Mayor Teri Johnston and the City Commission, in recognition of his 100th birthday, have proclaimed June 15 Frank Toppino Day.
Mr. Frank, as many of his friends call him, was born on June 15, 1923, in Winter Park, Florida, to Charley and Orsolina Toppino.
Charley Toppino and Sons were established in the 1920s and moved to Homestead in 1933. Frank worked his first job driving trucks from Homestead down to Marathon as a teenager. He delivered potable water to contractors building bridges over the overseas railroad via ducts after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 washed away the tracks. By the 1940s, the family and business relocated to Key West.
Mr. Frank enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1941 and spent 15 months in China. He was honorably discharged as Staff Sergeant in 1945. Back in Key West, he married Betty Rose in 1947, and they had three children, Daniel, Ramona, and Richard.
Mr. Frank has been an active and generous member of the community. He has as a member of the Florida Keys Educational Foundation, Mel Fisher Museum, Military Affairs Committee, Monroe County Contractors Association, and the Sunrise Rotary. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Florida Keys Community College as President of the Key West Chamber of Commerce. Former Mayor Dennis Wardlow appointed him to the Key West Housing Authority Board of Commissioners in 1991. He has served continuously for 32 years.
His service and generosity have been acknowledged by many awards and recognitions. Mr. Frank was the 1993 Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame Award recipient, and he won the Florence Spottswood Humanitarian of the Year Award. The Frank P. Toppino Poinciana Gardens Senior Living Complex was dedicated in honor of him in recognition of his outstanding, dedicated service in providing for the community's housing needs.
This 100th milestone was celebrated during the June 8th City Commission meeting, where he was greeted with a standing ovation and a chocolate cake.