Melissa Fry had only one requirement for a dream wedding — her grandparents, Mike and Gloria McGuinty, needed to be in attendance.
So when Gloria McGuinty was admitted to the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, Fry’s then-fiancé, Joe Taylor, moved their Aug. 14 wedding from the beach on Anna Maria Island to a waiting room in the hospital. Taylor supplied the flowers and other wedding accouterments. Hospital staff members did what they always do. They jumped into action, except they were planning a wedding instead of treating an illness.
Fry, now Melissa Taylor, said she couldn’t be more grateful to the hospital staff for fulfilling her dream of having her grandparents by her side as she said “I do.”
Sarasota resident Kristina Ely lives near Nathan Bendersen Park. She takes sons Jayden Peirce, 2, and Jaxon Peirce, 5 months, to meet up with Michaela Rempp and her 2-yearold son, Rowan Kirsten, after daycare at Selby Preschool.
“They get their energy out through the freedom of play,” Ely said. “They can be themselves and run around and be loud.” Rempp said she enjoys going to Nathan Benderson Park because it provides a nice shaded area and Kirsten gets excited to see the boats.
Rempp and Ely (above with their kids) said their sons are comforted by each other’s presence.
$0.10
Is ballfield plan
Courtesy image
Melissa Taylor, Gloria McGuinty and Joe Taylor
Madison Bierl
Commissioners continue to spar over roundabout
As work on the University Parkway roundabout continues, one Country Club resident says she will consider legal action against the county.
LESLEY DWYER
While a 4-3 vote by Manatee County commissioners decided the fate of the intersection on University Parkway where Legacy Boulevard meets Deer Drive — it will become a roundabout — some stakeholders in the matter say they’re not done with the fight because the issue is about more than roadwork.
A group of residents in the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club, along with Commissioners Bob McCann and Jason Bearden, have said the bigger issue is that the contract for the roundabout was brokered without the public’s input. McCann wants to know if the deal violated the Sunshine Law, which allows citizens access to public records and requires governing bodies to conduct meetings that are open to the public.
The most recent vote to proceed with a roundabout, instead of canceling the contract with Lakewood Ranch and upgrading the existing
signalized intersection, took place at the Aug. 19 commission meeting.
The original reimbursement agreement between Manatee County and Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park LLC was approved by the prior commission Nov. 12, 2024.
The agreement states that Lakewood Ranch will design and construct a roundabout, and Manatee County will reimburse Lakewood Ranch for 50% of its costs, which equals just over $3.2 million.
The roundabout was one item on a 45-item consent agenda that was approved. No commissioner at the time asked to discuss the roundabout.
Bearden called the way in which the agreement was handled “deceptive,” and he was on the board when the contract was approved.
He said he didn’t object then because he didn’t receive even one email about the intersection prior to November 2024. He said he’s received hundreds of emails since residents were made aware of the changes.
The county’s own Capital
Improvement Plan includes a project sheet for the intersection that shows added turn lanes and signal improvements, not a roundabout.
Country Club resident Carol Cooper led the charge to stop the roundabout. She said her next move is to file a Motion to Compel, which is a legal request for documents. In this case, the motion includes any and all documents pertaining to the planning of the roundabout.
Cooper said her second step is to “change the commissioners.” Commissioners Mike Rahn and Amanda Ballard are up for reelection in 2026. They, along with Commission Chair George Kruse and Commissioner Tal Siddique, voted to honor the signed contract with Lakewood Ranch.
“If you feel that you suffered damage or harm as a result of a traffic circle, then sell your house,” Siddique told residents. “If there was a clear termination clause, then I’d be happy to support it.”
The four commissioners in favor of moving forward didn’t see a way out of the contract that would avoid litigation with Lakewood Ranch because Rex Jensen, CEO and president of Lakewood Ranch’s parent company Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, was unwilling to negotiate.
Through his attorney, Jensen said he would seek “substantial” damages if the county terminated the contract.
McCann motioned for a postponement so he could get a formal legal opinion on possible Sunshine violations, but that motion was also voted down 4-3 after County Attorney Pamela D’Agostino gave her legal opinion that there was no violation.
Her argument was that only commissioners are subject to the Sunshine Law, not county staff members.
The county staff member in question is Chad Butzow, director of Public Works.
During a prior discussion of the contract at the Aug. 7 land use meeting, Butzow said that because “what is roughly seen as the same group of people” wanted a roundabout at Players Drive and Lorraine Road that he did not anticipate “this type of reaction.”
McCann called D’Agostino’s opinion a “loose interpretation” of the law and said he will seek an official opinion from the Attorney General’s Office.
DUE PROCESS DENIED?
McCann argued that citizens could
DUE PROCESS
These definitions were provided by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Procedural due process: The government is required to follow a set of procedures when it attempts to deprive someone of their life, liberty or property.
Substantive due process: The government must give a compelling reason before infringing upon certain fundamental rights, no matter what process is followed.
have had their right to due process violated.
“Depending on the nature of the project and the potential impact on the property owners, a lack of public engagement could be seen as a violation of procedural due process,” McCann said. “People in Lakewood Ranch are not without means. They have legal means, too, where they can be just as devastating as developers.”
After the vote was taken and negotiations to cancel the contract were terminated, Rahn stated that he and District 4 residents were also denied due process because his right to vote as an elected official was denied by McCann at the Aug. 7 meeting.
McCann was acting as chair because Kruse was out of town. Both Kruse and Rahn attended the meeting virtually on Zoom. When it came time to vote, Rahn’s microphone was muted.
McCann held the vote anyway because there was a quorum, which is all that’s required.
Rahn noted that anytime another commissioner has attended a meeting by Zoom, their votes were counted. Kruse, as acting chair, called a five-minute recess before a vote when Ballard dropped off in May.
“The chair (McCann) knew where my vote was headed,” Rahn said. “The vote would’ve carried 4-3, and we wouldn’t be here today.”
Photos by Lesley Dwyer
Commissioner Jason Bearden says the process of getting the roundabout approved was deceptive.
Commissioner Mike Rahn says his right to due process was also denied. The matter would have been settled Aug. 7 had his vote been counted.
Buffer balderdash?
The final vote to restore wetland protections in Manatee was set for Aug. 21, but the meeting was canceled.
LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER
In 2023, when the board of Manatee County commissioners voted to reduce wetland buffers to the state minimum of 15 to 25 feet, several citizens vowed to vote then-Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge out of office when it came time for him to run for office.
Van Ostenbridge did, indeed, lose to George Kruse in the August 2024 primary, but the newly formed board, even with Carol Ann Felts, Tal Siddique and Robert McCann taking seats for the first time, has struggled to restore wetland buffers to the county’s prior requirement of between 30 and 50 feet.
The commissioners were scheduled to vote Aug. 21 to restore those prior buffers, but on Aug. 19, Kruse used his discretion as chair to cancel that meeting.
Why? Because he doesn’t want members of the commission, including himself, to potentially be suspended from office.
As it stands, Senate Bill 250 and Senate Bill 180 prohibit local governments from making development regulations that are “more restrictive or burdensome.”
After so much talk by commissioners about restoring the buffers, the public’s reaction has been mixed over the sudden change in direction. Myakka City’s David Dean called the continuance a “wise move.”
While Parrish’s Dalton Nelson agreed that it might be wise, he also noted that the last-minute cancellation left some residents feeling “betrayed.”
Kruse told his fellow commissioners that because he wasn’t asking them to vote on the continuance, they could blame him for any backlash that might come from not following through with a final vote to restore bigger buffers.
So it began.
Bradenton’s David Daniels went to Manatee County’s Facebook post of the Aug. 19 meeting and started quoting Kruse leading up to the election. On his own page, he posted compilations of Kruse’s quotes.
These are a few examples from Facebook of the general message Kruse was sending to the public prior to what was supposed to be the final vote to reinstate the buffers:
July 31: The Manatee County BOCC will be standing up for our constituents on August 21.
Aug. 10: Thursday, August 21, the Manatee County BOCC will vote to restore your wetland buffers and remove Policy 2.1.2.8 to protect our rural development boundary. A reminder about what we’re fighting and why I believe we have every right to do so in spite of SB 180.
Aug. 12: I had a great conversation with 1000 Friends of Florida recently about what we’re dealing with in Manatee County and why we need to move forward with sensible growth management plans like protecting our wetlands.
Daniels called Kruse’s action to cancel the meeting a “spineless capitulation to developers.”
Kruse said he did what was best for Manatee County and laid out several worst case scenarios. He said it could be possible for four members of the commission to be replaced, for example, by Van Ostenbridge, former commissioner James Satcher, unsuccessful commission candidate April Culbreath, and Jennings DePriest, a self-described “professional propagandist.”
“Now, they can pick their chair and start unwinding everything,” Kruse warned.
DePriest already has taken over one elected office. He currently is serving as the state committeeman for the Republican Party of Florida,
POLICY 2.1.2.8
Not only was restoring the wetland protections postponed, so was the final vote on repealing Policy 2.1.2.8, which allows commissioners to approve development beyond the Future Development Area Boundary. Senate Bill 250 and Senate Bill 180 appear to make repealing the policy unlawful because the action could be interpreted as making Manatee County’s comprehensive plan more restrictive.
a seat Trent Wayman was elected to during the 2024 Republican primary election.
By March, the RPOF replaced Wayman with DePriest as part of a “Turnaround Plan.”
In addition to unwinding efforts to restore wetland protections and the development boundary, Kruse said a new board could abandon lawsuits in favor of approvals.
In June, commissioners denied a rezoning application for Pope Ranch, 217 acres in Parrish where SimplyDwell Homes, a subsidiary of Neal Communities, wants to build 440 homes.
The developers, SimplyDwell and Manor National Properties LLC, and property owners, Daniel and Rebecca Pope, are now suing Manatee County with a claim that the Popes’ property rights have been violated.
The lawsuit requests the application’s denial be quashed and states that damages to SimplyDwell and Manor National are anticipated to be “many millions of dollars.”
Residents in Parrish rallied for that denial because of how severely the area flooded during Hurricane Debby in August 2024.
The governor only has the power to suspend commissioners. The Senate would have to vote to remove them. Kruse cautioned that a lot of damage could be done in just that 60- to 90-day timeframe in between.
But not every commissioner was ready to cancel the meeting so quickly.
Commissioner Jason Bearden wasn’t present during the discussion, but he told the East County Observer afterward that he was ready to vote but had a feeling it wouldn’t happen based on a recent letter commissioners received from the Florida Department of Commerce.
The letter, dated Aug. 15, stated that if commissioners vote to adopt
ing wetland buffers Sept. 10, 2024. Staff was directed to bring back the amendment that was to be voted on Aug. 21.
McCann made another motion in January to simply void the ordinance and restore the language as it was originally written.
McCann’s motion passed 6-1 with Commissioner Mike Rahn opposed because of possible litigation, but the county attorney’s office recommended bringing back an amendment as originally motioned by Bearden to comply with state statutes.
“We got bad advice from council that delayed this,” McCann said. “We could’ve rescinded it right there (in January).”
When former commissioner Joe McClash sued Manatee County for reducing its wetland protections, his argument was that the ordinance failed to meet the county’s requirements to amend the comprehensive plan because the “finding of facts” did not comply.
The finding of facts is meant to justify why the amendment is clearly in the best interest of the public.
McClash dropped his suit because he could have been ordered to pay the county’s legal fees under Senate Bill 540 if he lost the case, but he said the process clarified at least one point.
“I tried to get a ruling, but the closest I came was an order (from an administrative law judge),” McClash said. “And it clearly states that the county’s local requirements have nothing to do with the Chapter 163 requirements.”
Chapter 163 is the Florida statute that lays out the procedural requirements to amend a comprehensive plan, which includes proper notice to citizens and a series of public hearings.
However, Manatee County’s requirements state that the comprehensive plan can be amended “upon finding that the goal, objective, policy or map sought to be amended is no longer in the best interest of the public.”
the amendment, they will be in violation of two separate state laws. The letter ends by saying, “Please govern yourself accordingly.”
The Florida Department of Commerce is the state’s agency for economic development, business recruitment and workforce development.
Felts suggested changing the scope of the meeting so alternative solutions could be discussed and citizens would still have a chance to be heard.
Siddique initially made a motion to appeal Kruse’s decision to cancel the meeting.
“At the end of the day, we’re seven independent board members who deserve a vote,” Siddique said. “For all this talk about people having their voices heard and all this stuff by some commissioners, we can’t just cancel a meeting over fear.”
But following the discussion, Siddique withdrew his motion.
McCann had seconded Siddique’s motion for discussion, but he told the East County Observer that canceling the meeting was a “sensible decision.”
“I fully intend to put the wetlands and the development boundary back,” McCann said, “But I’m going to do it lawfully.”
NOW WHAT?
