03/15/2018 ISSUE 11

Philanthropic ship comes in at
Makin’ Waves Gala. P12
$6.9M spec home
going on market. P9

Will Boca Raton hospital join
IRMC as part of Cleveland Clinic? P8

For breaking news visit

MY VERO Doctor: $2.5M
fraud settlement
BY RAY MCNULTY was ‘shakedown’

Tom Collins: A big role in BY BETH WALTON
the growth of Sebastian Staff Writer

The Sandbar at Capt. Hi- A healthcare fraud case
ram's Resort on Sebastian's
waterfront was jammed with against the founder of Trea-
family members, business as-
sociates and friends last week, sure Coast Dermatology was
all gathered to celebrate the
work-hard, play-harder life of dismissed in federal court last
the historic establishment's
founder and owner. week after Dr. Tim Ioannides

Drinks were being served. agreed to a $2.5 million settle-
Hugs and handshakes were
exchanged. The place was ment with the U.S. Govern-
abuzz with conversation as
people shared their memo- ment. The move comes years
ries of Thomas Hiram Collins,
who, a dozen days earlier, had after a former patient told au-
died unexpectedly in his is-
land home, a month shy of his thorities the physician alleged-
70th birthday.
ly billed Medicare for a proce-
"My brother would've loved
this," Collins' brother, John, dure she never had, a violation
said as his eyes scanned a
crowd that turned a memo- of the False Claims Act.
rial service into a Friday af-
ternoon happy hour, where a Ioannides, a Vero Beach is-
rum-and-coke – the departed
Memorial service at Capt. Hiram’s for the Sebastian resort’s founder, Tom Collins. PHOTO BY GORDON RADFORD land resident who owns der-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Daughter on Teel shooting: ‘I wish deputy had waited’ matology offices in Indian
New questions raised River, St. Lucie and Martin
about effectiveness counties, insisted he had done
of Spoonbill Marsh nothing wrong. He called the

BY KATHLEEN SLOAN BY BETH WALTON agency conducted an investi- both criminal and adminis- government and its lawyers
Staff Writer Staff Writer gation into the fatal incident trative wrongdoing, though corrupt, and termed what hap-

Indian River County’s con- last July and brought its find- an attorney for the Teel family pened to him a “shakedown.”
troversial $4 million Spoonbill
Marsh facility may be contrib- The daughter of a woman ings to a grand jury for review. has notified the Sheriff’s Of- Ioannides’ deal does not
uting to the nitrogen load in
the lagoon instead of reduc- shot and killed by an Indian The officer was cleared of CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
ing it, according to two con-
River County Sheriff’s deputy
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
responding to an attempted Vero Beach looking
suicide call told investigators

she wished she had never di- for ways to improve
aled 911. municipal marina

In documents released to
Vero Beach 32963, Susan Teel’s

family details the horrific events BY LISA ZAHNER
leading up to her tragic death Staff Writer
and their thoughts on law en-

forcement’s handing of the With the Vero Beach Mu-

situation. nicipal Marina at capacity

Interview transcripts were much of the season, and

provided by the Office of the well-used year around, the

State Attorney in response to CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

a public records request. The

March 15, 2018 Volume 11, Issue 11 Newsstand Price $1.00 Big crowds turn out
for ‘Under the Oaks’
News 1-10 Faith 64 Pets 85 TO ADVERTISE CALL art show. Page 38.
Arts 41-48 Games 65-67 Real Estate 87-104 772-559-4187
Books 60-61 Health 69-73 St. Ed’s 63
Dining 78 Insight 49-68 Style 74-77 FOR CIRCULATION
Editorial 56 People 11-40 Wine 79 CALL 772-226-7925

© 2018 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved.

2 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

My Vero and trips abroad, which included an his uncle by naming it Capt. Hiram's. worked as a hotel bartender and Col-
excursion to Europe last fall, when Col- "There's a photo of Tommy pointing lins operated a "beach stand," renting
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 lins and his buddies traveled to Lon- chairs, umbrellas and other accesso-
don, Monte Carlo and Paris. to his uncle's name on the Wall of the ries – and became friends.
owner's favorite drink – was selling for Missing at the Normandy American
only $3 in his honor. According to one longtime friend Cemetery," said Terry "Tark" Arenson, "I saw him quite a bit, but when he
who made the trans-Atlantic trip, Col- an Old Orchid resident who accom- moved to Florida in the late '70s, I lost
Certainly, Collins would have en- lins, while in France, made a point panied Collins on the trip. "It meant a track of him," Arenson said. "When I
joyed the stories being told, cover- to visit Omaha Beach in Normandy lot to him to go there and learn more bought a home here in 1999, I had no
ing everything from his early years in where his great uncle, Hiram, lost his about his uncle." idea he was here."
Baltimore and Ocean City, Md., to the life during the D-Day invasion that al-
entrepreneurial spirit he brought with tered the course of World War II. It was Arenson who shared one of So how did he find him?
him to Florida, to his knack for balanc- the evening's more entertaining sto- "I was out with friends one night,
ing work with fun. Which was fitting: Not only did his ries – about how he and Collins reunit- sitting in a restaurant, when this guy
parents give him the middle name, ed after being out of touch for more walks by me and he looks very familiar,"
There were far more smiles than Hiram, but when Collins opened what than 20 years. Arenson said. "Suddenly, it hits me, and
tears as his friends reminisced about was then a raw bar and marina in Se- I say, 'Hey, Tommy! Tommy Collins!'
days on the water, nights on the town bastian in 1987, he paid homage to As Arenson tells it: They had first The guy stops, turns around and says,
met in 1970 in Ocean City – where he 'Wrong Tom Collins.'
"I couldn't believe it," Arenson said.
"What are the odds there'd be two guys
with the same name, about the same
age, who look alike, and they both live
in Vero Beach?"
He soon learned that there were, in
fact, two Tom Collins in Vero Beach –
the other one owns a local insurance
agency – and they did bear a remark-
able resemblance, close enough to
pass for brothers.
He also learned where he could reach
his long, lost buddy, and the two men
resumed their friendship, which contin-
ued until Collins' death on Feb. 24.
The story, however, doesn't end
there: The other Tom Collins attended
the memorial service, where he and
Arenson met for the first time since that
night in the restaurant and recalled
their chance encounter.
"He still looks a lot like my Tommy,"
Arenson said of Tom Collins the insur-
ance guy.
As fate would have it, Arenson went
to visit his old buddy from Maryland
the day his body was found.
"I had taken a friend over to see
Tommy's house, because it was such a
cool house near the river, but when I
knocked on the door, there was no an-
swer," Arenson explained.
"I had just gotten back home when
another friend called and said, 'I think
something's wrong with Tommy,' so
I went back and tried every door and
window, but they were all locked," he
added. "That's when I called 911."
According to Collins' son, Will, it
seems his father "passed in his sleep,
without any pain or suffering."
While knowing his Collins didn't suf-
fer might've softened the blow, Aren-
son said he was stunned to learn that
his friend was gone.
"About a half-dozen of us were sup-
posed to go out on the water the next
day, so it was a complete shock," Aren-
son said, pausing briefly before add-
ing, "To pass at 69 years of age is too
short of a life, but he did more in those
69 years than most people would do if
they lived to be 100.
"He had a great life."
That was the prevailing sentiment

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 3

NEWS

throughout the two-hour affair at the executive and environmental activist, show to remain in compliance with its – by mixing it with lagoon water and
Sebastian landmark founded by Col- and Carter Taylor, former president of permit. filtering it.
lins, which now includes a restaurant, the Indian River Neighborhood Asso-
marina and hotel. ciation and a long-time member of its The county constructed the 67-acre About 2 million gallons of the waste
lagoon committee, say nitrogen input Spoonbill Marsh in 2008, on the west- water is mixed with 4 million gallons
There was also a recognition of and output numbers the county self- ern shore of the lagoon north of Grand of the lagoon water each day. It flows
what Collins, who had earned a repu- reports and sends to the FDEP grossly Harbor. It is intended to treat mineral- first to settling ponds and then wends
tation as a tough negotiator, meant to inflate the nutrient-removing capabil- rich effluent left over from drinking its way through nutrient-removing
the Sebastian business community, ities of the marsh to meet an environ- water purification – which environ- wetlands and mangroves before it re-
where Capt. Hiram's is the city's larg- mental benefit level the facility must mental regulations prohibit from be- turns to the lagoon.
est private employer. ing dumped directly into the lagoon
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
"Tom was huge," said Beth Mitchell,
president of the Sebastian River Area
Chamber of Commerce. "He was a very
focused, very engaged individual who
was always looking forward and had
tremendous vision. In fact, he played a
big part when the city went through its
vision-plan process in the 1990s.

"And from a Chamber perspective,"
she added, "I can't tell you how many
people show an interest in Sebastian
because of Capt. Hiram's."

Scott McGuire, president of the
Knight, McGuire & Associates civil en-
gineering and land planning firm in
Vero Beach, fondly recalled how Col-
lins would try to convince him to ac-
cept "Captain's Cash" – currency good
only at Capt. Hiram's – as payment for
projects.

The gathering went quiet only for
the eulogies, which were offered by
Collins' brothers, Skip and John, and
his son, Will, who in recent years took
over the resort's operations.

In his eulogy, Collins' son spoke
proudly about his father's forward-
thinking work ethic and business
success. He spoke warmly about his
father's fun-loving nature and nostal-
gically about the times they shared.

He credited his father with groom-
ing him not only to take over the fam-
ily business, but also to make the most
of life.

"He shared so much of himself with
so many people," the younger Collins
said, "but he shared the most of himself
– and the best of himself – with me."

Those words brought heart-felt ap-
plause from the Sandbar crowd.

"Just look around this place," Aren-
son said. "Look at all these people. I've
known the guy a long time and I never
met anyone who knew Tommy and
didn't like him." 

Spoonbill Marsh
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

cerned citizens who have successfully
petitioned the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection to hold a
public hearing on the matter.

Nitrogen, which comes mainly from
fertilizer runoff and faulty septic sys-
tems, is harmful to the lagoon because
it feeds algae blooms that kill seagrass
and smother marine life.

