MEMBER MICRONEWS

In addition, patients can benefit from the convenience of a comprehensive on-site laboratory and radiology services.

***Please note that all Lakeland Highlands offices will be relocating to this new facility effective Monday, September 28, 2015 and all future appointments on or after this date will be at this new location.

For additional details on this special event and our new location, visit http://goo.gl/DixJjf.

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TOUR DE TOW IS SEPTEMBER 19
Main Street Bartow, Inc. and Bartow Cycling Events are gearing up for the Scenic Tour de Tow on September 19th.

The largest organized road tour in Polk County, this is an on-road cycling tour along the scenic back roads of southern Polk County. Gently rolling roads take cyclists across the Peace River Basin through expansive citrus groves and around the old Florida backwoods. Additionally, this is a cycling event that provides great cycling support via fully stocked rest stops with friendly volunteers, Sheriff Deputy escorts, trailing vehicles for assistance and aid, course photography and great food provided by some of Bartow’s finest restaurants.

This is the only ride that gives the opportunity for one of the participating cyclists the chance to be featured poster cyclist via an Artistic Motion Drawing through registrations pulled the day of the ride. The winner is photographed somewhere throughout the ride and has a logo designed by LillyCat Design Studio, which then becomes the next year's ride logo on all print media and the ride shirt. The cyclist also receives a wall hanging with the featured logo.

The Tour de Tow features a 65- and 35-mile road tour and a 17-mile family fun ride. Registration is on Active.com under Tour de Tow 2015, or download a registration form from www.BartowCylingEvents.com. You may also register the day of the race.

The POWER PEDALERS program gives bicycles to kids who would like a bike, but can't afford one. This cultivates a healthy lifestyle and a love for cycling that lasts a lifetime. Thanks to Wal-Mart and Heartland for Children for helping make this a reality. This past year’s Bloomin Bike Ride total for bikes given away was 106 bikes.

The staging area will be on Central & Main Street. Parking is at the Oaks Parking Lot on Parker & Central. Registration opens at 7:00 a.m. and the ride begins with a special presentation at 7:50 a.m. of new bikes to the POWER PEDDLERS. The ride takes off at 8:00 a.m.

For more information, please contact Trish Pfeiffer, Ride Director, at (863) 640-1024 or email Lillycat36@aol.com.

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MOBILE VACCINE UNIT FROM SPCA VISITS BARTOW
The mobile vaccine unit (Wellness Wagon) visits Bartow every third and last Saturday of the month.
3^rd Saturday monthly
8-10:30 am Goodyear, 390 E. Van Fleet Dr. 33830
Last Saturday monthly
8-10:30 am Dusty’s Camper, 7400 State Road 60 E, 33830
Full pricing and schedule information at www.spcaflorida.org/wellness-wagon-1

SPCA Florida First Saturday Adoption Event
Join SPCA Florida’s for its First Saturday Adoption Event launch. The recurring event, scheduled for every first Saturday of the month, will feature adoption specials, kids’ activities and food trucks. Saturday, September 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. visitors can spin the wheel of adoption deals including half off adoption fees, name your adoption fee, $20 off adoption fee, and free toys/leashes. The event will take place at 5850 Brannen Road South in Lakeland, 33813. SPCA Florida is conveniently located just three miles south of the Polk Parkway off South Florida Avenue. Stop by September 5 for coffee and treats from Drica’s Favorites Specialty Coffee Boutique and The Big Cheese food truck. Kids can enjoy a bounce house and other fun, educational activities and crafts. To preview pets, visit www.spcaflorida.org/adopt.

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YOU CAN RENEW YOUR LICENSE IN BARTOW
     It’s time to renew your license and you remember the price you had to pay last time – the inconvenience of driving out of town, all of those forms you had to track down for Homeland Security. If you forgot a piece of documentation, it was back to Bartow, then a trip back to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in the other town, and back in line. Sometimes the wait was short, but in most years, it seemed like forever.
     Sound familiar? Now you no longer have to fear the DMV – there’s hope for a quick and easy experience when updating your license.
     The Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ Florida Licensing on Wheels (FLOW) is available at this location in Bartow:
Leland Family Ministries, Inc., 780 W. Main Street is host on the last Wednesday of each month (except for December).
     Hours of operation are 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. For a list of what documentation you may need, visit www.gathergoget.com or call (850) 617-3995. For information about the FLOW program, contact a Community Outreach Specialist at (352) 284-0039 or visitwww3.flhsmv.gov/ddl/flowmobile/index.cfm.

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POLK COUNTY HISTORY CENTER SCHEDULE
Journey into Polk history this month at the Polk County History Center. The following programs and events are open to the public and free of charge:
New Exhibit Opening: Lore and Lures:
Polk County’s Fishing History
Newly expanded, permanent exhibit opened on Aug. 13. The exhibit includes an extensive collection of rare and unique fishing lures, antique rods, reels, tackle and early outboard motors. The new exhibit is made possible through the generosity of Bartow residents Mr. and Mrs. W.H. “Bill” Stuart, Jr.
New Exhibit: Very Much A Lady:
Lifestyle and Fashion of the Proper Woman, 1900 to 1920
Return to a more elegant and stylish era with this temporary exhibit featuring unique and vintage couture fashion and accessories. The exhibit is curated from the private collection of Polk resident Joanna Godwin. Mrs. Godwin will lead personalized tours of the exhibit every Thursday between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

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ALL GAVE SOME, SOME GAVE ALL . . .
Bartow’s Purple Heart Committee and The Bartow Area Chamber Foundation, Inc. need your help in honoring our local PurpleHeart and POW Veterans. Monuments will be erected in theirmemory at the Civic Plaza located on Davidson Street, across from the Polk County History Center in Downtown Bartow. Your tax-deductible gift, in its entirety, will be used to fund a Purple Heart Memorial and a POW Memorial similar to the ones pictured below. The goal is to raise $25,000 that will be used to erect the memorials and necessary enhancements to accommodate these important tributes to those who have fought to protect our freedoms. Donations may be dropped off at the Chamber.

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PSC TO ADD RISK MANAGEMENT TO BUSINESS DEGREE
Polk State College will add a Risk Management/Insurance specialization to its Associate in Science degree in Business Administration. The new specialization will be available this fall semester, which begins Aug. 24.

In preparing for the new specialization, Polk State collaborated with the Florida Department of Financial Services and the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA) to ensure graduates can benefit from newly passed legislation designed to facilitate the path to insurance licensure.

The College also worked with local insurance professionals to design a program that meets their hiring needs.

In addition to earning a solid foundation in business administration, students will select one of two options in the insurance specialization. Students with no insurance background will take 10 credits of insurance coursework, including a practicum. Upon graduation from this degree and specialization, students in this option are eligible to apply to the state for the 20-44 Personal Lines and 4-40 Customer Service Representative insurance licenses without taking an exam.

Students entering the program who already hold licensure in the insurance industry are granted immediate college credit, giving them a head start on completing the degree.

According to O*Net, one of the nation’s primary sources for occupational information, the insurance industry is a rapidly growing field that is expected to expand by 14 percent by 2022. With two insurance licenses and a college degree to their names, students graduating from this program are poised for immediate job placement within the insurance industry. O*Net reports the median income of insurance agents in Florida is $50,600.

For more information on the Risk Management/Insurance specialization, please contact Maria Lehoczky at mlehoczky@polk.edu.