SRQ Magazine | Love Local Sarasota Bradenton | December 2019

THE SPIRIT OF GIVING

SPECIAL EDITION

DECEMBER 2019

ROCKETKIDS GUIDE TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS

TRANSFORMING HOW WE LIVE LOCAL SARASOTA | BRADENTON AREA

LION TRACKER BOYD VARTY STORIES FROM THE AFRICAN BUSH

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4WALLS DESIGN AWARDS

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contents December 2019

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OF YOUR SHOPPING LIST WITH THE HELP OF SRQ’S HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE, INCLUDING EDITOR’S HAND-SELECTED PICKS FROM 20+ LOCAL SHOPS AND BOUTIQUES. By Brittany Mattie

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HEAD CHECK

FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGING HOW WE LOOK AT MENTAL HEALTH. Written by Jacob Ogles

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FOUNDATION FOUNDER THE SOUTHWEST FLORIDA ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL

As the long-established professional group that provides guidance and expertise in estate and wealth planning, the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council helped jump-start the area’s first community foundation 40 years ago.

In the late 1970s, Burt Bershon, a local businessman, wanted to find a way to organize charitable giving in Sarasota County. Bershon had seen over the years the good that came from donations made throughout the area, but he felt the region would benefit from a more strategic plan for philanthropy. Bershon familiarized himself with community foundations, which had existed in large cities across the United States since 1914. Bershon knew it was what Sarasota needed to bridge the gap between

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individuals and causes who both nobly wanted to work toward benefitting the community. Bershon turned to J. Ronald Skipper, an estate planning attorney and then president of the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council (SWFEPC).

As the long-established group that provides guidance and expertise in estate and wealth planning, the SWFEPC was best positioned to help jump-start the area’s first community foundation. With a membership roster of lawyers, trust officers, CPAs, Certified Financial Planners,

endowment professionals, and chartered life underwriters, council members were the best resources to give legal, tax, financial, and charitable advice to clients.

Knowing the SWFEPC was not designed to manage the intricacies of the charitable wishes of its members’ clients, the Council’s members formed a committee in 1978 to discuss building a similarly well-respected entity to provide expert charitable advice.

“I thought it was a great idea and would be beneficial to the communi-

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ty...the community foundation could be an organization that would encourage and accept gifts from the public to benefit and impact Sarasota County,” Skipper said. “It was a group of professional advisors, members of the Estate Planning Council, who held these charitable trusts created for their clients.

These advisors didn’t have the knowledge or time to find the right nonprofit organizations to give their client’s donation to. Creating a community foundation to handle donations and connect them to nonprofits seemed like a perfect solution and future partnership.”

BUILDING MOMENTUM Within a few months, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County was founded. The Board of Directors consisted of nine members including board members from the Council. Bershon served as chairman and the committee members consisted of Skipper, Ward Dahlgren, Donald Griswold, Gordon Smith, Russell Natherson, John Shea, Sr., Michael Dorman, and Ralph Fensterwald.

These founding board members built the foundation from nothing — no office, no staff, no money. But their commitment as volunteers was greater than any bank account balance. The first step after establishing the Community Foundation was to build an asset base, a challenge that is still appreciated by the Council today.

Those first few years of trying to get off the ground, build momentum, and create a culture of giving was extremely hard. I can only imagine how hard it was for this group to get together and essentially fundraise,” said Kim Bleach, Senior Vice President and Private Client Advisor of Bank of America Private Bank, and current President of the Council.

ESTABLISHING TRUST As a new foundation, it was crucial to find a way to guarantee to donors that their charitable gifts weregoing to be properly cared for and serve the greatest good. Within the first few years of existence, the board focused on ensuring that the Community Foundation

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was an organization that donors could trust. “It was extremely difficult because people weren’t interested in contributing to an organization that had just gotten started and had very little assets. Once we reached the five million-dollar level, I think that gave people comfort in knowing that we were someone they could trust, and the organization was going to thrive.” Skipper said.

The Council continued in the early years to function as the Community Foundation’s guiding sponsor.

itable trusts and community needs, and the Council and its members providing prime financial and estate planning advice to clients. As an acknowledgement to its origins and a nod to the professional advisors who refer their clients, the Community Foundation hosts several continuing education programs for professional advisors throughout the year.

According to Bleach, the legacy of the Council and the founding Community Foundation members demonstrates that philanthropy is more than money and numbers: it is about selflessness and the desire to strengthen the community.

“Sarasota County is incredibly philanthropic.

It’s part of what makes our community so wonderful,” Bleach said. “I believe that people are moving into our area because they are drawn to how KIMBERLY BLEACH J. RONALD SKIPPER our community interacts. While our area is conAll work undertaken by the Council stantly evolving, what hasn’t changed was done through the generous time is how the Community Foundation of of these members. They knew to be Sarasota County does such a fabulous truly successful, however, the Comjob of connecting donors with the dollars munity Foundation needed a leadthey are giving back to our community.” er to guide executive-level decisions.

They convinced Lester Kurth to take on the position of Executive Director part-time and without a salary, which was a strategic decision that propelled the Community Foundation to its next incarnation. Within its ninth year, the Community Foundation had $235,000 in total assets and was able to hire Stewart Stearns as its first paid executive director.

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE The Community Foundation of Sarasota County and Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council continue to work in partnership today, with the Community Foundation being the resource for char-

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SARASOTA COUNTY 2635 FRUITVILLE ROAD, SARASOTA, FL 34237 P: 941-955-3000 F: 941-952-1951 INFO@CFSARASOTA.ORG

CFSARASOTA.ORG

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Stories about the South African bush as told by the liontracker Boyd Varty. Pediatrician, Dr. Ted Meyer, uncaps his Coca-Cola collection. Get locked inside a movie set and become the star at Lokey’s Escape Rooms. Watch the love story unfold of April White and Charles Balliete’s storybook wedding. Venezuelan ex-diplomat Diego Arria explains why the US must reengage with Venezuela or risk disaster 1,500 miles from Florida. Keeping the peace with Executive Director of The Argus Foundation Christine Robinson.

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In the Bradenton Blues Festival’s eighth year, the concert serves to reaffirm the

community-building and arts focus of Realize Bradenton. With a background in music therapy, Kyshona Armstrong brought musical healing to Fogartyville.

First Feather Gallery memorializes Rex Begaye and the mystical power of Native American artwork.

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Check everyone off of your shopping list with the help of our Holiday Gift Guide, including editor’s hand-selected picks from 20+ local shops and boutiques.

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Shore LBK brings California surf culture and Sarasota architectural heritage to life in Longboat Key. Fly sky-high with this pi-grating flock of pies, house baked from scratch by local bakeries

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SRQ360

CocoTele shared the love with local nonprofits and the programs they are producing to support the community.

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In this latest irreverent Q&A series, SRQ tracked down the mover and shaker of the Sarasota Farmers Market, Executive Director Phil Pagano.

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Story Project The Community Foundation of Sarasota County Provisionist Nosh Restaurants Spirit of Giving

This page: Boyd Varty of the

WINTER 2019 EDITION FEATURING THE GUIDE TO PRIVATE AND CHARTER SCHOOLS.

South African Londolozi Game Reserve; Ahi Tuna Mignon from Shore LBK, photography by Wyatt Kostygan. Page 5: Holiday Gift Guide, photography by Wyatt Kostygan. Cover: The season of giving inspired by an eclectic mix of local goods, photography by Wyatt Kostygan.

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DECEMBER 2019

CEO / PRESIDENT / EDITOR IN CHIEF

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ART DIRECTOR / PHOTOGRAPHER

Wyatt Kostygan

ASSISTANT EDITOR

STATE OF THE REGIONAL ECONOMY AND THE LOCALPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARDS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 11:30AM - 1PM THE HYATT REGENCY SARASOTA

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SRQ MEDIA

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GET SRQ DAILY The magazine in your hands offers enormous insight into our community, but the most informed in our community follow our constant coverage of Sarasota and the Bradenton Area in SRQ Daily. The electronic newsletter is a must-read in thousands of inboxes. Check our special editions: the Monday Business Edition, the Wednesday Philanthropy Edition, the Friday Weekend Edition and the much-discussed Saturday Perspectives Edition, featuring a diverse range of opinions from the region’s top pundits and newsmakers. SIGN UP ONLINE AT SRQMAG.COM/SRQDAILY

ORIGINS OF “SRQ” The “SRQ” in SRQ magazine originates from the designated call letters for the local Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.

“SR” was the original abbreviation for the airport before the growth in total number of airports required the use of a three-letter code. Letters like “X” and “Q” were used as filler, thus the original “SR” was revised to “SRQ,” much as the Los Angeles airport became “LAX.” As a regional publication committed to the residents of and visitors to both Sarasota and Manatee counties, SRQ captures the place that we call home.

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SUBSCRIBE TO THE PRINT AND DIGITAL EDITION Join our readers in the pleasurable experience of receiving SRQ magazine in your mailbox every month. To reserve your subscription, provide your information and payment online. You can set up multiple addresses, renewals and special instructions directly through your online account. When you subscribe online, your first print issue will arrive in your mailbox in 4–6 weeks. For immediate access to the digital edition, subscribe directly at our flipbook. Subscribe online at SRQMAG.COM/SUBSCRIBE. Contact us via email at subscribe@srqme.com Vol. 22, Issue 222 Copyright © 2019 SRQ MEDIA. SRQ: Live Local | Thrive Local. Sarasota and Bradenton is published 12 times a year. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The entire contents of SRQ are copyrighted by Trafalger Communications, Inc. Column and department names are property of Trafalger Communications, Inc. and may not be used or reproduced without express written permission of the publisher. SUBSCRIPTION: Subscriptions to SRQ are $36 for 24 issues.

Single copies are $4 at area newsstands.

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Inside the Brand NEXT—SB2: Philanthropic Agenda and Good hero Awards Luncheon, Monday, December 9, 2019

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STORIES THAT MOVE YOU

SRQ MEDIA LAUNCHES NEW DOCUMENTARY VIDEO DIVISION.

BE SOCIAL WITH SRQ Follow us on social media and join the conversation to see your comments here!

Facebook @John Cannon Homes We are delighted to be featured in SRQ Magazine’s Fall Home Portfolio. The Korina’s chef-grade prep kitchen is highlighted on the first page.

Thank you! @Copenhagen Imports Furniture Thank you SRQ Magazine for the feature in the Fall Hone Portfolio section highlighting the @ huppefurniture Memento Dining Collection and the resurgence of minimalism.

WITH THE LAUNCH OF MOVING STORIES—SRQ MEDIA’s in-house video and documentary division, Team SRQ now has a new storytelling platform that captures the narratives of regional nonprofits and forprofits through a dynamic approach. Moving Stories employs the authentic documentarian process to create videos projects that share compelling stories about companies and organizations in our community.

Rooted in video, design and authentic storytelling, the SRQ Moving Stories division produces media productions that evoke emotion and inspire action.

Partnering with organizations such as the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, American Cancer Society, Grapevine Communications, Step Up Suncoast, tThe Hyatt Regency Sarasota and the International Montessori Foundation, Moving Stories leverages the exploratory style of film

documentary to elevate moments of creativity, recognition and corporate achievement.

“Working with SRQ MEDIA was an amazing experience. Each person involved put their own touch on the story and the development of the finished product, which produced an outstanding result. It felt personal. It felt sincere. It portrayed the mission. It was truly a blessed experience. I look forward to continued collaboration over the years.”— Bethany Lynch, Communty Development Manager, American Cancer Society, Inc. Southeast Region.

SRQ MEDIA is currently booking productions for spring 2020. If you would like to experience the Moving Stories authentic filmic storytelling approach, please contact our team. MOVING STORIES | 941-365-7702 x205 TO SPEAK WITH WES ROBERTS or growmybusiness@srqme. com. We’d love to share our creative process with you.

Vote for your favorite local luminaries, dining hotspots and experiences—Best of SRQ Local Ballots Now Open. Celebrating the best locally owned establishments in the region, SRQ MEDIA asks our astute readers to vote for their favorite local eats, shopping, arts, luminaries and hotspots culminating in the buzzworthy special “Best of SRQ Local” awards feature published in the April 2020 edition. We look to highlight local experiences—from new restaurants to memorable theatre productions, from our community’s best achievements to seriously talented chefs. SRQMAG.COM/BESTOFSRQ

@Premier Sotheby’s International Realty- Sarasota-Bradenton Our new digital platform is worthy of headlines, and thanks to SRQ Magazine, now their readers can learn about the powerful new website our company recently launched. @Alzheimer’s AssociationFlorida Gulf Coast Chapter Thanks so much to SRQ Magazine for highlighting the upcoming Walk to End Alzheimer’s for Sarasota and Manatee residents.

Instagram @superiorspiralstairs Thank you for writing an article on our businesses and the history behind them!

It was our pleasure working with SRQ Magazine! @vigmayol Thank you for featuring my work! You have an amazing team @shannonkirsten Thank you for the great feature @srqmag!

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WITH 2020 ON THE NEAR HORIZON, SRQ MEDIA has embarked on a year-long initiative in conversation with the community on the transformation of our region in the next twenty years. In partnership with SEAWARD DEVELOPMENT | EPOCH, SRQ MEDIA has recently hosted the first in a series of roundtable discussions of FORUM 2040 that focused on philanthropy and the future of the arts. SRQ FORUM 2040 invites key community stakeholders to engage with one another to reflect on where we are in the continuum of growth and to cultivate a conversation that tells the story of the change we project to see in the next two decades within various key topic domains. Throughout the year, SRQ MEDIA will invite legacy leaders in the community to partner with us to realize the FORUM 2040 Initaitive.

Hosted at the gracious Hyatt Regency Sarasota this past October, the first FORUM 2040 roundtable created an intimate environment in which passionate and engaged arts patrons shared their insights. Encouraging a dialogue about how the arts will evolve over the next twenty years, key board members and stakeholders from regional arts institutions gathered in conversation to discuss their vision about how philanthropy, diversity, demographics, and accessibility may evolve over the next two decades.

What will the state of the arts be like in Sarasota in 20 years?

What challenges will regional arts and cultural institutions need to address in the year 2040? While the roundtable participants will remain anonymous, the impactful takeaways from the FORUM 2040 conversation provide a meaningful glimpse into the future. Key moments from the arts-focused discussion will be shared in the February 2020 edition of SRQ Magazine. And, looking forward to the year 2040 through the lens of the arts is just the beginning.

SRQ MEDIA will continue to engage the community through its FORUM 2040 platform to highlight other regional topics such as education, philanthropy, real estate and business. We reocognize Seaward Development | EPOCH as our founding partner for this first installment.

Our appreciation goes out to the following organizations who worked with us to engage their patrons: Marie Selby Botanical Gardnes, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota Ballet, The Ringling, West Coast Black Theatre Troupe, Gulf Coast Community Foundation and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Ringling College.

About Seaward Development— For Patrick DiPinto and David Hargreaves of Seaward, developing real estate is more than just building the structure. It’s about forming the perfect team, with the brightest professionals in the field and building longterm relationships with clients who want to live in exceptional communities. Recent projects include Park Residences of Lido Key, 7 One One Palm and work on the Picture Frame House, inspired by the Sarasota School. Their newest project is EPOCH Sarasota. For details, visit epochsarasota.com.

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STORIES ABOUT THE LOCAL PEOPLE, PLACES AND EXPERIENCES THAT DEFINE OUR HOMETOWN

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Below: Boyd Varty shares his life growing up tracking animals on his family’s South African Londolozi Game Reserve.

TRACKING LIONS The Varty Family Share Lessons from the Bush.

Wes Roberts

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN

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This page: Boyd Varty and his father David share their South African experiences at Safari Sarasota.

BOYD VARTY, FULL-TIME LION TRACKER, AND AUTHOR, was recently in Sarasota to

speak with audiences at Ringling College and Booker High School about lessons he has learned while tracking and surviving in the South African bush veldt. Varty’s job is to track and locate lions and others of the “big five” African game animals in the wilds of his family’s South African Londolozi Game Reserve, reporting back so that the safari guests can come and photograph them. It is a life fraught with danger for the inexperienced and replete with time spent quietly observing the natural world. Varty and his family’s Londolozi Game Reserve are connected to Sarasota through Michael Klauber of Michael’s On East, who has been bringing Floridians to Africa for safaris for more than a decade now. Since 2012 they have partnered on the All Heart Fund & The Good Work Foundation of South Africa, bringing modern educational opportunities to rural, South African students with limited access to schooling otherwise, all to honor the memory of a young Sarasota girl named Leanna Knopik who tragically passed in 2011.

To date, the Fund has built and launched six fully functional schools in South Africa. In addition to the stirring stories told by Mr. Varty, other charitable fundraisers included an interactive dinner at Michael’s On East, a “bush dinner” under the stars at Selby Gardens and more. Boyd Varty and his father David Varty sat down with SRQ magazine to talk about how a life in the bush has brought the whole family closer together, and to discuss the idea of life experience as education.

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SRQ: You took us on a lion tracking expedition with your story at the presentation today. how do you connect to your audience? Boyd Varty: I’m trying to do a few things.

The first is that I’m trying to connect people with the natural world via stories. I’m trying to be a voice for nature. And then, more importantly, I’m offering what I think of as the mythology of the tracker. I grew up around some of the best trackers in the world, and, to me, we live in a time where we have to find different ways of doing things and different ways of living—and there’s no maps.

So what I’m offering to people is this. As you go looking for the thing that actually fulfills you, the skill set you will need is an ancient skill set, the skill set of the trackers. And so I feel like that is what my talk is. It is saying to people, “Wherever you are in your life, whoever you are, you are a tracker and there’s something you’re looking for and you’ll have to teach yourself to follow the trail of that thing that’s calling you.”

You shared a story about being attacked and badly injured by a crocodile. Is there something about that life and death struggle that helped you come to these realizations? Boyd: There’s nothing like an encounter with your own mortality to really inspire you to think about how you want to live. All of us have that moment where we realize that we don’t have a lot of time here. To me, just the discovery of your authentic path and your authentic life, I can’t think of anything that could be prioritized above that. I don’t think of the natural world as a dangerous place though. I think of it as a place of presence. The animals communicate, and if you know the language, you can actually be really safe. Anytime that I got into trouble in the natural world it is because I missed something, it was not because it is an innately dangerous place. It’s actually a place where if you speak the language and you pay attention, everything is very, very honest.

David, you must’ve seen, at this point, by generations of visitors coming to the Reserve.

What do people come looking

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for? And what do they actually find? David Varty: In the first instance they are drawn by safari. The “big five” [the industry term for the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo]. That’s our sort of stock in trade. The second time they come, they might say, “The big five’s not that critical. We just want to be out there.” Then the time after that they come, they might say, “We want to specialize in photography.” And then the time after that we actually will put the camera down. We switch the two-way radio off. “We want go off on our own,” they say. “What if we don’t find anything?,” I ask. “It doesn’t matter.” I also think that when they think they come on safari, to use some of Boyd’s words, they discover this other feeling. It’s because of the disconnected nature of where we’ve been as a society. There’s a feeling sometimes that evokes emotions. It’s to do with a wish, a desire to return home, they are homesick, the desire to reconnect back to nature.

You seem to describe yourself as having a sense of calm “being” in an environment that a lot of people would, think of as fraught with wild danger. David: We deal with this a lot with our guests. It’s driven by ratings on T.V. What Boyd says often is absolutely true, “it’s the safest place you can imagine.” There’s no violence, there’s no man/animal conflict. That’s only on the television screens and designed to get ratings.

Every week it’s a special about, you know, ”the most deadly creatures on the planet.” It’s Shark Week.

But for hundreds and thousands and millions of years, people lived amongst the natural world. You have to be aware in the way that you have to be aware crossing the street in New York City or Los Angeles. In the way that you have to be aware when you take your boat up off the coast in Sarasota. But if you are aware you can do things safely and you can actually belong in it. And I mean in a very deep psychological way, you can experience belonging because you experience your own presence in connection with the presence of other creatures and you experience yourself relationally rather than in isolation. And when you experience

yourself relationally, that’s a very, very deep thing. To know the other life around you. And to know that it knows you. That’s a kind of thing that we’re missing. Sometimes people try extreme stuff as a search for meaning. Their lot has become so dull and so mundane and so safe that you are getting these guys doing more and more crazy things to seek the wildness in them. Sometimes the wildness is found by sitting still, not by charging down a mountain.

So again, the perception that the bush is all about the macho extreme guys, it’s exactly the opposite. It’s all about peaceful, quiet.

David, in his speech Boyd talked about how you decided to raise he and his sister on the Reserve. Do you feel you made the right choice? David: There is no substitute for being a family unit. There’s something about a family unit that can find some harmony within itself. And that doesn’t mean it’s wine and roses all the time, but to be in a common space together, to have common ground. So often the Western world drives the businessmen over that hill to try to climb a corporation and his wife over this hill trying to run a family and the children over that hill to boarding school.

All different pressures and forces. It’s difficult to be in harmony with each other in that space. And further to that, I think that education [then in the 1990s] was extremely limited.

Now, with the internet, it is beyond limited. We have to fundamentally change what is education. So a great decision. Never would have changed it for anything. We were lucky we found a teacher to go with us. And now she is the CEO of the Good Work Foundation. She is pretty exceptional.

It seems you were pioneers in what is typically called, “homeschooling.” David: And the crazy thing about that is that nobody ever challenges how the [modern] school came to be in the first place. It’s an archaic system. It was designed to prepare people for war. I do think it will be reengineered.

The system now is not teaching the priority issues, and it’s not understanding that what the computers can do, they will soon do better than

humans. So we need to stop teaching things that computers will be doing.

How are these ideas of reprioritizing education being implemented in the schools started by The Good Work Foundation? Boyd: It’s been fundamental. We were outside the system so we were able to look back into the system from the outside. We knew that the time structure was no good. We knew that there could be a much broader curriculum. We knew that the school wasn’t really delivering a worldview. We knew that education was incredibly important, but the institutionalized manner that it was being delivered was limited.

And so, when we founded The Good Work Foundation, we founded it out of that mindset. It’s in the DNA of the Foundation to be disruptive.

Will there be more generations of Vartys on the Reserve? David: Yeah, from Boyd’s sister. Two grandkids, one’s 4 and the other is 2 years old. They live thirty yards from us. We live in a compound together, so our sort of tribal existence continues. It’s very profound to see the next generation arrive at another level of consciousness. My children have been among my greatest teachers, and they’ve shown us a different way from what my generation did. They are much more circumspect and I think much more wise. But what you also discover with grandchildren is it’s not a one size fits all. I’ve got two grandchildren and no ways you would give them the same education. These two are two beautiful souls, but they’re on different ends of the spectrum. And what does the school do? The school sends you down the sausage machine. Boyd: You’ve got to teach them to learn.

You’ve got to teach them to adapt.

You’ve got to teach them to be creative. You’ve got to teach them to think outside of the box. How do you create spaces that do that? That’s what The Good Work Foundation is all about. We want to provide access to world-class education, leading thinking in the world. Learning to learn in an environment where people can be creative. An environment that ignites possibility. SRQ

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srqist

This page: Richard and Chelsea Keehn in one of their escape rooms.

TRAPPED IN A MOVIE Unlock the Storyline at Lokey’s Escape Rooms. Brittany Mattie

ENTER THE STORY LINE. The countdown begins. You have one hour to reach the conclusion till the credits begin to roll. Lokey’s Escape Rooms

alter reality with highly immersive adventures, surprising encounters and creepy thrills. You and your party are put up against the clock to solve puzzles, decipher clues and complete the scripted challenge in the amount of time Anderson Cooper reports stories on 60 Minutes. Owners Richard and Chelsea Keehn are as passionate about movies and cinematography as playing games and problem solving enigmas. With Richard’s education and background in film as an award-winning screenwriter, and having played more than 100 escape rooms in their time, the couple began designing one-of-a-kind stories that haven’t been seen before—simulated settings based on Richard’s original scripts that “make players feel like they have entered another world,” they say. “We created experiences that strive to feel more movie-like than anything out there.” The theatrically themed experiences include three different filmic sets, including “Press Start,” a vibrant retro game world of pixelated fun and nostalgia; “Detention,” a hair-raising tale about five children, a ghostly teacher and unleashed superpowers; and “Trouble in Tinseltown,” a gripping black-and-white 1940s detective story where the only thing in color is you. “Entering an escape room should feel like stepping into a movie,” they say. “Emotions. Memories. Transported. Unforgettable moments that linger long after they leave. Players will feel not like they are ‘escaping a room.’ Rather, that they are moving through a story. And they are the stars.” SRQ 18 | srq magazine_ DEC19 live local

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY EVAN SIGMUND.

