82 SARASOTA SCENE | FEBRUARY 2018
on the town
becomes more of a challenge to move
in and around the three counties that
we were work in, you look at the
quality of life. And some of that is
long-term planning regarding things
like transportation and thinking about
the infrastructure we count on. That’s
the hardest thing to know as laymen.
Is the county on track? Is the city on
track? And by and large they probably
are. I think that if you ask what keeps
me up at night, it’s that long-term
planning. I think that things like the
extension of the Legacy Trail is a good
example. The debate could be “why
do we need more?” Well, it’s not
going to get any cheaper. And it’s not
going to be any easier to do in the
future. If you think about the benefit
of something like that, that’s an
example of planning for your future.
Finish the following sentences:
I hope that when someone visits
Sarasota they tell their friends
about…
The fabulous people they met.
The best thing Sarasota has going for
it is….
Its arts and culture.
When people come to Sarasota they
can expect…
Fabulous weather.
Sarasota is a great place because…
We still have a small town feel even
though we are growing into a bigger
city.
Are most of the tourists largely still
coming from the I-75 corridor and the
Midwest?
We still are heavily Midwestdominated,
but we are seeing a
bigger creep from the East Coast, the
Northeast Corridor and down I-95.
We have some outliers from the West
Coast of the United States, but it’s still
generally the I-75 corridor. I think
what we find is that somebody has to
come here first and then they bring their
friends. That’s true if they’ve move here
from Sweden, France or Toronto. It only
takes one bell cow and then they want
their friends to move there. That’s true
whether you’re from Chicago or Helsinki.
How big an impact has Nathan
Benderson Park and the rowing facility
in the Lakewood Ranch area had on
Sarasota?
Before that existed, when you went
to Lakewood Ranch from let’s say
downtown, you would think that you’d
have to cross this “no man’s land” and
that’s no disrespect to the fabulous
communities that are in the Ranch, but
there was nothing that defined them
that you could articulate to somebody.
And now you have this fabulous park
and facility that defines this space. I find
that’s integrated the sense of Lakewood
Ranch and Sarasota, even though they
operate as distinct lifestyle communities.
I love the fact that we now have this great
connector that sort of brings the two
together. As those events build and grow
in years, we are all going to look back
and talk about what a major contribution
this was to our community.
You’re sending a friend in Europe a
postcard of Sarasota. What’s on the card
and what does it say?
Particularly because Europe and the
Northeast are experiencing such brutal
weather, I would probably choose a
postcard of that classic shot of someone
with their toes in the sand, looking at a
beautiful, sunny day and writing: “wish
you were here.”
Your mother, Michael Saunders, is an icon
in the industry and the founder of one
of the great real estate companies. What
is the greatest thing she has taught you
about life and the business?
The most important lesson in life that
applies to business is passion. Whatever
you do, you better be passionate about it.
To do anything less is to cheat the thing
MASTERWORKS SERIES
FEBRUARY 17
Haydn’s Mass in Time
of War & Beethoven’s
Choral Fantasy
With Jeffrey Biegel
APRIL 27
Tomorrow’s
Voices Today
With Riverview, Booker &
Sarasota High School Choirs
CHAMBER SINGERS SERIES
MARCH 10
French Impressions
100th Anniversary of Claude Debussy
SPECIAL EVENTS
FEBRUARY 15
Cocktails & Cadenzas
with Pianist
Jeffrey Biegel
MARCH 23, 24 & 25
Cirque des Voix®
Music of Danny Elfman
T I C K E T S
KeyChorale.org
941.921.4845
/KeyChorale.org