Last Thursday left an impression on me.
New reporter Josh Salman and I arrived at a family's home to write a story and take pictures about the kindness and generosity of some Tropicana employees to a family they had never met. The Averys had been without power and water for month until a friend from their church rallied co-workers at Tropicana to come up with $1000 to turn on their services.
By Friday afternoon offers from more people had made their way to the Avery family; one person offered to pay for three months of the water and power bills for them, another wanted to drop off food for them anonymously.
Those were just the folks we heard from.
The display of caring for this family was overwhelming in itself. But something else left a deeper impression.
This family, who had been so challenged by troubled times, seemed unbowed by adversity.
They didn't appear to feel sorry for themselves. In fact, they seemed to take the hard times in stride and kept on living their lives. They showered down the street.
Mary and Alex went to school and studied.
They were still a family.
Life was hard, but they kept living it with a simple dignity.
--Tiffany Tompkins-Condie
Last Thursday left an impression on me. New reporter Josh Salman and I arrived at a home to write a story and take pictures about the kindness and generosity some Tropicana employees extended to a family they had never met. The Averys had been without power and water for month until a friend from their church rallied co-workers at Tropicana to come up with $1,000 to turn on their utilities. By Friday afternoon offers from more people had made their way to the Avery family; one person offered to pay for three months of water and power bills, another wanted to drop off food anonymously. Those were just two of the folks offering help. The display of caring for this family was overwhelming in itself. But something else left a deeper impression. This family, which had been so challenged by troubled times, seemed unbowed by adversity. They didn’t appear to feel sorry for themselves. In fact, they seemed to take the hard times in stride and continued living their lives. They showered down the street. Mary and Alex went to school and studied. They were still a family. Life was hard, but they kept living it with a simple dignity.
Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2011/12/26/3749507/gallery.html#storylink=cpy
Last Thursday left an impression on me. New reporter Josh Salman and I arrived at a home to write a story and take pictures about the kindness and generosity some Tropicana employees extended to a family they had never met. The Averys had been without power and water for month until a friend from their church rallied co-workers at Tropicana to come up with $1,000 to turn on their utilities. By Friday afternoon offers from more people had made their way to the Avery family; one person offered to pay for three months of water and power bills, another wanted to drop off food anonymously. Those were just two of the folks offering help. The display of caring for this family was overwhelming in itself. But something else left a deeper impression. This family, which had been so challenged by troubled times, seemed unbowed by adversity. They didn’t appear to feel sorry for themselves. In fact, they seemed to take the hard times in stride and continued living their lives. They showered down the street. Mary and Alex went to school and studied. They were still a family. Life was hard, but they kept living it with a simple dignity.
Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2011/12/26/3749507/gallery.html#storylink=cpy
Grant Jefferies, a native of Palmetto and chief photographer at the Bradenton Herald, has been capturing moments in the lives of Manatee County residents for over 25 years. Images from the streets of Cuba and Haiti to the clay fields of the Little League World Series and beyond have been captured through the lenses of Jefferies' cameras. Jefferies can be found on his sailboat when his feet are not on land.
Tiffany Tompkins-Condie is in her 13th year as a photojournalist at the Bradenton Herald. Through the years she has covered crimes and carnivals; feasts and floods. Her postings will vary from events in Manatee County's back yard to the work of photojournalists covering the stories of our times from around the world. 
Paul Videla has been a staff photographer with the Bradenton Herald since 2002, when he made the move from Detroit, Mich. When he's not working,
he enjoys hunting for unique LPs at the area's plethora of thrift stores and continually works to improve his baking chops(as the records spin and his dog waits for handouts).