Friends and family, along with community leaders and business owners, paid their respects last weekend to the late Don Porter during a memorial ceremony at the Pasco-Hernando State College campus named for his family.
Porter, who died July 1 at the age of 73, lived in Wesley Chapel since it was virtually empty land far from civilization in the late 1940s. The Porters owned thousands of acres, and when it came time to turn that land into development, everyone in the family was focused more on what would make Pasco County better than anything else.
“In my business, you get to meet a lot of families that have very large landholdings,” state Rep. Will Weatherford said, as reported by B.C. Manion. “It’s not rare for a family to have thousands of acres — there’s a lot of them in Flroida. But I’ve never met a family, I’ve never met a man — until I met Don — that was so keenly more focused on the future of his community than on how much money he would make off of it.”
While the community might know Porter as someone who helped spearhead major growth in the region over the past several years, he was always first and foremost a family man. His daughter, Quinn Miller, remembers how her dad taught her to think for herself. When she wanted to commiserate over a problem or disappointment, Porter would frustrate her by not letting her do it. Instead, she said, he listened, and then asked her questions.
“He had a way of offering perspective by forcing introspection, not (offering) his opinion,” Miller said.
To read more about the life of Don Porter, and the community’s reaction to his passing, check out this week’s print edition of The Laker. Or read the online e-edition for free by clicking here.
It takes a community to build a community park. And the community leaders who have been looking to do just that for the Land O’ Lakes Community Center last week got good news from the Pasco County commissioners after deciding to move forward with a $2.4 million plan to upgrade the property along Land O’ Lakes Boulevard.
“Our park has waited a long time for this facelift,” said Sandy Graves, who helped lead the efforts to get the park renovated, according to a story by reporter Michael Hinman. “Thanks for making that dream become a reality today.”
The county last year had put aside $1.8 million to renovate the park and building there, but bids came in $500,000 higher than what officials had hoped. With no more money available from existing park impact fees, assistant county administrator Heather Grimes suggested officials could borrow from a reserve account instead, paying that money back over two years.
To find out exactly what the county has planned for the community center, pick up your print copy of The Laker today, or read it online by clicking here.
Finally, never think that Walt Bockmiller is old. Sure, he’s 71, but for him, age is just a number.
That’s why he works so hard to organize sporting activity designed specifically for senior citizens. That gives them time for softball, golf, tennis, bowling, and even volleyball.
“It’s an opportunity for them to get out and start doing something rather than just being home shopping or watching TV,” Bockmiller told reporter Michael Murillo. “It gives them an opportunity to meet people in a different kind of environment.”
Bockmiller, who lives in Land O’ Lakes, started a group called Senior Sports in 2011, and it’s been going strong ever since. It now has more than 150 people taking part, with tennis quickly becoming the most popular sport.
“There are a lot of friends that come out of this stuff,” he said. “Some of my friends in tennis and golf, especially tennis, are friends for life.”
To read more about Senior Sports and fun things older residents can do, check out this week’s print edition of The Laker/Lutz News. Or you can read more about Bockmiller’s program in our free online e-edition, which you can see right now by clicking here.
All of these stories and more can be found in this week’s The Laker/Lutz News, available in newsstands throughout east and central Pasco County as well as northern Hillsborough County. Find out what has your community talking this week by getting your local news straight from the only source you need.
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