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RED, WHITE AND YOU

This page: Ted and his Coca Cola collection. He poses with one if his oldest bottles.

Dr. Ted Meyer uncaps his Coca-Cola craze. Olivia Liang

PEERING OVER A PETRETTI’S COCA-COLA COLLECTIBLES PRICE GUIDE, Dr. Ted Meyer leafs through hundreds of images of historic bottles and bowls, advertisements and cutouts, where red checks and circles mark the treasures claimed. The fascination began during his study breaks in the Emory library, where gold Coke bottles were displayed with pride, and after receiving a Paul “Bear” Bryant Alabama Crimson Tide Coke bottle from his father, there was no turning back. Three bottles act as flavorful doorstop for the pediatrician’s office, a ceramic syrup dispenser stained brown from years of spilled sweetness sits in the corner and a historically accurate and refurbished Coke dispenser encourages you to “Refresh Yourself” for a mere 10 cents. Hutchinson and straight-sided bottles, hand-painted glass, original labels, clear, blue, brown and purple glass from Ethiopia, China, Bangladesh, Israel, Yugoslavia, Greenland… “I just like the fact that the name Coca-Cola is all around the world,” Meyer says. SRQ 20 | srq magazine_ DEC19 live local

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY EVAN SIGMUND.

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GONE TO THE CHAPEL A cinematic screenplay of two locals’ love story. Brittany Mattie

This spread: Charlie Balliette and April White stand inside the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

OPEN SCENE: April White makes her way from the street and into the lively scene of Downtown Sarasota’s Cask & Ale one balmy Friday night, sauntering right past Charlie Balliette. In that moment, time stood still for Charlie, he recalls, “going from seeing in black and white, to seeing in color.”

April was wearing a slinky black dress with high heels and red lipstick— à la Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. “She was one-part vintage, onepart modern,” he says. “And one-part movie star, one-part girl next door.” Everyone else in the bar diminished to background extras of a clip that would become the entire plot of an abiding narrative. Fast-forward to a few outfit changes and dates later, to a proposal leading April to swap the arresting black dress for an even more captivating white one. And the setting for their happy ending looks perfect enough to come from a green screen. The two tied the knot in an intimate and elegant ceremony at Wayfarers Chapel—also known admirably as “The Glass Church”—in the coastal town of Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Designed by Lloyd Wright—architect and son of Frank Lloyd Wright—The Glass House was built between 1949 and 1951. The sacred structure consists of majestic architecture, mostly glass with a brilliant wooden, geometric frame and stone-paved entrance way. And while poeticized for its redwood forest surroundings, perched atop stomach-dropping bluffs above a Pacific Ocean peninsula, the chapel precariously sits on loose soil in an area characterized by slow-moving landslides. Though seemingly unstable geologically, records have indicated that the holy church itself has not moved since its construction, leading some to believe that a higher power protects the glass church structure from destruction—making it one of the most sought-after wedding venues by hopeless romantics. As April and Charles prove by pronouncing their vows standing over a clifftop chapel, the greatest love stories can happen with a simple, valiant hello in a small town bar. That’s a wrap. Queue the warm and fuzzies with the credits. SRQ 22 | srq magazine_ DEC19 live local

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IMAGERY COURTESY OF APRIL WHITE AND CHARLES BALLIETTE.

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interview with

COLLIDING WORLDS

Christine Robinson reflects on five years heading the Argus Foundation. Jacob Ogles

IT’S BEEN NEARLY FIVE YEARS SINCE CHRISTINE ROBINSON moved from a public role as a Sarasota County Commissioner to a leadership post at the Argus Foundation representing the business community. In many ways, she represents in manifest the crossroads of the government, for-profit and philanthropic worlds. We sat down with the community figure to discuss how she managed interactions between the politics, corporate lobbying and setting an agenda for the broader community SRQ: Has the job been everything you expected? Robinson: It’s been better. I was drawn by the people and the effect that the Argus Foundation historically had and the change it’s made in the community. And it has quite a legacy in this town. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by smart CEOs.

What have you brought as a former elected official? It’s bringing understanding to the Argus Foundation, as to how things work in government. But in the reverse, it’s also allowed me to understand how these elected officials are feeling and what’s going through their heads, what they have to contemplate. It brings a deeper understanding for everyone. When you were an elected official, you’re in a different role. But I don’t change the way I interact with people. I loved to interact with neighborhoods when I was a county commissioner. It’s not the stuff that made newspapers. But I developed really deep relationships throughout the community from that. And I see those people reach out to me today, and some of them still write me today. I’m performing a different job function now. Now I’m advocating for a better community, as opposed to being a decision-maker.

How has your arrival changed Argus? They hired somebody who has a good feel for the way they’re feeling. We obviously agree on the majority of issues. I think they hired me because of the way I look at policy. I could tell you what won’t fly and what will fly most of the time, but every once in a while, they feel differently about a topic and I carry that out. The majority of my time is investigating and getting facts and data, because that’s what my board expects on an issue.

What’s the benefit of having a foundation like this as opposed to just relying on the Chamber of Commerce? We’re very different than many of the chambers and the trades groups in that we don’t provide membership services. You join the Argus Foundation to improve the commuPHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN

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nity and to bring forth better policy in the community. We’re communicating more with the outside community. We’re not afraid to let people know where we’re at on things. But we are also putting it out there that we’re receptive to having conversations about issues.

You mention the foundation’s history. How has the mission evolved? We’ve always had a broad mission statement. We could take on local issues, as we saw the importance of them. We definitely have evolved on the issues we’ve taken.

We’ve always been involved in education. But we’ve broadened the topics we tackle now, whether it be election reform, or criminal justice issues, or workforce issues. CEOs typically like to look at measurable goals. They like to bring solutions to the table and measure those solutions. They also like to measure where you’ve been. Bringing that different perspective has helped government in general.

What are the most important historical successes for Argus? It was 20 years ago now that the SchoolMatch study happened. It was led by the Argus Foundation, with all the major foundations and the Herald-Tribune joining. They did a broad-based study of the school system. From that committees were formed and from there the (school sales tax) referendum was taken to the ballot. It failed, but then the next time it passed, and we still have it today.

What about in the last five years since you came on board? Change the Date Sarasota (moving city elections to November) was definitely an important win for the community. Increasing voter participation and having a broader population participate in the election and look at local elected officials is important, and it’s saving money at the same time. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the elections will turn out differently. But it will affect the elected officials. It makes them more accountable to a broader community.

It was never about changing the faces up there.

What role does the business community play as a stakeholder in terms of public policy? The business community pays a lot of money in taxes, so we have a financial stake. But also, CEOs live here. They raise their families here; they have grandchildren here. They have a stake in the quality of life. That’s really the primary motivator more so than anything. There is a small group of people that try and vilify the business community to advance their own interests, but most people appreciate what business brings.

They are the reason our philanthropic community is so vibrant. Look at sponsors. They’re all companies that have CEOs who live here. You can’t run government like a business, but you cannot apply business principles to government to make it better. That’s a huge contribution.

Is the vilifying intentional? If I get a phone call from somebody asking me a question, I always try and respond to them and have a discussion.

We may end up agreeing to disagree, but they understand where we’re coming from. It’s the folks that don’t even have the dialogue or appreciate the fact that there can be a different perspective to their position. But like I said, that’s a minority. We have a great community here, who does a good job supporting local businesses, and our local businesses turn to in a lot of good jobs supporting the community.

We often see debates about whether government needs to run more like a business, but doesn’t. Do you find Argus and government at loggerheads? You can’t run government like a business, but you can apply business principles to government to make it better. That’s a huge contribution. Budgets are probably the area where we disagree with governments the most.

We’re looking for efficiencies, and sometimes governments just looking to expand their revenue. A good example would be the gas in 2016. That was being proposed and pushed by county government. We launched a social media campaign during srq magazine_ DEC19 live local | 25

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interview with Hurricane Irma. People were still able to get to their phones and get on email and get on social media to find out what’s going on. Just letting people know what’s happening caused folks to write into their county commissioners to say, “Hey, we have 5 percent tax on water electric and propane, another tax is not the way to go.” It turns out they didn’t need it.

Their budget today looks really good.

I understand you have worked recently with the Newtown HVAC program. What motivated you guys to get involved with that? I was approached by Commissioner Willie Shaw, who asked for the Argus Foundation’s assistance creating workforce training in Newtown. I was intrigued by the idea, so I went on a couple-month research journey, talking to people, talking to construction firms and folks who have tried workforce training in Newtown before and failed. Understanding what’s happening and how it evolved, I went back to Commissioner Shaw and said this is a worthy endeavor, and we’re going to explore it. But we’re going to want to do this a little bit different than what you envisioned. The City Commission was looking at building a building to house training, and we thought building a program to justify the use of a building was the way to go. We connected with Mireya Eavey from CareerEdge.

I had worked with CareerEdge before as a county commissioner when we wanted to get a machining program started. She started exploring this topic with me. Today, we have a training program at the Boys and Girls Club for HVAC maintenance. We contributed to CareerEdge, and the city contributed as well. We all came together to make this happen. And it worked. It’s small, with nine students. But we have been working with the next class. And we’ve had people hired into jobs right out of the HVAC program.

And how do the finances work with this program? Is this something that relies on government funding? We contributed.

CareerEdge contributed. The city contributed. We all came together to make this happen. It’s small.

There’s nine students right now. But we’ve created a program. And what makes us a little different is that we have also partnered with the Public Defender’s office to create a program where those who have applied that have driver’s license issues and criminal histories, to see if we can help clear those up before they enroll in a program. The next class, we got some applicants who were willing to work on some of those criminal history issues and driver’s licenses to get them reinstated. Now they can take the HVAC course and be hired out of that program. So it’s also a recidivism benefit.

That’s interesting because you mentioned Argus started to get into criminal justice reform. That hasn’t always been consid-

ered a business issue. How has thinking evolved there? Let me tell you about a project related to that. We just joined with the local ACLU to work on a bail bond study for our jail, to determine who’s in there, who shouldn’t be in there, why they’re in there, how long they’ve been in there. Argus was going to help guide the decision-making on new jails and on programs for the future. Our community is very interested in that. But it just got everybody thinking and understanding that if you can get somebody back on their feet again, it’s going to cost the community a lot less money. The business community is in dire need of a workforce right now. It’s a win-win situation all the way around for everybody. And you get to change the course of a life. From that, we learned the ACLU was going about to embark on a jail bond study. So the Argus Foundation came forward and said, “Hey, we’re interested in what you’re doing, and would like to participate. We’ve been meeting with the criminal justice players in the community to say this is what we want to do, we’d love your input and assistance.” We’re going to get some good information and recommendations out of it for the community. We’ve been watching the various players in government having the same conversation over and over. We’re hoping an outside push from two groups that aren’t typically on the same side of the fence will make some positive change. That’s probably been the part I really enjoy personally, is working with different groups, on things that we can agree on.

I’ve really gotten to know a lot of good people in this community who I normally disagree with on a lot of issues, butI’ve been able to work with them on projects for the betterment of the community.

Does your experience with political coalition building help bring people to the same table? The fact I was able to work with these organizations while I was an elected official and gain their trust, even if we disagreed on issues, helps. That has been a seamless transition for me into this role of being able to work with different groups. And these groups have been able to come to us because they know we have our door open to solutions. The coalition we were able to build for Change the Date was unbelievable, right? We had the police union and the ACLU endorsing the same cause. The police union said to me, at one point, I don’t think we’ve ever endorsed the same issue before. We actively look for those opportunities.

Sarasota has such a history of contentious discourse. Does that make it difficult when you do bring people together?

We’ve done it through our events. We bring people in who we don’t always agree with, but have good deep civil discussions, and we have a rep-

utation for that. We lead by example. But also in the same regard, we are always looking to solve the next community issue, so we’re not looking to vilify an organization for the position they’re taking. We’re just going to argue the facts against it.

I think people have understood that about the Argus Foundation. This year we recruited the CCNA [Coalition of City Neighborhood Associations] to join us and call for more accountability for the School Board referendum and to create a Financial Review Committee for that. They joined us in that call. You can always improve in relationships.

But we’ve demonstrated we have the ability to reach out to people and make a case.

You are no longer an elected official but your husband, Eric Robinson, now sits on the School Board. Do either of you get accused of your agendas driving the other’s actions? That argument is a matter of convenience. But I will point to the superintendent as an example. We held a joint reception with the Chamber and the Education Foundation, to welcome the superintendent in. We didn’t get any objections.

We hosted the superintendent for a Meeting of the Minds luncheon. We didn’t get any objections for that. But when we disagreed with the majority of the School Board on some issues, that’s when the objections started to come. I think that is a convenient argument for when you disagree with someone. It’s not always a board member that’s bringing matters up. My president brought an issue to our board, and our board decided to take a position, one that was driven by my 25-member CEO board.

That wasn’t driven by me. So if there is friction, it’s because they’re not willing to recognize the some of the problems that are happening.

Dealing with a board, is it challenging to know what position to take on particular issues? We’ve had a Meeting of the Minds event where we don’t necessarily have agreement within our own organization about the topic. For instance, we had a conversation in February about legalization of marijuana, and regulation of marijuana, recreational marijuana. We have not taken a position on that, I can tell you. I hear lots of voices on both sides of the issue within our organization. But we were able to come together and learn about it and learn about the issues and expose the public to those issues as well. It was such a great discussion that allowed people to contemplate different positions. And we will bring in people that we don’t agree with most of the time. George Soros was brought in a little before my time, but is a great example. We’ve used our Meeting of the Minds events to bring statewide leaders to our community, so they can be here in Sarasota, experience Sarasota and learn about our issues just like we can learn about them. SRQ

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THE VENEZUELA CONVERSATION Unrest in Latin America has grown. Ambassador-turned-critic Diego Arria says it’s time for the US to engage the region. Jacob Ogles

DIEGO ARRIA ONCE SERVED AS VENEZUELA’S AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES. Now he faces the threat of jail if he returns home. The critic of the Nicolas Maduro regime in his home country—and the Hugo Chavez reign before it—shared his hope for change with the Sarasota World Affairs Council in October, when he also sat down with SRQ to discuss why Florida must pay closer attention to tumult in a country closer than Idaho.

SRQ: What has it been like shifting from representing Venezuela abroad to becoming an international critic of the government? Arria: I’m a product of a different Venezuela, which was a free, open, democratic country. I had wonderful relations with everybody in the world. So that change in my country, it was a monumental impact on my views not only of my own country, but the world. At the United Nations, when for the first time in my life where everybody saw concentration camps in a country, with people starving and being under siege and massacring, I would say that changed me forever. And the way I see unfairness, fairness, any circumstance on violence, I am always on the other side.

You have said President Trump is taking Venezuela more seriously. In what sense?

The Clinton administration didn’t do anything with Venezuela. The Obama administration, the same case, except Obama started the first sanctions.

But the main pronouncement and statement of policy regarding Venezuela has been done with the Trump administration. I cannot say it is a result of a grand strategy. It’s more of a case-by-case, sometimes day-by-day activity. I don’t want to say tweet by tweet. It seems to me that the circumstances have been shaping the foreign policy in Venezuela.

I’m not against that. But I would have liked to know whether they have a plan. Nevertheless, no one before has been more forceful and more systematic with the sanctions than the Trump administration.

Virtually every politician on both sides of the aisle in Florida supports the posture the US has taken with Venezuela. but there seems to be a feeling that as people flee here, they’re not welcomed with open arms. Would that help? I don’t know. Because I’m here, it is very easy for me to respond to what we need in Venezuela. But how can you tell the guy that’s 20 years old who can’t find 28 | srq magazine_ DEC19 live local

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more professors or the universities or doesn’t have enough to eat or they don’t see any future in Venezuela, “Listen you must be patient and you stay there until things change.” That will be asking too much. As a consequence, we have lost many, many young people. The polls indicate that if you open the doors of the United States or Spain or France or wherever, maybe you will lose 60 percent of our young people. I’ve said that even with this interim government that we have. The onus today is also on our side because they continue leaving because they don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. That is very frustrating.

How much has Sen. Marco Rubio been involved in discussions? Rubio has played a fundamental role in mobilizing the Trump administration. Next to him [New Jersey Sen. Bob] Menendez on the other side of the aisle. But Sen. Rubio, he’s been very loyal. He’s second to no one.

Is that because Florida is the closest state to Venezuela? Do Floridians need to pay more attention to what’s happening in this neighbor to the south? The title of my conversation in Sarasota was “A Real Threat in Our Backyard,” but I take issue with the word “backyard.”

Because we are different than the area that is garbage in the backyard. Venezuela is actually in your front yard. We are only 1,500 miles away. You can leave for Syria, Afghanistan, but you cannot depart from this region and get there directly. We are the most American country in Latin America still, and that’s because of the proximity. Baseball had a little to do with it, too; my hero growing up was Joe DiMaggio. But those are the references that we had, at least in my generation.

There’s been a lot of talk in Florida about the effects of socialism in Latin America, but also of totalitarianism. What lessons should US voters take away? If I was an American, you have to start thinking of a region

that you thought that was more or less at peace, then you start looking at what could happen. If you have cancer, you never say I am sick of the metastasis. You are sick of the tumor. The tumor is Cuba. But people don’t want to address this.

We are suffering the consequences—and it has spread faster than people thought. Until last year, we had governments in Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, even Mexico. The region should become the first priority of the United States. Especially when the administration said they don’t want to have any more wars. You don’t have to be a warrior. You just have to pay attention and do something about it.

Ironically, some of the Latin American countries have perfect diplomatic relationships with Cuba.

Colombia is a case in point. None of them take any action. I wrote about six months ago that the Chinese were providing Venezuela with tear gas, but Latin America is very happy to do business with them. This double standard to participate is really weakening us. Imagine if Colombia changes. Colombia and Venezuela together will be 90 million people at territory with oil, with diamonds. You can imagine what kind of a threat we are for South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

So how should Venezuela be included in these conversations? The United States has been absent, missing in action, for the last 15 to 20 years of Latin America. You don’t see them anymore. In that while, they gave the place to the Chinese, to the Russians, to the Iranians even.

They buried the Monroe Doctrine. They forgot about the region and a moral commitment to stay conscious of our independence. But if you think about it, not a long time ago, we had more of the United States involved in our region. I mean, the Peace Corps was an extraordinary way to relate to and connect to the most important people in the United States. But the United States disappeared from the region, more concerned with what is happening in Syria. SRQ PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN

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LOCAL PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS+CULTURE

culture city

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Realize Bradenton Executive Director Johnette Isham.

REALIZING THE BLUES

In Realize Bradenton’s 10th year, its marquee event reaffirms its mission.

Andrew Fabian

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culture city TEN YEARS AGO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOHNETTE ISHAM WAS TASKED TO LEAD Realize

Bradenton’s arts-centered vision for the revitatlization of Downtown Bradenton. With a background in visual arts, Isham had the pizzazz and the neural network to turn the big, vague ideas on paper into tangible results in the real world. Today, residents up and down Florida’s Gulf Coast have heard of Bradenton’s Riverwalk, a lush riverfront green space with a skate park and public art installations, while Bradenton locals enjoy a seasonal farmer’s market and a monthly arts popup called Friendly City Flea.

But no single facet of the plan more plainly demonstrates its vision—or Isham’s status as a mover and shaker—than the Bradenton Blues Festival.

The festival’s first edition came in 2012, and few know that its enormous success came in spite of Isham’s lukewarm acquaintance with music.

“When we started the festival, I knew relatively nothing about music,” she says, let alone the blues that she would come to love and appreciate. A genre for the festival had not even been finalized until Blues Music magazine moved their headquarters to Bradenton.

Isham, with her sharp eye and capacity for collaboration, says “the rest is history.” Now in its eighth year, the festival has come to represent the pinnacle of Realize’s mission—it showcases public art along the Riverwalk venue, highlights the natural beauty of the Manatee River, builds a strong sense of community and place, and, like any good revitalization effort, draws the kind of crowds that translate into cash for local business owners. This year, Realize has assembled another

stellar roster of blues masters to help celebrate its 10th year.

Featuring a buffet of styles from easy-listening and twangy backporch blues to blues both funky and a little gritty, showgoers can expect sweeping guitar solos in pentatonic scales as well as some more traditional elements of blues music with a bit of storytelling, some heartbroken swooning and soaring female vocals. The festival opens Friday, December 6 with a free “blues appetizer” concert headlined

by The Duffy Bishop Band. With awailing voice that channels Janis Joplin in her higher registers, Bishop has enjoyed a career spanning four decades.

She has dabbled in musical theater both as a performer and costume designer, and often assumes a character for her live shows, giving her performances a splash of whimsy and a dash of burlesque. Some may laugh, others may blush, but all will raise their hands in witness of this formidable blues woman.

The artist most primed to steal the show is Toronzo Cannon. A Chicago Transit Authority bus driver by day, Cannon was a star on the rise until the release of

his first album turned his music career into a veritable supernova.

His observations on the bus and in the nightclub inform the timeless everyman appeal of his lyrics, while the paradoxical wildness and control of his guitar work picks up where Hendrix left off. He still works as a bus driver, strategically using his PTO to enable him to bring his heavy, hard-hitting blues to venues as far away as Japan.

With such a staggering track record of bringing world-class acts to the Riverwalk stage, it would be easy to overlook all of the initiatives successfully launched from under the Realize umbrella. To build a strong network of cultural resources, it takes more than just creative placemaking and rock ’n’ roll. Toward these efforts, Realize uses the proceeds from the festival to fund free youth, art and music programs, including Blues in the Schools, which sees artists from the festival hold seminars aimed at encouraging young musicians to pursue a career in music. The organization also chases ancillary goals like developing entrepreneurship

amongst Gen Z and Millennials, and the cumulative effects of Realize’s programs have won them numerous accolades like “National Civic Innovator” from the Knight Foundation and the “Future of the Region Award” from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

And it’s not over for Isham and Realize. Rather than sit back and admire the first 10 years of their work, she and the organization continue to look to the future for more expansive arts programming and community-building. Beginning in 2020, Realize hopes to implement its Healthy Together Program, a neighborhood outreach initiative that benefits children and families with nutrition, art and cooking classes. There is also talk of a series of children’s books centered on educating and celebrating the area’s history.

Realizing the vibrant vision of the master plan is a full-time job, but the prospect of the next 10 years still holds the promise of joy for Isham. “I love what I do and the people of Bradenton are amazing to work with,” she says.

“That makes my work a joy.” SRQ

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GOOD VIBRATIONS Kyshona Armstrong turns music into therapy.

Andrew Fabian AS A LICENSED MUSIC THERAPIST, Kyshona Armstrong enjoyed a career using the power of song to help stroke victims learn to speak again, atrisk youth realize that their lives have worth and the incarcerated that redemption is possible. Her techniques revolved around the development of therapeutic mantras specific to her patients’ personal stories. “I was there to remind my patients that they have a story to tell and that it matters,” she says. Most would consider her career in music therapy a marriage of talent and purpose. So, when Armstrong let her music therapy license expire, it was not in dereliction of her life’s duty, but to serve others in a different capacity. Today, she’s a singer-songwriter based out of Nashville and she goes only by Kyshona, and even if the mantras are now her own, her goal remains the same. “My mission is to be a voice and a vessel for those who feel forgotten,” she says. Her songs combine the blues and soul music of her Baptist upbringing with lyrics that call for self-love, forgiveness and compassion. She brought her musical healing to Sarasota in October, opening Fogartyville’s season with a solo performance that was more revelation than entertainment. In spite of the soothing sounds of her strums on the acoustic guitar and a dynamic voice that carries all the weight of her spirituality, it was in between songs where her real gift shone. “Most of my show is storytelling that goes hand in hand with my songs,” she says, using her faith and the wisdom of her experiences to let the audience know that she sees them and that they are not alone. “It’s like I’m still doing music therapy.” SRQ

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ART AND PARABLE

Rex Begaye and the mystical power of Native American artwork.

