LWR Life Winter 2014

LWRLIFE LAKEWOOD RANCH AREA’S COMMUNITY, NATURE, STYLE WINTER 2014

It’s a dog’s life PAGE 50

Polo club primes for new season page 22

Seven cheats to enjoy your holiday page 801

LWR LIFE

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4. Based on total of units Manatee County in all price ranges as reported

by MarketQuest in October 2014 2014 for for 4. Based on number total number of closed units closed Manatee County in all price ranges as reported

by MarketQuest in October the period of September 30, 2013 – September 30, 2014.

One unit one side a transaction (buyer(buyer or seller).

Source data is the period of September 30, 2013 – September 30, 2014.

Oneequals unit equals one of side of a transaction or seller).

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by NRT 2014.2014.

6. Brooks Rose Rose Supplemental Awareness and Tampa/St. Petersburg according to submitted data submitted to REAL Trends

by LLC, NRT LLC, 6. Brooks Supplemental Awareness Study,Study, 2013.2013. ©2014 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered service mark mark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Real ©2014 Coldwell Banker Real Estate Coldwell Banker is a registered service licensed to Coldwell Banker EstateEstate LLC. LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company.

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2 15

2 90

CONTENTS

WINTER 2014

46

50

56

62

FEATURES

50

LUCKY DOGS Pampered pooches find a place of their own with the opening of the Ranch’s first country club for dogs.

8

LWR LIFE

56

THE PINNACLE OF EDUCATION Kirstina Ordetx doesn’t believe in education’s one-size-fits-all approach. Her philosophy helps kids with special needs achieve true life-changing results.

62

MAN’S BEST FRIEND For Chris McNamee, who is visually impaired, his guide dog isn’t just his helper — he’s a symbol of freedom and independence.

Larimar: A natural gem said to enhance natural energy & bring peace to your soul.

Monday – Saturday 9:30am – 5:30pm | Open Sundays in December 11am – 4pm Creekwood Crossing Just west of I-75 on S.R. 70

Tel. 941-751-6600 148353

26 DEPARTMENTS 14 FROM THE EDITOR 19 BUZZ The farmers market returns to Main Street ... for now; polo season is upon us; and surf’s up: The men who hope for hurricanes.

31 PULSE See how Lakewood Ranch inspires one of its finest artists; get the scoop on the latest home design trends; and learn more about a local organization devoted to helping kids with Down syndrome.

36 CALENDAR Plan your stops to see Santa; Music on Main Street promises fun for the season; and celebrate the sunshine at this year’s Winterfest.

69 HAVEN There’s a reason this home is perfect for entertaining — it was built for it.

80

80 FORK Who has time during the holidays to slave over a stove? Seven cheats to let our local eateries do the work for you.

84 RANCH SCENE Party pictures from Lakewood Ranch’s latest events.

90 PARTING GLANCE

10

LWR LIFE

70

84

THE THE THE THE GROUP GROUP GROUP GROUP Jim JimSoda Soda 941.809.7759 941.809.7759

Jim Soda

jim.soda@sothebysrealty.com jim.soda@sothebysrealty.com

941.809.7759

jim.soda@sothebysrealty.com

Stacy StacyHaas-Goodwin Haas-Goodwin Jim Soda 941.587.4359 941.587.4359 stacy.haasgoodwin@sothebysrealty.com stacy.haasgoodwin@sothebysrealty.com Stacy941.809.7759 Haas-Goodwin jim.soda@sothebysrealty.com

941.587.4359

stacy.haasgoodwin@sothebysrealty.com

Donna DonnaSoda Soda Stacy941.961.5857 Haas-Goodwin 941.961.5857 donna.soda@sothebysrealty.com 941.587.4359 donna.soda@sothebysrealty.com Donna Soda stacy.haasgoodwin@sothebysrealty.com 941.961.5857

donna.soda@sothebysrealty.com

Linda LindaApple Apple Donna Soda 941.586.0553 941.586.0553 linda.apple@sothebysrealty.com linda.apple@sothebysrealty.com 941.961.5857 Linda Apple donna.soda@sothebysrealty.com 941.586.0553

Exceptional Exceptional Service.

Service. Proven Proven Results.

Results.

Exceptional Service.

Proven THE DOLLAR TEAM THE MILLION DOLLAR TEAM THEMILLION MILLION DOLLAR TEAM Results.

linda.apple@sothebysrealty.com

Linda Apple 941.586.0553

linda.apple@sothebysrealty.com

The Soda Group is the most dynamic real the Greater Sarasota, LakewoodRanch Ranchand and Manatee areas.

The Soda Group isisthe most dynamic real estate team ininthe Manatee areas.

The Soda Group the most dynamic realestate estateteam teamin theGreater GreaterSarasota, Sarasota,Lakewood Lakewood Ranch and Manatee areas.

THE MILLION DOLLAR TEAM Exceptional Service. Proven Results.

The Soda Group is the most dynamic real estate team in the Greater Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Manatee areas.

TheSodaGroup.com TheSodaGroup.com

THE MILLION DOLLAR TEAM

TheSodaGroup.com The Soda Group is the most dynamic real estate team in the Greater Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Manatee areas.

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Sotheby’s Sotheby’sInternational InternationalRealty Realtyand andthe theSotheby’s Sotheby’sInternational InternationalRealty Realtylogo logoare areregistered registeredservice servicemarks marksused usedwith withpermission. permission.Each Eachoffice officeisisindependently independentlyowned ownedand andoperated. operated.Equal EqualHousing HousingOpportunity.

Opportunity.

148555

Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each office is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity.

LWRLIFE

Make a Statement at Home with New Arrival of

LAKEWOOD RANCH AREA’S COMMUNITY, NATURE, STYLE

Furniture

Publisher and CEO — Matt Walsh

EDITORIAL Executive Editor — Kat Hughes LWR Life Editors — Heidi Kurpiela and Stephanie Hannum Designers — Qing Tian and Nicole Thompson Contributing Writers — Heidi Kurpiela, Leilani Polk, Pam Eubanks, Heather Merriman and Amanda Sebastiano Contributing Photographers — Heidi Kurpiela, Leilani Polk, Amanda Sebastiano, Heather Merriman, Pam Eubanks

In celebration of our 3rd showroom since 1984, we are offering up to 50% off storewide and giving you a leather area rug with any leather purchase.

ADVERTISING Director of Advertising — Jill Raleigh Advertising Managers — Kathleen O'Hara, Lori Ruth, Penny DiGregorio

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WE SHIP ANYWHERE • FREE FINANCING • SINCE 1984 12

LWR LIFE

Graphic Designers — John Day, Monica DiMattei, Marjorie Holloway, Shawna Polana, Luis Trujillo and Jennifer Hogg

CONTACT LWR LIFE To submit story ideas, calendar listings or have your event considered for coverage, contact Stephanie Hannum at Stephanie@yourobserver.com.

For advertising inquiries, call 366-3468.

LWR Life is a quarterly publication of the Observer Media Group published in May, August, November and February in partnership with Schroeder-Manatee Ranch.

lwrlifemagazine.com

CONTEMPORARY CABINETRY & CLOSET CONCEPTS

Celebrating 28 years as Sarasota’s Premier Closet Company OFTEN COPIED NEVER DUPLICATED • Design, Manufacture and Installation • Custom Closet Systems • Home Offices

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LWR LIFE

13

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Woof, Woof!

L

akewood Ranch has gone to the dogs. But in this case, it’s a good thing — depending on how you feel about dogs.

As you’ll see in Heidi Kurpiela’s cover story on page 50, the Lakewood Ranch area has become quite the pooch-friendly place, from shops catering to our canine friends to dog bowls lining the sidewalks outside shops and eateries on Main Street.

But when we heard about a new country club for dogs, well, we just couldn’t resist.

Doga? Pet-icures?

Massages? Turns out man’s best friend has never had it better.

After seeing some of the ways Florida’s Gulf Coast can be inhospitable to our furry companions (No dogs on the beach?), we were intrigued to learn about a place that’s just for them.

14

LWR LIFE

And speaking of dogs, did you know that Manatee County is home to one of the premier organizations for dogs who help the visually impaired?

Each year, Southeastern Guide Dogs matches more than 100 dogs with people who need service animals.

This can range for those who are visually impaired to veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who benefit from the dog’s soothing presence.

Not only does the organization train and give — that’s right, for free — dogs to those in need, it also trains owners on how to work with the dogs to allow them to do their jobs.

The bond owners form with their guide dogs is a deep one. We explore that relationship in our story on page 62, which retrace’s Chris McNamee’s journey to find the organization and the dog that changed his life.

It’s amazing to think that people from all over the country travel to our area to receive this wonderful gift.

Lastly, another area institu-

tion worth lauding is the Pinnacle Academy (page 56). It too attracts families from all over the country, and even the world, to attend the school, which is dedicated to helping kids with special education needs. The school’s founder and executive director, Kirstina Ordetx, has a passion for providing kids with autism and other learning challenges with individual attention and a lesson plan that fits how they learn. It’s been so successful, some have suggested Ordetx should franchise the concept nationally. But she says she would rather focus on expanding her facility right here in Lakewood Ranch. As she says: “This is not McDonald’s.”

She explains that her school is more than just a building. It’s a network of people, a community. And that’s what makes an organization special — not the things on paper that can be replicated.

We couldn’t agree more.

Kat Hughes Executive Editor

Here From The Beginning. Here for Life.

M

ichael Saunders & Company has been successfully helping homebuyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals on Florida’s Gulf Coast for the past 40 years.

Almost 20 years ago, we watched with delight as Lakewood Ranch began to flourish into the unparalleled master-planned community it is today, and ever since we have taken great pride in helping our customers find their place here. In 2006, we opened a state-of-the-art real estate office— custom-designed for Lakewood Ranch residents— to enhance the award-winning service we provide throughout the East County area.

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As a locally owned and operated company with strong roots in this community, Michael Saunders & Company is very much at home at Lakewood Ranch, and we look forward to assisting you with your real estate needs.

W W W. M I C H A E L S AU N D E R S .CO M 8325 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. • Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202 • 941.907.9595

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A S P E CTAC U L A R V I E W

of Living

Once you see Plymouth Harbor and meet the people who call it home, you will change the way you think about your future.

You’ll meet active, independent-minded people from around the world — who share a love of boating, a passion for helping others, and a natural spirit of friendship.

Our view on whole person wellness emphasizes a multi-dimensional approach of continuing broad interests and a healthy lifestyle for an active mind and body. Residents treasure the time they spend in their lovely, spacious apartment homes

A

S P E C TA C U L A R

– yet appreciate all of the thoughtful services and amenities that are part of the Plymouth Harbor lifestyle. And they love the beautiful setting that looks like a first-class resort, but feels just like home.

If you love gracious living and the finer points of a sunrise and a sunset over Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, then Plymouth Harbor is the place for you.

Come see for yourself – and get a new perspective on retirement living. Call us today for a tour of our award-winning campus, luxury accommodations and amenities.

V I E W

O F

R E T I R E M E N T

Call Today to Schedule a Personal Tour 700 John Ringling Blvd. Sarasota, FL 34236 • (941) 365-2600 • www.PlymouthHarbor.org A Not-For-Profit Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC). OIR #88039

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Richard’s has been pioneering the way natural and specialty foods are sold in Florida since 1979. ®

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17 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU! RichardsFoodporium.com All Richard’s Foodporium® franchise locations are independently owned & operated.

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LWR LIFE

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European Traditions

BUZZ

NEWS, HAPPENINGS AND PEOPLE

Most of us would take sunshine over storms any day. But for two surfing buddies, clear skies can be a major bummer. PAGE 22

LWR LIFE

19

Farmers market returns

BY AMANDA SEBASTIANO | CONTRIBUTOR

After a three-year hiatus, Main Street’s farmers market is back.

A new proprietor of the market, Jen’s MarketPlace, worked to bring the market back for one weekend a month through December as a trial run. Its popularity secured its place on Main Street during the fourth Saturday of every month, through May. The market offers more than 25 vendors each month, featuring products such as fresh-fromthe-farm produce, locally crafted honey and jams, and internationally made jewelry.

As the market works to attract both vendors and patrons to become a fixture on Main Street, LWR Life scoured the stands to see what $50 would buy.

SHOPPING TIPS n SHOP LIGHT

There aren’t grocery store-style shopping carts to help you lug your loot around Main Street. So, unless you want to make multiple trips back and forth to your car, consider stocking up on lighter items. n COMBINE BAGS

If you value your arms and are not a fan of losing circulation in them, combine and shop smart. Every item does not need its own bag.

More bags mean more opportunities to leave something behind during the, “Oh, I’ll just set this down for a minute” part of the day. More bags also mean more straps digging into your arms. n SAVE THE BREAD FOR LAST

If you prefer your loaves of white, multigrain (and countless other varieties) to be fluffy, and not of pancake thickness, buy them on the way back to the car. We speak from experience.

