July is the perfect month for a
Backyard Barbecue
CASTAWAY COVE
Beautiful Custom Built home. Gorgeous water views in a captivating setting. The 3800 sft Split Plan features large social areas, an office/den, a Kitchen open to the Family Room with easy in/outdoor living, a Gas Cooktop and Double wall oven, 12 Ft+ Ceilings, high elevation, boat dock/ lift. Perfect for both casual living & entertaining. 3BD/4BA/3GR. Offered at $3,599,000. Gretchen Hanson 772.713.6450
MARBRISA
Oceanfront pool and clubhouse. CBS, newer roof and A/C. 3BR/3.5BA vista of the pond.
Debbie Bell 772.473.7255
$1,600,000 | MLS# 267748
INDIAN RIVER CLUB
3BR/3BA + Den. Views of the 10th Fairway. Extended Lanai and Pool. Beth Livers 772.559.6958
MLS#268673
PALM ISLAND PLANTATION
3BR/3BA penthouse with a den. Lives like a house.
Debbie Bell 772.473.7255
$998,000 | MLS# 267735
CITRUS SPRINGS
Beautiful 4BR/3BA with updates and partial lake views located on a corner lot
Michelle Clarke 772.263.0386
$585,000 | MLS# 267278
WALKING HORSE HAMMOCK
Awe-inspiring 3BR/2BA home in Walking Horse Hammock. Many updates. Steve Borenz 772-925-9277
$575,000 | MLS# 268515
MOORINGS
Beach living at this lowest priced, East of A1A condo! 3BR/2.5BA.
Debbie Bell 772.473.7255
$569,000 | MLS# 266087
VILLAGE SPIRES
Located in the heart of Central Beach, 2BD/2BA newly renovated with designer touches. Gourmet kitchen and new flooring throughout. Floor-to-ceiling impact sliding doors and 84’ wrap around balcony to enjoy the sunsets and ocean views. Heated pool, private beach access, fitness area & more. A perfect tranquil beachside retreat. Enjoy all that Ocean Dr has to offer. Beth Livers 772.559.6958
SEASONS
West Indies style spacious 3BR/3.5BA home with screened lanai. Close to beach. Mary Frances Driscoll 772.766.5942
$995,000 | MLS# 268259
RIVERWIND
Lakefront 3/3 with screened courtyard & lake views at owners bedroom & kitchen.
Chip Landers 772.473.7888
$879,900 | MLS# 267468
VICTORIA
Fabulous updates! 2BR/2BA, 2car garage. 2050 SF. East of A1A. Ocean view, pool, tennis. Peggy Hewett 772.321.4282
$849,000 | MLS#265456
OCEAN CLUB 2
Oceanfront sunrise and sunset views! Furnished 2BR/2BA. Move in!
Cheryl Burge 772-538-0063
$530,000 | MLS# 264773
GOLF VIEW ESTATES
Elegant Mid-Century Modern, open plan, newer roof, terrazzo floors.
Cheryl Burge 772.538.0063
$465,000 | MLS# 268698
ST LUCIE CLUB
Stylishly renovated 2BR/2BA condo with oversized porch Pool view, tennis, impact windows, close to all!
Melinda Pampallona 772.696.0819
Bethany Burt 772.766.4926 | $419,000 | MLS# 268071
3377 Ocean Drive, Vero Beach, FL | 772-231-1270 BHHSFloridaRealty.com
502S 502SOCEAN CLUB COLLECTION
Quality Furniture & Interior DesignFeatures
Book Smarts
The Leonard family’s Vero Beach Book Center has been enriching the local community for nearly half a century
By Mary Beth McGregorRed, White, and What a View!
A stunning riverfront home is the perfect se ing for an all-American holiday
By Renáe TesauroOn the Cover
Patriotic parfaits top off an a ernoon barbecue with bonus views
See the story on page
Photograph by Jerry Rabinowitz
A Tall Order
A handpicked team of professionals creates a coastal sanctuary to suit three generations of a family’s lifestyle—and height
By Valerie CruiceBlue Skies. Cool Water. Warm Welcome.
Life on John’s Island. A private, member-owned club located north of Vero Beach, this gem plays host to miles of unspoilt beaches, naturefilled river access, elegant residences, and watercolor sunsets. These serene offerings each combine luxury with traditional appeal. Replete with gorgeous architectural details, spacious living areas and lush grounds - all of our homes take advantage of prime location with access to an incredible array of amenities for by-invitation-only John’s Island Club members. We invite you to indulge in a life of bliss in John’s Island.
22
Wilde Side
Florida’s cool, clear waters have an allure all their own, especially when the mystique of the mermaid is added
By Evelyn Wilde Mayerson32
Previews
Keep an eye out for hot happenings and memorable moments
40
Indian River Insights
Local philanthropists are riding the wave of planned estate giving set into motion by the ‘First Lady of Vero Beach’
By Jeffrey R. Pickering46
Living Well
Local experts weigh in on the best at-home skin care regimens and professional treatments to keep our complexions in tip-top shape
By Renáe Tesauro58
True Tails
The Havana silk dog has many fans in Florida
By Amy Robinson64
Classic Cars
The 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88
By Patrick MerrellEasy Living
The dog days of summer are here, warming us up while we slow down a bit. When I think of July, I think of swimming in a backyard pool or going to the beach, kicking back, and reading a book. Longer afternoons and evenings give us more time for a round of golf while hopefully avoiding our predictable afternoon thunderstorms, and then hosting a barbecue with friends and family. The July issue of Vero Beach Magazine embraces the idea of fun but easy living.
If you’re on the way to the beach, I recommend that you make time for a stop at the Vero Beach Book Center—it’ll be well worth the trip. Two generations of the Leonard family have created a homey, relaxing, but fun place to wander through the stacks for whatever books may strike your fancy. They’ve had quite an interesting history in the Miracle Mile shopping district, complete with celebrity (and presidential) visits along with a little something to please every discerning reader.
Perhaps kicking back—book in hand—by the pool while gazing across a golf course is your summer dream. Then, when you’re ready, we’ll stroll along with you through a home in John’s Island that was renovated for an extended family of tall Texans. The coastal sanctuary was created for three generations, and their very Vero Beach home added more than 1,000 square feet to the original footprint to accommodate the bunch. The home is decorated in seaside pastels, with a completely redesigned outdoor space to admire.
If you’d like to liven up that backyard scene, we can help! Steve and Jane Jones open their doors regularly to friends and family for outdoor gatherings, and they invited us in along with Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club Executive Chef Chris Sozio. The Joneses, native Canadians who enjoy a gorgeous view of the Indian River Lagoon from their backyard, are all in when it comes to an all-American Fourth of July celebration, and Sozio shares recipes with us to make the scene and your food unforgettable.
My advice to you to survive and thrive in the summer heat? Beach. Read. Pool. Barbecue. Repeat.
Kelly Rogers editor@verobeachmagazine.comSummer Adventures
Summer is a time to explore and be a little adventurous.
It all starts with independence, or should I say Independence Day? I look forward to the Fourth of July every year. I spend the week with my sisters—enjoying the festive atmosphere, the food, and the games, but most of all the family and friends. And of course I can’t forget the fireworks.
Both Vero Beach and Sebastian are planning to wow us once again with their Fourth of July festivities, providing a perfect occasion for us to gather with friends and neighbors.
Whether you are trying new things or enjoying some time to yourself this summer, don’t forget to care for your skin. Our Living Well section provides some great information from local dermatologists Drs. Anand Haryani and Monika Srivastava. The summer sun’s rays can be enjoyable, but it’s crucial to equip our skin with the necessary protection as we embark on our adventures.
This month, as you take a walk on the “Wilde Side” with Evelyn Mayerson, you’ll escape to some of Florida’s crystal-clear spring waters at Weeki Wachee and learn about the worldrenowned mermaids who perform amazing underwater feats.
Whatever your plans may be this summer, don’t forget to sign up for the Vero Beach Insider on our website, verobeachmagazine.com
Stay safe and enjoy your summer!
Teri Amey-Arnold, Publisher publisher@verobeachmagazine.comKELLY ROGERS
Editor in Chief
OLGA M. GUSTINE
Creative Director
JENNY FERNANDEZ-PRIETO Art DIrector
TERESA LEE RUSHWORTH
Senior Editor
RENÁE TESAURO Editor at Large
JANINE FISHER Senior Graphic Designer
ANN TAYLOR
Senior Writer
EVELYN WILDE MAYERSON Wilde Side
AMY ROBINSON True Tails
PATRICK MERRELL Classic Cars
REN Á E TESAURO Living Well
CHRIS FASOLINO Off the Vine
JEFFREY R. PICKERING Indian River Insights
VALERIE CRUICE, MARY BETH MCGREGOR
Contributing Writers
STEVEN MARTINE, PATRICK MERRELL, JERRY RABINOWITZ, NICHOLAS SARGENT
Contributing Photographers
J. M. Stringer Gallery of Fine Art
TERI AMEY-ARNOLD Publisher teri@verobeachmagazine.com
MEGAN HYDE ROBERTS Production Coordinator megan@palmbeachmedia.com
CATHY HART Executive Office Manager & Subscription Manager cathy@verobeachmagazine.com 772-234-8871
Founder Elizabeth Moulton
Group Publisher Terry Duffy
Sales Director Deidre Wade
Chief Operating Officer Todd Schmidt
Editorial Director Daphne Nikolopoulos
HOUR MEDIA, LLC
CEO Stefan Wanczyk
President John Balardo
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Published by Palm Beach Media Group North, LLC, P.O. Box 3344, Palm Beach, FL 33480 561-659-0210 • Fax: 561-659-1736
SUBSCRIPTIONS: One year $28; two years $45; three years $54. Subscribe online at www.verobeachmagazine.com or call 772-234-8871 weekdays from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. ET. American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa are accepted. Our subscription information is never shared, rented, or sold.
About Us
Vero Beach Magazine is the fi rst magazine to be dedicated exclusively to Vero Beach and remains the only local magazine with verified circulation. A minimum of 10,000 magazines are distributed monthly, to at least 30,000 readers in almost every state, including Alaska and Hawaii.
Vero Beach Magazine’s sta is committed to using print media to make Indian River County a better place for all residents, mindful of environmental and historic preservation, while underscoring the best aspects of life in this charming oceanfront community.
Winner of numerous awards since its inception, starting with the Florida Magazine Association’s Best New Magazine Award in 1998, Vero Beach Magazine has made its greatest impact by providing meaningful information to readers about the needs of local nonprofit organizations in Indian River County, inspiring philanthropy and prompting nonprofit coverage by many other media companies.
Our o ce is located at 3375 20th Street, Suite 100, on the corner of 34th Avenue and State Road 60, in Vero Beach. Visitors are welcome by appointment from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, for subscription, article, and advertising questions. ❀
Spring Fever
FLORIDA’S COOL, CLEAR WATERS HAVE AN ALLURE ALL THEIR OWN, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE MYSTIQUE OF THE MERMAID IS ADDED
BY EVELYN WILDE MAYERSONDeep beneath Florida’s urban sprawl is an underground river that supplies most of the state’s drinking water. As this aquifer rushes through the perforated karst, sometimes causing sinkholes that have swallowed up car dealerships, the rush of water also bubbles to the surface in more
than 700 springs as crystal clear as gin—the greatest concentration of springs on earth, and possibly, via the writings of naturalist William Bartram, part of the inspiration for Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan. Silver Springs, the source of the Silver River, the major tributary of the
Ocklawaha River, is among the best-known springs, not only for its glass-bottom boat tours but also for its use as the location of early films, jungle movies in the 1930s, The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Rebel Without a Cause in the ’50s, and as one of several locations for Lloyd Bridges’ television series Sea Hunt.
Today, Silver Springs is also known for its troop of 300 rhesus monkeys that inhabit both sides of the Silver River, descendants of primates imported for an ill-advised tourist attraction in the 1930s.
Equally famous is Weeki Wachee Springs, the headwaters of the Weeki Wachee River, named by the Seminoles to mean “little spring,” at fi rst a roadside attraction that over the decades has become a
Florida icon. Located in Hernando County, 7 miles east of the Gulf of Mexico, near the unincorporated town of Weeki Wachee with its population of 16, Weeki Wachee Springs is famous for its mermaids: impersonators of a legendary marine creature, part human, part fi sh, able to charm sailors with a magical singing voice (mermaid mythology overlaps with that of the siren). For thousands of years, mermaid
mythology has included the warning that to see one on a sea voyage is an omen of shipwreck.
Reports of mermaid sightings are still coming in, including the 2009 reported sighting of a fi shtailed woman o the coast of the Israeli town of Kiryat Yam, where a skeptical mayor posted a million-dollar reward for its photograph.
At one time, all known maps were illustrated with mermaids and monsters; thus the seagoing, especially those on the water for long periods, were primed for mermaid sightings. The source of the confusion may have been the manatee, with its two stubby forelimbs that resemble arms and its ability to rise upright out of the water.
Christopher Columbus recorded the sighting of a manatee o the coast of the Dominican Republic as that of a mermaid—a creature, he commented, not as attractive as he had been led to believe. His exact words were that they
were “not as beautiful as painted, since in some ways they have the face of a man.”
The mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs, where each day millions of gallons of water bubble up out of subterranean caverns, are defi nitely human and by all accounts good-looking. Although mermaids have come from all over, generations of mostly local Florida women have squeezed into a sequined 16-pound tail to swim in synchrony underwater and smile.
It all began in 1947 when Ocala-raised Newton Perry returned to Florida after serving as a Navy frogman in World War II. In the decade that changed Florida more than the previous four centuries, Perry, once a swimming double for actor Johnny Weissmuller, who played Tarzan, plugged into what would be an important part of Florida’s dreamscape, a realized fantasy of mermaids. Perry’s vision was to establish a tourist
Reports of mermaid sightings are still coming in.
attraction of underwater swimmers at Weeki Wachee Springs on the two-lane State Road 19.
So deep that the bottom had yet to be reached, the springs had been littered with some old, rusted refrigerators and abandoned cars that Perry had to haul out. He then embedded large glass viewing walls in the limestone spring walls, creating an 18-seat theater from which spectators could watch the mermaids perform 16 to 20 feet below the water’s surface.
