LWR Life Fall 2015 Issue

LWRLIFE LAKEWOOD RANCH AREA’S COMMUNITY, NATURE, STYLE FALL 2015

Taste of

FALL LWR LIFE

1

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Find Orion’s Belt in your backyard, peace of mind in the spa and a never-ending weekend lifestyle among our many resort-style amenities. With new homes from $200K to $2M+, it’s a reality that’s closer than ever at the waterfront master-planned community of MiraBay. See for yourself at MiraBay.com.

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Newland Communities is the largest private developer of planned residential and urban mixed-use communities in the United States from coast-to-coast. Together with our partner, North America Sekisui House, LLC, we believe it is our responsibility to create enduring, healthier communities for people to live life in ways that matter most to them. www.newlandcommunities.com and www.nashcommunities.com This is not intended to be an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to buy real estate in MiraBay to residents of Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, New York, New Jersey, and Oregon, or in any other jurisdiction where prohibited by law. No guarantee can be made that completion of the MiraBay community will proceed as described. Terrabrook Apollo Beach, LP (“Fee Owner”) is the creator of the MiraBay Community (“Community”). Certain homebuilders unaffiliated with the Fee Owner or its related entities (collectively “Newland”) are building homes in the Community (“Builder(s)”). Newland is not co-developing, co-building or otherwise responsible for any of the obligations or representations of any of the Builders, and Newland shall have no obligations to any buyer regarding a home purchase from a Builder.

Purchasers of homes from any of the Builders waive any claims against Newland arising out of their purchase transaction. Prices, specifications, details, and availability of a builder’s new homes are subject to change without notice. All square footage is approximate. © 2014 MiraBay. All rights reserved. MiraBay is a trademark of Terrabrook Apollo Beach, LP, and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without prior written permission.

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WHERE

HOME BEGINS

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East Manatee 941.739.6777 | Lakewood Ranch 941.907.1033 Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ©2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker, the Coldwell Banker logo, Coldwell Banker Previews International and the Previews logo are registered and unregistered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. 10822FL-6/15

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CONTENTS

FALL 2015

FEATURES

48

FALL FINDS You don’t have to travel north to experience fall. See where to get your fill of autumn flavors right here at home.

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LWR LIFE

54

COUNTING SHEEP Sarah Makeever is an unlikely shepherd, but the New York transplant keeps a thriving flock of sheep as pets on her Lorraine Road farm.

60

BINGO! The characters behind one of Lakewood Ranch’s biggest clubs are sure to keep you entertained.

Grab a dauber and join along.

Bracelets starting at $395 Your Trusted Jeweler Since 1973 Creekwood Crossing I-75 & S.R. 70, Bradenton, FL 941-751-6600 • Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30 177165

76 DEPARTMENTS 14 FROM THE EDITOR 19 BUZZ Long Swamp provides a conservation oasis for Lakewood Ranch; First Watch takes a big bite of growth; and Mike Gough preps pro athletes for the big leagues.

30 CALENDAR Fall is packed with events full of family fun. Check out our picks for the best activities in the area.

69

34 PULSE Tanya Waxler balances business, family and giving back to the community.

44 LWR 20TH ANNIVERSARY Look back on the milestones of Lakewood Ranch — and the people who were part of them.

69 HAVEN Home theaters that will make you never want to leave the house.

76 GARDENING Growing vegetables may not be as easy as you’d think in Florida, but these tips will set you up for a bountiful harvest.

86 RANCH SCENE It was good food and good times at the Spyder Broussard Low Country Boil.

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LWR LIFE

30

90 PARTING GLANCE

44

“CREATING RELATIONSHIPS FOR LIFE” YS R DA DE N 9 N I U CT A TR N CO

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TheSodaGroup.com Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each office is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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LWRLIFE

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LWR LIFE

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168547

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Florida fall traditions

I

f there’s one thing I wish we had in Florida, it would be fall. Every year when we lived up north, my husband and I had a list of traditions we’d take part in to celebrate the season.

There was something special about the first day you got to pull out your favorite sweatshirt, when the chilly air finally meant an end to summer, and the changing leaves signaled the transition to winter.

When you share this nostalgia with native Floridians, many of them protest: “We have fall!” To which I usually politely nod and smile, while thinking they don’t even know what they’re missing.

Although it’s not the same kind of fall as up north, there are still plenty of traditions we can partake in to cel-

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LWR LIFE

ebrate the season.

And many of these great fall things are right here in the Lakewood Ranch area. Scattered around us are several fall festivals to get you in the mood — including the annual Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival and the Mixon Fruit Farms Harvest Festival.

You may still be wearing shorts and flip-flops, but browsing through a pumpkin patch looking for the perfect pick is bound to get you in the mood.

Check out our selection of the top area events on page 30.

And enjoying foods that represent fall are also part of the fun. On page 48, we’ve rounded up some goodies that showcase the flavors of the season. A tip we learned from photo shoot snacking: pumpkin butter on waffles is delicious.

Another story that celebrates the differences we find in Florida is Managing Editor Heidi Kurpiela’s

profile on Sarah Makeever, who, as Kurpiela puts it, “is a modern-day Little Bo Peep.” On her farm on Lorraine Road she raises hair sheep, a variety that is bred to withstand the warmer climate. Well, she doesn’t raise them as much as she collects them. You’ll see what I mean on page 54.

Lastly, if you want to get out of the sun or just relax and spend time with the kids, movie time is always a favorite activity. But wait until you see these Lakewood Ranch media rooms.

Real movie theaters pale in comparison to the digs you’ll find on page 69.

OK, so we may not have an autumn season the way it’s traditionally thought of. But with everything in our area, that just means we get to celebrate new traditions — Florida style.

Kat Hughes Executive Editor

Luxury Living beyond compare

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A S P E CTAC U L A R V I E W

of Wellness

Once you see Plymouth Harbor and meet the vibrant people who call it home, you will change the way you think about your future.

At Plymouth Harbor, wellness is defined by continuing broad interests and a healthy lifestyle for an active mind and body. Our new 10,000 square foot wellness center engages both equally.

Here you will find a rich myriad of activities surrounded by spectacular views of Sarasota Bay. Start your day with a workout in the fitness center, a soothing Tai Chi class or a dip in the pool. Maybe you prefer the creative outlet of our woodworking shop or art studio. Join in on a game of bocce or a sit in on an educational lecture.

There is so much to choose from, the possibilities are endless. And it is not just a possibility, but everyday life here at Plymouth Harbor.

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Residents treasure the time they spend in their lovely, spacious apartment homes – yet appreciate all of the thoughtful services and amenities that are part of the Plymouth Harbor lifestyle. And they love the beautiful setting that looks like a first-class resort, but feels just like home.

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BUZZ

NEWS, HAPPENINGS AND PEOPLE

With First Watch’s recent acquisition, the hometown chain bites into a big expansion.

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LWR LIFE

19

SWAMP STATS

> 406

Long Swamp’s total acreage

685

Total conservation acreage in Lakewood Ranch

1995

The year restoration planning and work began on Long Swamp

> 25

Number of animal species that reside within the swamp and its surrounding areas

> 21

Number of invasive and native plants species growing in the swamp

8 feet

The depth of ponds depending on seasonal rainfall and storm effects

1.4 miles

Length of the swamp

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LWR LIFE

Run a muck

BY AMANDA SEBASTIANO | CONTRIBUTOR

I

f you drive south on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, where the road gets curvy and the weeds get high, you’ll stumble across a little oasis from burgeoning developments called Long Swamp. Named for its oblong shape, this conservation area spreads out like a marshy watercolor painting and offers the kind of panorama you normally see in the Everglades. Long Swamp is a sanctuary for critters and was set aside by Schroeder-Manatee Ranch to be preserved as a native Florida ecosystem now and in the future.

The more than 400-acre ecosystem is home to an expanse of plants and trees, including torpedo and Indian marsh grasses, Brazilian pepper plants and pine trees. The flora lends shelter to a range of species, including wild hogs, turkeys, bobcats, alligators, coyotes and myriad birds.

In addition to providing a habitat for wildlife, the property consists of native uplands, isolated freshwater marshes and wetlands, a natural slough and freshwater swamp, and its one-mile-plus pond acts as a filter for rainfall and runoff from surrounding businesses. SMR, which owns and maintains the wetland, spends tens of thousands of dollars a year on the site.

Although plans are underway to build walkways and paths winding through the watery maze, no homes will ever encroach on the preserve. SMR has made provisions to safeguard Long Swamp from development.

“Long Swamp will be a tremendous educational tool and recreational area,” says Dale Crosby, SMR’s ranch manager, who helps maintain the property. “We want folks to see a diversified native Florida ecosystem at its finest.”

LWR LIFE

21

Courtesy of First Watch Restaurants

Hungry for more

BY LWR LIFE STAFF

F

irst Watch Restaurants, headquartered in University Park, near Lakewood Ranch, has been feeding more than hungry patrons in the past few years. Its successful breakfast, brunch, lunch concept has also been feeding serious growth for the company.

Just in 2015, it has announced its first locations in Texas and Colorado, plus additional restaurants in Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arizona. As of May, the company had 153 restaurants in 18 states.

But the biggest news came in late May, when the chain acquired Centennial, Colo.-based chain The Egg & I. The deal nearly doubled the company’s locations, giving it 267 restaurants in 26 states and 18 more loca-

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LWR LIFE

tions under development this year.

First Watch, which is backed by a Los Angeles private equity firm, did not disclose the terms of the deal.

Aside from more locations in new markets, though, the acquisition gives First Watch access to The Egg & I’s franchise platform.

Despite the big numbers involved, executives say they don’t see it impacting the feel of the company. In a May interview, First Watch CEO Ken Pendery said a major clincher for the deal was that the two companies’ cultures mirrored each other in their easy-going ways. Pendery says fit is a big factor in acquisitions.

“Even though this pushes up our numbers in a big way,” Pendery says, “We still don’t see ourselves as a big company.”

BY THE NUMBERS

40%

Revenue growth from 2013 to 2014, from $100 million to $140 million

153

First Watch restaurants before the acquisition

267

Number of combined locations, in 26 states

$1.2 million

average annual sales for a First Watch location

$1.1 million

average annual sales for a location of The Egg & I

FIRST WATCH LOCATIONS

2 1 1

Key 1

11

9

6

2 1

6

2 2

3

1

4

28

4

6 45

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FIRST WATCH, PLUS THE EGG & I LOCATIONS +2

+1 +4 6 (+2)

27 (+26) +1

3 (+1)

8 (+7) 10 (+1) 1 +36

53 (+8)

Always something new!

Even though this pushes up our numbers in a big way, we still don’t see ourselves as a big company.”

KEN PENDERY, First Watch CEO

File photo

European Traditions

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MIKE GOUGH

Muscle and flow Mike Gough is coaching athletes to superstardom on Main Street in Lakewood Ranch.

BY SHELLIE TERRY BENSON | CONTRIBUTOR

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LWR LIFE

W

hile the rest of us spend our nine-tofives hitting quotas and making deadlines, Mike Gough marks his days by clocking 40-yard dash speeds and vertical jump heights.

Gough is the founder and owner of Athletic Edge Sports, a training facility for professional athletes in Lakewood Ranch. Tucked inside a neat row of Main Street boutiques, the 8,500-square-foot facility is nondescript and shares a sidewalk with a hair salon and a soap company. Peer through the windows however, and you might spot the tight end for the Seattle Seahawks.

