Donate
Supporting our local heroes and their families.
My name is Nick Salerno. I joined the Army in 2009, deployed to Afghanistan with the 10th mountain division in March 2010. I stepped on an IED during a night patrol on November 19, 2010 and woke up two weeks later back in the states with part of my right leg missing. For the first 6 years, I didn’t do very much at all. I was on high blood pressure medicine, cholesterol medicine and just wasn’t happy. Eventually, I joined a gym and started exercising for about an hour a day and after a period, at my next VA annual lab appointment, they were shocked at how good my blood work was and took me off both of those meds. I’ve lived in Florida most of my life and now I am a high school physical education/ health teacher. I teach students how important it is to be active since I have personal experience with that.
Todd Garrison was officially sworn in as the 20th Chief of Police for the City of North Port Police Department on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. Chief Garrison is a third-generation law enforcement officer who began his career in June 1992 as a Police Officer for the Town of Kenneth City, Florida. He later joined the Lee County (FL) Sheriff’s Office in March 1994, as Deputy Sheriff. While at the sheriff’s office, Garrison was assigned to the Patrol Division, Criminal Investigations Division, Civil Division, and the Special Operations Division. Garrison rose through the ranks in various positions and components and retired in July of 2018 as a Major. Among his many accomplishments, Chief Garrison has earned an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Edison State College; a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Business Management from Hodges University; and is a graduate of the Executive Academy of Government Leadership and Ethics from Florida Gulf Coast University. He also is a graduate of the prestigious FBI National Academy Session 252.
Mark Guthrie is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for 15 years with several teams between 1989 and 2003 . Mark was a member of the 1991 World Series Champion Minnesota Twins where he pitched in 4 games. He is currently the owner and director of Burn Baseball which helps mentor and coach young baseball players and a member of the Board of Directors for the Special Athletes Boosters. In addition, Mark is a graduate of Venice High School and continues to help athletics in the community.
Mark is married to his wife Andrea and has three sons, Kevin, Dalton and Hayden. They reside in Sarasota.
Atkins’ fifth studio album, Caught Up in the Country, reveals an artist who is confident enough to know that making your best music can require patience and experimentation. His storied career has reached such heights as being named the Top New Male Vocalist at the 2006 ACM awards and seeing his single “Watching You” become the Number One Song of the Decade according to Country Aircheck. With six Number One singles, eight Top Five singles, and over 13 million units sold, Atkins sees that his track record validates his approach. “I needed to try things, not limit myself to just sing the notes and get out of the way,” he says. “I wanted to really tell a story in the shape and the melody of these songs—there’s more diversity on this record than I’ve ever had before. And to really take time to figure out the nuances because it’s a whole bunch of nuances that add up to make something special.”
Rodney Atkins and singer songwriter Rose Falcon married in 2013and that influenced the kind of material Atkins wanted to record. “I’d never sung a real love song,” he says. “Every love song I had done was actually about fighting or breaking up. So I knew I wanted to record a love song, but still be gritty and palpable—a love song from a guy has to have some testosterone. Falcon’s vocals can be heard throughout the album, and features on the duets “Figure Out You(Riddle)” and “Everybody’s Got Something.” Their new EP Rod + Roseis available for pre-order and will be available January 28, 2022. Songs from that album, “Being Here Being There“and “Put Me Back Together”are available now.
Rodney Atkins was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and adopted as an infant. He started playing guitar at fairs and festivals in high school, began writing songs in college, and by 1996 he was living in Nashville signed to Curb Records. Atkins and Falcon have two sons and Atkins has a son from a previous marriage.
Chris Eaton is a Venice/Nokomis native, local business owner, and Marine veteran.
Growing up in the Venice area was great, but Chris new the world had more to offer. After being introduced to the Marine Corps through Venice High School’s ROTC program, he joined the Marine Corps’ delayed entry program (a promise to enlist later). Two weeks after graduating high school, Chris was standing on the yellow footprints at Parris Island for boot camp.
