VIN'S PEOPLE: Bradenton’s Stillpoint Mission steps up for family in need
Brent Shawley’s friends know he’s always ready to help those in need.
Unfortunately, today that’s him.
A father of six children, one with cerebral palsy, Shawley broke his leg recently and can’t work. Worse yet, he’d started a new job and was injured off the job before his health insurance began.
Bradenton’s Stillpoint Mission is delivering food to the family and there are tentative plans for a ramp at the house so Shawley and the child can have easier access.
Donations to Stillpoint Mission via Flanzertrust.org with "Shawley Family" designated in the donor note box will be doubled. There’s also a GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/f/help-the-shawleys-keep-their-new-home?
For more details, call Stillpoint Mission president Gene Tischer at 941-718-9403. Or Stillpoint’s past president Gene Belvo at 941-405-2500.
· Godspeed, Frank Gamsky, a delightful man who just passed at 93. Along with his wife, Elaine, who died in 2018, Frank owned the Linger Lodge RV Resort and Restaurant, an Old Florida treasure, for nearly 40 years. They purchased the rural East Manatee property in 1968, 100-plus acres nestled along the Braden River, a mecca for canoeing, camping, fishing and dining.
What’s more, Frank loved critters big and small and the amateur taxidermist decorated the lodge with roadkill and wild game and had entertaining stories to go with it all.
· Ken Washio is 39. Again.
· A salute to July Deputies of the Month Brian Hart, Lauren Jalowiec, Robert Macchio and Humberto Noronha of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Responding to a shooting, Jalowiec and Macchio cared for the victim, while Hart and Noronha apprehended the alleged shooter, enabling EMS to do its job.
· Big ups to both Lakewood Ranch High Head Athletic Trainer Sydney Suppa and protégé Olivia Heim, a 2023 LRHS grad. The school board honored Suppa, named 2023 Secondary Schools Athletic Trainer of the Year by the Athletic Trainers Association of Florida, and Heim, the ATAF’s 2023 Pre-Professional Student Trainer of the Year and fourth LRHS student to receive the award.
· Kelly and Ellsworth Helm celebrated their Silver Anniversary.
· Sounds like it was a wild kickball game for Tillman Elementary third and fourth graders. It involved Bradenton Marauder pitchers Brandan Bidois, Elijah Birdsong, Owen Kellington, Patrick Reilly and Landon Tomkins, as well as gym teachers Tyler Bench, Kyle Mauk and Hunter McGarry with a special appearance by Marty the Marauder. The ballclub also gave Principal Marla Massi-Blackmore 150 game tickets for Fan Appreciation Night next Saturday.
Vin’s People runs Sundays. Email Vin Mannix at vinspeople@gmail.com. Or call 941-962-5944. Twitter: @vinmannix.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: VIN MANNIX: Bradenton’s Stillpoint Mission steps up for family in need
