BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Around 100 community and business leaders gathered at Pine Grove Barn on Shadd Farms on Wednesday, May 4, for the inaugural meeting of the Union County Impact Initiative.
Organizer Tina Lloyd said she thought of bringing together the group after attending a meeting in Alachua about how that community addressed mental health needs and the demand for other social services.
“I said, Union County needs something like this,” she recalled thinking, “because there are a lot of things that you, this group, are probably not aware of.”
Shocker- 134 homeless children in Union County
Lloyd then recalled another recent meeting in which a school district employee revealed that there are 134 children registered with the school district as homeless.
“That was very eye-opening to me,” Lloyd said. “And then you try to think, How can we give to support that?’ If people don’t know, how can they support it?”
The executive director of the ACORN Clinic added that the Union County Impact Initiative would host monthly networking events to discuss needed social services in the county and devise solutions to service gaps.
Lloyd introduced the group of women who helped her organize the event: Demetrise Thomas of Lake Butler Hospital, Ann Hendricks, president of the Lake Butler Woman’s Club, Alexandra Pritchett of Nextran and president of the Lake Butler Rotary Club, Lisa Huggins, a Rotary member and an owner of CTC Delicious Barbecue, Mendy Whitaker of Shadd Trucking and a founding member of United for a Cure, Rotarian Amanda Fort of the Union County Housing Authority, Taylor Casey of the ACORN Clinic, and Terry Jarvis of Culture House Church.
In addition to leading the impact initiative and the Brooker-based ACORN Clinic, Lloyd is also president of the WoodmanLife Club in Gainesville and is treasurer of the Lake Butler Rotary Club.
Lloyd said she initially intended to launch the Union County Impact Initiative with a small meeting at Gather, Jennifer Thomas’s Main Street coffee shop and meeting venue.
“We put it on Facebook and within three hours we had 50 people registered,” Lloyd said, “so, it’s like, okay, well let’s do this another way.”
Lloyd added that Carissa Emery offered space at Pine Grove Barn for a larger meeting, and WoodmanLife paid for lunch, which Gather prepared.
Who is already making an impact
Lloyd said she hoped local businesses would drive the impact initiative.
She gave attendees a folder of handouts, one of which explained how businesses could contribute to strengthening the community, such as creating jobs, donating goods, services, or space, promoting health and wellness, being a voice in the community, supporting education and youth development, and championing equity and inclusion.
The folder also included examples of groups already impacting Union County, with a flyer promoting a July 19 community-wide back-to-school bash, and materials outlining the efforts of Gather and the nonprofits Promised Land Family Ministries, Isaiah 117, ACORN Clinic, and Union County Senior Citizens on the Move.
Goal: a thriving Union County
Lloyd also read the mission statement of her new group.
“The Union County Impact Initiative empowers local businesses to drive economic growth, social equity, and improve health outcomes by fostering collaboration, innovation, and community leadership,” she told the audience. “Through strategic partnerships and tailored support, we aim to reduce disparities and create sustainable opportunities for all residents.”
“We envision a thriving Union County,” Lloyd continued, “where businesses serve as catalysts for inclusive prosperity, bridging gaps and economic, social, and health equity.”
Lloyd said her team envisions Union County as united, resilient, and empowered, with every individual and enterprise contributing to a vibrant and sustainable community.
“I think that speaks very much to what we want to do in this county,” she said.
They’re not just trying to sell insurance
Reid Carswell, the director of public relations at Lake Butler Hospital, showed the group a 30-second video highlighting the initiative’s goals and directed the audience to the website UnionCountyImpact.org for more details on the effort.
Donna Harris of WoodmanLife concluded the meeting with an overview of her organization. Lloyd introduced Harris by telling the audience that WoodmanLife donated $25,000 to United for a Cure, a Lake Butler-based cancer support group.
Harris introduced her agents to the audience and emphasized her company’s community support.
“We’re not just insurance agents that are going out there trying to sell insurance,” she said. “We’re agents that are going out there to try to find out where Woodman can help the best. And they’re visiting members and asking them, ‘What organizations are you a part of? What’s important to you?’”
