Longboat Key couple celebrates engagement

It’s official! Susan Phillips and Steve Branham are engaged and are planning a beach wedding for this summer.

The couple confirmed the news at a dinner party hosted by Kimberly Roberts Friday, May 24, at the Sarasota Yacht Club. The engagement party was a fun evening with warm toasts and a gentle roasting by the guests.
Phillips, assistant to the Longboat Key town manager for 14 years, met Branham while both were attending the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference in May 2011, in Fort Lauderdale. Their friendship began while at a reception on a boat, hosted by mutual friends.

On Dec. 30, 2011, Branham proposed, and the answer was “yes.”

Branham recently retired in Miami as a two-star admiral after a 37-year career with the U.S. Coast Guard. He currently is an executive vice president with O’Brien’s Response Management, a subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc.

The couple plans to reside on Longboat Key.