Happy Landings
AUGUST 2025
HELPING THE NEXT GENERATION
A Look Inside
LANDINGS CHORUS PRACTICE SCHEDULE
STUDENTS SHOW THEIR APPRECIATION
Helping the Next Generation
The Landings community has stepped forward on numerous occasions when asked to participate in events that will help the next generation. One of the events that was held at the Main Deck in the Helm Club this year was the 2025 Style Show and Scholarship Luncheon that featured fashions by Hollie’s boutique. The store, located on Gladiolus Drive, offers fashionable clothing in a wide variety of sizes and at prices that are very reasonable.
The women modeling Hollie’s boutique clothing demonstrate the fashionable and flattering items available for all body types.
Alumnae Panhellenic of Lee County was the primary sponsor of the event, held to honor the 2025 recipients of college scholarships. Any Lee County student attending colleges with sororities could apply for a scholarship. Each of the four recipients received a $2,000 scholarship.
All of the young women are outstanding students. Kaley Hildebrand completed her first year of medical school at Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She was a member of Sigma Kappa as an undergraduate at the University of Florida.
Emma Rossington will be a junior at the University of Central Florida with a major in Kinesiology. She is a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi.
Oliva Tedesco just graduated from Florida Atlantic University. She majored in Communication Studies and is a member of Sigma Kappa.
From left: Nina Amoroso, one
the models, joins scholarship recipients Emma Rossington, Oliva Tedesco and Landry Yablonowski, who received the awards from Kim Ogburn.
of
Landry Yablonowski will be starting her senior year at Florida Gulf Coast University. Her major is Social Work and is a member of Delta Gamma.
The Honorary Chair of the event was Amanda Hall, a news anchor at WINK news in Fort Myers. She is a graduate of the University of Florida. She is an Alpha Delta Pi alumna and spoke about the lifelong friendships that are formed in college sororities.
In addition to the $8,000 in scholarships awarded at the luncheon, an additional $4,658 was raised from proceeds of a silent auction of items donated by local businesses. A total of 84 enthusiastic participants attended the event. Holly Messinger, a resident at Ariel, was in charge of the venue for the fashion show and luncheon. She was gratified that both the attendees and the scholarship recipients thoroughly enjoyed the event.
Another fundraising event was organized by Holly. It was held in the Taeping Room, the large community room at Ariel. A total of 72 people, comprised of Ariel residents and Landings friends, attended a brunch that benefitted FK Your Diet, a restaurant that is devoted to helping foster kids.
The restaurant presented a wonderful brunch featuring several types of quiches, salads, fruits and dessert. That gave the attendees an opportunity to sample the delicious food the restaurant serves.
Everyone who attended played Bingo for Blingo, where they competed to win Touchstone Crystal jewelry. A 50/50 raffle also was held. The net proceeds of the event resulted in a $3,100 donation to FKU Corp, a 501-(c)(3) corporation.
FK Your Diet prepared all the delicious food for the brunch.
Bingo for Blingo proved to be a fun way to raise money to benefit foster kids.
Students Show Their Appreciation
Bella Graf, The Landings director of racquet sports, and Laurie Hamilton, founder of the program, received a letter from the tennis coach at Mariner High School, whose students have participated in the Lee Country Girls’ High School Invitational for the last four years.
The letter, signed by all the students who participated in the 2025 event, thanked The Landings community for their generosity in holding the event and for the $1,000 grant that each of the eight participating schools received.
Committee member Noel Stazko said, “Wow – doesn’t this make all the work feel worth it?” Linda Vella agrees. “So nice to see what we are doing is appreciated,” she said.
Mariner High School tennis players enjoyed participating in The Landings High School Invitational.
Landings Chorus Practice Schedule
LYNDA REDMON
The official start date for the Landings Chorus rehearsals is September 9, 2025. Participants will gather each Tuesday from 2:30-4:40 p.m. in the Bridge Room at the Helm Club. Under the direction of Lynn Cisky, the new talented director, the chorus will concentrate first on the music for the Christmas Concerts. Those events are tentatively set for December 2 and 3, 2025.
