Tallahassee Magazine September-October 2021

VISIT THE BEACH: RELAX, RECHARGE, RECONNECT

Rescuing the World’s Oceans Sealife guard Steve Roden is marine to the core

SPLASHY

Just add water: Fountains provide captivating energy

QUICK

Performance car enthusiasts leave it all on the track

BOLD

Lilian Garcia-Roig’s creations make powerful statements

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6 September-October 2021

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Contents

SEPT/OCT 2021

FEATURES

70

TRACK STARS

76

CHARGE CARS

80

PETER BOULWARE

Dr. Scott Tetreault, an accomplished oncologist, never has had time for golf. In the years since he owned his first car, a Subaru Brat that he described as a “beer can,” Tetreault developed a passion for fine vintage automobiles. More recently, that liking has come to include cars that go really fast.

A year ago, a friend who is a Ferrari dealer invited him to the Atlanta Motorsports Park in Dawsonville, Georgia. As it happened, Tetreault had just acquired a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4. When car, track and driver came together, the doctor found that circling a track at 130 mph is just the prescription he needed for stress relief.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States is currently the second-largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, with transportation accounting for a whopping 29 percent of those emissions.

That reality has prompted public policy shifts and increased consumer demand for greener travel and alternative energy sources. Soon, charging stations will become as common as convenience stores. We take close looks at two all-electric vehicles — the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Chevrolet Bolt — and a hybrid, the Toyota Highlander. Tesla, it seems, is up against a growing number of charged-up competitors.

At the conclusion of his standout NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens, Peter Boulware could have chosen to live anywhere. He grew up in South Carolina and married a woman from Los Angeles, but when he retired, he opted to return to Tallahassee, a city to which he feels indebted; it was here that he came to national prominence playing for Bobby Bowden. Today, as the owner of Peter Boulware Toyota, he is all about treating people well and right. He talks about service, not wheelbases. The Toyota brand all but sells itself, leaving Boulware with time to devote to the leadership academy he has founded.

by HANNAH BURKE

by HANNAH BURKE

by STEVE BORNHOFT

photography by DAVE BARFIELD

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Contents

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48

Roden, by virtue of a “failure at retirement,” has joined forces with Guy Harvey in promoting a conservation ethic and stewardship of the world’s marine environments.

pumpkin tableware, seasonal cocktail ingredients and candles infused with cinnamon, shop owners are embracing fall.

Attorney R. Michael Underwood is a collector of books, a storehouse of knowledge and a student of history.

For him, cerebral challenges are a source of joy.

43 FASHION Headlines,

popular culture and the horrifying world of politics are all likely to influence Halloween costume selections this year.

Many folks find costume components at thrift shops.

55 DINING OUT Chef Sam

Burgess’ curiosity about cultures has resulted in a unique combination of influences on the menu at his Pineappétit restaurant.

48 CITIZEN OF STYLE

Jamee Wright grew up a tomboy and had to be dragged into feminine realms. The one-time

8 September-October 2021

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congressman Allen Boyd has found a way to sell beef produced on his ranch in Madison County directly to consumers who appreciate its freshness.

Lilian Garcia-Roig will unite her artistic sensibilities and the botanical studies of a great uncle.

94 BOOKS The authors

of three disparate works have this in common: Rowland Publishing helped each of them get their writings into print.

EXPRESSION

60 LIBATIONS Wine

enthusiasts who are departing from conventional food pairings have begun to wonder why they felt bound to adhere to them for so long.

64 DINING IN Former

85 MUSIC Singer/

songwriter and Gadsden County native Billy Dean has returned to Florida from Nashville to be closer to his mother and his roots. He has been excited to discover that you can go home again.

ABODES

90 ART With a fellowship awarded her by the Guggenheim Foundation, FSU art professor and department chair

141 INTERIORS Today’s

advanced aquarists create miniature reefs in their homes, complete with fishes, invertebrates and living corals.

148 EXTERIORS Fountains,

23

a fixture since ancient times, continue to make a splash in backyards and at businesses. Styles range from the traditional to highly contemporary.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Smoothies deliver nutrition, protein and bursts of energy with wholesome ingredients.

» SMOOTHIES » ALLEN BOYD » BILLY DEAN

36 PERSONALITY

PETER BOULWARE

GASTRO & GUSTO

P ANACHE

52 WHAT’S IN STORE With

TALLAHASSEE MAGAZINE

26 CHAMPION Steve

14 16 18 162 166 170

PUBLISHER’S LETTER EDITOR’S COLUMN FEEDBACK SOCIAL STUDIES DINING GUIDE POSTSCRIPT

VISIT THE BEACH: RELAX, RECHARGE, RECONNECT

Rescuing the World’s Oceans Sealife guard Steve Roden is marine to the core

SPLASHY

Just add water: Fountains provide captivating energy

QUICK

Performance car enthusiasts leave it all on the track

ON THE COVER:

BOLD

Lilian Garcia-Roig’s creations make powerful statements

Knowledge entrepreneur Steve Roden is working these days to ensure that students in Florida and around the world are familiarized with marine ecosystems and their critical importance to the health of the planet. As the CEO of Guy Harvey Enterprises and a co-chairman of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Roden has discovered an opportunity to combine his passion for the natural world with his facility at delivering instruction. In travels with scientist, artist and businessman Dr. Guy Harvey, Roden has seen firsthand the calamitous effects of climate change and overfishing on marine resources. He trusts that education will bring about a culture of stewardship capable of saving the world’s oceans.

Photo by Dave Barfield

PHOTOS BY SAIGE ROBERTS (48), DAVE BARFIELD (55), BILL LAX / COURTESY OF OPENING NIGHTS (85) AND SMOOTHIE TIME (23)

323

to plant late-season vegetables and seed wildflower beds for springtime blooms.

IN EVERY ISSUE

85

employee of a sports marketing firm is now a makeup and fashion consultant.

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September-October 2021

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Contents

SEPT/OCT 2021

SPECIAL SECTIONS AND PROMOTIONS

32

FALL FUN The Tallahassee Museum offers assorted events, activities and outdoor displays as the weather starts to cool.

40

121

LEADING LADIES The

Women United annual Women’s Leadership Breakfast recognizes women in leadership roles across the Big Bend. The event includes remarks and a call to action from an inspirational speaker.

↑ VISIT NORTHWEST FLORIDA BEACHES In this special section, we touch on much of what the Emerald Coast has to offer. We explore the depths with free divers; meet a photographer focused on the waters of the Gulf; chat up a theater director; and detail attractions at the beach and beyond.

50

↑ ARM CANDY The Gem Collection sets style standards with the best in bangles and bracelets.

68

EFFIE EXTRAS

Hotel Effie makes vacations memorable with five-star dining, luxury rooms, enviable amenities and the only rooftop bar in the region.

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Come for the grand accommodations, and stay for the food. The Beach Walk Cafe at the Henderson Park Inn delights with a decadent menu and astounding views.

Cancer Specialists’ special report discusses cancer patient and family resources and includes oncologist profiles, survivor stories and news of the grand opening of the Tallahassee Cancer Center.

NEXT ISSUE

RAISE A GLASS

The Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation’s Harvest Wine & Food Festival features a cornucopia of premier wines and epicurean delights all in the name of philanthropy.

DEAL ESTATE A beautiful Betton Hills home is welcoming new owners sure to enjoy the pool, spa and private backyard along with updated furnishings and plenty of entertaining space.

GRILL GAME Esposito Lawn &

CANCER CARE Florida

138

152

Garden Center has just what you need to conquer backyard barbecuing. In a word: Napoleon.

97

LUX EATS

146

↑ FALL FLORA The experts at

Esposito Lawn & Garden Center are ready to assist you in finding seasonal plants and designing garden spaces.

156

CALENDAR Fall festivities

abound with wine, beer and food festivals, live concerts, theatrical performances, charitable events and the Best of Tallahassee awards.

Best of Tallahassee Winners ◆ Holiday Gift Guide ◆ Medical Profiles PROMOTION

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PHOTOS BY SEAN MURPHY (121) AND COURTESY OF THE GEM COLLECTION (50) AND ESPOSITO LAWN & GARDEN CENTER (146)

124

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Membership is open to anyone in Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Madison and Wakulla counties.4 Offer subject to change without notice. There are costs associated with the use of this card. For specific information call 800-367-6440 or write us at P.O. Box 147029, Gainesville, FL 32614. 1. Rewards are credited based on purchases with CAMPUS Platinum Rewards Mastercard. Cash advances and balance transfers do not qualify for rewards points. 2. Rewards are credited based on purchases with CAMPUS Platinum Rewards Mastercard. Cash advances and balance transfers do not qualify for rewards points. $750 in purchases is tracked per billing cycle from the date of card opening. 3. Balance Transfer promotional rate available 7/1/2021-10/15/2021 only. Promotional Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for Balance Transfer is 3.9% and will be effective for 12 billing cycles after the cycle in which the transfer takes place; then the rate on transferred balances will change to the then-current purchase APR consistent with the Cardholder Agreement. The Annual Percentage Rate is a variable rate for Platinum Rewards Mastercard and is based on the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate (index), plus a margin.

The margin is based on certain creditworthiness criteria. The APR is as low as 10.15% as of 3/17/2021 which is determined by adding together the index and the margin applicable to the card type and the consumer’s credit. The APR could change without notice. APR not to exceed 17.99%. 4. Credit approval and initial $5 deposit required. Other restrictions may apply.

Mastercard and the Mastercard Brand Mark are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated, used pursuant to a license. Insured by the NCUA. TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

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Creating a New

You

TALLAHASSEE MAGAZINE VOL. 44, NO. 5

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BRIAN E. ROWLAND ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER MCKENZIE BURLEIGH

EDITORIAL EXECUTIVE EDITOR Steve Bornhoft SENIOR STAFF WRITER Emma Witmer STAFF WRITER Hannah Burke CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Marina Brown, Bob Ferrante, Fred Garth, Sandra Halvorson, Ph.D, Les Harrison, Sam Howard, Rochelle Koff, Tim Linafelt, Rebecca Padgett Frett, Audrey Post

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VICE PRESIDENT / PRODUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY Daniel Vitter CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jennifer Ekrut ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Lindsey Masterson SENIOR PUBLICATION DESIGNERS Sarah Burger, Shruti Shah PUBLICATION DESIGNER Jordan Harrison GRAPHIC DESIGNER Sierra Thomas CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Dave Barfield, Matt Burke, Shems Hamilton, John Harrington, Scott Holstein, Kansas Pitts Photography, Land Air Sea Productions, Bill Lax, Ryals Lee, Lindsey Masterson, Russell Mick, PhotoGraphique, Saige Roberts, Sean Murphy

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Richard J-P Bastien, DMD Lauren A. Weir, DMD W. Harrison Miller, DMD

GIVING TALLAHASSEE A REASON TO SMILE! Family & Cosmetic Dentistry

OPERATIONS CUSTOM PUBLISHING MANAGER Sara Goldfarb CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE/AD SERVICE COORDINATOR Sarah Coven CUSTOM PUBLISHING EDITOR Jeff Price PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION SPECIALIST Melinda Lanigan STAFF BOOKKEEPER Amber Dennard

DIGITAL SERVICES DIGITAL EDITOR Janecia Britt

TALLAHASSEE MAGAZINE tallahasseemagazine.com facebook.com/tallahasseemag twitter.com/tallahasseemag instagram.com/tallahasseemag pinterest.com/tallahasseemag youtube.com/user/tallahasseemag ROWLAND PUBLISHING rowlandpublishing.com

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CUSTOMER SERVICE & SUBMISSIONS Tallahassee Magazine and Rowland Publishing, Inc. are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. Editorial contributions are welcomed and encouraged but will not be returned. Tallahassee Magazine reserves the right to publish any letters to the editor.

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Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

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13

from the publisher

HORSEPOWER, CATTLE AND HIGH SEAS My five-decade love affair with cars began when I bought a brand new 1970 Fiat 850 Sport with money I made mowing lawns.

As a car guy, I love every aspect of my current ride, including the experience of driving it and the satisfaction I derive from keeping it in meticulous shape. With few exceptions, I spend two hours on Sunday detailing my car until it is showroom clean. Then, on Monday, when I slip behind the wheel for the drive to work, it just feels good.

I have many friends for whom an automobile is simply a means of transportation. That crowd gives me a hard time about my clean-car compulsion — I do treat it like a person — but their vehicles, I would bet, have sand in them from 2010.

I hope you will enjoy the feature stories in this edition of Tallahassee Magazine about people who love their cars, people who love the cars they sell and people who are gearing up for the approaching wave of electric vehicles. For people like me, an investment in a car that is powerful and attractive is money well spent.

While driving a couple of months ago to St. George Island, I stopped at a roadside setup where a couple was selling cuts of beef from a refrigerated truck. I soon realized that the seller in jeans and a ball cap was a dressed-down former congressman Allen Boyd, who was accompanied by his wife Jeannie. I enjoyed a conversation with Allen about the cattle industry and left

14 September-October 2021

with a cooler stocked with beef raised on his ranch.

In reading executive editor Steve Bornhoft’s story about Allen’s operation, I learned that the consumer who buys a cut of beef in the grocery store is often the eighth owner of that meat. Knowing that, I feel even better about buying from Allen’s direct-to-consumer business.

Rowland Publishing, as I’ve noted previously, has become a strategic partner of Guy Harvey Enterprises and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation. The Guy Harvey brand is familiar to countless people given Dr. Harvey’s success as an artist and as a merchandiser of T-shirts and other items that are decorated with his paintings of marine scenes.

Tallahassee’s own Steve Roden, also featured in these pages, is the CEO of Guy Harvey Enterprises and co-chairman of the Ocean Foundation. He is working to take the business to its next level of national and global success while also working to advance the foundation’s efforts to establish marine science curriculum in public schools throughout Florida and beyond.

We publish Guy Harvey Magazine and are developing integrated marketing packages that we plan to put in front of prominent companies who might like to align themselves with Guy Harvey and its marine conservation ethic. I will have updates on our relationship with Guy Harvey in months to come.

Coastal communities in our region had banner summers, and I am

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

confident that football season and other events will fill hotel rooms in Tallahassee this fall. As I write this, anticipation about the excitement that the Capital City experiences after school resumes is building.

Bobby Bowden, to be sure, never would have intended that his passing dampen that excitement for even a moment. We lost a great man in Coach Bowden, someone who changed the trajectory of our sport, FSU and our city.

Go Noles! Go Rattlers!

BRIAN ROWLAND PUBLISHER browland@rowlandpublishing.com

PHOTO BY SCOTT HOLSTEIN / ROWLAND PUBLISHING FILE PHOTO

Our magazine succeeds by reflecting diverse interests

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September-October 2021

15

from the editor

SO HAPPY TOGETHER

Is it possible to manifest a happening by reading about such a thing and visualizing it?

No question.

Do so intensely enough, and you will be unable to separate yourself from the occurrence that you envision.

It will happen.

I frequented a gym once where the bodybuilder in charge told me on Day 1 that the necessary first step in bringing about physical transformation is to visualize the desired result.

A day later, I removed a wad of gum from my mouth as I approached the gym and tossed it toward a trash barrel outside the front door, missing it.

“You forgot to visualize,” the coach said. Funny, he could be.

But I am speaking here to something serious, mystical and even disturbing, and lying far beyond trainer’s tricks or the tendency of some people to insist that mere coincidences equate to meaningful synchronicity, destiny even.

This morning, I repaired to a crowded beach for a swim. While drying in the sun on my towel, I read a fiction piece

by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh in The New Yorker. It revolves around a young man who works as a receptionist/typist at an art gallery in Aspen.

He is surrounded by the work of abstractionists, and before long, he begins to view the world and himself through an abstractionist lens. The art becomes his reality, and he is reduced to his own “component parts.” He is un-whole.

I was, by the way, the only person on the beach reading a hard copy of anything. Vapers, though, were countless, and tattooed ladies outnumbered those without body art. These are no ordinary troubles we have embarked upon.

This disconnectedness and unwholeness that Sayrafiezadeh suggests

16 September-October 2021

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is at a less than far remove from the notion of “having a wreck with yourself” that the poet Barbara Hamby, who made an appearance in the July/ August edition of Tallahassee Magazine, has written about.

Her poem on the subject of selfimposed calamity hung about me for weeks, caused me to recall past mess-ups and created in me the eerie sensation that I was due for another.

Then it happened.

After a day spent unexpectedly catching tarpon, I rinsed off my boat in my driveway and then went to back it into the garage as I had countless times before. A wet flip-flop slipped from the brake to the accelerator and I punched a hole in the garage wall.

Quite fortunately, I hit a spot located between studs.

This is the kind of episode one turns over in his mind many times and that may lead to a meeting with a skilled young drywaller, whom I would recommend to anybody.

In an effort to make myself feel better, I blamed the accident on the Hamby poem and inevitable manifestation resulting from too precise visualization.

And, I reached out to an old English professor of mine, knowing that he would be good for consolation — “Oh, I’ve done a lot worse than that,” he was sure to say. I was a student at a small school in northernmost Wisconsin when the professor led me through a class on Renaissance poetry and another on Ernest Hemingway.

I once announced to him that I was working on a collapsible icefishing shanty. “Everything I build is collapsible,” he said.

We hunted ducks together once from a canoe — what could possibly go wrong? — and I knocked down only

slow, fish-eating ducks, worthless as table fare, and he fired at more desirable ducks without success.

“You’ve got the mullies, and I’ve got the mergansers,” I said. He’s never forgotten that. Neither of us was likely to harvest a wood duck or a bufflehead or even a teal or a mallard and had become so accustomed to not doing so that we failed, I’m sure, to visualize such an outcome.

At the beach this morning, I proceeded down the dune walkover to the sand with an abundance of caution.

Its planks are made from recycled plastic, and invariably, they are coated in a layer of finely grained sand. The effect is that of a dance floor sprinkled with sawdust. There are weathered, real-wood handrails along the walkover, but they are collections of splinters, really, and best avoided.

I made a point of seeing myself making it to the beach uninjured and intact, not a jangle of component parts.

Look on the bright side,

STEVE BORNHOFT, EXECUTIVE EDITOR sbornhoft@rowlandpublishing.com

PHOTO BY SAIGE ROBERTS / ROWLAND PUBLISHING FILE PHOTO

Taking a ‘whole-istic’ approach to the art of living

B I G B E N D | E M E R A L D C O A S T | F O R G O T T E N C O A S T | W E L L- C O N N E C T E D . H I G H L Y E F F E C T I V E .

community-minded For over 15 years, Hill Spooner & Elliott, Inc. has enjoyed and been committed to serving and supporting local charities. This business is about more than numbers. It’s about people, their needs and making our community a better place to live. We believe the real meaning in life never comes from what you get, it comes from what you give. Live your best life.

HILLSPOONER.COM 8 5 0 . 9 0 7. 2 0 5 1 TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

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↓

Feedback

GOVC 1121 - TALLY MAG AD SEPT-OCT 2018

gastro & gusto

‘An Incredibly Rewarding Experience’

←

Cypress Restaurant chef David Gwynn strikes a pose in the restaurant’s more quick-and-casual bar area.

In an open letter to valued customers and friends including Tallahassee Magazine, Elizabeth and David Gwynn reflected upon their years as the owners and operators of Cypress Restaurant; extended appreciation for the steadfast support they received; and thanked the employees who contributed greatly to the business’s success. As an eatery and an experience, Cypress Restaurant will be missed by many.

DINING OUT

BRANCHING OUT As husband and wife start new ventures, their Cypress Restaurant remains a Tallahassee staple

by ROSANNE DUNKELBERGER

58

Dear Tallahassee Magazine, It is mind-blowing to think that it had been 21+ years since we opened Cypress Restaurant. It was an incredibly rewarding experience full of wonderful people, food and drink. It went by so fast. We would have loved to continue for another 21 years, but we are older and wiser and, well, just that — we are older and wiser. So it was that Cypress Restaurant’s last day of operation was July 24.

We owe the longevity of our success to both our customers and employees.

Our customers are simply the best. They appreciated our efforts and offerings and supported us during the toughest times. We are honored that they chose to dine with us.

We would not have been where we were without all the incredibly talented staff members who believed in us and the

T

he story of Cypress Restaurant, celebrating its 19th anniversary in business this year, is about as Tallahassee as it gets.

Proprieter/chef/spouses David and Elizabeth Gwynn are fifth-generation Leon Countians. Old-timers remember Cypress’ location on the corner of Tennessee Street and Gadsden Street as home to the landmark Garcia’s Restaurant for 37 years. Not-soold-timers may recall its short history as Buffalo’s Wings and Rings.

David Gwynn’s mother, Noanne Gwynn, was a partner in the Upper Crust in the ’70s, the first restaurant in the newly built Carriage Gate center. Over the years, the location that now houses Grub Burger Bar would be occupied by other restaurants including chef Jack Shoop’s Jacques’ Upper Crust and the ever-popular Georgio’s.

David Gwynn would be introduced to the food business when the self-styled “good son” would help his mom cater local soirees for years afterward (Noanne Gwynn’s longtime friend and sorority sister was another local catering/restauranteur legend, Nella Schomburger).

But he says the Tallahassee tale of Cypress was literally an inch away from never happening.

After marriage, graduating college and working in the beer and wine business for a few years (in that order), Gwynn decided to attend the Culinary Institute of America in New York for formal training. After graduating there, the couple made their way to Dallas, and David worked in the kitchen at the Mansion on Turtle Creek. After nearly three years in that job, David and Elizabeth

March–April 2019 TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

photography by SAIGE ROBERTS

wanted to strike out on their own with a build-your-own pasta restaurant concept.

“I’m about an inch away from the paper to sign a lease,” he recalled, “and I was like, ‘Do I really want to live in Dallas for the rest of my life?’” With two young boys, then 6 and almost 3, the pair shifted gears and moved back to their hometown, hoping to introduce Tallahassee to a true Southern-style fine dining experience.

The novice restauranteurs had just enough time after Cypress’ opening in April 2000 to “get our feet under us” when the presidential recount started that November. With a guestbook filled with political heavy hitters — Karl Rove, Warren Christopher and James Baker, to name a few — and reporters from a pantheon of news outlets, the little 84-seat restaurant’s word-ofmouth reputation went around the world.

But an ever-changing menu of creative twists on traditional foods have kept Cypress as a perennial Best of Tallahassee honoree as a fine-dining special-occasion restaurant, as well as landing it a spot in Florida Trend’s Golden Spoon Hall of Fame.

While grateful for the honors, Gwynn sometimes feels Cypress is a victim of its own reputation. Too many local people consider it a place to celebrate only the grand occasions — birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and such — but don’t necessarily think to visit more than once or twice a year. While there is the option to dress up and enjoy a multi-course, leisurely meal with entrees ranging from $24 to $38, the restaurant’s bar area is more quick-and-casual with its own menu of reasonably priced tapas, a $12 Cypress Burger and grilled fish tacos.

“Sometimes we’ll get parents whose kids may have a nighttime practice at Leon High, so they’ll come up here and grab a drink while they’re waiting on the kids, or some people may stop before they go to an FSU basketball game,” Gywnn said.

That high-priced entrée is Sugar Cane Mopped Rib Eye, which has been a staple on the Cypress menu, along with the starters Cypress Oysters & Biscuits and Fried Grouper Cheeks. Online reviewers have also raved about the Grilled Hangar Steak, Grilled Lamb Rack and Shrimp & Grits. Not a selfish chef, Gwynn has recipes posted on the restaurant website (cypressrestaurant.com/recipes) for those who might want to recreate a few favorites at home.

That bar burger was the impetus for another of the Gwynns’ ventures, Vertigo Burgers and Fries, which opened in the old Looper’s location off Apalachee Parkway in 2012. For those Dinner Monday–Saturday who would like a little Opens at 5 p.m.

Cypress comfort food for 320 E. Tennessee St. breakfast and lunch, they (850) 513-1100 opened Grove Market Café cypressrestaurant.com on Market Street. TM

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business we created. Thank you for helping us grow and thrive. Special thanks go to two original employees, Caroline (Brewster) Richter and Lee Harris, who went above and beyond for us with their individual sacrifices and contributions.

(and palates) to the world of wine, beer and spirits and who helped guide customers through almost two decades of our popular wine dinners. Thank you all.

We are appreciative of the honors we received over the years from Tallahassee Magazine and Florida Trend magazine.

Both our customers and employees were instrumental in our receiving that recognition for our efforts.

Above all else, we extend infinite love to our families, especially our two sons.

When we opened, they were toddlers and are now young men. We are so proud of them. We dragged them into the crazy life of restaurateurs.

We will forever cherish the wonderful relationships we made along the way — from the incredibly gifted artists and musicians who shared their talents within our space, to the local farmers and producers who allowed us to offer locally produced goods before doing so was trendy, to the beverage vendors who opened our eyes

Although Cypress has closed, you can still see our sweet, smiling faces when you visit Vertigo Burgers and Fries and the Grove Market Café.

March–April 2019

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Again, thank you all for a wonderful experience.

ELIZABETH AND DAVID GWYNN TALLAHASSEE

SERVING IN FLORIDA & GEORGIA

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WIN!

A 2022 ACURA MDX

THERE IS NO CURE FOR TYPE 1 DIABETES But your raffle ticket purchase will help children in our region manage the devastating effects of this disease.

Each ticket enters your name in the drawing for a 2022 Acura MDX, valued at $48,425. Only 1,250 tickets will be sold. Proceeds benefit the Proctor Endowment for Children with Diabetes and the programs and services of the Tallahassee Memorial Metabolic Health Center. Tickets at TMH.ORG/TOFT. Ticket sales start mid August.

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Drawing will be held on November 7 at approximately 7:30 pm at Lake Iamonia Lodge, 379 Iamonia Farms Road, Tallahassee, FL 32312.

Winner does not have to be present. For complete rules and details, call 850-431-4590 or visit TMH.ORG/TOFT.

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PROMOTION

TALLAHASSEEMAGAZINE.COM GIVEAWAY

Win a trip to this year’s Baytowne Wharf Beer Festival to be held at The Village of Baytowne Wharf at Sandestin. The prize package includes two tickets to the event on Saturday, Oct. 9, plus hotel accommodations courtesy of the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. A winner will be selected on Friday, Sept. 17.

To enter, visit TallahasseeMagazine.com/ baytowne-wharf-beer-festival-giveaway.

2021

PESKY PESTS

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BEST OF TALLAHASSEE Will you be tuning in?

When surveying the brown patches on your lawn, your first thought is likely that it’s not receiving enough water. According to Ralph Esposito at Esposito Lawn & Garden Center, sod webworms are more likely the culprit. Go to TallahasseeMagazine.com/homegarden-links to learn more.

The time has arrived! The Best of Tallahassee broadcast will air on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 p.m. during Live! In Tallahassee on FOX 49. Tune in to find out which local businesses our devoted readers say deserve the distinction of “Best Of” in your favorite categories for 2021–22. Find out more about this year’s Best of Tallahassee celebration by visiting TallahasseeMagazine.com/ best-of-tallahassee.

GREEN WITH ENVY A bold, bright green, it’s impossible not to notice the exquisiteness of peridot.

While the stone has charisma and character, The Gem Collection says it also has an interesting past. Learn more at TallahasseeMagazine.com/style-links.

TALLY TOP PET It’s Time to Submit Your Tally Top Pet Nominations Nominations are now live for the 2022 Tally Top Pet photo contest! After a hotly contested year that saw Alice the pit bull crowned the 2021 top pet, Tally Top Pet has returned for another year of barks, meows and chirps, all to benefit Be The Solution and provide free spay and neuter services to the immediate and surrounding communities.

If you’d like to submit your pet for this year’s contest, head over to TallahasseeMagazine.com/tally-top-pet.

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PHOTOS BY DAVE BARFIELD (TALLY TOP PET) AND COURTESY SANDESTIN GOLF AND BEACH RESORT (BAYTOWNE WHARF BEER FESTIVAL), ESPOSITO LAWN & GARDEN CENTER AND THE GEM COLLECTION

Win two tickets to this year’s Baytowne Wharf Beer Festival!

YOU CAN STILL BRING CARE AND COMFORT TO LOCAL PATIENTS FIGHTING CANCER.

Although we can’t enjoy Cards for a Cure in person this year due to COVID-19, patients fighting cancer still need your support. Cards for a Cure generates critical funding that helps patients without health insurance access life-saving PET scans, MRIs and mammograms. Your support also helps provide lodging and transportation for patients who must travel to Tallahassee for treatments.

New patients are diagnosed daily.

Your generosity makes a life-or-death difference for them.

Give today at TMH.ORG/Cards.

BENEFITING PATIENTS AT THE TALLAHASSEE MEMORIAL CANCER CENTER

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PROFILING THE PURSUITS, PASSIONS AND PERSONALITIES AMONG US

THE

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Don’t judge a smoothie by its color

↓

GOING FOR THE GREEN PHOTO COURTESY OF SMOOTHIE TIME

by BOB FERRANTE

CHAMPION

Saving Our Seas

|| PERSONALITY

A Gentlemanly Scholar

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←

GRASSHOPPER

Erick Smith devoted a week to experimenting with smoothie ingredients.

His winning combinations included the Grasshopper, made with kale, mango, green apple and apple juice.

E

rick Smith subscribes to the theory that you eat with your eyes. And when you look at a green smoothie, your brain has a knee-jerk reaction and asks two questions.

What’s in it? And it may be healthy, but how bad must it taste?

Smith laughs as he watches customers’ reactions. His dad has been in the restaurant business for almost 25 years.

He had been in sales and marketing for more than 20 years before buying Smoothie Time, first launching the mobile version and then starting a smoothie/sandwich café on Capital Circle Southeast. His blend of expertise has prepared him for the different facets of the restaurant business as well as how to treat customers.

“The initial goal was to have a smoothie on your menu that’s green in color,”

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Smith said. “So that was going to be the Grasshopper, but here’s my whole thing: As I was reading, I discovered they all taste bad. All the ingredients were yuck. So the goal became, ‘How do we make it green and make it taste good?’”

Smith played around with smoothie ingredients in his driveway for a week — not months and months of taste testing — before coming up with a menu of eight items and quickly launching the business with his wife, Abby. Among those was the Grasshopper, which combines healthy vegetables like spinach, kale and chard with sweet fruits like mango and green apple. Mixing in some juice, Smith felt good about it.

That’s when Smith the smoothie maker had to turn on the sales and marketing pitch. It may not look promising. But don’t judge a smoothie by its color.

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

“It started out bottom of the barrel in sales out of all of them,” Smith said. “And now it is the second-best seller. Probably by the end of the year it will be the best seller. Because it just tastes fantastic. Once people taste it, they’re hooked on it. They tell everybody about it.”

Smith has kept his smoothie recipes simple. They are all vegan-friendly, using almond milk instead of dairy milk and no sweetener in its base recipe. (You can of course add sweetener and a variety of toppings to customize.) He also lucked into a storefront that had been restaurant and was equipped with a $20,000 water filtration system, which he thinks makes his smoothies even better.

