East County Observer 4.6.23

Down the runway for the dogs

First it was the dogs. Then it was the divas.

On March 31, a sellout crowd of 240 people packed the Lakewood Ranch Country Club to enjoy the Divas and Dogs: A Royal Affair fundraiser at Lakewood Ranch Country Club.

The event, which benefited the Humane Society at Lakewood Ranch, featured some lovable pooches to start the festivities, followed by seven community members who agreed to model the fashion of the Twist Boutique and SunBug of Venice stores.

Norhala Houck, who owns Twist Boutique and SunBug, said the amateur models, such as Shayla Twit (above) did a fantastic job.

“They came to the stores and they chose things that fit their personalities, and we gave them a little guidance,” Houck said of the models.

Houck loved the cause of the fundraiser because she owns a mini Aussiedoodle and is passionate about dogs. She appreciates the work done by the volunteers of the Humane Society of Lakewood Ranch.

Bus driver shortage persists

Two East County teachers received awards at the Manatee Arts Education Council’s Arts Alive on March 27 at Grove.

Roxane Caravan, the theater director at Lakewood Ranch High, received the Dr. Sherry Lawrence Theatre Education Award.

Bill Ferrell (above with Caravan), a commercial art teacher at Braden River High, was awarded the Barbara Turner-Grace Visual Arts Education Award.

Photo by Jay Heater

Photo by Liz Ramos

Choose Love Movement founder partners with Brain Health Initiative

IF YOU GO

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL WELLNESS EVENT

Who: Schools for Brain Health

When: 6:30 p.m. April 10

Where: Lakewood Ranch

Preparatory Academy, 5550 White Eagle Blvd., Lakewood Ranch

Price: Free

After working through the loss of her 6-year-old son Jesse Lewis during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, Scarlett Lewis wanted to use some of her son’s last words toward something good.

He wrote on the family’s refrigerator chalkboard, “nurturing,” “healing” and “love.”

It was those words that inspired Lewis to start a nonprofit, the Choose Love Movement, which is dedicated to teaching people of all ages social and emotional skills and tools to work toward emotional wellness.

Lewis is partnering with the Schools for Brian Health program to share her message and teach Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy students the age-appropriate social and emotional skills and tools. At 6:30 p.m. April 10, she also will share her story with a free presentation that is open to the public at Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy.

Stephanie Peabody, founder and executive director of the Brain Health Initiative, said the community event will be helpful to people of all ages.

“As with all of the protective factors of brain health, it’s never too early and it’s never too late,” Peabody said. “We want to help, as early as possible, parents and caregivers to understand the implications of a lack of emotional well-being on our physical health, cognitive health and performance,  emotional health and performance, our longevity, on our

Details: Listen as Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son died in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, shares her story and talks about her nonprofit, the Choose Love Movement, which teaches social-emotional skills, encourages well-being and helps people to choose love.

relationships, academic outcomes, career performance and family.”

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Lewis started doing research and found the pathway to violence usually starts with a grievance and builds up to an attack. She noticed people were focusing on the attack rather than the grievances that caused the attacks.

“Kids do not have the skills and tools to manage the hurt and pain of that grievance, so it escalates,” Lewis said. “We can learn essential life skills to facilitate connections and relationships. We can self-regulate, manage our emotions, make responsible decisions, and there’s an important neuroscience component that goes along with pausing and thoughtfully responding by choosing love.”

From the presentation, Lewis and Peabody hope people better understand the importance of building self-confidence, how to see from others’ perspectives the pain the

person might be feeling and how to regulate emotions.

“It is a way of thinking, feeling and believing, and you have choices,” Peabody said. “Depending on what you choose, you are wiring your brain to view the world, integrate information and respond to the world. You have a choice to do that in a healthy and constructive way or a destructive way.”

Lewis has created a formula to help people choose love. She said if people have courage, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion, they will be able to choose love.

She said families and community members will go through exercises to strengthen their courage so they can face challenges in their lives and do the right thing.

Those exercises will help people talk about gratitude and a shift in mindset to focus on the positive as well as how forgiveness can lead to healthy relationships and help to remove pain to begin the healing process.

Lewis will share her thoughts on how compassion can strengthen and energize people. She said showing compassion toward others can be healing for everyone involved.

“What I tell everyone is this is about feeling good,” Lewis said. “We want to feel good; we want to mitigate pain in our lives. That’s just a thing we’re designed to do.

“If we have some skills and tools — and, by the way, we’re not born with them, but we’ve been taught (them) and can practice (them) — we’re going to feel good through healthy relationships. We are then able to self regulate, manage our emotions and make responsible decisions. I truly believe that if given the choice, most people would choose love and peace.”

CHOOSE LOVE MOVEMENT

Scarlett Lewis started the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement to create safer and more living communities through character education and socialemotional development programs for all ages.

The movement was started after Lewis’ son, Jesse Lewis, was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting Dec. 14, 2012.

The last words Jesse Lewis wrote on the family refrigerator were “nurture,” “healing” and “love,” which

Scarlett Lewis used as inspiration for her research and to create the Choose Love Movement.

Scarlett Lewis has traveled the world teaching people social and emotional learning skills that cultivate a welcoming, compassionate, safe and supportive environment.

The goal is to stop violence before it happens by having people choose love.

For more information, visit ChooseLoveMomvement.org.

Courtesy photo

Scarlett Lewis, founder of the Choose Love Movement, will be at Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy to share skills and tools that can be used to promote emotional well-being.

Scarlett Lewis, founder of the Choose Love Movement, will talk about social-emotional skills at Lakewood Ranch Prep.

School district hiring shifts into high gear

LIZ RAMOS SENIOR EDITOR

As the end of the 2022-23 school year gets closer, the School District of Manatee County continues looking for ways to address the bus driver shortage for the next school year.

As of March 31, the school district has 93 bus drivers covering 98 bus routes.  The district’s fleet includes 165 buses that are ready to be used if the district can be fully staffed with 130 drivers.

“It’s incredibly difficult to hire drivers across all service industries,” said Jamie Warrington, director of transportation for the School District of Manatee County. “It’s getting better, but in order to be a school bus driver, there’s so much training, certifications and requirements that are involved. That tends to turn a lot of people off from doing it. The applicant pool is very small. I would love to have 30 more drivers, but every time, it’s an uphill battle to try to get them.”

CHALLENGES PERSIST

Joe Ranaldi, chief operations officer for the School District of Manatee County, said the district tried to maintain the same bus routes and bus stops as last school year because families are familiar with them, but due to the bus driver shortage, the district will have to continue making changes and consolidating routes.  There are some routes with so many students, bus drivers need to make two trips to the stop or school, meaning a group of students is waiting either at the school or bus stop until the bus completes its first trip and can return to pick them up.

Warrington said the students are rotated each week on these routes so the same students are not consistently late to school or returning home late.

“The problem is, we can go and plan that, but when we get into the office at 4 a.m. and the drivers start calling off and calling in, we have to start shifting things around,” Warrington said. “Our target is no more than five days should any student be late.”

Ranaldi said construction around the county are causing buses to be delayed. On top of construction, the eastern and northern parts of the county are seeing tremendous growth, leading to an increase in traffic.  “We have regular conversations with the county about road closures and issues that we have relative to the construction,” Ranaldi said. “Obviously, we have accidents in those hotspots. Then that will essentially snowball on us where if it happens during run No. 1 (high school routes), by the time we get to tier two, which is the elementaries, or tier three at the middle school level, we’re significantly late.”

Warrington said the widening of State Road 70 has helped get buses

to and from schools faster, but widening lanes also means more traffic.

Besides traffic, Warrington said drivers are also running into delays as a result of accidents.

The School District of Manatee County has to compete with not only other school districts for bus drivers, but also other companies, such as Amazon.

The district has one of the lowest starting pay levels for bus drivers, which is $16.69, when compared to surrounding school districts. The district will start salary negotiations with bus drivers in May once the district receives the state’s budget.

Warrington said the district only has lost one driver to Sarasota County Schools, which raised its starting pay for bus drivers to $25 for the 2022-23 school year. Sarasota County Schools has not decided whether it will continue its $25 start pay, but the starting pay last school year was $18.99.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

The district is working with Alpha Route Evaluation to provide proposed consolidated routes and bus stops to try to address the bus driver shortage. The company is looking at several metrics when considering routes including bus run durations, student ride time and walk-to-stop distances. Warrington said Alpha Route Evaluation is proposing 83 to 93 routes to more efficiently cover the district’s current 98 routes.

The district also is looking at the property it owns to see if there is a small piece of land in the eastern part of the county that can be used as a temporary hub to park buses so the drive time to start routes in the eastern and northern parts of the county is shorter. Fewer buses will have to travel around traffic hotspots.

“I’m looking at one (property) out between Myakka City and Lakewood Ranch, trying to find a place where

I might be able to park 30 buses out there and put a portable,” Warrington said. “Those are short-term solutions until we can get an actual facility.”

NEW HUB ON THE RANCH

Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said the district plans to have a permanent hub on the site of the new high school that is planned for Lakewood Ranch, which will be located on 102 acres on the north side of 59th Avenue East and just west of Pope Boulevard. Another hub will be built in the northern part of the county as well. Neither hub is currently on the district’s five-year capital plan.

The school district is working on various ways to attract and retain drivers.

It received funding through the Driving Choice grant from the Florida Department of Education that provided every current bus driver with a $1,000 bonus. An additional $400 was provided to bus drivers just before spring break, which was March 13-17, if they had not missed more than two days of work. Warrington said 79 of the district’s 93 bus drivers received the bonus, and drivers could receive another $400 at the end of the school year if they continue to come to work.

New drivers receive $500 when they complete training and another $500 after being on the job for 30 days. They then become eligible to receive the $400 attendance bonuses.

The grant, which also covers fingerprint fees and pre-employment drug testing fees, is only for the 2022-23 school year.

Another effort to hire more drivers, which included hosting a job fair for the operations side of the district March 23.

Warrington said the fair was not as well attended as he had hoped, but the transportation department is working on hosting a job fair specifically for transportation.

Meanwhile, the district is advertising for drivers using magnetic signs on the district’s fleet of vans and other vehicles as well as on the back license plates of school buses.

