Skip to main content

Profiles

PROFILE: Matt Gutman

September 24, 2021
Matt Gutman misses the fall northern weather, loves the Finger Lakes, and is suspicious of alligators. He’s also the newest member of the Boca Beacon family. “I think it’s fall that I miss the …

PROFILE: Jim Brown

September 17, 2021
Jim Brown is our local Boca Grande Arrow Pest Control man, a Vietnam Veteran, proud husband and father, and a passionate breeder of Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. You can also add to that list that he…

PROFILE: Peter Powell

September 10, 2021
Buzz Aldrin said, “Timing has always been a key element in my life. I have been blessed to have been in the right place at the right time.” Some people have been blessed with the gift of good t…

PROFILE: Sarah McDonald

September 3, 2021
Sitting in the middle of Sarah McDonald’s coffee table is a fascinating turtle sculpture, carved to look as if it was emerging from the water. One cheerio was also sitting on the table, placed car…

PROFILE: Capt. Tater Spinks

August 27, 2021
Mary calls him “My Salty Dog Redneck Fisherman.” It’s an affectionate nickname that only a wife could get away with calling a husband of 40 years. That fisherman is John “Tater Spinks, better know…

PROFILE: Laquanda Dixon

August 20, 2021
On a sunny August morning in Boca Grande Laquanda Dixon took a short break to sit out by the fountain and answer a few questions about her work at the Boca Grande Health Clinic, her ties to the is…

PROFILE: Karen Harrison-Trent

August 13, 2021
Karen Harrison-Trent was born and raised in Jamaica and is familiar with island life. “I’m from Jamaica, so yes, Boca Grande reminded me of my Jamaican home, with the island feeling and the oce…

PROFILE: Natalie Cole

July 23, 2021
The newest member of the Boca Grande Health Clinic team is Natalie Cole. The conversation started something like, “Wow! Natalie Cole, like the singer?” “No relation,” she quickly replied with a…

Profile: Capt. Chad Bombenger

July 16, 2021
The first Jay Joiner Memorial Belt Buckle was given out the year after he passed away, in 1993. The buckle is engraved with an eagle, which represents the best fisherman nature has to offer, and a…

PROFILE: Scott Shanks

July 5, 2021
BY T MICHELE WALKER – Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the new mosquito man, Scott Shanks, and he’s eradicating Gasparilla Island mosquitoes in a single bound. Yes, there’s a ne…