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SRQ DAILY Jun 2, 2018

"In this 21st century world in which we live, global events are watched in real time by millions of people (Meghan and Harry), world currency has become digitized, and the balance of international relations demand our understanding of world cultures."

- Jennifer Vigne, Education Foundation of Sarasota County
 

[Community]  Generations of Inspiration at Graduation
Roxie Jerde, roxie@cfsarasota.org

It’s always an inspiring time of year when you get to see the pictures of excited High School seniors and college students gathered at graduation ceremonies, but don’t you wonder what the real story is behind each of the graduates and how they got to the point when they are walking across the stage? This month the Community Foundation reached a new milestone, awarding more than $2 million in scholarships to those seeking higher education. More than 460 graduating seniors from Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties received scholarships from the Foundation ranging from $500 to $50,000. 110 adult learners, those returning to college or vocational school after being out of high school for a number of years, also received scholarships.

While this is an immense pride point for our Foundation, it also becomes a large responsibility to diligently review thousands of applications and facilitate numerous in-person interviews with students. The stories we hear are inspiring and heartbreaking. Alarmingly, many young people have juggled responsibilities like taking care of their siblings, being the main financial provider in their home, dealing with immigration or parental guardian issues, all the while staying on top of their school work, keeping obligations to sports teams and fulfilling volunteer requirements. It can’t get any more real than that. However, all the adversity always adds an extra amount of pride when we see our scholarship recipients succeed. One story that touched our hearts is that of Taneshia and her son Tavaris.

A number of years ago, Taneshia reached out to the Community Foundation. She had been laid off as the business she worked for began requiring associate degrees for her position. Being a single mother and only financial provider in her household at the time, she didn’t have many options and was told the Community Foundation could help pay for her to go back to school.

After talking with us and determining a plan for her academic goals, Taneshia enrolled back into college to finish her associate’s degree with assistance from scholarship awards from the Community Foundation, specifically one focused for single mothers. She was so determined to continue in higher education that she ended up receiving a bachelor’s degree in nursing, all the while working part-time through college.

The magical thing about Taneshia’s story is that while she was studying and pursuing a better life for her family, her son Tavaris had been working just as hard on his academic dreams. Inspired by his mother’s ambition, Tavaris strove to maintain the best grades he could in high school, all the while volunteering (400-plus hours at Sarasota Memorial Hospital), playing on the football team and working to support his household. Now that he was ready to graduate and head to college, Taneshia knew exactly where to turn to apply for scholarships.

It gives me chills to know this story just turned full circle two weeks ago. Because of his impressive resume and incredible merit, Tavaris was eligible to receive the Community Foundation’s Lela D. Jackson Scholarship, the largest scholarship award we steward. After an interview with our scholarship committee, he was notified the same day that he was receiving $50,000 over four years to attend the college of his choice. Because of our award, he will not require any other scholarship assistance or help from his mom to support his dreams of getting a degree in business.

There are so many stories like the ones of Taneshia and Tavaris. However, each of them found hope through their education, worked hard to achieve good grades and held dreams to make a difference in this world.

The vision of the Community Foundation’s donors is behind this great milestone—donors who believe in giving our bright, local students and adult learners an opportunity to empower themselves through higher education. Investing in people to further their education is one of the best investments donors can make for life long success. My heartfelt congratulations to those who are improving their lives and the lives of others by furthering their education.

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

[Education]  It's a Small World After All
Jennifer Vigne, jvigne@edfoundationsrq.org

Do you remember your summer vacations when you were a child?

For many of us GenXers or Baby Boomers, a summer vacation was piling in the family station wagon and driving across the state to visit Grandma or Aunt Sally.  Cousins would play outside together until darkness crept in while parents sat around telling embellished stories from their own childhood memories. Taking a trip to Disney World was a big deal so families planned and saved to make that trip, which seemed like it was to the other side of the world, when in fact, it was only a 2-hour drive from home.

A lot has changed since then. Our world that once seemed so big is now interconnected in ways that have made it quite small—or as Thomas Friedman described, flat. In this 21st century world in which we live, global events are watched in real time by millions of people (Meghan and Harry), world currency has become digitized, and the balance of international relations demand our understanding of world cultures.

