East County Observer 9.21.23

YOUR TOWN

Change of heart

New Administrator Charlie Bishop threw his hat into the ring after Ray Turner joined the Manatee County Commission. SEE PAGE 2A

1954 - 2023

Lisa Walsh

Life-saving moment

The School Board of Manatee County recognized Disa McClintock, a paraprofessional at Dr. Mona Jain Middle School, for her life-saving efforts in a classroom.

On Aug. 25, a student started choking in a classroom. McClintock (above) signaled a medical emergency, which brought Principal Kate Barlaug to the classroom.

McClintock conducted the Heimlich maneuver on the student and dislodged the item.

“It was a team effort,” McClintock said during the board meeting Sept. 12. “It put us in a panic. My mind was foggy at first. The team assisted, and I just happened to be the one doing the Heimlich maneuver. It was a group effort.”

Students wave flag of unity

R. Dan Nolan Middle School sixth graders Chloe Friedberg and Ella Fuschetto grabbed American flags and made their way to the sidewalk outside their school on Lorraine Road.

They joined Carolyn Gilbert’s agriscience class and Pamela Rahn’s medical science class and participated in Flags

Across the Country on Sept. 12.

Flags Across America is a national movement in which people wave flags to recapture the pride and unity felt on Sept. 12, 2001, the day after the 9/11 attacks.

Students listened to patriotic music, waved flags and dressed in red, white and blue. They also learned about flag etiquette.

Seeds of change

A champion of local newspapers and the co-owner of the Observer Media Group, Lisa Walsh was a pillar in the SarasotaManatee community and the backbone of one of the most successful media companies in Florida.

KAT WINGERT MARK GORDON

From the day she started editing the Longboat Observer to the day she handed over editing duties of the four newspapers she built with her husband, there was never a frantic rush, never a shout, never a tense flurry of activity to meet deadlines.

No matter how late the papers to the printers or how big the story, Lisa Walsh was never anything but poised.

It had nothing to do with how much she cared about the papers — and make no mistake, she cared down to the comma — running around barking orders or breathing down reporters’ necks to get copy just wasn’t her nature.

But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t effective. As she leaned over a desk and said, “We’re going to need that story now,” writers got the message. Despite her petite 5-foot-4 frame, perfectly styled hair and manicured nails, she was tough. And everyone knew it.

Of course, everyone knew this by the way she faced challenges — head on. She sought solutions instead of indulging in problems. She let logic prevail over emotion. In her understated way, whether it was navigating three deadlines a week,

Jay Heater Nick Calise handles the water planting at the Heron’s Nest Nature Park for the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch’s microforest project.

Liz Ramos

Courtesy photo

SEE LISA WALSH, PAGE 8A

Board dynamics play into administrator choice

Charlie Bishop says the addition of Ray Turner to the Commission made him change his mind about pursuing administrator’s job.

With less than three weeks on the job as acting Manatee County administrator, Charlie Bishop was asked by commissioners Aug. 22 if he would be willing to apply to become the permanent administrator.

Bishop, a longtime county employee who hadn’t applied for the position when the commissioners started the national search in May, said the Aug. 1 addition of Ray Turner to the board (in place of a retiring Vanessa Baugh) prompted him to accept the offer to be a finalist for the job.

“The makeup of the board has changed in the last months with the addition of Commissioner (Ray) Turner,” Bishop said. “It’s a different direction, a different mindset. I just felt it was appropriate for me to enter. I believe Commissioner Turner is bringing a new aspect and vision to the county, along with the chair (Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge) and the second-in-charge, Commissioner (Mike) Rahn. It’s a great team, and I want to be here to help them.”

Although Bishop didn’t apply for the position or meet with the public like the other finalists for the search, he said he felt it was fair for him to be included as a surprise finalist and ultimately chosen as the administrator.

“I was qualified,” Bishop said. “I was fortunate to be with all the candidates and I measured myself up against them and I felt I was just as worthy. Being with the county for 22 years now, I just felt I was ingrained and knew a lot (about the county), which (the other candidates) didn’t have the ability to offer.”

Bishop joined the county in 2001. He has served as a project manager, facilities services manager, infra -

structure division manager, construction services division manager and the director of property management for Manatee County. In 2021, he was named deputy county administrator.

At-large Commissioner George Kruse was the only commissioner to vote against approving Bishop as administrator. He said commissioners told residents and county staff they would hire someone from outside the county, and the commission should have kept its word.

“I felt this county needed somebody from outside, this county needed a fresh view,” Kruse said. “I understand the concept of promoting from within, but there’s also a concept of the Peter Principle that eventually you get promoted to a point of incompetence. I’m not saying that’s the case for Charlie, but that’s the risk.”

Kruse said Bishop was excellent as a deputy county administrator and he didn’t have any personal issues with him, but Bishop wasn’t the type of person he expected as county administrator.

From the start of the national search, Kruse said he was looking for someone who wasn’t necessarily an expert in any specific department but rather an expert in human resources who could see the bigger picture of the county and hire the best directors for each department and allow them to do their jobs.

Rahn, Van Ostenbridge, and Commissioner Amanda Ballard said their original intent was to vote for someone outside of the county, but they were impressed by Bishop’s performance during his very short term as interim administrator. Bishop was appointed interim Aug. 3.

As interim administrator, Van Ostenbridge said Bishop communicated well with staff and commissioners and led the county through Hurricane Idalia.

COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR TIMELINE

Nov. 19, 2020: Commissioners vote to give a 15-day notice before a vote could be taken to terminate then-Administrator Cheri Coryea

Dec. 10, 2020: Commissioners vote to rescind Nov. 19 motion

Jan. 26, 2021: Commissioners vote to give Coryea 15 days notice of a vote to possibly terminate her contract

Feb. 9, 2021: Commissioners vote to give County Attorney Bill Clague permission to negotiate a separation agreement with Coryea and negotiate a contract with former Sarasota County Commissioner Charles Hines for the acting county administrator position

Feb. 23, 2021: Commission denies a motion to appoint Hines as acting administrator and votes to appoint Deputy Administrator Karen Stewart as acting administrator through March 23

“I wasn’t blown away by the candidates that were brought to us,” Van Ostenbridge said. “I did pick a top five (candidates), but of the top five, I didn’t feel any of them rose to the level that I was looking for in the county administrator. Charlie Bishop sort of got a little bit of an unfair advantage when he got the best job interview you could ask for, which was for a period of time, he got the job.”

It was the second consecutive time commissioners selected an administrator after promising residents, and then not using, a job search to identify the best candidates. Commissioners ditched a search in May 2021 when they changed gears and hired acting administrator Scott Hopes for the full-time job.

This time, public records show that Manatee County made payments of $16,000 and $11,000 to search firm Colin Baenziger and Associates in relation to conducting the search for an administrator.

Turner said he also was planning to vote for someone outside the county, but once he found Bishop was interested, his vote shifted.

Kruse said six weeks as interim administrator was too brief a period to judge how Bishop could do moving forward as the permanent administrator.

March 3, 2021: Hines withdraws from consideration while thenSchool Board of Manatee County member Scott Hopes, then-Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance

President and CEO Dom DiMaio and former School District of Manatee County Superintendent Rick Mills are considered for the interim position

March 23, 2021: Commissioners consider Hopes and Joseph Napoli, the city manager of Cooper City at the time, for interim county administrator

April 1, 2021: Commissioners appoint Hopes as interim administrator

“He didn’t even have an opportunity to do anything as a county administrator, other than kind of sit there and hold down the fort because we were required to have somebody in that position by Florida statute,” he said.

As the administrator, Bishop said he wants to bring stability to county staff, which has been under the leadership of four administrators and acting administrators since Cheri Coryea was fired in 2021.

“I want the employees to know

May 25, 2021: Hopes is appointed as county administrator

May 24, 2022: Hopes’ contract is extended through September

2023

Feb. 7, 2023: Commissioners approve a separation agreement between Hopes and the county; Lee Washington, the county’s director of community and veterans services at the time, is appointed as interim administrator

April 25, 2023: Commissioners consider Jon Mast, the CEO of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association, for interim county administrator

April 27, 2023: Mast withdraws from consideration

May 2023: Commissioners begin national search

Aug. 3, 2023: Charlie Bishop, then-deputy county administrator, is named interim administrator

Aug. 8, 2023: Commissioners select top five candidates for administrator

Aug. 17, 2023: Community members participate in meet-andgreet with finalists

Aug. 18, 2023: Commissioners interview finalists

Aug. 22, 2023: Commissioners

Jason Bearden and Kevin Van Ostenbridge add Bishop as a finalist for permanent county administrator; Commission decides top two finalists are Bishop and Andrew Butterfield, the St. Petersburg operations manager

Sept. 12, 2023: Bishop is named permanent administrator

I have their back, I have their ear,” Bishop said. “I want to help them succeed, but I know it takes a village.”

Primarily, he wants to fill his team with “qualified individuals that have the same goals and passions” as him.

Commissioners would like Bishop to consider hiring Andrew Butterfield, the other administrator finalist, to a post with the county. Bishop said he would consider Butterfield as he will bring a “great team oriented aspect” to his staff.

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Liz Ramos

Charlie Bishop is named the permanent Manatee County Administrator.

MICROFOREST FUN FACTS

■ The technique for creating microforests was pioneered by Akiro Miyawaki, a Japanese botanist and ecologist who was inspired by Japan’s sacred forests to develop his own method of forest building.

■ After the soil at the site is made healthy, layers of forest plants native to the location are planted at a density 20 to 30 times higher than a typical forest.

■ As trees compete for space, they grow an estimated 10 times faster than in normal forests.

■ Microforests can store carbon and increase biodiversity that can help slow down climate change.

— Information from Earth.org

Gatewood and 117th St. E. in Lakewood Ranch.

“I will say we will take a deep breath and next spring go for another project,” Price said.

Price said his personal feeling is that the Rotary Club should only back microforest projects in areas where the general public can enjoy them, which means nothing behind gates.

Reith hopes SURF can be part of future projects by the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch.

Tree-mendous

growth

JAY HEATER MANAGING EDITOR

Restoration ecologist

Charles Reith walked through the new microforest at Heron’s Nest Nature Park in Lakewood Ranch on Sept. 13 and briefly stopped smiling to issue a warning.

“No one microforest is going to do it,” he said of the moves in urban areas to plant microforests to combat the effects of global warming. “If we want the Suncoast to adapt to higher temperatures, and more intense storms, we need to have these microforests widespread. We have planted seven so far, three in Manatee County and four in Sarasota. But we need more. These microforests act as a cooling shield, and they calm the winds.”

Reith is the vice president and driving force behind Suncoast Urban ReForesters, a coalition of local nonprofit organizations that include the Florida Veterans for Common Sense, Solutions to Avoid Red Tide and the Sarasota Bay Rotary Club.

Included in his experience has been, according to his SURF bio, “the development and implementation of restoration and, where necessary, decontamination plans for deserts, wetlands, prairies and forests in 20 countries on five continents. He has been a professor at four universities and worked as a technical and management consultant to corporations, municipalities and government ministries.”

A POWERFUL PUNCH

Although the Heron’s Nest Nature Park project covered only .3 of an acre along the lake, Reith said it packs a powerful punch for the environment.

“Every microforest is extremely valuable,” Reith said. “They can offset flooding, and this one is special because it is on a lake. The planting we are doing is going (from the bank) into the water, and will serve to filter pollutants that normally would go right into the water. This all goes to protect our coastal waters.”

The Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch saw the value of microforests and raised the money to hire experts such as Reith and his SURF coalition to lead the effort at Heron’s Nest Nature Park.

“We know that lawns are not the most productive (things to plant) for the environment,” said Randy

Price, who is the co-leader of the environmental committee for the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch.

“I met with Charles (Reith) and he explained to me about microforests.

It was fascinating.”

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect to Rotary Club members was that a microforest, according to Reith, can grow to the size of a 100year forest in 10 years.

“It is fast,” said Price, who said Rotary Club members were impressed they could have such an immediate impact. “And we know plants have positive effects on climate change. We hope a lot of small successes can add up to something bigger. Florida is heating up quickly.

This is something local we can do.”

Price, whose background has been environmental work for companies such as Con Edison, Honeywell and DuPont, said Rotary member John Freeman had wanted to start a program planting trees locally. Then Price met Reith and he and Freeman decided to be co-leaders of a microforest project, the club’s first such project.

CDD1, which has Heron’s Nest Nature Park in its district, offered to give the project $3,000 “seed” money, the Rotary Club committed to raising $10,000 to $12,000 to dedicate to the project.

CARDBOARD DAY

A “cardboard day” was held in June with 15 Rotary Club members on hand to spread cardboard, which “cooks the soil,” over the .3 acre to prepare the soil for planting. In August, the first planting was held at the site with more than 40 volunteers from the Rotary and residents from the surrounding neighborhoods.

More than 1,500 trees and plants have been introduced to the site. Among the trees will be sycamores, red maples, oaks, magnolias, hickory and long leaf pine.

The Rotary Club also has picked out two possible sites for future projects — one in the Adventure Park as CDD4 has offered $3,000 in seed money, and another at the corner of

“The most important goal I have is for communities to recognize they would like to have one of these,” Reith said. “There is so much to gain. I want to usher microforests through the approval process. We can help find the money. I provide the expertise, provide a host contribution, find money through grants.”

Reith has enlisted some powerful environmental forces to work with him on such projects, such as Lonnie Ready, who is president of Solutions to Avoid Red Tide, and has had a lifelong passion for aquatic environments and aquatic biology. Ready has worked in the aquaculture and ornamental aquatics industries for 45 years and is a Master Gardener. He was on hand Sept. 13 as volunteers planted the remaining section of the microforest on the banks of the lake.

“This is about cleaning up our waterways and preventing excess nutrients from getting into the gulf,” Ready said. “Microforests contribute to filtering those contaminating nutrients. Sixty percent of the nutrients that fuel red tide come from stormwater.”

YOU CAN BANK ON IT

Since the work Sept. 13 was trickier on the bank, few volunteers were recruited because Price was concerned someone might fall and get hurt.

Among the trees being planted on the bank were red maples and bald cypress, which adapt well to being close to the water on a bank. Several different bushes and grasses also were being planted.

During the planting, Dave Taylor of the Florida Veterans for Common Sense was video recording everything in the hope of having promotional material for future projects.

