From the Editor

On page 18, you’ll see the 13 faces of our Community Advisory Board members. You may wonder just what these people do besides lend their names and photos to a publication’s pages. Well, I’m just finishing my first year with Gulfshore Life, and am happy to tell you they’ve been my springboard to understanding and capturing the spirit of Gulfshore life for our readers. Here’s a little show and tell on them:

GUIDING LIGHT Denise Cobb, our chairperson, insisted on an early visit to Immokalee that was not only one of my most moving days here, but resulted in a subsequent story on one family’s life there. Denise, who is wise to the ways the community works, set us up with a fine story on Dawn Hoffman’s first year as the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Portugal and directed me to other helping hands along the way.

ANCHORS AWEIGH Kellie Burns-Garvey, blithe spirit and NBC2 anchor, takes the pulse of the community and reports back on trends and players. Through her good offices, we got the access to do a story on who decides what you watch every night on the evening news.

PRINCE OF DRAMA Bob Cacioppo, the force behind the Florida Repertory Theatre, has written powerfully about his creative process and his passion for introducing kids to the theater. His knowledge of good food helps, too.

BRIGHT IDEAS Suzanne Chute tipped us to the dancing craze here and a number of good stories on people doing creative things to help others.

SHE GETS AROUND Mary Susan Clinton, with her sensitivity and social conscience, alerts us to the great causes and right people to take note of.

GOOD (LIVELY) COUNSEL Joe Cox, superlawyer and bon vivant, knows all the colorful history and helps us zero in on the key issues. He puts a mischievous sense of fun in play as well.

MASTER BUILDER Todd Gates, affable and astute chairman of Gates McVey, shares his keen insights on the business environment and how to make life in paradise even better.

BIG HEART Frank Haskell devotes his days to helping kids with cancer and keeping us up on child-care issues. He inspired "The Little Hospital That Could" story.

STEADY HAND Sandra Hesse, proud parent and resourceful host, keeps us focused on what’s important to our readers.

THE ADVOCATE Kim Long, with brio and warmth, fights for those who need help the most and was a valuable resource for our story on whether our kids are getting the lives they deserve.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE Garrett Richter, State Representative, District 76, throws out issues, solutions and bon mots as easily as he breathes.

PASSIONS, INC. Elliott H. Singer touts us on local heroes and knaves and what we must do to upgrade our quality of life.

MR. GOLF Bruce Yamron keeps us wired into the golf scene and, yes, the business community as well.

We came across this poignant story from a woman in the community: "You know that movie with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler called 50 First Dates?" she says. "Well it reminds me of my life in Southwest Florida. I’m fast approaching that number with 31 notches on my Gucci belt and no Adam Sandler on my arm.