Participants

Shakira Refos - Shakira Refos is the Director of Education and Community Outreach for the Sarasota Film Festival and the Marketing Director for Her Tampa. During the … Continue Reading

Harriet Stieff - Harriet Stieff was born on July 31st in 1922 and spent her childhood in Sarasota, Florida. She grew up with four siblings, Lillian Burns, … Continue Reading

Freeman Epes - Dr. Freeman Epes is a retired doctor originally from the small town of Blackstone, Virginia, who moved to Sarasota in 1959 to practice medicine … Continue Reading

Victoria Brown - “Ms. Vicky” is the founder of Dollar Dynasty, a nonprofit community outreach organization that doubles as a thrift store and a food distribution site … Continue Reading

Dave Pattison - Born in 1935, Dave Pattison grew up in Venice and has both observed and participated in the town’s development over the years. In high … Continue Reading

Helen Kesler - Helen is a yoga instructor, massage therapist, and spiritual healer who has been based in Sarasota for over 30 years. Born in Tokyo, she … Continue Reading

Rob Patten - Rob Patten grew up on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville. He came to Sarasota in the 1970s to work as a marine biologist … Continue Reading

Robert L. Taylor - Mr. Taylor moved to Sarasota when he was 13 years old, residing in Overtown and graduating from Booker High School. After finishing Army service … Continue Reading

Luz Corcuera - Luz is the executive director of Unidos Now, an organization that focuses on promoting education attainment for Latinos in Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Originally … Continue Reading

Laurel Kaiser - Mrs. Kaiser was born in Sarasota, FL where she has lived all of her life. In her 20s, she fell in love with the … Continue Reading

Ed James - Dr. Edward E. James II has been an active civil rights leader in the Newtown community since he was a college student at … Continue Reading

Wade Harvin Jr. - Mr. Harvin was born in Crescent City, Florida and moved to Sarasota in 1940 when he was five years old. He was the one … Continue Reading

Shelia Atkins - Shelia Cassundra Hammond Atkins was born in Manatee County in 1952. Although she was born in Manatee Co., she grew up in Newtown, Sarasota, … Continue Reading

Lily-Mae Martin - Lily Mae Martin is a longtime resident of Sarasota County. Born in 1925, Lily Mae grew up in the turpentine quarters in Laurel and … Continue Reading

Tito Gaona - Tito Gaona was a trapeze artist born in Guadalajara, Mexico. He spent his childhood summers in Sarasota with his father. Tito, his two brothers, … Continue Reading

Beverly Fleming - Beverly Fleming grew up on Boca Grande Island before moving to Sarasota when she was 17. Beverly went on to live in Maryland and … Continue Reading

Dr. Kellie Dixon - Georgia-born Kellie Dixon came to Sarasota in 1978, and she has worked at the MOTE Marine Laboratory as a scientist ever since. While starting … Continue Reading

Boyce Blackmon - Boyce Blackmon has lived in Florida his entire life and often visited Sarasota in his childhood. He permanently moved to Sarasota in the mid-1960s. … Continue Reading

Bill Burger - Bill Burger spent his childhood living in Florida part-time during the year until he moved to Bishop Harbor before his junior year of high … Continue Reading

Sandra Sims Terry - Untiring and passionate, Sandra is a dedicated community activist who has deservedly earned the reputation as de facto mayor of Laurel, Florida. A third generation … Continue Reading

Bob Richardson - Bob Richardson moved to Sarasota in 1962, and has since been an active participant in the Sarasota community. He has been on the board of … Continue Reading

Waldo Profitt, Jr. - After attending Harvard and joining The Harvard Crimson newspaper, Waldo Proffit jr. served in WWII, thwarting German transmission codes. After the war, Proffit found his … Continue Reading

Betty Dailey-Nugent - Michigan native Betty Dailey-Nugent has lived in Florida for nearly twenty five years. In this time, her love of history has propelled her to become … Continue Reading

Debbie Stults-Harvey - Debbie Stults-Harvey was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1928. When she was a teenager during World War II, her parents bought the island of Cabbage … Continue Reading

Rodney Potter - Rodney Potter was born in 1936 in Bradenton, Florida. He has lived in Manatee County all his life. As a kid in the 40s and … Continue Reading

