Page 10 - Palm City Spotlight - July '23

Page 10, Palm City Spotlight

Honoring

211 Palm Beach And Treasure “211 made a good case for state

Coast Awarded $1 Million funding,” explained Sen. Gayle
Harrell, who co-sponsored the
From The State Of Florida For award. “Given that the new 988
Federal Suicide Hotline calls from
Its New Headquarters Building Palm Beach and Treasure Coast
residents are directed to 211, the
The board and staff of 211 Palm Beach and Treasure volume of calls has already increased
Coast are thrilled to announce that the State of Florida has significantly and will continue to do
awarded the nonprofit organization $1 million to support the so – it made sense to help them build
construction of a new 12,000-square-foot facility to house a new facility.”
its staff and volunteers. This will allow 211 to better meet Rep. Dana Trabulsy also
the community’s growing needs as it conducts its lifesaving cosponsored the award and added
work as a crisis hotline and community helpline. her thoughts: “I have been a
“The granting of this award demonstrates the high longtime advocate for 211 and have
regard that the governor and legislators of the State witnessed their growth in meeting the
of Florida hold for 211 and its impact on the local community’s needs over the years. The current metal-shelled About 211 Palm Beach And Treasure Coast
community,” stated Lee Williams, board chair of 211 Palm building has reached the end of its useful life, is too small 211 Palm Beach and Treasure Coast is the only free
Beach and Treasure Coast. “With a 56 percent increase in for the growing staff, and is not hurricane-rated. This makes and confidential crisis hotline and community helpline
suicide-related requests for help over the past decade and it difficult to adequately handle the over 100,000 requests of serving the 2.2 million residents of Palm Beach County
a growing population, it is critical that we have a facility help 211 receives each year.” and the Treasure Coast that provides suicide prevention,
that can house the additional staff needed to address the Sharon L’Herrou, 211’s president and CEO, described crisis intervention, information, assessment and referral
growing needs of our community.” the breadth of the organization. “211’s highly trained staff to community services for people of all ages. 211 is
not only respond to suicide, substance abuse, and natural available for those experiencing a crisis, 24 hours a day,
disaster crises but also provide care coordination services
seven days a week. Demand for 211 Palm Beach and
Treasure Coast for the community’s most vulnerable citizens – the elderly, Treasure Coast’s services has increased significantly,
causing it to outgrow its current headquarters space.
veterans, jobless, economically disadvantaged, victims of
Outdoors crime, and more. We are honored that the State of Florida The needs are expanding even faster than population
chose to help us fund this critically-needed new facility.”
growth, and the introduction of the federal 988 Suicide
Prevention Initiative is expected to drive call volume
The $1 million infusion of state funds is a significant
boost for 211’s capital campaign, allowing it to reach the and the subsequent need for additional staff and space
Where Have All The Tilefish halfway mark of its $6 million campaign to build the new to unprecedented levels. For these reasons, 211 plans
building. The private sector has already been generous in
to build a roughly 12,000-square-foot hurricane-rated
Gone? providing funds, most recently through its highly successful building on its current site to house approximately 150
Spring Celebration, which raised over $500,000 towards employees. The total project cost is $6 million.
By Jim Weix the cause. To watch an impactful three-minute video about To learn more about 211 Palm Beach and Treasure
For those of us with 211 and learn more about the capital campaign, please visit Coast and its services and programs, visit 211palmbeach.
access to an electric reel, 211palmbeach.org/capital-campaign. org or 211treasurecoast.org.
putting a tilefish in the
box was normally not Business spotligHt
too hard. A quick trip
out to 750 to 900 feet of
water and a few drops
was all it took. Audi Stuart: award, an Elite Magna Society award and multiple J.D. Power
That is not the case Dealer of Excellence awards. And while Audi Stuart’s customer
anymore. Small Business, Big Impact service is commendable, their contribution to the Treasure Coast
Although tilefish may community is extremely noteworthy. Audi Stuart is known for
move due to temperature changes, they normally just Located on the west side of U.S. Route 1 near Pomeroy their community involvement, and they proudly sponsor Martin
sit in the mud and wait for food to drift by. As a result, Street is one of the Florida Treasure Coast’s biggest secrets, County’s Teacher of the Year Award, Toys for Tots, and Paws
overfishing can result in the local population being Audi Stuart, an Audi Magna Society award-winning dealership, and Claws, just to name a few of the many charities.
depleted. which has served the area for over ten years. Known for their “The Treasure Coast has been so kind to us for over ten
Overfishing never seemed to be an issue, as not that outstanding customer service, Audi Stuart has earned numerous years, and we hope at some point we can personally thank each
many local anglers target them. However, those same awards, including the aforementioned Audi Magna Society and every one of you for embracing us,” says Devin Carlson,
local anglers are now reporting that the tilefish seem managing partner of Audi Stuart.
to have disappeared. So, what happened? So the next time you take a trip
We can only guess, but we have noticed that a up or down U.S. Route 1, make
commercial fishing boat in Fort Pierce has been sure you stop by and say hi to
advertising buying fresh fish at the dock. One picture the friendly team at Audi Stuart!
shows what looks like 100 tilefish being advertised Thank them for their community
at $20 dollars per pound. The vessel also sells many involvement and congratulate
other types of fish. them on their commitment
I have no problem with local commercial fishermen. to guest satisfaction, which
They are the reason that most of us on the Treasure is shown in the awards they
Coast can buy fresh fish. proudly display online and in
Most of these fish, like dolphin, wahoo, and tuna their showroom.
migrate up and down the East Coast. Not so with
tilefish, they pretty much stay in one spot.
So when a commercial vessel begins targeting
them, they can do some serious damage to the local
population. The commercial fishing boat in Fort Pierce
began fresh fish dock sales in 2020. Local anglers
first noticed in 2022 that it was getting harder to catch
tilefish. Now recreational anglers are reporting that
catches are far and few between.
Again, it could be just that water temperatures Home • Auto • Boat • RV • Life
have changed and the tilefish have simply moved. The
question remains: “Where are they?” Flood • Business • Commercial
Editor’s note: Jim Weix is an avid hunter, angler,
conservationist, as well as an outdoor writer. Jim is
included in the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s Mary-Beth Zipsir
Hall of Fame for helping restore thousands of acres Agent in Charge
of wetlands. Jim is a broker associate with The Keyes O: (772) 233-4444
Company. He can be reached at (772) 341-2941 or by
email: jimweix@jimweix.com. www.smartchoicepartners.com
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