Check out the latest local podcasts from CMF Media

Here’s CMF’s podcast selections for the months of May and June, 2016. Each presents an encore of local issues and voices that matter in Seminole County and Central Florida.

• On Being an Immigrant in Central Florida: What is it like being an immigrant in Central Florida today?  Ruth Strakosha is now a citizen of the U.S. but like generations before her she remembers the challenges of becoming an American. More than 12% of the population of Seminole County is foreign born and each newcomer has a story of hard work and faith.   As told by their daughter, this is the story of one family who recently came to Central Florida from Albania to follow the footsteps of their grandfather who had come to work in the United States more than 70 years earlier (initially posted 09/09/10).
http://cmfmedia.org/2010/09/on-being-an-immigrant-in-central-florida/

• Adicks: The Life of John Lee: Local historian Dr. Richard Adicks describes the Myths and Legends of the Life of John Lee whose descendants pioneered Oviedo Florida.   Adicks’ remarks also offer insights into the process of gathering historical and genealogical data and the difficulties in separating fact from legend when compiling historical information (initially posted 01/31/11).
http://cmfmedia.org/2011/01/adicks-the-life-of-john-lee/  

• Vietnam Veterans Remember: Armed Forces Day in May finds local Vietnam Veterans John Blackwelder (Lake Mary, FL) and John Malone (Oviedo, FL) in 2010 sharing their experience and advice with the new veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Forty-five years separate these wars but the experiences are achingly similar and the advice is heartfelt (initially posted 11/11/10).
http://cmfmedia.org/2010/11/vietnam-veterans-remember/
** Popular podcasts of special note: Here’s a special selection from CMF’s most popular podcasts over the last two months…

• Commentary: Rescue of Nadia Bloom:  2016 is the 6th anniversary of the rescue of a young Winter Springs FL girl with Asperger’s -- Nadia Bloom. She was lost 4 days in nearby woods. Listen to a 2010 commentary offered by area resident Cade Resnick, a local mental health counselor, on community issues surrounding the successful rescue (initially posted 05/06/10)
http://cmfmedia.org/2010/05/commentary-10/

• History of Our Communities – Slavia, Florida: “Slavia” is the name of a community in unincorporated southeast Seminole County, Florida. Behind the name is a story of faith…”great faith,” with which the founding settlers of Slavia were armed. An extensive collection of historic photos of the area and the founding families are also posted on the site (initially posted 03/25/10).
http://cmfmedia.org/2010/03/history-of-our-communities-–-slavia-florida/

• Memorial to an Oviedo Pioneer: CMF remembers the August 2010 death of 93-year old Oviedo pioneer, Clara Lee Wheeler Evans. Local historian Dr. Richard Adicks, professor emeritus of the University of Central Florida and co-author of Oviedo: Biography of a Town offers comfort as he memorializes her enduring legacy (initially posted 09/09/10).
http://cmfmedia.org/2010/09/commentary-15/

• Code Enforcement Ride-Along: Keeping Seminole County clean, neat and livable is the job of code enforcement officers.  Trash, weeds, stagnant pools and a whole lot more come under their vigilant eyes.  Listen as code enforcement officers Debby Leigh of Seminole County and Nathan Johnson of Sanford make their rounds responding to violations of the county and city codes. Sanford Community Improvement Department director, Darrel Presley, describes Sanford’s on-line customer service called “Citizenserve” that provides the public the ability to research or submit code enforcement questions, pictures or complaints 24 hours a day. (Initially posted 03/1011)
http://cmfmedia.org/2011/03/code-enforcement/

• Steamboats in Florida: From the 1870’s to the 1900’s steamboats and paddle wheelers traveled the rivers of Florida. It was a time of hardscrabble farming and frontier tourism. Speaking before the Oviedo Historical Society, historian and local author, Ed L’Heureux, gives a presentation about this critical transportation link during the post-civil war period in Florida (initially posted on 10/05/11).
http://cmfmedia.org/2011/10/steamboats-in-florida/