The Education Foundation, through its innovative initiatives, is among a growing number of forward-thinking leaders and institutions modeling the 21st century skills that we want our students to emulate:

 •               forming new collaborative partnerships; 

•                taking calculated risks by putting ambitious, untried plans into motion; 

•                unlocking creative capacities to solve problems in unconventional ways; 

•                communicating across disciplines, sectors and cultures; and 

•                sharing and analyzing the impact of initiatives.

For these reasons and more, we are excited to send three Sarasota County educators on an all-expenses paid global professional development experience this summer. Our inaugural team, who hail from Phillippi Shores Elementary, an International Baccalaureate school, will be traveling to South Africa as part of our Ignite Education program in support of our mission to enhance the potential of students, promote excellence in teaching and inspire innovation in education.

The Education Foundation of Sarasota County has partnered with Good Work Foundation, a non-governmental association in South Africa, for this unique teaching and learning opportunity. Since its founding in 2006, GWF has worked to provide digital learning centers and access to world-class education to rural African learners where mining, agriculture and tourism (home to Kruger National Park) drive its’ local economy.

While these two organizations are oceans apart, we share a passionate commitment to build relations with and amongst teachers, students and communities.

The Sarasota County educators will spend three weeks in South Africa, working alongside teachers in one of the digital learning campuses created by GWF to experience firsthand how 21st-century skills are transforming a rural, South African village. Our educators will also serve as master teachers and mentors, providing the GWF “facilitators” compulsory skills such as designing lesson plans, providing differentiated instruction and teaching English as a second language in addition to sharing proven classroom management techniques. Our educators will be both student and teacher. As they empower these facilitators with effective skills, they will also witness the joy of learning through the eyes of young village students who highly value the gift of an education. Upon returning from South Africa, these teachers will apply this newfound perspective and better understanding of global cultures with the Phillippi Shores school community.

We believe this global professional development opportunity is a worthwhile investment that will strengthen our teachers’ capacities and in ways we don’t yet realize. We anticipate these two schools, while worlds apart, will create lasting relationships that will ignite education for both communities of students and teachers.

A lot has changed since the summer vacations when I was a child. I guess Disney had it right all along, “it’s a small world after all.”

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

[From Jack Brill]  Single-Member Districts Will Diminish Representation, Grow Government
Jack Brill

The Republican Party stands for well-run, good, limited government. We’re fortunate Sarasota County has that reputation, with both low taxes and strong services. But a Democrat-sponsored ballot initiative to change to Chicago-style ward districts could jeopardize all of that. It’s called the single-member district proposal and its goal is to have each Sarasota County commissioner not only live in their district, but allow only voters within that district to vote them into or out of power.

This would almost assuredly grow government, sow the seeds for potential corruption, create the demand for higher taxes and make the County Commission as a whole less responsive to the voters of the county. In other words, Chicago-style.

The backers of the proposal, a group called the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections operating with the support of the Sarasota County Democratic Party, call this a move for more representative government. But it is not. It will be the opposite of that. It appears more like to be the pursuit of Democrats winning one or two seats on the five-member Board of County Commissioners—something they have been unable to do running countywide.

Here’s the language in the ballot summary, which could be in November or in a special election. The proposal: “Changes the method by which County Commissioners are elected. Currently each is elected by voters county-wide. This Amendment changes elections to single member districts so that each County Commissioner is elected only by the voters in the district that they seek to represent.”

There are four basic options for local government representation. The Board could be: all at large, elected countywide; all by districts, elected only in their district; some at large and some district; or all elected countywide but required to live in their district.

Sarasota County has the last arrangement, which is the best possible option for good government. Each county commissioner is accountable to voters countywide, meaning that just because they live in Sarasota, they cannot ignore Venice or North Port. Further, because they must live in their district, there is not the threat for three or four all being in Sarasota, or all being in North Port. They are geographically spread and so plugged in to their district, but they must answer to voters countywide.

The absolute worst option is the single-member district only. It’s so bad that when county voters were suckered into it once before, in 1992, they quickly realized the Chicago-style disaster it created and immediately in 1994 reversed to the current setup.

The inevitable dynamic of the single-member district is that each commissioner will care only about the county voters in their district. Those across the line in another district will not matter to them. If there is one commissioner that is good at bringing home the bacon to his district, but is bad for the county, the rest of the county cannot touch him or her. But here’s the catch: That commissioner will still have the authority to vote to raise the taxes on the people who did not elect him or her and cannot un-elect him or her.