AS A CHILD, A GRANDFATHER GIFTED WITH SECOND SIGHT whispered in his

ear that he, like many in his lineage, would become a medicine man. The prophecy foretold that his journey would take him far from the reservation and deep into the modern world, terminating at what his grandfather called “the soft throat of the eagle.” He would settle in Cleveland as an adult and find success in the beauty industry, but his sense of self was tested as his connection to his Navajo roots became increasingly tenuous. One day, disillusioned by the trappings of life outside the reservation, he cut all ties, packed his RV and headed south, hoping to return once again to the currents of his grandfather’s prophecy and perhaps discover the meaning of his words.

The currents of prophecy carried him to Florida, where, after a chance encounter with an herbalist named Barbara Huntoon, he would begin the defining chapter of his life. The two fell in love, Begaye picked up a paintbrush full time and they spent 15 years traveling a Native American art show circuit before settling in Sarasota. “Rex really loved 36 | srq magazine_ DEC9 live local

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the vibe in Sarasota,” says Huntoon, “and it’s considered by many Native American traditions to be the navel of the world.” For Begaye, Sarasota was the soft throat of the eagle, the place where he could fully embrace the role of medicine man his grandfather whispered in his ear as a child.

“Rex was raised very traditionally Navajo,” says Huntoon, who now curates the newly opened First Feather Gallery in Downtown Sarasota, a Native American art center that memorializes her late husband’s work.

“Everything he learned was the ancient way,” she says, and in this ancient tradition, Begaye’s art was not just the product of creative impulse, but the manifestation of his inherited gift for healing. His art, like his life, contains meaning that he hoped would bridge the disconnect between the modern and the sacred. His color collection is rich with totems and sweeping astronomical vistas that connect the terrestrial with the sacred infinite.

The eagle features prominently in much of his work, often draped or superimposed over a human figure to signal that a line of communication with the sacred is open. In

Andrew Fabian

other pieces, buffalo imagery dominates the foreground to signify abundance. For those initiated into Native American symbology, his pieces read like prayers that call for harmony within as a means of cultivating harmony with our environment. Begaye’s black-andwhite work, with its delicate shadows and meticulous stippling, almost takes on the look of an iconography alphabet of Native American mythology, with intimate human moments juxtaposed with sacred animal symbols like eagles, horses and wolves. His work inspires a sense of revelation and invites viewers to meditate on the sanctity of nature.

If the life and work of Rex Begaye is a parable, then First Feather Gallery is a collection of his teachings. For Huntoon, the lessons in his art are timely. As the hard lines of high rises continue to dominate the Sarasota skyline, she hopes the art of her late husband, as well as the art and jewelry of other Native American artisans in the gallery, can remind people to honor the beauty of the natural world. “It can wake us up and help us remember our role as guardians of this planet,” she says. SRQ PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN

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BOUTIQUE SHOPPING, HOME DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE AND TRENDS.

UNWRAPPED SRQ’s Holiday Gift Guide.

Brittany Mattie

ABOVE: BOHEMIAN NOEL Oh My Gauze hand-painted Mexican scarf, $98; Treska St. Maarten Collection beaded statement necklace, $70; Oh My Gauze, 374 St. Armands Cir., Sarasota, 941-388-1964, @ohmygauze. Local artisan Stacey Judkins #032 starfish charm ornament, $15; The Artful Giraffe, 1861 Fruitville Rd., Sarasota, 941-388-3700, @theartfulgiraffe. LUX Fragrances “Noble Fir” forest green candle, $52; Just/Because, 7 S Blvd. of the Presidents, Sarasota, 941-388-1939, @justbecausesarasota. FLOOR 9 “Night Cap” flask, $19; Mercantile Home & Apparel, 1463 Main St., Sarasota, 941-366-2457, @mercantilesarasota. Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. Cuvée de Castleton Fermented Golden Ale, $14; 99 Bottles Taproom & Bottleshop, 1445 2nd St., Sarasota, 941-487-7874, @99bottles.sarasota.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN

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ABOVE: REVERIE & CHILL Spicher & Company Vintage Vinyl floorcloth, $50; Wild Lather all-natural and vegan mineral soaps, $12/each; Concrete soap dish, $5; TWINE Rustic Farmhouse acacia wood and marble coaster set, $42; Gemstone beaded bracelets, $20/each; Local artisan BIA Candle Co. “Amber Santal” hand-poured soy candle, $12; Art of Living Collective, 2139 Siesta Dr., Sarasota, 941-260-8437, @artoflivingcollective. Dragon’s Gate Botanicals CBD Sleep Blend, $110; CURVE Revive external analgesic rapid-relief balm, $50; BRAHMA avocado and algae CBD cooking oil, $40/each; Winston Pharms full-spectrum hemp extract for pets, $100; Second & Seed, 1231 2nd St., Sarasota, 941-260-9971, @secondandseed. Nash | Jones Detox Soak mineral-rich pink Himilayan bath salts, $18; Fixxation Boutique, 1108 N Orange Ave., Sarasota, 941-467-3553, @fixxationbtq. Conscious Coconut organic coconut oil, $28; Swim City, 50 N Tamiami Trl., Sarasota, 941-954-8800, @swim_city. Faux air plant decor, $10–$15; Chasen Reed - Stylish Living, 1425 1st St., Sarasota, 941-363-7975. Katie Loxton London “Good Vibes” makeup bag, $22; Katie Loxton London”Beautiful Dreamer” notebook, $12; Artichoke tea candle, $14; Molly’s - A Chic & Unique Boutique, 1874 Stickney Point Rd., Sarasota, 941-921-1221, @mollys_srq.

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ABOVE: WILD CHILD Local artisan Valerie Bernhard of ArtGuy Workshop royal blue Turkish blanket, $52; Art of Living Collective 2139 Siesta Dr., Sarasota, 941-260-8437, @artoflivingcollective. Local maker Martin Goldman hand-painted, vintage toy vehicle, $20; The Artful Giraffe, 1861 Fruitville Rd., Sarasota, 941-388-3700, @theartfulgiraffe.

BUZZEE organic, washable and eco-friendly beeswax food wraps, $28/4-pack; Just/Because, 7 S Blvd. of the Presidents, Sarasota, 941-388-1939, @justbecausesarasota. Minga Fair Trade Imports balsa-wood jungle crayons, $12/pack of eight; Silk Road Bazaar Golden Retriever baby booties, $25; Ceramic whale piggy bank, $25; Harper Hedgehog clutch, $33; Elephant zip-up hoodie for 6-month, $38 and matching beanie, $6.50; Artisans World Marketplace, 128 S Pineapple Ave., Sarasota, 941-365-5994.

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ABOVE: NO CORKAGE FEE Veuve Fourny & Fils Cuvée du Clos Notre Dame Champagne and gift box, $150; Ramos Pinto Quinta do Bom Retiro 20 Year Tawny Porto, $69; Seagrape Wine Co., 4333 S Tamiami Trl., Unit F, Sarasota, 941-260-9717, @sgwineco. Brooklyn Black Ops Bourbon Barrel Stout, $24; Odd Breed Wild Ales Citrus Farmer Farmhouse Ale, $19; 99 Bottles Taproom & Bottleshop, 1445 2nd St., Sarasota, 941-487-7874, @99bottles.sarasota. 8 Oak Lane marble serving tray, $30; Viski gold-plated cheese cutlery set, $55; Viski heavyweight bottle stopper, $10.50; Local woodmaker Ryan Tremblay Wood Art rosewood cutting board, $10; Art of Living Collective, 2139 Siesta Dr., Sarasota, 941-260-8437, @artoflivingcollective. Terrazzo serving boards, $25–$40; Mercantile Home & Apparel, 1463 Main St., Sarasota, 941-366-2457, @mercantilesarasota. Demdaco “Will Cook for Wine” candy dish, $20; Santa Barbara Design Studio Holiday Nutcracker set of two plus four silver picks, $14; Santa Barbara Design Studio s’mores roasting picks, $20/set of four; Tablesugar Culinary Knife set, $14/set of four; Lili + Delilah Champagne Please saver and pourer, $12; Molly’s - A Chic & Unique Boutique, 1874 Stickney Point Rd., Sarasota, 941-9211221, @mollys_srq.

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ABOVE: THE GOLDEN RULE Project Social “Thankful” cozy sweatshirt, $68; Street Level snake bow clutch, $58; Modern Soul Boutique, 59 S Blvd. of the Presidents, Sarasota, 941-650-6808, @modernsoul_boutique. Local jewelry designer Nikki Sedacca, 18-karat gold Endless Love diamond ring, $6,200; Nikki Sedacca, 18-karat gold jade and baroque pearl earrings, $2,200; 530 Burns Gallery, 530 Burns Ct., Sarasota, 941-951-0620, @530burnsgallery. Nora Fleming stoneware decorative minis, $15/eachl Molly’s - A Chic & Unique Boutique, 1874 Stickney Point Rd., Sarasota, 941-921-1221, @mollys_srq. Yellow gold and diamond studded bangle (top left), $2,410; White gold and diamond bangle (top right), $1,820; Yellow gold and diamond bangle, $1,950; Yellow gold and baguette bangle, $2,930; Diamond Vault Jewelers, 3979 S Tamiami Trl., Sarasota, 941-921-4016, @diamondvault.

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ABOVE: DAD JOKES Hemlock “The Big Boss” avocado straw hat, $34; OluKai Nohea Moku water shoes, $95; COSTA Rinconito Ocean Fade sunglasses, $179; Patagonia men’s Sol Patrol II button-down shirt, $75; Corkcicle Big Wave stainless-steel tumbler, $35; Swim City, 50 N Tamiami Trl., Sarasota, 941-954-8800, @swim_city. Local maker Amy Sell magnet bike chain bracelets, $8/each; Local artist Dante Ferraro sunnyside egg skateboard art, $350; The Artful Giraffe, 1861 Fruitville Rd., Sarasota, 941-388-3700, @theartfulgiraffe.

Kikkerland crab 9-in-1 multi-tool, $22; Molly’s - A Chic & Unique Boutique, 1874 Stickney Point Rd., Sarasota, 941-921-1221, @mollys_srq.

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ABOVE: DENIM DRIFTER VASH Mickey Bone snake-print leather clutch, $210; For Arts Sake Error 404 sunglasses, $182; CALÓ x by JAMES mustard silk tassel sandals, $170; 3x1 N.Y.C. Authentic straight crop ripped jean, $325; MATE Cali Dreamin’ classic crew tee, $68; Bishop + Young Kyra crop jean jacket, $120; Fixxation Boutique, 1108 N Orange Ave., Sarasota, 941-467-3553, @fixxationbtq. BÉLJOY Emilia leaf earrings, $36; BÉLJOY Olivia teal necklace, $34; Modern Soul Boutique, 59 S Blvd. of the Presidents, Sarasota, 941-6506808, @modernsoul_boutique.

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ABOVE: NOBLE INDULGENCE David Donahue paisley pocket square, $65; David Donahue blue knit necktie, $125; Len blue ostrich leg and leather belt, $596; Greiner’s Fine Men’s Clothing, 45 S Palm Ave., Sarasota, 941-388-7113, @greinersclothing. Rolex Submariner in yellow gold and stainless steel, $12,900; Black diamond bracelet on cord, $3,980; Yellow gold and diamond bullet-shaped cufflinks, $1,860; Diamond Vault Jewelers, 3979 S Tamiami Trl., Sarasota, 941-921-4016, @diamondvault. Kalita coffeepot server and wave top, $20/each; O&A lion growler, $18, O&A Roar Blend coffee beans, $19; Out & About Coffee and Supply, 1316 Main St., Sarasota, @oandacoffee. Stainless steel and cast-iron aluminum serving bowl, $99; Chasen Reed - Stylish Living, 1425 1st St., Sarasota, 941-363-7975. Old Time & Forgotten Mixology cocktail history/recipes paper coaster booklet, $11.50; Just/ Because, 7 S Blvd. of the Presidents, Sarasota, 941-388-1939, @justbecausesarasota. Edmund’s Oast “Leather Jacket” American Porter, $13.50/4-pack; 99 Bottles Taproom & Bottleshop, 1445 2nd St., Sarasota, 941-487-7874, @99bottles.sarasota. Corkcicle cigar holder glass, $25; Stainless steel whiskey balls, $16/set of two; Molly’s - A Chic & Unique Boutique, 1874 Stickney Point Rd., Sarasota, 941-921-1221, @mollys_srq. Viski Art Deco gold-plated cocktail picks, $16.50; Art of Living Collective, 2139 Siesta Dr., Sarasota, 941-2608437, @artoflivingcollective.

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PROVISIONIST

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Four adjoining walls may make a space inhabitable, but after evolving through the design process realized buildings become activated with purpose and narrative. Celebrating the year’s most impressive multiunit and multistory projects, the 4WALLS Visionary Design Competition recognizes the region’s built portfolio with the 4WALLS Platinum, Gold and Silver awards.

OUR JUDGES

MATTHEW D. EMERSON AIBC, NCARB, LEED, AP VANCOUVER, BC

An architect with global experience, Matthew has lived in three countries and worked on projects on three continents. Matthew has focused much of his career on designing public-sector projects that meet the vision and needs of the client and public. He enjoys working closely with clients and design teams on a variety of projects to find solutions to complex problems to deliver high-design, sustainably oriented projects. Matthew is responsible for leading HDR’s Education, Science and Technology (EST) sector in British Columbia and Alberta.

KEITH NELSON LEED, AP TRUEXCULLINS

Keith Nelson brings to TruexCullins a keen understanding of the design, project management and construction process with a focus on resorts and hospitality. He has served as project architect and designer for resort and hospitality projects, corporate office buildings, commercial development, private residences, academic institutions, and master planning projects. Keith’s strengths lie in client relations, management procedures and construction coordination. He is an effective and communicative leader and is a valuable member of any team.

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Readers’ Choice P L AT I N U M

Readers’ Choice G OL D

ST. ARMANDS PARKING GARAGE IVY VENTURES / SOLSTICE PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE

SAVE OUR SEABIRDS DSDG ARCHITECTS

Readers’ Choice S I LV E R STEPHEN CHARLES SMITH, NCARB, STEPHEN CHARLES SMITH ARCHITECTS

Stephen Charles Smith is the principal of Stephen Charles Smith Architects, founded in 2017. He has also previously taught architecture at Barnard College and has been an invited design critic at the Pratt Institute. Stephen earned a bachelor of architecture degree from Virginia Tech in 2009 and a baster ofscience in advanced architectural design from Columbia University in 2017. Prior to starting his own practice, Stephen was a designer, architect and project manager at several leading architecture firms for over 10 years, including Rafael Vinoly Architects in New York, NY, and Silver/ Petrucelli + Associates in Hamden, CT.

SMH / FIRST PHYSICIANS GROUP, LAKEWOOD RANCH LAWSON GROUP ARCHITECTS

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Residential Building

PLATINUM

89 BEACH CONDOS DSD G ARCH I T ECTS

Siesta Key Beach is a unique place along Southwest Florida’s vast white sandy coastline, starting South of Tarpon Springs’ Anclote Key, and ending at Marco Island. The shoreline of Siesta Key is a dynamic arrangement of surfaces comprised of silky white sugar-like sand and the glimmering calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The turns one takes while walking the water’s edge are defined by the small rolling tidal eddies and natural subtle imperfections of coastal landscape. The composition of this delicate landscape could be rendered by photography thousands of times—a empting to capture the way sunlight brings mood, life, and soul to the vistas of Siesta Key. 89 Beach unbuilt residences are also capturing the essence of this unique place but doing so within an assembly of surfaces that mimic the fragility of the calm glimmering reflective blue waters and its composition of glass and smooth white stucco facades. The juxtaposition of warm wood surfaces and slit privacy screens invokes the calmness of the docks, dunes and palm fronds fracturing the sun with unique shaped pa erns on a stark white beach. This unbuilt architecture complements Siesta Key Beach in the way that it will be constructed. The various surfaces will refract and reflect the sunlight in a celebratory mimicry of the natural landscape and waterways known as Siesta Key Beach. The breezeways will capture and frame the beautiful vistas and allow the wind to permeate through the architecture.

Architect: DSDG Architects Contractor: Gates Construction Developer: Denny Madden (JB Development) Interior Design: April White DSDG of Sarasota Structural Engineer: Collins Mechanical Engineer: Crawford Williams Landscape Architect: David W Johnston Associates Inc.

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Residential Building

IMG RESIDENCE HALLS GOLD

FA W L E Y B R YA N T A R C H I T E C T S

Architect: Fawley Bryant Architecture. Contractor: Tandem Construction.

Developer: IMG. Interior Design: Fawley Bryant Architecture. Structural Engineer: TRC Worldwide Engineering. Mechanical Engineer: Quest Design Group. Landscape Architect: Kimley Horn (Chris Cianfaglione).

Photographer: Ryan Gamma. Civil engineer: Shroyer Drapala

At the heart of IMG Academy’s sprawling campus is the Ascender Halls Residential Complex. Developed in multiple phases, the three residential halls and adjoining recreation spaces share a common design mix of luxury, leisure, and resort-style amenities. Combined, Ascender East, West and South feature over 650 rooms in five different layouts. Ascender East and South both feature five-stories, while Ascender West raises three-stories. All buildings accommodate social gathering spaces, designated study areas, dorm rooms, laundry, snack shops, and mail. Each dorm room is appointed with wardrobes and private bathrooms, while provided furniture includes bunk beds and desks.

Conveniently situated a short walk from the IMG Academy’s Campus Center and Academic Center, the Ascender Halls Residential Complex is perhaps most impressive as students enter and exit. Designed in collaboration with KimleyHorn, the outdoor recreational space is a true tropical oasis. The 2-acre campus amenity serves all 1,200 student-athletes and focuses on allowing students to relax, unwind and have fun with peers. Offering sand volleyball, basketball, a 25-meter lap pool, and multipurpose synthetic turf fields, the recreation space aligns with the mindset of Academy’s sports-focused students. Additional elements of the design include shade structures for seating and outdoor ping-pong, firepits, and a very popular shack and snack shop called The Hut. One of the challenges of the design was accommodating a required fire-lane turnaround. Creatively, the vital space is now used for flexible lawn games and events by providing a synthetic turf overlay. From the initial idea and client request to opening day, this project was completed in less than seven months —allowing only eight weeks from concept to construction documents. The accelerated schedule permitted the grand opening of the complex to coincide with the start of a new school year.

Residential Building

THE STRAND H OY T A RC H I T ECTS

SILVER Located on historic Whitaker Bayou, a small inlet off Sarasota Bay, The Strand includes 154 residential units, many overlooking both the pool, clubhouse, and recreation area; and the colorful boat-filled marina.

The Strand is comprised of four-story buildings over parking and is just a few minutes from Main Street, bayfront parks, and SarasotaBradenton International Airport.

Architect: Hoyt Architects. Contractor: Gates Construction. Structural Engineer: Wilson Structural. Mechanical Engineer: Global Sanchez. Landscape Architect: DWJA Landscape Architects.

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Commercial Building

SELBY MASTER SITE PLAN MAR I E SEL BY B OTA N I CA L GA R DE N S

PLATINUM Selby Gardens’ Master Site Plan is the outcome of a thorough, inclusive, and visionary examination of the future of Selby Gardens, from the needs of our visitors and our community to best environmental stewardship practices, the safety of our irreplaceable collections, and the perpetuation of Marie Selby’s legacy. The resulting design is a masterpiece of beautiful form and optimized function that preserves our past, protects our collections, and sustains our future. In creating the design for Selby Gardens’ Master Site Plan, the design team consulted with a wide range of stakeholders. Staff members, volunteers, donors and community leaders participated in workshops gathering information about not only the myriad of uses of the new campus but also design aesthetics to determine the most appealing architectural and landscaping style. This information was incorporated with other fact-finding, such as traffic studies and meetings with nearby neighbors and city planners. Predesign information gathering included a careful look at existing Sarasota architecture, especially the iconic Sarasota School of Architecture buildings found throughout the community. The resulting design gives more than a passing nod to Sarasota School design principles, with its wide open interiors, expansive windows, and overhangs. This style is combined with a masterful use of plants on facades and roofs. Ensuring that the Master Site Plan adhered to current environmentally conscious codes, the design team sought out the most rigorous sustainability standards. As such, the team and Selby Gardens prioritized an eco-friendly international standard—PETAL certification through The International Living Futures Institute, the summit of energy-related aspiration and attainment. PETAL certification requires that an organization must produce at least 105 percent of its energy requirements without combustion using on-site renewables. It is a performance-based certification that requires the institution include elements designed to inspire and educate the public about renewable energy. When completed, Phase One of Selby Gardens’ Master Site Plan will be the first garden complex in the world to achieve a net-positive rating in conjunction with maintaining PETAL certification, meaning the campus will produce more energy than it uses. Selby Gardens will achieve this with a substantial solar array, the inclusion of energy-efficient features and equipment, and through integrated use of plants on each building’s exterior, which shield walls and roofs from direct sunlight and buffer winds, rain, temperature extremes and other phenomena that affect energy usage. Furthermore, the site incorporates a massive stormwater-management system, funneling rainwater from buildings, gardens, driveways, and other areas into a large underground cistern. It will be cleansed of harmful substances and reused for irrigation and other purposes before being returned to Hudson Bayou and Sarasota Bay free of pollutants due to the complex system.

Architect: Overland Partners. Contractor: Willis Smith Construction. Interior Design: Overland Partners. Structural Engineer: Kimley-Horn. Mechanical Engineer: ARUP. Landscape Architect: OLIN.

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Commercial Building

GOLD

SARASOTA MODERN H OY T A RC H I T ECTS

Architect: Hoyt Architects. Contractor: Gilbane Building Company. Interior Design: Marzipan.

Structural Engineer: TRC Worldwide Engineering. Mechanical Engineer: Global Sanchez. Landscape Architect: DWJA Landscape Architects. Photographer: Ryan Gamma.

The Sarasota Modern, an urban boutique hotel, is located adjacent to the downtown core in Sarasota, Florida’s emerging Rosemary District. Truly an oasis near downtown, the Sarasota Modern hotel boasts state-of-the-art amenities including a luxury spa, upscale bar, and fitness studio. The Sarasota Modern is an 89-room luxury boutique hotel fusing captivating architecture with minimalist design and artistic flair to create an inviting space for modern thinkers. The hotel is designed to reveal itself to you, piece by piece.

This new Sarasota destination hotel is the first for “The Modern,” a hotel brand developed by Cincotta Co. The Boston-based company specializes in developing mixed-use boutique real estate projects in what it refers to as “challenging” urban sites.

Commercial Building

SAVE OUR SEABIRDS DSDG ARCHITECTS

Architect: DSDG Architects

SILVER Save Our Seabirds is a bird sanctuary that rescues, rehabilitates, and releases over 4,000 birds each year while educating the community about the importance of birds to the environment.

Looking to increase their presence at their current location on City Island while providing necessary restrooms and exhibit space, the organization approached our firm to design a new visitor center. The proposed design is a glass circle wrapped in aluminum panels that create the imagery of seabirds by using a custom pattern of circular perforations. An undulating fabric canopy ushers visitors from nearby attractions such as the Sarasota Sailing Squadron, Mote Marine, and the Ken Thompson Boat Ramp. The elevation of the building evokes the sleek and aerodynamic form of a bird’s outstretched wings and the welcoming shape of a nest. A simple plan aims to control the flow of visitors through the entry of the property. A small plaza at the point of the property would provide space for a sculpture and seating area. The glass walls allow the visitors to preview birds and gardens that are located inside the grounds. An image of flying seabirds created from laser-cut perforations in large-format aluminum panels is mapped across the panels of façade to create an immersive and dynamic face to the building.

A natural material palette creates a warm and welcoming experience that is representative of the spaces that visitors will find inside the park. The visitor center will replace the existing building at the point of the property leasehold—creating a beacon to visitors and raising awareness of their presence on City Island. While designing Save Our Seabirds, we were faced with a number of design challenges, including building within a restrictive flood zone, meeting com-plex zoning restrictions, and planning for accessibility. The Save Our Seabirds site is located within a FEMA High Velocity Wind Zone, which requires new construction to be built above the designated base flood elevation. The client came to us with the concern that they wouldn’t be able to construct at ground level due to these FEMA regulations. After site analysis we realized that we could condensed the building to the very tip of the site, and this would allow us to avoid the restrictions of the high-velocity wind zone and focus on building within the standard flood zone restrictions. This allowed us to accommodate conditioned space on the ground floor and incorporate ADA restrooms. The strategy also helped with the planning for accessibility by allowing us to include all major programmatic elements on the ground level. We wanted to keep the design as transparent and welcoming as possible while addressing the harsh Florida climate. We started with a wood box that contains the core elements of the building and surrounded it by glass facade that creates the transparency we desired. Finally, we wrapped the entire building with a perforated metal screen that helps to filter out the hot Florida sun and add privacy to the upstairs space while allowing natural daylight to enter.

