HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000 03 01 Orlando Magazine Mayor Article
Ozlandc~
MARCH 2000
SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS: THE PROS
PICK ORLANDO'S HOTTEST GOLF
COURSES ............. 35
Even though you're not playing in this month's Bay Hill
Invitational, you can still hit the links with the pros. Central
Florida attracts golfing professionals and wannabes in droves
because of the area's exquisite weather, as well as the plethora of
challenging, pristine golf courses. In this special golf course
roundup, we share with you the pro's choices-and why they think
their favorite club is par for the course.
BY BOB 1'F.HLWG WITH I~IKI{ ]AMISON AND DAVID IJIIiN
NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS:
ORLANDO'S "OTHER" MAYORS ........ 42
Surely Mayor Glenda [food is the most visible Orlando head of
state in town (especially this month as she goes head-to-head with
lead mayoral candidate Bruce Gordy. But the truth is our region is
home to several mayors-l7 to be exact. In honor of Central
Florida's mayors, here's a look at the "other" leaders who .ire dili-
gently working to improve their respective communities-from
traffic to sprawl to marauding mice!
BY MICHAFI C,ANUEL~ARIA
SPECIAL ORLANDO MAGAZINE EVENT
"THE SINGLE GREATEST NIGHT" ...... 6 ~
Welcome to the "Single Greatest Night," afund-raising parr}~ that
honors Central Florida's finest single professionals-individuals
who display their unparalleled commitment to Orlando's business, cis°ic and char-
itable organizations. lt's a night of food, fun and music-all to help find a cure
for cystic fibrosis.
SPECIAL SECTIONS
ORLANDO'S LEADERS ....................... S3 .
ON THE COVER: Strong leadership defines efficient companies. In this special section, mee~ some of
slx-TIME "nA~oR' Orlando's "top guns"-individuals who are making a difference in the companies
CHAMP NICK FALDO for which they work and the hundreds of lives they touch.
PERFECTS HIS S`NING AT
THE FALDO GOLF
wsTITUTE
KEENE'S POINTE ........................................ . ...... 69
PHOTO COURTESY of ~hhis ideal community has it all-beautiful homes, charm and aesthetic ambiance.
THE FALDO GOLF Welcome to Kecne's Pointe, nrlandds newest dream annnumity.
IrJSnruTE By Ct~r.izu_ ~>~i~za ~ni i PAGE 69
PAGE 37
2 OErI .~,r;n.~ h4-u;a~r,v! -Mn~a~ 2000
PAGE 43
PAGE 53
IN CENTRAL FLORIDA,
ORLANDO MAYOR GLENDA
HOOD`S FACE IS AS READILY
RECOGNIZABLE AS MICKEY
MOUSE'S. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE
I7 OTHER MAYORS-THOSE
LEADING ORANGE AND
SEMINOLE COUNTIES INTO THE
NEW MILLENNIUM?
IF YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF
$. SCOTT VANDERGRIFT OR ~ON
VANDERLEY, OR HAVEN'T MET
PAUL PARTYKA OR KAREN
RUENHECK, READ ON TO LEARN
ABOUT OUR AREA`S 7 OTHER
MAYORS. SEVERAL OF THESE
IMPORTANT FUTURE-SHAPERS,
MANY OF WHOM TOIL IN NEAR
ANONYMITY, WORK AFULL-TIME
JOB AND EARN A "CITY" PAY-
CHECK SUMS THAT DON'T
ALWAYS TOTAL $$,OOO ANNU-
ALLY IN HIS OR HER SPARE TIME.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY'RE
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN
ORANGE AND SEMINOLE 000N-
TIES-BIG THINGS.
AS ALL EYES TURN TOWARD
THE HIGH-PROFILE CITY OF
ORLANDO MAYORSHIP ~BE SURE
TO PUT YOUR VOTE TO WORK ON
TUES., MARCH ~ 4~, WE HONOR
THE LESSER-KNOWN HIZZONERS
WHO ARE MAKING THE GREATER
ORLANDO ,AREA A BETTER PLACE
TO LIVE FOR EVERYONE.
