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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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12/27/18   3:36 PM