November is Friendship Month in Alachua County, but that's not the only thing to celebrate.
The County Commission also proclaimed Oct. 23 as Employees Supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom Day at its meeting Tuesday.
At the City Commission meeting Monday, dates were issued for White Cane Safety Month, Epilepsy Awareness Month, Respiratory Care Week, Norma Homan Appreciation Day, Robert Garrigues Appreciation Day and Veterans Day.
County Commission chairwoman Paula DeLaney said the county gets anywhere from one to 11 proclamations to issue at its biweekly meetings, but she doesn't mind.
"It's something you can do for people that doesn't really cost anything," she said.
In fact, she sometimes enjoys them, she said.
DeLaney, who was a former city commissioner, said in 1994, she was able to proclaim Rolling Stones Day in Gainesville when the band came for a concert.
But proclamations don't have to be for celebrities. Once, she issued one for her husband's grandmother's 100th birthday.
"One of the times when 'Cats' came to the Center for the Performing Arts, I declared it 'Cats' Week in Gainesville because I like musical theater," she said.
The proclamation declaring Friendship Month said people in the county "are invited to show their appreciation for friends by calling a friend, sending a card, taking a friend to lunch or any act of random kindness during the month of November."
The event was in honor of the Gainesville chapter of the Links Inc. to commemorate the friendship that the group was founded on.
DeLaney said the only time she's turned down proclamations is when they've been about non-local issues that she doesn't feel she fully understands.
Others might turn down proclamations involving religion or controversial issues, she said.
"I've been very lenient myself signing proclamations," she said.
Debra Hirneise, assistant to Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan, said proclamations that go through the mayor's office may be edited but almost always go through.
"Under this mayor, I can't really think of any proclamation that's not been done," she said.
If she's available, Hanrahan will sometimes go to events to issue the proclamations instead of at the City Commission meeting, Hirneise said.
Past proclamations for the city include one regarding the separation between church and state in January 2007 and another for school crossing-guard appreciation.
The county also had proclamations this year about raising awareness for pain, "a major health issue," and building safety.
Rhonda Baxter, county commission services coordinator, said that a request for a proclamation would usually come from an organization, individual or one of the commissioners themselves.
"Generally, they're organizations that are part of the county and want to draw attention to an event they're having or a milestone year," she said.
A draft of the proclamation is put together and signed by the commission chair, DeLaney.
She said that proclamations also include a piece of paper that looks nice framed.
"We're happy to accommodate, and if people give us the information they want to include, we can format it," she said.
All proclamations become a part of public record, she said. Overall, she said, the county probably makes two to four proclamations every two weeks.
"In the big scheme of things, that's really not that many in a county this big," she said.
