ANNA MARIA ISLAND – An often-cited proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
In that same spirit, The Sun says, “It takes an entire Island to recover from back-to-back hurricanes.”
For that reason, The Sun names the entire extended Anna Maria Island community as its Persons of the Year for 2025. For an Island community that experienced such widespread damage and devastation, it would be impossible and unjust to honor a single individual or organization when so many did so much in 2025.
For many on the Island, much of the year was spent on the continued recovery from Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024.
The wide-ranging recovery, restoration and rebuilding efforts included city leaders, city staff members, hurricane-impacted residents, local builders, contractors, subcontractors and skilled trade workers, business and restaurant owners and employees, community event organizers, non-profit organizations, Realtors, real estate agents and their support staffs and the vacation rental owners, managers and support staff that helped accommodate the returning tourists and visitors that supported the Island’s hurricane-impacted, tourism-based economy.
Three cities, one Island
Anna Maria Mayor Mark Short, Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie and Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth helped lead the recovery and restoration efforts taking place in their cities.
The mayors were assisted by the city commissions and commissioners that govern the cities; and the mayors and commissioners were assisted by the volunteer committee members and advisory board members who provided their valuable insights and assistance.
Anna Maria General Manager Dean Jones, Bradenton Beach Public Works Director (and police chief) John Cosby and now-departed Holmes Beach Public Works Director Sage Kamiya played critical roles in guiding their departments through the recovery efforts.
The hurricanes also reminded us of the important work done by the Island’s building and planning departments, and the impacts their work has on the construction community and the Island’s residents, property owners and business owners.
Anna Maria City Planner Ashley Austin, Bradenton Beach Building Official Bill Palmer, Holmes Beach Development Services Director Chad Minor, Holmes Beach Building Official Neal Schwartz and Holmes Beach Development Services Coordinator Kim Charron were among those who played important roles in the recovery efforts.
The three building departments were greatly assisted by the code enforcement/code compliance departments led by Dave DeZutter in Anna Maria, Evan Harbus in Bradenton Beach and James “JT” Thomas in Holmes Beach.
City clerks Amber LaRowe (Anna Maria), Terri Sanclemente (Bradenton Beach) and Stacey Johnston (Holmes Beach) and their staffs assisted the mayors, commissioners and fellow staff members with the recovery efforts and the daily operations of their cities.
City treasurers LeAnne Addy (Anna Maria), Shayne Thompson (Bradenton Beach) and Julie Marcotte (Holmes Beach) played important roles in the reporting, tracking and accounting associated with the hurricane damage reimbursement process while also performing their regular financial duties.
In terms of hurricane-related public safety, the worst had passed by the time the calendar flipped to 2025, but throughout the year Sgt. Brett Getman (Anna Maria), Police Chief Bill Tokajer (Holmes Beach) and Chief Cosby (Bradenton Beach) led the law enforcement agencies that helped provide us all with a safe place to live, work, play and visit.
The Sun also recognizes the many other unnamed city staff members who helped their cities and citizens recover.
Return, restore, rebuild, recover
The Island’s return to relative normalcy couldn’t have happened without the determination, resiliency and emotional fortitude of the Island’s permanent residents and the financial sacrifices they made to reoccupy their beloved Island homes.
Some longtime residents made the difficult decision to move off the Island, but a large percentage of the Island’s already shrinking residential population returned when their homes were habitable again; and that’s a testament to their love for the Island.
The numerous community events held in 2025 helped foster and rejuvenate the Island’s strong sense of residential community. Signature events included Bayfest, Lester Family Fun Day, the “Old Soldiers & Sailors” Veterans Day parade, Anna Maria’s symphonic Memorial Day salute, the city block parties at City Pier Park, the weekly farmers market, Holmes Beach’s 75th Anniversary celebration and a multitude of festive Christmas and holiday events held Island-wide.
The Island’s recovery would have been impossible without the construction firms, contractors, subcontractors, skilled trade workers, technicians, landscapers and service providers that repaired, restored and rebuilt the Island – a task that continues into 2026.
The Island’s return to normalcy would not have happened without the determined business owners who overcame significant financial losses and hardships to reopen their restaurants, bars, retail and rental operations and other businesses that faithfully serve the Island’s residents and visitors. And the business owners could not have done it without their faithful and determined employees.
And while recovering themselves, the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce assisted the Island’s business community in its return to normalcy.
Faced with hurricane-damaged structures and uncertain markets, the Island’s Realtors, real estate agents, vacation rental owners, vacation rental managers and their support staffs helped bring new residents to the Island and bring back the much-needed vacationers and visitors that support the Island’s tourism-based economy.
The Sun also recognizes all the Island residents, locals, day-trippers and other mainland visitors whose expenditures helped the Island’s businesses and establishments recover from the hurricanes.
As an Island business ourselves, The Sun express our utmost appreciation and sincere gratitude to every single business that advertised with us this year. Your support helped us weather the storms.
The Island churches welcomed their congregations back to worship, regroup and reconnect and the Roser Food Pantry provided food to those who needed it.
The Center of Anna Maria Island provided a place to exercise, compete, learn and gather with the community.
Wildlife Inc., Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch & Shorebird Monitoring and others helped care for and protect the Island’s animal kingdom and marine environments.
And for anyone not already recognized in this story, if you had anything to do with the Island and its recovery in 2025, thank you for anything and everything you did.
