So much has transpired since I first thought about setting up a personal blog in addition to the family and the real estate related blogs I created a bit ago without much consistency or fanfare. My initial assumption was that if I have my family and business covered, then I too am covered but that simply was never and will never be enough. I’ve posted pics to my family blog and some article links to my real estate blog but not much else. I’ve loosely collected a lot of thoughts possibly worth sharing but never followed up on most of them. I’ve researched the most effective ways to blog and quickly came to the conclusion that it’s simply something I need to commit to doing and it will get done. And I’ve tried not to get down on myself for not following through with the blogs since I am a very busy woman with a lot of responsibilities. Although I’m considerably more involved in the community than some of my peers, comparison can no longer be my only gauge for showing I care. I must find more effective ways to manage my time and responsibilities so that I can continue to positively impact Sarasota to ensure it remains the community I am so proud to call my hometown.
My confession and impetus: at the request of Lee Byron, one of my favorite women in the world, I attended my first school board meeting last week. Once again, our school board members were to decide the fate of the old Riverview designed by Paul Rudolph and revered the world over. Naively enough, before I walked through those public doors, I already assumed the building had been saved from the demolition block. Sadly not so. After listening to 20+ concerned citizens, many members of the design team that were passionately trying to salvage the building and much debate among the school board members, I felt so ashamed of myself for not knowing much about something so important to our community.
Despite safety claims with the design presented, despite complaints that the campus is too small, despite concerns over the lack of LOIs promising charitable donations to relinquish the county from any financial burden, Sarasota had the opportunity to preserve its global reputation as a patron of the arts and failed miserably. If there’s one thing I know and love about Sarasota, it’s that if we as a community (millionaires obviously included) decide that we want something then we get it. Just off the top of my head: convention centers, commercial developments touting the highest of high-end retailers, an entire city within a city (LWR) without the population numbers or traffic counts to support these lavish expenditures; the most preserved land and the most parks of any county in the state (we are the “greenest” for now); the best of the best as far as schools are concerned; the most golf courses per capita in the world; miles of beaches we continually dredge for and replenish despite the cost and impact to guarantee our rank on all the best-beaches-in-the-world polls; enough theaters and museums to rival any city 10 times our size; a nationally recognized film festival for goodness’ sake; and less visible homeless folks….
Sarasota, I am disappointed in you. Sarasota, I am disappointed in myself. I feel like I let you down big time. The old Riverview, in part, represented our legacy to the world, our courage to lead the way despite the odds, our prideful love of life in Florida and our ability to make the impossible happen as if by magic. As of last Tuesday, we are no longer the Greatest Show On Earth. And when Rudolph’s Riverview is bulldozed and hauled off to dominate nothing more than our landfills, Sarasota will be nothing more than a show. A bad reality one at that.
Me and Eve Johnston, fellow Pine View School alum and another awesome lady.
So much has transpired since I first thought about setting up a personal blog in addition to the family and the real estate related blogs I created a bit ago without much consistency or fanfare. My initial assumption was that if I have my family and business covered, then I too am covered but that simply was never and will never be enough. I’ve posted pics to my family blog and some article links to my real estate blog but not much else. I’ve loosely collected a lot of thoughts possibly worth sharing but never followed up on most of them. I’ve researched the most effective ways to blog and quickly came to the conclusion that it’s simply something I need to commit to doing and it will get done. And I’ve tried not to get down on myself for not following through with the blogs since I am a very busy woman with a lot of responsibilities. Although I’m considerably more involved in the community than some of my peers, comparison can no longer be my only gauge for showing I care. I must find more effective ways to manage my time and responsibilities so that I can continue to positively impact Sarasota to ensure it remains the community I am so proud to call my hometown. 