The chorus is always looking for additional talent. Anyone who would like to join should contact Lynn Cisky (lynncisky@gmail.com) to arrange pick-up of the music packet. Feel free to contact me ( Lynda.Redmon@yahoo.com) and I’ll gladly help get the ball rolling.
Be a part of our Annual Holiday Shopping Bazaar, a festive event full of fun, shopping, and holiday cheer!
Interested vendors can pick up registration forms from the Club flyer racks or request a copy by emailing activities@lygtc.com.
Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your unique goods in a fun and festive setting!
The Landings Gives Back
Here are some of the charitable organizations that have benefitted from programs held at The Landings over the last several months:
Madisen’s Match, a fundraising event for kids with cancer, netted $85,000. This was a tennis event featuring Grand Slam champions that returned to The Landings after moving elsewhere for a few years. It will be held here again in 2026.
Habitat for Humanity’s Women Builds program built two houses for women this year, primarily due to the efforts of Pat Benner and the Mariners Cove community. A phenomenal total of $166,000 was raised.
The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, held annually at Ariel for the last several years, provided 50 needy children with toys, shoes, clothing and bicycles or scooters. In addition, residents of The Landings helped prepare more than 3,500 packages for the recipients whose parents or guardians picked them up at designated times. The value of all the merchandise received was over $75,000.
The United Way campaign at The Landings raised more than $60,000 this year for the host of programs they support.
The High School Girls Invitational Tennis Event donated $8,000 to girls’ tennis programs in Lee County Schools.
The Lee County Alumnae Panhellenic organization raised $12,658 this year. The money is used for scholarships for college students who are sorority members.
Two events supporting FK Corp., a non-profit 501-(c) (3) charity that supports
foster kids, contributed nearly $10,000 to them. The needs in this area are huge and many support the restaurant, FK Your Diet, whose owners are devoted to this cause.
LLGA-18 Ladies Golf
MARY ANN SPRY
Greetings and “Happy Summer” to everyone. People are so excited for the season to arrive as here in mountain country, the rain and colder than usual weather wasn’t being welcomed. I hope the Florida days have been wonderful, and you are enjoying the many reciprocals offered to play this season.
Our ladies from the 18 hole league have been enjoying some golf together and continuing the Fun Friday days as well. Sounded like Lindy Worrall was a winner for one of the games selected. Great playing Lindy. It is good to have Lynne Denk, our
Lindy Worrall continues her winning ways.
LLGA-18 Hole president, back playing again after a long season recovering from foot surgery. Also, welcome Liz Walsh back to playing after a surgery break too.
It looks like a fun 4th of July day was planned for The Landings by Mark Wehrman, our new golf pro. It should have been quite colorful with the red, white and blue of the day! Happy Birthday USA, 249 years young.
Colorado was the scene of the U.S. Senior Open golf tournament, played in beautiful Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor Country Club. If you are in Colorado Springs, the Broadmoor is definitely worth a visit. It has outstanding golf courses, but the entire complex is amazing as it’s full of history and beauty. The grounds are spectacular with the most beautiful flowers, and you can’t pass up having dinner at the “Golden Bee.” The tournament had another exciting finish, with Padraig Harrington the winner.
If you didn’t see the finish of the PGA Travelers Tournament recently, you missed quite a show. Keegan Bradley came from behind and won in an amazing finish on the 18th hole, out putting Tommy Fleetwood who had been leading all week. Two terrific gentlemen. You just never know how a day of golfing can change from one hole to the next reminding you never to give up.
Have a wonderful month, enjoy meeting new folks, and stay cool!
Village News
ARIEL, CLIPPER COVE, FLAGSHIP, HARBORTOWN, LIGHTHOUSE, LONGBOAT, MARINER’S COVE, RIVERSIDE, SCHOONER, STEAMBOAT BEND, STEAMBOAT BEND EAST, SUNSET COVE, SUNSET HARBOR, TRAWLER, WINDJAMMER
MARINERS COVE
Hello, fellow Covers. I am the new contributor to Mariners Cove’s Happy Landings articles. Many thanks to Pat Benner who has been the writer for many years.
