(Photo: Debra Heuskin Photography)

We’re counting down to 2019 and Springfield’s Sesquicentennial by looking back at 2018 and giving thanks. Join us in celebrating this past year!

Today, we’d like to thank all our sponsors, donors, and members. Their support of our organization allows us to work on our mission of ensuring Historic Springfield is a preferred place to live and do business by leading programs that drive the preservation, revitalization, and balanced growth of our community.

If you patron a sponsor of a SPAR program or event; please thank them for their support!

We’re counting down to 2019 and Springfield’s Sesquicentennial by looking back at 2018 and giving thanks. Join us in celebrating this past year! 

One of many reasons that Springfield is a fantastic place to live is the bikeability of the neighborhood. We celebrated that last night with the Holiday Bike Ride, an annual Springfield tradition of friends and neighbors leisurely riding through the Historic District to enjoy the lights and spectacle of the holidays.

This year we also took a bike ride to a Jacksonville Jaguars game and SPAR Board, Staff, and Committee members rode to a Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp game! We love being a bike ride away from even more entertainment options!

Keep an eye out on the SPAR page for information on our 2019 bike socials!

Join your friends and neighbors for this Springfield holiday tradition - the Holiday Bicycle Ride. It's a leisurely evening bicycle ride through the Historic District to enjoy the lights and spectacle of the holidays.

Kids are encouraged, as are bike decorations!

Meet at bandstand in Klutho Park (corner of W. 3rd & Silver) at 6pm on December 18, and the ride should end around 8pm. The route will cover the majority of the neighborhood and allow riders to experience all of Historic Springfield’s best holiday displays from the perfect vantage point.

There will be post ride festivities to be announced in the event page!

*all riders are encouraged to have a bike light & safety gear

We had a ribbon cutting ceremony with AARP on Nov. 27 for our new bicycle maintenance station behind the SPAR building on Main Street! We were one of 129 grantees to receive funding through AARP Livable Communities' AARP Community Challenge "Quick Action" grant program. 

SPAR's project funded two bicycle and wheelchair maintenance stations (the other in Klutho Park); as well as the installation of additional trash receptacles on Main Street.

Click here to read more about the grant. 

Each month we'll be highlighting a different SPAR committee you can join. Working on a committee helps SPAR and the neighborhood. It's also a good pathway to joining the board. Check out the complete committee list.

Block Captains Committee
view more details about the committee
This committee takes an active role in improving the quality of life in our neighborhood through coordinated measures to prevent crime, reduce blight, increase neighbor activity and engagement.

Joining a committee is easy, just reach out to us and we'll connect you with the right person to help you get started. Contact us to join a SPAR committee.

At the September 6, 2018 annual community meeting, SPAR members will vote on candidates for our Board of Directors. There are six openings available. The current Board of Directors feel the five new candidates featured below would be valuable assets to the organization in helping lead the Springfield Historic District forward. We are proud to present them to our membership for approval. In addition, Jaimee Stewart, currently serving as Secretary of SPAR, is seeking reelection to the Board for a second and final term.

Please learn more about the candidates by reading their bios below. If you have any questions for them prior to voting at the annual meeting, please submit them prior to September 5th via email to the SPAR office at [email protected], and the candidates will provide their answers at the annual community meeting on September 6th. No questions will be taken from the floor. Join the community meeting event page here!

We're excited to announce that SPAR Council has been awarded a grant to hire an AmeriCorps member. Click here for the full job description and contact information to apply.

Diane Graese moved to Springfield from Las Vegas a little over a year ago. In a very short time, she has built a reputation as a passionate and dedicated volunteer in our community.  “I came to Jacksonville because it was a big city; I came to Springfield because a website called Neighborhood Search told me I would find all that I was looking for. I knew no one, but on my first visit here there were people who welcomed me into their homes and I felt such a good vibe,” Diane explained.  “I ignored the naysayers and listened to the stories of how the neighborhood was changing and the visions for the future.”

For August's Volunteer Spotlight, we interviewed Michael McCall and Josh Wilkerson

L: What kind of volunteer work have you done in Springfield? You had a lot to do with the beautiful blue Historic Springfield banners I have seen popping up on porches, right?

M&J:  All kinds!  We feel so inspired by seeing others in action and neither of us can sit still for very long.  We specifically love to volunteer during both home tours because it's a great way to meet people while showcasing our beautiful neighborhood.  Throughout the year we do random things like clean and mow both public and abandoned properties, cut back low hanging tree limbs to make our sidewalks safer while out walking our dogs, we've helped paint the bridge in Klutho Park and the eagles in Confederate Park to brighten those up, we clean and maintain flowers in the planters on the Hogan's Creek bridges, we've helped clear storm drains so they function again, we added patriotic decorations to Klutho for the baseball game, and we helped form the Holiday Society. We've just recently signed on to help coordinate the Christmas Home Tour and the annual Halloween Party, we will be working with SPAR on grant proposals that will help purchase holiday decorations for Main Street, and we are raising funds now to pay for a mural that has been designed and will be installing soon in the neighborhood.  We've also contributed to the art installation in Klutho, the off-duty police program, and Porch Fest.

The Springfield banners came about because we like to change our porch up with each season.  Usually, Michael creates a flag to hang for each season (flags using cut-out foam hearts for Valentines Day, plastic eggs for Easter, etc.) and he thought having one to mimic the sculpture of the blue Springfield ribbon would be beautiful so sought a vendor who he worked to design the banner.  Once hung, there was so much interest from others that we negotiated a deal with the vendor, placed a bulk order, and offered them up so others in Springfield could also enjoy the banner.  We felt it was another small way we could help Springfield set itself apart from other neighborhoods here in Northeast Florida.