Drive just a few miles around Tallahassee, and you will see a variety of smoothie and juice bar options, from established chains to small businesses like

Nestled among the oak trees at the entrance to Los Robles is a top venue for parties and events. Plan ahead and save on your next celebration!

↑ The smoothie menu at AXIOS luxury spa in Tallahassee includes the Breathe Easy, which combines chamomile tea, carrots, beets, apples and ginger juice. Mmmm, good — and good for you.

PHOTOS BY LINDSEY MASTERSON (AXIOS) AND ANNELEVEN / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS AND COURTESY OF SMOOTHIE TIME (GRASSHOPPER)

For more information call

Smith’s, who feel they have landed a piece of the popular and growing market. The smoothie business isn’t new, but it certainly is competitive. There are smoothies that are loaded with chocolate and sugar — as loaded with calories and as sweet as a piece of cake. And there are smoothies with a mix of veggies and fruits that will fill you up and make you feel good, complementing your at-home or gym workout and help in digestion.

If you’re looking for something beyond the right mix of veggies in smoothie or juice form, Ashley Guy’s Tallulah CBD + Juicebar on Market Street offers the latest in hemp-based products. Guy opened the store in September 2019. It features a variety of CBD and Delta 8 products, from coffees and cookies to juices.

“CBD may help with stress, sleep, anxiety and pain,” Guy said. “So when you’re getting juices, not only are you getting the health benefits of juices and better digestion, but you’re getting the benefits of CBD.” Guy’s location near restaurants including Momo’s, Chicken Salad Chick and Island Wing Co. has proved ideal. While many businesses saw sales slump due to the pandemic, Guy’s business was strong as customers were looking for a way to help with stress and anxiety.

“You got a lot of stressed-out moms, a lot of stressed-out people,” Guy said. “People just want more holistic options.”

The popular Tallahassee smoothie and juice scene provides lots of alternatives.

As tempting as the high-calorie sweet smoothies are, the healthy route is to pick the smoothies or juices with the mix of vegetables and fruits that make your taste buds happy and help your body feel good, too. TM

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photography by DAVE BARFIELD

CHAMPION

SAVING OUR SEAS

Steve Roden works to spawn conservation movement

by STEVE BORNHOFT

← Steve Roden at his home in Tallahassee. The self-described knowledge entrepreneur, in his new role as co-chairman of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, is working to increase students’ appreciation and knowledge of the world’s marine environments.

H

is astrological sign is Pisces, and he grew up in St. Augustine, where he swam and surfed and worked as a lifeguard.

Steve Roden moved inland to attend Florida State University, completed undergraduate studies in economics and earned, in 1978, a master’s degree in business administration that helped launch his career as an entrepreneur, consultant and virtual learning pioneer. But he never lost his fondness for the water, fish and fishing.

So it is that Connie Harvey had no trouble talking Roden out of the retirement he began when he left what he thought would be his last job as a vice president and general manager for Conduent, a company that offers digital platforms for government and businesses.

Harvey had facilitated the acquisition by the Xerox Corporation of LearnSomething, an online learning and knowledge management company that provided solutions to pharmacy and grocery operations. Roden established the company in 2004 and headed it for 13 years. He then worked until his “retirement” for Xerox and for Conduent, which was a divestiture from that parent.

Harvey had a Guy that she wanted Roden to meet — her brother-in-law and an internationally well-known artist, scientist and conservationist, as it happens.

As a product of that meeting, Roden said, “I failed at retirement.” A Tallahassee resident, he is now the CEO of Guy Harvey Enterprises and the co-chairman of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation. He is working to establish a global movement aimed at saving marine habitats and the oceans of the world — one that will begin with the young.

“We have been working to build out a formal marine science curriculum for middle and high

school students in Florida,” Roden said. “That really is a response to the fact that environmental education instruction in the state doesn’t cover the marine environment, even though Florida is surrounded by water.”

On this day, he is fresh from a meeting with former state senator Bill Montford, the CEO at the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.

“We have made an investment to bring about a very fine marine science curriculum, and some school districts are already piloting it,” Roden said. “People like Sen. Montford can help us with the next step, getting it into broad distribution throughout the state.”

When Roden hooked up with Dr. Guy Harvey, he became familiar with the vast wealth of assets that Harvey possessed — videos, articles and papers resulting from decades of scientific research. He immediately recognized their potential as instructional materials.

Long before schools turned to online instruction as an alternative to classroom instruction, corporate America did. Large, far-flung entities had a hard time assembling employees in one place for onboarding, compliance training or other tutorials.

“So, corporate America moved to the virtual learning world, and I was in the dead center of that,” Roden said. “I created companies that were some of the first to operate in that space.”

With Guy Harvey, Roden has enthusiastically moved from the corporate environment to scholastic ones.

“I was advised a long time ago not to add anything to teachers’ plates in Florida,” he said. “They are already overflowing, so instead of building something new, we are taking assets from multiple sources and republishing them inside of Florida standards. We are TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

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taking marine science and environmental science and making it remarkably better and more engaging.”

As a result, students will take virtual field trips with Dr. Guy Harvey’s daughter Jessica as she goes diving with whale sharks. They will visit mangrove environments, witness sea turtles nesting and see the impacts of pollution, climate change and overfishing on the marine world.

“All of these things you hear about, but very few people ever get to experience them,” Roden said. “We’ve captured these experiences virtually, and we’re making them available to kids as part of their overall learning. This program would become the tip of the spear to get kids understanding and excited about the ocean and doing something about conservation and improving the future of mankind.”

Roden anticipates that schools will supplement virtual lessons with handson fieldwork that may include water testing or even shark tagging.

“I was an Eagle Scout, and looking back, I think my mom and dad probably worked harder than I did in getting me that honor,” Roden said. “If we have activities in the classroom that the students take home, and they are the kinds of things that mom and dad help

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them with, then we can advance our goal of spawning a movement of people committed to being good stewards of the marine environment.”

Roden and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation are shrewdly going about bringing on strategic partners in that effort. In Northwest Florida, they include Florida State University, Bay County Public Schools, the Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach and the St. Joe Company. Gary Ostrander, once the vice president of

research at FSU, is joining Dr. Harvey as the science advisor for the marine education program.

“We are very proud of what we are trying to make happen in Florida, but we are also trying to make this thing go worldwide,” Roden said.

To that end, the foundation has partnered with Discovery Education, an extension of the Discovery Channel.

“They are very large and privateequity backed,” Roden said, calling Discovery Education the “800-pound

↑ Steve Roden, at right, with scientist, artist, conservationist and businessman Dr. Guy Harvey. The two men are working together at the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and Guy Harvey Enterprises by virtue of Roden’s “failure at retirement.”

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE RODEN (HARVEY AND RODEN) AND JESSICA HARVEY VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP ON VIMEO (JESSICA HARVEY)

← A virtual underwater tour featuring Jessica Harvey introduces students to whale sharks and efforts by the Guy Harvey Research Institute to tag the creatures and track their movements around the world.

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May–June 2020

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gorilla in virtual learning with 50 million students and 5 million teachers across the world.”

That relationship, Roden said, may provide for the dissemination of a full array of classroom assets throughout the Water Planet.

“I’m working with people from all over,” said Roden, who described a Facebook live meeting that united him with participants from the California-based Schmidt Ocean Institute, which is doing deep-water coral research in Australia, and people from Greece, Grand Cayman, Boston and South Florida.

“We’ve got so much going on, and it is being driven from the 850 region,” Roden said.

Roden is a longtime fly-fishing enthusiast who graduated from brown and rainbow trout in freshwater to saltwater bonefish and redfish. In Dubai, he caught queenfish — “They’re like a jack crevalle on steroids,” Roden said — on a fly. At this writing, he was looking forward to a trip to Panama with Dr. Guy Harvey and hoped to add a sailfish to the list.

Time spent on the water has given Roden a refined appreciation for what the world stands to lose.

He influenced Florida to get out of the shark fin trade.

He is concerned about the activities of factory ships that are decimating fish populations to meet the demand for protein in China. He is acutely aware of the effects of nutrient pollution on Florida waters and is repulsed by the huge plastic garbage patches floating atop the Pacific.

“I am passionate about ocean Discover volunteering conservation,” Roden said. opportunities and updates on Guy His middle name is Lamar, Harvey Research which when separated into Institute scientific two words, means “the sea” in projects at ghof.org.

Spanish. TM

GET INVOLVED

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PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE RODEN

↑ A gleeful Steve Roden winds in a big one from a fighting chair aboard a sportfishing yacht as Dr. Guy Harvey looks on. Roden was a freshwater fly fisherman before he was introduced to blue water angling.

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CUSTOM CONTENT

Fall Fun for All

A

Tallahassee Museum flourishes in fall months

Northwest Florida fall is the sweet spot for being outdoors.

On the 52 acres the Tallahassee Museum inhabits, the steamy summer fades into brisk days, and the sun seeps through the fall foliage to provide a different perspective, whether it’s below on the many walkable adventures or above as you soar tree to tree via zipline.

Since opening in 1957, the Tallahassee Museum has been a family favorite for both residents and visitors. From ages 5 to 85, delight can be found, and adventure awaits with three tree-to-tree zipline courses, wildlife exhibits, a recently built aviary, an active farm, historic buildings and more.

The museum is also known for its events and for hosting groups, aspects

that will be returning this fall after they were dearly missed in 2020.

“We are excited to be open and seeing strong numbers of people visiting,” said Katherine Ashler, vice president of philanthropy at the Tallahassee Museum.

“We have reinvigorated our programs and look forward to offering events again. We are delighted to have groups back safely and comfortably.”

Community events, such as Zoobilee on Oct. 29 and Market Days during the first weekend of December, will resume this year with more anticipation than ever. Ashler also looks forward to having school groups on the grounds again, just in time to view the new guest animals arriving this autumn.

Visitors delight in getting up-close looks at rare animals. Ashler sees the

same looks of awe when families and friends connect and discover together all while absorbing the history and diversity of the Big Bend region.

With the museum fully operating, membership has become all the more valuable as it benefits the member, the museum and the community.

Membership offers perks such as discounts and free admission while also providing this nonprofit with the funds necessary to increase programming and constantly improve the facility.

“After over 60 years, we continue to evolve and provide opportunities to connect and learn,” said Ashler. “The museum is a gem in the community that holds a lot of love and tender feelings for many. The people who visit are the partners to our success.”

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FOR A DOCTOR?

At TMH Physician Partners, we care for the whole family.

Back-to-school season has arrived. As families stock up on supplies, prepare schedules and plan routines, TMH Physician Partners is here to keep your child’s health at the top of our back-to-school checklist.

TMH PHYSICIAN PARTNERS 34

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TMH Physician Partners is a community based, multispecialty provider network available through Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH). From kids and seniors to everyone in between, our practices give you the power to access a multitude of health services across the Big Bend region and exceptional specialty providers for chronic illnesses, allowing you and your family to thrive in your journey to good health.

To schedule an appointment with one of our specialty pediatric providers, ask your child’s primary care provider for a referral.

PEDIATRIC PROVIDER SPOTLIGHT Larry Deeb, MD | Pediatric Endocrinology Tallahassee Memorial Metabolic Health Center

After receiving his board certification in Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology, Larry Deeb, MD made his way back to his hometown of Tallahassee and has been taking care of children in our region for over 40 years. Active with diabetes initiatives on the state, national and international levels, Dr. Deeb takes care of children with these and other endocrine disorders at our Metabolic Health Center. He and our pediatric diabetes education team work closely with children and their families to help treat, educate, and support them in their ongoing diabetes management. Here are some of the common conditions treated by Dr. Deeb: •

Diabetes

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Turner syndrome

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Thyroid disorders

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Adrenal gland disorders

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Early onset of puberty

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As a pediatric neuropsychologist, Allison Moltisanti, PhD, is specially trained to evaluate children who have medical and/or neurodevelopmental conditions affecting their cognitive functioning. Standardized tests are used to measure a child’s neurodevelopmental progress and to characterize cognitive areas of strength and weakness. Dr. Moltisanti interprets these test results and writes an individualized report describing your child’s cognitive abilities. Dr. Moltisanti sees patients between the ages of 3 - 17 who have experienced: •

Epilepsy

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Prenatal drug exposure

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Pediatric cancers

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Head trauma

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Genetic disorders

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Autism spectrum disorder

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Hydrocephalus

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Neurofibromatosis

Chronic heart/breathing problems and more

Jane Hernandez, LMHC | Child and Adolescent Therapy Tallahassee Memorial Behavioral Health Center

Jane Hernandez, LMHC earned her Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Stetson University, bringing years of experience to our Child & Adolescent Therapy Clinic at the Tallahassee Memorial Behavioral Health Center.

After working alongside various community-based mental health programs centered around youth and their families, Jane’s approach to conducting therapy includes cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based interventions, expressive arts and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, she helps pediatric patients cope with: • Depression and anxiety

• Substance use

• Stress management

• Trauma

• Emotional dysregulation

• Family and other relationships

• Anger management TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

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→ Attorney Michael Underwood is a collector of knowledge whose interests span millenia and include numerous disciplines. “Toiling in the mind” is for him a source of undying amusement.

PERSONALITY

A GENTLEMANLY SCHOLAR Michael Underwood’s pursuit of knowledge is unending

by MARINA BROWN

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P

retend you are hosting a dinner for Nobel Prize winners.

In order for the event to go smoothly, you need a fitting dinner companion to sit beside world experts in literature, science, religion, history, poetry, technology, architecture, music, politics and other realms of knowledge.

The problem is that you have only one Michael Underwood and don’t know how to go about cloning him.

Tallahassee attorney R. Michael Underwood is a polymath, a Renaissance man, who is equipped to discuss with equal aplomb Islamic architecture, the poetry of Auden, the Periodic Table or the Peloponnesian War. Underwood, who established his own practice after working at the State Controller’s Office for much of his career, said in Wordsworthian fashion that he loves “toiling in the garden of the mind.” But there is nothing snooty or affected about him.

Rather, Underwood is perennially like the bright child photography by SAIGE ROBERTS

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THE

323 just off the elementary school bus who is filled with the excitement of having learned frogs can jump 6 feet or that the world has 200 different ways of saying “ice cream.”

Toiling in the garden of the mind is, for him, a form of play.

Born in Michigan to a father who ran a garbage-collecting service and a mother who was a “repository of knowledge,” he majored in philosophy before going on to law school. But Underwood never stopped learning.

What makes him most unusual is the breadth of his interests and the depths to which he explores them. He thrives on knowledge.

This concept of the “gentleman scholar” is not new. Around the time of the Enlightenment (1685–1815), religion ceased to be the governing force in people’s lives. Science and access to scholarly works left the confines of universities and devolved to “societies” where like-minded individuals would gather to share information, discuss new findings, even conduct their own experiments.

A few women, but mostly men, traveled, spent vast sums on books and saw themselves as “homo universalis,” enlightened people who were interested in most everything. Underwood does not dub himself that, but his mental delights stretch in all directions.

“I love math. I adore astronomy.

Physics is incredible,” Underwood said.

He quotes astrophysicist Adam Frank in casual conversation. Paul Dirac, a discoverer of anti-matter, is a hero. He, and physicist and radar pioneer Hans Plendl spent evenings together with Russian scientists at Plendl’s home.

And don’t get Underwood started on the Higgs boson particle. He’s pulled all-nighters attending seminars on the Atlas experiment at Cern, Switzerland’s Hadron collider.

Underwood keeps a copy of Herodotus’ Histories with him at all times. He is beginning to learn Greek in order to read it in the original. He is fascinated by the Peloponnesian War; pours over The Mediterranean by Fernand Braudel; and has plans to visit the Holy Land.

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↑ Not content to own but a single copy of Herodotus’ Histories, Michael Underwood has several and has one with him at all times. He is learning Greek so as to be able to read classic works in the original. The Bible is his favorite book — when read in the Latin text. He is fascinated by transitional periods in history even as, today, the world seems to be in a constant state of change.

Underwood said he struggled at guitar, piano and violin, but he did become a music producer and a manager of three rock bands years ago.

“For me, the Bible is my favorite book when read in the Latin text,” Underwood said. Though devoted to science, he said that “an overly rational approach seems misguided. I prefer Moses parting the sea as envisioned by Cecil B. DeMille to an explanation based on the wind.” He loves Poe, Beckett, Borges, Tolkien and Homer, whose poem, The Illiad, he has read over a dozen times.

Other favorites?

“My favorite time period is Periclean Athens in the 5th century B.C., but I am fascinated with all periods of transition — between the archaic and the classical in Greek art, between Renaissance art and mannerism. The Psalms and

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Shakespeare were both written during times of transition.

“The Pantheon is my favorite building,” Underwood continued. “My favorite historical event is the American Revolution. The worst was the burning of the Great Library of Alexandria. Oh, and whatever my wife Zilpha cooks is definitely my favorite food.”

Take note, Nobel laureates. Michael Underwood is wise in ways other than book learning. TM photography by SAIGE ROBERTS

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CUSTOM CONTENT

Racing Toward Success

United Way of the Big Bend’s Women’s Leadership Breakfast welcomes former NASCAR driver as speaker

D

anica Patrick is no stranger to the power and influence women hold. As a top athlete in the field of NASCAR, an entrepreneur, a writer, a podcast host and as a life and fitness coach, Patrick is the ideal keynote speaker for the United Way of the Big Bend’s fifth annual Women’s Leadership Breakfast.

The event celebrates female entrepreneurs, business leaders and philanthropists who dedicate their time and talent to bettering the Big Bend region and beyond.

“Not only is the need so great to support women and children in poverty, but the opportunity to highlight and work with the many talented women who live and work in this community is truly an honor,” said Susie Busch-Transou, event chair/founder of the local Women United Chapter and CEO of Hearth & Soul.

The keynote speaker is always highly anticipated as they are influential women

who inspire and encourage attendees to reach their highest potential.

Patrick is most widely known and admired for being the first woman to have record-setting national and international achievements in the male-dominated sport of NASCAR. In 2018, she closed out her racing career and transitioned into the role of business owner and entrepreneur in order to pursue her personal passions and to help women achieve their own success stories.

“People perceived being a woman as a challenge,” says Patrick, “instead I was able to lean into being different as my edge.”

Most recently, she published a book, Pretty Intense, a 90-day program to sculpt and strengthen the body, foster healthy eating and cultivate a success-driven mindset. The acclaim of the book resulted in a popular podcast hosted by Patrick that goes by the same name. Patrick is also the sole proprietor of Somnium, a vineyard in Napa Valley.

“I am honored to be a part of this year’s Women’s Leadership Breakfast,” said Patrick.

“I am excited to share my story with the group and hope everyone is able to walk away a little more inspired following the event.”

The event will take place Nov. 4 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the FSU University Center Club.

“We have the opportunity to learn firsthand from a woman who has overcome many obstacles and has learned practical tools for success in a demanding industry in which she was against all odds,” said Busch-Transou. “At a time when we are all eager to reconnect and may need inspiration and encouragement to pursue our dreams, Danica Patrick’s visit is poised to make a real and meaningful difference.”

To learn more about the Women United initiative and this year’s Women’s Leadership Breakfast, visit uwbb.org/women-united.

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September-October 2021

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Helping you achieve your goals has always been ours Congratulations to Robert J. Dick and Felton Wright for being named to the Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” 2021 list.

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Source: The Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” list, February 11, 2021. Data provided by SHOOK™ Research, LLC. Data as of June 30, 2020. The Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” ranking was developed

by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person and telephone due diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively, a major component of a ranking algorithm that includes: client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Rankings and recognition from Forbes are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results, and such rankings should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receives compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking.

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Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) makes available certain investment products sponsored, managed, distributed or provided by companies that are affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”). MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, Member SIPC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.

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panache SEPT/OCT 2021

REGARDING MATTERS OF ALL THINGS STYLISH

FASHION

HALLOWEEN 2021 Ghosts and Fauci’s dancing all around

by REBECCA PADGETT FRETT

CITIZEN OF STYLE Facing Fears, Raising Spirits || WHAT’S IN STORE Retail Roundup photography by LINDSEY MASTERSON

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B

esides sorting through the sinful, irresponsible mounds of candy bars that you allot yourself in the spirit of Halloween, many look forward to dressing in costume.

Adults unleash their inner child as they dress up and adopt a new persona for a night.

“Being able to dress in costume allows us to be kids again, to wear something fun and exciting that we may not get to wear any other time of year,” said Zan Walker, owner of The Other Side Vintage in the Railroad Square Art District. “Whether a princess, astronaut, hippie, zombie, scientist or our favorite superhero, we can be who we want to be during Halloween.”

Halloween costumes account for more than $8 billion in sales each year, according to the National Retail Federation. Many are purchased from seasonal shops that pop up in malls in August and disappear in November.

Other consumers favor thrift, used clothing and vintage shops in the spirit of supporting local merchants. There, shopping for costumes becomes an enjoyable excursion at a savings.

“Halloween only comes once a year, and costumes are costly,” said Kim Gay, vice president of communications for Goodwill Industries-Big Bend.

“Goodwill curates special racks for shoppers who are looking for an easy costume idea, but the beauty of a thrift store is the opportunity to find different pieces and get creative.”

Families and couples often make an event of thrift shopping by competing to see who can come up with the most unusual costume. Thrift stores often have employees who are excited to help shoppers piece together the perfect costume. The Other Side Vintage has stylists and designers on staff specifically for this purpose.

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September-October 2021

BACK FROM THE DEAD

It’s always possible to buy Halloween costumes that are ready to wear right off the hanger or out of the box.

But there are savings and fun to be had in buying costume components from local thrift and vintage shops and putting together your own look while giving abandoned clothing a chance to live again.

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photography by LINDSEY MASTERSON

IS YOUR PET A

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September–October 2021

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Walker stresses that by shopping local you can guarantee that your costume will receive plenty of admiring looks for its authenticity, but also, it’s a sustainable choice for the environment as opposed to massproduced, single-use costumes.

Sellers of pre-loved clothing typically have pieces on hand to crePopular movies ate fairy tale, witch, and stage productions such ghost, animal, careeras, from top, related, pop/rock star, WandaVision, superhero and periodHamilton and Cruella influence themed costumes.

Halloween Certain costumes will costuming each always remain popular, year. So, too, do news headlines but each Halloween and the hellish sees surges in certain world of politics. trends.

Dr. Fauci is sure to be Gay predicts that seen making anything related to rounds this year new movies and shows collecting candy, and Donald that came out in 2020 Trump likely isn’t or 2021 will be promidead yet. nent, such as Cruella and Marvel characters from WandaVision. Walker anticipates that after the confined year that 2020 was, many will be embracing a Roaring ’20s theme with Great Gatsby-inspired wear.

Trapped indoors, many of us became entrenched in media. I expect to see couples dressed as Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin with their children in tiger costumes.

Characters from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musicals will visit doorsteps given the sensational Hamilton and In the Heights. A lab coat, spectacles and a mask will make for a quick and affordable Dr. Fauci getup. There will be no shortage of TikTok star recreations.

No matter if you simply sport a pair of cat ears to the office or plan elaborate, eccentric outfits for spooktacular parties, Halloween 2021 is sure to be a spectacle.

We’ve had a long year to come up with our costume ideas. TM

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS / ©MARVEL STUDIOS 2021 (WANDAVISION), DISNEY / 2021 DISNEY ENTERPRISES INC. (CRUELLA) AND DISNEY MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT DISTRIBUTION

STAGE & SCREEN

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September–October 2020

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←

Jamee Wright grew up a tomboy and worked in sports marketing before, with some reluctance, entering the world of cosmetics. Today, she is a fashion consultant and makeup artist. Here she wears a favorite piece: a black, off-the-shoulder romper from Macy’s.

CITIZEN OF STYLE

FACING FEARS, RAISING SPIRITS

A natural introvert delivers the gift of confidence

by SANDRA HALVORSON, PH.D.

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E

very woman in Tallahassee should enjoy an opportunity to meet Jamee Wright.

As a professional makeup artist, licensed aesthetician and personal stylist, she provides advice about skin care solutions, makeup application and putting together wardrobes, at the same time lifting spirits with her sincere approach to life.

For 20 years, she has owned and operated Jamee Wright Makeup & Style in Tallahassee (jameewright.com). Her studios are located inside Reflections Hair Studio & Spa. Leadership, interpersonal skills and strong Christian values shine through during the first few minutes in a conversation with Wright.

These traits, coupled with her at-home studies in business management, prepared her for success in the business world.

She finds that all the steps she took on her way to business ownership contributed to making her the woman she is today.

At age 3, she moved with her parents from Florida to Virginia. She is the second oldest among six siblings and was 8 before her first sister was born. As a result, she palled around with her brothers and played sports with them. She never wore makeup, wore a dress only when her parents insisted that she do so, and described herself as a tomboy.

As a preteen, Wright would go with her mother to the beauty salon and was fascinated by the transformations she saw take place. She eventually was offered a summer internship at the salon where she swept up hair, washed towels, rinsed out perms and learned via observation and instruction how to do hair.

Before long, relatives and friends began asking her to style and cut their hair.

Through her home education program in high school, Wright was invited to work as a mentor for troubled children for an organization in Indianapolis. After four years of helping students, she decided to move on to the corporate world. She began as an intern in Oklahoma City for a sports marketing company and quickly rose to a position as the executive assistant to the president.

While on a Christmas break in Tallahassee, she asked her mom to find a local beauty consultant from whom she could obtain cleansing products. Ironically, her parents suggested that she could make some extra photography by SAIGE ROBERTS

← Jamee Wright creates makeup looks that play off of her clothing and feature her preferred products from several cosmetics lines: Mirabella Beauty, Kokie, Tori Belle and Mary Kay. ↑ Above, she paired a denim jacket and paisley jeggings from Dillard’s with a rayon blouse from Stein Mart.

money by becoming a beauty consultant, herself. While something of an introvert, she agreed to sign up but wasn’t intending to sell anything.

She did love the products but kept her fondness for them to herself and had no intention of holding any of those parties.

Well, “the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.” One night in Oklahoma City, her roommates decided to dress up and go out to dinner. Looking at Wright in her T-shirt and shorts and no makeup, they insisted that she too, dress up.

Wright reached way under her bed for her Mary Kay beauty kit and then reluctantly showed her roommates the treasure that she has possessed for some time. They excitedly went about sampling the products. They wanted to buy some then and there and later spread the word about Wright and what she had to offer.

After a workweek of 60-plus hours at the sports marketing company, she considered less stressful career options likely to be more fun and fulfilling. At 22, she decided

to dabble in the field of beauty. She spent the next eight months working part time with her Mary Kay Cosmetics business and full time with her corporate job.

It was “during those four months that I realized that sitting with women, encouraging them, showing them how to wash their faces, explaining how to apply makeup, and seeing them look in the mirror and feel so good about themselves — that was addicting to me.”

Wright realized she could have a ministry of sorts and a business at the same time. When she told her sports marketing boss she planned to work for a cosmetic company, he commented, “Jamee, you’re a tomboy, and you are going to sell lipstick?”

For the next 18 years, she was a full-time independent sales director (top 2 percent of the company) with Mary Kay. She earned and drove free career cars for 20 years, including the iconic Pink Cadillac.

Early in her sales career, she would sit in her car, having to talk herself into entering the home of her next party hostess because

of her shyness and self-doubt. But after the party, she would feel great because she realized how much she had helped women improve their outlooks on themselves.

“All along the way, people were constantly asking me for personal styling advice, image consulting advice and to come do makeup for their weddings, photo shoots and special occasions,” Wright said.

So, after dealing with divorce and health issues, she knew it was time to make the difficult decision to resign as a top sales director with Mary Kay. “It was then that I found the perfect transition to answer the call of my clients in developing a company that encompasses all the beauty needs of women, but in a way that would allow me more time to take better care of myself,” Wright said.

In her spa/facial room, her makeup studio room or when visiting the homes of women she helps with wardrobe edits, Wright employs the gift of encouraging women to be the best they can be.

Inside and out. TM

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September-October 2021

49

PROMOTION

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There are so many beautiful styles to choose from, the only question is whether to stack them up or make your favorite the star of the show (and the arm).

The sleeker the bracelet, the easier it stacks. A thin, open cuff with a mix of gold and silver and neutral-colored stones will stack well with almost anything from all gold or all silver

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September-October 2021

cuffs to diamond bangles. Stack them up for a great daytime look for casual or work.

Black-and-white jewelry is always in style and can certainly be dramatic enough to be the star of the show. It can also be a wonderful look combined with just one other slimmer diamond or onyx bangle or line bracelet.

Designer Vahan specializes in bracelets that sparkle and stack — the more the merrier. Vahan bracelets also

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

play well together with other designers, such as John Hardy or David Yurman.

Use what you already own to start a great collection, and don’t be afraid to add to it — each new piece shows a new dimension of you.

Sometimes you just want to go solo with a bold and beautiful classic, widegold bracelet that simply shows an understated grace and sophistication.

The choice is yours, and whatever you choose will be just perfect for you!

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This bracelet is sterling with black rhodium and accents in 18K yellow gold. His eyes are lovely blue sapphires, the color of the deep sea where he sometimes lives. Naga’s are one of the iconic designs by designer John Hardy. $1,695

2. ICONIC CLASSIC CHAIN

A symbol of eternal human connection and community bond by designer John Hardy. It is sterling silver and 18k bonded yellow gold with 0.24 tdw diamonds on catch. $3,900

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For more beautiful jewelry choices, please visit The Gem Collection, in store or online at GemCollection.com.

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➸ THE BRADLEY MOUNTAIN’S BIOGRAPHER BACKPACK was thoughtfully designed for both the urban and rural adventurer.

The leather straps are padded with a layer of wool and canvas for comfort. It has a baseline buckle connection that allows for adjustability. The double layer of waxed canvas and the roll-top closure work together to protect the contents inside from harsh weather. ➸ Summer cocktails have their day in the sun, but fall sips are just as special. BITTERMILK has perfected the gentleman’s cocktail through bittering agents gentian root and cinchona bark along with burnt sugar, spices and a bit of orange peel. Tip a bit into a glass alongside your preferred spirit.

➸ An homage to the store’s vibe, SOUTHERN PINES CANDLE NO. 1 merges cedar, smoke and whiskey into a delightfully dark and moody yet adventurous scent made from 100% soy and essential oils.

What’s In Store?

A roundup of retail happenings throughout Tallahassee

by REBECCA PADGETT

If you’re seeking a sleek, slim and stylish wallet option, the Bexar Vertical Card Wallet from Southern Pines Goods might be your next purchase. Created by expert leather workers, it combines the concepts of a classic billfold and a simple card wallet, easily fitting into either your front or back pocket. The design allows for up to four cards and two stash pockets for cash.

My Favorite Things

➸ Throw pillows are a beautiful and affordable way to change the look of your home with the seasons. JULISKA PILLOWS feature intricate embroidery and vibrant colors. Collection favorites include pillows stitched with sentiments such as “Friends,” “Family,” “Gratitude” and “Love.” The Forest Walk collection is particularly popular for fall, decorated with treasures found from the forest floor.

