Marco Prom Culminates Weeklong Celebration of Cityhood

The weeklong celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the incorporation and creation of the City of Marco Island came to a close on Saturday evening, August 27, as attendees of a fictional “Prom” event came together to celebrate the long journey since incorporation. That journey would come about after five attempts which failed to receive a plurality of votes during a referendum on that subject.

During the sixth attempt at receiving a positive vote at the polls in 1997, voters by the slim margin of 142 votes cast their vote to incorporate as an independent community within Collier County. They did so in an effort to improve infrastructure issues they had felt were ignored by the county and to control their own destiny in regard to growth, zoning and other issues on this side of the Jolley Bridge.

In an interview with the Coastal Breeze News, the only surviving Councilman from that first elected City Council reflected on the positive changes he’s seen during these last twenty-five years. John Soldenwagner and his wife Carol, when interviewed, were very positive about where the community is now. “If you’ve only been here a couple of years you can’t appreciate the changes we’ve seen over the last quarter of a century. We’ve done so much for improvements in our infrastructure, policing, parks and recreational facilities for our community, as well as so many other improvements. We have had some challenges, but we’ve overcome many of them and are in a better place,” said Soldenwagner.

Last Saturday evening was a celebration of sorts regarding those improvements and those challenges which were overcome, as residents both present day and from the past came together in grand fashion to enjoy a well-deserved evening out. “The committee that put this together did a great job and I hope everyone is pleased,” said Vice Chair Jared Grifoni.

James Garcia, General Manager of the Marco Island Hilton Beach Resort and Spa, was equally excited to have this important function hosted at his facility. “Needless to say our entire staff is extremely pleased to host this wonderful event for the Marco community. We have a spectacular location here and I’m excited to have had the privilege to have visited this property many times in the past, and to have now held the position as its General Manager over the last three years. Marco is such a great place to live and work in. It truly is paradise,” said Garcia.

By the end of the evening, Dianna Dohm would announce that unofficial polling of attendees voted Arne and Jill Sandberg as the Prom King and Queen.