Barry Schapiro, a retired advertising

4 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Spoonbill Marsh gen load in the lagoon in Indian River “This all averages out. The intake abuse that plagues federal healthcare
County was only 0.57 milligrams per figures reported by the county are programs and threatens their finan-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 liter, about a quarter of the load the highly abnormal. If the intake concen- cial stability.”
county is claiming for the lagoon water trations were normal, they would not
Although Schapiro and Taylor have it uses as a mixer in Spoonbill Marsh. be able to show any net environmen- Ioannides told Vero Beach 32963
multiple problems with the way the tal benefit. A lot is riding on the qual- he had settled with the government
marsh functions, nitrogen levels in the Taylor, who has a degree in finance ity and veracity of data collection, and to avoid a multimillion-dollar court
lagoon are their primary concern. from Wharton and is trained as a statis- this is all self-reported data.” battle. He said his malpractice insur-
tician, contends that if the St. Johns Riv- ance covered all of his legal fees and
The county’s permit for Spoonbill er Water Management District number The marsh’s pollutant discharge the bulk of the settlement.
Marsh states the facility must remove is closer to the lagoon’s usual nitrogen permit is up for its third renewal since
2,759 pounds of nitrogen a year, and load than the far higher number the it was constructed in 2008, and the The process of dealing with the legal
the total nitrogen and phosphate load- county used, the facility is polluting the Department of Environmental Protec- complaint was difficult, but the reso-
ings must “be less leaving the marsh lagoon – not making it cleaner. tion is still reviewing the county’s ap- lution was not, the dermatologist said
than those pumped into the marsh.” plication. The date of the public hear- as he drove home from work Friday
County commissioners and Utili- ing requested by Taylor and Schapiro night. “The Department of Justice was
County documents state the nitrogen ties Director Vincent Burke were asked and approved by FDEP has not been not concerned with what was right or
load of lagoon water was 2.1 milligrams for comment on Friday. At Burke’s re- announced yet.  wrong; they just wanted the money.”
per liter going in and .91 milligrams per quest, county environmental special-
liter coming out in November 2017, ist Eric Charest responded. Dermatologist settles The doctor informed his patients
making it appear the facility removed CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 of his legal woes in a January 2018
more than half the nitrogen load, the “Your specific question regarding newsletter. In it, he writes about his
water going from extremely bad to just variability in the results from what is admit liability and the allegations children, his practice and advances in
very bad, but Taylor said the nitrogen being seen on the Spoonbill Marsh against the doctor were never prov- dermatology. He reminds everyone to
removal is being achieved “mostly by Discharge Monitoring Reports and en. His medical license is unaltered, wear sunscreen.
calculation errors.” what others are showing as the lev- though his billing practices and books
els for the lagoon may be something will be now subject to additional au- Ioannides also tells in the newslet-
He points to an email from St. Johns that can be attributed to differences dits as part of an integrity agreement. ter of his legal travails, claiming the
Supervising Environmental Scientist in sampling sites and collection dates/ whistleblower was working with at-
Charles Jacoby stating that the total times,” Charest said. The patient who brought the original torneys for a competitor and that
nitrogen concentration for the Main complaint to the government will re- federal agents didn’t understand the
Relief Canal – which logically would Taylor disagrees: “Given the number ceive $475,000 in the multimillion-dol- complexities of medical billing.
have a higher level than the open la- of water samples taken over a length lar settlement deal. The False Claims
goon – averaged 0.88 milligrams per of time, the relatively high nitrogen in- Act allows whistleblowers to receive a “I am not the kind of person who
liter in 2016-17. take from the Lagoon reported by the portion of any financial recovery the backs away from a fight,” he writes.
county cannot be attributed solely to U.S. Government is awarded. “But I was not going to bang my head
And a 2010-11 study done by St. slight differences is measurement lo- against the wall for another three to
Johns found the average total nitro- cation and timing,” he said. The elderly woman was referred to four years when I saw the utter disre-
Ioannides in January 2014 with con- gard that these ‘government’ lawyers
cerns of skin cancer, according to the had for the truth.”
August 2015 complaint filed in Flor-
ida’s Southern District. The derma- Two months after telling his clients
tologist removed a piece of skin from about the situation, Ioannides said he
her forehead and billed Medicare as if can’t think of a patient who has left his
he conducted a muscle flap surgery, practice. He said he remains one of the
court documents note. Federal pros- busiest dermatologists in the country.
ecutors claim, however, that the pro-
cedure never happened. Ioannides holds staff privileges at
Jackson Memorial Hospital as well as
Muscle flap surgery is usually per- Indian River Medical Center, according
formed by a plastic surgeon in a hospi- to the Florida Department of Health.
tal over the span of three hours, they say. He is a 1993 graduate of the University
Ioannides didn’t operate in a surgical of Miami School of Medicine and board
setting, nor did he put the patient under certified in dermatology. There are no
general anesthesia or use the time typi- public complaints on his file
cally allotted for the procedure.
“My patients who know me believe
In 2012 and 2013, Ioannides was me,” he said. “Everyone says, ‘Duck
the nation’s top biller for muscle flap and run,’ ‘Keep your head down,’ but
surgery in the United States, despite I want people to know. Anyone can al-
having offices in relatively rural coun- lege anything.” 
ties, prosecutors say. The “fraudulent
scheme is longstanding, ongoing and Susan Teel
widespread,” court documents allege.
“[It’s] lucrative and there is no evi- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
dence of a reason for him to stop.”
fice of intent to file a civil complaint.
“Physicians who bill for procedures Susan Teel was shot within minutes
they do not perform put personal
monetary gain over their duty to their of Deputy Jonathan Lozada arriving at
patients, and they raise the cost of her home. The confrontation between
health care for all of us as patients and the distraught woman and deputy hap-
taxpayers,” said Benjamin Greenberg, pened so fast, her husband, an emer-
U.S. Attorney for Florida’s Southern gency room physician, didn’t even make
District in a statement. “We will re- it up the stairs before his wife was shot.
lentlessly pursue this type of fraud and
Lozada said he shot Teel three times
after she lunged at him with a 13-inch
knife raised above her head. He didn’t
wait for his backup and his partner
was still near the front door when the
first shot was fired.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 5

NEWS

“I wish he had taken a different ap- gard for law enforcement officers, said wasn’t a criminal. I mean, we’re not part of policing, she told investigators.
proach,” Teel’s daughter, Sara Gordon, she regrets the way Lozada handled perfect, but I just don’t feel there was “My mother was not a knife wielding
told investigators Oct. 11. “I wish he the mental health emergency and any reason in the world that she had
had waited ... Knowing my mother as couldn’t understand why the deputy to be shot.” expert by any stretch of the imagina-
well as I do, I don’t think she would didn’t wait for backup when he knew tion,” she said. “She was a tiny woman
hurt anybody.” her mother was armed. She said she was relieved the officer [and] ... She needed help very badly.”
wasn’t hurt but wondered if he could
Gordon, who said she has a high re- “My mother wasn’t a thug, and she have done more. Danger is an inherit Dr. Dudley Teel also expressed alarm

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

6 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Susan Teel come down to get me, she never, nev- Susan Teel was laying on the bed pal enterprise fund, meaning it is sup-
er, never would have hurt me. I could when he got upstairs. He asked her to posed to be self-supporting, and this
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 have talked her out of that knife.” show her hands, and she raised a large year, the marina’s submitted $1.7 mil-
knife over her head, Lozada recalled. lion budget looks balanced.
about the agency’s response in an in- The two were in love, he said. “She
terview with investigators on Oct. 4. wouldn’t have stabbed me. And we “She kept coming,” he said. Lozada But that hasn’t always been the case.
could have gotten her help.” repeatedly fired his weapon while re- The city has frequently bailed the ma-
He detailed his wife’s long history treating toward the bedroom door. rina out, using property tax dollars, on
with depression and her recent strug- Lozada was not questioned at the She collapsed after the third round. the premise that having such an ame-
gles with their son. Days prior to her time and did not speak about the inci- “Face down, knife still in the left hand,” nity enhances the overall quality of life
death, the son was arrested after he dent at length with investigators until the deputy recalled. in Vero Beach and helps boost the lo-
became violent with his mother. The Aug. 17, weeks after Susan Teel’s death. cal economy.
reason a large knife was in the bed- Lozada said he was in shock as his
room was because Susan Teel feared When he arrived at the house, he partner ran up the stairs to start CPR. The marina’s website states that more
he might return, the doctor said. said, Dudley Teel’s shirt was covered than 3,000 vessels visit per year, result-
with his wife’s blood. It would have been nearly impos- ing in 20,000 overnight stays. Slips and
On the day of her death, Dudley Teel sible to shoot her hand or some other mooring ball spots are rented nightly,
found his wife slitting her wrists with a “I wanted to establish a dialog with limb, Lozada told investigators. What if weekly and monthly, and people stay-
box cutter in the bathtub. It was then her, but at the same time, I wanted the bullet missed and went through a ing over on their boats spend money at
he asked his daughter to call for help. to keep her from continuing to harm window or a wall and hit someone else. stores, restaurants and other venues.
herself, or committing suicide,” said
Lozada responded to the house Lozada, explaining his haste. Officers are trained to neutralize the City Manager Jim O’Connor re-
promptly and started up the stairs threat, to aim for the center mass. She cently announced a possible solution
with his gun drawn. Dudley Teel raced Lozada said he drew his gun be- kept advancing, he said. “I could have to the recurring bailout problem that
up the steps behind him to try and cause he didn’t know where he would been seriously stabbed. I could have could right the ship, but it would take
help his wife, but he didn’t even make find the woman, but knew she was been killed.”  a major infusion of cash.
it to the top of the stairs before hear- upset and had a knife. He worried his
ing gunshots. “I went upstairs and Taser wouldn’t be effective. Susan Teel Vero Beach Marina “If you follow the recommenda-
said, ‘What have you done? What have had been drinking and taking medica- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 tions of the Finance Commission, we
you done?’” he told investigators. tion, which can lessen Taser shock. will be taking some of our proceeds of
city government is fishing for ideas on the electric sale and retiring the debt
The deputy was scared and pan- “The last thing I wanted to do was how to run it efficiently enough to afford at the marina, freeing up somewhere
icked, the doctor said. get myself into an ambush setting upkeep and much-needed renovations. in the neighborhood of $300,000 a
where I walked up the stairs and if year that could go into capital proj-
“It was almost instantaneous. There she’s hiding in a closet or behind a The marina is technically a munici- ects, which is what the marina really
was no negotiating, there was no con- doorway, she was gonna attack me needs,” O’Connor said.
versation ... If [Lozada] would have with a knife and all I had available was
my Taser,” he said.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 7

