Grandezza - April 2024

Report from Your Master POA

It appears that we have survived another “Season” as we are now in the “tweener” period between The Season and The Hurricane Season. March appeared to be very busy with northern visitors and spring breakers. Our visitors seemed to feel that the northern winter was milder than usual and were looking forward to returning to get started on their spring cleanup and flowers.

Your Master Association February meeting was on the 29th. There were two items of interest besides the usual reports from the various operating committees. Jack Jones, our Communication Director reported that Susan Baker, the Gazzette Editor has indicated she needs to resign as her summer travel schedule will make it difficult to arrange for the publication dates. The Board voted to accept her resignation with thanks for her work on the behalf of the Master Association. Jack Jones proposed that Sue Sherwin, a longtime resident and frequent Gazzette contributor, be appointed as the editor effective with the May issue. The Board agreed and thanked her for volunteering for this important position.

The other item was recognition of Cheryl McFarland on her 5th anniversary as our Property Manager. It has been a busy 5

years with recoveries from 2 major hurricanes; the transition from the previous Manager; and the major organizational changes at Vesta Property Services. Throughout these major challenges, Cheryl has provided the Master Board with valued advice and handles many resident questions on a timely basis. While we have not researched it, I suspect that for many of us, Grandezza has been our first experience of living within a Condo or Homeowners Association community. Suddenly, changes on our residences required the approval of the ARB or similar body. Cheryl has assisted our many HOAs and COAs in handling the transitions with a minimum of conflicts. “Thanks” to you Cheryl from the Master Board and our many residents.

As you have probably been following in the papers, etc., the Florida Legislature completed its limited 60-day annual session in early March. This is a very unusual provision for a state as large and diverse as Florida but may work better than the usual year around sessions in many states and Washington. At least it limits the time we must be aware of what our politicians are doing. This session approved several bills refining the new High Rise Condo laws about inspecting

Grandezza Girlfriends

By Cindy Fitzpatrick

Did you know we have over 350 members in Grandezza Girlfriends and 200+ attended the fashion show! It’s definitely one of our most highly attended events every year. This year the show was led by one of our former models, Merrillee (aka Kara) Nickolas. Its not an easy job recruiting models, outfitting them, coordinating hair and makeup, and selecting the music but she did it, and did it fabulously! A shout out to our beautiful models, Julia Applegate, Melva Borley, Wendy Cohen, Elizabeth Flowers, Audrey Heaton, Lyn Lundell, Kelly McCormack, Jill McRae, Hilary Moleski, Mary Cay Rackers, Kathy Roman, Jennifer Seegers, and Patricia Van Duyn. Great job ladies! Special thanks to Darlene Polyschuk who was the DJ and to photographers Patty Accavallo and Mercedes Aza. The clothes were provided by Casual Connections and each girlfriend received a 10% coupon for the shop. Our VP, Nancy Rajtik is crushing it with the

monthly raffle items and this month was the best yet! Well done Nancy!

In conjunction with the fashion show, we asked girlfriends to bring food items for our neighbors at FGCU. No surprise, girlfriends generously donated 430 pounds of food for their food pantry. We have the best girlfriends! A big thank you to Barbara Rieger, who brought the needs of the food panty to

Let’s Make a Change

By Yvette Bernosky, B.Ms., Director of Fitness & Wellness, The Club at Grandézza

Have you ever had something in your life that you wanted to change, yet you struggled to do it for years, or are still struggling to get started? It could be losing weight, advancing your career, improving your relationships or dropping old habits. Most of us have had something at one time or another that we couldn’t seem to overcome. Making a change can be challenging and letting go of old ways can seem daunting. We need to ask ourselves this question first. Is this something we should change or must change? It’s very easy to ‘should’ ourselves. I should eat healthier. I should acquire skills to move forward in my job. I should put more effort into my relationships. Or, I should drop this habit that no longer serves me. When you think you should do something, chances are you have not linked the why you want to make a change to the pleasure of

the outcome. You have not acquired the mindset to take massive action. When a client approaches me for guidance, I can often gauge their readiness for change by the depth of their ‘why.’ The more profound their reasons, the stronger their commitment is to the outcome. The pain of remaining stagnant has become unbearable, motivating them to take a proactive approach. The very act of

the structural integrity of older buildings. These laws require High Rise Condo Boards to take action to correct structural problems before the buildings become a hazard like Surfside. Previously a few vocal condo owners could block a Board from correcting building problems and “kick the can down the road” so future owners would have to finance emergency repairs. As an aside, I wonder what the financial impact will be when older high-rise buildings (such as in Miami) must adjust the annual reserve contributions to cover deficit balances with much higher annual contributions?

