A Brightline train zips through Delray Beach at Atlantic Avenue. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

Pressure is mounting on the express passenger railroad Brightline to improve its safety efforts.
The rail service started Jan. 12 with free rides between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale for politicians and other civic leaders.
Later that day, a northbound train hit a woman crossing the tracks in Boynton Beach. She died, but her male companion made it safely across.
On Jan. 17, a bicyclist was fatally struck as he rode around the down gates at Ocean Avenue in Boynton Beach.
Two days later, after Brightline’s president held a news conference about new safety initiatives and public education programs, a woman was struck in Fort Lauderdale by a Brightline train. She was attempting to cross the tracks when the gates were down. She is expected to survive.
“It’s amateur hour,” Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein said about Brightline’s response to the fatalities. “Their solution to the fatalities is to have electronic signs that say ‘more and faster trains’ and ‘stay off train tracks.’ ”
Glickstein made those comments in late January at a roundtable of mayors assembled by U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel. She planned to ask Federal Railroad Administration officials to meet with the group in early February and answer technical questions about how the crossing arms work, how that information is sent to the train conductor and similar queries.
Then, the mayors could broadcast messages to their residents.
Boynton Beach Mayor Steven Grant proposed having quiet zones during the nighttime hours only and allowing the trains to blow their horns during daylight hours.
The quiet zones will be installed by the end of March, according to Brightline’s spokeswoman. The zones include dual gates on the travel lanes and a concrete median between the travel lanes.
The day before Frankel’s roundtable, Delray Beach had a City Commission meeting.
“The next commission,” Glickstein told his fellow commissioners, “will have to decide whether they want the quiet zones or public safety.” His term ends in March.
After the two fatalities, the train line hired safety ambassadors to patrol high-traffic intersections along the FEC line, according to its spokeswoman.
In addition, Florida’s two U.S. senators have asked the federal Department of Transportation to investigate the fatalities and report back.
Last year, when Brightline was testing the train system, two pedestrian trespassers were killed. One was deemed a suicide.
Delray Beach resident Patrick Halliday, who pushed for the pedestrian barrier between Atlantic Avenue and Northeast First Street, called for Brightline to install Euro-style crossing gates at each intersection. The crossing arms meet in the middle and have fencing underneath.
Halliday is vice chairman of Human Powered Delray, a nonprofit group that promotes pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
The city just paid about $30,644 to build a fence along both sides of the FEC tracks to prevent people from taking a well-used shortcut between Atlantic and Northeast First. In August 2016, a woman taking the shortcut was killed by a southbound FEC freight train.
Formerly called All Aboard Florida, Brightline trains travel nearly twice as fast as freight trains, at speeds up to 79 mph in southern Palm Beach County. Brightline plans three stops in South Florida: West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
At present, Brightline is running 11 trains weekdays between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, with introductory fares as low as $10 one way. Ten trains operate on weekends. Its goBrightline.com website says: “Miami will open soon.”
Brightline’s plans include building tracks between West Palm Beach and Cocoa, where the train speed will reach 110 mph. The final leg, on new track between Cocoa and Orlando, will allow trains to travel up to 125 mph.
Brightline is not saying when that service might start or what it will cost.
In the state Legislature now in session, two lawmakers have submitted bills to require train lines that operate at speeds over 80 mph to pay to install fencing along both sides of the track, install crossing arms and pay to maintain what was installed.
Brightline officials oppose more regulations as unnecessary, the spokeswoman said. “Brightline has been running PSAs [public service announcements] on local radio and broadcast stations since early last year reminding the public that when you see tracks, think train! And to stay off train tracks,” she said.
The train, which does not stop in Delray Beach, disrupts downtown commerce, Glickstein said.
“The crossing arms go down for one train and then stay down when a train travels into the downtown from the opposite direction,” he said.
“Brightline officials are very reactive. They only do something when they are shamed into acting.”

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach appears to be shedding its image as a city full of rogue sober homes.
The city had “an explosion of flophouses” a few years ago, Chief Assistant State Attorney Al Johnson said at his office’s Sober Homes Task Force meeting in January.
Marc Woods, a code enforcement officer who inspects sober homes in Delray Beach, echoed his statement.
“While the stats on sober homes are hard to come by because of federal disability laws,” Woods said, “the telling stat in Delray Beach is the number of overdoses.”
The city hit a peak in October 2016 with 96 overdoses and 11 deaths, he said. By October 2017, the numbers dropped to 25 overdoses and three fatalities. A similar decline occurred between November 2016 with 77 overdoses and five deaths and a year later when 17 overdoses and four fatalities were recorded.
Woods said the first reason for the decrease was the 20 or so arrests on patient brokering charges that a Delray Beach detective helped make. “That led to 100-plus sober homes closing their doors,” Woods said.
Another factor was the Police Department’s hiring of a social worker, he said. Ariana Ciancio visits overdose patients and gives them options, including scholarships to treatment centers and sober homes.
She helps to rid the city of the people who are taxing the public safety system with four and five overdoses in the same day, Woods said.
“The overdose numbers are encouraging,” he said. “But a bad batch of heroin could cause the numbers to increase.”
Johnson estimated that about 10 percent of the overdose reduction is from recovery residences having and being able to administer a drug, Narcan, to revive an overdose patient. Also last summer, Delray Beach passed a group homes ordinance requiring landlords to register with the city when more than three unrelated people live together.
The city now requires each sober home to have a Florida Association of Recovery Residences certification. The rule also details the 600-foot space requirements for new group homes to prevent a block from becoming overwhelmed.

By Steve Plunkett

Outside lawyers for the town are representing Robert Ganger in a public records lawsuit seeking private emails and text messages he sent and received while he was vice mayor.
Resident Martin O’Boyle and his StopDirtyGovernment LLC want Gulf Stream to turn over all communications and public records Ganger had from Nov. 1, 2012, through Feb. 7, 2014.
Trey Nazzaro, the town’s staff attorney, told commissioners Jan. 12 that O’Boyle’s lawyers had subpoenaed Ganger for a deposition. Commissioners quickly approved the expense.
“Bob Ganger has devoted himself to this town selflessly for decades,” Mayor Scott Morgan said.
Ganger suffered a stroke in April 2016; he resigned from the commission three months later.
“Since that stroke he has in my opinion been harassed, and I don’t use that word loosely, he has been harassed by Mr. O’Boyle,” Morgan said.
In October 2016, Ganger asked the town to pay part of the legal bills he faced fighting a deposition O’Boyle scheduled shortly after his stroke. He later withdrew the request for fear that it would open him to more public records requests.
In July, Ganger sat through a nearly two-hour deposition in a slander lawsuit O’Boyle filed against another of the town’s attorneys. O’Boyle dropped the slander claim in November.
O’Boyle disputed Morgan’s characterization of the litigation as harassment.
“The town did not produce the emails and we filed suit. Although years have passed, we are still coming across documents that haven’t been produced. In my mind, they were (and still are) playing ‘hide the ball,’ ” O’Boyle said in an email.
Meanwhile, the public records war between the town and O’Boyle raged on; a proposed settlement was withdrawn from the Jan. 12 agenda. O’Boyle had sent two emails to Town Clerk Rita Taylor saying the settlement offer, which he signed in November, was now “invalid” and “not … on the table.”
The proposal would have dismissed nine of 11 court cases between him and Gulf Stream. A lawsuit over police radio transmissions that an appellate court recently upheld in O’Boyle’s favor was excluded, as was the lawsuit seeking Ganger’s emails.
Morgan, who has negotiated with O’Boyle for months, said the proposal left out certain litigation by the nonprofit Citizens Awareness Foundation Inc. and would have limited legal challenges the town could make.
“I was not inclined to approve it anyway,” he said.
The Florida Division of Corporations dissolved CAFI in September after it failed to file an annual report; until then top O’Boyle aide Brenda Russell handled its paperwork using the same address as O’Boyle’s Commerce Group Inc.
In related actions, the 4th District Court of Appeal changed its Nov. 2 opinion awarding appellate attorney’s fees to O’Boyle in the police records case. His attorneys can claim only the fees authorized by the state’s Public Records Act and not extra fees as a sanction against the town, the court said.
O’Boyle’s lawyers have filed documents with the Circuit Court seeking more than $575,000. The town argues they should get perhaps $20,000 because most of their work was done after Gulf Stream gave O’Boyle the records. A hearing to determine the amount due has not been scheduled.
Also, O’Boyle’s attorneys appealed a County Court decision that found the town did not violate the Public Records Act by providing O’Boyle a redacted copy of a bill from one of its attorneys.
Starting in August 2013, O’Boyle and Place Au Soleil resident Chris O’Hare flooded Gulf Stream with requests for public records. In the following six months, the town received more than 700 requests, court documents show.
In July 2013, before the current war began, Gulf Stream paid O’Boyle $180,000 to settle 16 lawsuits and about 400 requests for public records he filed after he was denied variances for work at his home on Hidden Harbour Drive.
The town and O’Hare agreed in June to dismiss 36 lawsuits and appeals between them and withdraw all pending requests for records. Neither side paid the other’s legal bills.