The Aug. 21 meeting was canceled, but commissioners have until Nov. 3 to vote on the comprehensive plan amendments that would restore bigger wetland buffers and stop development past the Future Development Area Boundary.
If another meeting isn’t held by Nov. 3, the process has to start from the beginning, and it took nearly a year to get to this point.
Bearden first proposed restor-
By that reasoning, the current board could have determined that the amendment was not in the best interest of the public and rescinded what the prior board put in place.
McCann said that the original language that provided for bigger buffers was in effect when SB 250 was signed into law in July 2023, so putting the language back in place would not have been more burdensome in January because the language had already existed under SB 250.
Now, because SB 180 was signed into law in June and is retroactive to August 2024, the original language is considered more burdensome.
McCann said now it will take lobbying or a lawsuit to move forward on restoring wetland buffers.
On July 29, commissioners unanimously approved a motion by Siddique that directed Johnston and Stewart Government Strategies to lobby on behalf of Manatee County to repeal current legislation and oppose any proposed legislation that preempts the county from updating its comprehensive plan or land development regulations.
On Aug. 5, commissioners unanimously agreed to sign a proposal by Pasco County to fix SB 180 by limiting the “more restrictive or burdensome” preemption to only properties that were damaged by a hurricane.
There’s also the possibility that Manatee County will join a lawsuit.
Attorney Jamie Cole with the Fort Lauderdale law firm Weiss Serota Helfman Cole and Bierman is asking municipalities to join forces and each contribute $10,000 to seek relief from SB 180’s restrictions.
If Cole can get at least 10 municipalities to agree, the lawsuit will proceed. Kruse said he spoke with the county attorney about putting the matter on the agenda for the Sept. 2 commission meeting.
After the 2023 commission voted to cut wetland protections, Manatee County residents, such as Bob and Pam Luersen, kept their promises during the 2024 elections.
Photos by Lesley Dwyer
Commission Chair George Kruse tells his fellow commissioners to blame him if there’s any backlash for canceling the Aug. 21 meeting.
Commissioner Tal Siddique says he will do what voters want in this situation — fight for bigger wetland buffers.
EAST COUNTY
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$6.9 million home sold in The Concession
The second highest-priced home sale ever in the Lakewood Ranch area closed Aug. 20.
Donna Soda of the Schemmel Soda Group announced the $6.9 million sale for the home at 18826 Ganton Ave. in The Concession. The Schemmel Soda Group, in association with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, marketed the property.
“It sold in 53 days,” Soda said. “It had all the latest and greatest styles. This was a one-of-a-kind design by John Cannon Homes.”
Don and Linda Weippert, the sellers, bought the lot in 2018 and had the home designed by Cannon. The four-bedroom, five-bath home is
toward the Food Bank of Manatee’s expansion to meet the needs of food-insecure residents in Manatee County. Steve Herrig is the CEO and chairman of Sunz
and
Maribeth Phillips, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee, made the announcement Aug. 25. The Food Bank of Manatee is a Meals on Wheels Plus program. The expansion will include upgrades in infrastructure, technology and outreach, according to a Meals on Wheels Plus Manatee release.
“What we learned about food-insecurity coming out of COVID is that once the need rises, it rarely recedes — it simply sets a new highwater mark,” Phillips said. “As the needs in our community continue to
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Some residents call ballfields a foul plan
Manatee County is planning to build three youth baseball fields at Country Club East Park in Lakewood Ranch.
While Manatee County hosted a workshop Monday at the Lakewood Ranch Library to discuss three upcoming projects — baseball fields at Country Club East Park, soccer fields at Premier Park and the Cortez Marina Boat Ramp — the baseball fields were the most hotly debated project by far.
The county plans to convert the current multiuse field at Country
Club East Park into three youth baseball fields. The fields will include bleachers, dugouts, backstops, perimeter fencing and expanded parking.
The estimated cost is $6.4 million.
Two factions of residents emerged.
On one side, there were residents of Country Club East who want to preserve their tranquil, passive park. On the other side were parents desperate for more youth baseball fields to accommodate their children closer to home.
Lindsay Champion’s 6-year-old son, Luke, and 10-year-old son, Jack, play baseball with Lakewood Ranch Little League. She has to drive from The Isles at Lakewood Ranch to Buffalo Creek Park in Palmetto for practices twice a week.
Despite the drive, she said her boys are lucky to have spots in the league.
Parents “in the know” stay up until midnight the day registration opens for a new season so their kids don’t end up on the waitlist.
The county doesn’t have enough fields to accommodate all the children who want to play youth baseball in East County. Manatee County Deputy Director Bryan Parnell said about 200 kids landed on the waitlist last spring and fall. Country Club East resident Darrel Drury used to play youth baseball. He loves the game and is not against more fields in Lakewood Ranch, just not at Country Club East Park. He said youth baseball fields are not an amenity that will serve his neighborhood well.
Some Country Club East residents said they enjoy the passive nature of the 15-acre park. They would prefer it not be further developed. But if
WHY NOT PREMIER?
Several Country Club East residents had the same question about plans for youth baseball fields at Country Club Park East. Why can’t they be built at Premier Park instead? Molly White, director of sports and leisure, said it comes down to cost and uses.
It’s more cost efficient to repurpose the multiuse field at Country Club Park East than starting from scratch at Premier. The three smaller fields at Country Club East will cost about $6.4 million, and the cloverleaf plan for four baseball fields at Premier will likely cost about $20 million.
The uses between the two parks also vary greatly.
The fields at Country Club East will be exclusive to youth baseball players, while the fields at Premier are being geared toward high school level baseball tournaments and adult softball programming.
changes have to be made, they’d like
upgrades such as a bocce ball court or a walking trail with exercise stations.
Drury said even a multigenerational park with a T-ball area would work, but not three fields that he said will flood the neighborhood with lights, noise and traffic.
What especially bothers Drury about the project is that he and his neighbors weren’t asked for their input on plans for the park.
“We had no idea this was going to happen,” he said. “One gets tired of having government agencies constantly coming at you with their plans for how you’re going to live your life.”
Residents argue that the plan goes against the county’s master plan, as well.
The 2021 Manatee County Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan identified Country Club East Park as a “local park,” which is defined as a park “people can walk or bicycle to without encountering heavy traffic. It serves the popula-
tion of a neighborhood or community in the radius of up to one-andone-half miles.”
Parnell said the park is not exclusive to that radius. He used the example of the Cortez Marina Boat Ramp.
“We want input from everybody in the county because it’s a county amenity,” he said. “It’s serving people with boats that are out east, as well, and they’re taxpayers of Manatee County.”
County Administrator Charlie Bishop noted that the park was initially purchased (in 2016) with the intent to eventually build it out with either soccer or baseball fields.
The meeting’s intent was to clear up any misinformation about the project, not to change course.
Residents were under the impression that the lights will stay on until 11 p.m. Director of Sports and Leisure Molly White said the county’s lighting is scheduled to operate until 11 p.m. across the board, however, the county does not schedule youth baseball past 9 p.m.
Alan Dolhi, the president of Lakewood Ranch Little League, and Nate Carr, the vice president, also attended the meeting.
Carr said the league pays for the lights, so they’re turned off when they walk off the field, which he said has been by 9 p.m.
White also noted that the county is using top-of-the-line LED lighting that shines down exclusively on the field. The lights won’t project beyond 15 to 20 feet of the field’s perimeter.
As far as potential noise, Carr said the league doesn’t use a public address system.
Some Country Club East residents remain unconvinced that the fields won’t be a disturbance. They also find the price tag to be exorbitant. Drury said that because Manatee County is currently undergoing a financial audit, they’ll be presenting their concerns to Florida’s CFO Blaise Ingoglia and the DOGE Task Force, as well.
Commissioners still have to approve the final construction contract, which will likely happen by the end of this year or in early 2026. If approved, construction will start in early 2026 and take about a year to complete.
Lesley Dwyer
Rain drives the protest against the youth baseball inside the Lakewood Ranch Library for a photo, but Library Supervisor
Tiffany Mautino wants it noted that protests are not allowed inside the library.
Pray and stay
A $3 million housing project will eventually accommodate 256 students on campus.
LESLEY DWYER STAFF
Bayside Community Church is a megachurch with eight locations across three counties — Sarasota, Manatee and Hardee. One of those campuses is in Lakewood Ranch, off State Road 64 near Lorraine Road. Not only is that campus a place of worship, it’s a place for higher education, too.
Bayside College started out as a ministry training program in 2012. The college partnered with Southeastern University to offer accredited degree programs in 2017.
The first fall semester in 2017 welcomed 42 students. This fall, 225 students are enrolled.
“Our ultimate goal is to have 1,000 students, made up of local students and those living on campus,” said President Aimee McCullough. “We want Bayside College to continue to grow.”
In an effort to reach that goal, Bayside will break ground on dormitories this fall.
The leadership program at Bayside College requires students to be on campus multiple days a week, so McCullough said on-campus housing will make the student experience more convenient and cost-effective, all while being immersed in a Christcentered environment.
Currently, the college has more than 50 students living off campus in six leased homes located, on average, 20 minutes away from the Lakewood Ranch campus.
McCullough said resident life helps students learn critical development skills, such as conflict resolution, personal responsibility, teamwork, time management, effective communication, leadership development and the importance of
ABOUT BAYSIDE COLLEGE
Bayside College offers accredited degrees through a partnership with Southeastern University, a Christian university in Lakeland that was founded in 1935.
Associate degrees: Education, General Education, Ministerial Leadership and Worship
Ministries
Bachelor degrees: Business & Professional Leadership, Business Administration, General Studies, Global Education, Ministerial Leadership, Organizational Leadership and Psychology
Master degrees (online only): Business Administration, Divinity, Leadership, Nonprofit Leadership, Pastoral Care and Counseling, Professional Care and Counseling and Theological Studies
Doctorate degree: Online
Doctorate of Ministry
Tuition: $339 per credit hour or about $18,736 per year including housing and fees
building community.
The student housing will accommodate 264 people across four buildings. Each two-story building will house 64 students and two staff members.
The church has a long driveway that provides access to the campus from Lorraine Road. Esplanade at Azario Lakewood Ranch is located on the south side of the driveway.
The student housing will be built on 72 acres on the north side of the driveway.
The project will be built in phases.
In Phase I, eight temporary modular buildings will be erected on the southern portion of the lot to house 70 students.
The first two buildings will be constructed on the northern portion of the lot. When those buildings are
completed, the modular buildings will be removed to make way for the remaining two buildings.
Unlike most developments that add cars to the surrounding roads, Manatee County staff noted in its report that a “positive aspect” of this housing project is that it will “reduce vehicle trips on area roadways” because students will have access to the college and kitchen facilities on-site.
The project is expected to cost $3 million and accommodate students by spring 2026.
“Bayside College is focused on developing Christian leaders for ministry and the marketplace,” McCullough said.
“Our students receive college credit for gaining practical experience in their field of study each semester. This experience, plus opportunities for internships, places them at an incredible advantage at graduation.”
According to the college, within two months of graduating, more than 90% of Bayside College’s Class of 2025 received job offers.
NORTHERN BOUND
As Bayside College expands in the Lakewood Ranch area, Bayside Community Church is expanding in the northern portion of Manatee County to meet the needs of two growing populations in Parrish and Palmetto.
The Palmetto campus opened in February. Nearly 1,500 people attended the first Sunday services, held at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
The North River campus in Parrish opened three years earlier in February 2022, but the church is already outgrowing the 60,000-squarefoot facility that features an 800-seat auditorium and a 400-space parking lot. Plans were approved by Manatee County to add over 250 parking spaces to the lot. The church also plans to expand the youth and main auditoriums.
you to Premier Domestic and Global
We offer affordable Empty Leg Flights
pilots and aircrafts
Courtesy images
Students of Bayside College, which offers accredited degrees through a partnership with Southeastern University, gather for orientation in 2024.
Aimee McCullough, Bayside College president, notes that the rendering is subject to change as the project continues to develop, but this is the concept for Phase I.
Adventures in Africa
Lakewood Ranch’s Themba Hillary uses the trip to Eswatini to teach his son the importance of giving back.
MADISON BIERL STAFF WRITER
Lakewood Ranch resident
Themba Hillary described going to schools in his home country of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, as a safe haven.
“It’s where the kids get fed, where the kids get clothed,” Hillary said of the schools. “The clothes that you see the kids wearing, the uniforms, that’s probably the only thing the kid has that’s new. Everything they wear at home is falling apart.”
Hillary and his son, Out-of-Door Academy student Themba Hillary II, spend two months of each summer in Eswatini, which shares most of its border with South Africa. The elder Hillary has been volunteering in Eswatini every summer since 2016 — minus the 2020 COVID-19 year — visiting Mhlume Primary School. That is where the elder Hillary grew up and went to school himself. He always has brought his son along, who became a volunteer, as well.
