There are some things in a community that belong to all of us.
Our local waters are one of them.
They are where we fish, boat, dive, work, gather with friends, bring visitors, and make memories
with our families. They support wildlife, local businesses, recreation, and a way of life that is
difficult to separate from what it means to call Sarasota home.
For Gecko’s Hospitality Group, that connection is both professional and deeply personal.
Gecko’s has spent years building a business around creating a distinctly local experience. With
restaurants on the water, the health of the surrounding environment is not something happening
somewhere beyond their doors. It is part of the community their employees serve and their
guests come here to enjoy.
For Chief Operating Officer Fiona Farrell, the connection goes even deeper.
Outside of hospitality, one of Fiona’s greatest passions is scuba diving with her husband. She
knows the experience of leaving the shoreline behind, slipping beneath the surface, and seeing
a world most of us only glimpse from above.
“There’s nothing like being underwater, seeing the underwater beauty up close and feeling
connected to the world below us,” she says.
That personal connection helped make Sarasota Bay Watch’s mission resonate with Fiona and
the Gecko’s team. They saw an organization not simply talking about conservation, but bringing
people together to do something about it.
“It started with a shared love of Sarasota Bay and the understanding that protecting it takes real
community effort,” Fiona says. “Sarasota Bay Watch wasn’t just doing something ‘nice,’ they
were making a measurable impact, and the mission made sense to our team and to me
personally.”
That idea, real community effort, is at the heart of the partnership.
For Gecko’s, investing in the community has never been limited to financial support.
The company has contributed food and catering to Sarasota Bay Watch events, helping feed
volunteers who have given their time and energy to get out on the water and do the work. It is a
practical contribution, but one that says something larger about how Gecko’s approaches
partnership.
Fiona Farrell
Gecko’s Hospitality Group
Chief Operating Officer