As I recall, Gator Bert, 84 years old at the time, was in some sort of wheelchair during the reception before the gala dinner. I d just become editor of The News-Journal a few months earlier and didn t really know anyone. It was also a little awkward for me at the gala because The News-Journal was facing some heat at the time for our coverage of the college.
But Gator Bert greeted me like we d been friends for years. We talked for a couple minutes. He could not have been more supportive of The News-Journal.
Later, after a dinner, it was time for people to say a few words about the person the foundation was honoring that night. I don t recall the person being honored. But I do recall it being the moment when I really got to know Gator Bert.
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Readers have sent in many questions related to COVID-19 and vaccinations. Tune in Friday to hear expert answers to your questions.
News-Journal reporter Mary Helen Moore will moderate a Facebook Live discussion at 2:30 p.m. Friday featuring three officials who are coordinating vaccine distribution in Volusia County:
Joe Pozzo: Volusia County public protection director;
Patricia Boswell: administrator for Florida Department of Health in Volusia County;
Randa Matusiak: Volusia County special projects coordinator.
The Q&A will be live-streamed on the News-Journal Facebook page at www.facebook.com/daytonabeachnewsjournal/. We hope you can join us.
In a few paragraphs, I m going to tell you about our plans to provide some subscriber-only content on our website. But first, a little about why local journalism matters.
In December, The News-Journal received nine first-place awards from the Florida Press Club for coverage in 2020 in local news, education, business, sports, commentary, and COVID-19 coverage.
Our reporters and editors take pride in those accolades. But what counts even more is the high quality of the daily news report we provide our readers. Just in the past two weeks, we reported the following exclusive stories:
• The continuing twists and turns for the thousands of residents of Volusia and Flagler counties who are desperately vying for a very limited number of coronavirus vaccines.