Warrington said the district has received calls from people interested in applying as a result of seeing those advertisements on the road.

Another way the district has reduced delay times for buses is by no longer requiring parents of first grade students to be at the bus stop. The requirement remains for students with disabilities and kindergarten students.

Warrington said to the best of his knowledge, the School District of Manatee County was the only district in Florida to require parents to be present at the bus stop for first graders.

If a parent is not at the bus stop, the driver must return after finishing the route. If the parent still is not there, the driver must bring the child back to school.

After changing the requirement, Warrington said the district has noticed that fewer bus drivers have to return children to school because their parents were not at the bus stop

during drop off.

“It’s been generally well received, and we haven’t really had any issues with that,” Warrington said.

The district also is looking at hazardous walking conditions for each student who lives with two miles of school. If a student lives within two miles of school, they must find their own way to school unless their route meets hazardous walking conditions. The district does not get reimbursed for students who live within two miles of the school and are transported by the district.

Warrington said as of 2021, it costs the district about $1,300 to transport a student during the school year, and the district is reimbursed about $406 per student by the state.

Richard Tatem, a member of the School Board of Manatee County, questioned the district as to whether it could use private contractors to transport students.

Warrington said private contractors are not efficient or cost effective. He said transporting one student through a private contractor can cost about $40,000 per year. If a driver from a private contractor does not show up, the school district still is responsible for transporting the student to and from school, but the district does not have a bus route for the student.

In the last six weeks of last school year, Warrington said the district was providing transportation for one student by contract services, but the contractor dropped the district as a client. The district had to send a bus to pick up one student to be transported each morning and afternoon.

Not only is the district facing shortages in bus drivers and attendants but also technicians. The district currently only has six technicians working on its fleet, but Warrington hopes the district will be able to have 15 technicians on staff for the next school year.

He said the district is working directly with Manatee Technical College to implement an apprenticeship program with students in the technical college’s diesel program. Although the details of the apprenticeship program are not finalized, Warrington hopes MTC can be a source to recruit technicians and retain them for several years.

He said the district has provided a school bus on which MTC students can learn.

OTHER TRANSPORTATION NEWS

Ranaldi said the district is looking into other companies that would allow parents to track students after they scan their IDs on the bus.

The district currently uses the “Where’s The Bus?” app to allow parents to track where their child’s bus is going to and from school.

Warrington said the district has one more year on its contract with TripSpark Education, which provides the “Where’s The Bus?” app.

He said the district will start scheduling demonstrations in the fall with vendors who provide software that allows the district to track the student rather than the bus.

Bus driver Allen Dickson is one of the School District of Manatee County’s 93 bus drivers.

File photos

Jamie Warrington, director of transportation for the School District of Manatee County, says the district is trying to find various ways to address the driver shortage.

Photos by Liz Ramos

Life-saving lessons

Emergency Medical Services

Field Day at Manatee Technical College provides important lessons for first responders and students.

LIZ RAMOS SENIOR EDITOR

An intraosseous needle can be used in an emergency situation when the immediate delivery of life-saving fluids or medications is needed and usual intravenous access is not possible.

Before that lesson, Benshoff, a firefighter medic with the North River Fire District, learned some tips on how to work through difficult intubations. That process is used to place a flexible plastic tube into the trachea to provide an open airway.

Benshoff went from station to station during Emergency Medical Services Field Day on April 1 at Manatee Technical College. He was getting hands-on experience with methods to help him best serve people in need.

akewood Ranch’s Zack Benshoff listened carefully as he was given tips on where to insert an intraosseous needle into a person’s shoulder.“It’s amazing,” Benshoff said. “It’s very informative and should be a quarterly thing. It’s great to be able to commit these new skills to muscle memory. That’s a big thing for us in our business.”

The field day was for both first responders and students.

HCA Florida Blake Hospital, in partnership with seven other EMS

TRANING OPPORTUNITIES

Emergency medical services workers came together during EMS Field Day to provide various training opportunities.

n HCA Florida Blake HospitalBurn and Hand Station, prehospital care of a stroke patient and sepsis

n Aeromed Lung Lab

n Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue Hazmat training

n Teleflex-Intraosseous seminar

and health care providers, hosted EMS Field Day to help provide lifesaving training to emergency service workers.

“It’s important for us as a trauma center to help provide opportunities for our pre-hospital providers, like our EMTs and crew paramedics, with essential skills they use in the field,” said Megan Hawkins, the trauma injury prevention coordinator and trauma educator for Blake Hospital. “Some of these skills they use on a daily basis. Others are ones they might not see often. It’s important they have the opportunity to practice those.”

First responders and students learned about sepsis, difficult intubations, burns, pre-hospital care of a stroke patient, pediatric patient care and more. East Manatee Fire Rescue and Southern Manatee Fire and Res-

n Manatee County EMSRaptor and mass casualty demonstration

n Bayflite — Difficult airways and intubations seminar

n John Hopkins-All Children’s seminar on care of pediatric patients

n East Manatee FireRescueSouthern Manatee Fire and Rescue — Car crash seminar

cue worked together to demonstrate extrication and intubation of an entrapped victim in a car.

East Manatee Fire Rescue Lt.

Adam Butler was happy to be at the field day to show paramedic and EMT students what it looks like to serve as a first responder.

“One thing we take pride in is how well our fire department and EMS

work together,” Butler said. “There are constant trainings like this, and I know those guys are constantly training medically. When we run into a scene, it’s nice to know everybody’s on the same page because we practice it so many times.”

Hawkins said the skills people learned during field day are vital.

He said it is important that when the first responders come upon a situation in the field, it won’t seem like the first time they have encountered it because they have trained for that moment.

“They’re learning new techniques from people who might have more experience doing these things,” Hawkins said. “It’s knowledge that you don’t always get and opportunities you don’t always see.”

Orlando’s Gaige Harris, who is a student with the First Response Training Group and currently serves as an EMT, said the skills he learned at field day were invaluable.

“This is all kind of out of our scope of practice,” Harris said.  Harris and Orlando’s Nina DeBore, who also is with First Response Training Group, both appreciated the hands-on activities. Harris was amazed by the mannequin that made it feel like he was working on a live patient.

“Being able to touch it and get hands on with it makes a huge difference,” Harris said. “Our book is about 1,500 pages. We read all of the book, but how much of that do you retain? The goal is all of it, but how much do you really retain? Coming in and actually doing the handson experience is what teaches you. Being able to actually feel, touch and see what you’re reading about solidifies everything.”

DeBore appreciated learning from experts about various topics and skills.

“I love how they have the stations rotating and you go at your own pace, learning from the best of the best at every table,” she said.

DeBore said the field day was an opportunity for them to practice new skills without judgment and as many times as they want to ensure they get it right.

“You should learn and make all of the mistakes while practicing so that way you don’t make those mistakes on a real patient,” she said.

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Firefighters from East Manatee Fire and Rescue and Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue work together to take the roof off a car to extricate a patient.

Gaige Harris and Nina DeBore, who are students with the First Response Training Group, get hands-on experience with a simulated mannequin.

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A promise to play lives on

In honor of Justin Darr’s philosophy to ‘go out and play,’ students, staff and Darr’s family play sports during March 30 dedication.

Noble Pinto, a fifth grader at Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School, pointed his pinky finger in the air.

He smiled as he made a pinky promise.

“I promise to get out and play,” Pinto said.

Pinto, along with dozens of other McNeal Elementary students, made the promise to Katy McKibben, the sister of McNeal’s physical education teacher Justin Darr, 39, who died in January.

ROLL

BEEF

LIZ RAMOS SENIOR EDITOR

Photos by Liz Ramos

Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School’s Noble Pinto, Julian LaBranche, Jaxon Grew and Chloe Kenya pinky promise to go out and play in honor of Justin Darr, who was a physical education teacher.

Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School first grader Lively Pinto and her brother, Noble Pinto, who is in fifth grade, will miss how Justin Darr, a physical education teacher, made them laugh.

McNeal Elementary School hosted a dedication March 30 for Justin Darr, who taught at the school for 15 years. In honor of the physical education teacher’s saying, “Get out and play,” students and staff members played basketball, kickball, disc golf and other sports as well as raced on scooters, played on the playground and more.

“My hope was that this would give the staff, students and their families, and his family, closure and just good memories,” said Sheila Waid, the principal at McNeal Elementary. “Coach Darr would want us all to go forward. He would want us to get out and play.”

The school also unveiled two memorials in memory of Justin Darr. As a tribute to his love for disc golf, the school put frisbees and a Sarasota Sky Pilots shirt along with his photo on the wall next to the doors leading to the physical education area outdoors. A family also donated disc golf baskets. The other memorial is a plaque above an outside water fountain because Justin Darr always reminded his students to stay hydrated.

The dedication was a time for students, families, teachers, staff and Justin Darr’s family to share their memories of him and how he impacted the school community.

“If you ask students and colleagues about Coach Darr, you will hear about his passion for sports, physical activity and fun, but more importantly, for forming relationships with children,” Waid said. “He had an ability to make genuine connections with his students, to see their perspective and to be sensitive to the emotional needs of all students. The students loved going to P.E. because Coach Darr was able to inspire a love of sports in his students as well as a welcoming environment in which every student felt respected and valued while they were in his class.”

Noble Pinto spent every morning of the first quarter of the school year standing by a gate outside McNeal Elementary chatting with Darr.

Pinto said he had become known to Darr as the student with cool shoes, which made him feel special. He loved showing off his neon rainbow colored shoes.

“It made me feel like a sneaker-

head,” Pinto said.

Every morning, Pinto talked to Darr about the different golf courses he should play or the different homes in the area that were available for sale.

“That was probably the only quarter that I was on time every day for safety patrol so I could talk to him,” Pinto said. “I looked forward to it every day.”

Waid and Assistant Principal Ashley Terry said Justin Darr was a natural teacher. Terry said when observing teachers, she always tries to give at least one piece of feedback to help the teacher improve, but for Justin Darr, she had trouble finding anything to offer.