Incredibly cloudlike, they are stuffed with 10% down and 90% feather fill. ➸ The scent most often synonymous with fall is pumpkin.

We wait all year for its nostalgic and comforting scent to fill our homes.

THYMES HEIRLUM PUMPKIN scent, infused with pumpkin, creamy caramel, warm vanilla and spicy cinnamon, comes in candle, diffuser or room spray form. ➸ Pumpkin tableware can be utilized throughout fall.

Nic’s Toggery Whether a snazzy dress shirt or a casual shirt for

everyday wear, ETON is a favored brand at Nic’s Toggery. Eton uses quality fabrics that are durable and fashionable, becoming your favorite shirts today and for years to come. // Denim is never going out of style, and AG JEANS are at the top of the market filling the closets of people who like comfortable fits, stylish cuts and an emphasis on sustainability while not abandoning a flattering look.

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THE VIETRI PUMPKIN COLLECTION ranges from pumpkin adorned platters for serving Thanksgiving dinner to a pumpkin cookie jar, ideal for Halloween treats.

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September–October 2021

gastro&gusto SEPT/OCT 2021

FROM THE SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE TO THE PIÉCE DE RÉSISTANCE

DINING OUT

Pineappétit! ↓

Friends and cultures influence restaurant’s menu

by SAM HOWARD

LIBATIONS Wine Pairings || DINING IN Meat and Greet photography by DAVE BARFIELD

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photography by DAVE BARFIELD

S

am Burgess hasn’t attended culinary school, but the budding restaurateur’s informal education in the kitchen stretches back to his childhood.

“It wasn’t optional — it was mandatory to help in the kitchen growing up,” the 28-year-old Burgess said. “But for me, it never felt like a chore.”

Rather, the activity was an extension of a family that had a “huge love for food.”

Food has since become Burgess’ career. He opened Pineappétit at 2037 W. Pensacola St. in Tallahassee this April. A part of the Capital City’s food truck scene since 2018, the island-style restaurant serves pasta in jerk alfredo sauce, chicken wings and various stuffed pastries, but the focal point of the menu is its pineapple bowls.

Ranging from $8.50 to $21.50 depending on your choice of protein, the dish consists of a carved-out pineapple heaped with cilantro lime rice, meat, salsa and sauce.

The pineapple bowls predate the business. Burgess recalls seeing a photo of a pineapple with rice and chicken on social media in 2013. He figured he could recreate the dish and put his own spin on it. The rest of the menu has resulted from experimentation by Burgess and input from trusted friends.

↖ SAM-SIZED SERVINGS Clockwise from top left: Caribbean Patties, a golden-crusted patty packed with the diner’s choice of filling. Pineapple Bowl, a pineapple sliced in half and hollowed out, filled with cilantro lime rice as the base, choice of protein, choice of sauce and topped with signature salsa. Rasta Pasta, penne noodle pasta tossed in jerk Alfredo sauce, sautéed bell peppers and onions, choice of protein and served with garlic bread, and choice of broccoli or asparagus.

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Upon moving from his hometown of Cleveland to Tallahassee to attend Florida A&M, Burgess discovered a taste for foods that were new to him. He had never heard of Haitian cuisine, nor had he eaten Jamaican food.

“Seeing and being exposed to those new things, it makes you curious, like, ‘Wow this is what I’ve been missing out on for 18 years of my life? What more is there to see? What more is there to have?’ To this day, I’m still constantly learning, and that’s what I love about this career,” he said.

Burgess said he is careful to balance his curiosity about cultures with respect for them. The issue of cultural appropriation has created some turmoil in the food industry in recent years.

“You don’t want to take something from an original place and not be respectful of it

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at the same time,” Burgess said. “So for me, it’s important to learn the right way and the correct way before I recreate something and make it my own.”

A fellow food truck owner-turnedrestaurateur, Erick Smith, found Burgess’ culinary curiosity appealing.

The two men met in September 2018, when Burgess approached Smith while he worked his Smoothie Time food truck.

They talked business. Smith said he was impressed by Burgess’ desire to learn more about their trade.

“I could tell he was a doer by the way he was out being active gathering information,” Smith said. “And then I saw him put it in motion.”

Burgess said Smith became something of a role model while he transitioned to his brick-and-mortar restaurant. Smith guesses

↖ Pineapple bowl is filled with rice and topped with garnished salmon.

PINEAPPÉTIT

Tuesday–Saturday 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m.

Sunday noon–9 p.m.

2037 W. Pensacola St. (850) 354-8242 pineappetit.com

photography by DAVE BARFIELD

←

The popularity of Chef Sam Burgess’ island-inspired cuisine has enabled him to add a fixed restaurant to his food truck operation.

he and Burgess spoke 40–50 times during that process.

Given utility bills, expanded hours and changes in his dealings with food vendors, Burgess has found that it’s almost like he’s “started all over again” now that he has a fixed location in addition to his food truck. But he maintains that he wasn’t scared investing in a building.

It was a matter of betting on himself.

“These are all different things that were not factored in before with the food truck,” Burgess said of his new responsibilities. “But these are all things that I took the time to research and learn before I made this decision to go into this space. … I’m a numbers guy, and to me, the numbers had to add up to make sense.”

Pineappétit has grown from four employees to 10, including lead cook La’Ron Vickers.

A Tallahassee native with about a decade of experience working in the food industry, the 28-year-old Vickers said Burgess’ restaurant is one that can set itself apart. There aren’t many fastcasual eateries serving pasta, Vickers said, never mind the restaurant’s signature pineapple bowls.

“I think we have a great clientele already,” Vickers said. “People say, ‘You eat there once, you definitely want to come back.’”

Burgess thinks his growing customer base is a testament to his food truck strategy. He made it a point to visit as many Tallahassee neighborhoods as possible.

At the restaurant, he has also entertained diners from farther-flung places like Miami and Panama City. “Food is for everyone” is a mantra for him.

“My favorite thing about the place is being in a space where people are comfortable, they enjoy the vibe here, they enjoy not only the food, but the atmosphere and the experience,” Burgess said. “That to me is the biggest thing because seeing someone enjoying your food, enjoying what I created, that’s what keeps me going.” TM TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

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LIBATIONS

WINES WITH DINNERS Personal preferences water down rules

by ROCHELLE KOFF

Break the Rules 60 September-October 2021

Sauvignon Blanc and Steak

Pair an acidic sauvignon with your carne.

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

“The European style is to have white wine with white meat and red wine with red or dark meat,” said Frederick Mursch, owner of The Wine House on Market Street.

But even within that framework, it’s not just about choosing a red or white.

“There are so many wines to choose from,” said Mursch, a sommelier originally from Hanover, Germany.

“We have 200 different wines that are red and 150 that are white, and they all taste different.”

What wine you pair with your meal can depend on a number of factors, including the time of year, the time of day, the food and/or the sauce you’re eating. Another factor, maybe the most

Merlot and Grilled Salmon

Grill or char your fish and serve it with a red.

important: “It depends on the taste of the customer,” Mursch said.

There are some pairings that just make sense, he noted, like having an Italian Chianti with pasta or pizza.

“I wouldn’t want to have pizza with a German beer or a French wine. For an Italian feeling, I need Italian wine.”

And for seasonal sipping, there are some caveats.

“In the heat of the summer, you don’t want to sit outside and have a heavy red wine,” said Mursch. You can start with a glass of Prosecco, perhaps move on to your favorite white wine with a summer salad and “when the temperatures are cooling after dark, then have your red wine.”

Mushroom Risotto and Pinot Noir

Fungus, rice and a nice pinot noir.

Why not?

Cake and Bubbly

How better to wash down a filling sponge cake?

PHOTO BY ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS: VITALII KHOLMOHOROV (STEAK), RYZHKOV (SALMON, MUSHROOM RISOTTO), TAIFTIN (CAKE) AND ALLA SIMACHEVA (WINE AND SALADS)

F

ood and drink. They’re essential. And since ancient times, when we learned that wine was often safer (and more fun) to drink than the local water, we’ve been trying for perfect wine and food pairings.

The tradition has become ever so much more complicated than the old saws: White wines go with fish and chicken; red wines go with red meats.

Today, there are oenophiles who will plan a different wine, or different vintages of the same wine, for each course. A four-course wine dinner, for instance, might start with raw oysters and a crisp Muscadet, move on to a Pinot Gris to complement a salad with a creamy dressing, pair a Burgundy or Bordeaux with the entree of filet mignon, a sweet wine with dessert and, for the finale, a classic Port and Stilton cheese.

It can get intense.

Then there are plenty of people who chuck all the so-called rules, even mixing a bold red with a broiled grouper. A juicy steak may be magical with a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, but don’t dismiss the folks who prefer a glass of champagne instead.

Tradition also plays a role in wine and food pairings. In many countries, residents have long consumed the wine grown locally in their regions with local foods. The same soils and weather, they say, make for a perfect match.

TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

July–August 2020

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“While reliable combinations satisfy endlessly, individual taste is subjective,” Eric Asimov wrote in his wine column in The New York Times in April 2020. “And almost never is there only one correct wine to serve with any dish.”

There are wine drinkers who like just reds, others who prefer only whites, so they’ll stick with their favorites no matter what’s on the plate.

When customers come to The Wine House, Mursch asks them about their preferences and if warranted, makes suggestions. He often imparts a bit of additional wisdom in the process.

For instance, if you want to serve a white wine, “Don’t buy it on the day before your dinner,” he told a customer. “Buy it a week before, and let it sit in the cooler.”

Sometimes it helps customers to taste a few choices to expand their own repertoire, one reason The Wine House offers wine tastings, generally twice a month.

“Wine tastings are a huge success because it’s a bit of education, and they can try something new,” he said.

The tasting generally consists of five wines, and it’s currently limited to 18 people. Clients are served white bread and butter and olive oil with the vino.

Along with the wine tastings, The Wine House highlights music. When the pandemic hit, the music stopped, said Mursch. But in the fall, he again started giving local musicians, primarily students and professors, a place to play on Friday nights.

There were other challenges due to COVID-19.

Mursch took over The Wine House in 2019, “exactly five months before the pandemic.”

The shop was considered an essential business and was allowed to remain open, though Mursch limited the schedule to four hours a day.

He was able to keep The Wine House afloat, and business is already improving. Wines are selling by the case, and wine tastings and music nights are drawing fans (socially distanced).

Hundreds of bottles, neatly labeled, line the shelves. Mursch also carries some beer, including a few German brands.

The Wine House setting has a cozy charm. Small, round tables are covered with white linens, flanked by chairs enhanced with animal print cushions. There’s seating in an upstairs loft and outdoors. Local artwork is hung on the walls, and in the evening, twinkly lights decorate.

Before moving to Tallahassee and opening a wine store, Mursch traveled the world as an automotive engineer, in the technical department, for BMW. He worked for the German corporation for 33 years. His job took him to several countries, including Africa’s Ivory Coast, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, and he lived in China for five years.

It’s no wonder that Mursch has such an extensive selection of global wines. He takes pride in carrying varietals and vintages that are hard to find in Tallahassee.

“You can’t run a business if you don’t like it,” he said. “You need to like wine and have some favorites to suggest. You want to be able to tell a customer, ‘It’s fantastic. Go for it.’” TM

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↙ Former U.S. Congressman Allen Boyd, a fifth-generation cattle rancher, and his wife Jeannie have been hitting the road, selling beef produced by Boyd Farms in Greenville directly to consumers from his refrigerated truck.

DINING IN

MEAT AND GREET

Allen Boyd reconnects with the people he once served

by STEVE BORNHOFT

T

he sky was starting to spit a little bit and the farmers market, held at a green space adjoining Scipio Creek in Apalachicola, was shutting down early.

Allen Boyd Jr. gathered up some folding furniture, a receipt printer and a cash box and stowed them in a refrigerated

64 September-October 2021

truck that was prominent among the few vehicles remaining at the scene.

Boyd, a fifth-generation cattle rancher located in Greenville, has begun for the first time to sell cuts of beef directly to the consumer and, in the process, has eliminated several links in a traditional supply chain.

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

On a given day, you might spy his truck in Carrabelle, Eastpoint, Panacea, St. George Island, Port St. Joe, Panama City, Crawfordville or Tallahassee.

He calls his stops “Meat Ups,” and one suspects that his daughter Suzanne, a broadcast journalist turned public relations agency owner, may have had something to do with that.

“I never mean to criticize any retail grocer,” Boyd said. “They buy meat in a supply chain where they can get the quantities they need. But, and most people don’t realize this, when you purchase a piece of meat out of a grocery store, you become the eighth owner of that meat.”

Boyd represented Florida’s 2nd Congressional District for 14 years and was a state legislator for seven years before that. He has retained the same shock of white hair that made him readily recognizable during his years as an elected official. And, he still wears a blue ball cap emblazoned with a dog, a reminder of the years he spent as a member of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition while in Congress.

It’s been great fun, he said, to reconnect with people from Tallahassee all the way to Panama City while running his meat route. In Boyd’s system, the consumer becomes just the third owner of the beef, after buying it in a face-to-face transaction with “a guy I think I know from somewhere.”

“We’ve enjoyed a fantastic reception,” Boyd said.

The pandemic dictated the dramatic change in Boyd’s business model by forcing the closure for a time of harvest plants (where cattle are killed) and fabrication houses where carcasses are reduced to steaks, ribs, loins, briskets, ground beef and roasts. Those plants are located primarily in the Midwest, Boyd explained, “because the feed is grown out there and it is cheaper to ship calves to the feed than it is to ship feed to the calves.” photography by SAIGE ROBERTS

PHOTO BY LINDSEY MASTERSON (BOTTOM RIGHT)

↑ A Boyd Farms truck has become a familiar sight at farmers markets throughout a region that Allen Boyd used to represent as a U.S. congressman. Boyd historically has been a seller of calves, but adopted a direct-sales approach after the pandemic slowed beef processing operations in the Midwest. The Florida Cattlemen's Association helped Boyd find a cattle processor in Florida near Gainesville. Boyd said reconnecting with former constituents is the most enjoyable aspect of running his meat route.

Florida is a state given to cow-calf operations, and when the pandemic hit, beef supplies got short, prices went up and Boyd couldn’t sell the calves on his farm.

“My wife and children said, ‘Dad, stop fussing about it and do something,’” Boyd admitted. “We put our heads together and figured it out.”

Boyd found a state-of-the-art, USDA-certified harvesting/fabrication plant in Florida and became a member of the Florida Cattle Ranchers Association.

“We put our calves in with theirs,” Boyd said. “We all feed our cattle the same way, and they go through the same feed lot and harvest plant.”

Here is the way Boyd’s three-owner system works …

Boyd puts bulls on cows. Nine months later, calves happen.

■ Cows nurse their calves, which eventually begin also to graze.

■ When the calves are weaned, they are moved to a finishing yard, where a contractor feeds them a high-protein, high-energy ration until they attain finishing weight as cattle.

■

To this point, Boyd has been the cattle’s only owner. Next, he sells them to the harvest/fabrication operation.

That business retains byproducts, including hooves, heads and hides, and markets them and meanwhile sells TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

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the butcher-case cuts back to Boyd. He then sells them off his roving Meat Up truck.

As involved as that may sound, it is less complex than the eight-owner chain that includes the farmer; a pre-conditioning yard; a finishing yard; the harvest plant; the fabrication house; a wholesale distributor; the retailer; and, finally, the consumer.

“Our prices are comparable to grocery store prices, but we offer a better product because of its freshness,” Boyd said.

He went to his phone and showed me a video of cattle about to be loaded onto a truck for the trip to the harvest plant southeast of Gainesville.

“Those cattle were harvested Friday a week ago, and next week I will be marketing that meat,” Boyd said. “And part of that time, the carcass will have been hanging to let it age a little bit.”

Boyd, 76, was an Army infantry officer in the Vietnam War. He thought, but not for long, about a military career.

“I realized that what I really wanted to do was come home and farm,” he said. “And when I left public life (he was defeated by Republican Steve Southerland in 2010), that was OK. Then, I got to devote more time to the farm.”

For years, Boyd favored straight Angus bulls but found at some point that his calves’ weaning weights had plateaued.

“With climate change, my wife and I decided that we probably needed to put some Brahman influence in our cattle in North Florida,” Boyd said. They bought Braford bulls, which are a cross between

a Hereford (white-faced) bull and a Brahman cow.

The Brahman breed, usually associated with South Florida, is known for its heat tolerance.

“We bought those (hybrid) bulls, and that’s really worked,” said Boyd, who has retained the same fascination for animal husbandry that he had as a 4-H kid who raised rabbits and chickens and had his own steer. “It’s upped our weaning weights significantly.”

Boyd said he thinks he is in the directto-consumer approach for the long haul, but the refrigerated truck may be retired.

“My children want to move to shipping rather than running product out of the back of a truck,” he said in midJune. “Next week, we will be making our first test shipments. I am sure it will go well, but shipping fresh beef has its own tricks.”

Off the truck, I bought a strip steak and a bottle of habanero hot sauce. Good stuff, I can attest.

MEAT UP

Boyd and I had promised each other we wouldn’t go there, but our conversation drifted into the political realm.

“When I first came to Congress after the 1996 election, there were about 15 or 18 of us in the Blue Dog Coalition — Republicans and Democrats — and we grew it to over 50 and then in 2010 after the Tea Party movement took hold, most of the ones who went out (Boyd included) were moderates.

“When you get a national wind, the people who lose are the centrists. Not the folks that are crazy left or crazy right.

They are in districts that have been gerrymandered so that they can’t lose. But the moderate is always in play.”

We talked about the death of bipartisanship and could have gone on for a while that way, but we were interrupted by a gravelly voiced fellow in a noisy pickup truck.

“You the guy I hear about on the radio?” he barked.

“Yessir.”

“How much for a ribeye?” TM

Allen Boyd didn’t immediately recognize me as I approached him at a farmers market in Apalachicola. No surprise. When we had last spoken, he was a U.S. congressman and I was a newspaper editor. He was always good about sharing what he knew and letting me know when he’d have to research a question before answering it. People aren’t content to wait on answers anymore. They want to hear immediately what they want to hear. It was good to see Allen in a non-office setting and to, in conversation, focus more on beef than bull. I bought a strip steak from him and grilled it that night. In a blindfold taste test, could I distinguish Boyd’s product from the grocery store variety? No question. — Steve Bornhoft

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PHOTO BY SAIGE ROBERTS (STEAK) AND MATT BURKE / RPI FILE PHOTO (COWS)

→ For many years, rancher Allen Boyd operated with 100% Angus bulls, but switched to hybrid Braford bulls after the weaning weights of his calves leveled off. The result has been a more heat tolerant animal.

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CUSTOM CONTENT

Upgrade Your Grill Game

Napoleon smokes the competition with innovative technology and competitive pricing

G

rilling isn’t just a summertime sport, especially when you can enjoy the beautiful weather of Northwest Florida. Fall football games and holiday visits from friends and family are just another opportunity to gather around the grill.

Esposito Lawn & Garden Center takes pride in offering the exemplary Napoleon line of grills. This new line of grills stands out from the crowd with its sleek design, its long list of innovative features and its unparalleled durability. Each grill is built to withstand the heat and weather of Florida with premium steel that resists corrosion.

For years, the grilling world was dominated by a few well-known brands, until Napoleon came along to change the grilling game and take the industry by storm.

“This is not your grandpa’s gas grill,” owner Ralph Esposito says. “Napoleon grills come with a guarantee, are more versatile than their predecessors, have a great price point and are made with quality materials.”

Esposito test drives the grills regularly, cooking on them on a weekly basis to

learn the ins and outs — all to better assist customers when it comes to making a grill decision. Through familiarity with each product, the team can provide a detailed overview of usage and maintenance needto-knows.

Esposito’s assistant store manager, David McClellan, and his team of sales and service providers genuinely enjoy helping customers find the right grill. The two main questions they ask: What are you looking for in a grill, and how many people do you typically plan on feeding?

McClellan says the Napoleon Prestige 500SIB has been the most popular model so far. Fueled by propane with infrared side and rear burners, it is the ultimate grill with the capabilities of a full outdoor kitchen and eight cooking-style options.

The stainless-steel construction and night-light glow knobs that indicate when the grill is on, make this model stylish yet functional.

“This model is ideal for year-round grilling. The fact that it can cook up to 40 burgers at a time makes it suitable for virtually any occasion,” says McClellan.

“I’ve worked with many different types of grills over the years, and this model is the most enjoyable to use, hands down.”

McClellan also notes that every Napoleon grill comes with a lifetime warranty on all major components, which far exceeds that of other brands in the store.

Esposito offers an extensive selection of grilling tools and accessories to take the heat up a notch in your grilling experience. Every grill comes with free assembly and local delivery within the Tallahassee area.

A quality grill can make all the difference, whether you are entertaining for the holidays, hosting a football watch party or simply enjoying an evening at home with family. After all, memories are made where food is shared.

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AUTO ENTHUSIASTS LOSE THEMSELVES ON THE RACETRACK story by HANNAH BURKE photography by DAVE BARFIELD

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“THE FIRST TIME, YOU’RE APPREHENSIVE, AND THINK YOU’RE GOING A LOT FASTER THAN YOU ARE. YOU GET GOING FASTER AND FASTER, AND FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHY YOUR CAR WAS BUILT THE WAY IT WAS.”

IT’S LONG BEEN SAID THAT HEALTH CARE

professionals love golf, but for Dr. Scott Tetreault, that stereotype is nowhere near par for the course.

“I’ve never liked it,” Tetreault, an oncologist and founder of the Tallahassee Cancer Center, said of pasture pool.

“It’s too slow.”

Of course, when you’re going 130 miles per hour around a Formula One racetrack in a Porsche GT4, comparatively speaking, most things are.

Tetreault, a lifelong automobile enthusiast, was introduced to the racing world a year ago when a close friend and Ferrari dealer in Atlanta invited him up to the Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP) in Dawsonville, Georgia.

Tetreault had just acquired his Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 which, for the money, said Tetreault, “is one of the best street and track cars you can buy.”

“It’s funny because I was never a Porsche fan,” he said. “I never owned one or thought I liked them. But, one day, my son started talking all these numbers. Porsches don’t have cute names like Malibu or Eldorado. They’re models 997.2 or 993 and, suddenly, he was really into them.”

For years, Tetreault has participated in what’s called restomodding, equipping pre-owned, vintage grand touring cars with new technology beneath the hood while retaining their classic exteriors.

All seven automobiles in Tetreault’s garage have been upgraded to today’s safety standards, with some requiring new engines and seatbelt installations.

When Tetreault’s son talked him into

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picking up a used 2013 Porsche 911 at auction, he was quickly smitten and “all in on Porsches.”

His newly acquired GT4 is a balanced, mid-engine car, built for handling curves with relative ease.

“It’s a manual transmission car, which is sort of a lost art today, so I feel it adds to the romance,” said Tetreault. “When you drive around town in these performance cars, you always sense they’re capable of so much more than what you put them through going to Publix.”

Drivers go wide open at Dawsonville.

Designed by Formula One track architect Hermann Tilke, the circuit features 16 turns and around 98 feet in changing elevations.

“The first time, you’re apprehensive, and think you’re going a lot faster than you are,” Tetreault said. “You get going faster and faster, and finally understand why your car was built the way it was.”

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↑ Dr. Scott Tetreault, a Tallahassee oncologist, stands beside his 2013 Porsche 911.

His son developed a fascination with Porsches before Tetreault did; he had long been a fan of grand touring automobiles. But not long after purchasing his Porsche at auction, a smitten Tetreault was all in.

Tetreault said that once you reach 130 mph, car and track demand all of a driver’s attention. Let your mind wander, and you risk serious injury. That might sound stressful, but for Tetreault, it’s catharsis.

Drivers complete a certified instructor-led “racing school” to become familiar with the track and how to properly navigate its corners. They learn how to safely recover in the case of fishtailing

and how to be mindful of other drivers sharing the track.

Tetreault recommends the sport to teenagers. He’s hauled his son and a few of his friends to AMP, where they received the same training he did.

“We know how teenagers are when they get their license and want to play racer on the road,” he said. “When you bring them to a real track, teach them the rules and let them go as fast as they

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want, I think, in a way, it gets that out of their system.”

Indeed, the Tetreault need for speed is hereditary. Tetreault, who makes the trip to AMP about once a month, said the last time they visited, his son raced the GT4 for 1,000 miles.

“You can’t really keep it up for more than 20 minutes at a time because it’s very stressful, but for young people, I guess it’s different!” he laughed. “He’s really gotten good. His instructor wasn’t kidding when he said, by the end of the day, he had become a better driver than he.”

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMP ATLANTA MOTORSPORTS PARK

← The Atlanta Motorsports Park, seen from the air at left, offers drivers a challenging layout. AMP, in conjunction with Primal Racing, is an official racing school accredited by Radical Sportscars. It teaches students driving fundamentals, supplies them with technical expertise and exposes them to what it takes to make decisions in a literal heartbeat. AMP programs include a teen driving school and a kart driving school.

Too, motorsports are gaining popularity among women. Tetreault’s instructor said he much prefers teaching women because they are initially more cautious than men who want to get in their car and “go, go, go.”

“I think it’s gaining traction among older people, too,” said Tetreault. “The track, like many around the country, is privately owned. It’s like a golf club.

You become a member and can go anytime you want by just making a reservation on your phone, and you never get turned away.”

With a member’s lounge, wine room, pool and fitness facility, the AMP is a haven for auto enthusiasts and their families. Tetreault likes to drive up on Fridays for the member’s happy hour (the racing transpires before you raise a glass) and mingle among well-known Atlanta surgeons, athletes and likeminded folk in the motorsports world.

Of course, AMP hosts a little friendly

competition — nothing like the Daytona 500, but serious fun.

Tetreault is a relative newcomer to the sport, but he’s already burned some rubber doing autocross, time trial track racing, dual racing and drag racing.

Skidpad racing is especially fun, he said.

Drivers are graded on how well they retain control over a slick, glass-like area.

He has yet to win a competition, but you can bet his day is coming.

“That’s what I like about this sport; it keeps you humble,” he said. “It’s not pretentious, there’s not a bunch of testosterone-fueled guys up there bragging about their cars. Everybody is into different things and interested in learning about your car and sharing advice.

“You see everything up there, from a $450,000 Ferrari Pista to a $10,000 Mazda Miata racing right next to each other. And, sometimes that Ferrari driver gets beat by the Miata because that driver is just that good.” TM

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NEW GENERATION OF VEHICLES ANSWERS CLIMATE CONCERNS ACCORDING TO THE Environmental Protection Agency, the United States is currently the second-largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, with transportation accounting for a whopping 29 percent of those emissions.

Government policy shifts and consumer demand for greener travel and alternative energy sources have sparked a movement in the automotive industry. More and more of those whacky charging stations are popping up in public spaces, and you’re likely seeing more electric and hybrid car commercials than ever before.

General Motors has pledged that, by 2035, it will sell only electric vehicles (EVs). So, move over, Elon Musk. Take a closer look at the newest EV and hybrid entries from Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota, and you’ll see Tesla has some tough competition in the electric race.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF FORD, HONDA AND TOYOTA

by HANNAH BURKE

2021 FORD MUSTANG MACH-E

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E

2021 Chevrolet Bolt

Toyota 2021 Highlander Hybrid

Boasting “zero gas, zero emissions and 100% exhilaration,” the 2021 Mustang Mach-E makes its debut as Ford’s first all-electric crossover SUV. To some, a battery-powered, four-door Mustang with all-wheel drive may seem sacrilegious and downright un-American.

Indeed, according to Dale Brown, the community relations manager at Tallahassee Ford, the prevailing complaint about Ford’s entry in the EV movement concerns its blasphemous display of the equine emblem.

But, those people haven’t been behind the wheel to experience what Brown calls the MachE’s “thrust factor.”

In fact, the Mustang Mach-E can go from 0–60 miles per hour in a matter of seconds without so much as a gripe from its eerily silent, 480-horsepower electric motor.

“One of the things I’m equipped to tell those people is the traditional Mustang is in a performance car category,” said Brown. “The Mach-E is in the SUV category. When a sales associate comes to get the key to our demo, he never says, ‘I need the keys to the Mustang.’ They say, ‘I need the keys to the Mach-E.’ It’s like a brand in and of itself.”

Brown admitted he was skeptical about the Mach-E but has since had his fair share of test drives with Tallahassee Ford’s demo unit. While Tesla has long dominated the EV market, Brown said the Mach-E’s features hold their own.

Slide inside, and you’re greeted with a 15.5inch vertical touchscreen that serves as a command center. You’re able to map your routes, monitor your vehicle’s fuel economy, activate one-pedal driving and select from three driving modes: Engage, a fuel-efficient mode; Whisper, a balanced, energy-saving setting; and Unbridled, which is reminiscent of Tesla’s “Ludicrous” mode.

“Unbridled is what people typically punch in when we’re doing test drives,” said Brown. “That includes a simulated purr of the engine, like most Mustang drivers are used to.”

But before you go all Fast & Furious, you’ll want to charge up. Officially, the EPA gives the Mustang Mach-E a range of 211 to 305 miles on a charge. Unlike Teslas, the Mustang Mach-E is able to use universal chargers. Many drivers opt to install a Ford Connected Charge Station at home and plug in their vehicles overnight, as you need a little over 10 hours to fully charge a 300mile Mach-E battery.

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IN FACT, THE MUSTANG MACH-E CAN GO FROM 0–60 MILES PER HOUR IN A MATTER OF SECONDS WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A GRIPE FROM ITS EERILY SILENT, 480-HORSEPOWER ELECTRIC MOTOR.

Find a direct-current fast-charger, and you’ll get up to 61 miles per 10 minutes of charge time. But most public charging stations at hotels, shopping areas and restaurants use the J-1772 universal charger, which much like the Ford Connected, takes time.

Brown said the primary concern of potential Mach-E drivers is its range but, thankfully, the Mustang Mach-E command center is smart about notifying drivers when the power gets low.

A handy map details nearby charging stations, making trip planning easy.

“When the Mach-E first debuted, I was impressed, but a bit skeptical as to whether EVs would be Ford’s future,” admitted Brown. “But, Ford just announced the F-150 Lightning electric truck. Pricing for that truck won’t even be available until 2022, and we already have 100 reservations for it. Electric is going to be a huge market for us.”

2021 CHEVROLET BOLT

For the best insights into the status of EVs, Josh Williams, sales associate at Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet in

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Tallahassee, would have you look no further than the 2022 Bolt EUV. “For me, the Bolt has been eye-opening,” said Williams, who has owned a Bolt since March. “I just charge my vehicle at work, and never have to worry about going to a gas station again. GM is eliminating ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles by 2035, so I feel on the front end of that.”

GM Super Cruise, currently classified as a Level 2 type of autonomous technology, utilizes GPS, cameras, lidar mapping (light detection and ranging) and radar sensors to automatically brake, steer and even change lanes along select highways. According to GM, the system is currently compatible with up to 200,000 miles of North American roads, with plans to expand its radar each year.

The system was premiered in the 2018 Cadillac CT6 and has since been added to a few other Cadillac models and the Bolt, adding to the plethora of features that have Williams saying, “I’ll never go back to an ICE vehicle again.”