BARBARA SHIELDS bee@patshields.com
The Minarchis have just returned from a “Graduation Tour” traveling to Tampa for the
graduation of their grandson. From there a mini vacation at Mission Inn for some golf. After that, Bob and Ginny continued to the Auto Train in Sanford and then on to New Jersey for their granddaughter’s graduation from middle school. After a two week visit with family, Bob and Ginny left New Jersey and stopped for a few days of golf at the Hyatt resort in Cambridge, MD. Finally, a quick two-day visit to their son and his wife in Midlothian, VA. As all good things must come to an end, next stop was the Auto Train back to Florida and home. Phew! They were understandably exhausted.
Bob and Ginny Minarchi celebrated their grandson’s graduation from Wiregrass Ranch High School.
Pat Benner was able to get away for a surprise 80th birthday party for her sister in Denver. Not only was it fun to surprise her sister, but she was able to spend time with her great niece, and great nephew also.
Pat Benner spent time with her great nephew in Denver.
Carl and Patti McMackin recently finished a 40-day trip to Asia. Prior to boarding the Azamara Pursuit, they spent four fascinating days touring Tokyo. The ports of call for the next 15 nights included these 12 Japanese cities and Busan, South Korea: Hakodate, Otaru, Aomori, Nigata, Toyama, Kanazawa, Sakaiminato, Nagasaki, Kitakyushu, Hiroshima, Takamatsu, and Kobe. They remained on the ship for another 14 nights,
Patti and Carol McMackin with two traditionally clothed Japanese women.
visiting Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong; Hue/Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (also known as Saigon), and finished in Singapore. During their four-night stay in Singapore, they had the opportunity to visit numerous attractions in this remarkable city and embark on a day trip to Malacca, Malaysia.
This trip of a lifetime was filled with sights, sounds, religions, cultures and history. Carl posted detailed experiences on Facebook. Feel free to look him up and follow their adventures.
SCHOONER
There were lots of commencements, celebrations and journeys this month. The shortest journey is Jonnie Ockerlund’s. She is moving from unit 140 to 148 at Brookdale’s assisted living facility on Cypress Lake. Her new unit is a one bedroom and more comfortable for her since Fred’s passing. She loves visitors!
RIC & MARY
WILSON-TAUSON rooesq@juno.com
From left: Kansas City resident Laura Aponte visited family friends Arla and Tommy Kern and her parents, Maria and Phil Aponte.
Mike and Kathy Armstrong are doing quite a bit of traveling this summer. They spent several days in the Wild, Wild West having a wonderful time with Tony and Marty Roemer (Lighthouse) touring several National Parks.
Visitors to the Village have included the Apontes’ daughter, Laura, from Kansas City. Among other adventures, they enjoyed an evening at the Wheelhouse with former Schoonerites and frequent visitors, Tommy and Arla Kern.
From left: Mike and Kathy Armstrong and Marty and Tony Roemer enjoyed stunning Bryce Canyon in Utah.
They viewed outstanding sites including Arches (Utah), Antelope Canyon (Arizona), Monument Valley (Arizona) and Bryce (Utah). They highly recommend trips like this to see our amazing country!
Arizona.
In July, they continue a tradition of taking a niece/nephew graduating from college on a trip of the graduate’s choosing. This year, niece Lauren from Wisconsin has chosen a cruise to the Caribbean. Then in August the couple will be going to Europe for a river cruise from Paris to Normandy with a threeday add on to go to Spain for a wine tasting. They may never return!
Sharon and Jay Buckley thoroughly enjoyed a two-week Viking cruise from June 4-18 from Athens to Venice, spending their final four days in Venice. Highlights, among others, included stops in Croatia, Dubrovnik, and Olympia, Greece, the site of the first Olympic Games.
From left: Sharon and Jay Buckley in Olympia, Greece, where the first Olympic Games were held.
From left: Kathy and Mike Armstrong at Antelope Canyon in
From left: Joshua Dorval and his grandmother, Jackie Dorval, celebrate his graduation from the University of Rochester.
