- Members attended this meeting at Colony Cottage Rec Center. Dianne Schultz welcomed all the members and reviewed the agenda for our meeting.
- Mark Rossini gave a Financial Update – one hundred (100) paid members as of yesterday! TVRC has $2,500 in the bank.
- Dianne updated us on the ladies’ tanks. Custom Apparel will take and replace. Deadline for returning your shirt (s) is Thursday, March 16th. They must be in the zip bag with your order form. You can give them to Trish or Dianne up until Thursday morning, March 16th.
- The next Home Run is scheduled for March 19th at Lisa Johnson’s home. Address (see calendar) and routes will be published.
- Southern Adventure runs will continue in March. We will meet at Sawgrass at 7 AM on Sunday March 26th. Sawgrass has coffee! For those not making it to the South, the regular Sunday Run at LSL will be at 7 a.m.
- Running of the Squares (which is a state qualifier for the Senior Games – separate application) is Saturday, April 8th at Spanish Springs. TVRC has a team registered.
- John Campbell gave an introduction and overview of the Magic Mile Prediction Run. It will take place on Tuesday, April 4th – 7:00 a.m. at the Polo Grounds. Volunteers are needed as timekeepers. Please see John Campbell if you are interested.
- Time Change! Beginning Tuesday, April 11th Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday runs from LSL will begin at 6:30 a.m. sharp.
- April Social – Wednesday, April 12th @ Edna’s on the Green – our BYE-BYE Snowbirds & Bon Voyage to the Bike and Barge Group. Time to be confirmed.
- April Home Run will be hosted by Sue Bonzy on Sunday, April 30th.
- Dianne reviewed the TVRC Florida Destination Race Selections for 2023/24. Members voted for a fall 2023 and winter 2024 race. The Fall Race is ST. PETE RUN FEST 5K, 10K, Half & Challenges St. Petersburg, Florida November 10-12. The winter race is Gasparilla 5K, 8K, 15K, Half, Challenges end of End of February (TBD) at Tampa, Florida. All other races will be posted on the calendar and members are encouraged to let each other know when they have signed up for these races.
- John Campbell mentioned the total solar eclipse which will be on April 8, 2024. More to follow.
- Dianne welcomed our guest speaker, Kathy Bork from Lost Pets of the Villages, FL. Kathy gave an overview of the group. They started 7 years ago and are all volunteers. The group has 7,700 members. Their mission is all about safety and getting the lost dogs back to their owners. They have a 95% return which is quite good. Seventy percent of people living in the Villages own at least one pet! If you see a lost dog, do not try, and run after it. Make sure the dog is secure and bring it home. Call Kathy or post on social media. Lost Pets of the Villages blasts to six social media sites and has a particularly good relationship with the radio station – WVLG. They will announce a lost dog on the radio. Lost Pets of the Villages does not advertise – they are strictly word of mouth. Donations are welcome and are used for printing of the business cards, helping pay for pets getting out of jail or medical expenses when the owners cannot pay or cannot be found. For safety reasons Kathy recommended that you have a harness for your dog (s) when driving in a golf cart of automobile. For more information on Lost Pets of the Villages reach out to Kathy (567) 277-0945. She is also willing to speak to any groups to get the word out. Thank you.
The Villages Running Club 