He was medically discharged from the Marines due to a rare eye condition called Stargardt’s Disease. This condition causes a large blind spot in the retina which gathers the image transferred to the brain. Most people with Stargardt’s Disease, like Chris, can’t read the big E on the eye chart. He can still play softball though!
Chris utilized the GI Bill to attend SCF then USF and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance. Because of his condition, getting to class wasn’t easy. A few years prior to graduating, Chris chose to give up his right to drive as he felt it wasn’t safe for others if he was behind the wheel.
My Warrior’s Place heard about this struggle and offered help.The organization found volunteers to pick Chris up from home, commute him to class, then another volunteer to wait outside class and drive him home. Without MWP, Chris wouldn’t have graduated as quickly or easily as he did.
Fast forward to today, Chris has a lot to be grateful for. He’s happily married, “father” of two big dogs, runs a successful health insurance agency near downtown Venice (look for their booth at the game), plays softball twice a week, and volunteers for My Warrior’s Place, Sertoma, and the Venice Area Beautification Inc.
Patrick was born in Boston, and though he moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting at a young age, his accent still comes through when he gets excited. Patrick is most remembered for his breakout lead role in the 20th Century Fox Feature Film, “The Sandlot” directed by David M. Evans. He went on to star in dozens of feature films and scores of television shows. His long list of credits include such films as “Son In Law”, “The Big Green”, “PUNKS”, “Very Mean Men”, “Dark Ride”, “Dorm Daze” and countless others. He has done several Movies of the Week and has guest starred or recurred on dozens of hit TV shows such as “ER”, “The X-Files” & “Boston Legal” (where he didn’t have a Boston accent… #irony).
Some of his recent projects include, “Bad Roomies”, which is Patrick’s first film as a producer/actorand a recurringrole in the Netflix hit “GLOW”.Patrickrecently wrappedtwo feature films set to release in 2024, “Boys of Summer” starring Mason Thames and “You Gotta Believe” starring Greg Kinnear and Luke Wilson.
In 2022, Patrick started an apparel line Hambino Athletics which can be found atwww.hambinoathletics.com.
Last but not least, you can always find Patrick on all the social platforms showcasing his triple-threat abilities of Acting, Dancing and Golfing (don’t judge).
Andruw Jones is in his seventh season as a special assistant in baseball operations for the Atlanta Braves. He was named to the position in February 2016, after retiring from a 17-year major-league career. Jones instructs and assists minor-league outfielders during spring training and the regular season and assists with major-league workouts during spring.
During his playing career, the former outfielder won 10 Rawlings Gold Glove awards, 1998-2007, tied for the second most of any outfielder in baseball history. Jones was also a five-time N.L. All-Star and finished as high as second in MVP voting in 2005, when he hit a franchise single season record 51 home runs.
Jones played 12 seasons for Atlanta after signing with the Braves as an amateur free agent in 1993. He played his final 5 seasons with four teams. (Los Angeles-NL, Texas, Chicago-AL, New York-AL)
Kurt A. Hoffman is the 11th Sheriff of Sarasota County, serving since January 5, 2021.
Sheriff Hoffman served his community for more than 30 years as both an assistant state attorney for the 12th Judicial Circuit, and as the general counsel for the sheriff’s office since 2005. During his tenure at the sheriff’s office, Sheriff Hoffman promoted to captain, major, and colonel. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Saint Leo College, a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from International College, and a Juris Doctorate degree from Nova Southeastern University.
Sheriff Hoffman is a graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s Police Legal Advisors Training Program and is a member of the Florida Bar’s Labor and Employment Law, and City, County and Local Government Law sections. He serves as the chairperson of both the Sarasota Criminal Justice Academy Advisory Board and the Florida Sheriff’s Association, Accreditation Committee. In 2011, Sheriff Hoffman completed the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Florida Executive Development Seminar and in 2014, graduated from the FBI National Academy, during which time he also earned a graduate certificate in leadership from the University of Virginia.
