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PGICA RECOGNITION PROGRAM Ed Zapke, ezapke@comcast.net

As we all know, our population grows considerably between late fall and the
end of April. Obviously, either our weather, or the weather up north has
something to do with that. But why Punta Gorda? Hopefully you are able to
come up with many answers; however the bottom line is that our community is
a special place. But, why is Punta Gorda so special? Could it be the
restaurants? Sailing on our beautiful harbor? Fishing the backwaters? Walking,
biking our many trails? Yes, all of the above, but the primary reason is our
sense of community and our residents.

Just look around at our community and PGICA. None of the aforementioned
features would exist if it were not for our friends and neighbors. It is people with
ideas, with a work ethic and a willingness to put in the time and effort. These
people didn’t seek recognition, but they deserve recognition. Our Civic
Association realized this, and six years ago instituted the Recognition Program. To date, over fifty current or former
residents of Punta Gorda Isles have bricks dedicated in their name for having made a difference.

Also, our community is not stagnant. There are new ideas, revitalized programs and people to make them work. PGICA
needs your help in locating these people. Any current or former resident of the Isles is eligible. Their contributions may
have been local, in the City, County or beyond. What counts is that they are individuals who have made our community a
better place.

For further information and applications, contact the PGI Civic Association office. Please take the time and make the
effort to nominate a candidate for the 2018 Recognition Program. For those of you heading north for the summer, I urge
you to act on this before you leave. Community support has and will always be the foundation of a successful program.
Thank you.

Letter of Appreciation for the Isles Girls & Guys

We have just completed a very successful moving sale with the "Isles Girls and Guys" team from the PGICA.

They are so organized and professional for a volunteer group of people. They came into our home, took charge of
marking all the furniture and household goods, and handled every detail in such a great way. They advertised our sale
in the newspaper, came to the house and priced every single item which was to be sold. On the two days of the sale
they arranged for parking the cars, handled the flow of people into our home so there was no problem with a crowd.

We were very satisfied with the results of the sale. Our home was cleaned up and all unsold items put in a place
convenient for our choice of disposal which they even offered to contact for us.

To sum it up, it was a stress-free, enjoyable experience because of their actions and friendly interaction with us both. I
would very highly recommend this group to anyone needing this service.

Sincerely, Lois and Hardy Meumann

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