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Brian Haddix benefit taking place Sunday

Brian Haddix benefit set for Sunday

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News.

CORTEZ – A fundraiser will be held for Brian “Hardcore” Haddix at Bunny & Pirates Bazaar on Sunday, Dec. 19 from noon until 5 p.m.

Haddix, 52, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer that has now metastasized into stage 4 lung cancer as well. He’s also dealt with other health issues in recent years.

“The colon cancer spread and settled in my lungs,” he said, noting he begins chemo and radiation treatments on Jan. 6.

Sunday’s benefit will include a potluck dinner and a musical jam session. Attendees are asked to bring a potluck dish to share, and musicians are invited to drop by to perform at the open jam.

“Let’s do this for Brian! Let’s all get together and show him some love. Stuff a few dollars in his pocket while you are there. He is going to need all the help he can get,” says the benefit preview shared on Facebook.

Donations from local businesses are still sought for fundraising raffle prizes. All proceeds will go directly to Haddix. In addition to the preparations being made by Bunny & Pirates’ owners Elizabeth Shore and Jeffrey O’Connell, Rose Lipke and Cindy Thompson are gathering raffle prizes and other donations for Haddix. Donations can be dropped off at Bunny & Pirates Bazaar, at 12404 Cortez Road W. in Cortez. For more information regarding donations and assisting Haddix, please contact Lipke by text message at 941-405-5374 or by email at Rosemlipke@gmail.com.

“Brian is one of the kindest, most gentle souls the Island has ever known. Even as kids at the community center, Brian had a kind word, a warm smile and a generous attitude that continues to this day. He truly embodies the definition of a pure heart. He’s given so much of himself to all of us individually that it spills into a community service that he doesn’t even realize he’s doing. It’s just his nature. It’s time we all show him how much he means to us and how much we love him,” Lipke said.

“I’ve known Brian for over 25 years. He truly is the kindest soul with a heart of gold. He is accustomed to helping others. Due to his diagnosis and other unfortunate circumstances he now needs us, his ‘AMI Tribe,’ to help him. With his basic needs covered, he will be able to put his energy into his upcoming cancer treatments,” Thompson said.

Publix, WalMart and Winn Dixie gift cards donated directly to Haddix are also very helpful.

Haddix’s truck broke down in August and he now often relies on the MCAT bus service to get around. Efforts are afoot to get him a used vehicle so he can drive himself to medical appointments and run his errands. In the meantime, folks can help by giving him rides.

Island ties

Haddix was born in Lexington, Kentucky. He grew up in Anna Maria, has spent the past 40 years in the area and still lives in Anna Maria.

“We were probably one of the poorest families on the Island,” he said of those early years.

As a youngster, Haddix spent much of his time at the youth center that would later become The Center of Anna Maria Island.

“That’s where our brothership grew,” he said of the enduring relationships formed there.

Haddix graduated from Manatee High School in 1988. During his high school years, he formed a friendship with Holmes Beach resident Carol Whitmore, who for several years has served as a Manatee County commissioner.

“When I was a teenager, a lot of times I had to walk home from Manatee High School. Carol used to pick me up when I hitchhiked back to the Island. She worked as a nurse at Manatee Memorial Hospital. She’s helped me a lot with my medical issues and also with my son’s education,” Brian said.

As a single dad, Haddix raised his son, Elijah Haddix, on the Island. Elijah, now 23, lives in Winter Haven and will attend Sunday’s benefit.

Brian Haddix benefit taking place Sunday
Brian Haddix raised his son, Elijah Haddix, on Anna Maria Island. – Brian Haddix | Submitted

“Brian’s a really nice guy and I love him. I know he’s going through a tough time now and he’s had some struggles in the past,” Whitmore said. “He raised his son on his own. I was homeless when I was young. I know what it’s like to struggle, so I’ve tried to help Brian and Elijah.”

Working man

After high school, Haddix spent 10 years working for Jack Bass Marine Construction. He helped build many seawalls and docks on the Island during the 1990s. He also helped improve many of the Island’s beach access points.

