Viera Vision | Viera Foodies and the NJCAA Comes to Duran Golf Club

ISSUE 1

VIERA FOOD

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HOST WITH THE MOST

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TOP-RANKED

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VIERA VISION • VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 1

Pizza Gallery and G er at rill

table of

VE CO

R: D

inn

CONTENTS

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7 GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

26 TOP RANKED

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30 SNAPSHOTS

Viera H.S. Girls Soccer

ARE YOU A VIERA FOODIE?

14 NJCAA COMES TO DURAN

Around Town

32 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Host With the Most

34 WHY I LOVE VIERA

18 SWEET, SWEET SUMMER Summer Camps in Viera

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20 TREATMENT PLANT AND THE WETLAND CONNECTION

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24 EMPOWERING EDUCTATION: A balanced approach

PUBLISHER

GRAPHIC DESIGN

The Viera Company with SCB Marketing

SCB Marketing

THE VIERA COMPANY

Cathy Heinz, Stephanie Byrd, Carmen Vastola, Lyle Smith, George White, Desmond Blackburn, Courtney Lundy, Lynne Mills

Tracy Duda Chapman | CEO Stephen Johnson | President Lauri Duda | VP of Marketing Stephanie Byrd | Marketing Manager

SCB MARKETING Lyle Smith | Strategic Officer Jeff Piersall | Co-founder / CEO

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Stephanie Byrd EDITORIAL Carmen Vastola

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Viera Vision is the official publication of

PHOTOGRAPHY Articles and advertisements printed in Viera Vision do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. The Viera Company, Viera Realty, Inc., SCB Marketing, Space Coast Business, LLC, and Viera Vision assume no liability for the

ADVERTISING

content and shall not be held liable for any errors

Jeff Piersall, Stephanie Byrd, Laurie Widzgowski

or omissions. © 2016 . All rights reserved. Any reproduction, in

PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION

whole or in part, is prohibited without written

Emily King, Kenny Kozack

permission from the publishers.

THE VIERA COMPANY

Additional copy location and information:

7380 Murrell Road, Suite 201 Viera, FL 32940 P: (321) 242-1200

The Viera Discovery Center 7350 Shoppes Dr., Viera, Florida 32940 P: (321) 253-2800

Lyle Smith, Lyn Dowling, George White, Laurie Widzgowski, Stephanie Byrd

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GROWTH &

OPPORTUNITY FROM THE MOMENT Tracy Duda-Chapman, CEO and Steve Johnson, President of The Viera Company walking the future neighborhood of Modern Duran fronting along the third fairway of the Duran golf course.

Viera’s first neighborhood with modern architecture will include homes individually designed for each of the exclusive 19 lots in this distinctive neighborhood. Elan Builders collaborated with contemporary architect Phil Kean, AIA, to create homes that embody the custom design choices of the client and neighborhood.

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DURAN GOLF LOVES JUNIOR GOLF! SUMMER CAMPS JUNIOR PROGRAMS AFTER SCHOOL CLINICS PGA JUNIOR LEAGUE SKILLS CHALLENGES ...AND LOTS MORE! For more information: Duran Golf Club 321.504.7776 www.DuranGolf.com 7032 Stadium Pkwy, Viera, FL 32940

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ARE YOU A VIERA FOODIE?

DISCOVERING NEW CULINARY SURPRISES IN PLACES YOU WOULD NOT EXPECT James Padovano knows what he wants when he heads to Bonefish Grill at The Avenue Viera.

“I try to eat a lot of fish here because it’s the only thing I can’t do at home,” the local resident and barbershop quartet harmony singer said. “And I love the fish meals here, any of the fish meals; they’re all great.”

Marge Risler feels similarly about the pizza at Pizza Gallery and Grill across the way: “That’s why you go to a pizza restaurant, right? And this one has so many different kinds of pizza.”

True in both cases, but diners like Risler and Padovano also have learned that there’s more to Viera’s restaurants than the foods in which they are branded by name or for which they have become known. A “pizza restaurant” can slice a terrific ahi dish, a fish house can do wonders with steak and a doughnut joint can serve up a pretty good little sandwich.

“Oh, definitely,” said Avian Spiller, assistant manager of one of Brevard’s most unique –some would say stereotyped – restaurants, the Melting Pot. “Our most popular (order) definitely is the cheese fondue because it’s what we’re famous for and it’s such an experience. But we do have small plates,

for example, like seared tuna and garlic Dijon shrimp. You can just order almost anything.”

Some people don’t realize that anyone, golfer or otherwise, can simply walk into Duran Golf Club’s elegant Tradewinds restaurant and order lunch.And Tradewinds, where everything is made on the premises, is justly famous for its fish tacos.

“But something we’ve begun to experience a little is the popularity of our pizzas,” food and beverage manager Jeff Cosat said. “They’re made to order, with fresh toppings. People say, ‘We didn’t know you did that.’”

Padovano knows Bonefish Grill does a mean Fontina Chop, a boneless pork chop with fontina cheese, garlic, prosciutto and mushroom Marsala wine sauce, because he has ventured from the fishy norm to try it.