Your Master Board has a policy that the Master capital assets must be evaluated every three years by an outside party. It recommends reserves that should be provided on a regular basis. We were pleased that when we repaved Grande Oak (our largest capital asset) last year, the balance in our reserves was sufficient to cover the cost even though the asset had an estimated 25-year life! Each of our neighborhood boards maintain reserves for its association’s capital assets which

Report from Your Master POA on page 3

our attention. Barbara will have a bin on her porch at 20048 Buttermere Court if you have any additional items to drop off. No glass please! Thank you to Dianne Linguadoca who graciously offered and drove the donations to the food panty. Lastly we celebrated the birthdays of girlfriends, Jody Altschule, Carole Bacon, Shirley Cook, Patti Hafendorfer, Felice Hurwitz, Patti Lowe, Sue Malick, Yvonne Mazzella,

seeking help is a significant stride in making this transformation. The initial consultation serves as a compass, guiding us towards our goals and bringing clarity to our journey.

Embarking on a journey of lasting change requires a few key steps. First and foremost, we must disrupt our existing patterns as old habits resurface. We achieve this through a powerful triad for change: altering our focus, physiology and language in that moment. We repeat this process until our old patterns are so thoroughly disrupted that new ones can

Let’s Make a Change on page 4

“I’ve

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New Price in Grandezza

Meet the Resident: Gary Skalski

By Susan Sherwin

Many of us Grandezza residents enjoy staying active by exercising, walking or running, playing golf, pickle ball or tennis. Savona resident Gary Skalski, however, adds an additional passion to his paces—in collecting and bagging litter and debris he plays a vital part in keeping our community environmentally healthy and beautiful!

Gary, one of seven children comprised of six boys and one girl, grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, best known as the home of the Ford Motor Company and birthplace of Henry Ford. Gary recalls a happy childhood filled with child-oriented summer camp activities at Camp Dearborn, a resort northwest of Detroit and the brainchild of Dearborn’s Mayor Orville Hubbard. The young Gary was influenced, too, by the impact of Hubbard’s clean-up campaign designed to promote pride in their community and to maintain Dearborn’s immaculate streets. Another benefit of living in his childhood area, of course, was its proximity to the Detroit music scene. Gary

reminisces his joy of being entertained by Gladys Night and the Pips at his Sophomore class dance in 1968 before the group became superstars. Nice to live in Motown.

Gary’s father modeled a strong work ethic as an owner of an Ace Hardware store, and as a high school senior Gary helped managed his father’s store. After meeting his wife Diana and graduating from the University of Michigan, Skalski worked for his dad in a second Ace Hardware store. However, in 1979 he switched careers to sales in the generic pharmaceutical field. Interestingly, at that time generic pharmaceuticals encompassed only about fifteen percent of the market; now

Trust Your Eyes to All Saints Eye Center

generics account for ninety-five percent of the market with their bio-similar formulations. Gary’s work in that field for eight different companies over a period of thirty-seven years involved a great deal of traveling. He accumulated 1.3 million travel miles and just over 1,400 nights at a Marriott Hotel or 3.8 years. When Diana, who worked for the Ford Motor Company for thirty-one years in Human Resources was assigned to business in China near the end of her career, Gary and Diana often traveled there, thanks to his mother-in-law’s help with their two sons.

Full-time SW Florida residents for thirteen years, Gary and Diana first lived in Spring Run before they purchased their Grandezza home. Over the years they spent time visiting Diana’s family on the east coast in Coral Springs, but once Gary and Diana explored Florida’s west coat, they decided that they preferred this side of the state for their own home.

As Gary explained, “I hate litter!” He picks up refuse on the Estero section of U.S. 41 as part of Engage Estero and Lee County Department of Transportation’s (DOT) AdoptA-Road program. With two other volunteers, Bob Carey and Tom Downing, they make up the G.S. Team, which stands for Grandezza Savona (or Gary Skalski, too). Meeting twice a month on Sundays at 8:30 AM, wearing their bright yellow vests and carrying their grabbers and bags, the team walks and cleans up rubbish, heading east on Corkscrew Road, past Stoneybrook and Wildcat Run on both sides, about a half mile each time. Their work takes about two hours, and the threesome gets plenty of exercise from bending and carrying big bags of trash. They follow up by submitting a report and the county picks up the big filled bags within a week.

