Mark Wandall Foundation looks to future

As Melissa Wandall and her 7-year-old daughter, Madison, knelt at the intersection of Tara Boulevard and State Road 70, the Father’s Day moment stole both their breaths away.

There, tucked in the heart-shaped marker where Madison’s father, Mark, was killed in a car crash two weeks before her birth, rested a hawk feather and a charm of an angel holding a heart. The heart, in particular, holds special meaning to Wandall and Madison, who has grown to know the symbol as one of her father’s love.

“(Madison thought) her dad was sending her (a present) on Father’s Day,” Melissa Wandall said. “It was amazing.”

That same gift of love is one the Wandalls hope to share with every family. Although Melissa Wandall is known for getting red-light camera legislation passed in the Florida Legislature last year, the foundation she formed in 2003 in her husband’s honor also has been working to fulfill its mission to support children who have experienced loss in their lives.

She and Madison will lend their support to another East County family this weekend during the Heroes & Harmony fundraising event. The country music and food festival, which will be held from 4-9 p.m., June 25, at the Sarasota Sailor Circus, will benefit All Children’s Hospital and the family of 2-year-old Eddie Livingston, who is undergoing treatment for neuroblastoma, a type of pediatric cancer.

The fundraiser, which will help pay for Eddie’s medical expenses, is being organized by friends of the Livingston family. Melissa Wandall will serve as the emcee for the event.

“Our foundation is teaching compassion, courtesy and commitment one moment at a time, and our community needs us right now,” she said. “It’s about showing this family we will walk beside them. We are so grateful to be involved.”

At the event, the Wandall Foundation also will sell WishKeeper stuffed animals, an idea Madison developed as a way to remind children they are loved.

The Livingston fundraiser is one of Wandall’s first major events after completing her mission of getting the the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act signed into law. The act creates uniform standards for the use of cameras as traffic enforcement devices.

“It was an always hopeful journey,” Wandall said of the five years she spent advocating for the red-light cameras.

Wandall said red-ight cameras are not the only solution to improving safety, but they will help curb poor driving behaviors that claim lives each year.

“It was always about a way to curb those (bad driving) behaviors,” she said. “(Red-light cameras) have proven to cut down on crashes, but it’s not like the camera is going to save the day alone.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

Heroes & Harmony
WHEN: 4-9 p.m., June 25
WHERE: Sarasota Sailor Circus Arena, 2075 Bahia Vista St., Sarasota
DETAILS: Country music and food festival featuring music by Steve Holy and One Night Rodeo
COST: $20 pre-ordered or $25 at the gate
INFORMATION: Monies raised benefit All Children’s Hospital and the family of Eddie Livingston, a 2-year-old East County resident who is battling nueroblastoma cancer. To see Eddie’s story, visit www.EddieSuperman.com.
WEBSITE: www.themarkwandallfoundation.org