“The microforests give you a sense of calmness,” said Taylor, a Vietnam veteran who was a Purple Heart recipient. “I am an outdoorsy person. As an ex-soldier, I like it to be calming and peaceful. And more forests mean cleaner air.”

Price noted that this particular project was unique because it included an irrigation system that pumped water out of the lake using power generated by solar panels. He said the irrigation system only is temporary until the plants and trees get established.

Reith said the system of planting is called the Miyawaki method. Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki developed the systems, which plants trees closer together to get “shade signals” which makes them grow fast in height to seek sunlight.

While Reith’s group has the expertise, he said the Heron’s Nest Nature Park microforest wouldn’t have happened without the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch’s investment of both money and resources.

“They stepped up and did it all,” Reith said. “This excites me because development is destroying acre upon acre, and we are so vulnerable to climate change. It has been so satisfying to work on what I believe is the most needed intervention, so we can make this place a safer place to live.

“Each quarter acre we plant offsets an acre of damage caused by developers. We can refit it to these high performance systems. They all will go between neighborhoods, in our parks and next to churches. We are transforming the land.”

Noted ecologist says the newly planted Heron’s Nest microforest will grow into a 100-year forest in 10 years.

Randy Price, who is the co-leader of the environmental committee for the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch, stands in front of a sign describing the microforest effort.

Ecologist Charles Reith stands in front of the solar panels that will provide power for irrigation at the new microforest in Heron’s Nest Nature Park.

Guy Perry of the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch says he volunteered for the microforest project at Heron’s Nest Nature Park because it would help the environment.

Photos by Jay Heater

WELCOME Rushiv Patel, DO

Country Club East residents rally against roundabout

IF YOU GO

What: Public information meeting for a planned roundabout at Lorraine Road and Player’s Drive

When: 6-8 p.m. Sept. 27

• Medicare wellness exams

• Management of acute illness and chronic disease management

• Minor in-office surgical procedures

Dr. Patel earned his medical degree from Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed a residency with St. Vincent Family Medicine in Indianapolis.

Now accepting patients!

To make an appointment, call 866-515-9777 or schedule online at lakewoodranchmedicalgroup.com

JAY HEATER MANAGING EDITOR

Manatee County’s Capital Improvement Plan for a traffic light at Lorraine Road and Player’s Drive in Lakewood Ranch included a description of the plan.

“Based on a traffic study, the warrants to install a traffic signal at this intersection were met. Staff recommends installing a traffic signal along with pedestrian crossing features. The selected traffic control is expected to improve the overall operations and safety of the vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists in this area.”

Residents of Country Club East in Lakewood Ranch point to that statement as they continue to build opposition to new county plans to build a roundabout at the site.

In December, then-Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, who since has retired from public office, told her fellow commissioners that she felt a roundabout would be a safer alternative and would help to reduce speeding on that stretch of road.

Baugh noted that Lorraine Road mostly was a straight shot between State Road 64 to Fruitville Road and that with increased traffic due to growth, there would be little on that stretch of road to slow traffic. She also noted that noise from speeding vehicles was becoming a concern.

It should be noted that even while she supported the roundabout, Baugh said the county would collect input from Country Club East and Country Club residents over the

Where: St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal, 11315 Palmbrush Trail, Lakewood Ranch

About the meeting: Manatee County Public Works staff members and engineers will be on hand to describe the project using design boards and other forms to illustrate the plans Budget for the roundabout: $2,111,000

following months to be able to make a better, informed decision about which plan was better.

The other commissioners unanimously agreed and decided to fund design costs of a roundabout instead of a traffic signal at the intersection, which feeds entrances to Country Club East on one side of Lorraine Road and the Country Club on the other side.

At the time, Public Works Director Chad Butzow said having both designs would allow county commissioners to make a closer examination on which plan would be better.

Butzow said, in response to the Country Club East residents’ assertion that Public Works preferred a traffic signal over a roundabout, that at the time the initial study was done, roundabouts were generally out of favor in the county. That feeling has since changed.

“We knew we needed intersection control,” Butzow said. “Either one (a traffic signal or roundabout) would do it quite well.”

Butzow said all the new homes being built in the area and the

They say the site isn’t large enough for an adequate traffic circle and that pushing forward with the project will create unsafe conditions.

expected traffic increase have made a roundabout the best solution for that intersection if speed control is one of the main goals for that spot.

ROUNDABOUT MOVES FORWARD

Now with the county ready to move forward with a roundabout, a large group of Country Club East residents is trying to get the county to reconsider. The Country Club East residents say emotions got the best of county commissioners and that the county’s own studies of the site — based on the statement in the Capital Improvements Plan — verified that a traffic signal would be the better option.

The description of the roundabout plan on the county’s Capital Improvement Plan is the same except the statement above has been changed to say, “Based on evaluations of different intersection control measures and input from stakeholders, it was determined that a multilane roundabout is warranted.”

The design of the traffic signal cost $150,000 while the design of the roundabout cost $200,000. About 50% of the design has been completed for the roundabout. The budget for the roundabout is $2,111,000 while the budget for the traffic signal is $1,730,000.

Nancy Haas, who heads the Country Club East Residents Roundabout Committee that opposes the roundabout, said the county took surveys a year ago that showed while Country Club residents favored a roundabout, Country Club East residents did not. She said The Insurance Institution on Highway Safety, which generally favors roundabouts, notes, “Sometimes space constraints or topography make it impossible to build a roundabout. Geometric design details vary from one site to another and must take into account traffic volumes, land use, topography and other factors. Roundabouts often require more space in the immediate vicinity of the intersection than comparable traditional intersections.”

Haas said the size of the planned roundabout concerns Country Club East residents. The roundabout is only about 25 yards from the Country Club East gate, making it a probability that traffic at busier times will back up both coming out of the com-

munity and going into it.

If traffic backs up going into the community, from the gate and into the roundabout, it would be likely to snarl traffic in both directions on Lorraine Road.

Butzow said the proximity of the gate would be a concern for either project.

“You can only do so much with the space you have,” he said. “Is it perfect? No. But do you not build something because (it affects traffic) for 15 minutes each day?”

He was referring to the fact traffic is heaviest during school drop-off and pick-up times and rush hours.

As designed, the roundabout isn’t a true “two lanes” design all the way around. As traffic on the north and south portions of the roundabout move into and out of Lorraine Road, traffic in one of the lanes is forced exit on Lorraine.

Members of the Country Club East group are concerned that if they enter the roundabout from Player’s Drive and they want to go south, they will be forced in a very limited space, to cross the right lane of the roundabout, which is sending traffic onto Lorraine Road going north. They said it will create a dangerous

and confusing scenario.

Haas said her group must make the commissioners understand they are creating a hazard.

“We need to keep our feet to the fire,” Haas said. “We want to push this.” Haas said bids for the roundabout project aren’t scheduled to be decided until May, so they have some time.

“Our main goal is to educate our residents,” she said. “And they should have knowledge of both sides.”

BICYCLISTS CONCERNED

University Park’s Richard Garrett, a board member of the Florida Bicycle Association, said the county isn’t taking bicyclists into consideration if they adopt the current design of the roundabout. He said roundabouts in general force drivers to “look left” when they enter a roundabout to see who is already in the roundabout, and therefore has right-of-way. He said there is lesser concentration on looking to the right to see bicyclists who are approaching.

Therefore, he said, designs should always leave plenty of space so that those riding in bicycle lanes on Lorraine Road can merge into traffic

before motorists get to the roundabout. He said the current roundabout design he has seen does not offer adequate space for bicyclists to merge.

A member of several bicycle organizations, such as Village Idiots of Lakewood Ranch and the SarasotaManatee Bike Club, Garrett said Lorraine Road has long been a favorite place to ride for the clubs.

“Every bike club I am a member of is worried our access to biking in this area is being curtailed due to unsafe conditions,” he said. “Our concern is that this roundabout is improperly designed, and it will lead to safety hazards. If done well, it would be acceptable for all road users. I have the right to ride comfortably on the road.”

Members of the Country Club East group suggest, at the very least if the roundabout design goes through, that a sharrow (a bicycle symbol placed in the roadway lane telling motorists to expect to share the lane with cyclists) should be part of the design.

Alan Kravitz, a County Club East resident and a member of the community’s roundabout group, said currently Country Club East has two lanes entering and exiting the community on Player’s Drive. That will be reduced to one lane in each direction to feed motorists into and out of the roundabout. He said that will cause backups into the gate area.

“There is just not enough space for a roundabout,” he said. “There is not enough real estate.”

CALAMITY AHEAD

Country Club East resident Mary Auger noted, “The traffic coming into Country Club East is generally backed up now. With a roundabout, those trying to get into (the roundabout) will potentially end up with a calamity.”

Auger said she also doesn’t feel the design of the roundabout will make it safe for those pedestrians who want to cross Lorraine Road to go to either of the two communities. She said the crossing spaces, when used, are likely to cause further backups into the roundabout.

Country Club East resident Art Vetter said he is concerned about construction traffic using a tight roundabout, which he said is far too small to handle the traffic. He said there will be a danger of trucks losing their loads or simply negotiating the small space.

“This is going to hurt us tremendously,” he said. “This is the worst thing.”

The group is organizing to attend a county information meeting about the project on Sept. 27 at St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Lakewood Ranch. A letter writing campaign has formed to send the group’s thoughts about the project to commissioners.

Country Club East currently has 1,352 homes.

Those who want more information about the group can send an email to RoundaboutCCE@gmail.com.

gather with friends and family.

If you’re thinking of selling or wanting to know the value of your home, we will be happy to provide you a complimentary evaluation of your home in today’s market.

Jay Heater

Courtesy rendering Country Club East residents fear a backup at their gate if a roundabout is built.

Super Scout has Flying Eagle finish

Boy Scout Alex den Boggende received the Distinguished Conservation Service Award on Sept. 7.

LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

Every year, between 40,000 and 50,000 Boy Scouts become Eagle Scouts. But only a rare few will go on to earn the Distinguished Conservation Service Award.

According to the Boy Scouts of America, on average, only 18 Eagle Scouts earn the coveted award each year.

Braden River High School senior Alex den Boggende was given the honor on Sept. 7 at the Manatee district’s monthly roundtable meeting held at the Salvation Army. He earned the award after completing two service projects at Camp Flying Eagle, the Boy Scout campground located on Upper Manatee River Road.

“The Distinguished Conservation Award replaced what was the Hornaday Award for years in the BSA. The award was named for William T. Hornaday, the first director of the New York Zoological Society and one of the most earnest pioneers of conservation in our national history,” den Boggende’s BSA advisor Rick Langford said. “The project that Alex did was very involved with planning and execution. To my knowledge, he may be one of the first to complete this award in the state. Alex has truly set an example of the importance of conservation.”

To earn the award, scouts must complete two large-scale conservation projects that leave a lasting impact on Mother Nature. A beach cleanup won’t fulfill the requirement because the effects can be reversed too quickly and easily.

Den Boggende has been part of scouting since before he was old

enough to join. He brought home a flier from school in first grade.

“Boy Scouts has been foundational for our family, and we’re so grateful,” said his mother, Alison den Boggende said. “It shores up that family unit in a very special way.”

Both of den Boggende’s parents have been active in the group. His mom serves as the Manatee District advancement chair, and his dad, Gerry den Boggende, has been both a cub master and den leader. The couple said they’ll stay active past their own children’s involvement to “pay it forward” to other families.

The conservation award wasn’t the first time den Boggende beat the Boy Scout odds. He became an Eagle Scout at only 13 years old. Most scouts don’t make Eagle rank until

Courtesy photos Braden River High School student Alex den Boggende, 17, became an Eagle Scout at 13 years old and recently won the Distinguished Conservation Service Award.

they’re at least 15, some, not until 17.  Eagle is the pinnacle of scouting, when most of the scouts’ badges have been earned and their goals have been met. Oftentimes, it’s when scouts stop participating in troop activities.

“I didn’t want to do that, so I did my own research and looked through the awards and different programs and activities that I could do,” den Boggende said. “I was able to earn a bunch of awards and cool patches for my uniform. When I found the Distinguished Service Award, I knew it would be difficult, but I knew it would also keep me involved with scouting.”

The two projects he chose targeted invasive species and shoreline erosion. The first was more labor intensive while the latter took more planning.

For his first project, den Boggende identified the campsite within Flying Eagle where invasive plants were the most abundant. Brazilian peppers and air potatoes were the top two offenders. His team dug them up by the roots and tilled the ground to prevent regrowth.

His second project was much more involved. Hidden Lake is located on the Flying Eagle campus. The Foundation for Dreams uses it for canoeing.

“The shoreline is falling into the lake. It’s polluting the lake and decreasing the water quality,” den Boggende said.

To stop the erosion, den Boggende made a plan to resurface the gravel path that’s used as a canoe launch and install a sea wall. The project cost less than $200.

Den Boggende was able to get scraps of sea wall sheets donated, and Flying Eagle has a backhoe on site. The only thing he and the park ranger paid for was 7,000 pounds of gravel.

While he’ll retain the character and ethics he gained while in the club, den Boggende can’t remain a scout forever. He will age out of the program when he turns 18 in October.

“It’s a phase of my life. It happens to everyone,” he said. “I’m glad that I was able to accomplish what I have accomplished in scouting.”

He added that he’ll take the leadership skills he learned with him and will continue to give back to his community long beyond the Boy Scouts.

Den Boggende’s next challenge is to earn a degree in industrial engineering after graduating from Braden River High.

AFRAID OF THE DENTIST?

M. Blair Marshall, MD, FACS

We

Specialty

Board

Todd Greene, Bryce Brielmann and Alex den Boggende install sea wall sheets around Hidden Lake at Camp Flying Eagle.

sorting out a crisis at a nonprofit or even battling a rare form of Parkinson’s disease for seven years, she led with patience, grace and dignity.

It was that way until the end. She died at 12:25 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, from complications from her Parkinson’s. She was 69.

Walsh died at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. When her health began deteriorating rapidly Tuesday, Sept. 12, doctors gave her four to six hours to live. She kept going for 27 more.

“My mother, tiny though she was, was incredibly strong and determined and never gave up,” said Emily Walsh, her eldest daughter.

Walsh was surrounded when she died by her husband, Matt, and three adult children, Emily, Kate and Brian. Emily is president of the Observer Media Group and lives in Sarasota with her husband, Pat Robinson, and son Rhys, 13, and stepson, Colin, 13; Kate lives in Colorado Springs and is a co-owner and artistic director of a 500-student ballet school; and Brian lives in Hampstead, North Carolina, where he is a major in the Marines and married to Maria Amodio Walsh; they have two children, Maeve, 6, and Jackson, 3.

