Through the hustle and bustle of the holidays, Mill Creek’s Ellen McLaughlin wanted a reminder that sometimes you need to grab a drink and relax.
She found that reminder while shopping at Heather Caudill’s booth at the Mill Creek Market Fair on Nov. 23.
McLaughlin (above with Caudill) bought a clock that carries the Jimmy Buffett line, “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere,” with blue waves and sand on it to resemble the beach.
“I love meeting the neighbors to see what crafts they’re creating,” McLaughlin said. “This clock will look perfect on my porch and will remind me to have a little celebration once in awhile.”
That’s a wrap
It used to take staff at the Humane Society of Lakewood Ranch three trips to pick up a dozen animals from Manatee County Animal Services.
Now, they can pick up a dozen animals in one trip thanks to a new van.
“Hundreds of dogs, cats and bunnies have been transported in our new van already this year,” said Cindy Jackson, board and executive committee member.
The van was purchased in April for $56,500 using donations and two $10,000 grants from the Selby Foundation and the Manatee Community Foundation.
Shelter Director Dani Ziegler and Shelter Attendant Mora Jordan (pictured above) are showing off the van’s new specialty wrap, which features dogs and cats that were either adopted or available for adoption.
Fresh look for Main Street at LWR
The dairy says it needs the public’s understanding and support to be successful in the long
Jay Heater
Eight-year-old Liam Griego (2447) leads runners out of the fog during the Florida Turkey Trot kids run at Nathan Benderson Park on Thanksgiving Day.
Lesley Dwyer
Garrett Dakin is one of Gerry Dakin’s four nephews that took over the farm in May.
Building integrity
Braden River High School JROTC cadets give back to the community through Manatee County Habitat for Humanity.
LIZ RAMOS SENIOR EDITOR
As Diego Valerio was install-
ing a dryer in the back of a Bradenton home, his fellow JROTC Cadets Meyli Rojas and Val Amezquita were painting the back exterior of the house.
At the same time, Cadet Priscilla Luciano was working on a fence in the front yard while Cadet Mystique Quinones painted the front door.
Other Braden River High JROTC cadets were all around the Manatee County Habitat for Humanity property Nov. 20, completing various tasks to help the home be ready in time for its new owners to move in by Christmas.
At the end of the four-hour shift, the tired cadets left with paint on
ABOUT THE HOME
■
their shirts and in their hair, and smiles on their faces.
Over three days, 46 cadets were performing volunteer work for Manatee County Habitat for Humanity as part of a service project for this school year.
The JROTC program previously had an annual partnership with Manatee County Habitat for Humanity, but the COVID-19 pandemic halted that partnership. Now the cadets have chosen to support Habitat for Humanity once again, said Company Commander Yham Alvarez, a senior.
“This gives us an opportunity to get involved with their community,” said Company Commander Joshua Bolanos, also a senior. “It also promotes hard work, dedication and even doing the stuff that most people don’t want to do, which is part of being a leader.”
The Bradenton home originally was built for a Manatee County Habitat for Humanity client. The client has been able to move out of the home, so Pierre Dagenais, the construction supervisor for the Habitat project, said the home has become a part of the nonprofit’s Critical Home Repair Program.
“This program is all about lifting up the community,” Dagenais said.
“The more people do better, the bet-
ter the community is.”
After three hurricanes this year and going through Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Irma in 2017, Alvarez and Bolanos said they know how important it is to support the community.
“I was in elementary school during Hurricane Irma, and the whole backyard of our house pretty much got destroyed. If we had the help like what we’re doing here, it would have meant a lot,” Bolanos said.
Dagenais said the goal is to have new homeowners move in by Christmas so they can enjoy the holidays.
Dagenais said the refurbishment of the home wouldn’t be possible without the help of volunteers, including the Braden River High School JROTC cadets. He described the cadets as polite, courteous and willing to learn.
“They take the task and put a good effort into it and learn how to do it right,” Dagenais said.
The project was beneficial for all involved, Dagenais said. The volunteer hours keep the costs down because the nonprofit doesn’t need to hire people for installations and repairs. The cadets benefit by learning life skills they could apply in
GET INVOLVED
Manatee County Habitat for Humanity always is looking for more volunteers. To get involved, visit ManateeHabitat. org/Volunteer.
time,” Dagenais said. “Money you can always replace, but time you’ll never replace. That’s why time is so valuable, and we appreciate it so much.”
The cadets helped with painting, installing appliances, hanging doors, and household repairs. They kept crossing off tasks listed on a long to-do list that hung on the fridge.
the future. The new homeowners obviously benefit by enjoying a new home.
“It’s a wonderful program where they can come and donate their
Alvarez said he learned how to install a dishwasher while Bolanos learned about painting patterns. Alvarez and Bolanos said they wished the best for the homeowners and also hope the new occupants would appreciate the hard work the volunteers’ put in to make the home look brand new.
Photos by Liz Ramos
Braden River High School JROTC cadets volunteer for Manatee County Habitat for Humanity. They work on refurbishing a home with hopes of the new owners being able to move in by Christmas.
Junior Kyle Clerkin pays attention to all the details as he paints the exterior of the home.
Sophomore Diego Valerio works closely with Pierre Dagenais, construction supervisor for Manatee County Habitat for Humanity, as they install a washer and dryer.
Main Street REVIVAL
Remodels and collaborations aim at enticing new customers as Main Street at Lakewood Ranch heads into its 20th anniversary year.
LESLEY DWYER
STAFF WRITER
Main Street at Lakewood Ranch is headed into its 20th anniversary year of 2025 with a new look.
Over the past year, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, Lakewood Ranch’s parent company, has been repainting the buildings and upgrading the landscaping. Amanda Zipperer, director of property management and leasing at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch, said the awnings and outdoor seating will be updated, too.
However, SMR is not the only driver of Main Street’s revival.
Business owners are remodeling, rebranding and working together to draw more visitors to Lakewood Ranch’s original town center.
“SMR spending money on Main Street made us feel good,” said restaurant owner Zach Zeller. “We’re starting to see some (other) people spend some money to elevate Main Street.”
Among the “other” people spending money are Bob Bender, Albert Myara, Adam Myara and Bruce Mahnke, co-owners of Ed’s Tavern, which first opened on Main Street in 2009. Those owners opened a second Ed’s Tavern off State Road 64 in January, which led to a remodel in November at the Main Street location.
“Our guests just love everything about (the State Road 64 location),” Bender said. “So as we continue to grow and expand into other locations, we felt we needed to go back and do what we can (at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch) to get this to a higher level.”
The two locations now more resemble each other with wood paneled walls and a new TV systems. The Main Street tavern already had plenty of TVs, but now there are five more that help form a TV wall behind the
MUSIC ON MAIN
While Lakewood Ranch has turned Music on Main into a popular monthly event, the restaurants on Main Street provide live music weekly.
■ Remy’s on Main. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 6-9 p.m.
■ Peculiar Pub. Saturdays from 7-10 p.m.
■ Percoco’s Pizza and Pasta. Wednesday and Thursday from 5-8 p.m., Saturdays from 6-9 p.m.
■ Ed’s Tavern. Friday and Saturday starting at 8 p.m.
■ McGrath’s Kitchen & Cocktails. New Year’s Eve from 5-9 p.m.
bar. The restrooms were remodeled, and the indoor and outdoor furniture was replaced with the exception of the booths, which are en route.
Zeller and his partner, Chef Evan Percoco, own and operate the Peculiar Pub and Percoco’s Pizza and Pasta.
They’re also opening another restaurant, the Twisted Pit, and they have snatched up another space next door to the Peculiar Pub.
The Twisted Pit will be serving Texas-style barbecue possibly by the end of the year, but that depends on equipment being delivered by then.
The spot was formerly Sofia’s.
Eventually, they want to add a speakeasy for the area that used to be Sofia’s kitchen.
The space next to the Peculiar Pub is only being used for storage right now because the pair have enough on their proverbial plates, but they said the space could become an expansion of the pub or something entirely new.
When Zeller and Percoco took over Main Street Trattoria, the plan was to simply “put some lipstick on it” and reopen under the same name in
about 10 days. They said they quickly realized the restaurant had been neglected for quite some time, so they decided to remodel and rebrand it as Percoco’s.
“It went from 10 days to six weeks and a lot more money involved,” Zeller said.
In the end, the restaurant was outfitted with new air conditioning, floors and furniture. Plus, a wall was torn out to open up the space.
Zeller and Percoco envision Main Street as the place “where locals do life.”
They want to see people return week after week because of the array of amenities it offers from seeing a movie to getting a haircut.
“We could absolutely put people in button-down shirts with white tablecloths and charge 20% more,” Zeller said. “The first thing we said was that we want this to be affordable for families to come and enjoy themselves.”
On Thursday nights, an 18-inch cheese pizza costs $12, and there’s live music from 5 to 8 p.m.
Percoco’s isn’t the only rebrand Main Street has seen this year. What used to be McGrath’s Irish Ale House is now McGrath’s Kitchen & Cocktails.
“SMR spending money on Main Street made us feel good. We’re starting to see some (other) people spend some money to elevate Main Street.”
Zach Zeller, owner of Percoco’s Pizza & Pasta
The Myaras, Bender and Mahnke also own McGrath’s.
“We just changed the menu to make it more appealing to a larger audience base than people who are just coming out for the Irish (dishes),” Mahnke said. “There’s a little bit
EVENTS
Main Street at Lakewood Ranch hosts activities throughout the year. Here’s a look at some of the upcoming holiday events.
■ Music on Main, Dec. 6 from 6-9 p.m.
■ Holiday of the Arts Festival Dec. 7-8 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ■ Jingle Run 5K, Dec. 13 from 6-9 p.m.
■ Main Street Small Business Market, Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
■
of everything on the menu for anyone’s taste buds.”
Corned beef is still served, but Cuban and Italian dishes are, as well.
