Joanne Stanley laughs as she prepares to take the first swipe of hair from the head
of Lantana Mayor David Stewart during a fundraiser for Forgotten Soldiers Outreach
at the Red, White & Buzz Festival at the Lantana Recreational Center. The community had about
five months to raise $20,000 for the Lake Worth-based Forgotten Soldiers Outreach.
While the $20,000 fund-raising challenge came up short, Stewart was a good sport
and pleased the crowd by cutting his hair and shaving his beard for their entertainment.
Debbie Maley did most of the cutting.
Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Mary Thurwachter
In Lantana, “the big chair” is reserved for memorable moments. Since Mayor Dave Stewart was about to have one of those on Nov. 9, he asked that the chair — which was donated to the town many years ago and very much resembles a throne — be summoned from storage. Then hizzoner donned a cape and took a seat for a royal buzz cut.
The shearing was the culmination of the Chamber of Commerce’s Red, White & Buzz celebration at the Recreation Center, a Veterans Day party to raise money and awareness for Forgotten Soldiers Outreach — and to have some good ol’ small town fun (bake sale, dunk tanks, live music and haircuts to benefit the charity).
Five months earlier, Stewart — whose hair, beard and mustache once won him third place in a Hemingway look-alike contest in Key West — vowed to shave it all off if $20,000 could be raised for Forgotten Soldiers Outreach by Veterans Day. When only half that amount was collected, Stewart agreed to endure a 50 percent shearing, although it ended up “more like Marine cut,” he said.
The big reveal was pretty dramatic.
“Lantana has a new mayor,” one onlooker proclaimed.
And a young woman watching the transformation joked about the “cool new guy in town.”
The plan for the mayoral shave-off hatched earlier this year when Stewart expressed his frustration at how little money was being contributed to John Oldham, community relations officer and chief money collector for Forgotten Soldier’s Outreach, which sends care packages to soldiers.
“He goes to so many meetings,” Stewart said of Oldham. “And he leaves with six or eight bucks.”
At a Chamber gathering hosted by Debbie Maley at Beach Cuts Hair Salon earlier this year, Stewart insisted something had to be done. He urged attendees to dig deeper into their pockets to help Forgotten Soldier’s Outreach.
That’s when Mina (McGill) Jazzo of Robert McGill Air Conditioning, a Lake Worth High School classmate of Stewart’s, threw down the challenge. She also pledged the first $500 if Stewart agreed to shave it all off for the charity.
Stewart agreed and the Chamber of Commerce quickly planned the Red, White and Buzz event around the challenge.
Stewart said he has had his beard and wavy locks for 39 years and when he thought about having it all shaved off, he didn’t flinch. “I just thought of Joanne Stanley of Republic Services (the company contracted to pick up the town’s garbage). She got really sick with cancer and lost her hair for two years. It took a long time for her hair to grow back. Mine will grow back in a few months.”
Despite falling short of the $20,000 goal, Stewart said money was still coming in and now, when Oldham goes to meetings, he leaves with more money and bigger bills than he had previously.
“It’s all for a good cause and a local (Lake Worth-based) charity that does an awful lot of good for our soldiers,” he said.
And the big chair has been returned to storage until the next memorable moment arises.
How to donate
The non-profit Forgotten Soldiers Outreach, Inc. has been sending care packages to soldiers overseas since 2003. Donations of candy, snacks, socks, toiletries, handwritten letters and reading material are accepted, as are cash donations, which help defray mailing costs. Volunteers are also needed to pack boxes. For more information call 369-2933 or visit www.forgottensoldiers.org.
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