Gough’s client list reads like a fantasy team across a wide range of sports — football, baseball, hockey, soccer, golf and polo, to name a few.

Over the last 13 years he’s trained some of the

country’s top athletes, including New York Giants Super Bowl champ Victor Cruz, Baltimore Orioles All-Star pitcher Jim Johnson and Tampa Bay Lightning Defenseman Eric Brewer.

In 2013, when Sports Illustrated needed shots of Austen Lane, then a defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs, the magazine picked Athletic Edge to stage its photo shoot.

Athletes from all over the country travel to Lakewood Ranch to train with Gough, a 40-yearold Toronto native, who first developed an interest in strength and conditioning as a quarterback at Concordia University in Montreal. As an athlete he always appreciated the behindthe-scenes muscle that went into grooming an all-star player.

Continued on Page 26

51

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“

I’ll sit with my buddies on a Sunday afternoon and we’ll flip through football games, and more than likely there’ll be one guy in every game who has trained with me.”

Continued from Page 24 After college, he got his start training players with the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Raptors before launching his private business in 2002. His distinct training regimes are designed to cater to every kind of athlete, from NFL beasts to prepubescent soccer players. Gough even created a program for competitive business executives, who enjoy rubbing elbows with pro athletes and “want something more than the average gym.”

THE PROS ARE HIS BREAD AND BUTTER Gough’s two-story facility is lined with spaceage looking exercise equipment equipped with air-compressed resistance, LED rays to capture

movement and an endless array of monitors tracking to record the physical efforts of every warm body in the building.

“I’ll sit with my buddies on a Sunday afternoon and we’ll flip through football games, and more than likely there’ll be one guy in every game who has trained with me,” Gough says. “I do have a pretty cool job when you think about it.”

Business always picks up just prior to the NFL Scouting Combine, for which Gough has prepped dozens of NFL hopefuls, including Austin Reiter, a 2010 Lakewood Ranch High School graduate who was drafted this year by the Washington Redskins.

“I’ve worked with some of these guys for a long time,” Gough says. “It’s exciting to see their progression. You get to develop a master plan and watch it benefit their performance. It’s re-

“Everyone in here is working their butts off to be the best they can be,” says Gough, seen here working with University of Connecticut goalie Scott Levene.

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LWR LIFE

Former Orioles pitcher Jim Johnson signed this photo as “Quadzilla” in homage to his workouts with Gough.

warding.”

Gough gets results because he’s able to walk a fine line between riding his clients and making them feel like family. Under his tutelage, former Baltimore Oriels pitcher Jim Johnson went from making $600,000 a year to $10.8 million a year.

“After the off-season, you come back to the team and take a look at your body mass index and conditioning tests and the coaches say, ‘Nice!

You didn’t go home and sit on the couch and eat potato chips,’” says David Baas, a New York Giants Super Bowl champ and Lakewood Ranch Country Club resident, who regularly trains with Gough. “He pushes you to your limit and then shows you your results.”

Gough is in the ultimate position to work with the next wave of athletes coming to town.

Major League Football announced in June that it’s bringing its new headquarters to University Parkway and its spring training to Premier Sports Campus, where Gough already runs his renowned NFL Combine Training Program.

“The MLF league is needed,” Gough says.

“There’s a big void there in terms of developing players. It’s giving kids who have the qualities needed to play in the NFL a chance to develop with the right coaching.”

The league plans to open its first season in 2016. Until then, Gough will continue to do what he does best: enhance the abilities of MVPs, such as college sophomore Scott Levene, goalkeeper for the University of Connecticut’s Huskies.

The 19-year-old goalie spends two to three months each summer working with Gough.

“After seven or eight weeks, I can see a difference,” Levene says. “Seventy percent of training is mental. Your brain is going to shut off before your body. That’s why I like Mike so much. He believes in getting up and doing it again. I’m sure it gets old for him sometimes, but you never hear him complain. He gives 100% to anyone he trains.”

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7/21/15 4:34 PM

THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY

PULSE It’s festival season in Lakewood Ranch.

Don’t miss the best events for family fun.

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LWR LIFE

29

calendar fall 2015 SEPTEMBER SEPT. 4 MUSIC ON MAIN Come to Lakewood Ranch Main Street from 6 to 9 p.m. for a free concert by Ocean Road. Proceeds from the event will benefit Family Promise of Sarasota. n Call 462-2357.

SEPT. 12 SARASOTA-MANATEE HEART WALK American Heart Association is hosting its annual Heart Walk beginning at 7:30 a.m. at Nathan Benderson Park. n To register, visit sarasotamanateeheartwalk.kintera.org.

SEPT. 16 WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF REALTORS ANNUAL FASHION SHOW Join the Women’s Council of Realtors for a fashion show and luncheon at 11 a.m. at Fête Ballroom, Polo Grill and Bar. n Tickets cost $50. Call 921-5027.

SEPT. 26 HEALTH AND WELLNESS EXPO Stop by Lakewood Ranch Medical Center from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to visit more than 50 exhibitors in the health field. n Visit lwrcac.com/health-wellnessexpo/.

OCTOBER OCT. 2 MUSIC ON MAIN Come to Lakewood Ranch Main Street from 6 to 9 p.m. for a free concert by TC & Sass. Proceeds from the event will benefit Florida Center for Early Childhood. n Call 462-2357.

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LWR LIFE

Don’t want to ride a bike 200 miles? You can still help celebrate those who did at the Team Tony After Party Oct. 4.

OCT. 4 TEAM TONY AFTER PARTY Each October, Team Tony Foundation hosts the Cycle of Life, a twoday, 200-mile cycling event across Florida. Watch the riders cross the finish line at a welcome home party on Lakewood Ranch Main Street. n Visit teamtony.org.

BEER, BOATS AND BACON More than 75 craft beers will be available to sample from 3 to 7 p.m. at Nathan Benderson Park. Throughout the event there will be various bacon bites as well as live music and games. n Tickets cost $35 to $50. Visit beerboatsandbacon.com.

OCT. 8 THROUGH OCT. 11 HARVEST MOON CLASSIC This sporting clays competition takes place Oct. 8 through Oct. 11, at Ancient Oak Gun Club. There is a $35,000 guaranteed purse and chances to win several guns. Registration costs vary. n Call 745-5900.

OCT. 10 THROUGH OCT. 25 HUNSADER FARMS PUMPKIN FESTIVAL The annual pumpkin festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 10 and 11; Oct. 17 and 18; and Oct. 24 and 25, at Hunsader Farms. The festival offers craft booths, live music and shows, hayrides, scarecrow displays, a petting zoo, frog jumping championship, pumpkins and more. Admission is $10; children 12 and under get in free. Entrance to the corn maze and the train ride are an additional $2.

Parking is $5. n Call 322-2168.

OCT. 10 CLUB DAY Learn about more than 50 social clubs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall. If you have recently moved to Lakewood Ranch, this is a way to get involved. n Call 757-1530.

OCT. 16 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Join Lakewood Ranch Main Street and the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance as they celebrate 10 years.

This free block party from 6 to 9 p.m. will supply lots of family fun, including music and entertainment. All proceeds will benefit the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance. n Visit lwrba.org.

2015 - 2016 SEASON BEST OF THEATRE OF DREAMS

Featuring choreography by Company members of The Sarasota Balllet 23 - 25 OCTOBER 2015

MACMILLAN, WRIGHT & ASHTON

Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto, Sir Peter Wright’s Summertide & Sir Frederick Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand Accompanied by the Sarasota Orchestra 20 - 21 NOVEMBER 2015

JOHN RINGLING’S CIRCUS NUTCRACKER

Choreographed by Matthew Hart, this family classic is sure to delight audiences of all ages Accompanied by the Sarasota Orchestra 18 - 19 DECEMBER 2015

BALANCHINE, DE VALOIS & GRAZIANO

George Balanchine’s Emeralds, Dame Ninette de Valois’ The Rake’s Progress & Ricardo Graziano’s In a State of Weightlessness 29 JANUARY - 1 FEBRUARY 2016

THE SARASOTA BALLET PRESENTS

Join The Sarasota Ballet as we present a prestigious ballet company from the United States 26 - 28 FEBRUARY 2016

ASHTON & BALANCHINE

Sir Frederick Ashton’s Enigma Variations & George Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes Accompanied by the Sarasota Orchestra 8 - 9 APRIL 2016

WHEELDON & ASHTON

Christopher Wheeldon’s The American, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Jazz Calendar & Ashton’s A Wedding Bouquet Ellen Overstreet Emeralds

Accompanied by the Sarasota Orchestra 29 - 30 APRIL 2016

Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto Choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan Emeralds & Stars and Stripes Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust In A State of Weightlessness premiered at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, August 12, 2015

941.359.0099 | www.SarasotaBallet.org Photography Frank Atura 176985

OCT. 16 THROUGH NOV. 22 TOUR OF HOMES Stop by a Lakewood Ranch information center to pick up a tour guide map for the annual Lakewood Ranch Tour of Homes. Models will be open daily, including the private showcase homes at Lake Club Village and Country Club East Village. n Visit lakewoodranch.com/tourofhomes.

OCT. 23 LAKEWOOD RANCH 20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Come help celebrate Lakewood Ranch’s 20th anniversary 6 to 9 p.m. at the Premier Sports Campus.

Enjoy entertainment, kids’ activities, and food and beer for purchase. n Call 941-907-6000 or visit lwrevents.com.

OCT. 24 MAKING STRIDES AGAINST BREAST CANCER Gather a team for the annual 5K walk to benefit the American Cancer Society. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., and the walk begins at 9 a.m. at Sarasota Polo Club. n Call 328-3775.

5K ZOMBIE RUN Run to escape zombies at the 2nd annual 5K Zombie Run. The fun begins at 8:30 p.m. at Nathan Benderson Park. Registration costs $40 to $60. n Visit the5kzombierun.com.

Divas unite at Strides Against Breast Cancer.

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LWR LIFE

OCT. 25 5K COLOR BLAST Run, walk or skip your way through five color zones where you’ll turn into a human canvas.

Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. at Nathan Benderson Park. Registration costs $15 to $60. n Visit the5kcolorblast.com.

OCT. 26 PUTTS FORE MUTTS The 3rd annual golf tournament to benefit Humane Society at Lakewood Ranch takes place at 12:30 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club with dinner and dancing to follow. n Cost is $225. Call 713-8147.

OCT. 30 BOO FEST Dress in costume and participate in the parade at 6:30 p.m., at Premier Sports Campus. Enjoy music, face painting, trick-or-treating and a haunted house from 6 to 9 p.m.

A wide variety of food and beverages will be on hand for purchase. n Call 757-1530.

OCT. 31 BOO RUN The 12th annual Boo Run takes place at 8:30 a.m. at Lakewood Ranch Main Street. This is a family-oriented race and costume contest that benefits Another Day for Gray. n Visit lakewoodranchrunningclub. com/boo-run-5k/.

FOOD AND WINE TASTING FEST The Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch is hosting the 14th annual Food and Wine Fest at Sarasota Polo Club. n Call 870-0002.

