In recent years, “the media” seems to have become an easy target and scapegoat when news comes out that some would rather not see in print. But here at the Keys Weekly, our staff is proud to work for a company just as dedicated to celebrating our community’s triumphs as it is to covering its trials. Here is just a small sampling of stories from 2022 that made us proud to celebrate the One Human Family in the Florida Keys.
ONE ANIMAL FAMILY, TOO
Those who live in an island chain surrounded by one of the most magnificent ecosystems in the world are already more willing than most to do whatever it takes to protect the animals sharing their environment.
In January, Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters became the only facility in the islands to house rehabilitating manatees as it welcomed “Heavy Falcon” and “Lil Peep” on their journey toward eventual release.
In March, when birds at the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center needed a new home, Eagle Scout candidate Keegan Wittke stepped in to get the job done.
In May, the staff at Dolphin Research Center took on a Herculean task as they committed to hand-raising a newborn calf born at the center, providing round-the-clock care for months. The center also welcomed a rescue from Texas and celebrated a second calf later in the year.
In June, a couple was heartbroken as their French bulldog Sailor went missing from their home. But due to a collaborative effort between MCSO and the Miami-Dade police, Sailor made her way home in just over a week, with the suspects who demanded a ransom detained.
The next month, the Turtle Hospital celebrated the release of “Tortie.” The juvenile green sea turtle was rehabilitated against all odds after suffering from a load of fibropapilloma tumors and fitted with a satellite tracker upon release to raise awareness for her species.
In late November, Middle Keys residents gathered to celebrate the release of three manatees rescued throughout the previous seven months – some in collaborative all-night community endeavors – showcasing the combined capabilities of multiple Keys rescue organizations.
And as protection of our coral reefs increasingly becomes a race against time, organizations like I.CARE and Reef Renewal USA are blazing a new path in eco-tourism, engaging community partnerships and putting volunteers who want to help with critical restoration activities to work.
SUPERHUMAN FEATS
Some Keys residents accomplished physical feats this year that left us dumbfounded.
Average New Year’s resolutions were put to shame by a Marathon couple who dropped 240 pounds in just one year. Thanks to Coral Shores’ Xavyer Arrington and Marathon’s Rylan Chapa, the Keys are home to two state weightlifting champions.
Upper Keys mom Sandy Brito performed an ultimate feat of endurance in May when she became an ironwoman at a Texas race. As did David Castro, who described his journey from homelessness to conquering some of the world’s toughest challenges with a 135-mile race through Death Valley.
WE’LL BE THERE FOR YOU
Whether it’s money, labor or moral support, a tight-knit Keys community looks after its own.
Take, for example, the Autism Society of the Keys, which celebrated the opening of the new Carrie Brazer Center for Autism and shared with Keys Weekly a touching story about how its work helped change the lives of twin five-year-olds diagnosed with varying degrees of the disorder.
In June, the Castaways Against Cancer made their 23rd bold trek from Miami to the Keys both by land and sea in support of a 5-year, $1.5 million pledge to the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Care Center. This year’s paddle raised more than $205,000 – with a 50% match on the way from UM.
When a surprising state budget omission left Keys AHEC in the dark in March, the Keys community took less than three months to raise nearly all of the $650,000 originally requested for the organization, enabling the organization to continue providing medical and dental care to vulnerable Keys kids.
And when devastating floods tore through Kentucky, then-Marathon City Council candidate Lynn Landry and his wife Freida left town in the middle of campaign season with no set return date to be “boots on the ground” for disaster relief.
REMEMBERING OUR FINEST
In the Keys, it’s not just a title that determines who should be remembered.
Just take a look in the marine science lab at Ocean Studies Charter School, which in February was named the “Pascal Weisberger Discovery Lab” in honor of the young man with an admiration for his environment whose time on Earth was cut short in May 2020.
Later in the year, one plaque at the 2022 Best of Marathon awards stood above all others as dozens of the city’s bartenders urged the community to posthumously honor Keys Fisheries’ Shannon Gosselin as Marathon’s “Best Bartender” after her battle with cancer. Needless to say, the vote was one of the biggest landslides of the year.
