About last night. An evening with Wes Blackman exploring the history of College Park in Lake Worth Beach.

I wish to say Thank You to everyone who attended the presentation last night on the history of the College Park neighborhood in what is now called the City of Lake Worth Beach.

The presentation last evening was sponsored by the College Park Neighborhood Assoc. and they were the most wonderful of hosts at The Beach Club last evening.

One of the slides from the presentation:

If you wish to see the invitation sent out which includes some history about the College Park neighborhood click on this link.

A photo taken from last night. . .

. . . as Commissioner Herman Robinson looks on. Herman (on left at table) is being sworn-in today, 5:30 at Lake Worth Beach City Hall, re-elected the commissioner in District 4.

If you want to watch the presentation for yourself email me at: wesblackman@gmail.com

Was very pleased to have commissioners Omari Hardy and Herman Robinson in attendance and other notable notables and so many people from so many neighborhoods here in this City and from outside the City as well.

I was approached by a man who told me he was visiting family here. He told me how impressed he was about the condition of the roads and other changes he’s noticed. And he went on to say that is one of the reasons why he may relocate here from Michigan some time in the future.

Hearing that story was the best of news of all confirming to me that Lake Worth Beach is on the right track.

Also worth noting about last night was a gentleman named Arthur Mondale. He approached and handed me his card and told me he enjoyed watching the presentation. Mr. Mondale is a reporter at WPTV (NBC5) and he was there last night to learn more about this City. Mondale is a multi-media journalist and he is not yet listed on the NBC5 website of staff reporters but will share that link with everyone when it becomes available but in the meantime for everyone on Twitter click on this link for Mondale’s Twitter feed.

For a talk about the history of the College Park neighborhood was told it was the largest crowd ever for a College Park meeting and that was very good to hear. It’s somewhat humbling to know all this mundane research I’ve been doing for all these years has become of much interest and am absolutely honored to share it with everyone.

There is no way to prove this and it is completely anecdotal but this City once called “Lake Worth” seems to be getting a whole lot more interest since becoming Lake Worth Beach and most of it positive.

People I’ve talked to that know a thing or two about social media and marketing and public relations are still a bit shocked that Question #1 passed on Election Day, March 12th. Because being surprised proves once again that gauging public opinion is not always accurate. The public can surprise the experts now and then. And that is exactly what Lake Worth Beach has done.

For some history is carved in stone. Others see history as a flexible thing subject to change while honoring history. And I think this City has done an exceptional job finding the middle ground.

And I see a long and bright future for Lake Worth Beach despite an occasional bump in the road.