When the wall in Avalon separating it from the Grande Oak Shoppes was damaged during the pandemic, trash accumulations often filled numerous garbage bags with discarded bottles, cans, litter, cigarette butts, and even car parts. With the wall now repaired, it has gotten better, although Gary continues to be mindful of any trash accumulations there.

Gary’s hobbies include reading for pleasure and walking. Clearly, the Skalski family has a strong sense of community and volunteerism. Although Gary does not play golf, he volunteers as a Manager in hospitality for PGA tournaments, including one for Seniors in February, another for the LPGA at the Ritz Carlton in November, and an NCAA tournament in April. Gary’s wife Diana also contributes to the community’s well being in heading Savona’s architectural review committee. The couple is proud of their sons. Their younger son, age 36, lives in Atlanta and works remotely; while their older son, age 42, is Facilities Director at the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan. Also a part-time fire fighter, he and his wife have two children, ages three and nine.

Clean-up teams can only accommodate six to eight people, and the G.S. Team has three members. However, others are needed. Anyone willing to volunteer to help may contact Gary Skalski at gcskalski@gmail.com.

should be discussed with the residents when the annual budget is approved.

A word of caution…I saw a near miss auto/pedestrian accident on Grande Oak about 6:30 AM the week after we moved our clocks ahead. Pedestrians were walking (and talking) on the cart path by the basketball court approaching Grande Oak. The car was traveling slowly approaching the new roadway “cushions”. The pedestrians were wearing dark clothes without flashlights and very hard to see in the early morning dark. Fortunately, the car stopped for them and avoided an incident. Please remember when out walking near dawn or sunset to wear reflective clothes and have flashlights, etc. Much better to be safe than sorry!

We wish our friends and neighbors a safe trip north and look forward to seeing them next winter!

Fred Thompson

Readers Corner

By Faina Menzul

From acclaimed American author Kristen Hannah comes Home Front, a powerful story of the indelible impact wars make on soldiers and their families. This novel is a departure from Kristen Hannah’s previous ones as she dives deep into dangerous and heart-wrenching problems soldiers face returning home from war.

Jolene is a wife, mother, and a soldier. An only child of alcoholic parents Jolene has learned to fend for herself. After her parents died in a car accident Jolene sought legal help to become emancipated before the age of seventeen. A young attorney Michael Zarkades agreed to help her. After Jolene graduated from high school she enlisted in the Army looking for the stability she lacked at home. Jolene and Michael met again several years later, fell in love, and married.

Now Jolene is a mother of twelve year old Betsy and four year old Lulu. The family lives in a village on the shores of Puget Sound, an hour from Seattle where Michael practices law with his father. Trained as an Army helicopter pilot Jolene joined the National Guard, a service that enabled her to take care of her children yet continue flying. Jolene manages her household as efficiently as she does her National Guard Black Hawk helicopter crew whom she considers as extended family. On a surface, her family and marriage appear to be happy, but Jolene feels a growing distance between herself and Michael. Michael is grieving for his father who recently died after a long fight with cancer, resents his long daily commute, and spends many hours away from the family dealing with a heavy case workload. He also is not comfortable

among Jolene’s National Guard friends. Despite their differences Jolene still hopes to mend their relationship, even after Michael misses her birthday and tells Jolene “he no longer loves her.”

When Jolene’s National Guard unit is called up to active service in Iraq, the couple’s relationship becomes even more strained. Michael demands that Jolene quit the National Guard and stay home. Even though she is deeply conflicted about leaving the children, Jolene feels it is her duty as a soldier to serve when she is called. With Jolene leaving to serve, Michael is overwhelmed trying to balance both work and the needs of his daughters, whom he barely knows.

Soon after Jolene’s deployment to Iraq Michael takes on a difficult case to defend Keith, a young veteran who admits killing his wife, but who refuses to talk to anyone. A happy, easygoing man before the war, Keith has become moody and suspicious after serving two tours in Iraq. He loves his wife but frequently explodes in rage for no apparent reason. After he engages a psychologist to treat Keith, Michael learns of the deep psychological traumas many soldiers have after experiencing the terrifying realities of war and seeing their

Grandezza Girlfriends from page 1

Jeanne Rusthoven, Lynn Senese, Susan Stanczak, Kathy Tsouros, and Jayne Vito. Joan Gress was the lucky winner of the bracelet.

