Last week, as throngs of well-wishers showed up to watch Sarasota aerialist Nik Wallenda practice at Nathan Benderson Park for his planned high-wire crossing June 23 of the Grand Canyon, a popular saying kept coming to mind.
"If you build it they will come."
Here were the signs of no less than three spectacles unfolding against the horizon:
• A man on a wire, continuing a family legacy of showmanship, and hoping to realize the successful completion of a death-defying dream;
• A framework of massive cranes and steel girders angling out over what will soon become a much-anticipated shopping mall and engine for economic growth; and
• An artificial island, snuggled up next to a brand-new roadway and network of bridges that will lay the groundwork for another economic boom dream based around the sport of rowing.
It makes one appreciate the power of visionary ideas to shape and conquer the landscape around us whether itís the Grand Canyon or a prime stretch of real estate by the highway. Even the smallest of dreams can turn big, especially when you have the support of a community behind you.
-Paul Videla
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).
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