OTHER LOCAL VETS TO KNOW HOW MUCH THEY ARE APPRECIATED. YEAH, THIS WEEK’S COMMUNITY CHAMPION IS JEFF KINGDON AND HE SHOWED ME HOW HE CREATES THESE MASTERPIECES THAT HE THEN GIVES TO LOCAL VETERANS AND LOCAL HEROES. IT’S JUST THE IDEA OF GIVING SOMETHING TO SOMEBODY ELSE. THE FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IS TURN THE COMPUTER ON. I’VE MADE OVER 3000 PLAQUES, SO IT’S CUTTING NICE AND SHARP. I MAKE PLAQUES FOR FIRST RESPONDERS. UM, HOSPITAL STAFF. AND LATELY I’VE BEEN DOING A LOT FOR VETERANS. AND JEFF KINGDON SHOWED US WHAT SOME OF THESE FINISHED PRODUCTS LOOK LIKE BEFORE HE DONATES THEM. SOME OF MY EARLIER PLAQUES WERE FOR HOSPITAL STAFF. OKAY. HE STARTED MAKING THESE PLAQUES DURING THE PANDEMIC TO HELP LOCAL HEALTH CARE WORKERS FEEL APPRECIATED. OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS. HE ALSO STARTED GIFTING PLAQUES TO RECOGNIZE LOCAL VETERANS FOR THEIR DEDICATION. I COME FROM AN ERA WHERE VETERANS WEREN’T WELCOME HOME BACK IN THE 60S. YOU KNOW, THERE WAS VIETNAM AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC DID NOT LIKE VIETNAM VETERANS. IT’S ALL DEEPLY PERSONAL BECAUSE JEFF KNOWS THEIR SACRIFICE. HE SERVED IN THE MARINES EVERY TIME I GIVE A PLAQUE TO ONE OF THESE VETERANS, IT JUST FEELS SO GOOD TO GIVE SOMETHING TO THEM. AND WATCHING THEM RECEIVE IT, THEY JUST LIKE LIGHT RIGHT UP. IT’S AMAZING THE RECOGNITION TO THEM SEEMS TO BE VERY IMPORTANT AND THEREFORE IT’S IMPORTANT TO ME. EACH PROJECT IS DIFFERENT BUT TAKES ABOUT 2 TO 3 HOURS ON AVERAGE TO CREATE. HE STARTS THE DESIGN PROCESS ON THE COMPUTER, WHICH CREATES A SPECIFIC TEMPLATE THAT THIS MACHINE USES TO CARVE THE WOOD. HOW OLD WERE YOU? IF YOU DON’T MIND ME ASKING? UM 78, 78. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT YOU COULD BE DOING WITH YOUR YOUR FREE TIME. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE ABLE TO BE SPENDING THAT FREE TIME DOING THIS? IT MEANS A LOT. I CAN’T SIT THERE AND WATCH TELEVISION ALL DAY LONG. I HAVE TO BE DOING SOMETHING, AND I AND I REALLY LIKE DOING SOMETHING FOR SOMEBODY ELSE. AND JEFF’S MASTERPIECES HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED ALL OVER FLAGLER COUNTY, INCLUDING HERE AT THE DAVE. JEFF’S WOODWORK IS ON DISPLAY ALL OVER THE INSIDE OF THE DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS OFFICE, BUT HE LIKES TO CREATE WOODEN PLAQUES FOR ALL VETERANS. AND OFTENTIMES I GET ASKED, HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? AND I ALWAYS SAY, YOU ALREADY PAID FOR IT. JEFF’S SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY AND HIS DEDICATION TO HIS FELLOW VETERANS HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA ARE WHAT DISTINGUISH HIM AS A WESH 2 COMMUNITY CHAMPION. IT’S UNBELIEVABLE. I, I’M NOT A BIG SHOW OFF, BUT I FEEL VERY, VERY GOOD ABOUT THIS. AND I FEEL VERY PROUD THAT I’M AT THIS POINT WHERE I’M BEING RECOGNIZED FOR IT, HE SHOULD BE PROUD. WHAT A GREAT COMMUNITY CHAMPION, JEFF. THANK YOU. THOSE PLAQUES ARE JUST BEAUTIFUL AND JUST EVERYTHING ABOUT THE STORY. YEAH, THOROUGHLY ENJOYED MEETING JEFF. HE WAS SO WARM, SO GRACIOUS WITH OUR CREW AND WE WERE OUT SHOOTING THAT STORY. UH, THE PLAQUES ARE ABOUT, ON AVERAGE, FOUR BY SIX. HE DOESN’T CHARGE, AND HE’S ALREADY MADE THOUSANDS OF THEM. OH, GOOD FOR HIM. WOW. WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE JEFF, RIGHT? WE DO, WE DO A NICE BRIGHT SPOT. AND DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE LIKE JEFF WHO HAS A HISTORY OF DOING GREAT WORK HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA? PLEASE LET US KNOW ABOUT THEM. NOMINATE THOSE FOLKS LIKE JEFF, WHO HAVE A TRACK RECORD OF GIVING BACK FOR A WESH 2 COMMUNITY CHAMPION SPOTLIGHT. MAYOR. THAT’S HOW I FOUND OUT ABOUT JEFF. WAS SOMEONE SENT AN EMAIL ABOUT ALL THE GOOD WORK THAT HE WAS DOING, AND THEY SENT THAT EMAIL TO COMMUNITY CHAMPION@WESH.COM. LET US KNOW WHO THESE FOLKS ARE. THEY COULD BE FEATURED RIGHT HERE ON CW 18 AND WESH 2 ON THURSDAYS AND SUNDAYS. CERTAINLY A BRIGHT SPOT IN OUR WEEKS AND JUST A GOOD REMINDER OF THE GOOD THAT’S HAPPENING BECAUSE, UH, WE CAN BE KIND OF TOUGH WITH THESE NEWS CYCLES LATELY. SO YES, YES, KEEP IT COMING. I THINK I FEEL LIKE WE LOOK FORWARD TO THESE NOW ON THURSDAY