Area Code 321

DID YOU KNOW

Why Area Code 321

THANKS TO OZZIE OSBAND

In our little slice of paradise off the east coast of Florida, nestled right in the middle of space action, we have one of the most distinctive area codes in the country – 321. It’s not just a set of digits, it’s a symbol of our deep connection to the SPACE PROGRAM and the iconic countdown that resonates not just here but across the nation and beyond: 3…2…1…we have lift off!

You would think it would’ve been a no-brainer as to what our area code would be from the beginning, but that wasn’t the case! It wasn’t until Robert “Ozzie’ Osband, advocated for it a little over 20 years ago it became our official area code!

The Story Behind Area Codes 

What is an area code anyway… They are those three-digit numbers that help us pinpoint the exact location we're dialing when we make a call. As our populations grew, so did the need for more phone numbers. The first significant change was the shift from 2 letters and 4 numbers to 7-digit numbers, with area codes initially used by operators. As the population continued to surge, the 10-digit system became necessary.

Florida's journey in this telephone number evolution is fascinating. It all began with 305, which covered the ENTIRE state in 1947. As the Sunshine State's population soared, we welcomed 407 in 1988, sharing it with seven other counties. About a decade later, with counties bursting at the seams, the 321 area code was born, serving Brevard County and one other, Seminole.

Ozzie Osband: The Rocket Geek Who Made It Happen

A self-proclaimed 'space geek' and a data programmer residing in Titusville, Florida, he was the driving force behind securing our very own area code. In 1998, he initiated a petition to claim the available area code for our county, dubbing us the 'Countdown Capital.' The support was overwhelming, and on November 1, 1999, the 321 area code officially came into existence.

The first call made using the new area code was nothing short of historic. Florida's then-Governor, Jeb Bush, dialed a number we all recognize – Kennedy Space Center. Right beside the center's director was Ozzie Osband, receiving the call that marked a monumental moment in Space Coast history.

321 Forever Genius

Recently, on August 8, 2023, Ozzie Osband, affectionately known as the "Rocket Hobo" by locals, left us. He will forever be remembered as the genius behind our iconic 3…2…1 area code.

As we travel beyond our beloved Sunshine State and offer our phone numbers starting with '321,' we often hear the same response: 'That's a pretty cool area code.' To which we proudly reply, 'We're on the Space Coast!'

Ozzie's legacy lives on in every '321' call made, connecting us all to the rich history and boundless possibilities of the Space Coast.

THANK YOU OZZIE OSBAND

Thanks for giving us a conversational piece and unique place on the map!

TOP 5

5 Success Strategies for a Student

School is back in session! Here are 5 Success Strategies to pass along to your student:

• Know Your Strengths

• Set Specific Goals

• Prioritize Happiness

• Be Resilient

• Make Time to Recover

ATHLETES

Patience in Athletes Leads to Success

We all have heard the saying ‘success doesn’t happen overnight’ and it rings true in sports too, probably even more so.

As an athlete you must focus on getting better every day! Working every day to build on your talents, optimizing your strengths, and improving your weaknesses. It’s a process. Something that needs to be taught to our young athletes. They need to know they’re not going to become the next Lionel Messi or Simone Biles overnight.

A lot of time, effort, and patience needs to be put in. Teach them to set small realistic goals within their sport and celebrate each achievement. I think it’s important to watch documentaries on some of the great athletes with them! These show how the greats became great and what they had to overcome along the way.

With work, their time will come. Even if they don’t become the next whoever, in the end, they’ll become themselves and a better version of it…each day!

PARENTS

Time Management for Stay-At-Home Parents

We all know that stay-at-home parents aren’t the ones that DON’T WORK…parenting is a job in and of itself! If you and your family are lucky enough to have a stay-at-home parent, kudos to y’all, but give that SAH parent (and if it’s you, yourself) the respect it deserves because running a house and a house with kids IS a FULL-TIME job!

Wake up, make breakfast, rush to school drop off, get every chore under the sun done in record time before car loop pick up, take to activities, make dinner, showers, tuck into bed, wake up and do it all again!! Do you feel sometimes you’re just the Tasmanian devil running around in a whirlwind of chaos every day…you feel that you’re SO busy and have NO TIME for anything nor do you feel you get anything accomplished in the 24 hours you do have each day?

Learn to TIME MANAGE!!! Take the time to create a plan of attack for the upcoming week! If that means you need to tell everyone to leave you alone for 30 minutes for you to think…it’s worth it! Write down all the chores you need/would like to accomplish over the next week. All the appointments you have and activities you must get to. Write down what RELAXES you and YOU enjoy doing! Then get to work on creating a weekly schedule!

First mark off the times you are in school drop-off and pick-up lines and go from there. Fill in those blanks, prioritize your time. If you wake up at 6am, then mark down wake up. If you leave for school drop off at 7:40 am, write it down. Then you realize you have 1 hour and 40 minutes for a morning routine, write down when you’ll start breakfast and pack lunches, etc. When do you get back home from drop-off, write it down.

For example, 8:15 am drop-off and you’ll leave again at 2:45 pm to pick your troops up…that give you 6-1/2 hours to get stuff done!! Plug in one chore a day. For example, you get home at 8:30 am on Monday morning and you need to clean the kid’s bedrooms, so mark down 8:45 am clean room, give yourself a time frame to get it done by. If you’re a lunch eater give yourself a 30-minute lunch window.

Now for you…maybe you like walking the dogs, reading a book, laying in the pool…give yourself a time frame to do it before you get the kids! Doesn’t have to be all day, maybe 30 minutes, maybe an hour, rejuvenate yourself before it’s pick up time. If you stuck to your agenda for the day, you deserve it and it may be the only YOU time you get for the rest of the day…take it! No need to justify it, because you ALREADY scheduled it!!

You get the gist…write it all down and give everything a time slot. Keep doing this all the way until you write down…go to bed!! You’ll find you have MORE time in your day than you realize! (and don’t forget to schedule, adult time with your significant other)

LIFE

Basic Technology

LEARN IT!! It’s inevitable, technology is all around us!

I’ll be the first to admit, I am NOT the techy person of the family. I know I rely way too much on my family to tell me how to do it and/or just do it for me. Times are changing and are changing fast, and we must learn to adapt and keep up no matter how old we are or how untechy we are. I know I’m preaching what I don’t do, but I myself am trying to be more tech-savvy. It took me a while just to learn how to ‘tap’ my phone to pay for things…so if you feel the same way, you’re not alone…believe me!

A good resource to go to for tutorials on almost anything is YouTube…just search how to…whatever it is you need to learn, even if its how to navigate the TV you’re using to watch it…and watch tutorials.

If you’re a note taker, take notes while learning that you can refer to.

If you’re a visual person, find someone who can be patient with you to teach you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I’d rather ask, then push a button and screw everything up!

In the end, if you’re being taught, pay attention and try your absolute best to retain the information and once taught, use it frequently…the more you use the technology, the better you’ll be with it!

The technology wave is coming in and coming in strong, and if you don’t learn to ride it, you’re going to get washed away fast!