The elder Hillary reflected on his experience going to the school and how not much has changed.
“When I was growing up, I would have been considered the more privileged kid,” the elder Hillary said. “My mom made sure that I had school uniforms, but what made it awkward was that I was the only kid who had a full uniform.”
Hillary said he would purposely lose his shoes so he would fit in with his classmates. This summer, the Hillarys donated candy, bracelets, stationary and a laptop to Mhlume. Last year, the they donated four laptops.
Although they have been going to Mhlume since 2016, the elder Hillary said he wanted to do even more this year and visit more than one school. Eswatini is divided into four regions: Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini and Shiselweni. The Hillarys visited schools within the Lubombo and Shiselweni regions — Emhlabeni, Embosi, Magojela Sphondo, Maphiveni and Mhlume. They picked schools they liked for return visits.
At Magojela Primary School, the Hillarys noticed a girl who wore an old track suit as a school uniform.
“My dad and I ordered a uniform for her, and we were happy to receive a picture of her about a week later in her new school uniform,” the younger Hillary said. “It was heartwarming to see the smile on her face.”
At Embosi Primary School, they led the students in activities including soccer, ring toss, Simon Says and an egg hunt. The younger Hillary said the rural students were orphaned and vulnerable.
They donated stationary for seventh graders, and bracelets, candy and drinks.
They gave a group of those students a loaf of freshly baked bread to take home to share with their siblings or other family members.
“It’s something that is not readily available for them because they live far out in the rural areas and the nearest bakeries are far away,” Hillary II said.
The Hillarys gave bracelets to students at two schools: Mhlume and Embosi. The elder Hillary said Mhlume students were able to recite words on the bracelets while Embosi students lacked the academic confidence to do so.
“It showed a gap when it comes to reading, which means they probably don’t even have the books for reading,” the elder Hillary said. “In my head, I’m thinking the next time we go there, we have to focus on getting them reading material so that the kids, by the time they reach that
level, (seventh grade) can read.”
At Maphiveni Primary School, there are currently only first and second grade students. The elder Hillary said they were low on food, but they grew their own produce, including lettuce and spinach.
“It’s a very good initiative, and we found those kids were watering, using old paint buckets,” the elder Hillary said. “The one thing they wish they could have was watering cans.”
The Hillarys provided the school with watering cans, a printer and laptops. Prior to their donation, the teachers had to go to a town to do their printing. The elder Hillary described their computer labs as “museums” with old keyboards and old monitors.
“I was like, ‘That’s just wrong,’” the elder Hillary said. “You need to have a computer that works.”
On top of the donations, the Hillarys played soccer with the students and had an Easter egg hunt. Afterward they gave the students snacks and drinks including Ring Pops. The younger Hillary said the students do not have Ring Pops locally, so they were intrigued by them.
“The kids were happy and the teachers were appreciative of the tools that we provided to help run the
DONATIONS AT EACH SCHOOL
■ Embosi received stationery for all seventh graders, and bracelets, candy, drinks and bread for each student. They donated extra bread for the whole school, as well.
■ Mhlume received candy, bracelets, stationery and one laptop. Last summer, they gave them four laptops for the school.
■ Maphiveni received a printer and three laptops, stationery, art kits and watering cans.
■ At Magojela, they bought a full school uniform for a girl who is raised by her grandmother.
school a little bit more efficiently,” the younger Hillary said.
The elder Hillary emphasized that none of the schools had flushing toilets. Although toothbrushes and toothpaste were donated to the students, they often don’t have clean water at home.
Despite all the children’s difficulties, the Hillarys said they all seemed happy.
“When you look at those kids, there’s an endless excitement and joy,” the elder Hillary said. Through showing his son less fortunate children, Hillary said he hopes his son will take charge in his own community and beyond to help those less fortunate.
“What I’m praying for is that he gets to a point where he wants to take it to another level,” the elder Hillary said. “I want him to be the one that says, ‘OK Dad, this is what I want us to do, and this is how I want us to do it.’”
Aimee Murphy is the advisor for the younger Hillary.
“He’s the first one to ask if I need help and he is the kid who does the right thing,” Murphy said.
The younger Hillary is looking into starting a club at ODA to assist in Eswatini.
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“The kids were happy and the teachers were appreciative of the tools that we provided to help run the school a little bit more efficiently.”
Themba Hillary II
Observer Media Group Inc. is locally owned.
Madison Bierl
Lakewood Ranch’s Themba Hillary and Themba Hillary II have visited the Mhlume Primary School in Eswatini every summer since 2016. This year, they wanted to give back more.
Courtesy images
The Hillarys have been going to Mhlume Primary School since 2016. Pictured here is Themba Hillary II on July 5, 2019.
As a token of appreciation, Themba Hillary and Themba Hillary II received traditional Swazi necklaces.
Themba Hillary II came up with the idea to do the Easter egg hunt. He said they didn’t have Ring Pops locally, so the kids were excited to try something new.
Do big bins need a positive spin?
The big bins might not be an advantage in Manatee, but they should work out just fine.
As a kid, I loved the burn barrel. If you have lived a little, you might know it. Rural homes often used a burn barrel as a way to get rid of all those paper products that we used in our households. If it was garbage that would burn, it would go into the burn barrel.
At 8 years old, I already was a firebug. I loved lighting the burn barrel and watching the flames. And, oh, that smoke. So cool. What’s a great fire without a little soot? Besides, the wind is blowing toward the neighbor.
That was before we learned, or cared, about greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide, and chemicals such as dioxins, furans and nitrogen oxides. If some plastic found its way into the barrel, so what? Who knew about polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, or particulate matter?
Burn, baby, burn.
We continued to pour pollutants into the air until we realized we were being stupid. All that junk we put into the air wasn’t blowing off toward China. We were breathing it ourselves. We realized then that we needed to change, and we did.
The burn barrel was retired, and we went from two metal garbage cans a week at the end of our driveway to four. It didn’t matter if we put out two, or six or 10 cans. The garbage men would always dump them. Isn’t that a great system?
That had to change, too.
It’s one of the three sure things in life. Death, taxes and things change.
After a lifetime of changes, I didn’t get too excited when I heard Manatee County commissioners were considering a plan to cut our garbage pickup in half. That discussion was held far more than
a year ago. It made sense because our garbage service providers were sending their fees through the roof. The commissioners knew their constituents were going to pick up the tab, and they weren’t going to be happy about their fees doubling.
The commissioners didn’t have much of a choice except to cut back service to one day a week. They discussed their options openly at meetings, and there wasn’t much blowback at the time.
So here we are, with once-a-week garbage pickup in unincorporated Manatee County gearing up for its Oct. 6 start date. Manatee County understood that once residents were presented with such a change, emotions would run hot, even if commissioners had made a truly logical decision.
What to do?
Welcome to the Big Bin Advantage. You can compare this to lemonade from lemons or fertilizer from cow dung. It’s how you portray a kick in the shins by calling it a deflective strike to redirect migraine pain.
Kudos to Manatee County for understanding that those who pay little attention to change, until Dorothy’s house lands on them, were going to get nutty when they would be confronted with 96-gallon garbage barges.
On its website, you can go to the Big Bin Advantage page (MyManatee.org/Departments/UtilitiesDepartment/Solid-Waste-Division/Big-Bin-Advantage) to find out all things about your garbage collection. The description there says, “Starting Oct. 6 in Unincorporated Manatee County, the Big Bin Advantage replaces small residential garbage cans with a free, county-provided, standardized, 96-gallon rolling bin and auto-
mated trucks. Garbage, recycling, and yard waste collections shift to one weekly day. This keeps rates low with no increase, reduces traffic, improves worker safety and enhances reliability for residents.”
Perhaps you feel differently, but I haven’t been real concerned about dodging garbage trucks on the road caused by two-day-a-week pickups, and I’m not sure how this enhances reliability. Chalk this up to SpongeBob SquarePants optimism.
It’s a game we play. Make the size of the bin the issue, and perhaps everyone will forget that service is being cut in half for the same price.
As the public’s disenchantment began to swell, Dawn Kitterman of the Bradenton Times suggested that Manatee County deliver some of the big bins to media types, and allow them to take a test run, presenting an evaluation. I was included in the test run.
My biggest fear of the big bin was that it was going to further jam my garage. Aside from the fact I would like Manatee County to pass a minimum length and width for two-car garages, especially since HOAs require the homeowners to keep garbage bins inside the garage, I was wondering if the county knew that housing that bin would be like packing Thanksgiving dinner inside a lunch box.
In reality, upon arrival, I found the big bin sat nicely alongside my recycle bin, only a few inches wider with most of its increased capacity coming from its height. Since I can’t open the passenger side door anyway when my car is in the garage, the effect of storing the big bin was minimal.
People had worried about moving the big bin around because of its added size and weight, even
though it is on wheels. So I loaded up the bin with weights from my barbells set before tipping it back on its wheels with two fingers. No worries. I will say that I do need to slide my bin into the wall sideways, to wedge it in its place. It creates a heave-ho situation that would be tough for some.
Also, I have a fairly flat, short driveway. I would imagine those who have long driveways that go up or down a hill, might require more effort.
The bin does incorporate a thicker plastic, so some people have said they notice less of a smell from their garbage. I would discount this. If you don’t rinse out the bottom of your bin after pickups, your bin is going to stink no matter the thickness or size. And the smell mostly will be taking over your garage depending on what you are throwing in there. Fish eaters beware because it is going to sit in there a week, in the heat. Being in a two-person household, the big bin had plenty of space for a week’s worth of my garbage. But
for a family of five or more, being attentive with your recycling could be key. If you are worried, contact friends from Sarasota County and ask how they have survived with once-a-week pickup.
My final evaluation is that the big bin has caused a lot of worry for no reason. Don’t be Oscar the Grouch, and live with it for a while before making up your mind.
As far as half the service for the same money, I don’t like it, but it’s a needed change. Two-day-a-week pickup now goes into my archives, and sits right alongside my burn barrel.
Jay Heater is the managing editor for the East County Observer. Contact him at JHeater@ YourObserver.com.
Jay Heater
East County Observer Managing Editor Jay Heater tried out a big bin to see if there was an advantage. The new bin is sitting next to his old garbage bin.
Look At Your Financial Situation Holistically
To achieve all your financial goals, you need to take a “holistic” approach, bringing in all the elements of yourself.
Think about your family. How much can you save for your children’s college education or help with a down payment on their first home?
Your personal beliefs also factor in your overall financial strategy. How much do you want to give to charities during your lifetime and in your estate plan?
When you retire, you’ll want to reevaluate your purpose in life. Will you travel to broaden your horizons or stay close to home, volunteering your time in your community?
The path you choose has financial implications, such as the amount of money you’ll need to withdraw from your retirement accounts.
Even your health is part of your financial outlook. If you ever need some type of expensive long-term care, you’ll need to plan for it.
Look at your situation holisticallywhen creating a lifetime financial strategy, every part of your life matters.
What the future holds for schools
With new schools being built and the area continuing to see considerable growth, Kevin Chapman gave an update during the Manatee Chamber of Commerce’s “Classroom to Community: Shaping the Future of Education in Manatee.”
Chapman, who is the School District of Manatee County’s interim superintendent, was speaking Aug. 20 at the Grove in Lakewood Ranch.
Rezoning is at the top of the concerns as district officials try to make the best use of its facilities. With schools over or near capacity, officials have been forced into rezoning.
“That’s something that we tried not to do, but it’s something we have to do now,” Chapman told the crowd. “We hope that we only do it once and hopefully, it carries us through the next 10 years or so.”
The process began in February and two rounds of public meetings have been held, with the next one planned for October. The final recommendation is planned for October or November. The school board expects to approve the new maps in November or December. The new zones are planned to take effect August 2026.
Chapman tackled other subjects.
He talked about the two new schools that opened this month: Barbara A. Harvey K-8 and Lake Manatee K-8, and future schools being built, including Rye Ranch Elementary that is planned to open in August 2026. There is also a new high school in the plans to open in August 2027 in Lakewood Ranch.
FINANCIAL STANDING
Chapman said the school district is in a good position financially. The Moody’s Ratings Credit Opinion of July 31 changed the outlook of the district’s finances from stable to positive.
“We ended up in a very good financial position and are good stewards of your tax dollars,” Chapman said. “We’re proud of that and we’ll continue to do that because we owe that to you.”
Chapman acknowledged the “hiccup” with the budget over the summer due to $5 million dollars being frozen by the federal government. He said the district had to quickly scramble to figure out the temporary shortfall. The funding has since been released to the district.
CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE
For the 2024-25 school year, graduation rates and A rated schools are at an all-time high in the district.
Since the 2020-21 school year, the graduation rate has gone from 85% to last school year’s 88%. Chapman said this school year’s goal is 90%.