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Public Building

ST. ARMANDS PARKING GARAGE IVY VENTURES / SOLSTICE PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE

PLATINUM

Public Building

ATLANTA BRAVES STADIUM FA W L E Y B R YA N T

GOLD

Hired by the Atlanta Braves, Fawley Bryant Architecture was instrumental in bringing the team’s spring-training facility to Sarasota County. The 80-acre complex features CoolToday Park, major and minor league clubhouses, athletic training facilities and executive offices. The anchor of the site is the new CoolToday Park. Inspired by trends within the sporting events community, the park was designed with the fan in mind. Traditional sports venue aspects were accounted for in sight lines and safety, but newer practices contributing tothe fan experience were implemented as well.

Architect: Fawley Bryant Architecture. Contractor: Tandem Construction & Barton Malow Construction. Interior Design: Fawley Bryant Architecture. Structural Engineer: Walter P. Moore. Mechanical Engineer: TLC Engineering.

Photographer: Ryan Gamma. Auxiliary Structural Engineer: Hees & Associates. Civil Engineer: Stantec. Audio / Visual: WJHW. Field Consultant: FTEsports. Food Service Consultant: Fishman & Associates.

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After three well-attended public workshops, the engineers and architects designed a public structure appealing and compatible to its environs. Precast concrete was chosen over cast-in-place concrete to keep the noise down during construction, and precast concrete—all 470 components – was erected in 30 days! Time saving for the owner. Opacity was a concern, so the architect designed a unique architectural mesh to prevent vehicle lights from shining onto neighboring houses. The stainless steelmesh were suspended; each twisted in opposite directions, the 360 degree twist started with a counterclockwise mesh followed by a clockwise metal twist and so on. The effect is contemporary and magical. A garage in a tropical oasis?

Absolutely! The landscape architects designed a tropical feel—from majestic royal palms and magnolias that somewhat mask a garage building in a high-end residential neighborhood to four shady lady trees that canopy the brick-paver plaza. Kudos to Solstice Architects for capturing daylighting at all three stairwells. The curved entry stairs are inviting—natural lighting at all three levels. Daylighting also prevails – at all four levels : at the triangular lightwell and cascading stairs, thus allowing more visibility to the parking spaces and more flow of natural air (less fumes). Three humongous “lightning bolt” precast wall panels elongate along the south side facing the adjacent fire station. These 41’-83⁄4” high zigzag-patterned panels (along with four other 31’-7” “lightning bolt” precast concrete wall panels) are separated by a 3-inch gap, which allows fresh air to flow and natural daylighting to peek through. Creative genius for a parking structure. Kudos to the structural engineer who devised a hybrid concrete structure: the precast concrete double tees surrounding the triangular lightwell were “pre-topped,” while the precast double tees along the ramps required a “field topping” of concrete (which allowed better sound attenuation and a preventative measure for corrosion at the connections between the double tees). The engineer also specified galvanized steel throughout this beachy garage. This L-shaped parking garage has a separate entry/egress at the alley behind the shops and restaurants. Although this alley is frequented by food trucks (especially for seafood), the southwest triangular section of the garage enables the owner (City of Sarasota) to provide valet parking in the future or private parking for any special event at St. Armands Circle.

Architect: Solstice Planning and Architecture, Jonathan Parks, AIA. Designer: Kimley-Horn, Mark Santos, P.E. Contractor: Jon F. Swift Construction / HASKELL. Developer: City of Sarasota. Interior Design: Solstice Architects. Structural Engineer: Kimley-Horn & Associates, Mark Santos, PE. Mechanical Engineer: DTC. Landscape Architect: KimleyHorn & Associates, James Pankonin, PLA. Concrete & Precast Concrete: 4-F Structural Concrete & Masonry and Coreslab Structures. Owner: City of Sarasota. Photographer: Ryan Gamma Photography; Aero Photo & Lee-En Chung, PE. Owner’s Project Manager: Ivy Ventures, Lee-En Chung, PE. Solar Contractor: Brilliant Harvest, Bill Johnson.

2019 New Home Community

PLATINUM

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Architect: Apex-Studio Suarez. Contractor: Gilbane Building Company. Developer: 200 S Washington, Blvd. LLC. Interior Design: Apex-Studio Santa Maria. Structural Engineer: TRC Worldwide Engineering.

Mechanical Engineer: TLC Engineering. Landscape Architect: DWY Landscape Architects.

Photographer: Mark Borosch Photography.

Mixed-Use Building

SABAL PALM BUILDING AP E X ST U D I O S UA R EZ

PLATINUM

This 32,000-square-foot, four-story office building is located on a wedge-shaped lot at the confluence of three streets in downtown Sarasota. The primary East/West thoroughfare curves just slightly west of the site and thus creates an opportunity to face the building directly toward oncoming traffic. These constraints—the shape of the lot and the curvature of the road—became a driving force behind the design of the building. Our focus was to create a dynamic building that spoke to its context while creating a sense of place within the fabric of the city. A public plaza is anchored by a public work of art, helping to weave the building into the site. The parapet increases in height as it moves west to exaggerate the perspective and, in conjunction with the cantilevered building’s westernmost tip, creates a sense of movement. This dynamism is further reinforced by contrasting materials and a series of interlocking yet shifting volumes and architectural elements. White-painted stucco contrasts against a series of wood composite panels that form its cladding. These wood composite panels are a rainscreen system that provides additional insulation and protection from rain, thus speaking to building sustainability within a subtropical climate. Further reinforcing passive design concepts, the building is organized with most of the offices facing North to receive the best lighting possible for its tenants. The core and restrooms are located on the southern exposure to act as a buffer from the harsh Florida sun. Above the first-floor storefront, the openings in the mass and cladding are seen as a series of punches. As they move vertically, the massing begins to disintegrate and morphs into a series of linear elements that begin to slide and shift toward the entry. The openings in the cladding also change as building moves vertically. The very succinct rhythm of the lower portion of the building grows to allow for larger expenses of glass and therefore better views down Ringling Boulevard.

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2019 Public Building

PLATINUM

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Mixed-Use Building

BAYSIDE H OY T A RC H I T ECTS

GOLD

Anchored by the May Lane, in the heart of the Rosemary District, The Bayside Club offers easy access to the world-class dining, shopping, and cultural amenities of downtown Sarasota. The Bayside Club includes 240 residential units, the exclusive Bayside Club, a rooftop sunset deck overlooking Sarasota Bay, a resort-style pool, a Zen garden, a dog park, and first-floor restaurant and retail.

Architect: Hoyt Architects. Contractor: Core Construction. Interior Design: Marzipan. Structural Engineer: TSnell Engineering . Mechanical Engineer: TAGS Engineering.

Mixed-Use Building

SILVER

THE DESOTA H OY T A RC H I T ECTS

Located across from Whole Foods Plaza in Downtown Sarasota, this 10-story mixed-use development includes 180 apartments and 23,000 square feet of retail. The DeSota’s contemporary residences are designed to welcome natural light and come equipped with premium fixtures and finishes. From gourmet kitchens to the elegant bathrooms that inspire tranquility, each residence is thoughtfully designed for private tranquility.

Architect: Hoyt Architects. Contractor: Core Construction.

Structural Engineer: Wilson Structural. Mechanical Engineer: Global Sanchez.

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New Home Community

KORINA MODEL HOME JO H N CAN N ON HOM E S

PLATINUM The Korina model home, designed and built by John Cannon Homes, is located within Lake View Estates at The Lake Club. John Cannon focused on a transitional style of architecture with his newest model. Two popular themes—Balinese and California casual—define both the exterior and interior selections of the home. By opening the home up and accentuating the center line from the foyer all the way out to the lanai, every view leads your eyes to the lake. The home was designed to inspire without intimidating, and to allow potential buyers to feel confident that they’ll be able to re-create the incorporated design trends with ease. The home artfully weaves Bali-esque flair such as teakwood, bamboo and stone with laid-back California– chic organic materials, neutral colors, clean lines and refined finishes along with a dash of Hollywood glamour. This Lakewood Ranch model personifies transitional architecture. In keeping with today’s favored style and need for low maintenance, a tile roof and stucco structure are utilized, while natural fieldstone highlights certain focal points such as the window surrounds and entryway. Cannon used cuttingedge techniques, integrated the ceilings’ and windows, and ensured effortless traffic patterns that provide an overall sense of well-being as you walk through the house.

The luxury of having not one, but two kitchens—one for prep and one for entertaining —a spectacular his-and-her master suite with separate private baths, luxurious oversized closets, and a sprawling lanai complete with outdoor kitchen and stunning pool with a floating firebar are just a few of this home’s extraordinary features.

Contractor: John Cannon /John Cannon Homes. Interior Design: Kay Green Design. Structural Engineer: McCall Engineering. Landscape Architect: Trent Culleny Landscaping. Photographer: Gene Pollox.

Carpets & Flooring: Brewer Carpet One. Cabinetry: Albrecht Cabinets.

2019 Readers’ Choice

S ILV ER

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forage LOCAL EPICUREAN ADVENTURES AT THE TABLE

FROM SEA TO SHORE

Shore LBK brings California surf culture and Sarasota architectural heritage to life. Brittany Mattie

This page:

Ahi tuna mignon with Key West shrimp risotto, yellow lobster beurre blanc, baby bok choy and roasted tomato.

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DISPATCH DOWN A SEMI-HIDDEN DOMAIN OFF THE MAIN DRAG OF LONGBOAT KEY and discover the long-awaited new Shore restaurant poised at the end of the block.

Reminiscent of beach-chic destinations with the seminal spirit of SoCal surf culture intertwined with Sarasota’s iconic midcentury modern architecture, Shore LBK draws diners and boaters close—and keeps them there—with resort-like amenities such as dining, shopping, imbibing, sunset watching, outdoor lounging and kayaking.

Tom Leonard and John Mays, co-owners and operators of Shore, brought the same coveted retail and restaurant brand from their OG location on St. Armands Circle and elevated the “lifestyle concept” across 11,000 square feet of prime real estate. Some said they were crazy; most people agreed. Why open Shore’s second location in a “sleepy” and secluded residential community, far from a downtown or a densely visited area? Lo and behold, the new outpost boasts sublime boating access, 68 | srq magazine_ DEC19 live local

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Left to right: Thai curry mussels with coconut milk, kaffir lime, chili and cilantro. Tuna tartare with avocado, cucumber, tobiko and wonton crisps.

uninterrupted panoramic views of Sarasota Bay and paradisiacal remoteness—an equation that certainly enticed Leonard and Mays to entertain “crazy” comments and await for skeptics to see their vision come to life. After initially buying the strip of land back in 2014, and encountering a few challenging setbacks since, Shore LBK officially opened its doors and docks Labor Day weekend and has since welcomed waves of probing guests, from Naples to St. Pete.

A local retreat for residents and a vacation imprint for visitors, Shore’s urbane selection of bourbons and wines was as carefully contrived as the mini library of surf and architecture treatises and the seabreezescented Shore-brand soaps and lotions in the bathrooms. Leaving no stone unturned, every little design detail was thought of and integrated seamlessly into the natural surroundings—taking a page out of the Sarasota School of Architecture handbook.

Leonard, along with architect Terry Osborn

of Osborn Sharp Associates and the hands of Synergy Building, Corp., integrated savvy infrastructure features like mechanical tilt windows that flip open for enhanced natural lighting and breezy aerating, as well as a retractable awning on the balcony, so that once the hot sun simmers, diners basically hang on the water’s edge and are able to simply look up and pinpoint constellations as they indulge in their pear old-fashioned or sangria. If by chance diners look down instead of up, they’ll find “glassed-over sand” as flooring. Leonard recalls when the concrete slab was being poured in, he and Mays decided it needed the Shore touch— taking it upon themselves to collect barrels of seashells and rocks from the surrounding area and mixing them in by hand before it was cast in place. The native cypress ceilings are louvered design, also inspired by SSA, with parts displaying floating beams—dropped down to create a cozier, warmer space—while “kitkat” walls integrate design features such PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN

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Shore cocktail with Broker’s gin, elderflower, cucumber and mint. Key West shrimp and scallop with lemon risotto, local greens, lemon beurre blanc and tomato confit.

Waterside patio.

as a patterned vignette in limestone blocks or the signature Shore stringer stripe in wood, resembling a vintage longboard. The standalone oval-shaped bar provides all-around seating, accentuated with Orient barstools of reclaimed teakwood, made in Bali, and white leather cushions upon them, made in Italy.

Meanwhile, the Bayside restaurant offers arena-style alfresco dining, with even the inside tables granting water views. What can also be viewed is the theater-style kitchen and expo line. Executive Chef Dylan Elhajoui, a Moroccan-born and French-trained culinarian, operates his open kitchen with integrity for all to see. As simple gourmet dishes are prepared and plated to perfection, they are then handed off to either Mays or GM Dan Goltz, who are sure to touch every plate to ensure consistency before it heads out to the guest. With a nod to west coast California and a classy Florida flair, the New American menu from St. Armands followed suit at the 70 | srq magazine_ DEC19 live local

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LBK location with seafood-centric standouts like Kung Pao Calamari, Ahi Tuna Mignon with shrimp risotto and Thai Curry Mussels, as well as beloved alternatives like the Tabasco-Honey Fried Chicken, Mongolian Glazed “Jenga” Ribs and Diner Meatloaf with forest mushroom gGravy. Only the freshest and finest ingredients are sourced, with no worry about cost, and every item mentioned on the menu—including breads, pastas, flavored ice creams and sorbets—is made entirely in-house. All the sauces like Miso Coconut Vin Blanc for the Black Grouper, Shishito Drizzle for the Eggplant Confit and Almond Romesco for the Chermoula-Grilled Swordfish Steak are made from scratch.

After a Lavender and Mango Panna Cotta, head into the on-site fashion boutique with swimwear, apparel and accessories like a Shore sun hat, tumbler or lantern or rent out paddleboards and kayaks, provided exclusively by Vanhunks Boarding Co. And

as the day grows dim, roam the expanse of its many cozy-chic outdoor nooks for a new meaning of nightlife. Stone firepits and tropical foliage set the scene for cocktails and company, while the new dock, offering 16 boat slips, allows wanderers to stroll out to the water—with mini palmettos and aqua-colored underwater lights glowing underneath to attract fish tracing your every step. Shore LBK is both ageless and electric— creating an experience beyond “going out to eat.” While its branding is stylish, and the modern edifice immaculate, Shore is designed more so “to enjoy, not impress,” says Mays. “We’ve created an energy that deserves to be by the water.” And whether a beach bum, boat captain or seasoned foodie, the blue block mural painted outside resonates with all who enter and read the words: “You are exactly where you are meant to be.” SRQ Shore, 800 Broadway St. Longboat Key. 941-2594600. dineshore.com @shorerestaurant

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN

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nosh

LOCALLY SOURCED ALWAYS IN SEASON

SRQ’s Foodie Content Channel

CROW’S NEST MARINA RESTAURANT 1968 Tarpon Center Dr., Venice, 941-484-9551. CASUAL FINE DINING The Crow’s Nest is a casual fine dining restaurant, serving fresh seafood, steaks and other traditional Florida favorites. Located on the Island of Venice and nestled between the Gulf of Mexico on the west and the Intracoastal Waterway on the north and east, Crow’s Nest has become a waterfront fixture for surf ‘n’ turf. M–W 11:30am-10pm. Th 11:30am–11pm. F-Sa 11:30am–12:30am. Su 12–10pm.

DUVAL’S FRESH. LOCAL. SEAFOOD. 1435 Main St., Sarasota, 941-312-4001. SEAFOOD Duval’s Fresh. Local.

Seafood. is excited to announce: Duval’s Free. Local.

Shu le! Your experience at Duval’s should be what you’re expecting. For dinner, try the Chef Selected Fresh Catch, an offering of the freshest fish in the market, and fillet your fresh catch in-house. Featuring a 3-5-7 Happy Hour and late night. M–Th 11am–9pm.

F–Sa 11am–10pm. Su 10am– 9pm.

ELEMENT 1413 Main St., Sarasota, 941-724-8585. MODERN MEDITERRANEAN In the heart of downtown Sarasota, you don’t want to miss the upscale Mediterranean grill, Element. Try their Sambuca shrimp with bacon crème, crisp prosciu o, tomato fennel compote and pine nuts. For dinner, their 12 oz. bone-in center cut porcini-encrusted veal chop is delectable. For a large party, order the table an entire roast suckling pig; which serves four to six guests and is cooked with apples, figs and shallots. Equipped with an extensive wine list and an enticing array of cra cocktails, dining at Element is a must-try experience. M-Th 4:30pm-10pm. F-Sa 4:30pm11pm. Su 10:30am-2:30pm, 4:30pm-10pm. F-Sa. GECKO’S GRILL & PUB 6 convenient locations. Serving AMERICAN PUB FOOD WITH A GOURMET TWIST Fresh fare, smooth spirits & exceptional hospitality since 1992.

Locally owned and operated, Gecko’s polished casual atmosphere, fantastic food, service-forward culture and specialty cocktails make it an enduring community gathering place. Serving Lunch, Dinner & Late Night and a favorite of Locals and visitors alike. Voted “BEST SPORTS BAR.” Featuring daily Happy Hours, weekly Chef’s Specials, locally sourced seasonal produce & beef from our farm and ranch partners, all your favorite sporting events, award-winning Kids Menu and teams of friendly hospitality professionals. There’s always something happening at Gecko’s -- Bingo; Team Trivia Night; All Day & All Night Happy Hours and special events. See you at Gecko’s!

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GROVE 10670 Boardwalk Loop, Lakewood Ranch, 941893-4321. CONTEMPORARY GOURMET DINING GROVE Restaurant, Patio and Ballroom is the newest offshoot of PIER 22, the award-winning waterfront destination headed by restaurateurs Hugh Miller and Greg Campbell. A full-service restaurant and events venue offering contemporary gourmet dining. The menu is elevated yet approachable and locally inspired. Housemade dishes emphasize fresh seasonal ingredients as well as innovative cooking methods, and with 27,000 square feet of dining space including casual patio dining, private rooms, a relaxing lounge space and an elegant 400 person ballroom there’s room for everyone at the table! M-Th 11:30am-10pm, F-Sa 11:30am-12am, Sun 11am-10pm.

LEMON TREE KITCHEN 1289 North Palm Ave., Sarasota, 941-552-9688. HEALTHY CASUAL DINING Lemon Tree Kitchen’s all day menu highlights American Classic dishes that li the body and mind while providing a comforting meal that will appeal to the everyday diner.

With wholesome clean ingredients and hand-cra ed dishes that meet every lifestyle choice, Lemon Tree Kitchen uses locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible and ensures that their vendors align with their mission to serve food that you can feel good about.

Open daily for lunch and dinner. M–Su 11:00am–9pm.

LIBBY’S NEIGHBORHOOD BRASSERIE 1917 South Osprey Ave., Sarasota, 941-487-7300. CASUAL FINE DINING Libby’s serves bistro classics and seasonal New American cuisine. Named a er the restaurant’s unforge able family matriarch, Libby, this modern American brasserie evokes style and uniqueness with a welcoming warmth. Start with the Brasserie Tartare or the Crispy Brussels. Entrees include the Double Brined Porkchop, served with yukon gold mashed potatoes and Steak Au Poivre, a wood grilled NY Strip steak. Indoor, bar, and outdoor seating is available at this Southside Village favorite. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Su–Th 11:00am–9pm. F-Sa 11:00am–10pm.

MARINA JACK 2 Marina Plaza, Sarasota, 941-365-4232.

SEAFOOD, STEAKS AND PASTA The Sarasota landmark offers its customers exceptional food and great atmosphere while dining on the water. Come to the dining room on the second floor and try some new items on the dinner menu. Start with braised mussels in a chorizo broth or short rib tostadas, which feature Gouda cheese and pulled slow-braised short rib. Open daily for lunch and dinner. M–Su 11:15am–11pm.

MATTISON’S - 3 Locations: Ma ison’s City Grille, 1 N. Lemon Ave., Sarasota, 941-330-0440/ Ma ison’s Forty-One, 7275 S. Tamiami Tr., Sarasota, 941-921-3400/ Ma ison’s Riverwalk Grille, 101 Riverfront Blvd., Bradenton, 941-896-9660. AMERICANN, EUROPEAN, PROVINCIALLY SOURCED MENU ITEMS Chef Paul Ma ison, executive chef and proprietor of Ma ison’s, operates a successful culinary group on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Located in Sarasota and Bradenton, each Ma ison’s restaurant location is unique to its neighborhood, offering Chef Paul Ma ison’s signature menu items, outstanding service, and quality ingredients, while supporting the community, regional farmers, and culinary suppliers. Each Ma ison’s location offers outdoor dining, happy hour and live music. Ma ison’s Catering Company is an award-winning, chef-owned and operated company procuring fresh, natural, and local ingredients. Catering in-house and off-site, Mattison’s Catering Company offers certified wedding and event planners, experienced professionals, and custom menus. Hours vary by location.

MORTON’S GOURMET MARKET 1924 South Osprey Ave., Sarasota, 941-955-9856. GOURMET GROCER It’s the place where you can spend a lazy Sunday morning sipping coffee and breaking off pieces of a scone, a frenetic Friday evening collecting rare cheeses, meat and wine for Saturday’s soiree or a quick lunchtime bite to go. For the la er, Morton’s fresh-made sushi, salad bar or ready-to-go tea sandwiches are longstanding local faves. M–Sa 7am–8pm. Su 9am–6pm.

MUSE AT THE RINGLING 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota, 941-359-5700. CONTEMPORARY CASUAL DINING Upscale local cuisine with international flair is the inspiration for Muse’s concept and development. Muse at The Ringling provides a comfortable and contemporary dining experience in a magnificent, artistic setting. Muse creates menus with an eye for presentation, using fresh and high quality products. Intriguing combinations and variations on cuisine anchor the innovative menu. The ideal dining spot to complement a day in the galleries or a night at the theater, Muse offers diners a culinary adventure where dishes are approached as works of art. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Su–M 11:00am–5pm. Tu–Sa 11:00am–8pm.

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OAK & STONE - 2 Locations: University Park, 5405 University Pkwy., Sarasota, 941-225-4590/ South Sarasota, 4067 Clark Rd., Sarasota, 941-893-4881 PIZZA AND CRAFT BEER At Oak & Stone, artisanal wood-fired pizzas are handcra ed and diners can select to B.Y.O.P. (build your own pie) or choose from the menu’s many custom cra pizza options. The standard tavern fare is elevated with options such as Smokey Gouda Mac n’ Cheese and Pretzel Crusted Tuna. Fresh offerings such as delicious salads and hummus plate round out the menu. Oak & Stone boasts the largest RFID technology self-serve brew wall in the region, with 56 taps that showcase local and American cra breweries, self-pourable by the ounce. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Su–Th 11:00am– 11pm. F–Sa 11:00am–12am.

OPHELIAS ON THE BAY 9105 Midnight Pass Road, Siesta Key, 941-349-2212. FINE DINING With indoor and outdoor dining options boasting incredible waterfront views of Li le Sarasota Bay, Ophelia’s On The Bay is the perfect place to relax and enjoy a delectable meal. From their PEI mussels presented in a saffron-anise e broth to incredible cocktails such as the Pink Lady, you can’t go wrong. Happy Hour M–Su 5pm–6pm. Dinner M–Su 5pm–10pm. Sunday Brunch 11am–2pm.

PBNT 1409 Main St., Sarasota, 941-914-9955. AMERICAN PBnT is serving up delicious pizzas, burgers, tacos.

There are options for everyone, including gluten-free pizza crust and le uce-wrapped burgers. PBnT caters to every craving for America’s favorite foods. Try their When Pigs Fly pizza, which is a BBQ base, topped with cheese, roasted pork, chopped bacon, onion and a BBQ drizzle or their Momo burger which is a double pa y, sautéed mushrooms and onions, mozzarella cheese and mayo. If you are really hungry, try their American Dream, which is a cheese pizza, cheeseburger and a taco of choice. Fast, fun and friendly – PBnT is the perfect choice. M-Su 11am-10pm.

