We hope this month’s feature brightens your day as much as it did ours. Resident Contributor Abby Guirguis tells us all about her thirty-minute call with Dawn Wilkes Mays.

 

I had just a few days to get a story together, so I did it over the phone this time. It was a Sunday morning around ten when Dawn called me back from the day before. Within just a few minutes, I knew we were two of a kind. She had a bubbly personality and a great sense of humor. We talked and talked.

 

A self-proclaimed “forever cheerleader”, I had to laugh. Me too. To provide some perspective, former cheerleaders never grow out of that urge to show off back handsprings at a backyard barbeques, beaches, or those children’s birthday parties at Jump Zone. It is a great party trick, after all. I was forced into retirement in the thick of my thirties, when my chiropractor visits started sounding like 3-minute microwave popcorn. Dawn hasn’t learned her lesson yet, and I think she has just over a decade on me. Allegedly, she is over there in her lawn on Oval Drive, to this day, landing her roundoff back handsprings just fine every time! Bring it on, Dawn!

 

She certainly still bleeds orange and black, the colors she wore on her uniform three decades ago at Sarasota High School. There, she cheered under the Friday night lights and was even crowned Homecoming Queen. She went on to become a college cheerleader at Gulf Coast University in Panama City. Ultimately, she returned to her high school alma mater, but as “Coach” the second time around. She coached cheerleaders there for many, many years, and is still proudly part of SHS’s Alumni Association.

 

Dawn, planning to soon move to New York City, was working as a property manager back in the early 2000s. One day she happened to score the job of showing a property to a charmingly handsome restauranteur, who was moving from St. Pete and looking for a space to rent in Sarasota. He was coming here to open his second location of Bonefish Grill, to be exact. Once the restaurant was built, a certain curly-haired girl started frequenting the dining room as a table for one. John bragged to his friends behind the scenes about his “good-looking leasing agent”. The two flirted undercover for a while, and he would always insist that the checks were on him. Eventually that turned into the first of many real dates. They went to Mediterraneo, for the record- still an Italian fan favorite in downtown Sarasota.

 

She referred to this man who would later become her husband, as a “good ol’ boy from Lawrenceburg Kentucky”. John had grown up raising thoroughbreds in his small town, before becoming a college athlete in track and field at Western Kentucky University. He studied Hospitality Management there, which prepped him for the wonderful career path he steered toward Florida in 1989.

Fast forward over twenty years, and Dawn and John have had lots going on. They now share a big happy family with their kids and dogs. Dawn practices as a Law Clerk and right-hand woman for local criminal defense firm, Brunvand Wise, PA, which keeps her both busy and happy. John is still going strong in the restaurant scene, now more well-known and respected than ever. He is co-owner of Sarasota’s Shore restaurant, among his many professional endeavors and accomplishments. Their son, Austin (28) is out in Denver, Colorado. He spends his time working as VP of sales for a package protection company, hiking, and enjoying the music at Red Rocks. A fun tidbit from Mom: “he is very passionate about politics, and always seems to be breaking up with girls of opposing views”. A second son, Palmer (21) works as a local Head Dock Master, owns a boat, and loves to fish. “Everything is water, water, water”. Their daughter, Maggie (17), a “Sarasota Debutante” is finishing up her high school years with aspirations of attending college in Copenhagen, Denmark soon. She would like to be a pediatric dentist someday. The family dogs are named Duncan and Mae, both “Beabulls”. Unfamiliar, I inquired and learned that this breed is the perfect genetic blend of the English Bulldog and Beagle. I asked if Duncan and Maye have any special tricks or attributes, otherwise. The short answer was: “looking cute”. Nevertheless, the floppy-eared  pair tags along almost everywhere with the rest of the crew. Hanging out on the sidewalk at Gecko’s, for example, will do just fine!

 

While the family enjoyed life a bit more unconventionally, in the heart of our downtown for quite some time, they have recently landed in the Southside Village neighborhood on Oval Drive. Their beautiful blue bungalow cottage-style build in McClellan Park is surrounded by smiley, hospitable neighbors who they now call friends. The family strongly believes that quality time spent together is much better than TV, any day. If the TV is on, they turn it to the Weather Channel. Sitting around the house is a rarity for the Mays. The fun-loving family cannot sit still. They prefer their time on the water with boating, fishing, and relaxing. They love traveling through Copenhagen for a month at a time, where they enjoy amazing meals and beautiful architecture. The vibrant streets, blooming flowers and simplistic beauty of Scandinavia is another experience they have cherished together. Of course, she explained how their other favorite activities outside of the home include eating and anything related to food. She refreshingly admitted that she has “not once cooked a meal in 48 years”! “We eat three meals a day, seven days a week at restaurants… and when I die, I only ask that the restaurants I have supported donate to the spread at my funeral”.  

 

On a more serious note, whether it’s the hodge podge feeling of old Sarasota, their almost daily trips to Serving Spoon, sipping coffee outside of Morton’s Market in the mornings, or their tradition of never missing a home game played by the Bucs, Dawn explained it best: “Everything feels like sunshine”.