“I did it just for a change and I loved it,” he said. “I was surprised a little because this is mainly a fish place, but this is a fantastic dish. They’ve got me convinced, and although I do come for the fish, I have no problem ordering something I (formerly did not).”

Restaurant industry veteran Lindsey Sultan, the restaurant’s managing partner, smiles.

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MORE THAN EVERYDAY CHOICES “Diners are creatures of habit, and it’s understandable that they would come to a seafood restaurant for seafood,” she said. “But I think that when you have a serving staff that is well trained, that really understands the menu well – well enough to make an informed suggestion – people will be willing to try new things . . . . They are not afraid to say to diners, ‘We have really great seafood, but our steaks are equally delicious,’ so our diners do choose the steaks.”

Conversely, in its early days in Georgia, LongHorn Steakhouse was famous for its fresh Atlantic salmon as well as its beef dishes. Now under the ownership of Darden Restaurants, one of its most popular appetizers is Wild West Shrimp and the Parmesan Crusted Chicken is considered a signature dish.

WE LOVE FOOD! And it definitely is not only about the pizza at Pizza Gallery, which has had a wide variety of ingenious entrees since it opened as an anchor restaurant in The Avenue Viera (seafood in cognac sauce, anyone?) and now features the likes of braised mini pork shanks served over parmesan grits, demi glaze, with fresh herb gremolata.

Want a burger? Why not the Polynesian, which is topped with teriyaki caramelized onions, pineapple, bacon, Swiss cheese and spring greens and served on a brioche-style roll.

“We love food,” owner Chris Conneen says. “We have one cook who comes in every Monday, brings his own ingredients and fixes the crew a meal, and those meals can be creative.

Yesterday he made avocado beignets. We appreciate good food and want the people who dine with us to have a great experience when they come in. We want them to see the things our cooks are capable of doing.”

Still, old habits die hard.

“One lady comes in with her husband and always gets the spinach chicken salad. Always. We’ve suggested other (entrees) but that’s what she wants, and that’s fine. But for people who want something a little different, we have a lot.” Risler agreed.

Pizza Gallery and Grill | Mahi Vera Crus

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Chef Kyle Hash placing the finishing touches on the Mahi Vera Crus

Tradewinds | Classic Hamburger

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED? The Mahi Reuben at Slow N Low? Chicken Gigi at Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta?

The Ahi tuna Burger at Burger 21?

Mona’s Mussels at Pizza Gallery and Grill?

Bonefish Grill | Mahi

Tradewinds | Cuban Sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries

Deli Cedar Plank Salmon at Publix?

Sweet Corn Fritters at LongHorn Steak House?

Larb Gai at Thai Hana?

Fresh Sushi at Bean Sprout Asian Cuisine?

A wood-grilled rib eye steak at Bonefish Grill?

Parmesan Fries at Tradewinds at Duran Golf Club?

Let us know what you think on social media as we go to each restaurant, try the dish and post photos during the month of June. Becoming a Foodie can be fun and we want you to join us in the experience.

Pizza Gallery and Grill | Chicken and Kale Ravioli

Facebook.com/VieraFlorida Twitter.com/VieraVision & Periscope on Twitter with (live video)

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MEETING PLACES

Sous Chef Raymond Matson with the Cuban Sandwich and Classic Burger at Tradewinds Restaurant.

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE PIZZA “We started here for the pizza, of course, and my son is crazy about the knots,” she says. “You can go wild with the pizza, but the entrees are great too. Have you ever had the Chicken Gorgonzola Florentine? It’s different. And I never would have imagined ordering a calzone with a crispy cornmeal crust, but the Mexican calzone is so good.”

Her husband Pete likes the sandwiches at Love Bugs Bakery so well that he has been known to drive from the family’s home in Cocoa for them: more evidence that Viera is becoming a dining destination.

“You get huge Boar’s Head sandwiches there, and a lot of people don’t realize it has more than doughnuts,” he said.

“I buy doughnuts for the family but don’t especially like them. What I buy for myself at Love Bug’s are the breakfast sandwiches and bagels. People don’t realize, but they don’t realize that Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta, across the street (Murrell Road), has great dinners too.”

People like Padovano have come to realize a lot about their favorite restaurants, and he spoke after digging into grilled lamb chops.

“I think you kind of do yourself a disservice when you don’t try new things, and I’d be missing out if I didn’t try new things here,” he said. “I’ve had seafood made in ways I wouldn’t have realized if it hadn’t been suggested here, and I know some of the best steak (in the area) comes from a seafood restaurant because I’ve had it here. I tell people to try things. Everything I have put in my mouth at this restaurant has made me happy.”

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Sometimes you just need a quiet place to which you can sneak off to talk. Other times, you need a room of your own. Either way, Viera restaurants have you covered.

“This is, intentionally, the perfect setting for business,” said Jeff Cosat, food and beverage manager at Tradewinds at Duran Golf Club.

