The Lyme in the South Music Fest was founded in October of 2013 under the collaboration of the Ticked Off Music Fest and Florida Lyme Disease Association (FDLA, FKA Northeast Florida Lyme Association a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization). While both entities are dedicated to the prevention, awareness and cure of tick- borne illnesses, the Ticked Off Music Fest is headquartered in New England and the FDLA is headquartered in Jacksonville, FL. This partnership reflects that tick-borne illnesses are a national concern. Indeed, Lyme Disease is the fastest-growing infectious disease in the country. The two organizations are pooling their talents and resources to draw focus to the fact that Lyme cases in the southern US have traditionally been under-reported, causing unnecessary suffering for thousands of patients.

Effective January 2014, Florida Lyme Disease Association united with Northeast Florida Lyme Association (NEFLA) to take a state-wide role in Lyme Disease education, advocacy, research, and support.

Jacksonville, FL residents Aimee Boggs, Dane Boggs and Andrea King founded NEFLA in 2009 after both Dane Boggs and King faced significant personal challenges in getting properly diagnosed and treated for Lyme Disease.

Melissa Bell, a licensed attorney and graduate of the University of Florida College of Law, began providing leadership for statewide Lyme Disease advocacy efforts and operating a highly informative Facebook page under the name Florida Lyme Disease Association in 2013.

FLDA and NEFLA reached the conclusion that the most efficient and productive way to spread awareness within the state was to pool our talent, efforts and resources into a combined organization.

FLDA was formed to increase awareness of Lyme Disease in Florida. Dr. Kerry Clark at the University of North Florida has documented the presence of several tick-borne pathogens, including Lyme Disease, at public recreation and residential sites in Florida and other southern states.

Our objectives include educating the general public to aid in prevention of the disease and educating healthcare providers to increase accurate diagnosis and successful treatment. Florida Lyme Disease Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to improve the prevention, diagnosis and successful treatment of Lyme and related tick-borne disease through education and support of scientific research.

We have a commitment to:

• Provide Floridians with the most up-to-date information about tick-borne diseases, diagnostic tests, treatment and prevention
• Refer patients to forums for individuals to share their stories and find support
• Improve the prevention, diagnosis and successful treatment of Lyme and related vector borne disease through education of the public and healthcare providers
• Serve as a resource for educators, legislators, and Florida government agencies on the subject of tick-borne diseases

For more information on Florida Lyme Disease Association, Inc., or for media requests, please visit www.flda.org.

The Ticked Off Music Fest was founded in 2012 by Gregg Kirk, who currently hails from the NYC metro area in the US. Kirk is the lead singer/songwriter for the band The Zen Engines and former publisher of the Philadelphia/Delaware-based publication Big Shout Magazine. He has also been dealing with chronic Lyme for almost a decade.

Originally from the Philadelphia area, Kirk got his musical start playing with Philly legend Robert Hazard shortly after Hazard penned “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” for Cyndi Lauper. Kirk then went on to form his own bands, including The Killtoys, Shovelhead, The Figurados and eventually The Zen Engines.

In 1989, he founded Big Shout Magazine, a monthly entertainment tabloid that covered the arts and entertainment happenings in the Delaware Valley from Philadelphia to the Delaware beaches. While acting as executive editor, he founded the Delaware Valley Music Poll Awards (a Grammy-like music poll culminating in an awards ceremony in Phildadelphia from 1991 to 1994) and the Taste of Wilmington Festival (an outdoor food and music festival featuring the region's best restaurants and live music with a yearly attendance of 4,000 to 6,000 people) until he sold the publication in 1996.

In 1999, Kirk moved to the NYC metro area where he built his own recording studio and began recording and songwriting in a number of projects. Not long after, he began noticing strange symptoms and spent more than two years going from doctor to doctor seeking a diagnosis. Finally, in 2005 a holistic doctor made the diagnosis and Kirk spent the next several years trying a combination of Western medicine and alternative remedies but to little avail. In March of 2010, he visited John of God's Casa de Dom Inácio de Loyola in Abadiania, Brazil. While there, Kirk experienced a major reduction of his symptoms and a spiritual awakening that inspired him to help others with the illness. Since then, Kirk has been dedicated to helping those with chronic illness through music, motivational speaking, and fundraising.

Kirk has partnered with a number of talented promoters, booking agents, and kindred spirits who are also interested in helping those with Lyme and tick-borne illnesses. If you would like to help join in these efforts, please contact us.