Boca Raton's Kelly Bruno on Survivor. Will a South Floridian win?

South Florida is well-represented in the new season of Survivor Nicaragua, which premiered last night on CBS. Ex-Dolphins and ‘canes coach Jimmy Johnson, stand-up paddleboard and ex-Dolphins cheerleader Brenda Lowe, and Boca Raton Ironman triathlete Kelly Bruno are competing.

Bruno is an amputee. But Johnson, Lowe and the others won’t find her an easy contestant since she has already conquered so much.

Bruno, 26, attended Boca’s Pope John Paul II High School and currently is a medical student at the University of North Carolina. She walks and competes with an artificial leg. According to the Sun Sentinel’s TV writer, Tom Jicha, a birth defect caused her right leg to be amputated before her first birthday.

More recently, she struggled through the death of her father, Dr. Richard Bruno, who taught at Lynn University. In January he was one of Lynn’s professors on an outreach mission in Haiti who was killed by the massive earthquake.

In an article, Jicha quoted her as saying, “Because of what happened to him, I appreciate every day.”

Jicha wrote that as an Ironman triathlete, she “holds the record for people with a disability.”

She also has served as a ball girl at the U.S. Open Tennis championships.

“I don’t see myself as any different,” Bruno said.

To read the Sun Sentinel article, click here.

Mares Diving, a division of HEAD USA, has announced the relocation of Mares Diving USA headquarters to Boca Raton as of April 5.

The Mares Diving division customer service, marketing and logistics currently located in Norwalk, Conn. is moving here under the direction of national sales manager Steve Lamphear.

“In order to build upon our goal of being the premiere dive brand we have made a strategic decision to relocate our dive office to southern Florida within the heart of the East Coast dive industry,” Lamphear said in a statement. “Florida is seen as one of the major areas for growth potential for diving and is a gateway to the Caribbean, another key opportunity for the brand.”

Furthermore, states Lamphear, “We have confirmed that our existing seasoned staff will re-locate to the new office to assure no interruption in service to our dealers. Many of the back office support functions such as the warehouse, credit and collection, finance and accounting will continue to be provided by Head USA and we will continue to provide the high level of service required for our business.”

Photographer Clyde Butcher (with beard) is interviewed for a recently aired PBS show.

Nature photographer Clyde Butcher, renowned for his large black-and-white photographs of the Everglades, is exhibiting in Boca Raton until Nov. 8.

According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, “Wilderness Visions” is now at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, offering 46 of the romantic and monochromatic pictures the self-taught Butcher has made since 1986.

“He selected these photographs, culled from a career that spans 30 years, after museum curator Wendy Blazier made a few requests: include iconic Florida images and also those Butcher captured while traversing back roads with a couple of hundred pounds of camera equipment and an equal load of patience,” wrote Sun Sentinel contributor Emma Trelles.

On Aug. 13 cyclist Thomas McDonald, 50, of Lighthouse Point was charged with assault and battery for attacking a car driver on State Road A1A in Boca Raton. He allegedly hit Delray Beach resident Miles Barish, 69, who was driving a convertible.

According to reports, several cyclists in a peloton said Barish instigated the altercation by buzzing McDonald.

Barish stated to police that he wanted to get around the cyclists who were taking up an entire lane and wouldn’t move out of his way.

When everyone stopped at a traffic light McDonald allegedly grabbed Barish while other cyclists kicked and hit the car.

According to a state law, automobile drivers must provide three feet of clearance when passing cyclists.

To read the Sun Sentinel’s article on the incident, click here.