Who: The Yellow Ribbon Campaign Pinellas County Chapter (a suicide awareness/prevention group). Bonnie McClelland, the group's leader lost her son, Timothy, to suicide at age 16.

What: An event being held to open "Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Week of Florida" as proclaimed by Gov. Jeb Bush. The event will also commemorate the life of Brandon Pinkleton, a 15 year old who would have been 16 on Sept. 21, who lost his life to suicide. Gov. Jeb Bush has been invited to attend the event as have Pinellas County Commissioners. Other public officials may be invited. Many have already been notified of the event.

Where: South Beach of Madeira Beach across from John's Pass Village. For detailed directions contact Bonnie McClelland or John Mudd if needed.

When: Sunday, Sept. 21, 12:30 p.m.

How: Get in your car and drive to Madeira Beach, across from John's Pass Village.

Why: Statistics show that there are more deaths in Florida from suicide than from homicide, even with such preventative measures as The Baker Act in place. Suicide takes the lives of people from all walks of life, whether children, adults or senior citizens, from students to city managers and state attorneys. Awareness can prevent other suicides from occurring because it can educate those who may not know the signs. Knowing the signs is the first step to preventing suicide from occurring. The more people who know the signs and the greater willingness of those people to prevent suicide, lesser is the risk of it occurring.

Statement From John Mudd: "After my father's death I researched suicide and its signs, and in hindsight, I saw them. Quite a few of them were present, but no one, not a school nor a community leader or member of any sort, health care professional, volunteer or otherwise offered to educate me as to what the signs were. I was totally in the dark. Without knowing the signs you can't take the first step to saving someone's life because you don't know if anything's wrong, and someone considering suicide isn't going to tell you if they are considering it. In fact, it's quite the opposite - they're going to outwardly pretend that everything is going really well, while in the mean time, they're falling apart on the inside. Florida needs to do more to save the lives of those who may commit suicide, and the Baker Act obviously isn't the answer, because it isn't working well enough - more people still kill themselves in our state than have their life taken from someone else. Now something is really wrong when that's happening. Awareness is the only key that will lock the door on suicide in this state, but it won't be easy even with that key, but it's a great place to start."

Mudd isn't sure if he will be able to attend the event due to his clients' apparent high need for housing due to relocating to the area, but if not there in person, he will certainly be there in spirit. He is a Realtor with EXIT Realty Suncoast in Largo. Mudd encourages area residents to attend and learn as much as they can about suicide, in order to help prevent the tragedy from occurring. Questions can be directed to both Mudd, group spokesperson, and Bonnie McClelland, director of the group. Media members and members of the general public are welcome at and are encouraged to attend the event.

-John Mudd