Seniors On The Go

Groves Social Club Keeps Land O' Lakes Entertained

Whether it's Buffett tunes or German tunes, there's almost always something lively going on at this venue.

If you love Jimmy Buffett music, and who doesn’t, you would have loved the Jimmy Buffett tribute band that played at The Groves earlier this month.  It was a colorful event, with lots of Hawaiian shirts, dancers and energetic performers. The Live Bait Band opened with one of Jimmy’s favorite audience participation songs, Fins.  The Live Bait Band has maintained the same line-up since day one of putting the five-person band together in 2001, creating a strong sense of performing together and very tight vocal harmonies.  The music just kept coming with crowd favorites, like Margaretville, 5 O’clock Somewhere, Changes In Latitude, and of course who could forget, Cheeseburger in Paradise? Well apparently some of the audience did, so the band …

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Seniors On The Go

Daniel Rodriguez Concert

NYPD “Singing Policeman” Performs at The Groves Friday and Saturday.

This weekend we are in for a special treat in Land O’ Lakes. The Groves is hosting a concert featuring Daniel Rodriguez, New York City’s “singing policeman.” He'll be on hand for two appearances Feb. 4 and Feb. 5 beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the clubhouse. This full-bodied tenor will perform with New York jazz pianist Jesse Lynch and New Zealand soprano Marla Kavanaugh. Tickets are still available for both shows and are only $20.  Many of you may remember Rodriguez as the “singing policeman” who became famous in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The story really started for Rodriguez when he was 11 years old. A vocal teacher in a performing arts company in Manhattan discovered him.  At 17, he made his debut appearance at…

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Seniors On The Go

Retired Cops Grieve Loss Of Brothers

As St. Petersburg says goodbye to two fallen officers, local retirees reflect on the tragedy.

The photos and videos of funeral services for St. Petersburg's fallen officers, Sgt. Thomas Baitinger and Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz, are heartbreaking. The images depicting young grieving families suddenly without fathers and husbands who simply did not come home from work Monday night and who will never come home again because of a senseless crime are beyond words. “When I hear about a police officer killed, it brings back each of the guys I knew that were killed,” said David Wright retired sergeant for the Brockton Police Department in Massachusetts.  It’s been seventeen years since Wright retired.  “You remember the incident and you remember their wives and their kids,” he said looking down for a brief moment. Ernie White, a retired …

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Gals, Golf And Networking

Professional women learn to use golf as a business tool.

While men have historically used the golf course as a boardroom away from the office, they're not the only ones who see an advantage to the practice. That's why the Gals Golfing & Networking group was formed. Women can have a real advantage on the golf course, said Laura Sanderson, the assistant golf professional at The Groves. When you go out to a tournament, and there are 100 men and one women, guess who gets remembered…the one woman,” she said. Because so few women golf, women can use this minority status to stand out while they are networking, and make their golf outings profitable to their businesses or careers. It was an idea like this that led Chris Cooper, owner of Cooper Financial Services, and Sanderson to create the network. “We…

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Seniors On The Go

Growing A Community At The Groves

The garden is about more than vegetables!

The cold weather hasn’t affected the vegetable harvesting at The Groves garden. In fact, the vegetables are flourishing.   The 25 raised beds in the garden are filled with huge cabbages, collard greens, Swiss chard, onions, cauliflower, broccoli and a small spattering of herbs.  Each one of the plots are at different stages of growth; most have vegetables that are ready to be harvested, while others have small seedlings barely peeking out of the rich soil.  Blaine Neville is the manager of the garden. He and his wife Jane have lived in The Groves for four years, and remember when the garden was just an open stretch of ground parallel to U.S. 41.   Dane and Betty Lonborg, who also lives in The Groves, petitioned the Community Development …

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Seniors On The Go

Elvis Rocks The Groves

Community celebrates Elvis’ birthday with a concert.

It was a birthday celebration fit for a King … Elvis, that is, the King of Rock 'n' Roll. The celebration took place at The Groves Jan. 7 with an audience of 199 fans.  The social club sponsored the "Birthday Concert" to commemorate Elvis’ birthday. Elvis would have been 76 years old. The social club even served birthday cupcakes at the break.  “This is the third time we have had Elvis at The Groves,” said Donna Hartwick, president of the social club. Elvis is also known as Jimmy Smith off stage. He is from Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and is a regular performer at Dolly Parton’s theme park Dollywood.  Every night Jimmy Smith becomes Elvis at the Classic Country Show.  Smith grew up listening to Elvis; his parents were both huge fans. He was 8 …

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Passion, Drive Help Teen Overcome Challenge

AAU Junior Golf Club gives Land O’ Lakes teen focus for the future.

I met him at The Groves' golf course, because that's where he spends all his time these days. It doesn't take long to notice that Jordan isn't like most 14-year-olds. Polite and mature, he sets down his new driver and walks over to greet me with a smile and a handshake.  The fact is Jordan isn't like most kids. He was born with clubfeet, a condition common at birth, whereby the affected foot or feet appear rotated internally at the ankle. Without treatment, the person appears to walk on their ankles, or on the sides of their feet. "When he was born they (the hospital staff) brought him to me with casts on his legs," says Celeste Monds, Jordan's mother. "He had four surgeries, the first one when he was only 1 year old." Due to the surgeries…

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Seniors On The Go

New Year’s Eve at The Groves

Creating Times Square in Land O’ Lakes.

The sign just outside of the main ballroom at The Groves Country Club the night of Dec. 31 read: "Almost Sold Out." Inside the ballroom told the real story ... the place was packed. Everyone was dressed for the theme New Years' Eve in Time Square.  It was an elegant event. The evening started at 6 with cocktails, a buffet dinner, then dessert was provided by the social club. Vesh at The Groves catered the dinner. This was the first New Years' Eve for Vesh as they took over the clubhouse restaurant earlier in 2010. Becky Clamp and her husband George, both residents of the Wilderness, said, "dinner was wonderful."  This is their third year attending this event, and they have enjoyed each year. Then it was time to cut loose as Luke …

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AAU Junior Golf Club Ignites Passion For The Sport

Participants learn more than the game's basics.

Once a week, Jan Johnson gets to teach Land O' Lakes kids how to golf. As a golf pro and co-director of the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Golf Club, this may seem like part of her job. What makes this golf pro different is that Johnson teaches youth to golf at The Groves, a retirement community.  The kids who join The Groves' AAU Junior Golf Club are as young as 6 and the oldest are still enrolled in high school. About 30 percent of the youngsters are between the ages of 6 and 8.  Johnson, who has taught golf at various courses for 20-plus years, said she has even seen an increase in the number of girls enrolling. The program involvess an eight-week course, limited to only 15 students in each class. It is continuous throughout the year …

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Seniors On The Go

Yappy Hour

The Groves Dog Park is a great way to make new friends.

My name is Bear Hall.  Today is like any other day, it's 3 o'clock and I'm waiting patiently by the back door for my Dad.  It's time to go to the Dog Park at the Groves. Today Dad clips the leash to my collar, but then carefully places my new reindeer ears on my head.  Oh, yeah…it's dress-up day at the Dog Park.  I fly out the door and walk way ahead of Dad; he can be so slow. I like to run fast, because I know all my friends are waiting for me at the park, but Dad keeps me close with the leash.  Finally, we go inside the fence of the park, it's beautiful, a carpet of green grass where I can run and run.  There is a fire hydrant, a small pool, and a bowl full of clean water.  There's even benches where our parents sit and talk.  Then I …

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