Somewhere Glassworks Summer Line Available

The popular Gainesville art glass studio Somewhere Glassworks is proud to launch their summer 2009 line of fine art glass pendants, available for wholesale purchase by select galleries and boutiques.

These one-of-a-kind pendants are made with borosilicate glass, the strongest kind of glass commercially available. It is also called Pyrex, popularly known for its use in test tubes and cookware. This strength makes borosilicate glass a perfect choice for jewelry. It is scratch resistant and highly durable.

The pendants are created through Somewhere Glassworks' unique 'inside-out' technique. Colored glass is applied to the back of a clear lens and manipulated while molten behind an oxygen propane torch during the lampworking process. Techniques are borrowed those used to create paperweights. The result is a pendant with incredible color and depth. The clear glass face, when properly shaped, forms a magnifying lens for the color inside.

A wholesale order includes a wide assortment of pendant styles, with no two the same. Pendants are sold on a gift card with an 18" ribbon- a perfect gift for many occasions. All pendant loops are made large enough to fit through gold and silver chains as well.

Please contact Kangaroo Promotions to inquire about wholesale orders. Affordable, unique, sustainable, local, and handmade jewelry is sure to be a hot seller this holiday season.
About Somewhere Glassworks: Somewhere Glassworks is a full service glass art studio and artist retreat in Gainesville, Florida. Available classes include Glass Beadmaking, Advanced Glass Sculpture, Glass Fusing, and Furnace Blown Glass. Co-founders Sarah Hinds and Sky Campbell are professional artists with a focus on hand blown glass, architectural installations, mixed media projects, and community involvement.

Sarasota Magazine Features Native Angler

Congratulations to Sarasota's Native Angler, the best tarpon fishing charter on the Gulf Coast. In the just-issued July 2009 Sarasota Magazine, Captain Joe and his team are listed first in a feature on the top ten aquatic adventures in our community. Thanks to Su Byron for writing the piece, and cheers, Captain Joe!
"We live right in some of the best tarpon-fishing waters in the world, and landing one of these magnificent creatures is the thrill of a lifetime. Capt. Joseph Peters of Native Angler Charters is a fourth-generation native Floridian who has been fishing these waters for 30 years. His eight-hour fishing trip, 20 miles offshore, is geared for four people. Although the tarpon are released, Peters promises that each guest will return with a great fish story. $550 for four people. (941) 232-2140."

(from 'Just Add Water: The Ten Most Amazing Aquatic Adventures Around,' Sarasota Magazine, July 2009)

Ashley's Delivers Most Pizza Choices in Town

When you think ‘pizza delivery’, think Ashley’s Food Delivery. The area’s premiere multi-restaurant delivery service, Ashley’s offers pizza from gourmet & specialty pies to classic pizza favorites, delivered from a variety of Sarasota’s best restaurants.

“There’s nothing like a fresh, hot pizza delivered right to your door,” says co-owner Jeff Sniegocki. “Because we deliver from multiple restaurants, we have a great selection of pizza to choose from.”

Ashley’s delivers pizza from:

Crusty's: specialty pies like BBQ Chicken Pizza and the Spinach Special (fresh spinach, garlic, walnuts and gorgonzola), as well as Chicago-style deep dish and stuffed pizzas

Demetrio's: family-friendly, classic pizza favorites with a variety of toppings on a hand-tossed crust

Il Panificio: New York-style 20” pizza pies with any variety of toppings, including a traditional White Pizza

Cafe Italia Grill: all your classic favorites, plus specialty pies like Seafood Pizza, Prosciutto & Chicken Pizza and a Quatro Formaggi (four cheese) Pizza

Lonjevity: a healthy choice - pizzas are loaded with protein, fiber, antioxidants and omega-3 oils; created on fresh pizza dough made daily from a blend of ground whole grains with added flax and garbanzo flour

Patricks: gourmet 12” thin-crust pizzas, including the Soho Pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni) and the Caliente Pizza (sausage, mozzarella and roasted red peppers)

View full pizza delivery menus for these restaurants at www.AshleysFood.com or call 953-FOOD (3663) to request a menu guide. Orders may be placed online or by phone.

10th Anniversary Prize Giveaway

As part of the Ashley’s Food Delivery 10th Anniversary Celebration, you can win a free large pizza and a six-pack of soda, delivered! One winner will be selected on July 10th from the Ashley’s email mailing list. Join the email mailing list at www.AshleysFood.com to receive the company’s latest news and hottest specials, and for your chance to win this and other monthly prize giveaways, held on the 10th of each month throughout the year. More details are available online.

About Ashley’s Food Delivery: The area’s only multi-restaurant delivery service, Ashley’s Food Delivery partners with over 35 restaurants in Sarasota and Bradenton to deliver everything from home-cooked, comfort food to elegant, gourmet dining. Ashley’s Food offers residential & corporate meal delivery, drop-off catering services and gift basket delivery. The service is open for lunch delivery Monday through Friday (Sarasota only) and dinner delivery every day. For more information, call 953-FOOD or visit www.AshleysFood.com.

Team Tony's Walk of Life Comes Home to Sarasota

When Tony McEachern walked into downtown Sarasota's Five Points Park Saturday afternoon, he was greeted with hundreds of cheering supporters, welcoming him home to complete the last leg of his Walk of Life. Tony began the walk on April 25th at Duke University's Angels Among Us 5k Fundraiser, and in 43 days he walked 803 miles to raise money for Brain Cancer research at Duke's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center. With the help of a very generous anonymous donor who is matching every dollar raised, Tony McEachern generated over $36,000 in six weeks.

