The LoCastro Report
Ninth Edition
December 5, 2019
What a wonderful holiday season already! I sincerely hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving and are beginning to feel the Christmas spirit. As I noted last week, we give special thanks to those who give up their holidays to serve others.

My hat is off to all volunteers and staff who made this year’s Farm-City BBQ at Cambier Park such a huge success last week! Our annual Thanksgiving week event is a terrific and special tradition to all of Collier County and raises massive amounts of money for a multitude of local non-profit organizations. We enjoyed Lipman’s corn and famous fresh Lipman Family Farms Immokalee salad... and lots of love and camaraderie! Great seeing everyone!
With Friends & Collier County Leaders… Julie Pedretti & Nick Casalanguida
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GOODLAND “HANGING OF THE STARS” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A fun but emotional & meaningful morning the day after Thanksgiving with my friends in Goodland. The annual “hanging of the stars” the day after Thanksgiving. Driving into Goodland on the right side of the road you’ll see stars hanging from the mangroves. Many think it’s just a celebration of the Christmas holiday… but it is MUCH more. Over 20 years ago Carolyn & Dick Roth lost a daughter and decided to honor her memory by hanging a silver star with her name on it from the mangroves. They lived near Little Bar and cut a star from a restaurant pie plate and wrote her name on it. As the tradition grew, more stars were cut from pie plates with more names of loved ones who had passed on… and were hung in the mangroves to honor their memory. Last Friday morning we honored the memories of all those names on the stars… and even those who aren’t.
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We then had a fantastic time last Friday night as our Marco Fire & Police Departments delivered our first Christmas gift... Santa & Mrs. Claus! Thank you volunteers & sponsors who donated prizes and all who participated in the food drive for our pantry! It was great to see my good friends and strong campaign supporters Mike Held (owner of Keep In Touch Gifts) and Barbara Evans ! 
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On Monday night, I attended the Marco Island City Council Meeting . Some of the critical issues under consideration included Increased Water Testing, Red Tide Monitoring, Fish Cleanup, Burrowing Owl Protection, and New Beautification Initiatives. Red Tide continues to be of paramount concern for our county. When elected, I will be able to draw on my experience commanding Eglin Air Force Base in Ft. Walton Beach right on the Gulf of Mexico where Red Tide was also an issue and we worked closely with local leaders, the EPA, and many others to attack this issue. Experience Matters!
Marco Resident & Republican Club Leader, Maria Lamb talking about Red Tide

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We have two very important events coming up.

I'm looking forward to attending and being part of the program for the Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Ceremony on Saturday, December 7th from 2:00-3:30 PM at:
New Hope Ministries
7675 Davis Blvd
Naples FL 34104

I hope you will join me … Open to the Public… RSVP NOT NEEDED
The second event is hosted by the Republican Club of South Collier County , with remarks from Father Michael P. Orsi , the Parochial Vicar at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Naples.

The event is Wednesday, December 11th from 5:30-7:30 PM at:
Hammock Bay Country Club
1370 Borghese Lane
Naples, FL 34114
$30/members | $35/non-members welcome

For questions or to RSVP please contact:
Len Schuman –  lenjs@att.net  or 917-640-7564 
Litha Berger –  lithasberger@gmail.com  or 954-594-4990

This excellent event is co-sponsored by The Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Collier and Lee County .
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Our campaign continues to build momentum, and my sincere and continued thanks to all who have invested in our campaign. We especially appreciated the Investors who joined us during the final days of November. If you haven't invested yet, please consider what you might be able to do before the end of the year. Our community is worth so much. I will serve all of Collier County, and need your help and support to do it.
Contact me anytime. I will always be available to the people of Collier County. You can call me directly at (239) 777-2452 or send me a personal email message at Rick@RickLoCastro.com . 
 
-Rick

P.S. Please share this message with anyone who cares about Collier County, even if they are not politically active. We want to engage with everyone, and there's no better way to build community than by simply sharing all the great things happening here … and all the work yet to be done and all we need to protect to preserve our quality of life!



Paid by Rick LoCastro, Republican, for Collier County Commissioner