Volume 33 NO 4 | APRIL 2017 941-349-0194 | ISLAND VISITOR PUBLISHING, LLC | www.DELTURA-HOA.com
MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR By Sue Dunigan The awards were revealed at the February HOA. meeting. Every year the president of the HOA has the honor of picking the recipients and introducing them to our community. It is no surprise to those who are involved in our community and who know Charlene and Ron Ruotolo to learn they were chosen this year for this award. Their warmth of heart and friendly caring ways are refreshing. You will learn from the Q&A interview below they have been coming to Del Tura Country Club since the very first year it was opened and have been living here full time for the past eight years. 1. When and where were you born and raised? Ron: Hamilton Beach, NY in 1942 Charlene: New Hyde Park, NY in 1948 2. Education and Degrees? Ron: Completed bachelor’s of electrical engineering from University of Dayton. Graduated in 1965. Charlene: Completed high school
where I met Ron. After having children, I was a stay at home mom.
4. What would you like to share about your Marriage and Family? We married in 1975 on Long Island. We have 2 girls, Diana born in 1979 and Michelle born in 1984. Diana has 2 children, Kyle 4-1/2 years old and Courtney 2-1/2 years old. Michelle has 3 children, a girl Rylan who is 3-1/2 years old and twins who are 2-1/2 years old, a boy, Brexton, and a girl, Tesslyn. Both families are currently living in IL. 5. How and when did you discovered Del Tura Country Club? We purchased a new Palm Harbor home in 2007 and moved in full time in 2009.
Ron’s parents were one of the first seven people to move into Del Tura in 1982. We would come down and visit and told them “we would never move to Florida.” As we got older we decided we liked the warmer weather and decided to make this our home. We are so happy to be a part of the Del Tura Community. 6. What do you do as a volunteer here in Del Tura? Ron and I chair the Thanksgiving/Christmas basket program. Back in 2011 I got a call from the person who had been the chair for over thirty years. She was leaving the community and asked if we would take it on. We love taking on new
Couple Of The Year Award 2017 Ron And Charlene Ruotolo things so we said, “yes”. From the time we started chairing this committee we have truly enjoyed doing it. We started donating to twenty families and are now up to seventy families. Each year it seems to get better and better due to community support. Because these families are usually large, it means about 350 presents must be purchased. We shop for the gifts all year long to ensure every family member receives a small gift. 7. What makes you want to spend so much time and effort serving our community? It is truly rewarding knowing we are helping so many unfortunate people. This committee requires the help of many community residents.
Couple Of The Yea r Award 2017
3. Your Career? Ron: Worked for Grumman/ Northrop Grumman for 42 years. He started as engineer in 1965 and retired in 2006 as Director of Army programs. Charlene: Worked as secretary for Grumman. This is
Ron And Charlene Ruotolo
Without the community’s volunteers this committee would not be able to continue. We are always looking for new and additional volunteers. Just give us a call and we can tell you all about it. 8. Do you have activities here in Del Tura that you enjoy doing---outside of the areas that you volunteer in? Other hobbies and things of interest that you enjoy? Ron and I have a motorhome. As a matter of fact, we just purchased a new one. We will be traveling to the East Coast for a few months. We enjoying seeing the US and have seen so much and hope to see the rest of the states over the next few years. Ron plays golf when we are in Del Tura. I enjoy playing bingo and attending the different shows and all the great entertainment that we have here in Del Tura Country Club. So many wonderful people to be with and a great variety of things to be a part of. Like all volunteers, Ron and Charlene’s lives are enriched by the time they invest in their areas of interest and the more involved they are, the happier they become. We congratulate them as THE COUPLE OF THE YEAR and look forward to telling them the next time we meet, “thank you for all you do to help make Del Tura such a grand place to live!”
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