East County Observer 07.06.23

An engaging development at Waterside Waterside Place has become a special spot for Taylor Briggs and his future bride, Taylor Metcalf (above).

The couple walks around the Farmers Market at Lakewood Ranch on Sundays after church. They swing in the hammock overlooking the lake. As the community developed, so did their relationship. Briggs, 28, surprised Metcalf, 24, with a ring as they walked over the bridge behind the plaza like they’ve done so many times before.

They live in the nearby 50 Paramount apartments off Fruitville Road. Both Briggs and Metcalf are school teachers in Sarasota. They immediately hit it off after meeting on a dating app. “We saw eye to eye on everything,” Briggs said. “She definitely checked all my boxes.”

Manatee County thinks pig

Manatee Technical College’s Arik Edstrom (above) has done it again. Edstrom placed first in the CNC Five-Axis Milling Programmer contest at the 2023 SkillsUSA Championships in Atlanta.

The championship was a national competition in April. Edstrom placed first in the same contest this past year.

Now a graduate of MTC’s CNC Production Specialist program, Edstrom started working for Sunshine Water Filter Manufacturing June 28.

MTC’s Luciano Calvillo placed third in the nation in the Electrical Construction Wiring contest.

Robot donation computes for SCF

Two Lakewood Ranch businesses, RND Automation and Certified Collectibles, combine to make an important donation to the school.

t

The machine made a

process rather simple — the coins were sealed tightly in a square plastic case — and cut the time needed to complete the task significantly.

After the coins were pulled and evaluated by Certified Collectibles’ staff members, the ones not meeting proper standards were returned to the machine to have the robot seal them back into the plastic case.

Aaron Laine, RND Automation’s key account sales engineer who was the main mechanical engineer on the project, said the machine was, indeed, one of a kind.

However, the uniqueness of such specially designed machines also can limit their lifespan. After five years, the way Certified Collectibles received the coins was changed, and the machine became obsolete.

“It got to the point where we could do it better,” said Certified Collectibles Vice President Craig Fiumara.

The robot had been designed to handle the American Eagles and also a Chinese coin called the “Panda.”

Fiumara said the purchase from RND Automation paid for itself many times over. However, upon taking the machine offline, Fiumara had another problem.

“It is amazing how many labor hours that machine saved us,” Fiu-

mara said. “But we have space constraints, and I didn’t want to trash it.”

So Fiumara called Laine and asked if he wanted his machine back.

Laine had an idea. Instead of using the machine to scavenge parts, how about Certified Collectibles donating the machine to an educational institution? Laine could handle the particulars and hopefully land a matching grant of $50,000.

Fiumara, who has purchased four such machines from RND Automation, was all for it, so the two Lakewood Ranch companies worked out the details.

Fiumara said if the donation of the machine would inspire one student to go into the industry, it was worth it.

“I hope those students (who work with the machine), become our future leaders,” he said.

Meanwhile, Desh Bagley, the State College of Florida’s director of its new Coding Academy (Bradenton

campus), had called Laine to see if RND Automation would be willing to make a $500 donation to the school. She was holding a free college workshop open to the public and wanted to use the money to pay for

the event’s food.

Laine told Bagley, “I’ve got something better for you.”

He asked her if she could make use of the machine and its five-axis FANUC robot.

“I told him, ‘I’m game,’” Bagley said.

Bagley said the machine would allow SCF to expand its workforce development training.

Laine worked with Heather Zahory, a program assistant for the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute. PMMI gave a matching grant of $50,000 to accompany the donation.

Zahory said her job is to make connections with schools and industry executives.

“Manufacturing is on the rise,” said Zahory, whose office is in Herndon, Virginia. “We definitely need (workers).

“We have to grow awareness about the packaging industry and jobs. We

have to create a pipeline.”

The grant comes from the PMMI U Skills Fund, part of its nonprofit foundation. Bagley said it is much needed.

Bagley said it would cost $10,000 just to move and set up the machine, about the size of one of those arcade games where a crane tries to grab stuffed animals. However, it’s heavy and will require a real crane to place it.

Zahory said it was all happening because of RND Automation.

“They have a strong relationship with our college partners,” Zahory said.

While Laine was giving Bagley and Laine a tour of the RND Automation facility in Lakewood Ranch, which was opened in 2018, an SCF Coding Academy summer camp tour group was checking out of machines and robots as well. Bagley said similar students, who will be approximately 11 and 12 years old, will be learning how to program the machine by next summer. SCF’s coding students will be working with the machine in the fall. The Coding Academy opened in 2021.

She said RND Automation is setting a great model for other technology companies to follow.

It was the second major donation of a machine by RND Automation, which was founded in 2005 and has grown to 58 employees. The first donation was given to Suncoast Technical College.

Photos by Jay Heater

SCF’s Desh Bagley, Certified Collectibles’ Craig Fiumara, RND Automation’s Aaron Laine and PMMI’s Heather Zahory show off the $50,000 grant PMMI presented to SCF for its Coding Academy.

Heather Zahory, of the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute, and RND Automation’s Aaron Laine talk about an RND Automation machine that is being donated to SCF.

“I hope those students (who work with the machine), become our future leaders.”

Certified Collectibles Vice President Craig Fiumara

FROM PROBLEM TO PLATE

LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

Running hog wild is all fun and games until it’s the hogs doing it.

In 2021, feral hogs were spotted so regularly in backyards and on the streets of Lakewood Ranch that Lakewood Ranch’s Inter-District Authority hired a trapper. Last year, Manatee County set traps in Premier Park.

The efforts have continued in 2023 and the fiscal year 2024 recommended budget includes more funds for hog trapping.

A feral hog capture program managed by Manatee County’s Natural Resources department is attempting to get a handle on the year-round breeders in a way that can be beneficial for its citizens.

For example, hogs captured by the county have the potential of becoming bacon or part of a pork quesadilla at local restaurants.

Natural Resources just put in a budget request of $68,190 for 2024 to hire an additional ranger and to buy six more traps to expand the program, a small cost considering the findings from the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service that feral hogs cause an estimated $2.5 billion in damage and control costs per year throughout the country.

Hogs cause property damage, destroy crops, displace native wildlife and carry parasites and diseases. APHIS estimates over 6 million are living across 35 states, predominately in the south.

Estimates offer a range of population in Florida, between 500,000 and more than a million, but hogs breed so rapidly, it’s hard to pinpoint an exact number. What is known about wild hogs in Florida is that they are living and breeding in all 67 counties.

HOGS AREN’T MIGHTIER THAN

THE PEN

Manatee County has been running its pilot program for the past two years out of Duette Preserve. When a complaint is received, a feeder filled with corn is delivered as close as possible to that area on county land. Once the hogs get comfortable, a corral pen is built around the feeder to trap them.

“Our services are limited to our own county-held parks and preserves,” Natural Resources Director Charlie Hunsicker said. “We cannot

provide taxpayer supported services to private property.”

Currently, the county has three traps that consist of a feeder, camera and corral. The camera sends notifications and photos to Park Ranger Jerry Miller’s cell phone. Being that hogs are mostly nocturnal, he sometimes receives 4 a.m. walk-up calls.

“The hogs are almost like a volunteer thing. I don’t comp out time or anything, but it is weird hours,” Miller said. “I’ll be in the movies or out to dinner and they’ll go into the pen.”

No matter where he is, as long as Miller has service on his cell phone, he can shut the gate. He’s careful though, watching the video for up to a half-hour before pulling the trigger. Miller said hogs are smart, so he has to get the whole sounder (herd) at once because the stragglers won’t return to that feeder after the rest have been captured.

It’s a job that requires patience from start to finish. Once the feeder and camera are installed, Miller monitors the area for up to two weeks counting hogs. After the hogs are comfortable with the feeder and Miller is comfortable with his count, his team moves in with a pen. The hogs will quickly adjust to walking in and out of the pen for more corn.

Once they are trapped, the hogs are transported to a holding pen near the entrance of Duette Preserve, where they’re kept under shade and given food and water.

From there, Shogun Farms takes over. Swamp Mountain Outfitters, the trapping side of the business, transports the hogs to Shogun Farms in Hillsborough County. The hogs are quarantined and fed organic, domestic feed for about five months in preparation for slaughter. After being processed and inspected by the USDA, the meat is sold.

The county collects a small fee from Shogun per hog. Gross program revenues for Manatee County in 2022 were $290, which covered the cost of corn to bait them.

Currently, the county is only capturing between 100 and 150 hogs per year, and not all are from traps.

“Roughly 50% are trapped, and 50% are harvested by the public using archery and firearms during our regulated hunts that occur from September through April,” Natural Resources Division Manager Michael Elswick said.

At Duette, the big game hunt also

includes whitetail deer, but small incentives are offered to encourage hunters to target hogs.

“It’s another way to generate interest,” Miller said. “They have to bring the hogs out, and they’ll eat them, too.”  One rule of the hunt, made clear in the guidelines, is that the “waste of wildlife is prohibited.” Nothing can be left behind in the preserve. The harvested hog becomes the hunter’s responsibility.  Within a 22,000-acre preserve like Duette, invasive hogs disrupt the natural environment. Beyond visible signs of “rooting” around the park, which looks like the start of trenches being dug, Miller said they eat the quail eggs, turkey eggs and snakes.  Rooting also spreads invasive grasses and plants throughout the preserve through either the hog eating the plants and expelling the seeds or picking up and transplanting seeds because they get caught in the hogs’ bristles.   Wild hogs are especially troublesome for local farmers. Miller worked for Lipman Family Farms in Duette before he was hired by the county six

years ago. He handled animal intrusion and food safety.

“Even if the hogs didn’t eat the crops, which they obviously were doing, just their presence in the field, we would have to rope off an entire block,” Miller said. “You can’t take that risk with selling food to the market.”

According to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, risks include, “at least 30 viral and bacterial diseases and nearly 40 parasites that can be transmitted to humans, pets, livestock and other wildlife.”

TASTY SOLUTION

When properly monitored and prepared, not only are wild hogs safe to eat, but Sandbar owner Ed Chiles said, “This is arguably the finest pork in North America, and it has a tremendous story.”

Chiles said it is the finest ham in the world because the lineage of Florida wild hogs dates back to the 1500s when Queen Isabella of Spain sent hogs with Hernando de Soto on his historic expedition.

Chiles compares the meat to Iberico ham from Spain, which can cost up to $4,500 for a leg. The meat is sought-after because of the pig’s acorn diet.

At Shogun Farms, the hogs are fed acorns, denatured grains, vegetables and dairy products to round out their fat content.

“When I eat it, I want a little bit of fat with every bite because of the taste. The flavor is just so exceptional, ” Chiles said. “The pig you want to eat is the pig that lived a good life.”

Chiles Hospitality owns three restaurants and a bakery on Anna Maria Island, plus Gamble Creek Farms in Parrish. The company uses every part of the hog. The pork belly is used in the collard greens, and the bones are turned into fertilizer for the farm.

“This isn’t taking lemons and making lemonade. This is taking lemons and making limoncello,” Chiles said. “It’s as far as you can go with an invasive species that is causing millions of dollars of damages and turning it into an artisanal product that is healthy and good for you.”

Through a pilot program, feral hogs are being trapped and turned into artisanal pork products.

Hogs wait in the holding pen at Duette Preserve to be transported to Shogun Farms.

Courtesy photos

Lesley Dwyer

Park Ranger Jerry Miller stands in the permanent holding pen at Duette Preserve. Miller oversees Manatee County’s feral hog capture program.

Chiles Hospitality sells bacon, ham and sausage made from hog meat at the market at Gamble Creek Farms in Parrish. They also use the meat for the pulled pork quesadillas served at the Sandbar on Anna Maria Island.

CONVERSATION WITH JASON WYSONG

That starts, of course, with reading and math, but then it should quickly spiral into ungraded enrichment, things that students find interesting, that motivate them to do things other than just go to class.

What do you hope to accomplish in the first 100 days?

RAMOS SENIOR EDITOR

Jason Wysong was sworn in as the new superintendent of the School District of Manatee County July 3.

With that job comes questions of where the district and its more than 50,000 students and 6,000 staff members are headed.

The East County Observer talked with Wysong to discuss his vision as he takes the helm.

What is your overall vision for the School District of Manatee County?

My work has centered around this concept of a meaningful diploma. In Florida, you earn a high school diploma when you obtain 24 credits and the required test scores. But what does that mean?

To me, a diploma is meaningful when on graduation day, that student is able to say, “Here’s what I want to do and here’s why.”

One of the things you’ll hear me talk about over time is that when we talk about high school diplomas, we’re talking about the culmination of 14 years of work, pre-K through 12. Successful reading in the early years of elementary is the most important step to the eventual high school diploma.

When we talk about that diploma, it’s as much about what a student experiences in elementary and middle school as it is in high school because if you have a great elementary and middle school experience, you’re going to be successful in high school.

As an outsider, there’s a lot to learn. There’s the history of the district, the communities and then down to how individual families have experienced the district, how our employees are feeling about their careers and what they hope to accomplish.

I’m a person who likes to go back and process and reflect. I will make a quick decision when the urgency requires it, but I like to take the time to synthesize all the information and then come back and share with the board what I’ve learned, what I’ve seen and then where I see us moving forward.

The board is elected to represent and reflect the community, so the board will provide that strategic direction and certainly identify their priorities.

My job and the job of the staff is to make that happen.

It’s about some of the things that I see, but it’s also very much about where the board as a reflection of the community wants us to go together.

What are your three priorities you’d like to tackle?

I want to continue to prioritize career and technical education. That includes exposing students early to concepts and subjects that might sound complex but you can get them down to age-appropriate activities.

There’s already some great STEM initiatives happening in elementary schools. You want students to discover interests in those areas as early as possible.

Academic performance in both reading and math would be a focus area, and in particular, how we can

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Prioritizing career and technical education, making sure graduating students know where they are headed and concentrating on early reading habits are among his priorities.

build upon past successes and move forward.

The true measure of a successful school district is how students in the lowest quartile, the bottom 25% of test scores, are making consistent progress. It’s the biggest challenge the district faces. I think long-term, high performing districts find ways to show progress there.

That’s going to be an area that I’m interested in, particularly learning what’s already in place and then what our educators and parents think they need more of so their students can be successful.

The third area is what we need to do to ensure we’re retaining the highest quality workforce.

The education profession is changing quickly. There’s been a lot of attention on recruitment, which is certainly important, but if you can retain people, then you don’t have to recruit as many. It’s simple math.

I worry, as an educator, that we are losing, particularly midcareer teachers, who are choosing to go and do other things. That group is vital to the success of early career teachers. An early career teacher, you’re going to look up to the people who are more experienced and innovative.

If you lose too many of those midcareer folks, it affects the success of your early career folks.

I think we have to talk about what more we can do to make sure our teachers feel the support of the community and want to keep going with their work.

A big part of the 1-mill property tax referendum coming up again for renewal in 2024 is that employee salaries are tied to the referendum. What are your thoughts on the referendum and what would you want to spend that money on?

I’m always a proponent of confirming priorities and then making sure that your resources are aligned to the priorities.

School district budgets are complex. I think you have to go through the process of making sure that whatever the priorities are, that’s what’s resourced.

I think sometimes in public education, we want to do it all, we

want to say yes to everything, and sometimes, you have to say no to one thing to stay focused on what your priority is.

I’m looking forward to diving into the current budget and how it’s been historically approached and then having all these conversations and sitting down and synthesizing all of it and drawing my own conclusions. Then I’ll share those findings with the board so we can find a way forward.

Anytime a community votes to increase its own financial responsibility, I take that very seriously as a leader. I think we have an obligation to not only be transparent about it but also to continue to assess what our priorities are and how we pay for them. I haven’t drawn any conclusions, but I will say that coming into a community that clearly values education and is willing to resource it is very exciting.

What are going to be some of the biggest challenges you’ll face as you go into your first year as superintendent?

Retention and recruitment of an

outstanding workforce is always at the top of the list.

I think retention is a conversation at all levels of the organization, so it’s bus drivers and teachers but also maintenance personnel and principals. Principals are an incredibly important driver of academic outcomes and parental and community satisfaction. We have to take care of that group of leaders, too.

It’s retention at all levels of the organization, which is what are we doing for groups of employees, but it’s also about individual conversations with people about what they want for their careers, why they do what they do, what they love about it and what we can do to support them to either keep doing it or to grow to their next step.

Another challenge and priority is helping people to separate, I guess, what you might call fact from fiction in a school district.

I have the luxury of going to schools any time I want, to go in and see what’s happening. I think we have to find ways to be transparent about the great work that teachers do every day and to answer

community questions about things they hear.  Maybe there’s something that happens in another district somewhere else that wouldn’t happen here, but we have to communicate that. So how do we? How do we communicate the good work that’s happening in schools and answer questions that people might have based on things they hear or read about?

What do you think are the district’s biggest strengths and weaknesses?

A clear strength is innovative programming and the balance between what all students receive and what is unique about each school. You always want to have that balance.

There is academic and fiscal stability. That is not the case in other districts, so we have a solid foundation to build on.

We always want to improve reading scores. If I were leading the No. 1 district in the state on reading scores, I would say, “We have to do better with reading scores.” Literacy is the centerpiece of opportunity for children.

I know a lot of good work is well underway, and there are schools that have demonstrated that trajectory. What I want to work on is making sure that there are systems and structures in place so that we support each student who is behind grade level with a systemic process and way to do that.

I want to confirm that all of our practices are grounded in research and evidence because our students and families deserve to know that we’re not working randomly, that there’s a process to things.

I’m looking forward to jumping in and learning how all of that works here and seeing whether there are opportunities to build upon what’s already in place.

How do you plan to address the growth we constantly have?

Growth is so interesting because some people love it. It’s a sign that people want to be where you are and that the community is healthy. Then other people don’t like growth because of congestion and density and how it changes the feel.

From the perspective of leading a

school district, the growth is coming regardless of how we feel about it. We want to make sure we have access to all the latest data, that we’re listening to a lot of different perspectives, because no one has a crystal ball on this.

At the end of the day, we want to make decisions about new schools and enrollment patterns and attendance boundaries that consider all of the different kinds of risks and possibilities.

We have to do that transparently. There is nothing more emotional for parents than attendance boundary changes.

When those tough decisions come up, you have to take in a lot of input, you have to be transparent and you have to communicate the why.

At the end of the day, you might have to agree to disagree with some people, but you’re trying to make the best decision you can for 50,000-plus students.

You have a background in innovation at Seminole. Are there any programs you’re hoping to bring to Manatee County?

There are lots of neat initiatives both in Seminole and Manatee. I am not coming to Seminolize Manatee. I want to build on the strengths here.

A passion of mine is taking subjects and disciplines that students encounter in high school and might be intimidated by and expose students to them early. In Seminole, I was able to do that with things like physics and computer science.

I’m always going to look for opportunities to take those interdisciplinary study areas and find ways to expose students to those earlier so they can make informed choices.

That decision is also informed by making sure we can sustain what’s already here. I think a big mistake that leaders and schools can make with innovation is you announce a really big program and then it’s gone in five years because you couldn’t afford it to begin with.

That’s part of laying out the educational landscape in Manatee County. What are our priorities? How do we sustain them? What else is there room for? So we’ll see.

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Waterside Place menu expands

The Italian restaurant will be fully open by the second week of July after a soft opening.

Waterside Place is on the verge of another restaurant opening.

After signing a lease agreement nearly two years ago, Osteria 500 is preparing to open its doors. The Italian restaurant plans to be fully open the second week of July after a soft opening.

One of the restaurant’s main features is a pizza oven, which is a mosaic-tiled dome oven that sits atop a red Fiat 500. It was shipped to Lakewood Ranch from Naples, Italy. The Fiat also serves as the restaurant’s logo.

IF YOU GO

Osteria 500. 1580 Lakefront Drive, Unit 101. Open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Visit Osteria500.com (which will be set up by the opening).