Stephen Schilling of Briny Breezes is a concert pianist who earned a degree in chemistry at age 30. ‘I realized, OK, I know a lot about music, but nothing about math or science,’ he says. Schilling says he’s ‘very proud of creating my own music.’ Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Brian Biggane

One doesn’t simply grow up to be a composer and concert pianist; it’s typically a long and arduous road. For Stephen Schilling, the road has taken more turns that most.
Schilling, 63, who also teaches piano and whose next concert performance will be Feb. 24 at the Crest Theatre in Delray Beach, was strongly affected by a childhood mostly spent at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
“When you were on post there was always a sense of being in a different place,” said Schilling, the son of a career military man. “Armed guards at the gates, MPs on patrol. My parents didn’t have to worry about any kind of crime.”
Schilling’s father, Col. Charles H. Schilling, had served in World War II, taking part in D-Day and liberating people in the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau. Growing up on the base resulted in some life lessons much earlier than for most boys his age.
“When I was 6 or 7, I was at the swimming hole with my mother and this guy gets up and takes his leg off,” said Schilling, a Briny Breezes resident. “I’m a kid so I’m freaking out. The guy comes over and explains how he lost his leg in Korea and now he’s got a prosthetic. That struck me at an early age about the sacrifices that are made.”
There were perks. Schilling got to meet Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy when they visited and became friends with Gen. William Westmoreland’s son Rip. Another pal was Brian Haig, the son of then-Col. Alexander Haig.
The legendary Bob Knight was the Army basketball coach at the time, and as a teenager Schilling attended a camp Knight ran at the nearby Pocono Mountain Camp. Knight recognized him and instructed him to do as many pushups as he could.
“I did them until I couldn’t anymore,” Schilling said. “Then he said, ‘Stand up, count to five, and give me 20 more.’ And I did them. His point was you can push beyond what you think you can do.”
Schilling took up piano in the fourth grade with a neighbor, Dorothy Davis, and soon afterward began studying music theory with her husband, Dr. John A. Davis. Recognizing his potential, the couple pointed him to the most prominent teacher in the area, Robert Guralnik.
Soon Schilling was supporting himself by playing in a rock band touring military bases far from home.
“We went to Iceland, Newfoundland, Spain, Puerto Rico, bases all over,” he said. “We were also a house band at Greenwood Lake. We were playing Chick Corea, Yes, Jethro Tull, Steely Dan — what I considered to be more musically intelligent progressive rock. We took turns working out arrangements.”
While Schilling was also working at the time on a crew at local entertainment venues, his thirst for knowledge took him in a completely different direction at that point.
“I realized, OK, I know a lot about music, but nothing about math or science. So to round myself out I started going to the community college at Poughkeepsie.” After studying there and at nearby Rockland Community College, he moved on to the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he earned a bachelor of science in chemistry at age 30 and spent the next 15 years doing analytical research.
His father died in 1996 and three years later his mother was in ill health, so he moved to Clarksville, Tenn., to care for her.
“I got involved with Sgt. Bill Ryan and his judo club, and a lot of guys who came through were special forces and 101st Airborne guys,” he said. “I got a really good martial arts education, and stayed there until my mother passed in 2003.”
His next move was to Palm Beach County, where he’s been ever since. He spent a short time working with a pharmaceutical business in Davie, but hated commuting on Interstate 95, so he returned to his musical roots, playing in clubs and restaurants and living “between Atlantic Avenue and Boynton Inlet ever since.”

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How has that has influenced you?
A: The post school at West Point through eighth grade; then the Defense Department school in Germany; Mount Hermon, a private school in Massachusetts; and Highland Falls, a public school near West Point. I played saxophone in the band and studied music theory, music history and music appreciation. Later on, getting the chemistry degree interested me in the sense that two plus two equals four and there’s no arguing that point.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: My first job was at the football stadium at West Point, where I learned how to get a job. The vendors would come out, and if you presented yourself right they would pick you. Then if you did well they would pick you the next week. I worked at the PX, played in bands, worked at gas stations, and then the years in the research lab and all the years composing and playing music.
I’m very proud of creating my own music.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in Briny Breezes?
A: I’ve lived in the area for 12 years or so, and Briny came up partially because it’s one of the places I hadn’t lived yet. I like to stay on this side of the Intracoastal. I thought Briny was cool and started renting a place.

Q: What is your favorite part about living in Briny Breezes?
A: I know everybody. I know Gemma and Vin at the gas station and used to help them out from time to time. The guys at Nomad Surf Shop, I know them and can get my clothes there because they have everything. Publix is right across the bridge. I don’t like to have to do a lot of running around. But also I have a pool on one side and the ocean on the other.
And you can’t beat the Briny Bells, the bells always going off on the carillon. They mark the hour but also have the bit on Sundays before church and during season about 6 p.m. they do about a 20-minute concert.

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: Albert Einstein’s Relativity: The Special and the General Theory. Also one by Bertrand Russell called ABC of Relativity. 

Q: What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
A: I don’t really listen to anybody anymore. If I’m going to create original music I don’t need anybody else’s stuff floating around in my brain.

Q: Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you?
A: “You have a deep and abiding respect for what must be done, and you are honest and relentless in doing so.” I don’t know who said it, but that’s pretty much everybody’s problem.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: My mother and my father. Mr. Guralnik. Dr. and Mrs. Davis. And even West Point itself.

Q: If your life story were made into a movie, whom would you want to play you?
A: Bugs Bunny — or at least somebody with that irreverent “poke the blowhard in his hot-air balloon” attitude. I don’t mean irreverent as in disrespectful. There’s a line in the Cadet Prayer that reads, “Guard us against flippancy in the sacred things of life,” meaning there are some things you just don’t make fun of people about. Bugs had respect, but not for the big blowhards of the world.
Q: Who and what makes you laugh?
A: Jackie Gleason, Rodney Dangerfield, Don Rickles. Seinfeld is all right. I like irony, and sarcasm as long as it’s not too sharp.

Stephen Schilling will present a 90-minute performance of original piano compositions at the Crest Theatre in Delray Beach at 8 p.m. Feb. 24. Tickets are $30; go to oldschoolsquare.org.

The wider, curving promenade in Delray Beach allows more room for bicyclists and pedestrians to share space. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

A small crowd gathered on a windy day in late January to celebrate the end of beach promenade work.
“I never thought it would happen,” said Bob Victorin, Beach Property Owners Association president. He likes the swirling sidewalks, which are wider and have a “natural look that fits the beachfront.”
The association started to talk about the project about 10 years ago, said Andy Katz, a trustee.
Rob Barron, the city’s dune management consultant, said, “I like that it’s done.” The tricolored sidewalk, he said, “flows with the existing dune.”
The street-side wave is tan concrete; the middle wave has a chocolate brown color. In some places, a third wave near the beach and under the shower fixtures has shells embedded in tan concrete to prevent slipping.
The $3.1 million promenade project includes sidewalks up to 12 feet wide. The promenade features coordinating beach amenities, including shower poles, benches and both surfboard and bike racks. The coordinating water fountains have refillable water spouts and there are dog-waste stations and trash/recycling containers. Shade trees and coconut palms were planted near the dunes.
Mobi-Mats, purchased by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, were rolled out on the east side of the Atlantic Avenue pavilion. The mats sit on top of the sand, allowing wheelchair users to roll themselves down to the ocean.
EDSA Inc. of Fort Lauderdale did the design work and supervised the contractor, MBR Construction of Fort Lauderdale. EDSA supplied doughnut holes and cookies, while MBR provided coffee and drinks during the morning opening.
Mayor Cary Glickstein thanked his fellow commissioners, the city manager and Public Works staff for overseeing the project and city residents who participated in the charrettes to help design the promenade.
“It was a labor of love,” he said, particularly for the BPOA members who were patient and persistent. They also helped to raise money for the two gazebos, he said.
The group partnered with the city’s Green Implementation Advancement Board to give away refillable water bottles at the event.
Glickstein said the city’s goal was to keep the renovation understated.
“When residents returned for the winter, they would look at the promenade, notice a change but not be able to say what it was,” he said. “This is about preserving our crown jewel.”
The city already has EDSA designing the second phase, which includes lighting along A1A and better intersections at Atlantic Avenue and Casuarina Road. “At the beach, you are never done,” Glickstein said.

Sand builds up on both sides of the north jetty of the Boynton Inlet after the sand pumping station was temporarily shut down. Seawater usually reaches the wall of the building and boulders are visible under the sign. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

No one would have blamed Ocean Ridge residents for thinking something subversive was going on when the sand transfer plant at Boynton Beach Inlet stopped pumping in January.
No one would have blamed them for suspecting that an ongoing dispute between Manalapan and Palm Beach County had something to do with interrupting the flow of sand south to Ocean Ridge’s beaches.
For months, Manalapan officials have voiced their opposition to a county plan to install groins in South Palm Beach. Manalapan fears the groins would steal its sand and damage its beaches.
The town has become so committed to fighting the groins idea that Mayor Keith Waters has hinted Manalapan might not cooperate with the county’s use of the transfer plant to move sand south around the jetty.
Waters’ reasoning is that if the county’s groins take sand meant for Manalapan, then the town can’t afford to give up the sand it has to feed its neighbors’ beaches.
It turned out that the county shut down the plant in January to do some repairs and maintenance, and it was back online in relatively short order. No one blames Ocean Ridge for worrying, however.
In September, a 21-year-old contract — requiring the state, the county, Manalapan and Ocean Ridge to cooperate with the plant’s operation — expired. Manalapan has suggested it might not be willing to sign a new contract, using it as a bargaining chip to persuade the county to scrap its groin plan.
Manalapan Town Manager Linda Stumpf said there have been no talks with the county about renewing the contract, which ended years of legal bickering among the parties. Ocean Ridge Town Attorney Brian Shutt says that, though the contract has lapsed, the agreement’s essence remains.
“I do not see any change in the way the sand station will be operated,” Shutt said, “as there was language in the agreement that provided that upon expiration the county would still continue to operate the station in the same manner.”
Still, Ocean Ridge is taking the plant issue seriously. Town Manager Jamie Titcomb says he expects the Town Commission to choose one of its members at the Feb. 12 meeting to be the “point person” for monitoring the groin project and its potential impact on the transfer plant.

