The 2009 Relay For Life® St. Augustine Committee

Contact: Katie Lay, Publicity Committee Member
(904) 825-0566
sklay723@comcast.net
Date: January 30, 2009
Relay For Life® St. Augustine To Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back

One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. The American Cancer Society Relay For Life® is a life-changing event that brings together more than 3.5 million people across the country each year to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against a disease that takes too much.

This international fundraising event involves communities in a festival atmosphere. Families enjoy a day and night filled with food, activities and entertainment for all age groups. Teams decorate campsites around the track, and walkers from each team continuously circle the track throughout the 18-hour event as a symbol that we will never give up on the fight against cancer. Funds raised through the Relay are used to support the American Cancer Society's programs of research, education, advocacy and service.

The 2009 Relay For Life® of St. Augustine will take place Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17 at the St. Augustine High School track and field. The next Team Captain’s Meeting to prepare for Relay For Life® St. Augustine will take place on Tuesday, February 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Prosperity Bank Community Center, 790 Ponce de Leon Blvd. The Relay For Life® St. Augustine committee looks forward to seeing friendly faces from past teams, and new teams are encouraged to attend to learn more about Relay For Life®.

It's not too late to get involved! For more information about Relay For Life® St. Augustine, including how to become a sponsor, contact Event Chair Amanda Dunnam at (229) 563-4895 or e-mail Dunnam_a@bellsouth.net. For information on how to get a team registered for Relay For Life® St. Augustine, contact Heidi Matheny at (904) 536-1301 or e-mail relayForLifeSA@aol.com. More details are also available at http://www.relayforlife.org/staugustinefl


http://www.staugustine.com/stories/030509/health_030509_006.shtml


Relay for Life events planned

Groups from all around St. Augustine have banded together to raise funds to fight cancer, care for local cancer survivors and get the word out that 70 percent of all cancers are preventable.

The 2009 Relay For Life of St. Augustine will take place May 16 and 17 at the St. Augustine High School track and field. The next team captains meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Prosperity Bank Community Center, 790 Ponce de Leon Blvd.

Various activities are planned in the time leading up to the relay event:

* From March 13 to 15, Relay For Life of St. Augustine supporters will staff a booth at the Seafood Festival. The booth, sponsored by the Northrop Grumman Relay For Life team, will provide information on cancer programs and the relay.

* On March 21, a local martial arts academy will sponsor a self-defense class for $20 per person. All proceeds will benefit Relay For Life of St. Augustine. For information, e-mail Jessica@cdc123.com. Space is limited and pre-payment is requested.

* On March 28, the Royal St. Augustine Golf Club will sponsor the 4th Annual Harrij Costa Memorial Relay for Life Golf Tournament. The shotgun start is at 11 a.m., and the cost is $60 per person. Lunch will be at 2 p.m. All profits will benefit the 2009 Relay For Life St. Augustine. For information, e-mail nquatrano@yahoo.com.

For information about Relay For Life St. Augustine, contact event chair Amanda Dunnam at (229) 563-4895 or e-mail Dunnam_a@bellsouth.net. For information on how to get a team registered for the relay, contact Heidi Matheny at 536-1301 or e-mail RelayForLifeSA@aol.com. Details are also available at http://www.relayforlife.org/staugustinefl.

Pedro Menendez event

The Pedro Menendez Relay for Life is planned from March 28 to 29 from noon Saturday until 6 a.m. Sunday. Opening ceremonies are at noon March 28, and the survivor ceremony is at 6 p.m. that day.

The luminaria ceremony is at 9 a.m. March 28.

All events will be at Pedro Menendez High School, 600 State Road 206 West. Contact Carly Saffer at 461-2107 or e-mail PedroRelay@yahoo.com.

A recap...

40th Annual Tour of Homes "Christmas Traditions
On Sunday, December 7th, 2008, the weather was sunny, temperatures in the mid 60s and a perfect day for a walking tour.

The Garden Club of St. Augustine presented The 40th Annual Tour of Homes “Christmas Traditions”. The tour started at the COA Coastal Community Center (or actually anywhere along the route as long as you had a ticket). Complimentary shuttle service was provided by The Red Train. The tour also included an Afternoon Tea and an opportunity to browse through the Unique Boutique and Elegant Elephant sponsored by one of the garden circles. The six homes on the tour were lovely and, of course, beautifully decorated. Many thanks to the homeowners who opened their homes. If you missed this year’s event, you can see photos at http://www.gardenclubofstaugustine.org. Click on Photo Album, Tour of Homes
Remember also, that each year on Florida Arbor Day (third Friday of January) trees have been given to the public by the Garden Club as a “Thank You” to the community for their support of the Christmas Tour of Homes.

Arbor Day 2009 is January 16th and the Garden Club will be giving away bare root trees at three locations this year. For us, the closest location is the St. Augustine Beach Pier Parking Lot.

The Lunch Bunch
The Lunch Bunch, 21 of us gathered at Palms Grill on December 10th at 5:00 PM. It was also a special occasion since Chef Thomas was celebrating a significant birthday. We started out with a salad, main entrée of either shrimp and mahi mahi with rice, or chicken with alfredo sauce over fettucini and homemade cookies for dessert. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I did enjoy everything.