“Tradewinds is perfect for business meetings because it is quiet and does not have a rushed pace, where you can conduct business at lunch. ” Cosat added that the facility’s forte actually is events, meaning larger business meetings as well as receptions and banquets. “We do a lot of business seminars (and similar events) . . . . You come into our setting and although it’s a public (facility), you think, ‘Why not get that country club-style, private membership experience.”

The Melting Pot is a lot more than bubbling fondue too. In addition to hosting its share of meals for business people, it has the capacity and capability for hosting larger meetings.

“We have a private room that will seat up to 30 people, with a full, 120-inch screen and highdefinition projection. We also have a covered patio that seats 32 people, which also is pretty private and quiet, in addition to large-party packages,” assistant manager Avian Spiller said.

Pizza Gallery and Grill also has a small to mediumsized private room that is used for informal and formal meetings for business and community events, special events, and as an occasional art show reception room. Buffalo Wild Wings has been known to accommodate larger groups of diners on its (quieter) covered patio too.

Scott Armstrong, director of coaching of Vierabased Space Coast United, one of the largest clubs in the Florida Youth Soccer Association, isn’t necessarily looking for anything formal when he wants to discuss something at lunch, though.

During this interview Scott joked, “How many times have we met at Panera? Most times, you just want a place where you can talk, where you can have a little privacy. That’s one of the good things about being in Viera. You can talk.”

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FROM NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS TO JUNIOR LEAGUES… DURAN PLAYS HOST WITH THE MOST

NJCAA Mens National Championship Held May 15-20, 2016 14

A steady, but not overwhelming crowd of people relax on the terrace overlooking the 9th and 18th greens on any given day at Duran Golf Club. Some arrive early for lunch, others enjoy refreshment after finishing their rounds for the day. But the week of May 15-20, 2016, is a completely different story.

For this week, the Duran Golf Club property in Viera is taken over by some of the best young golfers in the country. Teams and individuals from 20 of the best community and junior college golf programs nationwide arrived to compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Mens Division I National Championship.

The buzz around the clubhouse at Duran is undeniable and Duran is set to play the very best host it knows how.

The NJCAA awarded the 2016 Mens National Golf Championship, through host Eastern Florida State College, to Duran Golf Club last year. The event is open to the public at no charge and Duran has welcomed family and friends of the golfers and golf fans from around the region onto the property for one of the biggest golf tournaments the area has ever seen.

“We’ve had nothing of this scale at the college level,” said Duran General Manager David Tomczak. “It’s the highest level college tournament hosted in the county. Ever.”

Suntree Country Club hosted a PGA Senior Tour event for many years on its classic course in Melbourne, but the NJCAA event is the biggest amateur/school event ever held in Brevard.

Tomczak said Duran would be honored when Jamie Howell, Eastern Florida State College (EFSC) head coach and President of the NJCAA Golf Coaches Association, initially approached him with the idea of hosting the National Championship.

Local representation in the tournament is not to be ignored. The Titans from EFSC have long been competitive nationally under the Howell’s direction. But this group comes in with high expectations considering a second-place finish in this event last year. The Titans came up just two strokes short of taking home the championship with first man and 2015 NJCAA player of the year, Kerry Sweeney leading the pack.

The event itself was just getting under way at press time for this publication.

“The NJCAA came out to assess the facilities and they gave us the green light,” Tomczak said. “We’re looking forward to a really good competition out here. The level of golf is as good as any NCAA Division 1 tournament you’ll see.

As you drive up to the main entrance of Duran Golf Club you’ll get the feeling you’ve been invited to a private club. The dark wood inside the clubhouse and quality of fare and service at the club’s Tradewinds Restaurant make visitors feel satisfied and welcome. But, Tomczak says, Duran is by no means limited to championship caliber golfers.The mission of the club is intimately tied to its nature as a facility open to the public.

Last fall, Duran launched the first PGA Jr. League in the county, drawing almost 50 young players to compete against each other in teams through a 6-week season. The PGA Jr. League is part of a national, initiative designed to grow interest in the game across the country.

Duran hosts dozens of events, leagues and tournaments on both its 7,151-yard Championship Course and its par 3 development course. There are weekly leagues hosted by World of Beer and Buffalo Wild Wings and charity events like the annual Pink Ribbon Classic open to any golfer wanting to play in support of cancer research and awareness.

The practice facility at Duran has been named top-50 in the nation and maintains a top-tier Academy of Golf under the guidance of Director of Golf Justin Blazer. Head Professional Matt Morrison is an active presence throughout the club.There are clinics and private lessons for everyone from beginners to experienced players. Popular weekly clinics for women are taught by Assistant Pro Hillary Urban.

While golf in America has a history of public accessibility, it likewise has a reputation for exclusivity.The perception of the game as a private country club playground persists, but Duran works hard to counter that belief.Truly a high-quality venue, the club does offer “membership” opportunities for golfers who traverse its fairways often, but is also completely open to the public.

The feeling of welcome from the golf shop to the course itself and the complete golf experience is palpable and growth of the game from the grassroots is undeniably a goal for Tomczak.

