10,000 For The Troops Kickoff, Lehigh Acres Lacks Businesses, and Jerry Demings Running for Governor | Guest: Kim Gaide

This is Daybreak with Jason Jay Jones on 92-5 Fox News. Good morning. Welcome back to Daybreak here on 92-5 Fox News as we are talking about 10,000 for the troops. This Christmas, 925 Fox News, is leading 10,000 for the troops. That's right, a Southwest Florida mission to send Christmas cards to our men and women serving our country overseas. Now, this whole process is in conjunction with some good friends of ours, including the Lee Health Military Support Program led by Kim Gay. Good morning, Kim, and welcome to Daybreak. How are you doing today, Kim? Good morning, Jason, and welcome. It's great to be here. This is my first year being a part of the 10,000 for the troops. So let's start it off. Let's have you break it down. Where did this start and why is it so important? It started, I would say, 11 years ago. We know that we have a lot of young men and women from this area that have grown up and graduated from our local high schools that many are on their first deployment. And so we have been sending cards for about 11 years. And they are very excited when they get the cards and they notice that they're from home. So we have been doing that for, like I said, 11 years. Have you been doing it the entire 11 years, Kim? Yes, I worked with your previous person. Right. And we have been. vetting the cards and getting them ready for shipment. So one thing I would like to say is if you have any children or spouses that are deployed, if they can send me an email at kim.gade at leehealth.org, we'll be sure to send them a box. with the cards from home. All right. Hold on. Hold on. Let's stop for a second one more time and give out that email a little bit slower and spell your last name so everybody can have it so they know if they have a veteran that's serving overseas to email you so they can guarantee to get a card and package. One more time, Kim, what's the email that email you at? Kim. period, Gade, G-A-I, D for Delta, E for Echo, at Lee Health, period, O-R-G. All right, there we go. And you get, look, she got one right there while we were on the air. Look at that. I heard it come through. Someone's already sent you a message and that'll make a difference. Now, explain the process. Now, I understand we drop them off by December 6th. No, no photos, no personal information, no glitter. That's glitter on the card, like cards with glitter on them, right? Correct. Right, not glitter in the card. Glitter cards stay here locally and they go to the veterans at the different posts.

We make baskets up and take them to the post to thank them for their service. All right. So these cards, do you have to, do you have a team or do you individually go through each one of these cards, Kim? Oh, I could never do it individually. It would take me six months. Right. We have a small team and we're always looking for other people so they can send me an email at that same email address. Right. and let me know if they're willing to help, and we will get them signed up. And then the cards that come in later, we send them out in July because we send out a Christmas in July box that has stockings and candy canes and Christmas cards. What got you passionate about helping our troops, Kim? Well, I originally was going to go into the Navy, and my mom sort of nixed that. And my whole family has been in the military. My two sons are both veterans. One served during the Iraqi War, and one was Florida National Guard. So he did a lot of hurricanes. And I just feel that we need to be supporting them. Absolutely. And you got a good reason. I knew that you would have one. Anybody that's been doing it in 11 years this passionate, and it's more than that. The Lee Health Military Support Program doesn't just sit around and wait for the 10,000 cards every year. They're constantly doing something, sending over 99,000 pounds of care packages. They partner with the United Way's Mission United. They partner with one of my favorite organizations, Home Base Southwest Florida for free mental health services. And by the way, I love Home Base Southwest Florida. Great people there that do that. And all these organizations, so what you do is God's work nonetheless, Kim. What is your, give me a story about one of these cards that you remember the most. Okay, well, I can tell you one quick story. Sergeant Movers is a local veteran-owned business. Jason is the owner of it. He's a Marine. He only hires veterans, and I called them to move half of my furniture in my house so that I could have my floors polished because I have Tarazzo. The day that they came back to put all the furniture in, I was talking to the young men that had come because it was a different group and come to find out one of the men was one that we sponsored. I know his mom. I know his cousins. He has cousins up in Michigan. My son, my brother and I went to school with them and I had never met him. So I got a big bear hug and a kiss and he said it made his day.