Auditions were held for
women who had to be able to swim underwater for 45 minutes in 72-degree water while battling a 5-mph current with their legs encased in a fi shtail, performing such stunts as playing football and eating bananas. All the while, they breathed through an air hose invented by Perry.
On October 13, 1947, the same day Kukla, Fran and Ollie aired on TV, the fi rst mermaid show opened. Perry sent out promotional pictures all over the nation of mermaids playing cards, hugging Santa, having a picnic. According to a
review in The New York Times, the performers were happy to work in exchange for free swimsuits, meals, and an audience.
Perry’s attraction achieved quick popularity, attracting not only hordes of everyday tourists but celebrities of the day, such as Arthur Godfrey, Esther Williams, and Elvis Presley, who visited Weeki Wachee Springs for a photo op with a mermaid. In 1959 the American Broadcasting Company acquired the attraction, developing themes like “Underwater Follies” and “The Mermaids and the Pirates,”
giving the mermaids ballet lessons, and building the current 400-seat theater also embedded in the limestone rock below the water’s surface.
By the 1960s, the show was so popular that women from all over the world auditioned for the privilege of living in a mermaid cottage behind the attraction, encasing their legs in a sequined tail, and breathing through an air hose for 45 minutes four times a day.
Although soon competing with newer, more sophisticated attractions like Universal Studios,
SeaWorld Orlando, and Walt Disney World, the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs held their own. Despite an item in National Geographic suggesting that the mermaids were doomed to extinction, young women were still auditioning to become part of the cast.
In 2008, the Florida state park system assumed control of Weeki Wachee Springs and its mermaid show; built Buccaneer Bay, Florida’s only springfed water park, featuring two waterslides named “Cannonball” and “Pirate’s Revenge”; and put the mermaids, now a Florida landmark, on the government payroll.
The attraction has also branched out in another unexpected direction. It operates two mermaid camps: one for children aged 7 to 14, the other for adults 30 and older, called “Sirens of the Deep Mermaid Camp.” In the latter, participants, who are limited to eight per session, pay $575 to be escorted through the staff entrance by camp trainers (retired Weeki Wachee mermaids) for a weekend of underwater ballet, a behind-the-scenes look at mermaiding, and photo ops at every juncture. Over the course of the weekend, participants learn to roll down their teal-colored fishtail like pantyhose;
hop backward across the floor (forward and you trip over the tail); and free dive among turtles, fish, manatees, and an occasional water moccasin.
What is the attraction of the attraction? There are many Florida springs considered just as beautiful. It may have something to do with our mythology, part of what Carl Jung called our collective unconscious, spun from a 2,000-yearold history of Babylonians worshiping the fishtail god Oannes; the Greek poet Homer’s inclusion of sirens in the Odyssey ; the legend of Alexander the Great’s sister Thessalonike, transformed into a mermaid and sent to dwell in the Aegean Sea; and Renaissance chemist Paracelsus’ scholarly description of half-fish, half-women he designated as “undines.” Then there’s Germanic lore of mermaids inhab -
iting the Rhine, Finland’s Finfolk of the Orkney Islands, and Zimbabwe’s njuzu, blamed for bad weather. Most of us are familiar with Hans Christian Andersen’s tale The Little Mermaid , made into a film by Disney, not to overlook Tom Hanks’ mermaid in Splash or Starbucks’ well-known logo of a siren with a double tail. Can it be a universal
longing to bridge the gap of understanding between the earthly world of humans and the aquatic world in which we cannot survive, but which we cannot live without? Or even a yearning to connect to our ancient beginnings, when one of our finned forbears, seaweed crowned and dripping, rose out of the muck to take its first steps on land. `
July Jamboree!
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR HOT HAPPENINGS AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS
INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS
JULY 4
Local Fourth of July festivities get underway with Sebastian’s annual Freedom Festival, an all-day bash including a patriotic opening ceremony, a parade, live music, food, and beverages. Fireworks will begin after dark.
CITY OF SEBASTIAN at Riverview Park
U.S. Hwy. 1 and County Road 512 772-589-5330
cityofsebastian.org
The City of Vero Beach will launch its celebration at 5 p.m., with live music beginning at 6. Food trucks will be on hand, and a variety of activities will keep everyone entertained. The 9 p.m. fireworks display will cap off the evening.
CITY OF VERO BEACH at Riverside Park 3280 Riverside Park Drive 772-978-5151
covb.org
MEET AN ASTRONAUT
JULY 7–10
Kennedy Space Center offers visitors several ways to meet an astronaut in person: Astronaut Encounter, Chat with an Astronaut, and autograph opportunities at the Space Shop and Shuttle Express gift shops. The “Astronaut of the Day” for July 7 through 10 is Michael Baker, a veteran of 965 hours in space on four journeys aboard Space Shuttles Atlantis , Columbia , and Endeavor. The University of Texas graduate also served as a U.S. Navy pilot, logging 5,400 flight hours at the controls of 50 types of aircraft.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER VISITOR COMPLEX
Space Commerce Way, Merritt Island Times and prices vary 855-433-4210
kennedyspacecenter.com
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
JULY 12–15
The weeklong Mike Block String Camp culminates in three concerts, open to the public, featuring string music representing instruments and styles from all over the world: jazz and folk cello, jazz violin and viola, Celtic fiddle, progressive bluegrass fiddle, Celtic/Scandinavian cello, bluegrass/jazz mandolin, jazz piano, old-time viola and violin, and more. Some of the performers are local and some have traveled from far and wide.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
520 Royal Palm Blvd.
Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 7:30 p.m.; free 772-562-9088
firstpresvero.org
JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT
JULY 21–AUGUST 6
Vero Beach Theatre Guild presents the popular musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , which features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Dating back to the early 1970s, the show enjoyed a revival in 1991 and many others since. It is based on the story of Joseph, son of Jacob, in the Bible’s book of Genesis. Jealous of the multicolor coat Jacob gives Joseph, the youth’s 11 brothers sell him to a group of Ishmaelites. Joseph rises to power and prestige in Egypt and, years later, is reunited with his family.
VERO BEACH THEATRE GUILD
2020 San Juan Ave.
Fridays 7:30 p.m., Saturdays 2 and 7:30 p.m., Sundays 2 p.m.; $15–$40 772-562-8300 verobeachtheatreguild.com
CENTENNIAL SPEAKEASY
JULY 29
The historic Sunrise Theatre is harking back to the time of its founding as it celebrates 100 years of bringing a wide variety of live entertainment to the Treasure Coast. Guests will experience an evening at a Prohibition-era speakeasy—entering with a secret knock on a side alley door and then enjoying the jazz, swing, blues, and ragtime sounds of the Fort Pierce Jazz Society. They’ll even be able to visit the Gin Mill, Grand Casino, and Bourbon Bar—set up throughout the theater—without fear of being hauled off to the hoosegow!
SUNRISE THEATRE
117 S. 2nd St., Fort Pierce
7 p.m., $125 772-467-4127 sunrisetheatre.com
THE GOOD LIFE
JULY 31
This month’s selection for the Indian River County Main Library’s Nonfiction Book Club is likely to be of interest to many people. The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert Waldinger, MD, and Marc Schultz, PhD, delves into the secret of health and fulfillment. The 80-year-long Harvard Study of Adult Development pinpoints human relationships as the key. Registration is not required.
IRC MAIN LIBRARY
1600 21st St. 6:30 p.m., free 772-400-6310 libraries.ircgov.com
MODERN BALLET
AUGUST 4–5
Ballet Vero Beach launches its 2023–24 season by welcoming the Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre out of Atlanta. The company draws on both classical and contemporary dance forms to create “daring theatrical dance works.” Subscription packages are available, and tickets for this individual event go on sale July 1.
BALLET VERO BEACH
at Riverside Theatre
3250 Riverside Park Drive
Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m., $10–$75
772-269-1065
balletverobeach.org
CHOPSTICK DAY
AUGUST 5
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens will hold a Family Fun Day, this time with the theme of “Hashi no Hi,” or Chopstick Day. Guests, including children of all ages, will gather in the Kamiya Room (Classroom A) and learn to make their own origami chopstick holders. No reservations are needed.
MORIKAMI MUSEUM AND JAPANESE GARDENS
4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach
Noon–3 p.m., regular admission fees apply 561-495-0233 morikami.org `
Leaving a Legacy
LOCAL PHILANTHROPISTS ARE RIDING THE WAVE OF PLANNED ESTATE GIVING SET INTO MOTION BY THE ‘FIRST LADY OF VERO BEACH’
BY JEFFREY R PICKERINGThank you for your time and thoughtful participation in the search process and today’s interview,” said Scott Alexander, chair of the executive search committee recruiting Indian River Community Foundation’s president and CEO in the
fall of 2014. “Do you have any questions for us?”
I had spent the better part of the morning meeting and answering questions about my capacity to succeed in a role that I felt as if I had been preparing for throughout my entire professional career. I had done my homework
and, through both publicly available information and preliminary interviews, I believed I had a strong understanding of the community, the organization, and the opportunities where I could make an impact as the Community Foundation’s leader. I also knew that I was expected
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at a luncheon at John’s Island with the remaining members of the board of directors, so there was not much time to spare.
“Yes, I am curious about one name I keep reading about,” I answered. “Who is Alma Lee Loy and what is her connection to Indian River Community Foundation?”
The room erupted in laughter, followed by several encouraging comments. Alma Lee Loy was the namesake of the Community Foundation’s charitable legacy society. It was founded in recognition of her community leadership, her generosity, and her bold action as the first person to notify
the Community Foundation that she had made a planned gift from her estate to be held as an endowment in support of the community that she loved so dearly.
“You will definitely meet her,” said Alexander, “and you’ll find out exactly who Alma Lee Loy is.”
In February 2015, on my first day of work as the Community Foundation’s president and CEO, I was handed a stack of messages requesting phone calls from a host of people eager to welcome me and my family to our new hometown of Vero Beach. One of the messages included an invitation from Alma Lee Loy to join her for lunch.
Friday, 12 noon, Vero Beach Country Club. A phone number and a request for a call to confirm.
By now, I had learned much about who Alma Lee Loy was from newspaper articles, magazine columns, and various other stories from the internet. At first, I didn’t entirely appreciate the moniker given to her as the “First Lady of Vero Beach,” but I was curious. I dialed the phone number and, after a series of rings, heard what sounded like the “click” of tape starting to spool on an answering machine.
“This is Alma Lee,” a low, Southern drawl proclaimed, followed by a firm “Please leave a message.”
I left a message confirming my plan to meet her and added the appointment to my calendar.
On Friday, when I arrived for the luncheon, Alma Lee was already seated at a window table. She appeared to be holding court. First Lady of Vero Beach indeed.
I introduced myself, took a seat, and told her how much of a pleasure it was to meet her.
“They told me that you wanted to know who Alma Lee Loy was,” she responded. “Well, I want to know who Jeff Pickering is!”
Two hours and many topics later, I felt happy to have a new friend. I believe
the feeling was mutual, an impression that was confirmed many times over in the years that followed. Eventually, when she told me about the details of her planned gift from her estate, it even felt as if we had a special secret. One million of them, to be precise.
Alma Lee Loy—businesswoman, community leader, and dear friend to many— died peacefully at age 90 on April 10, 2020. By the end of the year, with help from several trusted advisors and a healthy market, a gift of more than $1 million was made to the Alma Lee Loy Endowment Fund at Indian River Community Foundation to support charitable efforts to meet community needs for years to come.
While she had spent a lifetime giving back, this gift was Alma Lee’s commitment to giving forward. It felt as if I were being entrusted with more than just an obligation to comply with the legal requirements of stewarding a charitable gift. This felt like a sacred privilege.
Alma Lee Loy’s planned gift from her estate was a shining example of the type of generosity that I expected when the Community Foundation published “Transfer of Wealth in Indian River County” in late 2015. We
conducted the study after analyzing data that suggested that fewer than 10 percent of all Indian River County charities held 12 months of financial reserves on their balance sheets. This fragile financial position would require a different approach to access the largest pool of untapped resources for community benefit—that is, planned gifts from the estates of our community’s most loyal and generous donors.
Using data from the Federal Reserve to estimate the net worth of Indian River County households of $15.7 billion in 2010, conservative assumptions about the market, and projections of expected death rates, the results of the study estimated that at least $50 billion would transfer between local households from 2010 to 2060. If just 5 percent of this amount—$2.5 billion—were designated to permanent endowment funds benefiting local charitable organizations, in 2060 the annual distribution from these accounts would equal $125 million.
That last figure represents about 14 percent more than the total amount of donations made to all Indian River County charities in 2022. Financial sustainability was not
aRe lives
merely a dream but a real possibility. With the right approach and help from the Community Foundation, our most important local charities are starting to make progress by encouraging loyal donors who have spent their lifetimes “giving back” to start “giving forward”
with planned gifts from their estates.
In addition to the First Lady of Vero Beach, another 80 individuals and families have joined the Alma Lee Loy Legacy Society by making planned gifts from their estates to support and sustain causes they love. Based on
information shared, more than half have indicated a specific amount of money that will be gifted. Today, this is estimated to equal at least $80 million, and likely to mature within the next decade.
One example of this kind of thoughtful generosity came from our dear friend
Bob Theis, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 95. Theis loved his home in Vero Beach, and part of his heart was with the homeless. Generous planned gifts from the estate of Robert J. and Margaret J. Theis are helping homeless men, women, and children in our community today
and for generations to come.
Another example of legacy giving came from arts patron Louis Lawson, who also died in 2019, at the age of 78. Lawson’s overture came in the form of a planned gift he made from his estate to establish a permanent endowment to provide financial support to Vero Beach Opera and other local charities in perpetuity.
Eleonora McCabe, affectionately known as Kind Ellie, was a well-respected philanthropist and advocate for mental health who died at the age of 87 in December 2021. Her charitable legacy included a generous gift to establish the permanent Better Mental Health in Indian River County Endowment. Distributions from this
fund will support proven programs addressing community mental health needs now and in the future.
