The LoCastro Report
Seventh Edition
November 14, 2019
Hello My Fellow Collier County Citizens!

This week has been so special as we celebrated our beautiful country and her many freedoms, all of which were made possible by our veterans. I am proud to have served 24 years in the US Air Force and equally proud of the many men and women who have served and continue to serve the greatest nation on earth. Thank you to my fellow veterans and their families, who also serve with unfailing support. 
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Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down with the new CEO of Naples Community Hospital (NCH) , Paul Hiltz. Paul invited me to come and hear about the many exciting things to come for our community hospital. Having led hospitals myself, in my time as an Air Force Base Commander and as COO of a medical center in Naples, I can say NCH is in amazing hands! Paul’s contagious enthusiasm, leadership, and focus on patients and staff is exciting. I look forward to working with him to ensure healthcare in Collier County is five star! 
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On Friday I had the opportunity to attend a fantastic Veterans Day Salute ceremony at Tommie Barfield Elementary School. Extremely proud to join my fellow American Legion Post 404 members and veterans for such a moving, patriotic, fun event. The students were terrific!

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Later that day, I attended a patriotic lunch celebrating the 244th birthday of the United States Marine Corps with fellow veterans at Marco Island Brewery. It was a very meaningful lunch filled with a few war stories and lots of camaraderie!  I'm the lone Air Force guy in a sea of Marines ! Happy Birthday, Marine Corps! 

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The weekend started out with an amazing event for an even more amazing organization, The Immokalee Foundation . This year’s gala had record amounts of contributions to provide students with the pathway to success! I’m proud of my friend, Melissa Phillips , their VP of Philanthropy. What a fun night... thank you for the invite!

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You’ll recall a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of emceeing the “Party With A Purpose” event at the Naples Hilton hosted by Daniel and Barbara Melvin, benefiting the Wounded Warriors of Collier County. This weekend, I had the honor of attending the Wounded Warriors of Collier County Gala, where Dale Mullin, the CEO of Wounded Warriors, was presented a check for $18,000 from that event. This organization is doing amazing work for our veterans! 
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What a patriotic crowd at the Marco Island Veterans Day Celebration on Monday! I was honored to be among the speakers, including Commissioner Donna Fiala , City Manager Mike McNees , and Lee Rubenstein, the Commander of American Legion Post 404. Grateful to our local Civil Air Patrol, all the volunteers, and my fellow American Legion Post 404 members for such an impressive and inspiring ceremony! God Bless the USA, our veterans, and their families! 
We've been out in our community everyday meeting citizens, leaders, and diving deep into the issues… and will continue to do so.  Every day it's obvious with all the complex issues in our ENTIRE County--we need continued Experienced Leadership in the County Commissioner seats.  I hope you'll join our campaign! You can make an investment quickly and safely online by visiting our website. 
Please don't hesitate to contact me directly. I want to hear from all the citizens of Collier County so I may best represent YOU. Contact me directly anytime at (239) 777-2452 or Rick@RickLoCastro.com . 
 
-Rick

P.S. Remember, you can help by forwarding this email to a friend. Our most important resource are people who care about our community, want to see strong experienced leadership in these important government positions, and who want to make a difference! Please help spread the word.


Paid by Rick LoCastro, Republican, for Collier County Commissioner