by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Paul Gruenther headed up another Northeast Florida Association of Realtors Beaches Council Realtor Ramp it Up! team to build a ramp for Tony and Jodie Gonzalez who live in the Portside community off Jacksonville’s Beach Boulevard.
Jodie, a mom of three, had a stroke that left her paralyzed on one side. She is in a wheelchair and needed a ramp to get into her house. Her husband, Tony, has coached youth baseball at Jack Russell Park in Atlantic Beach for several years and their friend Shawn Sausville brought their situation to the attention of Ramp it Up!
The volunteers arrived that morning and worked all day to complete the ramp. Jodie was able to roll down her ramp that day.
“Everyone in the neighborhood said, ‘That’s a good looking ramp,” said Jodie’s husband, Tony Gonzalez. “It allows Jodie to get out of the house more often. Thank you so much.”