Originally from Indiana, he moved to Florida in 1982 and graduated from Lemon Bay High School in 1984. Sheriff Hoffman and his wife, Teri, have one son and currently reside in Venice.
Vincent “Rocco” Vargas was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. Vargas enlisted in the United States Army (2003–2015) and went on to serve 3 combat deployments with the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Vargas also served as an infantry Drill Sergeant. He then left active duty and entered the reserves with the rank of Sergeant First Class. After leaving active duty, Vargas worked in special operations as a medic with the Arizona Department of Corrections and then the U.S. Border Patrol but left in 2013 to pursue his career as an entertainer.
After finishing his military and law enforcement careers, Vince launched into a new endeavor in the film industry. In 2020 he immediately garnered audience approval for his co-starring role in Lucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace.
After winning four state championships in 20 years as the head baseball coach of his alma mater, Venice High School, Craig Faulkner was inducted into the Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018. A leader both on and off the field, he has seen 15 former student-athletes go on to coach at various high schools and colleges, and over 100 players continue their baseball careers in college and the professional ranks.
On top of four state titles, Faulkner has notched 15 20-win seasons, been state runner-up twice, been to the state Final Four seven times and has captured 13 district championships. Five of those seven Final Four trips were consecutive (2012-16), making Venice the first public school in 60 years to accomplish the feat. In two of those years, Faulkner guided his team to a top-five national ranking (No. 2 in 2013, No. 3 in 2015).
Faulkner’s family values have guided him in promoting character, academics and community involvement for his team. The former LSU baseball player and graduate has overseen two FHSAA Academic Team State Champions (2007, 2015). One impressive feat of Faulkner’s career is the fact that in more than two decades of coaching, he has never been ejected from a game.
Off the field, Faulkner is an author (61 Pregame Motivational Stories) and motivational speaker who speaks at state and national coaching clinics. As a professional player, he took baseball mission trips to Russia and Taiwan. As a coach, Faulkner has led baseball mission trips for his players to Dominican Republic, Cuba, Panama and Costa Rica. In addition, the former professional baseball player/coach has served on the FACA Board of Directors and the FHSAA Baseball Coaches Advisory Committee.
.
Lulu is the morning radio show co-host of 2-time CMA nominated, “Maverick and Lulu in The Morning,” show, on 92.1 & 103.1 CTQ. She has been in radio for 25 years and is a proud supporter of our military, first responders along with various charities. Lulu is involved in many community events and has a passion for the people in our community, her family, and friends. Lulu received the SRQ Women in Business award to enter the SRQ Leadership Circle 2018.
Maverick Johnson over the last 29 years as been an on air radio personality locally in Manatee & Sarasota Counties. Raised by parents Denis & Grace in Venice, FL. Maverick graduated from Venice Elementary, Middle & High School, then the Columbia School of Broadcasting in Tampa. He wanted a career in sports broadcasting, and while he has done his share of sports broadcasting, he has enjoyed a very successful career as a morning and afternoon radio personality discussing pop culture and community events.
Maverick is extremely active in the Sarasota and Manatee communities. He has lived here for over 40 years and is proud to have been a part of so many charitable events and organizations over those years. He currently serves as a Goodwill Manasota Ambassador and serves on the Goodwill Veterans Task Force Committee. He is also volunteers his time and is an honorary member of The Hernando Desoto Historical Society, an organization which holds several events and in turn provides thousands of dollars in grants to over 40 local non-profits. Maverick is also on several active committees as a volunteer for The Sarasota National Cemetery. Maverick has also spent a significant amount of time helping in both awareness and in fundraising for Breast Cancer, as his mother Grace is a breast cancer survivor. He participates every year in our local American Cancer Society, “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” walk, in honor of his mother Grace by holding a fundraising sunset cruise.