CREATIVE ARTS ASSOCIATION SHOW AND SALE The Creative Arts Association of Lakewood Ranch is hosting its 14th annual art show and sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall. It features original works of art by local artists and artisans in various mediums. Free. n Call 907-8244 or visit caalr.com.

NOVEMBER NOV. 6 MUSIC ON MAIN Come to Lakewood Ranch Main Street from 6 to 9 p.m. for a free concert by Renegade. Proceeds from the event will benefit Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation. n Call 462-2357.

NOV. 21 AND NOV. 22 MIXON FRUIT FARMS HARVEST FESTIVAL The annual Harvest Festival runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 21 and Nov. 22, at Mixon Fruit Farms. Enjoy circus shows, an antique car show, citrusthemed games and live entertainment. Also, a special show by “The Nerveless Nocks” will take place at 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. both days. n Visit mixon.com.

NOV. 7 A TASTE OF MIXON Attend A Taste of Mixon from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Mixon Fruit Farms and sample around the unique store for a chance to win prizes. n Call 748-5829.

NOV. 13 EMPTY BOWLS The Food Bank of Manatee will host its Empty Bowls luncheon, allowing East County residents to fill up on savory soups while supporting charity. Select a handcrafted bowl to keep and enjoy soups provided by local restaurants, fresh bread, dessert and entertainment. n Call 747-0100.

NOV. 14 FESTA ITALIANA LWR Community Activities will host Festa Italiana 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Greenbrook Adventure Park.

Celebrate all things Italy and enjoy children’s activities, live music, craft vendors, traditional food and more. n Call 757-1530.

Empty Bowls serves up soup for a cause.

NOV. 22 PONIES UNDER THE PALMS The Mustang Club of West Central Florida will hold its Ponies Under the Palms Mustang and Ford Show from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Lakewood Ranch Main Street. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Take Stock in Children and Southeastern Guide Dogs. n Visit mustangclubwestcentralflorida.org.

Reduce your pain.

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A rehabilitation program centered on your special needs The Orthopaedic Spine and Joint Center is more than a surgery and rehabilitation program – it’s a culture of care that empowers patients with motivation and education. We are committed to getting you back to the activities you love as quickly as possible, with a high-quality program that’s tailored to your needs.

Lakewood Ranch’s orthopedic program includes pre-op classes and presentations that help prepare you for your surgery. The day after surgery, you wear your own clothes and begin your personal rehab with specially trained therapists. Your family is encouraged to participate in your group activities and meals.

Then, before you know it … you’ll be on your way home.

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Class acts

Some kind of

WONDERFUL Between her real estate business and her son, Tanya Waxler has become a pro at juggling schedules.

Yet she still makes giving back a priority.

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LWR LIFE

AMANDA SEBASTIANO CONTRIBUTOR

T

anya Waxler has always had an adventurous spirit. At 19, she embarked on a solo cross-country move from Maryland to Lake Tahoe in pursuit of independence and a change in topography. Plucky and resourceful, she landed a job on her first day in town. She spent her days snowboarding and skiing and her nights working as a waitress at a local restaurant.

At 45, Waxler is still plotting her own destiny.

After working for several unfulfilling years in real estate, the River Club resident decided in 2008 to open her own real estate company, You Keep Commission Real Estate. The East Countybased firm offers discounts to homebuyers and

Amanda Sebastiano

Tanya Waxler and Sarah Burriss, a regular at the Special Needs Prom, keep in touch through Facebook.

sellers by charging lower rates for listing homes and other cost-saving services.

In addition to running her business, the mother-of-one is a volunteering tour de force, lending a hand at organizations such as Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue and at events such as the Special Needs Prom at Woodland Community Church and Sarasota Ski-A-Rees’ Adaptive Water Ski Clinic for people with disabilities held every September on Longboat Key. Why start your own business?

I had worked for three different brokerages before I opened my company.

In my early years as a Realtor, the market was awful. It was like swimming in algae.

Continued on Page 36

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Continued from Page 34 I just waned to save people money and give everyone the “mom discount.” Some firms don’t want to hear about discounts and weren’t concerned with giving clients the best deal. It was my dream to create the T.J. Maxx of real estate — a place where client’s financial needs would be considered. You can shop at Saks if you want, but you can still get name brand, quality items at cheaper competitors. I went out on my own and crafted a business my own way, the way I wanted.

Gordon Becker grooves to a Pitbull song at the 2015 Special Needs Prom.

“

The event’s main purpose is to provide a fun night. I thought it was an amazing, selfless effort.

Once I knew more about the event, I knew I had to be a part of it.”

How has your business changed since it opened eight years ago?

When I started out, I was my only employee.

The beginning stages were stressful, but I was happy. I was trying to blaze a new trail here by offering a different type of real estate service — and I was doing it alone. I was busy right away and saw an immediate response. I was doing things my own way.

My best friend helped when she could and my husband, Adam, came on board a few years later. Over time we grew to seven agents, which is what we have now. We’re growing and people want our services here.

How do you juggle parenting, running a business and your volunteer work?

I make my work schedule around my life. I tell my clients upfront that I’m only available during this timeframe, usually from noon to 3 p.m., and I’ll coordinate showings at night, after my son Levi is done with all his activities. My husband and our friends are always coordinating to find rides to take him somewhere — to Rays baseball games, where he performs a sign language rendition of the national anthem, or to water skiing practice.

He’s active, but he isn’t old enough to drive yet. I do a lot of my computer work in the middle of the night when the house is quiet around 11 p.m. Some days it feels like all my husband and I say to each other is, “Who’s taking him?” or “Do you have appointments later?” We make it work, and it’s all worth it.

What sparked your passion for people with disabilities?

Growing up, we were one of the only houses with a pool in Lanham, Md. My mom had a beautiful hair salon at our house. My dad built it; he was a carpenter. She had a bus of special needs people come to our house once a year. We’d feed them hot dogs, swim with them in our pool and my mom would cut their hair for free. I was 13 at the time, and we did

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LWR LIFE

that every single summer for as long as I can remember. When the people would come, some of them hadn’t had their hair cut since my mom cut it the year before. This event was a big deal for them; they loved it and we loved it, too. Seeing them smile when they looked in the mirror at their new haircut and hearing them laugh in the pool was worth the hours we put in through the afternoon.

What intrigued you about the Special Needs Prom?

I had heard about the event from a friend a few years ago and I checked it out for myself.

I saw them feeding 400 people. There was a free photographer and free dresses. That was amazing. The event’s main purpose is to provide a fun night. I thought it was an amazing, selfless effort. Once I knew more about the event, I knew I had to be a part of it. Next year will be the fourth year I’ve been a part of the decorating committee. This prom is one of the best things in the world.

What do you look forward to most at that event?

Once the venue is decorated we get to watch the attendees come through the doors.

They come in with the biggest smiles and walk down this red carpet, while slapping hands with the volunteers. It’s so priceless.

The attendees say, “Can we come back tomorrow?” They make us laugh so hard.

What’s the glitziest thing you’ve crafted for the prom?

This year we built five signs, which all involved tons of drilling, gluing, Christmas lights, sequins, jewels and glitter. I opened up my garage and pulled out the tools and other supplies. We made these huge cardboard signs, and when we finished hours later, my driveway look like the night sky from all the glitter.

How important is it to pass on community activism to future generations?

Being involved with your community is so rewarding, and future generations will follow by example. Volunteering for community service during high school or even earlier is a great opportunity to experience what working with others means. My son has been volunteering at the Special Needs Prom with me for a few years. He has such an appreciation for other people. He’s become so compassionate. It’s great to know I can share with him this passion for helping others and making a difference where we can.

Our goal is to help you pursue yours.

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Style

Do the ‘Do }

ANA MOLINARI

LEMON BLOSSOM THE LOOK

Beachy waves — a loose and relaxed look that is as good for day as night.

Stylist: Sheila Donoghue Model: Cindy Pachas What you’ll need: styling clips, big barrel curling iron (1 inch used here), hairspray How much time: 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of hair Step One: Start curling from the bottom layer of hair, so pin back the top sections of hair with a styling clip while curling each layer Step Two: Spray a styling spray on the section of hair ready to be curled and let dry Step Three: Clamping the curling iron on each piece about a half-inch from the end, curl the hair in inch-wide sections, away from the face Step Four: Pull the curls through with fingers and spray with a light hold hairspray Step Five: Repeat steps one through four until all of the hair is curled Products used: n Kerastase Laque Dentelle: A flexible hold hairspray n Kerastase K Spray a porter: A flexible styling spray

THE LOOK

A quick and easy, yet elegant updo Stylist: Kortnie Rasch Model: Diana Baker What you’ll need: small elastics, bobby pins, comb How much time: 15 minutes

Step One: Start by lifting and lightly teasing the crown area of the hair to create some added volume to the look — lightly smooth after teasing Step Two: Tie a small pony with the section of the hair beneath the ear, about one to two inches off the base of the neck Step Three: Tie another pony next to the first Step Four: Split the ponies into two’s, twist together and then elastic that together; clip out of the way (think: twist, make a pony, twist, make a pony) Step Five: Take another piece of hair and twist that together with the sections created before and continue doing this until you reach the other side Step Six: At the last pony, continue down the shaft with the twisting and tie the end with an elastic Step Seven: Take the tail and either tuck it under or over the ponies with a bobby pin Step Eight: Lightly set the look with setting spray Products used: n Redken Quick Tease 15 Backcombing Finishing Spray n Redken Foreful 23 Super Strength Finishing Spray

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LWR LIFE

ASIDE FROM COOLER TEMPERATURES, FALL MARKS THE START OF THE social season. Whether it’s for football festivities or a black tie event, it’s a good time to take a fresh look at your best accessory — your hair. LWR Life stopped in a few of our local salons to learn what hair styling trends we’ll be seeing in the next couple of months, and how you can do the ‘do at home. HEATHER MERRIMAN SABA | CONTRIBUTOR

YELLOW STRAWBERRY THE LOOK

Give your hair dryer a timeout with this fun and relaxed take on a short style.

Stylist: Victoria Romano Model: Amber Beck What you’ll need: barrettes and bobby pins How much time: 30 minutes Step One: After washing hair, apply Bumble and Bumble’s Don’t Blow It product to the hair Step Two: Twist the entire head of hair into multiple sections; clip with barrettes and let sit for 15 minutes — the twists help create texture and volume Step Three: Take the hair out of the twists and scrunch and tease the hair while doing so Products used: n Kerastase Bain Therapiste: A nourishing and strengthening treatment and masque to revive your hair after summer n Bumble and bumble Don’t Blow It hair styler Taking it from day to night: Blow dry the look before going out in the evening to create a softer, sleeker look

NUOVO THE LOOK

This stacked updo provides an interesting elegance for the fanciest of affairs, without being overly complicated.

Stylist: Keera Belviy Model: Laura Martin What you’ll need: teasing comb, bobby pins, micro crimper How much time: 20 minutes Step One: Blow out hair to achieve volume and lift Step Two: Lightly tease the root area and add Aveda Hair Potion for texture and to create better grip for the look Step Three: Starting with the crown area and working down, section off hair into ponies; there will be 3-4 ponies depending on the thickness of the hair (Stylist tip: the sections don’t have to be perfect, the more perfect, the more the lines show) Step Four: Using a crimp iron, crimp a section of each of the ponies to add some dimension and to expand the hair; this adds texture Step Five: Braid each of the ponies and wrap into a bun; pin each bun loosely Step Six: Pull apart the braided buns and pin each bun together to achieve the look that the buns are all incorporated Step Seven: Smooth out the final style with Aveda’s Defining Elements, a good finishing product to help with flyaways while securing the look Products used: n Aveda’s Defining Elements n Aveda’s Control Force hairspray n Aveda’s Hair Potion

LWR LIFE

39

Charity snapshot

Photos by Lori Sax

Paula Perkins and Ken Hanson pack up supplies into emergency aid kids.

