The Bill Robinson Lakeside Loop around Nathan Benderson Park's Cooper Creek Lake will be dedicated at 7:50 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 29. A dedication ceremony will precede the second annual Big Bill Foundation Big 5K, which benefits a foundation named for Robinson. The foundation provides scholarships to survivors of childhood cancer. Sarasota County Commissioner Ron Cutsinger and State Rep. Will Robinson will speak, and one of several signs identifying the 3.4-mile paved path around the lake will be unveiled. 

Bill Robinson was the second-generation family operator of Robby's Sports, then sold the company in 1988 to Woolworth, which renamed the business Champs Sports. He then started a successful tree farm and worked in commercial real estate. In 2006, with son Parks, he started Fit2Run, The Runners Superstore. He partnered with Manatee County to establish Robinson Preserve in northwest Bradenton. He was also the first chairman of the board of Nathan Benderson Park's nonprofit operator, Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates. For more information, click here.