Thank You Hallandale Beach! The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Was A Huge Success

I also want to recognize Ms Qunea Gordon as our 2024 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award Recipient. For our readers who do not know “Q” she is truly a worthy recipient. Ms. Gordon was born and raised in Hallandale Beach. She attended Hallandale High School where in addition to excellence in academics she was part of the State Championship Girls Basketball Team. This was the first award received by a team in the new Hallandale High School. Qunea went on to college and then began her career right here in Broward County.

She recently retired from Broward County where she worked on a special team implementing county wide GIS. She has always given back to our City and community. She has served on our Human Service Board working side by side with our Staff ensuring their safety nets are available for our underserved. Our Hepburn Center has Food Distribution, Adult Care After School Care and their other vital services for those in need. She volunteers on the scholarship board and collaborates very closely with our local High School.

She is incredibly involved with Ebenezer Baptist Church and her neighborhood. Since her retirement she has focused her attention over the past few years collaborating with the members of the Hallandale Beach Community Civic Association to revitalize their group and membership. The HBCCC started well over 40 years ago as the Northwest Civic Association. Their mission was to advocate for the Northwest Quadrant of our City which before the 1970’s was Segregated. Their focus was to create and address Fair Housing, Equal Educational Opportunities, Access to Health Services, Public Safety and the Overall Well Being of the area.

Approximately 15 years ago they changed their name to Hallandale Beach Community Civic Association to focus on the entire west side of our City. The super majority of our Single-Family Homes are west of Federal Highway. These homeowners share many of the same concerns and issues. They meet the last Tuesdays of every month at OB Johnson Park. I encourage our residents to participate. Visit their Facebook page at Hallandale Beach Community Civic Association at: https://m.facebook.com/ccahb/ - for more information.

While our City has, and society has evolved there is still plenty of work to be done. We all continue to focus on fair housing that is affordable not just in the west but throughout the City. There are many issues facing our schools. Currently the Broward School Board is working to hire a new principal at Gulfstream Academy of Hallandale Beach K-8. We all need to follow this critical issue since Principal Carlton Campbell passed away. He certainly was amazing and while he cannot be replaced we need a leader that will emulate his legacy.

We all also need to focus on the changes taking place when it comes to Voting. Every single resident needs to double check their Voting Registration. Currently there was a change on the State and County Levels that moved many Voters that have been inactive. They have not all been purged but if you have not Voted in the past two years your Registration is at risk.

There are proposed changes to Vote By Mail. We are not sure how this proposal will play out. If you want to Vote By Mail you do have to request it annually already. In a previous Legislative Session, the Law was changed to prevent Voters from automatically staying on the Vote By Mail List.

As we move into a presidential year it is crucial everyone who can Vote is Registered. Everyone should be Voting as there are many Elections in our State, County and Municipality taking place. There will also be Ballot Initiatives that will profoundly impact our day to day lives and liberties.

I spoke at the MLK Festival about not sitting out Elections. Dr. King gave his life for Democracy. As we have seen it is very fragile and needs to be nurtured and cared for. We may not like the choices we end up with on the Ballot in November. We all need to remember we cannot let perfect get in the way of good. Do not sit home saying I do not like either candidate. My one Vote will not matter. With a close Election and a polarized citizenry every Vote will certainly matter. Visit the Broward Supervisor Of Elections by searching: www.BrowardVotes.gov - or Check your Registration, register to Vote and if you need to request a Mail-In Ballot.

Save The Date
Saturday, February 10th at OB Johnson Park there will be a Family Field Day and Resource Fair presented by ONE City which is a project of Memorial Hospital. Over the past months I have been collaborating with PAL, Project Love, and Advise Athletes to put together a day to unite the entire city. There will be a field day, entertainment with the goal of unity and community healing and many community partners with vital city and county services to help all ages. If you are interested in becoming a vendor please reach out to me at: joycooper@aol.com.

Wishing You A Blessed New Year! As always please feel free to contact me anytime with your questions, concerns, and ideas to make our city a better place. I am available at jcooper@cohb.org, joycooper@aol.com, office number 954-457-1318 or cell/text 954-632-5700. You can always visit my Facebook and follow me at Mayor Joy Cooper.