Pine Island Experience

This episode is about Bryan and Diana, a fearless couple who changed their lives and followed their dreams by purchasing Gulf Coast Kayak eleven years ago.  Their dedication, innovation and hard work made it successful and award-winning.  After Hurricane Ian, they are rebuilding and operational while in search of a waterfront location.  As they said in the episode, “Time will tell and we’re just going to keep pushing forward and with faith, we know good things will happen.”

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This episode is about a delightful couple, Jerry and Cindee, owners of The Traders Hitching Post in Matlacha. Traders Hitching Post has been in business for more than 45 years offering fine handcrafted American Indian Jewelry and Art. Jerry and Cindee tell their wonderful story and share how much they enjoy meeting people who come into their store.

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This episode features Patti Sweeney, owner of Sweeney’s SOS in Bokeelia on Pine island. This is a story about a very courageous and determined woman who follows her passions. Patti taught herself how to create all natural soaps, open and grow a lovely business on Pine Island and fill it with beautiful products and gifts. Patti’s focus is about community, the residents of Pine Island, and earning a customer by providing quality.

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This episode features Steve Cucura who together with his partner, Jesus "Jessy" Avalos created a tropical fruit paradise, FruitScapes on Pine Island. Steve talks about his passion for farming, how he discovered Pine Island and how he is always searching for new fruits.

DJ Ruscik, Madam President of the Matlacha Hookers and Julia Gaylor, Vice Madam sat down with us to discuss the Matlacha Hookers, a very wonderful organization serving Pine Island. We learned that the Matlacha Hookers are celebrating 25 years of service with a mission that has never changed, “Striving to make a positive difference in our community”. This constancy of purpose is one of the many reasons for their success.

Chuck and Nancy from Koucky Studios tell their remarkable story of how they have been creating art together for years. They describe their adventures owning galleries in Michigan and Florida until moving to Bokeelia. They have a new studio in their Pine Island location where they create art, develop new products, teach classes and host the Pine Island Potters Guild Shows.

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Lisa Dence, owner of the new restaurant Salty Girls Island Café describes her life and journeys on Pine Island before and after Hurricane Ian. She is a determined courageous women who figured out how to create a business in new locations. In this new journey, her next chapter, Lisa is thrilled to be where she belongs, back serving the community, greeting and feeding her customers.

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Jim Griffiths is an entrepreneur, an author and the owner-writer-publisher of the monthly Nautical Mile Magazine and the quarterly Destination Pine Island Visitor and New Resident Information Guide. In this episode, Jim shares his adventuresome life across the country and introduces his book, Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Do It! where he explains what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. As Jim explains, entrepreneurs don't think out of the box, they invent boxes and they make things better...

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This episode introduces Tommy Kramer, owner of Kramer’s Kutting Edge.  Tommy can sharpen just about any knife or blade.  He is a certified locksmith, and he can duplicate the most difficult to find keys.  Tommy believes that Pine Islanders should never have to leave the island just to have something sharpened or to replace watch batteries.

This is wonderful story of Sara Brinks who decided to move to Pine Island and start a business. With the help of her family and friends, Sara came up with the idea of The Frozen Flip Flop, a lovely frozen yogurt shop. The Frozen Flip Flop opened on July 21, 2022, and then Hurricane Ian hit.

For more information, email [email protected]