“He was such a good teacher,” Terry said. “He was a great role model in front of the students. He always referred to me as Mrs. Terry. Let’s say we were switching classes, some people say hi or wave. He always stopped. He made eye contact, he turned his body toward you and said, ‘Good morning, Mrs. Terry. How are you?’ He was just respectful in that manner and students saw that.”

Janine Taylor, Justin Darr’s mother, said he was a coach his whole life. As a child, he would teach other children in the neighborhood how to ride a bike or play sports.

“He was always out organizing games,” Taylor said. “He was a natu-

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ral from the beginning.”

Mike Darr, Justin Darr’s father, said when his son played sports it was 50% skill and 50% passion for the sport. As much as he loved playing, he never wanted to watch sports, Mike Darr said.

“He thought, ‘Why watch it when I can go outside and play it,’” Mike Darr said.

Waid and Terry said what made him stand out as a teacher was his ability to always develop a relationship with a student, even those who

had behavioral issues or had trouble connecting with others.

“He would try to make a relationship with every student,” Terry said.

“He asked the students about their personal sports or personal goals.

He knew who played football, who played baseball and who played gymnastics.”

Teachers and staff members said

Justin Darr always wore a smile.

Greg Lloyd, a physical education teacher who worked with Justin Darr for 10 years at McNeal, said he ini-

tially thought he would be teaching Justin Darr as a new teacher, but over the years, it was Justin Darr teaching him.

“My first impression of him was how easily he just jumped in and started doing things,” Lloyd said. “It seemed like he’d been teaching forever … We were like brothers, and it was a great relationship. I could always count on him and he could count on me. Old teachers like me, we kind of get stuck in our ways. He would bring in fresh ideas, try different things and they almost always worked out.”

McKibben, Taylor and Mike Darr always looked forward to hearing the stories Justin Darr had to share about working with his students.

Mike Darr remembered a story his son told him about a student finding out the first name of a teacher at McNeal Elementary. Mike Darr said Justin Darr reenacted the student’s excitement about finding out this “secret” information. The student asked Justin Darr what his first name was, which Justin Darr, who was known as Coach Darr on campus, said his first name was Coach. The student asked him for his real first name.

“He told the student, ‘My first name is Coach; my parents knew I was going to grow up to be a coach so they named me Coach,’” Mike Darr said with a laugh. “The student ran to the playground to tell everybody he knew his first name.”

Justin Darr’s family was able to get a glimpse into his work life through the stories he shared with them.

“We never had the opportunity to see him in action,” Mike Darr said. “He would tell us all the time how much he loved his job.”

The dedication allowed them to see what his life was like at the school. They spoke to students, parents and teachers about Justin Darr and the impact he had on the school .  McKibben carried around her brother’s baseball hat. When a student spoke to her, she asked the student to put the hat on and “charge it” with love for Justin Darr so she could always have it close to her.

“To have an impact on so many kids who are trying to figure this world out is a privilege,” McKibben said. “Now that I see how many kids he impacted. It really is a privilege.”

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Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School students, teachers and staff honor the life of physical education teacher Justin Darr.

Justin Darr’s family is overwhelmed by the love and support from the Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School community during the dedication for Darr.

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BUILT TO LAST

With 35 years in the bank, and more to come, Willis Smith CEO David Sessions looks back at his company’s growth and impact on the region.

JAY HEATER MANAGING EDITOR

The uproar at the time was over the cost of the Lakewood Ranch Library. It had ballooned from an initial project cost of $5.14 million in 2018, to the $17.1 million that was approved in 2021.

Meanwhile, Willis Smith Construction, which had been signed as the builder, was awaiting Manatee County’s decision so it could put a shovel in the ground.

By the time that ceremony occurred, Willis Smith CEO David Sessions was smiling because of the lessons he has learned in five decades of work with his company.

“The last thing you ever want to do is hurry through a project,” said Sessions, who celebrated his 35th year with Willis Smith on March 7. “You don’t want that door to open and hear, ‘I wish we would have done this or that.’ Or, ‘I wish we had slowed down the project.’

“You have one shot to get this right.”

While the Lakewood Ranch Library will be another landmark for Willis Smith Construction, Sessions said he doesn’t even consider his favorite projects, or by any means rank them.

He said, over the years, he wants his company to be known for its “body of work.”

He admits he might have wanted those landmark projects back when he took a job as a project manager with Willis Smith in 1988.

It was a small company at the time, but one with a solid reputation.

“It was a very different delivery method at the time,” said Sessions, who lives in Lakewood Ranch. “People would either come to us, or the cheapest price got the job. I would put together an estimate and be wondering how we could be competitive. We absolutely watched every dollar.”

As soon as he came aboard, he concentrated on developing good working relationships with architects and those in the industry. That continued into the 1990s as the business continued to grow.

“We had to convince people we were capable of building their project,” he said. “We were knocking on doors. We wanted to show them we were capable.”

In the 1990s, the pressure was on every project.

“Client by client, architect by architect, project by project, we were building a portfolio,” he said. “Peo-

ple started to recognize our company. We took a quantum leap forward.”

In the 1990s, bids started to be awarded based on experience and approach to a project. Builder presentations became of huge importance, which was problematic for Sessions, who was quiet and introverted.

“I had to learn quickly,” he said. “There was a tremendous amount of stress. Every word of a 30-minute presentation was analyzed and scrutinized.”

Willis Smith embraced the presentation procedure and assigned a team to the task. It was a key in the company’s rise.

All along the way, Willis Smith picked up key clients, such as Mote Marine and Ringling College. The company built the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Sarasota and developed a relationship with the Catholic Diocese of Venice.

When the 2000s arrived, Willis Smith was a major player, and still growing. It did its first public school total build with Gulf Gate Elementary School in Sarasota.

“That took us to the next level,” Sessions said. “When the 2000s hit, we had some wonderful clients and great references. In the early 2000s, we went through significant growth. They were redoing the Asolo (Repertory Theatre). We are still working on that campus today.” With the tremendous growth, Sessions could no longer be hands-on in terms of the actual projects.

“But as we brought on a younger generation, I mentored and watched them grow,” he said. “That is a strong aspect as to why this company has grown. I hired smarter people than I was, and then turned them loose, and watched them grow.”

As Sessions talked about the growth of Willis Smith, and his 35 years, he would constantly halt his train of thought to talk about the young talent that followed him, and that is now leading the company, which was established in 1972.

Current President John LaCivita joined the company in 1996 and became a co-owner in 2004. Taylor Aultman, Nathan Carr, David Otterness and Brett Raymaker became minority shareholders in 2015.

“I didn’t do this on my own,” Sessions said.

Now 62, Sessions isn’t about to step away, although he said having young leaders does lighten his load.

“I still will be involved, probably another four to five more years,” he said. “You don’t walk away from something you spent 35 years building, but I am not working like I did in my younger days. It is very important to me to transition this firm to key employees.”

Does he wish, after all these years, he had gone into another line of work?

“Absolutely not,” he said firmly.

He thought about his statement and then offered, “Perhaps early on, when I was trying to build and grow the business. There were an awful  lot of busy days, weeks and months.

THROUGH THE YEARS

Through five decades with Willis Smith CEO David Sessions

1980s

n Started in 1988 as a program manager with Willis Smith Construction

n $2.9 million in revenues the first year

n Made the decision to purchase the company

1990s

n Faced challenge of persuading potential clients the company could handle their projects

n After birth of two children — Haley and Doug — had to balance family and business

n Built the company’s bonding and financial capacity by investing everything back into the business

2000s

n Adapted to the new selection process that involved live presentations to potential clients

n Added more key employees who now are the leaders of the company

n Opened new headquarters in Lakewood Ranch, an experiment in sustainability that continues to be used as a model of energy efficiency

2010s

n Initially had to deal with the economic downturn

n Investment in sustainability paid dividends with new projects

n Gave more than 1,200 tours of the Lakewood Ranch headquarters for those interested in sustainability

2020s

n Dealt with the pandemic and the material shortages and cost escalation

n Celebrated company’s 50th birthday

n Willis Smith did $138 million of business in 2022

“Significant sacrifices had to be made by me, and my family (wife Amy, daughter Haley and son Doug). There were no vacations. The stress level was off the charts.”

That stress eventually led to a company that did $138 million in business in 2022, up over $101 million in 2021.

He said that total will rise again in 2023.

The younger leaders will have to manage it.

“There is going to be a gradual transition of leadership,” he said. “More responsibility will be given. We will continue to be strategic. This company never has and never will have a specific target, such as 5% growth. It’s all about choosing the right projects.

“And we will continue to stay in this region. We want everyone to be able to drive home (at the end of the work day).”

Sessions has a short drive home each day, which is perfect for him because he loves his community. He said Willis Smith will continue to increase its involvement with community nonprofits, although he likes to keep those efforts quiet and behind the scenes.

His hope and dreams for the company remain much the same as they were 35 years ago.

“We always want to be in the forefront, leading the industry,” he said. “I never had any idea it would grow to what it is today, but we want to continue to use restraint, not pursing every project.”

“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.”

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

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Photos by Jay Heater

After 35 years, Willis Smith Construction CEO David Sessions says he hopes people will judge his company by its body of work.

“Client by client, architect by architect, project by project, we were building a portfolio. People started to recognize our company. We took a quantum leap forward.”

David Sessions

Will you take a stroll to honor veterans?

It’s the Tribute to Heroes Parade that rolls down Lakewood Main Street each year around the Memorial Day holiday.

That tribute, however, is wideranging, and not meant to simply be a somber salute to those who have died defending our freedoms.

This year, the parade will be held May 28, and once again will honor those who died in battle, our current and former soldiers and our first responders. Festivities begin at 6 p.m., with the parade at 7 p.m.

Lakewood Ranch Community Activities is hoping those who live in the area will give the event a collective hug as the parade committee works to keep the annual in annual event.

Last year, the parade was held for the first time since 2019; the previous two were cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. When noting that the 2018 Tribute to Heroes Parade was cancelled by rain, that meant two cancelled parades in the past five years entering 2023.

The disjointed schedule had to hurt last year’s parade, which marched in front of a much smaller crowd than the thousands who would pack Main Street at Lakewood Ranch in previous years.

