Tag Archives: Get to Know
Get to Know … Holly Donohoe
By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com
Holly Donohoe hails from Ottawa, Canada, but loves living and being a business owner in Mandarin. Her path to the present was circuitous, but all of her life experiences built upon each other to bring her where she is today. She earned a PhD in geography from the University of Ottawa and moved to Gainesville to become a professor of tourism and leisure management and marketing at the University of Florida. She was well qualified for this position, having already travelled the world (“every continent except Antarctica”) with her international marketing company and giving lectures to large audiences about leisure development and destination marketing. At one point she worked with the Chinese government, developing their leisure industry.
Get to Know … Bryan Jones
By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com
Bryan Jones is a seventh generation Floridian who was born in the old Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine. He grew up in the area and attended Episcopal High School in Jacksonville, where he met his now-wife, Burton. They live in St. Johns Golf and Country Club and have two young children who attend Liberty Pines Academy. Jones is a third generation farmer and current president of the Putnam/St. Johns County Farm Bureau.
Get To Know … Shirli Billings
By Ken Gillespie
mail@floridanewsline.com
Shirli Billings’ career spans more than 40 years, with achievement starting early in life. She was chosen as “Girl Mayor” of Cincinnati in 1954. After college she spent several years teaching in the classroom. Moving into administration, she took an assignment as junior high principal in Lansing, Mich. It was there she first met young student Erwin Johnson, later known as Magic Johnson. A signed basketball is one of her treasures. While in Lansing, she worked toward and earned a PhD Degree from Ohio State University. Billings would eventually progress through several superintendent positions in public systems across several states. As an African American woman holding leadership roles in mainly white school systems during the ‘70s and ‘80s, she was a trailblazer during times of societal change.
Get to Know … Blake Ingram
By Ken Gillespie
mail@floridanewsline.com
Movie buffs may recall the 1967 James Bond thriller, “You Only Live Twice.” Nancy Sinatra sang the bewitching theme which went on to become a hit: “You only live twice, one life for yourself and one for your dreams.” The song’s lyrics describe our featured resident this month, Blake Ingram. One part of him lives a predictable life, enjoying a stable position as head of First Coast Technical College’s automotive services program in St. Augustine. But his dream life can be summed up by a personal philosophy: “A bird is safe in its nest, but that’s not what wings were designed for.”
Get to Know … Angela Freyman
By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com
Angela Freyman was born in Ukraine and was 13 years old when she relocated with her family to Brooklyn, N.Y. She attended New York University, earning both a bachelor’s degree (in finance and economics) and an MBA — and married high school sweetheart, Greg, in 2000. She said they were not in love with the “busy city” and decided to move to the suburbs, in New Jersey, in 2015. They did love the suburbs, but not New Jersey and so online research and talking with friends and acquaintances led them to relocate to St. Johns in 2017.
