making a difference

WOMEN THAT ROCK
The Fantastic Four

BY LAEL HAZAN • PHOTOS BY PETER ACKER

In these days of economic uncertainty, political unrest and environmental concerns, the future is disconcerting. It would be fantastic to have a crystal ball and see what it holds. Since that is impossible, we decided to look at some of the up and coming leaders of Sarasota. What we found makes the future look quite bright. Combining a love of food, family, and friends, these four wonderful women represent the future of our area. Their strength and dedication to the Sarasota-Manatee area has no limits. They are optimistic about the future and are capable of leading us with grace, charm, wit, and determination.

THE FUTURE ON A LOCAL PLATE

Kate Atkin

Equally at home in the kitchen and as a hostess for black tie events, Kate Atkin found her dream job when she became the first full time executive director of the Sarasota-Manatee Originals. Gaining understanding of the needs of the restaurateurs while working at restaurants through college and her early career, she honed her event planning and marketing expertise at the Ringling Museum. In her short tenure, she has revamped the entire marketing strategy of the Originals, adding the tag line “eat like a local,” and changing the entire marketing look. Kate dreams of making Sarasota a culinary destination for the rest of the country.

In 2003, eight local restaurateurs banded together to promote eating local and celebrating our area’s culinary heritage. To be a member, a restaurant must be independent and locally owned, as well as assist in promotion of the Originals by donating dining certificates, time, and expertise to a major community charity event. Membership has now swelled to 50 and the organization has promoted the largest culinary event in the area, “Forks and Corks.”

This year, “Forks and Corks,” which Kate plans to turn into a culinary destination event, is poised to surpass all of its previous celebrations in size and detail. Scheduled for January 27th to 30th, 2012 (strategically placed between playoffs and the Super Bowl) it is expected to draw a sellout crowd of over 1,800 people. Kate believes that “travelers will be blown away by the entirety of the area’s beauty.” New this year will be a retail tent where patrons can purchase their newly found favorite wines. Proceeds from the event will support the Ringling Museum and the Red Cross.

Kate is full of ambition for the Sarasota-Manatee Originals; she loves the passion of the restaurateurs and understands the marriage of events and food. But she also sees a symbiosis in community branding of the area and seeks out opportunities to create and nurture partnerships with other organizations. Already she has reached out to area banks to become associate members. For one of their recent member events, Kate brought in a speaker from the U.S. Department of Labor. She foresees how the Originals could become a collaborative group, sharing both education and some of the financial burdens.

Although Kate enjoys eating out, she makes time for family life and many other community activities. This year she is participating in the Halloween Bash of Planned Parenthood and the Big Cat Habitat. But her favorite activity is her nightly family dinner, and she considers herself an expert griller. For Kate, the enjoyment of food, friends, and family is both an investment and guarantee of a positive future.

A WHOLE LOT OF HEART

Nikki Logan Heil

Nikki Logan Heil loves to travel, and says that if someone gave her a plane ticket to the great unknown, she would happily go. However, 10 years ago, after consistently seeing Sarasota featured as one of the top five greatest cities in which to live, Nikki and her young family (her daughter was just 1), decided to make the move to our paradise. The draws were the amenities of a big city culture combined with the friendliness and beautiful setting of a more relaxed life.

In 2007 Nikki was delighted to become marketing manager for the new Whole Foods, Sarasota. She is in charge of all the philanthropic efforts, community outreach, and partnerships. In addition, she oversees the in-store education, tours, lifestyle, and messaging, making sure that Whole Foods’ core values are publicized. She adores her job, where she gets to participate in a company that supports its community. She says that she is the “lucky one who gets the hugs” through Whole Foods’ generosity.

Managing the Whole Planet Foundation (WPF) in-store fundraisers that culminate with a six-week drive in spring is a major undertaking. Last year, the generous donors of Sarasota gave $4 million to support micro-lending projects and community development in the 47 countries from which Whole Foods purchases diverse products.

Nikki has deepened her philanthropic understanding by participating in WPF-sponsored expeditions to the areas that receive funding. This past summer, she built interior stoves and chimneys in homes in Guatemala, and learned that more children die from smoke inhalation than malaria and HIV combined. Only three years old, the project has had visible success, with many more healthy children able to attend school. The previous year she spent time in the Peruvian desert highlands, chiseling bedrock to create water tanks for a mountain community with no running water. She also visited some of the micro-borrowers, many of whom have between six and eight children, and got to see the impact on their lives as they were able to create a community store or hair salon or buy a cow, or even a bit of land. Nikki has presented her experiences to Whole Food members throughout the state of Florida, the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club (with whom she accompanied on a 5-week culture exchange in Siberia).

She is also CEO of Chefs4Kids, a nonprofit organization working in Haiti. She works with business and community leaders promoting entrepreneurship. Breaking the chain of contamination, Chefs4Kids has developed food carts and central community kitchens. Always focusing on a children’s component, Chefs4Kids is building a school near Jacamo, run by Sarasotan Judi DeWalt of Natural Discoveries.