NEWS

To get the project rolling, O’Connor said Harbormaster Tim Grabenbauer, In addition to spiffing the marina employees plus three part-time em-
obtained a proposal from Milwaukee- so there’s no formal document yet up and connecting it with the larger ployees.
based F3 Marina, a national firm that that details goals for managing and community, F3 recommends “re-
manages facilities such as the Navy marketing it. In that vacuum, the branding” it and launching a strate- The total payroll doesn’t seem ex-
Pier Marina in Chicago, the Village of council’s aspiration is to have enough gic marketing campaign to draw in cessive, with salaries totaling $203,000
Egg Harbor Marina in Wisconsin and cash to give Vero a first-class marina more customers. including overtime pay, but the cost
the Titusville Marina in northern Bre- facility without draining the city’s of benefits for the fulltime workers is
vard County. F3 took over the Titusville general fund. “I live in that neighborhood, so I high.
Marina after a national search in 2015. guarantee you that I don’t want any-
Rather than a targeted approach, thing that would be detrimental to If the marina was leased to a private
City Council member Val Zudans Zudans wants to cast a wide net for my neighborhood, and I happen to management company, presumably
said F3 was tactful in pointing out the ideas. “I want to see what’s available know that Laura Moss also lives in that firm would compensate employ-
poor condition of the Vero’s munici- to us,” he said. “I think there’s very lit- that neighborhood, so I assume that ees whatever the going rate is in the
pal marina, but that the failings are, tle harm in starting to prepare a very she does not want anything negative commercial marina industry.
in fact, many. He reminded the coun- open-ended Request for Proposals.” in that neighborhood either,” Zudans
cil about an incident last year when said, assuring the public that any im- The city will discuss the issue further
a woman was dumped into the water Some baseline things city officials provement options would be fully as part of the 2018-19 budget process
when a dock collapsed beneath her. seem to agree upon are expanding vetted and voted on. so that city staff can draft a Request for
Marina staff said the most serious is- the marina’s dry storage to accom- Proposals to bring back to the council
sues have been repaired, but work is modate larger vessels, making sure “There may be someone out there later this spring.
ongoing. the marina is safe, and providing who is willing to make the capital im-
prompt, responsive service that will provements that we, the city, cannot Councilman Tony Young said he
Zudans said after reviewing all the impress visitors – whether pumping afford,” Zudans said. “This is not an understands that there’s a consensus
data and the proposal, it was clear fuel or accommodating tenants. attempt to turn things over to private that “the status quo is not accept-
“there’s definitely room for improve- enterprise. This is to look and see able,” but that the city needs to fig-
ment in our city marina. It’s an entry- The F3 proposal pointed out that what we can do as city council mem- ure out exactly what it wants sooner
way into our city, it reflects upon us Vero needs to accentuate its positives, bers to ... make sure we’re doing the rather than later.
and there are shortcomings there.” one of which is proximity to local best thing for [the marina].”
shops, restaurants, the beach and lo- “My sense is that the greatest liabil-
The previous City Council tasked the cal attractions. The cost of having a company man- ity to the marina is us, the fickleness of
Marine Commission with devising a age and staff the marina is unknown, the council,” Young said.
master plan for the marina such as the One idea floated is to start a local but the marina’s current revenues
Airport Commission has done for the land or water shuttle service for ma- and expenses are public record. Ac- “The decline of the marina has
Vero Beach Regional Airport property. rina customers who don’t have auto- cording to Vero’s published 2017-18 come with the decisions of the City
mobiles, to better connect them to the budget, the marina has three fulltime Council that we’re not going to invest
The marina effort is still underway, countywide bus system. in it,” Young said, resulting in a marina
that doesn’t meet the standards. “Let’s
get it right.” 

8 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Will Boca hospital join IRMC as part of Cleveland Clinic?

BY MICHELLE GENZ tem that has not yet entered the Flor- Fedele and Poole helped lead a turn- From the first visit to Cleveland Clin-
Staff Writer ida market. around from a money-losing, layoffs- ic’s main campus in Ohio, it was made
plagued facility to one that is now clear to Indian River officials they
Boca Raton Regional Hospital an- Boca Regional’s pursuit of a partner solidly in the black and growing. In Au- should expect to be part of a growing
nounced Wednesday that Cleveland began in earnest last June when the hos- gust 2010, Boca Community Hospital system of Florida hospitals.
Clinic, slated to take over IRMC later pital formed a steering committee that became Boca Raton Regional Hospital,
this year, made the cut out of 12 hospi- served much the same purpose as the the “regional” in the title justified by a Cleveland Clinic Florida president
tal systems and is now one of five final- Collaborative Committee in Vero Beach. $75 million cancer center and an open Dr.Wael Barsoum has shared his dream
ists to assume control of 400-bed Boca heart surgery program rated tops in the of having a hospital in Palm Beach
hospital as well. In October, Boca hired Cain Brothers, state, as media spokesperson Thomas County – Boca is in the southern part
a healthcare investment bank based Chadura told the Palm Beach Post. of the county – but he told the Palm
Boca is a bit behind Vero in the in New York, to aid them in the pro- Beach Post that Florida’s certificate of
partnership process, though it ap- cess. They reached out to 34 possible Donations have flowed into the bur- need program has stopped the Cleve-
pears they could catch up. According partners; of the 12 that responded to geoning medical facility, including $35 land from building a hospital there.
to Thomas Chakurda, Boca Regional’s the request for proposals, the steering million raised in January from three do-
vice president of marketing, he expects committee made recommendations nors, and $40 million raised in a nine- With that hurdle, Cleveland’s op-
“to conclude the process this summer.” for finalists to the hospital’s Board of month period in 2016 and ’17. The more tions are to take over existing hospi-
Trustees. recent donations will go toward a capital tals, and it noted in its Vero proposal
Indian River and Cleveland are ex- campaign for a 278,000-square-foot an- that “Cleveland Clinic is engaged in
pected to have negotiated a definitive The Boca hospital, built in 1967, has nex that will house a surgical suite. partnering discussions with several
agreement by the beginning of June, grown to a 400-plus bed tertiary care organizations in the region.”
with closing anticipated by August, center. Hospital leadership is in transi- Already, a decade of fundraising and
following state and federal approvals. tion with its CEO, Jerry Fedele, and COO, construction has resulted in a neurosci- Those discussions include talks
Karen Poole, slated to retire this year. ence center, a cancer center, a women’s with Martin Health, whose three hos-
For now, the Boca hospital is also health and wellness center and a rehab pitals stretch from Stuart to Tradition
considering Orlando Health, one of Both joined the hospital in 2008, a facility, all with longtime donors’ names in St. Lucie County. The healthcare
Indian River’s finalists, along with chaotic year. The hospital had suffered attached: Lynn, Drummond, Marcus. company aligned itself with Cleveland
Miami-based Baptist Health South a staggering $110 million loss, which Clinic in January by affiliating with
Florida; Hollywood-based Memo- killed plans for a new $600 million ac- The hospital also developed a gradu- Cleveland’s cardiovascular program.
rial Healthcare, parent of Joe DiMag- ademic medical center on the campus ate medical education program with
gio Children’s Hospital; and Novant of Florida Atlantic University. Turned Florida Atlantic University, even without The cardiac-care affiliation would
Health, a North Carolina-based sys- out, design fees alone accounted for the scuttled academic medical center. seem a logical first step to full part-
half the huge loss. nership. That has not been publicly

Vote

Randy Heimler



for

SCHOOL BOARD
DISTRICT 4



August 28th, 2018

Return the
FOCtoUS

OUR CHILDREN!!

H: (772) 794-1327 Paid for by Randy Heimler
C: (786) 512-7017 for School Board District 4
www.randyheimler.com

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 9

NEWS

discussed, but further ties have been physician practices. In 2001, the same
strongly hinted at by both sides. year Cleveland built its Weston hospital
in partnership with Tenet Health Care, it
In a press release, Martin Health built a small hospital in Naples.
said, “As a result of their work together
developing this affiliation, Cleveland Less than five years later, though,
Clinic and Martin Health have agreed frustrated by Florida’s politically-driv-
to explore other opportunities to work en process for allowing or disallowing
together more closely.” The statement the expansion of medical services in
went on to quote Martin Health Chair- any given area, Cleveland threw up its
man of the Board John Loewenberg as hands and moved out.
saying: “We felt this was an opportune
time for future discussion.” “Cleveland Clinic worked tirelessly
to make the Naples hospital a success,
Barsoum recently qualified those dis- but due to the inability to obtain a
cussions as likely revolving around add- Certificate of Need for cardiac surgery,
ed service lines. “Time will tell how that patient seasonality, physician turn-
works out,” he recently told a reporter. over and overall financial challenges,
the Cleveland Clinic sold the hospital
The Martin Health deal marked in January 2006,” Clinic officials told
Cleveland Clinic’s 20th hospital affili- IRMC board members.
ation in cardiovascular medicine and
the first such relationship in Florida. The 88-bed hospital was sold for a
Cleveland has an international repu- reported $125.5 million to the now-
tation for cardiovascular care and has defunct, Naples-based Health Man-
held the top spot in the nation in that agement Associates.
specialty in U.S. News rankings.
A month later, Cleveland Clinic’s for-
Martin Health’s Frances Langford mer CEO Toby Cosgrove announced it
Heart Center opened in Stuart in 2006. intended to buy Tenet out of its 51 per-
Then, in December 2016, the company cent stake in the Weston hospital.
opened a cardiac interventional lab at
Tradition Medical Center in Pt. St. Lucie Today, while Cleveland Clinic
as part of a 170,000-square-foot expan- Florida’s Weston headquarters is cur-
sion that doubled the size of that hospital. rently in the middle of a $302 mil-
lion expansion, capital funds are also
There’s also been speculation about going to Coral Springs, where a new
Jupiter Medical Center being a target 74,000-square-foot family health and
of Cleveland. Founded in 1979, Jupiter ambulatory surgery center is under-
is an independent, nonprofit hospital way. That facility, with six operat-
with 207 acute-care beds plus 110 for ing rooms and 24 prep and recovery
long-term care, rehab and hospice. bays, is going up on the corner of the
Jupiter already is part of Blue Ocean Sawgrass Expressway and University
Quality Alliance, Cleveland’s integrat- Drive.
ed network of physicians.
The facility is expected to draw on
As Cleveland Clinic aggressively seeks the affluent community of Parkland
expansion in 2018, it has one Florida a couple of miles to the north. That
failure behind it. town, tragically familiar to all after last
month’s school shooting, currently
The healthcare powerhouse first has only a small Cleveland Clinic fam-
came to Florida in the late 1980s, estab- ily medicine clinic. 
lishing its brand here with clinics and

