wcw 3-23 all pages

just some
thoughts
Louise Bruderle
Editor and Publisher
West Coast Woman
Angie Stringer
Angie Stringer
Photo by Evelyn England
I’m proud to say we’ve profiled all the CEOs at Girls
Inc. since WCW began publishing in 1989: Brenda
Stegall, Alexis Upham, Stefania Feltz and Robin
Rose. And of course, board member and dynamic,
lifelong champion of girls, Sherry Watts.
Angie is someone I’ve known since she was the
marketing and communications point person at
Girls Inc. before she left for Children First. But she’s
back at Girls Inc and has been since 2015. As you’ll
read, it’s been a challenging stretch, but one with
ultimate rewards as Girls Inc. has grown and offers
even more dynamic programming to meet the
needs of girls and young women.
Back in October, they were awarded the first ever “Pillar of Inspiration
Award” from Girls Inc. National. This award celebrates excellence throughout
the Girls Inc. network and is for an affiliate that is considered “an inspiring,
supportive leader” within the network. Interestingly, Girls Inc. of Sarasota was
nominated by several other Girls Inc. affiliates around the U.S. and Canada.
So it’s perfect to highlight Angie and an organization committed to girls and
young women during Women’s History Month and during WCW’s 35th anniversary
month - wow! And speaking of anniversaries, Angie told me that Girls inc. opened
its doors in 1974-75 meaning that they are now marking their 50th anniversary!
Their Celebration Luncheon is on April 20 at Sarasota Municipal Auditorium
girlsincsrq.org/celebration-luncheon/ which is always a wonderful event.
Another Anniversary and a New Leader
WCW profiled Lorry Eible
many years ago and we met
at her Siesta Key Foxy Lady
location. I recently read that
she has owned and operated
Foxy Lady for 50 years
now. You may have noticed
that independent clothing
stores have disappeared
for the most part (but not
completely), but Lorry’s
stores (St. Armands Circle
and Siesta Key) are going strong.
What makes her and her business stand
out is that she gives great customer service.
She will “dress” you if you want that
Lorry
assistance and she has a great eye for who
should wear what and how to look stylish.
Congratulations, Lorry, on 50 years of
making women look great!
Cintia Elenstar has been promoted to executive director of UnidosNow, following
the recent retirement of Luz Corcuera. Elenstar joined the organization in
2019 and has been groomed for this leadership role over the past three years as
part of a board-led succession plan.
Since joining UnidosNow, which specializes in
supporting Latino students on their path to earning
a postsecondary credential, Elenstar has helped the
nonprofit innovate and advance its mission. At the
onset of the pandemic, she adapted the organization’s
flagship program, the Future Leadership Academy,
to a fully online format, ensuring that students’
progress toward achieving their academic dreams
could continue. Elenstar also spearheaded Unidos-
Now’s College Completion program, which supports
Cintia Elenstar
more than 100 first-generation, low-income students
each year . In addition, she formalized the organization’s mentoring program
and implemented a donor management system.
“I am honored to have this opportunity to lead such a dedicated team, and to
expand and enhance the impact of UnidosNow,” says Elenstar. “I look forward
to continuing to serve and empower the fast-growing Hispanic/Latinx community
in our region.”
UnidosNow offers educational and professional outreach initiatives to the
Hispanic and Latinx communities in Sarasota and Manatee counties so that
they can create cycles of opportunity for generations to come. The organization
achieves this through education initiatives, leadership training, community
services, and civic engagement. Visit UnidosNow.org for more information
Last call…love going to museums?
You might like this class…
We’re down to just two weeks away to when
I’ll be lecturing at the Education Center at
Temple Beth Israel, located at 567 Bay Isles
Road, Longboat Key (tbi-lbk.org/education-center).
Get me talking about art and art
museums and I get all excited and I’m so glad
I’ll get to share that with like-minded people.
You can still join me on Tuesday, March 14,
for “Best Art Exhibits Nationally, Statewide
and Locally” (#LS10) Zoom is also available
(#ZALS10). Description: Love to visit art
museums? Want to know which exhibits are coming up that are “can’t miss?”
This visual presentation offers a quick overview of upcoming exhibits across
the U.S., and also in places like Miami and Orlando. Closer to home, we’ll look
at exhibits in Naples, Tampa, Ft. Myers, and Sarasota.
It’s a fun class where I have saved you the time of scouring museum sites all
over the country to cherry pick the best and most unique. So, if you love going
to museums you’ll enjoy this class.
One of the pleasures of having done this before is that so many of the attendees
have traveled to these exhibits already plus can recommend other exhibits.
Contact the Education Center At Temple Beth Israel at 941-383-8222.
In this Issue: Taking it Outdoors
If last month’s WCW had a lot of art exhibits, this issue
has a focus on the beauty and diversity of the outdoors.
I did an EcoWalk at Lemon Bay Park recently and a day
later received a personal tour and progress update on
the Venice Area Urban Forrest in downtown Venice.
Much is said these days about traffic, development,
roundabouts, etc., in Sarasota County, so these two
forays were a break from the stresses and strains of
those realities. There’s no stopping the development
going on,but there are people committed to preserving
and beautifying open spaces, as well as those expanding
our understanding of our environment as found in
county parks.
The origin of writing about outdoor spaces came
about due to Covid and I wanted to report on parks
that were available for people to have something to do that was safe.
Lemon Bay Park, which I feature in this issue, originally had 48 acres that
were acquired back in 1986 as part of a bond referendum (ok if you don’t remember
voting for it) and with additional purchases, it’s now 210 acres
This past December, Sarasota County acquired 25 acres along the Myakka
River, near South River Road and South Tamiami Trail, adjacent to the Myakka
State Forest. The county purchased this land through the Environmentally
Sensitive Lands Protection Program (ESLPP), which was designed to acquire
and protect environmental land - meaning no development.
Coming up in WCW: April Travel Issue
If you go by traffic at Sarasota International Airport, then 2022 was a very busy
year. Having flown out in January 2023, I can attest that it’s also
looking like a very busy start to 2023 as well.
In 2022, a year marked by Hurricane Ian and
a winter storm over the Christmas holidays that
initially disrupted air travel, then fed into a cascade
of cancellations by the airport’s top carrier, 3.87
million passengers travelled through the airport— a
21.6% increase over 2021’s record year of 3.16
million passengers.
We’re planning some interesting features
and travel tips for April and there
will be no delays or cancelations.
Louise Bruderle | Editor and Publisher |
westcoastwoman@comcast.net
We welcome your thoughts and comments on this column and on other columns and features in this issue.
You can reach us at westcoastwoman@comcast.net. We’re on the web at www.WestCoastWoman.com.
4 WEST COAST WOMAN MARCH 2023