Walsh is also survived by her father, David Beliles, who lives in Sarasota, and her brother, David Beliles Jr., who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.

AND BEAUTIFUL’

‘BRILLIANT

On Longboat Key and in Sarasota and east Manatee County, the Walshes are most known publicly for the Observer Media Group, which publishes multiple weekly print publications, seasonal and quarterly magazines and daily news websites.

But Lisa Walsh, based on accounts from her family and friends in Sarasota and beyond, was much more than a newspaper editor.

She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, quick with advice and counsel and also quick to host and prepare a feast-worthy Christmas dinner. She was a behind-thescenes executive, idea-generating machine and tight-knit business partner with Matt — they were married 47 years — as they and the Observer Media Group navigated the rapidly changing media industry for nearly three decades.

Walsh was an intensely loyal philanthropist who gave time and treasure to a host of causes; and a go-to friend for many who loved to giggle with her partners-in-crime while also providing a trusted and empathic shoulder — in addition to recipes, suggestions for books and what TV shows to watch. On that last point, one of her more recent TV recommendations was Bosch, an Amazon Prime show based on the Michael Connelly novels.

“She was brilliant and beautiful,” said Brian Lipton, director of the West Coast Florida chapter of the American Jewish Committee, one of the organizations Walsh supported. “She was a kind lady and a class act.”

Three things about Walsh stand out to Lipton: One, she always, without fail, would ask how his husband, Joseph, was doing. Two, unlike some others in the Sarasota event scene, she was a low-maintenance patron, where the cause was more important than the seat she was given.

And three, she loved newspapers.

“When we were honoring her and Matt for an event, I asked her what colors she wanted the theme to be,” Lipton recalls, of the AJC Civic Achievement Award Lisa and Matt received in 2010. “She said ‘I’m a newspaper girl — black and white and red all over.’ I was like, that’s fabulous.”

EARLY ADVENTURES

Walsh was also a woman who believed in taking the high road, in keeping standards high and always making sure your shoes work with your bag.

For those who worked with her, whether it was in the Observer newsroom or a nonprofit board room, she had a knack for steering conversations and decisions with a rational perspective that was focused on what was best for the organization. She was usually the last to speak, and her comments would ring with clarity and weight.

“Lisa was one of those ‘special people,’” says retired Observer Media Group advertising executive Bob Lewis. “She and I shared an office in the early days on Longboat. It didn’t take long to learn that she believed in what she and Matt were about to achieve. She will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will miss her dearly.”

Another longtime Observer Media Group contributor, Molly Schechter, met Lisa Walsh in 1998, when they

were neighbors on Longboat Key. They hit it off, and Schechter, a fitness guru with decades of experience in advertising and media, soon started writing a fitness column, Aerobic Grandma, for the Longboat Observer

Schechter became a trusted Walsh family confidant, including attending Christmas dinners. “Nobody left without a full tummy,” she recalls.

Like many in Walsh’s orbit, Schechter marveled at how good her friend was at taking a story, from a brief to long-form journalism, and making it better. “She probably read and edited millions of words,” Schechter said. “Nothing went to the printer that she didn’t look at.”

FINDING FLORIDA

A third-generation newspaper woman, Walsh went to the University of Missouri School of Journalism with the intent of following her father and mother’s footsteps.

He was an editor and publisher of newspapers in the Midwest, and her mother, Ruth, was the society editor at one time at the newspaper in Champaign, Illinois.

But when Walsh and her future husband wound up in the same newspaper classes in J-school, she switched to advertising.

That switch came in handy when the Walshes reached the Topeka Capital-Journal in Kansas and learned spouses couldn’t work in the same department.

Lisa sold advertising, while Matt started out as a reporter.

At the time, she was selling against a lot of radio as her competition, but she had a unique tactic. She would give her potential client a paper to look through and then 30 seconds later, she would snatch it from their hands.

To their shocked faces, she would tell them: “That’s what you’re doing to your potential buyers with a radio ad.”

In her first year on the job, Walsh became one of the newspaper’s top salespeople.

As the young couple worked their way up in the company, the Walshes, at age 25, found themselves transferred to South Dakota, where Matt became managing editor of the Brookings Daily Register.

After one particularly grueling storm, the snow drifts were so high a colleague came to collect Matt from the second-story window of their house and whisked him away on a snowmobile to work.

That was the end of South Dakota.

In no uncertain terms, Lisa told Matt they were done with this stop in their journey. The next one would have to be somewhere with better weather.

They went to Lisa’s birthplace, Independence, Missouri. Matt was editor of the Independence Examiner, while Lisa continued selling advertising for a sister paper. That is also when their first child, Emily, was born.

IN MEMORY

A Celebration of Life reception for Lisa Walsh will start at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, at the Harbourside Ballroom of the Longboat Key Club and Resort, 3000 Harbourside Drive. A memorial Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at All Angels Episcopal Church, 563 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Contributions can be made in lieu of flowers to the Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson’s, NeuroChallenge.org; or Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center, SPARRC.net.

The two wanted more — the taste and adventure of a big-city newspaper. Matt went to the Miami Herald, while Lisa stayed home with Emily, and soon after, their second child, Kate.

COPY THAT

After six years of Miami, at the height of enduring South Florida’s cocainecowboy crime, in 1986 they moved to St. Petersburg, where Matt became an editor at Florida Trend and later the Southeast bureau manager for Forbes.

Writing about business triggered an entrepreneurial nerve, so in 1995 the Walshes, along with Lisa’s parents, David and Ruth Beliles, and a small group of investors purchased the Longboat Observer

When the Observer’s bookkeeper quit, Matt begged Lisa to take on that job — in addition to her duties raising three children.

As the Walshes grew the business, Lisa went from bookkeeper eventually to executive editor overseeing all content of four community weeklies — the Longboat Observer, East County Observer, Sarasota Observer  and  Siesta Key Observer  — and Season magazine.

Despite her title of vice president and executive editor, Lisa was happy to let others have the spotlight. In the business, she let Matt do most of the talking at companywide presentations, but the two shared all big decisions.

Every business expansion or sale, every hire or fire was discussed around the dinner table — with Lisa providing the level-headed counter

balance to Matt’s passion and eagerness to grow.

Humor was a primary tool of persuasion for Lisa. In response to one angry reader who wrote a searing letter to the editor complaining about the conservative nature of the Longboat Observer’s editorial page and its incorrect bridge column, Lisa retorted: “We do apologize for the error in the bridge column, and in the future, we will keep it just like our opinion page: Right.”

A large part of running an Observer newsroom is training young reporters. Throughout her tenure, she tirelessly groomed class after class of recent graduates, teaching them everything from what photos are best from events to what dress is appropriate for work.

She had a saying: “We hire you for your brains and ideas.” If a staff member had an idea, he or she had the freedom to make it a reality. The guardrails were on in the editing process, but reporters and designers were free to try new things, start new projects and, especially, have fun.

When it came to content, Lisa and Matt had a joke: She was fluff, and he was stuff. While he was busy hammering headlines and news coverage, she was dreaming up ideas to involve and represent the community. On Longboat Key, that means approaching community coverage with humor and a folksiness that many dailies shunned. She believed people didn’t just read newspapers for information — they read them to fall in love with their community.

PAYING ATTENTION

Devotion to community and her friends and family were another hallmark of Walsh’s life. On the community side, she served as president of the boards of Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center and the Longboat Key Center for the Arts and on the boards of the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce and Ringling College Library Association.

As the chair of galas for the American Jewish Committee, Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson’s and Sarasota Ballet, she raised thousands of dollars for those organizations.

Those community activities paid off for Walsh as well. She made close, lasting friendships. Derek Billib, another longtime SPARCC board member, says Walsh was the most sensitive person of their group.

“She was so compassionate, sincere and genuine,” Billib said. “When she was talking with you, she was always listening, always paying attention.”

Elaine Dabney, who met Walsh 30 years ago when their daughters attended school together, became Lisa’s closest friend during Walsh’s struggle with Parkinson’s. Dabney remembers Walsh pre-Parkinson’s:

“As an observer of people, I would take a step back at events and watch with wonder how this elegantly petite woman would be present in a room with hundreds of people, yet she could command the room with such gentleness. People would naturally be drawn to her, often surrounding her just to be in her presence, like moths to a flame. She was a true powerhouse.”

Walsh and Merry Gnaegy became Pi Beta Phi sorority sisters and roommates in the early 1970s at the University of Missouri. Gnaegy, in fact, introduced Walsh, then Lisa Beliles, to a Mizzou journalism major and baseball player named Matt Walsh, setting the pair up on a blind date.

“I learned early on in our marriage, despite her diminutive size and elegant demeanor, it was never a good idea to tell her she couldn’t do something,” Matt Walsh said. “She had amazing inner strength and determination; always poised, never a raised voice. She would do what needed to be done, never giving up. It was that way to her last breath. A role model for us all.”

“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.”

Publisher and President / Emily Walsh, EWalsh@YourObserver.com

Associate Publisher — East County Observer / Lori Ruth, LRuth@YourObserver.com

Executive Editor and COO / Kat Wingert, KWingert@YourObserver.com

Managing Editor / Jay Heater, JHeater@YourObserver.com

Senior Editor / Liz Ramos, LRamos@YourObserver.com

Sports Editor / Ryan Kohn, RKohn@YourObserver.com

Staff Writer / Lesley Dwyer, LDwyer@ YourObserver.com

Digital & Engagement Editor / Kaelyn Adix, KAdix@YourObserver.com

Copy Editor / Gina Reynolds Haskins, GRHaskins@YourObserver.com

Senior Editorial Designer / Melissa Leduc, MLeduc@YourObserver.com

A+E Editor / Monica Roman Gagnier, MGagnier@YourObserver.com

Director of Advertising / Jill Raleigh, JRaleigh@YourObserver.com

Sales Manager / Penny Nowicki, PNowicki@YourObserver.com

Regional Digital Director / Kathleen O’Hara, KOHara@YourObserver.com

Senior Advertising Executive / Laura Ritter, LRitter@YourObserver.com

Advertising Executives / Richeal Bair, RBair@YourObserver.com; Jennifer Kane, JKane@YourObserver.com; Honesty Mantkowski, HMantkowski@YourObserver. com; Toni Perren, TPerren@YourObserver. com; Brenda White, BWhite@ YourObserver.com

Classified Advertising Sales Executive / Lexi Huelsman, LHuelsman@ YourObserver.com

Sales Operations Manager / Susan Leedom, SLeedom@YourObserver.com

Sales Coordinator / Account Manager Lori Downey, LDowney@YourObserver.com

Advertising/Marketing Coordinator / Caitlin Ellis, CEllis@YourObserver.com

Digital Fulfillment Specialist / Emma B. Jolly, EJolly@YourObserver.com

Tributes Coordinator / Kristen Boothroyd, Tributes@YourObserver.com

Director of Marketing / Robin Lankton, RLankton@YourObserver.com

Marketing Specialist / Melanie Melone, MMelone@YourObserver.com

Director of Creative Services / Caleb Stanton, CStanton@YourObserver.com

Creative Services Administrator / Marjorie Holloway, MHolloway@ YourObserver.com

Advertising Graphic Designers / Luis Trujillo, Taylor Poe, Louise Martin, Shawna Polana

Digital Developer / Jason Camillo, JCamillo@YourObserver.com

Information Technology Manager / Homer Gallego, HGallego@YourObserver. com

Chief Financial Officer / Laura Strickland, LStrickland@YourObserver.com

Controller / Rafael Labrin, RLabrin@YourObserver.com

Office and Accounting Coordinator / Donna Condon, DCondon@ YourObserver.com

Observer Media Group Inc. is locally owned. Publisher of the Longboat Observer, East County Observer, Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer, West Orange Times & Observer, Southwest Orange Observer, Business Observer, Jacksonville Daily Record, Key Life Magazine, LWR Life Magazine, Baldwin Park Living Magazine and Season Magazine

CEO / Matt Walsh

President / Emily Walsh

Vice President / Lisa Walsh

Chairman Emeritus / David Beliles

8130 Lakewood Main St., Suite D207 Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202 941-755-5357

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944 ©

Matt and Lisa Walsh at the Longboat Observer office in 1995.

Honorees Matt and Lisa Walsh at the AJC Civic Achievement Award Dinner in November 2010.

Matt, Lisa and Emily Walsh at the Observer Media Group 2021 annual meeting.

Grass is greener with a $5 million renovation

said.

said that to maintain premium playing conditions, you have to stay out in front of potential problems.

So this renovation was concentrating on tee areas and greens, along with expanding the clubhouse to accommodate increasing membership.

As you walk the Waterlefe Golf and River Club course with General Manager Steve Dietz, it’s apparent the golf wars are raging in East County.

It’s September, and every fairway, every bunker, every green is pristine as always. The only thing missing is ... well .... golfers.

The course is closed until Oct. 1, when a course renovation — part of a $5 million-plus project to upgrade the course and clubhouse facilities — is deemed ready for play.

It looks ready now, but Dietz knows that some of the work could be ruined with a few preemptive strikes. The new grass has to mature a bit more.

While it’s hard to have such patience when the club members are dying to test all the renovated greens and tee areas, Dietz knows that pristine has to be a way of life in an area that is bursting with new or renovated courses.

Fortunately, he never has had to experience the nonpristine side of the business since starting in 2005.

You don’t have to go far, though, to see the ugly side of that equation.

Those who have played Heritage Harbour Golf Club or Legacy Golf Club over the years have seen those layouts dumped into the abyss. Both courses have been saved by new ownership and management, and the millions of dollars spent to bring them back.

In this area, dog patch doesn’t cut it.

In the way an area can benefit from grocery store wars or hamburger wars or pizza wars, it can absolutely benefit from golf wars. Well, you will benefit if you like

golf.

Just announced have been two high-brow projects in Myakka — the Soleta Golf Club that will have a course designed by Hall-of-Famer Nick Price and the Miakka Golf Club, which has among its architects Major winner Paul Azinger. Add to that the beauty of The Concession course, and recently added Esplande at Azario course, and Lakewood National, plus the aforementioned revamped Heritage Harbour and Legacy courses, and you have a golfer’s paradise.