“We feel it’s all about being a good host,” Tomczak says. “When people enjoy more, they play more and that grows the game.”

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SWEET, SWEET SUMMER With the end of the school year just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about summer plans for your little ones. With a huge assortment of local activities to choose from, there is no excuse to ever hear the dreaded “I’m bored!” all season. Read on to discover some of the area’s most unique summer camps, each designed to captivate, charm and challenge kids of all ages.

Lions & Tigers & Bears, Oh my!

Designed specifically for kids kindergarten through ninth grade, Brevard Zoo’s summer camps are a source of almost endless fun and education. With more than 170 species, they’ll visit and learn about the unique characteristics and the roles all of these animals, great and small, play in their individual environments.

Half-day camps for students entering first and second grade include Eye Spy to discover the way animals look, move and behave, while solving daily mysteries. And the Zoosical Seussical Adventure allows campers to explore all the zoo has to offer through the wild and wacky characters of Dr. Seuss.

All-day camps including third and fourth grade students transform into ZSIs (Zoo Scene Investigators) meeting creatures, talking to keepers, taking measurements and solving mysteries.

The Jr. Zookeeper camp is designed for students entering fifth and sixth grades. In “Out Into the Field” campers discover what it is like to be an animal in a zoo by getting up close and personal while exploring exhibits and talking to zookeepers.

Seventh, eighth and ninth graders enter Earth Explorers: Off the Beaten Path learning the fascinating and unique natural wonders that are part of Central Florida. Campers will spend a week exploring wetlands, beaches, sub-tropical forests and the Indian River Lagoon.

Visit BrevardZoo.org/education/camps or call (321) 254-9453.

All-Day Activities The staff at Viera Children’s Academy believes childhood should be a time of fun, warmth and security -- ideals that also carry over to the school’s summer camp. Open to both students and non-students, campers are offered a chance to cool off in the facility’s Splash and Play Park, or participate in themed weekly camps: science camp, music camp, the great outdoors and more.

Viera Children’s Academy Summer Camp is for ages 1-12 and takes place Monday-Friday. Weekly sessions run from May 31-July 29.

Breakout camps in Spanish, cup cooking, hip-hop, musical Zoo campers meet animals big and small.

theater and more are also available at an additional cost.

Visit VieraChildCareCenter.com or call (321) 433-2330.

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CAMPS Stay Active The Viera Regional Community Center’s Summer Day Camps provide age-specific challenges in sports, crafts, recreation and special events. Sessions for children age 5-12 and teens 12-15 are offered and there is no shortage of activities for all campers.

Daily activities include two indoor games, two outdoor games, “specialty club” time, a craft project and weekly special

Campers at Viera Children’s Academy play indoors...

events. Teen Camp, for teens entering seventh through ninth grades, includes daily field trips to places such as the mall, beach, movies and Orlando attractions. The center also offers a Future Leader program for kids entering seventh through ninth grades. This “counselor in training” program teaches responsibility and good verses bad work habits while participants obtain Bright Future Scholarship hours.

Participants in this program must fill out an application, get a reference letter and complete an interview. Camps run from late May through early August.

Visit BrevardParks.com/south or call (321) 433-4891.

... and outdoors.

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TREATMENT PLANT & THE WETLAND CONNECTION TREATMENT PLANT TOURS PROVIDE A KEY LINK WITH THE ENVIRONMENT

The beauty and wildlife of the Viera Wetlands may be the draw to visitors, but it’s the nearby South Central Wastewater Treatment Plant that is the key element to the local environment, according to longtime plant manager Stan Sircello, who has given tours of the plant since 2001.

“I’ve done tours to groups from 5-year-olds to high school science honor students, to third and fourth grade science classes to Florida Tech students and to elected officials. I can scale it up and down and try to do it in a way that they get the most out of it. To the younger ones, it’s a magic show,” he said.

Sircello shows how the plant transforms wastewater to reuse water standards for irrigation including explanations of the use of bacteria, the main component in the process.

Bacteria is what makes the plant different from others that use only chemicals for wastewater treatment.

The start of the tour is in the lab where Sircello excitedly points out a microscope with video link showing actual visual proof of how bacteria attack other organisms as a way to help clean the water.

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“The treatment plant removes nitrogen andphosphorous by adding microorganisms. I love explaining that part. The bottom line is that the bacteria will do the work,” he said.

Later the outdoor portion of the tour requires climbing stairs onto a concrete structure with many winding chambers and settling ponds. Sircello points out the evidence of the unique purification process in the form of floating bacteria found on thousands of gallons of water rushing by.

BACTERIA-CRITICAL PROCESS Eventually, the bacteria so critical in the initial treatment process will be extracted through a series of clarification vats, removed and trucked off as sludge for use as a garbage-eating layer in the local landfill.

He also points out a full array of other devices that remove such things as small chips of wood and other materials that are not able to be removed otherwise.

