It is hard to believe it’s April. We have had a busy first quarter of 2024. In February, we recognized our Police Officer and Fire Fighter of the Year at the annual Chamber of Commerce Event showcasing our heroes.

We hosted two well-attended Drive-In Movies at Reed Canal Park, held at our annual Baseball Opening Day as well as a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our renovated Baseball Themed Splashpad. At the end of March, we held the annual Egg Hunt and I think we beat the record of how quickly South Daytona children could collect 18,000 eggs.

Our Fire Department published the inaugural 2023 Annual Report which is available on the City’s website. In 2023, our Fire Department was dispatched to 2,571 with 196 calls to Port Orange and 75 to Daytona Beach for mutual aide. I was truly impressed with the response time figures which were in the 90th percentile. Turnout time at 1 minute and 38 seconds, travel time at 6 minutes and 37 seconds, and response time at 7 minutes and 40 seconds. There were 499 Fire Inspections performed in 2023 and 82 business risk assessments. I encourage you to review the annual report and see why I am impressed by Chief John Brant and the members of our entire Fire Department.

As we continue to “invest in us,” we have additional improvements to Riverfront Veterans Memorial Park. A new monument sign, honoring our Veterans, has been ordered. This sign will replace the bricks adjacent to the playground which have deteriorated over time. There will be brushed gold engraved plaques honoring those who have served in the 6 branches of the armed forces. We are also working on adding the emblems of those 6 branches to the wall north of the park. We are excited about these added improvements to this popular recreation area.

Before we know it, May will have arrived with our high school seniors graduating. Our South Daytona seniors have the opportunity to apply for our 2024 South Daytona Community Trust Scholarship. The scholarship, in the amount of $1,500, can be used for college or vocational schools. Submit applications by Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at 4:30 pm to the City Manager’s Office in City Hall. Please stay safe and enjoy the rest of the cooler weather while it lasts.