- August 12, 2024
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Jon Mast, CEO of the Suncoast Builders Association, and his wife Teresa Mast attend Stuff the Backpack on July 11 at Gold Coast Eagle Distributing.
Photo by Lesley DwyerAbout 20 members of the Suncoast Builders Association stuff backpacks for Boys & Girls Clubs in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Photo by Lesley DwyerLakewood Ranch resident Megan Schroeder is a member of the Young Professionals Committee.
Photo by Lesley DwyerKelli Dixon, Chief Development Officer for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County, carries a box of backpacks out to the van.
Photo by Lesley DwyerBackpacks stuff the back of a van and a minibus that are heading back to the Boys & Girls Clubs.
Photo by Lesley DwyerBradenton resident Jacob Bordner loads more backpacks into Boys and Girls Clubs' van.
Photo by Lesley DwyerSuncoast Builders Association members Larry Lease and David Langhout volunteer to stuff backpacks on July 11 at Gold Coast Eagle Distributing.
Photo by Lesley DwyerThe work is done, so Sarasota resident John Stengel and Lakewood Ranch resident Drew Smith enjoy the after-party.
Photo by Lesley DwyerJon Mast is a CEO turned bartender for the night.
Photo by Lesley DwyerThe backpacks are stuffed, so organizer Jessica Seper pours some beers.
Photo by Lesley DwyerAfter 10 years, Jessica Seper is passing the reins to Kim Boyton. Boyton will organize the annual Stuff the Backpack event next year.
Photo by Lesley DwyerSarasota residents Amber Eisenheimer and Jessica Rothenback and Nokomis resident Natalie Crockett work for the Suncoast Builders Association.
Photo by Lesley DwyerJulia Tamburin and Kim Boynton, Sarasota residents and mom and daughter, transport the 528 backpacks and supplies to the event in the back of Boynton's work trailer.
Photo by Lesley DwyerBoard President John Carlson chats with board member Tim Martin and Presidential Advisor David Langhout.
Photo by Lesley DwyerJoe Ernst's wife is a stay-at-home mom so his children don't spend a lot of time at the Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota, but on July 11, he was more than happy to stuff backpacks for the Stuff the Backpack event at Gold Coast Eagle Distributing.
There was a time when the Boys & Girls Club was a big part of Ernst's life. From the age of 5 through 13, Ernst was enrolled at the Boys & Girls Club on Fruitville Road.
“I learned all my sports there — basketball, football, baseball,” said Ernst, who now is a sales manager for D&D Garage Doors and a member of the Suncoast Builders Association, which sponsored the event. “I have friends (from the club) that I’m still friends with to this day.”
The backpacks will be given to children who are enrolled at Boys & Girls Clubs in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
The Young Professionals Committee of the Suncoast Builders Association has been stuffing backpacks for the clubs for 10 years. This year’s effort was the biggest yet. The committee raised over $13,000 to stuff and donate 528 backpacks.
“When we first started this event, we had about five backpacks,” event organizer Jessica Seper said. “This year, our goal was 500, and we exceeded it.”
This year’s event was bittersweet for Seper. She’s been the chair of the Young Professionals Committee for 10 years and in June, she was hired to serve as the association’s new membership director.
Seper has to transition from being a volunteer to a staff member, so Kim Boynton is stepping into the role of chair and Stuff the Backpack organizer.
Boynton didn’t attend the Boys & Girls Clubs as a child, but she knows what it’s like to not have a new backpack for the first day of school. She spent the last 10 years focused on building her screen and awning business, 3/8 & Company. Now, she’s ready to pay her success forward.
“I’m passionate about this,” Boynton said. “I didn’t have anything, and I relied on the people who were older than me. I felt this one.”
