‘James Bond’ Event To Support Childrens Advocacy Center Set For Tonight At 5:30 p.m.
By Space Coast Daily // December 10, 2016
event originally set for October 8
BREVARD COUNTY MELBOURNE FLORIDA – Eleven of Brevard’s leading men will donate funds to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard during the “Casino Royale” fundraiser, set for tonight, Dec. 10, at the riverfront estate home of Keith and Lila Buescher.
The event, originally scheduled for Oct. 8, was rescheduled due to Hurricane Matthew.
The spectacular estate home of the Bueschers will be transformed into a “James Bond” themed extravaganza with world-class food, games, Bond look-a-likes and “Bond girls.”
“We are proud to host this wonderful event to benefit children in need and we are so grateful to all our Bonds for each generously donating funds to this worthy charity,” said Lila Buescher, who is co-charing the event with Ambika and Ravindran Palaniyandi.
ABOVE VIDEO: Lila Buescher was honored by Space Coast Daily as a Central Florida Humanitarian in 2015.
The Friends of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard is the fundraising and community awareness organization for the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard, which serves the entire county and was established in April 1996 as a means to improve our community’s response to child abuse and neglect.
The Advocacy Center is a collaborative effort of the Child Protection Team of Brevard, the Florida Department of Children and Families, the Office of the State Attorney, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and all municipal law enforcement agencies in Brevard.
Related Story:Friends of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard To Host James Bond Themed Gala Event
The Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard, a program of the Space Coast Health Foundation, is nationally accredited and follows a successful national model that is being replicated around the United States.
The Advocacy Center is a safe place for young victims of abuse, a child-friendly setting where caring professionals peel away the layers of confusion, fear and shame from the girls and boys who have suffered from abuse or neglect. In fiscal year 2015 there were over 1,730 assessments of child abuse completed at the Advocacy Center.
THE “BONDS” INCLUDE:
• Brian Curtin, P.E., is president and CEO of BRPH Architects-Engineers, Inc., an employee-owned international architecture and engineering services firm.
Curtin has been with the firm since 1990, assuming positions of increasing responsibility as Director of Operations and Executive Vice President. Under his leadership the firm has more than doubled in size and has expanded nationally and internationally.
Curtin is responsible for business strategy, financial performance, successful execution and growth for BRPH. Working with the executive team, he sets the strategic direction for BRPH through the enhancement of the client service experience, management of current and prospective client relationships and capacity, as well as strengthening our market position through the continuous development of efficient management processes.
Community and professional involvement is an integral part of Curtin’s role within the firm. He is a member of several boards including the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, Aerospace Industries Association, United Way of Brevard, Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission and Enterprise Florida. Curtin also personally and professionally supports Junior Achievement and Habitat for Humanity.
• Duane E. De Freese, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Indian River Lagoon Council & Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program.
For more than decades, De Freese has been a champion of science-based, common-sense ocean and coastal conservation in Florida. He is recognized for his ability to “see and communicate the big picture” by integrating environmental, economic and social considerations into a vision for Florida’s future.
He was instrumental in helping to secure U.S. EPA National Estuary Program designation for the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) in 1990. In September 2015, his career came full circle when he was named Executive Director of a new special district of the state of Florida (Indian River Lagoon Council) that will serve as the host of a reorganized IRL National Estuary Program.
In this new role,De Freese is working with federal, state and local government agencies, scientific research organizations, academic institutions, elected officials, industry and the general public. The goal is to develop a restoration strategy for one of the nation’s most threatened estuarine ecosystems.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Florida Ocean Alliance (Vice-Chair). He also is serving his second term as a Governor-appointed board member of CareerSource Florida Inc. Duane has been honored with numerous awards of recognition during his career. In his spare time, Duane is an avid surfer, traveler and waterman.
• Frank G. Ditz, MD, is a board certified physician located in Rockledge where he specializes in primary care and family medicine. He has been practicing in Rockledge for the past 15 years.
Dr. Ditz attended the State University of New York at Buffalo on a Regents Academic scholarship. He then took one year off to generate income to pay for medical school, working as an Industrial Hygienist Environmental Consultant. During this time, he conducted research in Nephrology at the State University of New York, Buffalo.
He was selected to attend medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda Maryland, having been awarded a full academic scholarship. Dr. Ditz was also given a direct Congressional appointment to serve as an Air Force Officer.
Dr. Ditz served three years at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa Japan and was selected to attend flight school at Brooks Air Force Base Texas, where he became a Flight Surgeon and graduated as a distinguished graduate of his class.
He served the Air Force from 1987 to 2001 and participated during Desert Storm, Desert Shield, and many other operations. He was responsible for creating, commanding, deploying, and staffing the first ever primary care Air Transportable Emergency Medical Unit, which could be in place anywhere in the world and functional within 24 hours for either peacetime or wartime contingencies.
