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Sun City Center Church Welcomes New Music Director

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By BARBARA ROUTEN

Tribune correspondent

Published: August 6, 2008

SUN CITY CENTER - As of Friday, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church has a new director of music, Rita M. Hughes, who will lead the choir and hand-bell choir.

Hughes grew up in a musical family. Her father, Robert J. Hughes, was chairman of Christian music for the Salvation Army in Toronto. When she was a teenager, she played piano accompaniment while he played trumpet. The family traveled extensively on evangelical trips through the United States and Canada.

She studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and has taught music and served as director of music in churches of various denominations. She retired from Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, S.C.

She moved to Sun City Center after retiring. She was attracted by Sun City Center's size, residents and activities. She enjoys weaving, ceramics and dollhouse modeling, and for several years has directed the Sun City Center Women's Chorus.

Dinner Show Features 'The Music You Love'

BRANDON - New York veteran actor Lew Resseguie of Sun City Center and singer and actor Ellen Kleinschmidt of Ruskin are teaming up again to present a dinner show called "The Music You Love."

The evening will feature yesterday's pop hits and Broadway show tunes. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at Center Place Fine Arts and Civic Association, 619 Vonderburg Drive. Dinner will be served at 7; showtime is 8.

Tickets are $35 per person. Advance reservations are required by Tuesday. For details or reservations, call (813) 685-8888.

Alafia Post Hosts Golf Tournament

DOVER - The Alafia American Legion Post 148 in Riverview will kick off its annual golf tournament with an 8 a.m. shotgun start Oct. 4 at Diamond Hills Golf and Country Club, 13115 Sydney Road.

Cash will be given to golfers who come in first, second, third and last. Proceeds will benefit the post's outreach programs. Signup sheets for the tournament are available at the post, 7240 U.S. 301 S., Riverview.

"We are a group of current and prior military members who care about this country and the people who have served it proudly," said Larry Westcott, event chairman. "We care about our community and its youth, who are its future."

Through a program called Boys State, the group sends boys to Tallahassee to learn how Florida government operates. (Girls are involved through the American Legion Auxiliary, Westcott said.) A few of the boys are then chosen to go to Washington to learn firsthand about the federal government.

The post confers medals upon Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps cadets at local schools and gives citizenship medals to elementary school students. It sponsors a Cub Scout pack and Boy Scout troop that meet at the post.

The James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa and Bay Pines Veterans Administration Healthcare System in St. Petersburg receive help from the post.

"Last year we had a specific event for a local hero, Jace Badia," Westcott said. The post raised more than $12,000 for him while he was recuperating from injuries, including the loss of a leg. "If you could have seen him on the day of the event and see him now, it would bring tears to your eyes. We saw him walk - yes, walk - into our post last month."

For information about the post or the golf tournament, call (813) 677-6529.

Toastmasters Pleased With New Web Site

The South Shore Toastmasters' new Web site, www.sshore tm.org, just went live, thanks to help from Bob Larson, owner of Sun City Computers, and Microsoft Office Live.

"South Shore Toastmasters invites you to visit the site to learn about the club and see an example of what other clubs and small businesses can accomplish," said Phyllis Hodges, vice president of public relations. She said the site has no advertising pop-ups and is maintained by club members.

Bill Hodges' inspiration for founding the Sun City Center club was an 89-year-old man who had been a Toastmaster only two years.

"Why would you join an organization whose mission is to train people to be better listeners, leaders and speakers at the age of 87?" Hodges asked.

"I found that the older I got, the less people listened to me," the man said. "Since I could do nothing about their listening, I had to become a better and more interesting speaker. People who had no interest in talking with me before now engage me in conversation."

The club meets from 9:30 to 11:15 a.m. the second and fourth Tuesday monthly at Trinity Baptist Church, 702 W. Del Webb, W. No reservations are necessary, and visitors are welcome.

For information, call Bill or Phyllis Hodges at (813) 633-1523.

Studio Open For Interested Artists

Easels and work tables in the Art Room, 954 Cherry Hills Drive, are available for members of the Art Club of Sun City Center to use for individual projects from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesdays.

"The open studio offers the opportunity for artists at any level of expertise to work in their favorite medium, independently and untutored, in the company of other artists of the SCC community," said Ed Laudano, publicity coordinator for the club.

Artists working side by side may "fine tune their abilities and stimulate an interest in new, untried media and painting techniques," Laudano said.

For details, call Virginia Laudano, (813) 633-6042. For information about joining the club, call Nancy Cooper, (813) 633-0084.

President's Day Begins Officers' New Terms

On June 27, Rotary International's President's Day, the gavel was passed and new officers of the 50-member, 38-year-old Sun City Center Rotary Club.

The nominees were elected Dec. 14, but the terms of all the new officers become official July 1, said James Wilmouth, the newly installed president. That gave each officer five months to prepare and gain experience so they could "hit the ground running."