Now, Dietz knows that Waterlefe is a different animal considering it is both a golf club and a river club, and the others are not. Even so, when you hear golfers talking about best golf courses in the region, you want to be included at the top.

In previous trips to Waterlefe’s golf course, I have thought Dietz

must have had those Disney World landscapers on his payroll. You don’t need to walk the stretch of the course along the Manatee River to see the beauty. It’s all around you. Somebody had to be carrying a tape measure to make sure all the blades of grass were even.

In fact, Waterlefe’s hierarchy decided long before this renovation project that it needed to be done. This current work was scheduled for the summer of 2021, but something called COVID-19 put that project off.

It finally began on April 1, while work on the clubhouse began on July 1.

Dietz said that aging — the course opened in 2000 — was reason enough to do upgrades, but I noted that is sure looked in sweet condition before any work started. While that might be true, Dietz

While golf — and boating — are king and queen at Waterlefe, eating is a close third. The expansion of the clubhouse, which is due to be finished in the spring or summer of 2024, has to do with more dining, and drinking, options.

The old clubhouse had an area to serve breakfast and lunch, but no bar — a real bar with stools and a bartender.

During COVID, Dietz and his staff saw an increased demand from members and residents for takeout, and they began to understand that if they built it, they certainly would come and eat it.

For the renovation, that meant a bigger kitchen.

It should be noted that Waterlefe is a semiprivate club, which means you can play golf for a day fee, (currently about $100 per round) or even eat at the restaurant if you so desire. Waterlefe has 617 homes, and they aren’t bundled into the golf club like many communities have done. Of the current homeowners, about 25% are members, but Dietz said the percentage is growing along with the excitement over the renovation.

If you want to join the club, whether or not you own a home there, you can do that, too.

This year alone, before the renovation even began, membership at the club went from 218 to 300.  Since April, nobody has even been able to get on the golf course.

The crowd comes back Sept. 30, when members only can get a preview round. There also will be a ribbon cutting.

“That’s as long as Mother Nature doesn’t do anything crazy,” Dietz

When the course does open, golfers will find that the renovation didn’t change the design of the course, but only enhanced the conditions. The greens will be back to their original size because greens tend to shrink over the years as the grass around them tends to overgrow. The course, which is 6,098 yards from the tips (par 72) has not gotten any longer.

The renovation took about four to six inches off each green before adding soil and the TifEagle grass. The tee areas will be a bit bigger.

The course is withstanding more play. Before COVID, Dietz said it handled about 42,000 rounds a year. That number is up to 54,000 rounds a year.

The course has 65 employee; some of those took off during the renovation, while others joined the grounds crew to get their hands dirty before coming back to their regular jobs in October.

Dietz noted the course was not damaged by Hurricane Idalia, which submerged the mangroves along the river banks, but didn’t get up to the greens and tees.

Other improvements will be a new short game area, a renovation of the men’s and women’s locker rooms, and the addition of a community room in the clubhouse.

Dietz said they currently are hiring cart staff, starters and course rangers. Call 744-9771 if interested.

“We have to stay competitive with the new communities,” Dietz said.

Connect, Refresh + Refuel

Let’s

Jay Heater

General Manager Steve Dietz shows off the pristine conditions at Waterlefe Golf & River Club.

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

The Bradenton upscale community is improving the golf course and expanding its clubhouse.

Brain Scholar program a smart choice

BECOME A BRAIN HEALTH SCHOLAR

LIZ RAMOS SENIOR EDITOR

As a member of the Brain Health Scholar program, Gabrielle Bachtel has the opportunity to teach students at Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy through its adopted Schools for Brain Health program.

“This is a catalyst for us to initiate change in our own lives and the world around us,” said Bachtel, who is a LECOM medical student. “We have our Students for Brain Health clubs, which are specifically designed for the earlier youth and teens to provide them and equip them with the brain health toolkit and knowledge, and how they can enrich their lives with that.”

It is one of the many leadership opportunities Bachtel has had since she became a Brain Health Scholar.

The Brain Health Scholar program began in 2020 with 69 scholars, representing 19 schools and universities, and two faculty members.

In 2022, 43 students comprised the second cohort along with eight inaugural scholars who continued with the program as senior scholars.

Now the Brain Health Initiative is accepting nominations and applications for the next Brain Health Scholar cohort.

“Each one of our scholars has the opportunity and the responsibility to meaningfully go out into the community and connect (with others) on behalf of the Brain Health Initiative,” said Stephanie Peabody, founder and executive director of the

Scholars are involved in research and community outreach and learn from lectures from Harvard University scientists and world-renowned subject matter experts.

The program welcomes recent graduates from collaborating high schools, students in youth development programs, college students, and students in graduate training programs among others.

Students should be interested in life science, medicine, community or public health and/or education.

The program has two- and four-year terms that include online training and lab training, along with participation in research and service.

For information on how to nominate a student or to apply, visit BrainHealthInitiative.org/ BHI-Brain-Health-ScholarNomination-Process.

Brain Health Initiative.

Brain Health Scholar participants are involved in research and community outreach and learn from lectures from Harvard University scientists and world-renowned experts.

Lakewood Ranch’s Keri McGahren was a member of the inaugural class of scholars in 2020 and continues to work with the program as a graduate student at the University of Florida.  McGahren said she joined the scholar program because the Brain Health Initiative is at the “forefront of cutting edge research and advocacy aimed at improving the wellbeing of individuals worldwide.

Debra Gregrich, Heather Gillen, RMA, Ashley Fowler PA-C, Rob Nixon PA-C, and Dr. Alan Valadie CELEBRATE COASTAL ORTHOPEDICS 50 YEAR SUCCESS.

Manatee, Sarasota students can be nominated to become a part of the Brain Health Scholars program.

Her involvement in the initiative has given her opportunities to “contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge, foster innovation and make a genuine impact on the lives of countless individuals affected by brain health.”

With what she’s learned from the Brain Health Initiative and the importance of nutrition, McGahren hopes she can combine her knowledge with her passion for the culinary arts.

“I want to pursue culinary school after I finish grad school with the goal of being able to improve people’s nutritional literacy and their culinary literacy,” she said.

“The BHI has taught me how to teach my friends how to use food as fuel and how food can be medicine at the end of the day. That’s something I want to take from teaching my friends in a small group to making a larger impact on larger populations and communities.”

As a scholar, students learned about the risk factors of brain illness and the preventative measures that

can be taken to lessen the risk factors.

Lakewood Ranch’s Caroline Diesel, a grad student at Florida State University and inaugural Brain Health Scholar, said learning about the importance of prioritizing the food she eats and the productivity of her day has been the most beneficial to not only her life but also her friends’ and family members’ lives.

She thought the times she spent the entire day in a library studying were productive and beneficial, but after learning more about brain health, she learned that was not the case.

“I’ve realized you have to wake up and be outside, be active and make your brain actually work before you put it to work,” Diesel said. “I honestly believe that not only my relationship with food has become stronger but prioritizing being active throughout the day before I actually put my brain to work has made the most incredible difference in how I feel when I am getting my work done.

Jerette Schultz, MD

plastic and reconstructive surgical procedures. Dr. Schultz specializes in reconstructive microsurgery, autologous and implant-based breast reconstruction, skin cancer removal and reconstruction, extremity reconstruction and cosmetic surgery of the breast and body.

Board Eligible: American Board of Plastic Surgery

Medical School: University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando, FL

Internship and Residency: Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ

Fellowship: New York University Langone Health, New York, NY

Courtesy photo

Brain Health Scholar Gabrielle Bachtel, Brian Health Initiative founder Stephanie Peabody and Brain Health Scholar Hilton Hudson provide a Lunch and Learn on vaping at Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy.

Part of the family

As Samantha Wahl prepared for a nearly yearlong deployment with the Army National Guard, she agonized over what to do with her dog, Dozer.

Boarding facilities and house sitters were charging more than Wahl, a mechanic, could afford, and she didn’t feel comfortable with the services they were offering. Wahl’s parents agreed to watch her smaller dog, but Dozer was an 80-pound American bulldog boxer mix who didn’t get along with her parents’ dog.

Wahl was running out of options. She contemplated giving Dozer up until a friend told her about the nonprofit Donte’s Den Foundation.

“I went by to look at the facilities, and it was like a little heaven on Earth for dogs,” Wahl said. “Set me up with a cot in the back, and I would stay there for a year.”

One of several services Donte’s offers is the Semper Paw program. While dog boarding is available to

anyone for $65 a night, active military members and first responders called away for duty only pay $25 a night. Monthly rates cap out at $700 for Semper Paw, $1,950 for others.

“For me, at that time, it was the cheapest thing I could find anywhere, and I didn’t worry whatsoever,” Wahl said. “Dozer had a window. He had a view. He got to go out and play with other dogs. He was living it up. Dozer had a better life than me while I was deployed.”

Wahl and Dozer were Semper Paw’s first clients in 2015. Since

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LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

Donte’s Den is an animal sanctuary that also provides low-cost pet care to members of the military and first responders who are deployed.

Photos by Lesley Dwyer

Neil, an American Bulldog, runs straight to Donte’s Den Director of Operations Sean Hill. Neil was born deaf, so Hill said he needs a special kind of owner.

Donte’s Den isn’t just for dogs. A white donkey, a mini horse and a herd of cattle live among three pastures on the campus.

ABOUT THE NONPROFIT

Donte’s Den Foundation. 6801 283rd St. E., Myakka City.

Mission statement: To offer long term and permanent care for dogs whose owners are unable to care for them due to illness, injury, abandonment, long-term travel or military deployment and to provide a temporary home and medical care to abandoned and mistreated dogs and cats who will be placed with loving families.

Get involved: Visit DontesDen. org or call 219-3730.

then, the program has served reservists, firefighters, state troopers and police officers.

Wahl said she felt “in the loop,” and her mom was allowed to visit Dozer. Her mom and the staff members at Donte’s sent Wahl pictures and videos throughout her deployment.

The foundation sprawls across 50 acres in Myakka City. The campus includes a welcome center, adoption center, dog dens and a veterinary clinic and hospital.

Dogs are provided grass and Astroturf yards for playing, along with a bone-shaped pool with a fire hydrant sprinkler. There are also three pastures that are now home to a herd of rescue cattle, a donkey and a mini horse. There are boars, ducks and even three formerly pet otters roaming the property.

“If Marsha wants it to be rescued, it will be rescued and live here forever,” Director of Operations Sean Hill said.

Marsha Panuce is the founder of Donte’s Den, which is a 24-hour, staff-run, privately funded nonprofit.

“One of the reasons we chose to be privately funded is because we can move a lot faster on decisions,” Panuce said. “When we want to do something and it hits a particular criteria, we take it to our board, we get approval and we get moving.”

A similar thought process is why Donte’s doesn’t rely on volunteers.

There are 11 full-time staff members and three part-timers. Every staff member has to interact with every dog, and not every dog that is rescued or boarded is a cuddle muffin.

Hill has 35 years of dog training under his belt. Both fresh and healed bite marks and scratches run along both of his forearms. He shuns harsh training methods that employ the use of devices, such as shock collars, in lieu of love.

Part of the “Donte’s difference” is that every employee must love and care for their Donte’s animals as they do their own.

Penny was a dog that ran wild around the Sarasota Square Mall for months. Her penchant for pizza is what finally trapped her when she kept returning to the same pizzeria day after day. Animal Services was going to euthanize Penny because she was deemed untouchable, therefore, unadoptable.

“Penny’s a great dog. She was just scared and needed somebody to care about her,” Hill said. “She’d been running loose for so long that she had lost the ability to trust. Here at Donte’s, we’ve instilled that trust back into her.”

Dogs like Penny are how Donte’s got its start. Panuce drove around from shelter to shelter and asked to see “death row.” She fit seven dogs into her car on that first trip.

Panuce and her staff make it clear that Donte’s is not a rescue — it’s a sanctuary. Animals that can’t be adopted because of behavioral issues, or simply won’t be adopted due to age or health conditions, have found their forever home when arriving on campus.

The foundation’s boarding, adoption, training and veterinary services are open to the public and help offset the costs of running Semper Paw and caring for the unadoptable animals.

Panuce donates her earnings from “Animal Outtakes,” a half-hour TV show that airs on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. on WWSB ABC7, but said Donte’s couldn’t survive without donations.

“I get very emotional about this because I can see in my head the 10 years of dogs that we’ve given a second chance to. We’ve had a couple tied up to our front gate,” Panuce said   “We take them in, and they become our family.”

A+E INSIDE:

<RETIREMENT IS OVERRATED: Scott Keys has more time for community theater. 18A

BLACK TIE INSIDE:

SCORING FOR CHARITY: Girls Inc. hosts Totally Tailgate 19A>

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

SHOWING THE SACRED SIDE OF TANGO

IF YOU GO

Tango with Key Chorale

When: 4 p.m. Sept. 23

Where: Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road Tickets: $35-$45 Info: KeyChorale.org.

Without a doubt, Argentina’s tango is one of the sexiest dances on the planet. So it might seem strange to see the dance performed in a church to a Latin Mass. But not to Joseph Caulkins, maestro of Sarasota’s Key Chorale symphonic chorus.

To Caulkins, the seemingly contradictory themes of sensuality and sacred mesh nicely in Martín Palmeri’s “Misatango,” a Latin Mass that marks the start of Key Chorale’s 2023-24 season.

“There’s been dancing in religions for centuries,” points out Caulkins, who has been artistic director of Key Chorale for 16 years.

On Sept. 23, Key Chorale joins bandoneonist Ben Bogart and pia nist Winnie Cheung (known in the tango world as Ben & Winnie) along with four tra ditional tango dancers in a performance at Church of the Palms. This isn’t the first time Key Chorale has taken a twirl with tango in Sarasota. Back in 2018, the symphonic cho rus of more than 100 singers collaborated with Sarasota Ballet’s Studio Company to present “Misatango” at the Sarasota Opera House.  The show was a great suc cess, Caulkins said. He expects the same enthusiastic response from the audience

Courtesy photos

Pianist Winnie Cheung and bandoneonist Ben Bogart will appear with Key Chorale for a tango performance Sept. 23 at Church of the Palms.

Key Chorale’s 39th season kicks off with ‘Misatango.’

Junior Cervila and Guadalupe Garcia

this time around, especially since Billboard 100 artists Ben & Winnie are in the show. (The last time, Ben performed but not Winnie.)