This year, the assignment of packing Main Street goes to Aliye Presley and Joanna Bailey of Lakewood Ranch Community Activities. The duo has brought an energy that figures to translate into a dynamic event.

However, in organizing such an event for the masses, there is a bit of walking on eggshells they must do as absolutely no one wants to diminish a tribute to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

“It’s a tribute, fallen or living,” said Bailey, who is the director of events and partnerships for Lakewood Ranch Community Activities. “And we honor firemen and police.”

For myself, whose father was a U.S. Marine, it makes me proud to know our community wants to assure this parade continues to honor all veterans and our first responders.

Those tasks are mostly out-ofsight, out-of-mind for most of us who have our own lives and families to demand our interest. It is important to set aside times to thank those who protect our freedoms, along with those that put their lives on the line in emergency situations here at home.

It just can’t be overstated.

At the same time, this is a national holiday and a time to be enjoyed by all. Sure, this parade needs to have its respectful moments, but if Presley and Bailey can line up a group of clowns playing Kazoos, I say “bring them on!”

Think about going to a ballgame where they have a moment of silence on Memorial Day. We’re talking less than a minute. A good part of this parade concentrates on the “tribute” in the title. Take that minute and multiply it by 50.

On the other hand, we need to attract young people who need to be exposed to veterans, and hopefully, their stories. If it takes a petting zoo, face painting and a mechanical bull to get everyone together, so be it.

What can you do to help?

Participate.

If you are veteran, register to walk in the parade, or ride if you can’t walk. It doesn’t matter if you are

a general or a buck private. If you served, you are welcome. You’ve earned your spot.

You are going to be honored, entertained and fed. But if you don’t register, you might not have a spot.

You can go to LWRTributeToHeroes.org to register or find out more information by emailing info@ LWRCA.org.

If you are part of a group, Lakewood Ranch Community Activities wants you, too. They are hoping to get 100 entries this year.

“It doesn’t matter if you are for-profit, nonprofit, a community group, a school group, a sports team, an animal rescue or a musical group,” sad Presley, who handles marketing for Lakewood Ranch Community Activities.

Get the group together and sign up. Besides honoring the soldiers and first responders, you can get your particular group some important exposure. Does someone you know have a flatbed truck? Decorate it for a float. It’s not too late.

Because the parade happens after school is out for the summer, the parade has lacked school participation at times. Are you a parent of a 16-year-old drummer in the marching band? How about getting him or her and 10 of their bandmates to be part of the parade in a drumline. The veterans would love it.

Nothing says parade like the steady beat of a drum.

Presley and Bailey have been reaching out to colleges and universities to see if they have music students who would like to perform. They admit it has been tough sledding.

When

Samantha

Carol Lewis, APRN

Bridgett Edwards, APRN

Deborah Howard-Patton, APRN

Camille Kasten, APRN

The Lakewood Ranch Wind Ensemble has signed up to perform before the parade for the second consecutive year. The parade committee is working with Gold Coast Eagle Distributing to get a stage set up next to the VIP veterans seating (in front of McGrath’s Irish Ale House) for the ensemble.

Please note that when money is being raised for nonprofits in Lakewood Ranch, Gold Coast Eagle Distributing is involved. A heart of gold.

Besides the ensemble, Aloha Ukulele has signed up to play.

The speaker system all along Lakewood Main Street has been improved, so those along the parade route will be able to hear announcements and music much better than a year ago.

Proceeds from this event benefit The Del Webb Association of Veterans and Military Supporters and VFW Braden River Post 12055. Those who would like to donate to those groups can purchase a memo-

rial sign to honor family members or friends who were lost in the line of duty. Signs can be ordered by going to the website before April 14. Signs are $25 each.

Tommy’s Express Car Wash is the event’s main sponsor, and Bob Boast Volkswagen is the VIP seating and stage sponsor. East Manatee Fire Rescue will lead the parade with one of its trucks while Manatee County’s EMS will also have a vehicle in the parade. The Crewe of Hernando DeSoto is bringing its pirate ship.

Let’s make it ring true. Everyone loves a parade.

choosing your healthcare provider, consider a physician who sees YOU as a Whole Person, NOT A SET OF SYMPTOMS.

Jay Heater

The VFW Braden River Post 12055 marches in the 2022 Tribute to Heroes Parade.

Grand new friendships

Gwendolyn Smith stood in front of a few Braden River Elementary School first graders and was transported back to her 40 years as a teacher.  Smith, a client at Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee’s Daybreak Adult Day Center in Lakewood Ranch, read aloud “The Cool Bean” as the students followed along.

After reading a few pages, first graders Lilly Titus and Eze KouamKamdem took turns reading aloud for all the students and “grandfriends” at the day center to hear.

“I love those kids,” Smith said. “I’d go over (to Braden River Elementary School) to teach again without pay. They were very well behaved, and that means they have good teachers.”

The first graders’ trip to Daybreak Adult Day Center March 20 is a part of the school’s project-based learning program.

Tammy Peters, a first grade teacher at Braden River Elementary, said the grand-friends project bridges the age gap between students and seniors.

“We wanted students to really understand where their grandfriends were coming from and how we can show empathy and care for them,” Peters said.

They discussed the differences between children and adults and read books such as “Mr. Putty & Tabby,” books to learn more about what it’s like getting older.

Maribeth Phillips, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee, said the nonprofit was thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with the elementary school and provide an opportunity for clients to engage with children.

“It brightens their day,” Phillips said of the clients. “The continuous relationship is just adorable.”

Throughout the school year, 85 first graders have been exchanging written letters with 59 clients at Daybreak Adult Day Center. The letters help the students develop their writing skills to ensure

MOMENTS OF ENGAGEMENT

First graders at Braden River Elementary School have done several activities to develop relationships with their grandfriends:

n Write letters

n Video calls

n Holiday concert

n Made Valentine’s Day cards

n Read along

their handwriting is legible.  They’ve also had video calls where the first graders asked each of their grand-friends questions to get to know them better.

The first graders went to the day center in December to sing holiday songs and bring craft supplies such as paint, paint brushes and canvases for clients to use. For Valentine’s Day, students sent the seniors Valentine’s Day cards.

The read aloud March 20 gave students an opportunity to see their grand-friends again while enjoying books provided by Embracing Our Differences, a nonprofit based in Sarasota that uses art and education to celebrate diversity.

Peters said first graders always look toward the day center fence and scream to their grand-friends.

LIZ RAMOS SENIOR EDITOR

Liz Ramos Gwendolyn Smith, a client at Daybreak Adult Day Center, feels like a teacher again when she’s reading to Braden River Elementary School first graders.

Your Friends Are Waiting

When was the last time you swung a racket or hit a golf ball, biked the trail or simply took a long walk with your favorite person to talk to?

Joint pain can creep up on us, faster than we’d expect, robbing us of the activities and experiences we used to treasure. Shoulders get stiff. Hips hurt. Knees creak and the back aches.

Before you know it, you’re spending more time watching Friends than seeing your own.

At Sarasota Memorial, our award-winning team of orthopedic specialists and surgeons is nationally recognized for excellence in joint repair and joint replacement, using the latest robotic and minimally invasive techniques to rebuild and restore, so you can get back to the things you love and the people you love sharing them with.

smh.com/ortho

So don’t wait . Life’s too short to spend it on the sidelines.

IT’S READ EVERYWHERE

Headed on a trip? Snap a photo of you on vacation holding your Observer, then submit your photo at YourObserver.com/ ItsReadEverywhere for a chance to win a seven-night cruise for two, sponsored by Marc Bokoff - Cruise Planners.

A SLICE OF HOME ON THE BASE: Senior Airman Rickard Brown III enjoyed reading the East County Observer in front of his base in Minot, North Dakota, just before moving back home to Bradenton. Brown served six years in the Air Force.

First Phase of Luxury Homes Just Released

Announcing the release of the first phase of luxury homes at Wild Blue at Waterside in Lakewood Ranch by Stock Development. This new waterfront community features oversized homesites and luxury single-family homes by some of the region’s most notable builders.

Residences range from 2,300 to over 4,000 square feet, with nature and waterfront views, and floor plans that include expanded outdoor living spaces to enjoy the best of the Florida lifestyle.

Wild Blue at Waterside’s unparalleled lifestyle includes the 13-acre Midway Sports Complex with 6 tennis courts, 8 pickleball courts, kayak launch, miles of walking trails and so much more. The 25,000-square-foot social clubhouse features indoor and outdoor dining, two pools, movie theater, fitness center and a lifestyle director to organize social events.

IF YOU GO

What: Learning Express Toys and Gifts

Where: 8451 Cooper Creek Blvd., Sarasota

Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Owners: Mark and Nannette

Cobb Phone: 351-5556

if they would be interested in buying a franchise. The owners of the Learning Express at UTC went out of business about nine months earlier.

Sitting in the kitchen, they decided to take their lives in a new direction.

“We thought, ‘We’ve got some money,’” Mark Cobb said. “‘Why not bet on ourselves?’”

It might have seemed like a long shot at the time. Many toy stores were going out of business as people began doing their toy shopping online.

Squishing their way through Slime

earlier to help their daughter, Brittany Hansche, and her husband, John Hansche, raise grandchildren, eventually numbering three.

“I was the general manager,” Mark Cobb said of his previous job.

don’t show it. They glide through the store, checking out their inventory with the wonder of a little kid seeing a toy for the first time.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a lot of work.

The store is 3,012 square feet and as Mark Cobb says, holds an “incredible” amount of inventory.

But it is the personal service he said separates the store from others.

“If you walk into (a big box store), there is nobody there,” he said. “The toys here are available, and you can play with them. Our employees can explain what you are looking for.”

Nannette Cobb is huge on the educational aspect. They stock toys that children can use to learn more about arts and crafts. She is proud of the educational toys they have for infants.

Some of the effort involves teaching people that they do have a local toy store available to them.

“They are buying online because they think the toy store went the way of the gooney bird,” Mark Cobb said.

JAY HEATER MANAGING EDITOR

Their business is Slime.

Dope Slime. While his wife, Nannette Cobb, pulled apart a gooey hunk of Dope Slime at their Learning Express Toys and Gifts store at University Town Center, Mark Cobb just smiled and shook his head.

