by Beth Kassab | Oct 2, 2025 | Arts and Culture, News, Uncategorized
Park Avenue District Names Interim Executive Director
The new appointment comes just in time for the holiday season as the city’s Christmas lights are set to turn on Nov. 13
Oct. 2, 2025
By Beth Kassab
The Park Avenue District on Wednesday named Allison Chandler as interim executive director of the organization that will coordinate Winter Park’s signature holiday decor as well other events focused on one of Central Florida’s premier dining and retail corridors.
Chandler, who comes with other nonprofit experience, will help steer the organization as Christmas lights turn on next month along the avenue and the city government embarks early next year replacing streetlights, wiring, landscaping other infrastructure as part of a project known as the “Park Avenue Refresh” that could be disruptive at times to merchants.
Alan Chambers, president of the district’s board, said the group has recently gone through some “growing pains” since it took on the role of coordinating the city’s holiday decor last year.
“We went from 0 to 60 so quickly with taking on the holidays and how much money came in and events,” said Chambers, who is the vice president of operations for the John Craig Clothier family of eight stores across Florida, including two on Park Avenue.
Earlier this week the group announced the departure of Executive Director Carina Sexton along with three board members.
“Over the past six months, the district has navigated growing pains that led to the departure of several key board members, and with Chandler at the helm, the organization is eagerly and actively focused on mending, building, and rebuilding relationships across the community,” a news release stated.
The group, which formed in 2019 to intensify focus on promoting and supporting the Park Avenue area, began spearheading the city’s holiday decorations in 2024 and called the festivities “Christmas on Park” instead of “Hometown Holidays,” a name the city had used for years.
Allison Chandler
This year the city, which contributed $200,0000 in public funds last year and $90,000 this year to the project, asked the name be changed to Holidays on Park to include Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.
The long-held individual traditions in Winter Park that begin next month and run through January will remain the same such as the Christmas Parade, Tuba Christmas and Christmas on the Park. Only the overarching website name is set to change.
But that prompted outrage from some in the community who wanted to frame the request as an assault on Christmas. A resident started a petition that collected more than 1,000 signatures even though some information on the petition was inaccurate.
Chambers said the Park Avenue District spent about $400,000 on holiday festivities last year, most of it from private donations to fund new additions such as a carousel in front of City Hall and a walk-through Cathedral of Lights in Central Park.
Some of the decor purchased last year will be used again this year, though a portion of the new lights was lost to squirrels.
Sarah Grafton, founder of the Park Avenue District and partner at Grafton Wealth Management, said in the news release that she is confident the group will continue to grow its work with Chandler in her new role.
“Her proven leadership in the nonprofit sector will ensure we build on the district’s success, uniting businesses and residents while positioning us for an even stronger future,” Grafton said in the release. “I am proud to be a part of this collaborative board of directors that has made such a positive impact on our community.”
Chandler, a graduate of Leadership Winter Park, has experience in other nonprofits such as development director and interim executive director at PACE Center for Girls, program manager at Plug and Play Tech Center, and founder and president of MPACT Events Co., according to a news release.
“Living in Winter Park, I have seen firsthand the unique spirit and beauty of Park Avenue,” Chandler said in the release. “I am thrilled to help guide the Park Avenue District through its next chapter – building programs, partnerships and celebrations that reflect the heart of our community”.
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 29, 2025 | Arts and Culture, News, Uncategorized
Executive Director and Three Board Members Exit Park Avenue District
The changes come in the wake of a controversy over whether “Christmas” should be in the title of the city’s holiday decor the group is tasked with overseeing
Sept. 29, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Carina Sexton, executive director of the Park Avenue District, announced Monday she is stepping down, part of a leadership shakeup at the nonprofit that promotes economic development along the city’s historic retail corridor and coordinates the city’s annual holiday lights display.
The changes, which include the resignations of three board members, come in the wake of a controversy over what the group would call the holiday decor with some residents expressing anger that Winter Park city government, which is providing $90,000 this year for the project, requested the name be changed from Christmas on Park to Holidays on Park.
Alan Chambers, the district’s board president, said Sexton and the board “mutually agreed to conclude her tenure” and “wish her the very best in her next chapter.” He did not give a specific reason for the departure other than to say the changes had been in the works for a while and that it wasn’t related to the holiday decorations.
