FRIDAY MAY 16, 2025
6:30-8pm
Fabulous Red Attire is Encouraged
KEY WEST LIGHTHOUSE & KEEPERS QUARTERS
938 Whitehead St Key West, FL 33040
FREE ADMISSION
Music • Lite Bites • Cash Bar • Silent Auction
Books Calendars & Tree Sales
A ROYAL POINCIANA TREE DEDICATION CEREMONY IN HONOR OF THE ORIGINAL TREE LADY OF KEY WEST” MERILI MCCOY
Hope to see you there neighbors.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH KEY WEST ART & HISTORICAL SOCIETY
ALL PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT THE REPLANTING OF
QUALITY TREES IN KEY WEST, FL
Save A Tree / Key West
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE
KEY WEST ART & HISTORICAL SOCIETY
ALL PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT THE REPLANTING OF
QUALITY TREES IN KEY WEST, FL
THE SAVE A TREE FOUNDATION IS A 501(C)3
Your generous donations will be tax deductible.
Become a Sponsor!
Make a Donation
Who is Merili McCoy?
Anyone who compares 1940s and 50s photos with today's will notice a big difference: trees! And former City Commissioner Merili McCoy (1930-2005) had a huge hand in that by starting the Tree Commission.
McCoy was the niece of Conrad Hilton, founder of the hotel chain, and the wife of the late Sonny McCoy, who served as a county commissioner as well as mayor of Key West. But Merili was not lost in the shadows of the powerful men around her. She was active in the community, a member of Zonta and its one-time president.
But her passion was to preserve the island's heritage and its trees. In a 2005 interview by Alyson Crean in the Keynoter, Merili remembered growing up with the Hemingway boys and climbing the lighthouse to bomb tourists with Spanish limes.
The Key West Art and Historical Society announces a $15,000 donation from Save A Tree / Key West, a registered 501(c)3, to plant additional trees at Fort East Martello Museum and Gardens. The much-needed funds were raised during the Merili McCoy Royal Poinciana Red Party fundraiser held on the grounds of the Key West Lighthouse and Keeper’s Quarters Museum in June 2024.
Owing to an eventful hurricane season, many of the trees planted at the Fort East Martello Museum during a Monroe County-led water mitigation project did not survive. The donation will allow for new quality plantings, which will be overseen by the Society and Save a Tree/Key West board members. All trees planted will be in honor of “The Original Tree Lady of Key West” Merili McCoy, late Key West City Commissioner and wife of former Key West Mayor Sonny McCoy.
Save a Tree/Key West will host its next fundraiser at the Key West Lighthouse and Keeper’s Quarters Museum on Friday, May 16. For more information about the fundraiser, or to make a donation, please visit saveatreekw.org.
Cheers to the Key West Art & Historical Society and Save a Tree Key West for their recent fundraiser. The Merili McCoy Royal Poinciana Red Party raised money to support the replanting of these wonderful trees throughout the island city. The inaugural event is a thoughtful way to honor the legacy of McCoy, the original “Tree Lady” of Key West, while propagating the glorious tree throughout the area.
— The Key Citizen Editorial Board
