2024 did not disappoint!  In January, I planned a surprise birthday day trip for my husband Gary to Key West courtesy of Allegiant Air.  We joined a group of friends on an early morning flight out of Sanford with the plan to return on the 6pm flight that day.  Our evening flight got canceled, so we had to scramble to find accommodations for the night.  As you can imagine, a few more hours in Key West did not dampen anyone’s spirits!  I also hosted my high school (Father Lopez) 40-year reunion.  It was a lot of fun and resulted in a blossoming romance for two of my classmates!  In March, we were invited to walk in the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago.  In May, we joined the Pophams and my daughters in Washington DC for the annual Embassy Open House.  If you are ever up in DC the first couple weeks of May, I highly recommend checking it out!  In June we did our yearly family trip to the Bahamas to visit my brother in Scotland Key.   August was bittersweet, as we took the family to Dublin to cheer on our Florida State Seminoles.  We were filled with so much hope and promise of a winning season.  Alas, it was not meant to be! We finished the trip in Norway and Sweden which helped boost morale after a disappointing game.  In October we went to a beautiful wedding in Sun Valley, Idaho.  Sponsors Kim and Joe Gruber’s son Karl married Taylor Carley.  It was picture perfect!

 While we did some amazing trips in 2024, the everyday moments of spending time with the grandkids, volunteering, dinners out with friends, and working at Adams Cameron and Stroll have brought just as much joy, if not more so!  I wish you and your family a year of love and happiness in 2025!

Last year was a whirlwind. The tectonic plates of my life shifted when my father, Rodney Rogers, died in March. Words cannot describe my loss. I’m thankful for friends/family who have eased the transition from B.D. (before Dad) to A.D., and I am grateful for his legacy. In addition to my “day job” teaching, writing stories about amazing folks in our community keeps me occupied. Thanks to RJ Dodd, the Bayers, Catherine Root, Nancy Burt, Helen Faucette, Mari Hurley, the Vasiliades, and Jeanne’s cats for sharing their stories. Here’s to learning more about our Stroll family in 2025!

Yeah! January 1st was Craig’s first day of retirement – let the plans we made begin! January was a family ski trip to Breckenridge with our son, daughter, and oldest grandson to teach him to ski! We hit the right weather, cold but sunny, and he mastered the slopes. It was a great time for all, and we were off to a super fun start. February was a small, more local camping trip to test out our 37-foot motor home for the longer trip we had planned. March was filled with another family trip that included both grandsons down in the Keys for Spring break. A week filled with swimming in the ocean and/or pools, snorkeling the reefs, parasailing, and fun game nights while hearing the waves lap the shoreline. We threw in another small camping trip for fun and trial before our planned big trip to Maine.  Hold up, now – someone just threw a wrench into our plans! We discovered the “strange” behavior Craig had intermittently displayed was becoming more frequent and needed medical review. Yep, he had a benign brain growth that would require immediate surgery. Also, his father was having medical issues and began a series of in-and-out hospital stays and a move to assisted living. Craig’s surgery was a complete success and within a few weeks, you would never know that he had undergone surgery at all! We spent a lot of time celebrating and getting back on track. Our son and two grandsons visited, and our daughter joined us for more great family memories. We had a trip to Iceland planned with two friends from Miami that we were able to take since Craig was cleared for flying. We can’t rave enough about Iceland and its varied topography, geothermal pools, waterfalls, the northern lights, and warm people! We threw in a shorter trip to Amsterdam at the end and enjoyed the food, walking the city, the train ride to see the windmills in the country, a canal cruise, and all Amsterdam had to offer. Unfortunately, upon our return, we saw that Craig’s father, Ray, wasn’t doing as well as we hoped. After finally enjoying his new home and being active in so many activities, he passed away. He passed two days before the hurricane – ironic since his middle name was Milton!!! While sad for us, we were also very happy for him. As an amputee, we now felt he was back on two legs, running into old buddies and his long lost love, Diana, in heaven.  The latter part of the year is always special for us as we travel to Michigan to see the grandsons and celebrate birthdays. Then they visit for Thanksgiving and more Florida fun with us and Brooke. We finished the year by doing one more fun and “get the bugs out” camping trip for what would now be next year’s big adventure!

