Glenda and Joe Padgett stood at gate B10 at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on Sunday morning, wearing face masks and holding up “welcome” signs for Southwest Airlines made for them by a friend’s daughter.
There were a lot of people excitedly waiting for Southwest’s first-ever plane at Sarasota-Bradenton to land, which it did at 11:34 a.m. Sunday, but the Padgett family’s connection to the first-ever voyage was a little more personal.
Their son, Jared, is a Southwest employee who has worked as an in-flight scheduler for the airline for about five years. The Padgetts are now a “Southwest family,” Glenda said, and they have taken their fair share of maiden Southwest voyages.
LAKEWOOD RANCH – Since its inception, Lakewood Ranch, with its premier golf courses, out-of-this-world mansions, cute shops and perfectly crafted, insulated villages, has been an idyllic place to live for those who can afford it.
But from a tourism standpoint, it hasn’t always been clear where this booming master-planned community fits as a place to bring visitors to the area.
“We’ve been looking regionally at how we can bring tourism awareness to east county, specifically Lakewood Ranch,” Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said. “It’s a 35,000-acre master-planned development, No. 1 in the country – how do we showcase that?”
Seventy-two of the world s top-ranked professional golfers will be featured Feb. 25-28 at the $10.5 million World Golf Championships at the Concession Golf Club in the Lakewood Ranch area.
Unfortunately, most East County residents won t be able to see them except on television.
The PGA Tour made the announcement Jan. 15 that the Concession would host the tournament, which was originally scheduled as the World Golf Championships-Mexico to be held in Mexico City. COVID-19 issues in Mexico City forced the move. The PGA Tour stated it is not a permanent change and noted the event will return to Mexico City in 2022.
COVID-19 issues also mean no general admission tickets will be sold at the Concession. A small number of tickets will be sold to Concession club members and invited guests. The event will include a Wednesday pro-am and honorary observers.