SPECIAL TO THE SUN
BY COLLEEN GELLER
ANNA MARIA – Many know Vivian Rose Geller as the little girl who’s growing up at her family’s business, the North Shore Café in Anna Maria.
In January, Vivian Rose, 8, started second grade at Anna Maria Elementary. To her parents’ surprise, she made the bold decision to ride the big yellow school bus.
For years, I had noticed the old benches and signage for school bus stops along the north end of the Island, but the children who once waited there had grown up and moved on. When I mentioned to Dean Jones, the head of the Anna Maria Public Works Department, that Manatee County had designated a bus stop for Vivian Rose, they expressed concerns about safety at the corner and they wondered if a more official stop could be created for Vivian Rose.
Just one day later, after Dean researched the bus route and spoke with Mayor Mark Short, a safe and official bus stop was set up for Vivian Rose. A bus stop sign and bench were installed, making it the perfect spot for her to wait for the bus. Neighbors, some on their morning jogs, others walking dogs, all stopped to celebrate the new bus stop with the team who installed the sign and the bench.
When Vivian Rose returned home from school that afternoon, she gleefully spun around the new sign, sat on her bench with a big smile and rushed to her art desk to create a thank-you note for Dean and his crew; and the thank you note was accompanied by a basket of fresh made muffins.
As a family, we couldn’t feel more welcomed by the community here in Anna Maria. It’s those small, thoughtful gestures that make our little Island feel like something out of a Hallmark movie. Thank you, Anna Maria, thank you Dean and thank you to the public works department.
