Kudos!

Snakes! Why did it have to be Snakes?

Members of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Unit visited 97-year-old Punta Gorda resident Bill Haast on July 10, presenting him with the key to Miami-Dade County in recognition of his lifelong dedication to saving snakebite victims. From 1946 to 1984, Haast operated the Miami Serpentarium, a popular tourist attraction. However, its serious work was providing venoms from some of the hundreds of snakes in the facility to pharmaceutical firms, research institutes, government agencies, universities, hospitals and the armed forces. Haast has been bitten by 172 poisonous snakes and injected himself with the venoms of others to build up immunities; he has donated his own blood to snakebite victims and to date has saved 21 lives. Check back to HARBOR STYLE in November for a more detailed look at the life of our very own “Snake Man.”

Congratulations! St. Vincent De Paul Community Health Care, Inc. received a $100,000 grant from the Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida, the philanthropic affiliate of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. The grant will be used to pay for a physician assistant and pharmaceuticals for the organization’s free clinic.

Promoting Charlotte Harbor! Fifty NCAA Division II and III and junior college baseball teams will flock to Charlotte Harbor and the surrounding Gulf islands next year for the inaugural Snowbird Baseball Classic. “The area’s warm winter temperatures, outstanding ball fields, affordable lodging and diverse activity options make Charlotte Harbor an attractive choice,” said Steve Partington, tournament director. The five-week tournament (February 21 to March 28, 2009) is sure to provide a boost to our economy. Becky Bovell, director for the Charlotte Harbor Florida Visitor’s Bureau, noted that while the economic impact will be great, “We’re also eager to showcase our area as a vacation destination to the teams and their families.”

Award-winning Club! On March 29, the Charlotte County Republican Club was recognized with the Outstanding Club Award for 2007 (Large Club) by the Republican Party of Florida. When presenting the award, Jim Greer, chairman of the RPF, said of the Charlotte County club, “They have truly gone above and beyond the call of duty throughout 2007, and we can all learn from their successes.” Over the past year, CCRC has been working with the RPF to begin a grassroots campaign attracting black, Hispanic and veterans voters, making annual donations to the Salvation Army for children in need during Christmas, working with the Republican Executive Committee to send packages to servicemen and women overseas serving their country and providing support to all Republican candidates running for elected office. Visit www. CCFLRC.org for more information.

NewOfficers! Congratulations to the newly elected — in some cases re-elected — officers of the Charlotte County Young Professionals. At the organization’s annual meeting on July 10, six officers were elected to one- or two-year terms. Shown here with CCYP President Stacy Calvino are new officers Troy M. Bettencourt, public relations director; Michael Neufeld, vice president; Monica Luna, secretary; Danelle Sinacori, sponsorship director; Brooke Cooley, special events director and James Coalwell, lunch meeting director.

Raising Community Awareness! Rotary Club of Murdock invites fourth and fifth grade students at Meadow Park Elementary to participate in Rota-kids, a project to create an awareness of citizenship and community service in elementary school children. Participating students will learn about Rotary around the world as well as general leadership qualities while planning and carrying out community and school projects. Interested participants can call Becky Fero at (941) 625-5811 or Cheryl Bowman at (941) 286-3087.