Looking back on the eight years I’ve spent so far as president and CEO of Indian River Community Foundation, knowing what I know from working with numerous colleagues in the Indian River Estate Planning Council and their clients, I believe our community is about to experience the ripple effect from the examples set by Alma Lee Loy and the other members of her eponymous legacy society.
“It’s more than a ripple of generosity,” fellow Alma Lee Loy Legacy Society member and past member of the Community Foundation’s board of directors Lois Appleby reminded me. “This community is going to experience a tsunami.”
Thankfully, generous people who have spent a lifetime giving back are also giving forward. The need is there, and our community’s charities are well positioned to make a meaningful impact with the resources entrusted to them.
Let’s get ready to ride the wave. ❀
Generous people who have spent a lifetime giving back are also giving forward.Bob Theis had a passion for helping homeless families
Skin Deep
OVERWHELMED BY THE INFINITE ARRAY OF CLEANSERS MOISTURIZERS AND SERUMS ON THE MARKET? LOCAL EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON THE BEST AT-HOME SKIN CARE REGIMENS AND PROFESSIONAL TREATMENTS TO KEEP OUR COMPLEXIONS IN TIP-TOP SHAPE
BY RENÁE TESAUROOur skin is the body’s largest organ, and keeping it healthy requires commitment, particularly when it comes to our faces. The reflection we see daily in the mirror is often the fi rst to show the telltale signs of aging, sun damage, environmental factors, and lifestyle
choices. Fine lines deepen. Moisture, volume, and elasticity diminish. Dark spots and circles begin to appear. Before long, we’re purchasing an arsenal of products and possibly spending thousands more on professional treatments to be comfortable in our own skin.
With so many products and procedures on the market, it’s easy to be overwhelmed and over budget. But most dermatologists agree that the ideal skin care regimen involves a simple at-home routine— morning and night—coupled with a program individually tailored to your needs and
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DR. MONIKA SRIVASTAVA has earned the distinction of being among the first in the nation to achieve certification in the new Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery (MDS) Subspecialty. She is one of the few Mohs surgeons in the country to achieve this outstanding level of recognition, and this certification continues to solidify her expertise as one of the premier surgeons in this procedure. Dr. Monika specializes in Mohs surgery and advanced reconstructive techniques.
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Specializing in the prevention, early detection, and treatment of Skin Cancer, as well as Cosmetic and General Dermatology
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Alyssa Ostby-Coutts MMS, PA-C; Rachel Sobek, PA-C; Monika Srivastava MD, FAAD, FACMS; Alexandra Roberts, DNP, APRNsupervised by a qualified skin care professional.
“The products you use should be dependent upon your skin type and your lifestyle,” points out board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon Dr. Anand Haryani, who owns and operates Iconic Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery with his wife, Dr. Divya Haryani, also a board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon. “Do you have oily skin? Dry skin? Are you acne prone? How often are you in the sun? In general, basic cleansers work very well,
but if you want to add exfoliation to remove dead skin, I’d recommend upgrading to an acid-based wash containing glycolic acid, rather than using a beaded wash,” says Dr. Anand Haryani.
“Serums and moisturizers should be part of your daily routine,” he adds. “I recommend either a hyaluronic acid serum or vitamin C serum, depending on skin type. Moisturizers help to maintain the skin barrier, reducing inflammatory skin conditions, and are beneficial to those who have combination or dry skin.”
G.Dean Harter, MD
Orthopaedic Surgeon
Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital welcomes G.Dean Harter, MD, as Medical Director for Orthopaedic Surgery. He leads an experienced team that treats complex orthopaedic conditions and advances care through research and innovation.
After earning his medical degree at West Virginia University, Dr. Harter completed the orthopaedic surgery residency at Geisinger Medical Center in Pennsylvania, and the pediatric orthopaedic surgery residency at Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Delaware. His clinical interests include complex shoulder surgery; elbow injuries and elbow joint replacement; arthritis surgery; and arthroscopy.
“Partial knee replacement is one of my favorite operations to do because of how easy it is for the patient to recover and how much better they get,” says Dr. Harter.
Dr. Harter is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and holds professional memberships in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons.
“Cleveland Clinic has been one of the most innovative facilities in the world,” says Dr. Harter. “As a forerunner, it has changed everything from cardiac surgery to orthopedic surgery.”
Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, Dr. Harter was Clinical Associate Professor at West Virginia University, and Chief at Geisinger Medical Center’s Geisinger Shoulder and Elbow Institute.
“Sunscreens are a must for everyone,” Haryani emphasizes. “Mineral-based sunscreens are preferred over chemical sunscreens for almost every patient we see. UV rays damage our DNA, resulting in damagedlooking skin. Preventing that damage is the number one thing you can do to maintain healthy skin.”
“Your morning skin care regimen should include cleansing, applying a vitamin C and/or hyaluronic acid serum, and moisturizing with an SPF 30 or above to protect your skin from the sun,” agrees Dr. Monika Srivastava, a board-certified dermatologist, Mohs surgeon, and owner of Select Skin MD. “Vitamin
C is a powerful antioxidant that repels free radicals— unstable molecules that are produced in our bodies because of exposure to UV rays from the sun or toxins in the environment,” she explains. “Free radicals are a leading cause of hyperpigmentation, fi ne lines, and wrinkles. Vitamin C not only helps counteract that damage, but it also helps stimulate the production of collagen—the protein that helps support your skin, bones, muscles, joints, and connective tissue.”
For nighttime, Srivastava recommends using an exfoliative cleanser with glycolic acid, patting the skin dry, and applying a peasize amount of prescription Retin-A or over-the-counter retinol before smoothing on
DAILY SKIN CARE BASICS
MORNING: CLEANSE APPLY VITAMIN C SERUM APPLY MOISTURIZER OR SUNSCREEN WITH SPF 30 OR ABOVE
EVENING: CLEANSE EXFOLIATE APPLY PRESCRIPTION RETIN-A OR RETINOL SERUM MOISTURIZE
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a thick night cream. While both physicians agree that retinol is a phenomenal product for increasing the skin’s turnover rate and slowing the breakdown of collagen, it can also take some getting used to.
“Originally developed to combat acne, retinol can cause flakiness or retinoid dermatitis in some people,” says Srivastava, “so it’s best to start using it one night a week and build up slowly before making it part of your nightly routine.” Be sure to use it only at bedtime, she cautions, because it can make your skin more sensitive to the sun.
Beyond your at-home routine, what else is worth adding to your skin maintenance program?
“Facials, which can be targeted to certain skin types, are a great way to get your skin the professional help it needs,” says Haryani, adding that the general recommendation is every four weeks.
“Skin cells turn over every 28 to 40 days,” points out Srivastava, “so if you’re getting a facial at more frequent intervals, you’re interfering with this natural process.”
What about Botox, fi llers, and laser treatments? At what age should we begin to consider those? How often can they be safely and e ectively repeated?
“These are all things that are not medically necessary and depend upon your goals,” observes Srivastava. “Wrinkles don’t bother
everyone, so my advice is ‘do what makes you happy.’”
Neurotoxins such as Botox, Dysport, and Daxxify work by temporarily blocking the release of the neurotransmitter that causes muscle movement. “If your goal is to prevent facial lines from forming, you can start getting injections in your late 20s or early 30s. Once those lines are set, injectables will soften—but not eliminate—them,” says Srivastava. “Keeping those frown lines in check typically requires follow-up visits every three months.”
“Fillers are an e ective
tool for volume restoration,” says Haryani. “Some patients will use fi llers to enhance features and create more symmetry, while others are looking to bring volume back to areas where we naturally lose it over the years due to the breakdown of collagen— areas such as the cheeks, lips, and midface. Depending upon the longevity of the product used, fi llers can last from 6 to 12 months.”
The most popular fi llers contain hyaluronic acid, a gooey substance that our bodies produce naturally to keep our joints and eyes lubricated and our skin
hydrated and flexible. “Fillers can be used in many places, giving the skin a sca old to bring back that youthful appearance,” says Srivastava. “They can address marionette lines and nasal labial folds. They can restore structure to lips, cheeks, and temples— where there is volume loss. They can even give a subtle lift to eyes when injected into eyelids.”
Lasers and peels are other minimally invasive strategies for maintaining healthylooking skin. “One of the best things you can do for your skin is laser resurfacing treatments,” suggests
Courtney loves everything about kids, including their resilience, spirit and ability to bounce back. Courtney’s patients love her too. They hand deliver graduation cards and special artwork along with lots of hugs and smiles.
“We see so many kids ranging from heartbreaking situations to severe medical conditions, financially secure families, to some with nothing to their name. Regardless of socioeconomic status, they all want their kids to be healthy. It is heartwarming to help our families.”
“Pediatrics is very rewarding, patients become family.”
- Courtney Lockey, Medical Assistant, Vero 787 Health Center
Haryani. “You can do milder, non-ablative, treatments; more aggressive, ablative, treatments; and something in between. Resurfacing can reduce fine lines and wrinkles, treat irregularities such as brown spots, tighten skin and improve collagen production, and help blend scars from acne, trauma, or surgery. The Fotona erbium laser can deliver one or all of those benefits by allowing me to dial up or dial down both the depth of penetration and heat to optimize results.”
Chemical peels are another option that can be tailored to meet your individual skin care goals. Superficial peels are effective for gently exfoliating the skin’s outer layer and refreshing the skin’s appearance. Medium peels, which penetrate the outer and middle layers of skin, can reverse sun damage and improve the appearance of age spots, fine lines and wrinkles, freckles, and moderate skin discoloration. Although deep peels, which penetrate deeply into the middle layer of skin, produce dramatic results by removing lines, age spots, freckles, and shallow scars, most dermatologists recommend that they be performed only once.
While a basic skin care regimen and certain cosmetic treatments can help turn back the hands of time, dermatologists agree
we shouldn’t overlook some simple lifestyle habits that can go a long way toward preventing signs of aging skin.
“Think about sun protection every single time you set your foot outside your door. From hats to UV-protective clothing and, of course, sunscreen,” reminds Haryani. “Like any organ, the skin responds to what you ingest. Your diet should be balanced and include antioxidants.
“Stay hydrated. This means both internally by drinking water and externally by using moisturizer. Most importantly, if something doesn’t look right to you on your body or you have a new growth, get it evaluated by a dermatologist. Skin cancer is more easily treated when caught early; and if caught late, can be life threatening.”
Sunscreen, nutrition, and hydration have always been priorities for 74-yearold Sharron O’Brien of Vero Beach, especially after living for many years in the Keys, where she and her husband spent considerable time outdoors, fishing and diving. “When I moved here two and a half years ago, I searched for a health care provider who could offer medical surveillance for skin cancer as well as cosmetic procedures,” she explains.
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Don’t
Limit alcohol, which dehydrates and, over time, damages skin
Eat a well-balanced diet
Get plenty of sleep
Use sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher
Step away from the tanning bed
Get annual skin cancer screenings
Drink plenty of water
Exercise to improve circulation and boost your immune system
Manage stress
Use skin care products formulated for your skin type
screenings. She supplements her daily skin care regimen with Iconic facials, specially formulated for her skin, at five-to-six-week intervals; and she gets periodic Daxxify, filler, and laser treatments. “Dr. Haryani is excellent at guiding you to what is appropriate for your face. I really appreciate that he calmly studies your features with a true artist’s eye to determine how best to enhance them.”
When asked whether she’d consider a face-lift, O’Brien says, “As a retired nurse practitioner, I have no problem with surgery. But at my age, I’d prefer not to have general anesthesia.
If it requires more effort on my part to stick to my daily routine and maintenance, I’m willing to make that commitment and work with Dr. Haryani to ensure that I’m a good reflection of his procedures.
“Right now, I’m satisfied that there are less invasive procedures to achieve what I want to achieve. To each his own. For me, I’m going to have creases in my face because I’m going to smile. I’m going to have furrows because I’m going to make an expression. The line in the sand is different for everyone.”
As are the lines on our faces. `
Cuban Cutie
THE HAVANA SILK DOG HAS MANY FANS IN FLORIDA
Murphy greets me in his typical fashion. He is wearing a tie for the occasion and holding in his mouth a plush toy as big as he is, playfully keeping it just inches out of my reach. This particularly engaging dog is a Havanese, a breed with a rich history and growing popularity in the United States.
“He seeks out other people. We saw that in him right away.” The couple hosted a big party at the Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club and Murphy was in attendance, absorbing the attention as if the party had been arranged for him, and, in a way, it was.
BY AMY ROBINSONBob Williams and Karen Katen-Williams provide Murphy with the kind of experiences any dog would covet. “He’s a very social animal,” notes Karen.
“Murphy for mayor” was an oft-repeated phrase among partygoers, a phenomenon that did not seem too farfetched for a dog with such dedicated devotees.
The couple’s home backs up to the golf course, and Murphy will sit on the
back porch hoping for a friendly foursome to invite him over to the fairway for a nice scratch behind the ears. To say he is well known in the community may be an understatement. “We have some golf balls with Murphy’s picture on them,” says Bob. “One day I hit one I thought was lost, but about two weeks later, the ball showed up in a little bag with a note that said, ‘I believe this belongs to you’. Karen and I got quite a kick out of that.”
Liudmila Hernández, anattorney and local guide in Havana, Cuba, owns a Havanese but doesn’t see many others, despite the breed’s status as the official dog of Cuba. “The ancestor of the Havanese was brought from Spain during the conquest and colonization of Cuba,” she says. “The dogs, prized by the aristocracy, were called ‘Blanquitos de la Habana’ because of their white hair.”
For a century, Havanese dogs were bred in Cuba with little influence from other breeds. Later they were mixed, giving rise to color modifications of the breed; they now appear in shades of gold, sable, black and white, red, cream, and silver.
Hernández owns Nany, a 7-year-old Havanese. “It is a real sensation for many people to see Nany and other Havanese in the street. They want to pet her, hold her, and take photos with her.” These prized lapdogs emigrated
with their owners during the Cuban revolution and are now popular in Spain, Mexico, parts of South America, and Florida.
