REAL Exclusive Magazine

Lee Wetherington, Philantropist

Readers of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune voted Lee Wetherington Companies as first-place winner in their selection of “Best Home Builder.” The most recent election marks the ninth consecutive year that Lee Wetherington Companies has been named to first place in the Annual Readers’ Choice elections.

The company is also a leader in philanthropy. Lee Wetherington, founder and president, has received the national Hearthstone Builder Lifetime Public Service Award and a multitude of other honors for his community service. In recognition of his decades-long service to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County, that organization named one its newest facilities The Lee Wetherington Boys & Girls Club in his honor.

Recently Wetherington donated 16.31 acres of land to Oscar Scherer State Park in a celebratory ceremony hosted by the State of Florida, Sarasota County Commission, Department of Environmental Protection’s Oscar Scherer State Park, and The Friends of Oscar Scherer, Inc. The land provides an addition to the existing boundaries of Oscar Scherer, the largest state park in Florida. Based on an estimated value of $50,000 per acre, the approximate value of the donation exceeds $800,000.

Providing additional support to Oscar Scherer State Park, Lee Wetherington Companies has underwritten the Park’s annual fundraiser, the Scrub Jay 5K Race, since 2003, with Wetherington and his employees joining in the event. Company contributions to the park have exceeded $70,000 to date, not including the current $800,000 land donation.