An osteria in Italy is a wine bar that serves simple food. The menu takes that lead with a less is more approach, allowing a few ingredients to speak for themselves.

The seafood is delivered daily. Steaks are cooked on a Brazilian charcoal grill. The pizza and pasta are made fresh using Italian flour that has no chemicals and a lower gluten content.

All three owners and the chef hail from Italy.

Co-owner Andrea De Dominicis moved to Florida 12 years ago from

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Photos by Lesley Dwyer

Abruzzo, east of Rome, on a work visa through Cafe Epicure. Ten years later, he sold his house to build Osteria 500 with his co-owners — brother-in-law Giuseppe Del Sole and longtime friend Carmine Ussano.

Friends become family, too, so De Dominicis calls his newest restaurant a family business. The chef, Salvatore Scaccino, is Del Sole’s nephew.

Del Sole has co-owned Napule on South Tamiami Trail in Sarasota since 2017 with Alessandro Di Ferdinando. The pair owned Made in Italy in Venice before opening Napule.

Del Sole will be back and forth between Osteria 500 and Napule, while De Dominicis and Ussano oversee the bar and dining room Scaccino mans the kitchen.

“The four of us, we can take the pressure,” De Dominicis said of his bold investment move to sell his home. Now, De Dominicis lives and works at Waterside. Walking to the restaurant from his Botanic apartment has given him a chance to get to know his neighbors and their thoughts on the restaurant’s progress.

“Nine months ago, they were nice about it. Now, they’re grabbing me by the shirt saying, ‘You said you’d be open last month,’” De Dominicis joked.

Construction and shipping delays aside, he said it has taken time to design and build the restaurant from scratch. While the restaurant is in a

large, industrial space with exposed ceilings, the owners took care to weave their Italian culture into the nooks and crannies.

The loft area upstairs is a nod to Sorrento and the town’s love for lemons. Bright yellow lemons dot the greenery hanging overhead. Downstairs, behind the bar, is a private dining room, where garlic and peppers are draped in with the lighting.

The restaurant can hold up to 160 diners between the indoor and outdoor seating. The outside patio features a fire pit on one side and a unique bar area on the other.

“We didn’t want to build just a regular bar,” De Dominicis said. “This feels like you’re on a street in Italy.”

This bar is hard to miss when walking down Lakefront Drive. It’s a baby blue Citroen truck. The windows pop open just like a food truck, but they reveal a full bar instead of a stovetop. The truck is another European import. While popular in Europe, the vehicles haven’t been sold in the United States since the late 1980s.

The cocktail bar is the centerpiece of the outdoor lounge area. If looking for something light, there’s a separate menu offering smaller, shareable dishes.

“If you go to a burger place, you can have a burger every day,” De Dominicis said, “But if you eat Italian, you can have something new every day.”

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While the pizza oven is on wheels, it’s not going anywhere. Andrea De Dominicis said it’s so heavy that the forklift lifted up from the back end when moving it in.

YourObserver.com

FINISHING TOUCHES

Principal Cheryl Cendan walked through the doors of the new Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy upper school building and looked past the piles of construction materials, the unfinished ceiling and the cabinetry and furniture that had yet to be finished and installed.

It was June 16, but she could clearly picture what the building will look like on Aug. 10, the first day of school.

“The families are going to be in for such a shock because they realize how big the building is, but when they go in, I don’t think they’re going to realize how beautiful it is,” Cendan said.

Cendan and other Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy staff members were touring the upper school, which is expected to be finished in late July. They were seeing their vision coming to life.

“Our freshmen did a great job identifying and getting the vision and implementing it as a student body,” Cendan said. “They are student leaders. I think having more space to be able to demonstrate their leadership is just going to be great. It is very exciting.”

The tour group was able to go into some of the classrooms to see the possibilities. For example, they could see how the high school classrooms have partitions that will allow teachers to combine their classes in one large room or break down into smaller classes and groups.

Classes for the high school will be on the lower level of the upper school, while classes for middle school will be on the second floor.

The upper school will feature a college and career room, Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education science rooms, black box theater, gymnasium, weight room, TV production room and more.

Outside, the school has a football field, tennis courts and green space with artificial turf.

The cafeteria will be able to fit 269 students, not including the patio with picnic tables so students can eat lunch outside.

“The goal is to allow them to come outside and get some air before going back to class,” Cendan said.

With the upper school complete, Cendan said Lakewood Ranch Charter School will be able to add more athletics programs and other extracurricular activities, which will include e-sports, student government, stock market, computer science, pre-law and pre-med groups.

Cendan said although the school is a WISH model school, which stands for wellness, innovation, science and health, the school will offer more learning opportunities and extracurriculars that are outside the fields of health and sciences to address students’ interests.

In the 2023-24 school year, Lakewood Ranch Prep will have kindergarten through seventh grade as well as high school freshmen and sophomores.

With the construction of the upper school building, Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy was able to double the number of students in its kindergarten “village” as well as accommodate more fifth graders for the 2023-24 school year.

In the upper school, Cendan said

LAKEWOOD RANCH PREPARATORY UPPER SCHOOL

The upper school will house middle and high school students with high school classrooms on the first floor and middle school classes on the second floor.

The building features a college and career room, Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education science rooms, black box theater, gymnasium, weight room, TV production room and more.

there are close to 200 students enrolled in both sixth and seventh grades and approximately 130 students enrolled in ninth and 10th grades.

In seventh grade, the school was able to offer about 80 more seats. The school offered about 120 seats for sixth grade, and about 20 to 25 seats for ninth and 10th grades.

Cendan said the school is at capacity and has a waitlist.

“(The enrollment) validates what we do and that the community wants choice,” she said. “There’s hurdles you have to overcome, but that’s the great thing about being a choice school. The families that stay are the ones that choose to stay.”

Although students in sixth grade through 12th grade will be next door at the upper school, Cendan said a priority for the charter school will be to maintain the relationships built among the high school and middle school students and the elementary students.

“We are going to make sure we are very intentional in maintaining our relationship with the bigs and the littles because that was so organically beautiful,” Cendan said.

The high school students would greet elementary students at the car line and walk them to class, or on some days, the middle school students would read to the elementary students or listen as the elementary students read to them.

“Even though we have two buildings, we are a K-12 system,” Cendan said. “We’re very intentional in maintaining our K-12 culture.”

“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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LIZ

The building is expected to be complete in time for the first day of school Aug. 10.

Photos by Liz Ramos

Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy staff take in the view from the patio of the cafeteria, where students will be able to enjoy lunch outdoors, as well as the green space.

Do you need to curb crazy driving habits?

So it was a sleepy Saturday morning ... except for the drivers.

It was a couple of weeks ago when I was sitting at a red light on State Road 70 at its intersection with Lorraine Road. I guess I had a premonition, because I glanced into my rear view mirror to see if I should expect any craziness.

The intersection has two lanes on S.R. 70 headed eastward, but the right lane only runs 100 yards from the signal light and turns into the Wawa center. I was in the left-hand lane and there was a car to my right.

When I looked into the mirror, though, I saw a woman, likely in her 40s, who seemed to be throwing a major fit directly behind me. There was a simple reason for her anger ... she was behind me.

Perhaps she knows that being a senior, I lack the driving aggressiveness of my youth. I am well aware that often, the car in the right lane, at that particular signal light, has no intention of turning right, but wants to speed forward and then cut back into the left lane as the right lane runs out of real estate.

And, guess what? That’s OK with me these days. Just go ... please. S.R. 70 is a dangerous road and I try to avoid it as much as I can. When I am headed to Myakka City, I try to be, well, conservative.

Funny thing, though, the car to my right didn’t jump off the start, and rode alongside me for the 100 yards before turning right. This seemed to be one of those “all’s right with the world” moments, except that Crazy Lady behind me, in a midsized sedan, was not pleased.

When the right lane ended, she was stuck behind me in a no passing zone, and her temperature was rising. I noticed in my passenger side mirror that she had pulled onto the shoulder and was attempting to pass me that way, with no lane

available. She didn’t get too far, though, when she realized the shoulder most likely was going to send her into the ditch, and she got back in line.

She hugged my back bumper and I buzzed ahead at 60 mph, catching up to another car in front of me, which was, in turn, following a large citrus truck. Usually it might take 15 minutes to get to Myakka City, but we probably weren’t going to make it for 19 minutes, God forbid.

So, with a truck and two cars all cruising along at 60 miles per hour, Crazy Lady, in her midsized sedan, crossed a double yellow line and zipped past me. The stupidity of the moment was frightening, and I hit the brake because I didn’t want to be collateral damage when she hit a

west-bound vehicle head on.

She passed the other car and then was taking on the truck. I couldn’t see what might be coming the other direction, and I continued to slow down. She did make it, though, and I didn’t see her car again for four or five minutes until she ended up behind a few more trucks. Her brush with death saved her about 30 seconds. But that wasn’t the end of my morning joy ride.

I stopped at Dakin Dairy, then headed back to S.R. 70 on Betts Road to turn right (east) toward Myakka City. A solid line of cars were zooming west, but the east lane was clear. I looked both ways, and pulled on to S.R. 70.

And just as I did, Mario Andretti shot out of the west-bound lane

to pass cars. Here I was, basically standing still, looking death in the bumper. The car was going so fast, right at me, I only had time to yank my car toward the shoulder of the road. We were three cars across the two lanes, Mario making his pass and then darting back into the west-bound lane. My heart was thumping as I realized I had come a few feet from death. My tombstone would read, “Killed by Idiot Driver.”

The Florida Department of Transportation is adding seven roundabouts on S.R. 70 from Uihlein Road to County Road 675 in the hope of curbing some of the insanity. I know many of you have a distaste for roundabouts, but it’s our own horrible driving habits that make such construction necessary.

Furthermore, the FDOT also has begun a safety campaign to educate the public on aggressive driving. It’s worth taking note.

I will offer one more story as I plead with you not to be Crazy Lady, or Mario Andretti or this next guy. Look in the mirror. Is this you?

Do you want to wake up every day knowing your driving caused someone’s death? Or what if you don’t wake up at all because of your bad driving habits?

This was a couple days ago, again on S.R. 70, but this time coming out of the 7-Eleven parking lot. It’s actually a road called Fields Lane.