Alan Chambers
“We appreciate all that Carina has done for Park Avenue and her role in this important and inaugural position,” said Chambers, who is vice president of operations for John Craig Clothier, which operates eight Florida stores, including two on Park Avenue. “Our mission remains at the heart of everything we do: Fall in love with the charm, sophistication and the history of the Park Avenue District.”
Sexton said the decision was not the result of disagreement over the title of the holiday decor, and listed the Christmas line-up as one of her key accomplishments.
“The website and the design of Christmas on Park would not have been possible without the incredible time and talent of Tracy Brand-Liffey, whose creativity has left a lasting mark on the District,” she wrote in her resignation letter. “I would also like to express my gratitude to the mayor and city commissioners for their vision, funding, and cooperation in helping to create and move the district forward. Their support has been instrumental in ensuring the success and growth of this organization.”
Holiday orbs light up Park Avenue, a familiar feature of the city’s Christmas decor.
Brand-Liffey, who owns New General Cafe on New England Avenue, confirmed to the Voice hat she has left the Park Avenue District’s board, a decision she attributed to personal and professional reasons.
“This was not an easy decision, but the timing feels right given recent personal and professional changes, coupled with the robust challenges this organization faces and the political constraints that have limited our ability to advance initiatives in the way I once envisioned,” she wrote in a resignation.
She declined to elaborate on what she meant by “political constraints.”
Chambers said the group will change the title of the decor and district website that highlights the line-up of events from Christmas on Park, which was first used last year, to Holidays on Park at the request of the city. Some promotional materials that were done in advance, however, won’t be changed in time.
Before the Park Avenue District took over coordination and fundraising for the signature decorations last year and added new features such as a children’s carousel in front of City Hall and a walk-through “Cathedral of Lights” in Central Park, the city called the decor and event line-up “Hometown Holidays.”
It requested a more inclusive overall name this year because the festivities also include celebrations for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.
But the line-up of events, some of which are led by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, still include multiple Christmas celebrations such as the Christmas Parade, Christmas in the Park (which features and outdoor display of Tiffany windows from the Morse Museum and the Bach Festival Society choir) and Tuba Christmas. None of those names or traditions are changing nor did the city request any changes to them.
But as word got out about the request to change the overarching title, a resident started a petition that claimed the city was threatening to put Christmas traditions “at risk.” It made multiple inaccurate claims such as how the city’s Christmas tree would only be referred to as a “holiday tree” and also falsely stated that the annual tree lighting event has been “rebranded as ‘Winter on the Avenue,’ intentionally avoiding any mention of Christmas.”
“Winter on the Avenue” is an event put on by the Chamber of Commerce and the name has been used for years. The chamber’s own web page about the event uses the words “Christmas tree” in the description: “Winners of the Holiday Art Competition will be recognized, Rabbi Dovid Dubov of Chabad Orlando will do a menorah lighting ceremony ushering in the season of Chanukah, and Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio will lead us in a countdown as we light the Christmas Tree.”
Carina Sexton
The resident, who frequently uses the public comment portion of City Commission meetings to advocate for conservative causes, has refused to acknowledge factual inaccuracies in the petition, which now has more than 1,000 signatures, though it’s unclear how many of the signers live in Winter Park.
Chambers said Tracy Klingler, who owns the boutique Frank, and Ginny Enstad, of Ginny’s Orchids, are also leaving the board, but along with Brand-Liffey will remain involved in helping to steer the organization.
Theresa Smith-Levin, the founder and executive director of Central Florida Vocal arts, is the district’s treasurer and Sarah Grafton, managing partner at Grafton Wealth Advisors, remains advisory board chairwoman. Also on the board are Ricci Culver, who owns Through the Looking Glass boutique; Meredith Gardner, who owned The Grove; Tim Noelke, operating partner at Prato as well as Luke’s; Nora Miller, an attorney at GrayRobinson; Sheila Wyatt, founder of Sheila & Co Moving and Chris Southern, owner and vice president of Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine.
The lights will turn on Nov. 13 and the line-up of events will run through the new year.