What are the, do you have a number? I mean, some people have told me there's been 30,000 cards done before. Do you know if the number of the most cards ever sent out in one year? One year we sent out 67,000. And we don't want to go that high. And let me tell you why. Tell me why. Tell me why. Tell me the story, Kim. I want to hear it. Tell me. At this time of year, the people don't have the extra money to buy the cards and we're okay with that. We understand it's a hard time right now for many people. We understand. So we'll send out whatever we get and then we'll do it again next year. Right. I thought you were going to tell me it was just impossible to vet out $65,000. I mean, whew. That's a lot. Yeah. If we get 65,000, you're coming to help. You know what, Kim? If we get to that level, I will gladly come sit there and vet cards with you all day long, for sure. It'll be an accomplishment like no others. But it's not a... About the number to me. It's more about the message. It's a more about getting out there and making sure that we let these loved ones that are serving overseas know not only are they loved and respected, but they're not forgotten in that we're thinking about them, even when they're just doing a normal job overseas and protecting our allies, if you will. Correct. All right. Am I leaving anything out, Kim? Did I get everything covered? I thought 98,000 pounds. We're almost at 200,000 pounds. Oh, wow, 200,000. Yeah, we have been sending care boxes out since 2003 every month. The only month that we missed was Hurricane Charlie. And one of our groups that we talked to in Houston, they sent them in place of ours. So they could get a box. It just didn't come. All right. Kim, I've got you. I've really lost you now. You're distorted on me, man. But we've got the message across. I really appreciate you joining us. Lee Health's military support program, our partner in this process of betting these cards and getting them there to the troops. It's a big partner here in our 10,000 for the troops. I appreciate you being on the show with us. And we'll check in again a little bit later on. We get closer to the deadline. All right. Kim, thank you very much. I love that story. The moment when you meet somebody that you've done something for, imagine that there's somebody who comes home is like, I got one of the 10,000 cards for the holidays. And I just love that. I mean, change the world. If you're out there right now and you have a military family, I'm going to give you an email grant because I remember it clear as day. If you have a military family and you want to make sure that your loved one that's serving overseas gets one of these cards or one of these packages, all you have to do is email, Kim. That's kim.g-a-I-D-E at leehealth.org. That's kim.g-a-I-D-E at leehealth.org.

I got Mary from Lehigh. Mary, good morning. You said you got a little inspiration going on. Go ahead. Talk to me, Mary, on 925 Fox News. Hi there. I love your show. Thank you. A few weeks ago, I was listening to when you were talking about drowning and, you know, childhood prevention. And that inspired me to call my daughter to say like, you know, get my grandson in lessons because we have a swimming pool at my house. So we're always like, you know, locking the doors. And anyway, she did. And his first lesson was yesterday at Swimtastic at L.A. Fitness. And I just feel like you should keep talking about it. And maybe, like, you know, periodically throw out names of places so that people know that there's actually, you know. you know, little places for them. Right. Where did you go? Say it one more time so other parents can hear you. Go ahead. It was Swimtastic at L.A. Fitness. All right. In Gulf Coast. Yeah, I know exactly where that is. Did you go? Did you go to watch? I did not. I got the videos, but she took him there, and he's 17 months, and he absolutely loved it. So she's going to find him up to do the courses. I love it. I love it, because that's the secret. If you can make sure that they love it, they teach them out to survive, they teach them out to get to the wall. These are all things that as a very young little baby, they can figure it out as a toddler. They can figure out how to swim great and to save their own lives. And thank you very much for sharing that with me, Mary. It meant a lot to me. know that sometimes my words actually inspire somebody and don't just make people mad. All right. I'll see you later. Bye-bye now. Oh, that was a great story. Thank you for putting that through, Rob. I really do appreciate it. Coming up, we got more to come here on the show, but don't forget, you still got chances to get your cards ready for 10,000 for the troops. I'm going to talk Lehigh next right here on 925. Fox News. The truth is... popular but it's always right and it's heard here 92 5 Fox News right all along welcome back this is daybreak on 925 Fox News right all along What do you think, Lehigh? So our sister station, Wink News, does this thing that calls Wink listens. And they go out to different communities and they listen to what the community needs, what the community wants. They report on it and they act on it. And what's crazy is I've talked to Corey Lizar from Wink News about it. And they're passionate about it. Yeah, I've talked to him like in the hallway, not on air. I know on air, he's always going to tell me he's passionate. But I pulled him aside, and I was like, man, are you, are, is this something that matters? He's all, man, it matters. You get the best stories from the people that actually are living in your community. They'll tell yourself that you would never see come across the news spectrum. And then you, and you hear these great stories. You hear these good stories. Well, they go out to Lehigh.

