Profiles
Profile: Debbie Hagstrom
July 11, 2019
■ BY SUE ERWIN Debbie Hagstrom creates beautifully designed one of a kind silk scarves right in front of her customers. The artist visited Boca Grande in June. She was one of the vendors at the ann…
Profile: David Mota
July 5, 2019
■ BY SUE ERWIN He’s been offering authentic, tasty Mexican cuisine on the island since 2015, starting out as a vendor at the Boca Grande Farm & Fish Market. Since joining the Pink Pony team, Da…
Profile: Debbie Baraoidan
June 28, 2019
■ BY SUE ERWIN Debbie Baraoidan has taught elementary school for 31 years, but the art she creates in her spare time is what makes her an even more special person. She owns Natureheart Clay Creatio…
PROFILE: Ashley Scarpa
June 21, 2019
BY SUE ERWIN – Ashley Scarpa has been an entrepreneur in the restaurant business since 2006. Since April, she and her husband Glenn have been leasing the space that, until last summer, was home to …
Profile: Ozzie Lessinger
June 14, 2019
■ BY SUE ERWIN Ozzie Lessinger learned to fish before he could walk. His father, an avid fisherman, put 6-month-old Ozzie in a backpack carrier and placed a fishing pole in his hand and taught him …
Profile: Mimi Carvalho
May 31, 2019
■ BY SUE ERWIN South Beach Bar and Grille Executive Chef Mimi Carvalho caught and released her first tarpon at the 2019 Ladies Day Tarpon Tournament, and she said the experience was absolutely exhi…
Profile: Richard Gordon
May 24, 2019
■ BY SUE ERWIN Chef Richard Gordon has been cooking up delectable dishes at Fusion for the past two years, and that’s a result of decades of experience dating back to when he was a teenager. “My fi…
Profile: Parker O’Bannon
May 17, 2019
■ BY SUE ERWIN Persistent and adventurous is a perfect description for Capt. Parker O’Bannon. He is a sixth-generation Floridian born in Fort Myers and raised in Boca Grande. He is an only child, a…
Profile: Tricia Heaton
May 10, 2019
■ BY SUE ERWIN Tricia Heaton describes herself as a needlepointing, party throwing, traveling bookworm. An eternal optimist who sees beauty in everything, she almost always has a camera in hand. Bo…
Profile: Janet Johnson
May 3, 2019
Janet Johnson has one of the most scenic views she has ever had from a desk job. Her current position with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as administrative assistant at Gasparil…