Anyone interested in learning more about Toastmasters is invited to attend.

The event is 7-9 p.m. at YMCA South, 3620 Cleveland Heights Blvd. No RSVP is necessary. The theme is “Denim and Diamonds,” so wear your favorite jeans and blingy jewelry.

Toastmasters is an international organization that helps members improve their public speaking abilities and gain leadership skills.
Being part of Toastmaster’s also offers opportunities to learn to:
• Communicate easier
• Listen more effectively
• Set and achieve goals
• Work with/as a mentor
• Interact with other professionals
• Build confidence in presentation skills
• Increase ability to lead

During meetings, members are scheduled to make oral presentations and to participate in many roles within the club. One of the greatest advantages is the supportive and caring environment,” says Maria Martinez, president of Club 2262.

“We invite anyone who has ever wanted to learn more about Toastmasters to attend this meeting,” Martinez says. “This will be a casual gathering, as opposed to a regular meeting, but guests will be able to gather information and learn more about the organization.”

For more information, call (863) 248-2550.

Photo by Christine Santos

She recently took photos of 53 breastfeeding mothers as an art project, and now it’s become an exhibit. She has launched a Kickstarter campaign that ends June 15 at 8 a.m. to raise marketing funds for promoting the exhibit.

The marketing dollars will be used to promote education and societal change in how public breastfeeding is viewed.

“It’s not about selling photographs,” says Santos, a 29-year-old Lakeland resident. “My ‘win’ is getting this out there. Raising awareness. Lessening the stigma behind it. Promoting breastfeeding as something truly beautiful and natural. If I can change even one person’s mind about breastfeeding to seeing it as something that’s beautiful and natural, I’ve won. That’s how all the moms who participated see it.”

Santos chalks up the disdain for public breastfeeding to America being an over-sexualized nation.

“Even in the Middle East where women wear burqas, none of the women rush to cover their breasts because they’re feeding their babies,” she says. “In Europe, they have baby cafes where you park your stroller, moms nurse and have their coffee.”

As a mother of three, she has encountered her fair share of disdain. When her youngest child was five weeks old, Santos attended her oldest daughter’s school spelling bee. She nursed her baby under a blanket while facing a wall – precautions she wouldn’t normally take, but did because she didn’t want to offend others in the audience. Later, she received a call from the assistant principal, who told her had he seen her breastfeeding, he would’ve told her to leave the room.

A Florida statute allows for mothers to breastfeed their babies in any location, public or private, where they are allowed to be.

Santos’s exhibit, called Nursing is Natural…Naturally Beautiful, will be presented at {tay’-cho}, a Bartow art gallery, Sept. 20- Oct. 20. She has been in talks with art galleries throughout Polk County in an attempt to move the exhibit to additional locations.

To donate to the Kickstarter campaign, click here.

According to Tim Campbell, president of Clark, Campbell & Lancaster, P.A., “Peter Munson will add to the depth of real estate and corporate transactional experience that we offer to our clients and Jay Geary will lead and expand our firm’s litigation group.”

“It is unusual to have the opportunity to add such well respected and experienced attorneys such as Peter and Jay to our firm. It allows us to maintain our commitment to offering high quality legal services to our existing clients and to offer a greater depth of services to Peter and Jay’s existing clients,” said Campbell.
“One of the motivating factors for Jay and I to join with Clark, Campbell & Lancaster is the shared belief in the importance of giving back to the community. Both of our firms have a long history of active involvement in and financial support of local civic, cultural and charitable organizations,” said Peter Munson, partner at Munson, Midyette & Geary, LLP.

Both firms anticipate their collective effort as a strategic opportunity to better serve their existing clients and other business owners and individuals in the community and to offer expanded access to seasoned and respected attorneys.

Additionally, Clark, Campbell, Lancaster & Munson, P.A. has announced that Justin P. Callaham, a graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law and a recent graduate of the University of Florida College of Law Graduate Tax Law Program with an LL.M. in Taxation, is joining its Estate Planning and Tax Department on May 28. Justin will focus on estate planning, taxation, corporate law and mergers and acquisitions.
With the addition of Peter, Jay and Justin, Clark, Campbell, Lancaster & Munson, P.A. will have a total of twelve attorneys.

Please contact Tim Campbell at tcampbell@clarkcampbell-law.com or (863) 647-5337 for more information.

