Manatee Movers and Shakers, 8/23/12

Teens in Manatee County will soon have a new hangout at the DeSoto Boys & Girls Club

Teens in Manatee County will soon have a new hangout at the Desoto Boys & Girls Clubs thanks to Lee Wetherington, who is completing a $30,000 renovation of the Club’s Teen Center.  The total makeover of the teen center includes new walls, floors, ceiling, and lighting, along with new modern furnishings and four large flat screen TV’s for games and movies.  The 1,700 sq. ft. teen center, with its brightly painted blue and green walls, will serve ages 13-17, and will feature a special area just for girls, another for boys, a large group area, and a computer lab complete with new desks and chairs.  As Lee remarked at the start of the project, “When we’re done, this will be the best Boys & Girls Club Teen Center in the county”. 

The Desoto Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County, located on the corner of 34^th St. W. and St. Road 70 in Bradenton, was established 45 years ago, in 1967, and the second story teen center was in dire need of a makeover.  “Over the summer, they completely gutted the old teen center, right down to the 2x4’s,” said Club Director Wendell Faison.  “We are incredibly grateful to Lee Wetherington Homes and the other contractors for all they have done.  We’re sure this new space will draw in even more teens during the critical 3-7p.m. hours.” 

Lee Wetherington Homes, founded by Lee Wetherington, has more than 30 years of homebuilding experience and community engagement, and has built more than 2,500 in Sarasota and Manatee. 

The Desoto branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County serves over 200 children.  County wide, they serve 4,600 children annually at seven locations (Bradenton, Desoto and Palmetto branches and school-based sites at Daughtrey Elementary, Harllee Middle, Johnson Middle, and South High School).  For information, call 761-2582 or visit www.bgcofmanatee.org. 

The Lee Wetherington Teen Center grand opening and dedication will be held on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. at the Desoto Boys & Girls Club at 5231 34^th St. West, Bradenton.  Media and the public are welcome.

Manatee’s Cheri Coryea and Mary Cantrell, PhD honored at Tampa Bay Business Journal’ s 2012 Business Women of the Year Awards

Cheri Coryea

Mary Cantrell, PhD

Manatee County Neighborhood Services Director Cheri Coryea was among 12 businesswomen receiving awards by the Tampa Bay Business Journal Friday during its annual Business Women of the Year Awards.

Fifty-one finalists were recognized during a Friday night event at Innisbrook, Golf and Spa Resort in Palm Harbour, Florida. Coryea and Manatee Technical Institute Director Dr. Mary Cantrell were the two local women receiving awards in their industry categories.

Coryea, who has helped oversee nearly $7 million in Manatee County Commission-approved economic incentive grants awarded to companies that relocate or expand in Manatee, won in the Government category. The grants could help create or retain more than 4,000 jobs over the next five years.

“We have built an impressive team of business-minded men and women within Manatee County Government, dedicated to growing business in our community,” Coryea said. “The partnerships we have developed in the economic development arena are turning heads in Florida and across the country. I am grateful to be a part of the team and to be selected by the Tampa Bay Business Journal along with Dr. Cantrell, for this honor.”

Mary Cantrell, PhD, was named Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 2012 BusinessWoman of the Year in the Education category. 

Cantrell has been the director of MTI since 1996. She has been an educational leader in Florida for over 20 years. Among her many successes is leading MTI to be nationally recognized for excellence in technical training and academic education. Previous awards Cantrell has won include the AAUW of Bradenton Educational Leader Award in 2000. Locally, her contributions include United Way of Manatee, Division Chair for Campaign, 2000 to 2011; Manasota ARC Board of Directors, 2000 to 2005; and Kiwanis of Bradenton, Director, 2005-07. Cantrell also led MTI to win the TBBJ’s Business of the Year award in the Education category in 2007.

Category winners were also selected in the following areas; Business Services, Entrepreneur, Financial Services, Manufacturing, Media, Nonprofit, Technology, Young Businesswoman two special areas, Community Leader and Angie’s award.

Coryea and Cantrell were selected as finalist and category winners by an independent panel of judges from over 350 nominations in the region to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.  The program has been in existence for 10 years and honors the significant achievements of women which positively impact the business climate in the Tampa Bay Region (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Hernando, Sarasota, Pasco and Manatee County).  

For more information on Manatee County Government's economic development incentive package, visit www.mymanatee.org/econ_dev. For more information watch for the Aug. 24 edition of the Tampa Bay Business Journal or visit online, www.bizjournals.com/tampabay

Special Olympians from Manatee County Aquatics participated in the Area Aquatics Games 2012

Coach Cindy Schlorke and the Manatee County Aquatics Team in the stands during the copmpitetion.	Jonathan Moore and his fellow Manatee teamate Billie Jo Laird.  They competed in the 100 meter freestyle and Billie Jo came in first and Jonathan came in second in their respective heats.

Art In Action On 14TH Street

The community mural See You When You Return designed by community volunteers and artist Michael Parker, will be installed Aug 25 beginning at 10am on the side wall of the Bradenton Police Substation at 14th St W & 14th Ave. The mural is a public art project of the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority.

Measuring 25 ft tall and 100 ft wide, the mural was painted in panel sections by many people, under Michael’s direction, over a period of months. Each panel will be raised and attached to the wall to form the image of two young people surrounded by images that represent their families and the local community that nurtures them. Other images suggest the possibilities beyond the local that their future may hold. The mural can be seen as a cycle of leaving to explore the world and returning to nurture future generations and build community.

Michael Parker states:

When creating a piece of art that will be viewed publicly, I feel a strong responsibility to the people who will be viewing it every day, to tie communities together and to accurately reflect a culture's time and place. Working with members of a community to create art for their place is my passion. This particular neighborhood has been extremely excited and passionate about their involvement in it. I was able to change roles: the group became the painter and I was able to be their brush.

John S. Nash named CFO at Manatee County Rural Health Services

John S. Nash has been named Chief Financial Officer for Manatee County Rural Health Services, Inc. (MCRHS)

*MCRHS is the 14^th largest of the more than 1,200 Federally Qualified Health Centers in the nation – based on patient volume. In 2011 the organization’s providers saw 88,800 patients during nearly 430,000 visits. MCRHS provides primary and specialty care and preventative education from 26 locations spread throughout Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties.

Prior to joining MCRHS, Nash spent nearly 30 years in the banking industry in southwest Florida. He lives in Bradenton with his wife Allison and two daughters.

 * Source: National Association of Community Health Centers (2011)