An Inspiration to us all

Dr. Kay Glasser continues to demonstrate the positive influence that one person can have upon an entire community. Last week she was one of the honorees at the Community Youth Development breakfast. CYD is a program designed to provide leadership training to our high school students and then allow them to put that training to work. Participating students can ultimately serve on the Board of Directors of area non-profits, providing valuable insights to the other members, while preparing themselves for future service. In her remarks, Dr. Glasser reflected upon her career of social service and volunteer activities. She described a formative experience she had with a mentor when she was a young woman, and how this inspired her to a lifetime of helping others. Her words resonated throughout the gym at the Boys and Girls Club in Sarasota, providing similar inspiration to both young and old in the audience.

Also on the agenda last week were a series of debates and joint candidate appearances in the Public Defender race. I appeared with one or both of my opponents at the West Manatee Rotary Club, Heron Creek Country Club in North Port, the Sarasota County Bar Association, and at Kaiser University at Lakewood Ranch. I fielded a variety of questions about the office and my qualifications that were thoughtful and challenging. Some of the toughest questions were posed at a forum sponsored by the NAACP youth council. The moderator, Ed James, and the rest of the council, had obviously worked hard to identify some of the pressing issues in each race. Unfortunately neither of my opponents joined me for that forum but I was grateful for the opportunity.

Tropical storm Fay may have fizzled but she still managed to cancel some of the events I was looking forward to this week. Today all the candidates were supposed to meet the employees of Sarasota Memorial Hospital and tonight was the Manatee NAACP banquet; both have been postponed. At least I didn't have to worry about my signs being launched by gale force winds as we are not putting them up until next weekend. Maybe this will be our only brush with hurricane season this year or at least I hope so! The campaign will provide enough excitement for the next few weeks as we push on to the finish line.