Listen as the Disorderly Blondes get closer to their roots than they ever have before, and without having to step FOOT into a salon! ¡Imagínate! Brenda and Kristi travel to the Town of Miami Lakes (pastelitos en hand, duh) to chat with Mayor Cid and Council Members Marilyn Ruano and Luis Collazo. Their vision for including special needs individuals in their Imagine Miami Lakes 2025 plan is nothing short of increíble! If there is such a thing as a MODEL community, then this one is…wait for it…SUPER!
The MOOvers & The Shakers of The Town of Miami Lakes
- Mayor Manny Cid The Town of Miami Lakes’ absolutely fearless leader whose goal is to MOOve away from special needs awareness toward ALL THE GOOD A WORDS: action, advocacy, accessibility…; is achieving his Imagine Miami Lakes 2025 #goals with the help of MOOtivating council members Collazo and Ruano; listen and take moochas notas! #miamlaker
- Councilman Luis Collazo introduced the Disorderly Blondes to Mayor Cid (lucky chicks!); a warm, kind Councilman who has dedicated his life to those who often need help taking care of themselves; his degree in social work has earned him accolades for advocacy of the elderly and serves on the Board of Directors of Disability Rights, Florida
- Councilwoman Marilyn Ruano promises her debut on the Disorderly Blondes podcast is the most exciting thing that has happened to her in the past two years (the blondes have that admission on audio AND video); the SUPERwoman (MAN do we LOVE HER!) who has worked with Hope for Autism for over a decade and is spearheading the town’s thorough, thoughtful action plan for including and empowering their special needs citizens.
Terms to Commit to Memory & Show References
- The 2nd Annual Mayor’s Gala the Mayor’s fundraising event with proceeds benefiting its Special Needs Advisory Board; SHARPIE IN September 21, 2019 as the Disorderly Blondes will be podcasting (and dancing) at the 1957 Cuba themed event (con red lipstick, duh)
- Autism Shines in Miami Lakes initiative brought to The Town of Miami Lakes by UM-NSU CARD; goal is education and advocacy; currently developing “autism friendly business” recognition decals (stay tuned!)
- Cows fifty years ago, the Graham Companies (as in former Florida Governor Graham) began development of Miami Lakes as a master planned community; the original 3,000 acres of Miami Lakes was once a dairy farm, whose cattle grazed where homes and businesses now prosper; the cow is an unofficial town mascot
- Florida Cracker the name given to Florida’s first pioneers and settlers; the original Elizabethan Era term “cracker” meant “braggart” with the root meaning “entertaining” (WOW Kristi really IS A TRUE CRACKER!); the term later was associated with Florida Cowmen (aka Cowboys) as (the cracking sound ONLY of) whips were used to corral cows instead of lassos; do not reference the Urban Dictionary (and probably not Dave Barry) to seek understanding of this term
- Hialeah, Florida the glorious, unique Florida city where Brenda was raised and the idea of baby Kristi was conceived; the site of “The Floods of ’47” (where Kristi’s then 7 year old dad had his best snake hunting years); the place the Disorderly Blondes and their entire #disorderlytribe landed after diagnosis
- The Hope for Autism Community Team (aka Hope for Autism) started by one determined Town of Miami Lakes mom Marianela Alvarez; a large family itself of children with autism and their corresponding family members and friends with the main purpose of educating parents, advocating for the children’s rights and creating activities oriented to include our special children into society; Councilwoman Marilyn Ruano (aka honorary autism mom) may actually be their mascot
- Hurricane Irma 2017’s deadly Category 5 storm; the whirlwind (pardon the pun) behind the Town of Miami Lakes’ dedication to all things special needs; former mayor of Florinda, Puerto Rico and Miami Lakes resident proposed to moove the community toward a more inclusive one as he met with council members over his own unique needs during the storm
- Marino Campus post-secondary education geared toward special needs young adults with autism and other developmental disabilities; located in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, Florida
- Mayor’s Café Mayor Manny Cid’s equal opportunity employment restaurant; opened April 2019 with the help of Michael Alessandri and UM-NSU CARD‘s training programs
- Nike Apparel Mayor Cid’s fashion choice for the taping of this episode and hopefully the Disorderly Blondes‘ future sponsor
- Town of Miami Lakes, Florida the fab, MODEL town of which our topic of discussion (besides cows) surrounds; where Brenda lived when she was first married; Brenda (not so secretly) wants to MOOve back
- Vicky Bakery the only thing any of us ate or drank the day we recorded this episode; doubtful that anyone complained about that
- Special Needs Advisory Board revitalized by the SUPER Councilwoman Ruano; made up of Town of Miami Lakes residents whose combined expertise work to educate the community about its special needs resources
- The WOW Center mentioned by Mayor Cid and Councilwoman Ruano; an Adult Day Training center that currently supports and serves over 170 adults with developmental disabilities from Miami-Dade County who range in ages from 21 to 76
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