Riverview/Apollo Beach
7
June 2021
Volume 19,
Issue 6
Ph: 657-2418
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CELEBRATING 19 YEARS OF PUBLISHING P OSITIVE COMMUNIT Y NEWS
SOUTHSHORE RESIDENTS COMPETE IN THE KEYS 100-MILE RACE By Libby Hopkins The Keys 100 is a 100-mile, point-topoint running race from Key Largo to Key West. Both individuals and teams compete. There is also a 50-mile option from Marathon to Key West and a 50-kilometer race from Big Pine Key to Key West. All races finish at Higgs Beach on the Atlantic Ocean in Key West. The race takes place on the third Saturday in May every year. Teams are staggered over a period of hours with six runners beginning in each wave. In-
Alicia Driggers, Carrie Elwell, Jhanine Banzer, Heather Cole, Jamie Tedder, Stephanie Peterson and Michelle Gibbs are known in the SouthShore community as The Biscuit Babes. This past May, the ladies competed in the Keys 100 Race, a 100-mile, point-to-point running race from Key Largo to Key West.
dividual runners and teams are mixed and groups will leave every three minutes. Staggered starts will result in runners being significantly spread out along the course. “Our team pushed forward for 17 hours to reach the finish line,” Elwell said. “We had six weeks to prepare for this race. We did some local competitions and some crossfit events to prepare as well for the race. We did everything we could in those six weeks to prepare for the race.” The ladies were happy they competed in the Keys 100. “These ladies are some fierce competitors,” Tedder said. “I know with better planning and training we would compete again in the race next year.” To learn more about the Keys 100, visit the race’s website at www.keys100.com.
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Alicia Driggers, Carrie Elwell, Jhanine Banzer, Heather Cole, Jamie Tedder, Stephanie Peterson and Michelle Gibbs are known in the SouthShore community as The Biscuit Babes. “One day, I was at the gym and I was looking at myself, and I thought, ‘I look like a can of biscuits that busted open,’” said Tedder. “So, when we were trying to come up with a name for our team, Heather said, ‘How about Biscuit Babes?’, so we ran with it, literally.” You must be wondering what kind of team The Biscuit Babes are and what their sport of choice is. Well, the ladies are a running team, and they recently competed in the Keys 100 Race. “I ran the race in 2014 with a different team,” Tedder said. “I was telling the ladies about this crazy 100-mile race in the Keys I did and they were like, ‘Let’s do it,’ and I told them we could, but we are crossfitters, not runners per se, but we knew we would figure it out.”
For 57 years the Sun City Center Volunteer Emergency Squad has been responding to resident needs. The Osprey Observer recently made a $500 donation to the squad to continue it’s good work. See a full story about the entirely volunteer-run organization on Page 11.
CHAMBER HOSTS GRADUATION FOR LOCAL MIGRANT STUDENTS
By Libby Hopkins
The SouthShore the experiences Chamber of Comas well, because merce has been a most oftentimes proud host of the they don’t have migrant graduation the opportunity.” ceremony for 14 Phillip Rivera years. This year’s is one of the stuevent took place at dents’ teachers Harborside Suites and he, too, was at Little Harbor. thrilled to see “It was by far the his students get best celebration in to experience the last 14 years,” graduation. “This said the chamber’s The SouthShore Chamber of Commerce has been event is so speexecutive direc- a proud host of the migrant graduation ceremony cial for the stutor, Melanie Davis. for 14 years. This year, as part of their graduation dents and their “This year, as part celebration, the migrant students from Lennard families,” RiveHigh School got to have a sunset boat cruise of their graduation ra said. “These around Little Harbor. celebration, the mistudents have grant students from Lennard High School so many barriers in their lives that make got to have a sunset boat cruise around it difficult for them to get through high Little Harbor.” school, so this event is not only a celebraThe graduation celebration each year tion of their accomplishments, but a celeis very special and important for the stu- bration for their families as well. It is very dents who are in the migrant program be- inspiring for everyone.” cause the majority of these students don’t get to walk across the graduation stage since their families move around a lot to follow the crops. “The students who are part of this program don’t have big families who come to see them graduate,” Davis said. “They don’t have big graduation parties or go out to a big graduation dinner, so we want to make their graduation special and make them feel special, because sometimes they are the first person in their family to graduate high school.” Part of this year’s celebration was focused on the effort the students put forth to graduate, as the recent pandemic made attending school and graduating difficult. “These students and their parents made their education a top priority,” Davis said. “Most students in this program graduate in the top percent of their school.” An important part of this yearly graduation ceremony is giving the migrant students enjoyable experiences. “Since most of these students help their families or have jobs on the weekends, they don’t have RIVERVIEW KEY CLUB.......................PG 3 a lot of time to experience things like other high school students,” Davis said. “We want BLUE STAR MUSEUMS........................PG 7 them to not only feel great about their EYE ON BUSINESS ...................PGS 41-42 achievements, but we also want to enjoy SPORTS ......................................... PGS 48-49
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