“There’s no comparison here. There’s no doubt, no fear, no insecurity, and no competition. This is your workout – you just get to do it with all the other ladies around you,” said Stephanie Garrison, owner and instructor at The Balance Culture Winter Haven. The boutique fitness studio has been a safe and supportive workout space for women in Lakeland for the last eight years. This month, owners Ruthie Tait and Stephanie Garrison bring their heart-pumping, soul-nourishing brand of empowerment to Winter Haven. Ruthie Tait, instructor and owner of The Balance Culture, moved to Lakeland in 2009 to attend Southeastern University. A former gymnast, Tait played collegiate volleyball for four years while majoring in Social Work. During college, Tait and her friend Kirstin Czernek connected over their passion for fitness and nutrition, and with graduation approaching, both were considering their career options. Czernek opted to attend nutrition school while Tait started her yoga certification. The initial goal wasn’t to start a business but rather to teach. “All these different ‘God things’ kept happening and opening doors to start The Balance Culture,” Tait said. Czernek’s husband was looking for an office space and found one with an open room next door and thought it would make a good fitness studio. Ruthie and Kirstin began hosting pop-up classes, offering complimentary Pilates and barre, to gauge community interest in a group fitness studio. “It was such an amazing response,” Tait remembered. For a year, the two women worked to build what they wanted their brand to be. The Balance Culture, a women-exclusive group fitness studio, opened in Dixieland on September 28, 2015. They were at that location for six years before moving to a new studio space last year. A year and a half ago, Tait bought out her friend and former business partner, who retired to focus on her family. “It’s hard to believe that it’s been eight years,” Tait said. “We’re just doing what we love every day – connecting with the community, helping women feel empowered, and having fun working out while we do it.” Tait is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher. She is certified through the Athletics Fitness Association of America (AFAA) as a Group Fitness instructor and Mat Pilates instructor, a certified Spin instructor through Mad Dogg Athletics, and a barre instructor certified through Barre Intensity. Stephanie Garrison has been an instructor for The Balance Culture since day one. She and Tait knew each other through Southeastern, where Garrison was first a student and then the Executive Director for Student Development. The Buffalo, New York native, moved to Florida in high school and studied Business Management at Southeastern, eventually earning her MBA. “I loved being there,” she said. “I’m a product of Southeastern.” Garrison has been involved in dance her whole life. She toured, competed, and performed throughout New York and Florida. “I remember going into my first dance studio at three years old and thinking, ‘How can I do this every day of my life? This is the coolest thing ever.’ It’s honestly been a dream for that long to one: own a business, and two: have a space for women to feel equipped and empowered. I feel, 34 years later, the Lord saying, ‘I’ll give you generations of women to have in a studio.’” The instructor turned Balance Culture Winter Haven co-owner continued, “To now have this opportunity to expand into the brand that I’ve loved and built, grown with, and been a part of is a dream come true.” Garrison is certified through the Athletics Fitness Association of America (AFAA) as a Group Fitness instructor, Barre Intensity, and Mad Dogg Athletics for Spin. Her fitness training forte includes teaching barre, Spin, Pilates, stretch, hip-hop, and strength training. The Balance Culture already has devoted members that drive from Winter Haven to Lakeland for their uniquely women-centric atmosphere. Tait and Garrison knew the Chain of Lakes city would be the perfect place for a sister studio. “Every day, it has been support after support from the Chamber to Main Street, Haven, the Sun. Everyone has jumped on board with what we’re doing here and supported us,” Garrison said. “They’re excited for us, and it’s been such a sweet surprise.” She relocated to Winter Haven in July and now lives just two blocks from the 5th Street fitness studio. The 2200-square-foot Winter Haven space boasts an open studio for their signature group fitness classes, including a barre and mirrors along the wall. Cork beneath the gym flooring remains from the location’s former life as a dance studio. The fitness studio has a client lounge with cubbies and restrooms and an area for nutritional coaching. Balance Culture’s bread and butter are group fitness classes, including Barre, Pilates, Endurance Training, Yoga, HIIT, Bootycamp, Strength Training, and beginner classes. The studio also offers personal training, small group classes, private sessions, and community events. In addition to their variety of group classes, Tait noted, “We have a nutrition coach that meets one on one with clients that are interested in having that support in their nutrition journey of ‘What should I eat? How can I partner my nutrition with what I’m doing in the studio to feel my best?’” The boutique fitness studio aims to create an atmosphere distinct from other gyms and workout spaces. “Our whole thing from the beginning was we want to make everyone feel welcome from the moment they open the door,” Tait said. “From our instructors to our interns, everyone is very much into the mission of empowering women, and that’s woven into everything we do.” Along with building physical strength, the Balance Culture owners hope to encourage their clients mentally. “I think our clients really feel that and feel like their effort and the way they show up in the studio has affected the way they’re able to show up in other ways like in their profession and in their relationships,” Tait said. “That’s our heart, a holistic approach to health.” The Balance Culture Winter Haven had a soft launch from December 29 – December 31, during which they offered two classes a day, free to members and $5 per class for non-members. Their grand opening is set for January 2, 2023, when a full schedule of classes is set to begin. Balance Culture members have unlimited access to all classes and are welcome to attend as many as they’d like. Visit their website to register for a Balance Culture membership or reserve classes. Members can also download “The Balance Culture” app to create a profile and reserve classes. “I think it’s meeting new women in a new city, giving them a space of confidence and empowerment,” Garrison said. “That’s a huge part of our story – you’re not just walking into a gym. You’re not just walking into a fitness studio. You’re walking into your vulnerability and your story. If that means you get to stand next to your friend, do some squats, and laugh because your legs are shaking so much – amazing. If it means you get to come in here after a really hard day of being challenged or feeling defeated, and you walk out of here with something new and bright and strong – that’s worth it too. And if it means you get to sit at our table and talk through what’s going on in your life and where you need help – that’s a part of it too.” As it is for many, this is a transformative time for The Balance Culture – new year, new digs, new community. Owners Ruthie Tait and Stephanie Garrison are up to the challenge. “Our heart is to create sustainable change and create something that people can work into their lives not just in January but for the rest of the year,” Tait said. The pair plan to make their Winter Haven space in the image of their flagship Lakeland studio: a place to gain strength, build confidence, make sustainable changes, and celebrate yourself and the women around you. And if you have the occasional slice of pizza or take a self-care day – that’s okay too. Life is all about balance. Photography by Amy Sexson The Balance Culture 1037 Florida Ave S #125, Lakeland -AND- 31 5th St NW, Winter Haven FB: The Balance Culture IG @thebalanceculture thebalanceculture.com

Tucked into a corner of Hope Plaza just behind the Wawa on Highway 17 sits a newly opened Indian spot. Its façade – unassuming. Its fare – comforting and sapid. Cousins Shyjan Mekkattuparamban Mathai, Giboy Varghese, and Jinoy Varghese opened the doors to their Avenue O restaurant, Chilly Masala Indian Cuisine, on November 4. Over the few months they’ve been open, the owners say they’ve been blown away by the community’s support. “We were always looking forward to starting a restaurant business,” Shyjan said. Another cousin owns the liquor store next door and told Shyjan and Giboy about the open space. So, they applied and got it – a dream realized for the pair who had been catering under the same Chilly Masala moniker for six years. The restaurant’s owners, as well as its chef, hail from the state of Kerala on India’s southwestern tip. The recipes used at Chilly Masala are a tasty mélange of southern and northern Indian cuisine. Southern Indian food, Shyjan explained, is exceptionally spicy, while northern Indian cuisine offers more tolerable heat. “American people like the northern style,” Shyjan said. “Mostly, our south Indian food is really spicy.” The cousins are joined in the Sunshine State by some 65-70 family members. They remain close, gathering for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, holy communion, and the traditional Kerala celebration of Onam. Food, no doubt, is cardinal at family get-togethers. The Food Two of Chilly Masala’s most popular appetizers are their Veggie Samosa, a deep-fried pastry turnover filled with seasoned potato and green peas, and Veggie Samosa Chat, a famous street food made with scrambled samosa topped with chutneys, chickpeas, and sev (long, thin strands of gram flour, deep-fried and spiced). Another dish worth trying, especially for vegetarians, is Chilly’s Gobi Manchurian, made with batter-fried cauliflower infused with garlic, ginger, onion, chili bell pepper, and scallions in a tangy gravy. “It’s a mix of Chinese and our Indian [cuisine],” Shyjan said. For main course dishes, Chilly Masala covers all the bases with vegan and vegetarian options, different spice levels, and foodie favorites like the North Indian dish, Butter Chicken, cooked in a tomato cream sauce, as well as Chicken Tikka Masala, cooked with tomato-coriander sauce and flavored with bell peppers and onions. The two latter well-recognized dishes, which grace the menu of most Indian restaurants, are popular menu items at Chilly Masala. “People play it safely,” he laughed. And what would an Indian meal be without naan? The flat, leavened bread is made with all-purpose flour and traditionally cooked in a clay oven called a tandoor. Chilly Masala has quite a few flavors ranging from sweet to spicy. We tried the garlic naan, another patron favorite, which was warm and fluffy with a crisp bottom from its time in the tandoor. Allow me to set the scene. A long white plate garnished with a blazing red appetizer lay before me on the table. The dish, Chicken 65, originated from Chennai and consists of rice-battered crispy chicken spiced with green chili and curry leaves. The sharable portion was tempting. ‘I’ll just try one bite. You know… for research,’ I told myself. After uncounted bites later, the plate was all but empty – thanks to the help of my trusty editor and sidekick (or maybe I’m the sidekick – unsure), Amy. Juicy, tender chicken crusted with rice batter and a faultless combination of spices. The saltshaker was within reach but untouched as the chicken was seasoned like a dream. Shyjan and Giboy partnered with their chef, Nithin, to devise a menu that featured their most popular catering items. “We are grateful to our chef,” Shyjan said. Dine in or carry out at Chilly Masala. The eatery also works with Doordash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub for delivery. The Future “We are getting support from the Winter Haven people. It’s really good,” said the Chilly Masala co-owner. Shyjan noted how thankful he was for the return customers, rave reviews, and word of mouth that have fueled the restaurant’s infancy. As for the future, Shyjan said, “We are looking forward to expanding from here to a bigger place,” or a chain of restaurants. Shyjan beamed while speaking about the Winter Haven restaurant, “It was our dream, and we are here now.” Photography by Amy Sexson Chilly Masala Indian Cuisine 233 Ave O SW, Winter Haven, FL (863) 875-6169 FB: Chilly Masala Indian cuisine IG @chillymasala2022 chillymasala.us

