Early Thursday morning, residents gathered at the Clermont City Center to hear The State of the City Address presented by City Manager Darren Gray. Gray, manager of Clermont since 2012, has been a driving force in the successful rebranding of Clermont from Gem of the Hills to Choice of Champions.
Gray recognized Mayor Gail Ash, and Councilmembers Diane Travis, Heidi Brishke, Tim Bates, and Jim Purvis, stating “It’s because of their leadership that Clermont is reaching new heights”. He also gave special recognition to the late Councilman Ray Goodgame, who served on the council for 15 years and recently passed.
Choice of Champions
To kick off the morning’s state of the City address, Gray introduced a few of Clermont ‘s 2019 Champions:”
Councilwoman Diane Travis, a Duathlete World Champion, won a silver medal at the World Duathlon Championships in Spain, after winning gold at Nationals.
Michaela McLean – an East Ridge High School graduate, won Miss Florida and made the top 15 semi-finalists in the Miss America Pageant.
Mari Jones and Kayslin Victoria – competed on season 16 of NBC’s THE VOICE. Mari made the top 13 on Team Adam Levine and Kayslin made the Top 30 on Team John Legend.
Rod Price – Founder and coach of the Clermont Dragon Boat Club, won three gold medals at the Dragon Boat World Championships.
Allison Fogarty started her own Dog Treat Company, Doggy Delights By Allison and has appeared on the Rachael Ray Show.
Charles Weatherbee took home five gold medals at the World Police and Fire Games in China and at age 87, he shows us that age is just a number.
Lake County Rowing Association recently broke two world records in three days.
The City
Darren Gray praised the entire city staff for their amazing accomplishments this year.
Below are only a few of the city’s achievements.
The Clermont Youth Council finished their first year under the leadership of Clermont City Clerk Tracy Ackroyd Howe. This year they met with state legislators, participated in the Florida League of Cities Statewide Summit in Orlando, presented an affordable housing project to council, and won a Florida League of Cities award for their video about Clermont. Gray stated, “The city is glad to invest in tomorrow’s leaders and this summer, we’ll recruit even more teens from our local high schools to grow our outstanding your council”.
Clermont Fire Marshal Jennifer Pierce was named Florida Fire Marshal of the Year by the Florida Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association, among other statewide honors.
Clermont Fire Department maintained an ISO rating of 2! (under 1 percent of departments nationwide achieve this rating)
Police Chief Broadway and his department achieved a 7.5 percent reduction in crime from 2018-2019.
Business is Thriving in Clermont
A record of 176 businesses opened in Clermont last year. That’s 37 more than in 2018.
Click on the video to view business highlights
The State of the City Address was a very informative and enjoyable event
