SOUTH COUNTY
President ’ s
COLUMN
South County Events Past and Future
Greetings and belated Happy Holidays from South County ! We hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable time with family and friends . If you haven ’ t seen downtown Venice during the holidays , trust me , it is worth the trip . The lights on Venice Avenue are absolutely beautiful . Now it ’ s time to move on to 2022 , which has to be better than 2021 , right ?
At our November board meeting , Evelyn Moya of Cenacle Legal Services made a presentation to the board concerning the need for assistance in South County . Not surprisingly , each of the board members volunteered to provide assistance as needed .
The South County Division hosted the annual Christmas party at the R L Anderson facility on Friday , December 3 . It was really nice to see one another face-to-face after the year plus ban on in-person gatherings . In 2020 , we were only able to provide box lunches for the courthouse staff , but this year we were able to join them in the celebration . The event is funded by the generous donations of many of the lawyers and firms in South County , and once again this year we collected toys , clothing , and other items for The Twig , which provides services for the foster care community . The items collected will be available for Shopping Days when children in foster care are able to come to the facility and shop for free . Nicole Britton , the director of development for The Twig , was on hand to accept the donated items , and to tell us a little bit about what the Twig does . She invited us to come to one of the Shopping Days to see how much it means to the children .
Also joining us for the Christmas party as our honored guests were Judge Hunter Carroll , Judge Stephen Walker , Judge Maria Ruhl , Judge Dana Moss , and Magistrate Matt Peters . Various employees of the Sarasota County Sheriff ’ s Office , the Clerk ’ s office and others were in attendance . A big thank you to all who make the party possible each year with their generous donations , and especially to Jackie Mack for decorating the courtroom and Erin Itts for getting the box lunches .
Judge Hunter Carroll , Judge Dana Moss , SCD President Pat Reilly , Judge Maria Ruhl , and Judge Stephen Walker
THE DOCKET - JANUARY 2022 | 11