“I came from a big Silverado truck with a V-8 engine, and the instant torque and takeoff of the Bolt is definitely comparable,” Williams said. “It’s powerful, quiet and very zippy. People like to underestimate the Bolt and label it as a good car to get you around town, but it’s far more than that.”

Don’t ask Williams how he knows (he may have had a little too much fun on I-10,) but the Bolt tops out at 92 miles per hour. Its console command center displays register how much fuel you’re saving, your estimated range and how much power you’re regenerating.

The latter refers to the Bolt’s regenerative braking, which absorbs the kinetic energy expended during deceleration and redistributes it as electricity to power its motor. Like the Mach-E Mustang, the Bolt is equipped with one-pedal driving, meaning you can simply let off the gas to slow your vehicle to a stop. That can take some getting used to, but it’s like learning to ride a bike: Once you master it, there’s no going back.

← The Ford Mustang Mach-E, opposite page, consumes no gasoline, produces no emissions and according to product literature, “generates 100% exhilaration.” The 2021 Toyota Highlander, top photo, this page, is a hybrid with a high-tech dashboard.

A 2021 Chevrolet Bolt, lower photo, this page, receives a charge.

Brown can name several fellow employees, including the dealership’s desk manager and parts manager, who have also succumbed to the Bolt bug.

“Being a Bolt owner, I’m excited that people’s interest in EVs has grown tremendously,” Williams said. “It’s not so much of a niche market anymore. Carmakers are becoming more and more committed to going all-electric, so you may as well jump in now and get used to it.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FORD, HONDA AND TOYOTA

TOYOTA 2021 HIGHLANDER HYBRID

The vehicle’s affordability (Williams said pricing starts at $33,995), paired with its 250-mile range and spacious seating, attract many young people, families and commuters.

Range anxiety is eliminated with the myChevrolet app. Using it, drivers can map their road trips to ensure that they don’t run out of juice. (There are currently more than 80,000 chargers in North America.) The app sends alerts related to your range, upcoming charging stations and will even facilitate payments through its click-to-charge feature. And, with a DC fast charger, the Bolt accumulates 100 miles in just 30 minutes.

Williams cites Chevrolet dealer support as another big positive.

“Tesla is kind of lacking in servicing, as their service center nearest us is in Jacksonville,” he said. “So, if something went wrong with your battery, cooling system or what have you, you’d have to flatbed your Tesla all the way to Jacksonville versus the two Chevrolet servicers in Tallahassee. I think the reliability of service is huge.”

If you’re looking to shrink your ecological footprint but are not quite ready to commit to electric, hybrids such as the 2021 Toyota Highlander help ease the transition.

While it is not a plug-in vehicle and does rely on a gasoline-fueled engine, the Highlander also puts to work its two electric motors, combining for 243 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque.

The Highlander uses those electric motors as generators so that when the driver brakes, energy flows back into the battery for later use. That makes for ideal fuel economy, considering the Highlander gets an EPA-estimated 35–36 miles per gallon.

Thomasville Toyota sales professional Justin Cannon doesn’t drive a 2021 Highlander, but he’s been behind the wheel a few times.

“I would describe the ride as luxurious,” Gates said. “You’ll find it’s very quiet, very smooth and comfortable.

Toyota did a great job with the redesign.”

The 2021 Highlander model is the second year of the fourth generation of Highlanders. Among a slew of new safety features and amenities, Toyota enhanced the Highlander’s body style, making it longer and more aerodynamic.

The new and improved Highlander, equipped with standard four-wheel drive and an optional all-wheel drive, features third-row seating and abundant cargo storage space. But where this entry really shines is in its four Hybrid Drive Modes.

In addition to the conventional Sport and Eco modes you’ll find in most modern vehicles, the Highlander adds its EV and Trail Modes. EV Mode allows for an all-electric drive utilizing power saved by regenerative braking and can be engaged while traveling short distances at lower speeds. If you’re vacationing in higher altitudes, Trail Mode enhances all-wheel drive by boosting traction.

“Since they debuted the Prius, I would say Toyota has more knowledge about hybrids than anyone else,” Cannon said.

“Other companies producing hybrids will even buy information from Toyota to put into their cars. They’re dependable. The Highlander is very safe, and even includes a 10-year, 150,000-mile warranty on its battery.”

And, Cannon said, there’s a Highlander for every price range.

Potential buyers can customize their Highlander by choosing from among six different trim levels. At its most simplistic, the Highlander L goes for about $38,735. Climbing the rungs, you’ll upgrade to various features, including wireless smartphone charging, heated seats, rain-sensing windshield wipers and a digital rear-view mirror.

The fully tricked-out, souped-up Highlander Platinum starts at $48,690.

A fair price, some would say, considering that between its deluxe accommodations and electric and gas hybrid engines, you’re getting an unparalleled range.

“I wasn’t a hybrid fan until I took a 2019 Highlander Platinum down to Daytona for the Coca-Cola Classic Race,” said Cannon. “Between the torque, the speed and the silence, I was sold, and even bought my wife the 2020 model.”

Toyota recently put out a press release saying that, by 2030, 70 percent of the vehicles they manufacture will either be all-battery or electric hybrid vehicles.

With the recent announcement of the 2021 Toyota Sienna and Tundra vehicles, it’s safe to say the EV/hybrid trend is picking up speed.

“I know that in the next 10 years, Toyota is looking to have hybrid models of their entire lineup, which is pretty cool,” Cannon said. “We’re excited about the future.” TM

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PETER BOULWARE SELLS TOYOTAS AND PROMOTES HEALING story by STEVE BORNHOFT // photography by DAVE BARFIELD

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“TRUE LEADERSHIP FOR ME IS BEING GREAT AT WHAT YOU DO WHILE ALSO HELPING OTHERS REALIZE THEIR POTENTIAL. IT’S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT BEING THE BEST OR BEING THE BOSS.”

PETER BOULWARE BELIEVES THAT THE

simultaneous pursuit of excellence and godliness makes for a complete person capable of leading others by example.

Inspired first by his parents — he grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, where his father worked as a radiation oncologist after putting himself through medical school — Boulware has lived his life that way.

“True leadership for me is being great at what you do while also helping others realize their potential,” said Boulware, a standout football player at FSU who went on to play nine seasons for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. “It’s not always about being the best or being the boss.”

Leaders may emerge from unlikely corners.

“You don’t have to have a football to be a good role model,” Boulware said.

“You can be a great mom, a skilled technician, any role that you play, big and small, you can be a leader if you have the heart of a servant.”

Twelve years ago, Boulware and his wife Kensy founded the Community Leadership Academy, a private, faithbased charter school committed, per its vision statement, to “developing the next generation of godly leaders.”

The school, which does not receive public funding, blends classroom instruction and homeschooling — to good effect. Its students’ scores on standardized math, reading and language tests far exceed national averages.

Thirty students in grades kindergarten through 3 made up the academy’s first class. It added a grade level each

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year, then paused for a couple of years as a K-8 school before deciding to serve high school students.

This year, the school, which is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), conducted its first commencement exercise.

“That was a special moment, to see kids who started with us in the first grade graduate and also get into the colleges that they most wanted to attend,” Boulware said.

As a high school senior, Boulware took close looks at programs including Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and the University of Miami. Then, Bobby Bowden came calling.

“He had such a presence,” Boulware said. “Mom and Dad were like, ‘Oh, yeah, you’re playing for that guy.’ He was a great X’s and O’s guy, and he is a man of faith, character and integrity.”

Boulware credits Bowden with bringing out potential in him that he didn’t know he had.

“He saw to it that we worked hard,” he said. “He didn’t let us cut corners. He didn’t tolerate a sorry attitude. His approach was ‘I am not here for you to like me; I am here to make you the best you can be.’”

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Boulware freely admits that he didn’t always like what FSU practices entailed, and he didn’t always like the men running them. But years after graduating with a degree in management information systems, he doubled back to Tallahassee and thanked Bowden, defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews and linebackers coach Jim Gladden for “being on me and staying on me.”

Today’s Seminoles, he said, are in good hands.

“I like Coach (Mike) Norvell, I like his staff,” Boulware said. “The first couple of years in a coach’s tenure, I don’t really look at the wins and losses. To me, that’s a poor gauge of what’s happening.

Sometimes, you have to go backward and tear some things down in order to build a foundation for going forward.”

It takes time to build a culture.

“Coach Norvell is establishing standards and processes. How do we practice? How do we warm up? What are our drills? How do we train? If you establish

← Former FSU and NFL standout Peter Boulware and his facility manager, Calvin Fishburn, share a commitment to making Peter Boulware Toyota more than just an auto store. Owner Boulware views the business as a vehicle for giving back to the community that launched him.

a system and get everybody buying into it, then you can be a solid eight-win team year after year. But the reality in football is that if you want to win a national championship, you’ve got to recruit, you’ve got to get the studs.

“I want to win the national championship tomorrow, but that’s not gonna happen. It’s gonna take a few years, but I can see that we are pointed in the right direction.”

COMING BACK, GIVING BACK

At the conclusion of his pro career, Boulware doubled down on Tallahassee.

“My wife (Kensy) is from Los Angeles, and I’m from South Carolina, and when I finished from the NFL, we could have gone anywhere, but we were close to people in Tallahassee, and it’s such a good place to raise kids. We love that small-town feeling.”

The Boulwares have five children, ranging in age from 10 to 18. The eldest, a daughter, was accepted into the FSU

film school and was due to start classes there this fall.

Too, Boulware wanted to give back to the community that launched him.

“When I arrived as a freshman, this town embraced me and gave me the opportunity to come to college and live my dream,” he said. “Now it is time for me to serve.”

Boulware owns the Toyota dealership on Tennessee Street, and business is as good as can be.

“We are selling all the product that we have, and we’re frustrated that we can’t get more,” he said in June, noting that he had customers on waiting lists.

“The Corolla flies out of the showroom. Our RAV4, our Camry, same way.

The Highlander is a great seller for us.

We can’t keep the Tacoma or the Tundra in stock.”

The high demand for Toyotas notwithstanding, Boulware works to make sure that today’s sale leads to future sales.

“People are buying a car from us, but

more importantly, they should be buying a positive experience,” he said. “People can go out of town to buy a Toyota. We make sure every day that people really enjoy doing business with us.”

Boulware, who drives a four-door Tundra — his wife drives a Land Cruiser — personally engages in as much customer contact as he can make time for.

He may hang around the showroom or visit the service garage.

“Our customers are our lifeblood,” Boulware said. “I want to be available and accessible to our customers whenever they need me.”

Boulware ran as a Republican for a seat in the Legislature in 2008, losing by the equivalent of an extra point. He called his run for office a “good learning experience” that led to an appointment to the state Board of Education but doubts that he will get back into politics.

“My goal is to support good people with good ideas,” he said. “I am not super partisan. I believe in good ideas no matter which side they come from.

“I hope they get it right in Washington, I hope they get it right in Tallahassee, but I am not going to wait or rely on elected officials. As an auto dealer and someone who runs a nonprofit, there is a lot of work that I can do to promote healing. We can do it ourselves. You and I or my neighbor and I can come together and do sensible, helpful things. If we all do our part, collectively the healing will happen.”

Boulware said faith enables him to treat people nicely even when they treat him poorly.

But what if there is a mad scramble for a fumble and you’re at the bottom of the pile and somebody is gouging your eyes out, it’s hard to feel good about that guy, no?

“Absolutely. We’re still human.” TM

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KEEPING TABS ON ALL THAT MUSES INSPIRE

→

A Gadsden County native who has returned to North Florida following decades spent in Nashville, singer/ songwriter Billy Dean felt at home in front of a Tallahassee audience.

GADSDEN TRIO Billy Dean and his doctor friends rock The Moon ↓

PHOTO BY BILL LAX COURTESY OF OPENING NIGHTS

MUSIC

by STEVE BORNHOFT

ART She’s a Very Good Fellow || BOOKS

From Pen to Press

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PHOTOS BY BILL LAX COURTESY OF OPENING NIGHTS

↖

Brothers and Tallahassee physicians Cody and Hugh Vanlandingham joined Billy Dean on stage at The Moon. Dean is producing their first Americanastyle album. Together, the Vanglandinghams present something of a Smothers Brothers vibe.

eanella Alls, pastor at the Open Door Church in Sawdust, Florida, took the stage at the invitation of country performer and all-Americana troubadour Billy Dean.

Leading off a concert at The Moon in June, Pastor Alls sang Amazing Grace, and if she was not supremely mellifluous, that mattered not a whit. Folks did not come out this night looking to experience the likes of Mahalia Jackson.

They came for real, and Alls was all of that. Dean was gracious and grateful, crediting her with supplying the evening with a kind of spiritual prophylactic, ensuring that any step toward sinfulness would be forgiven.

I might be forgiven then, too, if my eye were to linger on the woman in a micro-dress with a peekaboo front seated to my immediate left and her friend — cowboy boots, daisy dukes and cropped top. Both were hotter than pistols. Here were assembled everything from suits to slits, Vineyard Vines to big belt buckles. All could feel free to be themselves.

“An Evening with Billy Dean,” a title too formal for the folksiness that unfolded, concluded the 2020–2021 FSU Opening Nights events calendar or, as Michael Blachly put it, the “chaotic COVID concert series.”

Opening Nights director Blachly and his team managed to stage 15 live performances beginning Dec. 5 in addition to two more that were streamed. Blachly and Jay Smith, representing concert sponsor Ajax Building Company, introduced Dean following the presentation of a video highlight reel that included Dean’s make-out session with Dolly Parton from a 1999 made-for-TV movie, Blue Valley Songbird.

Dean confessed that he “never lets the truth get in the way of a good story.” About the Songbird scene, Dean, who is a tall drink at 6-4, said he was to begin with his back to Ms. Parton, then turn and kiss her and lower her to a bed.

But when he made his move, Dean said, he found that the stage crew had so miscalculated the height of a box that they TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

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from Florida and the girl he left behind.

Randy Travis recorded it. Somewhere was the Academy of Country Music “Song of the Year” for 1992.

Down the road, Parton would advise Dean, “You better love the songs you write; you might have to sing them 30 years from now.” Sung at The Moon 29 years after it was written, Somewhere played very well.

Dean’s hard-earned commercial success put him in a position to turn to his mother-in-law, who had never thought he had much in the way of earnings potential, and ask her what she would like to have for Christmas.

Recalled Dean: “She said, ‘I’d like to have something silver that can go from 0 to 250 in three seconds; you think your budget can handle that?’”

Dean paused for effect, then delivered the punch line.

“I bought her a bathroom scale.”

The sellout crowd at The Moon roared, not caring how true the story may have been.

Dean’s opening number, Gadsden County Line, from his 2020 EP by the same name, represents a collaboration with fellow Gadsden natives Cody and Hugh Vanlandingham, brothers who are both family practice physicians in Tallahassee.

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“Take me back in time/ When I laid you down/ Under that longleaf pine/ On the banks of the Telogia/ Where I used to hold ya/ That favorite spot of mine/ Just inside that Gadsden County line.”

For all his wanderings, Dean knows it’s not a bad place to be. TM

PHOTO BY BILL LAX COURTESY OF OPENING NIGHTS

had given Parton to stand on that he was not face to face with her, but eyeball to balcony. Parton was unflustered. When the film crew told her the scene was going to have to be recalibrated and reshot, Parton, according to Dean, said, “This is my movie and we’re gonna shoot this scene one more time, just like that.”

Dean, without objection, knew from whom to take direction.

Dean, who now lives on St. George Island, grew up in Quincy, the son of a World War II veteran who was a part of the kind of band that frequents VFW posts. He played with his dad from a young age. He was a basketball star at the Robert F. Munroe School and received an athletic scholarship from a small school in Mississippi but found he wasn’t college material. Successes on star search programs propelled him to Nashville where he went to work as a songwriter for EMI Music.

It was a tough hustle, but Dean broke through with a song, Somewhere in My Broken Heart, that he co-wrote with an already accomplished songwriter, Richard Leigh. Dean wowed Leigh, especially when he contributed the line, “I think there’s enough pieces of forgiveness somewhere in my broken heart.” The song was inspired by Dean’s departure

The idea for the song emerged when Cody and Hugh, slurping shellfish at the Acme Oyster Bar in Destin, resolved to write a story about home. To date, the brothers and Dean have combined on some 30 songs, and Dean is producing the Vanlandinghams’ first album.

“When we get to write with Billy, it’s like giving a kid who likes a moped a Harley-Davidson,” Cody Vanlandingham said. “Billy is like an instrument in himself — a guitar, a piano and Billy Dean rolled into one.”

Writing a song about home gave Vanlandingham the opportunity to get specific about place with references, for example, to Highway 12.

“There are only so many concepts,” Vanlandingham said. “The key is to write them with a different perspective in a different way.”

The brothers joined Dean at The Moon, playing together on stage for the first time in their lives. They present a Smothers Brothers vibe, with the garrulous Hugh as Tom and Cody as Dick, the more reserved conversational sniper. They expressed their gratitude to Dean for making it possible for them to play in Nashville at the storied Bluebird Café, where their performance of Bourbon Vacation — “I pour them tall / On my bourbon vacation / I don’t think of you at all” — went over big.

“Other than the Bluebird, of all the places I would want to play, growing up where I did, it was The Moon,” Vanlandingham said. “I don’t really care about playing Madison Square Garden or Red Rocks.

Playing with Billy was one of the great nights of my life.”

At The Moon, Gadsden County Line, performed before an audience made up substantially of Gadsden residents, couldn’t miss …

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September-October 2021

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ART

SHE’S A VERY GOOD FELLOW Painter of flora is set to explore her roots

BY MARINA BROWN

W

↗

Lilian Garcia-Roig, a professor and Art Department chair at FSU, has been awarded a 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship.

Born in Cuba, she is a “natural drawer” and the first artist in her family.

hat would it be like to enter the mind of Lilian GarciaRoig, hold her brush and prepare to translate the cacophony of a forest glade into a megalithic painting that throbs with chlorophyll greens and sunlight?

Garcia-Roig, an art professor and department chair at Florida State University, gives us fair warning.

“My mind is like an exploding firecracker — everything is going on at once,” she said.

Her paintings, as a reflection of that mind, portray the natural world as a kaleidoscope of commanding colors and alternating thicknesses that pull us deeply into a forest’s shadows, then expel us, confetti-like, amid twists of red, green and brown.

Now, among the countless admirers of Garcia-Roig’s work, the John Simon Guggenheim Committee has awarded her the prestigious 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship for Art. Chosen from among 3,000 applicants nationwide, GarciaRoig is one of 184 artists, scholars and writers who will be funded up to $45,000 for six to 12 months to expand their research practices.

Above all else, it seems, Garcia-Roig does love to work. She is a self-driven artist

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September-October 2021

and educator, who, when she approaches a challenge, asks herself, “Why not me?”

Her Cuban-born parents tried to steer her into a stable business career, but Garcia-Roig asked herself, “Why couldn’t I be an artist?” And, despite being just two generations removed from forebears who left school after the fifth grade, she permitted herself to wonder, “Why couldn’t I be a professor?”

Her willingness to try, to step forward, to work and to “presume the possibility” has led Garcia-Roig to 17 major national awards, fellowships and residencies — among them, the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award in Painting, a Mid-America Arts Alliance/NEA Fellowship Award in Painting, a State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship and a Kimbrough Award from the Dallas

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

Museum of Art. She was a visiting artist at the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, and she secured a Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Fellowship.

But for the 54-year-old Garcia-Roig, who is married to an FSU mathematics professor and is the mother of two children, becoming a nationally recognized painter was far from a given.

“I was born in Havana to two physicians,” she explained. “And in a kind of hiatus after Castro assumed power, he permitted anyone who wished to leave Cuba to do so. My family of three did.”

The family settled in Houston, where her parents were able to take tests that qualified them to resume practicing medicine. Though there were no artists in her family, Garcia-Roig says that art and natural history museums “were a photography by SAIGE ROBERTS

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↑ Artist Lilian Garcia-Roig inspects her “Fluid Perceptions: Banyan as Metaphor,” a painting measuring 14 by 20 feet. Viewers have a tendency to “go in an out of the painting” because its complexity and large size prevent them from taking it in all at once. ↗ With a Guggenheim fellowship,

the artist plans to forge links between her work and that of a great uncle, a botanist who identified species displayed on the table at top right.

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September-October 2021

Garcia-Roig adopted a plein-air approach, and her works grew larger and larger as she internalized the outdoor world. She hauled massive canvases into the woods, mixed copious amounts of specific colors she observed on her palette and put those colors into aluminum tubes that enable her to make dramatic, squeeze-out paint marks on the canvas. Thus equipped, she embarked on daylong sessions spent capturing the thrilling tumult of a forest using brushes and sometimes her fingers in attempts to capture the complex nature and ever-changing experience of being in a specific location over time.

In addition to maintaining an active studio and exhibition practice for more than 30 years, she taught at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California at Berkley before coming to FSU. Always, she kept food on the table.

“You should do art because your passion allows you no other choice, but remember, you can hybridize a career,” Garcia-Roig advises young people. You can both eat and paint.

The Guggenheim Fellowship will give Garcia-Roig an opportunity to explore her connection to Cuba. She will investigate

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

links between her work as a painter and the scientific work of her great uncle, the renowned Cuban botanist Juan Tomás Roig, who cataloged and collected Cuban plants.

“I’ve always thought about the world visually, and this will be a journey of discovery. Why not me?” TM

PHOTO BY SAIGE ROBERTS (GARCIA-ROIG BOTTOM RIGHT) AND COURTESY OF LILIAN GARCIA-ROIG

constant in our lives. We weren’t allowed to listen to rock ’n’ roll, but classical music and Broadway show tunes were on repeat.”

It may be that an artistic muse was drawn to such a household.

“I was a natural drawer,” GarciaRoig said. She created mostly realistic portraits and still-life paintings early on. By 17, she had won a Gold Key in a National Scholastic Competition, and her prizewinning work was displayed in Washington’s Corcoran Gallery of Art. By the time she graduated from Southern Methodist University, her work had figured in six group and solo exhibitions. She collected dozens of awards by the time she completed her master of fine arts degree at the University of Pennsylvania.

Among those awards, one changed her life.

“I was awarded a fellowship to the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine,” she said. “There, I shifted from student to artist and painted landscapes for the first time. I began to merge the abstract materiality of nature with the realistic. I wanted an image to emerge, not just to be painted. I wanted the viewer to go in and out of the painting, to be perceptually active.”

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Source: The Forbes “America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors” list, March 24, 2021. Data provided by SHOOK™ Research, LLC. Data as of September 30, 2020. The Forbes “America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors” ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person, virtual and telephone due diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively, a major component of a ranking algorithm that includes: client impact, industry experience, review of best practices and compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Rankings and recognition from Forbes are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results, and such rankings should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receives compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. Forbes is a trademark of Forbes Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) makes available certain investment products sponsored, managed, distributed or provided by companies that are affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”). MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, Member SIPC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.

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BOOKS

RPI helps authors navigate publishing process

by STEVE BORNHOFT

THE CODE:

Cracking the Code for Females in a Male-Dominated Medical World of Sales

Anneliese Kagan Finn describes her book as a work of creative non-fiction derived from her considerable experience in the highly competitive arena of medical device sales. It is that, we trust, but it is more particularly a 65-page manual on the art of professional, appropriate and effective selfpresentation — and self-preservation.

Over the course of more than 20 years in medical sales, Finn made a study of women in the field, seeking to identify the traits and behaviors that typified those who succeeded where others faltered or dropped out.

For the past 10 years, Finn has been an endovascular consultant for aortic stent grafts and is currently employed by Terumo Aortic. A business graduate of Florida State University, she has earned numerous sales awards and has worked with top surgeons in various specialties throughout the country.

Her prescriptions are familiar: avoid extremes in dress; never stop learning about your market and the doctors with whom you interact; familiarize yourself with their published research; adopt the attitude of a service provider committed to always being available to clients; proceed dispassionately while exuding confidence; seize opportunities — accept the promotion.

Taken together, however, they add up to a formula for success, one that, minus the advice on cleavage and string bikinis, is as useful to men as it is to women.

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September-October 2021

SWEET RAIN:

A Novel

Lisa Cue’s comingof-age novel is about unexpected good fortune and its impermanence.

Its central character, Raven, is rescued from an orphanage despite a “difficult background” and her age — she is old enough to wonder why her adoptive parents have chosen her.

But in this story, developments are not always the product of free will. Angels, some of them fallen and dark and others good and, well, angelic, intervene in the lives of humans.

Just days before Raven leaves the orphanage, she meets a boy who seems strangely confident.

He told me my new home would be wonderful and that it was a blessing to have such a wonderful couple who wanted to take me in as a member of their family.

He said he would have to go. But he promised, “I’ll come back to you.”

Here, then, is all the foreshadowing we need to keep us moving forward. The boy’s prophecy proves true. Raven’s new parents are remarkable providers and see to her financial security following their deaths.

Attending college in Seattle, Raven grows enamored with a young man, David.

Their relationship progresses until he says it can go no further, and he departs her life.

Later, he returns, rescues her from trouble and promises never to leave again. But, as a being half human and half angel, he is subject to worldly desires and otherworldly direction. Nothing is certain.

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

PROFESSIONALLY DISTANCED:

All-Access Stories from a Florida Business During the 2020 Pandemic

From his perspective as the CEO of Aegis Business Technologies in Tallahassee, Blake Dowling chronicled in a series of columns the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on home lives, business operations, even our everyday vernacular.

Never before 2020 had he thought of Aegis as an “essential business.”

The columns, collected in Professionally Distanced and accompanied by personal reflections, document the fears, beers, setbacks and successes of an unprecedented year and add up to a diary, but one to which anyone can relate.

At its worst, the pandemic has felt like an apocalypse, and as Dowling points out, there existed no guidebook on how to deal with it, no Pandemic for Dummies. At work, Dowling and his wife Jeanne dealt with supply chain disruption. At home, they painted everything and parented newly adopted pandemic kittens.

A crisis of indeterminate length stretched and strengthened relationships, and we found comfort in the familiar, Dowling notes.

“I watched 60 Minutes because Scott Pelley’s voice is always nice to hear during a crisis,” Dowling writes. “The dude can tell a story. He went on the front lines with health care workers in New York, and several of them said despite the impossible mission, they were fired up to get back to work — the camaraderie was something they had never felt before.

“On a different level, I feel that here with our team. … Not one person has complained about anything since this all started. In fact, it is the opposite; it is complete teamwork.”

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FROM PEN TO PRESS

Many authors have taken to self-publishing as a way of getting their writings to market, but few are in a position to do so all by themselves. The custom publishing division at Rowland Publishing helped out the authors of the books described below with services including copyediting; proofreading; formatting; serving as a liaison between writers and printers; file uploading; and in one case even providing a cover illustration.

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FCS Special Report

Florida Cancer Specialists

Tallahassee Cancer Center Grand Opening Special Report

Florida Cancer Specialists 1

Published by

Writers Steve Bornhoft Zandra Wolfgram Audrey Post Photographers Dave Barfield Alex Workman

PHOTO BY DAVE BARFIELD

On the Cover Florida Cancer Specialists' new facility in Florida's capital city gives local residents a cutting-edge option for treatment. (Photo by Dave Barfield)

2 Florida Cancer Specialists

FCS Special Report

Who is Florida Cancer Specialists?

At Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS), the heart of our mission is bringing world-class cancer care to communities, both large and small, throughout the state of Florida. That mission is what prompted FCS to open its first locations in Tallahassee. Medical oncologists Viralkumar Bhanderi, MD, and Paresh Patel, MD, joined the statewide practice early in 2012 and, in May of that same year, medical oncologist Scott Tetreault, MD, relocated his practice from Sarasota and opened the second FCS location in the Capitol City. In April 2020, FCS again expanded its services in Tallahassee as Margarett Ellison, MD, who specializes in gynecologic oncology, joined the practice.

FCS continues to set a benchmark for community oncology by providing the most advanced and personalized treatments, enhanced services and national clinical trial research in Tallahassee and other locations that are convenient and close to home. This allows our patients to be surrounded by family and friends as they go through their cancer journey. Studies from the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) have demonstrated not only that patients much prefer being treated in a communitybased facility close to where they live, but also that community cancer care is far less expensive than hospitalbased treatment.

Enriching the Patient Experience The new Tallahassee Cancer Center was planned using Evidence-Based Design (EBD) integrated into the design of the building to achieve functional and aesthetic outcomes that will increase operational efficiencies for providers, while creating an environment that enhances patient

Contents

04 08 14

A Regional Resource

Oncologist Profiles Teamwork Makes the Dream work

experiences and reduces stress. Such considerations as what colors are most soothing or how to incorporate natural materials and elements into the facility really do make a difference to patients. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), numerous studies have demonstrated that by using a data-based methodology to make building design decisions with the patient in mind, healthcare outcomes can be positively impacted.

Clinical Trials Bring New Hope for Cancer Patients With a robust Clinical Trials Program, FCS rivals or exceeds most academic medical centers in the number of national clinical trials it offers. Through a strategic partnership with Sarah Cannon Research Institute, one of the leading clinical trial organizations in the world, we can offer patients in Tallahassee the most promising new drugs and treatments for all types of cancer, even before they receive FDA approval. FCS also has two Drug Development Units (DDUs), in Sarasota and Lake Mary, that are dedicated exclusively to Phase 1 Trials, which are many times first-in-human. Over the past five years, the majority of new cancer drugs approved for use in the U.S. were studied in clinical trials with Florida Cancer Specialists’ participation.

In the past decade, researchers and physicians have increased the body of knowledge about cancer tremendously. New targeted treatments and immunotherapies, genetic testing, as well as advances in surgical and radiation technologies are changing the outcomes for some of the deadliest types of cancer … and at FCS, we believe there are more breakthroughs on the horizon.

16 20 24

Caring Treatment Close to Home Makes a Difference Getting It Right

By the Numbers

Florida Cancer Specialists 3

A REGIONAL RESOURCE Tallahassee Cancer Center and its team draw patients from a wide radius

BY STEVE BORNHOFT, PHOTO BY DAVE BARFIELD

4 Florida Cancer Specialists

FCS Special Report

I

t’s a scenario that plays out in Dr. Scott Tetreault’s office frequently. Happens all the time, he says. It’s that initial phase in a doctor-patient relationship when the physician effectively auditions, selling his talent, experience, his staff and his medical facility …

I sit down with a patient. He’s in his 70s and has just been diagnosed with cancer, say it’s prostate cancer. His wife is with him and so is his daughter, and she is a lawyer, and she’s got her notebook. I can tell, based on their questions, what the conversation was like at the dinner table the night before. The daughter has told him that the doctors in Tallahassee are not competent — “We’re getting you out of town. You’ve got to go to Moffitt in Tampa.”

And Dad said to her, “You’re a lawyer, I’m proud of you, so I’ll go,

but if they say I’m going to need treatment, I’m going to have to go six hours one way from my farm to get it.” Dad says to me, “We’re going to be honest with you; we have an appointment at Moffit next week.” I say, “OK, great, you’re going to see one of my friends.”