He is a graduate of the Leadership Manatee program, through the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, as well The Gulf Coast Leadership Institute, through the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. A believer in giving back to the community, Maverick received The Mary Parker Philanthropy Award – in recognition of special contributions to numerous charitable organizations and causes in 2014 from The Hernando Desoto Historical Society.
Maverick also has a strong passion for our Great Country and supporting our Military. His father Denis V. Cooper was a Sergeant in United States Marine Corps. He served as a Helicopter Crew Chief, who flew on hundreds of missions during his service in Vietnam. Maverick’s Dad, now rests at The Sarasota National Cemetery. Maverick founded a military wish-granting 501 c3 non-profit in his Dad’s name in 2014. “Denis V, Cooper Foundation – Wishes For Heroes” (www.WishesForHeroes.org).
After moving to Englewood from Miami, Rob Gibbs attended Lemon Bay and graduated in 2000. During his tenure at LBHS, Rob was heavily involved in the music programs and was a member of the tennis team. After graduation Rob attended Belmont University in Nashville, TN where he earned a bachelors degree in Music Business. After graduation, Rob worked his way through the Nashville music scene as a drummer and vocalist. He has been a frequent performer on CMT programs and awards shows and has played the Grand Ole Opry over 30 times. Throughout his years in Nashville, Rob (or “McCoy” as many of his friends and colleagues now call him) has had the pleasure of working with many artists including: Dan + Shay, Morgan Wallen, Brothers Osborne, Brett Young, Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce, Hot Chelle Rae, Phil Keaggy, Cole Swindell, Love and Theft, Will Hoge, Striking Matches, Because Villains, Hardy and many more. Rob has been the touring drummer for Lauren Alaina since 2015.
Rising Country music superstar Jason Brownie has a musical style that can be summed up in three words: American. Country. Rock. He’s always a fan favorite, personable, and works hard to bring good music to great people! After signing with Clearwater Records, Brownie has been on a meteoric trajectory, following the 2022 radio releases of “Pretty Girl On The Passenger Side” and “Ain’t How Whiskey Works.” The subsequent music videos have taken the internet by storm, the radio airplay keeps increasing, and booking requests are pouring in world-wide! Fans have been requesting more music, and Jason has delivered with the 2022 releases of “Must Be Summertime” and “Love You Every Time.”
Brownie has opened for many of country music’s biggest names, and his fan following – thanks to a combination of great music, fun live concerts, and personal attention to his fans – is growing throughout the United States and abroad.
He’s an especially grounded artist who comes from the “boondocks” of a small southwest Florida town and says his roots lie deep in his love for God and country. Influenced heavily by both country and rock and roll, Jason is passionate about both genres he grew up listening to.
A music journey different than many on the national country music scene, he chose a path of not relocating to Nashville after graduating high school and instead stayed rooted in his hometown perfecting his craft. Jason is the perfect example of the American Dream and through hard work has found himself immersed in his music and achieving those dreams sparked many years ago. While Florida is still home, Brownie is no stranger to the Nashville music scene where he’s spent time in the studio tracking vocals with country artist Jeff Bates.
Brownie comes from a long line of both military and first responders. He’s a third-generation law enforcement officer and has spent years serving and protecting his community, while raising his daughter in SW Florida. When not on stage or in the studio, Jason enjoys being a “girl dad,” boating, weightlifting, fishing, boxing, and playing basketball & billiards. He has a knack for collecting guitars and cowboy boots and states his influences come from many different artists and genres, and his own grandfather will forever be his hero.
From small-town to the big stage, Jason Brownie has stayed the same. Celebrity Direct is proud to have Jason on the team… give us a call today to discuss booking options.