Local lifeline When disaster strikes, the Red Cross’ facility in Lakewood Ranch takes action.

AMANDA SEBASTIANO | CONTRIBUTOR

T

ucked behind the YMCA’s Lakewood Ranch branch, just before the end of Malachite Drive, is the ultimate resource for residents looking to weather any storm. We all know the American Red Cross packs a lot of manpower. One of the nation’s premier humanitarian organizations, the 134-year-old nonprofit is composed of roughly 13 million volunteers across 187 countries.

Each year, its relief efforts reach more than 100 million people across the globe.

Continued on Page 42

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LWR LIFE

( 941 ) 405-1600 Call to schedule your appointment

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Each student has an individual treatment room where they will provide comprehensive, restorative dental care services. This includes: cleanings, periodontal treatments, crowns, root canal therapy, extractions, dental restorations and full and partial dental prostheses.

Continued from Page 40 The Southwest Florida Chapter, which covers Manatee, Sarasota, Desoto, Hardee and Charlotte counties, boasts an army of more than 700 volunteers.

In Lakewood Ranch, the organization’s presence is especially omnipotent. Built in 2006, the unassuming approximately 8,000-square-foot facility is the only American Red Cross center in Manatee County. The branch not only provides disaster relief to nearby municipalities, it offers training in first aid, CPR, aquatics, child care, health care and public safety.

“Nearly 96% of the work Red Cross does is performed by volunteers,” says Jim Coughlan, volunteer at the Lakewood Ranch branch. “That’s an impressive number, and I don’t know of any other organization that can say that. It’s humbling to see so many people who just want to help other people.

That’s a good reason to get up in the morning.”

The organization, which runs purely off donations, also responds to fires in East Manatee County. If firefighters

Executive Director Megarie van Sickel says her organization does more than aid in natural disasters.

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LWR LIFE

American Red Cross holds a training session at the Lakewood Ranch facility.

need assistance with support for victims, local Red Cross volunteers suit up and pitch in, says Megarie van Sickel, executive director of the American Red Cross of Southwest Florida.

“Whether it’s a housing issue, or you just need a blanket to wrap around you in the middle of the night because everything was burned, we’ll be there to help in some way,” van Sickel says.

“Your credit card could have burned up and you’re out there in the street with no money and no home. These things happen. You never know when a disaster might leave you with nothing.”

Red Cross also extends its reach to aid members of the military serving overseas.

The organization serves as a conduit between active military personnel and their families during emergencies. For example, if the mother of a soldier is gravely ill and her children need help flying home to be by her side, the Red Cross will assess the mother’s condition and relay pertinent information to busy military officials.

“We’re the middle man in these situations,” van Sickel says. “We try to help in any way that we can.”

In August, local volunteers took their training out of the classroom and into the streets, pitching in to help residents in Pasco County, whose homes were ravaged by late summer storms.

They delivered food, distributed cleaning supplies and helped displaced families seek shelter from flooding.

“All disasters are local to us,” van Sickel said. “This could have easily happened here or in one of our chapter locations. Disasters don’t discriminate.”

Fortunately, Lakewood Ranch has

“

There’s this budding feeling here that this place could be something really cool.”

JIM COUGHLAN Volunteer

been spared major storm damage over the last 10 years, which explains why the organization’s $1.7 million Lakewood Ranch facility, which opened in 2006, is still relatively underutilized.

Up until now the building — home to just two offices, a multipurpose room and one large classroom — has remained quiet. In July, however, the Red Cross closed its longtime West Bradenton branch, forcing the littleknown Lakewood Ranch facility to boost its volunteer base and community outreach. Volunteers and staff members are now on site Monday through Friday shelling out resources, and according to van Sickel, plans are underway to expand classes and programs.

She and Coughlan see a wealth of untapped community muscle in Lakewood Ranch.

“Hopefully once people realize that we’re out here, we can start recruiting more volunteers,” Coughlan said.

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176916

Lakewood Ranch PAM EUBANKS CONTRIBUTOR

M

ore than 30 years ago, the visionaries at Schroeder-Manatee Ranch began laying the groundwork for what has become one of the country’s top 10 master-planned communities — Lakewood Ranch.

They knew that to create a community, not just a development, they’d have to embrace the “live, work, play” concept, melding a mixture of home types with job creation, accessibility to services, schools, parks, athletics and other offerings. Construction of Lakewood Ranch’s first neighborhood, Summerfield Park, started in 1994. With more than 9,500 homes occupied in the ranch and thousands more planned, the community has plenty to celebrate at its 20th anniversary this fall.

DEFINING MOMENTS JUNE 23, 1996

Summerfield Park sells out SMR celebrates the sellout of its first neighborhood in Summerfield Village. A few months later, several businesses announced locations in the Corporate Park and Town Center, including manufacturer Teleflex, Publix and Northern Trust Bank.

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LWR LIFE

AUG. 24, 1998

First high school opens Lakewood Ranch High School welcomes 900 freshmen and sophomores — making it the fifth public high school in Manatee County.

NOV. 6, 1999:

Bridge spans Braden River The opening of the Braden River Bridge turned Lakewood Ranch Boulevard into a north-south connector between University Parkway and State Road 70.

OCT. 12, 2002

Fire station opens More than 100 residents, and county employees came to celebrate Braden River Fire and Rescue Station No. 4, the $1 million, 6,200-square-foot station at 9136 Town Center Parkway.

AUGUST, 2004

Town Hall, hospital open Town Hall opened its doors for official business.

Also in August, officials celebrated the opening of Lakewood Ranch’s own $42 million hospital with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

On Sept. 1, 2004, the hospital welcomed its first baby, Julian Maxi Milian.

celebrates 20 years KEY PLAYERS Rex Jensen Schroeder-Manatee Ranch President and CEO Rex Jensen joined the company in March 1990 as vice president of real estate.

He’s revered for setting the entitlement and financial framework for Lakewood Ranch, as well as creating public/private partnerships with school boards and governmental bodies.

In August 2002, he was promoted to SMR president.

In February 2005, he stepped up as CEO. Mary Fran Carroll In 1984, the late Mary Fran Carroll traded her white glove attire at Chicago’s Northern Trust for cowboy boots, becoming Schroeder-Manatee Ranch’s first CEO, after leading the company’s board of directors for four years.

This trailblazer turned a fledging agricultural operation into a business that would profit for generations. Under her leadership, SMR constructed the Sarasota Polo Club and began developing a master plan for more than 48 square miles of property.

CELEBRATIONS LWR 20th Anniversary

DECEMBER 2005

Main Street opens The center included 130,000 square feet of retail, including restaurants and shops, as well as offices and residential units on its second level.

In May 2006, it held a public Cinco de Mayo grand opening celebration.

NOV. 12, 2008

LWR adds post office Lakewood Ranch Post office opened off Post Boulevard. About 100 people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, prompting SMR President and CEO Rex Jensen to state that Lakewood Ranch was “coming into its own” as a community.

MAY 21, 2014

Villages project approved SMR’s Villages of Lakewood Ranch South is approved by the Sarasota County Commission. The project includes 5,100 homes on 5,500 acres south of University Parkway.

JANUARY 2015

Repeat Recognition For the fourth year in a row, Lakewood Ranch was named one of the top 10 best-selling master-planned communities in the United States.

Help Lakewood Ranch celebrate 6-9 p.m. Oct. 23, at Premier Sports Campus. There will be entertainment, kids activities and food and beer. Bring a non-perishable food item to benefit Meals on Wheels. Visit lwrevents.com or call 941-9076000.

Main Street and LWRBA 10th Anniversary

Main Street and the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance celebrate their 10th anniversary with a free block party 6-9 p.m.

Oct. 16. Visit lwrba.org.

LWR LIFE

45

OUR TOWN

LWR: Looking back

JUNE STROUP

Resident since November 1997

“There were 340 residents who owned homes (when I moved here). The information center on University Parkway used to put that number up. Lakewood Ranch Boulevard didn’t go through. It went to River Club and we had to go to Clubhouse Drive to get to Summerfield. Riverwalk didn’t exist.”

ALAN ROTH,

Resident since October 1999

“There was a lot of construction.

The bridge wasn’t open yet; you had to drive through River Club.

State Road 70 was still two lanes each way. The most amazing thing I remember was there was only one Publix.”

1998: Lakewood Ranch High

DON O’LEARY

Resident since November 1997

“It was empty. We bought the first home in Edgewater. When we looked at the lot, the model wasn’t finished yet. We came from The Meadows. There was not one tree in sight. My wife said, ‘You’re crazy doing this.’ It was nothing but a shell pit. There were no sidewalks and only half a road in. You could see I-75, but there was nothing here. You could hear the cars on the highway.

Publix wasn’t there.”

2008: Post Office 2005: Main Street opens

KEY PLAYERS, continued John Clarke In 1984, SMR’s original CEO, Mary Fran Carroll, hired John Clarke to make the company’s farming operations profitable. Clarke’s profits from SMR’s trees, cattle and lawn turf eventually provided cash flow for development. Clarke became president of SMR in 1989 and served as CEO from 1996 until 2005. During his tenure, Clarke saw Lakewood Ranch grow to have nearly 5,000 homes.

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LWR LIFE

Todd Pokrywa When Todd Pokrywa arrived in January 2003 as SMR’s new vice president of real estate, his objective was to focus on long-term strategic planning. SMR was developing its property through three existing developments that Pokrywa worked to expand, paving the way for The Lake Club, Country Club East and Greenbrook East.

John Swart President of LWR Commercial Realty from 2005 to 2008, John Swart oversaw Lakewood Ranch’s blossoming commercial properties, including the addition of 2 million square feet of office space and 1 million square feet of retail, industrial and specialty buildings.

Swart retired in 2008, but remains involved in Lakewood Ranch through his own company, JSS Realty Corp.

Resident since November 1996

2008: Lakewood Ranch grows

“I worked for one of the original builders and sold the first home in the Ranch. That was actually before we even opened the models. The builders (had a kiosk) at DeSoto Mall for a short period of time. I met the people that bought it. We took them out to the dirt roads.

It was quiet. There wasn’t much on the east side of the interstate. People used to think, ‘Why would I want to work way out in the middle of nowhere?’ It took off pretty fast. It was very well planned. When the models opened, the park was open. They had all the amenities — the children’s playground and basketball. It was very rural. We had cows wandering around the models. Pretty much everything they told us would happen, happened.”

OUR TOWN

GREG SPRING

LINDA WOOD

Resident since June 1995

2015: Major League Football headquarters

“Being one of the first 50, it was definitely different out here. It was dark. There were no streetlights and there was nothing beyond our road. Lakewood Ranch Boulevard did not exist. It was all cow pasture from State Road 70 all the way back. I remember seeing a mama pig and eight little babies coming over and hanging out by a tree. It was very quiet.