$6.9M NORTH ISLAND
OCEANFRONT SPEC HOME
COMING ONTO MARKET

BY STEVEN M. THOMAS ty issued a certificate of occupancy
Staff Writer in late February, and the $6.9 million
oceanfront estate will make its debut
North Shore Club developer Yane at a gala open house later this month.
Zana is happy with the progress of his
boutique luxury community, located What makes the timing even better
on the ocean between Sea Oaks and is a lack of competing product. There
Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, and prob- are only two similar new oceanfront
ably has good reason to feel that way. homes on the island, one that is near-
ing completion in Castaway Cove list-
His latest North Shore spec home ed for $7.9 million and a spec house
is hitting the market at the height of about the same size as Zana’s in the
the barrier island’s busy season, when Estate Section offered for $9.9 million.
homebuyers are abundant. The coun-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

10 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Oceanfront spec home an Anglo-Caribbean style but with a tioned living space on a one-acre lot, ments in Cocoa Beach, where dozens
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 slightly more modern interpretation and a $8.95 million package with an of buyers had backed out of contracts
that incorporates the coastal style and 8,000-square-foot home (12,000 un- as the housing market there tanked,
“I try to keep my feet on the ground layout that really resonates with those der roof) on a 3-acre lot with 200 linear beginning in 2007.
about pricing,” Zana says. “I think we we have seen looking for new con- feet of ocean frontage. Both are listed
are offering good value for new ocean- struction on the ocean,” says Premier with Webb, who works with Kay Brown “If we were buying the property
front construction on a large lot.” Estate Properties listing agent Luke and Jeanine Harris at Premier. now, we might build those 66 condos,”
Webb. “It has an incredible floorplan Zana says, “but we did not have any
The house, which has about 7,100 which offers luxurious indoor spaces “I think it is a good range of prices appetite for more condominiums at
square feet of air-conditioned living with views of the ocean from almost and makes us very competitive in the that time, so we decided to subdivide
space and about 11,000 square feet every room and expansive outdoor market,” Zana says. the land into seven luxury home sites.”
under roof, sits on a one-acre lot with entertaining areas on both levels.”
100 feet of ocean frontage. It has 6 Zana and a partner bought the 10-acre Zana formed Coastmark Construc-
bedrooms, 6 full bathrooms and 3 half Also hitting the market at North North Shore property in late 2010, near tion at that time to control infrastruc-
baths, and a 3,000-square-foot pool Shore this month are at a $5.8 mil- the low-point of the real estate downturn, ture costs in the subdivision.
deck overlooking the Atlantic. lion lot-home package that features for a price he calls “too good to pass up.”
a home in the same style as the spec, Approvals and site work took a year
“The house is superbly done in with 5,300 square feet of air-condi- The parcel was approved for 66 or so. Shortly after infrastructure was
condos but Zana was drowning in complete, the first buyer showed up.
unwanted condos at several develop- He purchased a lot for $1.55 million
and hired Coastmark to build a cus-
tom home similar in size and quality
to the new spec.

When that was complete, Zana
formed a joint venture with a local
partner and built a spec house in the
same size and price range.

“He was the financier, Coastmark
was the builder, and we had a profit-
sharing agreement,” Zana says.

The quality and appeal of that home
can be inferred from the sales process.

“A very nice couple from Nebraska
came across the house video online
and liked it so much they booked a tick-
et and flew out here,” Zana says. “They
didn’t want to look at any other houses,
just that one. They wrote a sales con-
tract two days later and 60 days after
that they owned the house,” paying
$5.9 million for the lot and home.

Desiring more space and privacy,
the Nebraska couple went on to buy
the lot next to their home for another
$1.55 million, leaving it in its natural
state as a kind of mini-nature preserve.

“Since the first spec house worked
out well, we decided to build another
one,” Zana says, referring to the house
that just came on the market.

Coastmark broke ground in 2016
and finished the house in late 2017.
By February all the final touches were
in place and the home was staged and
ready to go in the MLS.

With the spec house on the market,
four of the seven lots in North Shore
are spoken for. Three remain, but Zana
is marketing the two south-most lots
together as part of the $8.95 million
home-lot package.

He says the two home-lot packages
are flexible. If someone wants a larger
home on the 1-acre or 3-acre parcel, he
will be happy to build what they want,
adjusting the price to accommodate a
bigger construction budget.

While Northshore has been moving
ahead, slowly but steadily, Zana has
been busy elsewhere on the island,
building custom oceanfront homes
near the Moorings and developing a
condo project in Central Beach, cur-
rently under construction across from
the Conn boardwalk. 

PHILANTHROPIC SHIP COMES IN
AT MAKIN’ WAVES GALA

David Colclough, Karen Drury,
Pat Thompson and Brian Kroh.

12 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Philanthropic ship comes in at Makin’ Waves Gala

Michael Griffin, Molly Hart, Vicki Ashbury, Jim and Karen Lamont. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 Jay and Joan McLaughlin.

PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE

BY MARY SCHENKEL forming lives in Indian River County ship Committee chaired by Emilie Farnsworth’s first-class buffets, play
Staff Writer through leadership, collaboration and Hinman for the children of John’s Is- glow-in-the-dark shipboard games,
dedicated philanthropy,” and to do land employees. enjoy entertainment by the Atlantic
The John’s Island Community Ser- that its members expect to once again City Boys, a Billy Joel-style piano play-
vice League weighed anchor last award close to $1 million in the 2017- “Everything is ship-shape,” said er and roaming magicians, and dance
Saturday evening, taking guests for 18 season. Drury, as guests arrived at Pier 88, the night away at the disco dance club.
a cruise on the high seas with a Ma- were greeted by ship captains Brian
kin’ Waves Gala at the John’s Island The funding will be dispersed Kroh and David Colclough and em- Pat Thompson, JICSL president,
Golf Club. The committee, chaired through a Grant Committee co- barked on the maiden voyage of the modeled a stunning 1.14-carat dia-
by Karen Drury, fully delivered on its chaired by Louie Hoblitzell and Vicki SS Makin’ Waves. mond and platinum Schlumberger
promise of first-class fun and frolic, Aspbury for annual grants to 36 non- eternity ring donated by Tiffany &
in the process raising huge amounts profit agencies for operating expenses Once aboard the luxury liner, Co. Worth Avenue to elicit last-min-
to support the community through and programs; through a Strategic the shipboard-chic crowd strolled ute raffle tickets. Additional funds
grants to local nonprofits and schol- Grant Committee chaired by Hope through a promenade of pleasurable were raised through an online auc-
arships to the children of John’s Island Woodhouse for off-cycle requests; activities set up in rooms through- tion for a Kalos Golf River Cruise and
employees. through Contingent Funds allocat- out the entire club; their every need a silent auction featuring a dive in
ed as needed by the JICSL Executive seen to by efficient crew members. the Bahamas for two aboard a Triton
The mission of the JICSL is “trans- Committee; and through a Scholar- Guests could try their hands at the Submarine. 
state-of-the-art casino, dine at Chef



14 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 Robert Corno and Sandy Rolf. Jay and Carolyn Antenan with Nancy and Bob Puff.
Hope Woodhouse with Charles and Jennifer Croom.

Scott and Gail Alexander. Kathy and Todd Fennell. Bill and Marlynn Scully. Joan and Bill Hoffman.

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 15

PEOPLE

Joe and Sue Siegelbaum with Joan and Rich Marra. Jake and Pam Layton with Annette and Jorge Rodriguez. Briggs Tabler and Bob Drury.

Tina and Andy Nickle. Ned and Emily Sherwood.

Susan and John McCord. Brian and Heather Kelley.

Patrick Lahey and Troy Engen of Triton Submarines Vero Beach.

16 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Youngsters’ enthusiasm infectious at ‘Angels Dinner’

BY MARY SCHENKEL Wheatie and Bob Gibb. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Elizabeth D. Kennedy Catering. director, introduced Destiny Patter-
Staff Writer “The Angels Dinner is the most son, the 2018 Boys & Girls Club Youth
of the Year Finalists who led the of the Year winner, who spoke about
Youthful exuberance was on full Pledge, Club Code and Invocation important fundraiser we have for her “personal brand.”
display last Wednesday evening at before guests enjoyed a finger-lick- the Boys & Girls Clubs,” said Dan
the 17th annual Angels Dinner to ing-good fried chicken dinner by Somers, board co-chairman. “All “I personally believe that my per-
benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of scholarship money raised tonight sonal brand focuses mostly on my
Indian River County. makes it possible for hundreds of leadership, independence and de-
kids in our community to spend sire for success,” said Patterson,
The Corporate Air hangar was their summer in a safe and educa- a VBHS senior who plans to study
decorated in a sea of colorful ques- tional environment.” law at Florida State University. “As
tion mark balloons to highlight the I move on to the next chapter in my
event’s Trivia Night theme, which His co-chairman Bill Munn spoke life, I want to inspire others to follow
challenged roughly 400 guests to about a new Destinations program their dreams. If your dreams aren’t
‘Get your smarty pants on and have to expose teens to career and educa- scary then they aren’t big enough.”
some fun!’ The program even in- tional opportunities. He said mem-
cluded an informative trivia game bers are also participating in Float “We love the Clubs and every-
about the local clubs. Hope swim meets, basketball and thing they do for the kids,” said
soccer tournaments, and a decath- Nancy Lynch, event co-chair with
Arriving guests were met by po- lon-style track meet, and reiterated Marcy DeWolfe. “We are putting
lite representative members of the that they will again operate summer huge smiles on these kids’ faces, we
Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere camps at each location. are giving them a sense of belong-
Clubs, eager to thank their bene- ing and, mostly, we are giving them
factors. Attendees walked through “We provide scholarships to those a sense of self-worth and confidence
mock club rooms where youngsters in need and no child is refused par- in themselves.”
showed off their athletic prowess, ticipation due to his or her inability
arts and crafts skills, and brain pow- to pay,” said Munn, adding that last Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River
er. year the event raised $115,000, fund- serve roughly 1,500 children and teens
ing 450 scholarships, and their goal in its afterschool and summer pro-
Afterward, co-host Jaquan Pledger is 475 this year. grams. For more information, visit
and Kiara Castro introduced Youth bgcirc.org. 
Elizabeth Thomason, executive

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 17

PEOPLE

Kathy and John Harris, Susan and Bob McLean, and Susan and Ross McConnell. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
George and Georgia DaVala with Edie and Steve Dubord.