But the real reason Dad brought up the appointment is because he wants to know from me if it’s truly necessary that he go to Tampa.

At this point, he’s met my front desk people and my new patient coordinator and the people who draw blood. They have all been wonderful. Dad is satisfied that everybody knows what he or she is doing. But the daughter with the notebook has to have peace, too.

She has to have confidence that her father is going to get the right diagnosis, the right treatment.

Florida Cancer Specialists 5

FCS Special Report

Tetreault, as a Florida Cancer Specialists legacy partner, and particularly given the completion of the Tallahassee Cancer Center, is in a strong position to give people the assurances they need.

The impressive building itself inspires confidence.

“And I can tell the patient and family members that every FDA-approved treatment for your disease is right here,” Tetreault said. “Plus, we have experimental trials, clinical trials.”

Hearing that, people like the daughter in the previous example will visibly relax.

“I can tell her that despite what a friend told her about Moffitt having something we don’t have, we have it all here. And the daughter’s body language says, ‘OK, that’s a relief,’ because she has two small children, and she was worrying about having to draw down family medical leave.”

Some cancer drugs, Tetreault pointed out, are extraordinarily expensive. Lots of administrative help may be required to get them ordered and delivered.

Small groups may be unable to handle all of that, but FCS can — right here.

The Tallahassee Cancer Center, Tetreault emphasized, is for the patients, first and foremost, and for its employees.

“Having cancer is a real challenge,” Tetreault said. “There’s a myth that people have in their heads, that if I get cancer, I’m going to the best place in the world, get the best surgeon to cut it out and then I get to wear a cancer survivor ribbon the rest of my life. That’s what people walk around believing.”

But the truth is, for most people who develop cancer, it’s a chronic disease requiring long-lasting treatment.

“Many of our patients require treatments of two, three, even four hours a week or every other week,” Tetreault said. “You want to spend those hours in a pleasant, efficient, nice environment. Imagine spending that time in a dingy, low-rent place. It’s bad

6 Florida Cancer Specialists

for healing, and it’s really bad for your employees. That’s why you need a stateof-the-art facility.”

And it’s available — right here.

“It’s bad enough having cancer but imagine having to drive back and forth to Tampa or the Mayo Clinic for treatment,” Tetreault said. “That has side effects of its own. A trip is dangerous. I will tell anybody, ‘If you are going to MD Anderson in Houston and

they are saving your life and nobody else can, I’ll drive you there.’ But that is almost never the case.”

At the Tallahassee Cancer Center, diagnostic equipment including the latest PET/CT scanner, immunotherapy, vaccine therapies and clinical trials are all available. The medical staff includes Dr. Margarett Ellison, a gynecological oncologist, or as Tetreault put it, a “very rare bird

PHOTOS BY ALEX WORKMAN

FCSSpecial SpecialReport Report FCS

who does surgery and provides medical services for gynecologic cancer cases.”

The center, Tetreault said, serves patients from a “catchment area” of some 600,000 to 700,000 people, from Monticello to the Georgia line to the Gulf of Mexico, east to Perry and west to Panama City. Especially in the Hurricane Michael impact area, the need is great.

There, many supporting specialists were displaced by the storm and did not return.

The Tallahassee Cancer Center, then, is a regional resource.

“Say a guy in Greenville has a cough, he gets an X-ray and there’s a bowling ball in his lung,” Tetreault said. “His nurse practitioner has my cell phone number, and she texts me a picture of the X-ray and report or concerning labs and asks me when I need to see him. Today, tomorrow, in two weeks? It saves lives.”

Many times, Tetreault has had the

experience of meeting with people, especially from rural areas, who equated a cancer diagnosis with a death sentence.

“Every couple of weeks, I’ll have people in my office in tears,” he said.

“They had no idea as to what is possible in our area.”

With the advent of the Tallahassee Cancer Center, what they did not know about just got better.

Florida Cancer Specialists 7

Oncologist Profile:

Dr. Scott Tetreault

FCS legacy partner has a passion for healing — and fast cars

BY STEVE BORNHOFT

A

braham Maslow, in a paper published in 1943, posited a hierarchy of needs, often represented as a pyramid, that Psychology 101 students for decades would be required to memorize.

Once a person meets his physiological and safety needs, Maslow reasoned, he may proceed to work to satisfy other, higher-order needs for belongingness, esteem and, finally, self-actualization.

Dr. Scott Tetreault, a legacy partner at Florida Cancer Specialists and the chief driver behind the new Tallahassee Cancer Center, impresses as someone

8 Florida Cancer Specialists

who has crested the pyramid. His life has been shaped by a need not specifically articulated by Maslow, the need to be needed.

“What you want ultimately in life is to know that if you didn’t go back to work, if tomorrow you woke up and said ‘I’m not going back in there,’ then a bunch of people would be really upset,” Tetreault said. “You don’t want the kind of job where, if you don’t come back, people say, ‘Oh, you weren’t really doing that much anyway. We can get along without him.’ ” At that, Tetreault, the son of a nurse

and an entrepreneurial restaurateur, got an early start. He knew in high school that he wanted to become a cancer doctor.

“It seemed to be the most complex area,” he said. “My thinking was, ‘Why go into something easy?’ I wanted to work with sick people who, when they come through the door, they know they need me. There is no wondering about it.”

The need to be needed would one day influence his move from Southwest Florida — he spent 10-plus years building the Sarasota division of FCS — to Tallahassee.

Tetreault went to high school in

PHOTOS BY ALEX WORKMAN

FCS Special Report

Clearwater and attended Wake Forest University as an undergraduate. He completed medical school at the University of Miami and an internship and residency at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida. He was awarded a fellowship in oncology at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California, near San Diego.

After California, he returned to his home state and joined a small group of cancer specialists who impressed him as forward thinking. Having grown up in a “business household,” he liked the fact that the group ran its own operation.

“Sarasota was awesome, perfect life, big houses, great doctors, affluent community,” Tetreault said. “The best of everything everywhere. I certainly could have spent the rest of my career there.

Every patient was a great patient — but they didn’t really need me. Here in Tallahassee, every day I know I’m needed.”

Tetreault was seeing patients in Sarasota when his office phone rang. A Dr. West, the chief medical officer at Capital Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee, wanted to speak with him. Tetreault was curious enough to take the call.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare was developing a cancer center and snapping up the oncologists in town, leaving Capital Regional without any.

Would FCS, West wanted to know, be interested in establishing an office in Tallahassee? The FCS business model involved expanding by acquiring practices versus starting new offices, but Tetreault and his wife nonetheless drove to Tallahassee and had a look around.

He was “amazed,” not in a good way.

“Cancer care here was like it was in the 1980s, maybe the 1970s,” Tetreault said of his exploratory trip to Tallahassee, taken some 10 years ago. “If you needed any treatment that was new, you had to get on the highway and go to Gainesville or go to Mayo.”

Standard chemotherapy treatments were available, “but you had to be admitted to the hospital on a Monday and leave on Friday. That was crazy.

“There’s nothing like dogs. They never bug you. They never make you talk when you don’t want to talk. They are always optimistic, I mean dogs are awesome.”

For 20 years, the profession had been doing treatment on an outpatient basis.”

Tetreault determined that “a great final act for my career would be to bring our FCS philosophy and build a cancer center here in Tallahassee.”

The experience, he said, has been fantastic. He has worked to establish relationships with referring doctors and nurse practitioners in Tallahassee and beyond, sometimes sending handwritten notes to them in predominantly rural Northwest Florida counties. He finds especially gratifying working with “salt of the earth people who do the best they can and never dreamed that they would have access to a miracle drug.”

Tetreault’s greatest passion is for healing, but he loves, too, fast cars, big

dogs — he owns a collie and a doodle — and Miami Hurricanes football.

“There’s nothing like dogs,” Tetreault said. “They never bug you. They never make you talk when you don’t want to talk. They are always optimistic, I mean dogs are awesome.”

As to cars, Tetreault started out collecting antique grand touring cars, “but now I’m 100 percent Porsche.”

He’d like, one day, to own a 1962 Maserati 3500 GT. Tetreault, along with a number of other prominent doctors, as it happens, is a member of a motorsports club, which he likened to a “golf club for car people.”

“There is nothing more relaxing than driving really fast in a fine car on a track,” Tetreault said. “When you have a big practice and you work with very sick people, you are always interrupted.

You have to learn how to do nine things at once. You get interrupted for consequential reasons. Scans are dramatically abnormal. Somebody might die in an hour if you don’t do something about this electrolyte or this scan.

“You’ve got to get away and, driving at 200 miles an hour is a perfect escape; you can’t think of anything else. You can’t be bothered by anything.”

Cars and pups are two of Dr. Scott Tetreault’s passions.

Florida Cancer Specialists 9

Oncologist Profile:

Dr. Margarett Ellison Tough As Iron

W

ho enlists in the Army during a war? Who trains for an Ironman to get in shape? Who raises three boys and works full time? Who is triple Board-certified? Who opens a medical practice during a pandemic?

Attempting any one of these things would be impressive; Margarett Ellison, MD, has accomplished them all … and more.

This straight-shooting 53-year-old will tell you she’s tough as a mother, and as a gynecologic oncologist, she has to be.

Ellison was born in Jonesboro,

10 Florida Cancer Specialists

Georgia, where she was never without her Hasbro doctor kit and where she never missed an episode of Emergency on TV. She attended undergrad (Emory University) and medical school (Mercer University) in her home state. She joined the U.S. Army in 1991 and earned a health professions scholarship that helped pay her way through medical school. Her residency (obstetrics and gynecology) was at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. When she ventured to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1997 for a fellowship with Brown University/Women & Infants Hospital,

BY ZANDRA WOLFGRAM

she remembers she “had to buy a coat for the first time.”

Upon completing her fellowship, Ellison served as assistant chief for the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. During 2003, she deployed to Kuwait, where she served as a general surgeon for the 10th Combat Support Hospital in Operation Enduring Freedom. For her stellar service, she was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, U.S.A.R. “Anyone who’s been in the Army learns patience. Things are not

FCS Special Report

“It was about clearing my head and gaining some life-work balance.

And I wanted to show my kids you can do anything you set your mind to.”

PHOTOS BY ALEX WORKMAN

Dr. Margarett Ellison competes in triathlon competitions as a way to stay in shape.

100 percent under your control. You have to make do with what you’ve got and get the job done MacGyver-style,” Ellison says matter-of-factly.

After being Board-certified in 2004, she worked in Los Angeles for six years before heading south to Atlanta, where she practiced until 2016. She happily left the “daily grind of the city” to settle in Tallahassee, where she has worked with Florida Cancer Specialists for just over a year. Her specialties are gynecologic oncology, minimally invasive and robotic surgery and chemotherapy for gynecologic (GYN) malignancies.

Ellison admits military training was great preparation.

“Surgeons are super picky, and I’m just not that way,” she says. “I can get by with a piece of gum and some matches.

When you have dedication to a mission, you work around things. It teaches you how to get through tough situations in your head space.”

If she needs a nudge, Ellison is not beyond putting herself in a “tough situation.”

When she was 45, she had put on some weight, so she made a New Year’s resolution to get into better shape.

She changed her diet, started spin classes and progressed to jogging. Her “muscle memory” from her days on the elementary swim team was put to the test when she registered for her first triathlon in 2013. She continued to increase her distances and relay times, and at age 48, she competed in Ironman Florida.

“My goal was to better myself in terms of my overall health,” she says. “It was about clearing my head and gaining some life-work balance. And I wanted to show my kids you can do anything you set your mind to.”

Her sons, Devon, 25, Austin, 23, and Thaddeus, 15, cheered her on. So did her daughter in-law, Samantha, who was her “catcher” — someone who stays at

the finish line to be sure you are okay and gives you your medal.

“There’s no better feeling than having someone you love there for you,” she says.

You could say Ellison is a “catcher” for her patients daily. During her 60-hour workweek, she sees about 50 patients per week and conducts seven-to-10 surgeries.

Of those, about 70 percent are for endometrial cancer — the most common gynecologic malignancy — and about 30 percent are ovarian cancer — more technically challenging to perform.

Elena Gellepis was diagnosed in 2018 with ovarian cancer and referred to Ellison. She reflected about her patient experience in a video testimonial for FCS. In it, Gellepis says, “She made me feel that I was safe in her hands, and I was. She really does care; you’re not just a number, you’re not just another patient. She gets to know you, and I credit her with me being here today.”

When she first entered the field, Ellison was considered to be at the forefront.

“There has been a trend for more women migrating to obstetrics and gynecology as a specialty,” she explains.

“When I was finishing school, there were about 600 Gyn Oncs in the U.S. and “10 percent” were female; now there are more like 1,200 and 50 percent are female.”

Armed with compassion and dedication — and yes, toughness — she intends to prevail in the war on gynecological cancer, too.

Florida Cancer Specialists 11

Oncologist Profile:

Dr. Paresh Patel

In the Fight for the Long Haul

W

hether it is adding yet another board certification to his considerable credentials, fighting big pharma for his patients or acing his tennis game, Paresh Patel, MD, is in it to win it.

Growing up in Patan, India, Patel tagged along with his uncle to make house calls for patients. Even as a high schooler, he was struck by the power of healing human touch.

“It was immediate. I saw the instant

12 Florida Cancer Specialists

reward of making patients feel better,” he says.

After earning top honors at B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad, India, Patel was recruited to Jersey Shore Medical Center. As chief medical resident (internal medicine), he participated as a clinical investigator in numerous clinical trials. His work earned an award of excellence for outstanding clinical research. He was invited to do his first fellowship in palliative care at Virginia

BY ZANDRA WOLFGRAM

Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System, followed by another in hematology and oncology. Patel is fastidious about continued learning and is quadruple Board Certified in medical oncology, hematology, internal medicine, hospice and palliative care.

He relocated with his wife, Yamini, and their three children to Tallahassee in 2011 and joined Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) in 2012. Now 49 years old, Patel has been Board-certified for 11 years and is still

FCS Special Report

PHOTOS BY ALEX WORKMAN

Service is at the heart of Dr. Paresh Patel’s practice, and that includes his tennis game.

thrilled when his care earns him a thank you card or, better yet, a hug.

His uncle’s footsteps were not the only ones Patel followed; teaching mirrors his passion for medicine. “It runs in my family. My father was a teacher at an engineering college,” says Patel, who clearly relishes the memory.

For four years as an attending physician at VCU, he taught his colleagues. At FCS, he teaches medical students from Florida State University in rotation, as well as students from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine.

“You get to share your knowledge and educate them and give them a better perspective about cancer diagnosis and treatment so they can continue to do better and increase their abilities,” he says.

When students ask this tenacious teacher for career advice, he is fair but not impartial.

“I’m always biased about oncology.

Not everyone is made for it. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But if you have the passion and compassion to do it, it’s rewarding. If I had to do it again, I would still choose oncology,” Patel says.

What’s the secret to choosing a successful path in medicine?

“I always tell students, ‘Look for what you like to do rather than looking for what you want to do,’ because once you like what you do for a living, you will keep doing it forever,” he says.

The ground gained in oncology continues to encourage Patel.

“Since I began practicing, drug approvals have more than doubled,” he explains. “Now we have the highest FDA drug approval rate of any specialty.

Medicine-wise, treatment-wise, testingwise, oncology has significantly exploded compared to what it used to be, even 15 or 20 years ago. Patients who would not have survived six months … we’re now seeing them four, five, 10 years without treatment. So, it is much more challenging; at the same time, it is much more rewarding and exciting, and that’s what makes it a pleasure.”

Patel credits his entire caregiving team, led by APRN Cheryl Holm, for his success. He sees about 20 patients a day and tries to treat each of them as an individual.

“I look at a patient as a person, not a number,” he says. “I always think of myself in their shoes and ask, ‘how would I like to be approached?’ ” In 2011, Patel’s sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer. He helped her with difficult decisions and she helped him realize first-hand what his patients’ families go through.

“It’s hard,” he confesses.

Patel continues to fight hard for his patients outside of his doctor’s office, too.

In addition to serving on the boards of the Florida Medical Association and the Capitol Medical Society, he is chairman of the Legislative Committee for the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO). In this role, he is actively engaged in eyeing “legislative care” to ensure patients gain “transparency” and avoid “delays in treatment and financial toxicity.”

“It will change, but it takes time,” Patel says. “It’s not a small task. It takes a lot of education. At least now it’s on the legislature’s radar; two years ago, it was not. I’m here for the long haul and I am here to make things better for patients.”

Florida Cancer Specialists 13

TEAMWORK Makes the DREAM WORK

T

o run a world-class medical facility requires an A-team. The Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) Tallahassee Cancer Center has precisely that.

“We have one of the best teams I’ve ever seen in a medical facility,” says senior office manager Suzanne Harrison. “It’s probably the compassion that every single team member has and the camaraderie they have with one another. I am proud of them. Each one is a super person. Together, we are a family.”

Meet three members of the FCS family who work out of the newly consolidated center in Tallahassee.

14 Florida Cancer Specialists

Suzanne Harrison This no-nonsense, New York-born healthcare administrator was known affectionately for her hard-nosed work attitude, but that changed when she joined FCS four years ago.

“When you step into oncology, your entire mindset has to change,” Harrison says. “All the employees are just as emotionally invested as the patients. As a manager, you have to have compassion for everyone in the building.”

Akin to an air traffic controller, it’s Harrison’s job to ensure the daily operations for this multi-faceted

practice run as smooth as possible.

This includes the front office, medical assistance staff, a full lab, an infusion center, as well as the financial and research teams.

This 16-year administrative veteran oversees a 43-member team that supports four physicians. Until recently, that meant managing three different physical locations. After more than a year of planning and construction, the Tallahassee Cancer Center is a dream realized. Today, the only private oncology center in the city boasts 24,000 square feet that houses 16 exam

PHOTOS BY ALEX WORKMAN

BY ZANDRA WOLFGRAM

FCS Special Report

rooms, two procedure rooms, a research area, a fully-certified lab, in-house CT and PET scanning capability and an infusion suite equipped with 59 chairs and two semi-private rooms with beds.

“This is a big deal. It is brand new and gorgeous, yes, but the consolidation is important to us, ultimately, because it will allow us to be even more efficient and that will better serve our patients,” Harrison says.

“I felt I needed to be somewhere where I could help people,” she says.

“I told Eric, ‘I hate that you’ve got cancer, but as bad as it is, good has come out of it because I ended up here and get to help people every day.’ ” One way she does that is by sharing her personal story.

“I tell my patients about Eric,” she says.

“It gives them hope. I say you’ll have bad days, but don’t you ever give up.”

Becky Lollie

Veronica Battle

Becky Lollie will do anything for you — except sugarcoat things or bite her tongue.

Just ask her patients: the 86-year-old who bragged he finally gained 2 pounds thanks to his 36 cans of Ensure each month; the dear on a fixed income who gets Hormel meals delivered to her home; the elderly woman who can shop essentials at Walmart because FCS paid her rent; or the fellow who finally got a new roof after Hurricane Michael stole his. These stories — and many more — are badges of honor for this 60-year-old financial counselor.

“I want to help everybody,” Lollie says in her Southern drawl. “I don’t want anyone to hurt or not have.”

After three years at FCS, she still enjoys the one-hour commute from Bristol, Florida to liaison between patients and their insurance companies.

She uses her resourcefulness to help patients find a path through the financials. She says the secret to her success is simple: “I listen, and I will not give up.”

It wasn’t easy for her to leave her job in the optometrist office after 27 years; it was destiny.

“I was meant to be here,” she says emphatically.

Four years ago, in June, Eric — Lollie’s eldest of four sons — was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Though he initially was told he only had months to live, he’s still fighting thanks to specialists who didn’t give up on him.

Lollie wanted to fight, too … for all the Erics out there.

If she were an emoji, she’d be a smiley face. Lead medical assistant Veronica Battle is a people person who loves to talk and laugh. As this 42-year-old, effervescent Florida native puts it, she tries to “find the half-full perspective on everything.”

As the liaison between the medical assistants and the office manager, it’s Battle’s job to ensure everyone is properly trained and “knows the ropes.”

For Battle, FCS is much more than a medical facility.

“More than just a team taking care of people, we’re home for a lot of patients,” she says. “We’re a home away from home, and that’s what we try to make it.”

As “rough” as cancer is, Battle’s pledge to all her patients is, “We are going to be with you every step of the way.”

Some days the biggest rewards are found in small things.

“I come home feeling like I’ve done something special for someone … that I’ve given someone having a tough time a good laugh. It’s important to be able to enjoy that moment,” Battle says.

Battle’s career took a welcome U-turn after listening to the radio while cleaning a pool in Fort Lauderdale.

“I heard a commercial about being a medical assistant and I signed up five days later,” she says.

After becoming a certified clinical medical assistant, she completed an externship at U.S. Oncology in Plantation, Florida, where she worked for 12 years.

She recently marked two years at FCS.

“I have always been a caregiver. It is my nature. I love helping people. Oncology is a very fulfilling specialty. It’s very tough but very fulfilling,” she says.

Battle says the team is a “well-oiled machine,” in part, thanks to the physicians —Viralkumar Bhanderi, MD; Margarett Ellison; MD, Paresh Patel; MD and Scott Tetreault, MD. “If you don’t know something, they will teach you,” Battle says. “They are so approachable, human and down to earth.”

For Battle, working for FCS feels more like a calling than a job.

“You know you are where you’re supposed to be when what you do is not just a job, and a paycheck is a bonus. I would do it for free,” Battle says with a big smile.

A Kind Word For… “The company is great.

Everyone I’ve ever met is so passionate about this company, what we do and what we provide. It’s amazing.”

— Suzanne Harrison “I like working with nurse Renee Ferriby, because I send Renee 50 emails for stuff I need her to fix on a chart or a diagnosis. She never fusses or gets upset, no matter how busy she is. She sends back a note with a smile emoji. I call her ‘Sunshine.’ ” — Becky Lollie “I like working with Starla Anderson, because at times, when I may be about to lose it, she brings me back with a good old-fashioned talking-to.”

— Veronica Battle

Florida Cancer Specialists 15

Isabel Owens

16 Florida Cancer Specialists

FCS Special Report

CARING TREATMENT CLOSE TO HOME

Makes a Difference

BY AUDREY POST, PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX WORKMAN

H

earing the words “you have cancer” is a heartstopping, gut-wrenching, breath-arresting moment when time seems to freeze. For the physicians, nurses, technicians, counselors and support staff members in the Florida Cancer Specialists network, dealing with the emotional toll of a cancer diagnosis is as important as treating the cancer itself.

Isabel Owens has heard those words not once, not twice, but three times.

A Tallahassee native who describes herself as “a young 74-year-old,” Owens was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. A lumpectomy, radiation therapy and chemotherapy at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare followed, then a full recovery. In 2008, she was diagnosed with cancer in her other breast.

“I didn’t realize there were different kinds of breast cancer,” Owens said. “Luckily, the risk was lower, so I had another lumpectomy and radiation but no chemo.”

Two years ago, in February of 2019, Owens was diagnosed with lung cancer. Her doctor at TMH Partners, Dr. Carlos Campo, had been keeping an eye on some spots on her lung, and a biopsy revealed the cancer had penetrated the outer wall of the lung. Stage 4 lung cancer.

“My daughter was with me at the hospital, and she found out first, while I was in the recovery room,” Owens said.

“They told her I had nine months to live.”

Dr. Campo referred her to Dr. Paresh Patel at Florida Cancer Specialists’ Tallahassee location. They discussed her options, including immunology therapy and clinical trials.

“The immunology sent me for a loop for about 24 hours,” Owens said, but Dr. Patel gave her hope. “He said,

Florida Cancer Specialists 17

Isabel Owens and R.J.

‘I’m going to fix you.’ And I’ve been in remission for over a year.”

Dr. Patel believes the rapid advancement in oncology treatment options has vastly improved the outcomes for cancer patients. “Every morning, we have to check and see what new drug has been approved that we can use for our patients.”

He also believes in treating patients like family, because personal attention makes a difference in patient outcomes.

18 Florida Cancer Specialists

“I love getting hugs from my patients,” he said.

A cancer diagnosis at any time tends to bring with it a lot of soul-searching and introspection. With the forced isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Owens said she had a lot of time for reflection.

“I thought, if God’s going to give me all this time, I need to make good use of it,” she said. “I decided to train a puppy for a PTSD veteran. God led me to this.”

She has always loved dogs, but being

retired and on a limited income, she cannot afford to care for a dog properly — food, shots, grooming and other veterinary care. Valor Service Dogs, headquartered in Tampa, covers all expenses for the dogs in training. Once a week, Owens and R.J., a 4-month-old red Labrador retriever puppy, travel to the regional VSD office in Valdosta, Ga., for classes. It’s a win-win, she said.

“It’s not my expense, but I get the joy of having the dog,” Owens said.

FCS Special Report Emmanuel George

Sarah Cannon Research Institute Partner for Healing

BY ZANDRA WOLFGRAM

W

“It’s a two-year commitment, so I’m committing to two years of being here.”

Emmanuel George, 68, isn’t planning on going anywhere anytime soon, either.

George, of Crawfordville, had received the results of the routine blood work done to monitor his diabetes when his primary care physician referred him to an oncologist, Dr. Scott Tetreault at FCS. “We started with chemo, but he and I had a conversation and decided I should have a bone marrow transplant at Shands,” George said. “The remission didn’t last long, so I came back and resumed treatment with Dr. Tetreault.”

George started getting treatments once a week and showed improvement to the point

his treatments were cut back to every two weeks. Now, he gets treatment once a month.

“I’m in a clinical trial, and I like the treatment I’ve been receiving,” George said. “Everyone is so nice.”

Asked to describe Florida Cancer Specialists’ care, he replied, “One word: excellent!”

“I know they said there’s no cure for multiple myeloma,” George added, “but to see me, other than my bad knees, you’d never know I’m in cancer treatment.”

Dr. Tetreault said the advances over the past 25 years have meant that certain cancers, even if they can’t be cured, can be treated and managed for a very long time.

“We can put them in remission basically forever,” he said. “You can live with cancer, especially if the cancer treatment team is near your home.”

hy are clinical trials so important in cancer treatment? Because they give FCS doctors and patients access to the latest therapies and treatments and provide more options for those patients who qualify for a trial.

For more than 10 years, FCS team members have worked on hundreds of clinical trials with the Nashville-based Sarah Cannon Research Institute, a global leader in cancer research. More than two-thirds of the cancer therapies approved by the federal government over the past 10 years featured participation from Sarah Cannon and FCS. It takes an average of five to 10 years to get a new drug approved or an existing drug approved for a new application. A lot of drugs don’t even make it to patient trials, if lab analysis and animal studies don’t indicate a reasonable chance of success.

But the search continues.

“Sarah Cannon helps match Florida Cancer Specialists’ patients to clinical trials being conducted by research sponsors and pharmaceutical companies,” said Director of Clinical Research Bucky Jones-Lombard, RN, MSN, OCN, CCRP. The lung cancer drug Opdivo was one of the most recent treatments approved, in part because of the efforts of Sarah Cannon and FCS. “Before that drug was approved, it wasn’t available,” explained Jones-Lombard.

“But because we participated in the clinical trial, we were able to use it ahead of everyone else.”

That strategy would have appealed to Sarah Cannon herself, known worldwide for her Grand Ole Opry character “Minnie Pearl,” and after surviving breast cancer twice, became a passionate advocate for prevention, early detection and aggressive treatment of cancer. Named to honor her work, Sarah Cannon Research Institute was created 20 years ago as the global cancer institute of HCA Healthcare.

Florida Cancer Specialists 19

FCS Special Report

GETTING It RIGHT

Tallahassee Cancer Center was developed from the patient’s perspective

BY STEVE BORNHOFT, PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX WORKMAN

I

n undertaking the creation of a cancer center in Tallahassee, Dr. Scott Tetreault’s first impulse was to use a local architect, engineers and contractor. But no one knows better than he that there are circumstances that call for a specialist, and the further he got into the project, the more people steered him toward Optimal Outcomes in St. Petersburg.

“Even people in Tallahassee told me that was the right thing to do,” Tetreault said.

Optimal Outcomes, a planning, design and development firm, has been in Florida for 20 years, according to principal Andy Boggini, and for 15 years has developed cancer centers as a sub-specialty. Of the more than 20 such centers it has built to date, the majority have been for Florida Cancer Specialists.

“You start by making sure you cover all the functional areas,” said Boggini, who has more than 25 years of real estate investment, development and valuation experience. “Form has to follow function, so you have to make sure that the flow of a building works for a specific practice.”

Tetreault sees the Tallahassee Cancer Center as comprising three businesses, making flow a complicated consideration.

“It’s not the kind of doctor’s office where you walk in and bang on the glass and you go into an exam room,” Tetreault said. “One, you may see me in an exam room. Secondly, we have a lab, and there is a lot of traffic there. And thirdly, we have an infusion room where treatments take place. All three of those businesses have to operate simultaneously, and any one patient coming in may access one, two or all three on the same day. The building design has to provide flow.”

20 Florida Cancer Specialists

FCS Special Report

Florida Cancer Specialists 21

FCS Special Report

In addition, the center contains highly sophisticated equipment, including a state-of-the-art PET-CT scanner.

“We know that cancer practices rely on technology, and we accommodate the latest and greatest imaging equipment in the building,” Boggini said. “That’s part of getting the functionality right.”

Optimal Outcomes also firmly believes getting interior finishes, colors and materials right is essential.

“We strive to create a certain type of environment, a healing and soothing atmosphere that complements the care these doctors are providing,” Boggini said. “Dealing with cancer is a stressful time in anyone’s life. Our infusion room, where people sit for hours at a time to receive their therapy, needs to be clinical, yes, but it has high ceilings and ceiling features and a ton of windows to admit natural light.”

Boggini credits FCS with working to ensure that every aspect of a building is optimal for patients.

“Budgets and costs matter,” Boggini said, “but getting it right is more important than trying to save a nickel on a project. Dr. Tetreault gets that. A lot of times, we get pressure to make facilities smaller, but he wanted to allow for growth.”

At the Tallahassee Cancer Center, every exam room is on an outside wall with a window.

“That’s very atypical, and it can be a little inefficient,” Boggini said.

“Generally, you will cluster the exam rooms together and they will not have windows. A lot of times, doctors want their offices on the outside. But Dr. Tetreault said, ‘I put patients in rooms and sometimes they have to wait for me, and I want them to have natural light.’”

On that point, Tetreault would not bend.

“It was a challenge and we basically threw our first set of plans in the trash, but we came back with a plan with all 16 exam rooms with windows,” Boggini said.

Optimal Outcomes is a development firm, not a contractor.

22 Florida Cancer Specialists

“You give a contractor a set of plans and they know how to bid it and build it,” Boggini explained. “The architect can draw the plans. The electrician works with the contractor. But a developer is like the clerk of the works, the quarterback. We see all of it, and we bring it all together and we make sure that, from the outset, the client’s needs are communicated all the way through.

