Jennifer Malik, Montgomery, Ala., U.S. Army      “It would actually be for somebody else,” Jennifer Malik said. “It would be that my sister is able to buy her first home. She has two kids and she is a single parent.       “We’re very tight-knit and it would just mean a lot to me, because I know she’s been looking and it’s kind of hard with one...

     Janet Marie Johns DiDonna was so passionate about teaching mathematics to her students at Miami Lakes K-8 Center that they described her as “funny,” able to make “clear explanations” and “patient” and “positive,” too.      So said the proclamation from Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid that celebrated DiDonna’s 30-year teaching career.     ...

     When Jim and Rosalyn Hamilton opened their Miami Lakes Sports Shop nearly five decades ago, she didn’t know a thing about sports or athletic gear.     “But I learned quickly,” former flight attendant Rosalyn Hamilton, 73, said about the business that she ran with staff for five years.      Jim Hamilton was torn between his full-time sales career with Exxon while working...

 To jumpstart its future, Dade Christian School’s soccer program looked to the past.      On hiatus since 2016, Dade Christian restarted the program this season and hired alumnus Marino Torrens, Jr. as its new head coach.      Torrens, 31, helped the Crusaders to a district championship during his senior season in 2008.        He was hired to help oversee the programs at...

    If you’re opening a new business in Miami Lakes, you’ll likely have Jorge Alvarez on your welcoming committee.       Alvarez, 55, chairs the Town of Miami Lake’s Economic Development Committee.       The group of 14 volunteers tries to connect entrepreneurs with resources to help them launch new businesses and make sure existing ones stay afloat.  ...