Van Johnson Dies
December 12th, 2008 - Actor Van Johnson died at the age of 92. Even at my age I remember watching him in many of those 40’s and 50’s films. He was a very versatile actor who was as much at home in comedies as he was in war movies, musicals and drama.

Messiah Sing-Along
This was the first year for a one-hour Messiah Sing-Along that took place at St. Anastasia Catholic Church on Saturday, 12/20/2008. This Sing-Along was an opportunity for anyone who enjoys singing Handels’ oratorio (the most well known part being the Hallelujah Chorus!) or just listening to the music provided by professionals and amateurs. You couldn’t beat the price of admission which was a donation of non-perishable food. The event was conducted by Joe Colsant, Choir Director of Holy Family Catholic Church in Jacksonville. An ensemble of student musicians from the St. Johns County Center for the Arts and St. Augustine High School accompanied the sing-along. What a beautiful gift to our community from so many talented and gifted people. Thank you!

Christmas Party
Everyone that attended the Dec. 20th Treasure Beach Christmas Party held at the V.F.W. on US1 South enjoyed a good selection of food on the buffet, and a chance to dance to music provided by a D.J. Many left with raffle prizes. This once a year event is a great opportunity to meet new people and spend some time with your neighbors, family and friends.

One of the nice things about the Christmas season is that ordinary people can do incredible acts of kindness. This year the Sand Bar Santas (led by Dennis) and his numero uno elf, Jeannie, did their annual trek throughout St. Johns County (from Armstrong to Hastings to Flagler Estates), delivering gifts and food to homebound seniors in need. This was the seventh year for this event. Words cannot describe what a humbling experience it is in singing carols and garnering smiles and hugs from surprised elderly recipients. Money was raised for this event by holding a fish fry about two weeks before the date with Joe, Gus, Edison, Mike and Melvin (the celebrity bartenders) entertaining the crowd and donating all of their tips to make the gift-giving possible.

New Year's Eve
This article appeared in Lifestyles, in the St. Augustine Record on January 4, 2009...
This is the first year that we decided to venture out on New Year’s Eve by attending the St. Augustine Beach Blast Off 2009. We decided to drive to City Hall and catch a shuttle bus to the pier. If we go next year, I think it will be easier to use the Winn Dixie parking lot at Anastasia Plaza. Wow! Thank you St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce of Commerce South Beaches Area Council. What a spectacular fireworks display from any vantage point near the pier. We met a very nice couple from Quebec, Canada who had decided to stop in St. Augustine for one night before they headed for the West Coast to meet up with friends. They’re looking for a place to spend five months in Florida. Maybe their first impression of St. Augustine will bring them back again. The fireworks started on time at 8:30 p.m. and exploded over the beach with plenty of colors, shooting stars and lots of boom…boom…boom! And then, to quote Chad Smith from the St. Augustine Record, “the show was over, slipping by as quickly as the past 365 days.” I know that we were home in plenty of time before Midnight to watch the crystal ball countdown in Times Square.

Limelight Theatre's Production "Women of Country
Another first for us in 2009 was attending the Limelight Theatre on Old Mission Avenue in downtown St. Augustine. On Thursday evening, 1/01/2009 we were lucky enough to see ‘Women of Country’, an all-female country music revue. Congratulations to talented singers Kristin, Stephanie, Alyssa, Cathy, Rachel, and Kate for a trip down memory lane with songs by the Judds, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Gretchen Wilson, Carrie Underwood, Tanya Tucker, Trick Pony, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire & Kelly Clarkson, Shania Twain, Nancy Sinatra and Leanne Rimes. The ladies, along with Jennifer and Rae, danced to Sin Wagon by the Dixie Chicks. If you have never visited this little treasure of a place, please put it on your “to do list” in 2009. For more information you can also go to http://www.limelight-theatre.org or call Jeanie at 904-825-1164.


Here are some Florida Fun Facts
(source: http://www.great-florida-vacations.com/florida-funfacts.html)

Did you know?
The oldest continually inhabited city in the USA is….St. Augustine, Florida founded in 1565.

Palatka is derived from “ferry, ford or crossing” since it was a major trading post on the St. John’s River

The phrase “cool as a cucumber” originated in Florida

Go here, go there, but no matter where you are in Florida, you’re never more than 65 miles from the ocean (as a crow flies).

Jacksonville is Florida’s largest city (in square miles). It pretty much takes up all of Duval county!

January 2009 Newsletter

I just realized I need to get a picture for the paper. I don’t want you all to think I look like Charlie! (Just kidding, Charlie!)

It was a tight election, but all of the campaigning I did paid off!!! Ha! Ha! Now the truth….no one else would run! I know you find it hard to believe but no one wanted this prestigious position! Maybe it’s because when you are in a leadership position of any kind; a significant number of people will be mad at you all of the time.

2008 was a busy year for the Board. Following are some of the accomplishments that we made:

Successful Membership Drive – We sent out over 400 letters to all property

Owners and more than 200 paid their annual dues of $30.00 per year. That’s the best participation we have ever had and WE THANK YOU!!!!

