Mallory Messina:  

Life It’s been ‘quite a ride’ since Riverview. I reluctantly went off to Manatee Junior College (AKA Bradenton U) and received an AA in Fine Arts. In hind-sight it was a great move. I was able to live at home, hold down 2 jobs, karate, volunteer work at Ringling and Doctor’s Hospital, enjoyed the ‘night life’ (remember this was back in the Disco Days :) and made some wonderful friends who I’m still in contact with today. The next year I worked at Maas Brothers, downtown Sarasota. I was then able to attend FSU without having to finance it or having to work! I received my degree in Apparel Design and Merchandising with a Minor in Business. The next few years were a potpourri of experiences. I designed clothes for private clients, worked in display design for malls through a major corp out of New York, designed ads & logos, worked at the Ringling Arts Festivals, traveled across the US for several months and much more. In 1985 I opened a boutique called Studio 2 in Tampa’s Hyde Park Village with a college friend. We had a lot of press and some famous clients. When we split in 1991 I was ready for a new experience. I was approached by a friend to come work for him – of ALL things as a stock broker (now known as an investment banker)! Fast forward 16 years later I’m still a broker at Calton & Associates in Tampa. My husband, Sal, is a native of Sicily, Italy. He has a home and property in Santo Stefano Quisquina in the province of Agrigento. We visit his family every few years as well as other travels throughout Europe and the State...Expand for more