MAKEUP ~Y TAw~;
any Lou ,Andrews carries around nu delusions of grandeur as OviedoA mayor.
The city of ?~k,OUf) residents is run by a cite council o(five elected members and
Andrews. Council members have the abilit~~ to vote on the issues at hand-
Andrewscanner. BAs ;~ result, I\ndrews' role is one of liaison attd moderaux, not
Che official signer on-the-dottrel-line.
``X/hifc Andre~~'s. 4~, hasn't afferred much chan,~c since she's only been mayor since
October, she alrcadc kno~ss southeast Seminole Counte is espcrieneing "unhclir~'ablc,.
~ruwth, just like nc~ rest of Orlando. She secs her job as an opportunity to hrin;; pco
plc toge[hei: "V11' pcrumal challenge is to decipher the different points of vir~c," she
saes. °Council nu nih~~n somrrinics sec things differently from one anorher~. l scam tt>
promote rooperatiun .nn~mtS [hem." Topping her list of prioriCies is keeping traltii
undir control Ithc tin hopes u~ mare nu~rc accts. reads to improve traffic floc; cur
rende, a n~anspurtaiiun adciu~n~ council of residents front Ovicdo's ncighhorhu~uls is
esinhlishing an ariiou hlanl. I_,tahli,hing additional recreation areas (residrnu rr~enilc
appru~ed gn:ucr lundin,; fur park) and a ?U cede vision plan also top ;Andre~c;~ liu.
f Ice j~~h, she ,.~~~, i, ,nnil.u u, that of :~ Inurnalia- -ui help find ans~err< he rrcii~w
in:; all the ~luc,tiun,, then rnucluriin;; rcu.trch.:An~lrrss~s, in f.ut, t,iut;ln High-„hoof
,,, ~.~ ,cur(, ~.;y uI Haruwool d,u s,. R U... .., nrnmr
CENTRAL ~LORIDAS ~~OTIIER~~ MANORS
jounlalisnl and I~_nglish in
Ohio hclorr launching her
nine year icadling career
at Srnlinolc (~ounl~~ Public
Schools (Sla'S). I'nllcs-
sionall~, ;\ndrrws rvriu•s
cmplo~~cr nlanu.lls, cc[tifi-
cation handhnoks and
Ill-esrl l l,l U(711ti.
I he nulthrr of an
(hairdo I li~,h ~tu~lcnt and
wi}r of a SCPS cnlployn',
Andrew's has kept het
hand in sduxll operations
by srn~~ing as Ocirdo 1 Iigh
School Advisory CounciPs
chair (shr finishes her term
this nxmth). Shr recently
hclprcf rclocue three Kos-
ovo families to Oviedo
and participates in Florida
I-lospintl's infant-coddlers
program.
\l'hilr shr'. always
been a behind-the-scenes
voluntrri; she's now mak-
Ing a dl}}CI"l'ncC In a nl'W
way. "I\r always won-
dered ~s~har it'd hr like on
the other side-ut have a
little bit of power. And
what could hr accom-
plishrd that wac?" says
Andrews, whose term
c~pirrs in fall ?001. "[f I
find out there's more red
tape invoh~ed, and if the
titles actualh~ a ~barrier~
to gcttin~ things done, I
WOn•C bC ma1'Ur egaln."
pings happened so fast, Paul Parnka isn't quite sure about all the derails. Rack ~.^ nc~ Luc 19SOs,
he attended a meeting about a proposed shopping center devclop~~tent in his :~,eighbr;hood of
~1'uscawill:~. Partvka had never dune it hrfnrc, but this time he spo'. c up and in sharp dissent
about the project. Url~a~ing enough attention from others at th; nucring, '~, was ~~tvitcd to
become more active in Winter Springs' affairs. I Ie remembers joking ac ;hr time...} don•t e~cn know
where ciTy hall i~." In 1959, he became a city cununissioner.'.~ow, abet being rr-e'e.ted rr .~ second
three-year term last Novcmbcl; P;irtvka is \\~inter Springs' ma~ol:
Z'he move scemingh has been good for Seminole County's city of 30,O~h residents .:~. also >.'minole's
largest city by land nrtss). A salesman by profession, Partyka spent l9 ~,ars as a ~::!., nran.t~er with
Proctor & Gamble, the giant pharnrtccutical company, before leaving in l `~9(1 to st art a sports market-
ing company and agolf-dub manufacturing business. Today, hr ,ells amlmercial re,~'..,rate.
