Jay Heater

5 days ago | yourobserver.com | Jay Heater

It was her first time celebrating Mother's Day as a mom, and Star Farms' Justine Morehart said she had come to the right place. Waterside Place hosted a special event for moms on May 10 that was highlighted by the Petals and Poses fashion show. "This is surreal to me," said Morehart, who was carrying her 6-month-old daughter, Mabel.  "I am so full of joy."She said Lakewood Ranch knows how to throw an event. "This is the best thing in the world," she said.

6 days ago | yourobserver.com | Jay Heater

As the new L.L. Bean store was about to open on Friday morning at 111 North Cattlemen Road in the UTC plaza, various guest speakers were sweating outside the store in the hot morning sun. Not to worry, as everyone, including more than 100 customers waiting in line for the doors to open, were told that the store had plenty of hot weather apparel available. Kenon Mitchell, L.L. Bean's District 4 manager (Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, and now Florida) was excited to get started.

1 week ago | yourobserver.com | Jay Heater

East County's Mark Coates, the co-founder of the Beds for Kids nonprofit, had delivered a bed to a Bradenton family in need in 2020, and had finished setting it up. He was ready to leave the home, but first asked the family members if they would say a prayer with him. The bed was for a 6-year-old girl, who bowed her head to pray. She had seen the Scripture verses that a volunteer had written on the slats of her new bed.

1 week ago | yourobserver.com | Jay Heater

So first, a brief understanding of "transparency" with a definition from Merriam-Webster. "Transparency means the quality or state of being transparent, free from pretense or deceit, and readily understood. In essence, it describes the ability to be seen through or understood easily, without hidden elements."I wanted to be transparent if I was going to write about transparency. It was a word used often during the last election, when Manatee County Commission candidates were campaigning.

2 weeks ago | yourobserver.com | Jay Heater

It becomes almost expected, which is kind of a dangerous thing when you are talking about charity. But Bob Smith and his Lakewood Ranch golf and poker buddies have managed to raise more money than the previous year each and every year for the Stillpoint Mission of Bradenton. This year's check was $84,017, which was a nice jump from the 2024 Stillpoint Appeal Drive that was a record $77,424. The 14-year total, since Smith first organized the drive, is $467,639. Wow.