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SRQ DAILY Feb 3, 2018

"When we call affordable housing a studio that rents for $1,750 a month we should be like Manhattan or San Francisco. "

- Joy Randel, Technovia
 

[Community]  The Wave
Roxie Jerde, roxie@cfsarasota.org

As some of you may know, I graduated from the University of Iowa and am a huge Hawkeye fan. Each year, my husband Mike and I go back for our annual homecoming football game, and there is something that has really stayed with me from last fall’s game that goes way beyond a game of football. Right across from Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium sits the Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The hospital’s advantageous height and positioning gives the young patients in their care a direct view of the stadium, its field and its crowd. As you can imagine, kids do their best to get as close to the windows as they can when a game is on, allowing them a temporary break from the reality of being confined to a hospital room.

Well in the summer of last year, a young mom named Krista Young from small-town Anita, Iowa decided to turn the children spectating into the spectacle. Her idea was simple: at the end of the first quarter of each game, fans in Kinnick Stadium would turn and wave to the children looking on through the hospital windows above. She posted the idea on a fan website, and the idea slowly started to gain traction on social media. When the first home game of the 2017 football season kicked off, she wasn’t sure if her idea had enough traction, but what happened next astonished her.

As the first quarter came to a close, fans all around Krista turned towards the hospital and began to wave to the kids. Before long, the entire stadium was standing and waving. That day “The Wave” was born, and it’s showing no signs of ever stopping.

I was fortunate to take part in The Wave last year and I look forward to doing it again and again. There’s something so powerful about what it represents. For a brief moment in those children’s lives, they can see that their community cares about them. It is a collective acknowledgement that they are all there for them.

As you wave, you don’t know the kids or their stories, yet you know you’ve made a difference in their lives. Ever since I waved at those children, I began to think about how many “Waves” our own community has. In many ways, our generous community has shown over and over again how much we care about all our neighbors and our most vulnerable citizens.

Season of Sharing, which for the fifth year in a row has collected more than $2 million to support individuals living on the verge of homeless, has proven itself as our community’s collective “hug” to those who need it. It is a reminder for vulnerable families that they are not alone—they can stay hopeful, rather than hopeless.

The Giving Challenge, which has raised more than $28 million since its inception in 2012, has also proven that each and every one of us has the potential to impact another person, a cause, a community. With more than 63,000 gifts made during the 2016 Challenge, it goes to show that our community is one that collectively rises at the opportunity to support our local nonprofits and the clients they serve or causes they address.

Because of the collective generosity of people like you, what we get to achieve every day at the Community Foundation is a constant reminder that there is good in the world. As long as we reside in this community we are not alone. Our community’s generosity does not just address issues, it connects us all.

Roxie Jerde is president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. 

[Education]  Team USA
Jennifer Vigne, jvigne@edfoundationsrq.org

The 2018 Winter Olympics is scheduled to begin this week with more than 90 countries sending its athletes to compete against the world’s best. It will be a time when we, as Americans, unify as a country while enthusiastically cheering our nation’s athletes who have spent countless hours and years of sacrifice for this pinnacle experience. It is no secret the United States, more than any other country, is a dominant Olympic contender as evidenced by our record-setting medals. Listening to the national anthem play repeatedly as American athletes don gold medals serves as a source of national pride affirming our country’s strength.

With the Olympics upon us, this may serve as an opportune yet sobering time to compare the United States’ performance in education. Admittedly, rankings never reveal the whole story but they can help us watch for trends and identify areas for us to focus. One of the most referenced international ranking reports is the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which every three years measures reading ability, math and science literacy in countries around the world.

The most recent report, published in 2015, shows the United States above the OECD average in reading and science and below the average in math. According to OECD PISA 2015, a score difference of 30 points is the equivalent of one year of formal schooling. Singapore tops all three performance areas with a 535 reading score compared to a 497 U.S. score; science is a 556 to 496 comparison and Singapore’s math score tops 564 compared to the U.S. at 470. Put another way, the United States ranks 24th in reading, 25th in science, and 40th in math when compared to the more than 70 countries that participate in this assessment. If PISA garnered as much attention as the Olympics, this would prompt a national outcry. Yet, hope is not lost.

The Sarasota community is doing much to improve student achievement by recognizing the responsibility is shared between all of us and is not just for our schools and teachers to bear. It has been inspiring to witness the resounding support students and families receive from the multitude of invested community partners engaged in innovative pilot programs to comprehensive literacy initiatives and everything in between. Our community has a proclivity to invest in a better tomorrow by making sound investments in schools today.