Chambers said the group is still fundraising for the decor, which will this year focus on Park Avenue rather than extend to the side streets and Hannibal Square as it did last year.
“We do have some more fundraising to do,” he said. “We have the ability to pay for it, but we are always looking to cover those expenses rather than those things coming out of our general budget.”
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 11, 2025 | Arts and Culture, City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Electric rates go up, but bills still expected to go down
Commissioners approved a $231 million budget, prayed for Charlie Kirk and argued about whether Christmas needs saving
Sept. 11, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Commissioners approved Winter Park’s $231 million budget for 2026 on Wednesday, including a last-minute push led by Mayor Sheila DeCiccio to increase the non-fuel portion of electric rates that officials say will help the city finish the final stretch of it’s undergrounding project and replace aging transformers.
The wide-ranging meeting also included a prayer for Charlie Kirk in the moments before news alerts started hitting phones that the right-wing activist was dead, a performance by renowned violinist Alvaro Gomez and guitarist Chris Cortez and a tense exchange over a petition riddled with inaccuracies and misleading statements attempting to manufacture a war on Christmas in Winter Park.
The budget passed with little public discussion other than a final debate over electric rates, which had been adjusted dramatically from city staff’s original proposal of a 10% overall increase to a 2% increase in August based on discussion by elected officials during a commission workshop.
Ultimately, on Wednesday the board landed on a 4% overall increase after DeCiccio argued the figures from the August meeting would not be enough to finish the city’s ambitious effort to underground every power line in Winter Park.
Over the 20 years since Winter Park purchased its electric grid from Duke Energy (then Progress Energy) costs have increased significantly. About 20% of the city remains with overhead wires that are more susceptible to storm damage.
“I want to again ask for an increase of 7.5% on the non-fuel costs,” DeCiccio said. “By increasing only 3% we will have to stop undergrounding eight or nine months into the year and we won’t be complete by 2030.”
She also emphasized the need to spend millions of dollars to replace substation equipment or “the grid will fail.”
Commissioners had considered a smaller increase in rates while also taking out a bond to finance the remaining cost of the projects.
But DeCiccio argued the city should save its bonding capacity for when its agreement with Orlando Utilities Commission comes to an end and it might be able to “buy” the 600 residential customers inside Winter Park’s borders who are still serviced by OUC.
“This year the cost of fuel has decreased so the customers will not feel the impact of the rate increase, in fact, the bills may be less,” she said.
The dollar amount customers pay each month result from a complex formula of different components on the bill: how much energy a home or businesses uses; the cost of fuel (mostly natural gas in Winter Park); the city’s rates, taxes and other fees.
According to figures provided by the city on Thursday, the average residential bill for 1,300 kilowatt hours will total $171.18 in October when the new rates take effect. The average bill in August was $184.51. The decrease in the total from August to October is the result of lower fuel costs even as the city raises electric rates.
Commissioner Craig Russell supported DeCiccio’s drive for the change, he said, based on what he is hearing from residents.
“You have a contingency talking about how they don’t want rates increased, some people are talking about how they don’t want to take on any debt and they want the undergrounding done on schedule,” Russell said. “At the end of the day … it sounds like that’s what the residents want the most — the undergrounding completed.”
Commissioners Marty Sullivan and Warren Lindsey remained against the higher increase in the non-fuel portion of the bill as they had during the August workshop. They noted that the price of natural gas is volatile and could drive bills up once again.
“I’m not opposed to revisiting it in the future,” Lindsey said, noting that a rate study would soon be underway along with an analysis by the Utilities Advisory Board.
But Kris Cruzada, who was the swing voice in the August meeting for the lower rate, said he had rethought the matter and voted with DeCiccio and Russell.
The increase, he said, translated to “a small price to pay to keep the [undergrounding] ball moving.”
“We can revisit it if fuel goes up,” he said. “I just want to be ahead of the curve and this leaves us with the ability to do more things so we’re not having to play catch up.”
Inaccurate Christmas Petition
Gigi Papa, who started a petition this week claiming that Winter Park’s decades-long Christmas traditions are at risk, took to the podium during public comment to thank the more than 700 people who have signed the petition.
