Home Shopping Network watchers know Peter Kilcullen from years selling products on television, but the show host just opened a new business intended to keep people moving and in shape. Club Pilates Braden River, the first of three studios Kilcullen is opening in the area with business partner Gary Keith, just opened Friday in Bradenton. He hopes the new business helps bring the Hollywood-adored workouts to the masses. “We’re making Pilates available to everyone,” he says.

Affiliated with the national Club Pilates franchise, Kilcullen says he wants to make the well-known routine affordable and accessible. The studio boasts a dozen reformers, the main piece of equipment used in Pilates, as well as other gear like the EXO chair, but offers a variety of membership packages to appeal to consumers at all levels of interest. 

The Club Pilates brand launched in 2005, and boasts that it has now served over 2.2 million workouts at locations across the country.

Kilcullen sees merit in the workout, originally designed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century, because it strengthens the core in a way that also helps relieve stress. By setting up the gym, he says the studio helps provide the benefits of both a class structure and personal trainer. 

Kilcullen came to be a Pilates studio owner after befriending Keith, whose children play baseball with Kilcullen’s kids. Keith boasts a financial background while Kilcullen developed a strength in sales working at HSN, where he has worked as a product spokesperson since 2001, specializing in outdoor products and goods. Keith and Kilcullen decided to invest in a franchise business so they could take a proven business plan into the marketplace. “This is a simple model, and they [Club Pilates] have over 200 locations,” Kilcullen says. “It’s successful because people love the concept.”

With the Lockwood Commons location now operating, Kilcullen says he and Keith are already in talks with Benderson Development to open a Pelican Plaza location in Sarasota, and are scouting locations for a third Club Pilates to open in the region as well. 

While Kilcullen continues to sell wares on HSN, he says he knows his days as a television spokesman won’t last forever. He wants to have a business of his own, and the new studio could be the first in an empire. “There’s nothing like owning my own business,” he says. "That was a major goal for Gary and I and our families.” 

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota’s living museum, has again achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition afforded the nation’s museums. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, as well as funders, outside agencies, government and to the museum-going public. Selby Gardens was initially accredited in 2007. All museums must undergo a reaccreditation review at least every 10 years to maintain accredited status. Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, some 1,070 are currently accredited. Selby Gardens is one of 183 museums accredited in Florida. Accreditation is a very rigorous but highly rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. AAM’s Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation. 

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

The Sarasota Orchestra received a ­­­­­$50,000 Arts Appreciation grant from Gulf Coast Community Foundation. Grant funds support the presentation of the Sarasota Orchestra’s 2017-2018 Season, including performances in a variety of formats, from Masterworks to Pops to Chamber Music and Great Escapes. The grant also supports the Sarasota Orchestra's extensive education programs for the three surrounding counties. 330 students participate in seven ensembles comprising the Sarasota Youth Orchestra. The three-week Summer Music Camp provides music education to over 300 students. Finally, some 9,500 area fourth and fifth graders utilize a year-long curriculum guide in conjunction with a live orchestral performance of the Young Persons Concerts. 

Sarasota Orchestra

The Education Foundation of Sarasota County has granted more than $60,000 in funding for Sarasota County Schools to support its Middle School College and Career Readiness Project. This funding provides over 6,300 students in eight middle schools The Naviance College & Career Readiness Curriculum, allowing students to develop skills and college knowledge needed to reach their post-secondary goals, and AchieveWORKS assessments, providing a comprehensive profile of each student’s strengths. This grant was made possible thanks to generous donations from the Koski Family Foundation and the Roberta Leventhal Sudakoff Foundation. Every Sarasota County Middle School student will receive 25 minutes of Career Readiness instruction each week and will have access to 17 career lessons annually including a pre- and post-test assessment tool. Students will also be able to explore their career interests through 3000 videos created by students on various career opportunities through a Naviance platform entitled, RoadTrip Nation. 

Education Foundation of Sarasota County

“I always find their produce is fresher since they (literally) pick it directly from the field and walk it over to the table to be sold,” shared Jeremy Peterson on Jessica’s Organic Farmstand. In what was looking like a Five-way tie for number one, Jessica’s Organic Farmstand galloped to the front of the race as Best Local Farm. Close behind was Hunsader Farms, a local legend for its fall pumpkin patch, and Geraldson Farms, whose staff has been known to go the extra mile to bring a smile to patrons’ faces. Which farm will take the throne in this year’s Best of SRQ Local Reader’s Competition. Vote now! 

Vote Here!