Zeller said an interesting aspect of the days of COVID-19 was when all the tables on Lakewood Main Street were outside. Kids could kick a soccer ball around while their parents enjoyed a relaxing dinner.
That would be Zeller’s ideal setup, but Zipperer said it’s not feasible to shut down the street outside of special events because emergency vehicles need immediate access to all areas of the town center.
So Zeller and Percoco are looking into partnerships with other Main Street businesses to encourage guests to stay longer on Main Street. Perhaps pairing a pizza with a movie or a round of mini golf would be appealing.
“There could be good synergy,” Percoco said. “We have a good relationship with the other tenants.”
The Grove recently partnered with Arts A Blaze Studio for A Very Merry Ornament Workshop on Nov. 30, and it wasn’t their first collaboration.
“We started with a wine night,”
Arts A Blaze owner Joann Kavanaugh said. “We join forces, and they get to do what they do best and we get to do what we do best. We’ll be doing something at Grove every month next year.”
The studio provides the pottery and paints. Grove provides the wine and snacks. The venue also allows Kavanaugh a larger audience.
The studio can accommodate 44 people inside with another 12 outside, but she’s had over 100 attendees at the Pinot & Pottery events held in Grove’s ballroom.
Arts A Blaze stays open until 8 p.m. five nights a week, but the retail shops on Main Street close between 5 and 6 p.m. with one exception — The Naples Soap Company.
By virtue of staying open late, they’ve partnered with every restaurant on the street.
“On a Friday or Saturday night, we’re on an hour wait,” Zeller said. “People need something to do. Naples Soap has captured that. All the time, we get people walking in with Naples Soap bags.”
Manager Amy Santella said the shop keeps busy during weeknights, too.
“They come in because we’re open,” she said. “People always say that they wish more stores were open later.”
Amy Santella is the manager of the Naples Soap Company on Main Street.
Photos by Lesley Dwyer
Bob Bender, Adam Myara, Albert Myara and Bruce Mahnke own Ed’s Tavern and McGrath’s Kitchen & Cocktails on Main Street.
Zach Zeller and Evan Percoco own Percoco’s Pizza & Pasta, the Peculiar Pub and the Twisted Pit, which is opening soon on Main Street.
Pavilion construction progresses
The roof of the Adventure Park pavilion should be in place in January.
LESLEY DWYER
STAFF WRITER
The director of operations of Lakewood Ranch’s Inter-District Authority said Greenbrook residents will begin to see progress on the construction of the new Adventure Park pavilion in January.
Tom Merrell said the steel roof of the $500,000 pavilion will be in the manufacturing phase through the end of December and will be installed by the end of January.
Construction of the restrooms will coincide with the pavilion installation, but they’re not expected to be finished until March.
Smoldering fireworks ignited and burned down the previous pavilion at the Adventure Park on July 5, 2023.
Since then, local residents have been waiting for a replacement.
“We saw them clearing it and cutting the weeds six months ago,” Waterside’s Kathy Surro said. “But then nothing happened. I’m so excited it’s coming back. We’ve been missing the pavilion.”
Surro babysits for a 1- and 3-yearold twice a week. They visit Greenbrook on one of those two days every week because the kids love it.
Surro prefers Greenbrook because the park is so far from the street and even the playground is set back from the parking lot. She feels safer with two little ones in tow.
But given the challenges of potty training, she’s looking forward to getting the restrooms back.
“It’s tough with the kids in the porta potties,” Surro said.
The new pavilion will maintain the same color scheme as other shade structures in the park with a green roof and beige posts.
IN OTHER PARK NEWS
In a unanimous vote during the October board meeting, the proposal for a Rainbow Bridge pet memorial was denied due to flooding concerns.
“I think it would be a huge disappointment,” Assistant Secretary Nancy Johnson said. “Every time there’s a flood or heavy rains, it’s going to be ruined. I think if we had a different place, it would make sense.”
Merrell said the paths are reshelled annually, but this season “wiped out the trails.” He expects the paths will be reshelled within the next several months.
“It would be nice to have it done when we open up the new pavilion,” Merrell said. “But that might not be the reality. We’re still in the throes of cleaning up from Hurricane Milton.”
While the activity areas of the park are cleaned up, there are still trees down in the woods, large piles of debris to be removed and “hangers” to deal with.
Hangers are broken limbs that haven’t fallen yet, but Merrell said they’re dangerous because they will eventually fall.
In other CDD news, during the October CDD4 board meeting, Vice President Keith Davey said the shell paths around the Adventure Park are so washed away that it’s like walking in sand on the beach.
A moo-ve toward education
Dakin Dairy Farm is putting more resources into education since former owner Jerry Dakin’s nephews took over in May.
LESLEY
When Jerry Dakin wanted to sell his land in Myakka City to farmers instead of developers, his four nephews — Garrett, Grant, Ethan and Jason Dakin — took over.
The farm was transferred to the brothers on May 1. Garrett Dakin said they’ve been working nonstop since to give the farm another life.
“The community didn’t want to see this place turned into a housing development,” Garrett Dakin said. “We saw the reaction from the community (to the possible sale), so we stepped up. Now, we’re going to need
IF YOU GO
Dakin Dairy Farms, 30771 Betts Road, Myakka City. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Visit DakinDairyFarms.com.
There is a cafe, gift shop and playground on site that includes a petting zoo. Playground visitors are asked to buy a $5 cup of feed for the goats and are welcome to play all day. Tours are typically scheduled Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and cost $10 per person.
the community’s help, too. They don’t want the houses, but we need some consumers. It’s a big circle.”
The brothers have big plans to revamp the farm over the next three years, but some of those changes
already can be seen.
The playground area — that hosted those visiting — has been completely revamped with sod and landscaping. It features some cool new toys, including a wooden John Deere jungle gym.
An old grain cart was converted into an arcade-style basketball game, and hand pumps were set up with PVC pipes to fill a canal for a rubber duck race, only in this case, the ducks are cows.
The sides of an old A-frame barn were lifted up. Now, that barn serves as a petting zoo. There are goats, calves, a miniature donkey, chickens, turkeys, bunnies and Rudy, an old circus bull. Rudy is so calm he has no problem keeping a red fedora on his head.
“I’m so thankful that the boys took over,” Tours and Events Coordinator Shannon Mullen said. “It was a little nerve wracking thinking it might go to developers. They they have put their heart and soul into this with their families.”
FLORIDA AG EXPERIENCE
Another way Dakin Dairy Farms has helped to educate the community is through donating a trailer to the Florida Ag Experience, operated by Courtney Dakin and Jennifer Miller.
“A lot of people can’t come out to the farm,” Dakin said, “So we’re a tool to bring the farm to you.”
The AG Experience goes to a lot of fairs and community events, but it also goes to schools. Last week, the trailer carried a calf to Wilkinson Elementary School in Sarasota.
The goal is to get enough sponsors to cover the expense of taking the trailer into schools. Sponsor packages range from $500 to $5,000.
Visit The Florida AG Experience on Facebook or email TwoBlondeHeifers@gmail.com.
Dakin said it’s not just the brothers doing all the work, the wives are chipping in, too, especially when it comes to events.
The farm threw its first harvest festival in October and is gearing up for Christmas with a milk and cookies event with Santa on Dec. 13-14.
“Our goal is to get as many people as we can to see this place,” Dakin said. “We want the community to know where the food on their table is coming from. We want them to know it’s a secure, healthy, great product, and you’re able to watch it be made.”
Lewis Vassaur is a retired rice farmer from Altheimer, Arkansas. His son lives on Crosby Road near Grant Dakin.
“I saw some good looking cattle and said, ‘Let’s go down and see those farmers,’” Vassaur said.
So three generations of Vassaurs took a farm tour on Nov. 27. There were about 50 people on the tour.
Grant Dakin said they’ve probably doubled the tour numbers since they took over the farm. The week before, 300 people toured the farm. A lot of schools visit the facility for field trips.
Visitors see how the cows are milked and how the milk is then bottled, labeled and boxed for shipment.
Upon seeing the processing facility, Vassaur said Dakin milk is fresher and tastier because it doesn’t have to sit around waiting to go to a processing facility someplace else.
Dakin said milk coming from Dakin Dairy Farms is delivered to stores two to three days earlier than by other milk producers. On a week like Thanksgiving when even big operations like Publix shut down, milk can sit for days waiting to be processed.
Dakin couldn’t share many details because he has signed a nondisclosure agreement, but he said the farm was moving toward new technologies to process their milk.
Quality control is the immediate focus, but expansion is the ultimate goal. The brothers own three other farms, two off State Road 70 in eastern Manatee County and one in DeSoto County. As of now, only milk from the cows on site is processed through the plant.
“I want to see all four of the dairy farms go through this milk plant,” Dakin said.
Lesley Dwyer
Tours and Events Coordinator Shannon Mullen explains how the milking process works.
Josephine, Celine, Lachlan and Eponine Vassaur shake milk until it turns to butter.
Principal of the Year Kimberlain Zenon grew with Braden River Middle, going from parent to teacher to principal.
imberlain Zenon remembered being a science teacher years ago at Braden River Middle School and standing against the rail of the second floor hallway looking down into the courtyard. At the time, she was watching the school’s Veterans Day event. She always was in awe of the student performances on that particular day, as well as the community’s support for veterans. She also said she always was impressed by the annual mosaic students created for the event. But this year’s Veterans Day event
MEET THE PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR
KIMBERLAIN ZENON
Years in education: 28
Positions: 1996-2012 science teacher at Braden River Middle; 2012-2016 assistant principal at Braden River Middle; 20162019 assistant principal at Lee Middle; 2019-present principal at Braden River Middle Fun facts: She has six grandchildren. She sang in a choir that served as background vocals for a few famous singers.
Nov. 8 was different. Zenon, who is now principal, didn’t know Jason Wysong, the superintendent of the School Dis-
Liz Ramos
Braden River Middle School Principal Kimberlain Zenon has been named the School District of Manatee County’s Principal of the Year.
trict of Manatee County, was there to make a special announcement.