“A practice hires us to build a facility. We are a single source to them. The architects, the contractors, the engineers, they all fall under our umbrella.”

Boggini and Optimal Outcomes has learned that no two medical office projects are the same.

“All cancer groups, and medical groups in general, have their little nuances; they each do things a little differently,” Boggini said. “You got to have thick skin. You have to be prepared to make changes. Sometimes a standard in place at the beginning of a project will change in the middle of the project.”

Cancer centers are special office buildings, Tetreault said. He noted the checkout area at the Tallahassee Cancer Center in making that point.

“You go to your primary care doctor and check out — ‘Your next appointment is April 12. How’s 3 o’clock?’ That’s not our checkout. Our checkout is ‘OK, the doctor has ordered three referrals: pulmonary, have a port put in and go to the GI doctor. He also ordered five scans: MRI brain, CT chest, abdomen and pelvis and a bone scan.’

Our checkout area has nice marble-top desks. It’s not in the waiting area; it’s in the back of the entryway. It affords patients and employees privacy.”

Prior to the opening of the Tallahassee Cancer Center, Tetreault took his nurse practitioner on a tour of the facility.

“She was excited, and I had to curb her enthusiasm a little,” Tetreault said.

He told her that her desk in the new facility is the same size that she was used to. The exam rooms are the same size.

“Her corner of the world, where she spends all of her time, hasn’t changed,” Tetreault said. “But the quality of work-life for our pharmacists, nurses, our lab people and front-desk people is much better. The experience of our patients is much better.

That was the goal of our cancer center.

That’s the reason we did it.”

FCS Special Report

Florida Cancer Specialists 23

BY THE NUMBERS Our beautiful new Tallahassee Cancer Center is state of the art and will provide our patients with convenient access to the services they need — all under one roof.

E

We have consolidated our FCS clinics, Tallahassee East & North — Nearly double the size of our prior sites combined

25,000

vs.

square feet

N

14,000

Exam rooms (previously 6 each)

square feet

Specialty pharmacy,

Centralized

Rx To Go, with convenient

home delivery of oral medications

16

laboratory, pathology

Electronic medical records and real time access to information, billing and payment options

62

Treatment chairs (previously 42)

Care management services Bringing the

first fixed PET/CT scan

technology to the region

THANK YOU to our sponsors.

Florida Cancer Specialists Tallahassee salutes the sponsors who have supported the Tallahassee Cancer Center Grand Opening Special Report.

24 Florida Cancer Specialists

to help patients participating in value-based care initiatives to navigate every phase of care.

It also reduces duplication and avoids unnecessary hospital stays and ER visits

SP ECI AL ADV ERTI SI N G SECTI ON

RELAX + RECHARGE + RECONNECT

VISIT NORTHWEST FLORIDA

BEACHES MAGAZINE

FALL 2021

ARRESTING BEAUTY

LIfe slows and stress dissipates for people when they visit the intersection of the Gulf and the shore and experience anew our primordial fascination with waves and the horizon.

PHOTO BY KANSAS PITTS PHOTOGRAPHY

Natural Wonder Awaits Where the inviting waters of the Gulf of Mexico buss the shore, good times roll

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September-October 2021

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SP ECI AL ADV ERTI SI N G SECTI ON

VISIT NORTHWEST FLORIDA

BEACHES

At One with the Water

Free divers explore depths unencumbered by tanks STORY BY STEVE BORNHOFT PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEAN MURPHY

O

rdinarily, he would have pulled back the bands on his spear gun and drawn a bead on the “suitcase,” as the thick-skinned fish are sometimes called.

But his partner, Fred Cardet, a retired orthopedic surgeon, took over by way of an agreement the two men had reached topside.

D’Agostino was coming off rotator cuff surgery, and rather than allow him to risk setting back his recovery, Cardet helped out by preparing the gun for firing.

D’Agostino’s shot was true. The fish, placed on certified scales, topped 10 pounds, a world spearfishing record weight. But D’Agostino could not legitimately claim that distinction.

Doing so would have required that he had harvested the fish unassisted.

D’Agostino, however, readily puts things in perspective.

“People care about records, they do,” said D’Agostino who, in particular, has been chasing the world record for red snapper taken with a pole spear for years, coming within a pound three times. “But I would rather have good friends who look out for my best interests than to have a record few people would ever know about.”

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Such reasonable restraint characterizes generally D’Agostino’s approach to the sport of free diving, which, he said, “can be one of the easiest things you will ever do and also one of the most dangerous.”

D’Agostino is an instructor, certified by Freediving Instructors International, at Benthic Ocean Sports in Destin. Free diving has been his passion for 26 years. He was 20 when took a job as a lifeguard in his home state of New Jersey, and his supervisor, a man named Jeff Carpenter, introduced him to the activity.

“My very first day in the chair, I watched him go out and swim back and forth along a jetty with the Manhattan skyline in the background,” D’Agostino recalled. “He’s got a pole spear, fins and a catch bag. When he gets out, his bag is full of fish and I start peppering him with questions.”

Carpenter invited D’Agostino to join him, in part because he was looking for someone to provide him surface support as a safety consideration. Soon, D’Agostino had gained his first experience as a breath-hold spearfisherman.

“I remember going down 12 feet, and it felt like what 112 feet feels like now,” he said. “I pulled back on the spear and shot a tautog.”

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

The fish was two inches short of legal size, a rookie mistake.

“But I knew in that moment that free diving was going to be a part of me for the rest of my life. I could go right back to the very rock where I shot that fish. I can tell you what the water clarity and temperature were that day.

That experience is frozen in my mind.”

Free diving, according to D’Agostino, is the fastest-growing segment in water sports. Almost all of that growth relates to spearfishing, he said, although there are, he conceded, a few sightseeing free divers who frequent freshwater springs and lakes.

D’Agostino has made spearfishing trips to Australia, Fiji, Tahiti and Mexico. But he especially loves the northern Gulf of Mexico from the Big Bend of Florida to Texas.

“We have one of the best fisheries in the world right now,” he enthused, “from shallowwater species to blue-water species.”

The Level I class that D’Agostino teaches takes place in the course of a weekend.

“I have people come in here on a Saturday morning, and by Sunday at lunch they are 66-foot divers,” he said, adding that a student need only have basic swimming skills.

On Day 1, students receive a half-day

of classroom instruction covering topics including the history of the sport, equipment, physics and physiology.

In the afternoon, instruction moves to a pool where students work on entering the water and moving from a horizontal to a vertical, headfirst posture. D’Agostino discusses safety issues and problems that may affect divers such as loss of motor control or blackouts. He teaches people how to “diaphragm breathe” versus breathing from the chest, and students then attempt breath holds.

Within three attempts, D’Agostino students manage to hold their breath for an average of two minutes and 45 seconds.

“Infants breathe from their bellies,” D’Agostino said. “It’s natural and more relaxing. Then we get jobs and spouses and mortgages and other stressors, and we start to breathe through our chest, more stress. If you breathe from your diaphragm, purse your lips and control your exhale, basically you are holding your alveolar spaces in your lungs open longer.”

On Day 2, the class takes place in open water, usually from a boat or at Vortex Springs in the event of rough water.

Students invert themselves and pull themselves down a rope, working on equalizing the pressure in their ears as they proceed.

Later, they practice kicking themselves down through the water.

“We weight ourselves to be neutral at 33 feet,” D’Agostino explained. “We kick hard with big fins until you get to 33 feet and then ease our kicks as we become negative and the weight belt begins to carry us to the bottom.”

D’Agostino has students from preteens to people in their 60s. His regular dive partners include retired orthopedic surgeon Dr. Fred Cardet, age 71.

For years, Cardet, who grew up in Miami, was a self-taught free diver. He started spearfishing at age 17. Over time, as he visited increasingly deeper waters, he thought about and then decided, in 2004, to take a certification class. His most memorable spearfishing triumphs have been a 131-pound amberjack, taken during a trip that left out of Destin in 2018, and a 150-pound yellowfin tuna, harvested near an oil rig off of Venice, Louisiana.

The big amberjack, Cardet said, “was probably the easiest fish I ever shot. It swam up to me and I was looking to my left, and

From left to right, Julie Augustine, Fred Cardet, Mike Pooler and Joe D’Agostino head offshore on a cool spring day. Freediving instructor Joe D’Agostino, opposite, surfaces through a curtain of bubbles from a scuba diver.

His descent carried him to the wreck of the Miss Louise off Destin.

when I looked to the right, he was right there.

I didn’t have to move the gun or anything. I just pulled the trigger, the spear went through his head, and he rolled over.

“He never wiggled.”

Cardet’s favorite spearfishing target is the muscular, hard-fighting cobia, which he sometimes encounters just off the beach during its westerly spring migrations and other times at depth.

He attributes his longevity as a free diver to good genes, staying in shape and refraining from risk-taking.

“There are old divers and bold divers, but there are no old, bold divers,” D’Agostino likes to say.

“That’s about right,” Cardet agreed.

Cardet just once experienced a loss of motor control while free diving. He was surfacing when he encountered and shot an amberjack. As a result, he stayed down longer than he intended and developed a problem while fighting the fish. Never has he blacked out, but his brother once did.

“During our class, my brother went to 120 feet and came back only 110 before he blacked out,” Cardet explained. “The last 10 feet, the instructor had to assist him. One minute, he looked dead — all the color was gone from his face and his eyes were rolled back — and within a few seconds of taking a breath at the

surface, he was wide awake again. That was incredible.”

D’Agostino said the most frequently occurring safety rules violations are diving alone and improper weighting. Some divers will load their belts up to the point where the weight carries them all the way down from the surface, eliminating the need for kicking.

“But if they black out and don’t make it all the way back to the surface, they sink and they may never be found,” D’Agostino said.

Cardet praised D’Agostino’s work as an instructor.

“When I took the class in 2004 with my wife and my brother, our instructors were two world-class free divers and their coach,” he said. “Years later, we took another class with Joe as a refresher, and he helped my wife far more than the world-class divers did. He is really a top-notch instructor.”

D’Agostino is looking forward to the Destin arrival on June 5 of Martin Stepanek of the Czech Republic, who set 13 world records as a free diver, founded Freediving Instructors International and developed the standardized curriculum it uses.

Stepanek will teach a Level I course at Benthic Ocean Sports and is also working to make D’Agostino a certified instructor trainer.

D’Agostino is set to become just one of a half-dozen such trainers in the United States.

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CUSTOM CONTENT

H

Hotel Effie makes it effortless to stay on the Emerald Coast

otel Effie was designed with the vacationer in mind, indulging each guest in immersive and visceral experiences.

The recently opened hotel, situated on 2,400 scenic acres spanning the Gulf of Mexico to the Choctawhatchee Bay, is aesthetically pleasing, from the coastally curated lobby to the Emerald Coast’s first and only hotel rooftop bar.

“When conceptualizing the design for Hotel Effie, we felt like there was a gap for the full-service luxury traveler within the destination, and we really wanted to fill that gap,” said Sara Becnel, VP of Development for Sandestin® Golf and Beach Resort. Hotel Effie is located on the same grounds as Sandestin.

Luxurious it is, as the entire property promotes pampering, savoring and

experiencing. Your journey begins upon entry with coastal contemporary décor and neutral hues accompanied by pleasant pops of jewel tones. The guest rooms feature ultra-plush bedding, refined furnishings and lush, nourishing bath products by exclusive partner LATHER. For those seeking further pampering and heightened serenity, Spa Lilliana awaits with an extensive menu of services to renew and refresh, including massages, facials, scrubs, blowouts, manicures, pedicures, makeup services and more.

Reason enough to visit Hotel Effie is a trip to Ovide, the hotel’s signature restaurant, which has a menu curated by two-time James Beard award-winning chef Hugh Acheson. Acheson’s menu and the culinary team’s talent merge the fresh local flavors of the Gulf with a refined

French palate. The creativity is plated, and the passion for food is evident.

Whether you are deciding on a wine at dinner, a beverage from The Lobby Bar or a cocktail from Ara Rooftop Pool and Lounge, sommelier Stephen Grubbs and Beverage Director Kellie Thorn will ensure each sip is delectable. Ara specializes in stunning Gulf views, from yoga at sunrise to tapas and craft cocktails at sunset.

Hotel guests are encouraged to utilize the many available amenities, including the pool, bikes, kayaks, tennis courts, golf courses, fitness center and more.

“The beautiful thing is that really any kind of traveler that stays at Hotel Effie is going to be able to craft an experience that is unique to their interest,” said Becnel.

“It’s a luxury experience wrapped in true Southern hospitality.”

HOTEL EFFIE GRAND SANDESTIN BLVD., MIRAMAR BEACH | (850) 351-3040 | HOTELEFFIE.COM

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EXPERIENCE Upscale shopping, sophisticated dining options and South Walton’s premier events and entertainment await you Along the Boulevard.

DINE

SHOP

Another Broken Egg Café

Altar’d State

The Bistro

Anthropologie

(Located in Courtyard by Marriott Sandestin at Grand Boulevard)

Black Bear Bread Co. (Now Open) Cantina Laredo Modern Mexican The Craft Bar

Arhaus (Now Open) Arula Billabong Bluemercury Hemline

Emeril’s Coastal

J. Ji l l

everkrisp Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

J.McLaughlin The Jewel

Grimaldi’s Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria

Lilly Pulitzer

Kilwins

Ophelia Swimwear

PF Chang’s China Bistro

Orvis

Starbucks

Peter Millar

Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar

Pottery Barn

Vin’tij Food & Wine

lululemon (Now Open)

Rose & Co (Now Open)) Southern Tide (Now Open)

The Wine Bar

Sunset Shoes (Now Open)

Courtyard by Marriott Sandestin at Grand Boulevard

Residence Inn by Marriott Sandestin at Grand Boulevard

Hyatt Place Sandestin at Grand Boulevard

Grand Fitness

AMC CLASSIC Boulevard 10

Emerald Coast Theatre Company

grandboulevard.com #GrandBlvd

TH E B EAU F ORT B ON N ET CO MPA NY O P E N IN G 2 0 2 1

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VISIT NORTHWEST FLORIDA

BEACHES

Photographer Jonah Allen immerses himself in his work.

He specializes in taking shots of locations where water meets land.

Jonah Allen

His photography captures the energy of water STORY BY STEVE BORNHOFT PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEAN MURPHY

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he light must be right.

If it’s not, photographic artist Jonah Allen won’t bother taking his camera out of the bag.

And light is just the beginning. Other elements must align if Allen is to arrive at the kind of image that he might wait months to capture: tide, wind, wave height, wave interval and patterns in sand made by water.

To all of that, add tannic outflow from a dune lake entering a crystalline Gulf, and the shot just makes Where Waters Meet, a book that Allen is compiling.

Allen has carved out a tightly defined niche for himself in South Walton County, selling large-format prints of water in motion.

I’ll put it to you this way: He photographs energy.

“I am always photographing things that are very, very ephemeral,” Allen said. “They exist for a very little bit of time, and then they are gone.”

Allen grew up in Atlanta, landlocked hours away from saltwater. But he discovered an affinity for surfing as a boy vacationing with his family in Seaside and was, as some say, “ruint.” Never again TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

would the city that once adopted the motto, “People Seem to Like It Here,” feel like home.

He attended the University of Georgia in Athens where he studied marketing, art and music business and worked for Red & Black, the campus newspaper, as a photographer focused on concerts.

Still, big water pulled on him, and after college, he traveled the world surfing for a year, making stops in Hawaii, Chile, Peru and Bali. Off Kauai, he was overwhelmed by a 20-foot wave that had looked manageable when he first spotted the break a half-mile off. In South America, he encountered subsistence fishermen and dramatic evidence of sea-level rise. In Indonesia, he gained an appreciation for the ancient rice-paddy irrigation system called “subak.”

All along the way, the chance that he would ever settle down away from water evaporated.

In December 2017, he moved to South Walton County from Georgia, resolved to make his living as a photographer.

“There are three ways you can learn,” Allen said.

“By failing, from books and from mentors. I have

JOHAN ALLEN

a friend and mentor, David Darby, who owns a recording studio. He told me never have a fallback plan because if you do, you will fall back.”

Allen, accepting that advice, has proceeded to make waves without a Plan B. At this writing, he is installing track lighting in a space — 416 S. County Highway 393, Building 9, Unit 3, in Santa Rosa Beach — that he planned to open as a studio/gallery in February. He was making plans for a documentary film showing.

And, his collection of keeper images, most of them from South Walton and elsewhere in the Southeast, is steadily growing.

Allen uses the “best equipment I can afford,” but even the best of equipment cannot bring about the perfect moment.

He often prefers the perspective gained by shooting water from the air and, to do so, has employed drones, ladders and cranes and gone for helicopter rides. But, too, he takes photos from the shore and while in the water.

Most of his shots are taken in the first two hours after dawn. Then, the light is right, and he can hope to photograph a stretch of sand before it is marred by the first footprints of the day. To preserve such opportunities, he has cordoned off the beach in spots with ropes and pleaded with early morning walkers not to intrude upon his shot.

Allen estimates that 90 percent of the photos in his portfolio — see jonahallen.com — were taken within 15 miles of his home near Eastern Lake and within two minutes of the beach. He tends to roll out of bed at the last possible moment and then sprint or bicycle to the sand in time for first light.

“I have been working on photographing all the coastal dune lakes in Walton County,” Allen said. “They can fill up with rainwater and burst, and you have an outfall that connects them to the Gulf. For the past two years, I have been photographing that phenomenon from the air. Where the freshwater and saltwater meet, those are my favorite places.

“The outfalls are very dynamic. They change every hour. It’s really cool to watch.”

More of that ephemeral stuff.

Allen recognized early on that he doesn’t like to take pictures for others.

“I like to take images for me that I share with other people,” he said.

In that, he has a purpose that goes beyond making a living.

“I can’t cause people to care about the water or the environment unless they experience it firsthand,” Allen said. “But if my images

Allen displays a photo of a beach scene that presents a study in blues and whites. His photos, including one titled Peak No. 53, in bedroom shot, increasingly are making their way onto walls throughout South Walton.

inspire people to go out in the water and feel it and develop a respect for it, then they might just care about the future of it.

“We live in a very special place in Northwest Florida,” he added, and said he is

concerned about the pace and planned scale of development in the region. “If I could go back and experience this place as it was 100 years ago, that’s what I’d do.”

And he’d take his camera.

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CUSTOM PROMOTION CONTENT

Discover Luxury Away From it All

A

hidden gem nestled along the shores of Destin, Henderson Park Inn provides the ultimate sanctuary for rest and relaxation. Comprised of 37 rooms, this inclusive, adults-only boutique hotel remains a favorite destination for anyone looking for a secluded escape.

“Henderson Park Inn is like no other hotel on the Emerald Coast,” said Shannon Howell, Henderson Park Inn’s owner representative. “It has all the charm of a secluded New England-style inn with the modern luxury and excitement of Destin.”

Guests arrive to the sound of waves lapping on the shore and friendly faces eagerly waiting to help them start a vacation like no other. Upon entering their suite, they’re greeted with a vase of roses, a bottle of wine, two glasses and a specially prepared treat from Beach Walk Café, the inn’s in-house restaurant.

“Our attentive staff caters to each guest’s every need from the moment they enter,” said Howell.

As an inclusive hotel, guests dine on a made-to-order breakfast, relax on complimentary beach chairs on the sugarwhite beach, enjoy picnic-style lunches, explore the area on bicycles provided by the Inn, sip cocktails while watching the sunset on the back patio and more.

For the full Henderson Park Inn experience, guests are encouraged to dine at Henderson Park Inn’s in-house award-winning restaurant, Beach Walk Café. Led by Executive Chef Daniel Peters, Beach Walk Café’s exquisite fare remains as much of an attraction as its exceptional outdoor dining experience.

“We’re blessed to have a restaurant of Beach Walk’s caliber on our property,” said Howell. “It’s definitely a must-try when staying in Destin.”

If guests are looking for additional activities outside of Henderson Park

Inn’s mile of undisturbed beach, they have access to all the amenities — including a resort-style pool and spa — at the Inn’s sister property, The Henderson, a Salamander Beach & Spa Resort. With some of Destin’s largest attractions just moments away, guests are never far from the best the Emerald Coast has to offer.

For more information about Henderson Park Inn or to book your stay, visit HendersonParkInn.com or call (866) 398-4432.

H E N D E R S O N PA R K I N N 2 7 0 0 S C E N I C H I G H WAY 9 8 , D E S T I N | ( 8 6 6 ) 3 9 8 - 4 4 3 2 | H E N D E R S O N PA R K I N N .C O M

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Reserve Online at

BlueDolphinTour.com For same day reservations call (850) 236-3467

Half or full day rentals

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VISIT NORTHWEST FLORIDA

BEACHES

A Latter-day Barnum

Arts advocate Sid Williams-Heath can gather a crowd

BY STEVE BORNHOFT PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN HARRINGTON

T

hroughout a 30-minute conversation I had with Sid Williams-Heath, pictures of the novelist Tom Wolfe, he of the trademark white linen suits, appeared in my mind.

Williams-Heath is the executive director of the Pensacola Little Theatre, which produces shows for young people as part of its work, yes, but is not a children’s theater — far from it from time to time.

When we spoke — “Absolutely, let’s talk drama,” Williams-Heath welcomed me — the PLT had just come through the striking of the set for 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a ribald musical in which adults play tweens and confront assorted embarrassments. In one number, a cast member sings about his unfortunately timed erection.

Always animated, Sid Williams-Heath gestures to a colleague. He brings and innate knack for the theatrical to his job.

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Sid WilliamsHeath’s now husband introduced him to Pensacola, and he immediately was enamored with the strength of the city’s arts community. “A symphony, ballet, opera, children’s chorus, museum of art; it’s absurd that a town this size offers all of that,” he said.

But, on quite another hand, the PLT stages shows such as Mary Poppins, The Velveteen Rabbit and Charlotte’s Web. And falling in between the extremes is the theatre’s Main Stage adult series that has included shows such as The Odd Couple, Rumors and Mamma Mia! Mississippi born and raised, WilliamsHeath went to work at the Savannah School of Art and Design after graduating with a journalism/public relations degree from Ole Miss in 2013. In Georgia, he discovered that he loved being part of an art scene.

“The singing! The theater!” WilliamsHeath said. “While I’m not necessarily a performer, someone has to advocate for all of it. That’s my form of artistic expression. There is such a creativity piece when it comes to raising funds. Who needs another stuffy sit-down dinner where the food is mediocre?”

PLT has instead conducted a series of “Cabaret” fundraising events, each with a different theme: Phantom of the Masquerade; 007, Shaken Not Stirred; and Midnight in Paris, to name several.

“They are celebrations of art,” WilliamsHeath said. “Aerialists, drag performers, pianists, singers, sketch artists, ballerinas, every form of art we can assemble — we put them right in front of your face. We stretch the kind of weird opportunity that we get as a theater.”

As many as 800 people have turned out for a Cabaret event.

Williams-Heath met his husband Nicklaus in New York where Nicklaus went to dental school.

“He sweet-talked me into Pensacola,” Williams-Heath said of Nicklaus, who grew up in Gulf Breeze. “We knew it would be a great place for him to establish a practice, and he was blown away by how much the city had changed in the seven years he had been away.”

Blown away in a good way.

“A symphony, ballet, opera, children’s chorus, museum of art. It’s absurd that a town this size offers all of that,” WilliamsHeath said. “Patronage and private support are phenomenal. You can have great talent and venues and no one to see it. Here, you have both.”

Williams-Heath revels in opportunities to introduce a show or rally support for the arts — “I’ve never met a microphone I didn’t love,” he said — but his experience as a thespian has been limited. He has never taken the stage as an actor at the PLT.

As a child, he played the role of Charlie Bradley in a production of The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever. “And, I was the Tin Man at one point; somebody’s got to be lanky and do it.”

Williams-Heath is leggy enough. At a pool party, you are sure to find him in shorts. At work, he often wears shorts suits.

“I am not going to say I have been known to have a nice leg, but I’m also not saying that people haven’t commented on them a time or two,” said Williams-Heath, who keeps his pins in shape teaching a 6 a.m. spin class.

He favors a muted color palette: khaki, white, blues, gingham.

“Some may call my style boring, but I call it classic,” Williams-Heath said. “I am not very adventurous with my wardrobe, and that has worked for me.” Today, he is wearing gray chinos and a blue-and-white gingham shirt, no tie, nice loafers and his heirloom Rolex.

His lid, meanwhile, is a statement piece.

“I have this Johnny Bravo hair going on, so I am not much of a hat guy,” he said.

“I’ve got an arsenal of hair product.”

How much does he spend in a month on product?

“You know, I try not to look at that,” Williams-Heath said. “Maybe 60 or 80 bucks a month.” That’s in addition to twice-monthly maintenance sessions at the barber.

“But, hey, while I’ve got hair, I’m gonna celebrate it.”

Williams-Heath is a party-goer, a party planner and a party thrower. He and Nicklaus annually hold a “Carving & Cocktails” Halloween gathering where all attendees wear plaid, receive a white pumpkin to work on and are served by the “best bartenders in town.” The WilliamsHeaths host a Kentucky Derby party that is likely to go on, no matter the future of horse racing.

“It’s not a horse event,” Williams-Heath said. “The race is the fastest two minutes in sports, and we’re together for three hours or more. I went to football games at Ole Miss, but really it wasn’t about the football.”

Williams-Heath’s party-planning prowess figures prominently in what he does for PLT. It is largely to his credit that the theatre stayed active throughout all but the initial blanket shutdown triggered by the pandemic.

“We did a series called Sips & Serenades.

We opened the bar and held them outside,

Sid Williams-Heath inspects a poster detailing an upcoming event. He spurns conventionality in planning programming and events for the Pensacola Little Theatre.

and it gave performers a creative outlet,” Williams-Heath said.

In January and February, the PLT admitted groups of about 40 people to a “Singeasy” inside the theater.

“Feinstein’s/54 Below New York City vibes, baby grand piano, candlelight. We really explored what theater is for us,” Williams-Heath said.

The PLT attracts something like 1,000 volunteers in a typical year: actors, painters, costumers, directors, assistant directors, music directors, lighting and sound technicians, and more. That’s a lot of people to try to keep engaged.

Plus, Williams-Heath noted, the PLT owns and operates the historic Pensacola Cultural Center within which the theater is located. The center hosts church services, a ballet, a literary federation and assorted community events.

“We play Mother Hen to so many organizations,” Williams-Heath said. “The center is a huge source of revenue for the theater.”

Tom Wolfe surfaced in my mind again, and I had one more question for a man who occasionally refers to himself in the third person.

“Can you see Sid in a Tom Wolfe suit?”

I asked.

“One hundred percent. Minus the chapeau.”

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VISIT NORTHWEST FLORIDA

BEACHES

Beyond the Beach

Coastal communities offer varied attractions, activities

Northwest Florida’s welcoming coastal communities are synonymous with sun, sand and surf but offer visitors a growing and tremendous variety of things to do. Here, we offer a mere sampler of the activities and attractions.

PENSACOLA

Pilot a Simulator

The National Naval Aviation Museum is the world’s largest Naval Aviation museum and one of the most-visited museums in Florida. Visitors are invited to share the excitement of Naval Aviation’s rich history and see more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard aviation. These historic and oneof-a-kind aircraft are displayed both inside the museum’s more than 350,000 square feet of exhibit space and outside on its 37-acre grounds. The museum features two state-of-the-art MaxFlight Simulators capable of air-to-air combat and stunt flying. The simulators’ patented, fully interactive 360-degree pitch-and-roll technology makes MaxFlight one of the world’s most exciting indoor attractions. The Blue Angels can be seen practicing over the museum most Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from March to November. After practice on select Wednesdays, guests are treated to meetand-greets with the team. navalaviationmuseum.org | (850) 452-2643

DESTIN

Walk the Docks HarborWalk Village is the hub of activity along Destin’s waterfront. Restaurants, activities and entertainment cater to all tastes and interests. Here, visitors find waterfront shopping, paddleboard and kayak rentals, pontoon and Jet Ski rentals, parasailing, glass-bottom boats, world-class fishing, pirate ship excursions, dolphin cruises, concerts and live music, weekly fireworks, weekly Fat Tuesday parades, live entertainment and an array of restaurants, including Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville and Harry T’s. HarborWalk Village is home to the Destin fishing fleet, the largest such fleet in the country. Venture out into the Gulf of Mexico aboard a charter fishing vessel, and you will soon learn how Destin gained its reputation as the World’s Luckiest Fishing Village. Landlubbers can stroll along the docks and welcome the boats as they return with their catches. And, where there is great fishing, there are great seafood restaurants. HarborWalk offers an array of cuisine that is fresh, local and delicious. emeraldgrande.com | (850) 676-0091

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL NAVAL AVIATION MUSEUM, HARBORWALK VILLAGE AND VISIT PANAMA CITY BEACH

MaxFlight Simulator

PANAMA CITY BEACH

Snorkel Along a Jetty St. Andrews State Park afford visitors the chance to experience five distinct ecosystems — Grand Lagoon, the Gulf of Mexico, upland hammocks, Gator Lake and Buttonbush Marsh — in one stunning location, making it among the most popular and heralded parks in Florida.

Theodore Tollofson evidently liked what he saw when he shipwrecked on what is now the park during a 1929 hurricane.

He homesteaded in his derelict boat for the next 25 years.

Now, state park visitors can experience what kept “Teddy the Hermit” at St. Andrews — sugar white sands, emerald green waters and a vast array of ever-changing winged creatures.

The park is a popular migratory stopover for numerous bird and butterfly species. Besides boasting 1½ miles of pristine beaches for fishing and swimming, St. Andrews also offers the chance for visitors to stroll through pines and along dunes and coastal plant communities or stay overnight in a campground.

The park is marked by jetties that stabilize the pass to St. Andrew Bay. These rock structures are a snorkeler’s delight, attracting as they do myriad types of fish and other marine life forms, ranging from blennies to redfish and damselfish to mullet. Even a grouper might pass by. floridastateparks.org | (850) 708-6100

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Cape St. George Light

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Franklin County is home to two restored lighthouses, on St. George Island and at Carrabelle Beach. They are a reflection of coastal living in Franklin County 100 years ago, and each is worth visiting. The Cape St. George Light, which stands at the center of St. George Island, has been rebuilt four times and was originally built on what is now Little St. George Island. It was built initially in 1833 near West Pass but was difficult for maritime traffic approaching from the east to see. The Cape St. George Light valiantly served mariners well for decades, but beach erosion ultimately caused its collapse on October 21, 2005. With extensive community support and public and private funding, the Cape St. George Light was successfully rebuilt and opened to the public on December 1, 2008. A replica of the original keeper’s house, built next to the lighthouse, features a museum and gift shop.