Havanese owners will tell you there is only one thing better than living with this amiable little charmer, and that is owning more than one of them. Barbara Rowles was a fan of the showy standard poodle but is now a convert to the breed hailing from Cuba. Mia, aged 10, and Tutu, 5, have perfectly straight, silky hair on their ears, which frame their pert faces. They peer at me pointedly with dark, almond eyes that project confidence and curiosity at once.
“They relate to you like little people,” Rowles says, “but you really create a disruption in their lives when you ask them to go for a walk. They’d much rather be here on the sofa or sunbathing on the balcony.” Rowles’ search for a reputable breeder was
To help us continue to provide much needed supplies to people who need it most, please visit hsvb.org/support-us.Murphy sports a necktie for his photo opportunity with his owners, Karen Katen-Williams and Bob Williams. AMY ROBINSON
Ask Amy
amy@verobeachmagazine.com
Jackson, my 2-year-old golden, has lots of room to run safely in my big fenced yard. He has shade, water, and toys galore, but his favorite activity is digging a hole so deep that he gets almost vertical with his head down and rear end up. I’m afraid I’ll step in it one day and never come out. How do I get him to play with toys instead?
Digging is extremely rewarding for most dogs. What is more fun than a face full of dirt and a cool spot to lie in? In Florida, some will dig far enough to hit water, which really gets messy. To counter that, you will have to provide alternative activities that are just as rewarding. I know Jackson loves the outdoors, but he would love it a lot more if you’d go out there with him. Yard time should be your bonding time, so leave the phone inside and play some goofy games with him. Drag a toy on a leash so he has to catch it. Grab a soccer ball and try to kick it past him. Dogs are excellent goalies, it turns out. Splash pads are finding their way into dog parks, and there are small backyard versions that could yield a lot of laughs. I would like to see you going out with Jackson four times per day, but you don’t need to stay out for more than 15 or 20 minutes. You might also consider buying a kiddie pool, but instead of water, fill it with quality play sand. Bury toys and a bone in it and watch Jackson redirect his digging to seek a reward instead of the earth’s core.
I want to learn more about what my dog, Jilly, is thinking. I am interested in her point of view toward her training and our daily interactions. For example, she will use eye contact to get me to do something for her. When I realized it was happening, I was surprised but also admired it. How did she learn to do this?
You and Jilly have something in common. Both of you want to learn more about each other. Jilly is a very good observer of your behavior. She studies you, and as time goes on, she experiments with body language and looks to see what works. She wants to get your attention, but more than that, she is directing you to a certain behavior. I’m guessing she looks at you steadily, then at the biscuit cabinet, and then back to you. If you even glance in that direction, she is rewarded for her efforts, and will keep trying this and other methods. Keep an eye on her tail as well. A high positioning suggests inner excitement or anticipation. Level and slow wagging probably indicates contentment and a relaxed mood. Instead of just looking at her eyes, note the rest of her body at times when your interaction seems more meaningful. Close observation is rewarding, as dogs are infinitely interesting. They feel the same way about us.
thorough, and that process went both ways. “We were interviewed,” she laughs. “I think it is easier to get into a Park Avenue co-op.”
Enthusiasts of the breed don’t mind jumping through a few hoops for a breeder who cares about a successful transition to a new home. The Havanese Club of America is a great support system and has 26 articles on its website just for new-owner education. The club publishes a long list of health tests for hips, elbows, heart abnormalities, eye health, and more that each breeder adhering to the national code of ethics must perform.
Despite these high standards, Havanese dogs can
still find themselves in need of rescue on occasion. “Every breed should have a safety net,” says Donna Rotoloni of the national Havanese Rescue, operating since 2004.
“It is not that uncommon for Havanese to find their way into shelters,” she says.
“Sometimes it is due to aging owners or family changes that require a move.”
Havanese Rescue is a volunteer-run organization that relies on experienced fosters to help with acclimation to a new home. “We support our fosters with professional training help and ask that they keep the dog for a minimum of two weeks,” Rotoloni says. “We are with them every step of
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the way.” Fosters get to know their charges and complete a detailed form about the dogs’ habits, quirks, routine, and needs. Adopters are asked to provide references, including that of a veterinarian.
Many of the dogs coming to the rescue have an issue, whether it is medical or behavioral, and the screening process is designed to keep the dogs safe. “We have a young dog now coming from a hoarding situation.” she says. “In his two short years, he has never been handled. It will take him some time in foster care to acclimate.”
These small but sturdy dogs are a favorite in Florida, which became a landing
ground and a jumping-off point for the dogs to gain popularity in the United States. All the Havanese in this country are descendants of just 11 that were tucked under the arms of those fleeing the turmoil of regime change in Cuba.
Aside from being known as “Velcro dogs” that like to stay close to their owners, they will also make fast friends of both the two-legged and four-legged variety, walking around the neighborhood with you like a politician looking to kiss some babies for the camera. Polish your social skills, since owning a Havanese will attract a fan base—one that he richly deserves. ❀
Muscle Memory
FROM THE ORLANDO AUTO MUSEUM IN DEZERLAND PARK THE OLDSMOBILE ROCKET
One day, while driving on a back road in a remote corner of Indian River County, I came across the “barn fi nd” in the upper left photo on this page. The rusted hulk, a 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88, was for sale—its engine and some of its other parts in a nearby shed. I have no idea what became of the car, since it disappeared a few days later and then the seller moved away.
What would one do with such a thing? It is a classic, and it’s kind of cool just as a piece of rustic sculpture. But is it salvageable?
Simply put, no. “That car is basically worthless,” says Gordon Stewart, president of Motor City Classic Cars in Vero Beach. “It would cost more to restore than it would be worth restored.”
That’s a mistake people can make, even with cars in much better shape than this one. The most obvious use here is as a parts donor.
Another option is to repurpose the vehicle. A nice example of that is what architect Nicholas Roseland did with a 1950 Ford pickup at El Sid Taqueria on Ocean Drive. After removing the floorboard and the driver’s side door, he installed the truck between the kitchen and the seating area so that customers can pick up their food at a “pickup” window. It’s become a focal point of the restaurant, used by hundreds of people every day.
About a year after spotting that barn fi nd, I came across a fully restored 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 at the Orlando Auto Museum in Dezerland
Park. It looks particularly sharp in its polished chrome trim and Chariot Red paint, and if it were for sale, it might fetch $30,000 to $40,000. Given that it would cost well more than that to restore our barn fi nd, it would make better fi nancial sense to prop its hood open and plant some begonias inside.
When the Oldsmobile 88 debuted in 1949, it was groundbreaking. Although the term “muscle car” wasn’t coined until 1964—by Pontiac for its GTO— the Rocket 88 is considered by many to be the fi rst factory muscle car. Prior to 1949, Oldsmobile was known as a somewhat staid car company, but that
changed overnight when it decided to put its hefty 303-cubic-inch Rocket V-8 in a relatively lightweight car. Traditionally, engines as powerful as that were reserved for big cars. The Rocket 88 immediately became the car to beat on the road—and in races. It dominated NASCAR’s inaugural 1949
season, winning five of eight races and taking the series championship. An 88 also served as the pace car in the 1949 Indianapolis 500, and another won the inaugural 1950 Carrera Panamericana, a 2,100-mile, six-day race in Mexico. In the ultimate testament to the car’s impact, a song by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats was released in 1951: “Rocket 88.” Some music writers consider it to be the fi rst rock-and-roll record, while others acknowledge it only as an influential precursor. Either way, the song, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart, forever cemented the Rocket 88’s place in pop culture.
Now that you’ve ridden in my Rocket 88, I’ll be around every night about eight. You know it’s great, don’t be late, Everybody likes my Rocket 88. ❀
Frontier Gold
IN ADDITION TO PLAYING THE HEROIC DAVY CROCKETT AND DANIEL BOONE, FESS PARKER LEFT BEHIND A FORMIDABLE WINE LEGACY
BY CHRIS FASOLINOMy father spent a good portion of his childhood wearing a coonskin cap and playing Davy Crockett. Like many boys of his generation, he was inspired by the Disney films starring Fess Parker as the brave and clever frontiersman. You, too, may remember classic lines like the adage “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead,” or the cheer “Give ‘em whatfer!” And, of course, there was Davy’s tongue-in-cheek description of himself as “half-horse, half-alligator, with a little touch of snapping turtle.” But did you know that after playing Davy Crockett (and later Daniel Boone), Parker went on to become a winemaker?
The vineyards of California might seem far removed from the forests, swamps, and riverboats that were the settings for the colorful adventures of his characters. Nevertheless, Parker proved his skills in the wine country of Santa Bar-
bara. Although he died in 2010, the winery has remained part of his family’s story; his son and daughter are at the helm, and many of his grandchildren are involved as well.
A few years before his death, I had the privilege of talking with Fess Parker about his winery. It was a phone conversation, and I remember the strength and warmth of his voice—it was as if I could hear that famous grin. He told me a funny story about a wine critic who had been in Santa Barbara County but driven by the vineyard without bothering to stop, making the dismissive comment in his column, “What could Davy Crockett know about wine?”
Parker saw the comment and sent him a bottle. In the next column, the critic admitted the wine was excellent and that it “paired well with crow.”
In keeping with his frontier roles and his wry wit, Parker selected as his winery’s logo a tiny coonskin cap, picked
out in gold. It’s an image that is elegant and subtle yet also evokes memories of frontier adventure. All in all, it’s the perfect emblem for the winery.
You will see the golden coonskin cap on the label of Fess Parker Santa Barbara County Syrah, a wine that I recommend as the ideal choice for summer barbecues. The syrah is a fruit-forward red that is brimming with notes of forest berries. Blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry all seem to leap from the glass. The lush fruit is complemented by pungent notes reminiscent of freshly ground black pepper. The combination of berry and spice makes this a great pairing for barbecue favorites such as steak, lamb, chicken, or grilled vegetables.
I have not, however, tried it with crow. ❀
The Fess Parker Winery an operation covering more than acres of vineyards is a stop on the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail in California Fess Parker displays a coonskin cap as the logo on the wine labelBook Smarts
THE LEONARD FAMILY’S VERO BEACH BOOK CENTER HAS BEEN ENRICHING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY FOR NEARLY HALF A CENTURY
BY MARY BETH MCGREGOR PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVEN MARTINEFor close to 50 years, the Vero Beach Book Center has been a destination for year-round and seasonal residents, tourists, and visiting children and grandchildren. This independent bookstore has not only survived but thrived while many booksellers, from small local shops to national chains, have closed their doors.
Regular visitors to the 11,400-square-foot establishment on 21st Street, just a short hop from the Merrill Barber and Alma Lee Loy Bridges, know why. The knowledgeable sta , perfect assortment of books for local tastes, outstanding children’s section, and well-staged author events are just some of the obvious answers.
Of course, there were the long hours and a bit of experimentation on the part of Leonard family members, who still own and operate the Vero Beach Book Center. But their love of books and a love of people and the community have fueled the success through the early years of struggle, several economic downturns, hurricanes, a pandemic, the introduction of online bookselling, and the proliferation of electronic reading devices.
For Tom and Linda Leonard, the founders, and their son Chad, who is now general manager, it has not been
all hard work and grueling hours. They admit to a great deal of joy in connecting with the community, in the once-in-a-lifetime experiences, the hobnobbing with celebrities, and the national and local awards, proving it is gratifying to run a bookstore in a small community full of readers who appreciate and support them.
The year was 1975 when Tom and Linda Leonard took the step into entrepreneurship. They had arrived in Vero Beach five years earlier as recent college graduates and newlyweds towing a U-Haul trailer. Linda’s parents had moved here to retire, so the couple was familiar with Vero Beach.
After a few years in their chosen careers, the environmental planner and the nurse sold their home to downsize and put the money into a business.
“Everybody thought we were crazy,” Linda says. “We had a 1-year-old and a newborn, the economy was not good
in the early ’70s; we all remember the long gas lines. And we couldn’t get a loan.” They considered several other businesses, but as Linda quips, “Tom said a bookstore appealed to him because he thought it meant he could sit by the cash register and read all day and just take people’s money.”
After Tom attended a booksellers school in New York to learn how to deal with publishers and handle invoices, the appeal was still strong and the couple opened the Vero Beach Book Center at its first location, in the strip center across from Treasure Coast Plaza, which was then anchored by Woolworth’s, on 21st Street. At the time, this area was considered the main commercial district of Vero Beach outside downtown.
“We had the location where West Marine is now,” Tom says. “And on one side was Melody Music, which is still there, and on the other side was a dance studio.” The walls were thin and at night—the store was open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.—customers shopped to the beat of “The Hustle,” which was the pop song and eponymous dance the students were learning at the time.
On the corner, in what is today the location of Kelley’s Irish Pub, the couple established their niche children’s department, known as The Children’s
Store. Because they had small children of their own, they wanted a ready supply of books for them. “And in the ’70s, new printing processes dramatically changed children’s books,” Linda says. “They went from having boring black-and-white line drawings to beautifully illustrated color pictures, and the books became glorious.” She supplemented the books with educational toys and cuddly stuffed animals and dolls. “I liked the idea of a character along with the book. Small children or reluctant readers often need to hold something when they are read to,” she explains.
Before children’s authors found their way to the fledgling Vero Beach Book Center, the Leonards promoted The Children’s Store with events, complete with costumed characters—
Linda’s dad stepped into costume and transformed into Clifford the Big Red Dog. They hired a puppeteer to present puppet shows and participated in the Children’s Art Festival held annually at Riverside Park as early ways to connect with the community.
When the dance studio closed, the bookstore expanded into it with the right mix of books for the Vero Beach market. “This is a community where readers want recreation and entertainment in their fiction and serious but commercially popular nonfiction. That’s what sells here,” Tom says.
What also sells books is an author appearance. “At first it baffled the publishers that we were selling so many books in Vero Beach,” Tom says. “The president of Little Brown flew down on the corporate jet with
Sandra Brown, one of its bestselling authors, and he took us to dinner at the Ocean Grill. He asked why this tiny bookstore in Vero Beach is selling more copies than bookstores in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago. We said that in our little town, hosting an author was a big event.” Indeed, author events still draw people from surrounding areas in addition to Indian River County itself. Also at play was the fact that the Leonards know how to stage an event. When Steve Allen, the first host of The Tonight Show, visited to promote his book, VBBC borrowed a piano from its neighbor Melody Music. Allen sat at the piano and played, sang, and talked, and everyone had a great time.
