L1-Tradition Living Magazine North-Vol.562

TOP 5 REASONS TO BUY A HOT TUB OR SWIM SPA FROM HOT TUB SALES

BY GABBY GREGORY

Both you and I can probably come up with countless reasons to purchase a therapeutic hot tub or swim spa. I mean, what’s not to love about feeling relaxed and rejuvenated? But, here’s the thing, buying either a hot tub or swim spa shouldn’t necessarily be as simple as swiping your credit card. You need (and deserve!) to work with experts who actually care about you, your wants, and your needs. How else can you expect to get the best overall customer experience? So. without further ado, let’s talk about the top 5 reasons to buy a hot tub or swim spa from Hot Tub Sales:

Family Owned & Operated

In 2016, local married couple Lori & Mario Hicks founded their business, Hot Tub Sales, with a mission to “always strive for perfection.” But how do they deliver on that mission? Simple — Lori and Mario are deeply committed to being the quintessential definition of an honest-to-goodness family-owned and locally-operated business. Indeed, as active members of our community, Lori & Mario appreciate how important it is to be compassionate advocates for their clients, not transaction-focused salespeople. “You’re joining a family when you come to us,” affirms Mario.

With the Hicks family, you not only receive friendly and honest service, but also the assurance of longevity. Lori and Mario don’t plan on retiring any time soon, especially since they are genuinely passionate about supporting their valued clients. Additionally, with 3 children — Caroline, Monte, and Matthew — the couple will eventually pass Hot Tub Sales onto their next generation. In that way, the Treasure Coast and surrounding areas will always have knowledgeable, comprehensive, and trustworthy hot tub and swim spa sales, service,

Strong Customer Relationships & Personalized Attention

You’re not just a number at Hot Tub Sales, so you never have to worry about falling for sales gimmicks with shoddy products. In fact, Lori & Mario are so intent on creating strong relationships with their clients that they personally test each and every product before they allow it to be sold on their showroom floor. Mario says, “We know anything we’re selling to you is the highest quality. It works or it does not get sold in our place, no matter what.”

Furthermore, the personalized attention you receive at Hot Tub Sales is second to none. The goal is for Lori & Mario to find the best therapeutic hot tub or swim spa for your unique wants and needs. “We’re not trying to sell you the tub,” Mario clarifies, continuing, “I’ll look at you, I’ll look at your height, and I’ll say, ‘Well, although you like that tub, we need to get your shoulders under the water. That tub’s not going to fit you correctly.’”

As such, Lori & Mario encourage their clients to “wet test” a hot tub or swim spa before purchasing it. That’s right, bring your swimsuit to the showroom! “We want you to ‘test drive’ your hot tub,” Mario conveys, “because a hot tub is not going to be in your backyard for 3 or 4 or 5 years. It could be the last tub you ever own if you pick the right one! It’ll be there for 20 years.”

The Largest Selection of In-Stock Products with Comprehensive Warranties… and the Lowest Prices Since 2019!

There has never been a better time to buy a hot tub or swim spa than right now... seriously! Lori and Mario share, “You’re going to see prices you have not seen since 2019/2020 right now on our in-stock stuff!” So, if you’re looking to save money on your hot tub or swim spa purchase, then Hot Tub Sales likely has a deal for you!

Additionally, you don’t have to wait months for your hot tub or swim spa to be delivered, installed, and properly functioning. In fact, if you purchase an in-stock hot tub or swim spa from Hot Tub Sales, then you can have it in your backyard as early as next week!

Simply Great Service

Your experience at Hot Tub Sales doesn’t start or end with a sale! Lori & Mario’s motto is, and has always been, “Simply Great Service.” For that reason, Mario explains, “We sell the tubs, we’re fully stocked with parts, we service them, we deliver them, we install them.” He continues, “Most importantly, we hold [your] hand. Once the tub’s in [your] backyard, we coach [you] consistently on water chemistry and maintenance of the tub. There’s no 800 number to call. [You] don’t register [your] warranty, we do that for [you].”