“I knew nothing about Slime,” he said.

He also knew little about running a business, and Nannette was on a par with him.

But this past August, he was sitting at the kitchen table with Nan-

nette and they were taking a hard look at their future. In July, Mark Cobb had been laid off from Sunset Automotive Group after 20 years. Nannette had retired eight years

“I essentially got downsized out. A younger guy took my job at half my price.

“I started thinking about another dealership, but I was 60 and too old to start at the bottom.”

With their grandchildren, both Nannette and Mark, who have lived in University Park since 2014, were used to going to the Learning Express toy store at UTC to buy gifts. Nannette loved the educational quality of the toys offered. Mark loved that they would wrap whatever he bought for free.

They were good customers, so good that the company eventually had sent them a letter asking

Nannette Cobb said the Learning Express was different than those who had failed in the market.

“Its management struggled, and then there was COVID,” she said of the previous Learning Express at the site. “There were a myriad of things,” she said.

But she said those times she had shopped at the store provided “an experience unlike any other” because of the learning environment.

So the Cobbs began to research the company.

“What impressed me is that this franchise gives a lot of support,” Mark Cobb said. “The franchise started in Massachusetts because people needed a franchise to sell toys that are educational.”

On Nov. 11, they opened their franchise.

“This is the most frightening thing I’ve ever done,” Mark Cobb said. “Financially, we took a shot. At our age, it is scary and there is a lot of risk. We learned that there is a lot more to it than just opening the door.” If they are scared, they certainly

But business has been good, he said, after months of cleaning, scrubbing, mopping and painting.

“It was a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” he said.

They have learned the business in a hurry. Squishmallows are their No. 1 seller, followed by Legos and Dope Slime.

Who knew?

They can’t keep Squishmallows in the store, but they understand they have to track fads because nobody wants a wall full of yesterday’s hot items.

Besides the hundreds of new learning toys, the store has the tried-and-true favorites — such as Polly Pocket, Hot Wheels, Barbie, Sorry, Operation, Slinkys, Yo-yos, Pet Rocks, bubbles and Silly Putty.

If things continue to go well, the Cobbs hope to open another store. They own the Learning Express rights to Sarasota and Bradenton. The UTC Learning Express is the only one on the west coast of Florida.

Nannette Cobbs said she loves seeing her customers look through the store.

“We can create some wonderful memories,” she said.

Photos by Jay Heater University Park’s Nannette and Mark Cobb spent most of their lives working for other people, so they decided to go their own

Express

store franchise in Sarasota.

Nannette Cobb says people who come into the store can try out toys, such as Dope Slime.

Fast Break

Winding path leads to national title

Lakewood Ranch High grad LaDazhia Williams scores 20 points to help LSU to a national championship win over Iowa.

RYAN KOHN SPORTS EDITOR

In November 2016, LaDazhia Williams was asked about her shoes.  Back then, Williams was a senior on the Lakewood Ranch High girls basketball team. She had scholarship offers to just about every college in the country, and she had even more shoes than that.

Former Lakewood Ranch

High softball player Avery Goelz, a junior first baseman/outfielder at the University of Florida, is having the best season of her career. Goelz is hitting .329 with six doubles, one triple and 20 RBIs in 35 games (33 starts).

Goelz also has a .986 fielding percentage and nine outfield assists. Her play has helped the Gators to a 26-9 record.

… Two Braden River High baseball players signed with colleges March 27. Nicholas Kemker signed with St. Xavier University (Chicago), and Cesar Valera signed with Florida Gulf Coast University.

A great high school baseball game to watch — The Out-of-Door Academy (9-5 as of April 2) will host Venice High (10-6) at 5 p.m. April 13. Both teams have a history of postseason success and are having strong seasons. The Thunder’s explosive offense (7.93 runs per game) will go against the Indians’ seasoned pitching staff (2.27 team ERA).

UMR Sports is offering a beginners pickleball clinic at 1:30 p.m. April 25. The coed clinic will introduce players to the rules and basic skills required to play the fast-growing game. The clinic is $40 paid by cash or check. For more information, visit UMRSports. com or call Lynn Barry at 719351-3704.

The Sarasota Cup will come to Premier Sports Campus, with a girls tournament April 14-16 and a boys tournament April 21-23. The tournaments see more than 400 U9-U19 teams compete. The events are free for spectators. For more information, visit SarasotaCup.com.

Sarah Semrow sank a hole-in-one March 30 on the No. 7 hole on Lakewood Ranch Country Club’s King’s Dunes course. Semrow used a sand wedge on the 90-yard hole.

She said going to the mall and picking out a fresh pair of shoes to add to her collection, which she started in eighth grade, was her favorite thing to do on weekends. A pair of whiteand-gold Jordans were her favorite. She couldn’t talk about her shoes without smiling and her mother, Chanel Griffin, joked that she had far too many.

On April 2, Williams’ shoes were a vibrant apple green — a pair of Kobe 6 Grinches.

The shoes were a gift from Vanessa Bryant, the wife of the late Kobe Bryant and a Louisiana State University sports fan, to everyone on LSU’s roster. Williams, a senior, put the gift to good use. She scored 20 points, grabbed five rebounds and snagged three steals, helping her Tigers capture a 102-85 win over the University of Iowa in the NCAA Tournament championship game in Dallas.  Her ring collection now stands at one.

WHAT A JOURNEY

Her basketball journey, to this point, has been remarkable. In 2016, she was committed to the University of South Carolina and eventually played for the Gamecocks for two seasons but sparingly saw the floor.

At 6-foot-4, Williams had all the physical tools a team could want, but she needed to refine her offensive game and develop more post moves. At times, she even struggled to score in high school.

After two seasons at South Carolina, Williams transferred to the University of Missouri before the 2020-21 season. In two seasons with Missouri, Williams played more, starting 27 of the 48 games there.

She was more effective on offense, too, averaging 12.1 points per game her first season and 9.1 points per game the second. But she was hampered by nagging injuries, and despite her personal growth as a player, she never completely meshed with Missouri’s guard-heavy system. So before her final season of college

basketball — granted because of the COVID-affected 2019-20 season — she entered the transfer portal again.

ON TO LSU Williams chose LSU because of what coach Kim Mulkey had proven she could do for talented post players, which was to unlock their potential. Mulkey won three national titles in 21 seasons at Baylor University before taking the LSU job in 2021 and has coached bigs like Brittney Griner, Lauren Cox and Kalani Brown, all of whom were named All-Americans and play or have played professionally.

It remains to be seen whether Williams’ career will follow that path, but consider her potential unlocked. Williams started all 34 games she played this season and averaged 9.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Don’t let the points stat fool you because Williams would have averaged more on most teams, but on LSU, she was usually the third offensive option, as sophomore forward Angel Reese averaged 23.0 points per game and senior guard Alexis Morris averaged 15.4 points per game.

Against Iowa in the title game, it was evident how much Williams’ offensive tools and basketball IQ have improved. She made several great moves that led to baskets. She

either would pull up and hit a jump against Iowa after getting the ball in the paint or she would take a step, spin and drive for an easy layup. She also worked several key giveand-gos with Morris. Williams proved there is no longer a  stiffness in her game. Iowa had no answer for her.

HER BEST FOR LAST

Dating back to her high school days, Williams always knew how to play air-tight defense and disrupt shots while playing with composure. That never changed. It’s why Mulkey and LSU trusted her so much in the national championship game, as Williams played 37 of the game’s 40 minutes, the most on the team, despite playing much of the fourth quarter with four fouls.

In addition to her three steals, Williams and Reese — who was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player — combined to limit Iowa senior forward Monika Czinano (17.2 points per game) to 13 points.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that Williams is quiet, even though her LSU teammates’ personalities are loud. As a result, it might have seemed she was a bit forgotten on the Tigers’ talented championship team when it came to recognition. Reese and Morris took cellphone selfies on the trophy presentation stage and gave colorful TV interviews to ESPN, with Reese even digging into why she decided to give the “you can’t see me” hand gesture to Iowa star guard Caitlin Clark at the end of the game. Meanwhile, despite scoring more points than Reese (15), Williams wasn’t even part of the Tigers’ traditional postgame press conference.

That was probably OK with her. After the trophy presentation, as everyone else went wild, Williams could be seen sitting next to Reese, staring into the crowd as confetti fell around her. She was not concerned with anything other than the present moment, and she was too busy soaking in something she’ll never forget.

Before the game, Williams was the first starting player on either team announced to the crowd during introductions, accompanied by a shoutout to her hometown of Bradenton. For those in the community who have followed her career since her Mustangs days, watching Williams succeed on the sport’s biggest stage was special. She continues to represent East County well.

And those green Kobe 6 Grinches will now hold a special place in her ever-growing shoe collection.

“ In running, you have to put in probably a thousand miles in training to run one fast mile when it matters.”

— Lakewood Ranch High’s Derek Robinson SEE PAGE 17

Courtesy photo University of Florida junior Avery Goelz.

Photos courtesy LSU Sports Information

Lakewood Ranch High grad LaDazhia Williams celebrates after helping LSU win a national championship.

LaDazhia Williams’ path to the NCAA title went through Lakewood Ranch High, the University of South Carolina, the University of Missouri and finally LSU.

PROSE AND KOHN RYAN KOHN

Pirates take pride in flag football

Historically, flag football has been treated as more of a social activity than a serious sport.

Don’t tell that to the female students at Braden River High.

Led by head coach Amanda Porco, the program has been able to corral some of the school’s top athletes. Members of the school’s basketball, soccer and volleyball teams, among others, are in the flag program, with players in each sport having so much fun they persuaded some of their teammates to join. In that way, the flag football program is something of a Braden River super team.

“It’s contagious,” Porco said of the sport. “People just needed to see how fun it is. They keep coming back.”

At Braden River, the game is treated with the same respect as any other sport, including the boys tackle football program. That is partly because they share members of the coaching staff.