The first time celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse came to VBBC, the owners
set up a cooking area in the parking lot, surrounded by bleachers. The chef was late arriving, but when he did, Bam! he was on, and cooked until around 9 p.m. Then everyone moved inside the store for him to autograph books and inscribe each with his famous “Bam!” motto.
This went on until 1 a.m., by which time most of the remaining customers who had reserved books had gone home to bed. However, Lagasse, fortified with a glass of wine Tom handed him, continued to sign and inscribe the remaining customers’ books. “He didn’t leave until 4 a.m., knowing full well that he had to leave immediately for Palm Beach for a morning radio interview. He was by far my favorite guest,” Tom says, adding that Lagasse returned on two other occasions.
Then there were unplanned happenings that made an author event spectacular. Linda recounts the time Ridley Pearson was scheduled to speak. “Out of the blue, two of his buddies showed up: Carl Hiaasen and Dave Barry. Can you imagine having the three of them on the same stage at the Book Center?”
When the store has been unable accommodate the sellout crowds, it has moved to larger venues for the likes of Jodi Picoult, Nicholas Sparks, and singer Andy Williams.
Being in the bookselling business has allowed the Leonards to meet and interact with many bestselling writers and celebrity authors. Chad recalls having dinner with Pat Conroy at a book convention, and Linda served tea to Julie Andrews while the singer-
actress had her makeup applied prior to an invitation-only appearance at the VBBC. In addition, the store has hosted two former U.S. presidents, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush. One other experience stands out to Tom and Linda. Random House called on short notice and invited them to a dinner in Miami. “They said, ‘We can’t tell who the author is, but you need to be there,’” Linda says. “It was a workday, and we were annoyed to have to drive to Miami, but we found someone to cover for us for the evening and we went.”
On route the publisher called with a change of venue, adding to the mystery and inconvenience. When they arrived, they were escorted to a back room of the hotel, where they recognized fellow booksellers. “They didn’t know what this was all about either,” she says. Later, they all learned the event was the author’s opportunity to thank this special group for outstanding sales of his notorious book, despite the death threats. (Yes, death threats even in Vero Beach!) And then in walked Salman Rushdie.
“And on top of that, the publisher seated us at his table for the dinner,” Linda says. “If we had known, we sure would have prepared better questions for him, but we did have his ear until dessert, when he moved to a di erent table.”
The Book Center moved, expanded, contracted, briefly opened a satellite store, and also invited a café to share space for a short time until settling into its present two-story location.
Tom and Linda retired in 2004 and sailed their custom-made 40-foot sailboat from South Africa, where it was built. “They were gone for Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne that year and missed all the fun,” notes Chad. His parents spent the next few years sailing. They said this was made possible with Chad at the helm, along with his wife, Elizabeth, and the rest of the competent and long-serving sta , which included longtime store
Summer reading list from the staff of the Vero Beach Book Center
1. The 9th Man by Steve Berry
2. The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
3. Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See
4. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
5. The Collector by Daniel Silva
6. Dead Fall by Brad Thor
7. The Beach at Summerly by Beatriz Williams
8. Never Give Up: A Prairie Family’s Story by Tom Brokaw
9. The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende
10. Must Love Flowers by Debbie Macomber
manager Sheila Grange, who was at the Leonards’ side when they opened their doors and just retired last year. Today Tom and Linda are back as “volunteers.” Tom works much shorter hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Linda, who still does all the buying for The Children’s Store, often works from home.
The Vero Beach Book Center has earned a number of awards, both locally and nationally, over the years. One the Leonards point to most proudly is the 1994 Charles S. Haslam Award for Excellence in Bookselling, the top national award in the industry. Linda gave the acceptance speech at the awards ceremony held in Los Angeles, and Tom snapped a photo of Linda as Desmond Tutu was moved to embrace her after she concluded with what summed up their feelings about the store and its place in the community:
“You can’t always measure the success of your actions monetarily. There is more to it than that. We are all brothers. None of us goes alone.” ❀
“I liked the idea of a character along with the book. Small children or reluctant readers often need to hold something when they are read to.”
– LINDA LEONARDChad and Elizabeth Leonard stand amidst the stacks where local readers love to browse
Red,White, and What a View!
A STUNNING RIVERFRONT HOME IS THE PERFECT SETTING FOR AN ALL-AMERICAN HOLIDAY
BY RENÁE TESAURO PHOTOGRAPHY BY JERRY RABINOWITZHosting a memorable Fourth of July barbecue is as easy as apple pie when your backyard is a tropical oasis, and the menu is in the creative hands of a highly seasoned chef.
Native Canadians Steve and Jane Jones have embraced this all-American holiday—and many more—since acquiring their riverfront estate in the member-owned Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club, a private barrier-island community spanning 600 acres between the Atlantic Ocean
and Indian River Lagoon. Purchased in March 2020, their 6,200-squarefoot British West Indies–style residence has an outdoor living area rivaling that of a premier resort.
“It’s one of those backyards that’s so unique,” says Steve about the dramatic freeform pool, meandering paths, cabana, private dock, lush vegetation, and expansive loggia for alfresco dining. “When we bought the house, we reached out to the gardener, who had worked with the owner 17 years ago to recreate her
vision of Hawaii. He continues to look after the grounds, and it’s kind of a wonderland.” A wonderland well deserved after decades of hard work, including an 18-year career at CocaCola Co. and the founding of Fairlife LLC, a health-and-wellness company that produces premium high-protein, ultrafiltered milk products.
Life at Coke was fast-paced and dynamic, Steve admits, as he assumed marketing and operational roles in Atlanta, London, Tokyo, and Houston, before his final job as corporate chief
marketing officer. At 46, he wanted more entrepreneurial challenges. This wish led to several private equity deals and, ultimately, the launch of Fairlife, an experience he describes as the most rewarding of his business life.
By 2018, the Joneses were ready for a simpler but equally engaging life in Florida. They didn’t know the Sunshine State very well, so they spent the next two years exploring towns and communities, only to discover that life at Orchid Island checked all the boxes.
“You can’t beat living here,” says Steve. “It offers both ocean and Intracoastal living and a small but engaging community nestled around a great Arnold Palmer golf course. Add in excellent racket sports, a fitness and
Citrus Chimichurri Salsa
Yields 2 cups
1/4 tsp. chili pepper flakes
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
Zest from 1 lemon + segments from lemon
Zest from 1 orange + segments from orange
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, tightly packed, rough chopped
1 tbsp. oregano, rough chopped
2 tbsp. mint, rough chopped
1 tbsp. cilantro, rough chopped
Mix all ingredients except parsley, oregano, mint, and cilantro. Just before serving, fold in the herbs and taste for final seasoning.
wellness center, clubs and activities, and wonderful food and dining experiences, and it’s second to none.”
In 2020, the Joneses decided a riverfront property at Orchid Island was a perfect fit for their active and social lifestyle. “The river is full of life,” says Steve. “Between the pleasure craft, the yachts, the birds, and the dolphins, there is nonstop entertainment out there.”
“The house is on the larger side, so it’s far livelier when people are here,” he adds. “We’ve had parties for 50 to 100 guests with half inside and half outside and many people walking to the dock to look at dolphins. It’s a very versatile property.”
For their Fourth of July celebration, the Joneses planned a more intimate
backyard gathering with seasonal, locally sourced cuisine prepared by Orchid Island’s Executive Chef Chris Sozio as well as colorful cocktails and mocktails created by Food and Beverage Director Alex Heater.
The all-American menu includes a garden salad composed of locally sourced baby lettuce, pickled heirloom carrots, and sweet peppers from Pepper Trail Farm; pickled cucumbers and assorted heirloom tomatoes from Aunt Zorada Farm; preserved apricots; and goat cheese tartines—all tossed in a luscious green goddess dressing.
For the mains, Sozio fires up the outdoor grill to prepare Florida lobster tails and jumbo prawns with island spice butter and grilled lemons,
Firecracker Mango-Chile Mojito
2 oz. Bacardi Mango
Chile Rum
1 oz. mango puree
2 lime quarter wedges
7 mint leaves
2 oz. lemon-lime soda
Muddle rum, mango puree, lime, and mint.
Shake and pour over ice. Finish with lemon-lime soda.
Strawberry Basil Lemonade
3 oz. lemonade
2 oz. strawberry puree
2 lemon quarter wedges
5 basil leaves
2 oz. club soda
Muddle lemonade, strawberry puree, lemon wedges, and basil leaves. Shake and pour over ice. Finish with club soda.
Donna’s Corn Relish
Yields 6 cups
4 ears corn, cut off the cob
1/2 red bell pepper diced into small pieces
1/2 green bell peppers diced into small pieces
1/2 cup cabbage diced into small pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
In a pot, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Cool in refrigerator before serving.
Green Goddess Dressing
Yields 1 quart
1 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. white wine vinegar
6 pieces of anchovy fillets, washed, dried, and minced
1 cup Italian parsley, minced
1/2 cup chives, minced
1/4 cup watercress, minced
1/8 cup tarragon, minced
1 oz. scallions, minced
2 cups fresh mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
In a blender, add the lemon juice, vinegar, herbs, and anchovies. Puree until smooth. Add the mayonnaise and sour cream and blend until evenly distributed. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Island Spice Butter
Yields 1 1/4 pounds
1 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. pepper
2 tbsp. lemon juice
4 tbsp. sorrel
2 tbsp. tarragon
2 tbsp. thyme
2 tbsp. marjoram
2 tbsp. oregano
4 tbsp. parsley
2 tbsp. garlic
1 tbsp. shallots
2 tbsp. white wine
Place butter into a mixer. Add all remaining ingredients and mix with paddle until fully incorporated. Taste for final seasoning. Hold at room temperature for service. Refrigerate unused portion.
prime bistro steak with citrus herb salsa, and chicken paillard with Donna’s corn relish.
For a light, no-fuss dessert, Sozio created a patriotic parfait of macerated strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries layered with vanilla bean and Orchid Island Honey–whipped cream cheese, presented with a glutenfree chocolate pecan cookie.
Sozio, who has been pleasing discerning palates at Orchid Island since 2014, says, “Our commitment to using locally sourced products as often as possible even extends to an often-used sweetener. We have beehives on the property from which honey is extracted, bottled, and sold in our pro shops as Orchid Island Honey. It’s become a popular staple in our club’s kitchens and in the homes of many of our members.”
Good food, good friends, and a backyard with an expansive water view. Sounds like a recipe for a memorable Fourth of July as well as a happy retirement! `
Dessert is a patriotic strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, and vanilla bean parfait topped with a gluten-free chocolate pecan cookie.
A large Texas family has renovated a John’s Island golf-course home to fit their needs both physically and aesthetically.
A Tall Order
A HANDPICKED TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS CREATES A COASTAL SANCTUARY TO SUIT THREE GENERATIONS OF A FAMILY’S LIFESTYLE—AND HEIGHT
BY VALERIE CRUICE PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICHOLAS SARGENTThey make things big in Texas: big ranches, big oil, big hair. They make big people too, as in a very tall couple with very tall children and very tall grandchildren, who wanted a Florida beach house that could accommodate their large, leggy family.
The husband and wife, originally from Texas, reared their family in C olorado as he continued his career in the energy business. When they realized cold-weather sports were becoming less and less appealing, and children and grandkids had moved east, they asked some of their friends
where they should look for a winter family beach home. The unanimous answer was John’s Island.
In October 2019, the couple closed on a 23-year-old Moulton Layne P.L. classic Bermuda-style home on the North Course. “It was love at first sight,” says the husband. However, the house was dated and needed to be reconfigured to meet the large family’s needs.
The wife made three phone calls. Consulting a “little yellow sheet” provided by the real estate agent listing local designers’ contact information, her first two calls went to voicemail. The third design firm
answered the phone. “I could already tell she’s my gal,” says the statuesque wife, referring to Shelly Craft, director of design with Spectrum Interior Design, who was working late and picked up. She immediately tasked Spectrum with quarterbacking a total renovation with additions to the 4,034-square-foot home, all during the pandemic. Craft and Spectrum founder-president Susan Schuyler Smith assembled a team that had previously worked harmoniously together to get a job done: architect Harry Howle, contractor David Lyons of Croom Construction, and landscape designer Mark Sartain.
First and foremost, the homeowners wanted a “beach house.” With a home in Colorado and a hunting lodge in mid-Florida, where they are avid bird shooters, the couple wanted their new home to be distinct and emblematic of its coastal context, just as their other two homes referenced their particular environments. “I want to know I’m in Vero Beach when I walk in,” says the husband.
Howle was charged with executing the homeowners’ vision of a uniquely Vero Beach home that physically and aesthetically accommodated their family. Howle took the original house from 4,034 to 5,534 square feet, with
The dining room carries the beach theme in color and design and also includes enough space for large gatherings.
Opposite page: The bright living area has turned into a fun family meeting place.
an additional 750 square feet of porches. The street-side elevation gives away none of this dramatic expansion, and its other elevations are utterly organic. Inside, Howle initially found the house was a bit meager on detail.
“We’re doing more now in interior architecture; we’re adding beams, tongue-andgroove ceilings, coffered ceilings, moldings, columns— texture,” he explains in his Beachland Boulevard office, the home’s blueprints spread out on his desk. The distinctive Doric columns on the front’s exterior reappear in the living room just as one enters the front door, an original gesture that he honored.
Howle addressed every room in the structure, replacing an office with a powder room; expanding the kitchen and marrying it to a breakfast area and family room; creating a two-bedroom and full-bath family guest wing hyphenated to the main house by a seamlessly integrated screened lanai; reworking wasted space off the living room into a large dining area; and creating a more separate access to the master suite. The entire home is beautifully detailed and spacious, but the showstopper is the master bath.
“I was trying to create a wow factor in there,” he says. While the rest of the house is rectilinear, the master bath is a shimmering celebration of
curves and ellipses; basically reveling in its sinuous, rhythmic layering of ovals. While Howle drafted it, Croom had to execute it. “Wow” is an understatement.
