CITY OF OVIEDO

We want to give a huge thank you to our City Clerk's office for arranging the City Board Appreciation Dinner, where our volunteer members were recognized for all the wonderful work they do, afterhours, to keep the City running. These boards are made up of citizens who work together to guide the future of the city. These boards include: 🏠 Community Redevelopment Agency 🚒 Firefighters Pension Board 🛣️ Local Planning Agency 👮 Police Officers Pension Board 🎨 Public Arts 🏓 Recreation and Parks Advisory Board 🌳 Sustainability Task Force ⚖️ Magistrate 🏦All the Employees who set up, run and sit on the boards! Dinner was provided by Outback Steakhouse and desserts were from Nothing Bundt Cakes. It was a wonderful night of good conversation, mingling and everyone getting to know a little bit more about each other! If you are interested in becoming a future board member, please fill out this form: https://lnkd.in/ekGqt4y5 and when spots open up, your application will be reviewed.

The Oviedo Police Department had their first Wednesday Community Police Academy class last night. Police Chief, Dale Coleman, along with the Deputy Chief's, the PD's Lt. PIO and Accreditation Manager spoke to the Citizens about the police department and the accreditation process. They are looking forward to the next several weeks, giving them all a deep dive into policing! Thank you to the Town House Restaurant and Nothing Bundt Cakes for your food donations.

Another successful Party and Wheels visit by the Engagement Squad! Today they visited C-Shift at Firehouses 46 and 48, bringing snacks, breakfast, coffee and water. They also brought games and music for a much needed quick break!

At the Monday, August 25 City Council Workshop, Rep. David Smith presented a $275,000 check from the State of Florida to the City for the purchase of a wildfire brush truck. This apparatus is valuable to the department because of areas consisting of brush and woodland and the probability of lightning strikes that can spark wildfires. The vehicle will also be multi-functional, allowing it to be converted into a high-water rescue vehicle during the wet months. This is especially important because of the historic flooding that was seen during Hurricane Ian. This apparatus will enable our rescue crews to safely navigate flooded areas to help evacuate residents. This piece of equipment will be valuable to the department and our firefighters are excited to start training on it when it arrives!

The City Council recognized the first Super 7 Robotics Team (7477) from Oviedo at the August 18 Council meeting. The team is the first Tech Challenge team based in Oviedo that has competed in over 15 years. The championship event was held in Houston, Texas The Council wanted to recognize the team for Inspiration of Science and Technology (FIRST® ), which is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future and is an inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 that can be facilitated in school or in a structured afterschool program. Through a support system including, but not limited to, volunteers, educators and sponsors, teams conduct research, fundraise, design, build and showcase their achievement during annual challenges. The team is coached by Prasad Chittaluru, Vipin Goyal, Dr. Richard “Dick” Gilson, Pradeep Aeluri, Dylan Khreiche, Mrinall Umasudhan, Don Harper, Rick Van Smith, and Eric Hague, the team consists of the following students: Parth Goyal, Jovin John Peter, Aanya Aeluri, Alaya Aeluri, Yug Umasudhan, Vetri Vidivelli, Sanjay Krishnan, Samuel Rajan, Rishaanth Dasari, and Ajinkya Pawar. This season, the Super 7 achieved success at each level of competition. At the Division level, Super 7 won the robot competition at the Space Coast League Championship. The Super 7 earned 1st Place for the Inspire Award, the top FTC award which is given to teams that best embody the FTC program. At the State level, the Super 7 earned 3rd Place for the Inspire Award. For the first time in over five years, Super 7 was also selected as one of five teams from the state of Florida to join over 300 teams from across the world to attend the World Championship. They finished the competition with six wins and four losses, placing 15th overall in their division.