Porco and flag football defensive coordinator Casey Fabianski are cohead coaches of the school’s junior varsity football team, and flag football offensive coordinator Malcolm Belton is the varsity running backs coach. The connections don’t end there. Pirates football head coach Curt Bradley is the PA announcer for flag football games, and members of the varsity team act as the flag football chain gang.  Teams that can’t match Braden River’s dedication, or talent, have had a difficult time competing. Braden River went 11-0 in the 2022 regular season before suffering a 20-0 playoff defeat to Newsome High, which eventually reached the Class 2A state championship game.

In 2023, the results have been much the same, as Braden River is 8-0 as of March 30 and is outscoring its opponents 207-37. The latest example came March 30, when the Pirates won a home game 40-6 over Dunedin High (2-6).  Despite not

IN COMPARISON

Flag football vs. tackle football: Major rule differences

n Games are played seven-onseven instead of 11-on-11

n There is no tackling. Players are down when their flags are removed

n Teams must declare if they are punting or attempting a conversion on fourth down, as there can be no rushing the punter

n Fields are 80 yards long, not 100 yards long

n Teams must get 20 yards for a first down not 10 yards

n There are no kicks other than punts. After touchdowns, teams can attempt a conversion worth one point (from the 3-yard line), two points (from the 10-yard line) or three points (from the 20-yard-line).

having lost a regular-season contest since April 2021, Porco is modest about what the team has accomplished so far.

“I don’t know if I would say we have been super dominant,” Porco said. “I think we have been consistent. That makes a huge difference. It is something we preach to them every day. We work hard, and how we work in practice is going to translate to games.”

The team is led offensively by junior quarterback Cydnee Brooks, who played the sport for the first time as a freshman. Brooks said she played one season on the junior varsity basketball team, but after not getting much playing time, she decided to try flag football on the recommendation of some of her basketball teammates.

Brooks took to the sport right away, at first playing running back because of her speed behind current

Florida State women’s basketball guard O’Mariah Gordon. Coaches noticed her strong arm, too, and by her sophomore year, Brooks had made the transition to quarterback.  Brooks threw for five touchdowns and ran for another in the win over Dunedin, showcasing good decision-making and a strong arm, occasionally completing passes 25 yards downfield. Brooks said the play calls she gets from Belton involve a lot of go routes in the hopes of using the Pirates’ speed at wide receiver to attack the deep parts of the secondary. Porco said the team’s strategy, much like the tackle football program’s strategy, is to tailor playbooks around the talent they have. When that talent is made up of proven athletes like Brooks, and seniors Courtney Kawcak (volleyball), Monica Schwalbach (basketball) and Hannah Ferguson (volleyball), it becomes easier, Porco said.  Flag football is played on a field 80 yards long instead of 100 yards. There are “flag pulls” instead of tackles, and teams have to declare on fourth down whether they are punting are going for a conversion (as there is no rushing the punter allowed). Otherwise, the game plays much like the football everyone knows — complete with high-powered passing attacks and big plays. Against Dunedin, Schwalbach made a falling sideline catch that caused the crowd to holler.

“You might see that one on (SportCenter’s) top plays tonight, folks,” Bradley said over the PA system.

The high school sport is relatively new to the Bradenton-Sarasota area, but it has existed since 200203 in other parts of the state and continues to grow.

In 2023, there are 277 Florida High School Athletic Association schools competing in flag football. The FHSAA state championships will be held May 12-13 in Jackson-

ville at Mandarin High.

As opportunities to play flag football at the college level increase, Porco said, she suspects that growth will only accelerate. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics currently sanctions the sport, and in 2021, the National Junior College Athletic Association announced it would be adding the sport, with 30 teams initially committed to building programs. It began play this spring as an “emerging sport” alongside women’s wrestling, men’s volleyball, competitive cheer and clay target shooting.

Even the NFL is getting involved. The league aired a commercial during February’s Super Bowl LVII showcasing the abilities of flag football quarterback Diana Flores, who helped Mexico win a gold

medal at the 2022 World Games.

While many members of the Pirates are playing flag football to stay active, Brooks is hoping to take the field in college after graduation. Not only because she’s good at it but because she believes in the sport’s power.

“It’s better than boys’ football,” Brooks said. “It’s exciting seeing girls succeed, seeing how fast they can throw or how well they can pull flags. It’s an experience.”

Kohn is the sports editor for the East County Observer. Contact him at RKohn@ YourObserver.com.

Ryan

Ryan Kohn

Braden River High junior Cydnee Brooks threw five touchdowns and ran for another against Dunedin High.

Derek Robinson

Derek Robinson is a sophomore on the Lakewood Ranch High boys track and field team. On March 31 at the 2023 Manatee Hurricane Invitational at Manatee High, Robinson won the 800-meter race (2:00.33) and finished second in the 1,600-meter race (4:36.53).

How did you get into track and field?

I have always liked running. I’ve done it since the fifth grade. I started with Sarasota Military Academy Prep running club and I loved it. (Robinson transferred from SMA to Lakewood Ranch before the 2023 track season.)

What is the appeal to you?

Seeing all the work you have been doing for weeks and months pay off. Doing well in a race is like a reward for that. It feels great. Also, I like all the people I get to meet and the places we get to run.

What is your favorite event?

I like both the 800 meters and the 4x400 meter relay. The 4x400 is basically an all-out sprint, so I like that. I want to see how fast I can go. The 800 meters is too long to sprint the whole time, but I like that it’s all about the work you have done. I try to get off to a good pace and sit around third place before sprinting past them at the end.

What is your favorite memory?

This last meet (at Manatee High) was a great one. I won the 800, and I set a new personal record in the 1,600 and finished second. I also got to run the 4x400 for the first time in a real meet. It was hectic, but it was fun.

What are your goals for this season?

In the 1,600, I want to get under 4:30. In the 800, I want to get to 1:57. And in the 4x400, I want to get my leg down to 50 seconds.

What is your favorite food?

I like a steak cooked medium rare.

If you would like to make a recommendation for the East County Observer’s Athlete of the Week feature, send it to Ryan Kohn at RKohn@ YourObserver.com.

What is your favorite movie? I’ll go with “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

What is your favorite school subject? I like math. I like that it challenges me.

Which super power would you pick? I would want super speed. I feel like that would be useful to skip traffic jams.

What is the best advice you have received?

Everything that is worth something takes time to achieve. In running, you have to put in probably a thousand miles in training to run one fast mile when it matters. Finish

“Derek Robinson is …” … Outgoing. I think I’m a fun person to be around.

YOUR NEIGHBORS

A TISKET, A TASKET FILL THAT BASKET

Lakewood Ranch’s Jade Jacobs stood on the edge of a large field scoping out how many eggs were close to her.

Jacobs, who is 6, was planning her strategy to collect as many eggs as she could during Lakewood Ranch Community Activities’ annual EGGstravaganza on April 1 at Waterside Park.

She decided to collect the eggs that were closest to her before going farther into the field.

“I want as many as it takes to fill my bucket,” Jacobs said.

Greenbrook’s Emma Bewley, who is 5, decided she was going to hunt for eggs by color. She wanted to collect the blue, purple, pink and yellow eggs. Her goal was to collect 10 eggs.

Before the egg hunt began, Jacobs enjoyed the various activities available at EGGstravaganza, including getting her face painted. She decided to have a chick painted on her face because her class at school is taking care of chicks.

— LIZ RAMOS

Photos by Liz Ramos

Lakewood Ranch 5-year-old Alice McCarthy, 3-year-old Emma McKeon and 3-year-old Campbell McCarthy have found their spot to start the egg hunt.

Lakewood Ranch 5-year-old Brayden LaBonte makes a mad dash for the eggs at his first EGGstravaganza.

ONE PARK SARASOTA: DRIVEN BY QUALITY AND MINDFUL DESIGN

Showcasing a truly impressive level of detail and first-class design, One Park Sarasota’s 123 residences are second to none in Downtown Sarasota. A collection of masterfully crafted residences and amenity spaces has captured the attention of the community, who are driven toward its artistically inspired style, immense offerings, and first-rate atmosphere. One Park’s activated and thoughtfully designed community spaces on its ground floor will become a vibrant locale for residents and those living in the surrounding area once complete. With 75 buyers already taking part in this flight to quality, the excitement around One Park Sarasota is buzzing in Sarasota.

Michael and I are ecstatic about our upcoming move to One Park. We cannot wait to indulge in the breathtaking views of the iconic Bay Park as it steadily progresses. It brings us great joy that PMG has decided to set up their newest project in Sarasota. We are confident that their commitment to excellence will take condominium living to unprecedented heights of luxury and refinement in our community!

-Terri Klauber

Future Resident of One Park Sarasota

Exquisite Design

National development firm PMG has a long-standing history of impressing buyers with spectacular, eye-catching

residential design. To deliver its next masterful project with One Park, PMG partnered with Sarasotabased developer Kim Githler. Through her vast experience acquiring and developing real estate projects in Sarasota such as Beau Ciel, Githler plays a key role in ensuring One Park’s excellence and overall cohesiveness with its surrounding area.

To conceptualize both developers’ visions and bring the project to life, a team of renowned architects and designers was selected to execute One Park’s design. Sarasota-based firm Hoyt Architects, the architect of record for One Park, brings history of unique architectural spaces and, with their close ties to the city, will play a key role in marrying One Park’s surroundings with a fresh, first-rate blueprint all its own.

“The concept was to create an iconic tower, creating a gateway building that would connect the front yard of “The Bay” with the activity energy center of Quay Commons and the Waterfront District.”said Gary Hoyt, President & Chief Executive Officer at Hoyt Architects.

One Park will deliver a flawless combination of finishes and understated designs that emphasize the building’s natural beauty and functionality while remaining true to Sarasota’s existing aesthetic.

World-Class Experience in the Heart of Downtown Sarasota

As an extension of Downtown Sarasota’s arts and cultural scene, One Park will connect its residents and visitors alike through a series of activated and thoughtfully designed community spaces. On the ground level, it plans to deliver a 76-foot wide, 22-foot high breezeway above the Quay Commons. Featuring lush greenery and widened and well-lit sidewalks, the breezeway will offer safe access to The Quay and The Bay Park from the Boulevard of the Arts and facilitate the flow of pedestrian traffic throughout The Quay.

