Inside SWFL Pride 2026: Downtown Fort Myers Celebrates Community, Visibility, and Inclusion
SWFL Pride 2026 brought thousands to Downtown Fort Myers for a vibrant celebration of community, visibility, and LGBTQ+ pride in Southwest Florida.
☀ SWFL Spotlight
Issue №01 · Thursday, Launch Week
Local stories, shot close to home.
Cinematic coverage, local guides, and the people, places, and purpose that make Southwest Florida shine.
The Thursday Spotlight
One email. Every Thursday. Your weekend in SWFL, sorted.
The events, openings, and local stories worth your weekend. Always positive, never political.
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☀ From the editor
A note from Melannie
We started SWFL Spotlight because the good stories were getting missed.
Good morning, SWFL. Every week our crew walks a causeway, pulls up a stool at a counter, or stands in the back of a packed gallery — and we come back with something worth sharing. Names. Places. Next steps. No politics, no hype. Just the people making this stretch of coast feel like home.
If that sounds like your kind of Thursday read, you’re in the right place — right before the weekend kicks off.
— Melannie
Editor in Chief · SWFL Spotlight
Community Highlights
This week in SWFL.
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How Steve Kowalski Built Entrust Payroll Solutions Around Service, Relationships, and Community in Southwest Florida
Meet Steve Kowalski, founder of Entrust Payroll Solutions, and learn how this Southwest Florida business owner built a payroll company around people, community, and trust instead of transactions.
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How Thank My Barber Combines Grooming, Mentorship, and Community in Downtown Fort Myers
Inside the MelloD Designs production studio, Lloyd Duhon sat down with Nick Romero, founder of Thank My Barber, to talk about entrepreneurship, mentorship, and why he believes the…
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Slow Down in the Woods
A walk through Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, where slowing down turns a quiet boardwalk into a bird-by-bird, bloom-by-bloom Southwest Florida education.
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Multicultural Counseling in Southwest Florida
Charmaine Dockett, founder of Rivers of Hope Counseling, shares the personal experience that led her to build a multicultural, faith-based counseling organization serving clients across Florida and beyond.
Event Radar
On the weekend radar.
The Thursday Spotlight
One email. Every Thursday.
Your weekend in SWFL, sorted.
The events, openings, and local stories worth your weekend. Always positive, never political.
Free forever · unsubscribe anytime.
Neighbors & Makers
Saw something shine in SWFL?
Tell us about it.
This is your community — and your Spotlight. If you’ve got a story worth sharing, an event worth showing, or photos and video from around town, send them our way. We credit every contributor, and the best submissions lead our Thursday issue.
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Write
A 200–800 word story
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Photos
From events around SWFL
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Video
Clips, reels, or b-roll
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Tips
Point us at something good
Join us
Neighbors reading
The Series