Ocean Ridge candidate forum
Feb. 21: Three candidates for two seats on the Town Commission will take part ­— incumbent Gail Aaskov and political newcomers Kristine de Haseth and Phil Besler.
Where: Town Hall
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Sponsor: League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County

OCEAN RIDGE — John Francis Cox, 90, died Jan. 1 at the Veterans Affairs hospice unit, West Palm Beach.
Born June 2, 1927, in Denver, he was the son of the late Earle E. Cox and Louise A. (Lallement) Cox. Mr. Cox attended his early school years in Wakefield, N.H., finished high school in Chicago, then served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
After college at Wayne State University, he joined Business Interiors in Chicago as a designer. He also invested in emerging properties in Chicago.
He moved to Florida in 1976. Mr. Cox was a lover of good times, and his personality made others laugh with him.
He loved to travel throughout Europe and Asia and take local and trans-Atlantic cruises.
He is survived by his longtime friend and partner, Paul Johnson, his sister, Mary McMahon, nephews Jim McMahon, William Cox and wife Sue, niece Jennifer LaFrance and husband David, nieces Sara and Barbara Cox, and many great-nieces and great-nephews.
Mr. Cox was preceded in death by his brothers Gilbert and Russell Cox.
At his request, no formal service was scheduled. Although he loved his plants and flowers, he requested donations be made to local animal shelters and rescue centers of your choice.
— Obituary submitted by the family

By Jane Smith

The Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency’s effort to convert old homes into restaurants has hit some more snags.
For the historic Magnuson House at 211 E. Ocean Ave., the CRA will let the owner proceed at his own pace after a motion to take the property back failed at the agency’s January meeting.
“We’ve been more than generous as to the time,” said Joe Casello, a board member and Boynton Beach city commissioner. He along with Mayor Steven Grant voted to begin the process to take the property back.
The three other members — Justin Katz, Mack McCray and Christine Romelus — voted not to proceed.
“I’m worried that we would have to incur substantial, unknown costs,” Katz said.
The two-story home was sold to a Philadelphia-based developer in October 2015. Since then, the owner has submitted architectural drawings and revisions, but Boynton Beach staff is still waiting for more answers. The last round was submitted in May.
In December, the agency’s attorney sent the owner a letter to speed up the process, said Michael Simon, executive director.
“But nothing was submitted as of today,” Simon told the board members Jan. 18.
Neither the owner, Steve Labov of Shovel Ready Projects in Philadelphia, nor the architect, Jim Williams of AW Architects in Boca Raton, could be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, the eatery going into what was known as the Little House has a June opening date, said Lisa Mercado, the operator of what will be called Fork Play. It will serve light bites and craft beers and wine at 480 E. Ocean Ave.
The opening will coincide with the completion of the nearby apartment project 500 Ocean.
In December, the project’s owners asked for a six-month extension from the agency. They could not meet a Dec. 31 completion date.
Board members grudgingly agreed because the project was supposed to be finished in time to get on the 2018 tax rolls and give the agency some income to do more projects. The county property appraiser assesses all existing properties as of Jan. 1.
Fork Play’s owners also received a fourth extension in December. Its owners enclosed the porch with impact windows, installed a new metal roof and paid for other upgrades.

By Dan Moffett

Briny Breezes council members took the advice of new Town Manager Dale Sugerman on Jan. 25 and voted to bring in a special magistrate to resolve disputes with homeowners who refuse to comply with building codes.
The vote was 4-1, with Alderwoman Christina Adams dissenting. Adams favored creating a code enforcement board made up of residents to decide the violation cases.
Sugerman, the first town manager in Briny’s history, argued to the council that, while either a magistrate or citizens board would work, the magistrate was the better choice.
“Both processes would result in nearly identical expense to the town,” Sugerman said.
With the magistrate process, the town would have to pay an hourly rate to a retired judge or specially trained lawyer to hear the cases. With the citizens board, the town would have to pay a lawyer an hourly rate to represent the board members.
Sugerman said the magistrate approach is preferable because of the difficulty in finding residents to fill the board. The volunteers would need to have some experience with codes or building, they would have to be in town year-round to hear cases in the summer, and they would have to be free of conflicts of interest or bias against neighbors who might come before them.
In a close-knit, close-quartered community like Briny, those criteria would be hard to meet.
The special magistrate will be brought in only as needed, and that won’t be often. Council President Sue Thaler said “99 percent of building violations are resolved” quickly with minimal disputes.
Sugerman said he expects magistrates to charge between $175 and $275 an hour and told the council he would have more information for the February meeting.
In other business:
• Many Briny residents have wondered in recent months what duties a part-time town manager would perform. Sugerman, who has worked as a municipal manager for 40 years with recent stops in Delray Beach and Highland Beach, gave the council and residents a rundown of his first month on the job.
During the first three weeks of January, Sugerman said, he reported to Palm Beach County on the town’s plans for using penny sales tax revenues, met with a FEMA representative to seek reimbursements from Hurricane Irma, attended a League of Cities meeting, surveyed residents on code and rules enforcement, screened candidates for the deputy clerk position after Jackie Ermola announced she was resigning Feb. 16, worked on resolving golf cart-crossing issues with the state, researched obtaining drawings of the town’s utility system, scheduled a meeting with the Boynton Beach police chief to discuss safety issues, and provided guidance to the council on hiring a special magistrate.
• Briny plans to mark its 60th anniversary as a community with food, drink and celebration on March 24, general manager Theresa Pussinen says. Corporate officials will release times of events — including a possible golf cart parade — and more details next month.
In 1958, Michigan native Ward Miller sold the land that became Briny to a group of trailer campers, and a community was born. Five years later, Briny was incorporated as a town.

Residences at Water Tower Commons will feature Colonial Caribbean architecture. Rendering provided

By Mary Thurwachter

Construction is expected to begin this month on residential development at Water Tower Commons, a 73-acre retail and residential project east of Interstate 95 on Lantana Road. 
The first phase will include 360 apartments in 14 multifamily buildings, a clubhouse with a resort pool, recreation areas and other amenities such as carports and garages. A 6-foot wall will surround the residential development.
Ken Tuma, on behalf of the master developer Lantana Development, received approval during the Jan. 22 Lantana Town Council meeting to reduce the number of parking spaces per unit from 2.5 to 2.15, and to add three monument signs. A landscape plan was also approved.
Water Tower Commons, being built on the site of the former A.G. Holley tuberculosis hospital, is the biggest development in Lantana’s 96-year history. It is expected to bring shops, restaurants, offices and up to 1,100 residential units to the town of more than 10,000 residents. 
The property is being developed by Lantana Development, a partnership between Southeast Legacy and Wexford Capital. But Tuma said the residential portion of the project, on 16 acres, will be handled by the Related Group, a leading private developer with 40 years of building and managing high quality communities throughout the world. About 10 years ago, the Related Group built the Moorings, Caribbean-style condos about a mile away along the Intracoastal Waterway.
Construction on the retail portion of Water Tower Commons is about a year behind schedule, in part because of the challenging retail environment, Tuma said.
While council members generally praised the residential design, they weren’t as thrilled about the Colonial Caribbean architecture.
“I do have to admit it looks good,” said Mayor Dave Stewart. “But it doesn’t look like we always thought it would. We wanted more of the seaside village look.”
His colleagues expressed similar concerns.
“I like everything I’ve seen but I’m a little concerned about Colonial Caribbean,” said Vice Mayor Lynn Moorhouse. “We’re a little Key Westy.”
Council member Phil Aridas said adding garages and carports was an upgrade, but also questioned the Colonial Caribbean architecture. “We sell ourselves as a seaside village and we don’t want to lose that,” he said.
Tuma said the architects thought the Key West, fishing village theme was conveyed through color and awnings.
“Colors are what will tie it all together,” he said. Architects said they wanted to bring more elegance to the seaside village look with dancing parapets, very light colored roof and white window frames.
Council members were also concerned that there won’t be elevators in the apartment buildings, even those that have three stories.
“How can you be ADA compliant with three-story buildings and no elevators?” Stewart asked, referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“This does meet ADA standards,” Tuma said. “One hundred twenty units are on the first floor.”
Chamber of Commerce President Dave Arm urged the town to accept the plans.
“This is a project that has to be done,” Arm said, “This is the future of Lantana. If you don’t approve this tonight, this might not be developed by the current ownership.”
Plans were approved by a 4-1 vote, with Stewart the lone dissenter.
“It’s good, but not what I had the vision for,” Stewart said. “I don’t have a good feeling.”
In other news, the Town Council learned it would not have a municipal election on March 13 because Stewart, the only council member whose term is expiring, is the only candidate for the Group 5 position.