Hot Tub Sales is a one-stop shop for all of your hot tub and swim spa needs! Lori and Mario will happily assist you, at no cost, with any questions you have about maintaining your hot tub or swim spa. If you happen to be a seasonal resident, then you can count on Hot Tub Sales to work with your schedule to “open” and “close” your hot tub or swim spa.

It doesn’t cost you anything to have a conversation with the experts! Learn more about how a hot tub or swim spa will improve your quality of life by visiting Hot Tub Sales. Their countless 5-star reviews on Google and A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau speak for themselves.

Tailored Emotional, Mental, & Physical Health Benefits

There are countless ways in which therapeutic hot tubs and swim spas positively impact your health and wellbeing, not only in the traditional physical sense, but also in the oft-forgotten emotional and mental arenas. At Hot Tub Sales, you will be working with a highly experienced and educated team of professionals.

With a combined experience of over 30+ years in the industry, Mario and Lori appreciate how important it is to understand your individual situation in order to direct you to the ideal hot tub or swim spa. They, along with their caring and attentive team members, take the time to ask you questions about how you’re feeling. Whether you’re experiencing lower back pain, struggling with severe bouts of depression, or just looking for a way to de-stress after work, you will find that the professionals at Hot Tub Sales will help find the best hot tub or swim spa to suit your hydrotherapy needs.

2555 SE Bonita Street, Stuart

Mondays-Fridays 9:30AM-5PM

Saturdays 9:30AM-4PM

Sundays 10AM-3PM

772-410-7191

hottubsales .com

When it comes to nding medical

(MMJ) doctors, you can trust the helpful and professional sta at MMJ Health. Serving patients in Palm Beach, Martin, & St. Lucie Counties.

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Emmelis Keaney

Overoptimism can be as dangerous (or more) as over pessimism, that’s in a nutshell Jerome Powell’s message following the past FOMC meeting, where the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to 4.75%. While making it clear that the economy is no where near out of danger, the Fed slightly signaled signs of a near future pivot by reducing its .50bps increase rate from last year. Investors should be more cautious than happy. Here is why.

Investors are ignoring many of the indicators and focusing on only one improving aspect of our economy, which is the slight decline in in ation. Others focus on the short-term shi s of the major indexes. Yes, the S&P 500 rose 1% immediately a er the Fed’s announcement. But comments such as “in ation is headed in the right direction”, or “the economy is not as bad as we thought”, that are becoming increasingly common by analysts and even the International Monetary Fund (IMF), create a misleading sense of calm and recovery, when in fact there’s little evidence supporting those assumptions.

e Fed uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to measure the changes in prices of purchases for consumption. is measure analyzes 8 sectors: Food & Beverage, Housing, Apparel, Transportation, Medical Care, Recreation, Education & Communication and Other Goods & Services. During the Fed’s announcement, Chair Powell explained that in ation only began

to subside in the “Goods & Services” sector, which is only 14% of the entire measurement. Whereas in the other sectors such as Housing, over 40% of the basket, in ation decline has not even begun.

Speaking of the Housing sector, one of the largest homebuilders in the country KB Home, released their end of year earnings disclosing an alarming 68% of home cancellations in 2023. e housing sector is considered a “lagging” indicator, (a measure of the past results). But it can too be consider a “leading” indicator, in the sense that changes in the housing sector can give us some indication of future economic outlook. I don’t believe the housing sector, as well as the Food & Beverage, Apparel and Recreation sectors have experienced the full brunt of interest rate hikes and stubborn in ation.

e stock market is in not a sole reliable measure of our economy, as it’s very re ective of investor sentiment. Changes in the stock market do not signi cantly a ect most of the population, because only about 14% of American families have direct stock investments, according to the Federal Reserve, while 52% have some degree of stock market exposure in their retirement accounts through work. Jerome Powell is not concerned about the stock market, despite Wall Street’s pressures. ere are more concerning economic factors beyond the stock market and ignoring them can be regrettably foolish.