Papa, a frequent attendee and commenter at the public meetings who often voices conservative views, did not acknowledge that multiple statements in her petition are misleading or inaccurate. The petition titled “Save Christmas in Winter Park” appeared designed to appeal to a common right-wing talking point that liberals want to somehow shut down public use of the word “Christmas.”
“We ask that our 70 plus years of traditions continue,” Papa told the commission.
But none of Winter Park’s traditions are under threat. The city asked for the Park Avenue District, which took over coordination of the city’s main holiday decor last year, to change the name it debuted last year as the backdrop for a series of events from “Christmas on Park” to “Holidays on Park.”
Before last year, the overarching name for the decor and series of events was “Hometown Holidays.” The word “Christmas” is not being removed from any of the line-up of events such as “Christmas in the Park,” “Tuba Christmas” and “The Christmas Parade.”
The line-up also includes an event for Hanukkah and recognition of Kwanzaa. The city provides funding for the decor and asked for the more general “holiday” title out of respect for the entire line-up of events during the light display that runs from just before Thanksgiving through New Year’s.
“The petition was fraught with inaccurate information,” DeCiccio responded. “We are not departing from tradition as the petition implies … Virginia, don’t worry, Christmas is alive and well in Winter Park.”
Prayers for Charlie Kirk
After Papa talked about her petition, she asked for Pastor Weaver Blondin to join her at the podium. Blondin, of Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, was in the audience after he had given the invocation at the start of the meeting.
“I would ask the pastor to come up. We were just speaking because we had a 31-year-old person who has been advocating on college campuses and he was shot.”
Word had just started to spread about the shooting of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA that played a significant role in rallying college-age students for President Donald Trump, as he was speaking at Utah Valley University.
Blondin approached the podium and asked DeCiccio if he could say a prayer.
“Yes, please do,” she responded.
The pastor offered a prayer for Kirk’s healing, his family and for young people on college campuses.
A short time later, major news outlets began reporting Kirk died, the latest victim of political assassination in the United States following two attempts on Trump’s life; the murder in June of Melissa Hortman, a Democratic state legislator in Minnesota, and her husband and the attempt on the life of U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, also a Democrat, in 2011 that took the lives of six people.
Winter Park will answer 911 for Maitland
Commissioners also approved an agreement with the city of Maitland for Winter Park dispatchers to answer calls and dispatch police and fire service for its neighboring city.
Police Chief Tim Volkerson said the agreement makes logistical sense because the agencies already work closely together and provide backup for each other.
“It really allows that turnaround time of information to be cut down significantly,” he said, noting that currently Maitland is using Apopka for dispatch service.
Maitland will pay Winter Park about $440,000 a year for the service as part of a 10-year agreement.
Blue Bamboo Performance
As part of a new effort to showcase artists in the city, Blue Bamboo founder Chris Cortez and violinist Alvaro Gomez, who has been affiliated with Rollins College, treated the commission chambers to a mini performance at the start of the meeting.
The series, which started with a vocal performance by Maria Bryant last month, is intended to display some of Winter Park’s art and cultural assets.
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 9, 2025 | Arts and Culture, City Commission, Events, News, Uncategorized
Save Christmas? Petition is misleading
City officials asked the Park Avenue District to brand the season of events as “holiday,” but Christmas is not disappearing from the names of the individual events
Sept. 9, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Hold your reindeer, Winter Park. Before you get fired up about the Change.Org petition to “Save Christmas in Winter Park,” let’s take a look at the facts.
The petition, which had 570 signatures by Tuesday afternoon in the city of 30,000 people, makes several allegations, asserting that 70 years of Christmas event traditions are “at risk.”
“In recent planning, the city has agreed to fund holiday lighting only if the word “Christmas” is removed,” the petition states. “As a result, Central Park’s Christmas Tree is now called a ‘Holiday Tree,’ and the annual tree lighting event has been rebranded as ‘Winter on the Avenue,’ intentionally avoiding any mention of Christmas.”
But those statements are misleading and, in some parts, false.
The city is, in fact, asking for the overall name of the events season to change. But no changes are being requested for the titles of the half dozen main events that make up the season — and most of those use the word “Christmas.”
New lights in Central Park made up part of the city’s display in 2024.