If you are interested in joining Grandezza Girlfriends, please contact Sue Koser at suelkoser@gmail.com. In addition to the monthly luncheons, we have over 30 interest groups. There is something for everyone.

Due to a mixup, last month’s article was a repeat. Here’s the article that went with the photos. The Grandezza Girlfriends were happily entertained in February by the husband and wife duo, Darryl and Andrea Gatlin. The Gatlins had the girlfriends singing, clapping and dancing. Both are accomplished musicians originally from Ohio and now call SWFL home. They performed hits from Neil Diamond and a medley of songs by famous duos from country, pop, rock and even a tune from Phantom of the Opera. Again, many thanks to our program director, Laine Hamill.

We celebrated the birthdays of Patricia Butt, Kathy Curry, Barbara Gehlert, Gina Howe, Carole Ann Levi, Patty Manley, Cathy Richards, Ginny Stevens, Valerie Vazquez and Mary Cay Rackers. Congratulations to the bracelet winner, Buffie Kramer!

Let’s Make a Change from page 1

take root. Finally, we introduce a new behavior to fill the void left by the old habit. Recently, I decided to make some changes in my life. I love public speaking and I’d like to do more of it. I also enjoy writing and creating programs and want to expand my coaching services. All of these go hand in hand with expanding my career. Two things struck pain points in me to take massive action with how I spend my time. One was a program on procrastination and how much time we have left in our lives. The other was listening to a podcast that stated that to be a great coach for others, you first need to be a great coach for yourself. I associated great pain with not fulfilling my dreams and incredible pleasure with the outcome and process of making this happen. I took action by changing my focus, including the energy

friends blown to pieces. Although Jolene assures her family that she is “very safe” in Iraq, Michael begins to understand the dangers she is exposed to every day.

However, when Jolene’s helicopter is shot down, Jolene loses her leg and her co-pilot and best friend Tami is gravely wounded. After Jolene is transferred to a stateside hospital for rehabilitation, Michael tries to help her. But Jolene has changed. She grieves the loss of her best friend, and has lost any hope of saving her marriage. She doesn’t trust Michael and feels that he tries to only help her out of a sense of duty. While defending Keith, Michael begins to understand the full magnitude of the PTSD that Keith suffers from traumatic experiences on the battlefield.

Once Jolene returns home with a temporary leg prosthesis she has trouble getting around the house. She becomes impatient and angry when the girls expect her to take care of them like she did before. Also, Jolene has nightmares and wakes up screaming, but does not remember anything in the morning. When Michael tries to help, Jolene pushes him away. It is only after Jolene and the family face trying experiences do they begin to realize how to rebuild their trust and empathy for each other and to rebuild their lives.

Home Front brings to life traumatic experiences of soldiers during war and the difficulties upon returning home to their families. While the characters in the book are fictional, their long-term life-changing experiences are all too real. This country owes a debt of gratitude and care for all the men and women who answer the call to duty and risk their lives in foreign lands.

We have a new interest group to support girlfriends in treatment for breast cancer and are looking for survivors who can share experiences, answer questions, provide support and encouragement. If you are a survivor and are willing to help, please email our interest group leader, Linda Chow at LindaLChow71@gmail.com. If you could use the support of this group, please contact me, Cindy Fitzpatrick, at cindyfitz826@gmail.com. Everything will be kept confidential.

and old physical patterns in my body, and altering the dialogue within myself about my future. Once I took these steps, my change seemed effortless, and I am now much happier and better equipped to serve others. If you want to change something in your life, decide if it is a ‘ should’ or a must. ‘ Shoulds’ rarely get done. If it is a must, you are on the right track. Take note when you are repeating an old habit and focus on what’s happening in your body and what language you are using to support it. Immediately do something to shake up the habit, disrupting your conditioning. Repeat this step every time until you have done it enough that the pattern no longer remains.

Helping others step to their full potential and live from their authentic selves has always been a passion of mine. As Grandèzza’s Director of Fitness & Wellness, I want to support and encourage you to make all of your goals and dreams a must!