By Jane Smith

Boynton Beach residents will soon be asked whether they want to allow dogs on the beach in Oceanfront Park.
At its January meeting, the city’s recreation and parks advisory board approved sample questions to be posted on the city’s website. “Staff drafted a sample survey and the board agreed to the questions,” said Wally Majors, recreation and parks director.
Next, he will meet with Eleanor Krusell, the city’s communications and marketing director, to review the intro and questions, hoping the survey will be posted on the Boynton Beach website in early February.
“The survey will ask residents whether they want to allow dogs on the beach at Oceanfront Park on select days and hours,” Majors said.
Then, residents will be asked under what conditions, such as leashed or off-leash, he said. They will also be asked if they would bring their dogs to the beach and if they willing to pay a fee. A permit fee, to be determined, would cover the cost of checking to make sure dogs are current on vaccinations and other costs involved with having a dog beach, including having a park ranger to manage it.
At the December City Commission meeting, Mayor Steven Grant asked the board to poll residents about allowing dogs on the beach at Oceanfront Park. Commissioner Joe Casello had proposed the idea in August.
The park, while owned by Boynton Beach, sits within the town of Ocean Ridge. That arrangement led to an October meeting between Boynton Beach city management and its Ocean Ridge counterparts.
The message from Ocean Ridge was clear: Its laws do not allow animals on the public beach. Private beach owners, though, could allow dogs.
Boynton Beach staff delivered that message in December. Casello wanted to proceed with creating a dog beach at the Oceanfront Park.
City residents also will be invited to speak about the dog beach issue at the advisory board’s 6:30 p.m. meeting on Feb. 26 in the Boynton Beach City Commission chambers.
At the board’s March meeting, members will discuss the survey results and the comments made at the February meeting, Majors said. Then, they will make a recommendation about allowing dogs on the beach in Oceanfront Park and present their findings to the City Commission in April. 

ABOVE:Visitors to Mounts Botanical Garden gather around a sculpture of ‘Pris­cilla­ the Parrot Fish,’ composed of marine debris collected from Pacific beaches. BELOW RIGHT: Detail of ‘Sebastian James the Puffin,’ created from rubber pieces and other marine debris. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Lucy Lazarony

Since “Washed Ashore” arrived at Mounts Botanical Garden in early December, the crowds have been rolling in, too.
“We’ve seen a 50 percent to 65 percent increase in daily attendance,” says Rochelle Wolberg, the garden curator. “Visitors love the exhibit; they’ve never seen anything like it before. They love the fact the sculptures can relate to all ages but that the message is thought-provoking and deep with regard to environmental stewardship and taking care of the earth.”
The 10 sculptured sea creatures of “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea” are 12 to 16 feet in length and up to 15 feet in height. The shapes include a puffin, a marlin, a seal, humpback whale tails, a parrotfish, a jellyfish and a sea anemone with blades that rattle when you shake them.
Each one is made of pieces of plastic and other debris collected from the beach.
“We try to make them big because it’s a very big problem — plastic pollution in the ocean,” explains “Washed Ashore” artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi. “From a distance, they’re beautiful. Up close, they are horrifying. You realize this is all garbage, pollution, on the beach.”
Young viewers are quick to understand the message of “Washed Ashore.”
“Kids get it right away how wrong it is,” Pozzi says. “It’s an education exhibit is really what it is.”
“Flash the Marlin” looks like a marlin; but when you look close, he is made of sunglasses, toothbrushes, water bottles, fishing lures, fishing poles and a toilet seat.
“Priscilla the Parrot Fish” is colorful and cheerful; but closer inspection shows she is made of bottle caps, buoys, lighters, beer cans and a bowling pin.
“Lidia the Seal” looks cheery, too; but she is made up of lots of plastic lids, flip-flops, beach toys, flashlights and a soccer ball.
“It does help to reach the children,” Pozzi says. “I really encourage people to take their families.”
The exhibit’s educational and environmental message is getting around. “Washed Ashore” exhibits have been held at the United Nations and the Smithsonian Institution.
“We’ve made about 70 works of art out of 21 tons of garbage in the last seven years,” says Pozzi, who designed all the sculptures and made the heads and tails and fins and feet in Bandon, Oregon.

The teeth of ‘Priscilla the Parrot Fish’ are floats from a drift net.

The debris was collected from Pacific beaches and was washed and sorted by color, shape and type.
“It’s a very, very labor intensive process,” Pozzi says. Thousands of volunteers help through community workshops, building small parts of the project and, of course, collecting trash — much of it plastic.
Wolberg says “Washed Ashore” was a natural fit because “Mounts is really invested in the theme of water and environmental stewardship.”
She described the “Washed Ashore” sculptures as “whimsical, colorful” and “with a very strong message.”

ABOVE: Humpback whale tails appear to dive into the depths at Mounts Botanical Garden. The tails have tire pieces, flip-flop soles and other dark debris. BELOW: Children play tunes on the ‘Musical Seaweed’ at Mounts.

“Washed Ashore” opened Dec. 2 and will run through early June at Mounts Botanical Garden.
“It’s our longest exhibit,” Wolberg says. “It’s been fun for us. It’s made us think outside the garden.”
Wolberg heard about “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea” from Sandy Smith, who lives on Singer Island and is board chair of Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden. Smith came across “Washed Ashore” when doing research and reached out to Wolberg.
“I’m a sailor. I’m on the water a lot, so this really spoke to me — this exhibit,” Smith says. “If this exhibit can awaken people to the pollution problem we have, I’ll be extremely happy. I love the anemone reef; it is what I see when I dive.”
Pozzi hopes viewing the exhibit will prompt people to recycle more and use less plastic.
“Any action someone takes is a good thing,” Pozzi says. “It’s a wake-up call.”

If You Go
Address: 531 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; closed on holidays
Admission: free for members, $15 for non-members, $5 for children 5-12, and free for children 4 and younger Info: 233-1757 or www.mounts.org.

LEFT: The ‘Water Bottle Jellyfish.’

ABOVE: Professional speaker Myra Goldick uses a motorized chair to counter the effects of post-polio syndrome, for which she had surgery. Her lecture series focuses on living life to the fullest at any age regardless of adversity. BELOW: A Carlisle resident asks fellow resident Goldick a question. She believes gratitude, forgiveness, happiness and a positive attitude can make aging a wonderful experience. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Lona O’Connor

Plenty of people preach that the post-retirement years are a boon. But for sheer credibility, almost nobody can top Myra Goldick.
Born in 1943, she grew up poor. Her single mom supported her and her brother. She got polio at age 10. Over the next decade, she recovered the ability to walk with only a slight limp. She married, had two children and made a successful career in the cosmetics industry.
Through more than her share of obstacles, she has persevered.
“How you react is one of the most important things in the healing process,” she told an audience at the Carlisle senior residence in Lantana, where she lives. “Attitude is everything. You don’t have any extra responsibilities. This is the time to follow your dreams. We don’t just have to fade away. Let your imagination run wild.”
Goldick is launching her latest career as a motivational speaker. An intrigued audience filled the seats in the Palm Room at the Carlisle.
“I see that many of you came back after Myra’s program last month,” said Karen Delgado, director of resident programming at the Carlisle. “I think that’s because you’re in awe of Myra.”
Goldick was resplendent in a scarlet pantsuit. She wore her black pillbox hat at a jaunty angle. In addition to her other endeavors, Goldick was for a time a hat designer on Seventh Avenue in New York.
She started her talk at the front of the room but soon moved down the center aisle to draw out stories from the others. 
“I take the audience on a journey through the first part of my life,” she said. “When I’m finished with that, I want them to open up about their joys and fears.”
She may be the speaker, but her point is that the listeners are the stars.
“We’re beautiful, we’re fabulous, we’re seniors,” she said, stopping by the row where Lila Fagenson sat. Fagenson is a volunteer at Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League in West Palm Beach. She is a matchmaker for cats and humans.
“It’s gratifying to pair a cat with someone,” she said. 
After some prodding from Goldick, Fagenson, a widow, revealed that the matchmaking has rubbed off on her. She said she has started a romance with a neighbor, Larry Mosse. 
“When I came here I never thought I’d meet anyone,” said Fagenson. “I have found the second love of my life and I’m very happy.”
Others in the audience have been working with seniors whose memory is fading, or with abused and neglected children, or in schools with students who have special needs. 
Ruth Early lost her husband two months after they moved to Florida from California. Now she’s launching a poetry appreciation group. 
“I like starting something new and exciting,” Early said, pitching her new group, and added, “I hope you will all become my friends, if you are not already.”
Others brainstormed ideas to lure isolated neighbors out of their apartments, a common problem in senior communities. It’s a well-established fact that isolation is harmful, especially to seniors.
“How do we make them believe that?” Fagenson asked. 
“Get them talking, even if what they say is negative. We need more ambassadors.”
For the rest of the hour, Goldick moved up and down the aisle, seeking affirmations and ideas. 
Gloria Potter, seated next to Fagenson, suggested starting a chapter of the League of Women Voters. 
“Look, an idea was born tonight,” said Goldick. “I am proud to be a part of the most educated, most informed and most powerful generation of seniors. Never silence your voice. I love you all.”
Despite her apparent recovery, it turned out that polio was not finished with Goldick. In the middle of a busy life, with a husband, two children and a career, she had just written a book. That’s when she found out she had post-polio syndrome. 
She had been having trouble walking when she watched a segment of 60 Minutes about post-polio syndrome.
“They said polio could put people back in wheelchairs,” Goldick recalled. “I cried so hard, because I knew that was what was happening to me.”
She found out that polio never really goes away. It can travel up the spinal cord and attack the brain.
She would undergo a risky surgery to prevent her from being paralyzed from the neck down. 
In March 2017, Goldick’s husband died. 
“In four weeks, I lost my house and had to move,” she said. After a search she found the Carlisle to be the right fit for her. 
“I made it a point to get involved with this community. It’s very open, like an extended family. They helped me heal.” 
She’s gearing up to write another book, for “older people who have not really thought about the future and when they do, they are frightened.”
With the aid of her motorized chair, Goldick is planning to take her talks on the road, offering her services to the many senior communities in the area. 
“I do want to present this to condos and adult communities,” she said. “There are so many widows and widowers. It took me a while to get over the death of my husband and get my thoughts together. Now I’m strong again. I’m back and I’m raring to go.”