The district has 25 A-rated schools, 13 B’s, 24 C’s and two D’s.
The school district overall received a B rating.
“We think we’re going to keep this momentum going here, it can be done,” Chapman said. “We know it can be done and we’re going to get it done because we’re Manatee County.”
THE FUTURE Chapman discussed how the district is working to improve reading proficiency and attendance.
The state average for students reading at or above third grade level is at 57%. For Manatee County, the current reality is 54%. Students are four times more likely to drop out of school if they are not proficient in third grade reading.
MADISON BIERL STAFF WRITER
Madison Bierl
Kevin Chapman, interim superintendent of the School District of Manatee County, shares updates and hopes for the future of the district at the
“Classroom to Community: Shaping the Future of Education in Manatee” luncheon Aug. 20.
Moonlighting in the mangroves
Monitoring mangrove forests is tough to do on land. Which is why one Braden River Middle School teacher is using his drone skills to help score their health by air.
LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER
Mote Ranch’s Keith Paynter is putting his drone pilot’s license to good use as a volunteer mangrove ranger for Suncoast Waterkeeper.
The ranger program was initiated in 2024 to monitor the health of mangrove forests located in Sarasota Bay and Palma Sola Bay.
Paynter became licensed to pilot a drone through the Federal Aviation Administration in 2023 because he wanted to start a drone program for his students at Sugg Middle School in Bradenton. He started teaching sixth and seventh grade science at Braden River Middle School this year.
“I wanted (the students) to learn about drones and what they could do with them,” Paynter said, “They can get (a license) at 16, so in high school, they could have a job making money with drones already.”
Other than that, Paynter wasn’t doing much with his license. So when his stepfather, Jim Daniel, sent a message about the opportunity to volunteer, Paynter was immediately on board. He said he would happily take a “boat trip” once a year for as long as his services are needed.
While Paynter described the work as fun, social and engaging, the boat trips serve an important purpose.
Abbey Tyrna, executive director of Suncoast Waterkeeper, said the monitoring program was started in response to several reports of mangrove violations.
Mangroves are protected under the 1996 Mangrove Trimming & Preservation Act, which regulates trimming and prohibits herbicide use because mangroves are both ecologically and economically valuable.
Mangrove forests filter the water, provide a habitat to marine species, stabilize the shore and offer flood protection. They also provide nursery support to commercial fisheries.
Given their importance, Suncoast Waterkeeper wanted to take a proactive approach to understanding how mangroves respond to different vulnerabilities, such as hurricanes and development.
The rangers help monitor mangrove forests in the local area by collecting drone images from eight specific locations — four in Palma Sola Bay and four in Sarasota Bay.
Those images are then loaded into a software program that stitches them together to form a 3D image.
Waterkeeper staff members can highlight a site on the image, and the software can calculate the forest’s canopy depth and average Normalized Vegetation Difference Index, which assesses how well the mangroves are photosynthesizing.
From there, the site is assigned a health score.
The data has shown mangroves to be highly vulnerable to both the forces of Mother Nature and man, but also resilient.
The healthiest mangrove forest documented in 2024 — a preserved site in Sarasota Bay — lost 46% of its canopy due to storm damage. Its health score dropped from 90 to 59.
Tyrna said it’s probably not possible to achieve 100, so 90 indicates an extremely high-performing mangrove forest.
drone pilot, data manager and spotter.
The spotter keeps eyes on the drone during its entire flight to watch for potential hazards, which Tyrna said are mostly curious birds.
The data manager makes sure the drone information is being received accurately and also records basic information, such as visibility and wind conditions.
Tyrna said they assembled five teams this year, but the program has been limited by the number of drone pilots. Suncoast Waterkeeper provides the drones, but the pilots need to have a license through the Federal Aviation Administration.
Paynter said most of the training to get a license is just learning the flight rules. It took him about a month to get through the course and about two hours to get through the exam.
FINANCIAL VALUE OF A HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM
Abbey Tyrna, executive director of Suncoast Waterkeeper, visited The Landings in Sarasota on Aug. 7.
“They have 73 acres of mangroves protecting their coastal community,” Tyrna said. “I was shown where the water rose during Hurricane Helene and which homes experienced flooding versus the rest. If there weren’t mangroves there, the homes would’ve taken in all the water instead of the mangroves, and the whole community would have received a lot more wave action.” In that case, the mangroves offered the “service” of flood protection.
The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program released the “Economic Valuation of Tampa Bay” in August 2023. The report identified services Tampa Bay offers to the surrounding communities and estimated the value of each service.
Along with mangrove forests, Tampa Bay includes saltwater marshes and freshwater wetlands that also serve as habitats.
The report found that the bay offers a savings of $52.29 million a year in carbon sequestration services (capturing and storing carbon dioxide), $714.51 million a year in denitrification services (removing nitrates from the water) and $924.44 million in flood protection services over 30 years for a flood that has a 1% chance of occurrence in any given year.
Another site in Sarasota Bay was among the least healthy mangroves to be documented in 2024 because a sewer pipe broke near the site in 2022. However, those mangroves showed an 8% increase in canopy volume over the past year, and the site received a health score of 63, which is higher than the preserved site this year. The sites are chosen for different reasons. Some sites are located within preserves. Other sites are located near development, and in some cases, future development. Mangrove rangers work in teams of four. There needs to be a boat owner,
Suncoast Waterkeeper staff members also visit the sites to conduct surveys. They identify the trees and take measurements, such as height and diameter, to ensure that the collected data matches the actual site.
The data has shown that trimming, which is regulated but allowable under the law, does significant damage to the health of mangroves.
Tyrna said the trimmed mangroves scored in the 30s. She said new information has come from the staff surveys, as well. For instance, black mangroves that lost all their limbs from hurricane damage stayed viable by growing leaves around their trunks.
Lesley Dwyer
Mote Ranch’s Keith Paynter is a teacher at Braden River Middle School and a volunteer mangrove ranger.
Courtesy image
Mangrove rangers work in teams of four. They place cones around the sites so the pilots know where to position the drones.
Joseph Evans
Joseph Evans Lembo, 61, passed away on August 7, 2025, following a brief illness. Born on December 31, 1963, in Laramie, WY, he was the son of the late Beverly (Booz) Lembo and Louis Lembo of New York, New York. His twin brother Mark shares the following heartfelt words:
“Joe Lembo was THE BEST! I love him beyond measure. As kids even though I was much bigger, Joe always excelled athletically. After graduating from Bangor High School in 1982, Joe went to the University of Maine at Orono where he made the football team as a walk on. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, he moved to Los Angeles, successfully pursuing modeling and acting. He would often send me photos of him and his celebrity friends. Still passionate about athletics and wellness, Joe made a long career as a Certified Personal Trainer and Life Coach. Joe was formidable and direct but also sensitive and compassionate, helping countless clients reach their fitness goals and improve their overall wellbeing. Joe had an incredible intellect and a phenomenal memory! Maybe my favorite thing about Joe was his sense of humor. What a talent! He loved music and songwriting. He had an amazing wide smile and
bright blue eyes. Truly one of a kind!”
Lembo 1963-2025 449746-1
Recently, Joe moved to the Sarasota, Florida area to pursue a career in real estate, while also working at the University Park Country Club. He helped numerous clients there and made several friends. After multiple moves in his early childhood, Bangor, Maine was where Joe spent his later teen years and made lifelong friendships. Staying connected was very important to Joe – he genuinely was interested in getting to know people and their personal life stories. Joe was happiest being outdoors, whether it was running, hiking or serving in his role as a safety leader at the gun range. He was a notable marksman, and teaching gun safety and awareness was of utmost importance to him. Joe was a staunch advocate for protecting the Second Amendment and for medical freedom. He volunteered helping families resettling in the LA community. He was a volunteer Route Coordinator
for Project Angel Food, delivering daily meals to people homebound with illness.
Joe continuously strived for knowledge and expertise. He was a Certified Personal Trainer accredited by the National Association of Sports Medicine, the most respected name in fitness and wellness. He held additional certifications as a Senior Fitness Specialist, Golf Fitness Specialist, and Performance Enhancement Specialist, as well as being a Titleist Golf Specialist. He worked in numerous gyms from Maine and New York to California and Florida.
Joe was predeceased by his mother, Beverly, and his sister, Sandy. He will be greatly missed by his father, Louis; his twin brother, Mark; his niece Kit Cates and his nephew Cecil Cates. In his 61 years, Joe made many friends who will forever miss him – especially Megan Smith of Hampden, Maine and Lana Wescott of Kennebunkport, Maine.
Sarasota Art Museum pays tribute to a dynamic era of design.
EXTRAVAGANZA
MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
It’s hard to believe, but not so long ago, marketing didn’t consist of corporate sponsorships for nearly everything, annoying pop-ads on websites and a barrage of computer-generated emails filling up your inbox. Advertising was elegant, sophisticated and often devilishly simple. Yes, once upon a time advertising was art.
The art poster movement got its start in Paris during the Belle Epoque, a period from 1871 to 1914 literally known as the “Beautiful Era.” During this era, artists such as Alphonse Mucha, Henri de Toulouse Latrec, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen and others created colorful, often whimsical ads for tobacco, liquor, nightclubs and theatrical performers such as Sarah Bernhardt.
The Belle Epoque officially ended with the start of World War I, a barbarous conflict that led to the downfall of royalty in some European nations and ushered in a period of democratization and less formality in social relations.
The House of Windsor was a survivor, and London held on to its commanding position in finance and culture, if not in fashion. Across the channel in France, a seamstress with humble origins was set to revolutionize fashion with casual women’s apparel inspired by nautical and athletic styles. A century later, her name — Chanel — is still synonymous with luxury.
Paris was cheap between the wars, and its “Moveable Feast” attracted a literary set that included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and James Joyce. Their writing spread the word far and wide about the pleasures of a bohemian lifestyle, where alcohol was freely available and nightlife flourished. Scantily clad Black singer Josephine Baker defied convention and the jazz music
IF YOU GO
‘ART DECO: THE GOLDEN AGE OF ILLUSTRATION’
When: Aug. 31 through March 29, 2026, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Sarasota Art Museum campus of the Ringling College of Art and Design Tickets: $20 Info: Visit SarasotaArtMuseum.org.
that originated in Harlem, New Orleans and Chicago filled Paris nightclubs.
Technology was speeding things up. By the time of the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) in Paris, a bold, modern style had taken hold in art and design. Known as Art Deco, it was the signature of the Jazz Age and infused everything from art to home furnishings to advertising.
THE OFFICIAL 100TH
ANNIVERSARY OF ART DECO
Those who like to celebrate anniversaries consider 2025 to be the 100th anniversary of Art Deco. While the groundbreaking exposition was held in Paris, Art Deco was an international movement that embraced freedom, embodied in the jazz music emanating from Harlem’s Cotton Club and other night spots, and speed, achieved through automobiles, trains and even bicycles. These motifs and more can be seen in an exhibition of 100 large posters from the Crouse family’s collection on display at the Sarasota Art Museum campus of Ringling College of Art and Design. Curated by Rangsook Yoon, senior curator at SAM, the exhibition is called “Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration.”
Some of the images on the walls of SAM, which is housed in the former Sarasota High School, may be familiar to society types who attended parties at the home of William and Elaine Crouse on Siesta Key.
They used their home, designed by Guy Peterson, to showcase their Art Deco collection of posters, sculp -
“Chrysler,” a 1930 lithograph by Roger de Valerio, is on display at Sarasota Art Museum.
Paul Colin’s 1938 lithograph “Leroy: Premier Opticien de Paris,” is on display at Sarasota Art Museum’s exhibition, “Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration.”
Images courtesy of Poster House
N. Weber’s 1932 lithograph, “Trage Schmuck du Gewinnst,” is part of Sarasota Art Museum’s Art Deco exhibition.
tures, cocktail shakers and other objects created between 1919 and 1939. They also lent art to museums such as The Guggenheim and the Victoria and Albert. From September 2023 through February 2024, posters from the Crouse Collection were displayed in a show at New York City’s Poster House called “Art Deco: Commercializing the Avant-Garde.”
In the U.S., the heyday of Art Deco coincided with Prohibition (192033), but there were no constraints on advertising encouraging the consumption of alcohol in France and other European countries.
Another dichotomy was that the advent of mass consumption and the worship of luxury goods occurred while the world was mired in a Great Depression following the 1929 stock market crash. Those beautiful Art Deco posters were promoting a lifestyle that was out of reach for the majority of Americans and Europeans. But like movies and fashion magazines, they provided inspiration for DIY style and glamour.
The power of speed and the excitement of racing cars and bicycles was championed in France and Italy, where Mussolini’s triumph of industrial efficiency would ultimately give way to a darker era of Fascism.
