Celebrating Growth and Success

Hard to believe another year has gone by!  We’ve had a very busy and successful year here in the South Area of the VHA (all villages south of SR 44).  Our 2023 programs were well received and well attended.  We continue to grow our membership and welcome the many new residents that continue to move into the south area of The Villages.

Last month we had our first event for our newer residents who actually reside in Lake County and the City of Leesburg. Officials from both the municipalities along with representatives from the district government provided a wealth of information for the newer residents as to who provides what type of services and where they can obtain services from.

We’re in the process of obtaining meeting rooms for our 2024 events. Our plan is to again host 10 monthly events for everyone along with two special events for our newer residents who reside in Lake County and the City of Leesburg.

As we continue to grow, we continue to add new VHA members to our leadership group here in the south. Shawn Dietrich joins us as an assistant vice president for the south area to help us be more responsive and more focused in certain areas of the south. Shawn resides in the Village of Monarch Grove and will focus on the needs of residents in the northwest part of our area.

I want to give a special thank you to the many volunteers in the south area who helped make 2023 a success. These neighbors of yours unselfishly gave their time and efforts to organize and participate in the monthly events we held. They’ve put forward issues of concern that we’ve tried to help get resolved. I’d like to close with a special thank you to one of our neighborhood representatives who is taking a step back from the neighborhood representative role but is remaining a VHA member. Mr. Rafe Garcia was one of the very first VHA members to volunteer as a neighborhood representative in the south area. He has worked tirelessly to try to make this a better place for all of us. Rafe has attended almost every VHA event since he’s been a neighborhood representative and has kept his fellow residents fully informed by posting regularly on the St Catherine’s Facebook page. Thank you for your selfless service, Rafe, and good luck in the future! Wishing all of you a joyous holiday season.

Dave Fountaine
VP, South Area