Corbitt and David Collins, owner of Paint Along Studios and The Loft Art Gallery, where Corbitt is an artist-in-residence, were honored during a reception at the headquarters today.

Corbitt will receive a letter of appreciation from the Citrus Connection’s board chair, said Tom Phillips, executive director of Citrus Connection and Polk Transit.

This exhibit originally debuted at The Loft Art Gallery in downtown Lakeland, which is located upstairs from Paint Along Studios at 123 S. Kentucky Ave.

The portraits include prominent Lakeland residents such as Mayor Gow Fields and VISTE President Alice O’Reilly, as well as residents who may not be known by as many, such as a local homeless man, and a teenage girl with alopecia.

The portraits were on display in March and April in The Loft Art Gallery and Paint Along Studios, but Collins wanted to make room for new artwork, as well as allow the portraits to be seen by more people in different settings.

“We are working to find additional locations where the portraits can be exhibited in the future,” Collins says. “We appreciate the interest Tom expressed in having the art on display at the Citrus Connection building.”

Employees moved into the Citrus Connection headquarters building at 1212 George Jenkins Boulevard May 5, 2012. A strategic decision was made that rather than having corporate art, local artists would display their work quarterly in the building, Phillips said.

“Of all the things we’ve done to improve employee morale, the staff has been most excited not about doughnuts, T-shirts and pay raises,” Phillips said. “They get excited about the artwork that gets changed out.”

Phillips said he believes it’s the people who make a community and an organization, and The Face of Lakeland exhibit “shows our greatest asset is not our lakes, it’s not our swans, it’s our people.”

The artwork has measurably improved employee morale.

“We’ve been able to measure that since implementing the community art gallery, employee morale has improved 87 percent,” he said.

For more information on Paint Along Studios and The Loft Art Gallery, call (863) 409-5771.

You can like Paint Along studios on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaintAlongStudios

You also can like The Loft Art Gallery on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLoftArtGalleryDowntownLakeland

7-May FITniche Pub Run: 6:15 p.m. Runner/walkers/bikers do a 5K course and receive 2 for 1 post activity and other food specials. Come 15 minutes early to sign the waiver and learn the route. Come 10 times a receive a free shirt. The run takes place every Tuesday at 6:15 p.m.

8-May South African Wine Dinner: 6:30 p.m.$75 per person with tax included. Call for more info.
May 11-12 MayFaire: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. The Red Door will be open all weekend & have a beer garen on Lake Mirror from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also, food will be able to be ordered and brough to people by the lake. The booth will be located on the east side of lake Morton in front of the library. (Parking for customers will still be available at Library.)

12-May Mother’s Day Brunch: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Menu: http://reddoorwinemarket.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=VCxnkFj5MnI%3d&tabid=65

14-May FITniche Pub Run: 6:15 p.m. Runner/walkers/bikers do a 5k course and receive 2 for 1 post activity and other food specials.

18-May Spring Wine Festival: 2p.m. – 5 p.m. $35 per ticket, 45 different wines & Shipyard beer garden. Anyone who buys a case will be discounted $35 (the ticket fee) 200 tickets available.

21-May FITniche Pub Run: 6:15 p.m. Runner/walkers/bikers do a 5k course and receive 2 for 1 post activity and other food specials.

28-May FITniche Pub Run: 6:15 p.m. Runner/walkers/bikers do a 5k course and receive 2 for 1 post activity and other food specials.

Caricature artist Dennis Hart has joined The Loft Art Gallery as an artist-in-residence.

Hart, a Lakeland native, joined the program in April out of a desire to take his art “to the next level,” he says.

“I want to grow as an artist and I thought this would help push me in the right direction and get stronger,” Hart says. “I’m right here where I want to be. I’ll have more of a local presence, and once I’ve completed some artwork, it will be great to have it in a place where it can be found locally.”

Hart will draw weekly at the studio, and he’ll draw caricatures at First Friday events, as well as other special events held downtown. He may even be seen drawing caricatures outside Paint Along Studios some weekdays during the lunch hour, says David Collins, owner of The Loft Art Gallery and Paint Along Studios.

Hart’s associate’s degree in digital media didn’t provide opportunities for learning oil and acrylic painting techniques, so he looks forward to learning more of those through the artist-in-residence program.

“I have a general handle on color and painting, but no production techniques for oil or acrylic- just slathering them on canvas,” he says. “I hope to learn production techniques I can use to draw and paint.”

That’s an area where Collins wants to help.

