Pictured: 2025 Spirit of Manatee Honorees. Photo courtesy of Manatee Community Foundation.

If December is about reflection, January is about choice. Many of us are settling back into routines and deciding where to focus our energy in the months ahead. What will we start, stop, or continue doing? Where do we want to spend our energy, and why? How can we make the biggest difference?

Those decisions, repeated year after year, add up. They influence how a community works and what kind of ‘spirit’ it develops. And that spirit determines the fate of such community. Will it be a spirit, and thus, mindset of growth, where we find opportunities and silver linings? A successful community has people who are willing to get—and stay—involved, not just in the quick wins but when the work requires patience and follow-through, the work that changes systems for the better.

That’s one of the things I love about Manatee County. We live in a place where generosity continues beyond one event or campaign. Our nonprofit leaders make room for collaboration, even when doing so takes more time. The families, businesses, and volunteers care about how the area functions, not just how it looks. Over time, that kind of consistency changes what is possible for the people and neighborhoods those organizations serve.

MCF created the Spirit of Manatee event to celebrate that consistency. We’re honoring those who stay involved through the seasons and who pay attention to how their decisions affect others. Much of what they do happens out of the spotlight, strengthening our community across education, human services, civic leadership, environmental stewardship, and the arts. And though their work takes many forms, the common thread is their deep understanding that with wealth—be it time, talent, or treasure—comes a sense of duty and responsibility to pay it forward and create a better life for others.

Gathering to celebrate Spirit of Manatee is a highlight of my year. It creates a rare pause, opening space for conversations that usually get squeezed out of busy schedules. It brings people together across roles and perspectives—donors, nonprofit leaders, educators, business owners, volunteers, and public partners in the same room, not to promote their own work but to recognize the shared effort it takes to move a community forward. And I think recognition plays such an important role in civic life. It clarifies—and incentivizes—what a community values.

If you’ve ever attended, you’ll agree: you can feel, in the room, that no single organization or sector carries this work alone. Our community faces complex challenges, and the solutions often take time and the commitment of multiple partners. Progress depends on people who are willing to stay curious and to listen, to remain engaged as circumstances change. The honorees we’ll celebrate this year reflect that mindset of curiosity, of growth, of selfless care, and their work helps set the tone for how our community approaches our future.

This year’s Spirit of Manatee celebration will take place on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at the Palmetto Marriott Resort and Spa. We’ll be privileged to hear from keynote speaker Walt Piatt, Retired Lt. General and Director of the US Army Staff, now the CEO of Wounded Warrior Project. With more than four decades of military service and leadership, Lt. General Piatt will bring us on his journey from the battlefield to philanthropy with a grounded perspective on what it takes to stay committed over time. His experience offers a fitting parallel to the work being recognized.

January is about choice; I hope you’ll choose to join us. Tickets and additional details are available at manateecf.org.

Veronica Thames is the CEO of Manatee Community Foundation.

Pictured: 2025 Spirit of Manatee Honorees. Photo courtesy of Manatee Community Foundation.