HOLMES BEACH – Vrbo (Vacation rental by owner) has selected Holmes Beach vacation rental owner Mike Wilcox to perform the coin toss at the Vrbo Citrus Bowl game in Orlando.
The Vrbo Citrus Bowl game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Iowa Hawkeyes will be played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando at noon on New Year’s Day. The game will be televised nationally on ABC.
The coin toss honor has been bestowed upon Wilcox because he offered his vacation rental home to a local first responder at no cost during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before retiring as a fire lieutenant in Miamisburg, Ohio, Wilcox and his wife, Jennifer, purchased a vacation rental home on 4th Avenue in Holmes Beach, which they named Casa Coconut AMI.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple lost three months of vacation rental income while travel came to a temporary halt. Despite the lost income, Wilcox offered his vacation rental as free housing for first responders who needed to quarantine. A short time later, a local first responder from Southern Manatee Fire Rescue needed a place to quarantine and did so at the couple’s vacation rental home.
“We wanted to recognize Mike for his generosity and resilience during the pandemic. It’s inspiring and humbling to see Vrbo hosts go above and beyond for their communities,” said Kevin Locraft, Vrbo vice president of partner success.
“Having served as a fire lieutenant, I know firsthand the challenges that first responders have when it comes to exposure to the virus while on the job,” Wilcox said. “I have friends on the frontlines. I wanted to help in this tough situation and I was in a position to provide a solution.”
Wilcox said he was impressed with how the various fire departments and police departments in Manatee County responded to the daily challenges presented to first responders during the onset of the pandemic.
He and his wife now reside full-time in Bradenton. He works at Pirate City, where the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team trains. She now works as a Realtor at Preferred Shore Real Estate in Sarasota after returning as an education administrator whose career also included teaching.
Wilcox said he’s researched past pregame coin tosses and has been practicing his own. He said there have been some notable coin toss errors, including Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, when former New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath tossed the coin before heads or tails had been called. The quick-thinking referee caught the coin in mid-air and Namath had to toss the coin a second time.
“I’m excited to do this and I’m honored that they picked me,” Wilcox said.