Yoon has smartly organized the Art Deco exhibition into different sections. The first room you enter is filled with advertisements for consumer products such as Oxo bullion cubes, Twinings tea, Dubonnet and others. “In the early 20th century, before television and the digital age, posters dominated the visual landscape, particularly in Europe,” Yoon says.
One of the leading proponents of Art Deco style was the artist A.M. Cassandre, several of whose posters are on display in the SAM exhibition. One of the most stunning displays in “Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration” is Cassandre’s triptych of posters for the aperitif Dubonnet.
Created in 1932, “Dubo Dubon Dubonnet” shows three illustrations of a man whose image becomes more fully formed as he drinks more of the fortified wine. Each poster is a different primary color — red, blue and yellow — and is 78-1/2-by-55 inches. Occupying a single wall in one of SAM’s galleries, the stunning
display is worth the price of admission alone.
Some of the typefaces created by Cassandre, including a font called Bifur, are instantly recognizable as signatures of the Jazz Age and show up today in invitations to parties inspired by F. Scott’s Fitzgerald’s 1925 book, “The Great Gatsby.”
Speaking of Gatsby, A.D. Colin’s 1938 poster for a Paris optical store on display at SAM can’t help but bring to mind the billboard for the optician Dr. T.J. Eckleburg in “The Great Gatsby,” which graces the book’s cover and is featured movies inspired by the book. Its spectacled all-seeing eyes bore witness to the crass commercialism of the age and the carelessness of its characters.
A second larger gallery contains posters celebrating electricity, and travel by cars, trains and cruise lines.
Although Charles Lindbergh became a cultural icon in 1927 with his nonstop, solo flight from New York to Paris in his plane the Spirit of St. Louis, commercial air travel didn’t become widespread until the 1950s and 1960s.
“Drawing on avant-garde influences such as Futurism and Constructivism, these posters used bold colors, geometric shapes, sleep lines and witty visual metaphors to sell products and earn brand recognition and loyalty,” Yoon says. “But they also offered dreams and desires — the thrill of flight, the glamour of ocean travel and revolutionary transformation of modern life through technology.”
Lester T. Beall’s 1930s-era posters for the U.S. government’s Rural Electrification Administration are a stark reminder that the public works projects embarked upon by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration transformed the lives of Americans on farms and in small towns during the Great Depression. While residents of big cities were dancing the Charleston, drinking bootleg liquor and entertaining at home, those living in the sticks had to get by without lamps, radio and refrigerators.
Lithographs from Australia feature strongly in SAM’s Art Deco exhibition and demonstrate a simplicity and angularity that differs from posters created for U.S. and European markets. Print aficiona-
dos will appreciate A.D. McKnight’s 1918 poster “Soaring to Success! Daily Herald - The Early Bird,” which shows an origami-like flock of birds in flight.
Today, Chrysler is no longer a luxury name in the automobile market, but French artist Roger de Valerio’s 1930 advertisement for the brand exudes American speed, innovation and glamour. Another work from the prolific Cassandre celebrates the inaugural voyage of the cruise ship Normandie in 1925.
“During the 1920s and 1930s, tourism surged as automobiles, railways and ocean liners made long-distance travel more accessible than ever before,” Yoon says. “Posters became essential marketing tools, offering visions of distant lands, exotic adventures and restful retreats: skiing, swimming in the sea or playing golf.”
WHEN TRAINS WERE THE WAY TO TRAVEL
The long gallery at SAM housing travel posters contains Art Deco furniture, including a couch and ashtray that once sat in the train station in Cincinnati, back in the days when train travel was the height of sophistication and car ownership was out of reach for many. In 1920, there was one car for every 5.3 Americans. Today, there is 0.85 car for every
person in the U.S. and 1.83 cars per household. Another standout is a chrome ticket counter from a movie theater in Miami Beach, today considered the capital of Art Deco architecture since many of its pastel-colored hotels have been restored to their 1920s and 1930s-era glory. Furnishings in the SAM exhibit were loaned by The Wolfsonian-Florida Interna-
tional University in Miami Beach.
The last room of SAM’s Art Deco exhibit is dedicated to sports, including automotive and bicycle competitions.
“In the 1920s and 1930s, competitive sports surged in popularity, fueling the rise of professional athletes and their fans,” Yoon notes. “Sports became a pillar of modern mass entertainment. Spectator events drew large crowds, while newspapers and the newly available radio brought sports, including major international competitions, into homes.”
Cassandre’s dynamic 1932 poster for the Coupe Davis tennis competition at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris features an oversized Dunlap tennis ball ready to burst out of the frame.
Although European athletic contests dominate the exhibition, the U.S. gets a nod with two posters created to honor Lake Placid, New York, the site of the 1932 Winter Olympics. Today the town in New York’s Adirondack Mountains is still a U.S. Olympic Training Center, along with Colorado Springs, Colorado.
After seeing SAM’s Art Deco exhibition, you might long to have one of these iconic Art Deco images hanging on your wall at home. It’s not out of the realm of possibility. In May, Swann Auction Galleries held an auction titled “Art Deco at 100: Iconic Posters from the William W. Crouse Collection” that brought in $403,585, according to Art and Antiques Weekly.
Even the landmark 2013 book of the Crouse Collection posters is a collectible these days. Published by Vendome Press, “The Art Deco Poster” is out of print. The hardcover edition sells for more than $500 online. Unfortunately, the SAM exhibit will not have a companion book, Yoon says.
Like many of SAM’s exhibits, the Art Deco exhibition is worth more than one visit. Yoon has painted various gallery walls in colors that really make the posters pop. The museum’s knowledgeable docents, wearing their signature pink aprons, are always a source of interesting insights about SAM shows and are happy to engage in conversation, if that’s what you’re after.
Franz Hagenauer’s chrome metal sculptures, “Romeo and Juliet,” can be seen at Sarasota Art Museum’s exhibition, “Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration.”
Scotti’s 1931 lithograph “Mar del Plata” is on display at Sarasota Art Museum.
THIS WEEK
THURSDAY
STEVE WHITE
7 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd.
$26
Visit McCurdysComedy.com.
How many comics can say Eddie Murphy gave them their big break?
Steve White can. Murphy cast White in his first film role, “Coming to America.” White has done stand-up on “Showtime at the Apollo” and has covered the NHL and MLB for Comedy Central. White’s all over the map, but wherever he is, he makes folks laugh. Through Aug. 30.
‘A BAND CALLED HONALEE’
7:30 p.m. at FST’s Goldstein Cabaret, 1239 Palm Ave. $39 and up
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
OUR PICK
‘TOO DARN HOT: SONGS FOR A SUMMER NIGHT’
Songstress Carole J. Bufford easily skips eras and genres in this showcase of stories and songs featuring the months June, July, August and September. Whether she’s singing songs made famous by Janis Joplin or Randy Newman, Bufford leaves the audience with something they never knew before. What’s more, her cool costumes evoke everything from flappers of the 1920s to the neo-swing era of the 1990s. Through Sept. 14.
IF YOU GO
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28
Where: FST’s Court Cabaret, 1265 First St. Tickets: $39 and up Info: Visit FloridaStudio Theatre.org.
DON’T MISS
‘BIG SEXY: THE FATS WALLER REVUE’
Don’t let this summer cabaret show pass you by.
The subtitle to this Florida Studio Theatre cabaret show is “A Tribute to Peter, Paul Mary … and Friends,” but any self-respecting folk rock fan can spot the play on words in the name “A Band Called Honalee.” ICYMI, it refers to the mythical land made famous by the song “Puff the Magic Dragon.” Through Oct. 26.
‘THE PRINCE OF EGYPT’
7:30 p.m. at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton $42.50
Visit ManateePerformingArtsCenter. com.
Directed and choreographed by Rick Kerby,” The Prince of Egypt” brings the tale of Moses to the stage. The musical, which comes from the creators of “Wicked,” features such memorable songs as “When You Believe.” Through Aug. 31.
‘DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER’
8 p.m. at FST’s Gompertz Theatre,
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
Even the best laid plans for adultery can go awry, especially when a jealous wife sees a chance for a little hanky-panky of her own with her husband’s best friend.
“Don’t Dress for Dinner” will shake you out of your summer torpor. Through Sept. 7.
FRIDAY
CLASSIC MOVIES AT THE OPERA HOUSE: ‘THE APARTMENT’
7 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. $12 Visit SarasotaOpera.org.
The year is 1960, and the sexual revolution is about to burst forth, thanks to the advent of the Pill. But a boss (Fred MacMurray) who wants to cheat on his wife still has to lean on an underling (Jack Lemmon) to find a pad for his assignations with yet another employee (Shirley MacLaine). Plenty of mishaps occur on the road to mischief in Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment.”
‘DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL’
7:30 p.m. at Venice Theatre, 140 Tampa Ave. W., Venice $40 Visit VeniceTheatre.org.
Venice Theatre revives its tribute to TV theme songs, Roger Bean’s “Don’t Touch That Dial,” which uses a gameshow-within-a-gameshow format. If you’re the kind of person who remembers the opening song to “Hawaii Five-O,” this one’s for you. Runs through Sept. 14.
SATURDAY
‘THE HIGH LIFE: CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE BIRDS’
10 a.m. at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 1534 Mound St. $28; $23 online Visit Selby.org.
This exhibition features 70 works of birds in a variety of locales. The photos are displayed in the Museum of Botany & the Arts and in the gardens, where some appear right at home. Through Sept. 14.
SUNDAY
HD AT THE OPERA HOUSE: ‘STARSTRUCK’
1:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Opera House $20 Visit SarasotaOpera.org.
“Big Sexy: The Fats Waller Revue” is not part of Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s subscription series, but it’s got a lot of bang for the buck. The show tells how the life of Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller inspired WBTT leading man Leon S. Pitts II. With more than 30 songs, “Big Sexy” recalls the days of rent parties and speakeasies in Harlem and brings the eternal mating dance to life with the cat-and-mouse antics of Pitts and diva Ariel Blue. Through Sept. 7.
IF YOU GO When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28
Where: Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave. Tickets: $52; students younger than 25 and active military, $22.
Info: Visit WestcoastBlackTheatreTroupe.org.
“Starstruck” transports audiences to Paris in 1960, when Hollywood star and choreographer Gene Kelly was invited to create an original work for the Paris Opera Ballet. In collaboration with Kelly’s widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, the Scottish Ballet’s artistic director, Christopher Hampson, revived the jazzy, joyful pas de deux.
TUESDAY
‘LILLIAN BLADES: THROUGH THE VEIL’
10 a.m. at the Sarasota Art Museum campus of Ringling College,1001 S. Tamiami Trail Free for museum members; $20 Visit SarasotaArtMuseum.org.
Award-winning artist Lillian Blades combines handcrafted and found objects to create a mesmerizing display. Blades attributes her use of dazzling color to her childhood in the Bahamas and her process of creating large-scale assemblages to her late mother, an accomplished seamstress. Through Oct. 26.
Courtesy images
The tunes of jazz pianist and composer Fats Waller are performed by the cast of Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s “Big Sexy: The Fats Waller Revue.”
Carole J. Bufford
The Van Wezel is already getting ready for Christmas
Executive Director Mary Bensel is doubling down on the holidays after last year’s hurricane disruption.
MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Last year, the Grinch stole Christmas at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall when damage from Hurricane Milton closed the city-owned venue from Oct. 10 through the end of 2024. This season, Mary Bensel, executive director of the Van Wezel, is packing the schedule with as many holiday shows as she can.
“Christmas is my favorite time of year,” enthuses Bensel, who confesses that she spends four days decorating her house for the season.
The Van Wezel’s holiday extravaganza kicks off Nov. 14-16, when Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical,” comes to town. The yuletide music continues Nov. 18, with Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, and doesn’t stop until Dec. 30, with the annual Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert.
A favorite with Sarasota audiences, Salute to Vienna found a home at the Sarasota Opera House last year after losing its slot at the Van Wezel, thanks to the efforts of Bensel and Attila Glatz Concert Productions.
Also on the Van Wezel’s holiday schedule are: “Rain: A Beatles Christmas Tribute” (Nov. 22), Ezra Ray Hart ’90s Hits and Xmas Riffs (Nov. 29), Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour 2025 (Nov. 30) and Sarah Brightman: A Winter Symphony (Dec. 15).
Fans of the Great American Songbook will welcome its champion, Michael Feinstein, as he breathes new life into the Christmas songbook at the Van Wezel on Dec. 16.
The holiday merriment continues Dec. 21 with Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland, followed by “A Very Broadway Christmas” on Dec. 22 and the musical based on the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol” on Dec. 23. As Tiny Tim would say, “God bless us, everyone!”
If you’re not done with Christmas after unwrapping your presents, you can keep the holiday spirit going with “Nutcracker Magical Christmas Ballet” (Dec. 27) and “Straight No Chaser Holiday Road Tour” (Dec. 29).
