Page 6 - Martin Downs Bulletin - February '22
P. 6

Page 6, Martin Downs

                                                            HappeninGs



      Harbour Ridge Mah Jongg                             Current sponsors include

      Tournament Will Benefit EFMC                      Sandhill Cove Retirement
                                                        Living, the Arati Hammond
      By Jackie Holfelder                               Team at Keller Williams Realty,
        The Harbour Ridge Mah Jongg Tournament had a smashing   and Myrna Bennett.
      debut in 2020 under the expert guidance and leadership of     For information about how
      Lois McGuire, a resident of the upscale community and   you can sponsor or play in the
      longtime supporter of Education Foundation of Martin County   tournament, call (772) 600-
      (EFMC), the recipient of monies raised at the event.  8062. Make plans to join other
        Did you know that Mah Jongg is so popular around the   players who believe that good
      world that it has its own special day of recognition on Aug.   friendships are like Mah Jongg
      1? And that even though it’s called National Mah Jongg Day,   – easy to play, hard to win.
      it is – in fact – celebrated internationally?       To l e a rn m ore  a bout
        After a one-year hiatus, the daylong fundraiser will   Education Foundation of   Annette  Theriault,  Lois  McGuire
      return to the same venue on March 4. Registration and   Martin  County,  visit  www.  (tournament director), and Carolyn  Susan Russell, Marilyn Sages, Ginna Salamy,
      continental breakfast kick things off at 9:30 a.m., followed   educationfoundationmc.org.   Caiola  at  the  2020  Mah  Jongg  and  Stacy  Rosen  at  the  2020  Mah  Jongg
      by rules review and morning play at 10:30 a.m.           Photos by Liz McKinley  Tournament                   Tournament
        A sumptuous lunch prepared by the skilled Harbour
      Ridge chefs will be served from 12:30 to 1:20 p.m. and   Two “Bigs” Honored by Big Brothers Big
      play resumes at 1:30 p.m.
        An awards ceremony wraps up the day’s events at 3:45 p.m.
        The $75 entry fee includes cash prizes, breakfast and lunch,   Sisters of PB and Martin Counties
      soft drinks all day, awards and valet parking at the clubhouse.
        Enrollment is limited to 100, with no cancellations
      accepted (substitutions will be accommodated).      By Jackie Holfelder
        The event supports  The Education Foundation of     Two men who’ve given their time,
      Martin  County  and  its  many  educational  enrichment   talent and treasure to Big Brothers Big
      programs which benefit teachers and students in the   Sisters of Palm Beach & Martin Counties
      Martin County’s public schools.                     (BBBS) were recently honored by the
                                                          nonprofit as they retired after decades of
                     LocaL                                service.
                                                            Bill Bee spent 18 years with the
                                                          organization, during which time he
                                                          was President/CEO, CEO Emeritus
          Government                                      and advisor to senior staff and Board
                                                          of Governors. And, of course, he was a
                                                          beloved “Big.”
                                                            His accomplishments include guiding
        First Year Review, Thank                          the expanding of services into Palm
                                                          Beach while coaching the next generation
        You                                               of leaders for BBBS.
                                                            After retiring in 1999 from a successful
        January 5, 2022                                   career on Wall Street, he moved to Florida
          Today marks my                                  and found a second success while leaving   Left to Right: Richard Levine - Past Chairman, Patrick Coolidge - “Little
        one-year anniversary                              his inimitable and indelible mark on BBBS.  Brother” to Bill Bee, Bill Bee - President Emeritus.
        as  your  Martin  County                            Richard Levine, the second honoree,            marketing, branding and planning youth shopping events
        Property Appraiser.  I                            was a Campaign Chair at United Way of Martin County. He  with Macy’s even though he’s lived in Broward County
        would like to thank you                           began volunteering for Big Brothers Big Sisters 15 years ago.  for the past nine years.
        for allowing me to serve                            During his time at BBBS, Richard served as trustee,    The staff, board, and volunteers of BBBS of Palm Beach
        you this past year. It has                        former chair of the Board of Governors and treasurer of  and Martin Counties are grateful for their big hearts and the
        been a whirlwind and I                            BBBS of Palm Beach and Martin Counties.          combined thousands of hours given to this organization.
        have thoroughly enjoyed                             The retired vice president/general manager of Macy’s    Thank you for your service, leadership, and guidance. We
        working on behalf of the                          has continued to mentor staff in developing HR policies,  can never thank Bill and Richard enough for all they’ve done.
        property  and  business
        owners of our great community!
          During this first year, my priority was laser focused on
        customer service and implementing a robust community
        outreach agenda. Our goal was to educate property and
        business owners regarding property exemption benefits,
        website tools, and helpful resources available for them.
        To accomplish this, we partnered with print and digital
        publications to distribute monthly articles, expanded our
        social media platforms with daily informational postings,
        reached out to numerous organizations who invited us to
        speak with their members, produced monthly educational
        videos that now appear on our new YouTube channel, and
        made dozens of enhancements to our website to better
        serve you.
          Utilizing our new Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal
        (CAMA) system, my office blazed new trails of efficiency
        in all aspects of property appraisal. For example, we
        implemented a software application called Just Appraised,
        which automatically uploads changes in ownership
        information when a property sells.  This software
        significantly reduces manual data entry time, creates
        workflow efficiencies, and displays sales information
        much sooner on the Property Appraiser’s website.
          I will continue to deliver outstanding customer service
        that you deserve and expect. I will be accessible to you and
        will stay committed to helping our community understand
        the property valuation process.
          I am proud to work alongside my talented professionals.
        Through hard work, knowledge, and dedication, we
        accomplished so much in a short amount of time to better
        serve you!
          I hope everyone has a happy,
        healthy, and blessed new year.
                             Sincerely,
                      Jenny Fields, CFA,
         Martin County Property Appraiser
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