Alice Faye Jones - Mrs. Alice Faye Jones was born and raised in Sarasota, Florida. Her mother was a maid in Longboat Key, who worked tirelessly throughout Mrs. Jones’s … Continue Reading

Jerome Dupree - Reverend Jerome Dupree was born in 1931, and came to Sarasota when he was 8 years old. He has been heavily involved in the church … Continue Reading

John “Pete” Burgess - John “Pete” Burgess is a long time Florida resident. Though born in Macon, Georgia, he moved to Sarasota when he was 11, and graduated from … Continue Reading

Jane Burgess - Jane Burgess is life long Sarasotan whose large family has deep roots in Sarasota and in Myakka State Park. An alum of Sarasota High … Continue Reading

Lorraine Rife - Lorraine Rife has lived in the Sarasota area since her family moved to Anna Maria Island in 1924. She was one of the first … Continue Reading

Jono Miller - Jono Miller came to Sarasota in 1970 to attend New College, where he met and married his wife Julie Morris. Together they formed an … Continue Reading

Herman Johnson - Herman Johnson was born in 1961, in Eastman, Georgia. He was the son of a farmer, who eventually came to Sarasota at the age … Continue Reading

Allan Horton - Allan Horton was born in Palma Sola in Manatee County, Florida, and later moved to Sarasota. Throughout his life, he has always had boats … Continue Reading

Richard Braren - Richard Braren is a long-time resident of Sarasota, whose family came to the area in the 1950s to develop one of the area’s working … Continue Reading

Randall Wells - Dr. Randall Wells is a Senior Conservation Scientist with Chicago Zoological Society and a Senior Scientist with Mote Marine Laboratory. He played a vital … Continue Reading

Juan Rodriguez - Juan Rodriguez is a legendary surfboard builder and life long surfer born and raised in Sarasota. As a young boy, Juan was always … Continue Reading

John Rivers - John Rivers is the former president of the NAACP’s Sarasota Branch. He moved to Sarasota from Mobile, Alabama in 1951 in search of work … Continue Reading

Patrick Murphy - Patrick Murphy has lived in the Sarasota area since the late 1940s. He has been involved in the Sarasota Sailing Squadron almost as long. He has … Continue Reading

George Luzier - George Luzier was born in Sarasota in 1924. Growing up during the Depression years instilled in George a build-it-yourself mentality. At age 11 he … Continue Reading

Captain Jonnie Walker - Jonnie Walker is a professional fishing guide in Sarasota, Florida. He moved to Sarasota as a kid in 1956, and has been fishing ever … Continue Reading

Linda W. Mansperger - Linda W. Mansperger is the Executive Director of Gulf Coast Heritage Association, Inc., the not-for-profit organization that owns and operates Historic Spanish Point. As … Continue Reading

Buster Longino - Buster Longino has lived in the Sarasota area since 1934. After graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in forestry, He returned … Continue Reading

Dr. Mary Jelks - Dr. Mary Jelks has earned the nickname “Myakka Mary” for the amount of time and money she has spent in service to the river … Continue Reading

Thomas Fulford - Thomas Fulford, more commonly known as Blue, is 87 years old and has lived in Cortez Florida his whole life. Blue learned to fish at an … Continue Reading

Paula Benshoff - Paula Benshoff was born in Tampa but has lived in Sarasota since she was a young girl. She began working at Myakka River State … Continue Reading

Karen Bell - Karen Bell was born and raised in the fishing village of Cortez and comes from a long line of fisherfolk. After attending college on Florida’s East … Continue Reading

Dr. Ernest Estevez - Dr. Ernest Estevez received his Ph.D. from the University of South Florida and is currently the Director of the Center for Coastal Ecology at … Continue Reading

Bob Johnson - Bob Johnson is a long-time resident of Sarasota County whose civic involvement has left many marks on the area. While serving in the Florida … Continue Reading

Steve Koski - Steve Koski is a Research Associate with University of Miami and serves as an underwater archaeologist and site manager at Little Salt Spring. Steve … Continue Reading

Tom Mayers - Tom Mayers was born in Tampa in 1951, but grew up on the north end of Longboat Key at a family-owned marina called Land’s … Continue Reading

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