For more information, visit www.myragoldick.com.

Lona O’Connor has a lifelong interest in health and healthy living. Send column ideas to Lona13@bellsouth.net.

A sailfish jumps near a boat on Jan. 11, the first day of the annual Silver Sailfish Derby release tournament hosted by the West Palm Beach Fishing Club. Cold weather improved the sailfish action in this year’s Derby. Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

A winter storm brought snow and sleet to Tallahassee in early January and dropped South Florida temperatures into the 40s, all of which influenced fish, boats and coastal wildlife.
As blustery north winds blew across Palm Beach County, anglers caught Spanish mackerel and bluefish from the Boynton Inlet jetties, the Lake Worth pier and from beaches in southern Palm Beach County.
“When it’s cold, they really bite good,” said Bobby Spickler of Perk’s Bait & Tackle in Lantana. “Problem is, not everybody wants to brave the cold.”
Drift boat captains reported very slow fishing in the waters off Boynton Inlet during the coldest days of early January, possibly because of freshwater runoff.
An exception: Spanish mackerel caught using jigs, spoons and Gotcha lures in 30 to 45 feet of water, said Capt. Bruce Cyr of the Lady K drift boat based in Lantana.
Capt. Chip Sheehan of Chips Ahoy Charters in Boynton Beach said the chill stoked the sailfish action. He caught and released 11 sailfish one day in early January as he ran his boat north from Boynton Inlet to the waters off Jupiter.
In the 81st annual Silver Sailfish Derby, a sailfish release tournament hosted by the West Palm Beach Fishing Club, the 41-boat fleet released 317 sailfish in two days of fishing Jan. 11-12.
That’s more than double the 153 sailfish released by the Derby fleet in January 2017, when the weather was balmy.
Capt. Skip Dana and his crew on Southern Run won this year’s derby with a two-day total of 17 sailfish releases. Most of the Southern Run team’s fish were caught in the waters between Juno Beach and Jupiter.
In the 46th annual Gold Cup Team Tournament, a sailfish release competition organized by the Sailfish Club of Florida, 28 boats released a total of 232 sailfish in three days of fishing.
Capt. Hans Kraaz and his team on Vintage won the Gold Cup with a three-day total of 18 releases.

Cold affects manatees,
North Florida sea turtles
January’s cold prompted manatees to gather around warm-water outflows at Florida Power & Light Co.’s power plant near the Port of Palm Beach.
Manatee lovers flocked to FPL’s Manatee Lagoon viewing facility in West Palm Beach to watch the marine mammals bask in warm water as air temperatures dropped into the 40s. (For details about Manatee Lagoon, go to www.visitmanateelagoon.com.)
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission asks boaters to take extra care to avoid manatees during cold weather, especially around warm-water discharges such as canals and power plants.
Cold weather also can stun sea turtles, causing them to float listlessly and appear dead, even though they’re still alive.
No reports of stunned sea turtles were reported in South Florida during the January cold snap, as ocean temperatures remained in the 70s, said Kirt Rusenko, marine conservationist at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.
Stunned sea turtles were reported at St. Joe Bay in the Panhandle, where nighttime temperatures dropped into the upper 20s, Rusenko said.
About 900 cold-stunned sea turtles were rehabilitated at the Gulf World Marine Institute in Panama City and the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea and were released into the Gulf of Mexico on Jan. 20.
To report problems with manatees, sea turtles or other Florida wildlife, call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at (888) 404-3922.

Anchored boats break
loose, come ashore
Wind from the early January cold front worked two sailboats loose from their anchors in the Lake Worth Lagoon near Boynton Beach.
On Jan. 3, a loose sailboat struck a dock in The Harbors, a waterfront community. Homeowners association President Sean Butler said the same community docks sustained an estimated $1,000 to $5,000 in damage.
Boynton Beach police contacted the sailboat’s owner, who towed it away with a broken mast on Jan. 4. Police said the owner moved the sailboat to the boat ramps at Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park and was planning to remove the boat from the water.
Another sailboat broke loose in windy weather and hit a private dock at 821 Ocean Inlet Drive. Officer Darin Hederian of the Boynton Beach Police Department’s marine unit said that sailboat was relocated and anchored.
Several waterfront residents have said they plan to ask city officials to address the issue of boat owners dropping anchor in the Lake Worth Lagoon near Boynton Beach.

Mystery fish

David McCall caught this odd-looking fish with his hands in the surf in front of the Briny Breezes clubhouse Dec. 1 and released it after holding it for photos. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission said the long, slender fish could be a juvenile oarfish or possibly a tapertail, a rarity in the Atlantic waters off South Florida. Photo provided

Snook season
reopens on east coast
The fishing season for snook, the prized game fish with the distinctive black stripe, opened Feb. 1 after being closed since mid-December.
To be legal to harvest on Florida’s east coast, snook must be between 28 and 32 inches in overall length. Snook longer or shorter than the legal slot should be handled carefully and released promptly.
A Florida saltwater fishing license and snook permit are required to harvest snook, unless anglers are Florida residents younger than 16, older than 65, or otherwise exempt.
Snook season remains closed until March 1 on Florida’s west coast, including all of Monroe County and Everglades National Park.

Nice wahoo

Remus Holbrook (l) and Cliff Albertson of Briny Breezes were trolling in 200 feet of water in front of the Lake Worth Pier when they hooked a 25-pound, 43-inch wahoo. After a lengthy battle, they pulled it in. They also brought in a dolphinfish (rear). Photo provided

Coming events
Feb. 10: Paddlefest featuring paddling races, family paddling and paddling relay races, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Harbourside Place, Jupiter. The $35 registration fee includes a T-shirt. Call 863-0012 or www.palmbeachpaddlefest.com.
Feb. 10: Basic boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the headquarters building at Spanish River Park, 3939 N. Ocean Blvd., Boca Raton. Fee $35. Register at the door. Bring lunch. Call 391-3600 or email fso-pe@cgauxboca.org.
Feb. 10: Knot-tying seminar for boaters offered by the Coast Guard Auxiliary, 9 to 11 a.m. in the building beside the boat ramps, Oyer Park, 2010 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Fee $25. Register at the door. Call 704-7440.
Feb. 15-19: Miami International Boat Show, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key. Sailboats and powerboats in one location. Skills training workshops available. Adult admission $25 ($40 on Feb. 15). Free admission for youths 12 and under. Call 954-441-3220 or www.miamiboatshow.com.
Feb. 24: Basic boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the classroom next to the boat ramps, Oyer Park, 2010 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Fee $25. Register at the door. Call 704-7440.

Tip of the month
Taking friends out to a waterfront restaurant or bar for a late afternoon drink?
Designate a nondrinking skipper for the ride home. Doing so eliminates the possibility of getting a BUI (boating under the influence) citation. It reduces the chance of an accident on the water, especially if the skipper must guide the boat home after dark through channels flanked by unlighted markers.
Check out the Sea Tow Foundation’s designated skipper campaign at www.boatingsafety.com.

Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at tiowillie@bellsouth.net.

