AIDS Walk Delaware is September 18
AIDS Walk Delaware, presented jointly for 35 years by AIDS Delaware and the Delaware HIV Consortium, supports prevention and awareness. Funds raised support transportation, medication adherence, housing, and testing for the 3,600 people in Delaware living with HIV. People who have been living with a disease for a long time. People who have just learned they’ve been infected. People who love someone who is infected. People whom the best and broadest prevention efforts failed.
There is still work to be done to protect people—gay and straight. While HIV has not been a “gay disease” for decades, it’s worth noting that just under half of all new infections are among men who have sex with men. People of color are at the highest risk. Men and women of every age, from teens to senior citizens—the latter being the largest growing at-risk group, as they newly re-enter the dating scene.
In the early days of the AIDS epidemic, it was the LGBTQIA+ crowd that raised money. Let’s reclaim that. Walk to end HIV in Delaware. Don’t have a team? Join one! We partner with agencies, including CAMP Rehoboth, and they’d love to have you walk with them.
Visit AIDSWalkDelaware.org to sign up. If you need technical assistance or more info, contact JulieAnne Cross at 302.588.3266 or aidswalkrehoboth@gmail.com. ▼
Expect Less Parking in Downtown Rehoboth?
At a recent task-force meeting, an outside consultant, Rossi Group, recommended the removal of parking spaces on Baltimore and Wilmington Avenues. This measure would allow for better pedestrian safety, while also addressing accessibility and beautification concerns. In total, this recommendation would remove 87 parking spaces. Meanwhile, the discussion also suggested doubling the number of scooter spots, and potentially quadrupling the number of bicycle parking spaces. The task force will continue to meet and work toward solidifying plans to improve Wilmington and Baltimore Avenues. ▼
Donna Whiteside Earns Realty Award
Donna Whiteside earned a realty award on behalf of The Donna Whiteside Group of Berkshire Hathaway. The award, titled the Berkshire Hathaway President’s Club Award, is bestowed based on the merit of total commissions earned. After working with the Berkshire Hathaway group for six years, Whiteside recently moved into a new role. “It was my first year leading The Donna Whiteside Group, and we were very grateful to receive this award,” said Whiteside. Congrats, Donna! ▼
Celebrate Wear It
Purple Day Friday, August 27!
Join the Rotary LGBT+ Fellowship in celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, or questioning (LGBTIQ+) diversity and inclusion. Wear It Purple is about creating safe spaces in schools, universities, workplaces, and public spaces to show LGBT+ young people that they are seen and supported.
The Fellowship is always looking for members and volunteers to get involved. If you want to join the growing community, you can ask to join one of the committees in Friendship, Service, or Education. Contact Randy Smith at rcsejc@yahoo.com. ▼
Dru Trevis Becomes First Pastry Chef to Be Honored as Best Chef in Downstate Delaware
SoDel Concepts’ Dru Trevis became the first pastry chef to be named Best Chef in Downstate Delaware by Delaware Today readers’ 2021 “The Best Food & Drink in Delaware” survey. Trevis is vice president of culinary operations at SoDel Concepts. Before this honor, Tevis’s SoDel Lime Pie was recently recognized by People magazine’s “Best Pie in Every State” list. ▼
City Hosts New Photo Competition: Rehoboth Reflections
The City of Rehoboth Beach is hosting a photo competition, and the winning submissions will be featured in the city’s 2022 printed calendar. Open to amateur and professional photographers, Rehoboth Reflections provides an opportunity to share images that demonstrate the diversity, beauty, and vibrancy of the Rehoboth Beach community—in all seasons.
“We see so many great photos of our community being shared across social media platforms, and we thought that hosting a photo competition would be a fun way to further share and celebrate some of those photos and the places, events, and people that make Rehoboth such a vibrant community,” says Communications Specialist Lynne Coan. “Because we plan to use the winning photos in our 2022 calendar, we hope that residents and visitors will share photos of Rehoboth Beach from all seasons.”
Only digital photos in high-resolution JPEG format will be accepted. Submissions are limited to three entries per photographer. Find additional guidelines and submit photos at cityofrehoboth.com/rehoboth-reflections. ▼
In Search of the Perfect Christmas Tree
It’s the middle of summer, and what’s on the City of Rehoboth Beach’s mind? Where it’s going to find the perfect 2021 Christmas tree, of course.
Each year, on the Friday following Thanksgiving, the City of Rehoboth Beach hosts a community tree lighting and sing-along event at the bandstand. The 35- to 40-foot evergreen that serves as the community’s Christmas tree is donated each year by an area resident and cut down, transported, and installed by elves at JL Briggs & Company, Plummer & Son, and Delmarva Power.
If you have a large tree on your property that you’d love to see as a focal point of the Rehoboth Beach holiday celebration, please contact Communications Specialist Lynne Coan at lcoan@cityofrehoboth.com or 302-227-6181, ext 522. Spruce and Douglas fir trees make great Christmas trees, but any nicely shaped evergreen tree will do the job. ▼