WHAT WILL $50 BUY?

n 1 loaf of foccacio bread from Glor E's Goodies ($3.50)

n 1 jar

of orange blossom honey from Pure Florida Apiary ($6)

n 1 Ecuadorian handcrafted bracelet from the Latin American Boutique ($9)

n 1 bag of Healthy Heart Tea from Sereniteas ($5)

n 1 pomegranate ($1) n 1 mango ($3) n 1 basket of four beefsteak tomatoes ($4) n 1 basket of four honeycrisp apples ($3.50) n 1 avocado ($1.50) n 1 jumbo pepper ($0.75) from Tungett Produce and Citrus n 14 oz. jar of strawberryvanilla jam from Sunshine Canning ($3.50)

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n 1 jar of spice rub from Krazy Cajun Kitchen ($4)

Don’t worry,

Don’t worry, Only SmartStrand® can handle the 747 lbs of ice cream a family will eat in a carpet’s lifetime.

n 3 oz. of milk chocolate with coconut toffee from Lulu's Beach House Toffee ($5.25)

I T ’ S S M A R T S T R A N D. Only SmartStrand® can handle the 747 lbs of ice cream a family will eat in a carpet’s lifetime.

Other carpets use stain protection that has to be reapplied. But only SmartStrand’s stain resistance is built right into the fibers. So it never wears or washes out. Even after multiple cleanings. Even better, It’s on sale now!

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www.manasotaonline.com *DuPont Sorona contains 37% renewably sourced ingredients by weight. The DuPont Oval logo, DuPont, Renewably sourced and Sorona are registered trademarks or trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates and are licensed to Mohawk. *DuPont™ Sorona® contains 37% renewably sourced ingredients by weight. The DuPont Oval logo, DuPont™, Renewably sourced™ and Sorona® are registered trademarks or trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates and are licensed to Mohawk. ®

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LWR LIFE

21

POLO SEASON

packs new punch 22

LWR LIFE

The Sarasota Polo Club is gearing up for its 2015 season with new management, better tailgating competitions and more high-profile teams.

BY LEILANI POLK | CONTRIBUTOR Polo is a noble sport. Fine steeds galloping over expanses of green, fit players swinging long-handled mallets, posh spectators sipping bubbly on the sidelines, clapping with restraint whenever a team scores a goal.

But polo isn’t all about ladies in wide-brim hats and businessmen trying to work a more laid-back angle, unless you’re watching “Pretty Woman.” Polo — one of the world’s oldest organized sports according to some historians — is rather competitive.

Practiced in 16 countries and drawing attendance from all walks of life, polo enthusiasts are as devoted to their sport as football fanatics. During season, more than 600 horses are stabled in and around the Sarasota Polo Club, which at 130 acres is one of the largest polo clubs in the country.

This season is a big one for the club. In June, the organization hired Tom Hughes as its director of polo operations. A well-respected authority on the sport, Hughes brings a halfcentury of experience as both a manager and player to the club. At the top of Hughes’s agenda: Expand the polo school to reach more young riders.

Hughes, who played in the United States Polo Association’s high-goal events until 1976 and has managed polo clubs nationwide, would like to make the club and the sport more accessible to young families. Megan Flynn, an experienced polo player and USPAtrained instructor from Brown Deer, Wis., will return to the club again this year to run its seasonal school, which offers polo and riding lessons for kids and adults.

IF YOU GO n The Sarasota Polo Club’s 2015 season begins Sunday, Dec. 14 and runs through Sunday, April 5. n Polo matches are open to the public and general admission is $12 for adults and free for children 12 and younger. n Gates open at 10 a.m. and games begin at 1 p.m. Leashed dogs are welcome and tailgating is encouraged.

For more information, call 941-907-0000.

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The organization has already started broadening its fan base thanks to the club’s popular tailgating themes. New themes are rolled out each season for car-partying fans, with judges doling out awards for food, beverages and design. This season’s tailgating lineup is the club’s largest yet. Sponsored by Saks Fifth Avenue and the Asolo Repertory Theatre, the season’s 10 tailgating competitions will center around holidays such Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, with awards for best frozen drink, best devilish dessert, best all-American décor and best dressed “bunny dog,” to name a few.

According to Sherri Spanos, the club’s events and promotions manager, the club has livened up its image with the help of social media.

Photos of last season’s wild St. Patrick’s Day tailgating competition surely shattered any stuffy polo misconceptions.

“Polo is not an uppity-up kind of thing,” Spanos says.

“It’s a ‘come and have a good time and socialize with your friends’ kind of thing. Even if you know nothing about the game, you get a magazine at the front gate that explains every factor. Someone can quickly read up on the game and still understand it.”

Spanos says Hughes, who has umpired all major high-goal tournaments in the United States and Great Britain, is working diligently to pick up new teams in cities across the country. As for what teams, neither she nor Hughes will say.

“It’s all very hush-hush this season,” Spanos says.

“Without going too deep into it, I think it’s safe to say Tom is really going for the wow factor this season. It’s an exciting time.”

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Players ride multiple horses during each match. The name “polo pony” is a misnomer since most players ride full-size thoroughbreds or thoroughbred-crosses that are carefully chosen for stamina, agility, maneuverability, speed and temperament.

HOW IS POLO PLAYED? n A game begins with two teams (usually four players each) lined up facing each other in the center of the playing field. n A mounted umpire bowls the ball between the teams to kick off the game. n The objective is to score points by driving the solid plastic ball into the opposing team’s goal. n Games last roughly two hours and are divided into six seven-minute periods called chukkers.

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Physicians are on the medical staff of Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, but, with limited exceptions, are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.

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Then, before you know it … you’ll be on your way home.

Our goal is getting you there!

Four years ago, Lakewood Ranch Inter-District Authority Maintenance Manager Paul Chetlain taught Ryan Heise, Lakewood Ranch operations director, how to surf at Bradenton Beach. Photo by Pam Eubanks

HOPING for a HURRICANE

“

You sort of become a fan of the weather. I don’t want to say you’re hoping for a hurricane, but you sort of are.”

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When bad weather strikes, Lakewood Ranch Town Hall colleagues Ryan Heise and Paul Chetlain make a break for the waves.

BY PAM EUBANKS | CONTRIBUTOR

F

ar from the incessant sound of lawn mowers and ringing telephones, Ryan Heise and Paul Chetlain are enjoying a Friday away from work.

Perched at an outdoor table at Gulf Drive Cafe, they gaze out at Bradenton Beach, where the morning sunlight dances off subtle ripples in the water.

Heise digs into his omelet. Today, surfing isn’t an option. That’s OK. Just being near the water is invigorating.

“I’m really borderline obsessed,” the 32-year-old Heise says with a shake of his sandy brown hair.

“It’s a healthy obsession.”

Chetlain, 49, smiles.

“It’s definitely an obsession,” he echoes.

Heise and Chetlain, who serve as Lakewood

Ranch Town Hall’s director of operations and maintenance manager, respectively, factor weather analysis into their daily routines. Diehard Florida surfers, they respond to weather updates the way Pavlov’s dog responded to the dinner bell — with hungry anticipation.

They log onto 24/7 surfcasting and weather forecasting websites multiple times a day. If there’s the slightest chance of inclement weather, they hesitate to make evening plans with friends.

When it’s hurricane season, they are as aware of the radar as any meteorologist.

“You sort of become a fan of the weather,” Chetlain says, chuckling. “I don’t want to say you’re hoping for a hurricane, but you sort of are.”

Continued on page 28

THE MALL AT UNIVERSITY TOWN CENTER

ST. A R M A N D S CI RCL E

tommybahama.com 153024

Continued from page 26 A Manatee County native, Chetlain began surfing when he was about 14, and remembers pestering the local surf shop multiple times a day for weather conditions at the beach.

“In those days, the weather forecasting was minimal,” Chetlain says.

“There was weather on the morning newscast — four channels, but no one really talked about surf. If you wanted to see if there was surf, you had to go to the beach.”

He laughs. “We used to harass the surf shop. I still remember the number: 778-1001.”

A Michigan native, Heise grew up snowboarding. He had always wanted to surf, but didn’t give the sport a try until he met Chetlain.

“I didn’t know how to start,” Heise says.

The pair surfed together twice before heading in 2010 to Fort Pierce Inlet on Florida’s east coast to catch waves rolling in from Hurricane Earl.

Chetlain, a veteran surfer, was raring to go. Heise, a novice, had never seen a hurricane, much less surfed one.

As soon as he set foot on the beach he knew he had made a rookie mistake.

The largest waves he had ever surfed were waist-high. These were breaking over his head.

Heise decided he had two options: sit on the beach and watch Chetlain surf, or grab his board and start paddling. He went for the board.

“I had no business being out there,” Heise says. “A lot of the other surfers knew it, too. I could barely sit up and balance on the board. They paddled up to me and said, ‘you haven’t done this very often have you?’ And I was like, ‘no, I haven’t.’ I was terrified.”

It took him well more than 30 minutes to paddle out past the breaking point. Each time he thought he’d made it, a giant wave would knock him back to the shoreline. Three hours later, he caught a wave. He rode it straight to the beach, where he remained until Chetlain, who was catching wave after wave, was ready to go home.

“Maybe that was a little cruel,” Chetlain says, laughing as he glances toward Heise. “But I had a blast.”

Heise looks down, shakes his head and shrugs. This early adventure solidified their surfing bromance and fostered a kind of mentor/protégé relationship that continues to this day.

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Courtesy photo

Above: Ryan Heise surfs a wave during a trip to Nicaragua.

He and Paul Chetlain spent a week there surfing and fishing with another friend.

Right: Chetlain (with Heise, left) says he enjoys surfing more now that he’s older and wiser. “It’s very simple,” he says. “You have a surfboard and sunscreen.”

Pam Eubanks

“I’m nipping at his heels as far as surf skills go,” Heise says. “But he still catches more waves than I do. He’s definitely a mentor, but more of a silent mentor. He doesn’t tell me how to do anything. I just watch what he does.”

What Heise lacks in experience he makes up for in gumption. Like any good teacher, Chetlain helped foster this gung-ho attitude. One of the first things he told the newbie was, “you’re going to catch 0% of the waves you don’t go after.”

“That’s pretty much the truth of it,” Heise says. “If you really want to do something, you have to keep going for it. You’re going to go into what we call ‘the washing machine,’ but you’ll come out and be fine. You’ll learn it’s OK.”

A ‘SWELL’ SOUND Half the thrill of surfing is the anticipation of a storm.

When a storm rolls into town, most people batten down the hatches. Paul Chetlain and Ryan Heise hit the beach.

Not all storms are equal and not all weather predications are accurate. The only way to know for sure if a storm is worth surfing is to go to the beach and see for yourself.

“You can never see the water first. You hear it,” Heise says. “You can almost tell what kind of swell it is. The better the swell, the longer the distance between the crash of the waves.”

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NEW lease on life Lakewood Ranch’s luxury apartment boom is giving discerning renters a place to roost. The town’s newest complex, The Venue, is posh, pricey and filling up fast. BY HEIDI KURPIELA | CONTRIBUTOR Not all Lakewood Ranch residents want four bedrooms, two baths, a white picket fence and two cats in the yard, to quote the old Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song.

Many of the community’s newest residents are passing on single-family homes and moving into new amenity-loaded, maintenance-free apartments.

For the first time in 15 years, Lakewood Ranch apartment hunters have plenty of options. In the last year alone, three new luxury apartment communities have sprung up in and around the Ranch: Creekside Apartments, Ranch Lake Apartments and The Venue at Lakewood Ranch.

When the newest complex, the fully gated Venue at Lakewood Ranch, opened its doors at the end of September, renters flocked to the 237-unit development. In its first three weeks, the property leased 43 apartment homes — 18% of its units.

“That’s phenomenal,” says Jen Wetter, assistant community manager. “At this rate we’ll be at 95% occupancy by July or August.”

According to Wetter, Lakewood Ranch’s luxury apartment industry appeals to empty nesters, retirees and young professionals alike.

Joey Scheerle, 26, and Megan Morris, 24, fit the industry’s target demographic: young, upwardly

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mobile and rooted in the community.

After touring other rentals in Lakewood Ranch, the couple decided to rent a one-bedroom unit for $1,194 at The Venue.

Scheerle, a financial adviser with Edward Jones Investments, grew up in the River Club, graduated from Lakewood Ranch High School, studied music and finance at Florida State University and moved back home to begin his career.

Morris, a Tampa native, who just graduated from Florida State with a degree in psychology, is interviewing at clinical psychology research labs in Sarasota, Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch.

“We absolutely love it,” Scheerle says. “When it came to location, quality of life and quality of construction, this one was at the top of our list.”