Lyons had been part of the crew that built the original house. The greatest challenge of this renovation, he explains, was the installation of the oval, freestanding tub in its bath alcove. Because of the tile work that had to be completed before the installation, as well as the plumbing, the tub had to go in last.
“Getting the tub in between the shower room on the left and the toilet closet on the right was a really big challenge,” says Lyons. “The 500pound tub had to be hoisted vertically, carefully, pushed through the opening into the alcove because the walls were too narrow. We had to make a block and tackle. At one point you had this $6,000 tub floating in mid-air, rotating it, lowering it just enough so the plumber could make the connections to
A locally made tall table is included in the breakfast area, which pivots between the kitchen and family room. The height of the table accommodates the tall family in the home.the drain and supply,” he explains.
The curved molding in the master bath posed a different challenge, because, simply put, “Wood doesn’t bend,” says Aaron Benson, the site superintendent on the project. “That whole room is oval. We had to order special trim material for all the framing. We had to hand-build that to form the substructure. The goal is to make the seams invisible.”
Given all the attention to detail, COVID-related supply chain issues (kitchen cabinets, refrigerator), and the inherent challenges of uniting an original structure to new ones, the Croom crew has high praise for the homeowners: “They were such great clients—understanding and patient.”
And decisive. The husband knew exactly what had to happen for the two-year project to succeed and initially addressed the team accordingly: “I want to stay married, so it has to meet her needs.” For her, it was all about the family of three adult children, spouses, and five grandchildren—all boys. “We are very tall people,” she says. There had to be enough extra-long beds, tall counters (40 inches high as opposed to the standard 36 inches), large-scale furniture, lots of seating, places where all can gather, and great flow.
When it came to the color palette, however, it was all about the husband.
Top and right: Bedrooms in the home feature a soft, pastel palette, which brightens the home.
Below: The master bath shows off Dolomite walls, with a strip of oval mother-ofpearl accents in the bathtub alcove. Mirrors have automatic defoggers and are hardwired to light up around the perimeter.
“We had been looking at houses. It kind of comes from the land, the Bermuda colors, the Bahamas colors, pastels,” he explains. The wife laughs, “Here’s this big, busy guy. He gives the color palette to Spectrum, they took it and ran with it.” Enveloped by bright, white walls and white oak floors, the pastel palette leans toward the organic side—beiges, whites, blushes, grays, blues, gray-greens. Lucite accessories keep things light. The result is a beachy sophistication— not a pelican or palm tree in sight.
And absolutely everything, from floor to ceiling, is high performance.
“The carpet, the upholstery, all are solution-dyed acrylic,” notes Craft.
The husband gushes, “All those white couches. This new stuff is really cool. We’ve lived on this.” But what really made the project worthwhile was the way the house functioned. “The chaos of 20 people in the house—the design, the layout made that endeavor doable. I will tell you: You just feel better when your surroundings are integrated. I have a great respect for interior designers,” he says.
Where the interior design leaves off, the landscape design takes over, luring the eye through the house and out to the gardens. Sartain
had to consider how the family was going to use the narrow backyard, with its north-south orientation. He and the wife agreed on a series of five outdoor rooms with different functions, including dining, a water feature/plunge pool, a cloister garden, and two additional gardens— all inspired by formal English and French gardens and tied together with crushed stone underfoot.
The gardens start at the front door: “We really wanted to continue the sense of arrival that you get when you enter the house,” says Sartain. One is drawn outside to the circular cloister garden off the great room, the center of which is a large potted bromeliad. The other gardens contain “families” of pots that
appear to have been collected over a period of time. Benches inspire moments, and the paths lead to the different rooms. “I love just standing outside,” says the wife.
“This couple were some of the best clients I’ve ever had. They weren’t easy on us, but they trusted us. That trust was very rewarding,” says Sartain.
“It went so smoothly because of the association and relationships between the professionals on the project. We had all worked together before. The clients are really downto-earth and easygoing,” says Howle.
Tall and down-to-earth. A seeming paradox, but in reality, the epitome— the quintessence—of this couple, their family, and their very Vero Beach home. `
Just for July
These items of interest will keep your summer scintillating
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING IN JULY
JULY 1–5 AND 24–29: SALES AT TRIMMINGS
PULL YOUR STYLE TOGETHER COORDINATED FURNITURE COLLECTION AT BAER’S
There are two great sales at Trimmings happening in the month of July: the annual Firecracker Sale July 1–5 and a Christmas in July event July 24–29. The Firecracker Sale offers red, white, and blue bargains at 10, 15, or 20 percent off. The other offers a chance to get a head start on holiday preparations, as Christmas items, including the collectible Czech Mantel trees, are available for a limited time at 15 percent off.
TRIMMINGS HOME GARDEN GIFTS
3201 Cardinal Drive | 772-213-8069 | shoptrimmingsvb.com
One of Baer’s newest collections, Laguna from Barclay Butera, which showcases California coastal design, offers coordinated bedroom, dining room, and living room pieces, giving your home that “pulled together” designer look. For example, the Strand poster bed is a signature design featuring woven cane panels in the headboard and footboard. The woven cane retains the light nutmeg finish which pairs perfectly with the white Tides finish. The canopy is removable, as are the posts, allowing the bed to be set up in three different configurations.
BAER’S FURNITURE COMPANY
4260 West New Haven Ave., Melbourne | 321-872-2377 | baers.com
SHORE STYLE
HEAD TO TOE IN COOPER & CO.
PRETTY AS A PETUNIA
NEWEST SHOP DOG IN TOWN
Dress for a stylish summer in this beautiful ensemble from Cooper & Co. With beachy details, soft colors, and a feminine pattern, this look is available to ensure you stand out in an undeniably chic way.
COOPER & CO.
3435 Ocean Drive | 772-231-9889
Meet Petunia, the newest addition to the Consignment Gallery team (no, she’s not for sale!). Although unsure about her exact breed, shop owners Barbara and Patty say, “She is 100 percent sweet.” You are invited to come by and say hi.
CONSIGNMENT GALLERY
2207 7th Ave. | 772-778-8919
SINK TO A HIGHER LEVEL
NEW OPTIONS AT EUROPEAN KITCHEN AND BATH
European Kitchen and Bath presents a fresh dual mount, single bowl utility sink. This spacious, deep laundry basin offers a convenient place to hand-wash clothes, bathe pets, treat stains, or use for deepcleaning projects. Durable and scratch and stain resistant, this granite washbowl is also bacteria resistant thanks to a sanitizing treatment.
EUROPEAN KITCHEN & BATH
4003 U.S. Hwy. 1 | 772-494-2694 | europeansink.com
PINING FOR DECOR
NEW ANTIQUE AT FANTASTIC FINDS
RUNNING ON STYLE
VINTAGE RUG AT L.K. DEFRANCES & ASSOCIATES
Just in from market, this vintage Anatolian area rug is now available at L.K. DeFrances interior design. A classic flooring accessory in soft blues and beige, the rug measures 6 feet, 3 inches in length and is 3 feet, 6 inches wide.
This antique pine armoire with a bar interior, made by Bausman— a high-end Riverside, California furniture maker, would be a fine addition to anyone’s home. This solid piece measures 91.5 by 47.5 inches at its tallest/widest points, is 28 inches deep, and is available now at Fantastic Finds.
FANTASTIC FINDS
4300 U.S. Hwy. 1 | 772-794-7574 | fantastic-finds.com
DOUBLE FEATURE
REAL ESTATE AGENT DOUBLY AWARDED
L. K. DEFRANCES & ASSOCIATES
4400 U.S. Hwy. 1 | 772-234-0078 | lkdefrancesandassociates.com
PORTRAYING PARIS
RUSSIAN PAINTER’S WORK ON DISPLAY
Cathy Curley received two Top Producer awards in the same month. She was awarded for having the highest dollar volume of closed sales and the highest dollar volume of new listings from the Dale Sorensen Real Estate Cardinal office.
CATHY CURLEY 772-559-1359 | cathycurleyrealestate.com
Findlay Galleries invites you to experience the work of Constantin Kluge, a Russian-born painter who was well traveled, educated, and spent most of his time painting French landscapes and the streets of Paris. He was well known for his paintings capturing the vibrancy of café culture. Kluge studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and had a unique ability to paint the city’s architecture.
FINDLAY GALLERIES
165 Worth Ave., Palm Beach | 561-655-2090 | findlaygalleries.com
SUMMER SAVINGS
FINE JEWELRY SALE AT LEIGH JEWELERS
VILLAGE SHOPS
6140 N HIGHWAY A1A
WWW.VILLAGESHOPSVEROBEACH.COM
Looking for that perfect gift at a great value? Leigh Jewelers has two full showcases of fine jewelry at a 50 percent savings. With diamonds, gemstones, gold, and sterling silver pieces, this great selection won’t last long, so hurry in.
LEIGH JEWELERS
3401 Ocean Drive | 772-234-8522 | leighjewelers.com
IT’S SHOWTIME
LED CAPSTONE LIGHTING & FAN SHOWROOM CHOSEN AS FINALIST
LED Capstone Lighting & Fan Showroom is honored to be selected as one of 15 finalists for Showroom of the Year. Showrooms from all over the United States and Canada entered the contest. The LED Capstone showroom has a wide variety of items with specialization in custom lighting, art lighting, and turtle lighting. Customers will also find displays for all these ideas as well as fans, control systems, and more.
LED CAPSTONE LIGHTING & FAN SHOWROOM
4005 U.S. Hwy. 1 | 772-205-2529 | ledcapstone.com
ALIMENTARI GOURMET MARKET | BELLE COSE
CITRON BISTRO | CLIFF NORRIS REAL ESTATE COASTAL COMFORTS | G. MATHEOS EYEWEAR
HOOS ARCHITECTURE | ISLAND CASHMERE
J. MCLAUGHLIN | JEAN-PIERRE KLIFA | JOHNNY WAS MEGHAN CANDLER GALLERY | NOTEWORTHY BY DESIGN OODLES OF WALLPAPER | SALON DEL MAR
SANDRA MORGAN INTERIORS
SEA BAGS OF MAINE | TOMMY BAHAMA
New & Noteworthy
PLAN ON IT
NEW ANNUAL ORGANIZERS AVAILABLE
LINE UP
FRESH TOP COLLECTION AT M. MAISON
NOTEWORTHY BY DESIGN
6100 Hwy. A1A | Village Shops | 772-231-0085
ELECTRIC ENDEAVORS
CADILLAC TO REVEAL MORE ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Gauze linen tops, which are perfect for a Florida summer, have arrived at M. Maison. Made with natural and lightweight materials, this new collection of blouses is available in light blue, blush, white, beige, and charcoal. Pair them with a fabulous raffia handbag and jewelry to look sharp and fresh for summer 2023!
M. MAISON
3403 Ocean Drive | 772-231-4300 | mmaisonvero.com
AN APP A DAY
NEW APPLICATION SOFTWARE LAUNCHED
This year, Cadillac will reveal three more electric vehicles that should enter production in 2024, according to the luxury brand’s top executive director, Rory Harvey. The additions would give Cadillac at least five EVs going into 2025, including the Cadillac Lyriq, the brand’s first luxury EV that received rave reviews since its release last year. The brand aims to transition to an all-electric lineup in North America by 2030. For more information on availability, contact Linus Cadillac.
LINUS CADILLAC BUICK GMC 1401 U.S. Hwy. 1 | 772-562-1700 linusautomotive.com | linuscadillac.com
Ocean Drive Plastic Surgery, Dermatology & MedSpa now has an app. Users can read reviews, find a service or a provider, schedule appointments, see beforeand-after photos, discover flash sales, connect with social media channels, and keep up on media coverage. There is more to come, so download the app to stay current with ODPS.
OCEAN DRIVE PLASTIC SURGERY 5070 Hwy. A1A, Suite A–E | 772-234-3700 oceandriveplasticsurgery.com
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL STYLE
CELEBRATORY FOOTWEAR AT PALM BEACH SANDALS
SHAPE UP
STYLISH
Highlight your patriotism in this flag-waving footwear from Palm Beach Sandals. Not only are they made in the USA—right here in Florida, in fact—these sandals sport an American flag embroidered on a blue or white leather background. Perfect for July!
PALM BEACH SANDALS
3309 Ocean Drive | 772-226-5998 | pbsandals.com
Provident Jewelry has the perfect necklace for all your summer looks. Designed in 18-karat yellow gold, this geometric-style necklace with diamond and turquoise accents will have you fashionably fabulous in a trendy yet chic way.
PROVIDENT JEWELRY
828 W. Indiantown Road, Jupiter | 561-747-4449 | providentjewelry.com
“We were fortunate enough to get paired up with Cathy Curley when we were looking to buy a place in Vero Beach last Spring. Cathy was a DREAM to work with - we were out of state, and she made us feel comfortable with the buying process even though we were over 1,000 miles away! She was always available to answer our questions, either by text or phone call, even though she was working with multiple clients besides us. I can’t imagine better service from a realtor, Cathy is THE BEST!”
-Kent and Cynthia WanamakerHATS OFF TO YOU
Sassy Boutique presents new items from the diverse and fashionforward brand Florabella. Founded in 1998 as a lifestyle collection encompassing luxury resort living, the brand’s spirited and timeless designs emphasize the use of natural materials and wearable functionality. Each piece in this collection includes its signature: the Florabella flower.
Piper Johnson, co-owner of The Dandy Lion Gifts and Thrifts, invites you to follow along with the store’s new Facebook page. You will find new inventory updates, various reels, and other helpful shopping information. Give the page a “like” and a “follow” so you don’t miss out!
EXCEPTIONAL ESSENCE
FRESH CANDLE SELECTION AT VB HOME
VB Home presents new Voyage et Cie candles. These organic, sustainable soy wax candles are hand poured and filled with the most optimum fragrance oils to create a variety of French-inspired scents. Visit VB Home to experience where the aromas transport you.
VB HOME
615 Beachland Blvd. | 772-492-9348 | vbhome.us
TARGETED TREATMENT
NEW SKIN CARE OPTION AT ICONIC
Iconic Dermatology is excited to share a new treatment to help with vascular lesions. Using Fotona’s long-pulse Nd:YAG, this laser goes beyond the surface to target the underlying vascular feeding system, which is important for ensuring long-term efficacy. Contact the Iconic team to schedule an appointment.
