SRQ MEDIA was pleased to host the 2019 SMARTgirl Leadership and Mentoring Summit at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota on Friday, March 15, 2019. Powered by the SRQ MEDIA Women in Business platform, SMARTgirl is an innovative program designed to engage girls in 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades in imagining their future careers and creating the tools they will need to succeed through mentorship, soft skills training and hands-on workshops with some of the community’s top women leaders.

The crowd of SMARTgirls arrived to the Hyatt Regency Sarasota bright and early– ready for a day of engaging, empowering programming. The guests were welcomed by two workshops designed to spark creativity: a Mythic Story Station and a Superhero Team Station. Facilitated by the SMARTgirl Class of 2019 Mentors and SRQ staff, the activities were great icebreakers that encouraged team building.

The SMARTgirl Class of 2019 Mentors helped facilitate the next part of the program- the Dream Career Incubator. Nearly thirty volunteer mentors who represented a wide variety of professions each ran three mini-mentor sessions. The team of SMARTgirl mentors offered direction and advice to the girls, asking questions about what their interests are and where they can see themselves in the future. Our mentors also offered the young leaders insight into the professional world and encouraged the girls to follow their passions and dreams.    

The 2019 SMARTgirl Leadership and Mentoring Summit luncheon began with a welcome by Mark Smith of The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art followed by inspiring remarks by the 2019 SMARTgirl Keynote Speaker, Roxie Jerde of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Encouraging the audience of SMARTgirls to demonstrate curiosity, comradery, and collaboration in their everyday lives, Jerde noted that, “Everyone in this room has the potential to impact a cause, another person, and our community.” Jerde described the impact that her experience as a former Girl Scout had on the way she views collaborative thinking and shared, “All of us are smarter than one of us.”

Next, SMARTgirl Partner Alumni Speaker, Britney Guertin of Visit Sarasota County addressed the audience and recalled how the encouragement and support she received through the Boys & Girls Club helped provide a foundation to achieve her potential. She encouraged the young audience to follow their passions and to participate in the Bright Futures Scholarship program.

To kick off the program’s final workshop, the audience learned how prevalent bullying is in each SMARTgirl’s experience at school. 3.2 million students are bullied each year and over 70% of young people say that they have witnessed bullying first hand. The 2019 SMARTgirl Leadership and Mentoring Summit ended with a dynamic anti-bullying workshop led by Blair Bloomston of Game On Nation. Through group activities that promoted connectivity, empathy, and confidence, Bloomston stressed the importance of finding common ground and “laughing with” instead of “laughing at.”

Bloomston encouraged young women to find strengths in one another and to become active in their communities. By the end of the workshops, laughter resonated throughout the room as all in attendance harnessed Bloomston’s spirit of play.

SRQ MEDIA would like to thank the sponsors who made the 2019 SMARTgirl Leadership and Mentoring Summit possible: Career Edge, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, New Balance of Sarasota and University Park, New College of Florida, Sue Ellen’s Floral Boutique, and The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Thank you to host sponsor Hyatt Regency Sarasota, audio visual sponsor PSAV, and to our 2019 Participating SMARTgirl Partner Organizations: Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota County, Girls Inc., Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, and the YMCA.

We are grateful for our fantastic SMARTgirl Class of 2019 Mentors for taking time out of their busy day to share their wisdom and their stories with our SMARTgirls: Mireya Eavey, Gabriele Harris, Shauna Donahue, Susan Moseley, Joy Randels, Katy McBryer, AJ Lee, Ph.D. Kendra Simpkins, Jeannie Perales, Carol Danisi, Alyson Goldy, Jennifer Caraviotis Simms, Lyndsy McDonald, Liz Brookins, Bernadette DiPino, Laurie Pike, Leymis Bolanos-Wilmo , Kameron Hodgens, Ph.D., Paige LeMay, Morgan Gerhart, Tammy Kovar, Erin Watson, Angelica Brady, Casey Siljestrom, DVM, MPH, Major Sherri Sanders, Nadia Kemel, Lee-En Chung, Rochelle Nigri and Nikki Taylor.

And lastly, we thank our 2019 SMARTgirl participants for joining us. You are our community’s next generation of leaders and we look forward to watching you learn, grow, and thrive!