Gigi Papa, a Winter Park resident who frequently attends and speaks at City Commission meetings, is listed on the change.org page as the “petition starter.” Papa did not immediately respond to an email and text message seeking comment about the petition’s statements.
Here’s what happened and why the city requested the change:
In 2024, the Park Avenue District, a relatively new group of merchants, businesses and residents who aim to support the central retail hub, took over coordination of the city’s annual light display and decor.
With about $100,000 from the city government and matching dollars from private donors, the group added more lights, an Instagram-worthy walk-through light cathedral in Central Park, a children’s carousel in front of City Hall and new wreaths and other festive touches.
For years, the city used the name “Hometown Holidays,” to advertise its season of events that run from mid-November, when the display goes up, through New Year’s.
The Park Avenue District changed the name to “Christmas on Park” last year.
City spokeswoman Clarissa Howard said Mayor Sheila DeCiccio heard some complaints about the entire season of events being branded as “Christmas” after it had been branded as “Hometown Holidays” for so long. So the city, which is providing about $60,000 for the decor this year, requested the name be changed to “Holidays on Park.”
“We are not breaking tradition,” Howard said. “It’s a season, it’s not one event. We called the season Hometown Holidays because there are holidays other than Christmas happening downtown.”
In 2021, the city added to Central Park a menorah for Hanukkah and a kinara for Kwanzaa.
A menorah is part of the annual lights display in Central Park.
Carina Sexton, executive director of the Park Avenue District, said she expects the name will change based on the city’s request.
“Regardless of the name, we feel confident that the magic of the season will remain the same and we are thrilled to welcome our community and visitors alike back to the Park Avenue District to celebrate with us,” she said.
Individual long-standing city events with the name Christmas aren’t changing and no one from the city has asked for them to be changed, Howard said. Sexton confirmed she has not received any other requests for changes.
Those events include:
“Christmas in the Park” on Dec. 4 is the annual evening that features a display of lighted Tiffany glass windows from the Morse Museum and Christmas music from the Bach Festival Society and a brass ensemble.
“The Christmas Parade” will be on Dec. 6, which is sponsored by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce.
And “Tuba Christmas,” another musical event, will take place on Dec. 20 this year.
The name “Winter on the Avenue,” another event lead by the chamber, has been used for years and is not part of a rebrand as the petition alleges.
That will take place on Dec. 5 this year and is described on the Chamber website: “Begin the evening at the Annual Holiday Tree Lighting in Central Park just east of the Winter Park train station. Winners of the Holiday Art Competition will be recognized, Rabbi Dovid Dubov of Chabad Orlando will do a menorah lighting ceremony ushering in the season of Chanukah, and Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio will lead us in a countdown as we light the Christmas Tree.”
The petition demands the city “return to using the name Christmas Tree instead of Holiday Tree,” even though the chamber’s description explicitly refers to the mayor leading the lighting of the “Christmas Tree.”
“The city does not call it a ‘holiday tree,'” Howard said.
In holiday press releases dating back to 2005, the ceremony has always been referred to simply as the “annual tree-lighting” without the word Christmas. Though Christmas was, and still is, included in many of the event names throughout the seasonal lineup.
“We can’t return to doing something that we haven’t done,” Howard said. “There is no tradition at risk. All of our events are still happening.”
In a press release in August about the light display that will go up Nov. 13, the city noted the season of events and decor brought in about 350,000 people last year, about 7% higher than the previous year.
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Correction: An earlier version of this story stated the wrong year the city added a menorah and kinara to Central Park, due to incorrect information provided to the Voice. The year was 2021.
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 2, 2025 | Arts and Culture, News
Winter Park D-Day veteran, 103, to get Gold Medal for Army Ranger service
John Raaen, a resident of the Mayflower, joins a list of recipients of a Congressional medal first given to George Washington
Sept. 2, 2025
By Stephen Hudak
This story is part of the News Collaborative of Central Florida, a group of 10 local news outlets working towards a more informed and engaged region. It was originally published by the Orlando Sentinel.
Medals didn’t matter on D-Day to soldiers like John Carpenter Raaen, Jr.
