Mary & Martha House Benefits From Leadership Brandon Class

RUSKIN, FL – From creating a community garden to building a trail and campground site in a local park, Leadership Brandon classes have left a lasting impression with their legacy projects over the years.

The 2017 Leadership Brandon class combined a larger than normal fundraising campaign and specialized skills of its participants to create the most extensive legacy project yet: Turning an old garage into a new learning center and storage area for the Mary & Martha House in Ruskin.

The shelter serves victims of domestic violence and homelessness in rural southern Hillsborough County. The non-profit will celebrate 35 years of working in the community this summer.

“We are so proud of this year’s class, and the way they went above and beyond to help this integral community organization serve more women,” said Rick Lewis, who was recently named the CEO and President of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce and is the chair of the organization’s Leadership Program.

Melissa Baldwin, the founder of Chase Media Services and the 2017 Leadership Brandon class secretary, said Lewis never held the class back or told them the project was too big.

“Rick believed in us and in our project,” she said. “I think his leadership is a big part of the reason why our class was able to achieve so much.”

The Leadership Brandon class was able to take on a project of this magnitude because one of its members, Shaun Myrtle, a Brandon Regional Hospital Director, is also a state Certified Building Contractor. Myrtle and his brother David Borling handled most of the hard labor, including the demolition, framing, insulation, siding, flooring and finishing trim work.

A chance encounter with a Mary & Martha House truck helped inspire the project’s title sponsors – Linda and Sam Manci, the owners of Allegra Marketing Print Mail – to donate $10,000 to the effort.

“We were driving down the road, and we were intrigued by a truck we saw with the Mary & Martha House logo on it,” Manci said. “We felt compelled to look into that group. Remarkably, just a few days later, one of our clients, Dianna Vannatta, contacted us to print some flyers for the Leadership Brandon Legacy Project. We couldn’t believe the coincidence, and felt it was meant to be.”

Several Brandon Chamber member businesses also contributed with in-kind donations, including electrical work from Morningstar Electric and air conditioning services from Ace Heating and Cooling. Frank Lee’s Custom Painting learned of the project from class member Meghan Daniel, and offered to not only paint the interior, but also the entire exterior.

“We are delighted with the results – it’s more than we could have ever asked for,” said Laurie Kepler, the executive director of the Mary & Martha House.

Other project sponsors included TECO Energy, Hill Ward Henderson Attorneys at Law, Panera Bread, Black Rock Restaurant, First Citrus Bank, Chuck and Debra Colwill, Waste Management, Commerce Connections and Office Depot’s Business Pro.

“It is our hope that when people hear about this project, they will be inspired to learn more about the good work the Mary & Martha House does, and to contribute to the organization so they can help more women and families in Hillsborough County,” Baldwin said.

For more information about Leadership Brandon, contact Peggy Wilson at (813) 689-1221 or visit www.brandonchamber.com.

To make a donation to help support the Mary & Martha House, call (813) 645-7874 or visit www.marymarthahouse.org/ways-to-give.

Image courtesy of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce