Political fundraiser for Martha O. Haynie

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My wife, Terry, suggested I come out to sketch a political fundraiser for Orange County Comptroller Martha O. Haynie at the Abbey, (100 South Eola Drive.) The scene didn’t look that much different than sketching in any bar except folks were dressed in business attire and they all had name tags. Martha was very cordial and introduced herself to me. She immediately found common ground with me when she said that she missed former United Arts CEO Margot Knight.

Terry arrived and waved to me. She moved around the room from one conversation to the next, meeting everyone as I sketched. Janet and Geoff Benge, who lead the Silver Fern Writing workshops sat down at a central table. Terry started attending these workshops after one of my sketchbooks was used as a writer’s prompt. She sat with Janet and Geoff and the laughter grew louder.

As Comptroller, Martha keeps an eye on Orange County finances and she makes sure that money spent is accountable. This doesn’t stop politicians from miss spending money, but it does mean their actions are accountable come election time. Marthe joked that it might not be wise to check the finances of the sheriff’s department since they carry guns. She checked their books anyway. There is someone running against Martha in the upcoming elections so she has to be diligent in letting people know she is doing a good job. Her address to the gathered crowd was short sweet and to the point.

Terry was hungry, so she went down the block to Mucho’s to get some takeout tacos. She returned with two boxes of tacos and we shared with Janet and Geoff. By this time, my sketch was done and most everyone else had left. Martha stopped over and she had a taco with us as well.

Waiting for Bill Clinton

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The day before election day, Bill Clinton came to Lake Eola to endorse the Democratic Candidates. I had just been to a public hearing to sketch the ten or so citizens who wanted to find out how billions of our tax dollars will be spent to get tourists from the airport to Disney and if they want, Tampa. The small turn out was a bit depressing. I arrived at Lake Eola early, got a sandwich at Pannera and started to sketch. North Eola Drive which runs along the West Edge of the park, was completely shut down. Police blocked the northern access with their bikes. An officer walked up to me when I just had five lines on the page. He asked, “You sketching?” I replied, “Not much to see yet, I just started.” “Weren’t you at that Smile event?” Suddenly I remembered him. He took an interest in my work that day as well. He said, “You do good work, I’ll let you get to it.” Though he was pretty far away, I swear he might have been voguing a bit, looking regal for the sketch.

News vans were lined all along the street with satellite dishes to broadcast the event live. A homeless man stood close to me several times complaining about the number and placement of the police. I ignored him. One word from me and he would have someone to complain to for the rest of the night. Political signs from all the Democratic candidates were everywhere. An area was fenced in to contain the crowd. This area was only about twenty yards square with a stage set up with a podium and large American flag. The media had a staging area near the back of the enclosure. As they were setting up the TV cameras, a security detail told them to leave the area. They had to leave any equipment since the wouldn’t be able to get it back in if they took it with them. An officer with a K-9 bomb sniffing dog explored the media staging area. The dog was a bit off task since he kept looking up at the growing crowd waiting to get in. The officer kept pointing at one bag and the dog just wouldn’t sniff.

I walked around some more considering drawing the growing crowd in the darkness. But the crowd was depressingly small in size. Even if Bill played saxophone, it would be to little to late. Even though I had a ticket, I felt tired and despondent. I decided to drive home before the area became locked down with black limos and secret service. I would watch Bill on the eleven o’clock news with the rest of the Orlando couch potatoes.