Before the net ban was enacted in the mid-1990s, Brian also spent time crabbing and mullet fishing. He later spent many years working as a doorman at several local bars.

“I’ve worked at practically every bar on the Island and in west Bradenton. That’s how I got to know all the bands,” he said.

In 2010, Haddix worked on a crew that dredged several canals in Anna Maria and Holmes Beach. He said he also helped refurbish the pilings on the Anna Maria Bridge on Manatee Avenue.

Haddix administers the Anna Maria Island Locals Facebook page where he shares photos of the Island’s sunsets, wildlife, nature and more. He also shares old photos of the Island and provides historical details about the Island’s past. He also administers the MerLife Facebook page that embraces the love of water and the beauty and mystery it holds.

Siblings and community assisting BJ Lipke after cancer diagnosis

Siblings, community assisting BJ Lipke after cancer diagnosis

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Community News, Cortez.

CORTEZ – Former Cortez resident Rose Lipke has started an online fundraiser for her brother BJ Lipke’s newly-discovered battle with cancer.

Last week, Rose Lipke, a well-known local artist who now lives in Bradenton, created the “Help BJ Lipke Fight Stage 4 Lung Cancer” GoFundMe page.

The GoFundMe page includes a narrative written by Rose.

“A little over two weeks ago, my brother BJ Lipke was in a car accident. He suffered no injury from that but when they checked him at the ER they discovered a mass in his lung and some spots in his brain. Two days later we got a diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer that had metastasized to his brain. He has no insurance, can’t drive or work and has started radiation treatment to shrink the tumors in his brain. Chemotherapy is next when the radiation is finished,” she wrote.

“BJ is one of the most genuine, kindest souls I have ever known, and he is stubborn and a fighter. In just a few short weeks, we – BJ, myself, my brother Jim and sister Julie – have had literally thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses to keep him in his apartment and get him into treatment quickly,” she wrote.

Siblings and community assisting BJ Lipke after cancer diagnosis
BJ Lipke spent many years working locally as a bartender. – Rose Lipke | Submitted

“Many of you have already offered and given help directly and we are so humbled and thankful. We have only just begun this fight, so if you can, please help us help him with whatever you can. Thank you and please keep us in your thoughts for the long weeks and months ahead,” her narrative says in closing.

When interviewed Saturday, Rose said, “It was a pretty hard blow. It’s one of those things where your life changes in an instant.”

She said her brother was working in the Coral Shores neighborhood as a maintenance man for Island Property Maintenance and his boss, who was following behind him, witnessed him get in a single-car accident while making a turn without ever hitting the brakes.

“The CAT scan later showed he had two previous mini-strokes, but they couldn’t tell when they happened. We think he blacked out. He doesn’t really remember the accident. He remembers being fished out of the car and that’s it. He went in to get checked for the accident and they found the other stuff and confirmed it,” Rose said.

She said BJ spent the past two years living in Tennessee, where his son lives. He returned to the Cortez area about three weeks ago and is living in an apartment near the Cortez Clam Factory.

“He had just moved back. I’m glad he’s here because he’s got a lot more support here,” Rose said.

“He’s just a great human being. He tended bar at the Cortez Kitchen for many years. He was at the Clam Factory for a long time,” she said of her brother. “He’s got a lot of people here and so far it’s been overwhelming the number of people who’ve reached out to him directly.”

Regarding the online fundraiser, Rose said, “He wants to stay in his apartment as long as he can. He can’t drive because of the brain tumor diagnosis and his truck was totaled. And he can’t really work because we’re going to be doing radiation treatments.”

Rose said her 63-year-old brother had no idea he had cancer until the recent accident occurred.

“He had Hodgkin’s lymphoma 20 years ago and beat it. He’s upbeat and fighting this and he’s optimistic and in good spirits,” she said.

As of Sunday evening, the BJ Lipke GoFundMe page had received nearly $5,200 in online donations.

Golf tournament honors a beloved friend

Golf tournament honors a beloved friend

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Community News, Cortez.

