Child Protection Center rebrands Venice event

Billy Porter comes to Sarasota soon after making national headlines, Tomeika Hunter Koski becomes a grandma and more on the social scene.

By Kayleigh Omang
| 9:30 a.m. February 25, 2019

SCF President Carol Probstfeld, Meredith Michaels, Bill Murphy and David Jones. Photo by Full Focus Photography.

Black Tie

He CAN rock it

Billy Porter made a bold statement Feb. 24 on the 2019 Oscars red carpet. The star of TV show “Pose” wore a Christian Siriano half tuxedo, half velvet ball gown. His reasoning – to let the world know he is not afraid to defy the norms and express himself through fashion. Although Sarasota may not be the Oscars, we are waiting in anticipation to see him — and his fashion choice — for the first CAN Community Health’s Red Ribbon Gala: Reshaping the Face of HIV, just weeks after making headlines at the Oscars. If you don’t have tickets yet, there are still some available for the March 16 gala. Call 366-0134, Ext. 10182.

Baby, just wait

When Shannon Rohrer-Phillips asked attendees to introduce

themselves at the Feb. 20 Voice & Visibility Salon Series event, nobody expected Tomeika Hunter Koski to say she just ran out of the hospital to be here because her daughter is in labor with her first grandchild. Tomeika was passionate about being at the event, so she told her daughter, Sherri Sams, that she better wait until she got back a couple hours later to have her baby.

To the new grandmother’s relief, Sherri did wait, and had her daughter, Royal Aubrei Houston on Feb. 21.

Tomeika will also be a speaker at the upcoming Voice & Visibility Salon Series event on April 24.

The Good Sport award goes to ...

Paul Caragiulo, former Sarasota County and city commissioner, helped demonstrate the tactical gear the fine men and women in blue wear at the Sarasota Police Foundation Benefit Gala Feb. 23. As Deputy Chief Pat Robinson explained the various situations for the gear, Paul modeled helmets, gun belts and flak vests, all with comedic effect and good humor. Afterward, the night featured a live auction, which became especially lively when the top bidder for a ride-along with Chief Bernadette DiPino started to negotiate. He eventually agreed to $1,100, but only on the condition that his wife come along, “cuffed in the backseat.”

Tidbits:

Expanding the cause ... The Child Protection Center hosted its annual Men, Whiskey & Watches South County on Feb. 21 under a new name: A Night of Hope & Healing. The rebranded evening at

Executive Director Douglas Staley. Photo by Cliff Roles.

the Suncoast Air Center in Venice aimed to expand CPC’s mission farther south of Sarasota. Take five ... State College of Florida Foundation hosted Avenues to the Future once again Feb. 23. Special this year, both the highest and the last bidders received a bottle of Dom Perignon. In addition to the live auction, guests enjoyed a silent auction, cocktail hour, delicious bites and networking.