District Gov. Doug Andrews installed the new officers: Wilmouth, president; Georgana Collins, president-elect; Branko Lobo, past president; Bill Moon, vice president; Thom Brown, secretary; Linda Yepez, treasurer; Tony Badalamenti, acting treasurer; Bill Pappmeier, sergeant-at-arms.

New directors are: Sherry Crosby, Eloise Hurst, Allen Verbrugge and Kay Dyer. The club service chairman is John Williamson; community service chairman, Sam Cook; international service chairman, Ed Knecht; vocational service chairwoman, Sally Nichols; youth service chairman, Sean Shanahan; and Rotary Foundation chairwoman, Janet Richwine.

The board of trustees for the Sun City Center Rotary Foundation are Heather Holmes, chairwoman; Jim Kelly, vice chairman; Brown, secretary; Yepez, treasurer; and Badalamenti, acting treasurer.

Trustees are Dyer, Kelly and Bob Temple, Class of 2008-09; Syd Ashbridge and Ernst Rose, Class of 2008-10; and Crosby, Verbrugge and Bob Hauser, Class of 2008-11.

At the ceremony, Wilmouth presented gifts to Lobo, the outgoing president, outlined some of his goals for the coming year and challenged club members to do more.

The club holds fundraisers such as golf tournaments and pecan sales, which enable them to give scholarships to local high school seniors, deliver roses to shut-ins every September on Rose Day and provide dictionaries for all fifth-graders.

The club meets at noon Fridays at the Plaza Club at Freedom Plaza, 3932 Upper Creek Drive. To learn about Rotary International or the Sun City Center Rotary Club, attend a meeting, visit www.rotary.org or call Wilmouth at (813) 634-8001.

Lions Planning To Meet And Eat

The Sun City Center Lions Club will get together for lunch and a meeting at 11 a.m. Aug. 13 at Ozzie's Buffet and Grill, 3074 College Ave. E., Ruskin.

Club members and visiting club members are welcome.

For information, visit Sun City Center "OnLion" at www.suncitycenterlions.com (when the site is accessed, it roars like a lion) or call Terry McGovern, secretary and membership chairman, or his wife, Ellen, a club member, at (813) 633-4202.

Candidate Forum Set For Tuesday

BRANDON - A candidate forum will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the new worship center at Bell Shoals Baptist Church, 2102 Bell Shoals Road.

A meet-and-greet session will start at 5; the program will begin at 7.

The Community Issues Team, a volunteer organization at the church, has invited all candidates for local, state or national political races that will appear on Hillsborough County ballots. Representatives sponsoring amendments to the state constitution will explain them and answer questions.

For information, go to www.bellshoals.com/cic or call J.W. Pope, forum coordinator, at (813) 523-6360 or e-mail, candidateforum 2008@gmail.com.

Chamber Hosts Legislative Event

RUSKIN - The Ruskin Chamber of Commerce will present a legislative meet-and-greet from 4 to 6 p.m. Aug. 19 in the Royal Palm Ballroom at the Resort & Club at Little Harbor, 611 Destiny Drive.

The event also will feature candidates and the county's new voting machines.

The cost is $5 per chamber member, $10 per nonmember. Reserve a spot by contacting the chamber by Aug. 14 at (813) 645-3808 or ruskinadmin @earthlink.net.

Reddick Features Open Houses, Breakfast

WIMAUMA - The new Reddick Elementary School, 325 West Lake Drive, will host two open houses.

One will be at 3 p.m. Aug. 13 for adults and representatives of area businesses, churches and organizations to meet the staff and tour the campus. The other will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Aug. 14 for students and their parents.

In addition, kindergartners and their families are invited to a free Boo-Hoo Breakfast at 8 a.m. Aug. 15. Everyone attending will receive a gift.

Parents and children will eat together in the cafeteria. Then Principal J. Thomas Roth will address the parents, while students leave to get acquainted with their teachers in their classrooms.

For information, call the school office at (813) 634-0809.

Snippets

United Community Church, 1501 La Jolla Ave., Sun City Center, will host a free showing of the movie "Kate and Leopold" at 1 p.m. Aug. 13. Free refreshments will be provided. For information, call (813) 634-1304. ... Women with Cancer Concerns will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday at United Community Church. Sarah Hoffe, a physician and medical adviser for the group, will share the latest information about cancer. For information about the meeting, call Hazel Martin at (813) 642-9020. ...The Laff-a-Lot Connection will meet at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the conference room in the Maintenance Building, 957 North Course Lane, Sun City Center. Hilarity and light refreshments will be served. "If you can't bring two jokes," said Helen Cooper, publicity coordinator, "come and laugh at ours. Laughter is good medicine, and it's free!" For details, call Cooper at (813) 401-9901.

Send news and photos of community interest to Barbara Routen at The Tampa Tribune, 505 W. Robertson St., Brandon FL 33511, e-mail neighbors@tampabay .rr.com or call (813) 657-4531.

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