The Notre Dame grad served as a city commissioner from 19ti9-199' before taki:•.~ office .is mayor
in 1996. During his tenure, he's been insrnnnrnral in guiding \V'intrr S.~rings ulw: r.i devrlrr~mau of
a town center, e+-hich is taking shape near nc~ intersection of S.R. 431 .::~d ~I iisca~~~,Ila Road. AY1ith at
least three more wars in office, he'd like to see the project come to tn~_~.tion hef~l:,' he Ira~,s oftire.
"Tlte mayor has to be the hest salesperson," he says. "A~ly job is grtri~, people t~~ set this ,oncrpt,
Then getting them to buy into it~reating a vision and then selling that ri;ion."
:And like nc~ hest of salespeople, he sccla to spread his intluencr wit;•. disannin stele. " l~reat peo-
ple with respect and br optimistic all the time because ~somebodv's alw.n sj worse ~lrr he s.t~s. "1 like
people"
(~uitc apparently, Parn~ka, ~0, also loves life. I Ic eschewed crn'poratr '.:te hccwsc of its phi sicll toll
(he once anlsidcrrd hinlsclf to he a funnc heart attack victim), bur has si...e comple~::d the Reston anil
Di>nev marathons and h;is hcamu a golf official for the U.S. Gulf Ass~~.~~..~tiun.
Politics, though, is high anwng his passions. "h.vcn-body should g.: nlculvcif .~~ loc:ll t~~~lihc> at
Irasr once in their life."
ttc r ~curlc ? Itc l
i~ch.unncnt l r~kutan,
titatc
t~radr, }'tn;~„l,t~ra, tnd
I ihena
I~rancc. din'
~;hain, tti ~,~.trs.
tt,r ~ the tr,u,t
Victn.utt ,ndrrstand`
1,ctr totla~.
~1'tn-ant,~~a ,tl x,hu`~
1 _ `;~, h: tnal:r~ ins
five nstturc hell
t;t~nr uurn,rr~~w ah~,trr h,„~~
hrc>umhtr~,n~ tht, nu,rrttt lat
shcttd hi, tnsc
~Icll an,lva ~C .l ~, rltllec rn
~sunn', tr,r nntcrir wttlr
hrc.
,t tlvice w,tv race
~YJinut Park l~.it~' L nnnmissr,iurr~
1,t.rry ltutar`I ,uul hrh ,larch
tn;ut)- 1ic>;~urlh•s ul the ~rntrr,nu
ener;tl elretunt t~ ~~~.~tirh,t~hl.t
(thr >;"
tht. 7? Ycat-crltl say' to IivC etch
1l,ut in ulfia l~~l try .
d~av ut its fullest .utd drni t wart)
ahrutt dtings that 1 can't e1""tg`~,.
he savs~~ mavrtr in March
Crt~wncd
1997, Icrranov~.t has had a hand rn
~a hrt ut change. hcch~'tltrl.tnva tuc
~lishmcnt is 11ast ph`u`, will
acorn"1 Idte ~Olllll
new strcetscapc
be atmhlcted to September.
~ rttstcr~
n graded tenant
,and 1 ,trtiatlarly rllcr
jerrat;t'v~t wa, I'
t~wc in settling the cuntettttuu~
evr'tlttttll~
yssuc of ptttjcct EunJint',
n,tu',, c„m ~ ~
l uur}t` 1.u
(lrau~.,, ~ ui
t t tltc rx,tth t~(1 ~~hrn the
'er"~ x ttrr 1`~t,ti 1'
t,ltrt 1 and tu„1, d•` ~cc
~.ut. 1, 1`ttitl, an,l c I , m,m m \t,ut~k.t ~tr.t,hl`
"tr htcr.tlh hart (L, the ~n~
„~ t, ~,.
