On December 3, 2022, Lunacon was honored to participate in celebrating Everglades’ 75th anniversary with a ceremony of the newly renovated Guy Bradley Visitor Center, also known as the Flamingo Visitor Center. An open house was conducted during the event to exhibit the recently restored Guy Bradley Visitor Center. The new visitor center and accommodations are anticipated to be operational by the time of the event. Lunacon takes great pride in the historic renovation of Flamingo Visitor Center in honor of Guy Bradley. Lunacon was honored to have been present during the luncheon seeing all the leaders of our community come together and celebrate in Great Hall/Gallery.
A haven for endangered species
Because the environment is constantly changing, you can expect to find something new each time. Whether it is the rainy or dry season, whether the sky is crystal blue in the winter or covered with billowy clouds in the summer, the Everglades Restoration efforts have a fascinating past to share and reflect upon. Still, they are also looking to the future to ensure this special place stays around for the next generation.
Lunacon Construction Group is grateful to be part of history in the rehabilitation of the Flamingo Visitors Center. The vintage Visitor Center within Everglades National Park is being rehabilitated as part of this project, and was constructed during the Mission66 period. Because the project is in an area that borders national preserves with endangered plant and animal species, the initiative’s primary goal is to protect. Lunacon on its own took all the necessary precautions to achieve this And as part of the renovation, the Flamingo’s old concessions restaurant and gift shop was turned into the new Guy Bradley Visitor Center and fixed up. In addition, the Law Enforcement Wing was also renovated as part of the project (current Ranger Station).
The event featured an open house of the newly renovated Guy Bradley Visitor Center, a rededication ceremony with an impressive list of speakers, including ENP Superintendent Pedro Ramos, live music by Grant Livingston, a former Artist in Residence in Everglades, and historical re-enactments of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, Ernest F. Coe, Guy Bradley, May Mann Jennings, Ruth Bryan Owens, and John Pennekamp. In the distance, the gathering could see white pelicans, brown pelicans, and a variety of other wading birds as they viewed Florida Bay, surrounded by a brilliant blue sky and boasting great weather. Thanks to Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill, who acted as master of ceremonies, the mood was optimistic. Guests kept talking about President Harry S. Truman’s passionate speech at the opening of Everglades National Park on December 6, 1947, in Everglades City. The speech was a big part of the event.
Those unfamiliar with Guy Bradley should know he was the first Audubon warden. Guy Bradley was slain while seeking to prevent wading birds from a horrific fate, namely the devastating fashion of Great Egret plumes for ladies in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Representative Wasserman-Schultz, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Shannon Estenoz, and Superintendent Ramos celebrate the rededication proclamation of ENP during the ceremony.
The Everglades National Park is undoubtedly one of Florida’s most valuable national assets, which we hope future generations will value.
Present at the park’s 75th-anniversary celebration were ENP Superintendent Pedro Ramos, Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey Goss, Chairman of the SFWMD, Mr. Sean Cooley, Communications Director for the SFWMD Drew Bartlett, Ex. Director, Libby Pigman, Reg. Rep, her husband, fellow governing Board Members Ben Butler, and “Alligator” Ron Bergeron were also seen at the said event.
Also present in the ceremony were Mr. Juan Cueto, Executive Director of The Alliance of Florida’s National Parks and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Everglades National Park 75th Anniversary Resolution
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat who represents Florida in the United States House of Representatives, introduced a resolution in November that celebrates the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Everglades National Park. She also reaffirms the House’s “commitment to the success of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.”
Millions of Floridians get their drinking water from the Everglades, which also acts as a barrier against flooding and is home to a wide variety of animals, including many on the verge of extinction. The Everglades is the most extensive subtropical wilderness area in the United States. According to the office of Cherfilus-McCormick, “The Everglades are also a source of jobs in a variety of industries, in addition to being a source of economic security and leisure.”
U.S. Representatives Co-sponsors of the resolution include Vern Buchanan, a Republican from Florida; Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida; Lois Frankel, a Democrat from Florida; Stephanie Murphy, a Democrat from Florida; John Rutherford, a Republican from Florida; Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican from Florida; Darren Soto, a Democrat from Florida; Mike Waltz, a Republican from Florida; Frederica Wilson, a Democrat from Florida; Shontel Brown, a Democrat from Ohio; and Andre Carson, a Democrat from Indiana.
The resolution was delivered to the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Here's the list of prominent people who attended the 75th anniversary of Everglades National Park:
- Superintendent Pedro Ramos, Everglades National Park.
- Shannon Estenoz, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Park, Department of the Interior.
- Talbert Cypress, Chairman, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida
- Tina Osceola, Director, Tribal Historic Preservation Office, Seminole Tribe.
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz, U.S. House of Representatives.
- Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade County.
- Secretary Shawn Hamilton, Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
- Chauncey Goss, Board Chairman, South Florida Water Management.
- Colonel James L. Booth, District Commander, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District.
- Eric Sutton, Executive Director, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission.
- Captain Chris Wittman, Co-Founder, Captains for Clean Water.
Lunacon once again proved that it could build facilities that are in harmony with nature and human beings.