Amway Opening Day

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The media rushed inside the Amway Center once the ribbon had been cut. I was still putting watercolor washes on the previous sketch. I got a text from Mark Baratelli saying he and Tisse Mallon were inside. I needed to get a media sticker in order to join them. He told me to look for a media tent. When I found the tent, it was deserted. I decided to just “fake” my way to the media section. A security guard told me where the media went. I got to a passage where I was stopped and I explained that I was with the media. I was given a sticker and a lanyard. The media and assorted politicians and building contractors were seated on the floor of the huge arena.
What followed was a series of numbing back patting and self congratulating. When the speeches finally subsided, the Mayor asked everyone to shout out the three words that appeared on the jumbo tron, “I was there!” The crowd shouted and clapped as all the lights in the arena blazed brightly in vibrant blue and white. When the ceremony was over, the media stayed behind for a guided tour of the facility.
The first stop on the tour was the Mercedes Lounge where paintings by local artist Tracy Burke were mounted everywhere. This unexpected abstract work was well integrated with the space. The liquid blue tones perfectly matched the room. Gernagin’s Restaurant recovered some of the magnificent stained glass from Church Street Station. This restaurant has three tiered levels where people can eat dinner and have a great view of the game. Reservations are required.
There is a children’s play area where kids can shoot hoop at baskets hung at 3 different heights.
The highlight at the end of the tour was the Sky Bar. Located at the top of the iconic tower, Sky bar offers stunning views of all of downtown Orlando. Light plastic seats are located all around the bar. I will be going to the Eagles concert next week and I can’t wait to see this brand new arena in action.

Amway Center Ribbon Cutting

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The opening of the Amway Center to the public resulted in a sizable crowd assembling in the street for a ribbon cutting. Just to get into this area, all bags were searched. The security officer joked with me about having so many pens and notebooks. Seems most media folks are all digital. Mayor Buddy Dyer spoke about the long road that had to be traveled to get to this point. He pointed out that a major feature of the building was its transparency. A practice basketball court can be seen from outside the building from Division Street. He felt that the tower and beacon wodld be known years from now as an iconic Orlando feature. A great consideration is that the building offers great amenities to everyone, not just the Box seat season ticket holders. The $5 seats offer great views of the game. Rainwater is captured from the roof saving an estimated 8000 gallons of water a year.

The Center houses an art collection with work from 25 artists with 300 pieces in the hallways and suites. The open wire mesh that was used in the construction of the tower was produced by a metal worker in Parramore, just a few blocks from the Center. Rather than trying to get a glimpse of the ribbon getting cut, I focused on the media that were on hand to record the cutting. Once the ribbon was cut, fireworks exploded out from the Amway Center letters. Then as I was rushing to put on some watercolor washes, the crowds rushed into the huge open space.

Candidate Meet and Greet

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The Children’s Home Society hosted a Candidate Meet and Greet. Amanda Chadwick organized the event. There was primarily a focus on issues relating to child welfare although most politicians returned to issues of taxes and spending. Valerie Seidel, the board chair of the Children’s Home Society of Florida, introduced the Board. There were two young girls seated in the front row near me. They were about 14 and 10 years old. These girls dressed in their Sunday best got up on stage to lead the Pledge of allegiance.
Candidates could only speak for three minutes each so sketching was a challenge. I drew Valerie at the podium. One candidate had actually been in foster care before. After all the speeches, there was a twenty minute break with snacks before school board candidates got up to speak. As everyone got food, I was throwing down watercolor washes. As I worked, one of the little girls sat next to me asking questions. It turns out she lives next to Bernie who is an artist that holds open studio sessions in his home. I have been there a number of times. The girls name was Catherine and I soon realized that she and her sister were pictured on a poster at the front of the room. The pair are shown seated on the grass wearing purple and pink princess costumes. The sisters were adopted by Greg and Valerie through CHS of Florida. on the poster Catherine is quoted as saying, “I am thankful that CHS took good care of me and my sister when we were in the shelter and helped us to get adopted to a new family. :)” Catherine’s sister, Cheyenne, walked up and said, “Look, that is mom.” as she pointed at the drawing. I explained to them that I had started drawing Valerie, but I had to borrow some features from some candidates since she didn’t speak very long. Amanda walked up behind me and said, “It looks like you have some new fans.” Kids love art, and I am happy I got to meet these two outgoing and curious art patrons..