I was at the stop sign waiting to turn right (west), looking up and down the highway. To my left, getting ready to leave the shoulder and get into the right lane was a tractortrailer. Obviously, he had some mechanical difficultly and had pulled over to the shoulder.

I could see the driver looking at me, wondering if I would give him a moment to get back on the road. I waved him ahead and he waved back to thank me.

Just before I waved him forward, a car had pulled up behind me. If you

are not familiar with that area, it is two-lane road, with one lane going in each direction. Those driving east on S.R. 70 turn left into The Green on Fields Lane.

Well, the guy must have needed to get to Lakewood Ranch Medical Center because he flipped when I motioned the tractor-trailer forward. He pulled out into the lane next to me, which of course, was for cars going the opposite direction. He pulled right in front of the tractor-trailer, which had to brake. Then, his car was going head-tohead with another vehicle that had turned left off S.R. 70 to come into the strip mall.

The two cars swerved to miss each other, and the impatient idiot almost took out the front of my car. Out of control, he entered the lanes of traffic, and almost was taken out by another car going west on S.R. 70 at 60 to 70 mph. It could have been a horrifying scene.

When the tractor-trailer passed, I pulled out onto S.R. 70 and went into the left lane, heading to the next light to turn left on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. The idiot driver was in front of me, stopped at the light. He was about my age, which is to say 60-something.

I followed him down Lakewood Ranch Boulevard for a while, and he turned left into the Country Club. I guess he didn’t have to go to the hospital after all. Until the next time.

Jay Heater is the managing editor for the East County Observer. Contact him at JHeater@ YourObserver.com.

Jay Heater

Sgt. Steve Gaskins, the public affairs officer for the Florida Highway Patrol, uses a vehicle rollover simulator to demonstrate the dangers of driving aggressively during an FDOT seminar.

2023 SUMMER LUNCH & LEARN SERIES

Proudly Sponsored by Williams Parker Attorneys at Law

July 19 | August 23 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Michael’s On East, Sarasota

Only $39 Per Lecture—Includes Luncheon!

To RSVP: Call AJC at 941.365.4955 or Online at: AJC.org/Sarasota/summer2023

Benjamin Rogers

AJC’s Director, Middle East and North Africa Initiatives

WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 2023

The United States, Israel, and the Arab World: Where do we go from here?

As we prepare to celebrate the third anniversary of the Abraham Accords, where have there been successes, and where have there been challenges? Join us as we discuss the evershifting dynamics of U.S. – Middle East relations.

Belle Yoeli

AJC’s Chief Advocacy Officer

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2023

The State of Jewish Affairs: Around the World with AJC

There is never a dull moment for the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Join us for an in-depth conversation as we tackle some of the most challenging current events and how they are impacting our community.

Reservations Required.

RSVP Online at AJC.org/Sarasota/summer2023

Or Email: sarasota@ajc.org

Or Call AJC at 941.365.4955

PET PICS

Have photos of your four-legged family members? We want to see them! Share them at YourObserver.com/contests/petpics to be published online and for a chance to see them in print!

PLAY BALL? NO WAY! With the summer heat, Beaux and Porter wait for cooler days to play ball in Lakewood Ranch.

A+E INSIDE:

< COME TO THE CABARET: Enjoy a night of divas at FST’s Court Cabaret starting July 11. 16

RETROSPECTIVE: John Sims lived to challenge the status quo. This exhibit honors his legacy. 15 >

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

SHAKING UP

ART CENTER SARASOTA

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

If she wasn’t an arts administrator, Kinsey Robb would be a good shrink. The executive director of Art Center Sarasota is adept at maintaining a neutral expression. Not like someone who has had one too many Botox injections. Just calm but curious. You feel as if you’ve entered a judgment-free zone.

The ability to convey neutrality is an enviable quality when dealing with artists, donors and other stakeholders who might not all share the same vision for Art Center Sarasota.

The only time you might see a flicker of annoyance on Robb’s face is when someone describes Art Center Sarasota as “amateur.”

Then she patiently explains, not for the first time nor for the last, that many of the exhibitors are indeed professionals and if they weren’t when their work was exhibited on the walls of Art Center Sarasota, they will be later.

About those walls. During a recent walkthrough, Robb tells a visitor that the first thing she did after starting as executive director in May 2021 was to get rid of the carpet on the walls and the linoleum on the floors.

When the carpet was removed, the art center found messages from former directors and artists underneath. “You’ve heard the expression, ‘If these walls could talk,’” Robb said. “Well, our walls do talk.”

She repeats the story later in the week during a presentation at Arts Advocates in the Crossings at Siesta Key mall. Both times she notes the upgrade was made possible due to a grant from the Selby Foundation.

“We renovated our space to be more respectful to artists,” she says. That same attitude also prompted the art center to hire professional installers to hang the shows and to limit the number of submissions in its juried shows.

Not all the changes Robb has made have won favor with artists.

Submissions for the center’s juried show must now be done electronically, which has been anxiety-producing for artists who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy. In the past, pieces were dropped off at the center to submit for a show.

During her Arts Advocates talk, Robb said electronic submissions give artists the freedom to submit an artwork elsewhere since it’s not sitting in the center’s offices at 777 N. Tamiami Trail.

Christina Baril, Art Center Sarasota’s exhibitions coordinator, is happy to help artists with the electronic

submission process, Robb said.

But Robb is not a proponent of change for the sake of change. Art Center Sarasota’s logo remains the same as when she arrived. Black aprons and hats adorned with a white modified capital “A” are sold in the lobby and on the website.

“You got to have good merch,” she says.

Everything about Robb and her plans for Art Center Sarasota exudes professionalism. That’s to be expected, given her blue-chip credentials in the art world. A graduate of Syracuse University’s Visual and Performing Arts program, Robb worked at high-powered art galleries in New York before moving to Sarasota — big names, like Gagosian, Lehmann Maupin and Perrotin.

Her international art street cred was on display front and center dur-

Executive Director Kinsey Robb works to elevate Sarasota’s oldest visual arts institution.

Photos by Monica Roman Gagnier Art Center Sarasota Executive Director Kinsey Robb stands in front of George Zebot’s prize-winning “Healing Democracy.”

Perry deVick’s oil on wood panel “Memento Mori, Memento Vivere,” won an honorable mention in Art Center Sarasota’s 2023 Annual Juried Regional Show.

VOLUNTEER DRIVERS NEEDED

| Call: 941-296-6960 or 888-295-2376

Non-profit serving Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Rides to medical appointments, grocery store, or other errands for adults 60 and over who are unable or feel unsafe driving. Also, those of any age with vision difficulties.

DRIVE A NEIGHBOR TO A BRIGHTER DAY! CALL TO VOLUNTEER TO DRIVE.

THE POWER OF A KNOCK

ing her Arts Advocates presentation.

Robb regaled an enraptured audience with war stories from the trenches, including “Bananagate.”

That incident took place in 2019 at Art Basel Miami, when a performance artist ate a ripening banana that was part of Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian,” a piece that had already been sold for $120,000.

“Art is spectacle,” Robb said with a smile, as she showed a picture with dozens of cellphones capturing David Datuna eating the banana.

Still, art’s not all fun and games.

Robb’s mood turned serious when she talked about how artists need to keep their pricing consistent. If Art Center Sarasota has priced a piece at $1,000, the artist shouldn’t sell a similar work out of their home or online for $200.

STRONG FOUNDATION

Art Center Sarasota has bragging rights for being the first arts organization in town, but it is surely one of the most misunderstood. Founded in 1926, its inception predates that of the John & Mable Ringling Arts Museum.

The building that houses the art center’s Gallery 3 was designed in 1949 by father-and-son team T.R. and Frank Martin in the Sarasota School of Architecture style. While midcentury modern design is respected these days, the art center’s building seems humble, especially compared to the majestic Ringling Museum.

But the comparison isn’t fair. Art Center Sarasota wasn’t founded by a circus magnate and it is not a museum. It doesn’t charge admission and the work on display is for sale.

Although it sells art, Sarasota Art Center is not a gallery. It is a nonprofit dedicated to arts education and raising the profile of area artists.

On a recent day, the art center was filled with children attending a sum-

mer camp. In May, it hosted an art exhibit by Sarasota County Schools students. Ringling College of Art and Design students, including fine arts photographer Jesse Clark, have exhibited at the center.

Now that Robb has elevated Art Center Sarasota’s interiors, she’s ready to tackle its technology. A $6,000 grant from the John and Tana Sandefur Foundation and the Gus Lobenwein Memorial Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County was recently used to purchase a new donor management system.

Next on her checklist is hiring a director of development to add more names to the ranks of those donors.

Robb may not have the financial heft of some of Sarasota’s well-heeled arts organizations, but the center’s sitting pretty. That’s because its building is located within the confines of The Bay, the new 53-acre bayfront park.

Robb literally had place at the table when decisions about the giant park were being made. “One day, A.G. (Lafley, the chairman and CEO and first president of the Bay Park Conservancy) referred to me by name, and I was shocked that he knew who I was,” Robb said.

But she is no stranger to rubbing elbows with C-suite types and philanthropists, nor to Sarasota. The daughter of a former fashion industry CEO has been coming to Sarasota ever since her parents retired here.

Despite her worldly connections, there’s something down to earth about Kinsey Robb. Dressed in rolled-up Levi’s, she still looks like the girl next door even if she’s paired the jeans with four-inch designer heels and a filmy cream-colored blouse that reveals a black bra underneath and a tattoo on her back.

Don’t be fooled by Robb’s placid demeanor and fresh-faced looks. She gets exactly what she wants.

A knock at the door might not seem like a big deal to many of us. But, to a homebound senior, it could signal the arrival of the only person they might see all day or all week long. It brings hope. It brings health. It brings the nutrition and care that will completely make their day. A knock from Meals on Wheels can even save lives.

THE POWER OF A KNOCK TRANSFORMS LIVES.

Monica Roman Gagnier

Art Center Sarasota is located on Tamiami Trail within The Bay, Sarasota’s new 53-acre bayfront park.

