ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The new sign is up, and visitors can once again rest assured that they are headed to the island they intended to visit.
A sign telling motorists they were 5 miles from “Anna Marie Is” was recently installed on Manatee Avenue near 75th Street after an accident destroyed the original sign.
Local veterinarian Denise Vondrasek noticed the error and called The Sun, which called Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Executive Director Elliot Falcione. He was not available for comment at the time, and an office staffer said it was not something their department handles.
Several calls to three regional departments of the Florida Department of Transportation yielded results after a representative said a work order would immediately be submitted to correct the error.
After The Sun’s original story about the sign, CVB Communications Manager Nicholas Azzara said he made a subsequent call to assure the work order was put into place to resolve the issue.
The island is the largest source of tourist tax funds in Manatee County.