Zenon had been selected as the School District of Manatee County’s Principal of the Year.
“I just burst into tears,” Zenon said. “I couldn’t keep it together. I was extremely shocked. The best day of the year is when we honor veterans, so this just kind of topped it off. It made it the best day ever.”
Zenon said she still hasn’t quite wrapped her mind around the recognition.
For the past 28 years, Zenon has been connected to Braden River Middle in some way. She grew up in Manatee County and her children went to Braden River Middle.
She started her career in education in 1996 as a teacher at Braden River Middle. Zenon then went on to become assistant principal at the school in 2012 and served in that position until 2016 when she moved to Lee Middle School. In 2019, Zenon returned to Braden River Middle, but this time as principal.
“I learned everything I know here,” Zenon said.
Her job as principal has not come without its challenges.
As she was starting out as principal of Braden River Middle in 2019, she was told the district would start a campus-wide renovation and construct a classroom addition, all while students were on campus. The School Board of Manatee County also was making decisions regarding rezoning, which impacted Braden River Middle.
By the end of the 2019-2020 school year, her students were no longer in the classroom as the COVID-19 pandemic shut schools down.
In 2020-2021, her teachers had to adjust to educating students on three different levels — virtually, in person and by using a hybrid of the two — as the pandemic lingered.
When all students returned to the classroom in the 2021-2022 school year, teachers noticed a lack of motivation and a decrease in attendance.
Zenon created the Strive with PRIDE (positivity, responsibility, integrity, determination and excellence) program. If students completed and turned in all their assignments, they would receive a ticket. Four or more tickets earned them a free period once per quarter in which
they could spend the time on their cell phones, play field games outside or participate in other activities. Zenon led and supervised the program to ensure it wouldn’t add more to teachers’ workload.
“It is the most rewarding day because it’s not just what we consider the higher level kids. It’s everyone who has worked hard and did their work who earned the reward,” she said.
The 2022-2023 year meant construction was finally over and the campus was semi-normal as the staff and administrators began to decorate and put finishing touches on the newly renovated school.
Fast forward to 2024-2025 and there were two major hurricanes in two weeks, closing school for eight days.
“It has definitely been lots of work, lots of sweat, sometimes tears trying to get kids to get here and get to work, but the teachers were amazing through that,” Zenon said.
No matter her position, she said she’s always student driven. She wants to instill a love for learning in her students and making a positive impact on the community. There have many bright spots along the way.
In 2010, when she was a science teacher, she incorporated her lessons on earthquakes into a fundraiser for Chile, which had devastating earthquakes. The school hosted a fair on campus and raised $4,000 for earthquake relief efforts.
“It was those kinds of things that have taught me along the way that you can’t be successful without kids, teachers, the whole community being involved,” Zenon said.
This year, custodians Jermaine Keys, Craig Keys and head custodian Emanuel Harris produced a school song, which unveiled Zenon’s secret talent — singing.
Although hesitant at first, Zenon sang a solo in front of the school with pride.
Zenon said receiving the Principal of the Year honor has confirmed that she and the school are moving in the right direction as they overcome challenges, celebrate successes and see the students and teachers progress.
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Thirty years and counting
Gene Witt’s 30th anniversary flag will be chosen after a design contest is held among the students.
LIZ RAMOS SENIOR EDITOR
Kim Wilder, a third grade teacher at Gene Witt Elementary School, suggested her student, Emma Jervis, use a black marker to make the drawings pop on the school flag she was creating.
Jervis took the marker and began to draw the eagle, lines and words that made up the flag’s design.
It was part of a contest where the students were designing their version of a school flag that would become Gene Witt Elementary School’s official school flag in celebration of its 30th anniversary.
Celebrating Gene Witt’s anniversary — the school opened 30 years ago in November — is bittersweet for Wilder. After 35 years in education overall, Wilder is retiring at the end of this school year from the school that she helped open 30 years ago.
Wilder recalled a little dirt road leading to the school as the area had not been developed yet. She watched as the school was being built from the ground up while her home was also being built nearby.
She said fellow teachers also were moving to the area with the knowledge Gene Witt would eventually be their children’s school. The school would be the centerpiece of a tightknit community and would provide an “amazing experience” for the teachers and their children.
Wilder said the school has been blessed to have principals who have kept the school as true to the values of Gene Witt, the school’s namesake, who focused on making every decision foremost about the students.
Students this year have been learning the school’s mantra and the accompanying hand motions. They are learning Quantum Learning’s eight keys of excellence: integrity, failure leads to success, speak with good purpose, “this is it!” commitment, ownership, flexibility and balance. The eight keys of excellence were first introduced when Myra Russell was principal of Gene Witt.
Both Wilder and STEM and science teacher Tom Brugos believe Gene Witt Elementary is the best school in the School District of Manatee County, if not the state.
“We’re competitive, especially the third grade team,” Wilder said. “We like to make sure our kids score really well. We’re just committed to teaching the standards and making sure the kids enjoy themselves.”
When Witt Elementary opened, Wilder and Brugos said it was considered a “high-tech” school because it had the latest technology. Wilder recalled having a blueberry Apple iMac computer in her classroom.
“We thought we were so cool because we were so techie, but we really weren’t now looking back,”
“It seems like yesterday when I got hired, and I just can’t believe I get paid for what I do because I have more fun than the kids.”
Tom Brugos
Wilder said with a laugh.
Brugos started at Gene Witt as a fourth grade teacher in November 1994, just three months after the school opened. He previous served as a substitute teacher at Palmetto Elementary School. It was his first teaching position since graduating from Purdue University that year and moving from Indiana to Florida.
Brugos recalled having butterflies after only having a day to set up his classroom. He had his students sing a song and play a name association game so they could get to know each other.
“It seems like yesterday when I got hired, and I just can’t believe I get paid for what I do because I have more fun than the kids,” he said. “I get paid to teach, have fun and instill a love of learning in the kids that hopefully they never lose.”
Brugos worked with Becky Phillips, the media center specialist at the time, to open the broadcast studio in the media center, which is still used every day for students to broadcast the school’s morning news.
“It warms my heart seeing generation after generation of kids using the studio, doing fun things on the news,” Brugos said. “Perhaps some of them have been inspired to go into broadcasting.”
But Brugos never thought in 1994 that he would become a STEM teacher charged with teaching students how to build robots, use 3D printers and program drones.
WHY THEY LOVE GENE WITT ELEMENTARY
Students write on index cards what they love about their school. The index cards will be put in the school’s time capsule.
Gene Witt Elementary sent five Vex robotics teams to compete in the Vex Robotics World Championships in 2023.
Second grade Adaline DeYoung writes on her card that she loves Gene Witt Elementary School for the events, including the daddy-daughter dance and the slime run.
Second grader Ryan Blumenthal says he loves Gene Witt Elementary because all the staff members are “nice and kind.”
Second grader Beckett Johnson says she loves Gene Witt Elementary because all the “classrooms are really beautiful.”
In the early years of Gene Witt, Brugos kept reptiles in his classroom, including a five-foot iguana named Yoshi and an eight-foot red-tailed boa named Edgar Allen Boa. Some of his students would come back from the cafeteria with fresh fruit to feed Yoshi. Brugos said his former students still talk about the reptiles when they come back to visit the school.
No matter where students or teachers go after leaving Gene Witt Elementary, it seems many find their way back to the school.
Teachers and staff members who have retired from the school return to volunteer. Sally Farrell, a retired second grade teacher, said goodbye to her classroom in 2020 after 26 years teaching at Gene Witt. She returned to assist students in making a Thanksgiving banner the week before fall break.
Brugos and Wilder have taught generations of families.
Jervis, who is currently in Wilder’s third grade class, is the daughter of Chelsea Jervis, who Wilder also taught.
There have been moments that Wilder has noticed mannerisms of Emma Jervis that remind her of Chelsea Jervis. She said she’s even accidentally called Emma by her mother’s name.
“It’s been a blessing that I’ve been able to stay at the school for that amount of time, to watch little 8-year-olds grow up and to see them have a family. And now I am teaching their children,” Wilder said.
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Tom Brugos, the STEM teacher, never thought when he started at Gene Witt Elementary School in 1994 that he would have 3D printers, robots and drones.
Emma Jervis is the second generation in her family to be taught by Kim Wilder, a third grade teacher.
The doctor will call ... tomorrow
Oh, the fateful words.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
If that comes from a plumber, or a TV repairman or an auto mechanic, it can be annoying when it becomes an unfulfilled promise. But when that statement comes from a doctor and it doesn’t happen, it borders on betrayal. That might sound like a drama king statement, but I have to admit being disgusted with our health care system. Are you?
Sending my annoyance level through the roof is that the biggest flaw has nothing to do with medical knowledge or talent. The advancements made during my lifetime have been incredible.
We can talk about gene sequencing, medications that can delay diabetes, artificial intelligence being used to diagnose diseases, and surgeries with robots. It goes on and on.
We also have access to quality medical insurance — I have Humana Gold Plus — that gives us a road to the talent and technology. At least it would if people knew how to use a telephone. So there you have it. Death by dial tone.
Being a guy who has lived a little, I am aware that I shouldn’t be talking about aches and pains. Nobody wants to hear that ... except other people with aches and pains.
But my recent journey through chest pain has reinforced my belief that the industry taking calls for the medical profession needs to be torn down and rebuilt. There is no doubt the inability of those without a stethoscope to efficiently handle patients’ inquiries is leading to poor medical outcomes. The frustration level becomes so high that those seeking help simply give up.
Now before throwing some poor receptionist under the bus, I have to acknowledge that doctors ultimately are responsible for this
pandemic of rude behavior. These offices definitely could use another receptionist to answer phones.
That, of course, would cut the profit margin.
If you ever have worked in an office where you can see your coworkers sitting all around you, consider this. When the phone rings, does everyone stare at each other to see who will be the first to flinch and answer it?
