Whether entertaining, counseling real estate customers, or donating their time, money, and reputation to charitable causes, Alan and Linda Sandlin have certainly left their mark on Marco Island.
Linda was actually the first to come to Marco Island when the theater group she performed lead roles with presented the musical Oklahoma! at the Marco Beach Hotel (now the JW Marriott). When Alan was hired as a one-man band to perform at Quinn’s, the hotel’s beachfront restaurant, the Sandlins officially became part of the fabric of the island. Now, after long and distinguished careers in real estate, the dynamic couple have made philanthropy their third act. It’s hard to say which phase they’ve excelled at the most. But it’s safe to say that they’ve excelled at all three.
“The personal side of the real estate career,” said Linda, “we certainly had a blast. We had so much fun working like maniacs. Fortunately, we were young. The friendships that we made across North America will go on forever. It’s the people you help, whether it’s helping people in real estate or it’s helping people through philanthropic work, it’s the helping people that we get a whole lot more excited about than cashing the check.”
The rotating gallery at the Marco Island Historical Museum is named for Alan and Linda Sandlin.
“But we’re grateful for the successful business,” Alan adds, “because we wouldn’t be able to give back as much if we hadn’t had the successful business. So, we’re just so very blessed. Marco is a special community.”
It could be said that Marco is a special community because of people like Alan and Linda Sandlin.
“We are blessed to be here,” Linda said. “Marco has that friendly small-town feel. People are not judged by their pocketbooks.”
“It’s true,” said Alan.
“It’s based on your similar interests,” Linda said. “You like fishing. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a billionaire or working your 40 hours a week. It’s just such a wonderful community. And most people come here to make friends. It’s a blessing.”
One thing you notice after spending just a short time with the Sandlins is their mutual respect for each other. They don’t interrupt each other during conversation. They build each other up. They actively listen to each other. What great qualities for philanthropy.
The Marco Island Historical Society is a major focus of Alan’s philanthropy. For Linda, it’s the Rotary Club of Marco Island. The church is the cornerstone of their lives.
Alan Sandlin points out a name on the donor wall at the Marco Island Historical Museum.
“I would say that of all the things that have been important to me in my life,” Linda said, “my faith is number one. Marrying Alan is number two. And joining the Rotary is number three. It was actually a real estate client of mine that invited me to join the rotary. I didn’t know a thing about it at the time. Back in 2000, after doing some research to find out what it was all about, I said, ‘Yeah, this is something I want to do.’ Their motto is service above self. I think it is so awesome that the schools now are promoting the kids giving back to the community. When I grew up, we didn’t do anything like that. It didn’t even cross my mind. And I had wonderful parents and a wonderful upbringing. I came from the right kind of upbringing for that, but never thought about it. That was a whole introduction to a new world to me. So, I’ve had the thrill for all of these years of working with these wonderful people that have the service above self.”
Alan has shown the same type of devotion to the Marco Island Historical Society.
“Alan devoted a year of his life during the building of that museum,” Linda said. “He made the first major financial contribution to get that campaign going. He’s the one that said, ‘We are going to build a world-class museum.’ He was the president of the building committee. And for that year he hardly did any real estate. It was because he was just totally focused on the museum. And then he was the second president of the historical society. We have been very involved. We are major supporters of the museum. We are so thrilled with the dream that Alan planted the seed for. The dream of building a world-class museum.”
“The historical society has just celebrated their 30th year,” Alan said. “In the 1990s, the historical society came about. And essentially that was a group of people – men and women – who were watching all the building and everything going on around the island and around the country and realized that if we don’t start preserving and teaching people what we have here it’ll be gone forever. And that was a great idea. And the Historical Society came out and started making plaques that they would put up in different places, like the location of the old clam factory, and you could drive around the island and take a tour. And I’ve said this at historical society meetings that I used to take people on tours of the museum, and we’d always go out to the gazebo and have a talk before we’d go on the tours. And the talk was, this is such a special place. You think about so many places around the world, how they got started. This place was the first place in North America where people literally spent all year long.
It was their home all year. But here’s the irony. The irony is they were here 10,000 years ago because the living was easy. We are here today because the living is easy. Because it’s the perfect combination of weather, of people.”
Linda Sandlin holds the Marco Island Rotary Club in high esteem. “I would say that of all the things that have been important to me in my life,” Linda said, “my faith is number one. Marrying Alan is number two. And joining the Rotary is number three.
Sandlin said the museum is the perfect place to leave a legacy.
“We have an endowment fund at the museum,” he said. “Almost every organization now has endowment funds. Those are the kinds of things that we can plan for right now while we’re alive. And I’m not saying big endowment groups with billionaires who are out there. Today we get lots of money coming in from different personal foundations. And that’s great if you’re not that wealthy, which we won’t ever be, it doesn’t mean that you can’t do something in your will that will help sustain these organizations for years and years to come, and that’s a great way to leave part of you behind. You know, it doesn’t have to be a street named after you.”
Other philanthropic ventures the Sandlins are involved in include Flags for Heroes, which they founded, Our Daily Bread, Meals of Hope, a golf tournament for the Marco Island Charter Middle School, and the Spirit Awards. The church is another area of philanthropy that is a constant for the Sandlins. For many years it was the Presbyterian church. Today, it’s the United Church of Marco Island.
“We were very involved with the Presbyterian Church and the building of that church,” Linda said.
“Linda was choir director for 18 years,” Alan said.
“I was a volunteer temporary choir director for 18 years,” Linda said. “It’s a joy. And of course, Alan was the chair of the Easter sunrise service on the beach for 25 years. Now, we’re thrilled to be members of the United Church of Marco Island and that loving congregation. I love their mission committee and the way the church gives back to the community. The generosity. I just think that is awesome. And as music lovers we love the fabulous music program. So, we’re privileged to be part of that music program.”
“And the Presbyterian Church is also a wonderful church,” Alan said. “And we worked together to help them put that facility together. I was on the building committee and of course the Easter Sunrise Service. We wish them well.”
“This island is so blessed with houses of worship,” Linda adds. “It’s wonderful that each of the churches gives back to the island in a different way. The Lutheran church has their entertainment program. The United Church has a spectacular concert program. I love the way the United Church has their mission committee and donates to the Marco Island Academy, to Habitat for Humanity, to just go down the list of all the needs. They also have the Bargain Basket, which is amazing. And again, that gives a whole community an opportunity to either volunteer, of which there are hundreds, or to donate their items. When they’re donating their items, they are helping somebody else in need. That’s a beautiful thing.”
The Sandlins’ real estate expertise came in handy when the United Church was trying to decide whether to buy the lot next door to their highly popular thrift store.
“Of course, when they needed help with purchasing the extra lot,” Alan said, “we were working with them on that. We were the real estate counsel when they did all the analysis of the land and what they could do with it and how they could handle it and how much they should pay for it. I mean, that’s what we’re really good at.”
And they’re really good at music, too.
“Right,” Alan smiles. “And music.”
“The Bargain Basket has a great number of volunteers and we don’t volunteer for them,” Alan said. “But we’re certainly giving things to them all the time.”
“Someday, maybe we’ll get to volunteer there, too,” Linda said. “It looks like fun.”
“Yeah,” Alan proffers. “But it looks like we haven’t got any more hours in the day. We run out.”
“I hope that others that are growing up and finding their way,” Linda concludes, “as they’re building their lives, will discover the joy of service above self.”