PIER 22 1200 1st Ave W, Bradenton, 941-748-8087. CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN Pier 22 takes waterfront dining to a new level. On the mouth of the Manatee River, the picturesque se ing is relaxing and the perfect backdrop for any outing. With over 26,000 square feet of space, Pier 22 also offers catering and space for events.

They focus on fresh, homemade fare and unique twists on everyday dishes. For lunch, try their so -shell crab sandwich with jalapeno tartar sauce, with a side of poutine. While watching the sunset on the patio, dine on their fresh game of the day, sourced from around the world and always a surprise. M-Th 11:30am – 10pm. F-Sa 11:30am-10:30pm. Su 11am-10pm. Happy hour daily 3pm7pm and Sunday Brunch 11am-3pm.

SHARKY’S ON THE PIER 1600 Harbour Dr. S, Venice, 941-488-1456. SEAFOOD A er just one visit to Sharky’s On the Pier, Fins at Sharky’s or Snook Haven, you’ll understand why all three restaurants have become Venice-area landmarks, smack-dab on the water. Boasting unparalleled views of the 720-foot long Venice Fishing Pier and Gulf of Mexico for over 30 years, Sharky’s has made a name for itself as Florida’s No. 1 Beach Bar with complimentary live music and entertainment, family friendly fun and a whole lot of ocean. M–Th 11:30am– 10pm. F–Sa 11:30am–12am. Sun 11:30am–10pm.

TSUNAMI SUSHI & HIBACHI GRILL 100 Central Ave, Suite 1022, Sarasota, 941-366-1033. ASIAN FUSION In the heart of downtown Sarasota Florida, Tsunami Sushi and Hibachi Grill stands alone for creative sushi, fresh sashimi and a new spin on asian fusion--all at remarkable prices. The Tsunami team focuses on ensuring every meal exceeds your expectations. FRESH SUSHIMade fresh before your eyes by their talented chefs.

FULL BAR- They feature a full bar, with specialty cocktails like the Hibiscus Rose, Japanese Julep and Shinsu Sour. ASIAN ENTREES- Fresh and flavorful with the unique taste of Japan. M-F 11am-Close; Sat/Sun 12pmClose; Closed Daily 2:30-4:30pm.

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forage

PIE IN THE SKY It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s peanut butter pie.

Brittany Mattie

ABOVE: WHEN PIES FLY Slice of Praline Pecan pie, glazed over in brown sugar and strongly recommended with vanilla ice cream, $4; Lucky’s Bakery, 3501 S. Tamiami Trl., Sarasota, 941-260-1223. Chocolate Silk whole pie, an Oreo crust with a bottom layer of chocolate ganache and top layer of fluffy chocolate mousse, topped with shaved chocolate and whipped cream, $17; slice of Classic Key Lime, tart, sweet and tangy with a flaky graham cracker crust, $16 (whole pie); Caribbean Pie Co., 2245 Bee Ridge Rd., Sarasota, 941-882-4589. Slice of Pumpkin Spiced pie, $6; Fresh Strawberry Cream whole pie, $22; Baked Cherry whole pie, $22; Yoder’s Fresh Market, 3404 Bahia Vista St., Sarasota, 941-308-4448. Slice of Chocolate Peanut Butter pie, chocolate graham cracker crust filled with creamy peanut butter custard and sprinkled with candied peanuts to add crunch, $20 for a whole pie; slice of Bananas Foster, chocolate graham cracker crust topped with slices of fresh bananas drizzled in rum caramel and then filled with banana custard and a sweet cream topping, $20 for whole pie; slice of Key Lime Custard, with a creamy topping flavored with the real Key Lime juice and lime zest, $20 for whole pie; Floribbean Flo’s Tropical Bakery, 7644 S. Tamiami Trl., Sarasota, 941-922-2888. SRQ

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN

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HEAD CHECK

Mental Wellness

Written by Jacob Ogles Photography by Evan Sigmund

A HANDICAP RAMP LEADS UP TO THE DOOR to the Selby Public Library to make sure anyone with trouble walking a few steps to the front door still has easy access to the facility. But on any given day, one may find a homeless person panhandling, or perhaps just grumbling at passersby. It’s a problem that leaves security shooing trespassers and vagrants, tapping people on the shoulder if they look to be dozing off and insisting they instead find another locale. The issue of homelessness has confounded the brightest minds in Sarasota nonprofits for the better part of a decade. But on the library steps one sees the greater issue of “chronic homelessness.” Sarasota officials can enjoy a success story short term, connecting an individual with family or getting them a low-rent apartment. But often, the individuals land back on the street. Why? Because what put them here in the first place wasn’t a fiscal challenge but a mental one.

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Sarasota leaders reexamine the stigmas and strategies surrounding mental health.

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Left: President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County

Roxie Jerde. The Community Foundation of Sarasota County works closely with The Florida Center for Early Childhood in North Port to strengthen connections between schools and mental health professionals.

Identifying Perspective “We still think of mental health problems in a somewhat stigmatized way,” says Jon Thaxton, senior vice president of Community Investment at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. “It’s just viewed as somewhat dirty. If you had emphysema, you would elicit sympathy from people. So why have we not afforded mental health illnesses with the same sympathy we have for other mental health-care needs?”

Thaxton wants a fundamentally different approach. The problem just may be that Sarasota, while perfectly content to put a ramp in for the physically disabled, lacks the interest in treating those emotionally hindered people sleeping on benches with the same level of accommodation.

It’s why, in the past two years, philanthropic leaders banded together to press forward the care of those with mental health problems and improve the standing of these individuals in the system and in society as a whole. The hope is that with a little positive attention, more people will find a ramp to an easier life with the proper care to address what ails them.

“This is the population most underserved in our community,” said Dr. Calvin Tran, a psychiatrist at Centerstone Bradenton.

He speaks of mental health patients, a group who often get told by insurers that treatment for depression, addiction and erratic behavior doesn’t count as medically necessary. It’s improving for certain demographics; the elderly have often been able to get diagnosed with dementia and get access to the care they need.

There’s also increasing funding to provide mental health treatments and counseling for pediatric patients, if only through channels

at school. But much of the adult population, particularly women, can see problems go undiagnosed for years, and when problems do get discovered, it’s difficult to find affordable treatment.

Tran spoke to the Sarasota County Legislative Delegation earlier this year to call on the state to provide better healthcare assistance to cover such needs. He stood alongside Centerstone Regional CEO Melissa Larkin-Skinner, a Bradenton executive who worked closely with the state on addressing a variety of mental health needs in Florida.

But she says there’s still much more work to do. “This is important work for all of Florida,” she told lawmakers. Larkin-Skinner has been part of some successful efforts in the last year. Following a school shooting that left 17 dead in Parkland, LarkinSkinner was tapped to serve on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission. While the working group’s recommendations on campus security have generated the most community debate, the task force also made recommendations on school-system psychological services that found broad support within the Florida State Legislature. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law in July requiring public school students to take five hours of mental health courses starting in sixth grade. Additionally, students will be provided access to resources like the National Suicide Hotline and to trained psychologists on campus when needed.

But Larkin-Skinner says too often individuals won’t take advantage of the services available, whether because of stigma or the fear of absorbing high medical costs. That’s where she wants lawmakers providing easier access to mental health funding.

Impacting Children Whether government continues to spend more remains an open question, but the nonprofit world plans to increase its involvement steadily in the next year.

Thaxton notes the Gulf Coast Community Foundation identified a need for greater mental health services in the region well before the Parkland shooting. A report published in March notes nearly 4,900 individuals in the Greater Sarasota area have received mental health services, but based on other demographic info on income, stress factors and age, there are likely far more people who need care but do not receive it.

A closer look at the numbers finds some 63 percent of youth involved in Sarasota’s court system, more than 13,700 individuals, are in need of some type of mental health treatment, whether for addiction recovery, therapy for sexual abuse or a variety of other needs. In total, some $3.7 million gets spent providing services to these individuals.

Thaxton says those figures show that ignoring society’s mental health problems early only increases the social costs later, whether via expenses at jails, rehab facilities or emergency medical care for individuals who leave illness untreated until they run into some type of crisis.

“One problem is that many of these conditions for many years were considered outside the realm of health care,” he said.

“But now we know much of this is caused by environmental conditions and genetics, much like cancer. It needs to be treated with the same gravity.”

So Gulf Coast is pairing up with the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation to fund more early-intervention health-

care services for elementary- and middle-school-aged children in the region. In the most extreme cases, maybe this stops the next Parkland shooter from having unchecked, violent fantasies.

More commonly, it will get someone showing signs of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, or someone with addictive tendencies, the help they need at a much younger age and hopefully allow a healthy adult experience in the future. The foundations will work with law enforcement, school officials and nonprofits to identify at-risk individuals.

Additionally, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County has been working closely with The Florida Center for Early Childhood in North Port to strengthen the connections between schools and mental health professionals. Roxie Jerde, president of the Community Foundation, said the effort will be one of the top priorities for the foundation this year.

“The school district really embraced the fact after Parkland that mental needs to be assessed,” Jerde says. So the Foundation began trying to find a way to ensure access to mental health care was treated as a need on the same level as free or reduced lunches for students living in poverty. Some of the outreach took place through successful Summer Learning Academies at schools with the greatest economic challenges.

A key point in working with The Florida Center, Jerde says, was making sure mental health professionals could be put in schools rather than leaving mental health diagnosis and treatment to guidance counselors trained in putting together school schedules and advising students on college readiness.

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Kristie Skoglund, chief operating officer for The Florida Center, sees tremendous opportunity and need for improved mental health care in the region. “This organization and what it stands for is having the undeniable impact our services have on the community,” she said. Skoglund has worked specifically with youth dealing with mental illness for more than two decades, and she says the benefits to addressing children’s problems early will guarantee their successes later in life.

The Florida Center provides early-education and therapeutic services for a base of clients throughout Southwest Florida.

That includes efforts like Healthy Families, a home-visiting program that guides parents who need assistance. The Center also runs Starfish Academy, a preschool serving children in need of language, literacy, cognition, motor skills, self-help and social skills therapy.

The Florida Department of Health has documented a startling rise in the last couple decades of school-age children on the autism spectrum, about 0.9 percent of all students enrolled in Florida schools. More than 5 percent of students suffer some kind of learning disability, many of which fall under the umbrella of mental health. Skoglund said that shows the need to have professionals trained in mental health treatment engaged with the school system.

This year, the schools funded 15 health professionals working within elementary schools in Sarasota County, with The Florida Center also offering support as needed for middle and high schools.

“The district doesn’t want to employ therapists because that’s not their area of expertise, but they have partnered with us,” Skoglund says. “We are working closely with the school district 82 | srq magazine_ DEC2019 live local

to make sure we are embedded and part of their fabric in their schools.” The professionals are “trauma-informed,” so they can deal with a range of problems taxing the mental health of youth.

And in the most challenging situations, the professionals can work with students’ families to get them help outside of the school day as well.

Role of Nonprofits A renewed interest in the mental health of Sarasotans has also inspired the return of a number of programs in the region. Jeffrey Peterson, whose parents years ago ran the Sunshine from Darkness program to raise awareness of mental illness, announced in March he will relaunch a symposium series with the same mission. “Our mission is to continue the work of my parents and fund local nonprofits who provide services for those suffering from mental health disorders and substance abuse,” Peterson said.

The Sunshine from Darkness Journey to Wellness Symposium and Inspiring Hope Dinner taking place this March 2020 will feature guests Steve Ford and Kathy Cronkite, the children, respectively, of former President Gerald Ford and news anchor Walter Cronkite, to discuss their current efforts at raising awareness of America’s existing mental health crisis and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind, who has written books about surviving depression. Steve Ford and Kathy Cronkite will be presented with the organization’s Lee and Bob Peterson Luminary Award. Ron Suskind will receive the Lee and Bob Peterson Advocacy Award.

That’s not the only work happening in the region. Jewish Family and Children Services of the Suncoast in 2018 launched a six-county effort to provide counseling and case-management

Left: CEO of the JFCS

of the Suncoast Heidi Brown. The JFCS of the Suncoast has converted counseling into a rapidresponse type operation, aiming to provide mental health services to individuals in crisis the same way you would want to provide medical attention or economic assistance.

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Right: Senior Vice President of Community Investmant

at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation Jon Thaxton speaks to improving the standing of individuals with mental health problems in the system and in society as a whole.

services specifically to address mental health needs. That starts with providing ancillary care to those with other conditions; think group counseling for cancer patients or suicide prevention for the region’s concentration of Holocaust survivors.

“We are continuing to unmask the stigma of mental health,” says Heidi Brown, CEO for JFCS. “It’s work we have been doing for some time, but we are talking about it differently and we are suddenly having a whole different conversation.”

Counseling has converted into a rapid-response-type operation, aiming to provide mental health services to individuals in crisis the same way you would want to provide medical attention or economic assistance, according to Mary Bane Stevens, director of counseling and services for JFCS. There’s also a greater effort to provide the care without disrupting individuals’ lives, particularly students.

Stevens says there’s greater interest than ever in addiction programs like Camp Mariposa.

The service helps not only those suffering from dependence on drugs and alcohol but family members traumatized by the impacts of the disease.

That’s just part of an array of services from childhood counseling and therapy to treatment of isolated adults with dementia, all part of what Brown calls a continuum of care to service individuals’ needs and address challenges at all stages of life.

“Reducing misperceptions and stigma surrounding mental illness and working to ensure access for our youth who have mental health issues is just one of the many reasons I was excited about this opportunity,” said Colleen Thayer, executive director of

NAMI Sarasota. Easier access to mental illness treatment will lead to more taking advantage of services, Thayer says, which in turn should reduce the fear of embarrassment over needing a level of care.

The mental health scan done by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation offered a level of insight into the region’s needs. The goal for professionals now is to connect “wraparound services,” Thayer says, and create a comprehensive approach that identifies mental health needs for individuals and provides the right level of care. “Sometimes that’s working with youth and families through the education system,” she says.

“Sometimes it’s working through the criminal justice system. There are just a lot of factors at play.”

Thayer throws a hypothetical situation of a mother suffering from postpartum depression, which can in turn create anxiety for older children in school.

It could be professionals on campus that identify and address the needs of the older child, but it’s also important to go back to the mother and address the core needs of the family at home.

That creates a healthier situation for all involved.

Jerde says, too, that nonprofits must be aware of how services complement one another. Summer learning academies have always had a two-generational approach of helping parents and students, and today that can include yoga classes or meditation training to help adults de-stress while children in the summer take literacy classes.

It all helps address the broader need, Thaxton says, to intervene and assist individuals with mental health at all stages of their life.

The issue in many ways became a front-burner issue in Sarasota

during a community-wide push to get the homeless population off the streets. Arguments over shelter situations made headlines in Sarasota for years, with city and county officials debating heatedly over where to put the chronically homeless once taken off the streets. But through it all, officials said they knew the root cause was much deeper.

“Sarasota and Manatee have an incredible network of service providers that have a passion for moving people from homelessness into housing,” said Chris Johnson, CEO of the Coalition to End Homelessness. But it’s also critical individuals end up getting the social services they need.

Sarasota City Manager Tom Barwin feels much of the homeless issue affecting every major city in America today stems from the closing of mental health hospitals in the 1980s and ’90s. He’s lobbied state and federal officials to reopen facilities that serve the population.

“Some of these individuals have been cited as many as 90 times for various infractions,” Barwin says. “Our Homeless Outreach Teams with streetlevel social workers have reached out to most of these individuals repeatedly, offering assistance to get them off the street and into a safe, healthy living environment. But they continue to reside on the street.”

Working with Thaxton and law-enforcement officials, he says a new system has been effectively cobbled together to make sure many suffering from illness in their minds don’t get thrown into jails and holding tanks when they need professional help.”

Today, Sarasota Police, when possible, will direct many such individuals into Community Care Court. There, Circuit

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Court Judge David Denkin encourages individuals to get into community volunteering programs and to sign up for a continuum of care that includes regular visits with social workers and therapists. “This is one of the first specialized courts of its kind in Florida focusing on a path to end homelessness,” Denkin says.

Thaxton said this is one of the new mechanisms that address needs previously unmet in the region, but to scale the services up to fully satisfy Sarasota’s needs requires a funding source.

A campaign may start soon to establish a property tax with revenue dedicated to strengthening mental health services in Sarasota County.

“We believe the time is right and people understand now the realistic need for mental health is every bit as real as fiscal health,” Thaxton says. “In fact, mental health is fiscal health.”

It’s significantly cheaper to provide the chronically homeless with medical care than it is to constantly imprison them, Thaxton says, once you calculate the cost of repeat offenses.

“It’s unavoidable. Mental health is one of the core causes of homelessness, in particular the ones we consider more problematic, meaning those panhandling in the streets and urinating off sides of buildings,” he said.

Once Sarasota stops treating the mentally ill as criminals and social problems, and instead starts addressing the problems those individuals suffer personally, it will do more to solve vagrancy than constant enforcement of city codes and criminal statutes. SRQ Join us at the upcoming SB2 Philanthropic Agenda Symposium and Good Hero Awards Luncheon on Monday, December 9, 2019 to hear from community and private foundation leaders on top philanthropic issues including the topic of mental health services.

SRQMAG.COM/SB2 TICKETS AND DETAILS

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A L L FA I T H S F O O D B A N K C I R C U S A R T S C O N S E R V AT O R Y C R A V AT S E A R R E S E A R C H F O U N D AT I O N G U L F C O A S T C O M M U N I T Y F O U N D AT I O N H U M A N E S O C I E T Y O F M A N AT E E C O U N T Y

2019 AMBASSADORS

SPIRIT OF GIVING CHAMPIONS SHARE THEIR STORIES

M A R I E S E L B Y B O TA N I C A L G A R D E N S N E W C O L L E G E F O U N D AT I O N RINGLING COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN S A R A S O TA M E M O R I A L H E A LT H C A R E F O U N D AT I O N SUNCOAST BLOOD BANK THE BISHOP MUSEUM OF SCIENCE

Philanthropically-minded companies and individuals engage with an incredibly vibrant and diverse ecosystem of nonproямБt organizations powering good in Sarasota and Manatee.

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ALL FAITHS FOOD BANK

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THIS TIME OF YEAR, WE ARE REMINDED OF THE JOY THE HOLIDAYS CAN BRING, but for families facing financial challenges, the holidays can be a painful reminder of hunger. Each year our caring community comes together to help ease the strain on local families through our ThankFULL campaign which turns empty plates into thankFULL hearts, not only during the holidays but throughout the year. Programs that serve our community include the Mobile Farm Market, which provides fresh produce, Mobile Pantries, which delivers groceries to areas of highest need, the Backpack Program, ensuring students have food over weekends and holidays, School Pantries, the Campaign Against Summer Hunger, raising food and funds to feed children throughout the summer, and Nutrition Education, which teaches people how to shop for and prepare healthy, low cost meals. Last year, All Faiths Food Bank distributed 10.5 million pounds of food equating to 8.75 million meals through 203 programs and partners. We could not fulfill our mission without you. You can turn an empty plate into a thankFULL heart this holiday season.

8171 BLAIKIE COURT, SARASOTA FL 34240 | 941-379-6333 | ALLFAITHSFOODBANK.ORG

ogether with our partners, we provide healthy solutions to end hunger in our community. All Faiths Food Bank is the only food bank and largest hunger relief organization in Sarasota and DeSoto counties and serves more than 82,000 neighbors in need. A member of Feeding America and Feeding Florida, we provide millions of meals each year through robust programs and partnerships in the community. In addition to food distribution, All Faiths operates a roster of innovative direct service programs that not only solve the immediate problem of hunger but strive to end hunger by helping families and individuals gain longterm food security, better health outcomes and self-sufficiency. Our number one priority has always been to serve the most needy and vulnerable, including children, seniors, veterans, and those in crisis.

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WHEN IT COMES TO COMMUNITY SUPPORT, Cravats’ has always based its philosophy of philanthropy on owner Henry “Hank” Battie’s early biblical training of giving, which taught “It’s always best to give than to receive”. With a steadfast belief in that philosophy, over its near thirty year history, Cravats’ has supported a myriad of charitable organizations through a myriad of ways. From gift certificates that range from various dollar amounts to custom designed shirts, clothing and accessories. Additionally Battie has lent his time and talents to many charitable organizations as a board member. They include the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, the local branch of the NAACP, Helen R. Payne Day Nursery, Children First Childcare Agency and currently serves on the boards of The Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota county, the Downtown Sarasota Alliance (DSA) and Light of the World International church where he is a member. He has also served many organizations in the role of Master of Ceremony for their fundraisers or other events.

A longtime advocate for youth, he has coached Little League baseball, has served on the advisory committee of the YMCA’s Achievers program for over twenty years, served as a “Big” with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the sun coast for the past 12 years and also teaches Sunday school at his church. In 2012, he established a scholarship fund with a $10,000. seed in his late wife’s name (A. Jean Battie). The fund awards scholarships for deserving minority students in Sarasota and Manatee counties. It is managed by the Community Foundation of Sarasota county and under the banner of Light of the World International church. Since its inception, the fund has awarded more than $30,000 in scholarship awards.

“THAT TODAY A SAVIOR, WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD, WAS BORN FOR YOU IN THE CITY OF DAVID.” LUKE 2:11

CRAVATS’ ravats’ has long been considered the premier custom clothier of Florida’s west coast. We specialize in the finest custom clothing for men and women found anywhere. An exquisite and exclusive selection of men’s haberdashery is also offered. Festive tuxedos, dinner jackets, and even full tails are the Alpha. Jazzy, custom-designed formal shirts, vests, and cummerbund sets are the continuum. And fine, exquisite jewelry, silk hosiery and shoes are the Omega. For the business or dress wardrobe you require, expect a higher standard… where the extraordinary is commonplace.

Select from thousands of fabrics from such world renown mills as Loro Piana, Scabal, Holland and Sherry, Guabello, Schofield & Smith and Smith Woolens. We offer designer fabrics from Ermenegildo Zegna, Dolce & Gabbana, Nino Ceruti, Gianni Versace, Gianfranco Ferre, and others.

Hours are available by appointment.

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1530 DOLPHIN STREET, STUDIO 5 SARASOTA, FLORIDA 34236 941-366-7780 CRAVATSCLOTHIERS.COM

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EAR RESEARCH FOUNDATION ou can help elevate hearing and balance health for all. The Ear Research Foundation exists through the generosity of individuals, foundations, and businesses. Donations assist in the work of the Foundation to allow expansion of its education, outreach, and community care programs.

The Ear Research Foundation mission is dedicated to the Research, Education, and Community Care relating to hearing and balance health.

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EAR RESEARCH FOUNDATION MELISSA LANE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 1901 FLOYD STREET, SARASOTA, FL 34239 941-365-0367 | EARRF.ORG

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IN 1979, THE EAR RESEARCH FOUNDATION was established in Sarasota, Florida by President and Founder, Dr. Herbert Silverstein. The Foundation was created out of his desire to contribute to hearing and balance related research, education, and community care.

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THE EAR RESEARCH FOUNDATION’S PROGRAMS FOCUS ON . . .

RESEARCH Under the advocacy of the Foundation, research continues advancements in microsurgery of the ear, testing of new treatments for hearing and balance disorders, and understanding of otologic disease processes. In addition to publications and lectures resulting from research initiatives, the Foundation maintains a complete microsurgical laboratory, an audiovisual educational conference room, and a scientific library for ear physicians and surgeons.

EDUCATION Annual professional symposia, conferences and informative community lectures are offered covering common and unusual ear conditions. The Foundation also produces a variety of free brochures, website and online content, as well as other informational media. Over 44 physicians have been trained in a one-year, post-residency, fellowship training program. Many of the graduates are in academic medicine and leaders in the field of Otology and Neurotology.

COMMUNITY CARE The Ear Research Foundation helps children, adults, and seniors through the Help Us Hear program and free community clinic to provide financially eligible candidates with hearing aids, simple treatments, surgical reconstructions, or implants. Free hearing screenings are provided at pre-schools, health fairs, civic, and other non-profit organizations across Sarasota and Manatee County.

