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Donna Fiala comments: I was privileged to be invited to attend the Annual Southwest Florida Golf Charities Gifting Event for 2008. It was hosted again by Irv Sherwood and Mike Ward of Erin’s Isle. The underlying theme was “It’s nice to do nice things for nice people”. The event was spectacular, and these guys poured their heart and soul into the planning.

248 golfers played at the one-day event. In their 19 years they have donated a total of $1,225,000 to local charities. Since 1989, 118 scholarships have been awarded, and nine schools have received a grand total of $850,000 in scholarships.

This year $8,000 in $1,000 increments was given to eight Collier High Schools golf programs. $2,000 was donated to the Care Club of Collier County, $5,000 was given to the Education Foundation of Collier County for college scholarships, and directed towards East Naples students. Parkside Elementary School received $5,000 toward a golf & tennis summer camp created to encourage life skills, values and role modeling. Eleven “Title One” Elementary and Middle Schools (low income schools) received $2,500 each for a total of $27,500. Florida Gulf Coast University Golf Management Program received $5,000, which was matched by the Gene & Mary Sarazen Foundation, for a total of $10,000. $25,000 was donated to Avow Hospice of Naples, Marco Island and Immokalee and $45,000 was given to nine Collier County High Schools for college scholarships at $5,000 each. This year’s total gifting was $122,500! !

A huge thank you goes to Irv Sherwood, Mike Ward of Erin’s Isle, the Eagle Creek Community, Southwest Florida Golf Charities, and all the wonderful golfers who participated!

I had the pleasure of attending the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting of the new Pollo Tropical. The Lely High School Band played their hearts out and sounded wonderful! Mike Richardson and his wife Paula represented the Gulf Coast Little League, with their adorable boys enjoying all the festivities. The event was well attended. It felt like old home week. The food was very good with an emphasis on tropical flavoring such as Chicken marinated in their secret blend of citrus juices and spices, pulled pork so tender it melts in your mouth. TropiChillers such as all natural Fruit Smoothies in your choice of Mango, Strawberry or Pina Colada, plus cream smoothies or fruit only.

The menu offers Island Grill Wraps, Salsa Bar Offerings, Tropical Trios consisting of either ¼ chicken, Caribbean ribs and steak, or ¼ chicken, Caribbean ribs and shrimp, or ¼ chicken, steak and shrimp. They also feature Caribbean Fajitas, Value Meals, Rice & Beans, Yellow Rice and vegetables, Vegetarian, etc. The salads include Caribbean chicken Cobb salad or chicken Caesar salad. Their soup is “Pollo Tropical’s homemade recipe – a hot bowl of chicken soup stocked with corn, yucca, pumpkin, plantains, and of course, chicken.”

The ordering process is you pick your menu item and step up to the counter to order and pay, and very quickly you may pick up your order and proceed to the table of your choice. By the way, they even have kids meals, family platters, big family meals, and even a party-planning menu. The prices are very reasonable and they accept all major credit cards.

I had the pleasure of hosting another tour this past week. This time we all met at the Collier Landfill. I must say we were all impressed! I mean REALLY impressed. Our group met with the management of the landfill and the coordinator of the recycling program, which is one of the premier programs in the State of Florida. I was truly impressed that there was barely an odor to the landfill, and we were standing right on the hill! ! We saw Eagle’s and Red-shouldered Hawks, and thousands of other birds. We learned that our garbage pickup fees, which we pay on our tax bill once a year, are not only the lowest in the State, but we pay three times less than Lee County! There is so much more to tell you, but I’ll have to save it for another column. The tour group has suggested we bus up to see how a reclamation facility works next. Anyone interested in joining us?

Donna Fiala
www.fiala2008.com