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… the last thing Dellie wanted was to be accused of “acting like a girl.” “It’s a Ithaca model 37 featherlight 12 gauge. It’s got a black walnut stock, a steel receiver and a 30-inch vent rib barrel. Isn’t it beautiful?” thirteen year old Dellie asked her startled girlfriend.
ground. Pausing in a clearing, she carefully searched left and right. She saw no deer. Then, 15 feet in front of her she noticed the silver dollar-sized blotches of deep red blood on the snow revealing the animal’s course.
“It ain’t loaded is it?” her girlfriend shot back.
In minutes, she came upon it lying under a pine tree. Its head was up and its eyes were wide and frightened. It stared directly at her. Blood foamed from the small buck’s mouth. Dellie stopped dead still, looked at the deer, and did not know what to do.
It was with this gun that Dellie killed her first deer on a cold day that would transform her young life. That afternoon, as the buck approached with astonishing caution in a slow zigzag course, Dellie thought for certain that it could see her kneeling statue-like in a grove of small pine trees. She could feel her heart beating so hard she thought surely the deer, 40 yards away, could hear. But it steadily wound its way toward her, one hesitating hoof raised and then carefully lowered, much the way a blind person would tap and withdraw, tap and withdraw his red-tipped cane. She dared not blink her watery eyes, chilled yet staring with a precision of clarity that allowed her to see each inch of the tan and black hair along the buck’s neck and shoulder beneath which rested the deer’s heart – the target for an instantly-fatal kill shot. She aimed her gun with trembling fingers, held her breath as she had been taught, and fired. Despite her training, she jerked the cold trigger. Instantly, she absorbed the kick of the gun and spun slightly, losing track of the deer, which she now felt she had missed. Frantically Dellie lurched through the sharp pine branches, stumbling against rocks and ruts in the snow-covered
Finally, she approached. The wounded deer watched her movements, grunted and coughed more blood onto the snow-covered ground. It tried to get up, but it was too weak, and it fell back down after two or three frantic attempts. Its terrified eyes beseeched Dellie to help, and Dellie now wanted to help, but she did not know how. Blood leaked steadily from the hole in the deer’s fur, and the ground surrounding it was now a red carpet of snow, leaves, and dirt. "It’s better to put them out of their misery,” her father had told her numerous times, but she could find no strength and no sense to shoot this animal again. The deer could no longer cough, and its breathing grew more labored. With glassy eyes it stared helplessly at Dellie, causing tears to now stream down her cheeks. She stood above, and in a gesture of apology, she dropped her beautiful shotgun onto the crimson snow. The deer lay its head down, drew its final gasps and quietly died. And Dellie, with a heart as hurt and broken as she had ever felt, sat on the ground next to it and cried … just like a girl.
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It’s the fastest growing woody plant on earth… performed for the Ocala-based Lazer Vaudeville and travelled the country performing in juggling fests. In addition to Tim’s horticultural and juggling skills, he trekked the entire Appalachian Trail, hiked 500 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from Los Angeles to Reno, and the Superior Hiking Trail in Minnesota. Tim has great plans for Beautiful Bamboo and enjoys watching his plants grow and flourish. Do yourself a favor. Call him to make an appointment to visit Beautiful Bamboo and see the different varieties of bamboo you
can plant in your own yard to create both beauty and privacy. They educate and match people with the right bamboo for their project and offer installations and delivery. And yes, if enough of us plant bamboo, collectively we can save the world – or at least improve our own small section of it. Beautiful Bamboo, 18404 SR 19, Groveland, FL 34736; 352-429-2425; www.beautifulbamboo.com.
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pat burke's hoops basketball
&
life lessons
by Erica McFarland | photography by steve williams | retouching by RYAN DIGITAL
I admit I stepped into Pat Burke’s Hoops Training Facility with trepidation, my stiletto heels clicking against the synthetic floors channeling every bad memory I’d ever had of gym class. The gym was empty — I’d caught retired NBA and international basketball star Pat Burke at lunch, a rare moment of downtime. To my surprise, Pat quickly steers our conversation away from his own illustrious career and focuses on his work with Hoops. The training facility began as a simple idea: a friend wanted Pat to train his kids. “My first thought was no kid is going to listen to me,” Pat recalls. But he agreed and attended a local gym with the two young men. “From that point on, not only did they benefit from my experience and what I was teaching them, but for me personally it was this really exciting idea that I was helping these young athletes.” When training those two kids turned into teaching over ten in his back yard, Pat sat down with his wife Peyton to discuss whether this could turn into an actual business. The idea of working with and inspiring young people appealed to both of them. Plus, Pat wanted to give back to the community that had become home to him. “I moved around a lot in my childhood, from Ireland to Ohio to Florida, and then college in Alabama. Mount Dora is the place I’ve lived the longest, even though it’s been mostly off-seasons coming back during the summers,” Pat recalls. With a career that included playing in Spain, Greece, Russia and Poland, it’s no wonder that Pat would look for the stabilizing influence of this calmer town. Even when playing with the Phoenix Suns and the Orlando Magic, this was still a “great place to unwind after the hustle and bustle of professional basketball.”
humiliate him in front of his teammates. It took finding a new coach in Florida to change Pat’s mind about the sport. “When I work with these kids, I always tell them I understand what it’s like to be frustrated, to not get it at first. I try to relate to each individual player, asking what he wants to get out of this,” Pat says, “and I think it’s these questions that keep Hoops such a positive place for the kids.” Slowly he is helping the people who train at Hoops conquer their fears or their “hurdles,” as Pat terms them. At Hoops it’s not all about basketball. “It’s more than just that,” Pat tells me. “It teaches them a lot about maturity and sportsmanship, character, work ethic, and so much more. In this first year I’ve been shocked with the stories that have come out of here with the kids.” One child, Pat remembers, was so scared when he first started that he did not want to leave his mother’s car. But by the end of the week, he was out playing with the other kids and cheering them on. He has gained confidence through his connection with Hoops. After training with Hoops last year, another teenage boy credited Hoops with changing his life. He wants to live healthier and accomplish more with sports.
