The curtain closes on 2025 this week.<\/p>\n
Yet, as the year ends, it\u2019s hard not to reflect on the many quiet community wins that offer hope and perspective. They also serve as a reminder of the privilege that comes with reporting news on this Island Paradise, something we at Islander News cherish.<\/p>\n
Writing this column wasn\u2019t easy. I could revisit the year\u2019s top stories on Key Biscayne but Hillard Grossman did it exceptionally well in this week\u2019s cover story. Or I could look ahead to November\u2019s local elections, which brings both apprehension and excitement. Will they be divisive, or focused on solutions? Will candidates make noise or offer solutions in constructive debate? Those questions will be answered once the race for mayor and three council seats starts. That, however, feels like a column for another time.<\/p>\n
For now, it felt more fitting to focus on what didn\u2019t always make headlines in 2025, those overlooked moments and the Islanders doing meaningful work without fanfare.<\/p>\n
If you read the 73 submissions in the Village\u2019s \u201cWhy I Love my Village\u201d contest for Key Biscayne fourth-grade students, you get a sense of how our future generation views this Island. Lucia G\u00f3mez, a student in Ms. Crawford\u2019s K-8 Center class, invited readers on a tour of the island; kayaking through the mangroves, admiring \u201call the minnows!,\u201d and closing with a simple, heartfelt question: \u201cNow do you see why I love my Village?\u201d Plain and sincere. Honorable mention goes to Councilmember Nancy Stoner for nurturing this idea into reality.<\/p>\n
There is a group on the island that has effectively helped shine a light on inclusion. It Takes a Village, founded by Chiara Bergonzi, Barbara Diaz and Laura Teran Zapata, with Carmen Elena Azpurua later joining the group, began as a way to support families raising children with different needs. Their original goal of helping other families while raising awareness about inclusion, has been more than accomplished. A daily reminder can be found each weekday morning at The Golden Hog, where Jos\u00e9, a member of the It Takes a Village community, greets customers with a smile while offering the day\u2019s product to sample. The interactions are brief but speak volumes.<\/p>\n
Ed London gets plenty of visibility from his seat on the Council dais but that isn\u2019t why he is on here. Along with his better half, Claire (sorry, Ed), the Londons are quiet supporters, both financially and sweat equity, of organizations that strengthen our island and beyond. From the Dominos for Education Scholarship program to the Key Biscayne Film Festival and many other initiatives, they embody a spirit of giving without seeking recognition. In fact, I know Ed will chastise me for mentioning this.<\/p>\n
The challenge of a column like this is leaving out worthy efforts by island residents who equally deserve recognition. There are many.<\/p>\n
There is Alexandra Andrews, who turned her family\u2019s tragedy, the loss of her mom, Megan, into a tireless effort to keep the island safer from the dangers of e-bikes, particularly for children. What began in heartbreak has become a push for parenting awareness and change.<\/p>\n
There is Debbie Wanninkhof, who, along with her husband Rik, suffered the unimaginable loss of a child. Debbie transformed that grief into action, leading a fight to change Florida law and make texting while driving a criminal offense. At the same time, she created Poetry Share, a community-based initiative that invites reflection and reminds us of what is right around us.<\/p>\n
Valerie Seeve, along with her team of Cintia Pastuskovas and Camila Robyn, worked for a year after proposing to the Council the idea of creating a community garden, now a reality.<\/p>\n
The Duzoglou family of Robert, Lori, Morgan, and Derek often and quietly offer their Academy of Martial Arts, RDCA MMA dojo as a drop-off point for donations supporting families and groups facing hardship. Beyond the dojo walls, Robert volunteers on many of the Island\u2019s activities, while Derek serves as chair of the Village\u2019s Sustainability Advisory Board. Time, effort, and treasure are offered wherever needed, without expectation of recognition.<\/p>\n
There are many others.<\/p>\n
Amy Zambrano\u2019s Island Angels network works with seven area nonprofit organizations and can be counted upon when people in our community are in need. Vivian Galego M\u00e9ndez, for her work with the Sunshine Kids Foundation while serving three terms as President of the Key Biscayne Chamber. The Key Biscayne Community Foundation staff, led by Melissa White, alongside Andrew Britton, Rumya Sundaram, Margie Asciiu, Jane Morris, and others, works behind the scenes, always seemingly saying \u201cyes\u201d when impact ideas are brought forward or jumping in when disaster strikes. Ed Stone, a longtime advocate for senior services on the Island and founder of the ASK (Active Seniors on the Key) Club.<\/p>\n
And many, many more, like In\u00e9s Lozano and Flying High 4 Haiti, Toby and Bill Rohrer, Michele Estevez, Christina Bracken, Pat Romano, too many to mention in this limited space.<\/p>\n
If you are one of the hundreds of Island residents doing good work and were not mentioned here, please accept our apologies. Know that your efforts are deeply appreciated, not only by us, but by the people whose lives are better because of your generosity and kindness.<\/p>\n
Happy New Year, and please accept our wishes and blessings for a healthy and meaningful 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The curtain closes on 2025 this week. Yet, as the year ends, it\u2019s hard not to reflect on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[502,17481,13769,37822,126,123,125,124,43237],"class_list":["post-102286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-community","tag-editorial","tag-headlines","tag-justo-rey","tag-key-biscayne","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-new-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}