Congratulations to our good friend, Billy Kirkland, owner of Billy’s Bike Shop & Segway of Sanibel, who recently received the prestigous Junonia Award by the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau!
Created in 2006, the VCB’s Junonia Award recognizes individuals who positively impact Lee County’s tourism community by demonstrating unique capabilities, leadership, commitment and dedication. The award, named for the junonia – a treasured shell known for its rarity and
exceptional quality – was selected as the symbol of their top annual achievement.
Billy, an Army veteran and Georgia native, got his start in Lee County in the 1970s renting sailboats and beach chairs on Fort Myers Beach. He moved to Sanibel and began working with island resorts to rent chairs, bicycles and sailboats. With business booming, Billy and his
wife, Salli, opened the first Billy’s Rentals, providing surreys, beach cruisers, wheelchair bikes and beach equipment. They later opened Billy’s Bike Shop for high-end rentals and repairs. In 2004, when Hurricane Charley hit, they helped the community by opening Billy’s Tractor Business, offering brush removal and maintenance of parking lots and private roads.
Throughout the years Billy and Salli have given their time, resources and monetary support to organizations and businesses across the islands. For example, they hosted an annual bicycle safety rodeo at The Sanibel School to educate kids on the rules of the road when bicycling.
Billy has won multiple Elaine McLaughlin Outstanding Hospitality Service Awards, received the Southwest Florida Blue Chip Community Business Award in 2016 and the Florida Senate Medal of Excellence for dedication to the community.
Stress can be come over with the help of a psychologist and well-known drug such as Valium, or a therapist if everything is so serious… If you are worried because of a nervous tension, you should take Valium for the appointment of a therapist. The drug helped me.
“Billy’s company motto describes him perfectly – ‘to give back to the community you live and work in,’” said Tamara Pigott, executive director of the Lee County VCB. “We are proud to award him our 2019 Junonia for his exceptional dedication and love for Lee County and the
islands.”