On the heels of their full-house summer “Abbey Road” show, Classic Rock Legacy Presents is back at the Ritz with a cut-by-cut live performance of The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver” albums. The band will honor the albums in their entirety during two shows on Saturday, January 28, 2023, from 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. (doors open 30 minutes before showtime) at the Historic Ritz Theatre in Downtown Winter Haven. Don’t walk, “Run for Your Life” to centralfloridatix.com for tickets. The show is made even more special by the recent reissue of “Revolver,” which was announced in September and released on October 28, 2022. “We didn’t know at the time that we were putting it together. […] We found out after we were doing it that they were reissuing the album,” said Classic Rock Legacy Presents vocalist and guitarist Daniel Pepin. Months before solidifying which albums they’d perform, drummer and vocalist Keith Coville told Pepin, “Those two albums [“Rubber Soul” and “Revolver”] were supposed to be a double album, but the record company wouldn’t let them do it.” “I was hooked – I thought that was a great idea,” Pepin said. “We wanted to do something bigger than we did last time. What’s bigger than one album but two?” Asked if he’d already snagged a reissue, Pepin smiled and said, “I haven’t picked one up because I know my wife well enough to know she probably bought it for Christmas.” The Classic Rock Legacy Presents lineup includes Daniel Pepin on vocals and guitar, Bill Dorfschmidt on vocals and guitar, Jessy Rose on vocals and keyboard, Josh Grimes on vocals and bass, and Keith Coville on vocals and drums. All members, save for Rose and Dorfschmidt, knew each other from a previous Beatles tribute band. Pepin began asking his musical compadres if they’d be interested in doing a Beatles project honoring the music, sans costumes, on a bigger stage. They were all in. Pepin has known Rose, one of his oldest friends, since age nine when the two went to school together in the New England area. Rose joined Classic Rock Legacy Presents following a career as musical director for a major cruise line. As for Dorfschmidt? “Bill is in every project that I do. He’s my best friend,” Pepin said. “It’s funny because I didn’t even ask him. I called him up on the phone and said, ‘Hey Bill, you’re in a Beatles band.’” With all their Beatles in a row, Classic Rock Legacy Presents started rehearsing the very next week. “There’s no one in that band that doesn’t love the Beatles and doesn’t respect what they’ve done and what they’ve contributed to other music even today,” Pepin said. “Even some hip-hop music has sampled Beatles songs. Their contribution is amazing. We’re trying to honor the music the way it’s supposed to be played. We’re not putting our spin on it. It’s not us trying to outshine The Beatles as musicians – it’s us trying to be them musically.” For Pepin, The Beatles have a stronghold as his favorite band – no close second in sight. Nourished by nostalgia, one of his earliest musical memories is of his grandmother playing The Beatles’ “Eight Days a Week” on an old flip-top record player. The first time he heard it, he said, “That’s what I want to be. I want to do that.” The Beatles prompted Pepin to get his first guitar lesson at four years old. A tough ask to be sure, and with much consideration on his part, Pepin’s favorite Beatles song? “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Pepin, an accomplished guitarist who has opened for the likes of Godsmack, Cold, Breaking Benjamin, Mudvayne, and Disturbed, took a guitar-shredding sabbatical following the birth of his son. He returned to performing in 2021, debuting solo at the Winter Haven Farmers Market and picking up recurring gigs at what have become his home venues, the Pink Piano, Grove Roots Brewing Company, and Swan Brewing. The last few years have been a propulsive ‘slow burn.’ “It’s been from me fighting to get gigs to now having them contact me, and I’m booked until May of next year.” Pepin is set to tour his original music throughout the UK this summer, and hopes to return to the Cavern Club, where The Beatles played. He’s currently sponsored by Canadian guitar company Godin – donning a Union Jack strap across the handmade guitar to honor his favorite band. Pepin’s music is available on all streaming platforms. He and Classic Rock Legacy Presents bandmate/ best friend Bill Dorfschmidt, are also in a band called Evil Bill and the Strugglebus, rocking out to 80s hits (think burly dude with purple hair singing “Video Killed the Radio Star”). It started as a fun project, said the guitarist. Even so, they’ve gained traction and now have music on Spotify, Amazon, and iTunes. As for the Classic Rock Legacy Presents Rubber Soul & Revolver show, Pepin said attendees can expect to “experience the music the way it’s supposed to be played by people who really love the music. That’s the vibe we’re going for.” He added, “We’re doing those albums note for note – almost exactly. There are some mistakes The Beatles even made on their guitars that we copy to get that same feel. We really want you to be able to close your eyes and hear the Beatles.” Along with all the “Wait,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and “Yellow Submarine” goodness, Pepin said, “During the encores, we honor every era of the Beatles from the mop top to the hippy days, so there’s something for everybody no matter what kind of Beatles fan you are.” Follow Classic Rock Legacy Presents on Facebook for more Beatlemania and purchase tickets to their January shows at centralfloridatix.com. Classic Rock Legacy Presents Rubber Soul and Revolver When: Saturday, January 28, 2023 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Where: Historic Ritz Theatre 263 West Central Avenue Winter Haven, FL Tickets and Info: Centralfloridatix.com FB: Classic Rock Legacy Presents

Happy Holidays, Haven readers! You bring us so much joy throughout the year – you’re the milk to our cookie. So, we thought we’d send some cheer your way…in baked form. Put on your most festive apron and play some seasonal tunes, (grab a cocktail), and start whipping up these favorite cookie recipes from each decade. These recipes are great for keeping on hand as ‘coping cookies’ when the holiday stress sets in, or box them up with a cute bow and give them away as gifts. Wishing you and your family a merry (and tasty) holiday season and a Happy New Year! Baked with love, Amy Sexson 1910's - Oatmeal INGREDIENTS: 1 ¼ cups butter, softened ¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed ½ cup sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg 3 cups uncooked oats ½ cup chopped pecans (optional) ½ cup dried cranberries (optional) INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Add combined dry ingredients; mix well. Add oats; mix well. Add optional nuts or berries. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased sheet pans. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes for a chewy cookie or 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool for 1 minute on sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered. Makes 3 dozen. *Recipe from Quaker Oats. “Oat Cakes” were the first oatmeal cookie to appear on the Quaker Oats package in 1908. The first recorded oatmeal cookie recipe was published in the United States by Fannie Merritt Farmer in her 1896 cookbook, the “Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.” 1920's - Molasses INGREDIENTS: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ teaspoon salt 1 ½ cups sugar ¾ cup butter, softened 1 egg ¼ cup molasses INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a shallow bowl, place ½ cup sugar and set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter and the remaining cup of sugar until combined. Beat in egg and then molasses until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in dry ingredients, just until a dough forms. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, into a ball, roll in reserved sugar to coat. Arrange on sheet pans lined with parchment paper, about 3 inches apart. Bake, one sheet at a time, until the edges of the cookies are just firm, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool for 1 minute on baking sheets; transfer to racks to cool completely. Makes 3 dozen. *Recipe from Martha Stewart and is a staple at our house every holiday season. They stay soft and chewy and are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. 1930's - Ice Box Cookies INGREDIENTS: 1 ½ cups butter, softened ¾ cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 3 teaspoons vanilla 5 cups all-purpose flour ⅔ cup milk ¼ cup cocoa powder 1 egg white INSTRUCTIONS: Using an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugar until creamy. Add 2 eggs and salt; mix well. Add milk and vanilla; mix well. Add flour a little at a time and mix until just combined. Divide the dough in half, wrap one of the halves in plastic wrap. Add ¼ cup cocoa powder to the other half and mix until combined. Wrap that half in plastic wrap and refrigerate both for at least one hour. Sprinkle your work surface with flour. Roll out each dough to a ¼ inch thick rectangle, making sure to keep each piece a similar size. Brush one piece of dough with egg white and layer the second piece of dough on top. Brush the top layer with egg white and slowly roll to create a swirl pattern. Wrap this log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice cookies ¼-inch thick and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until firm but not browned. Let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Makes 3 dozen. *Recipe from Martha Stewart. Option: leave out the cocoa powder and add food coloring to create a colored swirl. In the early 1930s refrigerators started to make their way into every household. Around the same time, women slowly started entering the workforce and Icebox Cookies became popular. 1940's - Chocolate Chip INGREDIENTS: 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter, softened ¾ cup sugar ¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs 2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels 1 cup chopped nuts (if omitting, add 1-2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour) INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased sheet pans. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. *Recipe from Nestlé. In 1939, Ruth Wakefield, who ran the Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts was mixing a batch of cookies when she decided to add broken pieces of Nestlé Semi-Sweet chocolate into the recipe expecting the chocolate to melt. Instead, the semi-sweet bits held their shape and softened to a delicate creamy texture and the chocolate chip cookie was born. Ruth’s ‘Toll House Crunch Cookie’ recipe was published in a Boston newspaper and her invention of the chocolate chip cookie quickly became the most popular cookie of all time. Thank you, Ruth! 1950's - Peanut Butter Blossoms INGREDIENTS: ½ cup sugar ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar ½ cup creamy peanut butter ½ cup butter, softened 1 egg 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ¾ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder additional sugar for rolling 36 Hershey’s Kisses, unwrapped INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, mix ½ cup sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, butter, and egg on medium speed until well blended. Slowly add flour, baking soda, and baking powder; mix until dough forms. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in additional sugar. Place on ungreased sheet pan about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown. Once you take them out of the oven, immediately press 1 Hershey’s Kiss in the center of each cookie. Remove from sheet pan and cool on racks. Makes about 3 dozen. *Hershey’s Kisses were first produced in 1907. This cookie originated as an entry into the 1957 Pillsbury Bake-Off contest. The cookies were originally called Black-eyed Susans but was renamed by Pillsbury to the Peanut Butter Blossom cookie. This is the classic recipe from Betty Crocker. 1960's - Church Windows INGREDIENTS: 2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips ½ cup butter, cubed 10-ounce package pastel marshmallows ½ cup chopped walnuts 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut INSTRUCTIONS: In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Let cool for 5 minutes. Place 2 large pieces of parchment or wax paper on work surface. Sprinkle ¼ of the coconut onto each piece. Place the marshmallows and walnuts into a large bowl. Pour cooled chocolate into bowl and stir. Transfer half of the mixture to the parchment paper and shape into log. Sprinkle all sides with half of the remaining coconut. Tightly wrap into logs and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Slice into cookies. *Recipe from the Spicy Southern Kitchen. These no-bake cookies are really just rocky road but the addition of colored marshmallows is fun for the holidays. This recipe is messy, but worth it. 1970's - Potato Chip Cookies INGREDIENTS: 6 cups ruffled potato chips ¾ cup butter, softened ½ cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour INSTRUCTIONS: In a plastic bag, crush potato chips with your hands or gently with a rolling pin. You don’t want them to be powder, they should be recognizable potato chip crumbs. You want to end up with 2 cups of crushed potato chips. Separate the 2 cups into 1-cup measurements. With an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed for 1 minute. Add sugar and vanilla and mix well. Add egg; mix well. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Stir in 1 cup of crushed potato chips, don’t overmix. