Hello! My name is Kathy Collins, and I have the privilege of serving as the President of the ECHO Board of Directors for the 2010-2011 year.  I am looking forward to a fantastic year filled with hope and promise.  You have already seen some exciting changes which include a new logo and a fantastic new website.   I hope that you will vist the website often to read about upcoming events and all of the wonderful things that ECHO does in our community.

We held our first ever Hunger Awareness Concert on August 20 at First United Methodist Church in Brandon.  What a fabulous night it was!  I want to take a moment and thank all of our sponsors and the community for supporting the concert featuring Phil Stacey.  It was a great night filled with music and an outpouring of support from the community.  A special thanks to First United Methodist Church for providing a beautiful venue. 

We started with a VIP Meet and Greet Dinner.  Both bands, Phil Stacey and the opening act, Kings Highway, joined us for a lovely meal and fellowship.  The food was donated by Copper Bell, Beff O'Brady's, Shrimp Boat and Village Inn.  Our Treasurer, Vince Ferraro provided a delicious salad that everyone enjoyed!  Everyone had a chance to meet Phil Stacey, get autographs and pose for photos with him.

Kings Highway was the opening act.  They are a fairly new band from Pinellas County.  I also want to thank them for helping make the night such a success.  The Brandon audience loved them so much that their CD's sold out!

Phil Stacey then took the stage to the delight of the concert goers.  Phil was a finalist on Season 6 of American Idol.  He is an engaging entertainer who included the audience throughout his show. The crowd truly enjoyed the show!

Without the support of the community and community partners like Publix, the Osprey Observer and The Christian Voice, ECHO could not serve over 11,000 people, many of which are children, each year.  As our Executive Director, Stacey Efaw said, "It takes a community to run an organization like ECHO."