OUR TOWN

+ Wedding bells to ring in spring for engaged couple
Longboat Key residents Mary Lou and Bill Johnson announced the engagement of their daughter, Randi Celia Johnson, to Andrew Young Mackintosh, of Philadelphia. The couple will marry in April.

Johnson graduated in 2006 from George Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and criminal justice. She is completing her residency at Florida State University and will graduate with her doctorate in clinical psychology in August from Florida Institute of Technology. Mackintosh is also a 2006 graduate of George Washington University and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science. He worked for the White House for two years and is currently employed in the Florida Senate Majority Office, in Tallahassee.

+Tennis Center USTA team advances
The Longboat Key Public Tennis Center’s USTA 3.0 Senior Team won a playoff match earlier this week against the Meadows’ team. As a result, the team will head to the Florida USTA sectionals in May in Daytona.

The team consists of Capt. Joan Kelly, Kenda Smith, Betty Aden, Nancy Kane, Donna Tighe, Bonnie Geyman, Marilyn Chayka, Fanny Younger, Margery Blacklow, Bonnie Marcuson, Kathy Powers, Marsha Thomson, Jewell Emswiller, Marie Hunter and Sandie Joseph.

+ Sanders offers sea of support
Virginia Sanders’ dedication as a Mote Marine volunteer is boundless. Although in rehabilitation at the Inn at Sarasota Bay Club — and now at Sunnyside — Sanders participated in Mote’s recent recognition of President Kumar Mahadevan’s 25th anniversary. Sanders wrote a poem, accompanied by a sketch, which was presented to Mahadevan at the surprise party.

+ Tennis Center is shoe-in for cause
Through the initiative of Linda Adrian, Soles4Souls, an organization that sends shoes to those in need around the world, now has 700 more pairs to distribute. Generous Longboaters donated these shoes, all in good condition, and March 16 Adrian and several volunteers met at the Tennis Center to pack and ship the shoes. From left are Kathy Gobbe, Jayne Meth, Lorraine Buscareno-Smith, Adrian and Barbara Kowalyk. No more shoes are being accepted this time.
 

LONGOBATERS’ LIBRARY LIST
Here is a look at the top-10 books Longboaters read this month at the Longboat Library, 555 Bay Isles Road.
• “Fall of Giants,” by Ken Follett
• “A Reliable Wife,” by Robert Goolrick
• “Rescue,” by Anita Shreve
• “The Paris Wife,” by Paula McLain
• “Dead or Alive,” by Tom Clancy
• “Night Vision,” by Randy Wayne White
• “Freedom,” by Jonathan Franzen
• “Sing You Home,” by Jodi Picoult
• “The Autobiography of Mark Twain,” by Mark Twain
• “Girl in a Blue Dress,” by Gaynor Arnold

All of these books are available at the Longboat Library. 

 NEW TITLES
Thirty-six new titles have been added to the library shelves in February. Now available:
• “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” by Rebecca Skloot
• “Live Wire,” by Harlan Coben
• “The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party,” by Alexander McCall Smith
• “The Jungle,” by Clive Cussler