The treatment plant is separated into two general areas which correspond to different science lessons: the first involves the bacteria and chemicals for the initial treatment process—and therefore the lessons learned are in chemistry; the second half

of the plant mainly consists of a series of waterway channels of different widths and depths to speed up and slow down the water, he said.

“We use physics to understand how the settling process works and how different speeds of the water remove different things,” he said.

The resulting water at that point is then treated with chlorine to kill any remaining bacteria to ensure it meets water quality standards needed for irrigation. Sircello said the system has been improved over the years, including a switch to a more stable and therefore safer form of chlorine bleach used in the process.

Sircello finishes the tour at huge valves on pipes located near the Viera Wetlands. The product is now considered reclaimed although not potable meaning not fit for human consumption.

Reclaimed water cannot be distributed for public use unless it meets strict treatment requirements which entail continuous monitoring, sampling and analysis. For this reason the supply of reclaimed water may be interrupted for short periods, without warning, if the quality of the water drops below these standards. If upon testing it does not meet those standards it can be piped back into the plant to undergo additional treatment, Sircello said.

Under normal conditions, most of reuse water from the plant is piped out immediately for use as irrigation on golf courses, private homes and along roads and in medians.

GROWING FROM 6M TO 12M GALLON CAPACITY “A portion of the treated water gets piped to the adjacent Viera Wetlands, located just west near the St. Johns River for additional “polishing” in a series of four ponds of different depths. The ponds purify the water by their “biomass” of plants as they recreate different wetland ecosystems. At the end of the process, the treated water from the wetlands is piped out with the other reuse water for use as irrigation.” It does not dump directly into the St. Johns River, he said.

“100 percent of the water we treat eventually becomes reuse water for irrigation,” he said.

Sircello is proud of what his treatment plant can currently achieve: being able to process 6 million gallons of wastewater per day into a useful byproduct that irrigates the area from Pineda Causeway to Rockledge.

But these days he is looking to the future and having a plant large enough to have treatment capacity to handle all the expected local growth, especially in the new residential areas of Viera.

Toward that end, a planned major expansion is well underway and expected to take two years to complete. It will double its size from 6 million gallons per day to 12 million gallons per day, he said.

“The expanded plant will be even more modern and will be big enough to handle the growth of the area that is expected over the next few years. You always hear that an area can’t grow because it doesn’t have the infrastructure in place. With this expansion, we will have a key part of the infrastructure in place,’’ he said.

Sircello enjoys and anticipates his role as tour guide like a teacher waiting with lesson plans for his next class to come in.

“I really enjoy science and I really enjoy sharing it with them, no matter what the age,” he said.

Plant manager, Stan Sircello can provide you or your group with a tour of the treatment plant by calling (321) 633-2091

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A BALANCED APPROACH TO EMPOWERING EDUCATION A look at Desmond Blackburn’s first year as Brevard Superintendent

RS Photography

Engaging. Accessible. Congenial. Responsive. These are just some of the words being used to describe the charismatic new Brevard County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Desmond Blackburn. And while he would be quick to divert the attention from himself to the success of the school district, all of these terms describe him to a “T.”

THE COUNTY’S BIGGEST EMPLOYER

Appointed to the Superintendent’s post this past July, Dr. Blackburn almost immediately launched a dynamic effort to introduce himself to and get to know the people of Brevard. A mission that if judged by the number of selfies he’s collected with teachers, staff, parents, students and all manner of public official throughout the county is most certainly already a success.

He notes that, according to the most recent data, Brevard is one of the highest performing school districts in the state and competitive nationally.

“One thing I hear from teachers, principals and parents over and over again is that being one of the best isn’t enough for Brevard,” Blackburn says. “Everyone wants to commit to being the best. And that energizes me.”

The Brevard County school district is a massive organization on the county scale. The county’s student population numbers 74,000 with more than 9,000 staff and teachers. It has an $850 million budget. It is the largest single employer in the county.

It runs more busses and feeds more people than any other

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business in the county. The Brevard County School district serves almost 20,000 breakfasts and 32,000 lunches daily in the district’s 82 school cafeterias.

Considering the scale of the organization and it’s inextricable link to county government, someone in Blackburn’s position could easily be forgiven for seeming like a typical politician, but all it takes is a brief conversation with Desmond Blackburn to see there is nothing typical about him.

“Yes, we are a huge, multifaceted organization,” Blackburn says. “But teaching is our core business.”

And it is clear that while the job of Superintendent requires political savvy, business acumen and an ability to manage personal and business relationships, Blackburn is first and foremost an educator.

Born in Mt. Vernon, New York and moved to Lauderhill, Florida in 1988, Blackburn has a B.S. in mathematics from The University of Florida; an M.S. in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University; and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Florida Atlantic University.

ADMINISTRATIVE “OUTLIER”

Evidence that he is not merely an administrator or merely a politician comes from his time as an Area Superintendent in Broward County, when he was recognized in 2011 by the National Association of Black Student Educators as an “Administrative Outlier.”

And “outlier” is an apt description of how he thinks. When asked about data and budget numbers driving decisions, he has those numbers to back up his decisions at his fingertips.