uuntrt~ - _ Iti ~ , u,~ cite nt.ma.;cr, ~ nt ~
,~,t ~,~k ~,, tt,c ,
eta ~,_ t, nr.t~„t i xxrip rn te` ~ Cltl1.1.
utdan~r ' trt hr dr.,crihrd a~ .t t ~~~.~~ -~
l'rulrt ht` ;~ cite pt, ul~ati~~n
what ~ . ~ p
the .ern~ed t't I.~y`'I~ ~ ~
incltr~Grr;t took r,Ytice, ~idents
y1'UU 11 rtt' rand tll>l rl- '., ~,t'e krrt:~ tci
d,t~ ~ ntr+tc th.trt 1 `Ull nc w ~ whl:a
tht the dccadc~, but ~ 1
7'~ _-~ I Zren 1tS _ ~ r
1iu1a~. tt~ ~ it h,t.1 rrh~CaDOn' ~i„n ttr cl,t>r ,
.till r~ 1 in,t, as deer
,talc tot corhr~rtte a ~tatc
t„ha=:c Mme. 1t,u,cd ut
to :.
make tt, nano. ,t..t t ch,m`~e, rttcludin;',
Um,uh all the ,
tnr{ old-Fatilaxtr nr1 chal-
k tans,,. Land h,t; remained n1<rstt~ t ale <
\h~rhl.a~, tt"'c countrc-hc,~ manner . ~tu1
w'rtrlds> I ~ ..;~11 0l a
hrs charmis~=„ ~~ith ne`W hr ,tatc,~.
.Ahrtp~'' hint ut deal ,Ir, ~ °' C?n the
xrter~ for czatnt rue tr. , ~ ~
ethic lracc cnal,ted tnd 1 h,ut tP ~~~Xtc'rr try'
r;onat ct,tnt
,nt nt~ des '
lru~=.e.. l>t thr t ~' he er7mmcnt,' .thrall " I try
1 had one pcrchrd r,tutmy.
~uddett, ~ ~~,upka's ec ttsu trvin,~ t° move ` ntillicrrt~ ttt
tit Cr ltri'ir:Ur'ttrnt' ~ 1 - whCn
~t,t, bnt ..ere ` V1tCC.
tank A~~ainst the -
ins'. to pant; rtntr, the 1 ` VV'ar
talc titic~, rrrvrr
t l.attlc eva` last ,hlxttltcxxls. btt,rnr
1atc~ ~ u~hk,i s nit?- vclcrpnt?~ ~ arrtrtt~ ~~furhl A\'.n 11,
in4cstcd : t ~~t de tlcnnc frrnn
mice vi<unt•
I .uul, ~~'ho ltad ,Atrcr rctunnnt; „thee
„mr rnavcr+. for
ter thrre scars m rt 0 I and ~hlit tape ,tlilllxdl:
w.nttr.l tw.h~~l hmt 1 tirtnd,ud
irirnd` 1 yhO: ,uul nttrr the
the t,wner ut a
lhrttu~.h thr t hi nt,tvural duttcti tnr~i'`
h,-silt vvr,tlc' hrl lug
u t butirucs;ttiVt ,rth then attn.
nt,t~ t,r and 1 ' , nc htll time. ~li~da~.
..~„hctc~rr thc~ c;trt catch n'r-
hlstt distrthttnr,n ccntc'. - thr
tll iity hall h~xn` t~tth h~rthlr until ? .t.m., c'n<urtn".
him t„ c, tnrl tscrt trllicc
wrrkh. ~ Ira<r the
tuwe' ty,~,), hr didn t ttr c~,u
tlrt l)ec..;l, tytr city of the ~rurcu,.
wotrldti t bite nec•1`
~ ih 1 t+, t~ hi resputt~i~c ur the c„t~ t .,ut.
