About Us

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     The Tierney & Wetzel Foundation was established in December 2021 providing grants to charities and non-profits in St Lucie County. The funds for the foundation came from the sale of Sunrise Ford Co., one of the oldest car dealerships in Florida.

     Mary Jo Tierney and Mike Wetzel, who ran Sunrise Ford for 30 years, decided to focus on environmental, educational and cultural causes. For decades, Sunrise Ford contributed to numerous local endeavors ranging from purchasing steer and pigs from students at the county fair to being the longest continual sponsor of the A.E. Backus Museum. Tierney and Wetzel said they wanted that legacy to continue and will be particularly involved with efforts to clean up the Indian River Lagoon.

     That lagoon was in pristine shape when Sunrise Ford was established in 1932 and Tierney and Wetzel want to help restore it through grants to organizations that are aggressively working on tighter restrictions for polluters and legislation to prevent runoffs from Lake Okeechobee to locale waterways.

     Sunrise Ford, which was established by the Sneed family 90 years ago, has remained a fixture in St. Lucie County. Tierney and Wetzel now want to give back to the community which made Sunrise Ford Co. so successful over the years. 

To contact the Foundation, email mike@tandwfoundation.org or write to the Foundation at P.O. Box 12699, Fort Pierce, Fl 34979