If you’ve not yet joined the conversation and want to share your wisdom and talents, we welcome the community conversation. Greater alignment still is needed and, together, we can improve the performance of all Team USA students. I can hear the national anthem now…

Jennifer Vigne is president of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County. 

[From Joy Randels]  STEM Shortcomings Problem for Region
Joy Randels

I have been building STEM companies and fighting this battle since moving here in 2000. We had a great opportunity to address the loss and lack of STEM talent in the region. I worked on the concept with Mark Pritchett, Jon Thaxton, and Kevin Cooper at Gulf Coast Community Foundation for months almost two years ago and while Mark wanted to see it come to fruition the board voted against it. Our community lost and continues to lose much of its top talent for several reasons that have gone unaddressed for decades. We have the foundation in our classrooms and STEM programs are growing but most K-12 students leave and go away to college, especially those focused on STEM fields, and many never return because of opportunities afforded to them elsewhere. We also lose top talent that comes here to attend Ringling College and New College. When they graduate they leave because they see more opportunities in STEAM fields outside the area.

The UF Innovation Station appears to be a great addition and the fact Voalte’s Trey Lauderdale worked so hard to get Dr. Cammie Abernathy to choose our location says a lot about his commitment to our future. Seeing the results of its addition will take time but it definitely helps fill a gap in the engineering space if we can make the additional changes to retain students after graduation.

Housing affordability is tied to wealth over quality of life in the region. We can paint any picture we like but the truth is simple. When we call affordable housing a studio that rents for $1,750 a month we should be like Manhattan or San Francisco. The only way to bridge the gap is to create higher paying jobs and those are STEM or STEAM jobs. What will happen as the highly affluent Baby Boomer generation goes away? While we have amassed a plethora of million-dollar homes, fine dining and arts, how will it survive when the next generation chooses to live elsewhere?

As for becoming Boston or Seattle, that should not be where we focus. Those cities play to their strengths and we should as well. That said, any city that does not focus on STEM will lose over the next decade.  STEM/STEAM jobs are now tied to every aspect of our lives. In our increasingly interconnected world virtually everything we do will be touched by technology. Internet of Things, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence are our future. Mobile browsers surpassed all other forms in 2010. When I sold one of my companies, the first mobile content delivery platform, to Akamai in 2010, it was deployed to over 100,000 servers around the world that serve up 80 percent of the internet content consumed daily. Just over 40 percent of the people in U.S. have a piece of wearable technology and the number grows daily. We have almost twice the number of mobile phones as we do human beings. Our virtual assistants (Siri, Google Home and Alexa) are used by 35 percent of the population multiple times each day. What about how technology is being used to regenerate our oceans, create sustainable food sources or for health fitness and athletic performance? Then we have autonomous vehicles, Florida is one of four states where they are currently legal and home to CUTR and the Autonomous Vehicle Institute at USF, but having a space with no participation does nothing for our future.  

Saying we try isn’t enough and opportunity is on the verge of passing us by. We have many of the necessary resources in our community to create something amazing. Something that plays to our regions strength and acts as a catalyst. To be successful, that has to happen sooner rather than later because the window of opportunity is now, not a decade away.

Joy Randels is the board chair for Technova Florida. 

[Meet the ProjecTHINK Speakers]  Dr. Cameron Camp, Center for Applied Research in Dementia

Cameron J. Camp, Ph.D., is a noted psychologist specializing in applied research in gerontology and gives workshops on designing cognitive and behavioral interventions for dementia internationally. These interventions are all designed to reduce challenging behaviors and increase the level of functioning of persons with dementia. He has co-authored three college textbooks and published over 150 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. Dr. Camp is a Fellow and past-president of Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging) of the American Psychological Association, a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and a Charter Member of the Association for Psychological Science. His research has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, and the national Alzheimer’s Association.

An invigorating morning of innovative thinking and interactive collaboration await you at SRQ MEDIA'S inaugural projecTHINK Conference hosted at the Ringling College of Art and Design's award-winning Alfred R. Goldstein Library on Saturday February 10, from 8:30am-12:00pm.

Space is limited, purchase tickets online at srqprojecthink.com

ProjecTHINK Conference



[Best Of SRQ Local]  Cast Your Vote For Best Local Caterer!

An event is not complete without delicious imbibes from from one of our region’s fabulous local caterers. Readers voted Michael’s on East as Best Caterer in 2017, followed by Morton’s Gourmet Market and Innovative Dining. “It’s not just the wonderful food that makes Michael’s on East great. What sets them apart is service.” Who deserves the top spot this year? Click on the link below to share your favorite in SRQ Magazine's 2018 Best of SRQ Local Readers Competition. 

