The Argus Foundation to honor community leaders at 14th annual awards ceremony

The Argus Foundation (ArgusFoundation.org), a nonprofit organization dedicated to joining business leaders from diverse industries and leveraging their talents and experience to benefit the community, has announced its 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award honorees.

On November 4, 2015 from 6 – 9 p.m., Reverend Don Roberts will be honored along with a posthumous award to T. Mabry Carlton at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota. Since 2002, The Argus Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Awards has been an annual highlight for the organization, honoring business people of Sarasota who have made valuable contributions to the community throughout their lives.

“These award nominees share the common values of a philanthropic spirit and dedication to the community with our membership and our founders,” said Joe Hembree, president of The Argus Foundation. “They have left a lasting legacy on our community and exemplify the philosophy of service to others in all they have done throughout their lives. It is a privileged to honor that commitment,” he said.

Reverend Roberts, a dedicated community activist and advocate, led the successful nonprofit organization Goodwill Manasota as its president for almost 40 years before his retirement in 2011.

“I am amazingly honored by my friends at The Argus Foundation for this award, and I look forward to celebrating with them next week,” said Reverend Roberts. “I want to acknowledge the many Argus Foundation board members over the years that supported Goodwill Industries during my tenure of service there. I was just the guy who carried the water pails; it was the many Argus Foundation members who are reflective of Sarasota’s philanthropic community who truly deserve recognition.”

Carlton, an eighth generation Floridian, rancher and notable Sarasota County philanthropist, was a Sarasota County Commissioner from 1980-89 before he passed away after a plane crash in 1989. During his tenure on the Sarasota County Commission, Carlton played a critical role in the County’s purchase of a 24,000-acre natural preserve. After his death, the preserve was renamed the Mabry Carlton Memorial Reserve in his honor.

”We are humbled that after 26 years the members of The Argus Foundation would choose to honor his contribution to our community,” said Lisa Carlton, former State Senator and Carlton’s daughter. “We consider it an honor that an organization that is so deeply committed to our community would choose to acknowledge him with this distinction.”

Recent award recipients include Frederick Derr, William Getzen, Rick Martin, C. Dana Rollings, Ronald Royal and Mary Fran Carroll. Tickets for the event can be purchased at www.ArgusFoundation.org.

About The Argus Foundation

Established in Sarasota in 1983, The Argus Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to joining business leaders from diverse industries and leveraging their talents and experience to benefit the community. The organization, which seeks to facilitate communications between the public and private sectors, has more than 170 members from 50 different industries. For more information, visit ArgusFoundation.org.