The next time you see our local firefighters out selling their shirts or cooking up barbecue, remember why it is they do what they do. The answer is simple – they do what they do to help their friends and the community in times of need.

The Boca Grande Firefighter’s Association, Inc. is a non-profit organization created in 2009 to help firefighters and their families in times of strife. Even before that, though, our local firefighters were finding ways to give back to the community. Each year they would pool together what money they could between them, then give it to an island family who needed a little extra help for Christmas.

Did you know that COWs can dance? They surely can, and we saw it happening on the morning of Sunday, April 30 and into the following day. Strong storms with tornadic activity and high winds ripped through the area, leaving one COW (cell phone tower on wheels) dancing and another COW flat on its back.

Yep, we had a man down. The Verizon tower on the Bike Path north of 5th Street succumbed to the early-morning storms. It was a sad sight to see for those with Verizon service.

The Boca Grande streetlight MSBU, a.k.a. the “Iguana Board,” met on April 27 with only two of the three sitting members in attendance. That means there was no quorum, but Board Members Mark Masselink and Skip Branin did cover some topics with Lee County MSBU Manager Josh Malo. 

There are two open seats on the committee, but at least one application is expected shortly. Applications can be found at leegov.com/budget/mstbu/committees.

Last Saturday, April 29, Boca Grande participated in the National PanCan Purple Stride event with our own 1.5 mile walk. All funds raised will be used to increase research and support for those people affected by pancreatic cancer.

What started as a small grassroots effort to honor Mary Tucker and support Priscilla Masselink blossomed into 220 people gathering under the Sunshade in the Community Center, raising over $65,000 and placing our little team in 12th place in the nation.