Scheerle, who plans to open his own Edward Jones office in Lakewood Ranch, says his 800-square-foot apartment is the perfect place for him and Morris to start their post-college lives together.

“There are more expensive places to live in Lakewood Ranch,” he says. “I have friends who rent homes and I know our utility bills will be lower than theirs. Plus, the apartment has a gigantic walk-in closet, which was No. 1 on Megan’s list.”

College sweethearts Megan Morris and Joey Scheerle were one of the first tenants to move into The Venue at Lakewood Ranch.

The community is still costly. The Venue’s onebedroom units start at $1,019 a month and its largest three-bedroom unit is $2,150 a month.

Located a few steps from Main Street, the community is owned and operated by Atlanta-based Davis Development Group.

Property managers at nearby apartment complexes say The Venue’s modern design and cosmopolitan ambiance reflects a shifting vibe in downtown Lakewood Ranch from cozy suburban outpost to diverse urban core.

“Five years ago, Sarasota’s Main Street was the place to be,” says Karen Spivey, longtime property manager at Colonial Grand. “Now it’s Lakewood Ranch’s Main Street.”

Up until Lost Creek Apartments opened three years ago on 24 acres near Lakewood Ranch High School, the only other apartments in town were in Colonial Grand.

The quiet, 288-unit complex opened in 1999 — the Paleozoic era in Lakewood Ranch’s development. Bordered by wetlands and tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Main Street, the homey Colonial Grand has yet to see a drop in its occupancy, even with new, similarly priced apartments popping up around it.

“I’ve been here for over 10 years,” Spivey says.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes. Lakewood Ranch is taking on a new look. The restaurants, the shopping, the entertainment, the biking … who wouldn’t want to rent here?”

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LWR LIFE

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calendar winter DECEMBER

ing Community Haven for Adults and Children with Disabilities. Registration starts at 7 a.m. and the race starts at 8 a.m., at Community Haven.

For more information, visit communityhaven.org.

DEC. 3 CLASSIC CAR SHOW

Ed’s Tavern welcomes “the classics.” Enjoy classic cars, food, music, prizes and the thunderous roar of engines from 5 to 8 p.m., at Lakewood Ranch Main Street.

For more information, call 907-0400.

DEC. 7

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA AT MACALLISTERS Join MacAllisters for breakfast with Santa from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Great opportunity for pictures, fabulous food and family fun. For more information, call 359-2424.

LWRBA / YLA HOLIDAY SOCIAL

Enjoy the 7th annual holiday social hosted

by Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance and LWR Young Leaders Alliance. Don’t forget the holiday cheer competition — wear your craziest holiday hat, sweater and/ or tie for great prizes.

Event takes place 5 to 7 p.m., at Courtyard Marriott, University Park.

For more information, call 757-1664.

DEC. 4

MAIN STREET CELEBRATES THE CHRISTMAS SEASON

The holidays will take over Lakewood Ranch Main Street with carriage rides, strolling

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DEC. 6: JINGLE AND JOG

carolers and Santa strolls from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

For more information, visit lakewoodranch.com.

DEC. 5 MUSIC ON MAIN

Come to Lakewood Ranch Main Street from 6 to 9 p.m. for a free concert. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Food Bank of Manatee.

Guests are welcome to bring chairs but no coolers. Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a short leash.

For more information, call 907-9243.

DEC. 8 TOURING BOK TOWER GARDENS AND MANSION

Enjoy a docent-led HOLIDAY DINNER DANCE

Dance and dine at the annual event, which takes place at 7 p.m., at Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club. A DJ will provide diverse musical choices, while guests munch on filet mignon, sea bass or vegetarian options. For more information, call 757-1530.

DEC. 6

JINGLE AND JOG 5K AND 1 MILE RUN/WALK

Participate in the 5K and 1-mile run/walk, benefit-

DEC. 3: LWRBA / YLA HOLIDAY SOCIAL

tour of the mansion, all decked out for the holidays, at 11 a.m., followed by a chance to tour the gardens and experience the carillon bells.

For more information, contact the Lakewood Ranch Garden Club at 744-7356.

DEC. 10

CHRISTMAS PHOTOS WITH SANTA Come to Main Street Cinemas for a photo with Santa from 6 to 9 p.m.

For more information, visit lakewoodranch.com.

DEC. 11

MAIN STREET CELEBRATES THE CHRISTMAS SEASON

The holidays will take over Lakewood Ranch

2014 Main Street with carriage rides, strolling carolers and Santa strolls from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

For more information, visit lakewoodranch.com.

DEC. 12 HOLIDAYS AROUND THE RANCH

Holidays Around the Ranch is presented

by LWR Community Activities and is a holiday sensation of magical charm for all to enjoy.

This year’s event takes place 6 to 9 p.m. on Lakewood Ranch Main Street. Join the notable Harvest Methodist church choir as it sings carols around the fountain leading up to the lighting of the spectacular tree. Children can experience outdoor skating on the acrylic rink, and have

DEC. 12: HOLIDAYS AROUND THE RANCH

a DVD made with Dance Heads Florida. Sip on hot cocoa and egg nog from street vendors while enjoying the annual line up of stage performances by many local dance and music studios.

For more information, call 757-1530.

DEC. 17 CHANUKAH CELEBRATION

Chabad will celebrate a Thanksgiving Chanukah this year from 6 to 10:30 p.m., at Lakewood Ranch Main Street. A menorah made from canned food will be lit — participate by donating canned food.

Highlights of the event will include design your own dreidel, doughnut decorating, meet Judah Maccabee, hot latkes, live music and raffles.

Admission is free.

For more information, call 752-3030

DEC. 18-19 MAIN STREET CELEBRATES THE CHRISTMAS SEASON

The holidays will take over Lakewood Ranch Main Street with carriage rides, strolling carolers and Santa strolls from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

For more information, visit lakewoodranch.com.

DEC. 19 JINGLE 5K RUN/WALK

Kick off the holidays with a 5K event, with proceeds benefiting Lakewood Ranch Auxiliary fund children's charities.

Registration is available at active.com; registration costs vary. Run starts at 7 p.m., at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.

DEC. 20 BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

Visit with Santa from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Fete Ballroom at Polo Grill. For more information, call 782-0899.

FARMERS MARKET

Shop for fresh fruits and vegetables, wild-caught seafood, local honey, fresh-baked bread, flowers and more from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Lakewood Ranch Main Street.

For more information, visit lakewoodranch.com.

DEC. 14 SARASOTA POLO

DEC. 5: MUSIC ON MAIN

Polo matches are open to the public every Sunday at 1 p.m. (gates open at 10 a.m.) through April 5. General Admission is $12 per adult and children 12 and under are free. Dogs are welcome on a leash. For more information, call 907-0000.

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ers. Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a short leash.

For more information, call 907-9243.

JAN. 12 LAKEWOOD RANCH GARDEN CLUB

FEB.28: WINTERFEST

Terri Carr from Tallahassee will instruct members and guests in the unique, Japanese design process.

For more information, contact the Lakewood Ranch Garden Club at 744-7356.

JAN. 25 DEC. 21 LUNCH WITH SANTA

Enjoy lunch with Santa from noon to 2 p.m., at Main Street Trattoria. For more information, visit lakewoodranch.com.

DEC. 25 CHRISTMAS DAY BUFFET

Let Polo Grill take care of your family meal for Christmas from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For reservations, call 782-0899.

DEC. 27 SIDEWALK ASTRONOMY

Gather at dusk on Lakewood Ranch Main Street to view the stars in the form of Sidewalk Astronomy. For more information, visit lgdso. com.

JANUARY JAN. 2 MUSIC ON MAIN

Come to Lakewood Ranch Main Street from 6 to 9 p.m. for a free concert.

Guests are welcome to bring chairs but no cool-

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SUNCOAST HALF MARATHON

Start and finish the Suncoast Half Marathon at Lakewood Ranch Main Street with a scenic 13.1-mile certified course through Lakewood Ranch's Country Club West communities.

For more information, call 312-4955.

FEBRUARY FEB. 6 MUSIC ON MAIN

Come to Lakewood Ranch Main Street from 6 to 9 p.m. for a free concert.

Guests are welcome to bring chairs but no coolers. Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a short leash.

For more information, call 907-9243.

FEB. 7

FEB. 28 YOUTH FISHING TOURNAMENT

This annual tournament takes place from 9 a.m. to noon, at Summerfield Lake. Children ages 5 to 15 are invited to enter, whether you’re an experienced angler or interested in learning the sport.

Angler’s Club members will be on hand to help.

Cost is free to participate, but space is limited.

For more information, call 757-1530.

LEARN TO FISH SEMINAR

WINTERFEST

To prepare youth anglers for the Youth Fishing Tournament on Feb. 22, they’re invited to attend the learn-to-fish seminar at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m., at Summerfield Lake. The angler volunteers will teach, casting, knot tying, bait use and being a good angler.

For more information, call 757-1530.

The second annual WinterFest at Lakewood Ranch takes place at the Premier Sports Campus.

The music starts at 1 pm, gates open at noon.

There is ample parking and restrooms. Festival goers should bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on.

For the line up and more information, visit lwrwinterfest.com.

FEB. 28: YOUTH FISHING TOURNAMENT

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BY HEATHER MERRIMAN | CONTRIBUTOR

Judy Lyons Schneider

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Born and raised in New York City, award-winning artist Judy Lyons Schneider is a pioneer of Lakewood Ranch. Although Florida was never in her plans, Schneider sat down with LWR Life in her home studio to explain how it has been a surprising inspiration for her work. The following are excerpts from our conversation.

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How would you describe your work?

It’s such a simple question, but one that’s hard to answer. It’s abstract, but with components you would recognize. It’s been described as semi-abstract. If you look, you can recognize what they are about, but yet they are abstract in nature.

What kind of materials do you use in your work?

Materials are one of the things that inspire my work. I’m a very tactile person. If you show me a piece of paper that has a lovely texture or feel to it, that can set me off in a direction. I love printmaking because I can use the plate in many different ways, different configurations. I can explore and experiment with them. A neighbor of mine recently gave me access to some very beautiful Japanese paper, and that has started a whole new series of work.

Where all have you exhibited work?

In the Northeast I had them in several places in New York City. I have had them at a gallery of women’s studies at Princeton University.

There was a printmaking center where I won an award and had a one-person show. More locally, I have had shows at Art Center Sarasota, Longboat Key Center for the Arts and Women’s Resource Center and Art Center Venice, to name a few. I have some giclee

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prints that are represented at the Collectors Wall, which is off Tamiami Trail.

I just won a big prize with ISEA, which is the International Society of Experimental Art. The show was in Santa Pedro, Calif.

One of the most exciting one-person shows that I’ve had was at the Interchurch Center in New York City in 1997. Called “Common Ancestory,” it was a very exciting show, a large show. The space was beautiful and it was all tribalrelated imagery that was inspired by trips I had taken to Papa New Guinea and West Africa. Several totems and mixed media — it was very exciting. I’ve been proud of all the shows I’ve been in, but that was special.

How did you end up in Lakewood Ranch?

I’m from New York City. My husband, David, said he needed to be in Florida for at least six months of the year. He couldn’t take the cold, and I wasn’t sure that I could live in Florida. That was not on my wish list. At the time, he lived in a little burb of Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres, and when I went to visit after we married, I told him I couldn’t do it. I’d visit him and he said fine, ‘find a place in Florida where you’d be happy and I’ll relocate.’ Friends of mine had said to check out Sarasota or Naples, and when I came to Sarasota I fell in love with the community, there was such a vibrancy about it. My husband was golfing then and he wanted to be in a golfing community. At that time Lakewood Ranch was being developed, so we are somewhat pioneers here.

In fact, I used to pick up debris from the builders building homes in our neighborhood that I used in some of my work.

That was in 1998.

Photos by Heather Merriman

Judy Lyons Schneider creates an impression using one of her favorite art processes, printmaking.

How has living in Lakewood Ranch influenced your work?

One of the things is the view out of the window in my studio.

I’ve painted some acrylics looking out the window. These black birds would come and fly in the backyard and I just started painting them. I had some work that I brought from New Jersey and I was looking at it thinking, “Why is this framed?” So I started to tear it apart and used the components with many layers of collage that were inspired by the view.

Is there a particular spot in Lakewood Ranch that you find inspiring?

The preserve, the view of it outside my studio window is very inspiring. I also enjoy walking around the lake here, seeing some of the plants and things that are growing in the water.

Where do you go to view art, locally?

I like going to The Ringling’s Selby Gallery, and I also check in the local galleries over time. I look forward to SMOA (Sarasota Museum of Art) being opened,

which will be a while, but I really look forward to that. I’m just sorry that the number of venues for artists to show their work seems to be shrinking in this area.

How are you involved locally with the arts?

