The Forest Matters Another Seabreeze Publication VOL. 31 NO. 5
www.seabreezecommunications.com
MAY 2024
FPOA President’s Update Elections for representatives from the four phases of single-family homes were held in March. New members of our board of directors are as follows: Phase I has John Guagan representing it, along with Scott Razor for Phase II and with Laura Wimberly and Martin Sturm for Phase III. New representatives for the associations are: Fairway Woods II: Angela Bindi; Partridge Place: Janet Mazzocc; Quail Cove: Diana Philbrick. The last FPOA board meeting of the 2023/24 year will be held on April 29. During the summer the Executive Committee will take over the duties of management of our community. It will meet from May through September. The first full board meeting for the 2024/25 year will occur on Sept. 30. As in the past the authority of the Executive Committee is limited to decisions regarding day-to-day operational duties. The paving of those roads in our community which needed to be done has been completed. The speed humps have been replaced by speed calming tables and the pressure washing
of our sidewalks is ongoing as this letter is being written. Next on our list of road projects will be striping. The stubborn problem of inoperative coach lights continues. There are still a dozen or so remaining out of 312 which are not operational. This is due to a problem with the connection between the home at which they are placed and the lamp itself. In some situations in which the home had to be completely renovated after the storm the connection was not remade. The electrician hired for this job is reconnecting the lamps where this service is needed. We hope to have this time consuming task done by the time you read this. All but two of our streetlamps have been replaced. Florida Power and Light (FPL) informs us the final two are on their schedule and should be done by the end of this month. We have cooperated with FPL in the past and intend to continue to have a good relationship with the utility. Bringing undue pressure on such an entity is never a good idea. Soon many of our neighbors will be heading to more temperate climes for the summer. There is a form available on
our website and at our gates which needs to be filled out and turned into the Main Gate office before you leave. It asks for the dates of your absence and the contact information we will need should it become necessary to reach you. Individuals who will be visiting your home during your time away must be listed on DwellingLive or on the form. The absence of this information will necessitate contacting you for the missing permission. This is very important. Should the information be unavailable your guests will not be allowed to enter. Your correspondent was elected to a seventh term as president of the FPOA Board of Directors after the Annual Meeting of The Forest residents in March. It has been a pleasure and a privilege serving our community over the past years. Stay well, Chuck Patten, President, FPOA Board of Directors
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Set For May 11 Saturday, May 11 marks the 32nd anniversary of one of America’s great days of giving – the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive. Letter carriers travel through the communities daily, often coming face to face with a sad reality for too many, hunger. Each year on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers across the county collect nonperishable food donations from customers. These donations go directly to local food pantries to provide food to people in Lee County who need help. Over the course of its 30-year history, the drive has collected well over 1.9 billion pounds of food, thanks to a postal service universal delivery network that spans the entire nation, including Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The need for food donations is great. Currently, more than 44 million Americans are unsure where their next meal will come from. More than 13 million are children who feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and ability to perform in school. Nearly 5.5 million seniors over age 60 are food insecure, with many who live on fixed incomes often too embarrassed to ask for help. Our food drive’s timing is crucial. Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. By springtime, many pantries are depleted, entering the summer low on supplies at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need. The Forest Matters
Participating in this year ’s Letter Carrier Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is simple. Just leave nonperishable food donations in a bag by your mailbox Saturday, May 11, and your letter carrier will do the rest. Nonperishable food items include unopened, nonbreakable containers, such as peanut butter, pasta, tuna, rice, beans, canned meats, fruits, vegetables and soups. With your help, letter carriers and the U.S. Postal Service have collected over 1.9 billion pounds of food in the United States over the 30 years as a national food drive. Please help in the fight to Stamp Out Hunger. Source: Coordinator’s Manual, National Association of Letter Carriers, Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive https://www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive/ body/2024-NALC_Food_Drive_Manual-online.pdf
Volunteer Drivers Needed We live in a generous community, so much so that many of the letter carrier trucks overflow with food. In order to assist with this situation, PRSRT STD the Volunteer Center of the US POSTAGE United Way of Lee, Hendry PAID FT MYERS FL and Glades counties will be PERMIT 751 coordinating volunteers to assist with driving a carrier route and helping pick up food. Volunteers will have a choice of four driving routes and two different shifts. All routes have a first shift of 11 a.m. to 2
p.m. For the remaining three routes volunteers will have a choice of two shifts. • Six Mile (one shift – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) • Page Field (two shifts – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m.) • Cape Central (two shifts – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m.) • Cape North (two shifts – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m.) Volunteer driver routes will start later in the morning to coincide with residents placing their food at mailboxes and the peak times when mail carriers are on their routes. The second shift will collect items from residents who put out their donations later. Any driver signing up is encouraged (not required) to have a driving buddy. However this volunteer opportunity works best when volunteers team up in pairs, a driver and a navigator. To sign up to volunteer please visit https://bit.ly/3PQ3dlG.
History Of The Letter Carrier Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive Letter carriers, who go into neighborhoods in every town six days a week, have always gotten involved when something needs to be done. Whether it is collecting funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA); watching over the elderly through the Carrier Alert Program; delivering needed antibiotics (if called upon); assisting victims of natural disasters, or rescuing victims of fires, crime, and other mishaps, letter carriers are the eyes and ears in every neighborhood and often lifesavers in the community. Over history, a number of branches collected food for those in need as part of their community service effort. Discussions were held by the NALC, USPS, and AFL-CIO to explore a more coordinated effort. A pilot drive was held in October 1991. It proved so successful, the parties worked to make it a nationwide effort. Food banks and pantries suggested that late spring would be the best time for the drive, since most of their food donations are received over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods, leaving the food shelves depleted by spring. Making matters even Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on page 5