As I look back on 2024, I’m filled with gratitude for the moments that made this year special, despite its challenges. I kicked off the year with a delightful cruise alongside a group of friends I’ve cherished for over 50 years. Our time together is always a highlight, and we make it a point to reunite several times throughout the year, strengthening our bonds and creating lasting memories.

This year also marked significant milestones for my granddaughters. Giavanna is stepping into middle school, and Everly is embarking on her kindergarten journey. I couldn’t be more excited for them and eagerly anticipate all the adventures this year will bring as they explore new experiences.

As a self-proclaimed homebody, my travels revolve around returning to New Jersey, where I cherish the time spent with my two daughters and four beautiful granddaughters. Whether we’re taking trips into the city, exploring the beauty of Vermont, enjoying the shore, or embarking on short getaways, these family moments are what I treasure most.

Overall, 2024 has been a year of connection, growth, and joyful experiences, and I look forward to what the future holds!

A heartfelt thank you to Edee and all the contributors for their efforts in supporting our waterfront community. I’m thoroughly enjoying the lively luncheons and the sunset socials. 

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2025!

During 2024, everywhere I looked, I saw growth. To my delight, I’m thrilled to announce that in December we will welcome the birth of my fourth grandchild, Saunders. Spending time with my family reinvigorates my desire to plan for our future and that of The Remey Wealth Advisory Group and our clients.

My travel experiences have grown beyond the joys of skiing the slopes, to now include a taste of “the van life.” What a fun way to see nature’s majestic beauty displayed at every turn. Hiking mountain trails, sitting by a campfire, and sharing conversation renews me spiritually, physically, and mentally.

My team at The Remey Wealth Advisory Group has also grown. Mitch Lane, an incredibly talented and eager young man, has joined me in my pursuit to bring our clients exceptional investment strategies. Mitch brings his extensive knowledge learned while interacting with patients and helping them attain physical health in his previous career, and he now applies that same focus in helping clients pursue financial health. Mitch’s family is also growing. He, his wife Emily, and their daughter Rosie, wait with excited anticipation for the birth of their newest addition, Janie, who is due to arrive in December.

The markets and economy continue to experience tremendous growth as well. The U.S. Gross Domestic Product remains strong at 3%, on an annualized basis, as reported at the end of the second quarter. Earnings growth for calendar year 2024 is expected to be 10%, which would represent the fifth-straight quarter of growth. Additionally, the Federal Reserve Board has begun its long-awaited rate cutting cycle, showing its confidence in the direction of the economy and its belief that continued improvement is anticipated.

With all the growth 2024 has brought, I am excited to see what 2025 has to offer. As always, we extend you the invitation to reach out to The Remey Wealth Advisory Group and experience for yourself how well we can serve you.

This year Randy and I fulfilled a lifetime goal. We became full-time residents of Florida! We’ve made a ton of amazing new friends, and our social life is going gang busters. A big thank you to Stroll Ormond Beach! We took a trip to France in September to celebrate my 65th birthday (yeah Medicare). In October we saw Jeff Lynn’s ELO in Nashville courtesy of our daughter MaryAnn. On October 26th we celebrated 20 years of life since MaryAnn's bone marrow transplant at age 16. We spent Thanksgiving in the mountains with all 3 kids and their families. Life is good!

Happy Holidays to all our Stroll neighbors!!

This past year was an adventurous one for the Holman Family. Richard, my husband, bought a Tiara boat in Connecticut, the “Nan-Sea”, and we decided to cruise the boat back to Ormond. Since we’re both now retired, we wanted to take our time and see all the sights along the way, while stopping to spend time with family and friends, and making unexpected boat repairs that my talented husband could fix. This was one of the best trips the two of us have taken together.

Earlier this year, we traveled to Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore, to see our son, Corey, who lives in Indonesia with his wife, Finy, and to meet her family. It was an interesting trip since most of her family does not speak English. We had a fantastic time and especially loved the food and the gorgeous scenery.

Our daughter, Heather, just got engaged to a terrific guy, Mehdi. They are planning to get married in 2026 in Greece so that is another exciting trip we have to look forward to. We also made lots of trips to Charleston this past year to help our daughter who lives there on a farm since we are the official “zookeepers” whenever she and her fiancé travel.

