Doris Bloodsworth, author, and local historian was the guest speaker at the Kiwanis Club of Clermont on May 8, 2018. Doris, who was accompanied by Clermont City Manager, Darren Gray, gave a presentation about the upcoming book “Clermont from Gem of the Hills to Choice of Champions.”
She said that the new book is a project of the Cooper Memorial Library Association Board, which owns the copyright to the original history of Clermont. The new version, which is due to be released later this summer, will not only include updates of the original book, written by Clermont residents Miriam Johnson and Rosemary Young, but will also include new chapters containing more recent history.
Some of the new chapters will cover the devastating freezes of the 1980’s that wiped out the Central Florida citrus industry and also includes other ground breaking milestones, such as the new South Lake Hospital campus, the National Training Center, new high schools and the rebranding of the city.
Darren Gray shared updates on upcoming events, including the grand opening of Victory Point on July 27, 2018. He said it will help Clermont develop its downtown area and will include an observation tower. Doris Bloodsworth said she has always admired the Kiwanis Club of Clermont and it was an honor to spend time with them and to hear of all the great work they are doing in the community and around the world.
At the conclusion of their presentation, President Chris Boylan presented both Doris and Darren with commemorative club Pins and thanked them for their informative report.