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TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, BETTER TOGETHER. That is the simplest way to sum up the relationship of Gulf Coast Community Foundation with our donors and our community partners. Since our foundation was created in 1995, Gulf Coast has worked to transform this region through bold and proactive philanthropy. We do it by identifying emerging challenges and new opportunities that face the communities we serve, and then rallying the resources to address them. Gulf Coast works in all areas of our shared community life—health and human services, civic and economic development, education, arts and culture, and the environment. We strive to provide the leadership to take on issues that are seemingly intractable and to dream new possibilities not yet imagined. But we know that anything we achieve at Gulf Coast is accomplished only through the generosity of our donors and the hard work of strong nonprofit partners. “Together” isn’t just a word in our mission; it’s how we get things done. You can think of Gulf Coast Community Foundation as common ground where caring citizens come together to create uncommon answers to a fundamental question: “What’s next?” That’s the foundation of community.

GULF COAST COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

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or 25 years, together with our donors, Gulf Coast Community Foundation has transformed our region through bold and proactive philanthropy. Gulf Coast was created in 1995 through the sale of the Venice Hospital. Since then, we have become the philanthropic home of nearly 1,000 families, individuals, organizations, and businesses that have established charitable funds here, and together we have invested more than $340 million in grants and initiatives in the areas of health and human services, civic and economic development, education, arts and culture, and the environment.

MAIN OFFICE 601 TAMIAMI TRAIL S., VENICE, FL 34285 | PHILANTHROPY CENTER 1931 S. OSPREY AVENUE, SARASOTA, FL 34239 941-486-4600 | GULFCOASTCF.ORG IN THE SPIRIT OF GIVING CREATIVE MARKETING SECTION :: SRQ MAGAZINE DEC 2019

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umane Society of Manatee County is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit animal welfare organization that was originally formed in 1971, and today is regarded as the lead animal welfare agency in Manatee County. The Humane Society of Manatee County operates a shelter, the Second Chance Adoption Center located at 2515 14th Street W. and a veterinary clinic / high volume spay and neuter clinic at 2415 14th Street W. in Bradenton. Each year the Second Chance Adoption Center re-homes more than 1000 dogs and cats through the adoption program. Many of the animals that enter the Second Chance Adoption Program are medically challenged or have behavioral issues. Each animal receives the highest quality medical care and behavioral training to complete the rehabilitation process to become adoptable. In September of 2015, Humane Society of Manatee County opened a 10,000 sq. foot state of the art veterinary clinic that includes a high volume spay and neuter clinic, wellness services, x-ray, dentals and vaccines. The veterinary clinic provides high quality, low-to-moderate cost veterinary care for cats and dogs in Manatee County and neighboring counties.

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PHILANTHROPY ABOUNDS IN MANATEE COUNTY and Sarasota County year after year as donors, supporters and the business community continue to support hundreds of area non-profits. This support has not only allowed the Humane Society of Manatee County to continue our life saving mission based work on behalf of the animals, but has allowed for an expansion of our veterinary clinic services. In addition to re-homing more than 1000 cats and dogs each year through our Second Chance Adoption Program, Humane Society of Manatee County’s Pet Retention Program works to keep animal companions and their human families together. Pet retention programs include a cat and dog food pantry, behavioral training assistance and low-to-moderate cost veterinary services. Our communities have a large financially challenged population who own animals and these individuals and families struggle to provide veterinary care for their animals. Humane Society of Manatee County continues to provide much needed low-to-moderate cost veterinary services and low cost / no cost spay and neuter surgeries, microchips and vaccines.

Two great programs that need your support are the Angel Fund, which provides funding to help financially challenged owners get their animals the veterinary care they deserve and need for emergency cases. A new fund, the Animal Cruelty Victims Fund, has been established to fund care needed for animals who have suffered from neglect or cruelty and are being cared for by our medical team. Online donations can be made by going to www.humanemanatee. org and donations can also be mailed to 2515 14th Street W. Bradenton, Florida 34205. Humane Society of Manatee County’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for the fourth consecutive year. Humane Society of Manatee County was chosen as the 2018 Small Business of the Year non-profit by the Manatee Chamber of Commerce in October 2018 and most recently the Better Business Council (BBC) granted membership to the Humane Society of Manatee County.

HUMANE SOCIETY OF MANATEE COUNTY 2515 14TH ST. W, BRADENTON FL 34205 | 941-747-8808 HUMANEMANATEE.ORG

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MISSION To provide an oasis of inspiration and tranquility, while furthering the understanding and appreciation of plants, especially epiphytes.

MARIE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDENS

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STORY OF GIVING MARIE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDENS WELCOMES MORE THAN 6,000 CHILDREN ANNUALLY through our education programming. Our outreach focuses on students and families from underserved communities with a goal of providing experiential opportunities to the natural world through fun, hands-on activities and a connection to Selby Gardens’ mission. In 2017, in partnership with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Selby Gardens launched the Family Togetherness program to provide complimentary access for vulnerable youth and their parents and guardians from Title I schools to enjoy special events including Selby Spooktacular, Lights in Bloom and Dali Family Saturdays. Family Togetherness is also supported by Tervis, Marcy and Michael Klein, and Flora Major for the Kutya Major Foundation.

This year, Selby Gardens launched the My Garden membership program. Funded by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, My Garden provides underserved youth and their families in Sarasota and Manatee Counties with free annual memberships. The youth each receive a yearlong family membership to Selby Gardens, allowing their entire household to visit the Gardens 364 days a year, free of charge.

Providing the opportunity for individuals in our community who might not otherwise come to Selby Gardens, is exactly what Marie Selby would have wanted. To start, Selby Gardens partnered with eight local youth organizations who distributed 250 complimentary Selby Gardens’ family memberships. These organizations include the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County, Child Protection Center, Girls Inc., Easterseals of Southwest Florida, Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Robert L. Taylor Community Center, Unidos Now, and Visible Men Academy. We love seeing so many families enjoy all that Selby Gardens has to offer and look forward to expanding both of these programs in the coming years.

900 S. PALM AVENUE, SARASOTA, FL 34236 | 941-366-5731 | SELBY.ORG

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MELISSA MARQUEZ, MARINE ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION. You may recognize Melissa Marquez from her 2018 appearance on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, during which a 10-foot American crocodile bit and dragged her along the sea floor while filming off the coast of Cuba. The marine biologist graduated from New College in 2015 with a degree in marine ecology and conservation.

Melissa worked with faculty to combine biology, ecology, conservation, and education into the custom area of concentration that gave her a fin up over the competition as she set out to become a shark researcher. During her time at New College, Melissa traveled to the Bahamas to conduct research at the Bimini Sharklab and to South Africa to study great whites. She received a full scholarship to Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, where she earned a master’s degree in marine biology. Melissa founded The Fins United Initiative to educate the public about sharks and other marine life.

She delivered a popular TEDx talk about sharks and the female scientists who study them, and she is a contributor to Forbes Science. Melissa braved another appearance on Shark Week in 2019.

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NEW COLLEGE FOUNDATION B

RILLIANT FUTURES BEGIN HERE. New College of Florida is a community of fearless learners who have the freedom to chart their own course. The college’s forward-thinking approach to education builds experiential learning into the curriculum and gives students access to extensive research opportunities. Thanks to a highly personalized education, our students enter the workforce with a strong foundation of skills and experience upon which to build their careers.

For nearly 60 years, New College alumni have been making a big impact on the world and their communities.

The richness and diversity of their careers affirm the tangible value of a liberal arts degree from New College of Florida. Your contribution to the New College Foundation can help us continue to educate intellectually curious minds for lives of great achievement. To make a gift, visit ncf.edu/inspire.

5800 BAY SHORE ROAD, SARASOTA, FL 34243 | 941-487-4800 NCF.EDU/INSPIRE

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SARASOTA MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION (SMHF) is the only foundation in our region that focuses on securing philanthropic support for Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. For over 40 years, the Healthcare Foundation has provided grants to enhance patient care, facilities, technology, ongoing clinical education, and medical research. Today, the Healthcare Foundation is stronger than ever. We continue to work together with SMH to ensure a healthy future for our community and to help maintain its ranking as one of the nation’s top performing hospitals: • • • •

Named Newsweek Magazine as one of the World’s Best Hospitals 2019 Highest 5-Star rating from Medicare for quality and safety, 2019 “A” Grade for Patient Safety, Leapfrog Group, 2019 Magnet Recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the the most prestigious distinction for nursing excellence and high-quality patient

1515 S. OSPREY AVE STE. B-4, SARASOTA, FL 34239 941-917-1286 | SMHF.ORG

SARASOTA MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION S

arasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation is the philanthropic partner that helps Sarasota Memorial Health Care System bring worldclass care to our community. Our primary areas of focus are:

• PATIENT CARE Fund patient care initiatives such as breast health visits for uninsured patients and car seats for indigent newborns • EDUCATION Provide grants to SMH staff for continuing education, such as lactation management certification and chemotherapy courses • TECHNOLOGY Purchase state-of-the-art equipment such as the Level 1 Rapid Infuser for Emergency & Trauma Services and ultrasound machines for Critical Care • RESEARCH Support research programs such as RENEW, an employee wellness project, and tissue bank funding for cancer research • FACILITIES Provide funds to upgrade and renovate treatment areas such as the Cardiac Cath Lab and pediatric recovery rooms

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STORY OF GIVING USUALLY FATAL, Hannah survived hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) thanks to the gift of almost 300 platelets while waiting for a bone marrow transplant. Now 17 and a student at Booker High School, Hannah is healthy and paying it forward by being a donor herself. When you donate platelets, you don’t just save a life, you save a family.

AS A TOKEN OF OUR APPRECIATION, YOU WILL RECEIVE A $20 AMAZON GIFT CARD EACH TIME YOU DONATE PLATELETS.

SUNCOAST BLOOD BANK S

unCoast Blood Bank provides a reliable supply of quality blood products and services to hospitals and health centers in this community. Its purpose is to collect, test, process, match, store and distribute all the blood products required to serve patients in need. The complexity of its work is exemplified by its participation in research, cancer treatment and our innovative approach to the science of blood utilization, making it a leader in the industry.

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1760 MOUND STREET, SARASOTA, FL 34236 941-866-97-BLOOD | SCBB.ORG

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SUPPORTERS OF THE BISHOP MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND NATURE are dedicated to understanding the world around us, exploring Florida’s natural history and helping manatees in need. Your gift to The Bishop affects more than 75,000 people every year, who visit from Manatee and Sarasota counties, all 50 states and more than 25 countries. Your gift also impacts more than 10,000 schoolchildren in eight local counties, who rely on us as an educational and cultural resource. The Museum continues to grow to meet the needs of the community and the region. After opening the Mosaic Backyard Universe in October – a permanent, indoor play and learning exhibition geared toward children 2 to 8 years-old – we are focusing on outdoor exhibition spaces and other improvements to ensure we continue to enhance our community’s way of life. Thanks to a matching grant pledged by an anonymous donor, every $1 donated to the Connect Capital Campaign up to $1 million will be matched with $2. That means your Capital Campaign gift will be matched to have triple the impact!

For more information about making a gift, please contact Development Director Ashley Berridge at ABerridge@BishopScience.org or (941) 216-3457.

s the largest natural and cultural history museum on Florida’s Gulf Coast, The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature offers engaging exhibitions as well as educational programs that interpret the scientific and cultural knowledge of Florida, the world, and our universe. Our permanent exhibitions include the Mosaic Backyard Universe, which encourages young children and their families to explore and learn together; our alldigital Planetarium, which offers both live shows and theater presentations; the Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat, where we help manatees recover from injury, illness or being orphaned so they can be released back to the wild; and the treasures in our natural history Museum. In addition to permanent exhibits, The Bishop features a constantly changing lineup of temporary exhibitions --offering something new to discover with each visit!

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THE BISHOP MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND NATURE

201 10TH STREET WEST BRADENTON, FL 34205 941-746-4131 BISHOPSCIENCE.ORG

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he Circus Arts Conservatory’s mission is to engage and educate students using unique and innovative learning programs; to measurably improve the quality of life for individuals in care facilities; and to advance the extraordinary legacy and heritage of the circus. The mission underscores The CAC’s commitment to sharing the entertainment, education and enrichment that Circus Arts provide. Spending nearly 80% of revenues to support its year-round community outreach programs, The CAC is a generous community partner, donating in excess of 5,000 tickets to local non-profits annually.

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THE CIRCUS ARTS CONSERVATORY is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization recognized for both performances and community outreach. Committed to raising the perception of the circus as the valuable art form it represents, The CAC is much more than a circus. We operate producing performances, events, youth training, and community outreach programs in Sarasota, Manatee and beyond. Showcased in a one-ring, European-style Big Top, Circus Sarasota presents circus productions that expand all creative barriers and bring the best in circus arts to southwest Florida. The shows change annually and feature international circus acts acclaimed for their amazing artistry. The Sailor Circus Academy, America’s longest running youth circus, is a rigorous performing arts training program for students 8 -18. Students develop life management skills, gain self-discipline and bolster confidence all while learning the circus arts. Circus Arts In Healthcare improves the quality of life for individuals in care facilities through the circus arts. Our artists incorporate comedy, music, magic and more to engage audiences. We work with health care professionals to develop interactive programming that is entertaining and therapeutic. Our Education Program’s teaching artists engage thousands of area K – 12 students in key academic subjects such as science, physics, and language arts using a unique, arts integrated curriculum. These inquiry based lessons are developed to comply with academic state standards and have proven to increase participating students test scores.

2075 BAHIA VISTA ST. SARASOTA FL 34239 | 941-355-9335 | CIRCUSARTS.ORG

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CODING WAVE

NEW CODING AND STEM CLASSES FOR KIDS

THE WHOLE CHILD

INTEGRATING SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING INTO OUR CLASSROOMS

COMMON SENSE PARENTING BEST-SELLING AUTHOR DR. ROSS W. GREENE

15 PERFECT KID SPOTS

TOUCH TANKS, MAGICAL DRAGONS AND FOSSILS

BUBBLE TEA BLISS

LOCAL CREATIONS FROM PUMPKIN SPICE TO WINTER MELON

AN SRQ MAGAZINE PUBLICATION WINTER 2019

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15 FAMILY SPOTS A TROVE OF ARTSY AND NATURE-BASED EXPERIENCES 2

CODING WAVES WHICH SCHOOL BEST FITS YOUR FAMILY? 19

BRADENTON CHRISTIAN SCHOOL NEWGATE SCHOOL THE OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY ST. MARTHA CATHOLIC SCHOOL THE PINNACLE ACADEMY

THE VALUE OF CODING 4

BUBBLE TEA BLISS FAMILYFRIENDLY BOBA BUBBLE TEAS 6

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING INTEGRATING CONCEPTS INTO THE CLASSROOM 8

COMMON SENSE BEST-SELLING AUTHOR DR. ROSS W. GREENE 16

CULTIVATING SARASOTA | MANATEE FAMILIES, EDUCATION AND INNOVATION

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Hidden Gems

With an activity for every proclivity, Sarasota–Manatee will keep the youngsters from yawning this season.

From winter to spring, there is a trove of artsy and nature-based local mirth for everyone, from toddlers to teens (so much fun even the tagalong grown-ups will be gung-ho to go). —A.Weingarten

15FamilySpots This page, left to right: Big Cat Habitat.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Opposite page, left to right: Sarasota Children’s Garden, The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature and Mote Marine Laboratory and Acquarium.

Marvel at a 100-year-old banyan tree and a

12-foot waterfall, and trek along the canopy walk and rope bridge at the Ann Goldstein Children’s Rainforest Garden. For tykes ages 2 to 5, there is the Little Sprouts Club—a monthly, educational drop-in program with crafts stations and hands-on activities—from November to May. Check out the temporary art exhibit “Salvador Dalí: Gardens of the Mind,” which highlights the famed artist’s use of botanical imagery. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 811 S. Palm Ave., Sarasota, 941-366-5731, selby.org.

The David F. Bolger Playspace at The Ringling

museum lets kiddos romp in the fresh air on the 66-acre bayfront campus and is stocked with adventurous obstacles like a tower, slide, basket swing and hand-powered fountains. There are also free programs such as Family Saturdays, Stroller Tours and Museum of Art Mondays.

Inside the Circus Museum is a bevy of big-top wonderment, such as authentic costumes, posters and a 44,000-piece Howard Bros. Circus Model and The Greatest Show on Earth Mural. The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota, 941-359-5700, ringling.org.

Pet stingrays, point at seahorses and jellyfish, and then sail away with the Sarasota Bay Explorers (a group that provides boat eco-tours and nature safaris right from the Mote site). Save Our Seabirds, with its array of rescued Florida birds, is next door to the aquarium. And from February to May, catch a free Sarasota Ski-A-Rees water show on a Sunday afternoon at the nearby stadium. Try the virtual-reality cinema journey in the Exploration Gallery, 2

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which features nine experiences (from live-action swimming with humpback whales or computer-animated roller coaster rides). Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, 1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy., Sarasota, 941-388-4441, mote.org.

A wonderland on two acres, this secluded Sarasota spot is tailor-made for the imaginative set. There are pirate ships and fairy gardens, all arranged in a landscape decorated with creatively recycled materials. Enroll kids in craft classes, arrange birthday parties in the Caterpillar Cottage and let the little ones play dress-up in the wildly designed wilderness. Sarasota Children’s Garden, 1670 10th Way, Sarasota, 941-330-1711, sarasotachildrensgarden.com.

Learn about the constellations in the all-digital, fulldome planetarium theater (with a Digistar 5 dual-projection system) and visit the Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat (where the sea cows feed and swim). The first Saturday of most months is family night, when there are special themed activities and admission is reduced after 3pm. The Mosaic Backyard Universe—a hands-on interactive exhibit designed for children ages 2 to 8—boasts a tree house platform, a fossil dig pit, scale models of the solar system, a freshwater pond filled with turtles and a science shed. The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton, 941-746-4131, bishopscience.org.

Go racing with “The Naskart Experience,” smash around with friends in bumper cars in the “Spin Zone,” play Bazooka Ball (with glow-in-the-dark foam balls in a 3-D galactic battle arena) and earn tickets in the arcade.

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Hidden Gems

Then snack on handcrafted pizza slices and fried cheesecake. Livingston’s Amusement Center, 5947 Clark Center Ave., Sarasota, 941-925-7665, livingstonsamusements.com.

The 1.5-mile Bradenton Riverwalk along the

Manatee River has it all: a 400-seat amphitheater, a Tidal Discovery Zone (with up-close observation of the ecosystem along the river’s edge), a fishing pier, a skate park, a family fun zone, a splash pad, actionpacked playgrounds and a beach volleyball court.

Bradenton Riverwalk, 452 Third Ave. W., Bradenton, 941-681-0708, realizebradenton.com.

Learn about pioneer history and Florida flora by

rey, primates, small mammals and alligators in habitats along the lush nature trails. The “Jungle Bird Show,” “Reptile Encounter” and “Wildlife Wonder” shows are all worth the sitting. Sarasota Jungle Gardens, 3701 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota, 941-355-5305, sarasotajunglegardens.com.

This Bradenton locale is so much more than a fruit

farm; it is also a refuge for rehabilitated birds, animals and reptiles. Take a tour of the orchards or butterfly garden, and then let the kids explore the new Amazing Play Place (which includes a giant Jenga game, a cornhole and badminton setup, a volleyball area and space for water relay races). Mixon Fruit Farms, 2525 27th St. E., Bradenton, 941-748-5829, mixon.com.

visiting a blacksmith shop, a working sugar cane mill and a Children’s Discovery Path nature trail. A half-mile boardwalk winds through five Florida habitats, including the Maple Branch Swamp and the Tatum Sawgrass Marsh, and ends at a two-story observation tower overlooking the Myakka River.Crowley Museum & Nature Center, 16405 Myakka Rd., Sarasota, 941-322-1000, crowleyfl.org.

At this cheery circus-themed downtown Sarasota

Navigate 58 square miles of wetlands, woodlands and

this wild stretch of Lido Key, and have a picnic at a wooden table while the children savor the playground. There are guided eco-tours that launch from the park daily and head into Sarasota Bay (where manatees, dolphins and seabirds roam). Ted Sperling Park at South Lido Beach, 190 Taft Dr., Sarasota, 941-861-5000, tedsperlingpark.com.

prairies via a flat-bottomed boat tour around Upper Myakka Lake. Book a horseback-riding session or go mountain biking, camping, fishing, paddling, birding and wildlife viewing. Gather around a campfire circle or launch a canoe and kayak into marshy waters. Myakka River State Park, 13208 State Rd. 72, Sarasota, 941-361-6511, myakkariver.org.

Have a “Wild Animal Encounter” with a lion, tiger

or liger, and watch a “Reptile Review,” all while learning about creature care and preservation in this sanctuary for rescued animals. There are bears, primates and tortoises on-site, and a kid-friendly petting zoo with goats, llamas, emu and chickens. Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary, 7101 Palmer Blvd., Sarasota, 941-371-6377, bigcathabitat.org.

Hand-feed a free-roaming flamingo at this 10-acre

wildlife haven, which is home to more than 200 native and exotic animals. There are multicolored birds of

playground, toddlers can swing and slide while teens climb rock walls and do tricks at the skate park. Embark on a family bike ride along the park’s half-mile, tree-lined trail before heading to the Café in the Park for sandwiches and craft popsicles. Payne Park, 2050 Adams Ln., Sarasota, 941-263-6386, sarasotafl.gov.

Pull the canoe or kayak up close to the mangroves in

This “Greatest Little Show on Earth” hosts youth

productions by acrobatic students (on the flying trapeze, trampoline and aerial silks) who have studied with The Circus Arts Conservatory. See a performance, learn about Sarasota’s big-top history and appreciate the talents of the town’s daredevil youngsters. Students ages 8 to 18 can enroll in Sailor Circus Academy—an after-school educational program that teaches circus arts (international circus performers even teach workshops and hands-on training courses). Sailor Circus, 2075 Bahia Vista St., Sarasota, 941-355-9805, circussarasota.org.

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Hidden Gems

CodingWaves Specialized courses teach local students the value of coding, along with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies.

Suncoast Science Center/ Faulhaber Fab Lab 4452 Beneva Rd., Sarasota, 941-8404394, suncoastscience.org.

The Coder School 6293 Lake Osprey Dr., Lakewood Ranch sarasota@thecoderschool.com, sarasota. thecoderschool.com.

Other Resources Code.org, Khan Academy.org, Scratch.mit.edu, Nostarch.com/pythoncrashcourse2e, Codecademy.com.

For a kid with coding fascination, there is nothing quite like looking at a video game and confidently thinking, “I can make this.”

That’s exactly what Julia Kourelakos, a student instructor at Sarasota’s Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab, has witnessed firsthand. She developed and currently teaches a 10-week “Coding and Game Design” course that allows middle school students with no programming background to master the basics of the Python coding language. “Kids want to learn how to code the next Fortnite and this is how they bring that dream to life,” Kourelakos says.

“And learning how to code opens up a new world within every career.” Classes like Kourelakos’ are becoming more prevalent in the area, as coding—along with general science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs—captivate Sarasota–Manatee’s young students.

The Coder School launched in Lakewood Ranch in November, and Suncoast Science Center is continually expanding its programs to include not only coding but also STEM Saturdays, robotics classes and engineering courses. All of these options are giving 4

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students an opportunity to develop valuable skills in an ever-evolving, hightech world. “Oftentimes, students are not exposed to coding and computer science principles until high school, when it may be too late to learn,” says Jenn Sams, director of marketing and communications at Suncoast Science Center. “We plan to continue

“Kids want to learn how to code the next Fortnite and this is how they bring that dream to life.”

— Julia Kourelakos, Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab

enhancing our programs and provide interactive classes to expose students to the limitless possibilities of coding and other STEM areas.”

So do Allyson and Pete Christinzio, the owner-operators of The Coder School (a local franchise of an institution that boasts Silicon Valley’s No. 1 kids’ coding program).

The Christinzios’ school has “the only yearS R Q

round, progressive, dynamic curriculum for learning software development in the entire area” for ages 7 to 18, they say.

“We wanted to help guide children toward a rewarding understanding of how to think like a coder and use programming languages to build gratifying creations,” the Christinzios say. “Our Code Coaches help coders take it to the next level, work through the difficult stuff and really discover the fun of creating something awesome.”