Take that scenario to a doctor’s office where there could be some extreme paperwork associated with answering the phone. Then add an automated system that will answer if you don’t, and will ask for a number to give a call back. That’s the call back that someone else can do.
My own dip back into the world of health care began about a month ago due to the aforementioned chest pains. My primary care physician said I should go to the emergency room to check to see if I was having a heart attack. OK, sure.
The doctor looked at me and said, “Go get checked and I will call you tomorrow.”
Uh-oh.
I spent most of the day at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, where, I have to say, the care was impressive. The staff members there were busy, with emergency cases coming in right and left, but they still managed to attend to me. An EKG, several blood tests, chest X-rays, and a CAT scan were all performed, and the emergency room workers couldn’t have been kinder through the process.
At the end of the day, the verdict was that my heart didn’t seem to be the problem — cool — but there had to be a problem elsewhere.
Since I wasn’t going to expire in the next couple of hours, I was sent home. I was someone else’s problem, and I get it. They had more urgent fish to fry.
So after an uncomfortable night,
I started trying to discover my next step. Still with chest paints, I called my primary care doctor’s office. Or at least I tried.
Instead, I hooked up with some kind of answering service, which wasn’t answering. I was put on hold and told they would get to me eventually, or I could leave my number and they would call me back. I didn’t mind holding, and there weren’t any prompts where I could leave a message anyway, so I just waited. Forty minutes later, I had been on hold long enough, so I did leave my number.
Three hours went by. Nothing. I called back. More hold time. Left my number again. Nothing.
Midafteroon, I finally bypassed the answering service and got through to my doctor’s office. I gave them a recap of my phone struggles.
“Sorry.”
I then told them that the hospital said it would send my test results if they hadn’t already gotten them.
“OK,” I said. “Can I talk to my doctor?”
You know, the one who was going to call me.
Nothing. After 5 p.m., I called back, and I talked to another receptionist. I asked if the previous receptionist had gotten my test results from the hospital.
“No ... Sorry.”
The current receptionist said she would do that immediately. Another 45 minutes passed and my doctor did, finally, call me. She said she hadn’t seen my test results and said she would look at them later that night and would call me, “tomorrow.”
Uh-oh.
The next day was Friday. I figured I had zero to no chance of getting a call the next day. I was right. Friday passed, and Saturday and Sunday.
So five days after I had spent the day in the hospital, with the
elephant still sitting on my chest, my primary care physician called.
The prognosis was a bad gall bladder, and I was referred to a general surgeon. I asked if it would make sense to see a gastroenterologist before a surgeon began cutting things off my body. So I did get an appointment with a specialist.
My specialist agreed that it could be a gall bladder, but he scheduled me for a hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scan at Doctor’s Hospital in Sarasota that would measure how well my gall bladder was functioning. Again, the hospital part of the ordeal was refreshingly efficient and comfortable. I was told my results would be available in 12 to 24 hours.
My specialist’s office called me at work the next day and left a message, asking me to call.
Uh-oh.
I called 15 times over two hours before I finally got someone to answer the phone. The receptionist said, “Your test was negative. Goodbye.”
“Wait! OK, so what does that mean?”
“Do you want to schedule an appointment?”
“No, I want someone to tell me what this means. Can I talk with the doctor?”
“No, the doctor is not here. Do you want to speak to a P.A.?”
“For goodness sakes, no. Can you please have the doctor call when he is in?”
There was silence on the other end of the line. She could have been saying, “When pigs fly.” I obviously was being difficult, and I had a better chance of riding on a sled of Alaskan huskies later that afternoon at the UTC skating rink.
Another week has passed and the elephant has repositioned on my chest, making life bearable. I still haven’t heard from the specialist. Perhaps I will get a call ... tomorrow.
Jay Heater is the managing editor for the East County Observer. Contact him at JHeater@ YourObserver.com.
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IT’S READ EVERYWHERE
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Manatee tries to rebuild advisory committees
Positions are open on the Affordable Housing Advisory Board and the Environmental Lands Management and Acquisition Committee.
LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER
Following the 2024 election cycle, Commissioner George Kruse said Manatee County citizens showed they wanted more of a say in their local government.
Social media comments have been opened up to the public again on county sites and call-in comments to commission meetings returned. Kruse said the citizens can gain more strength by filling positions on advisory boards, but individuals must step forward to fill those positions and to give the boards “more teeth.”
Currently, Manatee County is seeking applicants for the Affordable Housing Advisory Board and the Environmental Lands Management and Acquisition Committee.
“Previous (commission) boards took away or never gave any voice to the advisory boards,” Kruse said. “We made almost all of our boards worthless.”
As Kruse sees it, most boards are filled by people who want something on their resume because they don’t actually expect to make a difference if commissioners aren’t going to listen to them anyway.
Manatee County resident Shannon Keever said as much to commissioners when then-Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge refused to reseat the library board in January because the applicants weren’t “like-minded” with the majority of commissioners.
“I think I can speak for the majority of Manatee County citizens in saying that we don’t feel heard by you,” Keever told commissioners. She went on to say that citizens weren’t going to volunteer their time to be ignored. But now, Keever is hopeful with a new board in place.
She’s spoken with all the new members except District 5 Commissioner Robert McCann.
“I see a lot of positives coming from them,” Keever said. “They’ve got a vision of improving Manatee County on so many levels. And Kruse has always been very pro advisory board.”
Keever applied for the Library Advisory Board in December 2023 to fill the seat for a parent who homeschools. She received several communications from the county stating the process was delayed until she just never heard from anyone again.
January was the last time the Library Advisory Board had enough members to fulfill the requirement of a quorum to meet.
Kruse said it would’ve been useful to have such a board during a time when the Lakewood Ranch Library was opening, a decision was made to withdraw from the American Library Association, and when the county is preparing to expand its Rocky Bluff branch.
CURRENT BOARD OPENINGS
The Affordable Housing Advisory Board is seeking applicants for seven of its 11 seats, three of which are currently vacant. The terms have expired on the remaining four seats, but three of the current board members are reapplying.
Rowena Young-Gopie is no longer employed by the county, but she oversaw the advisory board for three years. In January, she expressed frustration with special interests and a lack of diversity among the board members.
Kruse called the Affordable Housing Advisory Board “frustratingly unique” because the issue is twofold. The state dictates the seat requirements, and those seat requirements are so specific that they draw individuals with agendas.
Someone who builds homes for sale isn’t necessarily going to push rental housing and vice versa.
However, if Manatee County wants funding from the state through the Sadowsky Fund, which supports the State Housing Initiatives Partnership and the State Apartment Incentive Loan programs, the county has to follow the state’s guidelines. Kruse said it’s difficult to fill some of the seats because the county is at the mercy of a small group of people. For example, one seat requires that the person must also sit on a planning commission. Keith Green, a member of the city of Bradenton’s Planning Commission, is currently filling that seat.
The ELMAC board has five open seats out of 17, but the open seats are mainly due to the recent election. Each commissioner appoints one member. Even Kruse needs to
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Applications for both boards are due Dec. 13. Visit MyManatee.org/ Government/Advisory_ Boards. The eligibility requirements for each seat are as follows:
AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVISORY BOARD
appoint a new member because his appointment was Carol Felts, who is now the District 1 commissioner.
The remaining seat is reserved for a member of an environmental group. Kruse said ELMAC has a little more of a say than other boards, but not as much as it should, so he will be proactively pushing to restructure all the boards to allow citizens more meaningful input.
As of now, Information Outreach Manager Bill Logan said the county has received one application from a member of an environmental group, three applications for the District 1 seat, one application for the District 3 seat, four applications for the District 5 seat and one application for the District 7 seat.
“It is expected that application submissions will pick up now that Thanksgiving is behind us and word continues to be spread,” Logan said.
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The School District of Manatee County has budgeted nearly $10.9 million toward a total of nearly $20.1 million to cover the cost of Florida Department of Education mandates for student transportation in the 2024-25 school year.
Mandates create budget challenges for school district
The district reallocates millions in its budget to follow state underfunded mandates.
LIZ RAMOS SENIOR EDITOR
The School District of Manatee County will conduct new background screenings for all its employees. Although it’s a mandate from the Florida Department of Education that requires employees hired on or before June 30, 2021, to undergo a new fingerprinting process and be rescreened, the state is not providing additional funding to support the mandate.
It’s one example of a mandate the state has implemented that the school district must find additional funding for to comply.
School board members have noted that many times the state does not provide sufficient funding to cover its additional or new mandates. The district, in turn, must find ways to pay for the implementation of those
mandates.
Most mandates fall under five programs — student transportation, mental health, safe schools, Exceptional Student Education guaranteed allocation and Department of Juvenile Justice.
Jason Wysong, the superintendent of the School District of Manatee County, said often, the big-picture is that the Florida Department of Education has identified needs in districts across the state and then implements mandates. But Wysong said often the mandates are underfunded by the state. This requires the district to cover the cost of the mandates and also to address additional needs that arise due to the mandates.
“There’s a difference between minimal compliance and quality compliance,” Wysong said. For example, the district has to teach required instructional topics and has to teach all subjects to state standards. Wysong said every time something is added to the statute that lists the requirements, it comes
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BUDGETED COST FOR MANDATED PROGRAMS IN 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR
at a cost, and there isn’t always funding provided to meet the new requirements.
Start: Main St. & Washington Blvd.
End: Gulfstream Ave.
HUNGER STOPPER
“Many of these ideas, they’re good ideas independently, and then you add them in and the plate just gets heavier in terms of what a district has to do with the funding it gets,” he said.
Another example would be voluntary pre-K. The Florida Department of Education funds three hours for voluntary pre-K, but Laurie Breslin, the executive director of student support and family engagement for the district, said three hours per day isn’t enough. The district provides funding to provide full-day instruction for children who are preparing to go into kindergarten.
“We’re not mandated, but we know kindergarten readiness is key for student success forward through their education, so it’s important for us to go out and find the dollars to be able to offer support for our very early learners,” Breslin said.