Based in Bloomington, Indiana, Ben & Winnie define their mission (“to change the world”) in the hashtag #onetangoatatime. Ben is a bandoneonist who holds a degree from Berklee College of Music and a certificate from the Orquesta Escuela de Tango Emilio Balcarce. Composer and pianist Winnie, a native of Hong Kong, holds degrees from the University of Chicago and Rochester’s Eastman School of Music.

For those who don’t follow tango, Ben is a master of the instrument neophytes might mistakenly call an accordion. A type of concertina popular in Argentina and Uruguay, the bandoneon was named after a 19th century German instrument dealer named Heinrich Band. It was originally used for religious music, unlike other types of concertinas found in folk music.

If you consider tango and religion to be an unlikely combo, just wait until you hear about Key Chorale’s upcoming event that brings together Bach and beer. Still, it must be noted that both are among Germany’s most enduring exports.

Like its hops-infused inspiration, Key Chorale’s first “Bachtoberfest” will take place in October, at the Church of the Redeemer. There will be four concerts from Oct. 13-15, including one featuring period instruments, topped off by a “biergarten” experience catered by Calusa Brewing and Sarasota Catering.

The wide-ranging Bachtoberfest program will showcase the Key Chorale Chamber Singers, soprano Mary Wilson, trumpeter Aaron Romm and the chamber orchestra. There will even be traditional German music from Bill Milner’s Oompah Band in the beer garden.

Tickets range in price from $15 to $200 for a three-day pass. This being fun-loving Sarasota, there are sure to be a few Bach-style wigs and frock coats in the crowd, maybe even on Caulkins himself, if a video on Key Chorale’s website is any indication.

“It’s a fun program,” Caulkins says. “It’s something we’ve never done before. It’s been a jigsaw puzzle to put it all together.”

No one can say Caulkins doesn’t like a challenge. When he’s not creating innovative programming and conducting, the maestro likes to climb mountains. Caulkins has conquered hundreds of peaks throughout the U.S., Canada, France, Switzerland and Italy including Mount Rainier, Grand Teton, Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.

But what Caulkins likes to do most of all is collaborate with Sarasota’s many cultural organizations. It’s been his hallmark since arriving in Florida in August 2007 from Illinois, where he was artistic director and conductor of the Bach Chamber Choir in Rockford and directed the

St. Procopius Chamber Orchestra and Choirs at Benedictine University in Lisle.

The many co-stars that Caulkins personally and Key Chorale collectively have worked with include professional orchestras, singers, dancers, high school students, circus artists and people living with Parkinson’s.

Caulkins is particularly devoted to nurturing the talents of young artists. Toward that end, the Key Chorale Chamber Singers and Booker High VPA Choir will come together on Nov. 18 with Artist Series Concerts for a program featuring violin virtuoso Alexander Markov.

On Feb. 20, the Booker, Riverview and Sarasota high school choirs will perform separately and alongside Key Chorale in “Tomorrow’s Voices Today High School Choral Festival.”

Sarasota’s heritage as the winter outpost of the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus and the current home of the Circus Arts Conservatory has given Caulkins plenty of opportunities to team up with circus artists during his tenure at Key Chorale.

This season marks the 13th year that Key Chorale has worked with Circus Arts Conservatory on “Cirque des Voix,” or Circus of Voices. On March 22-23, a new show will once again meld circus and musical arts.

As a guest conductor, Key Chorale Maestro Caulkins has led The Venice Symphony, Space Coast Pops, The Sarasota Ballet and The Southwest Florida Symphony, where he was also associate conductor and director of choruses from 2001-2010.

Caulkins’ collaboration with The Venice Symphony continues in its 50th season, first when Key Chorale appears with the symphony on Feb. 23-24 with “Disney’s Maestro, A Tribute to Alan Menken” and again on April 23-24 with “The Crown Jewel Finale.”

In 2019, Caulkins was recognized for his tireless artistic efforts when he won the Arts Leadership Award for Artistic Achievement from the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County.

One of Caulkins’s newest collaborators is Glenn Priestly, who joined Key Chorale as principal accompanist in May. Priestly took the position after retiring as worship director and chapel organist of Fairhaven, a megachurch in Dayton, Ohio, where he served for 20 years.

Priestly took over from Nancy Yost Olson, who retired after 14 years in the post.

Joseph Caulkins is Key Chorale’s artistic director.

Define Gallery gives Art Uptown artists a lifeline

For a small business, social media can be a blessing. But it can also be a curse. Just ask Casey and Deena King, the husband-and-wife proprietors of Define Art Gallery.

The Kings’ gallery is currently located at 2170 Main St., but they’re moving to 68 S. Palm Ave. and taking some of the artists displaced by the recent closing of Art Uptown Gallery with them.

An announcement listing 14 former Art Uptown exhibitors appeared on Facebook on Sept. 12. Since then, the Kings have had a deluge of phone calls, texts and emails from arts aficionados. They’ve also heard from Art Uptown veterans whose work will not be on display at Define, which opens Oct. 3, in time for First Friday Art Walk.

But there’s no such thing as bad publicity, right? Still, the Kings are worried the Facebook post gave the impression that all of Art Uptown’s former artists or even the gallery itself are moving to the new Define space. For the record, the new Define space will include the works of 22 artists, including Deena King, who has exhibited at Creative Liberties in the Limelight District, as well as 14 artists formerly at Art Uptown.

Those artists are Ian Begg, Melanie Carlstein, Liz Cole, Gillian St. George, Donna Grossman, Joan Libby Hawk, Christine Hales, Esther Jensen, Deborah Kadagian, Evelyn McCorristan Peters, Janet Mishner, Cheryl Moody, Kathryn Adele Schumacher and Mariane Wurzbach.

The Kings don’t want to appear ungrateful for the publicity. “We don’t know who put up the post, but we’re grateful that they’re getting the word out,” says Casey King, a global

IT executive who works remotely. According to Deena King, the matchmaker between the former Art Uptown artists and Define was Barbara Gerdeman, co-founder of Creative Liberties.

The Kings moved to Sarasota right before COVID swept the country. Deena King started working on her fine art during the pandemic in the couple’s garage before finding studio space with Zero Empty Spaces, which seeks to provide artists with affordable studio space nationwide, and then with Creative Liberties.

The Kings opened their first Define gallery 18 months ago. By moving, Define will more than double its space, from 486 square feet to 1,000 square feet.

Define is offering artists a number of options to exhibit their work, none of which requires an exclusive agreement. Artists can pay an annual membership fee or join the gallery on a month-to-month basis.

An entry-level option calls for artists to pay a $250 monthly membership fee and to work part-time in the gallery.

The Kings view their Oct. 3 debut as a “soft opening” before a Nov. 17 “re-grand opening.”

Even though rising rents contributed to the August closing of Art Uptown after 43 years in business and the June exit of Dabbert Gallery after 18 years, Casey King thinks there’s room for new players in the downtown arts scene.

“There is still a hunger for art,” he says.

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Deena and Casey King’s new space is near the recently shuttered Art Uptown Gallery.

Monica Gagnier Casey and Deena King pose outside their Define Art Gallery, which is moving to 68 S. Palm Ave.

THIS WEEK

FRIDAY

STEVE BYRNE

7 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd. $28

Visit McCurdysComedy.com.

Pittsburgh native Steve Byrne is a favorite on the comedy festival circuit and has appeared at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, Toronto and Chicago, and HBO’s Comedy Arts Festival in Las Vegas. Runs through Sept. 23.

2 PEACE

7 p.m. at Centennial Park, Venice Free Visit VisitVeniceFl.org.

Rock to the sounds of 2 Peace at this free Friday night concert hosted by Venice MainStreet and sponsored by Neal Communities. Bring your own chairs and blankets to Centennial Park, but leave the booze behind because no alcohol is allowed.

OUR PICK ‘UP ON THE ROOF’

In the 1950s and 1960s, Manhattan’s Brill Building was home to songwriting duos such as Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Carole King and Gerry Goffin and Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Their iconic “Brill Sound” is showcased in this revue by Rebecca Hopkins and Richard Hopkins. Runs through Feb. 4.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday

Where: at FST’s Court Cabaret, 1265 First St.

Tickets: $18-$39

Info: Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

DON’T MISS

FRIDAY FEST: JAH MOVEMENT

The Van Wezel’s Friday Fest free summer concert series comes to a close with a performance by reggae band Jah Movement, winner of the Manasota Honors 2021 Musical Artist of the Year award. Featuring vocalist Shantel Norman, Jah Movement sprinkles a little R&B, soul and funk into its potent mix of live reggae.

IF YOU GO

When: 5-9 p.m. Friday

Where: at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail Tickets: Free Info: Visit VanWezel.org.

SATURDAY

FAMILY ART DAY

9 a.m. to noon at Creative Liberties, 927 N. Lime Ave. Free Visit CreativeLiberties.net.

Artist Sandy Koolkin will lead families in a creative project that is suitable for all ages and skill levels. No RSVP required.

SARASOTA OPERA ANNUAL FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL

1-4 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 Pineapple Ave. $75 Visit SarasotaOpera.org.

Restaurants will serve bites, wine and other nibbles while gift cards and Sarasota Opera tickets will be raffled off at this annual benefit for Sarasota Youth Opera. This year’s lineup features many festival veterans as well as newcomers such as Molly’s Pub and Shore.

Stars Ascending 2023-24

Intimate musical experiences.

Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota offers a diverse range of 26 concerts featuring emerging and accomplished classical, chamber, jazz, and pop artists from around the globe. Full concert schedule/tickets: ArtistSeriesConcerts.org

NEXUS Chamber Music Oct. 1 The Queen’s Six Dec. 17

Season 28 Miró Quartet

Shannon Lee Apr. 28 & 29 Lin Ye Feb. 24

Courtesy photo

Scott Keys’ second act

IF YOU GO

‘RUTHLESS!’

When: Sept. 27-Oct. 15

Where: The Players Centre, The Crossings at Siesta Key Tickets: $32 Info: ThePlayers.org

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

When a visitor urges actors rehearsing for an upcoming performance of the Sarasota Players’ “Ruthless!” to pretend “she’s a fly on the wall,” director Scott Keys laughs.

“That’s impossible,” he tells the cast. “It’s like when the principal comes to observe a class; everyone sits up a little straighter.”

Keys knows a little something about life in a classroom. In 2021, he retired as director of the theater program at Booker High School’s renowned Visual and Performing Arts Program, where he had been a teacher since 2000.

Retirement isn’t a word that’s in Booker’s vocabulary. Instead of high school musicals, some of which he wrote by himself and with partners, Keys is directing community theater, including “Ruthless!” The tale of a scheming child actress opens at The Players Centre on Sept. 27.

One of the oldest cultural institutions in town, The Sarasota Players was founded in 1929 and recently returned to its original name. Its offices are in the Rosemary District and its stage is in the Crossings at Siesta Key Mall, but the community theater is getting a new home in Payne Park.

During his teaching career and now after it, Keys is one of the exceptions to the longstanding putdown about academics, “Those who can’t, teach.” The first part of that sentence, lifted from George Bernard Shaw’s play, “Man and Superman,” is “Those who can, do.”

A graduate of Syracuse University’s musical theater program with a teaching degree from Eckerd College has over 150 productions to his credit, including Venice Theatre, FST, Manatee Players and Sarasota Players, as

well as the Weathervane Playhouse in Newark, Ohio, where he served as artistic director for seven years.

Watching Keys mark up his script during the “Ruthless!” rehearsal, “give notes” (theater-speak for critique) and use his index finger as a baton to direct his pianist and cast, Keys evokes archetypal characters.

Is he the Magician in the Tarot?

Maybe the Pied Piper of children’s fairy tales? Perhaps even Willy Wonka of the silver screen, if you give him a jaunty top hat.

In any event, one gets the feeling that Keys is up to something fun, maybe even subversive, and you immediately want to be part of it.

After an hour or so watching Keys rehearse, you come away quite sure that he’s the kind of high school theater teacher who has launched a thousand dreams.

Indeed that’s the story of how Keys ended up in the theater himself. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Keys says he attended a high school dominated by sports. Despite his lanky physique, Keys didn’t see himself as a basketball player. Instead, he found his calling after his high school drama teacher cast him as Jesus in the school production of the musical “Godspell.”

A former seminarian, Doug Benbow was the only Black teacher at Keys’ high school at the time, Keys says. “He was very creative. He changed my perspective. He gave a closeted gay boy a chance to shine,” he says.

At Booker, Keys gave aspiring artists the tools (keys?) to hone their talents, earning the award for Sarasota County Teacher of the Year in 2008-09. Among his former students who have gone on to show business careers are Charlie Barnett, Drew Foster and Syesha Mercado.

While at Booker, Keys directed more than 50 productions, including plays, musicals and original works. His last hurrah was “Kingdom of Solitaire,” which he created with Theater Music Director Johnnie Mnich. The two had previously collaborated on the original musical “Sleepy Hollow” in 2012, as well as songs and librettos for musical revues.

“Kingdom of Solitaire” was built on the foundation of a play that Keys wrote in high school called “The Fifth Suit,” about a kingdom of cards that’s on the brink of collapse. Keys went back to the idea and modified it in response to the political divisions whose tensions were fueled by quarantine, social distancing, masks and other measures to stop the spread of COVID.

Keys had planned to retire from Booker in 2020 but agreed to stay on for another year in the middle of the pandemic.

Remote learning and isolation from peers was particularly difficult for students in the performing arts, Keys says. “There was a genuine malaise, lack of engagement and in some cases almost hostility during the pandemic,” he recalls.

“We actually had a few students withdraw from the program,” he continues. “They just didn’t see the point to taking acting classes or voice when you had to stand six to 12 feet away.  Plus, there was a real fear that the performing arts would never come back, and therefore it was no longer a potential career choice.”

Like many members of Sarasota’s arts community, Keys earned his theater stripes in New York City, where he spent 10 years. In addition to earning an MFA from NYU, he worked at Playwrights Horizons.

Ultimately, he and his partner, David Covach, now head of the costume department at Asolo Repertory Theatre, came to Sarasota for its sunshine and vibrant performing arts scene.

Today, Keys is one of the pillars of that community. After “Ruthless!” at The Players, Keys will direct

the Tony Award-winning musical “Parade” at Bradenton’s Manatee Players in March. Earlier this year, he appeared in Sarasota’s first fringe festival, the Squeaky Wheel Fringe Festival, with a one-man play called “The Sequestered Jester.”