In addition to its regular curriculum, The Coder School offers Code Coaching, Code and Platform Classes, a Coder Fair and Code Camps. “For kids who have done the camps and read the books and played the coding games, there is nothing else available in our community for kids to continue the journey with. And a budding interest that may lead to a fabulous career withers on the vine, so we want to be there to offer that instruction,” the Christinzios say. “I think that we all can agree that the future will be highly technological, and there will be software (which is really just running code) involved in virtually every human enterprise.”

—A. Weingarten

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Hidden Gems Four Sarasota locales offer family-friendly boba/bubble teas that are as flavorful as they are fun to drink.

Chi Chop & Kung Fu Tea Sarasota 8404 Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota, 941-260-8768, chichopboba.com.

Elixir Tea House 1926 Hillview St., Sarasota, 941-373-1800, facebook.com/ elixirteahouse.

Kam’s Bubble Tea and Sushi 1813 Fruitville Rd., Sarasota, 941960-1610, kamsbubbleteasushi.com.

Teas Days 6517 Superior Ave., Sarasota, 941-312-5192 thebestboba.com.

BubbleTeaBliss Tapioca pearls at the bottom of a sugary sweet drink, slurped to the top through a wide straw—it’s a textural, taste-budwowing experience, sipping bubble tea.

“Bubble teas are not well-known in the area, but when people experience the drink for the first time, they question why they have never heard of it before,” says Charisma Davis, the owner of Teas Days in Sarasota’s Gulf Gate district.

Teas Days serves the Taiwanese teabased beverage in varieties like taro, Thai, matcha, mango, strawberry, lavender, honeydew, chocolate and pumpkin spice.

Each drink can be paired with a texture such as tapioca (the original boba),

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bursting boba (popping with honey, strawberry, mango, passion fruit and yogurt flavors) or lychee (fruit). A pumpkin spice tea with tapioca is a seasonal must.

At Elixir Tea House in Sarasota’s Hillview area are 80-plus teas that can be enhanced with the signature crystal boba (much like tapioca but made of natural agar-agar—in plain, green tea and brown sugar) and the bursting bubbles (berry, honey, mango, green apple, cherry and strawberry). Try a decaf strawberry shortcake iced tea and add strawberry bursts to it. Exotic combinations abound at Kam’s Bubble Tea & Sushi in Sarasota’s Gillespie Park, such as green bubble tea with fresh fruit topping in avocado-

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Below:

Kam’s Bubble Tea and Sushi avocado coconut green bubble tea (far left) and taro coconut with bubble tea (far right). Teas Days’ taro teas with tapioca (center).

coconut and papaya-coconut styles.

Have a bubble tea smoothie in one of these blends: jackfruit with tapioca pearls or lychee honeydew with bubble tea.

Then experience Chi Chop & Kung Fu Tea Sarasota on Lockwood Ridge Road, where the tea comes in classic, milk, slush, punch and yogurt options and can be topped with bubbles, pudding, tapioca and jelly. Sample a fruity strawberry lemonade punch tea or a creamier winter melon milk green tea.

“Bubble tea is an experience of its own,” Davis says. “It allows you to pop the seal of the cup and enjoy a texture with every sip.” —A. Weingarten

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Hidden Gems

SocialEmotional Learning

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is a big topic in today’s education world, and local schools are integrating its concepts into programs that are greatly enriching students’ lives.

Step Up Suncoast 6428 Parkland Dr., Sarasota, 941-7506667, stepupsuncoast.org Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading funded by The Patterson Foundation, 2 N. Tamiami Trl., Sarasota, 941952-1413, thepattersonfoundation.org/ suncoast-grade-level-reading.html

The strategy was called “The Shark Fin”—an interactive classroom breathing exercise designed to help students focus and relieve stress. It was taught at Sarasota’s Brentwood Elementary School as part of the Inner Explorer program—a social-emotional learning (SEL) tool to enhance mindfulness. And it made more of an impact than John Weida, Brentwood’s principal, could ever have imagined. Its impact became obvious one day while Weida was visiting a Brentwood student with leukemia in the intensive care unit at All Children’s Hospital. Something remarkable happened right there in the room.

“The nurse was trying to talk him through taking pill after pill, and I had stepped aside to get out of the way.

When I turned around, I saw the child, lying in his hospital bed, doing The Shark Fin,” Weida recalls. “I asked, ‘What did he just do?’ His mom said, ‘He’s been doing that, has something to do with a fish, I don’t know, 8

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but it calms him down so he can take all of those meds.’” This is the magic of SEL—a movement that school districts across the country have widely adopted, including those throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties (especially in the past two years). Its aim is to empower students to manage their emotions, show empathy and make better decisions. By instilling problem-solving skills and self-discipline in students, and teaching them impulse control and emotion management through various exercises, SEL is drastically affecting young people’s minds. The learning transcends the classroom and spills into every aspect of life.

Programs like Vroom, Mind in the Making, The Civility Squad and Inner Explorer all have an SEL bent.

According to a meta-analysis by The Aspen Institute, nine out of 10 teachers believe SEL skills benefit students; four out of five teachers want more support to

Education Foundation of Sarasota County 1960 Landings Blvd., Ste. 120, Sarasota, 941927-0965, edfoundationsrq.org Gulf Coast Community Foundation 601 Tamiami Trl. S., Venice, 941-486-4600, gulfcoastcf.org Other SEl Resources Casel.org, Vroom.org, Mindinthemaking.org, Innerexplorer.org

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address students’ SEL development; supporting students’ SEL development produces an 11-percentage-point gain in grades and test scores; and eight in 10 employers say SEL skills are the most important to success and yet are also the hardest skills to find.

So local schools and organizations are helping students hone these skills, including Step Up Suncoast, an area nonprofit that is bringing more SEL programming into its work. “We serve over 700 children per day and constantly promote their social-emotional wellness,” says Roberta Blumenthal, inclusion specialist for Rise and Shine Early Learning at Step Up Suncoast.

“Have you ever seen classrooms do yoga to control their bodies and get in touch with their minds? In the past, we had children with an extreme lack of control become confident and calm after doing yoga poses.” The yoga program was launched about four years ago, serving children ages 3 and older, and Step Up Suncoast works alongside wellness consultant Stephen Boyes to provide many more opportunities like it.

“We empower children to do their best and be their best. Our approach to the social-emotional needs of children is to teach them how to cope with our changing world,” Blumenthal says. “Our classrooms have cozy corners that offer a child a breathing space they can go to and resettle themselves.

We have books that name emotions and, in these books, they show and explain about feelings. I think the real message is to teach a child about being resilient and mindful.”

Beth Duda, the director of the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, funded by The Patterson Foundation, is promoting programs that spread the same SEL message. The campaign is a four-county effort to help children from birth through third grade, especially in asset-limited families, by ensuring that these students can read on grade level.

The campaign uses Vroom and Mind in the Making— two proven initiatives that touch on executive function and SEL. “Vroom is a set of tools and resources from the Bezos Family Foundation designed to inspire families to turn everyday moments into ‘brain-building moments’ by layering activities that are essential to healthy brain development onto existing routines,” Duda says. “Parents and caregivers are given access to tools and tips, as well as the ‘Brainy Background’ for each tip. And Mind in the Making workshops offer a hands-on opportunity to share the science of children’s learning with families and professionals.” The Suncoast Campaign, through workshops, teaches the Seven Essential Life Skills: Focus and Self-Control, Perspective-Taking, Communicating, Making Connections, Critical Thinking, Taking on Challenges, and Self-Directed and Engaged Learning. There are more than 60 current facilitators, and about 1,000 individuals from the Suncoast region have completed the workshops.

Dr. Laura Kingsley, the assistant superintendent/chief academic officer for Sarasota County Schools, says SEL is also a major initiative of the school district this year.The district has implemented programming using “The Civility Squad” campaign (a content tool for the classroom) that was developed by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

“The Civility Squad” involves a cast of characters that promotes positive and civil actions, such as respecting others, making a difference, listening and saying “Thank you.”

The principles of civility and the characters of The Civility Squad have been incorporated into schoolwide positive behavior intervention and support plans. “We have integrated The Civility Squad into every school, and we started this two years ago.

You’d think it would only apply to elementary school students, but the middle and high schools love it too. We also have a staff wellness plan that’s pretty detailed,” Kingsley says. “We are hoping that every teacher integrates strategies that support a child’s social and emotional support in every lesson. It’s about a teacher having a wonderful relationship with each child so that every child feels supported.”

There are deep breathing exercises, intention-setting routines for the day and restorative circles. Most importantly, there is a ton of positive reinforcement. “What does a great relationship with a student look like? A teacher who says, ‘This is really important what you’re about to learn,’ and follows it with ‘You can do it,’ and finally, ‘I’m not giving up on you,’” Kingsley says. “When kids know that their teachers feel that, you really have built socially and emotionally competent kids.”

Suzanne Burke, PhD, the senior director of college career and life readiness for the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, has watched competent kids emerge from SEL learning for years. The Education Foundation is now developing a kindergarten through 12th grade scope and sequence for college, career and life readiness (and SEL is a significant component of “life” readiness), she says.

Before joining the Education Foundation, Burke served as the associate superintendent of academics in a large urban school district in Texas, where she collaboratively led an SEL initiative from concept to district-wide implementation.

“With kids, seeing that they have similarities rather than differences is huge, and to help them see that, we use a strategy called Four Corners,” Burke says. “The instructor might throw out a controversial topic and then the kids decide if they agree, disagree, strongly disagree, etc., and they move to one corner of the classroom. They start having conversations, they make connections and they realize that they see this or that the same way. It enables kids to have powerful dialogues.”

Burke has seen SEL work wonders for students who take what they have learned into their homes and family environments. “Several years ago in Austin, there was horrific flooding.

Families were on their rooftops, and one little first grader came back to school after the school reopened. It was a big SEL school and teachers were spending time talking about their experiences with the flooding,” Burke recalls. “This little first grader told the classroom that, when his family was on the roof, he taught them a strategy of deep breathing to calm down and settle their emotions (for little guys, we call it ‘belly breathing’). So his family sat in a circle holding hands and he was teaching them to belly breathe (something he had learned in school). Can you believe that? Out of the mouths of babes. Wow.” —A. Weingarten P R O D U C E D

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Hidden Gems Best-selling author Ross W. Greene was in Sarasota for the Forty Carrots Free Community Speaker Event this September.

We spoke with him about the necessity of allowing children to meet and conquer challenges on their own, as well as the social importance of teaching kids to solve problems with collaboration instead of power.

CommonSense good, right? Where life starts to get interesting is when kids don’t meet our expectations.

And that’s when a lot of caregivers move toward being unilateral with the justification that their expectations are important, and that it’s worth strong-arming the kid. By my way of thinking, the first step is being collaborative in solving the problem.

In your book you wrote about placing expectations on kids that may not match their innate capacities. You pointed to a quote in Proverbs from the Old Testament, “Educate a child according to his path.” Is this something we used to know, but have forgotten? Dr. Ross W. Green: What’s interesting is that a reaction I frequently get is, “isn’t this just common sense?” For some people it is common sense and for some people these are some pretty foreign concepts, which is fascinating. But, you know, that’s human diversity for you. We think about lots of things differently, child raising included. We’ve been viewing kids as inferior.

We are worried that if we don’t strong-arm them, they will be incorrigible. I just don’t find that to be the case. The bottom line is this: Whether you strong-arm your kid or collaborate with your kid, you have expectations.

If you think homework is important for real life, then you’re going to have the expectation that your kid do his homework. If you think sharing toys is important for a kid’s life, then you’re going to have that expectation. And if a kid is meeting your expectations, then life is 16

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P R O D U C E D

B Y

What about challenging behaviors in schools.

Special education law says that they’ve got to meet the student where he or she is at, so that’s a given. It’s also a given that there are many students who are struggling to get over the bar, and we keep raising the bar. We keep demanding more and more, earlier and earlier, of kids. The reality is the higher you raise the bar, the more kids are going to fall off the apple cart. That’s just developmental variability speaking there. That’s the reality of what’s walking into classrooms. We also have to take a look at the demands that we’re placing on teachers. I’ve had a lot of classroom teachers comment to me, not just in Florida, that they feel like test prep robots and that those types of policies have taken all of the humanity out of the job. We’ve always relied on classroom teachers to be socialization agents for our students, not just the well-behaved ones, but also those who are struggling behaviorally. When you add to that the fact that zero-tolerance policies became popularized after Columbine as an attempt to help us be safer, you’ve also transformed many classroom teachers and administrators in schools into behavior-management robots.

We really need to ask ourselves if we’ve pushed things in the right direction over the last 20 or 30 years. It doesn’t appear that all those zero-tolerance policies made us safer, in fact, and from all appearances they seem to have made us less safe. Part of childhood is trying on new ideas for size and see where they take you. It’s taking risks and making mistakes. I find that the pressure and the expectations and the rigidity have just gotten completely out of whack.

S R Q

I see stories about how college kids are afraid of ideas, you know, they shut down speakers with whom they expect to disagree. How did we get to the point where college kids are afraid to hear ideas they don’t agree with? You know, in a divided society, you pay attention to the speakers who agree with you and the news media outlets that agree with your existing point of view. That’s very limiting because if you’re not exposed to new ideas, how do people grow? That’s what college he used to be about, exposure to new ideas and different people and different ways of thinking. If we’re closed to all of that, then we close ourselves off to growth and to new ideas and to open-mindedness.

That certainly seems to be the case these days for many people. All I know is that we’re not listening to each other. And if we’re not solving problems together, then we end up just being unilateral and using power, and that’s what causes conflict.

One of the ideas that really jumped out at me in your book was “struggling is what precedes growth.” If you don’t have challenges, you don’t learn how to deal with challenges. Challenges lead to more growth than success does.

Learning how to overcome challenges, learning how to solve problems and doing it with other people in a way that respects them. I wish our national leaders knew how to do that. Apparently, they weren’t raised the Raising Human Beings way because they’re doing it through power and posturing. I admire people who know how to work together to solve problems.

That’s who gets my admiration. Gridlock is what happens when people stop listening to each other and rely solely on power to get their concerns addressed. The same dynamic often exists between parents and educators and kids. It doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t want to use our politicians as role models for how to solve problems—it turns out they’re not all that good at it.—W. Roberts

M A G A Z I N E

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School Guide FINDING THE SCHOOL THAT WILL GROW WITH YOUR FAMILY

FEATURING BRADENTON CHRISTIAN SCHOOL NEWGATE SCHOOL THE OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY ST. MARTHA CATHOLIC SCHOOL THE PINNACLE ACADEMY

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THE NEWGATE SCHOOL THE LAB SCHOOL OF THE MONTESSORI FOUNDATION

NewGate School—Upper School in Lakewood Ranch for grades 7 to 12.

FOUNDED IN 1907 BY DR. MARIA MONTESSORI, the Montessori Method is considered the gold standard for early childhood education and is recognized for excellence in its programs up through high school.

The Montessori Foundation is based here in Sarasota and is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of Montessori education and school reform worldwide. It is a primary resource of assistance, encouragement, and support for the international Montessori community. It was established in 1992 by some of the top leaders in Montessori education, with offices originally in the nation’s capital. Today, The Montessori Foundation works with 5000 Montessori schools in 50 countries, regardless of affiliation, as well as parents, educators, schools, and school systems interested in the approach pioneered by Dr. Maria Montessori. In addition to working with public and charter schools across the United States, The Montessori Foundation also helps to establish schools and prepare Montessori teachers and leaders worldwide, including

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the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It also works with Montessori schools, which implement an International Baccalaureate (IB) program at the diploma level for grades 11 and 12. “One of the reasons The Montessori Foundation is doing this work is to create an internationally replicable model of Montessori middle and high school programs that are a successful marriage of the two,” says President of The Montessori Foundation and Head of School Tim Seldin.

In 2002, The Montessori Foundation sought to relocate and considered many options. The Foundation chose Sarasota because it is a city which represents the very best of Montessori’s commitment to the arts, to intellectual life, to natural beauty and it is home to New College—the undergraduate honors college that is most aligned with Montessori’s core values. Since 1993, our community has looked to the NewGate school as an exemplary educational model in which there is a strong, supportive daily connection between teachers, children, and parents.

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THE NEWGATE SCHOOL | NEWGATE.EDU

Highlight THE NEWGATE SCHOOL IN SARASOTA, which has been supported by The Montessori Foundation since the early 1990s, is an international universitypreparatory school with IB — Tim Seldin, Diploma Program designation.

Head of School Montessori students are taught to think independently, and we cultivate their curiosity, creativity, and imagination, while nurturing their unique gifts, self-confidence and self-discipline. “For years we have felt (IB) was an excellent match as an international school with approximately 40% of our student body coming to Sarasota from around the world. Our Montessori-IB program offers our students the option to attend university in the US or overseas. We believe education should be a journey, not a race,” says Seldin. “A great education stems from great students and teachers, not vast buildings and a sprawling campus. NewGate works with uniquely gifted students, nurturing their curiosity, creativity and imagination.”

Under the guidance of The Montessori Foundation, the NewGate lab school has grown to include an internationally-recognized high school at the upper school campus in Lakewood Ranch. NewGate is an established, triple-accredited school in a region that is becoming increasingly more international every year. It is also known as a school for entrepreneurs. Students at every age at NewGate are taught and encouraged to think independently and learn self-reliance. NewGate provides many different programs to help ignite the minds of their students and help them understand the world of professionalism at a very young age. Programs for older students at NewGate include annual internships, drama Immersion weeks, research trips, and an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. It is also one of the only schools to still teach cursive which begins at a very young age. NewGate School works with students as unique individuals to ensure they develop their full potential.

“We believe education should be a journey, not a race.”

What distinguishes NewGate’s Montessori IB program is its focus on a balanced middle and high school life. It encourages deep learning, building strong friendships among students and teachers. It does so in a relaxed, warm and supportive learning community. The Montessori IB program helps students become more culturally aware and also develops a second language. Students become globally invested which in turn provides high school graduates many more opportunities as they prepare for universities both in the United States and in other parts of the world. NewGate prepares their students at every level to graduate with tools for success and professionalism as they enter university and the workforce. Typically students are admitted to NewGate from other Montessori schools or may come from rigorous schools in which the student is no longer inspired to learn. Gifted students who feel burned out at large, highly-competitive and impersonal schools tend to find a community of thoughtful learners and brilliant teachers. NewGate, for most families and students, feels like a second home. This is an incredible statment that makes our school an extraordinary jewel in Sarasota and Manatee. The work of The Montessori Foundation inspires a revolutionary change in education that is based on decades of brain research and the time-tested, world-wide success of more than 22,000 Montessori schools. Supporting The Montessori Foundation allows them to continue their work with schools such as NewGate, and supporting The Angel Fund which works to provide this education to children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to flourish.

Stats

• ADMISSIONS Rolling, competitive • ACCREDITATIONS AdvancEd/SACS; International Montessori Council, Interna tional Baccalaureate Organization • LANGUAGES TAUGHT Spanish and German • KEY PROGRAMS Fully implemented

Montessori–we are an international university preparatory school— strong arts—IB Diploma grades 11 and 12 • TEACHING PHILOSOPHY Montessori • NUMBER OF FULL-TIME TEACHERS 22 • NUMBER OF STUDENTS 175

LOWER SCHOOL

ASHTON CAMPUS 5237 ASHTON ROAD, SARASOTA TODDLERS THROUGH 6TH GRADE

941-922-4949 UPPER SCHOOL

LAKEWOOD RANCH CAMPUS, 5481 COMMUNICATIONS PARKWAY

NEWGATE.EDU

GRADES 7 TO 12

941-222-0763 TIMSELDIN@MONTESSORI.ORG TANYARYSKIND@MONTESSORI.ORG MONTESSORI.ORG

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THE OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY

THE OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY Established in 1924,

The Out-of-Door Academy is home to 740 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The school offers an innovative program focused on educating the whole child in a caring, supportive community. Out-of-Door continually implements new programs and strategies to meet the emerging educational needs of the next generation.

Through its evolution, the School has honored the legacy of its visionary founders who envisioned a school where important lessons would be learned “out-of-door,” or outside the classroom. Central to that vision was a LOWER SCHOOL HISTORIC SIESTA KEY CAMPUS 444 REID STREET, SARASOTA 941-554-3439 | PRE-K – GRADE 5

ODA.EDU

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MIDDLE AND UPPER SCHOOLS UIHLEIN CAMPUS IN LAKEWOOD RANCH 5950 DEER DRIVE, SARASOTA 941-554-5950 | GRADES 6-8 GRADES 9-12

belief that education should integrate hands-on learning experiences, physical activity, and the arts. Two campuses boast space for visual and performing arts opportunities, as well as 12 interscholastic team sports. More than 50 student-run clubs and activities, including cultural, arts, and media organizations are offered.

As the school celebrate 95 years, Out-of-Door remains dedicated to its longstanding commitment to the development of self-confident, well-rounded graduates who become responsible, contributing members of the global society.

The Mission The Out-of-Door Academy is an independent, college preparatory school with campuses in Siesta Key and Lakewood Ranch.

Students in preschool - grade 12 achieve high academic goals and build character through a balanced program of academics, athletics, and the arts. Using a student-centered educational philosophy, ODA prepares students for college and for life.

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ST. MARTHA CATHOLIC SCHOOL

ST. MARTHA CATHOLIC SCHOOL (SMCS) in Sarasota offers a challenging, faith-based academic experience to students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

“In an effort to serve God and our community, students, staff and families work together to maintain high academic standards, develop Christ-centered relationships, and provide stewardship to Sarasota and the surrounding areas,” a spokesperson for SMCS says. “Students have consistently performed in the top 20 percent across the nation year after year.” The school follows a STREAM

curriculum (an interdisciplinary, standards-based model that integrates science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and mathematics). Teachers design units of study that challenge and empower students, creating an environment that encourages problem-solving, collaboration, student-led inquiry and hands-on projects. A science lab, vegetable and prayer gardens, open fields and the Zazarino Center serve as dynamic learning spaces. The Catholic faith is woven into all subjects and grade levels, promoting a culture of innovation and ethical action.

The School’s Mission

ST. MARTHA CATHOLIC SCHOOL 4380 FRUITVILLE ROAD, SARASOTA 941-953-4181 | STMARTHASCHOOL.NET INFO@STMARTHASCHOOL.NET

SERVES GRADES PRE-K-8

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In partnership with Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Catholic Church, the mission of St. Martha Catholic School is to provide each student with diverse opportunities which develop strength in faith, and excellence in knowledge and learning. Students build character through their Christian service to the school, parish and world communities.

ADMISSION CONTACT: MRS. MARIA SMITH 941-552-3577 MSMITH@STMARTHASCHOOL.NET @StMarthaCatholicShool

@StMarthaCS

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PINNACLE ACADEMY

PINNACLE ACADEMY, a private school

in Lakewood Ranch, is dedicated to understanding and educating students who have language-based learning differences. The Academy provides a customized, fully accredited education for students in grades Pre-K through 12.

The campus offers small class sizes that foster personalized instruction where students can become stronger readers and more confident writers. Intensive reading intervention is offered daily to deliver evidence-based instruction including Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading ™, and LindaMood Bell ™. These “gold-standard” approaches to literacy demonstrate remarkable gains in students’ performance and confidence. It is confidence that is the

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overarching goal of a Pinnacle education.

“When students first come to Pinnacle, they may lack confidence in their abilities. Over time, they transform into self-assured, engaged learners,” says Dr. Kirstina Ordetx, the Academy’s founder and CEO. “Our strength-based environment allows for them to discover their personal learning styles and become confident, capable learners.”

The Academy’s students are inquisitive and creative. In many cases, they are seeking the foundational skills, strategies and self-assuredness they need to reach their fullest potential.

“There is no denying that students who think and learn differently thrive in smaller classes, where instruction is highly

engaging, explicit, systematic and sequential,” Ordetx says. This philosophy continues into high school, where student engage in weekly advisory meetings to prepare for college and careers. Students in grades 9-12 are offered an array of courses that align with graduation requirements and personal career interests.

Through extensive, professional development, the faculty members have embraced a school-wide initiative to promote the development of executive function skills (through weekly themes, daily instruction and consistent modeling).

