Live Oak — Alton and JoAnn Scott have been married “going on 40 years” as Alton and his wife shared a lunch together at Old Florida Company Coffee House in downtown Mayo. Alton is the current president of the Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Emergency Management Coordinator for the county.

Alton was born in 1950 in Hernando, Florida, a small town in Citrus County and JoAnn is originally from Stevens Point, Wisconsin. They met in California where they were both enlisted in the United States Navy. Alton served for 20 years and his wife served for 30 years with the Department of Defense in a civil service position. Many years and many travels later, they wound up in the town of Mayo, where they have resided for the last five years.

Alton is not only Chamber President and Emergency Management Coordinator, but he is also a member of the Rotary Club of Mayo, a member of the American Legion, Chairman of the Suwannee Valley Long-Term Recovery Committee, and the newest member of the Economic Development Council, appointed just recently by the Board of County Commissioners of Lafayette County.

Alton explained that the Suwannee Valley Long-Term Recovery Committee was formed not long after hearing of the devastating tornadoes that struck Lake City in March of 2008, which caused catastrophic damage to many homes and business. It was decided that an organization needed to be formed for Suwannee Valley residents in case a similar disaster struck our area. It was agreed that a committee was needed to ensure equitable distribution of state disaster funds to repair homes that might be damaged by natural disasters.

Alton’s wife, JoAnn, is no slacker, either, when it comes to abilities and talents. She has a gift for making beautiful, colorful quilts. Her shop at 587 South Fletcher Avenue in Mayo, which she opened in June of 2007, is filled with quilts of all sizes and colors, as well as other sewing supplies.

“This is my husband’s new pickup truck,” she said, referring to her brand new computerized Gammill quilting machine. “It can do anything from baby quilts to king-sized ones. I’ve done table place mats on it, too,” she said.

Folks can also bring in their own top layer of a quilt and JoAnn will put the finishing touches on it by sewing on the interior batting and the back layer.

“We call that a sandwich,” she said.

JoAnn has approximately 500 patterns downloaded to her computer, for which she pays $50 a piece, so she has quite an extensive line for her customers to choose from.

Inside her shop you will find many of her personally made quilts, some that were made from scraps, and they are all stunningly beautiful as finished pieces. Many of them have won awards at local events.

The Scotts have been in Mayo for five years, but let’s make this a formal welcome to them into the town of Mayo and Lafayette County.