But when he’s called out as a “numbers guy,” he pushes back.

“Decisions need to be data-driven,” he says. “But relationships are priority #1.”

His energy rises when he begins describing the current challenges and threats to education in America, and specifically in Brevard. One of the biggest threats, he says, is over assessment. He points to the trend in public education toward standardized testing as a means of measuring both student achievement and teacher effectiveness.

“We no longer focus on the soft skills,” he says. “The way we live our lives.”

Balance is a recurring theme for Blackburn. Balance between numbers and relationships. Balance between measurement and intention.

Balance between accountability, trust and empowerment. He’s absolutely clear that the culture of assessment public schools are navigating today was designed with the best intentions, but even state and federal authorities are starting to acknowledge that a new balance needs to be struck.

“They’re desperately looking for a district to lead the way,” he says.

INVESTING IN TRUST

When he talks about accountability among staff and teachers, he speaks about trust and empowerment with equal measure in a way that makes staffers naturally want to exceed high expectations.

“We need to invest in trusting teachers,” Blackburn says.

“The child is our #1 concern. The teachers are our #1 resource.

The school is our #1 environment.”

And the rest, he says is understanding that support needs to be “poured in on the system.” The district, he says, needs to be effective with resources pointing to competitive and optimized salaries, benefits and other factors.

“But all other resources belong in the schools,” he says.

He describes this as an objective of flooding the schools with resources to make them competitive on both the state and national levels.

Beyond the internal budget based resources, Blackburn points to the deep commitment from the local communities as integral to successes often beyond expectation. Everything from new and established businesses supporting events to the tremendously active support system of volunteer parents and family members.

“It’s a great time to be in Brevard,” Blackburn says with a smile.

“I think Brevard and I are going to have a lot of fun together.”

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TOP-RANKED!

VIERA GIRLS SOCCER TEAM TOPS NATIONAL POLL

The first thing you notice about members of the Viera High School girls’ soccer team is not how strong or how tough, but how articulate and self-possessed they are.

They don’t talk a lot about how they beat a defending state champion in another classification, powerful St. Thomas Aquinas, or how they put two goals on the board against tough Niceville in the Florida final series just past. They say nothing about how they embarrassed Pembroke Pines Charter 4-0 in last year’s state title match.

They do not even mention that theirs is the top-ranked girls’ high school soccer team in the nation according to the Top Drawer national poll (April 12).

They do talk a lot about attitude, self-discipline and the sheer joy of winning it all in a game they love, together. Their motto was, “I’ve got your back.” Still, the buzz is there.

“It’s really exciting,” says Shannon Gosule. “Most people really don’t get to experience a single state championship, much less two.”

Gosule, a junior, is a center back, a thinker’s position, and she does think. “Having that winning experience affects us a lot, because it not only pushes us toward next year, but it pushes us in every aspect of our lives. We have certain expectations,” she says.

Those expectations do not have their roots in hoisting a pair of trophies, but in a singular passion for a singularly passionate game, ingrained as very young children and stoked by mentors who also feel it.

TOP COACHING - TOP TALENT

Many have grown up and grown in the game in Viera-based Space Coast United, one of the biggest and most successful youth soccer clubs in Florida, where the director of coaching, and their current coach, Scott Armstrong, a multiple prep title winning, multiple State Cup-winning holder of one of the rarest of international coaching certifications, the UEFA (European football) badge. Armstrong was a champion at Florida Institute of Technology too, and played professionally before becoming a club and high school coach.

And then there is Courtney Baines Lundy, referred to by one of her players as “Hawk Number One.” Courtney Baines is one of the finest soccer players and minds ever to have come from Brevard County, a scorer of 109 and assister in 101 goals, a Florida record, for state-winning

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Satellite High School. She was all-everything there and did more of the same at the University of Central Florida, where she shone from 2002 to 2005 in her preferred positions, midfielder and defender.

A professional player after graduation, to have seen her was to have seen leadership in action; Baines simply knew how the game should be played. Little wonder she became a teacher and coach – the “teacher” part always is first – at Eau Gallie High School and then Viera.

Four years ago, she took over, instilled her work ethic and the result was two state crowns and the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 4A Girls Soccer Coach of the Year award.

“I think everything is kind of back to normal. We went to Tallahassee to be recognized on the floor of the State House at the invitation of Rep. Ritch Workman and we’re working on rings. We take it one game at a time and the reality is that we have a talented group of girls,” says the unflappable Lundy, who coaches with her husband, former Florida Institute of Technology star Brian Lundy.

“Courtney knows the game and knows us,” says Jordan Walsh, who seems to be following in Baines’ footsteps.

“Courtney specifically connects with the girls and makes each player feel and understand her part in the puzzle. She really has helped us to go forward.”

Walsh is all-everything too: captain of the team, Most Valuable Player in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association AllStar Game and FLORIDA TODAY Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

A senior headed to UCF too, she is appreciative of the honors but refuses to expand on them beyond “thank you very much.”