For What It’s Worth by

Ok, so here’s the latest scoop on the medical situations regarding my last several columns, having to do with inability to get to a doctor from Cleveland Clinic in a timely manner. Yes, for those of you who insisted I name the dreaded hospital that I was writing about, it is, in fact, Cleveland Clinic. e reason I am now going to put a name to the place is because I was invited by Dr. Singh, the President of Cleveland Clinic to have a meet and greet this a ernoon. Just when you think you know how your week is going to go, wham, a personal invitation to speak with the president himself, who read my articles and wanted to talk. Okay, so I’ll admit I was nervous, anxious, worried, but also armed for bear in the event that he wanted to minimize the situation, but in fact, surprisingly, he was caring, open to suggestions, and transparent with regard to how Cleveland Clinic took over Martin Memorial North and South, and what he strived for going forward. I was impressed, and I’m not easily sold on lip service, but between him and the head of Patient Experiences, Karen Ludwig, who was also present, it was apparent that he knew and understood the frustrations the general public has been experiencing getting seen by a physician in a timely manner.

I have to give him credit. His information was forthcoming, addressing my concerns, sometimes even before I had

the chance to list them. Also to his credit, he was young-ish, a physician himself, and has only been the president of the hospital for one year. In that year, he and Karen had an earful of complaints and they had plans to address all of them by way of hiring almost 60 new physicians, twice as many nurses, and ongoing training for those people on the front lines, who take the calls and make appointments. I was shocked, in a good way. He never tried to make excuses, nor did he make false promises. He said getting things turned around was not going to happen overnight, but he does strive to make this hospital the best it can possibly be, within a reasonable amount of time. He is there to speak with, to read emails, and to even give out his cell phone number (No, sorry, I can’t pass it along, lol) but from what I understand, he has done that frequently to others as well.

He loves this community, he loves this hospital, and he loves medicine. He is not one of those people who sits in their ivory tower, having no pulse on medical practices. He wants to do better, and promises he will do better, but this is what he has been handed, well, that, and the pandemic, which has seen the resignation of good nurses and doctors who no longer wish to expose themselves and their families to infection. I get

it. Much as I loved hospital nursing, I have asked myself many times if I had stayed in nursing, would I quit? I feel like the answer is a hard “no” but it’s easy to say from the sidelines, and not in the midst of potentially deadly chaos.

My point is this. He wants things to change, and he has ideas to change them, many of which it is not my place to share. I came in with a list of suggestions, but before I could get my ideas out of my mouth, he already verbalized them. We were on the same page! So, the bottom line is this.

For What it’s Worth, he’s young, he’s enthusiastic, he wants to make things better, and he wants Cleveland Clinic, Stuart, to be exactly what we all want it to be, a place we can trust with our very lives. Let’s be fair and give him time to get it together. If I was a gambler, I think I’d put my money on him.

personality

does very good work and is very reassuring and explain what he is doing. I’ve never felt more comfortable. He xed my broken front tooth and made me smile again. He’s amazing! And the staff and dental assistant are all awesome.”

Zachary Taylor Waterfront RV Resort

By Gabby Gregory

Zachary Taylor

Waterfront RV Resort: Let the Adventure Begin!

Looking for a quiet weekend getaway complete with scenic waterfront views and endless recreational activities? Look no further than Zachary Taylor Waterfront RV Resort in Okeechobee!

I had the opportunity to speak with Larry and Trisha D., a married couple from Martin County, who recently stayed in one of the 12 furnished cabins at Zachary Taylor Waterfront RV Resort. They described their experience as “very nice and relaxing,” and expressed their excitement to return in the future with their children and extended family members.

