ANNA MARIA ISLAND – It’s been 100 years since the first bridge linking Anna Maria Island to the mainland was opened to the public.
During that time, the Island has gone through a lot of changes, but a name change hasn’t been one of them.
Knowing this, local veterinarian Denise Vondrasek was surprised when she was driving on Manatee Avenue toward the Island and noticed a crew putting up a sign letting drivers know that they are five miles from “Anna Marie Is.” Realizing the sign was misspelled, she stopped to tell the workers, but none of them spoke English, so she reached out to The Anna Maria Island Sun.
The Sun called the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, which spends millions of tourist tax dollars advertising Anna Maria Island around the world. Executive Director Elliott Falcione was not available for comment and office staff members were unaware of the sign.
A subsequent call to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) resulted in the typical transfers to multiple departments, but a spokesperson for District 1 – which covers Manatee County – said she would immediately put in a work order to replace the sign.
With refreshingly little government red tape, The Sun was assured the error would be corrected.
Editor’s note: Having restored the integrity of The Sun’s namesake, Dr. Denise is honorary copy editor for the day.