ART CENTER, FROM PAGE 13

Up close and personal with John Sims

The late Black artist’s creations sparked arguments, but they also forged connections.

MARTY FUGATE CONTRIBUTOR

This story is a portrait of an artist. The late John Sims is the artist in question. What kind of artist? Well, that’s a tough question. Like Walt Whitman, Sims was large. And contained multitudes.

This Black artist was a true polymath. Sims’ creations covered the multimedia map. He expressed himself via spoken word poetry, digital art, music, video game creation, installations, conceptual art and clever pranks.

Sims’ obsessions included mathematics, racial justice, the codes of national and tribal symbols (i.e., flags), and political action and Pi — the most irrational number of all. This artist had a lot to say. And he said it in many different ways.

But Sims also liked to give others a voice.

Artistic collaboration was Sims’ style. And not just with other creative individuals. His projects brought groups of people together across cultural ethnic and political divides. Bringing people together has its risks. Failed attempts lead to fights, feuds and factions. Sims didn’t flinch and kept trying. Risktaking was also his style.

You can see Sims’ work at “From the Chambers: Honoring John Sims” at the John and Mable Ringling Museum. It’s on display until Aug. 6.

A BIG HEART WITH COMMUNITY COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Sims’ recent conceptual art series buried and lynched Confederate flags. That infuriated white supremacists armed with plenty of hate.

But Sims had plenty of love. His big heart drove his connections with communities and individual creators in his world — and sometimes the next. Sims honored the artists who came before. His final artistic creation honored one in particular.

For nearly a decade, Sims lived a few blocks away from me in downtown Sarasota. My house was on 14th Street; his home/studio was on 10th Street, which was on my way home.

Every few days, I’d see him on the sidewalk. I’d drive by; we’d wave at each other. That two-second connection was pretty much it. What a waste. I could have easily popped into Sims’ studio all the time. I rarely did. But Sims wasn’t the only artist in the neighborhood.

Sculptor John Chamberlain also had a 10th Street studio. He was an Abstract Expressionist who worked in the medium of salvaged auto parts. Chamberlain bent, folded and mutilated that junk, fused it together, then splashed the result with candycolored paint. I couldn’t visit this artist, because he’d moved to the next world. But I talked to him once.

I interviewed Chamberlain in the mid-1990s. He quickly turned it

IF YOU GO ‘FROM THE CHAMBERS: HONORING JOHN SIMS’

When: Through Aug. 6.

Where: John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bayshore Road

Tickets: Free with $25 museum admission. Info: VisitRingling.org.

around and interviewed me. I stubbornly worked my list of questions. He kept going off-script. Our chat became a verbal chess game. And Chamberlain was a verbal chess master. As I recall, he was smart, cagey, guarded, profane, hilarious, unpredictable and always one move ahead. It was one of my best interviews ever.

10TH STREET STUDIO

BECAME A RUIN

Chamberlain left town in 1996, and left this world in 2011. His 10th Street studio stayed in place for years. A hulk. A shell. A memento mori. Eighteen thousand square feet of waste. That 10th Street ruin was also on my way back home. I’d pass it after waving to Sims, but rarely looked. The building had been part of my landscape since childhood. I took it for granted. Sims didn’t.

Like most true artists, Sims was an ancestor worshipper. Even if you’re only halfway good, you know you stand on the shoulders of giants. You also know the debt you owe these giants. Nothing less than the techniques in your hands and ideas in your head.  There are only two ways to pay

the giants back. Remember their names. Make sure others do. And make damn sure nobody tosses their art and legacy in a dumpster. That’s not just a metaphor. I found that out last September. I was driving by the site of Chamberlain’s studio. It was missing from the landscape. No studio. Only a gutted shell remained, but not for long. Cranes were ripping through the wreckage like giant carrion birds. I parked my car, got out and took an iPhone video. I sent it to Sims, then called him.

DOCUMENTING EVERY STEP

“Hey John. They’re demolishing … ” “John Chamberlain’s studio. Yeah, I know, Marty. I saw it.” “You don’t sound surprised.”

He wasn’t. A few weeks back, Sims had read the city’s demolition order posted outside the studio. He’d come back to with a digital video camera. Not just once. Sims documented the destruction every step of the way.

“What’ll you do with the video?”

“I don’t know yet. But I will do something. And I’ll still be going back … ”

Sims’ video was better than mine.

He did do something.

To quote Sims’ essay in “Sculpture” magazine:

“I pour some coffee libation to the ground in memory, in honor and respect for the spaces that bring forth the best evidence of our humanity and capacity to create. Now, I am ready to get to the studio and work on my newest piece.”

The “piece” Sims refers to is a liberated (and transformed) shard of disrespected history. A work of art, but not conceptual art. It’s a physical object. And heavy as hell.

DOING WHAT MUST BE DONE

Sims did go back to Chamberlain’s gutted studio. That’s where he found that shard. A rusty metal spike painted a happy shade of chrome yellow.

Sims pulled that spike from the ruin. Now what?

The junk was too big for his car. His studio was 1,056 yards away. There was only one way to get it there. Artists sometimes suffer for their art, right? This was one of those times.

Sims dragged that heavy metal down 10th street up to his own studio. Then got to work hammering it into the shape of a spike crowned by an infinity symbol — and magically turned junk into sculpture. Sims named it “From the Chambers.” It would be his final artistic creation.

Sims died on Dec. 11, 2022. So it goes.

You can see his tribute to John Chamberlain at the exhibition that

shares the sculpture’s name. Steven High curated this show. It’s minimalistic and stripped down. And it hits you like a slap to the face.

A TALE OF TWO SCULPTURES

Sims’ sculpture stands on one side of the gallery. Chamberlain’s sculpture hangs on the opposite wall. The two pieces initially seem to reflect each other. But they’re radically different.

Sims’ “From the Chambers” (2022) looks like 3-D steel calligraphy. A punk rock glyph, with a rough, raw texture. Chamberlain’s “Added Pleasure” (1975-1982) is painted and chromium-plated steel. Slick and shiny.

Sims’ sculpture is a Chamberlain homage, not an imitation. It’s made of banged-up metal, sure. But that’s its only resemblance.

The two artworks aren’t mirror images.

They face each other. But they’re not reflections.

They’re looking each other in the eye. And having a dialogue. Sims’ art always sparked dialogue. It’s seems he’s done it one more time.

In an adjoining gallery, Sims’ video documentary plays in an endless loop. The giant carrion cranes erase history, again and again. His poem also plays from a speaker on the ceiling. Sims’ words, Sims’ voice. Half manifesto. Half mournful elegy. “No man is an island.” John Donne said it. John Sims knew it. My continent of self is a little smaller now that Sims is gone. Along with John Chamberlain, Kevin Dean, Allyn Gallup and so many others. Nothing lasts forever. That applies to both buildings and people. Including the smart, creative artistic ones who make our world a little better.

Courtesy photos

John Sims in the 2021 presentation of his “Recolorized Confederate Flag” project at Historic Asolo Theater.

John Chamberlain’s “Added Pleasure” (1975-82).

John Sims’ sculpture from recycled metal “From the Chambers” (1982).

WEDNESDAY

THIS WEEK

championship belt worth it? Runs through July 9.

THE SURFER BOYS

7:30 p.m. at FST’s Goldstein Cabaret 1265 First St. $18 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Four Broadway veterans bring The Beach Boys’ biggest hits to life with classics like “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations,” “Barbara Ann” and many more. Runs through Aug. 13.

undocumented slave-era music and an African American prisoner who has the knowledge needed for the project. Runs through July 30.

FRIDAY

‘THE MANTLE’

7:30 p.m. at The Players Centre, 1400 Boulevard of the Arts, Suite 200 $17 Visit ThePlayers.org.

PAT GODWIN

7 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd. $25 Visit McCurdysComedy.com.

A quick-witted comedian who is also a singer/songwriter, Godwin is a veteran of “The Howard Stern Show,” “Last Comic Standing” and “The Tom & Bob Show.” Runs through July 16.

DON’T MISS

JAZZ HAPPY HOUR

The Tamas Nagy Trio performs folk jazz with Eastern European influences. A native of Hungary, vocalist Nagy plays guitar and brings a personal note to his interpretations. He is joined by Jack Berry on bass and Jared Johnson on drums. Jazz Happy Hour continues July 26, Aug. 9 and Aug. 23.

IF YOU GO

When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 12

Where: Selby Library, 1331 First St.

Tickets: Free. Registration required.

Info: SarasotaMusicArchive.org

heaven. But are the sacrifices required to win the

OUR PICK

22ND PLAYERS NEW PLAY FESTIVAL

For more than two decades, The Players Centre has provided local playwrights with the opportunity to read their plays in front of an audience. The winner will see their play produced with full sets, costumes, lighting and sound, with a local director and actors. The plays in competition have not yet been publicly announced. Runs through July 14.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 10

Where: The Players Centre, 1400 Boulevard of the Arts, Suite 200

Tickets: $10

Info: ThePlayers.org.

‘SHEAR MADNESS’

8 p.m. at FST’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St. $25 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

There’s been a murder in a local hair salon, and it’s up to Sarasota audiences to catch the killer in this interactive comedy whodunit. Runs through July 16.

‘BLACK PEARL SINGS!’ Florida Studio Theatre

8 p.m. at FST’s Keating Theatre, 1265 First St. From $25 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

“Black Pearl Sings” tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a musicologist who wants to record

“The Mantle” follows Benny Craft on what could be the last day of his life. Craft plans to post a suicide note on social media at midnight, but is he really looking for somebody to talk him out of it? Runs through July 9.

TUESDAY

DIVAS THREE

7:30 p.m. at FST’s Court Cabaret, 1265 First St. $18 and up Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Three female vocalists present four decades of songs made famous by Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and other performers who have won the coveted title of “Diva.” Runs through Sept. 3.

Jazz Happy Hour returns to the Selby Library on July 12, with The Tamas Nagy Trio featuring Jack Berry on bass and Jared Johnson on drums.

Courtesy photos

Summer Circus Spectacular is playing at Historic Asolo Theater through Aug. 12.

