provided to The Santiva Chronicle
The Charitable Foundation of the Islands (CFI) hosts an annual leadership program called Leadership Sanibel-Captiva to foster new leaders in Sanibel and Captiva. This unique program seeks to identify and empower the next generation of community leaders while ensuring a vibrant future for the islands. It’s a comprehensive 8-week program that exposes its 13 participants to all aspects of island life, from the rich history of Sanibel and Captiva to the current state of affairs.
The program’s first four sessions were hugely successful and focused on the themes of Government, the Environment, Social Services, and Business/Community Prosperity. They included talks with community leaders and officials, trips to the islands’ nonprofit organizations, tours of our natural habitats, and information-gathering sessions with local business leaders.
The fifth and final Leadership Sanibel-Captiva session on Arts & Culture was held on March 7. Attendees were exposed to and educated about all aspects of the arts on the islands by local experts and leaders, and the day started at BIG ARTS, the island’s cultural center on Dunlop Road. They received a welcome address from Lee Ellen Harder, Executive Director of BIG ARTS. While there, they were given a tour of the gallery and an overview of the history of the facility by Ralph Clark (former Board member and member of the Building Campaign), Wilson McCray (Gallery Director), and Aimee Harrison (Workshops Manager). Participants also heard from Mark Harmon, Executive Director of Sanibel Historical Museum & Village. From there, they headed for a tour of the Captiva Civic Association (CCA) and the Captiva Island Historical Society, which included the facilities, library, and cemetery. An informative panel discussion occurred, consisting of Emily Ankerson, Executive Director of Captiva Civic Association, Lisa Riordan, President of the CCA Foundation, and Tom Libonate, Board Chair of the Captiva Island Historical Society. The day ended with a presentation from Ann Brady of the Rauschenberg Residency, a renowned creative center that welcomes artists of all disciplines worldwide to live, work, and create.
Presenters of the Arts & Culture session provided participants with a three-hundred-sixty-degree overview of the islands’ flourishing arts and cultural scene and a greater feel for how it plays a vital role in the local culture that makes Sanibel and Captiva such a unique place. Feedback gathered from the program participants was highly positive. One attendee, Ken Washuta, noted,
“I enjoyed the discussion at Big Arts, particularly Ralph Clark’s candor on the building capital campaign! I also enjoyed learning about Captiva’s history and found it fascinating that the island was once twice as wide. What a great program! I can’t believe how quickly it went, and I was somewhat sad when our sessions were over.”
Another attendee, Marvell Bradley, commented, “Visiting the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village was the highlight of my day! I had no idea the historical buildings were even there, and I’d been on the island most of my life. It was neat to take a trip back and see what the island was like years ago.”
Jane Majeski, Leadership Sanibel-Captiva Chair of CFI, summed it up appropriately: “Arts and culture permeate throughout the islands and give our community a richness and depth that you can feel as soon as you cross the causeway. By exposing these future leaders to the full extent of it and educating them on its colorful history, we ensure that it will be there for future generations to enjoy.”
For more information, visit www.charitablefoundationoftheislands.org
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