Isle of Pines Property Owner's Association

This is a busy time for everyone with holiday parties, relatives coming to visit and all that shopping to do. I hope you take the time to for a walk in our IOP Preserve or just on the back roads and enjoy the neighborhood we all love.

Our association will be busy too with the upcoming events, membership drive and starting a new IOP board. Before you know it we will be doing it all again. I would like to know what kinds of events you would like to see in the next year. Drop any board member an email or come to a meeting to provide input in your membership next year.

In our neighborhood we may encounter many different types of wildlife, which is one of the reasons most of us call this our home. Be aware of your surroundings, I have been notified of a panther sighting in the IOP near Devonshire and be mindful of the usual deer crossings. If you find an injured animal please call:

WiIdIife HeIpIine: 352-371-4400 (aII wiIdIife issues); PLEASE CALL ABOUT ORPHANED, lNJURED, SlCK, DlSPLACED WlLDLlFE – DO NOT EMAlL! business: 352-371-4443 (education, donations, voIunteering onIy)

I came across this exciting news at http://www.btn-wildlife.org

Welcome to the official page of Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge & Education Center, located in Orlando, FL. We are the largest registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to Rescue, Raise, Rehabilitation and Release of Central Florida’s injured and orphaned native wildlife.

We’re Moving into Our New Home!.

In 2007, BTN was granted 20 acres of land by the Orange County Environmental Protection Department, as part of a 40 year lease. The new site will be located off of Narcoossee Rd and Clapp Simms Duda Rd. (adjacent to Split Oak Pre- serve). We are extremely grateful to be partnering with the county to help Central Florida’s wildlife.

Hope you all have a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Let’s not forget Thanksgiving and especially giving thanks for the great neighborhood we live in! I have many things to be thankful for, I am thankful for my wonderful neighbors in the IOP. I just bought a solar powered turkey and it is bobbing its head in agreement with me.

We had a successful community yard sale! I hope we can continue them year after year that will make sure we get folks in town interested. Great job everyone on your signs!

The IOP Christmas party and golf cart parade are the next upcoming events. Would love to see you at the pavilion decorating party Sunday Dec 8th at 2:00, music and refreshments. All ages are welcome and young people can get volunteer hours for school too. See you at these one of a kind events!

I am looking forward to driving around our neighborhood to see all the decorated homes our neighbors really do some spectacular displays. This year you can drive through Moss Park and see “Light up the Wild” too.

It is still not too late to join the IOP association you can contact Hugh or myself to join.

The IOP association is looking forward to next year and asking for new board members; contact anyone on the board know you are interested in being on the ballot. There is one board member that was put on the ballot to just see if he would be elected and he was he has been a great asset to our board as all our board members are. Giving back to our small community is very rewarding for all of us.

Thanks to the volunteers for maintaining the IOP playground and beach areas these areas are looking well maintained and free of weeds. Thank you to all the volunteers that have given their time to our association!

The IOP Facebook has been a great success if you haven’t joined look for groups on Face book or go to isleofpines.org and connect from there. Post info only important to IOP, lost animals, free items, and events happening in and around the IOP.

So long summer, hello fall….our Halloween Party is next on the agenda then the annual Community Yard sale, the Kids Fishing Tournament and should I mention Christmas so soon? We will be planning and pre-planning these wonderful IOP events. There are some IOP members that in the past have given a lot of time and energy to our events. As all of us get busy with other obligations we need to have others get involved. If you want the events that help bring our community together to continue, the time is now to get involved. Come help decorate for an event or help clean up, it only takes a little of your time.

Please remember to close and lock the gate after you enter the Park.

Last month before our meeting I found all the garbage cans full and placed on the counter under the pavilion, which then they were full of ants. Please help out as this is a volunteer association, we do not have garbage pickup or a designated per- son that does this.

Keep our neighborhood safe, slow down when you enter it and leave. Be aware of the school buses and the animals crossing the road.

It is great to have so many new people moving into our neighborhood we do have a unique neighborhood. I hope to meet all of you at the events.

Terry Aikens
President

So many residents of the IOP find time to contribute to our community. These are just a few ways residents are involved besides being neighborly. Promoting safety with the speed limit sign, checking with Moss Park for the water conditions, having signs made, working with the schools by serving on committee’s, volunteering with teachers, corner marshals for the Triathlon, LMJA, neighborhood watch, board members and volunteers for the IOPPOA. Being involved in our community makes this neighborhood an outstanding place to live!

Dana, Al and Mike have finished painting and sealing the dock and it looks great! Thanks guys!

Who brought in the Big Bass this year at the Father’s Day Fish tournament? Most of the 8 registered boats brought in bass for the weigh in, but the Big Bass trophy went to our own Lisa Boyd. Thank you Dana, Mike and Al for this fun event.

IOP residents showed their patriotic pride by participating in our one of kind 4th of July Parade. Good turn out for a spectacular party and firework show in the IOP Association. Thank you Shawn, Anna, John, Nikki, Al, Mike and all those that volunteered to making the IOP a great place to be for this 4th of July.

See you in the IOP,

Dear Neighbors

As many of us look into the New Year we are evaluating what is important to our families and us. Our com- munity is important in many ways; we can rely on each other and raise our family in a peaceful environ- ment.

Recently I heard of acts of kindness to fellow neighbors by providing a Thanksgiving meal with the help of the local Fire Dept. Not only was the turkey donated but also it was prepared into a full meal for those that would have gone without. There were three families in our neighborhood that were taken care of by such acts of kindness. There are quite a few neighbors that look after their elderly neighbors too.

At the membership drive on January 19, there will be a sign up sheet for next year’s events and suggestions for more ways our community can interact. Let us know what you would like to participate with.

There will be a “LOST AND FOUND” box by the grill area in the pavilion, I will be placing many cooking uten- sils I take home and wash after our events. Please do not put shoes, towels or dirty items in the box, these can be placed on the ground.

This year I have had a wonderful experience with the 2012 IOP Board Members in which I would like to thank them for their time and efforts in our association.

“I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody. ”
–Lily Tomlin

Have a prosperous New Year in the IOP.