Cleo was one of the original residents of our first Protected Harbor home. In that role, she has developed deep friendships and paved the way for all newcomers. She feels this is truly her home and her friends are her family. She happily states, “When I came to Protected Harbor, my life changed for the better”. She is particularly grateful to the staff who help her develop new skills. Currently, Cleo is helping prepare meals and learning to cook new dishes.

She enjoys going for long walks outside with the other girls, chatting amiably about the day’s events and the many books she loves to read. In fact, she considers herself a true “bookworm”. Besides reading, Cleo loves watching classic black and white movies, often imagining herself as one of the characters, dressed in glamorous vintage clothing. Swimming is another passion of hers, declaring she can swim like a mermaid!

Cleo attends the community Goodwill program during the day and enjoys the various classes there. Her favorite activity though is going out to dinner with her parents. Culver’s is always her first choice, and she regularly orders her favorite butter burger.

At the Protected Harbor homes, every birthday is celebrated. Cleo embraces the festivities with enthusiastic glee. She also delights in the Christmas season. The excitement of the preparations, the decorations, and the festivities give her great joy.

With all the hobbies, classes, fun activities, and tasks like keeping her room neat, what else does Cleo still wish to accomplish? She would love to learn to play the guitar!

Bob Schubring has been a board member of Protected Harbor since its founding. He came to us from the world of business having worked as a project manager for a major general contractor in Collier County. Once Bob was introduced to the vision and ministry of Protected Harbor, he knew this was a call to service. His heart melts every time he sees the smiles and joy on the faces of our residents. His involvement is a special blessing.

When asked why he became involved, Bob’s simple answer is, “God told me to, is all I can say”. He affectionally refers to the residents as “the kids” and confesses having fallen in love with each of them. His wife, Pat, also gives her heart and service to Protected Harbor as a valued Friend of the Board.

Bob’s work with Protected Harbor may have slowed down lately, but his passion for its success has not. He is as excited about it now as he was years ago when he first met George Pappas at a Bible study. George and Athena Pappas are founding members of Protected Harbor. Their daughter, Cleo, became one of our first residents.

Initially serving as a board member, Bob stepped into the role of Board President and served in that capacity for several years. He tells anyone who asks that working with Protected Harbor “is the most rewarding thing I have ever done.”

He finds true enjoyment in seeing the residents grow spiritually and achieve greater independence while being cared for by the staff. Bob is particularly excited about the future goals and plans laid out by Loretta and Robin, many of which have already been realized. The idea of being able to serve so many more people in our community was unimaginable to him only a short time ago.

Bob’s favorite verse says much about his heart, ” Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” I Corinthians 10:24

One of the miracles of Protected Harbor’s mission is the eclectic group of people God inspires to join our organization. Bringing talent, knowledge, and skills, each offers selfless service to help God’s special people.

One such person is Caren Mikesh. Caren hails from North Dakota, is married to Vince, and has two children, Lilly and Chris. She also has a sister with special needs prompting her interest in working with that special population while in college and beyond. Caren’s children recently graduated from high school and are attending college. She felt it was the right time to give back and currently serves on our Governance Committee.

Caren was introduced to Protected Harbor last year by a friend who heard of our ministry and likes the fact that Protected Harbor is a local faith-based organization. Caren sees the smiles on the faces of our clients and her desire is to help Protected Harbor achieve its goal of reaching the many people who need our services.

Dr. Mikesh specializes in general and surgical dermatology with an office in downtown Naples. She completed her studies at the University of California in Los Angeles and her medical degree at Tulane University in New Orleans. She also volunteers at a neighborhood clinic.

During her free time, Caren heads to the beach where she enjoys paddle boarding. Her other favorite activity is traveling. We are thankful for the energy that Caren contributes by sharing her time and serving the people we care for through Protected Harbor.

Residing in a Protected Harbor home, Ashley has adjusted very well. She describes herself as being very happy living amongst friends and staff. She demonstrates her contentment by helping with daily tasks around the home and encouraging her housemates in their endeavors.

Additionally, Ashley demonstrates her giving nature by volunteering at her church. The balanced feeling of being needed both in the house and at church gives her great satisfaction and peace. During her leisure time at home, she enjoys interacting with the staff and fellow residents, by engaging in various activities including completing puzzles and cooking her favorite meals. She is proud of her ability to contribute.

Ashley’s favorite outdoor activities are walking, swimming, and riding her bike. She loves living in Florida because of the many beaches close by. The soothing sound of the waves gives her peace of mind. Sometimes while watching her housemates play basketball, the rare mood strikes, and she even joins them in a game! She has expressed the desire to learn crocheting, and eventually create a blanket.