“Never occurred to me,” said Raaen, now 103, a Winter Park resident and the only surviving Army Ranger who stormed Omaha Beach in France on June, 6, 1944, in a pivotal battle often regarded as the beginning of the end of World War II. “As a matter of fact, medals didn’t mean a lot to any of us.”
He and thousands of Allied troops who faced fortified German artillery fire hoped just to survive the firefight.
“We didn’t think many of us would be alive June 7,” he said.
About 4,400 Allied troops died in the battle, including 2,500 Americans.
Raaen, whose name is pronounce “ron,” moved to Central Florida after retiring in 1979 at the rank of major general. Among the many recognitions he earned during his 36 years of service was a Silver Star for valor in combat on D-Day when he was 22.
Now he is about to receive another prestigious honor: a Congressional Gold Medal.
The award, the nation’s highest civilian honor, is intended to serve as a lasting symbol of the nation’s gratitude, recognizing the U.S. Army Rangers of World War II for their unwavering, extraordinary bravery and critical contributions in key battles in the war.
Raaen’s vivid D-Day memories, recalling the perils his Rangers faced, are memorialized in interviews posted on Youtube by the World War II Veterans History Project and the American Veterans Center. He has said the grim opening of the World War II drama “Saving Private Ryan,” which recreates the Allies’ bloody landing on Omaha Beach, “offers a little hint of what it was like.”
“It was just plain out and out hell,” he said.
Oil, steel, rubber and human flesh were all ablaze.
Dead and dying soldiers were scattered on the beach like seashells.
“The machine gun firing, the rifle firing went over our heads like a bunch of bees,” he said in the History Project interview. “I’m talking thousands and thousands of small arms rounds every minute, passing over your head and occasionally hitting somebody next to you.”
His military career seemed inevitable. The son of an Army officer, Raaen was born at Fort Benning, Georgia.
He was raised on army posts and graduated from the Military Academy at West Point in January 1943.
Nicknamed “Red,” for his once red hair, Raaen authored his own first-hand account of the D-Day invasion, “INTACT,” which relied on his personal letters, official war documents and sharp memory to tell the story of the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion as they helped establish a foothold for Allied troops and supplies to roll onto Berlin.
He provided oral histories for the BBC documentary series “D-Day: The Last Heroes” and for the Smithsonian Channel. He has been interviewed by more than two dozen war historians, who cite him in books and papers. Among those historians are presidential biographer Stephen E. Ambrose, author of the World War II best-seller “Band of Brothers.”
Raaen was involved in the development of anti-tank projectiles, armor-piercing small arms ammunition, artillery nuclear warheads and arming devices, according to his biography in the U.S. Army Ordnance Hall of Fame to which he was inducted in 2009.
A friend, retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Buck Leahy, listened with rapt attention last week when Raaen was interviewed again.
“I think over the course of my life, I’ve been fortunate enough to know a very small number of men who are genuine heroes,” Leahy said. “To a man, they are humble, unassuming, modest people, and John is…absolutely emblematic of that.”
Raaen could not attend the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in Washington in June where he and the other four surviving Army Rangers from 6,500 who served in World War II were feted.
He will formally receive his medal this month at a ceremony at The Mayflower in Winter Park, the retirement community where he lives.
David Lyle Williams, president of the Descendants of World War II Rangers, read a note at the Washington ceremony from Raaen accepting the medal on behalf of all Rangers including the many who died in service to their country. Most who volunteered for the dangerous duty as a Ranger often said they wanted action and they got it, he said.
The regiment’s motto, minted on the gold medal, is “Rangers Lead the Way!”
“Many volunteered. Few were chosen,” Willliams said. “One man was rejected because he had false teeth.”
Williams said the soldier appealed, telling the colonel, “I don’t want to eat the Germans. I want to kill them.”
The appeal was persuasive. He became a Ranger.
The Congressional Gold Medal is a recognition of distinguished achievement and service.
The first recipient was George Washington in 1776, honored for his “wise and spirited conduct” in the American Revolution.
Originally conceived to honor the new nation’s military heroes, the award was created by Congress then expanded to recognize a diverse group of honorees and achievements in arts, music or sports; pioneering work in aeronautics and space, medicine and science.