YOUR NEIGHBORS

These lessons aren’t chickenfeed

John Rubalcaba, a rising third grader, had never been around farm animals before.

But he wasn’t shy when it came time to hold a chicken inside the chicken coop at Lakewood Ranch High School.

He grabbed a chicken in each of his hands while Bridget Ipjian, a rising junior and a camp counselor, set a third chicken on his shoulder.

“I love animals and being at farms,” Rubalcaba said.

Rubalcaba was able to get up close and personal with cows, chickens and pigs during Lakewood Ranch High School FFA’s Junior Ranchers summer camp

June 27.

He met Lucy, a Dakin Dairy cow, who was brought to the school so the campers could learn how cows are milked.

Courtney Dakin with the Florida Ag Experience, which is a branch of Dakin Dairy, was thrilled to be with the campers to teach them about dairy cows.

“A lot of people don’t understand how important it is to (develop) farmers here and how important it is to expose kids to agriculture,” she said. “They’re the ones coming up, and if they don’t go into agriculture, no one will.”

The camp, which ran June 2630, taught campers about various aspects of agriculture such as plants, animals, insects and the environment.

Lydia Egolf, a rising third grader, said the camp will help her prepare for her future in agriculture.

— LIZ RAMOS

John Rubalcaba, a rising third grader, says he wanted to participate in Junior Ranchers because he likes animals and being at farms.

Photos by Liz Ramos

Bridget Ipjian, a rising junior, laughs as a chicken rests on her back.

Byron Smith, a rising junior, takes OD for a walk before letting campers interact with her.

Emma Cyfert, a rising sophomore, cares for Aries. Cyfert has been a member of FFA since she was in sixth grade.

Junior Ranchers campers listen as Courtney Dakin, with the Florida Agriculture Experience, explains how a cow is milked.

Toddler takeover

If you heard music and drove through bubbles in the UTC parking lot on Wednesday morning, it’s because there were a bunch of toddlers partying on the Green.

UTC Kids Club: Gameland is an interactive hourlong playdate every fourth Wednesday of the month from 9-10 a.m. before it gets too hot to play outside. The series targets the preschool crowd. It began in February and runs year-round.

It was another fun day June 28 as Lakewood Ranch’s Prescott Delk kept taking swings at a T-ball, while Palm Air resident Andrew Mullen dunked on the bean bag baskets.

About 80 kids, parents and grandparents attended the mega playdate. With 10 play stations set up around the Green at UTC, the bigger, more active kids wore themselves out with mini golf, T-ball and basketball.

For the less mobile crawlers, there was a maze set up with ball pits in between tunnels. Other stations included whack-a-mole and magnet fishing.

Sarasota resident Pat Gmerek babysits her grandson Maverick Cressy, who lives in Lakewood Ranch, on Wednesdays.

“I usually bring him to the Brats Club at 1 p.m. (at Nathan Benderson Park), so this is a little something extra to tire him out,” Gmerek said.

— LESLEY DWYER

Lakewood Ranch residents Evelyn, Nicole and Bryce Stillman bring grandma, Melissa Delaney, to the playdate.

About 80 parents, grandparents and kids attend the UTC Kids Club at the Green.

Photos by Lesley Dwyer

A one-hour playdate takes place every fourth Wednesday of the month at the Green at UTC.

BEST BET

SUNDAY, JULY 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, visit MyLWR.com.

COMMUNITY

THURSDAY, JULY 6 THROUGH

SUNDAY, JULY 9

LIVE MUSIC AT JIGGS LANDING

Runs from 5-8 p.m. at Jiggs Landing, 6106 63rd St. E., Bradenton. The live music lineup at Jiggs Landing includes Donnie Bostic (Thursday), Al Fuller’s Moonlight Movers (Friday), the Divebombers (Saturday), and Al Fuller (Sunday). The Friday and Saturday shows have a $5 cover; the rest are free. For more information, go to JiggsLanding.com.

FRIDAY, JULY 7

MUSIC ON MAIN

Runs 6-9 p.m. at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch. The free concert and block party series returns with Big Night Out, which will play Latin,

R&B and island dance music. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County. The event includes food vendors, beer trucks, sponsor booths, live music and games as well as activities for kids (presented by Grace Community Church). For more information, go to MyLWR.com.

FRIDAY, JULY 7 AND

SATURDAY, JULY 8

MUSIC AT THE PLAZA

Runs from 6-9 p.m. at Waterside Place, 1561 Lakefront Drive, Lakewood Ranch. The Side Project Duo plays classic rock on Friday for those who stroll through Waterside Place’s selection of restaurants and businesses. Singer/songwriter Justin Layman entertains on Saturday. The entertainment is free. For more information, go to WatersidePlace. com.

SATURDAY, JULY 8

BALLET AT THE MALL

Begins at 1 p.m. at the Mall at UTC’s Grand Court, 140 University Town Center Drive, Sarasota. A special presentation of Coppelia is performed by the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School. The family friendly show presents the tale of a mad inventor and his lifelike doll. For more information about the free presentation, go to MallAtUTC.com.

SATURDAY, JULY 8 AND SUNDAY, JULY 9

LEARN TO ROW

Runs from 9 a.m. to noon at Nathan Benderson Park. Learn to Row is a class led by USRowing-certified instructors. The course is an introduction to sculling, with the focus on fundamentals of rowing with two oars. Those who attend will be taken through nomenclature, safety maneuvers and independent boat handling skills. The two-day, eighthour course will equip the participant with the skill set to safely row a single scull. Upon completion of the course, the participant will receive a certificate of completion. Nathan Benderson Park provides the rowing and safety equipment. For more information or to register, go to NathanBendersonPark.org.

YOUR CALENDAR

Country Club home sells for $2.1 million

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

Ahome in Country Club topped all transactions in this week’s real estate. Thomas and Holly Crisp, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 7217 Greystone St. to Mitzi Reitnouer and Donal Renninger, of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, for $2.1 million. Built in 2011, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,861 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.3 million in 2021.

COUNTRY CLUB EAST

Anthony and Laurie Sagona, of Webster, New York, sold their home at 15616 Linn Park Terrace to Robert Neal and Ramona Gail Neal, of Lakewood Ranch, for $1.75 million. Built in 2013, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,215 square feet of living area.

Joshua Mark Newman, of Sarasota, sold their home at 15719 Seaton Place to Burton Edsel Williams III and Megan Michelle Williams, of Bradenton, for $975,000. Built in 2020, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,231 square feet of living area. It sold for $559,900 in 2020.

Michael Benstock, of Seminole, sold his home at 7134 Westhill Court to Amanda Duff, of Lakewood Ranch, for $615,000. Built in 2014, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,794 square feet of living area. It sold for $445,100 in 2021.

COUNTRY CLUB

Steven and Patricia Whinery, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 13612 Matanzas Place to Christopher and Christina Owens, of Siesta Key, for $1.59 million. Built in 2012, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,210 square feet of living area. It sold for $965,000 in 2020.

Gregg Michael Schneider, of Lakewood Ranch, sold his home at 13806 Milan Terrace to Jill Sugar Factor and William Jeffrey Factor, of Lakewood Ranch, for $1,199,000. Built in 2004, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,394 square feet of living area. It sold for $721,500 in 2018.

David and Theresa Witzerman, of Fortville, Indiana, sold their home at 7435 Wexford Court to Kathleen Elizabeth Saraceno and Michelle Leanne Bouchard, of Lakewood Ranch, for $710,000. Built in 2009, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,912 square feet of living area. It sold for $599,900 in 2022.

Reina Chassy sold the home at 12030 Thornhill Court to Mark and Christine Lashinger, of Bradenton, for $655,000. Built in 2011, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,840 square feet of living area. It sold for $288,200 in 2011.

EDGEWATER

Jason and Kelli Gosnell, of Bradenton, sold their home at 6553 Waters Edge Way to Marianne Shoecraft, of S. Salem, New York, for $1,295,000. Built in 1998, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,751 square feet of living area. It sold for $785,000 in 2021.

RIVER CLUB SOUTH

Michael and Stacey Corley, of Sarasota, sold their home at 10608 Cheval Place to Christopher and Kirsten Kovack, of Bradenton, for $1,149,000. Built in 1999, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,028 square feet of living area. It sold for $501,500 in 2003. RYE

denton, Si Nguyen, of Niceville, sold their home at 405 167th Blvd. E. to Michael White, of Bradenton, for $1,025,000. Built in 2019, it has five bedrooms, five baths and 4,003 square feet of living area. It sold for $520,000 in 2019.

SAVANNA

Andrew Tyler Booth and Megan Elizabeth Booth, of Bradenton, sold their home at 13307 Saw Palm Creek Trail to Richard and Andrea Haymore, of Bradenton, for $935,000. Built in 2020, it has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,043 square feet of living area. It sold for $512,000 in 2020.

LORRAINE FARMS

Joseph and Brenda Hutchins, of Palmetto, sold their home at 5828 Lorraine Road to 5828 Lorraine Road LLC for $849,000. Built in 1993, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 1,944 square feet of living area.

HERITAGE HARBOUR

Robert and Tina Maloney, trustees, of Lakewood Ranch, sold the home at 8320 River Preserve Drive to Daniel Parkinson and Donna Adams-Parkinson, of Ruston, Washington, for $848,000. Built in 2010, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,402 square feet of living area. It sold for $500,000 in 2018.

Petr Michovsky, of Bradenton, sold his home at 6808 Wild Lake Terrace to Somers Investment Holdings Ltd. For $755,000. Built in 2017, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,287 square feet of living area. It sold for $346,200 in 2017.

KENWOOD PARK

Sheldon and Joyce Paley, of Columbus, Ohio, sold their home at 8175 Abingdon Court to Daniel Roman and Deborah Benton Roman, of Bradenton, for $840,000. Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half bath, a pool and 2,394 square feet of living area. It sold for $480,200 in 2015.

WATERLINE ROAD

Alan and Sharon Pulnik, of Bradenton, sold their home at 16914 Waterline Road to Burnett and Celeste Caudill, of Bradenton, for $835,000. Built in 1981, it has four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,155 square feet of living area. It sold for $440,000 in 2016.