Besides leaving the house to attend and volunteer at church, Ashley loves going to Olive Garden where she enjoys her favorite meals without having to clean up afterward! Ashley is happy to let everyone know that her favorite book of the Bible is Psalms, which she reads during her quiet time.

Peter Hone exemplifies the breadth of experience existing in the collective backgrounds of our various board members. He joined the board three years ago and also serves on the fundraising committee. His vast business background and his past role as a  CEO is a valuable asset. He brings personal knowledge from his previous positions in order to help when making business and financial decisions. These decisions are deemed to be an integral part of a mission such as ours. He also describes himself as being “vision-driven” which aligns perfectly with the trajectory Loretta Mottram has embarked on.

Peter admits that watching our clients learn to achieve realistic goals and grow into amazing productive adults puts a smile on his face. Peter stated that “as the residents grow, they just become such a huge blessing to the people around them”. Peter adds that he loves working with a Board that shares his commitment and vision.

He joined our organization after being introduced to it by Jeff Buckholz. Once he learned about the purpose and goals of Protected Harbor, he joyfully agreed to get involved personally. He stated that “Protected Harbor is an example of a ministry that loves and gives to others and enables others to be familiar and involved with these special people”.

One of his fondest memories, after joining the Board, was being able to volunteer and participate in the Olympics held last year. He found it wonderful to see so many volunteers help make it a special day for our residents. He confessed to smiling all the way through that day. Peter wishes more people would be interested in learning more about what Protected Harbor does and would love to see them becoming involved by volunteering in some way.

He is very excited about our future prospects and goals, adding “the fact that our ministry has developed a very specific skill set of serving our residents and that we are going to take that skill set out into that community to help in a larger way.”

John 14:6 is Peter’s favorite verse “I am the way and the truth. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

We are pleased to introduce the newest member of our team at Protected Harbor. Robin Antone joined us in January in the new role of Senior Director of Community Supports.

Robin has twenty years of experience working with persons with disabilities. Most recently she worked twelve years for Goodwill. Before that, she worked with foster families and was a foster parent herself for ten years. Robin hails from Ohio but has lived in Southwest Florida for thirty-seven years. She is a trained professional and used her experience in data analysis and quality assurance, to work for the State of Florida. She and her husband Mike have been married 35 years and have 4 adopted children, 3 boys and one girl ages twenty-five, twenty-one, twenty, and seventeen.

Robin brings with her a unique set of skills, including her knowledge of compliance with state programs that will help Protected Harbor build community support. Her relationship with Trailways Camp is also very valuable and will help bring our organization to the next level.

Robin’s previous experience with Goodwill has given her an insight into the state requirements for many programs in Florida. She also had a role in opening an adult training center at Goodwill.

Robin is also a CARF surveyor, an important accreditation that agencies must receive demonstrating compliance with required standards. As Protected Harbor grows her expertise will be extremely valuable. Robin is also involved in Family Initiative and does scholarship reviews for the Collaboratory of Ft. Myers. Her knowledge and extensive Florida network will be a huge benefit to us.

Robin was inspired to join the team of Protected Harbor by Loretta Mottram, as well as some Board Members and the staff. Especially after having met some of our clients, she feels the organization is doing amazing things for this unique population. We are grateful she has vowed to use all her energies to insure everything she does enhances the success of our clients and the mission of Protected Harbor.

Robin’s favorite Bible verse, Isaiah 40:31, explains her philosophy of life quite well: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.”

Kim is a loving and lovely lady who has resided at Protected Harbor for the past ten years. Her family has lived in Florida for over forty years; she is very happy that they all reside in the same state. Kim has made friends in many places over the years who give her a reason for waking up each morning to spend fun time with them. She is thankful for the staff because they offer training in ways she can understand and patiently explain how to resolve personal situations that invariably come up. Kim volunteers at her church five days a week, serving lunches to the students at the school. She also adds her beautiful voice in the church choir on Sundays.

Kim’s favorite hobby is fishing, but also bowling, puzzles, and taking walks with her friends. However, her most gratifying activity is what she does with her friend and fellow resident, Janie. Together they belong to a “Prayer Shawl Ministry” where they create prayer shawls for people with cancer. Kim is proud of her volunteering and when she talks about it, her face lights up. She believes her role is to put others’ needs before her own.

On a more personal level, her favorite TV shows are The Amazing Race, Survivor, and NCIS; her favorite chore is laundry! Kim loves Italian food (who doesn’t!) and enjoys all holidays. Her drinks of choice are Coke Zero and sparkling water. Kim’s future goal is to one day be able to join other church members on a Missions trip, and she continues to pray daily for that to become a reality.