- April 18, 2025
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The Republican Club of Longboat Key will soon start its bounce back into the island’s social scene.
The club’s yearly activities, which were supposed to start in October 2024, were delayed mainly due to the hurricanes that impacted the island for the remainder of 2024. Now, the club is looking forward to getting a start on this year’s events with the first on Feb. 18.
“We’re back and we are thriving. We have so many people who want to get involved with our club,” said acting president of the club Phyllis Black.
The club’s first event of the year will feature Vice Chair of the Republican Party of Sarasota County Alice Rothbauer.
Black is optimistic that this event will be a solid start to what the club expects will be a lineup of speakers for events throughout the year.
“We got a late start, but it's going to be great,” Black said.
Along with organizing events, the club aims to boost its outreach to Republicans on the key.
Black said the club continues to draw in new residents, including a younger island population.
“(Our members) are getting younger and younger now, since more and more younger people are moving to the island,” Black said.
The social aspect of the club’s events is what Black said sets the club apart from other Republican and political clubs in the area.
“Our club is different from other clubs,” Black said. “(The members) look at it as a night out.”
The Republican Club of Longboat Key will also look toward new leadership in April, with resident Nick Gladding set to become the new president.
Like Black said, Gladding is looking forward to continuing the emphasis on speakers from different backgrounds that can bring fresh voices for the club’s members to enjoy.
“What I’m going to try to do is give them good speakers to come listen to. I’m going to work really hard on that,” Gladding said. “The direction is to do that, but it’s really also to help Longboat Key.”
Gladding also said he will try to reach more of the registered Republicans living on Longboat Key, especially those who have not been engaged with the club, in an effort to grow the club.
Membership to the Republican Club of Longboat Key starts at $50, with various other membership packages listed on the club’s website.
According to its website, the club was originally founded in 1996 as “The Federated Women’s Republican Club of Longboat Key.”
Since then, the club has become the Republican Club of Longboat Key and is chartered by the Republican Party of Florida.
The website states that the club “provides a venue for Republicans to meet socially and to speak freely on political topics with no fear of judgment.”
For more information, to become a member or to register for the upcoming event, visit the club’s website at RCLBK.org.
