Observer
EAST COUNTY
special:
photos ON 12-13
Lakewood Ranch Robby Lyons returns preps for annual to baseball after two Relay for Life. ankle surgeries. 24
Uihlein family organizes benefit for MD Anderson.
sports: health YOUTH Matters SPOTLIGHT
Under the Palms
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
SHORT STACK
Thursday, MARCH 17, 2011
Kathleen Gagg is working to honor military veterans by helping them reintegrate into civilian life through her non-profit, Camp Better America.
KUDOS, QUOTABLES AND COMMUNITY
+ Phayre family needs your vote
One East County family is a finalist in the Primrose School and Children’s Miracle Network Family Dance-off competition. The Phayre family’s Nintendo-inspired video, “The Super Phayre Family,” is one of 14 finalists nationwide. If they win, the Phayres will earn a donation of $30,000 to All Children’s Hospital and a $5,000 cash prize. The family’s son, Cameron, has been receiving speech therapy at All Children’s Specialty Care in Sarasota. Voting will take place March 20-26 online at FamilyDanceoff.com. The winning families will be announced the week of March 28.
+ Rotarians throw polo party
More than 60 Lakewood Ranch Rotary Club members enjoyed a St. Patrick’s Daythemed afternoon at a polo match March 13 at Sarasota Polo Club. Member Phil Curran organized the event.
INDEX Business Directory.................. 28 Classifieds................................ 28 Crossword............................... 27 Neighborhood......................... 11 Real Estate............................. 18 Sports...................................... 21 Vol. 12, No. 11 Two sections www.YourObserver.com
tragedy
ODA family mourns loss of student Former Out-of-Door Academy student Brandi Meshad was found dead March 8 at her grandfather’s home. By Pam Eubanks | News Editor
Pam Eubanks
Camp Better America’s Executive Director of Community Affairs Gene Sweeney, co-founder Kathleen Gagg and Gold Coast Eagle Distributing owner Col. John Saputo are hoping the community will join their efforts to support military families.
Returning the
By Pam Eubanks | News Editor
LAKEWOOD RANCH — Kathleen Gagg has no “Plan B.” In the board room at Gold Coast Eagle Distributing, Gagg flips open a journal and pours over the contents until she finds just the right spot — an entry about when she first spoke with Kimberly Burleson. From that moment on, she knew it was going to happen. “I just felt this is something I needed to do as an American to return the salute to (our military),” Gagg says. “I know in my heart anything is possible.” Gagg and Burleson, who lives in Texas, launched Camp Better America, a nonprofit that focuses on the reconnection pro-
Salute
cess for military families after a soldier comes home from war. The women, along with a core team of volunteers, have been working to educate military families about the program and to set up camps. “We’re all Americans,” Gagg says. “We have our (military) fighting for our freedom. As civilians, we need to stand up and return the salute. Some of them are sacrificing their lives. This is where my passion is.” Gagg, who moved to the East County last summer, will introduce her organization to the
SEE SALUTE / PAGE 8
INFORMATION
Return the Salute Fundraiser WHEN: 6-9 p.m., March 24 WHERE: Gold Coast Eagle Distributing, 7051 Wireless Court, Lakewood Ranch TICKETS: $150 per couple or $100 per individual to attend; donations also accepted. RSVP: By March 21 to Kathleen.gagg@yahoo.com or (973) 670-3940 or visit www.campbetteramerica. eventbrite.com.
Kathleen Gagg: ‘I just felt this is something I needed to do as an American to return the salute to (our military). I know in my heart anything is possible.’
SARASOTA COUNTY — Brandi Meshad was rarely short on smiles. The former Out-of-Door Academy student loved to laugh and had a zeal for life, friends said. “Brandi was the type of person that her smile (and her personality) would light Brandi Meshad up a room,” friend Alexsa Dietrich said. “I remember the first time I met Brandi, and I thought to myself, ‘How pretty and happy she was.’ “She wasn’t the type of person people hear her to be,” she said. “She was so much more. There wasn’t a moment someone wasn’t laughing with her.” Brandi died March 8 at her grandparents’ home in the 1400 block of Kimlira Lane in Sarasota. She was 18 years old. A Sarasota County Sheriff ’s Office report states the deputy on scene pronounced Meshad dead at 9:20 p.m., March 8, in the theater room of the home. The sheriff ’s office is investigating Meshad’s death as a drug overdose. “The medical examiner will take as long as they need to deliver the cause of death,” Sheriff ’s Office Multimedia
SEE MESHAD / PAGE 9