And the reason I asked my caller earlier during the College of Political Knowledge was from Lehigh, if you could name one thing you want in Lehigh, what would it be? That was the number one thing that Wink found out when they went out there, that the rapid growth leaves residents high and dry without any businesses, restaurants. Here's what they had to say. Let me tell you, let me give you what the community. feels about what is lehigh let's hear you go The CBS over here on Homestead is the only CVS here in town. Walgreens is the only one there. You're standing in lines for like an hour. This is crazy. We all have Lee and Walmart, and that's about it, really. It's a complaint we heard several times at Wink listens. Pretty slim out here. There's like really nothing else shopping-wise here. We have just the one Publix and then the one Walmart and too many dollar stores. We checked there are 14 of the discount stores. Between those and the drive-thrus, it can feel like deja vu at every intersection. We don't want to go to Fort Myers every time we want to eat. There's nothing in Lehigh. We have three sit-down restaurants that you can go in with a family. We need more family-style restaurants. One decent restaurant, so I'm not traveling an hour and a half. To go to dinner. Bring something else out here besides fast food, McDonald's, Burger King. Less dollar stores. More of stores that other people need, you know? There you go. Straight from our sister station. What, that's what they want? So what are the restaurants? I know one of them is Perkins. Does that count? Do they have a fancy sit-down restaurant in Lehigh? And would it actually work in Lehigh? I think that's the consumer business. I think that's what the businesses think out there. They're like, well, I'm scared to go out there and start, say, a steakhouse. Because is the community going to give and go and patronize a steakhouse? A question that you've got to ask yourself. But it is growing. And Lehi, if you're listening, I want to hear from you right now. All right, wink listens, but daybreak listens too. Call me. I want to know what you think. 239, 479, 5592. I will say that Lehi has an astronomical amount of fast food, but you didn't have any fast food for so many years. I don't know if you remember, but for a while I think it was McDonald's and Popeyes is all you had out there. And when you sit and think about that, they, you got to, you got to ask yourself the question. What else do you need out there? Do you need your, I mean, obviously you probably need, do you don't have a bell's out there? But you want a target. That's what you want. You want yourself a Lehigh target. Probably would work.