For nearly 100 years, the Crooked River Lighthouse stood as a guiding light for captains navigating the treacherous pass between Dog and St. George islands. Today the lighthouse and keeper’s house museum stand on the mainland where the light was originally built in 1895. The 103-foot iron and steel structure was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1995 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Objects in the keeper’s room include original clocks, a barometer, a glass fire grenade, pages from the keeper’s watch book, currency and much more. Both the St. George Lighthouse and Crooked River Lighthouse host special climbs on full moon evenings. Daytime climbs are also available at the Crooked River Lighthouse, Wednesday through Sunday afternoons. floridasforgottencoast.com | (850) 670-3474

PHOTO BY RUSSELL MICK / VISIT FLORIDA

Climb a Lighthouse

Weddings

BY RC WEDDINGS & EVENTS

Wedding bells are ringing at the beach!

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SP ECI AL ADV ERTI SI N G SECTI ON

VISIT NORTHWEST FLORIDA

BEACHES

Things to Do, See and Experience SEPT. 24–26

The Pensacola Seafood Festival showcases artisans from around the country, rising musicians and the area’s finest Gulf-to-table eateries. Come hungry and enjoy fried, grilled or blackened fish tapas and all the boiled shrimp you can eat. pensacolaseafoodfestival.com

OCT. 1–3

Miss the Pensacola party? Not a problem. The Destin Seafood Festival keeps the good times rolling with over 100 craft and food vendors, pop-up shops and live entertainment at its yearly seafood extravaganza. Watch yachts enter and exit the Destin Harbor and savor catches of the day. destinseafoodfestival.com

OCT. 9–10

The Artsquest Fine Arts Festival in Miramar Beach celebrates National Arts and Humanities Month with a twoday, juried exhibition of over 150 artists from around the country.

View and purchase ceramics, jewelry, photography and creations using various other media. culturalartsalliance.com

OCT. 15

Go from the beach to Bavaria at Panama City Beach Oktoberfest, where beers and brats reign supreme. Partake in the traditional German celebration with tasty lagers, traditional fare, folk music and activities for the whole family. visitpanamacitybeach.com

OCT. 23

Devote a day to your favorite eyeopening beverage at the Market Shops 6th Annual Bloody Mary Festival in Miramar Beach. Local restaurants serve up their takes on the classic bloody as live music, photo booths and “bubbly” bars provide extra entertainment.

850tix.com/events/the-marketshops-6th-annual-bloody-maryfestival-10-23-2021

NOV. 14

Fine wine and fine art await at the annual Pensacola Art and Wine Festival. Mosey along the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk; peruse and purchase the works of over 20 regional artists; and sample more than 30 red, white and rosé vintages. pensacolabeachchamber.com

SOUNDSCAPES SEPT. 3–5

OCT. 13

Discover what makes premier area businesses the Best of the Emerald Coast, as voted by Emerald Coast Magazine readers.

Tour tents along Grand Boulevard at Sandestin and sample awardwinning dishes, libations and more from category winners. emeraldcoastmagazine.com/ best-of-the-emerald-coast

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Pensacola’s Maritime Park will welcome dozens of awardwinning jazz musicians at its fifth annual Gulf Coast Summer Fest Jazz Edition. Bring your own beverages, beach chairs and coolers, and don’t forget your shades. This breezy, bayside event will offer lots of hot licks and soulful pipes. gulfcoastsummerfestjazzedition.com

OCT. 1–3

Are you ready to #Rockthebeach?

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Alternative rock greats The Killers, Shinedown and AJR headline the SandJam Music Festival, Panama City Beach’s highly anticipated, three-day jam session at the M.B. Miller County Pier. sandjamfest.com

↓

JAN. 14–17

Hear your favorite songs and the stories behind them as over 250 songwriters perform across 30 venues for the 30A Songwriters Fest. Meet music industry newcomers as well as icons Emmylou Harris, Mavis Staples and Chris and Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes.

30asongwritersfestival.com

PRESS ON AND KICK BACK SEPT. 18

Join the Miracle Strip Corvette Club in celebrating “America’s Sports Car” at 2021 Vettes at the Beach. More than 300 Corvette owners will compete for prizes at Pensacola Beach. Sample local restaurants’ offerings while admiring magnificent rides, and snag a souvenir from the National Corvette Museum vendor. visitpensacola.com

OCT. 9–10 Head on out to The Village of Baytowne Wharf for the 13th annual Baytowne Wharf Beer Fest. Returning after a year away due to COVID-19, the festival is sure to delight visitors from all over with a great list of events and programs, including “Beer from Around Here,” craft beer tasting, live music and great food from local merchants and vendors.

Visit BaytowneBeerFestival.com for more information.

SEPT. 23

Hundreds of finely tuned athletes will swim, cycle and run along the coast in the Sandestin Triathlon.

The course begins at the beautiful Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort.

Event proceeds benefit the Sandestin Foundation for Kids. raceentry.com

OCT. 20–24

Are to ready to rumble?

Motorcycle enthusiasts and over 200 vendors and exhibitors will descend on Panama City Beach for the fall Thunder Beach Motorcycle Rally. A four-day schedule includes bike parades, tattoo contests, stunt shows, beauty pageants and more. thunderbeachproductions.com

NOV. 4–7 Guests are invited to sip worldclass wines paired with some of the Emerald Coast’s finest cuisine as the Harvest Wine & Food Festival returns to WaterColor.

Tickets are available at HarvestWineandFood.com.

PHOTOS BY LAND AIR SEA PRODUCTIONS (BEST OF EC) AND COURTESY OF DESTIN CHARITY WINE AUCTION (HARVEST WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL) AND SANDESTIN GOLF & BEACH RESORT BAYTOWNE BEER FESTIVAL)

FEASTS ’N’ FESTS

Following is a mere sampler of the many diverse events that the Emerald Coast has to offer as summer gives way to fall.

Florida Girls, 2020

9TH SEASON OF EXCEPTIONAL PROFESSIONAL THEATRE

SEPT. 17 - OCT. 3

DEC. 9 - DEC. 19

JAN. 28 - FEB. 6

JAN. 21 - FEB. 13

FEB. 18 - FEB. 27

MAY 13 - MAY 22

BECOME A MEMBER, BUY A TICKET, GET INVOLVED!

Tickets or info, call 850.684.0323 or visit

Emerald Coast Theatre Company is located at 560 Grand Blvd., Suite 200 in Miramar Beach. The entrance is on the south side of the building facing Highway 98, take the stairs or elevator to the second floor.

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CUSTOM CONTENT

A BOUNTIFUL HARVEST Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation’s Harvest Food & Wine Festival will be more plentiful than ever 138

September-October 2021

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T

hroughout time, wine has been a great unifier. It has long gathered together individuals and communities who join to sip and savor it in social settings. The Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation (DCWAF) values and recognizes the communal nature of wine, happily presenting the Harvest Wine & Food Festival, now in its fifth year.

As one of the premier wine and food festivals of the Southeast, epicureans looking to tantalize their palates with the finest local food offerings and national and international award-winning wines, gather in South Walton during the region’s most beautiful time of the year. From Thursday, Nov. 4 through Sunday, Nov. 7, attendees can take part in wine dinners, the Grand Tasting, auctions and more at scenic Cerulean Park and surrounding restaurants.

“On a nice sunny day, the festival feels like a Hollywood movie set,” said John Russell, president of DCWAF. “We look forward to once again welcoming wine lovers from around the region to a weekend of excellent food and wine while promoting the area and the industries that so greatly support the foundation.”

CUSTOM CONTENT

5th Annual Harvest Wine & Food Festival NOVEMBER 4–7, 2021 Boasting a series of epicurean events throughout South Walton, Harvest Wine & Food Festival offers something for every wine, spirit and food lover to enjoy.

Visit HarvestWineandFood.com for the most up to date schedule of events. Tickets on sale now.

The anticipation is high for this year’s event as the 2020 event only featured intimate dinners and an online auction. From the 2020 event, some valuable aspects arose that will be present in 2021, such as more wine dinners and a Sunday brunch.

The weekend will begin with four signature dinners on Thursday night — Purlieu Wines at Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood presented by Stephen and Joan Carter, Roy Estate at Cuvee 30A presented by Chuck and Glenda Palmore, Cast Wines at Café Thirty-A presented by Emerald Coast Association of Realtors, and Stonestreet Estate with celebrity chef Adam Evans of Automatic Seafood presented by 360 Blue and Good Grit. Friday will continue with four more dinners featuring Corazon del Sol at Vin’tij Food + Wine presented by Cory

and Hillary Fosdyck and Black Sheep Tequila with celebrity chef Maricela Vega in a private WaterColor residence presented by 360 Blue and Setco Services. These meals grant attendees access to wine pairings customized to the chef’s culinary creations and one-on-one interactions with the winemakers.

The main event, the Grand Tasting, occurs on Saturday, where you can fill your cup from hundreds of wine options and sample provisional stations cooked up by the finest Gulf Coast chefs.

Sunday concludes with the Better Together Beverage presented by 360 Blue and Good Grit with scrumptious brunch fare by Kristen Hall and Victor King of Essential Birmingham and craft cocktails mixed by Better Together Beverage and Distillery 98.

Whether attending or not, the silent auction is available for virtual bidding all weekend long. Money raised from tickets and the silent auction goes directly to 16 local children’s charities, addressing issues such as homelessness, hunger, abuse, mental health, after school funding and more.

DCWAF hopes that each attendee enjoys the beauty of eating and drinking their way through South Walton — all while making a special connection with the organizations and charities involved.

“It will be a wonderful weekend of food with celebrated chefs, wine from notable vintners and philanthropy support, which is the reason behind why we all gather and make lasting memories,” said Karah Fridley-Young, director of DCWAF.

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EXTERIORS

Fountains of Couth

|| GARDENING

Domesticating Wildflowers

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TRENDS FROM FLOOR TO CEILING, FRONT TO BACK

INTERIORS

Few hobbyists can stop at one aquarium

↓

GETTING TANKED

by TIM LINAFELT

photography by LINDSEY MASTERSON

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abodes A tang and gobies dart in, out and about soft corals in a 50-gallon tank. Maintaining appropriate salinity levels is an important part of achieving success with saltwater aquariums.

T

here are college students looking to take up a new hobby. There are families in search of an activity suitable for all ages. And, in some cases, there are those who were students years ago and have now come around to sharing an old passion with their newly formed families.

Carol Hoover has seen all manner of people come through her doors in the 30 years that she has operated Carol’s Critters on West Pensacola Street in Tallahassee.

People of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life come in, and the only thing they might have in common is their love of fish and aquariums.

And, perhaps as the result of the past year’s stay-at-home trends, Hoover has seen a lot more customers of late.

“It has exploded,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s people being home more or what, but it has been extremely popular recently.”

FISH UNDER GLASS 142

Indeed, Carol’s Critters, which also specializes in reptiles and other exotic pets, is one of the hubs of a burgeoning community of aquarium enthusiasts in the Tallahassee area.

Whether in person at a shop like Carol’s Critters or High Tide Aquarium on Capital Circle Southeast, or online, local fish lovers share a passion about everything from yellow tangs (the brightly colored reef-dwellers that are among the most popular aquarium fish) to tanks (there are enough varieties, styles and sizes to fill a large catalog).

More often than not, though, it seems that aquarium enthusiasts are looking to expand. Because much like tattoos, boats or vinyl records, it’s virtually impossible to stop at just one.

“It usually grows,” Hoover said. Then, in a knowing tone, “They only start with one.”

Ken Barfield did.

A moderator in the Tallahassee Aquarium Club on Facebook — which boasts more than 1,700 members — Barfield has over the years seen his aquarium expand from 55 gallons to 75, from 75 gallons to 90, from 90 gallons to 220 and from 220 gallons to an eye-popping 375 — complete with “frag tanks” for raising coral on the side.

“It’s an addiction,” Barfield said with a laugh. “I know people who started with one and ended up with 12 in their house.”

Chris Kenworthy can relate.

Having first dived into the world of aquariums as a college student, Kenworthy recently returned to the hobby after his sister gifted him a betta fish for Christmas.

It proved such a hit that soon after, Kenworthy’s wife, Britt, wanted one, too.

Bettas, though, are famously aggressive: Two bettas require two tanks.

“Keeping fish for pleasure has its origins in ancient Korea, China, and Japan,” writes Kevin Edge for the Horniman Museum and Gardens website. “There, ornamental varieties of the adaptable carp family were displayed in ceramic bowls. The first Europeans to enjoy fish as a spectacle watched them swimming in tidal pools and the marble tanks of imperial Roman villas. By the 17th century, the fish-keeping culture of East Asia had reached Britain. Diarist Samuel Pepys was shown ‘fishes kept in a glass of water, that will live so forever.’ It seems Pepys was gazing at imported paradise fish. In the 19th century, growing scientific curiosity encouraged a search for a new perspective on life underwater. A glass-fronted aquarium, stocked with a balance of plants and animals proved to be the answer. The age of the see-through river and the boxed-up ocean had arrived.”

September-October 2021

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photography by LINDSEY MASTERSON

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↑ A 500-gallon circular saltwater display tank at Hightide Aquariums houses living corals and an intriguing array of tropical marine fishes.

Kenworthy then discovered a love for freshwater shrimp, and he now has a tank devoted to them, too. All 60 of them.

“Like most hobbies, it kind of doesn’t make sense,” he said. “You sort of get into it, and, just because you’re into it, you get more into it.”

Fish often lead to more fish.

But, sometimes, they can also lead to friendships.

Barfield described Tallahassee’s aquarium scene as a close community that has bonded over a common interest.

If one member is in search of a certain tank, pump or other piece of specialized gear, another member likely has an extra or knows where to find one.

If a member is in need of ideas when putting together a new aquarium build, there’s no shortage of photo galleries and “shop talk” from which to draw inspiration.

And if, say, someone’s tank springs a leak at 9:30 p.m., help is usually just a message or phone call away.

“If anybody ever needs anything,” Barfield said, “people are always there to help.”

For Barfield, aquariums are places where a family pet says hello after a long day and waits patiently for a bit of food.

For Kenworthy, they’re an opportunity to bring a slice of the natural world into the living room.

And for Hoover, they can represent the cornerstone of a community and a bridge between generations.

No matter the reason, they, and thousands of others in the area, are united in their love of fish and underwater communities. And if one tank becomes three becomes a dozen?

Well, there’re plenty of like-minded people who understand.

“The community is tight-knit, and the friendships are long-lasting,” Barfield said. “It’s just a good group.” TM

PHOTO BY LINDSEY MASTERSON

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CUSTOM CONTENT

FIVE FANTASTIC

Fall Colors W

hile Florida might not have much of a fall season, Tallahassee gets glimpses of color change in our numerous trees. When you choose the right plants, it’s possible to infuse your own backyard with a bounty of fall color.

Esposito Lawn & Garden Center offers a cornucopia of greenery and flower varieties that will help make this dream a reality.

When it comes to designing for the fall season, Ralph Esposito and his landscaping team will first identify a client’s willingness to maintain the product. Next, is assessing the soil composition and drainage habits of

RALPH ESPOSITO’S TOP FIVE FALL PLANT RECOMMENDATIONS

the planting area. Once the site has been evaluated and all issues have been addressed, the team is able to recommend specific plants that will thrive with limited care.

The goal is to make maintaining the garden effortless so it can provide the homeowner worry-free joy.

“The appeal of fall plants is that their color adds to the quality of life,” said Esposito.

“When we landscape a home with an emphasis on colorful foliage and bountiful blooms, our clients are much happier to spend time in their yards; it’s like being in a botanical garden full of seasonal color.”

2

3

1. JAPANESE MAPLE Notable for their rich red foliage, Japanese Red Maples showcase that fall in Florida is in fact possible. At maturity, they can reach between 8 to 30 feet, depending on variety, providing both shade and textural interest in the garden.

2. CASSIA As a large shrub or small tree, Cassia’s herbaceous foliage delights with golden yellow blossoms when fall arrives. If you don’t have a green thumb, no worries; this plant is low maintenance — besides occasionally pinching young shoots to increase flower growth.

3. MUHLY GRASS The most vibrant grass you’ll ever see! This Florida native grows exceptionally well in hot and humid climates and produces a pendulous display of blue-green blades which erupt in pink and lavender blooms every fall.

4. FALL ANNUALS Pansies, mums and snapdragons — just to name a few — are some of the dozens of fall annuals you can mix and match in your autumn patch. The beauty of annuals is that they are inexpensive and easy to grow; there is no need to commit to a single style because you have the flexibility of changing the color scheme and mood on a yearto-year basis.

5. PERSIMMON You’ll reap the benefits of investing in a persimmon tree as they produce sweet fruit that can be eaten straight from the branch. The green leaves turn a brilliant red in the fall and produce fragrant blooms in spring.

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EXTERIORS

FOUNTAINS OF COUTH

Water features make refined splash in landscapes

by AUDREY POST

Water features have been part of both public and private landscaped spaces for centuries, but relatively few people have the resources to maintain expansive water gardens or elaborate, large fountains — think the Palace at Versailles, France. But there is something about moving water, no matter the pace, that delights the eyes and ears and soothes the soul.

Fortunately, a water feature is one of the most versatile features in the landscape. It can be a focal point, such as a koi pond; an energizing cascade, such as a waterfall; or a soothing invitation to relax amid tranquility, such as a gently bubbling fountain.

The fountain, by far, is the most economical to install and easiest to maintain. As Longfellow wrote, “That which the fountain sends forth returns again to the fountain.”

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Complementary designs

Whether you hire a landscape designer or a landscape architect to create and install your fountain, or you opt to make it a do-it-yourself weekend project, there are a few design concepts to keep in mind.

It is important to select a fountain that works well with the architecture of your home. A multi-tiered fountain, with water cascading from a top basin to ever-larger basins below, would look lovely in the gardens of a Victorian home, but it would clash with a mid-century modern design. Ditto for a modern steel and glass home with a distinct geometric flair.

The late Clara Jane Smith, Tallahassee’s first female landscape designer, was fond of saying, “It all has to flow together.”

The same goes for your landscape design. That Victorian fountain would look lovely surrounded by sheared boxwoods in a formal parterre garden. A fountain made of bamboo that is meant to evoke an Asian well would be out of place there.

Free-standing or wall-mounted?

There are two basic types of fountains: stand-alone and wallmounted. Stand-alone fountains can either have a collection pool

Disappearing fountains, aka pool-less fountain

Wall-mounted fountain

PHOTO BY ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS: ARLAWKA AUNGTUN

Free-standing fountain

at the bottom or be placed in a bed of river rock, which the water percolates through to an underground reservoir.

The pool-less fountains are also called “disappearing fountains.” They usually don’t create quite the splash and noise that collection pool fountains do; often referred to as “bubblers,” the water glides down the side of the fountain and slips away beneath the stones.

Wall-mounted fountains, in many ways, are easier to take care of than free-standing fountains because there isn’t as much opportunity for animals

illustrations by LINDSEY MASTERSON

to soil them. Your dog might enjoy frolicking in a fountain on a hot day, but it likely is tracking in dirt, which can clog recirculation tubes.

Materials galore

There is no shortage of materials from which to construct a fountain. Glazed ceramic is a classic choice, as are blocks of natural stones such as slate and quartz. A hole drilled from the top of a stone block to the bottom provides the channel necessary for water circulation.

Concrete remains popular, in large part because of its low

maintenance. Corten steel, a corrosion-resistant steel alloy that develops a beautiful, protective patina, is growing in popularity, particularly for fountains with a more modern design.

In fact, you can build a fountain out of almost anything if you have the right tools.

Google “garden fountains,” and you’ll discover dinged enamel teakettles flowing into equally dinged washtubs, both designed and “distressed” to look vintage.

A glazed ceramic pot can be adapted to a bubbler; an old watering can be similarly repurposed. Solar-powered saucers floating in a classic birdbath create just enough of a plume to attract birds.

Location, location, location

Speaking of solar, you’re going to need some sort of power source to keep your fountain

running. More and more solar options are coming on the market, but the tried-and-true alternating household electric current is still the top choice for power, landscapers say. It is important to make sure you are using cords and outlets that are rated for outdoor use. If you opt for a plug-in model, it will be very important for you to locate your fountain near an outdoor outlet, or in an area where the cords will be concealed by plants or stones.

And just as importantly, set your fountain in a spot where it performs its function as you intended. Do you want it to greet you as you return home? Do you want to be able to see it from inside the house? Is it supposed to create a quiet oasis or do you need it to block traffic noise?

Whatever you need in your home landscape, a fountain might help you find it. TM

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abodes Late-season veggies

DOMESTICATING WILDFLOWERS

Seed beds now for springtime blooms

I

t’s early autumn, and time to establish your wildflower garden. For the most colorful blooms, your seeds will need at least six months to germinate and grow in the cool weather, especially if you want your blossoms to pop up by spring.

There are several ways to plant the seed.

You may “overseed” a designated area by scattering the seed among the existing annuals. Some of the seed will lodge at soil level, and the decaying annuals will provide organic material.

The decomposing annuals will provide nutrients and water-holding capacity necessary for the new seed to germinate.

This method usually takes more seeds to be successful, since some never make it to the soil.

Another method for planting your wildflower seed is to clear an area, then cover the seed with about an eighth of an inch of

by LES HARRISON

soil. Apply a thin layer of mulch, and keep the area watered. The mulch will help retain the soil’s moisture and keep the seed in place.

If no rain falls, water weekly. Remove invasive weeds that germinate in the wildflower bed.

Once the seeds have been established, late autumn or early winter mowing is critically important to the continuation of many wildflower species. Timing mowing cycles to the seed maturation is the best way to ensure that a planting will be sustainable long-term.

Seeds need a minimum of a month to mature after an individual flower has bloomed. If prematurely removed, the seed is not likely to sprout.

Lastly, purchase locally acclimatized wildflower seed. This seed is grown in the region and is far more likely to produce blooms.

Controlling weeds There is no need to apply herbicides to control weeds in your home lawn and landscape. Many of the weed species will stop growing and will hold seeds for the next season’s infestation.

Most herbicides work only when weeds are actively growing. Pulling weeds and collecting their seed for proper disposal is more effective from both an economic and a horticultural perspective. However, there’s an additional weed control activity that can be accomplished in autumn and will likely pay big dividends in spring.

Map or mark off sections of the home landscape where seedy weeds have become established. These are areas where pre-emergent herbicides can be applied in spring to control weeds like chamberbitter and purple nutsedge.

Les Harrison is a retired University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Wakulla County extension director.

Chief among allergy-inducing plants in the fall is common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), an herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae family native to North America. Given its capacity for inducing hay fever symptoms, it deserves its reputation as a poster-plant for facial tissues. Common ragweed (and there are other species) is most often found in disturbed habitats such as cultivated fields, orchards, home or commercial landscapes, and roadsides. Common ragweed growing in home landscapes will compete with shrubs for light, moisture, nutrients and space, which will result in significant performance losses from preferred shrubs. This native nuisance can grow rapidly to more than 7 feet in height and dominate companion plants. A prolific seed producer, common ragweed is capable of producing up to 62,000 seeds per plant when growing under ideal conditions. These seeds can remain viable for many years in undisturbed soil.

SNIFF. DARN RAGWEED!

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PHOTOS BY ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS: DOMNICKY (RAGWEED), OLGA GUCHEK (RADISH) AND PITO FOTOS (WILDFLOWERS)

GREEN SCENE

Onion bulbs, cabbage, collards, kale, sugar snap peas and many other cool-season vegetables can be planted in the early autumn.

Some vegetables (onion bulbs, for Radish instance) will take 150 to 180 days to reach maturity.

Others, like radishes, can be harvested in 60 days.

If the gardener is willing to gamble on a warm fall and late frost, he can try growing tomatoes. Success is more likely if starter plants are used.

Bring your

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF 323 MEDIA

FEATURES: This well-built, allbrick home features an outdoor grill/bar with seating, gorgeous millwork details, a barrel ceiling at the entry, coffered ceilings in several other areas and a soughtafter floor plan design. The kitchen is open to the family room and a large breakfast nook, and it also boasts a farmhouse-style pantry door, tasteful backsplash, display shelving, plus chef features such as a pot-filler and commercialgrade six burner-stove with griddle. The master suite connects to the office suite; has dual walk-in closets; a gas fireplace; antiqued, mirror-lined, built-in storage cabinets; linen closet; dual sink/ vanity systems; separate shower; jetted tub; and a morning bar with cabinetry. Upstairs includes a guest bedroom plus full bath.

“SAY CHEESE” COLDWELL BANKER HARTUNG GATHERS FOR A TEAM PHOTO

How do they do it?

Coldwell Banker Hartung YOUR REALTOR FOR LIFE

For starters, they only operate with full time agents, to ensure clients get the best-in-class customer service.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to integrity; a founding principle within the brokerage. It’s It about doing the right thing for clients all the time, and every time.

At Coldwell Banker Hartung, the relationship continues long after everyone walks away from the closing table.

3303 Thomasville Rd

That’s what makes FL 32308 Tallahassee, Coldwell Banker Hartung ColdwellBankerTallahassee.com Your Realtor For Life.

(850) 386-6160

COLDWELL BANKER HARTUNG | 3303 THOMASVILLE RD | (850) 386-6160 | CBHARTUNG.COM TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

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PROMOTION

DEAL ESTATE

JUST LISTED

Stunning Pool Home Overlooks Lake Pisgah in Centerville Conservation Community This craftsman-style home sits on 1.3-acres, offering multiple outdoor living spaces. Relax on the rocking chair front porch with horse paddock views, or enjoy a backyard that features two porches, summer kitchen, wood burning fireplace and concrete-paved pool deck. Inside, the fantastic open floor plan boasts beautiful appointments throughout, including 10-foot ceilings, granite counters, hardwood flooring, tall doors, plantation shutters and detailed millwork. The living room comes complete with a wet bar and gas fireplace, while the chef’s kitchen is equipped with Thermador appliances, a large island with seating and an oversized pantry. There is a separate family room, home office, laundry and mudroom off the three-car garage. The master is on the main level and features a spacious closet and walk-in shower. Guest bedroom and bath are located downstairs. There also is a bonus space upstairs plus two additional bedrooms with en-suite baths.

LISTED PRICE: $1,225,000 ADDRESS: 6719 Lake Pisgah Drive SQUARE FOOTAGE: 3,818 BEDROOMS: 4 BATHROOMS: 4.5 YEAR BUILT: 2015

APPEAL: This home and its outdoor spaces are perfect for entertaining, complete with gorgeous lake views, designer finishes, commercial-grade appliances and a sparkling pool.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Hettie Spooner, Broker/Owner, (850) 509-4337 hettie@hillspooner.com

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF 323 MEDIA

FEATURES: This lake home shows off with soaring ceilings, chef's kitchen, gorgeous hardwoods, plantation shutters, detailed millwork, a wet bar, home office and a mudroom.

There also are two Rinnai gas hotwater heaters, exterior landscape lighting, irrigation and walk-in attic storage.

Got a leak?

Let us take a peek.

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McNeillPlumbing.com | (850) 562-5504 | 3505 N. Monroe St. Lic. #CFC043067 | Chase McNeill, Green Certified Plumber, #CFC1427457

CONVENIENCE AND CONTROL

Audio Video Connections PROFESSIONAL DESIGN & INSTALLATION Home Theater | Networking | Home Automation

MARK ICE, OWNER

(850) 251-4931 | MarkIce.net | Mark@MarkIce.net TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

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calendar

SEPT/OCT 2021 For more events in Tallahassee, visit TallahasseeMagazine.com. compiled by JAVIS OGDEN and REBECCA PADGETT

OCT. 28

BEST OF TALLAHASSEE

↓

Next month, Live!

In Tallahassee and host Joel Silver will reveal the winners of this year’s Best of Tallahassee awards. Tune in to FOX 49 at 6:30 p.m. to find out which businesses that you, our beloved readers, voted as the “Best in Show” in categories including food and beverage, 2021 service providers, entertainment, of E shopping and more.

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SEPT. 23

DISTINGUISHED LEADERSHIP AWARDS → Leadership Tallahassee, a program of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, will recognize the Honorable William Montford with the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award. The group also will announce the recipients of three other awards — Leadership Pacesetter, Leader of the Year and Servant Leadership — at the Distinguished Leadership Awards at the University Center Club.

Table sponsorships and tickets are available at LeadershipTallahassee.com.

SAVE THE DATE

NOV. 4

Women United Women’s Leadership Breakfast → Women United’s annual Women’s Leadership Breakfast, a celebration of women playing important roles in business and philanthropy, will be held at FSU’s Turnbull Conference Center and will feature former auto racing star Danica Patrick as keynote speaker (read more about her on page 40). The breakfast delivers a call to action encouraging women and all community members to bring about positive change with their time, talent and financial support.

Visit uwbb.org/women-united for more information.

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OCT. 10

Oktoberfest → Join Elder Care Services on Oct. 10 for a traditional Oktoberfest celebration with drinks, food and entertainment! Pickup options will also be available.

For more information, visit ecsbigbend.org.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LIVE! IN TALLAHASSEE (BEST OF TALLAHASSEE), UNITED WAY OF THE BIG BEND AND ELDER CARE SERVICES, INC.

For more information, including rules and regulations, last year’s winners and recap coverage, visit TallahasseeMagazine.com best-of-tallahassee.

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Air Conditioning / Heating

Season After Season

Benson’s Is Here For You!

BensonsHVAC.com | (850) 562-3132

FL: CMC056269 | GA: CN208982 Financing Available TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

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SEPT/OCT 2021

PROMOTION

OCT. 25 AND NOV. 7

TEE OFF FOR TOTS

OCTOBER

Cards for a Cure → Although the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) Foundation is unable to host Cards for a Cure in person this year due to COVID-19, patients fighting cancer still need your support. Cards for a Cure generates critical funding that helps patients without health insurance access life-saving PET scans, MRIs and mammograms. Your support also helps provide lodging and transportation for patients who must travel to Tallahassee for treatments.

→ Unless carefully managed, Type 1 diabetes can be life threatening.

Tee Off for Tots provides funding for programs at the Tallahassee Memorial Metabolic Health Center, which helps children as young as 2 and their families cope with the challenges of this disease. Tee Off for Tots features two events: a golf tournament on Oct. 25 at Golden Eagle Country Club in Tallahassee and a drawing for a 2022 Acura MDX donated by the Proctor Dealerships.

The drawing will be held on Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lake Iamonia Lodge.

Suggested minimum price is $100 per ticket. For more information, visit TMH.org/toft or call Jessica Zeigler at (850) 431-4590.

CHRIS BOTTI SEPT. 2 Trumpeter Chris Botti has been the highest-selling American instrumental artist since 2004. He crosses genres, delighting audiences of all sorts with pop, blues, jazz, classics and more. openingnights.fsu.edu/events/ chris-botti

TALLAHASSEE FOOD FESTIVAL SEPT. 4 Shop local, shop small, shop deliciously. Support local food vendors from Italian to vegan, Caribbean to Mexican and more. thefuzzypineapple.com/food

BLUEBIRD RUN SEPT. 6 NAMI Tallahassee’s annual Bluebird Run & Walk for Brookie B includes a 5K run/ walk and 1-mile fun run and walk held at the J.R. Alford Greenway. The event helps to raise awareness for suicide prevention and postvention.

New patients are diagnosed daily.

