Naples Illustrated February 2021

Picture this: Two frazzled moms are sitting in the front of a dark gray Suburban, trying very hard to sound professional during a conference call with a public relations and marketing team from Pampers, Proctor & Gamble, and Random House. The year was 2007, and my friend Cathy and I were putting the finishing touches on our book about raising twins (Twin Set: Moms of Multiples Share Survive and Thrive Secrets) and attempting to land a media tour sponsorship with Pampers. We’d hired a babysitter to watch our combined seven kids under the age of 6 inside of her house while we took this important call in her driveway. After we hung up, we both felt fake-ittill-you-make-it relief. Neither one of us was eager to get out of the SUV…

PAZZO! CUCINA ITALIANA WHAT: Restaurateur Skip Quillen celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of Pazzo! Cucina Italiana with friends, staff, and patrons. DETAILS: The event featured Mike Power, one of the downtown restaurant’s original waiters, as well as pre-dinner Champagne and the original cozze nero (black mussel) appetizer. The Joey Lollipops cocktail, winner of a national Restaurant Hospitality award for Best Cocktail 2020, was a popular drink for the evening. Quillen’s Culinary Concepts also owns and operates Chops City Grill, Yabba Island Grill, and The Saloon. SHELTER FOR ABUSED WOMEN & CHILDREN WHAT: Jingled Elves SUPPORTS: This year’s annual trolley event raised funds to help women and children escaping domestic violence at the Shelter for Abused Women & Children. WHERE: Downtown Naples PATH2FREEDOM WHAT: Fifth Annual Red Gala SUPPORTS: Path2Freedom’s Magnolia House, a therapeutic group home for…

Twenty-four years ago, during a fraternity and sorority mixer at Iowa State University, Pason Gaddis was smitten with his now wife of 21 years, Renée. Back then, Pason was studying business administration and working for the school newspaper, and Renée was attending design school. After graduating, Pason says he wanted to “work in a growing market at a wonderful publisher,” so he landed in Southwest Florida and is currently CEO and president of Florida Media Group, which owns Florida Weekly. Renée soon followed, leaving behind her family with five siblings to forge her own career path in the Naples area. She’s been running her successful interior design business, Renée Gaddis Interiors, for several years. Pason jokes that one hobby he has in common with his wife is work. Another is travel. “Normally,…

When you step up to putt at Popstroke Fort Myers, you’ll be greeted by a sign displaying a quote from Tiger Woods, one of the greatest golfers to ever grace a green. But don’t let this intimidate you—all skill levels are welcome at this two-course, 36-hole facility. Woods was directly engaged with his design team in the layout of each hole at Popstroke Fort Myers, says Melissa Sulli - van, director of marketing. “He is a big proponent of being involved,” she notes. While Popstroke has another location in Port St. Lucie, this is the first that is Tiger-designed, Sullivan points out. It features touches such as bunkers, sand traps, and fairways to blend the traditional experience of golfing with integrated technology. Here you can download a Popstroke app or enjoy…

What if there really was such a thing as a crystal ball that could offer a glimpse into the future? When it comes to the rapid evolution of society, there’s no need for smoke and mirrors. In its eleventh season, the Imagine Solutions Conference is a real-time ideas platform for exploring some of today’s biggest issues and monumental shifts and how they will shape or impact the future and present answers to pressing challenges. Race, gender, climate change, medical research, international affairs, you name it: Chances are high that those behind this event with the tagline “Big Ideas. Top Experts” are giving it close consideration. Imagine Solutions conferences and seminars are the products of the nonprofit Searching for Solutions Institute, founded in Naples in 2008. Its stated aim is “to create a…

Mary Catherine White giggles a lot during a conversation, but don’t assume that means she is not 100 percent serious about her real estate business, Naples White House Realty. It just reveals that she is bursting with happiness—because she gets to live and work in Old Naples. White first came to Naples on vacation to visit her brother in the 1980s and was enchanted by its tropical beauty and low-key living. Fast-forward to 2000, when she and her husband, Gary, decided to make a big change, close her design business in St. Louis, Missouri, and try something new. “Why not Naples?” they thought. “My husband is a natural salesman,” White says, “so when he pinpointed Naples real estate as something for us to go into together, I was sure he’d be…