I’m involved with several organizations, one of which is the Women Contemporary Artists. I’ve been on the board for years. I’m also a Petticoat Painter. It’s an invitational group of 20 women, the longest constantly exhibiting women’s art group in this area. The name came about because 60 years ago women did not have a lot of places they could show their work; it really was a male thing. One artist, Martha Marie Hartman whose husband owned a gallery, talked him into showing women artists. He agreed and they had to come up with a title for the show and they decided on Petticoat Painters. The exhibit was a big hit and people were asking, “When is the next one?” That’s how it formed. I’m involved with that and also I’m a member of FLAG, which is Florida Artists Group, a statewide nonprofit of professional artists.

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Light and Bright The newest homes on the Ranch take cues from their coastal counterparts, and seek to bring the outdoors inside.

BY HEATHER MERRIMAN | CONTRIBUTOR

I

n recent years, the trend of darker home design has moved to lighter, simpler and cleaner. With this transition of style comes a new wave of features, appliances and tools. We stopped in a few homes featured during Lakewood Ranch’s annual Tour of Homes to talk to the experts about the latest trends for the home.

Influenced heavily by the latest design style — which can be described as transitional and coastal contemporary — many of the homes’ layout and decor focused on comfort, lightness and open spaces. Color palettes feature bright

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whites and neutral tones paired with pops of color or dark, rich accents.

The architectural elements in the houses include open floor plans with pocket sliders lining the back of the home.

This opens the house up to the outdoor living spaces, allowing Florida’s beauty outside to be enjoyed while inside. In addition to kitchen upgrades, which are always a hot ticket, floor design, ceiling detail and other touches highlight the latest style: When it comes to design, light and bright is in the house.

Everyone loves a bright smile.

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4800 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Bradenton, Florida 148526

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941-405-1600

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KITCHENS Two-toned kitchens are in. Two different colored cabinets, as well as two different granites, a light and a dark, add an interesting layered look in the space. In addition to the two-toned kitchen, SubZero and Wolf appliances are the top pick for the ultimate chef’s kitchen.

HIDDEN CONVENIENCE:

CHILL OUT:

A separate refrigerator and freezer provide room for more food and offer unique counter space in between.

Anything at eye level stands out to the viewer, so more designers are hiding appliances to allow the kitchen to highlight some of its more beautiful features, such as cabinets or stove hoods. Hence, the popularity of the microwave drawers. The appliance opens like a pullout drawer, and you just place your items right in to be heated.

FROM THE FARM:

Cooking is fun; cleaning up after is not.

Farmhouse sinks, however, make for easy cleaning in a simple design. The spacious tub-like sink gives you room to clean those large skillets and pans that otherwise are a hassle.

IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS

HERRINGBONE TILES:

Laying your choice of flooring using the herringbone design (much like a zig-zag or chevron) gives wood or tiles an added distinctive and contemporary look. Opting for this design brings a detailed touch to the floor.

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BASEBOARD OUTLET:

Choosing a thicker baseboard adds a look of prestige in your home, but a thicker baseboard can also hide electrical outlets. The white outlet stands out on a painted wall, but it blends more naturally into a white baseboard.

FREESTANDING TUB:

Freestanding tubs add a nice touch to bathrooms without being as bulbous as a typical garden tub. Added accessories, such as telephone tub faucets, can add style and interest.

THE CEILINGS Vaulted, beamed and tray ceilings add immediate design appeal and elegance to any room.

BEAMED CEILING:

Vaulted and beamed ceilings lend a simple point of interest to a room without being over the top.

FULL CAPPED COLUMN:

TENT CEILING: VAULTED CEILING:

Coffered ceilings, seen here in a master suite, are a unique structure with clean lines.

Reversed miter, full wood wrapped columns add detail you might otherwise not notice, but it makes all the difference. The detail in the etching provides a subtle design element to the columns.

IPAD CONTROLLER:

Home automation is the latest and greatest technology for the home. Using an iPad you can adjust the temperature, lock doors, control surround sound and more. It allows you to run your entire home from the touch of a tablet.

This tray ceiling features 7 1/4-inch molding with rope lighting. The tent tray ceiling in this guest bedroom was painted to add more color and dimension to the neutral room.

POOLSIDE FIRE PIT:

Fire pits have become more popular lately in outdoor living spaces, but now sunken fire pits can be added to your pool. With bench seating, this is the perfect way to help you make the most of your outdoor space in cooler weather.

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TIMELINE

CHARITY SNAPSHOT

BY HEATHER MERRIMAN | CONTRIBUTOR

Manasota BUDS

May 2002 Manasota BUDS formed

October 2002

250 walked in the first Buddy Walk at Hunsader Farms

2004 National Down Syndrome Society Volunteer of the Year Winner

2007

First grant written and awarded

2008 Winner of the EP Maxwell J. Schleifer Distinguished Service Award

2008 Won three National Telly Awards for information DVD produced by Salt and Light Productions

2008 “Strength is being with people who understand your situation,” says Mike Feduccia, pictured with board members, their children and volunteers. “That’s what we are here for.”

W

hen Mike Feduccia and his wife, Karen, attended their first Manasota BUDS meeting in 2003, it wasn’t what they expected. “I was thinking I was going to meet these people down by the circumstances,” Mike Feduccia says. “But it was quite the contrary.” Instead, they found 10 families gathering over pizza and soda to discuss what they could do to improve their children’s lives rather than just how to deal with the effects of Down syndrome.

Manasota BUDS, which stands for Bringing Up Down Syndrome, was formed in May 2002 by a group of families who attend Lord Lutheran Church. They wanted a place where families with children with Down syndrome could net-

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work, compare notes and support each other. Since then, the local nonprofit has raised more than $1 million, helped more than 250 families and inspired other cities to form similar groups.

“I think one of the best things after going to the first BUDS meeting after Andrew was born was that I became an advocate for Andrew,” says Feduccia, who now serves as president of the organization, about his son. “Instead of worrying about ‘what should be,’ it changed to ‘what could be.’”

The Manasota BUDS mission is to provide families with a neutral and supportive forum for sharing and networking and to promote understanding and acceptance of Down syndrome. The group hosts monthly meetings for families to get connected and to learn more

about current support systems and features guests speakers from time to time. Inside the organization, members have formed groups catered to specific interests to further promote connections such as Mom’s Night Out, BUDS Tennis and the DADS program, which was the first of Florida Affiliate for DADS (Dads Appreciating Down Syndrome).

In addition to the supportive camaraderie, the group offers new parent kits for families expecting a child with Down syndrome, social and educational programs, activities within the community, therapeutic riding and funding for local and national conferences.

It even provides scholarships for full evaluations at the Down Syndrome Clinic at Hope Haven in Jacksonville so families can get a

Became the first Florida Affiliate for DADS (Dads Appreciating Down Syndrome) better understanding of their child and what they can do to help.

To fund its programs, Manasota BUDS hosts the annual Buddy Walk during Hunsader Farms’ yearly Pumpkin Festival in October, which is national Down syndrome awareness month. The Hunsaders’ daughter Mary Jo Baar and her husband, Jim, are a founding family of Manasota BUDS, and the family has hosted the walk since the beginning. The walk, which is the organization’s major fundraising event, raises more than $80,000 a year, says Feduccia. As an allvolunteer organization with no fixed overhead, the majority of the money raised goes directly to helping children and families affected

by Down syndrome. “We net about 80% of what we raise at that event each year,” Feduccia says.

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LUCKY DOGS

A ‘dogged’ new society has emerged in Lakewood Ranch. It’s marking its territory at every turn.

BY HEIDI KURPIELA | CONTRIBUTOR

I

t’s noon on Thursday. Do you know where your dog is?

Bo, Bella, Lucy, Lexi, Skipper and Bentley are all taking a load off their paws at the Canine Ranch County Club in Lakewood Ranch.

Bo and Bella, a golden retriever and black lab, respectively, are wading in a bright blue pool, taking turns fetching tennis balls. Lucy, a sassy schnauzer/poodle mix, is floating on a papasan raft. Lexi, a perfectly coiffed Maltese, is in the air-conditioned members lounge, perched on a sofa near the juice bar. Skipper, a laidback Tibetan terrier, is touring the adjacent yoga studio and massage parlor. Bentley, a two-pound teacup poodle, is in the gym, sniffing out a treadmill.

If ever there were a casting call for the Real Housedogs of East County, these pooches would be the first in line.

While most dogs are stuck in empty living rooms — or worse, pens — waiting for their owners to slump home from work, this giddy pack of privileged pooches is gathered for a pool party.

Canine Ranch Country Club — a chic dog retreat on nine acres of ranch land off Lorraine Road — has every health service and creature comfort a pampered pup could hope for, including grooming, canine coaching, agility training, doggy daycare, doga (dog yoga), massage and yes, “pet-icures.”

There’s a juice bar, in-ground pool, Jacuzzi, nature trails, a kitchen, a library, an indoor track and a large off-leash corral modeled after a horse paddock.

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“I’m positioning this place like a regular country club,” says Canine Ranch owner Heather Perry (with dog Bentley). “That’s the real hook.

People really enjoy the company of other people with like minds.”

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Lakewood Ranch mother-of-two Heather Perry and her husband, Nathan, purchased the ranch last year with the intentions of turning the property’s existing four-bedroom, two-bath home into a members-only dog club. Perry, who owns three dogs and a horse, wanted space for her pets to roam. A resident of the Lakewood Ranch Country Club, she had a hard time finding acreage for her animals to be … well, animals.

“My goldendoodle likes to play fetch,” she says.

“I can’t exactly let him out on the golf course to run. When I saw this property and this house, I

Bella and Bo retrieve tennis balls in the Canine Ranch pool.

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knew I’d found the place for my country club.”

A dog-lover and Lakewood Ranch resident since 2004, Perry had always wanted to start a business that catered to canines. In the 1990s she ran a Washington, D.C.-based personal development center during the height of Tony Robbins’ fame. A bubbly saleswoman, she specialized in selling memberships that granted clients access to goods and services in the self-help industry. When she hatched the idea for a dog country club, she saw it as a natural extension of her previous career. This time instead of selling leadership seminars to CEOs, she’d sell “peticures” to dog fanatics.

“There’s nothing like this in the country,” Perry says. “I Googled it. I Bing’ed it. I Yahoo’ed it. The closest gym for dogs is in Orlando, and that’s just a gym, not a country club.”

Personal trainer Patti Stanley, who runs a local boot camp for people and their dogs, can’t think of a better test market for a canine country club. A Lakewood Ranch resident, Stanley was hired by Perry to serve as a canine coach, a kind of Jillian Michaels for overweight dogs.

“I think if it’s going to work anywhere, it’s going to work here,” Stanley says. “There’s a country club mentality in Lakewood Ranch.

Adults go to country clubs. Kids go to country clubs. Why not bring your dog to a country club?

It makes perfect sense.”

Bentley, a 2-year-old teacup poodle, and Lexi, a 4-year-old Maltese, lounging at the Canine Ranch Country Club.

“

There’s nothing like this in the country. I Googled it. I Bing’ed it. I Yahoo’ed it. The closest gym for dogs is in Orlando, and that’s just a gym, not a country club."

Below: “We’re like EMS for pets,” says Cheryl Brady of her Vet Care Express. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you started seeing more services like this popping up across the country.”

The members’ lounge at the Canine Ranch Country Club

THE PERKS OF BEING A POOCH When hotel tycoon Leona Helmsley died seven years ago, her beloved Maltese, Trouble, was bequeathed $12 million and flown via private jet from New York to Sarasota to live out the rest of her dog years in the lap of luxury with the general manager of the Sandcastle Resort on Lido Key. What Helmsley didn’t know before she wrote her will, was that Trouble, whose annual expenses cost about $190,000 and included a $100,000 security staff, would have been better off in Lakewood Ranch.

The East County community, best known for its master-planned conveniences, bucolic countryside, recreational amenities and manicured villages, has become a kind of de facto Club Med for dogs.

Almost every business in the village is dog friendly. The sidewalks along Main Street are lined with dog bowls. Restaurants with patios offer doggy dining. Merchants let dogs waltz in and out of stores. Employees bring pooches to work. Dog treats are given out with receipts.

Artist Jean Cipriano’s Shih Tzu is treated like another member of the staff at Let’s Create Art Learning Center. Mike Driscoll’s spaniel/bichon mix is referred to as “the boss” at the Main Street Bazaar.

Doggy play dates seem to happen with as much predictability in Lakewood Ranch as the kiddie variety. The Paw Park at Greenbrook Adventure Park has its regulars, as does Starbucks, where a group of retired men meet for coffee every morning with their furry friends in tow. The village’s monthly concert series, Music on Main, serves as an unofficial mixer for Lakewood Ranch canines.

