This past Tuesday, August 30th, Florida Studio Theatre announced that they would be extending the run of their Summer Cabaret Series hit production, New York State of Mind - All the Hits of Billy Joel with The Uptown Boys by one week. New York State of Mind, an original revue created by choreographer Alex Aguilar and music supervisor John De Simini, who together have 40 years of cumulative experience working on Broadway, will play through October 9th, 2022.

“We like to say that it’s Jersey Boys meets Billy Joel. It has the swagger of Broadway and has a little bit of the New York, New Jersey vibe, but instead of the Frankie Valli catalog, we’ve kind of substituted that format with a Billy Joel catalog for a fresh take, says Aguilar. “ As great as the Frankie Vallie shows are, it’s kind of a saturated market. Billy Joel wrote so many different styles of music that span across generations which makes for a really entertaining show.

Part of bearing the responsibility of performing the different styles of Billy Joel’s music is knowing when to perform which songs. “A lot of it is about just trying to keep the show moving so there’s not a lot of stalling out so to speak. With Billy Joel’s music that involves separating a lot of his ballads, even though his ballads are some of his most favorite songs,” says Aguilar. “If you did a 90-minute show of just his ballads everyone would be asleep. For us, a lot of it was mixing up the styles of song throughout the show, so the audience feels like they’re going for a ride and by the time it’s done they can’t believe that the time just flew by.”

For De Simini, as the music supervisor, the creative process involves more massaging around the traditional arrangements of Billy Joel’s music, instead of creating an entirely new piece. “Why try to fix what isn’t broken? A lot of the time we try to keep Billy Joel true to his musical arrangements, but even so, my half of the creative process looks something like this: I’ll make an arrangement, mock it up, send it over to Alex who will add the staging and make any tweaks, and then we’ll set it up to be recorded,” says De Simini.

Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 North Palm Avenue, Sarasota, Box Office: 941-366-9000. 

Pictured: Michael Fasano and Sergi Robles performing the hits of Billy Joel. Photo courtesy of FST.

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It’s time to register for the upcoming workshop Building Better Bylaws with Whitney Crettol on Friday, September 30. The workshop is for nonprofit board officers, members of governance or board development committees, or directors of organizations that have not updated their bylaws in three years. Registration is available online at www.gulfcoastcf.org/events. The workshop is intended to help nonprofits set themselves up for success when building their bylaws and policies. Participants will learn about the relationship between state law, Articles of Incorporation, and bylaws; discuss the most recent leading practices; and explore specific examples to assist in developing relevant and understandable governing rules. Topics include, yet are not limited to, board size, officer positions, term limits, meetings, committees, amendments, and change of control, among others. The morning-long workshop (8:30 a.m. breakfast; 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. presentation) costs $35, which includes breakfast, and will take place at Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s new Sarasota Philanthropy Center, 1549 State Street, Sarasota. Reservations are required to attend. Invest in Incredible is Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s nonprofit capacity-building initiative. Through free online resources, group training workshops, and customized consulting engagements, Invest in Incredible helps nonprofit organizations across the Gulf Coast region improve their board governance and operational effectiveness. 

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On September 20, 2017, Hurricane María made landfall in Puerto Rico, while Puerto Ricans were still coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Ruthless, sustained winds of 155 miles per hour and torrential rain for more than 30 hours, resulted in an island wide blackout and a humanitarian crisis. With unprepared municipal governments, slow federal response, no access to electricity or cell service, Puerto Ricans were kept away from reality and basic necessities like clean water, food and medical care. 4,645 lives were lost. Five months after María, a quarter of the island still lacked electricity. Approximately 130,000 Puerto Ricans (U.S. citizens) left Puerto Rico, including Mara Torres González. Now a Sarasota resident and founder of M A R AArt Studio + Gallery in Sarasota, Torres González tells the story of the resilient, through “209,” a book featuring her own artwork and published by the Peppertree Press, LLC. “209,” which refers to the date the hurricane took place—September 20—features images of Torres González’s mixed-media paintings, with photography. The book also includes a poem about the hurricane by the New Jersey poet and author Danny Shot, which Torres González will read at this event, which happens to take place on the same day as the hurricane, five years later. Meet Mara Torres González and listen to her speak about the artwork she created for the book at a free event on Tuesday, September 20, 4-6 p.m., at Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. The book will be available for purchase. For more information, email Torres González at mara@marastudiogallery.com. Learn more about the artist on her website: www.marastudiogallery.com. 

Pictured: Reconocidos_by Mara Torres González. Photo courtesy of the artist.