Your generosity makes a life-or-death difference for them. For more information, visit TMH.ORG/Cards or call Anne Munson at (850) 431-5931.

DR. GLENN BASS GOLF TOURNAMENT SEPT. 13 This event, hosted by Big Bend Hospice at Golden Eagle Golf & Country Club, is an opportunity to spend a day golfing while benefitting a great cause. All proceeds from the tournament go to Big Bend Hospice programs, including music therapy and veteran’s services. bigbendhospice.org/dr-glenn-bassgolf-tournament

8TH ANNUAL ROCKIN’ WITH SPIRIT BENEFIT CONCERT SEPT. 26 Rockin’ with Spirit is the Spirit of a Child Foundation’s main fundraising event each year.

The showcase, to be held at The Junction at Munroe, raises essential funds while showcasing national and local musicians. This year’s performers are James Otto and the Jason Byrd Band. spiritofachildfoundation.org/eventinformation/rockin-with-spirit-2021

SEPT. 10

PAW PATROL LIVE! THE GREAT PIRATE ADVENTURE

→ The 2022 Paula Bailey Dining in the Dark fundraiser, hosted by Lighthouse of the Big Bend, will be a unique event as dinner will be served in complete darkness. Attendees temporarily experience how individuals with vision loss adapt in a sighted world.

American Southern soul rockers and Jacksonville natives JJ Grey & Mofro will perform at the Capital City Amphitheater. Be prepared for bone-deep grooves and resonant lyrics.

Your favorite pups go from screen to stage in a pirate-themed live stage performance. The high seas and stakes mission welcomes all mates aboard.

For more information, visit SeeingIndependence.org/events.

capitalcityamphitheater.com/ event/2021/09/10/jj-grey-mofro

bluebirdrun.com

SAVE THE DATE JAN. 29

JJ GREY & MOFRO

DINING IN THE DARK

SAVE THE DATE

SEPT. 28–30

tuckerciviccenter.com/events/detail/ paw-patrol-live-great-pirate-adventure

NOV. 18

WINTERFALL REFUGE HOUSE BENEFIT → Winterfall kicks off the holiday season in Tallahassee while generating funds to benefit Refuge House and the people from throughout the Big Bend region that the organization serves. The event is conducted on the specially decorated grounds at the Esposito Garden Center and features outstanding food and wine, music by the Tobacco Rd Band, a live auction and much more.

Visit WinterfallEvent.com for more information, or contact co-chairs Mary Kelly, (850) 510-4148 or mkkelly@sbgtv.com, or JoAnne Adams, (850) 443-7868 or joannesadams15@gmail.com.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

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The COVID-19 pandemic may affect the events listed here.

Consult websites to obtain the latest information on their status.

September–October 2021

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

HAVE AN EVENT YOU’D LIKE US TO CONSIDER? Send an email to sbornhoft@rowlandpublishing.com.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE TALLAHASSEE MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION (CARDS FOR A CURE AND TEE OFF FOR TOTS, LIGHTHOUSE OF THE BIG BEND (DINING IN THE DARK) AND REFUGE HOUSE (WINTERFALL)

calendar

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Oktoberfest is back!

Prost to this great tradition while supporting seniors!

October 10 Cascades Park

To purchase tickets please visit Eldercarebigbend.org

BRING YOUR PACK TO MEET OURS. Wolves are just the start. With 52 acres of natural wonders, high-flying zipline adventures, historic buildings and more, there’s no better place to discover and learn about North Florida’s rich history, natural environment & diverse culture.

tallahasseemuseum.org

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calendar

SEPT/OCT 2021

PROMOTION

THE FRENCHTOWN PROJECT

HAVANA REGGAE FEST

SEPT. 30–NOV. 30

Reggae tunes will fill the night during an evening featuring local and international musical talent at 5F Farms in Quincy.

Wanderlust: Theatre on Location is proud to present “The Frenchtown Project,” an original, prerecorded, auditory walking theater experience along the Frenchtown Heritage Trail, a set of 13 historical sites that chronicle the story of Frenchtown, Tallahassee’s historic Black neighborhood. wanderlustonlocation.org

CONSTELLATION FURYK & FRIENDS OCT. 4–10 Get your golf clubs ready, the Jim & Tabitha Furyk Foundation is bringing a new event to the PGA Tour Championship in 2021 with the inclusion of Constellation Furyk & Friends presented

by Circle K. The event will be held at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida, attracting all who enjoy golf, music, food, celebrity appearances and fun for all. Proceeds will benefit Northeast Florida charities. constellationfurykandfriends.com

THE FUZZY PINEAPPLE CRAFT AND ART FESTIVAL OCT. 9 Crafters, artists and growers unite at Fuzzy Pineapple’s Craft and Art Festival featuring more than 100 diverse and independent artists. Enjoy entertainment, interactive art, food vendors, crafting and opportunities to buy from and connect with artists.

PHOTO BY K&R STUDIOS COURTESY OF TURKEY TROT

thefuzzypineapple.com/tfpfest

SUWANNEE ROOTS FESTIVAL OCT. 14–17 Enjoy four days in a camper or RV with family or friends, and immerse yourself in the spirit of Suwannee. This festival features live bluegrass and folk music and hosts music workshops, dancing, crafting and food. suwanneerootsrevival.com

SAVE THE DATE NOV. 25

Tallahassee Turkey Trot

OCT. 16

→ On Thanksgiving Day,

visittallahassee.com/events/havanareggae-fest

thousands of hungry but grateful runners will meet — in person again — for the 2021 Tallahassee Turkey Trot, hosted by the Gulf Winds Track Club. There’s no better way to make room for the big bird and all the fixin’s.

Whether you want to run or walk, choose from four courses — a 1-mile fun run/ walk, a 5k, 10k or 15k. And, don’t miss the Turkey Trot Festival on Nov. 21; it’s a fun way to register for the race while enjoying live music and fitness displays for the whole family.

BOZ SCAGGS: OUT OF THE BLUES TOUR 2021 OCT. 16 Stopping at the Capital City Amphitheater, Boz Scaggs’ “Out of the Blues” tour, named after his latest album, stems from his blues-inspired roots. The singer, songwriter and guitarist will perform his music spanning five decades. capitalcityamphitheater.com/ event/2021/10/16/boz-scaggs-out-ofthe-blues-tour-2020

BERT KREISCHER: THE BERTY BOYRELAPSE TOUR

Visit TallyTurkeyTrot.com for more information.

OCT. 24 Comedian, podcast host, author and Florida State University alum Bert Kreischer makes a stop at his old stomping grounds, the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, to provoke laughs with his party-boy antics. visittallahassee.com/events/bertkreischer-the-berty-boy-relapse-tour

‘A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER’ OCT. 28–31 A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is a murderous romp filled with unforgettable music, non-stop laughs and a scene-stealing role for one actor playing all eight of the doomed heirs who meet their ends in the most sidesplitting ways. theatretallahassee.org SAVE THE DATES

NORTH FLORIDA FAIR NOV. 4–14 Enjoy funnel cakes, rides and entertainment galore at the region’s largest and best agricultural fair. northfloridafair.com

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SOCIAL STUDIES Big Bend Hospice Foundation’s Spring into the Spirit

1

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHOTOGRAPHIQUE AND SHEMS HAMILTON

1 Ruth and Les Akers, Bill Gunter, Kathy Atkinson-Gunter, Jimmy Weaver, Flecia Braswell with Mark and Nan Hillis 2 Sonny Reed, Tim Hunt and Emily Hunt with Tenley and Stan Barnes

2

3 Valerie Draper and Beth Desloge 4 Dr. Monique Butler, Jane Marks and Steven Butler 5 Janegayle Boyd and Dena Strickland 6 Lucas and Stephanie Clary, Scott and Kay Dick, Teresa Dennis with Mehgean and Geoff Willoughby

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE TALLAHASSEE MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION (CARDS FOR A CURE AND TEE OFF FOR TOTS, LIGHTHOUSE OF THE BIG BEND (DINING IN THE DARK) AND REFUGE HOUSE (WINTERFALL)

MAY 13 Big Bend Hospice held its sold-out, premier fundraiser “Spring into the Spirit” on the beautiful grounds of Food Glorious Food.

The event recognized the many community members who have supported Big Bend Hospice’s mission to inspire hope — one family at a time. Visiting Angels of Tallahassee was the presenting sponsor again this year.

Highlights included entertainment by renowned jazz artist Leon Anderson and his quartet; a special gift from Haute Headz Salon; and a “top shelf” bar compliments of Scott and Kay Dick of SKD Consulting Group and ABC Wine & Fine Spirits. Tallahassee Nurseries supplied stunning floral centerpieces and gorgeous landscaping touches.

850-893-1960

The Brush & Palette Studio

ACHIEVE

stunning results JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Specializing in Art Lessons for Adults and Children

www.brushandpalettestudio.com

1379 Timberlane Rd.

not actual patients

THE GREG TISH SHOW

CELEBRATING

YE A R

S

REALTALK93.COM | (850) 386-TALK @REALTALK93FM

@TLHREALTALK

@REALTALK93.3

CELEBRATING YE A R

S

where expertise matters

With unique complementary expertise, board-certified physicians Ben J. Kirbo, M.D., Laurence Z. Rosenberg, M.D. and Chris DeRosier, M.D. are compassionate and committed to providing outstanding patient care. They stay current with technological advancements that enhance your experience for exceptional and natural results.

~ ~ ~ ~

Breast Enhancement Facelift Hair Transplants Chemical Peels

~ ~ ~ ~

Tummy Tuck Liposuction Nasal Reshaping Body Lift

The SPA at Southeastern Plastic Surgery provides results-oriented medical spa treatments given by experienced professionals featuring miraDry®, laser hair removal, injectables, facials, laser therapies and more!

Ben J. Kirbo, M.D. ~ Laurence Z. Rosenberg, M.D. Chris DeRosier, M.D. CERTIFIED BY THE AMERICAN BOARD OF PLASTIC SURGERY

850.219.2000

2030 Fleischmann Rd. ~ Tallahassee, FL

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SOCIAL STUDIES Annual Community Golf Classic MAY 24 United Way of the Big Bend held its 23rd annual Community Golf Classic at the beautiful Capital City Country Club.

2

1

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RYALS LEE AND BILL LAX

1 Alan Keesee, Bobby Bodiford, Terri Goburn and Brent Rogers 2 Logan Willis, Tyler Thomas, Nic Ross and Herbie Thiele 3 Russ Powell, Chris Wygle with Aaron and Jonah Parsons 4 Ann Hudgins, James Miller, Chris Holley and Jenna Tala

3

4

Guy Harvey’s at Tropic Star Lodge

Twenty-five anglers each trip will have the opportunity to join Guy and Jessica Harvey on a 5 day/5 night VIP experience at the world-famous Tropic Star Lodge in Piñas Bay, Panama.

For more information and available expedition dates, contact browland@GuyHarvey.com

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Your treatment.

Our Journey.

A cancer diagnosis can feel unexpected, leaving you questioning what to do next. But, within 72 hours*, Florida Cancer Specialists gives you and your family the comfort of a personalized treatment plan.

Our experienced doctors and nurses provide immunotherapy, the latest technologies from clinical trials and targeted treatment based on your cancer’s genomic profile. And with world-class care that’s close to home, we’re always here to make treatment simple and clear.

By your side – every step of the way.

Caring for patients at our NEW Tallahassee Cancer Center located at 2351 Phillips Road.

Viralkumar Bhanderi, MD Paresh Patel, MD Scott Tetreault, MD Call: (850) 877-8166 Gynecologic Oncology of Tallahassee, A Division of Florida Cancer Specialists: Margarett Ellison, MD Call: 1-888-GYNONC1

FLCancer.com

*All required paperwork must be provided at time of referral.

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dining guide AMERICAN ANDREW’S DOWNTOWN

After 40 years, Andrew’s is still an energetic, casual, see-and-be-seen spot.

House favorites include a popular lunch buffet, hamburgers, salads and pasta dishes. Downtown delivery.

(850) 222-3444/Fax, (850) 222-2433. $$ B L D

Great Food Great Friends

3740 Austin Davis Ave. Tues-Sun | 7am-2pm (850) 765-0703

300 S. Duval St. in Kleman Plaza Tues-Sun | 7am-2pm (850) 907-EGGS (3447)

BACKWOODS CROSSING ★

Sit down at this 2020 Best of winner for fresh gourmet food at Tallahassee’s farm-to-table, destination concept restaurant featuring locally caught and produced soft-shell crabs, sausage, duck and blueberries. 6725 Mahan Dr.

(850) 765-3753. $$ L D

BUMPA’S LOCAL #349

Featuring burgers, sandwiches, pastas, fried ribs, tacos and wings, this new neighborhood bar and grill has something for everyone.

FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD ★

The name says it all! This restaurant boasts a palate-pleasing combination of personalized service, eclectic ambiance and award-winning cuisine and is the Best Desserts winner for 2017–20. 1950 Thomasville Road.

(850) 224-9974. $$ L D

HOPKINS’ EATERY ★

A Best of 2020 winner, Hopkins’ provides favorites such as the Ultimate Turkey, the Linda Special and a variety of salads to keep customers coming back. Multiple locations. Hours vary. $

HORIZONS BAR & GRILLE

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

KOOL BEANZ ★

Eclectic and edgy, both in menu and atmosphere, Kool Beanz delights in art present both on the walls and your plates. This offbeat alternative won Best Casual Dining in Tallahassee. 921

Thomasville Rd. (850) 224-2466. $$ L D

LIBERTY BAR AND RESTAURANT ★

Carefully crafted unique cocktails mixed with a gourmet menu that features fresh, local produce. 1307 N. Monroe, Unit No. 2.

Classic, homemade American cuisine along with a full bar serving premium liquors, local craft beers and wine.

3427 Bannerman Road, Suite 104.

(850) 329-2371. $$ B D

THE KEY ★ 2020 Best

of Tallahassee Winner

This old-fashioned soda fountain serves ice cream, milkshakes and candy — plus brunch dishes and a selection of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. 1355 Market St.,

A11. (850) 521-0091. $ B

(850) 684-2117. $$/$$$

September-October 2021

(850) 422-0071. $ B L D

LOFTY PURSUITS ★

This relaxed, fine dining establishment is equipped with a beer garden, wine cellar, casual café, open-air alternatives and a gorgeous view that has become a Tallahassee favorite. 470 Suwannee St.

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Located in the Four Points by Sheraton Downtown, this cool lobby restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Unique dishes include tapas with a twist, such as the Georgia peaches with caramel. 316 W. Tennessee St.

(850) 354-8277. $$ D

THE EDISON

3427 Bannerman Road, Suite #104 850.329.2371 • HorizonsBarAndGrille.com

JUICY BLUE

DOG ET AL ★

$L D

DINNER • SUNDAY BRUNCH • HAPPY HOUR

Get baked! Tally’s Best Sports Bar for 2020 won’t serve you up greasy, fried wings; instead Island Wing bakes them fresh. 1370 Market St. (850) 692-3116. $ L

2738 Capital Circle NE. (850) 599-8652. $L D

Foot-long and veggie entrees alike grace this award-winning menu. Also ask about their incredibly valued family packs. 1456 S. Monroe St. (850) 222-4099.

Classic, house-made American cuisine.

Full bar with a variety of refreshing signature drinks

ISLAND WING COMPANY ★

MADISON SOCIAL

Whether it’s for a social cocktail, a quick lunch or a place to gather before home football games, Madison Social offers something for everyone.

705 S. Woodward Ave. (850) 894‑6276. $$ B L D

MIDTOWN CABOOSE ★

Outrageous burgers in a laid-back atmosphere — Wells Bros. lives on at this burger joint, voted Tallahassee’s best for 2020. 1406 N. Meridian Road.

(850) 521-1933. $$ L D

OVERUNDER BAR ★

Two experiences under one roof, OverUnder features specialty cocktails plus curated food and drink pairings and is a 2020 Best Wine List/Wine Bar winner. 1240 Thomasville Rd. (850) 597-7552. $$

R&R EATERY

Located in Hotel Indigo, R&R Eatery is a modern American restaurant with fresh takes on classic dishes and a mix of signature craft cocktails. 826 W. Gaines St.

(850) 210-0008. $$ B D

The restaurants that appear in this guide are included as a service to readers and not as recommendations of the Tallahassee Magazine editorial department, except where noted. $$ Moderately B Breakfast/ Outdoor Dining L D

Brunch Lunch Dinner

Live Music Bar/Lounge $ Inexpensive

Expensive

$$$ Expensive

e h t e v r e s y l n o e W

freshest!

Hibachi Tables • Sushi Bar • Happy Hour Private Dining • Large Parties Welcome

OPEN DAILY FOR LUNCH AND DINNER

BESTIN DESTIN VIP DESTIN MAGAZINE READER CHOICE AWARD

Hibachi

2021

Asian Cuisine

Hibachi

DESTIN 34745 Emerald Coast Pkwy | (850) 650-4688 TALLAHASSEE 1489 Maclay Commerce Drive | (850) 900-5149 • (850) 531-0222 PANAMA CITY BEACH 15533 Panama City Beach Parkway | (850) 588-8403

WWW.OSAKAHIBACHIANDSUSHI.COM

2226 N Monroe Street

NOW OPEN (850) 385-9888

1241 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee (850) 671-2722 2499 Hwy. 77 Unit A, Panama City (850) 215-3330 CraftyCrabRestaurant.com/location/tallahassee TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

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ROOTSTOCK

With an ever-changing menu of unique flavors, Rootstock offers shareable plates, artisan cocktails and a selection of 25 wines by the glass. 228 South Adams.

(850) 518-0201. $$$ D

UPTOWN CAFÉ

Specialties at the bustling, family-run café include apricot-glazed smoked salmon, oneof-a-kind omelets, banana bread French toast and flavorful sandwiches. 1325 Miccosukee Rd.

(850) 219-9800. $ B L

SAGE RESTAURANT ★

Sage’s menu masterfully melds regional influences, including Southern and French. The setting is gorgeous but cozy, and the outdoor patio sets a charming, romantic tone for a relaxing evening.

3534 Maclay Blvd. (850) 270-9396. $$$ B L D

SAVOUR

to be. Second location now open in Kleman Plaza. Multiple locations. (850) 907-3447. $$ B L

OSAKA JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE AND SUSHI BAR ★

TASTY PASTRY BAKERY ★

1925 N. Monroe St. $/$$ L D

ASIAN AZU LUCY HO’S

Enjoy an extensive array of classic dishes with a modern flare, including gyoza dumplings, crab rangoon, General Tso’s chicken and Szechuan beef, all in a relaxed setting. 3220

BORU BORU

115 E. Park Ave. (850) 765-6966. $$$ D

TABLE 23 ★

KIKU JAPANESE FUSION ★

(850) 575-5458, 3491 Thomasville Rd. (850) 222-5458. $$ L D

At this 2020 Best Juice Bar/Smoothie restaurant, experience an array of flavorful and health-conscious smoothies paired with toasted wraps, sandwiches, grilled flatbreads and gourmet salads.

Multiple locations. $ L D

Specializing in sweet treats, cakes, pastries and croissants, this bistro-style pastry shop and fine foods store also uses 100% natural ingredients to make savory sandwiches, salads and soups. 2766 Capital Circle NE.

WILLIE JEWELL’S OLD SCHOOL BBQ ★

Platters, sandwiches or by the pound, Willie Jewell’s, the 2020 Best Barbecue winner, offers smoked brisket, pork, turkey, sausage, chicken and ribs with a bevy of Southern sides. 5442 Thomasville Rd. (850) 629-4299.

$L D

(850) 765-0811. $$ L

CAJUN COOSH’S BAYOU ROUGE ★

This Best Cajun Restaurant winner for 2020 brings a menu jam-packed with Louisianastyle dishes, including favorites like jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, po’boys and seafood gumbo.

Multiple locations. (850) 894‑4110. $$ B L D

BREAKFAST/ BRUNCH/BAKERY CANOPY ROAD CAFÉ ★

A 2020 Best Asian winner, Masa’s menu offers a creative blend of Eastern and Western cuisines. 1650 N. Monroe St.

Traditional breakfasts, fluffy omelets, skillets, French toast and sweet potato pancakes keep customers coming back to this 2020 Best Breakfast winner. Canopy also goes all out on lunch favorites. Multiple locations. (850) 668-6600.

NAGOYA STEAKHOUSE & SUSHI

THE EGG CAFÉ & EATERY

MASA ★

TROPICAL SMOOTHIE CAFE ★

TREVA’S PASTRIES AND FINE FOODS

BBQ

From tempura to teriyaki and sushi to sashimi, Kiku Japanese Fusion, voted Best Sushi in 2020, fuses vibrant flavors with fresh ingredients. 800 Ocala Rd.

1215 Thomasville Rd. (850) 329-2261. $$$ L D

(850) 893-3752. $ B L D

$$$ D

A fast-casual eatery inspired by Japanese cuisine, featuring sushi bowls, poke bowls and sushiburritos. 1861 W. Tennessee St., #290. (850) 270-9253. $$ L D

This “Southern porch, table and bar” is cozied up among oak trees on one of Tallahassee’s favorite street corners.

Lucky Goat coffee-rubbed ribeye and Schermer pecan-crusted chicken are among the regional offerings.

Tallahassee’s original cakery and 2020 Best Bakery winner features fresh breads, bagels, pies, cakes and catering. Mon–Sat 6:45 am–6 pm. 1355 Market St., No. A-5.

Rated Best Hibachi for 2020, Osaka provides dinner and a show, with the chefs seasoning and preparing your meal right in front of you. 1489 Maclay Commerce Dr. (850) 900-5149.

Apalachee Pkwy., Ste. 13. (850) 893-4112. L D

Downtown fine dining with a vision for seasonally inspired, regionally sourced and creatively prepared cuisine, such as bourbon-brined pork chops, Gulf Coast bouillabaisse or miso marinated grouper.

hibachi, salads, sushi and sashimi.

(850) 727-4183. $/$$

Dine in or takeout, Nagoya offers a wide variety of authentic Japanese cuisine, including

$B L

When you’re looking for breakfast favorites, even if it’s lunchtime, The Egg is the place

CATERING SIMPLY ENTERTAINING ★

This 2020 Best of Tallahassee winner is ready to cater your next big event or intimate party with locally and organically grown ingredients; can accommodate vegan, gluten-free and other special dietary requests. 1355 A-10 Market St. (850) 668-1167.

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our mission is the same as our passion: to serve the most delicious mexican cuisine at five great locations. we invite you to stop by for our world-famous fajitas.

southwood

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727-0094 |

capital circle ne

385-9992 |

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north monroe

878-0800 |

kerry forest

668-1002 |

crawfordville

926-4329

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CUBAN

the 2020 Best Mexican/Latin American Restaurant, El Jalisco, where they do Mexican cuisine to perfection. Multiple

locations. $ L D

Tallahassee’s top Cuban spot for over 30 years, Gordos features favorites such as croquetas, papas rellenas, empanadas and pressed sandwiches like their classic Cubano. 1460 Market St. Suite #3-4. (850) 727-5914; 1907 W. Pensacola.

(850) 576-5767. $ L D

FRENCH LITTLE PARIS RESTAURANT

Authentic French cuisine in a relaxing casual atmosphere; try classics such as escargot, foie gras, duck leg confit, beef burgundy, wild sea bass and so much more. Curbside available. 1355 Market St. (850) 765-7457. $$$ L D

BELLA BELLA ★

Voted Best Italian in 2020, this locally owned and operated restaurant has a cozy atmosphere and serves all the classics to satisfy your pasta cravings.

123 E. 5th Ave. (850) 412-1114. $$ L D

IL LUSSO ★

Homemade pasta, local seafood and a choice of prime steaks define this downtown fine dining experience. 201

E. Park Ave., Suite 100. (850) 765-8620. $$$ D

MOMO’S ★

After devouring a slice “as big as your head” at this 2020 Best Pizza winner, chain pizza simply is not gonna cut it.

Find all your authentic Mexican classics such as tacos, quesadillas, fajitas and burritos, or take a sip of a yardstick margarita. 1170 Apalachee

Pkwy. (850) 656-7264. $$ L D

SEAFOOD/STEAK THE BLU HALO ★

Blu Halo is a high-end culinary experience featuring dry-aged steaks and fresh seafood along with fine wines and a martini bar. A private dining room for up to 20 guests is available. 3431 Bannerman

Rd., #2 (850) 999-1696. $$$ L D

Apalachee Pkwy. & 2226 N. Monroe St. (850) 671-2722. $$ L D

GEORGIO’S FINE FOOD & SPIRITS

George Koikos has over 50 years of experience in Tallahassee restaurants, and his hands-on commitment has made this upscale restaurant a local favorite featuring local seafood, prime steaks and banquet rooms for private parties. 2971

Apalachee Pkwy. (850) 877-3211. $$$ D

Located in Hotel Duval. Keep it light and casual with a premium Black Angus beef burger or a gourmet salad, or opt for one of their signature entrées — a “Shula Cut” steak. Reservations suggested.

SAHARA CAFE MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE ★

This 2020 Best Ethnic Restaurant winner is a family owned and operated restaurant. Sahara Cafe has been serving homemade Greek and Lebanese food to Tallahassee for 15 years. 1135 Apalachee Pkwy.

(850) 656-1800. $$ L D

MEXICAN EL JALISCO ★

In the mood for sizzling enchiladas and frozen margaritas? Make your way to

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CARRY OUT AVAILABLE Killearn Shopping Center (850) 222-5458

Ocala Corners (850) 575-5458

KIKUBOGO.COM

KIKUTOGO.COM

SAFETY & QUALITY ARE PRIORITY

Serving Southern, Cajun and Creole flavors in classic and modern dishes since 1987. Full bar is available at each location. 301 S. Bronough St., in Kleman

RICCARDO’S RESTAURANT

MEDITERRANEAN

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HARRY’S SEAFOOD BAR & GRILL

Plaza. (850) 222-3976. $$ L D

(850) 386-3988. $$ L D

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Offering the freshest seafood and most authentic recipes in the area, including crab, crawfish, calamari, lobster, oysters, mussels, scallops and more. 1241

Multiple locations. (850) 224‑9808. $L D

A Tallahassee tradition since 1999, Riccardo’s features savory Italian classics, from pasta and pizza to homemade subs and calzones — plus a wide-ranging selection of wines and craft brews. 1950 Thomasville Rd.

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SHULA’S 347

415 N. Monroe St. (850) 224-6005. $$$ L D

SOUTHERN SEAFOOD ★

Whether you’re looking for fish, shrimp, oysters, scallops, crab or lobster, the 2020 Best Seafood Market winner brings the ocean’s freshest choices to Tallahassee. 1415 Timberlane Rd. (850) 668‑2203.

TALLY FISH HOUSE & OYSTER BAR

Locally owned seafood restaurant boasts a raw bar and a bevy of fresh seafood such as catfish, stuffed Gulf grouper, shrimp, red snapper and more. Takeout available.

6802 Thomasville Rd. (850) 900-5075. $$ L D

WHARF CASUAL SEAFOOD ★

A Tallahassee institution, the Wharf will fill your need for the coast with fresh seafood, salads, seafood tacos and po’boys. Also available for catering. 3439

Contact Silver Digital Media for all your production/digital content needs.

Contact Joel Silver

850-509-6566 Silvervideo@gmail.com

• Corporate Videos • Virtual/Live/Hybrid Events • TV Shows • Commercials • Social Media Content • And anything else on video!

Bannerman Rd. and 4036 Lagniappe Way. (850) 765-1077 and (850) 668-1966. $$ L D

Visit our comprehensive, searchable dining guide online at TallahasseeMagazine.com/restaurants.

Live! In Tallahassee TALL AHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

September-October 2021

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postscript

BE A FRIEND TO WATER Halting degradation will require global effort

W

ater is life. Without it, we would quickly perish. Given water resource’s critical importance to our well-being and that of the planet, you would expect mankind to take good care of it.

Instead, we have all seen the degradation of our rivers, lakes and oceans. The list of abuses against water is long and their impacts devastating.

Plastic covers hundreds of square miles of ocean surface. Red tides kill sea life.

Blue-green algae clogs waterways. Coral reefs suffer due to climate change.

Fish populations are overharvested.

Sharks die lingering deaths after being finned for soup. Industrial pollution compromises water quality.

It’s enough to make you freak out.

Or is it?

In recent months, the documentary Seaspiracy has risen into the Top 10 on Netflix, and as depressing as that movie is, it barely dives below the surface in dealing with the environmental consequences of human activity.

Scientists are now concerned with relatively new and insidious threats such as ocean acidification and stony coral tissue disease.

The oceans are literally becoming more acidic because they act like a massive sponge and absorb a third of the carbon dioxide that is pumped into the earth’s atmosphere. Combining salt water and carbon dioxide creates carbonic acid, which increases acidity and reduces the pH of seawater. A more acidic ocean inhibits the growth of calcium-based

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organisms like coral reefs and the shellfish we love to eat.

Stoney coral tissue disease is resulting in a massive dying off of reefs, and experts are uncertain how to stop its spread. As more reefs die and as the oceans become more acidic, they lose their effectiveness in absorbing carbon dioxide, kind of like that air filter in your HVAC system that you haven’t changed in three years.

Thankfully, a growing number of nonprofit organizations and environmental agencies are fighting every day to protect and preserve water.

Literally hundreds of grassroots groups are advocating for local waterways and our planet. We can all be part of the solution by volunteering time or donating cash to their initiatives.

I have come to know well the work of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF), which was founded by conservationist, fisherman, artist and marine biologist, Dr. Guy Harvey.

During his more than 30-year career, Harvey has generated millions of dollars through his art and apparel sales. Instead of acquiring the shiniest yacht or most ostentatious mansion, Harvey has chosen to fund marine science research and conservation projects. He’s helped save sharks from being wiped out in the Bahamas. The GHOF has spearheaded multiple legislative bills to keep our fisheries sustainable and our waterways clean. Plus, the GHOF has funded

TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM

dozens of scholarships for students pursuing careers in marine fields.

In the past two years, Harvey and the GHOF have added a new strategy to their marine conservation tackle box: education.

“Our goal is to inspire students to be leaders in conservation,” Harvey has said. “While my generation continues to fight to protect our oceans, we also want to give upcoming generations the tools they will need to develop new and innovative solutions.”

Through partnerships with Discovery Education, Ocean First Education, the Florida Virtual School and numerous other leading learning organizations, the GHOF has developed a marine science course, an environmental science course and K-12 curriculum about sharks — all available free to students in Florida and across the globe.

“The entire GHOF culture is dedicated to growing our educational offerings. We’re also teaming with other conservation organizations to get their message out as well,” Harvey said. “Just like conservation, education is a longterm process.”

Among many issues facing our planet, the need to conserve, protect and preserve water has risen to the top of a long list. Achieving a sustainable water planet will be a taxing battle, but our lives literally depend on it. TM Fred Garth is the editor of Guy Harvey Magazine.

ILLUSTRATION BY SPICYTRUFFEL / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS

by FRED GARTH

The Ultimate Leather Look

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