Emily Cameron with Moose, an 8-year-old Yorkie, at the Canine Ranch Country Club

There are dog painting parties, costume parades, scavenger hunts, golf tournaments, you name it.

“I don’t know one business that doesn’t allow pets,” Cipriano says. “We even have poop bags outside our store.”

Even doggy medical care is top notch.

Dr. Patricia Campbell’s Westbridge Veterinary Clinic makes house calls in Manatee County.

A full-service mobile vet, Campbell says she’s seen a tremendous response from pet owners in Lakewood Ranch since opening her practice in 2012.

A kind of concierge veterinary service, Campbell’s entire clinic is housed in a 26-foot,

custom-built vehicle that resembles a bloodmobile.

“I think the folks in Lakewood Ranch appreciate the attention to detail,” says Campbell, a Palmetto resident. “It’s very different from most options available to them.”

Cheryl Brady’s Vet Care Express — an ambulance service that transports sick and injured pets to local animal clinics — is seeing just as much action in Lakewood Ranch.

On average Brady, who drives an old red-andwhite Sarasota County ambulance, averages about 35 calls a week, many of them near her home in Creekwood. Since hitting the road in 2010, the former East Manatee volunteer firefighter has logged 3,600 transports. Her EMS services are in such demand that she recently partnered with East Manatee Fire Rescue to assist with incidents that involve pets.

“I’m getting calls from people across the country asking how they can bring a pet ambulance to their city,” Brady says. “We have a service that no one else in the country has.”

THE PRICE OF PAMPERING Of course, lavishing the family pet comes at a price.

Memberships to the Canine Country Club range from $29 to $100 a month. Each additional service — massage, doga, agility training, canine coaching, etc. — will cost extra depending on your membership level.

Campbell’s veterinary house calls range from $35 to $100 depending on location and don’t cover the cost of the exam or services rendered.

Brady’s non-urgent ambulance rides start at $30, but can exceed $100 for emergencies.

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Most of Brady’s clients tell her she doesn’t charge enough, because that’s the type of pet owner she deals with — the charitable kind.

To gain a better understand of the town’s devotion to animals, you need only look at the proceeds from the 2012 raffle at the Hounds and Gowns Gala benefiting the Humane Society at Lakewood Ranch. Steered by Let’s Create Art owner David Ashley, the fundraiser generated a whopping $80,000 for the small animal shelter.

Says Stephen Miller, general manager of Pincher’s Crab Shack in Lakewood Ranch: “I’m from Fort Myers, which is also dog friendly, but not like here. I saw a Chihuahua in a purse the other day. This is a high-end dog town.”

FOR LOVE OF DOG AND COUNTRY Perry’s country club isn’t the only dog oasis east of I-75. This spring, Sarasota philanthropist Marsha Panuce will open Donte’s Den, a sprawling dog sanctuary on 50 acres of farmland in Myakka City.

A 66-year-old entrepreneur from Chicago, Panuce is the executive producer and host of ABC 7’s “Animal Outtakes.” For decades, she and her late husband, Don, ran an international manufacturing company. The couple traveled often and never had children. Instead they raised fur babies — schnauzers to be exact. During her life, Panuce has owned a dozen schnauzers and rescued and found homes for more than 30 dogs.

“Every time we left on a trip, I’d turn to Don and ask, ‘What happens to our boys if something happens to us?’” Panuce says. “We have wonderful friends, but will they cook for our dogs?

Will they let the dogs sleep in their bed? My husband would always say, ‘Nothing is going to happen to us.’ But that was never good enough for me.”

When Don died in 2011, Panuce hit the ground running on a $5 million pet project: a nonprofit sanctuary for homeless dogs on an old cattle farm off State Road 70 in East Manatee County.

Named after one of her most faithful schnauzers, Donte’s Den dwarfs the Canine Ranch County Club in size alone.

The complex, which Panuce broke ground on in April 2014, includes a state-ofthe-art veterinary hospital, an adoption center, a dog playground, pool and a long-term assistedliving facility for four-legged tenants whose owners signed over their custody in a pet trust.

“It’s not just a sanctuary,” Panuce says. “It’s a community. People are continually amazed because nobody can truly picture it until they get out here. This is not your grandma’s animal shelter.”

Each dog will reside in an 8-by-10-foot den with a private porch and grass patch. Dogs that belong to members of the military will have an open invitation should their owners get deployed

overseas.

Panuce already has four reservations for the assisted-living facility and has taken several calls from military families seeking temporary residency for their canine companions.

“There are dog-lovers everywhere,” Panuce says. “But I could not have found 50 acres in downtown Sarasota, so in that regard, yes, Lakewood Ranch is a dog mecca. Dogs need space to run and there’s simply more of it out east. I’ve only built on eight acres so far. I’ve got a lot of room to grow — and I fully expect to.”

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For more information contact Linda Lutz, Admissions Director 941.746.2121 ext. 1568, LLutz@SaintStephens.org, www.SaintStephens.org, Saint Stephen’s serves grades PK3 - 12 54

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“I think we’re a gem in this community,” Pinnacle founder Kirstina Ordetx says. “We’re a reminder that not everyone fits into a traditional model, yet everyone has a place they can call home.”

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the

Pinnacle of Education Dr. Kirstina Ordetx’s Pinnacle Academy has made Lakewood Ranch an education destination for exceptional learners.

BY HEIDI KURPIELA | CONTRIBUTOR

P

innacle Academy Executive Director Dr. Kirstina Ordetx loves her job. You can see it in the easy, confident way she carries herself. You can sense it in her interactions with the students and staff. You can hear it in the way she discusses complex topics that are foreign to people who are not educators, child development experts or psychologists. She’s a natural communicator, the kind of woman who makes everyone feel at home.

For example, when Ordetx says, “I like to study the breakdown of mirror neurons,” you follow her explanation from start to finish, even if you know nothing about cognitive neuroscience.

A Sarasota native and Lakewood Ranch resident, Ordetx is an expert in her field. She has a bachelor’s degree in child development from Florida State University, a master’s degree in mental health counseling from the University of South Florida and a Ph.D. in child psychology from Argosy University. She’s also a certified nutrition and wellness consultant, a licensed mental health internist and the author of two books on her favorite topic: theory of mind, a key development in social cognition that occurs during the first five years of life.

When it comes to exceptional student education in the state of Florida, Ordetx is leading the way.

She founded Pinnacle Academy 12 years ago. The Lakewood Ranch private school, which encompasses grades Pre-K to 12, is revered among families whose children struggle in traditional education settings. Its programs and methodology are so well regarded that families from all over the country and the world have relocated to Lakewood Ranch so their children can attend the school.

According to Ordetx, 30% of the school’s 100 students have moved from out of state specifically to study at Pinnacle.

“We’ll call some families to tell them we have an opening and they immediately stick a ‘for sale’ sign in their yard,” Ordetx says. “Parents have endured hardships so their kids can go here. We’ve got people driving every day from Tampa and Punta Gorda.

Four years ago, we had two families move from India.

Pinnacle has a special place in a lot of people’s hearts.”

THE LITTLE SCHOOL THAT COULD

Two years ago, Ordetx was at an event at the Sarasota Polo Club when she was introduced to LWR LIFE

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a woman with a high opinion of Pinnacle Academy.

“Oh, I know your school,” the woman said.

“You’re the little darlings of Lakewood Ranch.”

Ordetx thought the description was fitting.

Once considered a school for students with autism, Pinnacle has evolved to reflect a much larger spectrum of language and learning differences.

“The student population has changed over the years,” Ordetx says. “I may have one student with Asperger’s, dyslexia, dysgraphia, social anxiety and ADHD. I may have another student who is not diagnosed with anything, but exhibits difficulty with reading comprehension, math, written expression, organization and attention. The labels are not important.

What’s important is that they’re learning in a way that works for them.”

Buoyed by Ordetx’s one-size-does-not-fit-all approach, Pinnacle’s programs are rooted in brain-based and project-based learning, differentiated instruction and applied behavior analysis (see sidebar on page 59).

Located on a six-acre campus on Lorraine Road, Pinnacle Academy occupies the original Schroeder-Manatee Ranch (SMR) headquarters — a collection of former office buildings where in the early 1990s Lakewood Ranch’s founders drew up the community’s first master plan.

Small airy rooms that once housed SMR’s cubicles and conference rooms are now classrooms, where children and teens dressed in Pinnacle Academy polo shirts study everything from the alphabet to Homer’s “Odyssey.”

The school moved into the property six-anda-half years ago, after spending several years in rented space at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Church in Sarasota.

Ordetx remembers the first time she walked

“ Ashley Crowe teaches a phonics lesson in a K/1 classroom.

She is able to envision what these children need and what will work for them.

This place is her heart and soul. Even if she had the opportunity to not be here, she wouldn’t take it. I honestly believe it’s a calling.”

Erin Lucido uses the trademarked Handwriting Without Tears curriculum in her K/1 classroom. “Both of my children went through the kindergarten program here,” Pinnacle founder Kirstina Ordetx says. “It’s early intense academics.”

into the building. It was eerily quiet.

Maps of Lakewood Ranch were tacked to the walls. Transparent overlays marked progress on key developments.

As she toured each building, a sense of awe washed over her. For 20 years, this unassuming office park had been home to the community’s brain trust. It was where, as Ordetx says, “Lakewood Ranch came to be.”

Though it wasn’t a perfect fit for a school, the director knew with a little bit of creativity and elbow grease the property could be transformed into a suitable campus. With little time to renovate, the school knocked down some walls and moved in.

In 2012, the school purchased the property from SMR, replaced the roof, the siding and landscaping. It planted a garden, built a greenhouse and began fundraising to expand the school’s athletic facilities. By the end of this year the school will have a turf track and field course, a new swingset and a bigger basketball court.

Rex Jensen, SMR president and CEO, is thrilled to see his old headquarters fulfill a new mission.

“I always wanted to find some really special use for the site,” says Jensen,

whose old office is now a kindergarten classroom. “It’s gratifying to see it converted in this way. On the other hand, I’m not so wedded to the past that I’d be crushed if they tore it down. My hope for Pinnacle is that they eventually build a new facility that’s totally tailored to the needs of the kids. As far as I’m concerned, a building is a building.

What goes on inside is what matters most.”

THE DYNAMIC LEADER

As much as Ordetx credits Pinnacle’s success to its researchbased methodologies and “amazing staff,” the 44-year-old mother of two is the academy’s real tour de force.

Her expertise in the industry and tireless innovation is the lifeblood of the school.

“She is able to envision what these children need and what will work for them,” says Joy Wortley, head of Pinnacle’s Pre-K department. “This place is her heart and soul. Even if she had the opportunity to not be here, she wouldn’t take it. I honestly believe it’s a calling.”

Wortley has worked with Ordetx

THE PINNACLE SYSTEM The system, though intense in its approach, is frequently augmented to better serve students, which means Ordetx is constantly trying out new ideas.

The academy is broken into three distinct programs: the Primary School, Integrated Skills Program and Summit School. n The Primary School offers a nap-free language and learning curriculum for preschoolers who are at risk for development or cognitive leaning delays. n The Integrated Skills Program (ISP) offers an alternative to graded curriculum. Highly structured and consistently modified, ISP’s low-ratio classrooms are tailored to high-needs students of all ages with multiple neurodevelopmental disorders. n The Summit School –– Pinnacle’s fastest-growing program

–– is designed to close learning gaps and promote grade level performance for students in second through 12th grades.

Through the use of multimodal services, social skills training and a positive behavior support model, some of these students may eventually mainstream into a regular school.

“Basically we’re a school for exceptional learners,” Ordetx says. “Many of our kids are gifted in one area and need help in other areas. Not all brains work the same, so we teach up to their strengths and down to their weaknesses.”

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for 15 years, back when they were independent consultants providing special education teacher training and after-school support for autistic students in the Sarasota County school system.

The experience spurred Ordetx to open Pinnacle.

Armed with a small staff of teachers and behavior specialists, Ordetx decided to spin her parttime services into a full-time school.

She opened Pinnacle in 2002 with 36 kids. By 2007, her enrollment had doubled.

“She is dynamic and charismatic,” Wortley says. “People stay with her for so long because she’s always blending therapies and moving forward, always stretching herself to do better.”

Ordetx has always been this way.

During her summer breaks from Riverview High School, she ran a Sarasota preschool. As an undergrad at Florida State, she developed an inclusion program for special needs students in after-school and summer programs at Tallahassee public schools.

In her 20s, she worked as a child life therapist in the pediatric intensive care unit at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. The job required her to serve as a kind of therapeutic liaison between critically ill patients and the hospital’s medical staff.

“It was at once beautiful and heartbreaking,” she says.

She returned to Sarasota in the mid-1990s, married her college sweetheart, opened a short-lived paint-your-own-pottery business in Burns Court and began working with her first autistic client — a 3-year-old boy named Noah.

