Suncoast Waterkeeper’s (SCWK) annual fundraising event, Brunch for The Bay, is coming to the Sarasota Yacht Club on Sunday, Nov. 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Don’t miss this opportunity to support SCWK’s clean water mission and meet and hear from one of the world’s environmental “rock stars.”
This year’s keynote speaker, Rob Bilott, is known worldwide as the attorney who took on chemical giant DuPont and uncovered the dangers of PFAS contamination. His “David and Goliath” story was depicted in the 2019 feature film, “Dark Waters.” Bilott has dedicated his career to protecting communities from the toxic threat of “forever chemicals.” At Brunch for the Bay 2025, he will present “Uncovering the Global Threat of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Contamination.”
One of the notable sponsors of this year’s event is the Holmes Beach Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee. The group serves as an advisory committee to the City Commission. It was conceived by Mayor Judy Titsworth, whose family (the Holmes in Holmes Beach) has been on Anna Maria Island for generations. Titsworth’s idea comes from a lifetime of seeing the changes firsthand that so few of us late arrivals appreciate.
In her own words, she explains the concept behind the committee and the life experiences that led to its formation: “The Clean Water Committee’s vision is to ensure waters will meet the designated human uses for drinking, shellfish harvesting or swimming and fishing, while sustaining healthy natural ecosystems that support natural processes and resilient native plant and animal communities. Growing up on the Island in a house on the bay gave me a most remarkable childhood. My sister and I spent most of our days outside playing in the bay and along the natural shorelines. The bay isn’t what it was back then and much of the marine life has drastically diminished due to the impacts from development, pollution from stormwater runoff, Piney Point and sewage spills. The clean water committee is a recommending ad hoc board that I developed to assist in identifying solutions to improve our water quality by reducing our impacts. We greatly support the efforts made by Suncoast Waterkeeper in educating the public about the adverse conditions of our waters, holding polluters accountable and their commitment to water quality testing and documenting the effects that the pollutants have on seagrasses and marine life.”
There’s never been a better time to help support the clean water mission of the committee and Suncoast Waterkeeper. Meet like-minded advocates, enjoy a great meal overlooking Sarasota Bay at the area’s premier Yacht Club and be inspired to join and advance this critical mission. Get your tickets before they sell out.
I look forward to seeing you there.
