARRANT
Ormond Beach Police arrest man wanted on federal warrant for threats against public officials, including Trump. PAGE 6A
BUG’S LIFE
New exhibit ‘Bugs Outside the Box: Discover the Art Within the Sciences’ to open at MOAS on Saturday. PAGE 1B
SUMMER SOCCER
Seabreeze High School has multiple teams in 7 vs. 7 summer soccer league. PAGE 6B
FDOT works on the seawall project in Ormond-by-the-Sea. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
International Day Festival to be held June 14 JARLEENE ALMENAS MANAGING EDITOR
Seabreeze’s Luke Harrell looks for an opening. Photo by Brent Woronoff
INDEX
Business..................... PAGE 5B Calendar..................... PAGE 2B Cops Corner............... PAGE 6A Crossword.................. PAGE 2C Letters........................ PAGE 8A McMillan..................... PAGE 8A Public Notices............ PAGE 6C Sports......................... PAGE 6B Tributes ...................... PAGE 2C Real Estate..................PAGE 7A
Your subscription feeds your neighbors. This month, the Observer will donate $20 to the Jerry Doliner Food Bank for every $52 subscription.
Offer valid through July 4, 2025
Call 386-447-9723 observerlocalnews. com/subscribe/
BEST ADVICE I EVER GOT
What’s the best advice you ever got? For jeweler Fred Gerberman, it's to "listen to your customer," and while that may seem standard for any business, it's especially important in his line of work as a custom jeweler. "They tell you what they want, whether they think they know or not," Gerberman said. Oftentimes, customers will come into the store and tell him they don't know what they're looking for. Gerberman invites them to sit down and talk. "People think I've got this magical thing that I can read your mind, but you eventually will tell me what you want," he said. So, Gerberman is not a mind reader. "I just listen to them well," he said. Gerber Jewelers closes retail store SEE PAGE 5B
A new festival is coming to Ormond Beach — one looking to put diversity and culture on display through music, food and dance. The Ormond Beach International Day Festival will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, at Rockefeller Gardens, located at 25 Riverside Drive. The free festival will represent 18 countries in total and will feature a Flag Day ceremony at noon to pay tribute to the American flag, followed by a parade of flags. The first musical act will take the stage at 12:15 p.m., and they will run continuously through the end of the event. There will also be a DJ, a petting zoo and face painting. The festival is the brainchild of William Sanchez, an Ormond Beach resident who previously served on the Cultural Council of Volusia County. As a former resident of South Florida, one of the things Sanchez said he missed most was being surrounded by diversity. “But Ormond Beach has diversity,” Sanchez said. “There’s plenty of it. It’s just not really apparent.” Last year, Sanchez had a conversation with Ormond Beach Mayor Jason Leslie during a holiday party and mentioned the idea of having an interna-
tional festival in town. Leslie connected him with Ormond MainStreet and the Volusia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Sanchez took the idea from there. He has never organized a festival, but with the help of many volunteers, Sanchez said he is very proud of what they have all accomplished. Groups including the Hungarian Heritage Home of Ormond Beach, the Iranian American Society of Daytona Beach are contributing to the festival for free because they see the value in celebrating diversity, Sanchez said. He also formed his own nonprofit, The Cultural Awareness Fund, to present the festival and raise awareness of local culture. “A lot of groups are just happily providing their efforts because they see the value in celebrating diversity, not just the differences among us,” Sanchez said. “... I think we are all part of the great American experiment, which is this melting pot — this great melting pot in this country, and everybody just bought into that.” Introducing people to the different cultures existing in the area helps people get a greater sense of community and promotes understanding, Sanchez added. The idea for the festival was to cultivate an appreciation of culture, which he believes will
COUNTRIES TO BE REPRESENTED Brazil Colombia Cuba France Germany Hungary Iran Italy Japan Mexico Peru
Philippines Portugal Puerto Rico Spain Venezuela Vietnam United States
help the country go back to its former glory. As a former Scout, it was important to him to showcase the U.S. in the festival, and in addition to the singing of the national anthem, the Ormond Beach Civil Air Patrol honor guard will present the colors during the ceremony. Sanchez is a first generation American, of Colombian descent. Growing up, many children of immigrants wonder where they belong, he said. As a child, Sanchez said he did everything as a “full-blooded American.” “I think people have forgotten what this country was built on — the foundation of it,” Sanchez said. “It was built on the backs of immigrants, all of us. Whether it was 250 years ago or it is today.”