Upcoming Events New Date TBA- Adopt A Dolphin Fundraiser 4- 7 pm. Tarpon Lodge 13771 Waterfront Dr in Pineland. Come to watch the bidding on our dolphin! See details below. Mon, Oct 21- Island Luau Fundraiser Meeting doors open at 5:30 pm, meeting starts at 6 pm. Salty Girls Island Cafe 10700 Stringfellow Rd in Bokeelia, close to center. Everyone welcome who is interested in helping with this event. Fri, Oct 25- Fall Festival at Pine Island Elementary 5360 Ridgewood Dr in Bokeelia, close to the center. Volunteers needed. See details below. Sat, Nov 2 - Adopt-A-Road starting at 8:30 am. Blue Dog Bar & Grill parking lot 4597 Pine Island Rd in Matlacha. See details below. Sat, Nov 2- Christmas Bazaar 9 am- 1 pm. Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church 12175 Stringfellow Rd in Bokeelia. Volunteers needed. See details below. Mon, Nov 4- November Board Meeting starting at 6 pm. Salty Girls Island Cafe 10700 Stringfellow Rd in Bokeelia, close to center. Mon, Nov 11- November General Membership Meeting starting at 6:30 pm. American Legion, 4106 Stringfellow Road, St. James City. See details below. Wed, Nov 20- Social Media Planning Meeting starting at 6 pm. Salty Girls Island Cafe 10700 Stringfellow Rd in Bokeelia, close to center. Sun, Nov 24- Turkey Trot and Golf Cart Parade Charlotte Shores neigborhood in Bokeelia. Stay tuned for more details coming soon! Members are encouraged to visit the website for up-to-date news, meeting minutes, financials, merchandise and committee event forms. |
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PLEASE make sure you're loading this entire edition of The Herald! Depending on your device, The Herald may be getting "clipped" and not fully loading. The very last things you should see are the P.O. Box address and "Visit the Website" link at the bottom. If you're not seeing this, there are two things you can try. At the very top of the Herald, click on the option to View in a Browser. If that doesn't work, look for "View Entire Message" where it looks to be the end/bottom of The Herald. You should be able to click and load the rest of The Herald. Hopefully this helps some of our members, who haven't been able to hear about all of the awesome things that the Matlacha Hookers have going on! |
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On behalf of all members of the Matlacha Hookers Board of Directors, our hearts go out to the entire Greater Pine Island community. The number of individuals and families who are now facing hardship once again from a major hurricane is unfathomable. So many have not recovered financially, physically, and mentally from the previous hurricanes and severe storms. How does one recover? There is help out there for those who feel depressed and hopeless. I am not an expert on this topic and searched to find helpful information from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration that I would like to share with you. |
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Greater Pine Island Alliance needs your help! GPIA volunteers have already donated more than 850 hours to help the community. And we're hoping that if you weren't impacted by Helene or Milton, or that your property repairs are under control, that you will also consider helping out. Here's a rundown of our needs: Volunteers skilled in building trades; Unskilled volunteers who can help with physical labor (like mucking and gutting); Volunteers who can help answer phone calls and questions in the GPIA office; Volunteers with a background in grant writing.
If you would like to help with recovery and relief from the Hurricanes, click on the button below and it will take you to a form to complete online. |
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Volunteers Needed! Fall Festival at Pine Island Elementary 10/25 |
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The Kiwanis Club of Greater Pine Island will once again be hosting the Pine Island Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat. The event will be held on Friday, October 25, 5- 7 pm. Volunteers are needed in all areas. Please contact Tonya Player 239-203-4682 for more information. Pine Island Elementary also needs volunteers during the school day, to help monitor bounce houses (make sure students are taking their shoes off before entering, following max capacity rules for that specific bounce, playing safely, etc). Click the button below for more information and to sign up. (Reminder: the school needs to have a volunteer form on file for all volunteers.) |
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Wrap Up ~ Fort Myers River District Alliance Art Walk |
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We concluded our Matlacha Hookers' commitment to the Fort Myers River District Alliance for the five 2024 Art Walk events beginning on June 7, July 5, August 2, September 6, and ending on October 4. Unfortunately, two of the five were flat-out cancelled, two were shut down early and only one lasted the entire 5-9 pm shift, with decent weather and crowd attendance.. Our October 4 event threatened to close early because of the rain, but despite some vendors leaving early, we stuck it out anyway. A special thanks to Jeanelle Havlin, Donna Trusik, Billie Young, Melissa Downs, and Natalie Hetrick, along with her grandchildren, Kai and Sis (also Hooker Katie Fisher's kids), and our amazing merchandise team: Madam Linda Bo and Jill Filgut. We enjoyed pizza (thank you, Billie) and kept things lively while pushing beer and Matlacha Hookers merchandise sales. Our final tally for the October 4 evening was $443. Our total tally for the 2024 season was $1,445. The Fort Myers River District Alliance is excited for our participation in the 2025 season. However, consensus among the volunteers is that we would like more varied participation dates so that we work some in-season events, along with the out-of-season (rainy) dates. Financially, we think that would be much better. Thanks again to all who volunteered or came down just to enjoy an Art Walk evening. Stay tuned for future volunteer opportunities. The more that participate, the less labor intensive and the more fun the experience is for our awesome members. Lorie Tidwell Matlacha Hookers Art Walk chair |
