Section located in Nokomis
On May 25, the Friends of the Legacy Trail sent a letter to Sarasota County Commission Chair Alan Maio with a request — that a 1-mile segment of The Legacy Trail be named the Bruce Dillon Memorial Mile.
“In addition to his dedication to County-wide issues and organizations,” the Friends of the Legacy Trail letter said, “Bruce worked hard for his local community with service on the Nokomis Area Civic Association, Nokomis East Neighborhood Association, Nokomis Revitalization Committee and Friends of Nokomis Parks. His work and success are seen and known throughout the Nokomis community.”
Dillon died on Nov. 24, 2020. His obituary pointed out that he “timelessly supported his community and the Legacy Trail.” In fact, the obituary asked that, in lieu of flowers, that contributions be made to the nonprofit Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson’s or The Legacy Trail, through the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.
On Sept. 8, the County Commission authorized the launch of the formal process necessary for name recognition on a county facility. Almost exactly three months later — on Dec. 7 — the board members voted unanimously to approve the Bruce Dillon Memorial Mile.
The segment will run from close to the southern boundary of the Nokomis Community Park, north to a spot approximately perpendicular to Spencer Avenue, according to a map in the commission’s Dec. 7 agenda packet.
Chair Alan Maio talked, too, about Dillon’s efforts to educate him about Dillon’s vision for the Trail, including taking Maio on long walks.
The staff memo regarding the naming proposal, included in the Dec. 7 agenda packet, pointed out, “Bruce played an integral role in the initial development of The Legacy Trail (Trail) from the Venice Train Depot to Culverhouse Nature Park and was active in the front lines of the 2018 Legacy Trail referendum, extending The Legacy Trail into downtown Sarasota and improving connections to the City of North Port.”
The memo added that Dillon was involved in organizations such as Friends of Sarasota County Parks, Friends of The Legacy Trail, the Manatee-Sarasota Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the Sarasota County Charter Review Board. He also was a volunteer with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, the memo said.
His leadership with all those entities, the memo noted, “established him as a man with the knowledge, commitment, and ability to get things done.”
This is so well deserved. Bruce did much to improve and expand the trail.