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Accolades
■ Manatee County Neighborhood
Connections Division Manager
Debbie DeLeon has been selected
to receive this year’s President's
Award from the Manasota Black
Chamber of Commerce (MBCC) for
her service and commitment to our
community.
The award highlights Debbie’s
tireless efforts to help in the
Rubonia Community following
the flooding impacts of Hurricane
Idalia—and more recently—a “noname”
storm which threatened
the low-lying neighborhood in
December 2023. DeLeon, who has
worked with Manatee County for
more than three decades, was quick
to point out that her work, which included
going door-to-door to assess
individual neighbor’s needs, is just
a part of a group effort.
A past Employee of the Month for
August 2019 and ACE Award winner,
Debbie has been recognized before
for her commitment to the community.
Last fall, Bay News Nine highlighted
Debbie and her work during
Hispanic Heritage Month.
She is a member of the Community
and Veterans Services team that
has been instrumental in providing
support that fills gaps in Manatee
residents’ lives to help them remain
employed or become reemployed,
stay in school, rehabilitate, gain new
skills or simply make ends meet.
The MBCC Gala will be held
at 6:30 p.m. on March 22, at the
Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country
Club, 7650 Legacy Blvd., Lakewood
Ranch. For up-to-date information
about Manatee County Government,
visit mymanatee.org or call
(941) 748-4501.
Appointments
■ Northern Trust Wealth
Management has announced that
Kirstin Fulkerson has joined the
Sarasota
team as
a Wealth
Strategist
in the
Sarasota-
Charlotte
market.
Fulkerson
is
a wellknown
through
Kirstin Fulkerson
her career at Gulf Coast Community
Foundation for over 20 years. Most
recently, she served as Senior Vice
President for Philanthropy, working
closely with donors to structure and
execute complex financial plans
that incorporate estate, tax, wealth
and philanthropic goals.
■ Child welfare organization Safe
Children Coalition (SCC) has
hired Sarah Hawk, Esq. as its new
vice president of programs. In this
role, Hawk will be responsible for
providing leadership, supervision
and management of the community-based
care foster care programs
in Florida’s Circuit 12 (Sarasota,
Manatee and DeSoto counties) and
oversight of all contracted entities.
She will also
be responsible
for
ensuring
programs
achieve
established
outcomes,
comply
with related
federal,
state and
Sarah Hawk local laws
and rules, and meet all contractual
requirements.
Hawk has spent her entire career
as an attorney in the child welfare
realm: she comes to Safe Children
Coalition after a decade with Children’s
Legal Services, Department
of Children & Families, where the
bulk of her work was within Circuit
12 but her final role was serving as
managing attorney for one of the
largest Children’s Legal Services
offices for the state: Florida’s Circuit
13 (Hillsborough County).
Prior to that, she was an attorney
with the Guardian ad Litem
Program for Circuit 12. For more
information, visit sccfl.org.
■ Halfacre Construction Company,
a Lakewood Ranch-based
commercial construction company,
added four new hires to its team:
Chris Moorefield, Rachel Preston,
Tammy Fero and Joe Dutton.
Moorefield joins the commercial
construction company with over 25
years of industry experience. In his
new role as superintendent, Moorefield
is tasked with scheduling,
jobsite documentation, compliance
and safety standards, and quality
control and assurance, among other
duties. Most recently, Moorefield
served as a project superintendent
for Marand Builders in Tampa.
Fero and
Preston join
Halfacre
Construction
as
project administrators
tasked with
providing
administrative
Rachel Preston
Tammy Fero
assistance to
the superintendents,
project
managers
and assistant
project
managers,
scheduling
conferences
and meetings,
utilizing
Procore,
and working
with vendors
and subcontractors, among
other responsibilities.
Fero has more than 25 years of
construction industry experience.
Most recently, she was the warranty
coordinator for Neal Communities
in Sarasota and prior to that,
she was a project coordinator and
expeditor for Westra Construction
Corporation in Palmetto.
Preston has a background as an
executive assistant. Prior to Halfacre,
she was a corporate administrator
for Divergent Dental Group
in Tampa.
Dutton joins the commercial
construction company at its Punta
Gorda office. As project manager,
his day-to-day responsibilities
include scheduling, budgeting, cost
estimating and value engineering
services throughout the projects. He
has over 25 years of experience
within the civil construction and
engineering industry.
■ Camille Cline has been named
the Director of Advancement for
Venice Theatre. She previously led
the theatre's
capital campaign
before
Hurricane
Ian severely
damaged
the Jervey
Theatre.
Cline
will now
concentrate
on raising
funds to
Camille Cline
renovate the three-building campus
of Venice Theatre and raising
awareness for the second-largest
community theatre in the nation.
Cline succeeds Eric Watters, who
served as the Director of Development
since 2015. Cline is eager
to continue the work started by
Watters and others who have raised
funds for the theatre since its inception
in 1950.