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Kudos to our own Hooker Sister, Juli Gilson, artist extraordinaire, for her design of the Dolphin for the Chamber of Commerce Adopt A Dolphin auction for our sponsorship entry. Bid high and often! Online bidding continues; new event date to be announced. Madam Linda Bo |
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November General Membership Meeting |
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Monday, November 11, 2024 American Legion Post 136 4106 Stringfellow Rd in Saint James City Doors open at 5 pm to start ordering food and beverages. Reminder: the American Legion only accepts cash! The meeting begins promptly at 6:30 pm. It's Pink Out Night- please wear pink! **If you ordered a name badge this year, please don't forget to pick it up at the registration table when you arrive** As always, please don't forget to bring food pantry donations, especially feminine hygiene products! |
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Pink Out Night for Breast Cancer Awareness |
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It’s Pink Out Night at the next General Membership Meeting on November 11, in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Please wear pink!! For those members in attendance, the merchandise team will take $2 off your first shirt of our newest design: Matlacha Hookers University/Property of Matlacha Hookers University logo. By popular demand, it's neon pink, long sleeved, v-neck, and dri-fit. Super cute!
Did you know that most needed item at the food pantry is feminine hygiene products?
Please bring feminine hygiene pads and tampons to our next meeting. Feminine hygiene pads are in demand for the younger teens. |
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Rescheduled: Adopt-A-Road 11/2 |
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Our Saturday, October 5, Adopt-A-Road has been rescheduled to Saturday, November 2. The date change is after discussions with Lee County. Thanks in advance for your participation and feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Lorie and Shirley 202.294.4901 |
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OLMM Christmas Bazaar ~ Merchandise Volunteers Needed |
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Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Ladies' Guild is holding their annual Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, November 2, 9 am - 1 pm. It will be located inside at the OLMM Parish Center, next to the Food Pantry, 12175 Stringfellow Road, Bokeelia, FL 33922. This well-attended island event features many local vendors, including our very own Matlacha Hookers Merchandise Team. It's never too early to start your holiday shopping! Merchandise Booth volunteers needed, 2 per shift: 8 – 10 am, 10 am - 12 pm, 12 – 2 pm. Duties: Sell products, assist with set up and tear down, collect money, record sales, restock tables, assist with getting sizes, recruit new members. Please arrive 15 minutes before shift. We will send out a price list with items ahead of time so you can be familiar with items. Questions? Jill Filgut 847-977-9125 jillfilgut@gmail.com |
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Pine Island Food Pantry News |
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The Pine Island Food Pantry is in need of the following items: feminine hygiene products, canned soup (NO cream soup), diced tomatoes, instant mashed potatoes, dried beans, mixed vegetables, and individually wrapped kids' snacks. Please bring donations to the next General Meeting or drop off at one of the following locations: Winn-Dixie, V.F.W., American Legion, Moose, Centennial Bank, the Matlacha Post Office or at the pantry when it is open on Monday and Thursdays, 9 am - 11 am. Visit pineislandfoodpantry.org to learn more. Thank you! |
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The password for our website has been updated! Members Only Area Password: HookM24 |
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Join our Members-Only Facebook Group! |
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Join us in the exclusive Matlacha Hooker Facebook Group! This private page is your ultimate destination for all things Matlacha Hookers. Stay tuned for event announcements, community news, and stories of how we're making an impact together. Plus, enjoy a glimpse into the fun and camaraderie that define our group. |
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Check out and Share our Public Facebook Page! |
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Herald and website content submissions, along with questions or concerns, should be sent to Christy Rau at christinaerau@icloud.com. Please do not email Christy by replying to, or forwarding a Herald publication. Since we use the free version of WIX for both our website and emails, the Herald emails actually go out under a different email address, which she does not have access to. |
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