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Using a glass or your hands, flatten the cookies and sprinkle with remaining crushed potato chips (press them down lightly). Bake for 11 - 12 minutes or when they just start to brown on the edges. Cool on wire racks. *This cookie is just as wacky as the 70s were but delicious! Don’t overmix the dough and use a heartier chip like Ruffles so they don’t completely disappear in the dough. 1980's - No Bakes INGREDIENTS: 2 cups sugar ½ cup milk ½ cup creamy peanut butter ½ cup cocoa powder 4 tablespoons butter pinch of salt 3 cups oats 1 teaspoon vanilla INSTRUCTIONS: In a large saucepan, melt sugar, milk, butter, and salt. Let it boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add oats, peanut butter, and vanilla. Stir well. Spoon onto parchment lined sheet pan and refrigerate until firm. *This was my favorite cookie to get at the school cafeteria when I was in first grade. I thought there was nothing more delicious in the entire world. Although I don’t make them very often, they are still a family favorite of ours. Store the cookies in the refrigerator in an air-tight container. 1990's - “Dunkaroos” INGREDIENTS: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ¾ cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking powder ⅛ teaspoon salt ¾ cup butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla sprinkles (optional) FROSTING INGREDIENTS: 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened 3 ½ tablespoons butter, softened 1 tablespoon milk ½ teaspoon vanilla 2 cups powdered sugar INSTRUCTIONS: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high speed for 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat on high speed until combined. Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined, the dough will be soft. Split the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap, refrigerate for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thick. Cut cookies out and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. If using sprinkles, gently press into cookies. Bake for 11 - 12 minutes or until edges are set. Let cool on a wire rack. FROSTING DIRECTIONS: With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix until fluffy. *Dunkaroos were a favorite of our kids in the 90s. This recipe is adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction and the cookie tastes like an Oreo when not dipped in frosting. 2000's - Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti INGREDIENTS: ½ cup dried cranberries ½ cup boiling water 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons butter, softened 1 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling 3 eggs plus 1 egg slightly beaten set aside 2 teaspoons vanilla ½ cup unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, place cranberries and add boiling water. Let sit for 15 minutes or until plump. Drain and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add 3 eggs, one at a time mixing well after each one. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture on low speed until combined. Mix in cranberries and pistachios. Divide the dough in half and shape each one into a 16- x 2-inch log on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan. With the palm of your hand, flatten logs slightly. Brush the beaten egg over the surface and sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake until logs are slightly firm to the touch, about 25 minutes. Transfer logs on parchment to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 300 degrees. Using a serrated knife on a cutting board, cut logs crosswise on the diagonal into ½-inch thick pieces. Place a wire rack on a sheet pan and arrange cut slices on it. Bake until firm, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely on the rack they were baked on. Makes 4 dozen. *Recipe from Martha Stewart. These look like the holidays with red cranberries and green pistachios. Along with a bag of locally-roasted coffee, box these up in a pretty container and it’s the perfect gift. 2010's - Sugar Cookies INGREDIENTS: 1 cup sugar ⅓ cup butter, softened ¼ cup shortening ½ teaspoon vanilla 1 egg 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ⅔ cup sour cream FROSTING INGREDIENTS: 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened 3 ½ tablespoons butter, softened 1 tablespoon milk ½ teaspoon vanilla 2 cups powdered sugar INSTRUCTIONS: In a large bowl with an electric mixer, mix sugar, butter, shortening, vanilla, and egg until fluffy. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low until just combined. Add sour cream, mix until combined. Remove dough, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough ¼-inch thick, cut with cookie cutters. Reroll extra dough gently to cut more cookies. Place on parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for 8 - 9 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched. Makes 3 dozen. FROSTING DIRECTIONS: With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix until fluffy. *I’ve been making these cookies for almost 30 years and I’ve adapted it along the way. These cookies are soft, not very sweet, and a favorite of our family. The frosting recipe I’ve included is optional. Feel free to use a recipe of your own or leave it out entirely.

A waterskiing and wakeboarding legend turned towed water sport exponent, Zane Schwenk got his start in a unique after-school program. The Sarasota native said casually, “I was in a circus as a kid, which was weird and fun.” The young adrenaline junkie dove into acrobatics, the flying trapeze, and the teeterboard, and by 12 years old, he had a 12-foot unicycle. Nothing too crazy happened at the circus, Schwenk said, well, except for that one time four lions chased him in South America. He flipped and flew in the circus from third grade until the tenth. That’s when he told his dad he wanted to join the water ski club. Schwenk started skiing at age three. The sport was a family affair. Blood may be thicker than water, but water seemingly runs in the Schwenks’ veins. Zane’s brother Tripp went on to swim at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, winning a gold medal in the medley relay and a silver in the 200-meter backstroke. “We had a very aquatic upbringing,” Zane said. By tenth grade, he would ski four to five days a week. “In Sarasota, it’s not easy to do that. It’s an hour and a half of cleanup afterward with the boat and taking care of stuff – but it was good. You learn a lot of responsibility,” he said. Schwenk began competing and made it to the water ski nationals in Wisconsin. “Mark Jackson interviewed me and gave me my first chance of getting any real notoriety,” he said. That landed the water skier his first sponsorship from Connelly Skis out of Washington state. Shortly after, they asked Schwenk if he wanted to try out their wakeboard. The sport hadn’t yet gained widespread popularity, and Schwenk didn’t know what it was. “They looked like a surfboard. […] This was like a bungee cord over the top of your feet, and then go try to do some flips. It was really crude,” he remembered. He tried out the wakeboard but continued skiing, improving his freestyle jumps. “Crashes were fun and obscene – that was a cool thing to do,” he said. Schwenk eventually got so good at freestyle jumping that he would become the first and, to this day, only person to land a double front flip ski jumping. Schwenk joined Cypress Gardens in 1993, where he would then travel on the weekend for tournaments across the country. “One of the coolest things that happened at Cypress Gardens for me was I was encouraged to try new things,” he said. Schwenk remembers attempting that double front flip off the ramp there, a feat he’d hoped to accomplish since the ninth grade. “You get beat hard – it really is painful. You’re going about 110-115 feet, hitting the ramp at 40 plus miles per hour, trying to do two flips and land, and you can’t see the landing. It’s crazy,” he said. One of the skiers at Cypress Gardens encouraged him to try the jump again as the owner of the park, August Busch, was on the dock. “I came whipping around – I tried it, I made it. I was super excited.” About a week later, he received a handwritten letter extending a sponsorship from Cypress Gardens. They wanted to help Schwenk achieve his dreams. “I came from a hardworking family. I moved over here with like 300 bucks – that was it,” he said. Now he had a full sponsorship to go out and compete. “It was the break I really needed.” He continued skiing while ramping up his wakeboarding career, competing in both. “Wakeboarding really didn’t want to identify with waterskiing. It was like two factions happening at the same time, on the same lake, at the same events, but the wakeboarders were kind of the red-headed stepchild for a while,” Schwenk said. “Very much like extreme sports, [wakeboarder’s thought] we’re going to adapt. We’re not going to be the establishment, we’re going to do something different, we’re going to be flexible. […] I’m still very passionate about waterskiing, and I’m so happy to come full circle – waterskiing and wakeboarding coexist really well together now.” His circus background also lent itself to the stunts Schwenk went on to master and even name. “There was a group of probably five or ten of us all learning these tricks and going, ‘Hey, I learned a new trick! I’m going to bring you a VHS tape of it, and I want to call it this.’ And you’d get that to the magazine as fast as you could because your buddy in Orlando was probably trying the same thing. So, you got to name a few tricks, claim a few tricks.” Schwenk skied with his buddy Parks Bonifay who he called a wakeboarding “phenom.” At just 14, Bonifay won the inaugural wakeboard competition at the X Games. “I’m 20, and he’s 14, and we’re just learning new tricks left and right, and I’m feeding off this kid who’s six years younger than me who’s going to kick my butt,” Schwenk laughed. Like Bonifay, Schwenk garnered legendary status as a pro tour wakeboarder, medaling in the X Games and winning the 2000 America’s Cup, Australian X Games, French X Games, and other pro events. The 2000 America’s Cup was a special event for the wakeboarder. “I traveled so much that I didn’t get to see my family a whole lot, but my dad was with me for that one, so that was really cool,” he said. His record-setting career earned him the title “World’s Greatest Water Skier” in 1999 at Cypress Gardens. Schwenk also worked with high-performance boat manufacturer Mastercraft to design the first wakeboarding boat, the XStar, as well as wake surfing systems. He worked with Mastercraft for over twenty years, even hosting their video series, “Rewind.” In March of this year, Zane Schwenk, alongside fellow wakeboarder Tara Hamilton-Wynne, was inducted into the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports Foundation Hall of Fame. Reflecting on his career, Schwenk said, “As cheesy as it sounds, outside of all that – I had a lot of fun times – but getting to teach people and encouraging the next generation of wakeboarders and kids and skiers to get out there and promote the sport – that to me has been the greatest thing I could have done.” Schwenk started the Pass the Handle initiative in 2014 with fellow wakeboarding legend Shaun Murray. The program encourages “any towedwater sports enthusiast to get out on the water and extend their arm to people in need of an awesome activity,” according to www.passthehandle.com. “Our goal is to truly engage those already involved to “share the stoke” and teach as many people as they can to ride.” Schwenk called the initiative his “driving passion” in recent years. “We’ve got a lot of wonderful athletes focused on doing double flips and all these cool things, but you didn’t get to do a double flip if you didn’t learn how to get up.” Pass the Handle promotes accessibility to help more people get out on the water and ‘learn how to get up.’ “We challenged [those already in watersports] to take somebody new. Go to your church, go to your school, go to your neighbor, and get them out on the water and help expose the sport to somebody else. That’s been really successful,” Schwenk said. Calling the Chain of Lakes our “greatest resource,” Schwenk is also avid about promoting safety on the water. “I don’t sound like the guy from the mid-90s who was doing crazy stuff,” he said, “but we’ve got to promote safe boating.” With more boats on the water, he encourages boaters to keep aware of their surroundings and guard the throttle. “Use common sense – like If you’re on a pontoon boat, don’t sit on the front of the pontoon boat while it’s going and drag your feet in the water. I see that every weekend.” Schwenk now lives in Winter Haven with his wife Lauren and their kids, five-year-old Stone and eight-year-old Stella, and has taken the marketing skills learned with Mastercraft to work as Director of Marketing and Media at Oakley Transport. Stone and Stella are getting an “aquatic upbringing” similar to his own, already learning to ski and wakeboard. Asked if he sees his kids breaking any of his records in the future, he smiled and said, “I hope they break my school records which will be easy for them to do, I think.” Numerous knee surgeries and previous wakeboarding injuries keep the Winter Haven wakeboarding great from being on the water as much as he’d like. Schwenk said, “You just can’t keep doing that forever, but if you can leave a lasting mark on a sport, that’s what I wanted to do, and I feel pretty good about that.”