Nancy Lynch and Marcy DeWolfe. Ned and Sherry Ann Dayton. Kathi and Michael Pierce.

Michelle Gagnon, Amy Ledingham, Cathy Padgett, Susan Johnson and Angie Levy.

Muffe Metcalfe and Sharon Northrup with Jim and Sandy Johnson.

18 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 Trudie Rainone with Samuel Moore and Charlotte Moore.
Ann Marie McCrystal with Warren and Virginia Schwerin.

Maria Lopez and Roger Lynch with Melanie. Terry Flaherty with Jeffrey and Eilis Powers. Mary Jane and Dan Somers with Shimea and Cameron.

Vero Beach B&GC members with Lyn and Tony Buford and Jean Ueltschi.

Maj. Eric Flowers with Unique, Savannah and Maddie.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 19

PEOPLE

Brian and LeighAnne Curley. Kathleen O’Brien and Phil Joachim. Joe Olekszyk, Cheri Jones and Fritz Blaicher.

Judy and Bill Munn with Fellsmere B&GC members.

Diana and Rodger Pridgeon. Marlynn and Bill Scully.

Kiara Castro, Elizabeth Thomason and Jaquan Pledger.

20 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Top Chefs dish it out to benefit ‘Hope for Families’

BY KERRY FIRTH Lobster Ceviche. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE to get a job, how to balance a check-
Correspondent book and how to budget. Our goal is to
coated with macadamia nuts. Rodway, Bent Pine Golf Club. help them help themselves. The Hope
A sense of promise filled the din- Their taste buds fully sated, guests While the delectable food was the for Families Center has been helping
ing room at Bent Pine Golf Club last Treasure Coast families for 27 years.”
Monday evening at Vero’s Top Chef determined the top four finalists to draw for the evening, the purpose of
Challenge, outshining even the tan- be: Chefs Lincoln Dobson, Sea Oaks; the event was to support the efforts of To qualify for assistance, residents
talizing aromas and enticing flavors James Foerst, Michael’s Table at Or- the Hope for Families Center to assist must be drug- and alcohol-free, able
served up by the eight celebrity chefs chid Island Brewery; Bill Narhi, Vero local homeless families. to work and be part of a family unit.
who cooked up their signature dishes Beach Yacht Club; and 0Anthony Poli-
to raise money for the Hope for Fami- to, Regency Park. “Through the generous support of “The first thing we do is get the
lies Center. our community we are able to help an children into school or day care and
Their talented competitors were: average of 250 families a year get off make sure the parents are employed,”
The sellout crowd of nearly 200 was Chefs Jordan Beans, Cobalt; Edward the street and into permanent hous- explained Diana Grossi, executive
treated to some of the area’s finest Hunter, CC’s Place; Cassandra Lynne, ing,” said Dr. William Cooney, HFC director. “Once they have stable em-
cuisine before voting on their favorite Chef Cassandra & Co.; and Alphanso board president. “We teach them how ployment, they are required to save
dishes to determine the four finalists 70 percent of their net income to put
who will vie for the prestigious title of towards permanent housing. We
Vero’s Top Chef and a People’s Choice work with Treasure Coast Homeless
Award at the March 19 Challenge Fi- Services, through their rapid rehous-
nale, 6 p.m. at Bent Pine Golf Club. ing program, to get them housed and
we follow their progress for about six
Guests wandered from station to months. The program may assist them
station tasting such delicacies as Asian with a down payment, or first and last
barbeque steam buns, Asian style month’s rent, or utilities. We are basi-
short ribs, ginger-marinated grilled cally just giving them a boost or head
pork tenderloin, hickory smoked duck start on their own self-sufficiency.”
breast, Jamaican jerk seafood patty,
grilled octopus, shrimp volcanos, For more information or for tickets to
spicy tuna tacos, and lobster ceviche the Vero’s Top Chef Finale, visit hope-
forfamiliescenter.com. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 21

PEOPLE

Peter Nacion, Chef Cassandra Lynne and Brittany Davis from Chef Cassandra & Co. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 22
Esti Galeano, Chef James Foerst and Ted Faulkner from Michael’s Table at Orchid Island Brewery.

Lisa Price, Chef Edward Hunter and Sandra Hunter from CC’s Place. Chefs Lincoln Dobson and Steve Long from Sea Oaks. Spicy Tuna Tacos.

22 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 Chef Jordan Beans and Cody Page from Cobalt.
Shawn Witmer and Chef Bill Narhi from the Vero Beach Yacht Club.

Tokarra Frazier, Chef Alphanso Rodway Jamaican Jerk Seafood Patty, FIre Roaster Heirloom Chef Anthony Polito and Zachary Riordan from Regency Park.
and Jason Maldonado from Bent Pine Golf Club. Florida Crab Shooter and Grilled Octopus.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 23

PEOPLE

Kathy Quinn, Barbara Bertolami, Diana Grossi and Cindy Barnes. Jack Troutman, Clare Mortenson, Georgeanne Pace, and Patrick Recine.

Mariclare Beggy with Kerry and Tom Collins. Ciera Reed, Dr. Robert Alonso, and Sandy Divine. Gail Hagerott with Buddy and Pam Dawson.

24 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Ladies live it up at Connecting for Cancer ‘Nite Out’

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

The Wackenhut estate was aglow Polly Behrens, Gerry Collins, Nancy Cruce and Muci Clemens. PHOTOS: STEPHANIE LABAFF Louise Leary and Ursula Nuechterlein.
with fairy lights last Monday evening
as the women of the Orchid Island their own event, Boys’ Nite Out, sev- addition to all of the fantastic auction treatments, in colors representing
Golf & Beach Club gathered for their eral years ago. This way the men also items, J. McLaughlin at the Village the various different cancer ribbons.
annual Connecting for Cancer Girls’ had something fun to do – this year, Shops hosted a Sip & Shop, contribut-
Nite Out. an evening of cocktails, a silent auc- ing 15 percent of all sales made last “Many of us have had our lives af-
tion, dinner and the movie “Stalag Wednesday afternoon.” fected by cancer,” said Cruce. “The
The annual cancer fundraiser was 17” – while their wives were off enjoy- Orchid Island women have taken
the brainchild of Nancy Cruce and ing their party. Boa ‘hugs’ are another example of action. We recognized the ongoing
Gerry Collins, who recognized that the outreach generated by residents battle of cancer patients and came
having fun and helping others don’t “Orchid Island residents work to of the Orchid Island community. together to help patients deal with
have to be mutually exclusive. This help the community, but so do the Kathy Dunlop makes boas for people the main killer of Indian River Coun-
grassroots effort has raised more than people of Vero Beach,” said Cruce. “In getting infusions and going through ty residents.” 
$75,000 since it began five years ago.

Guests gathered in the courtyard
for hors d’oeuvres, sipping ‘Pink Lady
Cosmos’ served via a breast cancer
ribbon luge created by Dean Evans of
Vero Ice Sculptures. Throughout the
evening attendees toured the magnif-
icent home and perused the wide va-
riety of silent auction items, because
“girls gotta shop.”

“We had the biggest group ever this
year. It was a magical evening,” said
Cruce, explaining that 100 percent
of proceeds from the event benefit
the Pay It Forward Patient Assistance
Fund of the Indian River Medical
Center Foundation, which provides
much-needed financial assistance to
local cancer patients. The fund has
helped cover the costs of screenings,
diagnostic procedures, surgery, medi-
cation and cancer treatments for more
than 400 patients since it was created.

Not wanting to miss out on any of
the fun, the men of Orchid created

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 25

PEOPLE

Penny Kelly, Leni Taube, Barbara Crosby and Chris Lenehan. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
Penny Dolara, Adrienne Lower, Nancy Kelley and Sue Bergeman.

Beverly Meyers and Carol Hankins. Pat Day and Donna Bleck. Mary Lou Bedford and Janet Kelly.

26 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 Lisa Walker, Patty Shuman, Ginny Bauer and Jackie Kennedy.
Deedee Cunningham, Ronnie Weyrauch, Charlotte Klein and Carol Graham.

Carol Tintle, Susan Ryan and Ann Loeffler. Chris Lenehan, Claire LaPointe and JoAnn Morency. Terry Souza, Dorsey Seed and Ellen McGovern.

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 27

PEOPLE

Donna Waterson, Nancy Meredith and Meg Johnson. Melinda Cooper. Donna Breadner, Lisa Gattineri and Molly Angelucci.

Floriana Thompson.

28 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

VIP Preview Gala: ‘Gypsy’ spices up a sizzling affair

BY MARY SCHENKEL Don and Rose Ciampa with Barbara and Charles Gulino.. PHOTOS: MARY SCHENKEL just like Fred Astaire.”
Staff Writer Decorating chair Susan Pyles and
Piro Donovan, who plays Rose, Teetz ielle Bohmer, adding, “I loved seeing
As the burlesque dancers in the cel- added, “That woman can sing; what what she became.” her committee, assisted by the cre-
ebrated musical “Gypsy” famously a powerful voice. I had chills; I really ative talents of the Riverside staff, set
told Louise, “You Gotta Get a Gim- did.” “I loved the guy who danced and the stage for dinner at tables in the
mick.” To shake things up a bit at this ran away with the sister,” said McG- Orchid Lobby and the Waxlax The-
year’s Riverside Theatre VIP Preview Ciampa said she enjoyed the char- lynn of Christian Probst, who plays atre. A red-hot décor complimented
Gala, event co-chairs Rose Ciampa acter of Louise, played by Austen Dan- Tulsa. “I thought he was fabulous; the sizzling theme of the show, with
and Connie McGlynn and the Riv- tables set with red and purple linens
erside Theatre Friends Committee that showcased a mix of centerpieces
reversed the order of the evening, in- – some with towering vibrant red and
viting guests to first enjoy the produc- purple plumes and others with bou-
tion of “Gypsy,” before assembling af- quets of gorgeous red roses.
terward for cocktails and dinner.
Elizabeth D. Kennedy & Company
Presented by the Friends Commit- and her always efficient crew did
tee, the theater’s major fundraising another outstanding job, serving
arm, the Preview Gala is one of their delicious entrees of fillet and grilled
biggest nights of the season, offering shrimp to roughly 350 guests, top-
guests a preview performance of the ping dinner off with a lush chocolate
show ahead of its opening night to the cake, complete with an edible red
general public. rose.