If Pat was hoping for a calm retirement, his days are packed now. Hoops offers a variety of experiences for all age groups, as well as personal training sessions and camps. The gym even has its own AAU basketball team for high school sophomores.
Not only is Pat a mentor, but he also encourages the older children in his program to do the same. The facility has a number of college students who will come back to train, and Pat hopes they will inspire others. “If you can take someone from this area who has a degree of success and you let them work out with these other players, then there’s someone they can look up to and say wow, this actually can happen. Someone from Lake County can actually work hard and get a scholarship.”
In designing the facility, Pat wanted to fill the void in the education system for basketball and training youth. He did not have that growing up. When he started playing basketball in Ohio, the coach went out of his way to
And it’s that thought that makes me think that even someone like me, without an
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athletic bone in my body, might actually enjoy time spent at Hoops. I start to consider this as I hear Pat say, “Hard work is contagious when everybody’s enjoying it,” and I find myself nodding in agreement. Maybe, just maybe, there’s an athlete hidden deeply inside me after all. It should be noted that Erica McFarland is all of 5’4” in her stiletto heels and her claim to any athletic fame is beyond non-existent. But she accepted this editor’s assignment without a single doubt or fear. For more information about Pat Burke’s Hoops Training Facility, go to www.hoopspatburke.com.
"I try to relate to each individual player, asking what he wants to get out of this … I think it’s these questions that keep Hoops such a positive place for the kids."
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by Chelsea Teisberg | photography by Steven Paul Hlavac 24 | PULSE • SUMMER 2012
by Mike Ratrie | photography by Steve Williams 28 | PULSE • SUMMER 2012
Traveling along U.S. 441 between Eustis and Mount Dora, your visual senses are assaulted by all manner of commercial architecture, mostly uninspiring and monotonous. Suddenly, you see one building with a gently sloping, V-shaped, green roof supported by a series of thin, vertical black and white columns. The futuristiclooking building blends in with trees all around it. What’s the story? It’s the First Green Bank headquarters. The name is a “softer” way of demonstrating founder and Eustis resident Ken LaRoe’s self-described “rabid” commitment to taking care of the environment – and taking care of business. He is also Chairman and CEO.
… Ken LaRoe – reenergized, renewed, recommitted … The uniquely designed building is more than just a visual delight … there is science behind its design. The science is reflected in the fact that Ken LaRoe is seeking a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for the building. When the LEED Platinum Certification is granted later this year, First Green Bank will be only the second privately-owned commercial building in Florida to receive this coveted award. Surprise – the other building is also in Lake County, Headquarter Honda in Clermont. I know that’s a lot of acronyms to throw out in one sentence, so let’s try and explain the shorthand a bit. Basically, the building was built and operates on a daily basis in a sustainable way. In addition, the working environment for the people who use the building is also healthy, allowing people to figuratively and literally breathe easier. Ken, however, wanted more. Everything about this bank, from the way it was built, to the way the cooling, electrical, lighting and plumbing systems work, to the way the bank
employees and customers are treated, seems to be sustainable. The First Green Bank uses its own shorthand to describe why and how it pursues its mission – “To do the right thing for … The Environment, Our People, Our Community, Our Shareholders.” Ken is no stranger to community banking. This most recent foray started with the sale of Ken’s last bank, Florida Choice Bank in 2006. That sale included a threeyear non-compete agreement which left Ken with plenty of time to reflect on where to direct his energies. The literal vehicle was a motor home that was used to explore the United States; the literary vehicle was a memoir entitled, “Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman” by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard. The motivational vehicle was Ken’s desire to have a positive impact on his community and its environment. Like the song says, “I’m your vehicle, baby – I’ll take you anywhere you wanna go…” These literal, literary and motivational vehicles brought Ken back to his hometown reenergized, renewed, and recommitted to synthesize his experiences into a new community banking endeavor – First Green Bank. Ken believes in walking the walk, not just talking the “green” talk. It’s one thing to preach environmental responsibility. It’s another to seek and support businesses with environmentally friendly practices and to take care of our own green business. To this end, FGB attempts to make its business meetings as “paperless” as possible. If you recall the last time you were in a bank processing your loan, you’ll remember the mounds of paper shuffled around the conference table to complete your transaction. At FGB, insofar as possible, all participants are issued fully loaded iPads for meetings. The savings is not just paper costs, but also reduced energy costs. FGB’s parking lots are equipped with charging stations for electric and hybrid cars. Pull in and plug in while you go in to make a green deposit or withdrawal inside a building designed to maximize a healthy environment ... for you and for all the FGB employees. The parking pad is also semipermeable, preventing massive amounts of storm water run-off from damaging our streams, springs and lakes. Continued on Page 33 PULSE • SUMMER 2012 | 29