Past Events

JANUARY 2010

Biking Social is Frigid but Fun

Record cold temperatures couldn't keep ACEL members and guests from enjoying our mountain biking social on Sunday, Jan. 10, at San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park. Thanks to everyone who turned out to participate in this event.

DECEMBER 2009

Operation Santa Delivery

On Saturday, Dec. 19, ACEL volunteers gathered at Santa Fe College's North Field to help with Operation Santa Delivery, a family fun day that brought Santa Claus to Gainesville by helicopter. Hosted by LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, ShandsCair and Santa Fe College, the free event featured children's activities, photos with Santa and much more. Thanks to everyone who turned out for this event.

NOVEMBER 2009

Dance Salsa, Hold the Chips

Twelve ACEL members and four prospective members got their groove on at ACEL's salsa dancing social. They gathered at Sharab Lounge on Wednesday, Dec. 2, to learn L.A.-style salsa from two instructors from Salsa Caliente.  A special thanks to Sharab for providing us with the space for free and great service from the staff.

OCTOBER 2009

Roller Derby Tailgating: No Doubt a Bout It

ACEL members joined the nearly 400 attendees who watched the Gainesville Roller Rebels in their bout versus the Jacksonville RollerGirls' River City Rat Pack at Skate Station Funworks on Oct. 4. Before the main event, the ACEL crowd caught up with one another over drinks and snacks at the adjacent Splitz Bowling Center, and then it was on to the bout to see some action-packed roller derby.

Unfortunately, the Jacksonville group beat the home team, but Roller Rebels founder and ACEL member Catherine Seemann (aka Ms. Rebel) really appreciates everyone who showed up to cheer on the roller girls. She said, "Though the Rebels didn't win, there were some serious moments of greatness from the ladies of Gainesville."

Their next bout at Skate Station is scheduled for Nov. 29, and the Rebels will take on the No. 2 league in the state, the Tallahassee RollerGirls.

Kim Miller Wins Florida vs. Georgia Raffle

Congratulations to Kim Miller, who won two tickets to the Florida vs. Georgia football game, one night’s hotel stay and $100 in spending money courtesy of ACEL's raffle drawing. We really appreciate everyone who purchased raffle tickets. Your generosity allowed us to raise a significant amount of money to help fund ACEL programs and events, and we will share $250 of the proceeds with the March of Dimes.

ACEL Donates 180 Cans of Food to Gainesville Harvest

Attendees at ACEL's Annual Meeting and Dinner brought 180 cans of food to be donated to Gainesville Harvest. Thanks to his generous donation, Greg Forcey won the grand prize of the evening: his choice of an 8GB iPod Nano, a Netbook or a Wii console–courtesy of S&P Management Services. We really appreciate everyone who helped us support Gainesville Harvest in its mission to feed the hungry in Alachua County.

Hollywood Glam at Annual Meeting and Dinner

On Oct. 23, the red carpet was rolled out at Tapas 12 West for more than 50 members and guests, who enjoyed delicious food and drinks, great music and a whole lot of fun at ACEL's Hollywood-themed Annual Meeting and Dinner.

Attendees were treated to fabulous door prizes and giveaways from Gainesville Fashion Week, Gainesville Television Network, Gator Cinemas, LifeSouth, Neutral 7 Design Group, Pomodoro Café and Purvis Gray and Company, LLP. Gainesville Community Playhouse provided wonderful movie props and decorations to help set the stage.

Oscar winners–aka winners of the costume contest–included: Iain Moffat (as Max from Where the Wild Things Are) for Best Costume, Jodi Bennett (as Flavor Flav) for Funniest Costume, Jen Stover (as Anna Nicole Smith) for Most Risqué Costume, Lindsay Krieg (as the Octomom) for Scariest Costume and Kim Mitrook (as a Playboy bunny) for the best WTF? Costume.

Colleen Raccioppi was awarded the Kim Mitrook Award of Excellence for her contributions to ACEL throughout the year, and Christian Long walked away with one of the largest door prizes of the evening, a power-washing gift certificate from Natural Elements Painting and Repair.

Special thanks to the ACEL members who helped pull the event together: Jenifer Stover, Amber Tison, Candice Noble, Tiffany Williams, Scott Bruce, Blythe Garrett, Akela Ribe, Pamela Garcia, Jeremy Lambeth, Ted Stover, Greg Forcey and Kim Jamerson.

New Members Volunteer at Halloween Carnival

Sun Country Sports Center hosted a fun, kid-friendly Halloween carnival to benefit the March of Dimes on Sunday, Oct. 25, and among the volunteers, three new ACEL members turned out to help with the set up and running of the carnival. It was especially exciting to see members getting involved for the first time by taking part in this event, and we hope it’s the first of many. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Coffee with an Expert Delivers Sales Strategies

The Professional Development Committee hosted another successful Coffee with an Expert on Oct. 28.
 The workshop was scheduled at a later time and lower price point to make it more accessible to our membership, and it featured independent consultant, business owner and ACEL Director at Large Pete Zimek. Pete shared his top sales and marketing tips, and attendees learned a lot from his presentation.

SEPTEMBER 2009

Salsa Dance Revolution

Twenty ACEL members and friends gathered upstairs at Sharab Lounge on Sept. 30 to learn a few salsa dance moves from Salsa Caliente instructors. We got some great feedback about this social; everyone who attended had a blast, and we'll definitely explore doing another similar event soon. Thanks so much to Social Committee members Blythe Garrett and Scott Bruce for putting this together.

ACEL Blood Drives: 200 Lives Saved

ACEL hosted its fifth blood drive on Sept. 28, and since inception, our blood drive has allowed ACEL members and guests to donate nearly 70 units, impacting more than 200 lives. LifeSouth Community Blood Centers and ACEL would like to thank everyone who came out to support this worthy cause: Iain Moffat, Bryan Williams, Scott Bruce, Kevin Lee, Jennifer Grinnan, Ted Stover and Kristy Greco.  Look for details about our next blood drive in a few months.

AUGUST 2009

ACEL Goes Bowling

On Aug. 11, 14 ACEL members packed the lanes at Splitz Bowling Center for friendly games of bowling and lots of socializing. The atmosphere was fun and relaxed, and ACEL member Wayne Plummer took home bragging rights with the high score of the night.

Charity Events

Educational / Leadership Events

Social Events