My name is Nick Salerno. I joined the Army in 2009, deployed to Afghanistan with the 10th mountain division in March 2010. I stepped on an IED during a night patrol on November 19, 2010 and woke up two weeks later back in the states with part of my right leg missing. For the first 6 years, I didn’t do very much at all. I was on high blood pressure medicine, cholesterol medicine and just wasn’t happy. Eventually, I joined a gym and started exercising for about an hour a day and after a period, at my next VA annual lab appointment, they were shocked at how good my blood work was and took me off both of those meds. I’ve lived in Florida most of my life and now I am a high school physical education/ health teacher. I teach students how important it is to be active since I have personal experience with that.
Felicia “The FeeNom” Spencer grew up in Englewood, FL, with her parents Claire and Jimmy, and brothers Nathen and Derek. She trained in martial arts (mainly TaeKwonDo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) from a young age at local gyms and graduated from Lemon Bay high school in the class of 2009. She then moved to Orlando to attend UCF, earning a degree in Math Education.
Spencer trained in Orlando at The Jungle MMA and Fitness under the instruction of Mike Lee (another Englewood native) and a number of dedicated coaches. She competed in amateur MMA around the nation while finishing her degree and working part time, and earned a professional contract with the most prestigious women’s MMA organization, Invicta FC. While competing in professional MMA, Spencer used her degree while working for Florida Virtual School teaching Algebra online.
In her time with InvictaFC she was undefeated with a record of 6-0 and won the featherweight title in November of 2018. From there, the biggest MMA organization in the world, the UFC, called her and she was signed to the UFC early 2019. The first fight she had in the UFC ended in a first round victory for The FeeNom, and prompted a fight with one of the greatest women’s fighters of all time, Cris Cyborg, in the co-main event of UFC 240. Though she lost, Spencer was recognized for her performance and toughness. After another first round victory she earned an opportunity to fight for the UFC Championship against another juggernaut and another all-time great of the sport, Amanda Nunes, at UFC 250.
Spencer made the decision to stop competing in the sport of MMA last year at 30 years old with a professional record of 9-3 (amatuer record 5-1). She wants to be an example to other professional athletes, and particularly fighters, to be mindful of their long-term health and plan for when transitioning to the next phase of their life makes sense. You can still find Spencer working in commentary for a variety of other MMA promotions. She is married to Todd Coppinger, has a daughter, Adelynn who is 12, and two big dogs named Fluffy and Hermione.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Martin Gramatica moved to LaBelle, Florida at the age of nine. While he was only interested in playing soccer in high school, he was invited to try out as the football team’s kicker, which marked the beginning of his football career during his senior year. Martin accepted a football scholarship from Kansas State University where he amassed statistics and records that earned him the nickname “Automatica“. Martin was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft, and he went on to play nine seasons for the Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, and New Orleans Saints. Martin scored 12 points off of two field goals and six extra points during the Buccaneers victory in Super Bowl 37. Martin and his two brothers founded the Gramatica Family Foundation in 2012 with the mission to positively impact the lives of our community’s veterans through housing initiatives. Currently, Martin serves as Vice President of Business Development for Life Guard Imaging, color analyst for the Buccaneers Spanish Radio broadcasts, and as a U19 boys and U12 girls coach for the West Florida Flames East Lake soccer club.
Mike Bielecki is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues for five teams. In 1979, Bielecki was drafted to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round. He played for four seasons with the Pirates. He made his MLB debut in September of 1984, when he was Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year.
Bielecki moved over to the Chicago Cubs in 1988, where, in his first year, he helped lead the Cubs to a Division Title. Bielecki was nicknamed “BOOM BOOM” for the two-run single he collected against his former team the Pittsburgh Pirates in a game in 1991.
Bielecki went along to the Atlanta Braves (1991-1992), Cleveland Indians (1993), Atlanta Braves (1994), California Angels (1995) before ending his career back with the Atlanta Braves (1996-1997). He retired in 1998 following a rotator cuff injury.
Keeping himself in the game, but from a different perspective, Bielecki worked as a baseball analyst for Fox Sports Chicago Cubs from 1999-2002. Now, he is retired and splits his time between Ocean City, Maryland and Bradenton, Florida. He is married with two daughters and two stepdaughters.