But there is one right there just past Lehigh, but that's not in Lehigh. And I get it. If you live in Lehigh, you're a part of that community. And that also counts for all of Alva out there. Maybe when you guys get a county commissioner, they'll be focused on making sure that the businesses are great out there. Maybe that's what the county commissioner will do once it's selected, appointed, or elected, either way. But. The population surge in 2010 was 86,000, over 130,000 now, and driven by affordable housing and the fact that there's just a boom to go out there. I got Ann Marie from Naples. Go ahead. You got a little comment about Lehigh. Go ahead. What are you going to say from Naples? Okay, so listen, I am obviously not an original Floridian. I grew up in Indiana, lived in New York, prior to moving here. When I lived in New York, there were all these land auctions in the early 2007, 2008, 2009 that we would see on TV offering property in Lehigh Acres for like... $7,000 for a lot, right? Right. So the people that I'm hearing interviewed, I hear a very thick New York, New Jersey accent. When they bought that property out there in Lehigh Acres, they knew very well what was and what was not there. Now that they're there, they're trying to New York, Florida. Just as what's happening down here in Naples, I mean, the... building the infrastructure, or not infrastructure, but the building here is out of control. And they're ruining what old Florida used to be by wanting it to be, you know, where they came from. Just my observation. I appreciate you. I thank you for calling in. I mean, I would want a steakhouse, too, if I lived in a city. I would just want a steakhouse. I think Cape Coral needs another. I mean, Cape Coral has two, three-nine prime, but thank God because they didn't have anything for a long, long time. Well. Cape Coral is a whole other story. I mean, look at... Same concept, though. They sold those lots there cheap. They used to drop bags of flour from planes for you to pick your lot. Yeah, I remember here about that too. Well, same with Marco Island, I guess. All right. I appreciate you calling in. You're right. Don't New York are Florida. And this seems to be something that people want to talk about. So here's what I'm going to do. Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to do the 5 at 835 next really quick and then jump right back into this next on Daybreak on 92 5 Fox News. Have lunch with Clay and Buck at noon right after Glenn Beck at 9. 92 5 Fox News. all along. Don't tell anybody, but we're going to Lehigh after the 5 at 835. I'm just kidding. We've got to get to it now. This is the 5 at 835. The 5 at 835 is presented by Resny Wealth Management, creating financial independence for over 30 years online at resneywealth.com. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

He said, if Zohran Mamdani wins, he's going to cut off funding to New York. He calls him a communist. He'll send the National Guard. We need a mayor who can stand up to Donald Trump. who can get the funding that New York deserves, who can make sure the National Guard does not come to New York, because we don't need the National Guard, and I can stand up to Trump. Trump will go through Mambani like a hot knife through butter. Now, Andrew Cuomo went out there and said that he got into, Trump said I'm rooting for Andrew Cuomo. That's what I'm rooting for. Right? And then he's like, no, I don't want that. I don't want your endorsement. What? You should have spun that, man. I would have spun that, and I'm not even in your job. I would have spun that with, guess what? I'm so popular that even the Republican president is endorsing me. It's kind of a big deal. Everyone loves me, and you should love me too. I mean, take a page right from the Trump book. What are you waiting on? Number one. Now, when I was governor of Florida, I've worked hard to make sure. That was a good job, by the way. And Byron Donalds is here, and he's going to do a great job. He's going to do a great job. I hope everybody helps him. Right. Rick Scott, he was at the Jewish coalition meeting where he was up there with the Republicans, a Republican Jewish leadership coalition. And he had a moment there for a second. Did you hear it? For a moment, he was all like, man, that was a good job. And I really like that job. That job was good. Wasn't like coming to do this every day and listen to shut down, shut down, shut down, shut down, shut down. God, that was a good job. Oh, Byron, you're here. Oh, yeah. He's going to be, he fully endorses Byron Donalds's. I love Senator Scott. I think the fact that the entire legislator is getting behind Byron shows you what type of governor he's going to be in the future. I think it's a great thing. The five at 835. All right, I told you I wouldn't forget you, Lehi. And if you want to jump back in on this Lehi conversation, hit me up right now. 239, 479, 55992. What is it that Lehigh needs the most? I've got Eric on the phone. Eric, thank you so much for holding. Man, I really do appreciate you. I hope to get Todd from Alva back on who's upset that I said to put stuff in Alva. Go ahead, Eric. You're from Lehigh. What's your comment on the Lehigh expansion? Yeah, definitely need the home improvement store. I'm telling you, try to do a project on the weekend. You've got to run all the way back to the forum or something, and it blows your whole day, just getting a handful of parts, you know. What about Ace Hardware? Is there not an Ace Hardware there? There is, and they do a good job at keeping, but they can't, you know, they're only limited on what they can keep there, you know. They're a little higher price in the big stores, too, aren't they? Yeah. I got an ace next to my house. I go to the ace when I'm too lazy to go to Home Depot. That's the only time I go. I'm like, I don't know. The extra four miles seems like a lot to me. I'm just going to go to the ace. Maybe another bowling alley, too. They got a small one there. It's been there forever. You know, something like that. You already got one. Is it packed? It fills up pretty good. When they have, you know, team bowling. Do you have a movie theater in Lehigh?