ICONIC DERMATOLOGY
4800 20th St. | 772-758-1310 | iconicderm.com
New & Noteworthy
Congratulations
AMAC | Alex MacWilliam Real Estate is pleased to announce that five local graduating high school seniors have each been awarded $1,000 college scholarships. “For 23 years now, we have awarded over $120,000 in scholarships to local graduates,” declared broker/co-owners Alex “Buzz” MacWilliam III and son, Alex “AMAC” MacWilliam IV. The recipients were given their Scholarship Award Certificates at their recent school awards ceremonies. Each of the following five Vero Beach High School students won a $1,000 scholarship:
Montserrat Gallegos will be attending Indian River State College to obtain her degree in health science with her certification in radiography.
Marie Mazzarella will attend the University of South Florida to obtain her degree in nursing with the goal of becoming a pediatric nurse practitioner.
Ethan Stokes will be attending Florida A&M University to obtain a degree in nursing/health science and realize his plans to become a travel nurse practitioner.
Alexander “Mac” Johnson plans to attend the University of Virginia At press time he is undecided on his major but considering business/commerce.
AMAC | Alex MacWilliam Real Estate’s overall April Top Producer was John Stringer. In the arts for over 35 years, Stringer is president of the highly regarded J.M. Stringer Gallery of Fine Art on Ocean Drive, where he helps transform his clients’ homes into a haven of beauty, culture, and refinement. Many of Stringer’s friends, clients, and colleagues encouraged him to become a Realtor to help more people find their own slice of paradise and become part of this exceptional community. His goal, first and foremost, is to identify his clients’ needs so that he can find them the perfect home or the perfect project.
Edward “Bo” Johnson will also be attending the University of Virginia At press time he is undecided on his major.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) just announced its April–June 2023 Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Home Health Care Survey Results, and the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) achieved the highest rating in patient satisfaction. The nonprofit home health agency achieved five stars in patient satisfaction, giving VNA the highest overall rating of all home health care agencies in Indian River County. The five-star rating system allows patients and caregivers to easily compare home health agencies in their area. Patient satisfaction ratings are based on patient experience scoring overall care, communication between provider and patient, provider professionalism, medication education, and future recommendations. `
DOWNTOWN DISTRICT
“At
Community Commitment
TALENT AND GENEROSITY HAVE BEEN ON DISPLAY AT LOCAL EVENTS
SUCCESSFUL AGING LUNCHEON
ALZHEIMER & PARKINSON ASSOCIATION
Renowned figure skater, television broadcaster, and motivational speaker Sco Hamilton was the featured speaker at the March 30 Successful Aging Luncheon, an annual event hosted by the Alzheimer & Parkinson Association of Indian River County. The 64-year-old has overcome many challenges over the years, including testicular cancer and several benign brain tumors—and he as thrived, becoming an Olympic gold medalist, a husband, a father of four children, and a philanthropist. He discussed the subjects of living life to the fullest, embracing change, overcoming obstacles, and promoting wellness. In addition to the inspiring talk, guests enjoyed live auctions and a lunch prepared by Elizabeth D. Kennedy & Co.
SPONSORS
Sandy and Randy Rolf; Francie Kirkpatrick; Nancy and Bob Puff; Emilie and Bob Burr; Becky and Bob Allen; Michelle and Walter Borisenok; Victoria and James B. Lawrence
A MUSICAL EVENING
MUSIC ANGELS EDUCATION FUND
At the end of March, Linda Sposato’s Music Angels Education Fund presented “A Musical Evening at Majestic Theater,” benefiting its work of providing scholarships that allow talented, commi ed, fi nancially qualifying students aged 4 to 17 to obtain music lessons. The event began with a film on 10 scientifically proven benefits of music education for children. A concert followed, featuring Kapprianah Anderson, a 14-year-old Music Angels vocal and keyboard scholarship recipient, and Canta Libre, a quintet of flute, harp, and strings from New York City.
Event co-chairs: Helen Cook, Sherry Ann Dayton, Bobbie Olsen, Susan Solomon, Sandy McManus, Virginia Schwerin, Anne e Rodriguez, Sarah Banks
SPRING GALA
RIVERSIDE THEATRE
The evening of March 14 was buzzing at Riverside Theatre as more than 600 theater lovers gathered for the Spring Gala. In a major event planned by a team of 15 co-chairs, guests mingled over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, enjoyed a spectacular performance by Tony Award–winning Broadway star Kelli O’Hara, and then savored a sumptuous dinner by Elizabeth D. Kennedy & Co. The beauty of the occasion was enhanced by plants and greenery from Rock City Gardens and centerpieces by Hutchinson’s Floral Aritstry.
PLATINUM SPONSORS
Eva and Bill Gurley; John’s Island Real Estate
Approximately one in four Americans—50 million men and 30 million women—have androgenetic alopecia, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. More than 66 percent of men experience this hereditary form of pattern balding by age 60. Similarly, more than half of postmenopausal women exhibit some degree of female pattern hair loss.
This
TRIKE WARS
UNITED WAY
Representatives of Torchbearer workplaces—those who have pledged $12,000 in corporate and employee donations to United Way—gathered at Sailfish Brewery for the inaugural Trike Wars race. The team from Publix took top honors for the day, with notable performances also turned in by Dean, Mead, Minton & Moore; Gould Cooksey Fennell; the Indian River County Sheriff ’s Office; Merrill Lynch; Northern Trust; and the School District of Indian River County. The day of fun also included a block party, 50/50 raffl e, and live music from Jesse and the Thieves.
MAJOR SPONSORS
Gould Cooksey Fennell; AMAC; The Hill Group; Offu Barton Schli ; Northern Trust
KIDS TAG ART
TAX COLLECTOR OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
A banquet was held at First Presbyterian Church’s McAfee Hall at the end of April to celebrate the successful completion of another year of Kids Tag Art in Indian River County. The program, which originated in Polk County in 2006, has to date raised nearly $2 million for art education in elementary schools across Florida. Nearly 900 local fifth graders submitted artworks, from which 50 were selected for awards: first and second place in each school, best Vero Beach design, best Sebastian design, best Fellsmere design, sheriff’s choice, tax collector’s choice, and more. The students’ designs are available on (unofficial) license plates, key chains, mouse pads, bookmarks, and other merchandise. `
MAJOR SPONSOR: Joseph’s Premier Real Estate
DESIGNERS ROW
“He’s
The Joys of July
FEEL FREE TO ENJOY ALL THE ART YOU PLEASE THIS MONTH!
‘JACK TWORKOV DRAWINGS’
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 3
Vero Beach Museum of Art has been very busy: In addition to seeing off the priceless exhibits of the “Rolling Sculpture” exhibition and organizing “Treasure Coast Creates,” the staff launched “Jack Tworkov: Drawings 1948–1981” at the end of May. The artist’s lengthy career included two distinct periods: his embrace of Abstract Expressionism in the 1940s through ’60s and the more measured, geometric period that linked him to minimalism. This latter approach was characterized by repetitive rhythmic strokes. Tworkov was committed to the practice of never repeating himself.
VERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART
3001 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-0707
vbmuseum.org
Bar Decoration I, 1963–64 by Jack Tworkov (American, 1900-1982), oil on canvas, 51 x 73 inches.
VBMA, museum purchase with funds provided by the Athena Society, 2014.4
‘THROUGH THE ARTIST’S EYE’
JULY 1–29
J.M. Stringer Gallery’s July installment of the exhibition “Through the Artist’s Eye,” features an American painter steeped in classical traditions. Born in Connecticut, Peter Layne Arguimbau spent part of his childhood in Seville, Spain. After his studies at the Loomis Chaffee School, Vassar College, and the Art Students League of New York, he embarked on classical studies in Italy and Greece, learning the techniques of the old masters. Arguimbau creates his own paints and often uses them to express his love of the sea.
J.M. STRINGER GALLERY OF FINE ART
3465 Ocean Drive
772-231-3900
jmstringergallery.com
Jardin fleuri à la ferme d’Isabeth près de Gavray (Manche) by Albert Malet, oil on panel, 18 1/8 x 15 inches
Ongoing Events
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2
CRYSTAL JUBILEE INVITATIONAL
Gallery 14 continues its Crystal Jubilee Invitational in celebration of its 15th anniversary. Since crystal is the traditional gift associated with a 15th anniversary, artists from near and far have created pieces inspired by its various qualities, such as clarity, lightness, sparkle, and durability. Receptions will be held during the First Friday Gallery Strolls July 7, August 4, and September 1.
GALLERY 14
1911 14th Ave. 772-562-5525 gallery14verobeach.com
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 3
‘TREASURE COAST CREATES’
VBMA’s Holmes and Titelman Galleries are filled with works by artists from Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin Counties for the inaugural juried fine art exhibition of recent works by living local artists, “Treasure Coast Creates.”
VERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART
3001 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-0707 vbmuseum.org
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 3
SUMMER SERIES
Findlay Galleries continues its Summer Series, a sequence of exhibitions highlighting the gallery’s collections of international contemporary artists and artist estates as well as mid-century American and European abstract art.
FINDLAY GALLERIES
165 Worth Ave., Palm Beach 561-655-2090 findlaygalleries.com
‘IMPRESSIONISM & POSTIMPRESSIONISM COLLECTION’
STARTING JULY 6
With a curated selection of works by celebrated artists, including Albert Malet, Pierre-Eugene Montezin, Robert Antoine Pinchon, Lucien Adrion, Jacques MartinFerrieres, Isabelle de Ganay, and Charles Neal, Findlay Galleries will offer visitors the opportunity to explore the rich history of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism and compare and contrast the two schools. The collection showcases the similarities and differences, from the Impressionists’ depiction of the fleeting effects of light, atmosphere, and movement to the Post-Impressionists’ symbolic content, formal order, and use of color to portray emotion.
FINDLAY GALLERIES
165 Worth Ave., Palm Beach 561-655-2090
findlaygalleries.com
Ti Plants A-GlowGlow by Ellen Lindner, stitched fabric collage, 24 x 36 inches, at Gallery 14
museum-quality shows of contemporary art. The gallery has exhibited works by leading contemporary artists including Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Ed Ruscha, Bruce Weber, Peter Doig, Alex Katz, Per Kirkeby, Christopher Le Brun, Beatriz Milhazes, Gert and Uwe Tobias, Jasper Johns, Grayson Perry, Sir Michael Craig-Martin, and Rose Wylie.
3125 Windsor Blvd. 772-388-4071 windsorflorida.com/the-gallery
ART AT THE EMERSON
The Emerson Center’s art gallery features the work of local artists in six themed twomonth exhibitions per year.
1590 27th Ave.
772-778-5880 artattheemerson.com
ARTISTS GUILD GALLERY
This cooperative-owned fine art gallery is located in the historic district of downtown Vero Beach. Original works by local artists Nick Binghieri, Sue Dinenno, Barbara Glover, Sherry Haaland, Chuck Haaland, Judy Mercer, Karen McFeaters, Dawn Mill, Patricia Padoll, Judy Rixom, Fran San Miguel, and Rita Ziegler are on exhibit and for sale. Diverse styles and media are represented, and art is rotated monthly. The gallery also features paintings by associate artist Johnson Hagood, along with several 3D consignor artists displaying ceramics, pottery, and jewelry. Classes are offered in oil, acrylics, watercolor, pastels, and drawing.
1974 14th Ave.
772-299-1234 artistsguildgalleryofvero beach.com
ART WORKS
Art Works is a fine art gallery and art school founded by educators Betsy Nelson and Mary Partow. The gallery features works by artists from various parts of the United States, particularly the East Coast, representing a range of styles. Classes for all ages and
skill levels, as well as art parties, team-building events, and children’s art clubs and camps are available.
2036 14th Ave., Suite 106
Theatre Plaza
772-559-5230 artworksofvero.com
ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTER
The ELC’s Lagoon Room and Tidal Room are dedicated spaces for the exhibition of nature-related art in the form of paintings, photography, sculpture, and more.
255 Live Oak Drive 772-589-5050 discoverelc.org
FINDLAY GALLERIES
Findlay Galleries is celebrating 152 years in the art business. Renowned globally for its distinguished roster of exciting contemporary and abstract artists, the gallery continues to specialize in 19th- and 20th-century Impressionism, European Modernism, l’Ecole de Rouen, l’Ecole de Paris and 20th-century American art. Visit the galleries’ biweekly changing exhibitions on two spacious floors encompassing three centuries of art under one roof on Worth Avenue.
165 Worth Ave., Palm Beach 561-655-2090 findlaygalleries.com
THE GALLERIES AT FIRST PRES
The campus of First Presbyterian Church is home
to The Galleries at First Pres, a venue displaying the work of local artists in various media. Installments are rotated on a quarterly basis, with at least three artists featured each season. Indian River County artists are invited to apply to be part of the galleries’ everchanging lineup.
First Presbyterian Church 520 Royal Palm Blvd. 772-562-9088 firstpresvero.org
GALLERY 14
The gallery features a diverse array of works in oil, acrylic, watercolor, mixed media, collage, sculpture, ceramic, jewelry, pastel, and photography by Gallery 14 owner-artists Edgardo Abello, Lila Blakeslee, Barbara du Pont, Mary Ann Hall, Barbara Landry, George Pillorgé, Deborah Morrell Polackwich, and Dorothy Napp Schindel. Other artists include Walford Campbell, Joan Earnhart, Terry Green, Viola Pace Knudsen, Mia Lindberg, Francis Mesaros, Michael Robinson, Carol Staub, and sales associate-artist Jo Zaza, along with monthly rotation exhibits by guests.
