From the Desk of Anthony Riley

May has always meant graduations and the end of school – summertime, summertime. Seems like school runs past the Fouth of July and starts in August these days. May gives us Memorial Day – never to be forgotten Colonel, Cinco de Mayo, and Mother’s Day. A shout out to my Mom who will read this in my birth town of Dallas, Texas.

Gratitude belongs in May. This May, the Board has many things to be grateful for.  Having served on the board for a few years now, I am astonished when I meet people that think our Board doesn’t do anything and the HOA is not worth supporting. The Board is grateful for the volunteers. The volunteers that deliver this newsletter. The volunteers who notify the county for repairs on streetlights and getting potholes filled. The volunteers that dig the entrance flower beds, plant flowers and are mistaken for road targets by cars. (BTW – I don’t think anyone that lives here is driving too slow.)

We are grateful for our advertisers, all the neighbors that keep watch for our safety, the neighbors that bring their businesses to our community events, the people who come out to our community events, the people who read this newsletter and the families who volunteer their money for dues.

On the 18^th, with Seminole County’s permission, permit, and blockades, we invited everyone out to celebrate the end of our annual dues drive. We had a food truck, fun for the kids, and a few neighborhood businesses – the cupcakes are the real deal. Over 75 neighbors made it out. It was like a small festival without the arts or the hucksters.  We might try hucksters next time, maybe vinyl siding or security systems. Or maybe some art?

Our next event will be in the Fall, I predict a bounce house again, maybe one just for the adults. We learned some things at the Spring Fling, like if you give kids small tools, they may take apart a computer – nice work Sean! The best part for me was seeing people I had seen before, either at a different event or on the street with their companions or pets. That is building a community.

We are also grateful for the members of the board – all volunteers. We lost one of the long-time board members recently when Joe Gmerek passed.  He and Renata were one of the first Meet Your Neighbors to be featured. Joe served his community well and we are grateful for what he did for Winter Woods.

Remember, the new start time for our monthly Board meeting is 7:00 pm. The next one on May 9th will be our last meeting before our two-month summer break. We are at South Seminole Church of Christ on Lake Howell Rd and online via zoom. Mom, I’ll see you next week!

From the Desk of Anthony Riley

April showers, April Fool’s, Taxes. We are past the first day of Spring and Easter snuck into March. That means Summer is closer than you think, the three nice days of Spring blew by and why not put your Christmas lights back up? Time to slow down and enjoy the right now. There is no better way to do that than to come out to the Winter Woods Spring Fling happening April 18th right here in your own backyard. Ok, not your backyard. We are going to block off King James Ct., right at the end of Poinciana Rd.

The Spring Fling will feature fun festivities for the kids and a chance to meet more of your neighbors. The fun starts at 6:00 pm and we will go until dark. We are saving the Bouncy House for the fall but there will be lots of activities including representation from our advertisers and our neighbors with a business. Grab a bite at the food trucks, plus plate spinners and stilt walkers. (…or maybe not those last two.)

For the adults, our HOA VP Greg is hosting a tension breaking adult beverage drinkery where a refreshing libation can be enjoyed. Feel free to bring your own contribution. The Board is providing cups, ice, and accessories. There are volunteer neighbors pitching in with the spirits. Not a penny of dues went to ABC.

The Spring Fling is a celebration of Community and the success of our Membership Campaign. For everyone who missed the chance on the prize pizza for early dues payment, the Spring Fling is an excellent place to get those 2024 dues on the books. Stop by the HOA table and say Hi with your checkbook! Support the HOA!

What is the HOA good for? During the garage sale the other day, I received a call from Jerold – one of our long-time residents – because while he was trying to scare off yard sale folks by running his sprinklers, he discovered his sprinkler system was now leaking. I would never tell anyone I had any experience in sprinkler repair – especially if it were true. But I listened, I went and checked it out – apparently, the good fiber optic people who are digging up the neighborhood had damaged the sprinklers. I called another neighbor for the help-line phone number and after a few calls and a couple of days, Jerold got his sprinklers fixed. That’s how you keep a neighborhood together.

Speaking of garage sales, last month we all survived another shopper invasion! There were 19 sellers with wares out, and the traffic started about 7:00 am and was steady throughout the morning. There were new sellers and some regulars that sat this one out. We plan on another sale for the fall.

Congratulations to our neighbor on Sussex Carey for a favorable mention in our local paper for her particular skill set. Also, a shout-out to Ross and Terri for joining the Saturday Island Clean-up Crew – those are the neighbors who volunteer to keep Winter Woods Blvd mowed and trim. Hey, doesn’t that entrance on Winter Woods Blvd look great? Looking at you Elaine.

To make the HOA meetings even more enticing, we changed the start time to 7:00 pm. We meet on the second Thursday of every month at South Seminole Church of Christ on Lake Howell Rd and online via zoom. Come on out! We won’t mention taxes once!