Heroes welcome in Lakewood Ranch

Heroes welcome

As Rosie Breitwieser (above with Lt. Matthew Bertrand) passed out breakfast to deputies from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 11, she asked each one if they knew her grandson, Joshua Breitwieser, a detective for the Sheriff’s Office.

It was her way of connecting with the first responders who stopped by the retirement facility for its First Responders Appreciation Breakfast in remembrance of 9/11. 

During the breakfast, a group of residents also sang “God Bless America” using sign language.

As the first responders left, they turned on their vehicles’ lights and sirens as a way of saying goodbye to residents.

Touchdown for scholarship

Shivanie Ghansiam, a 2021 Lakewood Ranch High School 

graduate, enjoyed her first Tampa Bay Buccaneers game Sept. 9 during the team's season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. 

Ghansiam attended the game as a Tampa Bay Buccaneers Girls in Football scholarship recipient. 

The $5,000 will help Ghansiam, who was a member of Lakewood Ranch High School's flag football team for four years, further her education at the University of Florida. 

"I'm so grateful truly to be given the opportunity for this scholarship," Ghansiam said. "It opens so many doors not just for me but for so many girls in flag football."