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SRQ DAILY Feb 18, 2017

"Our four-year programs were created in conjunction - not in competition - with our university system partners to address unmet educational needs for our region."

- Dr. Carol Probstfeld, State College of Florida
 

[Argus]  Paving The Way
Christine Robinson, Christine@argusfoundation.org

We lost an amazing leader last month. Wendel Fraser Kent lived more than half of his 92 years of existence in Sarasota. For 58 years, he impacted where he lived and we have all benefitted from his love and labor. After serving in Europe in World War II, Wendel met the love of his life, Evelyn, while in college and received a civil engineering degree. He moved to Sarasota in 1959.

He worked for the City of Sarasota as city engineer. In the private sector, he established a road building company bearing his name and also a paving company, Gator Asphalt. 

At the funeral, I listened to his son Stephen lovingly talk with admiration for his father. He reminded us that as we drove to celebrate Wendel’s life at the Siesta Key Chapel, of which Wendel was a founding member, we likely drove on a road that Wendel built. 

“Wendel connected people.” 

Wendel was a former president of the Sarasota Chamber, a former board member of the Selby Foundation and a director at Palmer Bank. He was a pioneer in almost everything he did. Besides being a founding member of Siesta Key Chapel—he loved that chapel, by the way—he was a founding member of the Sarasota Bay Rotary Club, Enterprise Bank and yes, the Argus Foundation. He served as the first Argus president and served for two terms. He never stopped being involved in Argus. He would regularly attend functions and offer his thoughts, which were full of history and wisdom.

True to the typical Argus Foundation member, Wendel was a tireless advocate of education. This advocacy showed in his push for vocational education and his activity in the Riverview High School Foundation.

At his funeral, they distributed the program in celebration of his life. One line struck me as really summing up Wendel’s contributions to us: “Without fanfare he gave his time, talent and treasure to benefit many causes in Sarasota and around the world.” 

Around the world. His son Peter described what Wendel did halfway around the world that many never knew about. Wendel spread his philanthropy to India. This man of action bought dictionaries, mosquito nets and food for those less fortunate on the other side of the planet. Peter told us that Wendel was concerned about the physical and spiritual wellbeing of those less fortunate. He spread his faith through his love of people. 

I last saw Wendel at our Lifetime Achievement Award dinner in November. He looked around the room and smiled as he saw the business community thriving. He knew that meant more philanthropy to help those less fortunate and a stronger Sarasota.

Sarasota was blessed to have Wendel Kent here shaping our future and giving to his community. He was a shining example of what the Argus Foundation is all about. We would not be the wonderful community we are today without him. Thank you Wendel for giving us what we have today, and we will carry forward in the spirit of love and generosity for the Sarasota that you gave us.

Christine Robinson is executive director of the Argus Foundation. 

[Higher Education]  SCF Bachelor's Programs Key to Community Support
Carol Probstfeld, presidentsoffice@scf.edu

The workforce baccalaureate degree programs at the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, are a critical aspect of the college’s ability to support the economies in Manatee and Sarasota counties. The ability to offer bachelor’s degree programs gives SCF the ability to rapidly respond to local employment needs and create the workforce education programs that help recruit new employers to our region.

SCF offers Bachelor of Applied Science programs for Nursing, Early Childhood Education, Health Services Administration, Technology Management, Homeland Security, Public Safety Administration and International Business and Trade. These affordable online programs are designed for working adults place-bound by employment, family or economic circumstances. SCF’s workforce baccalaureate programs keep these individuals in our local area while they study and prepare for better employment opportunities in our region after they graduate. 

Our four-year programs were created in conjunction—not in competition—with our university system partners to address unmet educational needs for our region. We did not create these programs at the expense of SCF’s two-year or certificate programs, which will always be our greatest focus. Just under 6 degrees percent of our students are enrolled in baccalaureate programs. We will always commit a majority of our resources to our two-year and certificate programs.

The approval process for a bachelor’s degree program at SCF and the other members of the Florida College System is a robust and transparent process unique to the college system. We must prove there is a workforce education need in our community in a specific high-demand area that is not being met by other local institutions. The process includes a 90-day feedback period for the state’s public universities and private institutions to provide objections or counter proposals to the state college’s baccalaureate proposal. We must also respond to feedback and receive a positive recommendation from the state’s Division of Florida Colleges, and ultimately get approval from the State Board of Education. If done seamlessly and without objection, it typically takes more than a year to complete this process and offer a new program to our students.

Our bachelor’s degree programs respond to specific community needs. At SCF, the bulk of our upper division enrollment is in our nursing program—without question an area of local need. I do not view our baccalaureate programs as a replacement or substitution for our state’s very successful two-plus-two program with our universities. I will always seek a university partner to fill the need for a bachelor’s degree program in our region before trying to start a new one at SCF. Our entry into the University of South Florida FUSE program and the launch of Gator Engineering @ SCF in the fall of 2017 are great examples of how two-plus-two works effectively in our region.