the hc,r
~tnt tt` t wm~u,l~tr thrnt
.I;rilr~. "t to t„ t",
rr,
41
,p.trkni~,.r,<,nipnuni,r th.u rr,tili
r~l nr nducr~~l pnrlrr[ Ire, for I'arl:
\crnur icn.int,, which cn.rhlyd
in.urc ul [brat to rcntain ur hu,i
nr.,. Ile al.o helped roncnrrc
nac,accn that h;n-in}; a ~';dcnna
Crunnuinitc (;ollcgr husinc„
I,i.tn~h in \C'in[cr I';nk•s wc,t sidr
nnl a I'arl:.Acrnue Sun~l~rust Isank
r~llirr would Iu•ncfit all. "My };oal
i, to nrakr \C'in[cr Park thr pn
ntirr urh;ut cill;tgc of thr Suuth-
r.nt he ..n,. "It's alrrady the
prrnricr urban villagr in Ccnnal
Florida, and many pcuplr hclicvr
it , the prcmirr urb;ut village in
Ilorida. \x'c want to takr it up thr
nr~t <tcp...
lit get thrrr, the transportation
picnnr nui,[ improcr. "\x~intrr
Park, hcrausr of its loruiun, has an
nxxdinatc :unount of irathc going
through town," he says, noting that
appntximatch~ 300,000 nips occur
dailc throughout the cih~ of 25,000.
If he continues as mayor,
lcrranova cows to help that situa-
tion any wac he aut. But if hr
doesn't remain in office, he'll hacr
nutre time ro work with the honx•
Iess and un encironntental concerns.
Since attic
Oa 1S t0
inter
r t e re-
u anvi-
~~l'll '
a s
su I~.~~
:rIa~
ing in Wintrr
Park IR vcan
ago, he's volun
tccrcd for nc~
Winrrr Nark I.i
brtn and thr
Center fur Indr-
pcndent Livia;;,
among other,.
°I became ma
yor hccnrsc it
seemed to hr
the next step up
in terms of
(nwking~ it a
better place ro
live," he says.
"That's all I
wanted to do."
n„ I lauck ha, only b~~cn inacor for ficr manths, Ixn hr ha, .t tiro[ :,i.i~p un ~ch.u it rakrs a~ he
vir~cs,ful: political t~.unwurk. "Otic r~l nc~ thing, euu i~~.rrr ire .I~, in lu,.rl ~,ocrnuncnt i, dec~~l~~p
~~rnunui, -nr find ru~.t ~chrrr ii i, ~~ hc,ar,.
\Irhr~u;~,h I laud: h~t, li.td ,ut inr~~rr.t in politics ,inrr high uh~rrl, .tii~l uvcrJ .t, an :AIram~nur
Shnn,t;, ~it~ cununi~,ioncr trtr I(1 gran and as a arnununitc ~~~lunurr in ~.ui~ni, c.rp.rriur., hccomin
m,tc„r era, nc~cr .r goal- licatming macr~r, hr sacs. i5 ,intplc .ut c~trn;i~~n of thr,.c actnitir,. "I hclic~ r
in the Rotu~ nuttto rat 'Scni~c \hu~c Srlf•, hc,acs. ":\I of u. an dirrct~ aflrctrd I,c politics, c:pc
rrtllc h~ the petlitiral dea,inn, of local getcrrnnunt. I prefer t~, ire an ,icu~r I~.trticip,uu in this procr~>-
not juu a pas,icc nhsr•n-ci.`
Ih,pitc his un:unnnin~ po,nirc, Hauck ha, big plan, htr ~cnrinn!i lounn~, lar~r,t cin~ ut dtl,l~tfO
rc,idrnn. I lighcst on his list of priorities, like ;o many other lrnual I~londa m;tcur,, i, transporta-
tion. Spcciliealle, he want, :AItanxnuc springs to he part of the' rrgiun~. solution, not a utr~~ spot. Rut
how doe, he intend ur get thcrr? Through amsensus. "l~hr hi~~rsr rh,tllrnpr kill he nr work with our
regional partners to develop a conununirc vision and eonscnsus rrganiinp nansporctrion, cspeciallc
ma,s trut,it,•' he .aes. "You can't get too far out ahead of the conununitc.
