COMMUNITY NEWS BRIEFS: Attorney honored, GUIDE program offered

Randy Briggs, with his wife Diana, at the recent Florida Bar convention. [Submitted photo]

Ocala attorney Randy Briggs was recognized by The Florida Bar at its recent annual convention for being a member for 50 years, along with others who achieved that milestone.

Following graduation from the University of Florida as a distinguished military graduate in 1970, Briggs served two years in the U.S. Army before graduating from the UF law school with honors in 1975. He has been board certified by the Florida Bar in civil trial law for over 40 years with the distinction that no state lawyer or judge has been certified longer. The certification is held by approximately 5% of Florida lawyers. Briggs has been reviewed by peers and judges for listing in Super Lawyers and given an A rating by Martindale, according to the news release.

He has been a faculty member at the Florida Bar’s Basic and Advanced trial advocacy schools, a lecturer at personal injury seminars and a coach for UF law school trial teams in competitions. He was a founder and president of the Marion County Inn of Court and North Florida chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He practices with his son Bo in The Briggs Law Firm in Ocala and is recognized by the bar as an expert in civil trial work with an emphasis on negligence and personal injury law, the release stated.

Among his contributions to the community as a fifth-generation resident, Briggs helped found the local YMCA, secured its property and chaired Marion County’s largest fundraising building campaign, for which he was awarded “Volunteer of the Year” for Central and North Florida. He served for many years on the board was elected president of the Florida State Golf Association in 2013-2014, the release noted.

“It has been an honor pursuing justice for others, both the wealthy and underprivileged. Hopefully the consistent search for truth will have made a lasting difference not just for my clients, but the community at large,” Briggs said in the release.

Elder Options offers Medicare GUIDE

Elder Options is now participating in Medicare’s GUIDE program (Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience), offering free support to people living with dementia and their caregivers.

The agency is currently serving Alachua, Citrus, Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, Sumter, Hernando, Lake, and Putnam counties, with plans to expand across its full 16-county region. Services include a 24/7 caregiver hotline, care coordination, caregiver education and short-term respite care.

Caregiver Compass is a monthly Zoom session about GUIDE and other caregiver programs. The next session is Tuesday, Aug. 26, from 10-11 a.m. Register at agingresources-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/jmL4zDyIRIyIyjb_CgqEKw#/registration

Those with traditional Medicare (Parts A and B) may qualify. Call the Elder Helpline at 1-800-262-2243 or email [email protected] to connect with a GUIDE specialist.