No, not that I know of. May you don't even have a movie theater in Lehigh? I can't believe this. We have got to work on getting some big things out in Lehigh. You're right, man. I appreciate you calling in. Eric, thank you for listening to Daybreak. We'll talk to you again real soon, my friend, all right? Yeah, take care. Have good day. There we go. What is really going on here in Lehigh? What is it that Lehigh, if you're just tuning in right before the break, that I had to run to do the five at 835, I said, Wink listens, our sister station, did a story about things that Lehigh needs. And we ran this clip, which, by the way, I want to hear it again because someone said it sounded like a bunch of New Yorkers in Chicago. Let's find out. The CBS over here on Homestead is the only CVS here in town. Walgreens is the only one there. You're standing in lines for like an hour. This is crazy. We only have Lee and Walmart. And that's about it, really. It's a complaint we heard several times at Wink listens. Pretty slim out here. There's like really nothing else shopping-wise here. We have just the one Publix and then the one Walmart and too many dollar stores. I think she was right. I did hear that accent. I wasn't sure if I... actually heard the accent from what was going on. By the way, Lehigh, growing so quickly, so quickly. And it was founded in the 50s as a land scam by Chicago developer Lee Ratner, selling lots, sites unseen, boomed in 2000 bubble, crashed in the eight recession, foreclosures hit 50%. Now rebounding with remote work influx. You can still get down there, but what should be next? What does? Lehigh Need. Let's go to Frank from Cape Coral. Go ahead, Frank. Good morning. My only hit my thing. It's just like Cape Coral. When people are going to move to an area, don't you do your due diligence. There's no sidewalks. There's no this. There's no that. There's no schools. I mean, I knew all of this before I came to Cave Coral. When I came to Cape Coral, it was Mayberry. Right. And that's exactly what I wanted. Not now. Right. When people moved to Leah, like the lady before said, don't New York. I mean, it's a matter of... Don't you be mad to she said, don't New York it, buddy. I know that you took offense to it, Frank. I'm furious.

Frank, Frank, Frank, Frank got all pissed off. He was like, I'm calling in to Jason right now. You're not going to say anything about my New York. You're good, Frank. I love you. Thanks for calling it, buddy. I appreciate it. He's fired up. Don't you tell me nothing, New York, Mount Florida. That ain't happening. That ain't happening, man. Oh, man. Thank you so much for that. I really needed that. Great show we had lined up today. And it gives me a great opportunity to remind everybody to get a part of something. But I'll do that in one second to give you that reminder. But I want to tell you real quick. I read some great tweets, and I'm going to do the tweet, Who's Bringing the Heat? These are the best tweets in the last 24 hours. I want to give them to you here real quick. Greg Abbott, your governor, Texas, said, after the polls closed tomorrow night, I will impose a 100% tariff on anyone moving to Texas from New York City. I'm okay with it. Jacob Andy Ogles, the betting market is anticipating a very blue Tuesday. That's why I unfollowed you. Sarah Longwell 25, the reason Dems are leading in the generic ballot, despite having a worst party image, is that Republicans is because the people most pissed at Dems are Dems. That's true. They're mad at each other. Ron DeSantis says, I humbly recommend to young people to try drinking black coffee without any bells and whistles. It's cheaper. And once you get used to it, you don't want to add all that other stuff. I love it. And last but not least, Wilton Simpson on Feeding Florida. Our Feeding Florida program is stepping in to serve Floridians in need. While Chuck Schumer shut down leaves family struggling to put food on the table, we established a feeding Florida family program with $38 million last year to work with our farmers to keep our food bank stocked when families needed most. You and your neighbor find yourself in need. Use the map to locate the food bank nearest you. Department of Agriculture. There you go. And speaking of the SNAP benefits, let me give you this real quick. The Trump administration allocated $4.65 billion from the USDA contingency funds to partially cover November SNAP benefits during the ongoing government shutdown, ensuring half of the recipients get aid, but leaving new applicants in the lurch and basically... Just a Band-Aid to cover a gunshot wound. That's what this is. And we have got to get the government open so that if you're on the SNAP benefits, you can get paid and make it happen for yourself. The... Snap benefits being eliminated has caused a lot of people to be hungry. There are lines across the country at different food banks. But once again, we probably need to reevaluate that program and how much each individual gets and how long they're allowed to be actually on the program. Crazy to think, right? All right.