Despite all his theatrical credits, just a few of Keys’ productions are available to license and perform. When you Google him, among the musicals and revues that turn up are  “Look Out, Olympus!” and “Hula Hoops and Halos” (both with Jeffrey Smart), “Hollywood Hillbillies” (with Tim Kelly) and “First in Line” (with Robert Frankel).

Given the enduring appeal of the Headless Horseman and its spinoffs, Keys and Mnich’s “Sleepy Hollow” would seem to be an ideal candidate for license.

But Keys says submitting musicals to publishers requires lots of documentation and live footage, which he and his collaborators didn’t always create nor bother to preserve.  Evidently, those who do, don’t always document.  No matter. Keys’ legacy is the magic he creates in the lives of his students and audiences.

The retired arts educator is directing ‘Ruthless!’ in Sarasota and ‘Parade’ in Bradenton.

Courtesy photos

Retired Booker High School educator Scott Keys has more time to pursue community theater and other arts endeavors since his 2021 retirement.

Scott Keys performed in “The Sequestered Jester,” a one-man show at the first Squeaky Wheel Fringe Festival.

At Sarasota Players, Scott Keys is directing the musical “Ruthless!” about a girl willing to do anything to play the lead role in her school musical.

Girls Inc. kicks off with Totally Tailgate event

Saturday,

September 9, at Michael’s On East | Benefiting Girls’ Inc.

Whether they were football fans or just there to act like a fan with some tailgate food favorites, patrons of Girls Inc. gathered Sept. 9 for the nonprofit’s sixth annual Totally Tailgate event at Michael’s On East.

Attendees were able to watch their favorite college football teams on multiple screens or could engage in some in-person competition with the cornhole tournament.

Along with the games was a beer garden featuring local craft brews, all set to live music by MonkeyFinger. Proceeds from the event will go to support Girls Inc. and its programming to inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold.

OBSERVER STAFF

Graham Devitt and Dani Oliva

Photos by Lori Sax

Kabena Williams and Molly Moore

Rebecca Guttridge and Rebecca Lewis

RAISING CANCER FUNDS IN FASHION

Lakewood Ranch resident continues to raise funds for American Cancer Society three years after wife’s breast cancer diagnosis.

LIZ RAMOS SENIOR EDITOR

As Lakewood Ranch’s Scott

Kessler walked the runway at last year’s Men Wear Pink fundraiser, he carried a pink rose.

At the end of the catwalk, he handed the rose to his wife, Cherri Kessler, who went through breast cancer treatment in 2020.

Although Cherri is cancer-free, the Kesslers continue to support the American Cancer Society as their way of giving back to an organization that helped Cherri during her cancer treatment.

The next opportunity comes Sept. 23, as the 2023 Men Wear Pink Fashion Show will be held at the Macy’s Court in the Mall at University Town Center.

It was in February 2020 when Cherri sat anxiously in her doctor’s office waiting to hear the results of her biopsy,

She already knew her mammogram results came back abnormal in December 2019.

Her diagnosis revealed estrogen positive breast cancer.

Cherri could only describe her diagnosis in one word — heartbreaking.

DIAGNOSIS WAS SHOCKING

Scott said the diagnosis was shocking. He had family members who died from different cancers, but he didn’t expect his wife to receive a cancer diagnosis.

He said as shocking as it was, he had to set aside his feelings to focus on his wife. He wanted to be strong for her and support her in any way possible.

“That was probably the hardest part, to deal with the feelings but yet not show weakness,” he said.

The challenges of Cherri’s treatment were exacerbated as the COVID-19 pandemic began and hospitals were being inundated. Hospitals also only were allowing essential services.  “No one could come with me to any appointments,” Cherri said. “I had a lot of friends texting and family FaceTimes. I watched a lot of ‘Sex and the City’ and movies.”

Every text message or FaceTime helped Cherri to feel less alone when she was by herself during her treatments.

Cherri took every precaution possible during the pandemic so she wouldn’t test positive. She was sure to wear a mask, gloves and other protective gear, and Scott was responsible for running any errand.

Cherri had two lumpectomy surgeries, four rounds of chemotherapy and seven weeks of radiation as treatment. If Cherri tested positive for COVID, she wouldn’t have been able to get treatment.

On the day of her second surgery in April 2020, the pandemic almost kept her from her surgery. Cherri said the surgery center at Sarasota Memorial Hospital was closed due to COVID-19 so all surgeries were taking place in the main hospital.

The MRI machine was down causing delay after delay. There weren’t enough staff members at the hospital because half of the hospital was shut down due to there not being any elective surgeries.

When she was finally able to have an MRI, which was required before her surgery, it was at least five hours later than her originally scheduled surgery at noon.

Cherri said the unknown length of the pandemic, on top of the unknown of her cancer treatment, caused more anxiety.

Throughout her treatment, she dealt with side-effects that included nausea and losing her hair.

IF YOU GO

When: 5:30 p.m. Sept. 23

Where: Macy’s court at Mall at University Town Center, 140 University Town Center Drive, Sarasota Details: American Cancer Society hosts annual Men Wear Pink fashion show as ambassadors strut their way down the runway. More information: MallAtUTC.com/ Events/The-Mall-AtUniversity-Town-Center-2023-Men-WearPink-Fashion-Show To donate to the ambassadors, visit ACSEvents.org.

“Watching her go through it was hard, and not being able to do anything,” Scott said. “I was on the outside looking in trying to be helpful and supportive. It was amazing what everybody helped her with that I couldn’t.”

GIVEN THE ALL-CLEAR

By October 2020, Cherri was given the all-clear, giving the Kesslers a sign of relief.

Cherri said being told the cancer was gone made her feel that she could go back to her real life.

“I’m not chained to a 7:30 appoint-

ment every single day,” she said. “But then it was always, OK, was it going to come back?”

Each mammogram every six months was nerve wracking.

Now, three years later, she only has her yearly mammogram, and it doesn’t come with as much anxiety.

Rather than focusing on the next appointment, the Kesslers are concentrating on raising money for the American Cancer Society.

Cherri first became involved with the national nonprofit in 2020 when her friend Michelle Olivo, who battled breast cancer at least three years prior to Cherri, introduced her to the American Cancer Society.

Olivo helped guide Cherri through the resources the American Cancer Society had to offer, what to expect out of treatment and more.

“It was like she was holding my hand the whole way,” Cherri said of Olivo.

The Kesslers started raising money for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in 2021.

Scott was then “volun-told” to participate in Men Wear Pink, Cherri said with a laugh.

RAISING THE FUNDS

Every year, Scott designs a shirt to sell to raise money. He also hosts a sporting clays tournament and other events. Last year, Scott raised $26,000.

“Every little bit helps, and we’re just trying to help so that somebody else doesn’t have to go through what Cherri went through by themselves,” Scott said.

Normally, Scott doesn’t sport pink, but in October, he wears something pink every day in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“It has a special place in the closet,” Scott said. “The collection has grown. I think I have close to maybe 20 shirts (with pink on it).”

Although all Men Wear Pink ambassadors are raising money for the same cause, Scott said they try to find ways to outdo each other.

“There’s a little competition, but I think we all give each other ideas and have a good time being together and we’re all supporting the same cause,” Scott said.

Some ambassadors walk the runway with a themed outfit. Last year, Summerfield’s Jeff Young made his way down the catwalk wearing sunscreen, a visor and a pink floatie around his waist.

But Scott said he keeps it simple. He’s more focused on not falling off the stage.

Liz Ramos

Lakewood Ranch’s Scott Kessler and his wife, Cherri Kessler, continue to raise money for the American Cancer Society three years after Cherri’s cancer diagnosis.

Courtesy photo

Lakewood Ranch’s Scott Kessler raises thousands for the American Cancer Society as a Men Wear Pink ambassador.

Kenyon,

“Gator

The wild side of learning

s John Kenyon, an educational outreach programmer for Big Cat Habitat, pulled out a carpet python, dozens of Braden River Elementary School students screamed.grade teacher.

Braden River Elementary School teachers participated in a training with the Everglades Foundation over the summer.

Photos by Liz Ramos

It took a few minutes for Kenyon, who also is known as “Gator John,” to calm them so he could share facts about the python.

The python wasn’t the only animal to induce a rise out of students. They reacted similarly when he pulled out an alligator, three other snakes, a turtle and a tortoise.

The presentation was the end to Everglades Week at Braden River Elementary School, which is working toward becoming the School District of Manatee County’s first Everglades Championship School.

“We want our students to be aware of what they can do to help nature and be stewards of the earth,” said Tammy Peters, a first

Peters said the teachers were thrilled to bring the Everglades to the school.

Teachers stayed after school Sept. 8 to decorate the halls of the school to look like the Everglades to surprise students as they walked into class Sept. 11.

Every first grade and kindergarten class chose an animal that lives in the Everglades to research. Peters’ class chose pig frogs and learned about their habitat and life cycle

“They’re learning a lot,” Peters said. “They’re gaining a lot of knowledge and not even knowing they’re doing it because we’re having so much fun doing it.”

— LIZ RAMOS

Third graders Rose Kessler and Hadley Drohan dress as tacky tourists. “I got to wear this fanny pack and carry a notebook and pen inside it,” Drohan says.

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Second graders Charlotte Ferris and Juliet Fernandez scream as they see a large carpet python. The python was Ferris’ favorite animal she saw during Big Cat Habitat’s presentation.

John

or

John,” who is an educational outreach programmer, tries to calm students as they scream over the carpet python he’s holding.

A sulcata tortoise can grow

to

more

First graders Elyssa Riggs, Tyler Shomo and Brixtyn Murphy separate the animals that live in the Everglades from those that don’t.

BEST BET

SATURDAY, SEPT. 23

BOOTS AND BANDANAS

Begins at 6 p.m. at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church, 12905 S.R. 70 E., Lakewood Ranch. The Boots and Bandanas fundraiser, hosted by Catholic Charities and Our Lady of the Angels, will raise money for those in need in DeSoto County. The event includes live country music by Andy Pursell, a barbecue dinner, a silent auction and more. Tickets are $100. For more information, call 863-494-1068 or contact BootsAndBandanas@ CatholicCharitiesDov.org.

COMMUNITY

THURSDAY, SEPT. 21

Jay Heater

Our Lady of the Angels’ Pat Martino joins Catholic Charities’ Gloria Romero and Eddie Gloria as they collect items for the Boots and Bandanas’ silent auction.

THROUGH SUNDAY, SEPT. 24

LIVE MUSIC AT JIGGS LANDING

Runs from 4-8 p.m. at Jiggs Landing, 6106 63rd St. E., Bradenton. The live music lineup at Jiggs Landing includes Al Fuller (Thursday), Gator Ridge Ramblers (Friday), Blue Grass Pirates (Saturday) and KoKo Ray 3-way (Sunday) in the Jimmy Buffet Music Night. The Friday show has a $5 cover and the Sunday show, a tribute to Jimmy Buffet, carries a $15 cover, which includes appetizers and a souvenir cup. For more information, go to JiggsLanding.com.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 22 AND SATURDAY, SEPT. 23

MUSIC AT THE PLAZA

Runs 6-9 p.m. both days at 1560 Lakefront Drive, Waterside Place in Lakewood Ranch. On Friday, singer Mylon Shamble will entertain those strolling the streets of Waterside Place. Then on Saturday, singer/musician Ektor Keys performs magic with a mix of saxophone and keys.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 23

LIFE;STORY 5K/10K

Begins at 7 a.m. at Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson

Circle, Sarasota. The 21st annual Centerstone Life;Story 5K/10K Run and Walk for Suicide Prevention follows a scenic route around the lake at Nathan Benderson Park. Registration for the 5K is $45; the 10K is $50. For information, visit NathanBendersonPark.org.

RALLY AT THE RANCH

Begins at 6 p.m. at UMR Sports, 151 Upper Manatee River Road, Bradenton. The Sundown Rally at the Ranch is a pickleball tournament with rally scoring designed for 3.5and 4.0-level mixed doubles teams. Interested participants should email MoorePicklePro@gmail.com with their name, their playing partner’s name and the pair’s level. Registration is $60. For more information or to register, visit UMRSports.com.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 24

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, and dairy products, among other items. Other features are children’s activities and live music. For more information, visit MyLWR.com.

•

•

Full Service?

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Dr. Kansara

at Coastal Eye Institute, is a leading expert in the field of ophthalmology, specializing in:

• Glaucoma Management & Surgery

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His patient-centric approach ensures personalized treatment plans that cater to your unique eye health needs.

Whether you’re seeking preventative care or battling an eye condition, Dr. Kansara’s expertise and compassionate care can guide you towards improved vision and a healthier lifestyle. He is dedicated to staying at the forefront of ophthalmic advancements, offering the latest treatments and technologies to deliver the best possible outcomes for his patients.

Don’t miss this opportunity to receive compassionate and personalized eye care. Learn more about his areas of specialty, and to make your appointment with him today at www.CoastalEye.com

Dr. Kansara looks forward to helping you see the world more clearly.

Grand Living celebrates its 100 club

Addressing about 100 neighbors, friends and family at Grand Living of Lakewood Ranch Sept. 15, Don Patterson said his mom, Ann Patterson, has changed her mind as she approaches 100 years old.

“She said, ‘I never thought I wanted to be 100, Don Patterson said. “ But now that it is here, why not?’”

Ann Patterson, who was born Feb. 10, 1924, was among three Grand Living residents being honored as they neared or hit their milestone birthday.

Mary Myers turned 100 on Sept. 15, and, of course, there was cake for everyone. While she doesn’t cook as much as she did when she raised five children, she still loves Greek food. She loves the lamb dinners at Grand Living, but she said she could offer them a few tips about cooking the dish.

Evelyn Zorn will reach 100 years old on Jan. 2.

“(Turning 100) is a special day for so many reasons,” said Evelyn’s son, Eric Zorn. “It is achieving a milestone we all aspire to.”

In February I fell and broke my left shoulder. I contacted Dr. Page who examined my shoulder, He diagnosed and made a recommendation for surgery, carefully explaining the procedure in terms my husband and I could understand. After surgery, I was in physical therapy the following week. In less than three months, I regained most of my mobility back and my shoulder continues to improve. The surgery was a complete success. The nurses and office staff were very competent and helpful. I would recommend Dr. Page without reservation.

Photos by Jay Heater

Don Patterson tells the crowd that his mom, Ann Patterson, is a great mom, cook, housekeeper, photographer, world traveler and party thrower.

Evelyn Zorn

Ann Patterson with her husband David in 1946.

