NEWS BRIEFS

Gulf Coast Humane Society open for pet adoptions

 

Gulf Coast Humane Society remains open for pet adoptions and has coordinated efforts with Lee County Animal Services to accept referrals for additional owner-surrendered animals until further notice. There have been no reported cases of Canine Coronavirus at Gulf Coast Humane Society and all adoptable pets remain available for adoption.

Gulf Coast Humane Society accepts owner surrendered pets and encourages anyone who must surrender their pet to call the shelter's Intake Department to learn more: 332-0364. The donation to surrender your pet is $50 for dogs and $30 for cats. Gulf Coast Humane Society enforces strict quarantine and cleaning policies and has not had any reported cases of the new strain of the Canine Coronavirus that has affected some dogs at Lee County Animal Services.

Gulf Coast Humane Society has already begun to experience a dramatic increase in the number of dogs surrendered to the shelter. Your help is needed to ensure that all adoptable pets find forever homes quickly and that additional space is made available for surrendered animals. The GCHS Adoption Center is open 7 days a week and located at 2010 Arcadia Street in Fort Myers across from Fleamasters Fleamarket, approximately two miles west of I-75 on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. For more information or to make a donation, please call (239) 332-0364. Gulf Coast Humane Society encourages everyone to make adoption the first option when selecting a new pet.

The mission of the Gulf Coast Humane Society is to provide humane care for surrendered animals in Southwest Florida by offering refuge, providing medical care, and facilitating an adoptive home. To learn more about the Gulf Coast Humane Society, please visit www.gulfcoasthumanesociety.org

Red Sox Children's Hospital Celebrity Golf Classic tees off

 

The 2007 World Champion Boston Red Sox will once again lend their time and talents to help raise awareness and funds for The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida.

This Children's Hospital's signature fundraising event takes place on Friday, Feb. 22 on the championship golf courses of The Forest Country Club, located at 6100 Club Boulevard in Fort Myers. Many residents of The Forest Country Club devote tireless hours to the events each year and look forward to opening their courses to host veteran Red Sox players as well as some of the hottest new rookie talent each year.

Though the final celebrity player list will not be released until the day before the Tournament, past participants have included fanfavorites Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield and Daisuke Matsuzaka; Major League Baseball Legends Jim Rice and Luis Tiant and 2007 World Series Pitching Hero Josh Beckett.

In addition to the golf tournament, fans can also attend two separate fundraising events - The Boston Red Sox "Tee Party with Jim Rice", being held at The Forest Country Club on Feb. 21st from 6-8 p.m. (the evening prior to the golf tournament) and "The Diamond Dinner", which will take place at City of Palms Park on Thursday evening, March 13.

The Boston Red Sox "Tee Party" with this year's special guest, Boston Red Sox Legend Jim Rice, allows the golf tournament participants and their guests to mix and mingle, enjoy cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and bid on some fantastic one-of-a-kind sports memorabilia items, trips, game tickets and restaurant gift certificates at the silent and live auction. "The Diamond Dinner" -- presented by Sports Adventures and held each year right on the field at City of Palms Park -- features a full steak dinner provided by Outback Steakhouse, an interactive discussion panel with Red Sox players, autograph signing opportunities and a silent auction. Each year a success story from The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is a special guest throughout the series of events and is named the M.V.P. (Most Valuable Patient). Honored at this year's tournament will be 16 month-old Piper Lynne Buckley of Fort Myers. Piper is the daughter of former Florida Everblades star (and recent jersey retiree) Tom Buckley and Mallie Montgomery Boutique Owner, Heather Buckley. Piper was saved by The Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit when she was born prematurely in October 2006.

 

Each year, all funds raised are matched dollar-for-dollar by a generous philanthropist and long-time Boston Red Sox fan.

Last year's funds raised (also directed toward the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) were over $530,500.

For more information on the Boston Red Sox Children's Hospital Celebrity Classic, or tickets to its evening-prior "Tee-Party" or The Diamond Dinner, please call the Lee Memorial Health System Foundation office at 985-3551 or visit www.leememorial.org/ foundation

FGCU's 20th Commencement to be held at Germain Arena

 

Florida Gulf Coast University announced that Commencement XX will take place at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 27 at Germain Arena in Estero. A projected 1,000 students will receive degrees at the ceremony.

This change in venue and schedule was precipitated by the significant increase in the number of graduates. The size of the graduating class outgrew Alico Arena two years ago, and therefore the University began staging two commencement ceremonies. That remedy is no longer an option as the need for a third ceremony surfaced as the class size approached 1,000.

The decision to stage one commencement ceremony at Germain Arena accommodates students' preference and comes after considerable deliberation and student input. When polled on this matter, students indicated that they preferred to celebrate together as one class rather than separately as colleges. They also did not want to be limited in the number of guests they could invite. On average, graduates invite six guests to commencement.

Student Government President Brad Piepenbrink confirmed support for this position. "After speaking with hundreds of students, there was overwhelming support to move commencement to a larger arena," he said. "This allows students to graduate with all of their peers and not limit the amount of family and friends that are able to share their experience."

The decision provides other benefits as well.

Using Germain Arena will provide for significant savings to the university in commencement costs. Much of the cost savings result from parking transportation. Using Germain Arena eliminates the need to lease shuttle transportation because Germain Arena is well-equipped to accommodate parking for a guest list of 6,000 to 7,000 people.