At the time, I’d just gotten divorced. I want to stay close to my family. My sister and her husband drove out here with me. I thought, ‘Oh, this is nice.’ I liked the amenities. At the time, my son was 10 and the (park was there). I liked the area. It was still in the country. So much has changed.”

ANDY COHEN

Resident since August 2004 Tony Chiofalo Tony Chiofalo has served as SchroederManatee Ranch’s chief financial officer since February 2001.

SMR hired Chiofalo as a controller in early 1988. On his first day on the job, he walked into the company’s “bunkhouse” in a three-piece suit and discovered a horse stable on the opposite side of his office door. During his time, SMR went from a single-asset entity to a multimillion-dollar land holding company with operations in cattle, sod, citrus, tree farming, shell mining, residential and commercial real estate development.

“I grew up in Sarasota after moving here in December 1983 with my parents and two brothers.

When I was growing up, University Parkway was a two-lane county road that ended not far past I-75.

In the summer of 2003, we lived just off Fruitville Road, and I can remember driving our daughter, now 12, around in the middle of the night up to Lakewood Ranch, since that was the only way to get her to go to sleep, to watch the construction being done. My wife knew that’s where we wanted to live and raise a family.”

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CINNAMON PEAR BALSAMIC

FALL FINDS

BY JESSICA SALMOND | CONTRIBUTOR

AUTUMN IS NEAR, AND ALTHOUGH WE MAY miss out on crisp air and colorful fall foliage, you can still find foods of the best food flavors of this time of year — cinnamon and spices, pumpkin and ginger — in all their fabulous forms.

Here are some foods that will put you in the mood for the season.

Detwiler’s Apple Cinnamon mini-loaf, $2.49. Available at its University Parkway location, 6100 N. Lockwood Ridge Road LEFT: Katy Rose Olive Oils’ Cinnamon Pear Balsamic Vinegar, $12. Available on Lakewood Ranch Main Street. Try the savory-sweet vinegar on fruit.

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ORANGE GINGER

HONEY

Mixon Fruit Farms Florida Orange Marmalade with Ginger, $4.99. Tucked away at the farm’s gift shop at 2525 27th St. E. in Bradenton, this is an interesting twist to a breakfast staple. Try on a breakfast biscuit or Melba toast.

Beerom Apiary’s honey with honeycomb, $5. Available at Plesscher Groves, 3350 E. Highway 675 or on Beerom’s website, beerom.com.

FAR RIGHT: Detwiler’s Butterscotch Peanut Butter on multigrain bread, $3.74 for the peanut butter, $1.79 for a mini-loaf of bread. We tried it with some orange marmalade with ginger.

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BUTTER + JAM

PUMPKIN BUTTER

Crowder’s private-label pumpkin butter, $6.95.

Available at the Gifts & Gadgets store, 2401 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. Crowder’s staff recommended trying the tasty sauce on pancakes or waffles.

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For more information, please visit TaylorMorrison.com or call us at 866.495.6006 Offer void where prohibited or otherwise restricted by law. Prices may not include lot premiums, upgrades and options. Community Association and other fees may be required. Prices, promotions, incentives, features, options, amenities, floor plans, elevations, designs, materials and dimensions are subject to change without notice. Square footage and dimensions are estimated and may vary in actual construction. Community improvements and recreational features and amenities described are based upon current development plans which are subject to change and which are under no obligation to be completed. Floor plans and elevations are artist’s conception and are not intended to show specific detailing. Floor plans are the property of Taylor Morrison, Inc. and its affiliates and are protected by U.S. copyright laws. For further information, please see a Taylor Morrison Sales Associate and review our Terms of Use. This is not an offering in any state where prohibited or otherwise restricted by law. © May 2015 Taylor Morrison of Florida, Inc., All rights reserved. FL GC#CBC1257822

AN INSPIRED LIVING EXPERIENCE FROM

COUNTING SHEEP

BY HEIDI KURPIELA | MANAGING EDITOR

S

ome of us are dog people and some of us, cat people. Sarah Makeever is a sheep person. If they made bumper stickers for sheep people, Makeever’s might say, “The more people I meet the more I like my sheep.” Sheep people, however, don’t usually brag about their herd. It encourages heckling. “I’ve heard all the jokes,” Makeever says. “Why did the sheep call the police?” Long pause.“Because it had been fleeced — and that’s a joke you can actually print!”

Continued on Page 56

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Hair sheep rub their coats off on whatever they can back up against.

Continued from Page 54 A modern-day Little Bo Peep in jeans and a blue T-shirt, Makeever is an unlikely shepherd. A 33-year-old bakery manager at Publix, she sometimes feels like she’s leading a double life. Baker by day, sheep farmer by night. Over the last few years, she’s turned her rural Lorraine Road home into a small hobby sheep farm. Nearly all seven acres of her property is open to grazing.

“People are more curious than anything,” Makeever says. “I get flooded with questions. Everybody thinks they’re goats. Nobody knows the difference between goats and sheep. I tell them goats are the right hand of the devil. Sheep are the lamb of god.”

It’s easy to see the confusion though, especially when you’re looking at Makeever’s sheep: These are not Mary’s little lambs.

Makeever collects hair sheep, which are bred to withstand hot climates.

Their coats come in brown, black and bristly, not white and fluffy. Unlike their woolly cousins, hair sheep don’t require shearing. They shed on their own by rubbing their fleece off

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on anything they can sidle up to, which explains why they sometimes look like they have a mohawk.

Let’s put it this way: you wouldn’t want to wear a hair sheep sweater.

On a Sunday morning, while most of her Lakewood Ranch neighbors are at church, Makeever is at home, enjoying a different kind of ritual — feeding time. The view from her back porch is something out of a watercolor: nothing but pastures, trees and sheep.

Her flock is scattered in various states of repose in a pen that is larger and more shaded than most petting zoos. The animals immediately cluster together and bleat loudly as Makeever approaches.

“Come get your crack,” Makeever laughs as eight ewes circle her legs.

“Bandit, get over here or you’ll miss out.”

The lone wether — a castrated 4-month-old ram — trots out from behind a tree and shyly joins the allfemale herd. Makeever sprinkles grain into a wooden trough on the side of a hut as the ewes rush in to feast. Most of the food is gone before Bandit can wiggle past their rumps.

“They’re always ganging up on him,”

Makeever says. “Whenever it rains they all pile into their hut, and there’s Bandit leaning into the doorway, trying to not get wet. He’s still kind of the new kid on the block.”

Makeever bends down and offers a handful of grain to Bandit, who gobbles it up and returns to his favorite position, standing beside his mother, the mild-mannered matriarch of Makeever’s flock, Lady Ba Ba. Named for the pop star, Lady Ba Ba, or Lady for short, was Makeever’s first hair sheep. She spotted her in a field five years ago at King Family Farm in Bradenton. She wasn’t for sale, but Makeever made a convincing pitch.

“I didn’t even know you could have sheep in Florida,” Makeever says.

“When I saw Lady standing there, I was like, ‘OK this is happening.’”

A Western New York native, she grew up raising and showing sheep for her local 4-H club. The experience was at once life affirming and heartbreaking. She was 9 when she got her first lamb, a precocious ball of wool named Sneakers that would follow her up and down the street.

“You essentially raise them to go to

“

Most people with a hobby flock like mine end up with a few sheep in the freezer,” Makeever says. “Not me.

These are my children.”

auction to be slaughtered,” Makeever says. “I loved each and every one of them, but that’s life. You enjoy the things you love while you’ve got them.

When it’s time to let go, you let go. You can’t keep collecting things forever.”

For eight years, she participated in the 4-H market lamb program. Each April, a new lamb would move into a pen in her parent’s backyard and each August it would get carted off in a tractor-trailer at the Erie County Fair.

“When that trailer would load up a herd there wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” Makeever says. “Every girl was in the barn holding on for that last hug.”

Things are different this time. Makeever, who has two grown stepsons, can’t imagine thinning her herd, especially for meat. First of all, she doesn’t like the taste of lamb. Secondly, she could never eat something she looked in the eye.

“Most people with a hobby flock like mine end up with a few sheep in the freezer,” Makeever says. “Not me.

These are my children.” Her husband, Garrett, is just as attached.

Right: Dolly is Makeever’s woolliest sheep. Unlike the rest of the herd, she “forgets” to rub off her hair.

Continued on Page 58

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Makeever’s youngest sheep, Bandit, has a hard time keeping up with the rest of flock.

Continued from Page 57 Two years ago, when Trouble, their most obstinate ewe, rejected its firstborn lamb, the couple spent a month bottle-feeding it through the night. Makeever recalls those sleepless weeks with the same weary fondness of any mother with the memory of waking every two hours to feed a newborn. They named the lamb Cookie, and with the exception of Lady Ba Ba, she is the friendliest sheep in the herd.

“I got to do the mom thing for a month, then she went outside and I went back to sleeping again,” Makeever laughs. “Having sheep babies is a lot easier than having real babies.”

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Although there are plenty of meat sheep farmers in the state of Florida, there are few with strictly pet flocks.

Makeever, who subscribes to several sheep publications, says hair breeds are popping up in cold weather climates all over the United States, mostly because they’re so durable and low maintenance.

She currently has 10 sheep — a nice manageable number. Last spring she had more than double that head during what she now refers to as the flock’s “baby boom.”

“The ewes go into heat every 17 days,” Makeever says. “One time is all it takes. If they’re in heat and the ram knows it, it’s all over.”

Top: Bandit is the youngest and littlest sheep in the flock. “The ewes boss him around now, but when he gets bigger they better watch out,” Makeever says.

Above: Makeever subscribes to “Sheep” magazine, among other industry publications.

The best method of sheep birth control is to keep the ram out of the ewe pen, which isn’t as easy as you’d think.

The neighboring cows always seem to find a way past the fence; not that this is a problem. The two species coexist quite well, despite what Makeever calls a longtime “Hatfield and McCoy feud” between cattle farmers and sheep farmers.

“They each have their own unique personalities and attitudes,” Makeever says of her flock. “I’ll go out there after a really bad day and have a glass of wine and watch them graze. It’s fun and relaxing. Some people get a massage. I watch my sheep. And c’mon, that baa! It’s so cute.”

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Assisted Living

Memory Care

At Inspired Living at Lakewood Ranch, we create a lifestyle that’s perfect for you by offering a range of senior living options. Here residents are at the center of everything we do. Whether you are active and independent or need some assistance, you can be assured that we will meet your needs and exceed your expectations.

• Nutritious chef-prepared meals • Dog park with off-leash areas • Private dining with flexible hours • Lakeside fishing pier with boardwalk • Fitness center and exercise classes • Happy hours and social events • Swimming pool, patio and tiki bar • Arts, music and cultural programs • Licensed nursing available 24/7 • Transportation within Lakewood Ranch

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(1/2 mile east of I-75 on SR 70, one exit north of The Mall at UTC)

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BINGO

What’s at stake

Want to win big? Head to Vegas. Want an afternoon of laughs? Town Hall Bingo is a safe bet.

L

Bingo Bob and Bingo Chuck, aka Bob Burstein and Chuck Nathan, along with Norb Janis, not pictured, lead games each month.

