Fairway Estates Community Association

What fun to have one our young neighbors gracing the cover of the Dunedin Parks and Recreation Magazine.

Sporting a pink tutu, and grinning from ear to ear, Sophie V. demonstrates a ballet move that most of us can only dream about.

Sophie’s twin sister Lucy (right) is pictured on page 7 of the magazine. Both 4 year olds take youth dance classes at the Dunedin Community Center, and their teen-age brothers take tennis lessons. Mom takes advantage of Mother’s Morning Out each week.

The Community Center is a wonderful resource for exercise, cultural events and social opportunities. It offers dance, music, martial arts, and fitness classes, as well as many other classes and activities, and has a branch of the library as well. And it’s within walking or biking distance from Fairway Estates.

Stop by the Community Center to pick up a copy of the Parks and Recreation Magazine, or view it online by visiting www.dunedingov.com or by going to the Links page at www.fairwayestates.org.

When Alex Valentino, a resident of Taylor Avenue, and a student at Palm Harbor Middle School, heard about a chance to represent the Clearwater Sister City program as a Young Ambassador in Nagano, Japan, he told his parents he would do anything for a chance to go. They told him to earn money to help pay for the trip, and that’s exactly what he’s doing. Alex is looking for odd jobs in the neighborhood. He can do yard work, run errands to nearby stores, and care for pets, among other things. The Clearwater Sister City program began in 1959 and the student exchange program began in 1990. Alex obtained teacher recommendations, wrote an essay, and completed an interview before he was invited to participate.

This summer Alex, along with a small group of local middle school students, will get a chance to experience Japanese culture by staying with a host family for one week and by visiting important cultural sites near Nagano the second week.

Please call Alex at 238-8909 to help you with odd jobs and to help send him on his way to Nagano.

Staying within a budget seems to be on a lot of people’s (and candidate’s) minds these days. I’m happy to report that while the Board of Directors had expected a shortfall in 2011, it turns out that we are ending the year with a slight surplus due to well-managed expenses and an increase in the annual dues collected. And that leads me to the subject of the speaker for the Fairway Estates Annual Meeting on February 6th.

When I was fishing around for a speaker this past December, several friends suggested Vice Mayor Ron Barnette, so I asked him if he’d join us at the annual meeting. At the time I invited him, Largo and Tarpon Springs were in the news with various money woes. Yet all we ever seem to hear and see from Dunedin is how we’ve purchased gulf-front parkland, expanded our fine art center, budgeted for more recreational facilities, and so on. How can this be, I asked? We’re surrounded by cities who have no money, and yet we do. It’s more than just good fiscal management! Come to the meeting and be part of the dialogue with Ron Barnette, the City Commissioner now serving as Vice Mayor.

Margie Sigman, FECA President 474-5508

The 2012-2013 Resident Directory is in the works and should be printed and ready for delivery in March. If you want any changes made to your listing as it is in the current directory, please email Charlotte Murray.

FECA publishes a printed directory of residents every two years.  The 2012-2013 directory will be distributed in March 2012. We are now taking orders for ads. Continue reading →

The Fairway Estates Women’s Club holds luncheon meetings on the 3rd Monday of October, February and April. The December meeting is held on the 2nd Monday. The club, active since 1964, works to promote good fellowship among the women of Fairway Estates and supports the efforts of the Fairway Estates Community Association. Continue reading →