Cline succeeds Eric Watters, who
served as the Director of Development
since 2015. Cline is eager
to continue the work started by
Watters and others who have raised
funds for the theatre since its inception
in 1950.
Cline’s development and
engagement experience includes
leadership roles at the University
of Virginia, Education Foundation
of Sarasota County, the Friends of
the Venice Public Library, and The
Loveland Center. She served as
President of the Pine View Association,
chairs the Authors Committee
for the Venice Book Fair and Writers
Festival, and is a member of the
Finance Committee of Grace United
Methodist Church.
Venice Theatre’s Executive
Director, Kristofer Geddie, says the
decision to recruit Cline was crucial
to maintaining continuity with
supporters. “Camille did tremendous
work for us in the past, securing
gifts from individuals, families,
corporations, and foundations
to purchase the Carole Freeland
Raymond Center. She also raised
funds to renovate the Technical Arts
Center and rejuvenate the main
lobby and its adjacent spaces. As
we rebuild and enhance our 432-
seat Jervey Theatre and begin to
renovate the Raymond Center into
a state-of-the art Theatre Education
facility, Camille is without a doubt
the person to lead the effort.”
Community members interested
in contributing to the theatre’s rebuilding
campaign or learning more
about supporting the theatre can
visit venicetheatre.org or contact
Camille Cline at camille@
venice theatre.net.
■ Sarasota County
Utilities has appointed
Brooke Bailey as Director
of Public Utilities. Brooke
has served as their
interim director since
November 2023 and was
formerly Water Division
Manager. Public Utilities
provides drinking water
to over 128,000 Sarasota
County customers.
Running
for Office
■ Alexandra Coe, who served two
terms on the Sarasota County Charter
Review
Board, has
announced
her candidacy
for Sarasota
County
Commission,
District
1. Coe
has been
a resident
for three
decades in
Alexandra Coe
Sarasota and over 40 years in Florida.
Coe is an applied anthropology
researcher with a focus on critical
areas such as food systems, agriculture,
liberty, and environmental
stewardship. Her background includes
managing a family coop farm
and a rooster rescue operation.
Coe’s campaign will center on the
principle of “good common-sense
governance,” with a focus on crafting
growth plans that prioritize the
needs of current residents, especially
seniors. “Sarasota County is
home to some of the nation’s oldest
populations. Our current development
trajectory does not serve our
seniors well,” Coe stated, emphasizing
the need for a shift away
from developer-driven agendas
towards a more community-centric
approach. “We cannot afford more
of the same. It’s time for governance
that values people over tax base
expansion.”
Coe believes in the interdependence
of Sarasota County’s ecology
and economy. She argues for a balanced
approach to growth that safeguards
essential habitats, such as
wetlands and uplands, to maintain
the county’s ecological integrity.
For more information on Alexandra
Coe’s campaign for Sarasota County
Commission, District 1, visit www.
LetsgowithCoe.com.
Chair Emeritus Brock Leach, Vice President of
Programs Kathleen Sullivan, Board Chair Keith
Johnson, and Vice President of Philanthropy
Jessica Rogers
Board News
■ Children First, Inc., the exclusive
provider of Head Start and Early
Head Start services for Sarasota
County, has announced its slate of
board leadership for 2024, and the
addition of two new directors.
At the agency’s annual board
reception, Keith G. Johnson, Managing
Director & Senior Wealth
Advisor with Truist, was formally
welcomed as Board Chair. Michael
K. Suarez, former Executive Director
of Sarasota County Emergency Services,
was welcomed as Vice Chair.
Elizabeth Stamoulis, Esq., Partner
at Williams Parker Attorneys at
Law and Lisa Giglio, former Director
of Education at Sylvan Learning
Center, maintained their executive
positions as Treasurer and Secretary
respectively. Reverend Brock
H. Leach, former executive for
PepsiCo, was thanked for his service
throughout 2023 as he steps into his
role as Chair Emeritus.
New directors joining the board
for a three-year term are Thomas L.
Cunningham, Director of Remarketing
Strategies for Ford Motor
Company, and Carol L. Kalikow,
former Vice President of Oscar de la
Renta Studio.
The agency also welcomed Ella C.
and Roland B. to the Board of Directors
through the Boys & Girls Club’s
STAR (Students Take Active Roles)
Leadership Training program.
Other directors on the board
include Howard Berman, Kenneth
Hughes, Rebecca M. Lieberher,
Elenor Maxheim, Linda L.
Monda, Robert L. Moulds, and
Joe Stephan. The Children First
Board of Directors is comprised of
community members and leaders
from the human services, corporate,
investment, and philanthropic
sectors of our region. To learn more,
visit childrenfirst.net.
For information on CPC, visit
www.cpcsarasota.org.
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28 WEST COAST WOMAN MARCH 2024