Kona Ice Hosted Fundraiser For Frostproof Homicide Victims
by James Coulter
Nothing beats the heat on a hot summer day than a cup of shaved ice. So what better way to raise funds for an important local cause than by serving shaved ice on a hot summer day?
Kone Ice of Winter Haven served up its signature shaved ice in along the shores of Lake Clinch Beach in Frostproof on Sunday to help raise funds to support the families of victims of a triple homicide.
On July 17, what was supposed to be an evening of night fishing turned tragic when three local Frostproof residents—Brandon Rollins, Damion Tillman, and Keven Springfield—were discovered brutally shot and beaten along Lake Streety Road. Since then, three suspects were arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Breanna Summerfeld, who owns Kona Ice of Winter Haven with her husband, was horrified to learn about the untimely murder of the three young men, especially in a small, sleepy town of Frostproof, and she wanted to do something about it.
“When we found out there was this homicide here in Frostproof, it really hit us hard,” Breanna said. “We decided that they would need some help with funeral expenses and [other] things like that. We can’t take away their loss, but we can help lessen the burden on them.”
Summerfeld decided to drive her truck to Frostproof to serve shaved ice to raise proceeds for the families of the murder victims. She asked locals for a good place to park her car, and they told her the lakeshore was the best location.
Breanna had previously visited the local community for the Fourth of July. While the Sunday they arrived for their fundraiser proved to be slower than initially expected, they still managed to serve people and raise proceeds to help the town regardless.
“It is a small community,” she said. “Everyone knows each other, and it is such a tragedy. It could have been any of us, and so that is so hard [to see this happen] to young guys you wouldn’t expect anything to happen to them. So many families were not prepared for that. We wanted to come out and help and show our support and do what we can.”