Sarasota Memorial Presents WOMEN'S HEALTH TODAY Heart Disease, Menopause & Cancers To Screen For

A FREE Lecture Series | October 2023

Join our women’s health experts this month as they discuss some of the most important healthcare issues affecting women today. From maintaining a healthy heart to managing menopause and staying on top of the latest cancer screenings & symptoms, hear straight from the doctors and surgeons of Sarasota Memorial. A brief Q&A will follow each presentation.

Tuesday, October 3, 4:30-5:30pm

} M. Blair Marshall, MD, FACS - Lung Cancer in Women

Thursday, October 5, 4:30-5:30pm

} Sarah C. Kimball, MD, FACS - Breast Cancer Screening and Risk Factors

} Jerette J. Schultz, MD - Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy

Tuesday, October 10, 4:30-5:30pm

} Kristen L. Walker, MD - Women's Heart Disease

Wednesday, October 18, 4:30-5:30pm

} Jennifer S. Holl, MD - Colorectal Cancer in 2023: Screening, Risk Factors, What Can You Do?

Thursday, October 19, 4:30-5:30pm

} Anna V. Soendker, MD - Am I Going Through Menopause? Signs, Symptoms and What You Need to Know

This is a FREE LECTURE SERIES with FREE VALET PARKING at main hospital entrance. Light refreshments served. RSVP required. Reserve your space by phone at (941) 917-7777 or online at smh.com/lectures.

Myers on her 100th birthday Sept. 15 at Grand Living with her granddaughter, Karoline Myers Brown.

Evelyn Zorn, who turns 100 in January, is shown with her son, Eric Zorn, and Grand Living Executive Director Michelle Orlando.

John Myers is shown with Mary Myers after World War II.

Azario Esplanade home tops sales at $2.8 million

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

Ahome in Azario Esplanade topped all transactions in this week’s real estate. Sterling and Michelle Wharton, of Cutler Bay, sold their home at 15518 Derna Terrace to Scott and Susan Sorensen, of Ada, Michigan, for $2.8 million. Built in 2020, it has four bedrooms, four-and-two-half baths, a pool and 4,841 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,551,700 in 2021.

POMELLO PARK

Joe and Melinda Mays, of Bradenton, sold their home at 7620 205th St. E. to Blake and Cortney Hepburn, of Sarasota, for $1,789,000. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 4,037 square feet of living area. It sold for $925,000 in 2014.

DEL WEBB

Lisa Marie Lindstrom, of Sun City Center, sold the home at 16847 Ellsworth Ave. to Ronald Schuh and Rosemary Anne Schuh, of Bradenton, for $1.2 million. Built in 2018, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,664 square feet of living area. It sold for $683,300 in 2018.

Julie Manguart, of Gainesville, Georgia, sold the home at 17697 Northwood Place to Janet Marie Bobb, of Lakewood Ranch, for $565,000. Built in 2021, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,395 square feet of living area. It sold for $414,900 in 2021.

ISLES

Susan Lynn Goetzinger and Herbert George Goetzinger Jr., trustees, of Cincinnati, sold the home at 17680 Azul Drive to Elizabeth BrownNorth, trustee, of Bradenton, for $1.2 million. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,528 square feet of living area. It sold for $671,200 in 2022.

Elizabeth Mammuth, of Lakewood Ranch, sold her home at 8213 Redonda Loop to Robert and Melinda Blanchard, of Bradenton, for $969,000. Built in 2022, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,277 square feet of living area. It sold for $763,400 in 2022.

WINDING RIVER

David and Elise Lawson, of Edmond, Oklahoma, sold their home at 14109 Ninth Terrace N.E. to Gus and Tammy Gonzalez, of Bradenton, for $1.15 million. Built in 2014, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,800 square feet of living area. It sold for $850,000 in 2021.

CRESSWIND

Beverly Kennedy, trustee, of University Park, sold the home at 4944 Surfside Circle to Philip and Eleanor Krey, of Bradenton, for $1,125,000. Built in 2021, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,374 square feet of living area. It sold for $678,100 in 2021.

RIVER CLUB SOUTH

Anthony Vasquez, trustee, of Rapids City, South Dakota, sold the home at 7203 River Club Blvd. to Daniel Frank Pisa and Crystal Shi Ee Pisa, of Bradenton, for $900,000. Built in 2000, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,316 square feet of living area.

WILTON CREST

Marcia Fox, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the home at 7821 Wilton Crescent Circle to Larry Sappington, trustee, of Bradenton, for $865,000. Built in 1995, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,749 square feet of living area.

RIVER CLUB NORTH

The Bank of New York, Mellon, trustee, sold the home at 6706 Oakmont Way to Madrid Capital LLC for $850,000. Built in 1998, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 5,798 square feet of living area. It sold for $950,000 in 2005.

RYE WILDERNESS ESTATES

Robert Katrina Taylor, of Columbus, Indiana, sold their home at 17008 Second Ave. E. to James William Reiser and Kim Elizabeth Reiser, of Bradenton, for $825,000. Built in 2014, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,548 square feet of living area. It sold for $489,000 in 2020.

MILL CREEK Helena Borges, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the home at 714 137th St. N.E. to Nicholas and Blaire Flood, of Bradenton, for $800,000. Built in 2005, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,209 square feet of living area. It sold for $515,000 in 2020.

WENTWORTH Gregory and Cheri Scicchitano, of Fayetteville, New York, sold their home at 7331 Saint Georges Way to 7331 Saint Georges Way LLC for $755,000. Built in 1998, it has two bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,631 square feet of living area. It sold for $480,000 in 2020.

COUNTRY CLUB

Cesar and Kerri Yanes, of Bradenton, sold their home at 6615 Oakland Hills Drive to 6615 Muirfield Village LLC for $742,500. Built in 1998, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,098 square feet of living area. It sold for $615,000 in 2022.

COPPERLEFE

Richard Lincoln Kennedy II and Valerie Nicole Kennedy and Marjorie Kennedy sold their home at 532 Mimosa Court to Carley and Justin Wiegner, of Bradenton, for $720,000. Built in 2018, it has five bedrooms, three baths and 3,257 square feet of living area. It sold for $384,500 in 2018.

DESOTO LAKES COUNTRY CLUB

COLONY Prather Holdings LLC sold the home at 8019 Conservatory Drive to Felix and Magarita Plasencia, of Sarasota, for $710,000. Built in 1978, it has six bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,048 square feet of living area. It sold for $590,000 in 2022.

COACH HOMES AT LAKEWOOD

NATIONAL

Joshua Allen Davis, of Humboldt, Tennessee, sold the Unit 6521 condominium at 6075 Worsham Lane to Brian and Peggy Crotty, of Bradenton, for $680,000. Built in 2021, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,108 square feet of living area. It sold for $415,000 in 2021.

HAMPTON GREEN

Marcia Salkin, of Sarasota, sold her home at 6409 Addington Place to James Guilfoyle, trustee, of University Park, for $675,000. Built in 1992, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,707 square feet of living area. It sold for $615,000 in 2022.

OLD GROVE AT GREENFIELD PLANTATION

Mark Parsons and Heather Richau sold their home at 10547 Old Grove Circle to Bruce and Rita Connolly, of Bradenton, for $675,000. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,910 square feet of living area. It sold for $490,000 in 2020.

Anthony and Sandra D’Agnolo, trustees, of Parrish, sold the home at 10595 Old Grove Circle to Roger and Sharon Long, of Bolivar, Ohio, for $590,000. Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,874 square feet of living area. It sold for $259,000 in 2002.

PERIDIA

Melody and Todd Smith, of Severance Colorado, sold their home at 4461 Pro Am Ave. E. to Belinda Gribble and Cathy Lee Pepple, of Liberty Township, Ohio, for $665,000. Built in 1989, it has four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a

pool and 2,552 square feet of living area. It sold for $310,000 in 2016. William Peattie, trustee, of Ballwin, Missouri, sold the home at 4930 Peridia Blvd. E. to Sinisa and Vanja Zinaja, of Sarasota, for $520,000. Built in 1987, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,274 square feet of living area. It sold for $210,000 in 2001.

MANDALAY

Bryan and Maureen Bryfczynski and Anthony and Cory Schmidt sold their home at 4520 62nd Ave. E. to Ahmad Alnadi, of Bradenton, for $660,000. Built in 2004, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,295 square feet of living area. It sold for $550,000 in 2022.

POLO RUN Jared and Stephanie Roberts, of Greenfield, Indiana, sold their home at 17523 Blue Ridge Place to Anthony Felix Raimondo Jr. and Sharon Marie Raimondo, of Columbus, Nebraska, for $655,000. Built in 2020, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,006 square feet of living area. It sold for $630,000 in 2022.

RIVERDALE

Marian Piecek, of Lemont, Illinois, sold his home at 4220 First Ave. E. to Ewa and Boguslaw Dabek, of Bradenton, for $640,000. Built in

Courtesy photo

This Azario Esplanade home at 15518 Derna Terrace sold for $2.8 million. It has four bedrooms, four-and-two-half baths, a pool and 4,841 square feet of living area.

Real estate

1996, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,680 square feet of living area. It sold for $520,000 in 2022.

ESPLANADE

John Marovich, of Bourbonnais, Illinois, and Maria Irene Flores, of Sarasota, sold their home at 5129 Serata Drive to Fay and Carol Cohenour, of Bradenton, for $620,000. Built in 2013, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,920 square feet of living area. It sold for $342,000 in 2018.

HERITAGE HARBOUR

A1 System LLC sold the home at 119 Winding River Trail to Cristobal and Terri Santiago-Rivera, of Bradenton, for $620,000. Built in 2010, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,874 square feet of living area. It sold for $400,000 in 2021.

BRADEN WOODS

Richard Rojas and Amanda Lynn Rojas, of Sarasota, sold their home at 9522 59th Ave. E. to Mary Bissell, of Bradenton, for $585,000. Built in 1988, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,609 square feet of living area. It sold for $505,000 in 2022.

BROOKSIDE ESTATES

Ingibjorg Olafsson, of Bradenton, sold her home at 743 129th St. N.E. to Chi Cuong Lam and Christine Siew Yen Ng, of Santa Clarita, California, for $585,000. Built in 2016, it has three bedrooms, two-and-ahalf baths and 2,421 square feet of living area. It sold for $342,100 in 2016.

LAGOON AT TIDEWATER PRESERVE Cristobal and Terri Santiago-Rivera, of Bradenton, sold their Unit B condominium at 1129 Riverscape St. to Timothy Schindel and Linda Schindel, trustees, of Bradenton, for $579,000. Built in 2007, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,748 square feet of living area. It sold for $502,500 in 2022.

Give

Your Child a

High Tech Advantage

at State College of Florida Coding Academy

The State College of Florida Coding Academy gives local youth a hightech advantage through pre-college workshops, after-school enrichment programs, youth competitions, and micro-credential classes. Located in the Advanced Technology Center at SCF Bradenton, the Coding Academy is a premier training center introducing students and adults to STEM majors and careers.

With access to an innovation zone featuring Arduino microprocessors, 3D printers, laser cutters, drones, a virtual reality lab, and game design laptops, students engage in hands-on activities to expand their knowledge of emerging technologies. Students, as young as second grade, experience immersive hands-on experiences in career and

technical fields, leading to increased motivation, improved critical thinking skills, and a better understanding of math and science concepts.

The Coding Academy offers pre-college emerging technology workshops for high school students, after-school enrichment classes, competitions, and more for younger students. Emerging technologies taught include drones, robotics, augmented/virtual reality, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and ethical hacking.

After-school enrichment classes have started for 2nd through 8th graders,

including Coding with Minecraft®, FIRST® LEGO® League robotics, Drone Zone Experience, cybersecurity, AR/ VR, AI, 3D design/printing, drone competitions, coding hackathons, and micro-credential classes.

VERANDA AT LAKEWOOD NATIONAL

94101 Palmer Circle LLC sold the Unit 2011 condominium at 5694 Palmer Circle to Anthony and Marisa Stropoli, of Uniontown, Ohio, for $535,000. Built in 2021, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,462 square feet of living area. It sold for $259,200 in 2021.

COUNTRY OAKS

Jessica Shorin, of Sarasota, sold her home at 5045 82nd Way E. to Colet Acham, of Quebec, Canada, for $485,000. Built in 1987, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,582 square feet of living area. It sold for $152,500 in 2001.

CREEKWOOD

Sara Brooke McDerment and Clifford Michael McDerment sold their home at 4821 76th Court E. to James Thompson, of Bradenton, for $455,000. Built in 1996, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,005 square feet of living area. It sold for $396,000 in 2021.

WOODLEAF HAMMOCK

Daniel and Natasha Bowett, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 11613 Woodleaf Drive to Brent and Charlene Belsole, of Wadsworth, Ohio, for $440,000. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,025 square feet of living area. It sold for $266,500 in 2020.

TERRACE AT LAKEWOOD

NATIONAL

Mark Heinemann, of O’Fallon, Missouri, sold his Unit 1428 condominium at 17902 Gawthrop Drive to Stephan Patrick Nebbia and Leslie Charlotte Krentz, of Amherst, New York, for $420,000. Built in 2021, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,286 square feet of living area. It sold for $300,000 in 2021.

STEM camps are offered during the Summer, Winter, and Spring breaks at SCF Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, and Venice campuses. Elementary camps feature Minecraft, drones, robotics, and STEM science. Middle and high-school camps offer robotics, engineering, drones, manufacturing, graphic/video production, cybersecurity, and field trips to local tech/manufacturing businesses.

The Coding Academy offers their Innovation Zone with 3D printers,

laser engraver, VR headsets, game design computers, robots, drones, Arduino microcontrollers, and more for homeschool students and youth groups to receive hands-on training.

Schedule a tour today!

For more information or to schedule a tour of SCF Coding Academy’s programs, contact Director Desh Bagley at (941) 752-5160 or email Coding@SCF.edu.

IT’S READ EVERYWHERE

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

I’ll feature your HOME in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Robb Report, Mansion Global, Barrons, Market Watch, Unique Homes, Local and International MLS, as well as FaceBook, Instagram, YouTube and much more!