She worked with the boy for 20 hours a week for more than two years. At the time roughly one in 1,000 children were diagnosed with autism and very few clinicians specialized in treating the disorder.

“Now it’s a household name,” Ordetx says. “One in 88 kids fall somewhere on the autism spectrum and there’s still no good explanation for why it occurs.”

She made tremendous strides with Noah. At 5, he was able to transition into a regular kindergarten classroom, proving what Ordetx has always believed to be true: early intervention is critical. Children’s

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brains are malleable. The more information you can pack in before the gap widens, the better off your child will be.

“Was it a great feeling as a professional to watch this transformation? Yes, of course,” she says. “I watched a family start to function at a completely different level. I watched a boy connect with the world. It was a big deal.”

Now Ordetx is doing with Pinnacle what she did with Noah.

ABOUT PINNACLE Founded: 2001 Director: Dr. Kirstina Ordetx Enrollment: About 100 students Tuition: $17,950 – Pre-K and non-graded programs; $12,000 – 251 – 253 Matrix (Summit program); $15,500 – 254 Matrix (Summit program)

The Engine Room is a popular place for active preschoolers to blow off steam.

Her work in Sarasota and Manatee counties has garnered the attention of educators across the country. Two years ago she opened a second Pinnacle location in South Tampa, which is run by a former Lakewood Ranch colleague.

Since then, Ordetx has come under pressure to open more schools.

Business leaders, school administrators and parents have approached her about franchising the program so that other children can benefit from the Pinnacle method.

Despite this enthusiasm, Ordetx

is reluctant to expand.

“This is not McDonald’s,” she says. “We’re not a drive-thru school.

I attribute the success of the school to the people who are in it. It’s hard to replicate that. All the things on paper can be replicated. The camaraderie, the excitement, the intimacy and personal relationships — these things cannot be replicated. We’re a family school. Going nationwide, as exciting as it sounds, just isn’t for me.”

She is, however, excited about expanding her Lakewood Ranch operation.

The Lakewood Ranch Community

Development District (CDD) recently vacated the two-and-a-half acres it occupied on the second half of Pinnacle’s property. Ordetx hopes to use that space to build more middle and high school classrooms.

She says some of the upperclassmen have decided to start an orchid rehab program in the CDD’s empty barn.

“I’m curious to see how well they do,” she says. “I’ve never had luck with orchids. They’re so gorgeous, but so tricky. Whenever I get one as a gift I can never keep it alive. I think from now on if I get an orchid, I’ll bring it here so it can thrive.”

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Man’s BEST FRIEND Chris McNamee’s guide dog Max is proof that one loyal friend can change the way you see the world.

BY LEILANI POLK | CONTRIBUTOR

W

hile some dog owners claim to have an inseparable bond with their four-legged companions, Lakewood Ranch resident Chris McNamee and his dog, Max, really do. The yellow lab is not only McNamee’s best friend, but his eyes to the world, a lifeline to normalcy, and a symbol of the independence and quality of life he thought he’d lost forever when he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) more than 27 years ago.

The degenerative retinal disease is characterized by progressive peripheral vision loss and deteriorating night and low-light vision that can eventually lead to blindness. It’s also hereditary, and even though McNamee’s father had RP and McNamee — the third of six children — was born with it, he wasn’t diagnosed until he was 28. Five years later, he stopped driving. He isn’t entirely without sight, but his peripheral vision is shot, and what he can see is limited at best.

“I have to scan things by moving my head and moving my eyes in order to take in what I’m looking at,” McNamee says.

McNamee is a soft-spoken, articulate 55-year-old retiree with short silvery hair and an easy, serene smile that makes his earnestness all the more endearing. Max is similarly calm and unusually well mannered, his lemon chiffon coat silky and gleaming, his big doggie grin wide and friendly.

They’ve been side by side for seven-and-a-half years. They’re comfortable together. Max lies at McNamee’s feet lazily swishing his fluffy tail, while his sparkling brown eyes remain alert to any signals or commands that might come his way. In turn, McNamee handles Max tenderly, his hand straying to pat or scratch the dog’s velvety head, his commands firm but never rising above the same warm tone he uses when relating the series of events that led to their union.

McNamee was prompted do some research on guide dogs because, he says, “I was no longer feeling safe, even as a pedestrian.” Crowds were espeLWR LIFE

63

cially tricky to navigate. He started using a white cane, but even that proved difficult, for people didn’t seem to understand what the cane designated. “Once, my wife and I were in an airport and this woman cut in front of me and tripped over my cane,” McNamee says. “She turned and angrily snapped, ‘Watch where you’re going!’ before she took off.”

A Google search led him to Southeastern Guide Dogs, a 32-yearold Palmetto-based nonprofit that pairs visually impaired people with guide dogs.

In fall 2006, McNamee traveled from his home in Wisconsin to the Gulf Coast of Florida to tour the organization. He returned six months later to begin his first day as a student in the Paws for Independence program.

The experience transformed his life, inspired him to pay it forward and introduced him to one of the finest guides on four legs: gentle, steadfast Southeastern Guide Dogs works with three breeds: Labradors, golden retrievers and goldadors (a lab/golden Max. retriever mix).

LEADER OF THE PACK

Southeastern Guide Dogs is the top dog in its industry. Internationally accredited and ranked No. 1 in guide dog schools by Charity Navigator, the organization has been breeding, raising, training and placing guide dogs in homes, for free, since 1982. The organization has managed to function for decades without any funding from the government — an impressive feat considering it costs $60,000 to raise one guide dog and 100 animals are placed with handlers each year.

Hundreds of volunteers and a loyal donor base are the lifeblood of the organization. “Without them, the school couldn’t do what it’s doing,” McNamee says.

The organization’s 35-acre campus includes private student dorms, a full-service cafeteria, a $1.75 million veterinary center, a canine assessment center, paved trails and an obstacle course for guide dog training. Students who apply and qualify for a guide dog must first learn how to get around with a cane before enrolling in the 26-day training program, during which time they’re matched with a dog.

The matchmaking process is extensive and complicated. Even McNamee

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has a hard time explaining how and why specific matches are made, except to say that trainers always pair dogs with students who share the same walking pace.

McNamee was matched with Max on the second day of his training. He was sitting on the floor in his dorm room when the then-2-year-old lab sprung “like Tigger” into his lap for the first time. He remembers the dog never whimpered for his trainer, that it was as if he had been waiting for McNamee all along.

“Max was very easy to fall in love with,” McNamee says. “During those 26 days people would come up to me to tell me how happy and proud he looked. His head was held high. His chest was up. His tail was wagging. I loved him pretty quickly because he loved me first.”

The next few years found McNamee embracing his newly regained mobility and relishing a life that had been somewhat restrictive before Max came along. He and his wife, Lynn, traveled extensively and wintered in Florida for a few years, until they started wondering why they bothered returning home to Wisconsin at all.

“The allure was partly the weather, but we were getting really connected with Southeastern Guide Dogs,” McNamee says. “During snowbird season we’d get involved in the walkathon campaigns and fundraising, and I was being asked to speak at different events, so we decided to move here.”

That was in 2009. Since then, he’s proved a valued spokesman for the organization despite being averse to public speaking.

“I was so impassioned about what Max had done for me and what the school was doing for other people that it pushed me out of my comfort zone,” McNamee says.

Now the local poster boy for guide dog handling, McNamee is a member of the organization’s board of directors. In 2013, he was selected as the Southeastern Guide Dogs Graduate of the Year.

Southeastern Guide Dogs Chief Executive Officer Titus Herman first met McNamee seven years ago when he took up his post at the organization and McNamee was a guest speaker at one of the organization’s functions at the time. “Since then, Chris has worked very closely with Southeastern

“

I loved him pretty quickly because he loved me first.”

Chris McNamee and his 9-year-old guide dog, Max. “When we were paired it was an instant connection,” McNamee says.

Guide Dogs,” Herman explains. “He represents us in the community and frequently he will make presentations regarding this organization to potential supporters and potential guide dog recipients. In addition to doing that, Chris also serves on our board of directors. As such, Chris is able to lend a graduate’s perspective both to the board and to me as well.”

McNamee says his involvement and passion for the organization isn’t unique, though. “I think every graduate probably leaves the school feeling like they want to pay it forward to other visually impaired people,” McNamee says.

He points out that only about 2% of all people who are blind or visually impaired work with guide dogs. To close that gap, he sings Southeastern Guide Dog’s praises whenever he encounters a visually impaired person.

Take Beverly Hill for example. Hill, an Albuquerque, N.M., native was vacationing in

Lakewood Ranch when she met Max and McNamee. Like McNamee, Hill suffers from RP. When a neighbor asked McNamee to share his story with Hill, he obliged. The two chatted for a few hours. McNamee offered to set Hill up with a tour of the school, an opportunity she accepted gladly. In August, she graduated with a shiny black lab named Ronnie G. Says McNamee, “She had given up a lot of things she’s now taken back, like just walking around the neighborhood.”

GUIDING LIGHT

Spend any time around Max and you notice he doesn’t jump on furniture or people. He doesn’t bark when there’s a knock at the door.

He doesn’t eat food off tables or get aggressive with other dogs, and he never goes anywhere without permission. This is because guide dogs

SOUTHEASTERN GUIDE DOGS 100

Employees

650

Volunteers

127

Veterinarians donate or discount their time and services

1,300,000 Hours donated by volunteers in the 2012-2013 fiscal year

50

Dogs in the school’s breeding colony

250

Puppies currently being raised by volunteers

1,000

Dogs currently deployed

$60,000

Cost to raise and train a dog LWR LIFE

65

undergo extensive behavior training almost from birth while being familiarized with all varieties of people, sounds, surfaces and settings.

“I can take Max to a social event, to church, I can take his harness off, and he would still behave as if he were in a harness,” says McNamee, who admits his biggest hurdle as a handler was to stop relying on so many of his own coping mechanisms and simply lean more on Max. He came to this realization one night shortly after graduation when he was leaving an Ybor City comedy club with his daughter and son-inlaw. McNamee was walking along a dark sidewalk when Max stopped abruptly. Out of tune with the dog’s movements, McNamee continued walking and nearly tumbled down a short flight of steps.

“Fortunately I didn’t fall,” he says. “I did a Chevy Chase windmill down the stairs and Max was sitting at the top of the steps looking at me like, ‘Dude I told you to stop.’ That’s a lot of what the class teaches you, to rely on what the dog is telling you, to be really in sync with what it is he’s doing to safely guide you.”

Max can be trained to find anything. Doors.

Stairs. The best route home. Short of driving, McNamee says he can do just about anything he

needs to do thanks to Max. “Max allows me the freedom that everyone else who isn’t visually impaired takes for granted day after day,” McNamee says. “I enjoy my life much more fully than when I had impairments and was just using a cane.”

McNamee never tires of listening to sentimental new graduates talk about how their lives have been enriched by guide dogs. “The gratitude that people have for what Southeastern Guide Dogs has done for them, even as a visually impaired person, it moves me each and every time,” he says.

Most graduates credit their biggest life successes to their guides. McNamee was in class with a former U.S. Marine who lost both of his eyes to a roadside bomb in Iraq. An ambassador for Southeastern’s Paws for Patriots program, the man now speaks at school events and fundraisers.

“He tells people, the best thing that ever happened to him was getting blown up, in terms of the direction his life took and how it made him the person he is today,” McNamee says. “That’s my takeaway. That’s what drives me to continue to promote the school, people like that.”

As a boy McNamee never had a pet, much less

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a big dog. When he enrolled in the program he feared Max might sense this inexperience. He worried their bond would feel unnatural. At the very least, he figured he’d have to work to earn Max’s affection.

He was wrong. One night early in the program, McNamee woke up at 5 a.m. to someone pounding on his dorm room door. He opened the door.

No one was there. The pounding resumed, louder this time.

“Max’s tail was knocking on the door,” McNamee says. “That was how happy he was.

His tail wouldn’t stop wagging.”

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HAVEN SPOTLIGHTING LIFE ON THE RANCH

Entertaining during the holidays can be stressful, but the Pascarellas built a home that makes hosting a breeze.

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Entertaining, Florida style

The Pascarellas love hosting parties so much, they designed their house for it.

BY HEATHER MERRIMAN | CONTRIBUTOR

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The butler’s bar area allows the Pascarellas to leave the drink-mixing to the professionals during parties.

F

or most Floridians, winter weather is why we live here. The temperature has dropped, the sun is shining and the sentiments of the holidays are upon us. These are the perfect months to gather friends and family for get-togethers: family cookouts, porch hangs and indoor parties to enjoy the best people and the best time of year.