I continue to enjoy my volunteer job at Stroll doing the electronic event newsletters and keeping track of the RSVPs. It’s a pleasure to work with Edee, Teresa, Alice, Mike, and all the other residents I get to see at our fun Stroll events.

Wishing everyone a joyous, safe, and healthy 2025!

 

My 2024 was a challenging year in that we lost our sweet Sadie, a beautiful terrier mix, to cancer. It was quite unexpected at just six years old. This happened just eight months after we lost our sweet Shiloh, a golden doodle, also to cancer at the age of six. What is going on?

When we lost Shiloh, we rescued Emmy, a red-haired sweet golden doodle who had been bred multiple times by an unethical breeder. Emmy is now living her best life despite losing Sadie, the only companion she had known in our home.

When Sadie passed away, we rescued/saved another sweet golden doodle named Millie. Millie came with many issues in addition to that she was overbred and not even three years old. Millie was clearly not treated as a pet and had many fears to deal with in her new life with us.

We hired an excellent animal behaviorist who worked with us to help Millie. She has come so far and still has a way to go, however, she is now a happy dog who has learned to trust and who loves to play with Emmy.

Losing two six-year-old dogs in eight months, to different cancers, has been devastating. Helping to save two dogs since then has helped us heal our hearts, though we will never forget. Shiloh and Sadie who are imprinted in our hearts forever.

The beginning of the year we went to The Big Apple for a week during theater and restaurant week which overlapped this year. We saw three great shows and ate some amazing food. It was the first time that it had snowed that much in NYC in eons, but we didn’t mind at all. (I got a new jacket out of it!)

Our daughter, Samantha, a Doctor of Clinical Psychology, left her private practice group of more than six years and went into private practice on her own. She works strictly by Zoom and couldn’t be happier with her decision. Since she didn’t have a non-compete in her contract, every one of her many clients made the decision to keep her as their psychologist. Working by Zoom has given “Sami” the opportunity to practice as well in Seattle, where she is licensed, and her boyfriend lives. She was in Seattle during the hurricanes and her home was thankfully spared in Saint Petersburg, as many of her neighbors were not as fortunate.

Our son, Jordan, completed his one-year internal medicine internship at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida where he had graduated from medical school the year before. He is taking a gap year at which time he is fixing up the house he purchased in Rochester, NY where he will begin a four-year residency in Diagnostic Radiology. He is following in his dad’s footsteps. His fiancée, Supreeya, is completing her fourth year of medical school at UF and will graduate in May.

David continues to work and play in high gear, as is his MO. When he’s not working or meticulously maintaining our home, he’s helping one of our adult “kids” work on their homes. In addition, he plays tennis, golf, cycles with a group on the weekends, shoots skeet, hunts, fishes, and boats. He is always building something in his workshop and is always experiencing new things. The two of us just returned from a trip to Rochester. We annually get together with our college friends, and this year was supposed to be in the mountains of Asheville. Due to hurricanes Helene and Milton, our location wasn’t in the cards for us this year. Instead, we decided to host our many friends in our home. We had a blast!

We also hosted the November 9th Sunset Social in our home. It was a delightful event.

It has been another eventful year for the Studner Clan.  In January, we went on a combo trip, cold and hot, with my in-laws from Istanbul.  First, we went skiing in Park City.  Wow, it was awesome, great mountain!  Then after flying back to Ormond for four days, we were on a plane to Panama and Columbia.  The Panama Canal lived up to whatever hype you assigned to it. Double wow!  Cartagena, Columbia was nice but a little touristy.   Let’s just say we were the last to discover it.

My mom Rita is still going strong at 92 playing golf, exercising with Silver Sneakers and living independently.  

The Beach Bucket was open all year and we were thankful for that.  Milton did little damage to the restaurant…so come on out and see us.

In March, Sebnem took one of two long trips to Istanbul; of course, the second trip was during Milton.  How she manages to leave before hurricanes astounds me.  On the second trip, Sebnem brought back three dogs to be adopted in the United States. 

