Holiday President's Letter

Happy Holidays!
 
Without doubt, the 2020 Holiday Season will be like no other as we enter what we hope is the last “couple of innings” of restrictions due to COVID-19.  Unfortunately, we have had to reschedule many VI events until it is safe to meet again in person, but we will have some festive neighborhood activities throughout the holiday season.

We held our First Annual VI Holiday Food Drive this past weekend.  Recognizing that people want to connect and give back to their community during these difficult times, Becky Morrison, Colleen Pelton, Virginia Brenman and Julie Scanlon organized this very successful event. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community we collected almost 2,500 pounds of food filling two pick-up trucks!!!  The items were donated to the St. Petersburg Free Clinic Food Pantry and, as you would expect, were much appreciated.  Thank you to all who supported this worthwhile event and special thanks to Santa Claus who made a cameo appearance.  A big thank you to Paul Pelton and Steve Cropper who transported the big haul!

Two more holiday events are planned over the next couple of weeks:

• Holiday Food Truck Friday on December 18 In addition to having 5 different food trucks, this event will feature D.J. Coro playing holiday favorites, Santa in the photo booth and “elves” at the bar benefitting the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.  Many thanks to Brooke Palmer Kuhl / RSBP events for hosting this special Food Truck Friday.  For more details visit http://ourvi.org

• Christmas Eve Seawall Luminaries on December 24 – This beloved neighborhood tradition will continue again this year.  Candles are available from the the Hospitality Committee led by Terri Boyle and Linda Testa. I have included the list of candle sellers for each street below. 

We are very fortunate to live in a fabulous neighborhood with many blessings and so many people who care about our community.  I recently recognized Jerry White (Massachusetts Ave.), owner of The Electric Connection, for repairing the palm tree lighting at the Overlook bridge.  Theresa Long (Illinois Ave.) has “floated” the idea of a “kayak canal clean-up” in spring of 2021 where kayakers/boaters would comb the canals picking up trash and then meet socially later in the afternoon.  If you have an idea or a talent that would benefit VI, please let us know. 
 
We expect to be able to resume our favorite neighborhood events like the golf outing, fishing tournament and Oktoberfest in 2021.  Please email admin@ourvi.org if you’re interested in volunteering for any of these events or have other ideas for bringing the VI community together.  There is so much we can do to improve life in VI but we need your help.
 
Just a couple of final points:

• These President’s Letters are no longer featured in “Life on the Isles” as there is a six week lead time prior to printing.  Please encourage everyone you know in the community to provide their emails to admin@ourvi.org ;
• The Annual Meeting and election of VIHA officers/directors will be held “virtually” on Thursday, January 21 at 7:00 pm (additional info to follow).

Lastly, you may have heard that Julie and I sold our home in October. We love our neighbors and neighborhood, so we just shifted our ownership to the vacant lot on Carolina Circle.  We plan to begin building in 2021 after a new seawall is installed.  We are renting a home on Hawaii Avenue during the building process.
 
Thanks to all those volunteers whose efforts are critical to making VI the special place to live that it is, we could not do it without you!!!
 
Have a great Holiday season, stay safe and hope to see you out and about in VI.
 
Rich Scanlon
VIHA President
rscanlon@ourvi.org