Undergraduate: Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA Medical School: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA Residency: Internal Medicine, Graduate Hospital, Philadelphia, PA

Fellowship: Neurology, Drexel University, Hahnemann Hospital, Philadelphia, PA

Certification: Board Certified, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Hospital Affiliations: Lakewood Ranch Medical Center; Doctors Hospital; Sarasota Memorial Hospital

Fast Break

Daniel

Lakewood Ranch High

freshman boys swimmer

Daniel Snitkovsky won the 50-yard freestyle (40.01 seconds), the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.59), the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.50) and the 200-yard medley relay (1:52.45) Sept. 13 at the Mustangs’ four-way meet against Palmetto, Southeast and Booker at G.T. Bray Park in Bradenton.

… The Lakewood Ranch High girls cross-country team won the 12-team 2023 Green Devil Invitational, held Sept. 16 at Crescent Lake Park in St. Petersburg. Mustangs junior Olivia Spiegel finished first overall as an individual (19:56.28) and four other Mustangs finished in the top 15.

Braden River High senior volleyball player Rylee Hinkle had six kills, 14 digs, four blocks and two aces Sept. 14 in the Pirates’ 3-2 win over Riverview High. The Pirates are now 9-2.

Soleta Golf Club announced the hiring of Nick Batson as its director of grounds Sept. 14. Batson has previous stops at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and Spa in Jupiter and the Ritz-Carlton Members Club in Bradenton, among others. Construction on the club’s course will begin in November.

The Out-of-Door Academy senior girls golfer Madeline Crosby (39) tied for first at the Thunder’s match against Lakewood Ranch High and Saint Stephen’s Episcopal, held Sept. 13 at The River Club Golf Course in Bradenton. Crosby tied with Saint Stephen’s junior Tiffanie Tran. Lakewood Ranch won the match as a team (174) and ODA finished second (178).

Michael Gray Daniela

Soiman, Ian Gilbertson and Carole Gilbertson (29) won the “Nine, Dine and Wine” golf event (better ball of four scoring) held Sept. 17 at University Park Country Club.

THUNDER RUNNER GOES THE DISTANCE

RYAN KOHN SPORTS EDITOR

Cross-country runner

Declan Fiorucci spent his summer doing everything except distance running.

The Out-of-Door Academy senior took up kickboxing and played basketball with his friends. He rode his bike around town. He stuck to a gym routine. He went swimming. He even tried his hand at pole vaulting.

He would do anything to switch up his cross-country training routine.

Fiorucci had been running nonstop for three years. Before he geared up for his final year of high school running, he wanted to try other things.

All of it was for fun, but in retrospect, Fiorucci said all the crosstraining he was doing over the summer will help him run, too.

“I’m looking at my times, and they’re the best they have ever been at this point in the season,” Fiorucci said. “So I know it has been worth it.

The cross-training in those cardioheavy sports has made a difference.”

Fiorucci, who finished 19th (16:34.5) at the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A state meet in 2022, has already recorded a 16:57.6 in the new season. He recorded the time at the Seffner Christian Invitational, held Sept. 9 at Holloway Park in Lakeland. For comparison, at the Fort Myers XC Invitational held Sept. 10, 2022, Fiorucci finished in 17:40.1. He’s approximately 43 seconds faster at the same point in 2023.

Combined with his belief that he did not run his best race at the state meet in 2022, Fiorucci said he has a shot at a medal this season. Fiorucci said one reason he’s put an emphasis on his cardio this offseason is the course at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, where the state meet is annually held. He said the course

DECLAN FIORUCCI’S 2023 FINISHES

■ Second at the 2023 Thunder

XC Jamboree (17:31.30)

■ Eighth at the 2023 Babe Zaharias Twilight Challenge (6:51.90)

■ 10th at the 2023 Seffner Christian Invitational (16:57.6)

the next two miles, he’s pacing himself more. His first mile is still fast, but not at 100% effort; the next mile he aims to be approximately 10 seconds slower; and the final mile he gives everything he has left. That way, instead of people passing him down the stretch, he’s the one doing the passing, which gives him more confidence.

So far, the new race plan is working, in combination with everything else Fiorucci has tried in 2023.

“My biggest problem, and I think a lot of people’s problem, with cross country is finding the (necessary) mental strength,” Fiorucci said. “I’m trying to do a lot of those exercises now. Like, I’m doing yoga. I’ve never believed in that type of stuff before, but it’s working. I don’t know how to explain it.”

ANOTHER THUNDER RUNNER ROLLS

While Declan Fiorucci is the Thunder’s best hope of a medal in 2023, sophomore teammate Kevin Gyurka is one to watch in the coming years. As of Sept. 15, Gyurka’s seasonbest time of 16:53.8 is the fifth-best time of any sophomore in the state, according to head coach Jay Roper. Roper said he expects that ranking to get even better as the season continues.

there lacks the humidity of courses in southern parts of Florida. For some people, that is a positive change, but not for Fiorucci, who has asthma. He said humidity helps him breathe efficiently. He’s hoping the increase in cardio will mitigate the negative effects of the asthma.

It’s not only traditional sports that he’s trying. He’s also taken to running in his family’s backyard pool, back and forth in one-meter sprints. He will do pushups in the shallow end of the pool, holding himself underwater on the “down” end of the push-ups to work on his breathing and lung capacity.

He will walk backward up a hill to strengthen muscles in his legs. Fiorucci said he takes a lot of inspiration from Navy SEAL training sessions. The SEALs, he said, are not phased by anything thrown at them.

Fiorucci said he occasionally struggles with his confidence as a runner. When he sees people passing him in the second half of races, he gets anxious. When he gets anxious, he gets tight.

To combat this feeling, Fiorucci said, he’s altered his race plan. Instead of going his hardest in the first mile, then slowing down over

ODA coach Jay Roper, who came to the program this offseason from Sarasota’s Riverview High, has continued Fiorucci’s trend of doing things differently. Roper has begun taking some of the team’s practices off-campus, having them run the hill at Sarasota’s Celery Fields to get used to the feeling of climbing. The course at Apalachee Regional Park, in addition to the lack of humidity, features a hill that runners call “The Wall,” a reference to how it stops many runners in their tracks the first time they tackle it. Practicing at Celery Fields, Fiorucci said, adds important experience to his arsenal.

While the state meet is not until Nov. 17, Fiorucci is already thinking about his ramp-up to it. He has good running partners to make sure he never slacks in practice. That includes ODA sophomore Kevin Gyurka, who finished approximately seven seconds behind Fiorucci at the Seffner Christian Invitational, and junior Collin Dillingham, who was approximately 27 seconds behind Gyurka.

Fiorucci said his teammates are not only good runners, but they are knowledgable and they pick good spots to change their pace. The intersquad competition should keep everyone focused until the postseason, Fiorucci said.

That’s when Fiorucci hopes to earn medals.

“I’m going to train hard until I get there,” Fiorucci said.

“Put me on the field one-on-one with a defender and he is not getting me down.” — Lakewood Ranch High football’s Simon Freed SEE PAGE 12B

File photo Lakewood Ranch High freshman swimmer

Snitkovsky dominated in a meet at G.T. Bray Park.

ODA senior Declan Fiorucci is using unorthodox training methods to climb the sport’s ranks.

Photos by Ryan Kohn

ODA senior Declan Fiorucci said he has taken inspiration from Navy SEAL training when thinking of unorthodox ways to improve his cross-country results.

ODA senior Declan Fiorucci believes he can compete for a medal at the 2023 FHSAA state cross country meet.

“I’m going to train hard until I get there.”

Declan Fiorucci

KOHN

Pirates search for solid effort in all phases

It is now four weeks into the high school football season, and teams have pretty much established an identity.

Braden River High looks like a contender while Lakewood Ranch High and The Out-of-Door Academy have had their struggles. Here’s the one big question each team has to answer if it expects to make the postseason.

BRADEN RIVER HIGH (2-1)

Can the Pirates take advantage of the opportunities they create?

Failing to do so against Manatee High (4-0) on the road Sept. 16 is the thing that has kept the Pirates from an undefeated record. The Pirates lost 28-20 to one of the best teams on the Gulf Coast, and while there’s not inherently any shame in that, Braden River had chances to do more than keep it close.

Down 7-0, the Pirates faced a fourth and goal from Manatee’s 1-yard line in the first quarter.

Braden River’s run attempt was stuffed. Later, when the Pirates scored in the third quarter to make it a 21-13 game, the Pirates couldn’t hold on defense, giving up a touchdown that killed momentum.

After the team’s 41-23 win over Lakewood Ranch High on Sept. 8, Braden River head coach Curt Bradley was upset that his team did not play “complementary football,” with the offense helping the defense and vice versa. The Manatee game was another example of Braden River not being able to put together a solid effort in all aspects of the game — offense, defense and special teams.

The Pirates have talent, but it all needs to work in sync to put the Pirates on an elite level. Can that happen? Sure. The Pirates are playing many players who are getting their first taste of the varsity level. Games like the Manatee loss will hurt, but also serves as lessons for the future. Staying within eight points of Manatee, which now

holds a 147-68 point differential in 2023, on the road is a sign that Braden River is a very good team. The Pirates need to tighten things in all aspects, and if they do, a deep playoff run is not out of the question.

LAKEWOOD RANCH HIGH (1-3)

Can the Mustangs build around their rushing attack?

Lakewood Ranch struggled to score in its first three games, though it did find a few things that worked in its loss to Braden River.

One of those was senior running back Simon Freed, who took over the starting position because of injuries and has wrestled control of it. Freed had 90 yards rushing and a touchdown against the Pirates, and he had an even bigger impact in the team’s first win of the season, a

47-7 road win over IMG Academy Blue on Sept. 15. In that game, Freed had 202 yards and three touchdowns.

For weeks, Lakewood Ranch head coach Scott Paravicini has talked about finding pieces of the puzzle. The Mustangs entered the season without much of an identity, and Paravicini wanted to see which of his units played well enough to establish that identity. Based on the IMG Blue win, it appears Freed and the Mustangs’ offensive line should be the focal point.

The focus on the running game appeared to help everything else.

Senior quarterback Sebastian Mejia was efficient in a supporting role, completing eight of 13 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown to senior receiver Jaron Fields. Thanks to Lakewood Ranch controlling things on the ground — and thus controlling the clock — the Mus-

tangs’ defense was able to get rest, which in turn helped them clamp down the Ascenders’ offense, which had just 145 total yards. Lakewood Ranch also intercepted two passes.  Lakewood Ranch will face better teams, so don’t expect 47-7 wins every week, but a strong rushing attack can be a way for the Mustangs to grind out wins in 2023. A home game against Lyman High (3-1) at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 will be a big test.

THE OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY

(1-2)

Where has the running attack gone?

In a reversal of Lakewood Ranch’s question, ODA has to fix its ground game if it wants to be a factor in the postseason. In the team’s surprising 9-1 season in 2022, ODA ran for 2,960 yards at eight yards per carry, adding 44 touchdowns along the way. Leading rusher Griffin

DeRusso (1,444 yards) is gone, but the entire offensive line that paved the way last season has returned in 2023. Yet for some reason, the rushing attack has struggled.

Instead of eight yards per carry, the team is getting 5.3 yards per carry, and it only has four rushing touchdowns through three games — all four of which came in the first week victory against Berean Christian. Since then, junior quarterback Jackson Roth has thrown a touchdown to senior receiver Jack Meyers, and senior linebacker Jack Taraska has a fumble return for a touchdown. That has been the extent of the team’s points.

Defensively, things seem about the same as 2022. Even in losses, ODA has limited Saint Stephen’s Episcopal (3-1) to 21 points and Oasis High (3-1) to 16 points. But it is hard to win football games without scoring and ODA hasn’t even been able to reach double digits.

The ODA coaching staff is excited about what Roth can bring in the passing game, but as it is his first season playing American football after moving from Canada, an adjustment period was expected. It is the running game that needs to click.

In that respect, the team’s off week this past week came at the right time. Playing an eight-game schedule, ODA can’t afford many more losses. A road game against Faith Christian (2-1) at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 will be a chance for the Thunder rushing attack to show it can get back to being the dominant unit it was in 2022.

PROSE AND KOHN RYAN

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

Braden River junior running back/ receiver Yahshua Edwards celebrates after a touchdown against Lakewood Ranch. The Pirates need to score at a higher percentage when they reach the red zone.

Photos by Ryan Kohn

Lakewood Ranch senior running back Simon Freed bursts through the Braden River defense. Freed has captured the starting role after beginning as a backup. Can he hold onto it?

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Simon Freed

Simon Freed is a senior running back and linebacker on the Lakewood Ranch High football team (13). Freed had 16 carries for 214 yards and three touchdowns Sept. 15 in a 47-7 road win over IMG Academy Blue (0-3).

When did you start playing football?

I started when I was 7 years old.

I was at a birthday party with my twin brother (Levi Freed), and we were wrestling. Someone there was a youth football coach and said we should come out and play football. My family was like, ‘Heck yeah, let’s sign them up.’

What is the appeal to you?

I’ve always liked to be physical, my whole life. I wrestle with my buddies and stuff. But also, there’s a quote from a movie (“Friday Night Lights”) that says basically, can you leave everything out on the field? Can you look your teammates in the eye and say ‘I did my best’? I like doing that.

What is your best skill?

My legs. I have large legs and I think that helps with plowing through defenses. I’m not the fastest prospect, but put me on the field oneon-one with a defender and he’s not getting me down.

What have you been working to improve?

I have tried to step up as a leader in general. This year, I want to add being a leader, talking on the field and

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.

giving my teammates as much hype as they can get.

What is your favorite memory?

I’m from Bothell, Washington. (Freed moved to Lakewood Ranch in 2022.)

I was on the Cedar Park Christian football team in middle school. We went to the championship game in eighth grade. We lost the game, but I had played with those buddies through elementary school and middle school, and at the end of the game, we were just bawling. It was emotional, but it also my favorite memory, just getting there with those guys.

What did the win over IMG Academy Blue do for your team?

It changed a lot. Before that game, people didn’t know how to act in the locker room, whether to talk or be quiet. After the game, people were ecstatic. And then (the Sept. 18) practice, we were a lot more focused. We’re ready for Lyman High (3-1) and to get after it.

e your hobbies?

I like working. Last summer, I went door-to-door selling solar (panels). When I was little, I would sell shoes online, stuff like Supreme and Louis Vuitton. I actually just opened up an LLC to start a pressure washing

What is the best advice you have received?

When I was little, I would keep my head down when I made a tackle. Now I know that can cause head injuries, so I think to myself, ‘Keep your (helmet) crown faced to God’ and that keeps my head up.

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Dombroski took this photo of a row of sunflowers in Lakewood Ranch.

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