Verizon kicks off the 2006 USF Sarasota-Manatee Brunch on the Bay with donation       

 

Cheryl Mixson, Steve Mixson, director of external affairs at Verizon, and Laurey Stryker, Campus CEO of USF Sarasota-Manatee stand in front of the Verizon sign at the 2006 Brunch on the Bay kickoff.  Verizon donated $10,500 to Brunch on the Bay

 

SARASOTA, FL (August 29, 2006) – Verizon kicked off the Fall 2006 Brunch on the Bay Scholarship event with a generous $10,500 gift to benefit USF Sarasota-Manatee students.  The Brunch will be November 5 at the Sarasota bayfront Powel Crosley Mansion, adjacent to the university’s new campus.

 

The Brunch on the Bay was established in 1995 as a signature event to build community awareness and to raise scholarship dollars. The gathering annually attracts about a thousand supporters from Sarasota and Manatee Counties and has resulted in a $1 million scholarship endowment.  The 2006 Brunch net fundraising goal is $100,000, which would earn a state matching grant of $50,000, for a total of $150,000 in new scholarship endowment funds. 

 

Steve Mixson, director of external affairs at Verizon, and his wife Cheryl are co-committee chairs for this year’s Brunch on the Bay event.  “We both think very highly of USF Sarasota-Manatee,” Steve Mixson said.  “The University plays a very important role in our community and we are proud to be a part of this great event.”

 

This November event will mark the first year that Brunch on the Bay will be held on the Powel Crosley Mansion bayfront, courtesy of Manatee County and The Powel Crosley Estate.  The Brunch will cap off a series of opening events celebrating the new campus.

 

“Brunch on the Bay scholarships have helped dozens of students complete their degrees and become valued professionals in the region.  Increased enrollment at the new campus means that more students could benefit from the community’s generosity.” said Laurey Stryker, Campus CEO. 

 

USF Sarasota-Manatee is an upper-level campus for those with an associates or bachelors degree interested in pursuing a baccalaureate or master’s degree, professional certification, or continuing education credit. The regional campus offers the prestige of a nationally ranked research university with the convenience of a hometown campus, including classes in south Sarasota County at Manatee Community College Venice.