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ouise Del Signore once won $600 in a Bingo game. She played faithfully for 20 years when she lived in New Jersey. Today, Del Signore is a regular at the Lakewood Ranch Bingo Club’s monthly games. Her winnings have been slimmer. Her biggest prize? “Last game,” she says, “I won a gift certificate for Sweet Tomatoes.”

Sitting next to her is Heritage Harbour resident Cathy Jacobs, whose biggest win was a $25 Bonefish Grill gift card.

“I started screaming,” Jacobs says.

Organizer Chuck Nathan knows the stakes are low when the club gathers: For the first eight games, the prize is typically a $10 restaurant gift certificate. The ninth game is the grand finale, in which the first player to cover an entire card with chips snags a $25 gift card.

“None of these people are playing Bingo thinking we’re going to become millionaires,” Nathan says.

The club can’t play for cash prizes because Florida statutes prohibit any charity, nonprofit or veterans organization from holding Bingo games with cash prizes. So members play for gift cards.

But while the stakes are low, the energy is high.

A few minutes after 1 p.m., Nathan turns on the microphone.

“We’re ready to start,” he says to the crowd of 40, most of whom are cheering but a few of whom are hushing.

Nathan is wearing a red T-shirt that identifies him in white lettering as “Lakewood Ranch Bingo Chuck.”

Seated next to him is “Lakewood Ranch Bingo

Bob” — aka Bob Burstein.

Typically, Burstein would call the numbers from the Bingo cage, and the third organizer, Norb Janis, would place the balls on the masterboard, while Nathan walks the floors, verifying the authenticity of each “Bingo.”

But because Janis isn’t present, Nathan has double duty, placing the numbers and walking the floors.

A latecomer, Toni Maguire, enters the room wearing sparkly cat-eyed glasses and a greenfeathered headband. She sets up her three cards at the back table with a portrait of Miss Piggy — “She’s my inspiration,” she says — to her right and an Easter basket to her left.

She peers at Nathan and Bob Burstein, who calls the numbers, from a set of binoculars.

“You have to keep an eye out for those two,” she jokes.

“OK Bingo Bob, it’s all yours,” Nathan says to Burstein, who’s sitting beside him, wearing a matching T-shirt.

“Happy April Fools’ Day,” Burstein, who calls the numbers, says to players. “We’re going to start off with ‘any ole Bingo.’ Horizontal, diagonal, vertical.”

The first number called is B4, bringing more cheers.

Soon, Maguire has unleashed a battery-powered Easter bunny from her basket toward Nathan and Burstein at the front of the room.

She collects the bunny and heads back to her seat.

Within a few minutes, there’s a Bingo.

Nathan approaches the woman seated at the center of the middle row who called Bingo.

“April Fools,” she says.

False alarm. But there’s a legitimate Bingo at the back of the room that Nathan verifies.

The organizers may have fallen for the prank, but they’ve also gotten in an April Fools’ prank of their own.

Continued on Page 62

BINGO LINGO

How Florida statutes define the game of B-I-N-G-O: “‘Bingo game’ means and refers to the activity, commonly known as ‘bingo,’ in which participants pay a sum of money for the use of one or more bingo cards. When the game commences, numbers are drawn by chance, one by one, and announced.

The players cover or mark those numbers on the bingo cards which they have purchased until a player receives a given order of numbers in sequence that has been preannounced for that particular game. This player calls out ‘bingo’ and is declared the winner of a predetermined prize…”

2,698 — The number of words in Florida Statute 849.0931, which covers “Bingo authorized; conditions for conduct; permitted use of proceeds; limitations.”

Toni Maguire sets up an autographed portrait of Miss Piggy for inspiration next to her Bingo cards.

“

I hold onto those dollars and then at the end of the year, I take 90% of it and have a Christmas party.”

CHUCK NATHAN, Lakewood Ranch Bingo Club organizer

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Continued from Page 61 Before the game, Janis sent an email to members that stated: “We are sorry to report that Bob, Chuck and Norb were arrested last week for running an illegal gambling operation at the Lakewood Ranch Town Hall,” he wrote in the club’s monthly newsletter.

“In addition to the fine dining vouchers we receive from our generous restaurant sponsors, this month’s Bingo will include free mental exams and drug testing for participants, which Chuck will now administer. The authorities are now very interested in seeing what kinds of persons attend our Bingos.”

Then, it’s onto the second round, which Burstein announces will be “horizontal strikes.” The prize is a Tijuana Flats gift certificate.

“Ole,” someone yells.

BUILDING BINGO Had authorities really been interested in what kind of persons attend Ranch Bingo, as the email claimed, here’s what they would have found: Its players are almost all retired, and the vast majority are women — a ratio that sometimes prompts Nathan to ask the crowd, “Where’s the husbands? You ladies are afraid to bring your men.”

Sometimes, the next month, he’ll see a new man or two.

“Yeah, she dragged me in,” he’ll say. “What am I in for?”

For Nathan, though, it was actually his wife, Belle, who talked him into going to a game day that included Bingo at Town Hall approximately five years ago.

“Come on, let’s go down there,” Belle told him.

“You like to play Bingo.”

“What a fiasco,” Nathan recalls of the first game he attended. “Ever play Bingo with copies of the same card? Everybody gets Bingo at once.”

There were no prizes or machine.

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Women are the overwhelming majority of participants in the Bingo Club, although the club’s three organizers are men.

“

In addition to the fine dining vouchers we receive from our generous restaurant sponsors, this month’s Bingo will include free mental exams and drug testing for participants, which Chuck will now administer. The authorities are now very interested in seeing what kinds of persons attend our Bingos.”

So Nathan approached Lori Basilone, who was then director of the Ranch’s Community Activities Corp., and told her that was no way to play Bingo. She told him to start running the game.

Nathan was no novice when it came to running a Bingo game. He started a similar club at the Delray Beach retirement community where he lived before moving to the Ranch.

He agreed, and the Lakewood Ranch Bingo Club was born.

Today, it’s one of more than 40 Lakewood Ranch clubs that range from bridge and pinochle to Couples Ballroom Dance and Empty Nesters.

To build the Bingo Club, Nathan recruited Burstein and Janis, his neighbors at Wexford to help him run the games.

Because Florida statutes prohibit any nonprofit, charity or veterans organization from awarding cash prizes, Nathan started approaching local restaurants, asking them to donate $10 gift certificates. He used his knowledge of the business — he’s a former manager of Pantry Food Pride — to solicit donations.

“You’ve got mothers and fathers and grandparents here who get excited to win something,” he told them.

Sweet Tomatoes was the first to donate gift certificates and has been a faithful donor throughout the club’s history.

Detwiler’s Market was the first to up the ante by offering a $25 gift card once a month.

The first Lakewood Ranch Bingo Club game took place in March 2010. Nathan used a borrowed machine and charged $1 for nine rounds of Bingo.

After about a year, Nathan approached his fellow Bingo aficionados and asked if they would agree to pay $2 a game. The $1 entry fee barely covered his gas bill for running the club, and he needed supplies, including a machine that would cost $400 or $500.

The group agreed.

Then, a short time later, Nathan noticed a delivery truck pull up at his home.

Continued on Page 64

NORB JANIS, in the club’s monthly newsletter LWR LIFE

63

Continued from Page 63 “He stops at my door, and I said, ‘I haven’t ordered anything,’” Nathan says. “(The driver) had three cartons.

“I said, ‘Where’s it from?’ But the driver said they put on there, ‘Do not tell where it comes from.’ He could only tell me that they came from a Bingo store in Miami, and whoever sent it paid cash for it.”

Inside the packages were the pieces of the pricey Bingo machine the club needed.

That’s the same machine Burstein still spins to call the lucky numbers at each month’s game.

JUST A GAME Most participants find the $2 they spend on an afternoon of Bingo to be

a worthwhile investment even when it doesn’t yield a $10 or $25 gift certificate. Even when players don’t win prizes, the money Nathan collects throughout the year ultimately goes back to them.

“I hold onto those dollars and then at the end of the year, I take 90% of it and have a Christmas party,” Nathan says.

But beyond the money, there’s camaraderie. “I came (to the area) because I want to be around people,” says Jacobs, who’s a member of seven Ranch clubs, including a widow’s group. She has gotten several members of that group to join the Bingo Club, including Del Signore.

Del Signore agrees the price of the game is worth every cent.

“It’s $2,” she says. “Where else can you go to have a good afternoon for $2?”

WHERE TO PLAY When: 1 to 4 p.m. first Wednesday of the month Where: Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, 8175 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Lakewood Ranch Cost: $2 Contact: Chuck Nathan, bellechuck@ tampabay.rr.com

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ARTS A BLAZE

8111 Lakewood Main Street #107 941-306-5840 • Mon-Sat 10-8 & Sun 12-5 Arts A Blaze Studio brings out the artist in the most artistically challenged!

Whether 1 or 100, we welcome you to come create in our warm and inviting atmosphere! An artist or a first timer with no artistic background, once you step through our door, you will feel your creative juices flowing!

WISH

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8111 Lakewood Main Street 941-907-9127 • Mon- Sat 10-6 & Sun 12-4 Wishing for the perfect Florida Fall Fashions? New Arrivals from Lisette L, Flax, Hanky Panky and Oh My Gauze are in! We also have an extensive line of MacKenzie-Childs, Alex & Ani, Pandora and much more! Explore the store to find home decor for your Florida home or share as the perfect gift!

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Pastries by Design’s new management invites you to enjoy our new flavors and sweet treats. Our custom bakery boutique specializes in unique, extraordinary and outright decadent desserts. Wedding cakes, sculpted cakes, specialty desserts and a full array of homemade bakery delicacies.

Vegan and Gluten Free available.

FISH HOLE

8111 Lakewood Main Street 941-306-5891 • thefishhole.com OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 10-10 A 3,000 gallon koi pond with fish of all sizes and colors sits at the center of The Fish Hole, where schools of golfers putt their way across the 18-hole course. At night, lights flicker to life, casting an enchanting island vibe across the entire course.

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Explore all your favorite resort and surf/skate brands in one place for men, women and teens from Tommy Bahama and Escapada, as well as Rip Curl, Volcom, and O’Neill. Featuring shoes from Sperry and Vans.

Sandals from Olukai and Rainbow!

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HAVEN

SPOTLIGHTING LIFE ON THE RANCH

With these great rooms, there’s no reason to go to the theater.

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FOR YOUR

viewing pleasure

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Whoever said TV rots your brain never watched a show in these Lakewood Ranch homes.

HEIDI KURPIELA | MANAGING EDITOR

T

elevisions are flatter, lighter, thinner and bigger — much, much bigger — than ever before. Long gone are rabbit ears and tube TVs, big heavy consoles and VCRs. Three decades ago the average TV was 3 feet deep and weighed more than 200 pounds. Now you can get a slim 1.2-inch flat panel that weighs less than 60 pounds and mount it on your wall.

“I’ve seen the whole evolution,” says Joe Carder, president of Integrity Sound, a Lakewood Ranch-based custom multimedia company.

“Everything is Internet based now.

We don’t just pick up a clicker as we did years ago.

“We use our iPhones and our tablets. The technology is faster, lighter and better.”

An industry veteran, Carder has installed multimedia home integration systems since 1989.