Grandezza Classified Ads

To place a classified ad e-mail suzbakgranmb@gmail. com > An ad will run for THREE [3] MONTHS after first submission (except for Service Offerings). Please notify us when the item has been sold or if you wish to have it deleted from the column so that you do not continue to receive phone calls. You must notify us to continue an ad for an additional cycle after the initial 3-month period has expired or it will be deleted. Submission month is noted at the end of each ad

Items for Sale

2006 Toyota Avalon Limited: Burgundy color very clean. Bought and serviced at Germain Toyota. Ideal car to keep here in Florida while you spend your summer up north, or for a student at FGCU. 107,000 miles asking $4,200. Call Tom at 239-287-7808.

Suntrex adult tricycle: With over size tires with very little usage. Asking $350.00. Call 230-401-0939.

Sunburst shape mirror: 31 inches in diameter mirror by Tahari. AST $50.00. Call 239-401-0939.

Service Offerings

Airport Rides: Airport rides any time or day at affordable rates and a resident of Grandezza. Call or text Sue at 708-846-1985.

Concierge Service: Assists by Comer. Grandezza resident offering 5-star concierge and home watch services. For assistance call 407-928-4646.

Home Automation Services: Tyler’s Technology & Automation Services includingiPad/iPhone/Laptop Assistance & Tutorials. Call or Text 239-887-5049 for free estimates.

Home Health Care: Fox Private Home Healthcare is a family owned and operated service for in-home healthcare. Custom care options. Experienced, caring, and flexible with overnights and light housekeeping as options. Contact Donna Fox at 424-8968 or (mobile) 607-483-4428.

Nanny & Pet Sitter: Nanny/ light housekeeper/ house manager/ pet sitter with 20+ years of experience. Available evenings and weekends. Newborn through school aged children. CPR First Aid certified. Contact Jessica Ward at 203-556-6130.

Pet Sitting: Planning to travel and cannot take your 4-legged family member with you? Call Kathie Karp at 561715-7868 or kthka8@gmail.com to stay at your home and watch over the welfare of your dog.

Travel Concierge: Retired fulltime resident, over 35 years travel experience offering the best prices & service for cruises, tours, packages, all-inclusive safaris...The advice is free, the planning priceless. Contact Larry @ Ljackman1@ aol.com.

Tutoring and Pet Sitting: Dog walker/caretaker and K-12 Certified English and Reading Tutor: Grandezza resident who will care for your family. 30 years of experience with pets and 20 years of experience with students. For more information call Shannon at 561-8084040 or email: shannonleaschwartz@gmail.com.

Bicycle Safety – Rules of the Road

Bicycling is fun, healthy, and a great family activity. But a bicycle isn’t a toy, it’s a vehicle!

Florida leads the country in most bicycle accident fatalities. According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there were more than 4,000 bicycle accidents and over 100 fatalities throughout the state in 2023. Approximately 90% of bicycle accident deaths are caused by motor vehicles, and even in these types of accidents that don’t result in death, the cyclist is often gravely injured.

There are many reasons why this is the case, but the most common are failure to yield the right of way by drivers of motor vehicles, poor visibility, disregarding traffic signs and improper turns. All the more reason for cyclists to be aware of the “Rules of the Road” and to maintain a defensive awareness while riding on the open road.

In all states bicycles on the roadway are considered vehicles. Bicyclists are the drivers with the same rights

and responsibilities as motorists to follow these “Rules of the Road”.

– Ride WITH the traffic flow NOT against

– Obey all traffic laws. Stop signs and signal lights apply to all vehicles.

– Yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk

– Yield to motor vehicle traffic if you are unsure of the drivers intent

– Look in all directions before turning

– Be predictable. Use verbal and non-verbal communication to signal your intent

– Be alert at all times. Don’t use personal electronics while you ride

– Watch for parked cars with unexpected doors opening

– Avoid riding at night

Before riding make sure that you, your family and the bicycles are ready to ride.

Be a “Role Model” for other adults and children while riding your bicycle. For more information on bicycle safety, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website at: www.nhtsa.gov/bicycles.

To all who donated to Lee County Shelters and Domestic Animal Services: Your contributions were much-needed and truly appreciated. Together, we made a difference.