If you’re the kind of person who wants to see a Broadway show during the holidays but can’t stand the sound of Christmas music, Bensel’s looking out for you. “The Book of Mormon” returns to the Van Wezel Dec. 9-14 and “Mark Twain Tonight,” starring Richard Thomas, plays from Dec. 19-20.
There are a lot of Mark Twain shows out there, but Thomas, known to many from the long-running family TV show “The Waltons,” is the only actor authorized to portray Twain in the show written and originated by Hal Holbrook.
“The Book of Mormon” and “Mark Twain Tonight” are both part of the Van Wezel’s Broadway series, along with “Some Like It Hot” (Jan. 21-25).
The musical is based on the classic film about Chicago musicians who disguise themselves as women to elude the mobsters on their tail.
No doubt the most anticipated show in the Van Wezel’s Broadway series is “MJ,” which runs Feb. 3-8.
Created by Tony Award-winning director/choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, the show follows the late Michael Jackson as he prepares for his 1992 Dangerous World Tour. One of the shows that got blown away by Hurricane Milton last season, “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical,” is finally making its way to the Van Wezel Feb. 20-22. This warms Bensel’s heart because she’s been working to bring the show to Sarasota for years, she says.
Rounding out the Broadway series are singer Neil Diamond’s story, “A Beautiful Noise” (March 31-April 4), the revival of Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man” (April 10-11) and “Mrs. Doubtfire” (April 14-15). Bensel travels to New York about a dozen times a year to decide which Broadway shows to bring to Sarasota. She also attends national
“Christmas is my favorite time of year,” enthuses Bensel, who confesses that she spends four days decorating her house for the season.
and regional conferences of theater managers to help book the music and comedy stars she brings to the Van Wezel.
Sometimes, reeling in a show can take as long as five years, but Bensel nails down her schedule a year in advance. As the Van Wezel unveiled its 2025-26 season on Aug. 24, she was putting the final touches on the 2026-27 season, her 19th at the cityowned venue.
As a member of the Broadway League, Bensel votes on the Tony Awards and sees the many shows in competition.
“In recent years, a lot more shows are opening right before the (endof-April) deadline for the Tonys, so I see a lot of theater in the spring,” she says.
Asked to identify the must-see Broadway show at the Van Wezel in the 2025-26 season, Bensel responds without hesitation, “MJ,” describing it as “pure excitement.”
For those who like live versions of gameshows and other family fare, there’s “Wheel of Fortune Live!” (Dec. 17), “Mutts Gone Nuts — Unleashed” (Jan. 10), “The Price Is Right Live! (Feb. 18)” and the Halloween-themed magic extravaganza Haunted Illusions (Oct. 26).
Like Christmas, Halloween got short shrift last year due to Hurricane Milton. Bensel’s making up for it this year with an Oct. 17 candlelight screening of the vampire romance “Twilight,” which will be accompanied by a live orchestra.
The 2008 film captured the hearts of a generation, thanks to the on-screen chemistry and real-life relationship between its stars, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.
The excuse for a nationwide tour is the 20th anniversary of the novel that started it all. But some people don’t need an excuse to get goth. If you’re one of them, better move fast because “Twilight in Concert” has already sold 1,000 tickets, and the Van Wezel only has 1,700 seats.
Most single tickets for the Van Wezel’s Broadway series go on sale in September. For more information, visit VanWezel.org.
Courtesy images
Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” plays the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Nov. 14-16.
A Wish Fulfilled:
Geno’s Story
BY: TIDEWELL HOSPICE
Animals have an extraordinary ability to bring comfort and joy - especially during life’s most difficult moments. This was the case for Geno, an 89-year-old Marine veteran in Tidewell Hospice care due to advanced prostate cancer. It was his lifelong love of horses that sparked an idea to give Geno an unforgettable experience.
HE REMINISCED ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE CARING FOR HORSES
During a visit from Sheila, the Tidewell Hospice social worker on Geno’s care team, he reminisced about his experience caring for horses and shared a cherished memory of taking his daughter horseback riding. It had been years since he’d been near a horse, and he expressed how much he would love to see one again in person.
Moved by his story, Sheila collaborated with the rest of Geno’s care team - registered nurse Sarah, care team manager Janelle, and veteran volunteer
coordinator Nancy. Together, they turned to the Tidewell Foundation’s Wishes Fund to make his dream a reality
THIS DONOR-SUPPORTED PROGRAM
Thanks to this donor-supported program, Geno and his daughter Lori visited Easterseals Ranch of Southwest Florida, where therapy horses help veterans and others heal. That day, Geno came alive among the majestic equines. As they groomed and fed the horses, Geno shared tender moments with Breezy, a gentle mare. She seemed to adjust her gait to match Geno’s pace as they walked and remained calm under his touch.
“He became a different person when he got to the barn,” Sheila shared. “It was like love at first sight,” she said of Geno’s connection with Breezy. As Geno brushed the mare’s shiny coat, she relaxed so deeply that she fell asleep - an unforgettable moment of peace and joy.
HOSPICE CAN BE ABOUT LOVE
“Hearing the stories and seeing his reaction is a reminder of why we do this,” Geno’s care team nurse, Sarah, said. “Hospice isn’t just death and dying. It can be joy, laughter and love.”
Geno’s story is one of many made possible by the Tidewell Foundation Wishes Fund. Whether it’s a final sunset at the beach, a special birthday, or a quiet moment like Geno’s, these experiences fulfill patient dreams and create lasting memories for their loved ones.
YOU CAN BRING MORE OF THESE MOMENTS TO LIFE
Visit tidewellfoundation.org/ impact-areas/hospice-services/ wishes-fund to support the Wishes Fund today.
Mary Bensel
Another day in Paradise
The Sarasota Paradise soccer team hosted a party to celebrate Sarasota Paradise Day.
Many residents would argue that every day is paradise on the Suncoast, but on Aug. 19, it became official.
In 2024, the Sarasota Paradise soccer team won the South Florida Division title, so the city of Sarasota declared Aug. 19 as Sarasota Paradise Day.
The semi-pro team made the Premier Sports Campus its home for the 2025 season and won the title again. The Paradise is going pro in 2026 with the USL League One — an accomplishment worthy of a celebration.
Soccer fans and the community at large were invited to Premier on Aug. 19 for an evening of music, food, face painting, carnival games and, of course, soccer.
There were two goals, multiple soccer balls and dozens of aspiring soccer stars running around the grass.
Bradenton’s Damon Haines, 3, normally loves to play soccer, but the party also included a popcorn machine. He opted to keep his eyes on his bag of popcorn instead of the ball.
— LESLEY DWYER
Soccer balls keep the kids entertained.
Photos by Lesley Dwyer
Bradenton’s Damon Haines, 3, can’t get enough of the popcorn.
Waterside’s Asani Simmons is a good kicker for being 3 years old.
Andrew Sapienza draws a caricature of 7-year-old Gia Di Meo.
Adam Altman, account executive for the Sarasota Paradise, greets guests at the Premier Sports Campus on Aug. 19 for Sarasota Paradise Day.
Palmetto’s Demetri Murray, 3, and Tristan Murray, 2, can’t stop smiling after having their faces painted.
Wellness Concepts offers Premier service
What’s the risk of getting injured? New partnership helps young athletes understand how to prevent injuries and stay healthy.
akewood
soccer at 5 years old through the Braden River Soccer Club. He went on to play at IMG Academy and eventually at Wofford College in South Carolina.
Womeldorph had injuries along the way — a broken ankle, a muscle tear in his quadriceps, concussions, shin splints and severe low back pain
— and not only did he miss action himself, but he watched other players miss time due to injuries as well.
“We never had the right guidance for how to take care of ourselves or prevent injuries,” Womeldorph said.
“I’m happy to be able to provide that for them — it’s come full circle.”
Womeldorph said it has always been his passion to work hands-on with athletes due to his background in soccer.
“I was busy and doing what I had to do, and he came in and said ‘I want to help athletes’” said Gregory Kotlarczyk, owner of Wellness Concepts.
Womeldorph brainstormed with Kotlarczyk on local sports teams, and they decided to partner with Florida Premier SWFL. Premier had merged with Braden River Soccer Club, which is where Womeldorph played as a kid. Wellness Concepts now will provide free sport injury prevention
Madison Bierl
Georgie Hristov, Christian Womeldorph, Antonio Saviano and Gregory Kotlarczyk are eager to explore the partnership between Wellness Concepts and Florida Premier.
MORE ABOUT THE PARTNERS
■ To learn more about Wellness Concepts, visit WellnessConcepts.com.
■ To learn more about Florida Premier FC SWFL, visit FloridaPremierFC.com.
“We’re giving the kids the ability to learn about their bodies from a structural standpoint, a movement standpoint, because you can’t do a skilled activity as well as you could with dysfunctional movement.”
Gregory Kotlarczyk
education and services once a week and at every home game.
“We’re giving the kids the ability to learn about their bodies from a structural standpoint, a movement standpoint, because you can’t do a skilled activity as well as you could with dysfunctional movement,” Kotlarczyk said.
“That really is the whole entire global picture of what we’re trying to do.”
Lakewood Ranch’s Tyler Clayson, 16, has been a player with Premier for two years and is glad to have the free services.
“It’ll allow us to be more agile and help with flexibility,” Clayson said.
Georgie Hristov, Florida Premier FC SWFL’s sporting director, like Womeldorph, also comes from a background of playing soccer. He played pro soccer in Bulgaria for 10 years, and also played in Poland and Israel.
More locally, he played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies for six years. He said he didn’t learn how to run properly until he was six years into his professional career.
“I know how frustrating it was for me when I was getting these little muscle strains here and there,” Hristov said. “When I figured it out, it was like a new spark in my career.”
Antonio Saviano, executive director of Florida Premier FC SWFL, said
it is important to support players of all levels.
“We want to educate those players and families that are a little bit on the lower level, because those are the players that eventually are going to play at the higher levels,” Saviano said. “That’s why it made sense for us.”
Hristov said the players range from 7 to 18 years old. He said girls make up 30% of the club.
Kotlarczyk said a lot of younger players believe they are invincible, so a short term goal is for them to gain an understanding of movement and how they can better themselves before a serious injury is able to occur. Kotlarczyk said they will provide two different screenings to the players — one for people in pain and one for those not in pain.
“We’re looking at a series of movements, and they might think that they can complete it, and they do,” Kotlarczyk said. “Then they don’t meet certain criteria as far as how the body moves in certain planes, and that’s what we assess. Yes, you performed a squat, but your heels came up for instance.”
They will all get a report card with a rating from 0 to 20. The report will also show their risks of what potentially could be a future indicator of injury. The premise is that the service from Wellness Concepts is complimentary. From there, it’s up to the players and their families to pursue future treatment if they believe they are in need or would benefit.
Kotlarczyk gave a presentation to the coaches of Premier and got a different response compared to other presentations he has given in the past. Other teams didn’t have the vision and were more worried about getting time taken away from practice.
“They understood it because they lived with the injuries, and they’ve learned over time that it made sense to them,” Kotlarczyk said. “To have a group that sees the potential for improvement for injury prevention and benefit the players, I was pumped. I couldn’t have been happier, and I’m excited to build it all.”
Kotlarczyk said the goal is to help players gain longevity and better athletic performance.
“If you move better, you perform better,” he said.
Just strum along
Want to learn to play ukulele? This is the club for you.
Lakewood Ranch’s Alice Baumann said she couldn’t have predicted, even in her wildest dreams, that she would be the president of Aloha Ukulele.
Aloha Ukulele is a Lakewood Ranch club that was founded four years ago, and now Baumann is leading the way. Considering she taught English for more than 20 years in Japan, Colorado and New York, playing the ukulele was not high on her list of priorities.
“There’s nothing better than having this (ukulele) next to your heart,” Baumann said. “Music from your heart is reaching their (the audience’s) hearts, and that’s what we’re here for,” Baumann said. “We’re here to spread a joyous noise. Life is tough, so let’s have some music. That’s really what it’s all about.”
Baumann said when she looks into the audience during performances and sees smiles on her fellow ukulele players and those in attendance. It makes for a good time.
Lakewood Ranch’s Kathy Gordon has been going to the beginner ukulele class since December and she appreciates Baumann’s bubbly personality and encouragement.
“She’ll say, ‘I’m only five minutes ahead of you in learning’ and she says ‘to just strum along,’” Gordon said. “There’s no pressure, and you just do what you can and have a good time.”
Gordon said she is not the least bit
MORE ABOUT ALOHA UKULELE
On Aug. 30, Aloha Ukulele will perform at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall for Worldwide Play Music on the Porch Day from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. They will also perform for the Inaugural Sarasota Ukulele Festival on March 13, 2026, at the Sarasota Symphony space in Holley Hall near the Van Wezel.
The group meets the first and third Thursday at LWR Town Hall North, the third Thursday at LWR Library and the last Friday at Town Hall South.
