America turned 250 this month, and the July edition of Business Buzz covers how Columbia County marked the occasion. The Columbia County Fairgrounds hosted a celebration on Saturday, July 4th from 5pm to 10pm with live music, food, hot air balloons, family activities, and fireworks. The issue also rounds up the other local options that day, including the Red White and Blue Pickleball event at The Woods with a splash park, music, and food, plus celebrations at American Legion Post 57, American Legion Post 423, and the Moose Lodge.
This month’s Community at Work section highlights two organizations doing quiet, essential work across the county. The Christian Service Center has spent more than 40 years providing residents with food, clothing, household items, medications, and partial utility assistance, working alongside local churches of all denominations so help reaches people no matter where they live. Another Way, Inc. supports survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault through crisis intervention, counseling, advocacy, and a 55-bed emergency shelter in Columbia County along with a 35-bed facility in Levy County, staffed around the clock every day of the year.
For business owners, this issue tackles a question most of them face at some point: what to do when things slow down. The newsletter walks through practical steps for increasing visibility, reaching back out to past customers, tightening up operations, and testing something new, with a reminder that a slow stretch is a chance to regroup rather than a failure. There is also a look at what viral brands actually have in common, a bit of local history on Lake City’s role as a railroad hub in the late 1800s, and a rundown of Florida’s part in the American Revolution.
Our Lake City Business Spotlight goes to Sip Faced, the handcrafted specialty beverage business founded right here in Columbia County. Sip Faced makes all-natural, dye-free lemonades, mocktails, and farm-grown microgreen drinks in-house, and they have just launched local delivery throughout Lake City and the surrounding area. Their new Workplace Partner Program brings fresh drinks straight to offices, teams, meetings, and events on a schedule that works for your business.
