In the Mix - August 2020

Greetings!

Since the 2019 convention at Duck Key, FICAP has met a total of four times. We have not met at all since the clay shoot in March. We all know life is unpredictable, but no one saw this coming. The amazing strength of our association has always been the bonds and relationships between members. Considering FICAP was founded based on our independence, it is surprising how close our membership became and is today. Our founders were entrepreneurs who were all accustomed to doing things their own way. We found that we had more in common than we knew. We all love our companies, our employees, our customers and our industry. FICAP will continue to protect all these things during and after this current crisis.

We are moving forward with our Fall Golf Tournament. We are scheduled for Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto on October 22nd. This was a great venue for the tournament last year, and we have ironed out a few details to make it even better this year. Registration for golfers and sponsors is open on the website now. I look forward to seeing you all there.

We are also tentatively planning to have a rebar mill tour in Baldwin on November 17th. This event is limited in size. Registration will be open soon, and it will be first come, first serve. If you are interested in going, please sign up as soon as registration is open.

Our PC raffle is up and running. The first two drawings have already taken place and we have 11 more prizes to award. The drawings are midday on Wednesdays and the winners are announced by Wednesday afternoon. Considering we have had only one meeting and no convention since the tickets were released, our members did an amazing job selling these tickets. With the election just around the corner, our PC chairmen will be busy making sure the right people for our industry head to Tallahassee.

Speaking of elections, in this issue we have a breakdown of the proposed constitutional amendments. These things tend to be written in a way that either confuse the meaning or mislead your vote. Hopefully this article will help everyone. I know every election cycle seems like the most important at that time, but has there ever been this clear of a divide? Which way do you think the country needs to go? I know what I think, and you can bet I am going to be involved. We should all be. I think we must be to protect our businesses, our industry and our families.

I can’t wait to see you all at Black Diamond in October!

Mark Smith

President, FICAP

Owner, Bell Concrete Products

Associate of the Week

Friday morning, each week, beginning August 28th, we will

promote one of our associate members and will continue

through this socially distant pandemic. We miss the networking

and the time catching up. We hope by promoting a different

associate each week, we will offer our associates an opportunity

to promote their company and any new products or promotions

they might have available to the Florida Independent Producer

and this will also remind our producers of the awesome support

they have within our membership.

An email will be distributed to all membership (with the associates marketing materials) and we will

utilize the website, news module, and forum as well.

Only associates in good standing financially will be included in the weekly drawing.

Just call me Garcia...

Ever wonder where the articles for the newsletter come from? A large number of them originate with Wade Mullins of Quality Precast. (Thank you, Wade!) I also have subscriptions to various news sources and am on the mailing list for many others. I have a file and each day anything that might be of interest is saved to be reviewed later. That's where the Garcia part comes in.

Any of you Criminal Minds fans? I am and the character of Penelope Garcia is a favorite of mine. She is a wizard on the keyboard and her mind knows just what to type to get the perfect results to solve the crime. I know she's a fictional character, but she's still fascinating. Quirky and out there too, but we're focusing on the positive.

Speaking of positive, and as a side note, I believe we have the ability to change our relationships and the way we interact with those in our immediate circle. It starts with our focus. Are we grateful or looking at the negative side? There is always something positive to find in the midst of every storm. I keep a gratefulness journal. As I think of things to be thankful for, I write them down. Throughout the day as I hit walls, or someone especially annoying hits my radar, I look at the post it notes around my monitor or I read through my journal and I shift my focus back to the positive. It's so easy to be derailed, so it helps to have tools at the ready to keep you on track. When you guard your mind, you guard your peace.

If you do watch the show, you know that Garcia has a crazy assortment of what-nots around her computer to keep her upbeat. In January, I shocked anyone who knows me because I've joined the multiple monitors trend and have 3 sitting on my desk. Yes, that's right. I have FICAP Central happening, so there's plenty of space for positive post it notes. My daily reminders.

Another way the monitors have helped is when I dive into the rabbit hole searching for the perfect articles to share. I'll open a newsletter and read through their offerings, follow a link or two, which leads to additional searches and links and before I know it, I've discovered something awesome that I'm able to share with you. For instance, the 3 programs listed below to help veterans, two of which provide homes to our returning heroes learning to live with their new realities and disabilities. I encourage you to spend a little time following the links and learning about them. Each have requests and needs to keep things moving forward and each have Veterans as their focus.

There's plenty to worry about right now. I choose to focus on the positive that's happening around us and the opportunity to help others. I'll keep working the keyboard and searching for the perfect articles to share. If you come across any, please don't hesitate to share them with me. You can also post them on the FICAP News Feed through our website, which is open and available to all members.

Have an awesome month!

Michele White

Director, FICAP

I've learned recently of 3 programs helping veterans I

would like to share with you.

Operation Homefront

Built to Honor

The Mission Continues

Anyone ready for Golf?

Registration is open for the Fall Golf Tournament at the Black Diamond Golf Course.

This will be our first event since the pandemic and we are excited to see everyone.

Date: Thursday, October 22nd

Time: 1:00 pm shotgun start

Registration

Political Corner - Adell Jahna

Constitutional Amendments for your November Ballot

Pending any court challenges, there will be six constitutional amendments for voters to decide. All constitutional amendments must be approved by 60% of the voters.

We are providing you with a short analysis of proposed Amendment1.

1. Suffrage – States that only U.S Citizens can vote in federal, state, local and school elections. This proposed amendment was citizen initiated, which means that it was placed on the ballot via the collection of signatures rather than being proposed by the legislature.

A Yes vote would change the technical language in the law; deleting the words "Every citizen" and replacing it with "Only a citizen". The new constitutional provision would read:

ARTICLE VI. Section 2. Electors

~~Every Citizen~~ Only a citizen of the United States who is at least eighteen years old and who is a permanent resident of the state, if registered as provided by law, shall be an elector of the county where registered.

A No vote would keep the term "Every Citizen". Note that while this amendment would alter the language, the current federal law mandates that the all voters must be US Citizens.

The other proposed amendments on the ballot are as follows:

2. Minimum wage – raises minimum wage to $15. *Citizen Initiated

3. Elections – establishes a top-two open primary system for state office primary elections. *Citizen Initiated

4. Direct Democracy- Requires voter-approved constitutional amendments to be approved by the voters at a second general election. * Citizen Initiated

5. Taxes – Increases period during which a person can transfer “Save Our Homes” benefits to a new homestead property.

6. Taxes – Allows a homestead property tax discount to be transferred to the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran.

Paycheck Protection Program - Loan Forgiveness

COVID 19: Small Business Resources

Just a reminder of the Florida Scorecard.

You are able to select which stats are on the dashboard,

and tweak to provide just what you are looking to review,

such as housing starts, etc. Visit the site

Florida Codes Corner - Joe Belcher

The Florida Building Code 7th Edition is completed and is available in hard copy and pdf versions. All changes submitted on behalf of the industry were approved. I am working on a matrix detailing the changes. The request to delay the effective date was denied and the code goes into effect at midnight on December 31, 2020. Once the 2021 I-Codes become available, I will begin reviewing them for matters of interest.