1911 14th Ave. 772-562-5525 gallery14verobeach.com
THE GALLERY AT WINDSOR
Founded in 2002, The Gallery at Windsor is an independent art space at the heart of the Windsor community. The gallery annually invites curators to respond to the space with
GALLERY VERITAS & ART LIBRARY
Founded by local artist Xaque Gruber, this gallery also serves as a working studio housing seven artists. Under the same roof is a large collection of art books covering prehistoric through contemporary art, once kept at Vero Beach Museum of Art. 1422 20th St. thegalleryveritas.com
J.M. STRINGER GALLERY OF FINE ART
The gallery offers worldwide collections of original paintings, objets d’art, sculptures, and select antique furnishings. 3465 Ocean Drive 772-231-3900 jmstringergallery.com
THE LAUGHING
DOG GALLERY
The gallery features a sophisticated collection from more than 350 contemporary American craftsmen. The Treasure Coast’s largest collection of art glass, along with ceramics, sculpture, furniture, and an extensive collection of fine art jewelry is represented in its friendly, 4,000-square-foot showroom. The collection is also viewable on the website.
2910 Cardinal Drive 772-234-6711 thelaughingdoggallery.com
MAIN STREET VERO BEACH STUDIOS AND GALLERY
The studios and gallery
showcase the handcrafted jewelry of Clair Brunetti, who creates custom, one-of-a-kind necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and more in a variety of themes, such as nature, sea life, golf, and spirituality. She also repairs and updates older jewelry.
2036 14th Ave.
772-643-6782 mainstreetverobeach.org
MEGHAN CANDLER GALLERY
The gallery has a beautifully curated collection of paintings by select local, national, and international artists and represents more than 40 contemporary emerging and established artists working in abstract, impressionist, and realistic styles. The gallery presents an uplifting, friendly, and sophisticated environment that currently features new paintings from the studios of its New York, California, Atlanta, and Cape Cod artists. Works are also viewable on the gallery’s website.
6160 Hwy. A1A Village Shops
772-234-8811
meghancandlergallery.com
OCEAN DRIVE GALLERY
This studio and gallery features contemporary oil abstracts by Elise Geary; representational, narrative paintings and collages by Jill Kerwick; acrylic rural, ranch, and outdoor paintings by Andrea Lazar; and acrylic seascapes by Gail Fayerweather.
3349 Ocean Drive, Suite 8, second floor
Elevator located in alcove behind Lyra Home 772-579-7667 eliseartist.com
oceandrivegalleryverobeach. com
PALM HOUSE STUDIO & GALLERY
The studio and gallery features original artwork by awardwinning artists Wendy Douglas, Dede Gilbert, Rick Kelly, Kathy Kemp, Madeline Long, Suzy Mellott, Jack Staley, and
Emily Tremml. Their work includes landscapes, marine scenes, contemporary realism, portraiture, and narrative imagery. Commissions are welcomed. See the gallery’s website, Facebook, and Twitter to view current available artwork, works in progress, teaching videos, and biographies of the artists. Open by chance or appointment.
3227 Ocean Drive, 2nd floor 772-231-6816 palmhousegallery.com
RAW SPACE
A vibrant, innovative, and alternative cultural venue located in the heart of downtown Vero Beach, Raw Space provides a platform that promotes a spectrum of artistic disciplines and events with a distinct focus on community engagement. Its program includes exhibits from local and international artists, workshops, lectures, black box theater, film screenings, music, dance, and anything that promotes “out of the box” ideas.
1795 Old Dixie Hwy. 305-213-9411 artconceptalternative.org
SEBASTIAN RIVER ART CLUB
The club offers art, web design, and photography classes, demonstrations, workshops,
and art shows inside the clubhouse and at Riverview Park. The club’s exhibit space features works in an array of media: pottery, sculpture, woodworking, jewelry, mixed media, photography, and glass.
1245 Main St., Sebastian 772-321-9333 sebastianriverartclub.com
VERO BEACH ART CLUB
The Art Club is an independent nonprofit organization serving 450 members and the art community through education, exhibitions, social events, and monthly meetings with special programs and guest artists. While maintaining a satellite presence at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, the club makes its home in the downtown arts district, with a marketplace, classroom, and the Jeanette Beach Gallery, named in honor of the club’s founder.
1903 14th Ave. 772-217-3345
3001 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-0303 verobeachartclub.org
VERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART
The museum is the largest accredited art facility on Florida’s Treasure Coast, presenting changing international exhibitions from
lenders and its permanent collection of more than 950 objects of American and international art. It features sculpture parks, five galleries, docent tours, art classes, public programs from lectures to film studies, jazz concerts, an annual children’s art festival, Museum Stories and Studios, Museum Babies, the interactive children’s Art Zone, and a museum store. Admission fees apply. Admission is free on the last Saturday of each month.
3001 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-0707 vbmuseum.org
THE VINER SERIES FOR THE VISUAL ARTS AT COMMUNITY CHURCH
The Viner Series was established in 2020 to showcase the work of area artists, with a new artist featured every three months in the sanctuary narthex. The series is named for Teryl Townsend Viner, who served Community Church as a deacon and as a member of the church’s board of music and fine arts.
Community Church of Vero Beach 1901 23rd St. 772-469-2320 ccovb.org ❀
A Jackpot for July
SOME GREAT EVENTS PUNCTUATE OUR SERENE SUMMER
JULY 1
Saturday
‘OFFSHORE WAR’ FISHING TOURNAMENT
The “Offshore War” fishing tournament is hosted by Wounded Waters, a Vero Beach nonprofit that helps veterans, active-duty military members, and first responders struggling with PTSD. The fundraiser will include live music, vendors, food trucks, and a kids’ fishing tournament from the docks. Each boat receives a $25 discount if one or more veterans/first responders will be fishing. 6:30 a.m., $300 per boat
Wounded Waters at Causeway Cove Marina 601 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce 772-321-9366 woundedwaters.org
‘FIRECRACKER’ SALE
Trimmings will offer red, white, and blue bargains in the form of 10, 15, and 20 percent discounts. July 1 and July 3–5; Saturday 11 a.m.–3 p.m., Monday–Wednesday 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Trimmings Home Garden and Gifts
3201 Cardinal Drive 772-213-8069 shoptrimmingsvb.com
JULY 4
Tuesday
all-day bash including a patriotic opening ceremony, a parade, live music, food, and beverages. Fireworks will begin after dark. 8 a.m.–10 p.m., free to attend
City of Sebastian at Riverview Park
U.S. Hwy. 1 and County Road 512 772-589-5330
cityofsebastian.org
The City of Vero Beach will launch its celebration at 5 p.m., with live music beginning at 6. Food trucks will be on hand, and a variety of activities will keep everyone entertained. The 9 p.m. fireworks display will cap off the evening. 5–9 p.m., free to attend
JULY 7
Friday
ART RECEPTION
Gallery 14 will hold the second of four receptions for its Crystal Jubilee Invitational, a special exhibition celebrating the gallery’s 15th anniversary.
5–8 p.m.
Gallery 14 1911 14th Ave. 772-562-5525 gallery14verobeach.com
MEET AN ASTRONAUT
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Space Commerce Way, Merritt Island
855-433-4210 kennedyspacecenter.com
JULY 12
Wednesday
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
The weeklong Mike Block String Camp culminates in three concerts, open to the public, featuring string music representing instruments and styles from all over the world. July 12, 14, and 15; 7:30 p.m.; free
INDEPENDENCE
DAY CELEBRATIONS
Local Fourth of July festivities get underway with Sebastian’s annual Freedom Festival, an
City of Vero Beach at Riverside Park
3280 Riverside Park Drive 772-978-5151 covb.org
Visitors to Kennedy Space Center have several ways to meet an astronaut in person: Astronaut Encounter, Chat with an Astronaut, and autograph opportunities at the Space Shop and Shuttle Express. For this period, the “Astronaut of the Day” is four-time Space Shuttle traveler Michael Baker. July 7–10, times and prices vary
First Presbyterian Church 520 Royal Palm Blvd. 772-562-9088
firstpresvero.org
JULY 21
Friday
JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT
Vero Beach Theatre Guild presents the popular musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice.
July 21–August 6; Fridays 7:30 p.m., Saturdays 2 and 7:30 p.m., Sundays 2 p.m.; $15–$40
Vero Beach Theatre Guild
2020 San Juan Ave. 772-562-8300 verobeachtheatreguild.com
JULY 24
Monday
SUMMER ADVENTURE CAMP
Calling all students entering sixth through eighth grades: Pelican Island Audubon Society’s Summer Adventure Camp
Recurring Events
EVERY THURSDAY & FRIDAY
TURTLE WALKS
During July, the rangers of Sebastian Inlet State Park lead turtle walks that usually result in an opportunity to watch a sea turtle lay her eggs, cover the nest, and make her way back to the ocean. The program begins at the Sebastian Fishing Museum within the park and may last until 1 a.m. Participants must be able to walk up to 3 miles in soft sand. Reservations are required. 9 p.m., $15
Sebastian Inlet State Park 14251 Hwy. A1A 772-589-9659 friendsofsebastianinletstate park.org
EVERY FRIDAY & SATURDAY
COMEDY ZONE
will offer a week of outdoor exploration and education. Space is limited to 12 children; registration is required.
July 24–28, 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m., $200
Pelican Island Audubon Society 195 9th St. SE (Oslo Road) 772-567-3520 pelicanislandaudubon.org
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
Trimmings invites you to get a head start on your Christmas preparations by enjoying a 15 percent discount on Christmas items, including collectible Czech mantel trees. July 24–29; Monday–Friday 11 a.m.–4 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Trimmings Home Garden and Gifts
3201 Cardinal Drive 772-213-8069 shoptrimmingsvb.com
Riverside Theatre presents Comedy Zone and Live in the Loop, with two comedians and local bands as well as food and beverages available from the grill. Comedy Zone is recommended for guests 18 and older. Live in the Loop: 5:45 p.m.; general admission free, reserved seating available; Comedy Zone 7 and 9 p.m., $25
Riverside Theatre
3250 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-6990 riversidetheatre.com
EVERY SATURDAY
FARMERS MARKET
Browse the produce, culinary delights, and other wares of more than two dozen vendors at the Vero Beach Farmers Market, at the corner of Ocean Drive and Dahlia Lane, across from Humiston Park. 8 a.m.–noon
Business Inspiring Kindness 2901 Ocean Drive verobeachfarmersmarket.com
EVERY FIRST FRIDAY
FIRST FRIDAY GALLERY STROLL
Enjoy an evening walk in downtown Vero Beach, pop into some galleries, and perhaps grab a beverage or a bite at a café. July 7 and August 4; 5–8 p.m.
Main Street Vero Beach Downtown along 14th Avenue 772-643-6782 mainstreetverobeach.org
EVERY LAST FRIDAY
DOWNTOWN FRIDAY
Main Street Vero Beach holds a community street party with live music, street vendors, and food trucks. July 28, 6–9 p.m., free
Main Street Vero Beach Downtown along 14th Avenue 772-643-6782 mainstreetverobeach.org
EVERY SECOND SATURDAY
BEACHIN’ IT ON SATURDAY NIGHT
Enjoy an outdoor evening of live music with food trucks, beer, and wine. July 8, 5–8 p.m., free to attend Vero Beach Chamber of Commerce at Humiston Park 3000 Ocean Drive 772-226-5459 verochamber.com
EVERY LAST SATURDAY
VBMA FREE ADMISSION
Admission is free for everyone on the last Saturday of each month. July 29, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Vero Beach Museum of Art 3001 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-0707 vbmuseum.org
2023 Vero Beach Magazine Photo Contest
This year, we want you to turn your camera towards water! We’re looking for your best photo, taken in Indian River County (or near, in case of the ocean category), in each of the categories below. Winners will be published in the September 2023 issue of Vero Beach Magazine.
WHO MAY ENTER
The contest is open to photographers 18 years old or older. Individuals affiliated with Vero Beach Magazine or Palm Beach Media Group, including employees and their immediate families (children, parents, siblings, and spouses) and household members, are not eligible.
WHAT TO ENTER
Photographs must be taken in Indian River County and submitted by the photographer. The contestant certifies that he/she is the sole creator and copyright owner of the photograph.
HOW TO ENTER
Email photographs and required information to photocontest@verobeachmagazine.com. You must complete a separate email for each photo. Digital photographs should be taken at the highest resolution possible.
JUDGING
Entries will be judged on creativity, quality, originality and overall impact. Winners will be notified by August 1. Failure to respond within 5 business days may result in disqualification. Decisions of Vero Beach Magazine are final.
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
By submitting a photo, you are granting Vero Beach Magazine and Palm Beach Media Group the right to reproduce the work in our print publications, on our website, and in materials/social media used to promote the magazine, the contest, and/or future related contests.
Questions? Contact Kelly Rogers, Editor in Chief, at kelly@verobeachmagazine.com
JULY Saturday
CENTENNIAL SPEAKEASY
The historic Sunrise Theatre will turn into an old-fashioned speakeasy to celebrate its th anniversary Guests will enjoy the sounds of the Fort Pierce Jazz Society as well as beverages that would have been illegal in p m
Sunrise Theatre S nd St Fort Pierce -sunrisetheatre com
JULY Monday
THE GOOD LIFE
This month’s selection for the Indian River County Main Library’s Nonfiction Book Club is The Good Life Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert Waldinger MD and Marc Schultz PhD Registration is not required p m free
IRC Main Library st St -libraries ircgov com
August is Chopstick Day at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens noon– p m
AUGUST Friday
TERMINUS MODERN BALLET THEATRE
Ballet Vero Beach launches its – season by welcoming the Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre out of Atlanta August and p m –
Ballet Vero Beach at Riverside Theatre Riverside Park Drive -balletverobeach org
AUGUST Saturday
CHOPSTICK DAY Guests at this Family Fun Day will learn to make origami chopstick holders No reservations required Noon–p m free with paid admission
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens Morikami Park Road Delray Beach -morikami org ❀
the calendar more potently symbolizes all that our nation stands for than the Fourth of July.”
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Test your powers of perception
YOU FIND THEM ALL?
BY JANINE FISHER10. Removed the chair from under the umbrella
9. Placed a salt shaker on the table
8. Placed a green anole on the column
7. Added a plane to the sky
6. Flowers omi ed from a bush
5. Removed rocks from the pool’s edge
4. Placed a beach ball in the pool
3. Changed the planter to blue
2. Added a sandhill crane
1. Changed the blue napkin to red