Uncommon Friends announces officers, to host Halloween event
Arlene Roth is a North Fort Myers resident who is a force at The Uncommon Friends Foundation – the executive director. Her organization recently announced the new officers elected for the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
They are President Robert R. Jones, Ed.D., VP Administrative Services, Edison State College; Vice President Tammy Surratt, president, Legacy Family Office, LLC; Treasurer Leslie D’Alessandro, partner, Wiltshire, Whitley, Richardson, English, CPA; and Secretary Brenda Stewart, executive director, Lee County Dental Society.
The immediate past president is Bruce Schultz, president and CEO, Southwest Capital Bank.
Concerning Jones, she said, “Bob has shown great leadership in a time of difficult circumstance for all nonprofits. He is able to think out of the box and he is open to new ways of doing business.”
Prominent North Fort Myers business leaders on the board include Kerrey Hoolihan, owner/broker, Vision One Realty Group; and Tom Hoolihan Jr., owner, Tommy Hoolihan’s Resort & Lifestyle Center.
Also serving on the Board of Directors are John Albion, executive director, Greater Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce; JoAnn Beightol, community volunteer; Brian Bigelow, Lee County Commissioner; Alexandra Bremner, teacher, Allen Park Elementary School; Larry Byrnes, Ph.D., professor of education (Retired), Florida Gulf Coast University; Berne Davis, philanthropist; Gray Davis, COO, Oswald Trippe and Company, Inc.; Guenther Gosch, CEO/president, Moorings Park; Jacqueline Gregory, investment associate, Legacy Family Office, LLC; and Randall Henderson Jr., city of Fort Myers Councilman.
“The Uncommon Friends Foundation stands for character education in our public and private schools, and for business ethics,” said Roth.
The Uncommon Friends Foundation, established in 1993, is a character education organization whose mission is to instill ethics, moral values and a sense of purpose in tomorrow’s leaders. The foundation is dedicated to enriching society by promoting the positive values author James D. Newton discovered in five unique men and their wives – Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Dr. Alexis Carrel, and Charles Lindbergh – intellectual giants who helped shape the 20th century.
“In addition, we have a historical component which makes it a perfect match to make our offices here at the Burroughs Home,” Roth said.
The foundation is headquartered in that home, just over the bridge over the Caloosahatchee River in downtown Fort Myers.
“Since taking over management in August of 2008, we’ve added all kinds of tours and events,” she continued.
The Southwest Florida Symphony is holding a Halloween event at the Burroughs Home called “Murder at the Mansion.” It will take place Friday, Oct. 30, from 7-9:30 p.m.
Symphony officials said it is a “live, interactive game of ‘whodunit'” with food from the area’s finest chefs. There will be a silent auction items and guests will be entertained by the Southwest Florida Symphony Chorus.
The Southwest Florida Symphony will introduce one “suspect” a week on its Web site swflso.org before the event.
All of the “suspects” will be wondering the grounds during the course of the game to assist guests in narrowing down their choices of which musical instrument was involved as the weapon, which room a “terrible plot” occurred and who provided the deadly blow.
VIP tickets are $125 per person, or $75 for general admission. To purchase tickets, call the Southwest Florida Symphony box office at 418-1500 or online at www.swflso.org/tickets. Costumes or themed attire are encouraged.
“We look forward to partnering other nonprofits in the community like the symphony for events,” said Roth. “We have three other events through the rest of the year. There’s Veterans Day, when we are partnering with Hope Healthcare Services; the Holiday House through the month of December with the Fort Myers Woman’s Club; and a black tie New Year’s Eve Gala that we’re sponsoring with the Lee County Bar Association.”
Additional information about the foundation may be obtained by calling 337-9505 or by checking the Web site at uncommonfriends.org.