Funding for mandates has increased in the district over the years.
The budget for mandates for the district in 2024-25 is $83.9 million. That’s $13.8 million more than the $69.1 million spent on mandated programs in the 2023-24 school year.
Breslin said since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in funding for mandates regarding mental health.
But the funding from the state for the various mental health mandates doesn’t cover the entire cost of
implementing the mandate. For example, Breslin said the state’s $3 million in funding to pay the cost of the Mental Health Assistance Plan doesn’t match the cost associated with the plan, which includes counseling to a student exhibiting signs of needing assistance.
“We need to make sure we have counselors available for students who exhibit those needs, and the $3 million we receive doesn’t match that.”
The Exceptional Student Education guaranteed allocation is the most costly mandate program. The state is providing nearly $22.3 million this school year while the district is contributing just more than $24.8 million.
Although the state might not initially provide funding to support a mandate, there are some cases in which the state will provide funding in later years. For example, the district was required to hire a threat assessment coordinator. Breslin said the district has had the position for a year-and-a-half, but it wasn’t until this school year that the district received funding from the state for the position.
Rachel Sellers, the deputy superintendent of business services for the district, said if the state provided more funding to cover the mandates, the district could focus more of its funding toward allocations such as employee salaries, hiring more counselors for additional student support and working one on one with students.
“ I’m a striker, and I’ve always just had a knack for scoring — even if I’ve had a bad game.”
Fast
University.
O’Mariah Gordon is proving that big things do indeed come in small packages. The 5-foot-4 point guard, who was named Florida’s Gatorade Player-of-the-Year in 2019 and 2020 while attending Braden River High School, has continued to shine in her senior season at Florida State. Gordon scored 14 points and added four assists in the Seminoles’ 95-54 win over Gonzaga (4-5) on Nov. 30. FSU is now 8-1 on the season. Gordon, who is averaging 16.1 points per game, was scheduled to play in Knoxville against Tennessee on Dec. 4.
… The Lakewood Ranch High boys varsity soccer team improved its record to 6-1 with its 4-2 win over Southeast High (1-5-2) on Nov. 22. Junior Paolo Morales scored and logged an assist, junior Broden Beorlegui scored twice and had an assist and junior Jaxon Lemus scored once. The Lakewood Ranch High girls varsity soccer team dropped to 4-1-1 after losing 5-2 to North Fort Myers (3-2) on Nov. 21. Lakewood Ranch was scheduled for a Dec. 4 game against Cardinal Mooney.
… The Out-of-Door Academy boys varsity soccer team moved to 3-1-2 when it tied Southeast High 2-2 on Nov. 20. Sophomores Quinn Duffy and Rowan Triola both scored. On the girl’s side, the Thunder improved its record to 4-1 with a 7-0 win over Southeast High (0-5-1) on Nov. 20.
The Braden River girls varsity weightlifting team (4-0) remained undefeated on the season when it squared off against Palmetto High on Nov. 21. Braden River outscored Palmetto 64-25 in the Olympic Event and 71-18 in the Traditional Event.
District title would be the icing
Braden River High’s recipe for basketball success is a piece of cake headed into the 2024-25 season.
DYLAN CAMPBELL SPORTS REPORTER
After winning its first Class 5A-District 10 basketball title since 2012 a season ago, Braden River wants more. Head coach Dwight Gilmer likens his roster to the ingredients of a cake.
“You don’t want to eat raw eggs or flour, but once you put it all together and put it under the heat, all of a sudden you have this magnificent cake,” Gilmer said. “That’s what we’re in the process of baking.”
Gilmer, now in his third season as the Pirates’ head coach, will need to be adept at baking with different ingredients.
Gone from last season are Gilmer’s top three scorers. Guards Marcus Schade, Isaac Heaven and Jacobi Murray have all graduated. Point guard Tatum Spikes, who led the Pirates in assists per game last season with 3.5, transferred to Manatee High and 6-foot-4 guard Dudache Belony transferred to Parrish Community High.
That doesn’t change the fact that opponents now see a target on Braden River’s proverbial back after its title last season.
When Gilmer took over the program in April 2022, Braden River had undergone three straight losing seasons. Since then the Pirates have steadily climbed, going 16-9 in the 2022-23 season and 19-9 last year, en route to defeating Sebring High School in the district championship.
This year, the Pirates are attempting to win back-to-back district titles for the first time in the history of the school.
“What I’ve been trying to preach to the kids is that no one’s going to take you lightly,” Gilmer said. “When you come into the season as a district champion, everyone wants to see what Braden River is all about,” said Gilmer. “It doesn’t matter that we’ve graduated players. It doesn’t matter that whoever was here last year isn’t here this year. When opposing teams
come here, they want to kick your face in and it’s up to us to not only defend home court, but to defend that district championship.”
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
For Braden River, which has started the season 2-0, Gilmer said defending its district title will have to be a complete team effort. This year’s Pirates are more guard heavy, for they lack some of the height and athleticism that made the group a district champion last season. In turn, the game plan has changed.
Offensively, Braden River will look to up the pace, putting pressure on opponents by flying up and down the court. Gilmer aims to have his players in constant motion — something they worked tirelessly on during a practice over Braden River’s fall break — swinging off ball screens to get open looks from inside the paint and beyond the arc.
Playing together as a team is something easier said than done. During the offseason, players often scatter, playing on AAU or travel programs. The game that young players learn — and that they can post on their highlight reels — is one of isolation. Crossing up a defender or hitting a step-back three-pointer looks great. Setting ball screens, cutting to the basket and boxing out on rebounds, however, helps the team win.
Even so, Gilmer said the ability to create one’s own shot is a valuable asset when managed correctly.
“The greatest thing that a basketball player can learn nowadays is how to do both.
“A lot of them don’t know how to play within the system and show their individual skillsets,” Gilmer said. “We’ve got some guys who individually can do some impressive things, but in order for them to be more effective individually and us to be better as a team, we’ve got to incorporate those things within our schematics.”
Defensively, Braden River looks to use its speed and tenacity to its advantage. Ever determined to leave
THE ROAD AHEAD
Braden River’s path to defending its district title won’t be easy. Here are the team’s toughest matchups this season with its opponents records from 2023.
■ at Parrish Community High (16-9), Dec. 3
■ Cardinal Mooney (18-9), Dec. 13
■ Sarasota (24-3), Dec. 17
■ at Booker (19-10), Dec. 18
■ at Bradenton Christian (19-9), Dec.
21
■ Winthrop College Prep Academy(16-9), Jan. 10
■ at Riverview (17-10), Jan. 23
■ IMG Academy (19-9), Jan. 28
■ Northeast High (18-11), Jan. 29
a lasting impression on its opponents, Gilmer wants his team to be tough, no matter what the final score might be. That grit is built on Braden River’s defensive nonnegotiables — keeping pressure on the ball, staying in the defensive stance, getting back on defense, communicating and rebounding.
For the Pirates to repeat last season’s success, new faces will have to step into leadership roles. Gilmer points to players like 6-foot-3 senior shooting guard Deven Womack, who transferred into the program from Lakewood Ranch High in 2023. Womack has a long, rangy build with a knack for getting to the rim. During practice sets, he routinely dunked the ball with authority, often followed by a sheepish grin shared with his teammates. Womack, who emerged as a starter halfway through last season, will be expected to take on more of the scoring load in the absence of Schade and Heaven.
Initiating Braden River’s offense are two of the program’s promising young guards, 5-foot-9 sophomore Anquan Polynice and 6-foot2 sophomore Jerrod Long. Through two games, Polynice and Long are leading Braden River in scoring, averaging 18 and 17 points per game respectively. Long and Polynice are joined in the backcourt by 6-foot guard Jaron Fields, a two-way football star who transferred from Lakewood Ranch High half way through the 2023 season. Fields has made the most of his first taste of Braden River basketball. In Braden River’s 69-53 win over Southeast High on Nov. 19, Fields filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and six steals.
Braden River’s belief that it can make history by winning back-toback district championships is fueled by the players’ belief in Gilmer.
“Before Coach Gilmer came, it was a losing program,” Long said. “Coach Gilmer brought a great culture with him when he arrived here and that’s changed the school in positive ways. If we as players carry that culture with us, like we’re doing with our junior varsity team, then Braden River basketball is going to be a force in this county for years to come.”’
— Lakewood Ranch soccer player Broden Beorlegui SEE PAGE 19A
Courtesy image
Former Braden River High girls basketball player O’Mariah Gordon is a senior point guard at Florida State
Photos by Dylan Campbell
Braden River sophomore guard Jerrod Long (front) has a laugh during practice. Long is averaging 17 points a game.
Braden River senior shooting guard Deven Womack works out with Head Coach Dwight Gilmer during practice on Nov. 26.
East County soccer players rise to new challenge
I, Major League Soccer, followed by the United Soccer League Championship in Division II and three other leagues in Division III, MLS Next, USL 1 and the NISA. One tier below that lies the UPSL, the top amateur soccer league in the country.
From the moment Tomas Alvarez stepped on the pitch, he knew it was a different game.
Alvarez, a 16-year old junior at Parrish Community High who hails from Colombia, is one of the top soccer players in the region. At 6-foot, 150 pounds, he is a gifted midfielder, technically advanced with a keen eye for reading the field. As a sophomore, Alvarez was named the Class 5A District Player of the Year, leading Parrish to a district championship win over Braden River. His future is incredibly bright — but his initial in-season practices with Florida Premier FC Southwest Florida, a United Premier Soccer League team, were a wake-up call for him and some of his teammates.
Alvarez had initially come to Florida Premier FC SWFL as a member of the organization’s U-19 team. Now, he was just a gangly teen sharing the field with 22- and 23-year old men.
“I immediately noticed how physical the game got,” Alvarez said. “A lot of the U-19 players were complaining because the UPSL players were just so much stronger than us. You had to adjust as there was definitely a difference in the pace of play and how players used their bodies.”
