14 west coast woman April 2010

Not only has Graci given her heart, energy and talents to the Child Protection Center for years, but she and her husband, Dennis, have also given generously in the form of a $1 million dollar donation towards this impressive new facility. Last November the Florida Senate presented her with “The Florida Senate Medallion Award of Excellence” for “outstanding leadership and dedication” helping to keep children “safe and free from abuse.”

Graci McGillicuddyPlaying around for just a minute are: (l-r) Hal Hedley, President and CEO, board member and major supporter Gracy McGillicuddy, Susan Barber, LPN, nurse and Medical Coordinator (back) and Katherine Keeley, MD, Medical Director. The playground equipment at the Child Protection Center is a place where children can come and play and just be kids for a little while. The playground was donated by the Junior League of Sarasota.

April 2010 west coast woman 15

W ith her beautiful mane of silver hair, it’s enough to make you chuck your Clairol Nice ‘n Easy. And with her trim tennis-made figure, it’s enough to get you

scrounging for that racket in the back of the closet. But after this interview, Graci explains that she wasn’t quite feeling or looking her best. Despite protestations to the contrary (she did look great), Graci reveals she got to sleep at 6 a.m. and thus had only a few hours of sleep before our meeting. The reason she explains is Haiti. The images of the devastation made it impossible for her to fall asleep. Such concern for the plight of others, as you will read, is consistent. The McGillicuddy compound on Siesta Key is the kind of place that is as idyllic as it is relaxing. The couple have several homes (one primarily kept for visiting children and grand-children) as well as a well-tended, but actively used tennis court. The main house speaks of its owners. It’s contemporary, but not overdone. There are artifacts from various travels, a piano covered with family photos, and a corner of the room with its many toys has been staked out by grandchildren. Outside, there’s a boat dock, mature tropical plants that provide lush backdrops everywhere, a pool and loads of nooks and crannies for relaxing or, one senses by the energy here, playing. “Camp Mac” is what it’s usually called, she explains with a large beaming smile. Graci, short for Graciela (and pronounced the way you would say it in Spanish with a flat “a”) recalls an “idyllic childhood” with “incredible loving parents.” She was born in Bogota, Co-lombia, and moved to the U.S. in 1951. Graci attended the University of Florida where she met Dennis in her junior year (“love at first date”) and they were married soon after. She taught school while he went to law school. When their son, Dennis, Jr., arrived in 1965, Graci stayed home and did full time mom duty while Dennis’ career had them moving to Jack-sonville then Lakeland where he joined the large Florida law firm Holland & Knight. Their daughter, Aly, came long in 1968, and about that time a professor friend suggested Dennis get into cable TV. They sold their house and moved to Sarasota and Dennis was on the road a lot raising money for the new business ven-ture. Developing community antenna TV sys-tems, as cable was called back then, was a bold and very successful move. It was also stressful. “I tried to make his life easier” she recalls until the day when they sold their franchises and retired. “It was quite a roller coaster,” she says, looking back. Always a conscientious and involved par-ent, Graci was active in her children’s schools and their education. It has paid dividends. Her son, Dennis, Jr., who earned a Ph.D. at Harvard, is a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Aly, also “a super achiever” according to her mom, opted to be a stay at home mom like Graci. When Graci and Dennis’ six grandchildren gather at Camp Mac it’s all about tennis, basketball and boating. Tennis is Graci’s game which she took up while the children were in school and she has played ever since. A pivotal moment in Graci’s life was a news story she read about a little girl in Florida. Hers was one of the most horrific examples of child abuse ever reported. The 18-month-old toddler had been abused repeatedly by her par-ents—reports in the paper cited how, among other cruelties, the child had been hog-tied to her potty-training chair for having an accident —until she died from her injuries. “It was the

first time I ever knew…” her voice trails off, “I was devastated” she adds, sounding like the event had just happened. What Graci would come to “know” was the ugly specter that is child abuse. It was around her birthday and her gut reaction was to forego gifts and give money to help, but wasn’t sure where. She recalls talking to Kay Glasser who was then on the Sarasota County School Board and also on the board of the Child Protection Center. Graci then met Hal Hedley, CPC’s devoted CEO and “we’re still history,” she laughs. “Hal says he wants to ‘work himself out of a job.’ That just endeared him to me.” Graci has been on their board more or less ever since. The Child Protection Center (CPC) is 30 years old. It was started by the Junior League of Sarasota back in 1980. CPC began by offer-ing intervention only, meaning it investigated suspected child abuse cases. By 1986 it not only performed that vital service, but added the Sexual Abuse Treatment Program (SATP) to provide psychotherapy for children and fami-lies suffering from the trauma of sexual abuse. More adjustments were made in 1991 and the nonprofit’s services were extended to children abused by a non-caregiver—a population previ-ously not served. In the following years it also added education as part of its prevention pro-grams and later began providing psychothera-py to children showing aggressive behavior or who have abused other children. Court order supervised visitation followed. CPC outgrew its space at the Human Services Center and settled on the former Kirk Pinkerton building on Orange Avenue in downtown Sarasota. The impressive complex has modern exam rooms, state of art audio video equipment and a soothing décor. Staff (many of whom have been with CPC for years) have decorated and the mood is upbeat for such challenging and often grim work. A se-cured playground in the back is courtesy of the Junior League of Sarasota—the same organiza-tion that helped launched CPC 30 years ago. Not only has Graci given her heart, en-ergy and talents to CPC for years, but she and Dennis have also given generously in the form of a $1 million dollar donation towards this impressive new facility. This past November Florida State Senate President Jeff Atwater pre-sented her with “The Florida Senate Medallion Award of Excellence” for “outstanding leader-ship and dedication” helping to keep children “safe and free from abuse.” This is the highest honor bestowed on civilians in Florida. Later this month she will be honored no less than by the Junior League for her activism. The couple also support Florida Studio Theatre and Embracing Our Differences, which they co-chair. “There’s a lot that captures your eye, but there are few things that capture your heart,” she says of her eclectic choices. The CPC states there are 7.5 cases of child abuse reported every day in Sarasota County. It’s enough to make anyone cry—even this veteran of three decades. In fact when it’s noted that a small angel figurine resting on a side table behind Graci recalls that 18-month-old who died, tears well up. The memory of that little girl lives on in Graci’s heart. “The thought of someone hurting a child…”w

STORY: Louise Bruderle IMAGES: Evelyn England

Editor’s note: There was so much that we could have included about CPC and child abuse that we have added a feature all about the Center’s new building and its grand opening on page 16.

Graci McGillicuddy