Click HERE to view more photographs from the program.

Don’t forget to save the date for the next Women In Business Program: the SRQ Women in Business Hear Me Roar Leadership and Awards Luncheon, taking place at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota on Thursday, May 2, 2019 Click HERE to purchase your online tickets. Tickets are now available for $75/per person. Sponsorship tickets for a Table of 10 are available for $850 and and sponsor tickets for a half-table of 5, $425. We look forward to celebrating our fabulous presenters and award recipients at this year’s Hear Me Roar Program with you!

SRQ MEDIA was delighted to host the 15th Annual SRQ Magazine Home of the Year Awards. The ceremony took place at SRQ Studios in Downtown Sarasota during the evening of Wednesday, February 27 and was attended by over seventy local architects, interior designers, contractors, vendors, and guests.

Developed to recognize talent in the design and construction industry, the SRQ Home of the Year Competition celebrates incredible residences along the Gulf Coast. Home of the Year Awards Ceremony was MC’ed by SRQ MEDIA Executive Publisher Wes Roberts who noted that design is, “More than a craft, it’s a calling.”

In addition to nine award categories ranging from Best Overall Home Over $2 Million to Best Remodel/Renovation, SRQ introduced a new award to the competition in 2019: Best Overall Home- Interior Design. SRQ received an impressive 34 entries in this year’s competition and the Silver, Gold, and Platinum awards were determined by the 2019 Home of the Year Competition judges: Stephanie Gaines of Curts Gaines Hall Jones, Tampa; David Poorman of David Poorman Architect, Naples; and Hugo Mijares of OneDBMiami, Miami.

The awards ceremony kicked off by celebrating the Platinum winner of Best Sustainable/Green Home, DSDG Architects for Osprey Landing. Described as “A good use of passive and active sustainable design” by the judges, the home incorporates locally sourced materials with high recycled material content, energy saving appliances, tank-less gas water heaters, LED lighting and a lighting control system to help ensure that no power is wasted.

The next Home of the Year Category was Best Landscape Design/ Pool/Outdoor. Michael A. Gilkey, Inc. won the Silver Award for the Cherokee Park Family project. DWY Landscape Architects was awarded Gold for the Two Palms residence and the Platinum award for Best Landscape Design/ Pool/Outdoor was awarded to DWY Landscape Architects as well for the Citrus Avenue project. The judges commented that DWY’s Citrus Avenue project is “A gorgeous use of lush green and hot pink Barragan’s water wall that contrasts beautifully with the white architecture”  

One Platinum winner was awarded for Best Bathroom: Sweet Sparkman Architects for their SeaThru House. Designed with uninterrupted glass from bedroom to bathroom with no wall or door to break the space, the Platinum winning bathroom was praised by the judges who noted, “The material palette is superb as well as the execution” The SeaThru House by Sweet Sparkman Architects was also named as the Platinum winner for Best Great Room.

The SRQ Home of the Year Platinum award-winning kitchen is a minimalist’s dream. Awarding Principal Architect Mark Sultana his second Platinum Home of the Year for the evening, the Best Kitchen award was given to DSDG Architects for Betonhaus. This home features floor-to-ceiling sliding glass walls that open to the south facing breakfast deck, allowing light to flow into the kitchen to highlight the room’s centerpiece – a fifteen and a half foot island with a polished concrete waterfall countertop.

SRQ MEDIA’s new-to-2019 award category Best Overall Interior Design was presented next for a Silver, Gold, and Platinum level winner. The Silver award was granted to Barbara Gardner of Collins Interiors for the California Contemporary on the Gulf Coast of Florida and the Gold award for Best Overall Interior Design was given to Riley Interior Design for The Abaco residence. The Platinum Home of the Year winner for Best Overall Interior Design was given to Trade Mark Interiors for the Hawthorne Residence. Designed in a French West Indies style, Trade Mark Interior’s design for the Hawthorn Residence is rich with organic and textural elements that embrace an open, outdoor lifestyle. Throughout the home, one will find a fluid sophistication through the cohesive and subtle color palette along with a wide array of textures.