While deployed in Saudi Arabia at Eskan Village, Dr. Ditz developed and deployed a state of the art multi-media smoking cessation program to help soldiers quit tobacco. This program was accepted and implemented to the Army, Navy, Air Force and was even sent to Navy ships at sea.
Throughout his military career, Dr Ditz has been selected to be the physician for many congressmen, senators, and senior military officers from the United States and foreign governments. He was an active consultant to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during his time deployed there and helped procure and set up the first ever emergency medical system for the entire Kingdom.
Dr. Ditz is is married to Attorney Eve Bouchard Ditz, and is the father of three children – one a junior in pre- medical studies at the University of Florida, one is the Valedictorian of her senior class in the International Baccalaureate Program at Cocoa Beach High School, and the third is also a member of the same program at the same school.
• Jim Frazier is the President of the Grimaldi Candy Company, with responsibility for all plant operations, sales, research and development, marketing and corporate resources.
Prior to joining Grimaldi, Jim Frazier worked as SRVP for Evans Food Group Inc, and GKI Foods Inc. Notable is his 10 years as COO for GKI Foods Inc, a chocolate manufacturing company, where he directed a work force of 60.
Under Frazier’s leadership, GKI Foods Inc. grew from a 10 million dollar company to over 30 million company, and became the industry leader in private label chocolate manufacturing.
In his current role, Frazier leads a team of 25 staff members to drive sales, accomplish manufacturing excellence, develop new products, engage the marketplace, redefine corporate transparency, focus on employee development, meet demanding targets, develop strategic alliances, establish standard setting initiatives, create a stable business environment and manage community relations.
He is a board member on the Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement and the Brevard Humane Society. Frazier lives in Merritt Island Florida with his wife Trisha. When not working, Jim Frazier likes to play golf, and enjoy a new book.
• Dr. Sadesh Kumar has dedicated more than 20 years of his career caring for the oral health and well being of thousands of patients.
His extensive advanced training and skills allow him to provide a wide range of treatment options at the office from cosmetic dentistry to orthodontics to extractions and implants.
Dr. Kumar studied at the prestigious Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, Scotland where he earned his MFDS. His passion for oral surgery and implantology prompted him to further his training at Louisiana State University where he completed a fellowship in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Afterwards, he attended Nova Southeastern University’s College of Dental Medicine where he earned his D.M.D. degree.
Dr. Kumar’s desire to provide the highest quality of care and treatment for his patients motivated him to continue his education at the world renowned Misch International Implant Institute. Through the intensive program, he attained the highest honor of Diplomat and Surgical Fellow at the International Congress of Oral Implantology.
In addition to his advanced training, Dr. Kumar implements the most advanced technology such as CT scans and computer guided surgical techniques to achieve the most successful treatment outcomes. He continually strives to learn the newest techniques by traveling all over the world for continuing education programs so that he can provide quality treatment solutions for his patients and their needs.
In addition to his busy practice, Dr. Kumar enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. He enjoys traveling, family ski trips, cooking and working out. He is also committed to giving back to his community by supporting local community organizations and charities, and is particularly proud to be able to provide free dental services on one full day of the year for those in need in his community through the “Dentistry from the Heart” program.
• Giles Malone is one of the most active entertainment, sports industry and media professionals on the Space Coast, and has left an indelible mark on Central Florida during his 28-year career.
Malone has helped Brevard County become a national leader in youth soccer and spring training for College and high school teams. He was inducted into the United Soccer Leagues Hall of Fame being recognized as one of the main builders of the game in the region.
As a founding member of the Space Coast Sports Commission in 1987, Malone has been instrumental in building the Space Coast as a premier destination for youth and amateur sports events which have had a profound effect on the business of sports tourism on the Space Coast. For more than 26 years, thousands of teams have participated in sports events created and produced by Malone’s sports management team, creating millions of dollars for the local tourism economy.
As co-founder and partner of independent publishing house – Maverick Multimedia Inc., Malone has worked with Tom and Jim Palermo to create and develop high-quality publications like Space Coast Daily magazine and SpaceCoastDaily.com.
Malone is co-founder of Brevard Production Inc., an organization that owns and produces some of the most significant and compelling annual special events in Central Florida, including the Central Florida Humanitarian Awards, the Space Coast State Fair, Cocoa Beach Spring Training, Port Canaveral Seafood & Music Festival, the Space Coast Spring Fair, The Space Coast Hall Of Fame, The Palm Bay Fair, Space Coast Medicine Week, Space Coast Home Shows, The Doctors Goodwill Foundation events series, Space Coast Health Fair and many more.
