Autobahn Indoor Speedway

Got the need for speed?  Autobahn Indoor Speedway is Jacksonville’s premier go- kart race track. These go karts are so popular not just because they are fun but because each kart reaches up to 50 miles per hour. There are two Grand Prix style tracks for two completely different racing experiences. Autobahn is a great place to take your family on the weekend for a little fun. To be able to drive the go-kart you have to be 13 years old however, they provide junior karts for racers who are at least 48 inches tall. Not only does Autobahn do birthdays but, they do corporate team building exercises. These exercises are meant to help your team communicate more effectively, perform under pressure better and improve leadership skills. These events Autobahn has them do are the Grand Prix race, blind fold race and changing the tired of the go-karts. Many times in these events co-worker are paired with peers they don’t always get along with. This is so they can get closer as workers and hopefully be come friends while trying to complete the tasks. Each event ends with a podium ceremony, where everyone can see how they placed and the top three races receive a trophy or medal.

Stay-Cation

If you are looking for a little weekend get away then Saint Augustine is a great place to visit. There are so many great restaurants and bars to go to that will not break the bank and the crowd is always lively and entertaining.

Amongst all the bars and restaurants there are plenty of site seeing attractions. One of the most popular is the Castillo De San Marcos fort. Not only can you walk around the whole fort, but also you can go inside and take a tour for a small fee.

Another popular thing to do there is a ghost tour. They have many different renditions of the ghost tour ranging from a walking tour, bus tour and a combination of both. In these tours they tell you the history behind the buildings that are haunted in Saint Augustine.

If you are looking to take your pet out for the day this is the perfect place. Most of the restaurants and bars have outside seating and will even give you a water bowl for your dog.

Be sure that if you do visit, on your way out grab ice cream from Kilwin’s, they make homemade waffle cones and their ice cream is amazing.

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Jacksonville Zoo

Last weekend I went to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens where they had the Destination Dino exhibit. After paying $27.95 for a value ticket I was able to go through the stingray exhibit, watch the movie in the 4D theater as well as have unlimited train and carousel rides.

The Destination Dino exhibit was incredibly well put together with realistic looking dinosaurs that moved and made sound. The 4D movie was also great, it featured the characters from the movie Ice Age and was not only informative but funny.

If you are willing to pay a little extra for nectar, the area with the birds was one of the most interesting parts. The Zoo essentially made a large bird cage that you can walk in to and at the door you can pay for a little cup of nectar. If you hold the nectar the birds will just fly up and land on your arm to drink the nectar.

This would be a great place to take your children in  because it is very interactive, while you are in the large bird cage a worker from the zoo is walking around informing people of all the different birds flying by.

If you plan on attending the zoo make sure you have a full day, it is incredibly large and has so many fun and interesting things to look at.

Number One in The Nation

For the second time, The University of North Florida’s Physical Therapy Graduate Program has been ranked number one in the nation. This was one of only two Florida state universities listed in the rankings.

Physical therapists are healthcare professionals who work with individuals in preventing, evaluating, and treating physical dysfunction and injury. An understanding of human movement serves as the foundation for the practice of physical therapy.

This three-year program is designed to give students a deep understanding of the clinical skills and sciences needed for the practice of physical therapy.

In applying for the program UNF requires an interview for the top competitive candidates. First year student, Melissa Roberts, said the process started with students already in the program and teachers making them feel comfortable and relaxed which then led to the interview. The interviews were done in groups of five with four interviewers.

“I felt like we could all answer questions in our own ways but still provide feedback to one another,” said Roberts.

The questions asked were designed to see if the applicant would be an appropriate fit for the program.

“They asked about previous experiences in which we overcame workplace conflict and our knowledge about the current vision of the American Physical Therapy Association,” said Roberts.

Normally 30 students will be admitted into the program each year for the fall semester. The three-year graduation rate between 2012-2014 was 96.67% with a 95% employment rate within six months of licensure.

Brian Trang, a second-year student in the program said, “It’s really welcoming, the teachers that are there really want you to succeed. That’s the main selling point of it.”

“The more I learn and the more I meet students from other programs, the more I realize why were number one,” said Trang.

