The Buttonwood Heights Social Club hosted the soiree Aug. 12 at SeaBreeze Recreation. Estler, who is president of the club, came dressed in an all-black suit, strapped down with white suspenders and topped with a white fedora. He and his wife, Joanne Calsetta, enjoyed connecting with other club members.
“Boy, did we luck out when we got into this neighborhood,” he said. “This has got to be one of the friendliest neighborhoods I think I’ve run across. After going to a few social events, my wife and I realized that, ‘Wow, these folks are some of the most interactive people.’”
Along with swapping stories and taking photos in front of backdrops stationed throughout the room, the group dined on an Italian-style meal that was catered by Pasta Faire Ristorante & Catering, a Belleview-based restaurant. Leftover food was donated to the Wildwood Food Pantry.
Patti Ericcson, Buttonwood Heights Social Club social committee chair, planned the evening with help from social committee members Donna Eaves, Priscilla Baker, Mary Place, Nancy Spears and Susan Kad.
Since the committee rotates members, they worked alongside incoming committee members Karen Naughton, Lynne Scull, Duane Spears and Susan Richardson as they put together the event.
“We try to come up with different events,” said Ericcson, who has been in the club for eight years. “One person may come up with the idea, but we all do the work to make it successful. Everyone chips in and we always have people involved; that’s why I feel it’s one of the best neighborhoods.”
Eaves decorated one of the photo backdrops to look like a crime scene from a mob movie. It featured a small, white table covered with broken plates, fallen glasses and empty bottles that surrounded a dish of cold spaghetti and pieces of bread. Splatters of fake blood covered the entire display, making it look like a tragic turn of events.
“I’m from New Jersey and I’m Italian, so I thought this would be a fun event,” she said. “My goal with the table was to make it look like a better ending of ‘The Sopranos’ to where there had been a full massacre.”
Estler said credit for the creative social events goes to the social committee.
“Our social committee is just an outstanding group of people who come up with unusual event topics for each one of our monthly meetings, which are held on the second Wednesday of the month,” he said. “We try to come up with different and fun events to keep people interested and excited to come out. For example, our next social event will be a Casino Night and then we have the Night at the Races in February, and the white elephant exchange around Christmas.”
Board members also try to make new residents feel welcomed and connected to the club through emails and welcome packets.
“We’re trying to be proactive as far as the board goes,” Estler said. “Everyone has a task. The communication chair person takes care of making sure emails go out to let everybody know what’s coming up. We’ve created a little packet we give to people when they move in to let them know where to go to find the website, which has information about our events.”
Estler and other club members hope bringing new residents into the fold will keep the community connection going.
“I certainly can’t take credit for any of what we do, because that was all set up long before I got here,” Estler said. “I’m just trying to carry on the baton.”
For more information about Buttonwood Heights Social Club, visit buttonwoodheights.com.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