Champion Skier Barbara Cooper Clack Heddon “Don’t be too hard on yourself. You practice hard, you work hard, you give it all you’ve got.” That is what champion competitive water skier Barbara Cooper Clack Heddon learned during her thirty-year career. It was a lesson she first had to learn on Christmas Eve, 1956. Heddon was 13 when she learned to ski at the Sump on Lake Hollingsworth. “My uncle got a boat and invited us all down to ski,” she remembered. “I told my dad, ‘I want to be good at this one day.’” Her dad, Charles “Charlie” L. Cooper, told her he’d give her every opportunity to succeed at it. “My parents were extremely supportive of whatever I did,” Heddon said. They became so involved in tournaments that her mother would keep scores and post them from judges after the skiers performed. “My mother also skied in the Lakeland ski shows for a little bit, and my daddy would drive the boats for the shows,” she said. When her father took her to the lake on December 24, 1956, to learn to jump, Barbara’s initial attempts were a bit choppy. Try after try – 25 tries actually – she would approach the jump and let go of the rope. The twenty-sixth try was the charm as Barbara held onto the rope and landed her first jump. That was the watershed event to what would be a legendary skiing career. It was at 13 years old that Heddon set two goals: to be the first woman in the world to jump 100 feet and to represent the United States in the World Water Ski Championships. On her life jacket and skis, Heddon would write a reminder of her goal, “100 feet or bust.” Two years after that tenacious twenty-sixth jump, Heddon would go on to set a new Girl’s record for jumping 84 feet. She excelled at slalom and trick skiing, but jumping was her true passion. “Jumping I just loved because I loved soaring through the air,” she said. In 1957, Heddon won her first All American Junior Dixie competition at Cypress Gardens. Owner Dick Pope Sr. told her dad that he’d like Barbara to work at the Gardens. Mr. Cooper agreed, contingent that she be chaperoned at all times. Mr. Pope said he’d take good care of Barbara. “And he did,” Heddon said. The 16-year-old skier started working at Cypress Gardens in 1959 and skied there until 1966. “Mr. Pope Sr. was the ultimate of entertainment. He wanted to always have the best shows and was a fabulous promoter of Cypress Gardens,” Heddon said. The entertainment aspect was her favorite part of working at Cypress Gardens. “To be able to go out and perform and do your best and be applauded for it,” she said. Heddon said her experience at Florida’s first theme park was great and credited it for launching her onto television programs like “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “To Tell the Truth,” “Who Do You Trust?,” and “What’s My Line?” During her senior year in high school, Barbara entered the Miss Lakeland pageant. Mr. Pope was her sponsor for the contest and even helped produce a video of her waterskiing skills for the talent portion. Following in her mother Evelyn’s footsteps, who won the same pageant in 1936, Barbara was crowned Miss Lakeland. “It was a blast,” she said. She went on to compete in the Miss Florida pageant. Heddon said, “You would think it would be kind of cutthroat, but it wasn’t. The girls were so cordial and so sweet. I was basically the youngest one in the pageant. We would talk about the future and what’s going on, where are you going, what do you want to do in life?” Where was Barbara Heddon going in life? The better question would have been, ‘how high?’ She met her first goal and became the first woman to soar 100 feet at the 1964 Florida State Open. “The next week, Dicksie Ann Hoyt jumped 100 feet, so I thought, ‘Whoa, I didn’t make that by much,” she said. In 1963, only a few months postpartum with her son Scotty, Heddon claimed the women’s national overall title. “It was exciting because I hadn’t been able to train for that year and then got back into skiing for a month or so and went to the Nationals,” she said. She traveled to Long Beach, California, for the competition. “I thought, ‘Okay, I’m back.’” Two years later was perhaps the most triumphant moment of Heddon’s waterskiing career when she led all three events, winning the Masters Cup. “Winning all three events at the Masters Water Ski Tournament and being the first woman to do that – I was ecstatic about it,” she said. The second goal that 13-year-old Barbara Heddon had made would be met in 1965 when she earned a place on the United States Water Ski Team. She traveled with them to compete in the World Water Ski Championships in Australia, where she won the women’s slalom title. “It was very exciting. Australia is a beautiful country, and they so welcomed everybody,” she said of her time in the land Down Under. Their time in Australia wasn’t all waterskiing for the team. Barbara remembers her teammate, Liz Allen, “We bought her first bikini bathing suit because bikinis over here weren’t quite in yet, but they were in Australia.” Asked if she also bought a bikini there, she hesitated, laughed, and said, “I did. […] It covered up a lot more than they do now.” In 1969, Heddon reached new heights as a flight attendant for United Airlines. Her time on the water wasn’t over yet, though. She set another women’s record by jumping 111 feet in the 1971 Masters and won the slalom and jumping in the National Championships the same year. Barbara Cooper Clack Heddon was inducted into the USA Water Ski and Wake Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. Heddon obtained her Florida Real Estate License in 1982 and was a broker with her own company, Southern Investment Realty, by 2004. “I fell in love with it the minute I started it,” she said. “I just love seeing people fulfill their dreams and buy their dream homes.” The celebrated water skier is now semiretired from real estate after selling her business three years ago. Though no longer a broker, Heddon continues to help folks fulfill their dreams as an agent for Century 21 Myers Realty. Of all the records set, competitions won, and homes sold, Heddon notes her proudest moment was the 2007 induction of her son, Scotty Clack, into the USA Water Ski and Wake Sports Hall of Fame. Scotty Clack is credited with developing freestyle jumping into a competitive event. He competed in the freestyle jumping event on the professional tour for 16 years and boasted a 10-0 record in 1985. Like his mother, he began his show skiing career at Cypress Gardens, where he performed for 18 years, serving as show director from 1995-1998. During his career, Clack performed for the president of Beirut, the Queen of England, and King Hussein of Jordan five times. His waterskiing talents took him to Hollywood, where he did stunts on the movies “Meatballs” and “Smokey and the Bandit Part 3.” Clack went on to serve as the director of operations for World Sports & Marketing from 2001-2004. Heddon and Clack were the first mother and son to both be inducted into the USA Water Ski and Wake Sports Hall of Fame. The champion water skier remains close with her fellow skiers. “It’s a family – waterskiing is just a big family,” she said. “The Cypress Gardens Ski Team has done a wonderful job of keeping the integrity of the sport and skiing like the Gardens used to have.” Asked if she’d be attending the IWWF World Water Ski Show Tournament, Heddon replied she’d be there. She even signed up as a volunteer for the event. “I wouldn’t miss that for the world – no pun intended,” she smiled.

