Networking event highlights eduction, business and service.
By
Pam Eubanks
| 8:24 p.m. February 21, 2018
East County
Neighbors
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Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance member Al Benincasa, of Total Air Solutions, chatted easily with fellow entrepreneurs and service-minded professionals alike before settling into his seat at the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club Feb. 21.
Members of the Alliance and the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch gathered for a joint luncheon starring Neil Phillips, founder of Visible Men Academy, an all-boys elementary charter school in Bradenton.
“It’s fabulous,” Benincasa said of the event. “This is community networking at its best.”
Before more than 200 business and service-minded professionals, Phillips shared concerns about the underperformance of boys in schools and his vision for changing the “crisis of achievement.”
“We are convinced the first step in all of this is having our boys feels their lives have value,” Phillips said. “Our boys will be successful because of who they are, not in spite of who they are.”
Breanca Niski, a Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance membership committee member and employee at Brown & Brown Insurance, catches up with Lori Ruth, of Observer Media Group.
Willis Smith Construction's Peggy Kronus and Liz Brookins make sure to say hi to Bethany Carr, of Kerkering Barberio. Carr represented both Rotary and the Alliance at the event.
Sarasota Christian School High School Principal Pete Conner poses with Rotary's Fred Lopez, Meals on Wheels PLUS's Stephanie Grepling and fellow Sarasota Christian employee Laura Randall.
Alex Gualt and Laurel Lorriveau, of The Otto Group at Hightower, greet fellow Alliance member Judy Athari, of Buffalo Lodging.
Janelle Haas, of JDRF, swamps business cards with Stacey Carollo, of Windy CIty Apparel.
Rotary Club member Anne Ross, executive director of Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, greets fellow Rotarian Denise Pope, of Tidewell Hospice.
Kat Hughes, with Observer Media Group, makes sure to say hello to her dad, Rotarian Jim Wingert.
Shawn Hanlon, of BBG, visits with Al Benincasa, of Total Air Solutions.
Premier Community Bank's Chris Perkins hugs his old friend and Rotarian Bill Porter.
Michael Crosby, president and CEO of Mote Marine Laboratory, shares briefly about the organization's plans for a new aquarium in Sarasota. Mote was a sponsor of the event.
Neil Phillips, founder of Visible Men Academy, talks about the challenges of educating boys from disadvantaged homes. "Our boys will be successful because of who they are, not in spite of who they are," he says.
Brett Morris, of Momentum Consulting, says the presentation by Visible Men Academy founder Neil Phillips is "fantastic."
Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance Incoming chairwoman Heather Williams gets a front row seat.
Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance Chairman Kim French listens intently to Neil Phillips' presentation.
