Jennifer Nolletti was a 26-year-old artist and elementary school art teacher in Pinellas County. On October 5, 2007 she was tragically killed by a reckless driver who ran a red light. It is in her honor that we proudly established The Jennifer Nolletti Memorial Art Foundation. Throughout her life, Jennifer had a passion for art, taking classes in photography, drawing and painting. In 2002, she graduated from the University of North Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Art Education. Jennifer was a Tampa Bay native, returning to Pinellas County after college to pursue a career as an art teacher. She was committed to her students and tried to inspire a love of art by focusing her lessons on real pieces of artwork and artists as she wanted her students to develop a deeper understanding of art and a strong framework for a better appreciation of art. She was adored by her classes and didn’t treat them like elementary students, but like art students. Along with her passion for art, Jennifer had a love of music. She played guitar in her spare time and was an advocate and fan of the local music scene in the Tampa Bay area.
The board of the foundation is comprised of those people closest to Jennifer. Her parents Rosemary and Nick Nolletti, her fiancé Joe Sanders, family friends Al Dimmer, Megan Pargov ,Vanessa Sepa, Meghan Lance, and Sarah Williamson.
For our first fundraiser, we wanted to create an event with activities that Jennifer would have liked to attend. The obvious answer was a day filled with art and music, two of her passions.
The benefit will be held on Sunday Sept. 14, 2008 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, from 12-4:30 and will be geared towards children. There will be spin-art and sandâart booths, and a variety of activities such as those Jennifer taught her own students. These will be open to the public.
The silent auction/art show will run all day from 12pm-10pm. We are proud to have representation of many different media, artists and artisans. We are especially excited that Peter Max has donated two of his works. Dale Chihuly is also donating a set of books about his artwork.
Basic Rock Outfit band members: Jeremy Thomas, Joe Sanders, Jason Gaines and Mike Chilton
A ticketed concert will finish the day. Three local bands are donating their talents to our cause; The Crunge (a Led Zeppelin tribute band), The Black Honkeys, and Basic Rock Outfit. Tickets are available only through The Jennifer Nolletti Memorial Art Foundation (727-784-5487 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), Basic Rock Outfit (www.myspace.com/joesanders7 ), or The Black Honkeys.
- Tampa Bay Informer
The Good News Newspaper