The medal has been awarded to Civil Rights icons like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
Some are obscure like Michigan boat-builder John Horn, Jr. , honored in 1874 for reportedly rescuing more than 100 people from drowning over an 11-year span, many of whom had fallen into the Detroit River getting on or off ferryboats. Others are world renowned — golfer/philanthropist Arnold Palmer, singer Frank Sinatra and Catholic saint Mother Teresa.
Others recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal include:
- Aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright, recognized in 1909 for demonstrating to the world the potential of aerial navigation.
- Scientist/inventor Thomas A. Edison, recognized in 1928 for development of “inventions that have revolutionized civilization.”
- Dr. Jonas E. Salk, honored in 1955 “for discovering a serum for the prevention of polio.”
- Filmmaker and businessman Walt Disney, recognized in 1968 for “outstanding contributions to the United States and the world.”
- Baseball player Roberto Clemente, honored in 1973 for “outstanding athletic, civil, charitable, and humanitarian contributions.” He perished in a plane crash in 1972 on a humanitarian mission to deliver aid to the earthquake-ravaged nation of Nicaragua.
- Religious leaders Ruth and Billy Graham, honored in 1996 for “outstanding and enduring contributions toward faith, morality, and charity.”
- The U.S. Capitol Police, recognized in August 2021, for protecting the U.S. on January 6, 2021 against a mob of insurrectionists.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 27, 2025 | Arts and Culture, City Commission, News
Today Show footage, which snubbed Winter Park, used to defend Visit Orlando
The agency is under fire after a county audit of its spending as Winter Park also took exception to the way it used the city without promoting it
Aug. 27, 2025
By Gabrielle Russon
Visit Orlando promoted the Today Show coverage filmed in Winter Park to defend itself from a critical county audit, but the tourism association didn’t mention city officials’ complaints with the TV segment.
Visit Orlando leaders appeared before the Orange County Board of Commissioners Tuesday following Comptroller Phil Diamond’s audit last month that raised concerns about Visit Orlando’s spending.
Ultimately, the county board took no action Tuesday and will revisit the issues in December as county staff work with Visit Orlando to address the audit’s results and go over the contract.
Assistant Comptroller Wendy Kittleson said Visit Orlando may have misspent an estimated $20 million dating back to 2019.
Visit Orlando CEO Casandra Matej said her organization openly shared its records with the auditors and is already working with the county to address many of the audit’s findings. She defended her organization, saying it helps promote tourism that fuels a major economic impact to the region.
The county board spent three hours discussing Visit Orlando’s value and the audit’s findings.
The debate comes as some officials are pushing to free up the 6% Orange County hotel tax to be spent on public transit, housing and other community needs instead of going toward advertisements and marketing for tourism. Meanwhile, the tourism industry is fighting to keep the status quo.
Winter Park officials, for example, brought up during last year’s budget discussions whether the tourism development tax could be used to help pay for SunRail, which operates one of its most popular stops in the city.
This week amid the marathon debate during the county meeting, Visit Orlando played footage from when Today Show set up in Winter Park — just steps away from the train station — to cover Epic Universe’s grand opening in May.
The video showed off the Today Show’s set, celebrity weatherman Al Roker and the crowd holding signs.
“It’s not just the theme park aspect,” said Broadway star Michael James, a Central Florida native, who was tapped as guest in the segment. “We got culture here, y’all! We got culture in Orlando.”
For Visit Orlando, the Today Show was a big deal to tell Orlando’s story.
“This is so important because we’re able to reach a national audience from ecotourism to dining to our amazing sports in Orlando. We definitely have it all and this is an amazing opportunity,” Matej said in a clip played at Tuesday’s county meeting.
A local eye would recognize the scene as Central Park, the beloved green space in Winter Park’s popular retail and dining corridor along Park Avenue. But in front of more than 30 million Today Show viewers, no one actually mentioned that Winter Park was the backdrop.
“They didn’t say at all they were in Winter Park?” asked Commissioner Craig Russell afterward during a city meeting in late May.
“Not one word,” Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said.
The mayor said she supported no longer giving freebies to Visit Orlando “unless credit is given to Winter Park or they can pay fees like anyone else renting the park.”
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