One Year Later: The Stories That Keep Us Going

The following guest column by Gulf Coast President/CEO Mark Pritchett appeared in the March 20, 2021 edition of SRQ Daily:

This week marked an anniversary that many of us either celebrated or quietly let pass.

It was 365 days ago this past Monday when we were told to stay home unless our job was considered “essential.” Essential typically meant someone tirelessly working in a hospital intensive care unit, a first responder making sure our lives were safe, or someone working the front lines of a grocery store or pharmacy to keep our families fed and medicated. 

Over time, many of us adjusted to the changes, despite how drastic they might have seemed. But for tens of thousands of our neighbors in and around Sarasota County, the COVID-19 pandemic literally upended their lives, as businesses closed, jobs were lost and school was transformed. Whether they were striving to provide for their families, better themselves, or nurture others, these community members—through no fault of their own—suddenly found themselves in dire situations they never saw coming.

Read their stories in the full article here in the SRQ DAILY SATURDAY PERSPECTIVES EDITION