Each month, we are going to introduce a World Golf Village resident to you. This month, golf member, 6-year King & Bear resident, family man and friend, Larry Flahardy (pictured left with wife, Linda) shares a little about himself with us…

1. What is your favorite thing about The Neighborhoods of World Golf Village?

• Golf courses, trees, serenity, family oriented.

2. What’s your best golf story?

• I had my first hole-in-one on #3 at King & Bear on August 24, 2004 – one day before my birthday. Linda and I were playing with Dan and Donna Yadon, who also live in the King & Bear. We had to seek cover after eight holes due to a bad storm. We resumed play because you must finish nine holes for the hole-in-one to count. We decided to continue to play the back nine and Dan Yadon got a hole-in-one on #14. The kicker is we were both playing Callaway clubs and we each used our six iron. A rainbow came out later. It was magical!

3. What is your worst golf story?

I don’t think of myself as a wine snob…although I am pretty sure many of my friends do! (I will admit I like a nice glass of Pinot Noir more than most people though.) So when I decided to visit San Sebastian Winery on Kings Street in downtown St. Augustine, a few friends told me to keep my expectations in check. This was a Florida winery that used Muscadine grapes. However, I have to tell you, it was a wonderful experience!

They offer complimentary winery tours and wine tasting seven days a week. During the tour they teach you about wine making and show you the room where they are aging their Port in wooden barrels. Then, they take you to the tasting bar. And they teach you how to evaluate wines with four of your sense by using five S’s – like see, swirl and smell. I’m not going to tell you the other two so you will go enjoy this quaint little place for yourself! The whole tour/tasting took about 35 or 40 minutes.

When I was a little girl, Christmas was a magical time. I would literally become giddy with excitement. But as the years passed, it was harder and harder to get in touch with that feeling. Some holiday seasons I didn’t feel it at all. Then I discovered St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights! Although the event lasts from November through January, I like to go on a brisk December evening with my family and friends. As we drive into downtown St. Augustine and see millions of white lights twinkling throughout the city, I get that old feeling again!

Depending on the activities scheduled for that evening, we may tour a historical inn and hear romantic stories from our guide who is all dressed up for the holidays or we may take a train ride to see many, many more lights or we may simply stroll through the narrow streets and stop in a quaint restaurant for a glass of wine or a decadent dessert – sometimes both!

There are some people who make everyone they come into contact with feel happier. Mark Downing, managing partner of CornerStone Homes, is one of those people. So, it is no wonder that 99% of CornerStone Homes’ clients will happily recommend them to their family and friends!

Of course, there are a few other reasons too. When I spoke with Mark Downing recently, he shared that the foundation of CornerStone’s success is built on attention to detail and customer care.

If you know Mark, he has a quiet confidence about him. And it was in this humble, but assured manner, that he recommended I compare the finished work in a CornerStone Home with any other builder’s home.

Well, we just had another successful Sneak Peek Open House in Heritage Landing at World Golf Village on December 5. Families from around the area strolled through five homes in the community that are available for sale through Davidson Realty. One of them told me they like being able to look at a bunch of homes without any pressure. And that is great – because that’s exactly why we host the Sneak Peek Open House every month! Since we encouraged visitors to bring toys to donate to Sertoma Toys for Tots this month, the event was a double success. Thanks to those that donated!

As I mentioned, we normally have Sneak Peek Saturdays on the first Saturday of every month, but since the first Saturday in January is the day after New Year’s, we thought we would skip January and host the next event on February 6.

For the past eight years, the Limelight Theatre has somehow enticed St. Augustine-area celebrities to get dressed up in over the top costumes and lip sync while dancing on stage. And they do this with the greater St. Augustine community watching – and, quite frankly, giggling! Of course, with the open bar starting an hour before the curtain rises at 8:00 p.m. – and staying open throughout the entire evening, the laughter flows more easily! In addition to the fabulous entertainment and the open bar for all ticket holders, delectable hors d’oeuvres are served by the St. Augustine Independent Restaurant Association and the Limelight Theatre gives away all kinds of door prizes throughout the evening too. Can you tell this is one of my favorite fundraisers of the year!

We hear so many sad stories about public school funding being slashed. About how arts and humanities are no longer being taught. About how behavioral and discipline problems are rampant in schools. However, if you visit Wards Creek Elementary School in St. Johns County, you will see a very different reality!