That being said, we all have that family member, that friend, with the ultimate house for entertaining for the holidays — Mark and Holly Pascarella have that house. The gracious couple took LWR Life on a tour of their home to show us the space behind the perfect parties and share tips on how to be the ultimate hosts.

The Pascarellas designed and built their home in the Matanzas neighborhood in the Country Club four years ago, and they designed it with the intention of enjoying it.

“When we built this house, we wanted our kids to be able to grow into it — we wanted a place that the teenagers would want to hang out at. I’d rather have my kids and their friends here,” says Holly Pascarella. “In that respect, we built it so it would be fun.”

The Pascarellas entertain for many occasions — birthday parties, holiday parties, family functions, customer appreciation events, football games, you name it, they can host it.

The home has 4850 square feet spread across one level, with large, open living areas. (Holly Pascarella describes it as a four-three on steroids.) The entire living area space opens up by means of pocket sliding doors to the outdoor living space, providing plenty of room for hosting a dinner or party. “We’ve brought in tables and caterers and can entertain more than 50 guests for dinner,” says Holly Pascarella. The family had 70 guests over recently for her 50th birthday party.

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Above: The screened-in lanai and pool area provides ample space for party guests to enjoy the best of Florida’s sunny days and cool nights in the winter.

Right: After entering the home, guests don’t have to go far to grab a drink and start mingling. The Pascarellas’ living room features a bar to the side, a piano for entertaining and plenty of seating.

OUTDOOR FEATURES Fire pit Large pool and hot tub Outdoor kitchen surrounded by outdoor living furniture

Comfort and space are the two things Mark and Holly Pascarella say are the most important for hosting at home. “There’s something to be said about the comfort of your own home,” says Holly Pascarella, “It’s got to feel cozy and warm and inviting, not overwhelming.”

The home, which sits on ¾ an acre, has a view of the sixth hole of Cypress Links Golf Course in the Country Club, offering a beautiful and private ambiance for the Pascarellas and their guests. The massive circular driveway is another feature conducive to entertaining, making it possible to fit two rows of cars on the property alone.

“For me it’s about having a good time and being comfortable. If at the end of the party I feel like people stayed, laughed and had a great time, I'm happy,” says Holly Pascarella, “To me, that’s a successful party.”

KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL Although the Pascarellas have a kitchen that can handle cooking holiday feasts, Holly is not one for being stuck behind the stove. “I have a beautiful kitchen, but I don't cook in it,” says Holly Pascarella, who hires caterers to come in for their dinners and parties.

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All water is not

created equal One type of irrigation will not fit all applications, sorry to say. Think of it this way: There are two types of irrigation: one for your turf, or lawn, and one for your landscape beds.

WATERING TURF

BY LORI WALKER CERTIFIED MASTER GARDENER

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Turf grass is a very thirsty animal that requires 1 inch of water per week.

The deeper you water turf, the deeper your roots will grow. And the deeper your turf’s roots, the thicker, more lush and more beautiful the lawn and bigger your sense of pride.

The time of day of watering is also extremely important. Homeowners who water during the day are losing water to evaporation and, therefore, starving their lawn without realizing it (not to mention having the sun scorch it once the watering ends). Mind you,

watering at night isn’t a great idea either because it can cause fungus to grow and buildup. Therefore, the best time of day to water your lawn is early in the morning. It’s cooler at dawn or pre-dawn and your lawn will be able to absorb the water before the heat of the day. The turf will dry to avoid scorch and evaporation. I have my turf irrigation starting at 3 a.m. twice weekly. It’s done just before dawn.

Perfect.

What about irrigation heads?

Regardless of what shape and/or kind of head you use, you should have “head-to-head” coverage. This means the length of the spray from one head should reach the neighboring head.

Yes, you need that overlap because of wind drift. Remember, your lawn is a very thirsty animal.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? The Lakewood Ranch Garden Club meets the second Tuesday of the month. Go to lwrcac.com for the LWR Community Calendar for Garden Club programs and workshops.

All are welcome.

WATERING LANDSCAPING

Landscape irrigation is an entirely different story.

Landscape plants need far less water than your lawn.

Your turf heads should not be irrigating your landscape beds. That’s too much water, plus it’s an open-for-business sign for black sooty mold, scale and mealy bugs just to name a few. Why? Because it’s being watered from overhead. At the Cooperative Extension’s Plant Clinic, where homeowners can call or drop in with their gardening questions, I can’t tell you how many problems are due to improper irrigation practices.

The best way to water your landscape beds is by using micro-irrigation. This type of watering is low to the ground, sometimes dripping directly on the ground.

Micro-irrigation can be customized to reach your plants, shrubs and trees. You can use a continuous drip line or a main supply line and tap into it with small spray heads or drip emitters. It’s easy to install. Hey, if I can do it, so can you.

Finally, test your irrigation system. It’s best to test once per month during the day to see if all your heads are in good working order. Weed wackers are famous for damaging irrigation heads. I had a head act like Mount Vesuvius, shooting a stream of water vertically into the air. Thank goodness I tested the system or I would have never known since I start watering in the wee hours of the morning. Who knows how long it had been damaged? So call the County Extension Office and get signed up for its class and the evaluation. You’ll be glad you did.

HELP IS ON THE WAY The Manatee County Extension Office offers a free course to help you learn more about micro-irrigation. Homeowners can also schedule the county irrigation specialist to come to their home and evaluate their irrigation system, also for free. All you need to do is call the Extension Office at 941-722-4524 and schedule an appointment.

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77

Y

ou may have heard the expression in golf: You drive for show and putt for dough. Golfers around the world debate over what is the most important area of the game.

The drive is without doubt the most explosive and impressive shot in golf, but the finesse of making a downhill left-to-right breaking putt to win your weekend bet against your buddies should not be underestimated. Here are some tips on how to do both better.

TEE UP FOR SUCCESS Your tee shot sets you up for more opportunities to putt for the dough. If you spend all day hitting it in hazards, then your putts won’t be worth anything. So let’s look at the keys to great driving of the golf ball.

The best way to hit a driver is launched high with low spin. When hitting a driver, the ball should be teed high enough that it allows us to hit up on the ball. It is also desirable to have a swing direction slightly right of the target for a right-handed player and vice versa for a left-handed player. The reason for this is that as the club swings up, the face is orientating to the left. To match this face position to the path and hit up on the ball we need to swing to the right.

So how do we achieve this impact?

• Set your feet as wide as your shoulders; • Tee the ball high and off your left heel; • Aim your body slightly right; • Swing in an in-to-out direction relative to the target.

Below are some practice tips.

n Put another rod on the ground on the target line.

Drive for

show Putt for

dough

BY JON BULLAS DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION AT LAKEWOOD RANCH COUNTRY CLUB

n Your goal is to start the ball right of that rod and see it curve back to the target on a baby draw.

PUTT FOR THE MOOLA The best putters in the world are able to return the clubface square at impact and create a true roll on the ball consistently time after time. Whether you are putting left-hand low, open stance, closed stance, belly putter, claw grip — it doesn’t matter as long as it repeats.

If it doesn’t, then seek advice from your PGA professional and learn some fundamentals to establish a repeatable motion. The best players in the world on the PGA Tour putt for a lot of dough.

They handle this pressure by ingraining their stroke using training aids and drills. My favorite training aid that I use with all my players is a chalk line.

PUTTING DRILL

n Find a straight putt and mark a chalk line on the green through the center of the cup.

DRIVING DRILL

n Use alignment rods on the ground to help your body aim right, and position the ball on your left heel.

n Place a tee at 5 and 10 feet. Hit putts from both distances on the line and pay attention to where the ball starts relative to the line.

This gives you feedback on returning the putter face to square. If you can learn to start the ball on your target line, you are going to make a lot of putts with good speed control.

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79

7 Potluck Cheats Too busy to play Betty Crocker? These made-to-order dishes are so delicious, your holiday guests will think you toiled in the kitchen for hours.

Baked Penne Bolognese Main Street Trattoria, 8131 Lakewood Main St. #101, Lakewood Ranch

BY SHELLIE TERRY BENSON | CONTRIBUTOR

Who has time to make a casserole anymore? Not you. Especially not during the holidays. You’re overscheduled. Each weekend is a different party. Even shopping for a reindeer sweater for your office’s annual ugly sweater party is stressing you out.

There are simply not enough hours in the day to whip together crab-and-lobster stuffed mushrooms for your neighborhood progressive dinner. As much as you love Pinterest, you’re not patient enough to assemble penguins out of black olives, cream cheese and carrots for your daughter’s classroom Christmas party.

The church potluck, once a showcase for your five-layer Greek dip, is looking more like a showcase for your favorite frozen spanakopita.

You’ve always fancied yourself a culinary overachiever, but you’re burned out. Fortunately, you’re surrounded by local eateries staffed with amazing cooks who won’t be offended if you purchase their dish and claim it as your own. Just remember to supply the serving ware ahead of time.

To help ease your holiday cooking load, we rounded up seven great locally made items you can grab on the go. No one will even know you didn't cook them — unless, of course, you’re willing to dish.

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Here's an entrée carb addicts will swoon over: baked penne bolognese, by Chef Steven King at Lakewood Ranch’s Main Street Trattoria.

Inspired by the discerning tastes of Italian cookbook writer and the late Longboater Marcella Hazan, whom King studied under, the dish blends al dente penne pasta with homemade marinara, herbed ricotta and Hazan’s bolognese meat sauce recipe. If guests insist on swiping your recipe, you can copy it out of Hazan’s “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.”

Pasta Salad Sea Star Cafe, 11544 Palmbrush Trail, Lakewood Ranch

Bacon-wrapped Scallops MacAllisters Grill & Tavern, 8110 Lakewood Main St., Lakewood Ranch If you're on the hook to bring something savory, go see owner Karen Ronney at MacAllisters for a good variety of skewers with delish protein options like Jamaican chicken, bang bang beef skewers and the guiltiest pleasure of all: bacon-wrapped scallops. The scallop platter is available on the restaurant’s catering menu. Bacon fiends will be in hog heaven, but remember: only one wrapped scallop comes per skewer, so the dish is sure to go quickly. You might want to grab two trays.

This popular side is regularly offered along with sandwiches and wraps at this charming Lakewood Ranch eatery, but you can order it in bulk for your next potluck. Bright tri-colored rotini pasta is paired with tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives and Sea Star’s house Italian dressing. “It’s just really yummy,” says co-owner Casey Anderson, who says the salad recipe wasn’t particularly inspired by anyone, but simply, “stuff we liked and we threw it all together.”

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Lunch Served Monday-Saturday

Friendliest Atmosphere

Dinner Served

Fun for the Whole Family

Staff and Neighborhood Patrons

Real Food & Real Good Times!

Tuesday-Sunday

Sunday Hours 3pm-8pm

& fish market

941-907-0589

www.luckypelicanbistro.com

Can you find the

Lucky Pelican?

Located a mere 30 second drive off I-75 exit 213.

Next to the Holiday Inn in Lake Osprey Plaza

153217

Our focus and specialty is compassionate care. We select qualified, expert caregivers who provide meaningful care in any setting. Locally nurse owned and family operated since 1995.

6239 Lake Osprey Drive, Lakewood Ranch

www.TakeCareHomeHealth.com 148529

View our video

Lic. #HHA 21657096

(941) 752-7500

Lic. #HHA 299991405

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Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Sylvia’s Heavenly Cheesecakes, Sarasota sylviasheavenlycheesecakes.com Sylvia Parker was a student at Sarasota High School when she started baking her cheesecakes. Over time, she perfected her creamy, smooth and fluffy recipe. When friends and family encouraged her to start selling the cakes, she decided to follow their advice. Now local restaurants and international clients are placing orders. If you want one, you’ll have to give Parker two days’ notice, but she delivers it to your door. While she says she can make any flavor (“you name it, I’ll make it”), we strongly suggest the chocolate swirl with chocolate crust. You’ll want the 10-inch cake, because one slice of heaven is never enough.

Cranberry Macaroons Fresh Market, 5251 University Parkway, University Park Many of the offerings in the bakery at Fresh Market could easily pass as homemade, but nothing tastes as fresh-fromgrandma’s-kitchen as the store’s cranberry macaroons. Less predictable than cookies and less fattening than pound cake, these festive confections look and taste like Christmas. Toss them in the oven for a few minutes to get that soft, gooey, I-slaved-overthese effect.

Bibb Salad

Station 400, 8215 Lakewood Main St., Lakewood Ranch

If a cool leafy salad is on your potluck menu, Station 400 has the perfect fresh and colorful option –– the Bibb Salad. “This salad offers such variety to the palate with the substantially present bibb lettuce, earthy roasted beets, an aromatic crunchy shaved fennel, sweet citrusy oranges, toasted almonds and tangy, creamy goat cheese,” says Station 400 owner Eric Bein. “My recommendation for serving would be to keep the salad cool until ready to serve, and dress the salad lightly at the very last minute.”