The Academy recognizes that a student’s ability to manage life outside of school is essential to learning and development. Across the grades, these skills

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include self-control, mental flexibility, working memory, organization, planning, prioritizing, strategizing, and developing study skills and self-assessment. Daily schedules are designed to provide differentiated instruction for the gifted or remedial learning needs of each student.

The Pinnacle classrooms offer a rich, STEM education, which integrates science, technology, engineering, and math into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real world applications.

Students have opportunities to engage critical thinking skills, collaboration, and active learning in two dedicated Makerspace Labs and classes offering film production, robotics, digital imaging, environmental science, and more. STEM education involves hands-on, minds-on learning that requires creative thinking and provides an environment which is well-suited for students with ADHD. New to the Academy is a special program called the Accelerated Learning Living Lab (AL 3), which is currently enrolling qualified students in grades three to six. It is designed to support the twice exceptional learner by offering opportuni-

ties that foster creativity and maintenance of intrinsic motivation in the classroom.

“We recognize that the environment plays a large part in determining the student’s motivational orientation,” Ordetx says. “The AL 3 appreciates the unique social-emotional needs of high-ability learners, and promotes creative-productive giftedness by targeting their intense drive and capacity to engage in inquiry-based learning with perseverance to motivating tasks.”

The AL 3 is a “living lab,” rich with experiential opportunities and materials to help students explore and develop a deeper knowledge of biology, botany, robotics, coding, programming, zoology and engineering. It is just one of the reasons Pinnacle is a unique educational option.

“We are proud of our students and celebrate their individual strengths, talents and interests, which will guide them to succeed at a higher level of academic and personal accomplishment,” Ordetx says. “We believe that parents should feel a sense of family throughout our school’s campus.

And we believe that a student should look forward to coming to school every day.”

Pinnacle Academy in Lakewood Ranch, with its small classes and individualized instruction, is dedicated to educating students with language-based learning differences (from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade).

The Mission The Pinnacle Academy is dedicated to understanding and educating students who learn differently. However, it is their strengths, interests, and talents that are at the forefront of a Pinnacle education. We are opportunity-makers. Our Mission is to empower students with language-based learning differences to become independent and successful learners. We strive to provide a unique and incomparable education that delivers a blended model of multi-sensory, brain-based, and project-based learning approaches. Our students are provided a model program of excellence in the field of alternative, exceptional education and best-practice approaches to teaching at every grade.

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PINNACLE ACADEMY 6215 LORRAINE ROAD LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL 34202 941-755-1400 | THEPINNACLEACADEMY.COM

SERVES GRADES K-12

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STORIES FROM OUR PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY

giving coast

HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE SOMEONE’S HOLIDAY SEASON A LITTLE BRIGHTER! You don’t need to be a millionaire to make a difference in our community.

Read on for wish lists from some of our wonderful nonprofit partners with ideas of how you can donate your time, treasure and/or goods to share a little merry this season and make a wish come true!

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1988 Dr. Glasser, Alex & Be y Schoenbaum, and many community partners break ground on the Center a er three years of gathering support.

Are You Going to Believe?

1990 The Center, then named The Be y & Alex Schoenbaum Human Services Center, opens its doors.

THIRTY YEARS AGO, Dr. Kay Glasser believed it was possible to build a campus that would help to improve the quality of life for all people in our region. Today, agencies on the campus serve over 26,000 people in need every year. We believe in the power of collective impact to make real change possible. It’s happening every day on our Campus of Caring.

1998 Dr. Glasser is awarded Gov. Lawton Chiles’ Heartland Award for long-term commitment and service to the community.

1993 The mortgage is paid off, and they celebrate with a Mortgage Burning.

2014 The Sally & Sam Shapiro Babies & Children’s Medical Center opens on the campus, serving 3,000 children/year.

2003 Over 13,000 people in need were served annually.

2017 The Center’s position as a hub for human services enabled a study that reaches into our local network for a look at the big picture, paving the way for system-wide improvement, making real change possible.

2019

30 Years ofReal Impact

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Saved an estimated $7.5 million in 30-year history to agencies on the campus, maximizing resources and making connections.

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giving coast Towels, Buckets and Dawn Dish Soap for Marine Animals Marine animal care is a year-round job—holidays included—at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium. Your gift will help Mote’s dedicated team care for resident aquarium animals along with stranded animals rescued and treated in Mote’s hospitals. Mote Aquarium needs towels and buckets, Mote’s animal hospitals need towels and Dawn dish soap, and Mote’s Stranding Investigations Program needs Dawn dish soap and bleach for sanitation. Mote.org

Support a Senior Who Has Outlived Their Resources Pines of Sarasota Foundation’s Mission Fund was created to ensure our residents would never have to leave their home at Pines. We strive to provide the most complete, well-rounded care possible and offer intergenerational programs that benefit our children and seniors through storytelling, arts and crafts, and entertainment.

You can support a senior who has outlived their financial resources for $7,500 or provide rehab equipment for seniors for $5,000. You can also support intergenerational programs that benefit children and seniors by contributing $8,000 for the program Stretch and Grow for Children and Seniors or $6,600 to support “World of Chucko,” a yearlong activity for seniors and children.

Pinesofsarasota.org

Diapers, Brooms, Dustpans and Commercial Vacuums The Florida Center for Early Childhood provides therapeutic services, early education and healthy development for children 0 to 8 years old. In addition to providing multiple therapies, the agency operates Starfish Academy preschool in Sarasota and North Port, and the Healthy Families home-visiting program across the region. Wish list items include diapers of any size for babies of struggling families. Also needed are brooms and dustpans for eight classrooms, a water table for sensory play and a commercial vacuum.

Thefloridacenter.org

Teen Tutors, Toys and Gift Cards Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County empowers thousands of youth each year to excel in school, become leaders, live healthy lifestyles and succeed after high school graduation. You can give the gift of a great future to Club members by: donating

unwrapped toys or gift cards for the annual Holiday Party; hosting teens at your workplace for a job-shadow day; and tutoring students in algebra, biology or history. Bgcsarasota.com

Trucks, Bikes and Toys ‘Tis the season of sponsoring! The Foster Angels Project ensures each child has a gift under their holiday tree by matching sponsors to the children’s wish lists. Our wish list includes trucks, bikes, gift cards, makeup and other toys that a child would enjoy receiving. This year, Foster Angels will be serving just over 1,600 children.

Foster Angels relies upon the generosity of people like you to help make the holiday season special and to make a real difference, one child at a time.

Sponsor a child(ren) or make a donation by calling 941-587-9167, or email angels@sccfl.org. Sccfl. org/fosterangels

Cars, Cameras and Paint Florida Studio Theatre appreciates your donations of any unwanted or unused vehicles for our visiting artists to use during their time in Sarasota, one or more DSLR still photography cameras, exterior paint, new blinds for our rehearsal studios, new wireless microphones and volunteers in ushering and production. Email info@floridastudiotheatre.org.

Kitty Kibble You make the holidays brighter! By donating cat food to Cat Depot, you can save the lives of homeless cats and kittens. In addition to rescuing and caring for 1,400-plus kitties last year, together we fed over 200 income-qualified personal pets and 400-plus free roaming cats each month. Items can be dropped off during operating hours or you can have monthly orders shipped directly to Cat Depot as part of a recurring gift. Catdepot.org

Utilities, Janitorial Services and Security Supporting collaboration is easy—under the right conditions. With 20 human services nonprofits on one campus, Glasser/Schoenbaum’s program to support overhead costs allows neighbors to work together and help more than 26,000 people in need each year. Insurance and janitor costs may sound mundane, but the impact is extraordinary.

Electricity & Water Utilities $9.90/hour; Campus Security $105/day; Property Insurance $808/ week; and Janitorial Services $1,378/month.

GS-HumanServices.org

Children’s Bikes DreamLarge was founded under the principle that wherever we are, whatever we do, we have a duty to serve our community. This holiday season, we’re asking you to help us in our mission by donating bicycles or financial contributions to our BLVD Bike Fund! This fund was born earlier this year with the intent of providing bicycles to children in need this holiday season. With your help, we can impact the lives of so many children in our community.

Dreamlarge.org

Holiday Meals for Families, Seniors, Children and Veterans For families facing financial challenges, the holidays can be a painful reminder of hunger. This holiday season help All Faiths Food Bank provide 1.2 million holiday meals for children, families, seniors and veterans in need. Families receive holiday food through the Backpack Program, Mobile Farm Markets, Mobile Pantries, School Pantries and Partner Agencies. You can turn empty plates into ThankFULL hearts. $10 = 50 meals, $25 = 125 meals and $50 = 250 meals. Allfaithsfoodbank.org

Volunteer Hearing Screeners for Children The Ear Research Foundation is building a volunteer team to conduct hearing screenings at 25-plus local preschools throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties for children 3 to 5 years old. To volunteer as a hearing screener, no special certification or education is required as training will be provided. Volunteers need to be patient and organized—helping children feel safe while conducting screenings. Must have your own vehicle and a valid driver’s license. Volunteers must pass a background check. Earrf.org

Parenting Education and Mental Health Service Van More than 75 percent of Forty Carrots Parenting Education and Mental Health Services are offered at community partner locations throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties. Our five vans travel more than 20,000 miles a year to bring Forty Carrots’ expertise to thousands of families, including those most at risk who otherwise would go without our crucial services. Help Forty Carrots raise funds for a new van to replace the oldest, which is circa 2005. Fortycarrots.com SRQ

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Did you know?

Adventure Club aftercare

Adoption Services

services for 386 children

adopted over 186 children

Youth Prevention Services

relationship counseling for 275 youth

Prevention/ Diversion kept

833 homeless children in school

HIPPY

literacy instruction to parents of 2-5 year old for 255 families

1681 children with their families

Schoolhouse Link kept Youth Shelter provided safe haven and temporary home for 230 youth

Foster Care

protected and helped 2,376 abused, neglected or abandoned children

Achievers

mentored and provided career preparation instruction for 443 youth

* FY1819 Data

Our Community Impact

The Safe Children Coalition is a non-profit community based care organization blending available resources to support, advocate, grow, and educate the children and families we serve.

1-941-404-0079 | www.sccfl.org

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giving coast

RSVP | CALENDAR DECEMBER 2019 COMMUNITY EVENTS SPONSORED BY SRQ MEDIA

CAREGIVERS’ COMFORT SOCIALIZING LUNCH DECEMBER 2 Julie Cook Downing, president of Caregivers’ Comfort Creations, LLC, and Doctors Hospital Caregiver Support Group facilitator, hosts a monthly lunch at The Rosemary restaurant in Sarasota. This event provides caregivers some time to relax, enjoy themselves and eat a delicious meal with others sharing similar situations.

The lunch takes place from 12:15pm–1:45pm.

Caregiverscomfort.com

BEINGWE: WOMEN BALANCING BUSINESS & LIFE: CREATING WHAT’S POSSIBLE AGAINST ALL ODDS DECEMBER 3 Women are natural-born leaders. Yet, many feel overwhelmed by a empting to juggle life’s demands and have it all—home, family and career.

How to balance work and home life? The Women’s Resource Center will explore these issues with BeingWE (Being Women Empowered), a guided conversation series for women by women, created

by Keren Lifrak, an area-based entrepreneur and real estate professional. The series launches with three sessions: The Superwoman Badge on October 29, Women Balancing Business & Life: Creating What’s Possible Against All Odds on December 3 and Follow Your Bliss: How Our Brains Are Uniquely Wired to Take Action on January 23. Each session is 4:30pm– 7:30pm and all genders are welcome to participate.

BeingWe.net

SARASOTA WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL LECTURE: RICHARD SKOLNIK DECEMBER 3 Join the SWAC for the next program in its 2019–20 lecture series, “Global Health: Why You Really Must Care,” featuring Richard Skolnik, former director for health in the South Asia region of the World Bank and executive director of Harvard’s USsupported AIDS treatment program for Botswana, Nigeria and Tanzania. He will discuss some of the key challenges in global health, the threats they pose for the US and the world, and how they might be addressed. Each SWAC lecture is followed by a members-only reception with the speaker in a historic building on Sarasota Bay. The lecture is free, but reservations are suggested. Sarasotawac.org

SARASOTA CONTEMPORARY DANCE: REVEREND BARRY & THE FUNK DECEMBER 5–8 As part of SCD Artistic Director Leymis Bolaños Wilmo ’s passion to collaborate with local musicians, SCD will join forces with Reverend Barry & The Funk, an eight-piece funk band featuring a three-piece horn section, and one of the fastest-rising “buzzworthy” acts in the state of Florida. Fueled by their recent No. 1 global position on ReverbNation’s funk charts a er the release of their debut album SxyGdLuv, and the success of their recent breakout single “LoveShine,” the band is now headlining festivals and larger venues around the state. This is the first time that SCD will be partnering with a funk band, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that they are already a Sarasota favorite.

This production will feature original choreography

by Artistic Director Leymis Bolaños Wilmo in collaboration with the SCD dancers. This unique evening is sure to be unlike any other and is not to be missed! Sarasotacontemporarydance.org

ART OF PERFORMANCE: LAGARTIJAS TIRADAS AL SOL: TIJUANA DECEMBER 6–7 This Mexico-city based theater ensemble has created a suite of works that explore ideas of democracy in the 21st century and blends them with narrative collages from Mexican history.

The solo work Tijuana is the staged result of a real anthropological theater experiment undertaken by Lagartijas ensemble member Gabino Rodríguez, in which he abandoned his life in Mexico City to work on an assembly line in a Tijuana factory on the US border. Passing under a false identity for six months, he earned the legal minimum wage to explore how the current-day Mexican working class survives.

Ringling.org

SB2: PHILANTHROPIC AGENDA AND THE ANNUAL GOOD HERO AWARDS DECEMBER 9 The SRQ Philanthropic Agenda and Good Hero Awards luncheon and panel discussion will explore the dynamic and ever-changing world of nonprofits. What’s trending, who’s innovating, why are donor-advised funds growing so rapidly and what exactly are donors looking for? The

luncheon will culminate with the SRQ Gives Good program, at which we will feature the Annual Good Hero Philanthropic Awards honoring individuals who have meaningfully impacted our community for good in the past year and for-profit companies who have been incredible philanthropic partners to the community, featuring Keynote Speaker Mark Brewer, President and CEO of the Central Florida Foundation.

Featured panelists include President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota Roxie Jerde, the President and CEO of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation Mark Pritche , Senior Vice President of Collaboration and Impact at the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation John Annis, philanthropic catalyst and former executive director of the Dart Family Foundation Ariane Dart and Executive Director of the Selby Foundation Carol Butera. Tickets are $55 per person. SRQMAG.COM/sb2

IGNITE EDUCATION BRUNCH AND BUBBLES DECEMBER 11 Join the Education Foundation of Sarasota County to recognize and honor Sarasota County Teachers at a brunch at The Westin Sarasota from 10:30am–12pm featuring the Teacher of the Year program and Sarasota County Schools Alumni of Distinction. Edfoundation.org/ignite

PINC 2019 DECEMBER 12 PINC is People, Ideas, Nature and Creativity. It’s a one-day, conference-style experience delivered by a cascade of international speakers from every imaginable discipline, skill and talent you can think of. Speakers range from Iditarod champions, the founder of vertical farming, a famous felt artist and a lawyer whose territory is outer space, all the way to Nobel Prize winners, perfume virtuosos, a master acoustician and the doctor who performed the first hand transplant.

Whether a speaker or a guest, the PINC experience a racts creative thinkers, entrepreneurs, specialists, designers, artists, scientists and anyone looking to stimulate their mind, heart and soul. It’s an opportunity to participate in an eclectic mix of the fundamental pieces that create the human experience. If you want to be inspired, you want to be at PINC. Pincexperience.com

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giving coast

RSVP | CALENDAR DECEMBER 2019 COMMUNITY EVENTS SPONSORED BY SRQ MEDIA

ART OF PERFORMANCE: SON LUNA Y JÓVENES ZAPATEADORES: ¥V�VELO! DECEMBER 12–14 ¥Vívelo! merges different rhythms and dance styles such as folkloric dance, contemporary, Spanish dance and African-inspired movements. Mexican musical ensemble Son Luna provides the traditional music of Veracruz, Mexico, and dance troupe Jóvenes Zapateadores showcases the evolution of Son Jarocho roots with different rhythms and dance styles. Masterfully displaying dance genres from the region, this production provides strong entry points for audiences of all ages. Ringling.org

SARASOTA CUBAN BALLET SCHOOL’S “THE NUTCRACKER�

DECEMBER 14–15 Returning for the third year, the Sarasota Cuban Ballet brings its stunning production to the Venice Performing Arts Center for three performances. Accompanied by 26 musicians from The Venice Symphony with guest conductor Joseph Caulkins and a brand-new set, these preprofessional performers will stun you with their elegance and strength in this holiday tradition.

Srqcubanballet.com

34TH ANNUAL SARASOTA HOLIDAY BOAT PARADE OF LIGHTS DECEMBER 14 Don’t miss the 34th Annual Sarasota Holiday Boat Parade of Lights held on Saturday, December 14 beginning at 6pm. The best areas for viewing are Marina Jack Restaurant, Bayfront Park, City Island. All boats must pass approximately one-third of the marina-side Bayfront Park to be considered for judging. The Bayfront Park spectator viewing area has been expanded to include the entire Northern tip of the island near the fountain.

Suncoastcharitiesforchildren.org

MARIE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDENS LIGHTS IN BLOOM DECEMBER 14–23, 26–30, JANUARY 1–2 AND 4 Marie Selby Botanical Gardens lights up the holiday season with Lights In Bloom. Over two million lights will illuminate the gardens and walkways will

be transformed into sensory light tunnels. Visitors will have the opportunity to stroll through magical gardens filled with beautifully lit flowers, radiant rainforest bu erflies, dragonflies and more. The tropical holiday paradise includes nightly visits from Santa (before Christmas Eve), children’s arts and cra s activities, and games and special entertainment. Grilled foods will be available for purchase from the Michael’s On East grill, including a cash bar. The Selby House CafÊ will also be open with its full menu. Selby.org

DOCTORS HOSPITAL CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP

summer school program in Shelter Island each December with a 17-day winter residency in Sarasota and Manatee counties. The residency provides valuable mentoring and performance opportunities for approximately 35 young international string musicians, ages 12 to 20-plus, and offers 20plus free and low-cost musical events on the campus of USF Sarasota-Manatee. Each year, the winter residency culminates with the Celebration Concert with Itzhak Perlman conducting the PMP String Orchestra and Patrick Romano leading the PMP Chorus at the Sarasota Opera House.

Perlmanmusicprogramsuncoast.org

PERLMAN SUNCOAST SUPER STRINGS DECEMBER 16 Every third Monday of the month, Julie Cook Downing, president of Caregivers’ Comfort Creations, LLC, facilitates a Doctors Hospital Caregiver Support Group. This group focuses on the caregiver and offers a retreat from the never-ending mental and physical responsibilities of caregiving. This free, open group provides compassionate support and an opportunity to explore new solutions together to caregiver challenges.Caregiverscomfort.com

VETERANS’ CAREGIVERS FREE LUNCH AND LEARN SUPPORT GROUP

DECEMBER 28 PMP/Suncoast Super Strings is presented as part of a public orchestra rehearsal during the PMP Sarasota Winter Residency. Super Strings promotes the interaction of local young musicians with international students of The Perlman Music Program and world-class faculty.

Forty-five string players from across the state of Florida join the PMP String Orchestra onstage for a special one-time PMP Sarasota Winter Residency event to perform the first movement of Felix Mendelssohn’s “String Sinfonia No. 2 in D Major,� under the baton of Itzhak Perlman. Tickets are $10.

Perlmanmusicprogramsuncoast.org

DECEMBER 16 Welcoming all veterans’ caregivers and veterans caring for a loved one to a free lunch and monthly Caregivers Support Group every third Monday of the month. This group focuses on the caregiver and not the patient. Julie Cook Downing, facilitator and president of Caregivers’ Comfort Creations, LLC, has over two decades of experience with both support groups and family caregiving.

Caregiverscomfort.com

DECEMBER 31 Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is proud to present Sarasota’s most sophisticated black-tie New Year’s Eve experience, with a private tour of Lights In Bloom, an exquisite four-course dinner, fireworks and entertainment. Selby.org

THE PERLMAN MUSIC PROGRAM SARASOTA WINTER RESIDENCY

9TH ANNUAL NEW YEAR’S EVE BAYFRONT FIREWORKS

DECEMBER 21–JANUARY 4 Each season, The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast hosts The Perlman Music Program (PMP) Sarasota Winter Residency. Founded by Toby Perlman, and with a world-renowned faculty led by her husband, internationally acclaimed violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman, PMP augments its seven-week

DECEMBER 31 Ring in the New Year at the Sarasota Bayfront Midnight Fireworks Spectacular! See one of the best fireworks displays Southwest Florida has to offer. Make your reservations now by calling Marina Jack at 941-365-4232.

Proceeds benefit Suncoast Charities for Children.

Suncoastcharitiesforchildren.org

MARIE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDENS NEW YEAR’S EVE GALA

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last flight

Your favorite villain in fiction . . . Rambo.

Your favorite villain in real life . . . John Gotti.

Although the Teflon Don was not the greatest person, he sure looked good all the time.

My last supper would include . . . Outback Steakhouse. A 6-ounce sirloin, house salad with mustard vinaigrette, baked potato with extra, extra butter and a double Absolut tonic lime to wash it down.

Words you use too often . . .

You know. I probably don’t have the largest vocabulary, but when you say “but you know” it gets the point across. I think my dad probably said that also.

What is one thing that you will never understand . . .

Women. You don’t know when they’re mad at you, and you don’t know when they’re not mad at you.

With 2 more hours in the day, I would . . . I would expand my transcendental meditation time.

MARKET MAGIC Phil Pagano, Sarasota Farmers Market Executive Director. Brittany Mattie

a recent day in the life? Market Day: Wake up at 2:30am, arrive downtown at the market 3:30am, oversee setup of the market, place nonprofits, assist musicians for setup, walk the market and engage with customers and vendors, 1:00pm start to break down of market, 2:30pm head home, 3:30pm crash on couch.

When you were a kid you dreamed of . . . Being a professional hockey player. It still reminds me of the Gladiator days.

Your favorite virtue. Assisting nonprofits at the market. Over the last 10 years managing the market, we have probably helped more than 100 nonprofits.

In our hometown, we do too much thinking and too little doing. I find sometimes things get beaten to death.

Sometimes you need to just do it.

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Your guilty pleasure . . .

A cigar once in a while.

For what fault have you been the most tolerant . . .

Overworking.

Your favorite music artists . . . Fela Kuti. I’ve been into the afro beat for a number of years. It all came about when the Jake Pinto band played at the market and did some of his songs.

But I did find it a little strange that he had 27 wives.

If not yourself, who would you be? Mike from American Pickers. I love the show Pickers probably because I am becoming vintage at my age. I own a 1977 General Star moped.

If you could undo one invention in the world, what would it be? Cell phones.

Would you rather have a rewind or a pause button in your life? Pause button. For most people it is a struggle when you are younger. I had two kids when I was 22. I’ve been through three recessions. I think it’s fine right now managing the market.

What was the funniest thing you remember doing as a kid?

In third grade going to school dressed up like Santa Claus.

What is the scariest thing you have ever done? Watching three children being born. For the first child I passed out during delivery. The second two I had one eye open.

If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be? JFK, John Belushi and Michelle Obama.

I’d probably ask JFK about the Marilyn Monroe thing. I’d ask John Belushi how he fit into that bee costume. And I’d ask Michelle Obama if she’d run for president and support more farmers markets.

Your favorite food of the moment is . . . Donut from Five-O Donut Co. I’ve seen Christine from Five-O Donut grow from having a small business making cookies to become a successful entrepreneur. Her mother Louise makes sure that I get the croissant donut every Saturday. It’s a good way to start the day off.

You have to wear a t-shirt with on word on it, what would it be? Peace.

If you could snap your fingers and appear somewhere else, where would you be? Hawaii.

Which cartoon character best represents your personal philosophy? Wile E. Coyote.

With all I have to do I am always on the move. It sometimes can get a little Wile-y.

What in your mind is the biggest fashion faux pas?

Men’s pleated pants. I was going to attend a wedding a number of weeks ago and an old suit that had pleated pants. You can find it today at Goodwill.

What song best describes your life right now? “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin. SRQ ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS LEVERETT.

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