CORTEZ – Dr. Mary Frances Fulford Green, valedictorian of the Bradenton High School Class of 1942, has been selected as Manatee High School’s 2020 Outstanding Alumna.
Bradenton High is one of the former names of Manatee High.
Among her accomplishments, Green has been instrumental in preserving the historic fishing village of Cortez, where she was born. She was a driving force in creating the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) that purchased 100 acres on Sarasota Bay to protect and enhance the habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife, and she wrote the application and lobbied successfully to have Cortez put on the National Register of Historic Places. She also is among the founders of the Cortez Village Historical Society.
Green helped to create the career counseling program at State College of Florida and was one of the founders of HOPE Family Services. She was a licensed mental health counselor and served as a full-time volunteer with the Manatee Mental Health Association, volunteering with the Manatee County Drug Court and several Florida prisons to mentor those incarcerated.
When class reunions became too difficult for aging classmates to attend, Green began calling all her 1942 classmates and still sends a newsletter to keep them informed about each other.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Outstanding Alumni Banquet has been postponed, but organizers hope to honor Green later this year.
The Manatee High Alumni Association has recognized and honored outstanding MHS alumnus/alumna with achievement awards since 1994.
Here are all the MHS Outstanding Alumni from 1994-20.