CORTEZ – The life and legacy of Nancy Franklin will be celebrated with the inaugural Nancy Franklin Flippin’ Mullet Open Charity Golf Tournament on Saturday, May 18.

Franklin was the Swordfish Grill and Flippin’ Mullet Sports Bar bar manager when she passed away on April 15, 2018, after battling cancer.

Proceeds from the tournament and after-party will benefit The Blessing Bags Project that provides bags filled with comfort items, quilts, supplies and more to homeless and housing-challenged youths.

Nancy remembered

“We’re doing this to keep alive Nancy’s joy of giving,” Swordfish Grill General Manager Bob Slicker said. “She did so many good things for our community and it’s an honor to do this and make it something that will continue in Nancy’s honor. She was an important and loved member of our Cortez tribe.”

Golf tournament honors a beloved friend
Nancy Franklin passed away last year but her legacy lives on. – Submitted | Facebook

Swordfish Grill manager Katrina “Kat” Cox said, “Nancy Franklin was a special kind of person. She could always put a smile on my face no matter what else was going on. Whether we were at work, tailgating in the parking lot or heading to a Lightning game it was sure to end with a smile on your face and your sides hurting from laughing. Her unique sense of humor was one of the things I loved most about her. She was a very caring person who would do anything she could to help a friend in need.

“She is largely responsible for the success of the Flippin’ Mullet Sports Bar. She organized bus trips, watch parties and other events – many of which raised money for her favorite local charity, The Blessing Bags Project. If there is one thing I learned from Nancy, it’s to live life to the fullest and enjoy the most out of every day. As Nancy would say, ‘It would be rude not to!” Cox said.

Swordfish Grill Manager Greg Koeper met Franklin nearly 30 years when she worked at the Lone Star Steakhouse in Bradenton.

“We developed a lifelong friendship and she came to work for me when I opened Grego’s Almost to the Beach Tavern. She then ended up being our bar manager at the Swordfish Grill and she established the Flippin’ Mullet as a sports bar and watch party location for Lightning games. She’s dearly missed,” Koeper said.

“Any day with Nancy was a memory in the making filled with love, laughter, camaraderie and shenanigans.”
– Nora Davis

Franklin’s friend Rose Lipke said, “I am so happy to see Nancy being honored this way and happy that it will continue in her honor as an annual event. She made all the fundraisers and charity events we did an absolute joy to be a part of. I miss her spirit, her kind heart, her wicked sense of humor and her no-nonsense demeanor. She is so very missed by so many.”

Franklin’s friend and former co-worker Nora Davis’ fond memories of Franklin include tailgating after festival set-ups, hanging out in the parking lot after work, ‘Sunday bubbles’ at the Bonefish Grill, bus trips to Lightning games and the Tom Petty concert they attended in 2017.

“Any day with Nancy was a memory in the making filled with love, laughter, camaraderie and shenanigans. No matter what you were going through or how bad you thought your day was going she could always put a smile on your face. I learned a lot from her and she touched my life in ways I could never explain. I miss her and she will always be a part of me, which makes me blessed,” Davis said.

Golf tournament honors a beloved friend
Katrina “Kat” Cox, Nora Davis, Tori Lee and Nancy Franklin shared many good times together. – Submitted | Facebook

Swordfish Grill bartender Tori Lee said, “I always called Nancy ‘Mama-Nance’ because she was loving and caring but she’d beat your butt if you needed it. She was one of the coolest, laid-back ladies I’ve ever met. She taught me to not be so serious all the time and to just go with the flow – and also to order a pot of coffee when you stay at a hotel. I miss her every day.”

Tournament info

Teeing off with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m., the tournament will take place at the Pinebrook Ironwood Golf Club in Bradenton and include a longest drive contest, a closest to the pin contest and an opportunity to win a new car for shooting a hole in one.

Golf tournament honors a beloved friend
The inaugural Nancy Franklin Flippin’ Mullet Open Charity Golf Tournament will be played on Saturday, May 18.

The entry fee for the two-person, best ball scramble is $80 per golfer and includes 18 holes of golf, cart fee, a goodies bag and lunch and an after-party at the Flippin’ Mullet. Non-golfers can attend the lunch and after-party for $25.