Florida Premier FC merged with Braden River Soccer Club in the summer to become a hotbed for East County soccer talent. The organization’s UPSL team is its latest and most ambitious project to date.
The U.S. soccer pyramid is multifaceted and complex. There are three tiers of professional soccer in the country. At the top is Division
For players within Florida Premier FC’s SWFL program, a chance to play in the UPSL represents the next step in their development.
Succeed in the UPSL — a league with an average age of 22.5 — and players have a pathway to the USL, Division 1 NCAA soccer programs or European professional leagues.
Tryouts for the UPSL team began in August, for players born in 2008 and after, with the club pulling most of its talent from campus’ U-19 team. Additional players were brought in to raise the level of competition. While the players on Florida Premier FC SWFL’s U-19 team are talented, the difference between the game they play and what the UPSL team plays is night and day, said head coach Mario Cruz.
“The speed of play and the technical execution is on another level. Your touch on the ball has to be very clean. There’s a lot less time and space compared to what the U-19 players are used to at the club level — you have to be able to pass, receive, see the field and make decisions under pressure,” said Cruz. “Physically, you have to be a player who can play against grown men. You have to be strong, fast and very fit.”
Despite the differences in the level of play, however, Cruz’s players rose to the challenge. Four of the starters on the team, including Alvarez, were from Florida Premier’s U-19 club team. For those who rose to the occasion, the UPSL became a catalyst for accelerated growth. Forced to play outside of their comfort zones, the U-19 players played up to their competition instead of down to it.
It was an environment that allowed players like Alvarez, whom Cruz referenced as the team’s best, to shine. Under the instruction of Cruz, who came to Florida Premier this year from the MLS Next league, the players were held to a level of accountability that they weren’t used to, said Alvarez. Whereas coaches at the club or high school level might not make note of a player’s mistakes, Cruz would catalog every one of them to use as teachable moments.
Those teachable moments paid off. It would be understandable for
Florida Premier FC SWFL to struggle in its first year in the UPSL, but it didn’t. Instead, the team dominated the competition with a 7-1-2 record, good enough to win the Florida West division and get a seed in the Florida state playoffs, which begin on Dec. 15. Florida Premier FC SWFL’s standout season also promoted the team from Division 1, the second highest level of the UPSL to the league’s highest level, Premier, when the UPSL spring season starts in April.
The turning point for the team, said Cruz, came at the halfway
mark of the 10-game season. Florida Premier had been winning with relative ease, but he said there wasn’t a fire in his players — that is until the realization hit that if the team could finish first in the division it could be promoted to the Premier level by the end of the year.
“At the beginning, it was just about getting the experience of playing in the UPSL. Once we saw what we could do, however, that’s when the players started to get even more motivated to win,” said Cruz. “That attracted more attention to the program, more players from outside the club wanted to come train with us, and more scouts from higher leagues started to pay attention to us.”
For Florida Premier FC’s SWFL team, this season is only the beginning. Cruz hopes to retain about 70%-80% of the roster when the team makes the jump to the Premier division in April.
For players like Alvarez, it’s a chance to get one step closer to achieving their dreams.
Courtesy image
Florida Premier FC SWFL teammates Julian Paz (front) and Octavio Rodriguez run drills during practice.
Broden Beorlegui
Broden Beorlegui is one of the top athletes in East County. The 16-yearold stars on the Lakewood Ranch boys varsity soccer team despite attending the Florida Virtual School — a decision necessitated by Beorlegui’s time spent training in Germany earlier this fall with two teams from the Bundesliga, the country’s top soccer league. Through six games with Lakewood Ranch (6-1), Beorlegui leads the team in goals with 13. When did you start playing soccer and why?
From the moment I started running, I was playing soccer. If I had to guess, I would say around 3-4 years old.
What’s the appeal?
The team aspect of it. I just love hanging out with my teammates on my high school team here at Lakewood Ranch.
What’s your best skill on the field?
My ability to score. I’m a striker, and I’ve always just had a knack for scoring — even if I’ve had a bad game, I can still put away a goal or two. What have you been working on to improve?
On the days that I don’t have a high school game or club practice, I go out to the field here at Lakewood Ranch and work on my technique, handling and shooting. I’ve also found that I have to be more disciplined with my diet than some of my teammates. Eating junk food really does affect me negatively.
What’s your favorite soccer memory?
Last year with Lakewood Ranch, we lost to Riverview High 3-1 at the beginning of the season. We shouldn’t have lost. Later in the district playoffs, we faced Riverview again and beat them 5-0. We were determined not to let them beat us again.
What’s going right for Lakewood Ranch this season? We’re more of a team this year
If you would like to make a recommendation for the East County Observer’s Athlete of the Week feature, send it to Dylan Campbell at DCampbell@ YourObserver.com.
and less individualistic. We might not be as talented individually as we were last year, but we’re much more connected and we’re better for it. In my freshman and sophomore seasons, all I cared about was scoring goals. This year, I haven’t paid nearly as much attention to my personal stats as I have toward working with my teammates.
What are your hobbies?
I’ve gotten into carpentry and building things. Over Thanksgiving break, a buddy of mine and I started building a Tiki hut in his backyard. We put a bunch of four by fours together, screwed them in with L-brackets and just put together this structure. We’re currently working on the palm frond roof. I’m probably going to build a fire pit soon. There’s a sense of accomplishment after building something that you know you’re going to use that I just love.
What’s the best advice that you’ve received?
My dad told me that no matter what, even if you’re playing a terrible game, all anybody ever cares about is how much effort you put into it. If you don’t put in the effort and you have a bad game, that’s the worst thing that you could ever do
Finish this sentence. Broden Beorlegui is… Going to be a professional footballer.
YOUR NEIGHBORS
A TERRIFIC TROT
The family in front of the start line at Nathan Benderson Park on Thanksgiving morning knew what was at stake.
That’s where Parks Robinson, CEO of Fit2Run, was standing with his wife, Kate, and their kids as they awaited the starting gun. They were among many other families who have let the Florida Turkey Trot at Nathan Benderson Park into their hearts.
In only six years, the race has become a holiday tradition that has captured the imagination of thousands. Just come to the park and see. Family after family is huddled together, not seeming to mind that it is silly early on a Thursday morning, and that it might be cold, or in this case foggy.
The background makes it hard to remember that there is even more going on at the Florida Turkey Trot.
The race is a partnership between Fit2Run and the Nathan Benderson Park Conservancy. The funds that go to the park are self-explanatory. They help make the park even better for the thousands who use it.
The other half is just as important, if not as well known. Those funds benefit the Big Bill Foundation, which honors former NBP Conservancy board chairman and legendary
area businessman Bill Robinson. The Big Bill Foundation supplies scholarships for those who have survived childhood cancer.
Parks Robinson always has been busy helping with the previous five events, but this year he ran in the race with his family, and his energy was obvious before the event. The race drew 3,693 official entries for the 5K and hundreds more participated in the kids races.
All those entries could mean four or five scholarships for kids who have overcome cancer.
The race has grown to the point where it took the last runners 9:30 to get up to the starting line after the first runners in line had started. The winning runner, Sarasota’s Joe Wycoff, was more than halfway finished when final runners were starting, as he eventually set a course and race record of 14:34.
While he noted that you have to go for it when a winning opportunity presents itself, Wycoff said the race was more about the great weather, family and the community.
“I am going to have a big meal,” he said as he carried his participant’s medal away. “And maybe a few beers.”
The first woman to finish was Katie Sherron of Tallahassee, who was in the area visiting relatives in Sarasota.
Winning the race in 16:43 was nice, but she had something else on her mind.
“My father-in-law makes an outstanding turkey,” she said.
— JAY HEATER
Lakewood Ranch’s Hans Bhullar, 7, Obie Bhullar, 3, Lauren Bhullar, Kat Chandra, and Sophie Bhullar, 5, all prepare to run the Turkey Trot.
The Yanney family, of Longboat Key, ran the Turkey Trot together. They are Christopher, Vance and Chris Jr. (back); and Elsie and Xavier (front).
Photos by Jay Heater
The Goncalves family, of North Port, ran together. They are, in the front, Amiya (3), Athena (5) and Aryanna (11), and in the back are Jeremy, Charlotte (16), a big turkey, Asheya (1) and Chey.
Elise Alsman, 11, visiting from Illinois, donned a turkey suit for the Florida Turkey Trot.
Runners break from the starting line in the fog to begin the 2024 Florida Turkey Trot at Nathan Benderson Park.
Hang time at Grove
Sarasota’s Pam Shoosmith wanted to start off the holidays as if she was in a Hallmark movie, so Shoosmith grabbed a table at Grove with her mom and two friends for A Very Merry Ornament Workshop on Nov. 30.
“We wanted some friend time,” Shoosmith said, “We’ve been watching lots of Hallmark movies, so we felt like this was an activity they would do on the Hallmark channel.”
Arts A Blaze Studio hosted the workshop.
After the ornaments were painted, owner Joann Kavanaugh took them back to the studio to fire them and they would be ready
to be picked up in one week.
There will be plenty of ornaments to be picked up. Among those attending the event were Marissa Ianetta, Lauren Fitzgerald and Yvette Korral, who went to McIntosh Middle School together.
Each year Ianetta visits her friends in the area from Georgia and they always look for something fun to do.
They not only picked the A Very Merry Ornament event, but they brought nine kids to the workshop with them.
“We wanted to give their mamas a little break,” Fitzgerald said.
— LESLEY DWYER
Rhea Krolik, Autumn Bryan and Mila Hoort show off their freshly painted Christmas ornaments.
Photos by Lesley Dwyer
Marissa Ianetta, Lauren Fitzgerald and Yvette Korral bring their kids and their friends’ kids to A Very Merry Ornament Workshop at Grove on Nov. 30.
Bradenton’s Lilyan Shoosmith paints a reindeer ornament.
