IN PICTURES: THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS RAISED AT BOUGAINVILLEA BASH

Community members shared conversation and laughs while enjoying libations and raising auction paddles during the 32nd Mariners Hospital Bougainvillea Ball, which was reimagined this year as the Bougainvillea Bash, at Cheeca Lodge on March 26. Put on by the Baptist Health Foundation and the Bougainvillea Ball Committee, the event will benefit the hospital through the purchase of a new, state-of-the-art Siemens MRI scanner. The ball dates back to the late 1980s, when hospital administration, the Keys Hospital Foundation and hospital auxiliary looked for ways to raise money to construct a new hospital.

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Jim McCarthy
Jim McCarthy is one of the many Western New Yorkers who escaped the snow and frigid temperatures for warm living by the water. A former crime & court reporter and city editor for two Western New York newspapers, Jim has been honing his craft since he graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 2014. In his 4-plus years in the Keys, Jim has enjoyed connecting with the community. “One of my college professors would always preach to be curious,” he said. “Behind every person is a story that’s unique to them, and one worth telling. As writers, we are the ones who paint the pictures in the readers minds of the emotions, the struggles and the triumphs.” Jim is past president of the Key Largo Sunset Rotary Club, which is composed of energetic members who serve the community’s youth and older populations. Jim is a sports fanatic who loves to watch football, hockey, mixed martial arts and golf. He also enjoys time with family and his new baby boy, Lucas, who arrived Oct. 4, 2022.