Beyond The Smile: Meet Bill Hayles
Maris Dental Studio Patient Spotlight
What happens when you take a lifetime of experience and put it to work for your community?
For Bill Hayles, it means putting his experience to work for F.I.S.H. and the Sanibel community it serves.
There are people in our community doing remarkable things, and every so often we get lucky enough to have one of them sitting in our dental chair.
Bill Hayles is one of them.
He serves as Vice Chair of F.I.S.H. of SanCap, the nonprofit that supports neighbors across Sanibel and Captiva with food assistance, emergency aid, senior services, education and outreach.
It Started With a Building
Bill spent much of his career in hospitality management, running hotels, casinos and horse-racing facilities and overseeing plenty of construction projects along the way. When F.I.S.H. began planning to expand its facility, a friend on Sanibel recommended Bill to chair the organization's Construction Committee.
Then Hurricane Ian hit.
The storm severely damaged the F.I.S.H. facilities, and the expansion became a brand-new building. Bill has been guiding that project ever since, alongside what he calls an incredible team of volunteers and employees.
It has been a long road. Multiple storms, grant funding with very specific requirements and all the complications of a project this size have tested everyone's patience. Groundbreaking is now planned for 2027, and the new building will help F.I.S.H. serve the islands for years to come.
Seeing the Need Up Close
Bill first learned about F.I.S.H. when he moved to Sanibel. After Ian, he saw firsthand how much the community depended on it, and he joined the Board of Directors in 2022.
"What began as an opportunity to lend my professional experience to a project has grown into a much deeper personal commitment," he says.
He calls the work incredibly fulfilling and says he's extremely proud to be part of it.
The Story That Stuck With Him
At a fundraising event last year, one of F.I.S.H.'s outstanding employees stood up and shared how she first came to the organization. Years earlier, she had suddenly found herself raising a grandchild, and she turned to F.I.S.H. in desperate need of help.
Bill had no idea.
Her story was a powerful reminder of the difference F.I.S.H. makes in people's lives. It's also why Bill wishes more people knew the organization is there for anyone in the island community who needs it, whether that means food, financial support, senior services, or education and outreach.
A Little More About Bill
Bill grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and spent several years in Toronto, where he worked in banking before moving into hospitality. In 1997, a job opportunity brought him to Atlantic City, New Jersey. A year later, he met his wife, Julie.
These days, Bill and Julie split their time between Sanibel and Vancouver, British Columbia. On a free day in Southwest Florida, you'll most likely find him golfing, fishing or relaxing on the lanai. They live across from the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge and love the peace, natural beauty and wildlife right in their backyard.
Still on his bucket list: a seaplane trip into northern Canada for salmon fishing.
And when we asked what makes him smile, his answer came back in all caps:
"MY WIFE!"
Come Join Us
The Maris Dental Studio team will be at the F.I.S.H. Jog N Jam 5K/10K on Sanibel on Saturday, November 7. Walk, jog or run, and come say hello. We'd love to see some familiar faces out there with us. Sign up for the race here.
On Saturday, December 5, F.I.S.H. heads to Captiva for its Jog N Jam beach concert featuring the Ben Allen Band, followed by fireworks.
To learn more about F.I.S.H., volunteer or donate, visit fishofsancap.org.