“The Earth is what we all have in common.” – Wendell Berry Have you ever wandered the boardwalk at Alligator Alley in Circle B Bar Reserve or admired the overhead canopy reflected on the still blackwater during a hike through the Peace River Hammock? If so, you have benefited from the Polk County Environmental Lands Program. On November 8, 1994, Polk County citizens voted in favor of levying a tax on themselves to fund a local environmental lands program. “The purpose of the Environmental Lands Program is to acquire, preserve, protect, manage and restore endangered and environmentally sensitive lands, water resources and important wildlife habitat. Acquired properties may be used for passive outdoor recreational purposes provided that such uses will not disturb or degrade the environmental quality for which the site was acquired,” according to polknature.com. Properties protected by the Environmental Lands Program in Polk County include Circle B Bar Reserve, Gator Creek Reserve, Marshall Hampton Reserve, Sherwood L. Stokes Preserve, Crooked Lake Prairie, Hickory Lake Scrub, North Walk-in-Water Creek, SUMICA, Crooked Lake Sandhill, Lakeland Highlands Scrub, and Peace River Hammock. These preserved wilderness areas have provided the community with rich recreational opportunities, protection of water resources and wildlife habitat, and been a boon for eco-tourism in the county. Though the initial levy expired in 2015, the issue will be on the ballot again this November thanks to Polk Forever, a nonpartisan political committee of volunteers who share a passion for conservation. The committee’s initial goal was to get a referendum on the ballot this November. With that accomplished, their aim is the passage of the Environmental Lands Acquisition and Management Referendum on November 8, 2022. According to Polk Forever, the purpose of this referendum is “To continue the work begun by the 1994 voter-approved referendum that created the Polk County Environmental Lands Program. If approved, funding will be dedicated to purchase and conserve the environmentally sensitive lands needed to protect our county’s water resources and wildlife habitat. Lands can be purchased outright or protected by conservation easements. The goal is to expand, buffer, and connect existing preserves and wildlife corridors and provide citizens with high-quality resource-based outdoor recreation opportunities.” If passed, four distinct areas have been identified for conservation efforts, including The Green Swamp, The Lake Wales Ridge, The Upper Kissimmee Basin, and The Peace River. Funding will be provided through a dedicated 0.2 mill ad valorem property tax for 20 years if the referendum is approved. According to Polk Forever, “Monies will be dedicated to the acquisition and management of lands purchased outright or to the purchase of conservation easements that will keep the land in private ownership while protecting important natural resources.” “Statewide partners and federal partners are always looking for communities that are willing to invest themselves. So, if we don’t have a funding program in Polk County, other state groups are probably going to look at other areas to match funds with. Matching funds with partners is key,” said Polk Forever board member Suzanne Lindsey. “Our county staff that was so successful with this before are still in place, and they really know how to use those monies to get the biggest bang for your buck. It’s a great investment.” To raise awareness and support for the Environmental Lands Referendum, Polk Forever is hosting a juried triple art show across the county. The shows will feature paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography, and mixed media pieces from local and regional artists inspired by Polk’s environmental lands purchased through the 1995-2015 citizen referendum. The first exhibition was held at the Ridge Art Gallery in Winter Haven from September 3 – September 23, 2022. ART/ifact in Lakeland will display a Polk Forever exhibition from October 1 – 28, 2022, with an opening reception on October 1 from 4 – 6 pm. The Lake Wales Art Gallery will feature another exhibition from October 1 – 28, 2022, with a reception on October 15 from 4 – 6 pm. Polk County kids have submitted pieces inspired by the lands they love and hope to preserve, along with work by professional and emerging artists. “We want to see what people enjoy about the parks and get their view on it,” said Polk Forever board member and artist, Blair Updike. “It’s a good way to show appreciation for the success of the past program and showcase those different lands, the different environments – they’re all over the county.” Lindsey agreed, adding, “I think people who visit the properties become the best ambassadors to protect it.” Updike, a celebrated painter from Lake Wales, has submitted work for the Polk Forever exhibition series, and so has her daughter. Other local artists of note include photography from Adam Bass and sculptures by David Price. “Conservation helps everyone,” Updike said. “You need the clean water. You need all the things provided by having open space. Everyone should care.” Polk Forever polkforever.com FB: Polk Forever IG @polkforever YouTube: Polk Forever Information on the Polk County Environmental Lands Program: polknature.com

No sunset or lake silhouette is more fitting than that of “The Water Ski Capital of the World” to honor the 100th anniversary of the sport. The waters of Dick Pope Sr.’s tropical haven and skiing sanctum, Cypress Gardens, were the stage for many shattered records, celebrity guests, and film and television productions throughout the years. The magic lives on as later this month, thousands of spectators and athletes the world over will descend on Winter Haven for the 2022 International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) World Water Ski Show Tournament. The Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team, City of Winter Haven, and Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing are partnering to host the World Show Ski Championships. International teams and individuals will compete on Lake Silver in the largest tournament to date and the first event to combine an Individual and Team competition. Competitive teams include the USA, Belgium, Germany, Canada, and Sweden, with Mexico joining as an exhibition team. Preceding the tournament on the evening of October 18, Visit Central Florida and the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team will host a “Night with the Stars of Show Skiing’’ at Nora Mayo Hall. The red carpet dinner will honor professional show skiers. The Opening Ceremony will be held at the original Cypress Gardens Ski Stadium at LEGOLAND Florida on Wednesday, October 19. Festivities will include a parade of athletes, welcome speeches, live music, skiing demonstrations, and fireworks. The International Food & Drink Street Festival hosted by Main Street Winter Haven will occur the following day, Thursday, October 20, at 5:30 pm on Central Avenue in Winter Haven. Admission to the family- and dog-friendly festival is free. Attendees can expect drink tents, live music, and international food from local restaurants and vendors. The tournament will officially kick off on Friday, October 21, at Lake Silver, with the Individual Swivel Ski event followed by Adagio Doubles. Countries new to the WWSST will join in on the Centennial Celebration of the sport of waterskiing by performing their exhibition shows on Friday as well. Saturday, October 22, all competitive teams will compete. The tournament will conclude on Sunday, October 23, with teams placed by their Saturday scores, followed in the late afternoon by the Individual Freestyle jump competition, ending with a Medal Ceremony. For a full schedule of events and more information about the IWWF World Water Ski Show Tournament, visit worldwaterskishow.com. CYPRESS GARDENS WATER SKI TEAM PREPARES Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team president Mark Voisard expects between three and five thousand people at the World Water Ski Show Tournament, and he’s excited to show off the beautiful Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. He and the team have been busy making ready for the event by preparing the site. The ski team will run the Southern Hospitality tent and concession stands at the tournament, and according to Voisard, “We’ll be doing some skiing during breaks in the action at the Worlds.” Voisard, a former Cypress Gardens show director, was instrumental in forming the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team – and keeping the legacy alive. Mark Voisard hails from Deerfield, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His uncle owned a resort several hours north in Eagle River, Wisconsin. When Voisard was six, someone gave his uncle a homemade boat which he outfitted with a 45 horsepower Mercury motor and got out on the water. That’s when he first learned to ski. “I had to put tennis shoes on because they didn’t have any kid’s skis,” Voisard remembered. At 16 years old in 1970, Voisard became a founding member of the Chain Skimmers Water Ski Show Team in Eagle River, Wisconsin. In 1976, the team became the Wisconsin State Champions. After graduating college, Voisard set his sights on Cypress Gardens. He was hired to ski at the park, and when they called and asked when he could come, Voisard said he’d be there in two weeks. His first day was March 1, 1977. “We had a bunch of our guys from Eagle River come ski with us down here. My brother skied here,” he said. “When I got here, I was focused on skiing because there was so much to learn,” Voisard said. “They were doing things already that we hadn’t even thought about doing.” Soon after arriving at the Gardens, Voisard started flying the Delta Wing Kite. “We flew two kites every show, and we had four shows a day. So, with eight chances to fly – you get a lot of flying in.” Spectators can still see Voisard fly today during Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team shows. Mark became the Cypress Gardens show director for 15 years and worked at the park for some 30 years. In 1982, Voisard won the Men 2 National barefoot tricks and starts titles and has officiated over 30 National Show Ski Association tournaments. Voisard has officiated ten national and two world championships. Another feat Mark and show ski champion, Cheryl Orloff, took on was the first five-tier pyramid. “Nobody had ever done it before. First of all, you have to do a double-top four-tier,” he said. The direction of the pyramid spurred advancements in safety for the skiers, including the Flo-Mo vest and the use of braided handles – both of which have been adopted by the greater water ski community. “There’s a little more safety every time we do something like that,” Voisard said. With one boat pulling another boat and a total of 17 people – they successfully performed the first five-tier pyramid. Voisard was honored with an award of distinction by the USA Water Ski and Wake Sports Foundation in 2016. THE SHOW GOES ON The former show director relayed the inception story of the original ski team at Cypress Gardens. “The story goes that Dick Pope Sr. was in the army somewhere around the world, so Julie Pope, his wife, was basically running the park. Skiing wasn’t anything they normally did. The kids would come, and they’d go skiing,” he said. According to Voisard, military personnel on leave visited the park and saw the kids skiing. “They went back to Orlando and said, ‘Hey, you guys have to go to Cypress Gardens – they’re doing a ski show.’ It wasn’t actually a ski show.” People began to ask what time the ski show was. An improvising Julie Pope told them 3 o’clock. “The kids got out of school, they got them all picked up, got them out there, and they started skiing, and that’s how it started.” In 2011, two years after Cypress Gardens closed, USA Water Ski Hall of Fame inductee and former Cypress Gardens skier Don Thompson was honored. Former professional Gardens skiers got together to perform a ski show on Lake Silver for Thompson. The show sparked talks of starting a ski club and teaching kids to ski. Voisard remembered someone suggesting, “We’ll teach them the way they did it at Cypress Gardens so that they really do it well and continue doing it.” Mark and his wife, Jean Voisard, began working with the City of Winter Haven in 2012 to secure Martin Luther King, Jr. Park as a home for the emerging Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team. “It took almost a year to get the whole deal worked out,” he said. Waiting on permits and a contract with the City in the works, they began forming the team. “We actually started skiing in our backyard in Eagle Lake. We brought the trailer with all the skis and a couple of boats,” Voisard said. The team started on Lake Silver later that year. “We’re very lucky. The City has been really good to us, and the County has been good to us.” Today, the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team is a non-profit USAWSsanctioned ski team with approximately 155 members ranging in age from two to skiers in their seventies. The team makes a splash on the third Saturday of each month with their free ski shows at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park on Lake Silver. Slalom, tricks, jumping, knee boarding, hydrofoil, barefoot, “In the show ski world, you kind of put all those things together. We barefoot, we hydrofoil, we jump, we fly the kite some, the girls swivel,” Voisard said. The team also offers adaptive ski clinics for those with special needs and disabilities. There will not be a Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team show on the third Saturday of October because of the World Tournament. But don’t miss their Halloween show! The nighttime show promises tons of spooky fun, from a skeleton pyramid to ghouls, wolfman, and a “Thriller” performance. The legacy continues as the team carries the Cypress Gardens torch – and its billowing namesake flags. Just as Dick Pope did with his theme park, the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team invites visitors to imbibe sunshine, fresh lake air, and the glamour and athleticism of a sport entering its centennial. Photography by Amy Sexson Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team www.cypressgardensskiteam.com FB: Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team (est. 2012) IG @cypress_gardens_ski_team Free shows on the third Saturday of each month: Lake Silver at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park 275 S Lake Silver Dr., Winter Haven

From charming guests as a Southern Belle to awing audiences as an Aquamaid at Cypress Gardens, Brenda Mitchell sat down with Haven to share stories of an iconic time in Central Florida history. Citrus was booming, “Mr. Florida” Dick Pope Sr. was operating a star-studded theme park, and Winter Haven was forging its designation as the Water Ski Capital of the World. Eclipsed only by “Mr. Florida” himself, images of beguiling Southern Belles and Aquamaids arm-in-arm smiling to the camera remain ambassadors of an era – pre-Disney emissaries of entertainment. Born in England, Brenda Mitchell considers Australia – where she moved as a child – home. She learned to snow ski before hitting the water. In Melbourne, Australia, there was a snow ski resort with a weir at the bottom. She and her friends would often snow ski and water ski on the same day. “We’d have bonfires there. It was fun,” she said. During a trip from England to Australia, Mitchell traveled to the sun-drenched skiing sanctuary that was Cypress Gardens. She met the park’s founders, Dick and Julie Pope. They asked if they could photograph her and if she would like to work with them at the Gardens in the future. She took a raincheck and returned to Australia, where she hosted a television program called “The Children’s Adventure Club.” In 1961, a 21-year-old Mitchell did come back to Winter Haven. Her previous ballet training gave her a leg up working at the Gardens. “If you’ve got some training in something, you know what to expect. It’s going to be hard work until you get it right, and not only are you pleasing yourself – you’re pleasing your director or the people watching the performance,” Mitchell said. GLITZ AND GLAMOUR AT THE GARDENS There was a buzz at Cypress Gardens, a hum of excitement – something in the water. The thrill of water ski shows, movie stars, and tourists the world over. Mitchell described it as a fun place to work. Whether shooting a film like “Easy to Love” or a television program like “The Johnny Carson Show” or “The Mike Douglas Show,” “It was evolving continually,” she said. The water skiers were involved with production too. “If you worked on it, you had an edge over someone who had never been involved and didn’t understand you hurry, hurry, hurry, and wait, wait, wait. That’s how it works.” During one production, Mitchell did a stint with Van Johnson skiing around the islands on Lake Summit. “I was to get into his arms which means I step on his ski, but he has to let go of the rope for me to get over. If they could have heard what he said – he used words normal to our ears now, beginning with ‘F’ about the drivers and the waves. […] I said, ‘Just smile!’” It wasn’t all dazzling shows and movie shoots at Cypress Gardens. “We had to do everything in those days,” she said. “Sometimes we taught the Southern Belles how to ski.” The summer was when they did most of their training, as winters tended to be prime for tourism in Central Florida. Brenda and the other Cypress Gardens water skiers also helped prepare for the arrival of special guests. She remembers one of the other girls going to Belk’s to buy bed sheets, Julie Pope going room to room, dropping them off, and Brenda making up the hotel room beds. But if work took too long, Brenda said Mrs. Pope was the kind of person to say, ‘Oh no, you’re going to be late. Call your husband and have him come over for dinner. Sylvester will pick him up.’ A notoriously gracious hostess, Julie Pope would seek Brenda’s English sensibilities when preparing for European guests at Cypress Gardens, asking how they might like their tea and if Brenda could help her set it up. “She was someone who was so warm and made you feel good that you had something to contribute,” Mitchell said. Brenda was so close with the Cypress Gardens founding family that Dick Pope Sr. gave her away at her wedding. “He was the kindest, kindest person and such a gentleman,” she said. “Julie Pope had a reputation of being the strength behind them.” In the last years of Mr. Pope’s life, Brenda remained close to him, regularly visiting him at his home. “I could finish a lot of his sentences for him knowing the things that he did and the things that he liked, and that made me feel good as well as him,” she said. “They were just wonderful.” SWAN ON THE CHAIN OF LAKES “We were all so close-knit,” Mitchell remembered. She stayed in supervised housing, as did many other non-Floridian Cypress Gardens water skiers. “It was like being in college and having roommates, and we all had a similar goal.” Admittedly not much of a gymnast, Mitchell shied away from tricks but shined when it came to swivel skiing. “Everybody had something that they could contribute, and the show staff was bright enough to understand to make use of the talent you have,” she said. “We were the premier ballerina of that show. We called it ‘Swan,’” Mitchell said. And just like any prima ballerina, “The longer your arms are and the longer your legs are, the prettier you look.” “Was it glamorous? Well, we had to wear more makeup because when you’re on the water, your face would look blank if you didn’t have red lipstick and eyelashes that showed up,” Mitchell said. The former Aquamaid reflected on the current Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team, which puts on a free show at Lake Silver on the third Saturday of each month. The glamour on the water is more now, she said. “We wore lots of bright colors, but not sequins.” The Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team does a whole ballet line in unison. “What I used to do that was special is every day now, but that’s progress — that’s life,” Mitchell said. While working at Cypress Gardens, the Aussie Aquamaid even got to ski with King Hussein at his seaside estate in the Jordanian city of Aqaba. It was skiing doubles with a hint of danger for Mitchell and her party while they visited the king. “There was a minefield between the hotel in Aqaba – the Gazelle Club – and his property that we had to be walked through when we were staying there,” she said. Mitchell remembers skiing the glittering blue water of the Gulf as jets zoomed overhead. From Jordan, she went back to Australia and joined a synchronized swimming team. “That was a feat for me because I’m not really a super swimmer at all. I said, ‘Just keep me in the shallow end,’” Mitchell smiled, still glamorous as ever. She noticed that everyone having the same swimsuit and cap lent consistency to their performance. She brought that idea back to Winter Haven and asked if they could start doing something similar with costuming at the Gardens. The Cypress Gardens water skier wore many costumes throughout her career, from mermaid at Florida’s first theme park to Tinkerbell in a ski show at “The Happiest Place on Earth.” Mitchell remembered that Jantzen sponsored the water skiers at Cypress Gardens for swimwear. The girls’ swimsuits had molded cups. After one wash, the cups were all over the place. “The male skiers would say, ‘You’ve got a little malfunction,” she laughed. “Well, great!” While cleaning out her closet recently, she found her favorite costume – a black number with diamonds and a proper ballerina tutu paired with long white gloves. Cypress Gardens was home to Brenda Mitchell until 1984 and was the backdrop for many life events, often narrated by the voice of their announcer. The announcer said, “Brenda is a new mother today!” as she took to the water the day she adopted her daughter Mandy. During her later years at the park, Brenda said, “The announcer would sometimes say, ‘And now we have the oldest living Aquamaid,” Brenda laughed. “You can leave the old out! Experienced maybe? But you don’t have to say old.” Though she no longer water skis, Mitchell still takes to the snow ski slopes. “I think the more you keep skiing, the younger you feel.”