The school was built in 2007 and now teaches over 700 students between kindergarten and fifth grade. The kindergarten to third grade classes have a teacher/student ratio of 1 to 18. The fourth and fifth grade classes are 1 to 22. The school has received an A+ rating every year since its opening! To see how this was achieved, I visited the school. Don Campbell, the principal, was kind enough to give me a tour.

One of the first things you notice walking through the school is how well behaved and polite the kids you encounter are. Campbell said this is because his team sets the standard from the beginning. From day one, they promote character, trustworthiness, caring and discipline. He also says the parent involvement at the school is incredibly high, which helps a great deal. Some days there are more parent volunteers on the campus than staff! This creates an environment where the kids are ready and able to learn, which means teachers get to actually teach! This is one of the reasons they receive over 600 applications for every teaching opening they post.

The Neighborhoods of World Golf Village is excited to share that the Sneak Peek Saturday in December will be in Heritage Landing. On December 5 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., a variety of homes throughout Heritage Landing at World Golf Village will be open for tours. This event will continue Davidson Realty’s tradition of hosting community-wide open houses in World Golf Village on the first Saturday of each month.

The Sneak Peek open house in December will also serve as an opportunity to contribute to Davidson Realty’s toy drive for Sertoma for Tots, an organization that collects and distributes toys to underprivileged children in our local area. Toys will be collected at each home on tour as well as at Davidson Realty at the main entrance to World Golf Village. As always, we will be serving festive treats in one of the homes on tour too!

I love the water, so naturally, I love being on boats. Any kind of boat. For any reason. I will admit that there was something about kayaks that made me uneasy though. I didn’t like the thought of putting half of my body into the dark hull…it seemed very claustrophobic to me. I guess this explains why I didn’t quite know what to do when I received a kayak as a Christmas present two years ago. I just kept staring at the thing every time I walked through my garage. Eventually, I decided I had to at least try it! So I took it to the water and launched it.

I moved quickly through the water with very little effort, which surprised and delighted me. As soon as I went around the first bend in the river, I got the same feeling as when I drove a car – by myself – for the very first time. Exhilarated. Independent. Free. It was about that time that I also started to pay attention to the rest of my environment – the sun sparkling on the river, turtles sunning themselves on logs, the soft sound of the oars breaking the water. It was a total escape from my hectic everyday life. And the combination of all these feelings made the experience magical. Within five minutes of launching my kayak for the first time, I was hooked!

Needless to say, I was thrilled to learn that Six Mile Creek that runs through World Golf Village offers a world class paddling experience. It is pristine and provides an “old Florida” feel. There is only one dock along its entire length from CR 208 to CR 13A, so you can escape and connect with nature, which in this area has a beautiful wildness to it. You can launch at CR 13A Bridge at Outback Crabshack. You can find directions at Outback Crabshack. If you paddle south you will enter Six Mile Creek. If you prefer something more populated, you can paddle north and hit the St. Johns River.

Whenever I am at a World Golf Village resident event or walking through Davidson Realty at World Golf Village, I ask people about the places and people that they find interesting so I can share them with you. The other day I was at Davidson Realty talking to Ashley Wood, one of their Realtors. She asked me why I hadn’t written about the St. Augustine Community Orchestra. I didn’t even know we had an orchestra here! Isn’t St. Augustine full of surprises? She told me she plays one of the three trumpets in the orchestra and that their first of four concerts for the 2009 – 2010 season is coming up! I can’t wait to see them on either October 30 or November 1 when they perform “A Little Fright Music” at the Lightner Museum.

For over 40 years, this group has provided a venue for volunteer musicians to perform light and varied programs. Right now, the full orchestra consists of around 50 musicians. They say their purpose is twofold. First, they want to contribute positively to the musical environment of the community by providing entertaining and educational concerts for the general public and special events. And, second, they want to provide opportunities for its members to learn orchestral literature and further develop both individual and ensemble musicianship and performance skills in a traditional orchestral setting. Doesn’t that sound like a fabulous organization?

For those of us less musically inclined, but that still love music and want to get involved, the orchestra is also looking for Guild members. If you simply want to support the organization by attending a concert, they will perform on October 30 and November 1, as well as, December 4 and 6, March 5 and 7, and May 1 and 2. The orchestra also performs four encore performances. Visit their web site for more details!