f lauck, who hats a three-Fear term, plans to take a yen tactictl approach to the atik, a skill he
honed during his wars as a U.S. Navy officer. l~he 19?U l.ti. Naval .Acadrnrc graduate spent eight
ycus in active duty on ship, throughout the country, then becanu• a Naval insnucror. ~litdac, as ci~e
president of Systems Research Group Inc., he's still inculved in the miliran~ (the cuutpanc, a defense
contractor; principally supports the military through training ,tad sinnilation, as wrll as conducting
research and developnx•nt w improve the realism of warfare training for soldirnl,
~I~ht~ ~?-year-old hopes to continue sharing his gift of knrtwlydgr through teaching. "\lc philr.u-
ph~~ is to provide the cite manager and staff with the tools .utd reuxiras thrv tired to du their j~~hs,
provide policy guidance, encourage invocation, theft Iet then[ do their work. •
45
~n~ U,~Ir h,iti i;rrat ~Ind,iin for blind n~nsyintur~_ AV'h~u h~. h~~~,~inr iu,~cur in ~anuarv 19`J%, the
nnc pc,ts ~~rrr a ia~in;; wa~rrlront nuisanr~~ in hi, iii, ~,I ; ' i(lll_ Ihr~ ~crrc such a force ghat
l>,~Ic lists hi, talc ,~~ a Skeeter Ih•fcarcr a~ unr ..I liil t~~iiun~'ti nine trip{ui(iiant acannplishnunrs.
Rch~rc caw undcrrstinr.~tc Ilalc's raft iir his rug ~, ~~,~nccss, cnn,idrr this: Sanford is the scat
nl nuintc ~ocernnu~nt ,nn/ boasts the arca~s n~~aru ,iirw~n..A~lakr nn niitirakc: Sanford is a hap-
iunin~ place.
"\V~c're ar the apc~ ~~f the ~rrncth corridrn;'~ hr nnninucti. "l beer art tw~~ new interchanges to
Intestate ~ being built scithin cite limits, plus the arrix~n. L'ui wr~rc also nnc of ~Cenrral Florida's old
ru m~~ ns, su the infrtstnicuirc is old. ~[ hen there's ;;ruwih. AX4~ ha~~r u~ niakc sure we can rcaliic our
potential."
\t~~st notably, Dale's taken a leadership talc in wurkin}; ~~~nh the rc~innal .AIetropoliru~ Planning
Organvation in planning fora $?i-million tcrntina rs~,anv<ui ;u Orlando-Sanford Airport (()SA
alrra~ic handles iionu'sric and in[ernational traffic, with I',tn;liu brni}~ ilu hest rn after daily domestic
fli~h[;~. At Dale'; urging, Sanford is also in nc~ ninuin~ fur .~ 54l) milhun County conference center;
which ,hould arrive within ?O(ll_
faalr has actually worked behind the scenes inr oars as I ake ~ti'ian~s first planning and zonmt;
Irani chair (one of ntanr hoards iu which hr's iarticipa~rdi and was I_tkr \lan's assistant lire chief.
\lorr intporruulc, he's never let politics art in the way i,h~~ watt a Ih•ntocru until hecomin}~ a
1Zr~,iihliran in I`1~8; no~~; he notes, he's a IZrpuhGcau ui a U~~niorrati~ ~ucl. Iic trade, he's a resides
tctl ;uhdivision developer; which has helped hint u, bnt~ i undertitand and inana~c growth issues. fn
hit si,arr tintr, the :Vlissi~~ippi hrn~ sin};s in hip church rhnn Ihc's also ~nlunircrcd as a softball Coach
and her ihr hrn Scouts of :Anurictl.
"I ,~rohahlc ai,proach the job a whole lot iliffrrrnt ih,in nunt i~nliuci.ui.,h,. A~~. I, i'nt nol a poliiirian.
I drm~t Ira<r dcci>ions on t;rttint; re elrcicd ° tact the i? ~r,irul~l, whnu~ t~~rnt cunrludcs in t\pril ?UUI.
"\Ie dual n to do a ,;uod job, d~~ it ri:;h~ and d~~ the re;h~ thine,. I tl~~u~i han~ .t pnlitirtl agenda. I
tau I~~t macor because I ;aw Sanf~~rd's potential. lhnr', sr, inurh hrn~
~, . 47