By Arden Moore

Got pet? Then for you, every day has the potential to feel like Valentine’s Day. Your dog, cat or other pet doesn’t need to demonstrate its love for you with a Hallmark card or box of candy. The love your pet gives you is priceless and pure.
Don’t take my word for it. That’s the unanimous sentiment expressed by key pet people in Palm Beach County. I reached out to them to answer two questions:
• What are you doing to show how much your pet means to you on this Valentine’s Day?
• What life lesson has your pet taught you that makes you a better person?
Everyone I asked responded quickly. Maybe some of their answers will inspire you with ways to make every day feel like Valentine’s Day for your pet. Read on:
Jo Jo Harder, a Boca Raton fashion designer and creator of America’s Top Dog Model, happily shares her home with Romeo, a 10-year-old greyhound.
“The best thing that I can do with Romeo to show my love is to spend lots of time with him. On Valentine’s Day, I plan for us to take a long, spirited walk together around our favorite, Mizner Park. Romeo has taught me to live in the moment. If it weren’t for Romeo, I would not appreciate the opportunity to get outside and take in the sights, smells and feeling of nature.”
Karen J. Roberts, noted children’s author and president of The Little Blue Dog Inc., lives in Wellington with her pack of canine rescues Louie, Ainsley, Tucker, Roxie, Cinnabon, Bailey and Macy.
“I believe on Valentine’s Day, and every other day of the year, the very best thing we can give to our pets is our time. What they want most is to be with us, no matter what we are doing. Our pets are a mirror to ourselves. When my dogs are happy, peaceful, healthy and gathered by my side, I know I’m doing something right.”
Paul Bates, who oversees the trap-neuter-vaccinate-release community cat program at the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League in West Palm Beach, includes his five social-minded pets on the guest list for his annual celebration.
“I always have an open house for my friends to stop in and enjoy drinks and sweets after their Valentine’s Day evening out. My three dogs and two cats stay loose to mingle with the guests. They love people, so why would I exclude them?”
Bob and Eileen Burnell are owners-operators of the Sit Means Sit dog training program and pet first aid/CPR instructors. Here is what this Boynton Beach couple has to say about Kody, their 11-year-old Belgian Malinois:
“Kody has taught us that anyone can learn anything with patience, consistency and persistence. He will be pampered with a spa day and a steak for dinner on Valentine’s Day.”
Suzi Goldsmith, co-founder and executive director of the Tri-County Animal Rescue in Boca Raton, shares her home and heart with a pair of canine rescues named Missy and Misty.
“My two pups are treated like queens 365 days a year. However, on Valentine’s Day I treat them to a special cake and ice cream made specifically for dogs. It gives me great pleasure to watch them have this fun pup treat. The life lessons that my pets have taught me have made me the person I am today. Compassion, understanding, consideration, joy, happiness and even health have been bestowed upon me through my dogs. Not just the rescues that I have today, but for the last 50 years. My life would not be complete without them.”
Peter and Jennifer Klein, of Gulf Stream, were featured in this column last year after they worked with town officials to rescue a tiny kitten trapped in construction debris. That kitten was named Chief in honor of Police Chief Edward Allen. Chief is now frisky and enjoying life. Jennifer Klein writes:
“Something put this cat in our lives and we are very fortunate for that. When we rescued him, he weighed only 0.9 pounds, but he had enough lung power to cry out to escape the construction rubble he was buried in. Fortunately, he has no memory of this. Every day is happiness for him — from chasing dried cranberries, stealing blueberries from Peter’s breakfast cereal or even climbing on his shoulders while he is working on his computer. Chief is a real treasure to us.”
Katrina Gentry has the creative title of chief experience officer at the Very Important Paws, a dog resort in West Palm Beach. She shares her home with a pit bull named Hayes and an American bulldog named Gator.
“On Valentine’s Day, I will show my love by starting their day off with fun in day care, playing in the pool and ending the day with a nice, warm lavender massaging bath, ear cleaning and ‘pawicure.’ Hayes has taught me one of the most valuable lessons in life — how to be a friend. No matter what I’m going through, she is there with her wet nose to kiss me, her energy to chase me or tons of hugs. Gator has taught me what it means to persevere in life. He was attacked at 4 months of age by an alligator. When I adopted him, he still had drains and sutures all over his back … but he remains the most free-spirited, happy-go-lucky boy you could ever meet.”
Valentine candy can go stale. Heart-shaped candy can crack a tooth. So let’s embrace the four-legged Valentine gift that keeps on giving 24/7: our pets.
It’s certainly true for me and my Furry Fab 5 of Bujeau, Kona, Casey, Mikey and Cleo. How do you plan to share this Valentine’s Day with your pet? Please share with our readers at www.thecoastalstar.com.

Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first aid instructor. Each week, she hosts the popular Oh Behave! show on PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more at www.arden moore.com.

Celebrate V-Day
at Paws in the Park
If you are looking for a place to celebrate this holiday with your canine chum, consider attending Paws in the Park at West Palm Beach’s Centennial Square. The event, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 11, will include a costume contest, pet photo booth, doggie fun zone plus demonstrations in pet first aid and even readings by a pet psychic. For more information, visit www.pawsintheparksouthflorida.com.

ABOVE: The boardwalk at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is family friendly and provides an easy way to get close to nature. BELOW LEFT: This red-shouldered hawk looks for a late afternoon meal. 2017 Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

At the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, the staff and volunteers are preparing for the 19th annual Everglades Day on Feb. 10.
“We want to show people the value of the Everglades so they want to preserve it,” said Cathy Patterson, a volunteer at the refuge — the only remaining remnant of the northern Everglades in Palm Beach County.
Since 2000, the event in western Boynton Beach has attracted almost 60,000 visitors in total. Last year, over 4,500 people attended.
“The day is a way for families to get outside and do something together that’s fun and educational,” said Patterson, vice president of the Friends of Loxahatchee.
With so many attending, there’s much to be done. “The whole day is frantic. You are on your feet trying to be sure everything runs smoothly and people have a good time,” said resident volunteer Roger Brooks.
The day begins as you park your car off-site and take a bus into the refuge, where on this day admission is free.
While you make the short trip to the refuge, a volunteer will pass out information about the day’s events and a schedule of activities. (You can recognize the volunteers by their white T-shirts with blue geese on the front and “volunteer” displayed on the back.)
The bus drops you at the visitors center, where there will be more volunteers to direct and help you sign up for canoe paddling in the Everglades and golf-cart tours of the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment.
That’s an 80-acre working model of the iconic Everglades ecosystem. This living laboratory gives researchers a chance to study restoration techniques on a controlled scale. “The research helps us to understand how to correct some of the damage done by man,” Brooks said.
Exhibitors from groups such as Lion Country Safari, the Sierra Club and Everglades National Park will set up information booths. There also will be walking tours along the Marsh Trail and speakers at what’s called the C-6 pavilion as well as at a smaller shelter at the Marsh Trail.
Speakers are scheduled to include Lance Warley, a wildlife photographer; Richard Crossley, author of The Crossley ID Guide: Waterfowl; and Burmese python hunter Edward Mercer. There also will be encounters with native snakes and raptors.
If you get hungry and just want to relax for a while, there will be more than a half-dozen food trucks serving everything from ice cream and tacos to burgers and vegan/vegetarian options.
The kids will enjoy the “animal Olympics.” Along a marked path, there will be pictures of animals that the children are urged to imitate as they pass. Just imagine your little one hopping like a marsh rabbit.
Don’t miss a walk along the boardwalk through a cypress swamp, where there’s even a resident bobcat who has left his markings on a tree. You can also enjoy the casting and knot-tying demonstrations.
“When your visit is over and you return by bus to your car, we hope you will have had a fantastic time out here in the Everglades,” said Brooks.

You can reach Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley at debhartz@att.net.

Conservation Tip
“If you want an easy way to help save the Everglades, stop releasing Mylar balloons filled with helium. They often travel a good distance and end up in the Everglades.
“And they can cause the death of fish, alligators, reptiles and birds. They are a health risk to the wildlife out here.”

— resident volunteer Roger Brooks

If You Go
Where: Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, 10216 Lee Road, Boynton Beach
When: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 10
Parking: Free off-site at Solid Waste Authority, 13400 S. State Road 7, Delray Beach. It is a short shuttle bus ride to the park entrance.
Admission: Free
Accessibility: Park on-site with a handicap placard. ADA-compliant vans will be available for transportation within the refuge.
Volunteers: Volunteers are still needed. To participate, you must attend a pre-event orientation meeting at the Visitor Center. Call 732 3684 ext.3684 or email Ana Castillo-Ruiz@fws.gov.
Info: 734-8303 or www.fws.gov/refuge/arm_loxahatchee

This will be the sixth year for Ride 4 Orphans, which has raised more than $260,000. Cyclists can pedal 62, 30 or 4 miles through South County. The ride begins and ends at Spanish River Church in Boca Raton. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