• Historic Downtown Oviedo – Walking Tour: Interested in history, old houses, walking, pancakes and supporting the hungry? The Oviedo Preservation Project (TOPP) hosted a Historic Oviedo Walking Tour and Pancake Breakfast in 2010. In this feature, hear tour organizer Megan Sladek preview 10 historic buildings in downtown Oviedo and how the people who lived in each helped make Oviedo what it is today. A tour map and pictures of each building are also provided on the Website (initially posted on 02/11/10). http://cmfmedia.org/2010/02/historic-downtown-oviedo-walking-tour/

• Geneva: History Alive: The Museum of Geneva History is a treasure trove of special items from Florida’s past, especially the pioneer days.  Mal and Mary Jo Martin of the historical society take us on a tour that makes Geneva history come alive! (Initially posted 07/05/12)
http://cmfmedia.org/2012/07/geneva-history-alive/

• Saigon - Last Chopper Out: Marine Colonel Gerald Berry (ret.) of Winter Springs FL. tells the dramatic story of his evacuation of the U.S. Ambassador in the Vietnam War. In April 1975, Berry, then a captain in the Marine Corps, piloted “Lady Ace 09” ---the last chopper out of Saigon. Berry’s chopper carried US Ambassador Graham Martin from the embassy rooftop to a US ship waiting off the coast of Vietnam… and in doing so marked the formal end of US involvement in the Vietnam War. Operation “Frequent Wind,” as the event was called, stands today as the Marine Corps single biggest evacuation in its history, with captain Berry’s 34 sorties logging 18.3 hours in the pilot seat of a CH-46D Sea Knight military helicopter (initially posted 11/14/13).
http://cmfmedia.org/2013/11/saigon-last-chopper-out/

• Women Military Veterans: On Memorial Day, many of us associate only the male gender with the holiday and likewise when we think of military “veterans.” Yet, we learned in 2012 there is an increasing population of women veterans in Seminole County Florida: more than 4,500 of them. In this podcast, hear about the challenges these women face. (initially posted 11/08/12)
http://cmfmedia.org/2012/11/women-military-veterans-2/

• Foster Care – A Mom’s Story: Foster care provides a safe refuge for abused, neglected and abandoned children.  Stephanie Weinstein, who lives in Seminole County, Florida, has been a foster parent for twelve years.  She describes the pleasures and challenges of embracing children who need a safe place to go.  Stephanie’s adopted daughter Laura, age 8, also shares her thoughts on families and fostering (initially posted on 02/14/11).
http://cmfmedia.org/2011/02/foster-care-a-moms-story/

• Human Trafficking: Laurel G. Bellows, president of the American Bar Association, speaks passionately in 2013 of the brutal practice of human trafficking that is growing in the United States. At a speech to the members of the Orange County (FL) Bar Association, she urges them to join the fight by advocating for victims, supporting anti-trafficking legislation and raising public awareness of the issue (initially posted 02/14/13).
http://cmfmedia.org/2013/02/human-trafficking/

• On Being Gay in Central Florida:  The month of June is recognized in the U. S. as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender month. Marking that occasion, Dr. Michelle Stephan, a gay woman, discusses the satisfaction and challenges of life as a gay person in Seminole County.  With her partner, Stephan, age 40, has found a neighborhood of friends as they raised a son in Oviedo; yet, she is also aware of the inequality and hostility that she faces being gay in Central Florida. Stephan, a middle school teacher with a Ph. D in math education, discusses her early career and the decisions that face gay couples as they search for employment in the same community.  She also expresses concern for the legal inequality for homosexuals in society and the fight for rights such as gay marriage (initially posted 06/09/11).
http://cmfmedia.org/2011/06/on-being-gay-in-central-florida/

• Kids of HOPE: Children who receive free or reduced lunches during the school year may go hungry during vacations.  In Oviedo, Florida, the HOPE Foundation” program “Kids of HOPE” provides bag lunches for those children. Christine Wright, resource coordinator for the HOPE Foundation, explains how the program operates and Darlene Campbell expresses her appreciation (initially posted 06/17/10).
http://cmfmedia.org/2010/06/kids-of-hope/

- Special to the Herald