Kudos!

 

A Home for Charlotte County

TideWell Hospice and Palliative Care celebrates their newly expanded Charlotte County Hospice House.

More than 200 people took part in TideWell Hospice and Palliative Care's ribbon-cutting ceremony at their renovated and expanded Charlotte County Hospice House on February 4. The expansion increases capacity from six to 12 rooms. The house also features a glowing fireplace, chapel with stained glass woodland scene and painted ceiling above the family kitchen, which provides a vision of blue skies and treetops.

During the ceremony, Dr. Sarah Pappas, president of the Marie Selby Foundation, challenged the community to make donations toward the $3-million cost for the expansion by announcing that the Selby Foundation would contribute a $100,000 capping grant at the conclusion of the successful capital campaign.

A special thank you is due to all those individuals and businesses who have already made generous donations to the capital campaign: Joan and Lorene Shute, Mike Uselston on behalf of Kays-Ponger and Uselston Funeral Home and Cremation Services and Dr. Eric Lubiner of the Florida Cancer Specialists.

For more information about how you can support the capital campaign, or to learn more about any of TideWell's programs and services, please call Kelly Carr at (941) 256-5642.

Hearty congratulations to this year's Girl Scout Cook-ie-Off competition, held February 22 at Isles Yacht Club. Brook Cooley, aka The Soup Lady from Bistro on the Green, came in first place with her raspberry citrus bars. Cheryl "Cheffy" Bowman of Cheffy's Sensational Dinners placed second with her pecan dolce de leche bars, and Beth Lanni, director of Pies & Plates' Culinary Academy, placed third with her spring pots de crème.

David A. Holmes has been elected as president of Farr, Farr, Emerich, Hackett and Carr, P.A., succeeding Jack Hackett, who decided to step down after three-and-a-half years in the role. Holmes, 40, was born and raised in Port Charlotte and graduated from Port Charlotte High School. He joined the firm in 1993 after receiving his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Stetson University. He is certified as a mediator by the Florida Supreme Court and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals – 11th Circuit, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and U.S. Tax Court. "Now is an exciting time at our law firm" Holmes said. "Our diversity of practice areas and strong client base have enabled us to weather the recent economic downturn, and we are poised to expand on our solid foundation as the economy turns for the better. Following in the footsteps of my predecessors as leader of the firm is a tremendous honor, and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead."

Customers and staff members at Charlotte State Bank's six branches donated more than $1,000 worth of pet food and supplies to the Animal Welfare League on February 16 following their special FPuppy Love" campaign. "Our staff really got behind this program, and our customers responded with enthusiasm and generosity," said Alyson Burch, one of the bank's vice presidents. "We are extremely gratified to be able to help this worthy organization care for animals in need."

Fourth, fifth and sixth grade students at The Good Shepherd Day School spent a day with the residents at the Life Care Center in Punta Gorda on February 20. In the weeks leading up to their visit, the students wrote, illustrated and bound their very own books, which they then read to Life Care residents during a service-learning project called Reading with a Heart.

 

Fishermen's Village Yacht Basin was selected as 2008 Marina of the Year by Marina Dock Age, a national trade publication representing more than 17,000 marinas. The selection was based upon facilities improvements, customer satisfaction, marketing, environmental responsibility, local and national industry involvement and benefit to the local community. Jerry Noncel, the publication's editor, praised our local marina, saying, "Fishermen's Village Yacht Basin suffered more than $3.5 million in damages in 2004 when Hurricane Charley roared through the town in August. Since that time, Jim Branch [marina harbormaster] and his staff have done a remarkable job of rebuilding and reconfiguring the marina."