WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Autumn skies cloaked in shadow and misty rain hovered above an emerald green pasture, as 12-year-old Mason Kramer – donning a tucked-in black T-shirt, red plaid button-down, jeans, boots, and a curved-rim, suede cowboy hat – sauntered proudly into a dim-lit barn clutching a rope that led his beloved Donkey across the damp, brick pavers.
As a drafty breeze whistled through the barn, …
WORDS: Sheri Roca
PITCURES: Whitney Patton
Bradenton native Nathan Hoeksema – Chick-fil-A owner, philanthropist, humanitarian, patron, benefactor, supporter, angel.
In June 1993, Nathan was a shy 15-year-old at Bradenton Christian school, looking for a summer job. He had hopes of making enough money to buy his first car. His older sister and some friends from school, worked at the local Chick-fil-A in DeSoto Square mall, so he decided to start …
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Dappled late afternoon sunlight filtered through a sprawling leaf canopy that seemed to gingerly hug a sleepy northwest Bradenton street as nine-year-old Madeline Pye zipped down the asphalt on a scooter, her auburn ponytail trailing behind.
Pausing to say hello, a dog walker smiled, and a neighbor busily trimmed a hedge to manicured perfection. The Pye family had just eased into their driveway, …
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
With stifling summer heat so thick you could almost see it hovering tauntingly above a field dotted with bright, white cotton, 10-year-old Ross Hodges – with his grandmother’s pantyhose pulled over his face to protect him from inhaling fibers – feverishly worked his pitchfork atop a cotton tractor that soared into a vast turquoise sky on his grandparents’ west Texas farm.
Trees are …
WORDS: Rachel Spivey
PICTURES: Kelly Beavers
The Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County (ELC) is proud to unveil the newest member of its mobile educational fleet. Meet the Dream Machine, where children are asked to play, dream, and then achieve!
The Dream Machine is a 2001 International 3400 local church bus that was transformed into the ELC’s latest mobile classroom. The Dream Machine is fully renovated and designed to inspire …
WORDS: Amy Treis
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
“You don’t have to be a foster parent to do foster care. Use your voice for those who can’t speak up for themselves.” Tori Hope Petersen, FFY (Former Foster Youth), spoke these words in the hope of raising awareness for the beauty of becoming a foster parent.
It is a vital role that will aid in the success of children who are in the …
WORDS: Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart, PBS KIDS for Parents
It’s so hard to watch our children struggle, fall, and even fail. However, for learning to take place, struggling and failing are part of the process. As parents, we want to protect our children from hardships, so we may think hovering and plowing through dangers up ahead will somehow help them.
However, removing every potential obstacle takes away opportunities for our children …
WORDS: Sheri Roca
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Come one, come all and see The Amazing Emilie Bergbom flying high! Emilie is a nine-year-old Aerial Acrobat with her sights set on the Circus. And, where else but the home of the Ringling legacy, the land of big tops and big cats, would you see elementary school children dangling from great heights?
For over three years, Emilie has been training at South Florida …
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
It’s just after sunrise, and Pastor Jerry Parrish curves down a familiar road in east Bradenton, easing his black Impala into the driveway of a dilapidated house that seems to sigh into the Earth with walls harboring heartache. Thirteen siblings inhabit the home where a mom roams in and out of a jail cell and a dad – illiterate and a gang member …
WORDS: Sheri Roca
Just west of the Ellenton outlet mall and interstate 75 lies a hidden gem on the banks of Lovelee Lake, called Worthington. Originally Lee’s Crab Trap II, Worthington has recently been transformed into a historical and charming wedding and event venue.
You may remember Lee’s Crab Trap II, a restaurant known for its Old Florida décor and historical dishes and flavors. The restaurant was conceived and built …
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Like intriguing characters woven into a page-turner adventure novel with each chapter more astounding than the next, a collection of diverse life journeys leap into focus from a dazzling, mile-long resume and demand attention.
There’s the 16-year-old who hired his football buddies to hammer nails after school until 2 a.m. each night for his startup construction company and the high school track star …
WORDS: Kara Chalmers
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Nick Leduc and a dozen boys met for the first time in May 2018 at tryouts for the 11 and under team that Leduc would be coaching for the Braden River Soccer Club. They couldn’t know then that in two-and-a-half years, they would rank number one in Florida.
Still, from the beginning, Leduc had a feeling this team would be special.
“I knew we …
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
When a dusting of stars illuminated the night sky, and most of Manatee County slipped into a peaceful slumber, a predictable rumble hummed from Robby’s driveway. Turning the ignition of his mother’s borrowed car, Robby rolled out each evening to work overnights at a fast-food restaurant and prove a commitment to carving out a successful life.
Stoic work ethic and drive powered Robby, despite vast adversities …
WORDS: Svetlana Ivashchenko
You may be familiar with the term Guardian ad Litem (GAL). But do you know how crucial the role is that GALs play in our local community? And can you help meet the need for more of these special people who do so much for children who find themselves in such desperate situations?
Sadly, over 100 Manatee County foster children do not have a GAL volunteer to …
WORDS: Kara Chalmers
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Bob Slicker realized his dream of owning a restaurant when he opened Slicker’s Eatery in February in Cortez. Slicker’s vision for his place, which he and his daughter Molly Slicker formulated together, was specific: to focus on kindness, goodness, and intentionality.
For running a restaurant, that vision translates to taking care of people. He offers employees health insurance and does fundraisers for local charities. …
