Longtime Miami Lakes Optimist Club member Jim Hamilton has dedicated most of his life to helping kids excel in sports and in the classroom. Since joining the organization in 1973, Hamilton has held every position, including president, vice president, board member, commissioner and coach, while helping the club reach its goals by offering kids a chance to play sports, while their parents and other spectators cheer for them and improve...

  Eighteen year-old Maria Martinez, a student at the Academy of Art University, is this year's Miami-Dade Public Library’s Teen Read Week T-Shirt Design Contest winner. Her winning entry was chosen from hundreds of drawings and best represents the theme “Seek the Unknown @ the Library.” Martinez will receive a Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet and had her design reproduced on T-Shirts which were worn by participants...

  Miami Lakes United Methodist Church (MLUMC) has hosted the popular Pumpkin Patch and Fall Festival every year for the last 16 years. For the winter of 2013, a new event will be added to the repertoire: Winterfest.  Winterfest launched the day after Thanksgiving, on Friday, November 29, and will run through the entire month of December. Admission is free and open to the public. Winterfest will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m....

  Shula’s Athletic Club presents the first annual Who has Game, a physical challenge event that pits kids versus parents to determine who’s stronger and faster. The event is scheduled for Saturday, December 14, at the facility located at 15150 Bull Run Road. The first competition is set for 10 a.m. for kid ages 8 and under, 12 noon for kids ages 9-12, and 2 p.m. for kids ages 13 and up. About 150 kids and adults are expected...

  Bobcat Cheerleaders from Bob Graham Education Center, along with their parents, rallied up for the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk-A-Thon” held at Marlins Park in early November. The cheerleaders are committed to becoming more involved in their community and volunteering their time to bring awareness to a great cause. “I am very proud of this dedicated group of young ladies for their activism,” said...