On a medical mission trip in 2009, Craig Kindell and his friend Eric Johnson traveled to 10 orphanages in southern Haiti run by El Shaddai Ministries International. They spent about a half day treating patients at each location, finishing in Les Cayes as darkness fell.
When the sun goes down in many parts of Haiti, no lights come on.
They entered a room so dark, Kindell thought it was empty. When his eyes adjusted, he realized children lined the walls, quietly eating their evening meal.
“That picture stuck with me,” said Kindell, who made the trip on behalf of Spanish River Church, where he has been a member for 40 years. “I wished I could help them.”
Kindell didn’t know how to get power to the kids, but sometimes it is who you know. His brother in Cincinnati told him about Fairfield, Ohio-based SonLight Power, an organization that designs and builds solar energy-run schools, medical clinics, orphanages, community centers and churches, and water-pumping stations in remote locations around the world.
Kindell, a retired IBM software developer with a degree in electrical engineering, contacted SonLight, which trained him to build a solar-run facility. In 2012, with SonLight’s support, Kindell brought solar lighting to the orphanage in Las Cayes.
The results were both immediate and far-reaching. Kids who had never heard of a nightlight slept better knowing they could chase away the monsters by flipping a switch. A girl who longed to go to school but who couldn’t pass the entrance exams finally passed once she could study after dark.
Some of Spanish River Church’s missions are supported by a popular annual 5K race called the River Run, held every December. But Kindell’s friend Johnson had another idea to raise money for the solar power projects.
Johnson liked biking and he saw a lot of other people riding on beautiful, hedge- and tree-lined A1A who liked it. How about a bike ride fundraiser, not a race, but a fun ride? Johnson suggested.
The first Ride 4 Orphans in 2013 drew 250 riders, thanks to an unexpected sponsorship from zMotion, a bicycle club with more than 1,000 members in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. This year’s ride, Feb. 17, is expected to draw 550 riders.
Since its first year, nearly 2,700 riders have participated in Ride 4 Orphans, and the money raised exceeds $260,000. One hundred percent of the proceeds go directly to organizations that work with orphans and foster children locally and globally.
Since the charity ride started — and thanks to the community’s support — the money has paid for buildings and projects Kindell never dreamed possible. Ride 4 Orphans has brought solar energy to three orphanages, including the expansion of a solar power system at Lundi Children’s Village outside of Jeremie, Haiti.
At Pothawira Village in Malawi, a sub-Saharan country devastated by AIDS and poverty, Ride 4 Orphans brought solar power to the community’s church, school, clinic and birthing center.
Ride 4 Orphans provided solar power to 120 orphans at Village Altonodji in Chad, at the school, local clinic, chapel and library that serve the surrounding community. They even have internet access.
One of the current projects closest to Kindell’s heart is providing solar power to Sarampet, a rural village just outside of Hyderabad, in India.
Not all the orphans Kindell and Spanish River Church help live far away. Some live in South Florida.
“It may come as a surprise that there are modern-day orphans right here in our own community,” Kindell said,
A portion of the Ride 4 Orphans money will benefit local abused, neglected and abandoned children through the Place of Hope and 4KIDS of South Florida.
Place of Hope provides a safe, loving and stable environment for desperate children and their families. Ride 4 Orphans has helped with renovations to buildings on its Boca Raton campus. 
4KIDS of South Florida works to help foster kids and kids in crisis in six Florida counties. Over the past 20 years, 4KIDS has helped nearly 20,000 children and families. 
Kindell says SonLight Power is providing vocational training for Haitians so they can help build the new solar energy buildings and maintain existing ones. Kindell says the local laborers are much better at working under the difficult conditions. He’s impressed both by their skill and diligence without a Home Depot anywhere in sight.
Kindell has always felt support from his faith and his church. He says it’s hard to not be overwhelmed by the need. No matter how much the church does, more needs to be done.
The official numbers on children living in poverty are staggering. But faith is sustaining, and you have to look at the small picture, Kindell said.
“You have to focus on how you are helping these kids one kid at a time.”

Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.

If You Go
What: Ride 4 Orphans 2018
Where: It starts and finishes at Spanish River Church, 2400 Yamato Road, Boca Raton.
When: 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 17
Details: Sheriff’s deputies will escort riders at the front and at key intersections along the 30- and 62-mile routes. Food will be served beforehand; a post-ride luncheon will feature live entertainment, free massages, raffles and a silent auction to benefit orphans.
Three ride options:
• 62 miles through Lake Worth, Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton. There are five rest stops with mechanics and food and drink available.
• 30 miles staying in Boca Raton and Delray Beach; two rest stops.
• 4-mile Family Fun Ride escorted by Boca Raton police ($15 registration fee)
Registration: $45 until Feb. 16; $50 on ride day
Info: 994-5000, ext. 241, or www.ride4orphans.com

The Step-Above Rummage Sale is put on by the First Presbyterian Church in Delray Beach. This year it takes place Feb. 8-10. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

If you like your rummage sale without too much rummaging, the Step-Above Rummage Sale at First Presbyterian Church, Delray Beach, was designed with you in mind.
Think “department store” with neatly arranged and labeled merchandise, conveniently sized and sorted and displayed by department. There will even be a boutique where you’ll find high-end items, like designer dresses and shoes. Sales specialists will be on hand to help and a dressing area is available to ensure a perfect fit.
The media area will contain books, DVDs and electronic games. Kids clothes, toys and games will be organized in their own area. Arrive early for the best bargains.
The Step-Above Rummage Sale is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 8-10, at the church, 33 Gleason St. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call 276-6338 or visit www.firstdelray.com/upcoming-events.

Boca Beach Chabad welcomes
Orthodox pop singer

It’s not often folks here get to welcome an A-list performer from the Orthodox community, but that’s about to change. In celebration of its 18th anniversary, Boca Beach Chabad will host the Israeli pop singer Avraham Fried at Mizner Park Amphitheater on Feb. 13.
Fried has released more than 25 albums and sold out concerts at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. His eclectic style mixes genres like rock, pop and jazz, but also incorporates both cantorial-style pieces as well as Yiddish folk songs, tied together by Jewish themes and sentiment.
The concert is part of a wider “Celebration 50:18” recognizing the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification following the Six-Day War.
Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the UN, will deliver a keynote address at an invitation-only reception at 5:30 p.m. at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, where a special presentation will recognize Israeli troops who served during the Six-Day War as well as family members of fallen service members.
Three local philanthropists — Leonardo Farkas, Howard Kaye and Myrna Gordon Skurnick, all with ties to Boca Raton — will be honored.
Concert tickets are $20 to $60 (free for ages 2 and younger), available at www.5018concert.com.
For an invitation to the VIP reception, call 394-9770 or sign up at www.bocabeachchabad.org/gala5018.

Orthodox singer Avraham Fried’s
set list includes rock, pop, jazz,
cantorial-style pieces and Yiddish
folk songs. Photo provided

Shabbat in east Delray
for young professionals
Rabbi Shmuel Biston and Chabad of East Delray will host a special Young Jewish Professionals Shabbat Dinner to appeal to people in the 21-39 age bracket in downtown Delray Beach on Feb. 9.
Biston understands that new relationships begin with one positive experience.
“One great Jewish experience equals mission accomplished,” Biston said. “The youth nowadays are searching for something meaningful and they are realizing that Facebook and Instagram are not going to bring true happiness.
“We don’t want [young people] to feel intimidated to come to our programs and events, so to make it interesting, we make exclusive programs just for them amongst their peers in an environment where they will feel comfortable. The food is great and the drinks are unlimited.”
CYP Shabbat is 7-10 p.m. Feb. 9, at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. Tickets: $25 in advance only at Eventbrite.com. For information, visit www.jewisheastdelray.com or call Biston at 954-857-3543.

Compassion experience
It’s hard for some Americans to imagine how poor some people are. Many of us have never been out of the country, and we’re too busy keeping the balls of our life in the air to stop and wonder about someone thousands of miles away.
Compassion International found a way to bring the experience of poverty to thousands of people across the country, using semi-trucks and iPods. The Compassion experience will stop in the parking lot at Spanish River Church, 2400 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, from Feb. 15 to 18. The experience is being held in conjunction with the annual Ride 4 Orphans. (See story, page H16.)
This self-guided tour does more than just show pictures and tell stories. Using iPod headsets, visitors walk through the 2,000 square feet of interactive space where they get glimpses of daily life from a child’s perspective. Guests walk through replicas of the marketplace, through the school and then to the home of the child living in poverty.
UNICEF and the World Bank Group estimated in 2013 that 385 million children were living in extreme poverty, defined as less than $1.90 per day. Other estimates say that number tops 1 billion.
Compassion International is known for its work finding sponsors for children in developing countries. Over the last 60 years, Compassion International has helped more than 1.8 million children in 25 of the world’s poorest countries. (Info: 888-503-4590 or www.compassion.com.)
This free exhibition is wheelchair- and stroller-accessible and appropriate for all ages (it has kid-friendly audio versions). Reservations are encouraged, especially for groups. Email changetour@compassion.com.

Community of Hope
hosts special-needs prom
At 500 churches in 50 states and 16 countries around the world, kids with special needs will get to go to the prom because of Tim Tebow.
The former Florida football star’s foundation sponsors Night to Shine. Locally, proms will take place at Community of Hope’s two campuses on Feb. 9.
Night to Shine is designed to be an “unforgettable prom night experience,” for people with special needs ages 14 and older. Every guest walks the red carpet to cheers and applause from family and friends.
Kids also get hair and makeup help, limousine rides, corsages and boutonnieres, a catered dinner and party favors. Entertainment is karaoke and dancing, and everyone gets to be crowned prom king or queen.
A special respite room is provided for parents and caretakers as their teens dance and sing the night away.
Tebow says Night to Shine is his “favorite night of the year.” His foundation committed more than $3.5 million in financial support to hundreds of churches needing assistance in hosting the event. In 2015, the first year, 44 churches hosted Night to Shine. Last year, 375 churches crowned 75,000 prom kings and queens. This year, the number has grown.
Volunteers are needed to help guests check in, assist with the food and entertainment, and take pictures and video. If you can help, visit www.communityofhope.church/shine.
Night to Shine is from 6-9 p.m. Feb. 9 at Community of Hope West Campus, 14055 Okeechobee Blvd., Loxahatchee Groves, and Community of Hope East Campus, at Good Shepherd Church, 2341 S Military Trail, West Palm Beach.
Admission is free, but reservations are required. Call 753-8883 or register at communityofhope.church/shine.

