Blown away by Andrew West Mina’s Daisy by Amanda Inscore
FORT MYERS, Fla. (Jan. 30, 2015) – News-Press photographers Mark Bickel, Sarah Coward, Jack Hardman, Ricardo Rolon, Andrew West and Amanda Inscore Whittamore will share their images of nature during next month’s “For the Love of the Environment” art exhibit held at the Southwest Florida Community Foundation through the month of February in accordance with Florida nature photographer John Moran’s Springs Eternal Project exhibition.
Currently serving as the consumer experience director, Bickel has worked at The News-Press Media Group for the past decade. He came to Southwest Florida from Poughkeepsie, N.Y. where he was the sports editor for the Gannett owned Poughkeepsie Journal. Bickel started as a sportswriter in Poughkeepsie after graduating from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Bickel has both his master’s in public relations and undergraduate degree in television, radio and film management from the Newhouse School. Since joining The News-Press in 2004, he has held a variety of titles including sports editor and digital editor.
Multimedia photojournalist Sarah Coward is part of The News-Press visuals team, producing images and videos for its Southwest Florida print and online audience. A native Minnesotan, she learned the art of photography and videography with guidance from friends and trial-and-error.
Jack Hardman has worked as a photojournalist for The News-Press for the last two years. An Arkansas native, he earned his bachelor’s degree in fine art with a concentration in creative photography from the University of Florida. Prior to working for The News-Press, he spent 13 years working for a variety of editorial and commercial clients.
Visuals journalist Ricardo Rolon spearheaded the multimedia team at The News-Press and its satellite publications. His award-winning career began as a photojournalist in Boca Raton, Fla. and continued at The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif. working first as photographer and later as editor. He began working at The News-Press in 2004, a few months prior to the busiest hurricane season in Southwest Florida’s history. A native of Puerto Rico, Rolon moved to Florida as a teenager and is a graduate from the University of Florida College of Journalism.
A photographer at The News-Press since 1996, Andrew West covers general news, local events and documentary assignments. In addition to this, he has documented events throughout the country and parts of the world, including a climbing trip to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2001; all the hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004 and 2005 as well as Hurricane Katrina in 2005; the working cowboys at the Babcock Ranch in 2006; and Hurricane Jean and the earthquake in Haiti during 2010 and 2011. West’s latest project was an in-depth look at the Florida Miccosukee, Seminole and traditional native culture. He is a graduate of the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.
Amanda Inscore Whittamore has worked as a passionate and award-winning photojournalist with The News-Press since 2003. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Community Foundation will host two presentations of John Moran’s Springs Eternal Project exhibition “Florida’s Fragile Fountains of Youth” on Wednesday, Feb. 4 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at its Community Hub located at 8771 College Parkway, Building 2, Suite 201 in Fort Myers, followed by a reception to honor the work of The News-Press photographers.
Space for the presentations and reception is limited. To RSVP, call 239-274-5900 or email Kim Williams at KWilliams@floridacommunity.com.
As leaders, conveners, grant makers and concierges of philanthropy, the Southwest Florida Community Foundation is a foundation built on community leadership with an inspired history of fostering regional change for the common good in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. The Community Foundation, founded in 1976, connects donors and their philanthropic aspirations with evolving community needs. With assets of more than $84 million, the Community Foundation has provided $61.2 million in grants and scholarships to the communities it serves. Last year, the Foundation granted more than $2.9 million to nonprofit organizations supporting education, animal welfare, arts, healthcare and human services. The Foundation granted $782,000 in nonprofit grants including more than $400,000 in regional community impact grants and additional $450,000 in scholarship grants.
For more information about the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, call 239-274-5900 or visit www.floridacommunity.com.
