Author and historian Jeff LaHurd to speak to Sarasota Fiction Writers

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Local author and historian Jeff LaHurd will speak to the Sarasota Fiction Writers on Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. at Selby Library. LaHurd will host an interactive discussion about researching and writing Sarasota history.

LaHurd has written 15 books about the history of the community and numerous articles that have appeared in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sarasota Magazine and SRQ Magazine. He retired in May 2015 as the history specialist for Sarasota County.

His books include “Quintessential Sarasota,” “Sarasota: A Sentimental Journey in Vintage Images,” “Gulf Coast Chronicles,” “Sarasota, Then and Now,” “The Lido Casino: Lost Treasure on the Beach,” “Spring Training in Sarasota,” “Hidden History of Sarasota” and “John Hamilton Gillespie: The Scot Who Saved Sarasota.” His most recent release is “The Rise of Sarasota: Ken Thompson and the Rebirth of Paradise.”

A video he wrote in 1992, “Sarasota: Landmarks of the Past,” won the award for

Outstanding Contribution to Preservation in the field of Communication from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation and was shown on the History Channel.

His book “Sarasota: A Sentimental Journey” earned a Wooden Gavel from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in the Golden Gavel competition. He was given a Florida Trust for Historic Preservation Award again in 2014 for Lifetime Achievement in History and Preservation. In 2015, the Historical Society of Sarasota County honored him with their first annual Hero of History award. And in 2016, The Caledonian Club of Florida presented him their award for Excellence for the Preservation of the History of Sarasota and Sarasota County.

LaHurd attended St. Martha’s School, Cardinal Mooney High School and graduated from Sarasota High School in 1964. He attended college at Manatee Junior College and the University of South Florida, where he received a bachelor’s degree in history and a Master of Arts in counseling.

He is a former board member of the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation, the Sarasota Historical Society, the Sarasota Community Blood Bank and the Downtown Kiwanis Club. He is currently on the advisory board of the Sarasota Historical Society.

LaHurd and his wife, Jennifer, have four children and three grandchildren.

Sarasota Fiction Writers meetings are free and open to the public. For more information about Sarasota Fiction Writers, please visit thequillguild1.wixsite.com/sfwriters.