SRQ MEDIA’s Best Remodel/Renovation award was announced next. Situated in the Historic Eagle Point Club on Robert’s Bay, the Platinum winning home renovation was designed in a Coastal Contemporary style yet it maintains the neighborhood’s Old Florida charm. The Best Remodel/Renovation Home of the Year Platinum award was given to Edgewater Contractors/Holly Dennis Interiors for Eagle Point Drive.

The next award category was Best Overall Home Under $1 Million. SRQ was pleased to recognize Solstice Architects as winner of the Gold Home of the Year for WhiteHaus and DSDG Architects as the Platinum winner of the Best Overall Home Under $1 Million for the Rivetta Retreat residence. The Rivetta Retreat was described as an “Elegant marriage of function and beauty” by judges.

The Best Overall Home Between $1-2 Million was awarded to a Gold and Platinum winner. The Gold award winning house was Osprey Landing by DSDG Architects and the Platinum winning home was the SeaThru House by Sweet Sparkman Architects. The SeaThru home was designed as an homage to the local mid-century vernacular of Sarasota and was described as “Simply spectacular” by the judges.

The evening concluded with the final category of the night, the Best Overall Home Over $2 Million. This award was given to a Gold and Platinum level winner. Murray Homes took home the Gold Home of the Year Award for Best Overall Home Over $2 Million for their Modern on Mourning Dove project. The Platinum Award winner of the the best Overall Home Over $2 Million was DSDG Architects for Betonhaus. The award was accepted by Principal Architect Mark Sultana and was the firm’s fifth 2019 Home of the Year award. Betonhaus uses raw concrete, wood accents and subtle color to warm the overall aesthetic and add additional layers of detail to the design. Drawing inspiration from mid-century design, current modern features and philosophies are evident in this home through floor to ceiling glass walls, patterns of three, opacity of walls to allow passive ventilation, and a connection to the outdoors.

Congratulations to our 2019 SRQ Home of the Year Award winners. We could not have had such a successful evening without the support of the design community. Thank you for submitting your projects to us. Congratulations to the Home of the Year award nominees, winners, and contributors for enriching our community through great design! Special thanks to our 2019 Home of the Year judges, Sarasota Trophy, and Gecko’s Pub and Grill. We had a wonderful evening.

We’re also inviting local architects and builders to participate in this year’s July Modern Home Magazine. SRQ will be bringing back the Building of the Year Awards this summer to recognize commercial, multi-unit residential and mixed use buildings, public parks, and regional buildings. The Call for Entries opens on April 1st and closes June 1st.

The full list of award winners and images can be viewed online and in print in the March 2019 edition of SRQ Magazine. Click here to read the article about the 2019 Home of the Year awards in SRQ DAILY. A gallery of images from the Home of the Year Award Ceremony is available online here.

SRQ MEDIA’s Power Up event, fueled by the SRQ Women In Business Initiative provided Leadership Circle members and special guests with an opportunity to mix, mingle, brainstorm and develop new connections at Sophie’s at Saks Fifth Avenue.

The program fosters a supportive environment where professionals can get to know one another in a fun, chic setting. We had such a great time at this week’s Power Up Mixer on February 6, 2019 and thank our attendees for spending their evening with us!

Paired with delicious bites from Sophie’s at Saks Fifth Avenue Power Up is a platform for networking and cultivating relationships for the SRQ WIB Leadership Circle and invited special guests.

“Power Up is a great opportunity to get to know other women who are doing amazing things in our community. I’m always awestruck by the work these women are doing in the community,” said attendee Dr. Sandra Stone of University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee.

“I’ve been impressed by SRQ’s commitment to foster these types of networking programs,” remarked Maryalice Keller, owner of Scout & Molly’s, a boutique in downtown Sarasota.

“We were thrilled to host our Leadership Circle members and special guests at the SRQ Power Up Mixer at Sophie’s,” says SRQ MEDIA Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnership and Engagement Ashley Grant. “It was a fabulous, fun and deeply engaged evening of connection, brainstorming, and ‘aha’ moments of insight for everyone.”

A big thank you to Mark Resnick, General Manager at our fabulous host sponsor Sophie’s at Saks Fifth Avenue!

Photos from the Wednesday, February 6th Power Up event are now available on CLICK SRQ.  Click Here More For Photos