Sandy Gibbs, Mary Jo Serrento, Karen Neckorcuk and Nancy Reilly

Now that the Covid cases have diminished here at home and in many countries around the world, our Grandezza friends and neighbors are beginning to travel again. Hopefully you noticed we have started a “Travel Corner” in The Grandezza Gazette with the help of our traveling residents. We would like to invite you and your traveling friends to share your travel experiences and tell us about any interesting, or unusual destinations and experiences along the way.

We would love to hear about your best stories/logs from your past, or present travels. Have you visited an “off the beaten path” place, or discovered a new or special attraction nearby? What was the most interesting/memorable, or the least interesting? Do you have any special/personal tips or advice that would help others planning to visit the same places? Would you recommend your trip to others? If not, why not? You get the idea! We’re looking for our Grandezza residents to write a short recap of your highlights (200600 words) in any direction you wish to pursue. There are no ground-rules except they must be personal resident experiences and not travel tips etc. from commercial travel agents. Virtually everyone loves to travel, so we expect the readership to be very high.

Hopefully, you have some travel experiences you would like to share. If so, please send them to Al Meyer at meyer815@aol.com and we’ll get them printed as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance for helping to make The Grandezza Gazzette more interesting for our readers.

Engage Estero’s Free Public Forum On Traffic Congestion

April 16 From 6 To 8:30 p.m., Estero High School Auditorium.

This Is A Forum You Will Not Want To Miss!

Learn The Reasons For Traffic Congestion, The Problems, Potential Solutions, And What You Can Do

Engage Estero is presenting a free public forum to discuss traffic congestion, identify problems and share potential solutions we can employ individually, as a village, or as a county. Population growth is putting pressure on our roads and current residents. Everywhere we look, we see the symptoms of congestion.

Effective traffic congestion solutions require a collaborative approach involving experts, community members and policymakers. The forum features expert panelists on traffic congestion.

During The Meeting, We Will Examine

• The key issues that have led to the current congestion in Greater Estero

• Why it can take many years to make changes to the road structure even after the problem is identified

• Why road widening along East Corkscrew is slow to catch up with the developments taking place

• What can be done to create a positive impact by helping to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow? What are the solutions?

The Experts

Steven Davies, Florida Department Of Transportation

Davies has been specifically involved in Collier County’s aims to leverage existing funded projects (to maximize connected vehicle data) to provide real-time information to travelers to inform decision making and realize a vision of maximum mobility and safety in trips in and around Collier County. This project will deploy a Connected Traveler Information System that leverages connected vehicle data on U.S. 41 within Collier County.

Phone at (850) 414-4038 or email steve.davis@dot. state.fl.us.

Max Forgey, Owner, Forgey Planning

Max Forgey is an experienced land use planner with more than three decades of professional experience in Florida’s local government planning and community development. Phone at (239) 560-5864 or email admin@ forgeyplanning.com or max@forgeyplanning.com.

Ted Treesh, President TR Transportation Consultants Treesh has over 20 years of experience in transportation engineering and planning. Specifically, he has expertise

in traffic impact studies, corridor planning studies, traffic signal justification studies, and traffic signal systems analysis. Treesh has served as project manager for numerous transportation planning studies. He has performed capacity evaluations of signaled and nonsignaled intersections, evaluated development plans for traffic circulation and safety, and recommended improvements to parking areas and on-site design to accommodate development traffic.

Phone at (239) 278-3090.

Frank Domingo Or Carmen Monroy, Stantec, Inc.

Stantec is an international professional services company that plans, designs, delivers and manages the development and infrastructure needed to create sustainable, healthy and prosperous communities. Domingo is a senior project manager in transportation. He brings 32 years of comprehensive infrastructure and transportation planning/traffic engineering experience. Domingo leads the transportation planning, design and construction services practice in the Sarasota, Fla., area and also leads the firm’s statewide transportation planning/traffic engineering practice. Monroy is a senior transportation planner and analyst working with the Fort Myers Stantec team.

Phone at (239) 939-1020.

If you have concerns or want to learn more about current and future traffic congestion in greater Estero, join this informative forum. It will provide insights into reasons, problems and potential solutions.

Seating is limited and reservations are required. You can reserve your spot on the Engage Estero website at https://esterotoday.com/apr2024.

You will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the questions to the panel.

About Engage Estero

Engage Estero is an all-volunteer, nonpolitical, nonprofit community engagement association. We exist to inform citizens of significant community issues and encourage citizen engagement to impact the quality of life in greater Estero favorably.

