As the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix revs up again, more than double the number of vessels prepare to take to the water as raced in 2018. With two race sanctioning organizations and two national networks planning to broadcast portions of the event later, a tremendous number of competitors will arrive in Sarasota, according to festival director Lucy Nicandri.

She says about 70 boats hit the water this year, compared to 30 last year.

“We’ve also stretched our race course to cover the entirety of Lido Beach, from Longboat Key Club south to where the Sandcastle Resort is,” she says.

The festivities officially launched last Saturday with a golf classic at The Meadows, followed by a boat and personal watercraft fun run at Marina Jack on Sunday. The connected “The Friendliest Catch” fishing tournament took place on Tuesday, and last night the Bayfront Grand Prix Festival Kickoff Party took place at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

Of course, the festival will also put on a free fireworks show tonight at Island Park at 9pm.

“I look at it now as an iconic event,” Nicandri says. “It’s been around now for 35 years and we just want to put out a great event for the community.”

Things truly get going Friday with a Main Street block party and a car show and “Race The Racer” event Saturday. The official Powerboat Races themselves take place Sunday.

Both the Offshore Powerboat Association and Powerboat P1 in partnership will promote the race, one of six race sites for the 2019 Offshore Powerboat Association Offshore Championship Series. In August, CBS Sports and Fox Sports will air separate specials on the race, broadcasting to an estimated 65 million U.S. homes and 400 million households worldwide.

Within the racing community, Nicandri says the Sarasota event has developed a reputation as an Indy 500 on the water.

It all contributes to a critical summer event for Sarasota tourism.

“It’s very strong,” says Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County. “They do surveys every year, that ask people, "Did you come for the races or are you just here for the Fourth of July?" and they always do well in terms of people who come here just for the races.”

Of course, for Nicandri, executive director for Suncoast Charities for Children, the most important part of the event will be the philanthropic support in the region. The event has always delivered all proceeds to the Sarasota organization, which supports five nonprofits locally. “A lot of people don’t realize the race was started as a fundraiser for charity and it continues to be,” she says. “We’re the only sanctioned race site run by a charity and one of the longest race sites still going.” 

As a precaution, Sarasota County health officials have issued a "No Swim" advisory for Venice Beach, Brohard Beach and Lido Casino Beach, as the amount of enterococcus bacteria found during routine weekly water quality testing on Monday, July 1, was outside acceptable limits. The beach remains open, however, wading, swimming and water recreation is not recommended. In addition, it is advised not to not eat shellfish collected in the immediate area of any beach with a no-swim advisory. Finfish caught live and healthy can be eaten if filleted.

Enterococcus bacteria can come from a variety of natural and human-made sources, including pet waste, livestock, wildlife, stormwater runoff and human sewage from failed septic systems and sewage spills. The rapid response team from Sarasota County and the City of Venice has determined the cause of the elevated bacteria levels is likely due to natural sources, such as an observed wrack line of decaying algae along the shoreline.

Testing has revealed bacteria levels within acceptable limits at the following area beaches: Longboat Key Beach, South Lido Park Beach, Siesta Beach, North Lido Beach, Nokomis Beach, Bird Key Park Beach, Caspersen Beach, Blind Pass, Manasota Key Beach, Venice Pier Beach, Service Club Beach, Turtle Beach, Venice Beach and North Jetty Beach.

For more information visit the website below. 

Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County

According to results released by the Florida Department of Education, the Sarasota County School District scored higher than state averages in all categories of the 2019 Florida Standards Assessment (FSA). The percentage of students who were proficient in English Language Arts (ELA) increased from two percentage points in grades three, five and seven and remained consistent in grades four and six. There were slight declines in grades eight, nine, ten compared to last year.

In 2019, the school district’s mathematics proficiency rates improved in grades three, four, six and eight and remained consistent in grade seven. There was a slight decline in grade five. In addition to the FSA, the percentage of students passing End of Course (EOC) Assessments is also higher than the state average in all subjects tested. The percentage of students passing EOC assessments increased five points in Civics, two points in Biology, and one point in US History. For all grades three through ten, Sarasota County Schools rank among the top four school districts on English Language Arts scale scores and the top seven school districts for mathematics. There are 67 school districts in the state of Florida. 