At Five Points Park, Tony and dozens of walkers stopped briefly to hug many family members and friends, meet new supporters, and address the crowd. Tony introduced his sister, Nicole, who has been with Tony every step of the way, as well as his friend and walk co-organizer Dale O'Hara.

Two policemen on horseback then escorted Tony, Nicole, and the crowd of hundreds along the last two-plus miles of the Walk of Life, through downtown Sarasota, then south on Osprey Avenue. Among walkers present were Sarasotans of all ages, McEachern's family and friends, brain cancer patients and survivors, and prominent community figures such as Cliff Roles, and City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell.

"What a powerful display of collective commitment to such an important cause," said Atwell, pictured with a Sarasota Brain Cancer patient, who receives treatment from Gainesville's Shands Hospital. "Tony's courage, fortitude, and persistence were a joy to watch and follow. As a new City Commissioner, I am proud to represent a community that can rally around such a brave citizen of Sarasota that is Tony McEachern."

The walk concluded at Village Bikes, which Tony has frequented as both a world-class cyclist and athlete, and as an employee. There to greet him were many more supporters, including City Commissioner Terry Turner, catering from Chutney's Etc. and Gecko's Grill and Pub, and several local business members. The Sarasota YMCA presented Tony with a year's free membership, and Gateway Bank gave him a check for over $3,000. McEachern also thanked Sunset Chevrolet for their generosity in donating support vehicles, and the Sarasota New Balance team for supplying him with five pairs of walking shoes.

In his celebration speech, McEachern said he will not stop fighting for the cause. "A disease is not a curse, it's a cause," says McEachern. "I will never stop fighting for brain cancer research." McEachern's goal is to rasie $100,000 for Duke's Brain Tumor Center, to whose research he credits his life. Because of the support of his family, friends, and community, as well as Duke's anonymous donor, Tony's goal is well within reach.

Welcome home, Tony!

Michael A. Gilkey Featured in UF Perspective

Local landscape architect Michael A. Gilkey, Jr. was recognized in the May 2009 issue of Perspective, the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning magazine. Gilkey was honored in March as the 2008-2009 Distinguished Alumnus from the College's Department of Landscape Architecture. Gilkey joins past recipients, such as Raymond Jungles, and is constantly striving to further his profession through service, innovation, and education.

Walk of Life to End in Sarasota After 800 Miles

Brain Cancer Survivor Walks from Duke University to Sarasota to Raise Money and Awareness

Tony McEachern has walked through the front door of Sarasota’s Village Bikes many times, as both an employee and an avid world-class athlete. This Saturday, Tony will walk through the bike shop’s front doors again—this time, with a team of dedicated supporters, and approximately 800 miles behind him.

In 2002, after finishing the grueling 10 day Vietnam adventure bicycle race Raid Gauloises, Tony McEachern was diagnosed with Brain Cancer. A mysterious seizure led to the discovery of a large tumor on the right side of his brain, called an anaplastic astrocytoma. McEachern has undergone over 300 MRI’s and scans, 20 seizures, 9 surgeries, over 1100 days of chemotherapy, and more than 42 trips to the Duke University Brain Tumor Clinic. Now years beyond the expectations and predictions of many doctors, McEachern has organized a support team of family, friends, and doctors, which he calls ‘Team Tony.’

On April 25th, more than six years after his diagnosis, Team Tony began their Walk of Life with two goals. “First, I plan to raise much needed funds for The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke to whom I’m indebted to for my life, in the hope that it will enable them to do for others what they have done for me,” says McEachern. “My second goal is to meet more people, to share my adventure, and to learn about theirs.”

Since then, Tony McEachern has walked 800 miles through three states. Through the support of his family and friends, funds have been raised to fuel support vehicles, provide food and lodging, and other supplies. “I've been given 5 star-rooms, cab rides, meals, crumpled dollar bills, bottled water, companionship, scratch off tickets, allowances, club dues, $500.00 checks to $1.35 in cash donations, and countless have donated their time,” says McEachern. “Each of these acts were as valuable as the next, they all came from the heart.”

On the 28th day of the Walk of Life, McEachern met a taxi driver whose mother had passed away from a brain tumor. “He thanked me for what I was doing and asked that I never stop walking this Walk. I will not stop walking this Walk or fighting the fight for brain cancer cure and care.”

McEachern is well on his way to meeting his financial goal of $100,000, through the generosity of an anonymous donor at Duke University who has agreed to match every single dollar raised. Donations may still be made via Pay Pal at www.teamtony.org.

This Saturday, June 6th, Tony McEachern and his Walk of Life will come home to Sarasota. Supporters, friends, family, the community, and the media are invited and encouraged to accompany Team Tony on the last leg of this incredible journey. The Team will meet at 5 Points in Downtown Sarasota at approximately 3:15 pm Saturday. The route will take them east on Ringling and south along US 301 / US 41, then west down Bay Road and right into Village Bikes, where a celebration is planned.

ABOUT TONY McEACHERN: After having lost 95% of his left peripheral vision, Tony McEachern lost the ability to comfortably ride a bike, but was still a competitive athlete. Not content to let his spirit fade away, he chose to celebrate his life and reinforce to others that they could too, no matter what particular challenges they faced in their lives. Tony ventured out on a ‘Walk of Life,’ a coast-to-coast 170 mile trek across the state of Florida. “I began to see the walk as a way to touch people from many backgrounds and to ‘pay it forward’ and help others in the way that so many had helped me in dealing with my challenges,” says McEachern. “ My first walk became an entity on its own, lasting 8 days and 7 hours. That walk was just the beginning.”