Although her life is busy, Nikki always makes time for her own family. She tries to be home from 4 to 7 p.m. every night to be with her daughter. “I have an awesome kid!” As her grandmother inspired her, she wants to inspire her daughter to know that “yes she can save the world.”

FILLING THE PLATE

Kelly Morrell

With poise and humor, Gulf Coast Foundation’s marketing manager Kelly Morrell gently convinced her large dog that standing in the way was not going to get her the attention she wanted. That ability to find humor in her daily activities has served Kelly well. When she was eight, her father, a two-star general, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Kelly watched his courage in the face of adversity, and learned that “how you spend your day is a choice.”

Kelly’s choice was to get a master’s in nonprofit administration from UCF. She likes the foundation side of community, believing that it is essential to creating an overall strong society. She is thankful that her mentor, Terri Hanson, CEO of Gulf Coast Foundation, recruited her to Sarasota three years ago. Together with the rest of those involved, “plank by plank, post by post, we are building the boardwalk” of community.

Kelly has made her home near Selby Gardens and enjoys living there. She loves walking to the downtown Farmer’s Market and looks forward to the opening of the new Publix. When friends from elsewhere ask about Sarasota’s lack of nightlife, she says, “it isn’t so much what to do, as whom you do it with, and Sarasota has great people.” Kelly has literally fallen in love in Sarasota. Her upcoming wedding will be celebrated at two nonprofits, the ceremony will take place at the Twelfth Street Church and the reception held at G-Wiz.

Currently, Kelly is mentoring the new Gulf Coast Gives Program. An all web-based platform, gulfcoastgives.org enables donors to give at any level to 40 different vetted programs. As Kelly says, “you don’t have to be a chief of industry to change the world.” She is particularly excited about the upcoming partnership with the Southgate Westfield Mall. During the campaign, shoppers who spend $200 will be given a $25 Gulf Coast Gives certificate that they can direct to fund any of the nonprofits on the website.

Just as “food is substance,” says Kelly, “giving charitably is substance for the soul.” Many of the Gulf Coast Foundation’s awards involve food, such as the Backpack Project, Bowls for Hunger, and Give Hunger the Blues, carried on in partnership with All Faiths Food Bank. The foundation also funded Transition Sarasota’s Double Harvest, Double Help Program that helped feed those who harvested the food, which included the Suncoast Gleaning Project, and the Gulf Coast Gives Project for Non-profit Farms. The foundation is a forum for donors, businesses, and civic leaders to create a strong policy for community from Manatee to Boca Grande, and Kelly is proud to participate by helping people help others.

PLOWING FORWARD

Tiffany Bispham Bailey

Tiffany Bispham Bailey is a fourth-generation Sarasota farmer who can’t imagine doing anything else but being in agriculture. As a child she worked to trim trees and fertilize acres of the family farm, Bayside Sod, but thought she would leave it behind as she grew up. However, she was drawn to horticulture at the University of Florida, and, as she puts it, “woke up in the family business.” According to Tiffany, “Dad gave me a green thumb and Mom gave me the tools to cook with it.”

As a newlywed, family and food are important to Tiffany. Luckily, most of the former reside in the Sarasota area, which turns holidays into very large affairs that last many hours and encompass at least nine family homes. Tiffany greatly appreciates how her family, including her grandparents, sit down together at her father’s table and plan the future of their farm.

In the heyday of Sarasota’s building boom, Bayside Sod’s output was much in demand, as was the farm property itself, situated in an ideal central location near Twin Lakes Park. But as the economy went south, sod did too. Four years ago, Tiffany introduced the concept of planting produce to her family, who liked the plan of diversification. Thus started Honeyside Farms, located on some of the fallow family property. A firm believer in the value of the land, Tiffany farms sustainably, acquiring her seeds from the University of Florida.

For Honeyside Farms, diversity is key. Tiffany has learned to estimate how much an acre will produce and is fairly sure of where she will sell the item before she plants it. She loves the “farm to consumer” movement and sells the family produce at Phillippi Mansion and the Downtown Farmers’ Markets. As she is learning about the markets, the farm is growing. Tiffany is now working with Gecko’s restaurants and will be providing all of their squash, zucchini, and romaine lettuce. In addition, this winter she plans to have five rows of “U-pick” strawberries available to the public.

Believing that fresh is much better tasting as well as more nutritious, Tiffany wants to educate the public, and serves on many boards and commissions. She was elected to the Sarasota County Soil and Water Conservation Board and is helping to create a Sarasota agriculture tour this February where people will have a chance to discover local farms. She also sits on the Sarasota Agricultural Council Advisory Committee and is on the board of the Phillippi Market.

For Tiffany Bispham Bailey the future is bright. She loves working in the family business and hopes one day to have a family of her own. Like most modern women, her challenge will be how to balance family with her work life. But like her pioneer ancestors, there isn’t a doubt that she will succeed.