That is bad government and that is what is being proposed in the Democratic-backed initiative.

The Republican Party of Sarasota strongly opposes this amendment on the grounds that it will set the stage for growing the size of local government, create the opportunity for corruption and likely add to the level of taxation, all while reducing representation and responsiveness to voters.

Jack Brill is vice chairman of the Republican Party of Sarasota 



[SCOOP ]  Goodwill Offers Free Certification Through Fawley Scholarship Fund

Studies have shown that, by 2020, approximately two-thirds of all jobs in the U.S. economy will require post-secondary education and training and that the U.S. will fall short of the need by 5 million workers with post-secondary education. Understanding that education is critical to achieving future success, Goodwill Manasota is now expanding the educational opportunities for community members seeking a better future. In 2015, Goodwill Manasota launched the Rick and Coni Fawley Scholarship Fund, to help Goodwill team members who do not have a high school diploma earn their GED. In 2017, the program was expanded to clients of Goodwill’s free career services program, Job Connection. This year, with the help of Mike Bryant, Rick Fawley’s longtime friend and business partner, Goodwill has expanded the program to include free certification from Manatee Technical College once a GED has been earned. The free certification opportunity is available to all who complete their GED through the Fawley Scholarship Fund as well as Goodwill team members who already have their diploma or GED. 

Goodwill Manasota

[KUDOS ]  Manatee Memorial's Wound Program Receives Excellence Awards

Manatee Memorial Hospital’s Wound Care and Hyperbaric Treatment Program staff, physicians and hospital leaders gathered on May 24 to celebrate their  eighth consecutive Center of Distinction Award and the seventh consecutive Robert A. Warriner III Center of Excellence Award from the Healogics, the nation’s largest provider of wound care services. Offering highly specialized care to patients suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections and other chronic wounds, Manatee Memorial Hospital’s program has achieved patient satisfaction rates higher than 92 percent and a healing rate of at least 91 percent in less than 30 median days to heal. 

Manatee Memorial Hospital

[SCOOP ]  Gecko's Annual Iron Chef Challenge

All six Gecko’s locations and Dockside Waterfront Grill will participate in a competitive weekly special Iron Chef Menu May 28-June 24, designing delectable and inventive fare, as well as customer favorites with a creative twist. The menu must include a minimum of one appetizer and three entrees, with a maximum of six items on the menu, all of which priced at $18 and under. A Championship Final will take place the week of June 25, and the winning GHG location will be crowned by the Gecko’s Hospitality Group’s Iron Chef 2018 Champ. 

Geckos Grill & Pub

[SCOOP ]  SCD Workshops and Rehersals

Sarasota Contemporary Dance will host two one-week workshops at the new Rosemary District studio, each followed by Behind the Curtain events. Performer, choreographer and educator Kira Blazek Ziaii’s Countertechnique Workshop runs June 11-13for $125, followed by an open rehearsal and Q & A with her dancers which will take place Friday, June 13 at 3pm for $10. Artistic Director of Kompany Malakhi in the UK, Kwesi Johnson, will teach the Physical Theater workshop June 18-22 from for $125, with an open rehearsal and Q & A also to follow June 22 at 3pm for $10. RSVP is required for both events.  

Sarasota Contemporary Dance

[SCOOP ]  34th Annual HotelPlanner Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix Festival

Join Sarasota in celebrating 34 years of racing with family-friendly events such as a golf classic, car show, boat and personal watercraft fun run, kickoff party, meet & greet reception with race teams, a motorcycle coastal cruise for charity, fireworks, comedy night and more, June 23-July 4. The “Boats By The Bay” Party In The Pits scheduled Friday, June 29, in the parking lot of the Van Wezel will feature live music, vendors, food, a full bar and a livestream of the races under a large tent for fans attending the festival. About 40 powerboat race teams and over 25 AquaX racers are expected to compete for the checkered flag. Sponsors include Budweiser, City of Sarasota, Sarasota Ford, Ocean Properties, FCCI Insurance, and Hyatt Regency Sarasota. 

Sarasota Power Boat Grand Prix

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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