Antipasto Platter

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Andrea’s, 2085 Siesta Drive, Sarasota

Why not infuse your next party with some of the romance from one of our area’s most sensuous restaurants? Chef Andrea Bozzolo of Andrea’s in Sarasota (and now in Longboat Key, too) can make a gorgeous antipasto or hummus plate. “Usually as antipasto, we serve a platter with some parma ham, melon and bresaola (“air-dried beef”) stuffed with goat cheese mousse, roasted figs and some Italian cheeses (such as) aged parmigiano, Gorgonzola and bruschetta,” Bozzolo says. If you weren’t head over heels in love before, this platter will change that.

LWR LIFE

148552

8340 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. • Suite 240 • Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202

A proud Lakewood Ranch resident, Dr. Calderon provides state-of-the-art cardiology care with a minimally invasive approach

Dedicated to a lifetime of women’s health care Jorge E. Alvarez, MD, FACOG Jennifer R. McCullen, MD, FACOG Edgardo J. Aponte, MD, FACOG M. Joanne Bevers, CNM Diplomates of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Schedule your appointment today.

Caring for women throughout their lives

941-907-1113

We believe that women of our community deserve the finest medical care from adolescence through pregnancy and beyond menopause and that all medical care should start with caring.

LakewoodCardiovascular.com

Erick E. Calderon, M.D., FACC, FSCAI

Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, Interventional Cardiology & Nuclear Cardiology

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Call: (941) 907-3008 • Visit: www.obgynwc.com

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Urogynecology - Incontinence In-Office Procedures: Essure Permanent Birth Control & Endometrial Ablation On-Site 3D & 4D Ultrasounds Se habla Español & Portuguese

148551

Gynecology Obstetrics - Pregnancy Menopause & Hormone Replacement Hospital Surgery

6310 Health Park Way • Suite 230 Lakewood Ranch, FL

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RANCH

scene UNCORKED SATURDAY, NOV. 8 The Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch hosted ”Uncorked at Lakewood Ranch” at Sarasota Polo Grounds.

Shari and Doug Phillips with Argelia Vidal and Richard Bottorff

Photos by Heather Merriman

Above: Jennifer McDonald and Rick Berman Left: Penny and Brittany Gonzales

Pete Doragh, Danielle and Chris Perkins and Cyndi Doragh

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LWR LIFE

David and Julie Bracciano

KEEPING YOU COMFORTABLE

in Lakewood Ranch

• 24-Hour Repair & Service • Preventative Maintenance Programs Time for your Winter Inspection on your Air Conditioning and Heating Unit.

59

$

Expires 12/31/14 LWR Life Promotion

Or visit us online at: GatorAC.com

CAC 057516

AIR CONDITIONING

LV8604 148522

Call us for Stress-Free service today! 941.251.0029

What If You Could Look Years Younger And Still Look Completely Natural?

Rejuvenation Exclusively for the Face & Neck

The Skill of a Surgeon  the Eye of an Artist  and theUnderstanding of a Woman

Come Browse Blinds Shutters Draperies Wallcoverings

Janet and Curt Mattson Owners

21 Years in a Row!

HOLLY L. BARBOUR, M.D. Pratt Institute, Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree

153257

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Case Western Reserve University, MD and Residency in Ophthalmology Duke University Medical Center, Fellowship in Oculofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Wallcoverings & Blinds, Inc....Since 1989

4801 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

mmwallcoveringsblinds.com

941.925.7800

1250 South Tamiami Trail | Sarasota 941.951.2220 | www.hollybarbourmd.com

Across from The Landings

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85

RANCH

scene

PASTURE TO PLATE DINNER FRIDAY, OCT. 17

Goat cheese and beet salad over arugula

Guests chat before dinner service begins.

Photos by Pam Eubanks

Lynn Maggio, Diana Massimini and Sheila Green laugh over drinks.

Autumn Vilt with Max Spiegel

2 ANN ROSE

CALL NOW FOR THIS UNBEATABLE OFFER!

nd

Designer Consignment Boutique

18 SEER Super High Efficiency AC System for only $29.66* per month!

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Great Selection!

New & Almost New Designer Clothing sizes 0 - XXXLG Home Goods & Furniture • One of a Kind Jewelry

Only for a limited time! *Monthly investment represents the purchase price and all associated savings over the life of the system

Owner Barb Smith

Everyday Low Prices 20% to 95% Off! Supporting Your Local Charities

Visit Our Website For Extra Savings www.2ndannrose.com

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LWR LIFE

Serving Florida for over 60 years LIC# CMC041072

941 - 315 - 6377

www.uniqueservices.com

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San Marco Plaza 8225 Natures Way, Suite #107, Lakewood Ranch 34202 941 - 893 - 5959 136528

Hours: Mon. - Fri.10:00am - 5:00pm Sat. 10:00am - 4:00pm Sun. 10:00am - 1:30pm

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visit us online reservations

visit us online reservations

14306 COVENANT WAY BRADENTON, FL 34202 941.907.3939 WWW. ONTHECORNER. ORG

DON’T FORGET ABOUT OUR DAILY SPECIALS:

HAPPY HOUR 11AM TO 6 PM HALF-PRICED APPS 4PM TO 6PM LIVE MUSIC EVERY NIGHT!

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148355

153551

Monday: .75 cent Wings All Day Tuesday: $2 Tacos with Democracy Reggae Band Wednesday: $15 Lobster Dinner. Comes with one whole lobster, Blu slaw & tator tots.

Thursday: $15 BBQ Rib Dinner Sunday: $5 Pulled Pork Sandwich PLUS a pig roast every last Sunday of the month at Blu Que!

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LV8559

Ed’s Tavern is the perfect blend of local neighborhood sports bar and family friendly restaurant right in the heart of Main Street (next to the movie theater). The only lakefront dining in Lakewood Ranch! The menu has something for everyone! From southern favorites like pulled pork and fried pickles to our authentic New Jersey classics like open faced sandwiches and disco fries. Our newly remodeled full service bar now includes 20 ice cold draft selections plus over 20 flat screen TV’s. Daily Specials, Trivia every Wednesday & Thursday and Live Music every Friday & Saturday night.

10719 Rodeo Drive, Lakewood Ranch 941-907-0400 • Open 7 Days a Week 11:30am-2am www.edstarvernlwr.com

Hana Sushi Lounge

L O U N G E

LV8597

S U S H I

Combining art with traditional Asian cuisine and service to create a unique culinary experience in Lakewood Ranch is what we at Hana Sushi Lounge strive for each day.

With a fusion of artful sushi, inspired kitchen items, and handcrafted cocktails, there is always something for everyone to enjoy. No matter the occasion, our friendly and knowledgeable staff look forward to making your visit special every time.

8126 Lakewood Main Street, Lakewood Ranch 941-907-1290 www.facebook.com/HanaSushiLounge

Linger Lodge Restaurant

Restaurant

LV8600

dining out

Ed’s Tavern - A Jersey Joint in Lakewood Ranch

Nestled along the lazy Braden River, Linger Lodge Restaurant is quintessentially “Olde Florida” at its best.

Established in 1945 as a fishing and hunting camp, the Lodge has evolved into a great place to dine, listen to live music and enjoy the great views. Two outside covered and screened decks provide picturesque water views. A full liquor bar and an inside air-conditioned Dining room complete the setting. Dishes range from the ever popular Catfish to the elegant Linger Ettoufee’. Also serving Florida Grouper sandwiches, Burgers, Rueben’s, Alligator Bites, Gator Chowder and our award winning Gumbo.

7205 85th St. Ct. E, Bradenton 941-755-2757 www.lingerlodgeresort.com

Main Street Trattoria

LV8602

Tandoor FINE INDIAN CUISINE

DINNER • LUNCH BUFFET • TAKE OUT • DELIVERY • CATERING

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Wolves Head Pizza & Wings is a new brew house and eatery out east! The perfect combination of great food and great atmosphere. The menu consists of delicious, made from scratch items and of course, their signature pizza and wings. They offer daily food specials, so there is something for everyone. The bar is stocked with 19 craft beers on tap, as well as a large wine selection. And with eight flat screen T.Vs, it’s easy to enjoy your favorite game. Whether you dine in or take out, come try Wolves Head Pizza & Wings, and you’ll become a regular!For more information, check out our Facebook page or our website.

837 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Lakewood Ranch 941-251-4028 www.wolvesheadpizza.com

LV8603

Wolves Head Pizza

LV8632

Tandoor Fine Indian Cuisine Tandoor Indian Restaurant opened in 2001 in south Sarasota. Since then, we have been offering authentic Indian food to the Sarasota community. Come in and enjoy our All You Can Eat Lunch Buffet every day from 11:30am – 2:30pm. Dinner is served Mon. – Thurs. 5-9:30pm; Fri. – Sat. 5-10pm and Sun. 5-9pm. We also offer Vegan and Gluten Free menu options. We use only the finest ingredients to prepare dishes that are as healthy as they are delicious.

Relax and enjoy an exquisite dining experience not just as our guests, but as our friends.

Catering available for all occasions.

8453 Cooper Creek Boulevard, Bradenton 941-926-3077 www.tandoorsarasota.net

dining out

Opened in 2010 by owner Gary Fennessy, Main Street Trattoria in Lakewood Ranch features fresh Italian cuisine including their signature bruschetta focaccia, chicken Milanese, and hand tossed thin crust pizza, just to name a few. Mr. Fennessy wanted to create a place where friends and family alike can gather for a one of a kind dining experience. One of the best features is their inside/ outside bar that opens up to a great outdoor dining area, where you’ll find live music Wed.- Sat. from 6-10 p.m. and Sundays 4-8 p.m. Offering happy hour daily 3-7 p.m.

Kids menu and take out also available.

8131 Lakewood Main Street, Lakewood Ranch 941-907-1518 www.mstrattoria.com

DINE IN OR TAKE OUT

OPEN 7 Days A Week 11am -11pm!

Located snug in the corner of Lakewood Ranch Blvd., just south of SR 64

1837 LAKEWOOD RANCH BLVD • 941 - 251 - 4028

PARTING GLANCE

Pam Eubanks took this photo as the sun rose over dew-soaked fields near the Sarasota Polo Club. Eubanks is senior editor of the East County Observer.

DISTINCTIVE HOMES. EXCEPTIONAL NEIGHBORHOODS. A F T E R A L L , T H E G E M S H O U L D A L WAY S F I T T H E S E T T I N G .

DISCOVER NEAL SIGNAT U R E HOME S AT CO U NTRY CLUB EA S T. An interesting thing happens when you combine a distinctive home with exceptional surroundings; you find the home you’ve been looking for.

With this in mind, Neal Signature Homes proudly invites you to visit its homes at Country Club East, in The Highlands and Haddington neighborhoods. Or, Highfield where only 6 wooded lots await—each with a spectacular view. Floor plans flow naturally in a way that’s contemporary and stylish. We think they make the perfect complement to the exceptional neighborhoods in which they are placed and the Country Club-style amenities Anna you’ll enjoy. Because to our way of thinking, the rightMaria fit is everything.

675

Terra Ceia Bay

Golf Course Road

Ft. Hamer Road

1

Rye Road

2

Island

Sarasota Bradenton International Airport

4

Ho

no

re Av e

11

1

Legacy Blvd

Lorraine Road

3 Arnold Palmer Green

El Conquistador SEE FOR YOURSELF BY VISITING: Parkway 1. Barbados II Model in Highfield at The Country Club 12435 Highfield Circle, Lakewood Ranch, FL | From the low $900s 2. Palmavera Model in Haddington at Country Club East Key 7327 Haddington Cove, Lakewood Ranch, FL | From theLongboat mid $400s 3. Bellevista in Highlands at Country Club East 7327 Haddington Cove, Lakewood Ranch, FL | From the mid $400s

Rye Road

Upper Manatee River Road 51st Street SE

12

2 The Masters Ave

10

3

Lakewood Ranch Country Club

NealSignatureHomes.com | 941.225.2342 | CBC 1257901

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MORE PARK. MORE CENTRAL. MORE HOME.

BUILDING. HOME. LIFE with more value.

AND MORE REASONS TO BUY NOW! Homes from the mid $200s to low $500s

SALES CENTER & MODELS OPEN DAILY CALL FOR INFORMATION & APPOINTMENT 877.451.6739

148550

Ask about our Move-In Ready Homes!

• Private, gated entries • 10-acre park including 2 dog parks • Tennis courts, ball field, kid’s adventure park & splash park • Nearby attractions, shopping, dining & two top-rated schools • Covered pavilion & meandering trails • Awarded Best Residential Community Design in Southeast U.S.

Southwest Florida’s Most Experienced Home Builder For Over 40 Years

NealCommunities.com Prices and availability subject to change without notice. CBC1256375