Community Connection

Frank Aloia Jr. has brought his passion to the Edison-Ford Estates for over 20 years

by anne dalton, esq.

Frank Aloia, Jr.’s great-grandfather, the barber Michael Pavese, and his daughter, Frances, would walk from downtown to the Edison Home. Michael would cut Mr. Edison’s hair and shave his beard. Mina Edison entertained the little girl with cookies and lemonade while she waited for her dad to finish his job. Growing up with these and other Edison stories from his grandmother has tinged Frank’s heart and led him to over twenty years of pro bono service on the Board of Trustees for the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford Winter Estates. He is currently serving his third year as chairman of the board of directors.

Whether poring over the master plan to shift the parking lot away from the Banyan Tree near McGregor and replace it with an authentic restoration of the original Edison Research Gardens or sharing ideas about the creation of a Community Cultural Center and Citrus Café on the grounds of the adjacent Ford Estate along the Caloosahatchee River, Frank’s enthusiasm for the estates is both electrifying and infectious. Along with the rest of the board, he anticipates taking the true spirit of Mrs. Edison’s gift of the property to a new level. Where she had envisioned a botanical garden and library, the board under Frank’s leadership will not only be respecting her original vision by re-imagining Mr. Edison’s research gardens and restoring the Moonlight Garden, but also making the estates into a focal point for cultural programming. It will be a green space and cultural gem walkable from the residences downtown, complete with a brand-new restaurant and new spaces for lectures, art exhibits and educational programming. It will also allow for expansion and enhancement of events for community groups such as Captains for Clean Water and the Lee County Bar Association, and will allow for new programming as well. Frank’s advice about volunteering: “We all know that volunteering in various organizations helps us to meet new people and perhaps opens doors both professionally and personally. But if that’s your motivation, that’s the wrong mindset. Because we are all busy. You don’t want the organization you are volunteering with to feel like a burden. It needs to be something that you are passionate about, that brings a sense of self-satisfaction that you are helping to make a difference, that you are doing something positive and altruistic. If your motivation is to pad your resume or get to meet people and get some new clients, it will become some awful thing you see on your calendar when you have a meeting or a function. You don’t want that. You want it to be something you care about. If you are involved in something and it doesn’t bring you any satisfaction, honor your commitment and get out. Find something that is your passion.” Frank’s goal with the estates was to have a voice and an opportunity make a difference, to make the estates a better place than he found it many years ago. It is a goal he is surely realizing!

Anne Dalton, Esquire, mediator and arbitrator, is an enthusiastic attendee to the annual Estate Plant Sales.