Don't forget to get your cards ready and drop them off. That's right, the 10,000 for the troops. Get your Christmas cards. Write a friendly little note, nothing personal, no photos, no glitter. And drop them off by December 6th that any Melz diner in Southwest Florida. And let's show our troops how much Southwest Florida cares. 10,000 cards, 10,000 reminders of home going to a soldier, an airman, a sailor, an army soldier. It could go to anyone. of those people. You never know. Coast Guard person? A lot of people serving overseas do the right thing. 10,000 for the troops only with 92-5 Fox News. At this station, we stick to our guns, open, concealed, and always loaded with facts. 92-5 Fox News. Right. All along. Welcome back. This is Daybreak on 92-5 Fox News, right all along, and our Congressman Byron Donalds's has yet another opponent jumping in from the Democratic side. Jerry Deming, 65, born in Orlando in 59, graduated from Jay Jones High School as five kids and is married to the former police chief Val Demings. and former representative Val Deming's elected. And now he has decided to run against Byron Donalds's. And Byron has already sent, I mean, Byron has gone and straight commented on it already and has put it out there that, and it's taken the offense. He said, Jerry Demings is the candidate, the radical Florida Democratic Party, has been dreaming of. As police chief, Demings pushed weak on crime policies. As Orange County Mayor, he refused to work with ICE to deport criminal illegals and pushed radical ideas like allowing grown men in girls' locker rooms and men to compete in girls' sports. As a candidate, his entire campaign will be about fighting President Trump and his policies that are making Florida safer and stronger. Jerry Demings is weak. He's woke and he's wrong for Florida, while Florida Democrats are fighting over who can go further to the left. Trump endorsed Byron Donalds will stay focused on fighting for Florida's families, freedom, and their future. Oh, man. I love it, by the way. The Democrats are not doing anything at all. Lolly's raised no money and hasn't raised any more since the last time he's raised money. Meanwhile, millions and millions and millions of dollars backing Byron Donalds's for governor makes you understand the process just a little bit more, right? I know it does. Oh man, what a great show. I want to thank everybody for tuning in today. I want to thank Senator Jonathan Martin for coming on and talk to us about Missy's Law. I also want to thank Kim Gade from the Lee Health for giving us a little bit more update on how the process for 10,000 for the troops work. I want to thank all of our colors and our contestant for the College of Political Knowledge and everyone who's already got a card and is getting it ready.

to donate and have it at Mel's Diner by December 6th. Like Kobe Cooling, who pledged 500 cards, and we got 500 cards pledged for Memphis Davis, Memphis Dave and his scout troop. And classrooms pulling together to do this, and people jumping into my email wanting to know more information about 10,000 for troops. You obviously get all the information you need by listening to 925 Fox News all day long. Or just tune in each and every morning at 6 a.m. as I'll make sure I tell you about my first time, but the 11th annual, 10,000 for the troops. Everyone in Southwest Florida, one, maybe two cards each. Write just a few words. A reminder that they're not forgotten and that Southwest Florida stands with them. Drop your card at any emails by December 6th. Make sure there's no glitter, no photos, no personal information. And our good friends over at Lee Health will make sure that troops overseas get those cards. 10,000 cards, 10,000 reminders of home coming from your heart to theirs. On behalf of Rob and myself, you stay safe, Southwest Florida. We'll see you tomorrow for a hump day. Remember, we love you. This is Daybreak. We'll see you. See you. See you. See you. 925 Fox News. Right. All along.