From The Board Room

FROM THE BOARD ROOM by Lou

ACTION Thank you to the nearly 100 residents who sent letters to our elected legislators in Tallahassee to oppose proposed bills being considered affecting our lifestyle. Your actions are making a difference! Thank you to Director Keith, his wife Sandy, and Vice President Sue Cook for spearheading Your Homeowners Association initiative.

SECURITY Just a reminder: When you are expecting guests or deliveries (Jets Pizza, furniture or services), call the security gate at 239-731-1582 and give them your name and lot # along with who you are expecting.

WEBSITE Your Tara Woods Homeowners Association’s Website continues to grow. Not signed on yet? No problem. Try it! (www.twhoa.net). Homeowners Association members get full access to the site. New items are constantly being added to better serve our members.

COMMUNICATION Your Homeowners Association has arranged “An Evening with Cathy” our Community Manager. It will be an evening of sharing timely information and answering residents’ questions.

It will be in the Clubhouse on Wednesday, March 25, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. Light snacks will be provided. Take advantage of the opportunity to hear about what’s happening in Tara Woods. HEADS UP Four-side exterior home review. Tara Woods Hometown America has started its review of the exterior of all homes. The review locations will be random and all homes will be reviewed over a period of time. Each reviewed home will receive a report after the review. The main areas of review are power washed exterior, overall appearance of lot, and condition of landscaping and carport. The goal is to preserve the overall beauty and cleanliness of the Community. Any specific questions should be directed to Tara Woods Hometown America at 239-731-1011.

WINTER Suggestions on how to make it through our winter here in Tara Woods: water aerobics, indoor exercise, tennis, bike riding, shuffleboard, a nice walk around our community, pickleball, water volleyball, golf carting, bocce, hot tub time, horseshoes, a good book by the pool. Enjoy ‘winter’ while it lasts.

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOUR Homeowners Association has arranged to have Attorney Amy McGarry at 8:00 AM for Saturday Morning Coffee on March 21. Amy has over 20 plus years of experience in Florida. She will be presenting a short overview of issues that affect new Florida residents, Elder Law and more. After that, Amy will be scheduling free consultations for any interested residents. Amy will be providing donuts, bagels and hard rolls, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. All are welcome. Come join us!

Lou Dunning, President: loudunning2@gmail.com 239-240-5847

COLUMNS STAFF EDITOR: Linda Beaulieu 239-560-0768 (lindabluetw@gmail.com)

ASSISTANT: Linda Engel PHOTOGRAPHY: Lou Dunning, Donna Erhardt CALENDAR: Judy Lanpher

CIRCULATION: Linda Hoos, Manager COMMUNITY DIRECTORY: Haywood Gandy, Manager

COORDINATORS: Stu & Belle Berman, Agatha Breen, Pat & Lou Dunning, Peggy Gamble, Lloyd & Carolyn Kelsey, Bob Kuhns, Sharie & Norm Libby, Diane & Bob Nunn, Ed Simko, Nancy Schoeppner, Lori Thomas, Julia Wehrung, and Sue Van Sickle.

STUFFERS: Barb Simonson, Gene Dickie, Jackie Nadean, Donna Phillips, Pam Harrington, Linda Janis, and Claire Schwinn. ALTERNATES: Frank Millette, Mike & Sheila Harris, Bill & Lorraine Milligan, Dave Lindon, Angie D’Alessandro, Victoria Sharps, and Al Dion. REPORTERS: Reporters will be noted by their bylines at the end of each article. Chris Olson, Tara Woods Homeowners Association Liaison

To advertise in print, contact: Bob or Emy Stein at 941-349-0194 or email us at islandvp@verizon.net. Contributing writers are acknowledged with bylines accompanying their submissions. Attribution for photos are not included unless supplied. We sincerely thank everyone for their contributions. Your articles help showcase the strong and diverse community that makes up Tara Woods. The Columns is published monthly from October through May. Summer issues are condensed: June/July and August/September. All ads are subject to the approval of the publisher. It is the responsibility of the party placing any ad for publication in The Columns to meet all applicable legal requirements in connection with the ad such as compliance with town, county and state codes in first obtaining an occupational license for business, permitted home occupation, or residential rental property. DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that when you hire an unlicensed/uninsured person to do work at your home, you accept the liability. Island Visitor Publishing is not responsible for claims made by advertisers

FMO NEWS: TARA WOODS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION NEWS

If you read the FMO news article in the February issue of The Columns you probably realized that there is a lot of information presented at the meetings – everything from your physical and mental health to your safety and your home’s security. You also learned how to protect yourself from scams, received some free legal advice and much more. The meetings are informative and helpful. Questions from the audience are always encouraged and you may also win a couple of bucks. It’s a winwin situation.

The Senate has asked the FMHA and the FMO to negotiate a comprised bill. Thank you to Keith Schuelke and the TWHA for their assistance in getting letters signed and mailed to the appropriate Senators. Our residents and residents from other communities resulted in the negotiations of SB 818 and HB 1339 between the FMO and the FMHA.

While neither side is completely happy, the legislation is greatly and much improved. Thank you.

We still cannot let our guard down. If you are not a member of the FMO, I strongly encourage you to join. If you are already a member, THANK YOU and PLEASE don’t forget to renew your membership. Applications and mail-in envelopes are on the back bulletin board.

Please check the back bulletin board for the location of the March meeting. It will be on Friday, March 13th. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you. Stuart Berman