Along the space at the tower’s base, more than 13,000 square feet of retail, dining, and outdoor cafe seating will also engage those seeking either a relaxing escape from the elements or a fun daytime activity close to home. By providing easy access to the area and safe venues for people to explore, One Park’s ground floor space will function as an amenity for both its neighbors in The Quay and Downtown Sarasota as a whole.

New Developments By Comparison

One Park Sarasota will not be the largest building in downtown and will

not overshadow its neighbors in The Quay Sarasota in height nor size once completed. The unique angle of the property with its glass-lined facade will be a stunning addition to the area, seamlessly blending with its surroundings both natural and built.

By Comparison:

• One Park is 2 feet, 7 inches shorter than the new Ritz-Carlton Residences being proposed on Blocks 7 and 8 in the Quay.

• The VUE and The Westin Sarasota is significantly larger than any other completed or proposed property in the Quay, with a linear frontage (along Tamiami Trail and Gulfstream Blvd.) of 719 feet. This is almost double the linear frontage of Bayso and One Park.

• One Park’s linear frontage is smaller than Bayso, measuring approximately 360 linear feet whereas Bayso is approximately 365 linear feet. Lennar’s linear frontage (North and South along Quay Commons) is much larger than One Park, measuring 435 feet in length. Featuring significant global and locally inspired design and a seamless marriage between high luxury and bayside living, One Park is committed to delivering a best-in-class lifestyle to Downtown Sarasota.

To learn more about One Park Sarasota, visit OneParkSarasota.com or call 941-232-7035 to schedule an appointment at the Sales Gallery.

ARTIST CONCEPTUAL RENDERING

ARTIST CONCEPTUAL RENDERING

The TerraNova Equestrian Center in Myakka featured some of the best eventing riders in the world April 1 competing in the cross-country portion of The Estates at TerraNova eventing competition.

Because of the expected afternoon heat, the top riders in the Concours Complet International-4 division were switched to the first competition of the day with former U.S. Olympian Liz Halliday-Sharp of Ocala on Cooley Be Cool coming out with the overall eventing victory over Indiana’s Dan Krietl above Carmango.

After her victory, Halliday-Sharp called the TerraNova course “spectacular.”

The cross-country portion of the competition had 35 jumps over 3,700 yards.

Caroline Martin of the United States finished third aboard HSH Blake.

In CCI-3 competition, Lea Adams-Blackmore placed first aboard Frostbite. Joe Meyer of New Zealand was second aboard Harbin. Canada’s Melissa Boutin was third on Obeah Dancer.

Ninety-seven entries competed in the top two classes.

— JAY HEATER

Photos by Jay Heater

Cassie Sanger of the U.S. negotiates a jump on Fernhill Zoro.

Elisa Wallace and Renkim Corsair glide over a jump on the course at TerraNova.

Eduardo Rivero Fragoso of Mexico goes over a jump on Bimori.

Some of the horses were powerful enough to jump over a house, as Great Britain’s Leslie Law does aboard Countless Cooley at TerraNova.

Canada’s Colleen Loach wanted to make a big splash in the event but failed to finish in the top three with Golden Eye.

St. Michael The Archangel Holy Week Schedule

HOLY WEEK

LIBRARIES ARE FOR EVERYONE!

Do you have memories of visiting your community library as a child or taking your children to the library? For many of us smiles creep across our faces as we remember those treasured times with our family reading and searching for the stack of books to take home and savor.

A new library is coming to Lakewood Ranch! This will be more than just another branch library. It will be a community center, a place for children to develop lifelong learning habits, a gathering place where seniors and young parents can find people who share the same experiences, and a study place for students of all ages. Our library will provide research and guidance from a friendly librarian for job seekers. Our library will become the backbone of a prosperous community. Our library will be a central hub that brings all generations together to learn, connect and contribute to the growth of our community. Libraries are for everyone – and they make a difference.

Right in our backyard

You can help the Friends create new library memories for you and your family by visiting https://www. friendsoflakewoodranchlibrary.org/ Donate

Information about the Friends of the Lakewood Ranch Library

The Friends of the Lakewood Ranch Library is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation committed to building and sustaining a community-based library for lifelong learning and enrichment in Lakewood Ranch serving the eastern portion of Manatee County. The group started as a grassroots assembly of interested community members in the spring of 2018 and has grown into a well respected organization that advocates for county-wide libraries and raises funds for the Lakewood Ranch facility. The Friends fill the gaps that county tax dollars don’t cover. Expanding beyond the standard, the Friends hope to be able to fund the six literacy areas that reflect exceptional libraries: basic literacy; cultural literacy; civic literacy; business and financial literacy; life skills literacy and educating the public for 21st century literacy.

We provide direct support to:

• Children’s and Adult Summer Reading Programs

• Children’s Story Times

• Computer Classes

Yard House restaurant comes to University Town Center with 110 beer taps and a huge food menu.

JAY HEATER MANAGING EDITOR

“I

said Sauceda, who transferred from a similar post at a Yard House in McAllen, Texas. “I can’t teach personality. When they have a great personality, we call them Yardies. You have to be a member of the team here. We are like family.”

Sauceda, who was training staff March 29 in preparation for the restaurant’s April 2 grand opening, then proved he is no exception to the rule. His excitement was evident when talking about the restaurant’s 110

beer taps. That excitement grew as he pointed to the thick beer lines that ran across the ceiling of the restaurant to the bar.

“Those each have 10 separate beer lines in them,” he said, his face beaming.

He then led the way to the restaurant’s beer cooler, a thick door separating the outside world from a vault containing hundreds of beer kegs.

As he walked through his arctic surroundings inside the vault, he was like a kid in a cold candy store.

Sauceda arrived from Texas in December and he said every step he’s taken to prepare for the new restaurant has been met with kindness from those who live in the area.

“The people here are amazing,” he said. “They welcomed me and my family, and everything has been positive.”

He drives about 10 minutes to his new job from his residence in Palm Aire, and he couldn’t imagine a more beautiful area for both his family and the new restaurant.

With 20 years in the business, he

Groundbreaking took place in December 2021 with opening planned for October 2023. The excitement continues to build as we move closer to opening day. The Friends have accepted the challenge of raising $410,000 to literally Fill the Shelves for opening day. Total costs for stocking the library with 46,000 items is $990,000, with Manatee County government contributing $580,000. Getting our library ready for opening day is a public/private endeavor.

• Children and Adult Music and Art Classes

• Equipment and Materials for Makerspace

• Book Discussions

• Cultural Events

• Special Interest Classes

• Library Collections

• Staff Professional Development

• Clubs and more

Jay Heater

Yard House General Manager Richard Sauceda opens the heavy door to the beer cooler. Sauceda and his staff members taste different beers when they consider them for the restaurant.

IF YOU GO

What: Yard House

Where: 115 University Town Center Drive, Sarasota

Opened: April 2

Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m.

to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday

Happy Hour: 3-6 p.m. Monday through Friday; a late, second

Happy Hour will be held 10 p.m.

to midnight Monday through Wednesday

Phone: 536-0778

expects this Yard House will be a tremendous hit.

“This restaurant has amazing visibility,” he said. “They couldn’t have selected a better location. And it has its own parking lot.”

He said Yard House is a perfect complement to other restaurants in the area.

“We offer something most restaurants don’t,” he said. “Variety. There is something for everyone here. We have vegan, gluten free, prime burgers, tacos, wings, Ahi sashimi, pizza, food with an Asian flare.”

In front of Sauceda was a 14-page menu listing the many food and drink options, along with a list of beer options.

With such a huge number of choices, the restaurant places an electronic tablet on the tables for those who want to do a little research before or after the waiter arrives. A few touches of the screen could help the customer match a beer to his or her personal taste or to a food choice.

Also on the menu was a Happy House list of reduced drink and food choices. That will be 3-6 p.m. Monday through Friday along with a late night Happy Hour 10 p.m. to midnight Monday through Wednesday.

The restaurant will be staffed by 140 employees who have been in place for weeks. Sauceda said he had “a lot of talent come through the door” when they began staffing the restaurant and he said it is likely that workers in the industry might have bypassed other jobs as they waited for Yard House to open. He said it is a high-traffic area that promises to keep everyone busy.

This Yard House also will feature

the chain’s first outside beer garden, a 3,200-foot space that will offer 60 seats under a roof and another 100 in the sun. All the tables will feature big umbrellas and huge TV screens, and cornhole will be available as well.

“This is Yard House’s first beer garden,” Sauceda said. “Hopefully it will be a template for future Yard Houses. This is a game changer.”

Gary Gabel is a new restaurant manager for Yard House, and he will spend a few months in Sarasota helping the restaurant get through its growing pains.

“When I drove up, this restaurant blew me away,” Gabel said. “At night, with the lights, this is gorgeous. It is one of the most beautiful Yard Houses I’ve ever seen.”

Gabel also is the company’s beer guru. Among the many offerings are 10 selections with the Yard House’s own stamp on it. He said the house Honey Blonde is the most popular beer in the Yard House’s own lineup.

“It will be perfect for the patio on a sunny day,” Gabel said.

Besides the 10 Yard House signature beers, the restaurant also will keep a steady stream of 20 or more regional beers on tap. The rest of the lineup will be regional favorites from around the U.S. and the world.

The restaurant will seat 400 people, with another 40 seats available at the bar.

“We are known for people being able to socialize, our energy and our vibe,” said Sauceda, who said classic rock often would be playing throughout the restaurant.

Yard House is a Darden Restaurants property that joins other familiar names in the region such as Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille and Seasons 52.

The first Yard House in 1996 in Long Beach, California, featured 250 draft beers and was billed as offering “the world’s largest selection of draft beer.”

While other restaurants might offer more draft beer than the Yard House’s 110 taps in Sarasota, nobody has more fun picking out the offerings than his staff will.

“We will taste the beers,” he said.

“There is nothing not fun about it, although some IPAs are hard to handle.”

Leaf it OUT!

No plastic bags for yard waste.

Sarasota County is transitioning away from the use of plastic bags for yard waste materials. Effective May 1, 2023, yard waste materials must be placed in paper bags, reusable containers or bundled properly. For more information and a list of FAQs, visit scgov.net/leafitout.