INDIGO

Gary and Robin Schmidt, of Park City, Utah, sold their home at 4011 Celestial Blue Court to Fordyce Foster and Lynn Markgraf, of Lakewood Ranch, for $780,000. Built in 2016, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,388 square feet of living area. It sold for $725,000 in 2022.

GREYHAWK LANDING WEST

Geraldine De Stefano, trustee, of Lake Worth, sold the home at 11713 Goldenrod Ave. to Paul Anthony Longley and Leigh-Ann Longley, of Bradenton, for $755,000. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,268 square feet of living area. It sold for $515,000 in 2020.

HPA II Borrower 2020-I GA LLC sold the home at 740 Rosemary Circle to Robert Iaderosa, of Bradenton, for $492,100. Built in 2016, it has four bedrooms, three-and-ahalf baths and 2,825 square feet of living area. It sold for $451,500 in 2021.

SUMMERFIELD Barry and Elaine Meyers, of Dresher, Pennsylvania, sold their home at 11226 Rivers Bluff Circle to Kyle and Stacie Olivarri, of Bradenton, for $745,000. Built in 2001, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,468 square feet of living area. It sold for $413,800 in 2017.

Brennan and Julie Batien sold their home at 12503 Rockrose Glen to Trevor and Aimee Johnson, of Lowell, Michigan, for $610,000. Built in 2000, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,248 square feet of living area. It sold for $335,000 in 2018.

SAPPHIRE POINT

Karen Fleming, of Bradenton, sold her home at 6039 Bluestar Court to Douglas Freeman and Natalie Freeman, trustees, of Leawood, Kansas, for $617,000. Built in 2021, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,897 square feet of living area. It sold for $608,000 in 2021.

CARLYLE AT THE VILLAGES OF PALM AIRE

Margaret Shaw and Andrea Andrus, of Sarasota, sold their home at 5135 Creekside Trail to Howard Stanten and Erin Wright, of Sarasota, for $615,000. Built in 2001, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 2,130 square feet of living area. It sold for $325,000 in 2016.

DEL WEBB

Kathleen Mootrey, trustee, and Warren Mootrey, of Bradenton,

sold the home at 17433 Hampton Falls Terrace to Catherine Pease, of Lakewood Ranch, for $601,000. Built in 2018, it has two bedrooms, three baths and 1,574 square feet of living area. It sold for $348,700 in 2018.

Alan and Judith Loew, trustees, of Sarasota, sold the home at 17543 Hampton Falls Terrace to William and Kathleen Bernethy, of Lakewood Ranch, for $585,000. Built in 2018, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,425 square feet of living area. It sold for $304,000 in 2018.

Royal Service Systems LLC sold the home at 6738 Haverhill Court to Thomas Burger, of Bradenton, for $500,000. Built in 2017, it has

Jay Heater

This Country Club home at 7217 Greystone St. sold for $2.1 million. It has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,861 square feet of living area.

two bedrooms, two baths and 1,543 square feet of living area. It sold for $456,000 in March.

GREENBROOK

Rebekah Ann Walton, of Charlotte, North Carolina, sold her home at 13827 Waterthrush Place to Robert Chalmers and Alexandra Van Der Weyden, of Lakewood Ranch, for $592,000. Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,316 square feet of living area. It sold for $320,000 in 2020.

Joan and Thomas Sparks, of Bloomington, Indiana, sold their home at 13907 Nighthawk Terrace to Richard Alan Blake and Marilynn Janes Seamans, of Lakewood Ranch, for $565,000. Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,984 square feet of living area. It sold for $336,000 in 2019.

RIVER LANDINGS BLUFFS Opendoor Property Trust I sold the home at 5517 61st St. E. to Jason Newsome and Betsy Steinacker, of Bradenton, for $575,000. Built in 1992, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,986 square feet of living area. It sold for $505,300 in 2022.

MIRABELLA AT VILLAGE GREEN

Jeff and Lee Sympson, trustees, of Palmetto, sold the home at 1418 Calle Grand St. to Li Jun Xu, of Bradenton, for $572,000. Built in 2016, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,525 square feet of living area. It sold for $299,100 in 2016.

ARBOR RESERVE Todd and Stephanie Golden sold their home at 5727 Arbor Wood Court to Reid Lortz, of Bradenton, for $560,000. Built in 2014, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,883 square feet of living area. It sold for $330,000 in 2020.

WATER OAK

IH5 Property Florida LP sold the home at 6737 64th Terrace E. to Mario and Dayne Salazar Izep, of Bradenton, for $552,000. Built in 2003, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,726 square feet of living area. It sold for $320,000 in 2015.

CHAPARRAL

Jeanne Fleming, of Sarasota, sold the home at 6819 Wagon Wheel Circle to Michael and Veronika Klimanov, of Sarasota, for $550,000. Built in 1998, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,049 square feet of living area. It sold for $205,200 in 1998.

ROLLING ACRES Wayne and Sherry Rex, of Bradenton, sold their home at 2303 162nd St. E. to Edwin and Krystle Alicea, of Bradenton, for $540,000. Built in 1988, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 1,284 square feet of living area. It sold for $245,000 in 2015.

BACCIANO AT ESPLANADE

Russell and Michelle Lair, of Rome, New York, sold their Unit 201 condominium at 12630 Sorrento Way to Joseph Krause and Jana Krause, trustees, of Boston, for $537,500. Built in 2019, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,528 square feet of living area. It sold for $248,000 in 2019.

SOLERA

Maja Sobolewska, of Arlington Heights, Illinois, sold their home at 17613 Cantarina Cove to William Zink and Crystal Dawn Zink, of Bradenton, for $515,000. Built in 2021, it has three bedrooms, two-and-ahalf baths and 2,054 square feet of living area. It sold for $395,000 in 2019.

Veranda at Lakewood National

Jesse and Nancy Vance, of Eatonton, Georgia, sold their Unit 2222 condominium at 5674 Palmer Circle to Laura and Douglas Curry, of Rockford, Illinois, for $485,000. Built in 2021, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,329 square feet of living area. It sold for $482,500 in 2022.

CENTRAL PARK

Jeremy and Kelly Rogers sold their home at 11119 Battery Park Place to Manuel and Teresita Bersach, of Bradenton, for $476,000. Built in 2012, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,859 square feet of living area. It sold for $437,500 in 2021.

TARA

Cynthia Louise McKeown, of Tampa, sold her home at 7428 Birds Eye Terrace to and Clyde Edward Carswell and Debra Smith Carswell, of Bradenton, for $457,000. Built in 2005, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,643 square feet of living area. It sold for $390,000 in 2021.

MELROSE GARDENS AT TARA

Marc and Pamela Mires sold their home at 7149 Melrose Place to Nancy Curtis, trustee, of Bradenton, for $415,000. Built in 2000, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,759 square feet of living area. It sold for $235,000 in 2020.

Fast Break

Local PGA pros raise some green

The 2023 Tim Beckwith Memorial Pro-Am will be held July 10 at Sarasota’s TPC Prestancia to raise scholarship funds.

He wanted to be a big brother to the golf community.

That’s how Jeff Boudrie, a Lakewood Ranch resident and the Southwest Chapter president of the PGA’s North Florida section, describes Tim Beckwith.

The Braden River Soccer Club’s 2008 Boys Premier team will play in the Elite Clubs National League’s Regional League Finals on July 14-17 in Norco, California. The Rage will be one of eight teams in the event, which serves as the league’s championship.

… Registration for the Manatee Ball Hockey League’s Fall 2023 Youth season is open through July 29. The league plays on Saturdays at Lakewood Ranch Park. Registration for all age groups is $135 per person except the Lil’ Manatees age group (3-5 years old), which is $110. The season runs from Aug. 19 to Oct. 28. For more information or to register, visit MBHL.org.

… Lakewood Ranch-born hockey player Sasha Pastujov, who had his rights drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2022, was named to the Ontario Hockey League’s All-Star second team on June 2. Pastujov, who played for the Sarnia Sting, had 98 points (41 goals, 57 assists) in 60 games in 2022-23.

… Braden River High is holding a youth football camp on July 21 from 5-8 p.m. Pirates coaches and players will provide youth players with the sport’s fundamentals in a fun environment. Registration is $50. For more information or to register, email QBDandCamps@Yahoo.com.

… Results from the links: Chris Klein (34) won the Nine Hole Women’s Golf Association event (individual low net) held June 29 at Palm Aire Country Club’s Lakes course and Mary Jane Sanacore won the Nine Hole Ladies Golf Association “Short and Sweet” event (individual low net) held June 29 at University Park Country Club.

Beckwith was a PGA Master Professional and the director of golf at The Oaks Club in Osprey for 20 years. He even wrote a book, titled “The Front Nine,” which was published in 2015 and served as both a golf advice book and an open letter to his son, Jackson Beckwith.

“Win or lose, I would rather play a game my way — with integrity,” Beckwith wrote in the book. “This was the only way I could play golf and still get to sleep at night.”

Beckwith was big on charity.

Boudrie said that though events like the chapter’s annual “Birdie-athon,” which was often spearheaded by Beckwith, he helped to raise nearly $500,000 for local children’s charities over a decade-long period.

He was also a great mentor to his golf assistants and helped them land big-time positions once leaving his tutelage. One such assistant, Kevin Swan, left to become the director of golf at Sarasota’s TPC Prestancia and is now in the same position at The Club at Mediterra in Naples. Another former understudy, Patrick Sams, is now the head golf pro at Lake Naomi Club in Ponoco Pines, Pennsylvania.

“These skills (mentoring and raising money for charity) were like superpowers,” Boudrie said.

In October 2021, Beckwith died after a four-year bout with cancer. But the golf world was not ready for the memory of him to leave. Beckwith posthumously received the PGA of America’s 2021 Bill Strausbaugh Award, given annually to someone who “personally displays outstanding integrity, character, and leadership through a commitment to mentoring and making significant impacts on the careers of PGA Professionals,” according to the PGA’s website.