Lakewood Ranch’s Pam Hazelwood shows off her ornament in progress.
Arts A Blaze Studio hosted an ornament painting workshop at Grove on Nov. 30.
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YOUR CALENDAR
Exclusive Dinner, Wine for Four at the famous Maison Blanche
Hors d’oeuvres, wine, beer, soft drinks
Thursday, Jan. 16 | 5 to 7 p.m. at The Resort at Longboat Key Spike ‘n’ Tees, Islandside
Friday, Jan. 17 through Sunday, Jan. 19
Longboat Key Public Tennis Center NEW FORMAT! OPEN TO
Four Players per Team at Comparable Levels (2 women, 2 men)
Two doubles pro sets (men vs. men; women vs. women)
Two mixed doubles matches; tie breaker if necessary
ENTRY FEE
Pre-tournament reception: $40/person for non-players
COMMUNITY
THURSDAY, DEC. 5
UKULELE CONCERT AT WATERSIDE
Begins at 6 p.m. at Waterside Place, 1560 Lakefront Drive, Lakewood Ranch. The Aloha Ukulele Club presents “Rock Around the Christmas Tree.” Listen to holiday tunes under the Waterside pavilion. For more information, email AlohaUkulele177@ gmail.com.
THURSDAY, DEC. 5. THROUGH SUNDAY, DEC. 8
LIVE MUSIC AT JIGGS LANDING
Runs from 2:30-5:30 p.m. each day at Jiggs Landing, 6106 63rd St. E., Bradenton. The live music lineup at Jiggs Landing includes Steve Arvey (Thursday), Pedro Y Zooey (Friday), Blue Grass Pirates (Saturday) and Rick “Rooster” Arrighi (Sunday). The Friday and Saturday concerts are $5; the others are free. For more information, go to JiggsLanding.com.
FRIDAY, DEC. 6
MUSIC ON MAIN
Runs from 6-9 p.m. at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch. The free concert and block party series continues with rock and blues entertainment by Doug Demming and the Jewel Tones. Proceeds from the event benefit Easterseals Southwest Florida. For information, go to MyLWR.com.
SOUNDS OF THE SEASON
Begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Mall at UTC lower level, Macy’s Court, 140 University Town Center Drive, Sarasota. The Braden River High School orchestra will be featured as part of the Sounds of the Season free music series at the mall. Go to MallatUTC. com and click on events to see the full schedule.
SATURDAY, DEC. 7 AND SUNDAY, DEC. 8
LINGER LODGE MUSIC
Runs Saturday from 6-9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. at Linger Lodge Restaurant, 7205 85th St. Court. E., Bradenton. Live, free music at Linger Lodge restaurant includes Brook Hargrove on Saturday and It’s Just Us Duo on Sunday. For more information, call 755-2757.
BEST BET
FRIDAY, DEC. 6 THROUGH
SUNDAY, DEC. 8
WONDERLAND ILLUMINATE
Runs 7 p.m. on Friday; 6 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday at the Big Top at UTC, 195 University Town Center Drive, Sarasota. Nik Wallenda and the Circus Arts Conservatory present Wonderland Illuminate. The new production takes audiences on a visually stunning journey that brings together the enchantment of the winter holidays. The show combines circus acts, aerial performances and uplifting storytelling. Tickets start at $35. The show continues on various dates through Jan. 5. For tickets or more information, go to WonderlandCircus.com/#Tickets.
SUNDAY, DEC. 8
FARMERS MARKET
Runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Lakefront Drive in Waterside Place, Lakewood Ranch. Vendors will be offering seafood, eggs, meats, dairy products, pastas, bakery goods, jams and pickles among other items. For information, visit MyLWR.com.
MONDAY, DEC. 9
ELKS HOOPS SHOOT
Begins at 7:30 p.m. at Carlos Haile Middle School, 9501 E. S.R. 64, Bradenton. Boys and girls ages 8-13 get a chance to compete in the Elks Hoop Shoot, which is funded by the Elks National Foundation. The event is a free throw shooting contest. The competitors are aligned by age groups, which are determined by an athlete’s age on April 1. Entry to the contest, which continues through regional, state and national competition, is free. For more information, or to enter, call Randy Volkart at 266-1355.
TUESDAY, DEC. 10
BRADEN RIVER HIGH WINTER CONCERT
Begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Braden River High School auditorium, 6545 S.R. 70 E., Bradenton. The Braden River High School Chorus hosts its annual Winter Concert and Silent Auction event. Admission is free. For more information, email BradenRiverCBA@gmail.com.
Honduras, Botswana and Morocco.
The students performed various musical performances for the
ans and guests in attendance.
Quest to build homes for veterans continues
The folks who put on the Rosedale Golf Classic each year to benefit Homes for Our Troops never sleep. Deb Kehoe and Kathi Skelton have put on the April event since 2013, but even in the fall, they find ways to support Homes for Our Troops. On Nov. 23, they were attending the Lakewood Ranch Elks’ fundraiser to support Bradenton’s Aaron Cornelius, the veteran who is benefitting from the 2025 Rosedale Golf Classic. On April 10, 2008, the Army Sergeant Fire Class was injured in an IED blast. Cornelius, who was serving his third deployment in Iraq, sustained severe damage from shrapnel to his eyes, face, and head, causing blindness.
The home being built for Cornelius by Homes for Our Troops will be in Lithia, just a few doors down from Army Sgt. Rusty Carter, whose build project was support by the Rosedale Golf Classic this year.
Texas Roadhouse, a national sponsor of Homes for Our Troops, donated the food at the Elks’ fundraiser and LynnSpins (Phyllis and Chuck Stolteben) provided the entertainment. Cornelius has a service dog from Dogs Inc., which also is supported by the Elks. Earlier in November, the SudStop Car Wash of Bradenton also held a fundraiser for Cornelius.
Courtesy image
Owen Sharpenter, a fifth grader at Rowlett Elementary Academy, is a member of the “Strikers” drumline. This group performed at the school’s Veterans Day celebration.
Halfacre completes nonprofit project
Lakewood Ranch’s Halfacre Construction has completed construction of a 9,000-square-foot building for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast in Sarasota.
The interior new build at 5731
Rosin Way included spaces tailored for staff members with workstations for meetings and planning.
The area also included a kitchen, a mentor center, a family lounge, a board room, a conference room and “huddle rooms.”
“We are so proud of this exceptional new building and know that it will be a warm and welcoming place for our volunteers and staff for many years into the future,” said Joy Mahler, the long time CEO who retired from the post Sept. 30 and was replaced by Kamala Martinez.
In a news release, Mahler said Jack Cox, Halfacre’s president and a former Big Brother, “truly understood our mission, and our new building reflects that.”
An official ribbon-cutting and public open house is planned for January 2025.
NEIGHBORS NOTES
In celebration of our
Anniversary in providing
Cardiovascular Care to Sarasota County residents The Cardiovascular Center of Sarasota and the El Shahawy Family Foundation are pleased to sponsor the 23/23/23
National Congress
23rd Annual National Cardio Sarasota Congress on CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE PREVENTION CME accredited program by the Florida Medical Association
Endorsed by the Friday & Saturday February 7-8, 2025 Hyatt Regency, Sarasota, FL
Whisper Bend’s Patricia Wingenfeld and Steve Rinder join Empath Health CEO Jonathan Fleece (kneeling) and Benson during Tidewell Foundation’s fifth annual Meal Drive.
Tidewell delivers meaningful meals
The annual Meal Drive provides more than 500 meals delivered to those in need in Manatee, Sarasota, DeSoto and Charlotte counties.
Those in the parking lot of the Tidewell Hospice administration building the day before Thanksgiving in Lakewood Ranch weren’t focused on the “being thankful” part of the holiday. They were concentrating on the “giving back” part. The Tidewell Foundation’s fifth annual Meal Drive provided more than 500 meals that were delivered through Manatee, Sarasota, DeSoto and Charlotte counties to provide,
FACC, FAHA
Photos by Jay Heater
in many cases, what
Morton’s Gourmet Market, the Venice Yacht Club and Michael’s On East made the meals possible and then volunteers packed and delivered them Nov. 27.
Among those in the parking lot was Bradenton’s Terry Dale, who was volunteering in the event for the first time.
“I am trying to give back,” Dale said as she was busy handing out meals to other volunteers who drove up to take care of the delivery. “Two years ago, these people (Tidewell Hospice) were a godsend.”
Her husband of 47 years, Bill Dale, died at that time and Terry Dale doesn’t know how she would have made it through without Tidewell Hospice. She knew the importance of the food that was being sent out with the volunteers.
“Thanksgiving is all about food,” she said. “The holidays can be a real hole in your family, and this can help them stay together. This might be the last meal they have together.”
She said the volunteer work is helpful for her, too, during the holidays.
“This gives me something to do,” she said, trying to hold back tears.
Tears, and laughter, flowed freely in the parking lot as volunteers worked together. Whisper Bend’s Patricia Wingenfeld and Steve Rinder drove up to collect meals they could deliver and Steve was trying to contain his thoughts and emotions.
A year ago, Tidewell Hospice helped them get through the death of his mom, Audrey Rinder.
A year later, he said he wanted to give back.
Wingenfeld has been a hospice volunteer with Tidewell for more than six years. They brought their dog, Benson, along for support.
Tidewell Foundation President Delesa Morris and Empath Health CEO Jonathan Fleece were working alongside the volunteers in the parking lot. They said those who benefited from the event went from children in pediatric hospitals up to any age.
The Meal Drive is just one of the Tidewell Foundation’s many events that benefit the community.
“Every day, you think of what you can do,” Morris said.
Volunteers Terry Dale and Carol Glider, both of Bradenton, stand on either side of Tidewell Foundation President Delesa Morris as they pack meals during the fifth annual Meal Drive on Nov. 27.
Concession home sells for
$5.95 million
ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR
Ahome in Concession topped all transactions in this week’s real estate.
