Last year during Meeting of the Minds in Key West, Parrot Heads had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when the Lone Palm Foundation partnered with Sidney Strong and the Singing for Change Charitable Foundation. Strong was Jimmy Buffett’s scenographer for building concert backdrops featured at concerts.

At MOTM, we auctioned six original watercolor paintings of some of those concert backdrops, done by Michael Ireland. These paintings were donated by Strong, who agreed to split the proceeds with the Lone Palm Foundation and the Conch Auxiliary Radio Emergency Services (CARES), a group of amateur radio operators and SkyWarn spotters. CARES provides training, education, and emergency communications support to meet the needs of the Florida Keys community and the National Weather Service before, during and after disaster events .

With the funds from the auction, and per Sidney’s wishes, we were able to donate $7,420.80 to CARES. The remaining $7,420.80 was donated to the Lone Palm Foundation Parrot Head Emergency PHUND.

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Pete Grosskreuz, Susan Radomski, Ed Fox and Paul Dammers for purchasing these priceless paintings. They are now the custodians of some historic art.

We would also like to thank Judith Ranger Smith and Anne Pelto with the Singing for Change Charitable Foundation who brought this partnership together. We look forward to future endeavors.

Finally, and most notably, thank you to Sidney Strong who made this collaboration possible with your donation; we are forever grateful. It is through Sidney’s philanthropy that all these organizations are able to continue their missions.

In the end, we are all Parrot Heads helping Parrot Heads.