Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/313059
During the May 9 event, "Welch spoke briefly about his past and what led him to being so generous today," the release continues. As a teen growing up in Detroit, MI, he was known as a rambunctious troublemaker, he explained. He struggled through school and, years later, was diagnosed as being severely dyslexic. An organization in Chelsea, MI, pro- vided him some help "and years later, when he was able to give back, he did," the release adds. After a stint in the Army, Welch returned to Detroit and began his career unloading box- cars at a lumber company. "He caught the attention of management after working so hard and being quite outspoken," the release says. Shortly thereafter, he was given an opportunity to begin selling and delivering lumber," asking for the addresses and mem- orizing them "because he still couldn't read well," the release adds. "Hard work and pro- motions continued for Paul until he went out on his own and successfully bought, sold and started several lumber businesses and eventually added real estate development to his active business portfolio," it points out. "His hard work and people skills made him very successful." Welch's decision to support First Step came after he needed to find help for someone he knew, the release explains. "It was a pos- itive experience," the release says, "and since that time, Paul has recommended First Step to many others in need of substance abuse treatment." First Step of Sarasota was established in 1968 to help those who suffered from alcohol abuse, the release notes. "Today, we've grown to more than 20 different programs and treat those suffering from all forms of substance abuse," it adds. First Step offers detox, resi- dential and outpatient treatment and serves Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. Mannie Saint-Amand, an eighth-grader at Heron Creek Middle School in North Port, bested 14 other students to become the Sarasota County You Be The Chemist Challenge® champion and win the right to represent the state of Florida at the 10th annual You Be The Chemist Challenge® national event in June, the Sarasota County School District has announced. Developed by the Chemical Educational Foundation® (CEF), "the Challenge is an exciting question-and-answer competition" that allows students in fifth through eighth grades "to test their knowledge of chemistry concepts, scientific theories and laboratory COUNTY STUDENT TO REPRESENT STATE IN NATIONAL CHEMISTRY EVENT safety, a news release explains. The Challenge program relies on partnerships among var- ious community members to foster student engagement with science, the release adds. The 2014 Sarasota County Challenge was held at Heron Creek Middle School in North Port; it was sponsored by Brenntag (based in Tampa) and J. Tech Sales (Boca Raton), the release continues. Heron Creek teachers Melissa Varlas and Laura Lundberg organized the event and hosted it with Suzette Bucher from CEF and Ken Moyer from Brenntag, the release adds. While Mannie was declared the winner, Eddie Smith, a student at Woodland Middle School; Sarasota News Leader May 16, 2014 Page 86