Making a difference in your community!!!

I want to share an email from one of our local businessmen who is working to make a difference. A true community leader. Some of you may have seen my posts on feeding efforts at Ka Pow and Dubliner where we raise money and made meal packages for people who lost their jobs due to Covid 19. Rodney is the owner of these and other restaurants. I spoke last night on Facebook and other social media platforms of finding positive messages and actions in these trying times to share with other vs. the constant diving taking place in our communities. This email is from Rodney Mayo owner of the subculture group of restaurants in south east florida to the Mayor and Commisioners of West Palm Beach Florida. ......

Dear Mayor and Commisioner’s

I have to say I have had a very hectic, bizarre, headache filled and challenging few days. It would take a 10 page email to try and tell you everything I have encountered. Every wall I have hit, every argument I have had…the frustration, the anger. I have been totally perplexed at my interactions and responses I have received over the past few days. Some from people I call friends, some from people I barely know but I admire and some from people I have spoken to for the first time. To me the issues are crystal clear. There is no gray area. Peoples rights come first above everything and compassion for your fellow human should be priority one.

I never had any intention of being downtown last Sunday. I only rushed downtown because 2 of my mangers texted me they were closing their stores because they were sent texts that protestors were headed downtown.. I rushed downtown to find an empty street and no one around. We remained open. 30 minutes later someone came up to me and said the protestors are at Datura and Quadrille so I walked over. This is where the 10 pages would start so I'll jump ahead.

Someone called me today and asked me if I was running for Mayor. I said what are you crazy! They said there is an image with a group of people holding Mayo For Mayor signs. I said I saw that a month or so ago when we started the food distribution at Howleys and it was fake. I didn’t think anything of it, Then someone told me some people at the city think your running for Mayor. Then it hit me, maybe this is why I have been running up against wall after wall and arguing with people that work for the city that I thought I had a good relationship with.

The BBQ for Peace event we are planning for this Sunday from noon to 4pm was an idea born 4 days ago when I met with Chief Aderly at his office. We looked out the window at the large grass lot and I told him we had just signed a lease for it for a drive in movie theater concept. I mentioned the BBQ for Peace and that I had planned to have it at Howleys but would be much better if the police were ok with it to hold it on the Banyan grass lot. The Chief thought it was a great idea.

Within 18 hours I had one of our staff who handles all permitting for Moonfest and other events to contact the events department to inform them of the plan I discussed with the Chief of Police. We had already submitted a 3 month event permit starting this weekend for the drive In movie theater in the same lot with seating for 300, tents, park area, outdoor games etc. I mistakenly thought since I had communicated with Chief Aderly and we had already started the permit process the week prior for the entertainment area in the Banyan grass lot that to rearrange the tents and bring in a stage instead of the movie screen was not a huge stretch from the original plan that was submitted. I guess I was wrong. After speaking with Robert Brown a few times today our conversation went from a very frustrating, no its not going to happen, to get me a new site map, Covid action plan, port-o-lets, ingress, egress plan, tent permit and plan, electrical plan, crowd control and occupancy and so on. This was at approximately 4pm. I told him I would get right on it and have it to him in an hour. We submitted everything , all be it an hour late to Mr Brown via email. Attached here along with the original drive In movie theater site map.

I didn’t ask Mr Brown, I begged him to try and help me to make this happen, This community event will have free BBQ (by donation) for 1,000, balloons, clowns and cupcakes for the kids, over a dozen community leader speakers, Ricky Akens from Inter City Youth, Corey Jones former band will be performing along with an amazing performer who wrote a song about this crisis we are in. We will be having 8 minutes of silence to honor Mr Floyd and his family. I think it will be an amazing day and hopefully a small gathering of hope for our City in these troubled times that I have seen examples of across our country yesterday and today.

I never will understand the resistance I have been getting in trying to put this event together nor the resistance of some of our City leaders to want to be a part of it or even just attend. All I can say is there is a gracious open arms invitation to all. This is a coming together event for our community, the police and the city.

I hope to see as many City leaders on Sunday at the BBQ that feel comfortable attending.

Weather an Obama fan or not I find it hard to present an argument against his comments yesterday.

WASHINGTON — Former President Obama, weighing in amid the national wave of racial tension and protest against police brutality, urged the nation’s mayors Wednesday to review police use-of-force policies and make other reforms to combat racism.

Citing the “epic changes and events” of the last week, Obama said the protests in dozens of cities following the death of a black man at the hands of Minneapolis police could represent “an incredible opportunity for people to be awakened” to the problems of systemic racism.

“This is a moment — and we’ve had moments like this before — where people are paying attention,” Obama said at a virtual town hall on police reform hosted by My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, a nonprofit group he established to help young black men. “The fact that people are paying attention is an opportunity to educate and mobilize.”

I hope we are all really paying attention?

Thank You, Rodney

In my opinion this is leadership, his actions are about healing a community, bring people together and making a different in your home town. My ask is to find more examples of these community leaders making an impact, share what they are doing and get involved to help the neighbors you know and the neighbors you have yet to meet. MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!