Ranch Community Fund unveils Founders' 50 plaque

LAKEWOOD RANCH — As former Schroeder-Manatee Ranch President and CEO John Clarke piloted Lakewood Ranch through its early years, he knew the true mark of the community would have little to do with its homes, roads and businesses.

Rather, the community’s strength would lie in the people who lived in those homes, drove those roads and owned those businesses.

Now, that strength is a permanent fixture on Lakewood Ranch Main Street. The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund unveiled Dec. 2 its Founders’ 50 plaque, which recognizes donors who have established permanent charitable funds dedicated to causes and interests impacting the community. The bronze plaque, which stands near the Main Street fountain, currently displays 27 donors.

Clarke spoke at the unveiling and thanked the honored donors for completing the dream he and Lakewood Ranch’s other founders birthed more than 20 years ago. The donors’ contributions are proof that residents’ passion for Lakewood Ranch makes the community special, he said.

Community Fund President-Elect Diane Brune agreed, noting that since the Community Fund’s inception in 2002, it has donated a total of $650,000 to 186 non-profits.

Longtime Lakewood Ranch resident and an original Founders’ 50 John Kolbas said he hopes the plaque serves as inspiration for future generations of Lakewood Ranch residents.

“Why do we give?” he said. “We give because the world — or some small part of it — will be better because we did. Sometime in the future, other people will be standing here and can build on what we have done.”

The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund operates under the larger umbrella of the Manatee Community Foundation. Its mission is to enhance the quality of life in and near Lakewood Ranch by promoting philanthropy, connecting the charitable interests of donors with the ongoing needs of the community. This year’s grant recipients include Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Suncoast, Cancer Support Community, Easter Seals Southwest Florida, Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee and Tidewell Hospice and more.

For more information, visit www.lwrfund.org.

Contact Michael Eng at [email protected].

Founders’ 50
Below are the first names and organizations featured on the Founders’ 50 plaque.

• John and Lorna Clarke Fund
• GE Appliances
• John W. and Lydia J. Kolbas Family Fund
• Michael Saunders Fund
• Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch Scholarship Fund
• Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch MTI East Scholarship Fund
• SunTrust Lakewood Ranch Educational Fund
• Robert and Karol Borkowski Fund
• Greg and Diane Brune Fund
• H. Peter Burg Fund
• DelFabro Charitable Fund
• Bernard G. and Nancy J. Berman Entrepreneurship Fund
• Barbara Jones Charitable Fund
• Windsor of Lakewood Ranch Fund
• McIntyre Elwell and Strammer General Contractors Inc. Fund
• McIntyre Family Fund
• Baugh Family Fund
• Stuart J. Roth Charitable Fund
• Center for Faith and Freedom Fund
• Lakewood Ranch Women’s Charitable Fund
• Joseph and Barbara Najmy Charitable Fund
• Bob, Julia and Amanda Smith In Memory of Dick and Gloria Smith
• Ten Women Golfers Giving Circle Fund
• Sisterhood for Good Fund
• Jeffrey and Utahna Smith Charitable Fund
• Miles
• Lou and Ann Marie Marinaccio Charitable Fund