First 1,000 Days Suncoast will expand into DeSoto County, where more than 80 families made a 50-plus mile drive in 2021 to deliver their babies. The Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, which provides support for families and babies through the First 1,000 Days Suncoast initiative, is seeking to enhance its impact as the number of births increases across the region. In 2021, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System saw over 4,200 deliveries, an increase of more than 300 births from 2020. DeSoto was a natural first stop: With few doctors and a limited number of social service agencies, families in DeSoto County lack consistent access to prenatal care, parenting education, and other wrap-around services proven to enhance childhood development. Focus groups with mothers, fathers, and grandparents in DeSoto County revealed that language and cultural barriers within the system of care are major obstacles even when they are able to access services. First 1,000 Days Suncoast made strategic efforts to expand its footprint in DeSoto County by hiring Tina Wilson, a bilingual nurse responsible for working directly with families to navigate care. The expansion is funded through a three-year, $130,000 grant from Elsa and Peter Soderberg Charitable Foundation. The Soderberg Foundation enhances access to quality health services, economic empowerment opportunities, and adequate food and housing with the goal of boosting quality of life. The initiative follows a “no wrong door approach” designed so that any person, regardless of point of entry, can connect to the services they need. This process is done through a social determinants of First 1,000 Days DeSoto Expansion health software system used by healthcare and social service agencies called, Unite Us. The free, HIPAA-compliant tool allows agencies to refer clients electronically, taking the burden off the individual to place phone calls or visit multiple offices to schedule appointments. 

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LAST CALL!

The 16th Annual IPG - Intertape Polymer Group Leadership Breakfast is just one week away and we have a limited amount of tickets left for sale. We're so excited to welcome 300+ guests to our Lee Wetherington Boys & Girls Club to honor Carolyn Mason, Community Leader, and Steve Cantees, Secondary Schools Executive Director for their commitment to empower youth as leaders in our community! Individual tickets are $50, and can be purchased here.
https://bgcsdc.org/events/16th-intertape-polymer-group-leadership-breakfast
 

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Do you love feeling the salty breeze in your hair and the sun on your face? Are you looking for deals on fishing poles, cast nets, and life preservers? Have a hankering for coastal art and beachy crafts? Then make plans to attend the Cortez Nautical Flea Market! This FREE family-friendly event, held on Saturday, October 8th, 2022, from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, is co-hosted by the Florida Maritime Museum (FMM) and the Cortez Cultural Center (CCC). Parking will be available at the F.I.S.H. Preserve located on Cortez Road next to the Cortez Cultural Center directly east of the Florida Maritime Museum. The Cortez Nautical Flea Market has something for everyone! In addition to bargains on marine gear and nautical arts & crafts, this free event will feature a food truck, fun activities for all ages, and freebies from local community organizations. There is still time to sign up as a vendor! Early bird registration fee is only $25 until September 15th and $35 after. To reserve your spot as a marine flea market vendor, use the link below (FMM side); to sign up to be an arts and crafts vendor, email cvhs2016@aol.com (CCC side). This year’s event is sure to be bigger and better than ever thanks to sponsorships through the Friends of the Florida Maritime Museum! We would like to express our gratitude to the Bradenton Herald for their media sponsorship and the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage for sponsoring free parking. Thanks to the efforts of the Friends of FMM, we have event sponsors not only for Nautical Flea Market, but for all events throughout the year. We really can't say thank you enough to the AMI Islander for 12 months of media sponsorship and to Chiles Hospitality for their year-round commitment as a Platinum sponsor. Want to help support? Reach out to the Friends of FMM at flmaritimefriends@gmail.com for the 2022 sponsorship package. The Florida Maritime Museum, located at 4415 119th Street West in the historic fishing village of Cortez, offers a snapshot of old Florida through a collection of informative exhibits, educational programs, community events, and research materials. Visit FloridaMaritimeMuseum.org for more information, or call (941) 708-6120. 

For more information click here or to sign up as a vendor click here

PGT Innovations (NYSE: PGTI), a national leader in the premium window and door category, is helping its team members and their dependents pursue their educational goals through its tuition reimbursement program and Inspire the Future scholarship program. Through these two programs, the manufacturing firm has contributed close to $1.2 million in funding over the past four years.The tuition reimbursement program was launched in 2018 and is available to eligible PGT Innovations team members across the country. Dependent on grades achieved in the courses, the amount reimbursed to team members can be up to 100 percent of the cost of education.Since 2018, 83 team members have utilized the program for degrees in business, accounting, engineering, computer science, human resources, business administration, and marketing. Individuals have also sought out certifications instead of degrees, including Supply Chain certification and Commercial Driver's License (CDL) certification. Roughly $800,000 has been contributed from PGTI to assist with these endeavors. Kristopher P. Geyer-Roberts, Engineering Services Manager at PGT Innovations, started with the organization five years ago as a Manufacturing Engineer. After learning about the tuition reimbursement program through the human resources department, Geyer-Roberts made use of the offered benefit to earn his professional engineering license from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He is now currently pursuing his master's in business administration at Indiana University. Additionally, the manufacturing leader has their Inspire the Future scholarship program, which is offered solely to dependents of PGTI employees and offers $2,000 annually toward any secondary education pursuit, including technical school, certification program, university or community college until the education program is complete.Since that program’s inception in 2018, a grand total of 205 scholarships have been awarded with a dollar amount of $382,500. PGTI offers various leadership and training courses to its team members, including topics from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and Dale Carnegie. Last year, the company also celebrated a class of graduates from the in-house CDL driver certification training program that they organized in response to the nationwide CDL driver shortage. 

THE NEW KID IN TOWN | Dingbat Theatre Project paves the way for ultra-accessible, audience friendly theater.

Learn more about the Dingbat Theatre Project through the link, on our social media, or in the September edition of SRQ Magazine!