Vote Here!

[SCOOP ]  PNC Awards $150,000 Grant to Education Foundation

PNC has awarded $150,000 to the Education Foundation of Sarasota County in partnership with Forty Carrots Family Center designed to improve the school success of young children in Sarasota County Title One elementary schools. The three-year grant will expand the Partners In Play program to Gocio Elementary School and allow Forty Carrots to offer Abriendo Puertas Bilingual Parenting Education (Parent University) at Gocio and Alta Vista Elementary Schools. As an independent philanthropic supporter of Sarasota County Schools, the Education Foundation strives to connect other youth-serving organizations such as Forty Carrots Family Center with Sarasota County Schools to address specific and identifiable needs. Together these organizations have created a collective impact model program designed to serve children as well as their parents and families and is built around programs that have proven successful. 

Education Foundation of Sarasota County

[SCOOP ]  TableSeide Chef Joey Egan helps Boys & Girls Clubs Culinary Arts Program

Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County welcomed TableSeide Restaurant Group’s Joey Egan, executive chef for Louies Modern/Modern Events, to the Lee Wetherington Boys & Girls Club on January 18 to help a group of teen Club members prepare a three-course meal for 40 guests at the organization’s first Opening Doors to Great Futures Dinner of the year. The organization initiated this monthly dinner series in 2015 as a way for members of the community to learn more about its mission, programs and impact. This free event begins with a reception and a tour of one of the five local Boys & Girls Clubs locations. After the tour, guests enjoy a brief program with a delicious meal prepared and served by teen Club members who participate in the organization’s Culinary Arts Program under the guidance of a professional guest chef. “This was a wonderful opportunity for our Club members to learn from such a talented chef in our own Club kitchen,” said Bill Sadlo, President/CEO at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County. “Our Club members loved working with Chef Joey while learning the important skills necessary to pursue a lasting career in the hospitality and service industry in our community.” 

Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota County

[SCOOP ]  Jason Derulo to Headline at Annual Firefly Gala

On April 21, multi-platinum recording artist Jason Derulo will headline at the Forty Carrots Family Center’s Firefly Gala presented by the Dart Foundation at the The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Sarasota. This sparkling fundraising gala will feature a private, intimate concert, fabulous dinner, exciting live auction and an after party to dance the night away. Jason Derulo is a multi-platinum powerhouse whose stellar 2017 saw his hit song “Swalla” garner over 800 million YouTube views landing it in the top 10 YouTube videos of the year and in the Top 20 of all tracks streamed on Spotify worldwide with 500 million streams to date. His introductory breakout “Whatcha Say” and “Talk Dirty” (feat. 2 Chainz) reached quadruple-Platinum status, while “Want To Want Me” and “Ridin’ Solo” went triple-Platinum and “Trumpets”, “Wiggle” (feat. Snoop Dogg), and “In My Head” earned double-Platinum certifications. Firefly Gala, known for attracting great talent such as Flo Rida, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Bret Michaels and KC & The Sunshine Band, is one of the hottest tickets of the year and supports vital programs for children and families across Sarasota and Manatee Counties.  

Forty Carrots Family Center

[SCOOP ]  Morton"s Welcomes New Executive Catering Chef

Morton’s Gourmet Market is pleased to welcome Michelle Wolforth as its new Executive Catering Chef. A culinary arts graduate of Johnson & Wales University with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality, Ms. Wolforth will oversee the company’s award-winning catering department featuring an extensive menu of party favorites and custom event planning. “We’re happy to have Michelle join our market family and look forward to the creativity and leadership she will bring to our catering department,” said co-owner Todd Morton. “Our catering team is among the best in the business, and we’re excited about growing this part of our company.” 

Morton's Gourmet Market

[KUDOS ]  Goodwill Contributes $1.3 Billion Back into Florida Economy

The Florida Goodwill Association recently received economic impact and workforce data that was collected on behalf of the nine Goodwill organizations throughout the state. In 2017, the Goodwills in Florida placed 30,488 people into jobs: the ripple effect of these placements generated an additional 4,400 jobs, for a total of 34,888. Total wages generated was $442.6 million, with a total economic impact calculated of nearly $1.3 billion. It is also important to note that, with more than 10,000 employees. Goodwill Manasota’s local economic impact was calculated at more than $92.1 million – a 13.1 percent increase over 2016. Additionally, Goodwill Manasota served 11,672 people, placing 555 into jobs, and provided 19,540 on-the-clock hours of training to its employees. The organization also served 360 veterans and their families, and diverted more than 41 million pounds from the landfill. 

Goodwill Manasota

SRQ Media Group

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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