She calls the past two years, “Pretty much a whirlwind. We proved that whatever obstacles we faced, with teamwork and hard work, that work ethic, we could conquer. Our success really is a matter of working together.”

Like Gosule, herself no slouch with the honors and already looking at Division I universities - Rice is leading the pack at the moment - Walsh sees winning soccer championships and what it takes to do it as part of a bigger picture.

“Oh, it has made me far more confident in myself,” she says.

“It has helped to develop me as a leader and it also has helped in other areas. I play a lot of soccer, and when I’m not playing, I’m training, so you become very good at organizing your time.

That’s important in school as well as everything else; you become an organized thinker.”

Jordan Walsh gives it a big boot!

LEADER ON FIELD AND IN LIFE

Gosule agrees.“I want to be a leader on the field, but I also want to be a leader in life,” she says. “Being a center back, you see everything, must think ahead (to transitions in play) and you organize as you go. In fact, you’re organized 24 hours a day, seven days a week; you bring it into your own life. It does help in school.”

That it should do so is precisely the sort of thing Lundy tries to impart because she is a scholar to the teeth, a special education teacher who became an administrator, now a de facto dean. Lundy, whose coaching reputation is national, does not want to coach a national team. She wants to become a principal.

“Academics comes first,” she says. “I check grades quarterly and if a GPA falls below a 2.5, then a student has to complete a progress report and do study time instead of practice until the GPA is brought up. ‘Academics and leadership’ is the first conversation I have with the girls every year.”

Walsh also is a star in the classroom, as is Gosule, and the two aspire to become health care professionals. Each is reticent to divulge a grade point average for herself, but will say that the team’s cumulative GPA is “up there,” in Gosule’s words.

It is: 3.6, according to school officials.

Brooke Walsh, who also gets the grades, has a two-goingon-three-year view of it all, being the younger sister of Jordan and no mean goal scorer herself. Hollyn Knight nodded in her cross for the goal that won the 2016 state final match.

“It has been a fun ride, but what stands out for me out most of all is that I am so lucky to be so young and experience these things,” says Walsh, who wouldn’t mind joining her sister at UCF. “I already have great memories.”

Those memories are of a team comprised of young women who are exceptionally close, as most successful organizations are, and their players are far more likely to brag about teammates’ achievements than their own (“Have you heard about Sydney Lau? She’s probably going to go to LSU,” Jordan Walsh says with huge excitement.)

That the Hawks are a close group is evident in nearly every sentence their captain utters or types on social media, and that she is about to graduate is bittersweet. “I honestly don’t know how I am going to say goodbye to everyone,” she says.

Her sister’s eyes, like those of players like Gosule, now are on the future.

They are aware that Viera now has the same reputation in high school soccer that Space Coast United has in club soccer, which is to say “a power,” and that it is up to them to maintain the school’s ascendancy.

Walsh sets up a play.

“It definitely has given our school a name, and that is important to us,” Gosule says. “When we came back from state, our teachers would say, ‘Hey, state champ,’ and people would congratulate us in the halls. And now Viera is known for what we have accomplished. We’re responsible for keeping it going.”

The inspiration is there.

VIERA HIGH SCHOOL Class 4A Florida High School Athletic Association championships: 2015, 2016 Records in past two years: 20-2-0, 22-1-1 Record under Courtney Baines Lundy, 2012-2016: 69-11-6 Celebrating the thrill of victory.

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BREAKING GROUND

Snapshots

AROUND TOWN 2016

Manatee Elementary school broke ground May 17th on what will be the only concrete running track at a Brevard Country Elementary School. Design expertise, time and much of the materials and labor are being provided by Architect Patrick Martin and Grey Hamilton of Hamilton Masonry. L-R: Nicki Hensley, Assistant Principal Shannon Daly, Principal Carl Brown, Eva Pawlak, Architect Patrick Martin, Grey Hamilton, Art Limonta, Michael Girard, Tabby Best, Tish Calvert, John Burnham.

SUPERHERO 5K

The Superhero Run came to the Avenue in February and costumed Superheroes of all kinds turned out to participate. The 5k event benefits the Friends of Children of Brevard County which supports the Guardian ad Litem Program.

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BOY SCOUTS AT COCOA RANCH

A local group of boy scouts learned how to rope a steer and all about the different tools used by modern cowboys on the Duda Ranch.

VIERA DISCOVERY CENTER REALTOR EVE

L-R: Christopher Burton, founder of Elan Builders, Tom Davis,VP of Christopher Burton Homes, Charlie Pahulu, President of Arthur Rutenberg Homes, Jordan Luhn, CEO of Lifestyle Homes, Rich Mehalick, Sales Manager of Stanley Homes, Ron Beolet, President of AMEK Homes, Michelle Masline, Sales and Marketing VP of Viera Builders

Campbell Wren, Realtor at Joyal Homes

EAT MY CRUST 5K

More than 1,100 runners and spectators turned out for the Eat My Crust 5k sponsored by Viera Pizza. The event raised more than $30,000 for Viera HS Athletics, Special Olympics of Brevard, and Space Coast Early Steps.