Parkstone Holdings LLC sold the home at 20819 Parkstone Terrace to Brian McNulty, trustee, of Sarasota, for $5.95 million. Built in 2018, it has four bedrooms, four-anda-half baths, a pool and 5,998 square feet of living area.
LAKE CLUB
Frances Gaik, trustee, and Casimier Gaik, of Fort Myers, sold the home at 8541 Pavia Way to Carole Andrew, trustee, of Greenwich, Connecticut, for $3 million. Built in 2023, it has three bedrooms, fourand-a-half baths, a pool and 3,823 square feet of living area. It sold for $2,599,900 in 2023.
CONCESSION
Matthew Jones, trustee, of Kennebunkport, Maine, sold the home at 19443 Beacon Park Place to Kenneth and Jennifer Cobbs, of Bradenton, for $2.55 million. Built in 2023, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,459 square feet of living area.
COUNTRY CLUB
Linda Lee Baker, of Lakewood Ranch, sold her home at 7110 Beechmont Terrace to Wolfgang and Alison Bauriedel, of Edgartown, Massachusetts, for $1,395,000. Built in 2001, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,295 square feet of living area. It sold for $640,000 in 2009.
Christopher and Jessica Lima, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 7254 Lake Forest Glen to Kenneth and Kelleyanne Delaney, of Lakewood Ranch, for $1,049,000. Built in 2009, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,661 square feet of living area. It sold for $940,000 in 2023.
Harry and Bethany Wood sold their home at 6942 Brier Creek Court to William and Diana Notar, of Lakewood Ranch, for $910,000. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,724 square feet of living area. It sold for $700,000 in 2007.
TIDEWATER PRESERVE
Scott and Lori Tackett sold their home at 5816 Tidewater Preserve Blvd. to David Thomas Ivin and Sallie Maxwell Ivin, trustees, of Bradenton, for $1.16 million. Built in 2017, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,738 square feet of living area. It sold for $800,000 in 2021.
LAKEWOOD NATIONAL
GOLF CLUB
Zoltan and Andrea Marsi, of Dellroy, Ohio, sold their home at 5903 Brandon Run to Benjamin Mast, of Millersburg, Ohio, for $1.06 million. Built in 2022, it has four bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,248 square feet of living area. It sold for $695,400 in 2022.
WATERLEFE GOLF AND RIVER CLUB
Chad Paulson, trustee, of Bradenton, sold the home at 906 Maritime Court to John Lewis and Deborah Lewis, trustees, of Bradenton, for $1 million. Built in 2003, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 4,126 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.19 million in 2005.
HERITAGE HARBOUR
David Brian Will and Jeremy Paul Burmeister, trustees, of Arvada, Colorado, sold the home at 8716 River Preserve Drive to James and Melissa Nuss, of Bridgeport, New York, for $835,000. Built in 2012, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS NOV. 18-22
pool and 2,402 square feet of living area. It sold for $680,000 in 2022.
RYE WILDERNESS ESTATES
Larry Searle and Mary Ackerman, of Ruskin, sold their home at 16506 Third Ave. N.E. to Eric Alphonse and Micheline Brizard, of Bradenton, for $835,000. Built in 2016, it has three bedrooms, three-anda-half baths, a pool and 2,619 square feet of living area. It sold for $355,000 in 2016.
COUNTRY MEADOWS
Michelle Noel, of Parrish, sold her home at 623 147th Court N.E. to Brian and Michelle Stephens, of Bradenton, for $795,000. Built in 2012, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,459 square feet of living area. It sold for $424,000 in 2015.
DUDE RANCH ACRES
Myron Martin and Cathy Martin, trustees, of Sunbright, Tennessee, sold the home at 6018 47th Ave. E. to Eriberto Damaso and Natali Bernache Bercenas, of Bradenton, for $775,000. Built in 1961, it has four bedrooms, four baths and 2,177 square feet of living area.
EDGEWATER
Patrick Risch, trustee, of Tampa, sold the home at 6514 Waters Edge Way to James and Patricia LeMay, of Lakewood Ranch, for $725,000. Built in 1999, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,266 square feet of living area. It sold for $405,000 in 2000.
MILL CREEK
Brittany Jennings and Crystal Whitley, of Nokomis, sold their home at 13629 Second Ave. E. to Brett and Danielle Ellis, of Bradenton, for $690,000. Built in 1990, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 1,960 square feet of living area. It sold for $650,000 in 2022.
Leanne Chisholm, of Villard, Minnesota, Steven Olson, of Simpsonville, South Carolina, and Judy Karkhoff, of Holmes Beach, sold their home at 15109 21st Ave. E. to Donna Aquaviva and Leonard Gallo, of Parrish, for $690,000. Built in 2006, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,129 square feet of living area.
WATERFRONT AT MAIN STREET
Roger Walton, trustee, of Indianapolis, sold the Unit 3-305 condominium at 10510 Boardwalk Loop to Linda Barrett, trustee, of Lakewood Ranch, for $654,800. Built in 2018, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,467 square feet of living area. It sold for $605,000 in 2021.
MOTE RANCH
Marlene Watson and Clayton Wright Watson, of Bradenton, sold their home at 5882 Lantern Court to Zenaida and Robert Trimble, of Sarasota, for $622,500. Built in 1990, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,137 square feet of living area. It sold for $165,900 in 1990.
GREENBROOK William Lee Burg
Jr.
and Amendoa
Hopper sold their home at 6559 Blue Grosbeak Circle to David and Megan Skerry, of Bradenton, for $582,000. Built in 2003, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,572 square feet of living area. It sold for $464,400 in 2022.
RIVER POINT OF MANATEE
Kendra and David Riley, of Gulfport, sold their home at 316 41st St. N.E. to Danielle Bossa Perkins, of Palmetto, for $535,000. Built in 1996, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,748 square feet of living area. It sold for $499,900 in 2022.
Holly McManus, trustee, of Nashville, Tennessee, sold the home at
141 41st Circle E. to Xavier Calderon, of Bradenton, for $362,500. Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,606 square feet of living area. It sold for $150,200 in 2002.
GREYHAWK LANDING WEST
Alan Gubin, of Palmetto, sold the home at 814 Rosemary Circle to Amy Edwards, of Bradenton, for $505,000. Built in 2014, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,883 square feet of living area. It sold for $299,000 in 2014.
Courtesy photo
This Concession home at 20819 Parkstone Terrace sold for $5.95 million. Built in 2018, it has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a pool and 5,998 square feet of living area.
RIVER PLACE
Kathryn Kaufman, of Skidmore, Texas, sold her home at 6889 74th St. Circle E. to Richard Dale Hall and Xiogenia Colmenares Roa, of Bradenton, for $499,000. Built in 2004, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,119 square feet of living area. It sold for $330,000 in 2018.
SUMMERFIELD
Jeremy and Alysha Shelby, of Bradenton, sold their home at 12311 Hollybush Terrace to James and Catherine Abrams, of Sarasota, for $474,000. Built in 1997, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,904 square feet of living area. It sold for $515,000 in 2023.
2018-1 IH Borrower LP sold the home at 11019 Pine Lilly Place to Terrains Trust LLC for $425,000. Built in 1997, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 2,317 square feet of living area. It sold for $395,000 in 2006.
ARBOR RESERVE
Tuyet Van Thi Huynh, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Son Do, of Westminster, California, sold their home at 4718 Arbor Gate Drive to William and Lynn Brooks, of Bradenton, for $458,000. Built in 2015, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,711 square feet of living area. It sold for $465,000 in 2021.
OSPREY LANDING
Kyle William Bernethy, of Bradenton, sold the home at 1103 116th St. E. to Shujing Yu and Yu Wang, of Bradenton, for $440,000. Built in 2017, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,441 square feet of living area. It sold for $262,000 in 2018.
WHISPERING OAKS
Mallory and Nick Haines, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 8214 46th Court E. to Derek Smith, trustee, of Sarasota, for $425,000. Built in 2001, it has three bedrooms,
two baths and 1,452 square feet of living area. It sold for $270,000 in 2018.
BRADEN RIVER LAKES
Jonathan and Jessica Brinks, of Bradenton, sold their home at 4501 Ninth Ave. E. to Brian and Lorna Smith, of Bradenton, for $390,000. Built in 1991, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,602 square feet of living area. It sold for $257,000 in 2020.
EAGLE TRACE
Lloyd Perkins and Maria SantosPerkins sold their home at 1946 Crystal Lake Trail to Miriam Gonzalez, of Bradenton, for $375,000. Built in 2015, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,422 square feet of living area. It sold for $233,600 in 2015.
COUNTRY OAKS
Emily Sherwood and William Walter Koch, of Bradenton, sold their home at 4939 79th Ave. Drive E. to Thomas Burger, of Sarasota, for $374,000. Built in 1987, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,661 square feet of living area. It sold for $150,000 in 2009.
STONEYBROOK AT HERITAGE
HARBOUR
Michael Reischmann, trustee, of Eustis, sold the home at 8318 Summer Greens Terrace to Peter Alan Gauthier and Sara Ester Galan, of Bradenton, for $359,000. Built in 2005, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,870 square feet of living area. It sold for $259,800 in 2005.
GREENFIELD PLANTATION
Sheflin Properties sold the home at 531 Hunter Lane to Brendan Vorce and Michelle Oliva, of Bradenton, for $350,000. Built in 1998, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,269 square feet of living area. It sold for $385,000 in 2021.
NATURE’S BEAUTY WITH
CLUE ME IN! by Kathy Bloomer and Jeff Chen, edited by Jeff Chen
By Luis Campos
Gordon Silver took this photo of a swallow-tailed kite carrying nesting material above Country Club East in Lakewood Ranch.
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The Shanahan Group made the process of selling our home in Concession easy! Their market expertise, staging skills and pricing analysis were fantastic. Since we were out of town for most of the selling process, they went out of their way to take care of all things big and small for us. We highly recommend this group when selling your home. So much thanks to Ken, Katina and Tyler.
