FORT PIERCE FOLKS
42
GREG GARDNER
To honor Samuel Gaines for his many years of service, the county school
board named a school after him, the only one named for a board member.
Gaines was appointed before 1972 “right after the riots,” he said. The
funeral director would be a key player in the desegregation of the county,
which for 25 years was under a federal court order.
there and mentally here.” Gaines made the funeral arrangements
and the family celebrated Christmas in Fort Pierce.
“I’ve been blessed,” Gaines said. “I’ve done things I never
thought I would do. I have toured Egypt and been to Africa
several times. He recently helped form a mortician’s association
in South Africa and was the founding pastor of United
St. John Methodist in Fort Pierce.
Of his years on the school board, Gaines is most proud of
his instrumental role in establishing Channel 13, devoted to
education in St. Lucie County. “We created a TV station, the
first on the East Coast of Florida,” he said. “It is the most
valuable thing I feel responsible for. It is the goose that laid
the golden egg. It is an asset for the school system and the
community.” Gaines said he hopes to see the station post
local election results.
Perhaps the most difficult part of being a school board
member is participation in disciplinary hearings where
students find out if they will stay in school or be expelled. “I
had to be the voice of the school board and not friends of the
family,” Gaines said. “Sometimes I knew the family, but I had
to abide by the law.”
Gaines was touched by a chance encounter when a young
man jumped out of a car and came over to speak to him
while he was at his college reunion in Talladega, Ala. Many >>
Atlantic Coastal
I N S U R A N C E
“We can handle all your insurance needs!”
Call for a FREE Quote
Serving the Treasure Coast since 1996
772.466.8408
5214B Okeechobee Rd
Fort Pierce, FL 34947
Customer service is our #1 priority
/www.castletc.org