- December 4, 2025
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As Emergency Operations Manager E.J. Landrith addressed attendees at the 2025 Hurricane Expo, he raised the topic of a positive mental space.
"We know that people who are in a better mental space are better survivors in all kinds of situations," he said.
Attendees at the 2025 Hurricane Expo, hosted at Newtown Estates Community Center by Legal Aid of Manasota on July 26, left with not just information, however, but often with tangible items to support their safety and positivity.
Some guests earned raffle prizes, including lanterns and backpacks, while many accepted giveaways like small flashlights. Attendees had the chance to gain knowledge of the services in the area from vendors like Habitat for Humanity and Florida Power & Light.
Legal Aid of Manasota, a nonprofit, provides free civil legal aid to vulnerable residents, and the event had the stated goal of helping the community be prepared as hurricane season intensifies.
Linda Harradine, executive director of the organization, said while there were many events in South County, an area highly affected by the storms, the organization wanted to bring one to the Newtown area to help prevent people from having to travel further.
“This is just an area that was hit so hard with all of the past hurricanes, especially last year, and we wanted to make sure that this was in the community,” she said.
Tesha Hill, a Newtown resident, said its focus on preparedness filled an important need.
“A lot of people, when the storms come, they’re not ready, and they don’t have the things that they need, because when they get ready to go to the store, all the flashlights are going to be gone, the batteries going to be gone, and look, they have flashlights here," she said.
After finding out about the event, she had the chance to bring along fellow resident Becky Shelley.
“The last storm, how it was, everybody should have came here, and I think it was very helpful for the community," Shelley said. "We actually needed this for the community, and they should do more stuff like this, so we can be more prepared.”
Harradine noted a wide variety of ways that people could be more prepared by attending the event.
“We’re here on a prevention side, making sure people have a clear title of their home so they can access FEMA benefits, to make sure people have their legal checklist, that they have what they need, their documents, and again, they know who to call if after the storm, there’s mold growing in their house and the landlord won’t take care of it. We want to make sure that they know, proactively, that there’s resources available."
