400 families ‘drive-thru’ Sunday for MCR food, essentials

Walter “Mickey” Presha is retiring at month’s end as the leader of MCR Health Services, a place well known for providing health care to Manatee County’s uninsured and under-insured.

“He is retiring on Dec. 31,” Scott Works, director of organizational development for MCR Health Services, confirmed Sunday. “Patrick Carnegie will be taking his place as president and chief executive officer.”

But before departing, Presha was on hand Sunday for one last big public event under his tenure.

Presha made sure everything went smoothly during “Feed the Children,” an event held at MCR Health Services’ Corporate Headquarters north of the Bank of America Building at 700 Eighth Ave. W., Palmetto.

“People have never needed help like they do now,” Presha said.

At the event, which ran from 1-2 p.m., MCR Health Services, which used to be Manatee County Rural Health before re-branding several years ago, partnered with PyschCare Services LLS based near Orlando and the Feed the Children organization to give away 20,000 pounds of food to 400 Manatee County families in need.

The event was assembled as a “drive-thru” and about 30 volunteers loaded 25-pound boxes of non-perishable food, like pasta and cans of beans and a box of essentials, like toilet paper and paper towels, into clients’ vehicles conveniently, without them ever having to get out or even stop their engines.

“It’s easier for them,” Works said of the drive-thru, perhaps echoing some of Presha’s own philosophy. “It’s tough. A lot of people this time of year don’t have a lot of food, and it’s not easy to come and ask so it’s easier this way. They can bring their car in. It’s one thing to be poor. It’s another thing to feel poor.”

Presha is the man who, during his 33-year tenure at MCR Health Services, put locations anywhere he thought they would be convenient to his clients, about 25 in all in Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties.

Palmetto resident first in line

Palmetto’s Mary Rutledge was first in line for a box of food.

Her son’s doctor at the Michael C. Bach Treatment Center in Bradenton told her about the “Feed the Children” event. Rutledge’s son and husband are home, unable to work, and she holds down the fort, getting social security after retiring from Tropicana after 22 years. She also has more than 22 years at Harllee Packing, grading tomatoes.

“If it’s not one thing, it’s something else,” Rutledge said about how hard it is to get by nowadays without a little help.

Presha, who is going to have a private celebration in his honor at MCR Health Services on Dec. 18, has seen MCR Health Services grow to the point where it serves 120,000 clients annually in Manatee, DeSoto and Sarasota counties, Works said.

Families who were picked by MCR because they lack sufficient income to buy food received vouchers distributed by MCR’s outreach team.

This story was originally published December 10, 2017 at 7:51 PM with the headline "400 families ‘drive-thru’ Sunday for MCR food, essentials."