It’s NOT TOO LATE to pay your 2008 dues OR too early to pay your 2009
dues!

Front Wall – The wall made it through the rest of 2008!! Let’s keep our fingers crossed for 2009! Thanks to Jill Ziebell, Rose Larson, Wally Richter, Nancy Gaj, Phyllis Abbott, and Barbara Warman who made time to design and decorate this area! Also, thanks to the “mystery” person
who has been pulling weeds!!!!! If anyone, owner or renter, has a desire to work on the wall decorating, please contact the board.

Monthly Articles – Board members and volunteers published articles in the First Coast Newspaper! Thanks to all who donate their time to getting the articles to the paper and who participate in writing those articles!

Fell Park Dedication – Fell Park was dedicated in honor of Joe and Betty Fell, who were so very instrumental in the transformation of Treasure Beach “the fish camp” into Treasure Beach “the community”. Fell Park is located at the very end of Treasure Beach Blvd. There is a bench and very nice sign commemorating the park.

Neighborhood Watch – headed by Doug Berndt. Doug was able to develop a good working relationship with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department.

Community Clean-Up – We had a successful community clean up day. However, we were not able to get a “free” dumpster this year. A little “birdie” told me we will have one in early 2009!!!!

Spring Volunteer Picnic – We had another spring picnic at Butler Park that was well attended.

Navigational Markers – We did have to replace some markers in the canals, by the request of the U. S. Coast Guard.

Annual Christmas Party – December 20th we had our annual Treasure Beach Christmas Party at the VFW Hall on US 1. Phyllis Grubb and her daughter, Sonny, helped me decorate. Approximately 50 people attended. (Geez….only 50 people out of over 400 families????) The food was great, good entertainment (especially watching some of our guests dancing!!) If you didn’t make it, you may have missed your last opportunity to attend a TBPOA party. When you get only 50 attendees out of 400 residents it’s very disheartening.

Improved TBPOA Boardwalk – Improvements to the boardwalk were started and will be completed early January, 2009. Thanks to John Kelleher, Steve Abbott, George Pascucci, Richard Grubb, Tom Griffin and other kind volunteers, we were able to beautify the boardwalk to give TBPOA and Seychelles residents a safer, more attractive way to get to the beach. Signs
will be posted indicating that there is to be NO SKATEBOARDING OR BIKE RIDING ON THE BOARDWALK.

Parents: If your child has been skateboarding or bike riding on the boardwalk, PLEASE ask them to stop. They can get seriously injured.

Whew! We’ve been busy!!

The year 2009 will bring some new changes to the function of the Treasure Beach Board. We will be functioning more on a “business” level. We will not be planning parties, etc. However…..if any volunteer has a money making idea or community function, please bring it to the attention of the board. You will need to form your own committee and be responsible for the planning of the function.

The meeting dates are: April 7th, June 2nd and October 6th. Of course, signs will be posted at the entrance way to remind EVERYONE of the meeting. ALL are welcomed, including RENTERS!

We are still going to have two (2) potluck dinners. Primarily because we have some REALLY GOOD COOKS in our community!!!

The Board has voted to hold only four (4) community meetings per year. We will still have monthly board meetings to keep on top of issues in the community. Any items that need to be shared with the community will be printed in the President’s Dock newsletter each month.

One of our goals this year is to really improve our website. (Last year it was the boardwalk). Doug Berndt will be getting bids and ideas to help us get the most attractive, user friendly website possible. (He knows the new president is computer illiterate.)

To know what is going on in the community on a monthly basis you will need to either read the First Coast Newspaper or log onto our website. The entire newsletter will be printed on this site.

The Neighborhood Watch program is being “massaged”. Danny Roberts will take over for Doug Berndt as the security contact. However, Danny is recuperating from surgery right now.

The idea of having residents take turns patrolling the neighborhood was a great thought. However, GETTING VOLUNTEERS to do it is like pulling teeth! We need help! If you want a safer neighborhood, please call me and give me suggestions as to how to best achieve this. Don’t leave our safety up to a few people. The Neighborhood Watch program means just that….ALL NEIGHBORS NEED TO WATCH! Watch out for YOUR neighbors. If you see suspicious people lurking around our streets late at night call the Sheriff’s Department. If you see someone
across the canal going into a back porch and you know the owner is out of town…call the Sheriff. We’ve had cars broken into, boat motors stolen, etc. We also need to protect the children in our neighborhood. If you know there is a house where drug activity is going on….call the Sheriff! Drug activity is rampant everywhere. That’s right, our sweet little St. Augustine is big into
drug activity. Just read the arrest log in the St. Augustine Record.

We are going to try to have a guest speaker at every quarterly community meeting. If you know of someone that you think has good information that residents of TBPOA would like to know, please call me at 461.4356.

If it is your birthday this month!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I am only aware of one birthday and it is an important one! Bert Dobbertin turns 85 this week! If you should see Bert, please wish him Happy Birthday!

Well, I’ve rambled enough! Thanks again for all of the volunteers past and present. Also, thanks for giving me the opportunity to work as your TBPOA
President.

Paula Murphy