Frank Toppino Honored on 100th Birthday

Mayor Teri Johnston and the City Commission, in recognition of his 100^th birthday, have proclaimed June 15^th Frank Toppino Day.

Mr. Frank, as many of his friends call him, was born on June 15, 1923 in Winter Park, Florida to Charley and Orsolina Toppino.

Charley Toppino and Sons was established in the 1920s and moved to Homestead in 1933. As a teenager, Frank worked his first job driving trucks from Homestead down to Marathon, delivering potable water to contractors building bridges over the overseas railroad via ducts after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 washed away the tracks. By the 1940s, the family and business relocated to Key West.

Mr. Frank enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1941 and spent 15 months in China. He was honorably discharged as Staff Sergeant in 1945. Back in Key West he married Betty Rose in 1947 and they had three children, Daniel, Ramona and Richard.

Mr. Frank has been an active and generous member of the community. He has as a member of the Florida Keys Educational Foundation, Mel Fisher Museum, Military Affairs Committee, Monroe County Contractors Association, and the Sunrise Rotary. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Florida Keys Community College, served as President of the Key West Chamber of Commerce, and was appointed to the Key West Housing Authority Board of Commissioners in 1991 by former Mayor Dennis Wardlow and has served continuously for 32 years.

His service and generosity have been acknowledged by many awards and recognitions. Mr. Frank was the 1993 Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame Award recipient and he won the Florence Spottswood Humanitarian of the Year Award. The Frank P. Toppino Poinciana Gardens Senior Living Complex was dedicated in honor of him in recognition of his outstanding dedicated service providing for the housing needs of the community.

This 100^th milestone was celebrated during the June 8^th City Commission meeting where he was greeted with a standing ovation and a chocolate cake.