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Dr. Vance Askins – Askins & Miller Orthopaedics, P.A.

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Vance Askins

Beyond The Operating Room A True Floridian

By Kacey Krznaric

Photography by Giovanni Lunardi

Dr. Vance Askins, Sarasota-raised and highly respected orthopedic surgeon, can be described as a true Floridian by any sense of the word. When he isn’t scrub-clad in the operating room, you can find him camouflaged in his hunting gear or suited up in his fishing boots in search of his next Great Outdoors victory. Dr. Askins’s wears many hats in and around his hometown of Sarasota and is giving back to his community in a very unique and interesting way. His journey begins in 1969 when a young Askins and his family moved from Lake City, South Carolina to the Sunshine State he knows as home.

vance-askins-hunter [2]The hunter and fisherman Vance Askins is also known as Dr. Vance Askins, orthopedic surgeon practicing out of Sarasota Memorial, Doctors Hospital, and Gulf Coast Surgery Center since 1996. Inspired to pursue a career in medicine by close family friend Dr. Bill Kennedy, Askins received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida where he met his wife Chris, a Lakeland, FL native who received her degree in Journalism. The couple married in 1991 while Askins was doing his orthopedic residency in Miami. Dr. Askins was anxious to, as he states, “come back to his roots” and it wasn’t long before the family moved back to establish their permanent residency in Sarasota where he grew up in an area that he describes as “a family-friendly and historic town that has developed really well over the years with a great public school system and academic environment.” Just like when he is deep in the woods hunting or fishing along the coast, Dr. Askins can appreciate his environment at in the workplace as well. One of his favorite places is the mechanical room located in the Gulf Coast Surgery Center. He’s deemed it “The Titanic Room” because it houses all the engineering equipment that is responsible for making the Center run. 

titanic-room [3]The mechanical room at Gulf Coast Surgery Center contains huge metal air handlers, all the electronics, large plumbing pipes, and massive coolers that has prompted Askins to deem this room the Titanic Room. It is really “the guts of the Surgery Center and truly state-of-the-art” as described by Dr. Askins.

Askins is the proud owner of a pretty impressive collection of rifles, including several old Browning shotguns, some Remington rifles, and rifles from both World War I and II. Of course being the outdoorsman that he is, Askins also has a large taxidermy room in his home that houses some of his most prized possessions. He takes advantage of every opportunity he has to add to that collection.  In fact, while shooting some of the images for this feature at the lake, he threw his line in the water between shots and came up with a fish! In addition to his passion for the outdoors and medicine, Askins places his family on a pedestal and values the time he gets to spend with them. He has a soft spot for spending time at home with his lovely wife Chris, beautiful daughter Sydney, the family’s pet rabbit and 5 pet cats that are an eclectic mix of strays and adoptees. Aside from this, the men of the Askins’ family have 2 annual traditions that bring them back together every year. For the past 25 years on September 16th, Vance’s brother’s birthday, the family heads back to South Carolina where there lies 1,000 beautiful, pine-covered acres of family-owned farmland that the Askins men have turned into a quail, turkey, and deer hunting reserve. The other tradition, while not as long-standing as the first, has been happening annual for the past 9 years. The family spends 7-10 days near Hayden, Colorado where they hunt deep in the woods of the very remote town of Craig in the NW corner of the state, where temperatures can drop to 15-20 degrees in the early morning hours. Askins emphasizes the remoteness of the area they visit by drawing this example that any Sarasota native can relate to: “It is about the distance from Long Boat Key to Arcadia.” It was during one of these trips that Haskins shot his “trophy” 6×6 elk, weighing in at 950 lbs.

vance-askins-fisherman [4]Now that the good doctor has come back to his roots and is settled back in his hometown, he is giving back to his community in a way that you probably wouldn’t imagine. It’s not necessarily volunteerism or community service but something far more unique. He is giving back in the form of replacing joints and treating members of his own community; operating on some patients who have watched him grow up. Dr. Askins views the services he provides as an honor, being able to help his neighbors through a passion for medicine that was developed right there in front of them. The skills he has acquired through his education and experience are benefiting those close to home. That is truly a unique way of giving back to your community.

Dr. Vance Askins
Askins & Miller Orthopaedics, P.A.
4937 Clark Road
Sarasota, FL 34233
Phone: (941) 342.6505
www.amopa.com [5]

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Photography used under license from Giovanni Lunardi  Photography

Photography Copyright © 2010 Giovanni Lunardi

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