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FUN FOR ALL 22nd Great American Celebration Date: July 4th Location: Space Coast Stadium

ART DISPLAYS Art Gallery of Viera | Exposure Date: July 8th – August 8th Location: The Avenue

Upcoming Events FUNDRAISING EVENTS Harmony Farms 11th Annual Buckaroo Ball Date: June 4th Location: Space Coast Convention Center

20th Annual Golf Invitational Tournament for Brevard Schools Foundation Date: June 6th Location: Duran Golf Club

THEATRE Dreamgirls

Date: June 24th – July 3rd Location: Cocoa Village Playhouse

MUSICAL DATE NIGHT 98.5 Beach Bash

Date: June 11th Location: King Center for the Performing Arts

Apollo 11 Anniversary Gala with Buzz Aldrin

Date: July 23rd Location: Apollo/Saturn V Center

SUMMER CAMPS 2016 DURAN ACADEMY OF GOLF SUMMER CAMP Date: June 6th – July 15th Location: Duran Golf Club

Viera Regional Park Community Center Date: May 25th to August 9th Location: Viera Regional Park

ACTIVE EVENTS Alien Invasion 5K

Date: July 3rd Location: Wickham Park

I Run For Pizza 5K

Date: August 6th Location: Pizza Gallery and Grill/The Avenue Viera

Brevard Zoo Summer Camps Date: May 31st – August 5th Location: Brevard Zoo

Marine Biology Camp

Date: June 6th – August 5th Location: Riverwalk Park Nature Center

Ultimate Dance Florida – Viera

Date: June 13th – July 1st Location: 5410 Murrell Rd, #119, Viera

UNIQUE FINDS Smash Golf

Date: Ongoing Location: Par 3 | Duran Development Center

*Camp programs may be divided out by week, contact directly for specific information.

BASEBALL Brevard County Manatees

Date: Regular season runs until September 5 Location: Space Coast Stadium

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VIERA - THE REGIONAL HUB Viera is a master-planned community in Brevard County with over 20,000 residents, 10,000 homes, 1,300,000 square feet of office space and 1,700,000 square feet of retail space.

With a focus on land, air, sea, rail and space, Brevard County is the only quintamodal transportation hub in the world – thus making Viera the ideal location for businesses. Our master-planned community offers a selection of well-appointed homes amidst pristine nature preserves, championship golf, top A-rated schools and endless shopping & entertainment all within the regional hub.

For more information about purchase or leasing options and availabilities, please contact Lee Ward at Viera Commercial Properties, Inc.

LEE WARD 321-242-1200 lee.ward@duda.com

SACS Accredited! A-Rated!

Viera Charter School is a premier, tuition free public charter school offering students in grades K-8 an opportunity to excel academically. 

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(321) 541-1434

A member of the Charter School Associates Family of Schools

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WHY I LOVE VIERA Name: Jeff Von Eschen Job: Golf Course Superintendent at Duran Golf Club Community: Auburn Lakes | 13 years How long in Viera: 13 years From: Long Island New York Family: Wife April and children Ben, age 11 and Winnie, age 8 Education/Focus: State University of New York – Morrisville | Horticulture (BS) Professional Background: Superintendent at Viera East Golf Club, Eastwood Golf Club in Orlando and additional professional golf courses in New York.

Unique family moment: “My family and I can get up on Saturday morning and head to one of the many attractions like Duran Golf Club, Brevard Zoo, Viera Wetlands or a Nationals/ Manatees Game.”

Why he loves Viera: “I was born and raised on Long Island, New York.

My wife and I also lived in Orlando right before we moved here. At times, life was fast and overwhelming. Viera is an incredible place to raise a family and there is always something fun to do. Both of our kids are involved in several different activities from playing soccer with the Space Coast United Soccer Club to taking piano lessons from the amazing Fyffe Studio.

If the kids can dream it we can find a place in Viera to make it happen. Living in Viera makes “living in the moment” a reality for my family.”

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W h at Co uld Be W orth More Tha n Yo ur Chi l d’s Education ?

At Holy Trinit y, W e’ ve Be e n E du c at ing t he W hol e Chil d – Mind , Bod y a nd Spir i t – Sinc e 1957.

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• Weekly enrichment courses in foreign language, art, music, STEM Lab and computer coding

• Daily PE and recess

• All K-6 teachers are Florida certified and gifted endorsed

• Character Education and service learning program

• Variety of clubs, sports and extracurricular activities

• Safe, nurturing values-based environment

• Makerspace with 3-D printer and laser cutter; computer lab and mobile iPad lab

Schedule your private tour today by calling 321-723-8323 Learn more at www.htacademy.org Lower School (Preschool - Grade 6) Upper School (Grades 7-12) 50 West Strawbridge Ave. Melbourne, FL 32901

5625 Holy Trinity Dr. Melbourne, FL 32940

Financial assistance offered based on need and availability · Daily bus transportation available between Upper and Lower Schools

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