When the students described the amount of studying that was involved they agreed that you hardly get any down time. One student said, “You’re basically studying as much as you can because there is that much material.”

Drew Miskiv, a first-year student said, “The level of work so far in my fist year of the program is very high. The difference in the amount of studying required for this program versus my undergrad program is a world of a difference.”

Although the difficulty of the courses and content make the program very intense, Miskiv said, “It’s all very rewarding.”

Third-year student, Anil Joseph compared this year to the other two and said, “It isn’t as demanding as far as the total amount of reading and studying for practical’s that’s expected from you in the other years.”

“This year you can take extra classes, if you already know what you want to specialize in or you could chose not to and have a less intense year overall,” said Joseph.

The students all agreed that the professors in the program were always available and willing to help.

“The classes in this program are taught by an excellent core of professors who care a lot about the subject and the students in the course. If the student ever needs anything or has any question, the professors are always there and will make time to meet in order to help,” said Miskiv.

The level of intensity as well as the helpfulness of the professors in the program have been a huge asset in making the UNF Physical Therapy Program number one in the nation.

This Weekend In Jacksonville Beach

The place to be this weekend is at the Jacksonville Beach, Community First Seawalk Music Festival. This festival takes place at the Seawalk Pavilion right behind Jacksonville Beach City Hall.

This is the fourth time that Community First has hosted the event and they continue to provide it to the community for free. Here you will see a vast majority of local artists and food vendors.

If you’re not listening to the music it is great to go and look around at the mass of Jacksonville artists. Their talents range from jewelry making, painting or even woodworking.

This year they have three different headliners, which are Grandpa’s Cough Medicine, The Corbitt Clamepitt and Flat Land. All of who are local to Jacksonville.

For the first time this year they will be providing the Ferris wheel, which made its first debut after many years at the Octoberfest a few months ago.

If you’re looking for a fun and relatively cheap (depending on how much you drink) thing to do this Saturday and Sunday this event is right up your alley. If you do have kids then this is also the place for you, the festival provides an area designated for children.

People of Jacksonville- Jake Humble

Former Georgia Southern University student, Jake Humble, spoke about the trials and rewards in his journey that will ultimately lead him to Hilsong College Australia.

Humble studies Ministerial Leadership which is a major designed to prepare Christians to serve in leadership and support roles at churches and other faith-based organizations.

When asked why he chose this major specifically Humble said, “Growing up I always had a passion for helping other people.”

Humble said he never understood why people always went to him for advice but it seemed as though he always said the right thing at the right time. With that in mind it made him want to pursue some sort of leadership role.

With his passion to be working with the youth, Humble is not sure whether he will be speaking on stage or a pastor on staff. Humble said his role in leadership could even lead him to missions, traveling around the world.

Humble said, “I’m not sure where I’ll be, but it will be somewhere in ministry.”

He was not always this certain about being in ministry. After his first year at Georgia Southern, he moved back to Jacksonville and found himself coasting by. Humble wasn’t sure what he wanted to do or where he wanted to do it, he just knew that his passion had something to do with going public or being in front of people.

Humble said, “Back then I thought it was in the entertainment industry, modeling, acting, theatre, photography, music you name it, I was probably a part of it at some point in my life time.”

Knowing that, he began to training with a friend at a church on how to be a sound engineer.

Humble said, “Looking back now I see that was just the beginning. It planted a seed that I never knew was going to ever develop into what it has today.”

After training in the church, Humble went on to travel with a band known worldwide. He said that this was a huge opportunity for him to finally start pursuing what he thought to be his career. As it turned out, this lifestyle was not for him.

Humble said, “I quickly learned that sex drugs and rock and roll was not just a phrase and actually ways of life for these people.”

The week he got home from his tour, his mother who has always been his biggest supporter had the idea to get Humble and his brother to go to church with her. They found themselves at Eleven22 that Sunday.

At this church service something really stood out to Humble and made him want to get involved.

Humble said, “I quickly found myself wanting to get involved somehow and grabbed the info card in the seatback in front of me, filled it out and turned it in. Just a few days later I got a call from a girl on staff at the church wanting me to start serving with them in their children’s ministry running sound.”

Shortly after, Humble’s attention was brought to another church, Celebration. This is where things really changed for him.