Sarasota County Schools

The percentage of Manatee District students scoring Level 3 or Above increased in four of five grades in mathematics and rose or stayed the same as last year in five of seven grades on the English Language Arts (ELA) exam, according to FSA results released by the Florida Department of Education.

Manatee District sixth graders increased their math scores by 5 percentage points, from 52% scoring Level 3 or Above in 2018, to 57% in 2019. District fourth graders improved in math by four percentage points, seventh graders by three percentage points, fifth graders by two percentage points and eighth-grade students remained the same as last year. District fourth and sixth graders led the charge on the English Language Arts exam, both increasing the percentage of Level 3 or Above scores by five percentage points. The fourth graders improved from 51% to 56% in 2019, while sixth graders jumped from 47% to 52%. In End-of-Course (EOC) exams, Manatee District students increased the percentage of students scoring Level 3 or Above by five percentage points in geometry, from 57% to 62%; and bettered the state in the Algebra 1 EOC with 66% of Manatee District students scoring Level 3 or Above, compared to 62% of students statewide.

Manatee District students also increased their performance on the U.S. History EOC by two percentage points, from 69% last year to 71% this year, and bettered the state percentage by a point. 

School District of Manatee County

24 emerging community leaders from across the region graduated last week from the 2019 Gulf Coast Leadership Institute. The group made up the 14th class to complete Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s long-running leadership-development initiative. This year’s Leadership Institute comprised seven training sessions held over two months and led by faculty of the Leadership Development Institute (LDI) of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Gulf Coast Community Foundation commissioned the training and provided all resources at no cost to participants in exchange for their commitment to use their new skills to benefit the region through community service.

Graduates of the 2019 Gulf Coast Leadership Institute include: Olympia Baylou, Owner/Founder, Blooming Impressions FL; Cathy Bryant, Director of Donor Relations, Streets of Paradise; Michele Demperio, Director of Business Development, Sweet Sparkman Architects;  Alyssa Goudy, Production Manager, The Players Centre for Performing Arts; Jessie Lapek, Center Director, Pregnancy Solutions; Mary Ellen Mancini, Director of Development, Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center; Dawnyelle Singleton, Director of Programs and Community Relations, Visible Men Academy; Mark Smith, Director of Marketing, The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art; and more.

To date, almost 350 community members have participated in Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s leadership-development initiative. Applications for the 2020 Gulf Coast Leadership Institute will be available next January. 

Gulf Coast Leadership Institute

Allegiant Private Advisors has been recognized on Accounting Today’s “Wealth Magnets” annual list as a Top Firm by Assets Under Management for 2019, based on Allegiant’s $750 million in assets under management. For the 13th annual ranking, Accounting Today received submissions from firms across the country with a wide diversity in practice structure. Allegiant is the only Sarasota-based firm included and one of four in Florida recognized. The AUM list is ranked solely by the amount of assets under management; no additional criteria are considered. Candidates for the Top Firms by AUM list must be CPA firms that have a financial planning practice (including subsidiaries and affiliates), and at least one of the financial planners in the practice must hold a CPA credential. 

Allegiant Private Advisors

Jodi Ruberg, a civil litigation attorney with the law firm of Kirk-Pinkerton, P.A., was recently sworn in to serve a two-year term as Governor of The Florida Bar’s Young Lawyers Division. In her role, she will serve the 26,000-member division and assist The Florida Bar Board of Governors, which is comprised of more than 107,000 members. The mission of the Young Lawyers Division is to stimulate and encourage participation of division members and offer programs, activities and projects designed to assist its members.

While serving on the Board of Governors for the Young Lawyers Division of The Florida Bar, Ruberg will also assist on various committees, including the Legislative Affairs Committee, Health and Wellness Committee, Law Education Committee and the Florida Bar Annual Convention Committee. 

Kirk-Pinkerton

In Celebrate Veterans, we salute Goodwill Manasota, JFCS of the Suncoast and Sarasota Ford for their community programs supporting veterans in our own backyard. Read about the initiatives that have made a positive impact at home, from social services to employment.  

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