The after-party will include fundraising raffles and a silent auction. Hole sponsors and raffle and silent auction item donors are still sought.

To register for the tournament, sponsor a hole or donate items, email Cox at swordfishkat@gmail.com, call 941-525-0673 or stop by the Swordfish Grill at 4628 119th St. W. in Cortez. You can also contact Koeper in person or by phone at 941-447-5287.

The Anna Maria Island Sun is the media sponsor for this event.

Cortez Mural

New mural a welcome sign in Cortez

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Community News, Cortez.

CORTEZ – Rose Lipke’s “Welcome to Historic Cortez Village” mural now graces the east wall of the Village Center plaza near the corner of Cortez Road and 119th Street West.

Cortez residents and plaza owners Jane and Rocky von Hahmann commissioned the work and Lipke spent about a week working on the 11- x 30-foot mural she completed on Thursday, June 14.

“When people see this mural, we want them to know this is what Cortez is and this is the way we want it to stay – not the parking lot they’re trying to turn it into by putting in some big bridge and more traffic going to the beach,” Jane von Hahmann said, while standing near the mural with Lipke on Friday.

It was noted there are no Aqua by the Bay high-rises or fixed span bridges in the mural.

“I left that out,” Lipke said.

“The tallest thing in it is Bird Island,” von Hahmann said.

Jane and Rose
Jane von Hahmann, left, and her husband commissioned the mural painted by Rose Lipke. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

“Jane wanted something on the wall because it’s the first thing you see when you’re coming into Cortez. We picked things that symbolize where we are and who we are in the village: the net camp, a kicker boat pulling a net, mangroves, Bird Island and a waterfront view. I’m hoping it will inspire people to help keep what we have,” Lipke said.

“We used to have a different mural on that wall but somebody asked my son (Eric Von) to paint over it when he was 10 years old, and he did without asking mom and dad,” von Hahmann said. “We decided it was time to welcome people into the village and Rosie’s my go-to girl. She’s our village artist. It looks great. It tells a story of what we are. I was just blown away by how she captured what the bay looks like. She finished it yesterday.”

Von Hahmann pointed to the boiled peanuts sign in Lipke’s rendering of the net camp and said the sign used to hang on the camp that still stands offshore.

“We used to call it the ‘love shack’ when we were teenagers,” Lipke joked.

Time-lapse video on Lipke’s Facebook page shows the mural coming to life. On Friday, she mentioned the heavy stucco on the side of the block building and said she forgot how hard that material was to paint on.

She compared painting a large mural to her other recent works.

“It’s a little more challenging at this age. I remember it being more fun when I was younger. It was so damn hot out there that I about melted. I was drinking three gallons of water a day,” she said, noting the job took 25-30 hours.

Lipke was born and raised in Cortez and now lives in northwest Bradenton. She’s been painting and drawing all her life.

“Rocky remembers when I used to draw pictures and hand them to you guys over the fence when you had the surf shop over there,” she said.

“That would’ve have been in the 70s, early 80s,” von Hahmann noted.

This is not Lipke’s first Cortez mural.

“I did the mural with the big map on the side of A.P. Bell Fish Co. the year of the net ban,” Lipke said of the still-visible artwork she created in the mid-1990s.

She also painted murals on Anna Maria Island at Shell Land Gifts and the Green Turtle Shell & Gift Shop, but she said those murals are no longer visible.

Her recent work includes the Swordfish Grill sign and the 25-foot Fiberglass and Styrofoam hammerhead shark that hangs in parking lot shared by N.E. Taylor Boatworks, the Cortez Kitchen and the Swordfish Grill.

“I do all the Monkey Buses too,” she said.

Lipke’s name, company name (COZArt) and phone number appear in the lower right-hand corner of the new mural that serves a secondary purpose as a giant business card.

When asked what services she provides, Lipke said, “Signs, logos, murals – I’ll paint pretty much anything on anything, and if you need a 25-foot hammerhead, I’m your girl.”