As they gathered for cocktails under “This is a million-dollar-plus
a long tent along the patio, a few of the event,” raved Linda Aronberg. “We
theater-goers shared comments about are so blessed to be able to have this
their favorite characters. in Vero Beach.”

“Oh my God it was fabulous,” en- Gypsy will remain at Riverside The-
thused Linda Teetz. Of Jacquelyn atre through March 25. For more infor-
mation, visit riversidetheatre.com. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 29

PEOPLE

Sue and Kit Barrow, Dawn and Ted Michael, Rosemary and Dick Haverland. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 30
Dennis and Beth Stattman with Rhonda and Tom Lowe.

Connie and Ron McGlynn. Lorne and Heidi Waxlax. Sandy Rolf and Judy LaFage.

30 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 29 Edie Dubord and Debbie Berghorst. Anna Bain Slater, Christa Pielenz and Nancy Lynch.
Susan Pyles, Suzi Locke and Fuzzy Billings.

Mel and Linda Teetz. Ben Bailey and Jean Ueltschi. Janet and Don Tribus.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 31

PEOPLE

Terry and John Conroy with Laurie and Fred Gaertner. Cynthia Bardes and Kathy Johnston. Tim Slater with Annie and Barry Sullivan.

David Strupp, Kate Thornton, Ann Strupp and Randy Thornton. Linda Aronberg (center with feather) and the cast of Gypsy.

32 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

High hopes for Haitians at ‘Educate and Celebrate’

BY MARY SCHENKEL efit Haiti Partners, a Vero Beach-based
Staff Writer nonprofit whose mission is to help Hai-
tians change Haiti through education.
Haiti Partners co-founder John En-
gle and wife Merline were delightfully The Engle family now resides in
upstaged by their beautiful daugh- Vero Beach, but Leila spoke eloquently
ter Leila, who spoke to guests last about their seven years in Haiti, say-
Thursday evening at the sixth annual ing that even at age 2 she noticed the
Educate and Celebrate fundraiser at disparity of the life she and her brother
the Grand Harbor Golf Club to ben- Danial enjoyed, in relation to that of
Haitian children, where 50 percent are

Daniel, Leila and John Engle with Kaya Robinson. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE

Al and Betty Sammartino with Beth and Tim Wright.

Jean and Gene Cravens. port to Haiti-themed event were given
‘passports’ made of handmade paper
too poor to attend school. which were stamped at information
“We are here to help create possibili- stations manned by volunteers and
turned in for prize drawings. The plant-
ties and to give hope, not only for kids fiber paper, used for artistic projects,
in our community, but also to serve as is just one way parents are engaged
a bridge for others around the world in long-term strategies to support the
who seek meaning in their personal Haiti Partners Children’s Academy
lives and who want to make a differ- and earn service hours to provide their
ence,” said Leila. children with a quality education.

Before she spoke, guests at the Pass- While enjoying cocktails and hors
d’oeuvres, guests also browsed tables
laden with Haitian artifacts to pur-
chase through silent and live auctions
and a Haitian marketplace.

The Children’s Academy is a school-
based community development mod-
el, where 216 students attend school
and parents are taught entrepreneur-
ship. Financial and educational sup-
port is provided to another 1,000 stu-
dents at six partner schools, and 50
Micah Scholars have or will soon re-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 33

PEOPLE

ceive bachelor’s degrees to work with shared his greetings and activities, a two-hour flight from Orlando, its ex- people who are working together to
churches to educate their communi- reading, “I’m with the people whose treme poverty and social injustice ren- prepare and inspire change-makers,”
ties and protect vulnerable women lives you are changing. This is the kind ders it “a world away from Disney.” said Engle, adding that their model is
and children. of serious hope that you are part of getting attention by influencing the
by being here tonight and supporting “In terms of preparing children for a paradigm of education and leadership.
With co-founder Kent Annan cur- Haiti Partners.” future that we can’t predict, we have to
rently in Haiti, his wife, Pastor Shelly rethink everything. And we’re involved For more information, visit haitipart-
Satran of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Engle noted that while Haiti is just with people who are working on that; ners.org. 

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34 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 Rev. Bob Baggott and Phil Long. Stacy Cook and Alex Myril.
Richard Schlitt and Shelly Satran.

Sandy and Robi Robinson. Scott Herbst, Ryan Hostler and Joe Arnold. Paul Landry and Roz Allen with Liz and Leonard Marshall.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 35

PEOPLE

Chloe Spingler with John and Katherine Sommers. Miranda Sanchez, Donna Emmett and Caitlyn Shaw. Bonnie and Harry Morrison.

Willie and Cathy LaCroix, Adam and Suzanne Bolinger.

Marlene Rupp and Steve Sooby. Rob and Michele Wayne.

Jeff Reynolds and Beth Livers. Carolyn and Rev. Don White.

36 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Shining Light Garden celebrates seeds and labor of love

Cheryle and Bob Mackie. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Deborah Kerr-Rosenbeck with Don and Connie Derman. Linda Beardslee, Kathleen O’Brien and Gail Kinney.

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF ago on a 10-acre plot of land in Winter As Bray and his dedicated army of that they depend on the groups who
Staff Writer Beach from which the nonprofit germi- volunteers tended and nurtured the distribute the vegetables to educate
nated, continuing its mission of “Feed- garden, the plot of land doubled in the recipients.
Gardeners left their overalls and ing the hungry, one garden at a time.” size, increasing capacity and eventu-
hoes behind to mingle on the patio of ally adding a flower garden. Volunteers To broaden their scope even fur-
Osceola Bistro last Tuesday evening at “Joel started with three guys, a bor- cut flowers weekly and create arrange- ther, Shining Light planted nearly
the sixth annual Spring Dinner to ben- rowed tractor and three shovels,” re- ments for the VNA Hospice House. At 200 avocado and mango trees last
efit the Shining Light Garden Founda- called community liaison Greg Vafia- the dinner, every table bloomed with year and will soon add lemons and
tion. Joel Bray planted a seed 10 years des. “We’ve come a long way since then their floral centerpieces. limes to their orchard as well.
and we continue to grow.”
Dinner guests enjoyed a selection of The all-volunteer nonprofit pro-
items from a menu created by Osceola vides fresh vegetables to local food
Bistro owner Chef Chris Bireley that in- assistance programs at no charge so
cluded mixed Romaine lettuce freshly that those most in need can enjoy the
picked from the garden. Bireley is a fruits of Shining Light’s labor.
longtime advocate of Shining Light
and a proponent of farm-to-table din- “It’s hard work,” said Bray. “We
ing. grow it, harvest it and sanitize it, and
have it in crates ready to go. We’re
Over the years Bray has varied the picking it and they’re getting it the
types of vegetables they’ve grown, same day. Each crop is better and
always searching for produce with a better and we’re growing more and
high-quality nutritional value. This more. We send out our very best and
year they planted several kinds of I just want to feed as many people as
Asian greens, including bok choy and we can.”
kohlrabi.
Proceeds from the Spring Dinner
“This stuff is so darn good for you, will be used to purchase seeds, farm
but getting people to switch to differ- equipment and necessary capital im-
ent things other then what they know provements.
is very difficult,” shared Bray, adding
For more information, visit shining-
lightgardenfoundation.com. 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 37

PEOPLE

Joel Bray and Greg Vafiades. Al and Betty Sammartino. Tracey Cameron and Chris Hayden. Janice and John Paruolo.

Ellaine Saeva, Barbara Sotos, Cindy Day and Carol Christiansen. PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE Anne Cooney, Andrew Patykewich, Carol Kauss and Sarah Jane Moore.

38 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Art lovers over the moon at ‘Under the Oaks’ show

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF
Staff Writer

A tsunami of art lovers flooded Riv- Barbara King, Deborah Wood and Melissa Webster with artist Agnes Manganelli. window shopping, with plans to re-
erside Park last weekend during the turn over the weekend to make their
67th annual Under the Oaks Fine Arts Among the more than 220 artists ex- Attendees spent a day or more mus- actual purchases. As one couple sat in
and Crafts Show hosted by the Vero hibiting were works in acrylics, glass, ing over the vast array of creativity put the shade of the majestic oaks enjoy-
Beach Art Club, which has been pro- graphics, pastels, jewelry, multimedia, forth with pen and paints on canvas ing a glass of wine, listening to the Vero
moting art through education and ex- oils, photography, pottery, printmak- and paper, and for those wanting a Beach High School Band, they debated
hibitions since 1936. Proceeds from the ing, sculpture, watercolor and wood. more tactile experience, sculptures of over which piece of art to purchase. In
annual three-day show enable the club Exhibitors spent the weekend explain- stone, wood and clay, along with hand- the end, they decided they had to have
to fund local scholarships and enrich- ing their processes to art enthusiasts, made jewelry to tempt even the most both.
ment programs. working on pieces, sketching ideas for discerning collectors.
future projects and, of course, selling. No matter the medium, the artists’
Event chair Sue Dinenno said that Many of Friday’s attendees were just skills and perspective gave art-lovers
Under the Oaks was voted No. 2 in the pause as they contemplated each ex-
nation by artists last year, adding “as a hibit and the meaning behind the
result of that, the very best of the best work. Pablo Picasso once said, “The
tried to get into our show.” purpose of art is washing the dust of
daily life off our souls.” Under the Oaks
She said competition for the juried was an opportunity for anyone taking
show was steep, and VBAC members the time to visit to do just that. 
spent an entire day last December re-
viewing their applications.

The VBAC reserves 15 percent of the
spaces for those talented club mem-
bers who meet specific criteria, includ-
ing volunteering, and must jury in as
well. “It’s no cakewalk to get in,” said
Dinenno.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 39

PEOPLE

Nnamdi Okonkwo with Judy and Tom Peschio. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

Elke and George Fetterolf with artist Mark Sudduth. Ben and Diane Goldberg with Laurie Smith. Becker Family Foundation Best of Show winner Aletha Jones.

PHOTOS: DENISE RITCHIE & STEPHANIE LABAFF

40 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38 Artist Scot Buccina with Paul O’Keefe and Dida Hagan.
Sally Booth, Pat Dessi and Debbie Carbone.

Anita and John O’Neill. Walter Blake and Katherine Muraski admire the
wood sculpture by Niall Mathieson.

Michelle Hinz.