While volunteering for numerous organizations within his community for 28 years , Giles has served as Chairman of the Space Coast Tourism Development Council, President of the Space Coast Sports Commission, Board Member of the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Committee, Board Member of the Beaches and Shores Beach Preservation Society, Board Member of the Board of Trustees of the Florida Tech Business School, Chairman of the Space Coast State Fair, Founding member of the Space Coast Sports Hall Of Fame and as a Board Member of the Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Central Florida.
Giles earned a B.A in Finance from The University of Louisiana (1984) and an M.B.A from Florida Tech (1986). Giles and his wife Alison have been married for 28 years and have four children – Megan, Victoria, Michael and Grace.
• Dr. Mark Mendolla is a cardiologist in Melbourne, Florida and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Health First Palm Bay Hospital and Holmes Regional Medical Center.
He received his medical degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and has been in practice for more than 20 years.
He is one of 9 doctors at Health First Palm Bay Hospital and one of 36 at Holmes Regional Medical Center who specialize in Cardiovascular Disease.
• Mark S. Mikolajczyk is the president of Craig Technologies and is responsible for the growth, development and operations of all the company’s subsidiaries to include executive management support as it relates to operations, marketing, strategy, finance, creation of company culture, human resources, media/press and business development.
Prior to joining Craig Technologies, he was president and publisher of Florida Today which is part of the U.S. Community Publishing division of Gannett Co., Inc. He assumed this position in February 2006. In November 2009, he was named South Group Vice President and oversees Gannett’s other newspapers in Florida (Fort Myers, Pensacola and Tallahassee).
He began his career in the newspaper business with Newsday. He joined Gannett in 1982 and held various production positions at USA Today, the Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer and the Times Herald (Port Huron, MI) before joining Gannett’s corporate staff in 1996. He was promoted to senior vice president/operations for Gannett’s Newspaper Division in 2003 and became president and CEO of the Detroit Newspaper Partnership in 2005.
He received the Gannett Corporate Staffer of the Year award in 2003 and is a four-time winner of Gannett’s President’s Ring competition, the most recent being awarded in May 2010.
In April 2010, he was awarded the prestigious Isaiah Thomas Award from the Rochester Institute of Technology for his outstanding contributions to news media publishing. This award is presented to individuals who uphold the principles of Isaiah Thomas–an American printer, publisher and patriot during the Revolutionary War who created high standards which resulted in the establishment of the modern publishing business.
Mikolajczyk serves as a board member and officer of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Overseers for the Nathan M. Bisk School of Business at Florida Institute of Technology; is a board member of the Melbourne Regional Chamber of East Central Florida; is a board member and Chair of the Brevard County United Way and served as its 2009 Campaign Chair. He is also a member of the Civilian Military Relations Council.
• Andrew Pickett of Alpizar Law is a former assistant state attorney for the 18th Circuit in Brevard County, where he handled thousands of cases, ranging from simple misdemeanors to serious felonies.
In 2011, Pickett was awarded the State Attorney’s Office Pride in Excellence Attorney of the Year Award. By the end of his tenure as a prosecutor, Andrew had tried to verdict over forty jury trials and handled numerous appeals.
Pickett currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Brevard County Bar Association and served as 2012-2013 President of the Young Lawyers Division of the Brevard County Bar Association. In 2012 he was elected to represent the
He is a member of the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors and was re-elected without opposition for another 2-year term in 2014.
Pickett is a graduate of Leadership Brevard Class of 2012. He volunteers for the Florida Supreme Court Justice Teaching Program, where he teaches students in Brevard County about the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
He is also a part- time instructor in the Law Enforcement Academy and the Paralegal Program at Eastern Florida State College.
• Dr. Ken Stackpoole is the Founder and Principal at Community Solutions, LLC, which dedicates itself to helping our local nonprofits be better nonprofits.
Dr. Stackpoole previously served as the Vice President for External Relations, Senior Vice President for Development, and Dean of the College of Aeronautics at the Florida Institute of Technology. Before that he spent almost 30 years at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University as flight training faculty member, flight training administrator and Vice President.
Dr. Ken “Bond” Stackpoole is pleased to be in competition to be “Brevard’s Best Bond” especially when the funds raised are used to “hear and serve abused children in Brevard County.”
• Rob Vitaliano is the Lieutenant of the Criminal Investigative Services/Major Crimes Division of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office also serves the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard as the Chair of the CACB’s Operation Advisory Board.
Please support Agent 007 – Rob Vitaliano, in his quest to be named Brevard’s Best Bond by making a donation in his honor to the CACBrevard.org
For event tickets, details and sponsorships contact Delores Spearman at 321-636-5488 or Diane Scott at 321-241-6610. For informational about the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard log on to www.cacbrevard.org
