Congratulations to Pinemount Elementry for winning the 2020 Rotary Math Bee. John was honored to serve on the panel of judges, but don’t let that fool you. The fourth graders were the stars, answering complicated word problems in less the 20 seconds. Fort White, Columbia City and Belmont also made an outstanding showing.  We are proud of our local schools

 

 

 

We are sponsoring the $10,000 hole-in-one prize on hole #17 at the 2020 Lake City-Columbia Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament on January 31, 2020.  There is still room for individual players and teams.   It is a fun time to network with fellow business people who care about our community.   Click to learn more.   We are sharing the a video of the luckiest golf shots ever to get you in the mood.

 

Reading a text while driving consumes five seconds of a drivers attention. During thise five seconds, your car can travel more than a football field in distance. Beginning today, texting is no longer a secodary offense. You can be pulled over in Florida and ticketed by law enforcement.  Join us in turning your phone on Do Not Disturb while driving in 2020.

 

We congratulate the Lake City Humane Society on breaking ground today on the James Montgomery Wellness Center.  The center will streamline pet adoption and provide low cost pet wellness services to the public. Today is a great day for our furry friends

The Lion Inside

Today, members of the Rotary Club of Lake City will visit 22 Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) learning centers in Columbia County to read the book, The Lion Inside.  With a grant from The Rotary Foundation, one thousand books have been purchased and will be given to every 4 year old.  Rotary believes that literacy is a key anecdote to poverty and leads to success in life.

Our message is simple:  You don’t have to be BIG and BRAVE to find your ROAR.  The Lion Inside story illustrates opposing feelings we all experience from time to time.  Sometimes we feel small and afraid like a little mouse, and other times we feel big and brave like a lion.  Even the smallest among us can have the heart of a lion.

Some of you might receive a mailer promising 30-50% savings on your homeowner insurance like I did last weekend.  The promise of savings caught my eye, so I took a close look.  I wanted to find out exactly how this company could save me 30-50%.

Marketing Claim #1 – “Basic Choice satisfies most mortgage requirements, but you don’t have to pay for coverages you may never use.”

• Our response – According to the People’s Trust website, The Basic Choice policy excludes water damage, vandalism, theft and sinkhole.  With water damage loss the most frequently reported claim in Florida, we wonder why they would promote a policy that excludes such an important coverage.

Marketing Claim #2 – “Our team of experts will explain the policy that covers major perils like fire, smoke, lightning, windstorm, hail, and more.  You can add Liability and Personal Property coverage too.”

• Our response – Why would People’s Trust ever sell coverage to a homeowner without liability and personal property coverage?  We believe those important coverages should be a part of every home protection plan.  Recovery from a catastrophic fire or legal claim is hard enough with adequate insurance.  Recovery without these key coverages will surely be many more times difficult.

Marketing Claim #3 – Regarding their Rapid Response Team (RRT) “Our unique, award-winning approach [to claims] gives you access to repair specialists who use top graded materials.”

• Our response – When we read the fine print, we see that homeowner would be required use a contractor of the insurance company’s choosing to make repairs following a claim.  We disagree with this approach.  We believe homeowners should remain in control of their money and the contractor who repairs their home.

Conclusion –  To most of us, our home is our most valuable tangible possession in life, and accordingly, it should be protected against catastrophic losses by the broadest insurance available from a financially strong and trustworthy insurance company.  Marketing practices that seek to encourage homeowners to purchase “bare bones” coverage is irresponsible.  In this case, the savings does not appear to be worth the sacrifice.