~~~ Waldo's & The Sexton's: Vero's Landmarks and Legacies ~~~ Vero Vine ~~~ Vero Beach, FL

Waldo’s Restaurant & Bar, “The Last of the Great American Hangouts” has been a Vero Beach landmark and icon for almost a century. Waldo Sexton, Vero’s most notorious pioneer, stormed in to town in the 1920’s and his imagination, vision and drive left Vero with lasting landmarks that have stood the test of time: Sexton Plaza, Ocean Grill, Driftwood Inn, Szechuan Palace, The Patio, & McKee Jungle Gardens. Waldo’s is one of the best and most widely known of the senior Sexton’s legacy!

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Last week, Waldo’s son, Ralph Sexton passed away and the Vero community lost another pioneer who followed in his father’s footsteps. Ralph carried his father’s passion and drive forward with his determination to fight for beach renourishment, land conservation, and maintaining the small town flair that is so important to Vero’s identity. Besides these causes, Ralph was intensely passionate about life on Treasure Hammock Ranch and the importance of family.

Waldo’s is no longer owned by the Sextons but the legacy and history will forever remained linked to this family. Waldo’s is not only a family friendly gathering place but its staff operates as a family; influenced by the example of the Sexton patriarch and its namesake.

Like Waldo & Ralph, Waldo’s excels at serving our community and giving back toVero. Christmas in July, hosted by Waldo’s, has become an annual affair and a phenomenal success benefiting Toys for Tots. The Vero Beach Lifeguard Association was a recent recipient of Waldo’s generosity through another event hosted by Waldo’s and managers, Lee & Joe host a radio talk show (1370 AM & 107.9 FM) on Monday’s called “The World According to Waldo’s”.

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Sherry Nist

Sherry Nist joined VeroVine.com as a writer, strategizer and promoter of Vero Beach's first and only digital grapevine in August 2014.In 2011 she founded eMedia Connections, a social media marketing & public relations consultancy while living in Charlottesville, Virginia.She is a "serial" entrepreneur who grew up outside Washington, DC, surrounded by technology and mainframe punch cards as the daughter of an IBM Systems Engineer.

Born in Huntsville, Alabama, Sherry lived in Mexico City for two of her elementary school years; this began her love for language, culture, Spanish and the adventures of living abroad.Sherry graduated with a BA from the University of South Carolina Honors College in Columbia, South Carolina with a double-major in Economics & International Studies.After graduation, her wanderlust took her to Steamboat, CO;San Francisco, CA; Beijing, China; Washington, DC; Nyack, NY and both Fredericksburg & Charlottesville, VA for the last 15 years.She moved to Vero Beach to stick her toes, permanently in the sand in early 2014.

Sherry's professional work experience has been in the Finance & Wireless Telecom worlds.Her skills include training/teaching, writing/editing/publishing, strategic planning, regulatory affairs, technical & consumer marketing and foreign languages.Spanish and Mandarin Chinese are her specialties.

When not creating, writing and roaming online, Sherry enjoys her two teen daughters:Josephine, 21 & Camille, 18; surf fishing for the "big one"; greens & beach golf; walking Vero's beaches; biking & swimming; shooting photos on her smart phone; hanging at Waldo's & Dario's and socializing/exploring all over Central & South Beach.