Milton Rotary Club

05/25/2026

Chief Dan of the Santa Rosa Creek Band of the Lower Muscogee gave the club a presentation on the history and traditions of the Santa Rosa Creek Band. They own 95 acres of land on Willard Norris Road with 30 acres being cleared and the remainder is protected wetlands. They also have a 4,000 square foot educational center and recently completed a "round house." The round house is used for ceremonies, teachings and other meetings and the nearest roundhouse replica is in Tallahassee. Each year the Creek Band host Creekfest which will be November 21st and 22nd 2026. They expect 4-5,000 visitors over the 2 days of Creekfest.
Chief Dan also told us that they have been working with SRC school district to write curriculum for Native American history to be used in K-12 schools.
For more information on the Santa Rosa Creek Band, check them out on FB and also at santarosacreekband.org

05/25/2026

We appreciate Jerilyn O'Brien, Principal of Santa Rosa Online school, for her recent visit to share with us about Santa Rosa Online. SR online was established 15 years ago and is for grades 3-12. SR Online is a franchise of FL virtual school and currently has 26 full time teachers and 150 full time students but when you include the part time teachers and students those numbers are much higher. Students may take courses with Santa Rosa Online while attending a brick and mortar school.
For more information, you can go to their website at santarosaschools.org/o/sro.

05/25/2026

05/12/2026

Glad to support Bagdad Elementary and their teacher appreciation week! Thank you for all you do for the students!!!

04/28/2026

Kevin Riley- SRC Emergency Management-spoke to us last week about spring weather safety. Kevin is a planner for SRC Emergency Management and has been in his current position for several years. Some of the spring weather events he discussed were- rip currents & other beach hazards, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, lightning, flooding, heat safety, wildfires, hurricanes. Kevin encouraged everyone to “know your zone” for evacuation routes in case you find yourself needing to evacuate.
Kevin also mentioned that there are items that are not taxed if used for hurricane supplies. He closed by listing the shelter locations, meant to be used as a last resort, and that there is a special needs register for those that have special needs during a disaster. We definitely enjoyed the presentation and for more information, visit their website at santarosa.fl.gov/974/emergency-management.

04/22/2026

We are proud to continue support Santa Rosa Adult high school with a donation to help students with the cost of their caps and gowns. Great work doing being done at Santa Rosa High!

04/19/2026

We would like to thank Jenni Elzweig who is the program director for Valerie's House of NWFL. Valerie's House provides grief support and healing activities for children and families navigating life after loss. They are not a formal counseling center, but a community, where stories are shared, friendships are formed, and hope is found. They serv both Santa Rosa and Escambia counties and have 6 full time staff. Jenni told us that unsupported grief leads to many issues- 30% of children in Florida's juvenile detention system suffered the loss of a parent or sibling. Their services are free and their vision is that no child will grieve alone. If you would like to volunteer or help in any other way, go to valerieshouse.org.

04/14/2026

Last week Lt. Terrylee Rathbone and Sgt. JB Johnson from the Santa Rosa Department of Corrections shared with us the farm program they run. The inmates grow potatoes, watermelons, corn, squash, onions and other items that are used in prisons from locally to central FL. The program started with 1 acre and is now up to 16 acres. Last year their farm grew 54,500 pounds of watermelons! A big part of the program is teaching the inmates how to grow and maintain crops along with using tractors and their implements. They gave back to the community last year by growing and donating to the Farm to City program that helps feed needy families. It was a very interesting presentation and we appreciate them coming out and speaking to our club.

04/14/2026

Alicia Tappan, Founder and CEO of Survivor Lead Solutions, recently spoke to our club about human trafficking and how her organization is working to fight it. Alicia is a human trafficking survivor and her goal is to empower the voices of human trafficking survivors. They go into jails, waterfront rescue mission and other various places to help victims. Survivor Led Solutions is trying to rebuild hope among the survivors. It was a very powerful presentation and we appreciate Alicia sharing with us. For more information on Survivor Led Solutions, visit tappanconsulting.org/survivor-led-solutions/

04/14/2026

We would like to thank Scott Speight, CEO of Community Chaplain Network, for recently speaking to our club. Scott is a Pace native and a US Army chaplain. Scott has trained chaplains in the US and several other countries. The Community Chaplain Network functions both as a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) training center and a community-based chaplain non-profit. Their core mission is to bring 24/7 care by trained chaplains directly to the local workplace. For more information, you can find them at communitychaplainnetwork.org. Thanks again to Scott for speaking with our club about his organization and the leadership tips he gave us.