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Argo Athletic Band Drums Up
Support with $50,000 Gift
The University of West Florida has
announced a $50,000 gift to the Argo Athletic
Band from The Russenberger Foundation.
Inspired by a passion for music, this donation
will grow and support one of UWF’s newest
traditions.
“It’s a special moment when community
members appreciate the special spirit at
UWF and choose to support our students
on their journey,” said UWF President
Martha Saunders. “The Argo Athletic Band,
while traditional in practice, is new to UWF
and has already captured our hearts. We
are very grateful for the support from the
Russenberger Foundation.”
The Argo Athletic Band formed this fall
and played in the stands during the UWF
home football games, entertaining the crowd
with a more traditional atmosphere. The
band will also play at UWF basketball games
this spring and performs at select University
functions. In its inaugural year, the band has
nearly 60 members, representing every UWF
college. Membership of the band is open to
any UWF student with a music background.
For more information on the Argo Athletic
Band, visit uwf.edu/argoathleticband.
The Argo Athletic Band played as guests arrived to the
home of the Russenbergers for the check presentation on
Monday, Nov. 26
.
Local Attorney Feeds Hope
Through Generous Match
Campaign
Pensacola Maritime attorney John W.
Merting is matching donations to Feeding
the Gulf Coast, up to $25,000. Through
this campaign, he has raised $14,000 to
help feed hope in our communities, and to
further support the organization’s ongoing
Hurricane Michael relief efforts. This
$39,000 will provide 195,000 meals to those
struggling with hunger. To date, Feeding
The Gulf Coast has provided more than 1.7
million meals and snacks, over 1.4 million
bottles of water, almost 132,000 pieces of
produce, and other disaster relief supplies for
those recovering from Hurricane Michael in
Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and
Washington counties.
“Feeding the Gulf Coast is a very easy
nonprofi t to support because they are
one of the most effi cient and highly rated
charities—96% of all donations goes directly
to their programs. They rescue food 6
days a week from dozens of area groceries
including Walmart, Publix, Winn-Dixie
and commissaries and distribute more than
19 million meals of food through their 400
nonprofi t partners every year. With over 25%
of children in our area not knowing where
their next meal is coming from, the need is
much greater than most people understand,”
said John Merting.
To help John Merting reach his goal and
to help support Hurricane Michael relief
efforts, visit https://feedingthegulfcoast.
networkforgood.com/projects/59836-
hurricane-michael.
UWF Peer Educators Receive
National Accolade For Campaign
Against Violence
The University of West Florida Peer
Educators program was recently awarded
“Outstanding Peer Education Program”
for its annual “Take Back the Night” event
during the National Association of Student
Personnel Administrators General Assembly
Conference in Orlando.
Held at UWF since 2000, Take Back the
Night is an international event intended
to educate, protest and bring awareness to
violence, inspiring young adults to confront
issues including rape, stalking and dating
violence. The 2018 Take Back the Night
event at UWF included an information fair, a
survivor guest speaker, creative performances
and a campus march to show solidarity and
support for survivors of sexual assault.
The goal of the UWF peer education
program is to develop and implement
campuswide campaigns to prevent health
problems and promote healthy lifestyles
among college students. More than 400 peer
education programs from across the nation
were represented at the NASPA conference,
where UWF peer educators also presented
two programs on resiliency and alcohol risk
reduction.
Taylor Brownlie, a senior exercise science
major and president of the Kappa Xi
Chapter of Alpha Chi Omega, was among
the peer educators to present at the NASPA
conference.
For more information about the UWF
Peer Educators program and other wellness
services at UWF, visit uwf.edu/wellness.
Photo: UWF peer educators awarded “Outstanding Peer
Education Program” at 2018 NASPA conference
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