“I can teach him painting techniques that he can incorporate into his art,” Collins says. “Dennis also will learn a great deal simply by being around the other artists-in-residence. It’s a collaborative environment that promotes creativity.”

For more information on Paint Along Studios and The Loft Art Gallery, call (863) 409-5771 or visit www.paintalongstudios.com or www.loftartgallerydowntown.com.

The Loft Art Gallery is located inside Paint Along Studios at 123 S. Kentucky Ave. in downtown Lakeland.

The show debuts during the First Friday festivities on May 3. A reception with live music, wine and hors d’oeuvres is scheduled for 6 – 9 p.m.

Sabean, who is based in St. Petersburg, drew and painted as a child, but stopped for about two decades to raise a family. She re-ignited that passion in 2005. Since then, she has won several awards in street painting festivals. Her two art forms feed one another.

“My canvas painting style takes on a 3-D feel, as if the observer were looking down on the street,” Sabean says. “As far as subject matter, it leans to the absurd. I leave the reasons for that to a good analyst.”

The Loft Art Gallery is located upstairs in Paint Along Studios in downtown Lakeland
at 123 S. Kentucky Ave. Hours are: Mondays, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Tuesdays-Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturdays, 5-10 p.m. Call (863) 409-5771 for more information or visit www.loftartgallerydowntown.com.

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The show debuts during the First Friday festivities in downtown Lakeland on June 7. A reception with live music, wine and hors d’oeuvres is scheduled for 6 – 9 p.m.

Felix-Jager was born in Germany, grew up in Titusville, and lives in Winter Haven today. He is an adjunct professor of religion at Southeastern University who has a degree in studio art from Florida Southern College and is pursuing a doctorate in theological aesthetics from University of Wales.

His educational pursuit is closely related to his art because it delves into the philosophy of art and seeing how the Holy Spirit works with art.

“I am interested in exploring human relationships with God and with each other through painting,” Felix-Jager says. “I would like my art to invite the viewer into a dialectic engagement.”

His art depicts images that display enough direction to underscore an issue while maintaining enough ambiguity to encourage dialogue.

The Loft Art Gallery is located upstairs in Paint Along Studios in Lakeland
at 123 S. Kentucky Ave. Hours are: Mondays, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Tuesdays-Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturdays, 5-10 p.m. Call (863) 409-5771 for more information or visit www.loftartgallerydowntown.com.

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LAKELAND, FL— Florida Dance Theatre wants to get people moving in honor of National Dance Week.

Dancers are sought to perform in “Celebrate Dance!,” a free performance at Lake Mirror Promenade. The professional dance company also invites aspiring dancers to take part in a series of workshops May 3-5.

Aspiring dancers ages 10 and older are encouraged to submit a DVD of their dance piece of four minutes or less, by April 30 to perform at the main event May 4 at 7 p.m.

“It will be a fun event for the whole family,” said Meredith Spresser, immediate past president of Florida Dance Theatre. “It is amazing how much talent we have in our community.”

Dancers from Florida Dance Theatre, along with dance instructors from throughout the country will teach a series of classes. There are a total of nine classes ranging in length from an hour to an hour and a half. Price is $100 per person for all nine classes or $20 per class.

Class Schedule:
May 3, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
May 4, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
May 5, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

“Local dancers are given the opportunity to learn from some of the best dancers in the industry,” said Carol Erkes, Florida Dance Theatre founder. “Anyone looking to refine his or her skills is asked to join.”

National Dance Week is about raising awareness of dance and its contributions to society. Thanks to this weeklong observance, dance as an art form is growing – from the popularity of flash mobs to choreographed commercials. “Celebrate Dance!” is another way to show off how important dance is in American culture.

For more information, please visit http://www.floridadancetheatre.org, email Carol Erkes at info@floridadancetheatre.org or call (863) 802-0399.
Please send DVD of dance piece to PO Box 831 Lakeland, FL 33802

Florida Dance Theatre is located at 305 W. Main St.

About Florida Dance Theatre
Florida Dance Theatre is a non-profit professional dance company and training academy dedicated to making the arts available to everyone. The organization recognizes the importance of artistic influence on the development and growth of children and community. Florida Dance Theatre strives to increase awareness and appreciation of dance as a living art form and to produce works of high artistic quality in a wide variety of styles. Its continuing purpose is to provide an enriching and unique multicultural experience for the Polk County community and beyond.