What We Do, We Do with Purpose, Passion, And Pride in Our Community.

Neighborhood Watch Coordinators

Grandezza is a safer community because of Neighborhood Watch.

Cove A (Buttermere)

Cove B

I (bldg 1-8 & 23-29)

II (bldg 9-22)

Remember-

• Call 911 for a crime-in-progress (emergency) or

• Call the police at 239-477-1000 to report suspicious activity/behavior (non-emergency)

• Call the Grandezza Gate at 239-498-8895 to inform them that the police may be coming and why.

• Notify your Neighborhood Watch Coordinator

Letter to the Editor

By Paul LeBlanc

Every once in a while, like rain in SW Florida, I hear a song and feel it perfectly captures my feelings. It is amazing when you think that an artist produces something for the masses which can be so deeply personal to an individual. Here are two examples of what I mean.

In my life, I truly feel blessed. I feel good things came my way without much work or worry on my part. I grew up in a good family and was provided a wonderful education.

Community Boards and Officers

The first is from weeks ago; my son sent me a song. He said: “Hey Dad, I remembered this song and thought you’d like it. It’s by a guy who went to Laurier a year ahead of me (Shad K). This song was from an LP he put out in 08/09.” that was the first time my son ever sent me a song. Why he chose to do so; I have no idea. But when I did listen to it; it struck a chord and got me thinking about the relevance of my existence.

The song is A Story No One Told by Shad. Check it out on YouTube.

The second example is of a song I heard playing on the radio as I was driving back home from my brother’s funeral. In 1965 four guys in their 20’s wrote the song. It is amazing to think they, at such a young age, could capture how I felt that day. The song was In My Life by the Beatles. Also easily found on YouTube.

When I graduated from university; companies came on campus and recruited me. I never had to go looking for employment, it always found me. Promotions came naturally, I never worried about advancement.

I have been fortunate to have travelled the world and been exposed to many different cultures.

I was able to retire over 10 years ago and have enjoyed my retirement too.

Also in my life, I have had friends come and go. But while together, I cherished every moment with them.

I have had good health, never broken a bone. Well at least not one of my own.

But, unlike the song, my memories are fading. I have blanks. Blanks about people and events from the past. I am much more forgetful recently. I can’t do anything about forgetfulness, but I can replace lost memories with new ones. As I look forward I have so many new memories and experiences to look forward to. Upcoming family weddings, travel experiences, and other good times.

And remember, in my life, I love all of Grandezza more.

Grandezza Infrastructure Committee

– Volunteer Needed

The Grandezza Master Property Owners Association has several operating committees through which work is done to maintain Grandezza as a premium place to live. We have the following committees; Finance, Safety & Access Control, Landscape, Communications, Community Affairs, and Infrastructure. Dedicated volunteers serve on these committees and spend considerable personal time on various projects and tasks.

The Infrastructure Committee’s portfolio includes the following:

○ Maintenance of security gates, surveillance cameras, and access control equipment.

○ Maintenance of Grandezza’s preserves and 24 lakes.

○ Maintenance of master property roads, fountains, stormwater system, and signage.

Grandezza

Gatehouse (239) 498-8895

Gatehouse (DwellingLIVE Automated # to register guests) (239) 986-8627

Address 11450 Grande Oak

Clubhouse (239) 948-3569

Grandezza Express - Take Out Food (239) 738-7113

Golf Pro Shop (239) 948-2900

Tennis Pro Shop (239) 738-7111

Wellness Director (941) 999-1331

○ Monitoring of common area Street Lights and coordination of “lights-out” repair.

○ Various projects:

○ Savona lake erosion – drainage and restoration.

○ Ben Hill Griffin Parkway traffic signal installation.

○ Stormwater system spillway installation.

○ Comcast fiber-optic infrastructure installation coordination.

○ Repaving of Grandezza roads.

We are in need of a fulltime resident volunteer for the monitoring of common area Street Lights and coordination of “lights-out” repair.

If you are interested, please contact Peter Dersley at pgdersley@gmail.com.

Golf Maintenance (239) 947-6296

Vesta Property Services cmcfarland@vestapropertyservices.com (239) 947-4552 x 932

Gazzette Editor for HOA

Susan Baker (585) 615-5961 suzbakgranmb@gmail.com

GRANDEZZA MASTER WEBSITE www.GrandezzaMaster.com