Finally, we dipped our toes in the snowbird category in August.  We drove with Zoe, our dog, up to Chicago for three weeks to stay in our condo.  Gotta say, 70-degree weather beat the heat back in Ormond.  

 

My year in a nutshell!  Oh, my where do I start?
In February, I had shoulder surgery and discovered there really is something called brain fog. I had never heard of that, but it happens from the anesthetic. So I got a little book and I wrote everything down, thank God it is over now, and I congratulate myself each time I remember something ha ha! 
March is my annual St. Patrick’s Day birthday party! I have one every year – you’re all invited – just drop by wearing green!

 I learned all about making VOGs and had a wonderful time at River Lilly Inn tallying up the score each time we made them.  I also got to canvas all my neighbors to see if they would allow VOGs on their docks.  That was a lot of fun because I met many nice people I would not have met, had I not had that VOG job!
I do some things every week like MMM, Monday Morning Meditation; it’s a Zoom meeting and it’s a wonderful way to start the week. 
Every Tuesday night I have choir practice with the Daytona Beach Choral Society.  Music fills my soul!
This year was also a year of loss. I lost five of my very close friends. They left this planet for a better place—that happens when you’re pushin’ 90!

And as if I were in my right mind and needed something more to do – I adopted two kittens! Bentley and Persephone, better known as Persey.  They are full of energy and a constant source of entertainment.
I’ve had company from California, South Carolina, Germany, and Canada. I do love company! 
That about sums it up. I’m healthy and happy and that’s all good.  Many blessings to all. 

2024 brought the opportunity for quite a few first-time events for me.  I continued my streak of attending Daytona 500 races since 1989.

Sharon and I went to Washington, DC with Gary and Mia James during Embassy Open House Weekend. We visited seven embassies including Great Britain and Australia.

My son Alex and I went to our first Indy 500.

I went to Cleveland for the National Sports Collectors Convention. Besides the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I went to a Guardian game and visited John D. Rockefeller’s gravesite. He is buried very close to President Garfield at Lakeview Cemetery.

My daughter Alison took me to see Dierks Bentley for my birthday.

I had the chance to be at The Fox Theater for Jimmy Carter’s 100th Birthday Bash.

I wrote my first article for Stroll magazine. I really enjoy the opportunity to write about living in Ormond Beach and I’m excited about continuing in 2025.

2024 was another fabulous year of Sunset Socials and Waterfront parties. Thank you Edee for all the work and effort you put into bringing neighbors together. I have met so many wonderful people and formed new friendships because of you.

Personally, 2024 was quite an adventure. At February's Sunset Social, Michael surprised everyone by getting on his knee and presenting me with a beautiful blue topaz ring. To celebrate, Michael and I traveled for a month, starting with a week on the Hawaiian Islands, followed by a cruise around the islands that ended in Vancouver, Canada.  While there, we made a side trip to Victoria Island to tour Butchart Gardens. Next, we boarded a Regents ship and went up the Inland Passage to Anchorage, Alaska.  We also made an overnight trip from there to Denali before heading home.  Fantastic trip!!  Michael, thank you for the planning and scheduling challenges.

Late November we went to Michael’s grandson’s wedding in West Virginia. Since we love to travel, we extended this trip for Michael to meet my longtime friends and coworkers in Syracuse, NY.  From Syracuse, we drove to his long-time friend’s home in PA, then on to Long Island for Mike to see where I grew up and meet more of my family.

Peace, Love and Joy to all...

Another wonderful year of Sunset Socials. An amazing way to meet such extraordinary neighbors with some incredible stories of their lives and times. Making and installing Vertical Oyster Gardens was quite interesting and hard work, so I was glad to help assemble them. We put up six VOGs on our dock and 3 each for our neighbors to either side. But, most of all, and so memorable, was presenting my Lady Alice with a Blue Topaz "promise of things to come" engagement ring at the Gleichmann's WSS. Followed by our "Honeymoon Adventure" to the Hawaiian Islands, Vancouver, Victoria Island, beautiful Butchart Gardens and up the Island Passage to Alaska, including the Alaskan Railroad to Mt Denali. Thirty days and ten beds later, we got back to Ormond. The actual wedding has yet to be scheduled...