More more information, contact AlohaUkulele177@gmail.com.
musically inclined, but she wanted to try something different. She said her fingers were killing her from the strings when she first began, but she didn’t let that stop her. She is now knowledgeable about the chords but emphasized she still has a lot to learn.
“It’s just such a happy thing,” Gordon said. “It takes you away from all the negativity going on in the world today.”
Playing the ukulele not only brings happiness to Gordon, but also her dog, Rosie, a 4-year-old terrier mix. She howls as if she is trying to sing a song each time Gordon is practicing, which is twice a week.
“It makes her so happy,” Gordon said. “She’s waving her tail, so I know she’s happy.”
Lakewood Ranch’s Brenda Webb started attending Aloha Ukulele in July. She lived in Makakilo, a resi-
Aloha Ukulele is a Lakewood Ranch club with about 50 active members, including, from left: Brenda Webb, Carl Backman, Nancy Adkins, Kai Adkins, and Connie Parker.
dential area in Oahu, Hawaii, from 1999 to 2007. As a school teacher there, it was common for her to see groups of kids playing ukulele, a big part of Hawaiian culture.
Webb took a beginner class back then, but picked the hobby up again recently. She said playing the ukulele is beneficial for older people because memorizing and recognizing chords helps with memory. Webb said you get out of it what you put in because without a good amount of practice, changing to the correct chords at the right times can be difficult.
“I’m not as swift as I used to be, changing cords and holding it,” Webb said. “Even my sight is not as strong as it used to be, but I think it’s a very good incentive to be able to meet others and have some fun things to do with a group.”
Webb is not the only Aloha Ukulele member who has lived in and experienced Hawaiian culture. Lakewood Ranch’s Nancy Adkins has been playing ukulele since 1993 and described herself as a “professional beginner.” She joined Aloha Ukulele in 2022.
In 2023, her grandson, 22-year-old Kai Adkins who plays bass instead of ukulele, joined the group, as well. Although the group is mostly made up of older ukulele players, Kai doesn’t shy away from being part of the group.
“The sense of welcoming I get even as someone who’s just as young as I am, you’re never too old or young to learn something,” Kai Adkins said. “Coming to this, you get to use your ear more and talk to people that have many stories and experiences.”
Parrish’s Carl Backman is an original member of Aloha Ukulele and has been playing with Baumann for seven years through a Parrish ukulele group prior to the start of Aloha Ukulele. He appreciates the club for giving him something to work for.
“The thing that made me stick with it was that when I left for that day, I was able to play two songs,” Backman said. “That’s what made me like, ‘Oh, I can do this.’ Now I can play thousands of songs.
“Alice says ‘It’s the instrument of joy,’ and it really is,” Backman added. “You cannot be unhappy when you play.”
Baumann said ukulele playing has “grown leaps and bounds” ever since
“five minutes more experience” than the members she leads.
the COVID-19 pandemic because it is an easy hobby to pick up with videos online to learn how to play for free.
Baumann said everyone is welcome to join Aloha Ukulele, no matter what skill level or what experience, or lack thereof, they might have. She encouraged singers to join as well, even if they don’t want to play ukulele.
“There’s no dues; there’s no nothing,” Baumann said. “If you don’t have a ukulele and you want to try one, we’ll give you one. We just want more people. We want to conquer the world with the ukulele.”
River, out to the Intracoastal Waterway. No fuss, all smiles, and plenty to explore at each stop along the way.
Aloha Ukulele President Alice Baumann leads Aloha Ukulele in song, mostly with ukulele, but occasionally with other instruments. She says she has
Lakewood Ranch residents Kai Adkins and his grandmother, Nancy Adkins, go to Aloha Ukulele together to embrace their love of music.
Photos by Madison Bierl
Concession home tops sales at $3.4 million
ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR
Ahome in the Concession tops the week’s sales.
Matthew Craig Peterson and Sara Kathryn Peterson, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 8455 Lindrick Lane to Deborah Jean Petchul, of Bradenton, for $3.4 million. Built in 2022, it has five bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 4,065 square feet of living area.
ISLES Marc and Ella Lonson, of Bradenton, sold their home at 8272 Redonda Loop to Matthew and Sara Peterson, of Lakewood Ranch, for $2.15 million. Built in 2022, it has five bedrooms, five-and-a-half baths, a pool and is 4,611 square feet. It sold for $1,676,000 in 2022.
SHOREVIEW
J. Brian Stone, trustee, sold the home at 8016 Grande Shores Drive to Sara Zagroba, of Sarasota, for $1.33 million. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,480 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.55 million in 2024.
COUNTRY CLUB
Terrence Gregory Kemp and Ann Kemp, trustees, sold the home at 7037 Brier Creek Court to Bradley Ryan and Donna Fuore Ryan, of Lakewood Ranch, for $1,125,000. Built in 2007, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,778 square feet of living area. It sold for $775,000 in 2018.
Steven Lewis and Patricia Hoag, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 6815 Turnberry Isle Court to Donald and Mary McNaught, of Lakewood Ranch, for $900,000. Built in 2001, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,796 square feet of living area. It sold for $575,000 in 2018.
Logan Stanley Chappell, trustee, of Delray Beach, sold the home at 12041 Thornhill Court to Andrew Golden and Toni Ann Marganti, of Lakewood Ranch, for $600,000. Built in 2011, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,102 square feet of living area. It sold for $382,600 in 2011.
CRESSWIND
David Ortiz and Gilda Ortiz, of Bradenton, sold their home at 5035 Kiva Circle to Michael and Maria Goldsmith, of Newtown, Connecticut, for $1,122,500. Built in 2022, it has four bedrooms, fourand-a-half baths, a pool and 3,567 square feet of living area. It sold for $824,000 in 2022.
ESPLANADE
James Vasquez, of S. Barrington, Illinois, sold his home at 12826 Sorrento Way to Thomas Joseph Budz and Renee Beth Budz, of Bradenton, for $962,500. Built in 2019, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,304 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.15 million in 2022.
GREENBROOK
James Lee Putnam and Alissa Putnam, of North Charleston, South Carolina, sold their home at 6674 Coopers Hawk Court to Shawn Paul Cooper and Elizabeth Marie Cooper, of Xenia, Ohio, for $879,000. Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,302 square feet of living area. It sold for $531,000 in 2019.
Phillip and Diane Rosenblum, trustees, of Falls Church, Virginia, sold the home at 6412 Golden Eye Glen to Samuel Tyler McDade and Megan Catherine Killian, of Bradenton, for $439,000. Built in 2005, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,034 square feet of living area. It sold for $372,200 in 2005.
MOTE RANCH
Andrew Mason and Anne Goetz, of Lewes, Delaware, sold their home at 6222 Stillwater Court to Robert
and Aileen Hueter, of Bradenton, for $865,000. Built in 1999, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,875 square feet of living area. It sold for $707,500 in 2021.
ROSEDALE ADDITION
Clinton Michael Betts and Christina Marie Betts, of Bradenton, sold their home at 10120 Carnoustie Place to Sonia Valdes and Kendra Escoto, of Reston, Virginia, for $810,000. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,576 square feet of living area. It sold for $452,500 in 2020.
TREYMORE AT THE VILLAGES OF PALM AIRE
Judith Sullivan, of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, sold the home at 7012 Treymore Court to Darlene Shelby Johnson and Craig Jerome Johnson, of Sarasota, for $755,000. Built in 2000, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and is 2,615 square feet. It sold for $520,000 in 2014.
GREYHAWK LANDING
Jerrad Dale Hendrick and Lucia Susana Hendrick, of Parrish, sold their home at 13136 Peregrin Circle to Christopher Eric Schlechta and Lindsay Schlechta, of Bradenton, for $751,000. Built in 2001, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,994 square feet of living area. It sold for $875,000 in 2022.
TARA Jack and Vickie Boudrie, of Bradenton, sold their home at 6702 Drewrys Bluff to Darrell Wayne Harris and Harriet Rosemary Harris, of Bradenton, for $735,000. Built in 1989, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,607 square feet of living area. It sold for $400,000 in 2002.
Hala Hilweh, of Bradenton, sold her home at 7023 Chickasaw Bayou Road to Kenneth Gustin, of Bradenton, for $495,000. Built in 1993, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,772 square feet of living area. It sold for $235,000 in 2001.
Charles Maggelet and Lorraine See, trustees, and Rosetta Maggelet, of Bradenton, sold the home at 6602 Peach Tree Creek Road to Peter Garzia and Jennifer News Garzia, of Bradenton, for $420,000. Built in 1995, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and is 2,388 square feet. It sold for $300,000 in 2003.
RIVER POINT OF MANATEE
Victoria and Randy Huberty, of Cortez, sold their home at 220 39th St. N.E. to Bradford Jay Chambliss and Meagan Rose Chambliss, of Bradenton, for $675,000. Built in 1997, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and is 1,689 square feet. It sold for $340,000 in 2016.
Craig and Jessica Skinner sold their home at 318 39th St. N.E. to Jordan Hallsted and Tiffani Powers, of Bradenton, for $443,000. Built in 1996, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,808 square feet of living area. It sold for $195,000 in 2014.
RIVERSIDE AT TIDEWATER PRESERVE
Mark and Kim McCabe, of Sarasota, sold their Unit D condominium at 1294 Riverscape St. to Lorraine Mohammadbhoy I LLC for $671,300. Built in 2016, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,332 square feet of living area. It sold for $599,900 in 2021.
WATERFRONT AT MAIN STREET
James and Rebecca Anderson, trustees, of Muskego, Wisconsin, sold the Unit 2-205 condominium at 10520 Boardwalk Loop to Donald and Anne McKinnon, of Lakewood Ranch, for $655,000. Built in 2018, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,467 square feet of living area.
HARMONY
Andrew Michael Semple sold his home at 11952 Brookside Drive to Greenfield Agencies Inc. for $653,000. Built in 2015, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,553 square feet of living area.
CENTRAL PARK
Robert and Tamara Mair, of Bradenton, sold their home at 5020 Torrey Pines Run to Brian Paul Kesckes and Melinda Mae Kesckes, of Braden-
AUG. 11-15
ton, for $605,000. Built in 2011, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,150 square feet of living area. It sold for $500,000 in 2021.
SABAL HARBOUR
Frank Berchell Watkins and Quay Wallace Watkins, of Stamford, Connecticut, sold their home at 4426 Useppa Drive to Joseph and Karen Miller, of Bradenton, for $604,900. Built in 2001, it has four bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,736 square feet of living area.
WOODBROOK
Kimberly Marie Schehrer sold her home at 4542 Cedar Brush Terrace to Tiffany and Ken Newbold, of Sarasota, for $585,000. Built in
2016, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,261 square feet of living area.
WATERLEFE
Keisha Shannae Wilkinson, trustee, sold the home at 9719 Discovery Terrace to Kenneth and Barbara Silay, of Bradenton, for $575,000. Built in 2001, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and is 2,267 square feet.
Courtesy image
This Concession home at 8455 Lindrick Lane sold for $3.4 million. Built in 2022, it has five bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 4,065 square feet of living area.
SPORTS
FAST BREAK
Jack Nelson begins covering sports for the East County Observer this week. Nelson, a UCLA graduate, comes to us from Scituate, Massachusetts, where he was a writer for the NBA Starting 5 daily newsletter and also worked as a sports clerk for MassLive. If you have a story, results, a photo or an athlete of the week suggestion, please call him at 755-5357, ext. 201. You can email Nelson at JNelson@YourObserver.com.
... The Out-of-Door Academy football team lost its first road game of the season, as Santa Fe Catholic rallied with a 20-point fourth quarter to notch a 27-20 victory. Brady Cleveland and Dylan Walker caught touchdown passes from Edouard Chaput for the Thunder, while Allen Clark scored on a 1-yard touchdown rush.
ODA (1-1) took a 13-7 lead into the fourth quarter. The Thunder hosts Cambridge Christian Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. ... Lakewood Ranch High and Braden River High both recorded victories in their season openers. Lakewood Ranch downed host Lemon Bay 34-12. The Mustangs host Seminole, a 41-0 loser to Tarpon Springs in its opener, on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. Braden River edged visiting Cypress Creek 24-20. Sarasota hosts Braden River Aug. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
... Lakewood Ranch High’s boys golf team finished second in the 20-team John Ryan Venice Invitational Aug. 18-23. Junior Donovan Plakyda led the Mustangs with a 1-under 71. The Mustangs also entered a “Silver” team which placed fifth overall. Owen Gellatly led the Silver team with a 71. Sarasota High won the overall title.
... The foursome of Gina Seffrin Alynna Fricke Mary Heyde and Jodi O’Neill won the First Four, Last Five best ball event at University Park Country Club on Aug. 21. The group shot a net 49. Second place was the team of Deb Robertson Kelly Ingalls Maureen Hicks and Carole Gilbertson at net 52. Nedra Sams, Jean Arnold, Bev Kennedy and Kim Huebner were third at 53.