Lake Club home tops Lakewood Ranch area sales at $2.7 million

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

Ahome in Lake View Estates at Lake Club topped all transactions in this week’s real estate. Henry and Susan Richards sold their home at 14770 Como Circle to Kenneth Kuykendall and Carolyn Kuykendall, trustees, of Bradenton, for $2.7 million. Built in 2019, it has four bedrooms, fourand-a-half baths, a pool and 3,821 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.75 million in 2019.

SLOANE GARDENS

Fred and Diane Macciocchi, of Tierra Verde, sold their home at 7808 Sloane Gardens Court to Michael McNally and Sherry Gage McNally, trustees, of University Park, for $2.05 million. Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 5,418 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,675,000 in 2021.

Gail and Louis Filipelli, of Parrish, sold their home at 7816 Sloane Gardens Court to William and Cynthia Pratt, of Larchmont, New York, for $1.95 million. Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a pool and 4,876 square feet of living area.

COUNTRY CLUB EAST

Rick David Schofeld and Lisa Slough Schofeld, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 7509 Royal Valley Court to Anthony and Colleen Aversa, of Lakewood Ranch, for $1.7 million. Built in 2014, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,716 square feet of living area. It sold for $900,000 in 2019.

Linda Munson, of Twin Lake, Michigan, and Julie Meslahn, of Sarasota, sold their home at 14206 Bathgate Terrace to TX RE Opportunity 0225 LLC for $950,000. Built in 2015, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,737 square feet of living area. It sold for $665,000 in 2020.

CYPRESS CREEK ESTATES

Diane and Norman Habib, of Punta Gorda, sold their home at 6178 Ninth Ave. Circle N.E. to Brian Bauer, of Greenwood, Indiana, for $1,551,000. Built in 1992, it has three bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 4,029 square feet of living area. It sold for $850,000 in 2015.

MILL CREEK

Jeffrey and Lisa Bua, of Lake Alfred, sold their home at 14901 17th Ave. E. to John and Deborah Rumble, of Olympia, Washington, for $1.06 million. Built in 2015, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,872 square feet of living area.

RIVER CLUB SOUTH

Carlos Arias and Liliana Palacio, of Bradenton, sold their home at 9803 Sweetwater Ave. to Randy Knutson, of Bradenton, for $973,000. Built in 1997, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,238 square feet of living area. It sold for $550,000 in 2017.

ROSEDALE GOLF AND TENNIS

Frank Mosca II, trustee, sold the home at 4825 88th St. E. to Kent Heyman and Michelle Houret, of Bradenton, for $895,000. Built in 1998, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,806 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,104,000 in 2022.

SADDLEHORN ESTATES

Mallorie Crosby and Matthew Smith sold their home at 2421 222nd St. E. to Janak and Katki Patel, of Morristown, New Jersey, for $885,000. Built in 1985, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,292 square feet of living area. It sold for $386,000 in 2021.

ESPLANADE John and Lesley Bullard, of Spring Texas, sold their home at 13018 Prima Drive to Michael Kauder Eckstut and Renee Mary Eckstut, trustees, of Skillman, New Jersey, for $865,000. Built in 2015, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,279 square feet of living area. It sold for $407,000 in 2015.

RIVER PLACE

Peri Labonte, of Medford, Massachusetts, sold her home at 7053 74th St. Circle E. to Adam and Katarina Neumeyer, of Bradenton, for $850,000. Built in 2005, it has five bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,415 square feet of living area. It sold for $380,000 in 2013.

DEL WEBB

Sonya Glasser, trustee, sold the home at 17815 Eastbrook Terrace to Dennis Curtin, trustee, of Fremont, Wisconsin, for $825,000. Built in 2020, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,211 square feet of living area. It sold for $550,100 in 2020.

Wendy Grady, of University Park, sold the home at 16920 Pelham Place to Thomas Young and Lori Jean Mohr, of Lakewood Ranch, for $680,000. Built in 2016, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,830 square feet of living area. It sold for $385,900 in 2016.

POLO RUN

Robert Harris and Stephanie

O’Hara Harris, of Mountlake Terrace, Washington, sold their home at 17724 Polo Trail to Danniel Rady and Nora Rady, trustees, of Huntley, Illinois, for $825,000. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,455 square feet of living area. It sold for $463,300 in 2020.

Jerrold and Melinda Sue Young, of Port Clinton, Ohio, sold their home at 17818 Polo Trail to James and Cara Aneshansely, of Bradenton, for $805,000. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,448 square feet of living area. It sold for $387,500 in 2020.

BRADEN WOODS

Travis and Amanda Rettenmaier, of St. Petersburg, sold their home at 6010 95th St. Circle E. to Mark and Laura Beane, of Bradenton, for $820,000. Built in 1984, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,434 square feet of living area. It sold for $520,000 in 2020.

John Owens and Ronna Ann Paris, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 9227 67th Ave. E. to Daniel and Erin Hager, of Bradenton, for $625,000. Built in 1989, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,944 square feet of living area. It sold for $300,000 in 2017.

13TH AVENUE EAST

Leon and Judith Esachenko, of Live Oak, sold their home at 6305 13th Ave. E. to Elmer Almendares Gonzales and Yirian Almendares Gonzalez, of Bradenton, for $785,000. Built in 1970, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,336 square feet of living area.

SUMMERFIELD Dennis O’Connor, of Jupiter, sold his home at 11311 Rivers Bluff Circle to David Condrack, of Lakewood Ranch, for $775,000. Built in 1997, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,423 square feet of living area. It sold for $290,000 in 2010.

John Przybyla and Linda Ramey, of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, sold their home at 6231 Blueflower Court to Steven Sadowski and Aleksandra Fatic, of Sarasota, for $535,000. Built in 1999, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,736 square feet of living area. It sold for $318,000 in 2020.

Victoria Parker, trustee, of Greencastle, Indiana, sold the home at 11423 Parkside Place to Joan Tousey, of Champaign, Illinois, for $400,000. Built in 1996, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,178 square feet of living area. It sold for $189,900 in 2014.

Sorkin, of Bradenton, for $740,000. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,290 square feet of living area.

BROOKSIDE ESTATES

Brent and Kellee Allar, of Weatherford, Texas, sold their home at 730 129th St. N.E. to Ricki Santilli and Tyler Bolton, of Bradenton, for $739,000. Built in 2017, it has five bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,170 square feet of living area. It sold for $600,000 in 2021.

ARBOR LAKES

Norman and Melinda Sharrit sold their home at 7204 Southgate Court to Joseph DeRoy and Isabelle Levere DeRoy, of Sarasota, for $670,000. Built in 1998, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,607

square feet of living area. It sold for $470,000 in 2005.

CARLYLE AT THE VILLAGES OF PALM AIRE

John and Kimberly Lege, of Ft. Myers, sold their home at 5308 Creekside Trail to Christian and Jennifer Navoy, of Sarasota, for $657,000. Built in 2003, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,294 square feet of living area. It sold for $350,000 in 2014.

This Lake View Estates at Lake Club home at 14770 Como Circle sold for $2.7 million. It has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,821 square feet of living area.

COMMUNITY

THURSDAY, APRIL 6 THROUGH

SUNDAY, APRIL 9 LIVE MUSIC AT JIGGS LANDING

Runs each day from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at Jiggs Landing, 6106 63rd St. E., Bradenton. This week’s music includes Steve Arvey (Thursday), Greg Short and Friends (Friday), Koko Ray (Saturday) and Nax Steel (Sunday).

A $5 cover is charged on Fridays and Saturdays and the other days are free. For more information, go to JiggsLanding.com.

FRIDAY, APRIL 7 AND SATURDAY, APRIL 8

BIG 10 INVITATIONAL

Begins at 8 a.m. at Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle, Sarasota. The Big 10 Invitational rowing regatta will see seven teams from the Big 10 Conference compete against invited teams from other conferences, including Brown University, the University of Alabama and Duke University. The event is free for spectators. For information, visit NathanBendersonPark.org.

SUNDAY, APRIL 9

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 will run year-round every Sunday. Vendors will be offering seafood, eggs, meats, dairy products, pastas, bakery goods, jams and pickles, among other items. Other features are children’s activities and live music. For more information, go to MyLWR.com.

POLO

Begins at 1 p.m. at the Sarasota Polo Club, 8201 Polo Club Lane, Sarasota. The 2023 Sarasota Polo season runs each Sunday through April 30. Gates open at 10 a.m. Thousands of fans enjoy high-level polo action each Sunday while tailgating. The event includes themed weeks, entertainment at halftime and traditional divot-stomping. Tickets begin at $15 general admission and up for special packages and VIP seating. Tickets can be purchased in advance at SarasotaPolo.com or at the gate. Children 12 and younger admitted free. Dogs are welcome on a leash.

BEST BET

FRIDAY, APRIL 7

MUSIC ON MAIN

Runs from 6-9 p.m. at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch. The popular band Kettle of Fish is sure to draw a big crowd with its brand of rock, blues, reggae and soul music. The monthly free concert series and block party also features food vendors, beer trucks, sponsor booths, and rides and activities for the kids. Proceeds from the April event will benefit Ability to Include.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12

RANCH NIGHT WEDNESDAYS

Runs from 6-9 p.m. at Lakefront Drive in Waterside Place, Lakewood Ranch. Live music, food trucks, a market with rotating vendors, a mobile bar and a recreational cornhole league highlight this crowd favorite event. Pets are welcome but no coolers or outside food or beverage allowed. For more information, go to WatersidePlace.com.

MOTE SEASONAL TASTING

Begins at 6 p.m. at Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle, Sarasota. Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium hosts an event celebrating University Town Center’s restaurants that benefits the future Mote Science Education Aquarium. The ticketed event will feature food from 10 UTC restaurants, plus live music, cocktails and an update on Mote’s new location. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit Tickets.Mote.org.

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CRACKING OPEN A BOOK by Guilherme Gilioli, edited by Jeff Chen

By Luis Campos

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

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RATTAN KITCHEN Set- Off white, glass top, 6 matching chairs. $200. (716) 998-0909

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