BEST CLOTHING BOUTIQUE 417 BOUTIQUE BY CATE 337 W Central Ave, Winter Haven (863) 632-0827 FB @417boutiquebycate IG @417boutiquebycate 417boutique.com Looking for that perfect special occasion dress? Or a whole wardrobe refresh? Find cute, on-trend styles curated by Catie Kincaid in her downtown Winter Haven boutique, 417 by Cate. Kincaid launched her fashion venture online in 2017 and soon expanded to a Central Florida brick-andmortar space – so now you can shop online or in-store! 417 by Cate has everything you need to complete your look, from dresses and rompers to tops, bottoms, shoes, and more. 2nd: The Red Geranium 3rd: Long Live Vintage BEST GIFT SHOP/ BOUTIQUE THE RED GERANIUM 605 E Central Ave, Winter Haven (863) 291-8585 FB @TheRedGeraniumwh IG @theredgeranium_wh The Red Geranium is an affordable boutique where you can shop ‘til you drop for gifts, decor, and more! This Winter Haven boutique specializes in home and garden decor, kitchen specialties, jewelry, and women’s clothing. Whether you’re in the market for a funky throw pillow to liven up your living space, a fall candle to scent your home, country chic furniture, or a new dress to wear around town – you can find it at the Red Geranium. “Red Geranium is a cool store. Has a variety of seasonal items, home decor, clothing, jewelry, purses, and much more. They also carry Winter Haven items! Fun place. Recommend if you’re looking for something special,” writes one customer. 2nd: Amy’s Party Store 3rd: Long Live Vintage BEST JEWELER J.C. JEWELERS 504 Cypress Gardens Blvd, Winter Haven (863) 294-5221 FB: JC Jewelers jewelconnect.com/8632945221 J.C. Jewelers outshines the competition again! This family-owned and operated jewelry shop has served Winter Haven for over 40 years and is conveniently located on Cypress Gardens Boulevard. They offer a wide selection of bridal and fashion jewelry, estate jewelry, custom jewelry design and creation, and watch and clock sales, including Rolex. Repairs are never a problem at J.C. Jewelers as they have in-house bench jewelers and gem-smiths who can perform same-day repairs for many items, as well as state-of-the-art LASER systems for precision, deep repairs, and cracked or damaged jewelry. 2nd: Griner’s Jewelers 3rd: Tally-Ho Jewelers BEST ANTIQUE STORE TREASURE HOUSE ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES 232 6th St NW, Winter Haven (863) 875-7921 FB @treasurehousetwo treasurehouseone.wixsite.com/treasurehouseantique Treasure House Antiques & Collectibles is a treasure trove of vintage finds! This over 10,000 square-foot Winter Haven antique mall has been open for over twenty years. It features an everchanging inventory of hand-selected clothing, furniture, and home goods, including secondhand items from top brands and manufacturers at reasonable prices. An excerpt from a five-star review for Treasure House Antiques & Collectibles reads, “It was so much fun walking down memory lane and finding hidden treasure! If you are in the area, we highly recommend a stop here.” 2nd: Central Avenue Antiques 3rd: Sherman’s Antiques BEST THRIFT STORE TOP BUTTONS BOUTIQUE 226 W Central Ave, Winter Haven (Other locations in Bartow, Lakeland, and St. Pete) (863) 229-5158 FB @TopButtons IG @topbuttons topbuttons.org Top Buttons offers designer thrift for a good cause. This faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, charitable and educational organization provides online platforms, educational events, clothing boutiques, and programs for teens in need aiming to empower young women by providing the resources they need. Top Buttons offers new and gently used thrift items at affordable prices, so you can do some high-end shopping without the high-end price tag. 2nd: Long Live Vintage 3rd: St. John’s Thrift Store For Missions BEST FURNITURE STORE BADCOCK HOME FURNITURE &MORE 1399 6th St NW, Winter Haven (Multiple locations) (863) 251-2039 FB @badcockfurniture IG @badcockfurniture badcock.com Find furniture you’ll love for every room in the house at Badcock Home Furniture &more! Looking to ditch your dingy sofa for a new one? Check out Badcock’s selection of living room, dining room, and bedroom furniture, along with mattresses, appliances, electronics, and more. They even have financing options with affordable payment plans. Want a visual of what that new bedroom set might look like in your home? Badcock’s website offers a Room Planner where you first select the room that fits your home, style the space using the hundreds of Badcock items to choose from, and shop those items online or save it for in-store purchase. 2nd: Claussen’s Fine Furniture 3rd: Brooks Furniture & Mattress Store BEST WINTER HAVEN FARMERS MARKET VENDOR RED ROOSTER’S PRODUCE (863) 521-9143 FB: Red Rooster’s Produce IG @red_roosters_produce Is there anything better than strolling the Winter Haven Farmers Market on a sunny Saturday morning? This weekly market takes place every Saturday in the BB&T parking lot across from Grove Roots Brewery and offers an impressive list of curated vendors with a focus on food. Best Of Haven voters showed their love for Red Rooster’s Produce, so they must be pretty cluckin’ good! Red Rooster’s is a mobile produce business that pops up at local community events and markets offering a wide selection of fresh, quality produce at affordable prices. Their coop box allows customers to pick their own mix of fruits and veggies to fill the box (as long as the lid closes). Check out their local raw honey, Georgia pecans, homemade jam, boiled peanuts, homemade seasonings, and farm-fresh brown eggs while you’re there! 2nd: TIE – The Whoopie Pie Guys Laker’s Barkery 3rd: Victor & Mika’s Bakery

BEST REALTOR ERIN FLOYD COLDWELL BANKER REALTY (863) 294-7541 FB: Erin Floyd - Coldwell Banker Realty - Winter Haven erinsellspolkcounty.com Best Of Haven voters agree it’s nothing but smooth ‘selling’ when you work with Erin Floyd. Clients note Floyd’s organization, responsiveness, professionalism, and overall effectiveness resulting in a seamless selling and buying process. One client writes in part, “Special thanks to Erin and her whole team for selling our condo in one day for full price. Everyone on the team was professional, friendly, helpful, patient, and knowledgeable. They took all the stress off of us and made the whole process a pleasure.” 2nd: Tiffany Ellis The Fortify Group at Keller Williams Reality 3rd: Michael Noris NextHome Norris & Company Realty BEST REALTY COMPANY KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY SMART 1 407 1st St S, Winter Haven, FL (863) 508-3000 FB: Keller Williams Realty Smart 1 Winter Haven mc622.yourkwoffice.com Keller Williams Realty is regarded as an industry leader in real estate, and clients say Smart 1 in Winter Haven is too. Keller Williams Realty Smart 1 pride themselves on being customer service-oriented and integrity based. “This is the best as far as Real Estate companies I have been represented by. The staff is a caring bunch of professionals I have had the pleasure in working with,” reads an excerpt from one five-star review. 2nd: TIE – The K Team Town & Country Real Estate 3rd: NextHome Norris & Company Realty BEST MORTGAGE BROKER HOME SOLUTION LENDERS, INC. 1445 E Main St, Bartow (863) 607-4663 FB @homesolutionlenders IG @hslenders hslenders.com There’s no place like Home…Solution Lenders! “Home Solution Lenders is a great team! They were professional and informative throughout the whole process. Thank you for helping my family and I move into our dream home. You guys are swift and friendly, and I can’t thank you enough!” writes one happy HSL customer. This Bartowbased company prides themselves on exceeding client expectations by closing loans promptly and efficiently. Founded in 2008, HSL serves the entire state of Florida and specializes in FHA, USDA, VA, Conventional, Construction, Florida Bond Programs, and Refinancing. They simplify the application process with options to apply securely online, over the phone, or in person. 2nd: Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation 3rd: Carlos Unzueta | CrossCountry Mortgage BEST AC REPAIR RIDGE ENERGY SAVERS 135 S Acuff Rd, Lake Wales (863) 676-2665 FB @RidgeEnergySavers ridgeenergy.com Ridge Energy Savers, a second-generation family-owned and operated company, backs its residential and commercial HVAC services with 48 years of stand-out service. The NATE-certified team at Ridge Energy Savers is qualified as a Carrier Factory Authorized Dealer, ensuring proper HVAC design, installation, repair, and maintenance. Their extensive service menu includes heating, cooling, air quality, duct services, commercial refrigeration, and sheet metal fabrication. Best Of Haven voters agree that Ridge Energy Savers is the coolest AC repair company around! 2nd: A-1 Air Conditioning 3rd: Winter Haven Air Conditioning BEST ELECTRICIAN KINCAID ELECTRICAL SERVICES 56 W. Central Ave, Lake Wales (863) 676-0198 FB @kincaidelectric kincaidelectric.com Say watt?! Clients of Kincaid Electrical Services won’t be shocked to hear they won Best Electrician. This family-owned and operated business was founded in 1973 by Alan Kincaid. Operating under a Master Florida Electrical License, most of Kincaid’s electricians have been with them for over twenty years. One five-star Kincaid review reads, “They installed MULTIPLE fixtures, flood lights, and fans in the same day. My wife was home alone and said the technician made her feel VERY comfortable and that he was very professional even with my kids running around. The owner Chris is unmatched. You can’t go wrong here.” 2nd: A & T Electric 3rd: Cassady Electric BEST PLUMBING COMPANY CYPRESS PLUMBING INC. 1776 Executive Rd, Winter Haven (863) 294-7319 FB: Cypress Plumbing Inc. cypressplumbingincwinterhaven.com Best Of Haven voters piped up to vote Cypress Plumbing Best Plumbing Company again! Cypress Plumbing has served Polk County for nearly 40 years, offering drain cleaning, plumbing installation, plumbing repairs, water heaters, and backflow testing. They can fix a leaky faucet or mystery clog any time of day or night with their 24-hour emergency service. Cypress Plumbing also has warranties available and offers senior discounts. Noting their responsiveness and value, one customer wrote, “The service was fast, and the problem was repaired in a very short time. We will use them again!” 2nd: Sun State Plumbing 3rd: Daughtry Plumbing BEST ROOFING COMPANY EZ ROOFING SYSTEMS 120 W Central Ave, Winter Haven (863) 875-1033 FB: EZ Roofing Systems LLC IG @ezroofingsystems ezroofingsystems.com It’s hard to beat over 60 years of roofing made EZ! This family-owned and operated business earned a reputation as a top-tier roofing company by providing expertise and exemplary services in roof replacement, repairs, roof cleaning, flat roof restoration, and insurance inspections. EZ even offers free estimates! “With years of industry experience, you can count on us for speedy, reliable service. We offer affordable solutions for everyone. Protect your investment with a reliable roof by a reliable company.” 2nd: R.I.G. Roofing 3rd: Guy’s Diversified BEST PATIO SCREENING COMPANY BOBBY KELTON ALUMINUM INC. (863) 287-9208 FB: Bobby Kelton Aluminum Inc. Bobby Kelton Aluminum customers have it made in the shade with their specialties in swimming pool enclosures, re-screens, screen rooms, carports, and seamless gutters. Whether your project is new construction or a repair, this licensed and insured screening company has you covered in Polk County and surrounding areas – and even offers free estimates. One client raved, “Bobby Kelton came out quickly to provide an estimate and scheduled the work promptly. The crew was on time and professional and rescreened my small lanai fast and with an eye for quality. The price they charged was very fair. I would definitely recommend Bobby Kelton Aluminum!” 2nd: Mid-Florida Aluminum & Rescreens 3rd: Advanced Screening Solutions BEST CONTRACTOR/ CONSTRUCTION COMPANY WHITEHEAD CONSTRUCTION 601 6th St SW, Winter Haven (863) 293-6473 FB @whiteheadconstruction IG @whiteheadconstruction1954 whiteheadconstruction.com One of the most respected names in general contracting throughout Florida and the south, Whitehead Construction is a leading name in large-scale contracting. Established in 1954 and rooted in three generations of family ownership, Whitehead Construction is approaching 70 years of experience in design-build, commercial, and industrial construction. They have created some of the most impressive and recognizable buildings in Polk County, including the RainGarden Apartments, Bond Clinic, Grove Roots Brewing Company, Heartland Church, and Treatt Manufacturing. Clients consistently recommend Whitehead Construction using words like “polished,” “quality,” and “knowledgeable” to describe their Best Of Haven winning services. 