Jackie Dorval celebrated her grandson Joshua’s graduation with honors from the University of Rochester with a major in Physics and a minor in Music and Digital Media Studies. This fall, he will be going to the University of Exeter in Devon, England where he will be studying interactive storytelling design. Guests at the celebration were treated to a delicious barbecue luncheon at the Village Pool to celebrate the occasion.
WINDJAMMER
Board Meeting dates set
Please mark your calendars with the dates of the Windjammer Board Meetings for the new season. All meetings will be held in the Garden Room on Thursday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. With the meetings now being held in a much larger room, we should have ample seating for everyone.
EVA BELL evabell81@yahoo.com
Board Meetings will be held on October 16, November 20, and December 18, 2025, and January 15, February 19, March 19 and April 16, 2026.
Windjammers, get ready to party!
In October we will start the monthly Sunday Fundays again. Parties will be held every third Sunday of the month from 4:00 till 7:00 p.m., either in the Pavilion at Picnic Pointe or at the Windjammer pool. The Christmas Party will be on the second Sunday, December 14, 2025.
Invitations will be sent by email blast one week ahead of the event and will also be posted on all Bulletin Boards throughout the Village. Also, there will be an invitation on the Windjammer Facebook page. Please be on the lookout so you don’t miss a party.
Reserve the following dates: October 19, November 16 and December 14, 2025, and January 18, February 15, and March 15, 2026.
Taffrail is finally getting a new garage! The garage in Taffrail was badly damaged by Hurricane Ian. The old one has now been demolished, and new walls are up and ready for the roof. The cement was poured on Friday, June 13, 2025, and the trusses were delivered. The progress has been terribly slow, but we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The Taffrail residents have been amazingly patient during this whole process. The good news is that by the time residents come back to Windjammer, they will have a brand-new garage with electric opener and interior walls.
Two-story building stair repairs
This progress report was written by Tom Bell on June 14, 2025. TMC is the company we chose to do the repair of stairs and landings in all our multi-story buildings. After finishing the fourstory buildings, the work on the stairs and landings in the twostory buildings began in Bowsprit building 4387 and started in the 4384 building #1. We are glad that we have not put this off because we see more damage than was expected. We know all 12 buildings are not as bad
as these first two. We had to completely rebuild the landing half-way up the stairs in both buildings.
The pictures give you an idea of what we are doing to make these buildings safe and long-lasting. All the stairs being worked on will be safe for another 30 years or more. Of course, that also means we need to inspect them annually and do maintenance as needed. TMC is here every day working all day. They have even worked on Saturdays to maintain their schedule commitment to us. We figure that by the time you all come back to Windjammer, everything is finished, and you are safe walking up and down your stairs.
FINE ART
Submissions: Monday, February 23, 2026
Judging: Thursday, February 26, 2026
THEME:
SEASHELLS
We invite artists of all mediums to submit their artwork for display in the Helm Club lobby.
Exhibit's theme must be reflected in the artwork.
Prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place.
Don't miss out on this opportunity to showcase your talent!
RESOURCE HUB
THE LANDINGS YACHT, GOLF & TENNIS CLUB
ADMINISTRATION OFFICE
482-3211 • FAX 482-1796
General Manager: David Gillespie
Director of Administration: Rosana Jaramillo
Director of Activities and Communication: Michele Lawson
Controller: Kim Cummings
HAPPY LANDINGS
The Official Community News
PUBLISHER
Seabreeze Communications
Head Editor: Hazel Jones hazelwhitejones.hl@gmail.com
Editors: Barbara June, Linda Tucker
We Need Volunteers
Happy Landings needs new editors and reporters for several villages and clubs at The Landings. If you are interested, please contact head editor Hazel Jones.
MISSION STATEMENT
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Deadline: Articles for the Happy Landings digital magazine will be accepted only until noon on the 1st of each month, and should be e-mailed to the Editor.
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DEADLINE for SEPTEMBER 2025
August 1, 12 Noon