On Monday, September 23, 2024, at 4:30pm in The Alcazar Room of City Hall, the City of St. Augustine City Commission will recognize Pastor Laverne March, presenting her with the city’s highest honor, the Order of La Florida Award.
Nominated by City Commissioner Cynthia Garris, Pastor March exemplifies the qualifications of being nominated for the award, unselfishly devoting herself, her time, and her talent to the welfare and betterment of our citizens and contributing extraordinary services to this community.
From a young age Pastor March recalls a strong desire to serve people. She attended Florida A & M University and went on to work for a logistics engineering firm in Washington, DC before being called by God to continue His work. Pastor March has enthusiastically served as Senior Pastor of Living Waters Ministries.
Her love for people has led her to serve on many social justice platforms, continuing to fight for change and equality. She recognizes that God works in many ways and has given her the heart for the people. She leads a “Building Bridges” group for our local government, in order to help achieve goals for cross-cultural collaborations.
She has organized a group of people, aptly named “Pride in the West Side”, whose purpose is to turn the current ashes of despair into a beautiful place that will offer hope, self-esteem and healing to the West City neighborhood. This organization comes along side of residents in West Augustine to repair & paint homes and other structures, with the sweat equity of homeowners and volunteers, so that children & adults can live in dignity.
Pastor March holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology, from Saint Leo University in St. Augustine Florida. She has a mentoring program at St. Augustine Technical High School, and she also serves as a contributor for classes at Flagler College where she continues to instill change in the next generation. She is a loving wife, mother and grandmother who will remind everyone that her first love will always be God and serving His people.
The City of St. Augustine established The Order of La Florida Award in 1975, so that the City Commission, on behalf of the people of St. Augustine might recognize one who, “…over a long period of time has unselfishly devoted his or her time and talent to the welfare and betterment of St. Augustine’s citizens and heritage, who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship, and has contributed extraordinary services to the community.” Recipients must be 55 years of age and there may not be more than 10 living recipients at any one time. A nomination originates with a member of the city commission and is presented to the city manager who then puts it before the entire commission for confirmation.