Ongoing programs
Beer, Conversation & God: Pub Theology meets at 7 p.m. Feb. 15 (and the third Thursday of each month) at Barrel of Monks, 1141 S. Rogers Circle, No. 5, Boca Raton, for conversation, fellowship and open discussion of mostly theological topics. The group also meets at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 (and the first Tuesday of each month) at the Biergarten, 309 Via De Palmas, No. 90, Boca Raton. For more information, contact Pastor Marcus Zillman at mzillman@fumcbocaraton.org; call 395-1244; or visit www.fumcbocaraton.org.
The Interfaith Café, a theological discussion, meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 15, at South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach. Light refreshments are served. The meeting is free, but donations are appreciated. The Interfaith Café meets the third Thursday of the month, and volunteers are needed to assist with a variety of duties to keep this program going. For information or to volunteer, email Jane@Aurorasvoice.org.
Music at St. Paul’s hosts Roberta Rust performing with the Serafin Quartet at 3 p.m. Feb. 18, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. The program: Danzas de Panama, William Grant Still; String Quartet in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2, Felix Mendelssohn; Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81, Antonin Dvorak. Tickets are $20. Admission is free for age 18 and younger. For more information, call 278-6003 or visitwww.music.stpaulsdelray.org.

Contact Janis Fontaine at janisfontaine@outlook.com.

Children scrub donated shoes for the charity In Jacob’s Shoes at the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s second annual Community in Action Day. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Many hands make light work, even when some of those hands belong to kids.
For the second year, the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County hosted Jewish Community in Action Day to coincide with Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 15. Hundreds of volunteers helped those in need by doing the labor on nearly 20 hands-on projects benefiting a variety of charities.
Rabbi Josh Broide, director of the federation’s Center for Jewish Engagement, spearheaded the program.
“It came about because people were always asking what we could do with the kids on the day off from school,” Broide said. Parents wanted their children to spend the day productively, in service to others, and it was a sentiment that resonated with the Jewish community.
“We thought, instead of everyone doing something different at all these different places, we could centralize things. We brought them all together in one place.”
Children could volunteer at several jobs, like bagging food for food pantries or cleaning shoes for kids who didn’t have any. “You meet like-minded people with similar passions, make new friends and broaden the community,” Broide said.
Two charities that help children also benefited from the students’ sweat equity this year.
One was Touch A Heart, which helps children living in poverty. For this year’s project, kids assembled “birthday in a bag” kits for children in foster homes. The kits contained most of what you need for a birthday party: cake mix, paper goods, candles and a small gift. Touch A Heart also promotes volunteerism.
Also on site was In Jacob’s Shoes, a charity that distributes shoes, backpacks, school supplies and athletic gear to South Florida children in need. The group was started in memory of Jacob S. Zweig by his family, and since 2009, In Jacob’s Shoes has given away more than 70,000 pairs of new and refurbished shoes to children in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Some are homeless, some live in shelters, some are in foster care, and others have aged out of foster care.
Most of the shoes are donated and are gently used, so volunteers had to sort, clean and restore the shoes to “pristine condition.”
“Giving back and doing good is at the core of our faith,” Broide said.
Usually, parents are modeling altruism for their children, but sometimes it’s the children doing the inspiring, he said. “We’ve seen kids get involved in a project and that project grows so that the parents and even the synagogue are taking on bigger roles.”
Broide says another message also is making him proud of his community. Palm Beach County has a lot of synagogues and federations and groups, but the era of focusing on the differences is passing, he said. If charity begins at home, maybe getting along with other people does too. Global and national unity, it seems, may start with community.
Broide says his community “is less divisive. In fact, we’ve never worked better together.”
For information about the South County Jewish Federation, call 852-3100 or visit www.jewishboca.org.

The Cowboy Ball returns
Since its inception in 1982 following the mysterious disappearance of its namesake, George Snow, the George Show Scholarship Fund has awarded nearly $10 million in educational grants, with scholarships of more than $1 million in 2017 alone.
The fund’s goal is to give one scholarship to every public school in the county, but a million dollars won’t buy as much education as it did in 1982, so each spring, the George Snow Scholarship Fund hosts its signature fundraiser, the Cowboy Ball. The ball features food from local restaurants, a whiskey tasting, music and dancing.
The ball is from 6 to 11 p.m. Feb. 17 at Mizner Park Amphitheater, 595 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Tickets are $175. Sponsorships are still available. For more information, call 347-6799 or email dfeiler@scholarship.org.

Family picnic
Family time will be the focus at the Hanley Foundation’s 23rd annual Family Picnic at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach. The event raises money for substance abuse prevention programs, which reached more than 28,000 students in 250 schools in 2017.
The benefit will include a one-of-a-kind silent auction, gourmet picnic fare, face painting, animal encounters and classic outdoor activities.
The money will support prevention programs in public and private schools in Palm Beach County, part of the foundation’s core mission, along with access to high-quality treatment of substance use disorders, and the education of professionals and paraprofessionals.
The family picnic also has a subliminal message: Statistics show that eating dinner as a family can reduce the chances a teen will try cigarettes, drugs or alcohol. Why not start with a picnic dinner?
The picnic will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 4 at the croquet center, 700 Florida Mango Road. Tickets are $195 for ages 18 and older, $50 for ages 4-17, and free for ages 3 and younger. To purchase tickets, call 268-2358 or visit hanleyfoundation.org. 

Health fest for mind, body
The MindBody Expo 2018 will bring more than 60 educational exhibits, fitness demos, cooking classes, lectures, music and dance, food and a wide variety of vendors to both Boca Raton and Delray Beach in February.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 17, Old School Square (51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach) will host the Expo. On Feb. 25, Sanborn Square (72 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton) will be home base for this wellness and lifestyle event.
Since 2013, this event created by social entrepreneur Sandra Tribioli has given dozens of small businesses an opportunity to reach the public with their products. The expo also offers guests an opportunity to help kids by grabbing one of the VIP Tote Bags ($10 each) for a Cause, which benefit the Delray Beach Children’s Garden and the Milagro Center. Exhibitors, sponsors and contributors all pitched in with inserts. Only 100 bags are available at each event. Included in the bags are two chiropractor visits and a massage, discounts and samples from Third Living Essentials and Whole Foods.
Proceeds go to the charities.
For more information, visit www.mindbodyexpo.net.

Barbara Rodriguez works at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa (above) and lives in Highland Beach. With AVDA, she helps to throw parties for children at shelters. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Barbara Rodriguez wanted her daughter, Gabby, to understand the importance of helping others and to recognize that other children exist who are less fortunate.
“I wanted to find a place in the community that would give her a sense of perspective,” Rodriguez said.
So soon after the single mom moved to Highland Beach from the west coast of Florida, she and Gabby began volunteering for the Delray Beach-based AVDA, Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, visiting a shelter one day a month and helping throw parties for children there.
Now 4 1/2 years later, Rodriguez, 39, and Gabby, 16, still make their monthly visits, bringing pizza and cake, celebrating the children’s birthdays and just having fun.
“I started out volunteering there to be a good role model for my daughter,” Rodriguez said. “I try to show her that giving is very important.”
The lesson seems to have stuck, since both Gabby and her mom look forward to their visits and make it a point to be there every month, if possible.
“Gabby has discovered that she enjoys working with children,” says Rodriguez, director of national accounts for Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa. “She’s shown a lot of interest in a possible career working with kids.”
Because of her commitment and efforts on behalf of the organization, Rodriguez was asked to join the AVDA board of directors a year and a half ago.
“It’s great to get to know the community leaders on the board and to learn from their experience,” she said.
Next month, Rodriguez and several other members of the AVDA board will attend the organization’s Heart of a Woman Luncheon, an annual fundraiser that will be Feb. 28 at Royal Palm Yacht Club in Boca Raton.
Chaired by Jeannette DeOrchis, Rosemary Krieger, Anne Vegso and Gail Veros, the event, which celebrates the strength, courage and determination of women, will feature Melissa Dohme Hill as the guest speaker.
Hill was stabbed 32 times by a former boyfriend. She tells her story and speaks out against domestic violence.
Rodriguez says the stories she hears from survivors at the luncheon are both eye-opening and inspiring.
“It teaches you that this can happen to anyone and it reinforces my belief that this is a worthy cause to be associated with,” she said.
While growing up, Rodriguez witnessed domestic violence in her neighborhood and in her own home.
“I saw my mom going through domestic violence,” she said, adding that she also knew neighbors who were physically abused. “Sometimes it becomes part of your norm until you grow older and you realize it’s not right.”
Seeing the physical and verbal abuse has been part of what motivates Rodriguez to support AVDA and to share her passion with her daughter, as well as with friends and co-workers.
“It has given me the strength to be involved and to speak up for people who struggle every day,” she said.
A graduate of University of Sacred Heart in Puerto Rico, where she studied media and public relations, Rodriguez began her career in the hospitality industry at an early age, making change in a casino at 19.
There she met people from all walks of life and learned a valuable lesson about working with and helping others.
“People all want to feel important and connected,” she said. “They want you to recognize them as a person and treat them with respect.”
While her original motivation in volunteering for AVDA was to help her daughter, Rodriguez says that she too is benefiting from the experience.
“It fills my heart when I’m helping other people,” she says. “I get more than I give.”

If You Go
11th annual Heart of a Woman luncheon benefiting AVDA
When: Feb. 28
Time: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Royal Palm Yacht Club, Boca Raton
Who: Melissa Dohme Hill, guest speaker
Tickets: $175 per person
More information: Call 265-3797 or visit www.avdaonline.org/heart-of-a-woman