Humble said, “I finally gave my life to Jesus and knew what calling I had on my life. I knew I wanted to be in ministry. It brings me all the way back around full circle to the original passion I had knowing I wanted to help people along with the other passion I grew into of wanting it to be something publically.”

At Celebration he spent a few years in the school of ministry and got an internship with their youth ministry called FUSE.

Humble said, “Being involved in the youth ministry has given me the opportunity to accomplish both of my passions.”

Just this past year, Humble went to a conference in New York held by a global church called Hilsong. At the conference he was introduced to people involved in the Hilsong New York Church. Through these people he kept making friends from that community.

Humble said, “I was only in NYC for 3 days and I got to attend conference, see a new city, make a ton of new friends, SERVE at a church I’ve never been to and gain a family I never expected on gaining that weekend.”

The thought of Hilsong was constantly reoccurring in his head so finally Humble decided that Hilsong College Australia was the place he needed to be.

Humble needs to raise $8,500 in order to attend this college, and has set up a “Go Fund Me” account to do so. So far he has raised $580 and plans on being there July of 2016.

Veterans United

One Christmas, Ron Gamble was given a present by his wife which contained all the elements of a beer making kit. Little did they know that this simple gift was going to change their lives.

“In 1999 my wife gave me the gift. Then the hobby took over into a passion and then eventually I went professional in 2007,” Gamble said.

Gamble went to the Siebel Institute in Germany where he got his master brewers diploma. After managing a brewhouse and cellar operations at several breweries in the New England area, Gamble and his wife moved to Florida to start their own brewery.

After serving in the Navy for eight years active and four years in the reserve, he developed a strong relationship with people in the military. Gamble said that one of the key elements in helping his business career was going back to when he served in the navy and looking for help there. These now veterans were the people he went to for help in starting the brewery.

“The idea of veterans, veterans coming together to form a brewery, I liked the idea of saying we were united, hence Veterans United,” Gamble said.

Veterans United has been opened a little over a year now and Gamble said it is a hard business to be in.

“The joke in the industry is ‘if you want to make a million dollars owning a brewery then you need to start with two million,’” Gamble said.

In order to have this type of business, Gamble said that you have to understand the different elements that go into the industry. These elements include the science that goes into brewing beer, the engineering and mechanics, as well as business.

“There are brewers like myself who brew the beer, then we have to understand the selling side that is really the beer industry, the distributers and wholesalers,” said Gamble.

The beers provided by Veterans United have been developed by Gamble over the years, the recipes have changed and mutated based upon what he and his friends like. The brewery team also collaborates to see what they want to convey in terms of flavor and aroma, which leads to picking the ingredients.

Jana Parnell, a grad student at UNF, frequents the brewery said, “This is my favorite craft beer in Jacksonville, I feel like they put a lot of effort into making the beers.”

In terms of naming the beer he does a lot of it himself.

“I spent twelve years in marketing, so over the years I was able to come up with really neat ideas for names and imagery for the beers,” said Gamble.

Allie Bies, a nursing student at FSCJ said, “I’m not typically a fan of beer but the Raging Blonde is my favorite, the name is what attracted me to the beer.”

In their first year of brewing, Veterans United has worked with 18 charities that have been military or veteran oriented. Gamble said that have also carved out an area that is focused on military K-9s along with helping their teams and owners.

The biggest competitors for Veterans United and other craft brewers are all the large breweries such as Busch, Coors or Budweiser. According to Gamble, these breweries control 85-90% of the market since they are a dominant force.

Despite their competition between one another, Gamble said that the craft breweries in Jacksonville work together on a variety of initiatives, festivals and events.

Right now the beer from Veterans United is in five counties in Northeast Florida from Fernandina Beach down to St. Augustine. However, they have plans to expand to Gainesville, Tallahassee, and Pensacola, then eventually further south into the State.

 In order to get the Veterans United brand out there Gamble sells to a wholesaler who then sells to a retailer. The Jax Beer Society is an initiative that they are part owners and members of have come together to help market the beers.

“There are several programs where we jointly market the beer whether it be the Can Do Festival in downtown Jacksonville during spring or the Craft Beer Festival in May or in the Jax Beer Society,” said Gamble.