ENTERTAINING ‘GYPSY’ LEAVES
A (LONG) LASTING IMPRESSION

42 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Entertaining ‘Gypsy’ leaves a (long) lasting impression

BY PAM HARBAUGH to become their booking agent. Years Madam Rose’s Toreadorables. sic director Ann Shuttlesworth. They
Correspondent pass and vaudeville begins its slow are the iconic “Everything’s Coming
death. June elopes and leaves the act, raven-haired daughter. As vaudeville Up Roses,” “Let Me Entertain You” and
Riverside Theatre gathered its sig- but still Mama Rose is determined to gasps its final breaths, Louise turns the signature “Rose’s Turn.” It takes the
nificant resources and sure-footed remain in show business. She turns her to burlesque, becoming the legendary audience through the heyday of vaude-
confidence to mount one of the great- eye to Louise, her heretofore neglected, Gypsy Rose Lee. ville’s national circuit into the seedy
est American musicals ever, “Gypsy.” confines of burlesque.
Indeed, this is a big, brawny show The long show has long musical
steeped in legend, and Riverside has numbers, here led by conductor/mu- The show is often toe-tapping and
the muscle to produce it. frequently funny. After a long exposi-
tory beginning, which seems relent-
At nearly three hours in length (that less in its pursuit to reveal the dismal
includes intermission), the show will side of show biz, it sparks to life with
send you home with almost everything “Dainty June and Her Farmboys,”
you expect in this mountain of a mu- when director James Brennan gets to
sical: show girls, terrific songs, great show off some of his high-spirited cho-
tap-dancing, lady-like striptease and a reography. That is soon followed by
stage mother’s big number. “All I Need Is the Girl,” in which Tulsa
(handsome and talented Christian
Based on the memoirs of the legend- Probst) performs a superb song and
ary burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, the dance number.
1959 musical has a book by Arthur Lau-
rents, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by As expected, the show is nearly sto-
Stephen Sondheim. len in the second act by three well-
seasoned strippers – Mazeppa (Mary
Subtitled “A Musical Fable,” the show Callanan), Electra (Pam Bradley) and
begins with Mama Rose, the quintes- Tessie Tura (Susan Cella) – who per-
sential brash stage mother, hauling form the hysterical number “Ya Gotta
her two daughters, June and Louise, Get a Gimmick,” complete with bumps,
through the vaudeville circuit. Rose grinds and a trumpet.
quickly meets Herbie, a gentle soul
who falls in love with her and agrees It’s all typical “Gypsy.”

MARCH 16
—

APRIL 27
2018

Annual
Juried
Photography
Exhibition

Photo Credits - Past Entries: Painted Bunting by Walter Veasey,
Kept, Kept Safe by Larry Lovotny, Little Sister by Barbara DuPont,
Foundation by Erika Masterson, Framed by Nature by Charlie Newman,

Through the Eye of the CameraPeople’s Choice Award Winner - Tannery in Fez, by Linda Leonard.

A.E. BACKUS MUSEUM & GALLERY

500 N. Indian River Drive Fort Pierce, FL 34950
772.465.0630 www.BackusMuseum.com

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 43

ARTS & THEATRE Olivia Fanders as Baby June and
Jacquelyn Piro Donovan as Rose.

Pam Bradley as Electra and Mary Callahan as Mazeppa.

comes from Louise, “Gypsy” runs
through March 25 at
played by the elegant Riverside Theatre, 3250
Riverside Park Drive,
and charming Aus- Vero Beach. Tickets start
at $35. Call 772-231-6990 or
ten Danielle Bohmer. visit RiversideTheatre.com. 

Austen Danielle Bohmer as Louise and Constantly put upon and JOIN US FOR A
Charity Van Tassel as Dainty June. verbally abused, Louise TRUNK SHOW WITH
shows her sacrifice and love SUZY LANDA

to the family when she agrees to FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, MARCH 16 & 17

do burlesque. She dons a stripper’s

Ultimately, though, Riverside’s gown, is surprised by her own physi-

well-oiled production gets in its own cal beauty, and then walks on stage.

way with the demands of moving the Bohmer has some fun moments with

episodic story along. The deeper emo- the audience and goes through vari-

tional moments don’t resonate, un- ous strip tease numbers where a glove

dercutting the big payoffs. Instead of is doffed, a shoulder strap slipped off

understanding Mama Rose’s sacrifice, and eventually, ooh la la. Not only is

we see her as a self-serving, impossible she beautiful, she also has fun in this

stage mother. Herbie barely shows any sequence.

hurt when he breaks up with Rose. And With the myriad of depression-era,

despite years of emotional abuse and vaudeville and burlesque garb, Kurt

the type of treatment that would today Alger continues to show his smart flair

alert child services workers, a grown and talent for costume design. His el-

Louise avoids the gut-wrenching con- egant gowns for Gypsy Rose Lee are

frontation with her mother. gorgeous and functional.

As Rose, Jacquelyn Piro Donovan Cliff Simon’s scenic design employs

brings a lot of energy and brassy swag- a two-dimensional motif evocative of

ger to her big voice. She exposes Rose’s vaudeville. His best nod, though, is

irritating pushiness but misses that with the beautifully carved false pro-

deeper chord which lays the ground- scenium arch, complete with four-leaf

work for her dramatic melt-down in clovers, an army of footlights flank-

“Rose’s Turn.” Her heart-wrenching la- ing the stage and vaudevillian-style

ment, “I was born too soon and started placards. Michelle Habeck’s lighting

too late,” does not land. design dazzles, especially in “Rose’s

Bob Walton makes a sweet Herbie Turn.” And again, Craig Beyrooti’s

and has a nice ease in song and dance. sound design makes the whole thing

He is likable in his scenes with Rose feel acoustic, which is appropriate

and the grown Louise. But we really given the setting.

want to see his angry, hurt moment For sure, Riverside has amassed

when he finally finds the courage to a talented crew to tell this “musical

tell Rose off. And we need that. We fable.” There are scenes that sparkle,

need him to be the audience’s voice some that shine and others that may-

and tell the stage mother just how aw- be need some buffing. But no doubt,

ful she is. you’ll be entertained. Just take a nap

The biggest character arc of course before you go.

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44 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Coming Up: ‘Buyer and Cellar’ is the real comedic deal

BY SAMANTHA BAITA off-Broadway run and was a hit with
Staff Writer audiences and critics, says the show
promo, quoting the New Yorker, “a
1 Who thinks up this stuff? In this fantasy so delightful you wish it were
case – playwright Jonathan Tol- true.” The show runs on the Waxlax
stage through April 8. Tickets can be
ins. Just reading the plot to Riverside purchased by calling the box office
at 772-231-6990, or online at www.
Theatre’s one-man comedy play “Buy- riversidetheatre.com. Show times are
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thurs-
er and Cellar,” opening this Tuesday, days at 7:30 p.m.; Opening Night (the
first Tuesday performance), Fridays
had me laughing. It’s about a strug- and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; and Wednes-
days, select Thursdays, Saturdays and
gling L.A. actor, Alex More, who’s just Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $55.

been canned from his job at Disney-

land and, shortly after, is hired as cura-

tor of a Malibu Museum. And get this:

The museum is in Barbra Streisand’s

basement. Wha-at? It’s full of all the

diva’s “costumes, dolls and trinkets.”

When Streisand descends to check out 2 McKee Botanical Garden is one
of the most excellent examples of
the museum, “a real bonding takes

place,” according to the show promo, nature’s unparalleled art and, if you

and Alex begins to chat with the audi- haven’t visited in a while – or if you’ve

ence about his interactions with Strei- actually never visited – this weekend

sand. Tolins actually got the idea after would be a great time to do so: It’s

reading a book by Streisand about McKee’s annual Garden and Antique

her personal collections. Obviously, Show and Sale. McKee has carefully

his imagination took over from there. chosen 30 suitable vendors so you can

There is a pre-play disclaimer: What’s enjoy “antiques, arts and orchids.” Of

true – there is a “mall” in Streisand’s course, you’ll want to give yourself

basement, and what isn’t – every- 1 Coming to Riverside Theatre on Tuesday. plenty of time to stroll the grounds

thing else. “Buyer and Cellar” had an and absorb the beauty that is McKee.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 45

ARTS & THEATRE

5 Looking for a bit of cool jazz this
weekend? You’ll find it at the

Heritage Center this Saturday, when

the Treasure Coast Jazz Society pres-

ents vocalist Lisa Kelly and trumpeter

JB Scott (former director of the Dukes

of Dixieland), with Dave Steinmeyer.

Partners Kelly and Scott and their

sextet have played such international

venues as the Montreux Jazz Festival

in Switzerland, Festival Vien Jazz Fes-

tival in Austria, North Sea Jazz Festi-

val in the Netherlands, Monterey Jazz

Festival in California, and numerous

others. Jazz starts at 12:30 p.m. 772-

3 Joshua Bell performing at the Community Church March 23. 234-4600. 

Show times are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fri- cert begins at 7:30 p.m.
day and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4
p.m. Sunday. Standard Garden admis- 4 “Early Debussy and Late
sion: adults, $12; seniors, $11; children Schubert” is the program this
(3-12), $8, under 3, free. 772-794-0601.
Sunday at the Vero Beach Museum of

Art, the next in the Atlantic Classical

3 Joshua Bell started playing the Orchestra and Vero Beach Museum of
violin at the age of 4, shortly
Art Chamber Music Series. Debussy’s

after his mom found that he had Piano Trio in G Major L. 3 is a work

strung rubber bands across his with which you might not be familiar:

dresser-drawer handles to plink out It was written by an 18-year-old Claude

tunes he’d heard her playing on the Debussy in 1880 in Fiesole, Italy. Ac-

piano. Today the virtuoso violinist cording to Wikipedia, in 1984 the mu-

plays with the world’s greatest or- sic critic Harold Schonberg wrote of

chestras and, next Friday, March 23, the trio that “you can have a lot of fun

he’ll be at Community Church play- … asking your learned friends who the

ing and conducting London’s world- composer is. Nothing in the music sug-

renowned Academy of St. Martin- gests Debussy. It is sweet, sentimental

in-the-Fields Orchestra (my favorite and sugared; it verges on the salon.”

orchestra). Bell is just as comfortable On the other hand, Schubert’s Piano

with Ravel, Beethoven and Brahms Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 100, was one

as with Chris Botti, Sting, Wynton of the composer’s last completed com-

Marsalis and Gloria Estefan, and positions, dated November 1827. It was

he plays a 1713 Strad known as ‘The published in late 1828, shortly before

Gibson,’ the height of classical cool. Schubert’s death, and is among the

We’ll hear Beethoven’s glorious Sixth few of his late compositions he heard

Symphony, the beautiful tone poem performed. The musicians are: Alek-

“Pastorale,” and Bell will perform a sandr Zhuk, violin; Christopher Glans-

pair of masterworks: a concerto by dorp, cello; and Catherine Lan, piano.