“He was considered the best mentor in the country,” Boudrie said. “When he died, it shook people. I mean, here’s a 6-foot-3 good-looking guy who hardly ate an unhealthy meal. He was a larger-than-life figure.”

The Southwest chapter wanted to do even more to honor Beckwith’s towering legacy. In 2022, the idea for the Tim Beckwith Memorial ProAm was conceived. The event would raise money for a scholarship given to a local athlete who displays not

only great skill, but who has strong grades and is a staple in the community. The inaugural event took place July 8, 2022, at TPC Prestancia in Sarasota.

In 2023, the event is coming back. It will be held July 10 at TPC Prestancia, with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. Boudrie said he welcomes anyone who is interested in playing in the event in doing so, as long as they get a foursome together that includes a PGA professional. Those who don’t want to play can still contribute to the event’s scholarship fund by visiting the North Florida PGA website.

The more money the events gives away, Boudrie said, the more it honors its namesake.

“Tim was a humble guy, but he would be proud of this,” Boudrie said.

Missy Williams, the director of golf at Tara Golf and Country Club and the vice president of the Southwest Chapter, said that the event is special to her. In Beckwith’s Bill Strausbaugh Award video presentation, Williams said Beckwith lit up a room every time he walked into one — not on purpose, but naturally. He was a superstar, Williams said.

“You would listen to him and want to be a better person,” Williams said.

Kevin Paschall, the co-owner of Legacy Golf Club and the North Florida PGA president, said Beckwith mentored every professional in the Southwest Chapter through his leadership and his dedication to giving back.

Boudrie said he’s excited to see the event grow in its second year.

“All us golf pros, we work 60-80 hours a week, so it is tough to find much time, but a lot of came together and got this thing started,” Boudrie said. “It’s nice. I’m proud of my fellow PGA members for showing lead-

BECKWITH’S BIRDIE-ATHON LIVES ON

The Tim Beckwith Memorial Pro-Am is not the only way the Southwest Chapter of the North Florida PGA gives back to the community throughout the year. It has carried on the Birdie-a-thon — the event Beckwith put a lot of time into behind the scenes — so it can raise money for local charities. The 2022 event raised $48,000.

Who will hold the championship plate in 2023?

ership in the community and giving back. We all had mentors and we all caught a break at some point. It’s nice to give back to hard-working kids who need a bit of a boost.”

For more information on the tournament or how interested parties can donate or participate, contact Boudrie at JeffBoudrie@PGA.com or Williams at MWilliams@TaraGCC.com.

Courtesy photos

Kevin Paschall is owner of Legacy Golf Club and the North Florida PGA president. The North Florida PGA’s Southwest chapter is hosting the Tim Beckwith Memorial Pro-Am on July 10 at TPC Prestancia.

“‘We’ over ‘me.’ Basketball is not an individual sport.”

— Braden River High’s Marcus Schade SEE PAGE 25

Courtesy photo

The Braden River Soccer Club’s 2008 Premier Boys team is headed to the Elite Club National League Regional Final in Norco, California.

RYAN KOHN SPORTS EDITOR

Legacy Golf Club’s Kevin Paschall, Wendi Patterson, K.C. Bartlett and Jeff Boudrie are members of the Southwest Chapter of the North Florida PGA. The Chapter is holding the Tim Beckwith Memorial Pro-Am at TPC Prestancia on July 10.

PROSE AND KOHN RYAN KOHN

Summer siesta? The defense rests

Sometimes, work means rest.

High school coaches know that producing successful programs often means putting in the work when no one is watching, such as during the summer break.

Even though no formal practices can begin until July 31, the coaches find ways to improve their programs, their players and themselves. Sometimes that means attending clinics or camps, or spending countless hours preparing for the next season.

However, the work can reach the point of diminishing returns, a fact not lost on Out-of-Door Academy head football coach Rob Hollway, who said he will put his coaching hat on the shelf for the next couple of months to recharge his coaching batteries.

Hollway, who led the Thunder to an undefeated regular season in his first year with the program, is showing his face around voluntary player workouts, he said, but he’s not leading them.

That’s the job of ODA strength and conditioning coach Chris Cecere, who previously worked as a performance coach with the MLB’s Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves. Hollway said Cecere will put ODA athletes through traditional workouts, but also things like testing their verticals or improving their shuttle drill times in preparation for college camps.

It’s a lot easier to relax when you have good help.

“Our kids take football seriously,” Hollway said. “They want to get ready for these summer camps, so at this point in the year, we’re helping them get to their goal numbers and supporting them however we can.”

If Hollway takes a short break in the summer, it is because he goes full speed the rest of the year.

Not one to pass up an opportunity to improve himself, Hollway

and his staff took a trip to Orlando in February to attend the 2023 Nike Coach of the Year Clinics, which featured University of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart as a featured speaker.

Hollway said Smart spoke about the importance of knowing not just your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, but how your opponent plans to exploit your own team’s weaknesses.

“(Smart said) during the offseason, he researches what teams were trying to do to beat them,” Hollway said. “That is how they create their practice schedules. They focus on measuring what actually matters.”

Hollway said he’s been using that

BACK SOON

Missing high school sports?

The athletic year will be in full swing soon enough. Here’s when each fall and winter sport will begin regular season play in 2023.

FALL Cross-country: Aug. 21

Golf: Aug. 21

Swimming: Aug. 21

Volleyball: Aug. 21

Football: Aug. 25

WINTER Girls weightlifting: Oct. 30

Soccer: Nov. 6

Basketball: Nov. 20

Girls wrestling: Nov. 20

Boys wrestling: Nov. 27

can see the full scope of the talent he has, including transfer quarterback Jackson Roth, a 6-foot-1 rising junior coming to the Thunder from Iroquois Ridge High in Ontario, Canada.

Away from his football coaches duties, Hollway still has plenty on his plate. He serves as the school’s assistant athletic director and said ODA has been busy installing a new floor in its gym, among other projects.

ics can make for a nonstop schedule.

Lakewood Ranch High boys soccer head coach Vito Bavaro is, like Hollway, taking it easy in June and July, though not as easy as he would like. A planned summer vacation to Italy was put on hold because Bavaro is recovering from a toe injury. Even so, he said he is taking a break from anything soccer-related.

He also encourages his athletes, most of whom finished their club soccer seasons in June, to do the same in July. He wants his players to have memories other than just nonstop training.

Bavaro said his best memories of soccer all are from when he was a high schooler himself, traveling to Canada for travel tournaments or piling 20 of his friends in a pickup truck and driving around town. “This was before seat-belt laws,” Bavaro said with a laugh.

“It’s important for these kids to be kids,” Bavaro said. “Soccer can be a 12-month sport here. It’s important to take time off. Go out on a boat, go play golf, go hang with your friends. Do normal kid stuff. Have fun. We ask so much of these kids now and they burn out, and burnout is terrible.”

advice when thinking about what ODA’s practices may look like once the 2023 season begins. But since the team cannot hold a real practice until July 31, more planning can wait.

The team is too spread out anyway, Hollway said, with some players taking visits to various colleges and camps, and other players going on trips with club teams in different sports.

ODA football head coach Rob Hollway said he attended the 2023 Nike Coach of the Year Clinics in Orlando in February and learned from Kirby Smart. After a bit of rest, Hollway said he’s excited to get the team back together so he

Away from school, he’s enjoying his free evenings with his Liz Hollway, and twin boys, Bo and Lou Hollway, who will start attending ODA this fall. In the summer, his family is his top priority. He tries not to bring his work home at this time of year. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t continue to nudge his sons, who are going into pre-K, toward football.

“They’ll be 2037 state champs here,” Hollway said.

Coaches in all sports can have a hard time putting their coaching hat on the shelf during the summer. Providing colleges all the recruiting information they need on the school’s top athletes can be time consuming. All the camps and clin-

Last year, his players held optional conditioning workouts once a week during the break. While the workouts were popular, Bavaro said those summer workouts led to his team being tired at the end of the 2022-23 season, part of the reason he’s adamant on his players taking a break this summer.

That advice goes for coaches as well.

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

File photo

ODA coach Rob Hollway pats Michael Luedeke on the head. Hollway led the Thunder to a 9-1 record in 2022.

Marcus Schade

Marcus Schade is a rising senior guard on the Braden River High boys basketball team. Pirates head coach Dwight Gilmer said Schade has taken his game to a new level this summer. Schade was named a Top Performer at the Gibbs Summer League showcase by basketball scout Kevin Perper on June 30.

Schade also scored 30 points June 24 in a 2023 Florida Association of Basketball Coaches Camp game against Clearwater High.

When did you start playing basketball?

I started in eighth grade. I had played baseball before then, but I lost my love for it. Basketball just has more going on. I have to think so much more while I’m playing.

What is the appeal to you?

I like the team aspect. Everyone has a role to play, and you need everyone (to contribute), not just one or two people.

What is your best skill?

Right now, I’m having success attacking the basket. I don’t stop shooting. I’m feeling confident.

What have you been working to improve?

My defense and my athleticism, especially my agility, my speed.

What is your favorite basketball memory?

Last year, our Braden River team won the Shorecrest Prep holiday tournament. That was big for us as a team, and I had a few big games in the tournament.

(Schade scored 42 points on Dec. 28 in a 63-54 win against St. Petersburg Catholic.)

What are your goals for next season?

I want to reach 1,000 points for my career. I think I’m approximately 300 points away right now, so it’s doable.

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 food? I have to go with pizza rolls right now.

What is your favorite movie? Either “Jurassic Park” or “Jurassic World,” something from that series. I like it a lot.

What is your favorite school subject?

I like math most of the time. I’m pretty good at it.

What are your hobbies?

I like to swim. I’m either doing that or basketball or hanging out with friends.

Which superpower would you pick? Invisibility. I could get out of any situations I don’t want to be in.

What is the best advice you have received? ‘We’ over ‘me.’ Basketball is not an individual sport. Coach Gilmer helped me see that. Everyone has to get involved in order to win.

Finish this sentence: “Marcus Schade is …” … Spontaneous. I’m different all the time.

Submitted by: Jack Kelley

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Darlene Edelman photographed these two young Sandhill cranes walking around in Riva Trace of University Park.