His company, which operates out of a showroom on Main Street in Lakewood Ranch, sells and installs everything from basic home entertainment

setups to extravagant, fully automated $150,000 systems, complete with lighting, security, networking and IT services.

He says many of today’s homeowners are looking for discreet high-performance TVs and stereos that can be easily concealed.

“The question I seem to get a lot is, ‘Can I hide this all in a closet?’” Carder says.

“Having said that, there are still those people who love to see a good speaker with the grill off — usually those are the guys.”

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The Smiths’ home theater features steps for more theater-like seating. The family watches movies together every Sunday night.

Jeff & Utahna Smith How far would you be willing to go to watch your favorite football teams face off? Jeff Smith built a $150,000 home theater in his Lakewood Ranch Country Club home so he could watch his Pittsburgh Steelers win big — 110 inches big.

Smith’s home theater has all the comforts of your local cinema, plus the comforts of home: his-and-her recliners, a couch for the kids and LED lights illuminating the steps and perimeter of the room.

The room is more than just a high-tech man cave.

It’s where Smith, president and CEO of R.E. Crawford Construction, his wife, Utahna, and their three boys gather for weekly movie nights.

Every Sunday night, the family retreats upstairs to the plush theater, where an HD projector splashes their favorite flicks on a massive screen. A nearby

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popcorn maker enhances the family’s theatrical experience.

“We rarely go to the movies anymore,” Smith says.

“Why would we? We’ve got everything we need here.”

Smith keeps his equipment tastefully hidden behind black Bahama shutters along the sides of his screen and uses one remote to control the entire operation. Much like a real theater at the, the lights automatically dim when the movie starts. Unlike a real theater, you don’t have to sit through 15 minutes of trailers to get to the main feature.

According to Smith, there’s only one drawback to running a personal cinema: replacing the projector light bulb after it burns out at 2,000 viewing hours.

“I’m on my kids about it constantly,” Smith says.

“Sometimes they’ll leave it running all night long. That little light bulb costs like $800.”

Refreshments are close at hand with the built-in bar.

The Costideses have two media rooms. One inside (above) and one outside (below).

Nick & Leslie Costides Nick Costides remembers when TV tubes used to burn out and you had to run down to the local convenience store to buy a new one.

“Technology has come lightyears since then,” says Costides, a retired manufacturing executive. “I was a teenager in the 1960s and that’s how it was in those days. TVs were not reliable and reception was always a problem, especially if you weren’t near a metropolitan area.”

Things have definitely changed, especially for Costides.

Two years ago, when he and

his wife, Leslie, a high school language arts teacher, moved into their home in Country Club East, they immediately installed two high-tech media rooms — one inside and one outside.

His spacious outdoor media room, home to an 80-inch TV with surround sound that’s visible from the hot tub , gets a lot of use during football season and on cool starry nights.

His 65-inch indoor TV has seven speakers and a subwoofer, giving Costides’ favorite sci-fi movies that extra oomph.

Costides, who uses his cell

phone to control the systems in both media rooms, shelled out about $35,000 for the upgrades.

“If I’m going to watch TV, I’m going to make sure I’m getting the best picture and the best audio I can get,” says Costides, who operates both systems using an app he download on his phone.

“My wife is not so concerned.

You could play the movie through the speaker that comes inside the TV and she’d be satisfied.”

Continued on Page 74

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Dr. Enrique & Christina Via-Reque Christina Via-Reque has always had a love affair with audiovisual equipment. Her husband, Dr. Enrique Via-Reque, has not.

While Via-Reque was rigging their Chicago home with the latest television and stereo equipment, her husband, an anesthesiologist, was trying to make sense of all the gadgets.

Even a universal remote couldn’t simplify things.

When the couple relocated with their three young daughters to Lakewood Ranch a year ago, Via-Reque decided to make their media room a top priority.

“I told my husband it was my birthday and Christmas gift for the next five years,” Via-Reque says of the stealth $15,000 system she had custom installed in the couple’s

new Bridgewater home.

Rather than make the TV the focal point of the room, Via-Reque opted to hide the appliance, along with all the speakers, cable box, DVD player and various receivers. With an eye for design and functionality, she mounted her flat screen to the wall under a motorized canvas print that rolls up into the frame with the touch of a button. The effect was so successful that most guests never guess it’s in the room.

“Everybody who walks through the door is impressed,” Via-Reque says. “If I’m sitting down on the couch having a drink with a friend, I’ll push the button and the TV will appear under this gorgeous picture. People are like, ‘What in the world?’”

Using an iPad, the Via-Reques can reveal the screen in their media room. The iPad saves the hassle of dealing with a heap of remote controls.

ANNVERSARY

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Gardening

Vegging out LORI WALKER CERTIFIED MASTER GARDENER

W

Growing vegetables in Florida takes good soil — and good timing.

elcome to hot, sunny Southwest Florida. In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s not exactly the vegetable garden of Eden.

While our friends in northern states are harvesting peppers, tomatoes and squash, we’re just getting started. Most herbs in Florida enjoy a year-round season, but vegetables are much more fickle. Planting at the proper time could make or break your crop.

But first, let’s start with the building blocks of a healthy garden: the soil. Whether you plant directly in the ground or in a raised bed, you should always amend your soil with organic material.

Bagged garden soil from the garden department is not enough. You want your soil to be dark, rich and earthy, not gray and grainy.

Compost is the best supplement. Think of it as your vegetable garden’s multivitamin. I keep a decorative glazed pot on my kitchen counter that I pour old coffee grounds in to use later in my garden.

When used in tandem with a fertilizer, coffee grounds can add a healthy dose of nitrogen to your compost, improve soil structure and help repel slugs and snails. This explains why Starbucks started giving away old coffee grounds to its customers so many years ago.

Continued on Page 78

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J.L. BAINBRIDGE &

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Our branches have replaced their fitness equipment with new state-of-the-art equipment. NEW cardiovascular equipment, cycling equipment, rowing machines, and more. Stop by and see what is NEW! We have 100+ Group Exercise Classes such as; Zumba, TRX, Yoga, Senior Bootcamp, Les Mills Classes and NEW SurfSet Fitness! Also enjoy Cycling, Water Aerobics, Swimming and more. Our Family members receive $5 Swim Lessons & $5 Sports Leagues, and baby sitting is FREE while parent works out!

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Continued from Page 76 So brew another pot of your favorite java.

Think of it as a pick-me-up for your tomatoes.

Now, onto more pungent matters: manure.

Veggie plants love a good mix of peat moss and manure. Mixing your soil with fully composed cow or horse manure will improve the drainage in clay soils and help reduce water loss in sandy soils. I prefer to use Black Kow manure, which you can purchase at most big-box retailers.

If you’re feeling really frugal and adventurous, plug your nose and ask a nearby horse rancher for a bucket of fully composted manure. After all, we live in Lakewood Ranch — land of bountiful developments and horse excrement!

Fertilizer is equally important. For in-ground and container planting, a slow release variety is best. It lasts three to five months depending on the brand, which means you’ll unknowingly fertilize your plants each time you water.

Container gardening is an excellent no-fuss alternative to ground and raised-bed planting.

Don’t skimp on the size of the pot. Tomatoes have large root systems and require at least a four- to five-gallon pot per plant. Go big or go home.

As for types of containers, I love a good Earth-

Box. The EarthBox Research Nursery is located in Ellenton, just off U.S. 301. The center is a mecca for hobby vegetable gardeners. I routinely purchase my starter plants from EarthBox. I find their plants to be robust in both health and fruiting. Their red bell peppers are worth the drive to Ellenton — trust me.

Developed by farmers, EarthBoxes use less water and less fertilizer by optimizing the root systems of your plants. If you’re using an EarthBox, avoid time-release fertilizers and follow its planting directions.

Lastly, make sure your vegetables get at least six to eight hours of sunlight each day. This is the easy part since we’re gardening in sunny Florida!

Save the date

WHEN TO START YOUR PLANTS Tomatoes: August to March Basil: October to May Peppers: August and September Chives: October to May Cantaloupe: March and April Oregano: Year-round Eggplant: August/September and February/March Rosemary: Year-round Cucumbers: August/September and February/March Sage: October to April Squash: August Tarragon: Year-round Thyme: October to March Parsley: Year-round Note: If you’re looking to grow veggies from seeds, sow them 6-8 weeks earlier than these starter plant guidelines.

Humane Society at Lakewood Ranch

3rd Annual

Putts fore Mutts for more information visit HSLWR.org or contact Debbie 941.713.8147 dlrubin2@verizon.net 78

LWR LIFE

177188

Monday October 26, 2015

Call to schedule your Complimentary Orientation

178260

By BETTY CUNIBERTI Against the advice of every friend who appeared to have more than a dozen brain cells, I took an early retirement buyout from my job as a columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a year or so ago. But what could I do with these golden years to justify throwing in the towel a decade early? I needed GOALS! The first that sprung to mind is the usual one - getting into a regular exercise routine so I might not drop dead before Social Security kicks in.

How about joining a fitness club? The experts advise us to go to the gym several times a week. But the thought of running thousands of miles on a treadmill to nowhere, lost in a vast, sweaty sea of flat-bellied 30-somethings fills me with inspiration to move quickly to the next goal. Besides, well-intentioned folks my age who think they can do the physically challenging stuff they did when they were 25 are injuring themselves in record numbers. And now we’re lining up for knee and hip replacements and surgery to repair the damage.

And let’s be clear: it’s not just that running or doing aerobics will rip an old fogey’s knees or back to shreds. It will also drive us stark raving bananas, and we’ll quit. One time I signed up for an exercise class and never went at all. Fitness centers that require memberships make big, big money off well-intentioned no-shows like me.

WHAT REALLY CHANGED MY LIFE. I read an article about a 63-year-old gentleman who, after nine months of a fitness program that involves only one 20-minute strengthtraining session a week, broke par for the first time.

In a flash, it all came together - my aging body that once turned heads and now turned stomachs, my passion for golf, my need to exercise regularly or die, my hatred of exercise classes, and well, exercise. But 20 minutes a week of something that even old folks with pain issues can do? So, I went to the 20 Minutes to Fitness studio in Clayton, Mo. There was not one treadmill or stationary bicycle. A Personal Trainer took a detailed health and fitness history and explained the studio’s use of a revolutionary fitness technique known as slow cadence, high intensity strength training.

Especially for people over 40, the key to fitness is replacing lost muscle without damaging fragile joints or ligaments. 20 Minutes to Fitness is a smart, safe way to do just that. A big reason is its highly specialized equipment.Originally developed for spine care and osteoporosis, the machines are calibrated to work specific muscle groups without putting stress on joints, bones and ligaments.

You get your own personal trainer and then there’s the time factor. If someone were to calculate and compare muscles per minute per dollar, 20 Minutes would blow everybody’s doors off. The brief workout takes muscles to failure, which triggers a signal to the body to build new muscle. This rebuilding requires four to six days of rest, similar to the time between starts of a baseball pitcher. During this time the body is using an astounding amount of energy (burning calories) to rebuild muscle. The more calories you burn, the faster you deplete your stored body fat. Blood pressure goes down and bone density is increased. The risk of diabetes is cut.

With my trainer at my side, directing and charting every workout, my body was literally transformed. My back pain went away and my strength seemed to increase overnight. I’m in the best shape of my life and feel like I’ve reversed the aging process. I never dreamed that at 55, I’d hit the ball this far or wear my golf skirts this short. AND, I went from a size 10 to a size 6!