Baccalaureate programs at SCF offer affordable opportunities for our community members to advance their skills and income levels without having to leave home, family or employment to earn their degrees. These programs allow the college to quickly respond to local employment needs and educate the workforce for our region’s future.

Dr. Carol Probstfeld is president of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. 



[SCOOP]  Goodwill's GoodPartner Coach Program

Goodwill Manasota received a grant from Publix Super Markets Charities to support the salary of a GoodPartner Coach, responsible for providing individuals and families comprehensive single-point-of-contact case management as part of a seamless service delivery design including personal and career counseling, life and work coaching and linkage to and advocacy with organizational and community resources. The GoodPartner Coach Program helps people with disabilities and other barriers gain positive personal and workplace behaviors and skills, feel the pride of earning a paycheck by moving toward self-sufficiency, build a strong work history and develop the experience and skills to position them for higher-paying jobs outside of Goodwill. This is the fifth year that Goodwill has received funding from Publix Super Markets Charities as Goodwill hires more individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment. 

Goodwill Manasota

[SCOOP]  CareerEdge Advocates for Pell Grants

Deborah Chapman, program director of CareerEdge Funders Collaborative, recently traveled to Washington, DC to meet with Florida’s congressional legislators as part of the National Skills Coalition. The Coalition is made up of US workforce development organizations and is focused on supporting middle-skilled jobs in high-growth industries. These include those requiring more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree. Chapman met with staff from Senator Rubio and Senator Nelson’s offices, as well as those of 11 House members. CareerEdge’s key advocacy focus is on expanding Pell Grant eligibility to include short-term certifications in high-demand programs. Currently, federal Pell Grants provide college students needs-based funding for certification and degree programs that are at least 600 instructional hours, or a minimum of 15 weeks in length.


 

CareerEdge

[SCOOP]  Ringling College Student Literacy Outreach

Students from Ringling College of Art and Design’s Writing Picture Books class have been visiting area schools and programs including Children First to help remind the young adults what it was like to be a little kid and to better inform their attempts to entertain and educate children through their art. The class will visit Children First and a local elementary school several times over the course of the semester as well as local bookstores and libraries. Instructor Sylvia Whitman, who is part of the new Creative Writing program at Ringling College, believes the interaction with kids helps to inform the voice and expression of her students, and fosters empathy for the struggles of children who may be coming from a very different experience than what the students may ever have known.


 

Children First

[SCOOP]  Yoga for a Healthy Lower Back, Anxiety and Depression

Liz Owen will be visiting Pineapple Yoga Studio and sharing her knowledge about lower back health and yoga for depression and anxiety later this month. From February 26 to March 5, Owen will host a series of three workshops for participants to learn how to use yoga for wellness. Workshops include yoga for a healthy lower back, yoga for depression and anxiety and teacher training immersion.  

Pineapple Yoga Studio

[KUDOS]  Gecko's Receives 2017 Florida Restaurant Neighbor Award

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) has honored Gecko’s Hospitality Group with the 2017 Florida Restaurant Neighbor Award. Each year NRAEF recognizes outstanding restaurants around the country through these prestigious national awards. The awards honor restaurants that go above and beyond in community service and aim to inspire other restaurateurs to get or stay involved in their local communities. This selection marks the fifth consecutive year that Gecko’s Hospitality Group owners Michael Quillen and Mike Gowan have earned this distinction and commends 25 years of giving. Gecko’s will now compete with other state winners across the United States for the national award where one winner receives $10,000 to support their favorite charity this March in Washington, DC.


 

Gecko's Grill and Pub

[KUDOS ]  Cheri Guentner Receives Hall of Fame Award

Cheri Guentner of RE/MAX Platinum Realty has been inducted into the RE/MAX Hall of Fame, which honors successful agents for performance during their careers with the company. Specializing in luxury and waterfront properties, Guentner has been active in local real estate since 1989 and is co-owner with her husband, Bryan, of RE/MAX Platinum Realty, which maintains four offices in Sarasota and Manatee counties.  

RE/MAX

[KUDOS ]  SMH Cardiac Surgeons Earn Heartfelt Results

Sarasota Memorial Hospital has earned 3-star ratings from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for overall quality and clinical outcomes in all three adult cardiac surgery procedures the national organization measures including aortic valve replacement (AVR), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and AVR combined with CABG surgery. The 3-star ratings, which denote the highest category of quality, place SMH’s cardiac surgeons among the best of nearly 4,000 surgeons and providers in the United States and Canada participating in the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. The star rankings are the latest in a string of awards and accolades that Sarasota Memorial Hospital has received the past few years. In January 2017, Sarasota Memorial was the only hospital in Florida that earned a 5-star rating from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In 2016-2017, SMH also ranked among America’s 50 Best Heart Hospitals and the 100 Top Hospitals for overall care by Truven Health Analytics 

Sarasota Memorial Hospital

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SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email

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