This Saturday night promises to be a big time at LECOM Park.
The Manasota Black Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual Jubilee and Awards Ceremony, the Marauders hold Nine Devils Tribute Night in conjunction with the MBCC, and Jah Movement, Florida’s premier reggae band, headlines a Music Jubilee Celebration after the game.
The MBCC event honors the achievements of Black-owned businesses and community leaders, recognizing outstanding contributions to entrepreneurship, economic development and community empowerment.
Honorees include Individual Member of the Year: Nicole Parker; Mover and Shaker: Misty Servia, Louis Goff Sr., Mary Butler; President’s Award: Rene Gilmore, Peggy Delegato; Entrepreneur of the Year: Sam Barrington, Ronnie Sumpter Sr.; Small Business Member of the Year: Sarasota Economic Development Council and JBaby’s Preschool; Nonprofit of the Year: Intervention Before Crisis; Church of the Year: Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship; and Corporate Member of the Year: FPL.
Nine Devils Tribute Night salutes the legacy of those hardy field hands, golf course groundskeepers, sanitation workers and shop owners who did not let segregation hinder their love of baseball, transforming themselves into a ballclub that dominated the bygone Florida State Negro League from 1937 to 1956, playing Sunday home games at the same site as LECOM Park.
The Marauders will wear special Nine Devils jerseys against the Jupiter Hammerheads.
Gates open at 5 p.m. and game time is 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are available at bit.ly/4kD3NQA
Visit bradentonmarauders.com for more information.
· Wow! Thursday will mark 70 years of wedded bliss for Palmetto’s Jim and Merlene Hancock.
· Much respect to those Manatee School District folks who have surpassed 30 years of service. They include Shelley Askew, kindergarten teacher (Braden River Elementary); Matthew Cole, security (Matzke Center); Annette Dyer, ESE teacher aide (Palmetto Elementary); Kelli Kennedy, Assistant Director of Adult, Career and Technical Education (Professional Support Center); Melinda Lundy, principal (Bayshore Elementary); Barbara Marinaro, third-grade teacher (Rogers Garden Bullock Elementary); Debra Riley, principal (Miller Elementary); Ginger Stuckey, ESE inclusion teacher (Moody Elementary).
· Judy and Ken Larrabee celebrated their Golden Anniversary.
· And Saturday marked 45 years for Kevin and Cathy Konkler.
· Happy trails to Deputy Christopher Townsley after 27 years at the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
· Maribeth Phillips is 39. Again
· Leslie Wells, too.
· Heartfelt thanks to the nurses and techs who cared for my father-in-law, Jim Manring, at Blake Hospital’s Three-South unit.
· And Alex Morris is 32.
Vin’s People runs Sundays. Email Vin Mannix at vinspeople@gmail.com. Or call 941-962-5944.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: VIN MANNIX: Marauders host entertainment triple-header at LECOM Park