KidsFirst Winners

Congratulations to the 2026 KidsFirst Cooperman-Bogue Award Winners for their life-changing work with Pinellas County children and families!

• Deputy Anthony Borbonio | Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office: Deputy Borbonio is a Community Policing Deputy serving the High Point community, where he has become someone families trust and children look up to.

• Gena Calsich | Healthy Families Pinellas: As a a Family Support Specialist, Gena identifies ways to pour into families—mentoring, coaching, and cheering them on. She gives them tools and support to break negative intergenerational cycles—so children grow up with stronger attachments, safer homes, and brighter futures.

• Meliss Mapes | Gingerbread Preschool of Carillon:A VPK teacher for 29 years at the Gingerbread Preschool of Carillon, Melissa is the kind of teacher every child deserves—creative, compassionate, and all-in for kids.

• Christine Powell | Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay: Christine “Grandma” Powell has spent the past seven years volunteering as a Foster Grandparent with Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay. For three years, she has been the “heart and soul” of kindergarten teacher Laura Nordstrom’s classroom at Maximo Elementary School.