A “Keys Together Spring Festival” provided an all-day celebration in Marathon to put a bow on a year of learning for Leadership Monroe County’s Class XXXIII, nicknamed “Triple Threat.”
Bringing together retail vendors and food trucks with nonprofit booths and law enforcement partners from the Key West Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Highway Patrol, the festival filled Oceanfront Park in Marathon with a day of free family fun before a special presentation by the graduating class.
Tasked, as with all LMC classes, with putting together a class project as the crowning achievement to their year, Triple Threat settled on a raffle to benefit the nonprofit Keys AHEC, greatly affected by funding cuts from state and local governments throughout 2025 and 2026. Under the rallying cry of #WeGiveAHEC, the class amassed $25,000 in donations presented to AHEC CEO Michael Cunningham on Saturday; the raffle generated a $10,000 cash prize.
A special presentation by program coordinator Michael Shields and board president George Garrett honored Marianne Finizio, vice president of Community Health of South Florida and the head of the LMC alumni society, with the Lou Caputo Legacy Leadership Award.
“(This award) addresses the critical needs in our community by an individual who’s shown exemplary leadership, commitment and a demonstrated awareness of problems, and then works towards solutions,” Shields said. “(Finizio) has given of herself freely and generously with passion, commitment and dedication.”
“My husband’s a retired lieutenant colonel, and my father was a military man, and it’s all about service,” Finizio said. “We make things happen in this community, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Class XXXIII members are Peter Amendola, David Burke, Maureen Dunleavy, Fritzie Estimond, Kathleen Filiaggi, Scott Goss, Tammy Harrow, Jeanne Quinn, Houston Hoyle, Melissa Johnson, Megan Jones, Jordan Mannix-Lachner, Angela McChesney, Michelle Nevel, Tiffany Pellicier, Anna Reckwerdt, Anna Richards, Colin Thompson, Lynny Del Gaizo, Melody Tuschel, Scott Williamson and Trevor Wirth.
Designed for residents in leadership roles across the private and public sectors, government and community organizations, the LMC program spans eight months, typically from October to May. Through a series of intensive single- and multiday sessions held throughout Monroe County, participants explore sectors affecting the region — including tourism, the environment, education, government, healthcare, the military, judiciary, law enforcement, the arts and media. More information is at leadershipmonroecounty.org.
Photos by ALEX RICKERT/Keys Weekly