For me, 2024 has been a year of change, reflection, and travel. The new year began a new normal. Outside of the daily grinds of long-term marital commitment, health, bills, and politics, the realization that several holidays and birthdays would be without my children hit me hard. My mother (Mimi) who is steadily declining is grievous. My BIG birthday year brings certain health adjustments. What now? My response to this “New Year” was to pull up my big girl panties and start anew: Quiet time with prayer to start my day, join a gym, yoga, and travel. I traveled to Planet Fitness, The Beach Bucket, Tallahassee, Islamorada, VA, DC, Boston, Nantucket, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Blue Ridge Mountains, Party City, St. Martin, St. Thomas, Coco Cay, Fernandina Beach, and Atlanta. While on my birthday trip to Europe, Helene and Milton decided to impose and devastate. (i.e. more curveballs). Gratefully, we were highly favored with minimal impact. Small pockets of friends met for the first time and genuinely loved each other. My bday mountain trip came with lifelong friends and beautiful weather. My bday trip to Fernandina brought healthy laughter. I can visit my children any time. My mother is happy and safe. I lived another year. 

The lesson here? Multiple stressors reveal multiple blessings. Life throws us curveballs (cliche I know), but we can close our eyes and swing or step up to the plate with eyes wide open. I chose to batter up. What I thought would be the worst year of my life turned into a year of adaptation, multiple bday celebrations, enhanced communication with my children, loving friendships, family support, and substantial self-growth. I am blessed beyond measure. Oh, and my DAWGS beat Texas… GO DAWGS!

Wow!  Where did 2024 go? It has been a whirlwind of a year.
Blueberry festival, Blues Cruise, Icon of The Seas Caribbean family cruise, tennis, music festivals, concerts, plays, and a European cruise for our friend Melanie Moser's birthday.  Those were a few of our happy times.
Not-so-happy times involved knee surgery and house repairs that forced us out of our home and living in our RV for 4 months, and the loss of Steve’s brother.
That being said, we are truly blessed to have our health, great friends, family, and a wonderful community brought to us through Edee and Stroll Magazine.
We pray for everyone affected by the storms and look forward to what 2025 has to offer.
Blessings to all and a Happy New Year!

2024 has been active year for the Pennington’s. We were blessed with two additional grandchildren added to our family.  Reina was born in August and Knox born in October. Making a total of five grandchildren in a span of four years . Dean and I had the opportunity to visit our grandchildren in Hawaii, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  We also managed to see some new and interesting things traveling on our own. We went on a   Caribbean cruise , traveled to New York City, California, South Africa, Greece, Colorado and Portugal. 
We feel very grateful for all the friends that we have made this year as part of our Involvement in  the Stroll Waterfront community. We wish all of our friends and neighbors happy and healthy new year.

Grandchildren, Sarah is back in California finishing law school and Claire is in Ormond staying busy.

When asked if there were any highlights with husband Marvin she said, "Everyday is a Highlight with Marvin!" 

Living on the one-way, Halloween day did not disappoint with hundreds who come to their window now spanning generations! 

xxxxx

This year seemed different than most because I took no "Vacations" but I plan to make up for that this coming February with a trip to Antarctica for 3 weeks where I leave the March issue of the magazine to the capable hands of Mia and the other Contributors.  I did have travel to conferences in Chicago, Atlanta and Orlando. I picked up Paddle Boarding and discovered the vast beauty of the INTERIOR of Florida especially Silver Springs river with monkeys, baby manatees, deer, tons of turtles and alligators and every species of Florida birds. I finally get to spend Thanksgiving with my family in Kansas and constantly wonder if it's time to move back...but then I see the ocean and remember why I moved here at 23 years old with only $300 and a college education. I am humbled at the residents who come to events or reach out and tell me they read as well as the companies who advertise and trust me with our program. Living here for 40 years now, I am proud that all I have has been due to education and grit. I absolutely love our Contributor team and the effort they bring to this newsletter. Happy Holidays everyone! If you have not been to an event yet, I truly hope to see you at one soon. Edee

 

Missing from this year's updates are Nannine Dahlen.  However, we appreciate all they do as a part of the team!