Building a village
Bruce Cassidy takes on general chair role for the 2026 Senior PGA Championship.
JAY HEATER MANAGING EDITOR
Bruce Cassidy Sr. has established a long line of success over his years of being an executive.
Now the majority owner of The Concession Golf Club, Cassidy’s ascension in the business world includes his founding of Excel Mining Systems in 1990 and running that company for two decades. An Ohio native, he also took on many board roles, including his current position at Loop Media Inc.
So when Cassidy was named by the PGA of America to be the general chair for the 2026 Senior PGA Championship that will be hosted by The Concession, it was just an extension of his lifetime’s work.
“I didn’t have to do it, but it is something I want to do,” Cassidy said. “We’re running a business and my main job is to support (the PGA of America’s) needs. There could be more than 1,000 volunteers.”
Cassidy said the task of hosting a senior major championship is made easier because he has the right personnel.
“We have an amazing team here,” he said as he sat next to Brian Weimann, The Concession Golf Club’s general manager.
Weimann will be on a four-person executive committee for the tournament, which will be held April 16-19, 2026. As many as 23 volunteer chairs will head up various other committees. Many of the committees will be headed by The Concession residents.
Cassidy, who took over as The Concession’s majority owner in 2009, also will be assisting the tour-
nament’s sales initiatives and community relations efforts. He has been instrumental in The Concession hosting events such as the 2015 Men’s and Women’s NCAA Championships, the 2021 WGC-Workday Championship and the 2024 World Champions Cup.
“For more than a decade, our team has worked diligently to shape The Concession,” Cassidy said in a PGA of America release.
The Concession is a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course designed in association with Tony Jacklin.
That club’s commitment to major events will go beyond 2026. The Concession, which was named as Best New Private Course of 2006 by Golf Digest, will host the Senior PGA Championship in 2027 and 2028, and Cassidy’s hope remains that the venue eventually will host the PGA Championship, one of professional golf’s four majors.
But first comes a lot of work to host the 2026 Senior PGA Championship.
“The saying, ‘It takes a village’ is true,’” Cassidy said. “It’s important to get the community support, and the support from Manatee and Sarasota counties ($4.5 million for each county over the next three years) has been huge. Moving people is going to be one of our biggest challenges.”
The Concession already had made up a people-moving plan for more than 25,000 people in a bid to host a PGA Championship. This, obviously, will be a scaled-down effort with an approximate average of 5,000 spectators a day, although the weekend rounds could be somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 spectators.
Manatee County will assist when
it comes to people moving.
“We will have an operations meeting with Public Safety, Public Works, the fire district and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office,” said Elliott Falcione, the executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We will go over all the logistics and figure out off-site parking and the ingress and egress points. Premier (Sports Campus) will be used somehow, in some way.
“We will all work in lockstep in our region to help create awareness of this unique championship event.”
Manatee and Sarasota counties already have begun cross-promoting themselves in Europe as “the Home of the Senior PGA Championship.”
Other social media platforms will be used as well to attract interest.
Falcione said the two counties are creating a toolkit to share with the hospitality industry to promote the event.
“We are going to be on the offense,” he said. “I will be meeting with the PGA of America to make sure all the platforms are resonating.”
Falcione said he is “underpromising” by saying the event will have a $25 million effect on the region each year in direct spending.
“The PGA of America feels it will be higher,” he said.
As far as the actual course goes, Cassidy and Weimann said little must be done.
When the Workday Championship was held in 2021, it was a last minute switch from Mexico City, which cancelled its event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials checked out The Concession to see if it could host a tournament with no time for revisions.
“We didn’t need to do anything,” Weimann said.
“At the end of the day, we just want to put on the best event we can,” Cassidy said. If that happens, then Cassidy is hoping to land a spot to host the PGA Championship.
“We’ve been pushing as much as we can,” he said. “But (the PGA of America) is taking a big risk with a new club.” He said the PGA of America has given no commitment toward allowing The Concession to host a PGA Championship.
“Our course is a natural beauty,” Cassidy said. “We’re just putting lipstick on it.”
Jay Heater
Sportswriter Jack Nelson joins the East County Observer this week.
Jay Heater
Team USA’s Justin Leonard helps his squad win the World Champions Cup at The Concession in 2023. He likely will be a main draw at the 2026 Senior PGA Championship.
The Concession Golf Club Majority Owner Bruce Cassidy and General Manager Brian Weimann will be key players in the club hosting the 2026, 2027 and 2028 Senior PGA Championship.
File photos Steve Stricker is likely to be one of the favorites at the 2026 Senior PGA Championship in April at The Concession.
Golfing legend Ernie Els lines up a putt in 2023 at The Concession during the World Champions Cup. The Concession will host the Senior PGA Championship in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Els is likely to be a major draw. Could the area also see Tiger Woods?
Tiger at The Concession? We can dream
For sports fans all over the world, Dec. 30, 1975, was a significant day. And now, it’s even more significant for those of us in East County.
It was the day Eldrick Tont Woods was born in Cypress, California.
You know him as Tiger.
So why is that significant for those of us in East County?
It was announced in May that the 2026 Senior PGA Championship is being hosted by The Concession from April 16-19. It marks the first of three consecutive Senior PGA Championships that will be hosted
by The Concession.
Because Woods turns 50 in December, he is now eligible for the tournament, and for the Champions Tour in general.
Woods hasn’t said if he plans to play on the Champions Tour, or if he wants to play the senior majors. But could we be so lucky?
We always can dream. With his myriad physical problems, Woods hasn’t been a competitive factor since 2019, but who wouldn’t want to see him playing right here in the Lakewood Ranch area?
The “Tiger effect” is not lost on
The Concession Golf Club owner Bruce Cassidy.
Cassidy remembered when Woods entered Palm Harbor’s Valspar Championship in 2018 at the Innisbrook Resort. He said interest in the event “easily doubled.”
Earlier this season, Jack Nicklaus was asked whether he thought Woods would play on the Champions Tour next season. He was quoted by Golfweek as saying, “When he gets in a cart, he’ll tear it up, absolutely.”
Certainly, health will be a big part of Woods’ decision. He has had back and Achilles tendon surger-
Dr. Amir Boubekri brings to Intercoastal Medical Group at the Lakewood Ranch I office a wealth of knowledge and experience in Orthopedic Medicine.
Undergraduate: University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
Medical School: University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL
Residency: Orthopedic Surgery, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL
Fellowship: Shoulder and Elbow Fellowship, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
Certification: Board Eligible, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery Hospital Affiliations: Sarasota Memorial Hospital; Sarasota Doctors Hospital; Lakewood Ranch Medical Center
ies this year, part of more than 25 surgeries during his golf career.
In 2025, he didn’t play an event on the PGA Tour. In 2024, he played five events, but missed three cuts with one withdrawal. He didn’t have a top 25 finish.
From the 2020-2021 season to the 2022-2023 season, he played eight events with no top 25 finishes.
He last victory came Oct. 27, 2019, at the Zozo Championship. His previous win was the Masters on April 14, 2019.
The last time Tiger played like Tiger through an entire season was 2013 when he won five events.
But, admit it, if Woods is playing at The Concession, your interest level in the event goes way up.
One bonus going into the Senior PGA Championship is that players can ask for a medical exemption to ride a cart. Could that be a deciding factor for Woods?
Whether or not Woods, who is tied with Sam Sneed for the most PGA Tour victories in history with 82, has any interest in playing the senior majors might be whether he wants to have some fun with his former peers. If he still feels he can win on the regular tour, it might not happen.
After all, Phil Mickelson won a major, the 2021 PGA Championship, and became the oldest major winner ever at 50. Woods spent much of his career one-upping anything that Mickelson could do.
Speaking of Mickelson, and as long as we are dreaming about what might be, let’s talk about Mickelson, who has been the clear No. 2 in popularity behind Woods over the past three decades.
Mickelson had decided to pick his spots on the Champions Tour and won four of the six events he played, tying Nicklaus as the only two players to have such early success. However, Mickelson went to LIV Golf in 2022 to validate the fledgling tour and has concentrated on that commitment since. While he has said he was no interest in playing on the Champions Tour, perhaps he will change his mind in terms of playing a senior major when he retires from LIV. He has never won
a LIV Golf event and has faded significantly as a competitor.
So what if both Woods and Mickelson showed up at The Concession? The publicity would be incredible, right here in the Lakewood Ranch area.
We can dream.
Of course, even without Woods or Mickelson, many of golf’s legends will be on display. Major winners such as Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen and Justin Leonard are huge draws. If John Daly and Freddie Couples enter, that’s a huge bonus for the fans.
Let’s not forget the ageless Bernhard Langer, who holds all the significant Champions Tour records. He has the most career wins with 47, and has won the most senior majors with 12. He has won at least one event on the Champions Tour for 18 consecutive years.
Newcomers who will be eligible to play the Champions Tour for the first time next season are Zach Johnson, Rory Sabbatini, and Ryan Palmer.
While most of the biggest names who play in the Senior PGA Championship are playing the Champions Tour, it should be noted that the Senior PGA Championship is not a Champions Tour event, but instead is a PGA of America event.
It’s a lot of excitement coming to the area next April, and you certainly can attend the event as a spectator. However, if you want to get up close and personal with the players, you might consider being a volunteer. The PGA of America has yet to announce the details for those who want to volunteer, but the East County Observer will give that information as soon as it is released.
Jay Heater is the managing editor for the East County Observer. Contact him at JHeater@ YourObserver.com.
DENTAL IMPLANTS
VOTED SARASOTA’S TOP IMPLANT & AESTHETIC DENTISTS
YOUR CALENDAR
BEST BET
SUNDAY, AUG. 31
FARMERS MARKET
Runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Lakefront Drive in Waterside Place, Lakewood Ranch. The Farmers Market at Lakewood Ranch, which was voted as the top farmers market in Florida for the second year in a row in 2024, will run year-round every Sunday. Vendors offer seafood, eggs, meats, dairy products, pastas, bakery goods, jams and pickles, among other items. Other features include children’s activities and live music. For information, visit MyLWR.com.
COMMUNITY
THURSDAY, AUG. 28 THROUGH SUNDAY, AUG. 31
LIVE MUSIC AT JIGGS LANDING Runs from 5-8 p.m. each day at Jiggs Landing, 6106 63rd St. E., Bradenton. The live music lineup at Jiggs Landing includes Jack Berry (Thursday), Mike Sudderth (Friday), Saint David (Saturday) and Santiago (Sunday). All the music this week is free. For information, go to JiggsLanding.com.
FRIDAY, AUG. 22 AND SATURDAY. AUG. 23
MUSIC AT THE PLAZA Runs from 6-9 p.m. at Waterside Place, 1561 Lakefront Drive, Lakewood Ranch. Acoustic cover artist Carmen Forte takes the stage Friday to entertain the Waterside Place crowd in the free music series while Ektor Keys entertains the crowd on Saturday with a mix of saxophone, keys and vocals. For information, go to WatersidePlace.com.
SATURDAY, AUG. 30
ROOFTOP YOGA
Begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Lakewood Ranch Library, 16410 Rangeland Parkway, Lakewood Ranch. Adults (18-and-older) can participate in the Rooftop Yoga program. The donation-based group class is designed to inspire and invigorate. Beginners are welcome as are those with experience. The workout focuses on balancing effort and ease through breath work and postures. Those who participate are asked to bring a yoga mat. For information, go to MyLWR.com.
SATURDAY, AUG. 30 AND SUNDAY, AUG. 31
MUSIC AT THE LODGE
Runs 6-9 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday at Linger Lodge, 7205 85th St. Court E., Bradenton. Linger Lodge’s live music schedule includes It’s Just Us Duo on Saturday and Matthew McCartney on Sunday.
SUNDAY, AUG. 31
YOGA IN THE PARK Runs 8-9 a.m. at Waterside Park, 7301 Island Cove Terrace, Sarasota. Start the morning off with gentle yoga with lake views. For information, go to LakewoodRanch.com.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3
MALL WALKER CLUB
Begins at 9 a.m. at the Mall at University Town Center, 140 University Town Center Drive, Sarasota. Anyone is welcome to join the Mall Walker Club that is sponsored by the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. For more information, go to MallAtUTC.com.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 5
MUSIC ON MAIN
Runs from 6-9 p.m. at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch. The band BABYL plays old-school rock and soul to highlight the monthly, free, music series. The event will benefit the Sertoma Club of Greater Sarasota. Enjoy local vendors, beer trucks, sponsor booths, and games and activities for the kids (presented by Grace Community Church). For more information, go to MyLWR. com.
2 FUNNY by Tom Pepper & Zhouqin Burnikel, edited by Jared Goudsmit
By Luis Campos
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