{"id":431513,"date":"2026-10-18T21:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T21:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/431513\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T21:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T21:32:11","slug":"fort-pierce-yacht-club-foundation-honors-the-hands-that-built-a-legacy-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/431513\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Pierce Yacht Club Foundation honors the hands that built a legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Members<\/p>\n

Members of the Fort Pierce Yacht Club present a check for $5,000 to name a gallery after Zanobia Jefferson.<\/p>\n

Provided by Sevin Bullwinkle<\/p>\n

USA TODAY Network, Reuters<\/p>\n

FORT PIERCE – On Sept. 14, the City of Fort Pierce Florida Highwaymen Museum provided the setting for “A Legacy of Giving,” a special celebration of art, history, philanthropy, and community pride.<\/p>\n

Sponsored by the Fort Pierce Yacht Club Foundation, the Fort Pierce Yacht Club, and Steve and Robynn Holland, the event honored two remarkable legacies connected to the museum: educator and mentor Zanobia Jefferson, and John and Doretha Hair Truesdell, whose dedication helped bring the dream of a Highwaymen museum to life.<\/p>\n

The first gallery naming honors Zanobia Jefferson, an art teacher at Lincoln Park Academy who recognized and encouraged the talent of her students. Among them was a 14-year-old Alfred Hair, whom Jefferson later introduced to renowned Fort Pierce artist A.E. “Bean” Backus. Their influence helped shape a generation of young artists who became known as the Florida Highwaymen.<\/p>\n

Working during segregation, these Black artists faced barriers to traditional galleries and created their own path to success, traveling U.S. 1 and selling paintings from their cars. Their determination eventually transformed modestly priced paintings into highly valued works of American art and made the Highwaymen an important part of Florida’s cultural history.<\/p>\n

In recognition of Jefferson’s influence, the Fort Pierce Yacht Club Foundation donated $5,000 to name a gallery in her honor.<\/p>\n

The second gallery honors John and Doretha Hair Truesdell. Doretha, Alfred Hair’s widow, devoted herself to preserving and promoting the Highwaymen legacy. After becoming president of the Florida Highwaymen in 2015, she worked tirelessly to establish a museum dedicated to their story. John and Doretha were married in 1980 and he stood beside her throughout that journey, providing encouragement and support. He passed away in May 2026.<\/p>\n

In honor of their commitment, Steve and Robynn Holland donated $5,000 to name a gallery in their honor.Visit the Museum<\/p>\n

The City of Fort Pierce Florida Highwaymen Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. If you are interested in volunteering, contact the museum about opportunities to help preserve this important history. PBS will air a special featuring the museum in November.<\/p>\n

For more information about the City of Fort Pierce Florida Highwaymen Museum, visit www.originalfloridahalloffamehighwaymen.org.<\/p>\n

The legacy continues.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Fort Pierce Yacht Club Foundation honors the hands that built a legacy<\/p>\n

Reporting by Robynn Holland, Fort Pierce Yacht Club Foundation \/ Treasure Coast Newspapers<\/p>\n

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

\"Robynn Robynn and Steve Holland present a check for 5,000 to name a gallery after John and Doretha Hair Truesdell. Provided by Sevin Bullwinkle USA TODAY Network, Reuters <\/p>\n

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

This story was originally published October 18, 2026 at 5:01 AM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Members of the Fort Pierce Yacht Club present a check for $5,000 to name a gallery after Zanobia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-431513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431513","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=431513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}