Education and community leaders highlight the April issue of Sarasota Scene The post April 2024 first appeared on Sarasota Scene Magazine ..read more

By Hallie Peilet Young | April 2024 From Cincinnati to the Suncoast—A New Leader Redefining Philanthropy in Southwest Florida In June 2023, Gulf Coast Community Foundation welcomed a new captain to steer its philanthropic ship. Phillip Lanham, originally from Cincinnati, OH, assumed the role of president | CEO, bringing with him a wealth of experience and a fervent passion for community impact. It all came as a big surprise to him. “I wasn’t in the mindset of leaving Cincinnati. I thought my whole career would be there. But I took the phone call, and it was really intriguing,” Lanham reveals ..read more

By Hallie Peilet Young | April 2024 In the heart of Florida’s ever-expanding landscape, Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast stands as a beacon of environmental stewardship, celebrating two decades of unwavering commitment to land conservation. The tangible strides made by the Foundation do not come without daily challenges faced and the collaborative spirit that defines their mission. Board Chair Rob Brown says the mission is, and always has been, simple. “It’s about conserving land forever and there’s a myriad of ways we do that,” Brown said. “But that’s the bottom line. It’s what we’re ..read more

April 2024— The State College of Florida Foundation (SCFF) was founded in 1978 by a small group of community leaders who wanted to aid the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) by raising funds to provide scholarships, better equip the institution’s classrooms, and support the faculty and staff. Today, that group remains small with its mighty 15 community leaders, plus three members from the college, including the Foundation’s Executive Director Cassandra Holmes, SCF President Dr. Carol F. Probstfeld and Michael Fuller, who serves as an SCF Trustee Liaison. Members of the Foundation ..read more

By Julie Milton | Photo by Nancy Guth | April 2024 Jessica Hays is known around our town as an inspirational leader and a champion for victims of domestic and sexual violence.  As President and CEO of Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center (SPARCC), she has successfully led the only state certified center that provides vital services to victims in Sarasota and DeSoto counties.  SPARCC serves as a haven to promote empowerment, awareness, and social change to end domestic and sexual violence.  She works tirelessly to inspire others to be the best they can be and strives to help others ..read more

By Hallie Peilet Young | April 2024 At Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties, the Weiller family name is everywhere you turn. There’s a Weiller park, a Weiller playground, and there’s the Babe Weiller hallway that goes all the way through the middle part of the building. In 2021, Sarasota philanthropist Jean Weiller made a transformational $1 million gift to the Club. She says the connection to BGCSDC started with her mother-in-law, Kathryn “Babe” Weiller in the 1970’s. “She went around to all her friends, my mother-in-law, and said, ‘You know, you must have books in your hous ..read more

By Tom Reese | April 2024 When Sarasota Art Museum opened its doors in 2019 in conjunction with Ringling College of Art and Design, it embarked on its mission of being a catalyst for appreciation and understanding of the art of our time.  Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design is a kunsthalle—a contemporary art museum without a permanent collection that regularly features a variety of exhibitions throughout the year. This allows the museum to insert an endless rotation of transformative, relevant, and pioneering exhibitions and programs designed to elevate and empower a ..read more

By Scott Ferguson | Photos by Dan Norman | April 2024 The most common question people ask when they hear that Asolo Rep is staging a musical version of the classic jury room drama Twelve Angry Men is “Why a musical?” Peter Rothstein, in his first season as Asolo Rep’s producing artistic director, is also directing the show. He understands the question, but adds some historical perspective.  “I think when we step back from a lot of musicals, they probably sounded a bit like crazy ideas,” he says. “I’m guessing when someone pitched West Side Story and said, ‘I want to do Romeo and Juliet ab ..read more

April 2024—Stephen Balut is not only the Studio Director for MHK Architecture in downtown Sarasota, but he’s also an avid painter.  “My paintings are about beauty, complexity, mystery and scalelessness. They most often beckon the ethereal and atmospheric qualities of infinity. Celestial vibrations of color created with paint and thread. First I paint the canvas, then I wrap the canvas with as many as 50 layers of thread, string, yarn, wire and/or monofilament, says Balut.  Each layer has a unique color, materiality and sheen that reflects light differently depending on its depth an ..read more

It’s all about the people in the March issue of Scene. The post March 2024 first appeared on Sarasota Scene Magazine ..read more