Bringing The Community Together One Event At A Time

Brin in th Community To th r O ne Ev ent at a T ime

by Brooke Ezzo

As simple as it may seem, some people never meet their neighbors. In a community with over 3,000 homes, meeting other residents might seem impossible. The idea behind a lifestyle program is to give opportunities for residents to get to know each other and build up that community feeling.

Thanks to Ashtin Slovak, Lantana is doing just that.

Ashtin started working in Lantana as an administrative assistant to the community manager five years ago. She helped organize lifestyle events and quickly realized it was something she loved. When the association decided to implement a full-time lifestyle program, Ashtin jumped at the opportunity. This fell under her role as assistant so she had already worked with vendors, was on site during events, and started building rapport with the residents. photos from community director A shtin Slovak

As Community Director, she organizes monthly events for all types of residents, in effort to bring people together and have some fun while they’re at it.

“I just try to bring people on site,” Ashtin said. “So people can get together here in the community and meet other residents. That’s what it’s all about.”

Ashtin has taken what Lantana started with, the Spring Festival, Music on the Greens series, the Halloween Event, and she added on much more. Now the association hosts two to three events each week; there are Adult Coloring Book nights, Senior Lunches, Storytime, and Bingo.

“We’ve tried a little bit of everything,” Ashtin said. “It is exciting.”

Ashtin works for Insight Association Management, the company that manages the association for Lantana. They manage several master-planned communities with lifestyle programs, so she is able to use other directors as resources.

“They help give ideas, we share vendors, and we give advice on how to set up events,” Ashtin said.

Looking toward the future and what to expect from the association, Ashtin is very excited about the opening of the Lantana Community Event Center in early March. Strictly used for events; the center has a full indoor space, a caterers kitchen, a great lawn, Japanese rock garden, and much more. “The center is really going to help us expand our events,” Ashtin laughed. “We can host more than 30 people in a room.”

With the opening of the center, she is gearing up for Casino Nights and Murder Mystery Parties.

“This will give us an opportunity to allow residents to take a bigger advantage of our lifestyle program,” Ashtin said. “There will be a reservation system in place; organizations or clubs could rent out the space, or we will open it up for an indoor meeting space.”

Ashtin gives credit to Mark Norton, Lantana Community Manager, and Bruce Crawford, Insight Association Management President, for supporting her ideas and partnering with her to build the lifestyle program to what it is today.

“I love working for Insight, they have a good mindset for the residents,” Ashtin said.

The residents are the part of the job Ashtin loves the most. She enjoys the relationships she has built while planning and hosting events. She even answers to “bingo lady!”

“I love people, I love the kids events, and I love hanging out at Senior Lunch and talking to all of my regulars,” Ashtin said. “I personally call Bingo once a month, it’s a lot of fun.”

Lantana is such a wonderful and unique place. Ashtin truly enjoys working in the community and being a connection to help guide residents.

“As it finishes up development and we look towards how we can keep the community together with the lifestyle program, we want Lantana to continue to be a wonderful place to live in the future,” Ashtin exclaimed.

When Ashtin isn’t in Lantana, she spends her time with her fiancée and three fur babies. She is also the managing director for the Love Pit, a foster and rescue organization.