NEMO Adds to Holiday Celebration

SUN PHOTO/TOM VAUGHT These bright-eyed volunteers spent
their early Monday morning picking up "apres-fireworks" trash
on the beaches of Anna Maria after assembling at Ginny's and
Jane E's. Other groups gathered at Roser Memorial Community
Church and at CrossPointe Fellowship.

 

By Tom Vaught | sun staff writer

ANNA MARIA – The North End Merchants Organization (NEMO) put its touch on the Fourth of July celebration with positive results. Thanks to the small, American-made, American flags planted in the ground near the right of way, the Privateers’ parade looked a little more patriotic, and thanks to the volunteers who gathered Monday morning, the beaches looked a little cleaner.

 

The flags were purchased by the Anna Maria business group, which was formed to connect the businesses with the public and to help celebrate the city pier’s centennial.

Group President Barbara Sato distributed the flags to member businesses to plant in the ground the morning of the parade. After the parade, members picked them up to give back to Sato for future projects.

Nearly two dozen members and volunteers showed up at Ginny’s and Jane E’s to work out a plan to clean up the post-fireworks beach. There were three districts: Pine Avenue from the bay to the beach, which was fairly clean when they got there. They ended up joining the group from Ginny’s and Jane E’s to scour the beach south to Willow, where the third group from CrossPointe Fellowship worked south to the city limit.

There were a lot of spent fireworks on the beach, but most of the big stuff had already been removed either from people on the beach Sunday night or good people who came out earlier than the NEMO people, who started at 7:30 a.m.

One of those on the beach was Sue George, who along with her family, joined the volunteers.

Unusual finds included discarded cigarettes and clothing.

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Click here to read this Article in The Anna Maria Island SUN Newspaper.