Let’s hear what else Larry and Trisha had to say about Zachary Taylor Waterfront RV Resort:

“The views of the water were absolutely breathtaking,” Larry recollects, “and being nestled in the heart of nature, seeing the native flora and fauna up close and personal, was incredibly refreshing.” He and Trisha arrived at the resort on

their motorcycle on a Friday night, settling themselves comfortably in their professionally cleaned and meticulously maintained cabin, and were amazed to find that their stress quickly disappeared. The cabin was furnished and stocked with everything they needed, so Trisha explains, “We really only had to bring our clothes and toothbrushes.”

Larry and Trisha took a short walk through the spacious resort and out onto its lighted 100 ft. pier to enjoy a sunset that Trisha describes as, “remarkable.”

The next day, Larry and Trisha took a morning motorcycle ride on the paved roads of the spacious resort, relishing the ½ mile of waterfront views as they passed the 211 full RV hookup sites, large recreation hall, fenced dog park, concrete boat ramp, horseshoe pit, general store, and other attractions. After taking in all that Zachary Taylor Waterfront RV Resort has to offer, the pair explored the Okeechobee

community, enjoying a hearty Southern breakfast before checking out some of the charming local shops. Afterwards, they took the recommendation from the friendly and knowledgeable management team to take a local company’s airboat tour of Lake Okeechobee.

“We saw all types of different birds and there were a few gators, which was neat. It was a great suggestion for something to do. The wildlife was really beautiful,” remembers Trisha.

Larry adds, “Yeah, we felt like we had the concierge experience. It was nice”

The two finished their day back at the Zachary Taylor Waterfront RV Resort, taking a dip in the enclosed, heated swimming pool before cooking up some burgers on one of the resort’s outdoor barbecue grills. “We forgot condiments,” Larry relates, “but we solved that problem easily just by visiting the resort’s community store.”

“We left with more than just that though,” Trisha admits, “they have gifts and things there too…”

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“Oh yeah,” Larry laughs, “we just had to get t-shirts.”

The next morning, the two went for a sunrise hike on the Florida Scenic Trail located directly across the street from the resort (Trisha’s idea). “The views were so incredible,” recounts Trisha.

Then, the couple sat on the lighted pier again, this time to do some fishing (Larry’s idea). “The lake really does have the best bass fishing,” affirms Larry.

Later, the pair challenged one another in the resort’s indoor shuffleboard court, then again out at the horseshoe pits. “I won both games,” says Trisha, as Larry shakes his head in response, just outside her line of sight.

Larry and Trisha’s active day ended with a different sort of excitement. They spent the evening at the Seminole Casino Brighton, which is conveniently located just 30 minutes West of the resort. Trisha exclaims, “It was a blast!”

When Monday morning came around, Larry and Trisha were disappointed to have to say goodbye to Zachary Taylor Waterfront RV Resort. Their weekend went by “way too quickly,” and as they watched the “spectacular waterfront views, peaceful scenery, and welcoming RV and outdoor community” grow smaller in their rearview mirror, Larry and Trisha promised one another that they would return for another mini-vacation.

“We had an unforgettable experience. It was a wonderful spot for a quiet, romantic weekend away from the kids,” says Larry.

Trisha heartily agrees with her husband, and adds, “The resort and the surrounding community also have plenty of things for our kids and family to do, so we plan to come back sometime around Thanksgiving. Some of our relatives have RVs, so it’s the perfect place for us all to come together to enjoy a different side of South Florida and to really appreciate the beauty here while we’re in each other’s company. Plus, their rates are very affordable, especially compared to the other

resorts on the coast. Zachary Taylor Waterfront RV Resort is really like… the best adventure!”

Experience a new kind of adventure by calling Zachary Taylor Waterfront RV Resort to make a reservation for your Lake Okeechobee getaway! You deserve something that is both relaxing and exciting, so let the adventure begin!

Zachary Taylor Waterfront RV Resort is located at 2995 U.S. Highway 441 SE in Okeechobee. The office is open Mondays-Fridays from 9AM-4PM and Saturdays from 9AM-3PM. For more information, please call 863-763-3377 or visit flrvresort.com.