Hnryk Wieniski, a leading violinist Admission includes a post-concert

and composer of the Romantic Era; wine and cheese reception with the

and the world premiere of a concerto musicians. Tickets can be purchased

written just for Bell by celebrated through the ACO Office or the Vero

American virtuoso bassist and com- Beach Museum of Art. The concert be-

poser Edgar Meyer. This special con- gins at 3 p.m. 772-231-0707, ext. 13.

46 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

Voigt voices affection for Vero concert, competition

BY MICHELLE GENZ Deborah Voigt.
Staff Writer
PHOTO BY DENISE RITCHIE
Vero Beach Opera’s adopted diva
Deborah Voigt is living out her favorite
role – the girl of the Golden West.

Voigt, who grew up in southern Cali-
fornia and trained at Cal State Ful-
lerton, has left New York – and sold
her condo here – to settle into her new
home in Marin County. Now in her sec-
ond year in academia at the San Fran-
cisco Conservatory of Music, her hand-
picked contingent of opera students
swells to 18 this fall. With far more effort
than she imagined it would take, Voigt
coaches her young singers one-on-one,
three times a week in a studio the Con-
servatory has built especially for her.

Despite that full load, Voigt is still
able to carve out time to give a concert
in Vero Beach next Wednesday, March
21. And she will stay on to host the sec-
ond Deborah Voigt International Vocal
Competition that Thursday through
Saturday.

Not that she isn’t still performing else-
where as well. In the past year, Voigt has
given master classes and recitals across

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 47

ARTS & THEATRE

the U.S. She also toured California and Deborah Voigt accompanied met online, will be with her. The way
Colorado with the Danish National by Bruce Stasyna. she tells it, when they met, her relief
Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi, that he looked like his dating profile
with the first concert in Copenhagen. photo was exceeded only by his rev-
elation that he had once shared a stage
A week away from her Vero concert, with her. He was singing in the chorus
Voigt’s schedule has her in Abu Dhabi, of San Francisco Opera in the mid-
giving a concert with a Lebanese tenor 1990s when Voigt performed in Wag-
at the ultra-luxurious $3 billion Emir- ner’s “Tannhäuser.”
ates Palace hotel as part of the Abu
Dhabi Festival. With that, “he had my attention,” she
said, laughing.
Generally, though, travel has dimin-
ished, she says, as the performance Voigt says her Vero concert will be
side of her long career as one of the “mostly lighter fare,” including some
greatest sopranos in opera begins to English classical art songs, some Ber-
subside. nstein, and a couple of “saucy” caba-
ret pieces.
“It’s bittersweet,” Voigt said last
week, reached on her cellphone as she “I just hope they’re not too saucy for
made her 45-minute morning com- Abu Dhabi,” she said.
mute to work from her home in San
Rafael across the Golden Gate Bridge. Voigt will be flying in a long-time
accompanist and opera coach, Mary
“I miss flying all over the world and Pinto, to play for her concert here.
singing all the leading ladies. On the
other hand, I’ve done that a very long “She’s one of my very best girlfriends.
time. It’s nice to be settled and have a We always have a lot of chuckles.”
home and concentrate on these kids.”
With more than $20,000 in prize
And that concentration has proved money, the competition fulfills a fer-
intense. vent wish of Voigt’s, both in and out of
academia: to encourage young singers
“To be honest, I was travelling al- in their pursuit of a career in opera.
most every weekend last year and it
was absolutely exhausting.” “It’s a lot of fun to hear these young
singers and have the opportunity to
At least she will not be going to Abu award them some money, which they
Dhabi alone: her new boyfriend, Jo- desperately need,” she says.
seph Tambornino, a businessman and
classically trained Juilliard pianist she With 30 entrants publicly compet-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

48 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 ARTS & THEATRE

ing on Thursday afternoon and eve- I miss flying all over the world and singing sued other creative outlets. In 2015, she
ning, half will be selected to sing again all the leading ladies. On the other hand, published a tell-all memoir, “Call Me
Friday afternoon. Saturday night, the I’ve done that a very long time. It’s nice to be Debbie: True Confessions of a Down-
half-dozen finalists will face off in con- to-Earth Diva,” about her strict Baptist
cert format beginning at 7 p.m. All take settled and have a home. upbringing and her years combatting
place in the Vero Beach High School food and alcohol addiction. Her size
Performing Arts Center. – Deborah Voigt famously caused her to be fired from
a role at London’s Royal Opera House
Voigt’s competitions have been much Another judge is Matthew Principe, dos, the Ortega-Cowans. “I could see for not fitting into a certain little black
smaller scale than those of tenor Mar- associate producer of the Metropolitan they were doing a sort of is-that-who-I- dress; she has since slimmed down with
cello Giordani, another Met star who Opera radio broadcasts, as well as the think-it-is thing,” she recalls. the help of gastric bypass surgery. She
sought solace in Vero in the middle of Met Live in HD productions broadcast in also joined A.A. The book also details
a busy season. His vocal competitions theaters around the world. Those broad- The relationship the three formed her stunning successes in the opera
were staged here for three years, with casts have provided a new and highly that day has grown even though Voigt world – including singing with Placido
the last in 2015. The 80-plus competi- visible role for Voigt; she is a frequent ended up selling the condo in 2012 Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.
tors were scored in a point system by a host, introducing the operas and speak- after a heavy travel schedule kept her
five-person panel of judges. Voigt and ing on camera with their stars at inter- from coming down to Florida. And in 2011, working with playwright
her two fellow judges use a less formal mission. Two weeks ago, she returned to Terrence McNally and others, she creat-
method that is more Voigt’s style – con- New York in the middle of a nor’easter to “I came down to recuperate after I ed a 75-minute one-woman show called
versation and consensus. do a fund-raiser for the radio broadcasts. had my knees replaced, and it occurred “Voigt Lessons,” which she premiered at
to me that I was only spending two Cooperstown, N.Y.’s Glimmerglass Festi-
The prizes include a $10,000 first Voigt’s connection to Vero Beach be- weeks a year in Florida,” she recalls. “So val, and still performs.
prize provided by the Kleinschmidt gan even before Vero Beach Opera. She I uprooted and moved to Manhattan.”
Family Foundation; Nell and Robert bought a condo on Hutchinson Island All the while, she has remained deep-
Kleinschmidt have a home in Riomar. in 2000. “Uncle Sam said you should live When her Met schedule slowed ly connected to Vero Beach Opera. She
The second prize, $5,000, is sponsored somewhere with no income tax. That’s down, she moved out of the city to Fort now serves as the organization’s artistic
by Windsor, the high-end community why I moved to Florida,” she says. Lee, N.J., and commuted. advisor, and has based her foundation
on the north barrier island. here since 2007.
Three years later, word had reached “Then this offer came up at San
The third price, $3,000, is donated by the local NPR affiliate that a Met diva Francisco, and I thought, well, it’s time. Voigt’s concert is at 7 p.m. Wednesday,
the Sergio Franchi Music Foundation, had moved to town. She was invited to I was beginning to grow weary of the March 21 at the Vero Beach High School
named for the Italian-American opera the studios to record a segment and ar- schedule I’ve maintained for 25 to 30 Performing Arts Center. Tickets range
singer turned pop star, whose widow, rived to find two local opera aficiona- years. Travel had become a nightmare. from $15 to $50 and are available on the
Eva Franchi, is one of the judges in the I’d want to cry just going to the airport.” Vero Beach Opera website. A full schedule
upcoming competition and a friend of of the competition is also on the site, www.
Vero Beach Opera directors Joan and In the past few years, Voigt has pur- verobeachopera.org. 
Roman Ortega-Cowan.



50 Vero Beach 32963 / March 15, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT COVER STORY

The rusting seaport called Kholmsk Some of it ended up in the most cause of the ruse’s elaborate, multilay- adopts new tactics, with the help of an
is one of the sleepiest harbors in Rus- unexpected of places: South Korea ered deceptions. ever-shifting array of front companies
sia’s Far East, a place that sees more and Japan, two of Pyongyang’s main and partners eager to make a profit.
full moons than coal ships in a typical rivals. To get around the ban, North Ko-
year. Yet for a few weeks late last sum- rea developed a complex scheme “It’s a shell game that constantly
mer, this tiny port was chockablock “They literally ‘laundered’ the coal,” that depended on stealth, falsified changes,” said David Thompson, a
with vessels hauling outlawed North said a Western diplomat, speaking documents and the heavily choreo- North Korea specialist and senior an-
Korean coal. on the condition of anonymity to de- graphed participation of officials and alyst at the Center for Advanced De-
scribe new details from a confidential businesses in at least three countries, fense Studies, a nonprofit organiza-
At least four ships of different flags U.N. investigation of the incident. “It’s according to documents and records tion in Washington that tracks illicit
showed up in August and September the same tactic criminals use to laun- compiled by private investigators and networks. In the case of the Kholmsk
to dump North Korean anthracite der ill-gotten cash.” a team of U.N. experts. affair, he said, “you’re looking at adap-
onto a pile near the harbor’s south- tation taking place in real time.”
ern tip, maritime records show. Then, It was hardly the first time that North Ultimately, North Korea was able to
six other ships arrived to pick up coal Korea has used subterfuge to fool its sell the coal – a crucial export com- It is precisely these kinds of sanc-
from the same spot and deliver it to adversaries and flout international modity that accounts for about 40 tion-busting schemes that prompted
foreign markets. trade restrictions. But independent percent of the country’s foreign in- the Trump administration to impose
analysts say the movement of coal come – in an episode that experts say new economic sanctions last month
Between the voyages, the harbor through Russia’s Kholmsk port last illustrates the limits of U.S. policies on North Korea-related shipping. The
was witness to a kind of magic trick: year was remarkable, because of the intended to force changes in Pyong- measures announced by the Treasury
Illicit North Korean coal was trans- timing – it came just as the U.N. Secu- yang’s bellicose behavior. Confronted Department specifically targeted doz-
formed into Russian coal, which can rity Council imposed new sanctions on with new obstacles to its vital com- ens of shipping companies, individuals
be legally sold anywhere. the sale of North Korean coal – and be- merce, North Korea consistently and vessels suspected of past involve-