2nd: Alan L. Ulch 3rd: Guy’s Diversified BEST RETIREMENT COMMUNITY LAKE ASHTON 4140 Ashton Club Dr, Lake Wales 1(866)-525-3274 FB: Lake Ashton lakeashton.com “Never before has elegance and value been so perfectly defined in a master-planned, active adult community. Lake Ashton sets the standards of excellence in design, construction, amenities, lifestyle, location, security, and affordability for Florida retirement communities.” This premier community is set on over 1,200 acres, including three lakes and nature preserves. Lake Ashton’s vast list of amenities and activities include a 26,000-square-foot clubhouse, 24-hour manned gatehouses, sauna, movie theater, bowling alley, library, 30,000 square foot health and fitness center, lighted tennis, shuffle and bocce ball courts, life-sized chess, and two 18-hole golf courses – just to name a few. 2nd: Spring Haven 3rd: Lake Howard Heights BEST HOTEL HAMPTON INN WINTER HAVEN 202 Cypress Gardens Boulevard, Winter Haven (863) 299-9251 FB @hamptonbyhilton IG @hamptonbyhilton hilton.com Located just a half-mile from Lake Lulu, Hampton Inn Winter Haven is central to LEGOLAND Florida Resort and just 45 minutes away from both Orlando International Airport and Tampa International Airport. This hotel has a desirable list of amenities, including connecting rooms, complimentary hot breakfast, free parking, free wifi, non-smoking rooms, digital key, an outdoor pool, fitness center, pet-friendly rooms, and a business center. Giving Hampton Inn Winter Haven five out of five stars, one guest writes, “Great Value! The room was clean, the breakfast was phenomenal, super friendly staff, short drive to Legoland. Walmart directly across the street and lots of restaurants close by.” 2nd: LEGOLAND Hotel 3rd: Courtyard by Marriott Winter Haven BEST APARTMENT COMMUNITY CARLTON ARMS OF WINTER HAVEN 7676 Carlton Arms Blvd, Winter Haven (863) 875-1700 FB: Carlton Arms of Winter Haven carltonarmsofwinterhaven.com What better place to call home than Carlton Arms of Winter Haven? This repeat Best Of Haven winner is located on 122 acres of wooded lakefront property with 23 floor plans to fit residents’ needs. Described as a “resort-style community,” Carlton Arms of Winter Haven boasts a fitness center, lakeside pools, 24/7 emergency maintenance, and is pet-friendly. Apartment features include valet trash removal, high-speed internet access, private patios/ balconies, and Spectrum Select Cable TV. Community residents enjoy the luxuries of two lakeside pools, a heated pool, a social lounge, a car care center, and more! 2nd: 20 on Second Apartments 3rd: RainGarden Apartments BEST CLEANING COMPANY ORCHID CLEANING SERVICE 5820 K-Ville Ave, Winter Haven (863) 324-2000 FB @orchidcleaningservice orchidcleaningservice.com I would start this blurb with a vacuum joke – but they always suck. Could your home or office use a one-time deep clean or maybe a regular refresh? Orchid Cleaning Service offers residential/ home, construction, commercial, move-in/ out, and vacation home cleaning. Clients often remark on their professionalism, punctuality, quality, and value, with one happy customer reviewing, “I highly recommend Orchid Cleaning. The ladies that come to my home are honest, reliable, and do a great job. Use this service. You won’t regret it.” 2nd: DPM Janitorial 3rd: Inspection Ready Enterprises BEST POOL SERVICE COMPANY PINCH A PENNY Multiple Locations FB @PinchAPennyPool IG @pinchapennypool pinchapenny.com There’s no reason to dip into your savings when you just want to take a dip in your pool. The cannonball king of the summer goes to Pinch A Penny for the pool service value they provide to Polk County customers. ‘The perfect people for the perfect pool’ offer pool cleaning and maintenance, equipment installation and repair, renovations, acid washing and stain treatment, and leak detection and repair. “With more than 260 stores and over 45 years in the business, Pinch A Penny has the knowledge and expertise to handle any pool care problem. Plus, we have more Certified Pool Operators than any other pool supply store, so why trust your swimming pool or backyard to anyone else?” 2nd: Mannix Pools and Grills 3rd: Pool Works BEST STORAGE FACILITY THE EXTRA CLOSET 231 5th St SW, Winter Haven (863) 877-1876 FB @ExtraCloset winterhavenflstorage.com Who couldn’t use some Extra Closet space? Secure and centrally located, The Extra Closet is a Best Of Haven voter favorite year after year. They offer short and long-term storage with climatecontrolled units, portable storage, vehicle, boat, and RV storage at affordable prices. One Extra Closet client wrote, “What a perfect place! Chose this storage unit after reading great reviews and due to its location close to my parents’ apartment. The facility was always clean, well-lit, and the staff was so helpful. Thank you for all that you do.” 2nd: Century Storage 3rd: Extra Space Storage

BEST CLOTHING BOUTIQUE PLUM BOUTIQUE 238 N Kentucky Ave, Lakeland FB @TopButtons IG @topbuttons topbuttons.org/plum Fashion that makes you feel good. Plum Market is a women’s clothing boutique located next to Top Buttons. Pick up your next favorite outfit, from head to toe, at Plum Boutique. Choose from upscale denim, clothing, accessories, shoes, and bags. Every purchase at Plum helps fund the programs of Top Buttons. Top Buttons is a faith-based nonprofit organization that empowers young women through mentorship, education, and fashion. You can find stylish new and gently used items at any of their boutique and designer thrift shop locations. 2nd: Amelia Paige Boutique 3rd: Babe’s Shoes & Apparel BEST GIFT SHOP/ BOUTIQUE SCOUT & TAG 244 N Kentucky Ave, Lakeland (863) 225-2426 FB @scoutingVintage IG @scoutandtag scoutandtag.com Looking for a locally sourced Lakeland gift? Scout & Tag has it! This 3500 square foot storefront offers the cutest furnishings, decor, gifts, Lakelandcentric items, and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint products. Rafa Natural also has a space offering their organic and natural skincare products inside Scout & Tag. After browsing Rafa’s delightful soaps and such, check out Scout & Tags offerings of seasonal items, custom pieces, apparel, accessories, bride and groom, baby items, pet items, furniture, home accents, drinkware, plants, books and paper goods, puzzles, trinkets, and more. 2nd: Bungalow Boutique and Gifts 3rd: Stationery Loft & Gift Boutique BEST JEWELER MUNCHEL’S FINE JEWELRY 3227 Florida Ave S, Lakeland (863) 619-6269 FB: Munchel’s Fine Jewelry & Coins IG @munchelsjewelry munchels.com This family-owned and operated Lakeland jewelry store has been keeping Central Florida sparkling for over 30 years. Munchel’s offers a large selection of jewelry, diamonds, luxury pre-owned timepieces, antique heirlooms, rare coins, and gemstones, including engagement rings, wedding bands, earrings, pendants, loose diamonds, and custom jewelry. Munchel’s Fine Jewelry doesn’t just sell beautiful pieces – they can repair them too! One patron raved, “Service is exceptional every time we go! Everyone there is very friendly and they know what they’re talking about. Fair prices, and BD was very helpful with my boyfriend’s watches. Would highly recommend for any repairs or jewelry needs!” 2nd: Foshee Jewelers 3rd: Gaines Jewelers BEST ANTIQUE STORE DIXIELAND RELICS 949 Florida Ave S, Lakeland (863) 559-8356 FB @DixielandRelics IG @dixielandrelics Plan to make a trip to Lakeland’s Best Antique Store, Dixieland Relics, on your next antiquing adventure. This vintage and antique shop is a treasure all its own, located in a former gas station on the corner of Highland Street and South Florida Avenue. You’ll find a bit of everything, including funky furniture, vintage decor, and more! “Such a fun antique store with a lot to see! They have a few different buildings with everything from old machine parts to curious decor. They also have plants, statues, and really funky bric a brac. Prices vary widely on their items so there’s something for everyone,” writes one happy shopper. 2nd: June Taylor 3rd: Lloyds of Lakeland BEST THRIFT STORE TOP BUTTONS BOUTIQUES 236 N Kentucky Ave, Lakeland (Locations in Bartow, Winter Haven, and St. Pete) (863) 220-2464 FB @TopButtons IG @topbuttons topbuttons.org Top Buttons offers designer thrift for a good cause. This faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, charitable and educational organization offers online platforms, educational events, clothing boutiques, and programs for teens in need aiming to empower young women by providing the resources they need. Top Buttons offers new and gently used thrift items at affordable prices, so you can do some high-end shopping without the high-end price tag. 2nd: Goodwill Lakeland Superstore 3rd: The Salvation Army BEST BIKE SHOP BENTS CYCLERY 1058 Florida Ave S, Lakeland (863) 688-2126 FB @BentsCycling IG @bentscyclery Everyone in Lakeland knows Bents is the place for all things bikes! This family-owned bike shop has provided new bikes, bike gear, service, and repair for over 50 years. Bents is a Lakeland institution with something for the novice and avid cyclist alike. Just ask their customers! “Best bike shop ever! Bent will help steer you to the best bicycle for your needs. And they’ll do minor adjustments and repairs on it for life!” 2nd: LeRoy’s Bikeworks BEST BOOK STORE PRESSED LKLD 213 E Bay St, Lakeland (863) 603-3166 FB @pressedlkld IG @pressedlkld pressedlkld.com Independent bookstore and coffee shop, Pressed, has only been open for a year, and already, they’re a Best Of LKLD voter favorite! Christina and Paul Needham opened the downtown Lakeland bookstore last summer as a “gathering space for people in our community to work, read, study, and engage in meaningful conversation.” After picking up an Ethos coffee and a Honeycomb Bread Bakers pastry from the bar, browse the Pressed curated selection of new books (classics and new releases) and a smaller section of second-hand reads. Book it over to the events tab on their website to see what’s happening at Pressed! 2nd: Books-A-Million 3rd: Little Bus Books BEST FURNITURE STORE HAVERTYS FURNITURE 4240 Florida Ave S, Lakeland (863) 646-1463 FB @Havertys IG @havertysfurniture havertys.com “At Havertys, we understand your goal of having a warm and inviting home – not just a house.” Havertys Furniture has thousands of pieces of high-quality furniture in an array of styles through their website and catalogs that customers can see and feel in person at one of their over 100 locations across 16 states. Havertys in Lakeland has a reputation for tailored customer service, with one customer writing, “Our salesperson was wonderful. Zero pressure, super helpful and knowledgeable. The cashier was warm and welcoming and had a wonderful smile! The porter was amazing and treated our new furniture like it was a gift for a loved one. He was excellent! We love our furniture and Haverty’s will be our first stop next time we are looking for furniture!” 2nd: Claussen’s Fine Furniture 3rd: June Taylor BEST LAKELAND DOWNTOWN FARMERS CURB MARKET VENDOR KRAZY KOMBUCHA 1030 Florida Ave S, Lakeland (863) 661-8015 FB @krazykombucha IG @krazykombucha krazykombucha.life Krazy Kombucha is krazy good (and good for you)! A fan favorite of the Lakeland Downtown Farmers Curb Market, Krazy Kombucha offers a selection of sweet and tangy kombucha flavors that are organic, low in sugar, naturally rich in probiotics and healthy acids, and brewed right here in Lakeland. Tart Cherry, Mermaid Lemonade, Blueberry Vanilla, and Spirulina Mint are just some unique and delicious Krazy Kombucha flavors. If you find yourself craving their kombucha outside the farmers market, you can get the good stuff at the Krazy Kombucha taproom, Bok Tower Gardens, Cake Makers Studio, Quinteassence Kava Bar, Tea Largo, and Cafe Zuppina. Cheers to Krazy Kombucha for their Best Of LKLD win! 2nd: Honeycomb Bread Bakers 3rd: TIE – East of These Omusubee