Somewhere around here is a teeny, tiny word that says, “advertisement.” I am being compensated for these words. But there’s enough journalist in me that you couldn’t pay me enough to lie. I want to share my success because I think it can be a life-changing experience for many kinds of people - those too busy to exercise, or think they’re to old, or too out of shape, have too many medical problems, or just plain hate exercising.

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Tennis

What’s all the racket?

JASON GOLDEN DIRECTOR OF TENNIS, ESPLANADE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB

Y Tennis is the new Zumba.

But there’s more to this game than a good workout.

G

Continued on Page 82

dy

F

et Rea

ou don’t need Federer’s backswing to play tennis. Anyone with some rudimentary knowledge of the game and a modicum of physical prowess can burn calories on the court. There are 168 hours in a week and almost as many ways to fill your time. Why pick tennis?

Tennis is about more than just hitting a ball back and forth over a net. It’s a game of focus, discipline and endurance. It can improve your physical and emotional health. It can fine tune your coordination, heighten your tactical thinking and boost your self-esteem. It can nurture friendships and spark good old-fashioned rival-

ries. (Hey, a healthy competitive spirit does a body good!)

Add a tennis regime to your life and your cardiovascular system will thank you. I teach a cardio tennis course from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Wednesday at Esplanade Country Club. If you haven’t heard of it, you will soon. Cardio Tennis is sweeping the nation.

It’s a group fitness class that combines ballhitting and step drills. It’s like the Zumba of tennis. People love it!

Participants are burning 600 and 1,100 calories an hour. We don’t focus on the game as much as we do footwork. We blast high-energy music — anything with 130 beats per minute or more.

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LWR LIFE

Welcome Home!

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Continued from Page 80 The class is attracting everyone from teens to retirees, most of who rely on heart rate monitors to ensure they’re training in their zone. It’s a blast, and I’m seeing actual lifestyles (and bodies) change because of it.

Tennis lessons and clinics are offered to players of all ages and ability levels. Most people take lessons because they wish to build upon an existing foundation by improving technique, speed and agility.

However, it is possible to play from scratch with just a few short lessons. Private lessons offer individualized coaching and typically cost anywhere from $50 to $75 an hour. Clinics, which cater to groups of three or more people, offer learning opportunities for half the price.

For about $25 per person, students can take an hour-and-a-half tennis clinic and walk away with a swing in their step.

For newbies who just want some pointers so they can rally with a buddy after work, I suggest investing in three or four lessons spread out over a couple months so your coach can actually build on your momentum.

Tennis is also an excellent de-stressor. For

people who are looking for a physical outlet for anxiety, buy a racket and four balls. An hour of tennis a day provides a reprieve from the rigors of everyday life. Simply establishing a twiceweekly tennis ritual at your neighborhood park can help you bust out of a rut. Check out the beautiful public courts at Summerfield Park in Lakewood Ranch. They’re even lighted so you can play at dusk.

And, unlike most gym workouts, tennis engages your body and mind. The game is 90% mental.

It requires you to be social in a way running on a treadmill or lifting weights doesn’t. I’ve seen people foster lasting friendships on the court.

Rather than play 18 holes with your colleagues, why not hit a few balls over a net instead?

We tennis fanatics learn life lessons on the court. We learn how to overcome mistakes, compete against (and play well with) others. Those of us who coach players garner much of our insight through the development of our students, especially our beginners.

Whether I’m working with a 4-year-old boy or a 90-year-old woman, my approach remains the same. I make it a game first. If they like it, it’ll become a sport. If they don’t, maybe they’ll just sign up for a fun and trendy cardio tennis course.

IT LIFE’S TOO FIX THE $ SHORT. RIGHT FIRST TIME.

OFF

30

ANY SERVICE REPAIR Skip Stanton, John Miller and Chuck Jacobson | Owners

For over four decades, residents in Sarasota and Manatee Counties have trusted Aqua Plumbing & Air to meet a full range of services with 100% dedication to your satisfaction.

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License #: CAC1816020; CFC057648; EC13005269

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LWR LIFE

Valid on repairs over $250. Service repair include plumbing, air conditioning, electrical, or water treatment. Cannot be used for maintenance or combined with other offers. Please present coupon at time of service. Offer expires 12/31/2015

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83

MUSIC ON MAIN FRIDAY, AUG. 7, ON LAKEWOOD RANCH MAIN STREET

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Ryan Langley plays the accordion for attendees.

Tommy and Jaymie Klauber with Spyder Broussard

SPYDER BROUSSARD LOW COUNTRY, EAST COUNTY FISH FRY AND SHRIMP BOIL

Above: Friends Ken Gatschenberger and Sabine Fulks enjoy the spread of spicy food.

Left: Norman Stockton and Darrell Nixon

SATURDAY, JULY 11 AT POLO GRILL AND BAR

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LWR LIFE

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Each office is independently owned and operated

LWR LIFE

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LV9463

ED’S TAVERN

A Jersey Joint in Lakewood Ranch Ed’s Tavern is the perfect blend of local neighborhood sports bar and family friendly restaurant right in the heart of Main Street (next to the movie theater). The only lakefront dining in Lakewood Ranch! The menu has something for everyone! From southern favorites like pulled pork and fried pickles to our authentic New Jersey classics like open faced sandwiches and disco fries. Our newly remodeled full service bar now includes 20 ice cold draft selections plus over 20 flat screen TV’s. Daily Specials, Trivia every Wednesday & Thursday and Live Music every Friday & Saturday night.

Mon. - Thur.11am-12am Fri. -Sat. 11am-2am Sun. 11am-11pm 10719 Rodeo Dr., LWR • 941-907-0400 facebook.com/edstavernlwr

LV10757

Celebrating 20 years! Gourmet Pizzeria, Italian Bistro & Pub. We take enormous pride in providing “WOW” service and innovative premium gourmet pizzas, submarine sandwiches, pastas and salads. We also serve gourmet craft beer and excellent wines.

“Gourmet” is not a word we use lightly...it is in a single word our mission statement when talking about food. Looking for Gluten free?

We’ve got you covered. Voted Best Pizza and Best Restaurant on Channel 3 WWMT News in Michigan and Best Gourmet Pizza at the 2015 Postage Pizza Fest. We look forward to seeing you soon! Grazie!

8744 E. State Rd. 70 #301, Bradenton 941. 567. 6199 erbellis.com

HANA SUSHI LOUNGE

Combining art with traditional Asian cuisine and service to create a unique culinary experience in Lakewood Ranch is what we at Hana Sushi Lounge strive for each day. With a fusion of artful sushi, inspired kitchen items, and handcrafted cocktails, there is always something for everyone to enjoy. No matter the occasion, our friendly and knowledgeable staff look forward to making your visit special every time.

8126 Lakewood Main St., LWR 941. 907. 1290 facebook.com/HanaSushiLounge

LV10118

dining out

ERBELLI’S

Restaurant

LV8600

Nestled along the lazy Braden River, Linger Lodge Restaurant is quintessentially “Olde Florida” at its best. Established in 1945 as a fishing and hunting camp, the Lodge has evolved into a great place to dine, listen to live music and enjoy the great views. Two outside covered and screened decks provide picturesque water views. A full liquor bar and an inside air-conditioned Dining room complete the setting. Dishes range from the ever popular Catfish to the elegant Linger Ettoufee’. Also serving Florida Grouper sandwiches, Burgers, Rueben’s, Alligator Bites, Gator Chowder and our award winning Gumbo.

7205 85th St. Ct. E, Bradenton 941. 755. 2757 lingerlodgeresort.com

MacALLISTER’S

LV10810

Step into MacAllisters Grill and Tavern and meet the new owners Greg and Tina Bliss. With over 25 years experience, they are committed to fresh ingredients and quality service. Their new menu features local favorites: Fish n’ Chips and Shepherd’s Pie, plus new dishes sure to please everyone! From the bar, enjoy a large selection of Scotch and local craft brews on draft. Daily happy hour. MacAllisters is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week 11:30am-10pm Sunday-Thursday and 11:30am-11pm Friday & Saturday. We also offer patio dining. Kids welcome!

8110 Lakewood Main Street, LWR 941.359.2424 www.macallisters.com

dining out

LINGER LODGE RESTAURANT

Paris Bistrot

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From France to Florida … Paris Bistrot is an authentic French bistro like in Paris ! Over 27 years of experience they are serving crepes (sweet or savory), salads, sandwiches, quiches at breakfast-lunch time and dishes as Beef Bourguignon or Pork tenderloin in black pepper and Cognac sauce directly from Grandma’s recipes book for dinner. Don’t miss out the weekly specials and the delightful desserts what makes the dinner even more unique. For a romantic and intimate dinner or a nice gateway with friends, Pierre and Christopher will be glad to welcome you Mon-Fri 11:30 to 2pm (Sat-Sun 8:30 to 2pm) for Breakfast-lunch and everyday 5:30 to 9pm (Fri-Sat 5:30 to 9:30) for dinner.

8131 Lakewood Main St, #103, LWR 941.388.0564 bistrotfl.com

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PARIS BISTROT

PARTING GLANCE Lightning crashes over Main Street. Photo by James DeBlasio

Today!

BUY IT. LIVE IT. PLAY IT.

Conceptual Rendering of the Royal Lakes Clubhouse, coming soon to Country Club East at Lakewood Ranch.

SEE OUR TWO MOVE-IN READY HOMES IN LAKEWOOD RANCH! Bellagio at Country Club East 3 bedroom, 2 bath, den and pool; 2,251 sq. ft. $504,990 - Available Now!

Entrare at Country Club East 3 bedroom, 2 bath, den, 3-car garage; 2,451 sq. ft. $524,990 - Available Now!

VISIT OUR MODELS AT COUNTRY CLUB EAST TODAY!

Refined resort-style living in Lakewood Ranch begins with a distinctive Neal Signature home in Country Club East. Enjoy privacy amidst nature preserves, lakes and an 18- hole Rick Robbins - designed golf course. Plus, a location that puts you close to shopping, dining, cultural venues and barrier island beaches.

All New Palmavera Model in Collingtree at Country Club East 16615 Collingtree Crossing, Lakewood Ranch, FL From the high $400s

NealSignatureHomes.com | 941.225.2247 | CBC 1257901

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Bellevista Model in Highlands at Country Club East 16615 Collingtree Crossing, Lakewood Ranch, FL From the $400s

Budget-friendly prices start in the mid $300s!

THE GRAND CLOSEOUT

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IS HAPPENING NOW!

Get your piece of the park while you can! Visit us today! MORE HOME!

Close to schools, recreation, shopping and more Wide choice of home styles and floorplans True sense of a friendly community neighborhood

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Only a few homes & sites remain!

BUY YOURS BEFORE WE’RE SOLD OUT! CALL 844.305.9950 NOW FOR ADDITIONAL INCENTIVES!

NealCommunities.com Visit our Sales Center & Models - Open Daily 11803 Gramercy Park Avenue | Lakewood Ranch | FL 34211

Southwest Florida’s Most Experienced Home Builder For Over 40 Years Prices and availability subject to change without notice. CBC1256375

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lwrlifemagazine.com

LWRLIFE

Fall 2015

Lakewood Ranch, Florida