At the Monday, August 18, 2025, City Council Meeting, councilmembers presented ceremonial checks to the American Cancer Society and Helpful Hands, Inc. The donations come as a result from the funds raised during the Relay for Life & Helpful Hands Annual Golf Tournament held on February 21, 2025 at the Twin Rivers Golf Course. During the ceremony, the city also expressed appreciation to Waste Pro of Florida, Inc as the title sponsor and for their generous contribution to the Relay for Life & Helpful Hands Golf Tournament. City Staff has worked with Relay for Life to raise funds for the American Cancer Society for over the past sixteen (16) years and have recently introduced Helpful Hands, Inc. as a benefactor. At the meeting, the American Cancer Society was presented with a check for $20,000 and $10,000 will be given to Helpful Hands, Inc. According to the American Cancer Society, the nationwide estimation of cancer deaths is 618,120 annually. The American Cancer Society is trying to lower this number by raising money to fund research and support programs for cancer patients. One of the American Cancer Society’s larger fundraising events is Relay for Life, in which the City of Oviedo actively participates. Helpful Hands, Inc, is a charitable foundation founded in 2009 that provides opportunities for children to participate in educational, cultural, athletic, and community enrichment activities after critical needs are met by other agencies. Helpful Hands, Inc. provides grant funding to community partners that are identified as having the capacity to provide quality of life programs to children and families. The 16th Annual Relay for Life & Helpful Hands Golf Tournament was held on Friday, February 21, 2025, at the Twin Rivers Golf Course. The golf outing agenda included 18 holes of golf (scramble format), team photos, door prizes, and an array of food provided throughout the day by many local businesses. Prizes were given for first place and a humor award for last place. Additionally, individual prizes were given for longest drive and closest to the pin. The winning team posted a score of 50 (22 under par). Waste Pro of Florida, Inc. was the Title sponsor for the golf outing with a contribution of $10,000. A total of $30,000 was raised from the event.

What a great achievement! Our Recreation and Parks team worked so hard over the last few years, after Hurricane Ian, to get this building back up and running and they did! The ribbon cutting was amazing, as was the turn out. Great job!

It was nice to have a little break between calls as the Party on Wheels bus came to visit B-Shift at Stations 46 and 48. Our Firefighters got some breakfast, had a refreshing, cold drink and played some games. This time, they brought out Connect 4 and let's just say the games got intense. 😆👨🚒

We want to give a huge shout out to Paul Yeargain! The ASCE Central Branch and Florida Sections awarded Assistant City Engineer Paul Yeargain the Government Engineer of the Year! Paul serves as the Assistant City Engineer/Engineering Manager for our Public Works Department. His role involves managing the transportation and stormwater services for the City. While working at the City of Oviedo, he has been active in the EWRI (Environmental & Water Resources Institute) Water Resources Group, serving as the seminar chair for the past two years. In addition, he has also served on the Water Resources Scholarship Committee. For the past 25 years +/-, Paul has served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Central Florida, teaching the Water Resource Design Class. He also serves on the Conference Committee for the Florida Stormwater Association (FSA) with the main function of reviewing abstracts and making recommendations for the two FSA Conferences each year. Lastly, he has been active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for 25+ years, having previously served as the EWRI Water Resources Group Chair and Vice Chair as well as being involved in other committees. With all his undertakings, it’s no wonder that Paul was nominated for the ASCE Engineer of the Year for the ASCE Central Branch and Florida Sections.

The Oviedo Fire Department proudly announces the promotions of two firefighters to Engineer and Lieutenant.   On Friday, July 25, 2025, Oviedo Fire Chief Michael Woodward held an official pinning ceremony for Michael Radzak, who was promoted to Lieutenant and Tim Deppen, who was promoted to Engineer.   Lt. Radzak has been with the department for 11 years and has earned his certifications as Fire Officer I and II, Live Fire Instructor and has an Associate’s Degree in Emergency Medical Services.   Eng. Tim Deppen has been a firefighter for 21 years and in 2007 was recognized as Firefighter of the Year for his involvement immediately after a fatal plane crashed in a Sanford neighborhood. Deppen has been with Oviedo Fire Department since 2004 and helped plan the pre-fire plan program in the City.   “I am so proud of both of these firefighters,” said Fire Chief Michael Woodward. “Both have stepped up for the Department and the crews they work with, working hard to earn these promotions. They are well deserved.”   The official pinning ceremony was held on Friday, July 25, 2025, at Fire Station 46. Fire Chief Michael Woodward presided over the event, which was attended by fellow firefighters, command staff, and family members.