The Suncoast Post “2022 Person of the Year”- Rayma Stowe, Owner of Clancy’s Irish Sports Pub
It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. We usually announce our Person of the Year in December but we decided to wait until after the holidays to share the wonderful news.
Prior recipients of the Person of the Year Award are Betsy Halliwell Plante (2018), President of the Blessing Bags Project, Chef Paul Mattison (2019) of Mattison’s Restaurant, Manatee & Sarasota Counties (2020), and Katrina Cox (2021), Manager at the Swordfish Grill.
This year, we are honored and privileged to announce the Suncoast Post 2022 Person of the Year, Rayma Stowe, Owner of Clancy’s Irish Sports Pub in Bradenton, Florida.
For those of you who know Rayma, you know how deserving she is of this award. For those of you who don’t know Rayma, I would like to share information about this wonderful and caring lady.
Rayma and her husband Mel have owned Clancy’s for 22 years. They have a loving family and are especially fond of their three grandchildren!! No one is more giving than Rayma. Over the years of running Clancy’s, they have made so many loyal friends and customers who support every charity event that Clancy’s is involved in. Speaking of charities, the biggest event they run every New Year’s Day is the “Shamrock Shiver.” Over the years, the event has brought in over $300,000, with all of the money raised going to local charities.
Running a restaurant in these challenging times is difficult. It is a real testament to Rayma that she has employees who have worked for her for a very long time. More than half of her staff have worked at Clancy’s for over 10 years, 2 of the bartenders are coming up on 17 years, and Manager Dana Rothgery is coming up on 19 years. How impressive is that?
On a personal note, I cannot say enough about Rayma Stowe. Every time I come into the restaurant if she is working, I am greeted with a big hug and hello. Regardless of how busy she is, she always takes a minute to catch up, talk about our families and all of the wonderful things that we try to do. I am blessed to have her as a friend.
If you’ve never been to Clancy’s Irish Sports Pub, you should go! It’s a fabulous “locally owned” pub, with a great staff, live music, tasty food, lots of TVs to watch your favorite team, and a great bar with all of your favorite drinks.
Congratulations, Rayma. You are a very special lady.
Suncoast Post Photos